No abstract

Clinical features of Japanese encephalitis were severe. Derangements in liver function and thrombocytopenia were found in a significant proportion of patients. These findings were not highlighted during earlier epidemics of the illness and could suggest a possible mutation of the virus towards other flaviviruses.

Painless dentistry, minimal intervention and thus giving comfort, relief and solace and instill positive attitude toward dental treatments, are some of the factors justifying the specialty of pediatric dentistry. Thus, this in vitro study was undertaken to compare the efficacy of a new chemomechanical caries removal agent, Papacarie (Formula and Acao), with conventional slow-speed rotary instrument (bur). Papacarie is a new formulation and has the main active ingredient papain, an endoprotein with bactericidal, bacteriostatic and anti-inflammatory actions. Twenty extracted human molar teeth with deep dentine caries and no enamel coverage were selected for the study. After the preparation of the teeth and removal of the caries with the respective methods, they were decalcified, dehydrated and embedded in paraffin blocks for histologic studies. Serial sections of 5 mum thickness were examined for the presence of bacteria under light microscope. Though complete removal of caries was achieved significantly in both the methods, there was less marked destruction of dentinal tubules in chemomechanical caries removal method by Papacarie. Thus, Papacarie is recommended as an efficient, easy to perform, comfortable and less destructive solution for the patient seeking an alternative to the conventional method.

No abstract

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00216268 .

Cervical dystonia (CD) is a neurological disorder characterized by abnormal movements and postures of the head. The brain regions responsible for these abnormal movements are not well understood, because most imaging techniques for assessing regional brain activity cannot be used when the head is moving. Recently, we mapped brain activation in healthy individuals using functional magnetic resonance imaging during isometric head rotation, when muscle contractions occur without actual head movements. In the current study, we used the same methods to explore the neural substrates for head movements in subjects with CD who had predominantly rotational abnormalities (torticollis). Isometric wrist extension was examined for comparison. Electromyography of neck and hand muscles ensured compliance with tasks during scanning, and any head motion was measured and corrected. Data were analyzed in three steps. First, we conducted within-group analyses to examine task-related activation patterns separately in subjects with CD and in healthy controls. Next, we directly compared task-related activation patterns between participants with CD and controls. Finally, considering that the abnormal head movements in CD occur in a consistently patterned direction for each individual, we conducted exploratory analyses that involved normalizing data according to the direction of rotational CD. The between-group comparisons failed to reveal any significant differences, but the normalization procedure in subjects with CD revealed that isometric head rotation in the direction of dystonic head rotation was associated with more activation in the ipsilateral anterior cerebellum, whereas isometric head rotation in the opposite direction was associated with more activity in sensorimotor cortex. These findings suggest that the cerebellum contributes to abnormal head rotation in CD, whereas regions in the cerebral cortex are involved in opposing the involuntary movements.

A coordination complex family comprising of six new dinuclear symmetric lanthanide complexes, namely, [Ln(L)(L')(CHOH)]·yG (HL: three related yet distinct Schiff-base linkers; x = 1-3, according to the nomenclature of the Schiff-base linker employed herein. HL': 2,6-dimethoxyphenol. yG refers to crystallographically assigned guest solvent species in the respective complexes; y = number of solvent molecules; Ln = Dy/Gd) were isolated employing a mixed-ligand strategy stemming out of a strategic variation of the functionalities introduced among the constituent Schiff-base linkers. The purposeful introduction of three diverse auxiliary groups with delicate differences in their electrostatic natures affects the local anisotropy and magnetic coupling of Ln ion-environment in the ensuing Ln dinuclear complexes, consequentially resulting into distinctly dynamical magnetic behaviors among the investigated new-fangled family of isotypic Ln complexes. Among the entire family, subtle alterations in the chemical moieties render two of the Dy analogues to behave as single molecule magnets, while the other Dy congener merely exhibits slow relaxation of the magnetization. The current observation marks one of the rare paradigms, wherein magnetic behavior modulation was achieved by virtue of the omnipresent influence of subtly tuned linker functionalities among the constituent motifs of the lanthanide nanomagnets. To rationalize the observed difference in the magnetic coupling, density functional theory and ab initio calculations (CASSCF/RASSI-SO/POLY_ANISO) were performed on all six complexes. Subtle difference in the bond angles leads to difference in the J values observed for Gd complexes, while difference in the tunnel splitting associated with the structural alterations lead to variation in the magnetization blockade in the Dy complexes.

Cardiovascular disease is increased in individuals with type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), which is an ominous prognostic sign and an independent risk factor for cardiac events, is often present in type 2 DM patients. The aim of our cross-sectional study was to evaluate the prevalence of LVH, and risk factors for its development, in normotensive type 2 diabetic patients without antihypertensive medication. The objectives of the study were to find out the prevalence of high left ventricular mass (LVM) in normotensive type 2 diabetic patients and compare it with nondiabetics and to uncover the risk factors for the development of high LVM in normotensive type 2 diabetic patients. A total of 130 age- and sex-matched subjects were selected (65 cases, diabetic normotensive, and 65 controls, nondiabetic normotensive) and baseline data were collected. LVM and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) were calculated using echocardigraphic parameters and body surface area. LVMI was significantly higher in patients with type 2 DM compared with age-, sex-matched healthy population (104.9 ± 21 vs. 78.5 ± 22.7 g/m2, respectively; P < 0.05). BMI, HbA1c, and duration of diabetes were significantly associated with LVH whereas sexes, age, PPBS, were not.