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The efficient use of waste from food processing industry is one of the innovative approaches within sustainable development, because it can be transferred into added value products, which could improve economic, energetic and environmental sectors. In this context, the squid pen waste from seafood industry was used as raw material to obtain nanofibrous β-chitin films. In order to extend functionality of obtained films, elderberry extract obtained from biomass was added at different concentrations. The tensile strength of chitin-elderberry extract films was improved by 52%, elongation at break by 153% and water vapor barrier by 65%. The obtained material showed distinct color change when subjected to acidic or basic solutions. It was proven by CIELab color analysis that all color changes could be easily perceived visually. In addition, the obtained nanofibrous film was successfully used to monitor the freshness of Hake fish. Namely, when the film was introduced in a package that contained fresh fish, its color was efficiently changed within the time during the storage at 4 °C. The obtained results demonstrated that food processing waste could be efficiently valorized, and could give sustainable food package design as a spoilage indicator of high protein food.

A 15-year-old indoor/outdoor female, neutered, domestic European short haired cat was presented to our clinic with a history of neck-elongation and wheezing during inspiration/expiration. The first signs of respiratory disease occurred two weeks before the clinical presentation. After taking of clinical history, clinical examination and basic laboratory tests (complete blood count, blood smear, snap Feline Immunodeficiency Virus/Feline Leukemia Virus Combo test), a lung x-ray was performed showing the presence of left lung atelectasis and pneumothorax. The primary causes of lung atelectasis were not determined. Given that the general condition of the cat was very bad, she was put in an oxygen cage, thoracocentesis was performed, but the animal’s condition did not improve, and 24 hours after clinical presentation, the cat died. Autopsy revealed the presence of a tumor mass on the caudal lobe of the right lung, tumor formation in the area of trachea bifurcation and changes in the liver in the form of four round structures of different sizes. Histopathologically, the existence of primary undifferentiated lung adenocarcinoma with metastases on the liver and trachea was determined. U ovom radu predstavljen je slučaj primarnog adenokarcinoma pluća kod domaće kratkodlake mačke stare 15 godina. Prvi znaci oboljenja respiratornog sistema pojavili su se dve nedelje pre dovođenja mačke na pregled, pri čemu su dominirali znaci disanja sa ispruženim vratom i šištanje tokom inspirijuma i ekspirijuma. Nakon uzimanja istorije bolesti, kliničkog i laboratorijskog ispitivanja (krvna slika, krvni razmaz, FIV/FeLV brzi dijagnostički test) urađen je rendgen pluća koji je pokazao postojanje atelektaze levog plućnog krila i pneumotoraks. Nije utvrđeno koji patofiziološki mehanizam je odgovoran za atelektazu pluća. S obzirom da je opšte stanje mačke bilo jako loše, stavljena je u kiseonički kavez, urađena je torakocenteza ali stanje se nije popravilo i 24h od dolaska na kliniku mačka je uginula. Na obdukciji je utvrđeno odstupanje od normalnog nalaza na levom plućnom krilu, postojanje promena na desnom plućnom krilu, tumorozna tvorevina u predelu bifurkacije traheje i promene na jetri u vidu četiri okrugle tvorevine različite veličine. Histopatološki je utvrđeno postojanje primarnog nediferentovanog adenokarcinoma pluća sa metastazama na već pomenutim organima.

Perinatal asphyxia (PA) is a condition characterized by a gas exchange disorder due to a lack of blood flow or gas exchange, with potential multiorgan dysfunction. Our study aimed to determine the correlation between biochemical markers and echocardiography findings in a group of asphyxiated newborns. The prospective cohort study included 120 neonates (52/120 with PA) treated at a tertial referral pediatric center, from 2012 to 2014. A moderate-strong positive correlation was recorded between the transtricuspid pressure gradient (TRPG) and serum lactate, and between TRPG and NT-proBNP in the PA group (P

Urosepsis is defined as sepsis caused by urinary tract infection (UTI). Urosepsis represents a quarter of all cases of sepsis in adults. Complications of UTIs are the most common risk factor for urosepsis development. These infections, especially pyelonephritis, often occur in patients with structural or functional malformations that interfere with normal urine flow. The problem of a significant increase in UTIs with multiresistant bacteria should be emphasized, especially in patients with recurrent UTI and their frequent treatments. As the urogenital tract is one of the most common sources of infection in sepsis in general, a detailed assessment of the tract should be carried out in all septic patients. Even though urosepsis is associated with a relatively good prognosis and lower mortality than sepsis of another etiology, it occurs rapidly and progresses at a significant speed. Since urosepsis is mainly the result of obstruction of the urinary tract, the development of septic shock can most often be prevented by implementing early deobstruction. Knowledge of the most common causes of urosepsis and the category of high-risk patients will provide clinicians with the tools with which to prevent its occurrence.

Introduction/Objective. Continuing Medical Education (CME) is a crucial element to keep the level of professionalism in the three key fields of medical education: pre-clinical, clinical, and public health. The profile of CME in Serbia has been analyzed for the 2011?2017 period. Methods. Between 2011 and 2017, 11,557 courses of CME have been submitted for accreditation, described by 26 variables. Due to the predominance of nominal data, we employed a principal component analysis (PCA) using the nonlinear iterative partial least squares algorithm (PCA/PLS) to arrange the 16 variables with complete information in such a way that most influential factors could be displayed and ranked. The analysis was done with TIBCO Statistical Software. Results. The Faculty of Medicine of Belgrade takes the top position among the medical faculties in Serbia with 569 courses or 47.9% (n = 1187; 2011?2017), whereas non-educational institutions with 86.2% of all courses (n = 11,514) are the most dominant providers. Clinical topics dominate the thematic spectrum with 59.7%. Between 2012 and 2017, the total number of courses offered diminished by 16.9%. A PCA of 16 potential determinants of CME reveals that the most relevant ones are duration, credit points, price, and number of lecturers. Conclusion. For the last decade, a standstill or even a regression in the development can be observed. Especially the faculties of medicine in Serbia, as well as other major providers, should reconsider the entire structure of their administrative organization and initiate innovative development.

Introduction/Objective. Even with the current treatment, mortality from aortic dissection remains high. The study aimed to evaluate the early postoperative outcome of patients with aortic dissection and identify which factors could influence it. Methods. The study included all consecutive patients who underwent surgery for acute aortic dissection type A from 2012 to 2017. We registered all parameters that could potentially impact the outcome (general data, medical history, clinical and cardiological diagnostic test findings, preoperative complications, type of cannulation and the operation performed, additional surgical procedures, operation duration, etc.). The patients were surgically treated according to the current protocols. The main outcome measures were complications and mortality during a one-month postoperative period. All data collected pre-, intra-, and postoperatively were compared and statistically analyzed. Results. The study included 246 patients, 57.54 ? 12.88 years old on average, and mostly of male sex (74%). Early postoperative mortality occurred in 17% of the patients. Preoperative chronic kidney insufficiency (p = 0.005) and cerebrovascular insult (p = 0.047) and tamponade (p = 0.036) were the major risk factors for postoperative complications and mortality. Long hypothermic cardiac arrest (p = 0.001), cross-clamp (p = 0.017) and cardiopulmonary bypass time (p = 0.036) increased postoperative complications. Postoperative complications started occurring after ? 33.5 minutes hypothermic cardiac arrest and ? 67.5 minutes cross-clamp time. Postoperative complications occurrence increased (p = 0.034), while performing anterograde cerebral perfusion decreased the frequency of lethal outcome (p = 0.001). Conclusion. The majority of patients surgically treated for acute aortic dissection had good postoperative outcome. However, numerous pre-, intra-, and postoperative factors can impact patient survival.

