Evaluation of carbon dioxide elevation on phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of red onion (Allium cepa L.) during postharvest storage.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is considered one of the eco-related key factors that negatively affect global climatic change. Also, CO2 can play an important role in the postharvest quality of the agri-products. In this study, the impact of CO2 on the quality of postharvest onions that were stored at 23 °C for 8 weeks was investigated. The weight loss, phenolic, flavonoid, flavanol, anthocyanin, antioxidant activity, and soluble sugar were analyzed during the study period. The results showed that 20% CO2 treatment was significantly (P > 0.05) more effective than 15% CO2 and control in inhibiting weight loss. Additionally, 20% CO2 treatment significantly retained higher antioxidant enzyme activities such as CAT, APX, and SOD than 15% CO2 and control. During storage, 20% CO2 treatment significantly (P < 0.05) improved glucose, fructose, and sucrose levels by more than 15% CO2 exposure and control groups. Besides the chlorogenic acid, kaempferol and quercetin were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in the 20% CO2 than in the 15% CO2 after 2 weeks of storage. In conclusion, this study's novelty comes from the broad prospects of using CO2 for maximizing the stored onion phytochemical functionality that is usually affected by the room temperature long storage. This will help in the onion shelf-life extension by considering the quality-related attributes.

Complex Anal fistula treated with IFTAK (Interception of fistulous track with application of ksharsutra) technique- A case report.

BACKGROUND: An anal fistula is a common benign anorectal disease that tends to reoccur simple or low-type fistulas can be treated without affecting the sphincter mechanism; however, repairing a complex ano fistula without compromising anal continence can be difficult for a surgeon. CASE PRESENTATION: Here, we present an anal fistula of complex clinical appearance managed successfully by the IFTAK (Interception of fistulous track with application of ksharsutra) technique practiced at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. The diagnosis was made via visual and bi-manual digital rectal examination then confirmed by Endoanal ultrasonography (EAUS). The patient showed remarkable improvement and the fistula healed completely in due course of time without impairing the anal continence status of the patient. At four months of follow-up the patient was healthy and no recurrence was found. CONCLUSION: IFTAK is a minimally invasive technique and very effective in managing complex fistula in ano of cryptoglandular origin. The main cause of recurrence in complex anal fistula is non-identification of an infected anal crypt, secondary extensions, associated sepsis, or abscess at the time of examination or surgery. So, precise diagnosis and appropriate surgical measures play an equal role in the successful outcome of anal fistula treatment, failure to either will result in non-healing or recurrence.

Ayurvedic management of alopecia areata: A case report.

Índralupta is a disease characterized by patches of hair loss spread throughout the body and scalp. It can be considered alopecia areata according to conventional medical care. The present case report is on the effectiveness of shodhana (treatment in which aggravated doshas are expelled from the body) and shamana (treatment that pacifies the aggravated doshas) in the patient of índralupta. A patient 25 years old, had hair loss patches on the scalp and many other areas of the body. The patient took conventional modern medicine as well as ayurveda treatment but didn't get a satisfactory result. The patient was hospitalized and treated with vamana (medicated emesis), virechana (medicated purgation), basti (administration of medicine through procto-colonic route), raktamokshana (blood-letting), and nasya (medicine administered through nasal route) along with shamana treatment for more than 6 weeks. The hair eruption started from many patches of the scalp and whole body. In this case, regrowth of hair from hair follicles was evident within 15 days of treatment. The collected data of this study suggest that shodhana and shamana treatment can provide noteworthy relief in índralupta.

Role of postoperative intact serum PTH as an early predictor of severe post-thyroidectomy hypocalcemia: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Post thyroidectomy hypocalcemia is a major sequel of thyroidectomy and continues to trouble the endocrinologists and the endocrine surgeons as there is no ideal predictive marker of hypocalcemia which has the potential to develop into a life-threatening complication. The role of early serum intact parathormone (iPTH) to predict post thyroidectomy hypocalcemia is becoming useful but the literature is still unclear regarding the optimal time of testing and the optimal cut-off value of serum iPTH. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a prospective cohort study of 111 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy in a tertiary care endocrine surgery referral unit. Serum iPTH was measured after 20 min and 4 h of surgery. Receiver-Operator characteristic Curve (ROC) was used to find out of the best cut-off value of S. iPTH 20 min and 4 h after surgery in predicting hypocalcemia. RESULTS: Hypocalcemia was noted in 60 (54%) out of 111 subjects who underwent total thyroidectomy. The best cut-off values of Serum iPTH to predict hypocalcemia was found to be 4.28 pmol/l at 20 min post total thyroidectomy with a sensitivity and specificity of 81.7% and 51%, respectively. In addition, patients with malignancy or central lymph nodal dissection were significantly over-represented in the hypocalcemia group with serum iPTH above the threshold level of 4.28 pmol/l. Below the cut off level, parenteral calcium supplementation was required in 23% (17/74) subjects while the rate was only 5.4% (2/37) patients when serum iPTH was above the cut-off level. CONCLUSIONS: The decline of serum iPTH below a specific level after surgery has predictive value together with other factors strictly related to patient, the thyroid disease itself and surgery. The risk of development of hypocalcemia and consequent need for calcium supplementation should be evaluated by clinical assessment along with serum PTH measurement.

