Single-beam echo sounders have gained popularity for various applications due to their compact dimensions, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness. The question that often arises among the users is whether these devices can fulfill the necessary accuracy requirements. This paper concentrates on assessing the accuracy that can be achieved using a single-beam echo sounder. An accuracy assessment was performed by comparing the depths derived from the 3D model created from the single-beam echo sounder data to those obtained through more accurate and independent method (tacheometric surveying) in the test area. Accurate depth determination was achieved through trigonometric leveling, employing a specific methodology that allows for precise depth measurements up to 4.5 meters. The assessment results were compared to the vertical accuracy requirements for surveying and mapping in shallow waters, recommended by the International Hydrographic Organization. The results indicate that, with a 95% probability, the depths determined by the single-beam echo sounder meet the total vertical uncertainty (TVU) requirements specified by the S-44 standard for Order 1a survey.

Long-term use of topical prostaglandins might initiate chronic conjunctival inflammation, leading to poor outcomes of glaucoma surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immunoexpression pattern of HSP70, CTGF, SNAIL, aSMA, cMYB, and HIFa in the conjunctiva, episclera, and deep sclera in patients with glaucoma undergoing deep sclerectomy in order to establish an association between staining intensities and prostaglandin F2 (PGF2) treatment. Double immunofluorescence (HSP70, CTGF, SNAIL, aSMA, cMYB, and HIFa) was performed on conjunctiva, episclera, and deep sclera samples, which were obtained from 23 patients treated with PGF2 and 8 patients without PGF2 treatment. When comparing the ocular tissues of patients regarding treatment with PGF2 analogs, we found a significant increase in the immunoexpression of HSP70 in the conjunctival epithelium of patients treated with PGF2 analogs compared to those without PGF2 treatment. These patients also had an increase in SNAIL immunoexpression and a decrease in aSMA immunoexpression in the deep sclera. There were no significant differences in HIFa, CTGF, or cMYB immunoexpression levels between the two groups. Further research into the regulation of these factors in ocular tissues could lead to the development of potential novel therapeutic approaches in glaucoma management.

Background: The aim of this research is to investigate the associations between physical activity and mental health parameters (depression, anxiety, and stress) among women who have recovered from COVID-19; Methods: This research involved two measurements: the initial test, conducted 2-to-4 weeks post-COVID infection, and the final test, performed 14-to-16 weeks after the virus’s activity. The sample consisted of women (n = 190) aged 20 to 60 (47.60 ± 11.1, 47.60 ± 11.1, mean ± Std.Dev.) who were infected with COVID-19. To assess the level of physical activity, a longer version of the IPAQ questionnaire was used. Self-assessment of mental health was determined by a longer version of the DASS questionnaire; Results: The t-test analysis revealed significant differences in mental health and physical activity levels between the initial and final measurements. After three months, subjects showed lower mental health scores (indicating improvement) and higher Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) values across all physical activity domains, with moderate physical activity showing the greatest increase. The regression analysis showed that at the initial measurement, there was no statistically significant association of physical activity with mental health parameters. Three months after the initial measurement, regression analysis showed that there was a statistically significant association of physical activity with anxiety (F = 3.97; p = 0.000) and depression (F = 3.34; p = 0.001) but not with stress (F = 1.67; p = 0.106); Conclusions: This research revealed that higher levels of physical activity improved mental health in post-COVID-19 women, with varying effects on anxiety and depression depending on the activity domain.

Abstract We consider finite portions of the regular hexagonal lattice and count the ways of dividing narrow strips of such a lattice into a given number of parts. We prove that such divisions are enumerated by the odd-indexed Fibonacci numbers, thus providing a new combinatorial interpretation of that sequence. We offer three different proofs of this result. Consequently, we obtain a new combinatorial proof of a well-known Fibonacci-related identity. At the end of the paper, we interpret our results in the context of graph compositions and indicate some possible directions for further research.

