The development of point-of-care wearable devices capable of measuring insulin concentration has the potential to significantly improve diabetes management and life quality of diabetic patients. However, the lack of a suitable point-of-care device for personal use makes regular insulin level measurements challenging, in stark contrast to glucose monitoring. Herein, we report an electrochemical transdermal biosensor that utilizes a high-density polymeric microneedle array (MNA) to detect insulin in interstitial fluid (ISF). The biosensor consists of gold-coated polymeric MNA modified with an insulin-selective aptamer, which was used for extraction and electrochemical quantification of the insulin in ISF. In vitro testing of biosensor, performed in artificial ISF (aISF), showed high selectivity for insulin with a linear response between 0.01 nM and 4 nM (sensitivity of ∼65 Ω nM-1), a range that covers both the physiological and the pathological concentration range. Furthermore, ex vivo extraction and quantification of insulin from mouse skin showed no impact on the biosensor's linear response. As a proof of concept, an MNA-based biosensing platform was utilized for the extraction and quantification of insulin on live mouse skin. In vivo application showed the ability of MNs to reach ISF, extract insulin from ISF, and perform electrochemical measurements sufficient for determining insulin levels in blood and ISF. We believe that our MNA-based biosensing platform based on extraction and quantification of the biomarkers will help move insulin assays from traditional laboratory approaches to personalized point-of-care settings.
: It is known that in recent years there have been major changes in all branches of industry, especially in the automotive and electro-electronic industry, because new business methods are on the scene, and production processes are being transformed so that they are flexible. In the automotive and electro-electronic industry, the leading technology is robotic technology, the application of which increases the return on investment. Advanced robotics as the basic technology of Industry 4.0 in the new era of production in the automotive and electro-electronic industry plays a very important role because it enables: mobility, readiness, reliability, adaptability, transformation of production, integration with machines, increase of flexibility, improvement of quality, storage and production systems integrated as Cyber-Physical Systems, workers are freed from routine and repetitive tasks. The paper provides an overview of applied and issued patents in robotic technology, the application of robots in the World and China as the leader in the implementation of robotic technology in the world. An analysis of the implementation of industrial robots, as well as advanced robots in the automotive and electro-electronic industries of China, is given, as well as the forecast of the application in the coming years.
Background Determining human identity has always been important in forensic investigations. Forensic dentistry has developed significantly having a key role in determining gender and age. One of the methods that is important in forensic dentistry is the analysis of orthopantomograms, which are X-rays of the complete upper and lower jaw, including the surrounding anatomical structures. The uniqueness of the dental features recorded in orthopantomograms makes them useful for individual identification, more specifically for the assessment of gender and age. This study was conducted to evaluate the application of convolutional neural networks in automating the process of gender and age estimation based on orthopantomograms, to improve accuracy and efficiency in forensic dentistry. Methodology Convolutional neural networks are powerful tools in the field of artificial intelligence for image processing and analysis because their convolutional layers extract specific features that are characteristic of a certain class. A total of 3716 orthopantomograms collected from the database of the University of Sarajevo - Faculty of Dentistry with the Dental Clinical Center were used to create convolutional neural network models for predicting gender and age. The orthopantomograms were taken in the period from January to December 2022 for the needs of doctors and providing services to patients at four polyclinics: Clinic for Dental Diseases and Endodontics, Clinic for Oral Diseases and Periodontology, Clinic for Oral Surgery, and Clinic for Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry. Results The results derived from three developed models confirm that the developed convolutional neural networks have high accuracy. The first model estimated gender, while the second and the third models estimated age within certain age ranges, the second from 12 to 24 years, and the third from 20 to 70 years. After training on the training dataset, all models achieved high accuracy on the validation dataset. The models demonstrated high accuracy without signs of overfitting, with the first model achieving 95.98%, the second model achieving 97.90%, and the third model achieving 96.12% accuracy. Conclusion This research concluded that the developed convolutional neural networks for gender and age estimation from orthopantomograms showed high accuracy. Models' predictions of gender and two age groups exceeded 95% accuracy. Therefore, convolutional neural networks can be considered useful tools for gender and age determination in forensic dentistry and can facilitate and speed up the processes of assessment and determination of essential characteristics.
