Pigment

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is essential to maintain retinal function, and RPE cell death represents a key pathogenic stage in the progression of several blinding ocular diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD). To identify pathways and compounds able to prevent RPE cell death, we developed a phenotypic screening pipeline utilizing a compound library and high-throughput screening compatible assays on the human RPE cell line, ARPE-19, in response to different disease relevant cytotoxic stimuli...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

INTRODUCTION: Rhododendron arboreum Sm. flowers grow in the Himalayan region and have traditionally been used in beverages and food. These wild edible Himalayan flowers are known for their sweet-sour flavor and beautiful scarlet red color. The primary pigments responsible for the scarlet red color of these flowers are anthocyanins. OBJECTIVE: In the present study, we conducted chemo-profiling and elucidated the chromatic characteristics of R. arboreum flower petals growing in the wild in different altitudinal areas...

In many species of animals, red carotenoid-based coloration is produced by metabolizing yellow dietary pigments, and this red ornamentation can be an honest signal of individual quality. However, the physiological basis for associations between organism function and the metabolism of red ornamental carotenoids from yellow dietary carotenoids remains uncertain. A recent hypothesis posits that carotenoid metabolism depends on mitochondrial performance, with diminished red coloration resulting from altered mitochondrial aerobic respiration...

BACKGROUND: Skin photoaging and uneven pigmentation are common dermatological concerns. Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate (THDA) and acetyl zingerone (AZ) are potent antioxidants that have been shown to have anti-photoaging and anti-pigmentation effects. THDA is a more stable and penetrable form of vitamin C. AZ is an antioxidant derived from ginger which has clinical evidence for improving photoaging. However, no studies have assessed how they may synergistically act on the skin. AIMS: This study aims to assess whether a serum containing both THDA and AZ can improve photoaging and the appearance of uneven facial pigmentation...

NaHCO3 accelerates the aging of tobacco leaves; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been elucidated. This study aimed to explore the mechanism of NaHCO3 in the promotion of tobacco leaf maturation using transcriptome analysis. Leaves on plants or detached leaves of the tobacco variety, Honghua Dajinyuan, were sprayed with or without 1% NaHCO3 . The leaf yellowing was observed, the pigment content and enzyme activities were determined and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed. Spraying NaHCO3 onto detached leaves was found to promote leaf yellowing...

OBJECTIVE: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a severe diabetic complication that leads to severe visual impairment or blindness. He-Ying-Qing-Re formula (HF), a traditional Chinese medicinal concoction, has been identified as an efficient therapy for DR with retinal vascular dysfunction for decades and has been experimentally reported to ameliorate retinal conditions in diabetic mice. This study endeavors to explore the therapeutic potential of HF with key ingredients in DR and its underlying novel mechanisms...

Pulse oximetry represents a ubiquitous clinical application of optics in modern medicine. Recent studies have raised concerns regarding the potential impact of confounders, such as variable skin pigmentation and perfusion, on blood oxygen saturation measurement accuracy in pulse oximeters. Tissue-mimicking phantom testing offers a low-cost, well-controlled solution for characterizing device performance and studying potential error sources, which may thus reduce the need for costly in vivo trials. The purpose of this study was to develop realistic phantom-based test methods for pulse oximetry...

PURPOSE: We report a case of laser-induced retinopathy that posed diagnostic challenges with conventional spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), but was successfully diagnosed using adaptive optics-optical coherence tomography (AO-OCT). OBSERVATIONS: A 27-year-old man with a history of occupational laser device use presented with central scotoma and visual disturbances in the right eye. Conventional SD-OCT only revealed decreased reflectivity in parts of the foveal ellipsoidal zone band...

BACKGROUND: Recent advancements in imaging technologies, particularly structural optical coherence tomography (OCT), have improved the understanding of diabetic macular edema (DME) pathophysiology and provided valuable biomarkers for disease progression and visual outcomes. This prospective study aimed to investigate the association between specific retinal biomarkers identified through OCT imaging and reading performance metrics in patients with previously treated persistent versus resolved DME and good visual acuity...

BACKGROUND: Melanocytic nevi are frequently observed in the pediatric population. While newly acquired nevi can appear during childhood, congenital nevi can continue to grow and clinically change, making patient caregivers concerned. Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) in vivo is a noninvasive tool that might enhance the diagnostic accuracy of dermoscopy, reducing the rate of unnecessary surgical procedures. This study aimed to assess the utility of RCM in increasing the diagnostic accuracy of pediatric melanocytic nevi that show pigmentation changes or grow rapidly...

