Lock-in enhanced time-gated underwater imaging system for ROV-based sensing: Real-sea validation under extreme ambient light interference

This study evaluated the efficacy of optimized deep learning architectures using a portable fluorescence imaging device specifically for the in-situ detection of fecal contamination on chicken eggshells to enhance food safety. The research utilized a Contamination and Sanitization Inspection device to establish a comprehensive dataset of fluorescence images, leveraging the spectral characteristics of fecal matter which emits fluorescence in the 600 to 720 nm range. Based on this fluorescence image data set, the study developed high performance models to identify fecal residues across both brown and white eggshells. Experimental results demonstrated that the fluorescence signals of fecal contaminants remain highly stable under ambient lighting, with both the primary mode utilizing 405 nm excitation and the enhance mode utilizing 365 nm excitation achieving Structural Similarity Index Measure (SSIM) values consistently exceeding 0.9200. These metrics confirm that the intrinsic high contrast of fluorescence imaging maintains structural integrity without the need for strict darkroom environments. Through the evaluation of nine distinct neural networks, it was found that the 365 nm excitation effectively suppressed background interference on brown eggs, allowing the lightweight MobileNet architecture to detect fecal contamination with an accuracy of 0.9000. For white eggshells, the 405 nm excitation coupled with the ViT Base 384 model yielded a peak accuracy of 0.9333 in identifying minute fecal traces. The reliability of the detection was further validated through Explainable AI frameworks which confirmed that the classification logic was consistently based on actual contaminated regions marked by fecal residues. These findings provide a robust methodology for leveraging handheld portable fluorescence technology to establish objective standards for detecting fecal contamination in the poultry industry.

Gold electrodes in ferri/ferro cyanide (FFCN) are widely treated as chemically stable, outer sphere benchmark systems, despite the growing reports of drift in electrochemical measurements. Here, we use quartz crystal microbalance to quantify FFCN-induced gold mass loss and isolate the roles of anion, cation, pH, buffer chemistry, and self-assembled monolayer. In the absence of FFCN, all solutions show positive mass shifts, indicating that the supporting electrolytes alone do not produce measurable gold loss over the experimental time scale. With FFCN present, gold etching becomes highly tunable: changing the supporting electrolyte, adjusting the pH, and changing the buffers significantly shifts the magnitude of gold dissolution. Additional oxygen- and solution-handling experiments show that oxygen depletion strongly reduces gold loss, while solution aging and ambient light exposure increases FFCN-drive gold dissolution. Neutral, long, well packed self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) attenuate etching, while charged or short-chain SAMs significantly accelerate gold loss. Overall, we map a systematic landscape where FFCN on gold behaves as a chemically active etchant, not an inert probe. Thus, electrochemical measurements must explicitly account for FFCN etching, which is influenced by salt, pH, buffer, and surface chemistry, and solution handling conditions.

The biological effects of diiron(I) aminocarbyne complexes [Fe2Cp2(CO)(L)(μ-CO){μ-CNR(R')}]+ originate from their intracellular disassembly, releasing reactive iron species. Herein, a systematic multitechnique investigation of the reactivity of tricarbonyl (L = CO) complexes in aqueous media was carried out. Well-soluble nitrate salts were prepared on a (multi)gram scale and characterized by IR, NMR, and XRD. The degradation process in water or DMEM was assessed after 72 h at 37 °C over a wide concentration range via 1H NMR and UV-vis. Results were integrated by pH, conductivity, UV-vis and 1H NMR measurements at 24 h intervals and ICP-OES. The process follows zero-order kinetics above mM concentration, with partial formation of the corresponding secondary amine (RR'NH) and cyclopentadiene. The slowly forming brown precipitates contain iron(III)-oxy(hydroxides) and minor organic/organometallic components as shown by CHNS analyses, IR, Raman and ESI-MS. Evaluating the effects of O2, ambient light, temperature, pH, Me3NO on the process via 1H NMR and UV-vis provided key mechanistic insights. Addition of 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphadamantane (PTA) enabled trapping of the CO-substituted intermediate [Fe2Cp2(CO)(PTA)(μ-CO){μ-CNR(R')}]+. The pathway leading to total disruption of the coordination sphere was elucidated by DFT. Overall, these results lay the foundations for understanding the behavior of this promising class of anticancer metallodrugs in physiological settings.

