Serum ferritin and risk of colonic neoplasia: Implications for the workup and treatment of iron deficiency.

Iron deficiency is the most common extraintestinal sign of colonic neoplasia, including colorectal cancer (CRC) and other lower gastrointestinal pathology. Both upper endoscopy and colonoscopy is usually recommended in the work-up of patients with unexplained iron deficiency, particularly in men and postmenopausal women. As the incidence of early-onset CRC (age <50 years) rises in the United States, there is an increasing need to identify risk predictors to aid in the early detection of CRC. It remains unknown if serum ferritin (SF), and what specific threshold, can be used as a marker to stratify those at risk for CRC and other lower gastrointestinal pathology. In this current review of the literature, we aimed to review guidelines for diagnostic workup of colonic neoplasia in the setting of iron deficiency and examine the association and specific thresholds of SF and risk of CRC by age. Some of the published findings are conflicting, and conclusions specific to younger patients are limited. Though further investigation is warranted, the cumulative findings suggest that SF, in addition to considering the clinical context and screening guidelines, may have potential utility in the assessment of colonic neoplasia.

A multi-national, video-based qualitative study to refine training guidelines for assigning an "unsafe" score in laparoscopic cholecystectomy critical view of safety.

BACKGROUND: The critical view of safety (CVS) was incorporated into a novel 6-item objective procedure-specific assessment for laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC-CVS OPSA) to enhance focus on safe completion of surgical tasks and advance the American Board of Surgery's entrustable professional activities (EPAs) initiative. To enhance instrument development, a feasibility study was performed to elucidate expert surgeon perspectives regarding "safe" vs. "unsafe" practice. METHODS: A multi-national consortium of 11 expert LC surgeons were asked to apply the LC-CVS OPSA to ten LC videos of varying surgical difficulty using a "safe" vs. "unsafe" scale. Raters were asked to provide written rationale for all "unsafe" ratings and invited to provide additional feedback regarding instrument clarity. A qualitative analysis was performed on written responses to extract major themes. RESULTS: Of the 660 ratings, 238 were scored as "unsafe" with substantial variation in distribution across tasks and raters. Analysis of the comments revealed three major categories of "unsafe" ratings: (a) inability to achieve the critical view of safety (intended outcome), (b) safe task completion but less than optimal surgical technique, and (c) safe task completion but risk for potential future complication. Analysis of reviewer comments also identified the potential for safe surgical practice even when CVS was not achieved, either due to unusual anatomy or severe pathology preventing safe visualization. Based upon findings, modifications to the instructions to raters for the LC-CVS OPSA were incorporated to enhance instrument reliability. CONCLUSIONS: A safety-based LC-CVS OPSA has the potential to significantly improve surgical training by incorporating CVS formally into learner assessment. This study documents the perspectives of expert biliary tract surgeons regarding clear identification and documentation of unsafe surgical practice for LC-CVS and enables the development of training materials to improve instrument reliability. Learnings from the study have been incorporated into rater instructions to enhance instrument reliability.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy critical view of safety (LC-CVS): a multi-national validation study of an objective, procedure-specific assessment using video-based assessment (VBA).

