Ultrasonographic analysis of facial skin thickness in relation to age, site, sex, and body mass index.

BACKGROUND: Numerous nonsurgical but invasive cosmetic procedures are performed blindly in the dermis or subcutaneous fat layer of the facial skin. OBJECTIVES: To measure the numerical skin thickness of the facial areas where dermatological procedures are performed by applying ultrasound techniques, and to make it possible to estimate the skin thickness by investigating the influence of several individual constitutional factors such as age, sex, and body mass index (BMI), so that these variables can be applied to estimate skin thickness. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Skin thickness was measured at eight different facial points using an ultrasound machine (Affiniti 50; Philips Inc.). Demographic data were gathered using questionnaires. Manual BMI was calculated from the weight and height of each participant, and individual BMI measurements were performed using a body composition analyzer. RESULTS: In terms of whole skin thickness, the thickest point was the mouth corner, and the thinnest point was the lateral forehead. The thickest point in the epidermis was the chin, and the thinnest point was the nasolabial fold. The thickest point in the dermis was the corner of the mouth, and the thinnest was the lateral forehead. Full skin thickness and dermal thickness were mostly lower in females. Skin thickness was not significantly correlated with BMI. CONCLUSION: The skin thickness at different points on the face was variable, and realistic data about skin thickness can be obtained by in vivo ultrasonographic analysis of the skin.

The effects of biopolymer encapsulation on total lipids and cholesterol in egg yolk during in vitro human digestion.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of biopolymer encapsulation on the digestion of total lipids and cholesterol in egg yolk using an in vitro human digestion model. Egg yolks were encapsulated with 1% cellulose, pectin, or chitosan. The samples were then passed through an in vitro human digestion model that simulated the composition of mouth saliva, stomach acid, and the intestinal juice of the small intestine by using a dialysis tubing system. The change in digestion of total lipids was monitored by confocal fluorescence microscopy. The digestion rate of total lipids and cholesterol in all egg yolk samples dramatically increased after in vitro human digestion. The digestion rate of total lipids and cholesterol in egg yolks encapsulated with chitosan or pectin was reduced compared to the digestion rate of total lipids and cholesterol in other egg yolk samples. Egg yolks encapsulated with pectin or chitosan had lower free fatty acid content, and lipid oxidation values than samples without biopolymer encapsulation. Moreover, the lipase activity decreased, after in vitro digestion, in egg yolks encapsulated with biopolymers. These results improve our understanding of the effects of digestion on total lipids and cholesterol in egg yolk within the gastrointestinal tract.

Periodontal disease does not increase the risk of subsequent psoriasis.

Previous studies suggested that chronic periodontitis may be a risk factor for psoriasis. However, no study has confirmed this relationship for all stages of periodontal disease (gingivitis and periodontitis). This nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study aimed to investigate whether periodontal disease is an independent risk factor for the development of subsequent psoriasis. Patients aged ≥ 20 years who underwent both medical and oral checkups from the National Health Screening Program between 2002 and 2007 were selected from a customized database provided by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS). Then, patients with periodontal disease (n = 3,682,468) and without periodontal disease (control, n = 3,637,128) according to oral examination results were identified. We tracked each patient for subsequent psoriasis diagnosis until the end of 2018 using NHIS database. The incidence rates of psoriasis per 1000 person-years were 0.36 and 0.34 in the periodontal disease group and control groups, respectively. After adjusting for potential cofactors, no significant increase in risk (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.994; 95% confidence interval, 0.974-1.015) was observed. Similar results were observed when analyzing the risk of psoriasis in patients who required scaling or periodontal surgery. In conclusion, periodontal disease is not an independent risk factor of psoriasis.

Fabrication and characterization of microfluidic liver-on-a-chip using microsomal enzymes.

Biotransformation in the liver plays an important role in determining the pharmacokinetic profile of drugs and food components. Current in vitro platforms for testing the liver metabolism suffers from the lack of resemblance to the human liver metabolism, mainly due to the lost metabolic activity of cultured hepatocytes and the absence of transport phenomena that occurs in the liver tissue. Here we report a microfluidic device with liver microsome encapsulated in 3-D hydrogel matrix, which can mimic the metabolism reaction and the transport phenomena in the liver. Photopolymerization of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEG-DA) allows controlling the mass transfer with matrix sizes, and a gravity-induced passive flow can reproduce the blood flow through the liver. We measured the reaction kinetics of P450 enzymes in the device, and simulated the convection-diffusion-reaction characteristics inside the device with a mathematical model. Combination of mathematical analytical tool and the experimental tool allowed us to analyze and optimize the reaction kinetics inside the microfluidic chip. This novel in vitro platform can serve as a tool for screening the liver metabolism of various compounds.

Comparison of endothelialization and neointimal formation with stents coated with antibodies against CD34 and vascular endothelial-cadherin.

Vascular endothelial-cadherin (VE-cadherin) is exclusively expressed on the late endothelial progenitor cells (EPC). Therefore, VE-cadherin could be an ideal target surface molecule to capture circulating late EPC. In the present study, we evaluated whether anti-VE-cadherin antibody-coated stents (VE-cad stents) might accelerate endothelial recovery and reduce neointimal formation more than anti-CD34 antibody-coated stents (CD34 stents) through the superior ability to capture the late EPC. The stainless steel stents were coated with anti-human VE-cadherin antibodies or anti-human CD34 antibodies under the same condition. In vitro, VE-cad stents showed higher number of adhering EPC (823.6 ± 182.2 versus 379.2 ± 137.2 cells per HPF, p < 0.001). VE-cad stents also demonstrated better specific capturing of cells with endothelial lineage markers than CD34 stents did in flow cytometric analysis. VE-cad stents showed more effective re-endothelialization after 1 h, 24 h, and 3 days in vivo. At 42 days, VE-cad stents demonstrated significantly smaller neointima area (0.92 ± 0.38 versus 1.24 ± 0.41 mm(2), p = 0.002) and significantly lower PCNA positive cells in neointima (1684.8 ± 658.8/mm(2) versus 2681.7 ± 375.1/mm(2), p = 0.008), compared with CD34 stents. In conclusion, VE-cad stents captured EPC and endothelial cells more selectively in vitro, accelerated re-endothelialization over stents, and reduced neointimal formation in vivo, compared with CD34 stents.