Policy Violations Research Articles

Aspects of improving clinical protocols for the profile «Adult urology»

Aim of the study. To evaluate the availability of pharmacological treatment and the relevance of recommendations presented in clinical protocols in the field of «Adult Urology» through a comparative analysis of international experience and to identify aspects for improving protocols in this field.Materials and methods. The materials used were current clinical protocols for diagnosis and treatment in the field of «Adult Urology» available on the official website of the National Scientific Center for Healthcare Development, international recommendations of the constantly updated database of guidelines for decision support in clinical practice British Medical Journal Best Practice, guidelines of the European Association of Urologists, guidelines, reviews of the UpToDate resource, providing medical professionals with relevant and evidence-based information.Results and discussion. Urological diseases are often complex, multifactorial conditions; it is impossible to encompass all treatment regimens for every clinical scenario. Nonetheless, it is necessary to broaden the scope of this profile by developing clinical protocols depending on the etiological factor, extent of involvement, and stage of medical intervention. Upon reviewing clinical protocols in the field of «Adult Urology» the following common deviations were identified regarding pharmacotherapy: irrational selection of antibacterial agents, routine use of antifungal prophylaxis, use of medications with low levels of evidence, dosing regimen errors, and the use of trade names in the protocol text, which constitutes a blatant violation of the ethical promotion policy of pharmaceuticals. Antibiotic therapy is recommended only for confirmed bacteriuria with broadspectrum antibiotics. Antifungal prophylaxis is recommended only for patients at risk (secondary or primary immunodeficiency).Conclusions. Currently, 100% of clinical protocols in the field of «Adult Urology» are outdated and require revision. The rapid advancement of science, development, and improvement of pharmaceuticals necessitates ongoing professional development on the part of healthcare personnel, which can be facilitated by regular updating of clinical protocols. The availability of pharmacological therapy for urological patients is quite high: 97.35% medications presented in clinical protocols are available to patients in the Kazakhstani market (registered and included in the Kazakhstani National Drug Formulary), 94.7% medications are reimbursed within the framework of outpatient care, and 90.9% medications are available for procurement by medical organizations through the Single Distributor.

UNFAIR PLAY: DIGITAL PLATFORM'S ABUSE OF POWER TO INFLUENCE BRAZILIAN POLICY AGENDA

This study examines the indirect lobbying strategies deployed by major digital platforms, to oppose Brazil’s "Fake News Bill", which sought to regulate internet intermediaries in the country. Drawing from primary data collected during the lobbying campaign in April-May 2023, the study analyzes platform ads, search engine recommendations, and direct user communications. The findings reveal systematic violations of platform policies, including unlabelled political ads and exploitation of exclusive platform affordances unavailable to competitors. Digital platforms leveraged their market dominance and technological tools, aligning with far-right disinformation narratives while mobilizing public opposition under the guise of protecting user interests. These practices highlight the misuse of economic power and self-regulation to resist oversight, emphasizing the need for stricter accountability measures. Future research should investigate the broader influence of such campaigns on public opinion.

DCNN: a novel binary and multi-class network intrusion detection model via deep convolutional neural network

Network security become imperative in the context of our interconnected networks and everyday communications. Recently, many deep learning models have been proposed to tackle the problem of predicting intrusions and malicious activities in interconnected systems. However, they solely focus on binary classification and lack reporting on individual class performance in case of multi-class classification. Moreover, many of them are trained and tested using outdated datasets which eventually impact the overall performance. Therefore, there is a need for an efficient and accurate network intrusion detection system. In this paper, we propose a novel intelligent detection system based on convolutional neural network, namely DCNN. The proposed model can be utilized to efficiently analyze and detect attacks and intrusions in intelligent network systems (e.g., suspicious network traffic activities and policy violations). The DCNN model is applied against three benchmark datasets and compared with state-of-the-art models. Experimental results show that the proposed model improved resilience to intrusions and malicious activities for binary as well as multi-class classification, expanding its applicability across different intrusion detection scenarios. Furthermore, our DCNN model outperforms similar intrusion detection systems in terms of positive predicted value, true positive rate, F1 measure, and accuracy. The scores obtained for binary and multi-class classifications on the CICIoT2023 dataset are 99.50% and 99.25%, respectively. Additionally, for the CICIDS-2017 dataset, DCNN attains a score of 99.96% for both binary and multi-class classifications, while the CICIoMT2024 dataset attains a score of 99.98% and 99.86% for binary and multi-class classifications, respectively.

