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Salinity is among the harshest environmental stress conditions that negatively affects productivity of salt-sensitive rice. Since, germination is the most crucial phase in the life-cycle of plants, the present study was carried out to study the morpho-physiological traits associated with salinity stress. Evaluation of tolerance in four contrasting rice genotypes was assessed on the basis of specific morpho-physiological parameters including radicle emergence, seedling vigour index, germination index, mean germination time, radicle and plumule growth and seedling water uptake. Largely, our findings revealed that mean germination time (MGT) and seedling vigour index (SVI) are fast-screening procedures to test seedling performance in salt stress conditions. Salt sensitive genotypes showed higher MGT and lower SVI, confirming that these indices are good indicators of poor germination response. Salt-tolerant genotypes were shown to be inhibited to a lesser extent in alpha-amylase activity in spite of high concentrations of imposed NaCl stress, that correlated with better regulation of water-uptake and increased accumulation of total soluble sugar content. Exogenous supplementation of soluble sugars improved the germination rate in a salt sensitive genotype, Jyothi, confirming the importance of soluble sugars in signaling under NaCl stress conditions. Increased total phenols and flavonoids were observed to be relative to higher Total Antioxidant Capacity in salt tolerant genotypes underlying the significance of seed phenolic compounds in early germination response in NaCl stress conditions. Kagga, a landrace grown in coastal Karnataka performed comparably with that of salt tolerant rice, Pokkali. In conclusion, the determination of early seedling response may be utilized as a useful strategy to uncover genetic variation in rice germplasm to salinity stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess the correlation between self-perceived dental appearance and dental malocclusion among 18- to 20-year-old college students in Virajpet, Karnataka.Materials and Methods: A stratified random sample consisting of 280 18- to 20-year-old college students in Virajpet were recruited for the study. A pretested Oral Aesthetic Subjective Impact Scale (OASIS) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were used to assess the subjects' perception of dental aesthetics. Malocclusion was clinically assessed using the Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI). The data were tabulated and analysed using SPSS version 16. The Spearman rankorder correlation coefficient was employed to determine the correlation between self-perceived dental appearance and dental malocclusion.Results: Of the 280 students, 41.8% were females and 58.2% were males. The mean OASIS score was 23.93 (±3.72), the VAS score was 69.61 (±15.78) and DAI 24.80 (±6.29).Conclusion: There was a negative correlation between perception of personal dental appearance and the DAI scores in this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine the prevalence of molar incisor hypomineralization among school children aged 9 to 12 years in virajpet, Karnataka. Method: This cross-sectional descriptive study consisted of 1600 school children aged 9-12 years selected by stratified cluster sampling procedure. The European Academy of Pediatric Dentistry criteria were followed for MIH diagnosis. Chi-square test was used toanalyze the categorical data. P ≤ 0.05 was considered for statistical significance. Results: The prevalence of MIH is 13.12 % with no gender predilection. 10 year old children showed the highest prevalence (15%) among all the age group.Majority of children with MIH (70.2%) have lesions in both molars and incisors with demarcated opacities and atypical restorations being the most frequent defect type. Conclusion: Prevalence of MIH was 13.12% in the 9-12 year child population in Virajpet. There is a need for a properplanned preventive and restorative program with regard to the increasing prevalence of MIH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smoking kills 900,000 people every year in India. Many studies have shown that counseling from a health professional is an effective method of helping patients quit. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of dental students in Karnataka, India, towards smoking cessation counseling. A questionnaire study was conducted among a convenience sample of 329 dental students comprised of III year and IV year students and interns in three dental colleges in Karnataka, India. Of the 329 students who completed the questionnaire, twenty-two (7 percent) were current smokers, and fifteen (5 percent) were ex-smokers. Although 94 percent responded they were giving antismoking advice to their patients, only 47 percent said they had been taught antismoking advice suitable for patients. While a majority (95 percent) planned to advise patients about tobacco use in their professional careers, significantly fewer (66 percent) indicated that such counseling would help patients to quit. This study of dental students and interns found that a majority intended to provide smoking cessation counseling in their professional career and agreed it is part of their professional role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]