In this article, an analysis of system loss and depolarization in body area networks (BANs) for body-to-infrastructure (B2I) communications based on a measurement campaign in the 5.8 GHz band in an indoor environment is performed. Measurements were performed with an off-body antenna transmitting linearly polarized signals and dual-polarized receiving antennas carried by the user on the body. A normal distribution with a mean of 2.0 dB and a standard deviation of 4.3 dB is found to be the best fit for modeling cross-polarization (XP) discrimination. The average correlation between the signals received by the orthogonally polarized antennas is below 0.5, showing that polarization diversity can be used. A model for the average value of the standard deviation of the XP discrimination ratio as a function of the transmitted polarization, the mobility of users, and the link dynamics is presented, together with a detailed description of the methodology being used.

Abstract The dairy industry has been undergoing changes for years, introducing innovations and pushing the boundaries of the category and consumer experience. Numerous factors, such as economic, psychological, cultural, socio-demographic, personal and many others, influence the decision to buy and consume a certain dairy product. It is important to qualitatively research and identify factors that significantly influence consumer behavior. Consumers also set certain criteria when it comes to brand, taste, nutritional value, marketing, product origin, on the basis of which we conclude that knowing consumer preferences also means success in the market. Due to the previously stated reasons, the main goal of this paper is to determine consumer purchasing behavior towards dairy products and their preferences.The survey method was used in the research to collect primary data, and a survey questionnaire was used as a research instrument. A total of 250 respondents participated in this research, which is conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Driving feedback is an important factor that can affect the perceptions of remote drivers of the surrounding environment during teleoperation. This paper focuses on investigating the influence of motion-cueing, sound and vibration feedback on driving behaviour and experience. A prototype teleoperation station is developed with feedback from audio, vibration actuators, and motion cues. Using this prototype, the experiment is carried out in two scenarios: a low-speed disturbance scenario with 30 participants and a dynamic driving scenario with 22 participants. Objective and subjective assessment methods are used to evaluate driving behaviour and experience separately. The results indicate that the combination of motion-cueing, sound and vibration feedback provides the most favourable driving experience for the participants. Specifically, sound and vibration feedback enhance drivers’ sense of speed, while motion-cueing feedback helps in road surface sensing, leading to increased throttle reversal rate in the low-speed disturbance scenario. However, it is noteworthy that motion-cueing feedback does not significantly improve driving performance in the dynamic driving scenario of this study.

BACKGROUND Early diagnosis of previously unknown cancer (i.e., occult cancer) after an acute ischemic stroke (AIS) could result in faster initiation of cancer therapy and potentially improve clinical outcomes. Our study aimed to compare mortality rates between AIS patients with occult cancer diagnosed during the index stroke hospitalization versus those diagnosed after hospital discharge. METHODS Among consecutive AIS patients treated at our stroke center from 2015 through 2020, we identified new cancer diagnoses made within the year after the AIS. We used multivariable Cox regression analyses to evaluate the association between the timing of occult cancer diagnosis (during the AIS hospitalization versus after discharge) and long-term survival. RESULTS Of 3894 AIS patients with available long-term follow-up data, 59 (1.5%) were diagnosed with a new cancer within one year after index stroke. Of these, 27 (46%) were diagnosed during the index hospitalization and 32 (54%) were diagnosed after discharge. During a median follow-up of 406 days (interquartile range, 89-1073), 70% (n=19) of patients whose cancer was diagnosed during hospitalization had died, compared to 63% (n=20) of patients whose cancer was diagnosed after discharge (p=0.58). In our main multivariable model, there was no difference in long-term mortality between patient groups (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.16; 95% confidence interval, 0.53-2.52; p=0.71). CONCLUSIONS In this analysis, timing of a new cancer diagnosis after AIS did not seem to influence patients' long-term survival. Given the fairly small number of included patients with previously occult cancer, larger multicenter studies are needed to confirm our results.

