Isolation and characterization of bacteriophages against E.coli urinary tract infection and evaluating their anti-biofilm activity and antibiotic synergy.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) by Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) are a significant health concern, especially due to the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance. This study focuses on isolating and characterizing bacteriophages specific to UPEC strains isolated from UTI samples. The isolated phages were assessed for their ability to target and lyse UPEC in vitro, focusing on their efficacy in disrupting biofilms, a key virulence factor contributing to UTI recurrence and antibiotic resistance. The morphological structure observed by TEM belongs to Myoviridae, the phage exhibited icosahedral symmetry with a long non-constricting tail, the approximate measurement of the phage head was 39 nm in diameter, and the phage tail was 105.317 nm in length. One-step growth experiments showed that the latent period was approximately 20 min, followed by a rise period of 40 min, and a growth plateau was reached within 20 min and the burst size observed was 26 phages/infected bacterial cells. These phages were capable of killing cells within the biofilms, leading to a reduction in living cell counts after a single treatment. This study highlights the potential of phages to play a significant role in disrupting, inactivating, and destroying Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) biofilms. Such findings could be instrumental in developing treatment strategies that complement antibiotics and disinfectants. The phage-antibiotic synergistic activity was compared to have the possibility to facilitate the advancement of focused and enduring alternatives to traditional antibiotic therapies for UTIs.

Solar tick trap with a pheromone lure - A stand-in approach for off-host control of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato ticks.

Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (s.l.), the brown dog tick, transmits several important haemo-protozoan and rickettsial pathogens to dogs. Effective control of these ticks is entirely by the use of acaricidal preparations both on and off the host. Indiscriminate use of acaricides can cause environmental pollution and toxicity to humans as well as development of acaricidal resistance in ticks. As an alternative control strategy, a novel, eco-friendly and economical solar tick trap, which attracts ticks using pheromones and kills them by electrocution, was fabricated for use in kennels to control different stages of ticks. All stages of ticks were found to be lured to sex pheromone (SP), assembly pheromone (AP) and a combination of SP + AP impregnated vapour patches and electrocuted. There was a highly significant (p < 0.01) difference in the level of attraction between engorged and questing stages of ticks to the pheromones in the trap. AP lured a higher number of ticks, both engorged and questing, in comparison to other pheromones. The solar tick trap bearing vapour patch impregnated with AP was considered most suitable for use in integrated pest management (IPM) of ticks in heavily infested kennels. The solar trap remained effective for a month after which, replacement of pheromone impregnated vapour patch was necessary for continued and effective attraction of the ticks. This solar tick trap device, which uses pheromone without any acaricide, could prove to be an ideal green alternative for use in IPM of ticks in kennels.

Extraskeletal Ewing's Sarcoma Masquerading as Infantile Benign Neck Mass.

Despite being the second most common malignant bone tumor, Ewing's sarcoma remains uncommon in younger children and seldom seen in neonates and infants. Extraskeletal locations are even rarer, hardly ever suspected, and often misdiagnosed, causing delays in management. The histologic similarities of Ewing's sarcoma to more common pediatric small-blue-round-cell tumors such as lymphoma and neuroblastoma necessitate immunohistochemistry and molecular genetics for clinching the diagnosis. We report a soft-tissue Ewing's sarcoma in a 4-month-old female infant masquerading as a benign neck mass clinically, radiologically, cytologically, and intraoperatively. We also reviewed literature for any existing guidelines on when to biopsy neck masses in the pediatric population.

A descriptive study on awareness about oral health among pediatric practitioners in Kanchipuram district.

BACKGROUND: Pediatricians and other health-care providers could play an invaluable role in ensuring the maintenance of optimal preventive as well as curative dental health in children. This study was aimed at assessing the pediatrician's perspective on basic oral health care in children in Kanchipuram district. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire survey was carried out among Pediatricians which covered various aspects of knowledge, attitude, and role of pediatricians in preventive dental care. The collected data were tabulated, and percent frequency distributions for responses to every question were assessed. RESULTS: None of the participants reported that pediatricians are responsible for infant oral health presumes that pediatricians are not examining the oral cavity as a part of routine. All of the pediatricians gave nutritional counseling to the parents but only 7% of them of caries. All the pediatricians liked the concept of an association between lack of knowledge among pediatricians and pediatric dentist and establishment of a dental home along with a medical home. CONCLUSION: From the present study, we conclude that there is a lack of awareness about prevention of dental caries among pediatricians in Kanchipuram district. To overcome this, advocating dentists as part of well-child care and establishing dental home along with medical home. Publishing pediatric journals concerning about the oral health to improve the knowledge is also essential in promoting good oral health hygiene.

Rehabilitation of complicated crown-root fracture by invisible approach.

Dental trauma is one of the most common and significant problems met in all dental offices almost every day. In particular, injury to the anterior teeth is more vulnerable as it may affect the psychosocial behavior, severe emotional complications can occur leading to disturbances in their mental attitude. Cosmetic (lingual) orthodontics is the recent development in the field of dentistry in the last few decades. Patients are more concerned about their appearance during the treatment and are affected by psychosocial issues because of labially placed brackets, thus leading to the evolution of lingual orthodontic appliances. In this article, we are sharing our clinical experience treating a complicated crown-root fracture using the lingual orthodontic technique.

Protective effect of Tribulus terrestris L. fruit aqueous extracton lipid profile and oxidative stress in isoproterenol induced myocardial necrosis in male albino Wistar rats.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the possible protective effects of Tribulus terrestris fruit aqueous extract (TTFAEt) on lipid profile and oxidative stress in isoproterenol (ISO) induced myocardial necrosis in albino Wistar rats. Albino Wistar rats were divided into normal control, TTFAEt alone treated, ISO control and pretreated (TTFAEt+ISO) groups. The extract was administered at a dose of 50 mg/kg body weight for 40 days orally by gavage and ISO was administered at a dose of 85 mg/kg body weight for two consecutive days intraperitoneally at an interval of 24 h. ISO induced myocardial infarction (MI) was confirmed by disturbances in serum lipid profile, heart tissue lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzyme levels. There was a significant increase in the levels of serum total cholesterol (32.60 %), triglycerides (41.30 %), very low density lipoproteins (81.81 %), low density lipoproteins (84%) and phospholipids (38.88 %) and a significant decrease in the levels of high density lipoproteins (33.33 %) in the ISO control group when compared to normal controls. Additionally, there is a significant decrease in the levels of heart tissue antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase and depletion of reduced glutathione, which indicates enhanced lipid peroxidation(172 %). Pretreatment with extract significantly showed a protective effect against ISO altered lipid profile, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzyme levels. The present study showed therapeutic effect of TTFAEt on lipid profile and oxidative stress in isoproterenol (ISO) induced myocardial necrosis in experimental rats.