Introduction: Hypertension is a major and modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Essential, primary, or idiopathic hypertension accounts for 90–95% of all cases. Identifying novel biomarkers specific to essential hypertension may help in understanding pathophysiological pathways and developing personalized treatments. We tested whether the integration of circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) and clinical risk factors via machine learning modeling may provide useful information and novel tools for essential hypertension diagnosis and management. Materials and methods: In total, 174 participants were enrolled in the present observational case–control study, among which, there were 89 patients with essential hypertension and 85 controls. A discovery phase was conducted using small RNA sequencing in whole blood samples obtained from age- and sex-matched hypertension patients (n = 30) and controls (n = 30). A validation phase using RT-qPCR involved the remaining 114 participants. For machine learning, 170 participants with complete data were used to generate and evaluate the classification model. Results: Small RNA sequencing identified seven miRNAs downregulated in hypertensive patients as compared with controls in the discovery group, of which six were confirmed with RT-qPCR. In the validation group, miR-210-3p/361-3p/362-5p/378a-5p/501-5p were also downregulated in hypertensive patients. A machine learning support vector machine (SVM) model including clinical risk factors (sex, BMI, alcohol use, current smoker, and hypertension family history), miR-361-3p, and miR-501-5p was able to classify hypertension patients in a test dataset with an AUC of 0.90, a balanced accuracy of 0.87, a sensitivity of 0.83, and a specificity of 0.91. While five miRNAs exhibited substantial downregulation in hypertension patients, only miR-361-3p and miR-501-5p, alongside clinical risk factors, were consistently chosen in at least eight out of ten sub-training sets within the SVM model. Conclusions: This study highlights the potential significance of miRNA-based biomarkers in deepening our understanding of hypertension’s pathophysiology and in personalizing treatment strategies. The strong performance of the SVM model highlights its potential as a valuable asset for diagnosing and managing essential hypertension. The model remains to be extensively validated in independent patient cohorts before evaluating its added value in a clinical setting.

As the future electric power grid will be driven by distributed renewable energy sources, the deployment of grid-connected power converters will also grow to enable seamless grid and energy source interaction. To provide the reliable operation of these converters, the estimation of fundamental grid parameters is important. The most common estimation techniques are a phase-locked loops (PLL) and a frequency-locked loops (FLL). However, those techniques encounter challenges in conducting parameter estimation when the input signal is unbalanced due to DC-offset, harmonics, signal sags, and frequency and phase variations. This paper presents an enhanced FLL loop enriched with an additional loop for estimation and rejection of the DC-offset. Active and reactive power calculations in grid-connected microgrids by using the modified FLL loops with DC-offset rejection is a novel application introduced in this paper. Experimental verification has demonstrated that the enhanced FLL loop provides fast and reliable parameter estimation as well as stable and robust power calculations, even in the presence of a DC-offset.

Background: Compared to conventional 2D mammography, digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) offers greater breast lesion detection rates. Ring-like hypodense artifacts surrounding dense lesions are a common byproduct of DBT. This study’s purpose was to assess whether minuscule changes spanning this halo—termed the “broken halo sign”—could improve lesion classification. Methods: This retrospective study was approved by the local ethics review board. After screening 288 consecutive patients, DBT studies of 191 female participants referred for routine mammography with a subsequent histologically verified finding of the breast were assessed. Examined variables included patient age, histological diagnosis, architectural distortion, maximum size, maximum halo depth, conspicuous margins, irregular shape and broken halo sign. Results: While a higher halo strength was indicative of malignancy in general (p = 0.031), the broken halo sign was strongly associated with malignancy (p < 0.0001, odds ratio (OR) 6.33), alongside architectural distortion (p = 0.012, OR 3.49) and a diffuse margin (p = 0.006, OR 5.49). This was especially true for denser breasts (ACR C/D), where the broken halo sign was the only factor predicting malignancy (p = 0.03, 5.22 OR). Conclusion: DBT-associated halo artifacts warrant thorough investigation in newly found breast lesions as they are associated with malignant tumors. The “broken halo sign”—the presence of small lines of variable diameter spanning the peritumoral areas of hypodensity—is a strong indicator of malignancy, especially in dense breasts, where architectural distortion may be obfuscated due to the surrounding tissue.

