Malnutrition and tuberculosis are both problems mostly of the developing countries. Tuberculosis can lead to malnutrition and malnutrition may predispose to tuberculosis. Poor nutrition leads to protein-energy malnutrition and micronutrients deficiencies which lead to immunodeficiency. This secondary immunodeficiency increases the host's susceptibility to infection and hence increase the risk for developing tuberculosis. Tuberculosis itself leads to reduction in appetite, nutrient malabsorption, micronutrient malabsorption, and altered metabolism leading to wasting and poor nutritional status. Nutritional status and dietary intake and hence nutritional status of patients get improved during antituberculosis treatment.

The present study was done to determine the role of MIB-1 (Molecular Immunology Borstel) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) proliferative index as a diagnostic adjunct to cervical Papanicolaou (Pap) smear for the identification of ascending grades of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) developing into cancer in the human uterine cervix. A total of 49 adequate Pap smears with consensus diagnosis were destained for immunocytochemical staining (MIB-1 and PC10). Staining was done by streptavidin-biotin method after antigen retrieval. MIB-1 and PC10 labeling index (LI) were calculated in each case and divided into three groups, i.e., <10%, 10-20%, and >20%, respectively. Statistical analysis was done by using the SPSS 10.0 package. The comparisons were made using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and independent sample t-test. Bivariate and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used to obtain correlations between different groups. Out of 49 cases, 40 cases (81.6%) showed positive immunostaining with MIB-1 and PCNA. Proliferative LI of MIB-1 and PCNA increased with the ascending grades of CIN lesions to carcinoma. The highest proliferative index (mean +/- SD) for PCNA and MIB-1 were observed for the carcinoma group (PCNA LI, 39.200 +/- 1.6865; MIB-1LI, 35.300 +/- 1.8886). A significant positive correlation between ascending grades of squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL) and labeling indices of markers (r = 0.87 for MIB-1 and r = 0.88 for PCNA) suggests that MIB-1/PCNA proliferative markers can be used as an adjunct to cytomorphological interpretation of conventional cervical Pap smear.

Aims & Objective To find out the circadian pattern of blood pressure in normotensive pregnant women and in women with preeclampsia. Method A cross-sectional prospective observational case control study. Blood pressure was sampled in thirty-five normotensive pregnant women (control) and thirty five preeclamptic women (study group) by using non-invasive automatic ambulatory blood pressure monitoring machine for 72 h. Results Blood pressure (BP) was not constant over 24 h period and it oscillated from time to time in control group. BP was maximum during early part of afternoon. However, in preeclampsia besides quantitative increase in BP, circadian BP oscillations were less pronounced and in around 50% subjects BP was maximum during evening and night hours. Conclusion Both systolic and diastolic BP showed definite reproducible circadian pattern in both preeclamptic and normotensive pregnant women. This pattern both quantitatively and qualitatively was different in preeclamptic women.Standardized 24 h BP monitoring allows quantitative and qualitative evaluation of hypertensive status and is important for timing and dosing of antihypertensive medications.

Introduction The esoteric Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection or COVID-19 has been an unusual plummet in dental/orthodontic practice. Based on current recommendations for various amendments in an orthodontic practice, this scoping review aims to identify orthodontic appliances that are most appropriate to us during this on-going pandemic. Methods Electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Google Scholar) were searched up until August 11, 2020. Full-text articles in English with keywords “COVID-19 and Orthodontics” and related search terms were included. Results Out of 17 retracted articles, only 4 articles were found to be brief the choice for orthodontic appliances in pandemic times speculating clear aligner therapy (CAT) to be a pragmatic solution. The remaining articles were also thoroughly studied and the new norms set by the pandemic were determined. Criteria for orthodontic appliance selection included careful patient screening and collection of records, minimal physical visits, efficient use of technology, virtual consultations but the use of PPE for physical appointments; and lesser AGPs with a lesser risk of airborne transmission. Conclusions Subject to regional demands, CAT can be considered as the relatively safer modality-predictable and effective apposite to fixed orthodontic appliances in these unprecedented times.

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This prospective, double blind investigation was carried out to see the effect of vaginal pH on the efficacy of prostaglandin gel (PGE2) for cervical ripening and course of labour. A total of 45 pregnant women with indications for induction of labour were allocated to two groups: a low vaginal pH (≤5.5, n = 20) and high vaginal pH (>5.5, n = 25) group. All women received prostaglandin E2 gel (0.5 mg in 2.5 ml) intravaginally with repeated dosing if needed, 6 h apart, maximum of three doses. Bishop's score change over 18 h differed significantly between the two groups (p = 0.037). There was no significant difference between the groups with respect to time to onset of labour (9.65±6.29 vs 6.76±3.94, p = 0.066), time to active labour (15.38±9.49 vs 14.30±5.85, p = 0.664), time to complete cervical dilation (18.27±13.85 vs 18.34±6.45; p = 0.984), and time to overall delivery (21.52±9.66 vs 19.39±6.45, p = 0.381).

In view of the huge expenditure involved in mass cytological screening as well as lack of cytology manpower in the developing countries, single lifetime screening at 45 yr of age has been suggested as feasible strategy for control of cervical cancer. The present study is aimed at testing this hypothesis in a broader prospective, accommodating women between 41 and 50 yr of age from the data derived from the ongoing long-term hospital-based routine cervicovaginal cytology at Queen Mary's Hospital, Lucknow, India. The cervical smears of 31,032 women have been evaluated cytologically during a span of 32 yr (April 1971-March 2003) for early detection of carcinoma cervix and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The incidence of squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) was found to be 6.1% while frank malignancy was seen in 0.5% of cases. The following observations were made from the accumulated cytological data: (a) approximately 30% of the total cancer cases was in the age group of 41-50 yr; (b) the maximum number of SIL cases was detected in women between 41 and 50 yr of age (35% of the total SIL cases), and adequate management of these SIL cases would prevent cancer cases from occurring in later years, thus minimizing the maximum incidence of 1.3% observed in women beyond 50 yr of age; (c) the incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection also was found quite high in women between 41 and 50 yr old, the adequate management of which would prevent onset/progression of any premalignant changes in the cervix. Our experience of 32 yr of cytological screening substantiates the hypothesis of single lifetime screening between 41 and 50 yr of age as an effective strategy for control of carcinoma cervix in developing countries like ours.

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