Recent Advances in Caries Prevention-An Update.

Management of dental caries has seen a significant development in recent years. A diagnosis based on risk indicators and risk factor assessments, early identification, and caries prevention are some of the most recent and efficient strategies. The recent advancements in dental caries prevention strategies are briefly covered in this overview.

Effect of cryopreservation and capacitation on expression patterns of ATP synthesis associated genes in bubaline spermatozoa.

This study investigated the expression patterns of certain ATP synthesis associated genes (GAPDHS, PGK2, ENO4 and MDH2) in fresh and frozen-thawed bubaline spermatozoa vis-à-vis capacitation. Eight adult Murrah buffalo bulls, aged 5-7 years, were randomly selected from a bull farm and fresh semen was collected once a week for four weeks (n = 32) from the selected bulls. Simultaneously, frozen straws of the same bulls were collected (n = 32, four straws were pooled per sample). The samples were divided into four groups i.e., fresh non capacitated (control/group 1), fresh capacitated (group 2), frozen non capacitated (group 3) and frozen capacitated (group 4). In all groups mRNA extraction was done. The mRNA expression of GAPDHS was significantly higher in group 3 compared to the other groups, whereas the expression of ENO4 was significantly up-regulated in group 2 and 3 compared to the group 4. Similarly, the mRNA expression of PGK2 was significantly up-regulated in group 3 whereas in case of MDH2, it was significantly higher in group 2, 3 and 4 compared group 1. It can be concluded from our study that freezing and capacitation has a significant effect on the expression dynamics of the ATP synthesis-associated genes warranting necessary interventions in handling procedures to minimise the adverse effect of freezing on ATP synthesis process to ensure persistence of fertilizing ability of sperm.

Familial Gigantiform Cementoma: Life-Saving Total Midface Resection and Reconstruction Using Virtual Surgical Planning and 3D Printed Patient-Specific Implant-A Clinical Study.

Background: Familial gigantiform cementoma (FGC) is a rare benign fibrocemento-osseous lesion of the jaw characterized by well-circumscribed, extensive, mixed radiolucent-radiopaque masses in the mandible and the maxilla that can cause severe facial deformity. This condition is extremely rare with less than 40 cases reported in the literature. Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to highlight the importance of virtual surgical planning and patient-specific implant in the treatment of a complex lesion and reconstruction of the facial skeleton. The clinical presentations, and diagnostic challenges encountered when managing the lesion have been discussed in this article with emphasis on the treatment plan. Method/Surgical plan: The sequence of treatment planned was resection of the lesion and immediate reconstruction with a patient-specific implant to improve the patient's quality of life. The management of FGC was a challenging one keeping in mind the rapid expansion of the lesion, widespread involvement of the jaws, and needs of the pediatric patient. Conclusion: Virtual surgical planning (VSP) along with 3D printed implant was instrumental in reconstructing the facial form of the child where the maxilla was completely resected and rehabilitation provided support to the vital structures of the face.

Identification of the rice Rc gene as a main regulator of seed survival under dry storage conditions.

Seed deterioration during storage results in poor germination, reduced vigour, and non-uniform seedling emergence. The aging rate depends on storage conditions and genetic factors. This study aims to identify these genetic factors determining the longevity of rice (Oryza sativa L.) seeds stored under experimental aging conditions mimicking long-term dry storage. Genetic variation for tolerance to aging was studied in 300 Indica rice accessions by storing dry seeds under an elevated partial pressure of oxygen (EPPO) condition. A genome-wide association analysis identified 11 unique genomic regions for all measured germination parameters after aging, differing from those previously identified in rice under humid experimental aging conditions. The significant single nucleotide polymorphism in the most prominent region was located within the Rc gene, encoding a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor. Storage experiments using near-isogenic rice lines (SD7-1D (Rc) and SD7-1d (rc) with the same allelic variation confirmed the role of the wildtype Rc gene, providing stronger tolerance to dry EPPO aging. In the seed pericarp, a functional Rc gene results in accumulation of proanthocyanidins, an important sub-class of flavonoids having strong antioxidant activity, which may explain the variation in tolerance to dry EPPO aging.

Novel sensitive isothermal-based diagnostic technique for the detection of African swine fever virus.

