Automatic segmentation of the prostate on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is one of the topics on which research has focused in recent years as it is a fundamental first step in the building process of a Computer aided diagnosis (CAD) system for cancer detection. Unfortunately, MRI acquired in different centers with different scanners leads to images with different characteristics. In this work, we propose an automatic algorithm for prostate segmentation, based on a U-Net applying transfer learning method in a bi-center setting. First, T2w images with and without endorectal coil from 80 patients acquired at Center A were used as training set and internal validation set. Then, T2w images without endorectal coil from 20 patients acquired at Center B were used as external validation. The reference standard for this study was manual segmentation of the prostate gland performed by an expert operator. The results showed a Dice similarity coefficient >85% in both internal and external validation datasets.Clinical Relevance— This segmentation algorithm could be integrated into a CAD system to optimize computational effort in prostate cancer detection.

Breast cancer is the most commonly occurring malignancy and the leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive subtype and is associated with high recurrence rates, high incidence of distant metastases, and poor overall survival. The aim of this study was to investigate the PI3K/PTEN/Akt/mTOR pathway as one of the most frequently deregulated pathways in cancer. We aimed to explore the impact of PI3K and mTOR oncogenes as well as the PTEN tumor suppressor on TNBC clinical behavior, prognosis, and multidrug resistance (MDR), using immunohistochemistry and copy number analysis by quantitative real-time PCR. Our results revealed that loss of PTEN and high expression of PI3K and mTOR proteins are associated with poor outcome of TNBC patients. PTEN deletions appeared as a major cause of reduced or absent PTEN expression in TNBC. Importantly, homozygous deletions of PTEN (and not hemizygous deletions) are a potential molecular marker of metastasis formation and good predictors of TNBC outcome. In conclusion, we believe that concurrent examination of PTEN/PI3K/mTOR protein expression may be more useful in predicting TNBC clinical course than the analysis of single protein expression. Specifically, our results showed that PTEN-reduced/PI3K-high/mTOR-high expression constitutes a ‘high risk’ profile of TNBC.

UDK: 630*9:502.1(234.422 Vranica) Nature conservation and sustainable management of forest resources become more important in Bosnia and Herzegovina, driven by the accession process toward the European Union as well as other international processes directed toward responsible management of forest resources. The forest certification has been widely adopted in the forestry sector and it implies meeting the sustainable forest management standard, whereas identification and proper management of high conservation value forests are one of the basic requirements. The NATURA 2000 ecological network is to become an important driver of reforms in the field of nature protection and forestry sector, due to the designation of new sites in forest area, which are under the responsibility of forestry institutions. This paper illustrates the scientific understanding of identification and management processes related to high conservation value forests that were proposed within potential NATURA 2000 habitats. The paper is based on analysis of main guiding principles for site designation and the role of the cross-sectoral approach applied identification and management of sites with high conservation value attributes. The case study research design was selected focusing on the Vranica Mountain due to recent activities implemented in this site. The in-depth face-to-face interviewing was used to collect qualitative data containing the key stakeholders' attitudes regarding the harmonization of NATURA 2000 habitats with the high conservation value forests – (HCVF), as well as the involvement of stakeholders in the processes of cross-sectoral cooperation. Results of this paper can be useful for the key forest and nature protection policy-makers, as well as to those responsible for managing of protected areas, or other stakeholders directly or indirectly involved in the process of identification and management of HCVFs and NATURA 2000 sites. Harmonisation of guiding principles and cross-sectoral cooperation during the identification and management of HCVFs and NATURA 2000 forest habitats enables the proper implementation of conservation and management measures based on sustainable forest management activities.

