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Zirconia-based materials are widely used in dentistry due to their biocompatibility and suitable mechanical and tribological behavior. Although commonly processed by subtractive manufacturing (SM), alternative techniques are being explored to reduce material waste, energy consumption and production time. 3D printing has received increasing interest for this purpose. This systematic review intends to gather information on the state of the art of additive manufacturing (AM) of zirconia-based materials for dental applications. As far as the authors know, this is the first time that a comparative analysis of these materials’ properties has been performed. It was performed following the PRISMA guidelines and using PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases to select studies that met the defined criteria without restrictions on publication year. Stereolithography (SLA) and digital light processing (DLP) were the techniques most focused on in the literature and the ones that led to most promising outcomes. However, other techniques, such as robocasting (RC) and material jetting (MJ), have also led to good results. In all cases, the main concerns are centered on dimensional accuracy, resolution, and insufficient mechanical strength of the pieces. Despite the struggles inherent to the different 3D printing techniques, the commitment to adapt materials, procedures and workflows to these digital technologies is remarkable. Overall, the research on this topic can be seen as a disruptive technological progress with a wide range of application possibilities.

This review focuses on the wear mechanisms of natural and restorative dental materials, presenting a comprehensive description and analysis of the works published in the last two decades on the wear at the interface of occlusal surfaces. Different groups of tribological pairs were considered: tooth-tooth, tooth-restorative material (tooth-ceramic, tooth-resin-based-materials, and tooth-metal), and restorative-restorative materials. The lack of standardization of the wear tests impairs the direct comparison of the obtained results. However, it was possible to infer about the main wear mechanisms observed on the different classes of dental materials. Concerning ceramics, their toughness and surface finishing determines the wear of antagonist tooth. Abrasion revealed to be the main wear mechanisms at occlusal interface. In the case of resin-based composites, the cohesion of the organic matrix and the nature, shape, and amount of filler particles greatly influences the dental wear. The protruding and detachment of the filler particles are the main causes of abrasion of antagonist enamel. Metallic materials induce lower wear on antagonist enamel than the other classes of materials, because of their low hardness and high ductility. Most of the studies revealed plastic deformation and adhesive wear as the main wear mechanisms. Overall, more research in this area is needed for a better understanding of the mechanisms involved at the occlusal surfaces wear. This would be essential for the development of more suitable restoration materials.

Theobroma cacao plantations are of significant economic importance worldwide, primarily for chocolate production. During the harvest and processing of cocoa beans, they are subjected to fermentation either by microorganisms present in the environment (spontaneous fermentation) or the addition of starter cultures, with different strains directly contributing distinct flavor and color characteristics to the beans. In addition to fungi and bacteria, viruses are ubiquitous and can affect the quality of the fermentation process by infecting fermenting organisms, destabilizing microbial diversity, and consequently affecting fermentation quality. Therefore, in this study, we explored publicly available metatranscriptomic libraries of cocoa bean fermentation in Limon Province, Costa Rica, looking for viruses associated with fermenting microorganisms. Libraries were derived from the same sample at different time points: 7, 20, and 68 h of fermentation, corresponding to yeast- and lactic acid bacteria-driven phases. Using a comprehensive pipeline, we identified 68 viral sequences that could be assigned to 62 new viral species and 6 known viruses distributed among at least nine families, with particular abundance of elements from the Lenarviricota phylum. Interestingly, 44 of these sequences were specifically associated with ssRNA phages (Fiersviridae) and mostly fungi-infecting viral families (Botourmiaviridae, Narnaviridae, and Mitoviridae). Of note, viruses from those families show a complex evolutionary relationship, transitioning from infecting bacteria to infecting fungi. We also identified 10 and 3 viruses classified within the Totiviridae and Nodaviridae families, respectively. The quantification of the virus-derived RNAs shows a general pattern of decline, similar to the dynamic profile of some microorganism genera during the fermentation process. Unexpectedly, we identified narnavirus-related elements that showed similarity to segmented viral species. By exploring the molecular characteristics of these viral sequences and applying Hidden Markov Models, we were capable of associating these additional segments with a specific taxon. In summary, our study elucidates the complex virome associated with the microbial consortia engaged in cocoa bean fermentation that could contribute to organism/strain selection, altering metabolite production and, consequently, affecting the sensory characteristics of cocoa beans.

