Exposure to Visible Light Emitted from Smartphones and Tablets Increases the Proliferation of Staphylococcus aureus: Can this be Linked to Acne?
Journal Title: Journal of Biomedical Physics and Engineering - Year 2017, Vol 7, Issue 2
Abstract
Background: Due to rapid advances in modern technologies such as telecommunication technology, the world has witnessed an exponential growth in the use of digital handheld devices (e.g. smartphones and tablets). This drastic growth has resulted in increased global concerns about the safety of these devices. Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other digital screens emit high levels of short-wavelength visible light (i.e. blue color region in the visible light spectrum). Material and Methods: At a dark environment, Staphylococcus aureus bacteria were exposed to the light emitted from common tablets/smartphones. The control samples were exposed to the same intensity of light generated by a conventional incandescent light bulb. The growth rate of bacteria was examined by measuring the optical density (OD) at 625 nm by using a spectrophotometer before the light exposure and after 30 to 330 minutes of light exposure. Results: The growth rates of bacteria in both smartphone and tablet groups were higher than that of the control group and the maximum smartphone/control and tablet/ control growth ratios were observed in samples exposed to digital screens’ light for 300 min (ratios of 3.71 and 3.95, respectively). Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the effect of exposure to light emitted from digital screens on the proliferation of Staphylococcus aureus and its association with acne pathogenesis. Our findings show that exposure to short-wavelength visible light emitted from smartphones and tablets can increase the proliferation of Staphylococcus aureus.
Authors and Affiliations
M Taheri, E Izadbakhsh, F Nouri, S A R Mortazavi, G Mortazavi, S M J Mortazavi
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP330400
- DOI -
- Views 99
- Downloads 0
Designing and Developing Automatic Trolley for Washing and Dressing the Wounds
Introduction: Many items are needed for dressing including sterile dressing set, antiseptic and washing solutions, leucoplast tape, waste bin for infectious garbage, waste bin for noninfectious garbage, safe disposal tra...
Effects of Plantar Flexor Muscles Fatigue on Postural Control during Quiet Stance and External Perturbation in Healthy Subjects
Background: The maintenance of postural control is a key component in dynamic physical activity, especially during muscle fatigue and against external forces. Despite many studies in this field, there is no consensus reg...
A System for Continuous Estimating and Monitoring Cardiac Output via Arterial Waveform Analysis
Background: Cardiac output (CO) is the total volume of blood pumped by the heart per minute and is a function of heart rate and stroke volume. CO is one of the most important parameters for monitoring cardiac function, e...
Evaluation of Diffusion Anisotropy and Diffusion Shape in Grading of Glial Tumors
Background: The most common primary tumors of brain are gliomas. Grading of tumor is vital for designing proper treatment plans. The gold standard choice to determine the grade of glial tumor is biopsy which is an invasi...
Enhancement of the Dose on 12 MV Linac with Free Flattening Filter Mode
Purpose: In the last years, some studies investigated dosimetric benefits of a free flattening filter for the photon mode in the radiotherapy field. This study aims to provide a theoretical study published and analysis o...