A Study to Improve the Vitamin A and Iodine Status of Pregnant Women through a Multiple Micronutrient Fortified Salt.

Background: To study the efficacy of a multiple micronutrient fortified salt enriched with iron, iodine, vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, niacin, and folic acid in improving serum retinol and iodine status of pregnant women. Methods: It was a randomized control trial in the antenatal clinic of a hospital. 151 women in the experimental group received a multiple micronutrient fortified salt to cook all their meals, and 150 women in the control group did not receive the fortified salt. Blood was collected in the three trimesters. Urine was collected in their first and third trimesters. Serum retinol, CRP (C-reactive protein), and AGP (Alpha glycoprotein) in blood were assessed, and iodine was assessed in urine. All the women were dewormed once. Results: The inflammation adjusted mean serum retinol in three trimesters in the experimental group was 24.51, 27.29, and 25.68 µg/dL, and it was 28.97, 27.63, and 22.72 µg/dL in the control group. Over the study period of 6 months, the increase in serum retinol in the experimental group was 1.17 µg/dL whereas in the control group serum retinol decreased by 6.25 µg/dL. The experimental group increase in serum retinol is significantly more (p=0.0001) than the changes in retinol in the control group. The prevalence of serum retinol deficiency in the three trimesters was 39.1%,25.8%, and 37.7% in the experimental group and 14%, 22.7%, and 39.3% in the control group, and the change in the experimental group was significant (p=0.001) compared to the control group by binary logistic regression. Over the study period of 6 months there is a significant increase in urinary iodine concentration in the experimental group (p=0.030), showing absorption of iodine from the fortified salt whereas there is a significant decline in the iodine values in the control group (p=0.008). At the end of the study, the urinary iodine concentration of the experimental group was significantly more (p=0.0001) than that of the control group. Conclusion: The fortified salt was able to improve serum retinol levels and urinary iodine levels in pregnant women. Trial Registration. This trial was registered retrospectively on 19/02/2022 in the ISRCTN registry with trial ID ISRCTN17782574.

Dyslipidaemia among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in a rural hospital in Erode district, Tamilnadu.

Dyslipldaemia In diabetes mellitus is associated with atherosclerosls and higher risk of coronary vascular disease. The study was conducted to find out the dysllpidaemia pattern in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients (n=257) who visited the diabetic clinic in a rural medical college. The patients' case records were verified. Personal data and lipid profile data were collected. The classification of lipid molety was done by adopting Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III). The difference between groups were considered as significant at p<0.05. The mean values of total cholesterol 186 mg/dl, low density Ilpoprotein (LDL) 101 mg/dl, triglycerides 173 mg/dl, high density Iipoprotein (HDL) 48 mg/dl. The most common dyslipidaemia observed in this study was hypertriglycerldaemia (56%), low HDL (52.9%), and total cholesterol/HDL ratio of >3.5 (76.7%). There was no significant difference of dyslipidaemia distribution in male and female. The study highlighted the emerging importance of LDL dyslipidaemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and there is urgent need for managing LDL dyslipidaemia. The screening for dyslipidaemia in all diabetes mellitus patient is important in all levels of healthcare settings. Considering the higher prevalence, due emphasis may be paid by healthcare practitioners for educating the patients behaviour on diet and physical activities.

Prevalence of hypertension and correlates among adults of 45-60 years in a rural area of Tamil Nadu.

Hypertension is one of the major causes of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Community based studies in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu on the prevalence of hypertension and its associated risk factors are scarce. A cross-sectional study was undertaken among a sample of 406 individuals (45-60 years) selected by the standard 30 cluster systematic random sampling technique to find out prevalence of hypertension and its associated risk factors in a rural area of Tamil Nadu. Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression were employed using SPSS package. The overall prevalence of hypertension was 33% and higher among sedentary type (41%). In bivariate analysis many of the independent variables correlated with hypertension, but in multivariate analysis, only body-mass index, family history and age remained significant.

Relationship between filler and matrix resin characteristics and the properties of uncured composite pastes.

