Search

Food for special medical purposes (FSMP) has received increasing attention as an enteral nutritional supplement. To investigate the effects of whole nutritional formula (WNF) containing dietary fiber and regular formula on nutritional supplementation and improvement of intestinal microecology, a rat malnutrition model was established with the formulations of WNF, FOS, and SDF (10, 20 g/kg bw) administered by gavage for 30 days. The results showed that the three formulations effectively improved the nutritional status of the malnourished rats, significantly increasing the level of IgG, increasing the abundance of Bacteroidetes, and affecting the content of propionic acid (PRO). The nutritional status of rats is closely related to growth performance, nutritional indexes, and immunoglobulin index, which cause changes in the composition of the intestinal flora. The above results showed that WNF positively affected the nutritional improvement, immune level, and intestinal health of rats. The comprehensive evaluation also suggested that the formulation containing ginseng water‐soluble dietary fiber (ginseng‐SDF) had the most significant effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The current ISO guidelines for minimal erythema dose (MED) determination require assessment of erythema area of UV‐irradiated skin sites. However, this parameter has not been adequately quantified in daily practice. The aims of this study were to investigate the dose response on the unprotected skin sites by quantifying the erythema area and intensity and to show the potential for improving the precision and consistency of MEDu determination by developing predictive models. Methods: Standard radiation tests were conducted on the back of 31 healthy Chinese volunteers and the MEDu site of each subject was clinically determined by dermatologists. Images of test sites were captured 24 h after radiation, and the erythema area (%EA) and intensity (∆a*) were measured by image analysis. The data were fitted to a logistic 3P function to obtain dose–response curves, and a set of logit (inverse‐logistic) models were then derived. An erythema area threshold of %EA = 52% was established to predict MEDu based on the clinical endpoints defined by ISO 24444:2019. Results: Analysis of the clinically determined MEDu sites revealed wide ranges of %EA (62.3 ± 15% SD) and ∆a* (2.96 ± 0.92 SD). The dose response fitted well to a logistic 3P model (mean R2 = 0.965 and 0.975 for %EA and ∆a*, respectively). Applying the area threshold, values of MEDu were determined by the logit model for the test population, which significantly improved the consistency of MEDu determination (52 ± 0% SD and 2.73 ± 0.61 SD for %EA and ∆a*, respectively). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the dose response of UV‐induced erythema can be quantified and modeled once the erythema area and intensity are measured. The results of this study show the potential to improve the precision and consistency of MEDu determination in an SPF test. The similar potential in photodermatological, therapeutic, and diagnostic applications was also implied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel consumer relevant skin index, namely ideal complexion score (ICS), was developed via modelling and a multitude of skin features including skin tone and colour homogeneity, hyperpigmentation patterns, skin surface topography/textures and skin optical properties were shown to have direct effect on it. Keywords: claim substantiation; computer modelling; image analysis; panel perception; skin ideal complexion; statistics EN claim substantiation computer modelling image analysis panel perception skin ideal complexion statistics 636 649 14 11/10/22 20221201 NES 221201 This study established a mathematical representation of consumer perception towards facial skin ideal complexion based on measurable clinical imaging cues for multiple ethnicities including Indian, Chinese, Caucasian and Latino. Matsubara et al later on evaluated human perception of facial skin radiance by successfully developing a regression model in terms of skin surface and subsurface reflection property, but the effect of skin colour components was not included in skin radiance model [22]. Ona Cula et al attempted to correlate objective skin properties such as melanin and haemoglobin content with perceived skin colour, but the study was limited to skin colour that is only a subset of perceived skin complexion [40]. [Extracted from the article]

Objectives: Translucent skin is an attribute widely appreciated by people in East Asian countries. There have been studies in the literature to describe the phenomenon by means of clinical grading, instrumental measurement and image analysis. However, due to its subjective and complex nature, skin translucency has not been comprehensively and rigorously characterized and modelled, particularly in the Chinese population. This study is to develop a mathematical model that quantitatively describes skin translucency from visual cues objectively measured from the skin. Materials and Methods: The study was designed to characterize and model skin translucency by incorporating expert evaluation, panel perception and image analysis of multiple skin visual attributes in one analysis. Faces of 36 Chinese females aged 18–65 years old were evaluated by a dermatologist to obtain clinical translucency scores. Subject pairs were formed with a relatively high and low translucency score in each pair. Their faces were judged in person by 9 panellists in paired‐comparison (2‐AFC) fashion to pick a 'more translucent skin' from each subject pair. Front‐view facial images of the subjects were taken, and multiple colour and other visually perceivable skin attributes were measured using image analysis. Bradley‐Terry analysis and multiple regressions were performed to correlate the panel choices of 'more translucent skin' with the objectively measured skin parameters. Results: Multiple skin colour properties affected the panel choices towards translucent skin. Among them skin tone lightness and skin glossiness had positive effects on skin translucency while the hue, colour unevenness, severity of red and dark spots affected it negatively. Subsurface light reflection and skin visual smoothness had some effect but were not statistically significant. A mathematical model was constructed to predict a person's skin translucency from objectively measured skin attributes. Conclusion: The subjective property of skin translucency can be characterized and quantified via a comprehensive modelling process involving clinical grading, panel evaluation, image‐based