Pervasive 2007: It's about the User

Pervasive computing is as much about the user as it is about the technology. So, the Fifth International Conference on Pervasive Computing emphasized desirability rather than just feasibility. Featured themes included user benefits, human-computer interaction, group and social interactions, context awareness, finding and positioning people and objects, and personal privacy.     

Lipopeptides in cosmetics

Lipopeptides are biosurfactants extensively used in cosmetics. The consumption of cosmetics containing lipopeptides is increasing as a result of the exceptional surface properties and diverse biological activities of lipopeptides which facilitate a vast number of applications not only in the pharmaceutics industry which includes cosmetics but also in the food industry. Cosmetics containing lipopeptides are available in various dosage forms according to their beneficial surface properties, which include anti-wrinkle and moisturizing activities and cleansing cosmetics. The microbial production of lipopeptides particularly those with biological and surface activities applicable to cosmetics are summarized based on appropriate studies and patents up to the year 2008 to manage the information and sufficiently review the data.     

Therapeutic agents and herbs in topical application for acne treatment

Acne vulgaris suppresses an individual's self-confidence by causing distress with regard to physical appearance, which affects a significant number of individuals during puberty and is delineated by adolescence. Several treatments have been introduced to decrease the aesthetic and psychological problems caused by acne. The topical application of therapeutic agents has been found to be more feasible than hormonal treatment and laser therapy. The ingredients in topical acne treatments, particularly herbs and naturally derived compounds, have received considerable interest as they have fewer adverse effects than synthetic agents.     

Natural surfactants used in cosmetics: glycolipids

Cosmetic surfactant performs detergency, wetting, emulsifying, solubilizing, dispersing and foaming effects. Adverse reactions of chemical synthesis surfactant have an effect on environment and humans, particularly severe in long term. Biodegradability, low toxicity and ecological acceptability which are the benefits of naturally derived surfactant that promises cosmetic safety are, therefore, highly on demand. Biosurfactant producible from microorganisms exhibiting potential surface properties suitable for cosmetic applications especially incorporate with their biological activities. Sophorolipids, rhamnolipids and mannosylerythritol lipids are the most widely used glycolipids biosurfactant in cosmetics. Literatures and patents relevant to these three glycolipids reviewed were emphasizing on the cosmetic applications including personal care products presenting the cosmetic efficiency, efficacy and economy benefits of glycolipids biosurfactant.     

Shape effect on weakly nonlinear elliptical composites

The electric field responses of two types of weakly nonlinear dielectric composites consisting of elliptic cylindrical inclusions, one with identical shape and the another with distributed shapes, randomly embedded in the linear host media in the dilute limit are investigated. The dielectric property of the inclusions is that the relation between the displacement (D) and electric (E) fields obey the form D = ?E + χ∣E∣^βE where β is a nonlinear integer exponent and ? ? χ∣E∣^β. By using the decoupling approximation, the effective nonlinear susceptibility (χ_e) is determined and analyzed for varying the aspect ratios and the shape distribution parameters for the composites with identical and distributed inclusion shapes, respectively. In addition, the exact analytic result of χ_e for the elliptical composites with distributed inclusion shapes for the case of β = 2 is derived in this article.     

Comparative metabolite profiling of raw milk from subclinical and clinical mastitis cows using 1H-NMR combined with chemometric analysis

The objectives of this study were to characterise and compare non-volatile metabolite profiles of raw milk from healthy, subclinical and clinical mastitis cows using a non-targeted proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) metabolomic approach. A total of 46 metabolites were identified. Multivariate analysis allowed discrimination of milk from healthy and mastitis cows according to their ¹H-NMR metabolite profiles. Significant increases in acetate, formate, lactate, benzoate, hippurate, β-hydroxybutyrate, valerate, alanine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, N-acetylamino acid, phenylalanine, threonine and valine content were associated with extremely high somatic cell count and clinical mastitis status of the cows. Furthermore, significant rises in hippurate, valerate, N-acetylglucosamine, histidine, isoleucine and leucine content could be used as potential biomarker for indicating subclinical mastitis infection of the udders. Beside the existing biomarkers for diagnosing mastitis in literatures, we found additional candidate metabolites, such as alanine, valerate and N-acetylglucosamine, in correlation with mastitis status of Thai crossbred Holstein dairy cows.     

