Scientific advances in the creation of restorative biomaterials, in vitro cell culture technology, tissue grafting, tissue engineering, molecular biology and the human genome project provide the basis for the introduction of new technologies into dentistry. Non-vital infected teeth have long been treated with root canal therapy (for mature root apex) and apexification (for immature root apex), or doomed to extraction. Although successful, current treatments fail to re-establish healthy pulp tissue in these teeth. But, what if the non-vital tooth could be made vital once again? That is the hope offered by regenerative endodontics, an emerging field focused on replacing traumatized and diseased pulp with functional pulp tissue. Restoration of vitality of non-vital tooth is based on tissue engineering and revascularization procedures. The purpose of this article is to review these biological procedures and the hurdles that must be overcome to develop regenerative endodontic procedures.

Introduction: The prevalence of obesity in adolescents and children has risen to alarming levels globally and this has led to serious public health consequences. Aim:To assess the use of Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) in the identification of overweight and obesity in North Indian children and adolescents. Materials and Methods:The study was conducted in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh, India, from October 2014 to November 2015. Anthropometric data (weight, height and MUAC) was collected from a cross-sectional sample of 875 children aged 5-14 year old. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis determined the validity of MUAC as a proxy for determining overweight and obesity.Results: Area Under the Curve (AUC) results were generally high (0.92 -0.98). The accuracy level of MUAC for identifying obesity was high in both sexes and across age groups (overall AUC of 0.95, sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 90%). The MUAC cut-off to identify BMI defined obesity was 18.8 cm and 19.4 cm for boys and girls of 5-9 age group; 23 cm and 23.3 cm for boys and girls of 10-14 age group.Conclusion: MUAC may have potential for clinical and surveillance applications as an accurate yet simple and widely available indicator of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents in resourcepoor settings.

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Despite the distorted calyceal anatomy and associated chronic kidney disease, PCNL is safe and effective in managing nephrolithiasis in polycystic kidney disease.

Objectives: Anemia during pregnancy is characterized by hemoglobin concentration <11 g/dl in pregnant women, which decreases oxygen carrying capacity of the blood to the body tissues. It is estimated that worldwide 41.8% of pregnant and 30.2% of non-pregnant women are anemic. This study aims to determine the prevalence and factors associated with anemia in pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at our tertiary care center. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among 500 pregnant women attending antenatal clinic for the 1st time in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, AIMSR, Bathinda, for a period of 1 year. The hemoglobin was measured using automated cell counter method and those with hemoglobin level <11 g/dl were considered as anemic and were investigated further to be assessed according to the Indian Council of Medical Research classification. Data were collected using predesigned and pretested structured questionnaire. Results: The mean Hb concentration was 9.06 g/dl among the anemic group. Overall prevalence of anemia among pregnant women was found to be 408 (81.8%). Residence, educational status, monthly family income, occupation, gestational age, iron folic acid supplementation, dietary habits of not eating green leafy vegetables, meat and animal products, and drinking tea and coffee immediately after meal were the variables which had statistically significant association with the prevalence of anemia. Conclusion: Anemia control program should be executed more resourcefully in this vital segment of population. Awareness of above said factors is more important to prevent anemia rather than early diagnosis and treatment.

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This investigation was carried out to study the effect of a novel process of surface modification, surface nanostructuring by ultrasonic shot peening, on osteoblast proliferation and corrosion behavior of commercially pure titanium (c p-Ti) in simulated body fluid. A mechanically polished disc of c p-Ti was subjected to ultrasonic shot peening with stainless steel balls to create nanostructure at the surface. A nanostructure (<20 nm) with inhomogeneous distribution was revealed by atomic force and scanning electron microscopy. There was an increase of approximately 10% in cell proliferation, but there was drastic fall in corrosion resistance. Corrosion rate was increased by 327% in the shot peened condition. In order to examine the role of residual stresses associated with the shot peened surface on these aspects, a part of the shot peened specimen was annealed at 400°C for 1 hour. A marked influence of annealing treatment was observed on surface structure, cell proliferation, and corrosion resistance. Surface nanostructure was much more prominent, with increased number density and sharper grain boundaries; cell proliferation was enhanced to approximately 50% and corrosion rate was reduced by 86.2% and 41% as compared with that of the shot peened and the as received conditions, respectively. The highly significant improvement in cell proliferation, resulting from annealing of the shot peened specimen, was attributed to increased volume fraction of stabilized nanostructure, stress recovery, and crystallization of the oxide film. Increase in corrosion resistance from annealing of shot peened material was related to more effective passivation. Thus, the surface of c p-Ti, modified by this novel process, possessed a unique quality of enhancing cell proliferation as well as the corrosion resistance and could be highly effective in reducing treatment time of patients adopting dental and orthopedic implants of titanium and its alloys.

The unusual case of acanthomatous ameloblastoma occurring in maxillary left anterior region in a 13-year-old female child is presented with chief complaint of swelling in the upper left anterior region since one year and spacing between maxillary left central incisor and canine. Microscopic examination of surgically excised specimen revealed solid epithelial cell nests with peripheral palisading ameloblastic cells and the central squamous cell assemblage that was consistent with the findings of acanthomatous ameloblastoma type. Acanthomatous ameloblastoma is the extremely rare variant. The present report discusses issues related to the incidence of such formations in the target tissues.