OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the size-dependent toxicity of spherical silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) to an endemic benthic organism, Glyptotendipes tokunagai. METHODS: Ag nanoparticles of three nominal sizes (50, 100, and 150 nm) capped with polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP-Ag NPs) were used. Their physicochemical properties, acute toxicity (48 hours), and bioaccumulation were measured using third instar larvae of G. tokunagai. RESULTS: The aggregation and dissolution of PVP-Ag NPs increased with exposure time and concentration, respectively, particularly for 50 nm PVP-Ag NPs. However, the dissolved concentration of Ag ions was not significant compared with the median lethal concentration value for AgNO3 (3.51 mg/L). The acute toxicity of PVP-Ag NPs was highest for the smallest particles (50 nm), whereas bioaccumulation was greatest for the largest particles (150 nm). However, larger PVP-Ag NPs were absorbed and excreted rapidly, resulting in shorter stays in G. tokunagai than the smaller ones. CONCLUSIONS: The size of PVP-Ag NPs significantly affects their acute toxicity to G. tokunagai. In particular, smaller PVP-Ag NPs have a higher solubility and stay longer in the body of G. tokunagai, resulting in higher toxicity than larger PVP-Ag NPs.
Chironomidae ; Ions ; Larva ; Nanoparticles* ; Polyvinyls ; Silver* ; Solubility

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the size-dependent toxicity of spherical silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) to an endemic benthic organism, Glyptotendipes tokunagai. METHODS: Ag nanoparticles of three nominal sizes (50, 100, and 150 nm) capped with polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP-Ag NPs) were used. Their physicochemical properties, acute toxicity (48 hours), and bioaccumulation were measured using third instar larvae of G. tokunagai. RESULTS: The aggregation and dissolution of PVP-Ag NPs increased with exposure time and concentration, respectively, particularly for 50 nm PVP-Ag NPs. However, the dissolved concentration of Ag ions was not significant compared with the median lethal concentration value for AgNO3 (3.51 mg/L). The acute toxicity of PVP-Ag NPs was highest for the smallest particles (50 nm), whereas bioaccumulation was greatest for the largest particles (150 nm). However, larger PVP-Ag NPs were absorbed and excreted rapidly, resulting in shorter stays in G. tokunagai than the smaller ones. CONCLUSIONS: The size of PVP-Ag NPs significantly affects their acute toxicity to G. tokunagai. In particular, smaller PVP-Ag NPs have a higher solubility and stay longer in the body of G. tokunagai, resulting in higher toxicity than larger PVP-Ag NPs.
Chironomidae ; Ions ; Larva ; Nanoparticles* ; Polyvinyls ; Silver* ; Solubility

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The risk of herpes zoster (HZ) among patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains unclear in terms of age and metabolic comorbidities, including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or dyslipidemia. We conducted a nationwide population-based study to investigate the risk of HZ in patients with IBD. METHODS: From 2010 to 2013, a retrospective study was performed using claims data in Korea. We compared the incidence of HZ between 30,100 IBD patients (10,517 Crohn’s disease [CD] and 19,583 ulcerative colitis [UC] patients) and 150,500 non-IBD controls matched by age and sex. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 5.0 years, incidence rates of HZ (per 1,000 person-years) were 13.60, 14.99, and 9.19 in the CD, UC, and control groups, respectively. The risk of HZ was significantly higher in patients with CD (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 2.13; p<0.001) and UC (adjusted HR, 1.40; p<0.001) than in the controls. The impact of CD on developing HZ was significantly more prominent in younger patients (adjusted HR, 2.61 for age <15, whereas 1.39 for age ≥60; interaction p=0.001) and in patients without metabolic comorbidities (adjusted HR, 2.24, whereas 1.59 in those with metabolic comorbidities; interaction p=0.015). Moreover, the impact of UC on developing HZ significantly increased in younger patients (adjusted HR, 2.51 in age <15, whereas 1.22 in age ≥60; interaction p=0.014) and patients without metabolic comorbidities (adjusted HR, 1.49 whereas 1.16 in those with metabolic comorbidities; interaction p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: IBD was associated with an increased risk of HZ, especially in younger patients without metabolic comorbidities.
Colitis, Ulcerative ; Comorbidity ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Dyslipidemias ; Follow-Up Studies ; Herpes Zoster ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Korea ; Retrospective Studies

The effect of acupuncture in the treatment of young pigs with induced enteropathogenic Escherichia coli diarrhea was histopathologically evaluated by routine hematoxylin and eosin stain. Thirty two pigs weighed 4-5kg and aged 21days old were used in this study. The animals with diarrhea were treated with traditional acupuncture, or enrofloxacin. In the group treated with traditional acupuncture, acupoint GV1 (Jiaochao) was used and in the group treated with antibiotics, enrofloxacin was injected intramuscularly. Ten pigs were inoculated with E. coli, but were not treated and served as nontreated control group. At postinoculation day 6, all pigs of the acupuncture and antibiotic treated groups recovered from diarrhea. In the ascending and descending colons of the nontreated control group, severe infiltration of inflammatory cells in the lamina propria was observed and in the fundic stomach, destruction of the fundic gland architecture and necrotic lesions were observed, however, in the same sites of the acupuncture and antibiotics treated groups, the mucosae of the colon and stomach were relatively similar to those of the normal group. These results indicate that acupuncture treatment is effective in controlling induced E. coli diarrhea in pigs at its early stage.
Acupuncture ; Animals ; Colon/cytology/microbiology/pathology ; Diarrhea/therapy/*veterinary ; Escherichia coli Infections/therapy/*veterinary ; Gastric Mucosa/cytology/microbiology/pathology ; Intestinal Mucosa/cytology/microbiology/pathology ; Male ; Stomach/cytology/microbiology/pathology ; Swine ; Swine Diseases/*microbiology/therapy