A Case Report on Enhancing the Dexterity of Finger Prostheses Through the Use of a 3D-Printed Joint Emulator.

After a traumatic amputation, losing all or part of a finger can be detrimental to one's physical and mental health. Benefits from an esthetically pleasing prosthesis might be psychological, practical, and restorative. Prerequisites for an optimal finger prosthesis include helping the user grasp, absorb, and transfer forces to the hand; the prosthesis should also seem natural and allow for gesture expression. This case study describes how a 3D-printed joint emulator simulates natural joint mobility, significantly enhancing the patient's functional capacity to perform fundamental everyday tasks.

A Comparative Evaluation of the Effects of Herbal Denture Adhesives on Patient Comfort and Satisfaction: Study Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Introduction The lack or complete loss of all-natural teeth is known as edentulism, and it happens frequently. One of the most prevalent issues among edentulous patients is severe resorption of the residual alveolar ridge, which can still occur even with cautious prosthetic treatment. Therefore, one of the biggest issues faced in dentistry today is retention and stability in the rehabilitation of completely edentulous patients using complete denture prostheses. This problem was resolved by using denture adhesives. Studies show that when denture adhesive is applied correctly, it improves stability and effectiveness for individuals wearing complete dentures by increasing the surface tension between the alveolar mucosa and the denture fitting surface. The denture adhesive must possess safety, cost-effectiveness, and sufficient antibacterial and antifungal properties. The application should be easy, without causing any mess, and have a pleasant smell. It should not alter or obstruct the denture's intaglio surface. Nowadays, it is acknowledged that denture adhesives are treatments that can be used in association with dentures. Methods Based on the type of denture adhesive, the patients will be randomly divided into two groups, i.e., 20 patients in each group: Group A (herbal denture adhesive without essential oil) and Group B (herbal denture adhesive with essential oil). The patients will be requested to fill out the questionnaire for masticatory efficiency, retention, stability, etc., at the time of denture insertion without using denture adhesive and seven days after the use of denture adhesive. Expected results The overall satisfaction of complete denture patients will be significantly increased when an herbal denture adhesive infused with essential oil is used. This will result in increased stability, retention of the mandibular denture, improved masticatory efficiency, and patient satisfaction. Conclusions Patients who are elderly may experience physical and psychological challenges when adjusting to new or relined dentures. Denture adhesive, however, can aid in the patient's satisfaction with the prosthesis' altered occlusion and fit. It also makes the patient feel more confident and secure. A dental professional must be consulted before using denture adhesive.

Beyond Barriers: Addressing Challenges and Opportunities of People with Disability During the Pandemic.

People with disabilities often experience worse health outcomes than ordinary people because of multiple barriers to accessing healthcare. These inequalities are particularly exposed during the pandemic, indicating an urgent need to strengthen health systems, so that they are inclusive and responsive to the needs of these people during crises. These people are particularly affected by changes in routine services because of diversion of healthcare staff and facilities to respond to the pandemic, e.g., rehabilitation and medications. The combination of these factors substantially imparts negative impacts on their functioning and well-being. Health services research can help address the challenges of maintaining continuity of care during crises as well as addressing systematic inequalities in the health sector that marginalize people with disabilities even during noncrisis times. Therefore, research is needed to understand the health service design and to identify strategies to maximize active participation from this population.

Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) Fabricated Laminate Veneers in Aesthetic Rehabilitation: A Case Report.

Porcelain laminate veneers are a popular cosmetic dentistry treatment for correcting discoloured, worn, misaligned, gapped, chipped, or crooked teeth. The restorative material utilized in the indirect method can be processed using CAD/CAM (computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing) technology or conventional technique, which is highly sensitive. Due to its multiple benefits, digital technology is growing quickly and has opened up a lot of new opportunities for dental practitioners. These days, CAD/CAM is a helpful technique that enables the creation of monolithic restorations for ceramic materials, which is most recently utilized in the field of ceramic veneers as well as digital impression capturing and digital designing as part of treatment planning. This case study details the methodical process of creating laminate veneers for a patient who wants to enhance the look of their anterior teeth utilizing both traditional and CAD/CAM technology.

A comprehensive narrative review of challenges and facilitators in the implementation of various HPV vaccination program worldwide.