IFTAK technique: An advanced Ksharsutra technique for management of fistula in ano.

Fistula in ano is mostnotorious disease among all the ano-rectal disorders since antiquity. Over the past few decades, various techniques are being evaluated in terms to prevent its recurrence and complications, but despite more than two millennia of efforts, fistula in ano still remains a perplexing surgical disease. The sign and symptoms of fistula in ano resembles with Bhagandara described in Ayurveda classics. For the management of this painful disease many treatment modalities are enumerated in Ayurveda classics and Ksharsutra therapy is one among them which is proved to be gold standard. Though Ksharsutra therapy is big revolution in the field of fistula in ano, but it has some disadvantages like it is time consuming process, severe post-procedural pain, big scar mark. So, in present era IFTAK is emerging as an advanced innovative technique for the management of fistula in ano along with betterment in the consequences of conventional method of Ksharsutra therapy. In the present case report, IFTAK (Interception of Fistulous tract and application of Ksharsutra) technique is used in trans sphincteric fistula in ano which showed a great potential in management by minimizing the duration of treatment, mild post procedural pain and minimum scar mark.

Zinc deficiency in low- and middle-income countries: prevalence and approaches for mitigation.

This review addresses the prevalence of zinc deficiency in Low- and Middle-income Countries (LMICs) and assesses the available strategies for its alleviation. The paucity of national-level data on the zinc deficiency in LMICs is partially a result of the lack of a reliable biomarker. Zinc deficiency appears to be a public health problem in almost all the LMICs, irrespective of the recommended indicators (plasma zinc concentration, dietary zinc adequacy and stunting prevalence) used. Based on plasma/serum zinc concentration (PZC), which is the most appropriate indicator at present, the prevalence of zinc deficiency in LMICs is of concern. Among the 25 countries for which national PZC data were available, 23 had a zinc deficiency prevalence of >20% for at least one physiological group. Zinc supplementation is largely restricted as an adjunct therapy for diarrhoea management in children, and the best platform and the most effective way of preventive zinc supplementation delivery remains to be established. Impact assessment for current zinc fortification programmes in LMICs and the effectiveness of zinc supplementation as part of a multi-micronutrient powder is to be determined. Dietary diversification, though promising for LMICs, is in the nascent stages of development at present. Inclusion of meat and animal products can be an important way of improving zinc status. Programmatic experience with the promotion of home processing techniques to increase absorbable zinc in the diet is lacking. Conventional biofortification techniques are gaining recognition in LMICs; however, transgenic biofortification as a strategy remains controversial.

A comparative study between rubber band ligation and local application of herbal caustic compound (pratisaraneeya kshara) in management of internal haemorrhoids.

Image 1071765.

