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Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) and tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) are well-known examples of the begomovirus and orthotospovirus genera, respectively. These viruses cause significant economic damage to tomato crops worldwide. Weeds play an important role in the ongoing presence and spread of several plant viruses, such as TYLCV and TSWV, and are recognized as reservoirs for these infections. This work applies a comprehensive approach, encompassing field surveys and molecular techniques, to acquire an in-depth understanding of the interactions between viruses and their weed hosts. A total of 60 tomato samples exhibiting typical symptoms of TYLCV and TSWV were collected from a tomato greenhouse farm in Nonsan, South Korea. In addition, 130 samples of 16 different weed species in the immediate surroundings of the greenhouse were collected for viral detection. PCR and reverse transcription-PCR methodologies and specific primers for TYLCV and TSWV were used, which showed that 15 tomato samples were coinfected by both viruses. Interestingly, both viruses were also detected in perennial weeds, such as Rumex crispus, which highlights their function as viral reservoirs. Our study provides significant insights into the co-occurrence of TYLCV and TSWV in weed reservoirs, and their subsequent transmission under tomato greenhouse conditions. This project builds long-term strategies for integrated pest management to prevent and manage simultaneous virus outbreaks, known as twindemics, in agricultural systems.

The recent progress in the development of measurement systems for autonomous recognition had a substantial impact on emerging technology in numerous fields, especially robotics and automotive applications. In particular, time-of-flight (TOF) based light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems enable to map the surrounding environmental information over long distances and with high accuracy. The combination of advanced LiDAR with an artificial intelligence platform allows enhanced object recognition and classification, which however still suffers from limitations of inaccuracy and misidentification. Recently, multi-spectral LiDAR systems have been employed to increase the object recognition performance by additionally providing material information in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) range where the reflection spectrum characteristics are typically very sensitive to material properties. However, previous multi-spectral LiDAR systems utilized band-pass filters or complex dispersive optical systems and even required multiple photodetectors, adding complexity and cost. In this work, we propose a time-division-multiplexing (TDM) based multi-spectral LiDAR system for semantic object inference by the simultaneous acquisition of spatial and spectral information. By utilizing the TDM method, we enable the simultaneous acquisition of spatial and spectral information as well as a TOF based distance map with minimized optical loss using only a single photodetector. Our LiDAR system utilizes nanosecond pulses of five different wavelengths in the SWIR range to acquire sufficient material information in addition to 3D spatial information. To demonstrate the recognition performance, we map the multi-spectral image from a human hand, a mannequin hand, a fabric gloved hand, a nitrile gloved hand, and a printed human hand onto an RGB-color encoded image, which clearly visualizes spectral differences as RGB color depending on the material while having a similar shape. Additionally, the classification performance of the multi-spectral image is demonstrated with a convolution neural network (CNN) model using the full multi-spectral data set. Our work presents a compact novel spectroscopic LiDAR system, which provides increased recognition performance and thus a great potential to improve safety and reliability in autonomous driving., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: The blood-retinal barrier (BRB) restricts the delivery of intravenous therapeutics to the retina, necessitating innovative approaches for treating retinal disorders. This study sought to explore the potential of focused ultrasound (FUS) to non-invasively deliver intravenously administered gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) across the BRB. FUS-BRB modulation can offer a novel method for targeted retinal therapy., Methods: AuNPs of different sizes and shapes were characterized, and FUS parameters were optimized to permeate the BRB without causing retinal damage in a rodent model. The delivery of 70-kDa dextran and AuNPs to the retinal ganglion cell (RGC) layer was visualized using confocal and two-photon microscopy, respectively. Histological and statistical analyses were conducted to assess the effectiveness and safety of the procedure., Results: FUS-BRB modulation resulted in the delivery of dextran and AuNPs to the RGC and inner nuclear layer. Smaller AuNPs reached the retinal layers to a greater extent than larger ones. The delivery of dextran and AuNPs across the BRB with FUS was achieved without significant retinal damage., Conclusions: This investigation provides the first evidence, to our knowledge, of FUS-mediated AuNP delivery across the BRB, establishing a foundation for a targeted and non-invasive approach to retinal treatment. The results contribute to developing promising non-invasive therapeutic strategies in ophthalmology to treat retinal diseases., Translational Relevance: Modifying the BRB with ultrasound offers a targeted and non-invasive delivery strategy of intravenous therapeutics to the retina.

Coherent light detection and ranging (LiDAR), particularly the frequency-modulated continuous-wave LiDAR, is a robust optical imaging technology for measuring long-range distance and velocity in three dimensions (3D). We propose a spatio-spectral coherent LiDAR based on a unique wavelength-swept laser to enable both axial coherent ranging and lateral spatio-spectral beam scanning simultaneously. Instead of the conventional unidirectional wavelength-swept laser, a flutter-wavelength-swept laser (FWSL) successfully decoupled bidirectional wavelength modulation and continuous wavelength sweep, which overcame the measurable distance limited by the sampling process. The decoupled operation in FWSL enabled sequential sampling of flutter-wavelength modulation across its wide spectral bandwidth of 160 nm and, thus, allowed simultaneous distance and velocity measurement over an extended measurable distance. Herein, complete four-dimensional (4D) imaging, combining real-time 3D distance and velocity measurements, was implemented by solid-state beam scanning. An acousto-optic scanner was synchronized to facilitate the other lateral beam scanning, resulting in an optimized solid-state coherent LiDAR system. The proposed spatio-spectral coherent LiDAR system achieved high-resolution coherent ranging over long distances and real-time 4D imaging with a frame rate of 10 Hz, even in challenging environments., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The work presented here introduces a facile strategy for the development of flexible and stretchable electrodes that harness the robust characteristics of carbon nanomaterials through laser processing techniques on a liquid crystal polymer (LCP) film. By utilizing LCP film as a biocompatible electronic substrate, control is demonstrated over the laser irradiation parameters to achieve efficient pattern generation and transfer printing processes, thereby yielding highly conductive laser-induced graphene (LIG) bioelectrodes. To enhance the resolution of the patterned LIG film, shadow masks are employed during laser scanning on the LCP film surface. This approach is compatible with surface-mounted device integration, enabling the circuit writing of LIG/LCP materials in a flexible format. Moreover, kirigami-inspired on-skin bioelectrodes are introduced that exhibit reasonable stretchability, enabling independent connections to healthcare hardware platforms for electrocardiogram (ECG) and electromyography (EMG) measurements. Additionally, a brain-interfaced LIG microelectrode array is proposed that combines mechanically compliant architectures with LCP encapsulation for stimulation and recording purposes, leveraging their advantageous structural features and superior electrochemical properties. This developed approach offers a cost-effective and scalable route for producing patterned arrays of laser-converted graphene as bioelectrodes. These bioelectrodes serve as ideal circuit-enabled flexible substrates with long-term reliability in the ionic environment of the human body., (© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Healthcare Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Significance: Photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) offers advantages in high-resolution and high-contrast imaging of biomedical chromophores. The speed of imaging is critical for leveraging these benefits in both preclinical and clinical settings. Ongoing technological innovations have substantially boosted PAM's imaging speed, enabling real-time monitoring of dynamic biological processes., Aim: This concise review synthesizes historical context and current advancements in high-speed PAM, with an emphasis on developments enabled by ultrafast lasers, scanning mechanisms, and advanced imaging processing methods., Approach: We examine cutting-edge innovations across multiple facets of PAM, including light sources, scanning and detection systems, and computational techniques and explore their representative applications in biomedical research., Results: This work delineates the challenges that persist in achieving optimal high-speed PAM performance and forecasts its prospective impact on biomedical imaging., Conclusions: Recognizing the current limitations, breaking through the drawbacks, and adopting the optimal combination of each technology will lead to the realization of ultimate high-speed PAM for both fundamental research and clinical translation., (© 2024 The Authors.)

