Many lands were degraded or destroyed by human activities, including contamination from industry and military facilities. The United States and other industrialized counties have legacy wastes remaining from the Second World War, the Cold War, and industrialization. There is increasing need to return degraded land to suitable future land uses, including ecological parks and preserves. This paper proposes a conceptual model of the different levels of information needed to understand the risk to human health, the environment, and ecological resources. I propose a four-part approach: 1) general model for assessing ecological resources, 2) model for assessment needed for remediation or restoration projects, 3) a sliding scale, conceptual model for causes, events, and sources that lead to exposure and risk, and 4) an additional step that includes environmental justice (equity, diversity and inclusion) as a necessary consideration of traditional exposure assessment. While the factors involved in ecological risk assessment are well established, the combination of human health, ecological health, and environmental justice determining risk for remediation or restoration projects is not. Major factors useful for human health, environmental, and ecological evaluation include causes, events (earthquakes, accidents, chemical releases), sources, exposure, and informational challenges, as well as barriers to exposure. I propose that exposure through an environmental justice (diversity, equity, and inclusion) lens should be a key component of risk assessment. Each of these factors involves a sliding scale or continuum that must be considered in evaluating risk and communicating with the regulators, resource trustees, land managers and the public. The conceptual model also serves as a template for obtaining information about the environment that will be useful for communicating the importance of different risk factors. The model was developed for consideration of remediation on Department of Energy lands, it can be applied more broadly to other projects.

UNASSIGNED: The researchers have been searching for ideal restorative material for many decades. The incorporation of a remineralizing agent into a restorative material to improve its property of preventing dental caries and the occurrence of secondary caries has been investigated by various researchers.Hence, in the present study, we have incorporated two nonfluoridated remineralizing agents [theobromine and casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP-CPP)] into the conventional glass ionomer cement (GIC) and evaluated their mechanical properties.
UNASSIGNED: The flexural strength, compressive strength, and microhardness values of the two test groups were more significant than the control group type IX GIC.
UNASSIGNED: With this study, we could conclude that the incorporation of theobromine and ACP-CPP into GIC increases the mechanical properties of conventional GIC.
UNASSIGNED: Mahalakshmi S, Chowdhary N, Shivanna V, et al. Comparative Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of Conventional Glass Ionomer Cement Incorporated with Nonfluoridated Remineralizing Agents. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2024;17(2):125-129.

From a multiple-histories perspective, this paper attempts to restore the feature framework of Tang Dynasty gardens by describing the environment panorama of that era. Tang Dynasty gardens have their own unique and complex environment features, which is crucial for understanding Chinese classical gardens. This research developed a massive text mining method of historical-document to detect all garden-related elements in Tang poetry. By sorting out these elements, it has been restored the original appearance of Tang Dynasty gardens and summarized its feature framework. The resulting model included 199 factors, 173 of which are correlating with gardens. Among the 173 factors, 129 are risk factors and 44 are protective factors. This paper restores the feature framework of Tang Dynasty gardens from the following four points, namely regions, ecology, architecture and human behavior. Understanding the Tang Dynasty gardens would help understand the development context of Chinese classical gardens, and should provide new paths for contemporary environment creation.

Normal vertical and horizontal offset is essential for hip biomechanics, muscle functioning and gait pattern. Total hip arthroplasty (THA) should aim to restore normal offset with implantation of femoral and acetabular components. This would be possible with proper preoperative planning, templating and ensuring implant options are available for offset restoration. Templating is essential for understanding the vertical and horizontal offset change, especially in hip arthritis presenting late with significant limb length discrepancy at THA. Planning should include appropriate soft tissue releases and the use of ideal implants to achieve restoration of horizontal and vertical offset. Under correction of horizontal offset at THA for fracture neck of femur could result in abductor fatigue, limp and increased wear. Restoration of horizontal offset is imperative at THA for a fractured neck of the femur to achieve optimal abductor function. Horizontal offset is necessary for optimal abductor muscle tension and function. Revision THA for acetabular bone loss would require hip center restoration with the acetabular and femoral offset correction to achieve limb length correction and abductor length. The inability to achieve vertical and horizontal offset correction could lead to dislocation or signs of abductor fatigue. Careful vertical and horizontal femur offset restoration is required for normal hip biomechanics, decreased wear and increased longevity.

Restoring native plant species on degraded landscapes is challenging. Symbiotic partners in the plant rhizosphere can aid in nutrient acquisition, pathogen protection, stress tolerance, and many other processes. However, these microbes are often absent in altered landscapes and need to be re-integrated to improve restoration efforts. We evaluated, within a laboratory setting, the ability of commercial and indigenous rhizobia strains to form nodules on lupine species used for rangeland seedings in the Great Basin region of the Western United States and ascertained if these strains could be applied through a seed coating. We also evaluated if a compost amendment applied via seed coating could further enhance the performance of the rhizobia strains. Our analysis showed that successful nodulation could occur using commercial and wildland-collected indigenous strains through either a liquid culture applied to seedlings or as a dry seed coating. However, the number of root nodules and the presence of a pink color (indicating nitrogen fixation) were typically higher in the commercial product than in the indigenous strains. Compost did not improve nodulation or the performance of the nodules; however, this treatment alone improved shoot growth. Overall, these results suggest that commercial rhizobium may be more effective in improving plant growth, and future research with native rhizobia may want to consider identifying strains compatible with seed-coating delivery. Longer-term studies are now merited for assessing how the rhizobia strains evaluated in this study influence plant growth, particularly in a field setting.

