Differences in Skin Properties of Korean Women at the Initial Aging Phase

International audienc

Fabrication of Microgel-in-Liposome Particles with Improved Water Retention

Corneocytes represents the main water reservoir of stratum corneum, and that ability intimately arises from their architecture and total composition. Here we describe a novel method for fabricating a microgel-in-liposome (M-i-L) structure consisting of a sodium hyaluronate microgel and a lipid membrane envelop in order to mimic corneocyte cell structures. The essence of our approach is to use a lecithin-based microemulsion with a very low interfacial tension between the water droplet and oil continuous phase. Using this emulsion enables us to stabilize a dispersion of microgel particles without phase separation or aggregation. The addition of excess water produced single-core or multicore microgel particles enveloped in a lipid layer. To demonstrate the applicability of this unique vesicle system, we encapsulated a high concentration of natural moisturizing factor (NMF) in the microgel core and investigated how the M-i-L structure affected the water retention in comparison with other control systems. We have observed that our M-i-L particles with the NMF in the core, which mimicked the corneocyte cell structure, showed an excellent ability to retain water in the system. This experimental result inspired us to investigate how corneocyte cells, which feature a lipid-enveloped hydrogel structure, provide such long-lasting hydration to the skin.close2

High Sensitivity Detection of Active Botulinum Neurotoxin by Glyco-Quantitative Polymerase Chain-Reaction

The sensitive detection of highly toxic botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) from <i>Clostridium botulinum</i> is of critical importance because it causes human illnesses if foodborne or introduced in wounds and as an iatrogenic substance. Moreover, it has been recently considered a possible biological warfare agent. Over the past decade, significant progress has been made in BoNT detection technologies, including mouse lethality assays, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, and endopeptidase assays and by mass spectrometry. Critical assay requirements, including rapid assay, active toxin detection, sensitive and accurate detection, still remain challenging. Here, we present a novel method to detect active BoNTs using a Glyco-quantitative polymerase chain-reaction (qPCR) approach. Sialyllactose, which interacts with the binding-domain of BoNTs, is incorporated into a sialyllactose-DNA conjugate as a binding-probe for active BoNT and recovered through BoNT-immunoprecipitation. Glyco-qPCR analysis of the bound sialyllactose-DNA is then used to detect low attomolar concentrations of BoNT and attomolar to femtomolar concentrations of BoNT in honey, the most common foodborne source of infant botulism

Characteristics and Discrepancies in Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure: Need for a Unified Definition.

To investigate the prevalence, mortalities, and patient characteristics of Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) according to the AARC (Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver ACLF Research Consortium) and European Association for the Study of the Liver CLIF-C (Chronic Liver Failure Consortium) definitions.We collected retrospective data for 1470 hospitalized patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) and acute deterioration between January 2013 and December 2013 from 21 university hospitals in Korea.Of the patients assessed, the prevalence of ACLF based on the AARC and CLIF-C definitions was 9.5% and 18.6%, respectively. The 28-day and 90-day mortality rates were higher in patients with ACLF than in those without ACLF. Patients who only met the CLIF-C definition had significantly lower 28-day and 90-day survival rates than those who only met the AARC definition (68.0% vs. 93.9%, P<0.001; 55.1% vs. 92.4%, P<0.001). Among the patients who had non-cirrhotic CLD, the 90-day mortality of the patients with ACLF was higher than of those without ACLF, although not significant (33.3% vs. 6.0%, P = 0.192). Patients with previous acute decompensation (AD) within 1- year had a lower 90-day survival rate than those with AD more than 1 year prior or without previous AD (81.0% vs. 91.9% or 89.4%, respectively, all P<0.001). Patients who had extra-hepatic organ failure without liver failure had a similar 90-day survival rate to those who had liver failure as a prerequisite (57.0% vs. 60.6%, P = 0.391).The two ACLF definitions result in differences in mortality and patient characteristics among ACLF patients. We suggest that non-cirrhotic CLD, previous AD within 1 year, and extra-hepatic organ failure should be included in the ACLF diagnostic criteria. In addition, further studies are necessary to develop a universal definition of ACLF

Kaplan-Meier survival curves according to the time of ACLF development.

<p>(A) AARC definition, (B) CLIF-C definition. Abbreviations: ACLF, Acute-on-chronic liver failure; AARC, Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver ACLF Research Consortium; CLIF-C, Chronic liver failure consortium</p

Twenty-eight- and 90-day mortality of patients with ACLF.

<p>(A) AARC definition, (B) CLIF-C definition. *One hundred sixty-three patients were lost to follow up. Abbreviations: AARC, Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver ACLF Research Consortium; CLIF-C, Chronic liver failure consortium</p

Diagram of the total enrolled patients.

<p>(A) acute deterioration with chronic liver disease (enrolled patients) (N = 1470); (B) CLD patients without prior history of decompensation (N = 1021); (C) cirrhotic patients regardless of prior history of decompensation (N = 1352); (D) ACLF development according to the AARC definition (N = 140); (E) ACLF development according to the CLIF-C definition (N = 274); (F) ACLF development according to the AARC and CLIF-C definitions (N = 74). Abbreviations: CLD, chronic liver disease; ACLF, acute-on-chronic liver failure; AARC, Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver ACLF Research Consortium; CLIF-C, Chronic liver failure consortium</p

Twenty-eight- and 90-day mortality.

<p>(A) According to the presence of cirrhosis (*15 of patients without LC and 148 patients with LC were lost to follow-up) and (B) according to the presence of ACLF (**138 of patients without ACLF and 31 patients with ACLF were lost to follow-up). Abbreviations: LC, liver cirrhosis; ACLF, acute-on-chronic liver failure</p

Ninety-day survival curves according to previous acute decompensation.

<p>(A) Without previous AD vs. with previous AD and (B) without previous AD vs. AD more than 1 year prior vs. AD within 1 year. Abbreviation: AD, acute decompensation</p