We recently developed a novel hyperspectral excitation-resolved near-infrared fluorescence imaging system (HER-NIRF) based on a continuous-wave wavelength-swept laser. In this study, this technique is applied to measure the distribution of the therapeutic agent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) by utilizing solvatochromic shift in the spectral profile of albumin-bound Indocyanine green (ICG). Using wide-field imaging in turbid media, complex dynamics of albumin-bound ICG are measured in mixtures of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and water. Phantom experiments are conducted to evaluate the performance of the HER-NIRF system. The results show that the distribution of DMSO can be visualized in the wide-field reflection geometry. One of the main purposes of the DMSO is to act as a carrier for other drugs, enhancing their effects by facilitating skin penetration. Understanding the solubility and permeability of drugs in vivo is very important in drug discovery and development. Hence, this HER-NIRF technique has great potential to advance the utilization of the therapeutic agent DMSO by mapping its distribution via the solvatochromic shift of ICG. By customizing the operational wavelength range, this system can be applied to any other fluorophores in the near-infrared region and utilized for a wide variety of drug delivery studies.

Photoacoustic imaging has emerged as a promising biomedical imaging technique that enables visualization of the optical absorption characteristics of biological tissues in vivo. Among the different photoacoustic imaging system configurations, optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy stands out by providing high spatial resolution using a tightly focused laser beam, which is typically transmitted through optical fibers. Achieving high-quality images depends significantly on optical fluence, which is directly proportional to the signal-to-noise ratio. Hence, optimizing the laser-fiber coupling is critical. Conventional coupling systems require manual adjustment of the optical path to direct the laser beam into the fiber, which is a repetitive and time-consuming process. In this study, we propose an automated laser-fiber coupling module that optimizes laser delivery and minimizes the need for manual intervention. By incorporating a motor-mounted mirror holder and proportional derivative control, we successfully achieved efficient and robust laser delivery. The performance of the proposed system was evaluated using a leaf-skeleton phantom in vitro and a human finger in vivo, resulting in high-quality photoacoustic images. This innovation has the potential to significantly enhance the quality and efficiency of optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

We propose a novel, to the best of our knowledge, distance recovery method via swept frequency mixing for frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) light detection and ranging (LiDAR) to overcome the Nyquist limit and obtain high data efficiency. A one dimensional (1D) experiment was conducted to recover the optical fiber length; in addition, a 3D image was obtained by recovering the distances of several targets in free space. Compared to conventional methods based on fast Fourier transform (FFT), beat frequency up to 14 times the Nyquist limit for sampling frequency was successfully measured without aliasing. The proposed method dramatically increases the data efficiency in FMCW LiDAR by reducing the number of complex algorithms and experimental resources required.

Despite the many advanced strategies that are available, rapid gene mutation in multidrug-resistant bacterial infections remains a major challenge. Combining new therapeutic strategies such as chemo-photothermal therapy (PTT) with high antibacterial efficiency against drug-resistant Listeria monocytogenes (LM) is urgently needed. Here, we report synergistic chemo-PTT against drug-resistant LM based on antibody-conjugated and streptomycin-chitosan oligosaccharide-modified gold nanoshells (anti-STR-CO-GNSs) as all-in-one nanotheranostic agents for the first time, which was used for accurate antibacterial applications. The anti-STR-CO-GNSs showed excellent photothermal conversion efficiency (31.97 %) and were responsive to near-infrared (NIR) and pH dual stimuli-triggered antibiotic release, resulting in outstanding chemo-photothermal effects against LM. In vitro chemo-photothermal effect of anti-STR-CO-GNSs with laser irradiation caused a greater antibacterial effect (1.37 %), resulting in more rapid killing of LM and prevention of LM regrowth. Most importantly, the mice receiving the anti-STR-CO-GNSs with laser irradiation specifically at the sites of LM infections healed almost completely, leaving only scars on the surface of the skin and resulting in superior inhibitory effects from combined chemo-PTT. Overall, our findings suggest that chemo-PTT using smart biocompatible anti-STR-CO-GNSs is a favorable potential alternative to combat the increasing threat of drug-resistant LM, which opens a new door for clinical anti-infection therapy in the future., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.)

