IDENTIFICATION AND ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY TESTING OF PATHOGENIC MICRO-ORGANISM FROM DENTAL PATIENTS

ABSTRACTObjective: To isolate and identify aerobic microbes present in the periodontal infected patients and to evaluate the choice of antibiotics in themanagement of periodontal diseases.Methods: In this study, these patients have not been treated previously for their conditions. An informed consent was obtained from these patientsbefore collection of an oral swab. This study was approved by the Institutional Ethical Committee. The details of the patient's age, sex, and clinicaldetails were recorded on a per forma meant for this study. The following methodologies were adopted for the isolation and identification of the microorganismsfromthese cases.Results: In this study out of 50 oral samples, culture positivity was recorded in 43 (86%) cases and no growth in 7 (14%) cases. Antibiotic susceptibilitytest using to identified as resistant, sensitive, intermediate of pathogenicity of oral microbes. Such antibiotics were methicillin, ceftazidime,clindamycin, amikacin, cloxacillin, and cefotaxime. This study should be kept in mind when a local application of antibacterial compounds is used inthe therapy of periodontal disease.Conclusion: This study highlights the different organisms involved in the different types of dental infections. The antibiotic pattern shown in this workwill be a guide to the clinician in the selection of proper antibiotics for the treatment of these infections. Hence in this study, the limitations were timeand the number of patients. For better outcomes, a larger study population for a longer period of time should be undertaken to know the bacteriologyand to the select the effective drugs of choice for dental infections. A comparative study of bacteriology and mycology and its antimicrobial propertywould be very fruitful in the future.Keywords: Dental, Periodontal, Bacteria, Antibiotics

Gap junctions and connexin hemichannels in the regulation of haemostasis and thrombosis

Platelets are involved in the maintenance of haemostasis but their inappropriate activation leads to thrombosis, a principal trigger for heart attack and ischemic stroke. Although platelets circulate in isolation, upon activation they accumulate or aggregate together to form a thrombus, where they function in a coordinated manner to prevent loss of blood and control wound repair. Recent reports indicate that the stability and functions of a thrombus are maintained through sustained, contact dependent signalling between platelets. Given the role of gap junctions in the coordination of tissue responses, it was hypothesized that gap junctions may be present within a thrombus and mediate intercellular communication between platelets. Therefore studies were performed to explore the presence and functions of connexins in platelets. In this brief review, the roles of hemichannels and gap junctions in the control of thrombosis and haemostasis and the future directions for this research will be discussed

Water Management in the Noyyal River Basin A Situation Analysis

The Noyyal sub-basin, which is 3510 sq km in area, is part of the Cauvery basin that lies in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is a rapidly urbanizing sub-basin that includes the Class I cities of Coimbatore and Tiruppur as well as 84 smaller urban settlements. Water issues in this basin have been the focus of much public debate and action over the last two decades. Most of the debate, triggered by farmer agitations and court cases, has focused on the question of water pollution; water scarcity and sustainability issues have received relatively little attention. Recent bans on industrial effluent discharge into the Noyyal, as well as changes in water supply infrastructure, watershed development activities, urban demand and agricultural water use have dramatically altered the future of the Noyyal River and merit follow-up studies. The purpose of this situation analysis is to summarize the current state of knowledge regarding water resources management in the Noyyal sub-basin and identify critical knowledge gaps to inform water-related research in the basin. It is hoped that such an analysis will help those studying or working on water issues in the Noyyal, and also provide useful insights for other urbanizing basins

Genetic structure of a small closed population of the New Zealand white rabbit through pedigree analyses

[EN] The genetic structure of a small population of New Zealand White rabbits maintained at the Sheep Breeding and Research Station, Sandynallah, The Nilgiris, India, was evaluated through pedigree analyses. Data on pedigree information (n=2503) for 18 yr (1995-2012) were used for the study. Pedigree analysis and the estimates of population genetic parameters based on the gene origin probabilities were performed. The analysis revealed that the mean values of generation interval, coefficients of inbreeding and equivalent inbreeding were 1.49 yr, 13.23 and 17.59%, respectively. The proportion of population inbred was 100%. The estimated mean values of average relatedness and individual increase in inbreeding were 22.73 and 3.00%, respectively. The percentage increase in inbreeding over generations was 1.94, 3.06 and 3.98 estimated through maximum generations, equivalent generations and complete generations, respectively. The number of ancestors contributing the majority of 50% genes (fa50) to the gene pool of reference population was only 4, which might have led to reduction in genetic variability and increased the amount of inbreeding. The extent of genetic bottleneck assessed by calculating the effective number of founders (fe) and the effective number of ancestors (fa), as expressed by the fe/fa ratio was 1.1, which is indicative of the absence of stringent bottlenecks. Up to 5th generation, 71.29% pedigree was complete, reflecting the well maintained pedigree records. The maximum known generations were 15, with an average of 7.9, and the average equivalent generations traced were 5.6, indicating a fairly good depth in pedigree. The realized effective population size was 14.93, which is very critical, and with the increasing trend of inbreeding the situation has been assessed as likely to become worse in future. The proportion of animals with the genetic conservation index (GCI) greater than 9 was 39.10%, which can be used as a scale to use such animals with higher GCI to maintain balanced contribution from the founders. From the study, it was evident that the herd was completely inbred, with a very high inbreeding coefficient, and the effective population size was critical. Recommendations were made to reduce the probability of deleterious effects of inbreeding and to improve genetic variability in the herd. The present study can help in carrying out similar studies to meet the demand for animal protein in developing countries.The authors acknowledge the support provided by Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) for successful completion of the study.Sakthivel, M.; Balasubramanyam, D.; Kumarasamy, P.; Raja, A.; Anilkumar, R.; Gopi, H.; Devaki, A. (2018). Genetic structure of a small closed population of the New Zealand white rabbit through pedigree analyses. 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Transparent ferromagnetic and semiconducting behavior in Fe-Dy-Tb based amorphous oxide films

