We introduce the concept of Diophantine spherical vague set approach to multiple-attribute decision-making. The Spherical vague set is a novel expansion of the vague set and interval valued spherical fuzzy set. Three new concepts have been introduce such as Diophantine spherical vague weighted averaging operator, Diophantine spherical vague weighted geometric operator, generalized Diophantine spherical vague weighted averaging operator and generalized Diophantine spherical vague weighted geometric operator. We provide a numerical example to show how Euclidean distance and Hamming distance interact. Applications of the Diophantine spherical vague number include idempotency, boundedness, commutativity and monotonicity in algebraic operations. They can determine the optimal option and are more well-known and reasonable. Our goal was to identify the optimal choice by comparing expert opinions with the criteria. As a result, the model’s output was more accurate as well as in the range of the natural number . The weighted averaging distance and weighted geometric distance operators are distance measure that is based on aggregating model. By comparing the models under discussion with those suggested in the literature, we hoped to show their worth and reliability. It is possible to find a better solution more quickly, simply, and practically. Our objective was to compare the expert evaluations with the criteria and determine which option was the most suitable. Because they yield more precise solutions, these models are more accurate and more related to models with . To show the superiority and the validity of the proposed aggregation operations, we compared it with the existing method and concluded from the comparison and sensitivity analysis that our proposed technique is more effective and reliable. This investigation yielded some intriguing results.

BACKGROUND Non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) poses significant challenges in clinical management due to its diverse outcomes. Understanding the prognostic role of hematological parameters and derived ratios in NSTEMI patients could aid in risk stratification and improve patient care. AIM To evaluate the predictive value of hemogram-derived ratios for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in NSTEMI patients, potentially improving clinical outcomes. METHODS A prospective, observational cohort study was conducted in 2021 at the Internal Medicine Clinic of the University Hospital in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The study included 170 patients with NSTEMI, who were divided into a group with MACE and a control group without MACE. Furthermore, the MACE group was subdivided into lethal and non-lethal groups for prognostic analysis. Alongside hematological parameters, an additional 13 hematological-derived ratios (HDRs) were monitored, and their prognostic role was investigated. RESULTS Hematological parameters did not significantly differ between non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients with MACE and a control group at T1 and T2. However, significant disparities emerged in HDRs among NSTEMI patients with lethal and non-lethal outcomes post-MACE. Notably, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were elevated in lethal outcomes. Furthermore, C-reactive protein-to-lymphocyte ratio (CRP/Ly) at T1 (> 4.737) demonstrated predictive value [odds ratio (OR): 3.690, P = 0.024]. Both NLR at T1 (> 4.076) and T2 (> 4.667) emerged as significant predictors, with NLR at T2 exhibiting the highest diagnostic performance, as indicated by an area under the curve of 0.811 (95%CI: 0.727-0.859) and OR of 4.915 (95%CI: 1.917-12.602, P = 0.001), emphasizing its important role as a prognostic marker. CONCLUSION This study highlights the significant prognostic value of hemogram-derived indexes in predicting MACE among NSTEMI patients. During follow-up, NLR, PLR, and CRP/Ly offer important insights into the inflammatory processes underlying cardiovascular events.

Hydropower is the world's most exploited renewable energy source. It provides a substantial, flexible, and reliable source of renewable energy, complementing other renewables like solar and wind power. Besides conventional hydropower potentials and technologies, the development of technologies for the exploitation of hidden hydropower potentials is an ongoing process. This paper presents the current state of hidden hydropower technologies and links them with possible applications in different hydropower potentials. Technologies and potential applications are structured within three main groups (pressurized systems, hydro storage, unpressurized systems), with their mutual interconnections analysed and displayed throughout the paper. The opportunity for the application of hidden hydropower technologies in different roles within the energy system is recognized through the concepts of off- and on-grid roles, the prosumer concept, and on-site measurement powering. This paper shows that hidden hydropower technologies could emerge as significant contributors to a smoother energy transition, especially with the prosumer and off-grid concepts.

