Invention of automated numerical algorithm adopting binarization for the evaluation of scalp hair coverage: An image analysis providing a substitute for phototrichogram and global photography assessment for hair diseases.

Background: The efficacy of therapeutic modalities for hair disease can be evaluated globally by photo assessment and more precisely by phototrichogram (PTG). However, the latter procedure is laborious, time consuming, subject to inter-observer variation, and requires hair clipping.

Objective: To establish an automated and patient/investigator friendly methodology enabling quantitative hair amount evaluation for daily clinical practice.

Efficacy of autologous dermal sheath cup cell transplantation in male and female pattern hair loss: A Single-Arm, Multi-Center, phase III equivalent clinical study.

A previous, proof-of-concept clinical study suggested that dermal sheath cup cell injections into the affected areas of male/female pattern hair loss (PHL) may have some amelioratory effects, the clinical efficacy of which needs further examination. A phase III equivalent clinical study was conducted to further probe the therapeutic potential of this novel approach and verify its safety and efficacy in improving the appearance of PHL. Thirty-six participants with PHL were injected with dermal sheath cup cell harvested from non-affected occipital hair follicles twice in quarterly intervals.

Development of a synthetic equivalent of α,α-dicationic acetic acid leading to unnatural amino acid derivatives tetrafunctionalized methanes.

Diethyl mesoxalate (DEMO) exhibits high electrophilicity and accepts the nucleophilic addition of a less nucleophilic acid amide to afford ,-hemiacetal. However, our research showed that elimination of the amide moiety proceeded more easily than dehydration upon treatment with a base. This problem was overcome by reacting DEMO with an acid amide in the presence of acetic anhydride to efficiently obtain ,-acetal.

Role of water in complexation of 1,4,7,10,13,16-hexaoxacyclooctadecane (18-crown-6) with Li and K in hydrophobic 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide ionic liquid.

Complexation characteristics of 1,4,7,10,13,16-hexaoxacyclooctadecane (18-crown-6, 18C6) with Li and K in a hydrophobic ionic liquid of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide under dry and humid conditions at 298.2 K were studied by H and C NMR chemical shifts. The comparison of the H and C chemical shifts of 18C6 molecule between the dry and humid IL solutions without the alkali metal ions showed that uncomplexed 18C6 molecules are solvated by water molecules in the humid ionic liquid solution.

Effects of dissolved water on Li+ solvation in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide ionic liquid studied by NMR.

(1)H and (7)Li NMR chemical shifts of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide-water solutions in the presence and absence of lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide were determined at 293.2 K over a wide range of water concentrations from 0.0156 to 1.

Apelin inhibits diet-induced obesity by enhancing lymphatic and blood vessel integrity.

Angiogenesis is tightly associated with the outgrowth of adipose tissue, leading to obesity, which is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes and hypertension, mainly because expanding adipose tissue requires an increased nutrient supply from blood vessels. Therefore, induction of vessel abnormality by adipokines has been well-studied, whereas how altered vascular function promotes obesity is relatively unexplored. Also, surviving Prox1 heterozygous mice have shown abnormal lymphatic patterning and adult-onset obesity, indicating that accumulation of adipocytes could be closely linked with lymphatic function.

A novel silk-like shell matrix gene is expressed in the mantle edge of the Pacific oyster prior to shell regeneration.

During shell formation, little is known about the functions of organic matrices, especially about the biomineralization of shell prismatic layer. We identified a novel gene, shelk2, from the Pacific oyster presumed to be involved in the shell biosynthesis. The Pacific oyster has multiple copies of shelk2.

Scallop DMT functions as a Ca2+ transporter.

We identified a DMT (divalent metal transporter) homologous protein that functions as a Ca(2+) transporter. Scallop DMT cDNA encodes a 539-amino-acid protein with 12 putative membrane-spanning domains and has a consensus transport motif in the fourth extracellular loop. Since its mRNA is significantly expressed in the gill and intestine, it is assumed that scallop DMT transports Ca(2+) from seawater by the gill and from food by the intestine.