Oral Health Status of Mothers According to Different Personality Traits and Influence on their Child's Oral Health: A Cross-sectional Survey.

Objective: Oral hygiene practices vary as per different personalities. The objective of this study was to evaluate the oral health status of mothers of various personality traits and its influence on their child's oral health. Materials and methods: The present study was a cross-sectional survey conducted among 450 mothers of 20-40 years having child of 3-7 years. "Eysenck Personality Questionnaire" was given to all the mothers to classify them into four different personality traits, i.e., Extroversion, Neuroticism, Lie scale, and Psychoticism; followed by an assessment of oral health status of both mothers and their child. Collected data were compiled in MS-Excel sheet and subjected to statistical analysis. Results: Results were statistically analyzed with the analysis of variance (ANOVA). For pairwise intergroup multiple comparisons, post hoc Tukey test was applied. Association of child's oral health status with mother's oral health with respect to four different personality traits was done by linear regression analysis. From the present study it was seen that severity of dental caries status was more in psychoticism group as compared to other personality groups (p < 0.05) for mothers as well as children. Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S) was seen to be statistically significant with highest mean in Lie scale group. Conclusion: From the present study, it was concluded that there is a positive correlation with mother's personality traits and oral health status of mothers and their children. How to cite this article: Khobragade VR, Vishwakarma P, Dodamani AS, et al. Oral Health Status of Mothers According to Different Personality Traits and Influence on their Child's Oral Health: A Cross-sectional Survey. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(3):316-321.

Impact of COVID-19 on Dentistry.

Pandemic situations always impose devastating aftereffects on communities and cause chronic damaging effects on the healthcare system. Novel coronavirus disese-2019 (COVID-19) which has originated in China (Wuhan) is nowadays an emerging threat to public health across the world. It is spreading worldwide so rapidly and has started infecting people in all possible ways. Several dental care facilities in affected countries are completely closed or have been only providing minimal treatment for emergency cases since the whole lockdown has been announced. However, in some affected countries, they are still providing regular dental treatment. This discrepancy could be because of the dearth of proper awareness, knowledge, protocol, or guidelines. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Kshirsagar MM, Dodamani AS, Deokar RN, et al. Impact of COVID-19 on Dentistry. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2021;14(5):711-714.

Teledentistry: A New Horizon in COVID-19 Pandemic for Oral Health.

Currently, all of us are experiencing emotions, thoughts, and situations we have never experienced before. It is not that there were no pandemics earlier. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, health issues are growing. It has shaken the entire world and created global panic. In a way, it is affecting oral health also. Taking care of oral health is as important as looking after physical health. There is a need for a range of treatments to anticipate oral health issues. Strategies to combat these oral health issues should use options like teledentistry to develop effective methods of support. How to cite this article: Kshirsagar MM, Dodamani AS, Dodamani GA, et al. Teledentistry: A New Horizon in COVID-19 Pandemic for Oral Health. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2021;14(3):441-442.

A Class of Valuable (Pro-)Activity-Based Protein Profiling Probes: Application to the Redox-Active Antiplasmodial Agent, Plasmodione.

Plasmodione (PD) is a potent antimalarial redox-active drug acting at low nM range concentrations on different malaria parasite stages. In this study, in order to determine the precise PD protein interactome in parasites, we developed a class of (pro-)activity-based protein profiling probes (ABPP) as precursors of photoreactive benzophenone-like probes based on the skeleton of PD metabolites (PDO) generated in a cascade of redox reactions. Under UV-photoirradiation, we clearly demonstrate that benzylic oxidation of 3-benzylmenadione 11 produces the 3-benzoylmenadione probe 7, allowing investigation of the proof-of-concept of the ABPP strategy with 3-benzoylmenadiones 7-10. The synthesized 3-benzoylmenadiones, probe 7 with an alkyne group or probe 9 with -NO2 in para position of the benzoyl chain, were found to be the most efficient photoreactive and clickable probes. In the presence of various H-donor partners, the UV-irradiation of the photoreactive ABPP probes generates different adducts, the expected "benzophenone-like" adducts (pathway 1) in addition to "benzoxanthone" adducts (via two other pathways, 2 and 3). Using both human and Plasmodium falciparum glutathione reductases, three protein ligand binding sites were identified following photolabeling with probes 7 or 9. The photoreduction of 3-benzoylmenadiones (PDO and probe 9) promoting the formation of both the corresponding benzoxanthone and the derived enone could be replaced by the glutathione reductase-catalyzed reduction step. In particular, the electrophilic character of the benzoxanthone was evidenced by its ability to alkylate heme, as a relevant event supporting the antimalarial mode of action of PD. This work provides a proof-of-principle that (pro-)ABPP probes can generate benzophenone-like metabolites enabling optimized activity-based protein profiling conditions that will be instrumental to analyze the interactome of early lead antiplasmodial 3-benzylmenadiones displaying an original and innovative mode of action.

