An Assessment of the Cariogenicity of Commonly Used Infant Milk Formulae Using Microbiological and Biochemical Methods

Dental caries is an important dental public health problem and is the most prevalent oral disease among children in the world. The present study was undertaken to evaluate and comparatively assess the change in plaque and salivary pH after ingestion of various commercially available infant milk formulae, and also to evaluate and comparatively assess plaque and salivary samples for change in colony-forming units of Streptococcus mutans caused due to their ingestion. 36 children in the age group of 1-2 years were fed with infant milk formulae three times a day for 21 days and results quantified. The present study revealed a highly significant increase in the levels of colony-forming units of Streptococcus mutans in both the plaque and salivary samples when assessed at baseline and after a period of 21 days, with the t value being 11.92 for the plaque samples and 11.66 for the salivary samples. It was also observed that all the test samples produced significantly lower plaque pH values than pre-feed pH. Based upon this study, further evaluation of the cariogenicity of infant milk formulae is recommended

“Comparison Of Pelvic PNF And Lower Limb Strengthening Protocol For Prevention Of Fall In Post Menopausal Women”

Background: One of the most well-known physiological effects of menopause is hormonal changes. Women's hormone levels decrease year by year during menopause, following which they are more likely to experience many changes as a result of this hormonal imbalance. Estrogen reacts directly and indirectly over muscle and results in condition leading to muscle loss, that brings about which in turn results in restrictions in physical abilities, muscle strength, and balance accelerating their risk of falling. Therefore this studycompared fall prevention techniques in postmenopausal women by incorporating proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) andexercises utilizing elastic bands.OBJECTIVES - To find out effect of pelvic PNF and lower limb strengthening to improve balance and strength for fall prevention.METHOD- It is a control group experimental study with a pre-test and post-test design. total no. of 24 postmenopausal women of age 45 to 65 were included in the study, Pelvic PNF along with lower limb PNF was administered to Experimental Group whereas lower limb strengthening was given to Control group. Along with the above intervention, home based exercises was also provided. All the subjects in the study underwent a basic assessment and then they were randomly assigned into one of two groups, the 4-week treatment plan of 3 sessions per week for 30-35 minutes was given.RESULT: After the 4 week PNF and elastic band exercise, both the experimental group and control groups showed statistically significant differences within the groups, except for POMA in the control group that showed no significant results. FTSTS inexperimental group with p value (0.008*) and in control group with p-value (0.000*). POMA with p value (0.02*) within experimental group showedsignificant results and POMA with p value (0.152) within control group showed no significant results. EFST with p value (0.005*) and (0.005*) showed significant result with in experimental and control group respevtively. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the scores of EFST, POMA and FTSTS (p>0.05).CONCLUSION: Given the findings of the present study, Pelvic PNF and elastic band exercise should be recommended as a practical approach in order to improve strength, balance and reduce fall in postmenopausal women

Dynamics of contraceptive use among women attending multi-speciality hospital in Faridabad district of Haryana

Background: Population of India is growing at a very fast rate while its resources are limited which will lead to decrease in per capita availability of resources. Contraceptive methods are the simplest way to address this issue of population explosion by preventing the unwanted pregnancies. The objective of this study was to assess awareness and practices regarding contraceptive use and its determinants among women attending gynecology OPD of multi-specialty hospital in Faridabad district of Haryana.  Methods: A cross-sectional study was planned among 200 patients from gynecology OPD in a multi-specialty hospital of Faridabad district of Haryana. The questionnaire consisted of questions about socio-demographic data and data related contractive awareness and practices. Data was analyzed by SPSS software version 21.0.Results: Mean age of study subjects was 29.4±4.3 years. Out of 200 participants, about one fourth (77.5%) were aware about contraception and more than half (59.5%) of them were using contraception methods. Factors like age and education status, occupation and area of residence were found to be statistically significantly (p<0.001) associated with contraception knowledge and practice. Barrier method was most common method of contraception followed by Oral contraceptive pills.Conclusions: This study concludes that knowledge about contraception was high as about one fourth (77.5%) were aware about contraception while practice of contraception was relatively low as compare to knowledge as two fifth (40.5%) of them were not using any contraception methods. So, there is a need to increase awareness about importance of contraception practice among study population

