Assessment of Efficacy of Various Bracket Base Retention Qualities on Shear Bond Strength.

Introduction: Numerous manufacturers have improved bracket retention systems as a result of the frequent bond failure that occurs during orthodontic treatment. One of the elements affecting the adhesive's bond strength is the bracket retention mechanism. Objectives: This study's objective was to assess how various bracket base retention characters affected shear bond strength. Materials and Methods: Four distinct base features for brackets were evaluated. The basic design was examined using a scanning electron microscope. On the Universal testing equipment, brackets were glued to human teeth and then released. Results: The findings indicate that the polymer-coated base's overall mean SBS, which had a mean value of 21.64 ± 4.14 MPa, was considerably greater than that of the other brackets (P 0.05). The foil meshpad, photochemically etched base, and laser-structured base had mean SBS values of 15.12 ± 5.75 MPa, 16.86 ± 3.76 MPa, and 19.32 ± 4.23MPa, respectively. Conclusions: Following laser-structured base and photochemically etched base brackets in terms of shear bond strength were polymer-coated base brackets. The shear bond strength was the lowest in the plain foil mesh pads.

Comparative Assessment of Herbal Mouthwash with Chlorhexidine on Plaque Accumulation, Gingivitis, and Salivary Streptococcus mutans Growth.

Objectives: The goal of the current study was to assess the effectiveness of a commercially available herbal mouthwash with chlorhexidine on the number of Streptococcus mutans in the saliva, the condition of the gingival tissue, and plaque development. Materials and Methods: Twenty-two adults in all, ranging in age from 20 to 30, were divided into two groups at random. Throughout the 14-day clinical trial, Group A (11) and Group B (11) received 10 mL of test herbal mouthwash and chlorhexidine, respectively. Result: Herbal mouthwash was discovered to be equally as effective as chlorhexidine in lowering the salivary mutans streptococci count and in affecting plaque and gingival scores. Conclusion: Alternatives from the herbal world may show to be a reliable and secure therapy option.

Sustainable blue economy: Opportunities and challenges.

The term 'blue economy', first introduced in 2010, is the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, jobs, ocean health, and to improve livelihoods. However, a sustainable blue economy faces various challenges in the form of global warming, ocean acidification, and lack of knowledge about the ocean; for example, 95% of the sea is still unexplored, making it more important to understand the blue economy and implement it on a global scale. Other challenges include harmful algal blooms (HABs), invasive species, coral bleaching, and thermohaline circulation. This review discusses various aspects of the blue economy like food, value-added products, offshore energy, oxygen source, mining, fisheries, carbon sequestration, and cloud seeding. The future aspects of blue economy, like sustainability, effective policies, and reducing carbon footprints and microplastics are also explored here.

Assessment of Knowledge and Awareness Regarding Oro-systemic Link among General Population: A Cross-sectional Survey.

Aim: Various surveys aimed at gathering the knowledge and awareness of health practitioners as well as students, both medical and dental, regarding the link between oral health and systemic diseases have been published. However, relatively few studies have attempted to examine the awareness of such knowledge among the general population. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore the public perception regarding the oro-systemic link. Materials and methods: The present study was designed as a cross-sectional survey to be carried out in the Department of Periodontology and Oral Implantology, PGIDS, Rohtak. All survey participants were provided with a written questionnaire which was required to be completed by each participant independently. The study questionnaire was designed to collect demographic data followed by specific questions targeting the awareness and knowledge of the participants regarding the relationship between oral and systemic health. Results: A total of 240 completed questionnaires were available for analysis. Only about a quarter of the total participants (27.5 %) believed that oral health status has any effect on the rest of the body. A positive response (YES) of 25% was observed for effect of diabetes and physician prescribed medicines on systemic health. Regarding the effect of pregnancy, smoking, stress, and obesity on systemic health, less than 20% positive response was recorded. Conclusion: The findings indicate a very poor awareness regarding the impact of systemic conditions on oral status and vice versa, among the studied population. Clinical significance: Pedodontists should lay emphasis on imparting knowledge about oro-systemic connections to their patients as well accompanying guardians. This would go a long way in spreading much needed awareness among the general population as well as ensuring that children adopt healthy lifestyle habits right from childhood. How to cite this article: Sangwan A, Sangwan P, Kaur M, et al. Assessment of Knowledge and Awareness Regarding Oro-systemic Link among General Population: A Cross-sectional Survey. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2023;16(S-2):S202-S205.

