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Acral cutaneous metastasis is a rare phenomenon. A 38-year-old woman presented with painful lesions in the left hand since 1 month. On examination, multiple painful, erythematous, lobulated plaques and nodules were present over the palmar aspect of the finger tips and thenar eminence. Biopsy of the nodule revealed lobules of small pleomorphic epithelial cells arranged in singles, small nests, cords and small abortive luminal pattern in an abundant mucoid matrix, suggestive of metastatic mucinous carcinoma. Past history revealed that the patient had undergone bilateral mastectomy for carcinoma breast. Diagnosis of cutaneous metastases is based on clinical history and histopathological examination. Identification of the primary tumor is very important for prompt treatment and prognosis. The rarity of pure acral cutaneous metastasis and its possible pathogenetic mechanisms are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acral cutaneous metastasis is a rare phenomenon. A 38-year-old woman presented with painful lesions in the left hand since 1 month. On examination, multiple painful, erythematous, lobulated plaques and nodules were present over the palmar aspect of the finger tips and thenar eminence. Biopsy of the nodule revealed lobules of small pleomorphic epithelial cells arranged in singles, small nests, cords and small abortive luminal pattern in an abundant mucoid matrix, suggestive of metastatic mucinous carcinoma. Past history revealed that the patient had undergone bilateral mastectomy for carcinoma breast. Diagnosis of cutaneous metastases is based on clinical history and histopathological examination. Identification of the primary tumor is very important for prompt treatment and prognosis. The rarity of pure acral cutaneous metastasis and its possible pathogenetic mechanisms are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Signaling mechanisms involving protein tyrosine phosphatases govern several cellular and developmental processes. These enzymes are regulated by several mechanisms which include variation in the catalytic turnover rate based on redox stimuli, subcellular localization or protein-protein interactions. In the case of Receptor Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases (RPTPs) containing two PTP domains, phosphatase activity is localized in their membrane-proximal (D1) domains, while the membrane-distal (D2) domain is believed to play a modulatory role. Here we report our analysis of the influence of the D2 domain on the catalytic activity and substrate specificity of the D1 domain using two Drosophila melanogaster RPTPs as a model system. Biochemical studies reveal contrasting roles for the D2 domain of Drosophila Leukocyte antigen Related (DLAR) and Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase on Drosophila chromosome band 99A (PTP99A). While D2 lowers the catalytic activity of the D1 domain in DLAR, the D2 domain of PTP99A leads to an increase in the catalytic activity of its D1 domain. Substrate specificity, on the other hand, is cumulative, whereby the individual specificities of the D1 and D2 domains contribute to the substrate specificity of these two-domain enzymes. Molecular dynamics simulations on structural models of DLAR and PTP99A reveal a conformational rationale for the experimental observations. These studies reveal that concerted structural changes mediate inter-domain communication resulting in either inhibitory or activating effects of the membrane distal PTP domain on the catalytic activity of the membrane proximal PTP domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We have used circular dichroism, hydrodynamic methods, absorbance, and fluorescence titration to study the interaction of 4-anilinopyrimido[4′,5′:4,5] selenolo (2,3-b)quinoline (APSQ) and 4-piperazinopyrimido[4′,5′:4,5] selenolo(2,3-b)quinoline (PPSQ) with DNA. The association constants of APSQ and PPSQ were of the order of 104 M−1. The fluorescence properties at ionic strength 0.01M are best fit by the neighbor exclusion model, with K =0.58−9.2×104 M−1 and an exclusion parameter of 0.9–6.4bp. Binding to the GC-rich DNA of Micrococcus lysodeikticus was stronger than the binding to calf thymus DNA, suggest that drug binds preferentially to G+C pairs at low ř. CD spectra indicate that stacking of these compounds with DNA induces a strong helicity in the usually disordered structure of this double strand. Viscosity experiments show with sonicated calf thymus DNA with PPSQ an twice increase in slope (m) as that with APSQ. PPSQ increases the T m for calf thymus DNA melting by ∼10°C as binding approaches saturation, with biphasic melting. The cytotoxicities of these compounds on leukemia HL-60, K-562, B16F10 melanoma and Colo-205 are quite similar and inhibition (IC50) was in the range of 0.39–9.80μM. The anticancer efficacy against B16F10 melanoma has provided evidence of major anticancer activity for PPSQ. Single or multiple intraperitonial (i.p.) doses of drug proved high level activity against the subcutaneous (s.c.) grafted B16 melanoma, significantly increase in life span (ILS 139% and 170%). The aim of this study was to analyze the physiochemical properties of these compounds in an attempt to understand its superior biological activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Circular dichroism (CD) spectra of complexes of 4-benzylaminopyrimido[4′,5′ :4,5]selenolo(2,3-b)quinoline (BAPSQ) with octanucleotide I (d(TGACGTCA)), which is the cAMPresponsive element (CRE) in gene promoters, and its inverse d(ACTGCAGT) (octanucleotide II) have been measured over a range of drug/DNA ratios. It was demonstrated that the anticancer polyaromatic drug BAPSQ intercalates into DNA basepairs with its long direction perpendicular to both the DNA helix axis and the base pair long axis and induces larger conformational changes in CpG containing octanucleotide I CRE than in its reverse sequence, octanucleotide II. It was concluded that CD is a powerful and sensitive technique to discriminate between drug-binding modes of DNA and to define the geometry of the chromophore inserted into base pairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Information Technology (IT) has revolutionized the information handling activities in research and academic libraries in India. The university libraries, as Centres of information services, have largely benefited by the rapid changes in the IT. Indian universities constitute one of the largest higher education systems in the world. It comprises more than 310 universities/institutions, 15,500 affiliated colleges, 10 million students with 5 lakh [1 lakh=100,000] teachers. The university libraries in India are at various stages of development in the application of information technology tools in their day-to-day activities. INFLIBNET—An Inter University Centre of University Grants Commission (UGC) has undertaken the task of providing assistance to university libraries across the country through its number of initiatives. This paper is an attempt to give an overview of Information Technology implementation in different university libraries in India that provides effective access to resources available within universities and elsewhere. Also discussed is the role of the INFLIBNET Centre in the overall development of university libraries across the country with special emphasis on efforts through UGC-Infonet E-Journals Consortium. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The interaction between double-stranded (ds) DNA and the 4-butylamino pyrimido[4′,5′:4,5]selenolo(2,3-b)quinoline (BPSQ) has been studied with spectral luminescence methods. Binding constant values determined by absorption and fluorescence titration indicated a binding constant of 4.24 × 104 and 5.9 × 104 M−1, respectively. The interaction was markedly suppressed by increasing the salt concentration. BPSQ exhibited a strong specificity for the guanine–cytosine (GC) sequence in total DNA at an ionic strength of 0.01 (5.54 × 106 M−1). BPSQ increased the viscosity of sonicated rod-like DNA fragments, producing a calculated increment in length of 2.4 Å per bound drug molecule. A circular dichroism experiment showed that BPSQ might interact with DNA according to two possible binding modes depending on its structure and concentration. The first mode concerned intercalation of BPSQ with its long axis perpendicular to the long axis of the DNA helix. The same drug was able to bind to external sites, second mode, once the intercalation sites were saturated at high concentration. The results from cytotoxicity assays indicate that BPSQ was found to be toxic to all cell lines tested with IC50 values ranging from 2.8 to ≥ 20 µM. It was concluded that the binding of BPSQ to DNA occurs by a mechanism of intercalation, which probably accounts for its reported antitumor activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a letter to the editor describing pretibial myxedema ophthalmopathy and acropachy in a male patient with Graves' disease.

