Investigation of Changes in the Reflection Spectrum of Human Blood When Exposed to Laser Radiation With Wavelengths of 450 or 980 nm.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine and explain changes in the reflectance spectrum of human blood in vitro when exposed to laser radiation at wavelengths of 450 or 980 nm.

Methods: Reflectance spectra of venous blood samples were measured before and after exposure to a single pulse of 450 or 980 nm laser radiation. A numerical optical model based on the Monte Carlo method was applied.

Synthesis of 1,3-Dicarbonyl Azepines via Photoinitiated Reactions of Aryl Azides with Carbon-Based Nucleophiles.

A photoinduced one-pot method for the synthesis of azepines by the reaction of aryl azides with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds under weakly basic conditions is described. This method offers a simple route for the synthesis of 1,3-dicarbonyl-substituted azepines in good to excellent yields and high regioselectivity and was tested on 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds with different acidity levels. The resulting azepines have electrophilic and nucleophilic centers of varying degrees of activity, which facilitate reactions leading to further structural transformations.

Does big data serve policy? Not without context. An experiment with in silico social science.

The DARPA Ground Truth project sought to evaluate social science by constructing four varied simulated social worlds with hidden causality and unleashed teams of scientists to collect data, discover their causal structure, predict their future, and prescribe policies to create desired outcomes. This large-scale, long-term experiment of in silico social science, about which the ground truth of simulated worlds was known, but not by us, reveals the limits of contemporary quantitative social science methodology. First, problem solving without a shared ontology-in which many world characteristics remain existentially uncertain-poses strong limits to quantitative analysis even when scientists share a common task, and suggests how they could become insurmountable without it.

Novel Driver Strength Index highlights important cancer genes in TCGA PanCanAtlas patients.

Background: Cancer driver genes are usually ranked by mutation frequency, which does not necessarily reflect their driver strength. We hypothesize that driver strength is higher for genes preferentially mutated in patients with few driver mutations overall, because these few mutations should be strong enough to initiate cancer.

Methods: We propose formulas for the Driver Strength Index (DSI) and the Normalized Driver Strength Index (NDSI), the latter independent of gene mutation frequency.

Cancer types with high numbers of driver events are largely preventable.

There is a long-standing debate on whether cancer is predominantly driven by extrinsic risk factors such as smoking, or by intrinsic processes such as errors in DNA replication. We have previously shown that the number of rate-limiting driver events per tumor can be estimated from the age distribution of cancer incidence using the gamma/Erlang probability distribution. Here, we show that this number strongly correlates with the proportion of cancer cases attributable to modifiable risk factors for all cancer types except the ones inducible by infection or ultraviolet radiation.

Comprehensive patient-level classification and quantification of driver events in TCGA PanCanAtlas cohorts.

There is a growing need to develop novel therapeutics for targeted treatment of cancer. The prerequisite to success is the knowledge about which types of molecular alterations are predominantly driving tumorigenesis. To shed light onto this subject, we have utilized the largest database of human cancer mutations-TCGA PanCanAtlas, multiple established algorithms for cancer driver prediction (2020plus, CHASMplus, CompositeDriver, dNdScv, DriverNet, HotMAPS, OncodriveCLUSTL, OncodriveFML) and developed four novel computational pipelines: SNADRIF (Single Nucleotide Alteration DRIver Finder), GECNAV (Gene Expression-based Copy Number Alteration Validator), ANDRIF (ANeuploidy DRIver Finder) and PALDRIC (PAtient-Level DRIver Classifier).

The Erlang distribution approximates the age distribution of incidence of childhood and young adulthood cancers.

Background: It is widely believed that cancers develop upon acquiring a particular number of (epi) mutations in driver genes, but the law governing the kinetics of this process is not known. We have previously shown that the age distribution of incidence for the 20 most prevalent cancers of old age is best approximated by the Erlang probability distribution. The Erlang distribution describes the probability of several successive random events occurring by the given time according to the Poisson process, which allows an estimate for the number of critical driver events.

Investigation of the Dual-Stage Method of Active Er:YLF Laser Drug Delivery Through the Nail and Laser-Induced Transformations of the Drug Extinction Spectrum.

