Mandibular first molar with multiple canals- Report of three cases

Aim: To present clinical cases report of three mandibular first molar with middle mesial canal, middle distal canal and radix paramolaris. Introduction:  Morphological variations in root canal system anatomy should always be considered at the beginning of treatment. Once endodontic treatment has been initiated, proper access cavity preparation is a basic prerequisite for the investigation and successful detection of all root canal orifices. Case Description: Three patients with chief complaint in mandibular first molars were referred for endodontic treatment. Two patients had extra canal in their mandibular first molar and third patient had additional canal with supernumerary root. With aid of proper diagnostic and radiographic techniques the endodontic treatment was performed. Conclusion: Good knowledge of the potential aberrant canal morphology in mandibular molar will help clinician to successfully recognize and treat these difficult cases.The incidence of extra buccal root and canal variations are rare, every effort should be made to find and treat all canals for successful clinical results. Better illumination and magnification under microscope help in locating hidden canals.                                                                                                                                                                                                       Keywords: additional canal, mandibular first molar,microscope

Use of zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model for research in toxicological studies

Danio rerio, commonly known as zebrafish, is a freshwater aquarium fish and is native to parts of South Asia. It is considered an important organism for analyzing the noxious effects of toxicants and pollutants of the environment. In terms of the molecular signaling pathway, molecular properties, organ functions and structures, and neurogenesis, zebrafish are similar to certain other higher-order vertebrates. The 3Rs, refinement,reduction, and replacement in researchhavegradually evolved with time. The accumulation of toxicants in the environment and the human health conditions from exposure to toxicants present in the environment is a serious concern, and zebrafish serves as an excellent model to research such effects. The three Rs are met by zebrafish, larvae can also be used to discover harmful medication compounds, permitting safer compounds to be explored in model organisms and it could also be used to substitute certain toxicological testing.Also, because embryos are fertilized outside and are visible during the initial days of life, the early larval model of zebrafish enables flexibility to animal research study, subsequently reducing the number of animals employed in experiments.For various experimentation studies, the larva of the zebrafish is proved to be a useful model for the system.Thus, being a good test system, zebrafish are used in environmental health and safety studies.This review focuses on the toxicological studiesin zebrafish and outlines the toxicological studies done on zebrafish with arsenic and 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) as well as microplastic toxicity

Knowledge, attitudes and practices related to dietary salt intake among adults in North India.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices related to salt consumption among adults in rural and urban North India. DESIGN: Data for the study were obtained from a community-based cross-sectional survey using an interviewer-administered questionnaire and 24 h urine samples. SETTING: Data collection was conducted during March-October 2012 in rural Haryana and urban Delhi in North India. PARTICIPANTS: Adults (n 1635) aged ≥20 years (701 in rural Haryana; 934 in urban Delhi). RESULTS: Twenty-four per cent of rural and 40·5 % of urban participants knew that a high-salt diet causes high blood pressure. Nearly one-fifth of both rural and urban participants knew that there should be a maximum daily limit for consumption of salt. In rural and urban areas, 46·6 and 45·1 %, respectively, perceived it important to reduce the salt content of their diet; however, only 3·7 and 10·2 %, respectively, reported taking some actions. Participants reported they were consuming 'too little salt', 'just the right amount of salt' or 'too much salt', but their corresponding mean (95 % CI) actual salt consumption (g/d; as measured by 24 h urinary Na excretion) was higher, especially among rural participants (rural: 9·2 (8·13, 10·22), 8·5 (8·19, 8·77) or 8·4 (7·72, 8·99); urban: 5·6 (4·67, 6·57), 5·7 (5·32, 6·01) or 4·6 (4·10, 5·14), respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge about the deleterious health impact of excess salt consumption is low in this population. Tailored public education for salt reduction is warranted with a particular focus on rural residents

Potentially Heterogeneous Cross-Sectional Associations of Seafood Consumption with Diabetes and Glycemia in Urban South Asia.

