Award Winning Laser Therapeutics & Regeneration Researcher Dr. Praveen Arany

Dr. Praveen Arany, Assistant Professor, Oral Biology, School of Dental Medicine, University at Buffalo, was previously an assistant clinical investigator at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda. Dr. Arany's research is focused on the molecular mechanisms and clinical applications of light therapy to promote wound healing and tissue regeneration.



Dr. Praveen Arany will be at The Dental Nexus office, Kamala Mills Compound, Lower Parel West, Mumbai on July 1st, 2016 and lecture from 2 to 5 PM and also interact with academicians, clinicians and researchers working on Laser therapeutics and regeneration. 

The purpose of this workshop is to provide a brief and broad overview of biophotonics devices used in dentistry in a three-part mini-talk series:

1. Biophotonics Technologies in Clinical Dentistry (45min)
A brief introduction to various biophotonics technologies that are currently available for clinical dentistry from routine illumination loops to composite curing lights. 
The use of optical (digital) techniques for imaging hard and soft tissues that are increasingly popular will be described. Finally, fundamentals of lasers and safety will be briefly discussed. 

2. Surgical Laser Applications in Dentistry (45min)
This talk will focus on the surgical applications of lasers for hard and soft tissue procedures with an emphasis on various wavelengths available currently. An introduction to the rationale and current methodologies for surgical curettage in periodontal and peri-implant disease management will be discussed. 

3. Non-Surgical Biophotonics Applications in Dentistry (45min) 
The final talk will overview the fundamentals of non-surgical applications including anti-microbial and anti-tumor photodynamic therapy as well as Photobiomodulation therapy. 
Key progress in these areas will be discussed and current and developing regenerative applications will be discussed.

Dr. Arany's Landmark study:
The study's lead author, Dr. Praveen Arany and his team hope to test this type of dentin regeneration in human clinical trials, which could potentially alter modern dentistry from restorative to a regenerative deliver of care. 
He is currently working with his colleagues at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) to outline the requisite safety and efficacy parameters to take this research to clinical human trials. 
Dr. Arany says “the barrier to clinical trial translation is relatively low.” The laser is already being used in contemporary dental offices today for other purposes. 

What after BDS? - Emerging Opportunities

One day on What after BDS?: at 54th MSDC Conference

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Be a Victor; Not a Victim ~ SAAB Syndrome!

The 'SAAB' Syndrome

You have been studying for long and preparing very hard for the entrance exams. But many a time you find yourself stuck with certain questions, because two different authors have given two different answers in their MCQ books - "Someone says A; Another B".  

How can the authors differ? Can't there be a single correct answer? Now you are on a quest. You want to know the correct answer.  You want to know the truth.

So you decide to ask your friends if they know which is better - A or B. You take a screenshot of that question & post it on a social media forum. Next you see that your friends/ well- wishers (competitors, actually) are 'voting' to show their preference. And the results vary - 60:40, 50:50 or 40:60. (Rarely you get 80:20 or 20:80 because in such majority cases, rarely there is any confusion.)

The voting results confuse you even more. You have exhausted all your resources and you still don't know the correct answer. So you decide to spend some more time on it and read the explanations given by the two authors. Now it gets crazier - both explanations seem equally convincing.

You are really annoyed now "which one is really correct? and why can't we have just one correct answer? and why do even these authors have to differ?". Now you are a perfect victim of "SAAB" syndrome.

Etiology of "SAAB" Syndrome:

1. Weltanschauung:  Get a worldview - understand that the literature evolves from a research and clinical practice point of view. Researchers and clinicians try to solve much bigger problems that the world may be facing. They don't give a damn for entrance exams and don't care if their clinical/ research work will become a part of an MCQ in the future! So get the bigger picture!

