Computational approaches screening DNA aptamers against conserved outer membrane protein W of Vibrio cholerae O1- an investigation expanding the potential for point-of-care detection with aptasensors.

Foodborne outbreaks urge public health domain to upgrade diagnosis by means of simpler, quicker, and more affordable pathogen detection methods. A molecular recognition probe against an analyte of interest makes up a biosensor, along with a method for turning the recognition event into a quantifiable signal. Single-stranded DNA or RNA aptamers are promising bio-recognition molecules for a range of targets, including a wide range of non-nucleic acid targets with which they are highly specific and affine. In the proposed study, 40 DNA aptamers were screened and analyzed interactions using in-silico SELEX procedures, which can selectively interact with active sites at the extracellular region of the Outer membrane Protein W (OmpW) of Vibrio Cholerae. Multiple modeling techniques, like protein structural prediction with I-TASSER, aptamer structural modeling using M-fold, RNA composer, protein-DNA docking using HADDOCK, and large-scale (500 ns) molecular dynamics simulations through GROMACS have been employed. Out of 40, six aptamers having lowest free energy were docked against the predicted active site at the extracellular region of OmpW. VBAPT4-OmpW and VBAPT17-OmpW, the two highest-scoring Aptamer-Protein complexes, were chosen for molecular dynamics simulations. VBAPT4-OmpW is quite unable to attain its structural local minima after 500 ns. But VBAPT17-OmpW is showing great stability and is not destructive even after 500 ns. RMSF, DSSP, PCA, and Essential Dynamics all provided additional confirmation. Current findings, combined with the fabrication of biosensor devices, could pave the way for an innovative pathogen detection platform with high sensitivity, along with an effective and low-impact curative strategy for corresponding diseases.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Prevalence of dental caries and periodontal disease among transgenders in Belagavi district, Karnataka, India: A cross-sectional study.

AIM: To assess the oral health practices and the prevalence of dental caries, and periodontal disease among transgenders. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study was conducted on a sample of 180 participants from the transgender community in Belagavi district over a course of two months. A trained and calibrated examiners recorded oral health status according to WHO dentition status and treatment needs (1997) and Community Periodontal Index (CPI) under the supervision of the subject expert. Chi-square test, spearman's rank correlation coefficient test, multiple linear regression and logistic regression were applied. The statistical significance was set at p ≤ .05 for all the tests. The prevalence of dental caries and periodontal disease among transgenders was 72.2% and 92.2%, respectively. A positive linear correlation and a significant relationship was found between the oral hygiene practices/deleterious habits and dental caries among the transgenders. Multiple linear regression model revealed that the prevalence of dental caries and periodontal disease was significantly associated with age and oral hygiene practices. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of dental caries and periodontal diseases among transgenders was high. These results may be of use to promote oral health promotion and establishing a paradigm for dentists to work toward improving oral health.

Effectiveness of a Visual Interactive Game on Oral Hygiene Knowledge, Practices, and Clinical Parameters among Adolescents: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a novel interactive game-based visual performance technique (IGVP) and conventional oral health educational (OHE) talk on plaque control, gingival health, and oral hygiene knowledge and practices in 12−15-year-old schoolchildren. A single-blinded randomized controlled trial was undertaken in a private primary school in Belagavi, Karnataka, India. A total of 100 children aged 12−15 years were randomly assigned to either a conventional OHE talk (control group, n = 50) or the IGVP technique (test group, n = 50), using a computer-generated table of random numbers. A self-designed, pre-validated closed-ended questionnaire was collected from both groups, followed by clinical examination carried out using gingival and plaque index, pre- and post-intervention, at three months follow-up. There was a significant reduction in the mean gingival score and plaque score in the test group after intervention, indicating a 58.7% and 63.4% reduction, when compared to the control group, which had a 2.8% and 0.7% reduction, respectively (p < 0.001). The test group showed a significant increase in the percentage of knowledge gained (22.4%), compared to control group (7.8%). The IGVP technique proved to be more effective than a conventional OHE talk in the reduction of the plaque score, gingival score, and in the improvement of the knowledge of oral hygiene maintenance and its application.

Dental caries, oral hygiene status and treatment needs of fishermen and non-fishermen population in South Goa, India.

