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The Chat Generative Pre-training Transformer (GPT), also known as ChatGPT, is a powerful generative AI model that can simulate human-like dialogues across a variety of domains. However, this popularity has attracted the attention of malicious actors who exploit ChatGPT to launch cyberattacks. This paper examines the tactics that adversaries use to leverage ChatGPT in a variety of cyberattacks. Attackers pose as regular users and manipulate ChatGPT's vulnerability to malicious interactions, particularly in the context of cyber assault. The paper presents illustrative examples of cyberattacks that are possible with ChatGPT and discusses the realm of ChatGPT-fueled cybersecurity threats. The paper also investigates the extent of user awareness of the relationship between ChatGPT and cyberattacks. A survey of 253 participants was conducted, and their responses were measured on a three-point Likert scale. The results provide a comprehensive understanding of how ChatGPT can be used to improve business processes and identify areas for improvement. Over 80% of the participants agreed that cyber criminals use ChatGPT for malicious purposes. This finding underscores the importance of improving the security of this novel model. Organizations must take steps to protect their computational infrastructure. This analysis also highlights opportunities for streamlining processes, improving service quality, and increasing efficiency. Finally, the paper provides recommendations for using ChatGPT in a secure manner, outlining ways to mitigate potential cyberattacks and strengthen defenses against adversaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPDs) markers system was used for development of DNA fingerprints and assessment of genetic diversity among seven olive varieties at Genetically Modified Organism Testing Lab, Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute, AARI, Faisalabad, Pakistan during the year 2015. A total of 62 RAPD markers were used out of which 59 were found highly polymorphic (95.2% polymorphism) and three RAPD markers were monomorphic. Out of total 583 alleles were amplified by 59 markers and 85 were monomorphic and 498 were polymorphic). Number of alleles varied from 3 (for I-4, I-18 and R-10) to 19 (for G-16), with an average of 9.85 alleles per marker. A combination of three RAPD primers (A-13, Q-1 & R-15 or I-3, R-13, R-15 or I-2, A-13, I-17 ) can distinguish all seven olive varieties under study. RAPD primers Q-1 can individually identify four olive varieties among seven under study whereas locus I-1, I-14, I-2, I-5, R-13, G-13, I-7, R-15, G-18 and A-13 each alone can distinguish three olive genotypes individually. Variety specific alleles were not found for Bulkasar selection and Arbequina. Further statistical analysis i.e. estimation of confusion probability (Cj) and primer efficiency [discriminating power (DL), Discriminating power (Dj)] also endorsed these findings. Clustering analysis at 70% similarity as base line produced seven different clusters indicating different genetic background of these varieties. Genetic similarity varied from 0.548 to 0.728. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sperm sexing through flow-sorting technology is relatively expensive, requires considerable technical support and is actually not practicable in many developing countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of producing enriched pools of X or Y chromosome-bearing sperm by a modified swim-up method. For this purpose semen was collected from five mature Nili-Ravi buffalo bulls for a period of six weeks. The qualifying ejaculates were divided into two aliquots for further processing through modified swim-up or control (untreated). After processing, semen was cryopreserved in tris citric acid extender using standard techniques. Semen quality was assessed at pre dilution, post dilution and post thawing. Validation of technique was done by using SYBR ® green real time PCR using two sets of primers, PLP and SRY for X and Y chromosome of buffalo genes, respectively. Sperm recovery rates, pre freeze and post thaw sperm quality were found significantly higher in X chromosome bearing sperm fraction than Y chromosome bearing fraction and control. Mean fold relative expression of X bearing sperm was significantly higher (4–5 fold) in X chromosome bearing fraction of supernatant than Y chromosome bearing fraction (0.06 fold), similarly mean fold relative expression of Y chromosome bearing sperm was significantly higher in Y chromosome bearing fraction (4 fold) of supernatant than X chromosome bearing fraction (0.15 fold) compared to control (1.00). In conclusion, a modified swim up method proved to be an effective method for Nili-Ravi buffalo sperm sexing as validated by real time PCR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glaucoma is characterized by increased intraocular