Abstract This paper studies the extent individuals are willing to undertake energy efficiency measures, with evidence coming from a developing country (Bosnia and Herzegovina). The goal of this paper is to analyze energy-savings behaviors, aiming to understand what is typically meant under the term energy efficiency, who is more likely to know the meaning, and the extent individuals are willing to undertake some energy efficiency measures. The sample size used in this paper is a random stratified sample of 1,415 individuals coming from various backgrounds. Our logistic regression models found no statistically significant predictor across all ten measures used in the study. However, past experience, age, and being married are relatively common across these ten energy-saving behaviors. These results might be beneficial in defining policies in order to promote energy-saving behaviors.

One of the key research directions to increase the capacity of new radio (NR) vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication systems is extension of employed frequency bands from sub-6 GHz to millimeter wave (mmWave) range. To investigate different propagation effects between sub-6 GHz and mmWave bands in high-mobility scenarios, one needs to conduct channel measurements in both frequency bands. Using a suitable testbed setup to compare these two bands in a fair manner, we perform channel measurements at center frequencies of 2.55 GHz and 25.5 GHz, velocities of 50 km/h and 100 km/h, and at 126 different spatial positions. Furthermore, we conduct a comparative study of the multi-band propagation based on measurement results. We estimate the power delay profile (PDP) and the Doppler power spectral density (DSD) from a large set of measurements collected in a measurement campaign. Finally, we compare measured wireless channels at the two employed frequency bands in terms of root-mean-square (RMS) delay spread and RMS Doppler spread.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with an increased risk of progression to a severe form in every disease and, moreover, is associated with an increased mortality, and so it is also with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). AKI is a frequent complication in COVID-19 patients admitted to ICU for severe respiratory failure. ICU treatment itself indirectly could cause or exacerbate renal damage, through suboptimal fluid management, drug toxicity, or low human resources. The aims of this study were to assess AKI prevalence, fluid balance and glomerular filtration rate as a predictor of outcome in COVID-19 patients treated in the intensive care unit. We retrospectively analysed all adult patients admitted to the ICU at a regional hospital in northern Bavaria, from 1st March to 31st December 2020. Clinical data and laboratory results were retrospectively retrieved from the hospital information system and electronic case files. According to the severity of AKI based on the KDIGO criteria, and laboratory values were followed on the first 7 days on the ICU. In total 320 patients patients were included in the study. Level of significance was set to p<0.05. The mean age was 65 ± 19 years, 135 (42%) patients were females, 185 (58%) were males. Median length of ICU stay was 7 (2-13 days) in females, and 8 days (4- to 21 days) in males. At the ICU, 177 patients needed some form of ventilation, from which 109 (needed Invasive mechanical ventilation). During ICU stay, 81 patients have died, with fatality rate of 25%. Patients with AKI (n=48, 15%) at the admission to the ICU, had 2.1 times higher risk of death at the ICU than patients without AKI. There was a statistically significant difference in ICU survival based on a glomerular filtration rate, fluid balance, CRP and leukocyte values, F=1.957, p=0.026; Wilk's Λ=0.724, partial η2 = 0.276 Acute kidney injury is common in coronavirus disease 2019, and it is associated with poor clinical outcomes. Even first couple of days at the ICU could point to the outcome, with markers of inflammation, glomerular filtration rate, and fluid balance being most valuable variables.

