Epidemiological Characteristics of Hospitalized Burn Patients-A 10-Year Retrospective Study in a Major Burn Center in Serbia.

Background: Many European countries' epidemiological data on burns were analyzed. This research aimed to analyze the key epidemiological characteristics of hospitalized burn patients in Serbia's major burn unit over 10 years, as well as to create the very first national epidemiological dataset with the basic requirements for future epidemiological studies.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted, and demographic, clinical, and burn characteristics, as well as predictors of mortality, were analyzed.

Comparison of strategies for vascular ACCESS closure after transcatheter aortic valve implantation: the ACCESS-TAVI randomized trial.

Background And Aims: Data from randomized trials investigating different access closure strategies after transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TF-TAVI) remain scarce. In this study, two vascular closure device (VCD) strategies to achieve hemostasis after TF-TAVI were compared.

Methods: The ACCESS-TAVI (Comparison of Strategies for Vascular ACCESS Closure after Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation) is a prospective, multicenter trial in which patients undergoing TF-TAVI were randomly assigned to a strategy with a combined suture-/plug-based VCD strategy (suture/plug group) using one ProGlideTM/ProStyleTM (Abbott Vascular) and one Angio-Seal® (Terumo) versus a suture-based VCD strategy (suture-only group) using two ProGlidesTM/ProStylesTM.

Aortic valve calcification volume and prognosis in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Introduction And Objectives: It is unknown whether aortic valve calcium volume, as measured by contrast-enhanced computed tomography angiography (angio-CT), is associated with mortality in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). We aimed to confirm that contrast-enhanced aortic valve calcium correlates with noncontrast-enhanced calcium score and provides useful prognostic information in patients undergoing TAVI.

Methods: This retrospective observational study included patients from 2 high-volume TAVI centers in Germany, all of whom underwent high-quality angio-CT prior to TAVI.

Ensemble machine learning prediction of anaerobic co-digestion of manure and thermally pretreated harvest residues.

This study aimed to clarify the statistical accuracy assessment approaches used in recent biogas prediction studies using state-of-the-art ensemble machine learning approach according to 10-fold cross-validation in 100 repetitions. Three thermally pretreated harvest residue types (maize stover, sunflower stalk and soybean straw) and manure were anaerobically co-digested, measuring biogas and methane yield alongside eight thermal preprocessing and biomass covariates. These were the inputs to an ensemble machine learning approach for biogas and methane yield prediction, employing three feature selection approaches.

The Role of Ketamine as a Component of Multimodal Analgesia in Burns: A Retrospective Observational Study.

: Burn wound dressing and debridement are excruciatingly painful procedures that call for appropriate analgesia-typically multimodal. Better post-procedural pain management, less opioid use, and consequently fewer side effects, which could prolong recovery and increase morbidity, are all benefits of this type of analgesia. Intravenously administered ketamine can be effective as monotherapy or in combination with opioids, especially with procedural sedation such as in burn wound dressing.

Geospatial prediction of total soil carbon in European agricultural land based on deep learning.

Accurate geospatial prediction of soil parameters provides a basis for large-scale digital soil mapping, making efficient use of the expensive and time-consuming process of field soil sampling. To date, few studies have used deep learning for geospatial prediction of soil parameters, but there is evidence that it may provide higher accuracy compared to machine learning methods. To address this research gap, this study proposed a deep neural network (DNN) for geospatial prediction of total soil carbon (TC) in European agricultural land and compared it with the eight most commonly used machine learning methods based on studies indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection.

Reconstruction of Moderately and Severely Atrophic Scalp-A Multicentric Experience in Surgical Treatment of Patients Irradiated for Tinea Capitis in Childhood and Surgical Algorithm.

: Before the introduction of griseofluvin, the use of X-ray radiation was the treatment of choice for tinea capitis. More than half a century later various types of tumors have been found to be associated with childhood irradiation due to tinea capitis, most commonly cancers of the head and neck, as well as brain tumors. The often unusually aggressive and recurrent nature of these tumors necessitates the need for repeated surgeries, while the atrophic skin with an impaired vascular supply due to radiation often poses an additional challenge for defect reconstruction.

COVID-19 and Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma-Impact of the Pandemic on Unequal Access to Healthcare.

Most skin tumors are not fatal, but if not treated in a timely manner, they can lead to significant morbidity. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in order to create more capacities for the treatment of COVID-19-positive patients as well as to contain the spread of the virus, the healthcare system was reorganized worldwide, leading to decreased access to preventive screening programs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on healthcare accessibility to cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma patients in Serbia.

Necrotizing fasciitis - a complication of autoimmune skin blistering diseases?

Introduction: Autoimmune bullous diseases (AIBD) are organ-specific skin blistering diseases clinically manifesting as bullae and vesicles of the skin and mucous membranes. The loss of skin barrier integrity renders patients susceptible to infection. Necrotizing fasciitis (NF), a rare yet severe infectious complication of AIBD has been insufficiently documented in the literature.

Necrotizing Skin and Soft Tissue Infection after Gluteal Augmentation in a Perioperatively Asymptomatic COVID-19 Patient-Complications of the Post-Lockdown Era? A Case Report.

