Skin weathering and ashiness in black Africans.

in European Journal of Dermatology (2003), 13(6), 574-8

Ashiness describes a common physiological skin condition that may develop in people with dark skin complexion. Environmental influences, particularly cold and dry weather, seem obvious. This condition has ... [more ▼]

Ashiness describes a common physiological skin condition that may develop in people with dark skin complexion. Environmental influences, particularly cold and dry weather, seem obvious. This condition has seldom been studied so far. In the present study, skin ashiness was assessed in 37 black African women by means of colorimetric assessments and xerosis ratings. Colour changes were measured by the parameters a* and the individual typology angle ITA degrees. Xerosis was assessed by visual inspection, the ultraviolet light-enhanced visualization (ULEV) method, and the cyanoacrylate skin surface stripping (CSSS) method. The assessments were performed on ashy skin of the legs and on the normal looking forehead during the winter season. Ashy skin was lighter but not erythematous. The ITA-revealed colour changes were correlated with xerosis severity as assessed by dry dermoscopy and by the ULEV and CSSS methods. In conclusion, ashiness due to skin weathering does not appear to be related to mild inflammation. It corresponds to a peculiar type of xerosis with reduction in Fresnel reflection by the stratum corneum. [less ▲]

Skin-lightening products revisited.

in International Journal of Cosmetic Science (2003), 25(4), 169-81

Skin colour typology depends on the amount and location of its chromophores. Among them, eumelanins derived from 5,6-dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (DHICA) and 5,6-dihydroxyindole (DHI), and ... [more ▼]

Skin colour typology depends on the amount and location of its chromophores. Among them, eumelanins derived from 5,6-dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (DHICA) and 5,6-dihydroxyindole (DHI), and phaeomelanins are of utmost importance. These biomolecules result from the multi-step enzymatic and non-enzymatic conversion of tyrosine into melanins. Pigmentation disorders are multiple and depend on alterations in the density in active melanocytes, and on specific abnormalities of any of the complex melanogenesis mechanisms. This review presents some of the main skin-lightening agents with respect to their mechanisms of action and side-effects. Some of the novel compounds may lead to new perspectives in the fields of dermatology and cosmetology. The methods commonly used to assess efficacy of skin-lightening products rely on in vitro models including cell-free enzymatic assays, melanocyte cultures and reconstructed epidermis bioassays. Animal models have little relevance. By contrast, human testing with the support of instrumental evaluations is the most informative. [less ▲]

Skipping 2 or 3 years for reproduction: the environmental determinant and the evolutionary consequences

Conference (2008, January)

SKOOL versus ZOOL: Effects of orthographic and phonological long term memory on nonword immediate serial recall

in Memory (2011), 19

Sleep

in Encyclopaedia Britannica (2011)

Sleep after declarative learning increases hippocampal activity at delayed recall

Poster (2006)

Sleep and Movement Disorders: Neuroimaging Aspects

in Chokroverty, Sudhansu; Montagna, Pasquale; Allen, Richard (Eds.) et al Sleep and Movement Disorders (in press)

Sleep apnea in patients with heart failure: Could cardiac resynchronization therapy be the first line treatment?

in International Journal of Cardiology (2010), 140(1), 128-130

Sleep contributes to the strengthening of some memories over others, depending on hippocampal activity at learning.

in Journal of Neuroscience (2011), 31(7), 2563-2568

Memory consolidation benefits from sleep. Besides strengthening some memory traces, another crucial, albeit overlooked, function of memory is also to erase irrelevant information. Directed forgetting is ... [more ▼]

Memory consolidation benefits from sleep. Besides strengthening some memory traces, another crucial, albeit overlooked, function of memory is also to erase irrelevant information. Directed forgetting is an experimental approach consisting in presenting “to be remembered” and “to be forgotten” information, that allows selectively decreasing or increasing the strength of individual memory traces according to the instruction provided at learning. This paradigm was used in combination with fMRI to determine, in Humans, what specifically triggers at encoding sleep-dependent compared to time-dependent consolidation. Our data indicate that relevant items which subjects strived to memorize are consolidated during sleep to a greater extend than items that participants did not intend to learn. This process appears to depend on a differential activation of the hippocampus at encoding, which acts as a signal for the offline reprocessing of relevant memories during post-learning sleep episodes. [less ▲]

Sleep in disorders of consciousness

in Sleep Medicine Reviews (2010), 14(2), 97-105

From a behavioral as well as neurobiological point of view, sleep and consciousness are intimately connected. A better understanding of sleep cycles and sleep architecture of patients suffering from ... [more ▼]

From a behavioral as well as neurobiological point of view, sleep and consciousness are intimately connected. A better understanding of sleep cycles and sleep architecture of patients suffering from disorders of consciousness (DOC) might therefore improve the clinical care for these patients as well as our understanding of the neural correlations of consciousness. Defining sleep in severely brain-injured patients is however problematic as both their electrophysiological and sleep patterns differ in many ways from healthy individuals. This paper discusses the concepts involved in the study of sleep of patients suffering from DOC and critically assesses the applicability of standard sleep criteria in these patients. <br />The available literature on comatose and vegetative states as well as that on locked-in and related states following traumatic or non-traumatic severe brain injury will be reviewed. A wide spectrum of sleep disturbances ranging from almost normal patterns to severe loss and architecture disorganization are reported in cases of DOC and some patterns correlate with diagnosis and prognosis. At the present time the interactions of sleep and consciousness in brain-injured patients are a little studied subject but, the authors suggest, a potentially very interesting field of research. [less ▲]