An in vitro evaluation of luffa cylindrica stem sap in preadipocytes and dermal fibroblasts.

BACKGROUND: Luffa cylindrica stem sap (LuCS) has been ethnopharmacologically used as a cosmetic ingredients to improve the facial condition in Asians, but there is no scientific proof about the advantages of LuCS as a supplement for skin elasticity inducer. PURPOSE: Presently, we have validated the beneficial effect of LuCS in human preadipocyte and fibroblast. METHODS: In vitro activities of LuCS on expression of cellular elastin and collagen type I were validated using Western blot analysis in human fibroblasts. Effect of LuCS on preadipocyte development was performed using MDI medium containing isobutyl-methylxanthine, dexamethasone, and insulin and then evaluated using oil red O staining. RESULTS: Treatment of LuCS stimulated the expression of cellular elastin and type I procollagen in human skin fibroblasts. Exposure to LuCS induced lipid accumulation of preadipocytes via activation of CEBP/α signaling pathway in preadipocytes. Expression of collagen I, elastin, or CEBP/α mRNA was decreased by age. 3-bromo-3-methylisoxazol-5-amine enhanced the synthesis of cellular lipid in preadipocytes. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, these results suggest the rationale of LuCS treatment in enhancing the skin condition.

Evaluating the effect of Luffa cylindrica stem sap on dermal fibroblasts; An invitro study.

Luffa cylindrica stem sap (LuCS) has been traditionally used as a facial cosmetic supplement to enhance the skin condition of Asians. However, LuCS has yet to be described and there is no solid scientific evidence regarding the use of LuCS as an anti-wrinkle agent. In the present study, we have evaluated the functional effect of LuCS and its underlying mechanisms based on scientific evidence. Treatment with LuCS stimulated the growth and migration of human skin fibroblasts. LuCS treatment activated EGFR signaling via the enhanced expression of EGFR and down-regulation of PPARγ in human skin fibroblasts. Exposure to LuCS induced the synthesis of cellular type I procollagen and elastin in consort with the down-regulation of various proteinases including MMP-1, -2 and -9 in human skin fibroblasts. LuCS treatment also reversed the skin damage induced by UV-A irradiation in human skin fibroblasts. 3-bromo-3-methylisoxazol-5-amine was identified as the functional component using UPLC-MS-MS analysis and increased production of cellular type I procollagen. Collectively, these results suggest the efficacy of LuCS supplementation in improving the skin condition via anti-wrinkle effect.

Graph analysis of proton conduction pathways in scandium-doped barium zirconate.

Understanding the relationship between the acceptor dopant size and proton conductivity in barium zirconate, BaZrO3, is important for maximizing efficiency in this promising fuel cell material. While proton conduction pathways with larger YZr ' and smaller AlZr ' defects have been explored, proton pathways with ScZr ', a defect of comparable size to the replaced ion, have not been investigated using centrality measures, periodic pathway searches, and kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC). Centrality measures in BaSc0.125Zr0.875O3 highlight a trapping region by ScZr ' and scattered high centrality regions on undoped planes. Connected long-range high centrality regions are found mainly in undoped planes for BaAl0.125Zr0.875O3 and in the dopant planes for BaY0.125Zr0.875O3. The best long-range proton conduction periodic pathways in AlZr ' and ScZr ' systems travel between dopant planes, while those for yttrium-doped BaZrO3 remained on dopant planes. KMC trajectories at 1000 K show long-range proton conduction barriers of 0.86 eV, 0.52 eV, and 0.25 eV for AlZr ', ScZr ', and YZr ' systems, respectively. Long-range periodic conduction highway limiting barrier averages correlate well with the connectivity of the most central regions in each system but ignore diffusion around the dopant and through other high centrality regions. BaSc0.125Zr0.875O3 shows an intermediate overall conduction barrier limited by trapping, which earlier experiments and simulations suggest that it can be mitigated with increased oxygen vacancy concentration.

High resolution three-dimensional flash LIDAR system using a polarization modulating Pockels cell and a micro-polarizer CCD camera.

An innovative flash LIDAR (light detection and ranging) system with high spatial resolution and high range precision is proposed in this paper. The proposed system consists of a polarization modulating Pockels cell (PMPC) and a micro-polarizer CCD camera (MCCD). The Pockels cell changes its polarization state with respect to time after a laser pulse is emitted from the system. The polarization state of the laser-return pulse depends on the arrival time. The MCCD measures the intensity of the returning laser pulse to calculate the polarization state, which gives the range. A spatial resolution and range precision of 0.12 mrad and 5.2 mm at 16 m were obtained, respectively, in this experiment.