In recent years, bone tissue engineering (BTE) has made significant progress in promoting the direct and functional connection between bone and graft, including osseointegration and osteoconduction, to facilitate the healing of damaged bone tissues. Herein, we introduce a new, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective method for synthesizing reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and hydroxyapatite (HAp). The method uses epigallocatechin-3- O -gallate (EGCG) as a reducing agent to synthesize rGO (E-rGO), and HAp powder is obtained from Atlantic bluefin tuna ( Thunnus thynnus ). The physicochemical analysis indicated that the E-rGO/HAp composites had exceptional properties for use as BTE scaffolds, as well as high purity. Moreover, we discovered that E-rGO/HAp composites facilitated not only the proliferation, but also early and late osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). Our work suggests that E-rGO/HAp composites may play a significant role in promoting the spontaneous osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs, and we envision that E-rGO/HAp composites could serve as promising candidates for BTE scaffolds, stem-cell differentiation stimulators, and implantable device components because of their biocompatible and bioactive properties. Overall, we suggest a new approach for developing cost-effective and environmentally friendly E-rGO/HAp composite materials for BTE application.

Background: Regeneration of defective neurons in central nervous system is a highlighted issue for neurodegenerative disease treatment. Various tissue engineering approaches have focused on neuritogenesis to achieve the regeneration of damaged neuronal cells because damaged neurons often fail to achieve spontaneous restoration of neonatal neurites. Meanwhile, owing to the demand for a better diagnosis, studies of super-resolution imaging techniques in fluorescence microscopy have triggered the technological development to surpass the classical resolution dictated by the optical diffraction limit for precise observations of neuronal behaviors. Herein, the multifunctional nanodiamonds (NDs) as neuritogenesis promoters and super-resolution imaging probes were studied., Methods: To investigate the neuritogenesis-inducing capability of NDs, ND-containing growing medium and differentiation medium were added to the HT-22 hippocampal neuronal cells and incubated for 10 d. In vitro and ex vivo images were visualized through custom-built two-photon microscopy using NDs as imaging probes and the direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (dSTORM) process was performed for the super-resolution reconstruction owing to the photoblinking properties of NDs. Moreover, ex vivo imaging of the mouse brain was performed 24 h after the intravenous injection of NDs., Results: NDs were endocytosed by the cells and promoted spontaneous neuritogenesis without any differentiation factors, where NDs exhibited no significant toxicity with their outstanding biocompatibility. The images of ND-endocytosed cells were reconstructed into super-resolution images through dSTORM, thereby addressing the problem of image distortion due to nano-sized particles, including size expansion and the challenge in distinguishing the nearby located particles. Furthermore, the ex vivo images of NDs in mouse brain confirmed that NDs could penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and retain their photoblinking property for dSTORM application., Conclusions: It was demonstrated that the NDs are capable of dSTORM super-resolution imaging, neuritogenic facilitation, and BBB penetration, suggesting their remarkable potential in biological applications., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

In this paper, we propose an efficient label-free in vivo photoacoustic (PA) imaging of melanoma using a condensed near infrared-I (NIR-I) supercontinuum light source. Although NIR-II spectral window is advantageous such as longer penetration depth compared to the NIR-I region, supercontinuum light sources emitting both NIR-I and NIR-II region could lower the efficiency to target melanoma because of low optical power density in the melanoma's absorption spectra. To exploit efficient in vivo PA imaging of melanoma, we demonstrated the light source emitting from visible (532-600 nm) to NIR-I (600-1000 nm) by optimizing stimulated Raman scattering induced supercontinuum generation. The melanoma's structure is successfully differentiated from blood vessels at a high pulse energy of 2.5 µJ and a flexible pulse repetition rate (PRR) of 5-50 kHz. The proposed light source with the microjoules energies and tens of kHz of PRR can potentially accelerate clinical trials such as early diagnosis of melanoma., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

Montmorillonite is the main crystalline mineral present in bentonite. It is an absorbent, swelling material; the physical chemistry underlying its ability to absorb water and swell occurs at the nanoscale, governed by electrical double-layer interactions. In turn, absorption and swelling lead to important changes in the macroscopic transport properties of the clay. Mesoscale models can help us establish a link between these nanoscale processes and macroscale properties, notably by providing a detailed description of its pore network. Models on the scale of hundreds to thousands of nanometers are required, which cannot realistically be handled using traditional all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. This work presents a coarse-grained (CG) mesoscale model of sodium montmorillonite. In our model, montmorillonite platelets are represented by two types of particles: central nonhydrogen-bonded particles and edge hydrogen-bonding particles. The particle interactions are described by two-body potentials, which were optimized based on all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. Specifically, several potential mean force calculations involving dry and hydrated montmorillonite were performed, using the ClayFF potential to calculate interatomic forces. The CG model was validated by testing the scalability of the model, testing its ability to reproduce potentials of mean force reported elsewhere in the literature, and by comparing the calculated elastic properties of a system containing 1000 Na montmorillonite platelets to experimentally measured elastic properties of bentonite. The simulated elastic properties obtained using our mesoscale model agree with these experimental values.

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., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.)

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., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The development of scientific technology for art authentication has elicited multidimensional evidence to distinguish forgeries from original artwork. Here, we analyzed the three-dimensional morphology of cracks that contain information, such as the painting features of artworks, using optical coherence tomography. The forgeries were produced by an expert from original oil paintings with cracks that occur owing to paint drying, canvas aging, and physical damage. Parameters, such as shape, width, and depth, were compared based on the cross-sectional images of the original and fake cracks. The original cracks were rectangular and inverted, but the fake cracks were relatively simple inverted triangles. The original cracks were as deep as the thickness of the upper layer and mostly were "thin/deep" or "wide/shallow". The fake cracks were observed to be "'thin/shallow" or "wide/deep". This study aims to improve the understanding of crack characteristics and promote the development of techniques for determining art authenticity., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Photobiomodulation (PBM) has received attention due to its potential for improving tissue function and enhancing regeneration in stroke. A lightweight, compact, and simple system of miniaturized electronic devices consisting of packaged light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that incorporates a flexible substrate for in vivo brain PBM in a mouse model is developed. Using this device platform, the preventive and therapeutic effects of PBM affixed to the exposed skull of mice in the photothrombosis and middle cerebral artery occlusion stroke model are evaluated. Among the wavelength range of 630, 850, and 940 nm LED array, the PBM with 630-nm LED array is proved to be the most effective for reducing the infarction volume and neurological impairment after ischemic stroke. Moreover, the PBM with 630 nm LED array remarkably improves the capability of spatial learning and memory in the chronic poststroke phase, attenuates AIM2 inflammasome activation and inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis, and modulates microglial polarization in the hippocampus and cortex 7 days following ischemic stroke. Thus, PBM may prevent tissue and functional damage in acute ischemic injury, thereby attenuating the development of cognitive impairment after stroke., (© 2022 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

