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Background Maternal and child health among tribal populations in Odisha, India, is significantly influenced by socio-economic, cultural, and infrastructural factors. Cultural practices, reliance on traditional medicine, and limited awareness of modern healthcare benefits shape health-seeking behavior. This scoping review synthesises evidence on health-seeking behaviour, healthcare utilisation, awareness of healthcare services, government policies, and barriers in tribal communities in Odisha, India. Methods This scoping review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. We followed the Arksey and O’Malley methodological framework and applied the PAGER framework (Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Evidence for Practice, Research Recommendations) for quality of reporting. Studies were identified through systematic searches of international and Indian databases, Indian journal websites, organisational websites, repositories, and registries, focusing on health-seeking behaviour and healthcare utilisation among Odisha’s tribal communities. Only English-language articles published between January 2011 and July 2024 were included. The methodological quality of the selected studies was independently assessed by two reviewers using the JBI Quality Assessment Checklist. Results A total of 39 studies, encompassing 36,613 participants, were included in the review. The findings highlight significant barriers to healthcare access among tribal communities, including poverty, illiteracy, cultural practices, geographic isolation, distance to healthcare centres, transportation availability and mistrust of government services. While some tribes have shown progress in adopting modern healthcare services, many continue to rely on traditional medicine and indigenous practices. Socio-cultural factors, such as patriarchal norms and religious rituals, further influence healthcare-seeking behavior. Government initiatives like the National Rural Health Mission and the Integrated Child Development Services have had some success in improving healthcare utilisation among tribal populations. However, strengthening community support, conducting village-level awareness campaigns, and implementing targeted educational interventions can play a transformative role in enhancing healthcare access and overall well-being. Conclusion Improving maternal and child health in Odisha’s tribal populations requires culturally sensitive approaches integrated with modern healthcare strategies. Enhancing awareness, infrastructure, and community health workers’ roles can bridge access gaps while respecting tribal traditions.

Recently, 3-D porous architecture of the composites play a key role in cell proliferation, bone regeneration, and anticancer activities. The osteoinductive and osteoconductive properties of β-TCP allow for the complete repair of numerous bone defects. Herein, β-TCP was synthesized by wet chemical precipitation route, and their 3-D porous composites with H 3 BO 3 and Cu nanoparticles were prepared by the solid-state reaction method with improved mechanical and biological performances. Several characterization techniques have been used to investigate the various characteristics of fabricated porous composites. SEM and TEM studies revealed the porous morphology and hexagonal sheets of the β-TCP for the composite THC8 (82TCP-10H 3 BO 3 -8Cu). Moreover, the mechanical study showed excellent compressive strength (188 MPa), a high Young’s modulus (2.84 GPa), and elevated fracture toughness (9.11 MPa.m 1/2 ). An in vitro study by MTT assay on osteoblast (MG-63) cells demonstrated no or minimal cytotoxicity at the higher concentration, 100 µg/ml after 24 h and it was found a more pronounced result at 20 µg/ml on increasing the concentration of Cu nanoparticles after incubating 72 h. The THC12 composite showed the highest antibacterial potency exclusively against B. subtilis. S. pyogene , S. typhi and E. coli . at 10 mg/ml, indicating its potential effectiveness in inhibiting all of these pathogens. Genotoxicity and cytotoxicity tests were also performed on rearing Drosophila melanogaster, and these findings did not detect any trypan blue-positive staining, which further recommended that the existence of composites did not harm the larval gut. Therefore, the fabricated porous composites THC8 and THC12 are suitable for bone regrowth without harming the surrounding cells and protect against bacterial infections.

The application of nanoparticles is continuously increasing in numerous fields including, medicine and biology, drug delivery, electronic devices, biosensors, catalysts, and agricultural as well as industrial science. Among the nanoparticles, metallic nanoparticles have gained significant interest in the past few years due to their unique physical and chemical characters. Strontium belongs to Group II metallic elements of the periodic table, the same group as calcium and magnesium. Conventionally, strontium is used in bone regeneration, growth stimulant, and ability to stimulate calcium signaling. Henceforth, strontium-based nanoparticles have gained interest in the field of medicine and dentistry due to their similar property with calcium. Besides that, strontium-conjugated nanomaterials exhibit the antimicrobial ability and are efficient in the removal of toxic contaminants from industrial wastewater. Strontium nanoparticles are used in targeted drug delivery and can elicit a prolonged immune response, thus can act as a good immunotherapeutic agent. The applications of strontium nanoparticles have also been found in diabetic patients, where they can control the insulin release and thus regulate the pathophysiology of diabetes. Strontium nanoparticles are also used in wastewater treatment, agriculture, and as gas sensors to sense several toxic gases. The wide application of strontium nanoparticles in several filed of medicine and environmental sciences is summarized in this review.

Environmental cues like noise, pressure, and circadian rhythm can affect the hearing ability of human beings. Nevertheless, the complex physiology of the human being does not allow us to understand how these factors can affect hearing and hearing-related behaviors. Conversely, these effects can be easily checked using the hearing organ of Drosophila melanogaster , the Johnston organ. In the current study, the Drosophila was exposed to challenging environments like noise, low pressure, and altered circadian rhythm. The hearing organ of larvae, as well as adults, was analyzed for hearing-related defects. In the third instar larva, the cell deaths were detected in the antenna imaginal disc, the precursor of Johnston’s organ. Elevated levels of reactive oxygen species and antioxidant enzymes were also detected in the adult antennae of environmentally challenged flies. The ultrastructure of the antennae suggests the presence of abundant mitochondria in the scolopidia of control. Fewer amounts of mitochondria are found in the environmentally challenged adult antennae. In adults, various hearing-related behaviors were analyzed as a readout of functionality of the hearing organ. Analysis of climbing, aggressive, and courtship behaviors suggests abnormal behavior in environmentally challenged flies than the control. The current study suggests that the environmental cues can alter hearing-related behaviors in Drosophila . The methods used in this study can be used to monitor the environmental pollution or to study the effect of alteration of noise, pressure, and circadian rhythm on hearing-related behaviors taking Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism. Graphical abstract