The dynamic concentration of drugs in the blood reflect pharmacokinetic characteristics and serves as crucial indicators of therapeutic efficacy and medication safety. This underscores the necessity of real-time monitoring to guide individualized dosing and reduce adverse effects, thus requiring rapid and accurate therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) to optimize patient outcomes and minimize side effects. To this end, a colorimetric nanozyme-based nanosensor was constructed for the detection of isoniazid (INH). In the presence of INH, ·O2- generated by the nanozyme with excellent oxidase-like activity were effectively scavenged, thereby inhibiting the chromogenic reaction of the nanozyme substrate and enabling the rapid quantification of INH in biological samples. In this study, two methods were developed: UV-Visible spectrophotometry and a smartphone-based RGB extraction method for rapid quantification of INH in tablets and biological samples. Smartphone imaging integrated with machine learning compared Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), Random Forest (RF), and Logistic Regression (LR) models under dark box condition, followed by training the best model under dark box and ambient lighting. The results showed that under optimized conditions (pH 5 buffer, 25℃, 10min), UV-Visible spectrophotometry achieved a detection range of 1-30 µM (LOD: 0.582 µM), while the smartphone-based RGB method achieved 3-30 µM (LOD: 1.368 µM). Spiked recovery rates were 98.08%-111.25% for INH tablets and 97.10%-100.51% for rat serum. Machine learning results showed CNN outperforming RF and LR under dark-box conditions, with consistent prediction accuracy under dark-box and ambient lighting (MAE: 1.230 and 1.160 µM, respectively), validating robustness under varying environments. Ultimately, this integrated nanoprobe-based detection platform stands to significantly improve clinical anti-tuberculosis therapeutic drug monitoring by substantially increasing the accessibility, reliability, and scalability of INH concentration detection.

To evaluate the invivo effect of varying experimental lighting conditions on the digital shade determination and scanning accuracy (trueness and precision) of two intraoral scanners (IOSs). The maxillary arches of 10 volunteers were scanned using two IOSs (Trios 4 wireless, 3Shape A/S [TR]; and Primescan, Dentsply Sirona [PR]). Scans were performed under four illuminance levels (0, 500, 1000, and 2500 lx) with scanner-specific color temperature (TR: 5500 K; PR: 4100 K). Digital shade selection was performed at the middle third of the right central incisor against visual consensus by three experts for Vita toothguide Classical (VC) and Vita toothguide 3D-Master (VM) shade guides. Scanning accuracy was assessed by superimposing IOS scans onto reference datasets obtained by digitizing conventional stone models with a laboratory scanner (InEos X5; Dentsply Sirona). Shade matching capability (accuracy and reliability) was also evaluated. Data were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA (α = 0.05). Ambient lighting significantly influenced digital shade matching and scanning trueness (p < 0.05). For shade matching accuracy, TR demonstrated the highest values at 1000 lx/5500 K (VC: 93.33% ± 14.05%; VM: 76.67% ± 22.50%), while PR performed best at 2500 lx/4100 K (VC: 96.67% ± 10.54%; VM: 50.00% ± 28.33%). TR produced significantly lower reliability results at the "no-light" (0 lx) condition (p < 0.05), whereas PR displayed no significant difference among groups (p > 0.05). For scanning trueness, TR exhibited the lowest deviation at 1000 lx/5500 K (104.04 ± 20.88 μm), while PR performed best at 2500 lx/4100 K (100.78 ± 19.36 μm). Ambient lighting conditions significantly affected IOS performance invivo. The optimal conditions were scanner-dependent: TR performed best under typical examination room lighting (1000 lx, 5500 K), while PR excelled under dental operatory lighting (2500 lx, 4100 K). To optimize digital impressions and esthetic shade matching, clinicians should adjust ambient lighting according to the specific requirements of the intraoral scanner being used.