Forest fires play a pivotal role in influencing ecosystem evolution, exerting a profound impact on plant diversity and community stability. Understanding post-fire recovery strategies holds significant scientific importance for the ecological succession and restoration of forest ecosystems. This study utilized Partial Least Squares Path Modeling (PLS-PM) to investigate dynamic relationships among plant species diversity, phylogenetic diversity, soil properties, and community stability during various recovery stages (5-year, 15-year, and 23-year) following wildfires on the northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The findings revealed: (1) Over time, species richness significantly decreased (p< 0.05 or p< 0.01), while species diversity and dominance increased, resulting in uniform species distribution. Community stability progressively improved, with increased species compositional similarity. (2) Throughout succession, phylogenetic diversity (PD) significantly decreased (p< 0.01), accompanied by rising Mean Pairwise Distance (MPD) and Mean Nearest Taxon Distance (MNTD). Net Relatedness Index (NRI) shifted from positive to negative, indicating an increasing aggregation and dominance of plants with similar evolutionary traits in burned areas. Early succession witnessed simultaneous environmental filtering and competitive exclusion, shifting predominantly to competitive exclusion in later stages. (3) PLS-PM revealed that in the early recovery stage, soil properties mainly affected community stability, while species diversity metamorphosed into the primary factor in the mid-to-late stages. In summary, this study showed that plant diversity and phylogenetic variation were successful in revealing changes in community structure during the succession process. Soil characteristics functioned as selective barriers for plant communities during succession, and community stability underwent a multi-faceted and dynamic process. The soil-plant dynamic feedback continuously enhanced soil conditions and community vegetation structure thereby augmenting stability. Post-fire vegetation gradually transitioned towards the original native state, demonstrating inherent ecological self-recovery capabilities in the absence of secondary disturbances.

Amalgam has made dental restorations more manageable, especially in difficult cases, due to its strength, durability, and relatively low cost. There can be pros and cons of each dental material depending on which class of cases it is applied or not applied for, depending on the patient\'s need, and, of course, the dentist\'s choice. These materials are used frequently for their hardness and durability and are ideal for extensive restoration procedures. On the other hand, composite resins are considered to be more aesthetic for the profitable areas where esthetics are more important. In contrast, glass ionomer cement is considered to be ideal for low-stress-bearing areas. The following case report of pin-retained amalgam restoration presents an example of its application in practical situations and the factors that must be considered to justify the use of this material against others. This paper explains various factors in considering pin-retained amalgam restorations and the procedure for a better and positive outcome.

Cognitive decline covers a broad spectrum of disorders, not only resulting from brain diseases but also from systemic diseases, which seriously influence the quality of life and life expectancy of patients. As a highly selective anatomical and functional interface between the brain and systemic circulation, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) plays a pivotal role in maintaining brain homeostasis and normal function. The pathogenesis underlying cognitive decline may vary, nevertheless, accumulating evidences support the role of BBB disruption as the most prevalent contributing factor. This may mainly be attributed to inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, cell senescence, oxidative/nitrosative stress and excitotoxicity. However, direct evidence showing that BBB disruption causes cognitive decline is scarce, and interestingly, manipulation of the BBB opening alone may exert beneficial or detrimental neurological effects. A broad overview of the present literature shows a close relationship between BBB disruption and cognitive decline, the risk factors of BBB disruption, as well as the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying BBB disruption. Additionally, we discussed the possible causes leading to cognitive decline by BBB disruption and potential therapeutic strategies to prevent BBB disruption or enhance BBB repair. This review aims to foster more investigations on early diagnosis, effective therapeutics, and rapid restoration against BBB disruption, which would yield better cognitive outcomes in patients with dysregulated BBB function, although their causative relationship has not yet been completely established.

Humans are supra-organisms co-evolved with microbial communities (Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic), named the microbiome. These microbiomes supply essential ecosystem services that play critical roles in human health. A loss of indigenous microbes through modern lifestyles leads to microbial extinctions, associated with many diseases and epidemics. This narrative review conforms a complete guide to the human holobiont-comprising the host and all its symbiont populations- summarizes the latest and most significant research findings in human microbiome. It pretends to be a comprehensive resource in the field, describing all human body niches and their dominant microbial taxa while discussing common perturbations on microbial homeostasis, impacts of urbanization and restoration and humanitarian efforts to preserve good microbes from extinction.

UNASSIGNED: This study aimed to evaluate the stress distribution in an endodontically treated tooth restored with two different reinforcing fibers followed by direct composite restoration using a finite element analysis (FEA).
UNASSIGNED: FEA.
UNASSIGNED: Two three-dimensional models of endodontically treated maxillary central incisors were restored with two reinforcing fibers: the polyethylene fibers (PFs) and the short fiber-reinforced composite (SFRC), respectively. The restoration was carried out without any intraradicular preparation using direct composite restoration. The models were generated using SolidWorks. The elastic modulus and Poisson\'s ratio for various structures and materials were installed into the simulation software, Abaqus. A FEA was then conducted. Each model received a mixed-mode loading of 150 N as distributed pressure to the specified region, and stress distribution was evaluated using the von Mises criteria.
UNASSIGNED: Both the reinforcing materials, PF and SRFC, showed maximum concentration of stresses in the cervical third of the tooth. The calculated values of the von Mises stresses for the PF and the SFRC models were 1.7 Mpa and 1.9 Mpa, respectively. Moreover, the stresses generated were of low intensity and were uniformly distributed, suggesting that by using this technique, stresses may be very well tolerated by the remaining tooth structure without any fracture.
UNASSIGNED: This no-posttechnique, using the two reinforcing fibers, showed minimal stress concentration in the cervical region of the tooth. Thus, using this ultraconservative approach that aims to preserve and reinforce the pericervical dentin and restore the remaining tooth structure with direct composite restoration could be a promising treatment option for the rehabilitation of badly mutilated teeth.