Ultraweak Luminescence Research Articles

Biological Ultra-weak Luminescence and Its Application to Research of Acupuncture

Ultra-weak bioluminescence (UWL) is a physiological phenomenon widely existing in all the biological activities including human, animals, plants, etc., which reflects the energy metabolism of the organism. Since the last century, ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) has been applied to the study of the essence of meridians and acupoints of traditional Chinese medicine and obtained some results as the higher luminescence characteristics, but many problems remain unsolved due to the limitation of detection technology. In recent years, along with the development of bioluminescence signal acquiring system and imaging system, we are able to further explore the characteristics and biological mechanisms of UWL of acupuncture points and meridians in the human body. We proposed to study changes of ultra-weak luminous intensity of acupuncture points and meridians before and after needling stimulation, and the delayed effect of UPE phenomenon, etc., trying to reveal their regularities and essence. In this paper, the prospect of application of UPE to acupuncture research is also discussed by combining newly acquired results of some biological substances of acupoints in experimental studies.

Writing and displaying by the laser on a long lag phosphor material

We make a machine that can perform as an invisible hand able to write and draw smoothly accompanied with the incidental music. And this machine can be used in the commercial advertising display, artmobile poster writing, the accessory equipment of the multimedium classrooms, stage effect, new art pattern especially in dark. We present a new display application of the long lag phosphor (LLP) material in this paper. A prototype is fabricated which can be written, drawn and displayed by controlling a laser beam on the screen which is made from the LLP material. For selecting the match laser beam wavelength for different LLP material screens, the energy band structure of the LLP material Mn(H2PO4)2 of 3-4 eV band gap is calculated by VASP (Vienna abinitio simulation package) software and its Raman shift peaks of Mn(H2PO4)2 are tested at 625 nm, 769 nm, 1049 nm and in far infrared wavelength range. The intensity of powdery LLP SrAl2O4: Eu2+, Dy3+, which is tested by the instrument of UWLA(ultra-weak luminescence analyzer), can decay from 43479 to 9570 electronic counts in 5 min, and then descend slowly. The intensity decay of coated film LLP Mn(H2PO4)2, which is tested by the instrument of HANDYSCOPE HS3, can decay quickly at the beginning and then slowly after 400s. These intensity decay results can explain that LLP materials of SrAl2O4:Eu2+, Dy3+ and Mn (H2PO4)2 are suitable for displaying the image by our prototype. A prototype is successfully made by our group for writing English and Chinese words and drawing picture. Arduino Board is used to control two step motors, and X mirror and Y mirror are rotated to reflect the laser beam. An excitation dot is formed on the surface of LLP display screen. By drawing vectorgragh with Coreldraw and convert it into .nc file, the computer runs G-code in CNC (computer numerical control) automatically. Arduino controlled mirror rotation drives the laser beam. The trace of the laser dot is left on the screen and becomes article or graphs in afterglow. The whole device can be energy saving, eyes comfortable, low cost and easy to pick up.

Spectrometer for cluster ion beam induced luminescence.

A spectrometer to detect the ultra-weak luminescence originated by the collision of cluster ions on the surfaces of solid materials was constructed. This spectrometer consists of 11 photomultipliers with band-pass interference filters that can detect the luminescence within the wavelength ranging from 300 to 700 nm and of a photomultiplier without filter. The calibration of the detection system was performed using the photons emitted from a strontium aluminate fluorescent tape and from a high temperature tungsten filament. Preliminary measurements show the ability of this spectrometer to detect the cluster ion beam induced luminescence.

超弱发光技术评价脉冲电场对玉米萌发期抗旱性的影响

超弱发光技术评价脉冲电场对玉米萌发期抗旱性的影响

Distinguish on the viability of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells using delayed luminescence

In this paper, we report the discrimination of the viability of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) with photo-induced delayed luminescence (DL). We measure the DL decay kinetics of hUC-MSCs using an ultraweak luminescence detection system, and find the significant difference in the weight distributions of the decay rate for hUC-MSCs with high and low viabilities. Spectral discrimination of hUC-MSCs with high and low viabilities is thus carried out by comparing the DL kinetics parameters, including the initial intensity, the peak decay rate and the peak weight value. Our results show that the novel optical method for the viability diagnosis of hUC-MSCs has a promising prospect.