INTRODUCTION: Cervical cancer has been considered as one of the most common cancers in women (15-44 years) globally, but the advent of the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine has raised the anticipation that eradication of cervical carcinoma might be achieved in the near future as several prophylactic cervical carcinoma vaccines have already been currently licensed in various countries. Countries should devise strategies, practices and policies to attain and sustain higher levels of HPV immunization coverage as still 68% countries have introduced HPV vaccine in their national immunization programs even after 17 years following the licensure of the first prophylactic HPV vaccine. METHODOLOGY: A comprehensive literature analysis was conducted using various databases and search engines, to include the most relevant research articles and data available and critically discussed the operational gaps that need to be answered to achieve adequate coverage of HPV vaccination. RESULTS: The present review highlights the existing HPV vaccination strategies, unmet needs and challenges needed to be addressed for proper implementation framework as well as the collaborations required to achieve decent vaccination coverage. Well-coordinated vaccination strategy with focus on adolescent girls and if possible, boys can lead to dramatic impact on disease reduction around the world.

Mapping the Landscape of Health Research Priorities for Effective Pandemic Preparedness in Human Mpox Virus Disease.

The global re-emergence of monkeypox (Mpox) in non-endemic regions in 2022 has highlighted the critical importance of timely virus detection and robust public health surveillance in assessing outbreaks and their impact. Despite significant Mpox research being conducted worldwide, there is an urgent need to identify knowledge gaps and prioritize key research areas in order to create a roadmap that maximizes the utilization of available resources. The present research article provides a comprehensive mapping of health research priorities aimed at advancing our understanding of Mpox and developing effective interventions for managing its outbreaks, and, as evidenced by the fact that achieving this objective requires close interdisciplinary collaboration. The key research priorities observed were identifying variants responsible for outbreaks; discovering novel biomarkers for diagnostics; establishing suitable animal models; investigating reservoirs and transmission routes; promoting the One Health approach; identifying targets for vaccination; gaining insight into the attitudes, experiences, and practices of key communities, including stigma; and ensuring equity during public health emergencies. The findings of this study hold significant implications for decision making by multilateral partners, including research funders, public health practitioners, policy makers, clinicians, and civil society, which will facilitate the development of a comprehensive plan not only for Mpox but also for other similar life-threatening viral infections.

Human papilloma virus vaccines: A comprehensive narrative review.

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers in women aged 15-44 years in the world, with more than three-quarters of cases diagnosed at a locally advanced clinical stage with minor prospects of survival. Although only a small percentage of women with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) develop cervical cancer and most of the HPV infections are cleared subsequently at primary stage itself, but seroconversion not always guarantees that the individual is immune to HPV. The advent of the cervical carcinoma vaccine has raised the expectations that eradication of cervical carcinoma might be possible in the near future as it exhibited remarkably high efficacy against the vaccine-specific types in naive women with no serious vaccine-related adverse events. Few prophylactic HPV vaccines are currently licensed in over 100 countries. It has also been suggested that vaccinating both men and women is more beneficial than vaccinating only females. Vaccination is a cost-effective strategy to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer and mortality compared to no vaccination based on the cost of cancer treatment. Well-coordinated vaccination strategy with focus on adolescent girls and if possible, boys can lead to dramatic impact on disease reduction around the world.

NGAL/MMP-9 as a Biomarker for Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: A Case-Control Diagnostic Accuracy Study.

Background: Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) are often diagnosed late due to lack of specific symptoms and efficient tumor markers. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin/matrix metallopeptidase-9 (NGAL/MMP-9) complex are involved in the development and progression of various cancers and have potential as a biomarker for diagnosing ovarian cancer. Objectives: To compare the serum NGAL/MMP-9 complex levels in patients with EOC, benign ovarian tumor, and healthy controls, and determine the potential cut-off values of NGAL/MMP-9 complex for diagnosing EOC. Materials and Methods: The study included 50 patients each with EOC and benign ovarian tumor, along with 50 age-matched healthy controls (N = 150). The level of serum NGAL/MMP-9 complex was estimated based on sandwich ELISA. The mean and median of the three groups were compared, and the ROC curve was used to determine the optimum cut-off, sensitivity, and specificity of serum NGAL/MMP-9 complex levels in the diagnosis of EOC. Results: A significant difference was found in the median values of the NGAL/MMP-9 complex (malignant EOC: 67.5 ng/ml, benign ovarian tumor: 53.7 ng/ml, controls: 29.2 ng/ml; P < 0.01). NGAL/MMP-9 complex level was also significantly associated with the FIGO staging (Stages I and II: 42.9 ng/ml; Stages III and IV: 70.5 ng/ml; P < 0.003). At a 55.0 ng/ml cut-off value, the NGAL/MMP-9 complex had 82.0% sensitivity and 78.0% specificity in diagnosing EOC. Conclusion: The NGAL/MMP-9 complex may be a promising biomarker for determining the progression of EOC as well as in detecting advanced-stage ovarian cancer.