Simple Summary The contamination of feed with mycotoxins is a global concern, resulting in adverse effects on productivity and animal health and, therefore, a great economic loss. Ochratoxin A and T-2 mycotoxins are among the mycotoxins that contaminate animal feed. These mycotoxins could adversely affect the health of broilers, and the most effective method to mitigate the toxic effects of mycotoxins is the use of detoxifying agents. In the present experiment, broiler chickens were allotted into five groups. Group 1 received a non-contaminated diet; group 2 received a non-contaminated diet + 3 g/kg of a mycotoxin binder (MMDA); group 3 received a non-contaminated diet + 0.5 mg/kg OTA + 1 mg/kg T-2 toxin; group 4 received a non-contaminated diet + 0.5 mg/kg OTA + 1 mg/kg T-2 toxin + 1 g/kg MMDA; and group 5 received a non-contaminated diet + 0.5 mg/kg OTA + 1 mg/kg T-2 toxin + 3 g/kg MMDA for 35 days. The results revealed that OTA and T-2 toxin negatively affected the productive parameters and some blood and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens. The addition of the detoxifying agent (MMDA at 1 or 3 g/kg feed) to contaminated diets alleviated the adverse effects observed on productivity and the broilers heath related parameters. Abstract The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the feed additive, a novel multicomponent mycotoxin detoxifying agent (MMDA) containing modified zeolite (clinoptilolite), Bacillus subtilis, B. licheniformis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell walls, and silymarin, as detoxifiers of 0.5 mg/kg (0.5 ppm) ochratoxin A (OTA) and 1 mg/kg (1 ppm) T-2 toxin on broiler chickens. A total of 240 1-old broiler chickens (Ross 308) were randomly distributed into five different dietary treatments: (1) control (non-contaminated diet); (2) non contaminated diet + 3 g/kg of MMDA; (3) non-contaminated diet + 0.5 mg/kg OTA + 1 mg/kg T-2 toxin; (4) non-contaminated diet + 0.5 mg/kg OTA + 1 mg/kg T-2 toxin + 1 g/kg MMDA; and (5) non-contaminated diet + 0.5 mg/kg OTA + 1 g/kg T-2 toxin + 3 g/kg MMDA. The results showed that, in the starter period, from 1 to 10 days, the presence of OTA and T-2 mycotoxins reduced the consumption of feed and the growth of the broilers, and no effects of the detoxifying product were observed in the productivity of the chickens, at any of the doses tested, compared to the contaminated control (treatment 3). However, in the growing period, the same negative effect of mycotoxins was registered, but a recovery was observed in the consumption of feed and in the weight of the broilers that consumed 3 g/kg of the MMDA mycotoxin binder, reaching similar values to those of chickens fed uncontaminated control diets. The presence of mycotoxins in feed led to a reduction in the concentration of total proteins and albumin in blood compared to controls, and the presence of the detoxifying product partially reversed this effect. The breast yield of the chickens fed with mycotoxins was lower than that of the animals fed with the control feed and was not affected by the presence of the product tested, at 1 or 3 g/kg. The weight of the different organs (liver, gizzard, kidneys, or spleen), the intestinal pH, the histology of the small intestine, and oral lesions were not affected by the experimental treatments. In summary, the productive parameters and some blood and carcass characteristics of broiler chickens were impaired by the dietary presence of OTA and T-2 toxin. The tested product included at 1 or 3 g/kg feed in contaminated diets improved performance and seems to be effective in partly counteracting the deleterious effects of the tested mycotoxins.

Iterative methods are widely used for solving sparse linear systems of equations and eigenvalue problems. Their performances are relevant to the conditioning of the linear systems. This work explores factors which affects the conditioning of the discretized system, including material heterogeneity, different constitutive characteristics and element sizes, and reveals the dependencies among solvers performance and the conditioning of linear systems. Results show that multiple materials can alter the eigenvalue distributions significantly, while lowering Young’s modulus results in higher condition numbers but has less effects on the spectral scope, additionally, there is a approximately reciprocal square linear relation between element size and condition numbers. These entangled effects along with the chosen pre-conditioners render that there is no simple monotonic increasing dependency among condition numbers and solving time, except with specific conditions. It is hoped that this work will provide more understanding of the iterative sparse linear solver behavior used in similar structural problems.

