Optical Diagnostics of the Maxillary Sinuses by Digital Diaphanoscopy Technology.

The work is devoted to the development of a scientific and technical basis for instrument implementation of a digital diaphanoscopy technology for the diagnosis of maxillary sinus inflammatory diseases taking into account the anatomical features of patients (differences in skin structure, skull bone thickness, and sinus size), the optical properties of exercised tissues, and the age and gender characteristics of patients. The technology is based on visualization and analysis of scattering patterns of low-intensity radiation as it passes through the maxillary sinuses. The article presents the experimental data obtained using the digital diaphanoscopy method and the results of numerical simulation of the optical radiation passage through the study area. The experimental setup has been modernized through the installation of a a device for controlling the LED applicator brightness. The approach proposed may have considerable promise for creating diagnostic criteria for various pathological changes and can be used to assess the differences in the optical and anatomical features of males and females.

Titania nanofibers in gypsum composites: an antibacterial and cytotoxicology study.

Further developments of antibacterial coatings based on photocatalytic nanomaterials could be a promising route towards potential environmentally friendly applications in households, public buildings and health care facilities. Hereby we describe a simple chemical approach to synthesize photocatalytic nanomaterial-embedded coatings using gypsum as a binder. Various types of TiO2 nanofiber-based photocatalytic materials (nitrogen-doped and/or palladium nanoparticle decorated) and their composites with gypsum were characterized by means of scanning (SEM) and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy as well as electron and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) techniques. These gypsum-based composites can be directly applied as commercially available paints on indoor walls. Herein we report that surfaces coated with photocatalytic composites exhibit excellent antimicrobial properties by killing both methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) under blue light. In the case of MSSA cells, the palladium nanoparticle-decorated and nitrogen-doped TiO2 composites demonstrated the highest antimicrobial activity. For the MRSA strain even pure gypsum samples were proven to be efficient in eradicating Gram-positive human pathogens. The cytotoxicity of freestanding TiO2 nanofibers was revealed by analyzing the viability of HeLa cells using MTT and fluorescent cell assays.