Outdoor light at night exposure and hypertension risk in adults: A longitudinal cohort study from the FLORA project.

Remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) can evaluate real-time changes in blood flow volume by capturing facial videos and analyzing the color changes. Although the rPPG technique enables contactless heart rate (HR) monitoring, it remains highly susceptible to ambient lighting variations. Previous studies have demonstrated the critical influence of facial skin detection on the extracted rPPG signals. In this research, we defined 15 facial regions of interest (ROIs) based on anatomical criteria and evaluated their HR measurement performance on two public datasets (BUAA-MIHR and MMPD) using four representative rPPG algorithms (CHROM, LGI, OMIT, and POS). The experimental results confirmed that the glabella, nasal dorsum, and malar regions consistently serve as robust physiological signal sources under complex illumination environments. Furthermore, we revealed the significant advantage of multi-ROI combinations compared to both single-ROI and holistic-face strategies. Our work provides data-supported insights for establishing novel HR measurement pipelines with enhanced accuracy and robustness.

Influence of ambient light color temperature and illuminance on the accuracy of 3-dimensional patient representation using different facial scanning technologies: A clinical study.

Photophobia is a common and disabling symptom among those with migraine. Studies show that short-wavelength and long-wavelength light can worsen migraine pain, while narrow-band green light may provide relief. However, monochromatic lighting is not visually pleasant and practical for daily environments. This study examined whether spectral modifications of white light influence visual discomfort and migraine headache intensity during migraine attacks. In a randomized crossover design, 21 adults with migraine were studied during an untreated migraine attack. Participants were exposed to four spectral white light conditions (blue-, cyan-, green-, and red-enriched) at 400lx for 10minutes each, in randomized order, with 5minutes of dark adaptation between conditions. Headache intensity was assessed pre- and post-exposure, visual discomfort was rated once per minute, and pupil size was measured at the end of each exposure. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Bonferroni-adjusted pairwise comparisons. There was a significant main effect of lighting condition on visual discomfort, with blue-enriched white light causing significantly greater discomfort (mean 7.58 on a 0-10 numeric rating scale, SE 0.26) compared to all other lighting conditions (p < 0.001), and green-enriched light causing the least discomfort (mean 4.78, SE 0.25), significantly less than blue- and cyan-enriched light (p < 0.001). Headache intensity increased with blue-enriched white light (mean + 1.67 on a 0-10 numeric rating scale p < 0.001) and cyan-enriched light (+ 0.95; p < 0.001). In contrast, green-enriched and red-enriched light did not increase headache intensity (green, - 0.38; p = 0.134; red, + 0.24; p = 0.521). Pupil size varied by spectrum (F(3,60) = 8.09, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.288), with greater constriction under blue and cyan light and less under green, consistent with subjective discomfort. The spectral composition of white light influences light sensitivity and headache intensity during migraine attacks. Findings suggest that green-enriched white light may offer a practical, non-pharmacological strategy for managing migraine symptoms in everyday environments.

Smart windows that function in response to external conditions provide a promising approach to reduce heating, ventilation, and air conditioning energy consumption. However, it remains a major challenge to develop a smart window with environmental adaptability, multiple working states, and most importantly, the ability of dynamic management of solar light and heat with a simple and versatile molecular-designed material. Here, we present a temperature- and light-regulated smart window based on the interplay of light-driven molecular motors and liquid crystal (LC) polymers. The window can dynamically switch among three distinct working states: transparent, reflective, and scattering, depending on ambient temperature and solar light intensity. The fast switching of working states enables excellent modulation of visible light transmittance (ΔTlum = 75.2%) and near-infrared light transmittance (ΔTNIR = 49.3%), showing effective management of daylight and solar heat gain indoors. Simulation of energy regulation demonstrates that the smart window significantly reduces energy demand for indoor cooling and, therefore, is suitable for cities with different climate conditions. Our system provides an attractive approach toward more effective smart windows for sustainable and energy-efficient green buildings.

