A controlled forearm washing ex vivo method for assessing the impact of personal cleansing products on skin's acid mantle properties and antimicrobial defence against transient bacteria.

BACKGROUND: An important trend in the personal care industry involves the development of advanced personal cleaning products that not only provide skin mildness but support skin's acid mantle properties and skin's natural antimicrobial defence function. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to develop a controlled forearm washing ex vivo method for assessing the impact of personal cleansing products on skin's acid mantle properties and antimicrobial defence against transient bacteria. METHODS: We developed a controlled forearm washing ex vivo method (ex vivo NET method) to compare the impact of two representative personal cleansing products on skin's acid mantle properties and antimicrobial defence against transient bacteria: one was a low-pH skin cleanser, and the other was high-pH soap cleanser. Skin pH was measured at baseline and 4 h after the product application. Concurrently, D-squame tape stripping procedure was followed to sample the stratum corneum surface layers. Then, two selected transient bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, were inoculated onto the D-squame tapes and incubated under controlled conditions, respectively. The residual bacteria counts can provide an objective measure of skin's acid mantle properties against transient bacteria. Results from the ex vivo NET method were compared with the traditional in vivo cup-scrub RET method. RESULTS: The skin pH was significantly lower 4 h after washing the forearm with the low-pH cleanser versus the high-pH soap, consistent with literatures. Interestingly, the skin surface washed by the low-pH cleanser showed significantly higher hostility against representative transient bacteria as demonstrated by the lower counts of S. aureus by 1.09 log and E. coli by 0.6 log versus the high-pH soap based on the ex vivo NET method. Results from the ex vivo NET method were further supported by the traditional in vivo RET method which also showed the skin washed by the low-pH cleanser had significantly lower counts of S. aureus and E. coli versus the high-pH soap. CONCLUSIONS: The skin's acid mantle properties and antimicrobial defence can be directly impacted by the personal cleansing products. The low-pH skin cleanser works better than the high-pH soap for supporting skin's acid mantle properties and antimicrobial defence against transient bacteria. Results from the ex vivo NET method are consistent with the in vivo RET method. It is important that the ex vivo NET method offers many advantages since it is quicker to run with higher throughput and has better safety without the constraint of inoculating harmful microorganisms onto the human subjects.

CONTEXTE: Une tendance importante du secteur des soins personnels est de développer des produits d'hygiène personnelle sophistiqués qui non seulement rendent la peau plus douce, mais favorisent également les propriétés du manteau acide de la peau et la fonction de défense antimicrobienne naturelle de la peau. OBJECTIF: L'objectif de cette étude était de développer une méthode ex vivo de lavage contrôlé des avant-bras pour évaluer l'impact des produits d'hygiène personnelle sur les propriétés du manteau acide de la peau et la défense antimicrobienne contre les bactéries transitoires. MÉTHODES: Nous avons développé une méthode ex vivo de lavage contrôlé des avant-bras (méthode NET ex vivo) pour comparer l'impact de deux produits d'hygiène personnelle représentatifs sur les propriétés du manteau acide de la peau et la défense antimicrobienne contre les bactéries transitoires: d'une part un nettoyant pour la peau à pH faible, d'autre part un savon nettoyant à pH élevé. Le pH de la peau a été mesuré à l'entrée dans l'étude et quatre heures après l'application du produit. Parallèlement, une procédure de stripping par ruban adhésif D-Squame a été suivie pour prélever des couches de surface de la couche cornée. Ensuite, deux bactéries transitoires sélectionnées, S. aureus et E. coli, ont été inoculées sur les rubans adhésifs D-Squame et incubées dans des conditions contrôlées, respectivement. Le nombre de bactéries résiduelles peut fournir une mesure objective des propriétés du manteau acide de la peau contre les bactéries transitoires. Les résultats de la méthode NET ex vivo ont été comparés à la méthode RET in vivo traditionnelle par coupe-grattage. RÉSULTATS: Le pH de la peau était significativement inférieur quatre heures après le lavage des avant-bras avec le nettoyant à pH faible en comparaison avec le savon à pH élevé, conformément à la littérature. Il est intéressant de noter que la surface de la peau lavée au moyen du nettoyant à pH faible présentait une hostilité significativement plus élevée contre les bactéries transitoires représentatives, comme démontré par le nombre inférieur de S. aureus de 1,09 log et d'E. coli de 0,6 log, en comparaison avec le savon à pH élevé, sur base de la méthode NET ex vivo. Les résultats de la méthode NET ex vivo ont été encore par la méthode RET in vivo traditionnelle, laquelle a également démontré que la peau lavée à l'aide du nettoyant à pH faible présentait des nombres significativement plus faibles de S. aureus et d'E. coli que celle lavée à l'aide du savon à pH élevé. CONCLUSIONS: Les propriétés du manteau acide de la peau et la défense antimicrobienne peuvent être directement affectées par les produits d'hygiène personnelle. Le nettoyant de la peau à pH faible fonctionne mieux que le savon à pH élevé pour ce qui est de favoriser les propriétés du manteau acide de la peau et la défense antimicrobienne contre les bactéries transitoires. Les résultats de la méthode NET ex vivo sont cohérents avec la méthode RET in vivo. Il est important de noter que la méthode NET ex vivo offre de nombreux avantages étant donné qu'elle est plus rapide à exécuter avec une capacité plus élevée et offre une meilleure sécurité sans la contrainte d'inoculer des micro-organismes nocifs à des sujets humains.

