The latest developments in the field of road asphalt materials and pavement construction/maintenance technologies, as well as the spread of life-cycle-based sustainability assessment techniques, have posed issues in the continuous and efficient management of data and relative decision-making process for the selection of appropriate road pavement design and maintenance solutions; Infrastructure Building Information Modeling (IBIM) tools may help in facing such challenges due to their data management and analysis capabilities. The present work aims to develop a road pavement life cycle sustainability assessment framework and integrate such a framework into the IBIM of a road pavement project through visual scripting to automatically provide the informatization of an appropriate pavement information model and evaluate sustainability criteria already in the design stage through life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis methods. The application of the proposed BIM-based tool to a real case study allowed us (a) to draw considerations about the long-term environmental and economic sustainability of alternative road construction materials and (b) to draft a maintenance plan for a specific road section that represents the best compromise solution among the analyzed ones. The IBIM tool represents a practical and dynamic way to integrate environmental considerations into road pavement design, encouraging the use of digital tools in the road industry and ultimately supporting a pavement maintenance decision-making process oriented toward a circular economy. Road pavement management is a complex process that involves continuous monitoring and design of maintenance actions to keep the pavement in the desired structural and functional conditions and minimize life cycle costs ,2.Therefore, proper pavement maintenance planning can be regarded as a strategic approach to achieve capital spending rationalization, risk control, performance preservation, stakeholders’ satisfaction and conservation of natural resources; all these challenges should be faced efficiently at all stages of the pavement life cycle by collecting and running analytics .Considering the increasing importance of delivering more sustainable and durable road pavements, the life cycle thinking approach has been regarded as an effective methodology to measure the overall sustainability of a project, both from an economic and environmental point of view, with a view on the whole life cycle from conception and design throughout the service life of the infrastructure up to dismission, demolition, disposal or recycling ,5.Some life cycle techniques are well established in the construction industry and especially in the field of maintenance planning and management, i.e., life cycle cost analysis (LCCA), while others, such as life cycle assessment (LCA), are still on the way to be fully integrated into common infrastructure sustainability rating systems applied to road pavement management.In detail, with the aim of lowering the consumption of nonrenewable raw materials and fossil fuels in the construction and maintenance of asphalt road pavements, researchers are trying to quantify, through internationally consolidated and standardized LCA methodology, the potential environmental impacts and the relative benefits of alternative bituminous materials containing secondary raw materials in substitution of natural ones ,7, bitumA common issue when applying LCA to support decision making in the field of road pavement management is that it often requires large time expenditure and data; therefore, LCAs are often performed at the end of the design phase, when most of the design configuration  has been already defined, leaving no other time to incorporate the environmental sustainability rating into decision making .As new digital technologies are emerging in the construction sector, new tools are available to researchers to ease information management and consequent decision making by running analyses in an automated context before setting up the pavement design configuration.As a matter of fact, the digitalization of road infrastructure projects can be supported by workflows that improve not only the quality of the delivered project but also the efficiency of their development, improving communication and data flow between project participants. More and more digital tools and technologies are supporting construction and maintenance processes of road infrastructures, such as, in the case of linear infrastructures, infrastructure building information modeling (IBIM); IBIM has been already regarded as a tool that can help in the early detection of omissions and errors, improved productivity, structure simulation and analysis and improvement of communication between the actors of the process through more informed participation and data sharing. However, the adoption of IBIM in the infrastructure field and the issues related to linear asset management still significantly hinder further developments and adaptations to fully make the most of the listed benefits .Therefore, IBIM tools have recently begun to spread across infrastructure engineers to efficiently archive, store, manage and analyze large amounts of data generated by different actors and analytic tools involved in the project, ultimately aiming to support decision making in road asphalt pavement design and management ,15. For Looking more specifically at the leverage of IBIM tools to integrate pavement structural and performance data, Tang et al.  developeGradually, the need to control sustainability indicators and generate continuously relevant information related to life cycle environmental sustainability throughout the infrastructure project life cycle has found the potential application of IBIM tools, moving forward from just geometrical detail, 3D visualization ,21 and iTherefore, the full development of IBIM potential delivers a digital and smart representation of data-enriched objects created through the collaboration between the involved parties to provide feedback at the earliest possible time, improving decision-making processes, and prompt project efficiency at all stages of the life cycle .Little effort has been dedicated to the full integration of IBIM potentialities with life-cycle-based methodologies to assess the environmental and cost sustainability of a road project in light of more efficient decision making.Looking at what has been achieved in other engineering fields, Antón and Díaz  introducLooking at how researchers leveraged the information exchange to implement basic environmental sustainability assessments in the IBIM environment, Liu et al.  proposedAlthough the BIM/IBIM research has shown efficient possibilities to customize projects with detailed and automated analysis tools to integrate sustainability rating and criteria already in the design stage , a comprehensive effort has not been dedicated yet to (a) the depiction of a life-cycle-based sustainability framework specifically designed for IBIM of road pavement projects and (b) the integration of both the aspects of sustainability assessment/rating and planning of future maintenance interventions according to rational decision-making criteria within the IBIM of a road pavement.Definition of a decision support system oriented to reactive and predictive maintenance, which considers the variables related to economic and financial aspects up to the environmental and technical–operational ones related to the decay of specific status indicators; the framework must be compliant with ISO 19650 information management protocols see  and is aThe introduction of laboratory results related to road construction materials  into a BIM workflow.Digitization of the road pavement management process through the definition of a pavement information model aimed at IBIM-based sustainable maintenance management. Integration is intended not only for the automation of data management but also for the definition of specific information exchange management protocols related to the life cycle of a road pavement.For these reasons, the present research aims to fill the following gaps:The novelty of the study mainly consists of filling the knowledge gap on the use of IBIM as a decision-making tool for the selection of pavement design configurations to be applied during the construction/maintenance process according to multiple sustainability criteria; to reach this goal, a theoretical framework has been developed and subsequently coded as an IBIM plugin.The main practical–applicative feedback and relevant deliverable of the present work is the IBIM plugin in support of the designers and the road management bodies themselves, which interacts with the informative content  of an IBIM pavement digital model, supported by continuous and updated flows of data related to the monitoring of the pavement in situ, to provide instant, automated and continuous prediction of the performance, costs and environmental impacts of the life cycle.The present section focuses on the main methodologies applied to design the methodological framework on which the actual IBIM-based analytical tool relies, also in light of the definition of a proper pavement information model.First, the condition indicators, their thresholds and consequent maintenance actions were set up.During the service life of a pavement, its conditions should be accurately evaluated to identify the severity of pavement damages and types of pavement distress. Therefore, monitoring systems are considered a significant step in the maintenance processes.A typical document based on which visual assessments of pavement distresses are made is the Distress Identification Manual for the long-term pavement performance program .The type of pavement distresses and their degree of severity and extension concur to a single global indicator of pavement condition, i.e., the PCI, a widely used index derived from individual distress deduct values developed in the late 1970s by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers . It provThe reactive maintenance approach involves the continuous definition of the maintenance activities as a result of the distress surveys carried out through time; corrective measures are only initiated after clear pavement distress or other deficiencies in road condition have been identified . InsteadDisregarding any rational approach  to road pavement maintenance will result in what is often addressed as “urgent maintenance”, in which deep repairs are carried out after an event occurs that cannot be foreseen but requires immediate attention due to user safety concerns . The afoAiming to set up an automated reactive maintenance algorithm, a rigid set of rules and actions was originally developed in the present work based on the type, severity and density of each distress identified according to the Distress Identification Manual for the long-term pavement performance program . In detaSurface rehabilitation: it implies the milling and reconstruction of the wearing course and the assessment of the condition of the binder layer ;Deep rehabilitation: it consists of the milling and reconstruction of the wearing course and binder layer ;Reconstruction: it involves the full reconstruction of the asphalt layers  and subsequent control of the subbase bearing capacity.PCI values above 85 imply no maintenance interventions due to the good quality of the pavement surface.In particular, three main maintenance interventions were triggered by the PCI values see :Surface Once the type of maintenance action is defined, a proper pavement library must be set up to choose from alternative design configurations.Road flexible pavement design is a fundamental step to ensure the compatibility of the materials, pavement geometry and subgrade conditions with the loads expected during the useful life of the pavement. Ultimately, pavement design aims to define the optimum thickness of the pavement layers, given the structural model as an elastic, homogeneous and isotropic multilayer and several input data, such as the mechanical performance of the materials used for each layer  and the design service life, to prevent excessive extension of fatigue cracking damage and rut depth . A standThe target of pavement design is to ensure that specific distress indicators, such as fatigue cracking and rutting, are contained below certain predetermined thresholds.Fatigue cracking is a typical distress mechanism that occurs in flexible pavements; it starts at the bottom of the asphalt base layer and propagates to the surface as one or more interconnected cracks. An excessive extension of