From rotten grapes to industrial exploitation: Komagataeibacter europaeus SGP37, a micro-factory for macroscale production of bacterial nanocellulose.

Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC), being ultrapure and unique in its properties, is a booming and ageless precursor of several breakthrough technologies of materials sciences; however, its low yield and high cost has created a challenge for its usage at industrial level. Herein, we report a novel, high yielding bacterial cell factory Komagataeibacter europaeus SGP37, isolated from rotten grapes, for the production of high quality and value added BNC. The strain was kinetically analyzed to evaluate BNC production under different physiological conditions and had demonstrated the production of 9.98±0.24gL-1 BNC at the expense of 12.08±1.94gL-1 sugar following 2 weeks of cultivation, thus having the conversion yield of 0.82g BNC/g sugar which seems to be the maximum reported yield so far. The analysis of produced pellicle using FTIR, 13C CP MAS NMR, FE-SEM, XRD and TGA had shown similar structural, morphological and chemical characteristics with that of bacterial nanocellulose. Thus, K. europaeus SGP37 appears to be a potential strain and may offer a promising platform for industrial scale production of nanocelluloses.

Molecular Cloning and Characteristic Features of a Novel Extracellular Tyrosinase from Aspergillus niger PA2.

Aspergillus niger PA2, a novel strain isolated from waste effluents of food industry, is a potential extracellular tyrosinase producer. Enzyme activity and L-DOPA production were maximum when glucose and peptone were employed as C source and nitrogen source respectively in the medium and enhanced notably when the copper was supplemented, thus depicting the significance of copper in tyrosinase activity. Tyrosinase-encoding gene from the fungus was cloned, and amplification of the tyrosinase gene yielded a 1127-bp DNA fragment and 374 amino acid residue long product that encoded for a predicted protein of 42.3 kDa with an isoelectric point of 4.8. Primary sequence analysis of A. niger PA2 tyrosinase had shown that it had approximately 99% identity with that of A. niger CBS 513.88, which was further confirmed by phylogenetic analysis. The inferred amino acid sequence of A. niger tyrosinase contained two putative copper-binding sites comprising of six histidines, a characteristic feature for type-3 copper proteins, which were highly conserved in all tyrosinases throughout the Aspergillus species. When superimposed onto the tertiary structure of A. oryzae tyrosinase, the conserved residues from both the organisms occupied same spatial positions to provide a di-copper-binding peptide groove.

Aspergillus niger PA2: a novel strain for extracellular biotransformation of L-tyrosine into L-DOPA.

L-DOPA (3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-L-alanine), an amino acid derivative is the most widely used drug of choice for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other neurologic injuries. The present study deals with the elevated biochemical transformation of L-tyrosine to L-DOPA by Aspergillus niger PA2, a potent tyrosinase producer, isolated from decomposed food wastes. This appears to be the first report on A. niger as a notable extracellular tyrosinase producer. The extracellular tyrosinase activity produced remarkably higher levels of L-DOPA, i.e. 2.44 mg mL(-1) when the media was supplemented with 5 mg mL(-1) L-tyrosine. The optimum pH for tyrosinase production was 6.0, with the maximal L-DOPA production at the same pH. The product thus produced was analyzed by thin-layer chromatography, UV spectroscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, that had denoted this to be L-DOPA. Kinetic parameters viz. Y p/s, Q s and Q p had further indicated the notable levels of production. Thus, Aspergillus niger PA2 could be a promising resource and may be further exploited for large-scale production of L-DOPA.

Aspergillus niger PA2 Tyrosinase Covalently Immobilized on a Novel Eco-Friendly Bio-Composite of Chitosan-Gelatin and Its Evaluation for L-DOPA Production.

