Talk to us about your skin: The relationship between spoken language and haptic exploratory procedures.

OBJECTIVE: To enhance satisfaction, the cosmetics industry needs to clearly understand consumers' descriptions of their key tactile preferences. It is difficult for researchers to understand verbal descriptions from people whose native language is different from their own. Previous research has implied that some sensory words with the same lexical meanings have been observed in different haptic exploratory procedures (HEPs). Therefore, our study aims to investigate and understand the key tactile perceptions of people from five different countries based on their descriptions and their HEPs. METHODS: In Experiment 1, 1545 participants living in the US, Japan, China, Italy, and Thailand described their major tactile perceptions as efficacy in skincare, and we analysed the frequency of each word used in their answers. In Experiment 2, we confirmed the task to observe HEPs for Chinese, Italian, and Thai participants. A total of 24 participants in China, 33 participants in Italy, and 30 participants in Thailand freely explored their faces with their hands and answered which side more closely matched the major tactile adjectives. Experts classified the observed HEPs into six classifications within two categories and three contact area sizes and investigated the cultural differences. RESULTS: More than 2% of the Chinese, Italian, Thai, US, and Japanese participants described 33, 20, 29, 22, and 18 words, respectively, as efficacy in skincare. Verified words that described the major tactile perceptions in each native language had the same meanings as moistness, firmness, softness, smoothness, and so on. We could confirm the HEPs of these major feelings for the participants from each culture. Chinese and Thai participants' HEPs for moistness or softness were observed with a pressing movement. Conversely, Italian participants' HEPs for moistness or softness were observed with a rubbing movement. CONCLUSION: This study showed that words with the same lexical meanings evoked different HEPs. The results imply that different HEPs can provide different physical stimuli on the skin. Therefore, it is important to survey both objects and HEPs to better understand the tactile experience.

OBJECTIF: Pour améliorer la satisfaction, l'industrie cosmétique doit bien comprendre les descriptions que font les consommateurs de leurs principales préférences tactiles. Il est difficile pour les chercheurs de comprendre les descriptions verbales des personnes dont la langue maternelle est différente de la leur. Des recherches antérieures ont suggéré que certains mots sensoriels ayant les mêmes significations lexicales ont été observés dans différentes procédures exploratoires haptiques (PEH). Par conséquent, notre étude vise à étudier et à comprendre les perceptions tactiles clés des personnes de cinq pays différents en fonction de leurs descriptions et de leurs PEH. MÉTHODES: Dans l'expérience 1 545 participantes vivant aux États-Unis, au Japon, en Chine, en Italie et en Thaïlande ont décrit leurs principales perceptions tactiles comme l'efficacité dans les soins de la peau, et nous avons analysé la fréquence de chaque mot utilisé dans leurs réponses. Dans l'expérience 2, nous l'avons confirmé en observant les PEH pour les participantes chinoises, italiennes et thaïs. 24 participantes en Chine, 33 participantes en Italie et 30 participantes en Thaïlande ont librement exploré leur visage avec leurs mains et ont répondu à la question de savoir quel côté correspondait le mieux aux principaux adjectifs tactiles. Les experts ont classé les PEH observées en six classifications dans deux catégories et trois tailles de surface de contact, et ont étudié les différences culturelles. RÉSULTAT: Plus de deux pour cent des participantes chinoises, italiennes, thaïs, américaines et japonaises ont décrit 33, 20, 29, 22 et 18 mots, respectivement, comme une efficacité dans les soins de la peau. Les mots vérifiés qui décrivaient les principales perceptions tactiles dans chaque langue maternelle ayant les mêmes significations sont l'humidité, la fermeté, la douceur, la texture lisse, etc. Nous avons pu confirmer les PEH de ces sensations majeures pour les participants de chaque culture. Les PEH des participantes chinoises et thaïs pour l'humidité ou la douceur ont été observées avec un mouvement de pression. A l'inverse, les PEH pour l'humidité ou la douceur des participantes italiennes ont été observées avec un mouvement de frottement. CONCLUSION: Cette étude a montré que les mots ayant les mêmes significations lexicales évoquaient différentes PEH. Les résultats impliquent que différentes PEH peuvent fournir différents stimuli physiques sur la peau. Par conséquent, il est important d'étudier les objets et les PEH pour mieux comprendre l'expérience tactile.

