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Aim: This study aims to compare and evaluate the fracture resistance of endodontically treated maxillary anterior teeth restored using new postplacement techniques. Methodology: Forty-five single-rooted maxillary anterior teeth (n = 15) were selected and decoronated at the cementoenamel junction. The working length was determined using a 15K file. Biomechanical preparation was done up to size 70 and the teeth were obturated. After 1 week, the root-filling material, gutta-percha, was removed, and postspace was prepared using a size 3 and 4 peeso reamer. The samples were divided into three groups (n = 15). Group I: Coltene Tenax fiber Post-reinforced with composite (anatomical post). Group II: Coltene Tenax fiber postreinforced with a leno-woven polyethylene; Ribbond fibers. Group III: Coltene Tenax fiber Post-luted with a dual cure cement. After postcementation, core buildup was done. Fracture resistance was measured using a universal testing machine. Results: Statistical analysis was done using one-way analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc tests. A statistically significant difference was seen in the mean maximum load (N) between the groups. Group I showed the highest mean maximum load (N), followed by Group II and Group III. A significant P value (P = 0.025) was noted. Conclusion: Coltene Tenax fiber postreinforced with composite (anatomical post) showed the highest fracture resistance in endodontically treated maxillary anteriors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Duck pasteurellosis also called as Duck cholera is a highly contagious disease of ducks caused by Pasteurella multocida. It has been found to be most commonly occurring bacterial disease among semi-mature and mature birds with 5 to 100 % morbidity and 0.5 to 80 % mortality rates. The present study was conducted to investigate the suspected outbreak of pasteurellosis in a duck farm. The samples were collected from morbid and dead birds after conducting post-mortem examinations and processed for further isolation, identification and molecular characterization. The samples were found to be positive for Pasteurella multocida by cultural and biochemical tests and confirmed as Pasteurella multocida by using Pasteurella multocida species specific KMT1 primers and capsular type A specific primers. It was further processed for virulence-associated ompH gene. The purified Pasteurella multocida species specific KMT1 product was sequenced and based on nucleotides homology and phylogenetic analysis, the sample was having 99.76 % homology to Pasteurella multocida strain VP161 chromosome. Based on nucleotides homology and phylogenetic analysis of the capsular type-specific hyaDhyaC gene partial nucleotide sequences, the sample was having 98.60% homology to Pasteurella multocida strain PMISC1 HyaD (hyaD) gene specific for capsular type A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycoplasmosis, the diseases caused by mycoplasma, are one of the challenging and continuous threats to small ruminant farming resulting in high morbidity and mortality and huge economic loss. In India there are only few published reports of mycoplasmosis manifestations in small ruminants. In the present study, attempts have been undertaken for the isolation, identification and molecular characterization of Mycoplasma isolates from suspected respiratory manifestations and mastitis in small ruminants of Karnataka state, India. A total of 300 samples were collected from 180 goats and 80 sheep from different districts of Karnataka, India; 110 nasal swabs, 35 lungs and bronchial tissue, 50 lacrymal secretions from respiratory manifestations, 90 milk samples from contagious mastitis and 15 samples from joints abscess aspiration fluid were cultured on pleuropneumonia-like organisms (PPLOs) media for cultivation of Mycoplasma species. The genus and species were confirmed by genus and species-specific PCR. Further, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis was adopted to identify and classify the isolates. A total of 14 Mycoplasma isolates were isolated using PPLO broth and agar media with slight modifications in the composition, identified by growth pattern and microcolony morphology. Among these 7 isolates were confirmed as Mycoplasma capri, 4 isolates as M. agalectiae, and 3 isolates as M. arginine by genus and species-specific PCR. A purified isolates of M. capri, M. agalectiae and M. arginini was sequenced and phylogenetic analysis was carried out. The study revealed the prevalent species of Mycoplasma associated with respiratory manifestation, mastitis and arthritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of blood and artificial salivary contamination of different root-end filling materials on microleakage using a confocal laser scanning microscope and on marginal adaptation using a scanning electron microscope. Materials and Methods: Eighty noncarious single-rooted teeth with mature apices were taken. After retro-cavity preparation, they were randomly assigned into two major groups (n = 40). They were contaminated with blood and artificial saliva, respectively. Each major group was divided randomly into four subgroups (n = 10) and filled as follows: Subgroup A, Biodentine; Subgroup B, bioactive bone cement; Subgroup C, Cention N; and Subgroup D, Bio-C Repair. The samples were sectioned transversely at 1 and 2 mm from the root apex and checked under a confocal laser scanning microscope for microleakage and under an scanning electron microscope for marginal adaptation. The average mean values were calculated. Independent samples t-tests, paired t-tests, and one-way analysis of variance with Tukey's post hoc tests were done to analyze the data. Results: All the tested materials showed marginal gaps and dye leakage. The Bio-C Repair group showed the least mean marginal gap and dye leakage values, followed by bioactive bone cement, Biodentine, and Cention N, respectively, in both blood and artificial saliva contamination. However, the mean marginal gaps and dye leakage between the major groups were statistically insignificant. Conclusion: In an overall comparison, Bio-C Repair was found to be superior