This review explores the recent advancements and ongoing challenges in regenerating alveolar bone, which is essential for dental implants and periodontal health. It examines traditional techniques like guided bone regeneration and bone grafting, alongside newer methods such as stem cell therapy, gene therapy, and 3D bioprinting. Each approach is considered for its strengths in supporting bone growth and integration, especially in cases where complex bone defects make regeneration difficult. This review also looks at different biomaterials, from bioactive scaffolds to nanomaterials, assessing how well they encourage cell growth and healing. Personalized treatments, like customized 3D-printed scaffolds, show promise in enhancing bone formation and tissue compatibility. Additionally, signaling molecules, like bone morphogenetic proteins, play a crucial role in guiding the process of bone formation and remodeling. Despite these advances, challenges remain—particularly with severe bone loss and with refining biomaterials for more reliable, long-term outcomes. This review proposes combining advanced materials, regenerative technologies, and personalized approaches to achieve more effective and consistent outcomes in oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Background/Objectives: Intraoral scanning, a fast-evolving technology, is increasingly integrated into actual dental workflows due to its numerous advantages. Despite its growing adoption, challenges related to the accuracy of digital impressions remain. The existing literature identifies most of the factors influencing intraoral scanning accuracy (defined by precision and trueness), but it is fragmented and lacks a unified synthesis. In response to this gap, the present study aims to consolidate and structure the current evidence on the determinant factors and, based on these findings, to develop a clinically applicable procedural guideline for dental practitioners. Methods: A comprehensive literature review identified 43 distinct factors influencing intraoral scanning. Results: These factors encompass variables such as software versions and updates, implant characteristics (e.g., position, angulation, scan body design), materials, environmental conditions (e.g., lighting), and procedural elements including scanning strategy, pattern, aids, and operator experience. Subsequently, these identified factors were systematically classified into five distinct groups based on inherent similarities and relevance within the scanning workflow: IOS—characteristics and maintenance, intraoral morphology, materials, ambient conditions, and scanning strategy. To translate these findings into a practical framework, a four-step protocol was developed, designed for straightforward application by researchers and clinicians. Conclusions: This protocol—comprising: (1) Maintenance, (2) Evaluation, (3) Establishment and Execution of Scanning Strategy, and (4) Verification—aims to guide users effectively through the intraoral scanning process, mitigate common clinical challenges, and ensure broad applicability across diverse scanner systems, irrespective of the manufacturer or model.

Background: Gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) represent a subset of gastrointestinal tumors predominantly found in the stomach. Despite their rarity, these tumors carry significant implications for patient health and management. GISTs are potentially malignant tumors with unpredictable progression. They originate from the interstitial cells of Cajal, which are positioned between the intramural neurons and the smooth muscle cells of the digestive tract. These tumors are characterized primarily by mutations in the c-Kit gene, as well as other mutations such as those in the platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRA) gene. Methods: Our comprehensive search across five databases initially yielded 2976 articles. After eliminating 197 duplicates, we screened the titles and abstracts of 2779 articles, excluding 2692 for not meeting the inclusion criteria. During the full-text screening, 16 more articles were excluded. Ultimately, 71 papers met the inclusion criteria and were included in our analysis. Results: Due to differences in study designs, inclusion criteria for patients, and reported outcomes, a meta-analysis was not conducted. The accurate diagnosis of GIST is established through histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry. Histopathologically, GISTs are classified into three main types: spindle cell, epithelioid, and mixed. The therapeutic management of GIST involves surgery, endoscopic treatment, and chemotherapy. Conclusions: The prognosis for GIST patients depends on various factors, including risk category, disease stage, applied treatments, and recurrence post-treatment. A significant recent advancement comes from artificial intelligence, which can be increasingly involved in both the diagnosis and treatment of this tumor.

Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae represents a major cause of healthcare-associated infections in intensive care units, with resistance profiles ranging from multidrug-resistant to extensively drug-resistant and pandrug-resistant. Critically ill patients, who often require invasive devices and prolonged antibiotic therapy, are especially vulnerable to colonization and infection by these strains. Surveillance data on resistance trends and specimen-specific patterns in Romanian intensive care units (ICUs) remain limited. Methods: We conducted a four-year surveillance study (2021–2024) in a tertiary Romanian ICU, analyzing K. pneumoniae isolates collected from diverse clinical specimens. Resistance phenotypes were classified as MDR, XDR, PDR, or susceptible based on standard definitions. Trends over time were assessed using Cramér’s V and correspondence analysis, while stratification by specimen type evaluated associations between anatomical site and resistance profiles. Results: A total of 254 K. pneumoniae isolates were analyzed. MDR strains predominated in 2021 and 2022 but sharply declined by 2024 (from 80% to 8.3%). In parallel, XDR and PDR phenotypes increased substantially, indicating a shift toward more complex resistance profiles. A significant temporal association was found (Cramér’s V = 0.43), with 2024 marked by a sharp decline in MDR isolates and a predominance of XDR and PDR phenotypes, reflecting an advanced resistance profile. Specimen-type analysis showed tracheal aspirates as the main reservoir for resistant strains, followed by urine and blood cultures, with a weaker but meaningful association (Cramér’s V = 0.24). Conclusions: These findings reveal a change in resistance patterns in ICU-acquired K. pneumoniae infections, with MDR strains being displaced by XDR and PDR phenotypes. These findings highlight the urgent need for time- and specimen-informed resistance monitoring and adaptive antimicrobial stewardship. Without targeted interventions, gains made in controlling MDR strains risk being rapidly eclipsed by the spread of highly resistant organisms.

Following implantation, infections, inflammatory reactions, corrosion, mismatches in the elastic modulus, stress shielding and excessive wear are the most frequent reasons for orthopedic implant failure. Natural polymer-based coatings showed especially good results in achieving better cell attachment, growth and tissue-implant integration, and it was found that the inclusions of nanosized fillers in the coating structure improves biomineralization and consequently implant osseointegration, as the nanoparticles represent calcium phosphate nucleation centers and lead to the deposition of highly organized hydroxyapatite crystallites on the implant surface. In this study, magnetic nanoparticles synthesized by the co-precipitation method were used for the preparation of cellulose acetate composite coatings through the phase-inversion method. The biomineralization ability of the membranes was tested through the Taguchi method, and it was found that nanostructured hydroxyapatite was formed at the surface of the composite membrane (with a higher organization degree and purity, and a Ca/P percentage closer to the one seen with stoichiometric hydroxyapatite, compared to the one deposited on neat cellulose acetate). The results obtained indicate a potential new application for magnetic nanoparticles in the field of orthopedics.

Polyethersulfone (PES) is one of the most used synthetic polymers for the production of hemodialysis membranes, due to its appropriate features, such as biocompatibility, high permeability for low-molecular-weight proteins, high endotoxin retention ability, and resistance to sterilization processes. However, there is room for improvement regarding their anticoagulant properties when coming into contact with blood. In the present study, commercial PES membranes were plasma-treated and then chemically modified with crown ether, an organic compound that could interfere with the coagulation cascade by complexating Ca²⁺ in the blood. The physico-chemical and morphological characteristics of the membranes were determined by FT-IR, XPS, TGA, SEM, and CT analyses, while their efficiency in retaining calcium ions was evaluated via ICP-MS. The results revealed that plasma treatment with a mixture of argon and ammonia was the most effective in generating nitrogen-containing surface functional groups and that these moieties can be successfully used for the covalent functionalization of the membranes. Also, the Ca²⁺ retention ability of the PES membranes was improved by up to 30% after chemical modification with 4′-aminobenzo-15-crown-5 ether.