Impact of stunning before slaughter on expression of skeletal muscles proteome in sheep.

The commercial production of halal and kosher meat and controversy surrounding the slaughter without stunning is rapidly growing across the globe. Huge global market for halal and kosher meat warrants conciliation of religious practices and animal welfare for the betterment of meat industry. In the present study, we investigated changes in muscle proteome of sheep (Ovis aries) subjected to either electrical stunning and slaughtering or slaughter without any stunning (halal). The 2DE gel analysis detected approximately 377 protein spots in which 243 (119 up regulated and 124 down regulated) protein spots were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) differentially expressed with a fold change ratio ≥1.5/≤1.5. The in-gel digestion and MALDI-TOF/TOF MS analysis of statistically significant protein spots revealed 35 differentially abundant proteins out of which 26 were up-regulated and 9 were down-regulated. The study demonstrated that slaughtering of sheep without stunning resulted in changes in the abundance of proteins involved in catalytic, structural, and stress related processes. This understanding of protein alterations in sheep slaughtered with and without stunning have the potential to act as possible signature for animal welfare index.

Differentiation Between Benign and Metastatic Cervical Lymph Nodes Using Ultrasound.

PURPOSE: The oral cavity is the most common site for squamous cell carcinoma, which has a distinct predilection for lymphatic spread before distant systemic metastasis. The cervical lymph node status is a very important consideration in the assessment of squamous cell carcinoma. Ultrasound is a noninvasive and inexpensive technique that can be used to differentiate between the benign and metastatic nodes. So the aim of this study was to evaluate reliability of ultrasound for such differentiation and to correlate them with histopathological finding. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 200 lymph nodes from 38 patients histopathologically proven for oral squamous cell carcinoma who underwent surgical neck dissection were considered. The patients underwent ultrasound examination of cervical lymph nodes prior to surgical neck dissection. The lymph nodes were differentiated into benign and metastatic based on the assessment of size, shape, shortest diameter/longest diameter (S/L ratio), margin, and internal architecture, and also the internal echo structure of the lymph nodes and histopathological findings were analyzed. RESULTS: On correlation of ultrasonographic diagnosis with histopathological evaluation for metastatic lymph nodes, the overall accuracy of ultrasonographic analyses was 77.83%, and the sonographic criterion of irregular margin showed the highest predictability followed by the size. The correlation of internal echo structure with histopathological findings was highly variable. CONCLUSION: The ultrasound parameters such as size, shape, margin, S/L ratio, and internal echo structure might assist in differentiation between benign and metastatic lymph nodes. Combining these findings should raise the accuracy, as each sonographic parameter has some limitation as a sole criterion.

Attitude and Awareness of Dentists Practicing in Southern India Toward Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs.

BACKGROUND: Pain management is an everyday challenge in dentistry. Analgesics are the group of drugs prescribed for effective pain management, of which nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most commonly prescribed drugs. Selection of NSAIDs must be judiciously made considering their pharmacological properties and adverse effects. AIM: This study aimed to analyze the attitude toward analgesic prescription among practicing dentists and the awareness to update their knowledge about them. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was carried out among 100 dental practitioners, where a questionnaire consisting of 16 questions was formulated based on the awareness of indication and contraindication, actual practice, and required future trends for updating the knowledge. The questionnaire was distributed among the practitioners; the answered questionnaire was collected and tabulated. Statistical analysis included χ2 test to evaluate the significance. RESULTS: Of 100 dental practitioners, 63% prescribed drugs based on the diagnosis. Aceclofenac was found to be the effective drug in postoperative pain management, whereas paracetamol was considered to be the safest among NSAIDs in clinical conditions such as bleeding disorders, gastric irritation, chronic kidney disease, and during pregnancy. All practicing dentists showed their willingness to participate in awareness programs in updating their knowledge. CONCLUSION: This study showed that dental clinical practitioners are well aware of the drugs to be prescribed in different clinical conditions but pitfalls have been observed in areas of systemic complication, where continuous educational programs are needed to overcome the same.

Assessment of Mandibular Surface Area Changes in Bruxers Versus Controls on Panoramic Radiographic Images: A Case Control Study.

