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Kidney diseases can cause severe morbidity, mortality, and health burden. Determining the risk factors associated with kidney damage and deterioration has become a priority for the prevention and treatment of kidney disease. This study followed 497 patients with stage 3–5 chronic kidney disease (CKD) who were treated at the ward of Taipei Veterans General Hospital from January 2006 to 2019 in Taiwan. The patients underwent 3-year-long follow-up sessions for clinical measurements, which occurred every 3 months. Three time-dependent survival models, namely the Cox proportional hazard model (Cox PHM), random survival forest (RSF), and an artificial neural network (ANN), were used to process patient demographics and laboratory data for predicting progression to renal failure, and important features for optimal prediction were evaluated. The individual prediction of CKD progression was validated using the Kaplan–Meier estimation method, based on patients’ true outcomes during and beyond the study period. The results showed that the average concordance indexes for the cross-validation of the Cox PHM, ANN, and RSF models were 0.71, 0.72, and 0.89, respectively. RSF had the best predictive performances for CKD patients within the 3 years of follow-up sessions, with a sensitivity of 0.79 and specificity of 0.88. Creatinine, age, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and urine protein to creatinine ratio were useful factors for predicting the progression of CKD patients in the RSF model. These results may be helpful for instantaneous risk prediction at each follow-up session for CKD patients.

Carbon dots have emerged as popular materials in various research fields, including biological and photovoltaic areas, while significant reports are lacking related to their applications in laser devices, which play a significant role in our daily life. In this work, we demonstrate the first controllable random laser assisted by the surface plasmon effect of carbon dots. Briefly, carbon dots derived from candle soot are randomly deposited on the surface of gallium nitride (GaN) nanorods to enhance the ultraviolet fluorescence of GaN and generate plasmonically enhanced random laser action with coherent feedback. Furthermore, potentially useful functionalities of tunable lasing threshold and controllable optical modes are achieved by adjusting the numbers of carbon dots, enabling applications in optical communication and identification technologies. In addition to providing an efficient alternative for plasmonically enhanced random laser devices with simple fabrication and low cost, our work also paves a us...

Background Periodontal disease effects 20–50% of the population worldwide, posing a global health challenge. It has been reported to be more prevalent among adults. Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans) is an important organism associated with localized juvenile periodontitis. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been widely utilized for the treatment of periodontal disease; however, the effect of laser (light) profile on the antibacterial efficacy of PDT remains to be established. The quantitative measurement of laser profile is required to confirm the in vitro efficacy of PDT. Aim In the present study, a low cost PDT system comprising of six copper tube waveguides (CTW) was developed to provide more uniform irradiation of the culture plate. Methods The antibacterial effect of PDT, in combination with 200 μg/mL methylene blue (MB) as photosensitizer and 60 sec of irradiation, was studied on A. actinomycetemcomitans and Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans). In the present case, 660 nm laser guided with unpolished CTW, polished CTW, and optical fiber waveguide (OFW) provided radiant exposure of 0.86, 1.38, and 1.36 J/cm2, respectively, for a 24‐well culture plate. Results The designed PDT system provided antimicrobial efficacy of 98% and 91% for A. actinomycetemcomitans and S. mutans, respectively, which was significantly higher as compared to OFW guided PDT. Conclusion The results of the study highlighted the importance of laser profile as a key parameter that determines the survival rate of bacteria at the edge of the culture plate. Thus, the dose of PDT at the margin of optical profile is important for antibacterial activity for in vitro evaluation.

A novel development platform of the specific microcirculation analysis was proposed in this study. This study was to observe the effect of the blood microcirculation with LED stimulation. The experiment involved the light emitting diode array (LEDA), the designed control board and the image processing algorithm on the platform. LEDA (six LEDs, wavelength 660 nm, operating frequency 8 - 15 Hz) was used to stimulate the palm of the subject, and then, the microcirculation images were analyzed by the image processing algorithm. The blood velocity on the ring finger was increased after LEDA stimulation, and it was approximately 1.7 times compared with and without the light stimulation. Thus, LEDA stimulation on the palm enhanced the microcirculation. Also, a specific platform of LEDA system with microcirculation measurement was developed in this study.

In this paper, a real 3 inch panel showing high transmittance 15% and colorful images is demonstrated by polymerization induced phase separation(PIPS) method. It can be worked in low driving voltage as low as 5 V. The research still faces difficulties in measurements and droplet stabilization. It might be improved in the future.

Low level laser therapy (LLLT) is effective in a lot of clinical treatments, but the photobiological basis of this therapy is not well understood. From our previous study, the effectiveness of laser acupuncture (LA) and cupping applied on low back pain (LBP) has been proved. However, the variation of the plasma cortisol level is unknown. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of LA and cupping on LBP by checking the plasma cortisol level. Fifty patients of either sex over 60 years old with LBP were recruited into a single blinded trial. Active group (LA plus soft cupping) and placebo group (sham LA plus soft cupping) were treated for five days. Laser, 40mW, wavelength 808nm, pulse rate 20Hz, was used to irradiate Weizhong (BL40) and Ashi acupoints for 10 minutes. The variation of VAS was recorded and blood samples were taken for the measurement of plasma cortisol levels. There was a significant fall in plasma cortisol in active group (p = 0.013) and placebo group (p = 0.039) after five days' treatment. This result showed that for the people with chronic LBP there is a beneficial effect if they continuously receive the treatment for five days. However, the combination of LA and cupping seems to quickly reduce the inflammation situation than placebo group did.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of laser acupuncture (LA) and soft cupping on low back pain. In this study, the subjects were randomly assigned to two groups: active group (real LA and soft cupping) and placebo group (sham laser and soft cupping). Visual analog scale (VAS) and Ryodoraku were used to evaluate the effect of treatment on low back pain in this trial. Laser, 40 mW, wavelength 808 nm, pulse rate 20 Hz, was used to irradiate Weizhong (BL40) and Ashi acupoints for 10 minutes. And the Ryodoraku values were measured 2 times, that is, before and 15 minutes after treatment. The results show that there were significant difference between the first day baseline and the fifth day treatment in VAS in the two groups. Therefore, LA combined with soft cupping or only soft cupping was effective on low back pain. However, the Ryodoraku values of Bladder Meridian of the placebo group have been decreased apparently, and didn’t come back to their original values. It means that “cupping” plays the role of “leak or purge” in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). On the other hand, the Ryodoraku values of Bladder Meridian of the active group have been turned back to almost their original values; “mend or reinforcing” effect is attributed to the laser radiation.