In silico studies and development of a protein-based electrochemical sensor for selective and sensitive detection of aflatoxin B1.

Proteins from different species have been docked with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and identified 3 proteins (prostaglandin-E(2)9-reductase from Oryctolagus uniculus, proto-oncogene serine/threonine-protein kinase Pim-1 and human immunoglobulin G (hIgG)) as potential candidates to develop an electrochemical sensor. Fluorescence spectroscopy experiments have confirmed the interaction of hIgG with AFB1 with an affinity constant of 4.6 × 105 M-1. As a proof-of-concept, hIgG was immobilized on carbon nanocomposite (carbon nanotube-nanofiber, CNT-F)-coated glassy carbon electrode (GCE). FT-IR spectra, HR-TEM and BCA assay have confirmed successful immobilization of hIgG on the electrode (hIgG@CNT-F/GCE). The preparation of this protein electrochemical sensor requires only 1 h 36 min, which is fast as compared with preparing an electro immunosensor. hIgG@CNT-F/GCE has displayed an excellent AFB1 limit of detection (0.1 ng/mL), commendable selectivity in the presence of two other mycotoxins (ochratoxin A and patulin) and the detection of  AFB1 in spiked peanuts and corn samples.

Image Quality Assessment of Digital Radiographs Captured by Hand-Held Devices Versus Wall-Mounted Devices: A Retrospective Comparative Study.

Background In diagnostic radiology, the image quality of radiographs is paramount for impeccable diagnosis as it is essential for efficient treatment planning and patient care. In comparison to their well-established wall-mounted equivalents, the growing use of handheld devices raises concerns regarding their diagnostic effectiveness by questioning their image quality. Hence, to fully comprehend the clinical importance of handheld X-ray equipment, it is important to look into their image quality for better diagnostic performance. Aim The study aimed to determine the image quality of handheld X-ray units and compare them with wall-mounted X-ray units in routine dental practice based on objectifiable image quality parameters. Materials and Methods For the study, 200 digital radiographic images (102 taken using handheld and 98 using wall-mounted X-ray units) were collected randomly from archives, including radiographs with cone-cut and positional errors. Five observers, three faculty members, and two postgraduates, who were all blinded, subjectively judged the image quality using a five-point rating scale for five individual parameters: contrast, sharpness, cone-cut, and error in vertical and horizontal angulations of position indicating device separately. The mean score for all observers was calculated, and statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U test. The scoring of one faculty member experienced in oral radiology as baseline data was used to compare interobserver agreement among the other observers. Results There is a significant difference between the two groups in cone-cut and error in horizontal angulation. There is no significant difference between the two groups when parameters such as contrast, sharpness, and error in vertical angulation are considered. The images from handheld devices showed better image quality (p = 0.006) compared to the wall-mounted device. There was 87% interobserver agreement between the five observers. Conclusion The present study demonstrated a significant difference between the handheld device and the wall-mounted device when all the five parameters including errors are considered to assess the image quality. Hence, handheld devices can be used for regular clinical practice as an alternative to wall-mounted devices. Nevertheless, stringent radiation safety precautions are essential.

Fabrication of a bi-metallic metal organic framework nanocomposite for selective and sensitive detection of triclosan.

Transition metal-ion based nanocomposites are widely used owing to their ease of synthesis and cost-effectiveness in the sensor development. In this study, we have synthesized bi-metallic (iron and zinc) metal organic framework (MOF) nanorods-nanoparticles (denoted as Fe2Zn-MIL-88B) with a well-defined structure and characterized them. The bimetallic material nanocomposite (Fe2Zn-MIL-88B, nafion (Nf), and multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)) was fabricated on the electrode (glassy carbon electrode (GCE) or screen printed carbon electrode (SPCE)) surface within 10 min at room temperature. The Fe2Zn-MIL-88B/Nf/MWCNT@GCE showed an excellent electron transfer mechanism compared to a bare GCE and bare SPCE. The Fe2Zn-MIL-88B based nanocomposite electrode triggers the oxidation of the environmental carcinogenic molecule triclosan (TCS). Under optimized conditions, the sensor has a limit of detection of 0.31 nM and high selectivity to TCS in the presence of other interfering agents. The sensor has a good day-to-day TCS detection reproducibility. Fe2Zn-MIL-88B was stable even after 11 months of synthesis and detected TCS with similar sensitivity. The fabrication of the Fe2Zn-MIL-88B/Nf/MWCNT nanocomposite was successfully translated from the GCE to SPCE. TCS was detected in human plasma and commercial products such as soaps, skin care products, shampoos, and tooth pastes.

