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This article describes the life and medical activities of Jadwiga Olszewska (1855-1932) in Serbia from 1895-1899, AustroHungarian (AH)-occupied and annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) from 1899-1918, and the newly founded Kingdom of Yugoslavia, from 1919-1932. In summer 1899, Olszewska replaced Teodora Krajewska as an AH official female physician in Tuzla. Born in Congress Poland, Olszewska had enrolled in 1873 in the medical courses for women in St. Petersburg but had left Russia in 1880 to study medicine in France. She had lived as a student and single parent in Paris since 1883, and she was awarded her Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Paris in 1894. She could not practice medicine in Russian-occupied Poland because of her French diploma, and she could not practice in most Western countries due to her gender. Therefore, she decided to move to Serbia, where she worked as an assistant physician in the district hospitals of Loznica (1895-1897?) and Požarevac (1897-1899). Driven by the need for a higher income to fund her son's education, she engaged her network of Polish compatriots and procured the position of an AH official female physician of Tuzla in 1899, where she performed her duties in an exemplary manner. After the breakdown of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (AHE) in 1918, Olszewska remained in Tuzla and retired as a Yugoslav official physician in 1923. When she died in Tuzla in 1932, local colleagues had to arrange for a proper funeral because Olszewska did not leave any savings due to her insufficient pension. Olszewska's grave never received a tombstone, and it is untraceable today. CONCLUSION: Jadwiga Olszewska (1855-1932) was a woman pioneer of medicine from Poland, who practiced her profession first as an assistant physician in Serbia (1895-1899) and then as an AH and Yugoslavian official female doctor in Tuzla, BH (1899-1923).

Aim To determine a status of systolic function in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) type 2 with ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI), to determine values of cardiac biomarkers in patients with DM type 2 with STEMI and correlate the parameters with ejection fraction of left ventricle (EFLV). Methods A total of 80 patients were divided into two groups, the study group (group I) consisting of 40 patients admitted with the diagnosis of DM type 2 and STEMI, and a control group (group II) with 40 patients with STEMI without diagnosed DM type 2. Cardiac biomarkers - creatine kinase MB fraction (CKMB), and troponin I were monitored. The EFLV was evaluated echocardiographically (using Simpson method) five days after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI). Results In the group I the EFLV five days after pPCI was significantly correlated with troponin values (with a minimum r = -0.47; p=0.002, a maximum r = -0.339; p = 0.032, as well as with an average value of r = -0.389; p=0.013), and with an average CK value (r = -0.319; p=0.045). In the group II there was a significant negative correlation of EFLV with the maximum value of troponin (r = -0.309; p=0.05). Conclusion Troponin values have an effect on the EFLV after STEMI, and thus on the left ventricular status, as well as on the pharmacological modality itself.

Introduction: Microdissection testicular sperm extraction (microTESE) is considered the gold standard method for surgical sperm retrieval among patients with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA). Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between histopathological findings after failed microTESE procedure and outcomes of the „second-look“ procedure and to provide insight into the most common histopathological patterns after testicular biopsy within our population. Methods: The retrospective study included 33 selected patients with NOA, who had undergone unsuccessful sperm retrieval. The diagnosis of NOA was made after the assessment of the patient’s history data, a physical examination, semen analysis, the hormonal profile, and genetic studies. After negative sperm retrieval, histopathological report has been analyzed for „second-look“ microTESE attempt. Results: Five testicular histopathological patterns were found: hypospermatogenesis (9,1%), Sertoli cell-only syndrome (43%), germ cell maturation arrest (15%), seminiferous tubule hyalinization (15%), mixed pattern (21%). Y-microdeletions were detected in 5 patients, of which 3 patients showed AZFc region deletions. Only 3 patients (9,1%) underwent a „second-look“ procedure after the evaluation of histopathological reports. After the stimulation therapy and „second-look“ procedure, we had a positive outcome in a single patient (33,3%). Mean FSH value in patients with confirmed spermatogenesis was 17.26±3.11IU/l, while mean FSH value in patients without presence or germ cell statistically significantly exceeded and was 24.28±4.71IU/L (p=0.038). Conclusion: Histopathological reports following the microTESE procedure are obligatory for the proper selection of patients who are candidates for the „second-look“ microTESE attempt. Patients with Sertoli cell-only syndrome and hypospermatogenesis particularly can benefit from the “second-look” procedure.