In Vitro and In Vivo Removal Efficacies of a Formulated Pumpkin Seed Oil Makeup Remover

Pumpkin seed oil is well known for its health benefits due to its high content of fatty acid constituents and tocopherols. The removal efficacy of pumpkin seed oil was assessed using UV–Vis spectroscopy. The oil was able to remove 79.92 ± 0.07%, 41.02 ± 0.25%, and 23.54 ± 0.19% of foundation and liquid and pen eyeliners. A stable makeup remover was formulated using 5–15% pumpkin seed oil. Addition of pumpkin seed oil significantly (P < 0.001) enhanced removal ability of the base remover. The remover containing 5% pumpkin seed oil was able to remove 89.27 ± 0.02%, 67.72 ± 0.08%, and 41.25 ± 0.07% of foundation, liquid, and pen eyeliners, respectively, while those of the remover containing 10% pumpkin seed oil were 78.24 ± 0.02%, 66.88 ± 0.05%, and 38.43 ± 0.05%, and those of the remover containing 15% pumpkin seed oil were 84.41 ± 0.01%, 69.79 ± 0.12%, and 41.88 ± 0.04%, respectively. On the other hand, removal efficiencies of the benchmark were 91.20 ± 0.03%, 73.46 ± 0.10%, and 54.00 ± 0.07%, respectively. The removers containing pumpkin seed oil did not cause skin irritation as monitored by a single closed-patch test in 10 female volunteers. The remover containing 5% pumpkin seed oil was further preference studied in 25 female volunteers in a comparison with the benchmark. The pumpkin seed oil remover gained a better overall preference over the benchmark (82.29 ± 4.17% and 80.20 ± 8.64%; P = 0.287). Of which, skin hydration of the developed bio-oil remover was significantly (P < 0.001) satisfied.     

Intracellular protein determination using droplet-based immunoassays

This paper describes the implementation of a sensitive, on-chip immunoassay for the analysis of intracellular proteins, developed using microdroplet technology. The system offers a number of analytical functionalities, enabling the lysis of low cell numbers, as well as protein detection and quantification, integrated within a single process flow. Cells were introduced into the device in suspension and were electrically lysed in situ. The cell lysate was subsequently encapsulated together with antibody-functionalized beads into stable, water-in-oil droplets, which were stored on-chip. The binding of intracellular proteins to the beads was monitored fluorescently. By analyzing many individual droplets and quantifying the data obtained against standard additions, we measured the level of two intracellular proteins, namely, HRas-mCitrine, expressed within HEK-293 cells, and actin-EGFP, expressed within MCF-7 cells. We determined the concentrations of these proteins over 5 orders of magnitude, from ~50 pM to 1 μM. The results from this semiautomated method were compared to those for determinations made using Western blots, and were found not only to be faster, but required a smaller number of cells.     

Moisturizing effect of alcohol-based hand rub containing okra polysaccharide

A natural, moisturizing alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) containing okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) polysaccharide was formulated to reduce the dryness caused by traditional hand-cleansing products. The ABHR developed also reduced infectious disease transmission. Preliminary evaluations of the stable natural hand hygiene preparations were conducted to determine preference and short-term moisturizing efficacy in volunteers. Formulations contained varying amounts of gelling agent (0.5% and 0.3% w/v). Accelerated stability testing using a centrifugation assay and six heating/cooling cycles of the ABHR bases were performed. Then, okra polysaccharide (5%, 7%, 10% and 15% w/w) was incorporated into the base, and stability tests were repeated. The moisturizing okra polysaccharide was compatible with the formulations at all concentrations. All of the formulated ABHRs were stable. Sensory evaluation was conducted in 36 volunteers. The two most preferred okra ABHRs were patch-tested in 12 volunteers; results indicated none of the preparations caused irritation. Efficacy of the most preferred moisturizing ABHR containing 0.3% gelling agent and 10% (w/v) okra extract was determined. Short-term moisturizing efficacy of a single application was examined in 20 volunteers. The okra ABHR hydrated skin significantly better than a control ABHR (P < 0.005) at 30 min after application. Skin moisture was retained for 210 min of the observation period. Thus, the ABHR product containing moisturizing okra is safe, efficacious and possesses desirable properties. The formulation can be applied every 3 h for good hand hygiene with moisturizing efficacy.