Fluoride Alternatives in the Prevention of Dental Caries: A Review

There is no doubt that fluoride has been playing an important role in the prevention of dental caries and has been incorporated in various products (in both topical and systemic forms). However, few researchers consider fluoride to be a double edged sword as its use as an anticaries agent has been marked by various controversies because of the health concerns associated with the excessive use of the fluorides with its chronic use has been found to be associated with dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis, osteoporosis of long bones, carcinomas, renal and gall bladder calcification etc. The efficacy of fluorides to pit and fissured of the tooth surface is also questioned as its effect only seems to be limited to the smooth surface to the tooth. Hence, this review provides the readers with alternative fluoride free delivery mechanisms for caries prevention which can be used as an effective public health measure

EVALI: A Review of the Vaping Related Lung Injury

Vaping or e-cigarettes were introduced to help people quit smoking tobacco but with every passing year, their demand has dramatically increased as compared to the traditional cigarettes. With the increase in the number of vapers, an alarming vaping related outbreak which was given an official name by the CDC: EVALI (Electronic cigarette or Vaping Product Associated Lung Injury). In the United States, until  January 21st, 2020 2051 cases have been reported from all 50 states with 60 deaths confirmed in 27 states and the district of Columbia. Not much is known about the cause of this outbreak but the possible culprits could be THC(Tetrahydrocannabinol) containing materials or Vitamin E Acetate. In order to protect the youth and the adults from such health hazards the government took a step by putting a ban on E-cigarettes. After the US states of Michigan & New York, India too, imposed a ban on the sale of such e-cigarettes. This review paper discusses about e-cigarettes and about its harmful effects that lead to EVALI in a person

Modern Advancement in Biotechnological Applications for Wastewater Treatment through Microalgae: a Review

ABSTRACT: Microalgae are microscopic organisms that have a broad range of applications, from wastewater treatment, CO2 mitigation to therapeutic proteins, and pharmaceuticals. Recently, the combination of wastewater treatment-based microalgae and the use of the obtained biomass as biofertilizers/stimulants/pesticides have been highly emphasized for their use in the agriculture field. Biofertilizers are a need of today's agriculture practices due to the increasing demand for food to feed a hungry planet while avoiding chemical contamination by the over-application of synthetic fertilizers. There is a constant need for modern techniques for the use of microalgae in a sustainable manner to harness their products to their full extent. Various types of bioreactors are available on the market, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, which, based on their efficiency, can be used for microalgae cultivation. This review aims at reporting recent developments in microalgae biotechnology, especially related to CO2 mitigation, wastewater purification, biofuel, feedstock, future food, therapeutic proteins, pharmaceuticals, and biofertilizers, highlighting some of the current research in this field and future development priorities.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Biosynthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles generated from peels of Solanum tuberosum (potato) and their antibacterial and wastewater treatment potential

Global food production consumes a large fraction of energy budget, land area, and freshwater; however, a larger fraction of the produce is lost or unutilized, which has potential to produce useful products for human use. The biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles from such waste food appears to be a promising strategy. A conservative estimate of 70–140 thousand tons of potato peels is produced annually by food-chain companies globally; however, they are primarily utilized to produce substandard feed for livestock or manure. For the formation of highly profitable compounds, enhancement of value, and the process of extraction, such as nanocomposite, organic antioxidants, and organic meal inclusions, potato peels can be used as a cheap, productive, and readily available source of raw material. In the present research, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were extracted from the peels of potato (Solanum tuberosum). The fabrication of potato peel-derived AgNPs was established using UV-visible spectroscopy analysis. Approaches like X-ray diffraction (XRD), attenuated total reflection-infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy analysis, and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) were used to determine the characteristics of the AgNPs. Additionally, strains of Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) (ATCC 25923) and Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) (ATCC 25922) were used to determine the antibacterial activity of AgNPs via the disc diffusion technique. The antibacterial properties of AgNPs could help protect food from microbial contamination. Furthermore, AgNPs were tested for their potential application in purification of industrial wastewater. The results revealed that AgNPs derived from the potato peels could be used in industrial and biomedical applications and possess excellent antibacterial activity. Our research suggests that AgNPs can be extracted from a safe and ecofriendly fabrication technique from largely unused potato peels that have a great potential for inhibiting the bacterial growth and for the in situ purification of wastewater in the upcoming years. Therefore, besides value addition to the farm produce, such recycling of potato peels is likely to reduce the burden of the solid waste volumes in agro-centers, kitchen wastes, and food industries across the globe

Nanoimprinted distributed feedback lasers of solution processed hybrid perovskites