Skin benefits of moisturising body wash formulas for children with atopic dermatitis: A randomised controlled clinical study in China.

BACKGROUND: It acknowledged that skin care is an important part of atopic dermatitis therapy. However, clinical evidences are limited for the best bathing practices, especially the skin health performance of cleansing products on children's atopic dermatitis skin. METHODS: A randomised controlled clinical study was conducted in China among 4- to 18-year-old children with mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis to evaluate the skin health effect of three cleansing systems (a mild synthetic bar, an ultra-mild body wash with lipids, and an ultra-mild body wash with lipids and zinc pyrithione) by measuring SCORing of Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD), consumption of topical corticosteroid and the characteristics of microbiome. RESULTS: Increased Staphylococcus aureus abundance and decreased microbial diversity were observed in atopic dermatitis lesion sites compared with healthy control sites. After 4 weeks of treatment, all three treatments showed clinically important improvement from baseline in SCORAD. Four-week corticosteroid consumption was significantly lower for the two body wash groups than the bar group. A significant decrease in S. aureus abundance and increase in microbial diversity were observed in the lesion sites for the two body wash formulas, while the microbial diversity was statistically insignificant for the mild cleansing bar group. However, there were no incremental benefits provided by the body wash formulas based on the assessment of SCORAD. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrated the safety and efficacy of using the investigational body wash formulas with lipids in reducing the needs for corticosteroid and improving the healthy composition of skin microbiome vs. the mild synthetic bar soap.

MCR Approach Revealing Protein, Water, and Lipid Depth Profile in Atopic Dermatitis Patients' Stratum Corneum via in Vivo Confocal Raman Spectroscopy.

Confocal Raman has been widely used for measuring the water concentration profile inside skin to calculate clinical end points, such as stratum corneum thickness. In this article, multivariate curve resolution was applied to resolve the pure components contained in high frequency (2500-4000 cm-1) in vivo confocal Raman data. Three components were identified by comparing with reference spectra of materials in skin. These three components are water, protein, and lipid. The score values associated with these three components were transformed to mass ratio by leveraging the response factors for protein and lipid in a calibration model utilizing the pure material spectra. The concentration profiles for protein and lipid as a function of depth across the stratum corneum are utilized as new clinical end points. Results from an in vivo study with individuals who experience atopic dermatitis symptoms successfully demonstrated a statistical difference between Raman spectra from nonlesion and lesion skin sites. Trends in the depth profiles of the skin components are consistent with previous literature reports.

A sequential tape stripping approach for the assessment of the impact of personal cleansing products on the stratum corneum surface layers' acid mantle properties and antimicrobial defense.

