Validation of Experimental and Finite Element Biomechanical Evaluation of Human Cadaveric Mandibles

Background: Biomechanical analysis of human mandible is important not only to understand mechanical behavior and structural properties, but also to diagnose and develop treatment options for mandibular disorders. Therefore, the objective of this research was to generate analytical and experimental data on mandibles, construct custom 3D models, and compare the analytically derived maximum strains with strain gage data in five areas of interest for each mandible. Methods: We investigated the surface strains in the cadaveric human mandibles under different configurations of cyclic compressive loads in an experimental setting and compared these experimental strain data with results derived from computational finite element analysis (FEA), accurately replicating the experiments. Strains on the surface of each mandible were measured with strain gauges, and subsequently a subject-specific finite element (FE) volume mesh was generated from computed tomography (CT) scans of each mandible. Strain patterns of each mandible were derived from the FEA simulating the experimental setup and matched with the experimental data. Findings: Analysis of experimental data showed that strain as measured at the condylar locations was significantly different from those at other locations on the mandible, and that the sex and age of the subject did not have a significant correlation with the strain. Comparing the FE numerical predictions with the experimental data, we found a good statistical correlation and statistical agreement between in-vitro measurements and FE results. Interpretation: The study demonstrates that our methodology of generating subject-specific FE models is a valid and accurate, non-invasive method to evaluate the complex biomechanical behavior of human mandibles

Purification, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of the SpaA backbone-pilin subunit from probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG

Peer reviewe

Histopathological analysis of soft tissue changes in gingival biopsied specimen from patients with underlying corona virus disease associated mucormycosis (CAM)

Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) is perhaps the disastrous medical emergencies that has ever hit globally with multiple strains. Amongst various sequelae, mucormycosis may be considered as the most debilitating one. Post COVID-19 mucormycosis is formally regarded as corona virus disease associated mucormycosis (CAM). The aim of the current paper is to present twelve cases of CAM with unique clinical presentation with a detailed histopathological correlation of the gingival biopsied material. Twelve cases of CAM were included in the study who presented initially with non-purulent swelling of the gingiva. The clinic-demographic data pertaining to age, gender, location, laterality and presence of co-morbidities was collected along with histopathological examination of biopsied specimen. The patients ranged from 31-65 years (mean age 47.33 years). There was a male predominance. Clearly, maxillary right gingiva was mostly affected and all cases presented with non purulent, non tender swelling of the gingiva. The incisional biopsy from the gingiva consistently showed pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia of the surface epithelium along with vacuolar degeneration, extensive stromal edema, massive mixed inflammatory reaction, congested blood vessels, hemorrhage and abundant multinucleated giant cells. Potassium hydroxide (10% KOH) mount served no additional diagnostic advantage. After two initial biopsies any suspected case of CAM with these features was treated with appropriate antifungal therapy and conservative excision. Gingival swelling with aforementioned histopathological features resembling post COVID-19 histological alterations could be alarming early signs of CAM and are candidate of prompt antifungal therapy rather than repeat biopsy for confirmation

pSLIP: SVM based protein subcellular localization prediction using multiple physicochemical properties

BACKGROUND: Protein subcellular localization is an important determinant of protein function and hence, reliable methods for prediction of localization are needed. A number of prediction algorithms have been developed based on amino acid compositions or on the N-terminal characteristics (signal peptides) of proteins. However, such approaches lead to a loss of contextual information. Moreover, where information about the physicochemical properties of amino acids has been used, the methods employed to exploit that information are less than optimal and could use the information more effectively. RESULTS: In this paper, we propose a new algorithm called pSLIP which uses Support Vector Machines (SVMs) in conjunction with multiple physicochemical properties of amino acids to predict protein subcellular localization in eukaryotes across six different locations, namely, chloroplast, cytoplasmic, extracellular, mitochondrial, nuclear and plasma membrane. The algorithm was applied to the dataset provided by Park and Kanehisa and we obtained prediction accuracies for the different classes ranging from 87.7% – 97.0% with an overall accuracy of 93.1%. CONCLUSION: This study presents a physicochemical property based protein localization prediction algorithm. Unlike other algorithms, contextual information is preserved by dividing the protein sequences into clusters. The prediction accuracy shows an improvement over other algorithms based on various types of amino acid composition (single, pair and gapped pair). We have also implemented a web server to predict protein localization across the six classes (available at )