Hybrid perovskite materials have considerable potential for light emitting devices such as LEDs and lasers. We combine solution processed CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite with UV nanoimprinted polymer gratings to fabricate distributed feedback (DFB) lasers. The lead acetate deposition route is shown to be an effective method for fabricating low-loss waveguides (loss coefficient ~6 cm-1) and highly compatible with the polymer grating substrates. The nanoimprinted perovskite exhibited single-mode band-edge lasing, confirmed by angle-dependent transmission measurements. Depending on the excitation pulse duration the lasing threshold shows a value of 110 μJ/cm2 under nanosecond pumping and 4 μJ/cm2 under femtosecond pumping. We demonstrate further that this laser has excellent stability with a lifetime of 10*8 pulses

Drought and heat stress-related proteins: an update about their functional relevance in imparting stress tolerance in agricultural crops

Key message We describe here the recent developments about the involvement of diverse stress-related proteins in sensing, signaling, and defending the cells in plants in response to drought or/and heat stress. Abstract In the current era of global climate drift, plant growth and productivity are often limited by various environmental stresses, especially drought and heat. Adaptation to abiotic stress is a multigenic process involving maintenance of homeostasis for proper survival under adverse environment. It has been widely observed that a series of proteins respond to heat and drought conditions at both transcriptional and translational levels. The proteins are involved in various signaling events, act as key transcriptional activators and saviors of plants under extreme environments. A detailed insight about the functional aspects of diverse stress-responsive proteins may assist in unraveling various stress resilience mechanisms in plants. Furthermore, by identifying the metabolic proteins associated with drought and heat tolerance, tolerant varieties can be produced through transgenic/recombinant technologies. A large number of regulatory and functional stress-associated proteins are reported to participate in response to heat and drought stresses, such as protein kinases, phosphatases, transcription factors, and late embryogenesis abundant proteins, dehydrins, osmotins, and heat shock proteins, which may be similar or unique to stress treatments. Few studies have revealed that cellular response to combined drought and heat stresses is distinctive, compared to their individual treatments. In this review, we would mainly focus on the new developments about various stress sensors and receptors, transcription factors, chaperones, and stress-associated proteins involved in drought or/and heat stresses, and their possible role in augmenting stress tolerance in crops

Impact of mothers′ oral hygiene knowledge and practice on oral hygiene status of their 12-year-old children: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: Ignorance regarding oral diseases and oral health can be a major cause for a high prevalence of oral diseases. Parents′ attitudes have a significant positive influence on the children′s oral hygiene and oral health. Objectives: To assess the mothers′ oral hygiene knowledge and practice and its impact on oral hygiene status of their 12-year-old children. Materials and Methods: A total of 900 children, 12 years old and their mothers were selected by random sampling from 10 administrative wards of Mathura city. The general information and data regarding mothers′ oral hygiene knowledge and practice were obtained by personal interview using a pretested questionnaire. Clinical examination of the subjects was done using oral hygiene index-simplified (OHI-S) for both children and mothers. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences), version 11.5 for windows. One-way ANOVA and independent t-test were used to find out the impact of mothers′ oral hygiene knowledge and practice on oral hygiene status of their 12-year-old children. Results: Mothers′ oral hygiene knowledge was found to have a significant impact on oral hygiene status of their 12-year-old children. There was a significant difference in mean OHI-S score of children with mothers who had poor oral hygiene knowledge (1.1650), fair oral hygiene knowledge (0.8947) and good oral hygiene knowledge (0.6431). Mothers′ oral hygiene practices also had a significant impact on the oral hygiene status of their 12-year-old children. Conclusion: Mothers′ oral hygiene knowledge and practice had an impact on oral hygiene status of their 12-year-old children in Mathura city

Prevalence of gestational thrombocytopenia and its effect on maternal and fetal outcome

BACKGROUND: Gestational thrombocytopenia (GT) is considered as the most common cause of thrombocytopenia in pregnancy and accounts for about 75% of cases. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study are (1) to estimate the prevalence of GT among antenatal patients at Vardhman Mahavir Medical College (VMMC) and Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi, India, and (2) to study the fetomaternal outcome in mild, moderate, and severe GT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a prospective observational study done in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, VMMC and Safdarjung hospital in New Delhi, India, for a period of 6 months. All antenatal women underwent complete hemogram with manual platelet count in the third trimester. Those with platelet count 150 × 109/L were included and divided into three groups on the basis of platelet count. Maternal and fetal outcome was observed. Cord blood was sent for neonatal platelet count. Follow-up was done in these cases till 6 weeks postpartum. RESULTS: The prevalence of GT was 12.82%. Fetomaternal outcome was favorable. A total of five (2.5%) patients suffered from abruption. Postpartum hemorrhage was present in about 7 cases (3.5%). Blood transfusion including platelet transfusion was needed in around 13 cases (6.5%). There was no maternal mortality. Only 6 (3%) neonates were having thrombocytopenia (platelet count < 150 × 109/L) regardless of degree of maternal thrombocytopenia. Twenty-six (13%) neonates were admitted in nursery for monitoring; among these, 11 (5.5%) neonates' ventilation was needed. There was no neonatal death. CONCLUSION: Better fetomaternal outcome is seen in GT, so a vigilant and careful monitoring can prevent any adverse event