Innovative antimicrobial coating of titanium implants with iodine

Background: Postoperative infection associated with implants remains a serious complication in orthopedic surgery. Several biomaterial surface treatments have been proposed as a means of reducing the incidence of implantassociated infections. In this study, a clinical trial was performed using an iodine-supported titanium that suppresses the microbial activities. Methods: A total of 222 patients with postoperative infection or compromised status were treated using iodinesupported titanium implants. The mean age of the patients was 49.4 years (range 5-85 years). One hundred twentyseven patients were male and 95 were female. In 158 patients, iodine-supported implants were used to prevent infection, such as compromised hosts and conditions, and in 64 patients to treat active infection. White blood cell (WBCs) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were measured pre- and postoperatively in all patients. To confirm whether iodine from the implant affected physiological functions, thyroid hormone levels in the blood were examined. Both examinations were conducted sequentially for a year. Radiological evaluations were performed regularly after the operation. The chronological changes of the iodine amount were evaluated using half pins removed after completion of external fixation. Results: The mean follow-up period was 18.4 months (range 3-44 months). Acute infection developed in three tumor cases among the 158 patients on preventive therapy. All three recovered without removal of the implants. Infection was cured in all 64 patients with infection. Median WBC levels were in the normal range, and median CRP levels returned to <0.5 within 4 weeks after surgery. Abnormalities of thyroid gland function were not detected. None of the patients experienced loosening of the implants. There were two patients with mechanical implant failure, which was treated by re-implantation. Excellent bone ingrowth and ongrowth were found around all hip and tumor prostheses. One year later, the amount of iodine on external fixation pins remained about 20-30 %. Conclusions: Iodine-supported titanium implants can be very effective for preventing and treating infections after orthopedic surgery. Cytotoxicity and adverse effects were not detected

Evaluation of Antibodies Induced by the Injection of Single Capsid Protein or Purified Virus Particle of Coxsackievirus B3 in Mice

Four capsid proteins (VP1, VP2, VP3, and VP4) of coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) were expressed as re-combinant proteins in an Escherichia coli expression system and used as antigens for subunit vac-cines against CVB3 in ICR mice. Antigens were expressed as thioredoxin-histidine (TrxHis)-tagged protein and purified before immunization. Although all VPs other than VP4 induced anti-CVB3 specific antibodies in mice (detected by ELISA and western blotting), they did not neutralize the infectious CVB3 in a virus neutralization assay. Meanwhile, 2 virus strains were purified from CVB3 virus stock on the basis of their plaque size on HeLa cells. ICR mice were infected with the 2 purified virus strains (S-strain and L-strain) and unpurified virus stock (wild type) to analyze the difference in antibody responses against infections of purified and unpurified virus strains. The reactivity of antisera against each virus strain was tested by ELISA, and the results showed that th

Time-of-Day-Dependent Variations of Scratching Behavior and Transepidermal Water Loss in Mice that Developed Atopic Dermatitis

ABSTRACT. Scratching and skin barrier dysfunctions are pivotal features and therapeutic targets of atopic dermatitis (AD); however, time-of-day-dependent variations of these characteristics remain unclear. NC/Tnd mice have been shown to exhibit severe scratching behavior and skin barrier disruption together with the development of spontaneous atopic dermatitis when they are raised under air-uncontrolled environ-ment. In the present study, time-of-day-dependent variations of scratching behavior and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) were evaluated in NC/Tnd mice that developed moderate to severe AD. Analysis of the mice for 24 hr revealed that scratching frequency and duration were increased from in the afternoon to the nocturnal period when locomotor activity was low, and scratching behavior was decreased in the morning. The highest scratching frequency and duration were 3.8- and 4.1-fold increases in the lowest scratching frequency and duration, respectively. In addition, TEWL on the dorsal skin lesion was decreased in the diurnal period, while that was increased in the nocturnal period. The highest TEWL was a 1.3-fold increase in the lowest TEWL. Significant daily variations were detected in scratching frequency and duration and TEWL. These results indicate that NC/Tnd mice are an appropriate mouse model to investigate time-of-day-dependent variations of scratching behavior and skin barrier dysfunctions associated with AD. KEY WORDS: animal model, atopic dermatitis, itch, time-of-day-dependent variations, transepidermal water loss doi: 10.1292/jvms.14-0173; J. Vet. Med. Sci. 76(11): 1501–1504, 2014 Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic and relapsing inflam-matory skin disorder that affects approximately 10–20 % o

