Computational analysis of drug free silver triangular nanoprism theranostic probe plasmonic behavior for in-situ tumor imaging and photothermal therapy.

INTRODUCTION: The advanced features of plasmonic nanomaterials enable initial high accuracy detection with different therapeutic intervention. Computational simulations could estimate the plasmonic heat generation with a high accuracy and could be reliably compared to experimental results. This proposed combined theoretical-experimental strategy may help researchers to better understand other nanoparticles in terms of plasmonic efficiency and usability for future nano-theranostic research. OBJECTIVES: To develop innovative computationally-driven approach to quantify any plasmonic nanoparticles photothermal efficiency and effects before their use as therapeutic agents. METHODS: This report introduces drug free plasmonic silver triangular nanoprisms coated with polyvinyl alcohol biopolymer (PVA-SNT), for in vivo photoacoustic imaging (PAI) guided photothermal treatment (PTT) of triple-negative breast cancer mouse models. The synthesized PVA-SNT nanoparticles were characterized and a computational electrodynamic analysis was performed to evaluate and predict the optical and plasmonic photothermal properties. The in vitro biocompatibility and in vivo tumor abalation study was performed with MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell line and in nude mice model. RESULTS: The drug free 140 µg∙mL-1 PVA-SNT nanoparticles with 1.0 W∙cm-2 laser irradiation for 7 min proved to be an effective and optimized theranostic approach in terms of PAI guided triple negative breast cancer treatment. The PVA-SNT nanoparticles exhibits excellent biosafety, photostability, and strong efficiency as PAI contrast agent to visualize tumors. Histological analysis and fluorescence-assisted cell shorter assay results post-treatment apoptotic cells, more importantly, it shows substantial damage to in vivo tumor tissues, killing almost all affected cells, with no recurrence. CONCLUSION: This is a first complete study on computational simulations to estimate the plasmonic heat generation followed by drug free plasmonic PAI guided PTT for cancer treatment. This computationally-driven theranostic approach demonstrates an innovative thought regarding the nanoparticles shape, size, concentration, and composition which could be useful for the prediction of photothermal heat generation in precise nanomedicine applications.

In vivo mimicking injectable self-setting composite bio-cement: Scanning acoustic diagnosis and biological property evaluation for tissue engineering applications.

Injectability and self-setting properties are important factors to increase the efficiency of bone regeneration and reconstruction, thereby reducing the invasiveness of hard tissue engineering procedures. In this study, 63S bioactive glass (BG), nano-hydroxyapatite (n-HAp), alumina, titanium dioxide, and methylene bis-acrylamide (MBAM)-mediated polymeric crosslinking composites were prepared for the formulation of an efficient self-setting bone cement. According to the cytocompatibility and physicochemical analyses, all the samples qualified the standard of the bio-composite materials. They revealed high thermal stability, injectability, and self-setting ability supported by ~ 10.73% (maximum) mass loss, ~ 92-93% injectability and 24 ± 5 min of initial setting time. Moreover, a cellular adhesion and proliferation study was additionally performed with osteoblasts like MG-63 cells, which facilitate pseudopod-like cellular extensions on the BG/n-HAp composite scaffold surface. The SAM study was employed to non-invasively assess the self-setting properties of the composite bio-cement using the post injected distribution and physical properties of the phantom. These results validate the significant potential characteristics of the BG/n-HAp self-setting bio-cement (16:4:2:1) for promising minimal-invasive bone tissue engineering applications.

Full-view in vivo skin and blood vessels profile segmentation in photoacoustic imaging based on deep learning.

Photoacoustic (PA) microscopy allows imaging of the soft biological tissue based on optical absorption contrast and spatial ultrasound resolution. One of the major applications of PA imaging is its characterization of microvasculature. However, the strong PA signal from skin layer overshadowed the subcutaneous blood vessels leading to indirectly reconstruct the PA images in human study. Addressing the present situation, we examined a deep learning (DL) automatic algorithm to achieve high-resolution and high-contrast segmentation for widening PA imaging applications. In this research, we propose a DL model based on modified U-Net for extracting the relationship features between amplitudes of the generated PA signal from skin and underlying vessels. This study illustrates the broader potential of hybrid complex network as an automatic segmentation tool for the in vivo PA imaging. With DL-infused solution, our result outperforms the previous studies with achieved real-time semantic segmentation on large-size high-resolution PA images.

A smart LED therapy device with an automatic facial acne vulgaris diagnosis based on deep learning and internet of things application.

