Clients expect density, movement, proportional harmony, and results that hold up over weeks of ordinary care, yet the planning of volume and length remains largely intuitive. The same request for "more fullness" may call for entirely different solutions depending on the thickness, curvature, density, and chemical history of the client's natural hair. This article develops a structured strategy for modeling volume and length during hair extension procedures. It draws on twenty English-language sources covering hair morphology, fiber variability, biomechanics, cosmetic alteration, and extension-related disorders. It also incorporates the Hair Biomechanical Tolerance Dataset (Cowan Y, 2026), a synthetic set of 108 illustrative archetypes, not derived from clinical practice, that maps hair and scalp parameters to safe strand counts and wear cycle durations. In these illustrative data, the maximum safe number of donor attachments per scalp zone ranged from 23 strands for fine hair in the high-risk marginal hairline to 85 strands for coarse hair in the supportive crown zone, a 3.7-fold difference associated with hair profile and anatomical placement. Mean wear cycle fell from 8.1 weeks for virgin hair with high aftercare compliance to 4.3 weeks for chemically compromised hair with low compliance. On this basis, the article proposes the Comprehensive Extension Modeling Strategy, a five-stage authorial method integrating base profiling, aesthetic intention mapping, tolerance alignment, zonal distribution planning, and proportional validation. Volume and length must be co-modeled, and both must remain compatible with the structural profile of the natural base and the realistic wear cycle.

Background: Adolescence is an important period of physical, emotional and sexual development during which young people may become vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy. Adequate knowledge of safe sex strategies is important; however, knowledge may not necessarily translate into appropriate sexual health practices. Objective: To assess the knowledge and practice of safe sex strategies and identify factors influencing sexual health practices among senior secondary school students at University of Benin Demonstration Secondary School, Benin City, Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 243 senior secondary school students. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select participants from SS1 to SS3. Data were collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire assessing sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge of safe sex strategies, sexual practices and factors influencing safe sex practices. The instrument underwent face and content validation and had a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.75 following pilot testing. Data were analysed using SPSS version 26 and summarised using descriptive statistics. Results: Of the 243 respondents, 139 (57.2%) were female and 126 (51.9%) were aged 14–16 years. Overall, 201 (82.9%) respondents had good knowledge of safe sex strategies, while 124 (51.0%) had good safe sex practices. One hundred and sixty (65.8%) had attended a class on safe sex education, while 159 (65.4%) had previously heard the term “safe sex.” Sixty-nine (28.4%) respondents reported having had sexual intercourse, 149 (61.3%) reported practising abstinence, and only 60 (24.7%) had ever undergone testing for a sexually transmitted infection. Only 112 (46.1%) had discussed sexual health with a parent, teacher or health professional. Conclusion: Knowledge of safe sex strategies was high among the students, but this was not matched by a similarly high level of safe sex practice. Strengthening comprehensive school-based sexuality education, improving parent-adolescent communication and increasing access to confidential youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services may help bridge the gap between knowledge and practice.

Hair extension practice rarely fails in a single dramatic way. It fails gradually when the cumulative load on natural hair exceeds its structural reserve, when an attachment zone absorbs repeated tension it was not assessed to sustain, or when a client's actual maintenance behavior falls short of what the installation required. This article develops a literature-based algorithm for gradual hair extensions that treats the procedure as a staged adaptation process rather than a one-time intervention. The study draws on 20 verified English-language sources covering hair and scalp diagnostics, hair camouflage, scalp reactions, traction-related damage, and material exposure. It also references the Hair Biomechanical Tolerance Dataset (Cowan Y, 2026), a synthetic illustrative dataset of 108 hypothetical archetypes with rule-generated action directives. Three patterns from this model informed the algorithm. First, scalp condition was encoded as an absolute procedural gate: all archetypes with active erythema or pre-traction markers were assigned refusal, regardless of hair thickness, density, or zone. Second, staged extension is exclusively a Supportive and Conditional zone procedure: none of the 24 Staged Extension profiles is located in the high-risk marginal zone. Third, aftercare compliance reduces safe wear duration by 1.3 to 1.7 weeks across all scalp zones, making it a planning variable rather than post-procedural advice. On this basis, the article proposes a Gradual Hair Extension Algorithm with five decision blocks: structural diagnosis, zonal tolerance assessment, aftercare capacity assessment, phased load planning, and follow-up correction logic. Graduality is not a stylistic preference. It is a principle of biological proportionality.

