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Objective: The purpose of the study was to evaluate if there is a link between salivary pepsin levels and tooth erosion. Also, to determine if gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is responsible for much of the tooth erosion seen by dentists. Background: Pepsin is only produced within the stomach. If found within other parts of the body [for example within saliva or sputum samples], the only mechanism by which that would be possible is via the reflux of gastric contents. One of the causes of dental erosion is thought to be due to direct contact between tooth surfaces and acidic substances and digestive enzymes present in gastric refluxate. GERD is a common condition, with its prevalence seemingly trending higher in recent decades. It is reportedly a known cause of tooth erosions. From the hypothesis, there was an expectation to see patients with dental erosions to have pepsin detected [and perhaps at high levels] and to see patients without dental erosions to have no or low levels of pepsin. Method: Three saliva samples were collected [on waking and 2 post-prandial] from 50 anonymous participating patients (26 females, 24 males) from a single dental practice. Extra information was collected related to lifestyle, Reflux Symptom Index (RSI – reflux questionnaire) and tooth erosions. These samples were analyzed for the stomach enzyme pepsin using the validated medical device Peptest. Results: There was no correlation between positive pepsin levels and the presence of tooth erosion during this study. There was a statistical difference between the on waking pH vs. positive pepsin levels and post prandial pH vs. positive pepsin levels. The average pH was lower for on waking and post-prandial samples with positive pepsin, suggesting that the saliva was acidic and gastric reflux had occurred. Conversely, the average pH was higher for on waking and post-prandial samples with negative pepsin. There was no statistical difference between pH vs. tooth erosion in the on waking and post- prandial. Conclusion: Patients identified as having tooth erosion did not have higher levels of pepsin detected, suggesting that pepsin was not associated with dental erosion in these patients.

This review examines of the concept of a defective chloride channel in epithelial cells being a major cause of cystic fibrotic pathophysiology. The central concept of the defective chloride ion channel paradigm is that faulty CFTR protein or failed delivery of CFTR protein to the mucosal membrane of epithelial cells is the basis of cystic fibrosis. Defective placement or function of CFTR prevents hydration of bronchial mucus that is normally caused by epithelial cells; these are capable through chloride ion secretion of transporting fluid to the mucosal surface. This concept relies heavily on a paradigm taken from intestinal physiology-namely that the intestinal epithelial cell secretes chloride ion and fluid and that this has conferred heterozygote selective advantage in carriers of the cystic fibrosis gene. This present review examines the evidence for that hypothesis and assembles evidence from past studies that it is the smooth muscle cell that is of greater relevance. This review does not aim to provide an overview of current research into cystic fibrosis. The intention is to provide an overview of past research that led to the concept of a failure of epithelial cells to hydrate bronchial mucus because of compromised CFTR function. It is important to present all past evidence for aspects of the chloride secretion hypothesis and its associated heterozygote advantage concept so that the important evidential milestones can be re-assessed.

Introduction: The use of local anesthesia (LA) prior to arterial blood gas sampling is recommended but is not widely used. We tested the hypothesis that intradermal administration of local anesthesia would be as effective as subcutaneous administration in reducing pain from arterial blood gas sampling.Aims: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of intradermal and subcutaneous lignocaine on patient-perceived pain during arterial blood gas sampling. The secondary aims were to evaluate if different routes of LA administration had an impact on the difficulty and complications of ABG sampling.Methods: We undertook a randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled trial in New Zealand. We enrolled patients attending a nurse-led outpatient oxygen clinic who were 18 to 90 years of age and who had an oxygen saturation of 93% or less at rest. Patients were randomly assigned to receive intradermal 1% lignocaine, subcutaneous 1% lignocaine, or subcutaneous normal saline. Patients and nurse assessors were blinded to the treatment allocation. The primary endpoint was a patient-assessed pain score using a graphic rating scale (0-10).Results: 135 patients were randomized (54 patients in the intradermal lignocaine group, 54 patients in the subcutaneous lignocaine group, and 27 in the subcutaneous saline group). The mean patient-assessed pain score for the intradermal lignocaine group was 1.8 (+/- 1.1), which was a relative reduction of 47% (95% C.I. 31%-59%, p < 0.0001) from the mean patient-assessed pain score of 3.4 (+/- 1.1) for the subcutaneous saline group. The mean patient-assessed pain score for the subcutaneous lignocaine group was 2.1 (+/- 1.1), which was also a significant relative reduction of 36% (95% C.I. 17%-51%, p = 0.0001) compared to the subcutaneous saline group. Intradermal lignocaine reduced pain more than subcutaneous lignocaine, with a relative pain reduction difference of 20% (95% CI -4%-49%, p = 0.05). Bruising was more frequent in the subcutaneous lignocaine group (9.3%) than in the intradermal (0%) and saline groups (0%). Conclusion: Intradermal lignocaine is at least as effective as subcutaneous lignocaine for reducing patient-perceived pain from arterial blood gas sampling and results in less bruising.