measurement of skin attributes and statistical analysis. A novel skin parameter, Skin Translucency Index (STI) was established, which provides a way to measure skin translucency, making it possible to assess treatment efficacy before and after product application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a potential risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) spread through human contact with seafood and the inanimate materials contaminated by the virus. In this study, we examined the stability of the virus in artificial seawater (ASW) and on the surface of selected materials. SARS‐CoV‐2 (3.75 log10 TCID50) in ASW at 22℃ maintained infectious about 3 days and at 4℃ the virus survived more than 7 days. It should be noticed that viable virus at high titer (5.50 log10 TCID50) may survive more than 20 days in ASW at 4℃ and for 7 days at 22℃. SARS‐CoV‐2 on stainless steel and plastic bag maintained infectious for 3 days, and on nonwoven fabric for 1 day at 22℃. In addition, the virus remained infectious for 9 days on stainless steel and non‐woven fabric, and on plastic bag for 12 days at 4℃. It is important to highlight the role of inanimate material surfaces as a source of infection and the necessity for surface decontamination and disinfection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cause of death in women throughout the world. MicroRNAs (miRNAs, miR) have been identified as key regulators in carcinogenesis of several cancers, including BC. MicroRNA‐216a (miR‐216a) is downregulated in several cancers. Here, we evaluated the effects of miRNA‐216a on breast cancer cells and the underlying mechanisms. miR‐216a level was quantified by real‐time RT‐PCR. Cell viability was analyzed by MTT assay. Wound‐healing assay was performed for detection of cell migration. Apoptosis was detected by TUNEL and caspase‐3 activity assay. Moreover, the level of protein expression was determined by Western blot. We found that miR‐216a expression was remarkably decreased in both human BC tissues and MCF‐7 cells. miR‐216a overexpression dramatically suppressed the migration and promoted the apoptosis in cultured MCF‐7 cells. We validated PKCα (protein kinase C alpha, PRKCA) as a direct target of miR‐216a. Knockdown of PKCα induced apoptosis and inhibited migration in cultured MCF‐7 cells which were reversed by miR‐216a inhibitor. Moreover, the level of miR‐216a is negatively correlated with PKCα in cell lines. Our results collectively suggest that miR‐216a suppressed migration and promoted apoptosis in breast cancer cells by targeting PKCα. These findings indicate that manipulation of miR‐216a expression may represent a novel therapeutic strategy in the treatment of breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DEP domain containing 1 (DEPDC1) protein is a novel oncoantigen upregulated in multiple types of cancers which present oncogenic activity and high immunogenicity. However, the function and therapeutic potential of DEPDC1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. In the present study, we showed that DEPDC1 was frequently upregulated in HCC and associated with cancer diagnosis and poor prognosis for HCC patients. Moreover, DEPDC1 promotes HCC cell proliferation in vitro as well as carcinogenesis in vivo. Notably, DEPDC1 overexpression also increases the neoplasm metastasis ability of HCC cells both in vivo and in vitro. Gene set enrichment analysis results showed that DEPDC1 expression is positively correlated with K‐RAS signal pathway, pathways in cancer and WNT/β‐catenin signal pathway, all of which are closely associated with specific cancer‐related gene sets. Our study provides the basis for further investigation of the molecular mechanism by which DEPDC1 promotes the development and metastasis of HCC. High expression level of DEPDC1 in HCC promotes tumor cell proliferation and metastasis and can serve as a biomarker for HCC diagnosis and prognostic evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Staphylococcus epidermidis, which is a causative pathogen of nosocomial infection, expresses its virulent traits such as biofilm and autolysis regulated by two-component signal transduction system SaeRS. In this study, the S. epidermidis SaeRS was identified to negatively regulate the expression of genes involved in competence (comF, murF), cytolysis (lrgA), and autolysis (lytS) by DNA microarray or real-time RT-PCR analysis. In addition, saeRS mutant showed increased competence and higher susceptibility to antibiotics such as penicillin and oxacillin than the wild-type strain. The study will be helpful for understanding the characterization of the SaeRS in S. epidermidis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA plasmids are potent inducers of long-lasting antigen-specific CTL responses. Little is known about the distribution of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells in the lymphoid tissue and the non-lymphoid tissue after DNA immunization. HBsAg-specific CD8+ T cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, spleen, lymph nodes, and the liver of Balb/c mice have been quantified after injection with a DNA plasmid expressing the major S protein of hepatitis B virus (HBV). The kinetics of CD8+ T-cell responses in the circulation were measured after priming and boosting, showing that antigen-specific CD8+ T cells undergo first expansion and then decline to a sustainable level in the circulation, although the frequencies of HBsAg-specific CD8+ T cells in the circulation were lower than for the spleen. The greater frequencies of HBsAg-specific CD8+ T cells were found in the liver, whereas the largest numbers of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells were found in the spleen. By day 100 after priming, HBsAg-specific CD8+ T cells were still detected in the circulation, the spleen and the liver. After boosting with the same plasmid DNA immunogen, HBsAg-specific CD8+ T cells proliferated quickly and vigorously. By 150 days after boosting, HBsAg-specific memory CD8+ T cells were sustained at higher levels than those recorded after the first, primary injection, both in the spleen and the liver: anti-HBs antibody-secreting plasma cells persisted in the bone marrow and in the spleen, consistent with the detection of anti-HBs antibodies detected in the blood. These findings indicate that DNA immunization has considerable potential for inducing specific T cell responses in the liver and offers a strategy for the development of post-exposure immunotherapy against persistent hepatitis B infections. J. Med. Virol. 80:225-232, 2008. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]