A histological study of the atria in patients with isolated rheumatic mitral regurgitation with and without atrial fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: There is a high incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with isolated rheumatic mitral regurgitation (MR). The histopathologic changes in the atria of patients with isolated rheumatic MR with and without AF are unknown. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine the histological findings in patients with isolated severe rheumatic MR with and without AF. METHODS: Patients with severe isolated rheumatic MR undergoing valve replacement surgeries underwent endocardial biopsies from right atrial appendage, left atrial appendage, right free wall, left free wall, left posterior wall, and mitral valve. Group I consisted of patients in sinus rhythm (SR), and Group II included patients with AF. We analyzed and compared these 10 histological features in the biopsies of patients in Groups I and II. RESULTS: Of the 25 patients, 12 were in Group I and 13 in Group II. In Group I, patients had severe myocyte hypertrophy (60% vs. 18%, p = .04) that was significantly more in the right atrium (22.7% vs. 11.4%, p = .059). Interstitial adipose tissue deposition was more common in Group I (30% vs. 25%, p = .06). Interstitial fibrosis was evenly distributed at all sites without significant difference between the two groups. Group II patients had a higher prevalence and severity of vacuolar degeneration (91% vs. 60%, p = .09). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with isolated severe rheumatic MR and AF have more vacuolar degeneration in the atrial tissue. Patients with SR have myocyte hypertrophy and interstitial adipose tissue deposition. Interstitial fibrosis is uniformly distributed in patients in SR and AF.

Nanochitosan modified glass ionomer cement with enhanced mechanical properties and fluoride release.

Conventional glass-ionomer cements (GIC) are one of the most prevalent dental restorative materials, but their use is limited by their relatively low mechanical strength. Efforts have been made to improve the mechanical properties by addition of various fillers of which nano-sized particles appears to be a promising strategy. In the current study, effect of addition of nanochitosan particles in GIC (NCH-GIC) on compressive strength, flexural strength, wear resistance and fluoride release has been evaluated and compared with conventional GIC (C-GIC). Nanochitosan was synthesized by ionic cross linking method and its particle size was found to be 110-235nm. Nanochitosan was mixed with glass ionomer powder at a concentration of 10wt.% and cement samples were prepared. NCH-GIC had significantly higher compressive strength values which could be attributed to early formation of aluminium polysalts. Similarly, flexural strength of NCH-GIC (21.26MPa) was significantly higher than C-GIC (12.67MPa). Wear resistance was also found to increase due to better integrated interface between the glass particle and polymer matrix bonding in NCH-GIC. Fluoride release was significantly higher in NCH-GIC compared to C-GIC for 7 days. It can be anticipated that addition of nanochitosan to GIC will improve the anti-cariogenic and mechanical properties for high strength applications.

Synthesis of novel pyrazolo[3,4-b]quinolinyl acetamide analogs, their evaluation for antimicrobial and anticancer activities, validation by molecular modeling and CoMFA analysis.

A series of novel alkyl amide functionalized 2,3-pyrazole fused quinoline derivatives 5, 6 and 7 have been prepared starting from quinoline-2(1H)one 1 in a series of steps. All the final products were screened for antibacterial activity, the promising lead compound 5r was identified with MIC values ranging between 3.9 and 7.8 µg/mL against different bacterial strains. Compound 5r also showed good antifungal and anti-biofilm activities against the tested panel of various fungal and bacterial strains. Compound 5r when treated on mature biofilms of S. aureus strain MLS16, showed increased levels of intracellular ROS accumulation suggesting its contribution to the bactericidal activity. All the compounds were also screened for anticancer activity against a panel of four human cancer cell lines. Based on these studies, compounds 5c, 5d, 5r and 7f were considered as promising and exhibited significant cytotoxicity with IC50 values of <15 µM. The biological activity data was further validated by molecular modeling and CoMFA studies.

Synthesis of novel triazole/isoxazole functionalized 7-(trifluoromethyl)pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives as promising anticancer and antibacterial agents.

A series of novel 1,2,3-triazole/isoxazole functionalized pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives 6a-c, 7a-h and 8a-e were prepared in series of synthetic steps. All the compounds screened for the anticancer activity against four human cancer cell lines using Nocodazole as standard. Compounds 7d and 7h showed highest activity against PANC-1 (pancreatic cancer) and A549 (lung cancer) cell lines respectively and more than standard. All the compounds also screened for antibacterial activity using Rifampicin and Ciprofloxacin as standards and identified promising compounds further evaluated for minimum inhibitory concentration to validate the data.

