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Objective: DNA methylation data can be used to derive mitotic indices from complex tissues. Here, we assessed if the DNA methylation‐derived mitotic ageing indices are associated with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) development and recurrence‐free survival (RFS). Methods: DNA methylation‐based mitotic indices (MitoticAge, TNSC and hypoSC) were derived using algorithms "MitoticAge" and "epiTOC2" for the discovery [non‐malignant (n = 22), premalignant (n = 22) and OSCC (n = 68) tissues] and validation datasets (GSE87053, GSE136704 and TCGA‐HNSCC). Differences in mitotic indices between non‐malignant, premalignant and OSCC tissues were assessed. Finally, the association between estimated mitotic indices and RFS was evaluated in OSCCs. Results: In the discovery and validation datasets, increased mitotic ageing was observed in OSCC compared to non‐malignant and premalignant oral tissues. HPV‐positive HNSCCs had higher mitotic index TNSC. Mitotic age index hypoSC was associated with RFS in OSCC (p = 0.011, HR 2.61, 95% CI 1.24–5.48). Conclusions: DNA methylation‐derived mitotic indices are associated with OSCC development and RFS. Thus, DNA methylation‐derived mitotic indices may be a valuable research tool to reliably estimate the cumulative number of stem cell divisions in malignant and non‐malignant oral tissues. Future research utilizing mitotic indices for predicting clinical outcomes in OSCC is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The increasing prevalence of obesity is presenting a critical challenge to health care services. The precipitous rise in the prevalence of obesity is mirrored in the antenatal population and number of women entering pregnancy with obesity is high. In India 26% of pregnant women are overweight and 8% are obese. Objectives: To study the women from a variety of ethnic groups and socio-economic strata, to determine the effect of maternal BMI on maternal and perinatal outcome. Material and Methods: This was a prospective Observational study. A total of 248 pregnant mothers at first visit in first trimester attending the regular antenatal clinics of OBG Department at St. John's medical college Hospital between November 2018 - November 2020 were sorted out based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in the study after informed consent. BMI measured using formula of BMI = (weight in kilograms / height in meters2).The cut-off limits for Asians as per (WHO) was taken. Baseline (ANC) routine investigations were performed as per the hospital protocol. All findings were noted in a Performa and records were maintained till delivery. All pregnant mothers were counselled to have followed up visits till delivery. All the babies were be examined by the Neonatologist. APGAR scores of the babies, and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admissions were recorded. The required sample size was 248 for 80% power and 5% statistically significant. The Qualitative data was summarized by count and percentage. Quantitative data was summarized by mean and standard deviation (SD). The association between qualitative variable was assessed by chi square test and contingency table analysis. The quantitative variable was compared according different groups independent t test and ANOVA. Results: The study observed that there is strong association of increased BMI in pregnant mothers and complications like preeclampsia, GDM, caesarean delivery and larger babies. Whereas, underweight women had more chances of preterm delivery needing NICU care for the child. Conclusion: Maternal BMI and pregnancy outcome have strong correlation and young women who are conceiving are overweight. Therefore, it is essential to create awareness in the young women to have healthy life style and regular exercise to maintain normal BMI prior to conception as it is a modifiable risk factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The waste plastic and its disposal is a major threat to the environment, which results in pollution and global warming. The utilization of plastic waste in bituminous mixes enhances its properties and also its strength. In addition it will also be a solution to plastic disposal & various defects in pavement viz., pot holes, corrugation, ruts, etc. Plastic was found to be an effective binder for flexible and rigid pavements. This efficient method helps the pavements to resist higher temperature by minimizing the formation of cracks and reducing rainwater infiltration which otherwise leads to the development of potholes. These pavements have shown improved crushing and abrasion values and reduced water seepage. Plastic roads would be a boon for India's hot and extremely humid climate, where temperatures frequently cross 50°C and torrential rains create havoc, leaving most of the roads with big potholes In conventional road making process bitumen is used as binder. In the present study an experimental investigation was conducted for rigid and flexible pavements with different percentages of plastic waste to reduce the bitumen content by the addition of Waste plastic in bituminous mix. The laboratory investigations on the bituminous mix and concrete mix have been carried out as per the Indian Standards used for the road construction. The field application is out of the scope of work. To analyze and study how the waste plastic will be effectively utilized in construction of pavement as a binder material for replacing the content of bitumen and cement. This paper deals with study on the various laboratory test performed on aggregates, bitumen and methodology of using plastic waste in bituminous mixes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic trash and its