A prospective clinical trial to evaluate the role of very low dose mifepristone 10 mg in medical management of uterine leiomyoma in tertiary care hospital from North West India

Background: Uterine leiomyomas are the most common benign tumours of the uterus and also the most common benign solid tumor in female. It arises from the uterine smooth muscles (myometrium) but contain varying amount of fibrous connective tissue. Aim of study was to evaluate the efficacy of very low dose Mifepristone (10 mg) on leiomyoma volume and its related symptoms.Methods: This was a prospective clinical study. 30 women met with the inclusion criteria and giving informed consent for the study.Results: Mean myoma volume was 60.32±51.89 at initial visit and 36.13±48.54 at 3 months follow up visit with 40.1% reduction which was statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). Mean PBAC score in Group I was 155.53±21.70 at initial visit and 0.97±2.97 at 3 months follow up visit with 99.3% reduction which was statistically significant (p < 0.001).Conclusions: Mifepristone 10 mg is efficacious in term of control of bleeding, alleviation of pain related symptoms with few side effects. So low dose mifepristone can be used as a suitable option for women with symptomatic fibroids in perimenopausal periods or patients not willing or fit for surgery

A Comparative Evaluation of Salivary Changes and Oral Indices in Pediatric Patients Having Chronic Kidney Disease and Juvenile Diabetes with Healthy Controls

Background and Aim: Chronic Kidney disease is a common condition seen in Juvenile diabetes with 90% of renal impairment patients displaying a wide spectrum of oral manifestations in the hard and soft tissues including changes of the salivary composition and flow rate. There is an increase in the serum cystatin-C, urea and creatinine levels in these patients, which is reflected in the saliva. This study was conducted to assess the changes in salivary levels of cystatin-C, urea, and creatinine as well as oral – Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth Index (DMFT) and gingival indices in pediatric patients suffering from chronic renal disease and juvenile diabetes and compare them with healthy individuals.Methods: Fifteen patients with juvenile diabetes suffering from chronic renal disease and 15 healthy controls aged 2-18 years were included in the study. Their saliva was analyzed for creatinine, cystatin-C and urea levels using an auto-analyzer and correlated with their existing serum levels. DMFT, gingival index, gingival bleeding and gingival enlargement indices were also assessed. Results: Increased levels of salivary cystatin C, urea (p value &lt;0.001) and creatinine (p value =0.001) were seen in the cases. The deft value was significantly lower (p value &lt;0.001) while the gingival index, gingival bleeding index, and gingival enlargement index were significantly higher in the subjects with renal impairment.  Conclusion: Chronic Kidney disease results in many metabolic changes in the body, necessitating frequent biochemical blood analysis. Saliva, being a non-invasive, simple and rapid adjunctive tool, can be used for diagnosing and staging the disease and to check the progression of the condition.Keywords: Chronic Kidney Disease; Renal Dysfunction; Saliva; Cystatin-C; Diagnosis

Morphological and Biochemical Analysis of Cicer arietinum L. under Paper Industrial Effluent Stress conditions

To study the effect of paper industrial effluent on chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) along with different concentration (10%, 20% 40%, 60% 80% and 100%) and pure tape water as a control to compare the effect of paper industrial effluent for 7 days. Physico-chemical characteristics of paper effluent were analyzed in terms of pH, colour, order temperature, DO, BOD, COD, Total hardness, carbonated hardness. All the parameters were found to be higher than the WHO prescribed discharge limits for effluent. The amount of carbohydrate, protein and reducing sugar were comparable with control, their amount were increased at 40% in effluent treated seeds. The chlorophyll content was increased simultaneously with effluent concentration. From this study it is clear that the industrial effluent rich in organic matter and plant nutrients are finding their use in agriculture as cheaper way of disposal

