Biodegradable porous silicon (pSi) particles are under development for drug delivery applications. The optimum particle size very much depends on medical use, and microparticles can outperform nanoparticles in specific instances. Here we demonstrate the ability of sedimentation to size-select ultrasmall (1–10 μm) nanoporous microparticles in common solvents. Size tunability is quantified for 1–24 h of sedimentation. Experimental values of settling times in ethanol and water are compared to those calculated using Stokes’ Law. Differences can arise due to particle agglomeration, internal gas generation and incomplete wetting. Air-dried and supercritically-dried pSi powders are shown to have, for example, their median diameter d (0.5) particle sizes reduced from 13 to 1 μm and from 20 to 3 μm, using sedimentation times of 6 and 2 h respectively. Such filtered microparticles also have much narrower size distributions and are hence suitable for administration in 27 gauge microneedles, commonly used in intravitreal drug delivery.

The use of renewable energy sources increases the energy self-sustainability of cities, enabling citizens to reduce energy costs, which results in an increase in their standard of living. However, solar energy penetration in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and its capital Sarajevo, is not in line with the possibilities. Furthermore, the Sarajevo Canton is extremely polluted during the winter months because of the use of unacceptable heating fuel. The aim of this paper is to introduce photovoltaic power systems use in heating electrification system. In this paper AQI is calculated based on historical data and the hybrid model EMD-SARIMA for air pollution and a solar production forecast is presented. The methodology was tested in the Sarajevo Canton, taking into account 35,000 households. In order to ensure clean air, renewable electric energy use for household heating should be implemented. The widespread use of inefficient individual heating systems characterized by inefficient and expensive use of firewood and the use of coal in individual furnaces in populated areas are the main problems of internal and urban air pollution in Sarajevo Canton. In order to reduce energy poverty in Sarajevo Canton, the use of a floating photovoltaic power plant located on Lake Jablanica with a capacity of 30 MW and the solar prosumers with capacity of 115 MW to provide the 196 GWh necessary for heating electrification of 35,000 households is implemented in this paper. Finally, based on correlation between AQI forecast and solar production it was calculated that the values of the AQI, considering the application of solar energy during 150 days (five months) in one heating season, have significantly decreased. Also renewable energy sources have a very important role in reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere and reducing urban pollution. With this approach, households would be heated by renewable electricity, which would make Sarajevo a cleaner, smarter city.

Aim of study was to assess the visual acuity (VA) before and after correction with soft and rigid gas permeable contact lenses (CLs) in healthy subjects, as well as their visual perfomance, including contrast sensitivity function (CSF), and twilight vision (TV). 60 eyes corrected with soft contact lenses (SCLs) and 38 eyes with rigid gas permeable contact lenses (RGPCLs) were enrolled in this prospective study. The following measurements were obtained: best spectacle–corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), best contact lens-corrected visual acuity (BCLCVA), TV, and CSF. Parameters were evaluated before and after CLs fitting and 2 months after the baseline. Exclusion criteria included anterior and posterior segment pathology, amblyopia, prior CLs wear, and ocular surgery. When analyzing TV, results showed superiority of CLs to the spectacle correction, with no statistical difference regarding the CL type. As for the CSF, RGPCLs were superior to both SCLs and spectacle correction. Visual performance was better in group fitted with RGPCLs oppose to SCLs group. CL wear improved visual performance compared to spectacles. This is the first prospective study to simultaneously investigate changes in VA, CS, and TV in SCL and RGCL wear, suggesting RGPCLs as the correction of choice for achieving optimal visual performance.

In this paper, transcultural nursing is reviewed in light of bioethical issues arising from the interpretation of mental illness in some Western Sub-Saharan African communities. Four field studies were carried out by the authors of this paper in Sub-Saharan Africa (from 2016 to 2019), during which the traditional “treatment” of enchaining people considered “crazy” by local cultures was explored. These inhuman practices raise the attention of bioethics, which investigate ways to overcome this traditional practice not violating the cultural identity of the peoples who practice it. The model of Gregoire Ahongbonon and of his Association, “Saint Camille de Lellis”, is reported as an example of negotiation between the respect for traditions and the guarantee of human rights. The care practice in force in the Saint Camille is related to transcultural nursing as an adequate form of treatment and strategy for restoring patients’ dignity and rights.

Two-dimensional 1H transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) provide a platform, analogous to group IV cubic semiconductor alloys (${\mathrm{Si}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\mathrm{Ge}$), that enables systematic investigations on the effects of alloying in 2D material systems. The existing literature on TMD alloys explores their electrical, magnetic, and optical properties, but lacks a comprehensive analysis of thermal transport in supported and nanostructured systems. Here we employ first-principles-driven phonon Boltzmann transport formalism and a 2D-3D thermal boundary conductance model to systematically study in-plane and cross-plane phonon transport of suspended and ${\mathrm{SiO}}_{2}$ supported single-layer TMD alloys. We find that the thermal conductivity of alloyed TMDs is dependent on system size up to tens of microns and that the combination of mass-difference and substrate scattering can significantly reduce thermal transport even in large systems ($g500$ nm). Beyond in-plane transport, we find that the thermal boundary conductance displays a qualitatively different trend and significantly weaker modulation with alloy composition as compared to the thermal conductivity. Our results help shed light on the in-plane and cross-plane thermal transport properties of 2D single-layer TMD alloys and further their applications in nanoelectronics, sensing, and energy devices.

