Rapid discovery of natural skin-lightening ingredients based on an integrated screening strategy based on molecular docking and zebrafish model.

BACKGROUND: Natural herbs have been widely considered a reservoir for skin-lightening ingredients, but discovery of the effective ingredients from herbs remains a large challenge. AIM: This research aimed to rapidly identify compounds with skin-lightening activity in Chinese herbs. METHODS: The structure information of herbal compounds was collected and selected from the open-source data. High throughput virtual screening (HTVS) and Extra precision (XP) docking modes were used to screen for compounds that could bind to the mushroom tyrosinase involved in melanin synthesis. Furthermore, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were introduced to assess the binding stability of those compounds with the key target protein. The candidate compounds found by this kind of multidimensional molecular screening were finally tested for their ability to inhibit pigmentation and potential toxicity using an in vivo zebrafish animal model. RESULTS: A Natural Compounds Database was established with 5616 natural compounds. Fourteen compounds with favorable binding capability were screened by the XP docking mode with mushroom tyrosinase and five compounds among them were found to have superior dynamic binding performance through MD simulations. Then the Zebrafish animal experiments revealed that two components, sennoside B (SB) and sennoside C (SC), could significantly inhibit melanogenesis rather than the other three compounds. Meanwhile, there were no obvious side effects observed in SB and SC about the morphology, heart rate, or body length of zebrafish. CONCLUSION: A strategy for rapid screening of compounds with whitening activity has been established, and two potent skin-lightening compounds, SB and SC, have been identified from a vast library of herbal compounds. This study revealed that SB and SC have potential for topical use in skin lightening for the first time. The findings of this study would provide an important theoretical basis for the application of these two compounds in the cosmetic field in the future.

Percolation Theories for Quantum Networks.

Quantum networks have experienced rapid advancements in both theoretical and experimental domains over the last decade, making it increasingly important to understand their large-scale features from the viewpoint of statistical physics. This review paper discusses a fundamental question: how can entanglement be effectively and indirectly (e.g., through intermediate nodes) distributed between distant nodes in an imperfect quantum network, where the connections are only partially entangled and subject to quantum noise? We survey recent studies addressing this issue by drawing exact or approximate mappings to percolation theory, a branch of statistical physics centered on network connectivity. Notably, we show that the classical percolation frameworks do not uniquely define the network's indirect connectivity. This realization leads to the emergence of an alternative theory called "concurrence percolation", which uncovers a previously unrecognized quantum advantage that emerges at large scales, suggesting that quantum networks are more resilient than initially assumed within classical percolation contexts, offering refreshing insights into future quantum network design.

Real-time correction of image rotation with adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy.

Fixational eye motion includes typical translation and torsion. In the registration of images from adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO), image rotation due to eye torsion and/or head rotation is often ignored because (a) the amount of rotation is trivial compared to translation within a short duration of imaging or recording time and (b) computational cost increases substantially when the registration algorithm involves simultaneous detection of rotation and translation. However, it becomes critically important under cases such as long exposure, functional measurements, and precise motion tracking. We developed a fast method to detect and correct rotation from AOSLO images, together with the detection of strip-level motion translation. The computational cost for rotation detection and correction alone is about 5 ms/frame (512×512 pixels) on an nVidia GTX960M GPU. Image quality is compared with and without rotation correction from 10 healthy human subjects and 8 diseased eyes with a total of 180 videos. The results show that residual image motions between the reference images and the registered images with rotation correction are a fraction of those without rotation correction, and the ratio is 0.74-0.89 at the image center and 0.37-0.51 at the four corners of the images.

The Thermal Damage of Canine Vocal Fold by CO2 Laser Under Different Laser Emission Mode.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to review the differences between continuous wave (CW) and UltraPulse (UP) on thermal damage of the laser with different power. METHODS: Four adult beagle dogs underwent transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) using CO2 laser. The laser emission mode and power was CW (3 W, 5 W, and 8 W) and UP (3 W and 5 W), respectively. The tissue from 4 animals was evaluated histologically on postoperative days 1 and 3. The thermal damage of the laser was measured using slide scan system via SlideViewer version 1.5.5.2 software. RESULTS: All dogs underwent TLM uneventfully. Under microscope examined, the laser damage area was composed of 2 parts: the vaporized zone (VPZ) and thermal damage area. The thermal damage area can be divided into thermal coagulative necrosis area (TCN) and hydropic degeneration area. The width of VPZ and TCN in UP mode was less than that in CW mode (P < .01). The data indicate that lower laser power created less thermal damage (P < .01). In addition, the width of VPZ on postoperative day 3 was less than that on postoperative day 1 (P < .01). CONCLUSION: CO2 laser with UP and lower power could decrease the laser thermal damage and may offer more prompt wound healing.

Tracheal rupture after vocal cord polyp resection: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) is one of the most common operations performed for glottic lesions. Several protection measures are taken to prevent tracheal damage. However, some protection measures and common postoperative complications may still cause delayed tracheal rupture in certain situations. Cases of tracheal rupture after surgery are extremely rare, and there are no previous reports of TLM of the glottis causing tracheal rupture. PATIENT CONCERNS: A middle-aged woman who underwent TLM for bilateral vocal cord polyps developed sudden neck pain, followed by cough and subcutaneous emphysema. DIAGNOSIS: She underwent head, neck, and chest computed tomography (CT), which revealed a 4-cm membranous tracheal tear located 4.5 cm distal to the glottis, pneumomediastinum, and subcutaneous emphysema extending from the base of skull to the chest. INTERVENTIONS: The patient underwent an emergency surgical surgical chest exploration and tracheal repair. OUTCOMES: One month after the surgery, the patient fully recovered with no tracheal stenosis or respiratory dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: Conventional protective measures and common postoperative complications of TLM may also cause tracheal rupture.

