Abstract Objectives Prenatal cardiology is a part of preventive cardiology based on fetal echocardiography and fetal interventional cardiology, which facilitates treatment of congenital heart defects (CHD) in pediatric patients and consequently in adults. Timely prenatal detection of CHD plays a pivotal role in facilitating the appropriate referral of pregnant women to facilities equipped to provide thorough perinatal care within the framework of a well-structured healthcare system. The aim of this paper is to highlight the role of left atrial strain (LAS) in prenatal evaluation of fetal heart and prediction of structural and functional disorders. Methods We conducted a comprehensive literature review searching PubMed for articles published from inception up until August 2023, including the search terms “left atrial strain”, “fetal echocardiography”, and “prenatal cardiology” combined through Boolean operators. In addition, references lists of identified articles were further reviewed for inclusion. Results Our review underscores the significance of LAS parameters in fetal echocardiography as a screening tool during specific gestational windows (starting from 11 to 14 weeks of gestation, followed by better visualization between 18 and 22 weeks of gestation). The left atrial strain technique and its parameters serve as valuable indicators, not only for identifying cardiac complications but also for predicting and guiding therapeutic interventions in cases of both cardiac and noncardiac pregnancy complications in fetuses. Evidence suggests establishment of second-trimester reference strain and strain rate values by speckle-tracking echocardiography in the healthy fetal cohort is essential for the evaluation of myocardial pathologies during pregnancy. Conclusions Finding of LAS of fetal heart is feasible and probably can have potential for clinical and prognostic implications.

A normal 5-edge-coloring of a cubic graph is a coloring such that for every edge the number of distinct colors incident to its end-vertices is 3 or 5 (and not 4). The well known Petersen Coloring Conjecture is equivalent to the statement that every bridgeless cubic graph has a normal 5-edge-coloring. All 3-edge-colorings of a cubic graph are obviously normal, so in order to establish the conjecture it is sufficient to consider only snarks. In our previous paper [J. Sedlar, R. \v{S}krekovski, Normal 5-edge-coloring of some snarks superpositioned by the Petersen graph, Applied Mathematics and Computation 467 (2024) 128493], we considered superpositions of any snark G along a cycle C by two simple supervertices and by the superedge obtained from the Petersen graph, but only for some of the possible ways of connecting supervertices and superedges. The present paper is a continuation of that paper, herein we consider superpositions by the Petersen graph for all the remaining connections and establish that for all of them the Petersen Coloring Conjecture holds.

The aim of this study was to investigate the efficiency of the automated DNA extraction method using the EZ2 Connect Fx instrument (QIAGEN), showcasing its ability to achieve swift and reliable results from bone samples. Genomic DNA extraction from 16 archaelogical and recent bone samples was performed with a commercial EZ1&2® DNA Investigator® Kit (QIAGEN). Prior to PCR amplification, DNA concentration was quantified using Qubit™ Fluorometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific). Amplification was carried out with the Investigator 24plex Kit (QIAGEN). DNA profiles were generated using 3500 Genetic Analyzer (Applied Biosystems) and analysed with GeneMapper™ ID-X 1.6 Software (Applied Biosystems). For nine archaeological dental samples, eight exhibited partial profiles, and one showed no amplified loci. Among the seven recent femoral bone samples, one exhibited a partial profile, while six presented complete DNA profiles. In this study, we investigated the benefits of automated DNA extraction, particularly its ability to generate timely and reliable results. Additionally, this method reduces pipette and tip usage, almost completely minimising the risk of human error, exogenous DNA contamination and cross-contamination. Such efficiency is of paramount importance, especially when working with skeletal remains, namely archaeological skeletal remains that pose a challenge for molecular genetic analyses.

The evolution of wireless communication technologies has been marked by significant advancements, with 5G and its successor, 6G, at the forefront of this transformative journey. 5G, the fifth generation of wireless technology, can revolutionize connectivity by delivering ultra-fast data speeds and low latency, enabling a plethora of applications, from augmented reality to autonomous vehicles. The integration of mobile edge computing (MEC) in 5G networks can further augment network performance by bringing computation closer to the data source, facilitating real-time data processing and minimizing latency. Network slicing, a key feature of 5G, allows the creation of customized virtual network segments to segregate traffic based upon user requirements. Most publicly available 5G and private 5G systems do not implement these features. This work provides an example implementation of high performance 5G Standalone (SA) and key 6G features in the context of modern drone operations. Unparalleled data rates will be available soon and MEC will play a pivotal role in 6G. Moreover, 6G will introduce radio access network slicing, allowing for even more granular customization of network resources. Key 5G and 6G features coupled with mobile edge computing, network slicing, and radio access network slicing, represent an evolution that promises to reshape the way we connect, communicate, and compute in an increasingly digital world.

