Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome and Association of AHI Scores with Sensorineural Hearing Loss: An Early Predictor.

Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is a condition that is characterised by frequent apnoea and hypopnoea attacks occurring during sleep. The blood supply to cochlea and acoustic nerves is from terminal arteries, thereby making them susceptible to hypoxia. To compare the audiological profiles in patients with OSAS according to Apnoea Hypopnoea index (AHI) score. Descriptive study was conducted in 32 patients diagnosed to have OSAS in a tertiary referral centre over two year period. The study group was divided into mild, moderate, severe OSAS based on AHI score. The hearing evaluation was done using pure tone audiogram (PTA) and distortion product otoacoustic emission test (DPOAE). Moderate and severe OSAS participants had elevated thresholds at higher frequencies in PTA (4 kHz, 8 kHz), although this was not statistically significant. We also noticed, absent DPOAE responses at higher frequencies (4 k, 6 k, 8 k), with increase in the severity of OSAS at higher frequency, which was statistically significant (p value < 0.05). This study revealed elevated hearing thresholds at higher frequencies (4 kHz, 8 kHz) in PTA and DPOEA with an increase in the severity of OSAS. All OSAS patients, especially with AHI > 30 should be regularly screened for hearing loss.

Assessing the Quality of Long-Term Stored Tissues in Formalin and in Paraffin-Embedded Blocks for Histopathological Analysis.

Introduction: Formalin is the most commonly used fixative which enables for long-term storage of specimens and preserves morphologic features allowing the microscopic evaluation for future research analysis. Archival collections of the tissue serve as a reliable tool for diagnostic research purpose. They have an important role in on-going patient care, allows for evaluation of recurrent cases for diagnostic purpose and rare case specimens can also be used as an educational tool as well as for further biomedical research purposes. However, studies assessing quality and their usefulness for such purposes are scanty. Hence, the present study is aimed at evaluating and comparing the tissue changes after long-term storage in formalin as well as in paraffin-embedded blocks. Methodology: Three study groups include specimens stored in formalin for a minimum of 5 years (long-term fixed tissue) and their corresponding paraffin-embedded old tissue blocks along with freshly fixed tissues taken as controls which were subjected to routine histopathological procedures and were assessed for macroscopic and microscopic evaluation.Chi-square test and Z-proportion tests were considered for statistical analysis. Results: Prolonged storage of the tissues in formalin showed variation in color and consistency, difficulty in cutting during grossing with inadequate sectioning characters, loss of tissue integrity and architecture, and inadequate nuclear and cytoplasmic details. Conclusion: On histological analysis, prolonged formalin-stored specimens showed deleterious effects than archival blocks. Hence, it can be proposed that tissues are better preserved in paraffin blocks rather than in formalin for further biomedical research purposes.

Cheiloscopy and dermatoglyphics in normal and obese individuals: A study in Indian subpopulation.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of obesity has been steadily increasing worldwide. Reliable and noninvasive tools that can be used to diagnose such conditions may help us in mass screening and prevention. Finger prints and lip prints have been used as the genetic markers in some diseases such as diabetes mellitus. Studies to correlate a possible association of such markers among obese individuals have not been reported in India to date. The present study was conducted to determine and compare the lip print and finger print patterns in normal and obese individuals and also to evaluate any possible correlation between the lip prints and finger prints in both the study groups. METHODOLOGY: Lip and finger print patterns of 100 obese and equal number of age- and sex-matched healthy individuals were analyzed. Right thumb, right index, left thumb and left index finger prints were evaluated. Gender-wise comparison was also made. RESULTS: Lip prints revealed no significant difference between obese and nonobese individuals. Predominant Type I lip print was observed in both the study groups. Comparison of finger prints between obese and nonobese individuals revealed a highly significant results for all the fingers. Predominant finger print patterns in the right thumb, right index, left thumb and left index among obese individuals were whorl (51%), loop (83%), whorl (79%) and arch (74%), respectively. No correlation between the lip prints and finger prints was noted. CONCLUSION: Finger prints in the obese individuals showed significant differences when compared to the normal controls while lip prints failed to reveal any significant difference. Lip prints did not correlate with the finger prints. Right thumb revealed a significant gender difference among obese individuals.

Effect of Ocimum sanctum extract on leukemic cell lines: A preliminary in-vitro study.

