Differential expression of phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B and Toll-like receptor/nuclear factor kappa B signaling pathways in experimental obesity Wistar rat model.

This study aimed to investigate the differential expression of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathway in relation to the Toll-like receptor (TLR)/nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway in an obese rat model. A total of 200 8-week-old male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to a control group (Ctrl, = 40) and an observation group (Obs, = 160), with obesity induced through a high-fat diet. Following modeling, the Obs group was further divided into a model group, a PI3K/AKT inhibition group, a TLR/NF-κB inhibition group, and a combined PI3K/AKT + TLR/NF-κB inhibition group, with 40 rats in each.

Age-related changes in the bacterial composition of healthy female facial skin in Beijing area.

Objective: Exploring the effects of age on microbial community structure and understanding the effects of chronological ageing as well as sun exposure on microbial community diversity.

Method: The microbial characteristics of the facial skin of 98 adult women aged 18-70 years were studied using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and differences based on age and reported sun exposure were assessed.

Results: The cheek skin's bacterial diversity and richness increased with age.

Machine learning assisted rational design of antimicrobial peptides based on human endogenous proteins and their applications for cosmetic preservative system optimization.

Preservatives are essential components in cosmetic products, but their safety issues have attracted widespread attention. There is an urgent need for safe and effective alternatives. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are part of the innate immune system and have potent antimicrobial properties.

A Preliminary Study on the Effectiveness of K-Nearest Neighbor Algorithm Based on Local Mean for Classification of Bioinformatics Data.

The preliminary classification of biological class data is of great importance for bioinformatics. One can quickly classify object data by comparing their existing features with known traits. k-nearest neighbor algorithm is easy to apply in this field, but its drawbacks make it less meaningful to improve the efficiency of the algorithm by simply changing the distance model, so this study uses a local mean-based k-nearest neighbor classifier and compares the accuracy of the predicted classification of six different distance models used.

Changes in the skin microbiome during male maturation from 0 to 25 years of age.

Background: Skin microorganisms co-develop with the human body and age influences the skin microenvironment and thus the skin bacterial community.

Objectives: To investigate the changes in the skin microbiota during male development.

Methods: High-throughput 16S ribosomal RNA pyrosequencing was utilized to analyze the differences in bacterial composition of the skin in healthy males aged 0-25 years.

Interaction of magnolia bark extracts with Staphylococcus aureus DNA and evaluation of the stability of their antibacterial activities.

Magnolia bark is an edible traditional Chinese medicine that has antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. In the present study, interactions between S. aureus DNA and raw magnolia bark (RMB) and ginger mix-fried magnolia bark (GMB) aqueous extracts were determined via spectroscopic methods.

Synthesis, Stability, and Anti-Tumour Activity of a New Category of "Stapled" Antisense Oligonucleotides with Stimuli-Responsive Feature.

The development of nucleic acid drugs with unique structures and mechanisms has stimulated great research interest. Herein, we report a general strategy to construct "stapled" structures of single-stranded antisense oligonucleotides (ASONs) with a stimuli-responsive feature. "Stapled" cyclic structures can be synthesized with reactive bifunctional handles that react with thiol groups of phosphorothioate (PS)-modified ASONs, and can be alternatively adjusted depending on the desired PS sites in the ASON strand.

A novel cyanoacrylate-based matrix excipient in HPMCP capsules forms a sustained intestinal delivery system for orally administered drugs with enhanced absorption efficiency.

Patients prefer oral drug delivery due to its convenience and noninvasiveness. Nevertheless, a multitude of potentially clinically important drugs will not reach the market or achieve their full potential, due to their low bioavailability and instability in gastric acid. In this study, a novel oral drug delivery system based on poly-cyanoacrylate [a polymer of 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl-2-cyanoacrylate (MECA)] and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose phthalate (HPMCP) was developed and shown to permit intestinal targeting and sustained drug release.

Mechanism and antibacterial activity of vine tea extract and dihydromyricetin against Staphylococcus aureus.

Vine tea (Ampelopsis grossedentata) has been approved as a new food ingredient in 2013. Both vine tea extract (VTE) and its active ingredient, 2R, 3R-Dihydromyricetin (DMY), showed good antibacterial activity. The mechanism of VTE and DMY against Staphylococcus aureus were evaluated by morphology observation, cell membrane and wall assay, protein assay, and DNA assay in this study.

A review of fatty acids influencing skin condition.

Background: Fatty acids are common raw materials in cosmetics and also are an important component of skin surface lipids, and their composition and amount affect the skin condition.

Aims: The purpose of this article was to review the results of basic research on fatty acids as skin surface lipids.

Methods: An extensive literature search was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, and other databases for articles on fatty acids from 1993 to 2020.

Skin bacterial structure of young females in China: The relationship between skin bacterial structure and facial skin types.

Background: Skin microbiota are involved in the skin physiological functions and are also affected by the skin physiological characteristics.

Objective: To better understand the skin microbial characteristics of facial cheek skin and the relationship with skin physiological characteristics.

Methods: By bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the authors studied the facial cheek skin microbial characteristics of 85 cases of young women aged 18-25 years.

Skin surface lipidomics revealed the correlation between lipidomic profile and grade in adolescent acne.

Background: Acne is a multifactorial skin disorder frequently observed during adolescence with different grades of severity. The crucial factors of acne are the increase of lipids secretion and the change of composition on the skin surface lipid (SSL). However, there are no studies on the changes of lipid composition and content between different grades of adolescent acne in lesional skin and nonlesionsal skin.

