Exposure to electromagnetic radiation induces characteristic stress response in human epidermis

Is the Technology Era Aging You? A Review of the Physiologic and Psychologic Toll of Technology Use

BACKGROUND

Technology use is at an all-time high and its potential impact on psychological and physiologic health should be explored.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this narrative review was to identify the role of technology use on health and well-being.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Authors performed a review of PubMed and publications of the World Health Organization, Department of Defense, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine the impact of technology regarding electromagnetic radiation (EM), posture and mobility, sleep disturbance, and psychological stress and well-being.

RESULTS

Studies on the impact of EM were conflicting, with about 45% reporting negative consequences and 55% reporting no effect. Radiofrequency EM (RF-EM) may more significantly affect fibroblasts and immature cells. Device use was implicated in worsening cognitive focus, imbalance, and sleep. Social media use affects self-esteem and mental health and is associated with up to 33% presence of addiction. Effects seem to be dose related and more pronounced in younger ages.

CONCLUSION

Technology use significantly affects sleep, mental health, and cognitive function. Seeking psychological help, limiting social media use, and reducing use before sleep may partially mitigate these effects. The impact of EM is undetermined, but the WHO lists RF-EM as a potential carcinogen.

Effects of radiofrequency field exposure on proteotoxic-induced and heat-induced HSF1 response in live cells using the bioluminescence resonance energy transfer technique

As of today, only acute effects of RF fields have been confirmed to represent a potential health hazard and they are attributed to non-specific heating (≥ 1 °C) under high-level exposure. Yet, the possibility that environmental RF impact living matter in the absence of temperature elevation needs further investigation. Since HSF1 is both a thermosensor and the master regulator of heat-shock stress response in eukaryotes, it remains to assess HSF1 activation in live cells under exposure to low-level RF signals. We thus measured basal, temperature-induced, and chemically induced HSF1 trimerization, a mandatory step on the cascade of HSF1 activation, under RF exposure to continuous wave (CW), Global System for Mobile (GSM), and Wi-Fi-modulated 1800 MHz signals, using a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer technique (BRET) probe. Our results show that, as expected, HSF1 is heat-activated by acute exposure of transiently transfected HEK293T cells to a CW RF field at a specific absorption rate of 24 W/kg for 30 min. However, we found no evidence of HSF1 activation under the same RF exposure condition when the cell culture medium temperature was fixed. We also found no experimental evidence that, at a fixed temperature, chronic RF exposure for 24 h at a SAR of 1.5 and 6 W/kg altered the potency or the maximal capability of the proteasome inhibitor MG132 to activate HSF1, whatever signal used. We only found that RF exposure to CW signals (1.5 and 6 W/kg) and GSM signals (1.5 W/kg) for 24 h marginally decreased basal HSF1 activity.

Effects of 36.6 GHz and static magnetic field on degree of endoreduplication in Drosophila melanogaster polytene chromosomes

Purpose To study the effect of microwave (MW) irradiation and consistent action of microwaves and static magnetic field (MF) on the giant chromosomes endoreduplication in Drosophila melanogaster Meig. Materials and methods Experiments were carried out on inbred wild type Canton-S strain. Exposure to microwaves (frequency - 36.64 GHz, power density - 1 W/m(2), exposure time - 30 sec) and static magnetic field (intensity - 25 mT, exposure time - 5 min) applied at the egg stage after a 2-h oviposition. Giant chromosomes were investigated in squashed preparations of the salivary glands stained by acetoorcein by the cytomorphometric method. Preparations were obtained from Drosophila larvae at the 0 h prepupae stage. Results Exposure to microwaves increased the degree of polyteny in chromosomes (DPC) by 7.5%, and the statistical power of the impact was: h(2) = 35.3%. A similar effect occurred after the sequential action of microwaves and static magnetic field: The polyteny level of chromosomes increased by 7.4%, statistical power was: h(2) = 30.6%. Conclusions Exposure to microwaves on the stage of embryogenesis has a stimulating effect on endoreduplication in Drosophila development. The effect of microwaves was not modified by the action of the static magnetic field.

Aqueous Extract from Vitis vinifera Tendrils is Able to Enrich Keratinocyte Antioxidant Defences

An aqueous extract of V. vinifera L. tendrils was evaluated for its ability to enrich the antioxidant capacity of cultured cells. The long-time antioxidant capability of the extract was measured by in vitro chemical methods, and its influence on reduced glutathione levels and plasma membrane oxido reductase activity was determined in cultured human keratinocytes (NCTC 2544). Keratinocytes are cells normally exposed to oxidative stress, and for this reason adequately equipped with antioxidant defences. However, it has long been suggested that exogenous antioxidants may play an important role in minimizing the adverse effects of oxidative stress on skin. We demonstrated that V. vinifera tendril aqueous extract was able to increase, in a time- and dose-dependent manner, the reduced glutathione concentration and activity of trans plasma membrane oxido reductase as an indirect evaluation of the intracellular redox status of the cells demonstrating a relevant antioxidant activity of this phytocomplex.