We report a class of amorphous thin film material comprising of transition (Fe) and Lanthanide metals (Dy and Tb) that show unique combination of functional properties. Films were deposited with different atomic weight ratio (R) of Fe to Lanthanide (Dy + Tb) using electron beam co-evaporation at room temperature. The films were found to be amorphous, with grazing incidence x-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies indicating that the films were largely oxidized with a majority of the metal being in higher oxidation states. Films with R = 0.6 were semiconducting with visible light transmission due to a direct optical band-gap (2.49 eV), had low resistivity and sheet resistance (7.15 × 10−4 Ω-cm and ~200 Ω/sq respectively), and showed room temperature ferromagnetism. A metal to semiconductor transition with composition (for R \u3c 11.9) also correlated well with the absence of any metallic Fe0oxidation state in the R = 0.6 case as well as a significantly higher fraction of oxidized Dy. The combination of amorphous microstructure and room temperature electronic and magnetic properties could lead to the use of the material in multiple applications, including as a transparent conductor, active material in thin film transistors for display devices, and in spin-dependent electronics

Soluble CD200 Correlates With Interleukin-6 Levels in Sera of COPD Patients: Potential Implication of the CD200/CD200R Axis in the Disease Course

BACKGROUND: COPD represents a multifactorial lung disorder with high morbidity and mortality. Despite intensive research concerning the underlying disease mechanisms, the involvement of the CD200/CD200R axis in supporting or preventing the onset of COPD has not yet been addressed. Since the CD200/CD200R axis is crucially implicated in the maintenance of pulmonary immune homeostasis, we hypothesized that it might be involved in controlling the onset of COPD. METHODS: To address this, we analyzed the serum samples from COPD patients and normal controls for soluble (s) CD200 and correlated the data to COPD-relevant clinical parameters. In addition, basic studies were conducted in CD200-deficient and wild-type mice in which COPD-like inflammation was induced with elastase/LPS followed by lung and serum component analysis. RESULTS: We observed a positive correlation between serum sCD200 and IL-6 levels as well as a trend toward a negative correlation of sCD200 with vitamin D3 in COPD patients. Further investigations in mice revealed that despite elevated serum concentration of MMP-9 in CD200KO mice, the early onset of COPD-like lung inflammation was similar in CD200-deficient and wild-type animals in terms of immune cell infiltration, emphysematous changes, and mucus overproduction. CONCLUSIONS: While our murine studies suggest that the co-inhibitory molecule CD200 does not appear to play a prominent role in the early onset of COPD-like features, correlation of sCD200 serum levels with COPD-related parameters in humans with established disease revealed that the CD200/CD200R axis may be mechanistically linked to the disease course in COPD patients

Training Manual GOI-UNDP-GEF Sponsored Training Programme Dealing with Marine mammals stranding in India

Marine mammals – such as whales, dolphins, porpoises and sea cows have long been considered to be some of the most spectacular and majestic mega fauna on earth. For generations, they have captured the attention and imagination of people and cultures all over the world. Despite their beauty and the awe they inspire, virtually every species of marine mammal is listed as threatened or endangered, largely due to the direct and indirect impacts of human activities. Hundreds of years of aggressive hunting, combined with habitat destruction, marine noise, chemical pollution and increased shipping traffic have reduced populations to just a fraction of their original numbers. Several species are facing imminent extinction. In recent years, there is increasing awareness of the integral importance of marine mammals to healthy aquatic ecosystems, and of the growing threats that a variety of human activities pose to these animals and their environments

Extraction and characterization of fibre from musa plant bract

191-194An attempt has been made to extract the fibres from banana bracts which have several advantages in terms of environmental friendliness, sustainability and converting the waste into wealth. The banana bract fibres are extracted through mechanical and chemical treatments. The fibre characteristics, such as length, fibre strength, fibre elongation, and moisture regain, has been tested and analyzed. The bract fibre yield percentage varies from 1.02 to 1.84. Most of the bract fibres possess 14 - 24 cm length, which is sufficient to produce textile staple spun yarn. The banana bract fibre has the moisture regain of 8.51-11.63%. The fibre length, tensile strength, fibre elongation and moisture properties of the banana bract fibre show that the bract fibre can be used as raw materials for the production of biodegradable yarn. The 6s Ne rotor staple spun yarns has been successfully produced from bract fibre using miniature lab model rotor spinning machine

Silver decorated CeO2 nanoparticles for rapid photocatalytic degradation of textile rose bengal dye

High quality silver (Ag) decorated CeO2 nanoparticles were prepared by a facile one-step chemical method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV–Visible absorption (UV–Vis), photoluminescence (PL) and thermogravimetric analysis. The decoration of Ag on CeO2 surface was confirmed by XRD, EPR and HR-TEM analysis. Harmful textile pollutant Rose Bengal dye was degraded under sunlight using the novel Ag decorated CeO2 catalyst. It was found that great enhancement of the degradation efficiency for Ag/CeO2 compared to pure CeO2, it can be ascribed mainly due to decrease in its band gap and charge carrier recombination rate. The Ag/CeO2 sample exhibited an efficient photocatalytic characteristic for degrading RB under visible light irradiation with a high degradation rate of 96% after 3 h. With the help of various characterizations, a possible degradation mechanism has been proposed which shows the effect of generation of oxygen vacancies owing to the decoration of Ag on the CeO2 surface. © 2021, The Author(s)