Oral Health-Related Quality of Life of Refugees in Settlements in Greece.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the oral health-related quality of life (OHQoL) amongst refugees at emergency dental clinics in settlements in Northern Greece. METHODS: A self-reported survey was undertaken in 7 settlements. The American Dental Association questionnaire on oral health (OH) was adapted and distributed to adults attending a mobile dental clinic between July and August 2017. Data were collected on sociodemographics, length of stay in settlement, utilisation of dental service, and OHQoL. Statistical analysis included descriptive analysis and Chi-square tests of associations. RESULTS: Of 156 participants, the majority were male (73%), were aged 18 to 34 (59%), and had education up to high school (48%). Most of the participants rated OH as fair or poor (76%) and had spent more than 6 months in the settlements (45%). A majority of the participants (85%) had no access to dental care without the mobile clinic. Negative impact on OHQoL was significantly (P < .05) related to settlement location and time spent, smoking status, frequency of cleaning teeth and use of fluoridated toothpaste, perceived OH, and time since last dental visit. Those who spent less than 1 month in the settlement reported a higher negative OHQoL impact related to chewing, anxiety, smiling, daily activity, and sleeping (range, 48%-73%) compared to those who had spent more than 6 months (range, 17%-41%) (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first cross-sectional study assessing the OHQoL of refugees seeking emergency dental care in settlements in Greece. There is evidence that the refugees who were new arrivals to the settlements when provided with access to dental care reported a negative impact on their OHQoL. There is an urgent need for further research to understand the OH needs of refugees in Europe in order to design and deliver targeted and effective interventions

Assessment of biospeckle activity of lemon fruit

Bio-speckle can be used as a method for analysing the activity of biological materials illuminated with laser beam.  Physically, bio-speckles are the result of scattering of coherent light on moving particles inside living tissue.  Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate bio-speckle activity in lemons and determine the age of the lemon fruit from the observation of its dynamic speckle pattern.  The speckle pattern of laser light scattered in lemon fruits were measured through their quantification.  For the quantification of the variation by bio-speckle, two different methods of image analysis were used: moment of inertia and the spatial temporal speckle correlation coefficient.  The bio-speckle activities were also characterized by the line profiles of time history speckle pattern (THSP) which contains data of time information of dynamic speckle.  Furthermore, measure of the dynamic speckle varies for fruits as their quality decrease, and the values change with the position where the images are taken

Estradiol Modulates Membrane-Linked ATPases, Antioxidant Enzymes, Membrane Fluidity, Lipid Peroxidation, and Lipofuscin in Aged Rat Liver

Free radical production and oxidative stress are known to increase in liver during aging, and may contribute to the oxidative damage. These changes increase during menopausal condition in females when the level of estradiol is decreased. The objective of this study was to observe the changes in activities of membrane linked ATPases (Na+K+ ATPase, Ca2+ ATPase), antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, glutathione-S-transferase), lipid peroxidation levels, lipofuscin content and membrane fluidity occurring in livers of female rats of 3, 12 and 24 months age groups, and to see whether these changes are restored to 3 months control levels rats after exogenous administration of 17-β-estradiol (E2). The aged rats (12 and 24 months) were given subcutaneous injection of E2 (0.1 μg/g body weight) daily for one month. The results obtained in the present work revealed that normal aging was associated with significant decrease in the activities of membrane linked ATPases, antioxidant enzymes, membrane fluidity and an increase in lipid peroxidation and lipofuscin content in livers of aging female rats. The present study showed that E2 treatment reversed the changes to normal levels. E2 treatment may be beneficial in preventing some of the age related changes in the liver by increasing antioxidant defenses

Myxoid Neurothekeoma: A Rare Soft Tissue Tumor of Hand in a Male Toddler

Neurothekeomas are rare benign neoplasms, typically occurring in young patients with a remarkable predilection for the female population. Patients usually present with a small nodule in different anatomical sites, commonly  involving the face and the upper limb. We report a case of a three.year.old  boy, who presented with a nontender nodule on the left thumb. Surgical biopsy and immunostaining confirmed the diagnosis as myxoid neurothekeoma. The rarity of this unusual skin tumor in a toddler prompted the following report.Keywords: Neurothekeoma, soft tissue tumor, toddle

Assessment of airborne particulate matter (PM2.5) in university classrooms of varying occupancy

