Search

Statement of the Problem: During endodontic therapy, irrigation solutions applied in the root canal may affect the physicochemical properties of the dentinal wall, thereby changing its microhardness. This may adversely affect the sealing ability and adhesion of dental materials. Therefore, many studies have focused on the search for an ideal root canal irrigant that has a minimal effect on dentinal microhardness. Purpose: This in vitro study was conducted to determine the changes in dentin microhardness after root canal irrigation with different endodontic irrigants. Materials and Method: Ninety-five freshly extracted maxillary central incisor teeth with straight single canals were selected. These teeth were sectioned transversely at the level of the cementoenamel junction. The working length of each tooth was determined, and canal space was prepared by the HyFlex CM rotary file system. During instrumentation, normal saline was used for irrigation. Then, teeth were split longitudinally into two segments. According to the irrigating solution employed, samples were divided into five groups (n=19): normal saline (Group A), 3% sodium hypochlorite (Group B), 2% chlorhexidine (Group C), 5% calcium hypochlorite (Group D), and 0.2% nanochitosan (Group E).3 mL of the corresponding irrigating solution was administered for total15 minutes in each prepared sample. The Vickers micro-hardness tester was then used to assess micro-hardness. The data was analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: All tested irrigating solutions decreased the dentinal microhardness. Samples irrigated with 5% calcium hypochlorite demonstrated dentinal microhardness of 42.43± 1.62, which is the lowest among all the tested groups, followed by nano chitosan, sodium hypochlorite, and chlorhexidine. Samples treated with control group (saline) demonstrated the maximum microhardness of dentin in the present study. Conclusion: Within the limitations of this research, it can be concluded that the tested novel irrigating solutions, 5% calcium hypochlorite and 0.2% nanochitosan, were more detrimental to radicular dentin microhardness when compared with conventional endodontic irrigants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) pathogen is a serious contagious illness that endangers the public's health. However, TB is treatable but due to the result of ineffective and protracted medication, MDR‐MTB and XDR‐MTB were able to develop, making their eradication highly challenging and necessitating potential treatments to be cured. This study aimed to identify the novel inhibitor for the InhA enzyme, a potential target of MTB. Initially, 2721 phytochemicals libraries were screened for ADME/Tox profiling and 49 phytochemicals were filtered out. Moreover, these phytochemicals with reference inhibitor triclosan were docked against InhA (PDB ID: 1BVR)., were showing binding energies ranging from −9.16–−6.3 kcal/mol, whereas triclosan showed −6.90 kcal/mol of binding energy. The docking results reveal that irilone (−9.16 kcal/mol) and aurantio‐obtusin (−8.84 kcal/mol) exhibit promising binding energy and perfectly occupy the binding site of InhA. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) and MMGBSA studies showed better affinities of selected compounds in terms of stability, compactness, flexibility, and total BFE in complexes with InhA. This study concluded that irilone and aurantio‐obtusin could be promising InhA inhibitors based on their impressive pharmacokinetic profiling, toxicity, binding affinity, and stability. However experimental validation is a subject of further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this in vitro study was to assess the stress distribution of novel endodontic rotary files of different cross sections and metallurgy against the root canal wall at three different levels by using finite element analysis. Methods: A total of 60 novel NiTi rotary files were included in this study after being scanned for any surface deformities using a scanning electron microscope. The scanned files were assigned into 4 groups of 15 samples each based on their metallurgy and design: Group A-TruNatomy, Group B-XP-endo Shaper, Group C-F360, and Group D-2shape files. ANSYS® 15 Workbench finite element software (Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, United States) was used to numerically analyse the stress created by computer-aided models of these instruments on the dentinal wall of a simulated root canal to test the mechanical behaviour of these files. All data were analysed using one-way ANOVA with post hoc Tukey analysis, the Shapiro Wilk test, and Levene's test. The significance level was set at 5%. Results: XP-endo Shaper files employed minimal stress on the surface of dentine during instrumentation, and F360 files exerted maximum stress on the dentinal wall. However, no statistically significant difference was found among the groups in relation to the amount of stress produced at the distinct levels of the root canal wall (p>0.05). Conclusion: There was no discernible difference in stress generation among the four groups in the current