Notes

Microcavity-like exciton-polaritons can be the main photoexcitation inside bare natural semiconductors.
Treatment of erosive pustular dermatosis of the scalp (EPDS) is challenging. Topical and systemic medications have achieved limited success, and destructive modalities have been associated with EPDS recurrence because of the tendency of the condition to recur after any treatment that induces trauma to the skin. Our group has have recently reported two series of EPDS treated with aminolevulinic acid-photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT). Here, we aimed at comparing the protocols utilized in those series regarding efficacy, cost, and patient satisfaction. The first protocol included one visit for curettage of the hyperkeratosis and a second one for ALA-PDT. The revised (second) protocol included all procedures (curettage and ALA-PDT) in one visit. A novel silicone gel was applied immediately after completion of PDT, and patients were instructed to apply it twice daily over the treated areas until their follow-up visit. Both protocols were efficacious and provided similar length of remission. The second protocol was less costly. Patients treated using the second protocol were more satisfied due to the ease of treatment completion in one visit and better postoperative healing. (SKINmed. 2022;20107-112).Autologous serum is a component taken from patient's blood after centrifugation to be used for the same patient. Lately, growth factors (GF) found in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been widely used as an alternative therapeutic modality in various medical fields. The benefits of using autologous serum effectively include reduced risk of hypersensitivity or allergic reactions as well as the reduced risk of transmission of infectious diseases; however, in practice, the availability of products with GF is still limited. This study aimed to review the latest evidences of using autologous serum therapy in dermatology. We searched and screened the study papers of past 5 years (2015 - 2020) through Pubmed Medline for the following topic "Risks and benefits of autologous serum in the field of dermatology." The initial search obtained 333 papers, of which only 14 met the inclusion criteria these included five papers on dermatology, seven on ophthalmology, and one paper each on plastic surgery and orthopedics. PRP serum contains GF, vitamins, hormones, and other components. GF contained in PRP is an effective therapeutic modality to be used in dermatology for wound healing, skin rejuvenation, acne scar, and androgenic alopecia. (SKINmed. 2022;2097-104).Skincare products containing ingredients derived from Centella asiatica, more commonly known as Cica, have become popular as anti-aging remedies, moisturizers, anti-inflammatory drugs, and in treating scars, wounds, and atopic dermatitis, among other skin conditions.1-7 Cica has been used in homeopathy for centuries to treat a variety of ailments.2,6 Due to the many purported benefits of its skincare formulations, we examined the mechanisms of cica and reviewed the existing literature in order to shed more light on its role in dermatology. (SKINmed. 2022;2094-96).In contrast to the extensive but non-recyclable use of tetraalkoxydiboron(4) compounds as stoichiometric reagents in diverse reactions, this article reports an atom-economical reaction using a commercial diboron(4) as the catalyst. The key to success was designing a catalytic cycle for radical [3 + 2] cycloaddition involving a pyridine cocatalyst to generate from the diboron(4) catalyst and reversibly mediate the transfer of boronyl radicals. In comparison with known [3 + 2] cycloaddition with transition metal-based catalysts, the current reaction features not only metal-free conditions, inexpensive and stable catalysts, and simple operation but also remarkably broadened substrate scope. In particular, previously unusable cyclopropyl ketones without an activating group and/or alkenes with 1,2-disubstitution and 1,1,2-trisubstitution patterns were successfully used for the first time. Consequently, challenging cyclopentane compounds with various levels of substitution (65 examples, 57 new products, up to six substituents at all five ring atoms) were readily prepared in generally high to excellent yield and diastereoselectivity. The reaction was also successfully applied in concise formal synthesis of an anti-obesity drug and building natural product-like complex bridged or spirocyclic compounds. Mechanistic experiments and computational investigation support the proposed radical relay catalysis featuring a pyridine-assisted boronyl radical catalyst. Overall, this work demonstrates the first approach to use tetraalkoxydiboron(4) compounds as catalysts and may lead to the development of new, green, and efficient transition metal-like boron-catalyzed organic reactions.Antimicrobial and antiviral nanocomposites based on polylactic acid (PLA) and chitosan were synthesized by a thermochemical reduction method of Ag+ ions in the PLA-Ag+-chitosan polymer films. Features of the structural, morphological, thermophysical, antimicrobial, antiviral, and cytotoxic properties of PLA-Ag-chitosan nanocomposites were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and antiviral, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic studies. The effects of temperature and the duration of reduction of Ag+ ions on the structure of PLA-Ag-chitosan nanocomposites were established. During the thermochemical reduction (T = 160 °C, t = 5 min) of silver palmitate ions in PLA-Ag+-chitosan polymer films, Ag nanoparticles with an average size of 4.2 nm were formed. PLA-Ag-chitosan polymer nanocomposites have strong antimicrobial activity against S. aureus and E. coli strains. In particular, for PLA-chitosan samples containing 4% Ag, the diameters of the S. aureus and E. coli growth inhibition zones were 25.8 and 25.0 mm, respectively. The antiviral activity of the nanocomposites against influenza A virus, herpes simplex virus type 1, and adenovirus serotype 2 was also revealed. The PLA-4%Ag-chitosan nanocomposites completely inhibited the cytopathic effect (CPE) of herpes virus type 1 by 5.12 log10TCID50/mL (high antiviral