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Lactoferrin, a whey milk protein after removing precipitated casein, has a prominent activity against inflammation in vitro and systemic effects on various inflammatory diseases have been suggested. The objective was to determine dietary effects of lactoferrin-enriched fermented milk on patients with acne vulgaris, an inflammatory skin condition. Patients 18 to 30 y of age were randomly assigned to ingest fermented milk with 200 mg of lactoferrin daily ( n = 18, lactoferrin group) or fermented milk only ( n = 18, placebo group) in a 12-wk, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Acne lesion counts and grade were assessed at monthly visits. The condition of the skin by hydration, sebum and pH, and skin surface lipids was assessed at baseline and 12 wk. Acne showed improvement in the lactoferrin group by significant decreases in inflammatory lesion count by 38.6%, total lesion count by 23.1%, and acne grade by 20.3% compared with the placebo group at 12 wk. Furthermore, sebum content in the lactoferrin group was decreased by 31.1% compared with the placebo group. The amount of total skin surface lipids decreased in both groups. However, of the major lipids, amounts of triacylglycerols and free fatty acids decreased in the lactoferrin group, whereas the amount of free fatty acids decreased only in the placebo group. The decreased amount of triacylglycerols in the lactoferrin group was significantly correlated with decreases in serum content, acne lesion counts, and acne grade. No alterations in skin hydration or pH were noted in either group. Lactoferrin-enriched fermented milk ameliorates acne vulgaris with a selective decrease of triacylglycerols in skin surface lipids.

Ablative fractional technology has been used to improve transdermal drug delivery. However, there have been few previous in vivo investigations of the relative potency and methodology of fractional radiofrequency (RF) combined with sonophoresis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of fractional RF combined with sonophoresis on 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) penetration of the skin. Three male domestic swine were used. The skin of the pigs was exposed to fractional RF and/or sonophoresis, followed by topical ALA application. Fluorescence intensity (FI) of porphyrin fluorescence was measured. In both the epidermis and the dermis, FI increased after fractional RF and increased additionally with the addition of sonophoresis. Fractional RF with sonophoresis effectively enhanced ALA skin penetration. Pre-fractional RF followed by posttreatment with sonophoresis can be used for ALA-photodynamic therapy to achieve higher ALA uptake.

Platelet-rich plasma is widely used in acute and chronic ulcers due to its capacity to enhance the wound healing process. Fibroblasts are believed to be the most important cells in the production and remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1 is the proteolytic enzyme of collagen I, and has a key role in collagen remodeling during wound healing. Whether or not platelet-rich clot releasate (PRCR) is able to effectively modulate the ECM, and the effect of PRCR on the expression of type I collagen and MMP-1 in human dermal fibroblasts was evaluated. Specifically, human adult dermal fibroblasts were incubated in PRCR-containing solutions for 24 and 48 h, after which the levels of collagen and MMP-1 were quantified by reverse transcription PCR at the transcriptional level, and ELISA and immunoblot analyses at the post-transcriptional level. PRCR markedly up-regulated the expression of MMP-1 and type I collagen in fibroblasts incubated in 20 % PRCR solutions for 48 h. These findings suggest that increased MMP-1 expression after PRCR treatment enable remodeling the ECM.

Background Etanercept, a soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor, and acitretin have been shown to be effective in treating psoriasis. Acitretin is widely used in Korea. However, the combination of etanercept plus acitretin has not been evaluated among Korean patients with psoriasis. The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of combination therapy with etanercept and acitretin in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Methods Sixty patients with psoriasis were randomized to receive etanercept 50 mg twice weekly (BIW) for 12 weeks followed by etanercept 25 mg BIW for 12 weeks (ETN-ETN); etanercept 25 mg BIW plus acitretin 10 mg twice daily (BID) for 24 weeks (ETN-ACT); or acitretin 10 mg BID for 24 weeks (ACT). The primary efficacy measurement was the proportion of patients achieving 75 % improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI 75) at week 24. Secondary end points included 50 % improvement in PASI (PASI 50) at week 24 and clear/almost-clear by Physician Global Assessment (PGA) at each visit through week 24. Results The proportions of patients achieving PASI 75, PASI 50, and PGA clear/almost-clear at week 24 in the ETN-ETN (52.4, 71.4, and 52.4 %, respectively) and ETN-ACT groups (57.9, 84.2, and 52.6 %, respectively) were higher than in the ACT group (22.2, 44.4, and 16.7 %, respectively). The incidence of adverse events was similar across all arms. This was an open-label study with a small number of patients. Conclusion In Korean patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, etanercept alone or in combination with acitretin was more effective than acitretin. All treatments were well tolerated throughout the study. Trial registration This study was registered on July 7, 2009 at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00936065 .

