Dental Attrition and its Association With the Signs and Symptoms of TMJ Dysfunction and Radiographic Condylar Changes - An Observational Study.

To determine the level of dental attrition and its relation to signs of TMJ dysfunction adding to condylar alterations analyzed by conventional TMJ Tomography and to propose the correlation between dental attrition and signs of TMJ dysfunction and condylar changes. Patients for the study were selected from the regular outpatient Department of Oral Medicine, Diagnosis and Radiology, Rajah Muthiah Dental College and Hospital, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, with performed criteria. The radiographic examination of TMJ is performed by the PLANMECA OPG machine using the tomographic program. Statistical analysis was performed using a Chi-square test to determine the relation between attrition and temporomandidular disorders [TMD] signs and symptoms. The study group comprises 60 subjects who are having dental attrition, and they are divided into three groups according to their age: Group I, 20-40 age; Group II, 41-60 age; Group III, more than 60 age 80% of the samples had one or more tooth with significant attrition with grades of two or more on a 0-4 scale The prevalence of changes in condylar morphology was more in individuals above 40 yrs (33.33%) as compared to those below the age of 40 with a total prevalence of 41.67%. The most common symptom reported is tooth sensitivity, joint sounds, and muscle tenderness. The last reported are scalloped tongue, buccal mucosa ridging, referred pain, and limitation of mouth opening. Out of the 25 subjects who showed condylar changes, 10 subjects had symptoms of TMD. The symptoms reported are strain in the mouth opening, tenderness in jaw movements, and TMJ clicking sounds. Attrition is not a predictable sign of TMJ dysfunction, yet a finite association was defined between attrition and signs and symptoms of TMJ dysfunction. Studies involving larger samples compared with additional radiographic modalities are recommended.

Benzylidene-isophorone hybrids with strong anticancer activity.

Isophorone is a cyclic ketone that has gained significant attention in the field of organic chemistry due to its versatile reactivity and structural attributes. Derivatives of isophorone offer a broad spectrum of applications ranging from pharmaceuticals to polymer chemistry. With the aim of developing novel hybrid structures based on benzylidene by combining with isophorone scaffold, we report 3 derivatives of the benzylidene-isophorone hybrids and its potent anticancer activity. In order to optimize the anticancer activity of hybrids di-substitution of -Cl group in C2 and C6 position of phenyl ring (compound1), -OCH3 group in C2 and C5 position of phenyl ring (compound2), and -OCH3 group in C2 and C3 position of phenyl ring (compound3) of benzylidene (PhCH=) moiety were made. The structure of Compounds1,2 and 3 were elucidated using spectral and XRD methods. Compounds1,2 and 3 exhibit space group P c a 21, P-1, and P 1 21/n 1 respectively. Compounds1,2 and 3 were tested for the potent anticancer activity on MDA MB-231 cell line. All the three compounds exhibit good anticancer activity on the breast cancer cells. The parent hybrid with ortho, ortho directing -Cl (1) exhibits strong antiproliferation effect (IC50 = 0.028 µM) on MDA-MB 231 cell line. However, hybrid structures with ortho, meta directing -OCH3 (2) group showed moderate effect (IC50 = 0.061 µM) and hybrid with ortho, meta directing -OCH3 (3) substitution showed the least potent anticancer activity (IC50 = 0.074 µM). The benzylidene-isophorone hybrids exhibit anticancer effects in the following order: 1 > 2 > 3.

Zinc solubilization and organic acid production by the entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium pingshaense sheds light on its key ecological role in the environment.

