Production and characterization of biodiesel obtained from transesterification of lipid from goat tallow

Aim: The present study was conducted to optimise the production of biodiesel from goat tallow by chemical and biological transesterification and to analyse the fuel characteristics of biodiesel. Methodology: Lipid from goat tallow was extracted after subjecting the tallow to ultrasonication and microwave heating. The lipid obtained was converted to biodiesel by chemical and biological transesterification processes. Results: Microwave heating of goat tallow with hexane produced 550 ml of oil whereas ultrasonication method produced 350 ml and 430 ml with Hexane and Hexane : Isopropanol (3:2) as solvent mixture, respectively. When one litre of this oil was subjected to transesterification reaction, 750 ml and 640 ml of biodiesel was produced by chemical and biological methods under optimized conditions (temperature 60oC for chemical and 35oC for biological transesterification). GC-MS analysis of transesterified oil indicated linolenic acid, pentadecanoic acid and stearic acid as major lipid components in goat tallow. Fuel properties were tested as per ASTM standards. Interpretation: The biological process (either with the enzyme or with organism), if properly designed can definitely be an advantageous as this process is cost effective and environmental friendly. Goat tallow can be a potential candidate for the production of biodiesel, an alternate to fossil fuel, which is the need of the hour.

Green Tea in the Prevention of Dental Caries A Systematic Review

To analyze the available scientific evidence on the effectiveness of green tea and its products in the prevention of dental caries. A broad literature search was performed using COCHRANECENTRAL, MEDLINE, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, EBSCO, PROQUEST for online search and hand search was performed in the central library of the institute. Articles that satisfied the inclusion criteria with description of randomized clinical trials regarding green tea in the prevention of dental caries were included. Initial search resulted in 196 articles; Our final review included 5 studies. Of these 2 studies evaluated both streptococcus mutans and lactobacillus, 1 study evaluated streptococcus mutans separately, 1 study evaluated salivary fluoride concentration, 1 study evaluated caries increment of the green tea polyphenol. Among the five studies two studies showed a significant reduction in the levels of streptococcus mutans. One study showed significant reduction in the levels of lactobacillus. One study showed that there was significant increase in the fluoride level. One study showed that the green tea and its extracts has an inhibitory effect on dental caries. With the constraints of limited available literature green tea and its extracts had a inhibitory effect on dental caries. But still further studies are recommended.

Probiotics in Treatment and Prevention of Periodontal Diseases: A Systemic Review

Aim: Aim of this systematic review was to analyse the available scientific evidence on the effects of probiotics in prevention and treatment of periodontal diseases Materials and methods: A broad literature search was performed using both electronic database and hand search in library. The important databases like COCHRANE CENTRAL, MEDLINE, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, EMBASE were used for online data search. Hand search was performed in the central library of the institute to identify the relevant articles, articles that satisfied the inclusion criteria with description of randomized clinical trials comparing the administration of probiotics versus placebo or another intervention to prevent or treat periodontal diseases in adult patients were selected. Results: The initial search resulted in 73 articles; however, 45 of these articles were excluded after reviewing the abstracts because they did not have the proper clinical trial design or because they were duplicates. After analysing the full text from 27 clinical trials, 12 were excluded because they did not fulfil all the selection criteria. Our final review included 15 articles. Included outcome measures were probing pocket depth, bleeding on probing, clinical attachment loss, plaque index and gingival inflammation. Included studies were subjected to critical analysis following the Cochrane Collaboration tool for evaluating the risk of bias. Conclusion: Probiotics had a beneficial effect on reducing probing pocket depth, gingival inflammation, bleeding on probing when compared with placebo. Lactobacillus was the most commonly used probiotic genus, in which L.reuteri strain had most beneficial effects.

No evidence of association of xenotropic murine leukemia virus‑related virus with oral cancers: Experience from a tertiary care center in South India.

BACKGROUND: Development of oral cancer, a widely prevalent cancer in India, is multifactorial with increased risk in those habituated to smoking, consuming alcohol and chewing paan and tobacco. This does not preclude other etiological factors in the causation of this cancer. Exploratory studies on several oncogenic viruses have found varied associations with oral cancers. AIM: The aim of this study was to explore the association of xenotropic murine leukemia virus‑related virus, (XMRV) a retrovirus recently implicated in oncogenesis in humans, with oral cancers. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: The presence of XMRV proviral deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was evaluated by standard nucleic acid amplification from DNA extracted from representative bits of tumor tissues and adjacent normal tissues from surgically resected specimens sent post‑operatively for routine histopathological testing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study comprised 109 patients with a provisional diagnosis of oral cancer who were operated at the Oral Oncology Department of Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, over a period of 10 months. RESULTS: XMRV was not found in any of the tumor tissues (squamous cell carcinomas ‑ 98; verrucous carcinomas ‑ 4) nor in any of the normal tissues. It is thus important that the absence of this oncogenic virus in all the cases makes the association of XMRV with oral cancers very unlikely. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to investigate potentially oncogenic viruses in other solid tumors and in larger sample sizes. Any such association could have implications in detecting, preventing and treating these cancers.