Ultraweak luminescence from germinating resting spores of Entomophthora virulenta Hall et Dunn

Germinating resting spores of <i>Entomophthora virulenta</i> Hall et Dunn emit ultraweak luminescence with the intensity of the order 100 photons • s<sup>-1</sup> • cm<sup>-2</sup> in the spectral region 200-750 nm. The emission kinetics and intensity depend on vitality and incubation temperature of the spores. The higher the ability of resting spores to germinate, the more intense the luminescence. Elevation of the incubation temperature to 50°C enhances ultraweak luminescence. The activation energy was found to be about 15 kJ • mol<sup>-1</sup> and 5 kJ • mol<sup>-1</sup> for nongerminating and germinating in 50% spores, respectively. The possibility of applying ultraweak luminescence as a simple assay for the spores vitality is discussed.

Ultra-weak Delayed Luminescence in cancer research: A review of the results by the ARETUSA equipment

The study of the photoinduced ultraweak photon emission in the optical wavelength range, namely the Delayed Luminescence, from human cells and tissues has an increasingly growing interest in view of its possible application in optical biopsy. Due to the low level, dedicated experimental set-up are necessary to reveal such photoluminescence signal. The paper reviews the results obtained in the field of cancer research, by using the experimental equipment for fast ultraweak luminescence analysis ARETUSA developed at the National Southern Laboratories of the National Nuclear Physics Institute (LNS-INFN), in Catania, Italy. Delayed Luminescence signals from normal and cancer cells are compared and the relationship between Delayed Luminescence and apoptosis is investigated.

Oscillatory character of changes in ultraweak luminescence from Nitella cells

Characteristics of changes in ultraweak luminescence of <em>Nitella</em> internodal cells under physiological conditions and after exposure to the action of biologically active substances are determined. The results presented here supplement the picture of oscillatory behaviour of <em>Nitella</em> cells worked out by us regarding changes in the electrical and transport properties.

Study on Water-Induced Ultra-Weak Luminescence Value of Wheat Kernels

The wheat kernels were processed by moistened in water. The spontaneous and water-induced luminescence data (photon counts) were noted with an ultra-weak luminescence (UWL) detector. The following was the features of the data analyzed by the statistical parameters of the spontaneous luminescence and the fitting curves of the water-induced luminescence. The results show that the UWL intensity rises with the moistened time prolonged. It is concluded that the intensity depends on the moistened time mainly. If the moistened kernels owned a more porous structure, in the initial phase of imbibition, a higher UWL emission would be noted. Consequently, the further quantitative research of the relevant could lead a novel testing method about the wheat’s activity and quality. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/telkomnika.v11i9.3150

Delayed luminescence as an optical indicator of tobacco leaf quality

In this paper, we present our study on the spectral discrimination between high and low quality tobacco leaves using a time-resolved ultraweak luminescence detection system. Photoinduced delayed luminescence (DL) is employed as a nondestructive and objective indicator of tobacco leaf quality. DL decay kinetics of tobacco leaf samples is measured, and the data are fitted by a hyperbolic cosecant function. Results show that the function’s parameter A is significantly related to the quality grades of tobacco leaves—compared with the low quality tobacco leaves, an increase of the A value by a factor of 7 is obtained for the high quality tobacco leaves. Research from this work contributes to the development of a novel optical method applicable for the quality evaluation of agricultural crops and food products.

