Student Seminars in Basic Medical Sciences: Perception of First Year Dental Students

Medical education is changing drastically from teacher centered learning to active learning. Seminars promote active learning as it involves the student actively to go through various study materials to prepare to deliver the seminar effectively. A total of 70 male and female participants were part of the study after obtaining the written informed consent. Seminars were included as a weekly activity in the Department of Physiology. Thrust areas were identified in each system and topics were allotted to the students. 5 students were given opportunity to present the seminar in a week according to their role numbers. They were given 8 minutes to present the topic and 2 minutes for discussion. After the presentation the questions which are not answered were noted down and they were explained by the facilitator in the tutorials where all the 70 students were present. The same day, students were requested to provide the feedback about their perceptions on Likert four point scale. Majority of the students had given positive response to the seminars. The study recommends the inclusion of weekly seminars in the dental curriculum.


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Antioxidant Activity of Biofield Energy Healing (The Trivedi Effect®) Based Formulation in Sprague Dawley Rats

The aim of the present study was to investigate the antioxidant activity of Consciousness Energy Healing (The Trivedi Effect®) based novel proprietary formulation in male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. The formulation was divided into two parts. One part received the Biofield Energy Healing Treatment by renowned Biofield Energy Healer, Mahendra Kumar Trivedi, defined as the Biofield Energy Treated sample. Another part did not receive any treatment and referred as a control. Additionally, three groups of animals were also received Biofield Energy Healing Treatment at day -15 per se. The tissue lipid peroxidation data exhibited that the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) was reduced by 22.75% and 19.57% in the Biofield Energy Treated test formulation (G5) and Biofield Energy Treatment per se plus Biofield Energy Treated test formulation from the day -15 (G8), respectively compared to the disease control group (G2). Antioxidant enzyme like superoxide dismutase (SOD) was significantly increased by 35.35% and 37.53% in the G7 and G8 groups, respectively as compared to the G2 group. Additionally, the level of catalase was significantly (p≤0.05) increased by 85.29%, 78.84%, 135.87%, 130.08%, 102.15%, and 66.45% in the G4, G5, G6, G7, G8, G9 groups, respectively compared to the G2 group. Further, hematology data showed that the platelet count was significantly increased by 17.09% and 9.42% in the G6 and G8 groups, respectively as compared to the G2 group. Biochemical results showed that the level of blood urea was reduced by 26.26%, 28.51%, 26.88%, 17.19%, and 18.05% in the G3, G4, G6, G7, and G9, groups respectively compared to the G2 group. The level of uric acid level was significantly reduced by 31.25% in the G6 group, while phosphorus was significantly increased by 20.57% and 33.03% in the G7 and G8 groups, respectively compared to the G2 group. Further, the change in body weight and feed consumption did not suggest any statistical difference, which depicts that the Biofield Energy Treated test formulation was found to be safe. Thus, the Biofield Treated test formulation has shown sigificant antioxidant activity and can be used for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, stress management and prevention, and act as anti-aging therapy for the improvement of overall health.

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Adverse Effects of Cadmium on the Biochemical and Histopathological Profiles of Chicken Liver

Background: Cadmium is one of the heavy metals which have toxic effects on the various organs and systems of the body. Estimates demonstrate the increased prevalence of cadmium, particularly in industrial regions. In this study, we examined its harmful effects on the liver of chicken.
Method: Forty chickens were purchased and were randomly divided into four groups. After collecting liver samples, the microscopic slides were prepared in laboratory. Also, the activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured.
Results: The normal structure of liver was observed at control group, but hemorrhage and irregularity in the shape and distribution of hepatocytes in treatment groups were observed. The activities of CAT and SOD decreased significantly at treatment groups compared to the control group. Also, the level of MDA increased significantly at treatment groups compared to the control group.
Conclusion: The results showed the adverse effects of cadmium on the liver that consequently affects the overall function of body. Due to the growing use of cadmium, particularly in industrial regions, this study shows the impacts of cadmium on the birds of industrial regions and provides a warning for preventing its more outbreaks.