Candida albicans is a predominant fungal commensal of the oral cavity that normally maintains a balanced relationship with the host without causing tissue damage. However, alterations in local and systemic host conditions can disrupt this equilibrium, enabling C. albicans to transition from a commensal organism to an opportunistic pathogen and cause oral candidiasis. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the major virulence mechanisms that facilitate this commensal-to-pathogen transition, with particular emphasis on adhesion, morphological switching, biofilm formation, epithelial invasion, and host tissue damage. Initial adherence to oral epithelial surfaces is mediated by fungal adhesins, particularly the agglutinin-like sequence proteins and hyphal wall protein 1. Subsequent yeast-to-hyphal transition enhances adhesion, biofilm development, and tissue invasion through highly regulated polarized hyphal growth. Biofilm formation further promotes fungal persistence and resistance to antifungal agents and host immune responses. Epithelial invasion occurs through induced endocytosis and active penetration and is facilitated by fungal invasins and secreted hydrolytic enzymes, particularly secreted aspartyl proteinases. Understanding the coordinated interplay of these virulence mechanisms provides insight into the pathogenesis of oral candidiasis.

The increasing generation of electronic waste (e-waste) presents growing environmental and public health challenges, particularly in countries with limited formal waste-management capacity. In Cameroon, e-waste is increasingly managed through informal activities, while existing systems remain inadequate to address its growing volume and complexity. This article examines Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as a policy option for improving e-waste management in Cameroon. Using an analytical approach, it examines the concept, objectives and mechanisms of EPR and assesses its application in selected jurisdictions, including Ireland, Germany, South Africa and Nigeria. The analysis shows that EPR reallocates responsibility for the management of products at the post-consumer stage, placing primary financial and/or operational responsibility on producers, while defining complementary roles for importers, consumers, government authorities and waste management actors. However, the comparative experience also demonstrates that EPR cannot simply be transferred from one jurisdiction to another without considering institutional capacity, market structure, enforcement mechanisms and informal waste-management practices. The article therefore proposes a context-specific and phased approach to EPR in Cameroon, supported by an appropriate legal and institutional framework. Properly designed and enforced, EPR could complement existing waste-management measures and provide a more sustainable framework for e-waste management in Cameroon. The Cameroonian legislator should therefore establish a clear and sufficiently broad legal framework for EPR to ensure its effective application to e-waste management.

Despite growing recognition of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) in international tourism, a persistent gap remains between how English is used in hospitality workplaces and how English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is conceptualised in tourism education. ESP instruction often prioritises standardised language forms and predefined service scripts, offering limited preparation for multilingual, interactionally dynamic service environments. This article proposes an interaction-oriented, ELF-informed model of ESP needs analysis for hospitality education. Drawing on ELF research, intercultural pragmatics, and service encounter studies, it reconceptualises communicative needs as interactionally emergent and context-sensitive rather than as fixed inventories of linguistic forms or task lists. The model foregrounds intelligibility, adaptability, interactional repair, and relational management as central dimensions of professional competence. Pedagogically, the article links needs analysis to curriculum design, teacher mediation, and programme-level alignment, arguing that ESP courses should reflect multilingual communicative realities rather than native-speaker norms. By reframing needs analysis as a bridge between workplace communication and educational practice, the study provides a conceptual foundation for future empirical research and curriculum development in hospitality ESP.

