Background: Natural moisturizing factors (NMFs) are filaggrin-derived components in the cornified layer that are critical for maintaining healthy skin moisturization and barrier function. However, studies have reporte...Background: Natural moisturizing factors (NMFs) are filaggrin-derived components in the cornified layer that are critical for maintaining healthy skin moisturization and barrier function. However, studies have reported conflicting findings on the relationship between NMF levels and aging, while few studies have investigated this relationship clinically. To fill this research gap, we determined the levels of major NMF components such as free amino acids, pyrrolidone carboxylic acid, and urocanic acids, and individually verified their relationships with skin hydration, barrier function, age, and skin aging. Purpose: The objective of this study was to clinically investigate the relationship between NMF components levels and skin aging in facial skin. The main NMF components were obtained from facial skin and quantified. We then selected NMF components showing strong relationships to skin hydration, and analyzed the relationships of the levels of these selected NMF components with signs of skin aging, namely, texture, pores, wrinkles, and dullness (L-value). We also examined the efficacy of treatment with a skin care formula (SK-II Facial Treatment Essence, called SK-II FTE hereafter) including Galactomyces ferment filtrate (GFF, PiteraTM) on the selected NMF component levels associated with skin hydration and barrier function, and the signs of skin aging of texture, pores, wrinkles, and dullness (L-value). Method: We conducted two clinical trials in this research. In Study 1, we measured 23 NMF components using tape-stripped cornified layer to quantify them via an HPLC method in 196 Asian females aged 20 to 59 (mean S.D., 38.6 9.4). Facial visual aging parameters [texture, pores, wrinkles, and dullness (L-value)], as well as elasticity (R7), skin hydration, and TEWL, were quantified using facial skin imaging and skin physical property measurement devices. Study 2 was performed to evaluate whether the facial application of SK-II FTE affects the NMF levels and skin aging parameters in 63 Asian female volunteers aged 20 to 55 (38.4 9.03). During the course of Study 2, 0.6 mL of SK-II FTE was applied to the face twice daily in the morning and afternoon. Skin measurements were performed at the start of the day (baseline) and at week 8. Results: In Study 1, we examined the stratum corneum levels of 23 NMF components comparing to the skin hydration status in 196 female subjects. The subjects were divided into two groups using the median of each measured NMF component. Skin hydration values were compared between the two groups defined for each NMF component. The results showed that subjects with higher levels of six amino acids, alanine, arginine, asparagine, glutamine, glycine, and histidine, exhibited significantly higher skin hydration than those with lower amino acid levels. No significant differences in skin hydration values were found for the other 17 NMF components. We then analyzed whether the sum of these six amino acid NMF components (called 6-AA-NMFs, hereafter) is affected by aging. The 6-AA-NMF level peaked in the subjects aged 25-29, and then gradually and significantly decreased with age. Interestingly, the 6-AA-NMF level was significantly correlated with the skin hydration value, but not with TEWL. In addition, the 6-AA-NMF level demonstrated significant correlations with the signs of skin aging of texture, pores, wrinkles, and dullness (L-value). Then, in Study 2, we examined whether the daily application of SK-II FTE affects the 6-AA-NMF level and visual aging parameters in 63 females. SK-II FTE demonstrated significant increases of the levels of 6-AA-NMFs and each of its components associated with hydration and barrier function, and improvements of skin texture, pores, wrinkles, and dullness (L-value) during the 8 weeks of treatment of facial skin. Conclusion: These clinical studies with large numbers of subjects across a wide age range revealed that six amino acids as NMF components were highly correlated with facial skin hydration in the stratum corneum. The levels of these six NMF components were also found to decrease at ages after the 30 s and were significantly correlated with major signs of skin aging. Notably, these six NMF components (6-AA-NMFs) were increased by SK-II FTE treatment associated with improvements of skin hydration and signs of skin aging, namely, texture, pores, wrinkles, and dullness (L-value). These studies were limited by the lack of investigation of why some NMF components were not associated with skin hydration. More clinical trials examining various NMF components and their relationship with aging are anticipated.展开更多
Amylose content(AC)is a crucial determinant of the eating and cooking quality(ECQ)of rice,with low AC varieties exhibiting a softer texture and greater stickiness-attributes that enhance palatability and are desirable...Amylose content(AC)is a crucial determinant of the eating and cooking quality(ECQ)of rice,with low AC varieties exhibiting a softer texture and greater stickiness-attributes that enhance palatability and are desirable in specific culinary contexts.To harness these traits,significant efforts have been made to manipulate AC to improve rice ECQ.Our research utilized the MutMap+approach to identify LAC6/TL1,a gene that is an allele of Du13,responsible for low AC.LAC6 encodes a C2H2 zinc finger protein,which specifically increases the splicing efficiency of the Wxb allele without affecting the Wxa allele.Functional studies of LAC6 revealed that its proper integration could rectify the undesirable AC