COMPARATIVE ESTIMATION OF SALIVARY TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY IN PERIODONTAL HEALTH AND CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS - A PILOT STUDY

Objective: Gram-negative bacteria provoke polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) to release reactive oxygen species in chronic periodontitis (CP). Inability to maintain a balance between oxidative stress and antioxidant levels makes patients more susceptible to periodontal disease. The present study aims to estimate and compare salivary total antioxidant capacity (TAOC) in subjects with clinically healthy periodontium and patients with CP.Methods: After fulfilling the selection criteria, a total of 20 subjects (10 with clinically healthy periodontium and 10 with CP) were subjected to unstimulated salivary sample collection for biochemical estimation of TAOC by spectrophotometric assay using Kovacevic method. Analysis of data was done with unpaired student t-test, using SPSS version 22 statistical program.Results: Salivary TAOC was significantly higher in subjects with clinically healthy periodontium compared to CP patients. It was statistically significant (p<0.001).Conclusion: This study indicated increased levels of salivary TAOC in patients with CP compared to clinically healthy periodontium. Alteration in defensive antioxidant status could be a risk factor in the progression of periodontal disease

A Study on Impact of Clinical Pharmacist Interventions on Medication Adherence and Quality of Life in Rural Hypertensive Patients

Hypertension is the very common chronic disease in rural, urban and semi-urban areas of today's world, which needs continuous monitoring and treatment through out the life. Lack of education, lifestyle modification, and low level of understanding on disease management in rural people will influence directly on their quality of life (QOL). The objective of this study was to know the impact of clinical pharmacist interventions on medication adherence and QOL. It was a prospective, randomized and interventional study. Fifty-six patients were enrolled; only 52 patients completed the study. Interventional group patients received patient counselling, patient information leaflets (PILS), and frequent telephonic reminding. In the baseline, first and second follow-ups, medication adherence and QOL were assessed by using Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS) and Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS) Questionnaires and SF-12v2 Quality of life Questionnaire in both the groups. The results showed that systolic blood pressure P value in the second follow-up was 0.086+ when compared to baseline follow-up P value 0.094. The diastolic blood pressure reading of the intervention group at the second follow-up was 77.73 ± 3.63 in mmHg when compared to the baseline, i.e. 86.62 ± 11.35 in mmHg. The MMAS and MARS scores P values were 0.007**, 1.000, <0.001**; 0.007, 0.014 and 0.000 at the baseline, first and second follow-ups, respectively. The QOL score P values of physical component scale and mental component scale showed highly significant. This study concluded/showed that the impact of clinical pharmacist provided patient counselling had a positive impact on medication adherence and QOL

Failure or success? Defensive strategies and piecemeal change among racial inequalities in the Brazilian banking sector

We analyze how Brazilian Black Movement organizations and banks deployed different mechanisms like cooperation, cooptation, and confrontation that generated affirmative action initiatives in the banking sector at the beginning of this century. Black movement organizations triggered an institutional change by connecting fields and exploring a constellation of strategies. However, Brazilian banks adopted defensive strategies aiming to accommodate their interests. We find that only piecemeal change occurred, as the field’s structures – resource distribution and power – remained unscratched. We conclude by noting how the success of social movement strategies can depend upon the framing and sense-giving work that social movements conduct in their continuous jockeying activity toward incumbents

Association of Adiponectin With Body Composition and Mortality in Hemodialysis Patients

BACKGROUND: In the general population, circulating adiponectin is associated with a favorable cardiovascular risk profile (e.g., lower triglycerides and body fat) and decreased mortality. Hemodialysis (HD) patients have comparatively higher adiponectin concentrations, but prior studies examining the adiponectin-mortality association in this population have not accounted for body composition nor shown a consistent relationship. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS: We examined baseline serum adiponectin concentrations in 501 HD patients across 13 dialysis centers from the prospective MADRAD (Malnutrition, Diet, and Racial Disparities in Chronic Kidney Disease) cohort (entry period 10/2011-2/2013, follow-up through 8/2013). PREDICTOR: Serum adiponectin concentration in tertiles (Tertiles 1, 2, and 3 defined as <=16.1, >16.1–30.1, >30.1–100.0 ug/ml, respectively). Adjustment variables included case-mix and laboratory tests (age, sex, race, ethnicity, vintage, diabetes, serum albumin, total iron binding capacity, serum creatinine, white blood cell count, phosphate, hemoglobin, normalized protein catabolic rate), body composition surrogates (subcutaneous, visceral, and total body fat; lean body mass), and serum lipid levels (cholesterol, HDL, triglycerides). OUTCOMES: All-cause mortality using survival (Cox) models incrementally adjusted for case-mix and laboratory tests. RESULTS: Among 501 HD patients, 50 deaths were observed during 631.1 person-years of follow-up time. In case-mix– and laboratory-adjusted Cox analyses, the highest adiponectin tertile was associated with increased mortality vs. the lowest tertile (HR, 3.35; 95% CI, 1.50–7.47). These associations were robust in analyses that additionally accounted for body composition (HR, 3.18; 95% CI, 1.61–8.24) and lipids (HR, 3.64; 95% CI, 1.34–7.58). LIMITATIONS: Residual confounding cannot be excluded. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, higher adiponectin is associated with a 3-fold higher death risk in HD patients independent of body composition and lipids. Future studies are needed to elucidate underlying mechanisms, and to determine therapeutic targets associated with improved outcomes in HD patients