Retraction notice to "Investigation on the evolution of hydrothermal biochar"[Chemosphere 307 (2022) 135774

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/article-withdrawal).<This article has been retracted at the request of the Editors-in-Chief. A journal-wide investigation by Elsevier's Research Integrity & Publishing Ethics team identified violations of the journal's policies on authorship and conflict of interest related to the submission and review of this paper. Multiple authorship changes were made during the revision of this paper; two authors were removed and the authors Hamdy Khamees Thabet, Salah M. El-Bahy, Mohamed M. Ibrahim were added to the revised paper without validation or authorisation. In addition, review of this submission was handled by Guest Editor Kuan Shiong Khoo despite an extensive record of collaboration, including co-publication, with one of the paper co-authors (Pau Loke Show). This compromised the editorial process and breached the journal's policies. The authors disagree with this retraction and dispute the grounds for it.>.

Retraction notice to "Multifaceted role of polyphenols in the treatment and management of neurodegenerative diseases"[Chemosphere 307 (2022) 136020

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/article-withdrawal). <This article has been retracted at the request of the Editors-in-Chief. A journal-wide investigation by Elsevier's Research Integrity & Publishing Ethics team identified violations of the journal's policies on conflict of interest related to the submission and review of this paper. Review of this submission was handled by Guest Editor Hassan Karimi-Maleh despite an extensive record of collaboration, including co-publication, with one of the paper co-authors (Fatemeh Karimi). Acceptance of the article was solely based upon the positive advice of reviewers who were closely linked to two of the authors (Karimi, Mehdi Baghayeri). This compromised the editorial process and breached the journal's policies. The authors disagree with this retraction and dispute the grounds for it.>.

Retraction notice to "Silica-coated modified magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4@SiO2@(BuSO3H)3) as an efficient adsorbent for Pd2+ removal" [Chemosphere 307 (2022) 135622

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/article-withdrawal). <This article has been retracted at the request of the Editors-in-Chief. A journal-wide investigation by Elsevier's Research Integrity & Publishing Ethics team identified violations of the journal's policies on authorship and conflict of interest related to the submission and review of this paper. Authorship changes were made during the revision of this paper; an author was removed without validation or authorisation, and Hassan Karimi-Maleh was included in the CRediT author statement without being listed as an author. In addition, there was a significant increase of citations of papers authored by Karimi-Maleh between the original submission and the revised version; 7 papers by Karimi-Maleh were added in the revised version of the paper. Review of this submission was handled by Guest Editor Yasser Vasseghian despite an extensive record of collaboration, including co-publication, with one of the paper co-authors (Fatemeh Karimi). Acceptance of the article was partly based upon the positive advice of a reviewer who was closely linked to one of the authors (Karimi). This compromised the editorial process and breached the journal's policies. The authors disagree with this retraction and dispute the grounds for it.>.

Retraction notice to "Air-liquid interface cultivation of Navicula incerta using hollow fiber membranes"[Chemosphere 307 (2022) 135625

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/article-withdrawal). <This article has been retracted at the request of the Editors-in-Chief. A journal-wide investigation by Elsevier's Research Integrity & Publishing Ethics team identified violations of the journal's policies on conflict of interest related to the submission and review of this paper. Review of this submission was handled by Guest Editor Kuan Shiong Khoo despite an extensive record of collaboration, including co-publication, with one of the paper co-authors (Pau Loke Show). Acceptance of the article was solely based upon the positive advice of reviewers who were closely linked to one of the authors (Show). This compromised the editorial process and breached the journal's policies. The authors disagree with this retraction and dispute the grounds for it.>.

