Poly(oxyethylene)/Poly(oxypropylene) butyl ether prolongs the repellent effect of N,N-diethyl-3-toluamide on the skin.

N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) is a widely used insect repellent, with minimal skin permeation and sustained repellent activity in the superficial layers of the skin. In this study, we prepared a 10% DEET formulation consisting of 40% ethanol with or without 2% poly(oxyethylene)/poly(oxypropylene) butyl ether (POE-POP), an amphiphilic random copolymer. Further, we demonstrated the effects of POE-POP on tensile stress (stickiness), hydrophobicity, skin retention, permeation, and repellent activity of DEET.

Sleep Deprivation Increases Facial Skin Yellowness.

Sleep shortage is a major concern in modern life and induces various psycho-physical disorders, including skin problems. In cosmeceutics, females are aware that sleep deprivation worsens their facial skin tone. Here, we measured the effects of sleep deprivation on facial skin yellowness and examined yellow chromophores, such as bilirubin and carotenoids, in blood serum as potential causes of yellowness.

Relationship between Facial Color Changes and Psychological Problems Associated with Lower Back Pain.

: The aim of this study was to determine whether a non-contact sensor that detects complexion changes can be used to assess the psychological state of patients with chronic lower back pain (LBP). : Twenty-six patients with LBP (LBP group; mean age = 68.0 ± 13.

,-Diethyl-3-toluamide Formulation Based on Ethanol Containing 0.1% 2-Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin Attenuates the Drug's Skin Penetration and Prolongs the Repellent Effect without Stickiness.

,-diethyl-3-toluamide (DEET) is one of the most widely used insect repellents in the world. It was reported that a solution containing 6-30% cyclodextrin (CD) as a solvent instead of ethanol (EtOH) provided an enhancement of the repellent action time duration of the DEET formulation, although the high-dose CD caused stickiness. In order to overcome this shortcoming, we attempted to prepare a 10% DEET formulation using EtOH containing low-dose CDs (β-CD, 2-hydroxypropyl-β-CD (HPβCD), methyl-β-CD, and sulfobutylether-β-CD) as solvents (DEET/EtOH/CD formulations).

Changes in fine structure of amylopectin and internal structures of starch granules in developing endosperms and culms caused by starch branching enzyme mutations of japonica rice.

BEIIb plays a specific role in determining the structure of amylopectin in rice endosperm, whereas BEIIa plays the similar role in the culm where BEIIb is absent. Cereals have three types of starch branching enzymes (BEs), BEI, BEIIa, and BEIIb. It is widely known that BEIIb is specifically expressed in the endosperm and plays a distinct role in the structure of amylopectin because in its absence the amylopectin type changes to the amylose-extender-type (ae-type) or B-type from the wild-type or A-type and this causes the starch crystalline allomorph to the B-type from the wild-type A-type.

Laboratory and Field Evaluations of Two Bait Formulations Against the Invasive Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, was first discovered in Japan in 2017. As this ant remains at the early invasion stage, efforts in establishing a rapid-response framework, such as evaluating available control methods, are urgently needed. Despite the presence of numerous household insecticides against invasive/household pest ants in Japan, the effects of these products on fire ants remain poorly understood.

Effects of BEIIb-Deficiency on the Cluster Structure of Amylopectin and the Internal Structure of Starch Granules in Endosperm and Culm of -Type Rice.

It is known that one of starch branching enzyme (BE) isoforms, BEIIb, plays a specific role not only in the synthesis of distinct amylopectin cluster structure, but also in the formation of the internal structure of starch granules in rice endosperm because in its absence the starch crystalline polymorph changes to the B-type from the typical A-type found in the wild-type (WT) cereal endosperm starch granules. In the present study, to examine the contribution of BEIIb to the amylopectin cluster structure, the chain-length distributions of amylopectin and its phosphorylase-limit dextrins (Φ-LD) from endosperm and culm of a null mutant called () mutant line, EM10, were compared with those of its WT cultivar, Kinmaze, of rice. The results strongly suggest that BEIIb specifically formed new short chains whose branch points were localized in the basal part of the crystalline lamellae and presumably in the intermediate between the crystalline and amorphous lamellae of amylopectin clusters in the WT endosperm, whereas in its absence branch points which were mainly formed by BEI were only located in the amorphous lamellae of amylopectin.