BACKGROUND: A novel 6-item objective, procedure-specific assessment for laparoscopic cholecystectomy incorporating the critical view of safety (LC-CVS OPSA) was developed to support trainee formative and summative assessments. The LC-CVS OPSA included two retraction items (fundus and infundibulum retraction) and four CVS items (hepatocystic triangle visualization, gallbladder-liver separation, cystic artery identification, and cystic duct identification). The scoring rubric for retraction consisted of poor (frequently outside of defined range), adequate (minimally outside of defined range) and excellent (consistently inside defined range) and for CVS items were "poor-unsafe", "adequate-safe", or "excellent-safe". METHODS: A multi-national consortium of 12 expert LC surgeons applied the OPSA-LC CVS to 35 unique LC videos and one duplicate video. Primary outcome measure was inter-rater reliability as measured by Gwet's AC2, a weighted measure that adjusts for scales with high probability of random agreement. Analysis of the inter-rater reliability was conducted on a collapsed dichotomous scoring rubric of "poor-unsafe" vs. "adequate/excellent-safe". RESULTS: Inter-rater reliability was high for all six items ranging from 0.76 (hepatocystic triangle visualization) to 0.86 (cystic duct identification). Intra-rater reliability for the single duplicate video was substantially higher across the six items ranging from 0.91 to 1.00. CONCLUSIONS: The novel 6-item OPSA LC CVS demonstrated high inter-rater reliability when tested with a multi-national consortium of LC expert surgeons. This brief instrument focused on safe surgical practice was designed to support the implementation of entrustable professional activities into busy surgical training programs. Instrument use coupled with video-based assessments creates novel datasets with the potential for artificial intelligence development including computer vision to drive assessment automation.

Hyposalivation in patients with psoriasis: Association with severity, inflammatory, and anti-inflammatory cytokine biomarkers of the disease.

The aim of the study is to expound the effect of psoriasis on salivary glands by evaluating the secretion of saliva and salivary cytokine biomarkers in patients with psoriasis. This study was conducted by recruiting 120 subjects that included 60 patients diagnosed clinically with active psoriasis and 60 healthy controls who were age and gender matched to psoriatic subjects. Unstimulated whole saliva was collected from all the subjects by spitting method, and levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and IL-10 (IL-10) were determined via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (BT Lab, Shanghai, China). Secretion of saliva in psoriasis patients was considerably reduced than in healthy controls. The concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-2) were significantly increased, whereas level of anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) was markedly decreased in the saliva of psoriasis patients with hyposalivation compared to healthy subjects. Our results demonstrated significant negative correlation of salivary flow rates with the disease severity. No significant correlations were obtained between salivary levels of tested cytokines and salivary flow rates in our study. Findings of the study reflect inflammation of salivary glands with reduced salivary flow rates in psoriasis patients. The inflammatory responses in salivary gland tissues by virtue of increased pro-inflammatory cytokines concentrations together with lower anti-inflammatory cytokine levels may have a role in affecting the saliva secretion in psoriasis patients. Secretion of unstimulated saliva in psoriasis patients decreases with the severity and duration of the disease.

Innovations in dengue virus detection: An overview of conventional and electrochemical biosensor approaches.

Globally, people are in great threat due to the highly spreading of viral infectious diseases. Every year like 100-300 million cases of infections are found, and among them, above 80% are not recognized and irrelevant. Dengue virus (DENV) is an arbovirus infection that currently infects people most frequently. DENV encompasses four viral serotypes, and they each express comparable sign. From a mild febrile sickness to a potentially fatal dengue hemorrhagic fever, dengue can induce a variety of symptoms. Presently, the globe is being challenged by the untimely identification of dengue infection. Therefore, this review summarizes advances in the detection of dengue from conventional methods (nucleic acid-based, polymerase chain reaction-based, and serological approaches) to novel biosensors. This work illustrates an extensive study of the current designs and fabrication approaches involved in the formation of electrochemical biosensors for untimely identifications of dengue. Additionally, in electrochemical sensing of DENV, we skimmed through significances of biorecognition molecules like lectins, nucleic acid, and antibodies. The introduction of emerging techniques such as the CRISPR/Cas' system and their integration with biosensing platforms has also been summarized. Furthermore, the review revealed the importance of electrochemical approach compared with traditional diagnostic methods.

Influence of biochar in the calcite precipitation of sandy soil using sporosarcina ureae.

The microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) technology is an emerging novel and sustainable technique for soil stabilization and remediation. MICP, a microorganism-mediated biomineralization process, has attracted interest for its potential to enhance soil characteristics. The inclusion of biochar, a carbon-rich substance formed by biomass pyrolysis, adds another degree of intricacy to this process. The study highlights the impact of the combination of biochar and MICP together, using a bacterium, Sporosarcina ureae, on soil improvement. This blend of MICP and biochar improved the soil in terms of its geotechnical properties and also enabled the sequestering of carbon safely. It was observed that addition of 4% biochar significantly increased the soil's shear strength parameters (c and φ) as well as its stiffness after 21 treatment cycles. This improvement was because the calcium carbonate precipitate, which acts as a crucial binding agent, increased significantly due to microbial action in the soil-biochar mixture compared to the pure soil sample. The excess carbonate precipitation on account of biochar addition was verified through SEM-EDAX analysis where the images showed noteworthy carbonate precipitation on the surface of particles and increment in the calcium mass at the same treatment cycles when compared with untreated sand. The collaboration between MICP and biochar effectively increased the carbon sequestration within the sand sample. It was observed that at 21 cycles of treatment, the carbon storage within the sand sample increased by almost 3 times at 4% biochar compared to sand without any biochar. The statistical analysis further affirmed that strength depends on both biochar and the number of treatment cycles, whereas carbon sequestration potential is primarily influenced by the biochar content alone. This strategy, as a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach, has the potential to reform soil improvement practices and contribute to both soil strength enhancement and climate change mitigation, supporting the maintenance of ecological balance.

Effect of ivermectin, amitraz and fipronil on midgut epithelium and digestive enzyme profile in Rhipicephalus microplus ticks (Acari: Ixodidae).

Blood feeding and digestion are vital physiological activities essential for the survival and reproduction of ticks. Chemical acaricides viz., ivermectin, amitraz and fipronil, are known to act on the central nervous system, resulting in the mortality of ticks. The present study is focused on the effect of these acaricides on the midgut and gut enzymes of Rhipicephalus microplus. The ultra-thin sections of midgut of ivermectin-treated ticks showed irregular basal membrane and ruptured digestive vesicles. Amitraz treatment resulted in a notable decrease in digestive cells with pleats in the basal membrane, while fipronil-exposed ticks exhibited reduced digestive cells, loss of cellular integrity, and disintegration of the basal membrane and muscle layer. The gut tissue homogenate of ivermectin and fipronil treated ticks showed a significant reduction of cathepsin D level, 76.54 ± 3.20 µg/mL and 92.67 ± 3.72 µg/mL, respectively, as compared to the control group (150.0 ± 3.80 µg/mL). The leucine aminopeptidase level (4.27 ± 0.08 units/mL) was significantly decreased in the ivermectin treated ticks compared to other treatment groups. The acid phosphatase activity (29.16 ± 0.67 µmole/min/L) was reduced in the ivermectin treated group whereas, increased activity was observed in the fipronil and amitraz treated groups. All the treatment groups revealed increased alkaline phosphatase levels (17.47-26.72 µmole/min/L). The present finding suggests that in addition to the established mechanism of action of the tested acaricides on the nervous system, the alterations in the cellular profile of digestive cells and enzymes possibly affect the blood digestion process and thus the synthesis of vital proteins which are essential for vitellogenesis, and egg production in ticks.

Synbiotics as potent functional food: recent updates on therapeutic potential and mechanistic insight.

Synbiotics are the specific mixtures of prebiotics with probiotics intended to give health benefits to the host by stabilizing and supporting the gut microbiota.The prebiotic substance used in the synbiotics selectively favors the growth and metabolite production of probiotics. Gut microbiome dysbiosis may lead to generation and progression of various chronic diseases. Synbiotics act synergistically to modulate the gut ecosystem for improvement of metabolic health of the host. Probiotics have been found promising against various diseases being safer, effective, as an alternative or combinatorial therapy. Specific combinations of probiotics with suitable prebiotic substrate as synbiotics, may be the more effective therapeutic agents that can provide all benefits of probiotics as well as prebiotics. Though, effective combinations, dosage, mechanism of action, safety, cost effectiveness and other clinical investigations are required to be established along with other relevant aspects. Synbiotics have the potential to be functional food of importance in future. Present review summarizes the mechanistic overview of synbiotics related to gut microbiota, therapeutic potential and promising health benefits for human illnesses according to the available literature. In present scenario, synbiotics are more promising future alternatives as therapeutics to maintain healthy microbiota inside the host gut which directly affects the onset or development ofrelated disorders or diseases.