Retraction notice to "Pesticide pollutants in the environment - A critical review on remediation techniques, mechanism and toxicological impact"[Chemosphere 301 (2022) 134754

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/article-withdrawal). <This article has been retracted at the request of the Editors-in-Chief. A journal-wide investigation by Elsevier's Research Integrity & Publishing Ethics team identified violations of the journal's policies on conflict of interest related to the submission and review of this paper. Review of this submission was handled by Guest Editor Pau Loke Show despite an extensive record of collaboration, including co-publication, with one of the paper co-authors (Dai-Viet N. Vo). Acceptance of the article was partly based upon the positive advice of a reviewer who was closely linked to one of the authors (Vo). This compromised the editorial process and breached the journal's policies. The authors disagree with this retraction and dispute the grounds for it.>.

Retraction notice to "Modified poly(vinylidene fluoride) nanomembranes for dye removal from water - A review" [Chemosphere 322 (2023) 138152

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/article-withdrawal). <This article has been retracted at the request of the Editors-in-Chief. A journal-wide investigation by Elsevier's Research Integrity & Publishing Ethics team identified violations of the journal's policies on conflict of interest related to the submission and review of this paper. Review of this submission was handled by Guest Editor Kuan Shiong Khoo despite an extensive record of collaboration, including co-publication, with two of the paper co-authors (Pau Loke Show, Saravanan Rajendran). Acceptance of the article was partly based upon the positive advice of a reviewer who was closely linked to one of the authors (Wei-Hsin Chen). This compromised the editorial process and breached the journal's policies. The authors disagree with this retraction and dispute the grounds for it.>.

Retraction notice to "Advanced insights on removal of antibiotics by microalgae-bacteria consortia: A state-of-the-art review and emerging prospects"[Chemosphere 307 (2022) 136117

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/article-withdrawal). <This article has been retracted at the request of the Editors-in-Chief. A journal-wide investigation by Elsevier's Research Integrity & Publishing Ethics team identified violations of the journal's policies on conflict of interest related to the submission and review of this paper. Review of this submission was handled by Guest Editor Pau Loke Show despite an extensive record of collaboration, including co-publication, with one of the paper co-authors (Shih-Hsin Ho). There was a significant increase of citations of papers authored by the Guest Editor between the original submission and the revised version. In summary, 2 papers by Show were cited in the original version of the paper. This increased to 8 papers in the revised version. Acceptance of the article was partly based upon the positive advice of a reviewer who was closely linked to one of the authors (Ho). This compromised the editorial process and breached the journal's policies. The authors have not responded to this retraction.>.

Retraction notice to "Highly operative NiO/ZnO nanocomposites for photocatalytic removal of azo dye"[Chemosphere 308 (2022) 136528

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/article-withdrawal). <This article has been retracted at the request of the Editors-in-Chief. A journal-wide investigation by Elsevier's Research Integrity & Publishing Ethics team identified violations of the journal's policies on authorship and conflict of interest related to the submission and review of this paper. An authorship change was made during the revision of this paper; an author was removed from the revised paper without validation or authorisation. The authors did not adequately address the concerns raised about the change. In addition, review of this submission was handled by Guest Editor Pau Loke Show despite an extensive record of collaboration, including co-publication, with one of the paper co-authors (Wei-Hsin Chen). This compromised the editorial process and breached the journal's policies. The authors disagree with this retraction and dispute the grounds for it.>.

Retraction notice to "Microwave-assisted synthesis of Vulcan Carbon supported Palladium-Nickel (PdNi@VC) bimetallic nanoparticles, and investigation of antibacterial and Safranine dye removing effects" [Chemosphere 339 (2023) 139630

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/article-withdrawal). <This article has been retracted at the request of the Editors-in-Chief. A journal-wide investigation by Elsevier's Research Integrity & Publishing Ethics team identified violations of the journal's policies on conflict of interest related to the submission and review of this paper. Review of this submission was handled by Guest Editor Elena Niculina Dragoi despite an extensive record of collaboration, including co-publication, with one of the paper co-authors (Fatemeh Karimi). Acceptance of the article was partly based upon the positive advice of a reviewer who was closely linked to one of the authors (Karimi). This compromised the editorial process and breached the journal's policies. The authors disagree with this retraction and dispute the grounds for it.>.