Effects of N-acetyl-L-tryptophan on desorption of the protein-bound uremic toxin indoxyl sulfate and effects on uremic sarcopenia.

INTRODUCTION: Indoxyl sulfate (IS) is a protein-bound uremic toxin that causes uremic sarcopenia. IS has poor dialysis clearance; however, the addition of a binding competitor improves its removal efficiency. METHODS: Dialysis experiments were performed using N-acetyl-l-tryptophan (L-NAT) instead of l-tryptophan (Trp) using pooled sera obtained from dialysis patients. The molecular structures of L-NAT and Trp were similar to that of IS. Therefore, we examined whether Trp and L-NAT were involved in muscle atrophy in the same manner as IS by performing culture experiments using a human myotube cell line. RESULTS: The removal efficiency of L-NAT was the same as that of Trp. However, L-NAT concentrations in the pooled sera increased at the end of the experiment. Trp (1 mM) decreased the area of human myocytes, similar to IS, whereas L-NAT did not. CONCLUSION: L-NAT is a binding competitor with the ability to remove protein-bound IS while preventing sarcopenia.

Blockade of glucagon increases muscle mass and alters fiber type composition in mice deficient in proglucagon-derived peptides.

AIMS/INTRODUCTION: Glucagon is secreted from pancreatic α-cells and plays an important role in amino acid metabolism in liver. Various animal models deficient in glucagon action show hyper-amino acidemia and α-cell hyperplasia, indicating that glucagon contributes to feedback regulation between the liver and the α-cells. In addition, both insulin and various amino acids, including branched-chain amino acids and alanine, participate in protein synthesis in skeletal muscle. However, the effect of hyperaminoacidemia on skeletal muscle has not been investigated. In the present study, we examined the effect of blockade of glucagon action on skeletal muscle using mice deficient in proglucagon-derived peptides (GCGKO mice). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Muscles isolated from GCGKO and control mice were analyzed for their morphology, gene expression and metabolites. RESULTS: GCGKO mice showed muscle fiber hypertrophy, and a decreased ratio of type IIA and an increased ratio of type IIB fibers in the tibialis anterior. The expression levels of myosin heavy chain (Myh) 7, 2, 1 and myoglobin messenger ribonucleic acid were significantly lower in GCGKO mice than those in control mice in the tibialis anterior. GCGKO mice showed a significantly higher concentration of arginine, asparagine, serine and threonine in the quadriceps femoris muscles, and also alanine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glycine and lysine, as well as four amino acids in gastrocnemius muscles. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that hyperaminoacidemia induced by blockade of glucagon action in mice increases skeletal muscle weight and stimulates slow-to-fast transition in type II fibers of skeletal muscle, mimicking the phenotype of a high-protein diet.

Skin Cold Stimulation Can Modulate the Perceptual Rating of Musical Chords.

We studied the effect of cutaneous cold stimulus on the perceptual rating of musical chords. Despite the shown influence of music and tactile stimuli on human psychological evaluation, the effect of a cold stimulus on sound perception remains underexplored. We examined the effect of a cold stimulus on four psychological measures (frisson, arousal, pleasantness, and valence) as participants listened to two-note chords (consonance and dissonance). The cold-stimulus condition involved an experimenter touching the back of the participant's neck with a cooling device while listening to the sounds, while the control condition used a cooling device with the power off. For the frisson and arousal measures, the main effect of the stimulus condition was significant, showing that the cold stimulus increased the frisson and arousal measures. For the pleasantness and valence measures, there was a significant main effect of two-note chords, showing that a consonance was perceived as more pleasant than a dissonance; however, there was no significant main effect of stimulus condition, showing that the cold stimulus did not affect pleasantness and valence ratings. The results showed that a cold stimulus could bias frisson and arousal without affecting pleasantness and valence ratings when listening to musical sound.

