Functional assessment of cancer therapy - head & neck (FACT-HN) translation and validation in Serbian.

This study aimed to translate and validate the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Head & Neck (FACT-HN) in a Serbian-speaking population, assessing its psychometric properties and utility in evaluating the quality of life in head and neck cancer patients. The research focuses on determining the translated questionnaire's reliability, validity, and cultural relevance. A total of 106 Serbian-speaking head and neck cancer patients completed the translated FACT-HN, along with other validated instruments, including the EORTC QLQ-C30, EORTC QLQ-HN43, CES-D, and GAD-7.

Modeling Carbon-Based Nanomaterials (CNMs) and Derived Composites and Devices.

A review of different modeling techniques, specifically in the framework of carbon-based nanomaterials (CNMs, including nanoparticles such as graphene and carbon nanotubes-CNTs) and the composites and devices that can be derived from them, is presented. The article emphasizes that the overall performance of these materials depends on mechanisms that operate across different time and spatial scales, requiring tailored approaches based on the material type, size, internal structure/configuration, and the specific properties of interest. Far from attempting to cover the entire spectrum of models, this review examines a wide range of analysis and simulation techniques, highlighting their potential use, some of their weaknesses and strengths, and presenting the latest developments and some application examples.

Phonon-Induced Wake Potential in a Graphene-Insulator -Graphene Structure.

The aim of this study is to explore the potential which arises in a graphene-insulator-graphene structure when an external charged particle is moving parallel to it with a speed smaller than the Fermi speed in graphene. This is achieved by employing the dynamic polarization function of graphene within the random phase approximation, where its π electrons are modeled as Dirac fermions, and utilizing a local dielectric function for bulk insulators. Three different insulators are considered: SiO, HfO, and AlO.

Persistent Antigen A after Minor ABO-Incompatible Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Children: Two Case Reports.

Introduction: ABO blood type changes after ABO-incompatible hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Most non-hematopoietic tissues retain the expression of the patient's own ABO antigens, which may adsorb from the plasma onto the donor's red blood cells (RBCs). Because of this phenomenon, a persistent patient's A and/or B antigen could be detected in the laboratory, despite 100% white cell donor chimerism.

Acquired von Willebrand syndrome and post-operative drainage: a comparison of patients with aortic stenosis versus coronary artery disease.

Objective: Degenerative aortic stenosis and coronary artery disease are considered to be the most prevalent cardiovascular diseases in industrialized countries. This study aims to determine the change over time in von Willebrand factor antigen, von Willebrand factor activity, and factor VIII and where there is a correlation with total post-operative drainage.

Methods: The single-center retrospective study included 203 consecutive patients (64.

Transcultural adaptation and validation of the Serbian version of Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Treatment Satisfaction-Patient Satisfaction (FACIT-TS-PS) questionnaire.

Objective: Transcultural adaptation and validation of FACIT-TS-PS questionnaire to Serbian language.

Methods: Standard forward and backward translation from English to Serbian language was performed. Pilot testing of FACIT-TS-PS was conducted on 12 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of malignant tumor.

Risk Factors for Coronary Artery Calcifications in Overweight or Obese Persons with Prediabetes: Can They Predict T2 Diabetes and Coronary Vascular Events?

Background: It is difficult to predict the risk of developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in subjects with prediabetes and obesity. The aim of this study was to assess risk factors for coronary artery calcifications (CACs) and the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and coronary vascular events (CVEs) after 7 years in 100 overweight or obese persons with prediabetes, according to the baseline coronary artery calcium score (CACS).

Methods: Lipids, HbA1c, uric acid, and creatinine were assessed.

The effect of carbodiimide on push-out bond strength of fiber posts and endogenous enzymatic activity.

Background: To investigate the effect of 0.3 M 1-ethyl-3(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC) aqueous solution pretreatment on push-out bond strength (PBS) and matrix-metalloproteinases (MMPs) activity within radicular dentin when different post cementation strategies were employed.

Methods: One hundred and twenty monoradicular human teeth were endodontically treated and randomly divided into six groups, depending on the cementation strategy and root dentin pretreatment (n = 20): EAR: cementation with an etch-and-rinse adhesive (LuxaBond Total Etch, DMG) and resin cement (LuxaCore Z Dual, DMG); EAR/EDC: 1 min EDC pretreatment after etching + EAR; SE: cementation with a self-etch primer (Multilink Primer, Ivoclar Vivadent) and corresponding cement (Multilink Automix, Ivoclar Vivadent); SE/EDC: self-etch primer + EDC pretreatment + SE; SA: cementation with a universal self-adhesive cement (RelyX Universal, 3 M); SA/EDC: EDC pretreatment + SA.