Retraction notice to "Bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: An updated microbiological review" [Chemosphere 328 (2023) 138498

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/article-withdrawal).<This article has been retracted at the request of the Editors-in-Chief. A journal-wide investigation by Elsevier's Research Integrity & Publishing Ethics team identified violations of the journal's policies on authorship and conflict of interest related to the submission and review of this paper. An authorship change was made during the revision of this paper; the author Kathirvel Brindhadevi was added to the revised paper without validation or authorisation and credited with preparing the original draft. Review of this submission was handled by Guest Editor Thamaraiselvi Kaliannan despite an extensive record of collaboration, including co-publication, with one of the paper co-authors (Arivalagan Pugazhendhi). Acceptance of the article was partly based upon the positive advice of reviewers who were closely linked to one of the authors (Pugazhendhi). This compromised the editorial process and breached the journal's policies. The authors disagree with this retraction and dispute the grounds for it.>.

A comprehensive model for ensuring data compliance in cloud computing environment

As organizations increasingly adopt cloud computing, ensuring data compliance has become a critical priority. Cloud environments pose unique challenges in meeting regulatory requirements due to their distributed and often multi-tenant nature. This review presents a comprehensive model for achieving data compliance in cloud computing, addressing essential aspects such as data privacy, security, sovereignty, and governance. The model emphasizes a structured, layered approach to compliance, integrating risk assessment, data governance, continuous monitoring, and incident management to ensure compliance throughout the data lifecycle. Key components of the proposed model include robust data privacy and protection mechanisms aligned with global regulations such as GDPR and CCPA, data security protocols for safeguarding confidentiality and access control, and data sovereignty policies to handle jurisdictional requirements and cross-border data flows. Additionally, continuous monitoring and automated auditing tools enhance real-time compliance management, while incident management procedures prepare organizations to respond promptly to breaches or policy violations. The framework also incorporates advanced technological solutions, including compliance automation, data loss prevention, and blockchain for traceability, to streamline compliance tasks and improve transparency. By addressing both the technical and governance aspects of data compliance, this model supports organizations in navigating complex regulatory landscapes across multi-cloud and hybrid environments. The review highlights best practices for ensuring compliance, such as regular policy updates, employee training, and third-party compliance management, to sustain long-term adherence. As the regulatory landscape evolves and new privacy-preserving technologies emerge, this model offers a scalable and adaptive approach, positioning organizations to manage data compliance effectively within dynamic cloud infrastructures. This comprehensive approach ensures secure, compliant data operations, fostering trust and accountability in cloud computing environments.

Hyperfuzzing: black-box security hypertesting with a grey-box fuzzer

Despite being a severe error where programs inadvertently reveal confidential information, insecure flows rarely receive explicit attention during software testing. LeakFuzzer uses an input-output non-interference property, specialised via a security flow policy for the program under test, to advance the state of the art. It detects insecure flows by using hypertesting for violations of the program’s non-interference property. LeakFuzzer extends the capabilities of the state of the art fuzzer, AFL++, and thus inherits its advantages such as scalability, automated input generation, high coverage and low developer intervention. It can thus detect the same set of errors as AFL++, as well as being able to detect violations of secure information flow policies at small additional performance costs. This offers a significant advance in scalability and automation for the state of the art. We evaluated LeakFuzzer on a diverse set of 12 C and C++ benchmarks containing known bugs that cause confidential information to be disclosed, ranging in size from just 80 to over 900k lines of code. Nine of these are taken from real-world CVEs including Heartbleed and a recent error in PostgreSQL. Given 20 24-hour runs, LeakFuzzer can find 100% of the insecure flows in the SUTs whereas existing techniques using the CBMC model checker and AFL++ augmented with different sanitizers can only find 40% at best.