Simultaneous loss of skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain IIx and IIb causes severe skeletal muscle hypoplasia in postnatal mice.

The skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain (MyHC) is a fundamental component of the sarcomere structure and muscle contraction. Two of the three adult fast MyHCs, MyHC-IIx and MyHC-IIb, are encoded by Myh1 and Myh4, respectively. However, skeletal muscle disorders have not yet been linked to these genes in humans. MyHC-IIb is barely detectable in human skeletal muscles. Thus, to characterize the molecular function of skeletal muscle MyHCs in humans, investigation of the effect of simultaneous loss of MyHC-IIb and other MyHCs on skeletal muscle in mice is essential. Here, we generated double knockout (dKO) mice with simultaneous loss of adult fast MyHCs by introducing nonsense frameshift mutations into the Myh1 and Myh4 genes. The dKO mice appeared normal after birth and until 2 weeks of age but showed severe skeletal muscle hypoplasia after 2 weeks. In 3-week-old dKO mice, increased expression of other skeletal muscle MyHCs, such as MyHC-I, MyHC-IIa, MyHC-neo, and MyHC-emb, was observed. However, these expressions were not sufficient to compensate for the loss of MyHC-IIb and MyHC-IIx. Moreover, the aberrant sarcomere structure with altered expression of sarcomere components was observed in dKO mice. Our findings imply that the simultaneous loss of MyHC-IIb and MyHC-IIx is substantially detrimental to postnatal skeletal muscle function and will contribute to elucidating the molecular mechanisms of skeletal muscle wasting disorders caused by the loss of skeletal muscle MyHCs.

With a Hint of Sudachi: Food Plating Can Facilitate the Fondness of Food.

Among the senses of food, our subjective sense of taste is significantly influenced by our visual perception. In appetite science, previous research has reported that when we estimate quality in daily life, we rely considerably on visual information. This study focused on the multimodal mental imagery evoked by the visual information of food served on a plate and examined the effect of the peripheral visual information of garnish on the sensory impression of the main dish. A sensory evaluation experiment was conducted to evaluate the impressions of food photographs, and multivariate analysis was used to structure sensory values. It was found that the appearance of the garnish placed on the plates close to the main dish contributes to visual appetite stimulants. It is evident that color, moisture, and taste (sourness and spiciness) play a major role in the acceptability of food. To stimulate one's appetite, it is important to make the main dish appear warm. These results can be used to modulate the eating experience and stimulate appetite. Applying these results to meals can improve the dining experience by superimposing visual information with augmented reality technology or by presenting real appropriate garnishes.

Collagen-VI supplementation by cell transplantation improves muscle regeneration in Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy model mice.

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) function as supportive cells on skeletal muscle homeostasis through several secretory factors including type 6 collagen (COL6). Several mutations of COL6A1, 2, and 3 genes cause Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy (UCMD). Skeletal muscle regeneration deficiency has been reported as a characteristic phenotype in muscle biopsy samples of human UCMD patients and UCMD model mice. However, little is known about the COL6-dependent mechanism for the occurrence and progression of the deficiency. The purpose of this study was to clarify the pathological mechanism of UCMD by supplementing COL6 through cell transplantation. METHODS: To test whether COL6 supplementation has a therapeutic effect for UCMD, in vivo and in vitro experiments were conducted using four types of MSCs: (1) healthy donors derived-primary MSCs (pMSCs), (2) MSCs derived from healthy donor induced pluripotent stem cell (iMSCs), (3) COL6-knockout iMSCs (COL6KO-iMSCs), and (4) UCMD patient-derived iMSCs (UCMD-iMSCs). RESULTS: All four MSC types could engraft for at least 12 weeks when transplanted into the tibialis anterior muscles of immunodeficient UCMD model (Col6a1KO) mice. COL6 protein was restored by the MSC transplantation if the MSCs were not COL6-deficient (types 1 and 2). Moreover, muscle regeneration and maturation in Col6a1KO mice were promoted with the transplantation of the COL6-producing MSCs only in the region supplemented with COL6. Skeletal muscle satellite cells derived from UCMD model mice (Col6a1KO-MuSCs) co-cultured with type 1 or 2 MSCs showed improved proliferation, differentiation, and maturation, whereas those co-cultured with type 3 or 4 MSCs did not. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that COL6 supplementation improves muscle regeneration and maturation in UCMD model mice.

