Effect of plasma-activated water on planktonic and biofilm cells of Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains isolated from cutting board surfaces in retail seafood markets.

AIMS: This research aimed to analyze cutting board surfaces in seafood markets to find Vibrio parahaemolyticus, assess the isolates' ability to form biofilms, generate and evaluate characteristics of plasma-activated water (PAW), and compare the effect of PAW on planktonic and biofilm cells of the isolated V. parahaemolyticus strains. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 11 V. parahaemolyticus strains were isolated from 8.87% of the examined cutting boards. Biofilm-forming ability was evaluated for these isolates at temperatures of 10, 20, and 30°C using crystal violet staining. Four strains with the highest biofilm potential were selected for further analysis. The pH of the PAW used in the study was 3.41±0.04, and the initial concentrations of hydrogen peroxide, nitrate, and nitrite were 108±9.6 µM, 742±61 µM, and 36.3±2.9 µM, respectively. However, these concentrations decreased significantly within 3-4 days during storage at room temperature. PAW exhibited significant antimicrobial effects on V. parahaemolyticus planktonic cells, reducing viable bacteria up to 4.54 log CFU/ml within 20 minutes. PAW also reduced the number of biofilm cells on stainless steel (up to 3.55 log CFU/cm2) and high-density polyethylene (up to 3.06 log CFU/cm2) surfaces, although to a lesser extent than planktonic cells. CONCLUSIONS: PAW exhibited significant antibacterial activity against V. parahaemolyticus cells, although its antibacterial properties diminished over time. Furthermore, the antibacterial activity of PAW against biofilm cells of V. parahaemolyticus was less pronounced compared to the planktonic cells. Therefore, the actual effectiveness of PAW in seafood processing environments can be affected by biofilms that may form on various surfaces such as cutting boards if they are not cleaned properly.

Quantum mechanical modeling of high-intensity laser pulse interaction with hydrogen atom with considering the magnetic field and polarization.

In the study of the non-relativistic interaction between high-intensity femtosecond laser pulses and atoms, the influence of the magnetic field is commonly overlooked. This work investigates the effects of the magnetic field in the high-intensity few-cycle laser pulses with non-relativistic intensity of 3.5 × 10 14 W / cm 2 at the center wavelength of 800 nm on the high-order harmonic generation (HHG), attosecond pulse train (APT), isolated attosecond pulse (IAP), and the electron trajectory in the hydrogen atom, employing the numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation in three dimensions (3D-TDSE). Two polarizations, linear and circular, are considered. A comparison with the scenario where the magnetic field is not considered shows that the magnetic field can apply significant corrections to the results. Particularly, considering the magnetic field for circular polarization can make the cutoff frequency of HHG coincide with the semi-classical relationship of h ω c = I p + 3.17 U p , a case that for circular polarization does not exist without considering the magnetic field. Moreover, accounting for the magnetic field leads to a reduction in the attosecond pulse duration for circular polarization for APT ( 360 as versus 241 as ) and for IAP ( 834 as versus 602 as ). Additionally, the difference in production efficiency of HHG and APT between linear and circular polarization is reduced by two orders of magnitude, when magnetic field is considered. Although considering the magnetic field complicates the electron trajectory, especially for circular polarization, however, our quantum model provides enhanced insight into how the interaction works, especially when and where the electron collides with the parent nucleus. In this case, the quantum mechanical modeling largely covers the huge difference of not considering the magnetic field in the results predicted by other works.

Synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy using gold nanorods supported on thiol-functionalized mesoporous silica for lung cancer treatment.

