Introduction: The paper aims to research how the Covid-19 infection affects BPH patients, whether their PSA, prostate volume, residual urine, and quality of life have changed. Additionally, to examine whether any of these variables are a predictive factor for acute urinary retention (AUR). Methodology: The study comprised 80 patients with clinical manifestations of LUTS, an aggravation of previously diagnosed BPH, and who recovered from COVID-19. IPSS, QoL, PSA, prostate volume, and postmicturition residual urine were studied before and after COVID-19. Results: The IPSS score, PSA, prostate volume, and residual urine were signicantly higher after recovering from COVID-19. Additionally, greater IPSS-QoL scores were discovered. Nine patients (mostly older than 60) suffered acute retention during or after the COVID-19 infection. Residual urine was found to be a signicant predictor of AUR. Conclusion: COVID-19 infection is caused by aggravating LUTS symptoms associated with BPH. Consequently, the increase postmicturition residual urine can be considered a predictive factor for the occurrence of AUR

The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic potential of resveratrol in combination with cisplatin on the inhibition of tumour angiogenesis, growth, and macrophage polarization in mice bearing the solid form of an Ehrlich ascites tumour (EAT) that were exposed to whole-body hyperthermia treatment. In addition, we investigated whether a multimodal approach with hyperthermia and resveratrol could abolish cisplatin resistance in tumour cells through the modulation of histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity and levels of heat shock proteins (HSP70/HSP90) and contribute to the direct toxicity of cisplatin on tumour cells. The tumour was induced by injecting 1 × 106 EAT cells subcutaneously (sc) into the thighs of Balb/c mice. The mice were treated with resveratrol per os for five consecutive days beginning on day 2 after tumour injection and/or by injecting cisplatin intraperitoneally (ip) at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg on days 10 and 12 and at a dose of 5 mg/kg on day 15. Immediately thereafter, the mice were exposed to systemic hyperthermia for 15 min at a temperature of 41 °C. The obtained results showed that the administration of resveratrol did not significantly contribute to the antitumour effect of cisplatin and hyperthermia, but it partially contributed to the immunomodulatory effect and to the reduction of cisplatin toxicity and to a slight increase in animal survival. This treatment schedule did not affect microvessel density, but it inhibited tumour growth and modulated macrophage polarization to the M1 phenotype. Furthermore, it abolished the resistance of tumour cells to cisplatin by modulating HDAC activity and the concentration of HSP70 and HSP90 chaperones, contributing to the increased lifespan of mice. However, the precise mechanism of the interaction between resveratrol, cisplatin, and hyperthermia needs to be investigated further.

The paper presents a PyDigitizer application designed to extract numerical coordinates of existing curves from image format. The application is created in the Python programming language and offers the possibility of manual extraction of curve coordinates, intersection of curves with user-specified abscissa or ordinate, generation of polynomial regression equations of curves. All generated information (coordinates, intersection points, regression curves) can be exported to Microsoft Excel. Also, point coordinates of Excel curves can be loaded into PyDigitizer to obtain polynomial regression curves or intersections.

During the operation of each machine, the deformation and stress state of its supporting structure is directly related to the load. The load intensity ranges from the minimum to the maximum value and is a function of nominal force, torque, and kinematic-dynamic values of moving and executive assemblies during the machine operation process. The intensity of deformations is also a function of the shape and type of the supporting structure. However, although the supporting structure is reliable, which refers to its integrity, the production of a quality workpiece (product) does not have to be reliable. Therefore, it is important that the deformation states of the supporting structure be in the appropriate tolerance field, regardless of the intensity of the load. If the intensity of deformations is outside a certain field, it will directly affect the quality of the workpiece that is made on the subject machine. It is known that load-bearing structures can be of open and closed types, load-bearing structures of closed type are used for higher loads and larger workpiece dimensions. By installing sensors on the elements of the supporting structure with accompanying measuring chains in real-time, the deformation state of certain elements or places on the supporting structure can be monitored, based on which the reliable quality of the workpiece can be influenced.

Progress towards effective treatment of epileptic seizures has seen much improvement in the past decade. In particular, the emergence of phenomenological models of epileptic seizures specifically designed to capture the electrical seizure dynamics in the Epileptor model is inspiring new approaches to predicting and controlling seizures. These new models present in various forms and contain important but unmeasurable variables that control the occurrence of seizures. These models have been used mostly as nodes in large networks to study the complex brain behaviour of seizures. In order to use this model for the purposes of seizure forecasting or to control seizures through deep brain stimulation, the states of the model will need to be estimated. Although devices such as EEG electrodes can be related to some of the states of the model, most remain unmeasured and would require an observer (as defined in control theory) for their estimation. Additionally, we would like to consider the case for large nodes of systems where the number of electrodes is far smaller than the number of nodes being estimated. In this paper, we provide methods towards obtaining the full states of these phenomenological models using nonlinear observers. In particular, we explore the effectiveness of the Extended Kalman Filter for small networks of nodes of a smoothed sixth order Epileptor model. We show that observer design is possible for this family of systems and identify the difficulties in doing so.Clinical relevance—The methods presented here can be applied with an individual epileptic patient’s EEG to reveal previously hidden biomarkers of epilepsy for seizure forecasting.

