Psychological Capital is increasingly becoming an important and integral aspect in the management of most firms across the world with the advent of globalization. There are many components that come within the construct of psychological capital as a whole (Luthans et al., The context of psychological capital is being applied in various contexts within the realm of management operations in order to increase the reach of the business and market the products of the different firms and institutions in ways that will increase the cohort of people belonging to the target market of the firm and hence generate higher revenues along with building a very high brand image. Psychological capital on the whole helps in building a very strong organizational culture (Avey et al., Below, we selectively discussed some potential intersections of PsyCap and Marketing. Note that these issues are emerged based on our constant and long-run survey of the PsyCap theory and the Marketing field, as well as academic communications with other colleague scholars. Of course, subjectivity should be cautioned as we did not conduct a thorough review of any intersections between PsyCap and Marketing.Some papers portray the relevance of the concept of positive psychology in developing fruitful long run relationships with the customer base of the firm. There are several means by which customers are able to connect with the firm and become consumers of these products in the long run. This is observed in the case of firms that offer benefits to the society or community in which they operate through corporate social responsibilities. It helps the consumers to psychologically connect to the firm through cognitive, emotional and physical perspectives of benefits (Newman et al., When the employees are well-engaged with the firm, they are able to play more important roles in the level of customer engagement that the consumers are able to build with the brand. This is so because of the bettering of customer interaction with the brand, the firm and the other customers of the firm. This helps not only in maintaining strong client relations but also in securing new clients which in turn helps firms to increase the size of the target market.Most of the studies that deal with the relationship between the variables of employee satisfaction and positive psychological environment tend to reveal that the concept of servant leadership helps in increasing the level of psychological capital within the sales and marketing employees. With practice of this form of leadership, the employees are able to increase their own levels of self-motivation and reduce lateness attitude (Blau et al., Other studies suggest that it is very important for firms to maintain high levels of resources in order to retain employees that use a high quotient of psychological capital to interact with the customers and hence, improve the existing level of marketing within the firm (Norman et al., The role played by psychological capital is more in the case of marketers as they have to deal with a series of challenges and adversities in the external environment of the firm. We agreed that, of course, many other professions have to deal with external challenges and could benefit from owning high-leveled PsyCap. We do not assume that PsyCap is more important to marketers than to other professionals. But we do think PsyCap is of special importance to marketers. The rationale follows. To become a well-equipped marketer, one needs to have the qualities of understanding and empathizing with the consumers which requires high quotients of psychological capital (Sweetman and Luthans, Some of the business functions tend to focus on the allocation of the sales employees with different customers for different products based on the relatedness of the employees to the products, the experience level and the level of competence that the employee is associated with. Proper allocation based on the psychological capital helps these employees to exercise different levels of freedom and make use of their opinions which is reported to be successful in most cases (Paek et al., Moreover, psychological capital is reported to be one of the best and most efficient predictors of performance of the employees employed especially in the marketing department (Paek et al., Innovation such as new product development has been a critical part of marketing research. It has been found from most studies that the capacity of innovation is not enough for a firm to be able to successfully able to grow and develop (Chen and Lim, Psychological capital in the context of marketing innovation involves the participation of various components of customer engagement (Nguyen and Nguyen, In countries like Malaysia, for example, it is generally noticed that firms need to bring together and equate the variables of social capital and mission culture in order to achieve certain goals in terms of growth facing the organization in the long run Lifeng, . The amoAlthough the concept of using psychological capital is becoming increasingly common with the advent of development and globalization all over the world, it is still comparatively a new concept that provokes interest and there are many aspects of using psychological capital in relation to the field of marketing that need to be addressed and future research should be taken up in those areas. A few such propositions aiming at future research based on these concepts are discussed in this section of the paper which helps in shedding light on the areas yet not researched.Firstly, the most common and important method of research that can be undertaken involves the analysis of data related to relation between the variables of psychological capital and marketing objectives with the usage of time series data or even panel data over a substantially long period of time as compared to the current situation. This is crucial as this dynamic equation between the two variables is comparatively new and needs to be explored across different regions of the world over longer periods of time as these equations have been newly discovered and are being worked upon in the current span of time.Secondly, studies should also be taken up in the form of comparison between the impact psychological capital has on marketing directly and the impact it has on employees that are associated with marketing for a firm in an indirect manner. In other words, research based on the differences in the impact of psychological capital on the back house and front house operations in the marketing department of different industries where both the operational systems play a vital role, like the hospitality industry should also be taken up. This will help in understanding the importance of positive psychological capital from different perspectives.Research can also be taken up based on the role played by psychological capital in terms of the relation between psychological capital's impact on other business functions like accounting and finance. This should be further be compared to the correlation between marketing and psychological capital such that the role played by psychological capital on these different business functions. These dynamics can further be used to enhance the strategies taken up to reach goals facing the firm using proper allocation of psychological capital in the different departments within the same firm.There are other areas of research pertaining to psychological capital quotient of the marketers. These include components of personality apart from the four components of hope, self-efficacy, resilience and optimism. Research should be taken up in the future pertaining to these personality traits including their individual personalities and hardiness in terms of their individual psychological constructs. The role played by such traits in shaping or enhancing the characteristics of psychological capital of the marketers should also be taken up. Such research will also bring out the factors that motivate the marketers in terms of new challenges and work environment offered to them.Studies related to the understanding the innovative capability of the employees especially in creative industries in relation to the level of psychological capital that they possess should also be taken up. This can further be correlated with the competitive advantage of the firm to investigate and analyse the performance of the firm in the long run. The success of the firm related to the innovative capabilities along with the role played by psychological capital can help find important insights in terms of hiring the right fit of employees for the long run success of the firm.The level of engagement and involvement of employees within the various functions and operations of different firms and the satisfaction received by the same employees are considered to be important constructs in terms of psychological capital that motivates employees toward institutional commitment. A mechanism that helps in studying the structural relationships in between such constructs can also be studied in future researches. This will help in understanding the role of the human resources management in shaping the psychological constructs of the organization under consideration.Moreover, there are many studies that directly relate the variables of innovation and competitive advantage to find out the rate of success of the firm. Future research can also involve investigating the relationship between social capital and long run success of the firm with usage of innovation capacity being treated as an intervening variable. This process of research can be implemented in various industries to find out the industries where the correlation between these three variables is the highest.Studies can also be taken up in terms of the role played by psychological capital in shaping the level of customer engagement in different industries over a longer span of time. Understanding how the level of customer engagement varies over time for a particular firm and comparing this with the results from another firm in another industry will help in understanding the differences in ways which should be used for allocating and implementing psychological capital over time for marketing products and increasing the level of customer engagement.One of the most important fields of research can be in the field of finance marketing. As most of the research has been conducted to find out the relation between psychological capital and customer engagement and marketing for firms, further research should involve relating the success in terms of brand development and marketing of products to the financial products/services success of the firm in both the short run and the long run. These researches can be used for portraying the relationship between the customer relations developed through the four components of psychological capital and the financial attributes that determine the overall success of the firm. Moreover, most of the data used is from the perspective of firms. More studies should be conducted using the perspective of consumers as to how the behavior and the marketing techniques help them to choose products or firms better, especially in the long run.Studies can also be taken up to explore further conditions and variables within a firm that affect the development and implementation of psychological capital within the employees. These can include the environment of the organizational culture and the type of hierarchical structure followed in the firms under study. Studies can also be undertaken to understand the impact of other business employees operating and functioning in other departments on the building of psychological capital in the employees operating in the marketing sector of the firm.Another field of research where extensive development can be done involves the study of the role of psychological capital with marketing across employees belonging to different age cohorts and across different geographical areas of the world.With increased levels of technological innovation and increased barriers to entry for new and budding entrepreneurs, the level of research being conducted in the paradigm of psychological capital and entrepreneurship though less is gradually gaining momentum. Psychological capital is considered to be more related to the context of human resources and job satisfaction (Clapp-Smith et al., There are studies that help in understanding the simplest form of relation between the constructs of psychological capital and individual entrepreneurship. It is widely observed that most new and budding entrepreneurs fail to make the business establish and are often forced to exit the market in which they operate (Ming and Zuguang, In terms of the resource endowments of the entrepreneurs, the level of human resources possessed plays a crucial role in the formation of a well-established business in the long run. With the implementation of proper strategies in terms of human resources along with business development strategies, the businesses are noticed to survive in the long run. This is because of the crucial role played by psychological capital on the part of both the employees and the managers related to the business as well as the customers that are trying to build loyalty toward the new products and services of the firm (Kim et al., Moreover, psychological capital is also known to help in dealing better with the internal challenges of the firm for the entrepreneurs that saves a lot of time and resources for proper implementation in other areas of establishing the business. The use of goal directed mechanisms involve implementation of positive psychology in the initial years of business. As a matter of fact, after a few years, psychological capital can be used as a process of self-evaluation for the process of business (Dinh Tho et al., The different components of psychological capital help to make the locus of control of the business stronger and more solution oriented. It also helps in creating a more conducive environment for the employees so that they are able to make full capacity utilization and increase the level of productivity (Karatepe and Karadas, Some other studies assert that the role of both psychological and start-up capital is important in going on with a business as both help in predicting the achievable level of success in the first few years of establishing the business (Jung and Yoon, The level of psychological capital affecting the setting up and running of a particular business also depends on a lot of other conditions including the industry in which the firm operates, the geographical reach of the firm and even the culture of work that is to be followed while setting up the business (Jancenelle et al., In order to conclude, it can be asserted that psychological capital is increasingly playing a very important role in the field of both management and entrepreneurship. It helps in connecting a potential business to its customers and also helps the consumers to understand the functioning of a business better. It has been found that most firms are not able to connect or use the human resources or other resources available to them using psychological capital. However, this variable is reported to help in a lot of operations including motivating employees and increasing productivity for the firms. It also helps the firms to increase the level of customer engagement while bettering the level of customer service quality. Reports suggest that most firms that implement the usage of psychological capital are also able to innovate more, not only in terms of technological improvisation but also in terms of marketing of the products and services created by them. As a matter of fact, the firms are trying to increasingly use the values of psychological capital as an intervening variable to relate the level of innovation to the level of customer engagement through efficient marketing. Although this is a new and increasingly interesting area of research, more work based in the field of research needs to be taken up using various nuances of business that relate psychological capital to efficient marketing. Studies also need to be taken up in order to understand the relations between the impact of psychological capital in between marketing and the various other related business functions. As the study is increasingly becoming important, future research pertaining to the analysis of long run data will also help in finding out trends that shape the relation between marketing and psychological capital and how the contribution to the realm of marketing changes over time.All authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