Production of isofloridoside from galactose and glycerol using α-galactosidase from Alicyclobacillus hesperidum.

Isofloridoside (D-isofloridoside and L-isofloridoside) is the main photosynthetic product in red algae. Here, given the importance of isofloridoside, a potentially effective method to produce isofloridoside from galactose and glycerol using whole-cell biocatalysts harboring α-galactosidase was developed. α-Galactosidase-encoding genes from Alicyclobacillus hesperidum, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Bifidobacterium adolescentis were cloned and the proteins were overproduced in Escherichia coli.

Cheek Microbial Communities Vary in Young Children with Atopic Dermatitis in China.

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, recurrent skin condition with recently increased incidence in younger children. AD development has been correlated with the skin microbiome, and Staphylococcus aureus enrichment causes significant increases in skin lesions.

Objective: Our objectives were to compare the microbial diversity of the cheek skin of children with or without AD aged 0-1 years in China, and to determine whether 4 types of skin-isolated bacteria could inhibit S.

Characterization of antioxidant and antibacterial gelatin films incorporated with extract.

extract (GBE) contains flavonoids, which are phenolic compounds. These compounds can be introduced into films for their functional properties (such as their antioxidant and antibacterial property), allowing this film to be used as food packaging. Thus, the aim of this study was to introduce the GBE into a gelatin solution to prepare gelatin films and evaluate the influence of the natural extract addition on the physicochemical and antimicrobial properties.

Shifts in the skin microbiome associated with diaper dermatitis and emollient treatment amongst infants and toddlers in China.

Background: The microbiological basis of diaper dermatitis has not been clearly elucidated; however, a better understanding of microbial colonization may be vital for developing appropriate therapies.

Methods: Using 16S-rRNA gene sequencing technology, we characterized and compared the bacterial communities obtained from the buttock skin sites of children with diaper dermatitis and from healthy controls. Bacterial diversity in the buttock lesion area and subsequent recovery after emollient treatment have been discussed herein.

A Novel CreA-Mediated Regulation Mechanism of Cellulase Expression in the Thermophilic Fungus .

The thermophilic fungus produces cellulolytic enzymes that are of great scientific and commercial interest; however, few reports have focused on its cellulase expression regulation mechanism. In this study, we constructed a gene (carbon catabolite repressor gene) disruption mutant strain of that exhibited a reduced radial growth rate and stouter hyphae compared to the wild-type (WT) strain. The disruption mutant also expressed elevated pNPCase (cellobiohydrolase activities), pNPGase (β-glucosidase activities), and xylanase levels in non-inducing fermentation with glucose.

Alterations in the skin microbiome are associated with disease severity and treatment in the perioral zone of the skin of infants with atopic dermatitis.

Atopic dermatitis (AD), a chronic relapsing inflammatory pruritic skin disorder with a unique pathophysiology, has a high incidence in the perioral zone among infants. This study aimed to analyze the association of skin microfloral dynamics with disease severity and treatment of AD in 0-1-year-old infants. Based on the eczema area and severity index, subjects were divided into five groups, i.

Effect of cosmetic chemical preservatives on resident flora isolated from healthy facial skin.

Background/aims: Healthy skin harbors numerous microbes known to maintain its health and prevent attacks from external pathogens. The influence of chemical preservatives commonly used in cosmetic products on facial resident flora remains poorly characterized. In this study, we aimed to investigate the antibacterial activity of five such preservatives on in vitro cultivated skin-resident bacteria.

Site-directed mutation of β-galactosidase from to reduce galactose inhibition in lactose hydrolysis.

β-Galactosidase is widely used for hydrolysis of whey lactose. However, galactose inhibition has acted as a major constraint on the catalytic process. Thus, it is sensible to improve upon this defect in β-galactosidase through protein modification.

The use of -mediated insertional mutagenesis sequencing to identify novel genes of involved in cellulase production.

A transfer DNA (T-DNA)-tagged mutant library of was screened for mutants with altered cellulase production using the plate-clearing zone assay. Three selected mutants (5-A7, 5-C6, and 13-B7) exhibited significantly depressed FPase, CMCase and xylanase activities compared with the wild-type strain upon shake-flask fermentation, while the pNPCase and pNPGase activities of the three mutants were relatively higher than those of the parental strain. Combined with the results of SDS-PAGE and mass spectrometry, we suggest that expression of the CMCases Cel6B, Cel7B, CMC3, and XynA/B/C was reduced in the mutant strains.

DL-mandelic acid intercalated Zn-Al layered double hydroxide: A novel antimicrobial layered material.

DL-mandelic acid (MA) has been intercalated into Zn-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) by an anion-exchange reaction. After intercalation of MA anions, the basal spacing of the LDH increased from 0.75 to 1.

Antimicrobial activity and mechanism of Larch bark procyanidins against Staphylococcus aureus.

Larch bark procyanidins (LBPCs) have not only antioxidant and antitumor properties, but also strong bacteriostatic effects. However, it is not clear about the antibacterial mechanisms of LBPC. In this work, the antibacterial effects and mechanisms of LBPC on Staphylococcus aureus were studied in the aspects of morphological structure, cell wall and membrane, essential proteins, and genetic material.

Correction: Introgression of opaque2 into Waxy Maize Causes Extensive Biochemical and Proteomic Changes in Endosperm.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.