Wood-based cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) offer an excellent scaffold for drug-delivery formulation development. However, toxicity and haemocompatibility of the drug carrier is always an important issue. In this study, toxicity-related issues of CNF were addressed. Different doses of CNF were orally administered to Drosophila and different tests like the developmental cycle, trypan blue exclusion assay, larva crawling assay, thermal sensitivity assay, cold sensitivity assay, larval light preference test, climbing behaviour, nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction assay, adult phenotype, and adult weight were conducted to observe the impact on its development and behaviour. A haemocompatibility assay was done on the blood taken from healthy Wistar rats. In Drosophila, the abnormalities in larval development and behaviour were observed in the behavioural assays. However, the cytotoxic effect could not be confirmed by the gut staining and level of reactive oxygen species. The larvae developed into an adult without any abnormality in the phenotype. The CNF did cause loss of weight in the adult flies and did not cause much toxicity within the body since there was no phenotypic defect. Hemolysis data also suggested that CNF was safe at lower doses, as the data was well within acceptable limits. All these results suggest that cellulose nanofibres have no significant cytotoxic effects on Drosophila. However, the developmental and behavioural abnormalities suggest that CNF may act as a behavioural teratogen.

Wings are primarily used in flight but also play a role in mating behaviour in many insects. Drosophila species exhibit a variety of pigmentation patterns on their wings. In some sexually dimorphic Drosophilids, a pigmented spot pattern is found at the top-right edge of the male wings. Our understanding of wing spot thermal plasticity in sexually dimorphic species is limited with wing spots being primarily associated with sexual selection. Here, we investigated the wing pigmentation response of two species with wing spots: D. biarmipes and D. suzukii species to thermal variation. We exposed freshly hatched larvae of both the species to three different growth temperatures and checked for wing pigmentation in adult males. Our results indicate wing pigmentation is a plastic trait in the species studied and that wing pigmentation is negatively correlated with higher temperature. In both species, wings were darker at lower temperature compared to higher temperature. Further, D. suzukii exhibits darker wing pigmentation compared to D. biarmipes . Variation in wing pigmentation in both D. suzukii and D. biarmipes could reflect habitat level differences; indicating a strong G*E interaction. Raman spectral analysis indicated a shift in chemical profiles of pigmented vs. non-pigmented areas of the wing. The wing spot was found enriched with carbon-carbon double-bond compared to the non-pigmented wing area. We report that C = C formation in spotted area is thermally controlled and conserved in two members of the suzukii subgroup i.e.  D. biarmipes and D. suzukii . Our study indicated a conserved mechanism of the spot formation in two Drosophila species coming from contrasting distribution ranges. Graphical Abstract

Graphene- and graphene oxide-based nanomaterials have gained broad interests in research because of their unique physiochemical properties. The 2D allotropic structure allows it to be used in various biological fields. The biomedical applications of graphene and its composite include its use in gene and small molecular drug delivery. It is further used for biofunctionalization of protein, in anticancer therapy, as an antimicrobial agent for bone and teeth implantation. The biocompatibility of the newly synthesized nanomaterials allows its substantial use in medicine and biology. The current review summarizes the chemical structure and biological application of graphene in various fields. Graphical abstract

Background: Recent cross-sectional studies have suggested that chronic inflammation resulting due to gingival and periodontal diseases may have potential reversible risk factors for dementia. Recently, cognition, memory deficit, and along with the behavioral defect have been considered as characteristics of dementia. Age is one of the main factors which is also known to be associated with dementia. The aim of the present study was to establish the correlation between tooth loss and diagnosis of cognitive impairment/dementia in elderly patients. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study, comprising of 300 patients (Age: 50-80 years), was conducted. For the assessment of cognitive impairment/dementia, Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) was conducted. All the results were analyzed using the Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA test. Results: Number of teeth was found to be directly associated with MMSE. Less number of teeth was associated with lower MMSE score, irrespective of gender. The level of statistical significance was found to be P < 0.001. Factors, such as socioeconomic status, school education, and marital status, were found to have a statistically significant impact on the dementia scale. Conclusion: The current study found a significant association between tooth loss and cognitive impairment. Along with age factors such as socioeconomic status, education, and marital status were also found to have a direct or indirect impact on dementia. More prospective studies and clinical trials are required to be conducted to confirm the observations of this study.

Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged prolifically in the recent years as they aid in lot of applications. In reference to the agriculture sector, automated technologies for the plant disease recognition have varying benefits, and at the same time has potential challenges. In this work, an automated plant disease detection model has been developed for the IoT environment. The proposed scheme places the nodes over the simulation environment for capturing the plant leaf images. The system maintains a sink node, which collects the information from the automated plant disease detection module and helps in IoT based monitoring. The images from the nodes are pre-processed through the median filter for making it suitable for the plant disease detection. Then, the segmentation is done over the image, and from the image, segment level and the pixel level features are extracted. This work develops a novel classifier, named sine cosine algorithm based rider neural network (SCA based RideNN) for the disease detection such that the weights in the neural network are chosen optimally. The entire detection performance is validated using the metrics, like accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and energy of nodes on different IoT environments. The simulation results reveal that the proposed approach has improvement detection performance with the accuracy of 0.9156.