The changing pension landscape, as well as the accompanying privatization, marketization and individualization of the pension planning process, has resulted in inadequate and risky investment practices. Jamaica, like many other countries in the international community, has been engaged in pension reform. The main issues in the current dispensation of pension reform are in relation to pension adequacy to mitigate against longevity risk, low levels of pension coverage; with the aforementioned leading to the need to increase the number of persons contributing to the pension pool as well as possibly an increase in the value of pension contributions to account for inflation and investment risks. This paper describes the current legal and regulatory framework on pension reform in Jamaica within the context of population ageing and the National Financial Inclusion Strategy that targets persons who were previously underserved by the domestic financial system. Policy and programmatic recommendations are will be provided.


The aim of this serial review was to promote researchers’ and clinicians’ understanding of the oxidative aspects of the pathogenesis of digestive diseases and to foster research activities in the fields of gastroenterology and hepatology by cultivating the novel approaches or ideas to the oxidative stress-related disease process. In this serial review, I invite several outstanding researchers in this field to summarize their work and to review their peers’ scientific work, and to organize this knowledge according to their opinions. I thank all the anonymous and volunteer reviewers of these articles for their excellent insights.The digestive tract is always in contact with the outside world and is an organ that is constantly exposed to foreign antigens because of feeding behavior


Concerns have been raised that the transplants performed in the local context at the time of procedures reported in this article  may haveDetails as to the donor sources and methods of obtaining informed consent from donors were not reported in , and wheThe authors did not provide documentation when requested by the journal to confirm that the study had institutional ethics approval. They stated that all organs/tissues were obtained voluntarily for the transplant procedures, but did not provide documentation to support this claim or any further clarification regarding the informed consent procedure or causes of death for organ donors.In addition, in response to journal requests about data availability, the authors did not provide underlying data supporting this study or comment on the availability of the data.The authors noted that many of the original materials requested by the journal to clarify these issues are no longer available.PLOS ONE Editors retract this article.Owing to the lack of documentation to demonstrate this study had prospective ethical approval, insufficient reporting, unresolved concerns around the source of transplanted organs and whether they included organs from prisoners, and in compliance with international ethical standards for organ/tissue donation and transplantation, the The first author notified the journal that all authors agree with the retraction. The other authors either could not be reached or did not respond directly.


The following changes have been made to the published paper . Figure Please find the correct In summary, these changes did not impact in any way the significance of the overall results or the conclusions of our paper. We updated the manuscript, and the original version will remain online. We apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused to our readers.


Recent demands for the decolonisation of curriculum in South Africa present challenges to students, academics and other stakeholders. This resulted in tensions in tertiary institutions, cumulating in student-led protests. The authors hypothesised that the lack of shared understanding of what this unexplored process may entail contributed to the dilemma.The aim of this opinion article is to highlight some of the possible contributors to the uncertainties in addressing this critical issue, especially as it relates to the demands for change in physiotherapy education.To formulate our opinion, the authors reviewed literature relating to transformation in education in South Africa generally, and physiotherapy education specifically.While there is an opportunity to address the demand for change in physiotherapy education in South Africa, there is the possibility that the use of words, such as transformation, decolonisation and decoloniality, present different connotations to students and academics.It is of vital importance to create formal discourse which includes students, academics and other stakeholders that will facilitate shared understanding about what the previously unexplored and unmapped processes of engagement entail. The change process in physiotherapy education is envisaged to be a partnership between students and academic staff having common understanding about the processes and responsibilities, and must be addressed comprehensively.Aligning the change process in physiotherapy education with the decolonisation agenda will strengthen the South African health care system by ensuring that physiotherapy students are adequately prepared to provide service to patients within a context that acknowledges the uniqueness of South African communities. The national students’ protests in 2015 kick-started the demand for the decolonisation of curricula in higher education in South Africa  developed five international guidelines for entry-level physiotherapy education Moffat , and thrThe growing demand for change in higher education in South Africa has been linked to a particular discourse of transformation in the context of decolonisation and decoloniality. The application of these concepts remains a grey area in ongoing dialogues. In addition, there are uncertainties on who should undertake the processes involved in transformation, decolonisation or decoloniality. It is therefore crucial to develop shared understandings and ideas in these dialogues for change in physiotherapy education in South Africa. The intention of this opinion article therefore is to highlight how the lack of a collective understanding of these words may be contributing to the uncertainties generated in the dialogues.We suggest that a starting point in the dialogue for change in physiotherapy education is an understanding of the definition of physiotherapy. The WCPT  issued aAnother point worth emphasising is an understanding of the context in which the dialogue is taking place. The Republic of South Africa is a multi-ethnic nation, with an increasing number of immigrants  have done. This certainly created much discomfort among many South African academics from all population groups (Davids & Waghid The use of the word ‘decolonisation’ also presented its challenges. The Higher education in South Africa in the 21st century is expected to operate in both a postcolonial and a globalising context Higgs . It is tThe discontent of students expressed in the 2015 protests has offered opportunities to again engage with existing curricula in physiotherapy, but ‘reflecting the changes that are taking place in our society’ (Du Preez et al. The process of change in physiotherapy education in South Africa is not a domain reserved exclusively for students or academic staff. The creation of formal dialogue spaces for students and academics will help to build common understanding in the use of these words by interrogating what these terms mean, and overcome the uncertainties. Students should also be actively involved in the fresh opportunity to review physiotherapy education curricula and should address the challenge of curricula overload and approaches to teaching, learning and assessment.The demand for change in physiotherapy education in South Africa should be a partnership between students and academic staff, having common understandings about the processes and responsibilities, and must be addressed comprehensively. The intention of the authors is not to prescribe but rather to highlight the limiting factors to change. It is for members of the physiotherapy profession and stakeholders to strive for a cohesive physiotherapy identity that is rooted within the African perspective, while acknowledging global perspectives.