We present and thoroughly characterize a large collection of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones as A2BAR antagonists, an emerging strategy in cancer (immuno) therapy. Most compounds selectively bind A2BAR, with a number of potent and selective antagonists further confirmed by functional cyclic adenosine monophosphate experiments. The series was analyzed with one of the most exhaustive free energy perturbation studies on a GPCR, obtaining an accurate model of the structure-activity relationship of this chemotype. The stereospecific binding modeled for this scaffold was confirmed by resolving the two most potent ligands [(±)-47, and (±)-38 Ki = 10.20 and 23.6 nM, respectively] into their two enantiomers, isolating the affinity on the corresponding (S)-eutomers (Ki = 6.30 and 11.10 nM, respectively). The assessment of the effect in representative cytochromes (CYP3A4 and CYP2D6) demonstrated insignificant inhibitory activity, while in vitro experiments in three prostate cancer cells demonstrated that this pair of compounds exhibits a pronounced antimetastatic effect.

In this study, the efficacy of different extraction techniques (maceration, ultrasound-assisted and Soxhlet extraction) on the content of biologically active components in extracts from fresh and dried nettle leaves, and their antioxidant activity were analyzed. Methanol was used as the solvent. Total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu, DPPH and FRAP methods, respectively. High content of total phenolic compounds and high antioxidant activity were recorded in extracts of dried nettle. Extracts obtained from fresh nettle samples showed significantly lower content of analyzed bioactive components and lower antioxidant activity. In the case of all extracts, Soxhlet extraction proved to be the most efficient, and maceration the least efficient extraction technique for isolation of bioactive components from nettle leaves.

Purpose Radiological assessment of primary brain neoplasms, both high (HGG) and low grade tumors (LGG), based on contrast-enhancement alone can be inaccurate. We evaluated the radiological value of amide proton transfer weighted (APTw) MRI as an imaging complement for pre-surgical radiological diagnosis of brain tumors. Methods Twenty-six patients were evaluated prospectively; (22 males, 4 females, mean age 55 years, range 26–76 years) underwent MRI at 3T using T1-MPRAGE pre- and post-contrast administration, conventional T2w, FLAIR, and APTw imaging pre-surgically for suspected primary/secondary brain tumor. Assessment of the additional value of APTw imaging compared to conventional MRI for correct pre-surgical brain tumor diagnosis. The initial radiological pre-operative diagnosis was based on the conventional contrast-enhanced MR images. The range, minimum, maximum, and mean APTw signals were evaluated. Conventional normality testing was performed; with boxplots/outliers/skewness/kurtosis and a Shapiro–Wilk’s test. Mann-Whitney U for analysis of significance for mean/max/min and range APTw signal. A logistic regression model was constructed for mean, max, range and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves calculated for individual and combined APTw signals Results Conventional radiological diagnosis prior to surgery/biopsy was HGG (8 patients), LGG (12 patients), and metastasis (6 patients). Using the mean and maximum: APTw signal would have changed the pre-operative evaluation the diagnosis in 8 of 22 patients (two LGGs excluded, two METs excluded). Using a cut off value of >2.0% for mean APTw signal integral, 4 of the 12 radiologically suspected LGG would have been diagnosed as high grade glioma, which was confirmed by histopathological diagnosis. APTw mean of >2.0% and max >2.48% outperformed four separate clinical radiological assessments of tumor type, P-values = .004 and = .002, respectively. Conclusions Using APTw-images as part of the daily clinical pre-operative radiological evaluation may improve diagnostic precision in differentiating LGGs from HGGs, with potential improvement of patient management and treatment.

Man in ecology as a multidisciplinary scientific field is one of the key ecological factors of the environment. Viewed historically, in its existence it is constantly changing and influencing the natural environment and adapting it to its needs. Namely, considering in general, we are witnesses that today's situation on Earth is greatly disturbed from the point of view of human influence and ecology. We are also witnessing multiple changes and consequences of environmental damage that occur in the context of global environmental problems or even environmental crises. Some of the major environmental problems faced by today's man are: climate change, the emergence of the "greenhouse effect", damage to the ozone layer and the emergence of so-called. ozone "holes", pollution of environmental media such as soil, water and air, biodiversity loss, waste, uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources, radioactivity, desertification and more. Global ecological problems, i.e. their emergence, are associated with the emergence of an irrational relationship and the creation of a rift between man himself and nature. In addition to the above, their occurrence is also associated with the effects of various sources of environmental pollution. Precisely because of all the above, the paper analyzes and deals with the role of man as an ecological factor and some of the listed global environmental problems of today, taking into account the short Islamic aspect.

