For over three Earth years the Marsquake Service has been analyzing the data sent back from the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure—the seismometer placed on the surface of Mars by NASA’s InSight lander. Although by October 2021, the Mars seismic catalog included 951 events, until recently all these events have been assessed as lying within a radius of 100° of InSight. Here we report two distant events that occurred within days of each other, located on the far side of Mars, giving us our first glimpse into Mars’ core shadow zone. The first event, recorded on 25 August 2021 (InSight sol 976), shows clear polarized arrivals that we interpret to be PP and SS phases at low frequencies and locates to Valles Marineris, 146° ± 7° from InSight. The second event, occurring on 18 September 2021 (sol 1000), has significantly more broadband energy with emergent PP and SS arrivals, and a weak phase arriving before PP that we interpret as Pdiff. Considering uncertain pick times and poorly constrained travel times for Pdiff, we estimate this event is at a distance between 107° and 147° from InSight. With magnitudes of MwMa 4.2 and 4.1, respectively, these are the largest seismic events recorded so far on Mars.

Introduction: In Sweden, during specialty training, the nurse anesthetist learns how to ensure patient safety in a health-care setting by implementing the surgical checklist measures during perioperative care. To date, there are still considerable shortcomings when it comes to implementing these patient safety measures in Swedish hospitals. Aim: The purpose of this study is to describe the use of the WHO surgical safety checklist (WHOSSC) by surgical teams, with special emphasis on nurse anesthetists to increase patient safety. Materials and Methods: This descriptive questionnaire-based study was performed between September 2018 and March 2019 and included 196 health-care professionals who completed the questionnaire. The survey was carried out among all the health-care professionals at two surgical units at a university hospital during the data collection period. Results: The results reveal that the majority of health-care staff in this study agree with the need to implement the WHOSSC during surgery and the necessity of doing so to ensure patient safety. However, it is not clear whether this checklist needs to be made a matter of routine at the clinics and whether this is possible in emergency situations. Conclusion: The nurse anesthetists, as members of the surgical team, use the list all the time in emergency situations and conclude, like other members of the team, that the list improves patient safety. Clearer procedures are needed during surgery regarding the usage of the checklist in practice, and there should be a designated person in the surgical team responsible for implementing the checklist.

Objectives. The present study aimed to assess changes in the perception of and willingness to participate in organ donation (OD) among immigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina living in Sweden from the perspective of gender differences. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study with 60 participants born in Bosnia and Herzegovina and living in Sweden was performed. Data were collected using a self-administrative questionnaire, providing demographic characteristics, information about opinions, awareness, and knowledge on the donation process and religious approach to the subject, willingness to donate/receive organs, and possession of a donor card. Results. Our results showed significant differences between genders regarding the definition of transplantation (P<0.0001), information about OD (P<0.0001), knowledge (P<0.0001) and importance of OD (P<0.003), religious permitting (P=0.0001), and religious opposing (P=0.0007) to OD. Furthermore, a significant difference was observed regarding the preferred recipient (P=0.0062) and the possession of the donor card (P<0.0001). Regression analysis showed that female gender and higher income were statistically significant in prediction of positive attitudes toward OD (P=0.0027, P=0.0002, respectively). Conclusion. Change of social background and integration into Swedish society undoubtedly led to change in the attitudes toward OD, regardless of the perspective of gender differences. However, women were found to have more positive attitudes toward OD.

The 21st century is characterized by conflicts and compromises related to the supply of food, water and especially energy. There is a real need to identify threats and causes that could be serious challenges that the world could face due to the coronavirus pandemic. The paper will try to determine the factual situation in the field of global energy security of 2021 and the relationship of energy policies to situations in various energy markets of major energy actors. Just several empirical studies investigate the impacts of epidemics or pandemics on energy security. This paper describes the multifaceted nature of energy security, offers several indicators for assessing changes in energy security and outlines a variety of policy options for enhancing energy security. In order to research the topic, the paper will include a methodology that will provide insight into the importance of energy security, its scope both on the global concept of understanding and its contribution to several conceptual frameworks. The justification of the research is reflected in the need to recognize the importance of the challenges to contemporary global energy security.

