Vulvar sebaceous hyperplasia — a problematic dermatosis of the vulva

Sebaceous glandular hyperplasia (SGH) is a benign form of skin pathology, occurring in approximately one percent of the population. Risk factors for the SGH include advanced age, male sex, exposure to UV radiation and immunosuppression. The pathogenesis of SGH involves hormonal changes, is also regulated by insulin levels, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and cortisol. SGH manifests itself as solitary or multiple light-yellow lumps, 2–3 mm big, with a smooth surface and a central umbilical depression. The vulvar localization of lesions is extremely rare and presents with a polymorphous clinical picture, posing a major diagnostic problem. A 40-year-old patient presented to the clinic due to vulvar skin lesions, periodically with the swelling of the labia and itching, with the symptoms deteriorating for approximately two years. The patient has been consulted by several doctors; however, the diagnosis has not been established. She did not receive adequate treatment either. On physical examination, attention was drawn to the overgrown labia minora — especially on the right side — with a network of abnormal vessels and numerous small papular lesions. SGH was diagnosed, based on the samples collected from the vulva. The patient was recommended isotretinoin therapy and referred to a dermatologist for a consultation. The presented case of vulvar SGH is interesting and rare. It is a diagnostic challenge with no established treatment standards. Nonetheless, SGH should be considered in the differential diagnosis of vulvar skin lesions. The comprehensive and interdisciplinary care is needed to help patients struggling with this insidious condition

Gene-centric meta-analyses for central adiposity traits in up to 57 412 individuals of European descent confirm known loci and reveal several novel associations

Waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) are surrogate measures of central adiposity that are associated with adverse cardiovascular events, type 2 diabetes and cancer independent of body mass index (BMI). WC and WHR are highly heritable with multiple susceptibility loci identified to date. We assessed the association between SNPs and BMI-adjusted WC and WHR and unadjusted WC in up to 57 412 individuals of European descent from 22 cohorts collaborating with the NHLBI's Candidate Gene Association Resource (CARe) project. The study population consisted of women and men aged 20–80 years. Study participants were genotyped using the ITMAT/Broad/CARE array, which includes ∼50 000 cosmopolitan tagged SNPs across ∼2100 cardiovascular-related genes. Each trait was modeled as a function of age, study site and principal components to control for population stratification, and we conducted a fixed-effects meta-analysis. No new loci for WC were observed. For WHR analyses, three novel loci were significantly associated (P < 2.4 × 10−6). Previously unreported rs2811337-G near TMCC1 was associated with increased WHR (β ± SE, 0.048 ± 0.008, P = 7.7 × 10−9) as was rs7302703-G in HOXC10 (β = 0.044 ± 0.008, P = 2.9 × 10−7) and rs936108-C in PEMT (β = 0.035 ± 0.007, P = 1.9 × 10−6). Sex-stratified analyses revealed two additional novel signals among females only, rs12076073-A in SHC1 (β = 0.10 ± 0.02, P = 1.9 × 10−6) and rs1037575-A in ATBDB4 (β = 0.046 ± 0.01, P = 2.2 × 10−6), supporting an already established sexual dimorphism of central adiposity-related genetic variants. Functional analysis using ENCODE and eQTL databases revealed that several of these loci are in regulatory regions or regions with differential expression in adipose tissue

Abundance of larval native and nonnative fishes in floodplain habitats of the lower Waikato River, New Zealand

The floodplains of many large rivers worldwide are important spawning and nursery habitats for multiple fish species. We investigated the potential importance of different floodplain habitats for fish larvae. Samples were collected from 14 sites along the Waikato River, northern New Zealand, from September to October 2010. Larval fishes were identified using traditional morphological identification and DNA analyses. Our results revealed high densities of invasive koi carp and goldfish larvae in flooded terrestrial habitats compared to other habitat types. Species richness was highest in the wetland habitat. Redundancy analysis revealed that koi carp and goldfish abundances were strongly positively correlated with chlorophyll a concentrations and zooplankton densities. Floodplain habitats seem to be important habitat for larvae of both native and introduced fish species in the lower Waikato River. Because introduced larval fish out-numbered native fishes in floodplain habitats managers should consider implementing measures that at key times provide controlled access to floodplain habitats for native species and also limit access of introduced fishes

Microangiopathy in Naifold Videocapillaroscopy and Its Relations to sE- Selectin, Endothelin-1, and hsCRP as Putative Endothelium Dysfunction Markers among Adolescents with Raynaud’s Phenomenon

