Along with an increased interest for connected vehicles and autonomous driving, the Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems (C-ITS) are being investigated and validated through the use of C-ITS messages, such as Cooperative Awareness Messages (CAMs). In this paper we demonstrate a tool to support research on CAMs, since C-ITS deploy the Cooperative Awareness Basic Service to exchange CAMs among road C-ITS entities, e.g., vehicles and roadside units (RSUs). These messages provide awareness of traffic information in the Non-line-of-sight (NLOS) of the vehicle (e.g., speed, location, heading), and are an enabler of improving safety in vehicles. Therefore, it is important that those messages are received at the receiving C-ITS vehicle with low latency. In this demo, we showcase how the size of a particular CAM that carries information about the vehicle and surrounding infrastructure affects the latency. In order to demonstrate this effect, we use two leading technologies that support the first generation V2X communication respectively ITS-G5 (IEEE 802.11p) and LTE-V2X (3GGP). We have tested our proposal in a real life C-ITS testbed, at the Smart Highway located in Antwerp, Belgium.

The Cooperative Intelligent Transportation System (C-ITS) testbed or simplified called the Smart Highway (Antwerp, Belgium) is designed to facilitate research in the area of distributed/edge computing and vehicular communications. The Smart Highway testbed deploys the Cooperative Awareness Basic Service to exchange Cooperative Awareness Messages (CAMs) between road C-ITS entities, e.g., C-ITS vehicles and Road-Side Units (RSUs). CAMs support vehicular safety and traffic efficiency applications by providing them with the continuous status information of relevant C-ITS entities. Therefore, it is important that those messages are delivered with low latency, especially the CAMs that originate from special vehicles, e.g., emergency vehicles, police cars, and fire trucks. In this paper, we research the impact of CAM messages configuration on the communication latency among vehicles. Moreover, we have performed the practical experimentation to evaluate the aforementioned impact, using ITSG5 and LTE-V2X system under realistic vehicular conditions, on the Smart Highway testbed located in Antwerp.

In this original scientific paper, the content of crude fiber and total sugars in three different fruit products (cherry compote, rosehip marmalade and plum jam) in correlation with the production process and storage time was examined. All tests were conducted in the Laboratory of Food Technology, Faculty of Technology, University of Tuzla. The test results showed that in all fruit products a higher content of non-reducing sugars than reducing and sucrose was recorded. Also, the highest content of crude fiber was obtained in the S5 sample for rosehip marmalade and was 1.11%, while the lowest was recorded in the S1 sample for cherry compote and was 0.011%.

The paper presents a new approach to the treatment of uncertainty and subjectivity in the decision-making process based on the modification of Multi-Attributive Border Approximation area Comparison (MABAC) and an Objective–Subjective (OS) model by applying Linguistic Neutrosophic Numbers (LNN) instead of traditional numerical values. By integrating these models with LNN it was shown that it is possible to a significant extent to eliminate subjective qualitative assessments and assumptions by decision makers in complex decision-making conditions. On this basis, a new hybrid LNN–OS–MABAC model was formed. This model was tested and validated on a case-study in which the optimal unmanned aircraft were selected to combat forest fires. After defining the criteria and their attributes, they were prioritized using the LNN–OS model, in which the weights of the criteria and their attributes are a combination of the objective values obtained by the method of maximum deviation and the subjective values of the criteria obtained by expert examination using LNN. The ranking and selection of the optimal unmanned aircraft from those on offer with similar characteristics was carried out using the LNN–MABAC model. Testing of the model showed that the proposed model based on LNN provides an objective expert evaluation by eliminating subjective assessments when determining the numerical values of criteria. A sensitivity analysis of the LNN–OS–MABAC model, carried out through 54 scenarios of changes in the weight coefficients, showed a high degree of stability in the solutions obtained when the alternatives were ranked. The results were validated by comparison with LNN extensions of the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) model.

Abstract Female adnexal tumors of probable Wolffian origin (FATWOs) are extremely rare tumors, with only around 100 cases published worldwide. FATWOs are most frequently found in the broad ligament, but these can also appear in the mesosalpinx, Fallopian tube, ovary, paravaginal region or peritoneum. We present a case of a 68-year-old female with a history of painless abdominal distension and frequent urination, with palpable big abdominal mass. Initial diagnosis was made using ultrasound and computed tomography scan that showed 22 × 21-cm tumor with solid and cystic components. Blood test showed elevated serum levels of CA 125, HE4 and Roma index. Intraoperatively, a large abdominopelvic encapsulated mass, fixated to surrounding tissue, was found. Our patient underwent hysterectomy 12 years ago. Total tumor resection, including bilateral adnexectomy, was performed. At 6 months of following, there was no evidence of disease. Here, we report extremely rare abdominal tumors and one of the biggest FATWOs reported so far.

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba L.) is one of the most distinctive plants, characterized by excellent resistance to various environmental conditions. It is used as an ornamental plant and is recognized as a medicinal plant in both traditional and Western medicine. Its bioactive potential is associated with the presence of flavonoids and terpene trilactones, but many other compounds may also have synergistic effects. Flavonoid dimers—biflavonoids—are important constituents of ginkgophytopharmaceuticals. Currently, the presence of 13 biflavonoids has been reported in ginkgo, of which amentoflavone, bilobetin, sciadopitysin, ginkgetin and isoginkgetin are the most common. Their role in plants remains unknown, but their bioactivity and potential role in the management of human health are better investigated. In this review, we have provided an overview of the chemistry, diversity and biological factors that influence the presence of biflavonoids in ginkgo, as well as their bioactive and health-related properties. We have focused on their antioxidant, anticancer, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory activities as well as their potential role in the treatment of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases. We also highlighted their potential toxicity and pointed out further research directions.

Deregulation of TGF‐β family signalling underlies some serious human diseases, including cancer, the Marfan syndromes, and other connective tissue disorders. Recent work in my lab has focused on working out how mutations in key components of TGF‐β family signalling pathways cause these diseases.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) share common culprit foods and potential pathophysiological factors. However, how diet may contribute to disease course and whether this differs between both entities is unclear. We therefore investigated the association of dietary indices with intestinal inflammation and gastrointestinal symptoms in both IBD and IBS patients. Food frequency questionnaires from 238 IBD, 261 IBS and 195 healthy controls (HC) were available to calculate the overall diet quality by the Dutch Healthy Diet-Index 2015 (DHD-2015) and its inflammatory potential by the Adapted Dietary Inflammatory Index (ADII). Intestinal inflammation and symptoms were evaluated by faecal calprotectin and the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale, respectively. The DHD-2015 was lower in IBD and IBS versus HC (p < 0.001), being associated with calprotectin levels in IBD (b = −4.009, p = 0.006), and with abdominal pain (b = −0.012, p = 0.023) and reflux syndrome (b = −0.016, p = 0.004) in IBS. ADII scores were comparable between groups and were only associated with abdominal pain in IBD (b = 0.194, p = 0.004). In this side-by-side comparison, we found a lower diet quality that was differentially associated with disease characteristics in IBD versus IBS patients. Longitudinal studies are needed to further investigate the role of dietary factors in the development of flares and predominant symptoms.