BACKGROUND: Stratum corneum (SC) plays a critical role in skin barrier function for protection and defense in nature. The acidic skin pH, which is also known as the acid mantle, is very important in fighting against outer environmental threats, especially, bacteria. Furthermore, recent research has shown that the transient bacteria could potentially penetrate into deeper layer of the SC down to a few micrometers while posing an additional threat to the deeper layers of the skin. AIM: To develop a sequential tape stripping method for assessing the impact of personal cleansing product on the SC surface layers' acid mantle properties and antimicrobial defense against transient bacteria. METHODS: Fifty-five subjects were recruited. High pH soap-based Product 1 and low pH synthetic surfactant-based Product 2 were applied on the left and right forearms of each subject. Sequential tape stripping was performed on the same spots to access multiple layers of the skin SC. Both antimicrobial defense property and skin pH of different skin layers were evaluated at baseline and 12 h after treatment. RESULTS: The skin's antimicrobial defense was significantly higher 12 h after treatment of the low pH Product 2 as compared to the treatment of high pH Product 1. In fact, this trend was consistent across all three skin layers (Layer 1 to Layer 3) as measured in this study (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the skin surface pH of Layer 1 and Layer 3 were also lower 12 h after the treatment of low pH Product 2 as compared to that of the high pH Product 1 (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The results of this investigation demonstrated the benefits of 12-h long lasting and deeper protection of SC acid mantle properties and antimicrobial defense using a low pH skin cleansing product as compared to a high pH product.

Identification of the nitrogen species on N-doped graphene layers and Pt/NG composite catalyst for direct methanol fuel cell.

Heat treatment of graphene oxide (GO) with ammonia flow at various temperatures resulted in different distribution of nitrogen species. Synchrotron based X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy provides unambiguous evidence for the presence of three nitrogen species. The Pt/NG-800 composite exhibits outstanding electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation.

Silica nanotubes with mesoporous walls and various internal morphologies using hard/soft dual templates.

Silica nanotubes with mesoporous walls of 30 nm thickness and various internal morphologies are produced using hard/soft dual templates; this hierarchical pore structure shows faster mass transportation in catalysis.

Resolving Water, Proteins, and Lipids from In Vivo Confocal Raman Spectra of Stratum Corneum through a Chemometric Approach.

Development of this in vivo confocal Raman spectroscopic method enables the direct measurement of water, proteins, and lipids with depth resolution in human subjects. This information is very important for skin-related diseases and characterizing skin care product performance. This protocol illustrates a method for confocal Raman spectra collection and the subsequent analysis of the spectral dataset leveraging chemometrics. The goal of this method is to establish a standard protocol for data collection and provide general guidance for data analysis. Preprocessing (e.g., removal of outlier spectra) is a critical step when processing large datasets from clinical studies. As an example, we provide guidance based on prior knowledge of a dataset to identify the types of outliers and develop specific strategies to remove them. A principal component analysis is performed, and the loading spectra are compared with spectra from reference materials to select the number of components used in the final multivariate curve resolution (MCR) analysis. This approach is successful for extracting meaningful information from a large spectral dataset.

Two-layered metallic film-induced surface plasmon polariton for fluorescence emission enhancement in on-chip waveguide.

We demonstrate an enhancement of fluorescence emission due to bimetallic silver-gold film-induced surface plasmon wave extension. Rhodamine B (RhB) dyes were excited by the evanescent wave field produced from surface plasmon polaritons excited on metal-deposited sections along an embedded strip waveguide. Various silver-gold combinations were used to quantify for the evanescent field enhancement. The underlying silver yields better evanescent field enhancement, while the overlying gold ensures that the stability of the sensing surface is not compromised. In comparison to the conventional single gold film surface plasmon resonance (SPR) configuration, the two-layered metallic structure is capable of enhancing the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) evanescent field considerably, as verified experimentally by the ca. 4.0 times improvement in the RhB fluorescence emission. The compact waveguide structure and improved electric field probing depth can potentially be exploited for on-chip SPR--fluorescence excitation of less concentrated fluorophore-labelled biological and chemical analytes, with a capability of massively parallel processing for high throughput screening.

