Introduction: Clear aligners are an aesthetic alternative to fixed appliances, yet their predictability in arch expansion is still debated. This systematic review evaluates the efficiency of aligners in achieving planned expansion and identifies factors influencing outcomes. Materials and Methods: A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. Electronic searches were performed in PubMed, Cochrane Library, and ScienceDirect using a PICOS-based strategy. Methodological quality and risk of bias were assessed using standardized tools (AMSTAR 2, NHLBI/NIH). Results: Nine studies were included in the final analysis, consisting of two systematic reviews and seven cohort studies. The review found that arch expansion predictability is highest in the premolar region (reaching up to 93.53%) but decreases progressively toward the posterior segments, with the lowest accuracy observed at the first molar level (approximately 55-68%). Expansion is primarily achieved through coronal tipping rather than true bodily translation. Conclusion: Aligners effectively manage mild crowding but often result in uncontrolled tipping. To improve predictability, clinicians should utilize overcorrection strategies and pre-program negative torque. Higher-quality randomized clinical trials are necessary to establish standardized protocols.

Communities in Nigeria, from the coastal region of the southern part of Nigeria to the Northern Sahel, contend with various environmental health challenges, ranging from crude and refined oil spillage, large-scale bush burning, unregulated mining and industrial waste disposal, open defecation just to mention but a few. Although, these challenges mainly anthropogenic in nature, exist in various communities with abundant mineral resources supply, their implications on the socio-economic and environmental well-being of communities calls for concern. Hence, the crux of this paper. From a qualitative methodological approach, mainly reliance on secondary source, revealed the existence of environmental health challenges like crude oil spillage in oil producing communities within the south-south region of Nigeria, with serious consequences on the socio-economic and environmental well-being of communities. More so, the environmental health quality of communities in south-west region was found to be affected with Lead exposure discharged from industrial waste, with adverse impact on the socio-economic and environmental well-being of host communities. While south-south and south-west contend with crude oil spill and lead exposure; communities within the south-east region face serious environmental health threats mainly attributed to heavy metals deposit such as lead, copper and cadmium resulting from illegal mining operation. Furthermore, the environmental health quality of communities in the north-west and north-central region of Nigeria was found to be affected with illegal (mainly, gold) mining operations and open defecation, with devastating implications on the well-being of communities. From these findings, the study advocates strengthening and improving environmental adult education programmes in complementing existing efforts, for ensuring desired socio-economic and environmental well-being of communities in Nigeria.

This study examines the difficulty local governments experience in fulfilling their constitutional responsibilities as the third level of government, even in the face of government changes aimed at improving their performance and offering lessons learnt to address the issues. Local government administration, Nigeria's third tier of government, is in charge of bringing about socioeconomic development locally. Since the establishment of the nation's local governments, numerous reforms have been tried, but unsuccessfully, to achieve the goal of local government establishment. The study collected and analyzed data using a qualitative approach. According to the survey, local government is finding it more and more challenging to successfully serve the public. The study came to the conclusion that both the federal and state governments could address the institutional and attitudinal aspects of the problems. It suggested giving the local government the same level of autonomy as the other levels of government in order to enable it to function freely. A legislative framework should also be in place to prevent the state government from needlessly interfering in local governments' internal matters. Finally, human resources should be available to provide effective leadership and accountability in order to accomplish the goals outlined by the establishment of local governments in Nigeria.

