Critical Flicker Fusion Frequency: Effect of Age, Gender, Sleep and Display Screens

Introduction: The rate at which a successive light stimulusappears to be steady and continuous is called as the criticalflickering fusion frequency (CFFF). It is expressed in Hzand is referred to as the threshold frequency. It providesthe information about CNS activity and arousal as well asmeasures the discrete sensory events happening in the centralnervous system. To perceive the flickering light eye and brainhave to work simultaneously and have to act together. TheCFFFR was measured using critical flicker fusion apparatus.The study aimed to measure critical flicker fusion frequencyand to measure the effect of age, gender, sleep and displayscreens on critical flicker fusion frequencyMaterial and methods: The study was done in the departmentof Physiology, Maharishi Markandeshwar Medical Collegeand hospital, Solan, HP after taking institutional ethicalcommittee clearance. A total of 1000 apparently healthysubjects were recruited from the institute which included thestudents, faculty, non teaching staff and nursing staff. Criticalflicker fusion frequency was measured using Flicker Fusionapparatus (FF-705): Medicaid Ambala.The critical flickerfusion frequency threshold was noted after explaining theprocedure in their native language and obtaining consent. Thedata collected was analyzed stastically.Results: We found a significant difference in the values ofCFFFR between the younger age group and among the olderage group. CFFFR and age are indirectly proportional toeach other with increase in age there is decrease in the valueof CFFFR. The value of CFFFR was found to be higher inindividuals with a normal sleep pattern and duration comparedto those having less sleeping hours Inadequate sleep also hasbeen shown to decrease the motor functioning, decreasedlearning ability, poor productivity and shortened memory.CFFFR was higher in individuals playing games compared tothose who were using display screens normally, in addition toit those individuals who were playing instructive games had ahigher CFFRT than those playing quest games.Conclusion: In this study we measured the critical flickerfusion and the factors that have a role in increasing ordecreasing the CFFFR threshold. A simple and non invasiveprocedure helps in finding the harmful effects of variousfactors like age gender sleep disturbances or over usage ofdisplay screens on retina and central nervous system.

Comparison of Decellularized Bubaline Diaphragmatic Scaffold with Synthetic Polygalactin and Polypropylene Composite Mesh for Perineal Hernioplasty in Dogs

Present study was planned to compare xenogenic decellularized bubaline diaphragmatic scaffold with synthetic polygalactin and polypropylene composite mesh for repair of perineal hernia in dogs. Twelve dogs suffering with perineal hernia were randomly divided in to two equal groups. In group I perineal hernioplasty was done with Synthetic polygalactin and polypropylene composite mesh while in group II, with decellularized bubaline diaphragmatic scaffold (dBDS). Mean surgical time was 59.17 ± 14.04 and 57.50 ± 6.15 minute in group I and II respectively. Swelling, redness and warmth increased significantly (p<0.05) on day 3 in both the groups. In group II initially significantly (p<0.05) increased exudation was observed on day 3 which reduced gradually. Degree of pain after surgery was significantly (P<0.05) decrease on day 3 in both the groups. Neutrophil count was significantly (p<0.05) increased and correspondingly lymphocyte count significantly (p<0.05) decreased on day 7 in group I while in group II no significant difference within the group was observed. Colour Doppler ultrasonographic examination revealed no vascularization on 0 day in both the groups. Neovascularization was observed on day 30 in group I and day 14 in group II on Colour Doppler ultrasonographic examination. It was increased on day 90 in both the groups. The complication encountered in the present study includes local seroma, suture dehiscence due to self mutilation, constipation and fistula formation. Decellularized bubaline diaphragmatic scaffold was well accepted by all the animals and showed less complication than synthetic mesh

Guided Tissue Regeneration with β-Tricalcium Phosphate and Platelet-rich Plasma for Fracture Repair in Dogs using Internal Fixation

