Light exposure and its applications in human health.

Light exposure has been proven to have a significant impact on human health. As a result, researchers are increasingly exploring its potential benefits and drawbacks. With advancements in understanding light and the manufacturing of light sources, modern health lighting has become widely utilized in daily life and plays a critical role in the prevention and treatment of various illnesses. The use of light in healthcare is a global trend, with many countries actively promoting the development and application of relevant scientific research and medical technology. This field has gained worldwide attention and support from scientists and doctors alike. In this review, we examine the application of lighting in human health and recent breakthroughs in light exposure related to pathology, therapeutic strategies, molecular changes, and more. Finally, we also discuss potential future developments and areas of application.

Towards clinically applicable automated mandibular canal segmentation on CBCT.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a deep learning-based system for precise, robust, and fully automated segmentation of the mandibular canal on cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images. METHODS: The system was developed on 536 CBCT scans (training set: 376, validation set: 80, testing set: 80) from one center and validated on an external dataset of 89 CBCT scans from 3 centers. Each scan was annotated using a multi-stage annotation method and refined by oral and maxillofacial radiologists. We proposed a three-step strategy for the mandibular canal segmentation: extraction of the region of interest based on 2D U-Net, global segmentation of the mandibular canal, and segmentation refinement based on 3D U-Net. RESULTS: The system consistently achieved accurate mandibular canal segmentation in the internal set (Dice similarity coefficient [DSC], 0.952; intersection over union [IoU], 0.912; average symmetric surface distance [ASSD], 0.046 mm; 95% Hausdorff distance [HD95], 0.325 mm) and the external set (DSC, 0.960; IoU, 0.924; ASSD, 0.040 mm; HD95, 0.288 mm). CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrated the potential clinical application of this AI system in facilitating clinical workflows related to mandibular canal localization. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Accurate delineation of the mandibular canal on CBCT images is critical for implant placement, mandibular third molar extraction, and orthognathic surgery. This AI system enables accurate segmentation across different models, which could contribute to more efficient and precise dental automation systems.

MX1 and UBE2L6 are potential metaflammation gene targets in both diabetes and atherosclerosis.

Background: The coexistence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and atherosclerosis (AS) is widespread, although the explicit metabolism and metabolism-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) responsible for the correlation are still unclear. Methods: Twenty-four genetically wild-type male Ba-Ma mini pigs were randomly divided into five groups distinguished by different combinations of 90 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) intravenous injection and high-cholesterol/lipid (HC) or high-lipid (HL) diet feeding for 9 months in total. Pigs in the STZ+HC and STZ+HL groups were injected with STZ first and then fed the HC or HL diet for 9 months. In contrast, pigs in the HC+STZ and HL+STZ groups were fed the HC or HL diet for 9 months and injected with STZ at 3 months. The controls were only fed a regular diet for 9 months. The blood glucose and abdominal aortic plaque observed through oil red O staining were used as evaluation indicators for successful modelling of DM and AS. A microarray gene expression analysis of all subjects was performed. Results: Atherosclerotic lesions were observed only in the HC+STZ and STZ+HC groups. A total of 103 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified as common between them. The most significantly enriched pathways of 103 common DEGs were influenza A, hepatitis C, and measles. The global and internal protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks of the 103 common DEGs consisted of 648 and 14 nodes, respectively. The top 10 hub proteins, namely, ISG15, IRG6, IRF7, IFIT3, MX1, UBE2L6, DDX58, IFIT2, USP18, and IFI44L, drive aspects of DM and AS. MX1 and UBE2L6 were the intersection of internal and global PPI networks. The expression of MX1 and UBE2L6 was 507.22 ± 342.56 and 96.99 ± 49.92 in the HC+STZ group, respectively, which was significantly higher than others and may be linked to the severity of hyperglycaemia-related atherosclerosis. Further PPI network analysis of calcium/micronutrients, including MX1 and UBE2L6, consisted of 58 and 18 nodes, respectively. The most significantly enriched KEGG pathways were glutathione metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, purine metabolism, and metabolic pathways. Conclusions: The global and internal PPI network of the 103 common DEGs consisted of 648 and 14 nodes, respectively. The intersection of the nodes of internal and global PPI networks was MX1 and UBE2L6, suggesting their key role in the comorbidity mechanism of DM and AS. This inference was partly verified by the overexpression of MX1 and UBE2L6 in the HC+STZ group but not others. Further calcium- and micronutrient-related enriched KEGG pathway analysis supported that MX1 and UBE2L6 may affect the inflammatory response through micronutrient metabolic pathways, conceptually named metaflammation. Collectively, MX1 and UBE2L6 may be potential common biomarkers for DM and AS that may reveal metaflammatory aspects of the pathological process, although proper validation is still needed to determine their contribution to the detailed mechanism.