Pain Evaluation During Colonoscopy by the Erythema Index of the Facial Image.

Background: Endoscopy of the digestive tract is useful but is associated with significant pain to the patient. Its safety and tolerability could be improved by an immediate and objective method to evaluate the pain level and give feedback to the examiner. However, under the current circumstances, it is difficult to measure and assess the pain level objectively.

New image analysis tool for facial pore characterization and assessment.

Background: Visible facial pores are an important cosmetic concern especially among young females. Number of different methodologies is used today to assess facial pores and efficacy of technologies. Main limitations of these methods are, however, (a) moderate correlation with visual perception, (b) characterization is mostly limited to size or number of pores, (c) measurement is limited to a smaller area of face, and (d) operational difficulties.

Ungerminated Rice Grains Observed by Femtosecond Pulse Laser Second-Harmonic Generation Microscopy.

As a demonstration that second-order nonlinear optical microscopy is a powerful tool for rice grain science, we observed second-harmonic generation (SHG) images of amylose-free glutinous rice and amylose-containing nonglutinous rice grains. The images obtained from SHG microscopy and photographs of the iodine-stained starch granules indicate that the distribution of starch types in the embryo-facing endosperm region (EFR) depends on the type of rice and suggests that glucose, maltose, or both are localized on the testa side of the embryo. In the testa side of the embryo, crystallized glucose or maltose are judged to be detected by SHG.

Analysis of human perception of facial skin radiance by means of image histogram parameters of surface and subsurface reflections from the skin.

Background: The appearance of the skin is the result of complicated light-skin interactions involving surface and subsurface reflections. Radiant skin is a complicated attribute but is important for skin beauty. The aim of the present study was to achieve an understanding of the association between human perceptions of skin radiance and image histogram parameters from technically recorded images of surface and subsurface reflections.

Differences in the surface and subsurface reflection characteristics of facial skin by age group.

Background/purpose: The age-dependent changes of facial skin imperfections such as spot or wrinkles have been investigated repeatedly by means of various objective measurements. However, the age-dependent changes in the optical-reflection characteristics that create a perception of a shine or a glow of the skin have received little attention. We evaluated the age dependence of the optical-reflection characteristics of the surface and subsurface facial skin layers of three age groups.

Spin dynamics of isolated donor electrons in phosphorus-doped silicon from high-frequency electron spin resonance.

We present the spin dynamics of isolated donor electrons in phosphorus-doped silicon at low temperature and in a high magnetic field. We performed a steady-state electron spin resonance (ESR) on the sample with a dopant concentration of 6.5 × 10(16) cm(- 3) in a high field of 2.

Spin wave and vortex excitations of superfluid 3He-A in parallel-plate geometry.

Quantized vortices with half-integer circulation, which are forbidden from existing in a conventional superfluid because of the single valueness of the wave function, are theoretically predicted to exist in superfluid 3He-A if the order parameters l over and d over form l over perpendicular d over texture. To form the l over perpendicular d over texture, we confined the superfluid between parallel plates with a 12.5 microm gap and applied a magnetic field of H=26.

The effect of 2% niacinamide on facial sebum production.

Background: The presence of sebum on the face is responsible for both facial shine and the formation of comedonal and inflammatory acne lesions. Sebum control is a goal of many OTC skin care products; however, most currently available products function by absorbing sebum from the face rather than modulating its production.

Objective: To demonstrate the effect of topical 2% niacinamide on sebum excretion rates and casual sebum production in Oriental and Caucasian populations.