The study was conducted on 19 adult dogs referred for treatment of fracture in diaphyseal region of three long bones, viz, radius-ulna, femur and tibia-fibula. These dogs were divided randomly into three groups viz T1, T2 and T3. In group T1, the diaphyseal fractures of the long bones were immobilized by an internal fixation technique using reconstruction plate or locking compression plate. In group T2, β- tri calcium phosphate granules were incorporated at fracture site after fixation. In group T3, one milliliter of PRP was administered locally at fracture site just before the closing the first suture line. Clinical and radiographic examination were also conducted during the study. There was a significant reduction in mean inflammation score at 7th day in groups T2 and T3 and at 30th day than 0 day in all the groups. At 90th day, the mean radiographic score was highest for group T3 and it was followed by the score in group T2. At day 90th, a radiograph in both the views was not able to delineate the granules from osseous tissue. The mean weight bearing score was also higher in group T3 than in group T2 at 30th, 60th and 90th post operative day showing that restoration of the function was better and earlier in groups T2 and T3 than in group T1

Evaluation of Wound Healing Properties of Herbal Medicaments on the Basis of Clinical and Haemato-biochemical Changes

The present study was conducted on 24 dogs irrespective of sex, breed and aged between 1year to 8 years with different types of wounds. The animals were randomly divided into four groups. Each group consisted of 6 dogs. The animals of group I were treated with povidone iodine (5.0%) and in group II, III, IV animals were treated with the herbal ointment which were prepared from hydroalcoholic extract of Marigold leaves, Guava leaves and 1:1 mixture of both extract for 7 consecutive days. Clinical and haematological parameters were recorded at different time intervals in all four groups. The study revealed better wound healing properties of the Ointment of 1:1 mixture of Marigold and Guava (10% w/w) leaves extract without any side effect as compared to povidone iodine 5%, ointment of Marigold leaves extract (10% w/w) and ointment of Guava leaves extract (10% w/w) on the basis of clinical and haematological parameters

Ameliorative effect of Cephalandra indica homeopathic preparation in STZ induced diabetic nephropathy rats

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the foremost cause of morbidity and has become the mostrecurrent cause of end-stage renal disease among diabetic patients. Thus, agents having antidiabeticeffect along with safety potential in the kidneys would have a higher remedial value.Objective: The present study aimed to investigate possible protective effect of homeopathic preparationof Cephalandra indica Mother tincture, 6C and 30 C potencies on DN in Wistar rats.Materials and methods: DN was induced by intraperitoneal injection of STZ (60 mg/kg) 15 min afterNicotinamide (230 mg/kg, i.p.) administration. Rats were divided into six groups (n ¼ 6). Group 1 and 2was kept normal control and diabetic control respectively whereas Groups 3e5 consist of diabetic nephropathy rats treated with different doses of C. indica Mother tincture, 6C and 30 C potencies for 45days. Glimepride (10 mg/kg) was used as standard. DN was assessed by determining serum glucose, urea,uric acid, creatinine level and tissue histological examination. Tissue antioxidant enzymes (SOD, GSH,LPO) level was measured to assess the oxidative stress. Also, the level of advanced glycation end productsin kidney was determined.Results: Mother tincture, 6C and 30 C potencies of C. indica produced significant attenuation in thebiochemical parameters used to assess diabetic nephropathy. Moreover, oxidative stress and AGE's levelin kidney was also found to be significantly reduced.Conclusion: We conclude that Mother tincture, 6C and 30 C potencies of C. indica confers protective effectagainst diabetic nephropathy via inhibition of Oxidative stress and AGE's.© 2017 Transdisciplinary University, Bangalore and World Ayurveda Foundation. Publishing Services byElsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Comparison of Wound Healing Properties of Herbal Ointments with Povidone iodine on Basis of Histological Changes

