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A 1(1/2)-year-old boy with Langerhans cell histiocytosis presented with a frontal bone mass showing features of eosinophilic granuloma. He subsequently developed multiple asymptomatic discrete hypopigmented papules on the face, trunk and extremities, which, on histology, were confirmed as Langerhans cell histiocytosis, a presentation hitherto unreported in literature. He responded well to surgery and chemotherapy.

The clinical efficacy and safety of once daily topical administration of 1% oxiconazole cream and lotion was assessed in an open label, non comparative trial in tinea cruris, tinea corporis and tinea pedis patients. In treated patients, severity scores of erythema, pruritus, scaling, vesicles, papules and burning showed a progressive fall over a period of 4 weeks at all the study centres. With lotion, mean percentage improvement of symptoms varied from 35% (week 1) to 87.6 - 98.7% (week 4). With cream, it varied from 35% (week 1) to 82.5 - 99.5% (week 4). Overall global evaluation response showed clear, excellent and good response in 60%, 21% and 17% of the patients treated with lotion respectively. With cream, excellent and good response was observed in 71%, 10% and 16% of the patients respectively. In T. pedis patients, clear, excellent and good response was observed in 4/8, 2/8 and 1/8 patients respectively with lotion. Cream showed clear (8/15), excellent (4/15) and good (1/15) in these patients. None of the patients out of 178 enrolled, reported any side effect during the trial.

We report a rare case of acquired localized cutis laxa in a teenage boy, without any preceding skin lesions. The area affected was the midface, extending to the chin, and involving the ears, leading to a prematurely aged appearance. Only five such cases have been previously published in the literature.

The clinical efficacy and safety of once daily topical administration of 1% oxiconazole cream and lotion was assessed in an open label, non comparative trial in tinea cruris, tinea corporis and tinea pedis patients. In treated patients, severity scores of erythema, pruritus, scaling, vesicles, papules and burning showed a progressive fall over a period of 4 weeks at all the study centres. With lotion, mean percentage improvement of symptoms varied from 35% (week 1) to 87.6 - 98.7% (week 4). With cream, it varied from 35% (week 1) to 82.5 - 99.5% (week 4). Overall global evaluation response showed clear, excellent and good response in 60%, 21% and 17% of the patients treated with lotion respectively. With cream, excellent and good response was observed in 71%, 10% and 16% of the patients respectively. In T. pedis patients, clear, excellent and good response was observed in 4/8, 2/8 and 1/8 patients respectively with lotion. Cream showed clear (8/15), excellent (4/15) and good (1/15) in these patients. None of the patients out of 178 enrolled, reported any side effect during the trial.

A rare case of Hartnup disease is presented - the patient being an 11 year old school girl suffering from a typically pellagroid rash in the absence of any other signs of malnutrition. No accompanying neurological or psychiatric features are seen, but electro-encephalography revealed abnormal baseline activity. Investigations and management are detailed and the literature on Hartnup disease reviewed.

A 2 ½ year old female child presented with heterochromia irides and a depigmented macule on the hand with central hyperpigmentation. There was presence of medial eyebrow hyperplasia, broad nasal root and dystopia canthorum. The fundus on the affected side was albinotic. There was no white forelock or deafness. Biopsy from the depigmented area showed an absence of melancocytes. A diagnosis of Waardenburg′s syndrome type 1 was made.

A 3-year old girl had multiple, large, deep, infected ulcers on the extremities and buttocks for 1½ years. Additional features included malnutrition, Cushingoid facies with buffalo hump, and absence of any underlying bony involvement. Edge biopsy showed a tuberculous picture without vasculitis or acid-fast bacilli; X-ray of the chest revealed military tuberculosis. The ulcers, although atypical, healed completely and rapidly on anti-tuberculous therapy.

