We summarized the findings of several studies of ours to compare the quantity and quality of published research from around the world for the years 1995 to 2003. We evaluated the number of articles published and their mean journal impact factor. We also studied the research productivity of various areas adjusted for gross domestic product (GDP) and population. We found that Western Europe leads the world in published research on infectious diseases-microbiology (82 342 articles [38.8%]) and in cardiopulmonary medicine (67 783 articles [39.5%]), whereas the United States ranks first in the fields of preventive medicine, public health and epidemiology both in quantity (23 918 articles [49.1%]) and quality of published papers. However, after adjustments for GDP, Canada ranked first, with the United States and Oceania following closely behind. All of the developing regions had only small research contributions in all of the biomedical fields examined.

Background: Research in the fields of Preventive Medicine, Occupational/Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Public Health play an important role in the advancement of knowledge. In order to map the research production around the world we performed a bibliometric analysis in the above fields. Methods: All articles published by different world regions in the above mentioned scientific fields and cited in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) database of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) during the period 1995 and 2003, were evaluated. The research production of different world regions was adjusted for: a) the gross domestic product in 1995 US dollars, and b) the population size of each region. Results: A total of 48,861 articles were retrieved and categorized. The USA led the research production in all three subcategories. The percentage of articles published by USA researchers was 43%, 44% and 61% in the Preventive Medicine, Epidemiology, and Public Health subcategories, respectively. Canada and Western Europe shared the second position in the first two subcategories, while Oceania researchers ranked second in the field of Public Health. Conclusion: USA researchers maintain a leadership position in the production of scientific articles in the fields of Preventive Medicine, Occupational/Environmental Medicine and Epidemiology, at a level similar to other scientific disciplines, while USA contribution to science in the field of Public Health is by all means outstanding. Less developed regions would need to support their researchers in the above fields in order to improve scientific production and advancement of knowledge in their countries. � 2006 Soteriades and Falagas; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Drawing on Judith Butler's recent writings on recognition, embodiment, ethics and relationality, this paper joins the efforts for more theoretically informed work towards inclusion and inclusive education. In particular, the paper argues that there is a need for rethinking inclusion through/as embodied ethics. It is suggested that this sort of thinking constitutes a conceptual shift from understanding inclusion as inherently �good� to theorising it as practised, lived and experienced within school and classroom life. Furthermore, this theorisation enables us to address how a politics of inclusion within each context, premised upon an embodied ethics of recognition and relationality, might take inclusive education beyond an instrumental orientation of inclusion. Butler�s work keeps reminding us of the need to constantly reconsider the terms and conditions of inclusion beyond its current organisational forms in schools and other institutional settings. � 2019, � 2019 University of Cambridge, Faculty of Education.

Remediation of contaminated sites often includes the use of alternative barriers as a passive treatment method for a variety of contaminants and sites. Alternative barriers, in turn, require a means for monitoring their performance directly, without the need for costly sampling. It is ideal that the monitoring system provide the data in real time and remotely. When combined with optical fibres, near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is a promising chemical sensor for in situ, on-site detection of contaminants. This technology has important advantages over other sensors: it can be used to identify hydrocarbons - capable of distinguishing between chemical groups such as alkanes and chlorinated, aromatic and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, as well as distinguishing compounds within the same homologous series of hydrocarbons. Furthermore, with the combined use of lipophilic polymer coatings and tip sensors, the waveguide can be turned into a localised chemical sensor. Coupled with the fact that the new generation of spectrometers are lower in cost and smaller in size than their predecessors, such a sensor can be installed in the field where communications technologies can transmit data from a remote location - ideally suited for alternative barriers as a means of monitoring the subsurface environment and the performance of the barrier.

