Maturational trajectories of pericortical contrast in typical brain development.

In the last few years, a significant amount of work has aimed to characterize maturational trajectories of cortical development. The role of pericortical microstructure putatively characterized as the gray-white matter contrast (GWC) at the pericortical gray-white matter boundary and its relationship to more traditional morphological measures of cortical morphometry has emerged as a means to examine finer grained neuroanatomical underpinnings of cortical changes. In this work, we characterize the GWC developmental trajectories in a representative sample (n = 394) of children and adolescents (~4 to ~22 years of age), with repeated scans (1-3 scans per subject, total scans n = 819).

Single cell analyses reveal specific distribution of anti-bacterial molecule Perforin-2 in human skin and its modulation by wounding and Staphylococcus aureus infection.

Perforin-2 (P-2) is a recently described antimicrobial protein with unique properties to kill intracellular bacteria. We investigated P-2 expression pattern and cellular distribution in human skin and its importance in restoration of barrier function during wound healing process and infection with the common wound pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. We describe a novel approach for the measurement of P-2 mRNA within individual skin cells using an amplified fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique.

Nanotechnology-Driven Therapeutic Interventions in Wound Healing: Potential Uses and Applications.

The chronic nature and associated complications of nonhealing wounds have led to the emergence of nanotechnology-based therapies that aim at facilitating the healing process and ultimately repairing the injured tissue. A number of engineered nanotechnologies have been proposed demonstrating unique properties and multiple functions that address specific problems associated with wound repair mechanisms. In this outlook, we highlight the most recently developed nanotechnology-based therapeutic agents and assess the viability and efficacy of each treatment, with emphasis on chronic cutaneous wounds.