Temporal coherency of mechanical stimuli modulates tactile form perception.

The human hand can detect both form and texture information of a contact surface. The detection of skin displacement (sustained stimulus) and changes in skin displacement (transient stimulus) are thought to be mediated in different tactile channels; however, tactile form perception may use both types of information. Here, we studied whether both the temporal frequency and the temporal coherency information of tactile stimuli encoded in sensory neurons could be used to recognize the form of contact surfaces. We used the fishbone tactile illusion (FTI), a known tactile phenomenon, as a probe for tactile form perception in humans. This illusion typically occurs with a surface geometry that has a smooth bar and coarse textures in its adjacent areas. When stroking the central bar back and forth with a fingertip, a human observer perceives a hollow surface geometry even though the bar is physically flat. We used a passive high-density pin matrix to extract only the vertical information of the contact surface, suppressing tangential displacement from surface rubbing. Participants in the psychological experiment reported indented surface geometry by tracing over the FTI textures with pin matrices of the different spatial densities (1.0 and 2.0 mm pin intervals). Human participants reported that the relative magnitude of perceived surface indentation steeply decreased when pins in the adjacent areas vibrated in synchrony. To address possible mechanisms for tactile form perception in the FTI, we developed a computational model of sensory neurons to estimate temporal patterns of action potentials from tactile receptive fields. Our computational data suggest that (1) the temporal asynchrony of sensory neuron responses is correlated with the relative magnitude of perceived surface indentation and (2) the spatiotemporal change of displacements in tactile stimuli are correlated with the asynchrony of simulated sensory neuron responses for the fishbone surface patterns. Based on these results, we propose that both the frequency and the asynchrony of temporal activity in sensory neurons could produce tactile form perception.

Mechanical Properties and Reliability of Parametrically Designed Architected Materials Using Urethane Elastomers.

Achieving multiple physical properties from a single material through three-dimensional (3D) printing is important for manufacturing applications. In addition, industrial-level durability and reliability is necessary for realizing individualized manufacturing of devices using 3D printers. We investigated the properties of architected materials composed of ultraviolet (UV)-cured urethane elastomers for use as insoles. The durability and reliability of microlattice and metafoam architected materials were compared with those composed of various foamed materials currently used in medical insoles. The hardness of the architected materials was able to be continuously adjusted by controlling the design parameters, and the combination of the two materials was effective in controlling rebound resilience. In particular, the features of the architected materials were helpful for customizing the insole properties, such as hardness, propulsive force, and shock absorption, according to the user's needs. Further, using elastomer as a component led to better results in fatigue testing and UV resistance compared with the plastic foam currently used for medical purposes. Specifically, polyethylene and ethylene vinyl acetate were deformed in the fatigue test, and polyurethane was mechanically deteriorated by UV rays. Therefore, these architected materials are expected to be reliable for long-term use in insoles.

An Analysis of Differentially Expressed Coding and Long Non-Coding RNAs in Multiple Models of Skeletal Muscle Atrophy.