Objectives To investigate the most common errors in residents’ preliminary reports, if structured reporting impacts error types and frequencies, and to identify possible implications for resident education and patient safety. Material and methods Changes in report content were tracked by a report comparison tool on a word level and extracted for 78,625 radiology reports dictated from September 2017 to December 2018 in our department. Following data aggregation according to word stems and stratification by subspecialty (e.g., neuroradiology) and imaging modality, frequencies of additions/deletions were analyzed for findings and impression report section separately and compared between subgroups. Results Overall modifications per report averaged 4.1 words, with demonstrably higher amounts of changes for cross-sectional imaging (CT: 6.4; MRI: 6.7) than non-cross-sectional imaging (radiographs: 0.2; ultrasound: 2.8). The four most frequently changed words (right, left, one, and none) remained almost similar among all subgroups (range: 0.072–0.117 per report; once every 9–14 reports). Albeit representing only 0.02% of analyzed words, they accounted for up to 9.7% of all observed changes. Subspecialties solely using structured reporting had substantially lower change ratios in the findings report section (mean: 0.2 per report) compared with prose-style reporting subspecialties (mean: 2.0). Relative frequencies of the most changed words remained unchanged. Conclusion Residents’ most common reporting errors in all subspecialties and modalities are laterality discriminator confusions (left/right) and unnoticed descriptor misregistration by speech recognition (one/none). Structured reporting reduces overall error rates, but does not affect occurrence of the most common errors. Increased error awareness and measures improving report correctness and ensuring patient safety are required. Key Points • The two most common reporting errors in residents’ preliminary reports are laterality discriminator confusions (left/right) and unnoticed descriptor misregistration by speech recognition (one/none). • Structured reporting reduces the overall the error frequency in the findings report section by a factor of 10 (structured reporting: mean 0.2 per report; prose-style reporting: 2.0) but does not affect the occurrence of the two major errors. • Staff radiologist review behavior noticeably differs between radiology subspecialties.

Resonant coaxial SMA microwave permittivity sensor is introduced. It is constructed using only commercially available SMA connectors. The sensor is tested in two different frequency ranges for two different dielectric constant ranges, from 1 to 10 and from 10 to 80. Presented sensor is designed, fabricated, simulated, and tested. Good agreement between simulations and measurements is shown. The sensor is also applicable for differential permittivity measurements.

Technical improvement and new operative strategies significantly influence survival and outcomes after the treatment of acute aortic dissection type A (AADA). However, postoperative complications and particularly neurological dysfunctions (ND) are still very common.To identify preoperative and intraoperative factors as well as immediate postoperative conditions with an influence on the occurrence of neurological complications of surgical treatment of AADA and accordingly take action to reduce them.Between January 2013 and December 2018, 240 patients with AADA were emergently surgically treated. All patients were divided into two groups: group I - patients with postoperative ND (subgroup Ia - patients with mild, transient ND and Ib - patients with severe ND) and group II - patients without ND.Neurological damage after the operation was registered in 87 (39.5%) patients. Thirty (13.6%) patients had mild ND and 57 (25.9%) severe. Presence of preoperative neurological deficit, reduced level of consciousness, supra-aortic vessel dissection, hemodynamic instability, and excessive postoperative bleeding with hypotension are factors with a highly statistically significant association with the occurrence of severe ND. Neurological complications were not identified in 66.7% of patients who were axillary cannulated versus 55.9% of patients cannulated in the other way but the difference did not reach statistical significance (Advanced neuroprotective strategies during surgical treatment of AADA are associated with favorable neurological outcomes, especially in a group of patients with identified risk factors for ND.Udoskonalenia techniczne i nowe strategie operacyjne znacząco poprawiają wyniki leczenia ostrego rozwarstwienia aorty typu A (AADA). Nadal jednak bardzo często obserwowane są powikłania pooperacyjne, zwłaszcza zaburzenia neurologiczne (ZN).Identyfikacja przed- i śródoperacyjnych czynników ryzyka oraz stanów występujących we wczesnym okresie pooperacyjnym, które mają wpływ na rozwój powikłań neurologicznych w leczeniu chirurgicznym AADA, a także odpowiednich działań umożliwiających ich ograniczenie.Łącznie 240 chorych na AADA poddano leczeniu chirurgicznemu w trybie pilnym od stycznia 2013 r. do grudnia 2018 r. Pacjentów podzielono na dwie grupy: grupę I – pacjenci z pooperacyjnymi ZN (podgrupa Ia – pacjenci z łagodnymi, przemijającymi ZN, podgrupa Ib – pacjenci z ciężkimi ZN) i grupę II – pacjenci bez ZN.Uszkodzenie neurologiczne po operacji stwierdzono u 87 (39,5%) pacjentów. U 30 (13,6%) obserwowano łagodne ZN, a u 57 (25,9%) ciężkie ZN. Czynniki o wysokiej statystycznie istotnej zależności z występowaniem ZN o ciężkim przebiegu obejmują: przedoperacyjny deficyt neurologiczny, obniżony poziom świadomości, rozwarstwienie naczyń nadaortalnych, niestabilność hemodynamiczną i obfite krwawienie pooperacyjne z niedociśnieniem. Powikłań neurologicznych nie stwierdzono u 66,7% pacjentów z kaniulą w tętnicy pachowej w porównaniu z 55,9% pacjentów z kaniulą umieszczoną w innej tętnicy, jednak różnica nie była istotna statystycznie (Zaawansowane strategie neuroprotekcyjne w leczeniu chirurgicznym AADA pozwalają uzyskać korzystny stan neurologiczny pacjentów, zwłaszcza w grupie z rozpoznanymi czynnikami ryzyka ZN.

Table egg production is a rapidly growing agricultural sector in the world, although is at a much lower level in Serbia. The total number of poultry in Serbia in 2018 was 16,232,000 birds, of which...