PACS-Integrated Tools for Peritumoral Edema Volumetrics Provide Additional Information to RANO-BM-Based Assessment of Lung Cancer Brain Metastases after Stereotactic Radiotherapy: A Pilot Study.

Stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) is the standard of care treatment for brain metastases (METS) today. Nevertheless, there is limited understanding of how posttreatment lesional volumetric changes may assist prediction of lesional outcome. This is partly due to the paucity of volumetric segmentation tools. Edema alone can cause significant clinical symptoms and, therefore, needs independent study along with standard measurements of contrast-enhancing tumors. In this study, we aimed to compare volumetric changes of edema to RANO-BM-based measurements of contrast-enhancing lesion size. Patients with NSCLC METS ≥10 mm on post-contrast T1-weighted image and treated with SRT had measurements for up to seven follow-up scans using a PACS-integrated tool segmenting the peritumoral FLAIR hyperintense volume. Two-dimensional contrast-enhancing and volumetric edema changes were compared by creating treatment response curves. Fifty NSCLC METS were included in the study. The initial median peritumoral edema volume post-SRT relative to pre-SRT baseline was 37% (IQR 8-114%). Most of the lesions with edema volume reduction post-SRT experienced no increase in edema during the study. In over 50% of METS, the pattern of edema volume change was different than the pattern of contrast-enhancing lesion change at different timepoints, which was defined as incongruent. Lesions demonstrating incongruence at the first follow-up were more likely to progress subsequently. Therefore, edema assessment of METS post-SRT provides critical additional information to RANO-BM.

Oscillatoria sancta Cultivation Using Fruit and Vegetable Waste Formulated Media and Its Potential as a Functional Food: Assessment of Cultivation Optimization.

The most cost-effective technique to cultivate microalgae is with low-cost resources, like fruit and vegetable peels. This study examined the viability of culturing microalgae (Oscillatoria sancta PCC 7515) isolated from a waterlogged region of Punjab, India, in a low-cost medium (fruit and vegetable waste peels) for pharmaceutical use. 16S rRNA sequencing discovered O. sancta PCC 7515. Fruit and vegetable peels were mineralized and chemically analyzed. At a 5% Bacillus flexus concentration, fruit and vegetable peels were liquefied at room temperature for 24 h. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to assess and improve important cultural variables. The RSM predicted the best results at 10 pH, 30 days of incubation, 5% inoculum concentration, and 5% fruit and vegetable waste liquid leachate. The optimum conditions yielded more biomass than the basal conditions (0.8001 g/L). O. sancta PCC 7515 produced more lipids, proteins, Chl a, and Chl b in a formulated alternate medium than standard media. This study shows that O. sancta PCC 7515 may thrive on fruit and vegetable peel media. Fruit and vegetable waste (FVW) media assure low-cost microalgae-based functional foods.

Rigorous and rapid evidence assessment in digital health with the evidence DEFINED framework.

