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Journal of Photochemistry and... Nov 2020The global dissemination of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has accelerated the need for the implementation of effective antimicrobial strategies to target the... (Review)
Review
The global dissemination of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has accelerated the need for the implementation of effective antimicrobial strategies to target the causative agent SARS-CoV-2. Light-based technologies have a demonstrable broad range of activity over standard chemotherapeutic antimicrobials and conventional disinfectants, negligible emergence of resistance, and the capability to modulate the host immune response. This perspective article identifies the benefits, challenges, and pitfalls of repurposing light-based strategies to combat the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic.
Topics: Betacoronavirus; COVID-19; Coronavirus Infections; Humans; Infrared Rays; Lasers, Solid-State; Light; Low-Level Light Therapy; Pandemics; Photosensitizing Agents; Pneumonia, Viral; SARS-CoV-2; Ultraviolet Rays
PubMed: 32855026
DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2020.111999 -
Journal of Photochemistry and... Jul 1991The eye consists of three major segments: the cornea, lens and retina. The main function of the anterior ocular tissue, the cornea and the lens is to transmit and focus... (Review)
Review
The eye consists of three major segments: the cornea, lens and retina. The main function of the anterior ocular tissue, the cornea and the lens is to transmit and focus light on the retina without distortion. They also filter out UV light (less than 400 nm) and prevent it from reaching the retina. Much of the light reaching the retina is used for sight. However, light can have numerous other effects on the constituents of the eye, both beneficial and deleterious. This article reviews the interaction of light with the eye, various protective mechanisms, the possible role of light in aging and disease states and the role of light in biological processes other than sight such as mood, hormonal secretions and the cyclic growth and phagocytosis of the rods and cones.
Topics: Animals; Cornea; Humans; Lens, Crystalline; Light; Ocular Physiological Phenomena; Retina; Ultraviolet Rays
PubMed: 1955945
DOI: 10.1016/1011-1344(91)80209-z -
Communicative & Integrative Biology 2014The mini-review gives special attention to holistic approach and mechanisms of processes. The physical and chemical frames and background for visual perception and... (Review)
Review
The mini-review gives special attention to holistic approach and mechanisms of processes. The physical and chemical frames and background for visual perception and signaling are discussed. Perception of photons by retinal rod cells is described in more detail starting from photon absorption and culminating in ion currents. Dark noise and temperature-dependence of photocurrents in photoreceptor cells are analyzed. Perception of polarized light, its effects and informational importance are discussed based on underlying mechanisms and specialized morphological structures of biological organisms. Role of statistics of photons in photoreception is questioned. The review also pinpoints new and developing directions and raises questions for future research.
PubMed: 25328636
DOI: 10.4161/cib.28423 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Mar 2022SignificanceThe function of our biological clock is dependent on environmental light. Rodent studies have shown that there are multiple colors that affect the clock, but...
SignificanceThe function of our biological clock is dependent on environmental light. Rodent studies have shown that there are multiple colors that affect the clock, but indirect measures in humans suggest blue light is key. We performed functional MRI studies in human subjects with unprecedented spatial resolution to investigate color sensitivity of our clock. Here, we show that narrowband blue, green, and orange light were all effective in changing neuronal activity of the clock. While the clock of nocturnal rodents is excited by light, the human clock responds with a decrease in neuronal activity as indicated by a negative BOLD response. The sensitivity of the clock to multiple colors should be integrated in light therapy aimed to strengthen our 24-h rhythms.
Topics: Circadian Clocks; Circadian Rhythm; Humans; Light; Photobiology; Suprachiasmatic Nucleus
PubMed: 35312355
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2118803119 -
Actas Dermo-sifiliograficas Mar 2014Photodermatoses are skin conditions that are induced or exacerbated by electromagnetic radiation (including visible light, UV light, and infrared radiation) from the sun... (Review)
Review
Photodermatoses are skin conditions that are induced or exacerbated by electromagnetic radiation (including visible light, UV light, and infrared radiation) from the sun or artificial light sources. In Part 1 of this series we review current understanding of the pathophysiology of these processes and their classification. We also discuss technical aspects and the basic physics of photobiology and describe the equipment required for photobiologic testing and calibration (light sources and measurement instruments).
Topics: Chronic Disease; Equipment Design; Humans; Photobiology; Photosensitivity Disorders
PubMed: 23183156
DOI: 10.1016/j.ad.2012.07.025 -
Chemical Reviews Aug 2021Electronically excited states of molecules are at the heart of photochemistry, photophysics, as well as photobiology and also play a role in material science. Their...