The social significance and quality of scientific research largely depend on the usefulness of research results for the social and scientific community. The lack of funds and the desire to allocate funding to high-quality research projects make the assessment of the quality of research and the valorization of knowledge increasingly important. However, it is very difficult to apply criteria that can objectively assess scientific research, providing precise qualitative and quantitative data on which funding agencies could base their decisions. The product of scientific research is mainly information published in scientific journals. They are the basis for the dissemination of knowledge and the basic criteria for academic and scientific evaluation, fundraising for scientific research and career advancement. In addition to the evaluation of scientific publications, there is a wide range of other activities that reflect the scientific credibility of scientists, such as: number and quality of grants for scientific research projects, leadership in national or international academic societies, membership in editorial boards of reputable journals, doctoral dissertation mentorships and the like. Although these activities are important and give credibility to the scientist, the relevant scientometric systems cover only publications, neglecting other criteria of scientific importance in evaluation for purpose of academic advancement of a scientist, as well as competitions for grants for financial support of scientific research. The reason for this is the fact that these activities, regardless of their importance, are very heterogeneous, with specific characteristics, and require very diverse parameters for evaluation. Therefore, there are no universal evaluation criteria for these activities and their quality is generally assessed individually, depending on the purpose of the assessment. Regardless of the shortcomings, university ranking systems are important comparative parameters for assessing the quality of scientific and educational value of universities.

Društveni značaj i kvalitet naučnog istraživanja u velikoj mjeri ovise o korisnosti rezultata istraživanja za društvenu i naučnu zajednicu. Nedostatak sredstava i želja da se sredstva dodijele visokokvalitetnim istraživanjima čine sve značajnijim procjenu kvaliteta istraživanja i valorizaciju znanja. Međutim, vrlo je teško primijeniti kriterije koji mogu objektivno procijeniti naučna istraživanja, pružajući precizne kvalitativne i kvantitativne podatke na kojima bi agencije za finansiranje mogle temeljiti svoje odluke. Proizvod naučnog istraživanja uglavnom su informacije objavljene u naučnim časopisima. One su temelj širenja znanja i osnovni kriterij za akademsku i naučnu evaluaciju, regrutovanje sredstava za naučna istraživanja i napredovanje u karijeri. Pored evaluacije naučnih publikacija, postoji širok spektar drugih aktivnosti koji odražavaju naučni kredibilitet znanstvenika, kao što su: broj i kvalitet grantova za naučnoistraživačke projekte, liderstvo u nacionalnim ili međunarodnim akademskim društvima, članstvo u redakcijama uglednih časopisa, mentorstva u doktorskim disertacijama i slično. Mada su te aktivnosti važne i daju kredibilitet znanstveniku, relevantni scientimetrijski sistemi pokrivaju samo publikacije, izostavljajući druge kriterije od naučne važnosti, u ocjenjivanju prilikom akademskog napredovanja znanstvenika, kao i konkursima za dobijanje grantova za finansijsku potporu naučnim istraživanjima. Razlog tome je činjenica da su ove aktivnosti, bez obzira na važnost, vrlo heterogene, sa specifičnim karakteristikama i zahtijevaju veoma raznolike parametre za ocjenu. Stoga, za ove aktivnosti ne postoje univerzalni kriterijumi vrednovanja i njihov se kvalitet, uglavnom, procjenjuje individualno, ovisno o namjeni procjene. Bez obzira na manjkavosti, sistemi rangiranja univerziteta su važni komparativni parametri za procjenu kvaliteta naučne i edukativne vrijednosti univerziteta.

Aktualna globalna pozicija Bosne i Hercegovine potvrđuje nalaz prethodnih istraživanja da u našoj državi ne postoji jedinstven ili barem harmonizovan i efikasan inovacioni sistem, primjeren potrebama razvoja društva i ekonomije znanja. Prvi koraci u utvrđivanju razloga ovakvog stanja su SWOT analize položaja i uloge inovacionog sistema u okviru opšteg strateškog planiranja i sektorskog planiranja istraživanja i transfera tehnologije. Najvažniji rezultati dobiveni iz tih matrica su diskutovani u radu. Oni su potom uspoređeni sa rezultatima naših najnovijih istraživanja. Prvi rezultat je sažeta SWOT matrica inovacionog sistema. Rezultate razrade pojedinih faktora smo prikazali u detaljnoj SWOT matrici zasnovanoj na elementima snage. I ova matrica je pokazala da je ujednačeno i stabilizirano visoko obrazovanje najvažniji element snage inovacionog sistema. Zbog toga su obilježja univerziteta kao subjekta inovacionog sistema posebno razmotrena.

Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most commonly performed electrophysiology procedures. Despite significant advances in our understanding of AF mechanisms in the last years, ablation outcomes remain suboptimal for many patients, particularly those with persistent or long-standing AF. A possible reason is that ablation techniques mainly focus on anatomic, rather than patient-specific functional targets for ablation. The identification of such ablation targets remains challenging. The purpose of this study is to investigate a novel approach based on directed networks, which allow the automatic detection of important arrhythmia mechanisms, that can be convenient for guiding the ablation strategy. The networks are generated by processing unipolar electrograms (EGMs) collected by the catheters positioned at the different regions of the atria. Network vertices represent the locations of the recordings and edges are determined using cross-covariance time-delay estimation method. The algorithm identifies rotational activity, spreading from vertex to vertex creating a cycle. This work is a simulation study and it uses a highly detailed computational 3D model of human atria in which sustained rotor activation of the atria was achieved. Virtual electrodes were placed on the endocardial surface, and EGMs were calculated at each of these electrodes. The propagation of the electric wave fronts in the atrial myocardium during AF is very complex, so in order to properly capture wave propagation patterns, we split EGMs into multiple short time frames. Then, a specific network for each of these time frames was generated, and the cycles repeating in consecutive networks point us to the stable rotor's location. The respective atrial voltage map served as reference. By detecting a cycle between the same 3 nodes in 19 out of 58 networks, where 10 of these networks were in consecutive time frames, a stable rotor was successfully located.

BACKGROUND Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS) is the most common condition requiring surgery in infancy, but the etiology of IHPS is still unclear. The study aimed to analyze the epidemiological and clinical features of the infants with IHPS in our setting and determine the yearly trends in IHPS incidence in the Sarajevo Canton between 2007 and 2016. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed epidemiologic, clinical, and operative data of all infants undergoing pyloromyotomy for IHPS over ten years in the largest tertiary care facility in Bosnia and Herzegovina. RESULTS Fifty-three IHPS patients were diagnosed, yielding an overall incidence of 1.17 per 1000 live births (1.25 and 1.09 cases in 2007-2011 and 2012-2016, respectively). IHPS was more prevalent among male infants (ratio 6.6:1, p < 0.001). The mean age at onset of symptoms was 39.6 days (range, 17-107 days). The estimated median time from symptoms onset to hospitalization was 11 days (range, 1-17 days). The mean age at diagnosis was significantly longer in premature infants compared with term infants (p = 0.003). Both first-born rank and bottle-feeding were significantly associated with IHPS (p = 0.001 and p = 0.04, respectively). No seasonal variation associated with IHPS was detected (p = 0.25). No evidence was found of differences in the incidence of IHPS related to maternal age (p = 0.24) and smoking (p = 0.59). CONCLUSION Our data indicate a declining trend and provide insights into the clinical characteristics of IHPS in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Most of the obtained results are in line with the published data and could improve the quality of local pediatric services.

An adaptive control is a control, which by pre-setting the parameters of the controller, enables the control of processes whose parameters are time-varying or are initially uncertain. The possibilities and benefits of adaptive control are versatile and can be best demonstrated by applying the system while driving a car, or maintaining the optimal speed and distance between cars, which is shown in this paper. As the car’s weight decreases while driving due to fuel consumption, the control algorithm has to be adapted to the changed driving conditions. Accordingly, an adaptive control system using the Matlab software package, and an adaptive cruise control system (ACC) was created in this paper, which is based on a predictive model. After evaluating the developed model of adaptive car motion control, the output parameters such as speed, acceleration, and distance between the two vehicles were analyzed. In this paper a PID controller is used to reduce oscillations in the system. First, the P controller was used to reduce the rise time of the significant values, then the PI controller improved the rise time, and finally the PID controller achieved overshoot reduction performance without affecting the dynamic response system. The obtained results confirm the justified expectations for the possibility of adaptive car control utilization as one of the possible solutions to the increasing traffic incidents, as well as a measure to improve the reduction of these incidents.