In this study, an active mode-locked tunable pulsed laser (AML-TPL) is proposed to excite picosecond pulsed light with a rapid wavelength tunability of approximately 800 nm for multiphoton microscopy. The AML-TPL is schematically based on a fiber-cavity semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) configuration to implement a robust and align-free pulsed light source with a duration of 1.6 ps, a repetition rate of 27.9271 MHz, and average output power of over 600 mW. A custom-built multiphoton imaging system was also built to demonstrate the imaging performance of the proposed AML-TPL by comparing with the commercial Ti:Sapphire femtosecond laser. Two-photon excited fluorescence images were successfully acquired using a human breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231) stained with acridine orange., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2022 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement.)

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to create neuroplasticity in healthy and diseased populations. The control of stimulation duration by providing real-time brain state feedback using neuroimaging is a topic of great interest. This study presents the feasibility of a closed-loop modulation for the targeted functional network in the prefrontal cortex. We hypothesize that we cannot improve the brain state further after reaching a specific state during a stimulation therapy session. A high-definition tDCS of 1[Formula: see text]mA arranged in a ring configuration was applied at the targeted right prefrontal cortex of 15 healthy male subjects for 10[Formula: see text]min. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used to monitor hemoglobin chromophores during the stimulation period continuously. The correlation matrices obtained from filtered oxyhemoglobin were binarized to form subnetworks of short- and long-range connections. The connectivity in all subnetworks was analyzed individually using a new quantification measure of connectivity percentage based on the correlation matrix. The short-range network in the stimulated hemisphere showed increased connectivity in the initial stimulation phase. However, the increase in connection density reduced significantly after 6[Formula: see text]min of stimulation. The short-range network of the left hemisphere and the long-range network gradually increased throughout the stimulation period. The connectivity percentage measure showed a similar response with network theory parameters. The connectivity percentage and network theory metrics represent the brain state during the stimulation therapy. The results from the network theory metrics, including degree centrality, efficiency, and connection density, support our hypothesis and provide a guideline for feedback on the brain state. The proposed neuro-feedback scheme is feasible to control the stimulation duration to avoid overdosage.

Biomedical imaging is an essential tool for investigating biological responses in vivo . Among the several imaging techniques, optical imaging systems with multispectral analysis of nanoparticles have been widely investigated due to their ability to distinguish the substances in biological tissues in vivo . This review article focus on multispectral optical imaging techniques that can provide molecular functional information. We summarize the basic principle of the spectral unmixing technique that enables the delineation of optical chromophores. Then, we explore the principle, typical system configuration, and biomedical applications of the representative optical imaging techniques, which are fluorescence imaging, two-photon microscopy, and photoacoustic imaging. The results in the recent studies show the great potential of the multispectral analysis techniques for monitoring responses of biological systems in vivo ., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists., (© The author(s).)

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) is one of the most important plant viruses belonging to the genus Begomovirus of the family Geminiviridae. To identify natural weed hosts that could act as reservoirs of TYLCV, 100 samples were collected at a TYLCV-affected tomato farm in Iksan from 2013 to 2014. The sample weeds were identified as belonging to 40 species from 18 families. TYLCV was detected in 57 samples belonging to 28 species through polymerase chain reaction using root samples including five species (Eleusine indica, Digitaria ciliaris, Echinochloa crus-galli, Panicum dichotomiflorum, and Setaria faberi) from the family Poaceae. Whitefly Bemisia tabaci-mediated TYLCV transmission from TYLCV-infected E. indica plants to healthy tomatoes was confirmed, and inoculated tomatoes showed typical symptoms, such as leaf curling and yellowing. In addition, TYLCV was detected in leaf and root samples of E. indica plants inoculated by both whitefly-mediated transmission using TYLCV-viruliferous whitefly and agro-inoculation using a TYLCV infectious clone. The majority of mastreviruses infect monocotyledonous plants, but there have also been reports of mastreviruses that can infect dicotyledonous plants, such as the chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus. No exception was reported among begomoviruses known as infecting dicots only. This is the first report of TYLCV as a member of the genus Begomovirus infecting monocotyledonous plants.

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., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2021 Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

In recent years, many methods have been investigated to improve imaging speed in photoacoustic microscopy (PAM). These methods mainly focused upon three critical factors contributing to fast PAM: laser pulse repetition rate, scanning speed, and computing power of the microprocessors. A high laser repetition rate is fundamentally the most crucial factor to increase the PAM speed. In this paper, we review methods adopted for fast PAM systems in detail, specifically with respect to light sources. To the best of our knowledge, ours is the first review article analyzing the fundamental requirements for developing high-speed PAM and their limitations from the perspective of light sources., (© 2021 The Author(s).)

Photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) is an important imaging tool that can noninvasively visualize the anatomical structure of living animals. However, the limited scanning area restricts traditional PAM systems for scanning a large animal. Here, we firstly report a dual-channel PAM system based on a custom-made slider-crank scanner. This novel scanner allows us to stably capture an ultra-widefield scanning area of 24 mm at a high B-scan speed of 32 Hz while maintaining a high signal-to-noise ratio. Our system's spatial resolution is measured at ∼3.4 μm and ∼37 μm for lateral and axial resolution, respectively. Without any contrast agent, a dragonfly wing, a nude mouse ear, an entire rat ear, and a portion of mouse sagittal are successfully imaged. Furthermore, for hemodynamic monitoring, the mimicking circulating tumor cells using magnetic contrast agent is rapidly captured in vitro . The experimental results demonstrated that our device is a promising tool for biological applications., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest, (© 2021 The Authors.)

