Assessing attitudes toward research and plagiarism among medical students: a multi-site study.

Background: Research involves the systematic collection and analysis of data to enhance understanding of a particular phenomenon. Participation in medical research is crucial for advancing healthcare practices. However, there has been limited focus on understanding the factors that motivate medical students to engage in research.

Psychometric Properties of the Serbian Version of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand Disability Self-Assessment Questionnaire: Criterion Validity, Construct Validity, and Internal Consistency.

: The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) questionnaire is a widely employed self-report tool for assessing upper extremity function. The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Serbian version of the DASH by determining its criterion and construct validity, as well as internal consistency. : This cross-sectional study was conducted among patients with hand and wrist disabilities at the Institute for Orthopedics "Banjica", Serbia.

Imaging in Infective Endocarditis-Current Opinions and Trends in Cardiac Computed Tomography.

Infective endocarditis is a rare disease with an increasing incidence and an unaltered high mortality rate, despite medical development. Imaging plays an integrative part in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis, with echocardiography as the initial diagnostic test. Research data in the utility of cardiac computed tomography (CCT) in the diagnostic algorithm of IE are rising, which indicates its importance in detection of IE-related lesion along with the exclusion of coronary artery disease.

A Complex Relationship between Quality of Life, Anxiety, and Depression among General Population during Second Year of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Population-Based Study.

: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the global economy and public health, disrupting various aspects of daily life. Apart from its direct effects on physical health, it has also significantly affected the overall quality of life and mental health. This study employed a path analysis to explore the complex association among multiple factors associated with quality of life, anxiety, and depression in the general population of the Republic of Srpska during the pandemic's second year.

Serbian Version of the eHealth Literacy Questionnaire (eHLQ): Translation, Cultural Adaptation, and Validation Study Among Primary Health Care Users.

Background: As digital health services are increasingly developing and becoming more interactive in Serbia, a comprehensive instrument for measuring eHealth literacy (EHL) is needed.

Objective: This study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and investigate the psychometric properties of the Serbian version of the eHealth Literacy Questionnaire (eHLQ); to evaluate EHL in the population of primary health care (PHC) users in Serbia; and to explore factors associated with their EHL.

Methods: The validation study was conducted in 8 PHC centers in the territory of the Mačva district in Western Serbia.

Comparative Analysis of Vascular Calcification Risk Factors in Pre-Hemodialysis and Prevalent Hemodialysis Adult Patients: Insights into Calcification Biomarker Associations and Implications for Intervention Strategies in Chronic Kidney Disease.

This retrospective study aimed to compare risk factors for vascular calcification (VC) between pre-hemodialysis (HD) and prevalent HD adult patients while investigating associations with calcification biomarkers. Baseline data from 30 pre-HD and 85 HD patients were analyzed, including iPTH, vitamin D, FGF 23, fetuin-A, sclerostin, and VC scores (Adragao method). Prevalence of VC was similar in both groups, but HD patients had more frequent VC scores ≥ 6.

Sex Differences and Cytokine Profiles among Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19 and during Their Recovery: The Predominance of Adhesion Molecules in Females and Oxidative Stress in Males.

The severity and mortality of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are greater in males than in females, though the infection rate is the same in the two sexes. We investigated sex hormone differences associated with the hyperinflammatory immune response to SARS-CoV-2 on the basis of patients' cytokine profiles and vaccination statuses. Clinical and laboratory data of 117 patients with COVID-19 were collected to examine sex differences associated with oxidative stress markers, neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), and plasma cytokine levels up to 5 months from hospital admission.

The Role of Echocardiography and Cardiac Computed Tomography in Diagnosis of Infective Endocarditis.

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a rare disease with a high mortality rate and rising incidence, requiring timely and precise diagnosis in order to choose appropriate therapy. Imaging of morphologic lesions is an integrative part of diagnosis. Artifacts and the patient's habitus make echocardiography difficult to visualize advanced-form IE.

Doppler Indices of the Uterine, Umbilical and Fetal Middle Cerebral Artery in Diabetic versus Non-Diabetic Pregnancy: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

: The aim of this study was to assess the differences in Doppler indices of the uterine (Ut), umbilical (UA), and middle cerebral artery (MCA) in diabetic versus non-diabetic pregnancies by conducting a comprehensive systematic review of the literature with a meta-analysis. : PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS were searched for studies that measured the pulsatility index (PI), resistance index (RI), and systolic/diastolic ratio index (S/D ratio) of the umbilical artery, middle cerebral artery, and uterine artery in diabetic versus non-diabetic pregnancies. Two reviewers independently evaluated the eligibility of studies, abstracted data, and performed quality assessments according to standardized protocols.

Psychometric Properties of the Serbian Version of the Attitudes Towards Research Questionnaire.

Participating in research plays an essential role in improving the practice of healthcare. This cross-sectional study enrolled 100PhD students who attended the course "Informatics for researchers" at Medical Faculty University of Belgrade. The total ATR scale demonstrated excellent reliability (α=0.

Attitudes Toward Plagiarism Among PhD Medical Students in Serbia.

In this cross-sectional survey the Attitude Towards Plagiarism (ATP) questionnaire was administered to 100 PhD students to measure their attitudes towards plagiarism. The results showed that the students had low scores for positive attitudes and subjective norms, but moderate scores for negative attitudes towards plagiarism. Additional courses on plagiarism should be introduced in PhD studies to promote responsible research practices in Serbia.

Programmed cell death-1 and its ligands: Current knowledge and possibilities in immunotherapy.

