Comparative Evaluation of Antimicrobial Efficacy of Triphala, Azadiracta Indica, Metronidazole and 3% Sodium Hypochlorite as Root Canal Irrigants: An In Vivo study

AIM OF THE STUDY: To evaluate and compare the antimicrobial efficacy of Triphala, Azadirachta indica, Metronidazole and 3% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) as root canal irrigants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty maxillary incisors with asymptomatic apical periodontitis were randomly assigned to one of the four groups corresponding to the irrigant to be tested; Triphala (n = 20), Azadiracta indica (n = 20), Metronidazole (n=20) and 3% Sodium hypochlorite (n = 20). After the root canal access opening, a root canal culture sample was taken with a paper point designated as sample 1 and cultured both under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Cleaning and shaping was completed along with irrigation by 15 mL of the respective irrigants and sample 2 was taken with sterile paper point immediately and cultured under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The patients was recalled after 3 days and sample 3 was taken using the paper point and cultured as mentioned before followed by analysis by counting the colony forming units (CFUs). RESULTS: Triphala, Azadiracta indica, Metronidazole and 3% NaOCl showed a significant reduction (P < 0.05) in the mean percentage of CFUs under both aerobic and anaerobic culture .Under anaerobic culture, there is no statistical significant difference between Sodium hypochlorite, Metronidazole, Azadiracta indica and Triphala both immediately and on 3rd day recall visit. Under aerobic culture, Sodium hypochlorite shows the highest percentage reduction followed by Metronidazole, Azadiracta indica and the least by Triphala. CONCLUSION: Metronidazole, Azadircata indica and Triphala have the necessary antimicrobial efficacy and hence they could be considered as an alternative to the potentially dangerous Sodium hypochlorite

Assessment of anti bacterial, anti inflammation and wound healing activity in Wistar albino rats using green silver nanoparticles synthesized from Tagetes erecta leaves

Silver nanoparticles synthesized from plant material have superior bioactivities. The purpose of this current study was to synthesis, characterize and to explore the bioactive efficacy of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) using aqueous leaf extract of Tageteserecta. The biosynthesized Ag-NPs were characterized using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction and Scanning electron microscopy. Ag-NPs were studied for in-vivo anti-inflammatory and wound healing activities performed in female Wistar albino rats. UV –Vis absorption spectrum of the T.erecta leaves extract was obtained at 428nm due to excitation of surface plasmon vibration in nanoparticles and confirms the synthesis of silver nanoparticles. The FTIR analysis showed the presence of sulfate, alkene and alcohol in the AgNP of T.erectaleaves. The average crystallite size of AgNP synthesized was found to be 27.2 nm. The spherical silver grain of 15.5 nm average size has been depicted with high-resolution scanning electron microscopy. Maximum activity (15mm) of T.erecta leaves silver nanoparticles was observed against Salmonella typhi (15mm) followed by Escherichia coli (12mm). Ag-NPs exhibited significant wound healing activity and anti-inflammatory activity in carrageenan-induced paw volume tests performed in female Wistar albino rats. Colloidal Ag-NPs can be synthesized by simple, nonhazardous methods, and biosynthesized Ag-NPs using T.erectaleaves extract have significant therapeutic properties.This work evidently confirmed that silver nanoparticles mediated T.erecta could be considered as a potential source for anti-inflammatory and wound healing drug

Characterization, hemolysis and multidrug resistance among Aeromonas spp. isolated from Bhavani river, Erode, South India

A total of 87 strains of Aeromonas spp. were identified biochemically. The strains were isolated from 50 samples of water from Bhavani river Erode, Tamil Nadu, India. In the present study among 87 Aeromonas spp. the prevalence strain was identified as A.hydrophila (60.9%), while the other strains belonged to the species A. sobria (20.7%), A. caviae (11.5%) and A.salmonicida (6.9%). The virulence factors like hemolysin, lipase, and serine protease were present in 96%, 93% and 94% of the strains respectively. Antibiotic susceptibility of Aeromonas spp. was determined by disc diffusion method. All Aeromonas spp. were examined for resistance against 16 antibiotics. All strains showed 100% of resistance to Ampicillin,Carbenicillin and Cephalothin. The highest resistances encountered were 91.9% to streptomycin,90.8% to polymyxin-B, 85% to rifampicin while the rest were under 50%.In contrast all the strains were sensitive to cefotaxime.The present work highlights the important incidence of Aeromonas spp., with virulence potential and antimicrobial resistance, isolated from river bhavani

