Adiposity and metabolic health in Asian populations: an epidemiological study using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry in Singapore.

Background: Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and related cardiometabolic disturbances are increasing rapidly in the Asia-Pacific region. We investigated the contribution of excess adiposity, a key determinant of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk, to unfavourable cardiometabolic profiles among Asian ethnic subgroups.

Methods: The Health for Life in Singapore (HELIOS) Study is a population-based cohort comprising multiethnic Asian men and women living in Singapore, aged 30-84 years.

Mechanistic basis for potassium efflux-driven activation of the human NLRP1 inflammasome.

Nigericin, an ionophore derived from , is arguably the most commonly used tool compound to study the NLRP3 inflammasome. Recent findings, however, showed that nigericin also activates the NLRP1 inflammasome in human keratinocytes. In this study, we resolve the mechanistic basis of nigericin-driven NLRP1 inflammasome activation.

Bacteria Display Differential Growth and Adhesion Characteristics on Human Hair Shafts.

Apart from the skin surface, hair represents a significant tissue component with a capacity of bacterial interactions. New information can be obtained about hair function through the characterization of bacterial adherence, colonization, and responses to hair shafts In this proof-of-principle study, we examine the growth kinetics of Gram-positive and and Gram-negative and in the presence of human hair shafts. We explore the ability of these bacteria to adhere to and colonize hair shaft surfaces, as well as the resulting impact on the hair's surface morphology.

Studies on the Proteome of Human Hair - Identification of Histones and Deamidated Keratins.

Human hair is laminar-fibrous tissue and an evolutionarily old keratinization product of follicle trichocytes. Studies on the hair proteome can give new insights into hair function and lead to the development of novel biomarkers for hair in health and disease. Human hair proteins were extracted by detergent and detergent-free techniques.