Floating Modular Energy Islands (FMEIs) are modularized, interconnected floating structures that function together to produce, store, possibly convert and transport renewable energy. Recent technological advancements in the offshore energy sector indicate that the concept of floating offshore energy islands has the potential to become more cost-effective and more widespread than previously anticipated. This review is specifically meant as a basis for the development of new approaches to the sustainable exploitation of multi-energy sources in the offshore environment leveraging the know-how of existing technologies and, at the same time, exploring new solutions for the specific challenges of FMEIs. The paper critically analyzes the current state of data-driven approaches and structural health monitoring techniques in the offshore energy sector. It also covers topics such as met-ocean data, loads estimation, platform dynamics, coupling actions, nonlinear dynamics of mooring lines, modelling considerations, and control of electrical subsystems. It is believed that this systematic and multidisciplinary review will facilitate synergies and further enhance research and development of offshore renewable energies.

Currently, there is significant effort worldwide in the research and development of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathrm{{SF}}_{6}$</tex-math></inline-formula>-free high-voltage circuit breakers, both in academia and industry. One of the most important switching capabilities is thermal current interruption, a process that, in modern self-blast breakers, strongly depends on the coupled effects of nozzle geometry, nozzle ablation, backheating, pressure build-up and gas outflow, as well as contact and puffer cylinder motion actuated through the drive. Previously published investigations on the thermal interruption performance of novel switching gases have used such designs, however, due to the many coupled processes, it is not possible to control the interruption conditions in order to make a full and comparative evaluation of different <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathrm{{SF}}_{6}$</tex-math></inline-formula> alternative gas mixtures. The aim of the present contribution is to present an experimental circuit breaker tailored for use in basic experiments that allow for an unbiased comparison of properties of alternative gas mixtures relevant for current interruption. The breaker is based on a novel puffer design with an overpressure relief valve that allows the contact stroke and blow pressure to be predicted, controlled and adjusted over a wide parameter range at current zero. This contribution lists the requirements for such an experimental circuit breaker and focuses on its design realization. Experimental validation is given that this device can be used in benchmarking the interruption characteristics of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathrm{{SF}}_{6}$</tex-math></inline-formula> alternatives. Systematic comparison of the thermal interruption performance of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathrm{{SF}}_{6}$</tex-math></inline-formula> alternatives and investigations of the processes around current zero will be reported in other publications.

Postmortem biochemistry is a valuable tool in forensic investigations, providing insights into the tissue damage and organ dysfunction associated with death. This study aimed to identify biochemical markers that distinguish primary and secondary hypothermia. Twenty-one Wistar rats were allocated into three groups: the Control group (n = 7), which was exposed only to hypothermic conditions, the Alcohol + Hypothermia group (n = 7), and the Benzodiazepines + Hypothermia group (n = 7). The temperature metrics assessed included the normal core temperature, the post-ketamine (0.3 ml injection) core temperature, the immersion temperature, temperature at the onset of hypothermia, and temperature at death. Blood samples were collected from the thoracic aorta in EDTA vacuum tubes for biochemical analysis. The key biochemical parameters measured included the Total Protein (g/L), Albumin (g/L), Globulin (g/L), Albumin to Globulin Ratio, Alanine Aminotransferase (U/L), Alkaline Phosphatase (U/L), Cholesterol (mmol/L), Amylase (U/L), and Lipase (U/L), using an automated IDEXX (Netherlands) cell counter. Significant between-group differences were found for the total protein and globulin levels (p < 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively), with post-hoc tests confirming differences between the alcohol and control, and benzodiazepine and control groups. The cholesterol levels were found to be significantly different through an omnibus test (p = 0.03), but post hoc tests did not confirm these differences on a statistically significant level. The amylase levels varied significantly across all groups (p < 0.001), with post hoc tests confirming significant differences among all pairs: alcohol vs. benzodiazepine (p = 0.002), alcohol vs. control (p = 0.003), and benzodiazepine vs. control (p < 0.001). The lipase levels showed significant differences in the omnibus test (p = 0.030), but there was no significance in the post hoc tests. Amylase emerged as the most significant parameter in our study, with reduced levels strongly associated with secondary hypothermia. These findings highlight the potential use of total protein, globulin, and amylase levels as biomarkers to differentiate between primary and secondary hypothermia in forensic contexts.