Public project abandonment remains one of the most persistent obstacles to sustainable development in oil-producing regions of Nigeria, yet much of the existing literature treats successive government transition as an undifferentiated cause of discontinuity without decomposing the specific political, economic, and institutional mechanisms through which abandonment occurs. This study addressed that gap by examining the joint and relative contribution of political, economic, and institutional factors to the discontinuity of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) projects across administrations in Ondo State, Nigeria. A descriptive correlational survey design was adopted, and data were obtained from 360 respondents drawn from NDDC beneficiary communities through a multistage sampling procedure. A three-step hierarchical multiple regression analysis was employed to test the combined and incremental predictive power of the three factor domains. The results showed that political factors accounted for 39 percent of the variance in project discontinuity, economic factors added a further 19 percent, and institutional factors contributed an additional 8 percent, with the full model explaining 64 percent of the variance, F(15, 344) = 43.60, p < .05. Political favoritism and campaign manifesto fulfilment emerged as the strongest individual predictors. The findings are interpreted through institutional theory and public choice theory, and the paper concludes with policy recommendations for insulating public projects from the incentives that drive politically motivated discontinuation.

Background: Persistent infection with oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) is the necessary cause of almost all cervical cancers and contributes to several other anogenital and oropharyngeal malignancies. In Morocco, HPV vaccination was introduced into the National Immunization Program in October 2022, making healthcare professional’s key actors in vaccine communication and recommendation. Objective: To assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding HPV infection and vaccination among healthcare professionals and healthcare students in Morocco, and to identify factors associated with vaccine recommendation. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare professionals and healthcare students in Morocco. A systematic questionnaire was used to examine knowledge, attitudes, practices, and perceived barriers to HPV vaccination. A composite knowledge score (0-100) was derived. We studied factors associated with knowledge and systematic recommendation of the HPV vaccine by multivariable linear and logistic regression, respectively. Results: A total of 205 participants were included, among them 67.3% were health care professionals and 32.7% students. The awareness about HPV was quite high (98.5%), while the mean composite knowledge score was 65.8 ± 14.1. There were major gaps in HPV DNA-based screening (19.0%) and knowledge on HPV vaccination in the Moroccan National Immunization Program (52.7%). Only 5.9% reported being vaccinated and 51.2% systematically advocated immunization for girls aged 9–14 years. The most important perceived hurdles were lack of information (87.8%), fear of adverse effects (62.0%) and perceived lack of need (58.0%). Higher knowledge was independently linked with systematic endorsement of vaccination (aOR=1.026, 95% CI 1.005-1.048; p=0.015). Conclusion: Although knowledge and attitudes toward HPV are generally favorable among Moroccan healthcare professionals and students, important gaps persist in practice. Strengthening education on HPV-related diseases, screening strategies, and vaccine safety may improve recommendation practices and support national cervical cancer prevention efforts.

Background: Giant cell fibroma is a relatively uncommon benign fibrous lesion of the oral cavity, frequently seen in the 2nd and 3rd decades of life. It is often asymptomatic but may require removal for functional or esthetic reasons. Case Presentation: A 5-year-old female patient presented with a localized gingival growth in the Lower Anterior region for 2 Months. Clinical and radiographic evaluation followed by biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of giant cell fibroma. The lesion was excised using electrocautery under local anesthesia. Management and Outcome: The procedure was uneventful with minimal bleeding. Histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis. Postoperative healing was satisfactory with no recurrence at 7-day and 3 Month follow-up. Conclusion: Electrocautery is an effective and minimally invasive modality for excision of giant cell fibroma in pediatric patients, offering advantages such as reduced bleeding and better patient compliance.

Against national digital-driven educational strategies, college English for non-English majors is troubled by fragmented resources, homogeneous teaching and limited personalized feedback. Targeting first-year non-English students, this study develops a knowledge-graph-enabled smart curriculum for General English. Combining top-down and bottom-up strategies, a two-tier knowledge graph is established: an ontology knowledge layer sorted from syllabus-centered five-skill knowledge points, and a data-resource layer built upon MOOC and SPOC resources on the Chaoxing Fanya platform. Based on a “teacher-student-machine” interactive framework, this paper presents the full-cycle teaching workflow covering pre-class guidance, in-class interaction and post-class adaptive push. Integrating ideological-political education and power-industry materials, this two-year research uses case studies. Pilot results show knowledge-graph visualization clarifies implicit links between language knowledge points, supports adaptive recommendation and multi-dimensional formative assessment. It offers feasible references for digital transformation of college foreign-language courses.

