ANTIBACTERIAL EFFICACY OF PLECTRANTHUS AMBOINICUS EXTRACTS AGAINST STREPTOCOCCUS MUTANS- AN INVITRO STUDY

Background: Dental caries continues to be a major oral health problem affecting people in developing and developed countries. Mechanical plaque control with chemical plaque control as an adjunct is used to prevent biofilm formation. The art and science of utilizing the medicinal properties of the herbs in Ayurveda is well documented. Increased incidences of documented side effects of the allopathic drugs with ever increasing cost of the same has paved way for a renewed interest in the concept of Ayurveda. Plectranthus amboinicus, a medical plants known to possess antimicrobial, antiepileptic and antioxidant properties. It has proven efficacy against a host of micro-organisms and may also be effective against Streptococcus mutans. Aim: The present study aims to find out the antibacterial efficacy of Plectranthus amboinicus extract against Streptococcus mutans. Materials and methods: Aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts of Black Plectranthus amboinicus were prepared. The antibacterial efficacy was tested against Streptococcus mutans through Disc Diffusion Test and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) Test. Results: S. mutans was found to be sensitive to ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Plectranthus amboinicus at two dilutions with MIC 50 µg/ml. Conclusion: The ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Plectranthus Amboinicus exhibited antibacterial effect against Streptococcus Mutans in vitro

PASSPORT-seq: A Novel High-Throughput Bioassay to Functionally Test Polymorphisms in Micro-RNA Target Sites

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) studies have identified large numbers of genetic variants that are predicted to alter miRNA-mRNA interactions. We developed a novel high-throughput bioassay, PASSPORT-seq, that can functionally test in parallel 100s of these variants in miRNA binding sites (mirSNPs). The results are highly reproducible across both technical and biological replicates. The utility of the bioassay was demonstrated by testing 100 mirSNPs in HEK293, HepG2, and HeLa cells. The results of several of the variants were validated in all three cell lines using traditional individual luciferase assays. Fifty-five mirSNPs were functional in at least one of three cell lines (FDR ≤ 0.05); 11, 36, and 27 of them were functional in HEK293, HepG2, and HeLa cells, respectively. Only four of the variants were functional in all three cell lines, which demonstrates the cell-type specific effects of mirSNPs and the importance of testing the mirSNPs in multiple cell lines. Using PASSPORT-seq, we functionally tested 111 variants in the 3' UTR of 17 pharmacogenes that are predicted to alter miRNA regulation. Thirty-three of the variants tested were functional in at least one cell line

Effect of paclobutrazol and benzyl adenine on oriental lily hybrids

Studies on the effect of growth regulators viz., Paclobutrazol and Benzyl Adenine (PBZ and BA, respectively) on Oriental Lily Hybrids, 'Star Gazer Pink' and 'Star Gazer White' in the second year were carried out at Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (H.P). The effect of growth regulators applied in the first year, was studied on growth and flowering of Oriental lily hybrids in the second year. Plant height and number of leaves plant-1 were recorded maximum when PBZ 25 ppm was applied in the first year. Maximum plant height and number of leaves plant-1 were found in 'Star Gazer White' (84.46 cm; 35.04 cm). Bulbs of 'Star Gazer White' when dipped in PBZ 25 ppm for 12 h in the first year resulted in maximum plant height (102.50 cm) in the second year. Leaf area in the second year was recorded maximum in 'Star Gazer White' (34.40 cm2) when PBZ 50 ppm was applied as bulb dip in the first year. Flower buds were initiated earlier in 'Star Gazer White' (84.48 days) as compared to 'Star Gazer Pink' (85.90 days). Days to bud initiation were also recorded minimum (75.81 days) when PBZ 25 ppm was applied as pre-plant bulb dip. More number of flowers plant-1 was recorded in 'Star Gazer White' (5.42) which lasted longer on stems (16.77 days). Bulbs dipped in growth regulators in the first season produced maximum number of flowers plant-1 (5.72) and duration of flowering was also maximum (18.28 days)

Off-label use of antibiotics in hospitalised children in a tertiary care teaching hospital