[Investigation on endemic situation of schistosomiasis in infection-controlled regions in Anhui Province].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the epidemic situation of schistosomiasis in 27 counties (cities, districts) that reached the criteria of schistosomiasis infection controlled in Anhui Province. METHODS: According to the requirement of The National Assessment Scheme of Schistosomiasis, 81 administrative villages where the schistosomiasis epidemic situation was relatively heaver in above-mentioned 27 counties (1 village per town, 3 towns per county) were sampled and investigated. RESULTS: From 2012 to 2014, 81 villages were investigated, and 34,293 residents received the serum examinations, and 1,086 were positive with a positive rate of 3.17% (0.65%-9.58%), and the positives received stool examinations and the average stool positive rate was 0.37% (0-4.0%). The calculated prevalence of human infection was 0.01%. A total of 3 057 domestic animals were investigated including 438 cattle, 2,550 sheep, and 69 other animals, and no infections were detected. A total of 11,261 living Oncomelania hupensis snails were collected and detected, but no schistosome infected snails were found. Before this investigation, no infected snails were detected for more than 2 years [average 2.3 (2-6) years], and no acute schistosome infection cases were found for more than 2 years [average 4.9 (2-9) years]. CONCLUSION: The infection rates of schistosomiasis in residents and domestic animals are relatively low, and no schistosome infected snails are found in the regions.

Characterization of partially reduced graphene oxide as room temperature sensor for H2.

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) was synthesized under H(2)/Ar treatment from 100 °C to 900 °C. RGO-300 shows excellent sensitivity to H(2) and a dual sensing mode was observed. The balance between the chemical adsorption capacity and electronic conductivity, and the dominance of either electrons or holes are the key factors.

Microfluidic etching for fabrication of flexible and all-solid-state micro supercapacitor based on MnO2 nanoparticles.

Micro-supercapacitors are a promising candidate whose reliability and performances are struggling to meet the energy demands dictated by the incoming generation of miniaturized electronic devices. In this paper, we describe a facile and low-cost method for fabricating flexible and all-solid-state micro supercapacitors by microfluidic etching. The micro-supercapacitor configuration is composed of sub-10-nm-scale MnO(2) nanoparticle interdigital microelectrode fingers prepared by microfluidic etching with H(3)PO(4)-PVA thin films as both the solid-state electrolyte and the flexible substrate. The entire device shows outstanding electrochemical performances with high specific capacitance and stable cycle life, and the performance can be mostly preserved even conditions of under repeated bending. The technique we describe here is a universal method for fabricating a micro-supercapacitor, since the microfluidic etching can be extended to most active materials which can be used for energy- and power-devices, and there are many other choices for the solid electrolyte. Thus, these micro-supercapacitors provide a promising power source in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), wearable electronics and other general requirements.

[Susceptibilities of Oncomelania hupensis snails to Schistosoma japonicum miracidia from different hosts].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the susceptibilities of Oncomelania hupensis snails to Schistosoma japonicum miracidia from different hosts. METHODS: The Schistosoma japonicum eggs from different hosts, such as rabbits, cattle and mice were collected. These eggs were incubated for miracidia, respectively. Each snail from the same site was exposed to 5 miracidia of Schistosoma japonicum from different hosts. The infected snails were fed in the laboratory for two months. Then all the snails were dissected and observed under the dissecting microscope in order to know the infection rate of snails. RESULTS: In the experiment group, the infection rates of snails infected with miracidia from rabbits, cattle and mice were 1.42%, 8.67% and 19.87%, respectively, the mortality rates were 29.5%, 13.5% and 24.5%, respectively. However, the infection rates of snails in the control group were 2.63%, 2.02% and 11.66%, respectively, and the mortality rates were 24.0%, 49.5% and 18.5%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The susceptibilities of Oncomelania snails to Schistosoma japonicum miracidia from 3 kinds of hosts are significantly different.

Hydrophilic TiO2 porous spheres anchored on hydrophobic polypropylene membrane for wettability induced high photodegrading activities.

TiO(2) porous nanospheres on polypropylene (PP) films (TiO(2)/PP composite) are produced at ambient temperature. Particle/pore size match up is the key anchoring point to overcome the low affinity between hydrophilic materials and hydrophobic materials. With the hydrophilic TiO(2) catalyst evenly dispersed on a hydrophobic surface, the aqueous solution will selectively skip the substrate and wet the catalysts. Such a wettability-induced smart system maximizes the degrading activity of the TiO(2) catalyst. In photodegrading reactions, the resulting TiO(2)/PP composite film exhibits a 10 times higher activity in flow-type setup than the same TiO(2) catalyst in a traditional batch-type setup.