Evaluation of systemic markers related to anemia in the peripheral blood of generalized aggressive periodontitis patients before and after Phase I Periodontal Therapy: An Interventional study

BACKGROUND: Periodontal infect ions like Chronic and Aggressive type of periodontitis were found to be associated with systemic diseases. Studies suggested that i t might enhance the risk for certain systemic diseases. Like vice, some systemic conditions has its effect on the periodontal health. Diabetes mellitus tend to increase the risk for periodontal disease and vice versa. Recently many researchers suggested the l ink between chronic periodontitis and anemia. The association of chronic periodontitis with decreased red blood cell parameters suggested that this condition may be l inked with Anemia of Chronic Disease. Very few studies explored the effect of Aggressive periodontitis on erythrocyte counts and hemoglobin levels. This is the first interventional study to investigate the hematological parameters in Generalized Aggressive Periodontitis patients and also evaluate the effect of Non-surgical periodontal therapy on blood parameters of Generalized Aggressive Periodontitis patients. AIM AND OBJECTIVE: The main aim of this study is to evaluate the systemic markers related to Anemia in Generalized aggressive periodontitis patients before and after phase I periodontal therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total number of 30 young adults diagnosed with Generalised Aggressive Periodontitis were selected for the study and after obtaining sign in a written informed consent clinical parameters such as Plaque Index, Gingival bleeding index, Probing depth, Clinical attachment level and Blood parameters viz. , RBC, Hb, PCV, MCV, MCH, MCHC, ESR and Serum Ferritin levels estimation were done. Based on the inclusion criteria 17 patients with serum ferritin level above 30ng/dl were enrolled in the study, of which two patients discontinued. Finally 15 patients were considered and subjected to phase I periodontal therapy. At the end of three months clinical parameters and hematological parameters were re -evaluated. The obtained results were statistically analysed using paired t - test and Wilcoxon signed rank test. RESULTS: The Hematological parameters such as Hemoglobin and RBC count were found to be increased significantly after phase I therapy with a significant improvement in the Plaque Index score, Gingival bleeding index score, reduction of Probing depth and gain in Clinical attachment levels. The other blood parameters viz. , PCV, MCV, MCH, MCHC values were minimally increased after phase I therapy but the difference was not found to be statistically significant in this study. The ESR value also significantly decreased post -operatively. CONCLUSION: Within the limitation of this present interventional study it could be concluded that Generalized Aggressive Periodontitis was associated with reduced Red blood cell parameters suggesting that it may tend toward anemia of chronic disease. The treatment by Non-surgical periodontal therapy not only reverses the periodontal health by reducing the inflammation but also improves the anemic status

Utilization of crab shell-derived chitosan in nanoparticle synthesis for curcumin delivery

1183-1188Chitosan derived from crustaceans is biodegradable as well as biocompatible and can be made into nanoparticles when chelated with chelators, such as sodium tripolyphosphate and barium chloride. In this study, crab shells-derived chitosan was chelated using sodium trimetaphosphate to form nanoparticles. Curcumin was encapsulated into nanoparticles and characterized using Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis. The particles were found to be 18 nm in size, while the curcumin-loaded particles were 25 nm in size. The particles were observed to encapsulate 90% of the drug used. The nanoparticles produced were analyzed for in vitro controlled drug release against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, and Candida albicans.</em

Time Synchronization in Mobile Underwater Sensor Network

Time synchronization plays a critical role in underwater sensor networks (UWSNs). Sensor network consists of static and mobile underwater sensor nodes. Although many time-synchronization protocols have been proposed for terrestrial wireless sensor networks, none of them can be directly applied to UWSNs. This is because most of these protocols do not consider long propagation delays and sensor node mobility, which are important attributes in UWSNs. In addition, UWSNs usually have high requirements in energy efficiency. In this paper, time-synchronization scheme is proposed in mobile underwater sensor networks. The scheme proposes a framework to estimate the Doppler shift caused by mobility, more precisely through accounting the impact of the skew. The time delay and frequency are estimated accurately. To refine the relative velocity estimation, and consequently to enhance the synchronization accuracy, the Kalman filter is employed. Thus by estimating the velocity, the accuracy has been increased