Present study was conducted on 24 dogs, aged between 1 to 8 years, irrespective of sex, breed. The animals were randomly divided in to four groups. In group I, animals were treated with standard dressing material Povidone iodine (5.0%). In animals of group II, III, IV herbal ointments (10% w/w) of hydroalcoholic extract of Marigold leaves, Guava leaves and mixture of both Marigold and Guava leaves extracts respectively were used for dressings of wounds for 7 consecutive days. In animals of group IV, marked re-epithelialization and moderate inflammatory cells, neovascularization and thicker but scattered collagen fibrils were seen on day 7 and mature collagen fibres were observed with least number of inflammatory cells on day 14 as compared to other three groups. Therefore, it can be concluded that group IV (mixture of Marigold and Guava leaves hydroalcoholic extract) revealed better wound healing properties as compared to group I (Povidone iodine 5.0%), group II (Marigold leaves hydroalcoholic extract) and group III (Guava leaves hydroalcoholic extract).

External Fixation using Acrylic versus Epoxy as a Connecting bar for Repair of Compound Fracture in Goat

The study was conducted on 10 goats, aged between 10 months to 5 years, brought to T.V.C.C, Jabalpur for the treatment of compound fracture in metacarpal and tibia. The animals were selected irrespective of their age, sex, breed and body weight. The animals were randomly divided into two equal groups. In group I, external skeletal fixation using Acrylic as the connecting bar was applied whereas in group II, Epoxy putty was used as the connecting bar. Wound area at fracture site decreased significantly at 30th day as compared to 0 day. The mean radiographic score increased significantly at 30th day and was highest at 60th day. Weight bearing score improved on 15th day and complete weight bearing was observed on 12th to 30th days in all goats. Pin loosening, pin tract drainage and inflammation were observed post-operatively

Comparative Evaluation of Oral Stereognostic Ability of Dentulous and Edentulous Population

Background: The aim of the study was to determine the oral stereognostic ability of completely edentulous individuals through identification of different forms. Methods: Twenty edentulous subjects were selected for the study, 5 large and 5 small geometrical forms were selected and placed intraorally and percentage identification was tabulated. Results:The mean percentage of the correct identification of large forms (91.64±8.71) and the mean percentage of correct identification of the small forms (76.27±11.58), using Student independent ‘t’ test, statistically significant difference was found between the two values (p<0.05). Conclusion: the discriminating ability of edentulous and dentulous was not statistically different, although the differences between large and small forms were significant.

Evaluation of Bond Strength of Silicone and Acrylic Resin Based Resilient Denture Liners Over A Period of Storage in Water

Background: Two potential problems commonly identified with a denture base incorporating a resilient liner are afailure of the bond between the acrylic resin and resilient liner material and a loss of resiliency of the resilient liner material over time. Methods: The current study was performed to assess the bond strength and hardness of acrylic resilient liner in both auto-polymerized and heat-polymerized forms and silicone resilient liner in auto-polymerized form to a processed denture base resin over a period of water storage for 1 day, 1 week and 1 month. The denture liners investigated were acrylic resin-based heat-polymerized (Super-soft), acrylic resin-based autopolymerized (Coe-Soft) and silicone based autopolymerized (GC-reline) resilient liner. The resilient liners were processed according to manufacturer’s instructions. Tensile bond strength was measured in ASI Instron universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 20 mm/min, and hardness was measured using a Shore-A durometer. Results: Two-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD tests were used to analyze the data (α=0.05). The results indicated that there were significant differences both in the hardness and bond strength values of resilient liner materials. Conclusion: Autopolymerized silicone resilient liner has increased bond strength and hardness values than autopolymerized acrylic liner but the bond strength and hardness values of autopolymerized silicone liner was less than heat cure acrylic resilient liner.

Is institutionalization a risk factor for poor oral health; a comparison of the oral status of schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorders.