A rapid, simple, and sensitive diagnostic technique for the detection of African swine fever virus (ASFV) nucleic acid was developed for testing clinical samples in the field or resource-constrained settings. In the current study, the saltatory rolling-circle amplification (SRCA) technique was used for the first time to detect ASFV. The technique was developed using World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH)-approved primers targeting the p72 gene of the ASFV genome. The assay can be performed within 90 minutes at an isothermal temperature of 58°C without a requirement for sophisticated instrumentation. The results can be interpreted by examination with the naked eye with the aid of SYBR Green dye. This assay exhibited 100% specificity, producing amplicons only from ASFV-positive samples, and there was no cross-reactivity with other pathogenic viruses and bacteria of pigs that were tested. The lower limits of detection of SRCA, endpoint PCR, and real-time PCR assays were 48.4 copies/µL, 4.84 × 103 copies/µL, and 4.84 × 103 copies/µL, respectively. Thus, the newly developed SRCA assay was found to be 100 times more sensitive than endpoint and real-time PCR assays. Clinical tissue samples obtained from ASFV-infected domestic pigs and other clinical samples collected during 2020-22 from animals with suspected ASFV infection were tested using the SRCA assay, and a 100% accuracy rate, negative predictive value, and positive predictive value were demonstrated. The results indicate that the SRCA assay is a simple yet sensitive method for the detection of ASFV that may improve the diagnostic capacity of field laboratories, especially during outbreaks. This novel diagnostic technique is completely compliant with the World Health Organization's "ASSURED" criteria advocated for disease diagnosis, as it is affordable, specific, sensitive, user-friendly, rapid and robust, equipment-free, and deliverable. Therefore, this SRCA assay may be preferable to other complex molecular techniques for diagnosing African swine fever.

Cu(II)-Metallized Three-Layered Cu-8HQ Complex with Hierarchical Crystallite Morphologies Synthesized via Reaction-Diffusion.

Self-organization of regular band patterns of the precipitate via a reaction-diffusion (RD) framework is called Liesegang phenomenon. This non-equilibrium system is emerging as an efficient method for synthesizing materials with unique morphologies that may have desired properties. The formation of continuous precipitation inside a band with poor control over the shape and size of sparingly soluble salts has been well documented. However, only a few reports on forming organic-inorganic bonds are available. In the present work, we demonstrate the formation of 2D frameworks of bis-(8-hydroxyquinoline) copper(II) in the agar gel via RD. The macroscopic particles were dumbbell-shaped, with aspect ratios ranging from 2.7 (inner bands) to 0.7 (outer bands). The particles were composed of ribbon-shaped crystallites at the microscopic level, each with three layers of parallelogram prismatic monoclinic sheets stacked over one another, which could easily be exfoliated. The powder X-ray diffraction patterns at low angles and the surface areas of the crystallites indicated the formation of metal-organic frameworks. It was observed that the sizes of the particles could be tuned by controlling the extent of diffusion using reactant concentrations. Since such heterostructures have energy storage capacity, the cyclic voltammograms of the unexfoliated and exfoliated materials showed that they fall in the pseudocapacitor category with potential application as the electrode material. The frameworks were further characterized by techniques such as optical and electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy, and UV-visible spectrophotometry.

Experimental rice seed aging under elevated oxygen pressure: Methodology and mechanism.

Seed aging during storage results in loss of vigor and germination ability due to the accumulation of damage by oxidation reactions. Experimental aging tests, for instance to study genetic variation, aim to mimic natural aging in a shorter timeframe. As the oxidation rate is increased by elevating the temperature, moisture, and oxygen levels, this study aimed to (1) investigate the effect of experimental rice seed aging by an elevated partial pressure of oxygen (EPPO), (2) elucidate the mechanism of dry-EPPO aging and (3) compare aging under dry-EPPO conditions to aging under traditional moist-controlled deterioration (CD) conditions and to long-term ambient storage. Dry seeds from 20 diverse rice accessions were experimentally aged under EPPO (200 times higher oxygen levels), at 50% relative humidity (RH), along with storage under high-pressure nitrogen gas and ambient conditions as controls. While no decline in germination was observed with ambient storage, there was significant aging of the rice seeds under EPPO storage, with considerable variation in the aging rate among the accessions, with an average decline toward 50% survival obtained after around 21 days in EPPO storage and total loss of germination after 56 days. Storage under high-pressure nitrogen gas resulted in a small but significant decline, by an average of 5% germination after 56 days. In a second experiment, seven rice seed lots were stored under EPPO as compared to a moist-CD test and two different long-term ambient storage conditions, i.e., conditioned warehouse seed storage (CWSS) and traditional rice seed storage (TRSS). Untargeted metabolomics (with identification of lipid and volatile compounds profiles) showed a relatively high increase in levels of oxidized lipids and related volatiles under all four storage conditions. These compounds had a high negative correlation with seed viability, indicating oxidation as a main deteriorating process during seed aging. Correlation analysis indicated that EPPO storage at 50% RH is more related to aging under TRSS at 60% and CD-aging at 75% ERH rather than CWSS at 40% ERH. In conclusion, aging rice seeds under EPPO conditions is a suitable experimental aging method for analyzing variation among seed lots or genotypes for longevity under storage.