pressure and damage to the optic nerve, which may result in irreversible blindness. The drastic effects of this disease can be avoided if it is detected at an early stage. However, the condition is frequently detected at an advanced stage in the elderly population. Therefore, early-stage detection may save patients from irreversible vision loss. The manual assessment of glaucoma by ophthalmologists includes various skill-oriented, costly, and time-consuming methods. Several techniques are in experimental stages to detect early-stage glaucoma, but a definite diagnostic technique remains elusive. We present an automatic method based on deep learning that can detect early-stage glaucoma with very high accuracy. The detection technique involves the identification of patterns from the retinal images that are often overlooked by clinicians. The proposed approach uses the gray channels of fundus images and applies the data augmentation technique to create a large dataset of versatile fundus images to train the convolutional neural network model. Using the ResNet-50 architecture, the proposed approach achieved excellent results for detecting glaucoma on the G1020, RIM-ONE, ORIGA, and DRISHTI-GS datasets. We obtained a detection accuracy of 98.48%, a sensitivity of 99.30%, a specificity of 96.52%, an AUC of 97%, and an F1-score of 98% by using the proposed model on the G1020 dataset. The proposed model may help clinicians to diagnose early-stage glaucoma with very high accuracy for timely interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of the present short-term longitudinal randomized case-control study was to assess the effect of nonsurgical periodontal therapy (NSPT) (with and without oral doxycycline delivery) on glycemic status and clinical periodontal parameters in patients with prediabetes. Material and methods: Sixty-six patients with prediabetes and periodontal disease were included. Characteristics of the study cohort (age, gender, socioeconomic status [SES] education status, duration of prediabetes, and type of treatment adopted for prediabetes management) were recorded. Patients were randomly divided into two groups (33 patients/group). In group 1, scaling and root planing (SRP) was performed, and in group-2, patients underwent SRP and oral doxycycline (100 mg) administration once daily for 15 days. In each group, the following parameters were investigated at baseline and after 3 months: (a) fasting blood glucose level (FBGL), (b) hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and (c) periodontal parameters (plaque index [PI], bleeding on probing [BOP], probing depth [PD], and clinical attachment loss [AL]). Statistical analysis was performed using Student's t test. Results: There was no significant difference in age, gender, SES, education status, and duration and treatment of prediabetes among individuals in groups 1 and 2. Three months post-NSPT, FBGL and HbA1c were significantly reduced among patients in group 1 ( P < 0.05) and group 2 ( P < 0.05) compared to baseline. Three months post-NSPT, PI ( P < 0.05), BOP ( P < 0.05), and PD ( P < 0.05) were significantly reduced among patients in group 1 ( P < 0.05) and group 2 ( P < 0.05) compared to baseline. There was no difference in clinical AL between the groups after 3 months of NSPT. Conclusion: NSPT (with and without oral doxycycline delivery) reduces hyperglycemia and periodontal inflammation in patients with prediabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper aims to critically reflect the current specialist discourse on experiential approaches to higher education for sustainable development (HESD). Limitations to the current discourse are identified, and as a result, an alternative approach to the study of experiential education (EE) within HESD is suggested.Design/methodology/approach Three research questions are addressed by analysing the literature on EE and experiential learning (EL) within HESD in specialist academic journals.Findings There is a consensus among authors regarding the appropriateness of experiential approaches to HESD. However, limitations to the current discourse suggest the need for an alternative approach to studying EE within HESD. Therefore, this paper proposes the application of the learning landscape metaphor to take a more student-centred and holistic perspective.Originality/value The learning landscape metaphor has previously not been applied to EE within HESD. This alternative conceptualisation foregrounds student perspectives to experiential initiatives within HESD. The holistic approach aims to understand the myriad influences on students learning, while allowing examination of how experiential approaches relate to other educational approaches within HESD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BARS-09 is a semi dwarf, rust resistant, drought tolerant and high yielding wheat variety developed as a result of consistent breeding