Abstract Aim: The study aimed to evaluate the acute effect of ultrafiltration on the mechanical properties of the aorta using brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (PWV) before and after hemodialysis (HD). Patients and Methods: This study included 80 patients who were on a long-term HD program. The input variables were anamnestic data, body composition monitor (BCM) parameters, and echocardiography findings. The assessment of hydration status was determined by BCM, whose work is based on the principle of multifrequency bioimpedance spectroscopy. Another diagnostic procedure was the use of an arteriograph apparatus to assess PWV and Augmentation Index (AIx). All measurements were performed before and after dialysis on the middle dialysis day of the week. Results: The participants were divided into two groups based on hydration status: the experimental group consisted of 40 overhydrated participants and the control group consisted of 40 normovolemic participants. Statistically, the following BCM parameters correlated significantly positively with PWV: total body fat (r = 0.222; P < 0.05), overhydration (r = 0.290; P < 0.001), and relative overhydration (r = 0.290; P < 0.001). From echocardiography findings, only left atrial diameter correlated statistically significantly positively with PWV (r = 0.359; P < 0.001). Comparison of the mean PWV values within the experimental group before and after HD showed a statistically significant decrease from 14.32 ± 2.34 m/s to 8.72 ± 1.52 m/s (Z = 3.254; P = 0.0001). Mean PWV values within the control group did not decrease significantly from 13.39 ± 1.32 m/s to 10.39 ± 1.18 m/s (Z = 0.524; P = 0.742). If we compare the mean values of PWV between groups, then before HD treatment, there was no statistically significant difference between groups with PWV values in the experimental group of 14.32 ± 2.34 m/s and the control group of 13.39 ± 1.32 m/s (Z = 0.762; P = 0.852). According to the results of univariate regression analysis before and after HD treatment, only overhydration showed an absolute effect on PWV before and after HD. Conclusion: Overhydration showed an effect on brachial-ankle PWV before and after HD, and brachial-ankle PWV should be followed in HD patients.

Objective: To compare organ involvement and disease severity between male and female patients with juvenile onset systemic sclerosis. Methods: Demographics, organ involvement, laboratory evaluation, patient-reported outcomes and physician assessment variables were compared between male and female juvenile onset systemic sclerosis patients enrolled in the prospective international juvenile systemic sclerosis cohort at their baseline visit and after 12 months. Results: One hundred and seventy-five juvenile onset systemic sclerosis patients were evaluated, 142 females and 33 males. Race, age of onset, disease duration, and disease subtypes (70% diffuse cutaneous) were similar between males and females. Active digital ulceration, very low body mass index, and tendon friction rubs were significantly more frequent in males. Physician global assessment of disease severity and digital ulcer activity was significantly higher in males. Composite pulmonary involvement was also more frequent in males, though not statistically significantly. After 12 months, they are the pattern of differences changed female patients had significantly more frequent pulmonary involvement. Conclusion: In this cohort, juvenile onset systemic sclerosis had a more severe course in males at baseline and but the pattern changed after 12 months. Some differences from adult findings persisted, there is no increased signal of pulmonary arterial hypertension or heart failure in male pediatric patients. While monitoring protocols of organ involvement in juvenile onset systemic sclerosis need to be identical for males and females.

For a manifold $M$ and an integer $r>1$, the space of $r$-immersions of $M$ in $\mathbb {R}^n$ is defined to be the space of immersions of $M$ in $\mathbb {R}^n$ such that the preimage of every point in $\mathbb {R}^n$ contains fewer than $r$ points. We consider the space of $r$-immersions when $M$ is a disjoint union of $k$ $m$-dimensional discs, and prove that it is equivalent to the product of the $r$-configuration space of $k$ points in $\mathbb {R}^n$ and the $k^{\text {th}}$ power of the space of injective linear maps from $\mathbb {R}^m$ to $\mathbb {R}^n$. This result is needed in order to apply Michael Weiss's manifold calculus to the study of $r$-immersions. The analogous statement for spaces of embeddings is “well-known”, but a detailed proof is hard to find in the literature, and the existing proofs seem to use the isotopy extension theorem, if only as a matter of convenience. Isotopy extension does not hold for $r$-immersions, so we spell out the details of a proof that avoids using it, and applies to spaces of $r$-immersions.

Introduction: Composite materials may be exposed to chemicals in food and beverages in the oral cavity, which can lead to changes in surface roughness. The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the surface roughness of two restorative materials after exposure to coffee and green tea followed by a dental bleaching procedure. Methods: For nanofilled composite and microhybrid composite, 15 samples each were fabricated. Five specimens from each composite were stored in instant coffee and green tea for 4 h a day. After 30 days of immersion, specimens received dental at-home bleaching, using 16% carbamide peroxide (CP), for 7 h a day. The control group was stored in deionized water for 30 days. Surface roughness was determined by profilometry 24 h after polymerization, after 30 days of immersion, and after bleaching. The data were analyzed using a t-test for paired samples and mixed analysis of variance, at a 0.05 significance level. Results: Neither beverages nor CP treatment significantly altered the surface roughness of the composites. There was no difference between the tested composite materials regarding roughness. Conclusion: Surface roughness of the microhybrid and nanohybrid composites was not modified by coffee, green tea, and subsequent whitening treatment.

