Rheumatoid Arthritis and Periodontal Disease

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an immune-mediated inflammatory disease (IMID), chronic progressive causing inflammation in the joints and resulting in painful deformity and immobility, especially in the fingers, wrists, feet, and ankles. Periodontitis is defined as an inflammatory disease of supporting tissues of teeth caused by specific microorganisms or their groups, resulting in progressive destruction of the periodontal ligament and alveolar bone with periodontal pocket formation, clinical attachment loss, or both. Individuals manifesting both periodontitis and RA may suffer from a unifying underlying systemic dysregulation of the inflammatory response. In the past few years, increasing attention has been given to aspects of oral health in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, especially related to associations with periodontal disease. In this chapter we will be reviewing about the pathophysiology of RA and role of inflammation, periodontal disease: a gateway to RA, oral manifestations of RA, immunogenetics of RA and periodontitis, treatment implications for RA and periodontitis based on common pathophysiology

Response of TLD badges and cards for measurement of the operational quantity

The operational quantity, Hp(10), for strongly penetrating radiation was measured by a dosimeter placed on a phantom surface for individual external dose monitoring. Measurement of Hp(10) was carried out with a 137Cs source using CaSO4:Dy Teflon-based TLD badges and cards placed on the surface of a PMMA as well as water phantom at a depth of 10 mm. The ratio of response of the TLD discs to TLD badges and that of the TLD cards under similar conditions were identical for different experimental conditions. This experiment quantified the impact of the cassette on the dose measurement. Minor changes in the PMMA phantom thickness beyond 15 cm showed an insignificant impact on the dosimeter response

MULTIVARIATE ASSESSMENT OF YIELD AND ITS COMPONENTS IN OKRA [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench] GENOTYPES

Not AvailableOkra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench] is a valuable vegetable in many regions of the world, especially in the tropics and sub-tropics. It is not only a nutrient-rich vegetable but also an important medicinal herb (Yuan et al., 2014). Although India is the largest producer of okra with 6.35 million tonnes production (72.9% of total world production) from 0.53 million hectare area (Anonymous, 2015), its productivity potential is low. A major constraint in okra productivity is the low genetic potential of the present okra varieties. Improvement of okra requires a broad spectrum of genetic variability from which useful characters can be selected for developing broad-based populations to be used in hybridization programme (Lester et al., 1990; Hammond and Charrier, 1983). Genetic distance estimates form the basis for selecting parental combinations. Genetic distance estimates for population can be estimated by different methods. One of the approaches is to apply multivariate analysis as it has extensive use in summarizing and describing the inherent variation among crop genotypes. Multivariate statistical tools include Mahalanobis D2 analysis, cluster analysis, principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminate analysis (Oyelola, 2004). Mahalanobis D2 multivariate analysis (Mahalanobis, 1936) for obtaining quantitative estimates of genetic divergence and Tocher’s method for grouping of different genotypes of a particular crop are more valuable tools in choosing suitable parents for heterosis breeding. PCA can be used to uncover similarities between variables and classify the genotypes. With this backdrop, an attempt was made in the present study to assess the nature and magnitude of genetic divergence of some okra genotypes consisting of advanced breeding elite lines developed at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bangalore using various multivariate analysis tools.Not Availabl

Characterization of chaotic dynamics-II: topological invariants and their equivalence for an autocatalytic model system and an experimental sheared polymer solution

Characterization of strange attractors exhibiting chaotic dynamics may be carried out through computation of metric, dynamical and topological invariants. The last of these are robust even under control parameter variations and hence have certain distinct advantages. In the present work, we carry out the topological analysis of the observed dynamics from a model autocatalytic reacting system and an experimental polymer solution subjected to shear. Low dimensional chaotic dynamics are observed in both these systems. The results show the global characterization and classification of the dynamics for both systems based on topological invariants, viz., linking numbers and relative rotational rates, is possible. The analyses of these invariants yield the template and the Markov transition matrix that contain in them valuable topological information about the system dynamics. The results obtained show that the two systems possess similar topological characteristics and follow the horseshoe mechanism. This information should help in developing design and control algorithms for these systems