Salivary Lactate Dehydrogenase as a Potential Biomarker in Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders and Head & Neck Cancer- A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The prognosis of head &neck cancer (HNC) depends on its early detection, diagnosis, and treatment, which has advocated a search for a simple, reliable, noninvasive, cost-effective tool to aid in the same. Salivary lactate dehydrogenase has gained interest in recent years, meeting the above requisite. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the levels of salivary lactate dehydrogenase in patients with oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD), HNC, and in the healthy control group (CG); to find the correlation, grade-wise and genderwise difference between them; and to assess whether it can be used as a potent biomarker in OPMD and HNC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive search of the specialized 14 databases and 4 institutional repositories was performed for including the studies evaluating salivary lactate dehydrogenase in OPMD and HNC patients either comparing or not comparing to the healthy control group in the systematic review process. The meta-analysis was performed with the eligible study data with the STATA version 16, 2019 software with 95% CI and p ≤ 0.05 in the random-effects model. RESULTS: Twenty-eight studies of case-control, interventional, or uncontrolled non-randomized design evaluating salivary lactate dehydrogenase were included. A total of 2074 subjects were included, involving HNC, OPMD, and CG. The salivary lactate dehydrogenase levels were significantly higher in HNC than in CG & oral leukoplakia (OL) (p=0.00); in OL & oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) than CG (p=0.00); and higher in HNC than OSMF, however not significant (p=0.49). Also, the salivary lactate dehydrogenase levels had no significant difference between males and females in CG, HNC, OL, and OSMF groups(p> 0.05). DISCUSSION: It is evident that the epithelial transformations in the various OPMD and HNC, and the proceeding necrosis in the case of HNC, raises the LDH levels. It's also worth noting that when degenerative alterations continue, the SaLDH levels rise correspondingly, which are higher in HNC than in OPMD. Hence, it is essential to determine the cut-off values for SaLDH for establishing that the patient may have HNC or OPMD. It would be easy to follow-up frequently and perform investigations such as biopsy for the cases with high SaLDH levels, thereby aiding in the early detection and improving the prognosis of HNC. Moreover, the increased SaLDH levels were indicative of a lower degree of differentiation and an advanced disease leading to a poor prognosis. Salivary sample collection is less invasive, simple, and more acceptable to the patient; however, saliva collection is a time-consuming procedure as it is mostly collected by the passive spit method. Also, it is more feasible to repeat the SaLDH analysis during the follow-up, but the method has recently gained interest for over a decade. CONCLUSION: Salivary lactate dehydrogenase can be a potential biomarker for the screening, early detection, and follow-up of OPMD or HNC being simple, noninvasive, cost-effective, and readily acceptable modality. However, more studies with new standardized protocols are recommended to determine the precise cut-off levels for HNC and OPMD. Keywords (MeSH): L-Lactate dehydrogenase; Saliva; Mouth Neoplasms; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; Oral; Precancerous conditions.

Reliability of gender determination from paranasal sinuses and its application in forensic identification-a systematic review and meta-analysis.

This systematic review aims to determine whether linear or morphometric analysis of paranasal sinuses can be used for accurate determination of gender and to appraise which sinus can be evaluated for accurate gender determination.A comprehensive search of the specialized databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, Science Direct, Clinical Key, ProQuest, Google Scholar, Epistomonikos, LILACS, OpenGrey) and other institutional repositories was performed for including the studies which assessed paranasal sinuses for gender determination. Quality assessment was carried out with the AQUA tool. The meta-analysis was performed with the eligible study data at 95% CI and p ≤ 0.05 in the random-effects model.Forty-six studies evaluating frontal sinus (13), maxillary sinus (26), frontal and maxillary sinus (5), or three paranasal sinuses (2) were included. All the included studies assessed height, length, width, and volume, respectively, and other additional parameters (area, perimeter) if wherever applicable. Frontal sinus had significantly higher values for males compared to females except for left height (LH) and left volume (LV). Maxillary sinus measurements were significantly higher in males contrasted to females except for LH. Sub-group analyses revealed that analyses involving the population had statistically significant results for all the measured parameters for both the sinuses (p < 0.05 and p = 0.00, respectively).Measurements obtained from assessing sinuses reveal that there are variations in size, among populations in different geographic regions. Hence, more studies with improved sample sizes and standardized measurement protocols should be carried out on different populations to see the diversity and their reliability.

Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory Properties of the Two Varieties of Musa acuminata: An In Vitro Study.

Background Free radicals are involved in the process of carcinogenesis. Conventional antioxidants and anti-inflammatory drugs have the disadvantages of side effects and high costs. Banana peel contains phenolic and non-phenolic antioxidants that are pivotal in removing inflammatory components by inhibiting reactive oxygen species (ROS), protecting protease inhibitors from oxidative damage, and preventing fibroblast degradation which protects the body against the ill effects of free radicals. Aim and objectives The present study aimed to evaluate the potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of peel extracts of the Musa acuminata Red Dacca(red banana) and Musa acuminata Colla (rasthali). Materials and methods The procured unripe peels of red bananas and rasthali bananas were dried, ground into powder, and used to create aqueous and alcoholic extracts. The aqueous extract was made by dissolving 5 grams of peel powder in 25 ml of distilled water, while the alcoholic extract was prepared by heating ethanol to 100°C for 30 minutes. The extracts were combined, shaken for 24 hours, filtered, and stored at 4°C. Following extract preparation, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) assay, bovine serum albumin (BSA) denaturation assay, and egg albumin (EA) denaturation assay were performed to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The assays were performed in varying concentrations for the prepared extracts of red banana and rasthali and the 1:1 ratio combination extract of both varieties. The obtained data were tabulated and statistically tested using the IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0 (Released 2013; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States) by the Kruskal-Wallis test with the statistical significance set at p≤0.05. Results Results highlighted variations in the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of the banana peel extracts and the standard used in all the assays, but there was no statistically significant difference between the extracts and the standard (p>0.05). There was an increase in the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity with an increase in the concentration of both the extracts and the standard. The 1:1 ratio combination extract showed the highest antioxidant property among the banana extracts in the majority of the concentrations in the DPPH assay, whereas the rasthali extract showed the same even more than the standard in the H2O2 assay. The rasthali extract showed the highest anti-inflammatory property in all the concentrations in the BSA assay, and the 1:1 ratio combination extract showed the same in the EA assay. Conclusion The banana peel extracts showed comparable antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties with that of the standard in all the assays with no statistically significant difference. There was a rising trend in the properties with an increase in their concentration. Red banana and rasthali peel extracts, either individually or in combination, could be a promising, effective, and cost-effective alternative or adjunct to the currently available antioxidant medications.

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.