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Tree peony (Paeonia section Moutan DC.) is an excellent ornamental plant, of which Paeonia ostii (P. ostii) has a high oil value. It is widely cultivated in China, but severe drought affects its growth. In this study, the effects of exogenous calcium on drought-induced damage of P. ostii were studied. The results showed that under drought stress, leaf water content showed a downward trend, while reactive oxygen species (ROS), relative electrical conductivity (REC), proline (Pro) content, and related antioxidant enzymes increased significantly. Spraying CaCl2 could effectively slow leaf wilting and water loss, induced an increase in enzyme activity of the antioxidant enzyme system, and reduced the accumulation of ROS caused by drought stress. Simultaneously, REC and Pro content could be alleviated, and the degree of cell membrane damage could be reduced. In addition, CaCl2 improved photosynthetic characteristics and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. These results indicated that CaCl2 reduced the harmful effects of drought stress on the growth of P. ostii by regulating infiltration, activating photosynthesis, and enhancing the antioxidant system. These findings suggested that CaCl2 can be used to manage drought stress in P. ostii cultivation.

The permafrost on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is critically sensitive to temperature changes. The balance of heat transfer between the land and the atmosphere in permafrost regions were disturbed by the construction of man-made infrastructures, such as the Qinghai-Tibet Highway (QTH), the towers of power lines and telecommunications. Obviously, the characteristics of permafrost have been altered near the QTH. Reversely, thawing and degradation of the permafrost have a serious impact to the stability of QTH. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys can detect the subsurface structure of permafrost layer near the QTH that differentiate the situations in summer and winter and enable us to analyze the feature of permafrost table and active layer thickness (ALT) in different seasons. Consequently, it can provide the characterization of the relationship between the permafrost thawing and stability of QTH. Numerous studies have used the GPR to detect the permafrost and collected GPR data in summer in previous studies. However, due to the high loss of GPR signal in summer time caused by the blocking nature of the melted active layer limited the detection of formation features in greater depth. In this paper, we collected GPR data near the QTH in Beiluhe region in both summer and winter seasons and used the finite-difference reverse time migration (RTM) algorithm to process the GPR data. From the results of RTM profiles, we find that: 1) the RTM profiles in winter can provide high resolution interpretation image and clearly register the active layer/permafrost boundary and lithological interfaces within the active layer; 2) the top boundary of the permafrost and ALT have significant change near the QTH, which may be caused by the degradation of the surface vegetation and higher temperature on sides of QTH. With the accumulation of more GPR surveys, we can potentially analyze more details and wider coverage for the characteristics of permafrost top boundary and ALT in different seasons and provide more objective input to reduce the adverse impact from engineering constructions.

Polymeric hydrogenated amorphous carbon (α-C:H) thin films were prepared by laser induced chemical vapor deposited method using a KrF excimer laser (λ = 248 nm, ґfwhm = 25 ns) with different laser intensities. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to investigate the surface morphology of the films. It was found that the surface morphologies were affected by the laser intensity significantly. Self-organized subwavelength fine ripples perpendicular to the laser beam polarization with periodicities of about 200 nm were observed and a reasonable explanation was proposed for the formation of the ripples. Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to study the structure of the α-C:H films. The results suggested that there was oxygen in the films, which came from the ambient contamination and the incomposited impurities during and after deposition. The relationships between the composition and chemical bond types were discussed in detail.

Summary Background Alopecia areata (AA) may be related to stress and has been reported to be associated with psychiatric disorders. Nevertheless, a nationwide study of the relationship between AA and comorbid psychiatric diseases has not been conducted, and the effect of onset age has rarely been reported. Objectives To analyse the associations between AA and various psychiatric disorders using a nationwide database in Taiwan. Methods Data were obtained from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan from 2000 to 2009. In total, 5117 patients with AA and 20 468 age- and gender-matched controls were enrolled. Results Patients with AA tended to have more coexisting anxiety and less comorbid schizophrenia. Differences in ages of onset revealed differences in comorbidities. An increased risk of depression [odds ratio (OR) 2·23; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·09–4·54] was found in patients with AA aged

To study the prevalence of atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, and asthma in Taiwan, we analysed the claims data of a nationally representative cohort of 997,729 enrolees from the National Health Insurance register from 2000 to 2007. Overall, 66,446 patients were diagnosed with atopic dermatitis, and 49.8% of them had concomitant allergic rhinitis and/or asthma. The overall 8-year prevalences of atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, and asthma were 6.7%, 26.3% and 11.9%, respectively. Children and adolescents had significantly higher prevalences of these atopic diseases. The prevalence of atopic dermatitis in females was lower than that in males before the age of 8 years, but became higher after that. Patients with atopic dermatitis were more likely to have allergic rhinitis and asthma. Those having both atopic dermatitis and allergic rhinitis possessed an even higher risk for asthma (odds ratio 9.04). The numbers of visits for atopic dermatitis were highest in late spring to mid-summer. These data suggest that atopic diseases are common in Taiwan.