Ethanol-Extracted Acorn Induces Anti-Inflammatory Effects in Human Keratinocyte and Production of Hyaluronic Acid in Human Fibroblasts.

Acorn (Quercus acutissima CARR.) has been used in traditional food and medicinal ethnopharmacology in Asia, and it has shown multifarious functions such as antidementia, antiobesity, and antiasthma functions. However, there is limited scientific evidence about the efficacy of acorn for ameliorating skin problems. Treatment with ethanol-extracted acorns (EeA's) ablated the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and interleukin (IL)-8 stimulated by tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in human adult low calcium high temperature (HaCaT) cells under sublethal dosages. In addition, treatment with EeA dose dependently inhibited the ex vivo hyper keratin formation induced by TNF-α in HaCaT cells in conjunction with the blockade of cytokeratin-1 (CK-1) and cytokeratin-5 (CK-5) expression. Moreover, EeA treatment stimulated the expression of hyaluronic acid (HA) expression in human fibroblasts in a dose-dependent manner. Linoleamide was identified as the functional component of EeA using preparative high-performance liquid chromatography and ultra high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry analysis, and the anti-inflammatory features and enhanced HA expression were verified. Collectively, these results suggest the efficacy of EeA supplementation in improving skin problems via anti-inflammation and upregulating HA production.

Refraction-Assisted Solar Thermoelectric Generator based on Phase-Change Lens.

Solar thermoelectric generators (STEGs), which are used for various applications, (particularly small size electronic devices), have optical concentration systems for high energy conversion efficiency. In this study, a refraction-assisted STEG (R-STEG) is designed based on phase-change materials. As the phase-change material (PCM) changes phase from solid to liquid, its refractive index and transmittance also change, resulting in changes in the refraction of the sunlight transmitted through it, and concentration of solar energy in the phase-change lens. This innovative design facilitates double focusing the solar energy through the optical lens and a phase-change lens. This mechanism resulted in the peak energy conversion efficiencies of the R-STEG being 60% and 86% higher than those of the typical STEG at solar intensities of 1 kW m(-2) and 1.5 kW m(-2), respectively. In addition, the energy stored in PCM can help to generate steady electrical energy when the solar energy was removed. This work presents significant progress regarding the optical characteristic of PCM and optical concentration systems of STEGs.

Microaerobic conversion of xylose to ethanol in recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae SX6(MUT) expressing cofactor-balanced xylose metabolic enzymes and deficient in ALD6.

Xylose is a major monosugar in cellulosic biomass and should be utilized for cost-effective ethanol production. In this study, xylose-converting ability of recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae SX6(MUT) expressing NADH-preferring xylose reductase mutant (R276H) and other xylose-metabolic enzymes, and deficient in aldehyde dehydrogenase 6 (Ald6p) were characterized at microaerobic conditions using various sugar mixtures. The reduction of air supply from 0.5vvm to 0.1vvm increased specific ethanol production rate by 75% and did not affect specific xylose consumption rate. In batch fermentations using various concentrations of xylose (50-104g/L), higher xylose concentration enhanced xylose consumption rate and ethanol productivity but reduced ethanol yield, owing to the accumulation of xylitol and glycerol from xylose. SX6(MUT) consumed monosugars in pitch pine hydrolysates and produced 23.1g/L ethanol from 58.7g/L sugars with 0.39g/g ethanol yield, which was 14% higher than the host strain of S. cerevisiae D452-2 without the xylose assimilating enzymes. In conclusion, S. cerevisiae SX6(MUT) was characterized to possess high xylose-consuming ability in microaerobic conditions and a potential for ethanol production from cellulosic biomass.

Improvement of wireless power transmission efficiency of implantable subcutaneous devices by closed magnetic circuit mechanism.

Induction coils were fabricated based on flexible printed circuit board for inductive transcutaneous power transmission. The coil had closed magnetic circuit (CMC) structure consisting of inner and outer magnetic core. The power transmission efficiency of the fabricated device was measured in the air and in vivo condition. It was confirmed that the CMC coil had higher transmission efficiency than typical air-core coil. The power transmission efficiency during a misalignment between primary coil and implanted secondary coil was also evaluated. The decrease of mutual inductance between the two coils caused by the misalignment led to a low efficiency of the inductive link. Therefore, it is important to properly align the primary coil and implanted secondary coil for effective power transmission. To align the coils, a feedback coil was proposed. This was integrated on the backside of the primary coil and enabled the detection of a misalignment of the primary and secondary coils. As a result of using the feedback coil, the primary and secondary coils could be aligned without knowledge of the position of the implanted secondary coil.