Evaluation of Antimicrobial and Antifungal efficacy of Chitosan as endodontic irrigant against Enterococcus Faecalis and Candida Albicans Biofilm formed on tooth substrate

Bacterial biofilms formed on the root canal wall are often difficult to remove. This study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxic effect and antibacterial efficacy of chitosan when used as root canal irrigant against E. Faecalis and Candida albicans biofilm formed on tooth substrate. The present study evaluated antibacterial effect of 0.25% Chitosan, 0.5% Chitosan, 2% chlorhexidine and 3% sodium hypochlorite against Enterococcus faecalis and Candida Albicans. Agar-well diffusion methods, minimal inhibitory concentration tests and biofilm susceptibility assays were used to determine antibacterial activity. Teeth specimens were sectioned to obtain a standardized tooth length of 12mm. Specimens were inoculated with 10 mL of the freshly prepared E. Faecalis suspension and Candida albicans for 4 weeks. The specimens were then instrumented with ProTaper rotary files F3 size. After irrigation with test solution, three sterile paper points were placed into one canal, left for 60 s and transferred to a test tube containing 1 mL of reduced transport fluid. The number of CFU in 1 mL was determined. 3-week biofilm qualitative assay showed complete inhibition of bacterial growth with 3% Sodium hypochlorite, 2% Chlorhexidine and Chitosan except saline, which showed presence of bacterial growth. Significant reduction of colony forming units (CFU)/mL was observed for the chitosan groups and the antibacterial activity of the chitosan groups was at par with 3% NaOCl and 2% Chlorhexidine. It was observed that the chitosan showed no cytotoxicity at 3mg/ml and 10% cytotoxicity at 6mg/ml. The use of chitosan as a root canal irrigant might be an alternative considering the various undesirable properties of NaOCl and chlorhexidine

Effect of EndoActivator and Er,Cr:YSGG laser activation of Qmix, as final endodontic irrigant, on sealer penetration: a confocal microscopic study

Through chemomechanical debridement of the root canal is a primary requisite for successful endodontic therapy. Thus the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of using QmiX alone, QmiX with EndoActivator and QmiX with Er,Cr:YSGG laser for final irrigation on sealer penetration into the dentinal tubules. 75 extracted human mandibular premolar teeth were treated with sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) irrigation. The samples were divided into 5 groups according to the final irrigation solution used: (1) 17% EDTA and 2.5% NaOCl, (2) QmiX (3) QmiX with Er,Cr:YSGG laser and (4) QmiX with EndoActivator (5) 2.5%NaOCl. All teeth were obturated using cold lateral condensation technique with gutta percha and AH 26 sealer (Dentsply; DeTrey,Konstanz, Germany) labeled with Rhodamine B dye. The teeth were sectioned at distances of 2 and 5 from root apex. Total percentage and maximum depth of sealer penetration were measured using confocal laser scanning microscopy. Results of one way Anova analysis showed that there was a significant difference in the percentage and depth of sealer penetration among all groups at 3 and 5 mm level sections (P < .05). Within the groups maximum sealer penetration was recorded for Er,Cr:YSGG laser activated group. Greater depth of sealer penetration was recorded at 5mm as compared to 3mm in all the groups. Activation of QMix using EndoActivator and Er,Cr:YSGG laser enhanced the sealer penetration at apical and middle third. Thus Er,Cr:YSGG laser and EndoActivator may act as an appropriate adjunct during chemomechanical preparation of the root canal

Knowledge and factors affecting initiation of breast feeding in post-natal mothers in a tertiary care center

