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Photoaging is an important extrinsic aging factor leading to altered skin morphology and reduced function. Prior work has revealed a connection between photoaging and loss of subcutaneous fat. Currently, primary models for studying this are in vivo (human samples or animal models) or in vitro models, including human skin equivalents (HSEs). In vivo models are limited by accessibility and cost, while HSEs typically do not include a subcutaneous adipose component. To address this, we developed an “adipose-vascular” HSE (AVHSE) culture method, which includes both hypodermal adipose and vascular cells. Furthermore, we tested AVHSE as a potential model for hypodermal adipose aging via exposure to 0.45 ± 0.15 mW/cm2 385 nm light (UVA). One week of 2 h daily UVA exposure had limited impact on epidermal and vascular components of the AVHSE, but significantly reduced adiposity by approximately 50%. Overall, we have developed a novel method for generating HSE that include vascular and adipose components and demonstrated potential as an aging model using photoaging as an example.

Modern readers who investigate religious theories and practices are exposed to diverse truth claims and worldviews. Such claims are often conflicting and subject the readers to various misconceptions and misguidance. In Buddhism, the Buddha is said to have awakened to the true nature of existence and attained final liberation from suffering, referred to as “enlightenment.” How was he able to convince his disciples of his self-claimed enlightenment? Can his reasoning be applied to modern readers, who are well-educated, but overloaded with the incessant proliferation of digital information? The Buddha, specifically in the Kālāma Sutta, presents empirically testable guidelines, termed the “Ten Criteria,” which were formulated as an integrated interplay of reasoning and morality. This essay examines the Buddha’s strategy, which is empirical and pragmatic in nature and embraces the fundamental principles of modern science. We contend that his proposed methodology is verifiably evocative of a moral discipline, while presenting a pedagogical approach to the teacher−student dynamic. Serving as a reference point, this view may help modern readers in differentiating the right truth from the biased post-truths, which appeal to emotion and personal belief.

The Buddha is said to have awakened to the true nature of existence and attained final liberation from suffering through the practice of Satipaṭṭhāna. This practice begins by addressing sensations from the processes of body and mind, as characterized by ‘bare attention’ and ‘clear comprehension’ through non-judgmental observation, ultimately effecting a transformation into a unique religious experience. During its transmission to East Asian countries, particularly in the Chan tradition, the essence of Satipaṭṭhāna-sutta has become transformed, while maintaining the theme of intense concentration, perhaps in the form of ‘counter-illumination’—an extended equivalent of ‘bare attention’. Not much has been written on which aspects of the Indian contemplative tradition were passed on to the Chan/Seon schools. In the Korean Ganhwa Seon practice, however, there are some indications that the spirit of Satipaṭṭhāna, resonating as a role of sustained attention with mindfulness, has been partially manifested, having crystallized into the mindful hwadu called Sisimma, or ‘Sati-Sisimma’. To substantiate this, this paper investigates how the two seemingly different practices can be seen to link together in the Korean Seon tradition, and proposes pari passu meditative parallels, Satipaṭṭhāna and Sati-Sisimma, recommending for an ‘attentive’ mode and a ‘non-attentive’ mode respectively, in modern meditative practices.