The teachers in medical colleges and health sciences universities in India are facing stiff challenges in achieving career enhancement. This is due to the requirement of research and publication as major criteria for appraisal or career enhancement. While there are several bottlenecks faced by the junior teachers in climbing the ladders of academic leadership, a goldmine of opportunities awaits. Educational research if understood well and done meticulously can result in multiple benefits: funding opportunities on par with clinical research, prospects of publication in new online journals, applying for copy rights, and even patents besides unique contribution to the innovations and best practices in teaching. This article is an attempt to outline the meaning and scope of educational research along with a justification for using it in the Indian context. While discussing the salient features of conducting educational research, a few tips have been given for pursuing educational projects that can culminate in a publication.

Together with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus which threatened as pandemic in 2002–2003 and the MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) which was notified in 2012, the current and novel pathogen–novel coronavirus 2019 is the third highly pathogenic human coronavirus that has emerged in the last two decades and is exhibiting rapid survival tactics including transmissibility. Subsequent to its emergence, there has been an outpouring of information and data in the medical and nonmedical literature. The information is also so dynamic that the validity of information, especially the morbidity and mortality data become outdated everyday. This review aims at providing the overview about the agent and the epidemiological similarities and differences between the current novel coronavirus and the previous member of the family, the SARS-CoV and shared thoughts about what to be done further!

The role of hormone receptor status including estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER-2/neu) commonly termed as ER, PR, and HER-2/neu expression in breast cancer by immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a widely accepted tool to assess prognosis as well as therapeutic management. With further standardization of the reporting template prescribed by the College of American Pathologists as “CAP Protocol” and American Society of Clinical Oncology (“ASCO guidelines”), IHC has effectively replaced cytological assays in evaluating the status of expression of hormonal receptors. The pattern of these hormonal receptors’ expressions varies with regard to genetic, environment, lifestyle, and sociodemographic factors. There are well-established clinical evidences to substantiate the clinical utility of ER expression as a standard predictive biomarker to assess the prognosis of hormonal therapy. The same insight about the clinical utility of PR is questionable. However, the diagnostic utility of PR for predicting the clinical response to chemotherapy among ER-positive breast cancer patients remains unclear. This warrants future studies incorporating the integrated analysis of survival data, gene expression and its data profile, and compilation of ER and PR expressions from various large cohort analysis of breast cancer patients. This review focuses on the clinical utility and the inherent variation of the hormone receptor expression among notable diverse demographic study groups across the world.

Hyponatremia is a frequent trouble encountered in patients manifesting with unfocused features. The etiology can be multiple, and diagnosis of each cause is demanding. Hyponatremia may be euvolemic, hypovolemic, or hypervolemic. Appropriate analysis of a variety of laboratory investigations helps distinguish the various types of hyponatremia. Management differs with the character of start, whether it is acute or chronic, severity and features.

The marine ecosystem is a prosperous source of biological and chemical diversity which has been explored in the finding of unique chemicals having potential for industrial improvement as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, nutritional supplements. Marine organisms consist of important number of novel secondary metabolites with potent pharmacological properties have been discovered. Most of the macroalgae have rich source of carotenoids, proteins, oligosaccharides, fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, which are useful for medical and pharmaceutical industries. Especially, red algae are involved in photosynthesis and it also contains carrageenan, which is used for food and medicinal products. Hence, this review article is a concise of the antidiabetic effect of red algae and its bioactive components assessed in vivo and in vitro studies.

Proper diagnosis along with the identification and modification of risk factors helps in prevention and successful treatment of periodontal disease. Patients who are considered to have a higher expectancy for developing the disease can be identified by the dental professionals by assessing the risk using the tools for risk assessment. Assessing the risk for developing periodontal disease in a patient reduces the need for complex treatment of the periodontium and improves oral health.

Surgical sutures are used for securing and restoring active or trauma-induced wounds by binding tissues together to facilitate the wound-healing process. A wide range of sutures are used in dental practice. The main type includes absorbable and nonabsorbable suture materials. Recently, the production of newer suture materials is increasing depending on its wound-healing properties and its ability to approximate wounds. This article describes and reviews the characteristics of suture materials, its types, and uses in various management. It also discusses about recent and emerging suture material patterns.