the area of the pavement affected by fatigue cracking may lead not only to reduced ease and safety in driving but also to the percolation of hazardous substances from the bonded layers to the soil and underground waters, especially when recycled materials are added to the asphalt mixtures .FD), which must be kept below 1 to avoid excessive deterioration of the surface quality , is determined as the sum of the seasonal share of relative damage produced by the ESALs passings during the i-th season, according to the Miner law, which is reported in Equation (1).in is the number of ESAL passages in the i-th season, which is computed through the AASHTO Design method  for the j-th maintenance solution and i-th criteria, respectively, among all maintenance solutions.Since all the criteria reported into the decision matrix has different units of measurements, normalization was carried out to obtain the normalized decision matrix i-th maintenance alternative is assigned a synthetic score based on the utility method [j-th indicator and the weight assigned to the j-th indicator (see Equation (10)).i-th alternative according to the utility method, j-th indicator and j-th indicator of the i-th maintenance alternative.Finally, each y method , equal tBefore the actual coding of the analysis tool, a careful pavement information model was defined considering the expected life cycle management results. Then, the main explanatory variables of the maintenance alternatives required careful and broad data collection. All the data related to the application of the present methodology to a case study are collected in the Set up data templates  to import the needed information in the programming interface and speed up the informatization of the pavement information model;Informatize the IBIM of a road pavement through property sets definition;Run calculations and update the property sets with the outcome of the maintenance algorithm and decision-making framework.The IBIM framework encompassed three main steps, as follows:Taking into account the engineered maintenance algorithm, a visual programming tool  was lev“Visual Programming Language” is a concept that provides designers with the necessary means to construct unique relationships between digital objects using a simple graphical user interface. Rather than coding from scratch, the user can assemble existing custom relationships by connecting prepackaged nodes together to make a custom algorithm. The main consequence is that designers, who do not usually have developed coding skills, can implement computational concepts and enrich their projects with targeted calculations.Dynamo allows designers to automate processes, perform data manipulation, implement relational structures and analytic capabilities and control Vasari Families and Parameters, which would not be usually possible without a conventional modeling interface. Last but not least, Dynamo offers the designer the opportunity of doing so within the context of an IBIM environment.At this point, the IBIM of the road pavement (Civil 3D ) was fulInput property: its value is assigned directly from the data template imported by the user and does not require additional calculations;Output property: its value is the result of the calculations of the analytic tools supporting the pavement IBIM.Each property, belonging to a specific property set, can be regarded as:Pset_Pavement: the property set includes the current features of the asphalt pavement, such as the asphalt mixture identifiers of each layer and the coefficients of the PCI, FD and R decay curves;Pset_WearingCourse, Pset_BinderLayer, Pset_BaseLayer: the three input property sets, each one attached to the respective asphalt layer of the pavement structure, include all the necessary information that should be uploaded in the BIM environment before performing the LCA in absence of a specific EPD;Pset_MADM: the property set includes the input parameters that set up the boundary conditions for MADM ;Pset_Maintenance: the property set includes both input  and output parameters  referred to the current pavement configuration;Pset_LCAindicators: the output property set includes the environmental impact categories that will be filled once the analysis tool is run on the current pavement configuration. In particular, hierarchical recipe midpoint impact assessment methodology  was chosPset_LCCAindicators: the property set includes both input (discount rate) and output parameters  used to characterize the life cycle cost dimension of the current pavement configuration.The following property sets were implemented into the IBIM environment see :Pset_PavSince the creation of property sets is time-consuming and could easily lead to errors in structuring the data, the command block embedded into the Dynamo programming interface was leveraged to automate the creation and upload of the parameters into the BIM environment.From the point of view of the integration of IBIM and life cycle analyses, Dynamo, a Civil3D extension that creates a dynamic link between the BIM environment and an open-source visual programming environment, was leveraged to equip the pavement BIM with additional analytic tools that run calculations and update the values of the object properties with the outputs of the calculations.A schematic overview of the designed analytic tools is reported in The PMS tool gathers the information  and calculates the type and timing of the maintenance interventions according to different maintenance approaches;The LCA/LCCA  must be executed in series to produce the desired decision-making result and are as follows:Each module of the algorithm also includes the production of reports, exported as spreadsheets, such as the time evolution of the condition indicators for each unit sample and the timing, type, cost and environmental impacts of each maintenance strategy for each unit.The elaborated procedure was applied, and its effectiveness was tested in a real case study, in which IBIM was used as a decision support system to choose the optimum maintenance intervention and draft future maintenance plans based on the available life cycle and performance data at the time of the analysis. The reference analysis period of the case study is equal to 50 y, and all the collected data are reported in the The case study under analysis refers to an existing section of a rural road in the Campania region  for which visual surveys of the type, extension and severity of distresses (and consequent PCI determination) have been carried out every 2 years for the past 6 years. The paper-based documentation regarding the geometry of the 1 km length existing road pavement section was collected and digitized to obtain the 3D digital model that was later enriched with the results of the decision-making framework.Additional data available to the managing road administration, such as the AADT and the predicted number of ESALs in 20 y, have been collected and reported in The current section briefly shows the results as they are obtained by feeding the information (collected into predetermined data templates) into the IBIM environment and running the BIM analysis tools.The final decision matrix obtained by running the algorithm in the IBIM environment is reported in 2, CH4, and NMVOC) from both industrial facilities and transportation of virgin raw materials to the asphalt plant, and the satisfactory performance in terms of FD and R accumulation, as well as the service life of the designed pavement. On the other hand, the traditional rehabilitation strategy with HMA both in the binder and wearing course does not provide satisfactory results in terms of GWP ; the underlying reason is the high frequency of maintenance interventions to keep the R condition index under the predetermined threshold of 20 mm depth, which entails a high consumption of virgin resources, fossil fuels and energy.Looking in detail at LCA results , which is able to dynamically interact and exchange information regarding, among others, the chosen design solution, in terms of layer thicknesses and the main features of the asphalt materials and the volumes of materials needed for the specific road works.The data collection for the calculation of the unit prices of the asphalt materials was carried out by analyzing the market prices of several local companies producing limestone and basaltic aggregates and asphalt mixtures, as well as companies carrying out road works that have already experimented with the cold in-place recycling technology procedures, other than the consultation of up-to-date price lists of regional public works , make up the overall pavement condition (PC);The LCC indicator alone represents the costs incurred by the road managing agency in the analysis period (LCCA);The 18 indicators obtained by LCA analysis were collected to constitute the environmental and human health performance of the asphalt mixtures (EHP).Before defining the weight vector for MADM, the 22 criteria were collected into three subgroups:The final weight vector was defined by distributing the weight evenly among each group.The best alternative that makes the most of the three groups of evaluation criteria is the reconstruction strategy with HMAC as the binder layer and CMRA as the base layer. In contrast, the alternatives with the traditional HMA as the base layer often qualify as the least performing, cost-effective and sustainable alternatives in the analysis period.A large number of examples are available in the scientific literature validating the use of MADM in pavement management problems, i.e., investment planning , prioritOne of the expected results in terms of IBIM information enrichment is the visualization of the results of the algorithm for each element of the pavement structure in an automated and dynamic way. As shown in With the concepts of sustainability and life cycle thinking becoming more important in the field of asphalt pavements and road pavement maintenance, the present work provided an effective framework to approach the use of IBIM platforms to provide additional analysis tools oriented towards sustainability in the field of road asphalt pavements, helping to assess the potential environmental impact and costs borne by the managing bodies to perform construction/maintenance treatments, expressed through multiple environmental and cost indicators calculated according to LCA and LCCA methodologies. The proposed tool expands the current knowledge on IBIM-LCA-LCCA integration oriented towards the promotion of sustainable pavement maintenance practices through tailored decision-making processes.Once the IBIM-based analysis tool was run, the environmental and cost assessment returned by the IBIM analysis tool allowed the in-depth analysis and comparison of several alternative road construction materials: the main source of variability of the environmental impact category indicators was the adoption of the cold in-place recycling technology for the reconstruction of the base layer, which lowered all the impact category indicators: on average, −22% for CMRA versus the HMA base layer. In particular, the substitution of natural aggregates with RAP lowered the emissions in water in terms of nitrogen and phosphorous compounds emitted during natural aggregates’ production and supply to the asphalt plant; furthermore, the asphalt materials that showed the best synergy between the minimization of environmental impacts and costs and maximization of the service life of the pavement solutions were the PMA combined with the base layer HMAJ, increasing the service life of a traditional HMA stratigraphy by 11 years.From the point of view of the potential impacts of the present work in the road industry, decision-makers and road managing bodies could benefit from the use of the developed methodology and application; the results of the work represent a necessary innovation to comply with the future needs of both local legislative frameworks regarding the mandatory application of building information modeling to public bidding processes and the adoption of minimum environmental criteria to spread sustainability across the conception, design and operational stages of the life cycle of infrastructure.Further efforts will be dedicated to the inclusion of an uncertainty analysis, which investigates the uncertainty of the input variables and its effect on the outcomes of the decision-making problem, and to the integration of social aspects through the application of a social LCA to complement the LCA and LCCA results and the extension of the problem of life-cycle-based road maintenance management to the network level.


