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ACS Omega Aug 2023The degradation of organic dye pollutants is a critical environmental issue that has garnered significant attention in recent years. To address this problem, we...
The degradation of organic dye pollutants is a critical environmental issue that has garnered significant attention in recent years. To address this problem, we investigated the potential of CaCrO chromite (CCO) as a photocatalyst for the degradation of cationic and anionic dye solutions under sunlight irradiation. CaCrO was synthesized via a sol-gel auto-combustion route and sintered at 900 °C. The Rietveld refined XRD profile confirmed the zircon-type structure of CaCrO crystallized in the tetragonal unit cell with 41/ space group symmetry. The surface morphology of the sample was investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), which revealed the polyhedral texture of the grains. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies were carried out to analyze the elemental composition and chemical states of the ions present in the compound. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy analysis revealed the vibrational modes corresponding to the tetrahedral and dodecahedral metal oxide bonds. The optical band gap was approximated to be in the range of 1.928 eV by using the Tauc relation. The CaCrO catalyst with different contents (5, 20, 35, and 50 mg) was investigated for its photocatalytic performance for the degradation of RhB dye solution under sunlight irradiation using a UV-Vis spectrometer over the experimental wavelength range of 450-600 nm. The degradation efficacy increased from 70.630 to 93.550% for 5-35 mg and then decreased to 68.720% for 50 mg in 140 min under visible light illumination. The comparative study demonstrates that a higher degradation rate was achieved for cationic than anionic dyes in the order RhB > MB > MO. The highest deterioration (93.80%) was achieved for the RhB dye in 140 min. Equilibrium and kinetic studies showed that the adsorption process followed the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order models, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity of 21.125 mg/g was observed for the catalyst concentration of 35 mg. From the cyclic test, it has been observed that the synthesized photocatalyst is structurally and morphologically stable and reusable. The radical trapping experiment demonstrated that superoxide and hydroxyl radicals were the primary species engaged in the photodegradation process. A possible mechanism for the degradation of RhB has been proposed. Hence, we conclude that CaCrO can be used as an efficient photocatalyst for the remediation of organic dye pollutants from the environment.
PubMed: 37636959
DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c02457 -
Skin Research and Technology : Official... Aug 2023The Flash-lamp pulsed dye laser (FPDL) is nowadays considered the most precise laser currently on the market for treating superficial vascular lesions. In this study, we...
INTRODUCTION
The Flash-lamp pulsed dye laser (FPDL) is nowadays considered the most precise laser currently on the market for treating superficial vascular lesions. In this study, we gathered data from 10 years of experience regarding dye laser treatment of patients presenting vascular malformations such as telangiectasia, rhinophyma, port-wine stain, cherry and spider angioma and vascular tumours.
METHODS
Subjects were enrolled from 2013 to 2023 based on the vascular anomalies they presented. They underwent different treatment sessions with the FPDL device.
RESULTS
The age-range distribution by vascular anomaly confirmed that haemangiomas are typical in children while rhinophyma is a condition very common in older adults. A difference in sex distribution showed that pathologies such as telangiectasias typically affect women whereas rhinophyma is more frequent in men. Most of the treatments interested the face area but no permanent side effects were registered.
CONCLUSIONS
Our 10 years of experience with FPDL demonstrated good results in a wide range of applications for the treatment of different vascular anomalies. The absence of long-term side effects and bearable pain during the treatment makes it a valuable solution for the resolution of benign tumours also in very young patients.
Topics: Female; Humans; Male; Lasers, Dye; Retrospective Studies; Rhinophyma; Hemangioma; Vascular Malformations
PubMed: 37632184
DOI: 10.1111/srt.13427 -
Journal of Lasers in Medical Sciences 2023Despite the advanced formulations of resin composites, microleakage is still among the commonest causes of clinical failure of these restorations. We evaluated the...
Despite the advanced formulations of resin composites, microleakage is still among the commonest causes of clinical failure of these restorations. We evaluated the effect of surface coating and laser pretreatment on the microleakage of Class V resin composite restorations in primary teeth. Sixty extracted primary molar teeth having intact lingual or facial surfaces were randomly allocated into the control, G-Coat Plus surface coating, and erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) laser pretreatment groups. Class V cavities were provided with the coronal and gingival margins in the dentin and enamel, respectively. Restoration of the cavities was done with Z250 resin composite and they were thermocycled, followed by immersing in 2% basic Fuchsin dye for 24 hrs. Samples underwent sectioning occlusogingivally and the microleakage was assessed under a stereomicroscope (40×). Statistical analysis was done via SPSS and Kruskal-Wallis test (α=0.05). The control and G-Coat plus groups were significantly different regarding the microleakage (<0.001), and G-Coat Plus and laser pretreatment groups (<0.001) at both gingival and occlusal margins. However, it showed no significant difference between the laser and the control group on the enamel (=0.063) and dentin margins (=0.757). Microleakage at the gingival margins was significantly greater compared to the occlusal margins in the control and laser groups (<0.001), but not in the G-Coat Plus group (=0.051). G-Coat plus coating significantly reduced microleakage at dentin and enamel margins of Class V composite restorations in primary teeth, in comparison with other groups of the study. Also, dentin margins showed more significant amounts of microleakage versus enamel margins in all groups, except for the G-Coat Plus group.
PubMed: 37583502
DOI: 10.34172/jlms.2023.11 -
Polymers Jul 2023Due to the increased application of lasers in different fields (industry, medicine, etc.), there is a growing need for new laser sources with good beam quality and...
