No abstract

Since the last decade, various genome sequencing projects have led to the accumulation of an enormous set of genomic data; however, numerous protein-coding genes still need to be functionally characterized.

Objective: To assess the knowledge and attitude of dentists of Rawalpindi and Islamabad towards the use andsafety of amalgam, observance of mercury hygiene and amalgam waste management.Study Design: Cross Sectional survey.Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at Operative Dentistry Department of AFIDst th Rawalpindi, from 1 March to 31 April 2021.Materials and Methods: An online questionnaire was circulated among 384 private and public hospital dentistsof Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Final questionnaire consisted of close ended questions related to demographicdetails, questions regarding the handling and disposal of amalgam and perception of dentists regardingmercury hygiene. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21 and evaluated as frequencies, percentages, meanand standard deviation. Chi-square test was used to correlate demographic to the responses of the participantsto the items of the questionnaire.Results: Majority of the dentists were doing 5-10 amalgam restorations per week (34.6%) but they didn't placerubber dam while restoring tooth with amalgam (95.7%). Most of the dentists take no specific measures forstoring leftover amalgam (65.4%) and do not periodically monitor mercury vapor (91.5%).Conclusion: The majority of dentists of Rawalpindi and Islamabad are not following dental mercury hygienerecommendations as there is a significant lack of knowledge regarding mercury hygiene and amalgam wastedisposal.

No abstract

Nano-biotechnology-based clinical applications to cure health-related issues have gained huge attention among the scientific community and hold great promise to limit cancer metastasis. In this study, green-derived silver nanoparticles were synthesized by using leaf extract of Litchi chinensis. Characterization of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles was performed by using UV–Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD, EDS, and SEM analysis. The clinical application of green-drive nanoparticles was investigated by using MCF-7 cancer cell lines. MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines were analyzed against three different treatments. (i) Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), (ii) miR34a mimics and (iii) Co-delivery of AgNPs and miR34a mimics. Cell viability was determined by MTT assay and, extraction of mRNA and cDNA synthesis were performed after successful cellular transfection. qRT-PCR was done for expression analysis of DR4 and DR5 upon exogenous delivery of all 3 treatments. Results indicate that L. chinensis leaves have a significant amount of phenolic and flavonoid contents and also possess massive antioxidant activity. The diameter of nanoparticles was observed in the range of 41–55 nm. It was concluded that green-derived silver nanoparticles can be a potential contributing agent for cancer prevention and are reported to upregulate the expression of DR4 and DR5 by 0.8-folds and 3.7-folds, respectively.