To report the findings of fluorescein angiography (FA) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in a patient with malignant hypertensive retinopathy.A 41year-old male was referred to our clinic with sudden visual loss in both of his eyes after an acute rise of blood pressure (200/150 mmHg). Optic disc swelling, flame shape hemorrhages especially around the optic disc, arterial narrowing, vessel tortuosity, cotton wool spots, hard exudate deposition, and multiple deep orange spots (Elschnig spots) were visible in both eyes. In the OCTA, disruption in the normal tapering patterns of the superficial and deep capillary plexuses was observed. Elschnig spots were observed as hypointense spots in the choriocapillaris slab. Leakage of the optic nerve head was seen in the FA.When compared with the FA, the OCTA can illustrate the ischemic areas and the Elschnig spots with greater detail. The evaluation of hypertensive chorioretinopathy is possible by using both fluorescein angiography (FA) for retinal circulation and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) for choroidal circulation. Recently, optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) can show all retinal vascular structures in association with choroidal circulation by the detection of erythrocytes movements in vascular structures without any contrast injection.The acute rise of blood pressure may influence the retinal and choroidal vessels with multiple clinical features including serous retinal detachment, choroidal ischemia as Elschnig spots, etc.The aim of this study was to evaluate the findings of OCTA in patient with malignant hypertensive retinopathy and comparing it with finding of FA.A 41-year-old male who experienced sudden visual loss in both of his eyes five days prior to presentation was referred to our clinic. He had a history of hypertension and experienced an acute rise of blood pressure (200/150 mmHg) five days prior due to forgetting to consume his antihypertensive drugs.The best-corrected visual acuity using the Snellen chart and manifest refraction were, respectively, 20/50 and –1.25Irregularity and wrinkling of the retinal surface, slight retinal thickening, subretinal fluid, hyperreflective deposits with posterior shadowing compatible with hard exudates in the inner retinal layers, and some irregularity at the level of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and the choriocapillaris layer were observed in the SD-OCT of both eyes.The hypo-autofluorescence area identified around the optic nerve head , with some scattered hypo-autofluorescence images (coincident to flame shape hemorrhages) and multiple hyper-autofluorescence images particularly in the temporal portion of the macula were all illustrated in both eyes in the fundus autofluorescence imaging [Figure 1]. Optic disc leakage, multiple hypo-fluorescence imaging in the early phase continuing with central hypo-fluorescence and marginal hyper-fluorescence in the late phase coincident with Elschnig spots and some points of blockage in the hemorrhage spots were seen in the FA [Figure 1]. In the FA, only the leakage of the optic nerve head was identified.In the fovea imaging, the disruption in the normal tapering pattern of the superficial and deep capillary plexuses especially in the inferior nasal and superior temporal of the fovea compatible with the ischemic areas were prominently defined. These findings were marginally revealed in 67 the FA [Figures 2 & 3]. Similar findings with less severity were observed in his left eye [Figure 4]. The 68 Elschnig spots were also revealed at the choriocapillaris level (30 μm below the RPE) in the form of 69 hypo intense spots in both eyes [Figure 2].,4Hypertensive retinopathy is defined with wide varieties of alterations in retinal vessels comprising diffuse or focal arterial narrowing, vessels tortuosity, hemorrhages and hard exudate deposits due to the hyperpermeability of vessels, and optic disc swelling. OCTA is a new amplitude and phase-based imaging technique that can illustrate separately the capillary vessels of the retina together with large vascular structures by sensing the transverse and axial movement of blood cells without any intravenous contrast injection.,6FA cannot show the majority of the parts of the capillary networks because of light scattering. In spite of that it is the standard method in the assessment of retinal circulation.The ischemic areas in both the superficial and deep capillary plexuses in addition to the enlargement of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) were clearly visible in the OCTA; however, these findings were minimally revealed in the FA on our patient. On the other hand, there were no significant differences between the macular areas of both eyes in the FA, but the best-corrected visual acuity of both eyes showed considerable difference. The amount of ischemic areas and enlargement of the FAZ were obviously larger in both the superficial and deep capillary networks in the right eye as compared to the left eye in the OCTA. It might be approximately proportional with visual acuity. It can be concluded that OCTA may have the prognostic role in the assessment of the visual outcome in vascular diseases.Consequently, confirmation of this hypothesis requires further studies with larger sample sizes and long-term follow-up.,8 The existence of Elschnig spots in the choriocapillaris layer were prominently revealed as hypointens lesions in the OCTA in a greater quantity when compared with FA. Elschnig spots are clearly visible in the ICGA as hypofluorescent spots. Kawashima et al reported that more Elschnig spots were visible in the ICGA as compared to the FA. A greater amount of Elshnig spots were revealed and were prominently visible in the OCTA in comparison to the FA. It seems that the OCTA may be of more valuable assistance than the FA in the illustration of hypofluorescent spots in the choriocapillaris layer. Rotsos et al reported a finding of multimodal imaging in two patients with hypertensive chorioretinopathy. They observed hyperreflective lesions in the OCTA of their patients without detection of the focal ischemic area at the choriocapillaris level (Elschnig spots). They proposed that these hyperreflective lesions may be related to fibrin deposits developing on top of the RPE. They mentioned that the lack of displaying of the Elschnig spots on the OCTA might be explained by the resolution of the imaging. The inability of the OCTA in illustrating the Elschnig spots may be partly related to an artifact produced by hyperreflective deposits overlying the RPE. In contrast to their findings, we discovered that OCTA can detect Elschnig spots very well. Consequently, the OCTA is deemed more accurate in detection and better in the visualization of the microvascular structure of the retina and choroid than the FA in diagnosing hypertensive retinopathy.Focal necrosis in the choroidal arterioles results in ischemia of the overlying choriocapillaris layer and resultant RPE damage that is known as Elschnig spots.It may be concluded that the OCTA can illustrate the microvascular changes within the ischemic area in addition to identifying Elschnig spots with greater details than FA in malignant hypertensive retinopathy.None.There are no conflicts of interest.


The impact of bitumen components on soil and groundwater resources is of environmental importance. Contaminants’ influx into the environment from bitumen components through anthropogenic activities such as exploration, mining, transportation, and usage of bitumen in all its forms have been reported globally. However, gaps exist in the geogenic occurrence of bitumen in the shallow subsurface such as in southwest Nigeria, contaminating the soil and groundwater resources. This review presents in situ bitumen seeps as a source of geogenic soil and groundwater contaminants in southwestern Nigeria. We conducted a systematic review of literatures based on defined selection criteria. We derived information on the state of knowledge about bitumen seep occurrences and distribution in southwestern Nigeria. Also, the processes that exacerbate bitumen contaminants’ influx into soil and groundwater were enunciated. At the same time, case examples highlighted areas for possible in situ bitumen contamination studies in Nigeria. The results of this review showed that a multidisciplinary approach has been employed to assess and monitor the contaminants resulting from the various activities involving the exploitation and application of bitumen in Nigeria. These studies emphasize bitumen contaminants as emanating from anthropogenic sources. The results also suggested that bitumen studies have been mainly exploratory to improve the understanding of the economic potential of the hydrocarbon reserve. Also, recent advances in bitumen contaminants studies accounted for the heterogeneous nature of the bitumen. This allows for the optimized categorization of the mechanism and processes undergone by the different bitumen components when released as environmental contaminants. However, a knowledge gap exists in characterizing and understanding the effects of in situ bitumen seeps as a geogenic source of soil and groundwater contamination. This review identifies the possibility of geogenic soil and groundwater contamination by in situ bitumen seeps in the coastal plain sand of the Dahomey basin in southwestern Nigeria. The impact of the bitumen contaminants on the environment was discussed, while methods for accessing the occurrence and distribution of the bitumen contaminants were highlighted. Bitumen is a dense mixture of heterogeneous hydrocarbon compounds produced from the temporal degradation of lighter crude oil  statement 2009 Geology of the study areaThis describes the state of knowledge on the history and mode of occurrence of bitumen deposits and seepages within the basin of interest. Stratigraphic and structural controls on bitumen seep formation were discussed.(B)Environmental importance of seeping bitumenHere, the possibility of bitumen components acting as a source of dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) contaminants in the environment is discussed. This was described from the chemical composition of seeping bitumen from the study area with references to areas where bitumen contaminations have been reported globally.(C)Bitumen contamination processesBitumen within the surface or near-surface environment has been proven to be a source of soil and groundwater contaminant. This is made possible by various processes undergone by the bitumen components in the environment. This section describes the types of processes resulting in the contamination of soil and groundwater in the environment and the corresponding results of such contamination from in situ bitumen contamination observed within the study area and with references to similar scenarios in other regions with known bitumen contaminations.(D)Case historyThis aspect highlights and discusses key findings from relevant literature on the origin, occurrence, and composition of bitumen seeps within the study area, while also pointing to several works done so far in understanding the environmental impact of the seeping bitumen components on soil and groundwater resources.(E)ConclusionsThe review concluded by identifying the different methods employed within the study area to assess the effect of bitumen-sourced contaminants on soil and groundwater resources while drawing a comparison with work done globally. The article identifies knowledge gaps in previous studies on bitumen contamination within the southwestern regions of Nigeria. This review, therefore, presents a unique opportunity for further studies.The content of the review is grouped into sections as follows:Bitumen typically consists mainly of hydrocarbons categorized as saturates, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes , and other oxygenated hydrocarbon molecules. D’Auria et al., , “A review of the occurrence, distribution and impact of bitumen seeps on soil and groundwater in parts of southwestern, Nigeria 2022”, Mendeley Data, V1, 10.17632/t27pdtbdnc.1


Mental health disorders are considered a priority in health policies around the world. It is estimated that more than 900 million people worldwide have a mental disorder, in which stress-related disorders account for a high number of emergency department visits. The scientific literature has pointed out the importance of considering how gender and sex differences influence the clinical outcomes of people with mental illness, playing an important role in the clinical management of these patients.The aim of this report is to investigate the presence of gender differences in the care of psychiatric patients attending the emergency department (ED), taking into account the clinical characteristics, reasons for consultation and practices.The study considered all episodes of patients who visited the ED during 2017 and who were assessed by the psychiatric department. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistic software.During the 12 months period, a total of 3180 episodes were evaluated by the psychiatric department in the ED. Of them, 1723 were female  and 1457 male. Regarding clinical data, there were found statistically significant differences with respect to the pharmacological prescription in the ED, specifically in the prescription of benzodiazepines, psychiatric diagnoses after discharge and the indication of hospital admission between women and men.This study emphasizes the importance of considering the existence of gender differences in both the clinical presentation as well as in the care of psychiatric patients attending the ED. The analysis of these variables would help to improve the health care of psychiatric patients.


