No abstract

Aim:To evaluate and compare the push-out bond strengths of three obturation materials; Gutta-percha/AH Plus, Resilon/Epiphany self-etch (SE) and EndoREZ obturation system to intraradicular dentin.Materials and Methods:Sixty single-canal anterior teeth were prepared and assigned to experimental groups (n = 20), designated as Group I: Gutta-percha/AH Plus, Group II: Resilon/Epiphany SE and Group III: EndoREZ sealer/EndoREZ points. After obturation, each tooth was prepared for push-out assessment with root slices of 2 mm thickness using universal testing machine.Statistical Analysis:Two way analysis of variance and Scheffe's test.Results:Gutta-percha/AH Plus root fillings showed significantly highest bond strength. Also, root segment location did not have a significant influence on bond strength.Conclusion:The adhesiveness quality to root dentin promoted by newer methacrylate resin-based obturation systems like Resilon/Epihany SE and EndoREZ is compromised even when teeth with simple anatomic features were obturated under well-monitored laboratory conditions.

Large biomolecules and bioparticles play a vital role in biology, chemistry, biomedical science and physics. Mass is a critical parameter for the characterization of large biomolecules and bioparticles. To achieve mass analysis, choosing a suitable ion source is the first step and the instruments for detecting ions, mass analyzers and detectors should also be considered. Abundant mass spectrometric techniques have been proposed to determine the masses of large biomolecules and bioparticles and these techniques can be divided into two categories. The first category measures the mass (or size) of intact particles, including single particle quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry, cell mass spectrometry, charge detection mass spectrometry and differential mobility mass analysis; the second category aims to measure the mass and tandem mass of biomolecular ions, including quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry, time-of-flight mass spectrometry, quadrupole orthogonal time-of-flight mass spectrometry and orbitrap mass spectrometry. Moreover, algorithms for the mass and stoichiometry assignment of electrospray mass spectra are developed to obtain accurate structure information and subunit combinations.

No abstract

SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 was introduced into India by multiple sources generating local clusters and leading to the nationwide spread. A retrospective study has been conducted on the epidemiological features and spatial spread of COVID-19 in India during February 2020-March 2021. For each district, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases were fitted to exponential growth model for the initial phase of the outbreak (the first 7-15 days). From the estimated growth rate, epidemiological parameters like the Basic reproduction number (R 0 ) and epidemic doubling time (s) were determined. Using Q-GIS software, we have generated the all India distribution maps for R 0 and s. COVID-19 spread rapidly covering majority of the districts of India between March and June 2020. As on 1st March 2021, a total of 715 out of 717 districts have been affected. The R 0 range is at par with the global average. A few districts, where outbreaks were caused by migrant workers coming home, intense transmission was recorded R 0 [ 7. We also found that the spread of COVID-19 was not uniform across the different districts of India. The methodology developed in the study can be used by researchers and public health professionals to analyze and study epidemics in future.Keywords COVID-19 Á India Á Basic reproduction number Á Doubling time Á Districts Spat. Inf. Res.

BackgroundDentine hypersensitivity can impact functional status and everyday activities such as eating and talking. This study aimed to assess changes in oral health-related quality of life measures in individuals with dentine hypersensitivity following long-term use (24 weeks) of a commercially available toothpaste marketed for dentine hypersensitivity relief.MethodsThis study was conducted across two sites and enrolled 75 adults with ≥2 non-adjacent sensitive teeth. Participants were assigned to twice-daily brushing with toothpaste containing 0.454% w/w stannous fluoride (1100 ppm fluoride). Every 4 weeks, participant-reported outcomes were assessed using the Dentine Hypersensitivity Experience Questionnaire (DHEQ), a condition specific oral health-related quality of life scale that has five domains and includes questions on social and emotional impact, restrictions, adaptations and effect on life overall. Responses to a clinically applied evaporative (air) stimulus were assessed using the examiner-observed Schiff sensitivity scale and Labelled Magnitude Scales (LMS), which included dentine hypersensitivity-specific descriptors of intensity, duration, tolerability and descriptive qualities of the participant’s response.ResultsParticipant-reported outcomes demonstrated reduction of the impact of dentine hypersensitivity over time on health-related quality of life, as measured by the DHEQ. This reached statistical significance from Week 8 onwards (p < 0.0001 versus baseline) for the Total DHEQ score, with scores continually decreasing at each timepoint. Most domain scores followed a similar pattern. Statistically significant reductions were also detected for the examiner-observed Schiff Sensitivity Scale scores at all timepoints (including at 4 weeks) (p < 0.05), which were mirrored by LMS responses. The toothpaste was generally well-tolerated.ConclusionsThese results show that long-term use of a sensitivity toothpaste containing 0.454% w/w stannous fluoride has a beneficial, ongoing, impact on the oral health-related quality of life of people with dentine hypersensitivity.Trial registrationThis study was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02752958) on April 27, 2016.

No abstract

Influenza A virus infection induces type I interferons (IFNs α/β) which activate host antiviral responses through a cascade of IFN signaling events. Herein, we compared highly pathogenic H5N1 and low pathogenic H11N1 avian influenza viruses isolated from India, for their replication kinetics and ability to induce IFN-β and interferon-stimulating genes (ISGs). The H5N1 virus showed a higher replication rate and induced less IFN-β and ISGs compared to the H11N1 virus when grown in the human lung epithelial A549 cells, reflecting the generation of differential innate immune responses during infection by these viruses. The non-structural 1 (NS1) protein, a major IFN-antagonist, known to help the virus in evading host innate immune response was compared from both the strains using bioinformatics tools. Analyses revealed differences in the composition of the NS1 proteins from the two strains that may have an impact on the modulation of the innate immune response. Intriguingly, H5N1 virus attenuated IFN-β response in a non-NS1 manner, suggesting the possible involvement of other viral proteins (PB2, PA, PB1/PB1-F2) of H5N1 in synergy with NS1. Preliminary analyses of the above proteins of the two strains by sequence comparison show differences in charged residues. The insight gained will be useful in designing experimental studies to elucidate a probable role of the polymerase protein(s) in association with NS1 in inhibiting the IFN signaling and understanding the molecular mechanism governing the difference.