The loss of skeletal muscle mass (muscle atrophy or wasting) caused by aging, diseases, and injury decreases quality of life, survival rates, and healthy life expectancy in humans. Although long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been implicated in skeletal muscle formation and differentiation, their precise roles in muscle atrophy remain unclear. In this study, we used RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) to examine changes in the expression of lncRNAs in four muscle atrophy conditions (denervation, casting, fasting, and cancer cachexia) in mice. We successfully identified 33 annotated lncRNAs and 18 novel lncRNAs with common expression changes in all four muscle atrophy conditions. Furthermore, an analysis of lncRNA-mRNA correlations revealed that several lncRNAs affected small molecule biosynthetic processes during muscle atrophy. These results provide novel insights into the lncRNA-mediated regulatory mechanism underlying muscle atrophy and may be useful for the identification of promising therapeutic targets.

A new murine ileostomy model: recycling stool prevents intestinal atrophy in the distal side of ileostomy.

OBJECTIVES: Proximal stoma creation in neonates results in growth failure and distal intestinal atrophy. "Recycling stool" consists of stool injection from the proximal limb to the distal limb of a stoma. Because this method may prevent distal bowel atrophy and increase body weight, we investigated the effects of recycling stool upon distal intestinal mucosa by generating an ileostomy model in rats. METHODS: An ileostomy was created 5 cm proximal to the cecum in male Wistar/ST rats. Discharged stool or saline was injected into the distal limb, twice per day for 7 days. The intestinal adaptation was assessed by measuring the villus height and counting goblet cell number. Proliferation and apoptosis were analyzed by Ki67 and TUNEL immunostaining. RESULTS: The ratios of the height of the distal villi (D) to the that of proximal villi (P) were 0.97 (median [range] of D and P length: 421 [240-729] µm and 436 [294-638] µm, P<0.05) in the stool-injected group and 0.81 in the saline-injected group (442 [315-641] µm and 548 [236-776] µm, P<0.05). Compared with the saline-injected group, the stool-injected group showed elevated numbers of goblet cells (3.6 [2.0-7.6] vs. 4.9 [2.4-7.5] cells/100-µm villus length) and Ki67-positive cells (26.8% [13.8%-35.4%] vs. 40.1% [31.2%-45.7%]), along with a reduced number of apoptotic cells (5.0 [2.0-14.0] vs. 4.0 [1.0-9.0] cells/100-µm villus length). CONCLUSIONS: Recycling stool prevented distal intestinal atrophy; this experimental design may facilitate further studies concerning alternative methods to prevent intestinal atrophy and growth failure.

Myoparr-Associated and -Independent Multiple Roles of Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein K during Skeletal Muscle Cell Differentiation.

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) regulate cell physiology via the formation of ribonucleic-protein complexes with coding and non-coding RNAs. RBPs have multiple functions in the same cells; however, the precise mechanism through which their pleiotropic functions are determined remains unknown. In this study, we revealed the multiple inhibitory functions of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNPK) for myogenic differentiation. We first identified hnRNPK as a lncRNA Myoparr binding protein. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments showed that hnRNPK repressed the expression of myogenin at the transcriptional level. The hnRNPK-binding region of Myoparr was required to repress myogenin expression. Moreover, hnRNPK repressed the expression of a set of genes coding for aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases in a Myoparr-independent manner. Mechanistically, hnRNPK regulated the eIF2α/Atf4 pathway, one branch of the intrinsic pathways of the endoplasmic reticulum sensors, in differentiating myoblasts. Thus, our findings demonstrate that hnRNPK plays lncRNA-associated and -independent multiple roles during myogenic differentiation, indicating that the analysis of lncRNA-binding proteins will be useful for elucidating both the physiological functions of lncRNAs and the multiple functions of RBPs.

Desloratadine inhibits heterotopic ossification by suppression of BMP2-Smad1/5/8 signaling.

