Yoko Tomita

Bacterium organizes hierarchical amorphous structure in microbial cellulose

Abstract.A pellicle, a gel film of microbial cellulose, is a supermolecular system containing 99% of water by weight, which is closely related to an amorphous structure in it. Using ultra-small-angle neutron scattering, in order to cover over a wide range of length scales from nm to 10μm, we examined the hierarchical amorphous structure in the microbial cellulose, which is synthesized by a bacterium (Acetobacter xylinum). The microbial cellulose swollen by water shows small-angle scattering that obeys a power law q -behavior according to q-α as a function of the magnitude of the scattering vector q . The power law, determined by scattering, is attributed to a mass fractal due to the distribution of the center of mass for the crystallite (microfibril) in amorphous cellulose swollen by water. As q increases, α takes the values of 2.5, 1, and 2.35, corresponding, respectively, to a gel network composed of bundles, a bundle composed of cellulose ribbons, and concentration fluctuations in a bundle. From the mass fractal q -behavior and its length scale limits, we evaluated a volume fraction of crystallite in microbial cellulose. It was found that 90% of the cellulose bundle is occupied by amorphous cellulose containing water.

Prosthetic aspects in adult osteopetrosis.

Osteopetrosis (OP) is a rare condition characterized by skeletal sclerosis caused by dysfunctional osteoclasts. Though many reports have described severe infantile-malignant autosomal recessive OP, few have described the prosthetic management of adult OP. This report discusses the prosthetic treatment of adult OP. Although prosthodontists should try to reconstruct occlusal function as much as possible, a conservative prosthodontic approach may be a reasonable and recommended treatment option for minimizing the risk of further osteomyelitis and osteonecrosis.

Generation and histomorphometric evaluation of a novel fluvastatin-containing poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) membrane for guided bone regeneration

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) membrane containing fluvastatin on bone regeneration at bone defects in rat calvaria and tibia for possible use as a guided bone regeneration (GBR) membrane. PLGA and fluvastatin-containing PLGA (PLGA–fluvastatin) membranes were prepared and mechanical properties were evaluated. Standardized bony defects were created in rat calvaria and the right tibia, and covered with a PLGA or PLGA–fluvastatin membrane. Bone regeneration was evaluated using image analysis based on histologic examination. At 4 and 8 weeks after membrane implantation, the PLGA–fluvastatin group displayed enhanced new bone formation around the edge of the defect compared with the PLGA membrane group in the calvarial model. Thick bone regeneration was observed in tibia-defect sites in the PLGA–fluvastatin membrane group. These results suggest that the PLGA-containing fluvastatin membrane prepared in this study may potentially be used as a GBR membrane.