Electrochemical energy storage and conversion technologies, which include fuel cells, electrolyzers, batteries, photoelectrochemical devices are at the forefront of the transition to a sustainable future. Although they have all been in use for more than half a century, they are far from reaching their full potential as defined by the laws of thermodynamics. Their performance rests almost entirely on the electrochemical interface - the boundary between the electronic conductor (electrode) and the ionic conductor (electrolyte). The desire of both phases to reduce the surface energy as well as the appearance of electrochemical potential across the interface can manifest itself as the formation of unique (near)surface atom arrangements (e.g. surface relaxation or reconstruction), as significant differences in electrode composition close to the surface (e.g. segregation profile), via substrate-adsorbate covalent and non-covalent interactions, via formation of a passive film as well as ordering of solvent and/or electrolyte molecules several nm away from the surface. This extremely complex and sensitive "interfacial bridge", is a consequence of inherent incompatibility of two materials, brought into contact, and is very hard to control. However, to control it means to control the energy efficiency, power density, durability and safety – the most important metrics of any energy conversion and storage device. In this presentation we will discuss, how the chemical nature of non-covalently and covalently [1,2] adsorbed species as well as thicker passive films and their morphology at the electrochemical interface affect the individual terms of the common rate equation [1], including the free energy of adsorbed intermediates and adsorbed spectators, mass transport, availability of active sites and electronic and ionic resistivity for common electrocatalytic reactions in acid and alkaline aqueous as well as in non-aqueous media on a plethora of metal electrodes (Pt, Ir, Au, Ni, Cu) as well as carbon. We will draw parallels between HER, OER, HOR and ORR in electrolyzers [1], fuel cells [2] and Li-ion batteries [3,4]. The interphase properties will be discussed through the lens of deviations of modified electrode properties from its intrinsic properties. Examples of artificially modified interfaces [5,6] will be given to demonstrate our ability to tailor their activity, stability and selectivity to our liking. [1] Strmcnik, D. Lopes, P.P., Genorio, B., et al. Design principles for hydrogen evolution reaction catalyst materials, Nano Energy, 29, 29-36 (2016) [2] Strmcnik, D., Uchimura, M., Wang, C. et al. Improving the hydrogen oxidation reaction rate by promotion of hydroxyl adsorption. Nature Chem 5, 300–306 (2013) [3] Strmcnik, D., Castelli, I.E., Connell, J.G. et al. Electrocatalytic transformation of HF impurity to H2 and LiF in lithium-ion batteries. Nat Catal 1, 255–262 (2018) [4] Martins, M., Haering, D., Connell, J.G., et al. Role of Catalytic Conversions of Ethylene Carbonate, Water, and HF in Forming the Solid-Electrolyte Interphase of Li-Ion BatteriesACS Catalysis 13, 9289-9301 (2023) [5] Zorko, M. Martins, P.F.B.D., Connell, J.G. et al. Improved Rate for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction in a Sulfuric Acid Electrolyte using a Pt(111) Surface Modified with Melamine, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 13, 3369-3376 (2021) [6] Strmcnik, D., Escudero-Escribano, M., Kodama, K. et al. Enhanced electrocatalysis of the oxygen reduction reaction based on patterning of platinum surfaces with cyanide. Nature Chem 2, 880–885 (2010)