Concerns have been raised that the transplants performed in the local context at the time of procedures reported in this article  may haveDetails as to the donor sources and methods of obtaining informed consent from donors were not reported in , and theIn addition, the authors did not provide documentation when requested by the journal to confirm that the study had institutional ethics approval, and they did not respond to inquiries about the availability of underlying data supporting this study.PLOS ONE Editors retract this article.Owing to the lack of documentation to demonstrate this study had prospective ethical approval, insufficient reporting, unresolved concerns around the source of transplanted organs and whether they included organs from prisoners, and in compliance with international ethical standards for organ/tissue donation and transplantation, the The authors did not respond to the retraction notification.


X and other substances in Europe. Issues to be addressed are the present legal framework in Europe in relation to the national emission ceilings on NOX and other substances on the basis of relevant EU directives and UNECE protocols. The paper will discuss the extent to which the legal framework within the EU imposes constraints on the design of a national emission trading scheme, and what options are available to fit emission trading into that legislative structure. The NOX emission trading programme developed in the Netherlands will be used to demonstrate the various aspects in a European context.Emission trading is a new instrument in environmental policy. It is an alien notion in most European countries and it is often viewed with hesitation. The paper discusses the economic, legal, and perhaps more importantly, the cultural aspects to consider when one tries to explore the prospects for trading emissions of NO


Disturbances of personality are recorded very poorly in official statistics, but there are signs that this is changing. For many years, personality disorder has been either regarded as a secondary diagnosis that can be forgotten in the presence of another mental disorder, or avoided as the diagnosis gives the impression of untreatability or stigma. What is now abundantly clear is that under-diagnosis of personality disorder represents a disservice to patients and practitioners. It prevents a proper understanding of the longitudinal course of psychiatric disorder and an appreciation of some of the positive aspects of abnormal personality that can be used in treatment. We must no longer bury personality disorder, ostrich-like, in the diagnostic sand. It is there for the asking and needs to be embraced honestly and without fear if we are to improve the management of psychiatric patients.None. One of the reasons may be the perceived lack of utility of the diagnosis. Does it help clinical practice? Many feel it does not as it is felt to confer an unfair label of untreatability; but this is mistaken. Three-quarters of those with personality disorder admitted to UK psychiatric hospitals are given the diagnosis of emotionally unstable (borderline) personality disorder,,et alPersonality dysfunction may also be an advantage in aiding the effectiveness of certain forms of treatment,The low rate of diagnosis in Black and minority ethnic populationset alThe increased prevalence of personality disorder over time shown by Hossain et alFurther studies along the same lines as Hossain


Concerns have been raised that the transplants performed in the local context at the time of procedures reported in this article  may haveInternational ethics standards call for transparency in organ donor and transplantation programs and clear informed consent procedures including considerations to ensure that donors are not subject to coercion. It was noted in  that decThe authors requested withdrawal of the article in response to the journal’s queries about the above issues, and the corresponding author raised concerns about the premise of the journal investigation.PLOS ONE Editors retract this article.Owing to insufficient reporting and unresolved concerns around the source of transplanted organs and whether they included organs from prisoners, and in compliance with international ethical standards for organ/tissue donation and transplantation, the


Many adult museum visitors welcome the invitation to make personal connections to works of art. Time for individual reflection and sharing with others may enable relationships to deepen and new insights to emerge. This presentation describes an approach to gallery teaching that honors the memories, associations, and emotions that visitors bring to their encounters with works of art. The approach has been particularly effective with groups of health care professionals, and as a reminder to docents of the powerful affective experiences that will naturally occur for some members of the public. Drawing on the experiences of collaborative networks of museum and medical educators, we outline the basis of rich opportunities for developing lifespan and gerontological educational projects in museums.


Cameron Osborne, who was an important contributor to the chromatin capture experiments described in our article. His contribution is now included in the Author Contributions section, and his name has been added to the author list in the article online. The authors apologize for the omission.


It is the most common cause of eosinophilic meningitis in Asia and the Pacific Basin, but cases have been reported in many parts of the world. A. costaricensis roundworms were first described in 1971 in Costa Rica from surgical specimens from children with eosinophilic infiltration in the abdominal cavity. The distribution of this species ranges from the southern United States to northern Argentina.From the Greek rongylus  is a genA. cantonensis remains in general use, but some researchers suggest it should be changed to Parastrongylus cantonensis on the basis of the morphology of the adult male bursa and the definitive host being rats.There is still debate about what taxonomic name should be used.