in terms of marginal adaptation and sealing ability under the test conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education is intimately connected with ethics, because holistically speaking education is more than simply passing examinations and acquiring degrees. Education is character building and life long learning. Savants and philosophers throughout the history of humankind have borne testimony to this aspect of education. Today, there is a great deal of emphasis on continuous and life long learning which implies that education is a continual learning process and not merely relegated to certification. Our experience in the field of distance education indicates that the profile of distance learners varies, cutting across barriers of gender, class and caste. The distance learner may be suffering from a sense of isolation as he/she makes a return to study after a gap of time or while working. It is there that the distance educator makes a positive, ethical and interventionist role by helping the student to learn beyond the stereotypical classroom situation and can act effectively as the friend, philosopher and guide of the learner. Thus practicing what you preach is the moto of ethics in distance. Some of the more important ethical concerns associated with open and distance learning are not those that may be faced by learners. Instead, the challenges faced by those that design ODL or use it in their teaching can be seen as increasingly important. These challenges include globalization, which has emphasized instrumental rather than social aims of education, and the use of cognitive rather than affective pedagogies. For ODL designers and teachers, this has resulted in a concentration on cognitive tasks and market-driven aspects of open and distance learning at the expense of the social harmony that might otherwise be achieved. The overarching ethical concern for ODL practitioners should be to implement an appropriate pedagogy that will satisfy both instrumental and social aims. While this can be achieved, in part, through the use of the pedagogies outlined in this paper, the problem is seen as being associated with deeply interwoven social and cultural contexts. Consequently, there is a greater responsibility for all ODL practitioners to ensure that the choices that they make are ethical at all times, irrespective of the demands of any employer, institution or authority. This paper deals with ethics in general, its role in distance education and its significance to educational institutions.

Diabetic Retinopathy is a scenario in medical field which leads to the rise of damage of blood vessels in the retina which is due to diabetes mellitus. The suitable detection for this kind of problems and care to be done immediately in order to prohibit loss of sight in a person. Presently, diagnosing Diabetic Retinopathy manually is a time-consuming process where they require experienced clinicians to examine the digital-colored fundus images. Here, we have proposed a machine learning technology using Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) approach which has emerged as an operative productive tool in medical image examination for the classification and detection of Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) in real-world. The different layers which are used to detect the brain tumor are conv2D, Activation, MaxPooling2D, Dense and Flatten. The set used here considers 750 retinal images, with 600 training images and the test set considers 150 images with the accuracy of 82.75% which ran for 80 epochs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MoTe2 garnered much attention among 2D materials due to stable polymorphs with distinctive structural and electronic properties. Among the polymorphs, 1T′-MoTe2 in bulk form is type—II Weyl semimetal while, in monolayer form is a quantum spin Hall insulator. Thus, it is suitable for a wide variety of applications. Nevertheless, 1T′-MoTe2 degrades within a few hours when exposed to the atmosphere and causes hindrances in device fabrication. Here the degradation kinetics of CVD-synthesized 1T′-MoTe2 was investigated using Raman spectroscopy, XPS, and microscopic characterizations. The degradation rate of as-grown 1T′-MoTe2 obtained was 9.2 × 10−3 min−1. Further, we prevented the degradation of 1T′-MoTe2 by introducing a thin coating of S that encapsulates the flakes. 1T′-MoTe2 flakes showed stability for several days when covered using sulphur, indicating 25 times enhanced structural stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Rituximab (Rtx), an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, results in selective B-cell depletion and has emerged as an important therapeutic option in idiopathic membranous nephropathy (MN). We conducted a retrospective observational study to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of Rtx in MN with respect to the B-cell count depletion. Methods: Twenty patients with biopsy proven primary MN, both treatment naïve and treatment resistant, who received a fixed dose protocol of 500mg IV Rtx 1month apart were retrospectively observed with a minimum follow-up period of 12 months. The primary clinical outcome was complete (CR) or partial remission (PR) at 12 months in relation to B-cell depletion at 6 and 12 months. Results: All were patients (men, 90%) of PLA2R-Ab positive with MN with a mean age of 37.7 ± 12.5 years. The mean 24-h urinary protein was 7.5 ± 2.15 gm/day, serum albumin was 2.01 ± 0.6gm/dL, and eGFR was 86.5 ± 20 mL/ min/1.73m². Primary composite outcome at 12 months was 66.7%, with 5.6% CR and 61.1% PR.The mean PLA2R-Ab at 12 months was low in those with remission compared to those who did not achieve (17.8 ± 21.2 RU/mL vs 311.7 ± 356.0; P = 0.01). Sustained B cell depletion at 6 months was seen in 84.3% (OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 0.11--42.7; P = 0.53) and 32% at 12 months (OR = 2.25, 95% CI = 0.18--27.7, and P = 0.66). Conclusion: Acceptable remission rates were seen with Rtx in both treatment naïve and treatment-resistant patients with MN. There was no significant association between B-cell depletion and remission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]