Current paradigms in epigenetic anticancer therapeutics and future challenges.

Any alteration at the genetic or epigenetic level, may result in multiplex of diseases including tumorigenesis which ultimately results in the cancer development. Restoration of the normal epigenome by reversing the epigenetic alterations have been reported in tumors paving the way for development of an effective epigenetic treatment in cancer. However, delineating various epigenetic events has been a challenging task so far despite substantial progress in understanding DNA methylation and histone modifications during transcription of genes. Many inhibitors in the form of epigenetic drugs mostly targeting chromatin and histone modifying enzymes including DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) enzyme inhibitors and a histone deacetylases (HDACs) inhibitor, have been in use subsequent to the approval by FDA for cancer treatment. Similarly, other inhibitory drugs, such as FK228, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) and MS-275, have been successfully tested in clinical studies. Despite all these advancements, still we see a hazy view as far as a promising epigenetic anticancer therapy is concerned. The challenges are to have more specific and effective inhibitors with negligible side effects. Moreover, the alterations seen in tumors are not well understood for which one has to gain deeper insight into the tumor pathology as well. Current review focusses on such epigenetic alterations occurring in cancer and the effective strategies to utilize such alterations for potential therapeutic use and treatment in cancer.

Emerging aspects of cytokine storm in COVID-19: The role of proinflammatory cytokines and therapeutic prospects.

COVID-19 has claimed millions of lives during the last 3 years since initial cases were reported in Wuhan, China, in 2019. Patients with COVID-19 suffer from severe pneumonia, high fever, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and multiple-organ dysfunction, which may also result in fatality in extreme cases. Cytokine storm (CS) is hyperactivation of the immune system, wherein the dysregulated production of proinflammatory cytokines could result in excessive immune cell infiltrations in the pulmonary tissues, resulting in tissue damage. The immune cell infiltration could also occur in other tissues and organs and result in multiple organs' dysfunction. The key cytokines implicated in the onset of disease severity include TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-1ß, GM-CSF, and G-CSF. Controlling the CS is critical in treating COVID-19 disease. Therefore, different strategies are employed to mitigate the effects of CS. These include using monoclonal antibodies directed against soluble cytokines or the cytokine receptors, combination therapies, mesenchymal stem cell therapy, therapeutic plasma exchange, and some non-conventional treatment methods to improve patient immunity. The current review describes the role/s of critical cytokines in COVID-19-mediated CS and the respective treatment modalities.

Layered double hydroxides and their tailored hybrids/composites: Progressive trends for delivery of natural/synthetic-drug/cosmetic biomolecules.

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are well-known and important class of hydrotalcite-type anionic clays (HTs) materials that are cost-effective with additional advantages of facile synthesis, composition, tenability, and reusability. These convincing characteristics are liable for their applications in various fields related to energy, environment, catalysis, biomedical, and biotechnology. HTs/LDHs are generally synthesized from low cost abundantly available chemical precursors through the aqueous synthetic pathways under mild reaction conditions. These materials can be termed green materials based on their non-toxic nature, availability of precursors, facile and low-cost production using aqueous medium conditions with less hazardous effluents. Diverse and fascinating characteristics have been attributed to HTs/LDHs like anion exchange ability, surface basicity, biocompatibility, controlled release of the anion specific area, porosity, easy surface modification, and pH dependent biodegradability. Hence, HTs/LDHs and their modified and/or functionalized nanohybrids/nanocomposites are reported as the potential drug delivery carriers with a capability to stabilize the susceptible bioactive molecules, may enhance the solubility of poorly soluble drugs along with controlled drug/bioactive molecule release and delivery. These clay and bioactive hybrid materials have good biocompatibility, less cytotoxicity, and better site-targeting with improved cellular uptake than that of free parent biomolecules. These lamellar solids of micro/nanostructure are compatible, host-guest materials and able to fabricate with drugs/cosmeceutical/bio- or synthetic polymers without any change in their molecular structure and reactivity along with improvement in their stabilities. Other important features are facile synthesis, basicity, high stability with easy storage, and efficient administration with low bio-toxicity. This study enlightens the applications of HTs/LDHs along with their hybrids/composites in the field of drug/cosmeceutical/gene delivery systems of natural/synthetic biomolecules.