Background: Oral health is an integral part of general health and psychiatric disorders lead them to change their life style and lose concern for general and oral health. In view of this, the study was planned to compare the oral health status in different types of in-patient psychiatric patients. Objective of current study was to study the oral health status in schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorders institutionalized in psychiatric hospital. Methods: 50 Psychiatric patient (43 patients suffering from schizophrenia, 7 patients of bipolar affective disorder,) and 50 unrelated healthy volunteers were taken in the study. Dental examinations were done in both groups to measure the following indices of oral health: decayed, missing, and filled teeth index (DMFT) for caries; simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S) for oral hygiene status; and tooth wear index for the wear of teeth. For comparison analyses t test was used. Results: Mean age of the study group was 37.74 years. Mean decayed missing filled teeth index (DMFT) score for study group and control population was 8.52 ± 4.36 vs. 4.72 ± 2.74 vs. 1.81 ± 1.00 (P ≤0.0001). The mean simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S) for study group was 3.87±1.21, while that of control was (p≤0.0001).The mean Tooth wear index (TWI) score for study group was found to be 1.62 ± 0.75 and for control group was 1.08±0.48 (P ≤0.0001). Conclusion: Oral health status is affected in psychiatric patients and improving the oral health in psychiatric patients can go long way in improving the quality and management of these patients.

Rubella seronegativity among health care workers in a tertiary care north Indian hospital: Implications for immunization policy.

Background: Rubella is traditionally considered a childhood disease but has the potential to cause outbreaks in hospital set ups. It is important to know the susceptibility status of health care workers (HCWs) as to frame guidelines for their immunization and thus prevent hospital outbreaks. Participants: The rubella susceptibility status of 313 HCWs working in the institute was assessed. This study was initiated after we reported an outbreak due to rubella among HCWs of our institute. Materials and Methods: The serum samples were tested to determine Rubella IgG titres by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Overall, 48 (15.3%) subjects were found to be negative, thereby indicating their susceptibility to infection. Out of them, 29 (60.5%) were in contact with pregnant women during the course of their employment. There is a risk of nosocomial transmission of rubella from affected HCWs to their contacts especially pregnant women as many of the rubella infections are asymptomatic. Conclusion: Hence, we stress the need for vaccinating the HCWs at the start of their employment to contain the spread of infection and also to reduce the risk of outbreaks in work place.

Clinical perspective of hypothyroidism.

Thyroid dysfunction, mostly hypothyroidism is a frequent disorder in the general population, especially among women. Hypothyroidism is defined as a deficiency of thyroid activity. Hypothyroidism is a clinical syndrome that results from insufficient production or action of thyroid hormones, leading to a total decrease of metabolic processes. It results from reduced secretion of both thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). The disorder slows the metabolism, with classic symptoms of slowness of movement, tiredness, low energy, change in appearance and voice, weight gain, cold intolerance, poor libido and constipation. Furthermore, abnormalities of lipid metabolism, hyperhomocysteinemia, and arterial hypertension occur with increased frequency in hypothyroidism and are associated with an increased risk of premature atherosclerotic vascular disease. Treatment with thyroid hormones results in an increase in basal energy expenditure, which affects the synthesis, mobilization and degradation of lipids.

Detection and characterization of enterocins from Enterococcus sp.

Examination of 90 isolates of Enterococcus sp. revealed production of enterocin by two isolates of E. faecalis which was inhibitory to Listeria monocytogenes. Two isolates of E. gallinarum produced enterocin active against Staphylococcus aureus. None of the isolates antagonized Salmonella enteritidis. The enterocins of E. faecalis isolates were inactivated by alpha-chymotrypsin but not by trypsin and papain, while those of E. gallinarum were resistant to all the three enzymes. Enterocins produced by all 4 strains were resistant to heating at 60 degrees C for 30 min and 80 degrees C for 10 min, but sensitive to 121 degrees C for 15 min. At 100 degrees C for 10 min, two enterocins, one each of E. faecalis and E. gallinarum were inactivated, while the remaining two retained the bactericidal activity.

Fatty acid synthesis by isolated leucoplasts from developing Brassica seeds: Role of nucleoside triphosphates and DHAP-shuttle as the source of energy.

