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Gas-phase doping of hydrogenated amorphous silicon by CO[sub 2] laser-assisted chemical vapor deposition of silane is reported. p-type and n-type doping has been achieved by adding controlled amounts of diborane or phosphine to the reacting mixture in a horizontal flowing gas reactor. Silane molecules decompose by direct resonant absorption of the laser radiation and contribute to the dissociation of the dopant molecules through collisional energy transfers. The occurrence of substitutional doping is confirmed by the change in the dark conductivity by several orders of magnitude as well as by the decrease of its activation energy with increasing dopant gas concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented about the case of an 86-year-old Caucasian female with malignant melanoma of the vulva and melanosis.

Background: Studies specifically conducted to assess gender differences in genital lichen sclerosus (GLS) are not available. This multicenter study aimed to identify possible gender-related differences on GLS clinical features, history and course, through collecting data from a large mixed-sex sample of patients., Methods: This was a cross-sectional study on 729 subjects (53.8% females, 46.2% males) affected with GLS, consecutively observed within a network of 15 Italian dermatology units. The following information was specifically collected: clinical features and severity of symptoms related to GLS, extragenital involvement, previous therapies, diagnostic suspicion at referral, type of referring physicians, development of genital squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC)., Results: Females complained of symptoms more frequent and severe than men; pallor and scarring-sclerosis-atrophy were the most frequent features without gender differences; itching-related signs were more frequent in females than in males as well as extragenital involvement; prior to receiving a definitive diagnosis, females received treatment more frequently than males; 40% of patients were referred with a misdiagnosis; the highest rate of correct suspected diagnosis at referral came from dermatologists than from other physicians; duration of the disease was found to predispose to SCC development., Conclusions: Our findings highlighted several gender differences on clinical presentation and symptom profile of GLS. In spite of some characteristic features, misdiagnosis at referrals was frequent.

Patients with HIV infection are more likely to develop anogenital warts compared to HIV-negative people and are susceptible to treatment failures and recurrences. We report a case of extensive vulvar warts in an HIV-positive woman successfully treated with sinecatechins ointment. After the failure of a combination of cryotherapy and imiquimod 5% cream, we started therapy with sinecatechins 10% ointment. The patient developed an intense local inflammatory reaction after three weeks that induced the discontinuation of the therapy. After two weeks, we observed a complete regression of inflammation and a reduction of genital warts. The lesions completely regressed within a few weeks, with no relapse after eight months. Sinecatechins is a standardized extract of green tea leaves, effective in the treatment of external genital and perianal warts in immunocompetent patients, but their role has not been yet studied for immunocompromised people. Our case may represent a starting point for further studies, in order to evaluate the relation between treatment dosage, side effects, and drug response in immunocompromised patients.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the demographic, behavioral and clinical features associated with newly diagnosed sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among attendees from four STI Clinics during 2011 in Tuscany, Central Italy., Methods: Electronic and non-electronic medical records of attendees were reviewed to collect socio-demographical and anamnestic characteristics of patients, and to assess the annual incidence and distribution of STIs., Results: The study included 1293 subjects, for a total number of 1394 newly diagnosed STIs. The male/female ratio was about 2:1, and Italian nationality accounted for 84.1% of the sample. MSM represented the 25.9% of the male population. Condom use was very poor in the large majority of our sample. Genital warts and non-gonococcal cervicitis and urethritis were the most frequent STIs. Anamnestic STIs were recorded in 350 subjects. When stratified for sexual preference, men who have sex with men were found at four to ten fold increased risk for syphilis, gonorrhoeae and HIV infection. New diagnoses of syphilis, gonorrhoea, urethritis and molluscum were strictly associated with infections by the same pathogens in the past (re-infections)., Conclusions: Results show that STIs in Tuscany involve a mixed young to adult population, composed by both heterosexual and homosexual subjects who practice unprotected sex and do not seem to be conscious of the associated risks, as demonstrated by the high rates of coinfections and reinfections. These findings reinforce the need for greater education and prevention efforts for HIV and other STIs among the Tuscan population.

