Frictional and bone ingrowth properties of engineered surface topographies produced by electron beam technology

Contains fulltext : 96937.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)BACKGROUND: Electron beam melting (E-beam) is a new technology to produce 3-dimensional surface topographies for cementless orthopedic implants. METHODS: The friction coefficients of two newly developed E-beam produced surface topographies were in vitro compared with sandblasted E-beam and titanium plasma sprayed controls. Bone ingrowth (direct bone-implant contact) was determined by implanting the samples in the femoral condyles of 6 goats for a period of 6 weeks. RESULTS: Friction coefficients of the new structures were comparable to the titanium plasma sprayed control. The direct bone-implant contact was 23.9 and 24.5% for the new surface structures. Bone-implant contact of the sandblasted and titanium plasma sprayed control was 18.2 and 25.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The frictional and bone ingrowth properties of the E-beam produced surface structures are similar to the plasma-sprayed control. However, since the maximal bone ingrowth had not been reached for the E-beam structures during the relatively short-term period, longer-term follow-up studies are needed to assess whether the E-beam structures lead to a better long-term performance than surfaces currently in use, such as titanium plasma spray coating

An antibiotic produced by an insect-pathogenic bacterium suppresses host defenses through phenoloxidase inhibition

Photorhabdus is a virulent pathogen that kills its insect host by overcoming immune responses. The bacterium also secretes a range of antibiotics to suppress the growth of other invading microorganisms. Here we show that Photorhabdus produces a small-molecule antibiotic (E)-1,3-dihydroxy-2-(isopropyl)-5-(2-phenylethenyl)benzene (ST) that also acts as an inhibitor of phenoloxidase (PO) in the insect host Manduca sexta. The Photorhabdus gene stlA encodes an enzyme that produces cinnamic acid, a key precursor for production of ST, and a mutation in stlA results in loss of ST production and PO inhibitory activity, which are both restored by genetic complementation of the mutant and also by supplying cinnamic acid. ST is produced both in vitro and in vivo in sufficient quantities to account for PO inhibition and is the only detectable solvent-extractable inhibitor. A Photorhabdus stlA− mutant is significantly less virulent, proliferates slower within the host, and provokes the formation of significantly more melanotic nodules than wild-type bacteria. Virulence of the stlA− mutant is also rescued by supplying cinnamic acid. The proximate cause of the virulence effect, however, is the inhibition of PO, because the effect of the stlA− mutation on virulence is abolished in insects in which PO has been knocked down by RNA interference (RNAi). Thus, ST has a dual function both as a PO inhibitor to counter host immune reactions and also as an antibiotic to exclude microbial competitors from the insect cadaver

Chapter 14: Unresolved Issues and Future Perspectives

The last years witnessed an important progress in the diagnosis and treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), improving prognosis and life expectancy. However, some important issues in clinical management remain unresolved. The role of genetic testing, the arrhythmic stratification, and the therapeutic approach still represent areas of uncertainty. The way for improving care of DCM should go through better understanding of the etiological basis of the disease, appropriate risk stratification, and development of new therapies. The abovementioned issues represent the most important and demanding challenges for the next future research on DCM