Background: The study was planned to evaluate awareness of breast feeding among mother, institutional quality indicators of early breast feeding. The objective was to know factors causing delay in breast feeding initiation, to assess knowledge, cultural practices, and quality indicators of hospital regarding breast feeding initiative.Methods: The observational study was conducted over a period of 3months from July 2017-Sept 2017 in a tertiary care centre of India. 118 postnatal mothers were interviewed for time of first breast feeding (dependent variable or outcome), and independent variables age, education , religion, parity, occupation of mother, antenatal visits, prelacteal feeds, customs of not breast feeding, duration of labour, mode of delivery, sedation, pain after delivery, baby over mother abdomen after birth, institutional quality indicators-knowledge of breast feeding given by doctor /nurses, relatives, self reading, mothers with correct attachment and position of baby during breast feeding and separation of mother and baby post delivery.Results: Mean time of initiation of breast feeding was 1340.262min after birth. Prelacteal feeds, lack of education, cesarean deliveries, parity of mother, sedation, anesthesia during cesarean and lack of counselling by staff nurses were found to have early increased time of initiation of breast feeding.Conclusions: Great lacuna in knowledge, attitude and practice of early breast feeding of mother

Characterization of the restriction enzyme-like endonuclease encoded by the Entamoeba histolytica non-long terminal repeat retrotransposon EhLINE1

The genome of the human pathogen Entamoeba histolytica, a primitive protist, contains non-long terminal repeat retrotransposable elements called EhLINEs. These encode reverse transcriptase and endonuclease required for retrotransposition. The endonuclease shows sequence similarity with bacterial restriction endonucleases. Here we report the salient enzymatic features of one such endonuclease. The kinetics of an EhLINE1-encoded endonuclease catalyzed reaction, determined under steady-state and single-turnover conditions, revealed a significant burst phase followed by a slower steady-state phase, indicating that release of product could be the slower step in this reaction. For circular supercoiled DNA the km was 2.6 &#215; 10-8 m and the kcat was 1.6 &#215; 10-2 sec-1. For linear E. histolytica DNA substrate the Km and kcat values were 1.3 &#215; 10-8 m and 2.2 &#215; 10-4 sec-1 respectively. Single-turnover reaction kinetics suggested a noncooperative mode of hydrolysis. The enzyme behaved as a monomer. While Mg2+ was required for activity, 60% activity was seen with Mn2+ and none with other divalent metal ions. Substitution of PDX12-14D (a metal-binding motif) with PAX12-14D caused local conformational change in the protein tertiary structure, which could contribute to reduced enzyme activity in the mutated protein. The protein underwent conformational change upon the addition of DNA, which is consistent with the known behavior of restriction endonucleases. The similarities with bacterial restriction endonucleases suggest that the EhLINE1-encoded endonuclease was possibly acquired from bacteria through horizontal gene transfer. The loss of strict sequence specificity for nicking may have been subsequently selected to facilitate spread of the retrotransposon to intergenic regions of the E. histolytica genome

Capillary haemangioma of fallopian tube: a rare but dangerous incidental finding

Haemangiomas are tumors of vascular origin. They are frequently observed in soft tissue and skin. Vascular tumors of female pelvic organs are extremely rare. Although, majority of these lesions are detected incidentally, they can mimic various benign and malignant lesions clinically and radiologically. Fallopian tube capillary haemangioma is very rare benign neoplasm. Only one case of capillary haemangioma of fallopian tube has been reported. A 44-year-old female with menorrhagia, underwent hysterectomy with bilateral salpingoopherectomy. Both the fallopian tubes were grossly unremarkable. Microscopic examination revealed a well circumscribed vascular neoplasm, consistent with capillary haemangioma, CD34 immunostaining highlighted the vascular endothelium.  Although benign in nature, haemangioma of the fallopian tube can present with complications. Rupture of the haemangioma can be lethal when present with hemoperitoneum

A Study to Assess the Knowledge and Practice Regarding Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Among Nursing Students of Agra, Uttarpradesh

