Background COVID‐19 pandemic influences a lot of aspects of human life. Particularly, hygienic habits are affected. Objectives Changes in washing and cosmetic standards during the pandemic toward the past are in the focus of our interest. Material and Methods The questionnaire study was conducted anonymously in 140 women. The examination concerned pre‐ and during‐pandemic routine hygiene activities such as hands washing, hair washing, bathing, the use of disinfectants, and use of specific type of cosmetics. Results and Discussion Compared were data before and during pandemic. Responders declared increased handwashing and taking shower after coming back home and after using local city transportation. We found also that increased use of disinfectants during COVID‐19 pandemic. In contrary to that, number of people washing their hair decreased slightly. Work documents that profile of used cosmetics was changed; increasing hand cream use and decreasing in makeup cosmetics. Nearly, half of the respondents declare that they will maintain new habits also after the pandemic has ended.

Among 60-70 species of Amaranthaceae, only three are grain-producing species and Amaranthus cruentus is one of them. It stands out for its significant chemical composition. The high protein content and amino acid composition give amaranth medicinal benefits such as cholesterol lowering, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-allergic, and antihypertensive activity. The fixed oil yield obtained by cold-pressing the grain is only 7-8%, but these lipids are valuable due to the presence of unsaturated fatty acids, tocopherols, tocotrienols, phytosterols, and squalene, which are not present in the same composition in other common oils. Among them, squalene is highly desirable.

Since the exposure of fibroblasts to prolonged UVA radiation induces oxidative stress and apoptosis, there is a need for effective skin protection compounds with cytoprotective and antioxidant properties. One of their sources is Amaranthus cruentus L. seed oil (AmO), which is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, squalene, vitamin E derivatives and phytosterols. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether AmO evokes a protective effect on the apoptosis induced by UVA radiation in human skin fibroblasts. UVA radiation at an applied dose of 10 J/cm2 caused a significant reduction in the survival of human skin fibroblasts and directed them into the apoptosis pathway. Increased expression of p53, caspase-3, caspase-9 and PARP proteins in UVA-treated fibroblasts suggests the intrinsic mechanism of apoptosis. Application of the oil at 0.1% and 0.15% concentrations to UVA-treated cells decreased the expression of these proteins, which was accompanied by increased cell survival. Similarly, the UVA-dependent decrease in the expression of p-Akt and mTOR proteins was restored under the effect of the studied oil. The molecular mechanism of this phenomenon was related to the stimulation of antioxidant processes through the activation of Nrf2. This suggests that AmO stimulated the antioxidant system in fibroblasts, preventing the effects of UVA-induced oxidative stress, which may lead to pharmaceutical and cosmetological applications as a sun-protective substance.

The skin matrix metalloproteinase 3, tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinase 2 and collagen III content changes in type 1 diabetes and insulin resistance treated with insulin and metformin were studied. Healthy adult male Wistar rats were obtained from experimental animal house, Department of Experimental Pharmacology, Medical University in Bialystok. The rats were divided randomly into five groups of 8 rats each. Control rats were injected intraperitoneally by NaCl. Type IDDM was induced by a single injection of Streptozocin. Insulin resistance was induced by a high-fat diet. The chosen groups of rats were also treated with insulin or metformin. ELISA Kits (USCN Life Science, China) were used to measure content of matrix metallo-proteinase 3 (ELISA Kit for Matrix Metalloproteinase 3 – MMP3), tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (ELISA Kit for Tissue Inhibitors of Metalloproteinase 2 – TIMP2) and content of collagen type 3 (ELISA Kit for Collagen Type III – COL3). The results were reported as a median. The statistical significance was defined as p<0.05. Type 1 diabetes and insulin resistance have significantly reduced the quality of the skin, shown by the increase in content of matrix metalloproteinase 3 and the decrease in content of tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinase 2. Type 1 diabetes and insulin resistance have reduced the quality of the skin expressed by type III collagen content decrease but for future studies it is recommend to determine rat interstitial collagenase, MMP-13, as well. Insulin and metformin treatment improved the quality of the diabetic skin, demonstrated by the type III collagen content increase.