Dozens of frameworks have been proposed to assess evidence for digital health interventions (DHIs), but existing frameworks may not facilitate DHI evidence reviews that meet the needs of stakeholder organizations including payers, health systems, trade organizations, and others. These organizations may benefit from a DHI assessment framework that is both rigorous and rapid. Here we propose a framework to assess Evidence in Digital health for EFfectiveness of INterventions with Evaluative Depth (Evidence DEFINED). Designed for real-world use, the Evidence DEFINED Quick Start Guide may help streamline DHI assessment. A checklist is provided summarizing high-priority evidence considerations in digital health. Evidence-to-recommendation guidelines are proposed, specifying degrees of adoption that may be appropriate for a range of evidence quality levels. Evidence DEFINED differs from prior frameworks in its inclusion of unique elements designed for rigor and speed. Rigor is increased by addressing three gaps in prior frameworks. First, prior frameworks are not adapted adequately to address evidence considerations that are unique to digital health. Second, prior frameworks do not specify evidence quality criteria requiring increased vigilance for DHIs in the current regulatory context. Third, extant frameworks rarely leverage established, robust methodologies that were developed for non-digital interventions. Speed is achieved in the Evidence DEFINED Framework through screening optimization and deprioritization of steps that may have limited value. The primary goals of Evidence DEFINED are to a) facilitate standardized, rapid, rigorous DHI evidence assessment in organizations and b) guide digital health solutions providers who wish to generate evidence that drives DHI adoption.

Leveraging Knowledge Graphs and Natural Language Processing for Automated Web Resource Labeling and Knowledge Mobilization in Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Development and Usability Study.

BACKGROUND: Patients and families need to be provided with trusted information more than ever with the abundance of online information. Several organizations aim to build databases that can be searched based on the needs of target groups. One such group is individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and their families. NDDs affect up to 18% of the population and have major social and economic impacts. The current limitations in communicating information for individuals with NDDs include the absence of shared terminology and the lack of efficient labeling processes for web resources. Because of these limitations, health professionals, support groups, and families are unable to share, combine, and access resources. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to develop a natural language-based pipeline to label resources by leveraging standard and free-text vocabularies obtained through text analysis, and then represent those resources as a weighted knowledge graph. METHODS: Using a combination of experts and service/organization databases, we created a data set of web resources for NDDs. Text from these websites was scraped and collected into a corpus of textual data on NDDs. This corpus was used to construct a knowledge graph suitable for use by both experts and nonexperts. Named entity recognition, topic modeling, document classification, and location detection were used to extract knowledge from the corpus. RESULTS: We developed a resource annotation pipeline using diverse natural language processing algorithms to annotate web resources and stored them in a structured knowledge graph. The graph contained 78,181 annotations obtained from the combination of standard terminologies and a free-text vocabulary obtained using topic modeling. An application of the constructed knowledge graph is a resource search interface using the ordered weighted averaging operator to rank resources based on a user query. CONCLUSIONS: We developed an automated labeling pipeline for web resources on NDDs. This work showcases how artificial intelligence-based methods, such as natural language processing and knowledge graphs for information representation, can enhance knowledge extraction and mobilization, and could be used in other fields of medicine.

Assessment of radon, thoron, and their progeny concentrations in the dwellings of Shivalik hills of Jammu and Kashmir, India.

The present work determines the contents of active and passive indoor 222Rn, 220Rn, and their daughter in the 32 houses of the Reasi district of J&K, India. The passive 222Rn and 220Rn concentration was measured by dosimeters, whereas the active content was measured by active radon monitor. Progeny sensors and integrated samplers were operated for the evaluation of passive and active daughter contents of 222Rn and 220Rn. The measured averaged values of indoor 220Rn and 222Rn were 73 ± 40 and 22 ± 8 Bqm-3, respectively. The radon and thoron equilibrium factor has varied from 0.3 to 1.7 and from 0.006 to 0.6. The fine fraction of the above-mentioned gases was also calculated. The results of Mann-Whitney test statistically demonstrated significant differences between the content of indoor 222Rn, 220Rn, and their daughter for different seasons. The values of 222Rn, 220Rn, and their daughter content were appeared to be elevated in set of mud houses among all sets of houses. The values of all daughter concentration and indoor 222Rn were appeared to lie within the limit proposed by various agencies. The total doses were detected less than range commended by ICRP that suggested the district is safe as a health hazard point of view.

