Maternal Periodontitis and Low Birth Weight Babies

Introduction: Low birth weight in developing countries is primarily because of poor maternal health and nutrition. If maternal health plays such an important role in the child’s development, all the means of preventing problems among the pregnant women is of utmost importance. Aim: This study was conducted to assess the relationship between maternal periodontitis and the weight of the baby after birth. Materials and methods: The subjects in the present longitudinalstudy were chosen from the outpatients of Gynecology Department of the People’s Hospital over a period of 1 month. The periodontal status was assessed based on community periodontal index (CPI) and loss of attachment (LOA). Results: All the participants demonstrated periodontal pockets with more than half the population (56%) presenting shallow pockets (pockets of 4-5 mm). Conclusion: In the present study, periodontal status of the mother was significantly related to delivery of low birth weight babies. Thus it can be concluded that periodontitis may be associated with delivery of low birth weight babies

Assessment of ethanol yield associated characters in sweet sorghum

Sweet sorghum is a crop close to sugarcane in respect to its sucrose accumulation, and the juicy composition of the stem offers an excellent alternative feedstock apart from others such as sugar beets. In the present inves¬tigation nine sweet sorghum cultivars were grown in the field, IARI, New Delhi; all the ethanol yield associated morphological characters were recorded, sorghum cultivars samples were analyzed at harvesting. The association analysis had clearly brought out that among the inherent genotypic characteristics stem girth, number of inter¬nodes per plant, juice content of sorghum were very important for increase in juice yield. Among the other associ¬ated characters, green cane yield and consequently percent juice recovery with higher total soluble sugar content were important parameters for ethanol yield in sorghum. It is therefore, suggested that these inherent genotypic characteristics could be exploited in identifying suitable cultivars for the purpose of ethanol production

Conceptual study of Dooshivisha (Cumulative toxicity) w.r.t. Ancient classics and Modern science

Ayurveda describes the vast turnover of beauty aid products. More and more new synthetic substances are introduced every day. Many of these are not adequately tested for safety, in particular for routes other than oral or parenteral. Increased incidence of skin conditions like eczema and contact dermatitis after using newer cosmetics suggest that this may be due to local toxic effects or toxic effects manifested on this phenomenon as Dooshivisha. They are relevant to the current way of life considering the prevalence of pollution, occupational hazards and extent of exposure to toxins in food and other articles used in daily life. Present generation is much more likely to consume junk foods-cold drinks, to have unhealthy travelling habits, working late nights, working with computers in A.C rooms. This is referred to by terms like Hetusatatya, Vegavarodha, Diwaswapa, Viparit Chesta, Virudhannasevana which in turn hamper the normal physiology of human body. Same thing is mentioned in Ayurvedic texts also under the topic of Pradnyaparadh which is the basic cause for all diseases. This Pradnyaparadha is responsible to disturb the daily routine life and person has to face with the complaints of ill-health

Correlation Induced Inhomogeneity in Circular Quantum Dots

Properties of the "electron gas" - in which conduction electrons interact by means of Coulomb forces but ionic potentials are neglected - change dramatically depending on the balance between kinetic energy and Coulomb repulsion. The limits are well understood. For very weak interactions (high density), the system behaves as a Fermi liquid, with delocalized electrons. In contrast, in the strongly interacting limit (low density), the electrons localize and order into a Wigner crystal phase. The physics at intermediate densities, however, remains a subject of fundamental research. Here, we study the intermediate-density electron gas confined to a circular disc, where the degree of confinement can be tuned to control the density. Using accurate quantum Monte Carlo techniques, we show that the electron-electron correlation induced by an increase of the interaction first smoothly causes rings, and then angular modulation, without any signature of a sharp transition in this density range. This suggests that inhomogeneities in a confined system, which exist even without interactions, are significantly enhanced by correlations.Comment: final version, modified introduction and clarifications, 4 page

Characterization of voltage-gated ionic currents in a peripheral sensory neuron in larval Drosophila.