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is a major agricultural commodity, essential for the global chocolate industry and the livelihoods of millions of farmers. However, viral diseases pose a significant threat to cocoa production, with Badnavirus species causing severe losses in Africa. Despite its economic importance, the overall virome of T. cacao remains poorly characterized, limiting our understanding of viral diversity and potential disease interactions. This study aims to assess the cocoa-associated virome by analyzing 109 publicly available RNA-seq libraries from nine BioProjects, covering diverse conditions and geographic regions. We implemented a comprehensive bioinformatics pipeline integrating multiple viral sequence enrichment steps, a hybrid assembly strategy using different assemblers, and sequence similarity searches against NCBI non-redundant databases. Our approach identified ten putative novel viruses associated with the cocoa microbiome and a novel Badnavirus species. These findings provide new insights into the viral landscape of T. cacao, characterizing the diversity of cacao-associated viruses and their potential ecological roles. Expanding the catalog of viruses associated with cocoa plants not only enhances our understanding of plant–virus–microbiome interactions but also contributes to the development of more effective disease surveillance and management strategies, ultimately supporting sustainable cocoa production.

Hip fractures are extremely common and are considered a public health problem. The best anaesthetic technique for this surgery remains controversial. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of anaesthesia on perioperative and 30-day mortality and length of stay, in patients undergoing hip fracture surgery. Adults undergoing hip fracture surgery, between January 1st, 2017 and December 31st, 2018, were retrospectively identified and categorized according to the anaesthetic technique. Perioperative and 30-day mortality rates and the length of stay were analysed. We identified 562 patients who underwent hip fracture surgery, 361 of whom were submitted to general anaesthesia and 201 to regional anaesthesia. The adjusted analysis showed no statistically significant difference in the risk of perioperative and 30-day mortality (odds ratio 1.12, 95% CI: 0.62-2.03; odds ratio 1.17, 95% CI: 0.72-1.92) or length of stay (0, 9 days [-1.6 to 3.4], P = 0.301). Our results were similar to those of studies already published in other countries. Within the limitations of our study, we concluded that there is no impact of the anaesthetic technique on perioperative and 30-day mortality rates and on the length of stay, for hip fracture surgery. In future studies, it will be opportune to investigate factors that influence the safety of anaesthetic techniques and that are subject to intervention by the anaesthesiologist.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key post-transcriptional regulators involved in a wide range of biological processes in insects, yet little is known about their roles in stingless bees. Here, we present the first characterization of miRNAs in Melipona quadrifasciata using small RNAs (sRNAs) deep sequencing. A total of 193 high-confidence mature miRNAs were identified, including 106 M. quadrifasciata-exclusive sequences. Expression profiling revealed that mqu-miR-1 and mqu-miR-276 together accounted for over 70% of all miRNA reads, suggesting their central roles in development and reproduction. Comparative analyses showed a higher conservation of M. quadrifasciata miRNAs with other Hymenopterans, especially Apis mellifera and Bombus spp. Putative target genes were predicted using a consensus approach, and functional annotation indicated their involvement in diverse biological regulatory pathways. This work represents the first comprehensive identification of the miRNA repertoire in stingless bees using sRNAs and provides a valuable foundation for understanding miRNA-mediated gene regulation in this ecologically and economically important pollinator.

Due to increased life expectancy and greater concern among populations regarding oral health problems and aesthetics, in the last few years, there has been a growing demand for dental structures and devices to replace/restore missing/damaged teeth [...]