The paper presents a diagnosis of the condition of the stadium FK Velež “Rođeni” in Mostar, which was built in period 2006-2008 and represents an important facility for the citizens of Mostar. The steps in diagnosing the condition of an existing structure are explained, including a collection of existing documentation, an inspection of the structure, test and calculations, and assessment and decision on further action. Drawings of the stadium were given, visual inspection of the stadium was performed and calculations of the current and future layout of the structure. The calculations were performed in software Tower 8 and with respect to European norms EN0, EN1, EN2, EN3 and EN8. A visual inspection revealed a large number of damages to the stadium, which were classified into specific groups. The mechanisms of destruction and classification were performed using EN 1504.

Wood is one of the most important construction materials in Europe and its use in building applications has increased in the recent decades. To enable even more extensive and reliable use of wood, this article aimed to determine the effect of thermal modification on mechanical properties of fir wood (lat. Abies sp.), linden wood (lat. Tilia sp.), and beech wood (lat. Fagus sp.). The thermal modification was conducted in a laboratory oven at five different temperatures of 170, 180, 195, 210, 220 °C and processed with a different maximum duration of the process of 78, 120, 180, 240, 276 minutes. Mechanical properties of treated wood have shown statistically insignificant fluctuations at lower temperatures compared to control samples. On the other hand, raising the temperature to 210 °C significantly affected the strength of all the species. The results revealed that thermal modification at high temperatures and longer exposure causes a decrease in the maximum force of the three wood species.

In the production of expanded polystyrene, the standards are very high in terms of thermal, fire, dimensional, and mechanical characteristics, because each of the characteristics is a condition for achieving quality that allows competitiveness in the market. To ensure high-quality products, it is necessary to achieve optimal performance and product quality through carefully adjusted input parameters of production. Since the production of expanded polystyrene is specific in several ways, an experimental study was conducted in which the basic parameters affecting product quality were detected and through which a series of experiments were performed to prove product quality. Experimental research for this work was conducted on three types of expanded polystyrene samples whose purpose is to insulate floors exposed to pressure. The samples were made of the same material of different densities and aging times for which the pressure stress at a deformation of 10% was tested. After the experimental phase, the modeling of the output parameters was performed. Modeling involved the development of a model that describes a given problem and the obtained modeled values were analyzed and compared with the experimental one. The modeling method used genetic programming using the GPdotNET software package. The goal of modeling with the GpdotNET tool is to obtain a realistic model that would give the value of the compression stress at a deformation of 10% as an output variable in materials made of expanded polystyrene.

Optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) enables simple identification and localization of a plethora of refractive and reflective events on a fiber link, including splices, connectors and breaks, and measuring insertion/return loss. Specifically, large enough OTDR dynamic range (DR) and thus high signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) enable clear far-end visibility of longer fibers. We point out here that, under such conditions, the optical bit-error-rate (BER) floor is dominantly determined by reflective events that introduce significant return loss. This complements the OTDR legacy tests by appropriate optical BER floor estimation in the field. As high SNR implies inter-symbol interference as dominating error generating mechanism, we could apply the classical time-dispersion channel model for the optical BER floor determined by the root-mean-square (rms) delay spread of the actual fiber channel power-delay profile. However, as the high-SNR condition is not always fulfilled mostly due to insufficient DR, we propose here inserting a low-noise optical preamplifier as the OTDR front-end to reduce noise floor and amplify the backscattered signal. In order to verify the model for the exemplar test situation, we measured BER on the same fiber link to find very good matching between the measured BER floor values and the ones predicted from the OTDR trace.