Innovative Journal of Medical and Health Sciences

Statement of the problem: The estimation of the width of a missing maxillary central incisor is of a paramount importance for prosthodontic applications.  Several facial anatomic land marks have been used to accomplish this purpose with varying degrees of certainty .This study explores the possibility of using labial philtrum to correlate and predict the width of maxillary central incisor. Aim: 1. To estimate the correlation between the width of maxillary central incisor and the width of the philtrum.  2. To predict the width of maxillary central incisor utilizing the philtrum width as a guide. Methodology: A prospective, observational, open label study design was performed to evaluate the correlation between the maxillary central incisor width and philtral width in 200 Indian dentate adult human subjects satisfying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The maxillary central incisor width denoted as variable "y" and the philtral width as variable "x" and width was measured in millimetres and the values were subjected to statistical analysis to estimate correlation and regression. Statistical Analysis: Pearson's correlation coefficient was worked out (r) and a regression equation was formulated and analyzed using the SPSS statistical software. The correlation coefficient worked out was r = + 0.99, coefficient of determination r²= 0.96 and the regression intercept was -5.99. Mean central incisor width was 8.5 ±0.65 mm and mean philtral width was 14.4 ±0.42 mm.  Inference: A strong positive correlation between the width of the philtrum and width of maxillary central incisor was observed (r = + 0.99). The maximum philtral width subtracted by 6 mm will provide the estimate for the width of maxillary central incisor.

Introduction: Pregnancy is often considered as the golden period in woman’s life. There are physical as well as mental challenges faced by them during that period, while apparent physical problems are often addressed but the challenges related to mental health often go undiagnosed .

Mental health problems such as depression and anxiety are very common during pregnancy and after childbirth in all parts of the world. Nearly 20% of women suffer from mental health disorders during gestation which causes significant morbidity for mother as well as child worldwide.

Materials and methods:Study subjects included in the study were pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic of the hospital. After taking consent from them, participants was screened for Mental health by using Goldberg’s 6 item General Health Questionnaire. Those who answered ‘YES’ for at least one question were considered as mentally ill and assessed the severity of mental illness by using Hamilton ‘D’ scale for depression and Hamilton ‘A’ scale for anxiety.

Results: Out of 254 pregnant women 113(44.49%) were having mental morbidity and 141(55.51%) were normal. Among those with mental morbidity, 54 (21.26%) were having mild depression, 13(5.12%) were having anxiety and 17 (6.69%) were having both anxiety with depression  .Social factors like occupation of husband,domestic violence,support of husband,addiction of alcohol in husband were found to be statistically significant with mental morbidity in pregnant women.

Conclusion: The study   shows that a substantial number of pregnant women screened in obstetrics settings have significant symptoms of depression, and most of them are not being monitored effectively during this vulnerable time. This information may be used to justify and streamline systematic screening for depression in clinical encounters with pregnant women as a first step in determining which women may require further treatment for their symptoms of mental illness.

Background: The Alstonia scholaris plant grows throughout India, in deciduous and evergreen forests and also in plains. The plant is known to possess a lot of medicinal properties in folk medicine by the Kani tribals in Kanyakumari district. A. scholaris bark has been as one of the ingredient used in the marketed Ayurveda preparation Ayush-64, NRDC, India. The milky juice of the plant is applied on wounds, ulcers and rheumatic pains. Tincture of the bark and juice of the leaves act as powerful galactogogue in certain cases. The drug is also used in case of snake bite. Objectives: The present study has been made an attempt to find out the antiplasmodial activity of different plant parts (Leaf, root, bark, stem bark and fruit) of A. scholaris against the most prevalent Indian malarial Parasite P. falciparum. Methods: Different plant arts Viz., Leaf, stem, bark, root and fruit of A. scholaris plant was collected from SouthWest coast of India, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu during monsoon and non-monsoon months. The plant parts were cut into pieces and kept for shade drying. Moisture free samples were subjected for percolation by soaking it in ethanol: water mixture (3:1 ratio). Different concentrations of filter-sterilized crude extract from plants (100, 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25 and 3.125 µg. ml^−1) was incorporated into 96-well tissue culture plate containing 200 μl of P. falciparum culture with fresh red blood cells diluted to 2% haematocrit. Results: Among the plant parts tested against P. falciparum, the bark and leaf extract of A. scholaris collected during non-monsoon season exhibited IC₅₀<3.125 µg. ml^-1; followed by the stem extract (IC₅₀ 3.125 µg. ml^-1). Conclusion: It can be concluded from the present study that the bark and leaf extracts of A. scholaris potentiate the antiplasmodial activity against P. falciparum.