Sleeping disease is a highly infectious viral disease caused by salmonid alphavirus subtype 2 (SAV2 FW), affecting mainly rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss farmed in freshwater. During March to May 2014, disease episodes with clinical signs of sleeping disease in rainbow trout fingerlings occurred almost simultaneously in 2 trout farms located in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Serbia. The infection of rainbow trout with SAV2 FW in 2 farms was confirmed by virus isolation and molecular methods. This is the first isolation and molecular characterization of SAV2 FW in BiH and Serbia.

Abstract Background Reproductive effects of ionizing radiation in organisms have been observed under laboratory and field conditions. Such assessments often rely on associations between exposure and effects, and thus lacking a detailed mechanistic understanding of causality between effects occurring at different levels of biological organization. The Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP), a conceptual knowledge framework to capture, organize, evaluate and visualize the scientific knowledge of relevant toxicological effects, has the potential to evaluate the causal relationships between molecular, cellular, individual, and population effects. This paper presents the first development of a set of consensus AOPs for reproductive effects of ionizing radiation in wildlife. This work was performed by a group of experts formed during a workshop organized jointly by the Multidisciplinary European Low Dose Initiative (MELODI) and the European Radioecology Alliance (ALLIANCE) associations to present the AOP approach and tools. The work presents a series of taxon-specific case studies that were used to identify relevant empirical evidence, identify common AOP components and propose a set of consensus AOPs that could be organized into an AOP network with broader taxonomic applicability. Conclusion Expert consultation led to the identification of key biological events and description of causal linkages between ionizing radiation, reproductive impairment and reduction in population fitness. The study characterized the knowledge domain of taxon-specific AOPs, identified knowledge gaps pertinent to reproductive-relevant AOP development and reflected on how AOPs could assist applications in radiation (radioecological) research, environmental health assessment, and radiological protection. Future advancement and consolidation of the AOPs is planned to include structured weight of evidence considerations, formalized review and critical assessment of the empirical evidence prior to formal submission and review by the OECD sponsored AOP development program.

A 61-year-old male presented to emergency department with symptoms of shortness of breath, palpitations, and night sweats. We performed bedside transthoracic echocardiography which showed shunt from the left ventricle to the right atrium in systole with color Doppler examination. Gerbode-type ventricular septal defect and an image of a fibrillar, mobile mass compatible with vegetation was observed just above the tricuspid valve. We performed transesophageal echocardiography which showed vegetations on the aortic valve noncoronary cusp. Two sets of blood cultures were positive for Streptococcus sanguinis. The patient was evaluated by the heart team and an operation decision was made for the patient. The patient underwent surgery after 2 weeks of antibiotic theraphy. In the surgery, the Gerbode-type ventricular septal defect was closed with a polytetrafluoroethylene patch. Tricuspid annuloplasty was performed with De Vega technique. Mechanical aortic valve was implanted. Postoperative transthoracic echocardiography showed no residual shunt.

Circuit breakers (CBs) play an important role in modern society because they make the power transmission and distribution systems reliable and resilient. Therefore, it is important to maintain their reliability and to monitor their operation. A key to ensure a reliable operation of CBs is to monitor their condition. In this work, we performed an accelerated life testing for mechanical failures of a vacuum circuit breaker (VCB) by performing close-open operations continuously until failure. We recorded data for each operation and made the collected run-to-failure dataset publicly available. In our experiments, the VCB operated more than 26000 close-open operations without current load with the time span of five months. The run-to-failure long-term monitoring enables us to monitor the evolution of the VCB condition and the degradation over time. To monitor CB condition, closing time is one of the indicators, which is usually measured when the CB is taken out of operation and is completely disconnected from the network. We propose an algorithm that enables to infer the same information on the closing time from a non-intrusive sensor. By utilizing the short-time energy (STE) of the vibration signal, it is possible to identify the key moments when specific events happen including the time when the latch starts to move, and the closing time. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is evaluated on the VCB dataset and is also compared to the binary segmentation (BS) change point detection algorithm. This research highlights the potential for continuous online condition monitoring, which is the basis for applying future predictive maintenance strategies.