The genitalia may be the site of non-infectious inflammatory lesions that are generally manifested as balanoposthitis and vulvovaginitis. In men, these forms constitute 50% of all balanoposthitis forms, and in women, vulvovaginitis frequency is even higher. They consist of genital locations of general skin diseases, such as psoriasis, lichen planus, lichen sclerosus, and other clinical entities with their own physiognomy, such as Zoon's balanitis-vulvitis. Diagnosis of genital non-infectious inflammatory lesions is usually made on clinical criteria. A biopsy is only necessary for the identification of clinical conditions that may simulate inflammatory form but are actually premalignant processes., (© 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The term "ectopic nail" refers to nail tissue found in a location other than in the normal nail bed. Here we report a 9-year-old girl with an asymptomatic keratotic "horn" on the tip of her left fifth finger. Present since the age of 1 month, it was misdiagnosed as a common wart and treated using liquid nitrogen cryotherapy without benefit., (© 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

We report a 60-year-old Caucasian female with a 2-year history of diffused granuloma annulare (GA), who presented for the simultaneous occurrence of genital lichen sclerosus (LS) and autoimmune thyroiditis (AT). In our opinion this combination is not just coincidental but may share similar immunopathological mechanisms.

Papular-purpuric "gloves and socks" syndrome (PPGSS), is an acute dermatosis characterized by a papular-purpuric edematous rash in a distinct ''gloves and socks'' distribution often accompanied by fever, asthenia and lymphadenophaties. It is mainly caused by parvovirus B19 (B19V) but other viruses and drugs such as trimethoprim/sulfametaxol or chemotherapics may be involved. We describe a case of PPGSS with a serologically proven B19V infection in a 42-year-old Italian kindergarten teacher suffering from acute bacterial pharyngitis Immunoglobulin M by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to parvovirus B19 were positive. Histological examination showed dermal-ipodermal inflammation with evidence of leukocytoclastic vasculitis principally interesting the small venules The cutaneous rash resolved after 2 weeks. We reported our case to support that PPGSS is an immunomediated disease and that B19V morbidity varies with the immunologic and hematologic status of the host. In addition, a patient with PPGSS might be infectious at the moment of diagnosis, with significant implication for susceptible contacts.

This report discusses the different types of apheresis used to treat skin diseases and focuses specifically on photopheresis or ECP (extracorporeal photochemotherapy). ECP is a systemic immunomodulatory therapy used successfully to treat many different, mainly autoimmune diseases such as cutaneous T-cell lymphomas, graft-versus-host disease, systemic sclerosis, atopic dermatitis, and pemphigus vulgaris. It has also proved effective against graft rejection after transplant. The exact mechanism by which the ECP performs its therapeutic activity is not yet entirely clear. However, at least 2 mechanisms have been identified that may explain the therapeutic effect. Firstly, ECP is able to induce downregulation of the self-allogeneic immune response that occurs in graft-versus-host disease, systemic sclerosis and atopic dermatitis, and secondly, it can stimulate an immune response against the neoplastic clones in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. At the Dermatology Clinic of the University of Siena, more than 100 patients with different immune-mediated diseases were treated with ECP. The results obtained are very interesting and our 20 years of experience confirm that the treatment is well tolerated. ECP can therefore be considered of great utility in the modulation of the immune system.

A 44-year-old woman with fetal thalidomide syndrome and congenital pseudoainhum of the left big toe had a 5-year history of painful nonhealing ulcers in the left malleolar region. Venous Doppler ultrasonography showed hypoagenesis of the valve flaps of the deep and superficial venous circuit. To our knowledge, this is the first description of congenital pseudoainhum associated with fetal thalidomide syndrome. The coexistence of cutaneous ulcers in our case might be coincidental but may be related to a congenital valve defect (hypoagenesis) caused by thalidomide.

Adenocarcinoma of the rete testis (ACRT) is extremely rare and has only been the subject of sporadic case reports, in most of which the neoplasm manifested as a scrotal mass with diffuse enlargement of the testis. Only a few cases of scrotal infiltration by a contiguous ACRT have been described. To our knowledge, none have reported distant skin metastases. We report a case of ACRT presenting with suprapubic skin metastases. The diagnosis was based on clinical and histopathological findings and supported by the results of immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies. We discuss the differential diagnosis to this rare entity, which include metastatic adenocarcinoma, serous tumor of the testis, and mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis.

Humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (HHM) is a common paraneoplastic syndrome, most often associated with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, esophagus, kidneys and breast, but rarely with vulval cancer. In most patients, HHM is associated with over-production of a peptide analogue of parathormone (parathyroid hormone-related protein, PTHrP). The case of a 70-year-old patient with massive squamous cell epithelioma of the vulva complicated by HHM is reported. To our knowledge, this is the first documented case with high serum concentrations of PTHrP and immunohistochemical confirmation of PTHrP production by neoplastic cells.