Nutritional habits in children: Research on health-related habits in schoolchildren in the Republic of Serbia in 2017

Introduction. Childhood nutritional habits may have a tremendous influence on long-term health. Nutritional habits developed during childhood may turn into a lifetime habit. Missed meals, skipping breakfast, and increased intake of sweets are related to overweight and obesity. We aimed to research nutritional habits in schoolchildren in Serbia. Method. We used the data from the research "Health-related habits in schoolchildren in Serbia in 2017". We used the standardized international protocol of the World Health Organization for data gathering. We polled 3.933 participants, aged 11, 13, and 15. Results. The habit of having breakfast, on schooldays days, shows statistically significant difference around re-gions, for ages 11 (p = 0,001) and 13 (p = 0,000). At the age of 11 (p = 0,046), the majority of children have breakfast on weekends in Belgrade (92,7%). When fruit consumption is concerned, the regions statistically significantly differ for the age 11 (p = 0,006). The greatest consumption of fruit is found in the region of Vojvodina (37,4%). In Belgrade, 5% of children never eat vegetables. At the age of 15, there is a statistically significant difference (p = 0,046) in vegetable consumption. Most vegetables are consumed in South and East Serbia (25,5%), and Sumadija and West Serbia (27,4%). There is a statistically significant difference (p=0,016), at the age of eleven, in sweets consumption, among regions. There are the least children who never consumed sweets (1,8%) in Vojvodina. Conclusion. Based on analyzed data, we concluded that children aged eleven, thirteen, and fifteen, in the Republic of Serbia, don't eat quite healthy. The results may be useful for the promotion of health-educational programs, which, in turn, may lead to behavioral changes

Immobilization of Horseradish Peroxidase on Magnetite-Alginate Beads to Enable Effective Strong Binding and Enzyme Recycling during Anthraquinone Dyes’ Degradation

The aim of this study was to investigate covalent immobilization of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) on magnetic nanoparticles (Mag) encapsulated in calcium alginate beads (MABs) for color degradation, combining easy and fast removal of biocatalyst from the reaction mixture due to its magnetic properties and strong binding due to surface alginate functional groups. MABs obtained by extrusion techniques were analyzed by optical microscopy, FEG-SEM and characterized regarding mechanical properties, magnetization and HRP binding. HRP with initial concentration of 10 mg/gcarrier was successfully covalently bonded on MABs (diameter ~1 mm, magnetite/alginate ratio 1:4), with protein loading of 8.9 mg/gcarrier, immobilization yield 96.9% and activity 32.8 U/g. Immobilized HRP on MABs (HRP-MABs) was then used to catalyze degradation of two anthraquinonic dyes, Acid Blue 225 (AB225) and Acid Violet 109 (AV109), as models for wastewater pollutants. HRP-MABs decolorized 77.3% and 76.1% of AV109 and AB225, respectively after 15 min under optimal conditions (0.097 mM H2O2, 200 mg of HRP-MABs (8.9 mg/gcarrier), 0.08 and 0.1 g/mg beads/dye ratio for AV109 and AB225, respectively). Biocatalyst was used for 7 repeated cycles retaining 75% and 51% of initial activity for AB225 and AV109, respectively, showing potential for use in large scale applications for colored wastewater treatment

Electrostatic extrusion as a dispersion technique for encapsulation of cells and bioactive compounds

Significant development of cells and bioactive compound encapsulation technologies is taking place due to an exceptional possibility of their application in various scientific disciplines, including biomedicine, pharmacy, cosmetology, food and agricultural sciences, beverage production, industrial waste treatment. Despite the broad application of microencapsulation, the literature reviews on dispersion techniques for microcapsule/microbead production, their advantages, restrictions and drawbacks are scarce. The purpose of this paper is to assess the possibilities of electrostatic extrusion for encapsulation of biological material, including living cells in hydrogel microbeads. The paper presents an overview of the mechanisms of droplet formation and controlling experimental parameters for producing microbeads by means of electrostatic extrusion. Electrostatic droplet formation utilizes a special type of physical process taking advantage of electrostatic effects occurring in flowing conductive liquids after introduction of an electric field. When an electrostatic field is applied to the metal needle and an electric charge is induced in the liquid flowing out of the needle, the size of droplet detaching from the needle tip decreases as a function of applied electrostatic field. It has been shown that few parameters affect microbead size: applied voltage, electrode geometry, needle size, polarity arrangement and polymer concentration. The electrostatic droplet formation is one of the most precise methods, which enables one to produce spherical and uniform particles ranging from 100 up to 1000 mu m. Most of the authors report that the encapsulated compounds (drugs, enzymes and living cells) remain unaltered after electrostatic extrusion. This technique seems to be particularly promising in biotechnology, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, where a low-temperature process, preserving heat-sensitive material is a prerequisite. Future efforts in developing of electrostatic extrusion should be directed towards adequately scaling-up for commercial purpose