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between the qualitative abnormalities on nailfold videocapillaroscopy (NVC), and the concentrations of selected biomarkers (sE-selectin, endothelin-1, high-sensitivity c-reactive protein (hsCRP)) and lipid metabolism parameters in children and adolescents with Raynaud&#8217;s phenomenon (RP). Raynaud&#8217;s phenomenon, to assess whether nailfold capillary changes may reflect the degree of systemic blood vessel abnormalities. The study group included 66 patients (34 undifferentiated&#8212;uRP and 32 secondary&#8212;sRP) aged 6&#8722;19 years and the control group. In both groups, NVC was performed and the selected biomarkers were measured (sE-selectin, endothelin-1, hsCRP) and lipid profile. Endothelin-1, sE-selectin and hsCRP concentrations in patients from both RP groups were significantly higher; concentration of HDL fraction was significantly lower compared with the control group. The analysis of multiple linear regression demonstrated that megacapillaries most strongly determine the sE-selectin value (p = 0.04) and hsCRP (p = 0.03). Both the total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) fraction concentrations were determined by the presence of avascular areas (p = 0.02). In conclusion, specific pathologic NVC changes were associated with higher endothelial damage biomarkers concentration and adverse changes in the lipid profile

The importance of flooded terrestrial habitats for larval fish in a semi-natural large floodplain (Volga, Russian Federation)

We assessed the importance of flooded terrestrial habitats for fish larvae in a semi-natural large floodplain (Volga, Russian Federation) by comparing abundances at the shoreline of permanent waterbodies with flooded terrestrial habitats. We found that overall larval abundance at the shoreline of permanent waterbodies was 6 to 10 times higher than in flooded terrestrial habitats and was highly consistent over the sampled waterbodies during the 2 year study. The potential mechanisms underlying these results are that shoreline habitats receive an influx of food with retreating warmer water from flooded terrestrial habitats, whereas the risk of hypoxia and stranding is lower at the shoreline than in flooded terrestrial habitats. Furthermore, the risk of predation is also lower at the shoreline compared to the open water habitats. Thus, we hypothesize that, rather than directly providing nursery habitat, the most important function of flooded terrestrial areas for the recruitment of fish in river floodplains is the production of food organisms that become available for larvae and juveniles with the retreating water

CRUSTACEAN ZOOPLANKTON ASSEMBLAGES IN INLAND WATERS OF SOUTHERN PATAGONIA (ALACALUFES NATIONAL RESERVE), CHILE (49-51 degrees S)

The inland water crustacean communities in southern Chilean Patagonia (46-55 degrees S) are characterized by their marked low species number, and many recurrent species among a wide ecological and geographical gradient, that is due to oligotrophy of lakes and lagoons and the fluvial parameters (i.e., high flow velocities) in rivers. The aim of the present study was to describe the zooplankton communities in lakes and respective outflow river estuaries in Alacalufes National Reserve on islands of Chilean southern Patagonia (49-51 degrees S). Species abundance and presence/absence were considered. The results obtained revealed the presence of a low number of species and also multiple sites in which zooplankton was not recorded at all. This is probably due the low zooplankton diversity of cold lakes at these high latitudes and the often turbulent flow of the outflow rivers studied

Benzannulation of a ditopic ligand to afford mononuclear and dinuclear Ir(iii) complexes with intense phosphorescence: applications in singlet oxygen generation and bioimaging

Annulation of the additional aromatic pi-system to the ligand is an effective method of influencing the luminescence of metal complexes. In this contribution, we show the effect of benzannulation of a ditopic ligand on the photophysical properties of a dinuclear Ir(iii) complex and also utilize it to prepare its mono-nuclear analogue. The new dinuclear complex di-Ir in which the iridium centres are linked by benzo[1,2-d : 4,5-d']bisthiazole shows drastically improved efficiency of phosphorescence compared to the previously reported complex Ir-2 that has thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole as the linking unit. The new mono-nuclear complex mono-Ir, utilizing the same ditopic ligand as di-Ir, allows tracking the effects of dinuclearity. In degassed dilute dichloromethane solution, the mononuclear complex mono-Ir displays yellow phosphorescence (lambda(em) = 552 nm) with a quantum yield of phi(PL) = 70% and decay time of tau = 7.85 mu s, which correspond to the radiative rate of k(r) = 0.89 x 10(5) s(-1). The dinuclear complex di-Ir displays slightly red-shifted phosphorescence (lambda(em) = 560 nm) with a quantum yield of phi(PL) = 85% and decay time of tau = 4.50 mu s corresponding to the radiative rate of k(r) = 1.90 x 10(5) s(-1), which is about two times higher compared to that of the mono-nuclear mono-Ir. The phosphorescence intensity of both complexes is highly sensitive to molecular oxygen, as in the air-equilibrated samples the decay times drop to values tau = 0.73 mu s and tau = 0.84 mu s for mono-Ir and di-Ir, respectively. Applied as singlet oxygen sensitizers, mono-Ir and di-Ir show very high efficiencies of 78% and 71%, respectively. Such characteristics mean the two complexes are promising materials for optical oxygen sensing and applications associated with singlet oxygen generation

