Percutaneous collagen induction: An effective and safe treatment for post-acne scarring in different skin phototypes

Background: Atrophic scars can complicate moderate and severe acne. There are, at present, several modalities of treatment with different results. Percutaneous collagen induction (PCI) has recently been proposed as a simple and effective therapeutic option for the management of atrophic scars. Objective:The aim of our study was to analyze the efficacy and safety of percutaneous collagen induction for the treatment of acne scarring in different skin phototypes. Methods & materials: A total of 60 patients of skin types phototype I to VI were included in the study. They were divided into three groups before beginning treatment: Group A (phototypes I to II), Group B (phototypes III to V), and Group C (phototypes VI). Each patient had three treatments at monthly intervals. The aesthetic improvement was evaluated by using a Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS), and analyzed statistically by computerized image analysis of the patients' photographs. The differences in the GAIS scores in the different time-points of each group were found using the Wilcoxon's test for nonparametric-dependent continuous variables. Computerized image analysis of silicone replicas was used to quantify the irregularity of the surface micro-relief with Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT); average values of gray were obtained along the x- and y-axes. The calculated indexes were the integrals of areas arising from the distribution of pixels along the axes. Results:All patients completed the study. The Wilcoxon's test for nonparametric-dependent continuous variables showed a statistically significant (p < 0.05) reduction in severity grade of acne scars at T5 compared to baseline (T1). The analysis of the surface micro-relief performed on skin replicas showed a decrease in the degree of irregularity of skin texture in all three groups of patients, with an average reduction of 31% in both axes after three sessions. No short- or long-term dyschromia was observed. Conclusion: PCI offers a simple and safe modality to improve the appearance of acne scars without risk of dyspigmentation in patient of all skin types. © 2014 Informa Healthcare USA on behalf of Informa UK Ltd

Significant receptor affinities of metabolites and a degradation product of mometasone furoate

Mometasone furoate (MF) is a highly potent glucocorticoid used topically to treat inflammation in the lung, nose and on the skin. However, so far no information has been published on the human glucocorticoid receptor activity of the metabolites or degradation products of MF. We have now determined the relative receptor binding affinities of the known metabolite 6β-OH MF and the degradation product 9,11-epoxy MF to understand their possible contribution to undesirable systemic side effects. In competition experiments with human lung glucocorticoid receptors we have determined the relative receptor affinities (RRA) of these substances with reference to dexamethasone (RRA = 100). We have discovered that 6β-OH MF and 9,11-epoxy MF display RRAs of 206 ± 15 and 220 ± 22, respectively. This level of activity is similar to that of the clinically used inhaled corticosteroid flunisolide (RRA 180 ± 11). Furthermore we observed that 9,11-epoxy MF is a chemically reactive metabolite. In recovery experiments with human plasma and lung tissue we found a time dependent decrease in extractability of the compound. Hence, we provide data that might contribute to the understanding of the pharmacokinetics as well as the clinical effects of MF

MOKA3D: An innovative approach to 3D gas kinematic modelling. I. Application to AGN ionized outflows

Studying the feedback process of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) requires characterising multiple kinematical components, such as rotating gas and stellar disks, outflows, inflows, and jets. To compare the observed properties with theoretical predictions of galaxy evolution and feedback models and to assess the mutual interaction and energy injection rate into the interstellar medium (ISM), one usually relies on simplified kinematic models. These models have several limitations, as they often do not take into account projection effects, beam smearing and the surface brightness distribution of the emitting medium. Here, we present MOKA3D, an innovative approach to model the 3D gas kinematics from integral field spectroscopy observations. In this first paper, we discuss its application to the case of AGN ionised outflows, whose observed clumpy emission and apparently irregular kinematics are only marginally accounted for by existing kinematical models. Unlike previous works, our model does not assume the surface brightness distribution of the gas, but exploits a novel procedure to derive it from the observations by reconstructing the 3D distribution of emitting clouds and providing accurate estimates of the spatially resolved outflow physical properties (e.g. mass rate, kinetic energy). As an example, we demonstrate the capabilities of our method by applying it to three nearby Seyfert-II galaxies observed with MUSE at the VLT and selected from the MAGNUM survey, showing that the complex kinematic features observed can be described by a conical outflow with a constant radial velocity field and a clumpy distribution of clouds.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figure

MOKA3D : an innovative approach to 3D gas kinematic modelling: I. Application to AGN ionised outflows