Management of Short Bowel Syndrome (SBS) and Intestinal Failure.

Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is a chronic disease whose natural history requires a changing array of management strategies over time. Chief amongst these is the chronic use of parenteral nutrition (PN) to ensure adequate nutritional intake. With time and appropriate management, approximately half of all SBS patients will successfully regain a functional, baseline level of intrinsic bowel function that will allow for them to achieve PN independence. However, the other half of SBS patients will progress into chronic intestinal failure which warrants a change in therapy to include more aggressive medical and potentially surgical measures. This review examines the evolving treatment strategies involved in the management of SBS as well as intestinal failure.

Reconnoitring the antioxidant and antibacterial potential of different fruits after tannin acyl hydrolase mediated biotransformation.

Condensed and hydrolyzable tannins are secondary metabolites present in almost every plant part. Tannase enzyme acts on hydrolyzable tannins to produce gallic acid and tannase-mediated end-products with immense therapeutic potential. Seven different fruits with significant presence of hydrolyzable tannin content were selected to check for phenol, tannin, and hydrolyzable tannin contents. Prunus domestica had the maximum phenol content, that is, 85.4 ± 0.207, followed by Syzygium cumini, Fragaria ananassa, Rubus fruticosus, and Psidium guajava. Plum showed the maximum number of hydrolyzable tannins. Fruit extracts were subjected to tannase hydrolysis and their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities were determined. There was a significant increase in the antioxidant abilities of the fruits with Punica granatum extract, displaying the highest decline of 132 units of IC50 followed by F. ananassa hydrolyzable extract, showing a decrease from 224.75 to 119.98 µg/mL. The extracts also depicted a significant increase in antibacterial activity after hydrolysis against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus with Rubus idaeus aqueous extract observed to be most effective against E. coli. The increase in antioxidant and antibacterial activity can be attributed to the production of tannase-mediated products formed after the biotransformation of hydrolyzable tannins present in the aqueous extracts.

An insight into microbial sources, classification, and industrial applications of xylanases: A rapid review.

Endo 1,4-ß-d-xylanases (EC3.2.1.8) are one of the key lignocellulose hydrolyzing enzymes. Xylan, which is present in copious amounts on earth, forms the primary substrate of endo-xylanases, which can unchain the constituent monosaccharides linked via ß-1,4-glycosidic bonds from the xylan backbone. Researchers have shown keen interest in the xylanases belonging to glycoside hydrolase families 10 and 11, whereas those placed in other glycoside hydrolase families are yet to be investigated. Various microbes such as bacteria and fungi harbor these enzymes for the metabolism of their lignocellulose fibers. These microbes can be used as miniature biofactories of xylanase enzymes for a plethora of environmentally benign applications in pulp and paper industry, biofuel production, and for improving the quality of food in bread baking and fruit juice industry. This review highlights the potential of microbes in production of xylanase for industrial biotechnology.

Unraveling the potential of bacterial phytases for sustainable management of phosphorous.

