The development of new medical electronic devices and equipment has increased the use of electrical apparatuses in surgery. Many studies have reported the association of long-term exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs) with diseases or cancer. Robotic surgery has emerged as an alternative tool to overcome the disadvantages of conventional laparoscopic surgery. However, th...

BACKGROUND & AIMS Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) encompasses diseases from simple steatosis, to steatohepatitis, to fibrosis, and cirrhosis. The pediatric NAFLD fibrosis index (PNFI) and the enhanced liver fibrosis (ELF) test are potential noninvasive markers for fibrosis. We prospectively evaluated the performance of PNFI and ELF in assessing fibrosis in children with biopsy-proven N...

BACKGROUND Occupational exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF) is a suspected risk factor for brain tumors, however the literature is inconsistent. Few studies have assessed whether ELF in different time windows of exposure may be associated with specific histologic types of brain tumors. This study examines the association between ELF and brain tumors in the large-scale INTE...

Transforming growth factor (TGF) β(1) plays a critical role in liver fibrosis. Previous studies demonstrated embryonic liver fodrin (ELF), a β-spectrin was involved in TGF-β/Smad signalling pathway as Smad3/4 adaptor. Here we investigate the role of ELF in pathogenesis of liver cirrhosis. In carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4))-induced mice model of liver cirrhosis, ELF is up-regulated in activated he...

For many years electromagnetic fields (EMFs) have been used clinically with various settings as an exogenous stimulation method to promote fracture healing. However, underlying mechanisms of action and EMF parameters responsible for certain effects remain unclear. Our aim was to investigate the influence of defined EMFs on human osteoblasts' and osteoclasts' viability and function. Primary huma...

Antioxidants present within lung epithelial lining fluids (ELFs) constitute an initial line of defense against inhaled environmental oxidants such as ozone, nitrogen oxides, and tobacco smoke, but the antioxidant composition of human ELFs is still incompletely characterized. We analyzed ELF concentrations of the low-molecular-mass antioxidants ascorbate, urate, glutathione (GSH), and α-tocopher...

Several reports suggest that ELF-EMF exposures interact with biological processes including promotion of cell proliferation. However, the molecular mechanisms by which ELF-EMF controls cell growth are not completely understood. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of ELF-EMF on keratinocytes proliferation and molecular mechanisms involved. Effect of ELF-EMF (50 Hz, 1 mT) on HaCaT c...

ULF/ELF emission observation has been performed at Nakatsugawa observatory (geographic coordinates; 35.4 N, 137.5 E, Gifu prefecture) since January 1999. The equipment consists of three-orthogonal magnetic sensors (induction coils), amplifiers, A/D converters and the data logger with a computer. The frequency range of observation is from 0.001 Hz to 50 Hz. The serious changes in ELF magnetic fi...

Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) are non-ionizing radiations typically emitted by power lines, electrical wiring and electrical appliances. Epidemiological studies have repeatedly shown a positive association between ELF-EMFs and childhood leukemia. Exposures greater than 0.3-0.4 μT increase the risk by approximately 1.5-2 fold, and estimates indicate that up to 2% of c...

A novel method for the excitation of ELF waves in the ionosphere is presented. It utilizes the nonlinear mixing of two groundor satellite-produced radio frequency waves with a compressional Alfv6n wave. Parametric amplification thresholds are estimated to be between 10 and 20 MW peak power for 5-MHz pumps producing waves in the ELF range. Potential applications to ELF communications are discussed.