Summary Background Previous studies showed that idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) carried an increased risk of cancers. However, no large-scale study of IIM has been conducted in the Chinese population. Objectives We sought to delineate the association of IIM and various cancer types from a nationwide database in Taiwan. Methods We analysed the published national data from records of National Health Insurance claims. Cases of dermatomyositis (DM) and polymyositis (PM) from 2000 to 2005 and cancers registered in the catastrophic illness profile from 1997 to 2006 were collected. A nationally representative cohort of 1 000 000 enrollees was included for comparison. Results In total, 136 patients (12·8%) among 1059 cases of DM and 46 persons (7·0%) among 661 cases of PM carried internal malignancies. Patients with DM tended to have cancers of nasopharynx, lung and breast. On the other hand, patients with PM tended to have breast, uterine cervix and lung cancers. Compared with the general population, DM gave a 10-fold increased risk for cancers, in which a 66-fold increased risk for nasopharyngeal carcinoma and a 31-fold increased risk for lung cancer were the two most significant. For patients with PM, a 6-fold increased risk for cancer was observed. Juvenile DM had a 16-fold increased risk for haematopoietic or lymphoid malignancy. Two thirds of comorbid malignancies were detected shortly after the diagnoses of IIM, within a mean of 1–2 years. Overall, younger patients with IIM carried the highest risk for malignancies, especially those in their twenties and thirties. Conclusions This is the first large-scale study to report the associated malignancies and the cancer risk of IIM in Taiwan.

To analyse the epidemiological characteristics and related costs of herpes zoster in Taiwan, a nationally representative cohort of 1,000,000 individuals from the National Health Insurance register was followed up from 2000 to 2006 and their claims data analysed. Overall, 34,280 patients were diagnosed with zoster (incidence 4.89/1000 person-years) and 2944 patients (8.6%) developed post-herpetic neuralgia 3 months after the start of the zoster rash (incidence 0.42/1000 person-years). People with older age, diabetes, and immunocompromising conditions were at higher risk of developing zoster and post-herpetic neuralgia. The overall hospitalization rate for zoster was 16.1 cases per 100,000 person-years. The cost for each home care case and per hospitalized case were approximately 53.30 euro and 1224.70 euro, respectively. Further research into the cost-effectiveness of zoster vaccine is needed.

Summary Background Previous studies have shown that cytokine gene polymorphisms may confer susceptibility to psoriasis. Objectives To determine whether genetic polymorphisms of the cytokine genes might influence the development of psoriasis in Chinese patients in Taiwan. Methods DNA samples were obtained from 170 patients with psoriasis vulgaris (PV), 102 patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and 210 control subjects. Using direct sequencing and microsatellite genotyping, we examined 28 polymorphisms in 11 cytokine genes including the interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1β, IL-1 receptor antagonist, IL-4, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12B, IL-13, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, TNF-β and interferon-γ genes. Genotypes of HLA-Cw*0602, killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genes and major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related gene A (MICA) were also determined in patients with PsA. Results The patients with PV were more likely to carry the +4496G allele of the IL-12B gene (59·4% vs. 49·3%, P = 0·0067, Pc = 0·033). However, no significantly different allelic and genotypic distributions of the other analysed genes including IL-1β, TNF-α, TNF-β, KIR genes and MICA were found between the PV/PsA patients and controls. Moreover, no association was observed with disease onset, gender, peripheral arthritis or joint erosion. With regards to HLA-Cw*0602, its allele frequency was significantly increased in patients with early-onset PV (25·3% vs. 4·8%, P

