Efficacy of Oral Colchicine and Intralesional Hyaluronidase with and without Ultrasound Therapy in the Management of Oral Submucous Fibrosis-A Comparative Study.

Aim: To determine the therapeutic effect and efficacy of oral colchicine tablet and intralesional injection of hyaluronidase with and without ultrasound therapy in the clinical course of oral submucous fibrosis. Materials and Methods: This comparative study involving 45 human participants was divided into three equal groups. The participants in group 1 received oral colchicine and intralesional hyaluronidase. The participants in group 2 received oral colchicine, intralesional hyaluronidase, and ultrasound therapy. The group 3 participants were treated with intralesional dexamethasone and hyaluronidase. Intergroup assessments were done using repeated measures of ANOVA test, where P value of <0.05 was considered as statistically significant difference. Results: Group 2 patients had maximum improvement with respect to all the parameters. Conclusion: Therapeutic ultrasound can be given effectively as an adjunct therapy along with conventional therapy in OSMF patients.

A Unique Case of Plunging Dermoid Cyst in an Elderly Male: A Case Report.

Dermoid cysts are the least commonly occurring developmental cysts in the oral and maxillofacial region. They may be congenital or acquired and are seen as asymptomatic swellings that are slow and progressive. It is very difficult to differentiate plunging ranulas from plunging dermoid cysts as both of them have very similar clinical features. However, since both entities have different treatment strategies, it is important to differentiate one from the other. A 57-year-old male patient reported to the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology with a large swelling in the submental region. To the best of our knowledge, the present case report is the first one showing such an extensive lesion of plunging dermoid cyst mimicking plunging ranula in an elderly male patient. The report mainly focuses on the diagnostic challenges faced to reach the final diagnosis.

Low-level laser therapy in the management of muscle fatigue caused after long Endodontic procedure.

Background: The masticatory muscles may undergo fatigue due to prolonged mouth opening during the endodontic procedures. Low-level laser can be used to treat muscle fatigue due its capacity to produce reactive oxygen species and improve function of mitochondria. Aim: To determine the effectiveness of low-level laser therapy in the management of masticatory muscle fatigue caused after long endodontic procedure under Local anesthesia. Material and Methods: 44 patients complaining of reduced mouth opening and pain while mouth opening, after long endodontic therapy were considered for the study and were randomly allocated into study and control group. In the study group, low-level laser was applied while patients of control group didn't receive any therapy. In the study group, Visual analogue scale (VAS) score of pain was taken after endodontic therapy, immediately after laser therapy and 4 hours after endodontic therapy. Mouth opening of the patients was measured, before and after endodontic procedure and immediately after laser therapy. In the control group, VAS score of pain was recorded immediately after endodontic therapy and 4 hours after endodontic therapy. Statistical analysis used: ANOVA test and un-paired t-test was used for the data analysis. Results: When both groups were compared, a statistically significant (P=0.0000) reduction with fatigue was found. Conclusions: The low-level laser can be a useful procedure immediately post long endodontic procedure causing masticatory muscle fatigue. Hence, this therapy can be considered as an add-on therapeutic procedure along with prolonged endodontic appointments to relieve the patient from the discomfort. Key words:Muscle fatigue, Masticatory muscles, Low-level laser therapy.

Chloroplasts play a central role in facilitating MAMP-triggered immunity, pathogen suppression of immunity and crosstalk with abiotic stress.

Microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP)-triggered immunity (MTI) research has traditionally centred around signal transduction pathways originating from activated membrane-localized pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), culminating in nuclear transcription and posttranslational modifications. More recently, chloroplasts have emerged as key immune signalling hubs, playing a central role in integrating environmental signals. Notably, MAMP recognition induces chloroplastic reactive oxygen species (cROS) that is suppressed by pathogen effectors, which also modify the balance of chloroplast-synthesized precursors of the defence hormones, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid (SA) and abscisic acid. This study focuses on how well-characterized PRRs and coreceptors modulate chloroplast physiology, examining whether diverse signalling pathways converge to similarly modulate chloroplast function. Pretreatment of receptor mutant plants with MAMP and D(Damage)AMP peptides usually protect against effector modulation of chlorophyll fluorescence and prevent Pseudomonas syringae effector-mediated quenching of cROS and suppression of maximum dark-adapted quantum efficiency (the ratio of variable/maximum fluorescence [Fv /Fm ]). The MTI coreceptor double mutant, bak1-5/bkk1-1, exhibits a remarkable decrease in Fv /Fm compared to control plants during infection, underlining the importance of MTI-mediated signalling in chloroplast immunity. Further probing the role of the chloroplast in immunity, we unexpectedly found that even moderate changes in light intensity can uncouple plant immune signalling.

Cold-induced [Ca2+]cyt elevations function to support osmoregulation in marine diatoms.

Diatoms are a group of microalgae that are important primary producers in a range of open ocean, freshwater, and intertidal environments. The latter can experience substantial long- and short-term variability in temperature, from seasonal variations to rapid temperature shifts caused by tidal immersion and emersion. As temperature is a major determinant in the distribution of diatom species, their temperature sensory and response mechanisms likely have important roles in their ecological success. We examined the mechanisms diatoms use to sense rapid changes in temperature, such as those experienced in the intertidal zone. We found that the diatoms Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Thalassiosira pseudonana exhibit a transient cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]cyt) elevation in response to rapid cooling, similar to those observed in plant and animal cells. However, [Ca2+]cyt elevations were not observed in response to rapid warming. The kinetics and magnitude of cold-induced [Ca2+]cyt elevations corresponded with the rate of temperature decrease. We did not find a role for the [Ca2+]cyt elevations in enhancing cold tolerance but showed that cold shock induces a Ca2+-dependent K+ efflux and reduces mortality of P. tricornutum during a simultaneous hypo-osmotic shock. As intertidal diatom species may routinely encounter simultaneous cold and hypo-osmotic shocks during tidal cycles, we propose that cold-induced Ca2+ signaling interacts with osmotic signaling pathways to aid in the regulation of cell volume. Our findings provide insight into the nature of temperature perception in diatoms and highlight that cross-talk between signaling pathways may play an important role in their cellular responses to multiple simultaneous stressors.