efforts from the year 1999-2007 at Barani Agricultural Research Station (BARS), Fatehjang, Pakistan. The variety was developed from the cross "PFAU/SERI//BOW" and selected from the 16th Semi Arid Wheat Screening Nursery. The genotype was evaluated in multiple trials (preliminary, adaptation, station and regular) from 1999-2000 to 2002-03 under the varietal code 99FJ03. It was further tested in micro yield trial (rainfed) conducted at seven locations in Punjab during 2003-04. The line was also evaluated in National Uniform Yield Trial (rainfed) for two consecutive years 2005 to 2007. It stood third in National Uniform Yield Trials (2006-07) conducted both in Punjab and Pakistan. BARS-09 has shown yield potential of 5613 kg per hectare at Barani Agricultural Research Institute, Chakwal during 2006-07. This variety was approved by Punjab Seed Council during the year 2009 for general cultivation in rainfed areas. BARS-09 is shorter in height (95-98 cm), takes 160-175 days to mature, medium in ear size, has high tillering capacity (480/cm2) and 41.17 g 1000-grain weight. The variety performs better at seed rate of 100 kg and NPK dose of 90-60-30 kg per hectare. It has also shown tolerance against drought and leaf/yellow and stem rusts. It would be a good choice to boost up the wheat production particularly in barani areas of the Punjab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The secret keys produced by current image cryptosystems, which rely on chaotic sequences, exhibit a direct correlation with the size of the image. As the image dimensions expand, the generation of extensive chaotic sequences in the encryption and decryption procedures becomes more computationally intensive. Secondly, a common problem in existing image encryption schemes is the compromise between privacy and efficiency. Some existing lightweight schemes reveal patterns in encrypted images, while others impose heavy computational burdens during encryption/decryption due to the need for large chaotic sequences. In this study, we introduce a lightweight image encryption scheme that involves partitioning the image into uniformly sized tiles and generating a chaotic sequence accordingly. This approach diminishes the necessity to create extensive chaotic sequences equal to the tile size, which is significantly smaller than the original image. As a result, it alleviates the processing burden associated with generating sequences equivalent to the original image size. The results confirm that our proposed scheme is lightweight and secure compared to the latest state-of-the-art image encryption schemes. Additionally, sensitivity analysis demonstrates that the proposed image encryption technique, with a UACI value of 33.48 and NPRC value of 99.96, affirms its resistance to differential attacks., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Khan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

For thousands of years, plants have been utilized for medicinal purposes. For its naturally existing antibacterial properties, Nigella sativa is one of the most researched herbs. A study was conducted during rabi 2020-21 at The University of Haripur in order to evaluate the potential of ascorbic acid as plant growth enhancer. Two concentrations of ascorbic acid i-e 350 μm and 400 μm were sprayed along with control and water only spray on Nigella sativa crop. The study was arranged in RCBD two factor factorial arrangement. Factor A: ascorbic acid concentrations along with control and water spray, factor B: Growth stages (Stage1 = 40 days after sowing, Stage 2 = 80 DAS, Stage 3 = 120 DAS, Stage 4 = 40 + 80 DAS, Stage 5 = 40 + 120 DAS, Stage 6 = 80 + 120 DAS, Stage 7 = 40 + 80 + 120 DAS). Crop was sown in first week of November. Results reviled that chlorophyll b content, fixed oil content, 1000 seed weight, grain yield, Photosynthetic rate (μ mole m -2 s -1 ), Transpiration rate (mmole m -2 s -1 ), photosynthetic water use efficiency, Internal CO 2 concentration ( Ci ) of leaf tissue and Stomatal conductance (mmole m -2 s -1 ) were significantly affected by ascorbic acid concentrations and stage of application. Crop growth rate increased by 19.88% and 17.29%, chlorophyll b by 12.3% and 11.2%, fixed oil by 11.7% and 9%, grain yield by 10.29% and 9.8%, harvest index by 4% and 5.7% photosynthetic rate by 33%, 20% and stomatal conductance by 24.24% and 24.25 with application of ascorbic acid @ 350 μm, over control and water spray respectively. On the basis of these results it is concluded that application of ascorbic acid at the rate of 350 μm, followed by ascorbic acid at the rate of 400 μm significantly improves black cumin ( Nigella sativa ) yield and production. Hence it is recommended to apply ascorbic acid at the rate of 350 μm at 40 + 80+120 days after sowing of Nigella sativa crop for obtaining maximum results., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper, (© 2024 The Authors.)