We report for the first-time higher zinc (Zn) solubilization efficiency and plant growth promotion by an entomopathogenic fungus (EPF), Metarhizium pingshaense IISR-EPF-14, which was earlier isolated from Conogethes punctiferalis, a pest of global importance. The Zn solubilizing efficiency of the fungus varied depending on the type of insoluble source of Zn used, which was observed to be 1.6 times higher in Zn3(PO4)2-amended media compared to ZnO media. In liquid media, there was a 6.2-fold increase in available Zn in ZnO-amended media, whereas a 20.2-fold increase in available Zn was recorded in Zn3(PO4)2 medium. We ascribe the production of various organic acids such as gluconic, keto-gluconic, oxalic, tartaric, malonic, succinic and formic acids, which in general, interact with insoluble Zn sources and make them soluble by forming metal cations and displacing anions as the major mechanism for Zn solubilization by M. pingshaense. However, the type and amount of organic acid produced in the media varied depending on the source of Zn used and the incubation period. Application of the fungus alone and in combination with insoluble Zn sources enhanced various plant growth parameters in rice and cardamom plants. Moreover, the uptake of Zn in rice plants was enhanced up to ~2.5-fold by fungal application. The fungus also exhibited various other plant growth-promoting traits, such as production of Indole-3-acetic acid, ammonia, siderophores, solubilization of mineral phosphate, and production of hydrolytic enzymes such as α-amylase, protease, and pectinase. Hence, apart from its use as a biological control agent, M. pingshaense has the potential to be used as a bio-fortifier to enhance the solubilization and uptake of Zn from nutrient poor soils under field conditions. Our findings shed light on the broader ecological role played by this fungus and widen its scope for utilization in sustainable agriculture.

Humidity activated ultra-selective room temperature gas sensor based on W doped MoS2/RGO composites for trace level ammonia detection.

The lack of highly efficient, cost effective and stable ammonia gas sensors functionable at room temperature even in extreme humid environments poses significant challenge for the future generation gas sensors. The prime factors that impede the development of such next generation gas sensors are the strong interference of humidity and sluggish selectivity. Herein, we fabricated tungsten doped molybdenum disulphide/reduced graphene oxide composite by an in-situ hydrothermal method to exploit the adsorption, dissolution (solubility), ionization and transmission process of ammonia and thereby to effectuate its trace level detection even in indispensable humid environments. The protype based on 5 at.% Tungsten doped MoS2/RGO (W5) gas sensor exhibited 3.8-fold increment in its response to 50 ppm of ammonia when the relative humidity varied from 20 % to 70 % with ultra-high selectivity at room temperature. The as prepared gas sensor revealed a practical detection limit down to 1 ppm with a substantial response and rapid recovery time. Furthermore, W5 gas sensor exhibited a 42-fold increment in response to 50 ppm of ammonia relative to its pristine (MoS2/RGO) MG composite with a RH of 70 %. The proton hopping mechanism accountable for such an enormous enhancement in ammonia sensing and its potential for breath sensor are briefly annotated.

Label extension, single-arm, phase III study shows efficacy and safety of stempeucel® in patients with critical limb ischemia due to atherosclerotic peripheral arterial disease.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) of lower extremities comprises a clinical spectrum that extends from asymptomatic patients to critical limb ischemia (CLI) patients. 10% to 40% of the patients are at the risk of primary amputation. This study was planned in "no-option" patients of CLI due to atherosclerotic PAD to assess the efficacy and safety of pooled, allogeneic, adult human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells which is already approved for marketing in India for CLI due to Buerger's disease. METHODS: This was a single-arm, multi-centric, phase III study where mesenchymal stromal cells was injected as 2 million cells/kg body weight in the calf muscle and around the ulcer. Twenty-four patients of lower extremity CLI due to PAD with Rutherford III-5 or III-6 and ankle-brachial pressure index ≤ 0.6 and having have at least one ulcer with area between 0.5 and 10 cm2 were included in the study. These patients were evaluated over 12 months from drug administration. RESULTS: Over a period of 12 months, statistical significant reduction of rest pain and ulcer size along with improvement in ankle-brachial pressure index and ankle systolic was observed. The quality of life of patients improved together with increase in total walking distance and major amputation-free survival time. CONCLUSION: Mesenchymal stromal cells may be a feasible option to treat "no-option" patients with atherosclerotic PAD. Trial registration This study is registered prospectively in National Institutes of Health and Clinical Trials Registry-India (CTRI) website: CTRI/2018/06/014436. Registered 6th June 2018. http://ctri.nic.in/Clinicaltrials/pmaindet2.php?trialid=24050&EncHid=&userName=stempeutics .

