Impact of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and lockdown measures on microbial keratitis in Taiwan.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate how the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and associated lockdown measures influenced microbial keratitis in Taiwan by comparing demographic data, predisposing factors, pathogen profiles, and treatment outcomes in 2019 and 2020. METHODS: Data from patients diagnosed with microbial keratitis at National Chung Kung University Hospital between January 2019 and December 2020 were examined, focusing on patient demographics, predisposing factors, isolated pathogens, antibiotic usage, and clinical progress. RESULTS: No significant differences were found in patient sex, laterality, or average age between the two years. Predisposing factors, such as contact lens use and chronic ocular/systemic disorders, remained unchanged. While fungal isolates slightly increased during the lockdown, bacterial isolates remained consistent. Medical treatment effectiveness, treatment strategies, and antibiotic susceptibility for common bacteria showed no significant alterations. CONCLUSION: Despite the challenges posed by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and lockdown measures, this study revealed minimal changes in microbial keratitis trends in Taiwan. This highlights the importance of maintaining access to medical care during crises and offers insights into potential treatment strategies for patients facing difficulties in receiving timely care. Further research should investigate the pandemic's impact on healthcare access and patient outcomes in various populations and regions.

Air pollution after acute bronchiolitis is a risk factor for preschool asthma: a nested case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Acute bronchiolitis and air pollution are both risk factor of pediatric asthma. This study aimed to assess subsequent exposure to air pollutants related to the inception of preschool asthma in infants with acute bronchiolitis. This study aimed to assess subsequent exposure to air pollutants related to the inception of preschool asthma in infants with acute bronchiolitis. METHODS: A nested case-control retrospective study was performed at the Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital systems between 2009 and 2019. The average concentration of PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO, NO2, and NOX was collected for three, six, and twelve months after the first infected episode. Adjusted regression models were employed to evaluate the association between asthma and air pollution exposure after bronchiolitis. RESULTS: Two thousand six hundred thirty-seven children with acute bronchiolitis were included. Exposure to PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO, NO2, and NOX in the three, six, and twelve months following an episode of bronchiolitis was found to significantly increase the risk of preschool asthma in infants with a history of bronchiolitis.(OR, 95%CI: PM10 = 1.517-1.559, 1.354-1.744; PM2.5 = 2.510-2.603, 2.148-3.061; SO2 = 1.970-2.040, 1.724-2.342; ; NO = 1.915-1.950, 1.647-2.272; NO2 = 1.915-1.950, 1.647-2.272; NOX = 1.752-1.970, 1.508-2.252) In a sensitive analysis of hospitalized infants, only PM10, PM2.5, SO2, and NO were found to have significant effects during all time periods. (OR, 95%CI: PM10 = 1.613-1.650, 1.240-2.140; PM2.5 = 2.208-2.286, 1.568-3.061; SO2 = 1.679-1.622, 1.197-2.292; NO = 1.525-1.557, 1.094-2.181) CONCLUSION: The presence of ambient PM10, PM2.5, SO2 and NO in the three, six, and twelve months following an episode of acute bronchiolitis has been linked to the development of preschool asthma in infants with a history of acute bronchiolitis.

Automatic Counterfeit Currency Detection Using a Novel Snapshot Hyperspectral Imaging Algorithm.

In this study, a snapshot-based hyperspectral imaging (HSI) algorithm that converts RGB images to HSI images is designed using the Raspberry Pi environment. A Windows-based Python application is also developed to control the Raspberry Pi camera and processor. The mean gray values (MGVs) of two distinct regions of interest (ROIs) are selected from three samples of 100 NTD Taiwanese currency notes and compared with three samples of counterfeit 100 NTD notes. Results suggest that the currency notes can be easily differentiated on the basis of MGV values within shorter wavelengths, between 400 nm and 500 nm. However, the MGV values are similar in longer wavelengths. Moreover, if an ROI has a security feature, then the classification method is considerably more efficient. The key features of the module include portability, lower cost, a lack of moving parts, and no processing of images required.