Background: Endocrine disrupting air pollutants such as sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), fine particle matter (PM2.5), and ozone (O3) can affect thyroid gland function on the level of synthesis, metabolism, and the action of its hormones. Objective: The aim of this study was to establish whether increased air pollution could contribute to an increased incidence of autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD). Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of the medical records of 82000 patients at the University Clinical Centre in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The target group of this study comprised a total of 174 patients from the Lukavac area. Daily data on concentrations of air pollutants were collected from the air quality monitoring station located in Lukavac. The study covered the period from 2015 to 2020. Results: The results of the monitoring confirmed the presence of air pollutants in concentrations above the permitted limits throughout the entire observed period. Concentrations of PM2.5, SO2, NO2, CO, and O3 were in the range of 1.90–431.40 μg/m3, 3.60-620.50 μg/m3, 3.40-66.20 μg/m3, 48.00-7002.00 μg/m3, and 0.70-89.40 μg/m3, with means of 64.08 μg/m3, 77.48 μg/m3, 22.57 μg/m3, 1657.15 μg/m3, and 31.49 μg/m3, respectively. During the six-year period, 174 cases of AITD were registered, of which 150 (86.21%) were women and 24 (13.79%) men. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis was found in 33 patients (18.97%), whilst 141 patients (81.03%) were diagnosed with atrophic thyroiditis. The highest total incidence of autoimmune thyroiditis was recorded in 2017, when it reached 99.49, 95% CI. Conclusion: The effects of chronic exposure to a mixture of air pollutants on the function of the thyroid gland are still not sufficiently well-known, but the numerical tendency towards a higher incidence of AITD in this study, albeit without statistical significance (p>0.05), still underlines the need for additional research.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death and the main cause of disability. In the last decade, homocysteine has been found to be a risk factor or a marker for cardiovascular diseases, including myocardial infarction (MI) and heart failure (HF). There are indications that vitamin B6 plays a significant role in the process of transsulfuration in homocysteine metabolism, specifically, in a part of the reaction in which homocysteine transfers a sulfhydryl group to serine to form α-ketobutyrate and cysteine. Therefore, an elevated homocysteine concentration (hyperhomocysteinemia) could be a consequence of vitamin B6 and/or folate deficiency. Hyperhomocysteinemia in turn could damage the endothelium and the blood vessel wall and induce worsening of atherosclerotic process, having a negative impact on the mechanisms underlying MI and HF, such as oxidative stress, inflammation, and altered function of gasotransmitters. Given the importance of the vitamin B6 in homocysteine metabolism, in this paper, we review its role in reducing oxidative stress and inflammation, influencing the functions of gasotransmitters, and improving vasodilatation and coronary flow in animal models of MI and HF.

There are activities in viticulture and mariculture that require extreme physical endurance from human workers, making them prime candidates for automation and robotization. This paper presents a novel, practical, heterogeneous, autonomous robotic system divided into two main parts, each dealing with respective scenarios in viticulture and mariculture. The robotic components and the subsystems that enable collaboration were developed as part of the ongoing HEKTOR project, and each specific scenario is presented. In viticulture, this includes vineyard surveillance, spraying and suckering with an all-terrain mobile manipulator (ATMM) and a lightweight autonomous aerial robot (LAAR) that can be used in very steep vineyards where other mechanization fails. In mariculture, scenarios include coordinated aerial and subsurface monitoring of fish net pens using the LAAR, an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV), and a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV). All robotic components communicate and coordinate their actions through the Robot Operating System (ROS). Field tests demonstrate the great capabilities of the HEKTOR system for the fully autonomous execution of very strenuous and hazardous work in viticulture and mariculture, while meeting the necessary conditions for the required quality and quantity of the work performed.

Germline whole exome sequencing from molecular tumor boards has the potential to be repurposed to support clinical pharmacogenomics. However, accurately calling pharmacogenomics-relevant genotypes from exome sequencing data remains challenging. Accordingly, this study assessed the analytical validity of the computational tool, Aldy, in calling pharmacogenomics-relevant genotypes from exome sequencing data for 13 major pharmacogenes. Germline DNA from whole blood was obtained for 164 subjects seen at an institutional molecular solid tumor board. All subjects had whole exome sequencing from Ashion Analytics and panel-based genotyping from an institutional pharmacogenomics laboratory. Aldy v3.3 was operationalized on the LifeOmic Precision Health Cloud with copy number fixed to two copies per gene. Aldy results were compared to those from genotyping for 56 star-defining variants within CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP3A4, CYP3A5, CYP4F2, DPYD, G6PD, NUDT15, SLCO1B1, and TPMT. Read depth was >100x for all variants except CYP3A4*22. For 75 subjects in the validation cohort, all 3,393 Aldy variant calls were concordant with genotyping. Aldy calls for 736 diplotypes containing alleles assessed by both platforms were also concordant. Aldy identified additional star alleles not covered by targeted genotyping for 139 diplotypes. Aldy accurately called variants and diplotypes for 13 major pharmacogenes except for CYP2D6 variants involving copy number variations, thus allowing repurposing of whole exome sequencing to support clinical pharmacogenomics.