Presentation mining tool: from slides to mind maps

Slide presentations such as the PowerPoint presents knowledge by the subject matter expert in a linear sequence. Nonetheless, post-presentation, the knowledge is actually reconstructed differently by the learners depending on their personal understanding over the entire presentation. To enhance learning, this paper presents a presentation mining tool that is able to extract keywords and key phrases from a collection of Microsoft PowerPoint slides and generate a mind map with topics and subtopics based on the extracted keywords. The mind map produced by the system contains the main topic as the central node of the map with branches connecting main topic to subtopics. The mind map produced through automatic extraction of topic and subtopics is aimed to help learners to concentrate on the entire concept rather than following through the slides sequentially

Global burden and strength of evidence for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Background: Understanding the health consequences associated with exposure to risk factors is necessary to inform public health policy and practice. To systematically quantify the contributions of risk factor exposures to specific health outcomes, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 aims to provide comprehensive estimates of exposure levels, relative health risks, and attributable burden of disease for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, from 1990 to 2021. Methods: The GBD 2021 risk factor analysis used data from 54 561 total distinct sources to produce epidemiological estimates for 88 risk factors and their associated health outcomes for a total of 631 risk–outcome pairs. Pairs were included on the basis of data-driven determination of a risk–outcome association. Age-sex-location-year-specific estimates were generated at global, regional, and national levels. Our approach followed the comparative risk assessment framework predicated on a causal web of hierarchically organised, potentially combinative, modifiable risks. Relative risks (RRs) of a given outcome occurring as a function of risk factor exposure were estimated separately for each risk–outcome pair, and summary exposure values (SEVs), representing risk-weighted exposure prevalence, and theoretical minimum risk exposure levels (TMRELs) were estimated for each risk factor. These estimates were used to calculate the population attributable fraction (PAF; ie, the proportional change in health risk that would occur if exposure to a risk factor were reduced to the TMREL). The product of PAFs and disease burden associated with a given outcome, measured in disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), yielded measures of attributable burden (ie, the proportion of total disease burden attributable to a particular risk factor or combination of risk factors). Adjustments for mediation were applied to account for relationships involving risk factors that act indirectly on outcomes via intermediate risks. Attributable burden estimates were stratified by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintile and presented as counts, age-standardised rates, and rankings. To complement estimates of RR and attributable burden, newly developed burden of proof risk function (BPRF) methods were applied to yield supplementary, conservative interpretations of risk–outcome associations based on the consistency of underlying evidence, accounting for unexplained heterogeneity between input data from different studies. Estimates reported represent the mean value across 500 draws from the estimate's distribution, with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) calculated as the 2·5th and 97·5th percentile values across the draws. Findings: Among the specific risk factors analysed for this study, particulate matter air pollution was the leading contributor to the global disease burden in 2021, contributing 8·0% (95% UI 6·7–9·4) of total DALYs, followed by high systolic blood pressure (SBP; 7·8% [6·4–9·2]), smoking (5·7% [4·7–6·8]), low birthweight and short gestation (5·6% [4·8–6·3]), and high fasting plasma glucose (FPG; 5·4% [4·8–6·0]). For younger demographics (ie, those aged 0–4 years and 5–14 years), risks such as low birthweight and short gestation and unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing (WaSH) were among the leading risk factors, while for older age groups, metabolic risks such as high SBP, high body-mass index (BMI), high FPG, and high LDL cholesterol had a greater impact. From 2000 to 2021, there was an observable shift in global health challenges, marked by a decline in the number of all-age DALYs broadly attributable to behavioural risks (decrease of 20·7% [13·9–27·7]) and environmental and occupational risks (decrease of 22·0% [15·5–28·8]), coupled with a 49·4% (42·3–56·9) increase in DALYs attributable to metabolic risks, all reflecting ageing populations and changing lifestyles on a global scale. Age-standardised global DALY rates attributable to high BMI and high FPG rose considerably (15·7% [9·9–21·7] for high BMI and 7·9% [3·3–12·9] for high FPG) over this period, with exposure to these risks increasing annually at rates of 1·8% (1·6–1·9) for high BMI and 1·3% (1·1–1·5) for high FPG. By contrast, the global risk-attributable burden and exposure to many other risk factors declined, notably for risks such as child growth failure and unsafe water source, with age-standardised attributable DALYs decreasing by 71·5% (64·4–78·8) for child growth failure and 66·3% (60·2–72·0) for unsafe water source. We separated risk factors into three groups according to trajectory over time: those with a decreasing attributable burden, due largely to declining risk exposure (eg, diet high in trans-fat and household air pollution) but also to proportionally smaller child and youth populations (eg, child and maternal malnutrition); those for which the burden increased moderately in spite of declining risk exposure, due largely to population ageing (eg, smoking); and those for which the burden increased considerably due to both increasing risk exposure and population ageing (eg, ambient particulate matter air pollution, high BMI, high FPG, and high SBP). Interpretation: Substantial progress has been made in reducing the global disease burden attributable to a range of risk factors, particularly those related to maternal and child health, WaSH, and household air pollution. Maintaining efforts to minimise the impact of these risk factors, especially in low SDI locations, is necessary to sustain progress. Successes in moderating the smoking-related burden by reducing risk exposure highlight the need to advance policies that reduce exposure to other leading risk factors such as ambient particulate matter air pollution and high SBP. Troubling increases in high FPG, high BMI, and other risk factors related to obesity and metabolic syndrome indicate an urgent need to identify and implement interventions