Postauricular Incision Versus Modified Blair Incision in Parotidectomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The mainstay of first-line treatment of parotid tumors is adequate surgical removal. The present study was conducted to compare the differences between parotidectomy with postauricular incision (PI) and modified Blair incision (MBI). DATA SOURCES: A systematic search of PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library was performed. METHODS: The data of interest and study characteristics were extracted from the included studies. Statistical analysis was performed with Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (version 3; BioStat, Englewood, NJ). Dichotomous data and continuous data were analyzed by calculating the risk difference and the mean difference with the 95% confidence interval respectively. RESULTS: Four retrospective studies were included in the present meta-analysis. The pooled results revealed that the cosmetic satisfaction score was higher in the PI group (MD = 2.67; 95% CI, 2.12 to 3.23) and that intraoperative blood loss was lower in the PI group (MD = -55.35; 95% CI, -100.33 to -10.36). The operative duration (MD = -5.15; 95% CI, -24.06 to 13.75), tumor size (MD = -.07; 95% CI, -.27 to .13) and incidences of common postoperative complications were comparable between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: According to these findings, the use of PI in parotidectomies may be one of the options for improving cosmetic outcomes. This technique may be considered if oncological safety can be secured.

Therapeutic Effects of Perilla Phenols in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

The herbal medicine perilla leaf extract (PLE) exhibits various pharmacological properties. We showed that PLE inhibits the viability of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells. HPLC analysis revealed that caffeic acid (CA) and rosmarinic acid (RA) are the two main phenols in PLE, and reduced OSCC cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. The optimal CA/RA combination ratio was 1:2 at concentrations of 300-500 µM but had no synergistic inhibitory effect on the viability of OSCC cells. CA, RA, or their combination effectively suppressed interleukin (IL)-1ß secretion by OSCC OC3 cells. Long-term treatment with CA and CA/RA mixtures, respectively, induced EGFR activation, which might cause OC3 cells to become EGFR-dependent and consequently increased the sensitivity of OC3 cells to a low dose (5 µM) of the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib. Chronic treatment with CA, RA, or their combination exhibited an inhibitory effect more potent than that of low-dose (1 µM) cisplatin on the colony formation ability of OSCC cells; this may be attributed to the induction of apoptosis by these treatments. These findings suggest that perilla phenols, particularly CA and RA, can be used as adjuvant therapies to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy and EGFR-targeted therapy in OSCC.

Neural correlates of individual differences in predicting ambiguous sounds comprehension level.

This study investigated brain activation during auditory processing as a biomarker for the prediction of future perceptual learning performance. Cochlear implant simulated sounds (vocoded sounds) are degraded signals. Participants with normal hearing who were trained with these ambiguous sounds showed varied speech comprehension levels. We discovered that the neuronal signatures from untrained participants forecasted their future ambiguous speech comprehension levels. Participants' brain activations for auditory information processing were measured before (t1) they underwent a five-day vocoded sounds training session. We showed that the pre-training (t1) activities in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) correlate with the fifth-day (t2) vocoded sound comprehension performance. To further predict participants' future (t2) performances, we split the participants into two groups (i.e., good and bad learners) based on their fifth-day performance; a linear support vector machine (SVM) was trained to classify (predict) the remaining participants' groups. We found that pre-training (t1) fMRI activities in the bilateral IFG, angular gyrus (AG), and supramarginal gyrus (SMG) showed discriminability between future (t2) good and bad learners. These findings suggest that neural correlates of individual differences in auditory processing can potentially be used to predict participants' future cognition and behaviors.

Genome-wide association study reveals susceptibility loci for self-reported headache in a large community-based Asian population.

BACKGROUND: The genetic substrate for headache in the general population has not been identified in Asians. We investigated susceptible genetic variants for self-reported headache in a large community-based Asian population. METHODS: We conducted a genome-wide association study in participants recruited from a community-based cohort to identify the genetic variants associated with headache in Taiwanese. All participants received a structured questionnaire for self-reported headache. A total of 2084 patients with "self-reported headache" and 11,822 age- and sex-matched controls were enrolled. Gene enrichment analysis using the Genotype-Tissue Expression version 6 database was performed to explore the potential function of the identified variants. RESULTS: We identified two novel loci, rs10493859 in TGFBR3 and rs13312779 in FGF23, that are functionally relevant to vascular function and migraine to be significantly associated with self-reported headache after adjusting age, sex and top 10 principal components (p = 8.53 × 10-11 and p = 1.07 × 10-8, respectively). Gene enrichment analysis for genes with GWAS suggestive significance (p < 10-6) demonstrated that the expression of these genes was significantly enriched in the artery (p = 8.18 × 10-4) and adipose tissue (p = 8.95 × 10-4). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that vascular dysfunction might play important roles in the pathogenesis of self-reported headache in Asian populations.