Endoscopic frontal trephination verse the osteoplastic flap in patients with frontal sinus disease after bifrontal craniotomy.

OBJECTIVE: We review the clinical outcome of endoscopic frontal trephination and osteoplastic flap in patients with frontal sinus disease after bifrontal craniotomy. METHODS: The clinical data of patients with frontal sinus disease after bifrontal craniotomy between 2008 and 2018 were studied. RESULTS: Twenty-two patients underwent trephination and 15 patients had osteoplastic flap. The mean operation time was 101.5 min for osteoplactic flap, statistically shorter than that of the trephination (p < 0.05). The blood loss during the trephination was significantly lower than that of the osteoplactis flap (mean, 29.6 ± 11.5 versus 96.3 ± 46.8 ml; p < 0.01). The postoperative hospital stay was 2.2 ± 0.7 days for patients of the trephination and 3.7 ± 1.6 days for patients of the osteoplastic flap, and this difference was statistically significant (p < 0.01). No complication and recurrence in all 37 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Both endoscopic frontal trephination and the osteoplastic flap are safe and highly effective in patients with frontal sinus disease after bifrontal craniotomy. However, the trephination can cause lower blood loss and require shorter postoperative stay while it takes shorter time to complete the osteoplactis flap.

Development and Validation of a Low-Cost and Simple Simulator for Microlaryngeal Surgery.

OBJECTIVES: The simulation of microlaryngeal skills is rarely seen in surgical training, but it is particularly important in phonomicrosurgery. This study described and validated the laryngeal surgical simulator through surgical training. METHODS: A simple and low-cost simulator was developed for the fixation of the suspension laryngoscope and porcine larynges. Twenty participants with work skills and experience did preparation before training, and performed suture and carbon dioxide (CO2) laser cordectomy for simulator evaluation. The results were proposed by the aspects of time taken for each procedure, the global rating scale, a procedure-specific assessment, and a post-simulation questionnaire. RESULTS: All participants completed the preparation within 9 minutes and reached the conclusion that the microlaryngeal surgical simulator was helpful in improving their surgical skills. The performance of experts was superior to that of novices in both suture and CO2 laser cordectomy. CONCLUSION: This simulator could be easily assembled and was successfully validated by microlaryngeal surgical training both subjectively and objectively. It may be helpful to clinicians in microlaryngeal skills.

Landscape Characteristics Affecting Spatial Patterns of Water Quality Variation in a Highly Disturbed Region.

Spatial patterns of water quality trends for 45 stations in control units of the Shandong Province, China during 2009-2017 were examined by a non-parametric seasonal Mann-Kendall's test (SMK) for dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), permanganate index (CODMn), total phosphorus (TP) and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N). The DO concentration showed significant upward trends at approximately half of the stations, while other parameters showed significant downward trends at more than 40% of stations. The stations with downward trends presented significant spatial autocorrelation, and were mainly concentrated in the northwest and southwest regions. The relationship between the landscape characteristics and water quality was explored using stepwise multiple regression models, which indicated the water quality was better explained using landscape pattern metrics compared to the percentage of land use types. Decreased mean patch area and connectedness of farmland will promote the control of BOD, COD and CODMn, whereas the increased landscape percentage of urban areas were not conducive to the water quality improvement, which suggested the sprawling of farmland and urban land was not beneficial to pollution control. Increasing the grassland area was conducive to the reduction of pollutants, while the effect of grassland fragmentation was reversed.

Modeling and optimization of closed-loop retinal motion tracking in scanning light ophthalmoscopy.

A model of closed-loop retinal motion tracking in an adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) was built, and the tracking performance was optimized by minimizing the root-mean-square of residual motion. We started with an evaluation of the fidelity of the retinal motion measurement, and then analyzed the transfer function of the system and power spectral density of retinal motion from human eyes, to achieve optimal control gain and sampling frequency. The performance was further enhanced by incorporating retinal motion prediction during the period in which the slow scanner was retracing. After optimization, residual image motion performance was improved by 33% with a nearly 50% reduction in computational cost in comparison to our previous setup, reaching a 3 dB bandwidth of 15-17 Hz, which is close to the frame rate (∼21 fps) of this AOSLO system.

Historical accumulation and ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in sediments of a drinking water lake.

Heavy metal contamination in sediments is progressively being recognized as a challenging problem in large parts of the developing world, particularly in Asian countries. A drinking water lake in Yunnan-Guizhou plateau, China named Hongfeng Lake was selected as the research target. Forty surface sediment samples and 4 sediment cores were collected to reveal the accumulation of heavy metals in the sediments of the lake. The mean concentrations of Cr, Cu, Pb, Cd, As, and Hg in surface sediments were 81.67, 45.61, 29.78, 0.53, 22.71, and 0.25 mg/kg, respectively, which exceeded the background levels of sediment 1.1~3.3 times. The calculation of geoaccumulation (Igeo) and potential ecological risk (PER) index analysis were preformed, and the results showed a considerable risk for Cd and Hg on the whole. Spatially, the northern part showed a higher risk than the southern part and tributaries of the lake, and a moderate risk in the overall sediment of the lake. The historical level of heavy metals in Hongfeng Lake was traced by vertical sediments study and it was dated back approximately 35 years. The EF trends of a feature sampling site HF8 showed strong temporal variations, and peaked in the year 1995. After that, the EFs exhibited a declining trend, which reflects productive environmental protection and management by the local government. For the Hongfeng Lake, a typical lake with heavy metal-contaminated sediments, the in-situ remediation technique could be a suitable method for its remediation.