极低频高压脉冲电场对萌发玉米种子超弱发光的影响

Biological ultra-weak luminescence is an electromagnetic signal from cells,which plays an important role in revealing the mechanism of electromagnetic biological effects.In order to study the biological effects and mechanism of extremely low frequency pulsed electric field,1 Hz extremely low frequency high-voltage pulsed electric field based on the potential fluctuation frequency of corn cells was used to treat the corns during germination.The results showed that the germination process of corns was accelerated obviously and both the shoot length and root length of germinating corns were significantly longer than the control.Through the measurement and analysis of spontaneous luminescence and delayed luminescence on corns during germination,it was found that the spontaneous luminescence and delayed luminescence integral intensity of germinating corn were significantly increased under the action of 1 Hz extremely low frequency high-voltage pulsed electric field,which indicated that this specific pulsed electric field promoted the DNA synthesis and cell metabolism of the corns during germination.The coupled resonance of pulsed electric field and cell electric field in corn seeds may be the cause of biological effects of the extremely low frequency high-voltage pulsed electric field.

Spectral discrimination between normal and leukemic human sera using delayed luminescence

In this work, photoinduced delayed luminescence (DL) was used to distinguish serum samples of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia from those of healthy volunteers. DL decay kinetics of human serum samples was measured using a homebuilt ultraweak luminescence detection system. It was found a significant difference in the weight distribution of the decay rate between normal and leukemic serum samples. A comparison of the DL kinetics parameters including the initial intensity, the peak decay rate, and the peak weight value was used in making discrimination between normal and leukemic human sera. Results in this work contribute to the development of a novel optical method for the early diagnosis of leukemia.

Research on the Effect of Light and Heat Sensing along Meridian of Chinese Medicine

Introduction: Photonics refers to the technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. Photonic technology in the meridian and acupoints research has shown the unique advantages, by which the microcosmic material basis and macroscopic phenomena research can be integrated to interpret the occurrence of propagated sensation along meridian (PSM) and its underlying mechanism. This study seeks to investigate light and heat sensing action along meridian. Methods: From the modern research of meridian point of view, PSM is the break point to research the essentiality of meridian. The bio-photonic feature of meridian is the most promising research direction to investigate the PSM phenomena for its contribution to prove the existence of meridian objectively and spontaneously. Therefore, the bio-photonic features of meridian under physiological, pathological, therapeutic, and mechanical conditions were analyzed. Firstly, the four aspects of light sensing action were discussed, i.e. light sensing effect along meridian, blocking effect, laser induced effect and underlying mechanism of light sensing action along meridian. Secondly, the four items of heat sensing action were discussed as well, i.e. thermo-effects, heat perception ability, laser induced heat effect, underlying mechanism on heat sensing effect along meridian. Results: The authors point out that photonic technology, e.g. ultra-weak luminescence, photonic imaging, infrared imaging and infrared spectrum analysis, biological photons detection and laser Doppler application, can achieve purposes of in vivo, dynamic, multiple comparable studies. Thereby, the effect of light and heat sensing along meridian can be detected and illustrated by the use of natural science. The effect of light sensing and heat sensing along meridians with the help of advantages of photonics is expected to interpret and quantify the meridian doctrine, to provide an important experimental basis for meridians and acupoint properties of light and heat, to find a kind of non-invasive diagnostic technique, and to promote the integration and development of meridians and modern medicine. Conclusion: Light and heat information can be investigated to analyze the relationship between zang-fu organs and meridians, and the functional characteristics of the meridian. Hence, the effect of light and heat sensing along meridian is the break point of the research of photonics in meridian, which is beneficial to further study the meridian optics.

桂花幼苗基础生长环境与其叶片超弱发光特性关系研究

To obtain the ultraweak luminescence properties of plant affected by multilateral growth,environment factors of osmanthus tree seedings were used as the research material.Quadratic rotation-orthogonal composite experimental design was used to study the effects of illumination,temperature,relative humidity,and moisture on the ultra-weak luminescence of leaves of osmanthus tree seedings.The model of four environmental factors to ultra-weak luminescence of osmanthus tree seedings leaves was established.The ANOVA(analysis of variance) analysis showed that the significant value of influence of different factors and their interaction on ultra-weak luminescence are different.The linear effects of four variables,the quadratic effects of illumination,relative humidity and moisture,and the interaction effects of illumination moisture and temperature relative humidity are all significant,with p-value ≤0.01.And when light by 10 stick of lamp tube(intensity of illumination value 4 229 Lx) and mean temperature,humidity and water respectively controlling in 35 ℃ 90 mL/d,85%,the value of ultraweak luminescence was maximum.Based on that,the influence rule of each influential environmental factors and their interactions on the ultra-weak luminescence was also included.

