Wearable technologies have great potential in health monitoring and disease diagnostics. As a consequence, interest in the study of wearable sensors has dramatically increased over recent years. Successful translation of this technology from research prototypes to commercial products requires addressing some of the major challenges faced by wearable sensors such as loss of, and damage in, the biological recognition layer of the skin-interfaced sensors. In this work, we propose a solution to this challenge by integrating micropillar array (MPA) surfaces as part of the sensing layer with the aim to protect and prevent the loss of the enzyme layer from mechanical stress while the sensor is worn. The proposed wearable sensing patch is composed of reference, counter, and working electrodes, all made of MPAs and is designed for measuring glucose in sweat. MPA sensing patch has a wide linear range of 50 μM to 1.4 mM, a sensitivity of 4.7 ± 0.8 μA mM-1, and a limit of detection of 26 ± 5 μM. The glucose sensing patch was tested using human sweat where glucose-level changes were successfully measured before and after meal consumption. The developed patch provides an alternative solution to the problem of the damage to the sensor microenvironment upon wear. But in addition, it also offers a user-friendly, cost-effective, and reliable sweat analysis platform with significant potential in health monitoring applications.

Social media has opened the gates for collecting big data that can be used to monitor epidemic trends in real time. We evaluate whether Watson NLP service can be used to reliably predict infectious disease such as influenza-like illness (ILI) outbreaks using Twitter data during the period of the main influenza season. Watson’s performance is evaluated by computing Pearson correlation between the number of tweets classified by Watson as ILI and the number of ILI occurrences recovered from traditional epidemic surveillance system of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Achieved correlation was 0.55. Furthermore, a 12 week discrepancy was found between peak occurrences of ILI predicted by Watson and CDC reported data. Additionally, we developed a scoring method for ILI prediction from Twitter posts using a simple formula with the ability to predict ILI two weeks ahead of CDC reported ILI data. The method uses Watson’s sentiment and emotion scores together with identified ILI features to analyze influenza-related posts in real time. Due to Watson's high computational costs of sentiment and emotion analysis, we tested if machine learning approach can be used to predict influenza using only identified ILI keywords as influenza predictors. All three evaluated methods (Random Forest, Logistic Regression, K-NN), achieved overall accuracy of ~68.2% and 97.5% respectively, when Watson and the developed formula are used as medical experts. The obtained results suggest that data found within social media can be used to supplement the traditional surveillance of influenza outbreaks with the help of intelligent computations.

EDITORS, We read with interest the study by Khan et al regarding the incidence and impact of IBD medications on risk of pneumonia and pneumoniarelated hospitalisation.1 We compliment the authors for their effort to address the paucity of data on infections such as pneumonia in the IBD population. Using the nationwide Veterans Affairs database, they found incidence rates of 6.47 and 2.52 per 1000 personyears (PY) for pneumonia and pneumoniarelated hospitalisations, respectively. The strict definition for pneumonia events in their study has ensured the inclusion of clinically relevant cases ( i.e., more severe cases) of pneumonia, but may have led to underreporting of milder infectious events. The choice to include a positive chest Xray in their definition might also have led to variable sensitivity rates.2 Although mildtomoderate lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) are generally associated with low morbidity and mortality rates, they can have negative effects on patients' quality of life and perceived health, lead to increased healthcare costs and decreased societal participation. Reporting differences in all infections is important when addressing the real burden of treatment options in IBD. To add further insight on the prevalence of these infections, we share our realworld multicentre experience with the IBD population in South Limburg based on data collected using myIBDcoach, an established telemedicine platform for IBD management, which contains several patientreported outcome measures and remote monitoring tools, including periodic assessment of infectious events.3 In 600 IBD patients (mean age at cohort entry 49.7 [SD 14.9]; n = 342 Crohn’s disease [59.9% female]; n = 258 ulcerative colitis [47.7% female]), included between 1 January 2020 and 1 January 2021, we observed 43 LRTIs during followup (including pneumonia, excluding COVID19). Of these, 16 were mild (i.e., either requiring no treatment or analgesics), 25 moderate (i.e., requiring oral antibiotics) and two severe ( i.e., hospitalisation or intravenous antibiotics), corresponding to incidence rates of 2.5, 4.0 and 0.3 per 100 PY, respectively (Table 1). All events were crosschecked with GP and pharmacy data, and no LRTIrelated deaths were observed. Representativeness of this subset of patients for the realworld situation was established by comparing demographics (age, sex, smoking) and clinical characteristics (Montreal classification) to the total IBD population in SouthLimburg.4 We acknowledge the smaller sample size when compared to the study of Khan et al and understand that their study design did not allow for capturing milder infections. However, the rates observed in our study, especially for moderate infections (requiring antibiotics), are substantially higher than those observed by Khan et al, which cannot only be explained by potential other causes of LRTIs in our cohort. Data on mild and moderate infections in medically treated IBD patients remain scarce and the most plausible explanation is that events treated by general practitioners are not systematically captured in surveillance registries. Our data particularly underscore that, in a realworld population of IBD patients, a substantial proportion of LRTIs follow a mildtomoderate course. Remote monitoring tools designed to periodically assess infectious events could overcome the paucity of data regarding mild and moderate infections.