Impact of Covid-19 on Mental Health: An Overview.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) pandemic is a major threat to public health worldwide; it has been identified as originating in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. It has spread across the globe, causing an outbreak of acute infectious pneumonia. Such a global outbreak is associated with adverse effects on mental health. Fear, stress and anxiety seem more definitely an outcome of mass quarantine. METHODS: Keeping this pandemic situation in mind, existing literature on the COVID-19 crisis relevant to mental health was redeemed via a literature search from the PubMed database. Collected published articles were summarized according to their overall themes. RESULTS: Preliminary evidence suggests that symptoms of self-reported stress, anxiety and depression have a common psychological impact due to the pandemic, and may be associated with disrupted sleep. Regional, state and National-international borders have almost been shut down, economies crashed, and billions of people quarantined or isolated at their own homes and quarantine centers. In this situational frame of covid-19, patients, frontline health-care professionals anf geriatric population with existing psychiatric conditions may be encountering further suffering. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 will continue to affect mental health, which plays an important role in battling the epidemic. With the scare of the COVID-19 pandemic on the rise, it is time that psychiatrists should try to integrate the health-care services keeping mental health at prime.

Comparative Assessment of Antibacterial Efficacy of Commercially Available Different Dental Gels: An In-vitro Study.

BACKGROUND: The topical routes of administering drugs have certain visible advantages, such as the direct application of a drug to the site of action and persistence of action for a prolonged duration. More stability and better application property of gel allow its use for topical application. OBJECTIVES: To determine and compare antibacterial efficacy of commercially available different dental gels. METHODS: For the evaluation of the antibacterial efficacy of commercially available different antiseptic gels on Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus, well-diffusion method was used. To assess the antibacterial efficacy after incubation in an appropriate culture medium, diameter of zone of inhibition was measured. RESULTS: Maximum zone of inhibition was found with Cure next gel (40 mm,40mm) followed by Hexigel (30 mm, 21mm), Mucopain (17 mm, 17mm), and Dologel (7 mm, 16mm) against S. mutans and L. acidophilus, respectively. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Post Hoc Test were used to analyze results statistically. The difference between commercially available different dental gels was statistically significant (P < 0.001) at a 5%. CONCLUSION: In the present study, it was observed that Curenext gel was more effective, followed by Hexigel, Mucopain gel, and Dologel on S. Mutans and L. Acidophilus.

Comparative evaluation of webinar, powerpoint presentation and lecture as oral health educational interventions among school children: a randomized controlled trial.

The study compared the effectiveness of three teaching methods on the oral health status of high school children. The study population of 791 school children selected from three different schools was randomly allocated to one of three intervention groups: (i) Webinar group (Online presentation)-260 subjects, (ii) Face to Face lecture using PowerPoint presentation (F2F PP group)-261 subjects and (iii) Control group (Only lecture)-270 subjects. Subjects from the Webinar group and F2F PP group received oral health education at an interval of 15 days starting from baseline. Subjects from the control group received oral health education only at baseline. Oral Hygiene Index (OHI) and Gingival Index (GI) were measured at baseline, at 1 month, 2 months' and 3 months' interval. OHI and GI showed a significant reduction (P = 0.001) in the Webinar group and F2F PP group; However, in the control group, OHI and GI reduced from baseline till second month and showed an increase at 3 months' interval. F2F PP group showed a maximum reduction in OHI and GI followed by the Webinar group. It can be concluded that F2F PowerPoint-based oral health education was most effective followed by the webinar method.

Optimizing Circulating Tumor Cells' Capture Efficiency of Magnetic Nanogels by Transferrin Decoration.

Magnetic nanogels (MNGs) are designed to have all the required features for their use as highly efficient trapping materials in the challenging task of selectively capturing circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from the bloodstream. Advantageously, the discrimination of CTCs from hematological cells, which is a key factor in the capturing process, can be optimized by finely tuning the polymers used to link the targeting moiety to the MNG. We describe herein the relationship between the capturing efficiency of CTCs with overexpressed transferrin receptors and the different strategies on the polymer used as linker to decorate these MNGs with transferrin (Tf). Heterobifunctional polyethylene glycol (PEG) linkers with different molecular weights were coupled to Tf in different ratios. Optimal values over 80% CTC capture efficiency were obtained when 3 PEG linkers with a length of 8 ethylene glycol (EG) units were used, which reveals the important role of the linker in the design of a CTC-sorting system.

Antibacterial activity of garlic extract on cariogenic bacteria: An in vitro study.