Technology is acting as a catalyst for the transformation towards sustainability in education and as a means of reshaping the educational experience. This transformation is part of an overall transformation in our society, and education should be dedicated to creating satisfied students able to think autonomously, take responsibility for their views, and contribute to society. Both sustainable education and education for sustainability benefit from blended learning, which facilitates participatory teaching and empowers learners. The aim of our research was to determine teachers’ and students’ (a) awareness of the development of digital platforms for teaching and learning, (b) perception of their own digital skills, (c) use and experience of Coursera, and (d) attitudes towards the content and benefits of digital platforms, such as Coursera, for teaching and learning. The analysis was carried out using a questionnaire in which we collected feedback from students and teachers at the University of Sarajevo about their awareness and preferences of the contents offered by Coursera and their readiness to use those additional learning and teaching resources. The results of this study show that there is a lack of awareness of online e-learning platforms among students, with more than half of the sample professing ignorance about these sites. The identified lack of experience and a noticeable lack of motivation could present significant repressors in the transformation of education if not addressed properly.

Background and Objectives Progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA) is a crucial determinant of overall disability accumulation in multiple sclerosis (MS). Accelerated brain atrophy has been shown in patients experiencing PIRA. In this study, we assessed the relation between PIRA and neurodegenerative processes reflected by (1) longitudinal spinal cord atrophy and (2) brain paramagnetic rim lesions (PRLs). Besides, the same relationship was investigated in progressive MS (PMS). Last, we explored the value of cross-sectional brain and spinal cord volumetric measurements in predicting PIRA. Methods From an ongoing multicentric cohort study, we selected patients with MS with (1) availability of a susceptibility-based MRI scan and (2) regular clinical and conventional MRI follow-up in the 4 years before the susceptibility-based MRI. Comparisons in spinal cord atrophy rates (explored with linear mixed-effect models) and PRL count (explored with negative binomial regression models) were performed between: (1) relapsing-remitting (RRMS) and PMS phenotypes and (2) patients experiencing PIRA and patients without confirmed disability accumulation (CDA) during follow-up (both considering the entire cohort and the subgroup of patients with RRMS). Associations between baseline MRI volumetric measurements and time to PIRA were explored with multivariable Cox regression analyses. Results In total, 445 patients with MS (64.9% female; mean [SD] age at baseline 45.0 [11.4] years; 11.2% with PMS) were enrolled. Compared with patients with RRMS, those with PMS had accelerated cervical cord atrophy (mean difference in annual percentage volume change [MD-APC] −1.41; p = 0.004) and higher PRL load (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.93; p = 0.005). Increased spinal cord atrophy (MD-APC −1.39; p = 0.0008) and PRL burden (IRR 1.95; p = 0.0008) were measured in patients with PIRA compared with patients without CDA; such differences were also confirmed when restricting the analysis to patients with RRMS. Baseline volumetric measurements of the cervical cord, whole brain, and cerebral cortex significantly predicted time to PIRA (all p ≤ 0.002). Discussion Our results show that PIRA is associated with both increased spinal cord atrophy and PRL burden, and this association is evident also in patients with RRMS. These findings further point to the need to develop targeted treatment strategies for PIRA to prevent irreversible neuroaxonal loss and optimize long-term outcomes of patients with MS.

The aim of the research was to determine the relationship between socio-demographic variables of the respondents and the perception of social disorganization related to housing conditions and the quality of the neighborhood. The research was conducted in December 2022 on a sample of 102 respondents (49 male and 53 female), average age 43. The following scales and questionnaires were applied: Sociodemographic Variables Questionnaire, Social Organization Inventory and Social Perception Scale. The results of the research showed that socio-demographic variables have influence on the perception of social disorganization and neighborhood quality. It was found that there is a statistically significant positive association with the social disorganization variable in the direction of the impact of tenants on the quality of collective living, emotional ties of tenants, the need to fulfill requests, neighborhood stability and informal control. The data indicate that all individual items of the subtest of the neighborhood variable showed a statistically significant positive association with tenants' external connections, with institutions related to the quality of housing, pro-social norms of collective housing, basic participation of tenants in skyscraper activities, informal participation of tenants in skyscraper activities and formal participation of tenants in skyscraper activities. Factor analysis revealed three dominant factors: involvement of tenants in activities of common interest, connection and assistance among tenants, and opportunities to improve living conditions for all tenants by engaging in the local community. The obtained results suggest positive attitudes related to housing values that arise from social organization and neighborhood quality. The paper is concluded with recommendations for future research and directions.

This work presents a novel masking protocol to secure the communication between a nonlinear plant and a non-linear observer. Communication is secured in two senses. First, the privacy of the plant is preserved during the communication. Second, the protocol can detect a false-data injection attack in the communication link. The masking protocol is based on the use of washout-filters in nonlinear observers and the internal model principle.