Postnatal care begins immediately after the expulsion of the placenta and continues for six to eight weeks post-delivery. High standard of care is required during the postnatal period because mothers and babies are at risk and vulnerable to complications related to postpartum haemorrhage and infections. Midwives and traditional birth attendants are responsible for the provision of postnatal care in different settings, such as clinics and hospitals, and homes.A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research approach was followed in this study. Unstructured interviews were conducted with the traditional birth attendants. An integrated literature review was conducted to identify the Western postnatal care practices. Tesch's process was followed during data analysis.The following main categories were identified: similarities between indigenous and Western postnatal care practices, and differences between indigenous and Western postnatal care practices. Based on these findings, training of midwives and traditional birth attendants was recommended in order to empower them with knowledge and skills regarding the indigenous and Western postnatal care practices.It is evident that some indigenous postnatal care practices have adverse effects on the health of postnatal women and their newborn infants, but these are unknown to the traditional birth attendants. The employment of indigenous postnatal care practices by the traditional birth attendants is also influenced by their cultural beliefs, norms, values and attitudes. Therefore, there is an urgent need to train midwives and traditional birth attendants regarding the indigenous and Western postnatal care to improve the health of postnatal women and their babies. Indigenous practices regarding postnatal care at Sikhunyani village, Mopani District, Limpopo Province of South Africa. The study had two objectives, which were to explore and describe the indigenous practices regarding postnatal care, and to compare the similarities and differences between the indigenous and Western postnatal care practices.This article reports an important part of the study conducted during the principal investigator's Master's degree, entitled: South Africa as a developing country is challenged with increasing rates of maternal and neonatal mortality, despite the fact that the recommended reduction strategies are in place. According to the World Health Organisation's WHO  maternalTo address this challenge, the standard of postnatal care should be improved through the provision of comprehensive postnatal care services that will enable registered midwives and traditional birth attendants to work as a team and identify postnatal care practices that are a threat to the health of postnatal women and babies , Sepsis (9.1%) and HIV- and AIDS-related infections  to detect the risks and benefits that could have occurred during the study.To ensure the right to self-determination, participation in the study was voluntary without any prejudicial treatment or penalty for those who refused to participate or decided to withdraw from participation. The researcher explained the nature of the study to the participants to ensure the right to full disclosure. The participants were treated fairly and equally before, during and after the study, and the researcher adhered to the agreed times of appointments. The researcher kept in confidence all the data collected from the participants  and cultural backgrounds, with Sotho, Venda and Tsonga as the dominant groups. Data were collected in Xitsonga and transcribed and translated into English. Data were analysed following the process of data analysis according to Tesch ‘he yellow colour of the foremilk signifies dirt that is contained within the initial breast milk which causes abdominal discomfort for the baby, so it is safe to squeeze all the yellow milk until the milk is clear before putting the baby to suck from the breast.’ ‘[The study confirmed that the traditional birth attendants do not have adequate knowledge regarding the natural effect of colostrum in the baby's gut. Similar findings were reported in the studies conducted in Nepal where the traditional birth attendants believed that colostrum is not good for the baby because it causes diarrhoea Mother Baby Friendly Initiative strategy recommended and encouraged exclusive breastfeeding through the introduction of rooming-in, skin-to-skin care, human milk banks and breastfeeding rooms to ensure close proximity between the mother and the infant. Rooming-in enables the baby's urge to suck and its hunger to be gratified without delay It is evident from these quotes that the traditional birth attendants are taking precautionary measures to protect the mother from postpartum bleeding and retention of the placenta by delaying cutting the cord until the placenta is expelled. Meanwhile, they are exposing the baby to cold, which might lead to hypothermia, because they wait for the placenta to be expelled before they wrap the baby in a blanket. In contrast to this practice, Nolte :189 indiMethod of contraception emerged as a sub-category under the differences between the indigenous and Western postnatal care practices. This sub-category also produced the practice of delayed resumption of sexual relations. The traditional birth attendants indicated that the postnatal woman is encouraged to delay resumption of sexual relations until the baby is at least two years of age. Delayed resumption of sexual relations serves as the most suitable and reliable method of child spacing:‘I advise her to delay resumption of sexual relations until the baby is at least two years of age; this allows her body to recover completely and her baby to grow without the fear of her becoming pregnant again.’ South African Recognition of Customary Marriage Act, which allows men to marry more than one wife (Republic of South Africa Traditionally, polygamy is used as a method of family planning. For example, a man is encouraged to marry many wives so as to give the breastfeeding woman time to heal and her baby to grow until the age of two years. The husband is not allowed to have sex with a breastfeeding woman. They believe that the man will be seriously ill after sex - the testes will be swollen and he could die if not treated soon enough. It is evident from these quotes that the traditional birth attendants are concerned about the physical health of postnatal women, their husbands and their babies; hence, they take extra precautions to protect them and prevent complications. The issue of polygamy is also supported by the The in-depth literature control was done under each theme and in This part of the discussion focuses on the similarities between the indigenous and Western postnatal care practices. A well-balanced diet is regarded as an effective strategy in production of milk for infant feeding by both the traditional birth attendants and the registered midwives. Breastfeeding of the baby until the age of two years or more was recommended by the traditional birth attendants, whereas the midwives recommend ingestion of colostrum, which protects the baby against illnesses such as HIV. The study also revealed that, similar to the midwives, the traditional birth attendants do know how to differentiate between normal and abnormal postpartum bleeding and, as a result, they are able to seek medical attention before complications arise. The traditional birth attendants are knowledgeable in the prevention of infection, which is evident in their practice of using a new razor for each client and separate bathing basins for the mother and the baby.Differences between the indigenous and Western postnatal care practices were also identified. Cutting the cord and wrapping the baby before the expulsion of the placenta is regarded as a contributory factor to placental retention by the traditional birth attendants. However, by not wrapping the baby immediately, the baby is exposed to the possibility of hypothermia. On the other hand, the midwives recommend clamping and cutting the cord immediately after the delivery of the baby. This confirms the inadequate knowledge of the traditional birth attendants regarding the effect of delayed wrapping of the baby. The traditional birth attendants recommend that the colostrum should be expressed and thrown away because they regard it as dirty, which might cause diarrhoea in the baby, whilst midwives recommend ingestion of colostrum because it helps to expel the meconium, protects the baby's gut from excoriation and protects against illnesses such as HIV. It is clear that traditional birth attendants have inadequate knowledge regarding the importance of colostrum to the health of the baby. The midwives encourage exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months without introduction of solids, whereas the traditional birth attendants believe in giving the baby a light soft porridge before putting the baby to the breast. The study shows that the traditional birth attendants do not know the effects of early introduction of solids on the health of the baby. Delayed resumption of sexual relations until the baby is two years or more and polygamous marriage were confirmed as the most effective and reliable methods of contraception for the breastfeeding women. However, polygamous marriage is discouraged in Western culture and contraception is provided on discharge to postnatal women in preparation for sexual relations without fear of becoming pregnant during the postnatal period. It is evident that the traditional birth attendants are knowledgeable about the benefits of child spacing to the health of the postnatal woman and the baby. Based on the fact that the indigenous practices are not documented in midwifery books, it is concluded that midwives have inadequate knowledge regarding indigenous postnatal care practices.The study was conducted in one village, which limits the comparison and generalisation of results to other settings. The inadequate knowledge of the traditional birth attendants regarding the effect of delayed wrapping of the baby, the importance of colostrum to the health of the baby and the effect of early introduction of solids on the health of the baby, was also confirmed. It was evident from literature that midwives have limited knowledge regarding indigenous postnatal care practices, which might prevent midwives from detecting practices that are a threat to the lives of postnatal women and newborn babies (Ngomane & Mulaudzi The purpose of the study on which this article is based was to compare indigenous and Western postnatal care practices, with the intention to describe the knowledge of traditional birth attendants and midwives regarding postnatal care. Knowledge of similarities and differences between the indigenous and Western postnatal practices amongst registered midwives and traditional birth attendants is of utmost importance in the provision of quality postnatal care. Furthermore, it will also enhance and maintain a working relationship of mutual trust between registered midwives and traditional birth attendants.It is suggested that training of registered midwives and traditional birth attendants regarding the similarities and differences between the indigenous and Western postnatal care practices is important in empowering the two groups with culturally congruent knowledge and skills.Knowledge gained from this study might encourage researchers to conduct further research on how to integrate indigenous practices into midwifery healthcare.Training of traditional birth attendants regarding the importance of wrapping the baby immediately after birth, of giving colostrum and of exclusive breastfeeding to improve the quality of care during the postnatal period.Training of registered midwives regarding indigenous postnatal care practices, so that they are able to identify and address those practices that are detrimental to the health of women and babies.Further research should be conducted to explore and describe more similarities and differences between indigenous and Western postnatal care practices in other areas of South Africa.


Di Nota and Huhta  recentlyFirstly, from an applied coaching perspective, the issue of isolating parts of movements in order to integrate them later on in a more complex movement or isolating the movement from the performance context has been observed in the police training domain on various occasions Cushion,  and has The second issue relates to the actual coaching practice within the context of police training. Even though Di Nota and Huhta  complemeMS and SK authors contributed equally to the ideas presented. MS wrote the first draft of the paper. Both authors contributed equally to editing the first draft to its final version.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


The arrival of Zika virus in the Americas in recent years brought with it a dramatic increase in the rates of microcephaly in regions of Northeastern Brazil. It was from this region of the of the world that we began to understand that this flavivirus (once considered a less severe version of dengue) could have devastating consequences when the infection occurred in pregnant women who did not yet have immunity. We now understand that Zika Congenital Syndrome can have additional effects outside of the central nervous system, but its most lasting consequences are related to the brain infection in utero. Aedes egypti mosquitoes throughout the world make it likely that low-level transmission will continue to occur and many regions will remain at risk for sporadic outbreaks.In the four years since the start of the outbreak, we have also come to understand the role of sexual transmission in the spread of Zika virus. It is a trait that has complicated reproductive planning for millions of inhabitants of South America as well as countless other travelers from all over the world. Advances in vaccine development have been encouraging, but a significant research time gap remains before we are likely to have a clinically available vaccine. The rapid onset of the outbreak has been followed by a trailing off of cases to the point that the WHO and CDC modified their recommendations to travelers to the region. Nonetheless, the prevalence of Dr. Lima Rocha and colleagues have enlightened our understanding of the epidemiology of this phenomenon in their case-control study from the center of the outbreak. They were able to evaluate 58 cases and 116 controls to further the causal role that Zika infection plays in microcephaly. Their study was completed in the Ceara Region of Brazil, giving us insight into the nature of the outbreak in a region where intense exposure to mosquitos and dense population aided spread of the virus. The authors also examined the potential confounding variables and environmental exposures in confirming that Zika virus infection carried with it a 14-fold increase in the risk of microcephaly among infants born to mothers who were infected during pregnancy. While cases of Zika virus infection are on the wane in the Americas, there remains an important threat of new outbreaks in the future. There current study helps detail the outbreak in its epicenter.


The mission of applied gerontology is to bridge science and practice to benefit the health and well-being of older persons, their families, their communities, and other contexts. This presentation will provide insights from the Journal of Applied Gerontology and its attempts to publish and disseminate scholarship that has international application. Following an overview of the growing internationalization of peer-reviewed submissions to the Journal of Applied Gerontology on a variety of topics and from a range of perspectives, the presentation will highlight key achievements as well as ongoing concerns and opportunities to better achieve the goals of applying gerontological scholarship to aging contexts worldwide. Concluding comments will examine how outlets for dissemination and authors themselves can better position their work to enhance their influence on aging in an international context.


This presentation will cover public policy issues of significance to the aging population, focusing on the perspective of the social research, policy and practice community and on policies that may improve physical and mental health.


The dataset is on public relations professionals' views on the security issues related to the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) for the activities. The data were generated through the administration of online questionnaire to 100 public relations professionals in Nigeria and were analyzed using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). To buThe dataset is on factors that can influence public relations professionals' perception of security issues relating to the adoption of IoT. The survey research adopted snowball technique to sample the opinion of respondents. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the factors that may ultimately affect the professionals' interest in IoT. 2The data were generated from an online survey conducted among 100 public relations professionals. The snowball sampling technique was used to select the respondents. The research was carried out over six months in which major online platforms of public relations associations and organisations were used to invite participation. It was, however, observed that several professionals and even association members preferred to fill hard copies of the questionnaire. This request could not be accommodated in the research considering that the subject is ICT related and online participation is considered a precondition for involvement in the study. This factor, therefore, affected the number of respondents for the research. The questionnaire used for the data collection was designed by the researchers specifically to elicit response on the variables under consideration. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used to analyze the data.The researchers ensured that participants in the research were aware of the purpose of the data gathering and how the data will be used. Their anonymity was guaranteed by using a Google form that was devoid of any personal identification of the respondents. They were also assured that the data were strictly for research purposes and their responses would be kept confidential.