The quality of life and patient survival rate in terminal chronic renal insufficiency depends on the duration of vascular approaches. Dialysis catheters are used to establish an adequate vascular approach when emergency hemodialysis is indicated and when all approaches are exhausted. Complications of CVC can be classified into three categories: mechanical (hematoma, arterial puncture, pneumothorax, hemothorax, catheter misplacement, and stenosis), infectious (insertion site infection, CVC colonization, and bloodstream infection) and thrombotic (deep vein thrombosis). Despite the increasing prevalence of haemodialysis patients with complex access issues, there remains no consensus on the definition of vascular access failure or end-stage vascular access. The dilema in these cases remains whether the generalized vascular insufficiency is the cause or a complication of exhausted vascular accesses. This case report is one of the examples of combined complications with generalized vascular access insufficiency. During the year and a half of the chronic dialysis program, the patient had several changes of vascular approaches, and each approach became dysfunctional in certain time due to various causes. After six months of successful hemodialysis, the patient was admitted with signs of infection and during hospitalization was again subjected to multiple changes of the vascular approach due to infection, thrombosis, and vascular access failure.

Paper description: The growth hormone secretagogue receptor R1a, the receptor for ghrelin, is expressed in immune cells. The influence of intracerebroventricularly administered ghrelin (1 μg/day/rat for 5 days) to rats of different ages (peripubertal (5 weeks), young (2 months) and middle-aged (6 months; n=10 per group), on thymus mass and thymic architecture was examined. Intracerebroventricular application of ghrelin postponed thymic atrophy: the average weights of the thymuses were significantly higher in the ghrelin groups; ghrelin positively influenced the number of thymocytes and thymic structure. Our results point to a stimulatory effect of ghrelin on thymic size and function. Abstract: Ghrelin positively influences the total number of thymocytes and size of the thymus in 14-, 20- and 24-month-old rats. We examined the effect of centrally-applied ghrelin on thymus weight and structure in Wistar rats of different ages. The study included 30 male Wistar rats of three age groups: peripubertal (5-week-old rats), young (2 months) and adult (6 months). The animals of each age group were divided into control and experimental groups that were administered intracerebroventricularly (ICV) 1 μg ghrelin/5 μL saline daily for five consecutive days. Following treatment, the thymuses were isolated, weighed and processed for stereological analysis by the point-counting method. The average weights of the thymuses were significantly higher in the ghrelin groups with respect to control rats (5 weeks: 444.90±18.03 vs 365.00±18.63; 2 months: 354.30±13.77 vs 257.00±9.60; 6 months: 365.00±15.90 vs 225.00±7.03, p

Introduction/aim: We are presenting the case of a patient suffering from fibrous cardiac skeleton damage caused by advanced infective endocarditis after aortic valve replacement surgery, whose cardiac surgery treatment proved to be successful. Case report: A redo procedure was performed through a median sternotomy using cardiopulmonary bypass. Artificial aortic and native mitral valves were excised and all infected tissue removed. Reconstruction of the fibrotic cardiac skeleton was done using two autologous pericardial patches according to Tyrone-David. Both mechanical valves were implanted. Conclusion: Successful treatment of one of the most difficult conditions in cardiac surgery can be achieved in our country.

Introduction. The Verbands Deutscher Landwirdschaftlicher Untersuchungs und Forschungsanstalten (VDLUFA) is an association of German agronomic, analytical and scientific institutes dealing with various types of research in the field of agronomy and the development, adaptation and validation of analytical methods. This association has established an approach for determining the microbiological quality of feed based on the contents of molds, yeasts and bacteria by taking into account not only their total numbers (cfu/g), but also their potential pathogenicity. According to the degree of the potential pathogenicity, microorganisms are divided into seven groups. Based on the number of microorganisms in the seven groups, feed and feedingstuffs are classified into four categories according to microbiological quality. Materials and Methods. This method for categorization of feed is described in Methods Book III. Detailed instruction is given within the four Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Results and Conclusions. The VDLUFA method of assessing animal feed and feedingstuffs is a far more detailed approach that gives a more complete picture of the actual microbiological status of feed than the approach currently used in Serbia. Feed placed on the market to be used in animal nutrition should meet the criteria for classification into classes I to III, in accordance with the parameters laid down in the method. Animal feed that belongs to class IV is not suitable for animal feeding. This method could be a useful guideline in the modernization of hygienic standards for feed in Serbia in the future. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. III46009]

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective anticancer drug. However, its use is hampered by the development of very mortal cardiomyopathy. Here, we investigate whether the co-administration of the antidepressant paroxetine (P), known to exert beneficial cardiovascular effects, would provide effective cardioprotection. Experiments were performed in male Wistar rats randomly assigned to control group (0.5 mL/kg 0.9% NaCl, i.v., n = 7), DOX group (DOX 5 mg /kg i.v., n = 23) and DOX+P group (DOX 5 mg/kg, i.v. plus P 10 mg/kg p.o. daily, beginning five days before DOX administration and during the follow-up period, n = 11). Rats′ body weight and echocardiography parameters were monitored before and after drug/vehicle administration. Cardiac histology was performed post-mortem, as well as beta1-adrenergic receptor (β1-AR), beta2-adrenergic receptor (β2-AR), G protein-coupled receptor kinases type 2 (GRK2), type 3 (GRK3), beta-arrestin 1, and beta-arrestin 2 gene expression using RT-qPCR. DOX-treated rats exhibited bad general condition, adynamia, loss of body weight, and low survival. Echocardiography revealed two phenotypes: cardiomyopathy with left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (DOX-HCM) and cardiomyopathy with LV dilation (DOX-DCM). In DOX-HCM rats only, there was an increased GRK2 and GRK3 gene expression and synthesis. DOX+P co-treated rats exhibited good general condition, normal spontaneous behaviour, gained weight over time, had increased survival, and preserved LV morphology and contractility. In these rats, gene expression and synthesis of GRK2 and GRK3 were decreased, while β1-AR and β2-AR were increased. Present results show for the first time that P effectively reduces DOX-induced cardiotoxicity and enhances survival.

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL)-associated serine protease-2 (MASP-2) is an indispensable enzyme for the activation of the lectin pathway of complement. Its deficiency is classified as a primary immunodeficiency associated to pyogenic bacterial infections, inflammatory lung disease, and autoimmunity. In Europeans, MASP-2 deficiency, due to homozygosity for c.359A > G (p.D120G), occurs in 7 to 14/10,000 individuals. We analyzed the presence of the p.D120G mutation in adults (increasing the sample size of our previous studies) and children. Different groups of patients (1495 adults hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia, 186 adults with systemic lupus erythematosus, 103 pediatric patients with invasive pneumococcal disease) and control individuals (1119 healthy adult volunteers, 520 adult patients without history of relevant infectious diseases, and a pediatric control group of 311 individuals) were studied. Besides our previously reported MASP-2-deficient healthy adults, we found a new p.D120G homozygous individual from the pediatric control group. We also reviewed p.D120G homozygous individuals reported so far: a total of eleven patients with a highly heterogeneous range of disorders and nine healthy controls (including our four MASP-2-deficient individuals) have been identified by chance in association studies. Individuals with complete deficiencies of several pattern recognition molecules of the lectin pathway (MBL, collectin-10 and collectin-11, and ficolin-3) as well as of MASP-1 and MASP-3 have also been reviewed. Cumulative evidence suggests that MASP-2, and even other components of the LP, are largely redundant in human defenses and that individuals with MASP-2 deficiency do not seem to be particularly prone to infectious or autoimmune diseases.

BackgroundDiffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most frequent lymphoid neoplasm among adults,and approximately 30–40% of patients will experience relapse while 5–10% will suffer from primary refractory disease caused by different mechanisms, including treatment-induced resistance. For refractory and relapsed DLBCL (rrDLBCL) patients, early detection and understanding of the mechanisms controlling treatment resistance are of great importance to guide therapy decisions. Here, we have focused on genetic variations in immune surveillance genes in diagnostic DLBCL (dDLBCL) and rrDLBCL patients to elaborate on the suitability of new promising immunotherapies.MethodsBiopsies from 30 dDLBCL patients who did not progress or relapse during follow up and 17 rrDLBCL patients with refractory disease or who relapsed during follow up were analyzed by whole-exome sequencing, including matched individual germline samples to include only somatic genetic variants in downstream analysis of a curated list of 58 genes involved in major immune surveillance pathways.ResultsMore than 70% of both dDLBCLs and rrDLBCLs harbored alterations in immune surveillance genes, but rrDLBCL tumor samples have a lower number of genes affected compared to dDLBCL tumor samples. Increased gene mutation frequencies in rrDLBCLs were observed in more than half of the affected immune surveillance genes than dDLBCLs.ConclusionGenetic variants in the antigen-presenting genes affect a higher number of rrDLBCL patients supporting an important role for these genes in tumor progression and development of refractory disease and relapse.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text., Background: Cardiovascular complications with myocarditis in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection have been reported, but the optimal therapeutic strategy remains unknown. Methods: A retrospective cohort study included 19 patients with acute left ventricular systolic dysfunction associated with MIS-C, average years of age 13.2 ± 3.8, treated from April 2020 to April 2021. Results: Treatment failure (TF) was observed in 8 patients (in the intravenous immunoglobulin [IVIG] group 7/10; in the corticosteroid [CS] group 1/9). The independent risk factor for TF was IVIG treatment (odds ratio [OR] 18.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6–222.93, P = 0.02). Patients initially treated with CS became afebrile during in-hospital day 1 (1.5, interquartile range [IQR] 1–2), while IVIG-treated patients became afebrile on in-hospital day 4 (IQR 2–4.25), after CS was added. The C-reactive protein (CRP) significantly declined in CS-treated patients on day 2 (P = 0.01), while in the IVIG group, CRP decreased significantly on the fourth day (P = 0.04). Sodium and albumin levels were higher on third in-hospital day in the CS group than in the IVIG group (P = 0.015, P = 0.03). A significant improvement and normalization of ejection fraction (EF) during the first 3 days was observed only in the CS group (P = 0.005). ICU stays were shorter in the CS group (4, IQR 2–5.5) than in the IVIG group (IVIG group 7, IQR 6–8.5) (P = 0.002). Conclusions: Among children with MIS-C with cardiovascular involvement, treatment with CS was associated with faster normalization of LV EF, fever, laboratory analysis, and shorter ICU than IVIG-treated patients.

This letter studies the stabilization of non-linear networked control systems (NCSs) where the information between plant and controller is sent over a lossy wireless multi-hop network under a carrier-sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA-CA) scheme. We present a hybrid model for the overall NCS that captures time-varying transmission instants, both inter-and at-transmission behavior, packet dropouts, field device dynamics, and CSMA-CA scheduling. We then use this model to provide sufficient conditions in terms of the intensity of transmission that ensure closed-loop $ \mathcal {L}_{p}$ stability-in-expectation. In doing so, we exploit the mathematical structure of our NCS model to improve previous results in the literature.

Calcium ions are usually present at high concentrations in brines produced with oil and gas. Such brines are typically saturated with respect to CaCO3. Consequently, precipitation of CaCO3 as scale on the internal wall of the pipeline can readily occur due to changes in operational and environmental parameters as produced fluids are transferred from downhole to surface facilities. Despite its importance, there is minimal research in the literature addressing the effect of calcium ions, and specifically CaCO3 scale, on the CO2 corrosion mechanism. The main objectives of this research are to further broaden the mechanistic understanding of CO2 corrosion of mild steel in the presence of high concentrations of calcium ions and evaluate the protectiveness that FexCayCO3 and CaCO3 scale confers against further corrosion. The corrosion behavior was studied in situ by electrochemical methods, including linear polarization resistance and open-circuit potential, along with weight loss using a UNS G10180 steel with ferritic-pearlitic microstructure. Surface characterization of the scale and corrosion product was performed using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction. A descriptive model is proposed for the CO2 corrosion mechanism of mild steel in the presence of high concentrations of calcium ions. Unprotective FexCayCO3 (y>x) and CaCO3 scales were observed to act as a mass transfer barrier that could promote surface conditions favoring FeCO3 precipitation. The presence of uniform CaCO3 scale did not result in the onset of localized corrosion at the conducted experimental conditions.

It is estimated that the world’s population will enlarge by 25% by the middle of this century, resulting in the food production increase by at least 60%. Intensifying egg production is one of the most affordable solutions to provide animal protein. Among many other efforts to improve the quality of eggs, special attention is paid to attempts to provide a better endurance and strength of eggshell, due to the fact that the production of eggs with broken, cracked or soft shells incurs significant economic losses. One of the most important factors to achieve this goal is careful adjustment of calcium in the diet of laying hens, but the nutritional role of calcium is closely linked to that of phosphorus and the effect of vitamin D. The aim of the experiment was to determine whether two different nutritional supplements of calcium, applied in drinking water of laying hens for two weeks have any significant influence on the shell egg quality. Statistically very significant difference in egg production was observed in the treatment with the product containing calcium and phosphorus. On the other hand, the product consisting of calcium and vitamin D3 had no beneficial impact on the egg parameters. Based on the obtained results and literature data, it can be concluded that the amount and source of calcium in the diet of laying hens is a very complex and not fully solved issue. Therefore, especially keeping in mind the duration of the experiment, additional research is needed on this subject.