Although miRNA-27a has been identified as a promising candidate for miRNA mimic therapy of obesity, its application is limited due to enzymatic degradation and low membrane permeation. To overcome these problems, we developed cationic nanostructured lipid carriers (cNLCs) using high-pressure homogenization and used them as non-viral carriers for the anti-adipogenic miRNA-27a. Cargo-free octadecylamine-containing NLCs and miRNA/cNLC complexes were characterized regarding particle size, size distributions, zeta potential, pH values, particle topography and morphology, and entrapment efficacy. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity and cellular uptake of the miRNA/cNLC complex in the 3T3-L1 cell line were investigated. The investigation of the biological effect of miRNA-27a on adipocyte development and an estimation of the accumulated Oil-Red-O (ORO) dye in lipid droplets in mature adipocytes were assessed with light microscopy and absorbance measurements. The obtained data show that cNLCs represent a suitable DDS for miRNAs, as miRNA/cNLC particles are rapidly formed through non-covalent complexation due to electrostatic interactions between both components. The miRNA-27a/cNLC complex induced an anti-adipogenic effect on miRNA-27a by reducing lipid droplet accumulation in mature adipocytes, indicating that this approach might be used as a new therapeutic strategy for miRNA mimic replacement therapies in the prevention or treatment of obesity and obesity-related disorders.

Premature babies and those born with a medical condition are cared for within the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in hospitals. Monitoring physiological signals and subsequent analysis and interpretation can reveal acute and chronic conditions for these neonates. Several advanced algorithms using physiological signals have been built into existing monitoring systems to allow clinicians to analyse signals in real time and anticipate patient deterioration. However, limited enhancements have been made to interactively visualise and adapt them to neonatal monitoring systems. To bridge this gap, we describe the development of a user-friendly and interactive dashboard for neonatal vital signs analysis written in the Python programming language where the analysis can be performed without prior computing knowledge. To ensure practicality, the dashboard was designed in consultation with a neonatologist to visualise electrocardiogram, heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation data in a time-series format. The resulting dashboard included interactive visualisations, advanced electrocardiogram analysis and statistical analysis which can be used to extract important information on patients’ conditions.Clinical Relevance— This will support the care of preterm infants by allowing clinicians to visualise and interpret physiological data in greater granularity, aiding in patient monitoring and detection of adverse conditions. The detection of adverse conditions could allow timely and potentially life-saving interventions for conditions such as sepsis and brain injury.

Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don., immortelle, is a plant species used in ethnomedicine and the food industry as a spice added to food, beverages, and bakery products. It has been shown to possess various biological activities, such as antioxidant and antibacterial activity, making it useful as a natural preservative. We investigated the phytochemical profile and biological activity of H. italicum essential oils from wild-grown plant material collected from natural habitats in the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Using high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM), a visual investigation of plant organs (stem, leaf, and flower) was performed, confirming the presence of essential oil reservoirs on the surface of all examined plant organs. Essential oils were isolated by hydrodistillation in the Clevenger apparatus. The chemical composition of the essential oils was determined using the GC-MS analytical technique. Cytotoxic activity tests were performed in vitro on three cell lines: skin (fibroblast), lung, and breast cancer. Using statistical tools, the synergistic and selective effects of H. italicum essential oil on healthy and tumor cells were correlated to chemical composition and cytotoxic activity. The synergistic and antagonistic effects of H. italicum essential oil’s individual components were simulated by testing pure compounds and their mixture of cytotoxic activity on fibroblasts and breast cancer cells. The results confirm that essential oil’s biological activity is much greater than the sum of the effects of its components. The present data are novel contributions to the body of knowledge on the biological activity of this species used in the food industry.

The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of a multidimensional approach to the contextual assessment of learning abilities in students with cerebral palsy. The paper presents a case study of a nine-year-old student with multiple developmental disabilities (cerebral palsy and additional influencing difficulties) attending a regular primary school with an individual educational program (IEP). In order to determine the measures for individualizing the educational process for the student, the assessment of internal conditions and learning abilities was conducted individually within a daily rehabilitation center, while the environmental conditions were observed within the school setting. The evaluation of the assessment results emphasized the significance of conducting assessments in all relevant contexts, as it was the only way to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the student's level of functioning and the necessary measures for improving her learning and participation.Key words: multidimensional assessment, learning abilities, cerebral palsy