Cancer therapy necessitates the development of novel and effective treatment modalities to combat the complexity of this disease. In this project, we propose a synergistic approach by combining chemo-photothermal treatment using gold nanorods (AuNRs) supported on thiol-functionalized mesoporous silica, offering a promising solution for enhanced lung cancer therapy. To begin, mesoporous MCM-41 was synthesized using a surfactant-templated sol-gel method, chosen for its desirable porous structure, excellent biocompatibility, and non-toxic properties. Further, thiol-functionalized MCM-41 was achieved through a simple grafting process, enabling the subsequent synthesis of AuNRs supported on thiol-functionalized MCM-41 (AuNR@S-MCM-41) via a gold-thiol interaction. The nanocomposite was then loaded with the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX), resulting in AuNR@S-MCM-41-DOX. Remarkably, the nanocomposite exhibited pH/NIR dual-responsive drug release behaviors, facilitating targeted drug delivery. In addition, it demonstrated exceptional biocompatibility and efficient internalization into A549 lung cancer cells. Notably, the combined photothermal-chemo therapy by AuNR@S-MCM-41-DOX exhibited superior efficacy in killing cancer cells compared to single chemo- or photothermal therapies. This study showcases the potential of the AuNR@S-MCM-41-DOX nanocomposite as a promising candidate for combined chemo-photothermal therapy in lung cancer treatment. The innovative integration of gold nanorods, thiol-functionalized mesoporous silica, and pH/NIR dual-responsive drug release provides a comprehensive and effective therapeutic approach for improved outcomes in lung cancer therapy. Future advancements based on this strategy hold promise for addressing the challenges posed by cancer and transforming patient care.

Sublethal Exposure to Plasma-Activated Water Influences the Morphological Characteristics, Phagocytic Ability, and Virulence of Acanthamoeba castellanii.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the ultrastructure, cytotoxicity, phagocytosis, and antioxidant responses of Acanthamoeba castellanii trophozoites exposed to sublethal plasma-activated water. METHODS: Trophozoites were exposed to a sublethal treatment of PAW and compared to untreated viable trophozoites via adhesion assays on macrophage monolayers, osmo- and thermotolerance tests. Bacterial uptake was assessed in treated cells to evaluate their phagocytic characteristics. Oxidative stress biomarkers and antioxidant activities were compared in treated and untreated trophozoites. Finally, the expression of the mannose-binding protein (MBP), cysteine protease 3 (CP3), and serine endopeptidase (SEP) genes was determined in cells. RESULTS: In PAW-treated trophozoites, cytopathic effects were more extensive and resulted in the detachment of macrophage monolayers. Treated trophozoites could not grow at high temperatures (43 °C). Moreover, they showed osmotolerance to 0.5 M D-mannitol but not to 1 M. Results demonstrated a higher bacterial uptake rate by PAW-treated trophozoites than untreated cells. Activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase and catalase were significantly greater in the treated trophozoites, and the glutathione and glutathione/glutathione disulfide were significantly lower in the PAW-treated cells. Exposure to PAW also significantly increased the malondialdehyde level and total antioxidant capacity. Treatment with PAW led to significantly higher expression of virulent genes like MBP, CP3, and SEP. CONCLUSION: PAW is a double-edged sword against A. castellanii. PAW is an effective antiamoebic agent in proper usage, whereas its sublethal exposure may reduce its effectiveness and increase amoebas' pathogenicity. An agent's adequate concentration and exposure time are essential to achieve optimum results.

Second-order interferometric autocorrelation for measuring group velocity dispersion and pulse broadening of femtosecond pulses.

Femtosecond pulse broadening and group velocity dispersion (GVD) were measured using a second-order interferometric autocorrelation technique. Two reference laser pulses of 36 fs and 55 fs were generated first in a Ti:sapphire oscillator and then passed through the optical elements of Ti:sapphire crystal and BK7 and fused silica glasses. For rectangular Ti:sapphire crystal and BK7 and fused silica slabs, material dispersion, and for fused silica prisms, material as well as angular dispersions were systematically measured. The experimental results were then compared with theoretical models, showing excellent agreement. The result of this work shows that one can rely very well on theoretical expressions to calculate the GVD of materials mentioned in this work and femtosecond pulse broadening.

Heat-coupled Gaussian continuous-wave double-pass optical parametric oscillator: thermally induced phase mismatching for periodically poled MgO:LiNbO3 crystal.