Optimizacija procesa izolovanja hemoglobina iz goveđih eritrocita kontrolisanom hemolizom

In this work, we describe an optimized procedure based on gradual hemolysis for the isolation of hemoglobin derived from bovine slaughterhouse erythrocytes in a membrane bioreactor. The membrane bioreactor system provided high yields of hemoglobin (mainly oxyhemoglobin derivate) and its separation from the empty erythrocyte membranes (ghosts). Ten different concentrations of hypotonic media were assessed from the aspect of the extent of hemolysis, hematocrit values of the erythrocyte suspensions, cell swelling and membrane deformations induced by decreased salt concentration. Effective gradual osmotic hemolysis with an extent of hemolysis of 83% was performed using 35 mM Na-phosphate/NaCl buffer of pH 7.2-7.4. Under these conditions most of the cell membranes presented the appearance of the normal ghosts under phase contrast microscope. The results show that isolation process yielded predominantly to oxyhemoglobin. Kinetic studies showed that maximal concentration of hemoglobin was reached after 40 min, but the process cycle at which recovery of 83% was achieved lasted for 90 min.Dugi niz godina, i kod nas i u svetu, razvijaju se tehnološki postupci za izolovanje strukturno očuvanog i biološki aktivnog hemoglobina koji bi mogao da se koristi kao zamenik za krv, kao izvor biološki visokoaktivnog hemskog gvožđa u prevenciji anemije kod ljudi i životinja, ili kao reagens u dijagnostici. U ovom radu optimizovan je postupak za izolovanje hemoglobina iz eritrocita poreklom iz otpadne klanične goveđe krvi sa ciljem dobijanja preparata hemskog gvožđa za prevenciju anemije kod životinja. Testirana je osetljivost goveđih eritrocita na osmotsku lizu sa ciljem definisanja optimalnog puferskog sistema za efikasno izvođenje kontrolisane hemolize. Dobijeni rezultati su pokazali da goveđi eritrociti imaju povećanu osmotsku osetljivost u odnosu na humane eritrocite, a da je optimalan puferski sistem za izvođenje njihove kontrolisane hemolize 35 mM natrijum-fosfatni/NaCl pufer pH 7,2-7,4. Kontrolisana hemoliza sa optimizovanim puferskim sistemom je izvedena u membranskom reaktorskom sistemu i ostvaren je prinos hemoglobina od 83±12%. Tokom ovog procesa nije došlo do oštećenja membrane eritrocita, a intaktne membrane praznih eritrocita bi se mogle koristiti za inkapsulaciju biološki aktivnih supstanci

Genome sequence diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in Serbia: insights gained from a 3-year pandemic study