Development of one-step real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR-based assays for the rapid and simultaneous detection of four viruses causing porcine diarrhea

Porcine diarrhea caused by viruses is a major problem of the pig farming industry and can result in substantial losses of revenue. Thus, diagnosing the infectious agents is important to prevent and control diseases in pigs. We developed novel one-step real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qPCR) assays that can detect four porcine diarrheal viruses simultaneously: porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), and porcine group A rotavirus (PRVA). The qPCR analysis takes only 75 minutes to detect the presence of the four viruses. The limits of detection of our new assays for PEDV, TGEV, PDCoV, and PRVA were 100, 10, 10 and 10 copies per reaction, respectively. The sensitivity of qPCR was 1-1000 times higher than that of published gel-based RT-PCR. We used our qPCR method to successfully diagnose clinical samples from infected pigs, and no false positive results were obtained. In conclusion, qPCR can drastically reduce the diagnostic time to detect viruses compared to currently employed methods. We predict that the qPCR assays will become a useful tool for detecting viral infections that cause diarrhea and other complications in pigs

Innovative antimicrobial coating of titanium implants with iodine

BACKGROUND: Postoperative infection associated with implants remains a serious complication in orthopedic surgery. Several biomaterial surface treatments have been proposed as a means of reducing the incidence of implant-associated infections. In this study, a clinical trial was performed using an iodine-supported titanium that suppresses the microbial activities. METHODS: A total of 222 patients with postoperative infection or compromised status were treated using iodine-supported titanium implants. The mean age of the patients was 49.4 years (range 5–85 years). One hundred twenty-seven patients were male and 95 were female. In 158 patients, iodine-supported implants were used to prevent infection, such as compromised hosts and conditions, and in 64 patients to treat active infection. White blood cell (WBCs) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were measured pre- and postoperatively in all patients. To confirm whether iodine from the implant affected physiological functions, thyroid hormone levels in the blood were examined. Both examinations were conducted sequentially for a year. Radiological evaluations were performed regularly after the operation. The chronological changes of the iodine amount were evaluated using half pins removed after completion of external fixation. RESULTS: The mean follow-up period was 18.4 months (range 3–44 months). Acute infection developed in three tumor cases among the 158 patients on preventive therapy. All three recovered without removal of the implants. Infection was cured in all 64 patients with infection. Median WBC levels were in the normal range, and median CRP levels returned to <0.5 within 4 weeks after surgery. Abnormalities of thyroid gland function were not detected. None of the patients experienced loosening of the implants. There were two patients with mechanical implant failure, which was treated by re-implantation. Excellent bone ingrowth and ongrowth were found around all hip and tumor prostheses. One year later, the amount of iodine on external fixation pins remained about 20–30 %. CONCLUSIONS: Iodine-supported titanium implants can be very effective for preventing and treating infections after orthopedic surgery. Cytotoxicity and adverse effects were not detected

Nipah Virus Survey of Flying Foxes in Malaysia

An outbreak of Nipah virus infection occurred in 1998 in Malaysia in which a total of more than 1 million pigs were culled and 109 people died from this disease. Samples were collected from frugivorous bats living in Malaysia that were considered to be a natural reservoir of Nipah virus. There were two kinds of fruit bats, the so-called flying fox and the small fruit bat. Samples were collected from small fruit bats and flying foxes caught by mist net traps. No antibody and no Nipah virus were detected from the samples of small fruit bat. However, an average 18% and 63% positive for antibody were detected from the samples of flying foxes living in the islands (Island flying fox) and peninsula of Malaysia (Malayan flying fox), respectively. Nipah virus was not isolated from either of the flying foxes. However, Nipah virus gene was detected from Malayan flying fox by real-time PCR. Reovirus like virus and other unknown viruses were isolated from Malayan flying foxes. From these results, flying fox was an important natural reservoir of Nipah virus and especially Malayan flying fox was considered to be more important as a natural reservoir