Investigating the feasibility and potential of combining industry AMR monitoring systems: a comparison with WHO GLASS.

Background: Efforts to estimate the global burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) have highlighted gaps in existing surveillance systems. Data gathered from hospital networks globally by pharmaceutical industries to monitor antibiotic efficacy in different bacteria represent an underused source of information to complete our knowledge of AMR burden..

Analysis of Cultured Gut Microbiota Using MALDI-TOF MS in COVID-19 Patients from Serbia during the Predominance of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant.

The currently dominant SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant, while causing mild respiratory symptoms, exhibits high transmissibility, drug resistance, and immune evasion. We investigated whether the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 affected the dynamics of fecal microbial composition isolated in culture in moderate COVID-19 patients. Blood, stool, and medical records were collected from 50 patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Exploring factors shaping antibiotic resistance patterns in during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented to block SARS-CoV-2 transmission in early 2020 led to global reductions in the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). By contrast, most European countries reported an increase in antibiotic resistance among invasive isolates from 2019 to 2020, while an increasing number of studies reported stable pneumococcal carriage prevalence over the same period. To disentangle the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on pneumococcal epidemiology in the community setting, we propose a mathematical model formalizing simultaneous transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and antibiotic-sensitive and -resistant strains of .

The interactions of SARS-CoV-2 with cocirculating pathogens: Epidemiological implications and current knowledge gaps.

Despite the availability of effective vaccines, the persistence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) suggests that cocirculation with other pathogens and resulting multiepidemics (of, for example, COVID-19 and influenza) may become increasingly frequent. To better forecast and control the risk of such multiepidemics, it is essential to elucidate the potential interactions of SARS-CoV-2 with other pathogens; these interactions, however, remain poorly defined. Here, we aimed to review the current body of evidence about SARS-CoV-2 interactions.

Modelling imperfect knowledge via location semantics for realistic privacy risks estimation in trajectory data.

Mobility patterns of vehicles and people provide powerful data sources for location-based services such as fleet optimization and traffic flow analysis. Location-based service providers must balance the value they extract from trajectory data with protecting the privacy of the individuals behind those trajectories. Reaching this goal requires measuring accurately the values of utility and privacy.

The Impact of Cocirculating Pathogens on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)/Coronavirus Disease 2019 Surveillance: How Concurrent Epidemics May Introduce Bias and Decrease the Observed SARS-CoV-2 Percentage Positivity.

Background: Circulation of seasonal non-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) respiratory viruses with syndromic overlap during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may alter the quality of COVID-19 surveillance, with possible consequences for real-time analysis and delay in implementation of control measures.

Methods: Using a multipathogen susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered (SEIR) transmission model formalizing cocirculation of SARS-CoV-2 and another respiratory virus, we assessed how an outbreak of secondary virus may affect 2 COVID-19 surveillance indicators: testing demand and positivity. Using simulation, we assessed to what extent the use of multiplex polymerase chain reaction tests on a subsample of symptomatic individuals can help correct the observed SARS-CoV-2 percentage positivity and improve surveillance quality.

Rate dynamics of ectotherm responses to thermal stress.

Critical thermal limits (CTLs) show much variation associated with the experimental rate of temperature change used in their estimation. Understanding the full range of variation in rate effects on CTLs and their underlying basis is thus essential if methodological noise is not to overwhelm or bias the ecological signal. We consider the effects of rate variation from multiple intraspecific assessments and provide a comprehensive empirical analysis of the rate effects on both the critical thermal maximum (CT) and critical thermal minimum (CT) for 47 species of ectotherms, exploring which of the available theoretical models best explains this variation.

The Efficacy of Amifostine against Multiple-Dose Doxorubicin-Induced Toxicity in Rats.

Amifostine is well known cytoprotector which is efficient when administered before a wide range of antineoplastic agents. The aim of our study was to investigate amifostine effects on doxorubicin-induced toxic changes in rats. Amifostine (75 mg/kg ip) was given 30 min before each dose of doxorubicin (cumulatively 20 mg/kg ip, for 28 days).

Metamizole Utilization and Expenditure During 6-Year Period: Serbia vs. Croatia.

Metamizole is a medication with analgesic, antipyretic, spasmolytic, and weak anti-inflammatory effects. The aim of our study was to evaluate a six-year trend in the utilization and expenditure of metamizole in comparison to other group of licensed non-opioid analgesics in Serbia and Croatia, in order to rationalize its use and prescribing in these countries. The data of metamizole vs.

Bioequivalence study of two formulations of itraconazole 100 mg capsules in healthy volunteers under fed conditions: a randomized, three-period, reference-replicated, crossover study.

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the bioequivalence of two itraconazole 100 mg capsule formulations.