This study aims to decode the hemodynamic responses (HRs) evoked by multiple sound-categories using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The six different sounds were given as stimuli (English, non-English, annoying, nature, music, and gunshot). The oxy-hemoglobin (HbO) concentration changes are measured in both hemispheres of the auditory cortex while 18 healthy subjects listen to 10-s blocks of six sound-categories. Long short-term memory (LSTM) networks were used as a classifier. The classification accuracy was 20.38 ± 4.63% with six class classification. Though LSTM networks' performance was a little higher than chance levels, it is noteworthy that we could classify the data subject-wise without feature selections., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationship that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Yoo, Santosa, Kim and Hong.)

Critical limb ischemia is a condition in which tissue necrosis occurs due to arterial occlusion, resulting in limb amputation in severe cases. Both endothelial cells (ECs) and vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are needed for the regeneration of peripheral arteries in ischemic tissues. However, it is difficult to isolate and cultivate primary EC and SMC from patients for therapeutic angiogenesis. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are regarded as useful stem cells due to their pluripotent differentiation potential. In this study, we explored the therapeutic efficacy of human iPSC-derived EC and iPSC-derived SMC in peripheral artery disease model. After the induction of mesodermal differentiation of iPSC, CD34 + progenitor cells were isolated by magnetic-activated cell sorting. Cultivation of the CD34 + progenitor cells in endothelial culture medium induced the expression of endothelial markers and phenotypes. Moreover, the CD34 + cells could be differentiated into SMC by cultivation in SMC culture medium. In a murine hindlimb ischemia model, cotransplantation of EC with SMC improved blood perfusion and increased the limb salvage rate in ischemic limbs compared to transplantation of either EC or SMC alone. Moreover, cotransplantation of EC and SMC stimulated angiogenesis and led to the formation of capillaries and arteries/arterioles in vivo. Conditioned medium derived from SMC stimulated the migration, proliferation, and tubulation of EC in vitro, and these effects were recapitulated by exosomes isolated from the SMC-conditioned medium. Together, these results suggest that iPSC-derived SMC enhance the therapeutic efficacy of iPSC-derived EC in peripheral artery disease via an exosome-mediated paracrine mechanism., (© 2020 The Authors. STEM CELLS TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of AlphaMed Press.)

In October 2018, cucumber plants showing yellowing and chlorotic mottle symptoms were observed in a greenhouse in Chungbuk, South Korea. The observed symptoms were similar to those caused by cucurbit aphid-borne yellows virus (CABYV), which has been detected on cucumber plants in the region since it was reported on melon in Korea in 2015 (Lee et al 2015). To identify the potential agents causing these symptoms, 28 samples from symptomatic leaves and fruit of cucumber plants were subjected to total RNA extraction using the Plant RNA Prep Kit (Biocubesystem, Korea). Reverse transcription polymerase chain (RT-PCR) was performed on total RNA using CABYV specific primers and protocols (Kwak et al. 2018). CABYV was detected in 17 of the 28 samples, while 11 symptomatic samples tested negative. In order to identify the cause of the symptoms, RT-PCR was performed using cucurbit chlorotic yellows virus (CCYV) and cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (CYSDV) specific primers (Wintermantel et al. 2019). Eight of the 28 samples were positive using the CCYV specific primers while seven samples were infected with only CCYV and one contained a mixed infection of CABYV with CCYV. None of the samples tested positive for CYSDV. The expected 373 nt amplicons of CCYV were bi-directionally sequenced, and BLASTn analysis showed that the nucleotide sequences shared 98 to 100% identity with CCYV isolates from East Asia, including NC0180174 from Japan. Two pairs of primers for amplification of the complete coat protein and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) genes (Wintermantel et al., 2019) were used to amplify the 753bp coat protein and 1517bp RdRp genes, respectively. Amplicons of the expected sizes were obtained from a CCYV single infection and ligated into the pGEM T- Easy vector (Promega, WI, USA). Three clones from each amplicon were sequenced and aligned using Geneious Prime and found to have identical sequences (Genbank accession nos. MW033300, MW033301). The CP and RdRp sequences demonstrated 99% nucleotide and 100% amino acid identity with the respective genes and proteins of the CCYV isolates from Japan. This study documents the first report of CCYV in Korea. Since CCYV was first detected on melon in Japan, it has been reported in many other countries including those in East Asia, the Middle East, Southern Europe, North Africa, and recently in North America. CCYV has the potential to become a serious threat to production of cucurbit crops in Korea, particularly due to the increasing prevalence of the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci , in greenhouse production systems. It will be important to continue monitoring for CCYV and determine potential alternate hosts in the region to manage and prevent further spread of CCYV in Korea.

We report on an akinetic actively-mode-locked wavelength-swept laser (ASL) with a sweep that is highly linear in wavenumber. By tailoring the drive waveform of the intracavity modulator, the wavenumber sweep was further linearized to enable high fidelity frequency-domain interferometric ranging without resampling of the acquired data. Used for catheter-based optical coherence tomography, the ASL showed comparable imaging performance to a state-of-the-art polygon-based wavelength-swept source at a matching sweep rate of 103.6 kHz, a duty cycle of 95%, and a bandwidth of 100 nm, centered at 1330 nm.

Multispectral photoacoustic microscopy uses a wavelength-dependent absorption difference as a contrast mechanism to image the target molecule. In this paper, we present a novel multispectral pulsed fiber laser source, which selectively alternates the excitation wavelengths between green and red colors based on the stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) effect for imaging. This laser has a high pulse repetition rate (PRR) of 300 kHz and high pulse energy of more than 200 nJ meeting the real-time requirements of optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy imaging. By switching the polarization state of the pump light and optical paths of the pump light, the operating wavelengths of the light source can be selectively alternated at the same fast PRR for any two SRS peak wavelengths between 545 and 655 nm. At 545 nm excitation wavelength, molecular photoacoustic signals from both blood vessels and gold nanorods were obtained simultaneously. However, at 655 nm, the photoacoustic signals of gold nanorods were dominant because the absorption of light by the blood vessels decreased drastically in the spectral region over 600 nm. Thus the multispectral photoacoustic system designed using the novel laser source implemented here could simultaneously monitor the time-dependent fast movement of two molecules independently, having different wavelength-dependent absorption properties at a high repetition rate of 0.49 frames per second (fps)., Competing Interests: The authors report no declarations of interest., (© 2020 Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