BACKGROUND: Surge of cancer incidence, effects of chemotherapeutic agents and their cost and reduced survival and responsiveness to treatment have led to shift of attention of researchers toward herbal remedies to look for newer dimension in cancer therapy. Ocimum sanctum, Holy Basil or Tulsi, holiest herb well used in the Indian household, has drawn much attention toward its various health benefits, especially anti-cancer property. The present study was carried out to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of O. sanctum on leukemic cell lines K562. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Dry and aqueous extracts of two types of Tulsi leaves (Rama Tulsi and Krishna Tulsi) were evaluated for a dose-dependent cytotoxicity and anti-proliferative against K562 cell lines, leukoerythroid progenitor leukemic cell lines by 3-(4,5-dimethythiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay. Half-maximal inhibitory concentration was evaluated for each of the extracts. RESULTS: Both dry and aqueous extracts of both types of Tulsi leaves demonstrated a significant amount of cytotoxicity against the studied cell lines. CONCLUSION: This being preliminary study, we propose the initial finding of cytotoxic abilities of the herb against the leukemic cell lines and recommend a more detailed evaluation of the herb and its components.

Comparison of staining adequacy between tissues stored in formalin and paraffin embedded blocks for prolonged duration.

INTRODUCTION: Tissues submitted for histopathological diagnoses are routinely fixed in formaldehyde fixative which facilitates tissue storage for the extended period of time for further investigation or research purpose. The literature has reliable data relating to immunohistochemistry and molecular studies done using tissue fixed in formalin for longer duration and in paraffin-embedded tissue blocks. We have attempted to evaluate staining adequacy of archival specimens using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and trichrome stains. METHODOLOGY: We compared staining adequacy in tissues stored in formalin for a minimum period of 5 years labeled as long term fixed tissues (LFT) and corresponding 5-year-old paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of same cases available in the archives designated as old tissue blocks (OTB), along with freshly fixed tissues (FFT) used as controls. Fifty-one tissue sections in each study group were stained with H&E, Mallory's trichrome and Van Giesons' and microscopic evaluation was carried out using Research Microscope B × 51. RESULTS: Staining adequacy of the tissue sections was found to be superior in FFT, followed by OTB and LFT using all three stains. Staining for H&E, was found to be superior as compared to trichrome stains. CONCLUSION: Trichrome stains were poorly demonstrated in LFT indicating the possible alteration in protein structure and tissue architecture in LFT whereas H&E, stained LFT specimens showed relatively good staining character. Hence, OTB proved to be better as compared to LFT in terms of staining quality and hence archiving tissue in paraffin embedded tissue blocks serve as valuable bio-bank and source for prospective studies.

Bcl-2 expression in reactive oral lesions with atypical epithelium and in oral epithelial dysplasia associated with carcinogen exposure.

BACKGROUND: Reactive lesions of the oral cavity are nonneoplastic proliferations with very similar appearance to benign neoplastic lesions and are associated with chronic local irritation or trauma. Although these lesions are uncommonly associated with carcinogen exposure, at times, they present histopathologically with dysplastic epithelium, thus making it difficult to differentiate it from true potentially malignant disorders. Hence, the present study was conducted to evaluate the expression of Bcl-2 protein, an antiapoptotic marker, in reactive lesions with and without atypical epithelium and in true epithelial dysplasia, which clinically presents as premalignant disorders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The samples included 15 cases each of normal oral mucosa (NOM), reactive lesions with and without dysplasia and oral epithelial dysplasia (OED) associated with carcinogen exposure. All the samples were subjected to immunohistochemical staining using Bcl-2 antibody. The total number of cells in the basal and parabasal layers in each field and total number of cells expressing Bcl-2 among them and the staining intensity were assessed. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA test was used to compare the number of positive cells among the four groups. The comparison of average percentage of positive cells between the study groups was done using Mann-Whitney U-test. RESULTS: The immunohistochemical staining for Bcl-2 protein was identified in few cells in the basal layers of NOM, reactive lesions without atypical epithelium and in the basal and parabasal layers in reactive lesions with atypical epithelium and OED, as a granular cytoplasmic staining and as an accentuation around the nuclear membrane. There was a gradual increase in the expression and intensity of staining from Group I to IV. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSION: The altered or increased expression of Bcl-2 oncoprotein in reactive lesions with atypical epithelium and in OED with carcinogen exposure may lead to prolonged cell survival and can be considered as an early molecular event in carcinogenesis, helping us in understanding the nature of dysplasia in reactive lesions, which was not considered during the histopathology reporting.

Implementation of Software Agents and Advanced AoA for Disease Data Analysis.