Heterotopic ossification (HO) is a pathological condition in which ectopic bone forms within soft tissues such as skeletal muscle. Human platelet-derived growth factor receptor α positive (PDGFRα+) cells, which were proved to be the original cells of HO were incubated in osteogenic differentiation medium with Food and Drug Administration-approved compounds. Alkaline phosphatase activity was measured as a screening to inhibit osteogenic differentiation. For the compounds which inhibited osteogenic differentiation of PDGFRα+ cells, we examined dose dependency of its effect using alizarin red S staining and its cell toxicity using WST-8. In addition, regulation of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP)-Smad signaling which is the major signal of osteogenic differentiation was investigated by Western blotting to elucidate the mechanism of osteogenesis inhibitory effect by the compound. In vivo experiment, complete transverse incision of Achilles tendons in mice was made and mice were fed the compound by mixing with drinking water after operation. Ten weeks after operation, we assessed and quantified HO by micro-computed tomography scan. Intriguingly, we discovered desloratadine inhibited osteogenic differentiation of PDGFRα+ cells using the drug repositioning method. Desloratadine inhibited osteogenic differentiation of the cells dose dependently without cell toxicity. Desloratadine suppressed phosphorylation of Smad1/5/8 induced by BMP2 in PDGFRα+ cells. In Achilles tenotomy mice model, desloratadine treatment significantly inhibited ectopic bone formation compared with control. In conclusion, we discovered desloratadine inhibited osteogenic differentiation using human PDGFRα+ cells and proved its efficacy using Achilles tenotomy ectopic bone formation model in vivo. Our study paved the way to inhibit HO in early clinical use because of its guaranteed safety.

Comprehensive analysis of elemental distribution in human skin using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

BACKGROUND: Multiple chemical elements play roles in skin homeostasis. The distribution of elements in skin has been studied by X-ray microanalysis methods and fluorescence microscopy using chemical indicators, but the former requires complicated sample preparation steps, while the latter is limited by the availability of suitable chemical indicators. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We applied laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to measure the distributions of thirty-eight elements in human skin. RESULTS: Among the target elements, nine (calcium: 40 Ca, 44 Ca, zinc: 64 Zn, 66 Zn, phosphorus: 31 P, potassium: 39 K, sodium: 23 Na, sulfur: 34 S, copper: 63 Cu, magnesium: 24 Mg, and iron: 56 Fe) showed distribution patterns that were consistent with previous reports, and four others (iodine: 127 I, barium: 138 Ba, strontium: 88 Sr, and molybdenum: 95 Mo) were detected for the first time in human skin. CONCLUSION: The method described here requires only slicing into sections to prepare a sample for measurement, so the elemental distributions are minimally disturbed, and comprehensive information can be obtained rapidly. The method is expected to be useful for research in a variety of fields, including skin diseases, aging, and allergenicity.

Mesenchymal Bmp3b expression maintains skeletal muscle integrity and decreases in age-related sarcopenia.

Age-related sarcopenia constitutes an important health problem associated with adverse outcomes. Sarcopenia is closely associated with fat infiltration in muscle, which is attributable to interstitial mesenchymal progenitors. Mesenchymal progenitors are nonmyogenic in nature but are required for homeostatic muscle maintenance. However, the underlying mechanism of mesenchymal progenitor-dependent muscle maintenance is not clear, nor is the precise role of mesenchymal progenitors in sarcopenia. Here, we show that mice genetically engineered to specifically deplete mesenchymal progenitors exhibited phenotypes markedly similar to sarcopenia, including muscle weakness, myofiber atrophy, alterations of fiber types, and denervation at neuromuscular junctions. Through searching for genes responsible for mesenchymal progenitor-dependent muscle maintenance, we found that Bmp3b is specifically expressed in mesenchymal progenitors, whereas its expression level is significantly decreased during aging or adipogenic differentiation. The functional importance of BMP3B in maintaining myofiber mass as well as muscle-nerve interaction was demonstrated using knockout mice and cultured cells treated with BMP3B. Furthermore, the administration of recombinant BMP3B in aged mice reversed their sarcopenic phenotypes. These results reveal previously unrecognized mechanisms by which the mesenchymal progenitors ensure muscle integrity and suggest that age-related changes in mesenchymal progenitors have a considerable impact on the development of sarcopenia.

Dark, loud, and compact sounds induce frisson.