Fatty acid synthesis in leucoplasts isolated from developing seeds of Brassica campestris was absolutely dependent on external source of ATP. None of the other nucleoside triphosphates could replace ATP in the reaction mixture. Use of ADP alone also resulted in reduced rates of fatty acid synthesis. However, in combination with inorganic phosphate or inorganic pyrophosphate, it improved the rate of fatty acid synthesis, giving up to 50% of the ATP-control activity. Inorganic phosphate or inorganic pyrophosphate alone again did not serve as an energy source for fatty acid synthesis. AMP, alongwith inorganic pyrophosphate could promote fatty acid synthesis to up to 42% of the activity obtained with ATP. The three components dihydroxy acetone phosphate, oxaloacetic acid, inorganic phosphate of dihydroxy acetone phosphate-shuttle together could restore 50% of the activity obtained with ATP. Omission of any one of the components of this shuttle drastically reduced the rate of fatty acid synthesis to 15–24% of the ATP-control activity. Inclusion of ATP in reaction mixtures containing shuttle components enhanced the rate of synthesis over control. The optimum ratio of shuttle components dihydroxy acetone phosphate, oxaloacetic acid, inorganic phosphate determined was 1:1:2. Maximum rates of fatty acid synthesis were obtained when dihydroxy acetate phosphate was used as the shuttle triose. Glyceraldehyde-3-P, 3-phosphoglycerate, 2-phosphoglycerate and phosphoenolpyruvate as shuttle trioses were around 35–60% as effective as dihydroxy acetone phosphate in promoting fatty acid synthesis. The results presented here indicate that although the isolated leucoplasts readily utilize exogenously supplied ATP for fatty acid synthesis, intraplastidic ATP could also arise from dihydroxy acetone phosphate shuttle components or other appropriate metabolites.

Characterization of cytosolic phosphoglucoisomerase from immature wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) endosperm.

Phosphoglucoisomerase from cytosol of immature wheat endosperm was purified 650-fold by ammonium sulphate fractionation, isopropyl alcohol precipitation, DEAE-cellulose chromatography and gel filtration through Sepharose CL-6B. The enzyme, with a molecular weight of about 130,000, exhibited maximum activity at pH 8·1. It showed typical hyperbolic kinetics with both fructose 6-P and glucose 6-P with Km of 0·18 mM and 0·44mM respectively. On either side of the optimum pH, the enzyme had lower affinity for the substrates. Using glucose 6-P as the substrate, the equilibrium was reached at 27% fructose 6-P and 73% glucose 6-P with an equilibrium constant of 2·7. The ΔF' calculated from the apparent equilibrium constant was +597 cal mol–1 . The activation energy calculated from the Arrhenius plot was 5500 cal mol–1. The enzyme was completely inhibited by ribose 5-P, ribulose 5-P and 6-phosphogluconate, with Ki values of 0·17, 0·25 and 0·14 mM respectively. The probable role of the enzyme in starch biosynthesis is discussed.

Ureide biogenesis and the enzymes of ammonia assimilation and ureide biosynthesis in nitrogen fixing pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) nodules.

Allantoic acid production from IMP, XMP, inosine, xanthosine, hypoxanthine, xanthine, uric acid and allantoin was investigated by incubating each of these substrates with Cajanus cajan cytosol and bacteroid fractions separately in the presence and absence of NAD+ and allopurinol. Allantoic acid synthesis by bacteroid fraction could only be observed with uric acid and allantoin as substrates. Addition of NAD+ or allopurinol to the reaction mixtures had no effect. However, with cytosol fraction, allantoic acid was produced by each of these substrates, with maximum rate with allantoin. With NAD+ or with allopurinol, allantoic acid was produced only with uric acid and allantoin as substrates. NADH production with cytosol fraction could again be observed with all the substrates. Except with uric acid and allantoin, allopurinol completely inhibited NADH formation. Regardless of the presence or absence of allopurinol, none of the substrates exhibited significant activity with bacteroid fraction. Based on the activities of glutamine synthetase, glutamate synthase, glutamate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotransferase, asparagine synthetase, nucleotidase, nucleosidase, xanthine dehydrogenase, uricase and allantoinase and their intracellular localisation in various nodule fractions, a probable pathway for the biogenesis of ureides in pigeonpea nodules has been proposed.