Assessment of Cytomorphometry of Human Buccal Cells in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus patients: A Cross Sectional study

AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of the study was to assess the cytomorphometric changes in the exfoliated buccal mucosal cells in Gestational diabetes mellitus patients. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the study were, 1. To assess the cytomorphometry of exfoliated buccal cell in GDM patients during pregnancy. 2. To assess the cytomorphometry of exfoliated buccal cell in healthy pregnant women during pregnancy. 3. To compare the cytomorphometry of exfoliated buccal cells between healthy pregnant women and GDM patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study consisted of a total sample size of 80 pregnant women. The participants were divided in to 2 groups which include 40 cases of GDM patients as group I and 40 cases of healthy pregnant women as group II. The smear was collected from the buccal mucosa of both the group using cyto-brush and stained with Rapid PAP staining method. The stained slides were viewed and the images of 100 cells from each slide were captured. By using image pro premier 9.1 software, Nuclear area (NA), Cytoplasm area (CA), Nuclear cytoplasmic ratio (N/C ratio) was measured from each captured image of cell. Statistical analysis was done using unpaired-T test for comparing the study group and control group. RESULTS: Result showed that the mean nuclear area in GDM group was 35±5.04 and in control group was 22.53±5.31. The mean cytoplasm area in GDM group was 1182.95±175.12 and in control group was 1109.60±155.75. The mean nuclear cytoplasmic ratio (N/C ratio) in GDM group was 38.04±8.02 and in control group was 57.85±9.83. Morphologic variations like binucleation, micronuclei, perinuclear halo in buccal cells obtained from GDM patients. There was a statistically significant increase in NA in GDM group than control group (p= 0.000), N/C ratio was markedly higher in control group than GDM group (p= 0.000). The CA did not exhibit a statistically significant difference between the two group (p= 0.051). CONCLUSION: Oral exfoliative cytology can be used as a simple chair side investigation that is quick, simple, less technically challenging, painless and non-invasive procedure for microscopic investigation of the mucosa in GDM patients. The results observed in this study might contribute to the general understanding of the alterations in the cellular pattern of oral mucosa cells in GDM patients, and provide health professionals with adjuvant diagnostic tool for the early diagnosis of GDM

Rheumatoid arthritis - clinical aspects: 134. Predictors of Joint Damage in South Africans with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) causes progressive joint damage and functional disability. Studies on factors affecting joint damage as clinical outcome are lacking in Africa. The aim of the present study was to identify predictors of joint damage in adult South Africans with established RA. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 100 black patients with RA of >5 years were assessed for joint damage using a validated clinical method, the RA articular damage (RAAD) score. Potential predictors of joint damage that were documented included socio-demographics, smoking, body mass index (BMI), disease duration, delay in disease modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) initiation, global disease activity as measured by the disease activity score (DAS28), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C reactive protein (CRP), and autoantibody status. The predictive value of variables was assessed by univariate and stepwise multivariate regression analyses. A p value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean (SD) age was 56 (9.8) years, disease duration 17.5 (8.5) years, educational level 7.5 (3.5) years and DMARD lag was 9 (8.8) years. Female to male ratio was 10:1. The mean (SD) DAS28 was 4.9 (1.5) and total RAAD score was 28.3 (12.8). The mean (SD) BMI was 27.2 kg/m2 (6.2) and 93% of patients were rheumatoid factor (RF) positive. More than 90% of patients received between 2 to 3 DMARDs. Significant univariate predictors of a poor RAAD score were increasing age (p = 0.001), lower education level (p = 0.019), longer disease duration (p < 0.001), longer DMARD lag (p = 0.014), lower BMI (p = 0.025), high RF titre (p < 0.001) and high ESR (p = 0.008). The multivariate regression analysis showed that the only independent significant predictors of a higher mean RAAD score were older age at disease onset (p = 0.04), disease duration (p < 0.001) and RF titre (p < 0.001). There was also a negative association between BMI and the mean total RAAD score (p = 0.049). Conclusions: Patients with longstanding established RA have more severe irreversible joint damage as measured by the clinical RAAD score, contrary to other studies in Africa. This is largely reflected by a delay in the initiation of early effective treatment. Independent of disease duration, older age at disease onset and a higher RF titre are strongly associated with more joint damage. The inverse association between BMI and articular damage in RA has been observed in several studies using radiographic damage scores. The mechanisms underlying this paradoxical association are still widely unknown but adipokines have recently been suggested to play a role. Disclosure statement: C.I. has received a research grant from the Connective Tissue Diseases Research Fund, University of the Witwatersrand. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Solid-state synthesis of NASICON (Na3Zr2Si2PO12) using nanoparticle precursors for optimisation of ionic conductivity

In this work, the effect of varying the size of the precursor raw materials SiO2 and ZrO2 in the solid-state synthesis of NASICON in the form Na3Zr2Si2PO12 was studied. Nanoscale and macro-scale precursor materials were selected for comparison purposes, and a range of sintering times were examined (10, 24 and 40 h) at a temperature of 1230 °C. Na3Zr2Si2PO12 pellets produced from nanopowder precursors were found to produce substantially higher ionic conductivities, with improved morphology and higher density than those produced from larger micron-scaled precursors. The nanoparticle precursors were shown to give a maximum ionic conductivity of 1.16 × 10−3 S cm−1 when sintered at 1230 °C for 40 h, in the higher range of published solid-state Na3Zr2Si2PO12 conductivities. The macro-precursors gave lower ionic conductivity of 0.62 × 10−3 S cm−1 under the same processing conditions. Most current authors do not quote or consider the precursor particle size for solid-state synthesis of Na3Zr2Si2PO12. This study shows the importance of precursor powder particle size in the microstructure and performance of Na3Zr2Si2PO12 during solid-state synthesis and offers a route to improved predictability and consistency of the manufacturing process

Rheological properties of concentrated polyacrylonitrile co-polymer and lignin blend solution

Polyacrylonitrile copolymers with different molecular weights (Mws) are synthe-sised by aqueous free-radical redox polymerisation technique. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and lignin-blended solutions are prepared in dimethyl sulphoxide solvent by varying the polyacrylonitrile/lignin content. The effect of lignin addition to PAN copolymer having different weight-average Mws on the rheological properties is explored. Rheological measurements indicate that the solution viscosity reduces with the increase in the lignin content. The Cole–Cole plot or Han plot and Cas-son plot are used to characterise the solution homogeneity. The slope value of the plot suggests that the molecular-level homogeneity of the solution is not affected much by the addition of lignin. Thermal-induced gelation of concentrated solution has been rheologically investigated to avoid overheating of solution during the dis-solution, storage and transportation for further wet spinning process