Malakoplakia is an uncommon granulomatous infectious disease that is found primarily in the genitourinary tract, but may rarely involve the skin. We report a case of cutaneous malakoplakia in an HIV-positive patient diagnosed on the basis of Michaelis–Gutman bodies. The patient presented with ulcers, draining sinuses and tender papules and nodules mainly on perigenital area, buttocks and right thigh.

Trichophyton violaceum , a less common and geographically restricted infection is reported in a 18-day-old neonate. The diagnosis was made by potassium hydroxide of skin scraping examination and confirmed by culture. The patient was treated successfully with miconazole nitrate application. A large family with crowded living was considered the main predisposing factor.

Twenty five patients with pemphigus vulgaris were prospectively studied for esophageal involvement by endoscopic examination. Eighteen (72%) had esophageal involvement; the majority of the lesions were bullae. Histological examination showed acantholysis of the cells and exuberant inflammation.

Background : Palmoplantar psoriasis is a frequently encountered variant of psoriasis. It is difficult to treat and even more difficult to maintain remission as it is exacerbated by friction and trauma of the patient′s daily activities. Existing topical modalities of treatment are often inadequate and show unpredictable response. Aim : To study the efficacy and safety of a newer retinoid, tazarotene, as 0.1% cream in the treatment of palmoplantar psoriasis. Materials and Methods : Thirty adult patients with palmo-plantar psoriasis were randomized to therapy with once daily application of topical tazarotene cream (0.1%) or once daily application of clobetasol propionate cream (0.05%) for 12 weeks. The patients were assessed every 2 weeks for improvement in Erythema, Scaling, Fissures and Induration (ESFI) score and Physicians Global Assessment Scale. Results : At 12 weeks, the tazarotene group showed mean ESFI reduction to 1.12 (83.2%) from 6.65 at baseline. Complete clearance was noted in 52.9% of the patients. Clobetasol propionate group showed mean ESFI reduction to 0.62 (89.1%) from 5.69 at baseline, with complete clearance in 61.5% of the patients. Differences between the two groups were statistically insignificant. Side effects observed were initial irritation (41%) in the tazarotene group and hypopigmentation (53.8%) in the steroid-treated patients. Conclusion : Tazarotene is as effective as clobetasol propionate and provides a good alternative for the treatment of palmo-plantar psoriasis where hypopigmentation limits the use of clobetasol propionate cream.

Inspection of industrial images can be a laborious task. Automating the inspection using image processing techniques works effectively only with an appropriate human interface. This paper describes a semi-automatic aircraft engine component motion registration system. Manual inspection of aircraft engine x-ray data was replaced by the use of several interactive programs running on a personal computer. This system allowed the inspector to digitize, process, tabulate, and document test image sequences without requiring image processing experience. The new environment also provided a digital replacement for the analog densitometer previously used, as well as enabling the extraction of digital templates of arbitrary size. Once two masks were selected, measurements could be performed by correlating the pair with a sequence of images, in a batch process. Calibrated measurement results were sent automatically to file, printer, or screen; hardcopy output of found templates, superimposed on individual test images was used for visual verification. Several image processing techniques for performing correlation were surveyed and three of them were implemented. Complexity, speed, and accuracy of each are presented. The methods implemented were direct normalized cross-correlation, hierarchical normalized spatial cross-correlation, and Fourier transform based cross-correlation (using an array processor). Extensions for scale and rotational invariance are also discussed. Attempts were made to fully automate the process, replacing the human expert with equivalent image understanding routines. The methods used by the expert to select templates were criteria such as edge detail, contrast, and local histograms. These strategies were applied to automatically selected templates containing desired measurement points. Results and limitations are discussed.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Mycetomas caused by true fungi are known as eumycetomas. Common causative species are Madurella, Leptosphaeria, Aspergillus, Exophiala, Fusarium, Acremonium, and Scedosporium. Aspergillus nidulans is a rare etiological agent, causing pale grain mycetoma. Only 7 cases of Aspergillus nidulans mycetoma have been reported in literature 1 from India (Rajasthan, 1985), 6 from Africa. We report this case of mycetoma because of the rarity of Aspergillus nidulans as an etiological agent. A 41 year old male shopkeeper presented with multiple painful nodules and discharging sinuses on the right upper extremity since 12 years. The affected limb was swollen and woody hard. There was a single enlarged (3 cm) firm, non-tender right axillary lymph node. There was no fever or other constitutional symptoms. The initial nodule had appeared on the distal right forearm 12 years earlier without preceding trauma. Gradually similar lesions had appeared extending up to the upper arm, breaking down discharging seropurulent material without grains. He had been treated empirically with oral antibiotics and had undergone surgical drainage of the nodules, with temporary relief. Right sided axillary lymph node dissection had been performed 10 years ago; however no organism had been detected. Routine blood investigations were normal. X-ray of the involved extremity showed soft tissue swelling without evidence of bony involvement. Histopathology from a recent discharging nodule showed a mixed inflammatory infiltrate of mononuclear cells, neutrophils, plasma cells and eosinophils along with marked thickening and fibrotic changes in the dermis. Culture from the nodules repeatedly grew Aspergillus nidulans. The patient is currently under treatment with itraconazole and potassium iodide since 1 month and, is responding well.