New role for crinamine as a potent, safe and selective inhibitor of human monoamine oxidase B: In vitro and in silico pharmacology and modeling.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The development of selective inhibitors of monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) has been essential in treating Parkinson's disease. However, the apparent hepatotoxicity and drug-drug interactions of current inhibitors accentuate the need for the development of novel pharmacotherapies. Crossyne guttata (L.) D. & U. Müll-Doblies is used frequently by Rastafarian bush doctors to treat alcoholism, a disorder which is also accentuated by MAO. OBJECTIVE: The study sought to isolate, identify and characterise the biologically active constituents of C. guttata based on their ability to inhibit the MAO enzymes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Column chromatography was used to isolate the biologically active alkaloids of C. guttata. The ability of the alkaloids to inhibit the biotransformation of 4-aminoantipyrine by the MAO enzymes was evaluated in vitro. In silico docking was conducted using AutoDock Vina server while the pharmacokinetic properties of the compounds were evaluated using SwissADME. RESULTS: Chromatographic separation of an ethanolic fraction of C. guttata yielded the alkaloids crinamine 1 and epibuphanisine 2. 1 and 2 along with structurally related alkaloids haemanthamine 3 and haemanthidine 4 were evaluated for their ability to inhibit the action of isozymes of MAO in vitro. Alkaloids effected submicromolar IC50 values against MAO-B, the most potent of which being crinamine 1 (0.014 µM) > haemanthidine 4 (0.017 µM) > epibuphanisine 2 (0.039 µM) > haemanthamine 3 (0.112 µM). Binding energies of the alkaloids correlated well with their inhibitory potential with crinamine displaying the best binding efficacy and binding energy score with MAO-B. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Crinamine and epibuphanisine exhibited potent and selective inhibitory activity towards MAO-B. After comprehensive in silico investigations encompassing robust molecular docking analysis, the drug-like attributes and safety of the alkaloids suggest the crinamine is a potentially safe drug for human application.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) induced impairment of in vitro pollen performance of Peltophorum pterocarpum (DC.) K. Heyne.

Increasing use of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in myriad applications including electronics, medicines and agriculture has led to serious concerns regarding its release to plant ecosystems. Over the years, numerous studies have demonstrated the toxic impact of AgNPs in a variety of cell and tissue systems involved in vegetative growth across a wide range of plant species. However, assessing their impact on haploid phase of plant life cycle was restricted only to a study with Kiwifruit. In this study, in vitro pollen performance of Peltophorum pterocarpum at two endpoints i.e., germination and tube growth was assessed to evaluate the impact of nanoparticulate or ionic form of silver. Increasing concentrations of AgNO3/AgNPs significantly reduced the pollen germination and retarded the tube growth. The EC 50 values indicated a more potent toxic effect of AgNPs than AgNO3 on pollen germination as well as tube growth. Impairment of pollen performance was more pronounced at the stage of emergence of pollen tube. Extensive alterations in the muri and lumen of exine as revealed through SEM analysis and subsequent blockage of germpore might disrupt the emergence of pollen tube. The dynamics of pollen tube growth was analyzed with polynomial models of different degrees. A high degree of polynomial, the quintic model was able to approximate the real data points with highest coefficient of determination and smallest RMSE, compared to other models. An oscillating pattern of tube growth was portrayed with the passage of time in all the treatments that fits well with the established mechanistic oscillatory model of tube growth. It appears that exposure to AgNO3/AgNPs inhibited pollen germination and retarded tube growth without affecting the oscillatory behavior of tip-growth.

Prevalence and association of co-morbidities in diabetic patients along with prescription patterns in Delhi-NCT, India.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is rising at an alarming rate in India and the national capital forms a significant part of the nation's diabetic population. The metabolic disorder is no more a disease specific to the rich countries but has also markedly spread its roots in middle-income countries. OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the prevalence of associated co-morbidities in the diabetic population of Delhi, a metropolitan city in India. Moreover, this study was conducted to help with adding information to the limited shreds of evidence of diabetes prevalence in Delhi along with the usually preferred therapies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional, observational, survey-based study was conducted on people (n = 798) of different age groups (18 years and above) belonging to different regions of Delhi. All subjects were enrolled after obtaining oral consent. Detailed information about clinical, demographic and metabolic profiles was obtained with the help of a pre-structured, open-ended questionnaire. The data were analyzed, and the correlation between diabetes and several other fields was drawn. RESULTS: Out of the 798 diabetic patients 458 (57.39%) were males and 340 (42.60%) were females. The presence of diabetes was higher in the age group of 50-60 years irrespective of the gender. CO-MORBIDITIES: 54.13% of patients suffered with additional co-morbidities which is significantly high. The associated co-morbidities found in the survey included Hypertension, Hypothyroidism, Dyslipidemia, Obesity, Coronary Artery Diseases etc. About 30.57% of patients suffered from hypertension making it the most commonly associated co-morbidity. The other diseases included hypothyroidism (11.52%), Dyslipidemia (10.27%), Obesity (9.27%) etc. MEDICATION: Majority of patients i.e about 60.65% received oral hypoglycemic agents (including patients receiving both insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents). About 19.92% of patients were prescribed with insulin. 14.16% of patients were found to be following diet control and yoga with about 3.13% more females the males. A small percentage of patients (5.25%) were also following alternative systems (Ayurvedic/Unani/Homeopathic) of treatment. Overall, amongst oral hypoglycemic agents, the combination of metformin and DPP4 inhibitors (Vildagliptin, Sitagliptin) was being prescribed majorly i.e 16.41%. CONCLUSION: The number of diabetic population is high in Delhi. It was evident that a significant percentage of diabetic patients suffered from additional diseases that may lead to worsening of the health conditions. Thus, there is an urgent need to educate and spread awareness amongst the masses about the potential benefits of lifestyle modifications like the incorporation of a healthy diet and physical activities. Additionally, continuous and regular tests should be taken to avoid further complications.