Tyrosinase (EC 1.14.18.1) a copper-containing monooxygenase, isolated from a fungal isolate Aspergillus niger PA2 was subjected for immobilization onto a composite consisting of chitosan and gelatin biopolymers. The homogeneity of the chitosan-gelatin biocomposite film was characterized by X-ray diffraction analyses. To evaluate immobilization efficiency, chitosan-gelatin-Tyr bio-composite films were analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and UV-spectroscopy. The rough morphology of the film led to a high loading of enzyme and it could retain its bioactivity for a longer period. The enzyme adsorbed onto the film exhibited 72% of its activity after 10 days and exhibited good repeatability for up to nine times, after intermittent storage. Moreover, the immobilized enzyme exhibited broader pH and temperature profile as compared to free counterpart. Immobilized enzyme was further evaluated for the synthesis of L-DOPA (2,4-dihydroxy phenylalanine) which is a precursor of dopamine and a potent drug for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and for myocardium neurogenic injury.

Bioconversion to chitosan: a two stage process employing chitin deacetylase from Penicillium oxalicum SAEM-51.

Chitin deacetylase from Penicillium oxalicum SAEM-51 was evaluated for bioconversion of chitin to chitosan in a two stage chemical and enzymatic process. Variations in morphology, crystallinity and thermal properties following chemical treatment were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. Degree of deacetylation of the substrates was determined using FT-IR and elemental analysis. The pretreatment of substrate led to the decrease in crystallinity and formation of amorphous chitinous substrates to facilitate enzyme reaction. The treated chitin was further subjected to enzymatic deacetylation employing chitin deacetylase from P. oxalicum SAEM-51 to produce chitosan with considerably higher degree of deacetylation. Maximum deacetylation (79.52%) was achieved using superfine chitin, owing to its porous structure and low crystallinity. Further, derivation of reaction variables, i.e. substrate amount and enzyme dose through full-factorial central composite design led to enhanced degree of deacetylation with formation of 90% deacetylated chitosan.

Prevalence and risk factors of urinary incontinence in Indian women: A hospital-based survey.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Urinary incontinence is a problem that creates both physical and psychological nuisance to a woman. This problem needs to be studied in detail in Indian population because of lack of precise data. The objectives of this study were to study the prevalence and risk factors of urinary incontinence in Indian women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted from August 2005 to June 2007 included women attending gynecology OPD (consulters) and hospital employees (nonconsulters). Subjects who were incontinent were asked a standard set of questions. Incontinence was classified as urge, stress, or mixed based on symptoms. A univariate followed by multivariate analysis was done to look for risk factors. RESULTS: Of 3000 women enrolled, 21.8% (656/3000) women were incontinent. There was no significant difference in incontinence rate between consulters and nonconsulters [618/2804 (22.1%) vs. 38/196 (19.4%); P value = 0.6). Of the total women having incontinence, highest numbers were found to have stress incontinence [73.8% (484/656)] followed by mixed [16.8% (110/656)] and urge incontinence [9.5% (62/656)]. Age more than 40 years; multiparity; postmenopausal status; body mass index more than 25; history of diabetes and asthma; and habit of taking tea, tobacco, pan, and betel are risk factors found to be associated with increased prevalence of urinary incontinence in univariate analysis. On multivariate analysis, age more than 40 years, multiparity, vaginal delivery, hysterectomy, menopause, tea and tobacco intake, and asthma were found to be significantly associated with overall incontinence. Stress incontinence was separately not associated with menopause. Urge incontinence was not associated with vaginal delivery. CONCLUSION: Urinary incontinence is a bothersome problem for women. Simple questionnaire can help to detect this problem and diagnose associated risk factors, so that necessary steps can be taken in its prevention and treatment.

The use of anthropometric proportion indices in the measurement of facial attractiveness.

This study used anthropometric data in the form of Farkas' proportion indices in order to quantify facial attractiveness, and to relate measured change through surgery, to clinical judgement. Standardized photographs of 15 orthognathic patients were used in album form and rated by 10 experienced clinicians: album 1 for facial attractiveness (before surgery) and album 2 for improvement in facial attractiveness (before and after surgery). Twenty-five proportion indices were selected and linear measurements recorded from the pre- and post-surgical photographs. The corresponding change in indices and in clinicians' scores were compared. The clinicians' assessment of the degree of improvement in facial appearance achieved through surgery, related closely to the scores produced by the change in proportion indices (r = 0.698, P = 0.004). Clinical assessment demonstrated a clear inverse relationship between initial attractiveness rating and the degree of improvement achieved through orthognathic surgery (r = -0.781, P = 0.001). The results showed good repeatability in terms of clinical assessment, photography and digitization. The method would appear to have potential for further development, possibly into a 'facial attractiveness index' for the objectives of quantification of improvement achieved through treatment.