Frisson is characterised by tingling and tickling sensations with positive or negative feelings. However, it is still unknown what factors affect the intensity of frisson. We conducted experiments on the stimulus characteristics and individual's mood states and personality traits. Participants filled out self-reported questionnaires, including the Profile of Mood States, Beck Depression Inventory, and Big Five Inventory. They continuously indicated the subjective intensity of frisson throughout a 17-min experiment while listening to binaural brushing and tapping sounds through headphones. In the interviews after the experiments, participants reported that tingling and tickling sensations mainly originated on their ears, neck, shoulders, and back. Cross-correlation results showed that the intensity of frisson was closely linked to the acoustic features of auditory stimuli, including their amplitude, spectral centroid, and spectral bandwidth. This suggests that proximal sounds with dark and compact timbre trigger frisson. The peak of correlation between frisson and the acoustic feature was observed 2 s after the acoustic feature changed, suggesting that bottom-up auditory inputs modulate skin-related modalities. We also found that participants with anxiety were sensitive to frisson. Our results provide important clues to understanding the mechanisms of auditory-somatosensory interactions.

Sensory words may facilitate certain haptic exploratory procedures in facial cosmetics.

OBJECTIVE: Many people want to have healthy facial skin. They tend to check their skin's condition by touching their face with their hands. In the cosmetic industry, we need to understand what consumers are perceiving in a tactile sense when touching their own facial skin. The purpose of this study was to investigate these observation methods in order to systematically understand people's haptic exploratory procedures (HEPs). METHODS: Thirty-four participants living in the United States and twenty-two participants living in Japan freely explored their faces and answered which side felt more closely related to the six tactile adjectives. A new analysis was applied to classify the observed HEPs into six classifications within two categories and three sizes of contact area by experts. RESULT: It was confirmed that the new task was useful to observe the HEPs for participants from United States and Japan. The US participants' HEPs for 'moisturized' were mainly a middle-sized contact area using a stroking motion. On the other hand, Japanese participants' HEPs for 'moisturized' ('shittori' in Japanese) mainly used a pushing movement. Moreover, the US participants' HEPs for 'soft' included both pushing and stroking, but Japanese participants HEPs for 'soft' ('yawarakai' in Japanese) were again mainly pushing. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the proposed analysis method enables the systematic understanding of HEPs when checking the skin, along with the cross-cultural differences affecting those procedures. These systematic findings could allow cosmetic formulators to have a better understanding of the tactile sensations consumers themselves are feeling in a variety of different global markets.

OBJECTIF: de nombreuses personnes veulent avoir une peau du visage en bonne santé. Elles ont tendance à examiner l'état de leur peau en se touchant le visage avec les mains. Dans l'industrie cosmétique, nous devons comprendre ce que les consommateurs perçoivent d'un point de vue tactile lorsqu'ils se touchent la peau du visage. L'objectif de cette étude était d'évaluer ces méthodes d'observation afin de comprendre de manière systématique les procédures exploratoires haptiques (PEH) des individus. MÉTHODES: trente-quatre participants vivant aux États-Unis et vingt-deux vivant au Japon ont librement examiné leur visage en le touchant et indiqué quel côté semblait le plus proche des six adjectifs tactiles. Une nouvelle analyse a été appliquée pour classer les PEH observées en six groupes de classification au sein de deux catégories et trois tailles de zone de contact par des experts. RÉSULTAT: il a été confirmé que cette nouvelle étude était utile pour observer les PEH chez les participants provenant des États-Unis et du Japon. Les PEH des participants américains pour l'adjectif « hydratée ¼ correspondaient principalement à des mouvements de caresse sur une zone de contact de taille moyenne. En revanche, les PEH des participants japonais pour « hydratée ¼ (« shittori ¼ en japonais) correspondaient principalement à des mouvements de pression. De plus, les PEH des participants américains pour l'adjectif « douce ¼ comprenaient à la fois des mouvements de caresse et de pression, mais celles des participants japonais pour « douce ¼ (« yawarakai ¼ en japonais) correspondaient de nouveau principalement à des mouvements de pression. CONCLUSION: cette étude suggère que la méthode d'analyse proposée permet une compréhension systématique des PEH lors de l'examen de la peau, ainsi que des différences interculturelles influençant ces procédures. Ces résultats systématiques pourraient permettre aux formulateurs de cosmétiques de mieux comprendre les sensations tactiles des consommateurs eux-mêmes pour un ensemble de marchés mondiaux différents.

