Rapid Postgrafting Reaction to Prepare Quaternized Polycarbazoles.

We report a rapid postgrafting reaction to prepare alkyl ammonium functionalized polycarbazoles from a commercially available monomer. This novel synthetic approach provides benefit to preparing the high molecular weight quaternized polycarbazoles within 1 h of Friedel-Crafts polycondensation, avoiding the synthesis and purification step to prepare a functionalized monomer. The postgrafting reaction produces hexyl alkyl ammonium functionalized polycarbazole with 100% grafting degree. However, the postgrafting reaction produced only 60% grafting with propyl alkyl ammonium due to the competitive elimination reaction because of the higher acidity of ß-hydrogen in the propyl alkyl group resulting from the proximity of the bromide and ammonium groups. The hexyl alkyl ammonium functionalized polycarbazole has a high hydroxide conductivity of 103 mS cm-1 at 80 °C and showed excellent alkaline stability with less than 3% loss of ion group after 1 M NaOH treatment at 80 °C for 500 h. This study highlights that the postgrafting reaction provides a pathway for the scale-up synthesis of quaternized aryl ether-free polyaromatics.

Retrospective sequential trend analysis of neoplasms reported in a tertiary care hospital of district Etawah, Uttar Pradesh.

INTRODUCTION: An estimated 2.25 million new cancer cases with 7 lakh cancer deaths were reported, according to GLOBOCAN 2018 in India. There is a steady rise in cancer cases, but trends and patterns vary within the state depending on the geographic region. OBJECTIVES: To study the proportion and site-wise distribution of neoplasm reported at a tertiary care hospital in district Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, India. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A record based retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in district Etawah, Uttar Pradesh. Total four years (from 2015 to 2018) hospital-based retrospective data were collected from the Medical Record Department. Identification and distribution of malignant neoplasm were done according to the WHO ICD-10 classification. RESULTS: Total cases diagnosed with malignancy from January 2015 to December 2018 were 3614. Cancer cases reported over the years was 932 (25.8%) in 2015, 1031 (28.5%) cases in 2016, 897 (24.8%) in 2017 and 754 (20.9%) in 2018. It was found that breast carcinoma (24.0%) accounted for the maximum number of cases diagnosed, followed by lung carcinoma (10.9%), cervical cancer (8.7%), gall bladder carcinoma (8%), and oral cavity cancer (7.9%). CONCLUSION: The present study reveals that the malignancy of the breast is most common, followed by malignancies of lung, cervix, and gall bladder among the patients who were seeking care in a tertiary care hospital of the district Etawah Uttar Pradesh, India.

Nanotechnology Driven Approaches for the Management of Parkinson's Disease: Current Status and Future Perspectives.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is believed to be one of the commonly found adult-onset movement disorder occurring due to neurodegeneration and striatal dopamine deficiency. Although clinical diagnosis depends on the occurrence of bradykinesia and other cardinal motor features, PD is linked with many non-motor symptoms that are responsible for overall disability. Among several factors, genetic and environment-related factors are thought to be the major ones accountable for PD. Comprehensive research has shown that a number of drugs are effective in providing symptomatic relief to the patients suffering from PD. But some drug molecules suffer from significant drawbacks such as poor bioavailability and instability, therefore, they sometimes fail to deliver the expected results. Hence, to resolve these issues, new promising novel drug delivery systems have been developed. Liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanoemulsion, self-emulsifying drug delivery system (SEDDS), niosomes are some of the novel drug delivery system (NDDS) carriers that have been explored for enhancing the CNS concentration of levodopa, apomorphine, resveratrol, and other numerous drugs. This paper elucidates various drugs that have been studied for their potential contribution to the treatment and management of PD and also reviews and acknowledges the efforts of several scientists who successfully established various NDDS approaches for these drugs for the management of PD.

Herbal Resources to Combat a Progressive & Degenerative Nervous System Disorder- Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease is one of the most common adult-onset, a chronic disorder involving neurodegeneration, which progressively leads to deprivation of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra, causing a subsequent reduction of dopamine levels in the striatum resulting in tremor, myotonia, and dyskinesia. Genetics and environmental factors are believed to be responsible for the onset of Parkinson's disease. The exact pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease is quite complicated and the present anti-Parkinson's disease treatments appear to be clinically insufficient. Comprehensive researches have demonstrated the use of natural products such as ginseng, curcumin, ashwagandha, baicalein, etc. for the symptomatic treatment of this disease. The neuroprotective effects exhibited by these natural products are mainly due to their ability to increase dopamine levels in the striatum, manage oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, glutathione levels, clear the aggregation of α- synuclein, induce autophagy and decrease the pro-inflammatory cytokines and lipid peroxidation. This paper reviews various natural product studies conducted by scientists to establish the role of natural products (both metabolite extracts as well as pure metabolites) as adjunctive neuroprotective agents.

Japanese encephalitis in Uttar Pradesh, India: A situational analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a vector-borne, viral illness caused by the Japanese Encephalitis Virus. Permanent neurologic or psychiatric sequelae can occur in 30%-50% of those with encephalitis; hence, JE is a cause of major public health concern. For the ease of diagnosis and facilitation of surveillance, National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme uses the term Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES). In this study, an attempt has been made to ascertain the status and trends of AES and JE in Uttar Pradesh, India. METHODOLOGY: This is a record-based retrospective study. The data were obtained from the Directorate of Medical and Health Services of Uttar Pradesh and analyzed using software SPSS version 24.0. RESULTS: In Uttar Pradesh, there were 47,509 reported cases of AES from 2005 to 2018,. With yearly fluctuations, the average Case Fatality Rate of AES was 17.49% with highest in 2005 (24.76%) and lowest in 2018 (8%). Among the patients with AES, 9.98% were found positive for JE. The most commonly affected age group is 1-5 years for both AES and JE, closely followed by the age group of 5-10 years. Peak occurrence of both AES and JE was recorded in month of September. Among the AES-affected patients 53.8% were males and 46.2% were females. CONCLUSION: The most commonly affected age group was 1-5 years with peak occurrence in the month of September. Though there was a downward trend in CFR, awareness activities like "Dastak" campaign and intersectoral preventive activities, needs to be strengthened.

A Modified Removable Space Maintainer for Compromised Dentition of Children: A Case Series.

Despite the attempt in prevention, premature loss of primary teeth remains to be a frequent problem in pediatric dentistry, resulting in disturbance of arch integrity and unfavorably affecting the alignment of permanent successors. Space maintainers (SMs) are distinctive appliances used for maintaining space created due to premature loss of primary teeth. But at times the dentition of children is so compromised that it prevents the use of a conventional SM. Introduced in this article is an innovative modified removable functional SM that offers several benefits over the traditional appliance. It is a straightforward and rapid method to fabricate but also omits band adaptation in uncooperative children and helps restore the functional harmony. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Agarwal T, Agarwal N. A Modified Removable Space Maintainer for Compromised Dentition of Children: A Case Series. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2020;13(6):722-724.