Gene Expression Profiling of Preovulatory Follicle in the Buffalo Cow: Effects of Increased IGF-I Concentration on Periovulatory Events

The preovulatory follicle in response to gonadotropin surge undergoes dramatic biochemical, and morphological changes orchestrated by expression changes in hundreds of genes. Employing well characterized bovine preovulatory follicle model, granulosa cells (GCs) and follicle wall were collected from the preovulatory follicle before, 1, 10 and 22 h post peak LH surge. Microarray analysis performed on GCs revealed that 450 and 111 genes were differentially expressed at 1 and 22 h post peak LH surge, respectively. For validation, qPCR and immunocytochemistry analyses were carried out for some of the differentially expressed genes. Expression analysis of many of these genes showed distinct expression patterns in GCs and the follicle wall. To study molecular functions and genetic networks, microarray data was analyzed using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis which revealed majority of the differentially expressed genes to cluster within processes like steroidogenesis, cell survival and cell differentiation. In the ovarian follicle, IGF-I is established to be an important regulator of the above mentioned molecular functions. Thus, further experiments were conducted to verify the effects of increased intrafollicular IGF-I levels on the expression of genes associated with the above mentioned processes. For this purpose, buffalo cows were administered with exogenous bGH to transiently increase circulating and intrafollicular concentrations of IGF-I. The results indicated that increased intrafollicular concentrations of IGF-I caused changes in expression of genes associated with steroidogenesis (StAR, SRF) and apoptosis (BCL-2, FKHR, PAWR). These results taken together suggest that onset of gonadotropin surge triggers activation of various biological pathways and that the effects of growth factors and peptides on gonadotropin actions could be examined during preovulatory follicle development

Intense pulsed light: A promising therapy in treatment of acne vulgaris

Background: Medical treatment of acne vulgaris includes a variety of topical and oral medications. Poor compliance, lack of durable remission, potential side effects are common drawbacks to these treatment. Therefore, there is a growing demand for a fast, safe and side effect free novel therapy. Light-based therapies are an attractive alternative acne therapy because they potentially offer more rapid onset and better patient compliance with a low incidence of adverse events. Aim: To study the efficacy of intense pulsed light in treatment of acne vulgaris. Materials and Methods: Twenty five patients with acne vulgaris were subjected to IPL. Baseline grading of acne was done. IPL was administered every 2weeks for 4 sessions. Grading was done after the end of treatment. Clinical photographs were taken for evaluation. Results: All patients showed a reduction in the number of acne lesions after 4 sessions of IPL. No significant side effects were noted. Patients also noted an improvement in skin texture. Conclusion: IPL showed beneficial effects in the treatment of acne

A pragmatic approach towards single-use-disposable devices in dentistry

Disinfection and decontamination including sterilization of devices take a lot of time. For the sake of convenience and hygiene, there are many non-sterile and sterile single-use-disposable supplies available for safe provision of dental care. Some reusable devices cannot be adequately cleaned and therefore sterility may not be assured, therefore, single-use-disposable devices play an important role in replacing such reusable devices. Single-use-disposable devices are commonly used in dentistry as they are easy to use and can be discarded after one use. All devices/instruments/supplies that enter the oral cavity should be sterile reusable items or sterile or non-sterilie single-use-disposable items. In this paper we address comprehensively the rationale for use of such devices and also the pragmatic use of such devices in dentistry

A multi-country survey data on dental infection control KAP

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Dental Infection Control Needs Assessment Among South Korean Dentists

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Pigmented basal cell carcinoma: A rare clinical variant treated with excision and grafting

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is a most common malignant tumour of skin. It develops on sun-exposed skin of lighter skinned individuals. It is a slow growing, locally invasive tumor. It is rare in dark skin because of the inherent photoprotection of melanin and melanosomal dispersion. The frequency of pigmented variant of BCC can reach up to 6% of total BCC in Hispanics. A 62yr old female came with the complaint of hyperpigmented plaque over the right lateral wall of the nose at the osseo-cartilagenous junction since 2yrs with evidence of central ulceration and bleeding. A wide local excision was planned with 5mm margins and covered with a full thickness graft obtained from the right retroauricular area. Post operation photographs taken. BCC is the most common non-melanoma skin cancer in the world. Though, pigmented BCC is the rare variant, it is becoming increasingly common in Asian population. UV radiation is the most important preventable risk factor for BCC. With increasing awareness and advent of newer treatment modalities, better cosmetic outcome with improved survival are expected