This paper examined community-based conflict-resolution processes and the role of social work in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area (LGA) in Rivers State, Nigeria. The study aimed at establishing the different local conflict-resolution practices; to ascertain how social work helps the community to engage in these practices and to assess the impact of social work in enhancing the results of the traditional dispute-resolution systems. The study is based on the Systems Theory. The research design was descriptive; a structured questionnaire was administered to 400 respondents selected randomly in four purposively sampled communities in the LGA. Multi-stage sampling was done to represent the community leaders, elderly, youth and simple residents who were involved in dispute resolution. The analysis was conducted with the help of the descriptive statistics, which included frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. The results showed that the key community conflicts, such as land battles, marriage disputes, inheritance issues, youth struggles, and leadership conflicts, are usually mediated by the elders, family councils, customary courts, and community meetings. The social workers were found to enable the community to participate either through coordinating meetings, education of the residents on their rights, and inclusion of vulnerable groups. Moreover, social workers increased the fairness, sustainability, and acceptability of traditional dispute-resolution procedures through the incorporation of contemporary conflict-management methods. Based on these findings, the research suggested that community-based practices should be formally recognized by the local government, capacity building programmes of social workers should be conducted, and the interrelationship between social workers and traditional leaders should also be strengthened to enhance conflict-management procedures.

Many countries around the world have fully integrated Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into their educational systems. The expansion of ICT use in educational settings has sparked a rush of research work examining the link between ICT and academic performance. In Nigeria's education sector, ICT is integrated in secondary school’s syllabus. However, their use in teaching and learning has remained sporadic. This paper sought to determine teachers’ competence on ICT in teaching and learning and their influence on students’ performance. The hypothesis tested was there is no significant relationship between teachers’ competence on ICT in teaching and learning and students’ performance. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) by Venkatesh, Davis, and Morris (2003) was used to guide the study. The sample size consisted of 152 teachers and 297 students from 16 schools. Questionnaires for teachers and document analysis for students were used to collect data in this study. Descriptive statistics included frequency counts, percentages, means and standard deviation, whereas inferential statistics involved Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient, factor and multiple regression analysis. The results of the study revealed a weak negative relationship (r=-.021, p>.05) between teachers’ competence on ICT and students’ performance. It can be concluded that teacher’s competences among the ICT users in the studied schools are generally limited especially to the staff members of older age, and the connection between teachers’ competences on ICT and students’ performance were negative. It is recommended that teacher training colleges should incorporate computer education and training on how to integrate ICT in education in the curriculum so that pre-service teachers leave the college being well prepared with ICT skills. This would enhance and maintain teachers’ ICT passion for effective ICT integration in teaching and learning for better student’s performance in secondary schools.

Traditional Institutions (TIs) represent tribal societies, where council decisions were made based on consensus through custom. Some tribal societies have formal political institutions called Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) (PRIs were created by the 73rd Constitution Amendment Act (CAA) of 1992). PRIs are a typical form of decentralised local government in India, based on the democratic decentralisation process, whereas TIs are historically based on trial and custom, while the PRIs are responsible for the governance of social development (such as the provision of basic necessities) and the governance of administrative functions (e.g. maintaining the rule of law) in tribal societies and are governed by TIs and PRIs because the two systems reflect legal pluralism (i.e. the recognition of more than one legal framework) and institutional hybridity (i.e. combination of different governing institutions). In conclusion, good governance in terms of both fulfilment of citizens' basic needs and expansion of economic opportunities at the grassroots level in Arunachal Pradesh requires integration of both systems and cooperation between the plans and the processes used to establish governance and ensure both accountability to democracy and cultural identity and the establishment of indigenous practices.

Digital health portals increasingly depend on highly “popular” physicians to anchor user traffic and drive revenue. Existing work, however, (i) conflates popularity with a single behavioural cue (consultation count) and (ii) relies on linear or shallow machine-learning models. We introduce PopNet, a hybrid TabTransformer + GRU that fuses demographic, behavioural, visual-cue and temporal-momentum signals to predict a composite Popularity Index (PopIdx) built from four pillars: demand, monetary appreciation, social proof and visibility. Across a five-fold group-wise cross-validation on 19 200 physician-quarter snapshots, PopNet attains MAE ≈ 0.091, beating ElasticNet by >40 %. Nevertheless, modern tree ensembles still edge it out (LightGBM MAE ≈ 0.046). Integrated-Gradient explanations and a feature-family ablation reveal platform visibility (inv_rank) as the single most important driver of popularity, followed by raw patient demand and monetary gifts. Fairness audits show a modest 0.006 PopIdx MAE gap between genders; a simple inverse-propensity re-weighting halves this gap with <0.002 performance loss. The study provides actionable levers for platform managers and a reusable, bias-audited modelling pipeline for future research.