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, has been evolving rapidly causing emergence of new variants and health uncertainties. Monitoring the evolution of the virus was of the utmost importance for public health interventions and the development of national and global mitigation strategies. Here, we report national data on the emergence of new variants, their distribution, and dynamics in a 3-year study conducted from March 2020 to the end of January 2023 in the Republic of Serbia. Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs from 2,398 COVID-19-positive patients were collected and sequenced using three different next generation technologies: Oxford Nanopore, Ion Torrent, and DNBSeq. In the subset of 2,107 SARS-CoV-2 sequences which met the quality requirements, detection of mutations, assignment to SARS-CoV-2 lineages, and phylogenetic analysis were performed. During the 3-year period, we detected three variants of concern, namely, Alpha (5.6%), Delta (7.4%), and Omicron (70.3%) and one variant of interest—Omicron recombinant “Kraken” (XBB1.5) (<1%), whereas 16.8% of the samples belonged to other SARS-CoV-2 (sub)lineages. The detected SARS-CoV-2 (sub)lineages resulted in eight COVID-19 pandemic waves in Serbia, which correspond to the pandemic waves reported in Europe and the United States. Wave dynamics in Serbia showed the most resemblance with the profile of pandemic waves in southern Europe, consistent with the southeastern European location of Serbia. The samples were assigned to sixteen SARS-CoV-2 Nextstrain clades: 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D, 20E, 20G, 20I, 21J, 21K, 21L, 22A, 22B, 22C, 22D, 22E, and 22F and six different Omicron recombinants (XZ, XAZ, XAS, XBB, XBF, and XBK). The 10 most common mutations detected in the coding and untranslated regions of the SARS-CoV-2 genomes included four mutations affecting the spike protein (S:D614G, S:T478K, S:P681H, and S:S477N) and one mutation at each of the following positions: 5′-untranslated region (5’UTR:241); N protein (N:RG203KR); NSP3 protein (NSP3:F106F); NSP4 protein (NSP4:T492I); NSP6 protein (NSP6: S106/G107/F108 - triple deletion), and NSP12b protein (NSP12b:P314L). This national-level study is the most comprehensive in terms of sequencing and genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 during the pandemic in Serbia, highlighting the importance of establishing and maintaining good national practice for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses circulating worldwide.The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, has been evolving rapidly causing emergence of new variants and health uncertainties. Monitoring the evolution of the virus was of the utmost importance for public health interventions and the development of national and global mitigation strategies. Here, we report national data on the emergence of new variants, their distribution, and dynamics in a 3-year study conducted from March 2020 to the end of January 2023 in the Republic of Serbia. Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs from 2,398 COVID-19- positive patients were collected and sequenced using three different next generation technologies: Oxford Nanopore, Ion Torrent, and DNBSeq. In the subset of 2,107 SARS-CoV-2 sequences which met the quality requirements, detection of mutations, assignment to SARS-CoV-2 lineages, and phylogenetic analysis were performed. During the 3-year period, we detected three variants of concern, namely, Alpha (5.6%), Delta (7.4%), and Omicron (70.3%) and one variant of interest—Omicron recombinant “Kraken” (XBB1.5) (<1%), whereas 16.8% of the samples belonged to other SARS-CoV-2 (sub)lineages. The detected SARS-CoV-2 (sub)lineages resulted in eight COVID-19 pandemic waves in Serbia, which correspond to the pandemic waves reported in Europe and the United States. Wave dynamics in Serbia showed the most resemblance with the profile of pandemic waves in southern Europe, consistent with the southeastern European location of Serbia. The samples were assigned to sixteen SARS-CoV-2 Nextstrain clades: 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D, 20E, 20G, 20I, 21J, 21K, 21L, 22A, 22B, 22C, 22D, 22E, and 22F and six different Omicron recombinants (XZ, XAZ, XAS, XBB, XBF, and XBK). The 10 most common mutations detected in the coding and untranslated regions of the SARS-CoV-2 genomes included four mutations affecting the spike protein (S:D614G, S:T478K, S:P681H, and S:S477N) and one mutation at each of the following positions: 5′-untranslated region (5’UTR:241); N protein (N:RG203KR); NSP3 protein (NSP3:F106F); NSP4 protein (NSP4:T492I); NSP6 protein (NSP6: S106/G107/F108 - triple deletion), and NSP12b protein (NSP12b:P314L). This national-level study is the most comprehensive in terms of sequencing and genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 during the pandemic in Serbia, highlighting the importance of establishing and maintaining good national practice for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses circulating worldwide

Freeze versus Spray Drying for Dry Wild Thyme (Thymus serpyllum L.) Extract Formulations: The Impact of Gelatin as a Coating Material

Freeze drying was compared with spray drying regarding feasibility to process wild thyme drug in order to obtain dry formulations at laboratory scale starting from liquid extracts produced by different extraction methods: maceration, heat-, ultrasound-, and microwave-assisted extractions. Higher powder yield (based on the dry weight prior to extraction) was achieved by freeze than spray drying and lower loss of total polyphenol content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) due to the drying process. Gelatin as a coating agent (5% w/w) provided better TPC recovery by 70% in case of lyophilization and higher powder yield in case of spray drying by diminishing material deposition on the wall of the drying chamber. The resulting gelatin-free and gelatin-containing powders carried polyphenols in amount ~190 and 53-75 mg gallic acid equivalents GAE/g of powder, respectively. Microwave-assisted extract formulation distinguished from others by higher content of polyphenols, proteins and sugars, higher bulk density and lower solubility. The type of the drying process affected mainly position of the gelatin-derived -OH and amide bands in FTIR spectra. Spray dried formulations compared to freeze dried expressed higher thermal stability as confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry analysis and higher diffusion coefficient; the last feature can be associated with the lower specific surface area of irregularly shaped freeze-dried particles (151-223 µm) compared to small microspheres (~8 µm) in spray-dried powder.Preprint: [10.20944/preprints202105.0358.v1