Traditional design strategies for catalytic materials for HER rely on the volcano plot paradigm, where the metal-Had bond energy is used as a single activity-descriptor. However, the use of metal-Had energetics alone completely fails to predict the behavior of HER in alkaline electrolytes. We have persistently drawn attention to the importance of kinetic synergy (bifunctional nature) of the HER in alkaline electrolytes, where both the beneficial OHad–M and Had–M energetics are necessary for achieving a highly effective catalyst [1-4]. This is especially evident on metal surfaces, decorated with small clusters of Ni(OH)2, where an order of magnitude increase in catalytic activity for the HER can most often be achieved [5]. Furthermore, we have stressed the importance of spectator species in any satisfactory description of most common electrocatalytic reactions, with HER being no exception [6,7]. Nonetheless, both topics are still a subject of many academic discussions up to this day. In this presentation, we will focus on the electrochemical behavior of Ni in alkaline electrolyte. We argue that the experimentally obtained “intrinsic” HER activity values reported in the available literature are misleading possibly due to two main challenges: i) Ni has very complex surface chemistry (because of the metal-hydride formation during the HER and/or the partial coverage by various (hydr)oxide species, even in the HER potential region), and ii) analysis of the material intrinsic properties has most often not been conducted on well-defined systems. By overcoming these two challenges, we will show the role of the individual Ni surface species in the kinetics of the HER, identify the active sites involved in the reaction, and present strategies for controlling and manipulating the electrochemical interface to enhance the efficiency of Ni-based material for HER. Finally, we again highlight the importance of 2 major factors controlling the rate of HER in alkaline solutions on Ni-based catalysts: the availability of active sites on Ni electrode surface [the 1−Θad term] and the energetics of the activated water complex [the ΔG0# (H2O) term]. Through meticulous experimental design, we were able to isolate and examine these variables, revealing their distinct influence on reaction kinetics. We will discuss our findings in the broader context of the volcano plot for HER. References: [1] Stamenkovic, V.R., Strmcnik, D., Lopes, P.P. and Markovic, N.M., Nature Materials, 16 (2017) [2] Subbaraman, R., Tripkovic, D., Strmcnik, D., Chang, K.C., Uchimura, M., Paulikas, A.P., Stamenkovic, V.R., Markovic, N.M., Science, 334 (2011) [3] Subbaraman, R., Tripkovic, D., Chang, K.C., Strmcnik, D., Paulikas, A.P., Hirunsit, P., Chan, M., Greeley, J., Stamenkovic, V.R., Markovic, N.M., Nature Materials, 11 (2012) [4] Strmcnik, D., Lopes, P. P., Genorio, B., Stamenkovic, V. R. & Markovic, N. M., Nano Energy, 29 (2016) [5] Danilovic, N., Subbaraman, R., Strmcnik, D., Chang, K.C., Paulikas, A.P., Stamenkovic, V.R., Markovic, N.M., Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 124 (2012) [6] Stamenkovic, V.R., Fowler, B., Mun, B.S., Wang, G., Ross, P.N., Lucas, C.A., Markovic, N.M., Science, 315 (2007) [7] Strmcnik, D., Uchimura, M., Wang, C., Subbaraman, R., Danilovic, N., Van Der Vliet, D., Paulikas, A.P., Stamenkovic, V.R. and Markovic, N.M., 2013, Nature Chemistry, 5 (2013)

Time‐series classification is a relevant step supporting decision‐making processes in various domains, and deep neural models have shown promising performance in this respect. Despite significant advancements in deep learning, the theoretical understanding of how and why complex architectures function remains limited, prompting the need for more interpretable models. Recently, the Kolmogorov–Arnold Networks (KANs) have been proposed as a more interpretable alternative to deep learning. While KAN‐related research is significantly rising, to date, the study of KAN architectures for time‐series classification has been limited. In this paper, we aim to conduct a comprehensive and robust exploration of the KAN architecture for time‐series classification utilizing 117 datasets from UCR benchmark archive, from multiple different domains. More specifically, we investigate (a) the transferability of reference architectures designed for regression to classification tasks, (b) the hyperparameter and implementation configurations for an architecture that best generalizes across 117 datasets, (c) the associated complexity trade‐offs, and (d) KANs interpretability. Our results demonstrate that (1) the Efficient KAN outperforms MLPs in both performance and training times, showcasing its suitability for classification tasks. (2) Efficient KAN exhibits greater stability than the original KAN across grid sizes, depths, and layer configurations, especially when lower learning rates are employed. (3) KAN achieves competitive accuracy compared to state‐of‐the‐art models such as HIVE‐COTE2 and InceptionTime, while maintaining smaller architectures and faster training times, highlighting its favorable balance of performance and transparency. (4) The interpretability of the KAN model, as confirmed by SHAP analysis, reinforces its capacity for transparent decision‐making.