Red fox, Vulpes vulpes, is a globally distributed species characterized by its high adaptability to diverse habitats and a broad range of food resources. This remarkable adaptability has allowed the red fox to thrive in various environments, from urban areas to remote wilderness. In this study, we used a set of microsatellite markers for the comparative genetic analysis of red fox populations from two countries. We included populations from the Eastern Alps and the northern Dinaric Mountains in Slovenia, as well as the Central Dinaric Mountains in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We successfully isolated DNA and genotyped 118 red fox samples. Our analyses, which included Bayesian clustering techniques, revealed a weak genetic differentiation among the studied populations. However, it is noteworthy that statistically significant differences in estimates of genetic differentiation were only apparent when comparing the populations between the two countries. Further spatial genetic clustering analyses provided additional insights, unveiling a differentiation into four genetic clusters. These clusters comprised two distinct groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina and two in Slovenia. This pattern of differentiation suggests that isolation by distance is a key factor influencing the genetic structure of the red fox in this studied region. Additionally, our findings highlighted that populations from the Alps and northern Dinaric Mountains exhibit higher genetic diversity and observed heterozygosity compared to their counterparts in the Central Dinaric Mountains. The genetic diversity is also notable when compared to other European red fox populations. Studying genetic diversity is crucial for the resilience and adaptability of populations, ensuring their survival amid environmental changes and human-induced pressures.

Hearing impairment alters the sound input received by the human auditory system, reducing speech comprehension in noisy multi-talker auditory scenes. Despite such difficulties, neural signals were shown to encode the attended speech envelope more reliably than the envelope of ignored sounds, reflecting the intention of listeners with hearing impairment (HI). This result raises an important question: What speech-processing stage could reflect the difficulty in attentional selection, if not envelope tracking? Here, we use scalp electroencephalography (EEG) to test the hypothesis that the neural encoding of phonological information (i.e., phonetic boundaries and phonological categories) is affected by HI. In a cocktail-party scenario, such phonological difficulty might be reflected in an overrepresentation of phonological information for both attended and ignored speech sounds, with detrimental effects on the ability to effectively focus on the speaker of interest. To investigate this question, we carried out a re-analysis of an existing dataset where EEG signals were recorded as participants with HI, fitted with hearing aids, attended to one speaker (target) while ignoring a competing speaker (masker) and spatialised multi-talker background noise. Multivariate temporal response function (TRF) analyses indicated a stronger phonological information encoding for target than masker speech streams. Follow-up analyses aimed at disentangling the encoding of phonological categories and phonetic boundaries (phoneme onsets) revealed that neural signals encoded the phoneme onsets for both target and masker streams, in contrast with previously published findings with normal hearing (NH) participants and in line with our hypothesis that speech comprehension difficulties emerge due to a robust phonological encoding of both target and masker. Finally, the neural encoding of phoneme-onsets was stronger for the masker speech, pointing to a possible neural basis for the higher distractibility experienced by individuals with HI.

BACKGROUND The development and progression of prostate cancer are multistep processes involving several growth factors, hormones, and cytokines. This study aimed to measure the serum concentrations of different cytokines and determine their correlation with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and disease grade in patients with prostate adenocarcinoma. MATERIAL AND METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2023 to March 2024 at the Clinic of Oncology of the University Hospital Center in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Altogether, 50 male patients with prostate adenocarcinoma were included, of whom 28 had no proven metastases (PC group) and 22 had metastatic disease (MPC group). Serum concentrations of total (tPSA), free (fPSA), and complexed (cPSA) PSA were determined using a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay, whereas serum concentrations of cytokines were measured using a flow cytometry bead-based assay. RESULTS The MPC group had higher serum tPSA, fPSA, and cPSA levels than the PC group. The PC group had significantly higher serum levels of monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1 than the MPC group (P=0.008). In the PC group, serum levels of interleukin (IL)-10 significantly correlated with cPSA. In the MPC group, serum concentrations of IL-1ß, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and IL-23 significantly correlated with disease grade. CONCLUSIONS Our study emphasizes the importance of MCP-1 in the development of prostate cancer, while IL-10 was the only cytokine whose serum level significantly correlated with cPSA. Serum concentrations of IL-1ß, TNF-alpha, and IL-23 may serve as potential biomarkers for disease grade.

