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The tumor microenvironment and immune evasion function in a complex cellular network profoundly challenge the clinical outcome of promising therapies. Our recently published study reported that the subset of genes upregulated in ccRCC due to H3K4me1 and DNA demethylation potentially leads to an immunosuppressive environment. Thus, modulating H3K4me1 chromatin modifier SETD7 with a natural inhibitor in combination with immunotherapy might improve the immune landscape for a better therapeutic outcome. The present study was conducted via virtual screening and MD simulation using compounds from the literature, IMPPAT, and SuperNatural database. The phytochemical IMPHY002979 showed better binding affinity and lower energy than the reported R-PFI-2 and cyproheptadine inhibitors. The phytochemicals interact with the SET domain through H-bonding, as confirmed by MD simulation and molecular interaction analysis. Further, the compound was assessed using ADME parameters and free energy estimation, showing better pharmacokinetic properties. Therefore, the non-accessibility of the histone methyltransferase activity domain of SET7 with IMPHY002979 can downregulate H3K4me1 and, thereby, the expression of genes potentially responsible for immunosuppressive TME. Thus, patient stratification based on molecular markers for immunotherapy and combining epigenetic modulators with therapeutic drugs will improve the efficacy of immunotherapy in ccRCC., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Ethical approval: Not applicable. Consent to participate: Yes. All authors agreed to participate in this research. Consent for publication: Yes. All authors., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Dental caries is the most common disease in childhood and has an impact on general health status. The topical application of fluoride varnishes has been used for the prevention and control of dental caries due to their high fluoride content, adhesion capacity, and safety. Silver has a varied application in medicine as well as in dentistry due to its anticaries, antimicrobial, and antirheumatic potentials. The introduction of nanosilver fluoride (NSF) was made with advancements in technology to overcome the drawbacks of silver diamine fluoride (SDF)., Aim: To compare and evaluate the microhardness and microleakage of NSF varnish and sodium fluoride (NaF) varnish., Materials and Methods: An in vitro comparative experimental study was carried out between synthesized NSF and commercially available NaF, with 20 samples in each group. The specimens were sectioned and subjected to microhardness evaluation using Vickers microhardness testing and the dye penetration method to evaluate the microleakage., Results: The average microhardness was found to be 230.7218 VMH for NSF (group I), 198.9841 VMH for NaF (group II), and 91.6120 VMH for group III. These differences were statistically significant when compared with each other ( p = 0.002). In 50% of the samples, no dye penetration was seen in the NSF group, compared to the NaF varnish group, where 75% of the samples exhibited penetration onto the varnish interface or the varnish and tooth interface., Conclusion: Nanosilver fluoride proves to be an effective alternative to commercially available topical fluoride agents such as NaF. It has greater microhardness and lower microleakage than NaF and the control teeth., Clinical Significance: Nanosilver fluoride varnish can be used as a cost-effective alternative to NaF varnish and SDF. It can be applied with minimal training by healthcare workers or general practitioners., How to Cite This Article: Kritivasan S, Sogi HS, Jain M, et al. Comparative Evaluation of the Mechanical Efficiency of Nanosilver Fluoride and Sodium Fluoride Varnish: An In Vitro Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2024;17(5):539-544., Competing Interests: Source of support: Nil Conflict of interest: NoneConflict of interest: None, (Copyright © 2024; The Author(s).)