Skin cancer is a major public health concern around the world. Skin cancer identification is critical for effective treatment and improved results. Deep learning models have shown considerable promise in assisting dermatologists in skin cancer diagnosis. This study proposes SBXception: a shallower and broader variant of the Xception network. It uses Xception as the base model for skin cancer classification and increases its performance by reducing the depth and expanding the breadth of the architecture. We used the HAM10000 dataset, which contains 10,015 dermatoscopic images of skin lesions classified into seven categories, for training and testing the proposed model. Using the HAM10000 dataset, we fine-tuned the new model and reached an accuracy of 96.97% on a holdout test set. SBXception also achieved significant performance enhancement with 54.27% fewer training parameters and reduced training time compared to the base model. Our findings show that reducing and expanding the Xception model architecture can greatly improve its performance in skin cancer categorization.

Agriculture is the backbone of any country, and plays a viable role in the total gross domestic product (GDP). Healthy and fruitful crops are of immense importance for a government to fulfill the food requirements of its inhabitants. Because of land diversities, weather conditions, geographical locations, defensive measures against diseases, and natural disasters, monitoring crops with human intervention becomes quite challenging. Conventional crop classification and yield estimation methods are ineffective under unfavorable circumstances. This research exploits modern precision agriculture tools for enhanced remote crop yield estimation, and types classification by proposing a fuzzy hybrid ensembled classification and estimation method using remote sensory data. The architecture enhances the pooled images with fuzzy neighborhood spatial filtering, scaling, flipping, shearing, and zooming. The study identifies the optimal weights of the strongest candidate classifiers for the ensembled classification method adopting the bagging strategy. We augmented the imagery datasets to achieve an unbiased classification between different crop types, including jute, maize, rice, sugarcane, and wheat. Further, we considered flaxseed, lentils, rice, sugarcane, and wheat for yield estimation on publicly available datasets provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the Word Bank DataBank. The ensemble method outperformed the individual classification methods for crop type classification on an average of 13% and 24% compared to the highest gradient boosting and lowest decision tree methods, respectively. Similarly, we observed that the gradient boosting predictor outperformed the multivariate regressor, random forest, and decision tree regressor, with a comparatively lower mean square error value on yield years 2017 to 2021. Further, the proposed architecture supports embedded devices, where remote devices can adopt a lightweight classification algorithm, such as MobilenetV2. This can significantly reduce the processing time and overhead of a large set of pooled images.

In the modern era, researchers have focused a great deal of effort on multimedia security and fast processing to address computational processing time difficulties. Due to limited battery capacity and storage, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) must use energy-efficient processing. In order to overcome the vulnerability of time inefficiency and provide an appropriate degree of security for digital images, this paper proposes a new encryption system based on the bit-plane extraction method, chaos theory, and Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT). Using confusion and diffusion processes, chaos theory is used to modify image pixels. In contrast, bit-plane extraction and DWT are employed to reduce the processing time required for encryption. Multiple cyberattack analysis, including noise and cropping attacks, are performed by adding random noise to the ciphertext image in order to determine the proposed encryption scheme's resistance to such attacks. In addition, a variety of statistical security analyses, including entropy, contrast, energy, correlation, peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), and mean square error (MSE), are performed to evaluate the security of the proposed encryption system. Moreover, a comparison is made between the statistical security analysis of the proposed encryption scheme and the existing work to demonstrate that the suggested encryption scheme is better to the existing ones., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The objective was to compare the efficiency of probiotic therapy (PT) vs antibiotic therapy (AT) as adjuvants to nonsurgical-mechanical debridement (NSMD) for the treatment of peri-implant mucositis (Pi-M). Volunteers with Pi-M were encompassed. Therapeutically, patients were randomly divided into 3 groups: (a) Group 1: NSMD + PT; (b) Group 2: NSMD + AT; and (c) Group 3: NSMD alone. Peri-implant plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing depth (PD), and crestal bone loss (CBL) were recorded at baseline and at 3 and 6 months follow-up. P < .05 was selected as the indicator of statistical significance. Forty-two male individuals (14, 14, and 14 in Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively) were included. At 3 and 6 months of follow-up, PI (P < .01), BOP (P < .01), and PD (P < .01) were higher in Group 2 than Group 1. At 3 months of follow-up, PI (P < .01), BOP (P < .01), and PD (P < .01) were higher in Group 3 than Group 2. At 6 months of follow-up, PI, BOP, and PD were comparable in Groups 2 and 3. In Group 3, PI, BOP, and PD were comparable with the respective baseline values at 6 months of follow-up. The CBL in all groups remained unchanged up to 6 months of follow-up. The NSMD with adjuvant PT is more effective than adjunct AT for the treatment of Pi-M for up to 3 months.

