On-photo Restitution and Management of an Angular Size-Illusion\u27s Behaviour Experienced in Architectural/Urban Spaces

An angular size-illusion refers to a contradictory effect related to a seeming size-decrease of focused objects as the observer approaches them. This paper continues the research in this field, trying to establish fundamental principles of how to: (a) efficiently perform an on-photo restitution of an illusion\u27s behaviour (expressed by illusion descriptors) when it is experienced in architectural/urban spaces during movement under the influence of available triggers (represented by illusion determinants of physical nature), and (b) manage it computationally so as to be sustainable for contemporary professional practice. To explain that conceptually, one simple architectural/urban matrix is chosen and digitally photographed. Images are photogrammetrically processed and determinants-related data obtained. Subsequently, descriptors-related outputs are calculated by applying derived mathematical equations (expressed in function of those determinants-related data). Then, behaviour-charts are created and corresponding illusion-characteristics read-off. Finally, it is illustrated how to manage (intentionally modify) the restituted behaviour by varying values of acquired determinants-related data. Given results allow also to "design a new illusion" (to programme and control it) by simulating in digital VR/AR environments. Thus, any cause of unwanted/unpredictable visual impression degradations of important architectural/urban structures can be prevented or minimized (by planning and performing adequate spatial/physical interventions on existing/reconstructed/newly designed matrices)

Tracheotomy in children

IntroductionTracheotomy is one of the most urgent procedures in medicine. It is an operative procedure that creates a surgical airway in the cervical trachea.AimTracheostomy refers to a surgical incision made into a trachea. Children are often considered “little people”, however, in medical sense, that is not completely true. The aim of our paper is to review the tracheostomy procedure in children.Materials and MethodsIn this paper, we analysed the tracheostomies in children performed in the Clinical Centre Niš (Serbia) in the five-year period from January 2015 to December 2019 inclusive. At our centre, all tracheostomies were solely performed by otolaryngologists.ResultsA total of 37 tracheotomies were performed in the studied period. There were 25 (67.6%) boys and 12 girls (32.4%). The main reason for this relatively low tracheostomy count in our study is because our practitioners are usually performing tracheostomies only in children that require urgent care. All chronic or complicated cases, if they are stable enough to transport, are referred to a higher specialised institution in Belgrade, Serbia.The youngest was a newborn, not older than 1 hour, and the oldest was 17 years old. We divided them into groups according to the age. There were 5 (13.5%) neonates, 25 (67.6%) infants, 3 (8.1%) preschoolers, 2 (5.4%) school-aged children, and 2 (5.4%) adolescents. This is in concurrence with other studies, where authors reported that the highest number of tracheostomies (around 65–70%) were performed before 1 year of age.In most cases, indication for tracheostomies were upper airway obstructions (n = 35, 94.6%). Prolonged orotracheal intubation (n = 1, 2.7%), and protective tracheostomy (n = 1, 2.7%) were the causes in the other two cases.ConclusionWhile researching the literature for this paper we found that there is little standardisation associated with tracheostomy, even though it is a procedure that is performed regularly all over the globe. There is evidence that there is a disparity in opinions not only among the practitioners in different countries, but in individual countries as well. With the increasing number of patients that require tracheostomy, we find that this topic should be addressed more carefully with the attempt to establish the best way of action for this procedure, and with that, lower the complication and mortality rates

Analysis of startup companies and projects in the Republic of Serbia

In this paper, the startup companies are analysed as well as their projects and an incentive for their development in Republic of Serbia. The programs and strategies of innovation development and development of innovative activities are presented, with an overview of the support programs for a new business starting in Republic of Serbia. Also, the paper analyzes startup projects approved by the Innovation Fund, which have been started in the period from 2011 to 2017. Comparing the support to the startup in Serbia and in European Union, an analysis of startup projects that are directly supported by European Commission was performed.Publishe

PREVALENCE OF METABOLIC SYNDROME IN PATIENTS WITH ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION AND ITS IMPACT ON ASYMPTOMATIC CAROTID ATHEROSCLEROSIS