Multifunctional theranostic agents have recently attracted a great deal of attention in field of biomedicine. In the present work, folic acid-conjugated chitosan-functionalized graphene oxide (FA-CS-GO) has been developed as a new type of multifunctional nanomaterial for near-infrared fluorescence (FL)/photoacoustic imaging-(PAI) guided photothermal therapy (PTT) of cancer. In vitro results showed that the FA-CS-GO was able to completely destroy cancer cells under laser irradiation. More importantly, in vivo experiments showed that in the presence of targeted FA-CS-GO with laser irradiation, the tumors were completely inhibited, with no recurrence within 20 days. A high photoacoustic signal was detected in the tumor area of mice 24 h after the injection of FA-CS-GO, demonstrating the ability of FA-CS-GO to function as a new PAI contrast agent. Altogether, FA-CS-GO showed a high tumor-targeting efficiency, powerful photothermal effect, and outstanding PAI. This study is considered the first where multifunctional nanomaterials were used for highly efficient FL/PAI-guided tumor-targeted PTT, which is a promising avenue for theranostic nanomedicine., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Control of the chemical and physical properties of nanoscale colloids and their nanoassemblies remains a challenging issue for enhancing the performance and functionalities of nanodevices. In this study, we report a post-synthesis etching method to tailor the porosity of the Fe 3 O 4 shells coating on Ag NPs, establishing a facile but effective approach to regulate the chemical and optical properties of the colloids and their assembled structures. As the shell porosity increases, the NPs are transformed, producing enhanced catalytic activity and the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) effect, which results from enhanced chemical diffusion into the Ag core. Magnetoplasmonic (MagPlas) one- (1D) and two- (2D) dimensional arrays fabricated using these porosity-controllable NPs exhibit intriguing plasmon properties that are strongly affected by the porosity of the particle shell. Furthermore, the bright coloration of the 2D arrays is tuned by changing the shell porosity or introducing an additional metallic layer. Such 1D and 2D porous MagPlas metastructures possessing Fe 3 O 4 shells with tunable porosities are a fulcrum for developing recyclable catalysts and tunable optical filters with optimized activity, selectivity, and sensitivity, as well as color displays and sensing platforms.

One-dimensional nanostructures with controllable aspect ratios are essential for a wide range of applications. An approach for magnetic superparticle (SP) assembly over large areas (55 mm × 25 mm) is introduced via co-assistance of electrostatic and magnetic fields, so-called magnetic layer-by-layer assembly, on an arbitrary hydrophilic substrate within minutes. The SP structures [diameter ( d ) = 120-350 nm] of Fe 3 O 4 or Ag@Fe 3 O 4 composites composed of hundreds of magnetite nanocrystals ( d = 10-20 nm) are used as colloidal monomers to fabricate arrays of high aspect ratio (up to 10 2 ) linear nanochains, viz . colloidal polymers, where thermal disturbances were minimized. The arrays of colloidal polymers exhibit strong optical polarization effects owing to their geometrical anisotropy, which can be used as a simple optical filter. Furthermore, by using the binary colloidal mixture of different magnetic colloids, including different sized Fe 3 O 4 and magnetoplasmonic Ag@Fe 3 O 4 , low aspect ratio (2-15) colloidal chains, viz . magnetic/plasmonic oligomers, with tunable lengths were fabricated, affording a facile but an effective approach to modulate the optical properties of the chains. The scalable fabrication of well-aligned, linear colloidal polymers and oligomers opens up appealing opportunities for the development of sensors, subwavelength waveguides, optical tweezers, and enhanced solar harvesting devices.

We have investigated the transition kinetics of Sr 0.25 Ba 0.75 Nb 2 O 6 (SBN) and Li 2 B 4 O 7 (LBO) crystals from 0.25SrO-0.75BaO-Nb 2 O 5 -Li 2 O-2B 2 O 3 (SBNLBO) glass under isothermal and non-isothermal processes. With increasing temperature, there are two consecutive steps of crystallization of SBN and LBO from the glass. The Johnson-Mehl-Avrami function indicates that the crystallization mechanism of SBN belongs to an increasing nucleation rate with diffusion-controlled growth. The crystallite size of SBN ranges from 40 to 140 nm but it is confined to within 30-45 nm for LBO during the whole crystallization process. The relationship between the nano size and strain of SBN based on the Williamson-Hall method, and the change of activation energies of SBN and LBO crystallization analyzed by using the isoconversional model are discussed. A comparison of phonon modes between as-quenched glass and fully transformed crystals clearly shows that the low dimensional vibration modes in the structurally disordered glass change to highly dimensional network units with the formation of crystals., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Premise: The common sowthistle, Sonchus oleraceus (Asteraceae), is a globally invasive weedy species. In order to investigate its genetic diversity, population genetic structure, and evolutionary history, we developed and characterized nuclear simple sequence repeat markers (SSRs or microsatellites)., Methods and Results: Seventeen microsatellite primer pairs were developed based on the Illumina sequence data. Ten developed SSR loci were polymorphic in four populations sampled from broad geographical regions. The number of alleles per locus ranged from one to 11, and the levels of observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.000 to 1.000 and from 0.000 to 0.801, respectively. Up to 82% of the newly developed primer pairs were successfully amplified in the congeneric taxa S. asper , S. asper subsp. glaucescens , S. canariensis , and S. palmensis ., Conclusions: The SSR markers developed in this study will be useful for future population genetic studies on S. oleraceus and other congeneric species., (© 2020 Kim et al. Applications in Plant Sciences is published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the Botanical Society of America.)

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is one of the plant viruses transmitted by thrips and causes severe economic damage to various crops. From 2008 to 2011, to identify natural host species of TSWV in South Korea, weeds and crops were collected from 5 regions (Seosan, Yesan, Yeonggwang, Naju, and Suncheon) where TSWV occurred and were identified as 1,104 samples that belong to 144 species from 40 families. According to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, TSWV was detected from 73 samples from 23 crop species, 5 of which belonged to family Solanaceae. Additionally, 42 weed species were confirmed as natural hosts of TSWV with three different life cycles, indicating that these weed species could play an important role as virus reservoirs during no cultivation periods of crops. This study provides up-to-date comprehensive information for TSWV natural hosts in South Korea., (© The Korean Society of Plant Pathology.)