A low-cost, high-throughput microfluidic nano-culture platform for functional metagenomics.

Functional metagenomics is an attractive culture-independent approach for functional screening of diverse microbiomes to identify known and novel genes. Since functional screening can involve sifting through tens of thousands of metagenomic library clones, an easy high-throughput screening approach is desirable. Here, we demonstrate a proof-of-concept application of a low-cost, high-throughput droplet based microfluidic assay to the selection of antibiotic resistance genes from a soil metagenomic library. Metagenomic library members encapsulated in nanoliter volume water-in-oil droplets were printed on glass slides robotically, and cell growth in individual drops in the presence of ampicillin was imaged and quantified to identify ampicillin-resistant clones. From the hits, true positives were confirmed by sequencing and functional validation. The ease of liquid handling, ease of set-up, low cost, and robust workflow makes the droplet-based nano-culture platform a promising candidate for screening and selection assays for functional metagenomic libraries.

Synthesis of 1,4-dihydropyrazolo[4,3-b]indoles via intramolecular C(sp2)-N bond formation involving nitrene insertion, DFT study and their anticancer assessment.

We herein report a new synthetic route for a series of unreported 1,4-dihydropyrazolo[4,3-b]indoles (6-8) via deoxygenation of o-nitrophenyl-substituted N-aryl pyrazoles and subsequent intramolecular (sp2)-N bond formation under microwave irradiation expedite modified Cadogan condition. This method allows access to NH-free as well as N-substituted fused indoles. DFT study and controlled experiments highlighted the role of nitrene insertion as one of the plausible reaction mechanisms. Furthermore, the target compounds exhibited cytotoxicity at low micromolar concentration against lung (A549), colon (HCT-116), and breast (MDA-MB-231, and MCF-7) cancer cell lines, induced the ROS generation and altered the mitochondrial membrane potential of highly aggressive MDA-MB-231 cells. Further investigations revealed that these compounds were selective Topo I (6h) or Topo II (7a, 7b) inhibitors.

Dose Optimization in 18F-FDG PET Based on Noise-Equivalent Count Rate Measurement and Image Quality Assessment.

The present study aimed to optimize the injected dose of 18F-FDG in whole-body PET/CT scans and assess its effect on noise-equivalent count rate (NECR) and visual image quality (IQ). Methods: Patients scheduled to undergo 18F-FDG PET/CT were prospectively recruited in the study from January to December 2019, regardless of the indication or underlying disease. Patients were divided into 4 groups and injected with different amounts of 18F-FDG radioactivity per kilogram of body weight (1.85, 3.7, 5.5, and 7.4 MBq/kg). All patients underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT studies, and NECRlocal was calculated by noting the trues rate, total prompts, and randoms rate for each bed position. Whole-body NECRglobal was calculated as the average NECR for all bed positions. IQ was qualitatively assessed for each bed position (IQlocal) and for whole-body PET (IQglobal) by 2 readers using 5-point scores based on prevalence of noise, contrast, and lesion detectability. NECR and IQ were compared among all 4 activity groups. Patients were also subdivided into 4 body-mass-index groups (group I, 15-20 kg/m2; group II, 20.1-25 kg/m2; group III, 25.1-30 kg/m2; and group IV, 30.1-35 kg/m2) for comparison. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: In total, 109 patients underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT studies after injection of different amounts of 18F-FDG radioactivity and a mean uptake time of 62.32 min. The mean NECRglobal and IQglobal for each group were significantly different from other groups (P < 0.05), with NECR and IQ being higher in high-activity groups than in low-activity groups. The overall IQ was acceptable in all patients, even in the lowest-activity group (1.84 MBq/kg). The mean NECRglobal and IQglobal were significantly different in all 4 body-mass-index groups (P < 0.05), except between groups II and III (P > 0.05). NECRlocal and IQlocal correlated moderately (r = 0.64). Conclusion: Optimization of injected 18F-FDG radioactivity from 7.4 MBq/kg (200 µCi/kg) to 1.85 MBq/kg (50 µCi/kg) resulted in acceptable IQ, despite a reduction in NECR.