BACKGROUND: Garlic (Allium Sativum) is ubiquitous, small and commonly used spice for processing food. There are many types of garlic and differ in shape, size, color, taste, number of cloves per bulb and storability. OBJECTIVES: To determine and compare the antibacterial activity of soft neck and hard neck species of garlic against cariogenic bacteria (Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The well diffusion method was used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of garlic against Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus. After incubation in an appropriate culture medium, diameter of zone of inhibition was measured to assess the antibacterial efficacy of garlic extract. Chlorhexidine mouthwash (ICPA HEALTH PRODUCTS LTD.) was kept as control group. Results were statistically analyzed using Kruskal Wallis test and independent 't' test. Thus, zone of inhibition (in mm) was analyzed using mean of all the readings obtained and the level of significance at <0.05 was considered statistically significant at 5% of level of significance. RESULTS: Maximum zone of inhibition was found with hard neck garlic extract (24mm) followed by soft neck garlic extract (18mm) and Chlorhexidine (17mm) against Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus. CONCLUSION: Action of garlic against Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus raises the possibility that it can be used for dental caries and other oral infections possibly.

Designing Multicomponent Nanosystems for Rapid Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells.

Detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the blood circulation holds immense promise as it predicts the overall probability of patient survival. Therefore, CTC-based technologies are gaining prominence as a "liquid biopsy" for cancer diagnostics and prognostics. Here, we describe the design and synthesis of two distinct multicomponent magnetic nanosystems for rapid capture and detection of CTCs. The multifunctional Magneto-Dendrimeric Nano System (MDNS) composed of an anchoring dendrimer that is conjugated to multiple agents such as near infrared (NIR) fluorescent cyanine 5 NHS (Cy5), glutathione (GSH), transferrin (Tf), and iron oxide (Fe3O4) magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) for simultaneous tumor cell-specific affinity, multimodal high resolution confocal imaging, and cell isolation. The second nanosystem is a self-propelled microrocket that is composed of carbon nanotube (CNT), chemically conjugated with targeting ligand such as transferrin on the outer surface and Fe3O4 nanoparticles in the inner surface. The multicomponent nanosystems described here are highly efficient in targeting and isolating cancer cells thus benefiting early diagnosis and therapy of cancer.

Manganese-mediated MRI signals correlate with functional ß-cell mass during diabetes progression.

Diabetes diagnostic therapy and research would strongly benefit from noninvasive accurate imaging of the functional ß-cells in the pancreas. Here, we developed an analysis of functional ß-cell mass (BCM) by measuring manganese (Mn(2+)) uptake kinetics into glucose-stimulated ß-cells by T1-weighted in vivo Mn(2+)-mediated MRI (MnMRI) in C57Bl/6J mice. Weekly MRI analysis during the diabetes progression in mice fed a high-fat/high-sucrose diet (HFD) showed increased Mn(2+)-signals in the pancreas of the HFD-fed mice during the compensation phase, when glucose tolerance and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) were improved and BCM was increased compared with normal diet-fed mice. The increased signal was only transient; from the 4th week on, MRI signals decreased significantly in the HFD group, and the reduced MRI signal in HFD mice persisted over the whole 12-week experimental period, which again correlated with both impaired glucose tolerance and GSIS, although BCM remained unchanged. Rapid and significantly decreased MRI signals were confirmed in diabetic mice after streptozotocin (STZ) injection. No long-term effects of Mn(2+) on glucose tolerance were observed. Our optimized MnMRI protocol fulfills the requirements of noninvasive MRI analysis and detects already small changes in the functional BCM.

MST1 is a key regulator of beta cell apoptosis and dysfunction in diabetes.

Apoptotic cell death is a hallmark of the loss of insulin-producing beta cells in all forms of diabetes mellitus. Current treatments fail to halt the decline in functional beta cell mass, and strategies to prevent beta cell apoptosis and dysfunction are urgently needed. Here, we identified mammalian sterile 20-like kinase-1 (MST1) as a critical regulator of apoptotic beta cell death and function. Under diabetogenic conditions, MST1 was strongly activated in beta cells in human and mouse islets and specifically induced the mitochondrial-dependent pathway of apoptosis through upregulation of the BCL-2 homology-3 (BH3)-only protein BIM. MST1 directly phosphorylated the beta cell transcription factor PDX1 at T11, resulting in the latter's ubiquitination and degradation and thus in impaired insulin secretion. MST1 deficiency completely restored normoglycemia, beta cell function and survival in vitro and in vivo. We show MST1 as a proapoptotic kinase and key mediator of apoptotic signaling and beta cell dysfunction and suggest that it may serve as target for the development of new therapies for diabetes.