BACKGROUND: Besides the HLA-Cw*0602 allele, the psoriasis susceptibility 1 candidate 3 (PSORS1C3) and corneodesmosin (CDSN) genes are two probable psoriasis susceptibility genes in the PSORS1 locus. The -79C, -26C and +246A alleles of the PSORS1C3 gene, the CDSN*971T allele, CDSN*TTC (619T-1236T-1243C) and CDSN*5 (619T-1240G-1243C) are strongly associated with psoriasis in the caucasian population. Until now, no haplotype study of the PSORS1C3 and CDSN genes has been documented in Chinese patients with psoriasis vulgaris. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine whether genetic polymorphisms of the PSORS1C3 and CDSN genes were associated with an increased risk of psoriasis vulgaris in Chinese patients in Taiwan. METHODS: We investigated the PSORS1C3 and CDSN genes for disease association by direct sequencing in 178 patients with psoriasis vulgaris and 203 control subjects. Genotyping for HLA-Cw*0602, alpha-helix coiled-coil rod homologue (HCR) gene and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) n.9 was also carried out using a sequence-based typing method. RESULTS: The PSORS1C3*582A allele, an SNP in the 3'-untranslated region of the PSORS1C3 gene, was a major psoriasis vulgaris susceptibility allele in the Chinese population, and the association was much stronger in patients with early-onset psoriasis vulgaris (22.3% vs. 6.9%, odds ratio = 3.87, P(c) =0.0000072). The frequencies of CDSN*TTC and CDSN*971T were also significantly increased in patients with early-onset psoriasis vulgaris. Moreover, PSORS1C3*582A, SNP n.9*C, Cw*0602 and HCR*WWCC were in near complete linkage disequilibrium (LD) with each other; in contrast, the LD with the CDSN gene was not so strong. SNP n.9*C-Cw*0602-PSORS1C3*582A-HCR*WWCC was a major susceptibility haplotype in patients with early-onset psoriasis vulgaris (P < 10(-7)) and this risk haplotype also carried CDSN*TTC and CDSN*971T. CONCLUSIONS: The PSORS1C3 and CDSN genes are important psoriasis susceptibility genes in Chinese patients with psoriasis vulgaris.

Summary Background Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune bullous disease mostly associated with autoantibodies to the hemidesmosomal BP autoantigens BP180 and BP230. High levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-13, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interferon (IFN)-γ have been detected in skin lesions or sera of patients with BP. Cytokine gene polymorphisms may affect cytokine production and contribute to susceptibility to autoimmune diseases. Until now, no cytokine gene polymorphism study has been conducted on patients with BP. Objectives We aimed to determine whether the genetic polymorphisms of the cytokine genes might influence the development of BP. Methods DNA samples were obtained from 96 BP patients and 174 control subjects. Using direct sequencing and microsatellite genotyping, we examined 23 polymorphisms in 11 cytokine genes including the IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-1 receptor antagonist, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-13, IL-4 receptor, TNF-α and IFN-γ genes. Results Although the BP patients were more likely to carry the −511T and −31C alleles of the IL-1β gene (P = 0·04), the significance disappeared after correction for multiple testing (Pc). There was complete linkage disequilibrium between the −511T and −31C alleles of the IL-1β gene. In female patients with BP, the associations with IL-1β (−511T) and (−31C) alleles were much stronger (68% vs. 40·6%, odds ratio = 3·11, Pc = 0·006). No significantly different allelic and genotypic distributions of other cytokine gene polymorphisms could be found between the patients with BP and controls. Moreover, no association with the extent of disease involvement (localized or generalized) was observed. Conclusions The IL-1β (−511) and (−31) polymorphisms were significantly associated with BP in women. The other genetic polymorphisms of cytokine genes that we analysed do not appear to be associated with BP susceptibility in our Chinese population.

Hidroacanthoma simplex (HS) is an uncommon poroid neoplasm confined within the epidermis. The clinical features of HS are not distinctive and histopathologically HS may be confused with clonal seborrheic keratosis (CSK) if cystic or ductal structure is not present. The purpose of our study was to differentiate HS from CSK by the immunohistochemical expressions of various cytokeratins, CEA, CD1a, and S-100 protein, as well as by the degrees of deposition of melanins and glycogen. Four cases of HS and seven cases of CSK were included in the research. In contrast with CSK, HS showed a very low density of Langerhans cells (19.9 +/- 7.7 versus 3.1 +/- 1.0 CD1a (+) cells/mm, P = 0.027) and sparse melanin deposition in the nests. However, HS could not be set apart from CSK by the expressions of cytokeratins. The nests of both HS and CSK showed very similar patterns of cytokeratin expression and seemed to be mainly composed of basaloid cells with focal differentiation toward epidermal suprabasal cells.