Background High-throughput sequencing (HTS) has become an essential, unbiased tool in virology for identifying known and novel viruses. However, analyzing the large and complex datasets generated by HTS presents significant bioinformatics challenges. The process of accurately identifying and characterizing viral sequences from assembled contigs remains a bottleneck, often requiring specialized expertise and involving non-standardized parameters. There is a pressing need for robust, user-friendly, and reproducible pipelines to streamline this post-assembly analysis. Results To address these challenges, we developed ViralQuest , a bioinformatics tool that automates the in-depth characterization of viral sequences from pre-assembled contigs. The pipeline integrates multiple lines of evidence for robust identification, using Diamond BLASTx against the Viral RefSeq database and pyHMMER searches against the RVDB, Vfam, and eggNOG profile HMM databases. For detailed characterization, ViralQuest performs taxonomic classification based on the ICTV nomenclature and functional annotation via Pfam domain analysis. Novel features of ViralQuest include an AI-powered summarization module that uses a Large Language Model (LLM) to generate contextual narratives for key viral findings and a comprehensive confidence score to rank putative viral contigs. All results are consolidated into a single, interactive HTML report that includes dynamic visualizations of contigs, ORFs, and protein domains, alongside detailed data tables that are exportable in TSV and SVG formats. Conclusion ViralQuest provides an accessible and comprehensive solution for the post-assembly analysis of viral metagenomic data. By combining rigorous bioinformatics methods with novel AI-driven features and an intuitive reporting interface, it streamlines the complex process of viral identification and characterization. The tool enhances the interpretability and reliability of results, making in-depth virome analysis more accessible to the broader research community. ViralQuest is available on GitHub at https://github.com/gabrielvpina/viralquest/ .

The push to make governments more transparent extends worldwide, as transparency is expected to boost citizens' trust in government and participation in public affairs. Recent transparency laws and open-government initiatives have encouraged local governments to share more information with their constituents. A growing number of recent studies have investigated the drivers of local governments' transparency, but have not yet addressed the role of higher levels of government in making local governments more transparent. In light of implementation scholarship arguing the success of centrally designed programs is a function of higher-level involvement, this study contributes to the transparency literature by approaching local governments' transparency as an intergovernmental implementation process. We assess the explanatory power of two central government strategies: enforcement mechanisms and central government guidance on Chilean municipalities' transparency levels. Results show that both types of central government strategies can have a substantial impact on transparency over time.

Background Endogenous Viral Elements (EVEs) are viral sequences integrated into the host germline and passed to offspring. Most virus types can integrate, often with the help of host retroelements, especially for non-retroviral RNA viruses. It is known that EVEs are widespread across insect species and related to an extensive range of virus taxa, many of which might share similar evolutionary origins. Bombus bees are essential pollinators that have been experiencing worldwide colony declines in recent decades. Therefore, uncovering genetic elements and pathways to better understand host–pathogen interactions is crucial in conserving biodiversity. Results Non-retroviral Integrated RNA Virus Sequences (NIRVS) were widespread in Bombus genomes, without a clear correlation between genome size and the number of EVEs. Most of the EVEs were single-copy, ranging from 111 to 3,729 bp with an average of 504 bp. Most of them share similarities with unclassified viruses and known viruses belonging to the families Partitiviridae and Virgaviridae , as well as the order Martellivirales. We observed that over 25% of the NIRVS contain conserved domains, with larger ones having a higher probability of functional annotation. Most NIRVS with conserved domains contained Polymerase-related motifs, the most represented group of domains among Bombus species. A comprehensive analysis of the NIRVS sharing pattern suggests that they are more likely to be inherited from a common ancestor than to result from integration events after speciation. Also, viral elements are widely conserved amongst species. Furthermore, we investigated transcriptional activity and the potential of the NIRVS to function as a priming agent for antiviral responses against exogenous viruses. On that note, most NIRVS in Bombus are transcriptionally active, and some share 15 nt of contiguity with exogenous bee viruses and could potentially be used as templates for piRNA production. Conclusions The integration of non-retroviral RNA viruses into bumblebee genomes is ancient and represents a dynamic evolutionary process in which many viral elements are conserved, shared, and may be functionally active in Bombus bees.