Publications by authors named "Durim Alija"

Growing interest in functional food ingredients has led to the exploration of pumpkin flour as a nutritional enhancer in wheat-based products. This study investigated the impact of pumpkin flour incorporation (0-20%) on soft wheat flour blends' technological and bioactive properties. The comprehensive analysis included granulometric distribution, techno-functional properties (WHC, WAC, WAI, WSI, SP, OAC), pasting characteristics (RVA), gel texture (TPA), rheological behaviour (frequency sweeps), colour parameters, and bioactive compounds (TPC, DPPH, ABTS) in both water and ethanol extracts.

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Background: Considering the widespread use of social media, it is unsurprising that dentists are increasingly drawn to these platforms as a means of connecting with patients and sharing valuable insights. The aim of this research is to examine the influence of social media on the selection of dentists among residents of the Vojvodina province in the Republic of Serbia.

Methods: This cross-sectional study surveyed residents of Vojvodina, Serbia, aged 18 years and above, with an account on at least one social media platform.

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Background: Kikuchi-Fujimoto Disease (KFD) is a rare condition, distinguished by its hallmark presentation of regional lymphadenopathy in young adult females. While initially observed to exclusively affect cervical lymph nodes in females under 40 years old, KFD is now known to impact individuals of any age or gender and manifest with adenopathy in various anatomical sites. Nonspecific imaging findings for KFD include enlarged lymph nodes, often exhibiting abnormal morphology.

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The rigorous demands of medical education create circumstances that can make it challenging to maintain a healthy diet. Evaluations from students at an urban medical school in the northeast U.S.

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Introduction: Legislation embodies and regulates the common values by which a society is governed. Today's society is multicultural and dynamic, a consensus must be reached and values consolidated on which different ideological groups can agree, an approach known as the ethics of minima. The concept of the minor has also been changing over the years; from being perceived as passive to being considered an autonomous individual engaged in the development of his or her life project and the bearer of duties and rights to be progressively exercised according to his or her capacity.

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Photochemical aging and photooxidation of atmospheric particles play a crucial role in both the chemical and physical processes occurring in the troposphere. In particular, the presence of organic chromophores within atmospheric aerosols can trigger photosensitized oxidation that drives the atmospheric processes in these interfaces. However, the light-induced oxidation of the surface of atmospheric aerosols, especially those enriched with organic components, remains poorly understood.

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River water in Kosovo is exposed to various discharges from industrial and agricultural activities as well as to urban wastewater. Rivers Sitnica and Drenica are among the most affected ones and water samples drawn from these rivers show the presence of various toxic substances. Genotoxic effects are seen in fish living in these rivers indicating a cytotoxic and mutagenic potential of the river water.

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Muscle invasive bladder cancers (BCs) can be divided into 2 major subgroups-basal/squamous (BASQ) tumors and luminal tumors. Since Pparg has low or undetectable expression in BASQ tumors, we tested the effects of rosiglitazone, Pparg agonist, in a mouse model of BASQ BC. We find that rosiglitazone reduces proliferation while treatment with rosiglitazone plus trametinib, a MEK inhibitor, induces apoptosis and reduces tumor volume by 91% after 1 month.

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Fluorescently labelled compounds are often employed to study the paracellular properties of epithelia. For flux measurements, these compounds are added to the donor compartment and samples collected from the acceptor compartment at regular intervals. However, this method fails to detect rapid changes in permeability.

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There are circumstances in which breastfeeding is not possible and formula milk feeding has to be resorted to. In these cases, it is difficult to choose among the multitude of brands on the market for infant feeding. Although the composition of formula milk is largely regulated by legislation, there are certain nutrients whose presence in breast milk is beneficial.

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Bladder cancers (BCs) can be divided into 2 major subgroups displaying distinct clinical behaviors and mutational profiles: basal/squamous (BASQ) tumors that tend to be muscle invasive, and luminal/papillary (LP) tumors that are exophytic and tend to be non-invasive. is a likely driver of LP BC and has been suggested to act as a tumor suppressor in BASQ tumors, where it is likely suppressed by MEK-dependent phosphorylation. Here we tested the effects of rosiglitazone, a agonist, in a mouse model of BBN-induced muscle invasive BC.

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Organic chromophores initiate much of daytime aqueous phase chemistry in the environment. Thus, studying the absorption spectra of commonly used organic photosensitizers is paramount to fully understand their relevance in environmental processes. In this work, we combined UV-Vis spectroscopy, H-NMR spectroscopy, quantum chemical calculations, and molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the absorption spectra of 4-benzoyl benzoic acid (4BBA), a widely used photosensitizer and a common proxy of environmentally relevant chromophores.