Nonsurgical Management of Oral Mucocele Occurring on a Rare Site.

Mucocele is a common salivary gland lesion which most commonly occurs on the lower lip. Several treatment options are available for its elimination with surgery being the most commonly used method. A 49-year-old male presented with a small, round, painless swelling on the left buccal mucosa since 6 months. A clinical diagnosis of oral mucocele on the left buccal mucosa was made. Due to the inaccessibility of the posterior buccal mucosa region, sclerotherapy with sodium tetradecyl sulfate was planned. The patient did not show any obvious reduction in the size of swelling after 1 week of therapy. Therefore, a second injection was planned. After another 1 week, complete resolution of the lesion was seen with no complications. No recurrence of the lesion has been seen after 6 months of therapy. Due to the various drawbacks of surgical management of oral mucocele, sclerotherapy can be an effective alternative.

Spatiotemporal patterns of intracellular Ca2+ signalling govern hypo-osmotic stress resilience in marine diatoms.

Diatoms are globally important phytoplankton that dominate coastal and polar-ice assemblages. These environments exhibit substantial changes in salinity over dynamic spatiotemporal regimes. Rapid sensory systems are vital to mitigate the harmful consequences of osmotic stress. Population-based analyses have suggested that Ca2+ signalling is involved in diatom osmotic sensing. However, mechanistic insight of the role of osmotic Ca2+ signalling is limited. Here, we show that Phaeodactylum Ca2+ elevations are essential for surviving hypo-osmotic shock. Moreover, employing novel single-cell imaging techniques we have characterised real-time Ca2+ signalling responses in single diatom cells to environmental osmotic perturbations. We observe that intracellular spatiotemporal patterns of osmotic-induced Ca2+ elevations encode vital information regarding the nature of the osmotic stimulus. Localised Ca2+ signals evoked by mild or gradual hypo-osmotic shocks are propagated globally from the apical cell tips, enabling fine-tuned cell volume regulation across the whole cell. Finally, we demonstrate that diatoms adopt Ca2+ -independent and dependent mechanisms for osmoregulation. We find that efflux of organic osmolytes occurs in a Ca2+ -independent manner, but this response is insufficient to mitigate cell damage during hypo-osmotic shock. By comparison, Ca2+ -dependent signalling is necessary to prevent cell bursting via precise coordination of K+ transport, and therefore is likely to underpin survival in dynamic osmotic environments.

A Novel Ca2+ Signaling Pathway Coordinates Environmental Phosphorus Sensing and Nitrogen Metabolism in Marine Diatoms.

Diatoms are a diverse and globally important phytoplankton group, responsible for an estimated 20% of carbon fixation on Earth. They frequently form spatially extensive phytoplankton blooms, responding rapidly to increased availability of nutrients, including phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N). Although it is well established that diatoms are common first responders to nutrient influxes in aquatic ecosystems, little is known of the sensory mechanisms that they employ for nutrient perception. Here, we show that P-limited diatoms use a Ca2+-dependent signaling pathway, not previously described in eukaryotes, to sense and respond to the critical macronutrient P. We demonstrate that P-Ca2+ signaling is conserved between a representative pennate (Phaeodactylum tricornutum) and centric (Thalassiosira pseudonana) diatom. Moreover, this pathway is ecologically relevant, being sensitive to sub-micromolar concentrations of inorganic phosphate and a range of environmentally abundant P forms. Notably, we show that diatom recovery from P limitation requires rapid and substantial increases in N assimilation and demonstrate that this process is dependent on P-Ca2+ signaling. P-Ca2+ signaling thus governs the capacity of diatoms to rapidly sense and respond to P resupply, mediating fundamental cross-talk between the vital nutrients P and N and maximizing diatom resource competition in regions of pulsed nutrient supply.

Usage Analysis of WhatsApp for Dentistry-related Purposes among General Dental Practitioners.

INTRODUCTION: To assess the knowledge and extent of WhatsApp usage for dentistry related purposes among general dental practitioners (GDPs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 105 randomly selected GDPs from Pune, Maharashtra, India. Data was collected in a personalized manner by means of validated questionnaire. Results and observations: A total of 105 dentists participated in the survey: 96.19% of dentists had WhatsApp installed in their phones; 67.32% of dentists sought second opinion on WhatsApp; 60.29% of dentists received prompt replies, while 38.23% received late replies; 98.52% of dentists sent clinical photographs and radiographs for second opinion. 88.11% of dentists were a part of various 'dentistry related groups' and 72.27% of dentists told that patients ask their queries on WhatsApp. 36.76% of GDPs obtained verbal consent from the patients for sending clinical materials for second opinion. Majority of population of GDPs 63.23% (43) did not obtain any form of consent from the patients. CONCLUSION: Majority of GDPs uses WhatsApp for 'dentistry related purposes' and it has become an integral part of their day-to-day practice. GDPs should obtain written consent before sending clinical materials for second opinion. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Till date, the extent of WhatsApp usage by general dental practitioners was not reported in the literature. It appears that, WhatsApp application has become an integral part of general dental practice in India. By virtue of this, obtaining second opinion, taking appointments and solving queries of patients are no longer a time consuming events. In future, instant messaging services might play major role in providing efficient services in health care industry.