Plagiarism shames us again, UGC takes control, Brush for life, Re Gen Endo, Premature baby

Paper by Indian authors in American retracted for plagiarism
NEW DELHI: A paper published by four dental researchers from India in the Journal of Endodontics in 2008 has been retracted for plagiarism.
The four researchers include the lead author Velayutham Gopikrishna of the Department of Conservative Dentistry in Meenakshi Ammal Dental College in Chennai who was also the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Conservative Dentistry, Deivanayagam Kandaswamy and Nagendra Venkateshbabu of the Department of Conservative dentistry and Endodontics, Faculty of Dental Sciences, Sri Ramachandra University, PS Baweja and T Thomas.
The article titled, “Comparison of coconut water, propolis, HBSS, and milk on PDL cell survival,” published in the Journal of Endodontics, the official journal of the American Association of Enddontists, in May 2008 is said to have been cited 24 times. The retraction was reported by the blog Retraction Watch that keeps track of papers that have been retracted in the scientific world. FULL STORY

Re Gen Endodontics gets $2 million funding
A new study will evaluate the effectiveness of two regenerative approaches for the treatment of immature permanent teeth with pulpal necrosis in pediatric patients compared with the conventional mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) apexification. The trial, which will be carried out by three scientific institutions in the U.S. has recently been awarded a grant of $1.7 million by the American Association of Endodontists Foundation.
The clinical trial will evaluate standard apexification treatment, which involves the placement of MTA, an FDA-approved dental material, at the end of an immature root followed by a composite restoration. The treatment will be compared to a novel regenerative endodontic procedure using tissue engineering principles (REGENDO), in which commercially available growth factors that may induce the growth of dentine and pulp are placed into the root canal. MORE HERE

Antibacterial titanium brush is built to last a lifetime
Everyone wants a perfect smile, but the cost of oral hygiene has reached new heights with what is thought to be the world’s most expensive toothbrush.
A German luxury goods company has produced a stylish brush that costs around 1,000 times as much as a standard toothbrush – at £2,643.
Made of super-strong titanium, the brush is designed to last a lifetime and features replaceable heads and an antibacterial coating.MORE HERE

UGC takes over reins of technical institutes
University Grants Commission’s takeover of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is complete as far as degree-granting technical institutes are concerned. UGC has formally notified the regulations to be followed by technical institutes affiliated to universities.
UGC’s regulations come in the wake of a Supreme Court order which negated AICTE’s power to grant approval to technical colleges affiliated to universities.  TOI NEWS

Poor Oral Health Affects Pregnancy
More and more evidence is arising to show a link between poor oral health and preterm birth, low birth weight, and pre-eclampsia.
A study published in The Journal of the American Dental Association found that pregnant women with chronic gum disease were between 4- and 7-times more likely to deliver prematurely (before 37 weeks) than those with healthy gums; furthermore, women in the group with more severe periodontal disease delivered even earlier (before 32 weeks). LINK

PG medical admissions- Court stays new rule
The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday stayed the operation of the new rule that prescribed that a doctor in government service would be eligible to seek admission to postgraduate medical and dental courses under the in-service quota only on completion of five year of regular service.
Petition contended that increasing the minimum period of regular service to five years from the earlier three would have a serious impact on their career prospects. HINDU LINK