Hearing impairment alters the sound input received by the human auditory system, reducing speech comprehension in noisy multi-talker auditory scenes. Despite such difficulties, neural signals were shown to encode the attended speech envelope more reliably than the envelope of ignored sounds, reflecting the intention of listeners with hearing impairment (HI). This result raises an important question: What speech-processing stage could reflect the difficulty in attentional selection, if not envelope tracking? Here, we use scalp electroencephalography (EEG) to test the hypothesis that the neural encoding of phonological information (i.e., phonetic boundaries and phonological categories) is affected by HI. In a cocktail-party scenario, such phonological difficulty might be reflected in an overrepresentation of phonological information for both attended and ignored speech sounds, with detrimental effects on the ability to effectively focus on the speaker of interest. To investigate this question, we carried out a re-analysis of an existing dataset where EEG signals were recorded as participants with HI, fitted with hearing aids, attended to one speaker (target) while ignoring a competing speaker (masker) and spatialised multi-talker background noise. Multivariate temporal response function (TRF) analyses indicated a stronger phonological information encoding for target than masker speech streams. Follow-up analyses aimed at disentangling the encoding of phonological categories and phonetic boundaries (phoneme onsets) revealed that neural signals encoded the phoneme onsets for both target and masker streams, in contrast with previously published findings with normal hearing (NH) participants and in line with our hypothesis that speech comprehension difficulties emerge due to a robust phonological encoding of both target and masker. Finally, the neural encoding of phoneme-onsets was stronger for the masker speech, pointing to a possible neural basis for the higher distractibility experienced by individuals with HI.

BACKGROUND The development and progression of prostate cancer are multistep processes involving several growth factors, hormones, and cytokines. This study aimed to measure the serum concentrations of different cytokines and determine their correlation with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and disease grade in patients with prostate adenocarcinoma. MATERIAL AND METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2023 to March 2024 at the Clinic of Oncology of the University Hospital Center in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Altogether, 50 male patients with prostate adenocarcinoma were included, of whom 28 had no proven metastases (PC group) and 22 had metastatic disease (MPC group). Serum concentrations of total (tPSA), free (fPSA), and complexed (cPSA) PSA were determined using a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay, whereas serum concentrations of cytokines were measured using a flow cytometry bead-based assay. RESULTS The MPC group had higher serum tPSA, fPSA, and cPSA levels than the PC group. The PC group had significantly higher serum levels of monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1 than the MPC group (P=0.008). In the PC group, serum levels of interleukin (IL)-10 significantly correlated with cPSA. In the MPC group, serum concentrations of IL-1ß, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, and IL-23 significantly correlated with disease grade. CONCLUSIONS Our study emphasizes the importance of MCP-1 in the development of prostate cancer, while IL-10 was the only cytokine whose serum level significantly correlated with cPSA. Serum concentrations of IL-1ß, TNF-alpha, and IL-23 may serve as potential biomarkers for disease grade.

The paper explains the phenomenon of creativity through various implicit and explicit definitions and three theories of education through the most important characteristics of the theories and their most significant representatives. With the aim of better familiarization with the concept of creativity, the „position" of creativity in the critical-rationalist empirical, critical and spiritual theory of education is explained, and the understanding of creativity through the areas of the aforementioned theories of education is presented. The paper presents the relationship between pedagogy and creativity and highlights the importance of creativity in the field of teaching work. The need for creativity in educational work and the importance of developing creativity in that context and in the teaching of foreign languages were especially discussed. Given that educational theories talk about the empirical justification of pedagogical facts through critical-rationalist empirical theory, then about the developmental aspects of society and the way society influences scientific knowledge through critical theory and the understanding of human activity through spiritual scientific theory, it is justified to talk about the representation of creativity in the areas of activity of all three educational theories.