Student dormitory bedrooms increasingly function as multifunctional spaces for rest and intensive screen-based work, yet typical bedroom lighting is set to standard or minimal levels rather than tailored to the visual demands of digital tasks. This mismatch can produce tonal and illuminance contrast that impair comfort and performance. An experimental study was conducted in a controlled dormitory setting. Eight lighting scenarios were evaluated by combining daylight with either direct or indirect task lighting at CCTs ranging from 3,000 to 6,500 K. Visual balance was assessed using three performance metrics: task to ambient illuminance ratio (Rlx), correlated color temperature difference (ΔCCT), and color rendering index difference (ΔCRI). Measurements were collected across three daytime periods. Direct lighting combined with daylight consistently achieved task-to-ambient illuminance ratios within or close to recommended range, whereas indirect wall-bounced lighting generally produced under-illuminate task planes. Task-light CCTs of 3,000–4,000 K reduced spectral contrast between the laptop screen and surrounding room surfaces, resulting in the smallest ΔCCT values. Lower CCTs, particularly 3,000 K, also produced higher color rendering quality and the smallest ΔCRI values between task and ambient zones. Lighting configuration had a limited effect on color rendering consistency compared with CCT. The findings indicate that visual balance in multifunctional student bedrooms cannot be achieved through ambient lighting alone. A warm-to-neutral task-lighting strategy (3,000–4,000 K) combined with direct task illumination provided the most balanced performance across illuminance, spectral contrast, and color rendering metrics. These results offer practical guidance for designing residential study environments that better support visual comfort and screen based work.

To evaluate the influence of implant angulation on the trueness, and precision of complete arch implant digital scans acquired using an intraoral photogrammetry system. Two edentulous mandibular models with six implants each were fabricated and assigned to two groups based on implant angulation: parallel implants and posterior angulated implants. In the angulated group, posterior implants were angled (<30° relative to the reference axis), resulting in interimplant angulations of up to approximately 45° due to their spatial relationships. Each group was scanned 20 times (n=40) using an intraoral scanner incorporating intraoral photogrammetry technology under standardized ambient lighting conditions (1000 lux). Linear and angular deviations were calculated by comparing the test scans with reference datasets obtained using a calibrated laboratory scanner. The Shapiro-Wilk, Mann-Whitney U, and Levene tests were used to analyze differences in trueness and precision between groups (α=.05). For trueness, the parallel group showed significantly lower linear deviations (median 0.066 mm; IQR 0.063-0.071) than the angulated group (median 0.159 mm; IQR 0.155-0.162) (P < 0.001). For angular deviations, the angulated group showed lower values (median 0.353°; IQR 0.347-0.380) than the parallel group (median 0.457°; IQR 0.450-0.467) (P < 0.001). No statistically significant differences in precision were found for either linear (P=.664) or angular (P=.070) measurements. Implant angulation significantly influenced trueness, while precision remained unaffected. Higher angulation resulted in increased linear deviations, although angular deviations may not be clinically significant.

Bright Light Exposure Is Positively Associated with Serum Testosterone in Adult Men: A National Cross-sectional Analysis.