The aim of the article is to present to the medical, and then to the general public, the person and work of Milivoje Sarvan (1896–1978)—one of the pioneers of social paediatrics in Serbia and one of the most prominent paediatricians, scientists and organizers of health services in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the second half of the 20th century. Milivoje Sarvan was born in 1896 in Požega, in the Kingdom of Serbia. He completed his medical studies in Lyon (France) in 1921. Upon his return to Serbia, he was a county physician in Aleksinac for three years and, shortly after the establishment of the University Children’s Hospital in Belgrade in 1924, he was among the first assistants employed there. Out of the total of 23 years of professional work in Serbia, for 19 years he was an assistant and assistant professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade. At the end of 1946, at the initiative of the Ministry of Public Health of the People’s Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr. Milivoje Sarvan was appointed full professor and head of the Department of Paediatrics at the newly established Faculty of Medicine in Sarajevo. At the same time, he was elected head of the Paediatric Clinic in Sarajevo when it was established, and he would later manage it from 1947 until his retirement in 1967. Already at the beginning, Prof. Sarvan developed the activities of the Clinic in several directions: he created the conditions for clinical, teaching and scientific research work. He took care of the education of future paediatricians and child care workers, organized courses in social paediatrics for general practitioners and professional training for paediatricians in the country and abroad. The next period of his activities was marked by the intensive development of the Clinic in all areas of its work. He published more than 120 professional and scientific papers in national and foreign medical journals, and several health education books on mother and child care that have been published in several editions, with large print runs. He was the dean of the Faculty of Medicine and vice-rector of the University of Sarajevo, founder of the Paediatric Section of the Society of Physicians of Bosnia and Herzegovina, lifetime president of the Association of Paediatricians of Yugoslavia, a member of the Scientific Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1955 and the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina from its foundation in 1966. He was honoured with high level social awards and recognitions, including the highest state award of the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia—the AVNOJ award. After his retirement (1967), he lived in Belgrade, where he died in 1978. Conclusion. Bearing all of this in mind, there is no doubt that Dr. Milivoje Sarvan is one of the significant figures in the field of professional, scientific and organizational work in the field of children’s health care in the former Yugoslavia, leaving a significant and indelible mark in the current states of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Tufa deposits in karst rivers are unique habitats created by mutual interactions between specific environmental and biotope features and inhabited by diatoms as a highly abundant and diverse algal group. This pilot study aimed to investigate the diversity of diatom communities on tufa depositing habitats and assess the Una River’s ecological status using a comparative molecular and morphological approach for diatom identification. The 312 base pairs of the rbcL gene were barcoded and analyzed using MiSeq reads and amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) obtained by the DADA2 pipeline. The reference database Diat.barcode v7 was used for taxonomic assignment. The morphological identification of the diatoms was carried out in parallel. In total, the combined dataset revealed 46 taxa identified at genus rank, 125 on the subgenus, and 145 on combined taxonomy rank. The metabarcoding approach mostly leads to a lower number of identified taxa at species rank (58 in molecular vs. 119 in optical inventory), resulting in higher values of beta diversity and heterogeneity in diatom assemblages in samples obtained by morphological approach. Despite the high percentage of taxonomically not assigned diatom ASVs to the species rank, high Shannon diversity index values and a similar number of taxa per locations compared to the morphological approach were obtained. Taxa Achnanthidium minutissimum (Kützing) Czarnecki, Achnanthidium pyrenaicum (Hustedt) H.Kobayasi, Amphora pediculus (Kützing) Grunow, Diatoma vulgaris Bory, Navicula cryptotenella Lange-Bertalot, and Navicula tripunctata (O.F.Müller) Bory were identified at all locations in both inventories. Although limited consistency in the diatom abundances between the two inventory datasets was found, a similar grouping of samples was observed connected to the river’s longitudinal gradient. The data obtained using molecular approach in most sites indicated a mostly lower ecological status (good or moderate) compared to the data obtained from the morphological approach (high, good, and moderate). The potential of environmental DNA (eDNA) diatom metabarcoding for water monitoring and diversity studies is undeniable, but to fully realize the benefits of these methods in the future, it is essential to standardize protocols and expand the reference database for species found in specific habitats, such as tufa deposits.

This paper presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of Golden Section Search (GSS), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), and Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), alongside well-known Perturb and Observe and Incremental Conductance (INC) Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithms for Photovoltaic (PV) system. The methodology involves theoretical development, simulation, and real-time experimentation using Matlab/Simulink and the Humusoft MF 634 data-acquisition card. Real-time experiments validate algorithm effectiveness under real-world conditions, facilitated by precise control mechanisms using Taraz's power electronics converter modules. The results contribute to ongoing efforts in optimizing MPPT technology and advancing the efficiency of PV systems for renewable energy generation.

Background: A better understanding of the peritumoral stroma changes due to tumour invasion using non-invasive diagnostic methods may improve the differentiation between benign and malignant breast lesions. This study aimed to assess the correlation between breast lesion differentiation and intra- and peritumoral shear-wave elastography (SWE) gradients. Methods: A total of 135 patients with newly diagnosed breast lesions were included. Intratumoral, subsurface, and three consecutive peritumoral SWE value measurements (with three repetitions) were performed. Intratumoral, interface, and peritumoral gradients (Gradient 1 and Gradient 2) were calculated using averaged SWE values. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics and an ordinary one-way ANOVA to compare overall and individual gradients among Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) 2, 3, and 5 groups. Results: Malignant tumours showed higher average SWE velocity values at the tumour centre (BI-RADS 2/3: 4.1 ± 1.8 m/s vs. BI-RADS 5: 4.9 ± 2.0 m/s, p = 0.04) and the first peritumoral area (BI-RADS 2/3: 3.4 ± 1.8 m/s vs. BI-RADS 5: 4.3 ± 1.8 m/s, p = 0.003). No significant difference was found between intratumoral gradients (0.03 ± 0.32 m/s vs. 0.0 ± 0.28 m/s; p > 0.999) or gradients across the tumour–tissue interface (−0.17 ± 0.18 m/s vs. −0.13 ± 0.35 m/s; p = 0.202). However, the first peritumoral gradient (−0.16 ± 0.24 m/s vs. −0.35 ± 0.31 m/s; p < 0.0001) and the second peritumoral gradient (−0.11 ± 0.18 m/s vs. −0.22 ± 0.28 m/s; p = 0.037) were significantly steeper in malignant tumours. The AUC was best for PTG1 (0.7358) and PTG2 (0.7039). A threshold value for peritumoral SWI PT1 above 3.76 m/s and for PTG1 below −0.238 m/s·mm−1 indicated malignancy in 90.6% of cases. Conclusions: Evaluating the peritumoral SWE gradient may improve the diagnostic pre-test probability, as malignant tumours showed a significantly steeper curve of the elasticity values in the peritumoral stroma compared to the linear regression with a relatively flat curve of benign lesions.