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Assessment of the Phytonutrient Content, Mineral and Proximate Compositions of Selected Yam Landraces (Dioscorea Rotundata Poir)

The phytochemical screening, assessment of mineral and proximate compositions of eleven selected yam landraces were carried out using standard laboratory protocols with the view to gain insight to its nutritional and health potentials. Phytonutrient composition (mg/100g) analyses were carried out using different extraction solvents namely diethyl ether, ethanol, methanol, acetone and methanol. The results revealed that the eleven samples studied had alkaloid between the range of (0.22 – 0.40), flavonoid (2.96 - 3.51), saponin (2.89 - 1.89), tannin (0.03 – 0.05), phytate (0.001 – 0.02) and oxalate (0.04 – 0.06). All observed phytonutrients were below toxic level and thus essential for good health and vitality. Mineral elements (mg/100g) – calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, zinc and copper were assessed. The eleven selected yam landraces had relatively high contents (within the WHO recommendations) of the assessed mineral elements such as calcium (16.47 – 91.32), magnesium (38.16 – 76.90), phosphorus (157.97 – 269.33), etc. The results of the proximate compositions showed that crude fibre was highest in Ogoja (2.36). Okpani had the highest content of crude protein (5.33) while Adaka had the highest content of crude fat (0.82). The caloric values (Cal/100g) ranged from 150.32 – 193.57 respectively.

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High Yield Purification of Mytilidae PP2A: An Enzyme for the Sensitive Detection of Phycotoxins

Diarrheic Shellfish Poison (DSP) toxins such as Okadaic Acid (OA), Dinophisis toxin 1 and Dinophisis toxin 2, and Microcystins such as Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) are widely spread biotoxins whose molecular mechanism of action is based on the specific inhibition of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) with costly negative effects on public health, even at lower quantities than those established by international safe limits worldwide, due to their tumor-promoting action and hepatotoxicity. Considering these, a zero tolerance on the human consumption of these phycotoxins should be advocated. The high affinity of these phycotoxins for PP2A allows using the same enzyme as a very sensitive biosensor. Until now, PP2A has been purified following the classic protocol to produce this enzyme that is based on mammalian tissue as the source material. However, it is characterized by its low PP2A content, resulting in low yields per gram of tissue. In this study PP2A was purified from an invertebrate, a native Chilean shellfish classified as Aulacomia atra. This Mytilidae is a common endemic shellfish that evolved together with the dinoflagellate DSP phycotoxin producers in the Chilean littoral. When the tissue of these shellfish is tested for PP2A, the data show an unusually high amount of this enzyme per gram of shellfish, using these shellfish, the yield post-purification was forty times greater than those reported for other mammalian PP2A purifications. This Mytilidae PP2A is characterized by a Vmax of 7.60 pmol min-1 μg protein-1 and a Km of 32.09 mM for p-NPP. The inhibition assay resulted in an IC50 for OA and MC-LR of 0.86 ng mL-1 and 0.437 ng mL-1 , respectively. The enzymatic stability over time was evaluated, showing that the enzyme is best kept at 4°C suspended in 10% of glycerol and as such retained 80% of its enzymatic activity after 2 weeks and 60% after more than 4 weeks. Taken together, these results indicate that PP2A purified from this bivalve filter-feeder mollusk is a good candidate biosensor for the detection and quantification of DSP toxins and MC-LR-like toxins, especially considering the sensibility, this method is at least 360 times lower than international detection limits.

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A Mechanistic Review of Nicotine Toxicity with Recent Updates

There are concerns about the spread of cigarette smoking and nicotine is the most harmful agent in cigarette smoke. The statics show the growing use of cigarette smoking. Nicotine is an alkaloid and is present in the leaves of tobacco where it acts as a botanical insecticide. It represents 90% of total alkaloid in cigarette smoke. Osteoporosis, lung and kidney injuries, diseases of respiratory and cardiovascular systems, and increased risk of malignancy are just a few of toxic effects of nicotine on the body. Nicotine exerts its harmful effects via oxidative stress pathway, so that it enhances the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and then negatively affects different organs and systems of body. This review provides a comprehensive review of detrimental effects of nicotine on the body and then describes its mechanism of toxicity.


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Effect of Selected Vestibular Exercises on Postural Stability in Elderly Women with Type 2 Diabetes

Objective: The present study aimed to observe the effectiveness of vestibular exercises on postural stability in elderly women with type 2 diabetes.
Materials and methods: 30 elderly women with type-2 diabetes were recruited for the study after written informed consent by convenient sampling. Participants acted as self-controls. Vestibular exercises comprises of 45 minutes one session. Two sessions per week was administered to the participants for a period of one month. Postural stability was assed using Berg balance scale. which is a standard questionnaire to assess the postural stability.
Results: There was significant increase in the Breg Balance Scale score followed by the vestibular exercises (P<0.001).
Conclusion: The present study provides further evidence for the beneficial effect of practicing the selected vestibular exercises in the management of postural stability in the elderly women with type 2 diabetes. The study also recommends further detailed studies in this area to recommend implementation of vestibular exercises in the management of postural stability in type 2 diabetic patients in general.

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