Impact on Quality of Life and Risk Factors Associated with Visible Maxillary Incisors Trauma among Young Children in Faridabad, Haryana.

Aim: To assess the impact of upper incisor trauma on the quality of life (QoL) in young children studying between the age group 8 and 13 years in Faridabad, Haryana. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional, prospective study was conducted to assess the visible permanent maxillary incisor traumas according to the classification of traumatic dental injuries (TDI) and to determine the predisposing risk factors that affect TDI and their impact on QoL in children aged 8-13 years. Questionnaires were made to gather information on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics like age, gender, and the father's and mother's education. Data on dental caries in anterior teeth were also collected using current World Health Organization criteria. Result: There were a total of 66 males and 24 females. The total decayed, missing, and filled permanent teeth (DMFT) prevalence observed was 8.9%. The main reason for trauma was found to be an accident or accidental fall (36.7%). The most common place for trauma followed by road (21.1%). Time lapsed from the injury reported was >1 year in males (34.8%), while it was within 1 year (41.7%) in females (p = 0.014). The most prevalent and impacted performance was smiling (80.0%; m = 8.7778 ± 8.658), and the least affected was speaking (4.4%; m = 0.5111 ± 3.002). Conclusion: A number of risk factors need to be considered when assessing TDIs, as TDIs can have a negative impact on the functional, social, and psychological well-being of young children. As they are frequent in children, affecting teeth, their supporting structures, and adjacent soft tissues, they may cause both functional and esthetic problems. Clinical significance: When injuries to incisor(s) produce pain, disfigurement, poor aesthetics, or other psychological effects, children may avoid laughing or smiling, and this can affect their social relationships. So, it is important to address the risk factors that predispose upper front teeth to TDIs. How to cite this article: Elizabeth S, Garg S, Saraf BG, et al. Impact on Quality of Life and Risk Factors Associated with Visible Maxillary Incisors Trauma among Young Children in Faridabad, Haryana. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2022;15(6):652-659.

Moral dilemmas and trust in leaders during a global health crisis.

Trust in leaders is central to citizen compliance with public policies. One potential determinant of trust is how leaders resolve conflicts between utilitarian and non-utilitarian ethical principles in moral dilemmas. Past research suggests that utilitarian responses to dilemmas can both erode and enhance trust in leaders: sacrificing some people to save many others ('instrumental harm') reduces trust, while maximizing the welfare of everyone equally ('impartial beneficence') may increase trust. In a multi-site experiment spanning 22 countries on six continents, participants (N = 23,929) completed self-report (N = 17,591) and behavioural (N = 12,638) measures of trust in leaders who endorsed utilitarian or non-utilitarian principles in dilemmas concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. Across both the self-report and behavioural measures, endorsement of instrumental harm decreased trust, while endorsement of impartial beneficence increased trust. These results show how support for different ethical principles can impact trust in leaders, and inform effective public communication during times of global crisis. PROTOCOL REGISTRATION STATEMENT: The Stage 1 protocol for this Registered Report was accepted in principle on 13 November 2020. The protocol, as accepted by the journal, can be found at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13247315.v1 .

Arch Measurements, Bigonial Width, Dental Caries, and Their Effect on Occurrence of Mandibular Incisors Crowding in Early Mixed Dentition Period.

AIM AND OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of various arch parameters, bigonial angle, and caries occurrence on mandibular incisors crowding during the early mixed dentition period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty children (mean age of 7.5 years) with mandibular anterior incisors crowding and class I molar relationship in early mixed dentition were selected. Bigonial width (BW) and caries occurrence were recorded during patient examination. The study casts were prepared divided into a normal group (NG) and crowded group (CG). Different vertical and transverse arch perimeters along with space available for the permanent mandibular incisors were measured manually. Statistical analysis was done to establish the association of all these variables with two crowding groups. RESULTS: The total incisor width or the tooth material was significantly more, and all arch parameters were less in measurements in CG than NG. The available space, BW, and caries occurrence did not differ significantly between NG and CG. CONCLUSION: The amount of tooth material and individual variations in arch parameters significantly contribute to mandibular anterior crowding in the early mixed dentition period irrespective of the age and gender of the child. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: All cases of early mixed dentition mandibular incisors crowding should be individually assessed for arch length discrepancy, and transverse discrepancy results of this study help in the prediction of crowding before an establishment of a customized treatment plan with the use of lingual arch or lip bumper appliances in patients with anterior mandibular crowding may be valuable. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Paul S, Garg S, Saraf BG, et al. Arch Measurements, Bigonial Width, Dental Caries, and Their Effect on Occurrence of Mandibular Incisors Crowding in Early Mixed Dentition Period. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2021;14(S-1):S57-S62.