Electronically excited states of molecules are at the heart of photochemistry, photophysics, as well as photobiology and also play a role in material science. Their theoretical description requires highly accurate quantum chemical calculations, which are computationally expensive. In this review, we focus on not only how machine learning is employed to speed up such excited-state simulations but also how this branch of artificial intelligence can be used to advance this exciting research field in all its aspects. Discussed applications of machine learning for excited states include excited-state dynamics simulations, static calculations of absorption spectra, as well as many others. In order to put these studies into context, we discuss the promises and pitfalls of the involved machine learning techniques. Since the latter are mostly based on quantum chemistry calculations, we also provide a short introduction into excited-state electronic structure methods and approaches for nonadiabatic dynamics simulations and describe tricks and problems when using them in machine learning for excited states of molecules.
PubMed: 33211478
DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c00749 -
Current Biology : CB May 2019Global food production is set to keep increasing despite a predicted decrease in total arable land [1]. To achieve higher production, denser planting will be required on...
Global food production is set to keep increasing despite a predicted decrease in total arable land [1]. To achieve higher production, denser planting will be required on increasingly degraded soils. When grown in dense stands, crops elongate and raise their leaves in an effort to reach sunlight, a process termed shade avoidance [2]. Shade is perceived by a reduction in the ratio of red (R) to far-red (FR) light and results in the stabilization of a class of transcription factors known as PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTORS (PIFs) [3, 4]. PIFs activate the expression of auxin biosynthesis genes [4, 5] and enhance auxin sensitivity [6], which promotes cell-wall loosening and drives elongation growth. Despite our molecular understanding of shade-induced growth, little is known about how this developmental program is integrated with other environmental factors. Here, we demonstrate that low levels of NaCl in soil strongly impair the ability of plants to respond to shade. This block is dependent upon abscisic acid (ABA) signaling and the canonical ABA signaling pathway. Low R:FR light enhances brassinosteroid (BR) signaling through BRASSINOSTEROID SIGNALING KINASE 5 (BSK5) and leads to the activation of BRI1 EMS SUPPRESSOR 1 (BES1). ABA inhibits BSK5 upregulation and interferes with GSK3-like kinase inactivation by the BR pathway, thus leading to a suppression of BES1:PIF function. By demonstrating a link between light, ABA-, and BR-signaling pathways, this study provides an important step forward in our understanding of how multiple environmental cues are integrated into plant development.
Topics: Abscisic Acid; Arabidopsis; Arabidopsis Proteins; Brassinosteroids; DNA-Binding Proteins; Light; Protein Kinases; Salinity; Signal Transduction; Sodium Chloride; Soil
PubMed: 31056387
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.03.042 -
Nutrients Jun 2020The human skin hosts innumerable microorganisms and maintains homeostasis with the local immune system despite the challenges offered by environmental factors such as... (Review)
Review
The human skin hosts innumerable microorganisms and maintains homeostasis with the local immune system despite the challenges offered by environmental factors such as ultraviolet radiation (UVR). UVR causes cutaneous alterations such as acute (i.e., sunburn) and chronic inflammation, tanning, photoaging, skin cancer, and immune modulation. Phototherapy on the other hand is widely used to treat inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, polymorphic light eruption and graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), as well as neoplastic skin diseases such as cutaneous T cell lymphoma, among others. Previous work has addressed the use of pro- and pre-biotics to protect against UVR through anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, anti-carcinogenic and/or pro-and contra-melanogenic properties. Herein, we discuss and share perspectives of the potential benefits of novel treatment strategies using microbes and pro- and pre-biotics as modulators of the skin response to UVR, and how they could act both for protection against UVR-induced skin damage and as enhancers of the UVR-driven therapeutic effects on the skin.
Topics: Aging; Humans; Microbiota; Phototherapy; Prebiotics; Probiotics; Skin; Ultraviolet Rays
PubMed: 32560310
DOI: 10.3390/nu12061795 -
PLoS Pathogens Nov 2009
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Photochemistry and Photobiology 2011This review of Photochemistry and Photobiology summarizes articles published in 2010, and highlights progress in the area of photosensitization. The synthesis of... (Review)
Review
This review of Photochemistry and Photobiology summarizes articles published in 2010, and highlights progress in the area of photosensitization. The synthesis of conjugated photosensitizers is an area of interest where increasing water solubility has been a goal. Targeting infrared sensitizer absorption has been another goal, and relates to the practical need of deep tissue absorption of light. Photodynamic techniques for inactivating microbes and destroying tumors have been particularly successful. Biologically, singlet oxygen [(1)O(2)((1)Δ(g))] is an integral species in many of these reactions, although photosensitized oxidations tuned to electron and hydrogen transfer (Type I) give rise to other reactive species, such as superoxide and hydrogen peroxide. How photoprotection against yellowing, oxygenation and degradation occurs was also an area of topical interest.
Topics: Humans; Photochemotherapy; Photosensitizing Agents
PubMed: 21883245
DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-1097.2011.00993.x