BACKGROUND: Bruxism is the commonest of the many parafunctional activities of the masticatory system. Opinions on the causes of bruxism were numerous and widely varying. It can occur during sleep as well as wakefulness. Bruxism was for long considered a major cause of tooth wear. Other effects of bruxism may include tooth movement and tooth mobility, as well as changes in oral soft tissues and jaw bone. Since the exact etiology and manifestations are unclear, it was difficult to diagnose Bruxism. In this study, we evaluated the area change as measured from digital panoramic radiographs that can occur in the lower jaw bone in those with Bruxism and compared the results with non-bruxers. AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: To determine the surface area changes of the mandible, condylar and coronoid processes in Bruxers from Panoramic radiographs and to compare and contrast the changes with age and gender matched controls. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted in the department of Oral Medicine and Radiology. The total sample size was 40. The sample was divided into two groups, Bruxers and non-bruxers with 20 subjects in each group. Healthy volunteers aged between 20- 30 years diagnosed with Bruxism and Healthy volunteers aged between 20- 30 years diagnosed without Bruxism were included in group II (Non-Bruxers). Bruxchecker was made use of in confirming the Bruxism in Group I. The Panoramic radiograph was used as the imaging modality for the study. The measurements were made with the help of software, Image J. All the measurements were tabulated and statistical analysis was made using ANOVA (Post hoc) followed by Dunnett's test and unpaired t test. RESULTS: A comparison of the mandibular surface area as a whole and also condylar and coronoid processes individually were carried out. Significant results were obtained in case of condylar and coronoid processes between the two groups. The surface area of condylar process of Group I was found to be lower than that of Group II. The surface area of the right coronoid process of group I was found to be less when compared to that of group II but the values of the left coronoid process of group I was found to be more when compared with group II. The surface area of the mandible showed no significant difference between the groups. There was significant difference between the genders in case of mandible, condyle and coronoid. The surface area of mandible and condylar process was found to be lower in female when compared to male. The surface area of coronoid process was found to be more in case of females when compared to that of males in Group I.The results of our study show that while the overall surface area of bruxers remain unaffected when compared to controls, the condylar and coronoid process show significant change. The hitherto belief that the primary brunt of bruxism is borne by the masseter would require a revisit since alteration in tonicity of the masseter would reflect in surface area change of the mandible as a whole. An increase in the surface area of the coronoid process in bruxers was observed in our study which could be attributed to altered activity of the temporalis, a muscle largely responsible for the posture of the mandible. This could imply that bruxers show alteration in temporalis activity which would explain several clinical manifestations such as headache, neck pain, shoulder pain and altered posture and so on which we have observed in the clinical practice of neuromuscular dentistry. Further studies examining the activity of the temporalis and masseter would further corroborate our findings and form the basis for future research in this arena. CONCLUSION: This original research was carried out to assess the surface area changes in mandible and condylar and coronoid processes of Bruxers and non-bruxers. The results showed significant changes in the surface area of condylar and coronoid process in Bruxers when compared to the controls. This is an area of study with paucity of available literature. This study would be a stepping stone for future studies in this arena.

In-gel and OFFGEL-based proteomic approach for authentication of meat species from minced meat and meat products.

BACKGROUND: Fraudulent mislabelling of processed meat products on a global scale that cannot be detected using conventional techniques necessitates sensitive, robust and accurate methods of meat authentication to ensure food safety and public health. In the present study, we developed an in-gel (two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, 2DE) and OFFGEL-based proteomic method for authenticating raw and cooked water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), sheep (Ovis aries) and goat (Caprus hircus) meat and their mixes. RESULTS: The matrix-assisted liquid desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometric analysis of proteins separated using 2DE or OFFGEL electrophoresis delineated species-specific peptide biomarkers derived from myosin light chain 1 and 2 (MLC1 and MLC2) of buffalo-sheep-goat meat mix in definite proportions at 98:1:1, 99:0.5:0.5 and 99.8:0.1:0.1 that were found stable to resist thermal processing. In-gel and OFFGEL-based proteomic approaches are efficient in authenticating meat mixes spiked at minimum 1.0% and 0.1% levels, respectively, in triple meat mix for both raw and cooked samples. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrated that authentication of meat from a complex mix of three closely related species requires identification of more than one species-specific peptide due to close similarity between their amino acid sequences. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.