This is the central aim of the +Connect smartphone app. The pilot of +Connect offers exciting preliminary insights into the delivery of an intervention for loneliness in young adults  that have been found in some research to create opportunities to connect with others and reduce loneliness –27. Whiln  althougn , cross-+Connect was developed with the goal of addressing loneliness in young adults and was found to be beneficial for the participants in the study, especially with regards to their overall quality of life. The findings suggest that those with SAD may benefit from such interventions but require tailored support to reduce dropout rates. Lim et al.  demonstrThe author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication.The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


What are three functions of a university? These are knowledge production, dissemination and application through the means of research, learning and public service. The solid base of undergraduate education forms the foundation for research and graduate education at the university level. The research based education does not discriminate research from teaching. It is rather an integral part of knowledge production and dissemination through the scientific spirit. It is the driving spirit of objective inquiry. It is required throughout the entire educational process. It is a crucial part of quality education as well as indispensible factor for the evolution of modern scientific and universal cultural climate. Therefore, the scientific spirit should be treated as the creative energy for education at every step of educational process.Since science deals with the relative truth, the established working model of a mechanism can be challenged and replaced by new ones. In this way science has become the lighthouse of progress for the human race. Since science deals with the testing of imagination by experimentation, the dearest imagination can stand against bitter data to test the critical thinking and the intellectual honesty. It may be inferred that research based education nurtures the scientific spirit as the fuel for the lighthouse that should never dim. To promote scientific spirit driven research should thus be the ultimate goal of a university enabling the critical experimental intellect of mentors and mentees to drive the generation cycle of an institution.


The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) developed by the United Nations in 2015 are global benchmarks for all countries to meet by 2030 to ensure well-being and prosperity while protecting and promoting human rights and freedoms. The underlying pledge is that no one will be left behind Globally, older adults are one of the most vulnerable populations, suffering from poverty and poor health and little social protection. Social workers can play key roles in assuring that the concerns and interests and rights of older adults are recognized in the SDGs and in the policies developed to meet them. This paper focuses on 6 of the SDG’s that are most pertinent to the status and inclusion of older people and the implications they have for specific social work involvement.


Osteoporosis is a skeletal system disease diagnosed following a reduction in bone mass density. Osteoporosis is an important cause of bone fractures. It can also increase hospitalizations due to secondary complications and is an important threat to the life of older adults . AccordiOsteoporosis is an important problem among the older adult population, and this issue is further exacerbated by the higher life expectancy and consequently the increased older adult population in Iran. According to WHO, life expectancy was 74.77 yr in 2015 (The direct costs of osteoporotic hip fractures were 28 million USD in 2010 in Iran and these costs are expected to reach 51 and 250 million USD by 2020 and 2050 . OsteopoGiven the existing evidence on osteoporosis and its risk factors in Iran and the phenomenon of population aging in the country, osteoporosis is expected to affect a large proportion of the Iranian population in the years to come. The facts about the disease in Iran can be an alarm for health policymakers. Planning for primary preventive actions for osteoporosis is therefore essential for improving the health and quality of life of the Iranian population, especially its older adult population.


Modelling has become an interesting tool to support decision making in water management. River ecosystem modelling methods have improved substantially during recent years. New concepts, such as artificial neural networks, fuzzy logic, evolutionary algorithms, chaos and fractals, cellular automata, etc., are being more commonly used to analyse ecosystem databases and to make predictions for river management purposes. In this context, artificial neural networks were applied to predict macroinvertebrate communities in the Zwalm River basin . Structural characteristics  and physical and chemical variables  were used as predictive variables to predict the presence or absence of macroinvertebrate taxa in the headwaters and brooks of the Zwalm River basin. Special interest was paid to the frequency of occurrence of the taxa as well as the selection of the predictors and variables to be predicted on the prediction reliability of the developed models. Sensitivity analyses allowed us to study the impact of the predictive variables on the prediction of presence or absence of macroinvertebrate taxa and to define which variables are the most influential in determining the neural network outputs.


Science and The Lancet. Unfortunately, none of these publications provide any clear evidence to support the accusations and merely repeat what are, in our view, unsubstantiated statements made in the report. Given the critical role that Africans have played in dealing with one of the most severe epidemics that the world has seen and the gravity of these charges, we believe it is essential to reaffirm that African voices and leadership is imperative for the global AIDS response.This position paper is written in reference to the recent extensive media coverage of the report of the Independent Panel describing Harassment, Including Sexual Harassment, Bullying and Abuse of Power at UNAIDS Secretariat by several newspapers and authoritative journals such as  Science and The Lancet.This position paper is written in reference to the recent extensive media coverage of the report of the Independent Panel describing Harassment, Including Sexual Harassment, Bullying and Abuse of Power at UNAIDS Secretariat  by severThe African continent and its response to the AIDS epidemic are very different from what they were ten years ago. In spite of the fact that African countries have experienced some of the worst epidemics of HIV in the world, African leadership has been critical in the response to the epidemic of HIV leading to an unprecedented reduction in AIDS-related deaths and greatly reduced new HIV infections. While Africa still bears the brunt of the epidemic, it has also had the largest share of success with lessons for all the other affected countries. UNAIDS has been instrumental in that transformation, facilitating policy change, holding the lamp for human rights, creating a new discourse on access to life saving medicines and addressing stigma and discrimination while ensuring accountability and sustainability.The many successes in dealing with HIV in Africa have been achieved by the good work of many people but led by Michel Sidibé, a charismatic and visionary son of Africa. Now UNAIDS is under the spotlight and has had to look carefully to itself in order to deal with problems that inevitably arise in such a large organization and to ensure a safe and secure working environment for all its staff -4. Only UNAIDS is more diverse than any other UN organization and is committed to equality for all staff in all their diversity. He has restructured UNAIDS several times in order to make it fit for purpose and to meet the challenges and the mandate the global community gave it. Through his actions and leadership hundreds of members of staff have retained their jobs in times of grave financial crisis and many more women have been promoted than in previous years. While he may not have acted on issues of harassment decisively and quickly enough as suggested by the report of the Independent Panel this does not mean that he has been insensitive to these issues, has not heard these criticisms or does not possess the skills needed to turn the institution around.In the future, UNAIDS could be led by a woman who could carry on the great legacy of Michel Sidibé. A woman leader would be well placed to confront Africa and the larger world on issues of violence against women, the harmful social norms that disadvantage women, in Africa such as anywhere and leverage the growing power of the women’s movement to bring about change.The authors declare no competing interests.


Nagoya protocol on access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization to the Convention on Biological DiversityThe ,The way that the Nagoya protocol is implemented can hinder international research collaborations.Most microorganisms are wide-spread, of unlimited supply and of no monetary value.We agree that the sovereignty of any country and its right to regulate the use of its biological resources must be upheld. Global epidemic preparedness requires the continuous detection of pathogens and the monitoring of known and potential human and animal reservoirs systemsThe One Health approach, where human, animal and environmental health are considered as inevitably linked, is widely accepted as a pillar of public health.


This talk aims to make a distinction between the two growing epidemics in medicine and more especially in psychiatry-opioid dependence and functional pain syndromes (FPS). The distinction has been blurred in current literature, and often, patients with FPS are labelled addicts. Opioid addicts are not treated for the FPS which perpetuate their addiction. More importantly, the onset of both these syndromes is often iatrogenic in nature. Genetics, epigenetics, early childhood trauma and rejection, personality disorders as well as clinical depression and anxiety syndromes all have an intersecting role in this group of patients which makes it crucial for psychiatrists and registrars to be aware of how to recognise and treat them. The Durban pain clinic runs a multidisciplinary team approach towards helping patients with FPS and opioid addictions using the currently available information of the possible pathophysiology of the FPS group of diagnosis, and the basis of this programme will be elaborated and put forward as an alternative to what’s currently available. The clinic with the aid of an unrestricted grant from Cipla, South Africa, is putting together a think tank to come up with guidelines to be published which can be used nationally to manage patients with FPS. The talk proposes these guidelines to the audience and hopes to engender an awareness and level of interest in the field so that the word can be spread amongst other specialties and colleagues. There is no role for opioids in the management of chronic pain syndromes.