Objective: The study was conducted to analyze the pattern, etiology and management of maxillofacial trauma in children up to 16 years of age., Study Design: Records of the patients who sustained maxillofacial trauma from 2013 to 2018 were retrospectively evaluated for age, gender, etiology, pattern of injuries and their management. Children were divided into three groups-primary (0-5 yrs), mixed (6-11 yrs) and permanent dentition group (12-16 yrs). Maxillofacial trauma was observed as midface fracture, mandible fractures, soft tissue injuries and associated tooth fractures. SPSS software version 19.0 was used for the data analysis., Result: A total record of 99 children were evaluated. Gender-wise distribution was reported twice in male than females. Fall was observed as the major etiological factor (73.7%) with a significant p value of 0.012 using chi-square test. The highest frequency of maxillofacial trauma is noted in mixed dentition group (47.4%). Mandible fracture was most frequently observed followed by associated soft tissue injury. Conservative approach/closed reduction for management was executed for the majority of cases., Conclusion: Knowledge gained from the present study would help in assessing the effectiveness of present preventive modalities and facilitate elaboration of future preventive measures and new research works as well., (© The Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons of India 2023. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Polycrystalline Zn 1-x Cu x O (x = 0.0, 0.02, and 0.05) samples have been prepared using the solid-state reaction procedure. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the samples confirm that Cu ions are successfully included in the ZnO hexagonal wurtzite structure. Rietveld analysis of the XRD patterns confirms the phase purity of the synthesized samples and a slight variation in their lattice parameter upon Cu doping. The morphology study by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) depicts transfiguration with Cu doping. The existence of oxygen vacancies (V o ) in the Cu-doped samples is indicated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The magnetization measurements reveal the diamagnetic nature of pure ZnO while the Cu-doped samples depict a room-temperature ferromagnetic (RTFM) behavior. The 2% Cu-doped sample shows higher values of both the saturation magnetization and the V o as compared to the 5% Cu-doped sample. The observed magnetization seems to show a direct relationship with the V o . The photoluminescence (PL) and ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopic measurements were performed for their optical analysis. The presence of V o in the Cu-doped samples is revealed by the PL findings also that is in agreement with the XPS results. The UV analysis shows that Cu doping in the ZnO influences the band gap. The observed RTFM induced by Cu doping in ZnO renders it a potential system for spintronic devices useful for energy-efficient data storage devices and energy harvesting eco-friendly applications., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Introduction: In current practice, auto-filter exposure mode is used for most screening mammography examinations. However, with better understanding of the side effects of radiation, it is important to examine exposure parameters and practises to minimise radiation dose to patients. The purpose of this phantom study is to investigate the impact that different exposure modes (manual, auto-time and auto-filter) have on radiation dose, while maintaining images of diagnostic quality., Methods: This study was conducted in three stages. In the first stage, 125 images were taken using a Gammex 156 phantom with polymethyl methacrylate blocks to reflect varying thicknesses (4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0 and 6.5 cm). In the second stage, three mammographers independently assessed image quality and assigned scores based on the number of distinct fibers, masses and speck groups visible. Images with acceptable quality were further investigated in the third stage by comparing their average glandular dose (AGD) using the Kruskal-Wallis H test and Dunn's post-hoc pairwise analysis., Results: Significant differences in AGD were shown between the auto-filter mode and manual mode techniques for 6.0 cm, and between auto-time mode and manual mode techniques for 6.5 cm (p < 0.05)., Conclusion: For 4.5, 5.0 and 5.5 cm phantoms, as AGD was not significantly different among the different modes, the auto-filter may remain the most practical option. However, significant reductions in AGD were obtained for the 6.0 and 6.5 cm phantoms when manual mode techniques were used., Implications for Practice: Manual mode techniques can potentially provide dose-saving opportunity in 6.0 and 6.5 cm breast thickness though future work on human breast should be done to confirm this. Results from this study will support future research based on patient data., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest statement None., (Copyright © 2022 The College of Radiographers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aim: To evaluate the oral health status of children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN) having either systemic illness or any disabilities., Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of oral health status was done from Jan 2013 to Dec 2018 on 58 CSHCN (both genders) up to 16 years of age. The oral health status of patients was assessed with the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT/dmft) indices and simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S) by using the World Health Organization (WHO) 2013 oral health survey criteria., Results: Fair oral hygiene was dominantly present (62%) among all the subjects. Association between oral hygiene status and systemic illness/disability was done using the Chi-squared (χ 2 ) test and was found statistically nonsignificant. The overall mean DMFT/dmft found was 4.16. The highest mean DMFT/dmft score was recorded in nephrotic syndrome patients (16.0%), while the least score was seen among cleft anomalies (1.89%). Comparison between mean DMFT/dmft scores among various systemic illnesses/disabilities were done using Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance (Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA) test and found statistically significant ( p -value 0.048)., Conclusion: The majority of the CSHCN fall under fair oral hygiene status. A high caries prevalence and statistically significant value were demonstrated between mean DMFT/dmft scores of various systemic illnesses/disabilities., Clinical Significance: Present study aids in understanding the needs of the community, identifying high-risk groups, planning the required treatment and prevention strategies, and thus monitoring and improving the oral health status of children with special healthcare needs., How to Cite This Article: Patidar D, Sogi S, Patidar DC. Oral Health Status of Children with Special Healthcare Need: A Retrospective Analysis. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(4):433-437., Competing Interests: Source of support: Nil Conflict of interest: None, (Copyright © 2022; The Author(s).)

