Comparative evaluation of non enzymatic antioxidants, vitamin C and albumin in patients suffering from different grades of periodontitis: a retrospective observational study

Background: Rate of degree of destruction of periodontium may be associated with the oxidative stress due to the imbalance of different serum antioxidants. The objective of this study is to compare the evaluated concentrations of non enzymatic antioxidants like vit-C, albumin levels and total antioxidant status, from the available data of patients with slowly and rapidly progressive periodontitis (RPP). Methods: This retrospective observational study was confined to a study population, which include; 42 patients with RPP, 42 patients with slowly progressive periodontitis (SPP) and 86 healthy controls, in whom the required data were available. The levels of non enzymatic antioxidants like albumin, vitamin C and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of patients, suffering from RPP, are compared with SPP and healthy controls. Results: The values of serum albumin and vitamin-c levels in RPP even remaining within the normal ranges were found to be on the lower side, when compared with healthy controls. The systemic TAC levels were found to be at a lower side in both SPP and RPP, when compared with the healthy control group.   Conclusions: The systemic levels of non enzymatic antioxidants, vit C and albumin, in RPP were found to be on the lower side, even remaining within the normal ranges, when compared with the healthy controls. The TAC in SPP and RPP is also found to be on lower side, consistent with previous studies.

Biochar: A Sustainable Approach for Improving Soil Health and Environment

Current agriculture faces multiple challenges due to boom in food demand and environmental concerns. Biochar is increasingly being recognized by scientists and policy makers for its potential role in carbon sequestration, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy, waste mitigation and as a soil amendment. The purpose of this review is to provide a balanced perspective on the agronomic and environmental impacts of biochar amendment to soil. Application of biochar to soil can play a significant role in the alteration of nutrients dynamics, soil contaminants as well as microbial functions. Therefore, strategic biochar application to soil may provide agronomic, environmental and economic benefits. Recent findings also supported that in order to enhance crop yield, improve soil quality and soil health, biochar has proven significant role as fertilizer and soil conditioner respectively

Estudios postcoloniales : ensayos fundamentales

278 p. : il. ; 22 cm.Libro ElectrónicoEste libro presenta una amplia panorámica de los estudios postcoloniales, un campo heterogéneo de prácticas teóricas que se ha ido constituyendo en el mundo académico anglosajón a partir de la mitad de la década de 1980. Se ofrecen aquí traducidos al castellano dos de los textos fundamentales que pueden situarse en el origen de los estudios postcoloniales —el de Gayatri Spivak, «Los Estudios de la Subalternidad. Deconstruyendo la historiografía » (1984), y el de Chandra Talpade Mohanty, «Bajo los ojos de Occidente» (1985). Las intervenciones de Ella Shohat y Stuart Hall documentan la discusión que se desarrolló, con particular intensidad a lo largo de la primera mitad de la década de 1990, sobre el «significado de lo “post” en el término postcolonial». Los artículos de Dipesh Chakrabarty, Achille Mbembe, Robert Young, Nirmal Puwar, Sandro Mezzadra y Federico Rahola dan cuenta, por último, de la evolución del debate en los últimos años a partir de distintas perspectivas teóricas y posiciones «geográficas».índice INTRODUCCIÓN. Sandro Mezzadra 15 1. Estudios de la Subalternidad. Deconstruyendo la Historiografía. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak 33 2. Bajo los ojos de Occidente. Saber académico y discursos coloniales. Chandra Talpade Mohanty 69 3. Notas sobre lo «postcolonial» Ella Shohat 103 4. ¿Cuándo fue lo postcolonial? Pensar al límite. Stuart Hall 121 5. La historia subalterna como pensamiento político. Dipesh Chakrabarty 145 6. Al borde del mundo. Fronteras, territorialidad y soberanía en África. Achille Mbembe 167 7. Nuevo recorrido por (las) Mitologías Blancas. Robert J. C. Young 197 8. Poses y construcciones melodramáticas. Nirmal Puwar 237 9. La condición postcolonial. Unas notas sobre la cualidad del tiempo histórico en el presente global. Sandro Mezzadra y Federico Rahola 26

Editorial: Omics for infertility and contraception: two sides of same coin

Funding Information: We thank authors of the papers published in this Research Topic for their valuable contributions and the referees for their rigorous review. We also thank the editorial board of Cell and Developmental biology (Section: Molecular and Cellular Reproduction) and the Francesco Coneri Commissioning Team Manager, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, for their support.Peer reviewe

A África, o Sul e as ciências sociais brasileiras : descolonização e abertura

O texto introduz questões recentes sobre a relação entre as ciências sociais na África e no Brasil, inserindo-as no debate sobre as sociologias do Sul e a geopolítica do conhecimento na produção de teoria social. A partir da noção de sociologia não exemplar são apresentados alguns dos possíveis caminhos teórico-metodológicos que possibilitariam um posicionamento mais simétrico para a produção de conhecimento localizada fora da Euro-América.The paper introduces the contemporary debates on the relation of social sciences in Africa and Brazil by framing them both under the current discussion about the "sociologies of the south" and the ones on "the geopolitics of knowledge". Deploying the notion of a "non-exemplary sociology", I seek to present some possible theoretical and methodological ways that would enable a more symmetric positioning of the knowledge produced outside the Euro-America

Redox regulation & sperm function: A proteomic insight

Infertility affects nearly 15 per cent of all couples within the reproductive age worldwide, with about 50 per cent being exhibited in the male, called male factor infertility. Successful reproduction is dependent on sperm chromatin integrity. Spermatozoa are highly specialized cells that aim to transmit the paternal genomic blueprint to the oocyte. The spermatozoon is regulated by redox mechanisms during its epididymal transit to acquire fertilizing ability. While, at physiological levels, the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) supports the spermatozoon to acquire its fertilizing ability, at high concentrations, it affects sperm function leading to infertility. Emerging proteomic technologies provide an opportunity to address these key issues that may solve many fertility-associated problems resulting from oxidative stress (OS). This review highlights the need for an efficient therapeutic approach to male infertility with the application of high-throughput OS-mediated proteomic technology, and also addresses the question as to whether targeting these altered sperm-specific proteins may help in designing an efficient and reversible male contraceptive