Spatiotemporal motion features resulting from tactile interface layouts influence tactile speed perception.

Representing tangential motion between objects and the skin using tactile displays enables humans to manipulate virtual objects and recognize their surface properties. To design effective tactile stimuli that accurately represent motion, it is important to understand how humans perceive tactile motion based on spatiotemporal features, an area that remains relatively unexplored. This study elucidates the spatiotemporal features that influence the perceived speed of tactile motion represented by a tactile display with discrete stimulation points.

Effect of Normal Force Intensity on Tactile Motion Speed Perception Based on Spatiotemporal Cue.

While the relative motion between the skin and objects in contact with it is essential to everyday tactile experiences, our understanding of how tactile motion is perceived via human tactile function is limited. Previous studies have explored the effect of normal force on speed perception under conditions where multiple motion cues on the skin (spatiotemporal cue, tangential skin deformation cue, and slip-induced vibration cue) were integrated. However, the effect of the normal force on speed perception in terms of each motion cue remains unclear since the multiple motion cues have not been adequately separated in the previously reported experiments.

Alteration of microbial composition in the skin and blood in vasculitis.

Vasculitis is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by leukocyte infiltration into blood vessels. Various microorganisms have been associated with the pathogenesis of vasculitis; however, the causal microbial agents and underlying mechanisms are not fully understood, possibly because of the technical limitations of pathogen detection. In the present study, we characterized the microbiome profile of patients with cutaneous vasculitis using comprehensive metagenome shotgun sequencing.

Propionibacterium acnes is developing gradual increase in resistance to oral tetracyclines.

Propionibacterium acnes is an anaerobic bacterium that causes deep infection in organs and prosthetic joints, in addition to acne vulgaris. Many tetracycline-resistant P. acnes strains have been isolated because oral tetracyclines are frequently used as an acne treatment against P.

Relationship between the severity of acne vulgaris and antimicrobial resistance of bacteria isolated from acne lesions in a hospital in Japan.

Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis are normal skin inhabitants that are frequently isolated from lesions caused by acne, and these micro-organisms are considered to contribute to the inflammation of acne. In the present study, we examined the antimicrobial susceptibilities and resistance mechanisms of P. acnes and S.

Paracrine cytokine mechanisms underlying the hyperpigmentation of seborrheic keratosis in covered skin areas.

We previously reported that increased expression of the endothelin (EDN)1/EDNB receptor (EDNBR) as well as the stem cell factor (SCF)/SCF receptor (c-KIT) linkages is mainly responsible for the activation of melanocytes in the epidermal hyperpigmentation of ultraviolet (UV)-B melanosis and lentigo senilis (LS). In this study, we characterized seborrheic keratosis (SK) to examine the paracrine cytokine mechanism(s) involved in its epidermal hyperpigmentation by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry and western blotting analyses. In contrast to our previous study which showed the upregulated expression of EDN1 and EDNBR at the transcriptional and translational levels in the epidermis of SK, we observed unexpectedly that the cytokine SCF and its receptor c-KIT are not upregulated, but are downregulated at both the gene and protein levels.

Glycolic acid chemical peeling improves inflammatory acne eruptions through its inhibitory and bactericidal effects on Propionibacterium acnes.

Glycolic acid chemical peeling is effective for treating comedones, and some clinical data show that it also improves inflammatory eruptions. The purpose of this study was to identify the mechanism of glycolic acid chemical peeling to improve inflammatory acne. To assess growth inhibitory and bactericidal effects of glycolic acid on Propionibacterium acnes in vitro, we used an agar diffusion method and a time-kill method.