Invasive plant species are foreign species that usually have a negative impact to the native flora and vegetation, human health, or that cause damage to agriculture and the economy. Therefore, the spread of invasive species is one of the biggest problems in nature protection. The aim of the work is to determine the invasive plant species in the wider area of the city of Lukavac, to analyze the life forms and the geographical origin. The research was done during the summer months of 2021. This paper presents the results of research on invasive plant species in the wider area of the town of Lukavac, which is located in the northeastern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina and administratively belongs to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Tuzla Canton. Total 12 invasive species from 8 families and 12 genera were recorded. The largest number of species belongs to the Asteraceae family, while the other families are represented by one species. Among life forms, therophytes (58, 33%) and phanerophytes (25%) dominate. Geophytes and hemicryptophytes are represented by only one plant species. Recorded invasive plant species come from North America (75%) and Asia (25%).

Introduction: Fetal central nervous system (CNS) anomalies are among the most severe and common anomalies, with an incidence of 1: 100 to 1: 500 in newborns. Depending on the type of anomaly, the diagnosis can only be made at specifi c periods of pregnancy. The prenatal ultrasound (US) is an eff ective primary imaging modality for depicting these anomalies, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a method that provides useful confi rmation and resolves any doubts regarding the diagnosis made on prenatal ultrasound. In situations where ultrasound examination is diffi cult, fetal MRI can provide superior information owing to its many advantages. The aim of this study was to determine the importance of prenatal MRI in making an accurate diagnosis and assessment of fetal CNS anomalies after neurosonographic doubt and in detecting additional anomalies that might have been overlooked on ultrasound, which infl uences clinical decision making and anomaly outcomes. Material and methods: For this research, which was designed as a systematic review of the primary scientifi c research literature, numerous articles were used, i.e.17 scientifi c research papers, published in relevant scientifi c research online databases such as PubMed, Medline, Google Scholar, and the same were published in English in the period from 2015 to 2021. Results: From the assessment of the quality of studies with a cohort design, most studies used in this systematic review are high-quality studies (11 in total) and a smaller number are medium-quality studies (6 in total). Out of 575 cases, MRI confi rmed the ultrasound diagnosis and agreed with it in 59.8% of cases, while in 20.2% of cases, it changed the diagnosis, i.e., in 16.5%, it rejected the ultrasound diagnosis. Additional anomalies detected only on MRI occurred in 236/1225 cases, which totals 19.3% of additional anomalies. Termination of pregnancy was reported in 82/317 cases, accounting for 25.9%, while in 176 cases, the pregnancy continued. A total of 11 cases of neonatal death were reported, and the number of stillbirths or deaths after birth was reported in 8 cases. Conclusion: MRI using T2W SSFSE sequences in 3 planes, T1W and DWI in the axial plane, is a complementary modality to prenatal ultrasound in making an accurate diagnosis and assessment of CNS anomalies and detecting associated anomalies previously overlooked on ultrasound. Keywords: fetal magnetic resonance imaging, fetal neurosonography, fetal central nervous system anomalies, prenatal diagnosis.