In this paper, a model describing the thermal effects on the optical parametric oscillator (OPO) of Gaussian continuous waves in double-pass cavities is presented. Eight equations, including forward and backward nonlinear waves, heat, and thermally induced phase mismatching equations, were coupled and solved simultaneously to investigate the effect of heat generation on the OPO's efficiency. The model was applied for a periodically poled MgO:LiNbO3 crystal with an excellent agreement with experimental data. The numerical calculations have been carried out by a homemade code written in Intel FORTRAN, which used a finite difference method.

Plasmonic nanogratings on MIM and SOI thin-film solar cells: comparison and optimization of optical and electric enhancements.

In this work, Ag nanogratings comprised of arrays of nanostrips with three different cross sections of triangular, rectangular, and trapezoidal shape were considered and put at the top of the thin-film metal-insulator-metal (MIM) and semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) solar cells. Then, the optical absorption and the short-circuit current density (JSC) enhancement (relative to a bare cell) were calculated and compared. In addition, the best strip cross section among three types of cross sections and the optimum grating period were found. The results showed that for the transverse electric (TE) mode, only the waveguide modes were excited inside the Si active layer with the assistance of Ag nanogratings. For the transverse magnetic (TM) mode, the waveguide as well as the localized surface plasmonic (LSP) modes were excited. The LSP modes, which were excited at the longer wavelengths centered on ∼600 nm, led to an additional and consequently a larger JSC enhancement. Finally, among the various types of plasmonic SOI and MIM solar cells, a SOI cell with a 300 nm grating period, comprised of rectangular nanostrips, showed a 40% enhancement in JSC, which is the highest possible value achieved in this work.

Time-resolved thermal lens spectroscopy with a single-pulsed laser excitation beam: an analytical model for dual-beam mode-mismatched experiments.

Pulsed laser beam excitations are more commonly used in thermal lens spectroscopy (TLS) than continuous-wave (CW) ones, because CW excitations limit the measurement to linear absorption processes [J. Opt. A5, 256 (2003)]. In this work, we present a new and full analytical model for a single-pulsed laser excitation dual-beam mode-mismatched TLS for low absorption solid-state and liquid samples. Our model has been based on a new solution of time-dependent heat equation for a finite-radius cylindrical sample exposed to a single-pulsed excitation laser beam. For low absorbent samples, unlike previous models, all aberration terms associated in the thermal lens were taken into account in Fresnel integration. Besides, the model provides a full analytical mathematical expression for the temperature rise, normalized signal intensity, and Z-scan photothermal lens signal. The model was confirmed with experimental data of distilled deionized water with excellent agreement. Therefore, the model allows us to extract thermo-optical properties of samples in an analytical and more accurate way.

Thermally induced phase mismatching in a repetitively Gaussian pulsed pumping KTP crystal: a spatiotemporal treatment.

Thermally induced phase mismatching (TIPM) has been proven to be an influential issue in nonlinear phenomena. It occurs when refractive indices of crystal are changed due to temperature rise. In this work, the authors report on a modeling of spatiotemporal dependence of TIPM in a repetitively pulsed pumping KTP crystal. Gaussian profiles for both spatial and temporal dependences of pump beam were used to generate second-harmonic waves in a type II configuration. This modeling is of importance in predicting the nonlinear conversion efficiency of crystals when heat is loaded in the system. To this end, at first, an approach to solve the heat equation in a repetitively pulsed pumping system with consideration of the temperature dependence of thermal conductivity and realistic cooling mechanisms such as conduction, convection, and radiation, is presented. The TIPM is then calculated through the use of experimental thermal dispersion relations of KTP crystal. The results show how accumulative behaviors of temperature and TIPM (with its reverse sign) happen when the number of pulses is increased. Fluctuations accompanying temperature and TIPM were observed which were attributed to the off-time between successive pulses. Moreover, in this work, a numerical procedure for solving a repetitively pulsed pumped crystal is introduced. This procedure enables us to solve the problem with home-used computing machines.