Outcome of Treatment in Verrucous Carcinoma of Oral Cavity: A Tertiary Rural Hospital Experience.

Verrucous carcinoma of oral cavity is a highly well differentiated variant of squamous cell carcinoma with a low potential for invasion and metastasis. It is prevalent in the tobacco quid chewing population in our region. In this observational study, we reviewed the medical case records of 58 patients treated for oral verrucous carcinoma staged T2 to T4a. All patients underwent wide excision of tumour which included marginal mandibulectomy in 22 and hemimandibulectomy in 23 patients along with neck dissection saving the accessory nerve and internal jugular vein. 5 patients were found to have bone involvement along the alveolar sockets. 11 patients had other associated premalignant lesions in oral cavity. Only 2 patients had lymph node metastasis without extra nodal spread in submandibular region. With a mean follow up of 6 years and minimum follow up of 1 year, 3 patients had local recurrence. All these 3 patients had bone involvement and 2 of them had lymph node metastasis on histopathological examination. 3 patients who had associated premalignant lesions developed second primary in oral cavity after 3 years. In our experience, verrucous carcinoma has good prognosis when treated by surgery. Bone involvement along alveolar sockets and associated oral premalignant lesions adversely affect the outcome. There was no difference in the outcome between selective and modified radical neck dissection. Therefore selective neck dissection (supraomohyoid) would be adequate in treating these patients. Adjuvant radiotherapy can be reserved for T4a lesions or for positive margins.

Signaling pathways and their potential therapeutic utility in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Esophageal cancer is a complex gastrointestinal malignancy with an extremely poor outcome. Approximately 80% of cases of this malignancy in Asian countries including India are of squamous cell origin, termed Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC).The five-year survival rate in ESCC patients is less than 20%. Neo-adjuvant chemo-radiotherapy (NACRT) followed by surgical resection remains the major therapeutic strategy for patients with operable ESCC. However, resistance to NACRT and local recurrence after initial treatment are the leading cause of dismal outcomes in these patients. Therefore, an alternative strategy to promote response to the therapy and reduce the post-operative disease recurrence is highly needed. At the molecular level, wide variations have been observed in tumor characteristics among different populations, nevertheless, several common molecular features have been identified which orchestrate disease progression and clinical outcome in the malignancy. Therefore, determination of candidate molecular pathways for targeted therapy remains the mainstream idea of focus in ESCC research. In this review, we have discussed the key signaling pathways associated with ESCC, i.e., Notch, Wnt, and Nrf2 pathways, and their crosstalk during disease progression. We further discuss the recent developments of novel agents to target these pathways in the context of targeted cancer therapy. In-depth research of the signaling pathways, gene signatures, and a combinatorial approach may help in discovering targeted therapy for ESCC.

A family of familial gigantiform cementoma: clinical study.

Background: Familial gigantiform cementoma is an autosomal dominant fibro-cement osseous lesion that causes massive expansion of facial skeleton. Patients with such massive lesions have a compromised quality of life. The main goal of treating such patients is to restore and preserve the jaw as far as possible which would enhance their quality of life. Purpose: This study was conducted to identify the occurrence of gigantiform cementoma which had affected three generations of a family and also to focus on documentation of the clinical course and management. Method: Patients (one family-mother, grandmother, aunt and grandson) who had visited the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Tamilnadu Government Dental College and Hospital, Chennai, over a period for their swelling in the maxillofacial region were clinically and radiographically evaluated and histopathologically diagnosed as familial gigantiform cementoma; later, they were surgically managed. Result: It is very rare to document three generations of this disease which had shown varied clinical presentation (asymptomatic slow growth, arrested growth and one case of aggressive growth). Management of these cases varied from observation to aggressive resection. Conclusion: Gigantiform cementoma follows an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance with variable phenotypic expression without gender predilection. These cases require regular observation and intervention if necessary.

Effect of biostimulation on growth rate and reproductive development of Bos indicus dairy heifers.

