Propagation of Homalodisca Coagulata Virus-01 via Homalodisca vitripennis Cell Culture

The glassy-winged sharpshooter (Homalodisca vitripennis) is a highly vagile and polyphagous insect, which feeds on more than 100 plant species throughout the southwestern United States. Sharpshooters are the predominant vector of Xylella fastidiosa (Xf), a xylem-limited bacterium that is the causal agent of Pierce\u27s disease (PD) of grapevine. Infected H. vitripennis transmit the bacterium while feeding. The rise of PD has been economically damaging for agriculture and H. vitripennis have become a target for disease control. A dicistrovirus identified as Homalodisca coagulata virus-01 (HoCV-01) has been associated with an increase in mortality rates within infected H. vitripennis populations. A host is required for HoCV-01 replication and cell culture provides the logistically and economically valuable means for producing a virus biopesticide. In this study, we developed a system for large-scale propagation of H. vitripennis cells via tissue culture, providing viral replication machinery. Cells were inoculated with low levels of HoCV-1, medium was removed every 24H for 168H, RNA extracted using TRIzol and analyzed with qRT-PCR. Cells were also trypan blue stained and counted to determine cell survivability. Whole virus particles were extracted within 72-96H after infection before total cell culture collapse occurred. This study shows that H. vitripennis cells are capable of being cultured and used for virus mass production, suitable to produce a biopesticide

A histomorphometric study of dental implants with different surface characteristics

PURPOSE. One of the major keys to achieve successful osseointegration of the implant is its surface properties. The aim of this study was to investigate the bone response to dental implants with different surface characteristics using the rabbit tibia model. Tricalcium phosphate (TCP) coated, anodic oxidized and turned (control) surfaces were compared. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Seventy two implants were placed in the tibia of eighteen rabbits. Nine rabbits were sacrificed at 3 weeks of healing and the remaining nine were sacrificed at 6 weeks of healing. The bone-to-implant contact (BIC) and the bone volume density (BVD) were assessed by light microscope after 3 and 6 weeks of healing. RESULTS. Statistical analysis showed that no significant differences in the BIC and BVD were observed between the different implant surfaces and the control group at 3 weeks and 6 weeks of healing. Data also suggested that the BVD of all the surfaces showed significant difference at 3 and 6 weeks. CONCLUSION. The present study has showed that osseointegration occurred in all investigated types of surface-treated implants. In the current study all of the threads of the implants were observed to calculate BIC and BVD values (instead of choosing some of the threads from the bone cortex for example), which didn`t make BIC or BVD percentage values better than in the control group, therefore the clinical relevance of these results remains to be shown. [J Adv Prosthodont 2010;2:142-7]

Remineralization of initial carious lesions in deciduous enamel after application of dentifrices of different fluoride concentrations

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the remineralization potential of five dentifrices with different fluoride concentrations. Initial caries lesions were created in 72 cylindrical enamel blocks from deciduous teeth. The specimens were randomly distributed among six experimental groups corresponding to six experimental periods. Each of the six volunteers carried two deciduous enamel specimens fixed in an intraoral appliance for a period of 4 weeks. They brushed their teeth and the enamel blocks at least two times a day with dentifrices containing 0 ppm (period 1), 250 ppm (period 2), and 500 ppm fluoride (period 3), respectively. A second group of volunteers (n = 6) used dentifrices with a fluoride content of 0 ppm (period 4), 1,000 ppm (period 5), or 1,500 ppm (period 6). At the end of the respective period, the mineral content was determined by transversal microradiography (TMR). The use of dentifrices containing 500 ppm fluoride (38% MR), 1,000 ppm fluoride (42% MR), and 1,500 ppm fluoride (42% MR) resulted in a statistically significant higher mineral recovery compared to the control group (0 ppm fluoride). Mineral recovery was similar after use of dentifrices containing 0 and 250 ppm fluoride (24%; 25%). It is concluded that it is possible to remineralize initial carious lesions in deciduous enamel in a similar way as it has been described for enamel of permanent teeth

Probiotics, prebiotics and immunomodulation of gut mucosal defences: homeostasis and immunopathology.

Probiotics are beneficial microbes that confer a realistic health benefit on the host, which in combination with prebiotics, (indigestible dietary fibre/carbohydrate), also confer a health benefit on the host via products resulting from anaerobic fermentation. There is a growing body of evidence documenting the immune-modulatory ability of probiotic bacteria, it is therefore reasonable to suggest that this is potentiated via a combination of prebiotics and probiotics as a symbiotic mix. The need for probiotic formulations has been appreciated for the health benefits in "topping up your good bacteria" or indeed in an attempt to normalise the dysbiotic microbiota associated with immunopathology. This review will focus on the immunomodulatory role of probiotics and prebiotics on the cells, molecules and immune responses in the gut mucosae, from epithelial barrier to priming of adaptive responses by antigen presenting cells: immune fate decision-tolerance or activation? Modulation of normal homeostatic mechanisms, coupled with findings from probiotic and prebiotic delivery in pathological studies, will highlight the role for these xenobiotics in dysbiosis associated with immunopathology in the context of inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer and hypersensitivity

Oral biofilm models for mechanical plaque removal

In vitro plaque removal studies require biofilm models that resemble in vivo dental plaque. Here, we compare contact and non-contact removal of single and dual-species biofilms as well as of biofilms grown from human whole saliva in vitro using different biofilm models. Bacteria were adhered to a salivary pellicle for 2 h or grown after adhesion for 16 h, after which, their removal was evaluated. In a contact mode, no differences were observed between the manual, rotating, or sonic brushing; and removal was on average 39%, 84%, and 95% for Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus oralis, and Actinomyces naeslundii, respectively, and 90% and 54% for the dual- and multi-species biofilms, respectively. However, in a non-contact mode, rotating and sonic brushes still removed considerable numbers of bacteria (24–40%), while the manual brush as a control (5–11%) did not. Single A. naeslundii and dual-species (A. naeslundii and S. oralis) biofilms were more difficult to remove after 16 h growth than after 2 h adhesion (on average, 62% and 93% for 16- and 2-h-old biofilms, respectively), while in contrast, biofilms grown from whole saliva were easier to remove (97% after 16 h and 54% after 2 h of growth). Considering the strong adhesion of dual-species biofilms and their easier more reproducible growth compared with biofilms grown from whole saliva, dual-species biofilms of A. naeslundii and S. oralis are suggested to be preferred for use in mechanical plaque removal studies in vitro