Background:Oxidant-antioxidant imbalance forms a prime component in pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Studies of oxidative stress markers in South Asians were sparse.Methods:One hundred and eighty COPD patients and eighty healthy nonsmokers were enrolled in the study. Serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and iron levels were estimated for oxidative stress. Three antioxidant markers evaluated-catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and serum copper. Patients on antioxidant therapy and with sepsis and chronic illness were excluded from the study.Results:The mean age of COPD patients was 59.29 ± 10.3 years. Serum levels of MDA and iron were significantly higher in COPD patients compared to controls (5.21 ± 1.9 vs. 0.71 ± 0.29 nmol MDA/ml, P = 0.0001 and 69.85 ± 85.49 vs. 79.32 ± 24.39 μg/dl, P = 0.0001, respectively). Mean level of all antioxidant enzymes catalase, SOD, and copper were significantly diminished in cases when compared to control population (P = 0.001). Levels of MDA and iron were found to be significantly elevated in higher Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) classes (III, IV) when compared to lower GOLD Classes (I, II). The levels of serum antioxidants were significantly depleted in higher GOLD grades too. COPD patients who were male and smoked had significantly higher levels of oxidants and depleted antioxidant levels compared to female and nonsmoking compatriots. Serum MDA levels negatively correlated with forced expiratory volume 1 s and forced vital capacity (r = −0.19 and r = −0.21, P ≤ 0.01). The presence of a cough significantly correlated with higher levels of MDA and iron (P = 0.001). The levels of MDA negatively correlated with SOD and catalase levels.Conclusion:Oxidative markers (MDA and iron) are higher whereas antioxidants (catalase, copper, and SOD) are significantly reduced in patients of COPD. Serum MDA levels correlate with lung functions and disease severity.
Background and Objective: LEAD, an environmental toxicant, accounts for 0.6% of the global burden of disease, with the highest burden in developing countries. It can permeate through the foetus blood-brain barrier causing a negative impact on foetal growth and the developing brain. Literacy and awareness related to its impact are low and the clinical establishment for biological monitoring of Blood LEAD Level is low, costly, and time-consuming.Methods: We propose a novel approach to build a low-cost point-of-care analytical device, a screening app that can predict LEAD toxicity levels in maternal blood. A computational model is built that learns from maternal data comprising of blood LEAD level and a set of sociodemographic features, and then predicts the LEAD toxicity level based on the set of input features.Results: Following feature selection methods, the 11-feature set obtained from Boruta algorithm gave the best prediction results. The k-Nearest Neighbour-based model gave 94.00% accuracy whereas the Neural Network-based model gave 92.50% accuracy when tested on 200 participants.Conclusion: The range of features identified in the built models can estimate the underlying function and can accurately model LEAD toxicity prediction and provide an understanding of toxicity level. Early identification and intervention of LEAD-exposed pregnant women will reduce LEAD poisoning in infants and thus, prevent harmful effects on health throughout childhood and adulthood. The built prediction model is beneficial in improving the point of care and hence reducing the cost and the risk involved. It is envisaged that the app will become a part of a screening process to assist healthcare experts at the point of evaluating the LEAD toxicity level in pregnant women. Women screened positive could be given a range of facilities including preliminary counselling to being referred to the health centre for further diagnosis. Steps could be taken to reduce maternal exposure and hence, it could also be possible to mitigate infant’s LEAD exposure by reducing transfer from the pregnant woman.
In cases of unsuccessful endodontic treatment, E. faecalis is commonly detected and remains popular among the scientific community for in vitro and in vivo research. The nature of the bacteria's predominance is dependent on the difficulty in cleaning the apical portion of the tooth and E. faecalis' capacity to grow deep into the dentinal tubules. The purpose of this review is to gather current research on root canal disinfection against E. faecalis. In this literature review, four databases were searched: PubMed, EBSCOhost, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar, with explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria. The compiled review shows that a predominant multi-microbial community within a persistent root canal infection include Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Enterococcus faecalis. E. faecalis produces moderate biofilms and causes infection through its virulence factors such as esp, cylA, ace, gelE, asa, and efaA. Several disinfecting agents and approaches have been explored for their capacity to eradicate E. faecalis and penetrate the dentinal tubules. Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and chlorhexidine (CHX) gel eliminate E. faecalis and other resistant microbes such as Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. Combing NaOCl irrigation with the following: Photon-induced photoacoustic streaming, passive ultrasonic irrigation, and diode laser irradiation, eradicates E. faecalis. The current research has shifted towards nanoparticles against E. faecalis because of its dissolution capacity, size, and antimicrobial efficacy. E. faecalis resists calcium hydroxide through its proton pump mechanism, but it is susceptible to Ca(OH)2 when applying a proton pump inhibitor or chlorhexidine.
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