The present study aimed to compare the growth rate, feeding behavior, reproductive development, and concentrations of GH and leptin in Sahiwal heifers exposed to direct bull contact, bull contact through a fenceline, or isolated from bulls. Overall, 24 heifers were allotted to three treatment groups (n = eight/group) based on birth weight, body weight, and age. Heifers from the non-exposed group (NBE) remained isolated from bulls; heifers stimulated by fenceline bull contact (FBE) remained continuously exposed to bulls through a fenceline, and heifers with direct bull contact (DBE+FBE) had direct contact with a bull during 6 h/day plus continuous fenceline bull exposure for the entire 24 h period. It was considered that heifers attained puberty when progesterone concentration was >1 ng/mL. Biostimulated heifers achieved puberty at both a lower age and body weight (P < 0.05) than NBE heifers. Overall, average daily gain (g/day) was greater in DBE+FBE (516.3 ± 4.5) and FBE (501.6 ± 4.3) than in NBE (441.8 ± 2.9, respectively; P < 0.01). Leptin and growth hormone concentrations were significantly greater in FBE and DBE+FBE than NBE heifers. Both groups of biostimulated heifers devoted more time eating than NBE heifers, P < 0.05). In conclusion, biostimulation of Sahiwal heifers, either by exposing them to bulls through a fenceline or by both fenceline exposure and direct contact, reduced the age of puberty and increased growth performance. Overall, fenceline bull exposure can be recommended as an easy handling management to stimulate reproductive precocity and growth rate in heifers.

Assessment of Soft Computing Techniques for the Prediction of Compressive Strength of Bacterial Concrete.

In this investigation, the potential of M5P, Random Tree (RT), Reduced Error Pruning Tree (REP Tree), Random Forest (RF), and Support Vector Regression (SVR) techniques have been evaluated and compared with the multiple linear regression-based model (MLR) to be used for prediction of the compressive strength of bacterial concrete. For this purpose, 128 experimental observations have been collected. The total data set has been divided into two segments such as training (87 observations) and testing (41 observations). The process of data set separation was arbitrary. Cement, Aggregate, Sand, Water to Cement Ratio, Curing time, Percentage of Bacteria, and type of sand were the input variables, whereas the compressive strength of bacterial concrete has been considered as the final target. Seven performance evaluation indices such as Correlation Coefficient (CC), Coefficient of determination (R2), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Bias, Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE), and Scatter Index (SI) have been used to evaluate the performance of the developed models. Outcomes of performance evaluation indices recommend that the Polynomial kernel function based SVR model works better than other developed models with CC values as 0.9919, 0.9901, R2 values as 0.9839, 0.9803, NSE values as 0.9832, 0.9800, and lower values of RMSE are 1.5680, 1.9384, MAE is 0.7854, 1.5155, Bias are 0.2353, 0.1350 and SI are 0.0347, 0.0414 for training and testing stages, respectively. The sensitivity investigation shows that the curing time (T) is the vital input variable affecting the prediction of the compressive strength of bacterial concrete, using this data set.

Signaling pathways and their potential therapeutic utility in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Esophageal cancer is a complex gastrointestinal malignancy with an extremely poor outcome. Approximately 80% of cases of this malignancy in Asian countries including India are of squamous cell origin, termed Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC).The five-year survival rate in ESCC patients is less than 20%. Neo-adjuvant chemo-radiotherapy (NACRT) followed by surgical resection remains the major therapeutic strategy for patients with operable ESCC. However, resistance to NACRT and local recurrence after initial treatment are the leading cause of dismal outcomes in these patients. Therefore, an alternative strategy to promote response to the therapy and reduce the post-operative disease recurrence is highly needed. At the molecular level, wide variations have been observed in tumor characteristics among different populations, nevertheless, several common molecular features have been identified which orchestrate disease progression and clinical outcome in the malignancy. Therefore, determination of candidate molecular pathways for targeted therapy remains the mainstream idea of focus in ESCC research. In this review, we have discussed the key signaling pathways associated with ESCC, i.e., Notch, Wnt, and Nrf2 pathways, and their crosstalk during disease progression. We further discuss the recent developments of novel agents to target these pathways in the context of targeted cancer therapy. In-depth research of the signaling pathways, gene signatures, and a combinatorial approach may help in discovering targeted therapy for ESCC.

Spatial prediction of soil depth using environmental covariates by quantile regression forest model.