Effect of photobiomodulation on alleviating primary dysmenorrhea caused by PGF2α.

Photobiomodulation (PBM) has attracted widespread attention in suppressing various pain and inflammation. Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) primarily occurs in adolescents and adult females, and the limited effectiveness and side effects of conventional treatments have highlighted the urgent need to develop and identify new adjunct therapeutic strategies. In this work, the results of pain and PGs demonstrated that 850 nm, 630 nm, and 460 nm all exhibited pain inhibition, decreased PGF2α and upregulated PGE2, while 630 nm PBM has better effectiveness. Then to explore the underlying biological mechanisms of red light PBM on PD, we irradiated prostaglandin-F2α induced HUSM cells and found that low-level irradiance can restore intracellular calcium ion, ROS, ATP, and MMP levels to normal levels. And, red light enhanced cell viability and promoted cell proliferation for normal HUSM cells. Therefore, this study proposes that red light PBM may be a promising approach for the future clinical treatment of PD.

Modified Theoretical Model Predicts Radial Support Capacity of Polymer Braided Stents.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Self-expanding polymer braided stents are expected to replace metallic stents in the treatment of Peripheral Arterial Disease, which seriously endangers human health. To restore the patency of blocked peripheral arteries with different properties and functions, the radial supporting capacity of the stent should be considered corresponding to the vessel. A theoretical model can be established as an effective method to study the radial supporting capacity of the stent which can shorten the stent design cycle and realize the customization of the stent according to lesion site. However, the classical model developed by Jedwab and Clerc of radial force is only limited to metallic braided stents, and the predictions for polymer braided stents are deviated. METHODS: In this paper, based on the limitation of the J&C model for polymer braided stents, a modified radial force model for polymer braided stents was proposed, which considered the friction between monofilaments and the torsion of the monofilaments. And the modified model was verified by radial force tests of polymer braided stents with different structures and monofilaments. RESULTS: Compared with the J&C model, the proposed modified model has better predictability for the radial force of polymer braided stents that prepared with different braided structure and polymer monofilaments. The root mean squared error of modified model is 0.041±0.026, while that of the J&C model is 0.246±0.111. CONCLUSIONS: For polymer braided stents, the friction between the polymer monofilaments and the torsion of the monofilaments during the radial compression cannot be ignored. The radial force prediction accuracy of the modified model considering these factors was significantly improved. This work provides a research basis on the theoretical model of polymer braided stents, and improves the feasibility of rapid personalized customization of polymer braided stents.

Nonlocal based FISTA network for noninvasive cardiac transmembrane potential imaging.

Objective. The primary aim of our study is to advance our understanding and diagnosis of cardiac diseases. We focus on the reconstruction of myocardial transmembrane potential (TMP) from body surface potential mapping.Approach. We introduce a novel methodology for the reconstruction of the dynamic distribution of TMP. This is achieved through the integration of convolutional neural networks with conventional optimization algorithms. Specifically, we utilize the subject-specific transfer matrix to describe the dynamic changes in TMP distribution and ECG observations at the body surface. To estimate the TMP distribution, we employ LNFISTA-Net, a learnable non-local regularized iterative shrinkage-thresholding network. The coupled estimation processes are iteratively repeated until convergence.Main results. Our experiments demonstrate the capabilities and benefits of this strategy. The results highlight the effectiveness of our approach in accurately estimating the TMP distribution, thereby providing a reliable method for the diagnosis of cardiac diseases.Significance. Our approach demonstrates promising results, highlighting its potential utility for a range of applications in the medical field. By providing a more accurate and dynamic reconstruction of TMP, our methodology could significantly improve the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac diseases, thereby contributing to advancements in healthcare.