Childhood trauma (CT) increases the risk for psychopathology through disturbed acquisition and extinction of fear. The effects of CT are mediated by abnormalities of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Since, the alterations in GRα translational isoforms have been documented in psychiatric disorders we sought to: 1) explore whether multiple GRα isoforms in the human peripheral blood mononuclear cells of two independent cohorts (whole cell n = 40; and nuclear extracts n = 43, adult subjects) mediate the effect of CT on negative affectivity (NA) measured by Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS), and 2) examine their role/function during fear extinction in the animal model. In multiple regression analysis, CT, nuclear 40-kDa GRα their interactions and FKBP5 explained 22%–35% of variance in DASS scores. Structural equation modeling showed that CT had a significant direct effect on 40-kDa and DASS in both cohorts, and on the nuclear 25-kDa GRα. The association between 40-kDa and total DASS was significantly mediated by nuclear FKBP5, whereas on DASS anxiety, over FKBP5 in both cohorts and nuclear full length GRα. Nuclear 40-kDa GRα and its interaction with CT had a significant direct effect on DASS anxiety. In mice, the successful extinction learning was followed by nuclear translocation of 40-kDa GRα and induction of BDNF exon IV expression. Our data revealed that the association between CT and adult NA in non-clinical subjects is mediated by the GRα translational isoforms, in particular 40-kDa GRα and emphasized its role in fear extinction and neural plasticity. © 2018 Elsevier Inc. Free Author Manuscript available at PMC: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6383671/]

This work focuses on synchronizing a 7-axis industrial robot with an object that is moved in the workspace by a human operator. In an experimental setup, the robot draws several curves on the moving object, where all 7 axes of the robot are in use. Based on feedback linearization, an active compliance control strategy is developed to synchronize the end-effector with the moving object. The path progress on the curve is dynamically monitored in order to stop it, if the object is moving too fast. Experiments show that a precise tracking accuracy is achieved besides a good human-robot usability.

Introduction. Acute otitis media is a very common disease in the early childhood age, with typical symptoms such as otalgia and fever. Otogenic complications are divided into extracranial and intracranial. Although the introduction of antibiotics has significantly reduced the incidence of intracranial complications, they are still present. Clinical picture usually develops fast, with the predominance of neurologic symptoms. Case outline. An 11-year-old boy was admitted to a tertiary health care children?s hospital because of fever, agitation, altered behavior and disorder of consciousness. Based on the anamnesis, clinical examination, CT, MRI, and lumbar puncture, it has been established that it is a case of meningoencephalitis as complications of acute otitis media. Besides intense antibiotic and symptomatic therapy, surgical treatment too was conducted as well. Firstly, mastoidectomy with the implantation of ventilation tube was done, followed by radical tympanomastoidectomy, because there was no improvement. The treatment was followed by numerous complications, such as toxic hepatitis, mycoplasma pneumoniae infection, and hemolytic anemia. The treatment lasted for 71 days, and the patient was discharged from the hospital in a good general condition, without the focal motor failure. Conclusion. Meningoencephalitis is unusual and rare complication of acute otitis media that requires urgent diagnostic procedure and multidisciplinary approach to the treatment. Surgical treatment of the ear that caused complications should not be postponed, and the choice of surgical method must be adapted to each patient individually. Hospital treatment of these patients is often prolonged and auditory and neurological sequelae are substantial and require long-term treatment.

Paper description: Chronic exposure to glucose-based peritoneal dialysis (PD) solutions causes peritoneal injury as a result of upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) with proinflammatory and proangiogenetic activities. Few studies have examined the in vivo effects of VEGF on the peritoneal membrane in humans. Observed significant inverse correlations between drained dialysate VEGF concentrations, residual diuresis and residual renal function at chronic PD onset point to the importance of preserved residual renal function in achieving VEGF clearance. The predictive value of drained dialysate VEGF in identifying patients with preserved transport characteristics of peritoneal membrane and efficacious long term PD maintenance is emphasized. Abstract: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a powerful angiogenetic agent crucial for microvascular hyperpermeability and neoangiogenesis in the peritoneum, is associated with increased solute transport rates in chronic peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. We investigated the correlation between serum and drained dialysate (dd) concentrations of VEGF and the transport characteristics of peritoneal membrane and dialysis quality in 20 patients with end-stage renal failure at the beginning and after six months of PD. The serum VEGF (sVEGF) concentration rose significantly (149.33±116.71 pg/mL vs 239.36±102.23 pg/mL; p=0.012) and ddVEGF concentration increased slightly (38.44±50.47 pg/mL vs 43.55±51.10 pg/mL) during the first 6 months of PD. At the beginning of chronic PD, ddVEGF concentrations correlated inversely with the peritoneal equilibrium test (PET) glucose (R=-0.565; p=0.009) and creatinine (R=-0.506; p=0.023) and residual renal function (RRF) (R=-0.691; p=0.001); sVEGF concentrations inversely correlated with PET creatinine (R=-0.457; p=0.043) and residual diuresis (RD) (R=-0.691; p=0.001). After 6 months of treatment, ddVEGF concentrations correlated directly with PET creatinine (R=0.450; p=0.047), and inversely with RRF (R=-0.552; p=0.012) and residual renal weekly Kt/V (R=-0.488; p=0.029). The sVEGF concentration inversely correlated with RD (R=-0.589; p=0.006). High ddVEGF at the beginning of PD is predictive of adverse alterations of the peritoneal membrane, i.e. increased transport rate of glucose and creatinine. ddVEGF values may help to identify patients who will preserve adequate transport characteristics of the peritoneal membrane and maintain successful long-term PD. https://doi.org/10.2298/ABS181120061J Received: November 20, 2018; Revised: December 19, 2018; Accepted: December 22 2018; Published online: December 27, 2018 How to cite this article: Jovanovic NŽ, Žunic SS, Trbojevic-Stankovic JB, Lausevic ŽD, Nesic DM, Stojimirovic BB. The relationship between vascular endothelial growth factor (VRGF) in the serum and drained dialysate with the quality of peritoneal dialysis and peritoneal membrane transport rates. Arch Biol Sci. 2018;71(1):187-94.

Paper description: Tumor markers are significant for early detection of (pre)malignant lesions, local recurrence and distant metastasis, prevention of secondary tumors, appropriate therapeutic protocol choice, and as a prognostic factor for disease progression. In this prospective case, immunohistochemical expression of the tumor markers PCNA, HER-2 and CD-31 in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma undergoing the same surgical treatment during a ten years period was determined. Increased expression of PCNA during advanced stage of the disease may be a useful biomarker in determining further disease progression. PCNA can be useful in routine clinical practice. Abstract: Several studies have investigated the expression of tumor markers, including p53, HER-2, PCNA, EGFR, VEGFR CD-31 and Bcl-2 in patients with oral squamous carcinoma (OSC). This study aimed to determine the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), endothelial functions of platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (CD31) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) according to OSC stage. The prospective study included 62 patients diagnosed with OSC stages II and III. Surgical specimens were obtained from tumor and peritumoral tissues. We determined the pathohistological degree of tumor differentiation and the immunohistochemical expression of PCNA, CD-31 and HER-2 for each specimen. Immunohistochemical analysis of the expression of PCNA in tumor cells demonstrated poor staining of immunoreactive tumor cells in 23 patients (10 in stage II, 7 in stage IIIa and 6 in stage IIIb). Moderately expressed PCNA-immunoreactivity in the tumor cells in 17 patients (7 in stage II, 6 in stage IIIa and 4 in stage III), and extremely strong PCNA-immunoreactive staining in tumor cells of 10 patients with IIIb stage, was observed. These results suggest that PCNA expression combined with pathohistological findings could possess a prognostic value in determining the survival rates for patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. https://doi.org/10.2298/ABS190705053L Received: July 5, 2019; Revised: August 4, 2019; Accepted: August 6, 2019; Published online: August 30, 2019 How to cite this article: Loncarevic SA, Brajkovic DO, Gardasevic MF, Loncarevic OLj, Lađevic NG, Nesic DM, Stamenkovic DM, Likic-Lađevic IS, Lađevic NN, Rancic NK. Expression of PCNA, CD-31 and HER-2 in Serbian patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. Arch Biol Sci. 2019;71(4):703-10.