Post COVID-19 sequelae are a constellation of symptoms often reported after recovering from COVID-19. There is a need to better understand the clinical spectrum and long-term course of this clinical entity. The aim of this study is to describe the clinical features and risk factors of post COVID-19 sequelae in the North Indian population. This prospective observational study was conducted at a tertiary healthcare centre in Northern India between October 2020 and February 2021. Patients aged >18 years with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were recruited after at least two weeks of diagnosis, and details were captured. A total of 1234 patients were recruited and followed up for a median duration of 91 days (IQR: 45-181 days). Among them, 495 (40.1%) had persistent symptoms post-discharge or recovery. In 223 (18.1%) patients, the symptoms resolved within four weeks; 150 (12.1%) patients had symptoms till 12 weeks, and 122 (9.9%) patients had symptoms beyond 12 weeks of diagnosis/symptom-onset of COVID-19. Most common symptoms included myalgia (10.9%), fatigue (5.5%), shortness of breath (6.1%), cough (2.1%), insomnia (1.4%), mood disturbances (0.48%) and anxiety (0.6%). Patients who were hospitalized were more likely to report fatigue as a feature of long COVID. Hypothyroidism (OR: 4.13, 95% CI: 2.2-7.6, p-value < 0.001) and hypoxia (SpO 2 ≤ 93%) (OR: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.1-2.4, p-value 0.012) were identified as risk factors for long COVID sequelae. In conclusion, long COVID symptoms were common (22%), and 9.9% had the post COVID-19 syndrome. Myalgias, fatigue and dyspnoea were common symptoms. Patients with hypothyroidism and hypoxia during acute illness were at higher risk of long COVID.

Aim: This retrospective study aimed to analyze dental traumatic injuries and their management in children up to 16 years of age., Materials and Methods: Records of the patients who sustained dental trauma from 2013 to 2018 were evaluated for age, gender, etiology, type of injuries, and their management. Children were divided into three groups-primary (0-5 years), mixed (6-11 years), and permanent dentition group (12-16 years). Dental trauma was assessed by Ellis and Davey's classification of tooth fracture along with other associated injuries., Results: Total records of 466 children with 750 injured teeth (665 permanent and 85 primary) were evaluated. Males were reported twice as females. Fall was noted as the major etiological factor (93.1%). The highest frequency of dental trauma was observed in the permanent dentition group (54.7%). Ellis class IV fracture was the most common dental injury and maxillary central incisor was the most frequently injured tooth. Soft tissue injury was noted as the most commonly associated injury. Most of the dental traumatic injuries in permanent teeth were treated by root canal treatment while the majority of primary dentitions were managed by observation and wound care., Conclusion: Ellis class IV fracture was noted as the most frequent type of dental injury and fall was a major etiological factor. The permanent dentition group of children was more affected and a male predominance was observed., Clinical Significance: The information gained from the present study would help in providing various preventive modalities to parents, caregivers, and teachers regarding these injuries in the future and also facilitate several new researches in this field., How to Cite This Article: Patidar D, Sogi S, Patidar DC, et al. Traumatic Dental Injuries in Pediatric Patients: A Retrospective Analysis. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2021;14(4):506-511., Competing Interests: Source of support: Nil Conflict of interest: None, (Copyright © 2021; Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd.)

Background & Objectives: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has so far affected over 41 million people globally. The limited supply of real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) kits and reagents has made meeting the rising demand for increased testing incompetent, worldwide. A highly sensitive and specific antigen-based rapid diagnostic test (RDT) is the need of the hour. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of a rapid chromatographic immunoassay-based test (index test) compared with a clinical reference standard (rRT-PCR)., Methods: A cross-sectional, single-blinded study was conducted at a tertiary care teaching hospital in north India. Paired samples were taken for RDT and rRT-PCR (reference standard) from consecutive participants screened for COVID-19 to calculate the sensitivity and specificity of the RDT. Further subgroup analysis was done based on the duration of illness and cycle threshold values. Cohen's kappa coefficient was used to measure the level of agreement between the two tests., Results: Of the 330 participants, 77 were rRT-PCR positive for SARS-CoV-2. Sixty four of these patients also tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RDT. The overall sensitivity and specificity were 81.8 and 99.6 per cent, respectively. The sensitivity of RDT was higher (85.9%) in participants with a duration of illness ≤5 days., Interpretation & Conclusions: With an excellent specificity and moderate sensitivity, this RDT may be used to rule in COVID-19 in patients with a duration of illness ≤5 days. Large-scale testing based on this RDT across the country would result in quick detection, isolation and treatment of COVID-19 patients., Competing Interests: None