Blue light photobiomodulation induced apoptosis by increasing ROS level and regulating SOCS3 and PTEN/PI3K/AKT pathway in osteosarcoma cells.

Blue light photobiomodulation (PBM) has attracted great attention in diminishing proliferation and inducing death of cancer cells recently. Osteosarcoma (OS) primarily occurring in children and adolescents, the limitations of drug resistance and limb salvage make it urgent to develop and identify new adjuvant therapeutic strategies. In this work, we attempted to research the anticancer effects and biological mechanisms of blue light PBM in human OS MG63 cells. The effects of various blue light parameters on MG63 cells indicated that suppressed cell proliferation and cell migration, induced cell apoptosis which are experimentally assessed using multiple assays including CCK, LDH, wound healing assay and Hoechst staining. Concurrently, the increases of ROS level and the inhibition of PI3K and AKT expression were identified under high-dose blue light PBM in MG63 cells. Meanwhile, SOCS3 is a major inducible anti-tumor molecule, we also found that blue light LED substantially promoted its expression. Thus, this study proposed that bule light PBM may be a hopeful therapeutic approach in OS clinical treatment in the future.

MRI-based radiomics approach for the prediction of recurrence-free survival in triple-negative breast cancer after breast-conserving surgery or mastectomy.

To explore the value of a radiomics signature and develop a nomogram combined with a radiomics signature and clinical factors for predicting recurrence-free survival in triple-negative breast cancer patients. We enrolled 151 patients from the cancer imaging archive who underwent preoperative contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. They were assigned to training, validation and external validation cohorts. Image features with coefficients not equal to zero in the 10-fold cross-validation were selected to generate a radiomics signature. Based on the optimal cutoff value of the radiomics signature determined by maximally selected log-rank statistics, patients were stratified into high- and low-risk groups in the training and validation cohorts. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed for both groups. Kaplan-Meier survival distributions in these groups were compared using log-rank tests. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to construct clinical and combined models. Concordance index was used to assess the predictive performance of the 3 models. Calibration of the combined model was assessed using calibration curves. Four image features were selected to generate the radiomics signature. The Kaplan-Meier survival distributions of patients in the 2 groups were significantly different in the training (P < .001) and validation cohorts (P = .001). The C-indices of the radiomics model, clinical model, and combined model in the training and validation cohorts were 0.772, 0.700, 0.878, and 0.744, 0.574, 0.777, respectively. The C-indices of the radiomics model, clinical model, and combined model in the external validation cohort were 0.778, 0.733, 0.822, respectively. The calibration curves of the combined model showed good calibration. The radiomics signature can predict recurrence-free survival of patients with triple-negative breast cancer and improve the predictive performance of the clinical model.

Photoinactivation of Escherichia coli by 405 nm and 450 nm light-emitting diodes: Comparison of continuous wave and pulsed light.

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial blue light (ABL) therapy is one of the novel non-antibiotic approaches and recent studies showed the potential of pulsed ABL. PURPOSE: Comparing photoinactivation effect of continuous wave (CW) and pulsed blue light and investigating the impact of varying light parameters. METHODS: E. coli cells in planktonic were treated with CW and pulsed light (405 nm and 450 nm) at 60 mW/cm2, and the samples were taken to assess survival, reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, damage of cell membrane and metabolic activity. Further, a ROS scavenger was used to find the role of ROS played in ABL therapy. RESULTS: E. coli was more sensitive to 405 nm light and the photoinactivation was dose-dependent. Pulsed 405 nm light showed the better antimicrobial effect on E. coli and caused increasing damage of cell membrane. It might be attributed to the ROS production in bacteria. CONCLUSION: Pulsed light has a potential of improving the efficacy of ABL therapy and is worth to be explored deeply further.