Despite patients with stage II melanoma being relatively high risk, contributing to 30% of melanoma-associated deaths, there remains a relatively low individual chance of melanoma recurrence. Therefore, strategies are required to better select those patients at highest risk of recurrence. We have developed assays using circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) to detect minimal residual disease (MRD) or molecular recurrence of melanoma. Originally, the DETECTION trial was designed to perform ctDNA sampling in addition to clinical follow-up in patients with stage IIB/C melanoma. Those with ctDNA detected were randomized 1 : 1 in a double-blind fashion to continue routine follow-up with the investigators’ choice of treatment if they developed disease recurrence or were unblinded and treated with nivolumab. Since its opening, adjuvant therapy has been licensed, with trials showing approximately 6% absolute reduction in distant metastasis in stage IIB/C melanoma with 1 year of antiprogrammed cell death protein 1 therapy; however, grade 3 or 4 toxicity was observed in 16% of patients, with 25% experiencing lifelong endocrine disorders. Better enrichment of patients at high risk of recurrence, and avoiding treatment toxicity in those who do not require it, therefore remains highly relevant. As DETECTION had only started recruitment, there was opportunity to redesign it, which we present here. We have designed tumour-informed assays targeting BRAF (V600E/K/R), NRAS (G12D, Q61K/L/R) and the H-TERT promoter region (−124 and −146) mutations for ctDNA detection using droplet digital polymerase chain reaction. DETECTION has been redesigned as a phase III trial with the primary objectives of elucidating (i) whether MRD/molecular relapse following curative intent surgery can be identified earlier than clinical relapse and (ii) whether early treatment of molecular recurrence based on ctDNA detection is noninferior to adjuvant therapy in preventing distant metastasis. Patients (n = 1000) with stage IIB/C/III/IV resected BRAF/NRAS/TERT promoter mutant cutaneous melanoma, ECOG 0/1 and adequate organ function, with complete resection performed within 12 weeks and radiological/clinical disease-free status confirmed and no prior immune/targeted therapy will be included. Patients will be randomized 1 : 1 to either 1 year of adjuvant therapy (arm A) or longitudinal ctDNA monitoring (arm B) and treatment only if a local recurrence (surgery followed by 1 year of adjuvant therapy with ongoing ctDNA monitoring) or ctDNA detection (2 years of the investigators’ choice of therapy). The primary endpoint is distant metastasis-free survival. CtDNA is a useful tool to monitor for MRD/molecular relapse. The DETECTION trial will assess whether it can be used to safely monitor patients and systemically treat only those at highest risk of melanoma progression.

Abstract In this paper six heterobranch mollusc species are reported for the first time for Bosnia and Herzegovina: Berthellina edwardsi (Vayssiere, 1896), Felimida luteorosea (Rapp, 1827), Thuridilla hopei (Verany, 1853), Dendrodoris grandiflora (Rapp, 1827), Camachoaglaja africana (Pruvot-Fol, 1953) and Felimare villafranca (Risso, 1818). The study was conducted in October 2021 on Klek Peninsula and in Neum Bay (eastern Adriatic Sea, Bosnia and Herzegovina). This paper significantly extends the knowledge of the national marine heterobranch molluscs fauna, almost doubling the number of species known for the country, as only seven heterobranch species were reported for Bosnia and Herzegovina until now.

For any three circles in the plane where each circle is tangent to the other two, the Descartes’ theorem yields the existence of a fourth circle tangent to the starting three. Continuing this process by adding a new circle between any three tangent circles leads to Apollonian packings. The fractal structures resulting from infinite continuation of such processes are known as Apollonian gaskets. Close-packed dimer configurations on such structures are well modeled by perfect matchings in the corresponding graphs. We consider Apollonian gaskets for several types of initial configurations and present explicit expressions for the number of perfect matchings in such graphs

,

Introduction Medical adhesives are adhesives used in medical devices to establish and maintain contact with the body over a period of time (usually by application to the skin) and are widely used in most care settings. Application of medical adhesives to the skin can lead to skin stripping, mild or severe allergic reactions and skin irritation that may manifest as redness, itching or rash. Adhesive-related skin injury can lead to infection, delayed wound healing and an increased risk of scarring. These injuries can cause severe discomfort and pain, and can affect the patient’s quality of life. A systematic review summarising patient’s experiences on this topic will contribute to informing adhesive producers and policy makers, and guiding further development and improvement of available technologies. Methods and analysis This systematic review protocol is based on the principles of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols guideline. A systematic search will be conducted in CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE and PsycINFO. In addition, manual searches will be performed, reviewing the reference lists of relevant reviews and articles included for quality assessment. Qualitative studies using various methods will be considered for inclusion. Screening of title, abstract and full text will be done by two reviewers. The methodological quality of studies under consideration will be critically assessed by two reviewers using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tool for Qualitative Research. Data extraction will be performed independently by two reviewers using a predefined data extraction form. Meta-aggregation will be used to summarise the evidence. Ethics and dissemination No ethical approval or consent is required because no participants will be recruited. This systematic review protocol is published in an open access journal to increase transparency of the research methods used. Results will be disseminated at national and international conferences.