Studying the feedback process of active galactic nuclei (AGN) requires the characterisation of multiple kinematical components, such as rotating gas and stellar discs, outflows, inflows, and jets. The usual approach to compare the observed galaxy properties with feedback theoretical predictions relies on simplified kinematic models. This allows us to assess the mutual interaction between the galaxy components and determine the energy injection rate into the interstellar medium. However, these models have several limitations, as they often do not take into account projection effects, beam smearing, or the surface brightness distribution of the emitting medium. Here, we present MOKA3D, an innovative approach to modelling the 3D gas kinematics from integral field spectroscopy observations. In this first paper, we discuss its application to the case of AGN ionised outflows, whose observed clumpy emission and apparently irregular kinematics are only marginally accounted for by the existing kinematical models. Unlike previous works, our model does not assume the surface brightness distribution of the gas, but exploits a novel procedure to derive it from observations by reconstructing the 3D distribution of emitting clouds and providing accurate estimates of the physical properties of spatially resolved outflow (e.g., mass rate, kinetic energy). We demonstrate the capabilities of our method by applying it to three nearby Seyfert-II galaxies observed with the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) at the VLT and selected from the Measuring Active Galactic Nuclei Under MUSE Microscope (MAGNUM) survey, showing that the complex kinematic features observed can be described by a conical outflow with a constant radial velocity field and a clumpy distribution of clouds

HOMERUN : a new approach to photoionization modeling : I. Reproducing observed emission lines with percent accuracy and obtaining accurate physical properties of the ionized gas

We present HOMERUN (Highly Optimized Multi-cloud Emission-line Ratios Using photo-ionizatioN), a new approach to modeling emission lines from photoionized gas that can simultaneously reproduce all observed line intensities from a wide range of ionization levels with high accuracy. Our approach is based on the weighted combination of multiple single-cloud photoionization models, and contrary to previous works, the novelty of our approach consists of using the weights as free parameters of the fit and constraining them with the observed data. One of the main applications of HOMERUN is the accurate determination of gas-phase metallicities, and we show that a critical point is to allow for a variation of the N/O and S/O abundance ratios, as this can significantly improve the quality of the fit and the accuracy of the results. Moreover, our approach provides a major improvement compared to the single-cloud constant-pressure models commonly used in the literature. By using high-quality spectra from the literature of H ii regions, where 10 to 20 emission lines (including several auroral lines) are detected with a high signal-to-noise ratio, we show that all lines are reproduced by the model with an accuracy better than 10%. In particular, the model is able to simultaneously reproduce [O i]λλ6300, 6363; [O ii]λλ3726, 3729; [O iii]λλ4959, 5007; [S ii]λλ6717, 6731; and [S iii]λλ9069, 9532 emission lines, which to our knowledge is an unprecedented result. Finally, we show that the gas metallicities estimated with our models for HII regions in the Milky Way are in better agreement with the stellar metallicities than the estimates based on the Te method. Overall, our method provides a new accurate tool to estimate the metallicity and the physical conditions of the ionized gas. It can be applied to many different science cases, from HII regions to active galactic nuclei, and wherever there are emission lines from photoionized gas

Evaluation of the in vitro skin permeation of antiviral drugs from penciclovir 1% cream and acyclovir 5% cream used to treat herpes simplex virus infection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Herpes simplex virus infection (HSV) is a common and ubiquitous infection of the skin which causes mucocutaneous lesions called cold sores (herpes labialis) or fever blisters. It is estimated that approximately 80% of the population worldwide are carriers of the Herpes simplex virus, approximately 40% suffer from recurrent recurrent infections. This study evaluates the <it>in vitro </it>skin permeation and penetration of penciclovir and acyclovir from commercialized creams for the treatment of herpes labialis (cold sores), using non viable excised human abdominal skin samples, which were exposed to 5 mg/cm²of acyclovir 5% cream or penciclovir 1% cream.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>After 24 h of cream application, excess cream was washed off and layers of stratum corneum were removed by successive tape stripping. Amounts of active ingredients having penetrated through the skin were measured, as well as the amounts in the washed-off cream, in skin strips and creams remaining in the skin. Molecular modelling was used to evaluate physico-chemical differences between the drugs. Western blot analysis enabled to determine whether the marker of basal cells keratin 5 could be detected in the various tape strips.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Application of penciclovir 1% cream yielded higher concentration of drug in the deeper layers of the epidermis as well as a higher drug flux through the skin. Molecular modelling showed two higher hydrophobic moieties for acyclovir. Presence of the basal cell marker keratin 5 was underscored in the deeper tape strips from the skin, giving evidence that both drugs can reach their target cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Penciclovir 1% cream has the tendency to facilitate the diffusion of the drug through the stratum corneum into the deeper epidermis layers, in which it could reach the target basal cells at effective therapeutical concentration. The small difference in the surface properties between both molecules might also contribute to favour the passage of penciclovir through the epidermis into the deeper basal cells.</p

Erratum: Role of surface trap states on two-dimensional electron gas density in InAlN/AlN/GaN heterostructures

Original article: Applied Physics Letters 100, 152116 (2012) In our recently published paper,1 we realized the occurrence of two mathematical mistakes in our calculation for Fig. 2(a) that, however, do not affect the results. The two errors are mentioned below