2. Static vs Dynamic: At any given point of time there will be more than one group of clinicians, thought leaders, researchers, and labs working on one particular 'problem'. The results may vary, and they vary all the time (Murphy's law!).  After years and decades, a conclusion comes out and finds a place in textbooks. But that doesn't mean the research stops there. It continues further and later, the new work may either support or reverse the earlier conclusion.  So as a student of science you should know that science is always dynamic and never static. That's why the answer for one single question may be different in different editions of a book written by the same author.

3. Multidisciplinary Clinical Management: When clinicians write a book or an article, they describe their own clinical approach and management. That's why you see that a clinical problem can be managed by two or more equally successful treatment plans. But there is no 'one' correct answer here; and there can never be 'only one' in many cases.


Treatment and management of "SAAB" syndrome:

1. Simplify your life : Never say this author's answer is A; or some other author's answer is B. They are not discoverers. They are mere interpreters of science. They will interpret science the way they want depending on the book they have referred. After all they are the bosses of their own authored books; so they have full freedom. And all authors mention which textbook they have referred. In case of confusion or conflicting answers by two different MCQ authors, it is 'your' job to go to those textbook sources and read them individually. And then whichever convinces you more - decide on that and move on! Simplify your life!

2. What to do if both explanations look equally good and convincing?
Leave that question. Don't even attempt to know the correct answer, because there wouldn't be any. They may be two different schools of thought and both might be working well in a clinical set up.

3. How can I leave that question? Will I not score less? Won't I lose my rank?
Most of the time, there will  be no confusion, since all MCQ authors tend to work on almost the same set of standard textbooks - they don't differ in their answers. We are talking about those rare situations where the answers differ, they occupy only about 5-10 % entrance exam space.

In a rare instance, even if all these questions come together in the same exam they wouldn't occupy more that 5-10% of the paper - so they don't decide your fate. It's the remaining 90- 95% questions that will be straightforward and bear the same answer, that decide your fate. So instead of wasting time on those 5- 10% MCQs, work on those 90- 95% questions that actually give you a rank.



Conclusion:

You are not here to solve such rare questions. You are here to get a rank and move on to MDS; and this can be achieved comfortably if you get out of SAAB syndrome. Don't act like a helpless victim.

Be wise and take control!

Be a victor; Not a victim!

Youforia: An Idea Enclave

"Youforia- An Idea Enclave" is a venture of Oliv Studios to empower people to bring their ideas to life and into market with the best possible package & branding. Write to us : ideaenclave@gmail.com

What one can learn from Warren Buffett about entrance exam preparations.

Writing this blog after a relatively long gap. A new batch of students has entered the entrance exam zone and has started preparing for the next year's exam, and as usual most of them have their own doubts and confusions regarding their preparation strategy.

Whenever new students send me an email or call me, I compare their query with some of the old queries that I had received from the earlier batches. And do I see any change in the pattern and depth of the queries? No. The  queries have remained the same.

Most, you can say 99%, of them are about the 'source'. Which book to study from? Or more specifically 'Which MCQ book to study from?'

Obviously I'm not the only person they would ask. They ask almost everyone including someone who may be remotely associated with entrance exams. And now the opinions differ. Students get a diverse set of opinions that leads the students to a set comprising at least 10 to 12 books recommended for their preparation.

Now the question is "Does this simplify the strategy?". The answer is "No". It only complicates your preparation strategy.Many advises that are given online or offline are so complex that whenever the student narrates it to me, I ask him or her "Do you think the advice is practical and simple to carry out?".

The students agree that the advice they have received is complex (wide and diversified) and they are finding it difficult to implement. And when I counter question them "Then why didn't you switch over to a better plan?" Their answer is "The plan was so elaborate and inclusive of so many books, that I thought it must be a good plan"

This is not specific to entrance exam preparations. This human behavior is common to financial management, investments and overall approach to life as well.

Let's hear it from the greatest investor of all times Warren Buffett. Considered to be the most successful investor of the 20th century, Buffett is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people. He was ranked as the world's wealthiest person in 2008 and as the third wealthiest in 2011. In 2012 Time named Buffett one of the world's most influential people.