disposal pose a significant environmental problem, resulting in pollution and global warming. The addition of plastic debris to bituminous mixes improves both the characteristics and the strength of the mixture. It will also be a solution for plastic disposal and other pavement faults such as potholes, corrugation, ruts, and so on. Bitumen mixtures used in flexible pavements were found to work well with plastic as a binder. This effective procedure aids in the resistance of pavements to greater temperatures by limiting the creation of cracks and rainfall infiltration, which would otherwise contribute to the formation of potholes. Plastic roads would be a boon for India's hot and extremely humid climate, where temperatures frequently cross 50°C and torrential rains create havoc, leaving most of the roads with big potholes In conventional road making process bitumen is used as binder. Such bitumen can be modified with waste plastic pieces and bitumen mix is made, which can be used as a top layer coat of flexible pavement. This waste plastic modified bitumen mix show better binding property, stability, density and more resistant to water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aggregates are the principal material in pavement construction. Conventional road aggregates in India are natural aggregates obtained by crushing rocks. The physical properties of coarse aggregate are more significant in new generation bituminous mixtures. Aggregate characteristics such as particle size, shape, and texture influence the performance and serviceability of hot mix asphalt pavement. The shape of aggregate particle has significant influence on performance of the Bitumen pavement. Particle shape can be described as cubical, blade, disk and rod .The strength serviceability requirements of Bitumen mixes such as stability, flow, voids in mineral aggregate (VMA), voids filled with bitumen (VFB) and air voids are highly depend on the physical properties of aggregate. Dense bituminous macadam (DBM) mixes were analyzed with different proportions (10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%) of different shape of aggregates were studied. Mixes with cubical and rod shape aggregates has been showed good results on stability. The parameters such as air voids and voids in mineral aggregate increases with increase in proportion of blade type of aggregates in DBM mixes. The particle index value of coarse aggregate significantly affected the engineering properties of Hot mix asphalt (HMA) mix. The particle shape determined how aggregate packed into a dense configuration and also determined the internal resistance of a mix. Mixes prepared by replacing 20% aggregates shown higher stability values. Cubical particles exhibit interlock and internal friction, and hence results in greater mechanical stability than the blade, rod, and disk shape aggregates. Particle shape parameter values obtained were higher for cubical shape aggregates and lower for blade shape aggregates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of medical negligence is not new in India. It is there for a long time but since the last 2 decades, medical negligence and legal aspects of medicine have acquired great significance. Today the number of cases of medical litigation is increasing and already it has become a great problem especially for surgeons, anesthetists, obstetricians and gynecologists. The threat of litigation has increased to a great extent after the inclusion of medical services under the preview of Consumer Protection Act 1986 and 2002. The present study is an attempt to discover the ground realisms and basic drawbacks in the service of the healthcare which gives a boost to allegations against the medical practitioners. In this study we have taken into consideration the cases of alleged medical negligence that are referred for expert opinion to the Government medical college, Aurangabad in the period of 2011 to 2015. In the present study Large no. of allegations cases were related to the age group 21-30 years (35.94 %). Females in the reproductive age-group (21-40) years had the most frequent no. of cases (54.71%) of allegations. Large no. of cases (78.13%) were related to urban population as against rural population (21.88%). Cases related to allegations against the private hospitals scored more (71.88%) than against government hospitals. 47 % of cases were related to surgical specialties which was more than the medicinal aspect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An adolescent is a person between the ages of 10 to 19 years as defined by WHO. They constitute about 1.2 billion population in the world. With changing time, the mortality among adolescents is also on rise. This observational study was conducted in Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Seth G S medical college, Mumbai on 217 postmortem cases from adolescent age group during period of January 2013 to December 2015. It was aimed to study the pattern of unnatural deaths among adolescents and various correlating factors. Male preponderance was observed in the study. Majority of the cases were belonging to urban region and were hindu. Trauma was the leading cause of death in 51.51% cases followed by poisoning in 25.80% cases. 71.88% deaths were accidental. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Genetic variants in nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and alcohol metabolism genes have been associated with propensity to smoke tobacco and drink alcohol, respectively, and also implicated in genetic susceptibility to head and neck cancer. In addition to smoking and alcohol, tobacco chewing is an important oral cancer risk factor in India. It is not known if these genetic variants influence propensity or oral cancer susceptibility in the context of this distinct etiology. Methods: We examined 639 oral and pharyngeal cancer cases and 791 controls from two case-control studies conducted in India. We investigated six variants known to influence nicotine addiction or alcohol metabolism, including rs16969968 (CHRNA5), rs578776 (CHRNA3), rs1229984 (ADH1B), rs698 (ADH1C), rs1573496 (ADH7), and rs4767364 (ALDH2). Results: The CHRN variants were associated with the number of chewing events per day, including in those who chewed tobacco but never smoked (P =  0.003, P =  0.01 for rs16969968 and rs578776 respectively). Presence of the variant allele contributed to approximately 13% difference in chewing frequency compared to non-carriers. While no association was observed between rs16969968 and oral cancer risk (OR =  1.01, 95% CI =  0.83– 1.22), rs578776 was modestly associated with a 16% decreased risk of oral cancer (OR =  0.84, 95% CI =  0.72– 0.98). There was little evidence for association between polymorphisms in genes encoding alcohol metabolism and oral cancer in this population. Conclusion: The association between rs16969968 and number of chewing events implies that the effect on smoking propensity conferred by this gene variant extends to the use of smokeless tobacco. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In the present study, we comprehensively analyzed the prevalence of transcriptionally active human papilloma virus (HPV) in tissue samples of Indian patients with leukoplakia, predominantly hyperplastic lesions and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In addition, saliva samples from patients with HNSCC were screened for HPV detection., Study Design: P16 overexpression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Tissue samples of leukoplakia (n = 121) and HNSCC (n = 427) and saliva from patients with HNSCC (n = 215) were tested for HPV using nested polymerase chain reaction. Positive samples were sequenced for subtyping. The presence of HPV E6/E7 mRNA was confirmed by RNA in situ hybridization., Results: P16 expression and HPV DNA were not detected in any of the leukoplakia specimens. Of the 427 HNSCC tumors, 9 showed p16 overexpression and 7/427 cases were positive for HPV16 DNA, in saliva or tissue. E6/E7 mRNA positivity was observed in 8 HNSCC samples, primarily from patients with no habit of tobacco consumption. The prevalence of high-risk HPV was restricted to oropharynx and larynx, with very little concordance between p16 overexpression and HPV positivity. All patients with HPV-positive saliva samples had transcriptionally active HPV present in their tumors., Conclusion: The presence of HPV DNA does not necessarily reflect transcriptionally active virus in tumors; hence, it is important to consider this fact while categorizing HPV-associated tumors., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The highest rates of oral squamous cell carcinomas are observed in south Asia, particularly in India, where complex forms of tobacco and alcohol exposures exist. Genetic polymorphisms contribute significantly to observed differences in cancer susceptibility. We examined the association of 13 variants in eight genes (rs4646903, rs2031920, rs3813867, GSTM1 null, GSTT1 null, rs1695, rs1138272, rs1799782, rs25487, rs1799791, rs1799793, rs13181 and rs1052133) involved in various stages of tobacco and alcohol metabolism and the risk of leukoplakia and oral cancer (OC) in a case-control study involving 219 oral leukoplakia, 665 OC and 802 age, sex and habit-matched controls. GSTT1 null and rs1695 were inversely associated with oral leukoplakia while GSTM1 null, GSTT1 null, rs2031920, rs3813867 (CYP2E1), and rs13181 were associated with OC. We report that genetic variants associated with premalignant and malignant conditions of the oral cavity differ. The associations appeared to be consistent among smokeless tobacco users, a characteristic risk factor in these parts., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Oral cancer is the leading cancer type among Southeast Asian men and is causally associated with the use of tobacco. Genetic polymorphisms in xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes modify the effect of environmental exposures, thereby playing a significant role in gene-environment interactions and hence contribute to the high degree of variance in individual susceptibility to cancer risk. This study investigates the role of polymorphisms at CYP1A1, GSTM1 and GSTT1 to oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in a case-control study involving 155 patients with precancerous lesions, 458 cancer patients and 729 age and habit-matched controls. Genotypes at these loci were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism performed on genomic DNA extracted from peripheral blood lymphocytes. Risk to oral cancer was estimated among different tobacco exposure groups and doses using logistic regression analysis. GSTM1 null genotype conferred 1.29-fold increased risk [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04-1.65] to OSCC. GSTT1 null genotype, however, conferred 0.57 times reduced risk to OSCC (95% CI, 0.39-0.83), specifically among tobacco chewers (odds ratio 0.27; 95% CI, 0.14-0.53). This risk was further reduced to 0.13 times (95% CI, 0.04-0.46) with increase in lifetime exposure to tobacco. We also investigated risk conferred by these genotypes at two different intra-oral sites, buccal mucosa and tongue. We found increased susceptibility to buccal mucosa cancer among individuals carrying these genetic markers. These results support the finding that GSTM1 null genotype is a risk factor to OSCC among Indian tobacco habits; GSTT1 null genotype, however, emerged as a protective factor.