Prickly sow thistle, Sonchus asper (L.) Hill, and common sow thistle, Sonchus oleraceus L., are noxious weeds. Probably originating from the Mediterranean region, they have become widespread species. They share similar morphology and are closely related. However, they differ in their chromosome numbers and the precise relationship between them remains uncertain. Understanding their chloroplast genome structure and evolution is an important initial step toward determining their phylogenetic relationships and analyzing accelerating plant invasion processes on a global scale. We assembled four accessions of chloroplast genomes (two S. asper and two S. oleraceus ) by the next generation sequencing approach and conducted comparative genomic analyses. All the chloroplast genomes were highly conserved. Their sizes ranged from 151,808 to 151,849 bp, containing 130 genes including 87 coding genes, 6 rRNA genes, and 37 tRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis based on the whole chloroplast genome sequences showed that S. asper shares a recent common ancestor with S. oleraceus and suggested its likely involvement in a possible amphidiploid origin of S. oleraceus . In total, 79 simple sequence repeats and highly variable regions were identified as the potential chloroplast markers to determine genetic variation and colonization patterns of Sonchus species., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Developing a novel multifunctional theranostic agent for cancer combination therapy has attracted tremendous attention in recent years. In this report, we designed and developed a new multifunctional nanocarrier based on anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibody-conjugated and paclitaxel loaded-thiol chitosan-layered gold nanoshells (anti-EGFR-PTX-TCS-GNSs) as a theranostic agent for the first time used for fluorescence/photoacoustic dual-modal imaging-guided chemophotothermal synergistic therapy. The resulting anti-EGFR-PTX-TCS-GNSs showed excellent biosafety, biocompatibility, broad near-infrared (NIR) absorbance, photostability, fast and laser irradiation-controllable drug release, and higher targeting efficiency for efficient chemophotothermal combination therapy of cancer under the guidance of photoacoustic imaging (PAI). The combination therapy was investigated in vitro and in vivo, displaying a powerful anticancer efficiency. More importantly, an in vivo experiment of anti-EGFR-PTX-TCS-GNSs with laser irradiation showed heavy damage to the tumor tissue, killing the tumor cells almost completely. Anti-EGFR-PTX-TCS-GNSs also showed a powerful capacity to visualize tumors, and therefore it is considered a new PAI contrast agent for subsequent therapy. Histological analysis and TUNEL assay further showed much more apoptotic cells, confirming the value of anti-EGFR-PTX-TCS-GNSs. Our results provide a new concept and a promising strategy to develop a novel multifunctional nanotheranostic agent for future clinical applications in diagnosis and therapy., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

A multi-spectral laser speckle contrast imaging (MS-LSCI) system is proposed using only a single wavelength-swept laser, which provides both highly coherent and multi-spectral outputs to simultaneously generate laser speckle contrast images and multi-spectral images, respectively. Using a laser light swept from 770 to 821 nm at a repetition rate of 5 Hz and a CCD camera of 335 fps, 67 multi-spectral frame images are acquired in 0.76 nm wavebands over 51 nm spectral range. The spectral sub-windowing method of single wavelength-swept laser source is used to solve the lack of spectral information from a few individual light sources, which is a limitation of conventional MS-LSCI systems. In addition to the speckle flow index from the LSCI frames, the multi-spectrally encoded images can generate additional images of spectral absorbance. To further examine the performance of the MS-LSCI system, an in vivo cuff-induced ischemia experiment was conducted to show the real-time imaging of hemodynamic and blood oxygen saturation changes simultaneously over the entire 2.5  cm  ×  4.5  cm field of view.

Distributed optical fiber sensors (DOFS) based on Raman, Brillouin, and Rayleigh scattering have recently attracted considerable attention for various sensing applications, especially large-scale monitoring, owing to their capacity for measuring strain or temperature distributions. However, ultraweak backscatter signals within optical fibers constitute an inevitable problem for DOFS, thereby increasing the burden on the entire system in terms of limited spatial resolution, low measurement speed, high system complexity, or high cost. We propose a novel resonance frequency mapping for a real-time quasi-distributed fiber optic sensor based on identical weak fiber Bragg gratings (FBG), which has stronger reflection signals and high sensitivity to multiple sensing parameters. The resonance configuration, which amplifies optical signals during multiple round-trip propagations, can simply and efficiently address the intrinsic problems in conventional single round-trip measurements for identical weak FBG sensors, such as crosstalk and optical power depletion. Moreover, it is technically feasible to perform individual measurements for a large number of quasi-distributed identical weak FBGs with relatively high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), low crosstalk, and low optical power depletion. By mapping the resonance frequency spectrum, the dynamic response of each identical weak FBG is rapidly acquired in the order of kilohertz, and direct interrogation in real time is possible without time-consuming computation, such as fast Fourier transformation (FFT). This resonance frequency spectrum is obtained on the basis of an all-fiber electro-optic configuration that allows simultaneous measurement of quasi-distributed strain responses with high speed (>5 kHz), high stability (~2.4 με), and high linearity (R 2  = 0.9999).

Magnetic nanoparticles have had a significant impact on a wide range of advanced applications in the academic and industrial fields. In particular, in nanomedicine, the nanoparticles require specific properties, including hydrophilic behavior, uniform and tunable dimensions, and good magnetic properties, which are still challenging to achieve by industrial-scale synthesis. Here, we report a gram-scale synthesis of hydrophilic magnetic nanoclusters based on a one-pot solvothermal system. Using this approach, we achieved the nanoclusters with controlled size composed of magnetite nanocrystals in close-packed superstructures that exhibited hydrophilicity, superparamagnetism, high magnetization, and colloidal stability. The proposed solvothermal method is found to be highly suitable for synthesizing industrial quantities (gram-per-batch level) of magnetic spheres with unchanged structural and magnetic properties. Furthermore, coating the magnetic spheres with an additional silica layer provided further stability and specific functionalities favorable for biological applications. Using in vitro and in vivo studies, we successfully demonstrated both positive and negative separation and the use of the magnetic nanoclusters as a theragnostic nanoprobe. This scalable synthetic procedure is expected to be highly suitable for widespread use in biomedical, energy storage, photonics, and catalysis fields, among others.