Prevalence of Alternative Diagnoses and Implications for Management in Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus Patients.

BACKGROUND: Following Bayes theorem, ventriculomegaly and ataxia confer only a 30% chance of idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH). When coupled with positive responses to best diagnostic testing (extended lumbar drainage), 70% of patients recommended for shunting will not actually have NPH. This is inadequate clinical care. OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportion of alternative and treatable diagnoses in patients referred to a multidisciplinary NPH clinic. METHODS: Patients without previously diagnosed NPH were queried from prospectively collected data. At least 1 neurosurgeon, cognitive neurologist, and neuropsychologist jointly formulated best treatment plans. RESULTS: Of 328 total patients, 45% had an alternative diagnosis; 11% of all patients improved with treatment of an alternative diagnosis. Of 87 patients with treatable conditions, the highest frequency of pathologies included sleep disorders, and cervical stenosis, followed by Parkinson disease. Anti-cholinergic burden was a contributor for multiple patients. Of 142 patients undergoing lumbar puncture, 71% had positive responses and referred to surgery. Compared to NPH patients, mimickers were statistically significantly older with lower Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score and worse gait parameters. Overall, 26% of the original patients underwent shunting. Pre-post testing revealed a statistically significant improved MoCA score and gait parameters in those patients who underwent surgery with follow-up. CONCLUSION: Because the Multidisciplinary NPH Clinic selected only 26% for surgery (corroborating 30% in Bayes theorem), an overwhelming majority of patients with suspected NPH will harbor alternative diagnoses. Identification of contributing/confounding conditions will support the meticulous work-up necessary to appropriately manage patients without NPH while optimizing clinical responses to shunting in correctly diagnosed patients.

Quantitative assessment of exposure of heavy metals in groundwater and soil on human health in Reasi district, Jammu and Kashmir.

The assessment of heavy metal contents in environmental sectors is important to estimate the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic doses and risks for the mankind associated with it. The present work deals with the assessment of the risk exposure related to heavy metal contents in groundwater and soil samples to two different age groups via three different transits, i.e., ingestion, inhalation and dermal. The concentrations of heavy metals (Zn, Cd, Cu, Pb and Cr) were measured in the villages of lower Himalayas of Reasi district by using microwave plasma atomic emission spectrometer. The calculated mean contamination factors of heavy metals in soil samples were as: Zn, 0.73; Cu, 0.70; Pb, 0.74; and Cr, 0.33; which led to pollution load index less than unity. The overall carcinogenic risks have been varied from 6.4E-08 to 5.1E-07 in soil samples and from 7.3E-06 to 1.1E-04 in ground water samples and were found to be well within the range prescribed by USEPA (Screening level ecological risk assessment protocol for hazardous waste combustion facilities, appendix E: toxicity reference values, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., 1999). The mean values of heavy metal contents except lead and chromium in water samples were found to be less than the values prescribed by various agencies. Geo-accumulation Index showed that Pb contribute to the highest contamination (0 < Igeo < 1) among the other heavy metals. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis identified that Zn, Cu, Pb and Cr had a relationship and the presence of these heavy metals could be related to vehicle emissions, traffic sources and industrial sources. The overall mean values of the non-carcinogenic doses and associated hazard risks in soil and water samples calculated for children were found to be higher than the adults which may be due to hand to mouth activities.

Long-term outcome of low-cost glaucoma drainage device (Aurolab aqueous drainage implant) compared with Ahmed glaucoma valve.

