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This study extends previous findings on the effect of different levels of short-wavelength light on human alertness. This study explores the alerting ability of long-wavelength light at two levels (40 lx and 160 lx). Eight subjects took part in the 60-minute experiment for each of two nights, during which their objective alertness and subjective alertness were evaluated using electroencephalogram and questionnaire. Results show that both levels increased electroencephalogram beta power, which shows a different pattern compared with the previous findings on short-wavelength light. These results strongly suggest that although short-wavelength light may impact alertness through circadian system, long-wavelength light will have to achieve that through other pathways. The further comparison between current and previous results also suggests that long-wavelength light is just as strong on acute alerting ability, as shown by electroencephalogram measures and self-rating questionnaire, as short-wavelength light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short-wavelength light is known to have an effect on human alertness in the night-time. However, there are very few studies that focus on the effect of intensity of light on alertness. This study evaluates the acute alerting ability of short-wavelength light of three different intensities (40 lux, 80 lux and 160 lux). Eight subjects participated in a 60-minute exposure protocol for four evenings, during which electroencephalogram (EEG) as well as subjective sleepiness data were collected. EEG power in the beta range was significantly higher after subjects were exposed to 160 lux light than after they were exposed to 40 lux, 80 lux light or remained in darkness. Also, the alpha theta power was significantly lower under 160 lux light then in darkness. These results show that the effect of intensity on alertness is not linear and further work should be done to investigate the threshold intensity that is required to produce an alerting effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our recent work, the colour preference of several LED white lights with different correlated colour temperatures (CCT) was investigated with a wide selection of objects. The results highlighted the dominant effect of light itself on the colour preference of lighting. In this study, we similarly implemented two psychophysical experiments with the same lights but with nothing in the light booth. It was found that the subjective ratings for the lit environment of the empty booth were quite close to those of the previous studies that used various coloured objects. Such a finding corroborates our former conclusion that light dominates colour preference and we suspect that this finding can be attributed either to the colour memory of the observers or to the subconscious effect of human vision. Thus, it seems that for general multi-CCT conditions where the light sources do not have very different gamut shapes or object desaturation/oversaturation properties, the preferred white light could be determined by simply asking the observers to rate their preference for the lit environment of the empty light booth. To verify this wild and interesting conclusion and further clarify its applicability, follow-up studies are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colour preference for lighting is generally influenced by three kinds of contextual factors, the light, the object and the observer. In this study, a series of psychophysical experiments were conducted to investigate and compare the effect of certain factors on colour preference, including spectral power distribution of light, lighting application, observers’ personal colour preference, regional cultural difference and gender difference. LED lights with different correlated colour temperatures were used to illuminate a wide selection of objects. Participant response was quantified by a 7-point rating method or a 5-level ranking method. It was found that the preferred illumination for different objects exhibited a similar trend and that the influence of light was significantly stronger than that of other factors. Therefore, we conclude that the light itself (rather than, e.g. the objects that are viewed) is the most crucial factor for predicting which light, among several candidates with different correlated colour temperatures, an observer will prefer. In addition, some of the gamut-based colour quality metrics correlated well with the participants’ response, which corroborates the view that colour preference is strongly influenced by colour saturation. The familiarity of the object affects the ratings for each experiment while the colour of the objects also influences colour preference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study objective was to explore a new method for quantifying the color adjustment potential originating from physical translucency on a set of 7 resin composites, and then for testing the hypothesis that color adjustment potential is dependent on the composites and shades studied. Two-composite specimens (an outer base shade with an inner hole filled with inner test shades) and single-composite specimens of all shades were made. A 1-mm circular area, with its center in the middle of the specimen (P0mm), was measured by means of spectroradiometry. A newly developed equation for quantification of the color adjustment potential was tested. Color adjustment potential at P0mm ranged from -0.19 (negative color adjustment/contrast) to 0.61. Within the limitations of this study, a newly developed concept and equation have proved the existence of the physical component of color adjustment of translucent dental materials. Color adjustment potential was dependent on composite and shade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, two All-Ceramic (AC) materials--Empress 2 (EMP) (Ivoclar Vivadent AG, Schaan, Liechtenstein) and In-Ceram ALUMINA (ICA) (Vita Zahnfabrik, Bad Säckingen, Germany)--were analyzed, along with the effects of 3 luting agents--viz. Zinc Phosphate cement (ZNPO, PhospaCEM PL, Ivoclar Vivadent AG, Schaan, Liechtenstein), Glass Ionomer Cement (GIC, Ketac-Cem Radiopaque, ESPE Dental AG, Seefeld, Germany), and Compolute (COMP, ESPE Dental AG, Seefeld, Germany)--on the final color, using the CIELab system. Color differences (DeltaL, Deltaa, Deltab, and DeltaE) were calculated for samples with luting agents and for samples without luting agents with standard white and black backgrounds, with the use of a spectrophotometer, Luci 100 (Dr. Lange, Berlin, Germany). One-way ANOVA for DeltaL, Deltaa, Deltab, and DeltaE within both the AC systems, with and without luting agents, showed significant contributions of the background (p < 0.05). EMP was seen to be more translucent than ICA. Darker ceramics showed less color variation. Luting agents altered the final color of the restoration. ZNPO was least translucent, followed by GIC and COMP. Marginal increases in thicknesses of ICA samples (0.4 mm) do not show a statistically significant color difference. No method exists to predict the outcome of an AC restoration based on consideration of the luting agent and the background color. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of restoration size on blending, initial color difference, and translucency of resin composites on the blending effect of resin composites. Four sets of 10-mm-diameter resin composite disks were made: single composite (1CS) and 2-composites (2CS) (2-mm-, 4-mm-, and 6-mm-diameter inner resin composites). The outer ring mimicked hard dental tissue with different cavity sizes. Five shades of commercial resin composites were studied. The lighter of the resin composite specimens was used as the inner composite in 2CS and shifted toward the darker composite--the smaller the diameter of the inner composites the greater the shift. Six observers (4 dental clinicians and 2 scientists) did visual color assessments without any color deficiency in a D50 lighting booth. Observers compared 1 2CS or 2 1CS at a time. Results were expressed in a 1 to 5 scale: 1: mismatch/totally unacceptable, 2: poor match/hardly acceptable, 3: good match/acceptable, 4: close match/small difference, and 5: exact match/no difference in color. The blending effect was calculated as a difference in mean score (mean category values) for a 2CS and corresponding 1CS pair. Color and translucency for 1CS were measured using a spectrophotometer. Linear regression was used to determine correlation coefficients among visual assessments as well as among visual assessments and color difference metrics. The mean scores by observer ranged from 1.1 to 1.8 and was 1.3 (0.6 SD) for all observers together. Corresponding mean scores for 2CS ranged from 2.2 to 2.6 and was 2.4 (1.4 SD) for all observers. This confirmed the existence of blending effect with some resin composites. Blending effect increased with a decrease in restoration size, decrease in color difference, and increase in specimen translucency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]