Though SARS-CoV-2 infections are yet to be completely characterised in a host-pathogen interaction context, some of the mechanisms governing the interaction between the novel betacoronavirus and the human host, have been brought to light in satisfactory detail. Among the emerging evidence, postulates regarding potential benefits of innate immune memory and heterologous immunity have been put under discussion. Innate immune memory entails epigenetic reprogramming of innate immune cells caused by vaccination or infections, whereas heterologous immunity denotes cross-reactivity of T cells with unrelated epitopes and bystander CD8+ activation. Familiarization of the host immune system with a certain pathogen, educates monocytes, macrophages and other innate cells into phenotypes competent for combating unrelated pathogens. Indeed, the resolution at which non-specific innate immune memory occurs, is predominant at the level of enhanced cytokine secretion as a result of epigenetic alterations. One vaccine whose non-specific effects have been documented and harnessed in treating infections, cancer and autoimmunity, is the Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine currently used for immunization against pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). The BCG vaccine induces a diverse cytokine secretion profile in immunized subjects, which in turn may stimulate epigenetic changes mediated by immunoreceptor signalling. Herein, we provide a concise summarization of previous findings regarding the effects of the BCG vaccine on innate immune memory and heterologous immunity, supplemented with clinical evidence of the non-specific effects of this vaccine on non-mycobacterial infections, cancer and autoimmunity. This interpretative synthesis aims at providing a plausible immunological and immunogenetic model by which BCG vaccination may, in fact, be beneficial for the current efforts in combating COVID-19.

Hoverflies (Syrphidae) are a large Dipteran family, distributed almost worldwide. They play very important ecological roles such as plant pollination, nutrient recycling and predation of plant pests. The members of the genus Epistrophe Walker, 1852 are medium-sized hoverflies of which about 75 species have been described in the World, and 12 of them occur in Europe. During a survey, conducted from 16th June to 4th July 2021 at Blidinje Nature Park (Bosnia and Herzegovina), a new species, of the fauna of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was recorded – Epistrophe diaphana (Zetterstedt, 1843) and new records for species Epistrophe leiophthalma (Schiner & Egger, 1853) were observed. Specimens were collected from inflorescences of Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium L.). Information about the records, species habitats, distribution and status in the country and the region is presented and discussed in this research work.

