Qualitative and quantitative exfoliative cytology of normal oral mucosa in type 2 diabetic patients

Objective: The main purpose of this study is to emphasize the relevance of exfoliative cytology as an additional tool to aid in the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Materials and Methods: This is a comparative cross-sectional study. Oral smears were obtained from 10 diabetic patients and 10 healthy individuals. These smears were stained with Papanicolaou stain. The nuclear (NA) and cytoplasmic (CA) areas of 20 integral cells predominant in the buccal mucosa were measured using the Leica Qwin Version 2.1 image analysis system (LEICA GMBH GERMANY).The cytoplasmic/nuclear ratio (C/N) was then calculated. For comparing cytomorphometric parameters (NA, CA and C/N ratio) the Mann-Whitney test was used. Significance was set at P ? 0.05. Results: The morphologic alterations seen in buccal mucosal epithelial cells of the diabetic group were nuclear enlargement, karyorrhexis, binucleation and infiltration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes. The NA was significantly higher (P 0.05). The C/N mean was significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the diabetic group. Conclusion: Exfoliative cytology is useful as an additional tool to aid in the diagnosis of diabetes mellitu

Empowering Farmers, Enriching Lives: The One Stop Solution for Agricultural Assistance

This paper presents the development and evaluation of an Agriculture Farmer App designed to assist farmers in obtaining personalized scheme allotments based on crop type, income, and land area. The app also incorporates Labor availability nearby to cater to the farmers' specific requirements. The research includes a survey-based analysis to gauge the farmers' preferences and needs. Additionally, the paper outlines the architecture for information dissemination and scheme management system

Toxicological Profiling of Onion-Peel-Derived Mesoporous Carbon Nanospheres Using In Vivo Drosophila melanogaster Model

Toxicological profiling of the novel carbon materials has become imperative, owing to their wide applicability and potential health risks on exposure. In the current study, the toxicity of mesoporous carbon nanospheres synthesized from waste onion peel was investigated using the genetic animal model Drosophila melanogaster. The survival assays at different doses of carbon nanoparticles suggested their non-toxic effect for exposure for 25 days. Developmental and behavioral defects were not observed. The biochemical and metabolic parameters, such as total antioxidant capacity (TAC), protein level, triglyceride level, and glucose, were not significantly altered. The neurological toxicity as analyzed using acetylcholinesterase activity was also not altered significantly. Survival, behavior, and biochemical assays suggested that oral feeding of mesoporous carbon nanoparticles for 25 days did not elicit any significant toxicity effect in Drosophila melanogaster. Thus, mesoporous carbon nanoparticles synthesized from waste onion peel can be used as beneficial drug carriers in different disease models

‘Surface Contrast’ NMR reveals non‐innocent role of support in Pd/CeO2 catalyzed phenol hydrogenation

Ceria (CeO 2 )‐supported metals are widely used as catalysts because of their exceptional redox properties. Here, we use surface contrast NMR methods to investigate the hydrogenation of phenol by Pd supported on ceria nanoparticles. We show that the rigid and planar binding of phenol to Pd is mediated by a weak and highly mobile association of the small molecule to ceria. Interestingly, while addition of phosphate to the mixture does not perturb the adsorption of phenol on Pd, it destabilizes its interaction with ceria and proportionally decreases the rate of catalytic conversion. Our data provide strong experimental evidence that weak interactions between adsorbate and ceria are catalytically competent, and explain the exceptional performance of Pd/CeO 2 for reductive conversions under mild reaction conditions

Polymorphism Thr241Met of the XRCC3 Gene and Lack of Association with Colorectal Cancer Susceptibility Risk among Malaysian Population: A Preliminary Report