This study hypothesized that probiotic therapy (PT) does not offer additional benefits to mechanical debridement (MD) for the treatment of diabetic subjects with peri-implant mucositis (PM). This study compared the influence of PT as an adjunct to MD for the treatment of PM in type 2 diabetic and nondiabetic patients over a 12-month follow-up period. Patients with and without type 2 diabetes were included. PM patients were categorized into 2 groups based on the treatment procedure: (1) nonsurgical + PT and (2) nonsurgical MD alone. Demographics and education statuses were recorded. Gingival index (GI) and plaque index (PI), crestal bone loss (CBL), and probing depth (PD) were measured at baseline and after 6 and 12 months. Significant differences were detected with P < .01. The hemoglobin A1c level was significantly higher in patients with diabetes at all time durations than in patients without type 2 diabetes (P < .001). Baseline GI, PI, PD, and CBL were comparable in all groups. In patients with type 2 diabetes, there was no difference in PI, GI, PD, and CBL at 6- and 12-month follow-up. In patients without type 2 diabetes, there was a significant reduction in PI (P < .01), GI (P < .01), and PD (P < .01) at 6-month and 1-year follow-up as compared with baseline. In patients without type 2 diabetes, MD with or without adjunct PT reduced soft-tissue inflammatory parameters in patients with PM.

The history of plants to be utilized as medicines is thousands of years old. Black cumin is one of the most widely examined plant possessing naturally occurring compounds with antimicrobial potential. Foliar application of growth stimulators is a successful strategy to enhance yield and quality in many crops. A field study was planned to apply growth stimulator like moringa leaf extract on black cumin crop grown under field conditions using RCB design with three replications. All other agronomic inputs and practices were uniform. The treatments were moringa leaf extract concentrations (10%, 20%), growth stages (40 days after sowing, 80 DAS, 120 DAS, 40 + 80 DAS, 40 + 120 DAS, 80 + 120 DAS, 40 + 80 + 120 days after sowing) and two controls unsprayed check (i.e. no moringa leaf extract, no water) and sprayed check (no moringa leaf extract + water). Application of 20% moringa leaf extract at stage-7 (40 + 80 + 120 days after sowing) had significantly increased plant height, branches plant -1 , essential oil content, fixed oil content, peroxidase value and iodine value of black cumin oil over unsprayed control. Application of moringa leaf extract showed maximum results and improves growth and yield of black cumin when applied at 40 + 80 + 120 days after sowing. As this study was only conducted using moringa leaf extract, it is advisable to conduct an experiment with various bio stimulants along with fertilizer combinations and growth regulators to check their synergistic effects for more reliable and acceptable recommendations in future., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

The continuous development of intelligent video surveillance systems has increased the demand for enhanced vision-based methods of automated detection of anomalies within various behaviors found in video scenes. Several methods have appeared in the literature that detect different anomalies by using the details of motion features associated with different actions. To enable the efficient detection of anomalies, alongside characterizing the specificities involved in features related to each behavior, the model complexity leading to computational expense must be reduced. This paper provides a lightweight framework (LightAnomalyNet) comprising a convolutional neural network (CNN) that is trained using input frames obtained by a computationally cost-effective method. The proposed framework effectively represents and differentiates between normal and abnormal events. In particular, this work defines human falls, some kinds of suspicious behavior, and violent acts as abnormal activities, and discriminates them from other (normal) activities in surveillance videos. Experiments on public datasets show that LightAnomalyNet yields better performance comparative to the existing methods in terms of classification accuracy and input frames generation.