Introduction The J Project (JP) physician education and clinical research collaboration program was started in 2004 and includes by now 32 countries mostly in Eastern and Central Europe (ECE). Until the end of 2021, 344 inborn errors of immunity (IEI)-focused meetings were organized by the JP to raise awareness and facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of patients with IEI. Results In this study, meeting profiles and major diagnostic and treatment parameters were studied. JP center leaders reported patients’ data from 30 countries representing a total population of 506 567 565. Two countries reported patients from JP centers (Konya, Turkey and Cairo University, Egypt). Diagnostic criteria were based on the 2020 update of classification by the IUIS Expert Committee on IEI. The number of JP meetings increased from 6 per year in 2004 and 2005 to 44 and 63 in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The cumulative number of meetings per country varied from 1 to 59 in various countries reflecting partly but not entirely the population of the respective countries. Altogether, 24,879 patients were reported giving an average prevalence of 4.9. Most of the patients had predominantly antibody deficiency (46,32%) followed by patients with combined immunodeficiencies (14.3%). The percentages of patients with bone marrow failure and phenocopies of IEI were less than 1 each. The number of patients was remarkably higher that those reported to the ESID Registry in 13 countries. Immunoglobulin (IgG) substitution was provided to 7,572 patients (5,693 intravenously) and 1,480 patients received hematopoietic stem cell therapy (HSCT). Searching for basic diagnostic parameters revealed the availability of immunochemistry and flow cytometry in 27 and 28 countries, respectively, and targeted gene sequencing and new generation sequencing was available in 21 and 18 countries. The number of IEI centers and experts in the field were 260 and 690, respectively. We found high correlation between the number of IEI centers and patients treated with intravenous IgG (IVIG) (correlation coefficient, cc, 0,916) and with those who were treated with HSCT (cc, 0,905). Similar correlation was found when the number of experts was compared with those treated with HSCT. However, the number of patients treated with subcutaneous Ig (SCIG) only slightly correlated with the number of experts (cc, 0,489) and no correlation was found between the number of centers and patients on SCIG (cc, 0,174). Conclusions 1) this is the first study describing major diagnostic and treatment parameters of IEI care in countries of the JP; 2) the data suggest that the JP had tremendous impact on the development of IEI care in ECE; 3) our data help to define major future targets of JP activity in various countries; 4) we suggest that the number of IEI centers and IEI experts closely correlate to the most important treatment parameters; 5) we propose that specialist education among medical professionals plays pivotal role in increasing levels of diagnostics and adequate care of this vulnerable and still highly neglected patient population; 6) this study also provides the basis for further analysis of more specific aspects of IEI care including genetic diagnostics, disease specific prevalence, newborn screening and professional collaboration in JP countries.

The impact of geometric characteristics on traffic risk is reflected through identifying conflict points on roads,traffic accidents, and any other unforeseen situation that is inherently hazardous for traffic participants. In order to identify the road sections with the highest risk, it is necessary to consider a number of criteria that affect risk, and conduct extensive empirical research, analysis and data synthesis. This paper evaluates 9 sections of two-lane roads in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Republic of Srpska) using an integrated Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) model.To determine the significance of 8 criteria for the evaluation of the sections, it was applied a subjective–objective model consisting of 3 methods: (1) CRiteria Importance Through Inter-criteria Correlation (CRITIC), (2) FUll COnsistency Method (FUCOM) and (3) fuzzy PIvot Pairwise RElative Criteria Importance Assessment (PIPRECIA). The aggregation of the criterion values obtained using the methods yielded the final criterion values. Measurement Alternatives and Ranking according to COmpromise Solution (MARCOS) method was used to evaluate the sections and determine their objective diversity. The obtained results identified one location as extremely hazardous by most of analysed input parameters. The section with the highest risk is the Rudanka – Doboj section (A4), which represents a section of the road infrastructure of the 105 road. The validation of the results obtained by applying the integrated MCDM model was performed through an extensive sensitivity analysis. The weights of criteria were observed through initially individual methods implemented in the MARCOS method. Then, a comparative analysis was performed with 6 other MCDM methods and Spearman’s Correlation Coefficient (SCC) was calculated as a statistical indicator of rank correlation in a sensitivity analysis. In addition,the Standard Deviation (STDEV) of the obtained results was determined.

Supplier selection is an important task in supply chain management, as suppliers have a vital role in the success of organisations in a supply chain. Sustainability has emerged as a solution to decreasing resources and increasing environmental and social problems in the past few decades. It has been applied to various industrial operations, one of them is supplier selection, to mitigate unwanted effects in the future. Sustainable supplier selection is a complicated multi-criteria decision making problem, including several criteria from economic, environmental, and social perspectives. To deal with subjective judgements of decision makers, fuzzy and grey methods are widely used in multi-criteria decision making, In the case of small, limited, and incomplete data, the grey theory provides satisfactory results, compared to fuzzy methods. Therefore, this study is an integrated method including grey Best-Worst Method (BWM) and grey Weighted Sum-Product (WISP) for choosing the most sustainable supplier for a textile manufacturer, which includes three main criteria and twelve sub-criteria. According to the result of the proposed model, the supplier with the best performance was determined to be the supplier with the SP2 coded. The results of the developed model were shown to the experts, and the accuracy of the results was confirmed. According to the experts, a higher amount of product can be purchased from the supplier with the SP2 code, and a tighter relationship can be worked with this supplier. The contributions of this study are: (1) Develop a new grey MCDM model called Grey WISP. (2) Create a new integrated MCDM model with grey theory, BWM, and WISP methods that can be applied to assess supplier sustainability using this hybrid model. The proposed model can be used not just for selecting sustainable suppliers, but also for any other decision problems that have multiple criteria and alternatives. The findings suggest that the Grey WISP method achieved accurate results.