The importance of metabolic syndrome (MetSy) lies in the fact that its components are proven risk factors for early blood vessel atherosclerosis and thrombosis.Aim of the paper: Our aim was to establish the prevalence of MetSy in patients with arterial hypertension (AH) and its impact on asymptomatic carotid atherosclerosis. The study involved 391 examinees, divided into two groups. The study group consisted of patients with arterial hypertension (n=342; average age, 66.56 ± 09.52; with 51% of female gender). The presence of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors was established for all involved patients, cardiovascular risk score was determined (SCORE risk), laboratory analyses were performed, as well as anthropometric measurements and color Doppler sonography of the great blood vessels of the neck. The patients with AH were divided into two groups according to the presence of MetSy. Metabolic syndrome was confirmed in 198 patients who comprised group I; there were 144 examinees without MetSy and these comprised group II. Those with MetSy had a greater average number of CV risk factors, a higher SCORE risk score, higher body mass index (p<0.0001), and more frequently had diabetes, hyperlipidemia and obesity. The thickness of the intimal medial complex (IMC) of the carotid arteries was significantly greater in the group with MetSy (p<0.0001) – 51% of examinees had IMC thickness ≥0.90. The patients with MetSy more commonly had one or more carotid plaques (p=0.03), a higher average number of plaques (p=0.01) and percentage of stenosis (p=0.01). As the most important factors associated with early carotid atherosclerosis, multivariant regression analysis singled out the following (for the model R=0.512. R2=0.262. adjusted R2=0.255. standard error of the estimate = 0.174; p<0.0001): age (coefficiant β=0.331. p<0.0001), number of MetSy components (coefficient β=0.158. p=0.002), level of serum uric acid (coefficient β=0.284; p<0.0001). Our results demonstrated a significant association of MetSy and its components with early atherosclerotic changes in the carotid arteries

Assessment of cardiorespiratory function in adolescent athletes affected by COVID-19: a comparative analysis

Background and Study Aim. Given the global spread of COVID-19 and its profound effects on public health, understanding its impact on the physical health and performance of young athletes is crucial for developing guidelines to support their recovery and well-being. The goal of this research was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 infection and possible consequences on the functional abilities of schoolchild athletes, and determine whether there are differences compared to their peers who did not suffer the infection. Material and Methods. This study involved 100 teenagers (median age 15.7±1.167), who engage in two different sports (basketball and soccer), divided into two groups. The first group comprised young athletes (n=53, age 15.79±1.854) who had contracted COVID-19 and underwent 14 days of home isolation. The second group consisted of healthy child athletes (n=47, age 15.60±1.313). Participants underwent a comprehensive pre-participation sports medical examination, which included a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) on a treadmill. CPET assessed various physiological parameters: maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max); heart rates at the first and second ventilatory thresholds (HR at VT1 and HR at VT2); respiratory exchange ratio (RER); maximal pulmonary ventilation (VEmax); ventilatory efficiency (VE/VCO2); oxygen pulse (O2/HR); maximum heart rate (HRmax); three-minute heart rate recovery; and potential electrocardiographic changes. Results. The results indicate that COVID-19 infection has led to statistically significant impairments in the cardiorespiratory functions of child athletes. Notably, there were significant reductions in maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max), maximal pulmonary ventilation (VEmax), oxygen pulse (O2/HR), as well as heart rates at the first ventilatory threshold (HR at VT1), maximum heart rate (HRmax), and heart rate recovery following maximal effort, all demonstrating p-values less than 0.05. Conclusions. The assessed parameters demonstrated that the functions were statistically significantly impaired in child athletes who had recovered from COVID-19 compared to their healthy peers of the same age. However, the infection appeared to have a minimal impact on heart rate variability at ventilatory thresholds. These findings offer valuable insights for coaches and sports medicine physicians in adjusting training programs and supporting the rehabilitation process for young adolescent athletes resuming their training after recovering from COVID-19

Optimization of the doubled haploid technology for temperate maize breeding programs: a case study from Maize Research Institute Zemun Polje

Doubled haploid (DH) technology is one of the several technological advances greatly impacting modern maize breeding. The main benefit for breeders is the development of parental inbred lines in one year comparing to four using conventional breeding. Maize Research Institute Zemun Polje (MRIZP) initiated doubled haploid program in maize in 2014. In six years up to 8.000 DH lines have been developed from close to 160 donor germplasm sources of different genetic backgrounds. During this period the research group engaged in the DH program identified several issues that need to be addressed in order to optimize the method for use in temperate regions including poor agronomic performance of haploid inducing lines, donor germplasm effect on the overall efficiency of DH method in maize breeding and selection strategies for improving test-cross performance of DH lines. To meet the challenges, MRIZP DH research group started a breeding program aiming at developing inducers with high and stable HIR adapted to temperate climate conditions. Two main goals were defined: development of haploid inducers with HIR up to 20% in a completely inducer genetic background, and second, to develop haploid inducers in 75 and 50% inducer genetic background with moderate HIR but better agronomic performance. Also, nine populations were used to assess the suitability of our most elite breeding materials for use as donors with respect to genetic background, specifically heterotic group origin, and give guidance to breeders on donor germplasm selection. Furthermore, we are studying different selection strategies for DH line breeding with respect to donor size and prior cycles of selection, i.e. recombination (none (F1), one (F2), or two selection cycles (F3)). We hope that our still ongoing research will contribute to already extensive knowledge on doubled haploid methodology