Non-aura visual disturbance with high visual aura rating scale scores has stronger association with migraine chronification than typical aura.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical correlates of visual symptoms in patients with migraine. METHOD: Patients with migraine that attended our headache clinics were enrolled. Headache profiles, disability, and comorbidities were acquired with structured questionnaires. A semi-structured visual phenomenon questionnaire was also used to assess the characteristics of visual symptoms, including visual aura in patients with migraine with aura and transient visual disturbance in patients with migraine without aura. Headache specialists interviewed with the participants for the ascertainment of diagnosis and verification of the questionnaires. RESULT: Migraine with aura patients with visual aura (n = 743, female/male = 2.3, mean age: 34.7 ± 12.2 years) and migraine without aura patients with non-aura transient visual disturbance (n = 1,808, female/male = 4.4, mean age: 39.4 ± 12.6 years) were enrolled. Patients with transient visual disturbance had higher headache-related disability and more psychiatric comorbidities. Chronic migraine was more common in migraine without aura than migraine with aura patients (41.9% vs. 11.8%, OR = 5.48 [95% CI: 4.33-7.02], p < 0.001). The associations remained after adjusting confounding factors. CONCLUSION: Presence of non-aura transient visual disturbance may suggest a higher migraine-related disability and is linked to higher risk of chronic migraine than typical migraine aura in migraine patients. Further studies are needed to elucidate the potential mechanism.

Sensing ecosystem dynamics via audio source separation: A case study of marine soundscapes off northeastern Taiwan.

Remote acquisition of information on ecosystem dynamics is essential for conservation management, especially for the deep ocean. Soundscape offers unique opportunities to study the behavior of soniferous marine animals and their interactions with various noise-generating activities at a fine temporal resolution. However, the retrieval of soundscape information remains challenging owing to limitations in audio analysis techniques that are effective in the face of highly variable interfering sources. This study investigated the application of a seafloor acoustic observatory as a long-term platform for observing marine ecosystem dynamics through audio source separation. A source separation model based on the assumption of source-specific periodicity was used to factorize time-frequency representations of long-duration underwater recordings. With minimal supervision, the model learned to discriminate source-specific spectral features and prove to be effective in the separation of sounds made by cetaceans, soniferous fish, and abiotic sources from the deep-water soundscapes off northeastern Taiwan. Results revealed phenological differences among the sound sources and identified diurnal and seasonal interactions between cetaceans and soniferous fish. The application of clustering to source separation results generated a database featuring the diversity of soundscapes and revealed a compositional shift in clusters of cetacean vocalizations and fish choruses during diurnal and seasonal cycles. The source separation model enables the transformation of single-channel audio into multiple channels encoding the dynamics of biophony, geophony, and anthropophony, which are essential for characterizing the community of soniferous animals, quality of acoustic habitat, and their interactions. Our results demonstrated the application of source separation could facilitate acoustic diversity assessment, which is a crucial task in soundscape-based ecosystem monitoring. Future implementation of soundscape information retrieval in long-term marine observation networks will lead to the use of soundscapes as a new tool for conservation management in an increasingly noisy ocean.

Detection of weak micro-scratches on aspherical lenses using a Gabor neural network and transfer learning.

Surface defect detection is a crucial step in ensuring the quality of lenses. One method to check for surface defects is to use an optical system integrated with an industrial camera to magnify and highlight the position of a defect on the surface of a lens. Therefore, automatic optical inspection systems are applied to detect micro-defects. In this study, we propose an automatic inspection platform based on a deep neural network for automatically imaging and examining the surface of a lens. High-resolution images of 2448×2048 pixels are acquired using a hybrid lighting system. A convolutional neural network integrated with a trainable Gabor filter is used as a machine vision algorithm to perform image classification and defect segmentation tasks. The experimental results show that the proposed method effectively performed with noise in the background, achieving a segmentation accuracy of 98%.