Introduction: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding can be a life-threatening condition and requires careful evaluation from the very first episode in order to reduce the risk of rebleeding, hemorrhagic shock and death. The outcome of a patient with upper gastrointestinal bleeding depends on resuscitation measures taken during admission to the hospital and an adequate assessment of the patient’s risk level. Aim: The aim of the study is to compare Glasgow Blatchford score and Rockall score and to identify the most accurate score used in predicting unfavorable outcomes and the need for intervention. Methods: This study involves 237 patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The accuracy of the scoring systems was assessed by plotting receiver-operating characteristic curves (ROC curves) and was calculated for GBS and RS with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: As for mortality prediction, RS was superior to GBS (AUC 0.806 vs. 0.750). The GBS had a higher accuracy in detecting patients who needed transfusion units and was superior to the RS (AUC 0.810 vs.0.675). In predicting the need for intervention, RS was superior to GBS (AUC 0.707 vs. 0.636. Conclusion: GBS and RS are developed to help clinicians to triage patients appropriately in order to assess endoscopic therapy within a suitable time frame, as well as identify low risk patients for possible outpatient management. High accuracy of the GBS in predicting a need for transfusion represents an important endpoint to assess. RS was superior to GBS in predicting a need for intervention as well as mortality. Currently, a combination of these scoring systems is the best way for proper assessment.

Aim To evaluate a correlation of serum level of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) to the risk of the occurrence of complications in patients with the early phase of ST-segment elevation myocardical infarction (STEMI) treated with fibrinolytic therapy prior to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods A total of 54 patients with the diagnosis of STEMI treated with fibrinolytic therapy (alteplase) prior to PCI were included. Patients were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Clinic for Heart, Blood Vessel and Rheumatic Diseases in the period January to March 2018. All patients underwent coronary angiography and PCI within the maximum of 48 hours delay after fibrinolysis, according to the hemodynamic and electrical stability and PCI availability. Blood samples were taken immediately after admission prior to fibrinolytic administration. Patients were divided into two groups according to NGAL values (less or more than 134.05 ng/mL). Results Higher values of NGAL have effect on a higher mean systolic and diastolic pressure (p=0.001 and p=0.003, respectively). Patients with higher NGAL values also have higher values of brain natriuretic peptide (p=0.0001) and highly sensitive troponin I (p=0.002). In that group relative risk (RR) for lethal outcome was 6.4 times significantly higher (p=0.002), for the development of heart failure 2.88 times (p=0.0002), for post-myocardial infarction angina pectoris 2.24 times (p=0.0158), and for ventricular rhythm disturbances (ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation) 1.96 times higher (p=0.0108). Conclusion Increased NGAL value is related to an unfavourable outcome of patients in the early phase of STEMI treated with fibrinolytic therapy prior to PCI.

The paper presents an approach aimed at automatically deriving the conceptual database model from a set of business process models. The approach proposes the incremental synthesis of the target model by iteratively composing the partial conceptual database models that are derived from the models contained in the source set. The approach is implemented by the AMADEOS tool, which is the first online web-based tool enabling the automatic derivation of the conceptual database model from a set of business process models.

This paper discusses the problem of powering a remote rural mobile base station using a standalone hybrid renewable energy system. A wind turbine and photovoltaic system are employed as the complementary power generation technologies, while the diesel generator serves as a backup power supply. A battery is required to reduce the impact of intermittency of renewable sources. On the consumption side, along with telecommunication electronic equipment, the consumption of cooling devices as a result of the ambient temperature, is also taken into account. The behavior of the base station in electrical and thermal terms is tested using the sequential Monte Carlo simulation. Adequate models have been used to generate wind, irradiance, and temperature input series, using the monthly averages for calibration, as the statistic information that is widely available in meteorological atlases, even for remote rural locations. The developed software provides all the variables of interest either in the form of chronological diagrams or probability histograms. The simulation platform can also be incorporated as a module of an algorithm for selection of optimal capacity of the generating system elements and for the optimal control of the cooling devices.