investigation. Therefore, it can be inferred that the upgrade in design and metallurgy of rotary files has the potential to downgrade the stress during the shaping of the canal and the menace of instrument breakage during their clinical usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: Thchit42 constitutive expression for fungal resistance showed synchronisation with leaf augmentation and transcriptome analysis revealed the Longifolia and Zinc finger RICESLEEPER gene is responsible for plant growth and development. Pelargonium graveolens essential oil possesses significant attributes, known for perfumery and aromatherapy. However, optimal yield and propagation are predominantly hindered by biotic stress. All biotechnological approaches have yet to prove effective in addressing fungal resistance. The current study developed transgenic geranium bridging molecular mechanism of fungal resistance and plant growth by introducing cassette 35S::Thchit42. Furthermore, 120 independently putative transformed explants were regenerated on kanamycin fortified medium. Primarily transgenic lines were demonstrated peak pathogenicity and antifungal activity against formidable Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Fusarium oxysporum. Additionally, phenotypic analysis revealed ~ 2fold increase in leaf size and ~ 2.1fold enhanced oil content. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms for genotypic cause, de novo transcriptional profiles were analyzed to indicate that the auxin-regulated longifolia gene is accountable for augmentation in leaf size, and zinc finger (ZF) RICESLEEPER attributes growth upregulation. Collectively, data provides valuable insights into unravelling the mechanism of Thchit42-mediated crosstalk between morphological and chemical alteration in transgenic plants. This knowledge might create novel opportunities to cultivate fungal-resistant geranium throughout all seasons to fulfil demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current treatment options available for prostate cancer (PCa) patients have many adverse side effects and hence, new alternative therapies need to be explored. Anticancer potential of various phytochemicals derived from Calotropis procera has been studied in many cancers but no study has investigated the effect of leaf extract of C. procera on PCa cells. Hence, we investigated the effect of C. procera leaf extract (CPE) on cellular properties of androgen‐independent PC‐3 and androgen‐sensitive 22Rv1 cells. A hydroalcoholic extract of C. procera was prepared and MTT assay was performed to study the effect of CPE on viability of PCa cells. The effect of CPE on cell division ability, migration capability and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was studied using colony formation assay, wound‐healing assay and 2′,7′‐dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate assay, respectively. Caspase activity assay and LDH assay were performed to study the involvement of apoptosis and necrosis in CPE‐mediated cell death. Protein levels of cell cycle, antioxidant, autophagy and apoptosis markers were measured by western blot. The composition of CPE was identified using untargeted LC–MS analysis. Results showed that CPE decreased the viability of both the PCa cells, PC‐3 and 22Rv1, in a dose‐ and time‐dependent manner. Also, CPE significantly inhibited the colony‐forming ability, migration and endogenous ROS production in both the cell lines. Furthermore, CPE significantly decreased NF‐κB protein levels and increased the protein levels of the cell cycle inhibitor p27. A significant increase in expression of autophagy markers was observed in CPE‐treated PC‐3 cells while autophagy markers were downregulated in 22Rv1 cells after CPE exposure. Hence, it can be concluded that CPE inhibits PCa cell viability possibly by regulating the autophagy pathway and/or altering the ROS levels. Thus, CPE can be explored as a possible alternative therapeutic agent for PCa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study maps the interactions of the Hindutva brand of political populism, which is in rise in India, with the feminist politics and concerns. To study this interaction, the article qualitatively studies the phenomenon of Hindutva-populism and feminist politics and uses the Bhartiya Janata Party, the Hindu-rightist political party, as the site to explore the gendered political culture and the complex relationship that populism and feminism share on the women question in their quest for political and social transformation in India. For this purpose, the article focuses on the broad themes, highlighting the differential visions of both projects, of: the lens through which the problems are diagnosed, the solutions proposed to these problems and the role of the related variables such as power, state and leadership, which puts them in a fundamental clash with each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poem "fragments of a shared sisterhood" by Palak Singh is presented. First line: we were lazing around. ; Last Line: as one does when inhabiting these shared fragments of sisterhood.