BACKGROUND: Occupation plays a major role in the well-being of an individual and has an influence on oral health. Fishing is one such occupation that entails a lot of physical labour and encourages habits that lead to poor oral health. Therefore, it is critical to shed light on the oral health of this isolated population to improve their quality of life by various means. The aim of the study was to assess and compare the prevalence of dental caries, oral hygiene status and treatment needs of fisherman and non-fisherman population in South Goa, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study design was cross-sectional in nature. After a pilot study, multi-stage random sampling technique was employed and 400 study participants were recruited. World Health Organization Oral Health Assessment Form (1997) and Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified (OHI-S) were used to record the study variables. Inter-examiner reliability assessed using Kappa statistics were found to be 90% and 88%, respectively. The data was analysed using descriptive analysis, Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and linear and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Fishermen had significantly higher caries prevalence (82%) and poor oral hygiene (46%) than non- -fishermen. Extraction (42.2%) and pulp care (23.6%) were the highest treatment need among fishermen. They were 2.08 times more prone to dental caries than non-fishermen. Fishermen who used a toothbrush were 4.5 times less susceptible to caries. The dependence of caries prevalence and OHI-S score on occupation, oral hygiene aid and age were 14% and 25.8%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Fishermen in South Goa had high caries prevalence, poor oral hygiene status and they required extensive dental treatment when compared to non-fishermen.

Knowledge, attitude, and practices toward tobacco control among rural community health care workers of primary subcenters in Belagavi district, Karnataka.

Context: Tobacco is the common cause to a number of illnesses affecting millions of individuals all over the world. Primary care physicians are the initial point of contact for tobacco users, yet reaching everyone is impossible. Therefore, it is important to understand community health workers attitude to render community services in tobacco cessation counseling. Aim: To assess knowledge, attitude, practices, and occupational barriers toward tobacco control among community health care workers in Belagavi district, Karnataka. Settings and Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted in various subcenters of Belagavi district, Karnataka. Methods and Material: Simple random sampling technique was employed and 220 participants were interviewed using an interviewer administered questionnaire comprising of 22 close ended questions. Reliability of the questionnaire assessed with Cronbach's a value of 0.85, face validity 84%, and content validity ratio 0.78. Statistical Analysis Used: The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, chi square analysis, correlation, and regression. Results: The mean knowledge score among Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers was 4.77 ± 2.11 and it was lower in Anganwadi workers 2.93 ± 2.55. There was a statistically significant difference in the attitude scores (P < 0.05) between the community health workers. The majority of the ASHA workers would spread awareness, on the other hand, Anganwadi workers did not take any specific step which showed statistically significant difference with a P value of 0.018. Conclusion: ASHA workers had been superior to Anganwadi workers with regard to knowledge and attitude toward tobacco control. However, knowledge regarding tobacco and its ill effects was below optimal level among community health workers which desires to thoroughly educate in the aspects of oral health and disorders as part of their training.

PA-Fuse: deep supervised approach for the fusion of photoacoustic images with distinct reconstruction characteristics.

The methods available for solving the inverse problem of photoacoustic tomography promote only one feature-either being smooth or sharp-in the resultant image. The fusion of photoacoustic images reconstructed from distinct methods improves the individually reconstructed images, with the guided filter based approach being state-of-the-art, which requires that implicit regularization parameters are chosen. In this work, a deep fusion method based on convolutional neural networks has been proposed as an alternative to the guided filter based approach. It has the combined benefit of using less data for training without the need for the careful choice of any parameters and is a fully data-driven approach. The proposed deep fusion approach outperformed the contemporary fusion method, which was proved using experimental, numerical phantoms and in-vivo studies. The improvement obtained in the reconstructed images was as high as 95.49% in root mean square error and 7.77 dB in signal to noise ratio (SNR) in comparison to the guided filter approach. Also, it was demonstrated that the proposed deep fuse approach, trained on only blood vessel type images at measurement data SNR being 40 dB, was able to provide a generalization that can work across various noise levels in the measurement data, experimental set-ups as well as imaging objects.

Modified snap-on attachment with 'O-ring' for two piece hollow bulb obturator.

Restoration of near normal functions in patients who have been treated with hemimaxillectomy is generally difficult, in view of the restriction in mouth opening following healing of large surgical wound. Further, the extent and nature of the surgical defect differ from patient to patient. Thus, design of an obturator needs to be patient oriented. In this report, we describe a novel snap-on attachment with O-ring in a conventional two piece hollow bulb obturator for a 70-year-old male treated for carcinoma of the left maxilla and sinus.

Brittle teeth with brittle bone in a family for four generations: Case report and literature review.

Dentinogenesis imperfect (DI) is a hereditary dentine disorder affecting both deciduous and permanent teeth. DI is caused by mutations in genes encoding for type I collagen leading to discoloration of teeth. Shield around 30 years ago classified DI into 3 types (type I, II, and III). DI type I is associated with osteogenesis imperfect (OI), which is an inheritable disorder of connective tissue. Bone fragility and fracture of bone with minor trauma are hallmarks of this disorder. The objective of this article is to report and review a rare case of DI with OI affecting 4 generations of the family. Through this article, we intend to highlight genetic influence that affected a family for many generations, discuss the oral manifestations that can lead to the diagnosis of OI, and the importance of early diagnosis of OI.