Phosphorous actively participates in numerous metabolic and regulatory activities of almost all living organisms including animals and humans. Therefore, it is considered as an essential macronutrient required supporting their proper growth. On contrary, phytic acid (PA), an antinutritional substance, is widely known for its strong affinity to chelate essential mineral ions including PO4 3- , Ca2+ , Fe2+ , Mg2+ , and Zn2+ . Being one the major reservoir of PO4 3- ions, PA has great potential to bind PO4 3- ions in diverse range of foods. Once combined with P, PA transforms into an undigested and insoluble complex namely phytate. Produced phytate leads to a notable reduction in the bioavailability of P due to negligible activity of phytases in monogastric animals and humans. This highlights the importance and consequent need of enhancement of phytase level in these life forms. Interestingly, phytases, catalyzing the breakdown of phytate complex and recycling the phosphate into ecosystem to its available form, have naturally been reported in a variety of plants and microorganisms over past few decades. In pursuit of a reliable solution, the focus of this review is to explore the keynote potential of bacterial phytases for sustainable management of phosphorous via efficient utilization of soil phytate. The core of the review covers detailed discussion on bacterial phytases along with their widely reported applications viz. biofertilizers, phosphorus acquisition, and plant growth promotion. Moreover, meticulous description on fermentation-based strategies and future trends on bacterial phytases have also been included.

Pectinases as promising green biocatalysts having broad-spectrum applications: Recent trends, scope, and relevance.

Pectinases are a collection of multiple enzymes that have a common substrate, that is, pectin. They can act on different parts of pectin due to the structural heterogeneity of pectin. Therefore, they have been placed in different groups, such as protopectinases, polygalacturonases, polymethylesterases, pectin lyases, and pectate lyases. They are naturally present both in multicellular organisms such as higher plants and in unicellular organisms such as microbes. In past decade, it has been witnessed that chemical and mechanical methods employed in industrial processes have led to environmental hazards and serious health disorders, thus increasing the search for eco-friendly approaches with minimal health risks. Hence, microbial enzymes have been extensively used as safer alternative for these environmentally unsafe methods. Among these microbial enzymes, pectinases hold great significance and is one of the principal enzymes that have been used commercially. It is predominantly used as a green biocatalyst for fruit, fiber, oil, textile, beverage, pulp, and paper industry. Thus, this review focuses on the structure of pectin, microbial sources of pectin, and principle industrial applications of pectinases.

Mung bean as a potent emerging functional food having anticancer therapeutic potential: Mechanistic insight and recent updates.

Cancer is still a major challenge for humans. In recent years, researchers have focused on plant-based metabolites as a safe, efficient, alternative or combinatorial, as well as cost-effective preventive strategy against carcinogenesis. Mung bean is an important nutritious legume, and known for providing various health benefits due to various bioactive phytochemicals and easily digestible proteins. Regular intake of mung bean helps to regulate metabolism by affecting the growth and survival of good microbes in the host gut. Mung bean has also been reported to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiproliferative, and immunomodulatory properties. These properties may possess the preventive potential of mung bean against carcinogenesis. Bibliographic databases for peer-reviewed research literature were searched through a structured conceptual approach using focused review questions on mung beans, anticancer, therapeutics, and functional foods along with inclusion/exclusion criteria. For the appraisal of the quality of retrieved articles, standard tools were employed. A deductive qualitative content analysis methodology further led us to analyze outcomes of the research and review articles. The present review provides recent updates on the anticancer potential of mung bean and the possible mechanism of action thereof to prevent carcinogenesis and metastasis. Extensive research on the active metabolites and mechanisms of action is required to establish the anticancer potential of mung bean. Keeping the above facts in view, mung bean should be investigated for its bioactive compounds, to be considered as functional food of the future.

Acaricides resistance in Rhipicephalus microplus and expression profile of ABC-transporter genes in the sampled populations.

