Unravelling the biochemical and phytochemical responses of sapota (Manilkara zapota L.) P. Royen cv. DHS-1 on foliar feeding of plant growth regulators

Foliar application of plant growth regulators (PGRs) is one of tactic for plant nourishment which directly enhances nutrient uptake, leading to a more balanced nutrient supply and improved accumulation in plant ultimately improving quality and yield. The current research covers to see the response of biochemical and phytochemical parameters of sapota cv. DHS-1; to the pre-harvest spray of the PGR i.e. naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) (50 and 100 ppm), 2-chloro-4-pyridyl) N'-phenyl urea (5 and 7.5 ppm), salicylic acid (SA) (150 and 300 ppm) and homo brassinolide (10 and 15 ppm); sprayed at flowering, pea stage and marble stage of plant growth. Treatments were imposed on 24-years-old, uniformly grown, sapota trees, planted at 10m x 10m spacing, at Central Horticultural Experiment Station, (ICAR-IIHR), Bhubaneswar during 2022 and 2023. In general, application of PGRs were foundaffecting the fruit quality significantly over control. However, application of NAA and CPPU performed better at higher dose. The treatment NAA at 100 ppm resulted in highest total soluble solids (°Brix), TSS: acid, ascorbic acid content, sugar content and minimum titratable acidity (%). Further, application of NAA at 100 ppm found to be most effective in boosting total flavonoids content, total phenol content and antioxidant activity. The possible correlations among these parameters were discussed which showed that the bio-active compounds such as vitamin C, phenol and flavonoid contributed towards the anti-oxidant capacity of fruit. Therefore, application of PGRs showed to effectively augment fruit quality by improving both biochemical and phytochemical properties when compared to control

A Comparative Evaluation of the Effect of Different Endodontic Irrigating Solutions on Microhardness of Root Canal Dentin: An in vitro Study

Statement of the Problem: During endodontic therapy, irrigation solutions applied in the root canal may affect the physicochemical properties of the dentinal wall, thereby changing its microhardness. This may adversely affect the sealing ability and adhesion of dental materials. Therefore, many studies have focused on the search for an ideal root canal irrigant that has a minimal effect on dentinal microhardness.Purpose: This in vitro study was conducted to determine the changes in dentin microhardness after root canal irrigation with different endodontic irrigants.Materials and Method: Ninety-five freshly extracted maxillary central incisor teeth with straight single canals were selected. These teeth were sectioned transversely at the level of the cementoenamel junction. The working length of each tooth was determined, and canal space was prepared by the HyFlex CM rotary file system. During instrumentation, normal saline was used for irrigation. Then, teeth were split longitudinally into two segments. According to the irrigating solution employed, samples were divided into five groups (n=19): normal saline (Group A), 3% sodium hypochlorite (Group B), 2% chlorhexidine (Group C), 5% calcium hypochlorite (Group D), and 0.2% nanochitosan (Group E).3 mL of the corresponding irrigating solution was administered for total15 minutes in each prepared sample. The Vickers micro-hardness tester was then used to assess micro-hardness. The data was analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).Results: All tested irrigating solutions decreased the dentinal microhardness. Samples irrigated with 5% calcium hypochlorite demonstrated dentinal microhardness of 42.43± 1.62, which is the lowest among all the tested groups, followed by nano chitosan, sodium hypochlorite, and chlorhexidine. Samples treated with control group (saline) demonstrated the maximum microhardness of dentin in the present study.Conclusion: Within the limitations of this research, it can be concluded that the tested novel irrigating solutions, 5% calcium hypochlorite and 0.2% nanochitosan, were more detrimental to radicular dentin microhardness when compared with conventional endodontic irrigants

Intra-arterial chemoradiation for T3-4 oral cavity cancer: Treatment outcomes in comparison to oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Surgery followed by radiotherapy is the standard of care for resectable locally advanced oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). We report the treatment outcomes of patients with T3-T4 SCC of the oral cavity treated with chemoradiation, an alternative approach.</p> <p>Patients and methods</p> <p>From a series of 240 patients with stage III-IV carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract who were treated consecutively according to the RADPLAT protocol, a subset analysis of 155 patients with T3-T4 SCC (Oral cavity SCC N = 22, oropharynx SCC N = 94 and hypopharynx SCC N = 39), was performed. The goal was to test the hypothesis that oral cavity SCC treated with chemoradiation has similar outcomes to the two comparison sites.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>With a median follow-up of 58 months, local disease control was 69% and the overall survival was 37%. In comparison, local disease control for the oropharynx and hypopharynx groups was 86% and 79% respectively. The overall survival rate for the oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal groups were 41% and 6% respectively</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Patients with locally advanced oral cavity cancer treated with the chemoradiation protocol RADPLAT have outcomes that are equal or better compared to patients with similar disease involving the oropharynx and hypopharynx</p