Acetaminophen-induced nephrotoxicity in rats: protective role of Cardiospermum halicacabum.

CONTEXT: Nephrotoxicity induced by several synthetic drugs is a major problem of modern age. Medicinal plants and phytomedicine are the prime choice of research as they possess better activity and lesser side effects. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective effect of Cardiospermum halicacabum Linn. (Sapindaceae), methanol and petroleum ether extracts against acetaminophen-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nephrotoxicity was induced by the administration of acetaminophen suspension (750 mg/kg, p.o.) after the pretreatment with methanol extract (MECF) and petroleum ether extract (PEECF) of Cardiospermum halicacabum for 7 days. Forty-eight h after the acetaminophen administration estimations of serum alkaline phosphate, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, uric acid, total proteins, cholesterol, albumin level and histological analysis of kidney injuries were determined. RESULTS: In nephrotoxic animals, a significant (P < 0.01) elevation of serum alkaline phosphate, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, uric acid, cholesterol and depletion of total proteins and albumin were observed. Pretreatment with MECF and PEECF (400 mg/kg) significantly (P < 0.01, P < 0.05) decreased serum alkaline phosphate, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, uric acid, cholesterol level and causes elevation of total protein and albumin level, though MECF produces better effect than PEECF in rats. Histopathological studies also confirm the protective effect of extracts. The protective effect of Cardiospermum halicacabum was associated with restoration of serum alkaline phosphate, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, uric acid, cholesterol, total protein and albumin level. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Methanol and petroleum ether extracts of Cardiospermum halicacabum had a significant nephroprotective activity against acetaminophen-induced nephrotoxicity in rats.

Classification of nasal septal deviations-Relation to sinonasal pathology.

The relationship between sinonasal disease and septal deriations is well known, albeit vaguely. There was no serious attempt to classify deviations except calling them mild deviations, gross deviations, spur; high deviations, etc. The airflow changes in these deviations, which lead to mucosal changes predisposing to polyps or infection have not been documented clearly. In this study we made a classification of septal deformities by modifying the classification described by Mladina in 1987. This classification has been applied to 100 consecutive cases who have been advised nasal surgery and 100 normal individuals who did not have any nasal symptoms. All patients had CT scan of PNS and their CT findings were studied in relation to the type of deviation. This paper presents an analysis of the incidence of various types of deviations in patients and controls and the relationship of different deformities to the sinus pathology.

In vitro explant culture of mantle epithelium of freshwater pearl mussel.

The in vitro culture of nacre secreting pallial mantle explants of freshwater pearl producing mussel, Lamellidens marginalis (Lamarck) included depuration of pearl mussels with different physical and chemical agents to eradicate various commensals, removal of pallial mantle ribbon, aseptic preparation of explants from the ribbon and transfer of those explants into tissue culture petri dishes. Special synthetic tissue culture media enriched with additives viz., inactivated calf fetal serum and antibiotics were poured into plates with explants. The culture plates were incubated at 30 degrees C in a CO2 incubator at 5%, CO2. The cultures could be maintained for 42-45 days without any contamination. After 12 hr epithelial like cells began to migrate out and formed a complete cell sheet surrounding the explant within 12-15 days. The epithelial cells in the culture indicated functional viability as subsequently after 38-40 days of culture, typical aragonitic 'nacre' crystals of CaCO3 could be observed throughout the culture plates.

A bacteriological study of sources of infection in the operating theatre at a teaching hospital

In an effort to find and eliminate sources of infection in the operating theatres of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Nigeria, 28 air samples by the settle plate technique, 20 samples from various surfaces, 20 samples from sterilised equipment and 5 from antiseptic solutions kept in the theatre were investigated bacteriologically. Thirty nasal swabs were cultured for pathogenic organisms, one from each of the 30 theatre personnel comprising 8 surgeons, 8 students, 4 anaesthetists, 6 nurses and 4 orderlies. The bacteria-containing particles in the theatre air ranged from 4.2 to 113.2/m3. The figures were significantly more when operations were prolonged and students were present during the operations. A high bacterial count was noticed during the start of operations which could be related to movement of theatre staff, particularly orderlies during initial cleaning and arranging of the theatre. Staphylococcus pyogenes was consistently observed in theatre air, in nasal swabs of 30 percent of the staff, and in some floor samples. Only one of the 28 individuals operated on developed sepsis; this was caused by Staphylococcus progenes probably derived from nasal colonisation of a theatre orderly. Treatment of nasal carriers by Hibitane cream, prevention of entry of unwanted persons, preponement of cleaning exercise, and tightening of other aseptic measures have reduced the aerial bacterial count of the operating theatres (AU)