Dysphagia, commonly referred to as abnormal swallowing, affects millions of people annually. If not diagnosed expeditiously, dysphagia can lead to more severe complications, such as pneumonia, nutritional deficiency, and dehydration. Bedside screening is the first step of dysphagia characterization and is usually based on pass/fail tests in which a nurse observes the patient performing water swallows to look for dysphagia overt signs such as coughing. Though quick and convenient, bedside screening only provides low-level judgment of impairment, lacks standardization, and suffers from subjectivity. Recently, high resolution cervical auscultation (HRCA) has been investigated as a less expensive and non-invasive method to diagnose dysphagia. It has shown strong preliminary evidence of its effectiveness in penetration-aspiration detection as well as multiple swallow kinematics. HRCA signals have traditionally been collected and investigated in conjunction with videofluoroscopy exams which are performed using barium boluses including thin liquid. An HRCA-based bedside screening is highly desirable to expedite the initial dysphagia diagnosis and overcome all the drawbacks of the current pass/fail screening tests. However, all research conducted for using HRCA in dysphagia is based on thin liquid barium boluses and thus not guaranteed to provide valid results for water boluses used in bedside screening. If HRCA signals show no significant differences between water and thin liquid barium boluses, then the same algorithms developed on thin liquid barium boluses used in diagnostic imaging studies, it can be then directly used with water boluses. This study investigates the similarities and differences between HRCA signals from thin liquid barium swallows compared to those signals from water swallows. Multiple features from the time, frequency, time-frequency, and information-theoretic domain were extracted from each type of swallow and a group of linear mixed models was tested to determine the significance of differences. Machine learning classifiers were fit to the data as well to determine if the swallowed material (thin liquid barium or water) can be correctly predicted from an unlabeled set of HRCA signals. The results demonstrated that there is no systematic difference between the HRCA signals of thin liquid barium swallows and water swallows. While no systematic difference was discovered, the evidence of complete conformity between HRCA signals of both materials was inconclusive. These results must be validated further to confirm conformity between the HRCA signals of thin liquid barium swallows and water swallows.

In GMAW welding, there are several types of metal transfer that are primarily determined by the primary welding parameters. Different metal transfers in an electric arc are characteristic of different applications. In this paper, a detailed characterization of the pulse transfer of metals in an electric arc is performed, including the characterization of parameters and criteria for their selection on the used power source for welding Welbee. For a given Welbee device, the choice of parameters in steel welding is shown, as well as the synergy function that is characteristic of these devices. Welding was performed on structural steels, with previously adopted parameters, accompanied by recording the dynamic characteristics of current and voltage with an oscilloscope. Based on the available literature sources, the existing models for heat input calculation in GMAW pulse welding were analysed in detail. Heat input calculation for welded steel sheets was performed by using one of them, with current and voltage profiles recorded with an oscilloscope. After the experiment, the obtained results were elaborated, and general comments were given regarding influence of parameters on the quality of welded joints.

A QKD network provides an additional security layer for IT-secure cryptographic key distribution that is added to existing conventional networks. Thus, QKD network components must be resilient to security challenges from conventional network environments. This paper provided a novel solution for designing a Key Management System resistant to DoS attacks. Our solution allows applications to function securely in environments with fewer keys. In addition, we have provided approaches for allocating and managing QKD resources to avoid malicious key reservations. Simulation experiments verified the proposed solutions.

Changes in the market, caused by globalization, have led to the fact that many companies needed to adapt their operations. In response to these changes, the concept of supply chain was developed to help companies from procurement to sales of products. This paper examines the effects of supply chains on competitiveness using the example of agro-food companies from the Republic of Croatia. The research was conducted through a questionnaire which included 188 agribusiness companies. The responses were systematized and statistically processed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and multivariate regression analysis. The results showed that the effects of supply chains play a major role in determining the competitiveness of agro-food companies. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the effects of the supply chain in these companies in order to improve competitiveness and achieve better results of these companies on the market.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the current state of rural tourism in Republic of Srpska as well as to provide guidance and recommendations for the development of this form of tourism. The used model approach expert opinion and, on this occasion, the DEX method of multicriteria decision-making was used. With this model, an assessment of rural tourist capacities is carried out on a random sample of four tourist facilities. The reason for the results obtained in this way is that the observed facilities have adequately used the natural resources available to Republic of Srpska. In addition, recommendations and guidelines are given in order to further develop this type of tourism in Republic of Srpska. The presented model offers an innovative approach in the assessment of current and potential tourist facilities. For this reason, it should be used in future research.