Introduction: Clear aligners, introduced in the 1990s with the Invisalign® system, have transformed orthodontics by providing an esthetic and comfortable alternative to fixed appliances. However, questions remain regarding their effectiveness and predictability in achieving different tooth movements and specifically tooth rotation. This systematic review aimed to critically evaluate the efficiency of aligners in controlling rotational movements and to identify the factors influencing their predictability. Materials and Methods: A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. Electronic searches were performed in PubMed, Cochrane Library, and ScienceDirect using a PICOS-based strategy. Methodological quality and risk of bias were assessed using standardized tools (AMSTAR 2, NHLBI/NIH). Results: Studies published between 2014 and 2024 were included. After screening, 14 studies met the eligibility criteria, including prospective and retrospective cohort studies, and systematic reviews. The review revealed that accuracy of tooth rotation is moderate (≈37–60%), it can be improved with attachments and interproximal reduction, but decreases with large or rapidly staged movements. Despite some progress, rotational control remains a key clinical limitation requiring cautious planning and monitoring. Conclusion: Rotations with clear aligners are poorly predictable, particularly for canines and premolars due to limited aligner grip on rounded crowns which often requires the use of auxiliaries and overcorrection strategies. Future high-quality randomized clinical trials and standardized protocols are necessary to strengthen the evidence and improve clinical outcomes.

Subcortical morphometric findings in autism are heterogeneous, and diagnosis-level comparisons may obscure associations involving symptom dimensions and age. We examined whether Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised reciprocal social interaction, verbal communication, and restricted or repetitive behavior scores were associated with seven bilateral subcortical volumes and whether age moderated these associations. This cross-sectional secondary analysis included 355 autistic participants aged 7-49 years from 16 Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange I sites. Public precomputed FreeSurfer v6 volumes were analyzed using log-transformed measures and total brain volume. Models adjusted for age, sex, total brain volume, and site, with HC3 standard errors. Benjamini-Hochberg correction was applied separately to 21 age-independent domain-region tests and 21 domain-by-age interaction tests. None of the age-independent associations survived false-discovery-rate correction. One age interaction survived correction: the reciprocal-social-interaction association with bilateral caudate volume became more negative with increasing age (beta = -0.002933 per 1-SD score per year, 95% CI [-0.004804, -0.001061], p = 0.0021285, q = 0.044699). The coefficient remained negative and nominally significant in all 16 leave-one-site-out analyses. However, the interaction was not supported in participants aged 18 years or younger (N = 287; beta = 0.001548, p = 0.600141), and the estimate weakened when the upper age range was restricted. These findings provide qualified evidence of cross-sectional age heterogeneity in the reciprocal-social-interaction-caudate association, rather than an age-independent subcortical symptom signature. The pediatric null result, site-age imbalance, threshold-proximal corrected result, and absence of external replication require cautious interpretation and longitudinal confirmation.