Background: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a life-saving operation performed in an emergency when the heart stops beating. Immediate CPR following a cardiac arrest can double or triple the odds of survival. The American Heart Association welcomes you to join us in our vision of a future without cardiac arrest. In the United States, 350,000 individuals die from cardiac arrest each year. CPR keeps the blood pumping and the body supplied with oxygen until specialized treatment is available. There is normally enough oxygen left in the blood to support the brain and other organs for a few minutes. Objective: To assess the knowledge and practice regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation among diploma nursing students. Methods: Descriptive research design was used. This study included 60 students. Knowledge and practice checklist was used to assess the knowledge and practice and chi-square test used to see the association between dependent and independent variables. Result: In this study, level of knowledge regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation pretest level poor knowledge 23(38.3%), poor knowledge 19(31.7%) and good knowledge 18(30%) . level of skills regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation pretest level skills 60(100%) poor skills 0(0.0%) good skills. Age, Gender, religion, Course of study, Family history of cardiac disease, Aware about cardio pulmonary resuscitation, source of information regarding cardio pulmonary resuscitation, Classes on cardio pulmonary resuscitation within the last 6 months had shown no statistically significant association with the pretest levels of skills regarding cardio pulmonary resuscitation among students. Conclusion: Despite the fact that more than half of students had good knowledge, so students required proper skill development about cardio pulmonary resuscitation

Ras hyperactivation versus overexpression : Lessons from Ras dynamics in Candida albicans

We thank Prof. Neta Dean for the CIp10ADH1-Cherry plasmid and Prof. Aaron Mitchell for the BWP17 strain. We gratefully acknowledge Prof. Sudipta Maiti, TIFR, Mumbai, India for providing the data acquisition software. We also appreciate the feedback and discussions with Dr. Rohini Muthuswami, SLS, JNU as well as from the Protein Society group, New Delhi while this study was taking shape. We thank Prof. Alok Bhattacharya for Cytochalasin D. The GC-MS and fluorescence lifetime measurements were carried out at the Advanced Instrumentation Research Facility (AIRF), JNU. Confocal images were recorded either at the central instrumentation facility (CIF), SLS, JNU or at AIRF, JNU. This work was supported by project grants from Department of Biotechnology (DBT, Project grant no. BT/PR20410/BRB/10/1542/2016) and Department of Science and Technology (DST, Project grant no. SB/SO/BB-011/2014), India to S.S.K; and project grants from Department of Information Technology, (DIT, Project grant no. 12(4)/2007-PDD), India to S.S. for FCS setup. In addition, both S.S. and S.S.K. thank DBT-BUILDER for funding support (Project grant no. BT/PR5006/INF/153/2012). S.S.K. also acknowledges funding support from UGC Resource Networking grant to the School of Life Sciences. We thank DST-PURSE and JNU for assistance with funding for publication. G.S.V. and S.C.S. received a fellowship from UGC; V.A.P., B.Y., P.J., N.P., M.F.K. acknowledge CSIR for fellowships. S.L.S. received a fellowship from ICMR. D.T.H. and M.F.K. thank DBT-BUILDER for funding.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Function of the central domain of streptokinase in substrate plasminogen docking and processing revealed by site-directed mutagenesis