Temperature increase effects on a double-pass cavity type II second-harmonic generation: a model for depleted Gaussian continuous waves.

In this work, the effect of temperature increase on the efficiency of a double-pass cavity type II second-harmonic generation (SHG) is investigated. To this end, a depleted wave model describing the continuous-wave SHG process with fundamental Gaussian waves was developed. First, six coupled equations were proposed to model a double-pass cavity to generate the second harmonic of a Gaussian fundamental wave in type II configuration. Then, the effect of temperature increase in the nonlinear crystal due to the optical absorption was modeled. To do this, a mismatched phase arising from changes in refractive indices was added to the coupled equations. Although the nondepleted assumption is usually used in such problems, a simultaneous solving of coupled equations with assumption of fundamental beam depletion was performed. The results were obtained by a homemade code written in Intel Fortran, and show how the efficiency of the SHG process decreases when the crystal is warmed up by 5, 10, and 15 K. Dramatic reductions in SHG efficiency were observed due to small changes in temperature. The results show excellent agreement with the experimental data [Opt. Commun.173, 311-314 (2000)].

Complete anisotropic time-dependent heat equation in KTP crystal under repetitively pulsed Gaussian beams: a numerical approach.

In this work, a thorough and detailed solution for the time-dependent heat equation for a cylindrical nonlinear potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) crystal under a repetitively pulsed pumping source is developed. The convection and radiation boundary conditions, which are usually ignored in the literature, have been taken into account, and their importance on the temperature distribution has been discussed in detail. Moreover, the temperature dependence of thermal conductivity of KTP was considered in the calculations, and its impact is discussed. It is shown that the radiation term has a negligible effect and can be dropped safely, while the temperature dependence of thermal conductivity is more influential, such that ignorance of it brings some errors into the modeling. The time evolution of the temperature while the crystal is pumping with a train of successive Gaussian pulses until reaching equilibrium is shown. To accomplish numerical calculations, we developed a homemade code written with the finite difference time domain method in Intel Fortran (ifort) and ran it with the Linux operating system.

Simulation of temperature and thermally induced stress of human tooth under CO2 pulsed laser beams using finite element method.

The authors report the simulation of temperature distribution and thermally induced stresses of human tooth under CO2 pulsed laser beam. A detailed tooth structure comprising enamel, dentin, and pulp with realistic shapes and thicknesses were considered, and a numerical method of finite element was adopted to solve time-dependent bio-heat and stress equations. The realistic boundary conditions of constant temperature for those parts embedded in the gingiva and heat flux condition for those parts out of the gingiva were applied. The results which were achieved as a function of energy density (J/cm(2)) showed when laser beam is irradiated downward (from the top of the tooth), the temperature and thermal stresses decrease quickly as a function of depth that is a result of strong absorption of CO2 beams by enamel. This effect is so influential that one can use CO2 beams to remove micrometer layers while underlying tissues, especially the pulp, are safe from thermal effects.

Heat coupled Gaussian continuous-wave double-pass type-II second harmonic generation: inclusion of thermally induced phase mismatching and thermal lensing.

A model describing the thermal effects in type II second harmonic generation (SHG) of Gaussian continuous-wave (CW) in a double-pass cavity is presented. The thermally induced phase mismatching (TIPM) along with thermal lensing was included in the classical SHG formalism through the interposing the heat and TIPM equations. To this end, eight equations were coupled together and solved simultaneously to reveal how the SHG is affected in time when heat is generated in the crystal. The model showed an excellent agreement with experimental data [Opt. Laser Tech.34, 333-336 (2002)]. Furthermore, a numerical procedure, which was developed in this work, is introduced for simultaneously solving the SHG, heat, and TIPM equations with home-used computing machines.

Pulsed Bessel-Gauss beams: a depleted wave model for type II second-harmonic generation.

