Vehicular ad hoc network (VANETs) improves road safety and efficiency by organizing vehicles and infrastructure to provide a platform for application deployment. The availability of vehicles and infrastructure is critical to the operation of applications. Accurate failure detector (FD) has been one of the fundamental components for maintaining high availability in VANETs. However, it is hard to find the vehicle failure accurately and timely due to the dynamic nature of VANETs caused by the high mobility of vehicles and communications link failures. Therefore, it is important to achieve an accurate FD which can cope with the high mobility of VANETs. In this paper, we propose a dead reckoning based FD, called DR-FD. It can predict the mobility of vehicle accurately and avoid the impact of link failures on the detection results by the cooperation between vehicles. Experimental results are provided to confirm that the proposed DR-FD method can achieve at most 20% reduction in detection time, 30% improvement in mistake rate and 20% improvement in overhead.

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly aggressive malignancy with a poor outcome. We present the case of a 57-year-old male patient with extensive-stage (ES-SCLC) treated with chemotherapy and atezolizumab. A complete response was achieved with a long remission of ∼three years. Comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) of the tumor revealed high tumor mutation burden (13 mutations/Mb) and mutations of TP53, RB1 and ERCC4 genes. This case study confirms that a complete response to chemoimmunotherapy may be achieved in the case of ES-SCLC. It further provides the additional value of CGP and predictive testing in the management of ES-SCLC.

Background: In December of 2019, SARS-CoV-2, a new type of coronavirus, appeared, and it turned into an international epidemic. The consequences of the pandemic, especially the isolation measures, fear of infection and bad economic trends, as a result of the crisis, threaten people's basic psychological needs. Objective: The objective of this research was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and perceived social support of persons with disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Methods: The research included a total sample of 232 respondents with different types of disabilities. The Symptom Checklist (SCL-90) was used to verify the research objective, which assessed three dimensions: somatization, depression and anxiety. Also, in order to verify the research objective, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support was applied, which consists of 12 statements that measure the perceived social support of family, friends and other people. The research data was processed with descriptive and inferential statistics. The basic statistical parameters were calculated, while the t-test was used for an independent sample of respondents to verify the set objective. Results: The results of the research showed that persons with disabilities, who were infected with the SARS-Cov-2 virus, had a significantly higher level of somatization, anxiety and depression compared to those who were not infected with the virus. The results in relation to social support did not prove to be statistically significant. Conclusion: The obtained results lead to the conclusion that, in the future, interventions by experts of various profiles must be planned to preserve the mental health of persons with disabilities, which is why it is important to invest in the emotional, psychological, social, physical and spiritual well-being of the individual.

Abstract Introduction: With advancements in sensor and communication technologies, sleep monitoring is moving out of specialized clinics and into everyday homes. Extracting sleep-related data using far less complicated tools and procedures is possible than polysomnography. Respiratory and cardiovascular data are extracted from the signals such as the electrocardiogram (ECG), photoplethysmogram (PPG), and ballistocardiogram (BCG) to identify the aberrant respiratory events of apnea/hypopnea as well as to estimate sleep parameters. However, due to the different sleeping positions, such systems lack accuracy and/or complicated sensor network topology. In this work, we proposed an optimal topology of forcesensitive resistor (FSR) sensors to simplify the system design by identifying the region of interest for estimating cardiorespiratory parameters with minimal error. The sensors are deployed under the mattress and located on the bed frame. Methods: We proposed a low-cost, unobtrusive, non-invasive, and reliable solution with robust signal processing algorithms for cardiorespiratory measurements and automatic signal validation based on signal quality. The solution is established based on a multi-physical layer (MPL) and sensor interfaces coping with the embedded system’s specifications, and signal processing is performed onboard with two independent and simultaneous pipelines for heart rate and respiratory rate using discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and bandpass filter, respectively. Results: We identified the three most contributing FSR sensors forming a triangle shape covering the left upper side of the subject (in the supine position) as the region of interest. We reduced the mean absolute error (MAE) to as low as 3.94 and 2.35 for heart rate and respiratory rate. Conclusions: The approach with the topology of triangle-shaped performs appropriately in estimating the cardiorespiratory parameters in all four regular sleeping positions, i.e. supine, prone, left lateral, and right lateral.

This paper presents the energy and CO2 saving potential of existing district heating energy system. Analysed system fully rely on fuel oil, with significant energy losses, increased fuel consumption and CO2 emission resulting from outdated and oversized system and fuel with high greenhouse emission factor. Heat generation and thermal energy distribution systems efficiency are assessed, showing that overall system efficiency is 48.5%. System environmental impact is shown via absolute CO2 and specific CO2 emission per heated surface area and useful energy. The study proposes retrofit measures to improve system efficiency, reduce fuel consumption, introduce low-emission fuels, and lower the system’s environmental impact. The study finds that the implementation of these measures could reduce system energy consumption by 42.7%, absolute CO2 emissions by 52%, and specific CO2 indicators as well, highlighting the potential for reducing the environmental impact of district heating systems while meeting users energy needs.