BACKGROUND: The development, morphology and genetics of sensory neurons have been extensively studied in Drosophila. Sensory neurons in the body wall of larval Drosophila in particular have been the subject of numerous anatomical studies, however, little is known about the intrinsic electrical properties of larval sensory cells. FINDINGS: We performed whole cell patch recordings from an identified peripheral sensory cell, the dorsal bipolar sensory neuron (dbd) and measured voltage-gated ionic currents in 1st instar larvae. Voltage clamp analysis revealed that dbds have a TEA sensitive, non-inactivating IK type potassium current as well as a 4-AP sensitive, inactivating IA type potassium current. dbds also show a voltage-gated calcium current (ICa) and a voltage-gated sodium current (INa). CONCLUSIONS: This work provides a first characterization of voltage-activated ionic currents in an identified body-wall sensory neuron in larval Drosophila. Overall, we establish baseline physiology data for future studies aimed at understanding the ionic and genetic basis of sensory neuron function in fruit flies and other model organisms.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Primary aneurysmal bone cyst of coronoid process

BACKGROUND: Aneurysmal bone cysts are relatively uncommon in the facial skeleton. These usually affect the mandible but origin from the coronoid process is even rarer. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a coronoid process aneurysmal bone cyst presenting as temporal fossa swelling. CASE PRESENTATION: A 17 year old boy presented with a progressively increasing swelling in the left temporal region developed over the previous 8 months. An expansile lytic cystic lesion originating from the coronoid process of the left mandible and extending into the infratemporal and temporal fossa regions was found on CT scan. It was removed by a superior approach to the infratemporal fossa. CONCLUSION: Aneurysmal bone cyst of the coronoid process can attain enormous dimensions until the temporal region is also involved. A superior approach to the infratemporal fossa is a reasonable approach for such cases, providing wide exposure and access to all parts of the lesion and ensuring better control and complete excision

The Effectiveness of a Home Care Program for Supporting Caregivers of Persons with Dementia in Developing Countries: A Randomised Controlled Trial from Goa, India

OBJECTIVES: To develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a home based intervention in reducing caregiver burden, promoting caregiver mental health and reducing behavioural problems in elderly persons with dementia. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This was a randomised controlled trial in which the person with dementia-caregiver dyad was randomly allocated either to receive the intervention immediately or to a waiting list group which received the intervention after 6 months. It was carried out in communities based in two talukas (administrative blocks) in Goa, India. Mild to moderate cases with dementia (diagnosed using the DSM IV criteria and graded using the Clinical Dementia Rating scale) and their caregivers were included in the trial. Community based intervention provided by a team consisting of Home Care Advisors who were supervised by a counselor and a psychiatrist, focusing on supporting the caregiver through information on dementia, guidance on behaviour management, a single psychiatric assessment and psychotropic medication if needed. We measured caregiver mental health (General Health Questionnaire), caregiver burden (Zarit Burden Score), distress due to behavioural disturbances (NPI-D), behavioural problems in the subject (NPI-S) and activities of daily living in the elder with dementia (EASI). Outcome evaluations were masked to the allocation status. We analysed each outcome with a mixed effects model. 81 families enrolled in the trial; 41 were randomly allocated to the intervention. 59 completed the trial and 18 died during the trial. The intervention led to a significant reduction of GHQ (-1.12, 95% CI -2.07 to -0.17) and NPI-D scores (-1.96, 95%CI -3.51 to -0.41) and non-significant reductions in the ZBS, EASI and NPI-S scores. We also observed a non-significant reduction in the total number of deaths in people with dementia in the intervention arm (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.01 to 1.03). CONCLUSION: Home based support for caregivers of persons with dementia, which emphasizes the use of locally available, low-cost human resources, is feasible, acceptable and leads to significant improvements in caregiver mental health and burden of caring. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00479271

Using Hydrophilic Ionic Liquid, [bmim]BF4 – Ethylene Glycol System as a Novel Media for the Rapid Synthesis of Copper Nanoparticles

In this work, we present a novel method for the synthesis of copper nanoparticles. We utilize the charge compensatory effect of ionic liquid [bmim]BF4 in conjunction with ethylene glycol for providing electro-steric stabilization to copper nanoparticles prepared from copper sulphate using hydrazine hydrate as a reducing agent. The formed copper nanoparticles showed extended stability over a period of one year. Copper nanoparticles thus prepared were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction measurements (pXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and quasi elastic light scattering (QELS) techniques. Powder X-ray diffraction (pXRD) analysis revealed relevant Bragg's reflection for crystal structure of copper. Powder X-ray diffraction plots also revealed no oxidized material of copper nanoparticles. TEM showed nearly uniform distribution of the particles in methanol and confirmed by QELS. Typical applications of copper nanoparticles include uses in conductive films, lubrication and nanofluids. Currently efforts are under way in our laboratory for using these nanoparticles as catalysts for a variety of organic reactions