Pattern recognition receptors in immune disorders affecting the skin.

Contains fulltext : 109004.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) evolved to protect organisms against pathogens, but excessive signaling can induce immune responses that are harmful to the host. Putative PRR dysfunction is associated with numerous immune disorders that affect the skin, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome, and primary inflammatory skin diseases including psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. As yet, the evidence is often confined to genetic association studies without additional proof of a causal relationship. However, insight into the role of PRRs in the pathophysiology of some disorders has already resulted in new therapeutic approaches based on immunomodulation of PRRs

Stage-I osteochondritis dissecans versus normal variants of ossification in the knee in children

Background: Juvenile osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) has a better prognosis than the adult type. Objective : We postulated that the excellent prognosis of juvenile OCD could be explained, at least in part, by the erroneous diagnosis of some developmental variants of ossification as stage-I OCD. Materials and methods : Knee MRIs of 38 children, ages 7.5–17.7 years (mean and median age 13 years), were retrospectively reviewed to look for features that might separate normal variants of ossification from stage-I OCD. These included age, gender, site, configuration of the lesion, residual cartilaginous model and presence of edema. Results : Twenty-three patients (32 condyles) had ossification defects with intact articular cartilage suggestive of stage-I lesions. No stage-II lesions were seen in the posterior femoral condyles. Accessory ossification centers were seen in 11/16 posterior condyles and 3/16 central condyles. Spiculation of existing ossification was seen in 12/16 posterior condylar lesions and 1/16 central condyles. There was a predominance of accessory ossifications and spiculations in the patients with 10% or greater residual cartilaginous model. No edema signal greater than diaphyseal red-marrow signal was seen in the posterior condyles. Clinical follow-up ranged from 0.5 to 38 months, with clinical improvement in 22 out of 23 patients. Conclusion : Inclusion of normal variants in the stage-I OCD category might explain, in part, the marked difference in published outcome between the juvenile and adult forms of OCD. Ossification defects in the posterior femoral condyles with intact overlying articular cartilage, accessory ossification centers, spiculation, residual cartilaginous model, and lack of bone-marrow edema are features of developmental variants rather than OCD.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46719/1/247_2005_Article_1507.pd

Chemical vapour deposition synthetic diamond: materials, technology and applications

Substantial developments have been achieved in the synthesis of chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond in recent years, providing engineers and designers with access to a large range of new diamond materials. CVD diamond has a number of outstanding material properties that can enable exceptional performance in applications as diverse as medical diagnostics, water treatment, radiation detection, high power electronics, consumer audio, magnetometry and novel lasers. Often the material is synthesized in planar form, however non-planar geometries are also possible and enable a number of key applications. This article reviews the material properties and characteristics of single crystal and polycrystalline CVD diamond, and how these can be utilized, focusing particularly on optics, electronics and electrochemistry. It also summarizes how CVD diamond can be tailored for specific applications, based on the ability to synthesize a consistent and engineered high performance product.Comment: 51 pages, 16 figure