Search

Introduction: Post the coronavirus disease (COVID-19 pandemic), there was a spike in demand for immunity boosters, leading to the irrational use of supplements. To assess the usage of immunity boosters among the citizens of Pune City and correlate the side effects associated with supplements. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2020 to May 2021 in Pune. Data, such as demographic, supplement intake (allopathic, homeopathic, and ayurvedic/home remedies), duration, frequency of supplements, and side effects associated with supplements, were collected through a personal interview and e-form circulation. The correlation of the immunity boosters with the side effects was done using Karl Pearson's Correlation test in SPSS software version 22.0. Results: Out of 1006, the ayurvedic supplements/home remedies were preferred by 906 (98%) allopathic supplements by 599 (65%) and homeopathic supplements by 256 (28%) participants. The commonly reported side effects were acidity (37%), headache (29.6%), nausea (9%), loss of appetite (8.8%), diarrhea (7%), stomach ache (6%), cough (5.6%), and constipation (4.1%). These side effects had a weak positive linear proportionality with ayurvedic supplements such as amla (r = 0.162), Giloy Vati (r = 0.139), turmeric (r = 0.108), and Kadha (r = 0.102); also, Eupatorium perfoliatum, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D showed a linear proportionality with loss of appetite (r = 0.15), headache (r = 0.12), and cough (r = 0.12), respectively. A higher incidence of side effects such as nausea (r = 0.267), diarrhea (r = 0.243), headache (r = 0.164), and acidity (r = 0.113) was observed when supplements were taken for 6 months. Conclusion: Most participants were on immunity boosters during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study concluded that using immunity boosters in excess or for more than 6 months causes side effects, the most recurrent ones being acidity, headache, nausea, and lack of appetite.

Background: Salivary gland tumors bear uncanny characteristics of being different based on their morphological aspects rather than the presence of clear demarcation. This ambiguity in the spectrum from benign to malignant salivary gland neoplasms while categorizing the neoplasm is having inherent pitfalls. The present study was, therefore, designed to characterize benign and malignant salivary gland tumors based on their proliferative indices. Materials and Method: Study samples comprised of 97 cases of histopathologically confirmed benign and malignant salivary gland tumors. The cases were immunohistochemically assessed for MCM3 and Ki-67 expressions and the molecular characterization was performed based on the findings. Results: The majority of benign and malignant salivary gland tumors were from the parotid gland, (51.2%) and (42.4%), respectively. Overall mean labeling index of MCM3 was higher i.e., (5.60 ± 3.99) in comparison to Ki-67 i.e., (2.82 ± 3.14) with P = 0.05 using paired t-test. Besides, malignant salivary gland neoplasms represented a higher mean score of MCM3 and Ki-67 than benign neoplasms. Conclusion: The requirement of a novel marker has led to the use of MCM3 which has a characteristic role in the entire spectrum of the cell cycle. The present study highlighted the extrapolation of MCM3 over Ki-67 for diagnosis and for true characterization of biologic behavior of salivary gland pathologies which may, in turn, influence the treatment modality employed for such lesions.

Oral ulcers constitute one of the most common chief complaints of patients attending any dental practice. The cause of oral mucosal ulceration is generally attributed to acute or chronic trauma from local factors. However, oral lesions may be the initial manifestation of many systemic conditions. Moreover, a group of oral ulcerative lesions have been reported to exhibit vast numbers of eosinophils and known as Traumatic Ulcerative Granuloma with Stromal Eosinophilia (TUGSE). We present two cases of oral ulcers which on microscopic examination exhibited numerous eosinophils from ulcerated epithelium to deep into the submucosa and an exuberant lymphoid proliferation. CD15 immunohistochemical marker was used in these cases to ease the identification of the eosinophils. We also highlight the differential diagnosis of TUGSE that may manifest as oral lesions, as an important diagnostic guide for clinicians in contemporary practice.

The Internet of Things (IoT) plays a vital role in interconnecting physical and virtual objects that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies intending to connect and exchange data with devices and systems around the globe over the Internet. With a multitude of features to offer, IoT is a boon to mankind, but just as two sides of a coin, the technology, with its lack of securing information, may result in a big bane. It is estimated that by the year 2030, there will be nearly 25.44 billion IoT devices connected worldwide. Due to the unprecedented growth, IoT is endangered by numerous attacks, impairments, and misuses due to challenges such as resource limitations, heterogeneity, lack of standardization, architecture, etc. It is known that almost 98% of IoT traffic is not encrypted, exposing confidential and personal information on the network. To implement such a technology in the near future, a comprehensive implementation of security, privacy, authentication, and recovery is required. Therefore, in this paper, the comprehensive taxonomy of security and threats within the IoT paradigm is discussed. We also provide insightful findings, presumptions, and outcomes of the challenges to assist IoT developers to address risks and security flaws for better protection. A five-layer and a seven-layer IoT architecture are presented in addition to the existing three-layer architecture. The communication standards and the protocols, along with the threats and attacks corresponding to these three architectures, are discussed. In addition, the impact of different threats and attacks along with their detection, mitigation, and prevention are comprehensively presented. The state-of-the-art solutions to enhance security features in IoT devices are proposed based on Blockchain (BC) technology, Fog Computing (FC), Edge Computing (EC), and Machine Learning (ML), along with some open research problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older adults (60+ years) are at higher risk of malnutrition. Improving the nutrient-density of their diets is important but presents challenges due to the introduction of new ingredients, liking implications and heterogeneity of older consumers. Ten nutrient-enhanced foods were evaluated for liking (9-point hedonic scale) and sensory perception (check-all-that-apply) by 71 older adults. Three foods were re-evaluated after participants were provided with information about their healthy ingredients and benefits. Participants were also segmented based on their degrees of food neophobia and interests in healthy eating, using questionnaires. The results showed that eight foods had adequate sensory appeal (overall hedonic score of ≥6) to be pursued for residential care menus. Segmentation based on food neophobia and healthy eating interests did not yield any meaningful differences between groups. The effect of health information on liking for the overall sample and subgroups was product-specific: liking scores only increased for the raspberry banana smoothie in the overall test population and higher healthy eating interest subgroup. Health information may lead to the experience of more positive attributes in some foods. Overall, eight foods that were tested could be accepted by a wide range of consumers and providing them with health information may further improve acceptance.