Background And Objective: A novel dual-stage method for active laser drug delivery (DSLADD) in the treatment of nail diseases is being presented. This method includes sequentially performed microporation of the nail with submillisecond pulses of Er:YLF laser radiation through a layer of an aqueous solution of drug deposited on the nail surface (Stage 1) and exposure this layer to the same laser radiation to deliver drug under the nail plate (Stage 2). The delivery of methylene blue (MB) as one of the possible drugs in the treatment of nail diseases is investigated.

Active Er-laser drug delivery using drug-impregnated gel for treatment of nail diseases.

Active Er-laser drug delivery under the nail plate using a drug-impregnated gel containing liquid methylene blue clusters is demonstrated for the first time. The effect of the agar-agar concentration in the gel and the gel plate thickness on the number of Er:YLF-laser pulses required for formation of a through microhole in the gel and in the nail plate with subsequent active drug delivery is discussed. The influence of the laser pulse energy, the gel plate thickness, and the external pressure applied to the gel on the rate of delivery of methylene blue under the nail plate through a single microhole in it is investigated.

Age-related diseases as vicious cycles.

The mortality rates of age-related diseases (ARDs) increase exponentially with age. Processes described by the exponential growth function typically involve a branching chain reaction or, more generally, a positive feedback loop. Here I propose that each ARD is mediated by one or several positive feedback loops (vicious cycles).

Soft tissue cutting efficiency by 980 nm laser with carbon-, erbium-, and titanium-doped optothermal fiber converters.

Objectives: The use of near-IR diode lasers for contact soft tissue surgery is attended by a risk of severe thermal damage of surrounding tissues due to the low cutting efficiency of these lasers. To increase the cutting efficiency of a near-IR lasers in contact surgery special tips (converters) which transform laser light to heat are used. The present in vivo study evaluated temperature dynamics and soft tissue cutting efficiency of 980 nm diode laser equipped with standard carbon- and novel erbium- and titanium-doped converters.

The application of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy to the ankle-foot complex: a case series.

Background: Pain at the ankle-foot complex is a common musculoskeletal condition that can lead to dysfunction. Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) is an orthopedic classification and treatment system based on mechanical and symptomatic response to repeated and sustained movement. There has been no investigation of the association between MDT and patients diagnosed with ankle-foot complex pain.

[JUSTIFICATION OF CHOICE OF THE POSITION OF THE REINFORCEMENT ELEMENT OF A GLASS-FIBER ADHESIVE TIRE BASED ON THE STUDY OF DIAGNOSTIC MODELS IN THE ARTICULATOR AND THE FOLLOWING PARALLELMETRIC RESEARCH].

The aim of the study was to develop the most optimal variant for placing the reinforcing element of a fiberglass splint with the mobility of the anterior teeth on the basis of a parallelometric study of the diagnostic models of the jaws depending on the type of occlusion and the degree of bone resorption. For the most optimal variant of the placement of the reinforcing element of the adhesive splint with orthognathic bite and deep incisal overlap, the front slope of the model was selected with the transfer of the reinforcing element of the adhesive splint onto the lingual surface. With direct, prognathic and progenic bite and bone resorption up to ¼ height (according to retrography data), the back slope of the model was selected with the placement of the reinforcing element of the adhesive splint on the vestibular surface of the lower jaw.

The number of key carcinogenic events can be predicted from cancer incidence.

The widely accepted multiple-hit hypothesis of carcinogenesis states that cancers arise after several successive events. However, no consensus has been reached on the quantity and nature of these events, although "driver" mutations or epimutations are considered the most probable candidates. By using the largest publicly available cancer incidence statistics (20 million cases), I show that incidence of 20 most prevalent cancer types in relation to patients' age closely follows the Erlang probability distribution (R = 0.

Peroxide dental bleaching via laser microchannels and tooth color measurements.

The aim of this study was to use microchannels drilled by an Er:YAG laser into a human tooth through the enamel into the dentin for direct injection of hydrogen peroxide (HP) to produce a minimally invasive, rapid, tooth bleaching effect. The experiments were conducted in vitro. Five microchannels with a diameter of ?200???m and a depth of ?2??mm were drilled through the palatal side of a human tooth crown using the microbeam of an Er:YAG-laser with a wavelength of 2.

In search for geroprotectors: in silico screening and in vitro validation of signalome-level mimetics of young healthy state.

