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Abstract: Heavy-ion collisions provide unique access to the properties of QCD matter over a broad range of temperatures and baryon densities. We review recent progress in constraining the high-density phase structure of QCD, with particular emphasis on the microscopic inputs required for reliable transport modeling. We discuss cluster production, strange-particle interactions, collision dynamics at few-GeV energies, and the isospin dependence of the nuclear interaction, together with their impact on the interpretation of flow, yields, fluctuations, and possible critical signatures.