Extracranial internal carotid artery aneurysms (EICAAs) can lead to serious medical conditions, such as stroke or compression over cranial nerves. In very few cases, there may be hemorrhagic complications due to the rupture. Although rare, they should be suspected cause in every patient with transitory ischemic attack or stroke, especially in the presence of pain, palpable mass or bruit in the neck.

Context: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most common chronic lung diseases and is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in the world. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a heterogeneous and multisystemic disease. Aims of the study was to assess workability of patients with COPD in relation to the workplace. Settings and Design: Prospective study. Methods and Material: The study was conducted on 150 patients with COPD. Each patient was examined by an occupational medicine specialist and a standardized COPD Questionnaire was completed. A physical examination was performed with special emphasis on auscultatory findings on the lungs. Spirometric testing was performed. Using the statistical methods, the results of the parameters of temporary (number of lost working days) and permanent incapacity (exercised right to some kind of disability) of the examined group were analyzed. Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive statistics. SPSS 10.0. Results of the study showed that out of 150 patients, 48.67% had preserved working capacity for jobs. There are mostly jobs without special working conditions. Out of 150 patients, 51.33% had reduced working capacity for jobs. Conclusions: These are mostly workplaces with special working conditions, where respondents are exposed to the harmfulness of the workplace. Reduced working capacity was found in 51.33% of examined simple.

All human genes undergo alternative splicing leading to the diversity of the proteins. However, in some cases, abnormal regulation of alternative splicing can result in diseases that trigger defects in metabolism, reduced apoptosis, increased proliferation, and progression in almost all tumor types. Metabolic dysregulations and immune dysfunctions are crucial factors in cancer. In this respect, alternative splicing in tumors could be a potential target for therapeutic cancer strategies. Dysregulation of alternative splicing during mRNA maturation promotes carcinogenesis and drug resistance in many cancer types. Alternative splicing (changing the target mRNA 3'UTR binding site) can result in a protein with altered drug affinity, ultimately leading to drug resistance.. Here, we will highlight the function of various alternative splicing factors, how it regulates the reprogramming of cancer cell metabolism, and their contribution to tumor initiation and proliferation. Also, we will discuss emerging therapeutics for treating tumors via abnormal alternative splicing. Finally, we will discuss the challenges associated with these therapeutic strategies for clinical applications.

Peptides released on frogs’ skin in a stress situation represent their only weapon against micro-organisms and predators. Every species and even population of frog possesses its own peptidome being appropriate for their habitat. Skin peptides are considered potential pharmaceuticals, while the whole peptidome may be treated as a taxonomic characteristic of each particular population. Continuing the studies on frog peptides, here we report the peptidome composition of the Central Slovenian agile frog Rana dalmatina population. The detection and top-down de novo sequencing of the corresponding peptides was conducted exclusively by tandem mass spectrometry without using any chemical derivatization procedures. Collision-induced dissociation (CID), higher energy collision-induced dissociation (HCD), electron transfer dissociation (ETD) and combined MS3 method EThcD with stepwise increase of HCD energy were used for that purpose. MS/MS revealed the whole sequence of the detected peptides including differentiation between isomeric Leu/Ile, and the sequence portion hidden in the disulfide cycle. The array of the discovered peptide families (brevinins 1 and 2, melittin-related peptides (MRPs), temporins and bradykinin-related peptides (BRPs)) is quite similar to that of R. temporaria. Since the genome of this frog remains unknown, the obtained results were compared with the recently published transcriptome of R. dalmatina.

A unifying design perspective is presented for emulation-based (dynamic) event-triggered state-feedback control of nonlinear systems. The main component of this new approach is to interpret event-triggered controlled systems as the interconnection of hybrid dynamical systems and to analyze the overall system using a hybrid small gain theorem. Based on this new perspective, we unify several event-triggered schemes that were previously proposed in the literature under one umbrella. Moreover, the design approach offers great flexibility and can be used for the development of novel event-triggered schemes and systematic modification and improvement of existing triggering strategies. In this article, we illustrate via simulations that these novel and/or modified event-triggered controllers can lead to a further reduction in the required number of transmissions, while still guaranteeing stability.

Abstract Background Foreign Body (FB) injuries in children are a relevant public health problem associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The characterization of objects causing the injuries is an essential step for developing effective prevention strategies. Scanning the objects causing the injuries would help identify characteristics that make the objects dangerous for young children. The study aims to use 3D scanning within a large series of FB injuries collected in the Susy Safe database to develop a system able to identify the risk profile of everyday objects based on information collected through the scanning study. Methods The Susy Safe is the largest international registry collecting data on FB injuries in children under the age of fifteen. It collects almost 35,000 cases. For each case, information about the child, the object, and the circumstances of the injuries are collected. Furthermore, whenever possible (according to the object type and the approach used for FB removal) also the object is collected. Such objects are undergoing 3D scanning with structured light technology, a common non-contact scanning method allowing for 3D digitization of all dimensions and appearances. Results Currently, 383 objects have undergone 3D scanning. Most objects were made of a stiff material (60%). The scanning of the objects is still ongoing. The digitalized information for each object is collected in a REDCap repository together with all information about the FB injury and the picture of the object. Conclusions The final aim of the project is to develop a web-based application able to identify dangerous objects, based on shape and size parameters, according to the data collected through the scanning. Its objective is to make people aware of the risks posed by particular objects, especially parents and guardians of children. Furthermore, through the web-based application, parents will be able to report injuries and share images on FBs. Key messages • 3D scanning would be a promising opportunity to improve primary prevention of foreign body injuries. • Integrating data from 3D scanning and surveillance systems would represent the basis for the development of a web application able to assist families in identifying hazardous objects.

