A growing interest in creating advanced biomaterials with specific physical and chemical properties is currently being observed. These high-standard materials must be capable to integrate into biological environments such as the oral cavity or other anatomical regions in the human body. Given these requirements, ceramic biomaterials offer a feasible solution in terms of mechanical strength, biological functionality, and biocompatibility. In this review, the fundamental physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of the main ceramic biomaterials and ceramic nanocomposites are drawn, along with some primary related applications in biomedical fields, such as orthopedics, dentistry, and regenerative medicine. Furthermore, an in-depth focus on bone-tissue engineering and biomimetic ceramic scaffold design and fabrication is presented.

Gut microbiota refers to those microorganisms in the human digestive tract that display activities fundamental in human life. With at least 4 million different bacterial types, the gut microbiota is composed of bacteria that are present at levels sixfold greater than the total number of cells in the entire human body. Among its multiple functions, the microbiota helps promote the bioavailability of some nutrients and the metabolization of food, and protects the intestinal mucosa from the aggression of pathogenic microorganisms. Moreover, by stimulating the production of intestinal mediators able to reach the central nervous system (gut/brain axis), the gut microbiota participates in the modulation of human moods and behaviors. Several endogenous and exogenous factors can cause dysbiosis with important consequences on the composition and functions of the microbiota. Recent research underlines the importance of appropriate physical activity (such as sports), nutrition, and a healthy lifestyle to ensure the presence of a functional physiological microbiota working to maintain the health of the whole human organism. Indeed, in addition to bowel disturbances, variations in the qualitative and quantitative microbial composition of the gastrointestinal tract might have systemic negative effects. Here, we review recent studies on the effects of physical activity on gut microbiota with the aim of identifying potential mechanisms by which exercise could affect gut microbiota composition and function. Whether physical exercise of variable work intensity might reflect changes in intestinal health is analyzed.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic promoted efforts to better understand the organization of the respiratory microbiome and its evolution from birth to adulthood and how it interacts with external pathogens and the host immune system. This review aims to deepen understanding of the essential physiological functions of the resident microbiome of the respiratory system on human health and diseases. First, the general characteristics of the normal microbiota in the different anatomical sites of the airways have been reported in relation to some factors such as the effect of age, diet and others on its composition and stability. Second, we analyze in detail the functions and composition and the correct functionality of the microbiome in the light of current knowledge. Several studies suggest the importance of preserving the micro-ecosystem of commensal, symbiotic and pathogenic microbes of the respiratory system, and, more recently, its relationship with the intestinal microbiome, and how it also leads to the maintenance of human health, has become better understood.

Poor diet, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle have a significant impact on natural microbiota disorders; specifically, the intestinal one. This in turn can lead to a multitude of organ dysfunctions. The gut microbiota contains more than 500 species of bacteria and constitutes 95% of the total number of cells in the human body, thus contributing significantly to the host’s resistance to infectious diseases. Nowadays, consumers have turned to purchased foods, especially those containing probiotic bacteria or prebiotics, that constitute some of the functional food market, which is constantly expanding. Indeed, there are many products available that incorporate probiotics, such as yogurt, cheese, juices, jams, cookies, salami sausages, mayonnaise, nutritional supplements, etc. The probiotics are microorganisms that, when taken in sufficient amounts, contribute positively to the health of the host and are the focus of interest for both scientific studies and commercial companies. Thus, in the last decade, the introduction of DNA sequencing technologies with subsequent bioinformatics processing contributes to the in-depth characterization of the vast biodiversity of the gut microbiota, their composition, their connection with the physiological function—known as homeostasis—of the human organism, and their involvement in several diseases. Therefore, in this study, we highlighted the extensive investigation of current scientific research for the association of those types of functional foods containing probiotics and prebiotics in the diet and the composition of the intestinal microbiota. As a result, this study can form the foundation for a new research path based on reliable data from the literature, acting a guide in the continuous effort to monitor the rapid developments in this field.

Current medical knowledge and research on patients’ management are still evolving, and several protocols on minimizing risk of infection by Candida spp. among the population have developed. The aim of this work is to review the epidemiological and biomolecular characteristics and the various histopathological carcinogenesis hypothesis mechanisms that can occur during Candida albicans infections. Current evidence from the literature on the role of C. albicans during potentially malignant oral disorders and oral cancer has been sought. Thus, these biomolecular processes can give or contribute to benign lesions, also in precancerous or cancerous situations. Alongside this, the physiological microorganism oral flora (microbiota) can play a crucial role in maintaining oral health during those infections and therefore avoid carcinogenesis.

Aim: This historical medical literature review aims at understanding the evolution of the medical existence of oral cancer over times, particularly better comprehending if the apparent lower prevalence of this type of cancer in antiquity is a real value due to the absence of modern environmental and lifestyle factors or it is linked to a misinterpretation of ancient foreign terms found in ancient medical texts regarding oral neoplasms. Methods: The databases MedLne, PubMed, Web of Science, Elsevier’s EMBASE.com, Cochrane Review, National Library of Greece (Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Athens) and the Library of the School of Health Sciences of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece) were extensively searched for relevant studies published during the past century on the history of oral cancer and its treatment from antiquity to modern times, in addition to the WHO website to analyse the latest epidemiological data. In addition, we included historical books on the topic of interest and original sources. Results: Historical references reveal that the cradle of the oral oncology was in ancient Egypt, the Asian continent and Greece and cancer management was confined to an approximate surgical practice, in order to remove abnormal masses and avoid bleeding with cauterization. In the Medieval Age, little progress occurred in medicine in general, oral cancers management included. It is only from the Renaissance to modern times that knowledge about its pathophysiological mechanisms and histopathology and its surgical and pharmacological treatment approaches became increasingly deep all over the world, evolving to the actual integrated treatment. Despite the abundant literature exploring oncology in past civilizations, the real prevalence of oral cancer in antiquity is much less known; but a literature analysis cannot exclude a consistent prevalence of this cancer in past populations, probably with a likely lower incidence than today, because many descriptions of its aggressiveness were found in ancient medical texts, but it is still difficult to be sure that each single description of oral masses could be associated to cancer, particularly for what concerns the period before the Middle Ages. Conclusions: Modern oncologists and oral surgeons must learn a lot from their historic counterparts in order to avoid past unsuccessful efforts to treatment oral malignancies. Several descriptions of oral cancers in the antiquity that we found let us think that this disease might be linked to mechanisms not strictly dependent on environmental risk factors, and this might guide future research on oral cavity treatments towards strategical cellular and molecular techniques.