Aims: In this study, we aimed to estimate cross-sectional associations of fish or shellfish consumption with diabetes and glycemia in three South Asian mega-cities. Methods: We analyzed baseline data from 2010-2011 of a cohort (n = 16,287) representing the population ≥20 years old that was neither pregnant nor on bedrest from Karachi (unweighted n = 4017), Delhi (unweighted n = 5364), and Chennai (unweighted n = 6906). Diabetes was defined as self-reported physician-diagnosed diabetes, fasting plasma glucose ≥126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L), or glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) ≥6.5% (48 mmol/mol). We estimated adjusted and unadjusted odds ratios for diabetes using survey estimation logistic regression for each city, and differences in glucose and HbA1c using survey estimation linear regression for each city. Adjusted models controlled for age, gender, body mass index, waist-height ratio, sedentary lifestyle, educational attainment, tobacco use, an unhealthy diet index score, income, self-reported physician diagnosis of high blood pressure, and self-reported physician diagnosis of high cholesterol. Results: The prevalence of diabetes was 26.7% (95% confidence interval: 24.8, 28.6) in Chennai, 36.7% (32.9, 40.5) in Delhi, and 24.3% (22.0, 26.6) in Karachi. Fish and shellfish were consumed more frequently in Chennai than in the other two cities. In Chennai, the adjusted odds ratio for diabetes, comparing more than weekly vs. less than weekly fish consumption, was 0.81 (0.61, 1.08); in Delhi, it was 1.18 (0.87, 1.58), and, in Karachi, it was 1.30 (0.94, 1.80). In Chennai, the adjusted odds ratio of prevalent diabetes among persons consuming shellfish more than weekly versus less than weekly was 1.08 (95% CI: 0.90, 1.30); in Delhi, it was 1.35 (0.90, 2.01), and, in Karachi, it was 1.68 (0.98, 2.86). Conclusions: Both the direction and the magnitude of association between seafood consumption and glycemia may vary by city. Further investigation into specific locally consumed seafoods and their prospective associations with incident diabetes and related pathophysiology are warranted

Labelling completeness and sodium content of packaged foods in India.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the proportion of products meeting Indian government labelling regulations and to examine the Na levels in packaged foods sold in India. DESIGN: Nutritional composition data were collected from the labels of all packaged food products sold at Indian supermarkets in between 2012 and 2014. Proportions of products compliant with the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulations and labelled with Na content, and mean Na levels were calculated. Comparisons were made against 2010 data from Hyderabad and against the UK Department of Health (DoH) 2017 Na targets. SETTING: Eleven large chain retail stores in Delhi and Hyderabad, India. SUBJECTS: Packaged food products (n 5686) categorised into fourteen food groups, thirty-three food categories and ninety sub-categories. RESULTS: More packaged food products (43 v. 34 %; P<0·001) were compliant with FSSAI regulations but less (32 v. 38 %; P<0·001) reported Na values compared with 2010. Food groups with the highest Na content were sauces and spreads (2217 mg/100 g) and convenience foods (1344 mg/100 g). Mean Na content in 2014 was higher in four food groups compared with 2010 and lower in none (P<0·05). Only 27 % of foods in sub-categories for which there are UK DoH benchmarks had Na levels below the targets. CONCLUSIONS: Compliance with nutrient labelling in India is improving but remains low. Many packaged food products have high levels of Na and there is no evidence that Indian packaged foods are becoming less salty

Risk of secondhand smoke exposure and severity of COVID-19 infection: multicenter case–control study

IntroductionExposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) is an established causal risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and chronic lung disease. Numerous studies have evaluated the role of tobacco in COVID-19 infection, severity, and mortality but missed the opportunity to assess the role of SHS. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine whether SHS is an independent risk factor for COVID-19 infection, severity, mortality, and other co-morbidities.MethodologyMulticentric case–control study was conducted across six states in India. Severe COVID-19 patients were chosen as our study cases, and mild and moderate COVID-19 as control were evaluated for exposure to SHS. The sample size was calculated using Epi-info version 7. A neighborhood-matching technique was utilized to address ecological variability and enhance comparability between cases and controls, considering age and sex as additional matching criteria. The binary logistic regression model was used to measure the association, and the results were presented using an adjusted odds ratio. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 24 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).ResultsA total of 672 cases of severe COVID-19 and 681 controls of mild and moderate COVID-19 were recruited in this study. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for SHS exposure at home was 3.03 (CI 95%: 2.29–4.02) compared to mild/moderate COVID-19, while SHS exposure at the workplace had odds of 2.19 (CI 95%: 1.43–3.35). Other factors significantly related to the severity of COVID-19 were a history of COVID-19 vaccination before illness, body mass index (BMI), and attached kitchen at home.DiscussionThe results of this study suggest that cumulative exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke is an independent risk factor for severe COVID-19 illness. More studies with the use of biomarkers and quantification of SHS exposure in the future are needed

