Aim To determine an outcome of acute kidney injury (AKI) in critically ill children (CIC) who needed renal replacement therapy (RRT) and were admitted to the Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PICU and NICU) at the Paediatric Clinic, University Clinical Centre Sarajevo (UCCS). Methods The research included 81 children with AKI. The Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria to define AKI was used. Other laboratory findings and imaging tests were made depending on children's primary disease that led to the AKI. Results Among 81 children with AKI, 38 were girls and 43 boys. A total of 39 (48.1%) patients died; the death was due to the nature of the primary disease and multiple organ failure syndromes. Out of the total of 81 patients the highest mortality rate was found in children in the first year of life, 22 (56.4%), while 17 (43.6%) patients died after the first year of life. Conclusion Without an accurate diagnosis at the right time, due to the lack of adequate biomarkers for AKI screening, the heterogeneity of AKI, comorbidities often lead to unfavourable outcomes of the disease, among CIC, especially in infants with low birth weight and extreme immaturity. Some causes of AKI are preventable and can be reduced by a better organization of primary and secondary health care.

The research presented in this paper is focused on blackberry leaf extract (BLE) as a environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitor for copper in 0.5 M NaCl. The caffeic acid, quercetin-3-O-glucoside and kaempferol-3-O-glucoside were identified in BLE by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-DAD). The BLE functional groups were identified (ATR-FTIR). The electrochemical methods (potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical frequency modulation and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) show that BLE acts as a mixed type of inhibitor (max. IE is 97.19 %). The corrosion process is controlled by diffusion (BLE lower than 15 g/L) and charge transfer (15 g/L BLE).

The aims of this study were to analyze the utilization of antibiotics before (2018, 2019) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020) and the practice of prescribing antibiotics in outpatient settings for COVID-19 patients during the 2020–2022 period. The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification/Defined Daily Dose methodology was used for the analysis of outpatient antibiotic utilization in the Republic of Srpska. The data was expressed in DDD/1000 inhabitants/day. The rate of antibiotics prescribed to COVID-19 outpatients was analyzed using medical record data from 16,565 patients registered with B34.2, U07.1, and U07.2 World Health Organization International Classification of Diseases 10th revision codes. During 2020, outpatient antibiotic utilization increased by 53.80% compared to 2019. At least one antibiotic was prescribed for 91.04%, 83.05%, and 73.52% of COVID-19 outpatients during 2020, 2021, and the first half of 2022, respectively. On a monthly basis, at least one antibiotic was prescribed for more than 55% of COVID-19 outpatients. The three most commonly prescribed antibiotics were azithromycin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, and doxycycline. The trend of repurposing antibiotics for COVID-19 and other diseases treatment might be a double-edged sword. The long-term effect of this practice might be an increase in antimicrobial resistance and a loss of antibiotic effectiveness.

Aim To determine differences between reviparin and dalteparin treatment in patients with extracapsular hip fractures treated with intramedullary nailing and their effects on perioperative blood loss and early postoperative recovery. Methods Retrospective comparative study included 68 patients with extracapsular hip fracture who were divided into dalteparin and reviparin group. Medical records were used to obtain demographic data, laboratory parameters, haemoglobin and haematocrit levels, platelet count, mortality rate and medical complications. Results Out of total 68 patients, 31 were in reviparin and 37 in dalteparin group. Mean age of patients was 70.5 (±14.4) and 76.8 (±8.4) years in reviparin and dalteparin group, respectively (p=0.071). Median values of haemoglobin levels on the first postoperative day were lower in dalteparin group compared to reviparin group (p=0.012). On the first postoperative day haematocrit values were also lower in dalteparin than in reviparin group (p=0.015). Both groups showed an increase in platelet count on the first postoperative day, but without significant difference (p=0.084). There was no statistically significant difference in intrahospital mortality between the groups (6.4% vs. 2.7%; p=0.588). One case of pulmonary embolism was detected in the dalteparin group. Conclusion Low-molecular-weight heparin is the drug of choice in patients with hip fractures for thromboprophylaxis. Due to non-antithrombin-mediated actions, reviparin and dalteparin could have different effects on perioperative blood loss. Both dalteparin and reviparin are safe and effective agents for thromboprophylaxis in patients with proximal femur fractures.

Percolation model with nucleation and object growth is studied by Monte Carlo simulations on a triangular lattice with point-like impurities. Growing objects are needle-like objects and self-avoiding random walk chains. In each run through the system the lattice is initially randomly occupied by point-like impurities at given concentration ρimp . Then the seeds for the object growth are randomly distributed at given concentration ρ. The percolation properties and the jamming densities are compared for the two classes of growing objects on the basis of the results obtained for a wide range of densities ρ and ρimp up to the percolation threshold for the monomer deposition on a triangular lattice. Values of the percolation thresholds θp∗ have lower values for the needle-like objects than for the self-avoiding random walk chains. The difference is largest for the lowest values of ρ and ρimp , and ceases near the values of the site percolation threshold for monomers on the triangular lattice, ρp∗≃0.5 . Values of the jamming coverage θJ decrease with ρimp for given ρ. This effect is more prominent for the growing random walk chains.