Background: Children constitute one-third of the population and they suffer from a variety of infectious diseases and are commonly prescribed antibiotics. Most of the antibiotics lack sufficient information on safety and efficacy in children and are thus prescribed off-label. This study was envisaged to assess the off-label use of antibiotics in hospitalized children.Methods: Total 120 patients were included in the study. Off-label use was determined on the basis of product literature and National Formulary of India. Descriptive statistics was used to present the data i.e. percentage; proportions, frequency, mean and standard deviation using Microsoft excel worksheet.Results: A total of 791 drugs from different classes were prescribed to 120 patients with a mean of 6.6±2.68 drugs described per patient during their stay in the hospital. 100 out of 120 (83%) patients were prescribed at least one antibiotic during their stay in the hospital. Out of the 204 antibiotics prescribed, 43(21%) were prescribed off-label. Antibiotic dose was the most common reason followed by age (1month-1 year more than 2-6 years of age) and frequency in off-label use.Conclusions: Antibiotics are commonly prescribed to children with substantial off-label use. The same must be seriously addressed by the policy makers and stakeholders in order to promote their rational use

Management of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in myositis syndromes: A practical guide for clinicians

Inflammatory myopathies are heterogeneous clinico-serological syndromes, with variable clinical manifestations. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with myositis. The clinical manifestation of myositis-ILD is heterogeneous, e.g., with acute-on-chronic presentations, as well as the chronic aftermath of acute disease. Here, we have largely divided myositis-ILD into three main prognostic groups which require different treatment approaches: mild-moderate (subacute), severe or progressive (acute or subacute) and rapidly progressive, life-threatening. In current clinical practice, the treatment of myositis-ILD involves immunomodulation in an induction-maintenance treatment paradigm. There is now an option to add antifibrotics to slow the progression of established fibrosis in selected cases with chronic progressive phenotype. Here, we describe current concepts in myositis-ILD and aim to provide a practical guide for clinicians on how to approach assessment, including early identification of ILD, phenotyping of patients according to clinical trajectory and likely prognosis and stratified management adopting multi-disciplinary cross-speciality expertise, with close collaboration between rheumatology and respiratory physicians

Comparative study of mandibular cortical index in orthopantomogram and bone mineral density of lumbar vertebrae in dual energy x-ray absorptiometry in postmenopausal females in North India.

Osteoporosis is a bone disorder which results in low bone mineral content leading to recurrent fractures commonly seen in females after menopause. Few studies have proposed the use of orthopantomogram as a diagnostic marker for osteoporosis as it is simple, quick, easy, inexpensive, non-invasive and widely used. Present study was undertaken to assess the efficacy of OPG to diagnose osteoporosis apropos bone densitometry (DEXA).The study comprised fifty post-menopausal females who were subjected to panoramic radiographs and DEXA. The visual analysis was done based on the radiographic appearance of the lower border of the mandible on the left side by two observers who were blinded about DEXA results. Intra/Inter-observer variability was ruled out by repeated analysis followed by comparison of different grades of MCI (Mandibular Cortical Index) and BMD (Bone Mineral density) statistically. Significant difference in three groups of mandibular cortical index of panoramic radiograph as interpreted by the two observers (p value < 0.05) was found. The intra-observer reproducibility of this index had moderate agreement (Kappa value of 0.35 & 0.31) and the inter-observer agreement of this index followed fair reproducibility (kappa value of 0.38 &0.32). There was significant correlation between results obtained by mandibular cortical index (MCI) and bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar vertebrae as determined by the dual energy x-ray absorptiometry implicating visual assessment of the OPG as an important screening tool for osteoporosis in postmenopausal females

A Simple Tool to Predict End‐Stage Renal Disease within 1 Year in Elderly Adults with Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98206/1/jgs12223.pd

Multiple Constructs and the Effects of Accommodations on Standardized Test Scores for Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities frequently use accommodations to participate in large-scale, standardized assessments. Accommodations can include changes to the administration of the test, such as extended time, changes to the test items, such as read aloud, or changes to the student’s response, such as the use of a scribe. Some accommodations or modifications risk changing the difficulty of the test items or decreasing the validity of how test scores are interpreted. Questions regarding the validity of accommodated tests are heightened when scores are used in high-stakes decisions such as grade promotion, graduation, teacher merit pay, or other accountability initiatives. The purpose of this article is to review existing literature on multiple constructs that affect validity of interpretations of accommodated assessment scores. Research on assessment accommodations continues to grow but offers few conclusive findings on whether they facilitate fair and accurate measurement of student knowledge and skill. The validity of an accommodated score appears to vary depending on several factors such as student characteristics, test characteristics, and the accommodations themselves. A multiple construct approach may facilitate more accurate evaluations of the effects of accommodated test scores Accessed 12,923 times on https://pareonline.net from October 19, 2009 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right