Introduction: Leishmaniasis is endemic in more than 95 countries and is the only tropical/subtropical vector-borne disease that has been endemic in Southern Europe for decades. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of cutaneous leishmaniasis by Leishmania donovani in a child and the first cluster with adult cases reported in Europe. Case presentation: We describe a familial cluster of four cutaneous leishmaniasis cases among Greek Cypriots caused by L. donovani in a Paphos village, in Cyprus. A 6-year-old boy (Case number 1) had a persistent lesion in the left angle of his upper lip, a 60-year-old woman (Case number 2) presented with a 2cm-diameter glabella lesion on her forehead, a 60-year-old man (Case number 3) developed a lesion on his moustache area and a 40-year-old woman (Case number 4) had a lesion on her neck In Case number 3 the lesion was self-cured; the other cases recovered after surgical resection followed by liposomal amphotericin B (Case numbers 1 and 4) or thermotherapy and liposomal amphotericin B (Case number 2). Conclusions: This familial cluster of cutaneous leishmaniasis, due to the anthroponotic L. donovani, shows that the sand fly species responsible for transmitting this parasite species is found in the area around the three neighbouring houses involved. The factors favourable for the survival, spread and contact of the vector with people could be assessed in this area for the establishment of preventative measures to safeguard public health. � 2014 Koliou et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

This study aims to present an overview of incorporating the Water Framework Directive into Italian law through Law 152/06. Subsequently, it will focus on a case study involving 34 rivers in the Salerno Province, utilizing data obtained from ARPA Campania. This work analyses the macro pollution indicators of the observed rivers using two aggregated indexes, namely PLM and PLMeco. These indexes were introduced by Italian legislation in 1999 and 2006, respectively. The results show the quality of the river and the variations observed over the years in the Province of Salerno, utilizing non-parametric tests. � 2023 The Authors

Energy Performance Certification (EPC) systems are pivotal in addressing the global energy challenge, particularly in the building sector. This study evaluates the efficacy of the EPC offered by the Simplified Building Energy Model interface designed to indicate compliance with the Cypriot building regulations, widely known as iSBEM-Cy Version 3.4a, by examining a typical residential unit in Cyprus. Data on construction features and electromechanical systems were collected, and actual monthly electricity and oil bills were analyzed to determine the total primary energy consumption. Various factors were considered, including energy efficiency and operational parameters for heating, cooling, lighting, auxiliary systems, and domestic hot water. The building energy performance was simulated using iSBEM-Cy, allowing for comparison with real-world energy consumption. Notable discrepancies were observed, particularly in cooling, with deviations reaching 377.4%. Conversely, domestic hot water consumption exhibited minimal variance at 7%, while heating and lighting showed moderate discrepancies (24.3% and ?113.9%, respectively). This study underscores the need for rigorous evaluations to shape effective EPC and provides insights into building energy performance in Mediterranean Cyprus. This research contributes to the broader discourse on sustainable construction practices by aligning simulation results with real-world energy consumption. � 2024 by the authors.

Natural minerals are widely used in numerous environmental applications, mainly as sorbents in ion exchange and sorption processes. Minerals, such as zeolites and clays, can be found all over the world, but they are mined containing a variety of different impurities; this prevents their accurate characterization. The present study examines various methods used for the characterization of three common natural silicate minerals, one zeolite (clinoptilolite) and two clays (montmorillonite and vermiculite). Their characterization was performed through a series of analytical measurements so as to gather all the information needed regarding their structural properties. Therefore, �similar� minerals such as clinoptilolite vs. heulandite and vermiculite vs. hydrobiotite can be distinguished; revealing important properties when comes to their practical application. The methods used in the present study are X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, TG/DTG/DTA and N2-porosimetry (BET). An extensive literature review of the natural silicate minerals has been conducted and the relevant results and methods are comparatively reported. The analytical results enabled the distinguish of the examined minerals. XRD, FTIR, TG/DTG/DTA showed that all three minerals have characteristic bands that can be used to easily distinguish from others. � 2018 Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.