Proximal Binaural Sound Can Induce Subjective Frisson.

Auditory frisson is the experience of feeling of cold or shivering related to sound in the absence of a physical cold stimulus. Multiple examples of frisson-inducing sounds have been reported, but the mechanism of auditory frisson remains elusive. Typical frisson-inducing sounds may contain a looming effect, in which a sound appears to approach the listener's peripersonal space. Previous studies on sound in peripersonal space have provided objective measurements of sound-inducing effects, but few have investigated the subjective experience of frisson-inducing sounds. Here we explored whether it is possible to produce subjective feelings of frisson by moving a noise sound (white noise, rolling beads noise, or frictional noise produced by rubbing a plastic bag) stimulus around a listener's head. Our results demonstrated that sound-induced frisson can be experienced stronger when auditory stimuli are rotated around the head (binaural moving sounds) than the one without the rotation (monaural static sounds), regardless of the source of the noise sound. Pearson's correlation analysis showed that several acoustic features of auditory stimuli, such as variance of interaural level difference (ILD), loudness, and sharpness, were correlated with the magnitude of subjective frisson. We had also observed that the subjective feelings of frisson by moving a musical sound had increased comparing with a static musical sound.

Expression Levels of Long Non-Coding RNAs Change in Models of Altered Muscle Activity and Muscle Mass.

Skeletal muscle is a highly plastic organ that is necessary for homeostasis and health of the human body. The size of skeletal muscle changes in response to intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli. Although protein-coding RNAs including myostatin, NF-κß, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), have pivotal roles in determining the skeletal muscle mass, the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the regulation of skeletal muscle mass remains to be elucidated. Here, we performed expression profiling of nine skeletal muscle differentiation-related lncRNAs (DRR, DUM1, linc-MD1, linc-YY1, LncMyod, Neat1, Myoparr, Malat1, and SRA) and three genomic imprinting-related lncRNAs (Gtl2, H19, and IG-DMR) in mouse skeletal muscle. The expression levels of these lncRNAs were examined by quantitative RT-PCR in six skeletal muscle atrophy models (denervation, casting, tail suspension, dexamethasone-administration, cancer cachexia, and fasting) and two skeletal muscle hypertrophy models (mechanical overload and deficiency of the myostatin gene). Cluster analyses of these lncRNA expression levels were successfully used to categorize the muscle atrophy models into two sub-groups. In addition, the expression of Gtl2, IG-DMR, and DUM1 was altered along with changes in the skeletal muscle size. The overview of the expression levels of lncRNAs in multiple muscle atrophy and hypertrophy models provides a novel insight into the role of lncRNAs in determining the skeletal muscle mass.

Lack of association of ovariectomy-induced obesity with overeating and the reduction of physical activities.

Obesity commonly occurs in postmenopausal women, increasing the risk of various diseases. Estrogen can prevent obesity by activating lipid metabolism and suppressing depressive behavior. However, the reasons for obesity in postmenopausal women are not clearly elucidated. To mimic the effect of estrogen decline in postmenopausal women, we analyzed the behavior and the lipid metabolism-related genes, PPARγ and CD36 in ovariectomized (OVX) mice. The OVX mice showed increased visceral fat mass and PPARγ and CD36 expression in the visceral fat. In contrast, they were not significantly affected in terms of physical activity and food intake. Further, subcutaneous supplementation of estrogen effectively suppressed the increase in subcutaneous and visceral fat mass in OVX mice. We conclude that obesity in postmenopausal women is unlikely to be caused by overeating and reduction in physical activity, and subcutaneous supplementation of estrogen is an effective strategy to prevent obesity in postmenopausal women.