Electronic sensitization enhanced p-type ammonia gas sensing of zinc doped MoS2/RGO composites.

Zinc (Zn) doping induced synergetic effects of defects engineering and heterojunction in Molybdenum disulphide/Reduced graphene oxide (MoS2/RGO) effectively enhances the p-type Volatile organic compounds (VOC) gas sensing traits and helps in tailoring the over dependence on noble metals for surface sensitization. Through this work, we have successfully prepared Zn doped MoS2 grafted on RGO employing an in-situ hydrothermal method. Optimal doping concentration of Zn dopants in the MoS2 lattice triggered more active sites on the basal plane of MoS2 with the aid of defects promoted by the zinc dopants. Effective intercalation of RGO further boost up the exposed surface area of Zn doped MoS2 for further interaction of ammonia gas molecules. Besides, smaller crystallite size brought out by 5% Zn dopants aids in efficient charge transfer across the heterojunctions that further amplifies the ammonia sensing traits with a peak response of 32.40% along with a response time of 21.3 s and recovery time of 44.90 s. The as prepared ammonia gas sensor exhibited excellent selectivity and repeatability. The obtained results reveal that transition metal doping into the host lattice proves to be a promising approach for VOC sensing characteristics of p-type gas sensors and gives insight about the importance of dopants and defects for the development of highly efficient gas sensors in the future.

Impact of ANN in Revealing of Viral Peptides.

All organisms contain antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which are a critical component of the innate immune system. These chemicals have the ability to suppress the growth of a variety of fungi, bacteria, and viruses. Because AMPs interact with structural components of the microbial cell membrane and have a wide range of cellular targets, bacteria are unlikely to be able to develop resistance to them in the short term. The underlying structure of AMPs is critical in determining the selectivity with which they target their respective targets. As far as we know, peptides have not been tested in a lab to see if they can fight bacteria, fungus, and viruses in real life. In this paper, we develop an artificial neural network (ANN) using a back propagation neural network (BPNN) that enables optimal classification of tendency of a peptide sequence that involves the activities of antifungal, antibacterial, or antiviral. The BPNN is trained on the datasets collected across different repositories and then the overfitting is avoided using particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. Hence, at the time of testing, the BPNN clearly finds the predicted samples belonging to the same classes and this avoids the problem of finding the false positives. The simulation is conducted to test the efficacy of the model against various metrics that includes accuracy, precision, recall, and f1-measure. The effectiveness of the BPNN-PSO model in classifying instances at a faster rate than other techniques is demonstrated by its performance. The principle is straightforward, it is not difficult to programme, it converges more quickly, and it generally offers a superior solution.

Effectiveness and Tolerability of Fondaparinux vs Enoxaparin in a Population of Indian Patients with Symptomatic Deep Vein Thrombosis: A Retrospective Real-World Study.

BACKGROUND: Fondaparinux is the first approved anticoagulant drug among factor Xa inhibitors, with proven effectiveness and safety in preventing deep vein thrombosis. However, limited data are available supporting the benefit-risk profile of fondaparinux vs enoxaparin in a real-world group of Indian patients with deep vein thrombosis. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness and tolerability of fondaparinux vs enoxaparin in patients with symptomatic deep vein thrombosis in a long-term real-world setting. METHODS: Data from the electronic medical records of adult patients diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis prescribed fondaparinux (n = 503) or enoxaparin (n = 508) as monotherapy were analyzed. Effectiveness was analyzed in terms of recurrence, duration, and type of deep vein thrombosis event, and tolerability as bleeding events at initial hospitalization and follow-up visits up to 3 months duration. Appropriate statistical methods were used to determine the significance (p < 0.05) between the two groups. RESULTS: The deep vein thrombosis recurrence in the fondaparinux group was non-inferior (2.78%) when compared with enoxaparin (3.76%), with a mean duration of 47 and 48 days, respectively. The number of events and mean duration of events (in days) were not significant (p > 0.05). Major bleeding events were higher in the enoxaparin group at 3.17% than the fondaparinux group at 2.19%, and the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The weight-based, once-daily subcutaneous fondaparinux dose showed non-inferior effectiveness and a comparable tolerability profile when compared with the twice-daily enoxaparin dose for the management of symptomatic deep vein thrombosis.