In this work, a three-dimensional and time-dependent nonlinear wave model to describe the generation of pulsed Bessel-Gauss second-harmonic waves (SHWs) is presented. Three coupled equations, two for ordinary and extraordinary fundamental waves and one for extraordinary SHWs, describing type II second-harmonic generation (SHG) in a KTiOPO4 (KTP) crystal were solved by considering the depletion of fundamental waves (FWs). The results examined the validity of nondepleted wave approximation against the energy of pulses, beam spot size, and interaction length. It was shown that for pulses with spot sizes of ωf=80 µm and energy of 0.8j, the nonlinear interaction was accomplished over a distance of ∼5 mm. Therefore, for KTP crystals with lengths longer than 5 mm, the nondepleted wave approximation can no longer be valid. To be valid, the crystal must be shorter than the interaction length, i.e., 5 mm.

Analytical solutions for anisotropic time-dependent heat equations with Robin boundary condition for cubic-shaped solid-state laser crystals.

The problem of finding analytical solutions for time-dependent or time-independent heat equations, especially for solid-state laser media, has required a lot of work in the field of thermal effects. However, to calculate the temperature distributions analytically, researchers often have to make some approximations or employ complex methods. In this work, we present full analytical solutions for anisotropic time-dependent heat equations in the Cartesian coordinates with various source terms corresponding to various pumping schemes. Moreover, the most general boundary condition of Robin (or impedance boundary condition), corresponding to the convection cooling mechanism, was applied. This general condition can be easily switched to constant temperature and thermal insulation as special cases. To this end, we first proposed a general approach to solving time-dependent heat equations with an arbitrary heat source. We then applied our approach to explore the temperature distribution for three cases: steady-state pumping or long transient, single-shot pumping or short transient, and repetitively pulsed pumping. Our results show the possibility of an easier and more accurate approach to analytical calculations of the thermal dispersion, thermal stresses (strains), thermal bending, thermal phase shift, and other thermal effects.

Size-dependent intersubband optical properties of dome-shaped InAs/GaAs quantum dots with wetting layer.

In this work, the effects of size and wetting layer (WL) on subband electronic envelop functions, eigenenergies, linear and nonlinear absorption coefficients, and refractive indices of a dome-shaped InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) were investigated. In our model, a dome of InAs QD with its WL embedded in a GaAs matrix was considered. A finite height barrier potential at the InAs/GaAs interface was assumed. To calculate envelope functions and eigenenergies, the effective one-electronic-band Hamiltonian and electron effective mass approximation were used. The linear and nonlinear optical properties were calculated by the density matrix formalism.

Investigation of thermally-induced phase mismatching in continuous-wave second harmonic generation: a theoretical model.

A fraction of the fundamental beam energy deposited into nonlinear crystals to generate second harmonic waves (SHW) causes a temperature gradient within the crystal. This temperature inhomogeneity can alter the refractive index of the medium leading to a well-known effect called thermal dispersion. Therefore, the generated SHW suffers from thermal lensing and a longitudinal thermal phase mismatching. In this work by coupling the heat equation with second harmonic generation (SHG) formalism applied to type-II configuration along with walk-off effect, we investigate the continuous wave (CW) SHW beam profile and conversion efficiency when a non-linear KTP crystal is under induced thermal load. We have demonstrated for average and high powers, the thermal de-phasing lead to considerable reduction in SHG compared to an ideal case in which induced heat is neglected.

Analytical solution of the heat equation in a longitudinally pumped cubic solid-state laser.

Knowledge about the temperature distribution inside solid-state laser crystals is essential for calculation of thermal phase shift, thermal lensing, thermally induced birefringence, and heat-induced crystal bending. Solutions for the temperature distribution for the case of steady-state heat loading have appeared in the literature only for simple cylindrical crystal shapes and are usually based on numerical techniques. For the first time, to our knowledge, a full analytical solution of the heat equation for an anisotropic cubic cross-section solid-state crystal is presented. The crystal is assumed to be longitudinally pumped by a Gaussian pump profile. The pump power attenuation along the crystal and the real cooling mechanisms, such as convection, are considered in detail. A comparison between our analytical solutions and its numerical counterparts shows excellent agreement when just a few terms are employed in the series solutions.