Economic Justification Analysis of Minimally Invasive versus Conventional Aortic Valve Replacement.

There is no definitive consensus about the cost-effectiveness of minimally invasive aortic valve replacement (AVR) (MI-AVR) compared to conventional AVR (C-AVR). The aim of this study was to compare the rate of postoperative complications and total hospital costs of MI-AVR versus C-AVR overall and by the type of aortic prosthesis (biological or mechanical). Our single-center retrospective study included 324 patients over 18 years old who underwent elective isolated primary AVR with standard stented AV prosthesis at the Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases "Dedinje" between January 2019 and December 2019.

Deposition of heavy metals in biological tissues of workers in metal workshops.

Welding and cutting of metals produce large amounts of particulate matter (PM), which poses a significant health risk to exposed workers. Appropriate biological markers to estimate exposure are of great interest for occupational health and safety. Here, hair and nail samples from metal workers were analyzed, which appear to be more suitable than blood or urine samples for assessing long-term exposure.

Validation of online version of asthma control questionnaire in pediatric patients.

The Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) is a seven-item questionnaire assessing symptoms that asthma clinicians consider to be most important for evaluating the adequacy of asthma control. An online version of the ACQ may be able to indicate whether a visit to the physician is warranted to modify therapy to achieve better control of their asthma, ultimately reducing the number of unnecessary visits, particularly during the pandemic. The aim of our study is to compare the paper and online ACQ to validate the online version for use in real-life settings.

Validation of the Serbian version of the Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence/Sexual Questionnaire short form (PISQ-12).

Introduction And Hypothesis: Urinary incontinence (UI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) significantly decrease quality of life and sexual health. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of a Serbian adaptation of the short form of the Pelvic Organ Prolapse/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Function Questionnaire (PISQ-12) used in assessing sexual function in women with UI and/or POP.

Methods: This study included 416 women, 310 (74.

Emerging nuclear methods for historical painting authentication: AMS-C dating, MeV-SIMS and O-PTIR imaging, global IBA, differential-PIXE and full-field PIXE mapping.

There is a considerable interest in developing new analytical tools to fight the illicit trafficking of heritage goods and particularly of easel paintings, whose high market values attract an ever-increasing volume of criminal activities. The objective is to combat the illicit traffic of smuggled or forged paintworks and to prevent the acquisition of fakes or looted artefacts in public collections. Authentication can be addressed using various investigation techniques, such as absolute dating, materials characterization, alteration phenomena, etc.

Biocompatibility and antibiofilm activity of graphene-oxide functionalized titanium discs and collagen membranes.

Unlabelled: The aims of the study were: 1) to evaluate the effect on biofilm formation of barrier membranes and titanium surfaces coated with graphene-oxide (GO); 2) to analyze the connection between the superficial topography of the tested materials and the amount of bacterial accumulation on them and 3) to analyze the biocompatibility of GO functionalized discs using the zebrafish model.

Methods: Single species bacterial biofilms (Streptococcus oralis, Veilonella parvula, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyomonas gingivalis) were grown on GO-free membranes, membranes coated with 2 and 10 μg/ml of GO, GO-free and GO-coated titanium discs. The biofilms were analyzed by determining the CFU count and by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and the materials' topography by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM).

Resolving the Mechanism of Acoustic Plasmon Instability in Graphene Doped by Alkali Metals.

Graphene doped by alkali atoms (ACx) supports two heavily populated bands (π and σ) crossing the Fermi level, which enables the formation of two intense two-dimensional plasmons: the Dirac plasmon (DP) and the acoustic plasmon (AP). Although the mechanism of the formation of these plasmons in electrostatically biased graphene or at noble metal surfaces is well known, the mechanism of their formation in alkali-doped graphenes is still not completely understood. We shall demonstrate that two isoelectronic systems, KC8 and CsC8, support substantially different plasmonic spectra: the KC8 supports a sharp DP and a well-defined AP, while the CsC8 supports a broad DP and does not support an AP at all.

Inter-laboratory workflow for forensic applications: Classification of car glass fragments.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has coordinated a research project titled "Enhancing Nuclear Analytical Techniques to Meet the Needs of Forensics Sciences" (CRP F11021) with the aim of empowering accelerator and reactor based techniques for applications in forensic sciences. One of the key topics of this project was the analysis and classification of forensic glass specimens using Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) techniques and in particular, Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE). To this end, glass fragments from car windows from different car models and manufacturers provided by the Israeli police force were subjected to PIXE measurements at three laboratories to determine their elemental compositions and possible glass corrosion.