Summary To determine the association of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) with primary cutaneous amyloidosis (PCA), a retrospective study was conducted on skin tissue from 27 Chinese patients with lichen amyloidosus and macular amyloidosis. In situ hybridization with oligonucleotide probes was used to detect the expression of EBV-encoded RNAs (EBERs). Eleven of 27 cases (40.7%) were found to contain the EBV genome. No EBV genome was detected in the skin of the control groups, including three cases of secondary cutaneous amyloidosis, two cases of primary systemic amyloidosis, and four cases of lichen simplex chronicus. Our study showed no correlation between the presence of EBV in PCA patients and the patients'age, sex, clinical type or severity of the skin lesions. Although our results suggest that EBV may be associated with some cases of PCA, the true aetiological role of EBV in PCA remains unknown.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, treatment modalities and comorbidity of psoriasis in Taiwan. A nationally representative cohort of 1,000,000 individuals from the National Health Insurance database was followed up for the years 2000 to 2006. Their claims data was used for an epidemiological study. The mean one-year prevalence of psoriasis was 0.23% for men and 0.16% for women, respectively. The prevalence of psoriasis increased more rapidly in male patients aged 30 years and over and reached its peak in patients aged 70 years and over, regardless of sex. Overall, 98.4% of patients received treatment with topical corticosteroids, while 13.1% used Chinese herbal medicines and 13.6% received systemic treatment. Patients with psoriasis had a higher comorbidity of diabetes, hyperlipidaemia, and hypertension. In conclusion, in contrast to Caucasians, the prevalence of psoriasis in Taiwanese people is high er in men than in women and the prevalence increases significantly in patients over 70 years of age.

Summary Background. Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronically relapsing skin disease associated with the activation of T-helper 2 cells. Recent studies have shown that polymorphisms in the genes for interleukin (IL)-4, the IL-4 receptor, IL-13, and signal transducer and activator 6 (STAT6) may contribute to susceptibility of AD. To date, no cytokine gene polymorphism study has been conducted on Chinese patients with AD. Aims. To determine whether genetic polymorphisms of the cytokine genes might influence the development of AD. Methods. DNA samples were obtained from 94 patients and 186 control subjects. Using direct sequencing and microsatellite genotyping, we examined 22 polymorphisms in eight cytokine genes including the genes for IL-4, -10, -12B and -13, the IL-4 receptor, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, STAT6, and interferon (IFN)-γ. Results. No significantly different allelic and genotypic distributions of the cytokine gene polymorphisms could be found between patients and controls. Moreover, no association was observed with disease onset, gender, the presence of elevated serum total IgE level or blood eosinophilia. Conclusion. Our study suggests that the analysed genetic polymorphisms of cytokine genes do not appear to be associated with AD susceptibility in our Chinese population.

We reviewed 86 cases of bullous pemphigoid and the results were compared with those reported in the literature. Seventy-eight per cent of the patients developed generalized blisters and 22% had localized blisters, including three cases of dyshidrosiform pemphigoid and one case of pretibial pemphigoid. Oral mucosal involvement was noticed in 12.8% of the patients. Fifteen per cent of the patients had internal malignancies but the incidence was not significantly different from the control group. Direct immunofluorescence in our series showed a high positive rate of 98.8%. Indirect immunofluorescence was positive in 48.1% of the 54 patients in whom this was carried out. Peripheral blood eosinophilia was observed in 22.1% of the patients. Prednisolone alone or in combination with immunosuppressive agents was the mainstay of treatment. Treatment side-effects was observed in 33% of the patients. Thirty per cent of the patients had a complete remission after a mean follow-up period of 26.9 months. Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a chronic debilitating autoimmune blistering disease. It is characterized clinically by generalized tense bullae and histologically by subepidermal blisters. Immunofluorescence is crucial in the diagnosis and shows linear deposits of C3 and/or IgG at the basement membrane zone (BMZ). Information regarding this disease in Chinese patients is quite limited. In this study, 86 patients with BP were reviewed. The clinical and histological features, immunofluorescence, modes of therapy and outcome were studied.

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is rare on the penis. There have been only 17 cases of penile BCC reported in the literature. Eccrine differentiation may not be uncommon in BCC but has not been reported in penile BCC. We report here a 75-year-old man with multiple penile BCC with histological features of eccrine differentiation. A brief review of the literature is included. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most commonly diagnosed malignant skin tumour; it probably originates from pluripotential cells in the epidermis or hair follicle. More than 90% of BCCs are located on the head or neck, and its occurrence on the penis is rare. Seventeen cases of penile BCC have been reported in the literature.