Pulsed transcranial photobiomodulation generates distinct beneficial neurocognitive effects compared with continuous wave transcranial light.

Previous research has demonstrated the beneficial effect brought by transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM). The present study is a further investigation of pulsed transcranial light delivery, from the perspective of wavelength, operation mode, and pulse frequency. A total of 56 healthy young adults (28 males and 28 females) were included in this randomized, sham-controlled experimental study. The wavelength of tPBM was 660 nm and 850 nm, and under each wavelength, subjects were randomly assigned to one of the following four treatments: (1) sham control; (2) continuous-wave (CW) tPBM; (3) pulsed-wave (PW) tPBM (40 Hz); and (4) PW tPBM (100 Hz). The tPBM duration was 8 min and the mean power density was fixed at 250 mW/cm2. Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) questionnaire, psychomotor vigilance task (PVT), and delayed match-to-sample (DMS) task were completed by subjects before and after the intervention to test whether PW tPBM produced distinct beneficial effects with measures of sleepiness, attention, and memory. 32-channel electroencephalography (EEG) signals were obtained from subjects before, during and after receiving tPBM or sham intervention. Paired sample T test showed that the KSS score, the number of correct responses of PVT, and DMS rate correct score (RCS) of PW tPBM groups improved significantly after intervention (p < 0.05). With regard to EEG analysis, paired one-way repeated ANOVA test showed that during the intervention of PW tPBM, the average power within the Gamma band was higher than the baseline (p < 0.05). Our study presented that PW tPBM could generate better beneficial cognitive effects and change brain electrical activity under certain circumstances.

Multivariate prognostic analysis of direct pulp capping using a bioceramic material in mature permanent teeth with carious pulp exposure: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: On the basis of a large sample size and a long follow-up period, the objectives of this study were to evaluate the outcomes of direct pulp capping (DPC) in mature permanent teeth with carious pulp exposure using a kind of bioaggregate putty (BP) which commercially named iRoot BP Plus (Innovative Bioceramix, Inc., Vancouver, Canada) and to analyze the potential prognostic factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The design of this research was retrospective regarding treatment procedures and prospective regarding the assessment of outcomes. The preoperative diagnosis of the teeth was either normal pulp or reversible pulpitis. Results were assessed based on clinical and radiographic examinations with at least 12 months of follow-up after DPC. No symptoms or signs, a positive response to electric pulp testing, a normal response to cold pulp testing and radiographs showing no abnormalities were considered to indicate success. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to calculate the cumulative survival of teeth after DPC. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regressions were used to analyze potential prognostic factors. RESULTS: Three hundred thirty-four patients, including a total of 354 teeth, were available for the final clinical examination. The follow-up period ranged from 12 to 85 months, with an average of 27.0 ± 0.8 months. The total success rate was 85% (302/354), and the cumulative survival rates at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years were 92%, 87%, 83%, 76%, and 72%, respectively. Univariate analysis indicated a significantly increased risk of failure in patients aged above 40 years and those treated by resident operators (P ≤ 0.01), with hazard ratios of 2.18 and 2.27, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Under appropriate indication selection and treatment procedures, long-term success is possible in mature permanent teeth with carious pulp exposure by DPC using iRoot BP Plus. Patient age and operator experience are potential prognostic factors. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Clinical data on iRoot BP Plus as a pulp capping medicament in mature permanent teeth with carious pulp exposure is lacking. This study indicated the efficacy of BP in DPC. Younger patient and sophisticated operator are beneficial for the outcome of DPC.

Effects of photobiomodulation at various irradiances on normal and dihydrotestosterone-treated human hair dermal papilla cells in vitro.

Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common type of hair loss caused by dihydrotestosterone (DHT) binding to androgen receptors in dermal papilla cells (DPCs). Photobiomodulation (PBM) is a promising treatment for AGA but suffers from inconsistent outcomes and inconsistent effective light parameters. This study investigated the impact of red light at various irradiances on normal and DHT-treated DPCs. Our results suggested that red light at 8 mW/cm2 was most effective in promoting DPCs growth. Furthermore, a range of irradiances from 2 to 64 mW/cm2 modulated key signaling pathways, including Wnt, FGF, and TGF, in normal and DHT-treated DPCs. Interestingly, 8 mW/cm2 had a greater impact on these pathways in DHT-treated DPCs and altered the Shh pathway, suggesting that the effect of PBM varies with the cellular environment. This study highlights specific factors that influence PBM effectiveness and provides insight into the need for personalized PBM treatment approaches.

Effect of blue light on the cell viability of A549 lung cancer cells and investigations into its possible mechanism.

Blue light has attracted extensive attention as a new potential cancer therapy. Recent studies have indicated that blue light has a significant inhibition effect on A459 cells. However, the effect of light parameters on the treatment of A549 cells and the mechanism of how blue light made the effect was still unclear. This study aimed to investigate A549 cells responses to blue light with varying irradiance and dose-dense, and tried to find out the mechanism of the effects blue light made. The results suggested that the responses of A549 cells to blue light with different irradiance and dose-dense were different and the decrease of cell viability reached saturation when the irradiance reached 3 mW/cm2 and the dose-dense reached 3.6 J/cm2 . It was assumed that blue light suppressed PI3K/AKT pathway and promoted the expression of JNK and p53 to affect the proliferation of A549 cells.

The Parameters Affecting Antimicrobial Efficiency of Antimicrobial Blue Light Therapy: A Review and Prospect.

Antimicrobial blue light (aBL) therapy is a novel non-antibiotic antimicrobial approach which works by generating reactive oxygen species. It has shown excellent antimicrobial ability to various microbial pathogens in many studies. However, due to the variability of aBL parameters (e.g., wavelength, dose), there are differences in the antimicrobial effect across different studies, which makes it difficult to form treatment plans for clinical and industrial application. In this review, we summarize research on aBL from the last six years to provide suggestions for clinical and industrial settings. Furthermore, we discuss the damage mechanism and protection mechanism of aBL therapy, and provide a prospect about valuable research fields related to aBL therapy.

The pulse light mode enhances the effect of photobiomodulation on B16F10 melanoma cells through autophagy pathway.

Photobiomodulation (PBM) is the use of low irradiance light of specific wavelengths to generate physiological changes and therapeutic effects. However, there are few studies on the effects of PBM of different LED light modes on cells. Here, we investigated the difference of influence between continuous wave (CW) and pulse-PBM on B16F10 melanoma cells. Our results suggested that the pulse mode had a more significant PBM than the CW mode on B16F10 melanoma cells. Our study confirmed that ROS and Ca2+ levels in B16F10 melanoma cells treated with pulse-PBM were significantly higher than those in the control and CW-PBM groups. One mechanism that causes the difference in CW and pulse-PBM action is that pulse-PBM activates autophagy of melanoma cells through the ROS/OPN3/Ca2+ signaling pathway, and excessive autophagy activation inhibits proliferation and apoptosis of melanoma cells. Autophagy may be one of the reasons for the difference between pulse- and CW-PBM on melanoma cells. More importantly, melanoma cells responded to brief PBM pulses by increasing intracellular Ca2+ levels.

Green means go: Green light promotes hypocotyl elongation via brassinosteroid signaling.

Although many studies have elucidated the mechanisms by which different wavelengths of light (blue, red, far-red, or ultraviolet-B [UV-B]) regulate plant development, whether and how green light regulates plant development remains largely unknown. Previous studies reported that green light participates in regulating growth and development in land plants, but these studies have reported conflicting results, likely due to technical problems. For example, commercial green light-emitting diode light sources emit a little blue or red light. Here, using a pure green light source, we determined that unlike blue, red, far-red, or UV-B light, which inhibits hypocotyl elongation, green light promotes hypocotyl elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana and several other plants during the first 2-3 d after planting. Phytochromes, cryptochromes, and other known photoreceptors do not mediate green-light-promoted hypocotyl elongation, but the brassinosteroid (BR) signaling pathway is involved in this process. Green light promotes the DNA binding activity of BRI1-EMS-SUPPRESSOR 1 (BES1), a master transcription factor of the BR pathway, thus regulating gene transcription to promote hypocotyl elongation. Our results indicate that pure green light promotes elongation via BR signaling and acts as a shade signal to enable plants to adapt their development to a green-light-dominant environment under a canopy.