activity) and the development of the CPE of influenza virus and adenovirus by 0.60 and 1.07 log10TCID50/mL (relative antiviral activity). The obtained nanocomposites were not cytotoxic; they did not inhibit the viability of MDCK, BHK-21, and Hep-2 cell cultures.In order to solve the problem of difficult separation of various biogenic amines (BAs), which have similar structures or very different polarities, in gentamicin, by conventional liquid chromatography, a new ultrahigh-performance supercritical fluid chromatography (UHPSFC) method was developed. In this method, 10 BAs were derivatized precolumn using dansyl chloride and separated using a UHPSFC system. By computational simulation, complete separation of 10 BAs was successfully achieved. Detection was performed using a photodiode array (PDA) and single-quadrupole mass spectrometry (MS) together with electrospray ionization (ESI). A wide linear range (10-2500 ng/mL) was achieved, with the limits of detection (LODs) between 1.2 and 10.0 ng/mL and the limits of quantification (LOQs) between 5.0 and 25.0 ng/mL. Apart from high sensitivity, this UHPSFC-PDA/ESI-MS detection method also displayed high accuracy, the matrix effect was reduced by an appreciable extent, and the recovery rates of the 10 BAs were between 84.1 and 117.1%. For comparison, high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was also used for the detection of underivatized BAs in gentamicin, showing good linearity and high sensitivity (LODs from 0.05 to 1.00 ng/mL and LOQs from 1.00 to 12.50 ng/mL) for all BAs except for spermine and spermidine. Although single-quadrupole MS is inferior to MS/MS in terms of sensitivity, the UHPSFC method could detect more BAs. It also achieved the quantification limits required for impurity determination, demonstrating a potential strategy to offer a map overview of possible BA presence in fermentation antibiotics.We reported wet spinning of recombinant spider silk protein (RSSP) and formylation of RSSP in formic acid (FA). First, FA was selected as the spinning solvent and the detailed spinning condition was determined. Next, the mechanical property was compared between the RSSP fiber spun after allowing the spinning solution dissolved in FA to stand for 2 days and the fiber spun immediately after being dissolved in FA for 4 h. The tensile strength of the former fiber was lower than the strength of the latter fiber. This difference can be explained by the difference in the degree of formylation as follows. FA is a known formylating agent, although most researchers who prepared silk fiber by wet spinning with FA have not pointed out about formylation. The formylation of the Ser OH group was confirmed by 13C solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and the time course of formylation of the RSSP film prepared from the FA solution was tracked by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The 13C solid-state NMR spectra were also compared between two kinds of the formylated RSSP fibers and indicated that the packing state was tighter for the latter fiber than the former one, which could explain higher tensile strength of the latter fiber in the dry state. The sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis indicated that the RSSP sample decomposed gradually with storage time in FA and the decomposition has begun partly even at 2 h after dissolution in FA. The decomposition by formylation seems to have no significant effect on the backbone structure of the RSSP fiber, although the packing of the fiber becomes loose as a whole. Finally, preliminary trial of deformylation of the formylated RSSP fiber was performed.Potato virus X (PVX), a species of the genus Potexvirus, is a plant pathogenic virus that causes severe symptoms such as mild mosaic, crinkling, necrosis, and mottling on leaves. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the effect of PVX virus infection on the metabolic system in nontransgenic and Arabidopsis thaliana production of anthocyanin pigment 1 (AtPAP1) transgenic tobacco using transcript expression analysis and metabolic profiling. Potato virus X inoculation increased the gene expression of phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis and the production of chlorogenic acid, p-coumaric acid, benzoic acid, rutin, quercetin, and kaempferol in nontransgenic tobacco leaves. However, in the AtPAP1 transgenic tobacco leaves, PVX inoculation decreased the expression of AtPAP1 and phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis genes, and the production of phenolics and anthocyanin also declined. In contrast, the levels of amino acids and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates increased after infection in the AtPAP1 transgenic plant leaves. To date, these results have not been reported previously. We suggest that PVX infection decreases AtPAP1 expression, leading to the downregulation of phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis in transgenic plants.Whether women and men are psychologically very similar or quite different is a contentious issue in psychological science. check details This article clarifies this issue by demonstrating that larger and smaller sex/gender differences can reflect differing ways of organizing the same data. For single psychological constructs, larger differences emerge from averaging multiple indicators that differ by sex/gender to produce scales of a construct's overall typicality for women versus men. For example, averaging self-ratings on personality traits more typical of women or men yields much larger sex/gender differences on measures of the femininity and masculinity of personality. Sex/gender differences on such broad-gauge, thematic variables are large relative to differences on their component indicators. This increased effect magnitude for aggregated scales reflects gains in both their reliability and validity as indicators of sex/gender. In addition, in psychological domains such as vocational interests that are composed of many variables, at least some of which differ by sex/gender, the multivariate distance between women and men is typically larger than the differences on the component variables.
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