This paper investigates a brain-based approach for visual merchandising display (VMD) in fashion stores. In marketing, VMD has become a research topic of interest. However, VMD research using brain activation information is rare. We examine the hemodynamic responses (HRs) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) while positive/negative displays of four stores (menswear, womenswear, underwear, and sportswear) are shown to 20 subjects. As features for classifying the HRs, the mean, variance, peak, skewness, kurtosis, t-value, and slope of the signals for a 20-sec time window for the activated channels are analyzed. Linear discriminant analysis is used for classifying two-class (positive and negative displays) and four-class (four fashion stores) models. PFC brain activation maps based on t-values depicting the data from the 16 channels are provided. In the two-class classification, the underwear store had the highest average classification result of 67.04%, whereas the menswear store had the lowest value of 64.15%. Men's classification accuracy for the underwear stores with positive and negative displays was 71.38%, whereas the highest classification accuracy obtained by women for womenswear stores was 73%. The average accuracy over the 20 subjects for positive displays was 50.68%, while that of negative displays was 51.07%. Therefore, these findings suggest that human brain activation is involved in the evaluation of the fashion store displays. It is concluded that fNIRS can be used as a brain-based tool in the evaluation of fashion stores in a daily life environment., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive imaging modality that can provide high-resolution, cross-sectional images of tissues. Especially in retinal imaging, OCT has become one of the most valuable imaging tools for diagnosing eye diseases. Considering the scattering and absorption properties of the eye, the 1000-nm OCT system is preferred for retinal imaging. In this study, we describe the use of an akinetic swept-source OCT system based on a pulse-modulated active mode locking (AML) fiber laser at a 1080-nm wavelength for in-vivo human retinal imaging. The akinetic AML wavelength-swept fiber laser was constructed with polarization-maintaining fiber that has an average linewidth of 0.625 nm, a spectral bandwidth of 81.15 nm, and duty ratio of 90% without the buffering method. We successfully obtained in-vivo human retinal images using the proposed OCT system without the additional k-clock and the frequency shifter that provides a wide field of view of 43.1°. The main retina layers, such as the retinal pigment epithelium, can be distinguished from the OCT image with an axial resolution of 6.3 μm with this OCT system.

Complete genome sequences of 22 isolates of Cucurbit aphid-borne yellows virus (CABYV), collected from melon plants showing yellowing symptom in Korea during the years 2013-2014, were determined and compared with previously reported CABYV genome sequences. The complete genomes were found to be 5,680-5,684 nucleotides in length and to encode six open reading frames (ORFs) that are separated into two regions by a non-coding internal region (IR) of 199 nucleotides. Their genomic organization is typical of the genus Polerovirus . Based on phylogenetic analyses of complete nucleotide (nt) sequences, CABYV isolates were divided into four groups: Asian, Mediterranean, Taiwanese, and R groups. The Korean CABYV isolates clustered with the Asian group with > 94% nt sequence identity. In contrast, the Korean CABYV isolates shared 87-89% sequence identities with the Mediterranean group, 88% with the Taiwanese group, 81-84% with the CABYV-R group, and 72% with another polerovirus , M. . Recombination analyses identified 24 recombination events (12 different recombination types) in the analyzed CABYV population. In the Korean CABYV isolates, four recombination types were detected from eight isolates. Two recombination types were detected in the IR and P3-P5 regions, respectively, which have been reported as hotspots for recombination of CABYV. This result suggests that recombination is an important evolutionary force in the genetic diversification of CABYV populations.

A new type of quasi-distributed sensor system is implemented using an active mode locking (AML) laser cavity with multiple partially reflecting segments. The mode locking frequency of the AML laser is linearly proportional to the overall lasing cavity length. To implement multiple resonators having multiple reflection points installed in a sensing fiber, two types of partial reflectors (PRs) are implemented for an in-line configuration, one with fiber Bragg grating and the other with a fiber Fabry⁻Perot interferometer. Since the laser has oscillated only when the modulation frequencies for the mode locking frequency match with the corresponding resonator lengths, it is possible to read the multiple partially reflecting segments along the sensing fiber. The difference between two corresponding mode locking frequencies is changing proportionally with the segment length variation between two PRs upon strain application. The segment length change caused by the applied strain can be successfully measured with a linear sensitivity between mode locking frequency and displacement, linearity over 0.99, and spatial position resolution below meter order.

We demonstrate a real-time surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) system based on a wavelength-swept laser. Compared to conventional spectral-modulation SPRi using white light source and spectral filtering, the proposed system has a higher scan rate to detect rapid changes in refractive index and a higher output power for large-area illumination. This SPRi system achieves scan rates faster than 12 Hz, simultaneously obtaining SPR dip positions over full illumination fields of 12×12  mm. Using the wavelength-swept laser, two-dimensional biomolecular array imaging can be acquired with a high dynamic detection range (7.67×10 -3 refractive index unit (RIU)) as well as high sensitivity (6501 nm/RIU) and resolution (1.89×10 -6   RIU).

In this study, we designed and synthesized eight thiophene chalcone derivatives ( 1a ⁻ h ) as tyrosinase inhibitors and evaluated their mushroom tyrosinase inhibitory activities. Of these eight compounds, ( E )-3-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-1-(thiophen-2-yl)prop-2-en-1-one ( 1c ) showed strong competitive inhibition activity against mushroom tyrosinase with IC 50 values of 0.013 μM for tyrosine hydroxylase and 0.93 μM for dopa oxidase. In addition, we used enzyme kinetics study and docking program to further evaluate the inhibitory mechanism of 1c toward tyrosinase. As an underlying mechanism of 1c mediated anti-melanogenic effect, we investigated the inhibitory activity against melanin contents and cellular tyrosinase in B16F10 melanoma cells. As the results, the enzyme kinetics and docking results supports that 1c highly interacts with tyrosinase residues in the tyrosinase active site and it can directly inhibit tyrosinase as competitive inhibitor. In addition, 1c exhibited dose-dependent inhibitory effects in melanin contents and intracellular tyrosinase on α-MSH and IBMX-induced B16F10 cells. Overall, our results suggested that 1c might be considered potent tyrosinase inhibitor for use in the development of therapeutic agents for diseases associated with hyperpigment disorders.