The ZnSe-rGO nanocomposite with various stacking of rGO by simple solvothermal route was reported along with its characterization through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy. SEM as well as TEM pictures predict that ZnSe nanoparticles were embedded on the graphene sheets with average particle size 15 nm and are well decorated on the surface of rGO sheets. Photocatalytic activity's improvement for degradation of MB by ZnSe-rGO nanocomposites was observed, which is described in term of interaction between ZnSe nanoparticles and rGO sheets and charge carrier sepatation. It is also reflected in photoluminescence and Raman studies. This plays a crucial role in minimizing electron-hole recombination through transfer of electron from ZnSe to rGO.

Background: The oral microflora primarily involved in early childhood caries (ECC) is Streptococcus mutans while Streptococcus sanguinis is related to healthy caries-free mouth. The antagonism between the two at biological level is well recognized., Aim: This study aims to compare the pre- and posttreatment salivary levels of S. mutans and S. sanguinis in ECC., Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 40 eligible participants. Clinical examination was done, and decayed teeth were recorded. Pre- and Posttreatment saliva sample was taken, processed and bacterial counts were compared., Results: A statistically significant posttreatment reduction was found in S. mutans counts; however, a significant posttreatment elevation was seen in S. sanguinis counts (P < 0.001) using Wilcoxon signed-rank test. A significant weak positive correlation was found between S. mutans and decayed teeth in the mouth (r = 0.366 and P = 0.028) using Spearman's correlation. No significant gender association was found between pre- and posttreatment S. mutans and S. sanguinis counts (P = 0.908) and also between decayed teeth (P = 0.321) using Mann-Whitney U-test., Conclusion: Complete dental treatment procedure showed significant reduction and elevation in S. mutans and S. sanguinis counts, respectively. A positive association was observed between S. mutans and ECC while S. sanguinis were positively associated with posttreatment oral environment., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest

Monodispersed ZnO nanoparticles have been synthesised in ethylene glycol medium using zinc acetate and sodium hydroxide at room temperature through ultrasonic treatment. The monodispersed ZnO nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, TEM, SEM, and optical spectroscopy. The results indicate that ZnO shows the hexagonal wurtzite structure having 8 nm average particle size with the band gap of 3.93 eV. ZnO nanoparticles blended with P3HT show the improvement in the interchains and intrachains ordering as compared to pure P3HT. The power conversion efficiency of P3HT/ZnO solar cell is found to be 0.88%, which is comparable with the result obtained by other researchers.

Adverse drug reactions (ADR) are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, often identified only post-marketingly. Improvement in current ADR reporting, including utility of underused or innovative methods, is crucial to improve patient safety and public health. Hospital-based monitoring is one of the methods used to collect data about drug prescriptions and adverse events. The aims of this study were to identify the most frequent ADRs recognized by the attending physicians, study their nature, and to target these ADRs in order to take future preventive measures. A prospective study was conducted over a 7-month period in an internal medicine department using stimulated spontaneous reporting for identifying ADRs. Out of the 254 admissions, 32 ADRs in 37 patients (14.56%) were validated from the total of 36 suspected ADRs in 41 patients. Female predominance was noted over males in case of ADRs. Fifty percent of total ADRs occurred due to multiple drug therapy. Dermatological ADRs were found to be the most frequent (68.75%), followed by respiratory, central nervous system and gastrointestinal ADRs. The drugs most frequently involved were antibiotics, anti-tubercular agents, antigout agents, and NSAIDs. The most commonly reported reactions were itching and rashes. Out of the 32 reported ADRs, 50% of the reactions were probable, 46.87% of the reactions were possible and 3.12% of the reactions were definite. The severity assessment done by using the Hartwig and Seigel scale indicated that the majority of ADRs were 'Mild' followed by 'Moderate' and 'Severe' reactions, respectively. Out of all, 75% of ADRs were recovered. The most potent management of ADRs was found to be drug withdrawal. Our study indicated that hospital based monitoring was a good method to detect links between drug exposure and adverse drug reactions. Adequate training regarding pharmacology and optimization of drug therapy might be helpful to reduce ADR morbidity and mortality.