Recent Advances in Counterfeit Art, Document, Photo, Hologram, and Currency Detection Using Hyperspectral Imaging.

Forgery and tampering continue to provide unnecessary economic burdens. Although new anti-forgery and counterfeiting technologies arise, they inadvertently lead to the sophistication of forgery techniques over time, to a point where detection is no longer viable without technological aid. Among the various optical techniques, one of the recently used techniques to detect counterfeit products is HSI, which captures a range of electromagnetic data. To aid in the further exploration and eventual application of the technique, this study categorizes and summarizes existing related studies on hyperspectral imaging and creates a mini meta-analysis of this stream of literature. The literature review has been classified based on the product HSI has used in counterfeit documents, photos, holograms, artwork, and currency detection.

The Pathomechanism, Antioxidant Biomarkers, and Treatment of Oxidative Stress-Related Eye Diseases.

Oxidative stress is an important pathomechanism found in numerous ocular degenerative diseases. To provide a better understanding of the mechanism and treatment of oxidant/antioxidant imbalance-induced ocular diseases, this article summarizes and provides updates on the relevant research. We review the oxidative damage (e.g., lipid peroxidation, DNA lesions, autophagy, and apoptosis) that occurs in different areas of the eye (e.g., cornea, anterior chamber, lens, retina, and optic nerve). We then introduce the antioxidant mechanisms present in the eye, as well as the ocular diseases that occur as a result of antioxidant imbalances (e.g., keratoconus, cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma), the relevant antioxidant biomarkers, and the potential of predictive diagnostics. Finally, we discuss natural antioxidant therapies for oxidative stress-related ocular diseases.

Optical and Material Characteristics of MoS2/Cu2O Sensor for Detection of Lung Cancer Cell Types in Hydroplegia.

In this study, n-type MoS2 monolayer flakes are grown through chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and a p-type Cu2O thin film is grown via electrochemical deposition. The crystal structure of the grown MoS2 flakes is analyzed through transmission electron microscopy. The monolayer structure of the MoS2 flakes is verified with Raman spectroscopy, multiphoton excitation microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. After the preliminary processing of the grown MoS2 flakes, the sample is then transferred onto a Cu2O thin film to complete a p-n heterogeneous structure. Data are confirmed via scanning electron microscopy, SHG, and Raman mapping measurements. The luminous energy gap between the two materials is examined through PL measurements. Results reveal that the thickness of the single-layer MoS2 film is 0.7 nm. PL mapping shows a micro signal generated at the 627 nm wavelength, which belongs to the B2 excitons of MoS2 and tends to increase gradually when it approaches 670 nm. Finally, the biosensor is used to detect lung cancer cell types in hydroplegia significantly reducing the current busy procedures and longer waiting time for detection. The results suggest that the fabricated sensor is highly sensitive to the change in the photocurrent with the number of each cell, the linear regression of the three cell types is as high as 99%. By measuring the slope of the photocurrent, we can identify the type of cells and the number of cells.

In-Hospital and Long-Term Outcomes in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer Bleeding.

Background and Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to elucidate the in-hospital and long-term outcomes of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) bleeding and to analyze the risk factors for mortality. Materials and Methods: We included patients who presented to the emergency department (ED) with HNC bleeding. Variables of patients who survived and died were compared and associated factors were investigated by logistic regression and Cox's proportional hazard model. Results: A total of 125 patients were enrolled in the present study. Fifty-nine (52.8%) patients experienced a recurrent bleeding event. The in-hospital mortality rate was 16%. The overall survival at 1, 3 and 5 years was 48%, 41% and 34%, respectively. The median survival time was 9.2 months. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that risk factors for in-hospital mortality were inotropic support (OR = 10.41; Cl 1.81-59.84; p = 0.009), hypopharyngeal cancer (OR = 4.32; Cl 1.29-14.46; p = 0.018), and M stage (OR = 5.90; Cl 1.07-32.70; p = 0.042). Multivariate Cox regression analyses indicate that heart rate >110 (beats/min) (HR = 2.02; Cl 1.16-3.51; p = 0.013), inotropic support (HR = 3.25; Cl 1.20-8.82; p = 0.021), and hypopharygneal cancer (HR = 2.22; Cl 1.21-4.06; p = 0.010) were all significant independent predictors of poorer overall survival. Conclusions: HNC bleeding commonly represents the advanced disease stage. Recognition of associated factors aids in the risk stratification of patients with HNC bleeding.

