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Influence of digital crown design software on morphology, occlusal characteristics, fracture force and marginal fit
Objectives
The study evaluated the influence of digital design software on crown morphology, occlusal characteristics, fracture force, and marginal fit across varying preparation designs for an identical target tooth.
Methods
A resin-based tooth (tooth 36) was digitized, manufactured (
), individually prepared and re-digitized. Five design groups were established using conventional software proposals, technician designs, two AI-based software solutions, and natural tooth-based reference designs. All systems employed consistent parameters. Crown designs were digitally assessed using quantitative morphological and occlusal metrics in reference to the original tooth. Crowns were milled, marginal fit was measured via digital microscopy, and fracture resistance was determined after thermal cycling and mechanical loading.
Results
Morphological metrics revealed statistically significant deviations across groups, with the technician design achieving the best performance. Occlusal metrics showed high deviations in the positional accuracy of the contact points across all groups. Technician and AI-based designs exhibited comparable functional results. None of the design groups were able to achieve contact with all relevant antagonist teeth, due to high deviations in the mesiolingual cusp. Conventional software designs exhibited the lowest fracture forces. Significant improvements were achieved through technician intervention. Vertical marginal discrepancies remained comparable across groups.
Significance
Improved functional and morphological design combined with high fracture resistance can reduce the need for clinical adjustments, minimize wear, and enhance crown longevity. Digital design software significantly influences crown morphology, occlusal characteristics and fracture forces. Vertical marginal discrepancies remain similar. AI-driven approaches demonstrate comparability with technician designs in terms of fracture forces, functional performance, and marginal fit
Fostering democratic attitude within engineering education
According to the education ideal advocated by Wilhelm von Humboldt, education should be a holistic process to develop the whole human being and should not be narrowed toward job training. For example, in democratic societies, education should be directed to fostering a democratic mindset of students to strengthen pluralistic democracy. It is always possible to introduce a general course into a study program that deals with democratic education from a theoretical point of view. But by introducing such a course, the time spent on technical subjects will be reduced. The other major disadvantage of such solutions is that democratic education is seen to be separated from technical education. But in the contrary, democracy should be included in the whole life as a general way of thinking and cooperation between individuals. Therefore, ideas and lecture experiences are presented in this article on how democratic education can be integrated into all engineering subjects as an elementary educational design concept. Students should be led toward a general democratic attitude by practical application. To achieve this, democratic learning environments can be established in all types of courses like lectures, seminars, and labs. This includes, for example, the design of exercises, the presentation of the theoretical content, and the interaction between professors and students as well as the interaction between the students themselves as induced by the teaching activities. Also in exams, elements to promote democratic thinking are possible: Exams should be not directed to learning only content but toward understanding, creativity, and problem-solving competence. They should include, where possible, the fact that correct technical solutions are not unique but that a multiverse of solutions exists, with each solution featuring various strengths and weaknesses. This not only sensitizes the students for the need for (e.g. socially or environmentally) responsible technical design choices but also allows them to find optimized solutions for the engineering challenges at hand. In sum, lecturers should be aware that a democratic learning environment is a demanding process, as students must be taken as serious partners in a joint learning process and surprises are to be expected
Ein Essay zur Bedeutung der qualitativ-interpretativen Forschung zur wissenschaftlichen Fundierung der Pflege
Sustainable supplier evaluation under due diligence acts
The enactment of due diligence legislation, such as the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains, in German Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz (LkSG), is reshaping global supply chain management by compelling companies to tackle heightened human rights and environmental risks in their supply chain. This study addresses the need for a comprehensive sustainability supplier evaluation framework by employing a systematic literature review with an expert survey of practitioners from German companies subject to LkSG. This methodology aligns academic findings with real-world practice and legal requirements, enriching the literature with practical insights. The results reveal that business practice prioritizes economic and social dimensions, whereas the literature focuses on economic and environmental dimensions. Although the most relevant economic and environmental criteria are consistent across both domains, the key social criteria show a notable misalignment. Managers can utilize the most relevant sustainability supplier evaluation criteria identified in this study to promote sustainable supply chains and ensure compliance with due diligence requirements. This research also highlights the high relevance of human rights as a social criterion, a dimension that has been historically under-recognized or implicitly addressed in the literature
Public images of artificial intelligence: an overview
Artificial intelligence (AI) is not only a ubiquitous topic in scholarly debates but in recent years has also received increased media and political attention. Discussions, initially strongly influenced by autonomous vehicles but currently dominated by expectations concerning generative AI such as ChatGPT, have contributed to public awareness. There are debate cycles, often characterized by a significant decline in public attention after a certain period of time, and the issue to a large extent or completely disappears from mass media’s agenda; also, they are often specific to certain countries. In this paper, a cursory cross-country overview concerning studies on media representations and the public perception of AI is provided. The use of AI in healthcare will be particularly highlighted, as there are currently high expectations regarding the benefits of AI, but other areas of application will also be considered. It will be tentatively concluded that in many countries, public perception of and public attitudes toward AI often is based on superficial knowledge and even prejudices