Black Death is a virosis caused by the Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV), transmitted by thrips, and represents a complex problem since weed hosts for thrips vectors and the virus is accentuated as virus reservoir and vector sustenance. The objective was to generate, from a list of weeds that act as hosts for the four vector thrips species in the horticultural belt of La Plata, a relative risk categorization as an epidemiological component. Between 2000 and 2003, three sites were selected within the horticultural belt of La Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina) where flowers of 21 weed hosts of Frankliniella occidentalis, Frankliniella schultzei, Frankliniella gemina and Thrips tabaci were sampled monthly (60 in total). For analysis, the sampling results were grouped into three annual seasons, corresponding to the phenology of greenhouse crops in the region. For the four thrips vectors, the abundance of adult thrips and the presence of their larvae were considered using an unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis and the DGC multivariate mean comparison test to obtain the number of significant groups. From this base grouping, three risk groups (RG) were defined as a source of inoculum for these vectors: high (H), medium (M) and low (L) according to the status of the reproductive host (RH). The groups that emerged were: (H): RH of F occidentalis, (M): RH of F. schultzei and T. tabaci, and (L): RH of F. gemina or non-vector thrips. Periodic survey and early flowering suppression of nine weed species categorized as high risk is proposed. This implies the continuous monitoring of three weed species, to which other companion weeds are added according to the growing season.

This study investigates the awareness of environmentally friendly (green) dentistry practices among dental students and faculty at Ajman University in the United Arab Emirates. The primary objective is to assess their understanding and application of eco-friendly dental practices, including waste management, energy conservation, and sustainable material usage. Using a descriptive cross-sectional design, an online survey was administered to 231 randomly selected participants. The results show that although awareness of green dentistry has increased, its practical implementation remains limited. Specialists displayed the highest levels of knowledge and practice, while general practitioners demonstrated the least. Male participants showed greater experience and expertise compared to females, and the age group of 30–39 exhibited the highest levels of knowledge and practice, although age was not found to significantly affect awareness or usage. The findings highlight the need for enhanced education and encouragement of green dentistry to protect the environment and promote sustainable dental practices.

Objective: To determine the presence of bacteria by means of microbiological analysis on the surfaces contacted by the operator during the taking and processing of intraoral radiographs at different times of the day in the Oral Radiology Service of the UPCH. Materials and methods: Nine surfaces of the oral radiology service were sampled. The samples were taken at two times by the same investigator; at the beginning and the end of the activities in the service, the surfaces were swabbed with Trypticase Soy Broth (TSB). The samples were inoculated and incubated in three culture media (Plate Count Agar, Lamb’s Blood Agar and Cetrimide Agar). Then the respective Colony Forming Unit (CFU) count was performed and Gram staining was also performed. Results: A high concentration of bacteria (4180 CFU/mL) and fungi was found in the oral radiology service. Gram-positive cocci were the most frequently found microorganisms and gram-negative bacilli were less frequently found. Conclusions: There is a high contamination of bacteria in the oral radiology service. When the activities are completed, the number of bacteria decreases, but the variety of bacteria increases.

Regardless of the importance of accreditation and the role faculty play in a such process, not much attention was given to those in dental colleges This study aimed to explore faculty perceptions of accreditation in the College of Dental Medicine and its impact, the challenges that hinder their involvement in accreditation, and countermeasures to mitigate these barriers using a convergent mixed methods approach. The interviewees were faculty who hold administrative positions (purposeful sample). The remaining faculty were invited for the survey using convenience sampling. Quantitative data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests at 0.05 significance. A consensus was achieved on the positive impact of accreditation with an emphasis on the collective responsibility of faculty for the entire process. Yet their involvement was not duly recognized in teaching load, promotion, and incentives. Quality Improvement and Sustainability Tools and Benchmarking were identified as common themes for the value of accreditation to institutions and faculty. Global ranking and credibility as well as seamless service were key themes for institutional accreditation, while education tools and guidance or unifying tools were central themes for faculty. Regarding the challenges, five themes were recognized: Lack of Resources, Rigorous Process, Communication Lapse, Overwhelming Workload, and Leadership Style and Working Environment. To mitigate these challenges, Providing Enough Resources and Leadership Style and Working Environment were the identified themes. This research endeavors to achieve a better understanding of faculty perceptions to ease a process that requires commitment, resources, and readiness to change.

Among the dental composites, Urethane Dimethacrylate (UDMA) is commonly used as a component in treating oral complications. Many molecular dynamics approaches are used to understand the behaviour of the material at room temperature as well as at higher temperatures to get a better insight after comparison with experimental values at the atomic level. There are three critical physical properties associated with these components, like abrasive wear, viscosity, and moduli, which play an essential role in determining the treatment and can be computed using the Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator (LAMMPS), the general-purpose quantum chemistry program package (ORCA), and the General Utility Lattice Program (GULP) molecular dynamics methods. A radial distribution function plot is generated using visual molecular dynamics (VMD) for UDMA and BisGMA. A comparison of these parameters with BisGMA, another component of dental composites, along with experimental results, is carried out in the present investigation. Further, since radiation also matters for settling the materials in dental treatment, we have computed absorption spectra from 200 nm to 800 nm using LAMMPS/ORCA.