Obrazovno postignuće već nekoliko godina zaokuplja pažnju istraživača, što je rezultiralo velikim brojem istraživanja koja ispituju brojne faktore koji pridonose obrazovnom i akademskom postignuću učenika i studenata. Cilj rada je teorijska obrada pojmova osobina ličnosti i obrazovnog uspjeha, navođenje i analiziranje dostupnih definicija i uvid u pregled literature relevantnih autora koji su sa svojim radovima doprinijeli razumijevanju povezanosti i predikcije osobina ličnosti s obrazovnim, odnosno, akademskim uspjehom. U ovom preglednom radu iznesen je prikaz relevantnih naučnih radova, prikaz o mogućnostima objašnjavanja obrazovnog uspjeha učenika osnovne, srednje škole i akademskog uspjeha studenata na temelju različitih osobina ličnosti. Prikazan je doprinos svake od razmatrane osobine ličnosti u objašnjenju akademskog uspjeha. Prikazana dosadašnja istraživanja u ovom radu dala su određene podatke koji govore u prilog pozitivne povezanosti i predikcije osobina ličnosti Petofaktorskog modela ličnosti i akademskog uspjeha.

In this paper, we explore the dynamics of a certain class of Beddington host-parasitoid models, where in each generation a constant portion of hosts is safe from attack by parasitoids, and the Ricker equation governs the host population. Using the intrinsic growth rate of the host population that is not safe from parasitoids as a bifurcation parameter, we prove that the system can either undergo a period-doubling or a Neimark–Sacker bifurcation when the unique interior steady state loses its stability. Then, we apply the new theory to the following well-known cases: May’s model, [Formula: see text]-model, Hassel and Varley (HV)-model, parasitoid-parasitoid (PP) model and [Formula: see text] model. We use numerical simulations to confirm our theoretical results.

Introduction: Burn, depending on the degree of severity and depth, induces significant pathophysiological  response of the body. Our study is the  prospective study  for  assessment of  T lymphocyte  immunological changes in patients with burns, with different degrees of  %TBSA  and depth of burns. Research objectives : Objectives of this study were to assess %CD3+Ly, % CD4+Ly,  %CD8+Ly, %CD3+HLA-DR+Ly, %CD4+Ly /CD8+Ly), of burned body with different   %TBSA degrees, different depth burns and to establish predictive value of of immune suppression  these  parameters. Patients and methods: According  to %TBSA, patients were classified into three groups:  mild  burns with TBSA% 25% to 40%  (30 patients).  According to the depth of burns, patients were classified into two groups, partial-thickness burns, (39 patients), and full-thickness burns (51 patients). We followed laboratory  parameters :  % CD3+Ly , % CD3+ CD4+Ly,  % CD3+CD8+Ly,  % CD3+HLA-DR+Ly, CD4 / CD8 (%) lymphocytes (on    day 7th and on   day 14th). Results: Percentage of CD3+ lymphocytes was significantly lower in severe  burns compared to the moderate  heavy  burns  andsignificantly lower compared to the mild  burns . Percentage of CD3+CD4+ lymphocytes was significantly lower in severe burns   compared to moderate  heavy burns   and  in relation to  mild burns  (results on day 14th );  also  are lower in moderate severe burn compared  to  mild burns. On day 14th, the% CD4 / CD8 ratio was not significantly lower in the severe burns versus the moderate  burns. On day 14th, the  % CD4 / CD8 ratio wassignificantly lower in severe burns compared to mild burns; significantly lower in moderateburns  compared  to  mild  burns. % CD3+HLA-DR + cells was significantly lower   in severe   burn and moderately  severe  burns  compared to the mild burns  on day 7th, and also on day 14th .  Full- thickness burns have significantly lower  %CD3+lymphocytes, %CD3+CD4+ lymphocytes,  %CD3+HLA-DR+ lymphocytes, ratio of % CD4/CD8 lymphocytes compared to partial-thickness burns  . Conclusions : Peripheral blood T lymphocytes are one of the key indicators of immunosuppression of patients with burns of different % TBSA and different degrees of burn depth.   Larger %TBSA and full- thickness burns injected stronger systemic immunosuppresion,   compared to smaller %TBSA and partial-thickness burns.

Yaḥyā b. Ziyād al-Farrā’ je živio krajem VIII i početkom IX stoljeća. Iako nije bio arapskog porijekla, Al-Farrā' je bio jedan od najvećih autoriteta arapskog jezika i jedan od utemeljitelja Kufanske gramatičke škole.Iza sebe je ostavio značajna djela koja su trasirala put narednim generacijama lingvista, a najznačajnija, koja su ga proslavila i sačuvala spomen na njega, jesu djela Maʻānī al-Qur’ān i Al-Ḥudūd.Specifične okolnosti i ideološka trvenja između tradicionalista i racionalista u periodu u kojem je živio ostavila su utjecaj na njega i njegove stavove u pogledu tumačenja nekih kur'anskih pitanja.