Introduction: Diabetes and depression are two common and major non-communicable diseases with significant disease burdens worldwide. Aim: The aim of this study is to obtain the association among A1C levels and symptoms of depression in patients with type 2 diabetes in family medicine offices. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out between June 2016 and July 2017. We recruited 150 adults with type 2 diabetes from various family medicine offices. The study questionnaire had two parts; the first one for participants and the second one for family medicine physicians. Participants completed the part of the questionnaire with the PHQ-9 scale and questions regarding demographic data. Family medicine physicians completed the part of the questionnaire with questions concerning clinical data. A univariate and multivariate linear regression analysis was conducted to identify significant predictors of depressive symptoms revealed by the PHQ-9 score. Results: Multiple linear regression showed that the level of A1C was a significant predictor of the PHQ-9 score in all three models. Increases in the A1C level were followed by increases in depressive symptoms. Other significant predictors of a positive PHQ-9 score were smoking, level of education and income. Conclusion: The level of A1C as an indicator of glycemic control has been shown to have a significant association with the scores of the PHQ-9 questionnaire, which identifies the intensity of symptoms of depression. An increase in the level of A1C is followed by an increase in the intensity of symptoms of depression.

Bosnian language is a very important factor of Bosniak identity. It owns active and passive vocabulary. Bosniak identity is confirmed by the Bosnian language. Identity and language are causally linked.

BACKGROUND Researches to date had indicated that socioeconomic status is a strong predictor of health behavior but also it has two-way effect with alcohol use disorder. This study examines social factors and their impact on alcohol use disorder and places individual alcohol use in the context of the status and conditions in which people live. To determine the distribution and characteristics of social factor in patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) in the area of the Tuzla Canton (TC) in the period 01.01.2011 - 31.12.2015, in relation to: age, sex, marital status, level of education, municipality of residence, home ownership status, family structure, employment status, and monthly monetary income. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Retrospective research was conducted using a systematic sample of 1863 patients with AUD, using documentation from the Psychiatry clinic of the University Clinical Centre (UCC) and the protocols of Health Centres. RESULTS The sample was composed 1808 (97.05%) men and 55 (2.95%) women; the ratio of men to women was 33:1. the ages of the patients in the sample were 54.4±9.79 years - men 54.49±9.74 years; women 51.45±10.94 years. Most of the men in the sample were married (71.1%) and most of the women were widowed (54.5%). The largest number of patients had elementary school education (66.5%), were unemployed (56.8%), with a monthly monetary income less than 300 convertible marks (KM) (62.2%), owned their own home (78.2%), and 36.1% of them lived with a partner or their own children. CONCLUSIONS There are significantly more men being treated for AUD; most of them are married, and most of the women are widowed. The largest number of patients treated for AUD have elementary school education, are unemployed, have monthly monetary income less than 300 km, own their own house, and a little more than one third of them lived with their partner or their own children.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), like any other pandemic, has imposed an unprecedented threat to physical and mental health to all nations, worldwide. There is no enough evidence in the literature in this area. The present study has been done to explore the organization of psychiatric services in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) to meet mental health needs of BH citizens during the particular restrictive measures caused by COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: This online survey has been done for BH psychiatric institutions. Data were collected from psychiatric institutions in the mental health network of BH. A total of 38 complete responses have been received. Results: Of 38 study participants, three were the departments of psychiatry in university clinical centers, two were psychiatric hospitals, four were psychiatric wards in general hospitals, 27 were community mental health centers, and two were institutes for alcoholism and drug addiction. During the pandemic, all services functioned on a reduced scale, adhering to measures to protect and self-protect both staff and service users. Protective equipment was provided to staff in some institutions in a timely and complete manner and in some in an untimely and incomplete manner. Consultative psychiatric examinations were mainly performed through telephone and online, where it exists as a standard patient monitoring protocol. The application of long-acting antipsychotics was continuous with adherence to restricted and protective measures. In opiate addiction replacement therapy services, substitution therapy was provided for a longer period to reduce frequent contacts between staff and patients. Individual and group psychotherapy continued in reduced number using online technologies, although this type of service was not administratively regulated. An initiative has been given to regulate and administratively recognize telepsychiatry by health insurance funds in the country. A number of psychological problems associated with restrictive measures and fear of illness have been reported by patients as well as by the professionals in mental healthcare teams. There were no COVID-19-positive patients seeking help from institutions that responded to the questionnaire. In one center, infected people with COVID-19 from abroad sought help through the phone. Only one involuntary hospitalization was reported. The involvement of mental health professionals in the work of crisis headquarters during the design of the COVID-19 pandemic control measures varies from satisfactory to insufficient. Education of staff, patients, and citizens was regular with direct instructions through meetings, press, and electronic media. Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic in BH, all psychiatric services functioned on a reduced scale, adhering to measures to protect and self-protect staff and service users. All patients who asked for help have been adequately treated in direct inpatient or outpatient mental healthcare or online, despite telepsychiatric services not being recognized in health system in BH. There were neither infected patients nor staff with COVID-19 in the psychiatric institutions who responded in this research. A large-scale, multicenter study needs to be performed to get a broader picture and to guide us for future better service planning and delivery.