The genesis of colorectal cancer (CRC) involves a series of steps in which environmental and/or endogenous carcinogens interact with genetic factors and induce or promote cancer development. Genetic polymorphisms in DNA repair genes may influence individual variation in DNA repair capacity and may be associated with a high risk of developing cancer. Studies on the association between DNA repair gene polymorphisms and CRC appear to be limited and nil from Malaysia. Objective: To examine the polymorphism at codon 241 of the X-Ray Cross Complementing group 3 (XRCC3) in 118 CRC cases and 118 normal controls and to investigate the associated risk of this polymorphism for CRC susceptibility. Material and Method: Peripheral blood from the study subjects were collected in EDTA tubes, genomic DNA extracted and XRCC3 Thr241Met genotyped by using PCR-RFLP technique using Nla III restriction enzyme. The resulting genotypes were categorized into wildtype homozygous (Thr/Thr), heterozygous (Thr/Met) and homozygous variant (Met/Met). Results and conclusion: The distribution of genotypes (Thr/Thr, Thr/Met and Met/Met) among CRC cases (83%, 16%, 1% respectively) was not significantly different from those among controls (79%, 21%, 0% respectively). On examining the association between the variant genotypes and CRC risk, the variant genotype either single or in combination did not show significant association with CRC susceptibility risk suggesting that the XRCC3 codon 241 polymorphism does not convey moderate increase in susceptibility to CRC in Malaysian population. Lack of association could be attributed to the small sample size, interaction of other polymorphic DNA repair genes and also low frequency of variant allele for the polymorphism studied in this population

Knowledge of HIV status prior to a community HIV counseling and testing intervention in a rural district of south Africa: results of a community based survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The low uptake of facility-based HIV counseling and testing (HCT) in South Africa, particularly amongst men and youth has hindered attempts to increase access to effective treatment and prevention strategies. Many barriers to HIV testing have been described including long waiting times, transport to reach facilities, fear of lack of confidentiality and health systems factors such as stock outs of HIV test kits. The aim of this study was to undertake a community survey to determine rates of HCT in a rural area in order to plan a community intervention.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A community-based survey was undertaken in 16 communities in Sisonke district, KwaZulu-Natal between September and November 2008. A total of 5821 individuals participated in the survey of which 66% were females. Gender specific mixed effects logistic regression models were used to describe differences in socio-economic characteristics, and their association with HIV testing histories.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall 1833 (32%) individuals in this rural area knew their HIV status. Prior testing was higher amongst women (39%) than amongst men (17%). Older men (> 24 years) were more likely to report having tested for HIV previously, with the highest likelihood (adjusted OR = 4.02; 95% CI: 2.71-5.99) among men in age group, 35-49 years. For women, age group 25-34 years had the highest likelihood of having been previously tested (adjusted OR = 1.30; 95% CI: 1.05-1.66). Being currently pregnant (adjusted OR 3.31; 95% CI: 2.29 - 4.78) or having a child under five (adjusted OR 7.00; 95% CI: 5.84 - 8.39) were also associated with prior HIV testing amongst women.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Overall, knowledge of HIV status in this rural sub-district is low. The relatively higher uptake of HIV testing among women is encouraging as it shows that PMTCT services are well functioning. However, these data suggest that there is an urgent need for scaling up HIV testing services in rural communities specifically targeting men and youth.</p

Polymorphism in the Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha promoter region and its Influence on Colorectal Cancer Predispositiom risk in Malaysian Population

Objective: A case control study was designed to investigate the TNF-,1 -308 G>A polymorphism allele frequencies and to determine the influence of the polymorphic gcnot.ype on sporadic CRC susceptibility risk in Malaysian population. Material. and Method!: Peripheral blood samples of 164 normal controls and 161 clinically and histopathologically con­firmed CRC patients were genotyped for TNF-u -308 G>A polymorphism employing allele specific PCR. The relative associa­tions of various genotypes with CRC susceptibility risk was determined by calculating Odds Ratios. Corresponding chi-square tests on the CRC patients and controls were carried out and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were determined using Fisher e,acts tests. Results: On comparing the frequencies of genotypes of patients and controls, the homozygous ,·ariant AA was significantly higher in CRC patients (p = 0.030) compared to controls. On investigating the association of the polymorphic genotypes with CRC susceptibility risk, the homozygous variant TNF-a -308 AA showed significantly increased risk with OR 2.5842. Conclusion: Our results suggest that, pol) morphic genotJpe of inflammation response gene TNF-a is significantly associat­ed with CRC susceptibility risk and could be considered as a high risk variant for CRC predisposition