Gross Morphology of the Hip Articulation of Buffalo Calves (Bubalus Bubalis).

Back ground: The vulnerability of the buffalo to the luxation of the hip articulation previous to and during parturition encouraged the investigation in this species. The literature reviewed did not reveal complete anatomical descriptions of the coxofemoral articulation of buffalo. Hence the study was undertaken. Purpose: to study the different anatomical aspects of the hip joint which are specific to buffaloes. Methods and Results: A total number of fifteen hip joints of buffalo calves procured from the local slaughter house and department of VeterinaryAnatomy were studied in the Department of Veterinary Anatomy,College of Veterinary Science, Tirupati irrespective of breed, sex and nutritional status. The gross morphology of joints and relations were studied. The round ligament of buffalo was stronger compared to cattle. A thick fibrous stratum of articular capsule was present. A few arched and semi-circular fibers were seen in the articular capsule but zona orbicularis was absent. The best developed periarticular ligament in the buffalo hip was the iliofemoral ligament. It was a thick cord of connective tissue extending from a nodule below and behind the ischiatic spine and spreaded over the capsula articularis and finally attached to the trochanter major and trochanteric ridge. The pubocapsular ligament was located on the ventral surface of the joint capsule and blended with it. Compared to the most of other quadripeds the periarticular ligaments were well developed in buffalo. The iliofemoral ligamentwasmostly helpful in preventing the hip fromexcessive extension and adduction. The relative development of the periarticular ligaments in the biped and quadrupedswere probably in accordance with comparative weight that this articulation must support. Potential implications: An understanding of the basic anatomy of the hip helps in understanding pathology and can greatly assist the surgeon in appropriately diagnosing and treating the problems.

Central Giant Cell Granuloma ; A Case Report.

Central giant cell granuloma ( CGCG) was classified as rarely aggressive idiopathic benign intraosseous lesion that occurs mostly exclusively in the jaws. It occurs most frequently in young women. It is usually slow growing and non neoplastic lesion which exhibits a spectrum of clinical behavior ranging from non aggressive to aggressive variants. The striking feature of this case is its aggressive nature and presence of this lesion in the anterior part of maxilla which considers being a rare finding as the lesion commonly occurs in the mandibular region anterior to first molar.

Perceived Sources of Stress Among Dental Students In South India.

Introduction:Stress in dental students may be multifactorial, arising from both the academic and socio-cultural environment, and attributable to social support issues. The intensity of the bachelor of dental surgery curriculum requires enormous commitment and hard work by students which may produce stress on them. This study was conducted with an aim to investigate perceived sources of stress among dental students in South India. Methods: A modified version of the Dental Environment Stress questionnaire was used to measure sources of stress. Results: A total of 343 of the 369 registered undergraduate students participated in the study with an overall response rate of 92.9%. Among them, 167 (48.6%) were males and 176 (51.3%) were females. Mean age of the total sample was 20.19 (1.5) years. Examinations were perceived to be the highest sources of stress followed by fear of unemployment after graduation and fear of failing the year. Conclusion: Stress levels were slight to moderate and were higher amongst senior students. Students during clinical training period exhibited higher levels of stress. Overall third years were the most stressed followed by fourth years, second years and first years.

Neurofibroma Of The Lip - Report Of A Rare Case.

Neurofibroma is a rare tumor of the oral cavity. It is generally associated with a generalized syndrome of neurofibromatosis but a few cases of the solitary intraoral lesions have also been reported. A one such rare case of neurofibroma of the lip is being presented with a note on the importance of early diagnosis and adequate treatment of this lesion.

Giant Morgagnian hernia masquerading as pleural effusion.

Morgagnian hernia is a congenital diaphragmatic hernia which occurs through anteromedial defect in the diaphragm. A 58-year-old lady was referred for surgical management of chronic massive pleural effusion. High-resolution CT scan of the chest demonstrated an anteromedial defect in the diaphragm and with contents being colon and great omentum. She required anterolateral thoracotomy and reduction of hernia with repair of formen of Morgagni with prolene mesh. Blind needle aspiration would have punctured the colon; hence the case is being reported to highlight the necessity of CT scan/ultrasound of chest in investigating a chronic massive pleural effusion much before a needle is put for aspiration blindly.