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Not AvailableCLIMATIC FACTORS OF BELLARY ( KARNATAKA) REGION BASED MAINLY ON THE DATA RECORDED AT THE SOIL CONSERVATION RESEARCH FARM FOR THE PERIOD 1959-69 ARE DISCUSSED. THE SHORT PERIOD RAINFALL DATA OF THE FARM IS COMPARED WITH 100 YEAR RAINFALL RECORD OF THE BELLARY OBSERVATORY REGARDING AMOUNTS, DISTRIBUTION AND MONTHLY PROBABILITIES OF OCCURENCE OF RAINFALLNot Availabl

Collapse Behavior of an Artificially Cemented Clayey Silt

The present study examines the role of interparticle cementation in the collapse behavior of two partly saturated (S-r = 4 to 12%) and very highly porous (initial void ratio = 1.5 to 2) laboratory-desiccated clayey silt specimens containing varying amounts (5 and 15% by dry weight of the respective specimens) of the cementitious iron oxides hematite and goethite, which are generally encountered in tropical residual soils. Kaolinite is the representative clay mineral of the soil matrix used for this research. Interparticle cementation by the crystalline iron oxides was generated in the laboratory by repeated (six times) wetting and drying of the iron-hydroxide-admixed clayey silt specimens under ambient conditions of temperature and humidity. Results showed that, for a given laboratory-desiccated clayey silt specimen (i.e., a specimen containing 5 or 15% of iron oxide on a dry weight basis), the amount of collapse (represented by Delta epsilon, the change in vertical strain upon wetting under constant pressure) increases with an increase in the experimental loading under which the specimen is inundated. The laboratory results also show that the desiccated specimen with a higher iron oxide content (containing 15% iron oxide by dry weight of the desiccated specimen) in spite of a lower dry unit weight (gamma(d) = 8.8 kN/m(3)) undergoes a lesser amount of collapse on soaking under a constant external stress (50 or 100 kPa) than the desiccated specimen with a lower iron oxide content (i.e., containing 5% iron oxide by dry weight of the desiccated specimen, gamma(d) = 10.4 KN/m(3)). Based on the X-ray diffraction results and the stress-strain relationships obtained from isotropically consolidated undrained triaxial tests, it is suggested that the laboratory-desiccated specimens are characterized by a metastable bonding provided by capillary suction and the crystalline iron oxides. On soaking under load owing to the loss of the metastable bonding, collapse of the laboratory-desiccated specimens occurs. Also, in the case of the laboratory-desiccated specimen with a higher iron oxide content, the presence of a stronger interparticle cementation (due to a greater abundance of crystalline iron oxides) and a higher initial moisture content are considered responsible for the specimen exhibiting a lower amount of collapse in comparison to that exhibited by the desiccated specimen with a lesser iron oxide content

Hierarchy of structures in the family of amine templated open-framework gallium arsenates

Five new gallium arsenate compounds C2N2H10]Ga(H2AsO4)(HAsO4)(2)]center dot H2O, I; C2N2H10]Ga(OH)(AsO4)](2), II; C2N2H10]GaF(AsO4)](2), III; C3N2H12]Ga(OH)(AsO4)](2), IV; Ga2F3(AsO4)(HAsO4)]center dot 2H(3)O, V, have been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions and the structures determined employing single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. All the structures consist of octahedral gallium and tetrahedral arsenate units connected together forming a hierarchy of structures. Thus, one- (I), two- (II and IV) and three-dimensionally (III and V) extended structures have been observed. The Ga-O(H)/F-Ga connectivity in some of the structures suggests the coordination requirements posed by the octahedral gallium in these compounds. The observation of only one type of secondary building unit in the structures of III (SBU-4) and V (spiro-5) is unique and noteworthy. All the compounds have been characterized by a variety of techniques that include powder XRD, IR, and TGA. (C) 2010 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved

