Induction of potent protection against acute and latent herpes simplex virus infection in mice vaccinated with dendritic cells

Background aims. Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent antigen presenting cells of the immune system and have been under intense study with regard to their use in immunotherapy against cancer and infectious disease agents. In the present study, DCs were employed to assess their value in protection against live virus challenge in an experimental model using lethal and latent herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection in Balb/c mice. Methods. DCs obtained ex vivo in the presence of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and interleukin-4 were loaded with HSV-1 proteins (DC/HSV-1 vaccine). Groups of mice were vaccinated twice, 7 days apart, via subcutaneous, intraperitoneal or intramuscular routes with DC/HSV-1 and with mock (DC without virus protein) and positive (alum adjuvanted HSV-1 proteins [HSV-1/ALH]) control vaccines. After measuring anti-HSV-1 antibody levels in blood samples, mice were given live HSV-1 intraperitoneally or via ear pinna to assess the protection level of the vaccines with respect to lethal or latent infection challenge. Results. Intramuscular, but not subcutaneous or intraperitoneal, administration of DC/HSV-1 vaccine provided complete protection against lethal challenge and establishment of latent infection as assessed by death and virus recovery from the trigeminal ganglia. It was also shown that the immunity was not associated with antibody production because DC/HSV-1 vaccine, as opposed to HSV-1/ALH vaccine, produced very little, if any, HSV-1-specific antibody. Conclusions. Overall, our results may have some impact on the design of vaccines against genital HSV as well as chronic viral infections such as hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus. © 2013, International Society for Cellular Therapy

The antibacterial activity and release of quaternary ammonium compounds in an orthodontic primer

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of 10 wt% benzalkonium chloride (TB-BAC) or 10 wt% cetylpyridinium chloride (TB-CPC) on the antimicrobial properties of the orthodontic adhesive primer, Transbond XT™ (TB). Antimicrobial activity was assessed using a zone of inhibition diffusion test and the release of the antimicrobial compounds was monitored by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Shear bond strength (SBS) was tested using bovine enamel. Control, TB, specimens failed to demonstrate intrinsic antibacterial activity at 1, 7 and 14 days; whereas, TB-BAC and TB-CPC showed antibacterial effects at all times. HPLC analysis indicated no significant differences in the release behaviour of TB-BAC and TB-CPC (t-test, p > 0.05), except for the 7-day release which was higher for TB-BAC (p 0.05)

Microwave-assisted synthesis and antifungal activity of some new 1H-1,2,4-triazole derivatives

Ozil, Musa/0000-0002-1980-1364WOS: 000262537600017A number of 3-aryl-4-arylmethylideneamino-4,5-dihydro-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5-ones were synthesized by reaction of the corresponding aromatic aldehydes with 4-amino-3-aryl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-5-ones in anhydrous ethanol under microwave irradiation. The newly synthesized 1H-1,2,4-triazole derivatives were tested for antimicrobial activity. They showed no antibacterial activity but slight mycostatic activity against some Candida species

Short-term antibacterial activity and compressive strength of biodentine containing chlorhexidine/cetirimide mixtures.

Aim is to evaluate the antibacterial activity and physical properties of Biodentine containing chlorhexidine (CHX)/cetrimide (CT) mixtures at 24 h

Direct and Transdentinal (Indirect) Antibacterial Activity of Commercially Available Dental Gel Formulations against Streptococcus mutans

**Objective** To evaluate the direct and transdentinal (indirect) agar diffusion antibacterial activity of different commercially available antibacterial dental gel formulations against Streptococcus mutans. Materials and **Methods** The commercially available dental gel formulations were Corsodyl® (COG, 1% chlorhexidine), Cervitec® (CEG, 0.2% chlorhexidine + 0.2% sodium fluoride), Forever Bright® (FOB, aloe vera), Gengigel® (GEG, 0.2% hyaluronic acid), 35% phosphoric acid gel and distilled water (control). Direct agar diffusion was performed by isolating three wells from brain-heart infusion agar plates using sterile glass pipettes attached to a vacuum pump and adding 0.1 ml of the gels to each well. Transdentinal (indirect) agar diffusion was performed by applying gel to 0.2- and 0.5-mm-thick human dentin discs previously etched with phosphoric acid and rinsed with distilled water. Zones formed around the wells and the dentin discs were measured and analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests with Bonferroni correction (p 0.01). COG and CEG exhibited higher antibacterial effects compared to FOB and GEG (p < 0.01) in both direct and transdentinal (indirect) testing procedures. GEG did not show any antimicrobial activity in transdentinal (indirect) testing. **Conclusion** Commercially available dental gels inhibited S. mutans, which may indicate their potential as cavity disinfectants

Children in 2077: Designing children's technologies in the age of transhumanism

What for and how will we design children's technologies in the transhumanism age, and what stance will we take as designers? This paper aims to answer this question with 13 fictional abstracts from sixteen authors of different countries, institutions and disciplines. Transhumanist thinking envisions enhancing human body and mind by blending human biology with technological augmentations. Fundamentally, it seeks to improve the human species, yet the impacts of such movement are unknown and the implications on children's lives and technologies were not explored deeply. In an age, where technologies such as under-skin chips or brain-machine interfaces can clearly be defined as transhumanist, our aim is to reveal probable pitfalls and benefits of those technologies on children's lives by using the power of design fiction. Thus, main contribution of this paper is to create diverse presentation of provocative research ideas that will foster the discussion on the transhumanist technologies impacting the lives of children in the future

CEP152 is a genome maintenance protein disrupted in Seckel syndrome

Functional impairment of DNA damage response pathways leads to increased genomic instability. Here we describe the centrosomal protein CEP152 as a new regulator of genomic integrity and cellular response to DNA damage. Using homozygosity mapping and exome sequencing, we identified CEP152 mutations in Seckel syndrome and showed that impaired CEP152 function leads to accumulation of genomic defects resulting from replicative stress through enhanced activation of ATM signaling and increased H2AX phosphorylation