The different personalities of alcoholics are expressed in the way they manifest certain traits of their personality. In addition to knowing the general and common characteristics of alcoholics, it is even more important for clinical practice to know the differences between them, thus allowing a personalized approach to each patient, as a unique personality. The division of the personalities of alcoholics may be viewed through the prism of seven perspectives: the disease perspective, the dimensional perspective, the cognitive-anxiety perspective, the behavioral perspective, the spiritual/transcendent perspective, the narrative and the systemic perspective. Each of these perspectives more clearly represents part of the personality of the alcoholic; together they give a clearer picture of the problem and accordingly offer different treatment options.

Introduction: Cigarette or hookah smoking, as well as alcohol consumption and abuse, are considered to be the most common etiological factors for the onset of oral cavity diseases, such as changes on the lips, tongue, stomatopyrosis, glossopyrosis, candidiasis. Aim: Research aims to determine the harmful effect of smoking the hookah as well as other harmful factors on the oral health of the student population of the Faculty of Dentistry in Sarajevo. Methods: The fourth, fifth, and sixth-year students of the Faculty of Dentistry in Sarajevo participated in this cross-sectional study. All of them are systemically healthy and consume some harmful habits: smoking cigarettes, alcohol consumption, and hookah. All students participated in the study voluntarily and they signed informed consent before the clinical examination. All the subjects gave an extensive medical history which recorded all the data on oral hygiene, harmful habits, manner and length of consumption; they were also given a clinical examination of the oral mucosa and the periodontium, as well as determining periodontal indices, and oral tests that are used for diagnostic purposes. The data is entered into work charts specially designed for these purposes. Results: The results are statistically processed in the SPSS Statistics 21.0 program and are discussed along with the results of other authors, published in relevant databases. Conclusion: The conclusion consists of important facts that originate from the results and the discussion.

Abstract An algorithm to select an output for desired vector relative degree, which is not restricted to be uniform (the same for all outputs), and zero dynamics in linear time-varying (LTV) multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems is proposed. The proposed algorithm is developed under reasonable assumptions of uniform (with respect to time) and lexicography-fixed controllability (with some choice of fixed controllability indices) and is inspired by a generalization of the Ackermann’s formula. One application of the proposed algorithm is the context of higher-order sliding-mode control for perturbed LTV MIMO systems, achieving finite-time stability. The developed algorithm also provides an extension of the classical Ackermann–Utkin formula for outputs of uniform relative degree one and includes the design of flat outputs for LTV MIMO systems. Hence other application is the feedback controller design for trajectory tracking task. Finally, a complete HOSM methodology is provided and tested in an LTV model of the non-holonomic car.