In this second presentation, the representatives of each of the four JADECARE oGPs, Jon Txarramendieta , Josep Roca , Manfred Zahorka  and Kuno Strand Kudajewski  will describe the main traits of the Core Features of their practices and the Next adopters that will transfer and adapt them highlighting the transfer challenges.


Enterprise performance is a critical component of any organizational success that is directly affected by its employees and the culture prevailing in the organizations. In order to gain strategic advantage from the employee brand equity it is important that organizations make efforts in retaining such employees that benefit the organizations. Therefore, this research examines the impact of employee brand equity and knowledge sharing culture on the enterprise performance with the mediating role of innovative capabilities. A self-administered survey was conducted among the 323 employees of information technology sector working in the software houses in China. Smart PLS has been used to analyze the data through partial least square structural equation modeling. Results of the study have demonstrated that knowledge sharing culture plays a significant role in the enterprise performance while employee brand equity could not find statistically significant impact on enterprise performance. In addition, the SEM analysis further showed that employee brand equity and knowledge sharing culture play a significant role in the innovative capabilities. Results also revealed that innovative capabilities mediate the effect of employee brand equity and knowledge sharing culture variables on the enterprise performance. This research enriches the literature by examining the role of knowledge sharing culture in enterprise performance and innovative capabilities. This research further offers certain implications for the human resource department in developing their human resources. This can be achieved by availing the maximum skills of the branded employees by creating learning opportunities for the other employees through training sessions where they help and share their experiences. Employee engagement is recognized as a persistent, positive, and pervasive work-related psychological phenomenon related to the dedication and vigor efforts taken by the employees toward the organization . This tyEnterprise performance is a concept of public management practice and research that mainly deals with aspects band factors that boost the performance . HoweverEmployee brand engagement is activity related to the employees’ involvement in the organization’s brand . This enOrganizations develop strategies to engage the employee to induce employee brand engagement. Branding itself is a complex phenomenon that needs the attention of researchers . ScholarThe literature has shown the importance of knowledge sharing that includes experiences, knowledge, and skills of the organizational members . Both prKnowledge sharing is comprised of three significant aspects i.e., the process of knowledge sharing, the type of knowledge shared within the firm, and the approaches of knowledge sharing . The twoSwift technological advancement and a competitive business environment foster the organizations to utilize their resources like human capital to enhance innovative capability . The innScientific developments and technologies in the era of globalization and a fast-changing environment benefit the firms to become flexible, efficient, and responsive . ConsequStudies, such as  and Sak, have beThe present study developed a few objectives based on the literature, which are to: examine the impact of employee brand engagement on enterprise performance, investigate the influence of knowledge sharing culture on enterprise performance, analyze the role of employee brand engagement on innovative capabilities, and determine the role of knowledge sharing culture on innovative capabilities. The study also established the objectives related to the mediating role of innovative capabilities, which are to: investigate the mediating role of innovative capabilities in the relationship between employee brand engagement and enterprise performance and analyze the mediating role of innovative capabilities in the relationship between knowledge sharing culture and enterprise performance. The research questions have also been developed which are: what is the impact of employee brand engagement on enterprise performance? What is the influence of knowledge-sharing culture on enterprise performance? What is the role of employee brand engagement on innovative capabilities? What is the role of knowledge-sharing culture on innovative capabilities? The study also established the research questions related to the mediating role of innovative capabilities, and the questions are: do innovative capabilities mediate the relationship between employee brand engagement and enterprise performance? And do innovative capabilities mediate the relationship between knowledge sharing culture and enterprise performance?The study intends to analyze the role of organizational-related and employee-related factors that affect enterprise performance. In this regard, the study examined the role of employee brand engagement and knowledge sharing culture on enterprise performance in China. The study also determined the mediating effect of innovative capabilities in the relationship between employee brand engagement and enterprise performance. The framework of the study has been based on social exchange theory (SET) and employee stewardship theory (SET).The social exchange theory (SET) developed by Based on the conceptual framework of the study, the hypotheses proposed that a knowledge-sharing culture affects innovative capabilities and enterprise performance. In the light of the social exchange theory, the theory explicitly states that the benefits obtained by the individual during the social exchange are beneficial for the organization. Knowledge-sharing culture promotes social relationships and interactions within the organization because employees communicate with one another while sharing knowledge. Consequently, the social relationship built through knowledge sharing influences the innovative capabilities of the employees and enterprise performance.Employee stewardship theory (EST) developed by The framework of the study demonstrated that employee brand engagement impacts innovative capabilities and enterprise performance. This is based on employee stewardship theory which also states that employees’ intrinsic motivation allows them to work effectively for the organization. Thus, intrinsic motivation (employee brand engagement) positively develops innovation capabilities of the employees to meet the goals and objectives of the organization and enhance enterprise performance. The innovative capabilities are significant for the employees because the present era requires employees who can think innovatively and creatively for the organization.Employee brand engagement is activity related to the employees’ involvement in the organization’s brand . It is oThe performance of the organization or enterprise is based on articulated, well-planned, and effective employee brand engagement policies and strategies. Studies have attempted to establish different techniques for developing employee brand engagement, refining employee brand engagement, and understanding this complex phenomenon . For exavia employee engagement. Moreover, The relationship between employee engagement and organizational performance among information technology (IT) employees have been found by H1.Employee Brand Engagement has an effect on Enterprise PerformanceIn this present era of a knowledge-based economy, the role of knowledge is crucial in enhancing the overall value of the organization . IndividOrganizational culture dynamically influences the system of learning in which employees can exchange and share ideas or job experiences through social interactions and communication . The cogThe knowledge-sharing ability of the employees develops the capability to attain a competitive advantage . ResearcH2.Knowledge Sharing Culture has an effect on Enterprise PerformanceEmployee innovative capabilities rely on employee engagement . The empThe engagement of the top management toward their organization impacts the employee engagement level . In brieEmployee engagement leads to innovation through the innovative capabilities of the employees, and due to these capabilities, employees do beyond their roles by collaborating with their peers, making improvements for the organization, and working for the organization to stand in the business market . EmployeH3.Employee Brand Engagement has an effect on Innovative CapabilitiesOne of the most crucial factors that encourage innovation in the employees is a knowledge-sharing culture . InnovatThere are mainly two types of knowledge i.e., tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. H4.Knowledge Sharing Culture has an effect on Innovative CapabilitiesOrganizations are developing strategies and methods to maximize the innovative capabilities of the employees for sustaining competitive advantage . InnovatBoth motivation and employee engagement are the biggest drivers of innovative work behavior . EmployeInnovation is regarded as an important indicator of organizational success which is the key to attaining competitive advantage . AccordiAlthough studies have been conducted to examine the relationship between employee engagements, knowledge sharing culture, enterprise performance, and innovative capabilities, limited studies focused on the mediating role of innovative capabilities in the relationship between employee brand engagement and enterprise performance and between knowledge sharing culture and enterprise performance. Therefore, this study proposed that:5.H Innovative capabilities mediate the relationship between Employee Brand Engagement and Enterprise Performance6.H Innovative capabilities mediate the relationship between Knowledge Sharing Culture and Enterprise PerformanceThe effects of employee brand engagement and knowledge sharing culture on enterprise performance, in addition to the mediating role of innovative capabilities were checked and analyzed in this study. This research has used a quantitative research design along with deductive approach to check the above-mentioned effects and mediating relationships. In particular, the hypotheses have been developed through rigorous review of literature in the study for checking the effect of employee brand engagement and knowledge sharing culture on the enterprise performance. Quantitative research design has been used in this study to make sure that biases do not affect the analysis and results of this research. The data collection process for this research was aided through the questionnaire survey that was administered by the researcher themselves. The respondents were encouraged to stay neutral since there is no correct or false response to the questions given. The population selected in this study is the employees of information technology sector working in the software houses in China. The sampling technique used in this research was the convenience sampling as it gives the liberty to the researcher to collect data from the respondents based on the availability of the respondents and comfort of the researcher . The uniStructural equation modeling (SEM) analysis has been employed on the data to reach the concluding behavior of the data. It has followed the partial least square approach using the software Smart PLS. This helps the researcher to analyze data with the help of path modeling in a short time . ThroughA five-point Liker scale-based questionnaire has been used by the researchers to collect data from the respondents. Description of the scales used for each variable has been given in below.Scale for the independent variable of employee brand engagement consisting of nine items has been borrowed from Results obtained through the Cronbach alpha and composite reliabilities have been used in this research to check the construct reliability. In order to show the internal consistency in the data, The present research has also checked the discriminant validity of the scales using Fornell and Larcker criterion and HTMT (Heterotrait-Monotrait) ratio. Results of these tests are reported in the The coefficient of determination (r-square) explains the sustainability of the model fit indicating how much obtained values fit the regression line . A coeffp-values. According to p-value it should be less than 0.05.p-value reported for this relationship are , hence rejecting H1. The second hypothesis of the research states knowledge sharing culture has an effect on enterprise performance. The t-statistics and p-value reported for this relationship are , hence accepting H2. The third hypothesis of the research states that employee brand engagement has an effect on innovative capabilities. The t-statistics and p-value reported for this relationship are , hence accepting H3. The fourth hypothesis of the research states that employee brand engagement has an effect on innovative capabilities. The t-statistics and p-value reported for this relationship are , hence accepting H4.There are total six hypotheses in this study. Four hypotheses are checking the direct effects of the independent variables on the dependent variables. p-value reported for this relationship is , hence accepting H5. The second indirect effect of this research is about innovative capabilities mediate the relationship of knowledge sharing culture and enterprise performance. The t-statistic and p-value reported for this relationship is , hence accepting H6.The gap in the literature was addressed by examining the impact of employee brand engagement and knowledge sharing culture on enterprise performance with the mediation of innovative capabilities. The direct relationships between the variables were examined i.e., the effect of employee brand engagement on enterprise performance, the effect of knowledge sharing culture on enterprise performance, the effect of employee brand engagement on innovative capabilities, and knowledge sharing culture on innovative capabilities. The indirect or mediating effect of innovative capabilities was also analyzed in the present study which states that innovative capabilities mediate the relationship between employee brand engagement and enterprise performance and innovative capabilities mediate the relationship between knowledge sharing culture and enterprise performance. The study from the results obtained presented some important insights into the organizational dynamics.The first hypothesis posited that employee brand engagement has an effect on enterprise performance. The results of this hypothesis revealed that the relationship between employee brand engagement and enterprise performance is insignificant. These findings were contrary to the findings of The third hypothesis posited that employee brand engagement has an effect on innovative capabilities. The results of this hypothesis revealed that the relationship between employee brand engagement and innovative capabilities is significant. These results are in harmony with the findings of The fifth hypothesis got accepted which posited that innovative capabilities mediate the relationship between employee brand engagement and enterprise performance. These results are synchronous with the findings obtained by This research contributes significantly to the theory of organizational behavior and performance management. Firstly, the role of employee brand equity in the enterprise performance and innovative capabilities has been examined. Such setting of variables has not been examined before; hence, this study has significantly contributed to the management literature. Secondly, this research has found that employee brand equity does not play any role in the enterprise performance; rather it significantly impacts the innovative capabilities of the organizations. The literature has also been enriched by examining the role of knowledge sharing culture in enterprise performance and innovative capabilities. Thirdly, it has been found that knowledge sharing culture plays significant role in improving the enterprise performance through encouraging the innovative capabilities. This research has also explored the mediating role of innovative capabilities between the knowledge sharing culture, employee brand equity and the enterprise performance. Consequently, this research is vital as it gives insight into the role of knowledge sharing culture, innovative capabilities and employee brand equity in overall enterprise’s performance.This research gives some solid practical implications for the organizations and corporate sector based on the findings of the study. Firstly, it is important for the organizations in corporate sector and software houses in information technology sector to encourage the knowledge sharing culture to enhance their overall enterprise performance. The study has shown that when the knowledge sharing culture prevails in the organizations, performance of the enterprise’s flourishes. Secondly, when the employees owning brand equity work for organizations, it helps them nourish the innovative capabilities of the organizations through empowering the coworkers by engaging them with productive processes. The human resource department can then decide whether the branded employee should be paid extra for this extra role behavior and to retain them. Similarly, there lies a responsibility with the organizations and the human resource department to avail the maximum skills of the employee brand equity by creating the opportunities for the other employees through training sessions where the elite employees share their experiences. Furthermore, this study will help the top management of the organizations to invest in the employee brand equity by hiring them for the betterment of the organizational overall environment because it supports in the enhancement of the innovative capabilities which ultimately contribute to the performance of the enterprise.This research has been carried out in the information technology sector, considering the role of employee brand equity and knowledge sharing culture in the enterprise performance with mediation of innovative capabilities. The current study has used the sample of employees working in the software houses which limits the findings of the study. This research is based on the conceptual understanding of the researcher which opens new avenues for exploring other dimensions in different dynamics therefore, it can be checked in other working setups like construction industry, manufacturing industry or assembling industry can also be considered to get more insight into the conceptual model. This study can yield more interesting results if conducted in the European setting where wages and the labor laws are different from China that how employee brand equity plays its part in enterprise performance and innovative capabilities. Therefore, it is encouraged to explore more aspects to discuss the framework and findings of this research that will enlighten and validate the aforementioned relationships. Hence, empirical testing of the proposed framework is encouraged by introducing other important mediating factors like emotional intelligence, employee absorptive capacity or moral disengagement or the moderating variables like gender, employee well being. It will also be interesting to check the impact of employee brand equity and knowledge sharing culture in producing the employee ambassadorship in organizational setting.Enterprise performance is the most critical element for the organizations. Therefore, organizations keep on finding new ways and devise means to enhance their performance. In this study, certain determinants have been found that are important for the organizations in enhancing their performance. In present study, the role of employee brand equity and knowledge sharing culture has been examined in enterprise performance. Further, the mediating role of innovative capability has also been checked. Results of this research have described that employee brand equity does not play a role in the enterprise performance; however, knowledge sharing culture is an important determinant of the enterprise performance. The structural equation modeling also revealed that innovative capability significantly mediates the relationship of employee brand equity with enterprise performance; and the relationship of knowledge sharing culture and enterprise performance. It also offers a significant contribution to the literature by testing a comprehensive model on the employee brand equity and enterprise performance in the organizational setting in China. There are some implications as well for the human resource departments of the organizations in catering the branded employees by offering extra compensations for their extra role behaviors they exhibit in the organization in the form of innovative capabilities.The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.The 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.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.


The 2020 year was the first year of Covid19 pandemy in Serbia. Epidemiological measures introduced to prevent the spread of the infection have shaped both the everyday life of citizens and the way the health system of our country functions. A large number of those infected required the redistribution of health personnel to work in covid zones and therefore the work with non covid patients suffered.The aim of the study is to process and present the epidemiological characteristics of hospitalized patients at the Clinic for Psychiatry of the Clinical Center of Vojvodina in Novi Sad in 2020.A retrospective analytical study of the epidemiological type was conducted.During 2020, a total of 1345 patients were hospitalized at our Clinic, which is over 30% less than during the previous year. Several males, aged 19 to 45, with a predominant diagnosis of psychosis, were hospitalized. Hospitalizations lasted significantly shorter than during the previous year. The number of relapses was significantly lower. Patients with other diagnoses of mental disorders are significantly less often hospitalized, except for those with addiction diseases who are hospitalized in a reduced percentage.Restrictive epidemiological measures led to a significant reduction in the number of hospitalizations at our Clinic, primarily because patients were prevented from exercising their right to health care, but also because of the mobilization of all healthy defense mechanisms in a collective crisis situation and consequently reduced psychopathological manifestations.No significant relationships.