A Hybrid Approach for Intrusion Detection by Dragonfly Optimization and Bayesian Neural Network Methodologies

The technique of keeping an eye out for malicious activity or policy violations on a computer network or system is known as intrusion detection. It entails examining system logs, network traffic, and other data sources to spot potential security breaches, misuse, and illegal access. Network-based and host-based intrusion detection systems (IDS) are the two types available. The former analyzes network traffic and packets, while the latter concentrates on specific hosts or devices. This paper investigates how to improve intrusion detection systems in cyber security by combining dragonfly optimization (DFO) and Bayesian neural network (BNN) methodologies. The NSL-KDD dataset, which is tested and trained in the system, is the source of the dataset used in the study. By utilizing the optimization skills of DFO and the probabilistic reasoning powers of BNN, the hybrid technique improves the accuracy and flexibility of detecting and addressing network intrusions. This research illustrates the effectiveness of the suggested methodology in navigating dynamic network environments and identifying emerging dangers through a thorough examination. In addition to improving detection performance, the integration of BNN and DFO gives enterprises insightful information about infiltration patterns and the ability to take proactive measures to thwart hostile activity. The created model's enhanced intrusion detection performance is demonstrated by the experimental findings. These results are validated in terms of accuracy, precision, recall, execution time, and F1 score by comparing them with models that are currently in use.

ANTI-CORRUPTION COMPLIANCE AND MANAGEMENT IN THE CONDITIONS OF RECOVERY

The subject of the study is management and public relations in the field of anti-corruption compliance in the context of recovery. Methodology. The methodological basis of the study is the methods of induction and deduction, the dialectical-materialist method, the method of analysis and synthesis, and the historical method, which allowed for an objective understanding of the content and essence of the issues under study. The aim of the article is to analyse the theoretical aspects of the peculiarities of anti-corruption compliance and management in the context of recovery and to propose effective ways to improve the mechanism of these procedures. The results of the study showed that anti-corruption compliance in the context of restoration means not only a methodology for fighting corruption, but also the formation of principles and conditions related to conducting transparent and honest business. Conclusion. The successful operation of any company depends entirely on its attitude to corruption, which it must be aimed at combating. Violation of the anti-corruption policy can lead to irreparable consequences. The issue of establishing an effective anti-corruption system in commercial organisations is quite relevant. The main task of such a system is to identify and minimise corruption risks in advance, as well as to eliminate the causes and conditions of their occurrence in a timely manner. The need to develop and use compliance is based on the complexity of regulation and, therefore, the high probability of violating certain legal norms or internal rules. Anti-corruption compliance reduces the risks associated with corruption offences committed by employees, as well as the risks of damage to the company (not only material but also reputational). The study and synthesis of local acts adopted by organisations aimed at combating corruption allowed to summarise and critically evaluate an approximate list of principles that they most often adhere to when building an anti-corruption compliance system in the context of recovery. Adherence to the list of principles, taking into account their content and identified implementation problems, will allow to improve the typical model of anti-corruption management in the context of recovery. There are key management elements that can be identified, the presence of which in the corporate anti-corruption compliance control system allows to judge the success of such a system in the recovery environment. These key elements require a more detailed study, taking into account the specifics of the company's activities, but with their help, management can make anti-corruption compliance more effective in the recovery environment.