Attack graphs are a tool for analyzing security vulnerabilities that capture different and prospective attacks on a system. As a threat modeling tool, it shows possible paths that an attacker can exploit to achieve a particular goal. However, due to the large number of vulnerabilities that are published on a daily basis, they have the potential to rapidly expand in size. Consequently, this necessitates a significant amount of resources to generate attack graphs. In addition, generating composited attack models for complex systems such as self-adaptive or AI is very difficult due to their nature to continuously change. In this paper, we present a novel fragment-based attack graph generation approach that utilizes information from publicly available information security databases. Furthermore, we also propose a domain-specific language for attack modeling, which we employ in the proposed attack graph generation approach. Finally, we present a demonstrator example showcasing the attack generator's capability to replicate a verified attack chain, as previously confirmed by security experts.

Magnetic nanoparticles can be electrostatically assembled around sperm cells to form biohybrid micro robots. These biohybrid microrobots possess sufficient magnetic material to potentially allow for pulse-echo localization and wireless actuation. Alternatively, magnetic excitation of these nanoparticles can be used for localization based on Faraday's law of induction using a detection coil. Here, we investigate the influence of the electrostatic attraction between positively charged nanoparticles and negatively charged sperm cells on the activation of the nanoparticles during nonlinear differential magnetometry and wireless magnetic actuation. Activation of clusters of free nanoparticles and nanoparticles bound to the body of sperm cells is achieved by a combination of a high- frequency alternating field and a pulsating static field. The nonlinear response in both cases indicates that constraining the nanoparticles is likely to yield significant decreases in the magnetometry sensitivity. While the attachment of particles to the cells enables wireless actuation (rolling locomotion), the rate of change of the magnetization of the nanoparticles decreases one order of magnitude compared to free nanoparticles.

Technoeconomic, environmental and safety criteria generally affect the management of metallic and non-metallic mining operations. The first basic question that needs to be addressed when planning ore mining is which methods are adequate and what is the optimal mining technology? Due to the complex geologic framework of ore deposits, geological exploration has rendered synonymous the inherent uncertainties, vagueness, and inaccuracies. As a result, subjective evaluation by engineers and expert experience have become increasingly important. Given that the natural language used by miners and geologists is most suited for relaying knowledge and expressing opinions, the paper tests a fuzzy optimization methodology that uses linguistic variables. Consequently, extent analysis is applied to fuzzy AHP by means of triangular fuzzy numbers to arrive at a decision about the optimal mining technology. The entire procedure constitutes an integrated mine management system, which will contribute to sustainable production in the future. A case study to which the model was applied is presented in the paper.

In the pursuit of optimizing healthcare delivery and improving patient outcomes, the field of healthcare is undergoing a transformative shift from a reactive approach to a proactive one. This shift is facilitated by two upcoming technological developments: automation and artificial intelligence (AI). The abundance of data generated in the era of digital advancement presents both opportunities and challenges for healthcare. This paper explores the application of AI and machine learning in healthcare, focusing on the challenges posed by the exponential growth in data volume, the analysis of unstructured data, and the rapid pace of data refreshment. It examines the role of AI and machine learning in generating clinical decision support, uncovering disease subtypes and prognostic markers, and generating new hypotheses. In addition, this paper highlights the transformative potential of automation, AI, and robotics in healthcare, showcasing their ability to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and precision in patient care. By embracing these technological advancements, healthcare can achieve continuous progress in meeting the ever-growing demands and aspirations of the field while improving patient outcomes.

Medicinal plants are potentialsources of bioactive compounds.One of the medicinal plants used in the traditional medicine of Bosnia and Herzegovina isendemic Satureja subspicataL. In this work, we examined the ability of Satureja subspicataL. essential oil and hot water and methanol extractsto inhibit the enzymes acetylcholinesterase(AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase(BChE) using Ellman’s method.The ability ofSatureja subspicataL. essential oil in concentration of 1 mg/mL and 2 mg/mL to inhibit enzymes was moderate: 72.82%, and 76.89% for AChE, and 51.51%, and 27.15% for BChE, respectively. Analyzed hot water and methanol extractsin concentration of 1 mg/mL showed weak ability of cholinesterase inhibition. Extracts were additionally analyzed regardingtoability to protect proteins from oxidation, during 1 h and 24 h incubation periods. After incubation for 1 hhot water extractshowed a very good protective effect(10.61%), while the methanolic extract showed prooxidative activity. After incubation for 24 h, both extracts showed prooxidative activity.The obtained results show that the examined essential oil and extracts of S. subspicataL. containcompounds withcholinesterase inhibition and antioxidant potential, and thereforecan be useful in treatment of Alzheimer's disease.KEYWORDS:Satureja subspicata, essential oil, extracts, cholinesterase inhibition, protein oxidation