Sleep is extremely important for physical and mental health. Although polysomnography is an established approach in sleep analysis, it is quite intrusive and expensive. Consequently, developing a non-invasive and non-intrusive home sleep monitoring system with minimal influence on patients, that can reliably and accurately measure cardiorespiratory parameters, is of great interest. The aim of this study is to validate a non-invasive and unobtrusive cardiorespiratory parameter monitoring system based on an accelerometer sensor. This system includes a special holder to install the system under the bed mattress. The additional aim is to determine the optimum relative system position (in relation to the subject) at which the most accurate and precise values of measured parameters could be achieved. The data were collected from 23 subjects (13 males and 10 females). The obtained ballistocardiogram signal was sequentially processed using a sixth-order Butterworth bandpass filter and a moving average filter. As a result, an average error (compared to reference values) of 2.24 beats per minute for heart rate and 1.52 breaths per minute for respiratory rate was achieved, regardless of the subject’s sleep position. For males and females, the errors were 2.28 bpm and 2.19 bpm for heart rate and 1.41 rpm and 1.30 rpm for respiratory rate. We determined that placing the sensor and system at chest level is the preferred configuration for cardiorespiratory measurement. Further studies of the system’s performance in larger groups of subjects are required, despite the promising results of the current tests in healthy subjects.

Flexibility is an important determinant of dynamic balance, but studies rarely examined the chronic effects of flexibility training on changes in balance capacity. This study aimed to determine the influence of different forms of flexibility exercises on dynamic balance in female professional football players. Participants were 30 female professional football players (age =19.0±4.1 years), divided into three groups dynamic stretching group (DSG; N=10, age =18.9±3.3 years), static stretching group (SSG; N=10, age =19.5±4.3 years) and control group (N=10, age =18.5±3.3 years). All groups participated in equal football training, while DSG and SSG performed additional flexibility training 3-times a week (10-15 min of duration) throughout the study course (16 weeks). Dynamic balance was measured by the Y-balance test (YBT), and ANOVA for repeated measurement was applied to identify the effects. Results evidenced the significant influence of both flexibility programs on dynamic balance. Both DSG and SSG were equally effective in the first part of the study (until the 8th week), but between the 8th and 16th study week, only DSG improved their balance capacity significantly. Static stretching should be applied in the first phases of flexibility training aiming at the improvement of dynamic balance, but in later phases, usage of dynamic stretching is suggested.

Background and Objectives: We aimed to assess the effect of AST/ALT ratio on echocardiographic and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) parameters after COVID-19 patients recover. Materials and Methods: 87 patients with COVID-19 were included in the study. The patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia, but the patients did not need intensive care unit follow-up or non-invasive mechanical ventilation support. After a discharge and two weeks following the positive swab test result, patients were considered eligible if they had any symptoms. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) was performed within 24 h prior to CMRI. The median value of AST/ALT ratio was found, and the study population was divided into two subgroups based on the median AST/ALT ratio value. The clinical features, blood test, TTE and CMRI results were compared between subgroups. Results: C-reactive protein, D-dimer and fibrinogen were found to be significantly higher in patients with high AST/ALT ratio. LVEF, TAPSE, S’, and FAC were significantly lower in patients with high AST/ALT ratio. LV-GLS were significantly lower in patients with high AST/ALT ratio. In CMRI, native T1 mapping signal, native T2 mapping signal and extracellular volume raised significantly in patients with high AST/ALT ratio. Right ventricle stroke volume and right ventricle ejection fraction were significantly lower in patients with high AST/ALT ratio, but right ventricle end systolic volume was significantly higher in patients with high AST/ALT ratio. Conclusion: High AST/ALT ratio is related to impaired right ventricular function parameters with CMRI and echocardiography after recovery from acute COVID-19. Assessment of AST/ALT ratio at hospital admission may be used to assess the risk of cardiac involvement in COVID-19 disease, and these patients may require closer follow-up during and after the course of COVID-19.