Elimination of Hepatitis C Virus in a Dialysis Population: A Collaborative Care Model in Taiwan.

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVE: Hemodialysis facilities are high-risk environments for the spread of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Eliminating HCV from all dialysis facilities in a community may be achieved more effectively under a collaborative care model. STUDY DESIGN: Quality improvement study of multidisciplinary collaborative care teams including nephrologists, gastroenterologists, and public health practitioners. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: All dialysis patients in Changhua County, Taiwan were treated using an interdisciplinary collaborative care model implemented within a broader Changhua-Integrated Program to Stop HCV Infection (CHIPS-C). QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ACTIVITIES: Provision of an HCV care cascade to fill 3 gaps, including screening and testing, diagnosis, and universal direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment implemented by collaborating teams of dialysis practitioners and gastroenterologists working under auspices of Changhua Public Health Bureau. OUTCOME: Outcome measures included quality indicators pertaining to 6 steps in HCV care ranging from HCV screening to treatment completion to cure. ANALYTICAL APPROACH: A descriptive analysis. RESULTS: A total of 3,657 patients from 31 dialysis facilities were enrolled. All patients completed HCV screening. The DAA treatment initiation rate and completion rate were 88.9% and 94.0%, respectively. The collaborative care model achieved a cure rate of 166 (96.0%) of 173 patients. No virologic failure occurred. The cumulative treatment ratios for patients with chronic HCV infection increased from 5.3% before interferon-based therapy (2017) to 25.6% after restricted provision of DAA (2017-2018), and then to 89.1% after universal access to DAA (2019). LIMITATIONS: Unclear impact of this collaborative care program on incident dialysis patients entering dialysis facilities each year and on patients with earlier stages of chronic kidney disease. CONCLUSIONS: A collaborative care model in Taiwan increased the rates of diagnosis and treatment for HCV in dialysis facilities to levels near those established by the World Health Organization.

Stable reflective state induced by a disturbed planar texture in surface-treatment-free chiral nematic liquid crystals.

Chiral nematic liquid crystals possess a one-dimensional periodic helical structure and are one of the oldest known materials with the ability of selective reflection of light. Their helix orientation, determining their optical properties, can be changed by a variety of stimuli, and it is also dominated by the surface treatment, ratio of the elastic constants and cell thickness. Here, we present a simple method to realize an angular independence reflective state, induced by a stable disturbed planar texture, in a surface-treatment-free chiral nematic liquid crystal cell. The scattering state caused by the defect-rich focal-conic texture can be electrically tuned to the reflective state from the disturbed planar texture in a very short time, and vice versa. These two optical conditions are both stable states in the null field until the next trigger. We find that the disturbed planar texture in the chiral nematic can provide a 100° viewing angle without reflected wavelength shift. The gray level of the reflected intensity can be tuned via application of the voltage pulses. Moreover, in this work, we discuss the effect of the chiral concentration on stabilizing the disturbed planar texture. When the chiral concentration is higher to induce the blue phases, the change in the texture of the ChNLCs after removing the strong electric field can stop at the disturbed planar texture with high reflectivity. In this work, the optical performance and the bistability based on the disturbed planar texture exhibits great potential for many applications, such as tunable filters, see-through/reflective displays and large-area smart windows.

Small-volume detection: platform developments for clinically-relevant applications.