IN VITRO ACTIVITY OF VARIOUS POTENCIES OF HOMEOPATHIC DRUG THUJA AGAINST MOLDS INVOLVED IN MYCOTIC KERATITIS

Objective: Isolation and characterisation of clinically isolated fungi from mycotic keratitis and exploration of the in vitro efficacy of various potencies of homeopathic preparations of Thuja occidentalis on the ocular fungal isolates. Methods: Clinical samples were collected from fungal keratitis patients attending a tertiary eye care hospital in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu state, India. The scrapings were also subjected to Gram staining and 10% KOH mount to detect the presence of fungal hyphae. The fungal isolates were subjected to lacto phenol cotton blue (LCB) mount employing cello tape flag method. Homeopathic drug Thuja occidentalis with various potencies viz., Q, 30 C, 200 C, 1 M, 10 M and 50 M were investigated for the growth inhibition of various fungal isolates by plate assay method. Further, a follow up analyses with varying dilutions of Q and 10 M homeopathic potencies of Thuja was carried out for the determination of minimum inhibitory concentration of both microdilution and minimum fungicidal concentration for the Biopolaris isolates. Results: Out of 35 samples analysed, Fusarium spp. (n=5), Aspergillus flavus (n=6), Bipolaris spp. (n=3), Exserohilum spp. (n=3) and Curvularia spp (n=3) were identified. All the potencies of Thuja had good inhibitory activity against Bipolaris spp., followed by Curvularia spp., Exserohilum spp. and Aspergillus flavus. Statistical analysis revealed significant inhibition of all the test isolates by Thuja Q and 50 M. Significant growth inhibition was exhibited by Thuja 30, 200 C, I M for Bipolaris, Exserohilum &amp; A. flavus isolate and Thuja 10 M for all the isolates tested except Fusaria. It was revealed that for the Biopolaris isolates BS1, BS2, BS3 Thuja 10 M and Thuja Q had MIC and MFC of 0.125/10[20,00]0&amp; 0.0625/10 and 0.25/10[20][00]0 &amp; 0.125/10, respectively. Conclusion: The present investigation concludes that homeopathic drug Thuja has good inhibitory activity against the fungi causing keratitis, irrespective of the potencies. It is evident that no definite co-relation exists between various potencies of the same homeopathic drug with regard to their antimycotic properties

Assessement of background knowledge of diabetes mellitus in diabetic patients

The background knowledge of diabetes was assessed in 230 newly registered diabetic patients by a questionnaire. Patients with positive family history knew better about role of heredity, diet as a mode of therapy and also regarding the long-term complications of diabetes. Similarly, educational status improved background knowledge. The duration of diabetes Improved the knowledge regarding the need for life-long treatment and possibility of eye complications. There was a uniform lack of answers on the role of exercise In the treatment of diabetes. The results of this study thus provides information about the areas in which stress should be given while evolving diabetes education programmes

Delayed gastric emptying and reduced postprandial small bowel water content of equicaloric whole meal bread versus rice meals in healthy subjects: novel MRI insights

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Postprandial bloating is a common symptom in patients with functional gastrointestinal (GI) diseases. Whole meal bread (WMB) often aggravates such symptoms though the mechanisms are unclear. We used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to monitor the intragastric fate of a WMB meal (11% bran) compared to a rice pudding (RP) meal. SUBJECTS/METHODS: 12 healthy volunteers completed this randomised crossover study. They fasted overnight and after an initial MRI scan consumed a glass of orange juice with a 2267 kJ WMB or an equicaloric RP meal. Subjects underwent serial MRI scans every 45 min up to 270 min to assess gastric volumes and small bowel water content and completed a GI symptom questionnaire. RESULTS: The MRI intragastric appearance of the two meals was markedly different. The WMB meal formed a homogeneous dark bolus with brighter liquid signal surrounding it. The RP meal separated into an upper, liquid layer and a lower particulate layer allowing more rapid emptying of the liquid compared to solid phase (sieving). The WMB meal had longer gastric half emptying times (132±8 min) compared to the RP meal (104±7 min), P<0.008. The WMB meal was associated with markedly reduced MRI-visible small bowel free mobile water content compared to the RP meal, P<0.0001. CONCLUSIONS: WMB bread forms a homogeneous bolus in the stomach which inhibits gastric sieving and hence empties slower than the equicaloric rice meal. These properties may explain why wheat causes postprandial bloating and could be exploited to design foods which prolong satiation