Prediction of soil depth for larger areas provides primary information on soil depth and its spatial distribution that becomes vital for land resource management, crop, nutrient, and ecosystem modeling. The present study assessed the spatial distribution of soil depth over 160,205 km2 of Andhra Pradesh, India, using 20 covariables by quantile regression forest (QRF). An aggregate of 2854 soil datasets compiled from various physiographic units were randomly partitioned into 80:20 ratio for calibration (2283 samples) and validation (571 samples). Landsat imagery, terrain datasets (8), and bioclimatic factors (11) were utilized as covariates. The QRF model outputs signified that precipitation, multi-resolution index of valley bottom flatness (MrVBF), mean diurnal range, isothermality, and elevation were the most important variables influencing soil depth variability across the landscape. Spatial prediction of soil depth by QRF model yielded a ME of - 1.81 cm, RMSE of 34 cm, PICP of 90.2, and a R2 value of 42% as compared to ordinary kriging which results in a ME of - 0.14 cm, a RMSE of 37 cm, and a R2 value of 32%. As soil depth is spatially dynamic and has significant correlation with terrain and environmental covariates, better prediction was possible by the QRF model. However, high-density bioclimatic variables could be utilized along with high-resolution terrain variables to improve the predictive accuracy.

Precise Evaluation of Spatial Characteristics of Periodically Precipitating Systems via Measurement of RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) Values of Pattern Images.

In the present study, a method is described for precise determination of spatial characteristics of Liesegang bands formed by employing a classical 1D setup using a web-based free resource (https://www.ginifab.com/feeds/pms/color_picker_from_image.php). The method involves the compartmentalization of the information on each pixel into R (red), G (green), or B (blue) values from the pattern images obtained using a simple digital camera. The values can further be converted to absorbance values by using the system blank. Each trough (or peak) in the graph of RGB values (or absorbance values) corresponds to a band in the pattern. The method is employed to determine the spacing and width of the periodically precipitating AgCl, AgBr, and Co(OH)2 in an agar gel. It is observed that AgCl shows revert banding, and AgBr shows revert banding at the top of the tube and then diverges to regular banding at the bottom of the tube, whereas the Co(OH)2 patterns explicitly show regular banding under given experimental conditions. It is also observed that minute instabilities, such as the formation of secondary bands, can also be visualized by the present method.

Imaging pitfalls in paediatric posterior fossa neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions.

Paediatric posterior fossa lesions can have much overlap in their clinical and radiological presentation. There are, however, a number of key imaging features that can help the reading radiologist to distinguish tumours from important tumour mimics which are often inflammatory or metabolic entities. This pictorial review provides a number of important cases that proved challenging on imaging and illustrates some common pitfalls when interpreting lesions in the posterior fossa in children. Not everything that is abnormal will be a tumour, but often other causes are overlooked and misinterpreted as tumours, leading to great morbidity for that child. This article highlights some lesions that were mistaken as tumours and will introduce the reader to less commonly seen pathologies which are important to consider on a differential list for this location.

Microarray based gene expression profiling of advanced gall bladder cancer.

BACKGROUND: Gall bladder cancer (GBC) is an aggressive cancer with specific predilection like female gender and specific geographical areas, however the molecular mechanisms and factors contributing to the clinical or biological behavior are not understood. AIM: The aim of this study was to perform a comprehensive analysis of differentially expressed genes in advanced GBC and chronic cholecystitis (CC) cases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Microarray was planned on fresh specimens of advanced GBC and CC cases using single color cRNA based microarray technique (8X60K format; Agilent Technologies, USA). Twelve advanced GBC and four CC patients were included in the study. RESULTS: Of the total of 1307 differentially expressed genes, 535 genes were significantly upregulated, while 772 genes were significantly downregulated in advanced GBC vs CC samples. Differentially expressed genes were associated with biological processes (55.03%), cellular components (31.48%), and molecular functions (13.49%) respectively. The important pathways or key processes affected were cell cycle, DNA replication, oxidative stress, gastric cancer pathway. Using in silico analysis tools, three differentially expressed genes i.e. TPX2, Cdc45 and MCM4 were selected (for their significant role in DNA replication and microtubule function) and were further validated in 20 advanced GBC cohort by immunohistochemistry. Significant positive association of Cdc45 and MCM4 proteins was found in advanced GBC cases (p = 0.043), suggesting the probable oncogenic role of Cdc45 and MCM4 proteins in advanced GBC. CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrate the potential regulation of Cdc45-MCM4 axis in advanced GBC tumors. Additionally, our study also revealed a range of differentially expressed genes (e.g. TPX2, AKURA etc.) between GBC and CC, and further validation of these genes might provide a potential diagnostic or therapeutic target in future.