Effectiveness of oral exercise on oral function among the elderly

Purpose

To evaluate the effectiveness of oral exercise on oral function among the elderly at a selected old age home in Chennai.

Research Design

The present study adopted a one-group pretest and posttest (preexperimental) design.

Methods

Participants received intervention "oral exercise" which comprised of exercises for expression muscles (orbicularis oculi, buccinator and orbicularis oris), tongue, salivary glands, and swallowing. The pre- and posttests included assessment of oral function (dry mouth symptoms, amount of salivary pH, salivary secretion, size of mouth opening, halitosis, and oral motor function) using summated xerostomia inventory, spitting into a measuring container for 10 min, pH meter, Vernier caliper, organoleptic test, and Sunnybrook facial grading system, respectively.

Results

Using nonprobability convenience sampling technique, a total of 48 older people living in an old age home who met the inclusion and dental screening criteria were recruited. There was a statistically considerable difference noted in the mean scores of the dry mouth symptoms (t = 11.88), amount of salivary secretions (t = 17.05), salivary pH (t = 8.68), size of mouth opening (t = 14.76), halitosis (t = 13.13), and oral motor function (t = 11.52) at P <.001 before and after oral exercise among the elderly.

Conclusion

Oral exercise as a self-regulating intervention can efficiently promote oral health of older people.

A feasibility study towards cryopreservation of silkworm eggs: response of non-diapause silkworm eggs to low temperature

Insect embryos are very sensitive to chilling temperatures and vary with species and their developmental stages. Insect eggs are small and can supercool to temperatures ranging from -5 degrees C to -40 degrees C. In general, insects rely on a variety of ecological and physiological adaptations to survive low temperatures, making cryopreservation technique significantly complex. Mulberry silkworm (Bombyx mori L., Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) eggs are cleidoic with chorion (approximately 20-25 μm thick). Preservation of non-diapause eggs to a limited period is practiced usually to delay hatching. The advantage of early embryonic periods having resistance to low temperature is utilized for chilling of eggs and preservation for long periods. However, technique for cryopreservation of silkworm eggs is not yet developed and the identification of precise embryonic stage and chill sensitivity is necessary for effective silkworm cryopreservation. The paper reports the chill-sensitivity and tolerance of non-diapause silkworm embryos of mulberry silkworm at various embryonic stages. Silkworm embryo of 48h-age are relatively chill-sensitive as compared to other embryonic ages. This is vital information for the development of cryopreservation protocol for silkworm eggs.

Extracellular synthesis and characterization of nickel oxide nanoparticles from Microbacterium sp. MRS-1 towards bioremediation of nickel electroplating industrial effluent

In the present study, a nickel resistant bacterium MRS-1 was isolated from nickel electroplating industrial effluent, capable of converting soluble NiSO4 into insoluble NiO nanoparticles and identified as Microbacterium sp. The formation of NiO nanoparticles in the form of pale green powder was observed on the bottom of the flask upon prolonged incubation of liquid nutrient medium containing high concentration of 2000ppm NiSO4. The properties of the produced NiO nanoparticles were characterized. NiO nanoparticles exhibited a maximum absorbance at 400nm. The NiO nanoparticles were 100-500nm in size with unique flower like structure. The elemental composition of the NiO nanoparticles was 44:39. The cells of MRS-1 were utilized for the treatment of nickel electroplating industrial effluent and showed nickel removal efficiency of 95%. Application of Microbacterium sp. MRS-1 would be a potential bacterium for bioremediation of nickel electroplating industrial waste water and simultaneous synthesis of NiO nanoparticles.

Identification of bacteria associated with underground parts of Crocus sativus by 16S rRNA gene targeted metagenomic approach

Saffron (Crocus sativus L), an autumn-flowering perennial sterile plant, reproduces vegetatively by underground corms. Saffron has biannual corm-root cycle that makes it an interesting candidate to study microbial dynamics in its rhizosphere and cormosphere (area under influence of corm). Culture independent 16S rRNA gene metagenomic study of rhizosphere and cormosphere of Saffron during flowering stage revealed presence of 22 genera but none of the genus was common in all the three samples. Bulk soil bacterial community was represented by 13 genera with Acidobacteria being dominant. In rhizosphere, out of eight different genera identified, Pseudomonas was the most dominant genus. Cormosphere bacteria comprised of six different genera, dominated by the genus Pantoea. This study revealed that the bacterial composition of all the three samples is significantly different (P < 0.05) from each other. This is the first report on the identification of bacteria associated with rhizosphere, cormosphere and bulk soil of Saffron, using cultivation independent 16S rRNA gene targeted metagenomic approach.

Silkworm (Bombyx mori) cryopreservation: embryonic development as revealed by microscopic studies

Embryo cryopreservation offers a way to safeguard against unwelcome mutations and inadvertent selection that can change its unique genetic makeup. Having a genetic repository of the silkworm genetic resources would ensure preservation of original genetic makeup and will permit to study what genes may have been lost in the selection process. For cryopreservation of eggs and embryos of silkworm, the determination of embryonic stages is a prerequisite. This study reports microscopic observations on embryonic development. The embryonic stages in the dechorionated eggs were determined in parallel comparison with the embryos isolated from intact eggs of different developmental ages.

Development and validation of a liquid chromatographic method for monitoring of process-related synthetic organic impurities of profenofos in technical products

A simple and rapid reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the monitoring of process-related synthetic organic impurities of profenofos (PFS) is developed. Impurities are separated and determined on a reversed-phase Hypersil C(18) column using gradient elution of 50 mM ammonium formate buffer-acetonitrile as a mobile phase and detection at 230 nm at ambient temperature. The method is validated with respect to accuracy, precision, linearity, and limits of detection and quantitation. The method is found to be suitable not only for monitoring the reactions involved in the process development of PFS, but also quality assurance, as it can detect impurities at the level of 1.5 x 10(-8) g.