Collapse behavior of an artificially cemented clayey silt

The present study examines the role of interparticle cementation in the collapse behavior of two partly saturated (S<SUB>r</SUB> = 4 to 12%) and very highly porous (initial void ratio = 1.5 to 2) laboratory-desiccated clayey silt specimens containing varying amounts (5 and 15% by dry weight of the respective specimens) of the cementitious iron oxides hematite and goethite, which are generally encountered in tropical residual soils. Kaolinite is the representative clay mineral of the soil matrix used for this research. Interparticle cementation by the crystalline iron oxides was generated in the laboratory by repeated (six times) wetting and drying of the iron-hydroxide-admixed clayey silt specimens under ambient conditions of temperature and humidity. Results showed that, for a given laboratory-desiccated clayey silt specimen (i.e., a specimen containing 5 or 15% of iron oxide on a dry weight basis), the amount of collapse (represented by Δε, the change in vertical strain upon wetting under constant pressure) increases with an increase in the experimental loading under which the specimen is inundated. The laboratory results also show that the desiccated specimen with a higher iron oxide content (containing 15% iron oxide by dry weight of the desiccated specimen) in spite of a lower dry unit weight (γ<SUB>d</SUB> = 8.8 kN/m<SUP>3</SUP>) undergoes a lesser amount of collapse on soaking under a constant external stress (50 or 100 kPa) than the desiccated specimen with a lower iron oxide content (i.e., containing 5% iron oxide by dry weight of the desiccated specimen, γ<SUB>d</SUB> = 10.4 kN/m<SUP>3</SUP>).Based on the X-ray diffraction results and the stress-strain relationships obtained from isotropically consolidated undrained triaxial tests, it is suggested that the laboratory-desiccated specimens are characterized by a metastable bonding provided by capillary suction and the crystalline iron oxides. On soaking under load owing to the loss of the metastable bonding, collapse of the laboratory-desiccated specimens occurs. Also, in the case of the laboratory-desiccated specimen with a higher iron oxide content, the presence of a stronger interparticle cementation (due to a greater abundance of crystalline iron oxides) and a higher initial moisture content are considered responsible for the specimen exhibiting a lower amount of collapse in comparison to that exhibited by the desiccated specimen with a lesser iron oxide content

Two- and Three-Dimensional Open-Framework Uranium Arsenates: Synthesis, Structure, and Characterization

Hydrothermal reactions between uranium salts and arsenic pentoxide in the presence of two different amines yielded six new uranium arsenate phases exhibiting open-framework structures, ethylenediamine (en): [C2N2H9]-[(UO2)(ASO(4))] I; [C2N2H10][(UO2)F(HASO(4))]2 center dot 4H(2)O, II; [C2N2H9][U2F5(HASO(4))(2)], III; [C2N2H9][UF2(ASO(4))], IV; diethylenetriamine (DETA), [C4N3H16][U2F3(ASO(4))(2)(HAsO4)] V; and [C4N3H16][U2F6(AsO4)(HAsO4)], VI. The structures were determined using single crystal studies, which revealed two- (I, II, V) and three-dimensional (III, IV, VI) structures for the uranium arsenates. The uranium atom, in these compounds, exhibits considerable variations in the coordination (6 to 9) that appears to have some correlation with the synthetic conditions. The water molecules in [C2N2H10][(UO2)F(HAsO4)](2 center dot)4H(2)O, II, could be reversibly removed, and the dehydrated phase, [C2N2H10][(UO2)F(HAsO4)](2), IIa, was also characterized using single crystal studies. The observation of many mineralogical structures in the present compounds suggests that the hydrothermal method could successfully replicate the geothermal conditions. As part of this study, we have observed autunite, Ca[(UO2)(PO4)](2)(H2O)(11), metavauxite, [Fe(H2O)(6)][Al(OH)(H2O)(PO4)](2), finarite, PbCU(SO4)(OH)(2), and tancoite, LiNa2H[Al(PO4)(2)(OH)], structures. The repeated observation of the secondary building unit, SBU-4, in many of the uranium arsenate structures suggests that these are viable building units. Optical studies on the uranium arsenate compound, [C4N3H16][U2F6(AsO4)(HASO(4))), VI, containing uranium in the +4 oxidation state indicates a blue emission through an upconversion process. The compound also exhibits antiferromagnetic behavior

COMPARATIVE ESTIMATION OF SALIVARY TOTAL ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY IN PERIODONTAL HEALTH AND CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS - A PILOT STUDY

Objective: Gram-negative bacteria provoke polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) to release reactive oxygen species in chronic periodontitis (CP). Inability to maintain a balance between oxidative stress and antioxidant levels makes patients more susceptible to periodontal disease. The present study aims to estimate and compare salivary total antioxidant capacity (TAOC) in subjects with clinically healthy periodontium and patients with CP. Methods: After fulfilling the selection criteria, a total of 20 subjects (10 with clinically healthy periodontium and 10 with CP) were subjected to unstimulated salivary sample collection for biochemical estimation of TAOC by spectrophotometric assay using Kovacevic method. Analysis of data was done with unpaired student t-test, using SPSS version 22 statistical program. Results: Salivary TAOC was significantly higher in subjects with clinically healthy periodontium compared to CP patients. It was statistically significant (p&lt;0.001). Conclusion: This study indicated increased levels of salivary TAOC in patients with CP compared to clinically healthy periodontium. Alteration in defensive antioxidant status could be a risk factor in the progression of periodontal disease