Indoor air quality monitoring is vital for ensuring high-quality healthcare services and minimizing the presence of harmful pollutants and environmental factors that could potentially impact on the well-being of individuals in hospitals. To address this need, the authors developed the transparent robot (TR): an integrated sensorized platform designed for indoor environmental sensing. This Internet-of-Things (IoT)-based platform serves as a modular system that can be installed on robotic platforms, enabling both static and dynamic monitoring of indoor spaces. In the context of a smart hospital, the TR can be integrated with the hospital's software architecture. It collaborates to generate a secure dataset of monitored data and can promptly notify healthcare professionals about any parameters that fall outside acceptable level. By utilizing this IoT-based device's features, hospitals can ensure a safer environment. The system's effectiveness and usability were preliminary demonstrated, showcasing its potential for further development; for instance, by incorporating additional sensors and algorithms, the TR can provide a probabilistic estimation of the likelihood of certain conditions based on the sampled environmental parameters.

Hyaluronan (HA) is a glycosaminoglycan composed of disaccharide repeats of N-acetylglucosamine and glucuronic acid (Bartosikova et al., 2008). It can be present in various molecular weight (MW) forms, each of them having different biological activities (Morozkina et al., 2020). Sodium salt of hyaluronate is a widely used agent in pharmaceutical preparations such as injectables, eye drops and nasal solutions. Due to its thermal liability (Kalina et al., 2015), sterile drug products containing HA cannot be terminally sterilized and filtration trough 0.2 μm sterilizing grade filter is sterilization method of choice. Nevertheless, these solutions are often highly viscous and can be challenging to filter. Furthermore, HA concentration, as well as its molecular weight are directly related to final product critical quality attributes (CQA).

Objective: The incidence of type B aortic dissection (TBAD) is increasing worldwide; however, the underlying pathomechanisms are not conclusively understood. This study explores the geometric architecture of the aortic arch and supra-aortic branches in TBAD patients as opposed to non-TBAD patients. Methods: Patient characteristics were retrieved from archived medical records. Computer-assisted tomography (CAT) scans of patients with TBAD and carotid stenosis (CS) from two high-volume centers were analyzed. Various aortic arch parameters and take-off angles of the supra-aortic branches of TBAD patients were measured following centerline normalization in comparison CS patients. A compression index (C-index) was calculated from the para-sagittal, and a torsion index (T-index) was calculated from the para-coronal take-off angles of the supra-aortic branches to analyze aortic arch tortuosity. Results: A total of 199 CAT scans were analyzed, namely, 85 in the TBAD group and 114 in the CS group. The average age was 61.5 ± 13.1 years among the TBAD patients and 71 ± 9.3 years among the CS patients. We found a significantly higher proportion of type III aortic arch configurations in TBAD patients compared with CS patients. Further, the aortic arch angle was steeper in the TBAD group. In the para-sagittal plane, the left subclavian artery (LSA) take-off angle was less steep in TBAD patients. In the para-coronal plane, the left carotid artery (LCA) had a less steep take-off angle, while the LSA had a more obtuse take-off angle in the TBAD group when compared with the CS group. In addition, the inter-vessel distance was increased in TBAD patients. Finally, the T-index was increased, suggesting a significant torsion resulting from the deviating take-off angles of the supra-aortic branches supplying the left half of the body as opposed to the innominate artery (IA) in TBAD patients. Conclusions: Our results suggest several aortic arch-specific geometric configurations in patients suffering from TBAD that significantly differ from those in CS patients. Further functional studies are needed to verify the pathogenetic relevance of our results and their disease-specific causality. Although our data are not mechanistically explorative, they may serve as a basis for identifying future patients with aortic arch morphology at higher risk for TBAD development and who may benefit from more stringent adjustment of risk factors as a primary prevention concept.

Key Points • Fifty-two percent of patients with iMCD treated with siltuximab with/without corticosteroids achieved response.• Corticosteroids alone are not effective in iMCD symptom management.

Microbial biofilms are organized consortiums of microorganisms in the self-produced matrix, characterized by increased resistance to antimicrobial agents. Candida albicans belongs to the regular human microbiota, but it could be highly pathogenic. Essential oils (EOs) are widely distributed secondary metabolites, proven for various biological activities. The main goal of this investigation was to evaluate the antifungal and antibiofilm properties of EOs from Citrus limon (L.) Osbeck, C. reticulata Blanco, Nigella sativa L., and Foeniculum vulgare Mill. against C. albicans. Antifungal activity was evaluated through the disk diffusion method, followed by the determination of the minimum inhibitory (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC). Antibiofilm assays were implemented through the tissue culture plate method and determination of the biofilm inhibition. Zones of inhibition were detectable for all tested EOs, with the greatest activity of N. sativa (28.30±1.50 mm to 39.30±1.10 mm). MIC values ranged from 62.50 μg/ml (N. sativa) to 125 μg/ml (C. limon), and 250 μg/ml (C. reticulata and F. vulgare). All tested EOs performed an impact on the biofilm-forming capacity of tested yeast. The antibiofilm activity was species-specific and concentration-dependent. The highest antibiofilm activity was recorded for F. vulgare. Obtained results suggest that investigated EOs possess antifungal and antibiofilm potential.