To eliminate the possibilities of getting various contradicting solutions to a single problem during diagnosis, a single regular Agent oriented Approach (AoA) is replaced by Intelligent Artificial Agents that act like human and even dynamically decide in any situations known as Intelligent Searching Approach (ISA) is proposed. These agents are used to analyse the medical forums and results or findings are derived accurately than any manual approach. Multiple Agents have been used to analyse the blogs by dividing the work areas and communicating themselves using Agent Communication Language (ACL) and FIPA. The local solutions thus formed are forwarded to a global agent. This Global Agent controls all operations and makes the decision about the best solution. As the Global Agent controls all other agents, it eradicates unwanted and ineffective communication between the various local agents and hence keeping the time taken for communication at the minimum level. Based on these solutions a prioritization matrix is formed using advanced clustering techniques to create a prioritized content of suggested best solutions. Once the decision is made, the refining process runs several times recursively checking for all possible better solutions solving the input. On completion of this process, the Global Agent returns the exact result of the discussion. This process saves time rather than researching the entire blog for result data. This advanced approach lights a different way of obtaining solution keeping the time taken for discussion and intercommunication between the agents to the minimal level but not compromising on the perfection of the solution at the same time.

Bioconjugated nano-bactericidal complex for potent activity against human and phytopathogens with concern of global drug resistant crisis.

The present study emphasizes the need for novel antimicrobial agents to combat the global drug resistant crisis. The development of novel nanomaterials is reported to be of the alternative tool to combat drug resistant pathogens. In present investigation, bioconjugated nano-complex was developed from secondary metabolite secreted from endosymbiont. The endosymbiont capable of secreting antimicrobial metabolite was subjected to fermentation and the culture supernatant was assessed for purification of antimicrobial metabolite via bio-assay guided fraction techniques such as thin layer chromatography (TLC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and column chromatography. The metabolite was characterized as 2,4-Diacetylphloroglucinol (2,4 DAPG) which was used to develop bioconjugated nano-complex by treating with 1 mM silver nitrate under optimized conditions. The purified metabolite 2,4 DAPG reduced silver nitrate to form bioconjugated nano-complex to form association with silver nanoparticles. The oxidized form of DAPG consists of four hard ligands that can conjugate on to the surface of silver nanoparticles cluster. The bioconjugation was confirmed with UV-visible spectroscopy which displayed the shift and shoulder peak in the absorbance spectra. This biomolecular interaction was further determined by the Fourier-transform spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses which displayed different signals ascertaining the molecular binding of 2,4,DAPG with silver nanoparticles. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis revealed the cluster formation due to bioconjugation. The XRD analysis revealed the crystalline nature of nano-complex with the characteristic peaks indexed to Bragg's reflection occurring at 2θ angle which indicated the (111), (200), (220) and (311) planes. The activity of bioconjugated nano-complex was tested against 12 significant human and phytopathogens. Among all the test pathogens, Shigella flexneri (MTCC 1457) was the most sensitive organisms with 38.33 ±â€¯0.33 zone of inhibition. The results obtained in the present investigation attribute development of nano-complex as one of the effective tools against multi-drug resistant infections across the globe.

Estimation of salivary Candida albicans counts in asthmatic adult patients taking anti-asthmatic medication for 3-5 years.

BACKGROUND: Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of airways. The disease itself along with the principal medication used makes the oral cavity susceptible to most common opportunistic infection, i.e., oral candidiasis. There are many species of Candida causing oral candidiasis, but the most prevalent among them is Candida albicans. Hence, assessing C. albicans count in response to disease and its treatment is necessary. This enables us to educate asthma patients about side effects of medication and highlight the necessity for oral health care, thereby improving their quality of life. AIMS: The present study aims to evaluate the effects of asthma and its medication on C. albicans count in saliva samples of asthmatic adult patients taking medication for 3-5 years and compare C. albicans count in saliva samples among cases and controls. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty asthmatic adults taking medication for asthma since 3-5 years' age ranging from 20 to 50 years and equal number of age- and sex-matched healthy participants were included in the study. In both groups, saliva was collected and inoculated on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar culture plates for estimation of C. albicans counts. C. albicans counts were assessed in colony-forming unit/milliliter. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Mann-Whitney U-test and Fisher's exact t-test were used. RESULTS: The C. albicans count is significantly higher among asthmatics than healthy individuals. CONCLUSIONS: The present study concludes that there is increased candidal growth among asthmatics as compared to their normal healthy counterpart.

Nitrogen doped carbon dots derived from Sargassum fluitans as fluorophore for DNA detection.