In the United States, prevalence of marijuana-use has doubled in the past 2 decades. The aim was to compare the periodontal conditions and whole-salivary IL-17A and IL-23 levels among young adult marijuana-smokers, heavy cigarette-smokers and non-smokers. Self-reported marijuana-smokers, heavy-cigarette-smokers, non-smokers with periodontitis and periodontally-healthy non-smokers were included. Demographic data was recorded and full-mouth plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BoP), probing depth (PD) and clinical attachment loss (AL), marginal bone loss (MBL) and missing teeth were recorded. Levels of IL-17A and IL-23 levels were measured in the whole saliva. p < 0.01 was considered statistically significant. Fifteen-marijuana-smokers, 15 heavy-cigarette-smokers, 16 non-smokers-with-periodontitis and 15 periodontally-healthy-non-smokers) were included. The clinicoradiographic parameters were worse among marijuana-smokers ( p < 0.01), cigarette-smokers ( p < 0.01) and non-smokers-with-periodontitis ( p < 0.01) than periodontally-healthy-non-smokers. Marijuana- and cigarette-smokers had Stage-IV/Grade C and non-smokers with periodontitis had Stage-III/Grade-C. Salivary IL-17A and IL-23 levels were higher in marijuana-smokers than cigarette-smokers ( p < 0.01) and non-smokers-with-periodontitis ( p < 0.01). Whole salivary IL-17A and IL-23 levels were higher among cigarette-smokers than non-smokers with periodontitis ( p < 0.01) and periodontally-healthy-individuals ( p < 0.01). Marijuana- and heavy cigarette-smokers have comparable clinicoradiographic periodontal statuses. This rejects hypothesis-1. However, whole salivary immunoinflammatory response may be moderately worse in marijuana-smokers compared with heavy cigarette-smokers and non-smoker with periodontitis thereby supporting hypothesis-2.

Purpose: In the present randomised controlled trial (RCT), the authors hypothesise that herbal-based oral rinses are as effective as 0.12% chlorhexidine when used as adjuncts to non-surgical mechanical debridement (MD) in the management of peri-implant mucositis. The aim of the present RCT was to compare the efficacy of an herbal oral rinse with a 0.12% chlorhexidine-based oral rinse when used as adjuncts to non-surgical MD in the treatment of peri-implant mucositis., Materials and Methods: Adult patients with peri-implant mucositis were included. Participants were randomly allocated into 3 groups. In group 1, patients only underwent non-surgical MD. In groups 2 and 3, patients underwent non-surgical MD with adjunct rinsing with an herbal- and 0.12% CHX-based oral rinse, respectively. Peri-implant plaque index (PI) and bleeding-on-probing (BOP) and probing-depth (PD) were assessed at baseline and at 3, 6, and 12 weeks. Group comparisons were done and p < 0.01 was considered statistically significant., Results: Forty-eight patients with peri-implant mucositis (16, 16, and 16 in groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively) were included. At baseline, there was no difference in PI, PD, BOP in all groups. In group 1, there was no statistically significant difference in PI and BOP at 6, and 12 weeks of follow-up compared with baseline. In groups 2 and 3, PI (p < 0.01) and BOP (p < 0.01) were statistically significantly higher at baseline than 3, 6, and 12 weeks of follow-up. In group 1, there was no statistically significant difference in PD at all time intervals. In groups 2 and 3, PD was statistically significantly higher at baseline than 3, 6, and 12 weeks of follow-up. In groups 2 and 3, there was no statistically significant difference in PI, BOP and PD at all intervals., Conclusion: Herbal- and 0.12% CHX-based oral rinses are useful adjuncts to MD for the treatment of peri-implant mucositis.