The possible role of the central β -domain (residues 151-287) of streptokinase (SK) was probed by site-specifically altering two charged residues at a time to alanines in a region (residues 230-290) previously identified by Peptide Walking to play a key role in plasminogen (PG) activation. These mutants were then screened for altered ability to activate equimolar "partner" human PG, or altered interaction with substrate PG resulting in an overall compromised capability for substrate PG processing. Of the eight initial alanine-linker mutants of SK, one mutant, viz. SKKK256, 257aa (SK-D1), showed a roughly 20-fold reduction in PG activator activity in comparison to wild-type SK expressed in Escherichia coli (nSK). Five other mutants were as active as nSK, with two [SKRE248.249AA and SKEK281.282AA, referred to as SK(C) and SK(H), respectively] showing specific activities approximately one-half and two-thirds, respectively, that of nSK. Unlike SK(C) and SK(H), however, SK(D1) showed an extended initial delay in the kinetics of PG activation. These features were drastically accentuated when the charges on the two Lys residues at positions 256 and 257 of nSK were reversed, to obtain SKKK256.257EE [SK(D2)]. This mutant showed a PG activator activity approximately 10-fold less than that of SK(D1). Remarkably, inclusion of small amounts of human plasmin (PN) in the PG activation reactions of SK(D2) resulted in a dramatic, PN dose-dependent rejuvenation of its PG activation capability, indicating that it required pre-existing PN to form a functional activator since it could not effect active site exposure in partner PG on its own, a conclusion further confirmed by its inability to show a "burst" of p-nitrophenol release in the presence of equimolar human PG and p-nitrophenyl guanidino benzoate. The steady-state kinetic parameters for HPG activation of its 1:1 complex with human PN revealed that although it could form a highly functional activator once "supplied" with a mature active site, the Km for PG was increased nearly eightfold in comparison to that of nSK-PN. SK mutants carrying simultaneous two- and three-site charge-cluster alterations, viz., SKRE248.249AA;EK281.282AA [SK(CH)], SKEK272.273AA;EK281.282AA [SK(FH)], and SKRE248.249AA;EK272.273AA;EK281.282AA [SK(CFH)], showed additive/synergistic influence of multiple charge-cluster mutations on HPG activation when compared to the respective "single-site" mutants, with the "triple-site" mutant [SK(CFH)] showing absolutely no detectable HPG activation ability. Nevertheless, like the other constructs, the double- and triple-charge cluster mutants retained a native like affinity for complexation with partner PG. Their overall structure also, as judged by far-ultraviolet circular dichroism, was closely similar to that of nSK. These results provide the first experimental evidence for a direct assistance by the SK β-domain in the docking and processing of substrate PG by the activator complex, a facet not readily evident probably because of the flexibility of this domain in the recent X-ray crystal structure of the SK-plasmin light chain complex

Role of Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravya (BND®) in Development of Indian Reference Materials for Quality Assurance of Products

The benchmark of life and quality infrastructure of a nation is mainly dependent on the measurement system of country. The growth of nation in addition to its science &amp; technology is highly influenced by measurement of any physical quantities or policies. The ancient as well as modern sciences predominantly rely on the measurement procedure and its accuracy. One can say that science starts from measurements hence it can be considered as one of the basic aspect of science and its growth. To perform these measurements which are basis of life, simple to sophisticated equipment's are used. The results from these instruments may be not accurate and precise if it is not calibrated. With calibration there is need of comparable measurement to attain the unbroken chain of measurements. Now Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) played critical role in calibration of instrument and to get the comparable measurements which are traceable to national or world-wide standards. The outcomes of sophisticated instruments may be wrong without its calibration. So now it is the time for the scientific and new innovations world to calibrate the sophisticated instruments using these certified reference standards. These CRMs are generally produced and maintained by "National Measurement Institute (NMI)" of the country. In India, Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravya (BND®) division of National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is continuously working in developing the Indian Reference Materials (IRMs). Now these IRMs can be defined as those substances which are key factors for maintaining a healthy measurement system and to get very precise value. With this these are cost effective IRMs which will improve the quality of products and will help in economic growth of the country. In this article, we are discussing about that measurements which are attached to each steps of our life. But it is necessary that measurement should be accurate and precise and traceable to some true value. CSIR-NPL is continuously focused on the development of IRMs for calibration of instrument, improvement in quality of life, industrial production, global trade and to get accurate and precise measurements

Structural and functional integrity of decontaminated N95 respirators: Experimental results

With the recent emergence of highly transmissible variants of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the demand for N95 respirators is expected to remain high. The extensive use of N95 respirators by the public is susceptible to demand-supply gaps and raises concern about their disposal, threatening the environment with a new kind of plastic pollution. Herein, we investigated the filtration performance of the N95 respirator by specifically analyzing the structure in the key filtration layers of meltblown nonwoven after decontamination with one and five cycles of liquid hydrogen peroxide, ultraviolet radiation, moist heat, and aqueous soap solution treatments. With the aid of X-ray microcomputed tomography (microCT) analysis, the local structural heterogeneity of the meltblown nonwoven has been unfolded and subsequently correlated with their filtration performance at a face velocity that matched with speaking conditions (similar to 3.89 m/s). The filtration efficiency results of the N95 respirator remain unaltered after performing one cycle of treatment modalities (except autoclave)