Slušno procesiranje je sposobnost da slušamo, razumijemo i odgovaramo na informacije koje čujemo kroz svoje slušne kanale. Poremećaj slušnog procesiranja (PSP) je senzorni poremećaj koji najčešće pogađa razumijevanje govora i učenje, te stvara poteškoće u procesiranju auditivnih informacija. Istraživanje je provedeno sa ciljem utvrđivanja razlika u poremećajima slušnog procesiranja (PSP) kod djece različitih uzrasnih grupa. Ukupno je testirano 560 djece. Sa ciljem utvrđivanja postojanja razlika slušnog procesiranja između pet uzrasnih grupa korišten je statistički test analiza varijanse (ANOVA) za poređenje prosječnih vrijednosti postignutih na subtestovima. Na testu filtriranih riječi (TFR) registrovana je statistički značajna razlika ANOVA testom (F=13,09, p<0,001). Na testu govora u buci (TGB) takođe je registrovana statistički značajna razlika ANOVA testom (F=11,04, p<0,001). Na dihotičkom testu riječi (DTR), također je registrovana statistički značajna razlika ANOVA testom (F=12,30, p<0,001), kao i na dihotičkom testu rečenica (DTRE) (F=8,60, p<0,001). Analizom rezultata našeg istraživanja, mogu se konstatovati statistički značajne razlike među uzrasnim grupama, gdje je prisutan trend ostvarivanja boljih rezultata sa porastom hronološke dobi ispitanika. S obzirom da je prilikom ispitivanja normalne raspodjele Kolmogorov-Smirnov testom pokazano da neki od postignutih rezultata ne prate normalnu distribuciju, rezultati su analizirani i neparametrijskim Kruskal-Wallis testom, te je uočljiva saglasnost sa rezultatima ANOVA testa. Mjerni instrument koji je korišten u ovom istraživanju je Baterija testova za ispitivanje poremećaja slušnog procesiranja PSP 1 (Heđever, 2015) i isti je jako koristan standardizirani mjerni instrument.

Opći val useljenika, najviše sa prostora Bliskog istoka, ali i iz Afrike, posebice njenog sjevernog dijela, dolazi na granice evropskih i drugih zemalja. Uz opće loše fizičko stanje u kojem se imigranti nalaze, u velikom postotku idu i psihički problemi praćeni očajem i nasilnim ponašanjem, napadima na domaće stanovništvo i njihovu imovinu, itd., što još više produbljuje krizu njihovog statusa u društvu zemlje primateljice, stvarajući neku vrstu začaranog kruga. Cilj istraživanja jeste utvrditi prisustvo nasilničkog ponašanja kod imigranata sa Bliskog Istoka i Sjeveroistočne Afrike po ulasku u novu zemlju. U istraživanju se pošlo od pretpostavki da su imigranti izloženi nasilju i u većem broju su žrtve u odnosu na domaće stanovništvo, te da su imigranti koji dolaze u potrazi za boljim socioekonomskim prilikama više nasilni od onih koji bježe od rata. Uzorak studije obuhvaća 100 ispitanika, useljenika i domaćeg stanovništva, različitog spola, starosti, zemlje podrijetla i drugih demografskih faktora. Ispitivanje je provedeno u „St Andrew Church Refugee Service“ te online radi anonimnosti na području Egipta, Kairo. Podaci su prikupljeni ASEBA Youth Self-Report – YSR upitnikom. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da imigrantsko stanovništvo ima značajnije izražen osjećaj da drugi ljudi u društvi imaju želju da im naškode u usporedbi sa domicilnim stanovništvom. U rezultatima istraživanja su predstavljene i razlike između sjeverno-afričkih i blisko-istočnih useljenika u pogledu malicioznog ponašanja prema drugim osobama iz okoline (pošto blisko-istočni imigranti potječu iz regija sa aktualnim i većim ratnim razaranjima). Može se zaključiti da imigranti porijekla sa Bliskog istoka pokazuju veći stepen lošeg postupanja prema drugim ljudima, u poređenju sa sjeverno-afričkim imigrantima.

Background DIALOG+ is an evidence-based, generic, cost-saving and easily deliverable psychosocial intervention, adaptable to clinicians’ personal manner of interaction with patients. It was implemented in mental health services in five low- and middle-income countries in South-Eastern Europe during a 12-month randomised-controlled trial (IMPULSE) to improve the effectiveness of out-patient treatment for people with psychotic disorders. Aims To investigate barriers and facilitators to the perceived sustainability of DIALOG+ that has been successfully implemented as a part of the IMPULSE project. Method Three months after the IMPULSE trial's end, perceived sustainability of the DIALOG+ intervention was assessed via a short survey of clinicians and patients who took part in the trial. Quantitative data collected from the survey were analysed using descriptive statistics; content analysis assessed qualitative survey data. The views and experiences of key informants (patients, clinicians and healthcare policy influencers) regarding the sustainability and scale-up of DIALOG+ were further explored through semi-structured interviews. These data were explored using framework analysis. Results Clinicians mostly appreciated the comprehensiveness of DIALOG+, and patients described DIALOG+ meetings as empowering and motivating. The barrier most commonly identified by key informants was availability of financial resources; the most important facilitators were the clinically relevant structure and comprehensiveness of the DIALOG+ intervention. Conclusions Participants showed a willingness to sustain the implementation of DIALOG+. It is important to maintain collaboration with healthcare policy influencers to improve implementation of DIALOG+ across different levels of healthcare systems and ensure availability of resources for implementing psychosocial interventions such as DIALOG+.