The relationships between filler type, filler content, matrix resin composition and viscosity and the flow characteristics of composite paste formulations have been investigated. BIS-GMA and 10 experimental BIS-GMA analogues were diluted as needed with TEGDMA to produce 1000 and 2000 cp solutions corresponding to the viscosity range of commercial composite matrices. All of these resins were mixed with a silanated hybrid-filler and a silanated micro-filler. For each combination the maximum filler content was determined, as well as the paste consistencies (plasticities) at a series of filler contents. Paste consistencies were measured by a modification of the ADA specification methods developed for determining standard test consistencies for zinc phosphate and silicate cements. For each monomer-filler combination increasing filler contents resulted in monotonically reduced plasticities. The maximum filler contents appeared to be an attribute of the particular filler rather than matrix resin characteristics. For the materials used, the maximum contents were approximately 86 wt% (83 vol%) filler for the hybrid filler, and 36% wt% (24 vol%) for the microfilled material. At lower filler contents, plasticity differences unexpectedly existed even at equal filler contents and matrix viscosities. Evidence was found that the plasticity varied both with the base monomer composition and the amount of TEGDMA present. The results imply that compositional interactions between the filler and matrix influence the results when all known mechanical factors are controlled.

Characterization of some aromatic dimethacrylates for dental composite applications.

Several novel dimethacrylates have been developed as alternative matrix materials for dental composite applications. For the cured bulk polymers the equilibrium water uptake, reduction of glass transition temperatures (Tgs) by water sorption, refractive indices and the surface hardness have been determined. The properties were then compared with those of the control Bis-GMA. These properties correlated well with the structures of the polymers. Polar groups were found to increase the water sorption and thus reduce surface hardness.

Structure property relationship among novel dental composite matrix resins.

Several novel dimethacrylate monomers of propoxylated diphenols have been synthesized to establish a correlation between their structure and the important properties of viscosity, curing shrinkage and wetting behaviour. These dimethacrylates were designed to possess linear and flexed structures. These new monomers exhibited very much lower viscosities compared to the conventionally used Bis-GMA. Good correlations were obtained for variations of the monomer structures with bulk viscosities and curing shrinkages. However, the wetting behaviour of these resins did not show any trend.

Influence of hydrogen bonding on properties of BIS-GMA analogues.

The influence of chemical structure on the important properties of composite matrix resins is being systematically investigated. This study addresses the relationships between pendent side chain structures, viscosity and curing shrinkage. In particular, viscosity is known to be greatly influenced by intermolecular interactions, such as hydrogen bonding, and free volume effects. In order to establish the relative importance of these factors, analogues of BIS-GMA were synthesized in which the pendent hydroxyl groups were replaced by trimethyl siloxyl, and by dimethyl, isopropyl siloxyl groups. The viscosities were determined with a cone and plate viscometer and curing shrinkages were determined gravimetrically. They were compared to previously determined values for BIS-GMA and its methyl and hydrogen substituted analogues. The high viscosity of BIS-GMA is drastically reduced by replacement of the hydroxyl group, or its substitution by silylation. The relatively smaller effects produced by varying the bulk of the substituted side chains indicates that the main effect on viscosity is due to the presence or absence of hydrogen bonding. Conversely, increasing the bulk of the side chain substituent has less effect on viscosity, but significantly reduces the curing shrinkage. Changes in curing shrinkages were explained in terms of effects of free volumes associated with the monomers.

Effect of dilution on the kinetics of cross-linking thermal polymerization of dental composite matrix resins.

The effect of dilution of 2,2-bis-(4-(2-hydroxy-3-methacryloxyprop-1oxy) phenyl) propane (bis-GMA) with triethylene glycol demethacrylate (TEGDMA) on the extent of polymerization, Ep, has been studied using differential scanning calorimetry. The isothermal and dynamic measurements indicate that the Ep is affected dramatically by dilution. The residual polymerization was also found to be strongly influenced by dilution. However, the apparent activation energy, Eapp, was found to be independent of dilution.