This study compares EQ-5D-3L, EQ-5D-5L, and SF-6D utilities in patients with different musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders, also differing in disease severity as defined by valid clinical indexes. Utilities were measured from a cross-sectional sample of rheumatoid arthritis (N = 114), psoriatic arthritis (N = 57), ankylosing spondylitis (N = 49), and osteopenia/osteoporosis (N = 95) patients. For the first three groups, disease activity (severity) was measured with the DAS-28, DAPSA, and BASDAI clinical indexes, respectively. Mean differences and effect sizes were measured, and agreement between utilities was estimated with the intraclass correlation coefficient and Bland�Altman plots. Higher agreement was observed between EQ-5D-5L and SF-6D, compared to EQ-5D-3L and SF-6D, in all MSK disorder groups and severity levels. In groups with moderate to high severity, agreement between EQ-5D-3L/SF-6D and EQ-5D-5L/SF-6D was between low and fair, and both EQ-5D-3L and 5L utilities were lower than SF-6D (p < 0.001). On the other hand, in remission or low activity groups, agreement was excellent, and SF-6D utilities were again typically higher than EQ-5D-3L/5L, but not significantly. In more severe patients, SF-6D generated significantly higher utilities than EQ-5D-3L and 5L, which is consistent with most previous studies. Such discrepancies could have implications on economic evaluations of interventions targeting patients with MSK disorders. � 2022 by the authors.

Responding to human rights critiques, this article draws on some of the literature in the affective turn and posthumanism to critique the liberal framework as well as the moral superiority of humanism on which the human rights regime has been built. Both the affective turn and posthumanism � although not monolithic � are based on two important premises that favour an agonistic account of rights: the first is that human beings are regarded in social and relational rather than in atomistic terms or as individuals without connections. Secondly, a reading of human rights through perspectives of the affective turn and posthumanism highlights a critical posthumanist engagement with human rights, conducted in the name of an unfinished and ambiguous humanity connected to other sentient beings and the environment, rather than a singular or absolute political identity of humanity. This reading recognises the social, economic and political consequences of human rights and thus their potential to upset the dominant social, economic and political order, rather than accepting human rights as universal norms of social life while ignoring the ideological frame in which they are exercised. � UV/UFS.

The aim of this article is to use decolonial thinking, as applied in the field of AI, to explore the ethical and pedagogical implications for higher education teaching and learning. The questions driving this article are: What does a decolonial approach to AI imply for higher education teaching and learning? How can educators, researchers and students interrogate the coloniality of AI in higher education? Which strategies can be useful for undoing the ethics of digital neocolonialism in higher education? While there is work on decolonial theory in AI as well as literature on the decolonization of higher education, there is not much theorization that brings those literatures together to develop a decolonial conceptual framework for ethical AI in higher education teaching and learning. This article offers this conceptual framing and suggests decolonial strategies that challenge algorithmic coloniality and colonial AI ethics in the context of higher education teaching and learning. � 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This essay puts in conversation notions of diversity, interculturalism and multiculturalism with decolonial scholarship, and then discusses the theoretical and methodological implications for meta-intercultural education�that is, a perspective that reconceptualises intercultural education anchored in critical and decolonial perspectives. It is suggested that a decolonising diversity approach opens new pathways for critical responses to the global discourses and practices of diversity that reinforce particular forms of colonial violence through intercultural education policies and practices. It is argued that this approach offers new insights that enable practical, everyday education interventions which disrupt institutionalised diversity work. Importantly, this approach does not mean a blanket rejection of everything that is �Western� or �European� and replacing it with other centric forms of knowledge production, but rather building upon decolonial critique to critically interrogate key concepts and transform our ways of thinking about interculturality and diversity in education. � 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Objectives: Health care decision making, assessment, and procurement of medicines is a complex, human resource-demanding, and time-consuming process. A thorough evaluation of all factors involved is necessary to optimize the process. The objective of this study was to describe and analyze the current stage of health technology assessment (HTA) in Cyprus. Methods: Literature research and private communication with all involved parties and competent authority. Moreover, data, decisions, and recommendations of the Drug's Committee were used. Results: Cyprus is a latecomer in this field. HTA has entered a growing phase after the 2007 reform. It has not reached its full potential, and the current state is applicable only to the public sector, because of the nonexistence of a national health system. Therefore, this poses both a great challenge and a great barrier considering maximization of the value of money spent and health access equity. Conclusions: There is definitely enough space and clear necessity for further dissemination, and early successes indicate that steps should be taken toward the introduction of an HTA procedure that will cover both private and public sectors. The introduction of a national health system will further enhance the uptake of HTA, optimize the process, and use the common knowledge strategy for evidence-based decision making. � 2013 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR).