Research Design And Methods: The single-center, open-label, randomized, three-period, three-sequence, reference-replicated, cross-over study included 38 healthy subjects under fed conditions. In each study period (separated by a 14-day washout), a single oral dose of the test (T) or reference (R) product was administered.

Developmental plasticity and stability in the tracheal networks supplying Drosophila flight muscle in response to rearing oxygen level.

While it is clear that the insect tracheal system can respond in a compensatory manner to both hypoxia and hyperoxia, there is substantial variation in how different parts of the system respond. However, the response of tracheal structures, from the tracheoles to the largest tracheal trunks, have not been studied within one species. In this study, we examined the effect of larval/pupal rearing in hypoxia, normoxia, and hyperoxia (10, 21 or 40kPa oxygen) on body size and the tracheal supply to the flight muscles of Drosophila melanogaster, using synchrotron radiation micro-computed tomography (SR-µCT) to assess flight muscle volumes and the major tracheal trunks, and confocal microscopy to assess the tracheoles.

Economic Evaluation of Pharmacogenetic Tests in Patients Subjected to Renal Transplantation: A Review of Literature.

Renal transplantation is the treatment of choice for the patients with end-stage renal failure. Genetic factors, among others, can influence variability in response to immunosuppressive drugs. Nowadays, due to restrictive health resources, the question arises whether routine pharmacogenetic analyses should be done in the renal transplant recipients or not.

Do Health Reforms Impact Cost Consciousness of Health Care Professionals? Results from a Nation-Wide Survey in the Balkans.

Background: Serbia, as the largest market of the Western Balkans, has entered socioeconomic transition with substantial delay compared to most of Eastern Europe. Its health system reform efforts were bold during the past 15 years, but their results were inconsistent in various areas. The two waves of global recession that hit Balkan economies ultimately reflected to the financial situation of healthcare.

Adverse drug reactions in hospitalized cardiac patients: characteristics and risk factors.

Background/aim: Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) appear more frequently than actually reported and registered. The main goal of our work was to analyze risk factors, incidence and characteristics of ADRs in hospitalized cardiac patients.

Methods: This prospective study included 200 patients, hospitalized at Cardiology Center of the Clinical Centre of Montenegro.

Tacrolimus concentration/dose ratio as a therapeutic drug monitoring strategy: the influence of gender and comedication.

Unlabelled: BACKGROUND/AIM. A combination of tacrolimus and other drugs such as corticosteroids has been commonly used immunosuppressive regimens. On the other hand, there is a growing body of evidence that male and female may differ in their response to the equal drug treatment.

Five-year survival and costs of care in metastatic colorectal cancer: conventional versus monoclonal antibody-based treatment protocols.

Aim: To evaluate the costs and survival estimates of metastatic colorectal carcinoma patients treated with conventional cytostatic protocols and adjuvant monoclonal antibodies (mAbs).

Methods: Retrospective randomized case series and cost-of-illness analysis was used. Metastatic colorectal carcinoma cases (62) were randomly selected from the archive of the largest university military hospital in Southeastern Europe.

End-of-life costs of medical care for advanced stage cancer patients.

Background/aim: Cancer, one of the leading causes of mortality in the world, imposes a substantial economic burden on each society, including Serbia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the major cancer cost drivers in Serbia.

Methods: A retrospective, in-depth, bottom-up analysis of two combined databases was performed in order to quantify relevant costs.

Risk factors for severe dental anxiety among medical students.

Background/aim: Severe dental anxiety (SDA) is the most severe form of dental anxiety, thus the aim of this study was to determine the factors associated with SDA in students of health-related disciplines.

Methods: In this case-control study the cases were students with severe dental anxiety. The study was conducted at the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Serbia.

Efficacy of amifostine in protection against doxorubicin-induced acute cardiotoxic effects in rats.

Background/aim: Amifostine (AMI) is a broad-spectrum cytoprotector which protects against variety of radio- and chemotherapy-related toxicities without decreasing their antitumor action. The aim of the study was to investigate the potential protective effects of AMI against acute cardiotoxic effects of doxorubicin (DOX) in male Wistar rats.

Methods: AMI (300 mg/kg ip) was given 30 min before DOX (6 mg/kg and 10mg/kg b.

[A comparative analysis of the influence of different types of Carbopol on the release rate of lithium-carbonate from matrix tablets].

Background/aim: Hydrophilic matrix tablets represent the most commonly used oral dosage form. Carbomers used in the concentration of 10%-30% for preparation of matrix tablets, may significantly affect the profile of drug release due to the formation of hydrogel matrix tablets. The aim of this study was to compare the influence of different types of Carbopol (carbomers in the pharmacopoeia) on the release rate of lithium-carbonate and other pharmaceutical, technological, physical and chemical properties of the prepared formulations of matrix tablets.