Search

The furcation area creates situations in which routine periodontal procedures are somewhat limited, and surgical procedures are generally required. The introduction of bioactive agents, such as platelet concentrates, enamel matrix derivatives, bone morphogenic proteins, and matrix macromolecules such as hyaluronic acid has expanded the scope for better outcomes in furcation treatment. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring nonsulfated high molecular weight glycosaminoglycan that forms a critical component of the extracellular matrix and contributes significantly to tissue hydrodynamics, cell migration, and proliferation. Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is an immune and platelet concentrate containing all the constituents of a blood sample, which are favorable for healing and immunity. The purpose of the present case report was to assess through surgical re-entry, the regenerative capacity of Gengigel® in conjunction with PRF in a patient with grade II furcation defect. It was observed that the combined approach resulted in significant furcation defect fill on re-evaluation at 6 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This present study examined mental health in relation to school environment and socio-economic status among adolescents. Sample comprised 200 adolescents of Amritsar city of Punjab. 100 female and 100 male were selected randomly. Participants were assessed by Mental Health battery (2005) developed by Singh and Sengupta, School environment inventory (2002) developed by Mishraand Socio-Economic Status Scale (Rural/Urban) (2006) developed by Sham, Singh and Kumar was used to measure the socio-economic status of adolescents. Descriptive statistics namely mean, median, mode, S.D., t-test and Pearson's correlation was used for attaining the objectives of this study. Results revealed that there exists no significant mean difference in mental health among female and male adolescents. The mean score of mental health of female and male adolescents shows that male adolescents are mentally healthier than female adolescents. There exists significant positive correlation between mental health and school environment and socio-economic status among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotional intelligence determines an individual's success at workplace and it has been realised that it is more important than even the IQ. Occupational stress is increasing among teachers on accounts of increasing workload, poor quality of students seeking admission to colleges, inadequacy of resources, involvement in non-academic activities, and poor interpersonal relations with superiors, subordinates, colleagues and students. The present study was undertaken to find out the relationship between emotional intelligence and occupational stress and compare the occupational stress levels of college teachers with varied levels of emotional intelligence (high, average and low). 218 college teachers were randomly selected from the colleges of Chandigarh. Emotional intelligence was found to be significantly negatively co-related with five dimensions of occupational stress and with total scores on occupational stress (r=.19) indicating that higher the emotional intelligence, lower is the occupational stress and vice versa. Significant differences existed among the college teachers with varied levels of emotional intelligence on seven dimensions of occupational stress namely role ambiguity, role conflict, responsibility for others, under participation, powerlessness, intrinsic impoverishment, low status and on total scores of occupational stress. In most of the cases, college teachers with higher level of emotional intelligence showed lower level of occupational stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pot experiment was conducted on peanut Arachis hypogaea L. during 2007 growing season to determine their growth characteristics due to mycorrhizal inoculation and two different levels of soluble phosphorous application. Due to inoculation by AM fungi the growth parameters such as leaf number, shoot length, root length, fresh weight, dry weight, pod number and nodule number were significantly increased but two different level of phosphate also showed growth. However, growth parameters showed variable results when two different level of phosphate was applied along with AM fungi. Without phosphorous the mycorrhizal groundnut showed significant growth but when first low level of phosphorous was applied it showed more significant growth, however most significant result was observed with second high level of phosphorous application to the groundnut plant. Total chlorophyll content and acid and alkaline phosphatase activity was also significantly higher but most significant were observed when first level of phosphorous was applied followed by second level of phosphorous. The percent root colonization by mycorrhizal fungus Glomus fasciculatum was higher due to application of phosphorous but mycorrhizal dependency went on decreasing due to increase in the level of phosphorous. The different level of phosphorous had significant effect on growth and physiological parameters of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal Arachis plants after 30, 60 and 90 days of growth period. However, the obtained results proved the improvement in plant growth with application of phosphorous. Thus, for increase in production of groundnut in the state of Maharashtra seems to be feasible option for increasing the overall production and yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the first use of swept-source microscope-integrated optical coherence tomography (SS-MIOCT) capable of live four-dimensional (4D) (three-dimensional across time) imaging intraoperatively to directly visualize tube shunt placement and trabeculectomy surgeries in two patients with severe open-angle glaucoma and elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) that was not adequately managed by medical intervention or prior surgery. We performed tube shunt placement and trabeculectomy surgery and used SS-MIOCT to visualize and record surgical steps that benefitted from the enhanced visualization. In the case of tube shunt placement, SS-MIOCT successfully visualized the scleral tunneling, tube shunt positioning in the anterior chamber, and tube shunt suturing. For the trabeculectomy, SS-MIOCT successfully visualized the scleral flap creation, sclerotomy, and iridectomy. Postoperatively, both patients did well, with IOPs decreasing to the target goal. We found the benefit of SS-MIOCT was greatest in surgical steps requiring depth-based assessments. This technology has the potential to improve clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how injecting arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) species Glomus fasciculatum affects the growth performance of Vitis vinifera (grapes) plant. It states in detail how the experimentation was made including various photographs of the inoculated grape plant in various stages. It further reiterates that inoculation of the AM species Glomus fasciculatum into grape plants proved to be viable and creates better growth for the plant.

