An outlook on metabolic pathway engineering in crop plants

To produce the essential secondary metabolites, plants are the major and important target source materials for conducting the high-profile metabolic engineering studies. Metabolic pathway engineering of both microorganism targets and plants target contribute towards important drug discovery. In order to efficiently work out in advanced plant metabolic pathway engineering techniques, a detailed knowledge and expertise is essentially needed regarding the plant cell physiology and the mechanics of plant metabolism. Mathematical and statistical models to scale and map the genome for integrative metabolic pathway activity, signal transduction mechanism in the genome, gene regulation and the networks of protein-protein interaction can provide the in-depth knowledge to work efficiently on plant metabolic pathway engineering studies. Incorporation of omics data into these statistical and mathematical models is crucial in the case of drug discovery using the plant system. Recently, artificial intelligence concept and approaches are experimentally applied for efficient and accurate metabolic engineering in plants

Association of Sleep Quality and Stress with Academic Performance among Undergraduate Dental Students of Bhubaneswar, India

Objective: To assess sleep quality and stress level and to analyze their effect on the academic performance of undergraduate dental students. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted among 234 undergraduate dental students at Bhubaneswar. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), consisting of 18 items rated on a 4-point Likert scale, assessed sleep quality. Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) evaluated the stress level. Google Forms collected demographic details and marks obtained in their previous examination. Chi-square, Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and Spearman correlation coefficient were used for analysis (p≤0.05). Results: Mean PSQI and K10 scores were 4.87±4.5 and 17.60±8.5, respectively. 38% of students had poor sleep quality, and mean actual sleep hours were 8.01±1.7. One-fourth (24.8%) of subjects had moderate to severe stress. Sleep quality significantly differed among the various academic years (p=0.001). A post-hoc test showed a difference between 1st and 2nd-year students and 1st and 4th-year students. A statistically significant difference between genders regarding the components of the K10 scale was observed. A non-significant positive correlation between total marks and K10 score and a negative correlation between marks and global PSQI score was found. Conclusion: Sleep quality and stress harm the academic performance of dental students

Antimicrobial Activity of Soyabean (Glycine max) and Pumpkin Seeds (Cucurbita pepo) Extracts against Common Oral Pathogens: An in vitro Study

Objective: To evaluate the antimicrobial activity of soyabean and pumpkin seeds methanolic extract against oral microbiome. Material and Methods: An in vitro study compared the antimicrobial activity of methanolic extract of soyabean and pumpkin seed along with 0.2% chlorhexidine (positive control) by Agar well diffusion method against Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Lactobacillus and Candida albicans. Suitable dilutions of each seed extract determined Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC). Qualitative phytochemical analysis and Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) was done to determine the phytochemical components. Results: Both the methanolic extracts showed the highest zone of inhibition, 26±0.31 mm and 24±0.82 mm, followed by 22±0.87 mm and 21±0.55 mm against Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus pyogenes, respectively. The zone of inhibition was higher at concentrations in both extracts, which was not statistically significant (p>0.05). MIC values fluctuated from 1.56 to 4.5 mg/ml and 3.5 to 5.0 mg/ml for soyabean and pumpkin seed extract, respectively. Phytochemical analysis showed the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, terpenoids, tannins, and flavonoids. Conclusion: Both extracts were effective against S. mutans and S. pyogenes and contain compounds with therapeutic potential

Remodelación de la odontología y las tecnologías dentales después de la enfermedad por coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).

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Linkage disequilibrium mapping: A journey from traditional breeding to molecular breeding in crop plants

434-442Germplasms are the reservoir of agronomically important traits traditionally maintained by various tribal communities over the year. Maintaining these germplasms generations after generations has little value unless exploited for the desired agronomic traits like biotic and abiotic stress, yield attributes and nutritional enrichment. Association mapping, otherwise called linkage disequilibrium mapping, is a molecular breeding approach for characterizing complex traits with agronomic importance in crop plants. It is a systematic method for identifying novel traits and is treated as an alternative tool to traditional QTL mapping approaches, which involves correlating molecular markers with the phenotypic trait in a diversified population. The map's resolution in association mapping is based on the candidate-gene approach or genome-wide association approach. Therefore, association mapping studies offer a great perspective on crop genetic improvement. Still, considerably large-scale research is required to determine the sensible implementation of association mapping analysis in most crop plants. Currently, there is considerable interest in using association mapping approaches in crop breeding programs, which can be achieved by advanced genomic technology and the development of statistical computer software packages. Here, the linkage disequilibrium approach and its usefulness in association mapping studies, including the steps associated with it are discussed. The current status and future challenges in complex trait dissection by utilizing the linkage disequilibrium mapping in crop plants are also discussed