Embedded performance validity tests (PVTs) are key components of neuropsychological evaluations. However, most are memory-based and may be less useful in the assessment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Four non-memory-based validity indices derived from processing speed and executive functioning measures commonly included in ADHD evaluations, namely Verbal Fluency (VF) and the Trail Making Test (TMT), were cross-validated using the Rey 15-Item Test (RFIT) Recall and Recall/Recognition as memory-based comparison measures. This consecutive case series included data from 416 demographically-diverse adults who underwent outpatient neuropsychological evaluation for ADHD. Validity classifications were established, with ≤1 PVT failure of five independent criterion PVTs as indicative of valid performance (374 valid performers/42 invalid performers). Among the statistically significant validity indicators, TMT-A and TMT-B T-scores (AUCs = .707-.723) had acceptable classification accuracy ranges and sensitivities ranging from 29%-36% (≥89% specificity). RFIT Recall/Recognition produced similar results as TMT-B T-score with 42% sensitivity/90% specificity, but with lower classification accuracy. In evaluating adult ADHD, VF and TMT embedded PVTs demonstrated comparable sensitivity and specificity values to those found in other clinical populations but necessitated alternate cut-scores. Results also support use of RFIT Recall/Recognition over the standard RFIT Recall as a PVT for adult ADHD evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This cross-sectional study examined accuracy of traditional Medical Symptom Validity Test (MSVT) validity indicators, including immediate recognition (IR), delayed recognition (DR), and consistency (CNS), as well as a novel indicator derived from the mean performance on IR, DR, and CNS across verbal, visual, and combined learning and memory impairment bands. Method A sample of 180 adult outpatients was divided into valid (n  = 150) and invalid (n  = 30) groups based on results of four independent criterion performance validity tests. Verbal and visual learning and recall were classified as indicative of no impairment, mild impairment, or severe impairment based on performance on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test and Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised, respectively. Results In general, individual MSVT subtests were able to accurately classify performance as valid or invalid, even in the context of severe learning and memory deficits. However, as verbal and visual memory impairment increased, optimal MSVT cut-scores diverged from manual-specified cutoffs such that DR and CNS required cut-scores to be lowered to maintain adequate specificity. By contrast, the newly proposed scoring algorithm generally showed more robust psychometric properties across the memory impairment bands. Conclusions The mean performance index, a novel scoring algorithm using the mean of the three primary MSVT subtests, may be a more robust validity indicator than the individual MSVT subtests in the context of bona fide memory impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the conflictual relation that the concepts of "Universalism" and "Particularism" share and how the debate informs our understanding of human rights. To study the concept further, the paper takes the case of the current COVID-19 pandemic to explore the tensions and possible assimilations between universalistic and particularistic frameworks using empirical evidence to explore the intersectional impact on human rights in current times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper endeavours to analyse the conflictual relation that the concepts of 'Universalism' and 'Particularism' share and delves into how the debate came to the fore, the seemingly irreconcilable strands in both, which on the surface, make them incompatible with each other in a particularly partisan either/or debate. It then seeks to explore, how on certain issues, both work in tandem and come across as complements to each other. The concept of 'Universal Human Rights' is taken as one such project, seen through the lens of Fraserian 'status model' to situate the issues of social justice, identity politics, and the struggle for recognition within the domain of Human Rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poem "We all are feminists now" by Palak Singh is presented. First line: "you should realize you've had privilege, you know?" Last line: That we all are certainly feminists now.

Overexpression of the E7 gene of human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 is one of the primary causes of cervical cancer. The E7 protein can bind with DNA methyltransferase I and induce methylation of tumor suppressor genes, such as cyclin-A1 (CCNA1), leading to suppression of their expression, and thus, cancer progression. In the present study, the confirmation of methylation-related expression of chorionic gonadotropin subunit 3 (CGB3) and nucleolar protein 56 (NOP56) genes in 5-Azacytidine (5'-aza)-treated HPV16-positive SiHa and HPV16-negative C33A cell lines was shown. Using methylation-specific-PCR and quantitative PCR, the results showed that CGB3 and NOP56 methylation significantly decreased as the 5'-aza concentration was increased, and this was inversely associated with their expression. Moreover, overexpression of E7 contributed to the augmentation of CGB3 and NOP56 methylation levels in C33A cells, resulting in a decrease in their expression. This study extends on previous observations of E7 HPV16 oncogenic function in terms of methylation-repressing expression in more genes, which may be wholly applied to gene therapy in cervical cancer prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]