The diversity and abundance of fungi and bacteria on the healthy and dandruff affected human scalp.

Dandruff is a skin condition that affects the scalp of up to half the world's population, it is characterised by an itchy, flaky scalp and is associated with colonisation of the skin by Malassezia spp. Management of this condition is typically via antifungal therapies, however the precise role of microbes in the aggravation of the condition are incompletely characterised. Here, a combination of 454 sequencing and qPCR techniques were used to compare the scalp microbiota of dandruff and non-dandruff affected Chinese subjects.

Consumer Safety Considerations of Skin and Oral Microbiome Perturbation.

Microbiomes associated with human skin and the oral cavity are uniquely exposed to personal care regimes. Changes in the composition and activities of the microbial communities in these environments can be utilized to promote consumer health benefits, for example, by reducing the numbers, composition, or activities of microbes implicated in conditions such as acne, axillary odor, dandruff, and oral diseases. It is, however, important to ensure that innovative approaches for microbiome manipulation do not unsafely disrupt the microbiome or compromise health, and where major changes in the composition or activities of the microbiome may occur, these require evaluation to ensure that critical biological functions are unaffected.

First case of penile metastasis following abdominoperineal resection with VRAM flap reconstruction.

Penile metastases are rare in colorectal cancer. We report the first case of such a recurrence in a patient who had undergone an extralevator abdominoperineal resection with vertical rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap perineal reconstruction. The patient was treated with curative intent by total penectomy.

Spatial variations in the microbial community structure and diversity of the human foot is associated with the production of odorous volatiles.

The human foot provides an ideal environment for the colonization and growth of bacteria and subsequently is a body site associated with the liberation of odour. This study aimed to enumerate and spatially map bacterial populations' resident across the foot to understand any association with odour production. Culture-based analysis confirmed that Staphylococci were present in higher numbers than aerobic corynebacteria and Gram-positive aerobic cocci, with all species being present at much higher levels on the plantar sites compared to dorsal sites.

Functional characterisation of a SNP in the ABCC11 allele - effects on axillary skin metabolism, odour generation and associated behaviours.

Background: A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), 538G→A, leading to a G180R substitution in the ABCC11 gene results in reduced concentrations of apocrine derived axillary odour precursors.

Objective: Determine the axillary odour levels in the SNP ABCC11 genotype variants and to investigate if other parameters associated with odour production are affected.

Methods: Axillary odour was assessed by subjective quantification and gas chromatography headspace analysis.

Greater impairment of postprandial triacylglycerol than glucose response in metabolic syndrome subjects with fasting hyperglycaemia.

Objective: Studies have started to question whether a specific component or combinations of metabolic syndrome (MetS) components may be more important in relation to cardiovascular disease risk. Our aim was to examine the impact of the presence of raised fasting glucose as a MetS component on postprandial lipaemia.

Methods: Men classified with the MetS underwent a sequential test meal investigation, in which blood samples were taken at regular intervals after a test breakfast (t=0 min) and lunch (t=330 min).

Simultaneous release of Fe and As during the reductive dissolution of Pb-As jarosite by Shewanella putrefaciens CN32.

Jarosites are produced during metallurgical processing, on oxidized sulfide deposits, and in acid mine drainage environments. Despite the environmental relevance of jarosites, few studies have examined their biogeochemical stability. This study demonstrates the simultaneous reduction of structural Fe(III) and aqueous As(V) during the dissolution of synthetic Pb-As jarosite (PbFe(3)(SO(4),AsO(4))(2)(OH)(6)) by Shewanella putrefaciens using batch experiments under anaerobic circumneutral conditions.

A text-mining system for extracting metabolic reactions from full-text articles.

Background: Increasingly biological text mining research is focusing on the extraction of complex relationships relevant to the construction and curation of biological networks and pathways. However, one important category of pathway - metabolic pathways - has been largely neglected.Here we present a relatively simple method for extracting metabolic reaction information from free text that scores different permutations of assigned entities (enzymes and metabolites) within a given sentence based on the presence and location of stemmed keywords.

A sequential two meal challenge reveals abnormalities in postprandial TAG but not glucose in men with increasing numbers of metabolic syndrome components.

Objective: To examine the impact of increasing numbers of metabolic syndrome (MetS) components on postprandial lipaemia.

Methods: Healthy men (n=112) underwent a sequential meal postprandial investigation, in which blood samples were taken at regular intervals after a test breakfast (0min) and lunch (330min). Lipids, glucose and insulin were measured in the fasting sample, with triacylglycerol (TAG), non-esterified fatty acids and glucose analysed in the postprandial samples.

Impact of age and menopausal status on the postprandial triacylglycerol response in healthy women.

Objective: To examine the impact of age and the natural menopause on the postprandial triacylglycerol (TAG) response in healthy women.

Methods And Results: Thirty-seven premenopausal and sixty-one postmenopausal women underwent a sequential meal postprandial investigation, in which blood samples were taken at regular intervals after a test breakfast and lunch given at 0 and 330 min respectively. Lipids and glucose were measured in the fasting sample, with TAG analysed in the postprandial samples.

Hypoxia symptoms in military aircrew: long-term recall vs. acute experience in training.

Introduction: It has been reported that many aircrew who experience hypoxia-related incidents are able to recognize hypoxia because of similarity to symptoms they experienced during hypoxia awareness training. This study aimed to explore the degree of similarity between symptoms reported after acute hypoxia and those remembered from previous hypoxia awareness training.

Methods: An English-Arabic questionnaire listing 22 symptoms of hypoxia was distributed to aircrew during aviation physiology training at the beginning of the hypoxia lecture and again after hypoxia awareness training.

SLC24A5 encodes a trans-Golgi network protein with potassium-dependent sodium-calcium exchange activity that regulates human epidermal melanogenesis.

A non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism in the human SLC24A5 gene is associated with natural human skin color variation. Multiple sequence alignments predict that this gene encodes a member of the potassium-dependent sodium-calcium exchanger family denoted NCKX5. In cultured human epidermal melanocytes we show using affinity-purified antisera that native human NCKX5 runs as a triplet of approximately 43 kDa on SDS-PAGE and is partially localized to the trans-Golgi network.

Acute hypoxia and related symptoms on mild exertion at simulated altitudes below 3048 m.

Introduction: Helicopter aircrew have reported features of hypoxia below 3048 m (10,000 ft). The aim of this study was to examine the effect of physical activity below 3048 m on the development of hypoxia.

Methods: Six subjects exercised at 30 W and 60 W for 4 min at sea level, 610 m, 2134 m, and 2743 m (2000 ft, 7000 ft, and 9000 ft).

Randomized trial of laparoscopic-assisted resection of colorectal carcinoma: 3-year results of the UK MRC CLASICC Trial Group.

Purpose: The aim of the current study is to report the long-term outcomes after laparoscopic-assisted surgery compared with conventional open surgery within the context of the UK MRC CLASICC trial. Results from randomized trials have indicated that laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer is as effective as open surgery in the short term. Few data are available on rectal cancer, and long-term data on survival and recurrence are now required.

Short-term endpoints of conventional versus laparoscopic-assisted surgery in patients with colorectal cancer (MRC CLASICC trial): multicentre, randomised controlled trial.

Background: Laparoscopic-assisted surgery for colorectal cancer has been widely adopted without data from large-scale randomised trials to support its use. We compared short-term endpoints of conventional versus laparoscopic-assisted surgery in patients with colorectal cancer to predict long-term outcomes.

Methods: Between July, 1996, and July, 2002, we undertook a multicentre, randomised clinical trial in 794 patients with colorectal cancer from 27 UK centres.