Objective: To explore the association of rs662799 variants of Apolipoprotein A5 gene with metabolic syndrome in Pakistani population., Methods: The case-control study was conducted at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan from 2014 to2016, and comprised subjects enrolled from the out-patient clinics. Groups were formed on the basis of preliminary screening for risk factors like obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, dyslipidemia and fasting blood glucose levels. Met S was diagnosed based on the international diabetes federation criteria. Blood samples were collected for biochemical testing and deoxyribonucleic acid extraction. Genotyping of rs662799 was performed a the Genome Research Centre of the University of Hong Kong using Sequenom Mass ARRAY, iPLEX Gold technology. Data was analysed using SPSS 16and Plink software., Results: :There were 712 subjects in two groups of 356(50%) each. The overall mean age was 41.59}7.18 years. There was a significant association of risk allele C of rs662799 with metabolic syndrome (p=0.002). The risk showed strong association with dyslipidaemia (p=0.03) and obesity (p=0.01) which are risk phenotypes of metabolic syndrome in age- and gender-adjusted model., Conclusions: The association of risk allele C of genetic variant rs662799 of Apolipoprotein A5 gene with dyslipidaemia and obesity may lead to the development of metabolic syndrome in the Pakistan adult population.

Aim: It is hypothesized that self-perceived oral health and periodontal status are worse in chronic periodontitis (CP) patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared to CP patients without RA. The aim of the present study was to assess self-perceived oral health and periodontal parameters in CP patients with and without RA., Methods: Fifty CP patients with RA and 50 CP patients without RA were included. Information regarding sociodemographic characteristics and self-perceived oral symptoms were collected using a questionnaire. Periodontal parameters (plaque index, bleeding on probing, probing depth, clinical attachment loss, number of missing teeth, and marginal bone loss) were recorded., Results: There was no significant difference in socioeconomic status, education status, self-perceived oral symptoms, and periodontal parameters among CP patients with and without RA., Conclusions: Self-perceived oral health and periodontal parameters are mainly governed by the intensity of CP, and the role of RA in this context seems to be rather secondary., (© 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.)

Objective: This study assessed the association between glycemic status and oral Candida carriage among patients with prediabetes., Study Design: This was a comparative study of oral Candida carriage among individuals with prediabetes. Oral yeast samples were collected from 150 individuals: group A was 43 patients with prediabetes (fasting blood glucose levels and hemoglobin A1c, 100 to 125 mg/dL and ≥5%, respectively); group B was 37 individuals previously considered prediabetic but having fasting blood glucose levels <100 mg/dL and hemoglobin A1c <5%; and group C was 70 medically healthy individuals. Oral yeasts were identified using standard techniques. Unstimulated whole salivary flow rate and number of missing teeth were recorded., Results: Oral Candida was isolated from 100% of patients with prediabetes and from 65.7% of control participants. Candida albicans carriage was higher among patients with prediabetes (48.7%) (P < .01) and patients in group A (51.2%) (P < .01) than among controls (25.7%). Candida carriage, unstimulated whole salivary flow rate, and number of missing teeth were similar in groups A and B., Conclusions: Oral Candida carriage was higher in patients with prediabetes than in controls and was independent of glycemic status in patients with prediabetes., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the oral mucosal disorders associated with habitual gutka consumption., Methods: Databases were searched from 1956 to June 2009 using the following terms: "gutka," "gutkha," "ghutka," "guttkha," "smokeless tobacco," "areca nut," "betel nut," "slaked lime," "dental," "oral," "periodontal," "inflammation," "submucous fibrosis," "carcinoma," and "cancer." The eligibility criteria included: human and experimental studies, use of control subjects, and articles published in English. Unpublished data were not sought. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed., Results: Twelve studies were included. Three studies associated gutka consumption with periodontal inflammation (ORs 1.64 [CI 1.2-2.1], 2.20 [CI 1.1-4.9], and 3.56 [CI 1.9-5.5]). Five studies showed a direct relationship between gutka usage and oral submucous fibrosis (ORs 1.65 [CI 1.2-2.3], 2.33 [CI 1.9-4.5], 2.98 [CI 1.5-3.9], 3.56 [CI 1.3-4.7], and 5.08 [CI 3.7-6.4]). An increased frequency of gutka usage was associated with malignant transformations in oral submucous fibrosis by 2 studies (ORs 4.59 [CI 2-5.6] and 18 [CI 5.8-61.6]). Two studies showed an extension of oral submucous fibrosis into the hypopharynx and esophagus in gutka users (ORs 4.59 [CI 2-5.6] and 33 [CI 2.2-46.6])., Conclusions: Habitual gutka usage is associated with severe oral mucosal disorders, and the consequences may extend beyond the oral cavity., (Copyright 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.)