Investigation on hydrogen bonds and conformational changes in protein/polysaccharide/ceramic based tri-component system.

The main attention of present work is to study the molecular level interactions in the interface of biocomposite to increase their applicability. A specific kind of molecular interaction namely, hydrogen bonds play a vital role in deciding composite property. In this study, we construct a tri-component system based on silk fibroin/sodium alginate/hydroxyapatite by varying protein and polysaccharide proportions using in-situ co-precipitation method. The Fourier Transfer Infrared (FTIR) prediction state that prepared composite exhibit inter-(OH⋯N, OH⋯O, OH⋯π) and intra-(OH⋯OH) molecular hydrogen bonds and their strength are varied in accordance with composition of composite. During composite preparation, conformational changes from the random coil to ß-sheet structure through intermediate ß-turns exist within the protein molecule that is confirmed by vibrational spectra. The crystallographic profile and morphology of HAP were greatly influenced by virtue of polymer matrix. Simulated body fluid (SBF) immersion study shows that biodegradation and swelling ratio are correlated with type of hydrogen bond and secondary structure of protein. Moreover, the in-vitro biomineralization, cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity of composite were analysed in detail.

Gamma radiation shielding characteristics of various spinel ferrite nanocrystals: a combined experimental and theoretical investigation.

This work presents the facile synthesis of Ni, Mn, Zn, Cu and Co spinel ferrite nanocrystals via sol-gel auto-ignition and the investigation of their structural and gamma ray shielding characteristics. Experimentally, gamma ray shielding parameters are determined with different gamma ray sources and NaI(Tl) scintillation detector and theoretically via Monte-Carlo simulation (Geant4) as well as NIST-XCOM database. X-ray diffractograms elucidate the cubic spinel structure without any contaminating phases for all synthesized nano-ferrites. TEM results evidence the formation of ultrafine crystallites in nano-regime dimensions. Nanocrystalline spinel ferrites in pellet form have been exposed to gamma radiation from diverse sources by changing the radiation dose intensity. The comparative study of the linear attenuation coefficient, mass attenuation coefficient, total atomic cross section, total electronic cross section, effective atomic number, effective electron density and half value layer for manufactured spinel ferrites is carried out using NIST-XCOM and Geant4 at 122-1330 keV. Gamma ray energy absorption buildup factor (EABF) is investigated for five selected ferrites at 100 keV to 1500 keV incident photon energy and penetration depth from 1 to 40 mfp using geometric progression (G-P) fitting technique. EABF is found to be maximum at an intermediate region, mainly attributed to the Compton scattering process. Zinc ferrite exhibits a higher value of EABF among other ferrites, which mainly depends on the chemical composition of the material and crystallite size effect. The EABF is investigated as a function of penetration depth and is found to be maximum for a penetration depth of 40 mfp. Experimental and theoretical simulation results are found to be in good agreement. The Monte-Carlo simulation of radiation interaction with materials has evidenced to be an excellent approximation tool in exploring spinel ferrite performance in radiation atmosphere.

Bone marrow involvement: Atypical presentation of early-onset childhood sarcoidosis.