Abstract Rectangular shaped GO-CuO nanocomposites have gained special attention because of spectacular applications in wastewater treatment. However, due to a lack of research, the fuel additive properties of GO-CuO are still unreported. A proper synthesis and characterisation methods are necessary to investigate the fuel additive properties of GO-CuO. The present research demonstrates the synthesis of graphene oxide (GO) sheets via modified Hummers' method. Further, GO-CuO nanohybrid was prepared by fast, cost-effective, and easy to handle solvothermal approach. The crystal data such as crystal structure, unit cell parameters, space groups, crystal system, and coordinates were explained via XRD analysis. Physical and combustion properties of fuel were analysed at different concentrations (0, 20, 40, 60, and 80 ppm) of diesel-GO-CuO blend for fuel quality parameters. The flash point and fire point of pure diesel oil were observed as 78 and 80 °C which were decreased to 50 and 58 °C, respectively, at 80 ppm concentration. With GO-CuO nanocomposites, the cloud point and pour point decrease until a temperature of −8 °C and − 19 °C, respectively, with a pronounced decrease in the viscosity up to 1.83 mm2/s. Further, the photocatalytic degradation of Methylene Red (MR) dye is studied with the effect of changing H2O2, photocatalyst, and dye concentrations with time. Remarkably, the reaction kinetics and MR degradation of about 94% with sixth-time recyclability were observed. The results of this study showed improved MR degradation when using GO-CuO with H2O2. GO-CuO applications can be utilised to remove other dyes in future and to improve fuel quality parameters.

A study of COVID-19 infected patients was conducted regarding to organic and psychological characteristics. The findings of the study indicate that in the period of the pandemic in 2020, a total of 78 infection cases were confirmed in West Herzegovina Canton. Of the total number of infected, 55.1% are women and 44.9% are men. Of the infected population, 16.7% were hospitalized. By monitoring the COVID-19 disease in West Herzegovina Canton, we conclude how all manifestations of the disease were represented, from asymptomatic, through mild respiratory to the most severe clinical picture with fatal outcomes. The mortality rate in West Herzegovina Canton is 5.1%. The study showed that a total of 28.2% of COVID-19 positive patients before infecting with virus, were most likely to suffer from hypertension, diabetes and malignancies. Furthermore, it is important to emphasize that a total of 71.9% of those infected are without underlying diseases. Also, the results indicate that people with COVID-19 in addition to the characteristic symptoms of the disease (fever, fatigue, cough, etc.) had certain mental ailments such as decreased general mood, increased anxiety, panic attacks, acute stress disorder and others.

Introduction Both diabetes mellitus and being female significantly increase the risk of being diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). The diagnosis of MDD, combined with diabetes mellitus, can be detrimental in terms of mortality and morbidity. We aimed at investigating the impact of diabetes mellitus on the gender gap in MDD over the course of a human lifetime. Research design and methods In a cross-sectional study over the course of 17 years, medical claims data of the general Austrian population (n=8 996 916) between 1997 and 2014 was analyzed. Of these, 123 232 patients with diabetes mellitus were extracted and compared with non-diabetic controls. Results In a cohort of 123 232 patients with diabetes mellitus and 1 933 218 controls (52% females, 48% males), women with diabetes had 2.55 times increased ORs to be diagnosed with MDD compared with women without diabetes (95% CI 2.48 to 2.62, p<0.001) between the age of 30 and 69 years. The effect of diabetes mellitus on the prevalence of MDD was significantly smaller in men (OR=1.85, 95% CI 1.80 to 1.91, p<0.001). Between 0 and 30 years and after age 70 years, the gender gap of MDD was not different between patients with and without diabetes mellitus. The peak of the gender gap in MDD in patients with diabetes mellitus was around the age of 40–49 years. A sensitivity analysis identified overweight, obesity and alcohol dependence as the most potent influencing factors of the widening of the gender gap among patients with diabetes mellitus. Conclusions Diabetes mellitus is a stronger risk factor for MDD in women than in men, with the greatest width of the gender gap between 40 and 49 years. High-risk patients for MDD, such as overweight female patients with diabetes, should be more carefully assessed and monitored.