Rapidly solidified Al-Si-Fe base alloys were prepared by gas atomization, hot pressing and extrusion. To optimize wear resistance and mechanical properties, Al-20wt.%Si-5wt.%Fe base alloys containing 1~3wt.%Ti were newly designed and characterized in detail. The additions of Ti (especially, ~2wt.%Ti) effectively increased the wear resistance and mechanical properties such as tensile strength and hardness; however, the addition of 3wt.%Ti was not desirable because of the precipitation of the primary Ti7Al5Si12 phase in the as-quenched state. Based on TEM analyses, the improved properties in the Al-Si-Fe alloys containing Ti were found to be due to the formation of the (Al, Si)3Ti phase finely dispersed in the matrix.

The relationship between the yield ratio and the material constants, b and N, of the Swift equation for hot-rolled low carbon steels has been established. The yield ratio calculated by using the Swift equation agrees well with an experimentally obtained yield ratio. It was found that the yield ratio decreases with an increasing value of N or with a decreasing value of b. It was also found, however, that high yield strength is associated with small values of both b and N. Therefore, to obtain both high yield strength and low yield ratio, a detailed microstructural control is needed to determine the optimum values of b and N.

Creep deformation behaviors in lamellar TiAl alloys have been investigated. As in the case with metals, the normal primary creep stage was observed. As creep strain increased within the primary regime, dislocation density decreased, and creep activation energy increased from 300kJ/mol, the activation energy of the self-diffusion of Ti in TiAl, to about 380kJ/mol, that of steady state creep deformation. During primary creep deformation of lamellar TiAl, as the initial dislocation density decreased, the α2 -phase was found to transform to a γ-phase, generating new dislocations which contributed to the creep deformation. In other words, this phase transformation is the source of the dislocation generation for continuous creep deformation. Therefore, we suggest that phase transformation is the rate controlling processes having an activation energy of about 400kJ/mol, which is higher than that of self-diffusion. A small amount of prestrain was found to be responsible for the reduction of initial dislocation density. In addition, this prestrained specimen showed significantly reduced primary creep strain, and the creep activation energy in the primary stage was measured to be about 380kJ/mol. These results clearly confirm the suggested creep deformation mechanism of lamellar TiAl alloys.

Dispersion strengthened Cu alloy was fabricated by injecting Cu-B alloy powders into the spray of Cu- Ti droplets. The microstructures of over-sprayed powders and spray deposited billet were observed by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The over-sprayed powders were composed of not only Cu-B and Cu-Ti alloy powders but also small amounts of Cu-B alloy powders surrounded by Cu-Ti droplets. Fine dispersoids of TiB were observed in the Cu-B powders surrounded by Cu-Ti, indicating that very rapid reaction of Ti and B had occurred during the flight of the droplets. TiB dispersoids of ~10 nm having an orientational relationship with the Cu matrix were distributed in the Cu-B alloy powder region and coarser TiB dispersoids of ~50 nm were observed in the circumferencial Cu-Ti region. The spray deposited billet consisted of the regions showing a fine microstructure of round shape, presumably originating from the injected Cu-B alloy powders, and a relatively coarse cellular microstructure. TiB2 and TiB of ~200 nm were observed along the grain and cell boundaries. Fine TiB dispersoids of ~10 nm having an orientational relationship with the Cu matrix were observed in both regions. The solidification behavior, with special interest in the formation of dispersoids, was examined based on this observation.

Cu-TiB2 composite has been manufactured by spray forming process. The microstructures of over-sprayed powder, spray-formed billet, and extruded rod have been characterized by optical microscopy and x-ray dif­fractometry. The tensile strength of extruded rod was measured by tensile testing. TiB2 particles were form­ed in a Cu melt of 1500℃ by chemical reaction between Ti and B. The TiB2 volume fraction within the spray-formed billet varied by the density difference between TiB2 and Cu melt. The strengthening of Cu-­TiB2 alloy was well described by dislocation pile-up model. The results indicate that yielding of this com­posite was subject to reinforced particle fracture by local stress concentrations caused by dislocation pile-up between obstacles. Reinforcement fracture also has an effect to decrease the work hardening rate with the in­crease of reinforcement volume fraction during plastic deformation. We believed that this is because of the strengthening loss due to the increase of fractured particles with increasing TiB2 volume fraction.