1. There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.

This is easily seen all around, where students feel that if it's complex then it must be good.

No. The greatest things are the simplest ones. The secret lies in simplicity. Buffett's investment strategies are very simple. The huge wealth has been created implementing simple methods. Difficult to believe, because we 'assume' that he must be following a secret method or a complex strategy which nobody else follows.

2. The (business) schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective.

Although he applies this statement only to business schools, it is applicable to all schools.  Students show complex behavior in comparing authors and asking other students to solve some 5% controversial questions that have never influenced the result. They spend 95% of their time solving these questions. A simple behavior is simply focusing on stuff that gives ranks, but someone who is spending a lot of time on solving controversial questions is considered to be doing the right things. You better change this approach.

3. Wide diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are doing.

This applies very well to students who create a huge library only to crack an entrance exam. And they don't succeed. This over dependence on too many sources or books only shows lack of clarity on your plans. You better develop clarity first.

So combining all these factors, what can we conclude?

1. Keep it simple. First cover your weak areas. Others won't be aware of your weak areas. So no point in asking others.

2. Stop worrying about how many more books you should buy and how many more MCQs you should solve. Focus on how much you extract from one source.

3. Don't compare authors. Pointless exercise. You must develop your own reasoning.You must generate your own answer from textbooks and stick to your own answers.

4. Focus on major concepts and connect with similar concepts = Core concept.

Why this exercise is good? Because it works on the tenet that you will not forget anything that you have understood. If you are forgetting something, it means you haven't understood it. If you are not able to simplify something, then you have not understood it. If you are not able to apply something, you have not understood it.

Our aim should not just be to get entrance exam ranks. Our aim should be to become and produce excellent ambassadors of science that the community will be proud of.

The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything

A new product, a new service, a new company, a new division, a new organization, a new anything—where there’s a will, here’s the way.

It begins with a dream that just won’t quit, the once-in-a-lifetime thunderbolt of pure inspiration, the obsession, the world-beater, the killer app, the next big thing. Everyone who wants to make the world a better place becomes possessed by a grand idea.

But what does it take to turn your idea into action? 

Whether you are an entrepreneur, intrapreneur, or not-for-profit crusader, there’s no shortage of advice available on issues such as writing a business plan, recruiting, raising capital, and branding. In fact, there are so many books, articles, and Web sites that many startups get bogged down to the point of paralysis. Or else they focus on the wrong priorities and go broke before they discover their mistakes.

In The Art of the Start, Guy Kawasaki brings two decades of experience as one of business’s most original and irreverent strategists to offer the essential guide for anyone starting anything, from a multinational corporation to a church group.

At Apple in the 1980s, he helped lead one of the great companies of the century, turning ordinary consumers into evangelists. 

As founder and CEO of Garage Technology Ventures, a venture capital firm, he has field-tested his ideas with dozens of newly hatched companies. And as the author of bestselling business books and articles, he has advised thousands of people who are making their startup dreams real.

From raising money to hiring the right people, from defining your positioning to creating a brand, from creating buzz to buzzing the competition, from managing a board to fostering a community, this book will guide you through an adventure that’s more art than science—the art of the start.

To know more about the 1st book - Click here! 

Now come to the second book: Art of the start 2.0

Fully revised and expanded for the first time in a decade, The Art of the Start 2.0 is Guy Kawasaki's classic bestselling guide to launching and making your new product, service or idea a success.

This new edition has been expanded to reflect the seismic changes in business over the last decade, in which once-invulnerable market leaders have struggled and many of the basics of getting established have become easier, cheaper and more democratic.

Today, business plans are no longer necessary. Social media has replaced PR and advertising as the key method of promotion. Crowdfunding is now a viable alternative to investors. Cloud computing makes basic infrastructure affordable for almost any new venture.

The Art of the Start 2.0 will show you how to effectively deploy all these new tools. And it will help you master the fundamental challenges that have not changed: building a strong team, creating an awesome product or service, and facing down your competition.