NTIRE 2020 Challenge on Spectral Reconstruction from an RGB Image

This paper reviews the second challenge on spectral reconstruction from RGB images, i.e., the recovery of whole- scene hyperspectral (HS) information from a 3-channel RGB image. As in the previous challenge, two tracks were provided: (i) a "Clean" track where HS images are estimated from noise-free RGBs, the RGB images are themselves calculated numerically using the ground-truth HS images and supplied spectral sensitivity functions (ii) a "Real World" track, simulating capture by an uncalibrated and unknown camera, where the HS images are recovered from noisy JPEG-compressed RGB images. A new, larger-than-ever, natural hyperspectral image data set is presented, containing a total of 510 HS images. The Clean and Real World tracks had 103 and 78 registered participants respectively, with 14 teams competing in the final testing phase. A description of the proposed methods, alongside their challenge scores and an extensive evaluation of top performing methods is also provided. They gauge the state-of-the-art in spectral reconstruction from an RGB image

Morphological relationship between host and parasite: Dendrophthoe falcata

International audienc

Dual Role of Lanthanum Oxide Nanoparticles Functionalized Co-Polymeric Micelle for Extended Anti-Cancer Drug Delivery

In this study, the paclitaxel (PTX) - loaded A?B type di-block polymeric micelles poly xylitol sebacate-poly methylmethacrylic acid/Lanthanum Oxide/paclitaxel (PXS-PMAA/LO/PTX) were designed and Lanthanum oxide nanoparticles were tagged on the surface of the micelle for the improvement of the antitumor drug efficiency in the cancer cells. LO nanoparticles influence the formation of sphere-shaped micelles and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to inhibite the cancer.Then, in-vitro drug release of PTX was carried out by UV-Vis spectroscopy and it was examined for pH depended drug releases. Cell uptake of the PTX-loaded micelles was investigated in human norml cell VERO and A549 cell line. The cytotoxicity study reveals that the PTX-loaded polymeric nano micelle has higher efficacy compared to free PTX. Living cell, cell apoptosis, ROS production and nuclear morphological changes were analyzed through Acridine Orange/Ethidium Bromide dual stain, cationic probe rhodamine 123, 2,7-dichlorofluorescene and Hoechst 33342 staining respectively. Hence, the PTX-loaded PXS-PMAA/LO carrier can act as potential drug carrier for cancer treatment.Scopu