Background: Studies suggest that applying probiotic skincare products may have beneficial effects on the skin due to bacteria competitiveness and specific metabolites produced by probiotics. The cream CLS02021 is a postbiotic blend of metabolites, including organic acids, enzymes, and peptides that are a result of the co-fermentation of three proprietary probiotic strains and is specific for its high concentration of the enzyme Sphingomyelinase which plays a significant role in cell signaling pathways and ceramide production. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the cosmetic effects of probiotic-derived Ingredient CLS02021 and its safety in healthy volunteers. Methods: Fifty healthy volunteers between 18 and 69 years old were recruited to participate in this multicentric, randomized, intra-individual, double-blind group study. Following a face-split design, volunteers applied both face cream containing CLS02021 on one side of their face and a placebo cream on the other side of their face for a total duration of four weeks, two times a day. Evaluation of the cosmetic effects included instrument measurements of moisturizing, elasticity, wrinkle depth, sebum production, pore size, melanin production, sensitivity, and side effects. Results: A significant difference of CLS02021 over the placebo group was observed for moisture and elasticity increase (both p<0.001), pore size (p<0.01), and a wrinkle depth decrease (p<0.05). No significant differences were noted in sebum production, melanin level, skin cleanliness, and sensitivity between groups. Conclusion: CLS02021, as a probiotic-derived ingredient, showed strong beneficial effects on skin moisture and elasticity increase, wrinkle depth, and pore size reduction. Face cream containing CLS02021 is well tolerated and could be an organic choice for cosmetic hydrating and antiaging skincare treatment.

We collected 1,671 Dermacentor reticulatus ticks from 17 locations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. We found 47.9% overall prevalence of Rickettsia species in ticks over all locations. Sequence analysis confirmed that all tested samples belonged to R. raoultii, the causative agent of tick-borne lymphadenopathy.

Simple Summary Oral cavity is the most common site of head and neck cancer which is ranked as the eighth most common cancer worldwide. Oral cancer treatment is often associated with significant morbidity and is sometimes ineffective. These cancers, mainly due to tobacco and alcohol consumption, can develop from oral potentially malignant disorders, the most common of which is oral leukoplakia. Some of these oral potentially malignant disorders disappear, while others will transform to oral cancer. Patients may also develop cancer in the field of cancerization. Unfortunately, except for the surgical excision of lesions with dysplasia, there is no effective intervention to effectively prevent transformation or cancer development in the field of cancerization. Moreover, no standardized biomarker has been clearly identified as sufficient to predict malignant transformation. In this article, several experts discuss the main challenges in oral cancer prevention, in particular the need (i) to define new a new classification system integrating cellular and molecular features aiming (ii) at better identifying patients at high risk of malignant transformation, and (iii) at developing treatment strategies to prevent their malignant transformation of oral potentially malignant disorders. Abstract Oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) may precede oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Reported rates of malignant transformation of OPMD range from 3 to 50%. While some clinical, histological, and molecular factors have been associated with a high-risk OPMD, they are, to date, insufficiently accurate for treatment decision-making. Moreover, this range highlights differences in the clinical definition of OPMD, variation in follow-up periods, and molecular and biological heterogeneity of OPMD. Finally, while treatment of OPMD may improve outcome, standard therapy has been shown to be ineffective to prevent OSCC development in patients with OPMD. In this perspective paper, several experts discuss the main challenges in oral cancer prevention, in particular the need to (i) to define an OPMD classification system by integrating new pathological and molecular characteristics, aiming (ii) to better identify OPMD at high risk of malignant transformation, and (iii) to develop treatment strategies to eradicate OPMD or prevent malignant transformation.