He-Ne laser auricular irradiation plus body acupuncture for treatment of acne vulgaris in 36 cases.
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In order to observe the therapeutic effects of He-Ne laser auricular irradiation plus body acupuncture for acne vulgaris, 68 cases of acne vulgaris were randomly divided into a treatment group of 36 cases treated with He-Ne laser auricular irradiation plus body acupuncture, and a control group of 32 cases treated with body acupuncture only. The results showed that the cure rate was 77.8% in the treatment group and 46.9% in the control group (P < 0.05), indicating that He-Ne laser auricular irradiation plus body acupuncture may exhibit better effects for acne vulgaris. (+info)
Use of confocal laser as light source reveals stomata-autonomous function.
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In most terrestrial plants, stomata open during the day to maximize the update of CO(2) for photosynthesis, but they close at night to minimize water loss. Blue light, among several environmental factors, controls this process. Stomata response to diverse stimuli seems to be dictated by the behaviour of neighbour stomata creating leaf areas of coordinated response. Here individual stomata of Arabidopsis leaves were illuminated with a short blue-light pulse by focusing a confocal argon laser. Beautifully, the illuminated stomata open their pores, whereas their dark-adapted neighbours unexpectedly experience no change. This induction of individual stomata opening by low fluence rates of blue light was disrupted in the phototropin1 phototropin2 (phot1 phot2) double mutant, which exhibits insensitivity of stomatal movements in blue-illuminated epidermal strips. The irradiation of all epidermal cells making direct contact with a given stoma in both wild type and phot1 phot2 plants does not trigger its movement. These results unravel the stoma autonomous function in the blue light response and illuminate the implication of PHOT1 and/or PHOT2 in such response. The micro spatial heterogeneity that solar blue light suffers in partially shaded leaves under natural conditions highlights the physiological significance of the autonomous stomatal behaviour. (+info)
Diametral tensile strength and Vickers hardness of a composite after storage in different solutions.
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This study evaluated the Vickers hardness (VHN) and diametral tensile strength (DTS) of the composite Z100 (3M ESPE) cured with: Quartz-Tungsten-Halogen light curing unit (QTH) (700mW/cm2- 40 s) and Argon laser (1,000mW/cm2- 10 s). Specimens of 2 mm depth and 8 mm diameter were immersed for 30 days at 37 degrees C in different storage means: water, alcohol, acetic acid, propionic acid and dry (control). The DTS (n = 8) was determined with a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min. The VHN (n = 8) test was carried out using a 50 g load for 60 s. Statistical analysis was performed by two-way ANOVA and Tukey's test (alpha = 0.05). The relationship between VHN and DTS was observed by Pearson correlation. The light source was not significant in both tests (VHN: P < 0.18; DTS: P < 0.92), but the factor storage showed significance (P < .001). Mechanical properties of the control group were statistically superior to those of the other storage groups (VHN = 102.2; DTS = 42.3 MPa). The alcohol group showed the lowest VHN (93.3) and DTS (33.8 MPa) values, which were similar to values for propionic (VHN = 97.5; DTS = 35.9 MPa) and acetic acids (VHN = 97.8; DTS = 36.1 MPa), but different from that of water (VHN = 102.2; DTS = 42.3 MPa). The relationship between VHN and DTS values presented a positive correlation (r2 = 0.90; P < 0.01). (+info)
Argon laser iridotomy-induced bullous keratopathy a growing problem in Japan.
