The Caregiver Reported Autistic Symptoms in Preschool Children: Findings of Chandigarh Autism Screening Instrument (CASI) Linked Screening from North India

Background  Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder and can be early detected with the aid of screening tools. Chandigarh autism screening instrument (CASI) is a newly developed tool to screen autistic symptoms among children aged between 1.5 to 10 years in the north Indian Hindi speaking population. Objective  In this study, we evaluated the caregiver report of autistic symptoms in preschool children (3-6 years) attending selected schools of Rohtak. Materials and Methods  The index study was conducted among 225 caregivers of school-going children aged between 3 to 6 years. Social and communication disorders checklist (SCDC-Hindi) and CASI was used to measure autistic symptoms. The modified Kuppuswamy scale was used for assessing the socioeconomic status of the caregivers. Results  The autistic symptoms varied from 2.2 to 18.7%, depending upon the CASI (cutoff score of 10) and SCDC (cutoff score of 9) measurements. The items in the shorter four-item version (CASI Bref) of CASI were found to be the predictors of autistic symptoms in this population. Children's gender, age, and socioeconomic status were not found to have any association with autistic symptoms in this setting. Conclusion  The study provides preliminary evidence in relation to the CASI-linked screening for autistic symptoms among preschool children. The shorter version of CASI (CASI Bref) can be an efficient quick screener for autistic traits, but the full version of CASI needs to be validated as per age-appropriate autism screening tools.

Plant-based nanocellulose: A review of routine and recent preparation methods with current progress in its applications as rheology modifier and 3D bioprinting

"Nanocellulose" have captivated the topical sphere of sturdily escalating market for sustainable materials. The review focuses on the comprehensive understanding of the distinct surface chemistry and functionalities pertaining to the renovation of macro-cellulose at nanodimensional scale to provide an intuition of their processing-structure-function prospective. The abundant availability, cost effectiveness and diverse properties associated with plant-based resources have great economical perspective for developing sustainable cellulose nanomaterials. Hence, emphasis has been given on nanocellulose types obtained from plant-based sources. An overarching goal is to provide the recent advancement in the preparation routes of nanocellulose. Considering the excellent shear thinning/thixotropic/gel-like behavior, the review provids an assemblage of publications specifically dealing with its application as rheology modifier with emphasis on its use as bioink for 3D bioprinting for various biomedical applications. Altogether, this review has been oriented in a way to collocate a collective data starting from the historical perspective of cellulose discovery to modern cellulosic chemistry and its renovation as nanocellulose with recent technological hype for broad spanning applications.

Functionalization of silica particles to tune the impact resistance of shear thickening fluid treated aramid fabrics

Kevlar fabrics treated with MTMS modified silica based STF showed better impact energy absorption as compared to APTES modified and control silica based STF treated fabrics, attributed to changes in interactions between fabrics and silica particles.

Metal oxide nanostructures incorporated/immobilized paper matrices and their applications: a review

A comprehensive review on the metal oxide nanostructures incorporated/immobilized paper matrices byex situandin situmethods for various applications.

Oral cancer in young non-habituè females: a report of four cases and review of the literature

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study is to highlight the growing incidence of oral cancer in young females without apparent traditional risk factors.

METHODS

We present a case series of young female patients with histopathologically diagnosed squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue and no known exposure to major risk factors, reporting to our institution over one year. A review of the literature was carried out to find documented studies on oral cancer in young females.

RESULTS

We found an increase in the number of young female patients presenting with squamous cell carcinomas on the lateral border of the tongue who did not have any of the traditional risk factors associated with the disease, which is in contrast with the number of male patients presenting with the same disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study highlights the increasing incidence of oral cancer in young females without apparent traditional risk factors, an area of growing concern. Published studies in this particular group are limited. Nevertheless, the situation is alarming owing to the seriousness this problem poses for the community. More research is required to determine the aetiological and risk factors associated with this outcome.

Lymphangioma circumscriptum

Lymphangioma circumscriptum (LC) of the vulva is a rare complication of radiotherapy to pelvis. We report two cases of LC of the vulva occurring after radiotherapy to pelvis for carcinoma cervix. Patients were managed conservatively.