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Objectives: To carry out physicomechanical characterization of the HA/DCPA/TiO 2 and to evaluate the tissue repair in rat calvaria., Methods: Two bone defects were made in the calvaria of 36 Wistar rats, divided into groups: HA/DCPA, HA/DCPA/TiO 2 and sham (blood clot). The animals were euthanized at 30, 60 and 90 days and calvaria slides were processed with hematoxylin/eosin. The newly formed bone, connective tissue, biomaterial remnant, and total tissue repair percentages were calculated in relation to the total defect area. The HA/DCPA/TiO 2 was characterized structurally by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and chemically by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was submitted to apparent density (AD), apparent porosity (AP), water absorption (WA) and compressive strength (CS) physical tests. The ANOVA test was applied, followed by Turkey's test and Student's t-test (p ≤ 0,05)., Results: The SEM showed biomaterials inside the bone defects and newly formed bone. EDS identified oxygen, calcium, phosphorus, and titanium in the sample. The HA/DCPA/TiO 2 and HA/DCPA groups presented a total tissue repair area that was larger than the sham group (p < 0.001)., Conclusions: The physical-mechanical assays showed that HA/DCPA/TiO 2 has AD and CS properties within the limits of trabecular bone and with values higher than HA/DCPA.HA/DCPA/TiO 2 presented higher densification and compressive strength rates than HA/DCPA., Clinical Relevance: Potential as a scaffold for bone., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: This paper aims to conduct a systematic review (SR) to assess Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of malaria-exposed populations for different regions where malaria is endemic, considering any health measurements., Methods: An electronic search of the Medline, Lilacs, and Embase databases was conducted until February 2nd, 2024, to identify and select studies that evaluated HRQoL. No restrictions on place or language were made., Results: Thirty-seven studies were included, among them 21 focused on African countries. The most investigated HRQoL outcome associated with malaria was Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). These studies primarily aim to analyze the epidemiological burden of the disease or to conduct economic assessments. Only four studies conducted field research using specific instruments to assess the HRQoL of individuals experiencing malaria episodes. Three of them estimated EQ-5D utility index and found scores varying from 0.349 for severe malaria (Indonesia) to 0.74 (Nigeria). The health domains that are most affected by malaria are pain and discomfort and usual activities (EQ-5D instrument) and physical domains (WHOQOL-BREF). These results reflect the main malaria symptoms which are fever, headache, and generalized pain., Conclusion: This SR highlights a significant gap in understanding the quality of life among individuals experiencing malaria. Despite being an acute illness, recurrent episodes of malaria can lead to considerable loss in quality of life. Moreover, there are significant equity implications, as malaria remains endemic in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. Ethical approval: This is a systematic review study. The Research Ethics Committee of Federal University of Minas Gerais has confirmed that no ethical approval is required., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to review the most effective topical anesthetic methods for reducing pain/discomfort prior to dental local anesthetic needle puncture for dental procedures in children and adolescents., Methods: A scoping review was conducted. Individual search strategies were developed for each of the bibliographic databases (Cochrane, Embase, LILACS, LIVIVO, Pubmed, Scopus, PsyINFO, Web of Science), and in the gray literature (Google Scholar, Open Gray), comprehensively, without restrictions on language, publication data, or level of socioeconomic development of the country in which the study was conducted. The search was conducted on April 21, 2021 and the updates on May 24, 2024. Randomized controlled studies conducted in patients up to 18 years of age were included. Variables collected: characteristics of the included studies, topical anesthetics evaluated, time and the mode of application., Results: Initially, 8579 studies were retrieved. Then 3127 were identified as eligible, of which (n = 3127), 52 studies were included in the narrative synthesis. The most commonly observed anesthetic methods with the most favorable outcomes were lidocaine, benzocaine, ice cooling, and EMLA. Spray, gel or patch were used, with application times ranging from 1 to 10 min. Mucosal cooling an ice stick was analyzed by eight studies. Only one showed a smaller reduction in pain perception scores than others., Conclusions: Cooling is a technique with numerous clinical advantages from the clinical point of view, for reduction of pain/discomfort prior to needle puncture of dental local anesthesia in children and adolescents. It is an accessible, inexpensive and pleasant method that does not resemble needles or unpleasant tastes, nor involves systemic toxicity and complications that may be associated with others anesthetics agents. Future randomized controlled studies in accordance with the Consort Statement are needed to further investigate the topic., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval: The corresponding author guarantees that the article has not been published and is not being considered for publication elsewhere. This study is a scoping review and IRB approval was not required., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to British Dental Association.)