In vitro assessment of gentamicin and azithromycin-based combination therapy against Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates in India.

PURPOSE: The public health burden of infections caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae is magnified due to high rates of resistance to traditional antimicrobials. The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro efficacy of an alternative dual therapy comprising gentamicin and azithromycin. METHODOLOGY: The E-test method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of gentamicin and azithromycin individually prior to testing in combination using the cross or 90o angle formation method. A total of 70 clinical isolates of N.gonorrhoeae displaying varying ceftriaxone MICs along with 2 reference strains (WHO K and P) and 1 ceftriaxone-resistant QA isolate were examined. The fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) was calculated and the results were interpreted using the following criteria: synergy, FICI ≤0.5; indifference or additive, FICI >0.5 to ≤4.0; and antagonism, FICI >4.0. RESULTS: A total of 54 (77.1 %) isolates displayed indifference, while 16 (22.9 %) demonstrated synergy. When azithromycin was tested alone, the MICs ranged from 0.016 to 2 µg ml-1 . However, in combination with gentamicin, the mean MIC value of all isolates decreased from 0.275 µg ml-1 to 0.090 µg ml-1 (P=0.05).When gentamicin was tested alone, the MICs ranged from 0.25 to 8 µg ml-1, with a mean MIC of 4.342 µg ml-1, whereas in combination with azithromycin it decreased significantly to 2.042 µg ml-1 (P=0.04). CONCLUSION: No antagonism was observed in this combination, suggesting that it could be a future treatment option as we prepare for a post-cephalosporin era. However, comprehensive in vivo evaluations are warranted and recommendations should be made based on clinical trials.

The Moving to Health (M2H) approach to natural experiment research: A paradigm shift for studies on built environment and health.

Improving the built environment (BE) is viewed as one strategy to improve community diets and health. The present goal is to review the literature on the effects of BE on health, highlight its limitations, and explore the growing use of natural experiments in BE research, such as the advent of new supermarkets, revitalized parks, or new transportation systems. Based on recent studies on movers, a paradigm shift in built-environment health research may be imminent. Following the classic Moving to Opportunity study in the US, the present Moving to Health (M2H) strategy takes advantage of the fact that changing residential location can entail overnight changes in multiple BE variables. The necessary conditions for applying the M2H strategy to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) databases and to large longitudinal cohorts are outlined below. Also outlined are significant limitations of this approach, including the use of electronic medical records in lieu of survey data. The key research question is whether documented changes in BE exposure can be linked to changes in health outcomes in a causal manner. The use of geo-localized clinical information from regional health care systems should permit new insights into the social and environmental determinants of health.

Effect of 6 Months of Meditation on Blood Sugar, Glycosylated Hemoglobin, and Insulin Levels in Patients of Coronary Artery Disease.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It has been recognized that stress, diabetes, and hypertension are important in etiology and progression of CAD. This study is to evaluate the role of meditation in improving biochemical parameters such as blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, and serum insulin levels in known CAD patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty CAD patients are divided into two groups of which one group did meditation and other did not. Blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, and fasting serum insulin levels were measured before and at the end of 6 months of study in both the groups. RESULTS: At the end of the study, significant decrease was seen in patients who practiced meditation as compared to other group. CONCLUSION: Meditation may modulate the physiological response to stress through neurohumoral activation, which may be a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of CAD.

Effect of Nadi svedana with simultaneous passive stretching on correction of sandhijadya.