Atherosclerosis is the underlying cause of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) such as myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. It is a lipid-triggered chronic inflammatory condition of the arterial vascular wall that is driven by various inflammatory pathways including atherogenic cytokines and chemokines. D-dopachrome tautomerase (D-DT), also known as macrophage migration inhibitory factor-2 (MIF-2), belongs to the MIF protein family, which is best known for its pathogenic role in a variety of inflammatory and immune conditions including CVDs. While MIF is well known as a promoter of atherogenic processes, MIF-2 has not been studied in atherosclerosis. Here, we investigated atherosclerosis in hyperlipidemic Mif-2−/−Apoe−/− mice and studied the role of MIF-2 in various atherogenic assays in vitro. We found that global Mif-2 deficiency as well as its pharmacological blockade by 4-CPPC protected against atherosclerotic lesion formation and vascular inflammation in models of early and advanced atherogenesis. On cellular level, MIF-2 promoted monocyte migration in 2D and 3D and monocyte arrest on aortic endothelial monolayers, promoted B-cell chemotaxis in vitro and B-cell homing in vivo, and increased macrophage foam cell formation. Dose curves and direct comparison in a 3D migration set-up suggest that MIF-2 may be a more potent chemokine than MIF for monocytes and B cells. We identify CXCR4 as a novel receptor for MIF-2. The evidence relies on a CXCR4 inhibitor, CXCR4 internalization experiments, MIF-2/CXCR4 binding studies by yeast-CXCR4 transformants, and fluorescence spectroscopic titrations with a soluble CXCR4 surrogate. Of note, Mif-2−/−Apoe−/− mice exhibited decreased plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels, lower body weights, smaller livers, and profoundly reduced hepatic lipid accumulation compared to Apoe−/− mice. Mechanistic experiments in Huh-7 hepatocytes suggest that MIF-2 regulates the expression and activation of sterol-regulatory element binding protein-1 and −2 (SREBP-1, SREBP-2) to induce lipogenic downstream genes such as FASN and LDLR, while it attenuated the activation of the SREBP inhibiting AMPK pathway. Studies using receptor Inhibitors showed that SREBP activation and hepatic lipoprotein uptake by MIF-2 is mediated by both CXCR4 and CD74. Lastly and in line with a combined role of MIF-2 in vascular inflammation and hepatic lipid accumulation, MIF-2 was found to be profoundly upregulated in unstable human carotid plaques, underscoring a critical role for MIF-2 in advanced stages of atherosclerosis. Together, these data identify MIF-2 as a novel atherogenic chemokine and CXCR4 ligand that not only promotes lesion formation and vascular inflammation but also strongly affects hepatic lipogenesis in an SREBP-mediated manner, possibly linking atherosclerosis and hepatic steatosis.

The world is currently at the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution – Industry 4.0, whose ultimate goal is to make everything intelligent, both production processes in the industry and system maintenance. The environment around us has plenty of piping systems such as: water, gas, oil, sewage, etc., which need to be continuously maintained. In other words, they require periodic inspections to identify errors such as corrosion, cracks, deformations, or obstruction with obstacles. Service robots for inspection and maintenance are very convenient for the inspection of piping systems. In addition, they are a point of interest to many researchers in the field, so there are countless developed service robots that are currently in use. Service robots for inspection of piping system are used for inspection and provide visual information from inside the corresponding pipe. When the service robot moves through the pipe, it records the inside with a camera and provides us with visual information, i.e., provides a video of the inside of the pipe where we can locate the error. We can use the video later to establish the condition of the recorded piping system and make the right decision what to do. The paper presents the trend of application of service robots for inspection. A number of constructions of these service robots that are already in implementation are shown. Service robots effectively reduce all problems related to the maintenance, cleaning and inspection of piping systems. The growing trend of service robots application is due to the implementation of basic technologies of Industry 4.0 because its aim is to receive the information about the operation of a system all along. Various robotic systems have been developed for inspection and examination of piping systems and plants that are dangerous to workers' health. Service robots are controlled by camera, sensor or simple tools. Most service robots for inspection are intended for tanks, piping systems for all materials for inspection of ventilation openings and pipes of air systems, sewer systems, nuclear plants, or work in aggressive environments. It is expected that the development and application of service robots for inspection will continue to grow in the nearest future. Service robots effectively reduce all problems related to the maintenance, cleaning and inspection of piping systems.

In this research, the possibility of using Ca(OH)2 in the form of commercial hydrated lime as a catalyst for the methanolysis of refined rapeseed oil was evaluated. Characterization of unused catalyst was performed by SEM-EDS, laser diffraction, XRF, BET, XRD and TG/DTG methods, and vegetable oil was analyzed for physicochemical characteristics. Within methanolysis, the effects of catalyst loading, reaction temperature and reaction time on methyl ester yield, density and viscosity of biodiesel, as well as the possibility of catalyst reuse were investigated. The obtained results showed that hydrated lime is an efficient catalyst for transesterification of vegetable oil, whereby the use of 3 wt% of catalyst relative to oil weight, at temperature 60℃ and mixing rate 1000 rpm after 120 min of transesterification reaction achieved a yield of methyl esters 98.76%. With three reuses of hydrated lime, without intermediate washing and regeneration procedures, the yield of rapeseed oil methyl ester remained above 90%.