High-throughput sequencing provides sufficient means for determining genotypes of clinically important pharmacogenes that can be used to tailor medical decisions to individual patients. However, pharmacogene genotyping, also known as star-allele calling, is a challenging problem that requires accurate copy number calling, structural variation discovery, variant calling and phasing within each pharmacogene copy present in the sample. Here we introduce Aldy 4, a fast and efficient tool for genotyping pharmacogenes that utilizes combinatorial optimization for accurate star-allele calling across different sequencing technologies. Aldy 4 adds support for long reads and ships with a novel phasing model and improved copy number and variant calling models. We compare Aldy 4 against the current state-of-the-art star-allele callers on a large and diverse set of samples and genes sequenced by various sequencing technologies, such as whole-genome and targeted Illumina sequencing, barcoded 10X Genomics and PacBio HiFi. We show that Aldy 4 is the most accurate star-allele caller with near-perfect accuracy in all evaluated contexts. We hope that Aldy remains an invaluable tool in the clinical toolbox even with the advent of long-read sequencing technologies. Availability Aldy 4 is available at https://github.com/0xTCG/aldy.

The potential advantages of intelligent wireless communications with millimeter wave (mmWave) and massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) are based on the availability of instantaneous channel state information (CSI) at the base station (BS). However, no existence of channel reciprocity leads to the difficult acquisition of accurate CSI at the BS in frequency division duplex (FDD) systems. Many researchers explored effective architectures based on deep learning (DL) to solve this problem and proved the success of DL-based solutions. However, existing schemes focused on the acquisition of complete CSI while ignoring the beamforming and precoding operations. In this paper, we propose an intelligent channel feedback architecture using eigenmatrix and eigenvector feedback neural network (EMEVNet). With the help of the attention mechanism, the proposed EMEVNet can be considered as a dual channel auto-encoder, which is able to jointly encode the eigenmatrix and eigenvector into codewords. Simulation results show great performance improvement and robustness with extremely low overhead of the proposed EMEVNet method compared with the traditional DL-based CSI feedback methods.

Regulatory frameworks surrounding medical devices (MDs) and medical locations are of utter importance for safeguarding patients and users, and for granting a universal access to healthcare. Currently, as the main existing regulatory frameworks are drafted by high-income countries, they pretend to be general and applicable globally, but fail to understand particular contexts, specifically those in low-resource settings (LRSs), resulting, therefore, inapplicable. In particular, LRSs present a varied situation, with legal transplants of guidelines from their previous colonial regimes. This apparently theoretical issue, is, effectively, a tangible and rising matter of concern, given the ever-increasing number of MD patent applications per year, as well as the appearance of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) on the MD market itself. This article will focus on the European Regulation on MDs 745/2017 and its applicability in LRSs, specifically presenting the case of Benin, a Sub-Saharan African country. This work is based on a field study conducted in 2019 in Benin, which is particularly exemplar to show the complexity of the “legal transplantation” concept. A multidisciplinary approach, comprising the standard tools and methods of ethics, law, and biomedical engineering, was used to draft a heuristic hermeneutic framework, and to analyse related bioethical issues concerning Medical Device Regulations (MDRs) in LRSs, the role of Maintenance, and other sociological questions; as well as the rural population’s perception on MDs and health technologies, and the role of ethics in the hospitals of LRSs. The definition of these themes helped approach the local perspective and define the research questions. Downstream of the analysis of the Medical Devices Regulations, the Maintenance and other bioethical issues in Benin, the heuristic hermeneutic framework was created to guide a shift in the paradigm of law and regulation making, so as to make them more contextualised and inclusive, globally. This article proposes a framework that will help policymakers take into account the particularism of each context, especially those of the most vulnerable countries, when drafting and issuing regulatory frameworks, promoting an ever-evolving model of universalism.