A quiz concerning the dermatological aspects of solitary nodule over the labia majora is presented.

A quiz concerning linear plaque over the face is presented.

Presents a letter to the editor about the use of Wood's lamp as an important diagnostic tool in dermatology.

Presents a letter to the editor about sebaceous gland and hair follicles.

Locus minoris resistentiae (LMR) is a site of the body that offers lesser resistance than the rest of the body to the onset of disease. It can be congenital or acquired. Areas of cutaneous mosaicism such as epidermal nevi can act as congenital LMR, leading to the development of inflammatory skin conditions or skin tumors on these. The occurrence of an infectious condition such as warts over nevi is rare. We report three cases of verrucous epidermal nevi (VENs) with the development of verrruca overlying the nevus later in life. The three patients had VEN on forehead, preauricular, and presternal area, respectively, since birth, with development of a warty lesion overlying these a few months before presenting to us. Skin biopsy and histopathological examination of the linear verrucous lesion were suggestive of VEN with hyperkeratosis, thickened epidermis, and papillomatosis. There was no evidence of epidermolytic hyperkeratosis or increased sebaceous glands in the dermis. Biopsy of the new warty lesion showed findings of verruca in all the patients. With the above findings, a diagnosis of verruca superimposed on linear VEN was made in all the three cases. The warts were removed by electrofulguration. Several acquired skin disorders, including inflammatory dermatoses, adnexal disorders, and neoplasms, have been shown to occur superimposed on epidermal or sebaceous nevus. Ours is probably the first ever description of a wart occurring on VEN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quiz concerning the diagnosis of a 60-year-old obese diabetic female presented with skin lesions over the abdomen is presented.

A suitable condition is needed to foster a rapid recovery of wounds, which is a dynamic and intricate process. The development and characterization of mats of plastic-like peptide polymer (PLP) with collagen for wound healing applications are reported in this work. Viscosity parameters such as the Huggins coefficient [K H ], the intrinsic viscosity [η], α by Sun, ∆[η] m by Garcia ∆B and μ suggested by Chee, ∆K, and β advocated by Jiang and Han, recommend the miscibility of the polypeptide in solution phase. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods in a solid phase. Thermal characteristics using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed higher stability for the blends than the pure polymers. The collagen and PLP blends showed exceptional in vitro cytocompatibility, and the in vivo wound-healing studies on the Sprague-Dawley rats demonstrated faster wound healing within two weeks compared to the cotton gauze-treated injuries. Therefore, these membranes can be a possible alternative for treating skin injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]