The awareness of the importance of physical literacy (PL) is globally increasing; however, knowledge of the applicability of PL measurement tools in southeastern Europe is limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of translated versions of the CAPL-2 and PLAYself questionnaires in 9- to 11-year-old elementary school children from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. The participants were 303 children (141 girls; all 9 to 11 years of age) from Croatia (n = 71), Bosnia and Herzegovina (n = 162), and Montenegro (n = 70), enrolled in regular elementary school. The participants were tested throughout a test–retest procedure using two PL evaluation tools, i.e., the Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy (shorter version, CAPL-2) and the Physical Literacy Assessment of Youth (PLAYself) questionnaires. With an intraclass correlation (ICC) of 0.70–0.80 for specific questionnaire subscales and 0.84 for the total score, PLAYself was found to be reliable. With Kappa values of 0.11–0.23 and a percentage of absolute agreement of less than 62%, CAPL-2 appeared to be less reliable. Factors related to sport participation were significantly positively associated with the PLAYself score, indicating its proper validity. In conclusion, we suggest the usage of the PLAYself questionnaire in further studies examining PL in children of a similar age in the region. Future studies in other age groups and languages are also warranted.

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability. To address this challenge, microwave imaging has been proposed as a portable medical imaging modality. However, accurate stroke classification using microwave signals is still an open challenge. In addition, identified features of microwave signals used for stroke classification need to be linked back to the original data. This work attempts to address these issues by proposing a wavelet convolutional neural network (CNN), which combines multiresolution analysis and CNN to learn distinctive patterns in the scalogram for accurate classification. A game theoretic approach is used to explain the model and indicate distinctive features for discriminating stroke types. The proposed algorithm is tested in simulation and experiments. Different types of noise and manufacturing tolerances are modeled using data collected from healthy human trials and added to the simulation data to bridge the gap between the simulation and real-life data. The achieved classification accuracy using the proposed method ranges from 81.7% for 3D simulations to 95.7% for lab experiments using simple head phantoms. Obtained explanations using the method indicate the relevance of wavelet coefficients on frequencies 0.95-1.45 GHz and the time slot of 1.3 to 1.7 ns for distinguishing ischemic from hemorrhagic strokes.

Purpose Social media posts have been an integral part of our society’s communication and serve purposes from the personal to the national, from the mundane to the silly to the momentous. This study aims to examine social media posts as records, discussing how social media technology serves, perhaps unexpectedly, to reinforce traditional archival understandings of issues such as provenance, custody, access, disposition and preservation. Design/methodology/approach This study follows a four-step methodology. First, this study analyzes literature for a matching definition of the social media record. In the second step, we appraise three social media postings previously curated and cited in news articles by journalists to determine their characteristics – Are these social media posts “records?” Third, this study evaluates the sample records against two dominant theoretical record models, the life cycle and the continuum and attempt to apply the model specifications to the data samples. Finally, this study proposes appropriate records management solutions to address governance issues from the study findings in the conclusion section. Findings This study shows that, even by the most traditional of definitions, social media posts are records. The paper also demonstrates that platform mediation transforms simple narrative documents into records whose provenance, custody and control are dictated by platform logics and governance, outside of the control of their creators. Through appraisal of a small sample of “important” social media posts, this study illustrates that, rather than obsolete, traditional records management concepts and approaches are necessary to ensuring the ongoing accessibility, usability and evidentiary character of social media posts in the broader “platformized” context. Research limitations/implications This is exploratory, theoretical work. In future works, this study plans to expand and validate aspects of this study. Originality/value This paper tests existing theoretical frameworks, namely, the Records Life cycle and the Records Continuum for applicability to the social media record. The paper also offers a view of the potential for traditional archival and records management concepts in service of a just and inclusive recordkeeping, because such concepts allow us to demonstrate the centralized, elite-serving, bureaucratic structures which underpin social media records are obscured by the seemingly decentralized, participatory nature of social media.

Rising shares of renewable generation raises uncertainty and thus the number of possible power flow scenarios in the power system, which in turn increases the possibility for unforeseen contingencies, such as power line or generator failures and their combinations. Therefore, operators cannot longer rely only on operational experience to deal with every contingency. Our proposed method involves identifying the most effective countermeasures to minimize the impact of contingencies on the power system. We take into account various options, such as load shedding, adjusting phase-shifting transformer angles, and injecting active power using fast elements. The proposed approach considers primary control of generators and its limitations in order to compensate for power imbalances in the system. The problem is formulated as a mixed-integer linear optimization problem, employing DC power flow equations. The applicability of the approach is evaluated on the IEEE 39-bus system, and the scalability of the approach is shown on five systems with up to 6470 buses.