Particle packing plays an essential role in industry and chemical engineering. In this work, the discrete element method is used to generate the cylindrical particles and densify the binary cylindrical particle mixtures under the poured packing conditions. The influences of the aspect ratio and volume fraction of particles on the packing structure are measured by planar packing fraction. The Voronoi tessellation is used to quantify the porous structure of packing. The cumulative distribution functions of local packing fractions and the probability distributions of the reduced free volume of Voronoi cells are calculated to describe the local packing characteristics of binary mixtures with different volume fractions. As a result, it is observed that particles with larger aspect ratios in the binary mixture tend to orient randomly, and the particles with smaller aspect ratios have a preferentially horizontal orientation. Results also show that the less dense packings are obtained for mixtures with particles of higher aspect ratios and mixtures with a larger fraction of elongated cylindrical particles. Particle packing is widely used in industry and nature. It is a significant subject that has been studied for a long time. Previous studies of particle packing have primarily focused on the packing of spherical particles due to their simple shape. However, non-spherical particles are usually more involved in industry and everyday life. In chemical engineering, cylindrical particles have been used for heat transfer and catalytic reactions ,2. The pResearchers mainly focused on the study of binary mixtures in order to improve the packing density of non-spherical particles. Previous studies were concentrated on the packing densification of binary spherocylinders  and binaRecently, the discrete element method (DEM) developed by Cundall and Stark  has beenInvestigating the behavior of the particle assembly as a whole, as well as the average packing fraction over the domain, would be beneficial ,16. HoweThe particle-centered technique, such as the Voronoi tessellation (VT), has been widely used in the design of local cells for spherical packings ,21,22,23Therefore, the aim of the study is to analyze thoroughly the porous structure of binary mixtures of cylindrical particles of different aspect ratios focusing on the local porosity structure. For this purpose, cylindrical particles are modeled by the SQ approach, packing densification of binary mixtures of the cylindrical particles is simulated using the DEM, the planar packing fraction is calculated by applying voxelization code, and finally, the microstructure of packing is analyzed by VT method for the poured packing of binary mixtures.The main contribution of this paper is to expand our understanding of the packing structure of binary mixtures of cylindrical particles with various aspect ratios. The authors compare the local packing structure of compacts using the Voronoi tessellation approach and analyze the planar packing fraction distributions along all axes. They also contribute to the study of the orientation of cylindrical particles in the compacts and the spatial distribution of different aspect ratio particles in the compact cross-section.The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. The present work follows our previous work on microstructure analysis of compacts of equal-size cylindrical particles by DEM . It focua, b, and c are the superquadric half-lengths along the x, y, and z axes, respectively. The shape sharpness parameter y-z and x-z planes, and the parameter x-y plane. The inside-outside function by Equation (1) is specified in superquadric-centered local coordinates. The cylindrical particles were generated using the SQ approach. The particle shape and size are determined by the geometric parameters of the superquadric, such as half-lengths and sharpness indices. The so-called inside-outside function defining the superquadric for a three-dimensional particle has the following form :(1)fA= is formulated asThe forces and torques affecting the particle are calculated asThe Hertz–Midlin contact model is used in the present study .The mechanical and physical properties of the particles and the DEM simulation parameters are shown in Planar packing fraction is a measure of the packing density of a particle assembly on a certain plane. In order to obtain planar packing fraction by voxelization method, the open-source program  was applcV/pV and cV/pV−1, respectively [cV is the Voronoi cell volume and pV is the cylindrical particle volume. The open-source program PySetVoronoi  was usedectively . Here, VThe projected positions of particles in the horizontal plane are shown in The orientation of cylindrical particles is demonstrated in x and y directions, indicating the poor mating of the curved surfaces of the particles against the flat surface of the wall. Significant oscillations in bed porosity near the wall were also reported by Zhang et al. [z direction quickly decreases at the end, demonstrating that the particles at the top of the container are not evenly distributed. A similar trend in the axial distribution of local porosity of polydisperse cylindrical particle packed-bed was described by Zhang et al. [A weak wall effect can be observed from the analysis of the packing fraction variation plots for packings of cylindrical particles . Two prog et al.  for the g et al. . The effThe cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) of the local packing fraction are shown in The probability distribution functions (PDFs) of the reduced free volume of Voronoi cells are represented in This study has focused on the microstructural analysis of poured packings of binary cylindrical particle mixtures with the same volume but different aspect ratios and volume fractions. The particles of approximately cylindrical shape were generated using superquadrics. By applying the DEM approach, binary mixtures of the cylindrical particles were simulated, and their packing microstructure was thoroughly analyzed via voxelization and Voronoi tessellation. The simulation results demonstrate that the particles with the larger aspect ratio in the binary mixture tend to orient randomly, and the particles with the smaller aspect ratio are preferentially horizontally oriented. The planar packing fraction curves show that 75% of elongated particles mixed with the 25% cylinders with AR = 1 demonstrate the lowest packing fraction. The cumulative distribution functions of local packing fractions are more uniform and have smaller median values corresponding to the looser packing for mixtures with more elongated cylindrical particles. The probability distribution functions of the reduced free volume of Voronoi cells become wider and shift to larger cell volumes with the increase of particle aspect ratio and volume fraction of cylinders with high aspect ratio. The microstructural characterization of the packing can be used in understanding the local packing structure. The limitation of the present research is that the cylindrical particles generated using superquadrics are geometrically symmetrical and convex with smooth boundaries. The packing structure of such particles could differ from the packing structure of the cylinders with planar faces. Therefore, the present research will be extended in the future by considering the packing of polydisperse cylinders with planar faces.


Aim: To study the sphenopalatine foramen in terms of its numeric variation and its location on the lateral nasal wall in relation to the bony ethmoidal crest of the palatine bone. Materials and methods: The anatomical studies were carried out in 54 hemifaces. Results: the sphenopalatine foramen presented the following numeric variation: single , double , and triple (1.9% or one specimen); it was located at the superior nasal meatus in 81.5%, or 44 specimens; 14.8% (8 specimens) between the middle and superior nasal meatus and in the middle nasal meatus in only one case (1.9%). Conclusion: We have been able to show a numeric variation of the SPF, its relation with the bony ethmoidal crest and its location in the superior meatus, middle meatus, and in both.Anatomical variations of the sphenopalatine foramen may correspond to alterations at the arterial nasal irrigation input, which is a relevant condition to treat severe epistaxis through ligation of the sphenopalatine artery.  Nasal hemorrhage is one of the most common problems otorhinolaryngologists face in their specialty; severe cases may be characterized as a medical emergency.The sphenopalatine foramen consists of a notch on the superior border of the palatine bone, between the orbital and sphenoid processes; the notch becomes a foramen at the point in which the palatine bone articulates with the sphenoid bone in the lateral nasal wall. It may be a complete orifice or traversed by one or more bony spiculae, suggesting more than one orifice.Nikolic (1967)13According to some authors, the sphenopalatine foramen may be found in the superior nasal meatus in the nasal cavity.It is essential that surgeons possess ample knowledge of the anatomy, physiology, surgical techniques and complications,The Faculdade de Odontologia de Bauru, Universidade de Sao Paulo, exempted this study from requiring an approval protocol number from the Research Ethics Committee since it was conducted on anatomical specimens belonging to the Anatomy Department of Biological Sciences of that institution. We conducted anatomical studies of the nasal cavity in 54 female and male Caucasian and non-Caucasian adult half skulls. Nasofibroscopy was done initially in all half skulls to screen for anatomical variants or previous surgery. Half skulls consisted of median sagittally cut bone specimens. We aimed to identify the sphenopalatine foramen and its number variation by visually observing and photographing the half skulls. Anatomical observations to locate the sphenopalatine foramen relative to adjacent nasal cavity structures were done; this involved identifying the position of the bony crest of the middle nasal turbinate (COM) in relation to the foramen. The following criteria were used: the sphenopalatine foramen was considered as located in the superior nasal meatus (MS) when the posterior tip of the bony crest of the middle nasal turbinate pointed to the anterior and inferior border of the sphenopalatine foramen; it was considered as located in the middle nasal meatus (MM) when the bony crest of the middle nasal turbinate pointed to the anterior and superior border of the sphenopalatine foramen; and it was considered as located between the middle and superior nasal meatuses (MS-MM) when the bony crest of the middle nasal turbinate pointed to the median line of the sphenopalatine foramen. The parts that contained the bony crest of the superior nasal turbinate (COS) relative to the sphenopalatine foramen were also identified. A Nikon Coolpix 900 digital camera was used for photography. A 5-millimeter scale was placed next to each specimen as a size reference for each picture. The 54 color pictures were recorded on a CD-ROM, and are currently part of the author’s personal collection.In this study we found that 47 specimens contained single orifices (87%) , six speA study of the location of the sphenopalatine foramen on the lateral nasal wall relative to the bony crest middle nasal turbinate revealed that in 44 specimens the bony crest of the middle nasal turbinate pointed to the inferior border of the sphenopalatine foramen, placing it in the superior nasal meatus (MS) . In eighWe also found that in four specimens with double sphenopalatine foramens, these foramens were placed one above the other and had different sizes; the superior orifice was larger and the inferior orifice was the smallest. In these specimens, the bony crest of the middle nasal turbinate pointed to the sphenopalatine foramen in such a way as to indicate a superior and an inferior orifice . In two In this study we were able to identify the presence of the bony crest of the superior nasal turbinate (COS) pointing to the sphenopalatine foramen in 30 specimens (55.6%)  and 3.Our results support data in the literature about the number variation of the sphenopalatine foramenIt is recognized that the number variation of the sphenopalatine foramen is probably the main element explaining the failure of surgery when ligating the branches of the sphenopalatine artery in the treatment of nasal bleeding.Given the importance of identifying the bony ethmoidal crest of the palatine bone, onto which the middle nasal turbinate is linked, and which is an anatomical and surgical landmark for locating the sphenopalatine foramen in an endonasal access, that structure was also observed. Our results revealed that in 44 specimens (81.5%) the distal tip of the bony crest of the middle nasal turbinate pointed towards the inferior margin of the sphenopalatine foramen, locating it in the superior nasal meatus; the sphenopalatine foramen was located between the superior and middle nasal meatuses in eight specimens 14%); the foramen was fully located in the middle meatus in only one specimen (1.9%). These results disagree with those that place the sphenopalatine foramen only in the superior nasal meatus,%; the foAside from the comments about the bony crest of the middle nasal turbinate, we also noted that in 30 specimens (55.6%), the bony crest of the superior nasal turbinate pointing towards the superior border of the sphenopalatine foramen. This finding has also been often reported.Our study showed a single sphenopalatine foramen in most of the study specimens, although there were double and tripe foramens. We noted the number variation of the sphenopalatine foramen, and consequently of the branches of the sphenopalatine artery, supporting the surgical treatment of severe epistaxis with fewer failures.