Insect use in feed and food in European countries is now an increasingly debated topic, although these animals have traditionally been nutritional components in Asian, African, Central American and South American cultures. This review addresses the issue of eating insects and using them as feed components, especially considering the nutritionally important factors. Safety risks are also discussed, as well as allergies, toxicity, consumer acceptance, legislative, welfare and environmental concerns and possibilities for laboratory control. Insects play and will play important roles in the future in various fields of research and utilisation, but especially and increasingly as feed and food ingredients.

In the present study, the implementation of a comprehensive mechanistic predictive model for corrosion of mild steel in the oil and gas transmission pipelines is described. The present model simultaneously accounts for all major corrosion scenarios, including CO2 corrosion, H2S corrosion, and corrosion in the presence of organic acid and also incorporates the effect of corrosion product layer formation, including iron carbonate and iron sulfide. With this approach, the present model mechanistically reflects the mainstream understanding of corrosion in such environments and can be readily used to predict the corrosion rates in industrial applications. The model was implemented by using a generalized mathematical and programming approach that has built-in flexibility to add new chemical species and additional reactions in the future. The model was designed to make it easy to extend and cover an even broader range of conditions than it currently does, such as higher temperatures and pressures, nonideal solut...

Pancreatic cystic lesions (PCL) are a frequent and underreported incidental finding on CT scans and can transform into neoplasms with devastating consequences. We developed and evaluated an algorithm based on a two-step nnU-Net architecture for automated detection of PCL on CTs. A total of 543 cysts on 221 abdominal CTs were manually segmented in 3D by a radiology resident in consensus with a board-certified radiologist specialized in abdominal radiology. This information was used to train a two-step nnU-Net for detection with the performance assessed depending on lesions’ volume and location in comparison to three human readers of varying experience. Mean sensitivity was 78.8 ± 0.1%. The sensitivity was highest for large lesions with 87.8% for cysts ≥220 mm3 and for lesions in the distal pancreas with up to 96.2%. The number of false-positive detections for cysts ≥220 mm3 was 0.1 per case. The algorithm’s performance was comparable to human readers. To conclude, automated detection of PCL on CTs is feasible. The proposed model could serve radiologists as a second reading tool. All imaging data and code used in this study are freely available online.

BACKGROUND: Acute myocarditis (AM) is defined as inflammation of the myocardium. The aim of our study is a comparative analysis of the differences between AM related and unrelated to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). METHODS: The retrospective study included children with AM treated from January 2018 to November 2020. RESULTS: The study included 24 patients; 7 of 24 had AM related to SARS-CoV-2 and they were older than 7. They were more likely to have abdominal pain (P = 0.014), headache (P = 0.003), cutaneous rash (P = 0.003), and conjunctivitis (P = 0.003), while fulminant myocarditis was commonly registered in AM unrelated to SARS-CoV-2 (P = 0.04). A multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children associated with COVID-19 was diagnosed in six adolescents. Patients with AM related SARS-CoV-2 had lower serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) (P = 0.012), and platelets (P < 0.001), but had a higher C-reactive protein (CRP) value (P = 0.04), and N-terminal-pro hormone BNP in comparison to patients with AM unrelated to SARS-CoV-2. The patients with AM related to SARS-CoV-2 had significant reduction of CRP (P = 0.007). Inotropic drug support was used for shorter durations in patients with AM related to SARS-CoV-2, than in others (P = 0.02). Children with AM related to SARS-CoV-2 had significant improvement of left ventricle systolic function on the third day in hospital (P = 0.001). Patients with AM unrelated to SARS-CoV-2 AM had more frequent adverse outcomes (P = 0.04; three died and four dilated cardiomyopathy). CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to patients with AM unrelated to SARS-CoV-2, patients with AM related to SARS-CoV-2 had a higher CRP value, polymorphic clinical presentation, shorter durations of inotropic drugs use as well as prompt recovery of left ventricle systolic function.

Purpose To conduct a systematic review to evaluate the influence of materials and surfaces used for dental implant abutments on the proliferation of human gingival fibroblasts. Materials and methods The focus question of this review was: Which material/surface characteristics used for dental implant abutments influence/enhance proliferation of human gingival fibroblasts? The Medline/PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched using "gingiva," "fibroblasts," "proliferation," and "dental implant abutments" as main keywords with AND/OR as Boolean operators. In vitro studies reporting 3 to 4 or 6 to 7 days of cell proliferation, surface hydrophilicity, and roughness were included. A quality assessment of the selected studies was performed using the web-based Science in Risk Assessment and Policy (SciRAP) tool. Results The search identified 1,144 studies, and 44 were eligible for inclusion. The average reporting quality SciRAP score was 82.87 ± 10.68, and the average methodologic quality SciRAP score was 87.35 ± 10.55. Machined, polished, and coated titanium and zirconia surfaces were most commonly investigated. Several studies analyzed aluminum oxide, cobalt-chrome-molybdenum alloy, lithium disilicate, polyether ether ketone, polymer-infiltrated ceramic network, and bioglass. The best cell proliferation was observed on zirconia and on titanium harboring nanotubules or microgrooves. UV treatment, polydopamine, and nitride coatings also improved cell proliferation. Due to the heterogeneity of the data, no correlation could be established between cell profileration and surface hydrophilicity or roughness. However, surface roughness in the range of Ra = 15 to 145 nm and Sa = 19 to 500 nm on titanium and zirconia proved most suitable. Conclusion Titanium surfaces with directional guidance patterning and zirconia surfaces best supported cell proliferation during the first week of cell culture. Lack of standardization in surface definitions (machined or polished), methodology, and reporting prevented analytical comparison and should be imposed in future studies.

