Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), centered in Bengaluru, India, is a public, affiliating university set up in 1996 by the government of Karnataka, India, for the regulation and promotion of higher education in health sciences throughout the state of Karnataka. RGUHS is a member of Association of Commonwealth Universities, UK.It is the largest health sciences university in India.
Introduction: Lumbar disc bulge is a common spinal disorder characterized by the radiating pain and functional disability, often associated with radicular symptoms. Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT), commonly known as the McKenzie Technique, is widely used to manage discogenic pain by promoting pain centralization and improving spinal mobility. However, there are limited case-based reports that document the effectiveness of McKenzie techniques in chronic disc bulge conditions. Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of McKenzie back extension technique in reducing pain and improving functional ability in a patient with chronic lumbar disc bulge. Materials and Methods: A 36-year-old male patient diagnosed with chronic lumbar disc bulge was selected for the case study. The study intervention consisted of McKenzie back extension techniques performed regularly for a duration of seven weeks. The patient was assessed pre- and post- intervention using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain and the Oswestry disability index (ODI) for functional disability. Results: At the end of seven weeks, the patient demonstrated significant reduction in pain scores and improvement in functional ability. Pain was centralized from distal region to lumbar spine, and ODI scores indicated marked improvement in daily activities. Conclusion: McKenzie back extension techniques proved effective in reducing pain intensity, centralizing symptoms, and improving functional disability in a patient with chronic lumbar disc bulge. Keywords: McKenzie Back Extension Technique, low back pain, centralization, Visual Analogue Scale, Oswestry Disability Index
Introduction: Thyroid nodules are common endocrine disorders. Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) is widely used as an initial diagnostic tool for evaluating thyroid lesions. Histopathology remains the gold standard for definitive diagnosis. Aim: To study the cytohistopathological correlation of thyroid lesions and evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of FNAC. Materials and Methods: This study included 320 patients presenting with thyroid swelling who underwent FNAC evaluation. Surgical specimens were available in 43 cases and were subjected to histopathological examination. Cytological diagnosis was correlated with histopathological findings and diagnostic indices such as sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy were calculated. Results: Out of 43 surgically excised thyroid lesions, 33 cases (76.9%) were benign and 10 cases (23.1%) were malignant on histopathology. FNAC showed high diagnostic performance with sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 99.3%, positive predictive value of 91.6%, negative predictive value of 100%, and overall diagnostic accuracy of 99.35%. Conclusion: FNAC is a highly sensitive and specific diagnostic tool for evaluating thyroid lesions and shows excellent correlation with histopathological findings.
Achieving rapid and stable osseointegration remains a persistent challenge in dental implantology, particularly with variations in implant surface properties. Therefore, it is of interest to compare the effects of hydrophilic and hydrophobic implant surface coatings on osseointegration using clinical and radiographic parameters. Hence, a prospective comparative design involving 100 patients showed that hydrophilic implants yielded significantly higher implant stability (ISQ values) and reduced peri-implant bone loss over a 6-month follow-up period. Improved peri-implant soft tissue health, evidenced by reduced probing depth and bleeding on probing, was also observed in the hydrophilic group. Thus, we report hydrophilic surface modification as a superior strategy for enhancing early osseointegration and improving overall implant prognosis.
Majority of the established procedures of synthesizing phenoxypyrimidines employ phenols and their simple salts as one of the substrates. However, phenols are toxic and can initiate secondary and tertiary burns when come into direct contact with the skin. Recently, our research group developed a very efficient homogeneous reaction protocol for cascade synthesis of phenoxypyrimidines starting from chloropyrimidines and arylboronic acids that could avoid use of phenols as substrate in presence of Cu(NO3)2 center dot H2O as a catalyst and DABCO as a ligand. The current work describes our first effort to develop a heterogeneous reaction protocol for the same. Magnetically active CuFe2O4 nanoparticles were prepared and checked for the purpose. CuFe2O4 nanoparticles prepared in presence of 1 wt.% of cetyltributylammonium-bromide (CTAB) as surfactant have been found effective to carry out the transformation in aqueous medium. Generality of the developed protocol has been demonstrated by synthesizing 15 numbers of phenoxypyrimidines. The catalyst system can be recovered very easily, and it is reused up to 4th run without any significant loss in activity. While laboratory prepared CuFe2O4 nanoparticles were characterized using FT-IR, XRD, and SEM-EDX analyses, all the synthesized compounds were characterized using 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy.