phenotype,whereas mutations within this gene led to reduced AC and were associated with shorter grain length and decreased thousand-grain weight.Despite these drawbacks,such mutations positively impact rice palatability,presenting a trade-off between grain size and eating quality.To address the challenges posed by the reduced grain weight associated with LAC6 mutations,we developed a specific molecular marker for LAC6,which has been effectively used in breeding programs to select lac6/tl1/du13 homozygous individuals with larger grain size.Our findings demonstrate that the“small grain”trait associated with lac6/tl1/du13 can be effectively mitigated through combined phenotype-based and marker-assisted selection.This study highlights the potential of lac6/tl1/du13 as a valuable gene for breeding novel,high-quality soft rice varieties through targeted breeding strategies.展开更多
The effects of the Gaussian white noise excitation on structural safety due to erosion of safe basin in Duffing oscillator with double potential wells are studied in the present paper. By employing the well-developed ...The effects of the Gaussian white noise excitation on structural safety due to erosion of safe basin in Duffing oscillator with double potential wells are studied in the present paper. By employing the well-developed stochastic Melnikov condition and Monte-Carlo method, various eroded basins are simulated in deterministic and stochastic cases of the system, and the ratio of safe initial points （RSIP） is presented in some given limited domain defined by the system＇s Hamiltonian for various parameters or first-passage times. It is shown that structural safety control becomes more difficult when the noise excitation is imposed on the system, and the fractal basin boundary may also appear when the system is excited by Gaussian white noise only. From the RSIP results in given limited domain, sudden discontinuous descents in RSIP curves may occur when the system is excited by harmonic or stochastic forces, which are different from the customary continuous ones in view of the firstpassage problems. In addition, it is interesting to find that RSIP values can even increase with increasing driving amplitude of the external harmonic excitation when the Gaussian white noise is also present in the system.展开更多
A single light bulb hangs precariously from the ceiling of Qiu Suokun's small room in Beijing. It illuminates a bed, a table and some chairs that take up most of the 10 square meters. The room has no heating syste...A single light bulb hangs precariously from the ceiling of Qiu Suokun's small room in Beijing. It illuminates a bed, a table and some chairs that take up most of the 10 square meters. The room has no heating system installed, and is warmed by a small stove, which makes little impression during Beijing's fiercely cold winter. "We have nothing to entertain us. In the evening, I like having a drink with Qiu, eating some peanuts and playing cards," Zhao Huobing told Beijing Review. Zhao arrived in Beijing wi...展开更多
文摘Background: Natural moisturizing factors (NMFs) are filaggrin-derived components in the cornified layer that are critical for maintaining healthy skin moisturization and barrier function. However, studies have reported conflicting findings on the relationship between NMF levels and aging, while few studies have investigated this relationship clinically. To fill this research gap, we determined the levels of major NMF components such as free amino acids, pyrrolidone carboxylic acid, and urocanic acids, and individually verified their relationships with skin hydration, barrier function, age, and skin aging. Purpose: The objective of this study was to clinically investigate the relationship between NMF components levels and skin aging in facial skin. The main NMF components were obtained from facial skin and quantified. We then selected NMF components showing strong relationships to skin hydration, and analyzed the relationships of the levels of these selected NMF components with signs of skin aging, namely, texture, pores, wrinkles, and dullness (L-value). We also examined the efficacy of treatment with a skin care formula (SK-II Facial Treatment Essence, called SK-II FTE hereafter) including Galactomyces ferment filtrate (GFF, PiteraTM) on the selected NMF component levels associated with skin hydration and barrier function, and the signs of skin aging of texture, pores, wrinkles, and dullness (L-value). Method: We conducted two clinical trials in this research. In Study 1, we measured 23 NMF components using tape-stripped cornified layer to quantify them via an HPLC method in 196 Asian females aged 20 to 59 (mean S.D., 38.6 9.4). Facial visual aging parameters [texture, pores, wrinkles, and dullness (L-value)], as well as elasticity (R7), skin hydration, and TEWL, were quantified using facial skin imaging and skin physical property measurement devices. Study 2 was performed to evaluate whether the facial application of SK-II FTE affects the NMF levels and skin aging parameters in 63 Asian female volunteers aged 20 to 55 (38.4 9.03). During the course of Study 2, 0.6 mL of SK-II FTE was applied to the face twice daily in the morning and afternoon. Skin measurements were performed at the start of the day (baseline) and at week 8. Results: In Study 1, we examined the stratum corneum levels of 23 NMF components comparing to the skin hydration status in 196 female subjects. The subjects were divided into two groups using the median of each measured NMF component. Skin hydration values were compared between the two groups defined for each NMF component. The results showed that subjects with higher levels of six amino acids, alanine, arginine, asparagine, glutamine, glycine, and histidine, exhibited