1260 1252 М30 М33 U ovom radu predstavljamo srpski književni korpus koji se razvija pod okriljem COST Akcije „Distant Reading for European Literary History” CA16204. Koristeći ovaj korpus romana napisanih pre više od jednog veka, razvili smo i učinili javno dostupnim Sistem za prepoznavanje imenovanih entiteta (NER) obučen da prepozna 7 različitih tipova imenovanih entiteta, sa konvolucionom neuronskom mrežom (CNN), koja ima F1 rezultat od ≈91% na test skupu podataka. Ovaj model je dalje ocenjen na posebnom skupu podataka za evaluaciju. Završavamo poređenje razvijenog modela sa postojećim, nakon čega sledi diskusija o prednostima i nedostacima oba modela. In this work, we present a Serbian litera ry corpus that is being developed under the umbrella of the “Distant Reading for European Literary History” COST Action CA16204. Using this corpus of novels written more than a century ago, we ha ve developed and made publicly available a Named Entity Recognizer (NER) trai ned to recognize 7 different named enti ty types, with a Convolutional Neural Ne twork (CNN) architecture, having F1 score of ≈91% on the test dataset. This model has been further assessed on a separate eva luation dataset. We wrap up with compa rison of the developed model with the exi sting one, followed by a discussion of pros and cons of the both models.

Application of one type of wide bandpass filter on felt (textile) substrate is introduced. Copper tape and conductive textile are used for metallization (conductive layer). It is an initial work. The patterns were done in handmade cutting using precision scalpel and drawing table. The bandpass filters are around 3 GHz but have losses above 3 GHz especially for the conductive textile. The reasons are losses in the conductive textile and in the felt. Other losses can be connection of connectors and/or used rigid cables.

The genetic selection toward bigger broilers provoked the development of muscular myopathies and abnormalities. Since the affected meat is downgraded and often inadequate for further processing, economic losses to the broiler industry are inevitable. In addition, not only the nutritional value of the meat has been decreased, but also sensory properties and technological traits seem to concern consumers more. This can have a very negative attitude toward poultry meat as consumers connect these traits with poor animal welfare. To avoid these problems in the future, new studies must be focused on identifying markers in live birds for newly developed myopathies. Also, better strategies for determining genetic factors, nutritional and slaughter conditions, and hence meat quality, are a complex concept, and all factors together have an impact on parameters of meat quality.

Deep Learning models are getting more and more popular but constraints on explainability, adversarial robustness and fairness are often major concerns for production deployment. Although the open source ecosystem is abundant on addressing those concerns, fully integrated, end to end systems are lacking in open source. Therefore we provide an entirely open source, reusable component framework, visual editor and execution engine for production grade machine learning on top of Kubernetes, a joint effort between IBM and the University Hospital Basel. It uses Kubeflow Pipelines, the AI Explainability360 toolkit, the AI Fairness360 toolkit and the Adversarial Robustness Toolkit on top of Elyra, Kubeflow, Kubernetes and JupyterLab. Using the Elyra pipeline editor, AI pipelines can be developed visually with a set of jupyter notebooks. We explain how we've created a COVID-19 deep learning classification pipeline based on CT scans. We use the toolkit to highlight parts of the images which have been crucial for the models decisions. We detect bias against age and gender and finally, show how to deploy the model to KFServing to share it across different hospital data centers of the Swiss Personalized Health Network. © 2021 CEUR-WS. All rights reserved.

Given the fact that the law on animal feed in Serbia has long been expected and that the current Regulation on the quality of animal feed, which includes microbiological criteria, requires improvement over the years, it is time to choose the best new solutions. The recommendable change that would bring the categorization of animal feed according to more objective and comprehensive criteria is based on the use of the VDLUFA (Verbands Deutscher Landwirdschaftlicher Untersuchungs und Forschungsanstalten) method. In several European countries, it has become routine, due to the great interest of feed producers and animal breeders in good knowledge of microbiological quality of feed as a guarantee of a wholesome final product. It involves determination of the contents of moulds, yeasts and bacteria while taking into account their potential pathogenicity. Based on the number of microorganisms, divided into seven groups, feed and feedingstuffs are classified into four categories. Classes I to III can be placed on the market, while class IV is not suitable for animal nutrition. More precise, regular determination of microorganisms would also provide a better insight into other common feed-born problems, such as, for instance, the possibility of mycotoxin occurrence.

Seeking useful biological agents for mycotoxin detoxification has achieved success in the last twenty years thanks to the participation of many multidisciplinary teams. We have recently witnessed discoveries in the fields of bacterial genetics (inclusive of next-generation sequencing), protein encoding, and bioinformatics that have helped to shape the latest perception of how microorganisms/mycotoxins/environmental factors intertwine and interact, so the road is opened for new breakthroughs. Analysis of literature data related to the biological control of mycotoxins indicates the ability of yeast, bacteria, fungi and enzymes to degrade or adsorb mycotoxins, which increases the safety and quality of susceptible crops, animal feed and, ultimately, food of animal origin (milk, meat and eggs) by preventing the presence of residues. Microbial detoxification (transformation and adsorption) is becoming a trustworthy strategy that leaves no or less toxic compounds and contributes to food security. This review summarizes the data and highlights the importance and prospects of these methods.

A secure and private nonlinear networked control systems (NCSs) design using semi-homomorphic encryption is studied. Static feedback controllers are used and network architectures are provided to enable control signal computation using encrypted signals directly. As a result, the security of the NCSs is further enhanced by preserving the privacy of information flowing through the whole network. Whereas in traditional encryption techniques, encrypted signals are decrypted before control computation and are encrypted again after computation for transmission. While this is highly desirable from privacy point of view, additional technical difficulties in the design and analysis of NCSs are induced compared to standard NCSs. In this chapter, we provide sufficient conditions on the encryption parameters that guarantee robust stability of the NCS in the presence of disturbances in a semi-global practical sense and discuss the trade-offs between the required computational resources, security guarantees, and the closed-loop performance. The proof technique is based on Lyapunov methods.

International audience; We study emulation-based stabilisation of nonlin-ear networked control systems communicating over multiple wireless channels subject to packet loss. Specifically, we establish sufficient conditions on the rate of transmission that guarantee Lp stability-in-expectation of the overall closed-loop system. These conditions depend on the cumulative dropout probability of the network nodes for static protocols. We use the obtained stability results to study power control, where we show there are interesting trade-offs between the transmission rate, transmit power, and stability. Lastly, numerical examples are presented to illustrate our results.

In this paper, the machine learning algorithm for the lid opening detection in telecommunication manholes is presented. Telecommunication manholes network is equipped with smart Internet of Things (IoT) devices that use multiple sensors to monitor the system and to detect various states of a manhole, like a lid opening, detection of the light, detection of the object or person presence, etc. The machine learning algorithm that detects state lid open or lid closed from the data that the IoT manhole monitoring system generates is developed with a recurrent neural network (RNN), more precisely long short-term memory (LSTM). The proposed solution lids to reduced number field interventions, which consequently result in lower operational cost of the manhole monitoring system and increase the system effectiveness.

Quartz crystal units (CUs) are the most popular oscillating components in high-quality crystal filters and oscillators, due to their electrical and mechanical characteristics. This paper considers design and realization of high quality 76.8375 MHz crystal filter based on third overtone quartz crystal units. In addition to the basic parameters, this filter also meets the special operational conditions of the environment (clime and mechanical conditions). Filter design and requested specifications are further explained as well as the resulting transfer function of the 76.8375 MHz filter.