Family physicians occupy a pivotal role in managing multimorbidity, a situation where patients simultaneously deal with multiple chronic conditions, by incorporating a palliative care perspective into their practice. This approach is particularly beneficial as it emphasizes the importance of improving the overall quality of life for patients rather than simply focusing on curing individual diseases. When family physicians adopt a palliative care framework, they can create personalized treatment plans that address the complex interplay of various health issues, ensuring that each patient's unique circumstances and preferences are acknowledged. This holistic approach encompasses not only physical health but also addresses emotional, psychological, and social factors that significantly impact well-being. Engagement with patients in shared decision-making fosters trust and empowers individuals to take an active role in their healthcare journey. By prioritizing symptom management and addressing the goals of care with sensitivity, family physicians can alleviate distressing symptoms associated with chronic illnesses, such as pain, fatigue, and depression. Furthermore, these physicians serve as coordinators of care, collaborating with specialists, nurses, and mental health professionals to provide comprehensive support. This teamwork is essential in navigating the complexities of multimorbidity, particularly as patients may face numerous treatment regimens and potential medication interactions. Ultimately, the integration of palliative care principles within family medicine promotes compassionate care, enhances patient satisfaction, and leads to improved outcomes by ensuring that care is aligned with the patients’ values and lifestyle preferences, providing a more meaningful and dignified healthcare experience.

Background: Effective discharge counselling by pharmacists is crucial to ensuring medication adherence, improving patient satisfaction, and preventing readmissions. Virtual care in its many forms has been viewed as a tool for improving access to health services. With the increasing demand for efficient healthcare delivery, virtual counselling upon discharge has emerged as a potential alternative to face-to-face (conventional) approach. Objective: To compare the impact of virtual versus conventional medication counselling on discharge workflow (turnaround time), medication adherence, and patient satisfaction in a cardiac center. Methods: A non-randomized controlled pre-post intervention design study was conducted on 120 patients discharged from a cardiac center. Participants were allocated to receive either conventional (n=60) or virtual (n=60) pharmacist counselling upon discharge. Data were collected via structured digital questionnaires using SurveyMonkey®. Turnaround time (TAT) was assessed by calculating the time between prescription order entry through hospital system, till the time of patient leaving the hospital. The Adherence was measured by the adherence in Chronic Diseases Scale (ACDS) questionnaire utilized to collect data regarding patient adherence about their pharmaceutical care plan post discharge. Moreover, satisfaction questionnaire includes questions that assess the satisfaction regarding virtual medication counselling upon discharge was utilized. All were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Mann–Whitney U test. Results: A total of 120 patients were included in the analysis, with 60 patients receiving conventional face-to-face (verbal) counselling and 60 receiving virtual (mobile-based) counselling upon discharge. The primary outcomes assessed were the turnaround time (TAT) in minutes and the medication adherence score (measured as a percentage or proportion out of 1.00). The mean turnaround time (TAT) was significantly lower in the virtual group (148.5 ± 64.9 minutes) compared to the conventional group (200.5 ± 108.3 minutes, p = 0.019). Adherence scores were slightly higher in the virtual group (0.931 ± 0.088 vs. 0.893 ± 0.103), though not statistically significant (p = 0.053). Overall, 73% of patients reported being very satisfied with the counselling service, with no major differences observed between groups. Conclusion: Virtual pharmacist counselling upon discharge is a feasible and efficient alternative to traditional counselling methods, offering comparable patient satisfaction and adherence outcomes while significantly reducing discharge turnaround time. Overall results suggest that virtual counselling upon discharge can enhance discharge efficiency and promote better patient engagement. It represents a promising model for enhancing discharge workflows in busy cardiac centers.

This paper presents a case study of a pilot project on using novated Pre-Stressed High-Strength Concrete (PHC) Piles technology for a potential support to the large foundations of Steel Plate Manufacturing Plant, which to be installed on an area that contains sabkha soils saline, loose, and water-saturated sands in Ras Al Khair Industrial City, Saudi Arabia. The key highlight of this project is the successful installation and testing of Prestressed High-strength Concrete (PHC) piles likely the first such application within Saudi Aramco, and possibly within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This paper presents the load-settlement and the load-displacement diagrams for the tested PHC piles and identifies the bearing capacity of some of these piles at the job site. The study summaries the bearing capacities of the tested PHC piles to be considered for the detailed design of future project packages. PHC Pile foundation reduces the settlement of structures and improves bearing capacity of foundation; and the new pile technologies are of little noise and reduce damage to pile during the installation. The PHC piles, characterized by a hollow core and prestressed concrete design, are typically produced with outer diameters ranging from 300 mm to 1200 mm and engineered to endure high axial loads and bending moments, making them suitable for challenging ground conditions such as sabkha.