The effects of severe iron-deficiency anaemia on maternal and neonatal outcomes: A case-control study in an inner-city London hospital.

This case-control study investigates the effects of severe iron-deficiency anaemia in pregnancy on maternal and neonatal outcomes in a relatively deprived inner-city population in a North London hospital. The study group comprised of 106 women with haemoglobin (Hb) < 8 g/dl at any point during pregnancy, while controls were 106 women with Hb > 11 g/dl throughout pregnancy. The study group lost an average of 80 ml more blood at delivery (p = 0.032) and had higher rates of postpartum haemorrhage than the control group (27 vs 12 patients, p = 0.012). However, anaemia did not appear to influence other maternal or neonatal outcomes; these may have been confounded by antenatal intervention with oral haematinics or blood transfusion.

3,3'-[(4-Nitro-phen-yl)methyl-ene]bis-(4-hy-droxy-2H-chromen-2-one).

The molecular conformation of the title compound, C(25)H(15)NO(8), is stabilized by strong intramolecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, resulting in the formation of S(1) (1)(7) ring motifs. In the crystal, π-π stacking inter-actions are observed between adjacent nitrobenzene and pyranone rings with a centroid-centroid distance of 3.513 (12) Å. The dihedral angles between the nitrobenzene ring and the coumarin ring systems are 65.61 (8) and 66.11 (8)° while the coumarin ring systems are inclined at 65.69 (8)°.

Shear bond strengths of two dentin bonding agents with two desensitizers: An in vitro study.

AIM: The aim of this in vitro study was to compare the shear bond strengths of two different dentin bonding agents with two different desensitizers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty molars were taken which were ground to expose the dentin. The teeth were divided into two major groups. Each major group was subdivided into four subgroups of 10 samples each. Groups Ia and IIa were treated as dry bonding groups, groups Ib and IIb were treated as a moist bonding groups, groups Ic and IIc were rewetted with Gluma desensitizer, and groups Id and IId were rewetted with vivasens desensitizer. Major group I was treated with Gluma comfort bond and Charisma. Major group II was treated Prime and Bond NT and TPH. The samples were thermo cycled and shear bond test was performed using an Instron machine. The data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and Tukey's Honestly significant different test. RESULTS: The results revealed that the specimens rewetted with Gluma desensitizer showed the highest shear bond strength compared to all other groups, irrespective of the bonding agent or composite resin used. CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that rewetting with desensitizer provided better bond strength than the other groups.

(Z)-2-(4-Nitro-benzyl-idene)-1-benzofuran-3(2H)-one.

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C(15)H(9)NO(4), weak C-H⋯O inter-actions generate rings with R(2) (2)(8) motifs. The supra-molecular aggregation is completed by the presence of C-H⋯O and van der Waals inter-actions.

Trends in the obstetric features and management of twin pregnancies.

There are no reports outlining the trends in obstetric features and clinical management of twin pregnancies in an Irish obstetric population. The aim of this study was to investigate these factors for all twin pregnancies delivered during the 19 year period between 1989 and 2007, at Galway University Hospital (GUH). There were 52,199 infants delivered at GUH, of which 1594 infants (3.05% of births) were twins, related to 797 twin pregnancies. The overall incidence of twin pregnancies was 1.52%, increasing from 0.8%-1.0% in the early years of the study to 1.7-1.8% in the latter years of the study (P<0.001). There was a significant increase in incidence of twins born to mothers aged 30-39 years, alongside a significant reduction to mothers aged 20-29 years (P<0.01). The caesarean section rate overall was 41.5% (331/797), of which 54% (n=179) were elective, and 46% (n=152) were emergency, representing an emergency caesarean section rate of 19.1% of all twin pregnancies, and of 24.6% after exclusion of elective caesarean sections. The caesarean section rate for twins increased from 30% in 1989 to greater than 50% in the latter years of the study (P<0.01), related largely to a significant increase in elective caesarean sections (P<0.01). The combined vaginal-caesarean delivery rate was remarkably low at 0.75% of all twin pregnancies, and 1% after exclusion of elective caesarean sections. The preterm delivery rates were 4.1% (<32 weeks), and 16.3% (<36 weeks), with an overall perinatal mortality rate of 37 per 1000. These findings highlight the altered demographic and clinical aspects of twin pregnancies in an Irish obstetric population.