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AIMS: To describe the long-term risk of bullous keratopathy following argon laser iridotomy (ALI) in Japan and to compare it with other centres in the world. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the case records of all patients with ALI-induced bullous keratopathy that underwent penetrating keratoplasty at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine (KPUM) from January 2001 to December 2004. The results were compared with the other representative centres in Singapore and the UK. RESULTS: Thirty-nine eyes of 33 patients were included in the study. The mean age of patients was 73.3+/-6.9 years (range, 58 to 87 years). Patients developed bullous keratopathy at a mean duration of 6.9+/-4.9 years (range, 0.2 to 16 years) after the laser iridotomy procedure. The majority of eyes that developed bullous keratopathy (59.0%) occurred following prophylactic ALI. KPUM had the highest percentage of ALI-induced bullous keratopathy cases that underwent penetrating keratoplasties, as compared with other centres in Singapore and the UK (20.0%, 1.8% and 0%, respectively). CONCLUSION: Bullous keratopathy may arise many years following ALI, and is a growing problem in Asian countries. This condition is a major cause of ocular morbidity in Japan, which has seen a worrying increase in the number of cases in recent years. (+info)
The influence of low-power helium-neon laser irradiation on function of selected peripheral blood cells.
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The effects of low-level laser light irradiation are debatable and the mechanisms of its action are still unclear. This study was conducted to test the effects of low-level laser irradiation on human blood cells: erythrocytes, granulocytes, and lymphocytes. Whole blood obtained by phlebotomy was irradiated at 632.8 nm by using energy fluences 0.6 J/cm2. An analysis of blood gases revealed an increase in PO2 and SaO2 (P<0.001) in irradiated blood. No shifts in PCO2 and pH were recorded. Spontaneous synthesis of DNA in T and B blood lymphocytes decreased significantly after laser irradiation (P<0.02 and P<0.04, respectively). Phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-induced proliferation of T cells and SAC proliferation of B cells, expressed as a stimulation index, were statistically higher in the samples of irradiated than in non-irradiated blood (P<0.01). Chemiluminescence of fMLP-stimulated granulocytes from irradiated blood increased in comparison with non-irradiated samples (P<0.001). No changes of spontaneous and stimulated chemiluminescence kinetics in irradiated samples were observed. These results reveal the influence of photodynamic reactions on the ability of blood to transport oxygen and on immunomodulatory effects on leukocytes. (+info)
Efficacy of argon plasma coagulation compared to topical formalin application for chronic radiation proctopathy.
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BACKGROUND: Chronic radiation proctopathy (CRP) is a troublesome complication of radiotherapy to the pelvis for which current treatment modalities are suboptimal. Currently, the application of formalin to the rectal mucosa (AFR) and thermal ablation with argon plasma coagulation (APC) are the most promising options. OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy and safety of AFR with APC for CRP. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Records of 22 patients (male to female ratio, 19:3; mean age, 74 years) who received either APC or AFR for chronic hematochezia caused by CRP, and who were evaluated and treated between May 1998 and April 2002, were reviewed. Complete evaluations were made three months after completion of each therapeutic modality. Patients were considered to be responders if there was a 10% increase in hemoglobin from baseline or complete normalization of hemoglobin (male patients, higher than 130 g/L; female patients, higher than 115 g/L) without the requirement for blood transfusion. RESULTS: The mean hemoglobin level before therapy was 107 g/L. Patients received an average of 1.78 sessions for APC and 1.81 sessions for AFR. Eleven patients (50%) were treated with APC alone, eight patients (36%) with AFR alone and three (14%) with both modalities (two with AFR followed by APC, and one with APC followed by AFR). Eleven of 14 patients (79%) in the APC group were responders, compared with three of 11 patients (27%) in the AFR group (P=0.017). In the APC group, seven of 11 responders required only a single session, while in the AFR group, only one patient responded after a single session. Adverse events (nausea, vomiting, flushing, abdominal cramps, rectal pain and fever) occurred in two patients after APC and in nine patients after AFR (P=0.001). In the APC group, the mean hemoglobin level increase was 20 g/L at three months follow-up, compared with 14 g/L in the AFR group. CONCLUSION: This retrospective study suggests that APC is more effective and safe than topical AFR to control hematochezia caused by CRP. Further studies are needed to confirm this observation. (+info)
Acute and chronic changes in the subglottis induced by graded carbon dioxide laser injury in the rabbit airway.
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