Functional imaging of biophoton responses of plants to fungal infection

Each living cell of a plant produces photons in certain conditions. Under normal physiological conditions, cell photon emission is stationary and minimal. Disturbance in the oxidative homeostasis by biotic stress is manifested by increased ‘biophoton’ production. Such biophoton responses of plants may be used as an integral indicator of the degree of oxidative homeostasis misbalance. Our results demonstrate that biophoton generation has been much higher in a resistant potato variety than in a susceptible one till 10 h after Phytophthora infestans inoculation. In contrast, ultra-weak luminescence from detached susceptible potato and moderately resistant pelargonium leaves increased from 1–4 to 4–5 days after inoculation with Phytophthora infestans or Botrytis cinerea, respectively. Pre-treatment of susceptible potato leaves with a defence inducer, arachidonic acid, resulted in a transient burst of light in response to P. infestans lasting for 30–45 h post inoculation (hpi). This study presents the potential adaptation of functional imaging of ultra-weak luminescence to monitor time-dependent free radical processes during disease development and its application to draw conclusions on plant resistance to pathogens of different lifestyle. Moreover, it has been shown that imaging of temporal biophoton generation from potato leaves treated with arachidonic acid might be a helpful marker in mapping oxidative changes leading to systemic acquired resistance (SAR).

Ultraweak luminescence of the Characeae plants under the circumstances of cyclical changes in temperature

Ultraweak luminescence of theCharaceaeplants under the circumstances of cyclical changes in temperatureThe study sought to measure ultraweak chemiluminescence (UWL) ofNitellopsis Obtusaplants with regards to temperature changes within the range from 4°C to 38°C. The temperature changes were being executed in reversible cycles. The variations of UWL intensity with temperature had an exponential character. In case when temperature was changed rapidly by 5°C every 20 min or fluently with rate of 0.17 °C/min we observed a temperature hysteresis loop in the first cycles and the loop character disappeared in the second cycles. When the temperature was being changed fluently but faster (1.3 °C/min) after 3 cycles (about 2 hours) the curves no longer manifested the loop character. This phenomenon can point that the plants adapted themselves to the temperature changes. We also observed a stimulation of UWL made in successful cycles. Our spectral experiments showed that the UWL may consist mainly of emission of the singlet oxygen sigma (762 nm) and induced emission of chlorophyll.

Oxidative Stress, Redox Homeostasis and Cellular Stress Response in Ménière’s Disease: Role of Vitagenes

Ménière's disease (MD) is characterized by the triad of fluctuating hearing loss, episodic vertigo and tinnitus, and by endolymphatic hydrops found on post-mortem examination. Increasing evidence suggests that oxidative stress is involved in the development of endolymphatic hydrops and that cellular damage and apoptotic cell death might contribute to the sensorineural hearing loss found in later stages of MD. While excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) are toxic, regulated ROS, however, play an important role in cellular signaling. The ability of a cell to counteract stressful conditions, known as cellular stress response, requires the activation of pro-survival pathways and the production of molecules with anti-oxidant, anti-apoptotic or pro-apoptotic activities. Among the cellular pathways conferring protection against oxidative stress, a key role is played by vitagenes, which include heat shock proteins (Hsps) as well as the thioredoxin/thioredoxin reductase system. In this study we tested the hypothesis that in MD patients measurable increases in markers of cellular stress response and oxidative stress in peripheral blood are present. This study also explores the hypothesis that changes in the redox status of glutathione, the major endogenous antioxidant, associated with abnormal expression and activity of carbonic anhydrase can contribute to increase oxidative stress and to disruption of systemic redox homeostasis which can be associated to possible alterations on vulnerable neurons such as spiral ganglion neurons and consequent cellular degeneration. We therefore evaluated systemic oxidative stress and cellular stress response in patients suffering from Meniere's disease (MD) and in age-matched healthy subjects. Systemic oxidative stress was estimated by measuring protein oxidation, such as protein carbonyls (PC) and 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) in lymphocytes of MD patients, as well as ultraweak luminescence (UCL) as end-stable products of lipid oxidation in MD plasma and lymphocytes, as compared to age-matched controls, whereas heat shock proteins Hsp70 and thioredoxin (Trx) expression were measured in lymphocytes to evaluate the systemic cellular stress response. Increased levels of PC (P < 0.01) and HNE (P < 0.05) have been found in lymphocytes from MD patients with respect to control group. This was paralleled by a significant induction of Hsp70, and a decreased expression of Trx (P < 0.01), whereas a significant decrease in both plasma and lymphocyte ratio reduced glutathione GSH) vs. oxidized glutathione (GSSG) (P < 0.05) were also observed. In conclusion, patients affected by MD are under condition of systemic oxidative stress and the induction of vitagenes Hsp70 is a maintained response in counteracting the intracellular pro-oxidant status generated by decreased content of GSH as well as expression of Trx. The search for novel and more potent inducers of vitagenes will facilitate the development of pharmacological strategies to increase the intrinsic capacity of vulnerable ganglion cells to maximize antidegenerative mechanisms, such as stress response and thus cytoprotection.

