Demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with cervical cancer screening among women in Serbia

ObjectivesEffective reduction of cervical cancer incidence and mortality requires strategic measures encompassing the implementation of a cost-effective screening technology. Serbia has made significant strides, introducing organized cervical cancer screening in 2012. However, various impediments to screening implementation persist. The aim of the study was to estimate the socioeconomic factors associated with cervical cancer screening among women in Serbia.MethodsData from 2019 National Health Survey of the population of Serbia were used in this study. The study is cross sectional survey on a representative sample of the population of Serbia. Present total number of participants analyzed in survey 6,747.ResultsIn Serbia, 67.2% of women have done a Pap test at any time during their lives, of which 46.1% of women have undergone cervical cancer screening in the past 3 years. About a quarter of women have never undergone a Pap test in their life (24.3%). The probability of never having a Pap test have: the youngest age group (15–24 years) is 1.3 times more likely than the oldest age group (OR = 1.31), unmarried women 0.3 times more often than married women (OR = 0.37), respondents with basic education 0.9 times more often than married women (OR = 0.98), the women of lower socioeconomic status 0.5 times more often than respondents of high socioeconomic status (OR = 0.56).ConclusionEnhancement of the existing CCS would be the appropriate public health approach to decrease the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in the Republic of Serbia

CENTRAL VENOUS CATHETER AS A VASCULAR APPROACH TO HEMODIALYSTS

The application of the central venous catheter (CVC) as a temporary orpermanent vascular approach to hemodialysis has been practiced in our Center since1994. So far 30 (12,6%) patients have been thus treated. The primary application hasbeen done in 25 patients, namely: the first making of the A V fistula has been done in16, the ABT in 6, while the vascular approach correction in 3 patients. The secondaryapplication has been done in 5 patients. The infection episode incidence concerningthe CVC application is 20 infections per 1.000 patients. This is the upper limitaccording to the data given in the literature (5, rang 3-20). The average duration of thecatheter is 21 + - 13 days (rang 1-47). Two-volume catheters have been used for ajugular approach though less often for a femoral one. The unsuccessful placing due tothe catheter thrombosis has occurred in 4 patients, the catheter drop-out and itsreplacing have been done in 2 patients, while no replacement has happened in onečaše. The treatment has been stopped in one patient. Tn four patients the cerebrovascularinsult has happened after placing the CVC. The mortality rate is 26,6%,that is, K patients, namely: 4 due to cerebrovascular insult, one due to lung emboly,one due to heart weakness and one due to the sepsis from the V fistula. One patientdied at home for unknown reason. A high infection episode incidence rate is related toinadequate patients' placing so that their location in the rooms for intensive care is away of reducing it. It is necessary to provide for general aseptic procedure at work aswell as for betterment of the accompanying procedures (hemoculture, antibiograms,sterilization) in order to maintain a safe catheter function

OBSTRUCTION OF THE RESPIRATORY TRACT DURING THE GENERAL ANESTHESIA AT CHILDRENS AGE

The respiratory complications before, during and after applying the generalanesthesia still represent -despicable the introduction of new anesthetics and new musclerelaxants, modern monitoring and treatment - an importanl potential causc ofmorbidilv and mortality. This particularly refers to the pediatric patients having highminulc ventilation with regard to the functional residual capacity coupled with greatoxygen use; it very quickly leads to hypoxemia. Thc causcs of the respiratorycomplications can be various, but in essence they involve venlilation depression.respiratory tract obstruction or an inadequate oxygen supplv. These sales appeareither individually or in any combination. The causcs of thc respiratory tractobstruction ore numerous and various: they can be divided into physiological andpathological

Immobilized yeast cells and secondary metabolites

The use of immobilized cell technology (ICT) is viewed as a promising biotechnological tool to achieve high volumetric productivities of yeast fermentation in bioindustry of alcoholic beverages. During this process a huge number of organic compounds are being formed as yeast secondary metabolites, among which volatile compounds, such as higher alcohols, esters, and vicinal diketones, are the most important flavoring compounds. The objective of this chapter is to summarize the knowledge on the origin of the flavor-active and nonvolatile compounds synthesized by yeast and to describe how the composition of the medium, culture strain, process conditions (temperature, aeration, etc.), bioreactor design, and other critical parameters influence the metabolic activities of yeast cultures. Despite the technological and economic advantages provided by ICT, commercialization of this technology experienced only limited success, mainly due to unpredictable effect of immobilization on yeast physiology. This chapter is an attempt to rationalize and make some conclusions about the impact of cell immobilization on yeast metabolism collected from empirical experiences in production of alcoholic beverages. The knowledge addressing this issue may be of particular benefit to the nascent bioflavor industry

Glucocorticoid receptors in ageing rats

The role of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in senescence was studied in rats of increasing age. Statistically significant changes in the number of GRs from rat liver were detected, whereas the affinity for the ligand triamcinolone acetonide (TA) did not change with increasing age, and was in the range of 1-2 nM. In all cases the number of receptors was lower in rats treated with hormone in vivo relative to untreated animals. In addition, we have found changes in GR activation, as measured by the binding to DNA cellulose in the mentioned age groups. Furthermore, expression of the glucocorticoid hormone (GH)-inducible gene, tyrosine amino transferase (TAT) also showed age-related alterations. We conclude that receptor function shows oscillatory changes during ageing. In addition, response to GH generally declines towards the older age. This. specific periodicity in functional characteristics of the GR may reconcile conflicting results about the receptor number and properties during the ageing process, and marks particular age at which individual organism shows the highest or the lowest sensitivity to the actions of GH. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved

Data_Sheet_1_Genome sequence diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in Serbia: insights gained from a 3-year pandemic study.docx

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.</p