The plant kingdom is a crucial component of human nutrition and, consequently, the foundation of human sustenance. Humans have long recognized that specific plant-based foods provide essential substances that contribute to health, leading to the discovery of their medicinal properties. As a result of such chemical investigations, there has been an effort to synthetically produce the same or similar compounds that could replace natural products from the plant world in medical treatment and health maintenance. Consequently, modern medicine has increasingly relied on synthetic drugs, often overlooking the therapeutic value of many plants. However, despite this neglect, there is a growing movement to reintegrate effective natural plant compounds into the treatment of various diseases, as synthetic chemical compounds cannot fully substitute for plant-derived medications. The objective of this study was to collect and identify medicinal plant species in the Konjuh Mountain area across seven locations with varying geoecological characteristics. Field research was conducted in three municipalities within the Tuzla Canton (Kladanj, Živinice, and Banovići), covering seven sites, each measuring 3,000 m², with altitudes ranging from 560 to 1,100 m. During the investigation, 109 medicinal plant species were identified, including endangered and endemic varieties. Additionally, a survey was conducted among the local population of Konjuh Mountain regarding their knowledge, recognition, and collection of medicinal herbs. Results from the survey, which involved 50 participants of various ages, indicate that alternative medicine holds a significant role in treatment approaches and is viewed as a more accessible method of healing.

Worldwide, women face a disproportionately heavy health burden than their male counterparts. Yet there is a chronic lack of research attention and investment in women's health, which may explain the absence of women-inclusive, let alone women-centred, understanding of the causes, consequences, and confounding factors that shape individuals' health and quality of life. In this manuscript, by analysing the U.S. National Health Expenditure data, we show how ingrained the issue of poor investment in women's health even in the 0-18 years age group in terms of per capita health expenditure. We hope this manuscript sheds light on how early-life poor health investment in women's health might be a potential cause for women's poor health in adulthood, and in turn, underscores the importance of investing resources into better understanding and improving women's health.

Food–drug interactions (FDIs) are pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic changes in drug effects caused by the presence of specific foods. To identify and prevent FDIs, pharmacists, alongside other healthcare professionals, should possess a certain level of knowledge. This study aimed to assess knowledge of FDIs among Croatian pharmacists. A total of 206 participants were included in this cross-sectional study. The median knowledge score among Croatian pharmacists was 69.44%, with an interquartile range of 19.44. Croatian pharmacists most commonly recognized FDIs involving theophylline, warfarin, and tetracycline, while the lowest rate of correct answers was observed with digoxin interactions. Future studies should evaluate pharmacists’ clinical practice concerning FDIs. Additionally, more research is needed to develop educational programs on this topic, either at the university level or for continuing education.

Background: Abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture remains a major challenge and is one of the most urgent conditions in medicine. The prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysm is between 4.0%- 8.0% in studies related mainly to men. That is why we perform study to determine the frequency of ruptures in previously unrecognized abdominal aortic aneurysms in the total sample.Material and Methods: The study was designed involving patients of the Clinic for Cardiovascular Surgery at the Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo, who underwent surgery for rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm.Results: Of the total of 71 patients admitted due to a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm, in 59 the abdominal aortic aneurysm had not been recognized, that is, 83.1%. The most common rupture position was on the left retroperitoneally, in 45 or 63.4% of cases, then on the right retroperitoneally in 16 or 22.5%. The rarest site was intraperitoneal in 10 or 14.1%. The average size of AAA in the total sample (N=71) was 8.2±1.8 cm.Conclusions: In most patients the abdominal aortic aneurysm had not been previously recognized. In the largest number of patients the position of the rupture was on the left retroperitoneally. Most patients who died had an intraperitoneal rupture.