To evaluate whether variability in ambient light levels affects Scheimpflug corneal optical densitometry measurements in clear and opaque corneas. Eyes with clear corneas (N = 60) or infectious corneal opacity (N = 49) underwent Scheimpflug densitometry (Pentacam, Oculus) under 3 ambient lighting conditions: dark room (1.8 ± 0.9 lux), mild ambient light (7.9 ± 0.9 lux), and bright light (>1000 lux). Densitometry measurements in grayscale units (GSUs) were obtained for the anterior, middle, posterior, and entire cornea and concentric corneal zones. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test and generalized estimating equation models were used to compare measurements across lighting settings. Under bright light, densitometry measurements could not be obtained in 90% of clear corneas and 92% of opaque corneas because of machine error, while measurements that were obtained were significantly elevated (P < 0.001). Comparing dark room versus mild ambient light settings, clear corneas showed significantly higher readings under mild ambient light for anterior (1.0 GSUs, P = 0.004), middle (1.5 GSUs, P < 0.001), and posterior (1.5 GSUs, P < 0.001) layers, all concentric corneal zones, and the entire cornea (all P < 0.05). Among opaque corneas, all regions except the anterior and far peripheral cornea (P > 0.05) showed significant differences (1.3-2.4 GSUs, all P < 0.05). Overall, 88.3% of clear corneas and 73.5% of opaque corneas demonstrated higher readings under mild ambient light compared with dark room conditions. Scheimpflug densitometry should not be performed under regular room lighting because of frequent errors and measurement overestimation. Dark room conditions are recommended for optimal measurement, particularly when quantifying subtle changes in opacity.

Surface-localized photochemical systems that operate under ambient visible light provide an attractive strategy for persistent self-sterilizing interfaces. Here, we report a bio-derived photoactive material platform based on covalently immobilized lignin-Eosin Y conjugates that enable stable, non-leaching generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) under low-intensity visible light. Lignin was conjugated with the xanthene dye Eosin Y via benzophenone-3,3',4,4'-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) and further functionalized with methacrylate groups to produce a photoactive macromer (LBDRB). Incorporation of LBDRB into a UV-curable acrylate formulation enabled rapid spray coating and photopolymerization, yielding mechanically robust films on diverse substrates. The resulting surfaces exhibited persistent photoactivity under both indoor lighting and sunlight, achieving efficient inactivation of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria as well as enveloped RNA viruses. Notably, antibacterial activity was maintained for over one month and antiviral activity for up to two months, demonstrating long-term photochemical durability. These results establish lignin-dye macromolecular networks as a scalable, bio-derived platform for ambient-light-driven self-sterilizing surfaces.

In mammals, circadian phase shifting during the daytime is limited by reduced photic responsiveness of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), restricting the ability to experimentally manipulate the circadian clock during this phase. Reliable methods to induce daytime phase shifts are therefore essential for investigating mechanisms of circadian plasticity and photic entrainment. Complementary genetic and spectral strategies are described to enable robust, temporally precise manipulation of the circadian clock during the day. The first approach, currently limited to mice, employs a chemogenetic strategy involving intravitreal delivery of Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs) to selectively activate intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs). This approach permits controlled activation of the retinohypothalamic pathway and induces reproducible daytime phase shifts independent of ambient lighting conditions. The second approach utilizes wavelength-specific optical stimulation as a non-invasive alternative. Exposure to violet light exploits the spectral sensitivity of ipRGCs to reduce depolarization block and promote sustained activation, enabling reliable phase resetting during the subjective day. This method is broadly applicable across mammalian systems and does not require genetic manipulation or pharmacological intervention. Detailed protocols are provided for experimental preparation, stimulation timing, validation of phase shifts using locomotor activity, and assessment of neuronal activation via c-Fos immunohistochemistry. Key considerations, including circadian timing, stimulus parameters, and experimental controls, are outlined to facilitate reproducibility. Together, these approaches provide versatile and experimentally tractable tools for inducing daytime circadian phase shifts and enable direct investigation of mechanisms underlying daytime circadian responsiveness.