Background: Oral premalignant lesions (OPLs) represent the most common oral precancerous conditions. One of the major challenges in this field is the identification of OPLs at higher risk for oral squamous cell cancer (OSCC) development, by discovering molecular pathways deregulated in the early steps of malignant transformation. Analysis of deregulated levels of single genes and pathways has been successfully applied to head and neck squamous cell cancers (HNSCC) and OSCC with prognostic/predictive implications. Exploiting the availability of gene expression profile and clinical follow-up information of a well-characterized cohort of OPL patients, we aim to dissect tissue OPL gene expression to identify molecular clusters/signatures associated with oral cancer free survival (OCFS). Materials and methods: The gene expression data of 86 OPL patients were challenged with: an HNSCC specific 6 molecular subtypes model (Immune related: HPV related, Defense Response and Immunoreactive; Mesenchymal, Hypoxia and Classical); one OSCC-specific signature (13 genes); two metabolism-related signatures (3 genes and signatures raised from 6 metabolic pathways associated with prognosis in HNSCC and OSCC, respectively); a hypoxia gene signature. The molecular stratification and high versus low expression of the signatures were correlated with OCFS by Kaplan–Meier analyses. The association of gene expression profiles among the tested biological models and clinical covariates was tested through variance partition analysis. Results: Patients with Mesenchymal, Hypoxia and Classical clusters showed an higher risk of malignant transformation in comparison with immune-related ones (log-rank test, p = 0.0052) and they expressed four enriched hallmarks: “TGF beta signaling” “angiogenesis”, “unfolded protein response”, “apical junction”. Overall, 54 cases entered in the immune related clusters, while the remaining 32 cases belonged to the other clusters. No other signatures showed association with OCFS. Our variance partition analysis proved that clinical and molecular features are able to explain only 21% of gene expression data variability, while the remaining 79% refers to residuals independent of known parameters. Conclusions: Applying the existing signatures derived from HNSCC to OPL, we identified only a protective effect for immune-related signatures. Other gene expression profiles derived from overt cancers were not able to identify the risk of malignant transformation, possibly because they are linked to later stages of cancer progression. The availability of a new well-characterized set of OPL patients and further research is needed to improve the identification of adequate prognosticators in OPLs.

Condition monitoring is a fundamental technology that enables predictive maintenance of automation systems. However, as automation systems increase in complexity, the development of condition monitoring software becomes a challenging task that requires extensive knowledge from multiple engineering disciplines. In this context, the identification and specification of condition monitoring software requirements play a key role. Neglecting these tasks often results in costly problems during later stages of systems development. Currently, means to support interdisciplinary requirements engineering within condition monitoring software development are missing. In particular, there is a need for a systematic process that supports modeling condition monitoring requirements. In this paper, we present our solution - a profile based on the extension of the SysML, which is commonly used to engineer requirements in automation systems. The profile allows specification of condition monitoring software requirements and thus enables a more domain-specific requirements engineering approach. We illustrate this approach on a heat exchanger condition monitoring system, explain the particular modeling steps, and present lessons learned.

Aim To investigate quality of life and exposure to lifestyle risk factors of cancer patients in Bosnia and Herzegovina and a correlation of cancer type with lifestyle risk factors. Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 200 cancer patients from the Clinical Centre of the University of Sarajevo. The respondents completed an anonymous questionnaire consisting of seven sections: basic patient information, physical activity, dietary habits including alternative medicine, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, anxiety, and comorbidities. Results A total of 150 (75%) patients were overweight with 113 (56%) of them being less physically active after the confirmed diagnosis. After the diagnosis, 79 (40%) patients ate less food, and 154 (77%) healthier; 130 (65%) reported consumption of alternative medicine and food supplements, 39 (30%) spent >1/4 of average monthly salary on these products. Majority never consumed alcohol, 135 (68%) and 101 (51%) patients reported history of tobacco use. Being obese was an independent predictor for colorectal carcinoma; being less obese was linked to a decreased risk of breast cancer diagnosis. Physical activity was linked to a decreased risk of lung cancer diagnosis. Many patients (122; 61%) reported having chronic comorbidities, mostly hypertension, while 44 (22%) patients were proven to be clinically anxious. Conclusion Our data suggest lack of public awareness of the consequences of unhealthy lifestyles. Risk factors such as alcohol consumption and tobacco use differed from other European countries. Significance of lifestyle changes after the diagnosis for reducing mortality and cancer recurrence requires further research. Prevention programs and more data are needed.