Nanomaterials Editorial Office has been made aware that the published paper [Results in Physics [The ed paper  was prev Physics  by the s Physics  will be Nanomaterials for any inconvenience caused, and regret that this issue was not detected earlier. The decision to retract has been taken in agreement with the authors. The manuscript [Results in Physics, and prior to its publication. The issue resulted from an incorrect version submitted by the authors during the editorial process. We apologize to the readers of nuscript  was submnuscript  in ResulMDPI is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics, and takes its responsibility to enforce strict ethical policies and standards very seriously. To ensure the addition of only high-quality scientific works to the field of scholarly publications, reference  is retra


Following publication of this article, concerns were raised about the survival analysis: there are inaccuracies in the number of bacteriologically confirmed tuberculosis patients, patients assessed multiple times were overrepresented in the dataset, and the statistical analysis to handle risk factors with more than two categories is incorrect. In addition, there are concerns that the corresponding author completed the submission of the manuscript without approval by the listed co-authors.The University College Cork has completed an investigation and confirmed the concerns raised.PLOS ONE Editors retract this publication.In light of the concerns about the methodology and conclusions reported in the article and in line with the recommendation by the University College Cork, the Zubair Kabair agreed with the retraction. Olurotimi Bankole Ajagbe and Terry O’Connor did not respond to the notification for retraction.


Biomolecules Editorial Office has been made aware that the published paper [China Tea Processing by the same authors [Biomolecules for any inconvenience caused. The decision to retract has been made in cooperation with the authors of the article [The ed paper  was prev authors . In orde authors  will be  article .MDPI is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics and takes the responsibility to enforce strict ethical policies and standards very seriously. To ensure the addition of only high quality scientific works to the field of scholarly publication,  is retra


Concerns have been raised that the transplants performed in the local context at the time of procedures reported in this article  may haveDetails as to the donor sources and methods of obtaining informed consent from donors were not reported in , and theIn addition, the authors did not provide documentation when requested by the journal to confirm that the study had institutional ethics approval, and they did not respond to inquiries about the availability of underlying data supporting this study.PLOS ONE Editors retract this article.Owing to the lack of documentation to demonstrate this study had prospective ethical approval, insufficient reporting, unresolved concerns around the source of transplanted organs and whether they included organs from prisoners, and in compliance with international ethical standards for organ/tissue donation and transplantation, the The first and third author notified the journal that all authors agree with the retraction. The other authors either could not be reached or did not respond directly.


Concerns have been raised that the transplants performed in the local context at the time of procedures reported in this article  may haveDetails as to the donor sources and methods of obtaining informed consent from donors were not reported in , and wheIn addition, the authors did not provide documentation when requested by the journal to confirm that the study had institutional ethics approval, and the authors did not respond to inquiries about the availability of underlying data supporting this study.PLOS ONE Editors retract this article.Owing to the lack of documentation to demonstrate that this study had prospective ethical approval, insufficient reporting, unresolved concerns around the source of transplanted organs and whether they included organs from prisoners, and in compliance with international ethical standards for organ/tissue donation and transplantation, the The first author and corresponding author notified the journal that all authors disagree with the retraction. The other authors either could not be reached or did not respond directly.


The journal and Chief Editors retract the 16 May 2018 article cited above.Following the publication of the article, concerns regarding the source of the data used in the article were addressed to the journal and its Editorial Board. Following clarification with the authors, it was identified that data generated at a different institute were partially included in their article erroneously. The article is therefore being retracted.The authors concur with the retraction and sincerely regret any inconvenience this may have caused to the reviewers, editors, and readers of Frontiers in Immunology.


Individual views on aging refer to either older people in general or to a person’s own age and aging. Classical approaches seem to hardly map the multidimensional, multidirectional, and highly individual nature of experiences as well as the malleability of perceptions of aging. For this paper, we reviewed existing measures of views of aging. These were categorized based on eight dimensions which were defined by an expert panel and based on current characterizations of views on aging in the literature. Results on 96 instruments call for a strengthening of the affective and the behavioral components in contrast to the apparently cognitive focus of the measures and argue for a stronger emphasis on the developmental nature of views on aging . This is particularly important when aiming to study the lifelong dynamics of views on aging. The suitability of innovative extensions will be discussed.


The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is one of the largest trainers and employers of psychologists in the world and many clinical geropsychologists have worked for the VA for some portion if not all of their careers. The current qualitative analysis was conducted on phone interviews with 28 psychologists and psychology trainees regarding careers in geropsychology that focused on participants’ reflections on factors that influenced their career paths. This presentation will summarize subthemes from the many participant responses that included statements about the VA. Examples include discussion of the convenience and comfort of transitioning to a VA job after training within this system as well as reflections about the timing of professional development conversations with supervisors and mentors on VA internships and fellowships given the proximity to entering the workforce. Identified benefits and challenges of work in the VA will also be discussed .


In addition to increasing knowledge, research is meant to improve practice and policy. The papers presented in this symposium draw from the experiences and insights of actual participants and their caregivers in major government-sponsored program options for people with disabilities wanting to remain in the community. Many of these programs are administered by our Administration for Community Living. For all, ACL serves as a main source of information for people in the community. These papers give us first-hand knowledge of what participants like and what they want improved. They give us guidance on how consumers define quality; the results can guide efforts to improve program design and the training of support brokers and representatives who assist people who want to manage their own supports and services. I will give a few examples starting with the paper on the Veterans-Directed Care Program and drawing ideas from the other papers.


Models of care are evolving to meet the demands of an ageing population in long-term care facilities. Syntheses of current evidence are an essential to inform future change. In this project we conducted a rapid synthesis of evidence relating to enhancing health in long term care facilities across technology and evaluation. Mapping reviews were conducted on the uses, benefits and challenges of technology in care homes and approaches to evaluation of new models of care. Systematic evidence syntheses addressed the questions of which technologies have a positive impact on resident health and well-being and which measurement tools have been validated for use in UK care homes. Key findings will be presented in animated format, including that the most promising interventions appear to be games that promote physical activity and enhance mental health. This presentation will highlight the benefits and importance of evidence synthesis to the development of models of care.


The series of reactive biological events that we identify as inflammation has been investigated in recent years and unveiled as an important mechanism for regeneration. The study of the underlying complexity has been boosted by new technological innovation in research and allowed the identification of inflammatory responses as the basis of diseases that were considered degenerative rather than regenerative in nature. This is the case for cardiovascular diseases, from the organ damage that follows an acute event to the damage of target organs exposed to chronic risk factors. This editorial explores innovative aspects of inflammation in the setup of cardiovascular risk factors and diseases. Cardiovascular diseases represent the main cause of death worldwide. To date, studies in this field have allowed the identification of the key molecular mechanisms that regulate cardiovascular function leading to the development of new therapeutic drugs. In this context, recent evidence suggests that immune cells are a key player in the development of cardiovascular diseases and are potential targets for treatments. Indeed, inflammation is the trigger of the early phases of the atherosclerotic process and an increase of inflammatory cytokines is associated with a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. The key role of innate immunity in cardiovascular diseases was uncovered in the Cantos study . This clIt has been demonstrated that the levels of inflammatory cytokines are increased in patients with heart failure . MoreoveVarricchi  and collThese contributions support the proof of concept that inflammation represents a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular events.In this special issue, the mechanisms of inflammation in vascular damage is illustrated by Jin et al. , who fouInflammation is also associated with the progression of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). In patients, low and medium aortic aneurysm calcification indexes are associated with increased inflammatory markers  and oxidative stress-related proteins . This leAt the cardiac level, crosstalk between cardiac damage and inflammation is suggested by Pollard . In cardCardiac damage secondary to other conditions, such as diabetes, is also in part dependent on the activation of an inflammatory phenotype. Indeed, Cipolletta  demonstrA different role of inflammation in cardiac damage is suggested by La Rocca and colleagues . CardiacThe most common drugs that are used in the clinic for the treatment of cardiovascular disease also exert anti-inflammatory effects, as discussed in the contribution from De Angelis . Beta-blAltogether these findings support the pivotal role of inflammation in the development and progression of both cardiac and vascular diseases, and some of the findings also suggest specific molecules that could be potential targets for therapeutics . Several studies have already confirmed that both the direct  and indi


The fact that frailty and cognitive impairment are associated and often coexist in older adults has led to the popular view of expanding the definition of frailty to include cognitive impairment. However, there is great variability in approaches to and assumptions regarding the integrated phenotypes of physical frailty and cognitive impairment. By reviewing the theoretical underpinnings of three integrated phenotypes of physical and cognitive impairments, this talk advocates the incorporation of biological theories in phenotype development that helps determine shared and distinct pathways in the progression to physical and cognitive impairments.