Co-creation for Enhancing Quality of Public Spaces: Learning from Europe Readr Experience in Serbia

There is a rising concern in the architectural academic and professional community about the current transformation of cities and public spaces, seeking for (a) new and innovative approaches to planning and shaping future cities and habitats, and (b) a platform for experimentation and designing of innovative solutions to complex societal problems through co-creation. The paper aims to highlight the regenerative role that educational projects with a practical dimension could have on the public space and the community. The Europe Readr pavilion in Serbia has been developed in the cooperation of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Belgrade and the Laboratory for urban morphology and typology (Morpho- Lab) of the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Architecture within the broader international project EUROPE READR. Guided by European values, sustainability, and the European Green Deal through designing public spaces for the exchange of ideas and values, UBFA considered both the process of learning - and the result itself. Accordingly, the process implied multiple phases of project development that included two-stage student competition, three mentored workshops and presentations to project partners, and finally, implementation phase. The paper brings significant experiences regarding potentials and challenges in innovation, critical thinking, competence, co-creation, developing technical drawings, understanding of building and assembling techniques, public purchase regulations, and on-site activities. The project provided stepping out from academia bringing a positive change both to education and public space

Freeze vs. Spray Drying for Dry Wild Thyme (Thymus serpyllum L.) Extract Formulations: The Impact of Gelatin as a Coating Material

Freeze drying was compared with spray drying regarding feasibility to process wild thyme drugs in order to obtain dry formulations at laboratory scale starting from liquid extracts produced by different extraction methods: maceration and heat-, ultrasound-, and microwave-assisted extractions. Higher total powder yield (based on the dry weight prior to extraction) was achieved by freeze than spray drying and lower loss of total polyphenol content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) due to the drying process. Gelatin as a coating agent (5% w/w) provided better TPC recovery by 70% in case of lyophilization and higher total powder yield in case of spray drying by diminishing material deposition on the wall of the drying chamber. The resulting gelatin-free and gelatin-containing powders carried polyphenols in amount ~190 and 53-75 mg gallic acid equivalents GAE/g of powder, respectively. Microwave-assisted extract formulation was distinguished from the others by a higher content of polyphenols, proteins and sugars, higher bulk density and lower solubility. The type of the drying process mainly affected the position of the gelatin-derived -OH and amide bands in FTIR spectra. Spray-dried formulations compared to freeze-dried expressed higher thermal stability as confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry analysis and a higher diffusion coefficient; the last feature can be associated with the lower specific surface area of irregularly shaped freeze-dried particles (151-223 µm) compared to small microspheres (~8 µm) in spray-dried powder

Biomaterijali

Početak XXI veka nesumnjivo je obeležen interdisciplinarnim i multidisciplinarnim naporima istraživača u različitim oblastima nauke. Jedna od najizrazitijih tendencija ovog tipa uočava se u biomedicinskim istraživanjima, gde se združuju napori lekara, biologa, genetičara i biohemičara, s jedne strane, i biofizičara i inženjera, s druge strane – sa ciljem dubljeg razumevanja zdravlja i bolesti, i primene ovih saznanja u biomedicinskoj praksi, tako važnoj u svakodnevnom životu ljudi.Kao rezultat ovih svetskih trendova, u Srbiji već više godina na nekoliko fakulteta postoji nastava iz oblasti biomedicinskog inženjerstva, sa ciljem da osposobi inženjere ovih usmerenja za multidisciplinarno povezivanje znanja iz oblasti tehnike sa biomedicinskim znanjima. Jedan od bazičnih predmeta ovih usmerenja jesu Biomaterijali, kojima je i posvećen naš udžbenik, čiji je cilj da predstavi pregled teorije i prakse biomaterijala u biomedicinskoj nauci.Nauka o biomaterijalima je nesumnjivo najmultidisciplinarnija od svih nauka, jer zahteva ovladavanje znanjima iz mnogih oblasti nauke i tehnologije, inženjerstva i medicine, kako bi naučnici iz oblasti biomaterijala mogli da se uhvate u koštac sa ovom profesijom. Zato posle uvodnog dela, udžbenik iz Biomaterijala sadrži četiri celine: (I) Osnovni biomedicinski koncepti i reakcije organizma na biomaterijale, (II) Struktura, fizičko-mehanička karakterizacija i modeliranje biomaterijala i tkiva, (III) Savremeni biomaterijali i tehnologije, (IV) Perspektive biomaterijala i tehnologija, iza kojih slede Zadaci sa rešenjima, Ispitna test pitanja i Ispitna teorijska pitanja, koji pomažu studentima da lakše savladaju veoma obimno i kompleksno gradivo. Na kraju svakog poglavlja data su pitanja za rekapitulaciju, kao i spisak dopunske literature za opcionu detaljniju obradu pojedinih oblasti.Grupa od dvadeset četiri profesionalca sa univerziteta i naučnih instituta, pod okriljem Instituta tehničkih nauka Srpske akademije nauka i umetnosti, Beograd, i Društva za istraživanje materijala Srbije (MRS Srbija) doprinela je pisanju ovog kapitalnog udžbenika o biomaterijalima, prvog do sada na srpskom jeziku. Mada uključivanje veće grupe autora nužno dovodi do stilske neujednačenosti, ipak je oblast biomaterijala toliko multidisciplinarna da je ovakav pristup bio neophodan, kako uostalom pokazuju slična svetska iskustva sa uključivanjem i preko pedeset autora. Ipak urednici su se potrudili da koliko je to moguće stilski i pedagoški ujednače udžbenik, kako bi bio korisna literatura za sve studente diplomskih, master i doktorskih studija iz biomedicinskog inženjerstva u Srbiji i okruženju