PURPOSE: To compare the long-term outcome of Aurolab aqueous drainage device (AADI) and Ahmed glaucoma valve (AGV). METHOD: Retrospective analysis of patients with refractory glaucoma who underwent AGV (AGV-FP7) and AADI (AADI Model 350) implantation. The outcome measures were intraocular pressure (IOP), requirement of antiglaucoma medications (AGMs) and re-surgery for IOP control. The postoperative complications were classified as early (≤3 months), intermediate (>3 months to ≤1 year) or late (>1 year). RESULTS: 173 patients (189 eyes) underwent AGV implantation (AGV Group) while 201 patients (206 eyes) underwent AADI implantation (AADI group). The IOP in AADI group was significantly lower than AGV group at all time points till 2 years and comparable at 3 years. AADI group had significantly higher number of AGM in preoperative period and significantly lower number in postoperative period till 3 years compared with AGV group. AADI group had more hypotony-related complications but statistically insignificant (p = 0.07). The surgical interventions were significantly higher in AGV (n = 18) compared with AADI group (n = 5) in late postoperative period (p = 0.01). At 3 years, overall success was seen in 58.18% in AGV and 73.08% in AADI group (p = 0.15). Complete success was seen in 7.27% patients in AGV and 25.00% patients in AADI group (p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: Both AADI and AGV implant had comparable mean IOP at 3 years with lesser requirement of AGM in the AADI group. Both procedures appear to be safe with slight preponderance of hypotony-related complications in AADI group.

To bin or not to bin? A comparison of symptom frequency response formats in the assessment of health-related quality of life.

PURPOSE: The goal of this study is to compare three different types of retrospective frequency response formats on the Healthy Days Symptoms Module (HDSM). Responses are compared in terms of intra-individual consistency, psychometric value, and participant feedback about each type of response format. METHODS: Respondents each completed three versions of the HDSM, where items were framed to elicit an open-ended frequency, a fixed choice frequency, or a vague quantifier response. Traditional reliability statistics were used to evaluate intra-individual consistency. Differential item functioning (DIF) was used to test for response format effects, and item response theory (IRT) scale scores and standard errors were computed across the three forms to compare psychometric value. Linear mixed modeling was used to examine the associations of IRT scale scores across response formats with respondent characteristics. RESULTS: People are largely consistent in how they respond to items about their health, regardless of the response format, and no DIF was detected between response formats. The IRT scores computed from the "# of days" frequency response formats tend to have better measurement precision than those from vague quantifiers. Open-ended frequencies capture a greater span of individual differences for people reporting fewer symptoms; however, little measurement precision is lost in collapsing the frequencies into categories. CONCLUSIONS: Both the open-ended and fixed choice frequency response formats offer more measurement precision than vague quantifiers. While the open-ended frequency response format may capture more individual differences, respondents tend to report more difficulty with exact frequency recall, and thus, prefer the fixed choice frequency format.

Provincial health expenditure and cardiovascular disease mortality, a panel data study of Canadian provinces.

OBJECTIVE: Health expenditures on cardiovascular disease (CVD) account for a large proportion of health care expenditures of all the diseases in Canada, and hence there is a need to examine the responsiveness of CVD outcomes to health expenditures. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between health care expenditures and CVD mortality, as a health care outcome at the provincial level in Canada. METHODS: A 10-year (2000-2009) panel dataset was constructed from multiple data sources for the purposes of this study. The dataset composed of age standardized CVD mortalities, health care expenditures, and covariates for the 10 Canadian provinces. We employed a fixed effects model based on the results of the Hausman test, with CVD mortalities as the dependent variable and health care expenditure and other covariates, as explanatory variables. RESULTS: Health care expenditures were significantly (0.05) and negatively associated with CVD mortality, with a 1% increase in health care expenditures associated with a decrease of 6.31 per 1 000 000 people in CVD mortality. CONCLUSION: In the Canadian context, increases in spending on health care were associated with improvements in CVD outcomes for the time period under investigation.