Rose Bengal-Mediated Photodynamic Therapy to Inhibit Candida albicans.

Invasive Candida albicans infection is a significant opportunistic fungal infection in humans because it is one of the most common colonizers of the gut, mouth, vagina, and skin. Despite the availability of antifungal medication, the mortality rate of invasive candidiasis remains ~50%. Unfortunately, the incidence of drug-resistant C. albicans is increasing globally. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) may offer an alternative or adjuvant treatment to inhibit C. albicans biofilm formation and overcome drug resistance. Rose bengal (RB)-mediated aPDT has shown effective cell killing of bacteria and C. albicans. In this study, the efficacy of RB-aPDT on multidrug-resistant C. albicans is described. A homemade green light-emitting diode (LED) light source is designed to align with the center of a well of a 96-well plate. The yeasts were incubated in the wells with different concentrations of RB and illuminated with varying fluences of green light. The killing effects were analyzed by the plate dilution method. With an optimal combination of light and RB, 3-log growth inhibition was achieved. It was concluded that RB-aPDT might potentially inhibit drug-resistant C. albicans.

Acute physiological responses to combined blood flow restriction and low-level laser.

PURPOSE: Blood flow restriction (BFR) is an innovation in fitness to train muscles with low loads at low oxygen levels. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is a bio-energetic approach to alleviate muscle fatigue during resistance training. This study investigated the immediate effect of LLLT pre-conditioning on BFR that accelerates muscle fatigue due to ischemia. METHODS: Fifteen young adults participated in this study of a crossover randomized design. They completed a low-load contraction with various pre-conditioning (blood flow restriction with low-level laser therapy (LLLT + BFR), blood flow restriction with sham low-level laser therapy (BFR), and control). Force fluctuation dynamics, muscle oxygen saturation of hemoglobin and myoglobin (SmO2), and discharge patterns of motor units (MU) were compared. RESULTS: Normalized SmO2 during low-load contractions significantly varied with the pre-contraction protocols (Control (83.6 ± 3.0%) > LLLT + BFR (70.3 ± 2.8%) > BFR (55.4 ± 2.4%). Also, force fluctuations and MU discharge varied with the pre-contraction protocols. Multi-scale entropy and mean frequency of force fluctuations were greater in the LLLT + BFR condition (31.95 ± 0.67) than in the BFR condition (29.47 ± 0.73). The mean inter-spike interval of MUs was greater in the LLLT + BFR condition (53.32 ± 2.70 ms) than in the BFR condition (45.04 ± 1.08 ms). In particular, MUs with higher recruitment thresholds exhibited greater LLLT-related discharge complexity (LLLT + BFR (0.201 ± 0.012) > BFR (0.154 ± 0.006)). CONCLUSIONS: LLLT pre-conditioning can minimize the BFR-related decline in muscle oxygen saturation, leading to force gradation and MU discharge in a cost-effective and complex manner.

Effects of micronization on the physico-chemical properties of peels of three root and tuber crops.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of micronization on the physicochemical properties of the peels of root and tuber crops, including yam (Dioscorea alata L.), taro (Colocasia esculenta L.) and sweet potato (Ipomea batatas L.). Two continuous milling sections, including hammer milling and ball milling, were applied to three samples to obtain micro-sized particles of root and tuber peels. The micronization by ball-milling treatment for 10 h was carried out to investigate the distribution of particle sizes and the changes in physiochemical properties. RESULTS: The results indicate that the peels of three crops appeared to be significantly decreased in particle size after 10 h of ball-milling treatment. Moreover, the ball-milling treatments resulted in the redistribution of fiber components from insoluble fiber to soluble fiber. The micronization treatments decreased the bulk density but increased the solubility and water-holding capacities of the micronized peels. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggested that micronization treatments can improve functional properties of the fiber components of micronized peels, which provide a good source of dietary fiber in food applications.