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Background Videomicroscopy can be used to observe skin capillaries easily and non-invasively. In this study, we develop an algorithm that can handle skin regions by combining color component separation methods as pre-processing based on blood vessel extraction filtering. Materials and methods Images of skin on the inner upper arm were acquired using videomicroscopy. An algorithm using independent component analysis (ICA) and the Frangi filter was constructed, and capillary regions were extracted. The capillary blood vessel extraction images were compared with ground truth to verify accuracy. An evaluation of the physiological responses of skin exposed to carbon dioxide (CO2 ) water, local heating, and methyl nicotinate was performed to test blood vessels with different mechanisms of action and layer depth. Results Based on a comparison with ground truth images, a Dice coefficient of 0.82 was calculated. In examining physiological responses to stimuli on the skin, it was found that exposure to CO2 for 2 minutes significantly increased the capillary area compared with the steady state. Conclusion An algorithm to extract capillaries from skin images using ICA and the Frangi filter method was proposed. Results suggest that this algorithm can quantitatively analyze physiological changes in capillaries on the skin surface.

Background Cutaneous blood flow plays an important role in the thermoregulation, oxygen supply, and nutritional support necessary to maintain the skin. However, there is little evidence for a link between blood flow and skin physiology. Therefore, we conducted surveys of healthy volunteers to determine the relationship(s) between dry skin properties and cutaneous vascular function. Methods Water content of the stratum corneum, transepidermal water loss, and visual dryness score were investigated as dry skin parameters. Cutaneous blood flow in the resting state, the recovery rate (RR) of skin temperature on the hand after a cold-stress test, and the responsiveness of facial skin blood flow to local cooling were examined as indices of cutaneous vascular functions. The relationships between dry skin parameters and cutaneous vascular functions were assessed. Results The RR correlated negatively with the visual dryness score of skin on the leg but correlated positively with water content of the stratum corneum on the arm. No significant correlation between the resting state of blood flow and dry skin parameters was observed. In both the face and the body, deterioration in skin dryness from summer to winter was significant in subjects with low RR. The RR correlated well with the responsiveness of facial skin blood flow to local cooling, indicating that the RR affects systemic dry skin conditions. Conclusions These results suggest that the RR but not blood flow at the resting state is associated with dry skin conditions and is involved in skin homeostasis during seasonal environmental changes.

There has been increasing concern regarding the cosmetic aspects of skin in recent years. Computational simulation can be useful in understanding the mechanism underlying skin formation. The bottom of the epidermis is called the basal layer and is very undulation. In this study, we focus on the basal layer formation. We created a particle model, which forms an undulation basal layer and regenerates the basal layer formation by numerical simulation. At first, two-dimensional basal layer formation without epidermal turnover was simulated. The results showed film shape changes and the stability, as a layer in the process of long-time with an increase and decrease of basal cells. Next, the model was applied to three-dimensional basal layer formation with epidermal turnover. As the structure of the basal layer was deformed, the upper structure of the epidermis comprising the cells divided from the basal layer also became irregular. The simulation results accurately represented and reproduced the three-dimensional basal layer formation and epidermis turnover process., 2nd Conference on Advances in Prevention and Treatment of Cancer (CAPTC 2016), March 18-20, 2016, Los Angeles, USA

Coffee polyphenols (CPPs) derived from coffee beans have beneficial effects on blood pressure and vascular endothelial function. In addition, CPPs suppress ultraviolet light induced erythema. However, the effects of CPPs on dry skin and cutaneous vascular function have not been clarified. We investigated the effects of CPPs on dry skin and the recovery rate (RR) of skin temperature after a cold-stress test as a measure of vascular function in subjects with visible scaliness in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study. The subjects were divided into two groups, the CPP group and the Placebo group. In the CPP group, the subjects ingested a beverage containing 297.8 mg CPPs every day for 4 wk. The degree of skin dryness was assessed quantitatively using a Visioscan to evaluate skin scaliness and smoothness. A subjective evaluation using a visual analog scale (VAS) of skin smoothness was also used. As a result, the scaliness and smoothness of cheek skin was significantly improved after 4 wk in the CPP group compared to the Placebo group. The improvements of the VAS score on 'skin smoothness' and the RR were also observed in the CPP group but the difference was not statistically significant. However, when the CPP group was divided into subgroups of high RR and low RR, the improvement of the RR was significant in the low RR subgroup. In conclusion, our results suggest that CPPs improve skin scaliness and play a role in cutaneous blood flow regulation after cold stress.

Objective Several studies have shown that a deterioration of skin properties, an impaired cutaneous microcirculation function and an imbalance of autonomic nervous activity are observed in smokers and in patients with diabetes mellitus or Raynaud's phenomenon. These observations suggest that skin properties are associated with cutaneous microcirculatory function and autonomic nervous activity in pathological conditions. However, there is no published evidence to support the concept that these two functions have any relationship with skin properties even in healthy subjects. In order to investigate the hypothesis that these properties are related, we conducted a survey of healthy adult subjects to investigate the relationships between cutaneous microcirculatory function and autonomic nervous activity and skin properties. Methods The hydration of the stratum corneum and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) were investigated as skin properties, and the responsiveness of skin blood flow (SkBF) to local warming was examined as an index of cutaneous microcirculatory function in 19 healthy adult male subjects. Electrocardiograms were monitored for 24 hours and heart rate variability was analyzed as indices of autonomic nervous activity, as low frequency power (LF: 0.04-0.15 Hz), high frequency power (HF: 0.15–0.40 Hz) and as a ratio of low-to-high frequency power (LF/HF) as indices of autonomic nervous activity; HF for parasympathetic activity, LF/HF for sympathovagal balance. The relationships between those indices were then analyzed. Results A moderate negative correlation was found between TEWL and the relative maximum rate of increases in the responsiveness of SkBF on local warming. A moderate positive and a moderate negative correlation were observed between TEWL and LF/HF or HF, respectively. Moreover, a moderate negative and a moderate positive correlation were shown between the responsiveness of SkBF and LF/HF or HF, respectively. The hydration of the stratum corneum showed no correlations with any indices of microcirculation or autonomic nervous activity. Conclusion These results indicate that skin barrier function, cutaneous microcirculatory function and autonomic nervous activity are mutually associated in healthy adults. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.