Characterization of chaotic dynamics-I: dynamical invariants of sheared polymer solutions

Stress measurements as a function of time in aqueous polymer solutions show the presence of sustained dynamic features for identifiable steady shear regions. The analysis of post-transient time-series data, reveals the presence of low-dimensional chaotic dynamics. Interestingly, the results obtained from different types of polymer solutions, viz., thermosensitive polymers and biopolymers, show similar complex dynamical features and suggest that mechanisms responsible are common. The experimental data have been analyzed with a view to characterizing the strange attractor in terms of invariant measures such as the correlation, embedding, Lyapunov dimensions and entropy

GIGANTEA Is a Negative Regulator of Abscisic Acid Transcriptional Responses and Sensitivity in Arabidopsis

Transcriptional reprogramming plays a key role in drought stress responses, preceding the onset of morphological and physiological acclimation. The best-characterized signal regulating gene expression in response to drought is the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA). ABA-regulated gene expression, biosynthesis and signaling are highly organized in a diurnal cycle, so that ABA-regulated physiological traits occur at the appropriate time of day. The mechanisms that underpin such diel oscillations in ABA signals are poorly characterized. Here we uncover GIGANTEA (GI) as a key gatekeeper of ABA-regulated transcriptional and physiological responses. Time-resolved gene expression profiling by RNA sequencing under different irrigation scenarios indicates that gi mutants produce an exaggerated ABA response, despite accumulating wild-type levels of ABA. Comparisons with ABA-deficient mutants confirm the role of GI in controlling ABA-regulated genes, and the analysis of leaf temperature, a read-out for transpiration, supports a role for GI in the control of ABA-regulated physiological processes. Promoter regions of GI/ABA-regulated transcripts are directly targeted by different classes of transcription factors (TFs), especially PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR and -BINDING FACTOR, together with GI itself. We propose a model whereby diel changes in GI control oscillations in ABA responses. Peak GI accumulation at midday contributes to establishing a phase of reduced ABA sensitivity and related physiological responses, by gating DNA binding or function of different classes of TFs that cooperate or compete with GI at target regions

Synthesis and crystal structure of a new copper (II) complex, designed to produce efficient successor of Cu2O, toward synergy of adsorption and photodegradation of MB

A new copper (II) coordination complex formulated as [Cu (dipic)(phen)(2‐MePy)]. 2H2O (1) where phen = 1, 10‐phenanthroline, dipic2− = pyridine‐2,6‐dicarboxylato and 2‐MePy = 2‐methyl pyrrole was synthesized through a simple and environment‐friendly reaction under ultrasound irradiation. Also, complex 1 was synthesized by hydrothermal process at 120 °C for 3 days. The corresponding structure of complex 1 was characterized by elemental analysis, atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), conductivity measurement, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), Raman spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and fluorescence. The crystal structure of the hydrothermally synthesized complex was characterized by single crystal X‐ray diffraction (SC‐XRD(, which revealed a triclinic structure. In the remainder of this study, the Cu2O nanoparticles have been prepared via thermal decomposition of hydrothermal and ultrasound complexes and characterized by ICP, FT‐IR, powder X‐ray diffraction (XRD), SEM and N2 adsorption/desorption. Adsorption and visible‐light‐driven photocatalytic capabilities of two synthetic Cu2O were investigated in the removal of MB from water. The result showed that the synthesized catalysts have good catalytic activity and the photocatalytic degradation is more effective in dye removal of MB compared with the adsorption.The financial support from University of Zabol (Grant No‐9618‐39), Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MAT2016‐78155‐C2‐1‐R), Gobierno del Principado de Asturias (GRUPIN‐IDI/2018/170) are acknowledged.Peer reviewe