Efficacy of Antibacterial Bioactive Glass S53P4 Against S. aureus Biofilms Grown on Titanium Discs In Vitro

ABSTRACT: We evaluated the effectiveness of different sizes of bioactive glass S53P4 against Staphylococcus aureus biofilms grown on metal discs in vitro. S. aureus biofilms were cultivated on titanium discs. BAG-S53P4 (0.5–0.8mm and <45 mm) were placed in contact with the discs containing biofilms. Glass beads (0.5mm) were used as a control. After each interval, the pH from each sample was measured. Colony forming units were counted for the biofilm recovery verification. In parallel, we tested the activity of bioactive glass against S. aureus planktonic cells. We found that BAG-S53P4 can suppress S. aureus biofilm formation on titanium discs in vitro. The suppression rate of biofilm cells by BAG-S53P4 <45mm was significantly higher than by BAG-S53P4 0.5–0.8mm. BAG-S53P4 has a clear growth-inhibitory effect on S. aureus biofilms. BAG-S53P4 <45mm is more efficient against biofilm growth in vitro comparing with BAG-S53P4 0.5–0.8mm. Bioactive glass S53P4 has potential to be used as bone substitute for the resolution of infection complications in joint replacement surgeries and treatment of chronic osteomyelitis. 2013 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 32:175–177, 2014

BAG-S53P4 as an Additive to Bone Allografts: A Laboratory Study Using an Uniaxial Compression Test

ABSTRACT: We want to address the clinical issue of too sparse supply of allograft in total hip replacement and ambitions of controlling the grain size distribution. Bioglass BAG-S53P4 was evaluated as a bone graft additive to chemically treated allografts with controlled grain size distribution. Allografts were chemically cleaned (CG) and mixed with BAG-S53P4 additive (BG) for comparison. All samples were compacted with a dropped weight apparatus and then underwent a uniaxial compression test. The yield limit was determined by a uniaxial compression test and density was recorded while flowability was calculated. There was no difference between the yield stress limit of BG and CG after compaction (p¼0.432). Adding BAG-S53P4 reduced flowability and could indicate better interlocking mechanism between particles. Adding BAG-S53P4 seems to have no impact on the yield stress limit. The extended allografts withstand the compaction equally good which makes it a valid bone substitute in total hip replacement. An in vivo loaded study is needed before clinical use can be recommended

Search for CP Violation in the Decay Z -> b (b bar) g

About three million hadronic decays of the Z collected by ALEPH in the years 1991-1994 are used to search for anomalous CP violation beyond the Standard Model in the decay Z -> b \bar{b} g. The study is performed by analyzing angular correlations between the two quarks and the gluon in three-jet events and by measuring the differential two-jet rate. No signal of CP violation is found. For the combinations of anomalous CP violating couplings, ${\hat{h}}_b = {\hat{h}}_{Ab}g_{Vb}-{\hat{h}}_{Vb}g_{Ab}$ and $h^{\ast}_b = \sqrt{\hat{h}_{Vb}^{2}+\hat{h}_{Ab}^{2}}$, limits of \hat{h}_b < 0.59$and$h^{\ast}_{b} < 3.02$ are given at 95\% CL.Comment: 8 pages, 1 postscript figure, uses here.sty, epsfig.st

The Iceman's Last Meal Consisted of Fat, Wild Meat, and Cereals

The history of humankind is marked by the constant adoption of new dietary habits affecting human physiology, metabolism, and even the development of nutrition-related disorders. Despite clear archaeological evidence for the shift from hunter-gatherer lifestyle to agriculture in Neolithic Europe [1], very little information exists on the daily dietary habits of our ancestors. By undertaking a complementary -omics approach combined with microscopy, we analyzed the stomach content of the Iceman, a 5,300-yearold European glacier mummy [2, 3]. He seems to have had a remarkably high proportion of fat in his diet, supplemented with fresh or dried wild meat, cereals, and traces of toxic bracken. Our multipronged approach provides unprecedented analytical depth, deciphering the nutritional habit, meal composition, and food-processing methods of this Copper Age individual

Comprehensive genomic profiles of small cell lung cancer

We have sequenced the genomes of 110 small cell lung cancers (SCLC), one of the deadliest human cancers. In nearly all the tumours analysed we found bi-allelic inactivation of TP53 and RB1, sometimes by complex genomic rearrangements. Two tumours with wild-type RB1 had evidence of chromothripsis leading to overexpression of cyclin D1 (encoded by the CCND1 gene), revealing an alternative mechanism of Rb1 deregulation. Thus, loss of the tumour suppressors TP53 and RB1 is obligatory in SCLC. We discovered somatic genomic rearrangements of TP73 that create an oncogenic version of this gene, TP73Dex2/3. In rare cases, SCLC tumours exhibited kinase gene mutations, providing a possible therapeutic opportunity for individual patients. Finally, we observed inactivating mutations in NOTCH family genes in 25% of human SCLC. Accordingly, activation of Notch signalling in a pre-clinical SCLC mouse model strikingly reduced the number of tumours and extended the survival of the mutant mice. Furthermore, neuroendocrine gene expression was abrogated by Notch activity in SCLC cells. This first comprehensive study of somatic genome alterations in SCLC uncovers several key biological processes and identifies candidate therapeutic targets in this highly lethal form of cancer

Constraints on anomalous QGC's in e+e−e^{+}e^{-} interactions from 183 to 209 GeV

The acoplanar photon pairs produced in the reaction e(+) e(-) - → vvyy are analysed in the 700 pb(-1) of data collected by the ALEPH detector at centre-of-mass energies between 183 and 209 GeV. No deviation from the Standard Model predictions is seen in any of the distributions examined. The resulting 95% C.L. limits set on anomalous QGCs, a(0)(Z), a(c)(Z), a(0)(W) and a(c)(W), are -0.012 lt a(0)(Z)/Lambda(2) lt +0.019 GeV-2, -0.041 lt a(c)(Z)/Lambda(2) lt +0.044 GeV-2, -0.060 lt a(0)(W)/Lambda(2) lt +0.055 GeV-2, -0.099 lt a(c)(W)/Lambda(2) lt +0.093 GeV-2, where Lambda is the energy scale of the new physics responsible for the anomalous couplings