Childhood sarcoidosis is a chronic multisystemic, non-caseating granulomatous disease of unknown etiology. Early-onset disease classically presents with a triad of skin rash, uveitis, and arthritis, but bone marrow involvement is rare. We report a 9-1/2-year old Indian female child who presented with bleeding manifestation, skin rash, uveitis, and arthritis. Bone marrow biopsy showed multiple non-necrotizing granulomas comprising epithelioid cells, mature lymphocytes, and multinucleated giant cells with few eosinophils in the background, with negative staining for acid-fast bacilli or fungi. She was treated successfully with oral prednisolone. This is the first report of an early-onset childhood sarcoidosis with bone marrow involvement from India.

Survival of Atypical Rabies Encephalitis.

Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease transmitted primarily by dogs, cats, and bats, which accounts for approximately 59,000 deaths globally per year. An 8-year-old boy from rural central India developed an atypical presentation of rabies following a street dog bite in spite of receiving postexposure prophylaxis and proper care of Category III wounds. A diagnosis of rabies was made on the basis of clinical background, neuroimaging finding, excess antibody titer, detection of rabies viral antigen in serum, and exclusion of other etiologies. He had slow but significant recovery with intensive critical care support. The poor outcome in the described case highlights the lack of awareness, especially in rural population, and the importance of timely, adequate, and appropriate postexposure prophylaxis, which remains the only effective intervention for human rabies.

Surfactant assisted disperser pretreatment on the liquefaction of Ulva reticulata and evaluation of biodegradability for energy efficient biofuel production through nonlinear regression modelling.

The present study aimed to increase the disintegration potential of marine macroalgae, (Ulva reticulata) through chemo mechanical pretreatment (CMP) in an energy efficient manner. By combining surfactant with disperser, the specific energy input was considerably reduced from 437.1 kJ/kg TS to 264.9 kJ/kg TS to achieve 10.7% liquefaction. A disperser rpm (10,000), pretreatment time (30 min) and tween 80 dosage (21.6 mg/L) were considered as an optimum for effective liquefaction of algal biomass. CMP was designated as an appropriate pretreatment resulting in a higher soluble organic release 1250 mg/L, respectively. Anaerobic fermentation results revealed that the volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration was doubled (782 mg/L) in CMP when compared to mechanical pretreatment (MP) (345 mg/L). CMP pretreated algal biomass was considered as the suitable for biohydrogen production with highest H2 yield of about 63 mL H2/g COD than (MP) (45 mL H2/g COD) and control (10 mL H2/g COD).

Synthesis of water-soluble and bio-taggable CdSe@ZnS quantum dots.

Many synthesized semiconductor QDs materials are formed using trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) but it requires high temperature, is very expensive and is also hydrophobic. Our study deals with selective syntheses of CdSe and core-shell CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) in aqueous solution by a simple heating and refluxing method. It is more hydrophilic, needs less temperature, is economically viable and is eco-friendly. Bio-ligands, such as thioacetamide, itaconic acid and glutathione, were used as stabilizers for the biosynthesis of QDs. A simplified aqueous route was used to improve the quality of the colloidal nanocrystals. As a result, highly monodisperse, photoluminescent and biocompatible nanoparticles were obtained. The synthesized QDs were characterized by XRD, FTIR, confocal microscopy, ultraviolet (UV) absorption and photoluminescence (PL). The size of synthesized QDs was observed as 5.74 nm and the core-shell shape was confirmed by using XRD and confocal microscopy respectively. The QD nanoparticles showed antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria. The QDs could be applied for biological labelling, fluorescence bio-sensing and bio-imaging etc.

Impact of mild alkali dosage on immobilized Exiguobacterium spp. mediated cost and energy efficient sludge disintegration.