Due to the increased application of lasers in different fields (industry, medicine, etc.), there is a growing need for new laser sources with good beam quality and variable emission wavelength. At the same time, for environmental reasons, the obtaining of novel eco-friendly active optical materials, such as those based on the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) biopolymer, with optimal light emission properties, is of high interest. The results obtained in this study of the temporal dependence of the transmittance and of the light emission in thin films of DNA-CTMA-Rhodamine 610 (at different Rhodamine concentrations) (DNA-CTMA-Rh610), when they are illuminated with continuous wave laser light at 532 nm (frequently used in the optical pumping of dye lasers), are presented and discussed. The transmittance results obtained for thin film samples are compared to those obtained for the DNA-CTMA-Rh610 solutions in butanol, from which the films have been made, and also with those obtained for Rh610 solutions in butanol with the same concentrations. The investigation was performed in order to assess the influence of the DNA-CTMA and of the green laser light at 532 nm wavelength on relevant chromophore properties such as light transmission and fluorescence emission. The results obtained revealed that the DNA-CTMA matrix has an active influence on the Rhodamine 610 emission, in the whole range of concentrations of the investigated samples.
PubMed: 37514494
DOI: 10.3390/polym15143105 -
Optics Express Jul 2023Continuous-wave laser emission is challenging to obtain in organic lasers, whether in the solid or liquid form, a limitation caused by long-lived triplet states and by...
Continuous-wave laser emission is challenging to obtain in organic lasers, whether in the solid or liquid form, a limitation caused by long-lived triplet states and by thermal effects. In liquid dye lasers, both issues can be fixed by rapidly flowing the dye, which is technically complex and prevents those lasers to be further miniaturized or easily integrated. Here we address the issue of the maximal pulsewidth that can be obtained in liquid dye lasers in the absence of any dye flow, in a compact and cost-effective diode-pumped laser system. Pulses as long as 80 μs have been obtained, thanks to the combination of a hemispherical resonator design, almost insensitive to thermal-lens effects, and an intentional mismatch between pump and cavity spatial modes. The limitation in pulse duration is shown to be entirely due to thermal blooming, and more specifically to diffraction losses brought by the spherical aberration of the thermal lens.
PubMed: 37475434
DOI: 10.1364/OE.480590 -
BioRxiv : the Preprint Server For... Jul 2023The small size and flexibility of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have long posed a significant challenge to determining their structures for research and...
The small size and flexibility of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have long posed a significant challenge to determining their structures for research and therapeutic applications. Single particle cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM) is often out of reach due to the small size of the receptor without a signaling partner. Crystallization of GPCRs in lipidic cubic phase (LCP) often results in crystals that may be too small and difficult to analyze using X-ray microcrystallography at synchrotron sources or even serial femtosecond crystallography at X-ray free electron lasers. Here, we determine the previously unknown structure of the human vasopressin 1B receptor (V1BR) using microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED). To achieve this, we grew V1BR microcrystals in LCP and transferred the material directly onto electron microscopy grids. The protein was labeled with a fluorescent dye prior to crystallization to locate the microcrystals using cryogenic fluorescence microscopy, and then the surrounding material was removed using a plasma-focused ion beam to thin the sample to a thickness amenable to MicroED. MicroED data from 14 crystalline lamellae were used to determine the 3.2 Å structure of the receptor in the crystallographic space group 1. These results demonstrate the use of MicroED to determine previously unknown GPCR structures that, despite significant effort, were not tractable by other methods.
PubMed: 37461729
DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.05.547888 -
The Journal of Dermatological Treatment Dec 2023Although pulsed dye laser (PDL) is the treatment of choice for port-wine stains (PWS), clinical resistance to PDL has been observed in 20-30% of cases. Several... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Although pulsed dye laser (PDL) is the treatment of choice for port-wine stains (PWS), clinical resistance to PDL has been observed in 20-30% of cases. Several alternative treatment modalities have been introduced; however, there is still a lack of definite recommendations regarding the optimal treatment for difficult-to-treat PWS.
OBJECTIVE
We aimed to systematically review and analyze the comparative effectiveness among treatments for problematic PWS.
METHODS & MATERIALS
We systematically searched for comparative studies assessing treatments for patients with difficult-to-treat PWS through relevant biomedical databases until August 2022. A Network Meta-Analysis (NMA) was conducted to estimate the odds ratio (OR) for all pairwise comparisons. The primary outcome is the improvement of lesions of more than 25%.
RESULTS
Of the 2498 studies identified, six treatments from five studies were available for NMA. Compared with 585 nm short-pulsed dye laser (SPDL), intense pulsed light (IPL) was the most effective in clearing lesions (OR 11.81, 95% CI 2.15 to 64.89, very low confidence rating), followed by 585 nm long-pulsed dye laser (LPDL) (OR 9.95, 95% CI 1.75 to 56.62, very low confidence rating). The 1064 nm NdYAG, 532 nm NdYAG, and LPDL >585 nm exhibited potential superiority over SPDL 585 nm, although statistical significance was not observed.
CONCLUSIONS
IPL and 585 nm LPDL are likely to be more effective than 585 nm SPDL for treating difficult-to-treat PWS. Well-designed clinical trials are warranted to confirm our findings.
Topics: Humans; Lasers, Dye; Low-Level Light Therapy; Network Meta-Analysis; Port-Wine Stain; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 37424384
DOI: 10.1080/09546634.2023.2231582 -
Cureus May 2023A port-wine stain is a type of non-neoplastic hamartomatous malformation of capillary blood vessels, resulting from ectatic capillaries present from birth. Lobular...
A port-wine stain is a type of non-neoplastic hamartomatous malformation of capillary blood vessels, resulting from ectatic capillaries present from birth. Lobular capillary hemangioma is a form of capillary hemangioma that occurs from hamartomatous malformation of capillaries. In our report, we discuss the rare case of both port-wine stain and capillary haemangioma on the gingiva in a 22- year-old young male.
PubMed: 37284361
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.38642