A Comparative Statistical Analysis on the Incidence of Developmental, Inflammatory and Neoplastic Odontogenic Cysts—A Single Center Retrospective Analysis from Italy

The aim of this study was a comparative statistical analysis of three categories of maxillary odontogenic cysts, evaluating frequency in relation to localization (mandibular or maxillary region), age and gender of patients. The study was a retrospective cohort study conducted at the University Hospital of Messina. Three hundred and fifty-six maxillary odontogenic cysts were classified into 283 inflammatory, 43 developmental and 30 neoplastic cysts. Female patients are more affected by developmental odontogenic cysts, while male patients are more affected by inflammatory odontogenic cysts. Both the mandibular and maxillary regions were affected mainly by inflammatory odontogenic cysts; no significantly statistic relationship was found between lesions and age. A significant association between odontogenic cyst lesions and patient gender was found. No significant association between histological features of lesion and age of patient was observed, nor subtype of odontogenic disease and localization (mandibular or maxillary)

Assessment of the ecological quality status of the Sepetiba Bay (SE Brazil): When metabarcoding meets morphology on foraminifera

In recent years, the region surrounding Sepetiba Bay (SB; SE Brazil) has become a hub of intense urban expansion and economic exploitation in response to ore transport and industrial and port activities. As a result, contaminants have been introduced into the bay, leading to an overall worsening of the environmental quality. The present work applies for the first time a foraminiferal morphology-based approach (M) and eDNA-based metabarcoding sequencing (G), along with geochemical data to assess the ecological quality status (EcoQS) in the SB. Principal component analysis shows that the eDNA and morphospecies diversity as well as most of the taxa relative abundance decline in response to the environmental stress (ES) gradient related to total organic carbon (TOC) and metal pollution. Based on ecological indices, Exp(H'bc) (G), Exp(H'bc) (M), foraminifera ATZI marine biotic index (Foram-AMBI), Foram Stress Index (FSI), and geochemical indices (TOC and Potential Ecological Risk Index), the lowest values of EcoQS (i.e., bad to moderate) are inferred in the innermost part of the SB. Despite minor discrepancies among the six EcoQS indices, an agreement has been found for 63% of the stations. To improve the agreement between the ecological indices, it is necessary to fill the gap in species ecology; information on the ecology of many species is still unknown. This work reinforces the importance of molecular analysis and morphological methods in environmental impact studies and confirms the reliability of foraminiferal metabarcoding in EcoQS assessment. This is the first study evaluating the EcoQS in the South Atlantic by using combined foraminiferal eDNA metabarcoding with morphological data

European first-year university students accept evolution but lack substantial knowledge about it: a standardized European cross-country assessment

International audienceBackground: Investigations of evolution knowledge and acceptance and their relation are central to evolution education research. Ambiguous results in this field of study demonstrate a variety of measuring issues, for instance differently theorized constructs, or a lack of standardized methods, especially for crosscountry comparisons. In particular, meaningful comparisons across European countries, with their varying cultural backgrounds and education systems, are rare, often include only few countries, and lack standardization. To address these deficits, we conducted a standardized European survey, on 9200 first-year university students in 26 European countries utilizing a validated, comprehensive questionnaire, the "Evolution Education Questionnaire", to assess evolution acceptance and knowledge, as well as influencing factors on evolution acceptance