Evaluating the Implementation of the Sekolah Penggerak Policy In Cianjur, Indonesia: Addressing Challenges And Enhancing Outcomes

The Program Sekolah Penggerak (PSP) is a priority initiative launched by Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbud) to drive rapid school transformation and foster collaboration within the educational ecosystem at the regional level. Despite these efforts, 2,504 schools in the first cohort of the program were deemed unsuccessful after three years of receiving targeted support and funding. This study aims to assess the implementation of the PSP Batch 2, which has been operational for over two years in Cianjur Regency, Indonesia, through a retrospective analysis. The findings are critical for formulating policy recommendations to address the weaknesses identified in the implementation process. A descriptive qualitative case study approach was employed, utilizing snowball sampling for data collection and analysis. The results provide insights into (1) the chronology of PSP Batch 2’s implementation in Cianjur Regency, (2) policy violations and challenges, including the lack of supporting local policies and frequent changes in school leadership during ongoing mentorship, and (3) recommendations for future PSP implementations, offering three key alternatives: centralization of the program, enhanced inter-ministerial collaboration, and the development of region-specific policies. This study presents valuable guidance for policymakers in decentralized education systems and calls for further research in other regions to evaluate the PSP’s implementation mechanisms.

Performance enhancement in hybrid SDN using advanced deep learning with multi‐objective optimization frameworks under heterogeneous environments

SummaryThe growth of software‐defined networking (SDN) enhances network strength and provides flexible routing, especially in heterogeneous environments. Hence, an efficient framework is required for recent networks. Recently, hybrid SDN with the restricted deployment of SDN switches has been integrated with a conventional network that provides improved communication performance compared to traditional SDN systems. However, the recent hybrid SDNs lack effective link protection and optimal routing when used with complex topologies. Hence, this study presents a novel deep learning–based hybridized multi‐stacked autoencoder with the duo‐directed gated recurrent unit (MSAE‐DDGRU) for automatic link failure prediction in hybrid SDN. Moreover, a multi‐objective zebra optimizer (MO‐ZeO) is introduced to perform optimal routing by solving multiple routing constraints. The developed study is processed with the Python platform, and publicly available GEANT topology is utilized for the whole experimental process. Various assessment measures like accuracy, precision, sensitivity, packet loss, cost, maximum link utilization (MLU), policy violation rates (PVRs), packet delivery ratio (PDR), and delay are analyzed and compared with existing studies. The developed technique achieved an accuracy of 96%, precision of 92%, sensitivity of 93%, PDR of 99.4%, PVR of 0.0005, and delay of 1.2 s are obtained.

CAUSE (GROUND) OF OBLIGATION OF THE CONTRACT ON REPRESENTATION IN SPORT

In the law of the Republic of Serbia, the cause of contractual obligation has the significance of a general assumption of the validity of the contract. It represents an essential condition for the creation and survival of every contract. Accordingly, “every contractual obligation must have a permissible cause. The cause is impermissible if it is contrary to cogent rules, public policy, or good morals” (Article 51(1-3) of Law on Obligations). It is assumed that the contractual obligation has a cause, even though it is not expressed. The legal consequence of the non-existence or impermissibility of the cause is the nullity of the contract. The subject of interest in this paper is the consideration of peculiarities regarding the cause of obligation of the contract on representation in sports, which distinguish it from other types of contracts. For that purpose, special attention is devoted to the analysis a few characteristic cases of concluding contracts on representation in sport in contractual practice. It has been observed that existence of false (unreal) cause in the practice of formation of these contracts are not rare. Additionally, the unreal ground is, as a rule, the result of the will of the contractors themselves. The existence of a putative cause in contracts on representation in sports is difficult to imagine due to the mandatory written form prescribed by law. Therefore, the false cause in these contracts can be manifested in the form of a fictitious or simulated contract. The falseness of the ground is most often expressed in the form of a reduction or increasing of the obligations stated in the written contracts, compared to those that were actually contracted. It would be difficult to say that such payments, outside of legal payment flows, are an unusual phenomenon in modern sports. Considering the above, it is necessary to take a position regarding the solution of the exposed legal problem from the point of view of national legislation. On the ground of the rules contained in the legislation of the Republic of Serbia, the author concludes that the existence of an false cause results in the nullity of all contracts that were used in the simulation operation. Therefore, the sanction would consist in the absolute nullity of the fictitious, simulated and dissimulated contract due to the circumvention of legal regulations, the mutual confiscation of the object of performance due to violation of cogent regulations and public policy, as well as compensation for damage caused due to the violation of legally protected interests of bona fide third parties.