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Background: Arteriovenous grafts (AVGs) are used for patients deemed unsuitable for the creation of an autogenous arteriovenous fistula (AVF) or unable to await maturation of the AVF before starting hemodialysis. However, AVGs are prone to infection and thrombosis resulting in low long-term patency rates. The novel aXess Hemodialysis Graft consists of porous polymeric biomaterial allowing the infiltration by cells and the growth of neotissue, while the graft itself is gradually absorbed, ultimately resulting in a fully functional natural blood vessel.

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Solution-state NMR can be used to study protein-lipid interactions, in particular, the effect that proteins have on lipids. One drawback is that only small assemblies can be studied, and therefore, fast-tumbling bicelles are commonly used. Bicelles contain a lipid bilayer that is solubilized by detergents.

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The alkaline comet assay, or single cell gel electrophoresis, is one of the most popular methods for assessing DNA damage in human population. One of the open issues concerning this assay is the identification of those factors that can explain the large inter-individual and inter-laboratory variation. International collaborative initiatives such as the hCOMET project - a COST Action launched in 2016 - represent a valuable tool to meet this challenge.

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Transcriptional regulators, including the cohesin complex member STAG2, are recurrently mutated in cancer. The role of STAG2 in gene regulation, hematopoiesis, and tumor suppression remains unresolved. We show that Stag2 deletion in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) results in altered hematopoietic function, increased self-renewal, and impaired differentiation.

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Being exposed to untreated urban and industrial water, the rivers Drenica and Sitnica are considered to be the most polluted ones in the Kosovo. Our previous investigations on the cyto- and genotoxic potential of water samples from these rivers evaluated with primary rat hepatocyte cultures indicated a risk for the health of aquatic organisms. In order to assess the genotoxic risk to aquatic organisms, we therefore performed a two year study (2016-2017) on roach (Rutilus rutilus) from these rivers.

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The actual stage of the development of Kosovo is characterized by the concerning levels of environmental pollution and the serious health problems attributed to the emission of pollutants into air, soil and water. In this context, river pollution is one of the main threats due to the discharge of untreated urban and industrial waste waters that affect the quality of surface and ground water. In addition, urban and agricultural discharges are affecting the river water quality.

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Hyperpigmentation in pregnancy is a common phenomenon, experienced to some degree by up to 90% of pregnant women. It mainly involves sun-exposed areas, but it can extend to non-exposed zones. Cases with extensive hyperpigmentation are rarely reported.

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β-Carotene has been shown to increase the risk of developing lung cancer in smokers and asbestos workers in two large scale trails, the Beta-Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET) and the Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-carotene Cancer Prevention Trial (ATBC). Based on this observation, it was proposed that genotoxic oxidative breakdown products may cause this effect. In support of this assumption, increased levels of sister chromatid exchanges, micronuclei, and chromosomal aberrations were found in primary hepatocyte cultures treated with a mixture of cleavage products (CPs) and the major product apo-8'carotenal.

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Background: Host genetic factors may impact susceptibility to infection. A small number of studies have investigated the association between factors such as ABO blood groups and selected phenotypes on the incidence and severity of H1N1 infections with inconclusive results.

Methods: Using data from the Clinic of Infectious Diseases - University Clinical Centre Prishtina and based on the examination of 125 patients hospitalized with H1N1 in the period 2009-2014, the frequency of blood groups from ABO and Rhesus (Rh) systems as phenotypical markers were evaluated.

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Reports on the state of the environment in Kosovo have emphasized that river and ground water quality is affected by pollution from untreated urban water as well as the waste water from the industry. One of the main contributors to this pollution is located in Obiliq (coal power plants). Prishtina-the capital city of Kosovo-is heavily influenced too.

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The aim of this work was to evaluate the predictors of mortality in a group of end-stage kidney disease (ESRD) patients under dialysis, by performing a three-year follow-up study. From the 236 patients included in this study, 54 patients died during the three-year follow-up period. Our data showed that the risk of death was higher in patients presenting lower levels of mean cell hemoglobin concentration, transferrin, and albumin.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of specific phenotypes in patients with lung diseases as well as their eventual association with the risk of developing lung diseases. For this purpose 2777 patients with lung diseases and 2778 healthy individuals from all over Kosova were examined for the appearance of the following selected phenotypes: ear lobe free (ELF)/ear lobe attached, normal chin (NC)/cleft chin, tongue roller (TR)/non roller, hand clasping right thumb over (HC)/hand clasping left thumb over, righthanded (RH)/lefthanded. In addition, the blood group from ABO system and the presence or absence of the Rhesus factor asphenotypical markers were observed.

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Purpose: Duane syndrome (DS) belongs to a group of congenital retraction syndromes, the incidence of which varies between 2% and 4% in patients with strabismus. In most cases the damage is unilateral, but it manifests as bilateral in about 20% of cases. According to the classification of Huber, type III DS exhibits a limitation of abduction and adduction.

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