Inhibitory Effects of Shikonin Dispersion, an Extract of Lithospermum erythrorhizon Encapsulated in ß-1,3-1,6 Glucan, on Streptococcus mutans and Non-Mutans Streptococci.

Shikonin is extracted from the roots of Lithospermum erythrorhizon, and shikonin extracts have been shown to have inhibitory effects on several bacteria. However, shikonin extracts are difficult to formulate because of their poor water solubility. In the present study, we prepared a shikonin dispersion, which was solubilized by the inclusion of ß-1,3-1,6 glucan, and analysed the inhibitory effects of this dispersion on Streptococcus mutans and non-mutans streptococci. The shikonin dispersion showed pronounced anti-S. mutans activity, and inhibited growth of and biofilm formation by this bacterium. The shikonin dispersion also showed antimicrobial and antiproliferative effects against non-mutans streptococci. In addition, a clinical trial was conducted in which 20 subjects were asked to brush their teeth for 1 week using either shikonin dispersion-containing or non-containing toothpaste, respectively. The shikonin-containing toothpaste decreased the number of S. mutans in the oral cavity, while no such effect was observed after the use of the shikonin-free toothpaste. These results suggest that shikonin dispersion has an inhibitory effect on S. mutans and non-mutans streptococci, and toothpaste containing shikonin dispersion may be effective in preventing dental caries.

Inhibitory Effect of Adsorption of Streptococcus mutans onto Scallop-Derived Hydroxyapatite.

Hydroxyapatite adsorbs various substances, but little is known about the effects on oral bacteria of adsorption onto hydroxyapatite derived from scallop shells. In the present study, we analyzed the effects of adsorption of Streptococcus mutans onto scallop-derived hydroxyapatite. When scallop-derived hydroxyapatite was mixed with S. mutans, a high proportion of the bacterial cells adsorbed onto the hydroxyapatite in a time-dependent manner. An RNA sequencing analysis of S. mutans adsorbed onto hydroxyapatite showed that the upregulation of genes resulted in abnormalities in pathways involved in glycogen and histidine metabolism and biosynthesis compared with cells in the absence of hydroxyapatite. S. mutans adsorbed onto hydroxyapatite was not killed, but the growth of the bacteria was inhibited. Electron microscopy showed morphological changes in S. mutans cells adsorbed onto hydroxyapatite. Our results suggest that hydroxyapatite derived from scallop shells showed a high adsorption ability for S. mutans. This hydroxyapatite also caused changes in gene expression related to the metabolic and biosynthetic processes, including the glycogen and histidine of S. mutans, which may result in a morphological change in the surface layer and the inhibition of the growth of the bacteria.

Simulations tackle abrupt massive migrations of energetic beam ions in a tokamak plasma.

In the late 1990s, fusion scientists at the Japanese tokamak JT-60U discovered abrupt large-amplitude events during beam-driven deuterium plasma experiments. A large spike in the magnetic fluctuation signal followed by a drop in the neutron emission rate indicates that energetic ions abruptly migrate out of the plasma core during an intense burst of Alfvén waves that lasts only 0.3 ms. With continued beam injection, the energetic ion population recovers until the next event occurs 40-60 ms later. Here we present results from simulations that successfully reproduce multiple migration cycles and report numerical and experimental evidence for the multi-mode nature of these intermittent phenomena. Moreover, we elucidate the role of collisional slow-down and show that the large-amplitude Alfvénic fluctuations can drive magnetic reconnection and induce macroscopic magnetic islands. In this way, our simulations allow us to gradually unravel the underlying physical processes and develop predictive capabilities.

Development of radially movable multichannel Reynolds stress probe system for a cylindrical laboratory plasma.

A new radially movable multichannel azimuthal probe system has been developed for measuring azimuthal and radial profiles of electrostatic Reynolds stress (RS) per mass density of microscale fluctuations for a cylindrical laboratory plasma. The system is composed of 16 probe units arranged azimuthally. Each probe unit has six electrodes to simultaneously measure azimuthal and radial electric fields for obtaining RS. The advantage of the system is that each probe unit is radially movable to measure azimuthal RS profiles at arbitrary radial locations as well as two-dimensional structures of fluctuations. The first result from temporal observation of fluctuation azimuthal profile presents that a low-frequency fluctuation (1-2 kHz) synchronizes oscillating Reynolds stress. In addition, radial scanning of the probe system simultaneously demonstrates two-dimensional patterns of mode structure and nonlinear forces with frequency f = 1.5 kHz and azimuthal mode number m = 1.

Epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma of the submandibular gland with a high uptake of 18F-FDG: a case report and image diagnosis.

Epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma (EMC) is a rare low-grade malignant salivary gland neoplasm typically found in the parotid gland. This report describes a case of EMC that arose from the submandibular gland, and gives special emphasis to the preoperative diagnostic value of positron emission tomography (PET) in combination with computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Although a preoperative diagnostically specific image of EMC could not be established, the malignant nature of this tumor was detected by these combined examinations.

Novel turbulence trigger for neoclassical tearings mode in tokamaks.

A stochastic trigger by microturbulence for a neoclassical tearing mode (NTM) is studied. The NTM induces a topological change of magnetic structure and has a subcritical nature. The transition rate of the probability density function for and statistically averaged amplitude of the NTM are obtained. The boundary in the phase diagram is determined as the statistical long time average of the transition conditions. The NTM can be excited by crossing this boundary even in the absence of other global instabilities.

On the chaotic nature of turbulence observed in benchmark analysis of nonlinear plasma simulation.

Simulational results of two dissipative interchange turbulence (Rayleigh-Taylor-type instability with dissipation) models with the same physics are compared. The convective nonlinearity is the nonlinear mechanism in the models. They are shown to have different time evolutions in the nonlinear phase due to the different initial value which is attributed to the initial noise. In the first model (A), a single pressure representing the sum of the ion and electron components is used (one-fluid model). In the second model (B) the ion and electron components of the pressure fields are independently solved (two-fluid model). Both models become physically identical if we set ion and electron pressure fields to be equal in the model (B). The initial conditions only differ by the infinitesimally small initial noise due to the roundoff errors which comes from the finite difference but not the differentiation. This noise grows in accordance with the nonlinear development of the turbulence mode. Interaction with an intrinsic nonlinearity of the system makes the noise grow, whose contribution becomes almost the same magnitude of the fluctuation itself in the results. The instantaneous deviation shows the chaotic characteristics of the turbulence. (c) 1997 American Institute of Physics.