The aim of the study was to establish and verify a predictive vegetation model for plant community distribution in the alti-Mediterranean zone of the Lefka Ori massif, western Crete. Based on previous work three variables were identified as significant determinants of plant community distribution, namely altitude, slope angle and geomorphic landform. The response of four community types against these variables was tested using classification trees analysis in order to model community type occurrence. V-fold cross-validation plots were used to determine the length of the best fitting tree. The final 9node tree selected, classified correctly 92.5% of the samples. The results were used to provide decision rules for the construction of a spatial model for each community type. The model was implemented within a Geographical Information System (GIS) to predict the distribution of each community type in the study site. The evaluation of the model in the field using an error matrix gave an overall accuracy of 71%. The user's accuracy was higher for the Crepis-Cirsium (100%) and Telephium-Herniaria community type (66.7%) and relatively lower for the Peucedanum-Alyssum and Dianthus-Lomelosia community types (63.2% and 62.5%, respectively). Misclassification and field validation points to the need for improved geomorphological mapping and suggests the presence of transitional communities between existing community types. � Springer 2005.

Conservation assessment based on complex species distribution models suffers from a number of conceptual drawbacks when applied to setting conservation priorities. The rule-based model described in this paper uses a set of simple and easily understood ecological rules developed in consultation with local ecologists that are directly applicable to the local landscape. The model determines the suitability for the expansion of target semi-natural habitats, modified by landscape differences, for a selected study site in Wales, UK. The results in a pilot study area for semi-natural broadleaf woodland (SNBW) indicated that the model successfully identifies potential sites for expansion at the scale of the land parcel that represents the dominant management unit. The model generated high suitability scores for broadleaf woodland expansion along river valleys which contain proportionately more remnant broadleaf woodland and other semi-natural vegetation than other, more intensively farmed parts of the contemporary landscape. The results demonstrate that within this landscape type there is the potential to increase woodland area by c. 6.5%. By contrast a landscape type characterised by gentle relief and deep fertile soils currently under intensive agricultural use, shows the potential for lower levels of broadleaf woodland expansion equivalent to c. 3.3% of the area of the landscape unit. The model is flexible and can be re-run to reflect changed circumstances, in particular changes in policy relating to agri-environment targets for habitats and species. Future work is required to refine the model to reflect differences in the cultural as well as the physical characteristics of the underlying landscape. � 2010 Elsevier GmbH.

Location aware applications are constantly under development. By using an Indoor Location System (ILS), a user can localize himself, plan an indoor route and destination, or receive useful information and services in malls, airports, shopping centers, etc. To this purpose, various signal strength or timing based localization methods exist, each one having their own advantages and disadvantages. Localization based on the Received Signal Strength (RSS) methods, typically require only off-theshelf equipment to operate. Moreover, they can utilize the existing infrastructure. This paper presents a new method on how to use the captured RSS values for localization purposes. The proposed method analyses a captured signal over a short distance and stores it into the fingerprint database for later comparison, rather than using an average value obtained from static measurements. Performance of proposed method is compared with a typical RSS-based localization method. Real-world measurements are used in order to validate our approach. � 2015, UK Simulation Society. All rights reserved.

