Prevalence of diabetes and its correlates in urban population of Pakistan: A Cross-sectional survey.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and its associated risk factors in urban population.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was carried out at four union councils of Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from May to September 2014, and comprised members of the general public.A questionnaire was administered to obtain information about demographic characteristics and risk factors.

Three-dimensional CaP/gelatin lattice scaffolds with integrated osteoinductive surface topographies for bone tissue engineering.

Surface topography is known to influence stem cells and has been widely used as physical stimuli to modulate cellular behaviour including adhesion, proliferation and differentiation on 2D surfaces. Integration of well-defined surface topography into three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds for tissue engineering would be useful to direct the cell fate for intended applications. Technical challenges are remaining as how to fabricate such 3D scaffolds with controlled surface topography from a range of biodegradable and biocompatible materials.

Scanning electron microscopical observation of an osteoblast/osteoclast co-culture on micropatterned orthopaedic ceramics.

In biomaterial engineering, the surface of an implant can influence cell differentiation, adhesion and affinity towards the implant. On contact with an implant, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells demonstrate differentiation towards bone forming osteoblasts, which can improve osteointegration. The process of micropatterning has been shown to improve osteointegration in polymers, but there are few reports surrounding ceramics.

Fabrication and in vitro evaluation of a sponge-like bioactive-glass/gelatin composite scaffold for bone tissue engineering.

In this work a bioactive composite scaffold, comprised of bioactive-glass and gelatin, is introduced. Through direct foaming a sponge-like composite of a sol-gel derived bioactive-glass (70S30C; 70% SiO2, 30% CaO) and porcine gelatin was developed for use as a biodegradable scaffold for bone tissue engineering. The composite was developed to provide a suitable alternative to synthetic polymer based scaffolds, allowing directed regeneration of bone tissue.

Embossing of micropatterned ceramics and their cellular response.

The aim of this work is to investigate the use of microtopographies in providing physical cues to modulate the cellular response of human mesenchymal stem cells on ceramics. Two microgrooved patterns (100 μm/50 μm, 10 μm/10 μm groove/pitch) were transcribed reversely onto alumina green ceramic tapes via an embossing technique followed by sintering. Characterization of the micropatterned alumina surfaces and their cellular response was carried out.