The reduction in the fresh water supply and increase in the domestic effluents with increase in population and urbanization in the Pakistan force the farmers to use untreated sewage water for the irrigation purposes. Besides high nutrient content Sewage water also have source of metal contamination in the food chain. The present field study was conducted to compare the nickel (Ni), copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) contamination in vegetables grown on soils irrigated with sewage water and canal water in Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan. The Ni, Cu and Pb contamination was assessed using soil quality indices i.e., contamination factor (CF), metal translocation factor (MTF), pollution load index (PLI), geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and ecological risk index (ERI) were calculated in the collected samples. The physico-chemical properties of soil and water samples were determined. Based on the results, it was revealed that sewage irrigated areas were at higher risks of metals contamination compared to canal irrigated areas. From the studied metals, Pb showed highest contamination potential based on the soil quality indices. In sewage irrigated sites, metal concentrations were found higher in edible parts of the vegetables confirming that sewage water contains and supply more metals than canal irrigated water and pose more health and ecological risks.

Deskriptori ZOONOZE – epidemiologija, prijenos; SALMONELOZE – epidemiologija; BRUCELOZA – epidemiologija; LEPTOSPIROZA – epidemiologija; Q GROZNICA – epidemiologija; HEMORAGIJSKA GROZNICA S BUBREŽNIM SINDROMOM – epidemiologija; BOSNA I HERCEGOVINA – epidemiologija SAŽETAK. Cilj istraživanja. Ciljevi istraživanja bili su: ukazati na značaj zoonoza u ljudi te istražiti koje se zoonoze u ljudi najčešće javljaju u Zeničko-dobojskoj županiji (ZDŽ) i Federaciji Bosne i Hercegovine (FBiH), tijekom desetogodišnjeg razdoblja (2010. – 2019. godine). Materijal i metode. U svrhu istraživanja korišteni su podatci o osam najučestalih zoonoza (salmoneloze, bruceloza, leptospiroza, Q-groznica, hemoragijska groznica s renalnim sindromom, borelioza, ehinokokoza, listerioza), temeljem prijava Instituta za zdravlje i sigurnost hrane Zenica i Federalnog zavoda za javno zdravstvo. Dijagnoze su postavljene klinički, mikrobiološki i/ili epidemiološki. Rezultati. Tijekom desetogodišnjeg razdoblja u ZDŽ prijavljena je 871 zoonoza. Najviše (191/871; 21,9%) prijavljenih bilo je 2019. godine. Najučestalija zoonoza bila je salmoneloza (343/871; 39,4%; 95,3/100.000 stanovnika), a zatim slijedi bruceloza (323/871; 37,1%; 87,7/100.000). Najčešća zoonoza u FBiH je salmoneloza (2.764/5.219; 53%; 125,6/100.000). Na drugom mjestu je bruceloza (1.505/5.219; 28,8%; 68,4/100.000). Leptospiroza (386/5.219; 7,4%; 17,5/100.000), Q-groznica (203/5.219; 3,9%; 9,2/100.000) i hemoragijska groznica s renalnim sindromom (164/5.219; 3,1%; 7,5/100.000) javljaju se povremeno, u vidu manjih ili većih epidemija. Ostale zoonoze javljaju se sporadično. Zaključak. Zoonoze su od posebnoga javnozdravstvenog značaja i zahtijevaju blisku interdisciplinarnu suradnju različitih profila stručnjaka (iz područja medicine, veterine, šumarstva, biologije, zoologije, ekologije), poduzimanje učinkovitih mjera u nadzoru i suzbijanju te proučavanju i znanstvenom istraživanju tih bolesti.

ABSTRACT This article sheds light on the status of migrants and asylum seekers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the state response to the growing challenges in the area of acceptance and protection, following the transformation of the Balkan Migration Route. This shift has caught state-level governmental institutions and local communities unprepared, with high numbers of migrants and refugees stranded upon its territory. A special focus was paid to the Bihać and Velika Kladuša municipalities in Una-Sana Canton, in the northwest of the country, and the ways in which they responded to this situation, in particular the ‘archipelago’ of official and makeshift camps that play a fundamental role in managing migration flows. In order to gain an insight into the problem being analyzed, the methodology applied was primarily based on participant observation and interviews, together with desk research of existing reports and media coverage in different stages of the crisis. The evidence suggests that the unique political infrastructure created after the 1990s has given rise to myriad institutional weaknesses and insufficient coordination between state-level and local authorities in the efforts to prevent a humanitarian emergency.

