Background
Skin is a multilayer interface between the body and the environment, responsible for many important functions, such as temperature regulation, water transport, sensation, and protection from external triggers.

Objectives
This paper provides an overview of principal factors that influence human skin and describes the diversity of skin characteristics, its causes and possible consequences. It also discusses limitations in the barrier function of the skin, describing mechanisms of absorption.

Methods
There are a number of in vivo investigations focusing on the diversity of human skin characteristics with reference to barrier properties and body-dependent factors.

Results
Skin properties vary among individuals of different age, gender, ethnicity, and skin types. In addition, skin characteristics differ depending on the body site and can be influenced by the body-mass index and lifestyle. Although one of the main functions of the skin is to act as a barrier, absorption of some substances remains possible.

Conclusions
Various factors can alter human skin properties, which can be reflected in skin function and the quality of everyday life. Skin properties and function are strongly interlinked.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/srt.12424

The relationship between skin function, barrier properties, and body-dependent factors.

Distribution, sources and ecological risk assessment of PAHs in historically contaminated surface sediments at Bhavnagar coast, Gujarat, India

Investigation of pectin/starch hydrogel as a carrier for oral delivery of probiotic bacteria

Objectives There is growing evidence for the role of systemic inflammation in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases; however the systemic inflammatory profile in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) has never before been investigated. This study aimed to characterise systemic inflammatory mediators in established DLB and AD, as well as in their prodromal, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) phases. Methods We obtained plasma samples from patients with DLB (n=37), AD (n=20), MCI with DLB profile (n=38), MCI with AD profile (n=20) and healthy control subjects (n=20). The following inflammatory biomarkers were measured using Roche cobas c702 and Meso Scale Discovery V-Plex Plus: high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interferon-gamma, interleukin (IL)-10, IL-12p70, IL-13, IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha. Results We found significantly higher levels of IL-10, IL-1beta, IL-4 and IL-2 in both MCI groups (P Interpretation We have shown for the first time that in both DLB and AD, increased peripheral inflammation occurs early at the MCI disease stages. These data support a role for inflammation early in the disease process, and have important implications for the stage of disease where trials of anti-inflammatory medication should be focused.

https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/jnnp/89/4/339.full.pdf

Peripheral inflammation in prodromal Alzheimer’s and Lewy body dementias

Resilience is a key factor in the well-being of individuals. The present study set out to analyze the role of fluid intelligence, personality traits, and resilience in hedonic and eudaimonic well-being (EWB) in order to determine the incremental validity of resilience with respect to fluid intelligence and personality traits in 168 Italian high school students. The Advanced Progressive Matrices, the Big Five Questionnaire, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Satisfaction With Life Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, the Meaningful Life Measure, the Authenticity Scale were administered to the participants in the study. The results showed that resilience added a significant percentage of incremental variance with respect to fluid intelligence and personality traits in relation to life satisfaction, positive affect, life meaning, and authenticity. These results underline the value of resilience in both hedonic and EWB, thus offering new perspectives for research and intervention.

/pdf/hedonic-and-eudaimonic-well-being-the-role-of-resilience-2th3od0mff.pdf

Hedonic and eudaimonic well-being: the role of resilience beyond fluid intelligence and personality traits

Consistent biosynthesis of desired secondary metabolites (SMs) from pure microbial cultures is often unreliable. In a proof-of-principle study to induce SM gene expression and production, we describe mixed “co-culturing” conditions and monitoring of messages via quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Gene expression of model bacterial strains (Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and Roseobacter denitrificans Och114) was analyzed in pure solo and mixed cocultures to infer the effects of interspecies interactions on gene expression in vitro, Two P. aeruginosa genes (PhzH coding for portions of the phenazine antibiotic pathway leading to pyocyanin (PCN) and the RhdA gene for thiosulfate: cyanide sulfurtransferase (Rhodanese)) and two R. denitrificans genes (BetaLact for metallo-beta-lactamase and the DMSP gene for dimethylpropiothetin dethiomethylase) were assessed for differential expression. Results showed that R. denitrificans DMSP and BetaLact gene expression became elevated in a mixed culture. In contrast, P. aeruginosa co-cultures with R. denitrificans or a third species did not increase target gene expression above control levels. This paper provides insight for better control of target SM gene expression in vitro and bypass complex genetic engineering manipulations.

/pdf/co-cultures-of-pseudomonas-aeruginosa-and-roseobacter-28koc5upej.pdf

Crystal A. Conway

Papers

Co-cultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Roseobacter denitrificans reveal shifts in gene expression levels compared to solo cultures.