Multiwalled carbon nanotube coating on titanium

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have excellent chemical durability, mechanical strength, and electrical properties. Therefore, there is interest in CNTs for not only electrical and mechanical applications, but also biological and medical applications. We coated titanium, a common material for dental implants, with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). First, titanium was aminated and covered with collagen. Then, the carboxylated MWCNTs were coated onto the collagen attached to the titanium plate. The collagen-coated titanium plate had a homogeneous MWCNT coating, which showed strong attachment to the titanium surface as a thin layer. The surface roughness was significantly increased with the MWCNT coating. MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured on the MWCNT-coated Ti plate, and showed good cell proliferation and strong cell adhesion. Therefore, the MWCNT coating for titanium could be useful for improvement of cell adhesion on titanium implants

Development of a multiwalled carbon nanotube coated collagen dish

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are one of the most interesting nanomaterials because of their excellent characteristics. In this study, a transparent CNTs coating for cell culture dishes was developed and its properties for cell culture were estimated. Carboxylated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were dispersed in aqueous sodium cholate solution and applied on a collagen type I-coated cell culture dish (cover glass). The dish surface was homogeneously covered by MWCNTs without aggregation. The MWCNT-coated dish was slightly gray and had good transparency, so conventional optical microscopic observation of the cells on the MWCNT-coated dish was possible. Rat osteoblast-like cells cultured on the MWCNT-coated dish showed slightly lower viability and proliferation compared to the collagen-coated dish. The cell adhesion on the MWCNT-coated dish was much higher than that on the collagen-coated dish. Therefore, MWCNT-coating for dishes will be a useful new material for cell culture

Acute Mental Health Needs Duration during Major Disasters: A Phenomenological Experience of Disaster Psychiatric Assistance Teams (DPATs) in Japan

Background: How long acute mental health needs continue after the disaster are problems which must be addressed in the treatment of victims. The aim of this study is to determine victims’ needs by examining activity data from Disaster Psychiatric Assistance Teams (DPATs) in Japan. Methods: Data from four disasters were extracted from the disaster mental health information support system (DMHISS) database, and the transition of the number of consultations and the activity period were examined. Results: Common to all four disasters, the number of consultations increased rapidly from 0–2 days, reaching a peak within about a week. The partial correlation coefficient between the number of days of activity and the maximum number of victims showed significance. The number of victims and days of activity can be used to obtain a regression curve. Conclusions: This is the first report to reveal that mental health needs are the greatest in the hyper-acute stage, and the need for consultation and the duration of needs depends on the number of victims

Analysis of factors associated with hesitation to restart farming after depopulation of animals due to 2010 foot-and-mouth disease epidemic in Japan

An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) occurred in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, in 2010. This epidemic was controlled with culling and vaccination, and resulted in the death of nearly 290,000 animals. This paper describes the factors associated with hesitation to restart farming after the epidemic. A questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the mental health of farmers one year after the end of the FMD epidemic in affected areas, and univariate and multivariable analyses were performed. Of 773 farms which had answered the question about restart farming, 55.4% (428/773) had resumed or were planning to resume operation. The farms hesitated restarting were characterized by small scale (P=0.06) and having multiple sources of income (P<0.01). Personal attributes associated with hesitation to restart were advanced age of the owner (P<0.01), with someone with bad physical conditions (P=0.04) and small family size (P<0.01). Factors related to disease control during the epidemic that were associated with hesitation to restart were vaccination of animals (P<0.01), not assisting with culling on other farms (P<0.01), and higher satisfaction with information provided by the government (P=0.02). We found that farmers hesitated to resume farming because they had a limited labor force, had an alternative business or were mentally distressed during disease control

Induction of the Hyaluronic Acid-Binding Protein, Tumor Necrosis Factor-Stimulated Gene-6, in Cervical Smooth Muscle Cells by Tumor Necrosis Factor-α and Prostaglandin E(2)

Immediately before parturition the cervix undergoes striking changes in structure (ripening) that facilitate dilatation and effacement. Cervical ripening shares many features in common with inflammation-associated tissue remodeling, making it a valuable process to explore with respect to the biochemical events in extracellular matrix restructuring. Cervical ripening can be pharmacologically induced with prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)). Among the biochemical changes in the cervix at parturition is a marked increase in the hyaluronic acid (HA) content. HA and HA-binding proteins have been implicated in tissue hydration, release of collagenase, and leukocyte migration, but their roles in cervical ripening have not been explored. In the present study we examined the ability of PGE(2) to induce expression of the HA-binding protein, tumor necrosis factor-stimulated gene (TSG)-6, in human cervical smooth muscle cells (hCSMCs) and compared the PGE(2) response to that of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), an established inducer of TSG-6. TNF-α stimulated TSG-6 mRNA accumulation in a dose- and time-dependent manner, with the maximal response observed at 10 ng/ml after 6 hours of incubation. PGE(2) stimulated TSG-6 mRNA expression, but the magnitude of response was substantially less than that produced by TNF-α, and it was maximal only after 24 hours of incubation. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to assess the induction of TSG-6 mRNA and nascent transcripts at 24 hours of treatment. Induction of TSG-6 mRNA and nascent transcripts in response to 10 μmol/L of PGE(2) was 5.7-fold and 6.3-fold greater than control values, respectively, whereas TNF-α (10 ng/ml) induced TSG-6 mRNA and nascent transcripts by 80-fold and 134-fold, respectively. TNF-α and PGE(2) stimulated secretion of TSG-6 into the culture medium as detected by Western blotting. The effects of PGE(2) on secretion of TSG-6 were delayed compared to TNF-α. A 1.3-kb fragment of the human TSG-6 proximal promoter drove luciferase expression in transfected hCSMCs. PGE(2) increased TSG-6 promoter activity 1.75-fold. Paradoxically, TNF-α reduced TSG-6 promoter activity by 50%. We conclude that hCSMCs express the hyaladherin TSG-6; that TSG-6 expression in these cells is regulated by PGE(2) as well as proinflammatory cytokines; responses of hCSMCs to TNF-α and PGE(2) are distinct in terms of magnitude and the time course; and PGE(2) and TNF-α exert different effects on the TSG-6 proximal promoter