Populations in developed nations throughout the world are rapidly aging, and the search for geroprotectors, or anti-aging interventions, has never been more important. Yet while hundreds of geroprotectors have extended lifespan in animal models, none have yet been approved for widespread use in humans. GeroScope is a computational tool that can aid prediction of novel geroprotectors from existing human gene expression data.

Adjunctive dental therapy via tooth plaque reduction and gingivitis treatment by blue light-emitting diodes tooth brushing.

The efficacy of blue light-emitting toothbrushes (B-LETBs) (405 to 420 nm, power density 2  mW/cm(2)) for reduction of dental plaques and gingival inflammation has been evaluated. Microbiological study has shown the multifactor therapeutic action of the B-LETBs on oral pathological microflora: in addition to partial mechanical removal of bacteria, photodynamic action suppresses them up to 97.5%.

T cells and reactive oxygen species.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been long considered simply as harmful by-products of metabolism, which damage cellular proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. ROS are also known as a weapon of phagocytes, employed against pathogens invading the host. However, during the last decade, an understanding has emerged that ROS also have important roles as signaling messengers in a multitude of pathways, in all cells, tissues, and organs.

Multi-beam laser-induced hydrodynamic shock waves used for delivery of microparticles and liquids in skin.

Background And Objectives: Laser radiation is often used to provide micro and nanoparticle delivery into the skin for medical and cosmetic purposes. This technique inherently has limited speed and effective penetration. We proposed and investigated a new method of rapid delivery of solid microparticles, nanoparticles and liquids into tissue through multiple microchannels created by a fractional laser microablation (FLMA) using Er:YAG-laser.

[Skin morphology in congenital ichthyosis (Harlequin fetus)].

The paper describes a skin morphological examination using an immunohistochemical study (Ki-67, cytokeratin (CK) 5/6, and CK LMW) in a dead 4-month-old girl with congenital ichthyosis (Harlequin ichthyosis (HI)). There is impaired proliferative activity, abnormalities in epidermal differentiation with abnormal CK LMW synthesis, and those in the differentiation of the skin appendages. There are also pronounced sclerotic changes with a predominance of reticulin fibers, derma, and its vessels.

Uncovering dental implants using a new thermo-optically powered (TOP) technology with tissue air-cooling.

Background And Objectives: Uncovering implants with lasers, while bloodless, has been associated with a risk of implant and bone overheating. The present study evaluated the effect of using a new generation of high-power diode lasers on the temperature of a dental implant and the surrounding tissues using an in vitro model.

Study Design/materials And Methods: The implant temperature was measured at three locations using micro thermocouples.

TCR-triggered extracellular superoxide production is not required for T-cell activation.

Background: In the last decade, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production has been shown to occur upon T-cell receptor (TCR) stimulation and to affect TCR-mediated signalling. However, the exact reactive species that are produced, how ROS are generated and their requirement for T-cell activation, proliferation or cytokine production remain unclear, especially in the case of primary human T cells. Moreover, several groups have questioned that ROS are produced upon TCR stimulation.

Superexponential cutoff as a probe of annihilating dark matter.

We investigate the possibility of fitting the putative spectrum of gamma rays from annihilating dark matter at the galactic center by a superexponential template. By generating and analyzing mock data for several ongoing and future experiments (HESS, CTA, and DMA), we find that the preference for a superexponential template (over an exponential) is especially strong for dark matter annihilating to τ(+)τ(-) and μ(+)μ(-) relative to other annihilation channels.

[Modern digital technologies as a useful tool for dental implantation planning].

The method of implant size choice concerning mechanical properties of bone tissue surrounding an implant is proposed based on CT-assessment of anatomical and topographical conditions using MIMICS-ANSYS software.

[Diagnostic and treatment patterns in management of male patients with nongonococcal urethritis: results of Russian multicentral cross-sectional study].

The aim of the study was to estimate the diagnostic and treatment patterns in the management of acute nongonococcal urethritis (NGU) in males in some cities of Russia. Retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in 2009 in 5 centers of 4 cities in the Central Part of Russia (Kaluga, Pskov, Smolensk - 2 centres and Tula). The data on the diagnostic and treatment approaches to the management of NGU in male subjects >16 years old were collected and analyzed with the use of specially designed case report forms.