Oplemenjivanje kukuruza uz pomoć metode dupliciranih haploida u Institutu za kukuruz “Zemun Polje”

In vivo metoda dupliciranih haploida u Institutu za kukuruz „Zemun Polje“ koristi se u oplemenjivanju kukuruza od 2014. godine. Pristup omogućava dobijanje potpuno homozigotnih inbred linija tzv. duplohaploidnih (DH) linija za samo dve godine (dve do tri generacije), za razliku od konvencionalnog oplemenjivanja gde je potrebno bar sedam do osam generacija kako bi se postigla neophodna homozigotnost. Metoda se sastoji iz nekoliko koraka: 1) indukcija haploida iz odabranih populacija ukrštanjem sa linijom induktorom haploida (prva godina/letnja generacija); 2) selekcija haploidnih zrna (prva godina/letnja generacija); 3) duplikacija hromozoma (druga godina/zimska generacija) i 4) umnožavanje dobijenih DH linija (druga godina/letnja generacija). Do sada je dobijeno oko 13000 DH linija iz oko 350 populacija koje pripadaju različitim heterotičnim grupama. U okviru programa sprovode se i aktivnosti sa ciljem razvoja novih induktora haploida sa povišenim procentom indukcije haploida i poboljšanim agronomskim svojstvima. Osam induktora-kandidata je specifičnom procesom selekcije odabrano i u 2023. godini ocenjeno u mini ogledu sa komercijalno dostupnim induktorima, a mereni su visina biljke, produkcija polena, ozrnjenost u ukrštanju, kao i procenat indukcije haploida. U okviru rada na optimizaciji metode, ispitivan je i uticaj populacije (heterotične grupe) i spoljašnje sredine na uspešnost metode. Utvrđen je značajan uticaj spoljašnjih uslova, kao i heterotične grupe odnosno genotipa na indukciju i duplikaciju, kao i konačnu uspešnost metode. Prvi hibridi sa DH linijom kao roditeljskom komponentom već su registrovani od strane Sortne komisije Republike Srbije za komercijalno gajenje u Srbiji

Predictive value of serum bicarbonate, arterial base deficit/excess and SAPS III score in critically ill patients

Abstract. Arterial base deficit/excess (BD/E) is commonly used marker of metabolic acidosis in critically ill patients, but requires an arterial puncture and blood gas analysis. We hypothesized that serum bicarbonate (HCO 3 ), which can be routinely obtained, strongly correlates with arterial BD/E and provides equivalent predictive information. In addition, we evaluated predictive value of simplified acute physiology score III (SAPS III). Total of 152 critically ill surgical patients were included in retrospective analysis. On admission to intensive care unit sets of simultaneously obtained paired laboratory data, including an arterial blood gas and serum chemistry panel with serum HCO 3 were obtained. Very strong correlation between BD/E and simultaneously measured serum HCO 3 levels was found (r = 0.857, R 2 = 0.732, p &lt; 0.01). The serum HCO 3 level reliably identified a significant metabolic acidosis (AUC = 0.761, p &lt; 0.05). BD and SAPS III were good predictors of mortality (AUCs 0.70 and 0.74, respectively). Serum HCO 3 may be used as substitute to detect severe metabolic acidosis. BD and SAPS III score were good predictors of mortality

Identification of Nonlinear Systems Using the Hammerstein-Wiener Model with Improved Orthogonal Functions

Hammerstein-Wiener systems present a structure consisting of three serial cascade blocks. Two are static nonlinearities, which can be described with nonlinear functions. The third block represents a linear dynamic component placed between the first two blocks. Some of the common linear model structures include a rational-type transfer function, orthogonal rational functions (ORF), finite impulse response (FIR), autoregressive with extra input (ARX), autoregressive moving average with exogenous inputs model (ARMAX), and output-error (O-E) model structure. This paper presents a new structure, and a new improvement is proposed, which is consisted of the basic structure of Hammerstein-Wiener models with an improved orthogonal function of Müntz-Legendre type. We present an extension of generalised Malmquist polynomials that represent Müntz polynomials. Also, a detailed mathematical background for performing improved almost orthogonal polynomials, in combination with Hammerstein-Wiener models, is proposed. The proposed approach is used to identify the strongly nonlinear hydraulic system via the transfer function. To compare the results obtained, well-known orthogonal functions of the Legendre, Chebyshev, and Laguerre types are exploited