Silicon-based fluorescent nanoparticles are now of significant interest for sensing and security applications; however, their synthesis often depends on multiple complex precursors and processes. Herein, we report a one-pot solvothermal strategy for the synthesis of fluorescent polysilazane-derived nanoparticles using polysilazane as a single-source precursor at 200 °C. The solvothermal treatment introduces controlled oxidation-condensation and partial crosslinking of the polysilazane backbone, yielding amorphous hybrid nanoparticles composed of a disordered Si-O-C-N network with residual Si-rich domains and very few organic surface functionalities. The visible fluorescence origin is attributed to the defect-related states associated with oxygen-rich siloxane networks and surface electronic states within the structure, supported by structural and spectroscopic analyses. The nanoparticles show strong excitation-dependent visible fluorescence with high photostability and long-term storage stability. The nanoparticles demonstrate selective and concentration-dependent fluorescence quenching toward Ag+ ions at a low concentration of 0.55 µM via their surface chemistry, enabling sensitive detection in aqueous media. The intense and durable fluorescence further enables their use as anti-counterfeiting inks, where printed patterns remain invisible under ambient light and become clearly visible under UV illumination, showing performance durability. This work establishes polysilazane-derived fluorescent nanoparticles as a new class of polymer-derived ceramic nanomaterials, offering a scalable platform for multifunctional applications in sensing, security labeling, and smart surface technologies.

Accurate identification of frontal sinus boundaries is a critical step in anterior skull base surgery, particularly in transsinusal approaches, as it allows optimization of the surgical bony window while minimizing unnecessary bone removal. To describe a simple and reproducible technique of external frontal bone transillumination for intraoperative frontal sinus mapping. After bicoronal exposure of the frontal bone, a standard fiber-optic light cable connected to the operating room light source is applied in direct contact with the frontal squama under low ambient light conditions. When properly applied, the frontal sinus appears as a brighter translucent area, allowing accurate delineation of its margins. Postoperative CT imaging was retrospectively reviewed to assess correspondence between the intraoperatively identified margins and the actual anatomical boundaries. Between 2015 and 2024, the technique was applied in 14 consecutive patients undergoing anterior skull base surgery, including olfactory groove meningiomas, post-traumatic anterior skull base cerebrospinal fluid fistulas, and one case of intrasinusal osteoma. In all cases, external transillumination enabled clear identification of frontal sinus boundaries and facilitated creation of an adequate surgical window. Postoperative imaging confirmed correspondence between the planned opening and the actual anatomical extent of the frontal sinus opening. No sinus-related complications or postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leaks were observed. External frontal bone transillumination is a simple, fast, and reliable method for intraoperative frontal sinus mapping during anterior skull base surgery. Its ease of adoption and use of routinely available equipment make it a useful adjunct to preoperative imaging for optimizing surgical exposure.

A low-light image taken in a dark scene usually suffers from severe distortions, which does not accurately characterize the ambient lighting. Long exposure is an accustomed way to capture more supplementary light and alleviate the degradation, but sometimes it induces other distortions, e.g. blurriness. To address this issue, we propose a new paradigm that introduces additional captured ambient guidance, i.e. a long-exposure image to steer the low-light enhancement. In practice, this long-exposure image can be obtained conveniently, but usually suffers from blurriness and misalignment. To effectively extract and fuse information from degraded and misaligned low-light and guidance image pairs, we propose a Long Exposure Compensation Network (LECNet). Adaptive Band Regression is introduced to disentangle the image into multi-scale representations and coarse-to-fine aggregate them with an attention mechanism. For stable image-guidance registration and artifact suppression, we propose a Bounded Cross-domain Deformable Alignment to warp the guidance based on extracted feature pyramids step by step. To integrate knowledge about the degradation into our LECNet for better fidelity, a dual learned back projection is enforced between the predicted result and the paired inputs in illumination and texture detail consistency, serving the model training for both offline training and online sample-adaptive finetuning. For training and evaluation of this new paradigm, we build a dataset with both synthetic and real-captured image triplets of long/short exposure pairs and extra blurry guidance. The experimental evaluation demonstrates the significance of our new paradigm, as well as the superiority of our LECNet and its usability in the real world.