Validity, reliability and prevalence estimates of nomophobia among undergraduate dental students of Bhubaneswar, India

Background. Considered a modern phobia, Nomophobia (NO MObile PHOne PhoBIA) is a term describing irrational fear or anxiety of being unable to access one’s own mobile phone. Objectives. To develop and validate the nomophobia questionnaire, administering it to a sample of adolescents representing undergraduate dental students. To assess the prevalence of Nomophobia, determine the usage pattern of mobile phones and evaluate the impact due to lack of access to mobile phones among undergraduate dental students. Material and method. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 302 undergraduate students of Bhubaneswar through a self-administered questionnaire via Google Forms consisting of 19 items evaluating the pattern and anxiety related to usage of mobile phones. Responses were recorded on a 5-point Likert scale. Kruskal Wallis, Mann-Whitney U and Chisquare tests were used for statistical analysis. Results. Test-Retest reliability showed kappa of k=0.86 and Internal consistency Chronbach’s-Alpha to be α=0.82. Prevalence of nomophobia (score ≥ 58) was 32.1%, and students at risk of being nomophobic (score 39-57) was 61.9%. It was highest in males (32.6%) and amongst the interns (41.9%) and lowest (25.5%) amongst the second-year students. Participants felt nervous/insecure if their phones were away from them because of the fear that somebody might have accessed their data (3.07±1.93) and or tried to contact them (3.09±1.13) which were not statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusions. The present study confirms that nomophobia is an emerging behavioural addiction among dental students. Adequate prevention strategies would be helpful in reducing the impact of the chronic mobile usage. Effect of the mobile phone on dental students and the fear of not having it with them is increasing elaborately, that needs to be controlled. Otherwise, it would negatively affect their academic achievement and well-being

Cyberchondria among information technology professionals of Bhubaneswar by using cyberchondria severity scale (CSS-15)

Background. Internet can act as an excellent resource for gaining valuable health related information. However, excessive online research and investigation about health-related issues may impose a negative impact. The term cyberchondria is used to describe a clinical condition in which frequent internet searches for health-related information leads to exaggerated anxieties about physical well-being. Objectives. To determine the prevalence of cyberchondria and associated factors among the information technology professionals of Bhubaneswar in India. Materials and methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 243 software professionals in Bhubaneswar using a previously validated Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-15) questionnaire. Descriptive statistics in terms of number, percentage, mean and standard deviation were presented. Independent t-test and one-way analysis of variance was applied to compare the cyberchondria score between two and more than two independent variables respectively. Results. From 243 individuals 130 (53.5%) were males and 113 (46.5%) were females with mean age 29.82±6.67 years. The prevalence of cyberchondria severity was found to be 46.5%. The mean cyberchondria score of all study subjects was 43.80±10.62. It was significantly higher among those who spend more than 1 hour in the internet during night, feel fear and anxiety in visiting the doctor or dentist, interested in gaining the health-related information from other resources and agreed that gaining health related information has increased after COVID-19 pandemic (p˂0.05). Conclusion. Cyberchondria is a growing issue with regard to mental health in developing countries and has the ability to cause anxiety and distress. Appropriate actions must be taken to prevent it on a societal level

Linkage disequilibrium mapping: A journey from traditional breeding to molecular breeding in crop plants

Germplasms are the reservoir of agronomically important traits traditionally maintained by various tribal communities over the year. Maintaining these germplasms generations after generations has little value unless exploited for the desired agronomic traits like biotic and abiotic stress, yield attributes and nutritional enrichment. Association mapping, otherwise called linkage disequilibrium mapping, is a molecular breeding approach for characterizing complex traits with agronomic importance in crop plants. It is a systematic method for identifying novel traits and is treated as an alternative tool to traditional QTL mapping approaches, which involves correlating molecular markers with the phenotypic trait in a diversified population. The map's resolution in association mapping is based on the candidate-gene approach or genome-wide association approach. Therefore, association mapping studies offer a great perspective on crop genetic improvement. Still, considerably large-scale research is required to determine the sensible implementation of association mapping analysis in most crop plants. Currently, there is considerable interest in using association mapping approaches in crop breeding programs, which can be achieved by advanced genomic technology and the development of statistical computer software packages. Here, the linkage disequilibrium approach and its usefulness in association mapping studies, including the steps associated with it are discussed. The current status and future challenges in complex trait dissection by utilizing the linkage disequilibrium mapping in crop plants are also discussed