Biochemical analysis of human body fluids is a frequent and fruitful strategy for disease diagnosis. Point-of-care (POC) diagnostics offers the tantalizing possibility of providing rapid diagnostic results in non-laboratory settings. Successful diagnostic testing using body fluids has been reported on in the literature; however, small-volume detection devices, which offer remarkable advantages such as portability, inexpensiveness, capacity for mass production, and tiny sample volume requirements have not been thoroughly discussed. Here, we review progress in this research field, with a focus on developments since 2015. In this review article, we provide a summary of articles that have detailed the development of small-volume detection strategies using clinical samples over the course of the last 5 years. Topics covered include small-volume detection strategies in ophthalmology, dermatology or plastic surgery, otolaryngology, and cerebrospinal fluid analysis. In ophthalmology, advances in technology could be applied to examine tear or anterior chamber (AC) fluid for glucose, lactoferrin, interferon, or VEGF. These approaches could impact detection and care for diseases including diabetic mellitus, dry-eye disease, and age-related maculopathy. Early detection and easy monitoring are critical approaches for improving overall care and outcome. In dermatology or plastic surgery, small-volume detection strategies have been applied for passive or interactive wound dressing, wound healing monitoring, and blister fluid analysis for autoimmune disease diagnosis. In otolaryngology, the analysis of nasal secretions and mucosa could be used to differentiate between allergic responses and infectious diseases. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis could be applied in neurodegenerative diseases, central neural system infection and tumor diagnosis. Other small-volume fluids that have been analyzed for diagnostic and monitoring purposes include semen and cervico-vaginal fluids. We include more details regarding each of these fluids, associated collection and detection devices, and approaches in our review.

Case reports of indium lung disease in Taiwan.

The production of indium-tin oxide has increased in the past decades due to the increased manufacture of liquid crystal displays (LCD). Taiwan is one of the highest indium-consuming countries worldwide. After repeated inhalation, indium oxide (In2O3) particles would accumulate in the lungs, resulting in severe lung effects. We report two workers of an LCD producing facility with elevated serum indium level up to 149 and 73.8 µg/L (normal value <3.5 µg/L), which was much higher than that observed in previous case reports in Taiwan. We collected their detailed working history, symptoms, pulmonary function, radiologic findings, and followed up for more than one year. We also performed workplace evaluation of the facility. We observed that sandblasters who clean components of ITO thin-film production machinery by sandblasting with aluminum oxide tend to have higher indium exposure with worse pulmonary functions and HRCT findings.

Size-dependence and interfacial segregation in nanofilms and nanodroplets of homologous polymer blends.

The size-dependent behavior of nanofilms and nanodroplets of homologous polymer blends was explored by many-body dissipative particle dynamics. Although a homologous blend can be regarded as a completely miscible and athermal system, enrichment of the surface in short polymers always takes place. First, liquid-gas and solid-liquid interfacial tensions of polymer melts were acquired. It is found that they increase and approach asymptotes with increasing chain lengths. The molecular weight dependence can be depicted using two semi-empirical expressions. Second, the variation of surface tension and surface excess of polymer blend nanofilms with the thickness was observed. Surface tension of the blend is observed to increase but the extent of surface segregation decreases upon increasing the film thickness. Finally, the wetting phenomenon of nanodroplets of homologous blends was examined. The contact angle is found to increase as the droplet size is reduced. Our simulation results indicate that the size-dependence of nanofilms and nanodroplets is closely related to surface segregation in homologous blends.

New Templated Ostwald Ripening Process of Mesostructured FeOOH for Third-Harmonic Generation Bioimaging.

Emerging advances in iron oxide nanoparticles exploit their high magnetization for various applications, such as bioseparation, hyperthermia, and magnetic resonance imaging. In contrast to their excellent magnetic performance, the harmonic generation and luminescence properties of iron oxide nanoparticles have not been thoroughly explored, thus limiting their development as a tool in photomedicine. In this work, a seed/growth-inspired synthesis is developed combined with primary mineralization and a ligand-assisted secondary growth strategy to prepare mesostructured α-FeOOH nanorods (NRs). The sub-wavelength heterogeneity of the refractive index leads to enhanced third-harmonic generation (THG) signals under near-infrared excited wavelengths at 1230 nm. The as-prepared NRs exhibit an 11-fold stronger THG intensity compared to bare α-FeOOH NRs. Using these unique nonlinear optical properties, it is demonstrated that mesostructured α-FeOOH NRs can serve as biocompatible and nonbleaching contrast agents in THG microscopy for long-term labeling of cells as well as in angiography in vivo by modifying lectin to enhance the binding efficiency to the glycocalyx layers on the wall of blood vessels. These results provide a new insight into Fe-based nanoplatforms capable of emitting coherent light as molecular probes in optical microscopy, thus establishing a complementary microscopic imaging method for macroscopic magnetic imaging systems.