: Aesthetic surgery procedures are generally done in a relatively healthy population and carry a rather low risk compared to other surgical specialties. The incidence of complications in aesthetic surgery varies greatly depending on the type, wound cleanliness regarding the anatomical site, complexity of the surgery, patient's age, and comorbidities but is generally considered low. The overall incidence of surgical site infections (SSIs) in all aesthetic surgical procedures is around 1% in most of the literature while cases of necrotizing soft tissue infections are mostly found as individual reports.

Necrotizing Fasciitis-Severe Complication of Bullous Pemphigoid: A Systematic Review, Risk Factors, and Treatment Challenges.

Bullous pemphigoid (BP), the most common subepidermal autoimmune skin blistering disease (AIBD) has an estimated annual incidence of 2.4 to 42.8 new cases per million in different populations, designating it an orphan disease.

Long-Term Mortality after New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation in COVID-19.

: Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been described as a common cardiovascular manifestation in patients suffering from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and has been suggested to be a potential risk factor for a poor clinical outcome. : In this observational study, all patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 in 2020 in the Cantonal Hospital of Baden were included. We assessed clinical characteristics, in-hospital outcomes as well as long-term outcomes with a mean follow-up time of 278 (±90) days.

Physical activity before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Vojvodina, Serbia.

Background: The physical activity (PA) of the youth and adult population underwent changes during the last 2 years due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and all for the purpose of maintaining the health of the population. The purpose of this study was to estimate the levels of PA in the youth population and the adult population (young and old) during the COVID-19 pandemic in the territory of Vojvodina, Serbia, and to determine the differences between them, as well as to compare these results with the results before the pandemic.

Methods: A total of 1,117 subjects (age 36.

A wildfire growth prediction and evaluation approach using Landsat and MODIS data.

The increasing wildfire occurrence due to global climate changes urged the improvement of present wildfire growth prediction and evaluation methods. This study aimed to propose novel solutions to their two primary limitations, including the lack of robust fuel classification method and the low spatial resolution of wildfire growth accuracy assessment while ensuring wide applicability using open data satellite missions and software. The first objective was to create a robust two-step fuel model classification method consisted of the supervised machine learning classification of generalized land cover classes in the 1st level and their individual unsupervised classification to vegetation subtypes in the 2nd level.

Effects of small-sided games and high-intensity interval training on physical performance in young female handball players.

This study was designed to compare the effectiveness of small-sided handball games in combination with handball training (SSG group) versus high-intensity interval training in combination with handball training (HIIT group) on physical performance of young female handball players during pre-competitive period. Twenty-four young female handball players, who have a 6.17 ± 1.

Effect of physical stimuli on hair follicle deposition of clobetasol-loaded Lipid Nanocarriers.

Clobetasol propionate (CLO) is a potent glucocorticoid used to treat inflammation-based skin, scalp, and hair disorders. In such conditions, hair follicles (HF) are not only the target site but can also act as drug reservoirs when certain formulations are topically applied. Recently, we have demonstrated nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) containing CLO presenting epidermal-targeting potential.

Targeted delivery of functionalized PLGA nanoparticles to macrophages by complexation with the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Nanoparticles (NPs) are able to deliver a variety of substances into eukaryotic cells. However, their usage is often hampered by a lack of specificity, leading to the undesired uptake of NPs by virtually all cell types. In contrast to this, yeast is known to be specifically taken up into immune cells after entering the body.

Circulating microRNAs identify patients at increased risk of in-stent restenosis after peripheral angioplasty with stent implantation.

Background And Aims: Target lesion restenosis is the most frequent complication after angioplasty and stenting for peripheral artery disease (PAD). MicroRNAs (miRs) regulate crucial pathophysiological processes leading to in-stent restenosis and thrombosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value of 11 miRs for the composite endpoint of target lesion restenosis and atherothrombotic events (primary endpoint), and target vessel revascularization (TVR, secondary endpoint) in 62 consecutive PAD patients after infrainguinal angioplasty with stent implantation.

Aspherical, Nanostructured Microparticles for Targeted Gene Delivery to Alveolar Macrophages.

Introducing novel shapes to particulate carrier systems adds unique features to modern drug and gene delivery. Depending on the route of administration, particle geometry can influence deposition and fate within biological environments. In this work, a template-assisted engineering technique is applied, providing full control of size and shape in the preparation of aspherical, nanostructured microparticles.

Automatic quantification of multi-modal rigid registration accuracy using feature detectors.

In radiotherapy, the use of multi-modal images can improve tumor and target volume delineation. Images acquired at different times by different modalities need to be aligned into a single coordinate system by 3D/3D registration. State of the art methods for validation of registration are visual inspection by experts and fiducial-based evaluation.

Visualization of Deformable Image Registration Quality Using Local Image Dissimilarity.

Deformable image registration (DIR) has the potential to improve modern radiotherapy in many aspects, including volume definition, treatment planning and image-guided adaptive radiotherapy. Studies have shown its possible clinical benefits. However, measuring DIR accuracy is difficult without known ground truth, but necessary before integration in the radiotherapy workflow.

Correlation of bone vascularity in the posterior mandible and subsequent implant stability: a preliminary study.

Objectives: Bone vascularity is an important factor in process of osseointegration. The aim of this study was to find whether or not blood perfusion of the bone around the prepared implant sites influences subsequent implant stability.

Methods: Patients with bilaterally edentulous mandible were treated with dental implants.