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Antibiotic resistance is a global problem projected to kill 10 million each year by 2050 and the CDC lists Neisseria gonorrhoeae among the most urgent threats in this area. There also exists a severe lack of efficient resistance detection techniques as only a handful of mutations have been identified as causing resistance thus far. In this study, eight models were trained on three datasets containing data regarding azithromycin, ciprofloxacin and cefixime, three drugs of choice against N. gonorrhoeae. Each dataset had 3000+ samples and their corresponding resistance values; each sample consisted of a binary series representing the presence/absence of certain base pair sequences within that sample's genome. The base pair sequences were special regions called unitigs (short sequence reads of the genome) that were also designed to have biological relevance. This novel technique differs from the standard research in this field, which has almost exclusively used whole-genome sequences. Once the models were trained, their accuracies, sensitivities and specificities were compared and analyzed. Maximum accuracies of 97.6%, 95.9% and 100% were achieved on azithromycin, ciprofloxacin and cefixime training data respectively. Secondly, Fisher's exact test was used to test for the existence of genetic signatures i.e. biomarkers that had a statistically significant correlation with antibiotic resistance. The feature importances of the top models from the first step were used to create a ranking of these genetic signatures, again a novel concept. Out of 584,362 unitigs, 191, 3304 and 1 were identified as statistically significant for azithromycin, ciprofloxacin and cefixime respectively. Lastly, protein biomarkers were also identified for the top 10 genetic signatures, resulting in several new discoveries not described before in scientific literature. Overall, this study led to the development of a new technique for biomarker discovery and resistance prediction in bacteria along with the creation of highly accurate machine learning models and identification of genetic and protein biomarkers for resistance against three drugs in N. gonorrhoeae. The model can be used for genotype-based resistance diagnosis and the biomarkers can be further developed for point-of-care testing in the future.

Rehabilitating atrophied mandible with two-implant supported denture is a common treatment modality for implant retained removable overdenture in mandible. This paper aims to design a treatment modality where single implant reinforced overdenture is fabricated for a severely atrophied mandibular ridge with early loading protocol. Results of studies have shown that a single implant mandibular overdenture significantly increases the satisfaction and quality of life of patients with edentulism. Midline fracture of the prosthesis is the most common complication related to single implant and two-implant retained mandibular overdentures. To manage such complication, a thin metal mesh is used to reinforce the overdenture and also to make the prostheses lighter and cost effective as compared to conventional cast metal framework.

Reports at the Sir Sunder Lal Hospital, Banaras Hindu University, of a large number of kala-azar cases from one particular village in Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh, led us to carry out an epidemiological study of the situation using standard techniques. The overall prevalence and case fatality of the disease were 12.9% and 10.5%, respectively. A history of fever and hepatosplenomegaly was noted for all the cases. The case definition was the presence of parasites in bone marrow or splenic aspirate smears. The disease was more prevalent among adults, but occurred also among children. However, there was no clear linear relationship between the prevalence of the disease and age group. Kala-azar occurred among males and females, and its prevalence did not correlate significantly with income. Since the disease vector continues to be present in the study area, the health authorities should take strong steps to control the disease.The epidemiological characteristics of the kala-azar outbreak in Pandit Ka Purva, India, were investigated using standard techniques. A door-to-door survey of 518 persons in Pandit Ka Purva was carried out in November and December 1995, using a predesigned and pretested proforma. Independent variables such as age, sex, and literacy were considered in the survey. Results showed that the overall prevalence and case fatality of the disease were 12.9% and 10.5%, respectively, with a history of fever and hepatosplenomegaly noted for all cases. Culture and Giemsa staining confirmed indications of parasites in the bone marrow or splenic aspirate smears. The disease was more prevalent among adults, but it occurred also among children. However, there was no clear linear relationship between the prevalence of the disease and age group. Kala-azar was more prevalent among males, and its occurrence did not correlate significantly with income. In view of the outbreak of kala-azar in Pandit Ka Purva, it is essential for health authorities to take immediate measures to control the epidemic and prevent its spread to neighboring villages. This will necessitate the development of shorter treatment courses, the improvement of diagnostic methods, and close cooperation between universities, public health agencies, and the government.