In 2015, the Program of Merit was expanded and adapted to implement a voluntary evaluation process for health professions programs that are choosing to integrate gerontology/geriatrics competencies in order to prepare students for working with older adults as well as their informal care partners. These programs are now eligible to apply for the Program of Merit designation. The Program of Merit for Health Professions Programs is based on the AGHE Standards and Guidelines for Gerontology/ Geriatrics in Higher Education, Sixth Edition (2015), specifically Chapters 11 and 12. This session will provide the information and support systems in place for health professions programs to be recognized with the AGHE Program of Merit designation.


Concerns have been raised that the transplants performed in the local context at the time of procedures reported in this article  may haveDetails as to the donor sources and methods of obtaining informed consent from donors were not reported in , and wheIn addition, the authors did not provide documentation when requested by the journal to confirm that the study had institutional ethical approval.PLOS ONE Editors retract this article.The authors did not respond to inquiries about the availability of underlying data supporting this study. Owing to the lack of documentation to demonstrate that this study had prospective ethical approval, insufficient reporting, the unresolved concerns around the source of transplanted organs, the high probability that the transplant cases in the study included organs from prisoners given the study/procedure dates, and in compliance with international ethical standards for organ/tissue donation and transplantation, the The authors did not respond to the retraction decision.


This article explores the editorial board composition (across the six continents) of Hindawi journals indexed in PubMed. The dataset used is the official affiliation of the board members available at the various webpages of Hindawi journal website and not the countries of origin of the editorial board members. Summary statistics were presented and the raw dataset was provided for further analysis by interested scholars. The percentage of the editorial board composition across the continents was presented, the dataset of Hindawi journals indexed in both Hindawi and Scopus were also presented and measured in terms of Citescore and percentiles. The dataset can be used in journal evaluation, auditing, bibliometric analysis, management of smart campus; ranking and the analysis can be extended to other journal indexations. Specifications TableValue of the data•The dataset could be helpful in the evaluation of the impact of journal indexing on medical and other scientific publications.•The data analysis can be extended to other reputable publishers.•The dataset can be helpful in research output evaluation and auditing and in bibliometric analysis.•The dataset can provide insight on the research volume of different continents and as such can be a criterion for ranking of journals and management of smart campuses.•The research can be extended to include gender, population, education and development level gaps.•The data analysis can be extended to capture the distribution of citations from the six continents and how it affects the editorial composition, manuscript acceptance and rejection.1The dataset provided in this research relates to the editorial board composition of 165 Hindawi journals indexed in PubMed. It involves the official stated affiliations of the editorial board members grouped according to the continents namely; North America (NAM), Europe (EURO), Asia (ASIA), South America (SAM), Australia (AUST) and Africa (AFR). The grouping into continents was necessary because the data is large and highly skewed . The dataset was explored and the detailed summary is shown in The raw dataset can be assessed as PubMed is a citation and abstract database and digital repository that archives and manages scholarly peer reviewed articles in the medical, biological, life and biochemical sciences. It is a bibliographic search engine used to access the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE). PubMed was released in 1996 and currently managed by the National Institute of Health (NIH) of the United States. It is closely related to PubMed Central managed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).On the average, the editorial board composition across the continents can be interpreted using the inequality AFR < SAM < AUST < ASIA < NAM < EURO. Almost all Hindawi journals indexed in PubMed does not have editorial board members with affiliations in Africa, South America and Australia. The large variance for NAM, EURO and ASIA implies large deviation of the observations from the mean and consequently a high possibility that the editorial board composition may rise or fall below the mean. The high positive values of the skewness suggest that the data is highly right skewed; that is, there is high probability of observing low values. This is because there is uneven editorial composition across the 165 journals. It can also be seen that the high positive values of the Kurtosis implies that the probability of obtaining extreme values or values outside the range is high. All the journals have at least an editor whose affiliation is Europe or North America. Coefficient of variation can also be used to further explain the data.The percentage of editorial board composition across the continents is presented in 2The dataset is freely available at the various webpages of the publisher׳s website. The affiliations of the editorial board members were copied to Microsoft Excel, the countries of affiliations were matched with United Nations list of approved countries The detailed statistical analysis of similar dataset can be found in The p-values indicated that the observed values differ greatly from the expected. This is to check if the expected number of editorial board composition is equivalent to the observed values. This is a kind of quality assurance.Some of the journals are indexed in both PubMed and Scopus. In order to explore the relationship between the two indexations, the performance of the journals was explored using the Citescore and percentiles (performance metrics exclusive to Scopus). The journals indexed in Scopus without a Citescore and percentile were excluded and marked as missing values. The summary is shown in


Dementia is one of the major contributors to disability and dependency amongst the elderly populations and a significant public health concern. Even though the prevalence of dementia in the UK is rising due to higher numbers of people surviving into older ages, recent evidence suggests that the UK is experiencing a decline in dementia incidence. By contrast, Japan has witnessed a different trend, with increases in both incidence and prevalence. This difference could be related to diagnostic practices within each country, or to the cultural variability in the risk and protective factors driving these emerging forecasts that remain fundamentally different between the UK and Japan. Research in this field has been dominated by clinical studies of dementia mostly conducted in the UK and US, and the current evidence lacks reliable national data on dementia incidence. Socioeconomic inequalities and social determinants of neurocognitive health and dementia risk in two longitudinal studies of ageing: the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) from the UK and Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study of Aging (JAGES). These studies are ideally placed for addressing pivotal research questions in gerontology: 1. What are the biopsychosocial determinants of cognitive impairment and dementia in England and Japan? 2. What are the potential exploratory mechanisms related to the divergent trends in dementia incidence observed in England and Japan? 3. What are the critical differences between the social determinants of dementia in England and Japan?


Older adults are stereotypically perceived as more susceptible to various scams and manipulations  throughout their life . In the domains of automatic and intuitive decision-making there are no lifetime competence declines (Mikels et al., To conclude, the proposed explanation of lifetime changes in susceptibility to the attraction effect refers to cognitive and motivational changes in late adulthood Hess,  and to dAll authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


We are faced with a young patient with uterine prolapse and urinary difficulties due to Joint Hypermobility Syndrome, a congenital collagen disease that predisposes woman to the development of pelvic organ prolapse. The patient had urinary difficulty requiring standing and bowing to reduce prolapse and then start urination. This video demonstrates that videolaparoscopic technique is feasible for the treatment of uterine prolapse in young and sexually virgin woman.We separated the bladder from vagina and opened the peritoneum anterior to the uterus. Next, we attached the sigmoid colon to the left abdominal wall in order to better expose the promontory. We then opened the peritoneum posterior to the uterus and medially tunnelled the right uterosacral ligament, transfixing the broad ligament and passing the end of a polypropylene mesh through this tunnel to the posterior region of the uterus. The same maneuver was performed on the other side so that the mesh surrounded the anterior portion of the cervix while its two extremities were posterior to the uterus. The mesh was fixed on the anterior surface of the uterine cervix and its two extremities were fixed to the promontory in the anterior longitudinal ligament of the spine. Finally, we closed the peritoneum.Uterine prolapse was corrected, with good recovery.Videolaparoscopic technique is feasible for correction of uterine prolapse, being effective and safe in virgin woman.


There is much potential for robots to support the needs of older adults, in general, and particularly in healthcare. Older adults are quite open to the idea of interacting with robots, although they have preferences for the nature of the task they want the robot to do as well as what they want the robot to look like. These preferences should be considered in the process of design and deployment. Older adults should be involved throughout the design process from formative to summative evaluation and even beyond to the integration of the robot into their everyday activities. The extant research provides guidance regarding older adults’ capabilities and limitations that might influence their ability to interact with a robot. Our goal in this presentation will be to focus on robots being designed to support older adults with healthcare tasks in the context of enhanced, instrumental, and basic activities of daily living.