Biomaterijali

Početak XXI veka nesumnjivo je obeležen interdisciplinarnim i multidisciplinarnim naporima istraživača u različitim oblastima nauke. Jedna od najizrazitijih tendencija ovog tipa uočava se u biomedicinskim istraživanjima, gde se združuju napori lekara, biologa, genetičara i biohemičara, s jedne strane, i biofizičara i inženjera, s druge strane – sa ciljem dubljeg razumevanja zdravlja i bolesti, i primene ovih saznanja u biomedicinskoj praksi, tako važnoj u svakodnevnom životu ljudi.Kao rezultat ovih svetskih trendova, u Srbiji već više godina na nekoliko fakulteta postoji nastava iz oblasti biomedicinskog inženjerstva, sa ciljem da osposobi inženjere ovih usmerenja za multidisciplinarno povezivanje znanja iz oblasti tehnike sa biomedicinskim znanjima. Jedan od bazičnih predmeta ovih usmerenja jesu Biomaterijali, kojima je i posvećen naš udžbenik, čiji je cilj da predstavi pregled teorije i prakse biomaterijala u biomedicinskoj nauci.Nauka o biomaterijalima je nesumnjivo najmultidisciplinarnija od svih nauka, jer zahteva ovladavanje znanjima iz mnogih oblasti nauke i tehnologije, inženjerstva i medicine, kako bi naučnici iz oblasti biomaterijala mogli da se uhvate u koštac sa ovom profesijom. Zato posle uvodnog dela, udžbenik iz Biomaterijala sadrži četiri celine: (I) Osnovni biomedicinski koncepti i reakcije organizma na biomaterijale, (II) Struktura, fizičko-mehanička karakterizacija i modeliranje biomaterijala i tkiva, (III) Savremeni biomaterijali i tehnologije, (IV) Perspektive biomaterijala i tehnologija, iza kojih slede Zadaci sa rešenjima, Ispitna test pitanja i Ispitna teorijska pitanja, koji pomažu studentima da lakše savladaju veoma obimno i kompleksno gradivo. Na kraju svakog poglavlja data su pitanja za rekapitulaciju, kao i spisak dopunske literature za opcionu detaljniju obradu pojedinih oblasti.Grupa od dvadeset četiri profesionalca sa univerziteta i naučnih instituta, pod okriljem Instituta tehničkih nauka Srpske akademije nauka i umetnosti, Beograd, i Društva za istraživanje materijala Srbije (MRS Srbija) doprinela je pisanju ovog kapitalnog udžbenika o biomaterijalima, prvog do sada na srpskom jeziku. Mada uključivanje veće grupe autora nužno dovodi do stilske neujednačenosti, ipak je oblast biomaterijala toliko multidisciplinarna da je ovakav pristup bio neophodan, kako uostalom pokazuju slična svetska iskustva sa uključivanjem i preko pedeset autora. Ipak urednici su se potrudili da koliko je to moguće stilski i pedagoški ujednače udžbenik, kako bi bio korisna literatura za sve studente diplomskih, master i doktorskih studija iz biomedicinskog inženjerstva u Srbiji i okruženju