In low-level laser therapy, providing an optimal dosage and proposing a proper diagnosis before dermatological treatment are essential to reduce the side effects and potential dangers. In this article, a smart LED therapy system for automatic facial acne vulgaris diagnosis based on deep learning and Internet of Things application is proposed. The main goals of this study were to (1) develop an LED therapy device with different power densities and LED grid control; (2) propose a deep learning model based on modified ResNet50 and YOLOv2 for an automatic acne diagnosis; and (3) develop a smartphone application for facial photography image capture and LED therapy parameter configuration. Furthermore, a healthcare Internet of Things (H-IoT) platform for the connectivity between smartphone apps, the cloud server, and the LED therapy device is proposed to improve the efficiency of the treatment process. Experiments were conducted on test data sets divided by a cross-validation method to verify the feasibility of the proposed LED therapy system with automatic facial acne detection. The obtained results evidenced the practical application of the proposed LED therapy system for automatic acne diagnosis and H-IoT-based solutions.

Development of a LED light therapy device with power density control using a Fuzzy logic controller.

The biological effects of a light-emitting diode (LED) light therapy device are determined by irradiation parameters, mainly wavelength and power density. However, using a battery to provide power causes a problem in the variation of LED power density during battery discharge. As a result, maintaining a stable LED power density, along with extending battery life and operating time, are the primary concerns in designing a LED light therapy device. The present study aims to introduce a LED light therapy device design with different LED color power density control. A Fuzzy logic, based on the relationship between LED power density and operating time, was proposed to control constant power density in this design. The experimental results demonstrate that by using the designed controller, the LED light therapy device's power density (40 mW/cm2, 50 mW/cm2, 60 mW/cm2 for red, blue, and green light, respectively) can be controlled. The newly designed LED light therapy device could be considered an advanced version with energy savings and stabilized LED power emitting property under a broad range voltage variation.

16S rRNA Gene Amplicon Sequence Data from Chicken Cecal Feces from Vietnam and Thailand.

Here, we report 16S rRNA amplicon sequence data from chicken cecal feces from Vietnam and Thailand. Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Bacteroidaceae were dominant in cecal feces microbiota.

Characterization of pig saliva as the major natural habitat of Streptococcus suis by analyzing oral, fecal, vaginal, and environmental microbiota.

It is generally difficult to specify the sources of infection by which domestic animals may acquire pathogens. Through 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, we compared the composition of microbiota in the saliva, vaginal mucus, and feces of pigs, and in swabs of feeder troughs and water dispensers collected from pig farms in Vietnam. The composition of the microbiota differed between samples in each sample group. Streptococcus, Actinobacillus, Moraxella, and Rothia were the most abundant genera and significantly discriminative in saliva samples, regardless of the plasticity and changeability of the composition of microbiota in saliva. Moreover, species assignment of the genus Streptococcus revealed that Streptococcus suis was exceptional in the salivary microbiota, due to being most abundant among the streptococcal species and sharing estimated proportions of 5.7%-9.4% of the total bacteria in saliva. Thus, pig oral microbiota showed unique characteristics in which the major species was the pig pathogen. On the other hand, ß-diversity analysis showed that the microbiota in saliva was distinct from those in the others. From the above results, pig saliva was shown to be the major natural habitat of S. suis, and is suggested to be the most probable source of S. suis infection.

Clinical and Radiological Outcomes of a New Cage for Direct Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion

OBJECTIVE: In Korea, direct lateral interbody fusion (DLIF) was started since 2011, using standard cage (6degrees lordotic angle, 18mm width). Recently, a new wider cage with higher lordotic angle (12degrees, 22mm) was introduced. The aim of our study is to compare the clinical and radiologic outcomes of the two cage types. METHODS: We selected patients underwent DLIF, 125 cases used standard cages (standard group) and 38 cases used new cages (wide group). We followed them up for more than 6 months, and their radiological and clinical outcomes were analyzed retrospectively. For radiologic outcomes, lumbar lordotic angle (LLA), segmental lordoic angle (SLA), disc angle (DA), foraminal height change (FH), subsidence and intraoperative endplate destruction (iED) were checked. Clinical outcomes were compared using visual analog scale (VAS) score, Oswestry disability index (ODI) score and complications. RESULTS: LLA and SLA showed no significant changes postoperatively in both groups. DA showed significant increase after surgery in the wide group (p<0.05), but not in the standard group. Subsidence was significantly lower in the wide group (p<0.05). There was no difference in clinical outcomes between the two groups. Additional posterior decompression was done more frequently in the wide group. Postoperative change of foraminal height was significantly lower in the wide group (p<0.05). The iED was observed more frequently in the wide group (p<0.05) especially at the anterior edge of cage. CONCLUSION: The new type of cage seems to result in more DA and less subsidence. But indirect foraminal decompression seems to be less effective than standard cage. Intraoperative endplate destruction occurs more frequently due to a steeper lordotic angle of the new cage.