Background: In multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) temporarily associated with coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), myocardial damage has been reported. Materials and Methods: A retrospective observational cohort study included children under 18 who had a myocardial injury related to COVID-19 treated in mother and child health institute from April 2020 to August 2020. Myocardial injury related to COVID-19 was manifested by elevated serum cardiac troponin and NT-proBNP with LV dysfunction, arrhythmias, and coronary arteries (CAs) dilatation or aneurysms. During the short-term follow-up, cardiac testing (electrocardiography, laboratory analysis, echocardiography, 24-h Holter monitoring, exercise stress test, and cardiac magnetic resonance) was performed. Results: Six male adolescents (14.7 ± 2.4 years) were included in the analysis (2/6 had MIS-C shock syndrome). All patients had elevated acute-phase reactants and NT-proBNP, whereas troponins were elevated in 5/6 patients. Echocardiography revealed left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction (EF 45.2 ± 6.9%); 2/6 had dilated CAs. IVIG was prescribed to all patients with MIS-C. Four patients required inotropic drug support. During hospitalization, a significant reduction of CRP, LDH, NT-proBNP, and D-dimer (P < 0.05) was registered. LV systolic function recovery was registered 3 days after applied therapy (P < 0.001). None of the patients developed dilated cardiomyopathy or CA aneurysms. Conclusions: With early recognition and adequate MIS-C therapy, children recovered entirely, maintained in the short-term follow-up period.

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) may induce multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, which may be associated with Kawasaki-like disease, and cardiac injury. In this study, we presented three male adolescents with multisystem inflammatory syndrome and myocardial injury admitted to the hospital during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic. All of the three patients had a history of fever, gastrointestinal symptoms, polymorph rash, non-exudative conjunctivitis, and signs of acute myocarditis. One of them had renal failure. Previously, they did not have an acute infection. Upon admission, they were hypotensive and tachycardic. A nasopharyngeal swab for SARS-CoV-2 on reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was negative, but neutralizing viral antibodies were positive. In combination with blood tests, ECG, echocardiography and computerized tomography (CT), a multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with acute myocarditis with mild to moderate systolic dysfunction and dilated coronary arteries were diagnosed. Two of three patients had shock syndrome and required inotropic support. All patients were treated with intravenous immunoglobulins. The second patient had a fever up to 102.2°F (39°C) three days after intravenous immunoglobulins. Further, he was treated according to protocols for refractory Kawasaki disease, with an intravenous methylprednisolone pulse therapy and aspirin. After a few hours, he became afebrile and the clinical signs disappeared. The favorable short-term outcome may reflect the early recognition and adequate therapy; however, the long-term outcomes are currently unknown.

The outbreak of lactococcosis affecting rainbow trout, weighing 70 - 120 g, occurred at a trout aquaculture facility in Central-West Serbia during July, 2018. This outbreak lasted for three weeks, and cumulative mortality attributed to the disease was around 40%. The diseased fish showed erratic swimming, dark discoloration and exophthalmia, with the cumulative mortality of around 40%. A pure Gram-positive cocci isolates were obtained from the eye and kidney samples. Based on colony morphology, phenotypic and biochemical characteristics, the isolated bacterium was presumably identified as Lactococcus garvieae. Using the BBL CRYSTAL GP ID system, the isolate was identified as L. garvieae and the identity of the isolate was confirmed with MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry. Blast analysis of 16S rRNA sequence of our isolate had a 99.4 to 99.6% similarity to the L. garvieae strains previously isolated from diseased fish. The antibacterial activity of 15 antimicrobials against L. garvieae was evaluated using disc diffusion. In this paper, we report the first case of lactococcosis in rainbow trout in Serbia, isolation and characterization of causative agent, Lactococcus garvieae from diseased rainbow trout.

Highlights • It is feasible to develop clinically useful AI-based software for quantification of pulmonary opacities in COVID-19 in just 10 days. • An established pipeline for fast transition of prototypes to full clinical implementation is an important key to success. • Human-level performance, even in the presence of advanced disease, was achieved with less than 200 chest CT scans for training of the AI algorithm., Purpose During the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, radiology departments faced a substantial increase in chest CT admissions coupled with the novel demand for quantification of pulmonary opacities. This article describes how our clinic implemented an automated software solution for this purpose into an established software platform in 10 days. The underlying hypothesis was that modern academic centers in radiology are capable of developing and implementing such tools by their own efforts and fast enough to meet the rapidly increasing clinical needs in the wake of a pandemic. Method Deep convolutional neural network algorithms for lung segmentation and opacity quantification on chest CTs were trained using semi-automatically and manually created ground-truth (Ntotal = 172). The performance of the in-house method was compared to an externally developed algorithm on a separate test subset (N = 66). Results The final algorithm was available at day 10 and achieved human-like performance (Dice coefficient = 0.97). For opacity quantification, a slight underestimation was seen both for the in-house (1.8 %) and for the external algorithm (0.9 %). In contrast to the external reference, the underestimation for the in-house algorithm showed no dependency on total opacity load, making it more suitable for follow-up. Conclusions The combination of machine learning and a clinically embedded software development platform enabled time-efficient development, instant deployment, and rapid adoption in clinical routine. The algorithm for fully automated lung segmentation and opacity quantification that we developed in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic was ready for clinical use within just 10 days and achieved human-level performance even in complex cases.

Objective The predisposing factors for pericarditis recurrence in the pediatric population have not yet been established. This study aimed to define the risk factors for the unfavorable prognosis of pediatric acute pericarditis. Methods This was a retrospective study that included all patients with acute pericarditis treated from 2011 to 2019 at a tertiary referent pediatric center. Results The study included 72 children. Recurrence was observed in 22.2% patients. Independent risk factors for recurrence were: erythrocyte sedimentation rate ≥ 50 mm/h (p = 0.003, OR 186.3), absence of myocarditis (p = 0.05, OR 15.2), C-reactive protein ≥ 125 mg/L (p = 0.04, OR 1.5), and non-idiopathic etiology pericarditis (p = 0.003, OR 1.3). Corticosteroid treatment in acute pericarditis was associated with a higher recurrence rate than treatment with non-steroid anti-inflammatory therapy (p = 0.04). Furthermore, patients treated with colchicine in the primary recurrence had lower recurrence rate and median number of repeated infections than those treated without colchicine (p = 0.04; p = 0.007, respectively). Conclusion Independent risk factors for recurrence are absence of myocarditis, non-idiopathic etiology pericarditis, C-reactive protein ≥ 125 mg/L, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate ≥ 50 mm/h. Acute pericarditis should be treated with non-steroid anti-inflammatory therapy. A combination of colchicine and non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs could be recommended as the treatment of choice in recurrent pericarditis.