Prefrontal-amygdala circuits in social decision-making.

An increasing amount of research effort is being directed toward investigating the neural bases of social cognition from a systems neuroscience perspective. Evidence from multiple animal species is beginning to provide a mechanistic understanding of the substrates of social behaviors at multiple levels of neurobiology, ranging from those underlying high-level social constructs in humans and their more rudimentary underpinnings in monkeys to circuit-level and cell-type-specific instantiations of social behaviors in rodents. Here we review literature examining the neural mechanisms of social decision-making in humans, non-human primates and rodents, focusing on the amygdala and the medial and orbital prefrontal cortical regions and their functional interactions. We also discuss how the neuropeptide oxytocin impacts these circuits and their downstream effects on social behaviors. Overall, we conclude that regulated interactions of neuronal activity in the prefrontal-amygdala pathways critically contribute to social decision-making in the brains of primates and rodents.

Neurobiological Considerations for Tobacco Use Disorder.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Neurobiological studies of tobacco/nicotine use examining genetic, molecular, functional, and behavioral correlates have improved our understanding of nicotine/tobacco dependence and have informed treatment. Recent work extending previously established findings and reporting novel methodologies and discoveries in preclinical and human studies are reviewed. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent work in preclinical models has focused on the differential roles of nicotinic receptor subtypes and nicotine's effects on neural systems beyond cortico-striatal dopaminergic pathways, and utilizing advanced methodologies such as pharmacogenetics, optogenetics and rodent fMRI to identify targets for treatment. Likewise, human neuroimaging studies have identified molecular and functional dynamic shifts associated with tobacco/nicotine use that further inform treatment. SUMMARY: Nicotine/tobacco use is associated with widespread neural adaptations that are persistent and function to maintain addiction. The continued identification of genetic, molecular, neural, and behavioral endophenotypes related to nicotine/tobacco use, dependence, and addiction will facilitate the development and delivery of personalized treatment.

Is Neural Processing of Negative Stimuli Altered in Addiction Independent of Drug Effects? Findings From Drug-Naïve Youth with Internet Gaming Disorder.

Difficulties in emotion regulation are commonly reported among individuals with alcohol and drug addictions and contribute to the acquisition and maintenance of addictive behaviors. Alterations in neural processing of negative affective stimuli have further been demonstrated among individuals with addictions. However, it is unclear whether these alterations are a general feature of addictions or are a result of prolonged exposure to drugs of abuse. To test the hypothesis of altered negative affect processing independent of drug effects, this study assessed neural function among drug-naïve youth with a behavioral addiction-Internet gaming disorder (IGD). Fifty-six young adults (28 with IGD, 28 matched controls) participated in fMRI scanning during performance of a well-validated emotion regulation task. Between-group differences in neural activity during task performance were assessed using a whole-brain, mixed-effects ANOVA with correction for multiple comparisons at currently recommended thresholds (voxel-level p<0.001, pFWE<0.05). Compared to controls, youth with IGD exhibited significantly blunted neural responses within distributed subcortical and cortical regions including the striatum, insula, lateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate in response to negative affective cues, as well as during emotion regulation. Independent component analysis (ICA) further identified between-group differences in engagement of a fronto-cingulo-parietal network, involving decreased engagement in IGD youth relative to controls. Study findings are largely consistent with those from prior neuroimaging studies in substance-use disorders, thus raising the possibility that neural processing of negative affect may be blunted across drug and behavioral addictions independent of acute or chronic drug effects.

Synthetic control of isolated, single functional groups on silica surfaces.

We report control of the density of isolated, single functional groups in homogeneously mixed trichloroalkyl silanes on various silica surfaces. The functional groups are covalently bound to a silane derived from the Rink resin. This Rink-silane is reactive to any nucleophile. Control over the density of functional groups is achieved by diluting the immersion solution containing the Rink-silane with an inert silane, octadecyltrichlorsilane. The isolated nature of the functional groups is confirmed by the stochastic blinking of fluorescent single boron-dipyrromethane dyes imaged in total internal reflection geometry. The robust character of silane monolayers allows facile covalent binding and cleavage of molecular species from silica surfaces as well as general synthetic transformations to be conducted. This is shown by the covalent attachment and then cleavage of a naphthalene chromophore. This low-cost and scalable platform has great potential for use in sensing, molecular electronics, semiconductor processing, and the investigation of fundamental processes in catalysis and the kinetics of molecular association.