Background  Vitiligo is an acquired, idiopathic, and worldwide common depigmentation disorder with an estimated prevalence from 0.1 to 8%. These numbers are based on clinical population studies and field research examining inhabitants of geographically enclosed areas. Our aim was to collect all available data on the prevalence of vitiligo in the general population, paying particular attention to children/adolescent groups and adults. Materials and methods  Screening of available literature and online databases using several key words. Results  We found more than 50 studies that used several methods and subgroups of the general population. The prevalence of vitiligo ranges from 0.06 to 2.28%, whereas this was 0.0–2.16% in children/adolescents populations. Conclusions  The often cited prevalence of 8% could not be confirmed after excluding clinical patient populations. Accordingly, the worldwide prevalence of vitiligo ranges between 0.5 and 2%.

The site-selective assembly of colloidal polymer particles onto laterally patterned silane layers was studied as a model system for the object assembly process at mesoscale dimensions. The structured silane monolayers on silicon oxide substrates were fabricated by a combination of liquid-and gas-phase deposition of different trialkoxysilanes with a photolithographic patterning technique. By using this method various types of surface functionalizations such as regions with amino functions next to areas of the bare silica surface or positively charged regions of a quaternary ammonium silane surrounded by a hydrophobic octadecylsilane film could be obtained. Furthermore, a triethoxysilane with a photoprotected amino group was synthesized, which allowed direct photopatterning after monolayer preparation, leading to free NH2 groups at the irradiated regions. The different silane monolayer patterns were used to study the surface assembly behavior of carboxylated methacrylate particles by optical and scanning electron microscopy. In dependence of the assembly conditions (different surface functionalizations, pH, and drying conditions), a selective preference of the particles for a specific surface type versus others was found. Site-specific colloid adsorption could be observed also on the photosensitive silane layers after local deprotection with light. From the photosensitive silane and positively charged ammonium silane, molecularly mixed monolayers were prepared, which allowed particle adsorption and photoactivation within the same monolayer as shown by fluorescence labeling.O ne of the major driving forces in modern technology is based on the desire for miniaturization, which leads to smaller and lighter devices and a higher number of functional units per volume element. This tendency is prevalent particularly in microelectronics, optics, and sensors. Fabrication methods for small parts and structuring techniques have been developed very far, entering now the regime of nanoscopic dimensions (1, 2). Integrating individual objects of such dimensions into more complex structures and devices, on the other hand, represents a key challenge. Especially for the interfacing of nanoscopic devices with the macroscopic world, a large number of hierarchical organization levels are required to be implemented and controlled to actually use such small devices. One strategy toward attaining this goal emerges from the application of self-organization and assembly concepts that are ubiquitously present in the biological world and used successfully in supramolecular chemistry. Based on these principles several methods for the assembly of objects into two-and three-dimensional structures have been demonstrated at length scales from several nanometers up to millimeters (3-11). Most of these methods rely on shape complementarity of the objects, the surface tension at the interface of an auxiliary liquid and the object surfaces, and specific molecular interactions between the individual objects.A refined strategy for the assembly of mesos...

The receptor for lipopolysaccharide LPS (CD14) exists in a membrane-associated (mCD14) and a soluble form (sCD14). Previous studies indicate that monocytes produce sCD14 by limited proteolysis of the membrane-bound receptor. In this study we demonstrate that human monocytes also produce sCD14 by a protease-independent mechanism. To investigate the molecular nature of this second pathway we studied sCD14 formation in the monocytic cell line Mono Mac 6 (MM6) and in CD14 transfectants. Both MM6 and the CD14 transfectants constitutively produce sCD14 by a protease-independent mechanism. Structural analysis of sCD14 produced by the CD14 transfectants reconfirmed the presence of the COOH terminus predicted from the cDNA. Since glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor attachment is associated with the removal of a hydrophobic C-terminal signal peptide, our finding demonstrates that the transfectants secrete sCD14 which escaped this posttranslational modification. Identical results obtained for sCD14 derived from peritoneal dialysis fluid of a patient with kidney dysfunction show the in vivo relevance of this pathway for sCD14 production.

A systematic muon-spin-rotation (@+SR) study is presented of the temperature dependence of the London penetration depth in sintered powder samples of the YBa2Cu30"system and related compounds.The in-plane penetration depth A, ,b is estimated from the p SR depolarization rate of Bi2Sr2CaCu&08+&, YBa2Cu408, and a series of samples of the YBa2Cu30" family, respectively. It is found that not only the low-temperature value A, ,b(0), but also the temperature behavior A, ,b(T) is specific to each compound.The form of A, ,b( T) can be well characterized by a simple power law. In particular, the YBa2Cu30" family shows a systematic variation of the form of A, ,b ( T) with the oxygen content x which points to a varying coupling strength, whereas A, ,b (0) as a function of x suggests a positive charge transfer into the CuO& planes with increasing oxygen doping. Furthermore, our data is consistent with an empirical ansatz which has been proposed in the framework of a Bose-gas picture of high-temperature superconductivity. As a consequence, the pressure and the isotope coefficients can be extracted from the p+SR depolarization rate and compared to direct measurements of these quantities, showing good agreement. Moreover, in the Bose-gas picture the variation of A. b(T) in the YBa2Cu30" family may be interpreted as a crossover from a dense (high-T, ) to a dilute (low-T, ) system of weakly interacting local pairs.

No abstract