Currently, livestock owners manage tick infestations using chemicals, but the method is increasingly losing effectiveness as resistant tick populations have established in the field conditions. Thus, to develop effective tick management strategies, monitoring of resistance in most predominant tick species, Rhipicephalus microplus was targeted. The ticks were collected from eleven districts of Madhya Pradesh and one district of Punjab and tested against deltamethrin (DLM), cypermethrin (CYP), coumaphos (CMP), ivermectin (IVM) and fipronil (FIP), through adult immersion and larval packet tests. The field isolates were highly resistant to DLM [Resistance factor (RF) = 3.98-38.84]. Against CYP, resistance was observed in BWN (Barwani; RF = 2.81) and MND (Mandsaur; RF = 3.23) isolates. Surprisingly, most of the isolates were susceptible to CMP (0.34-1.58). Emerging level of resistance against IVM (1.05-4.98) and FIP (0.40-2.18) was also observed in all the isolates. Significantly elevated production of esterases (p < 0.01) was 90% correlated with RF of DLM while no positive correlation between production of monooxygenase and Glutathione S-transferase with RF to DLM was noted. Multiple sequence analysis of S4-5 linker region of the sodium channel gene of all the isolates revealed a point mutation at 190th position (C190A) which is associated with DLM resistance. Treatment of resistant LDH (Ludhiana) isolate with IVM resulted in upregulation of RmABCC2 gene and insignificant upregulation of RmABCC1 and RmABCB10 genes indicating the probability of linking IVM resistance with over-expression of RmABCC2 gene. The possible tick management strategies are discussed.

Socio-ecological Challenges and Adaptation Strategies of Farmers Towards Changing Climate in Vindhyan highlands, India.

The Indian agriculture is highly vulnerable to climate change which adversely affects crop production and livelihood of farmers. The effect is more intensified in Vindhyan highlands, where prolong drought and high rate of poverty exist in depredation environment. In this context, present study conducted to explore farmers' perception, attitude about climate change and adaptive capabilities. We undertook an interview schedules survey through structured questionnaire in Duddhi block of Sonbhadra district. A total of 400 households were selected in which 347 (86.75%) male and 53 (13.25%) female respondents have participated. The perception of farmers on climate change is presented in SI (severity index) which varies from 36% to 68.63%. The statement 'rainy season decreases' ranked first with SI (68.63%) followed by 'temperature increases' SI (66.06%). This investigation identified 17 types of adaptive practices which are frequently performed in the Vindhyan highlands. Based on the WAI (Weighted Average Index) score, crop diversification (2.0), cultivation of drought-adapted crop varieties (1.99), changing plantation calendar (1.95) were the most adopted practices. Multiple regression analysis between the socio-economic status of farmers and the adaptation practices, recorded a significant positive relationship with age (P < 0.01), family size (P < 0.05), education (P < 0.01), caste categories (P < 0.05) and livestock ownership (P < 0.01) of farmer. This study will be helpful in developing drought resilience farming practices for sustaining the livelihood of farmers and inform policy making.

Comparative cone-beam computed tomographic evaluation of maxillary incisor intrusion and associated root resorption: Intrusion arch vs mini-implants.

INTRODUCTION: Various literature has verified that apical root resorption is a common adverse effect of orthodontic treatment, particularly intrusion. Conventional radiographic techniques underestimated root lengths and overestimated tooth lengths. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a useful diagnostic tool to detect orthodontically induced external apical root resorption. This prospective study aimed to compare maxillary incisor intrusion and associated root resorption via CBCT. METHODS: Thirty patients aged 16-23 years, having a deepbite of 6-8 mm and excessive gingival display on smiling, were divided into 2 groups: group 1, with 15 patients who were treated with Burstone intrusion arch, and group 2 with 15 patients who were treated with mini-implants applying 100 g of intrusive force for 4 months with activation done every 4 weeks. During this 4-month study period, no treatment was performed other than the intrusion of incisors. CBCT scans were obtained before and after the intrusion phase of treatment to compare the amount of intrusion and associated root resorption among both groups. RESULTS: No significant difference was found in mean incisor intrusion between groups 1 and 2 (P = 0.772), with slightly more proclination of incisors in group 1, resulting in a significant (P = 0.018) increase in the vertical change of incisal edge in group 1. A statistically significant difference was found in root resorption among both groups (P = 0.004), with more root resorption in group 2. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate intrusion with both the intrusion systems using appropriate intrusive forces is effective in opening the bite with slightly more external apical root resorption in the mini-implant group.