This presentation will provide some insights about aging in African Americans I have drawn from the network of scholars in my 30 year journey studying aging in African Americans. This journey has been focused on understanding biobehavioral interplays among demographic, genetic, familial, and psychosocial factors to understand individual variability in health and cognitive aging in African Americans. The presentation will include insights my mentors imparted to me, the contributions of my peers and what I learned from and tried to teach to my mentees. I will also share how my contributions were fueled by funding of my research and interactions with the staff at NIA. I will use data from my Carolina African American Twin Study of Aging, the Baltimore Study of Black Aging and the Study of Longevity and Stress in African Americans to provide examples. I will conclude with some suggestions for the next generation of scholars.


Concerns have been raised that the transplants performed in the local context at the time of procedures reported in this article  may haveDetails as to the donor sources and methods of obtaining informed consent from donors were not reported in , and theIn addition, the authors did not provide documentation when requested by the journal to confirm that the study had institutional ethics approval, and they did not respond to inquiries about the availability of underlying data supporting this study.PLOS ONE Editors retract this article.Owing to the lack of documentation to demonstrate this study had prospective ethical approval, insufficient reporting, unresolved concerns around the source of transplanted organs and whether they included organs from prisoners, and in compliance with international ethical standards for organ/tissue donation and transplantation, the The authors did not respond to the retraction notification.


People with dementia value staying active and continuing with their everyday lives in public space, however there is a lack of knowledge about how they experience accessibility, problematic situations and how to manage these situations. The aim is to illuminate experiences of accessibility in public space in people with dementia with focus on places, activities and problematic situations. A Grounded theory approach was used in the thesis with multiple data collection methods . Findings show that having access to everyday activities at different places in the neighbourhood was very important for the participants when they perceived themselves as being a part of the society and being active and independent persons. Engaging in familiar activities in familiar places was important. However, their activity radii in the community became smaller. The findings inspired the development of the questionnaire Participation in Activities and Places Outside Home.


Each system in our body is valuable for the unique function it carries out. The nervous system for example is easily the most complex system in the human species which is sophistically made up of neurons, synapses, and various important specialized cells for appropriate signaling of neuro- transmission. Overall role of CNS is to control whole body functions in a systematic mechanism. Any abnormalities in any part of neuro-mechanism result in physiological to psychological disorder/behaviors. Therefore, researchers and medical health care staff are driven to improve physical health as well as state of psychological health in term of close connection with the nervous and immune system. The purpose of this Research Topic of Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience was to shed light on the latest outstanding discoveries pertained in wide spectrum of aging neuroscience by covering different aspects of nervous system to dementia in their original research articles and reviews. Taking this into consideration, the Research Topic on Frontiers in Neuroscientific Research for Management of Dementia by Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience makes a contribution with updates and different perspective on this important theme, developed over 17 articles .We hope that this Frontiers Research Topic will be an enrichment for Neuroscientific Research for Management of Dementia, with the efforts and commitment of all authors to whom we give our acknowledgment as well as to the reviewers who have contributed in improving and clarifying these diverse contributions due to their valuable comments. Finally, a special thanks to Editor in Chief and Frontiers management team for support in publishing process.All authors listed have made a substantial, direct and intellectual contribution to the work, and approved it for publication.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


Although this methodology is sufficient for a topical review that summarizes basic information to include mainstream generalizations about efficacy and side effects, it is not capable of providing clinicians with practical recommendations that can be used to guide care such as indications and contraindications, dose regimens, benefit as an adjunct to opioids for acute pain, evidence for follow-up therapy with oral ketamine and other 3 Considering that anesthesiologists (not to mention other clinicians) comprise a plurality of International Association for the Study of Pain membership, these pragmatic concerns have clinical relevance for the Journal's readership. We assume the time frame of this publication, which was revised and accepted in June 2018, prevented the inclusion of these guidelines, but would encourage readers interested in the practical elements of intravenous ketamine use for pain treatment to explore these resources.For both acute and chronic pain, this information and more is provided in recent guidelines along with a narrative review developed in a joint effort by the American Society of Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine, the American Academy of Pain Medicine, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists.The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense.


Part 2 of this symposium will discuss how to maximize the reach and impact of your published work. Researchers are under increasing pressure to demonstrate the impact of their work. First, it is important to clearly articulate the translational impact of your work in the Discussion of your manuscript and briefly in the Abstract. In addition, it is important to know how to increase visibility of your manuscript because university administrators and funding agencies rely heavily on numerical metrics for decision-making. This presentation will look at the needs that metrics serve and provide an overview of how the dominant metric, the Impact Factor, is determined . The value of newer methodologies and alternative metrics (Altmetrics) will also be discussed. The presentation will also cover practical steps for how researchers can increase the reach and potential impact of their work.


In In the Results, the last sentence of the fourth paragraph is incorrect. The correct sentence is: In models stratified by fetal gender, the inverse association between ∑DEHP and CRP was stronger in females  compared to males  and significant positive associations between MiBP and MEP and CRP were observed in females but not in males.


The optimism of technological advances in medicine is usually tempered by the need to look at cost, benefits and the ethical and moral issues. As the technology advances benefits can seem to come in smaller and smaller increments at disproportionately large costs. The impact of new technology and its benefits is difficult to assess as it may affect wider areas like education, quality of life, societal values and efficiencies in patient journeys.The use of computers and robots in medicine is an inevitable extension of our own lives. For the next generation of surgeons this is the only path. There are infinite variations in human anatomy and the use of technology to find a customisable solution is not science fiction but a reality that we must pursue.As with many aspects of our lives, the use of computer technology has slowly become integral to all surgical disciplines. Orthopaedic surgery particularly lends itself to it because of the tissues we deal with. The ability to combine human acumen with technological accuracy will enhance our outcomes. The technology is now used in joint replacements, spine, tumor surgery and trauma.As with all new technology it has gone through various phases. The advent of robot guidance in the 1990s, that of surgical navigation in the 2000s and Patient-specific instrumentation in the early 2010s was greeted with much fanfare. Device companies pushed the technology forward but the hard reality of justifying cost to the healthcare payers meant that there was a reluctance in boardrooms to finance it adequately. The technology itself proved successful in achieving what it set out to do; a highly consistent and accurate delivery of tools to help the surgeon. This was documented in well-designed studies. The early adopters continue to use the technology and there is a growing awareness among the newer surgeons about the benefits.Computer assisted orthopaedic surgery (CAOS) can be divided into image-guided technology and landmark-based systems. The image-guided systems are virtual reality systems. MRI or CT scans are used to create a template which can then be delivered per operatively either by robots or PSI.Navigation systems are based on reality and require the surgeon to point out landmarks at the time of surgery and require very little preoperative planning.However, recently there has been a blurring of this division. The new generation of handheld and freestanding robots now use image guidance and navigation together to improve functionality and accuracy. In tumor surgery, there is a move to use PSI and navigation together to improve access and accuracy. Even for those who want to continue to use their conventional instruments, pinless navigation with a simple and quick workflow can be used to ensure accurate placement.One of the issues faced by the users of this technology is that we are still using standard implants designed to be implanted using conventional instruments. This is slowly changing as custom implants are being introduced to the market.The articles in this Special Issue attempt to bring together the current state of the technology. The case for robotics in the operating theatre is well illustrated and argued by the team from Imperial College London . The plaThe article on Robodoc from Singapore illustrates our enduring fascination with robotics. Robodoc was one of the first products in the market which spearheaded the concept and laid the groundwork for theatre set up, image guidance and delivery . Though The adoption of new technology and the learning curve associated with it has been well demonstrated by Jenny and Picard . They haThe team from the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Glasgow have made the case for using the technology in areas which are not yet mainstream . Hip NavLastly Hafez and Moholkar make the case for PSI which undisputedly is a convenient and efficient technique but needs further fine tuning to improve its functionality . The earThere is no doubt that these technologies are here to stay and as they improve they will change the operating theatre of the future and the outcomes for our patients.


In the original article, there was an error: Incorrect presentation of bacteriocin classification schemes.A correction has been made to the Introduction, paragraph one:Bacteriocins are ribosomally synthesized peptides with antibacterial activity (Cavera et al., Classification schemes for bacteriocins are constantly evolving to accommodate the increase in complexity and diversity of these peptides. Furthermore, with increased understanding of how bacteriocins function and identification of novel bacteriocins the systems in place to group them will need to adapt and change accordingly.The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.