Tungsten belongs to group of refractory metal that possess extraordinary resistance to heat and wear and it is the heaviest engineering material. Because of its properties tungsten is used for special purposes. This paper presents the results of mechanical and microstructure research on the example of the characteristic heavy tungsten alloys 91W-6Ni-1.8Fe-1Co and 93W-5Ni-1.6Fe-0.3Co with different Ni/Co ratios. The proper Ni/Co ratio is important to obtain a favorable microstructure and mechanical properties of these materials. The distribution of the W, Ni, Co and Fe elements in tungsten phase and binder phase, which can influence on mechanical properties of tungsten alloys. The SEM analysis and mechanical results show that the alloy, which has Ni/Co within the given limits,  posses a finer microstructure and better mechanical properties that is very important for the maintenance of the quality of tungsten alloys for special purposes.

Background The incidence of the highly morbid and potentially lethal gangrenous cholecystitis was reportedly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the ChoCO-W study was to compare the clinical findings and outcomes of acute cholecystitis in patients who had COVID-19 disease with those who did not. Methods Data were prospectively collected over 6 months (October 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021) with 1-month follow-up. In October 2020, Delta variant of SARS CoV-2 was isolated for the first time. Demographic and clinical data were analyzed and reported according to the STROBE guidelines. Baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients who had COVID-19 were compared with those who did not. Results A total of 2893 patients, from 42 countries, 218 centers, involved, with a median age of 61.3 (SD: 17.39) years were prospectively enrolled in this study; 1481 (51%) patients were males. One hundred and eighty (6.9%) patients were COVID-19 positive, while 2412 (93.1%) were negative. Concomitant preexisting diseases including cardiovascular diseases ( p  < 0.0001), diabetes ( p  < 0.0001), and severe chronic obstructive airway disease ( p  = 0.005) were significantly more frequent in the COVID-19 group. Markers of sepsis severity including ARDS ( p  < 0.0001), PIPAS score ( p  < 0.0001), WSES sepsis score ( p  < 0.0001), qSOFA ( p  < 0.0001), and Tokyo classification of severity of acute cholecystitis ( p  < 0.0001) were significantly higher in the COVID-19 group. The COVID-19 group had significantly higher postoperative complications (32.2% compared with 11.7%, p  < 0.0001), longer mean hospital stay (13.21 compared with 6.51 days, p  < 0.0001), and mortality rate (13.4% compared with 1.7%, p  < 0.0001). The incidence of gangrenous cholecystitis was doubled in the COVID-19 group (40.7% compared with 22.3%). The mean wall thickness of the gallbladder was significantly higher in the COVID-19 group [6.32 (SD: 2.44) mm compared with 5.4 (SD: 3.45) mm; p  < 0.0001]. Conclusions The incidence of gangrenous cholecystitis is higher in COVID patients compared with non-COVID patients admitted to the emergency department with acute cholecystitis. Gangrenous cholecystitis in COVID patients is associated with high-grade Clavien-Dindo postoperative complications, longer hospital stay and higher mortality rate. The open cholecystectomy rate is higher in COVID compared with non -COVID patients. It is recommended to delay the surgical treatment in COVID patients, when it is possible, to decrease morbidity and mortality rates. COVID-19 infection and gangrenous cholecystistis are not absolute contraindications to perform laparoscopic cholecystectomy, in a case by case evaluation, in expert hands. Graphical abstract

Using seismic recordings of event S1222a, we measure dispersion curves of Rayleigh and Love waves, including their first overtones, and invert these for shear velocity (VS) and radial anisotropic structure of the Martian crust. The crustal structure along the topographic dichotomy is characterized by a fairly uniform vertically polarized shear velocity (VSV) of 3.17 km/s between ∼5 and 30 km depth, compatible with the previous study by Kim et al. (2022), https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abq7157. Radial anisotropy as large as 12% (VSH > VSV) is required in the crust between 5 and 40 km depth. At greater depths, we observe a large discontinuity near 63 ± 10 km, below which VSV reaches 4.1 km/s. We interpret this velocity increase as the crust‐mantle boundary along the path. Combined gravimetric modeling suggests that the observed average crustal thickness favors the absence of large‐scale density differences across the topographic dichotomy.

The need for quality assessment of anthropogenic impact on environmental pollution is increasing due to discharge from various industries, the use of chemicals in agriculture and the consumption of fossil fuels. Diminishing resources such as natural waters used for the cultivation of agricultural products, plant and animal habitats are under severe pollution pressure and are at constant risk. Several parameters, such as Pb, Cd, Ni, Hg were listed by Water Framework Directive in Directive (2008/105/EC) in the priority substances. Cadmium and Hg were identified as priority hazardous substances whereas As is an important contaminant for its potential toxicological and carcinogenic effects. An inter-comparison study is organised in EURAMET TC-MC in order to demonstrate the capability participants for measuring five elements in river water. The participants carried out measurements for analytes: Pb, Cd, Ni and As as mandatory elements, and Se as an optional one. Participants were asked to perform the measurements with respect to the protocol provided. To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database https://www.bipm.org/kcdb/. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCQM, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).