Objective: This comprehensive research aimed to thoroughly examine the effectiveness of a diode laser (445 nm) in combination with non-surgical treatment in patients with chronic periodontitis (CP) by evaluating a wide range of clinical and microbiological parameters. Materials and methods: Thirty-one subjects diagnosed with CP were included in this study. The total number of treated periodontal pockets was 862. The subjects were randomly assigned to group 1, which underwent scaling and root planing and laser therapy (SRP+L), and group 2, which underwent scaling and root planing (SRP) only. All respondents underwent a periodontal diagnostic protocol. The parameters plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing index (BOP), probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), and tooth mobility (TM) were registered. Clinical periodontal measurements were performed at baseline and one and three months after therapy. Microbiological analysis was conducted on Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa), Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), and Tannerella forsythia (Tf) using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). For microbiological analysis, samples were taken at baseline, immediately after therapy, and after three months. Laser irradiation was performed immediately after SRP. Results: All clinical parameters improved statistically from baseline to three months after therapy. For all examined clinical parameters, better results were achieved in group 1 than in group 2. This study showed a more significant reduction in Pg and Tf from baseline to three months in group 1 compared to group 2. Conclusion: These results showed that the diode laser wavelength 445 nm was also usable in treating periodontal diseases as an additional method to SRP.

Visual Abstract The auditory brainstem response (ABR) is a measure of subcortical activity in response to auditory stimuli. The wave V peak of the ABR depends on the stimulus intensity level, and has been widely used for clinical hearing assessment. Conventional methods estimate the ABR average electroencephalography (EEG) responses to short unnatural stimuli such as clicks. Recent work has moved toward more ecologically relevant continuous speech stimuli using linear deconvolution models called temporal response functions (TRFs). Investigating whether the TRF waveform changes with stimulus intensity is a crucial step toward the use of natural speech stimuli for hearing assessments involving subcortical responses. Here, we develop methods to estimate level-dependent subcortical TRFs using EEG data collected from 21 participants listening to continuous speech presented at 4 different intensity levels. We find that level-dependent changes can be detected in the wave V peak of the subcortical TRF for almost all participants, and are consistent with level-dependent changes in click-ABR wave V. We also investigate the most suitable peripheral auditory model to generate predictors for level-dependent subcortical TRFs and find that simple gammatone filterbanks perform the best. Additionally, around 6 min of data may be sufficient for detecting level-dependent effects and wave V peaks above the noise floor for speech segments with higher intensity. Finally, we show a proof-of-concept that level-dependent subcortical TRFs can be detected even for the inherent intensity fluctuations in natural continuous speech.

Abstract The dairy industry has been undergoing changes for years, introducing innovations and pushing the boundaries of the category and consumer experience. Numerous factors, such as economic, psychological, cultural, socio-demographic, personal and many others, influence the decision to buy and consume a certain dairy product. It is important to qualitatively research and identify factors that significantly influence consumer behavior. Consumers also set certain criteria when it comes to brand, taste, nutritional value, marketing, product origin, on the basis of which we conclude that knowing consumer preferences also means success in the market. Due to the previously stated reasons, the main goal of this paper is to determine consumer purchasing behavior towards dairy products and their preferences.The survey method was used in the research to collect primary data, and a survey questionnaire was used as a research instrument. A total of 250 respondents participated in this research, which is conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The current study applies the key components of GST to explore the relationship between stress and misconduct during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed the answers provided by a sample of 480 police officers from Bosnia and Herzegovina and discovered that the relationship between strain and willingness to engage in police misconduct during the pandemic is complex; not all types of stressors were related to all forms of police misconduct included in our study. The two strongest organizational stressors were perceptions that the police agency was ineffective in dealing with the pandemic and that there was a lack of personal protective equipment for police officers. Fear for their own personal health, fear of COVID-19, and concerns that COVID-19 is much more dangerous than the flu were significant personal stressors related to their willingness to engage in police misconduct. Police's own willingness not to wear a mask and to visit friends and family with whom they do not live decreased the perception that the community is not adhering to the COVID-19 rules and regulations. Living with a partner was also negatively associated with the respondents’ willingness to engage in misconduct.