Conservation of historical centres is a pressing need for Mediterranean countries, that are characterized by masonry aggregates representing the most typical construction type within cities. Masonry clustered buildings were usually designed without seismic design criteria. Moreover, the current seismic standard codes do not foresee a clear calculation method to predict their non-linear behaviour. For this reason, in this paper, a wide overview on the seismic response of masonry aggregates has been done considering analysis at different levels, from simplified large-scale evaluations to sophisticated non-linear analyses. In the former investigation kind, a vulnerability form appropriately conceived for clustered buildings has been applied to different historical centres with the aim to perform risk analysis considering both empirical approaches and real data deriving from occurred past earthquakes. In the second evaluation type, the macro-elements analysis method has been examined with reference to typical clustered buildings of the Italian territory. In particular, global assessments, performed using the 3Muri non-linear analysis program, have been performed with the final goal to derive fragility curves of structural units of masonry aggregates considering their plan position in the clustered building (end of row, internal, and corner).

Vernacular architecture and its responses to natural factors through architectural patterns are recognized as expressions of bioclimatic principles and national architectural responses to location. The vernacular architectural heritage of architecture is one of the most important factors in preserving and developing the cultural identity of a nation. Through research on the vernacular architecture of the coastal area of Skadar Lake, our goal is to recognize and potentially valorize the local traditional characteristics of authentic houses as ecological building patterns, which also express the fundamentals of sustainability principles. Although examples of vernacular architecture are disappearing due to contemporary globalization, and a mere imitation of motifs from past periods occurs, the historical specifics of architectural expression remain the inspiration and catalyst for future achievements based on the idea of preserving the local and regional recognizability of architecture. This research resulted in a redefinition of vernacular, bioclimatic concepts in a way that preserves construction techniques, which basically have an ecological approach, and, at the same time, provides modern solutions with bioclimatic concepts. The case study conducted on the village of Karuč in the area of Skadar Lake presented in the paper contributes to revealing the potential of bioclimatic principles and the energy rehabilitation of vernacular architecture in order to revitalize it through a new contemporary architectural expression. This study’s contents propose revitalization solutions at two levels of the following: settlement and typical houses. The study also aims to create a model, that is, a modern expression of a characteristic Karuč house, with improved functionality and energy characteristics for national architecture. Identifying all the basic building patterns, including the positioning of buildings, construction, the application of available materials, and the design of buildings, this paper presents conditions for the adequate valorization and preservation of authentic vernacular architecture and creates guidelines for further upgrades and the bioclimatic revitalization of vernacular architecture in a certain location.

In this article, the corrosion inhibition of steel DIN 2391 St 37-4 in acidic medium 5% H2SO4 with and without the presence of eco inhibitors of leaf (Petroselinum Sativum) was examined. Inhibitory properties of parsley leaves (Petroselinum Sativum) on steel DIN 2391 St 37-4 were examined by potentiodynamic polarization - Tafel extrapolation, and FTIR method in order to categorize the oxide layer. The test was performed in static medium and with stirring at 600 rpm. By Tafel extrapolation based on changes in corrosion potential, the inhibitor behaves as mixed. Increasing the concentration of inhibitors increases the efficiency of inhibition. Corrosion processes are inhibited by adsorption of organic matter on the surface of steel DIN 2391 St 37-4, forming a film. The obtained results indicate that parsley leaf (Petroselinum Sativum) is an effective eco inhibitor for the tested steel in 5% sulfuric acid.

Checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy has revolutionised cancer treatment. However, immunotoxicity due to dysregulated immune control can affect a range of non-cancer tissues causing dermatitis, colitis and endocrinopathies in up to 80% of exposed patients. Peripheral nerve neurotoxicity is rare (<5%) and described as GBS-like or CIDP-like in published case series. Here we present two cases of checkpoint inhibitor associated peripheral neuropathy suggesting this neuritis is a novel pathological entity. Case 1 55-year-old man treated with nivolumab and ipilimumab for renal cell carcinoma developed painful sensory predominant neuropathy after cycle 1. Gait impairment led to discontinuation by cycle 3. NCS revealed axonal loss and conduction slowing but no demyelinating features. He was treated with IVIg without response. Case 2 55-year-old woman with metastatic melanoma was treated with pembrolizumab for 16 months without complication. Within weeks of change to nivolumab she developed painful neuropathic symptoms causing difficulty walking. Neurophysiology was similar to case 1 but she improved to normal with high dose corticosteroids over 4 months. Both sural nerve biopsies showed active large fibre degeneration with diffuse, predominantly T cell inflam- matory infiltrate. No malignant cells. No evidence of a primary demyelinating pathology. This novel inflammatory neuropathy warrants recognition due to alternative treatment response.