Present investigation deals with the beneficial effect of Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (AM) fungal species Glomus fasciculatum on growth performance of Allium sativum under field condition. In AM inoculated garlic plant showed significant increase in plant growth parameters like plant height, total biomass and bulb diameters, bulb weight, and yield. There was 21.10 % increment in yield of Allium bulb as compared to non AM inoculated garlic plant. Percentage of AM colonization occurred at all sampling and the colonization was higher during bulb initiation. Mycorrhiza inoculated garlic plant showed more alliin and allinase enzyme activity as compared to non inoculated garlic plant. The results reveal that mycorrhiza contribute to growth and development of garlic plant under field condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of degradation of soil health, environmental pollution, and yield stagnation in the rice-wheat system in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia, an experiment was established in split plot design to assess the long-term effect of crop residue management on productivity and phosphorus requirement of wheat in rice-wheat system. The experiment comprised of six crop residue management practices as the main treatment factor with three levels (0, 30 and 60 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 ) of phosphorus fertilizer as sub-treatments. Significant improvement in soil aggregation, bulk density, and infiltration rate was observed under residue management (retention/incorporation) treatments compared to residue removal or residue burning. Soil organic carbon (SOC), available nutrient content (N, P, and K), microbial count, and enzyme activities were also significantly higher in conservation tillage and residue-treated plots than without residue/burning treatments. The residue derived from both crops when was either retained/incorporated improved the soil organic carbon (0.80%) and resulted in a significant increase in SOC (73.9%) in the topsoil layer as compared to the conventional practice. The mean effect studies revealed that crop residue management practices and phosphorus levels significantly influenced wheat yield attributes and productivity. The higher grain yield of wheat was recorded in two treatments, i.e. the basal application of 60 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 without residue incorporation and the other with half the P-fertilizer (30 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 ) with rice residue only. The grain yield of wheat where the rice and wheat residue were either retained/incorporated without phosphorus application was at par with 30 and 60 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 . Phosphorus levels also significantly affected wheat productivity and available P content in the soil. Therefore, results suggested that crop residue retention following the conservation tillage approach improved the yield of wheat cultivated in the rice-wheat cropping system., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose In patients with epidermal growth factor receptor ( EGFR) mutation-positive advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), there is an unmet need for EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors with improved CNS penetration and activity against CNS metastases, either at initial diagnosis or time of progression. We report the first comparative evidence of osimertinib CNS efficacy versus platinum-pemetrexed from a phase III study (AURA3; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02151981) in patients with EGFR T790M-positive advanced NSCLC who experience disease progression with prior EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment. Methods Patients with asymptomatic, stable CNS metastases were eligible for enrollment and were randomly assigned 2:1 to osimertinib 80 mg once daily or platinum-pemetrexed. A preplanned subgroup analysis was conducted in patients with measurable and/or nonmeasurable CNS lesions on baseline brain scan by blinded independent central neuroradiological review. The CNS evaluable for response set included only patients