Sensory and sensorimotor gating provide the early processing of information under conditions of rapid presentation of multiple stimuli. Gating deficiency is observed in various psychopathologies, in particular, in schizophrenia. However, there is also a significant proportion of people in the general population with low filtration rates who do not show any noticeable cognitive decline. The review article presents a comparative analysis of existing data on the peculiarities of cholinergic and dopaminergic mechanisms associated with lowering gating in healthy individuals and in patients with schizophrenia. The differences in gating mechanisms in cohorts of healthy individuals and those with schizophrenia are discussed. The mechanisms of sensory and sensorimotor gating provide adaptive patterns of responses to multiple stimuli presented with rapid succession  in a condition–test paradigm is considered the putative measure of sensory gating. A deficit of sensory gating may result in sensory overflood and inappropriate assessment of stimuli salience  of the startle response is applied Graham, . In thisThe individual characteristics of sensory and sensorimotor gating are assumed to contribute to higher cognitive functions , which are deficient under psychopathological conditions  and sensorimotor (PPI) gating in populations of mentally healthy people and patients with schizophrenia. The most attention was paid to the results of genetic and pharmacological studies.The startle reaction is a generalized defensive reaction evoked by a sudden intensive stimulus. In humans, startle is mainly estimated by the blink component. The most often used model is acoustic startle reaction (ASR) evoked by sudden sounds with intensity >95 dB. Prepulse inhibition (PPI) is the phenomenon of suppression of the amplitude of response to the intensive (main) stimulus by weaker (<90 dB) sounds (prepulse) presented with a short interval before the main signal. In different studies, the intervals between prepulse and the main stimulus (stimulus onset asynchrony—SOA) varied within the range from 10 to 300 ms  with the Met allele and also showed the stabilizing effect of the Met allele under conditions of menstrual-cycle-dependent PPI variation  prepulse trials and enhanced sensorimotor gating in persons with low baseline PPI under conditions of low (75 dB) prepulse intensity  and increased it to a level comparable to that of control values. The increase in PPI after amphetamine administration was more pronounced in carriers of the methionine allele of rs4680 and displayed a correlation with positive symptoms  , while a significant quadratic trend was observed in patients with schizophrenia with regard to the maximum values of PPI in CT/GA heterozygotes  and decrease it in carriers of the C allele. These effects of nicotine were observed at SOAs of 120 and 240 ms but not at an SOA of 30 or 60 ms  subunit display high affinity for nicotine and are expressed in the cortex, hippocampus, basal ganglia, and cerebellum , increases the PPI in both healthy individuals and in patients with schizophrenia β(2) and α(3)-containing cholinergic receptors, which is in agreement with the results of previous genetic studies.The available results of pharmacological studies show that the dopaminergic mechanisms of sensorimotor gating in humans are almost as mysterious as the dopaminergic mechanisms of schizophrenia.The effects of dopamine receptor agonists, such as apomorphine, bromocriptine, and amantadine, have not been studied in patients with schizophrenia, which makes comparative analysis impossible. However, data obtained in a population of mentally healthy individuals deserve analysis. Of great interest is the pronounced dependence of the effects of these drugs on SOA length. Surprisingly, both agonists  and antagonists  of D2 receptors reduce PPI in healthy subjects. The most frequent decrease in PPI after D2 agonist administration was observed at an SOA of 120 ms.in vitro). Thus, amphetamine, which elevates dopamine synthesis in presynaptic endings, significantly decreased PPI at an SOAs of 10 ms and 20 ms, while bromocriptine, which suppresses the synthesis of dopamine in synaptosomes, increased PPI at an SOA of 20 ms  can also disturb mental functions and behavioral processes. Indeed, while Bitsios et al.  found poThese data raise questions surrounding the existence of optimal level of gating, and comprehensive comparison of healthy individuals and patients with schizophrenia with high and low PPI levels should be provided. Such a systematic study may include the analysis of relevant genetic polymorphisms, as well as psychophysiological and cognitive tests.The assumption of the participation of the dopaminergic system in maintenance of the optimal level of sensorimotor gating is also supported by the observed effects of haloperidol, which increase the PPI in healthy individuals with initially low levels and reduce in healthy individuals with initially high PPI levels.Auditory sensory gating is usually assessed in a paired-click paradigm that involves the presentation of two identical clicks (S1 and S2). Estimation of the auditory event-related potential at around 50 ms post-click (mid-latency P50 component) reveals a reduced amplitude in response to S2 (testing stimulus) relative to the amplitude in response to S1 (conditioning stimulus). The optimal interval between S1 and S2 is 500 ms.per se are mainly associated with hippocampal and prefrontal activity  enhances its inhibitory activity  was found to enhance sensory gating in healthy individuals with baseline low rates of P50 suppression  and in patients with schizophrenia, but not in bipolar disorder (Whitton et al., In an attempt to determine the types of receptors mediating the effect of nicotine on sensory filtration, Hong et al.  studied The existence of different mechanisms of the deficit of P50 suppression that are specific in healthy and schizophrenic individuals is also supported by the fact that only patients with schizophrenia who do acute cigarette smoking increase the correlation between prefrontal executive cognitive functioning and P50 suppression (Rabin et al., Although the results of genetic and pharmacological studies are not numerous in the literature, they indicate the relative specificity in the patterns of dopaminergic and cholinergic activities associated with the level of information gating in healthy and schizophrenic individuals. Some data also point to the expediency of developing the concept of the optimal level of sensory and sensorimotor activity.This can help to identify specific patterns of attention disorders and executive functions in numerous psychopathologies.An important condition for the success of such studies is the use of unified protocols in cohorts of healthy individuals and those with mental disorders.AP: formulation of the idea of the review, search and analysis of literature, writing, and design of articles.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. The handling editor ZS declared a past co-authorship with the author.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.