Approaches to (extracellular polymeric substance) EPS removal were studied with major aim to enhance the biodegradability and sludge solubilization. In this study, a novel approach of entrapment of bacterial strain was carried out to achieve long term activity of protease secreting bacteria Exiguobacterium sp. A mild treatment of potassium hydroxide (KOH) was applied to remove EPS which was followed by entrapment under the biological pretreatment. The efficiency of Exiguobacterium was predicted through dissolvable organic and suspended solids (SS) reduction. The maximum dissolvable organic matter released was 2300mg/L with the solubilization of 23% which was obtained for sludge without EPS (SWOE). For dissolvable organic release, SWOE showed higher final methane production of 232mL/g COD at the production rate of 16.2mL/g COD.d. The SWOE pretreatment was found to be cost effective and less energy intensive beneficial in terms of energy and cost (43.9KWh and -8.2USD) when compared to sludge with EPS (SWE) pretreatment (-177.6KWh and -91.23USD).

Massive Hemoptysis: A Rare Presentation of Anterior Mediastinal Teratoma in an Adolescent.

Germ cell tumors are predominantly found in the gonads, and the most common extragonadal site is anterior mediastinum. Usual symptoms are cough, dyspnea, and fever, chest pain due to mass effect or intrapulmonary invasion but hemoptysis is rare and may result from either communication with tracheobronchial tree or may result from bronchial bleeding due to irritation by tumor. As in our case, patient presenting with massive hemoptysis and shock are the rarest presentation of a benign teratoma.

Bopyrid isopods parasitizing on the cultured fresh water prawn, Macrobrachiummalcolmsonii in South India.

The bopyrid isopods are common in wild Macrobrachium spp. but not common in aquaculture condition. This is the first study that reports the parasitizing of bopyrid isopods on the cultured M. malcolmsonii. Bopyrid isopod (Probopyrus buitendijki) was identified in the branchial cavities of the fresh water prawn, M. malcolmsonii from grow-out culture pond at Kuriyamangalam, India. Macrobrachium malcolmsonii is a new host for P. buitendijki. A total of 1323 M. malcolmsonii were checked for this study. The overall prevalence of the parasitic infestation was reached 46.2 %. The parasitic infection was higher in female (83 %) than in male (3.4 %). Highest prevalence of infestation was found in the median size group (7-8 cm) (58.7 %). Infected females were not berried unlike uninfected prawns. The parasites cause infertility and does not found any organ deformities due to the infestation. The parasite was inversely attached in the gill chamber with no lesion on the gill but the infected branchial chamber became bulged.

Evaluation of the effect of ultraviolet stabilizers on the change in color of pigmented silicone elastomer: An in vitro study.

AIM AND OBJECTIVE: To compare and evaluate the effect of ultraviolet (UV) stabilizers (Chimassorb 81 and Uvinul 5050) on the color change of pigmented elastomer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two pigments - Red (P112 Brilliant Red) and Yellow (P106 Yellow) and two UV stabilizers Chimassorb 81 and Uvinul 5050 were studied. A total of six groups of 10 samples each were fabricated using a combination of the above colors and stabilizers: Group A1 - Red control, Group A2 - Red + Chimassorb 81, Group A3 - Red + Uvinul 5050. Group B1 - Yellow control, Group B2 - Yellow + Chimassorb 81, Group B3 - Yellow + Uvinul 5050. All samples were subjected to ageing in an accelerated weathering chamber (Weather-Ometer). Color values L, a, and b were measured at 500 and 1000 h for all samples before and after weathering and change in color (Delta E) was calculated. RESULTS: All groups showed a significant color change. At 500 h, Chimassorb 81 showed a statistically significant lesser change in both colors (red - 3.66 and yellow - 2.8) compared to their control groups (red - 5.19 and yellow - 4.9). At 1000 h, both UV stabilizers showed lesser color change (A2 - 5.49, B2 - 4.28, A3 - 7.47 and B3 - 4.09) as compared to their respective control groups (A1 - 9.57 and B1 - 5.91). Overall, the change in the color with Group A was more than Group B. CONCLUSION: Addition of UV stabilizers helped the reduction of color change. Chimassorb 81 showed a greater reduction in color change in both colors consistently at 500 and 1000 h.