Evaluation of immunohistochemical profile of breast cancer for prognostics and therapeutic use

Introduction: Breast cancer is leading cancer in women, and the incidence of breast cancer in India is on the rise. The most common histologic type of breast cancer is infiltrating ductal carcinoma. Prognostic and predictive factors are used in the management of breast cancer. Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor‑2 (HER2/neu) are immunohistochemical markers of prognosis as well as predictors of response to therapy. Aims and Objectives: The study was conducted to evaluate ER, PR, and HER2/neu expressions in invasive ductal carcinomas of the breast by immunohistochemistry, to explore the correlation of these markers to each other and to various clinicopathological parameters: age of the patient, histological grade, tumor size, and lymph node metastasis.Materials and Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 100 cases of infiltrating ductal carcinoma. Slides were prepared from blocks containing cancer tissue, and immunohistochemical staining was done for ER, PR, and HER2/neu expressions. Interpretation of expressions was done using Allred scoring system for ER/PR and the American Society of Clinical Oncology/College of American Pathologists guidelines for HER2/neu. Statistical analysis was performed to determine the statistical significance by applying Chi‑square test.Results: Majority of tumors were ER and PR positive and HER2/neu negative. ER and PR correlated significantly with age, tumor size, and tumor grade; whereas, HER2/neu correlated significantly with tumor size only. No association was seen with axillary lymph node metastasis. ER and PR expression correlated with each other, but none correlated with HER2/neu.Conclusions: As the majority of the tumors are ER, PR positive and since ER and PR correlate with each other as well as with age, tumor size, and grade. Therefore, routine assessment of hormone receptors is recommended for prognostic and therapeutic information in breast cancer cases.Keywords: Allred scoring system, human epidermal growth factor, immunohistochemical markers, estrogen receptors, progesterone receptor

EVALUATION OF ACHE ACTIVITY AND LIPID PEROXIDATION IN FRESHWATER TELEOST UPON EXPOSURE TO HERBICIDE

In this study, the freshwater fish Channa punctatus was used to study the harmful effects of clomazone on AChE and LPO at three different doses and for four different exposure times. To determine the sublethal concentrations of clomazone, the LC50 of the herbicide was calculated. Based on the calculated LC50 value, three different concentrations were determined: high dose- 0.5 ppm, mild dose- 0.25 ppm, and low dose- 0.08 ppm. The fish were treated with these concentrations and the exposure period was 7, 14, 21, and 28 days respectively. The acetylcholinesterase activity and concentration of MDA were significantly decreased (p&lt;0.05) and increased (p&lt;0.05), respectively, upon higher concentration and also with the increase in exposure periods. The highest reduction of AChE was recorded in the liver, followed by the kidney and gill in all three concentrations. On the other hand, the MDA concentration was recorded highest in the kidney, followed by the liver and gills. Though, in the liver, the concentration of MDA is almost the same when exposed to concentrations of 0.5 and 0.25 ppm clomazone. Thus, our findings imply that AChE activity and lipid peroxidation may be potential indicators of environmental pollutants in aquatic systems

CURRANT REVIEW ON PHYTOCHEMICAL & PHARMACOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF ZINGIBER ZERUMBET L.

Populations around the world use medicinal plants to treat numerous diseases and ethnopharmacological information serves as a starting point for developing new drugs. The evidence of the therapeutic properties of zerumbone from bitter ginger, which are mainly secondary metabolites, is important information that can help in the search to discover new drugs. From a commercial point of view, a positive aspect is that ginger is easy to cultivate and it has a lot of pharmacological properties. This review article highlights the phytochemical & pharmacological aspects of Zingiber zerumbet. The results from all the studies and research mentioned in this review paper are definitive evidences that ZER is a powerful compound in the treatment of cancer and several other diseases and it possesses different beneficial in vitro and in vivo biological activities. It is nevertheless essential to do more animal studies and human clinical trials to determine the efficacy, safety and usefulness of Zingiber zerumbet as an intended pharmaceutical drug