The paper explains the phenomenon of creativity through various implicit and explicit definitions and three theories of education through the most important characteristics of the theories and their most significant representatives. With the aim of better familiarization with the concept of creativity, the „position" of creativity in the critical-rationalist empirical, critical and spiritual theory of education is explained, and the understanding of creativity through the areas of the aforementioned theories of education is presented. The paper presents the relationship between pedagogy and creativity and highlights the importance of creativity in the field of teaching work. The need for creativity in educational work and the importance of developing creativity in that context and in the teaching of foreign languages were especially discussed. Given that educational theories talk about the empirical justification of pedagogical facts through critical-rationalist empirical theory, then about the developmental aspects of society and the way society influences scientific knowledge through critical theory and the understanding of human activity through spiritual scientific theory, it is justified to talk about the representation of creativity in the areas of activity of all three educational theories.

National, subnational, and supranational entities are creating biodiversity strategy and action plans (BSAPs) to develop concrete commitments and actions to curb biodiversity loss, meet international obligations, and achieve a society in harmony with nature. In light of policymakers’ increasing recognition of genetic diversity in species and ecosystem adaptation and resilience, this article provides an overview of how BSAPs can incorporate species’ genetic diversity. We focus on three areas: setting targets; committing to actions, policies, and programs; and monitoring and reporting. Drawing from 21 recent BSAPs, we provide examples of policies, knowledge, projects, capacity building, and more. We aim to enable and inspire specific and ambitious BSAPs and have put forward 10 key suggestions mapped to the policy cycle. Together, scientists and policymakers can translate high level commitments, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, into concrete nationally relevant targets, actions and policies, and monitoring and reporting mechanisms.

More and more investments are being made in energy conversion projects from renewable energy sources (RESs), and a large number of investors are entering this sector. The focus of this study is the decision-making by the investor BD Green Energy in the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In order to choose the RES system that would realize this investment in the most efficient way, expert decision-making based on the fuzzy–rough approach and the Bonferroni mean operator was used. Determining the importance of the criteria was conducted using the fuzzy–rough SiWeC (simple weight calculation) method. The results of this method showed that all used criteria have similar importance for the investor. RES system selection was conducted using the fuzzy–rough CoCoSo (combined compromise solution) method. The results of this method showed that investing in photovoltaic (PV) energy is the best for the investor. This research provided guidance on how investors should make investment decisions in RES systems with incomplete information and uncertainty in the decision-making process.

This study investigates the potential of speech-reception-threshold (SRT) estimation through electroencephalography (EEG) based envelope reconstruction techniques with continuous speech. Additionally, we investigate the influence of the stimuli’s signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) on the temporal response function (TRF). Twenty young normal-hearing participants listened to audiobook excerpts with varying background noise levels while EEG was recorded. A linear decoder was trained to reconstruct the speech envelope from the EEG data. The reconstruction accuracy was calculated as the Pearson’s correlation between the reconstructed and actual speech envelopes. An EEG SRT estimate (SRTneuro) was obtained as the midpoint of a sigmoid function fitted to the reconstruction accuracy versus SNR data points. Additionally, the TRF was estimated at each SNR level, followed by a statistical analysis to reveal significant effects of SNR levels on the latencies and amplitudes of the most prominent components. The SRTneuro was within 3 dB of the behavioral SRT for all participants. The TRF analysis showed a significant latency decrease for N1 and P2 and a significant amplitude magnitude increase for N1 and P2 with increasing SNR. The results suggest that both envelope reconstruction accuracy and the TRF components are influenced by changes in SNR, indicating they may be linked to the same underlying neural process.