This work focused on the use of waste seaweed Sargassum fluitans (S. fluitans) as carbon source precursor to prepare nitrogen doped carbon dots (NCDs) by hydrothermal method. High resolution transmission electron microscopic (HR-TEM) studies revealed that the synthesized water soluble NCDs are in the size range of 2-8nm and exhibits excellent fluorescent properties with a quantum yield of 18.2%. Elemental nitrogen in NCDs was evidenced by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transformed infrared spectrum (FT-IR). The phytochemical analysis of S. fluitans using 1H NMR and 13C NMR revealed the presence of few amino acids which act as nitrogen source in the preparation of NCDs. Application of NCDs as fluorophore for double stranded DNA, single stranded DNA and RNA detection was highlighted in this study. Excellent fluorescent tagging abilities of NCDs with the biological nucleic acids were evidenced using gel electrophoresis. Significant increase in fluorescence was observed upon tagging of NCDs with nucleic acids and this particular phenomenon helps better in visualizing the nucleic acids. All three nucleic acids i.e. double stranded DNA, single stranded DNA and RNA showed similar phenomenon upon tagging with NCDs. Thus synthesized NCDs may be used as an alternate fluorophore for commercial toxic organic staining agents to visualize nucleic acids.

Myofibroblasts: Master of disguise.

Myofibroblasts are the unique population of smooth muscle-like fibroblasts. These cells have a role in growth factors secretion, matrix deposition and degradation. Thereby, myofibroblast contributes in both human physiology and pathology. This review explains the myofibroblastic lesions, imperative role of myofibroblasts in organogenesis, repair, regeneration, inflammation and tumorigenesis.

Halitosis - An overview: Part-I - Classification, etiology, and pathophysiology of halitosis.

Halitosis is a condition where the breath is altered in an unpleasant manner for the affected individuals and impairs them socially as well as psychologically. Halitosis can be clinically classified as real halitosis, pseudohalitosis, and halitophobia. Real halitosis has oral and extra-oral etiologies and the pathophysiology involves interaction of anaerobic microbes (mainly) with the proteins present in the oral cavity fluids and contents, resulting in production of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs). These VSCs, beyond responsible for halitosis, can also initiate and accelerate periodontal disease progression. Thus, this review is about the pathophysiology and various etiologies of halitosis, the knowledge of which can help in the betterment of treatment options.

Extracellular synthesis of silver nanoparticles by novel Pseudomonas veronii AS41G inhabiting Annona squamosa L. and their bactericidal activity.

In present investigation extracellular synthesis of silver nanoparticles were synthesized using cell free supernatant of Pseudomonas veronii AS41G isolated from Annona squamosa L. The bacterium significantly reduced silver nitrate to generate silver nanoparticles which was characterized with hyphenated techniques. Synthesis of silver nanoparticles preliminary confirmed by UV-Visible spectrophotometry with the intense peak at 410nm, Further FTIR analysis revealed the possible role of biomolecules in the supernatant responsible for mediating the nanoparticles formation. The XRD spectra exhibited the characteristic Bragg peaks of 100, 111, 200, and 220 facets of the face centred cubic symmetry of nanoparticles suggesting that these nanoparticles were crystalline in nature. TEM microgram showed polydispersity of nanoparticles with size ranging from 5 to 50nm. Synthesized silver nanoparticles showed antibacterial activity against human and environmental pathogens including MRSA. The study enlightens the role of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles as an emerging alternative for drug resistant microorganisms. The obtained results are promising enough to pave the environmentally benign nanoparticle synthesis processes without use of any toxic chemicals and also envision the emerging role of endophytes towards synthesis of nanoparticles. With scanty reports available on P.veronii species, a new role has been reported in this study which will be very valuable for future researchers working on it.

Possible link between glycated hemoglobin and lipid peroxidation in hyperthyroidism.

BACKGROUND: Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) levels are enhanced by elevated glucose concentrations. Glycation of hemoglobin is also modulated by lipid peroxides, ascorbic acid and reduced glutathione (GSH). We determined the strength of the relationships among these variables in a group of hyperthyroid patients. METHODS: Twenty-two untreated hyperthyroid patients and 17 healthy controls were recruited for the study. Whole blood GSH, HbA1C, plasma lipid peroxides, ascorbic acid and fasting glucose were analyzed in both the groups. Direct and partial correlation analysis was performed to explore the possible relationships between these variables. RESULTS: In hyperthyroid patients, HbA1C and lipid peroxides levels were found to be significantly increased than the controls. Ascorbic acid and GSH were decreased significantly in the test group when compared with the healthy control group. With partial correlation analysis, fasting glucose and lipid peroxides were found to have a significant positive correlation with HbA1C. Ascorbic acid and GSH showed no significant association with HbA1C levels. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that HbA1C levels are closely associated with fasting glucose and lipid peroxides in hyperthyroid patients. Therefore, serum lipid peroxides level should be kept in mind while interpreting HbA1C as a long-term glycemic index in hyperthyroid cases.