significantly higher skin hydration than those with lower amino acid levels. No significant differences in skin hydration values were found for the other 17 NMF components. We then analyzed whether the sum of these six amino acid NMF components (called 6-AA-NMFs, hereafter) is affected by aging. The 6-AA-NMF level peaked in the subjects aged 25-29, and then gradually and significantly decreased with age. Interestingly, the 6-AA-NMF level was significantly correlated with the skin hydration value, but not with TEWL. In addition, the 6-AA-NMF level demonstrated significant correlations with the signs of skin aging of texture, pores, wrinkles, and dullness (L-value). Then, in Study 2, we examined whether the daily application of SK-II FTE affects the 6-AA-NMF level and visual aging parameters in 63 females. SK-II FTE demonstrated significant increases of the levels of 6-AA-NMFs and each of its components associated with hydration and barrier function, and improvements of skin texture, pores, wrinkles, and dullness (L-value) during the 8 weeks of treatment of facial skin. Conclusion: These clinical studies with large numbers of subjects across a wide age range revealed that six amino acids as NMF components were highly correlated with facial skin hydration in the stratum corneum. The levels of these six NMF components were also found to decrease at ages after the 30 s and were significantly correlated with major signs of skin aging. Notably, these six NMF components (6-AA-NMFs) were increased by SK-II FTE treatment associated with improvements of skin hydration and signs of skin aging, namely, texture, pores, wrinkles, and dullness (L-value). These studies were limited by the lack of investigation of why some NMF components were not associated with skin hydration. More clinical trials examining various NMF components and their relationship with aging are anticipated.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2023YFD1200901)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32230074 and 32161143004)+3 种基金the Research Programs from Jiangsu Government(JBGS[2021]001,BZ2021017,and Qing Lan Project)the Foreign Expert Project(G2023014064L)Postgraduate Research&Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province(KYCX21_3239)the Yangzhou University High-end Talent Program.
文摘Amylose content(AC)is a crucial determinant of the eating and cooking quality(ECQ)of rice,with low AC varieties exhibiting a softer texture and greater stickiness-attributes that enhance palatability and are desirable in specific culinary contexts.To harness these traits,significant efforts have been made to manipulate AC to improve rice ECQ.Our research utilized the MutMap+approach to identify LAC6/TL1,a gene that is an allele of Du13,responsible for low AC.LAC6 encodes a C2H2 zinc finger protein,which specifically increases the splicing efficiency of the Wxb allele without affecting the Wxa allele.Functional studies of LAC6 revealed that its proper integration could rectify the undesirable AC phenotype,whereas mutations within this gene led to reduced AC and were associated with shorter grain length and decreased thousand-grain weight.Despite these drawbacks,such mutations positively impact rice palatability,presenting a trade-off between grain size and eating quality.To address the challenges posed by the reduced grain weight associated with LAC6 mutations,we developed a specific molecular marker for LAC6,which has been effectively used in breeding programs to select lac6/tl1/du13 homozygous individuals with larger grain size.Our findings demonstrate that the“small grain”trait associated with lac6/tl1/du13 can be effectively mitigated through combined phenotype-based and marker-assisted selection.This study highlights the potential of lac6/tl1/du13 as a valuable gene for breeding novel,high-quality soft rice varieties through targeted breeding strategies.
基金The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China10302025The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China10672140
文摘The effects of the Gaussian white noise excitation on structural safety due to erosion of safe basin in Duffing oscillator with double potential wells are studied in the present paper. By employing the well-developed stochastic Melnikov condition and Monte-Carlo method, various eroded basins are simulated in deterministic and stochastic cases of the system, and the ratio of safe initial points （RSIP） is presented in some given limited domain defined by the system＇s Hamiltonian for various parameters or first-passage times. It is shown that structural safety control becomes more difficult when the noise excitation is imposed on the system, and the fractal basin boundary may also appear when the system is excited by Gaussian white noise only. From the RSIP results in given limited domain, sudden discontinuous descents in RSIP curves may occur when the system is excited by harmonic or stochastic forces, which are different from the customary continuous ones in view of the firstpassage problems. In addition, it is interesting to find that RSIP values can even increase with increasing driving amplitude of the external harmonic excitation when the Gaussian white noise is also present in the system.
文摘A single light bulb hangs precariously from the ceiling of Qiu Suokun's small room in Beijing. It illuminates a bed, a table and some chairs that take up most of the 10 square meters. The room has no heating system installed, and is warmed by a small stove, which makes little impression during Beijing's fiercely cold winter. "We have nothing to entertain us. In the evening, I like having a drink with Qiu, eating some peanuts and playing cards," Zhao Huobing told Beijing Review. Zhao arrived in Beijing wi...