Air pollution is a major concern in Pakistan. Levels of particulate matter (PM2.5) in educational built environments, have not yet been studied comprehensively in Pakistan. This study was conducted to assess relationships between indoor and outdoor particulate matter in classrooms of the University of the Punjab, Lahore, using a DUSTTRAK Aerosol Monitor (TSI Model 8520). Sampling for PM2.5concentrations was carried out simultaneously outdoors and indoors in different classrooms on the campus. According to the level of occupancy three classrooms were selected i.e. Classroom I: low occupancy, Classroom II: medium occupancy and Classroom III: high occupancy. Simultaneous outdoor measurements were carried out at rooftop of each classroom. A tracer method was used to measure the air change per hour in each classroom. The 24 hour average concentrations of PM2.5 in Classrooms I, II and III were observed to be 282 .g/m³, 75 .g/m³ and 673 .g/m³ whereas 24 hour average outdoor levels were 324 .g/m³, 121 .g/m³ and 998.g/m³ respectively. Results showed a significant impact of ambient air and occupancy level on PM2.5 levels inside classrooms and all observed values exceeded the WHO limit

Development and Evaluation of Orally Disintegrating Tablets of Montelukast Sodium by Direct Compression Method

Purpose: To design an orally disintegrating montelukast sodium tablet (ODT) that disintegrates in the oral cavity leaving an easy-to-swallow residue especially for pediatric and elderly patients who have difficulty swallowing tablets.Methods: Two different formulations of montelukast sodium (5 mg) orally disintegrating tablets were designed and manufactured by direct compression method, using microcrystalline (Avicel PH-102), mannitol, sodium bicarbonate, crospovidone and magnesium stearate as key excipients, and with cherry flavor and aspartame as flavor and sweetener, respectively. These formulations were then evaluated using pharmacopoeial and non-pharmacopoeial physical and chemical tests. Dissolution and assay tests were performed using USP apparatus II and ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry, respectively. Formulations with better results were further subjected for optimization study using central composite design method.Results: The results of prototype formulation batch (Trial-02) and the finest optimization formulation batch (FOB-01) reflected the successful development of new formulation of orally disintegrating montelukast sodium 5 mg tablet by direct compression technique. The value of similarity factor (f2 &gt; 50), indicating that both formulations have similar drug release profiles. The formulations were further evaluated for three and six months under accelerated conditions to ascertain their stability.Conclusion: The results obtained demonstrate the suitability of the formulation as an ODT for convenient delivery of montelukast sodium for asthmatic patients. However, clinical studies are required to confirm this.Keywords: Orally disintegrating tablets, Asthma, Disintegration, Dissolution, Montelukast sodiu

Yolk Sac Tumor (Endodermal Sinus Tumor) with Component of Mature Cystic Teratoma at Sacrococcygeal Region in Children less than Two Years - A Case Series

Sacrococcygeal germ cell tumors in neonates and infants are always primary. About 75-95% of the cases occur in females. Chromosomal analysis of these extragonadal teratomas suggest that they arise from postmitotic/ premitotic cells. The majority of sacrococcygeal tumors are benign, teratomas. These benign teratomas have potential for malignant transformation. The most common malignancy which can occur is yolk sac tumor (YST) also known as endodermal sinus tumor (EST). Malignant germ cell tumors account for 3% of childhood neoplasms and extragonadal germ cell tumor constitutes 1–5% of all germ cell tumors which are highly aggressive. Presented here are three cases of yolk sac tumor arising in a sacrococcygeal mature cystic teratoma in less than 2 years of age

DEVELOPMENT OF NEW PYRAZOLE HYBRIDS AS ANTITUBERCULAR AGENTS: SYNTHESIS, BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION AND MOLECULAR DOCKING STUDY

Objective: synthesis of new 1, 3-diphenyl pyrazole derivatives 9(a-f) and 10(a-f) using molecular hybridization approach for antitubercular and cytotoxic studies.Methods: The structures of synthesized compounds were confirmed by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and mass spectra's. The antitubercular activity of compounds and standard drugs were assessed against Mycobacterium tuberculosis using microplate Alamar Blue assay (MABA).  The cytotoxic activities were performed by Sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. The molecular docking and in silico ADME prediction were studied by using Schrodinger.Results: The results reveals that the compounds 9c, 9d, 10c and 10d exhibited substantial antitubercular potential with MIC &lt; 20 μM. The cytotoxic studies revealed that the active compounds (9d, 10a, and 10d) are non-toxic to HeLa cancer cell lines with selectivity index &gt;10. The molecular docking study was performed to study the binding orientation and affinity of synthesized compounds for InhA enzyme.Conclusion: The study explored that the 1, 3-diphenyl pyrazole hybrids coupled with well known antitubercular drugs could be a potential lead for antitubercular agents. In-silico molecular docking study helps to identify their corresponding intermolecular ligand-protein interactions with target enzyme. Also ADME prediction studies revealed that the compounds were in acceptable range to have pharmacokinetic parameters