Introduction: McCune–Albright syndrome (MAS) is a rare, sporadic mosaic disorder caused by postzygotic activating mutations of the GNAS gene. It is classically characterized by a triad of polyostotic fibrous dysplasia, café-au-lait skin macules, and hyperfunctioning endocrinopathies. Growth hormone (GH) excess represents a particularly challenging manifestation and is most often associated with pituitary adenomas or somatolactotroph hyperplasia. However, atypical presentations with GH excess in the absence of radiologically detectable pituitary lesions have been reported. Case presentation: We report the case of a 43-year-old male referred for progressive craniofacial deformity and excessive height. Clinical evaluation revealed features consistent with GH excess, including gigantism, frontal bossing, prognathism, and progressive respiratory and neurological complications. Imaging demonstrated extensive polyostotic fibrous dysplasia involving the craniofacial bones, thoracic cage, and spine, resulting in severe skeletal deformities and multisystem complications. Biochemical assessment confirmed GH excess with elevated insulin-like growth factor 1 levels and failure of GH suppression during an oral glucose tolerance test. Notably, pituitary magnetic resonance imaging was completely normal, with no evidence of adenoma or hyperplasia. Additional endocrine evaluation revealed hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and structural thyroid abnormalities without functional hyperthyroidism. Based on the constellation of clinical, biochemical, and imaging findings, a diagnosis of atypical McCune–Albright syndrome was established. The patient was managed medically with a long-acting somatostatin analog and multidisciplinary follow-up. Conclusion: This case highlights the marked phenotypic heterogeneity of McCune–Albright syndrome and underscores that growth hormone–mediated gigantism may occur despite a normal pituitary MRI. Recognition of such atypical presentations is crucial to avoid diagnostic delay and to guide appropriate management. A multidisciplinary approach remains essential for optimizing outcomes in patients with complex skeletal and endocrine involvement

Carbon Capture, Utilization and storage (CCUS) continue to emerge as the most viable technology to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases around the world, the bulk of which is in the hard to abate industries. This paper has presented a systematic review of the existing technological implementation, the key challenges that have been identified, the gaps in knowledge, and also the emerging innovations that have been continuing to shape the field. The review incorporates information in the world deployment databases, state reports, and peer reviewed libraries. CCUS technologies have reached maturity in the realms of capture and storage but the large scale deployment of capturing technology has been limited because of the high cost, the presence of adequate infrastructure and due to policy uncertainty. The review paper presents some recommendations on how to enhance efficiency, lower costs and achieve sustainable industrial integration with net zero emissions.

Emerging from the dark confines of carceral spaces, prison literature has become a formative genre that exposes the hidden realities of state-sanctioned persecution across the globe. Yet, the voices of women in Indian prison narratives, particularly during the colonial era, often remain marginal and unheard. This research paper engages with the compelling testimony of Urmila Shastri, an overlooked freedom fighter whose memoir, My Days in Prison (2012), offers an unflinching account of her physical and emotional suffering during incarceration. Through close analysis of Shastri’s experiences, the paper illuminates the pervasive malfeasance, abusive power dynamics, and indifference of prison authorities, revealing them as systemic obstacles to reform and justice. By foregrounding the everyday atrocities and discrimination within colonial jails especially as faced by women the study interrogates whether contemporary confinement serves its ostensible rehabilitative purpose, or instead perpetuates cycles of injustice and dehumanization. The paper further evaluates the reformative proposals advanced by Shastri, interrogating their feasibility and transformative potential, and situates her voice within a wider discourse on prison, reformation, human rights, and the continuing struggles of marginalized women prisoners in India.