Current state-of-the-art frequency standards are passive optical atomic clocks where the frequency of an optical resonator is stabilized to a narrow atomic transition. Passive clocks have achieved unprecedented stabilities of 6.6 × 10−19 over one hour of averaging time [1]. However, they face intrinsic limitations, particularly due to thermal and mechanical fluctuations of the local oscillator. To surpass the limitations of the passive clocks and go beyond the state-of-the-art, the idea of building active optical atomic clocks emerges. These clocks would be optical counterparts of hydrogen masers, with the emitted frequency defined by the atomic transition and therefore inherently stable against cavity instabilities. This paper discusses the latest developments and future prospects in the field of active optical atomic clocks.
Background: There is no specified diagnostic procedure that can help in determining the cause of death and the diagnosis of drowning because the pathohistological signs are almost identical and non-specified. Aim: Our study aims to recognize and prove diatom appearance in organs from a forensic aspect in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to examine which is the more specific method in the diagnosis of drowning, the diatom test or the pathohistological finding. Methods: Rats of the recommended body weight were divided into four groups: G1 (n = 8; mechanism of death—asphyxia; cause of death—suffocation, submerged 1 hour after death); G2 (n = 8: mechanism of death-asphyxia; cause of death-suffocation, immersed 72 hours after death); G3 (n = 8: mechanism of death-asphyxia; cause of death-drowning, autopsy immediately after death), and G4 (n = 8: mechanism of death-asphyxia; cause of death-drowning, post mortem 24 hours after death). Results: During the diatom analysis, four species of diatoms, Diatoma vulgaris, Melosira varians, Epithemia adnata, and Cymbella sp, were successfully recovered from the stomach. Microscopic analysis did not detect diatoms in the kidneys and brains of rats, while the pathohistological changes were relatively uniform. Conclusion: Our results propose that the diatom test is a sustainable tool for supporting the diagnosis of drowning in the forensic pathology analysis of the cause of death. This experimental study is a starting point toward the optimization of tests and sampling in cases of unexplained etiology.
The goal of this abstract is to present available artificial intelligence (AI) software and tools for the development, assessment, and implementation of artificial intelligence/machine learning in cardio - vascular research and clinical care, ensuring they are safe, reliable
Exonormatively oriented EFL speakers are well-disposed towards native varieties, particularly British and American English. Due to the varieties’ overlapping domains of influence, the ques-tion of consistency and preferences for one of the varieties comes into focus. Hence, this study explores Bosnian respondents’ preference for British or American English in pronunciation, orthography, lexis and grammar and their ability to recognise language units as characteristic of one variety or the other. Additionally, the study investigates whether students maintain con-sistency or whether they are inclined to use both varieties interchangeably. The obtained results confirm that Bosnian respondents have a solid knowledge of varietal differences but are highly inconsistent. Still, they prefer the American variety in all domains of language use, to a differing extent though. Keywords: consistency; English in Bosnia and Herzegovina; standardised British English; standardised American English; the System of World Englishes
(1) Background: This study investigates the effects of curing light intensity, exposure time, and distance on the Vickers microhardness (VMH), hardness bottom-to-top ratio (HR), and temperature rise (TR) of conventional dental resin-based composite (RBC). (2) Materials and Methods: Specimens of one conventional RBC (Tetric EvoCeram, Ivoclar Vivadent) were cured with 12 different curing protocols (CPs), created with three different light intensities (Quartz Tungsten Halogen 300 mW/cm2, LED 650 mW/cm2, LED 1100 mW/cm2), two exposure times (20 and 40 s), and two distances of curing tip (0 and 8 mm). The VMH of top (VMH-T) and bottom (VMH-B) surfaces was measured. The hardness bottom-to-top ratio (HR) was calculated from VMH-B and VMH-T. The HR below 80% was rated as inadequate polymerization. The TR at the depth of 2 mm within the RBC was measured using a K-type thermocouple. Data were analyzed using Levene’s test and the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. (3) Results: Exposure time and distance significantly influenced VMH-B and HR. Increased distance significantly reduced VMH-B, HR, and TR. CPs 300 mW/cm2/8 mm/20 s and 650 mW/cm2/8 mm/20 s produced inadequate polymerization (HR < 80%). Prolonged exposure time produced higher values of VMH-B and HR. The TR was significantly influenced by light intensity and distance. (4) Conclusions: Suboptimal light intensity (<800 mW/cm2) can produce inadequate polymerization at the lower side of the composite layer when used from a distance. Prolonged irradiation can improve the polymerization to a certain extent. Clinicians are advised to monitor the intensity of the LCUs in order to optimize the photopolymerization process. Caution is required when polymerizing with high-intensity curing light in direct contact with the RBC with longer exposure times than recommended.
Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is associated with systemic complications, including the development of pulmonary injury, characterized mainly by excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix components and inflammatory cell infiltration in lung tissue. This process is driven by oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, both caused and exacerbated by hyperglycemia. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and glycine, known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, offer potential therapeutic benefits in mitigating diabetes-induced lung injury. Objective: The study aimed to investigate the effects of supplementation by either NAC or glycine or their combination on reducing lung injury in rats with type 1 diabetes Materials and methods: The study used 30 adult Wistar albino rats (10 weeks old, weighing between 180 g and 380 g). Six of them were used as controls, while 24 adult rats (10 weeks old, 180-380 g) with type 1 diabetes, induced through a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) at a dose of 55 mg/kg, were randomly assigned to four experimental groups: control (CTL), diabetic (Db), NAC treatment (diabetic+NAC), glycine treatment (diabetic+glycine), and combined NAC and glycine treatment (diabetic+NAC+glycine). NAC (100 mg/kg) and glycine (250 mg/kg) were administered orally for 12 weeks. At the end of the study, lung tissues were collected for histopathological examination. Qualitative, semi-quantitative, and stereological histological analysis was used to analyze structural changes in the lung tissue. Semi-quantitative scoring was carried out to evaluate the extent of inflammation, while stereological analysis was performed to determine the volume density of alveolar spaces and septal connective tissue. The semi-quantitative scoring included scores ranging from 0 (absent), 1 (minimal), 2 (mild), 3 (moderate), to 4 (severe). Results: Qualitative histological analysis revealed pronounced inflammation and fibrosis in the lungs of untreated diabetic rats, characterized by thickened alveolar septa and immune cell infiltration. Both treatments with NAC and glycine individually reduced inflammation and fibrosis compared to untreated diabetic rats. The greatest improvement was observed in the NAC+glycine group, where the alveolar structure appeared almost normal, with minimal inflammation. Semiquantitative analysis showed statistically significant differences in peribronchial and peribrochiolar infiltrates between the diabetic group (2.16±0.47) and the control group (0.33±0.21, p=0.026). The combination of NAC and glycine significantly reduced peribronchial and peribronchiolar infiltrates (0.33±0.33, p=0.026) compared to the diabetic group. Similarly, septal inflammatory infiltrates were significantly lower in the NAC+glycine group (1±0.36) compared to diabetic rats (3.33±0.33, p=0.004). Total airway inflammatory infiltration was also significantly reduced in the NAC+glycine group (1.33±0.33, p=0.002) compared to the diabetic group (5.5±0.5). Conclusion: As the combination of NAC and glycine demonstrated protective effects against lung inflammation and fibrosis in diabetic rats, a synergistic effect of NAC and glycine in mitigating pulmonary complications associated with type 1 diabetes may be suggested. These findings warrant further exploration of the combination for managing diabetic lung disease and potentially other fibrotic conditions.
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