miR-146a is a critical target associated with multiple biological pathways of skin aging.

The skin is the largest organ of the human body and fulfills protective, immune, and metabolic functions. Skin function and barrier integrity are actively regulated through circadian rhythm-associated genes and epigenetic mechanisms including DNA methylation/demethylation, histone acetylation/deacetylation, and microRNAs. MicroRNA-146a-5p (miR-146a) has been associated with immune activation and skin inflammation; however, the role of miR-146a in regulating skin aging is an open question.

Effects of participant-selected versus researcher-selected music on stress and mood - The role of gender.

Objective: Previous research suggests differential effects of participant-selected (PS) vs. researcher-selected (RS) music on emotional responses to music listening. This study investigates whether such selection strategies, as well as gender, influence (1) stress and (2) mood responses.

Does art reduce pain and stress? A registered report protocol of investigating autonomic and endocrine markers of music, visual art, and multimodal aesthetic experience.

The pain- and stress-reducing effects of music are well-known, but the effects of visual art, and the combination of these two, are much less investigated. We aim to (1) investigate the pain- and (2) stress-reducing effects of multimodal (music + visual art) aesthetic experience as we expect this to have stronger effects than a single modal aesthetic experience (music/ visual art), and in an exploratory manner, (3) investigate the underlying mechanisms of aesthetic experience, and the (4) individual differences. In a repeated-measures design (music, visual art, multimodal aesthetic experience, control) participants bring self-selected "movingly beautiful" visual artworks and pieces of music to the lab, where pain and stress are induced by the cold pressor test.

Efficacy, Treatment Characteristics, and Biopsychological Mechanisms of Music-Listening Interventions in Reducing Pain (MINTREP): Study Protocol of a Three-Armed Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Pain can severely compromise a person's overall health and well-being. Music-listening interventions have been shown to alleviate perceived pain and to modulate the body's stress-sensitive systems. Despite the growing evidence of pain- and stress-reducing effects of music-listening interventions from experimental and clinical research, current findings on music-induced analgesia are inconclusive regarding the role of specific treatment characteristics and the biopsychological mechanisms underlying these effects.

UV fluorescence excitation spectroscopy as a noninvasive predictor of epidermal proliferation and clinical performance of cosmetic formulations.

Background: The epidermis is the outermost layer of skin and is composed of cells primarily containing keratin. It consists of about ten layers of living cells (keratinocytes) and ten layers of dead cells (corneocytes). Thinning of the epidermis and decreased proliferation of its cells are associated with aging related changes in skin, including wrinkling and laxity.