Mental health is mostly affected by numerous socioeconomic factors that need to be addressed through comprehensive strategies. The aftermath of armed conflict and natural disasters such as Ebola disease virus (EVD) outbreaks is frequently associated with poor access to mental healthcare. To design the basis of improving mental health services via the integration of mental health into primary health care in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), we conducted a scoping review of available literature regarding mental illness in armed conflict and EVD outbreak settings.This scoping review of studies conducted in armed conflict and EVD outbreak of DRC settings synthesize the findings and suggestions related to improve the provision of mental health services. We sued the extension of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses to scoping studies. A mapping of evidence related to mental disorders in the eastern part of DRC from studies identified through searches of electronic databases . Screening and extraction of data were conducted by two reviewers independently.This review identified seven papers and described the findings in a narrative approach. It reveals that the burden of mental illness is consistent, although mental healthcare is not integrated into primary health care. Access to mental healthcare requires the involvement of affected communities in their problem-solving process. This review highlights the basis of the implementation of a comprehensive mental health care, through the application of mental health Gap Action Program (mhGAP) at community level. Lastly, it calls for further implementation research perspectives on the integration of mental healthcare into the health system of areas affecting by civil instability and natural disasters.This paper acknowledges poor implementation of community mental health services into primary health care in regions affected by armed conflict and natural disasters. All relevant stakeholders involved in the provision of mental health services should need to rethink to implementation of mhGAP into the emergency response against outbreaks and natural disasters. Mental health is usually affected by a range of socioeconomic factors that need to be addressed through comprehensive strategies . In armePublic health emergencies are disproportionally linked to an increasing burden of mental illness among communities, especially those with existing psychological vulnerabilities . Recent Overtime, the integration of mental healthcare into PHC has been affected by lack of funds, scarcity of specialized workers, lack of mental health legislation, and impaired mental health information at different levels of the health system . These cTo date, DRC lacks sufficient trained health workers able to implement mental healthcare services based on the recommendations of mhGAP in several provinces. Most of persons with mental disorders receive treatment mental health facilities which, not only belong to private sectors but also are equipped by non-specialists workers. Furthermore, poor access to mental health services in public facilities is due to low coverage of mental health providers by 100,000 population in DRC .Therefore, to design the basis of improving mental health services via the integration of mental health into PHC in the eastern part of DRC, we conducted a scoping review of available literature conducted in this aforementioned region in order to better analyze the burden of mental health problems.The scoping review approach was performed to conduct this study, given that it is well-established as the first step in research evidence development . We usedLiterature search used a grey literature approach conducted by two independent experts (BMNV and MMV) who collected and extracted data using Medline, Scopus, Psych Info, Google Scholar, and CINAHL, using the following keywords: “mental illness in DRC”, mental illness in EVD outbreak settings”, “the collision of EVD outbreak and armed conflict”, “Mental illness during EVD outbreak and armed conflict in DRC”. Search results were uploaded into Endnote software; duplications were removed through the control quality analysis.This scoping review of studies involved the screening of the abstract and full text of each article to check whether it included findings regarding the availability of mental healthcare services as well as the burden of mental disorders in the eastern part of DRC. Abstracts and full texts were analyzed for published studies including short communication, commentaries, original studies, and reviews. A pretested template was approved by all the authors regarding the focus of the study. We only included studies that including participants who were direct or indirect victims of armed conflict and EVD outbreaks.A narrative synthesis and discussion of the findings were performed in order to achieve the objective of this study. We collected data on study design, content and scope of the study, the main findings, and the suggestive measures to improve the mental healthcare services in the Eastern DRC. Relevant studies were identified using citation mapping. We selected published and peer-reviewed articles from January 2013 to August 2021.Grey literature searches yield a total of 49 records, among 11 duplicated papers that were removed from the database. From the 38 studies selected, the assessment of titles and abstracts set up 16 papers recruited. We included papers that summarize the implementation of mental healthcare, those that highlight the burden of mental illness, and those who suggested reforms for the provision of mental health services. The careful review of inclusion criteria and the revision of the full text bring out the sample of 6 studies that are included in this review. Ten articles were not included, given that they did not provide important information targeted by the objective of this review. In DRC, mental healthcare is characterized by a lack of infrastructure and trained mental workers .The first study included by this review concerned adults receiving healthcare at mental health units in Butembo city (North-Kivu province) and revealed that 60% of study participants reported lacking needed mental healthcare services prior to admissions. Also it found that predictors of affective and psychotic disorders were death of a loved one, history of sexual abuse, history of childhood trauma, and being kidnapping. This study suggested that both the relatives and community health workers should be involved in close monitoring of people with psychological distress during civil unrest and outbreaks . The secFourthly, a study pre-testing the integration of mental health services in rural zone reported that the average utilization rate of primary health centres for mental health problems was 7 new cases per 1000 inhabitants per year. The majority of patients were treated on an outpatient basis. This study indicates that the success of integration mental health into PHC depends on the quality of existing health system and the involvement of and non-health actors, including community leaders. Furthermore, this study showed that the major problems in terms of access and use of basic care indicate that the successful integration of mental health depends on the involvement of health and non-health actors . In thesResults of the available studies in DRC evidenced the mental health challenges and their contribution to the burden of mental illness among individuals living in a region affected by natural disaster/armed conflict settings. Also, they highlighted the need of involving mental health non-specialist and specialist in treating patients with mental health problems at daily or weekly basis .This paper reviews the existing literature on burden attributed to mental health in the Eastern DRC and summarizes the suggestive means of amelioration of integration of mental health into PHC. Although developed countries have implemented guidelines to cope with the increasing health challenges during armed conflict or natural disasters, few efforts have been done in developing countries to cover the burden of psychological distress and mental disorder during pandemics .We found that mental health services are not integrated into PHC across the eastern part of the country, despite the wide recognition of its contribution to the health system. In fact, there is less attention regarding the application of mental health legislation during public health emergencies. To date, less than 10% of individuals with mental illness have access to needed healthcare services in DRC . AdditioThere is strong evidence that outbreaks and armed conflict impeded the quality of life. A recent study demonstrated that 28.0% of the global population experienced depression; 26.9% of cases showed anxiety; 24.1% of cases presented the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder; and sleep-related problems were seen in 27.6% of cases during COVID-19 . Mental The eastern part of DRC has a large range of risk factors that can result in an explosion of mental disorders. While mental health is not fully integrated into health care among people living in armed conflict and outbreaks, except for the survivors of gender-based violence; mental illness is a major concern of public health . New polAs a result of the analysis of available evidence; a model based on the implementation of mhGAP at community level of the health system is actually proposed by this review. This model should aim to ameliorate mental healthcare services via the community engagement . Active To ensure that access to mental health services has improved, social workers and community health workers should be skilled and supported to reach all households at least weekly for collecting and addressing mental health problems . Also imFirst, raising the awareness of mhGAP programs during outbreaks and armed conflict needs important reforms of mental health legislation . SecondlThirdly, the implementation of mental health services at PHC requires the development of standardized approaches to use in outbreak and conflict zones settings. Furthermore, this implementation highlights the change of support provided to PHC workers and health communication regarding community mental health and psychosocial support. Mental health could be included in the national country’s health communication systems, and a need for developing specific screening psychological tools useful by health care providers and policymakers at the provincial, operational, and community levels to strengthen mental capacity building.To ensure the integration of the mental health model into PHC in the aftermath of armed conflict and outbreaks; there is a need of implementation research study related to the mhGAP in three provinces of eastern DRC, namely South Kivu, North Kivu, and Ituri. This research will aim to identify the barriers and facilitators to scaling up mhGAP interventions and the integration of mental health services into PHC. This study will target to improve the uptake of the findings research for effective development of new policy in DRC. Furthermore, this study will address the following objectives: i) to identify operational strategies, implementation challenges, and gaps of the mhGAP interventions in conflict settings, and propose solutions with a potential influence of policies and practices of mental healthcare services in the three above-mentioned provinces; ii) to explore the factors influencing the proposed model to contribute to the promotion of mental health and well-being of individuals living in armed conflict concerned with EVD outbreaks; iii) to identify lessons about the implementation of a mhGAP regarding the prevention and management of mental illness as well as the promotion of mental health; iv) to propose feasible solutions able to determine the sustainability of the community mental health and psychosocial support model proposed by this paper.A multilevel strategy will be performed for an in-depth understanding of the process of integration of mental health services into PHC. A mixed approach using qualitative and quantitative will be used to collect data. Measurement will concern the evolution of common mental illnesses over time; the access to mental health facilities, as well as the involvement of all the relevant stakeholders in the provision of mental healthcare into PHC. Desk review, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions associated with consultation and brainstorming will be used to collect data that will have the potential to influence the control and promotion of mental health and well-being at the community level. Recommendations of this study will offer insight to all the relevant stakeholders including the Ministry of Health on the barriers and facilitators to scaling up mhGAP interventions and the integration of mental health services into PHC. However, these recommendations have to be read in DRC context.We have tried to provide insight into a safe space where communities can access mental health services during and in the aftermath of public health emergencies and armed conflict. The review of literature existing in DRC revealed that EVD outbreaks and armed conflict are important factors of mental disorders in both survivors and caregivers. All relevant stakeholders involved in the provision of mental health services should need to rethink to implementation of mhGAP into the emergency response against outbreaks and natural disasters.


The purpose of this project was to study how older learners think a university campus currently meets the 10 Age-Friendly University principles and what they see as potential steps to create an age-friendly campus community. Online focus group interviews were conducted with 17 members of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Francisco State University in 2020. The participants were 60 years or older, and the majority were female and non-Hispanic white. The study participants received information about the 10 Age-Friendly University principles presented by the Age-Friendly University Global Network and were asked to discuss their thoughts about how the university satisfies these principles. The interview recordings were transcribed for the thematic analysis of qualitative data. The analysis yielded three themes. The first theme described the diversity of older adults’ learning needs and desires that the university must recognize and accommodate. The second theme represented older adults’ sense of optimism and anxiety about intergenerational learning. The third theme highlighted the challenges older adults tend to experience in accessing information, educational programs, and/or university facilities. The interviews with older learners were found valuable and indispensable in the work of Age-Friendly University assessments. The presentation is focused on the discussion regarding how older adults’ voices can be incorporated in the assessments and ways in which higher education institutions should combat ageism on and off campus as part of work to address the issues identified in this study.