The influence of selective enamel etch and self-etch mode of universal adhesives' application on clinical behavior of composite restorations placed on non-carious cervical lesions: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: To answer the PICOS question: "Is the risk of retention loss equal for SEE and SE approach when universal adhesives and composite restorations are indicated for restoring NCCLs?"

Methods: Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus, Scientific Electronic Library Online, LILACS, Google Scholar™ and OpenGrey were searched. Only randomized controlled clinical trials in which NCCLs were restored with composites and universal adhesives applied in SEE or SE mode were included. The articles were assessed for the risk of bias, after which meta-analyses were run (fixed-effects model was applied; heterogeneity was explored using Cochran Q test and I2 statistics; α = 0.

Changes in Brain Energy and Membrane Metabolism in Glioblastoma following Chemoradiation.

Brain parenchyma infiltration with glioblastoma (GB) cannot be entirely visualized by conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The aim of this study was to investigate changes in the energy and membrane metabolism measured with phosphorous MR spectroscopy (31P-MRS) in the presumably "normal-appearing" brain following chemoradiation therapy (CRT) in GB patients in comparison to healthy controls. Twenty (seven female, thirteen male) GB patients underwent a 31P-MRS scan prior to surgery (baseline) and after three months of standard CRT (follow-up examination.

Comparison of optical techniques and MeV SIMS in determining deposition order between optically distinguishable and indistinguishable inks from different writing tools.

In the forensic investigation of questioned documents, it is often very important to know the deposition order of ink traces from two different writing tools at their intersection on a paper. In the present work, intersections of inks from several writing tools were studied using optical techniques that are standardly applied for questioned documents examination in a forensic laboratory, and an accelerator-based Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) technique called Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry using MeV ions (MeV SIMS) that is applied in an accelerator facility. MeV SIMS provides molecular information about the studied inks from writing tools, which is an added value and can be also applied for determination of deposition order but was so far relatively rarely used in forensic studies.

Genotyping of Eight Human Platelet Antigen Systems in Serbian Blood Donors: Foundation for Platelet Apheresis Registry.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the allele and genotype frequencies of 8 human platelet antigen (HPA) systems among blood donors from the Blood Transfusion Institute of Serbia and to compare them with published studies. These data would be useful to establish the basis for a platelet apheresis donor registry.

Material And Methods: Seventy-two unrelated male platelet apheresis/blood donors from Serbia were typed for 8 HPA systems (HPA-1 to HPA-6, HPA-9, and HPA-15) via the FluoGene method, based on polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific amplification (PCR-SSP; PCR using sequence-specific primers) with fluorometric signal detection.

Is clinical behavior of composite restorations placed in non-carious cervical lesions influenced by the application mode of universal adhesives? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To answer the following PICOS question: "Is the risk of retention loss, marginal discoloration, marginal adaptation and postoperative sensitivity (POS) equal for etch-and-rinse (EAR) compared to self-etch (SE) or selective-enamel etch (SEE) mode when restoring non carious cervical lesions (NCCLs) with universal adhesives?".

Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scientific Electronic Library Online, LILACS, OpenGrey and Google Scholar™ were searched. Randomized controlled clinical trials in which resin composites and universal adhesives were used for restoration of NCCLs were considered.

Phosphorous Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Molecular Markers in IDH1 Wild Type Glioblastoma.

The World Health Organisation's (WHO) classification of brain tumors requires consideration of both histological appearance and molecular characteristics. Possible differences in brain energy metabolism could be important in designing future therapeutic strategies. Forty-three patients with primary, isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) wild type glioblastomas (GBMs) were included in this study.

Changes in pulp sensitivity across the menstrual cycle in healthy women and women with temporomandibular disorders.

Background: Menstrual cycle may contribute to experimental pain measures in healthy women and women with chronic pain.

Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate variation in pulp sensitivity across the menstrual cycle in healthy women and women with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and to explore the effect of TMD pain and psychosocial variables on the pulp response.

Methods: This longitudinal study involved 47 regularly menstruating women aged 20-45, 24 healthy and 23 with diagnosed painful TMD.

Can Fiber-post Placement Reinforce Structurally Compromised Roots?

Purpose: Immature teeth are characterized by short roots, thin root canal walls, and open apices, which makes them prone to fracture. The aim was to investigate whether fiber-post placement had an influence on the fracture resistance of endodontically treated immature teeth.

Materials And Methods: To simulate immature teeth, the apical third of 20 intact mandibular premolars was resected.