Cement-retained implant-supported restorations has been preferred by many clinicians due to its ease of production, low cost and similarity to dental supported restorations [1]. In the literature, many complications caused by residual cement, ranging from acute severe bone resorption to implant loss, have been published as a case report/ series [2-7]. In another study [8], residual cement was seen in 81% of implant cases that are clinically identified as peri- implantitis. Hence it has been indicated that a strong relationship has been determined between residual cement and development of chronic peri-implant infection [9].

Lung cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Metastasis can be seen in many organs in advanced-stage disease. Acral metastasis rate in cancer is quite low. However, because of the direct opening of the arterial circulation, the risk of acral metastasis stem from lung cancer is higher than any other cancers. Although the mechanism is not known exactly, acral metastases occur in dominant extremities. Here, we present a case with lung adenocarcinoma metastasis of the left hand in the second phalanx. We presented this case which is rarely seen in the literature to emphasize acral metastases.

Hoarseness of voice can occur due to anatomical or functional abnormality of the larynx, vocal cord, or recurrent laryngeal nerves. Common cause includes infections, blunt trauma, iatrogenic affection of recurrent laryngeal nerve, malignancies of thyroid, esophagus, and lung and cardio-vascular conditions such as mitral stenosis. Vocal cord paralysis due to respiratory cause is known as a pulmonary vocal syndrome. 

Objective: To investigate the occurrence of depressive and anxiety disorders in patients remitted for endovascular treatment of renal artery stenosis (RAS), and whether symptoms of depression and anxiety can be reduced after the treatment of RAS with percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (PTRA).Methods Patients: Selected for renal angiography with pressure measurement in the renal arteries due to suspected RAS were invited to participate in the study. 37 patients agreed to answer a questionnaire. Eighteen patients also agreed to a clinical psychiatric examination including the International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I. 6.0) to be diagnosed according to the DSM-IV. Results: Twenty-one of the 37 patients completing the questionnaire were found to have a pressure gradient of ≥ 10 mmHg at angiography, indicating significant stenosis. Ten of the 18 examined patients met the criteria for current DSM-IV anxiety diagnosis and two patients had a current depression. Three of the 18 examined patients had previously made a suicide attempt. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that patients with suspected RAS have a high psychiatric comorbidity, as 56% of the patients undergoing psychiatric examination met the DSM-IV criteria for a current anxiety disorder.

Okra is an herbaceous hairy annual plant that belongs to the family Malvaceae. It is cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions around the world. The present work was carried out to study the effect of biofertilizers (Azotobacter + Bacillus) and different concentrations of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium i.e.NPK on growth and photosynthetic pigments of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench). Okra can be named a multipurpose crop as its various parts such as leaves, buds, flowers, pods, stems and seeds can be used for different purposes [1]. Okra is rich in dietary fiber, vitamins, oils, etc. Application of hazardous fertilizers causes a nutrient imbalance in soil, With respect to reducing the causes due to chemical fertilizers, biofertilizers are suited best to maintain higher productivity and yield of crops. Random block design (RBD) was selected as an experimental design. The treatments combination taken are T0- Control, T1- Azotobacter + 50% NPK, T2- Azotobacter (2.5 kg/ha) + 100% NPK, T3- Bacillus (2.5 kg/ha) + 50% NPK, T4- Bacillus (2.5 kg/ha) + 100% NPK, and T5 with NPK 100%. The final result revealed, that the treatment combination with Azotobacter + 100% NPK (T2) showed the highest value of plant height (65.60 cm), number of leaves per plant(62.36), number of flowers per plant (27.40), and also carotenoid content (2.82 mg/g), chlorophyll a(2.47 mg/g) and chlorophyll b(3.25 mg/g) were observed maximum. So, it can be concluded through this paper that the combination of Azotobacter 2.5 kg/ha + 100% NPK (T2) is suitable for the okra plant for better growth and enhancement of photosynthetic potential in-field practices.

Ms X is a 34 year old para 1 woman who presented at 26+5 weeks’ gestation with fever, neurological symptoms and history of a viral illness. She was treated empirically for bacterial meningitis and transferred to a tertiary maternity hospital. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was positive for enteroviral ribonucleic acid (RNA), confirming viral meningitis. Ms X improved clinically and was discharged after six days. A high index of suspicion is required for diagnosis of meningitis in pregnancy. Thorough history, examination and workup is vital for timely treatment. Prognosis in viral meningitis is excellent with no clear adverse fetal or neonatal outcomes.

The main focus of this study concentrates on evaluating the quality of groundwater in and around the zone of pattamadai where the production of the mat in this region is a landmark industry, which is using dyes in a larger volume. The primary work starts with the collection of water samples from 13 boreholes and 13 hand-dug wells in different time intervals in the month of March 2021, which is a dry season. As per standards the water quality parameters have been evaluated and observed to be within the range. All the physico-chemical parameters for the samples have been studied for boreholes and hand-dug wells as all the values are observed to be within the range and are highlighted in the results.