We present rules to stabilize the origin of a networked system, where data exchanges between the plant and the controller only occur when an output-dependent inequality has been satisfied for a given amount of time. This strategy, called Event-Holding Control (EHC), differs from time-regularized event-triggered control (ETC) techniques, which generate transmissions as soon as a triggering condition is verified and the time elapsed since the last transmission is larger than a given bound. Indeed, the clock involved in EHC is not running continuously after each transmission instant, but only when a criterion is verified. We propose an output-based design of these triggering mechanisms that are robust to additive measurement noise and ensure an input-to-state stability (ISS) property. This EHC scheme naturally has a positive lower bound on the transmission interval. Additionally, we show via an example that, in presence of measurement noise, Zeno-like behavior, where events are generated near the minimum inter-event time consistently, may occur when the system is close to the attractor. We introduce space-regularization to mitigate this issue, resulting in an input-to-state practical stability (ISpS) property rather than ISS.

This paper studies the stabilisation problem for a class of nonlinear systems with two time scales, where only a single communication channel is available to allocate both low and high-frequency transmissions from slow and fast subsystems, respectively. A clock mechanism is proposed to govern the transmissions, and the closed-loop system is modelled by a hybrid singularly perturbed system. Singular perturbation-based analysis is used to obtain individual maximum allowable transmission intervals for both slow and fast transmissions, and also to guarantee semi-global practical asymptotic stability with respect to the minimum allowable transmission interval of slow transmissions. We illustrate the results via a numerical example.

Natriuretic peptide (NP) uptake varies in Emergency Departments (EDs) across Europe. The ‘Peptide for Life’ (P4L) initiative, led by Heart Failure Association, aims to enhance NP utilization for early diagnosis of heart failure (HF). We tested the hypothesis that implementing an educational campaign in Western Balkan countries would significantly increase NP adoption rates in the ED.

Fruit spirits must have an aroma of the raw material, which is balanced by ethanol.  Since many aroma compounds are more soluble in ethanol than in water, ethanol is the most important carrier of aroma compounds. The alcohol concentration seems to be crucial for the sensory profile of spirits. Alcohol content of 40% vol is the standard alcoholic strength of fruit spirits. Regulations specify a minimum alcohol content of 37.5% vol. However, ethanol reduction can result in change in sensory profile of spirits. The aim of this research is to determine whether lowering the alcohol content of spirits may make them less acceptable to customers. On this occasion, 5 pairs of fruit spirits were sensory tested: pear, plum, apple, raspberry, and grape spirits, each with a commercial and reduced alcohol concentration to 37.5% vol. The results showed that customers can recognize the difference in alcohol content of fruit spirits and dilution to lower alcohol content led to decreasing aroma for all tastes fruit spirits.  However, typicality and intensity of fruit odour and the overall note of the spirits, were very similar perceived for Williams, plum and grape spirits whereas apple and raspberry spirits showed better characteristic at higher alcohol content.

Planning as sustainable mobility function requires new approaches and new planning concepts that encourage the transition to cleaner and more sustainable transport modes such as walking, cycling, public transport, new patterns of car use and ownership, and the adoption and use of new technologies as indispensable support for sustainable mobility development. This approach aims to satisfy the mobility needs with a healthier environment and a better quality of life, since healthy and ecologically clean environments are becoming more attractive, both for the local population and for tourists, which can be especially important for those local communities with special tourist potential and developed tourist offer. Given the fact that electric mobility contributes significantly to the climate change mitigation through the reduction of pollutant emissions using different types of electric vehicles, it is necessary to consider the possibility of using e-mobility in order to strengthen the offer of tourist destinations while simultaneously protecting these areas from excessive noise, pollution, usurpation and deterioration of the quality and appearance of tourist areas. Considering that the city of East Sarajevo, as one of the tourist attractive local communities in terms of the diversity of the tourist offer with a scattered concentration of tourist destinations on predominantly hilly terrain, this paper will present the concept of introducing a bike-sharing system, an electric bus and an eco-taxi vehicle in the function of tourists transportation system with supporting infrastructure development plan, all based on tourist demand data analysis.

: Based on measurements and research, diagnostics of the condition of a structure aims to provide an answer to the question of what the condition of the structure is, and the necessary steps for reconstruction or rehabilitation. Masonry stone construction is one of the oldest methods of construction of building structures. In spite of that, this type of structures does not have fully defined parameters that influence its behavior. The reason for this is the fact that the properties of masonry stone structures differ depending on the basic material (stone) and binding material (mortar), as well as their combination. The paper presents diagnostics of the condition of masonry structures on the Tabija tower building. Tabija, a low tower for cannons, is a fortification structure from the Ottoman period that is the most completely preserved and was registered for the first time in the city plan from 1717. The structure is in poor condition due to a large number of natural and human factors. The paper will present a detailed visual inspection of the structure, as well as tests conducted in the laboratory and in-situ, the calculation, and decisions and proposals for the rehabilitation and/or reconstruction of the considered building of cultural and historical heritage.