Aims: Nutrient artery is the principal source of nutrition to the long bones. The topography of nutrient foramina on long bones is well known, but it has not yet been established whether the number of nutritive foramina (NF) is related to total bone length. The objective of the present study was to study the correlation of total number of nutrient foramina and long bone length of upper and lower limb to provide detailed data on such features. Study Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive study Place and Duration of Study: Department of anatomy, Medical Faculty University of Sarajevo. Study duration was 3 months. Methodology: In the present study, 300 adult human long bones of the upper (50 humeri, 50 radii, 50 ulnae) and lower (50 femora, 50 tibiae, 50 fibulae) limbs were investigated to determine the number of their nutrient foramina. The nutrient foramina were identified analysed macroscopically and total number of nutrient foramina for each bone was recorded. Total length of each bone within a group was recorded. Statistical analysis was performed to determine correlation between total bone length and number of nutrient foramina, by using SPSS version 17.0 for Windows. Results: A statistically significant negative correlations between the left humerus length and the number of NF was found. A positive correlations between the length of the right radius and the number of NF, the left ulna length and the number of NF, the right ulna length and the number of NF were found. A negative correlations between the length of the left radius and the number of NF and between right humerus length and number of NF were found. A positive correlation between the length of the right and left femur and the number of NF were found. A negative correlation between the length of left tibia and the number of NF was found, as well as negative correlation between the length of right and left fibula and number of NF. Conclusion: Total bone length is not related to the number of nutrient foramina. The number of nutrient foramina does not depend on the total length of the bone, which is important when assessing the success of grafts for transplantation on long bones in taller people.

The genus Artemisia (fam. Asteraceae) is one of the largest and widely distributed with around 500 species, majority used as aromatic and medicinal plants. Artemisia annua L. is widely used as a dietary spice, herbal tea, as a supplement, and in a non-pharmaceutical form for treatment of malaria and fever. It is orally consumed as capsules, extracts and tinctures and topically applied as an essential oil diluted in lotions and ointments. Artemisinin is the main constituent of Artemisia annua L. extracts. Since the discovery that the artemisinin is efficient in malaria treatment, there is also a growth in consumption of A. annua extracts for antitumour and even recently for antiviral treatments against SARS-CoV-2 infections. This study aimed to investigate genotoxic effect in peripheral blood culture and cytotoxic effects in cancer and normal cell lines, of commercially available A. annua L. tincture in series of dilutions. Both comet and neutral red uptake assays revealed dose-dependent genotoxicity and cytotoxicity of A. annua tincture dilutions. Comet assay revealed significantly increased DNA damage in peripheral blood cells while neutral-red assays showed increase in cytotoxicity (p<0.001) in both normal and cancer cell cultures treated with the lowest extract dilution compared to the highest one applied. Obtained results indicate caution needed in A. annua L. tincture use, especially when poorly diluted.

CAT gene encodes catalase, a key antioxidant enzyme in the body against oxidative stress. This enzyme plays an important role in the molecular mechanisms of inflammation, apoptosis, mutagenesis and tumorigenesis. Anti-oxidant L-carnitine is used in food supplementation, medical co-treatment and bodyweight regulation. We aimed to investigate molecular basis of L-carnitine commercial preparations supplementation in reducing oxidative stress with customized CAT gene assay in vitro. Human lymphocytes cell culture was established using standard procedure and treated with range of concentrations of L-carnitine in two preparations. We tested two preparations: 500 mg tablets of L-carnitine and liquid L-carnitine with vitamin B6. L-carnitine significantly reduced the expression of CAT gene in cultured lymphocytes at concentrations of 50 μmol/l and 250 μmol/l compared to negative control, (p = 0,001; p = 0,001; respectively). The L-carnitine liquid supplement with vitamin B6 also reduced the transcription of CAT gene at concentrations of 50 μmol/l and 250 μmol/l as compared to the negative control (p = 0,018; p = 0,006; respectively). Selected L-carnitine preparations modulated the transcriptional activity of the antioxidant enzyme gene in human lymphocyte culture, indicating its possible effects in inhibition of pro-inflammatory processes that involve catalase activity.