Cytogenetic and viral studies in nasopharyngeal carcinomas in patients of Indian origin.

Four cases of undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC) (grade III-IV) in patients of Indian origin were investigated for specific chromosome markers and evidence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) positivity. Abnormalities involving chromosome #3, like del (3) (p24-pter) and 3q+(q27-qter) were found in these patients, similar to earlier reports in patients of Chinese and Kenyan origin2,4,13 who however were EBV positive, unlike the patients in this study who were EBV negative. Implications of the cytogenetic and serological data in Indian patients with NPC, available for the first time, may throw some light on the etiology of the disease in this ethnic group where nasopharyngeal carcinoma is also endemic.

Sclerosing stromal tumour of the ovary.

Sclerosing stromal tumour (SST) of the ovary is a rare entity. It is a benign neoplasm which forms a distinct subgroup separate from the other ovarian stromal tumours, including thecomafibromas, by virtue of its unique histology. One such tumour in a 25-year old female is reported.

Fine needle aspiration biopsy cytology of chondrosarcoma.

The cytomorphological appearances of bone and soft tissue tumours, when combined with radiology and clinical presentation, can lead to a positive diagnosis in the majority of cases. Our experience with fine needle aspiration biopsy of 13 cases of chondrosarcoma, encountered over a four year period is presented, in correlation with their radiological appearances. It is concluded that. FNAB is a valuable pre-operative tool in characterising chondroid neoplasms in soft tissue and bone.

Antidiabetic effect of a glycoside of pelargonidin isolated from the bark of Ficus bengalensis Linn.

The antidiabetic effect of a dimethoxy derivative of perlargonidin 3-O-alpha-L rhamnoside (250 mg/kg, single dose study and 100 mg/kg/day long term study) isolated from the bark of Ficus bengalensis Linn. has been compared with that of glibenclamide (2 mg/kg and 0.5 mg/kg/day respectively) in moderately diabetic rats. The single dose glycoside treatment decreased fasting blood glucose by 19% and improved glucose tolerance by 29%. The corresponding effects of glibenclamide were 25% and 66% respectively over the control values. On one-month treatment the fasting blood glucose levels went down almost to half of the pretreatment levels in both the groups and their glucose tolerance improved by 41% in glibenclamide group and by 15% in glycoside treated group. Urine sugar decreased to traces in both the groups and they appeared healthy. In vitro studies showed that insulin secretion by beta-cells was more in presence of the pelargonidin derivative than in presence of a leucocyanidin derivative, reported to be a good anti-diabetic agent.

Frozen sections--a retrospective study.

Two hundred and forty-four (244) specimens were examined by frozen section (FS) from 1987 through 1988 at the Kidwal Memorial Institute of Oncology. Of these, eleven (11) were performed for evaluation of the surgical margin of tumours and fifty four (54) for detection of lymph node metastasis. All these examinations (65) proved to be hundred percent (100%) accurate. The remaining 179 frozen sections were performed for the diagnosis of an unknown pathologic process. Of these, 44.69 percent were precisely diagnosed, in 41.9 percent the pathologic process was correctly but not precisely diagnosed, in 11.17 per cent the diagnosis was deferred and remaining 2.24 percent were incorrectly diagnosed with no harmful consequences to the patients. By eliminating the cases where diagnosis was deferred and combining results of "precise diagnosis" with those of "correct pathologic process", the overall accuracy rate was 98.2 percent. Thus, FS has greater benefit when used for the general diagnosis of an unknown pathologic process rather than for an exact or precise diagnosis.

Unusual splenic metastasis from oesophageal cancer.

The most common visceral metastasis from oesophageal carcinomas are lungs and liver. A case of splenic metastasis from a squamous carcinoma of oesophagus is reported. To our knowledge, splenic metastasis without any nodal disease has not been described previously. The pattern of reported metastasis is summarised.

Extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma--a review of three cases.

During a ten year period, only three cases of extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma were seen at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, South India. All were adults; the youngest patient was twenty-six years old and the oldest was seventy five years old. The tumours arose in the soft tissues of the extremities Our findings indicated that tumour size, site and morphology had no bearing on prognosis. With surgery radiotherapy and chemotherapy, two patients survived for four years and nine months respectively and one patient is still on follow up, five months after treatment.