[The crucial role of forensic odontology in the IDF].

Israel's recent military engagements have been asymmetric in nature, defining the captivity of a solider as the enemy's' strategic achievement. Casualty care during war, is a delicate mission, requiring the collaboration of 3 distinct corps - the medical corps, chaplaincy corps and the adjutant corps. In this article, we will review the crucial role forensic odontologists play in the identification of casualties. In addition to biometric identification which is carried out through DNA analysis, fingerprint co-matching and forensic odontology, the forensic battalion of the medical corps investigates the cause of death, delivering crucial information to different branches of the military.

[Differences between laypersons and orthodontists in recognizing the light reflection zone on the maxillary central incisors crowns].

The light reflection zone (LRZ) is a new parameter that may serve as a tool for the diagnosis of smile esthetics. It is a bright white dot or area that appears on the surface of the maxillary central incisors and/or the gingiva of the front teeth, visible in intra-oral and smile extra-oral photographs. Recently it was found that the general population defines a nicer smile when the LRZ is located in the gingival area of the upper central incisors' surface rather than the incisal third. The aim of this study was to find out in two populations that are not aware of this new parameter, laypersons and orthodontists, whether there is a difference in the identification of the LRZ and the importance of the LRZ in determining the quality of the smile. Twelve pairs of facial photographs, including 10 of ordinary smiling persons and 2 of smiling models, were presented to 108 laypersons and 30 orthodontists. The only difference between each pair was the location of the LRZ that was moved, compared to the original photograph, gingivally or incisally respectively, using Photoshop (Adobe). Each participant was asked to mark whether he/she noticed a difference between the 2 pictures, and if so, to score the nicer smile. Data analysis was carried out using Chi square test and Fisher's exact test (SPSS v17). The results showed that both populations had difficulty in recognizing the differences between the pictures that were based solely on the LRZ parameter. However, when differences were recognized, most of the participants in both populations pointed on the smile where the LRZ was located gingivally as the nicer one. The orthodontic population recognized the difference between the two pictures, in which only the LRZ was changed, to a lesser extent compared to the laypersons populations. This result was with statistical significance (p = 0.007).

Simplified artificial endometrial preparation, using oral estradiol and novel vaginal progesterone tablets: a prospective randomized study.

There are various successful protocols for artificial endometrial preparation, comprising induction of endometrial proliferation with estrogens and secretory transformation with progestins. The aim of this prospective randomized study was to evaluate a simplified approach for endometrial preparation, comparing two constant doses of oral estradiol combined with a novel low-dose vaginal natural progesterone preparation (100 mg Endometrin tablets). Twenty-nine patients were enrolled in the study and divided randomly into two groups. Both groups received oral estradiol tablets from the beginning of menstruation, group A (15 patients) receiving 4 mg/day divided into two doses of 2 mg each, and group B (14 patients) receiving 6 mg/day divided into three doses. Serum estradiol and progesterone and sonographic thickness of the endometrium were measured on the 1st day of menstruation and on the 6th, 11th, 16th and 21st days of the artificial cycle. Following the first 12 days of estradiol priming, with an endometrial thickness of > or = 8 mm, Endometrin vaginal tablets 100 mg were added twice a day for 10 days. On the 21st cycle day, an endometrial biopsy was taken from all patients using Pipelle. In all 29 patients, appropriate changes in estradiol, progesterone and endometrial thickness were observed. Estradiol levels were significantly higher in the 6 mg/day group on days 6 and 11, but no significant difference was noted in serum progesterone level and endometrial thickess between groups. Histological evaluation of endometrial biopsies, on the 21st day, revealed adequate late-secretory endometrium in 14/15 (93.3%) patients of group A and in 13/14 (92.9%) patients of group B. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that an appropriate endometrial secretory transformation may be induced using an economical regimen of fixed low-dose oral estradiol (4 mg/day) and low-dose vaginal progesterone tablets (Endometrin 100 mg twice daily).

Prototype systems for rechargeable magnesium batteries.

The thermodynamic properties of magnesium make it a natural choice for use as an anode material in rechargeable batteries, because it may provide a considerably higher energy density than the commonly used lead-acid and nickel-cadmium systems. Moreover, in contrast to lead and cadmium, magnesium is inexpensive, environmentally friendly and safe to handle. But the development of Mg batteries has been hindered by two problems. First, owing to the chemical activity of Mg, only solutions that neither donate nor accept protons are suitable as electrolytes; but most of these solutions allow the growth of passivating surface films, which inhibit any electrochemical reaction. Second, the choice of cathode materials has been limited by the difficulty of intercalating Mg ions in many hosts. Following previous studies of the electrochemistry of Mg electrodes in various non-aqueous solutions, and of a variety of intercalation electrodes, we have now developed rechargeable Mg battery systems that show promise for applications. The systems comprise electrolyte solutions based on Mg organohaloaluminate salts, and Mg(x)Mo3S4 cathodes, into which Mg ions can be intercalated reversibly, and with relatively fast kinetics. We expect that further improvements in the energy density will make these batteries a viable alternative to existing systems.