Abstract Objective: The aim of the current study is to compare Seniors in the Community: Risk Evaluation for Eating and Nutrition, version II (SCREEN II) and Mini Nutritional Assessment – Short Form (MNA-SF), where each is used to identify nutritional risk prevalence among community-dwelling people aged 65 years and above in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Design: A cross-sectional study. Nutritional risk assessed using the nutritionist’s risk rating, anthropometric measurements, functional indicators, cognitive parameters, SCREEN II and MNA-SF. Setting: The municipalities of Foca, East Sarajevo and Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Participants: Eight hundred twenty-one community-dwelling individuals aged ≥65 years. Results: The prevalence of high nutritional risk per nutritionist’s risk rating, SCREEN II and MNA-SF was 26, 60, and 7 %, respectively. With the nutritionist’s rating score ≥5 as the criterion, the MNA-SF cut-off point of ≤11 (indicating any possible risk) had poor sensitivity (55·7 %), specificity (46·6 %) and AUC (0·563; P = 0·024). When the criterion of >7 was applied, good sensitivity (95·3 %) and specificity (88·9 %) were obtained for the MNA-SF cut-off score of ≤7. AUC for this comparison was 0·742 (considered fair). Cut-off points of <54 (AUC = 0·816) and <50 (AUC = 0·881) for SCREEN II (indicating moderate to high risk) corresponded with good sensitivity (82·2 %; 80·9 %) and fair specificity (72·1 %; 75·0 %). Conclusion: MNA-SF may have a limited role in nutritional risk screening among community-dwelling seniors in Bosnia and Herzegovina. SCREEN II has promising results in regard to validity, but further studies are warranted.

SUMMARY The purpose of the study was to retrospectively analyze the prevalence of oral cavity, neck and head tumors recorded at our department over a period of 3 years. Retrospective analysis included archival data on cancer patients treated at our department during the 2015-2017 period. A total of 1005 patients with proven carcinomas were selected for final analysis. Cancers were detected by ultrasound, x-ray, biopsy and clinical diagnosis. The mean age of patients was 58.4±19.3 years. The majority of cases (n=264; 26.3%) were detected in the 7th decade of life. The most common cancers were basal cell carcinoma in 374 (37.2%) and squamous cell carcinoma in 228 (22.7%) cases. The male-to-female ratio was 1.7:1. There was no statistically significant age difference between genders. Recurrence of tumor occurred in 31 patients. The most common risk factor in both groups was sun exposure. The most common sites were lower lip, cheek and frontal region in men, and cheek region and nose in women (p<0.001). Men were found to be more susceptible to cancer development. This study showed differences between age groups, i.e. elderly patients had a much higher probability of developing cancer as compared to younger patients.

Introduction: High educational and teaching standards were the main reason why from the begging student satisfaction surveys and assessments of the students’ knowledge, attitudes and opinions were paramount in the educational process at the Cathedra for Medical Informatics at the Medical Faculty University of Sarajevo. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate general knowledge of the fourth semester students about informatics and medical informatics and compare it with previous generations. Methods: Students at the beginning of the fourth semester and before second planned lectures receive “Questionnaire for biomedical students about use and knowledge of information technologies”. Collected data was retrospectively used for this study. The scientific study committee of the Cathedra for Medical Informatics reviewed and approved the database for using this study. At the beginning of the survey, all students were informed that their data could be tracked. Also, all students were informed and got lectures on surveys, development and use of questionnaires for the examination of the patient/student satisfactions and how results of the survey and analysis could help continuously improving quality of the teaching process. Discussion and Conclusion: Medical students come to the faculty with significant IT knowledge and skills. It can even be argued that students rank their knowledge in some way lower than we as teachers estimate based on their practical work. They organize groups on social networks where they exchange information about lectures and exams. It is common for each study year to have its own group. Through this group, information and presentations that teachers send to students are exchanged. One of the goals of teaching medical informatics is the method of searching for medical information on the Internet. The skills learned in medical informatics classes complement those learned earlier and provide a solid base for physicians who are able to supplement their knowledge using IT technologies when they need it.