BACKGROUND: Kidney and eye diseases may be closely linked. Tears of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) have been reported to be related to kidney diseases, such as IgA nephropathy and light-chain deposition disease. However, pigment epithelium tears associated with membranous nephropathy have not been reported or systematically analysed. CASE PRESENTATION: A 68-year-old man presented with decreased right eye visual acuity. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) revealed cystic macular edema, localized serous detachment of the retina and loss of the outer retinal structure in the right eye and retinal pigment epithelium detachment (PED) combined with serous detachment of the retina in the left eye...

Soil contamination with microplastics (MPs) is a persistent threat to crop production worldwide. With a wide range of MP types, including polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene (PE), contaminating our environment, it is important to understand their impact on agricultural productivity. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of different types of MPs (PS, PVC and PE) on various aspects of plant growth. Specifically, we examined growth and biomass, photosynthetic pigments, gas exchange attributes, oxidative stress responses, antioxidant compound activity (both enzymatic and non-enzymatic), gene expression, proline metabolism, the AsA-GSH cycle and cellular fractionation and nutritional status, in different parts of rice (Oryza sativa L...

Flavonoids are polyphenolic plant constituents. Anthocyanins are flavonoid pigments found in higher plants that show a wide variety of colors ranging from red through purple to blue. The blue color of the flowers is mostly attributed to anthocyanins. However, only a few types of anthocyanidin, chromophore of anthocyanin, exist in nature, and the extracted pigments are unstable with the color fading away. Therefore, the wide range and stable nature of colors in flowers has remained a mystery for more than a century...

Pus discharge containing black granular materials (1-2 mm in diameter) was found in the abdominal skin of a 13-year-old sterilized female cat. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed a large intra-abdominal mass with abundant blood flow beneath the skin lesion. Laparotomy revealed a large mass that adhered to the spleen and left kidney. Similar small lesions were found in the abdominal wall and mesentery. The masses were surgically removed along with the spleen and kidney. Histopathologically, the mass lesions consisted of granulomas with lesional pigmented fungi, and the cat was diagnosed with phaeohyphomycosis...

Improving the humification of compost through a synergistic approach of biotic and abiotic methods is of great significance. This study employed a composite reagent, comprising Fenton-like agents and effective microorganisms (EM) to improve humification. This composite reagent increased humic-acid production by 37.44 %, reaching 39.82 g kg-1 , surpassing the control group. The composite reagent synergistically promoted micromolecular fulvic acid and large humic acid production. Collaborative mechanism suggests that Fenton-like agents contributed to bulk residue decomposition and stimulated the evolution of microbial communities, whereas EMs promoted highly aromatic substance synthesis and adjusted the microbial community structure...

Three paintings of Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), one of the most influential English portrait painters of the late 18th century, from the collection of the Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP) - "Francis Rawdon" (1783-1784), "Portrait of Mrs. John Bolton" (1770), and "Drinkstone Park" (1747) - were investigated using portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), employing a W tube anode and an XR-100CR detector. These artworks represent the only paintings by Thomas Gainsborough located in the southern hemisphere...

Kale is a functional food with anti-cancer, antioxidant, and anemia prevention properties. The harmful effects of the emerging pollutant microplastic (MP) on plants have been widely studied, but there is limited research how to mitigate MP damage on plants. Numerous studies have shown that Se is involved in regulating plant resistance to abiotic stresses. The paper investigated impact of MP and Se on kale growth, photosynthesis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism, phytochemicals, and endogenous hormones...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Macular edema, a prevalent ocular complication observed in various retinal diseases, can lead to significant vision loss or blindness, necessitating accurate and timely diagnosis. Despite the potential of deep learning for segmentation of macular edema, challenges persist in accurately identifying lesion boundaries, especially in low-contrast and noisy regions, and in distinguishing between Inner Retinal Fluid (IRF), Sub-Retinal Fluid (SRF), and Pigment Epithelial Detachment (PED) lesions. To address these challenges, we present a novel approach, termed Semantic Uncertainty Guided Cross-Transformer Network (SuGCTNet), for the simultaneous segmentation of multi-class macular edema...