Background:The health effects of Amaranth Oil (AO) are attributed to its specific chemical composition. That makes it an outstanding natural product for the prevention and treatment of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation-related pathologies such as sunburn, photoaging, photoimmunosuppression, and photocarcinogenesis. Most of the studies are taken on animal model, and there is a lack of research on the endogenous effect of AO on fibroblast level, where UVA takes it harmful place.Objective:The aim of this study was evaluation if AO can protect or abolish UVA exposure effect on human skin fibroblast.Materials and Methods:The 0.1% AO, 0.25% AO, and 0.5% AO concentration and irradiation for 15 min under UVA-emitting lamp were studied in various condition. In all experiments, the mean values for six assays ± standard deviations were calculated.Results:Pretreatment with various concentrations of AO was tested. The highest concentration of AO where cell survival was observed was 0.5%. Cytotoxicity assays provided evidence for pre- and post-UVA protective effect of 0.1% AO among three tested concentrations. The results also provide evidence that UVA has inhibitory effect on collagen biosynthesis in confluent skin fibroblast, but presence of 0.1% AO abolishes pre- and post-UVA effect comparing to other used AO concentration. The assessment results on DNA biosynthesis show the significant abolished post-UVA effect when 0.1% and 0.5% of AO were added.Conclusion:AO gives pre- and post-UVA protection in low concentration. This provides the evidence for using it not as a main protective factor against UV but as one of the combined components in cosmetic formulation.SUMMARY The recommended Amaranth Oil (AO) concentration in cosmetic formulation is between 0.1 and 5%Pretreatment with various concentrations of AO suggests to use the highest 0.5% concentration of AO in human skin fibroblast culturesThe 0.1% of AO in fibroblast cultures, protects and abolishes effect of ultraviolet A (UVA) exposureUVA has inhibitory effect on collagen biosynthesis in skin fibroblast, but presence of 0.1% AO abolishes pre- and post-UVA effectThe abolished post-UVA effect occurs when 0.1% and 0.5% of AO were added on DNA biosynthesis. Abbreviations used: AO: Amaranth Oil.

Reading difficulties are especially high among children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although there are a number of empirically supported reading interventions for children with ADHD, there is little data to guide the selection of the most efficacious reading intervention for a specific child. Brief experimental analysis (BEA) is a procedure that directly compares the efficacy of various academic interventions with the goal of guiding the selection of the intervention that results in optimal efficacy. The current proof of concept study examined the efficacy of the BEA methodology for determining the relative effectiveness of seven reading interventions for children with ADHD. The seven interventions included empirically supported ADHD interventions as well as traditional interventions found in the BEA literature. Six children diagnosed with ADHD completed the proof of concept study. Results indicated that the BEA successfully determined an efficacious intervention for each participant. The efficacy of the interventions and the optimal intervention based on BEA procedures varied for each child, suggesting the importance of a BEA approach when comparing various interventions for reading in children with ADHD. Implications and future directions for selecting effective reading interventions for children with ADHD are discussed.

UVA radiation inducing oxidative stress is harmful for the skin cells. The most sensitive are dermal fibroblasts. Exposure of the cells to prolonged UVA radiation induces apoptosis. Although, skin cells have a number of defense mechanisms that protect them against UV-induced oxidative stress, they are insufficient during long-lasting UV exposure. Therefore, there is a need for effective skin protection compounds with cytoprotective and antioxidant properties. One of their sources is Amaranthus cruentus L. seed oil, rich in unsaturated fatty acids, squalene, vitamin E derivatives, and phytosterols. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether Amaranthus cruentus seed oil evokes protective effect on the apoptosis stimulated by UVA radiation in human skin fibroblasts. UVA radiation at an applied dose of 10 J/cm2 caused a significant reduction in the survival of human skin fibroblasts and directed them into apoptosis pathway. Increased expression of p53, caspase 3, and caspase 9 and PARP proteins in UVA-treated fibroblasts suggests the intrinsic mechanism of apoptosis. The application of Amaranthus cruentus seed oil at 0.1% and 0.15% concentrations to UVA-treated cells decreased the expression of these proteins, which was accompanied by increased cell survival. Similarly, the UVA-dependent decrease in expression of p-Akt and mTOR proteins was restored, under the effect of studied oil. The molecular mechanism of this phenomenon is related to the stimulation of antioxidant processes through activation of Nrf2. This suggests that Amaranthus cruentus seed oil stimulate the antioxidant system in fibroblast cells and prevent the effects of UVA-induced oxidative stress and may find application in pharmacy and cosmetology as a sun- protective substance.

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