Introduction. Hemodialysis patients with chronic renal failure, suffer from affective dysfunction to a variable extent. The aim of our study was to evaluate the cognitive and affective status in patients before and after hemodialysis. Apart from this, the goal of the study was to examine and compare the cognitive status of patients on dialysis in relation to the control group, but also in relation to laboratory parameters. Material and Methods. This research was a prospective study including 30 hemodialysis patients with chronic renal failure treated at the Department of Nephrology of the Health Center in Kosovska Mitrovica. The cognitive status of the subjects was evaluated by determining the simple reaction time to auditory and visual stimuli before and after hemodialysis sessions and using the Mini Mental Status Examination, while the affective status was evaluated by using the Beck Depression Inventory. Results. The analysis of the obtained results showed a statistically significantly lower auditory and visual simple reaction times (p = 0.014) after dialysis (p = 0.023). The results have confirmed a statistically significantly decreased simple reaction time to visual stimuli (p = 0.001), while a statistical significance (p = 0.137) was not obtained for the auditory stimuli when compared to the control group. The Mini Mental Status Examination and the Beck Depression Inventory did not indicate a significant cognitive status damage or presence of depression. Conclusion. The importance of hemodialysis in the improvement of cognitive function is clearly evident, even though the general state of cognitive status in patients on hemodialysis is lower compared to the healthy population. Evaluation of the cognitive and affective status using simple reaction time, Folstein's Mini Mental State Examination and the Beck Depression Inventory, should be used on daily basis in hemodialysis patients.

The pathogenesis of obesity-related vascular disorders has not been fully elucidated. The fundamental role of inflammation in aging process is now widely recognized, particularly for atherosclerotic disease which begins before birth. The number of obese individuals worldwide has reached two billion, leading to an explosion of obesity-related vascular disorders associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Obesity, as a chronic low grade inflammatory process, is important risk factor for metabolic and cardiovascular disease. Despite a well-known genetic component, this risk appears to originate from several abnormalities in adipose tissue function associated with a chronic inflammatory state. In particular, obesity as the most common nutritional disorder in industrialized countries, is closely related to impaired endothelial function, a well-known marker of preatherosclerotic disease. These conditions disrupt vascular homeostasis by causing an imbalance between the nitric oxide pathway and the endothelin-1 system, with impaired insulin-stimulated endothelium-dependent vasodilation. Having in mind the growing population of overweight and obese people worldwide, along with an increasingly aging population, understanding the pathophysiology of obesity on cardiovascular system is essential. The mechanisms linking obesity-related vascular disorders and low grade inflammation in aging process are the focus of this paper.

Sažetak: Uvod: Jedan od najčešćih malignih tumora glave i vrata jeste karcinom larinksa. Totalna laringektomija dovodi do trajnog gubitka larinksa čime se narušavaju normalni anatomski odnosi u vratu, što izaziva poremećaj komunikacije i socijalne interakcije pacijenta. Cilj: Cilj ovog istraživanja je da se utvrdi koliki uticaj ima radioterapija na kvalitet života laringektomiranih pacijenata nakon vokalne rehabilitacije. Metod rada: U istraživanju je učestvovalo 50 pacijenata nakon totalne laringektomije. Starost ispitanika kretala se od 51 do 83 godine. Jednofaktorskom analizom varijanse (ANOVA) izvršeno je testiranje razlika između prosečnih postignuća na VHI i HNQOL skali pre i posle vokalne rehabilitacije. Ovim skalama možemo doći do informacije o stepenu govorne invalidnosti koju doživljava sam pacijent, zatim zadovoljstvom pacijenta primenjenim lečenjem ili tretmanom i uticaju koji ima vokalna rehabilitacija na kvaliteta njegovog života pre i nakon tretmana. Rezultati: U našoj studiji pacijenti koji su podvrgnuti radikalnoj hirurškoj intervenciji prijavili su bolji kvalitet života u poređenju sa pacijentima koji su bili podvrgnuti drugim kombinovanim modalitetima lečenja. Ustanovljeno je da statistički značajne razlike postoje na svim supskalama obe skale. Statistička značajnost definisana je na nivou verovatnoće nulte hipoteze od p ≤ 0,05 do p < 0,001. Zaključak: Uspešna vokalna rehabilitacija je važan faktor kvalitetnog života pacijenata nakon totalne laringektomije i predstavlja izlaz iz društvene izolacije. Ključne reči: tumori larinksa, laringektomija, vokalna rehabilitacija, kvalitet života, VHI skala, HNQOL skala

Abstract This paper presents a path planning algorithm designed for rigid, free-flying robots. The algorithm is based on recently proposed structure called bur of free C-space. The bur of free C-space was originally developed to improve the exploration of configuration spaces for articulated robots, which further enabled efficient and fast path planning. In this paper, we extend the notion of bur for configuration spaces of rigid body robots that move in 2D/3D spaces, i.e., for Lie groups SE(2) and SE(3). Such defined bur is then used within a suitable RRT-like algorithm. The numerical study shows measurable performance improvements with respect to classical path planning methods.