The theory of planned behavior (TPB) is a widely used framework for predicting behavior. Considering that technology supported sexual behavior (e.g., sexting) is widespread among emerging adults, it is logical to assume that it is driven by existing social norms, accepted standards of behavior, and the opinions of others, all of which are core constructs of TPB. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine whether intention to sext can be predicted by the constructs of the theory of planned behavior. A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted with 314 emerging adults aged 18–29 years who completed a self-report questionnaire online. The modified Theory of Planned Behavior Questionnaire for the sexting context, which measures attitudes toward sexting, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, and sexting intention, was used. The results of the path analyses mainly confirmed the model proposed by the Theory of planned behavior. Of the three TPB core factors, only subjective norm did not significantly have effect on sexting intention. Our results show that attitude, normative beliefs, and control directly predict sexting intention, and control beliefs indirectly predict sexting intention via perceived behavioral control, partially confirming the sequential relationship proposed by the Theory of planned behavior.

The essential oil (EO) of Artemisia plants contains a large number of bioactive compounds that are widely used. The aim of this study was to analyse the chemical composition of EOs of six Artemisia plants collected in Croatia and to test their cholinesterase inhibitory potential. GC–MS analysis of the EO of A. absinthium showed that the dominant compounds are cis-sabinyl acetate and cis-epoxy-ocimene; in EO of A. abrotanum, it is borneol; in the EO of A. annua, they are artemisia ketone, camphor and 1,8-cineole; in the EO of A. arborescens, they are camphor and chamazulene; in the EO of A. verlotiorum, they are cis-thujone, 1,8-cineole and trans-thujone; and in the EO of A. vulgaris, they are trans-thujone and trans-epoxy-ocimene. The EO of the five studied Artemisia species from Croatia is rich in monoterpenoid compounds (1,8-cineole, artemisia ketone, cis-thujone, trans-thujone, cis-epoxy-ocimene, camphor, borneol and cis-sabinyl acetate). The EO of A. arborescens is also rich in chamazulene. The results also showed that the tested EOs have moderate cholinesterase inhibition potential, especially the EOs of A. annua, A. vulgaris and A. abrotanum. This is the first analysis of the chemical composition of the EOs of four Artemisia plants and the first analysis of cholinesterase potential for plants collected in Croatia.

Behçet’s disease is a multisystem disease of insufficiently known etiology, with genetics playing a significant role in its development, featuring an increased frequency of the HLA-B51 gene in the genome of patients, but it can some-times also be associated with the presence of certain strains of bacteria. pathogenetically, this disease is considered to be small-vessel vasculitis. The disease most often manifests itself in oral and genital ulcerations with frequent uveitis and skin changes, and, in very rare cases, there are neurological manifestations, which occur in less than 10 percent of patients that suffer from this disease, and in that case we call it the neuro-Behçet’s disease. The treatment of this disease depends on the clinical condition and the treatment approach is individual for each patient. The greatest challenge is the treatment of neuro-Behçet’s disease due to the severity of the clinical condition and frequent inadequate response to therapy. Neuro-Behçet’s disease is treated with corticosteroids, various immunosuppressants and biological therapy – e.g., TNF-alpha inhibitors as the latest form of therapy with the best results. This paper intends to present the case of a patient with neurological manifestations of the disease, the challenges that we faced during the treatment, the complications that occurred, and the resulting changes in therapy that were sometimes necessary

The use of renewable building materials in construction is crucial to minimising the environmental impact of new buildings. Bio-based building materials have a wide range of positive properties, many of which are due to their hygroscopic behaviour. The purpose of this study is to investigate the hygrothermal performance of chopped straw, sheep’s wool, and cellulose insulated timber frame external wall assemblies in the presence of air leakage and high indoor relative humidity. For this purpose, tests with different moisture contents, overpressures, and defects in the airtight layer were carried out in an outdoor test stand over a period of 18 months. The results were compared with a conventional mineral wool insulated construction. Both sheep’s wool and cellulose are particularly fault-tolerant insulation materials in combination with timber frame constructions. All three bio-based insulations, despite defects in the airtight layer, showed no mould-prone moisture content. An installation level insulated with sheep’s wool can increase the fault tolerance of constructions with insulation made of hygric and more sensitive building materials. For chopped straw and cellulose, the measured U-value was lower than expected. Further in situ measurements of bio-based structures are important to gain confidence in their hygrothermal behaviour and to increase their use in multi-storey construction.