Severe knee flexion contracture greater than 80° is rare and challenging to manage. It is a common complication which occurs after a prolonged course of the rheumatoid arthritis. The case was a 45 year old female patient of Ama vata (rheumatoid arthritis) with sandhijadya and sankoca (contracture deformity) who was hospitalized for 2 months. She was unable to walk since 1 year due to contracture of both knee joints. The patient came on a wheel chair and was unable to walk even with support. She was advised for contracture repair surgery which she refused. After hospitalization she was treated with Nadi svedana twice a day for 20 min each. Simultaneously, passive stretching for 45 s in every 5 min interval was done. She was treated for 2 months. The patient was instructed to continue other Ayurvedic remedies given as the Ama vata (rheumatoid arthritis) treatment. After Nadi svedana, goniometric assessment of the knees contracture was performed every week. She got satisfactory result in stiffness and pain and has been able to walk with support. Extension of both knee joints has improved up to 20° with increased range of motion. Her height has also been increased up to 1.5 cm due to improvement in the extension of the knee joints with better feeling in daily activities during 3 months of follow-up period.

Effectiveness of an Ayurveda treatment approach in knee osteoarthritis - a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Ayurveda is commonly used in South Asia to treat knee osteoarthritis (OA). We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Ayurvedic treatment compared to conventional conservative care in patients with knee OA. METHOD: According to American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria knee OA patients were included in a multicenter randomized, controlled, open-label trial and treated in 2 hospital clinics and 2 private outpatient clinics in Germany. Participants received either a multi-modal Ayurvedic treatment or multi-modal conventional care with 15 treatments over 12 weeks respectively. Primary outcome was the change on the Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis (WOMAC) Index after 12 weeks. Secondary outcomes included WOMAC subscales; the pain disability index and a pain experience scale, numeric rating scales for pain and sleep quality, quality-of-life and mood, rescue medication use, and safety issues. RESULTS: One hundred fifty-one participants (Ayurveda n = 77, conventional care n = 74) were included. Changes of the WOMAC Index from baseline to 12 weeks were more pronounced in the Ayurveda group (mean difference 61.0 [95%CI: 52.4;69.6]) than in the conventional group (32.0 [95%CI: 21.4;42.6]) resulting in a significant between-group difference (p < 0.001) and a clinically relevant effect size (Cohen's d 0.68 [95% CI:0.35;1.01]). Similar trends were observed for all secondary outcomes at week 12. Effects were sustained at follow-ups after 6 and 12 months. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that Ayurvedic treatment is beneficial in reducing knee OA symptoms. Further studies should be conducted to confirm the magnitude of the effect and to clarify the role of different treatment components and non-specific effects. REGISTRATION: at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01225133; initial release 10/06/2010).

Quantifying pearl millet response to high temperature stress: thresholds, sensitive stages, genetic variability and relative sensitivity of pollen and pistil.

The objectives were to (1) quantify high temperature (HT) stress impacts at different growth stages (season long, booting to seed-set and booting to maturity) on various yield components; (2) identify the most sensitive stage(s) to short episodes of HT stress during reproductive development; (3) understand the genetic variations for HT stress tolerance based on cardinal temperatures for pollen germination; and (4) determine relative sensitivity of pollen and pistil to HT stress and associated tolerance or susceptible mechanisms in pearl millet. High temperature stress (≥36/26°C) imposed at different stages and durations caused decrease in number of seeds, individual seed weight and seed yield. Two periods (10-12 days and 2-0 days before anthesis) were identified as most sensitive to short episodes of stress, causing maximum decreases in pollen germination percentage and seeds numbers. HT stresses of ≥36/26°C results in floret sterility. Pistils were relatively more sensitive than pollen grains, causing decreased number of seeds and seed yield. HT stress increased the reactive oxygen species contents and decreased the activity of the antioxidant enzymes in both pollen and pistils. Under HT stress, pistils had relatively higher reactive oxygen species and lower antioxidant enzymes activity compared with pollen grains, which explains greater susceptibility of pistils.

Machine vision based evaluation of impact of light emitting diodes (LEDs) on shoot regeneration and the effect of spectral quality on phenolic content and antioxidant capacity in Swertia chirata.