The increasing number of adults receiving orthodontic treatment has made bonding to pre-existing ceramic restorations a routine clinical challenge. The objective of this narrative review is to explain how ceramic composition determines surface conditioning and to translate the available evidence into material-specific protocols for orthodontic attachment bonding. Glass-matrix ceramics contain a silica-rich phase that can be selectively etched with hydrofluoric acid and chemically coupled with silane. Polycrystalline ceramics, particularly zirconia, lack an etchable glass phase; therefore, airborne-particle abrasion or tribochemical silica coating combined with a phosphate-monomer primer is generally more appropriate. Resin-matrix ceramics require a conservative protocol selected according to their ceramic and polymer content. Laser conditioning can increase surface roughness, but results depend strongly on the ceramic, wavelength, energy, and irradiation settings; excessive energy may cause microcracking, thermal damage, or phase transformation. Across ceramic groups, the goal is not to maximize bond strength, but to obtain a durable bond that tolerates orthodontic loading and still permits safe debonding without damaging the restoration. Current evidence remains dominated by laboratory studies with heterogeneous ageing and testing methods. Clinicians should first identify the ceramic, use the least destructive effective pretreatment, add the appropriate chemical coupling agent, and follow material- and manufacturer-specific instructions.

Leisure time is an important aspect of daily life that contributes greatly to people’s mental well-being and quality of life. Traditional games, often considered as the conventional recreational leisure activities of children and youth, have historically played an important role in cultural transmission and holistic development. However, due to technological developments, urbanization, and the development of visual media, outdoor games and other traditional means of leisure have declined significantly. Despite this shift, Indian traditional games continue to offer substantial benefits, including physical growth, cognitive enhancement, creativity, cultural literacy, and social cohesion. The study aims to explore and document a few common prevailing Indian traditional games, with an emphasis on their structure, cultural significance, and potential developmental contribution to children. Employing a descriptive thematic research design, data were collected via extensive review of literature, including academic publications, books, websites, and digital repositories. Based on the available data collected from secondary sources, it was observed that throughout history, traditional games and sports have served as fundamental expressions of human creativity, spontaneity, amusement, motor learning, community bonding, leadership, and emphasized physical and mental health benefits. Traditional games, often seen as unique to specific regions, reveal striking similarities across cultures. Many games are played globally under different names, shaped by local customs but maintaining core mechanics. The modern generation prefers technology-based games over indigenous ones; consequently, some traditional games are on the verge of extinction, while others have been transformed into mainstream sports, and a few still exist in their original form, predominantly practiced by rural and semi-urban children. Additionally, certain traditional games have been preserved as part of cultural heritage and are performed during religious festivals. The research also highlights the role of traditional games in advancing inclusivity and sustainability, as they require minimal resources such as simple, low-cost, lightweight tools; utilize local surroundings as play areas; and follow unwritten, simple, and flexible rules, thereby promoting enjoyment and participation beyond competition, making them easily accessible. In conclusion, Indian traditional games are an important, sustainable, and culturally rich means of having fun in a manner which is beneficial for the holistic development of children. Furthermore, it was observed that various Indian traditional games, ranging from physical skill, strategy, memory, rhythmic, and verbal skills, have an important impact on developing the minds, cognitive and motor skills, leadership qualities, cooperativeness, and cultural awareness of children. Their revitalization¬¬ through parental engagement, community initiatives, school curricula, governmental support, and inclusive sports policies can position them as meaningful, recreational, value-based alternatives to digital leisure.