with one or more measurable CNS lesions. The primary objective for this analysis was CNS objective response rate (ORR). Results Of 419 patients randomly assigned to treatment, 116 had measurable and/or nonmeasurable CNS lesions, including 46 patients with measurable CNS lesions. At data cutoff (April 15, 2016), CNS ORR in patients with one or more measurable CNS lesions was 70% (21 of 30; 95% CI, 51% to 85%) with osimertinib and 31% (5 of 16; 95% CI, 11% to 59%) with platinum-pemetrexed (odds ratio, 5.13; 95% CI, 1.44 to 20.64; P = .015); the ORR was 40% (30 of 75; 95% CI, 29% to 52%) and 17% (7 of 41; 95% CI, 7% to 32%), respectively, in patients with measurable and/or nonmeasurable CNS lesions (odds ratio, 3.24; 95% CI, 1.33 to 8.81; P = .014). Median CNS duration of response in patients with measurable and/or nonmeasurable CNS lesions was 8.9 months (95% CI, 4.3 months to not calculable) for osimertinib and 5.7 months (95% CI, 4.4 to 5.7 months) for platinum-pemetrexed; median CNS progression-free survival was 11.7 months and 5.6 months, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.69; P = .004). Conclusion Osimertinib demonstrated superior CNS efficacy versus platinum-pemetrexed in T790M-positive advanced NSCLC.

Purpose: Gemcitabine requires transporter proteins to cross cell membranes. Low expression of human equilibrative nucleoside transporter-1 (hENT1) may result in gemcitabine resistance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). CO-101, a lipid-drug conjugate of gemcitabine, was rationally designed to enter cells independently of hENT1. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine whether CO-101 improved survival versus gemcitabine in patients with metastatic PDAC (mPDAC) with low hENT1. The study also tested the hypothesis that gemcitabine is more active in patients with mPDAC tumors with high versus low hENT1 expression., Patients and Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to CO-101 or gemcitabine, after providing a metastasis sample for blinded hENT1 assessment. An immunohistochemistry test measuring tumor hENT1 was developed. To dichotomize the population, an hENT1 cutoff value was defined using primary PDAC samples from an adjuvant trial, and a high/low cutoff was applied. The primary end point was overall survival (OS) in the low hENT1 subgroup., Results: Of 367 patients enrolled, hENT1 status was measured in 358 patients (97.5%). Two hundred thirty-two (64.8%) of 358 patients were hENT1 low. There was no difference in OS between treatments in the low hENT1 subgroup or overall, with hazard ratios (HRs) of 0.994 (95% CI, 0.746 to 1.326) and 1.072 (95% CI, 0.856 to 1.344), respectively. The toxicity profiles in both arms were similar. Within the gemcitabine arm, there was no difference in survival between the high and low hENT1 subgroups (HR, 1.147; 95% CI, 0.809 to 1.626)., Conclusion: CO-101 is not superior to gemcitabine in patients with mPDAC and low tumor hENT1. Metastasis hENT1 expression did not predict gemcitabine outcome.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi alleviating the adverse Aluminium effects on growth and antioxidant activity was tested in Gmelina plants. Under greenhouse and aluminium stress condition, the mycorrhizal Gmelina plants showed good growth as compared to non mycorrhizal Gmelina plants. Mycorrhizal colonization in Gmelina was found not to be significantly influenced by aluminium concentrations. Results also indicate that symbiotic association was successfully established between Glomus intraradices and Gmelina plants and mycorrhizal colonization consequently increased the biomass of Gmelina. The root proline accumulation was found to increase in mycorrhizal Gmelina plants for osmotic adjustment of stress tissues under first and second level of Aluminium stress. It was observed that Mycorrhizal colonization increased the shoot root Peroxidase and Superoxide dismutase activities in mycorrhizal Gmelina under second level of Aluminium stress. Mycorrhizal fungi play a major role in phytostabilization by secreting one of the glycoprotein, i.e., Glomalin, which stabilizes the Aluminium in soil as well as in the roots of Gmelina plants.