Influence of Oxygen Management during the Post-Fermentation Stage on Acetaldehyde, Color, and Phenolics of Vitis vinifera L. Cv. Cabernet Sauvignon Wine.

Oxygen exposure is unavoidable and the impact of its management during the post-fermentation stage (PFS) on dry red wine is poorly investigated. This study was dedicated to the variation of acetaldehyde, color and phenolics of Cabernet Sauvignon dry red wine during five discontinuous oxidation cycles of four levels of controlled oxygen supply, which were carried out to simulate probable oxidation during the PFS. Free SO2 disappeared after the first, second and third oxidation cycles in wines with high, medium and low levels of oxygen exposure severally, but subsequent oxygen exposure below or equal to 2 mg O2/L per cycle had little effect while 3-3.9 mg O2/L per cycle dramatically facilitated acetaldehyde accumulation, which was accompanied by an enormous variation in color and pigments, especially when total oxygen consumption was above 10 mg/L. The utilization of clustered heatmap and partial least square regression demonstrated the feasibility of characterization of wine oxidation degree using the chemical parameters measured by UV-spectrophotometry. Oxygen exposure during the PFS should be emphatically controlled, and chemical indexes determined by the UV-spectrophotometric method can be used for a scientific and effective description of wine oxidation degree.

Key Factors of Mechanical Strength and Toughness in Oriented Poly(l-lactic acid) Monofilaments for a Bioresorbable Self-Expanding Stent.

The investigation of the strength and toughness of poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) monofilaments is essential as the fundamental element of a biodegradable braided stent. However, the determining factor remains poorly addressed with respect to influencing the mechanical behavior of PLLA monofilaments. In this work, the electron beam (EB) with different radiation doses was utilized to sterilize PLLA monofilaments. Properties of the monofilaments, including the breaking strength, elongation at break, molecular weight, orientation, and microstructure of the fracture, were characterized. Results showed that a random chain scission of PLLA resulting from EB during this process could cause the decrease in molecular weight, which led to the decline in breaking strength. Meanwhile, the irradiated monofilaments were found to have almost the same elongation at break below a dose of 30 kGy and declined by 71.41% up to a dose of 48 kGy. It was also found that the ductile fracture connection of the monofilament translated to the brittle fracture by comparing the microstructure without and with sterilization. These phenomena could originate from the destruction of the long molecular chains connecting the crystal plates into shorter ones by radiation. PLLA monofilaments with 0, 30, and 48 kGy were used to braid carotid stents. Compared with a carotid Wallstent, the PLLA stent can better provide radial supporting to the carotid lesion. This study provides preliminary experimental references to evaluate and predict the mechanical performance of PLLA braided stents.

Progress of phototherapy for osteosarcoma and application prospect of blue light photobiomodulation therapy.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignant bone tumor that mainly affects the pediatric and adolescent population; limb salvage treatment has become one of the most concerned and expected outcomes of OS patients recently. Phototherapy (PT), as a novel, non-invasive, and efficient antitumor therapeutic approach including photodynamic therapy (PDT), photothermal therapy (PTT), and photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT), has been widely applied in superficial skin tumor research and clinical treatment. OS is the typical deep tumor, and its phototherapy research faces great limitations and challenges. Surprisingly, pulse mode LED light can effectively improve tissue penetration and reduce skin damage caused by high light intensity and has great application potential in deep tumor research. In this review, we discussed the research progress and related molecular mechanisms of phototherapy in the treatment of OS, mainly summarized the status quo of blue light PBMT in the scientific research and clinical applications of tumor treatment, and outlooked the application prospect of pulsed blue LED light in the treatment of OS, so as to further improve clinical survival rate and prognosis of OS treatment and explore corresponding cellular mechanisms.