One major challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic was the limited accessibility to healthcare facilities, especially for the older population. The aim of the current study was the exploration of the extent to which the healthcare systems responded to the healthcare needs of the older people with or without cognitive impairment and their caregivers in the Adrion/Ionian region. Data were collected through e-questionnaires regarding the adequacy of the healthcare system and were anonymously administered to older individuals and stakeholder providers in the following countries: Slovenia, Italy (Calabria), Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia. Overall, 722 older people and 267 healthcare stakeholders participated in the study. During the COVID-19 pandemic, both healthcare stakeholders and the older population claimed that the healthcare needs of the older people and their caregivers increased dramatically in all countries, especially in Italy (Calabria), Croatia and BiH. According to our results, countries from the Adrion/Ionian regions faced significant challenges to adjust to the special needs of the older people during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was possibly due to limited accessibility opportunities to healthcare facilities. These results highlight the need for the development of alternative ways of providing medical assistance and supervision when in-person care is not possible.

a significant increase in errors due to background noise in operating

We analyzed the expression of the serotonin receptors 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, and 5-HT3A at four different stages of fetal lung development from 12 to 40 weeks of gestation, divided into four groups: the pseudoglandular stage (12–16th week of development; n = 8), the canalicular stage (16th–26th week of development; n = 7), the saccular stage (26th-36th week of development; n = 5), and the alveolar stage (36th–40th week of development; n = 5). The strongest expression of all three receptor types was found in the epithelium of the proximal airways during the pseudoglandular, canalicular, and saccular stages and in a vascular wall. 5-HT1A was also strongly expressed in the smooth muscle cells of the proximal airway. Vascular smooth muscle cells and endothelium occasionally showed a strong expression of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A. In the alveolar stage, the expression of 5-HT1A, 5-HT2A, and 5-HT3A was detected in both type I (p1) and type II (p2) pneumocytes, with a stronger expression in p2. A significant decrease in percent the 5-HT2A area and in the integrated density was observed at the alveolar stage. On the other hand, a significant decrease in the percentage area but an increase in the integrated density was observed for 5-HT3A toward the alveolar stage, suggesting that a smaller number of cells expressed 5-HT3A but that they (p1 and p2) significantly increased their 5-HT3A expression at the alveolar stage. The results presented provided us with new data on the development and function of the serotonin system in the human fetal lung and gave us insight into their possible involvement in the pathogenesis of lung pathology, particularly that characteristic of the neonatal period.

Aim To determine radiologic, clinic and laboratory characteristics of COVID-19 positive patients with acute arterial occlusion and compare them with post COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients. Methods In this retrospective study, 53 patients with acute occlusion of peripheral arteries admitted to the University Clinical Hospital Mostar in the period between 29 February 2020 and 30 September 2021 were involved. The first group was made of COVID-19 positive patients, the second group were post COVID-19 patients and a control group were non-COVID-19 patients. Results Most patients were males, 37 (69.8%). The average age of COVID positive patients was 66.09±11.25 years, post COVID-19 patients 71.33±5.22 years and COVID-19 negative patients 69.82±1.99 years. Lower extremities were most affected, 38 (71.6%), without significant alteration in the coagulogram. Acute arterial occlusion occurred about 2 weeks after the beginning of COVID-19 or at the time of the first appearance of symptoms. Conclusion We have to take special care about patients with risk factors for developing acute arterial occlusion due to thromboembolism or thrombosis 10 days after the beginning of the disease. We also recommend the use of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) and monitoring coagulation state due to anti Xa and thromboelastometry.

Microcalcifications, primarily biogenic apatite, occur in cancerous and benign breast pathologies and are key mammographic indicators. Outside the clinic, numerous microcalcification compositional metrics (e.g., carbonate and metal content) are linked to malignancy, yet microcalcification formation is dependent on microenvironmental conditions, which are notoriously heterogeneous in breast cancer. We interrogate multiscale heterogeneity in 93 calcifications from 21 breast cancer patients using an omics-inspired approach: For each microcalcification, we define a “biomineralogical signature” combining metrics derived from Raman microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. We observe that (i) calcifications cluster into physiologically relevant groups reflecting tissue type and local malignancy; (ii) carbonate content exhibits substantial intratumor heterogeneity; (iii) trace metals including zinc, iron, and aluminum are enhanced in malignant-localized calcifications; and (iv) the lipid-to-protein ratio within calcifications is lower in patients with poor composite outcome, suggesting that there is potential clinical value in expanding research on calcification diagnostic metrics to include “mineral-entrapped” organic matrix.

SARS-CoV-2 virus has attracted a lot of attention globally due to the autoimmune and inflammatory processes that were observed during the development of Covid-19 disease. Excessive activation of immune response and triggering of autoantibodies synthesis as well as an excessive synthesis of inflammatory cytokines and the onset of cytokine storm has a vital role in the disease outcome and the occurring autoimmune complications. This scenario is reminiscent of infiltration of lymphocytes and monocytes in specific organs and the increased production of autoantibodies and chemoattractants noted in other inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The main goal of this study is to investigate the complex inflammatory processes that occur in Covid-19 disease and to find similarities with other inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and Kawasaki syndrome to advance existing diagnostic and therapeutic protocols. The therapy with Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and the use of S1P receptor modulators showed promising results. However, there are many unknowns about these mechanisms and possible novel therapies. Therefore, the inflammation and autoimmunity triggered by Covid-19 should be further investigated to improve existing diagnostic procedures and therapeutic protocols for Covid-19.