Characterization of European lampreys and fishes by their longitudinal and lateral distribution traits

This study aims to complement existing fish-based assessment approaches by classifying European lampreys and fish species according to their probability of occurrence in six different longitudinal river regions and five types of floodplain water bodies under unimpaired conditions. The main objective was to provide for the first time harmonized occurrence traits for European lampreys and fishes in both longitudinal and lateral dimensions of floodplain river systems in a Fish Region Index (FRI) and Floodplain Fish Index (FFI), respectively. Altogether 163 lamprey and fish species established in European rivers have been scored according to their longitudinal and lateral occurrence probabilities. The species-specific Fish Region and Floodplain Fish indices and their variances inform about species' occurrence probabilities, dispersal traits and potential species inventories of different river regions and floodplain waters. The final scores allow identifying characteristic fish assemblages, i.e. a set of type-specific species for the different longitudinal river regions and lateral floodplain water bodies. The species-specific index values and variances serve to calculate summary metrics for the total fish assemblage (FRItotal and FFItotal) as macro-scale indicators for the deviation of the total fish assemblage from a reference state. The resulting index values indicate degradation as well as rehabilitation success at the level of fish assemblages, i.e. at an ecologically relevant macro-scale. Both species-specific and total assemblage indices are directly comparable among all biogeographic regions of Europe independent of the local species pool. As such, the indices serve as assemblage indicators for the fish-based assessment of the ecological status of water body types and river regions in floodplain river systems, which are required in particular for the assessment of large floodplain rivers

Ligand design and nuclearity variation towards dual emissive Pt(ii) complexes for singlet oxygen generation, dual channel bioimaging, and theranostics

Organic ligands comprising thiophene ring(s) afford complexes of transition metals, such as Pt(II) and Ir(III), with photoluminescence readily tunable via ligand modifications. In this work we demonstrate the targeted design of a NC-CN type ditopic ligand with a central thiophene ring as the cyclometalating core and variation of the nuclearity of the complex to fine-tune the photophysical properties of the material. The mononuclear complex Pt-1 shows red T-1 -> S-0 phosphorescence with the emission maximum at lambda = 660 nm. The dinuclear complex Pt-2 shows near infrared (NIR) T-1 -> S-0 phosphorescence peaking at lambda = 710 nm. In both cases the phosphorescence is quenched by molecular oxygen generating singlet oxygen molecules with high efficiencies of phi(Delta) approximate to 83% (Pt-1) and phi(Delta)approximate to 70% (Pt-2, respectively) in air-equilibrated CH2Cl2 solutions under ambient conditions. The red phosphorescence of Pt-1 is accompanied by green S-1 -> S-0 fluorescence with the maximum at lambda = 495 nm. This makes Pt-1 a dual emissive material with two emissions stemming from a single chromophore moiety. Transient absorption studies revealed a relatively low rate of ISC from the S-1 state to the triplet manifold with a time constant tau(ISC) of about 4 ps. The slow ISC in Pt-1 is rationalized by a specific electronic structure with a relatively large energy gap Delta E(S-1 -> T-1) approximate to 0.63 eV and the higher triplet state T-2 being higher in energy than the singlet state S-1. In dinuclear Pt-2, state T-2 lies below S-1 opening fast T-2 -> S-1 ISC paths with a time constant tau of only approximate to 0.13 ps. The unique dual emission of Pt-1 was beneficial for its imaging in HeLa cells as it enabled switching between green fluorescence and red phosphorescence channels of detection in the time-span of the single confocal luminescence microscopy experiment. Pt-1 represents a prototype of new theranostic agents combining cytotoxic activity with a unique dual wavelength mode of detection