A cross sectional study to evaluate serum calcium levels among pregnant women and it's association with preeclampsia and delivery outcomes at tertiary care Hospital Bikaner, Rajasthan

Background: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including preeclampsia complicates about 10% of pregnancies worldwide. Preeclampsia is one of the major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. According to the National Health Portal of India, the incidence of preeclampsia is reported to be about 8-10% among pregnant women. The present study was aimed to compare mean serum calcium levels in preeclamptic and normotensive pregnant women at third trimester of gestation and assess relationship between maternal serum calcium levels, severity of disease and overall maternal and perinatal outcome.Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted on 200 females divided into two groups (i.e. Study and Control Group) from 1st November 2019 to 31st October 2020. Informed consent was obtained for subjecting. Detailed history and clinical examination were performed. Serum calcium level was measured in both groups by spectrophotometric method.Results: Mean serum calcium level in study group (preeclamptic) was 7.84±0.74 mg/dl while in control group (normotensive) mean serum calcium level was 9.68±0.97 mg/dl. Serum calcium level was significantly lower in preeclamptic women than normotensive pregnant women (p<0.001).Serum calcium showed significant negative correlation with systolic and diastolic blood pressure.Conclusions: This study concludes that hypocalcaemia may have a role in aetiology of preeclampsia and adverse maternal and perinatal outcome. Thus intake of calcium supplements may help in reduction of incidence of preeclampsia especially in a population of a developing country

Serum placental growth factor in late first trimester of pregnancy for prediction of preeclampsia in primigravida - a case control study

Background: We studied the correlation of serum PLGF levels at 11-14 weeks in primigravida for prediction of future preeclampsia in a prospective nested case control study and estimated the critical levels of PLGF for possible use as screening test.Methods: Subjects with preeclampsia/gestational hypertension were taken as cases with an equal number of controls.Results: Out of 300 participants, final analysis was possible in 291 subjects. Thirty five were cases; two had early PE, 15 late PE and 18 had GH. PLGF level was lower in cases (20 pg/ml) compared to controls (79 pg/ml). PLGF was significantly lower in PE cases (15 pg/ml) compared to GH cases (34 pg/ml). PLGF had maximum area under the ROC curve (AUC) for PE with value of 0.867. Further, late PE had more AUC (0.853) as compared to GH (0.759). The cut off value for prediction of PE was found to be <30 pg/ml with 88.2% sensitivity and 71.4% specificity.Conclusions: PLGF levels were significantly lower in first trimester serum samples of subjects who later developed either preeclampsia or gestational hypertension. PLGF had better detection rate for PE and late PE as compared to GH

Data Mining Anthropometric Parameters for the Design and Sizing of Female Full Body Protector

Since the entry of female troops in different paramilitary forces, there is a dearth of well-fitted personal protective gear for them to maximise operational safety and protection. A mismatch of anthropometry in design adversely affected the user’s performance during critical operation, compromising the safety and well-being of an individual. A detailed anthropometry-based sizing study was conducted by the research team, on the Indian female paramilitary troops for proper sizing of their protective gears and ensembles. An anthropometric survey of 325 female para-military troops, posted in two locations with age ranged from 21 to 54 years (mean ± SD) value: 37.14 ± 8.49 years was done. Each subject’s 28 different body dimensions were taken. The data was then investigated using the factor analysis method. Principal component analysis technique was used to reduce the variables to similar factor components where, two components with an Eigenvalue of more than 1 were selected. viz. Principal component 1 (girth dimensions) and Principal component 2 (abdomen or waist dimension). These two key variables were used to divide the population into three separate clusters using the K-means cluster method. These cluster groups were validated using a regression tree. Descriptive statistical analysis of data was conducted followed by Cluster analysis (of key components shortlisted) using Statistical Product and Service Solution (SPSS) version 21. The current study was the first complete anthropometric survey of Indian female paramilitary personnel for the development of a female-specific sizing system for a full-body protector (FBP) design resulting is an improved fit of full-body protector