Programmed Cell Death-1 (PCD-1) is a key immune checkpoint receptor, which mainly expresses on activated T, B, Dendritic (DC), Natural Killer (NK), and Treg cells. On the surface of activated T-cells, PCD-1 expression is upregulated after the recognition of peripherals antigens by T cells; subsequently, the elevated binding of PD-1 to Programmed Death Ligand-1 (PD-L1) and Programmed Death Ligand-2 (PD-L2) becomes a key step for downstream inhibitory signaling. Although the role of PD-L1 has been evaluated more thoroughly by clinical research, and PD-L1 has also been used more widely in the clinical setting, PD-L2 also plays an important role in the negative regulation of T-cells, one of the necessary conditions that lead to immune tolerance.

Revisiting type II diabetes mellitus in pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes such as in thyroidology: do you mind?

Objective: There is an increase in the prevalence of pre-gestational diabetes in the past decades, mainly due to the increase in the prevalence of obesity in the general population and consequently type 2 diabetes among women of reproductive age.

Methods: This study purposed to describe the delivery characteristics, pregnancy complications, and outcomes among women in Serbia with the pre-gestational type 2 diabetes in the past decade, as well as their pregnancy complications, deliveries, and neonatal outcomes. The study included data from all the pregnant women with pre-gestational type 2 diabetes in Belgrade, Serbia during the period between 2010 and 2020.

From Sarcopenia to Depressive Symptoms in Elderly: A Path Analysis.

Background: Sarcopenia is an age-related progressive, generalized skeletal muscle disorder involving the accelerated loss of muscle function and muscle mass. The aim of this study was to assess the complex relationship between sarcopenia, malnutrition, cognitive impairment, physical activity, and depression in the elderly, with the potential role of quality of life as a mediator in these associations.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample ( = 298) of elderly patients admitted to Special Hospital for Rehabilitation "Termal", Vrdnik, Serbia.

Quality of Life in Post-COVID-19 Patients after Hospitalization.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on people's quality of life (QoL), which is affected by social and economic changes as well as by mental and physical health. The aim of this study was to determine QoL in post-COVID-19 patients who had required hospitalization, and to identify relevant sociodemographic data. We used questionnaires which considered demographic and socioeconomic data, health and vaccination status, the pandemic situation, and EQ-5D scoring.

Adherence to Medication among Parkinson's Disease Patients Using the Adherence to Refills and Medications Scale.

Objectives: Adherence to medication is an important factor that can influence Parkinson's disease (PD) control. We aimed to explore patients' adherence to antiparkinsonian medication and determine factors that might affect adherence to medications among PD patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional, exploratory survey of PD patients treated with at least one antiparkinsonian drug and with a total score of MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment) ≥26 was conducted.

Trends of the Prevalence of Pre-gestational Diabetes in 2030 and 2050 in Belgrade Cohort.

The aim of this study was to analyze the trends in diabetes in pregnancy in Belgrade, Serbia for the period of the past decade and forecast the number of women with pre-gestational diabetes for the years 2030 and 2050. The study included the data on all pregnant women with diabetes from the registry of the deliveries in Belgrade, by the City Institute of Public Health of Belgrade, Serbia for the period between 2010 and 2020 and the published data on the deliveries on the territory of Belgrade. During the examined period the total number of live births in Belgrade was 196,987, and the prevalence of diabetes in pregnancy was 3.

Immune activation and inflammatory biomarkers as predictors of venous thromboembolism in lymphoma patients.

Background: Lymphomas are characterized by elevated synthesis of inflammatory soluble mediators that could trigger the development of venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, data on the relationship between specific immune dysregulation and VTE occurrence in patients with lymphoma are scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the association between inflammatory markers and the risk of VTE development in patients with lymphoma.

The correlation between genetic factors and freezing of gait in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Background: Clinical-related risk factors to freezing of gait (FOG) in Parkinson's disease (PD) have been identified. Still, the influence of genetic variations on the FOG occurrence has been poorly studied thus far.

Aim: We aimed to evaluate the association of six selected polymorphisms of DRD2, ANKK1, and COMT genes with the FOG occurrence and explore the influence of ANNK1/DRD2 haplotypes on the onset of FOG in the group of PD patients.

Preeclamptic Women Have Disrupted Placental microRNA Expression at the Time of Preeclampsia Diagnosis: Meta-Analysis.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-associated, multi-organ, life-threatening disease that appears after the 20th week of gestation. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine whether women with PE have disrupted miRNA expression compared to women who do not have PE. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that reported miRNAs expression levels in placenta or peripheral blood of pregnant women with vs.

Distribution of normal and pathological OGTTs among pregnant population and non-pregnant women with PCOS - the cross-sectional study.

Both pregnancy, as physiological, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), as a pathological condition, carry the risk for developing glucose metabolism abnormalities. In this retrospective cross-sectional study, we hypothesized that pregnancy as a physiological condition carries a higher likelihood for abnormal oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) results than PCOS as a pathological condition.We have compared the prevalence and likelihood ratios for abnormal OGTT results between non-pregnant women with PCOS (Group A) and pregnant women at 24 to 28 weeks of gestation (Group B).

From Burden to Depressive Symptoms in Informal Caregivers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Path Analysis.

Background: The objective of this study was to assess the complex relationship between the multiple determinants of the caregiving process, the caregiver burden, and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a nationally representative sample (n = 798) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia from March to September 2020. A nine-section questionnaire designed for this study included the characteristics of caregivers, characteristics of care and care recipients, COVID-19 related questions, and the following standardized instruments: 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey, Fatigue Severity Scale, Activities of Daily Living Scale and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale, Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale, and Beck Depression Inventory.