The present study demonstrates the influence of LED irradiance of various wavelengths on shoot regeneration, biomass accumulation, photosynthetic pigment contents, and antioxidant potentials of Swertia chirata - a critically endangered medicinal plant. Mixed treatment of blue (BL) and red LEDs (RL) in equal proportion (1:1) significantly improved the shoot regeneration response. A machine vision system was developed to assess the shoot regeneration potential under different lighting treatments. Regenerated shoots exposed under BL:RL (1:1) exhibited higher biomass accumulation and canopy development compared to other lighting treatments. Improved canopy growth was evident from the increase in the area, major axis, minor axis, convex area, equivalent diameter and perimeter of regenerated shoot clusters. A higher correlation of dry weight (DW) was noted with the image feature, weighted density (WD) than the fresh weight (FW) in all the LED treated cultures. The significant correlation between DW and WD implies that the image feature WD can be adopted as a non-invasive approach for measuring biomass accumulation as well as detecting hyperhydricity. The developed machine vision approach provides a new direction in the evaluation of shoot organogenesis that displayed features including both shoot multiplication and canopy development. Chlorophyll and carotenoid contents of the regenerated shoots were found to be higher under BL:RL (1:1) than the other treatments. Supplementation of RL led to a reduction in the pigment contents. Spectral quality of lights also significantly influenced the accumulation of total phenolics, flavonoids and flavonols. Cultures exposed under BL exhibited the maximum accumulation of polyphenols. A similar effect of spectral quality was observed with the antioxidant capacity and reducing power potential of leaf extract. The findings demonstrate the ability of LEDs in inducing shoot regeneration as well as accumulation of phenolic antioxidants and suggest that the proportion of blue and red LEDs is an important factor in achieving the optimum response.

Low-dose toxicity of biogenic silver nanoparticles fabricated by Swertia chirata on root tips and flower buds of Allium cepa.

Chemically synthesized silver nanoparticles (chem-AgNPs) have been assessed extensively to show adverse effects on plant cells but the role of biologically synthesized nanoparticles (bio-AgNPs) at lower concentrations and their toxicological impact on plant cells have not been sufficiently studied. In this study, bio-AgNPs were prepared using aqueous leaf extracts of Swertia chirata. This AgNPs showed absorption peak at 440nm of the visible spectrum. TEM analysis revealed that the average size of AgNPs were 20nm and mainly spherical in shape. AFM topographic images depicted the three dimensional aspects of AgNPs. XRD analysis confirmed the crystalline nature. FTIR spectrum of the AgNPs revealed the possible biomolecules involved in bioreduction and efficient stabilization of the particles. Low-dose of bio-AgNPs concentrations (5, 10 and 20µgml-1) were used for toxicity studies on Allium cepa. The studies revealed that various chromosomal aberrations were induced in both mitotic and meiotic cells of Allium cepa even at lower concentrations of bio-AgNPs. Abnormalities in post meiotic products were also observed. Both mitotic and meiotic indexes decreased with increasing concentrations of bio-AgNPs in the treated cells. These findings implied that low dose bio-AgNPs can induce significant clastogenic effects on both meristematic and reproductive plant cells.

Interventions for the management of oral lichen planus: a review of the conventional and novel therapies.

OBJECTIVE: This narrative review focuses on the rationale and role of conventional and newer therapies in the management of oral lichen planus (OLP) with emphasis on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reported over two decades. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Literature search was conducted to identify RCTs for the management of OLP from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 2015; Medline and Cochrane databases complemented with manual search were used. Primary outcome as resolution of pain was evaluated with the analysis of clinical resolution of erythema and ulceration as secondary outcome. RESULTS: The search provided 260 abstracts, of which 70 full-text articles were included. Majority of trials used topical steroids with very few trials on newer therapies. It was found that topical steroids are effective for symptomatic management of OLP with equal efficacy shown by topical calcineurin inhibitors and retinoids. However, the side effect of transient burning sensation with relapse was more with calcineurin inhibitors. CONCLUSION: Although the newer therapies offer advantage over steroids for the management of OLP in recalcitrant cases, extensive lesions, and cases unresponsive to steroids, but sufficient clinical data on their use are still lacking. Hence, more RCTs with large sample size, adequate treatment duration, and long-term follow-up are required for clinical utility.

The inheritance of juvenile onset primary open angle glaucoma.

Juvenile onset open angle glaucoma (JOAG) affects patients before 40 years of age, who present with high intraocular pressure and deep steep cupping of the optic nerve head. While it was considered to be inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion, recent studies have shown an autosomal recessive pattern as well as sporadic occurrence of the disease in several families. In this review, we analyze the genetic basis of the disease along with common mutations and their association with JOAG. We also analyzed the inheritance patterns in a large group of unrelated JOAG patients (n = 336) from Northern India wherein the prevalence of familial occurrence was assessed and segregation analysis performed, to determine the mode of inheritance.