Diabetic foot is a severe complication of diabetes, the management of which depends on the microbiological profile and antibiotic resistance patterns. This study aimed to describe the bacteriological profile and antibiotic susceptibility of the isolated bacteria. A retrospective study conducted from 2019 to 2025 at the Mohamed V Military Training Hospital in Rabat included 100 patients hospitalised for diabetic foot infection. Clinical and bacteriological data, along with antibiograms, were analysed. The study population was predominantly male (80%; M/F sex ratio = 4), with a mean age of 68.2 years. Among the 125 isolates identified, Gram-negative bacilli predominated (50.4%), followed by Gram-positive cocci (46.4%). The main species isolated were Staphylococcus aureus (18.4%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (13.6%), Proteus mirabilis (11.2%), Enterococcus faecalis (9.6%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (8.8%). Among the Staphylococcus aureus strains, 17.4% were methicillin-resistant (MRSA). Among Enterobacteriaceae, 16.0% were producers of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL), and a single isolate was a carbapenemase producer. Multidrug-resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were observed in 27.3% of cases. By documenting the local bacterial flora and resistance burden, this study highlights the high prevalence of multidrug-resistant pathogens in diabetic foot infections, demonstrating the essential need to adapt empirical antibiotic regimens to regional epidemiology and systematically guide targeted therapy using antibiogram results. Keywords: Antibiogram, antibiotic therapy, bacterial resistance, bacteriological profile, diabetic foot, extended-spectrum beta-lactamases, infection, Staphylococcus aureus.

Global concerns regarding patient safety are especially pertinent in today’s highly multicultural healthcare environment. Communication, decision making, and treatment adherence are influenced by culture. Miscommunication, lack of compliance with treatment plans, and higher risks for adverse events occur when there are differences in language, belief systems regarding health and wellness, and health-related practices among patients and healthcare workers (Divi et al., 2007; Flores, 2006; Schyve, 2007; Richardson et al., 2019). The development of transcultural nursing rooted in cultural competence provides an effective framework to provide culturally congruent and patient-centered care to help meet the needs of this population (Campinha-Bacote, 2011; Purnell, 2013). This integrative review is intended to explore the current literature related to the impact of transcultural nursing on enhancing patient safety within a variety of healthcare settings. A comprehensive search of four major electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and Google Scholar) was performed utilizing keywords associated with transcultural nursing, patient safety, and diversity. Articles published from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2025 were included in the search results. Twenty-two peer-reviewed articles that addressed all three components (transcultural nursing, patient safety, and diversity) were selected for analysis using thematic synthesis and critical appraisal. Results showed that having cultural competence significantly enhances communication, decreases medical errors, increases treatment adherence, improves patient satisfaction, and builds trust between patients and their healthcare providers (Beach et al., 2005; Truong et al., 2014; Jongen et al., 2018; Kaihlanen et al., 2019; Govere & Govere, 2016). Three broad categories were identified based on the findings: (a) barriers to communication; (b) beliefs and practices relative to health and wellness; (c) cultural competence training; and (d) the relationship between cultural competence and patient safety outcomes. Additionally, subcategories included organizational support for cultural competence initiatives and cultural competence training programs at the educational level (Douglas et al., 2014; Seeleman et al., 2015; Jeffreys, 2016). Based upon the findings of this study, it appears that transcultural nursing plays a crucial role in ensuring both quality care and patient safety. Therefore, integrating cultural competence into clinical practice and the educational system, as well as incorporating cultural competence into healthcare policy, will be important steps toward providing safe, equitable, high-quality healthcare services (Alizadeh & Chavan, 2016; Degrie et al., 2017; Stubbe, 2020).

Antibiotic contamination in aquatic ecosystems drives the dissemination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). While heterogeneous photocatalysis using metal-free porous organic polymers (POPs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs) offers a sustainable remediation strategy, current literature predominantly focuses on parent pollutant disappearance rather than fundamental degradation bottlenecks. This review critically addresses this gap by evaluating the inherent molecular trade-offs governing COF/POP design, the mechanistic pathways of real-water matrix interference, and the ecotoxicity of transformation products. Furthermore, we provide a critical Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) perspective on synthesis versus performance, concluding with a standardized reporting checklist to guide future research toward practical, pilot-scale implementation.