Correlation of Bony Invasion With Nodal Metastasis, Pattern of Invasion and Survival in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Retrospective Analysis of 122 Primary Cases From Oral Cancer Centre of South India

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is considered to be the most common epithelial malignant neoplasm of the oral cavity. Despite advancements in diagnosis and therapeutics the clinical outcome of the disease has not improved much which may be attributed to tumor biology and heterogeneity. Bone invasion by cancer cells is currently staged as a moderately advanced disease. However, many low-grade carcinomas such as verrucous carcinoma and carcinoma cuniculatum show body invasion but less nodal metastases and better overall survival. The present study was orchestrated to analyze if bone invasion in OSCC has any impact on regional nodal metastases and survival

A Propensity Score Analysis of the Impact of Invasive Intracranial Pressure Monitoring on Outcomes after Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Although a recent clinical trial (BEST TRIP) demonstrated no improvement in outcomes with invasive intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring (ICPM) following severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), its generalizability has been called into question. In several global settings ICPM is not the standard of care and is used at the discretion of the attending neurosurgeon. Our objective was to determine the impact of ICPM on mortality and 6-month functional outcomes following severe TBI. The setting was a referral trauma center with 36 intensive care unit (ICU) beds and 300?600 TBI admissions per year. During a 2-year period data were prospectively entered into a severe TBI registry. Patients with severe TBI aged >12 years meeting Brain Trauma Foundation (BTF) criteria for ICPM were included in the study. Outcomes of interest were in-hospital mortality and poor 6-month functional outcome defined as Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) score of 3 or lower. A propensity score based analysis incorporating known predictors of outcome in TBI was utilized to examine the impact of ICPM on outcomes. Of 1345 patients meeting study criteria 497 (37%) underwent ICPM. In-hospital mortality was 35% (471/1345). Of 454 patients for whom 6-month outcome was available, 161 (35%) suffered a poor functional outcome. Following propensity score analysis ICPM use was associated with an 8% (p?=?0.002) decrease in mortality but no significant effect (p?=?0.2) on functional outcome. The use of ICPM following severe TBI was associated with decreased in-hospital mortality. Further clinical trials of ICPM in TBI may be warranted.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140170/1/neu.2015.4015.pd

Assessment of Liver Dysfunction Using Combination Biomarkers in Children Living with HIV Infection

Aim:Overall, around 14-18% of non-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related deaths are due to liver disease in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients. With a prevalence of 15%, cirrhosis appears to be a more serious consequence. There are many non-invasive markers for assessing liver fibrosis but their utility in pediatric HIV patients has not been explored.Materials and Methods:To assess the occurrence of liver dysfunction and the levels of combination biomarkers of liver dysfunction [aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio, AST-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index] in HIV positive children. A total of 44 HIV positive children aged <15 years attending the antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinic were enrolled and evaluated for liver dysfunction using non-invasive biomarkers and ultrasonography (USG) scoring.Results:Deranged biomarkers-AST/ALT ratios, APRI scores, and FIB-4 index were found in 95%, 6.8%, and 4.5% children respectively. 7% of children showed moderate to severe liver fibrosis on USG scoring. Also, anemia, nevirapine in ART regimen, longer ART duration, immunosuppression, and lower body mass index values were found as risk factors associated with deranged biomarkers.Conclusion:Hepatic dysfunction is reflected by deranged AST/ALT ratios among HIV-positive children in this study. Further, the elevated APRI scores and FIB-4 index in some cases signal evolving liver fibrosis