We report here the case of a 17 year-old girl with the classic signs of Goldenhar syndrome in the form of multiple accessory tragi, bilateral ocular dermoids, mandibular hypoplasia (micrognathia) and cervical lordosis. She also had a high arched palate, gingival hypertrophy and malaligned teeth, features which are as yet unreported.

A three month-old boy was brought by his mother with complaints of multiple reddish lesions on his trunk and face since birth. The patient had erythematous annular plaques with scaling on his extremities, palms and soles with periorbital erythema and edema giving the characteristic "eye mask" or "owl's eye" appearance. His mother did not have history of any illness. Hemogram, liver and renal function tests were within normal limits. A skin biopsy was suggestive of subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus. Immunological work-up was positive for antinuclear antibodies (ANA) (1:40) with anti-Ro titers of 3.4 and 3.47 (>1.1 = clinically significant titre) in the mother and child respectively, although negative for anti-La antibodies. The child's electrocardiogram and 2D echocardiography were normal. We are presenting a case of anti-Ro-positive cutaneous lupus erythematosus with an uncommon skin manifestation.

The standard method involves the following steps: Scraping This is a procedure in which the infected lesions are scraped to confirm the presence of fungal infection by microscopic examination. The lesions should be thoroughly cleaned free of any debris or medication by using alcohol or by washing. Separate potassium hydroxide mounts should be prepared from specimens collected from different sites. Application of little distilled water to the site usually enables easy sampling of the scales. The skin above the site should be pulled up with one hand and the scalpel edge moved across the edge of the lesion with the other. In hairy areas like scalp and beard, scraping along the edges, besides epilating short hair stubs and crusts, helps obtain a better yield.

Scintillating fibers are potentially competitive with silicon microstrip detectors for moderately high resolution ( approximately 100 mu m) particle tracking in high-energy physics experiments. Realizing this potential requires the development of a compact, efficient, and high-speed readout. The feasibility of using avalanche photodiodes (APD) for the detection of minimum-ionizing particles in submillimeter scintillating fibers is assessed. In tests to date, the expected small signal has been overwhelmed by amplifier noise. The fact that APD noise was a negligible contribution, even at an APD gain of 300, was verified by observing that the pulse-height spectrum with and without APD bias voltage showed no difference, and the RMS width of the distribution was consistent with the amplifier noise. Contemplated improvements to the apparatus include using veto counters to restrict the qVt triggers to beta rays definitely passing through the fiber (which should improve the signal-to-noise by a factor not more than approximately=(6 mm/1 mm)=6), and constructing an adjustable mount to allow optimal centering of the fiber relative to the APD's sensitive area. >