In recent years, especially where 802.11 networks are involved, we have seen a rise in Man in the Middle (MiTM) attacks. In this work, we propose a novel method that maliciously exploits the BSS Transition Management frames IEEE 802.11v protocol and demonstrates how such an attack can be performed, by utilizing roaming 802.11 protocols. To the best of our knowledge, this kind of approach has not been examined in the past. Our testbed results suggest that the proposed method is successful, regardless of the legitimate and rogue access point signal strengths provided to the terminal under attack. This is not the case for other MiTM attack methods, where the signal strength provided by the rogue access point to the terminal under attack must be stronger than the legitimate access point signal strength. During the experimentation phase with our testbed, several mobile phone models were used to demonstrate the suggested technique. After demonstrating the validity of the method through the testbed, further analysis is performed with a realistic ray tracing simulator to determine practical attack distance limits in an urban environment under investigation and how an adversary can manipulate a device to connect to a rogue access point. � 2023

The selective catalytic reduction of NO by ethanol under strongly oxidizing conditions (ethanol-SCR) in the wide-temperature range of 150-400�C has been studied over Ag supported on a series of metal oxides (e.g., MgO, Y2O3, CuO, CeO2, SiO2, MgO-CeO2-Al2O3). The Ag/MgO, Ag/CeO2 and Ag/Al2O3 solids showed the best catalytic behavior with respect to N2 and CO2 yield and the widest temperature window of operation compared with the other single metal oxide-supported Ag solids. An optimum 25wt% MgO-25wt% CeO2-Al2O3 support composition was found in terms of specific reaction rate of N2 production (mol N2/gcats) and CO2 selectivity. High NO conversions (60-90%), N2 selectivities (95-99%) and CO2 selectivities (>97%) were also obtained in the 150-400�C range at a GHSV of 40,000h-1 with the low 0.1wt% Ag loading and using a feed stream of 0.05vol% NO, 0.1vol% ethanol, 5vol% O2, 5vol% H2O and He as balance gas. Moreover, the latter catalytic system exhibited a high stability in the presence of 50ppm SO2 in the feed stream. N2 selectivity values higher than 98% and CO2 selectivities higher than 97% were obtained over the 0.1wt% Ag/MgO-CeO2-Al2O3 catalyst in the 150-400�C range in the presence of water and SO2 in the feed stream. The above-mentioned results led to the submission of a patent application for the commercial exploitation of Ag/MgO-CeO2-Al2O3 catalyst towards a new NOx control technology in the low-temperature range of 150-250�C using ethanol as reducing agent. DRIFTS studies after adsorption of NO, and transient titration of the adsorbed surface intermediate NOx species with H2 experiments, have revealed some preliminary important information towards the understanding of basic mechanistic issues of the present catalytic system (e.g., number and location of possible active NOx intermediate species). � 2011 Elsevier B.V.

Using insights from the tradition of via negativa and the work of Emmanuel Levinas, this paper proposes that unknowability can occupy an important place in teaching and learning, a place that embraces the unknowable in general, as well as the unknowable Other, in particular. It is argued that turning toward both via negativa and Levinas offers us an alternative to conceptualizing the roles of the ethical and the unknowable in educational praxis. This analysis can open possibilities to transform how educators think about the goals of education in two important ways. First, creating spaces for embracing unknowing in educational settings is an act of ethical responsibility that recovers a sense of the Other and his/her uniqueness. Second, rethinking the value of unknowing in the classroom may inspire in students and teachers a sense of vigilance, responsibility and witnessing. Unknowing is an act of embracing otherness and presents a curious element of redemption; in the lack of knowledge, the meaning of its absence is found. � Springer 2005.

This first wave study of the Covid-19 pandemic investigates why the governments of different countries proceeded to lockdown at different speeds. We draw upon the literature on Corporate Governance Institutions (CGIs) to theorize that government's decision-making is undertaken in the light of prevailing beliefs, norms, and rules of the collectivity, as portrayed by the focal country's CGIs, in their effort to maintain legitimacy. In addition, drawing on motivated cognition we posit that the government's political ideology moderates this relationship because decision-makers are biased when assessing the impact of lockdown on commerce. Running negative binomial regressions on a sample of 125 countries, we find that the more shareholder-oriented the CGIs, the slower the governmental response in shutting down the economy to protect from the pandemic. Moreover, the main relationship is stronger the more right-leaning the government's ideology. Our study contributes to the research on corporate governance institutions and political ideology and illustrates how societal and ideological biases affect government decision-making, especially when important decisions about public welfare are taken with little information on hand. ψ 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.