참치 자숙액의 항산화 활성에 감마선 조사가 미치는 영향

Division of Food Beverage and Culinary Art, Yeungnam College of Science and Technology, Daegu 705-703, KoreaAbstractThis study was conducted to examine the effect of a gamma irradiation on the antioxidant activity of ethanol extract from cooking drips of Thunnus thynnus (ECT). The electron donating ability against 1,1-diphenyl- 2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), authentic hydroxyl radical scavenging activity by Ultra Weak Luminescence Analyzer, oxidative protection factors by Racimat method, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and β-carotene bleaching activity were measured as indices of antioxidant activity. All of the results shown that irradiation increased the antioxidant activity of ECT. These results suggested that ECT could be used as an antioxidative component in food and gamma irradiation could enhance these antioxidative properties.Key words: cooking drips, Thunnus thynnus, antioxidant activity, gamma irradiation

Chemiluminescence as a method for detection and study of free radicals in biological systems

Chemiluminescence observed during LPO or reactions of nitric oxide and oxygen radicals and was named "ultraweak luminescence". In the presence of chemiluminescence activators (luminol, lucigenin, rhodamine G, or coumarine C-525) the appearance of radicals is associated with intensive fluorescence; the registration of this fluorescence is widely used in biomedical and clinical studies.

Superoxide Anion, the Main Species of ROS in the Development of ARDS Induced by Oleic Acid

It is believed that reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a very important role in the pathogenesis of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), but the mechanism has not been so clear, owing to the absence of direct measurable (experimental) data. In majority of the medical studies on free radicals, the analysis of ROS has generally been done by the way of measuring their secondary and breakdown products. In our study, we used electron spin resonance (ESR), a sensitive and accurate technique to detect ROS directly and also used some other sensitive techniques including ultra-weak luminescence and chemical luminescence to identify the species and relative amount of ROS. Furthermore, superoxide dismutase (SOD) was pre-administrated in ARDS rats to verify the results from the above studies and explore the possibility of the clinical application of SOD in ARDS. The spectra of ESR showed that the concentration of ROS increased at 10 min and reached a summit at 30 min after injection of oleic acid (OA), then dropped gradually. The scavenging effects of different scavenging agents on ROS by the analysis of ultra-weak luminescence proved that superoxide anion was the main species of ROS in the development of OA-induced ARDS. Moreover, the results of quantified measure of superoxide anion by chemical luminescence also showed the accordant tendency exhibited in ESR measurement. The pre-treatment of SOD might distinctly inhibit the production of superoxide anion, obviously improve the blood gas status, lung wet/dry ratio and lung/body ratio in ARDS rats. It is suggested that ROS may play a key role in the initiation phase of ARDS, while superoxide anion may be a leading actor in this process and SOD could effectively protect rats from ARDS. These results may provide helpful information for the treatment and prevention of ARDS.