The effect of seasoning with herbs on the nutritional, safety and sensory properties of reduced-sodium fermented Cobrançosa cv. table olives

This study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of seasoning Cobrancosa table olives in a brine with aromatic ingredients, in order to mask the bitter taste given by KCl when added to reduced-sodium fermentation brines. Olives were fermented in two different salt combinations: Brine A, containing 8% NaCl and, Brine B, a reduced-sodium brine, containing 4% NaCl + 4% KCl. After the fermentation the olives were immersed in seasoning brines with NaCl (2%) and the aromatic herbs (thyme, oregano and calamintha), garlic and lemon. At the end of the fermentation and two weeks after seasoning, the physicochemical, nutritional, organoleptic, and microbiological parameters, were determined. The olives fermented in the reduced-sodium brines had half the sodium concentration, higher potassium and calcium content, a lower caloric level, but were considered, by a sensorial panel, more bitter than olives fermented in NaCl brine. Seasoned table olives, previously fermented in Brine A and Brine B, had no significant differences in the amounts of protein (1.23% or 1.11%), carbohydrates (1.0% or 0.66%), fat (20.0% or 20.5%) and dietary fiber (3.4% or 3.6%). Regarding mineral contents, the sodium-reduced fermented olives, presented one third of sodium, seven times more potassium and three times more calcium than the traditional olives fermented in 8% NaCl. Additionally, according to the panelists' evaluation, seasoning the olives fermented in 4% NaCl + 4% KCl, resulted in a decrease in bitterness and an improvement in the overall evaluation and flavor. Escherichia coli and Salmonella were not found in the olives produced.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

CRF-Like Diuretic Hormone Negatively Affects Both Feeding and Reproduction in the Desert Locust, Schistocerca gregaria

Diuretic hormones (DH) related to the vertebrate Corticotropin Releasing Factor (CRF) have been identified in diverse insect species. In the migratory locust, Locusta migratoria, the CRF-like DH (CRF/DH) is localized in the same neurosecretory cells as the Ovary Maturating Parsin (OMP), a neurohormone that stimulates oocyte growth, vitellogenesis and hemolymph ecdysteroid levels in adult female locusts. In this study, we investigated whether CRF-like DH can influence feeding and reproduction in the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria. We identified two highly similar S. gregaria CRF-like DH precursor cDNAs, each of which also encodes an OMP isoform. Alignment with other insect CRF-like DH precursors shows relatively high conservation of the CRF/DH sequence while the precursor region corresponding to OMP is not well conserved. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR revealed that the precursor transcripts mainly occur in the central nervous system and their highest expression level was observed in the brain. Injection of locust CRF/DH caused a significantly reduced food intake, while RNAi knockdown stimulated food intake. Therefore, our data indicate that CRF-like DH induces satiety. Furthermore, injection of CRF/DH in adult females retarded oocyte growth and caused lower ecdysteroid titers in hemolymph and ovaries, while RNAi knockdown resulted in opposite effects. The observed effects of CRF/DH may be part of a wider repertoire of neurohormonal activities, constituting an integrating control system that affects food intake and excretion, as well as anabolic processes like oocyte growth and ecdysteroidogenesis, following a meal. Our discussion about the functional relationship between CRF/DH and OMP led to the hypothesis that OMP may possibly act as a monitoring peptide that can elicit negative feedback effects