Brownian dynamics of a microswimmer

We report on dynamic properties of a simple model microswimmer composed of three spheres and propelling itself in a viscous fluid by spinning motion of the spheres under zero net torque constraint. At a fixed temperature and increasing the spinning frequency, the swimmer demonstrates a transition from dissipation-dominated to a pumping-dominated motion regime characterized by negative effective friction coefficient. In the limit of high frequencies, the diffusion of the swimmer can be described by a model of an active particle with constant velocity.Comment: Submitte

Orientalizing Socialism: Architecture, Media, and the Representations of Eastern Europe

After two decades of being ignored, the architecture of the so-called ‘former East’ has recently been discovered by global mass media. The photographs of Soviet sanatoria, Bulgarian resorts, Central Asian bus stops, and Yugoslav war memorials can now be seen in print publications, in music videos, and even in sci-fi movies, as well as endlessly circulating within social networks. The phenomenon contradicts the previous negative stereotypes of socialist architecture—the overblown monumentality of the Stalinist period and the drabness of prefabricated mass housing—introducing the formerly adventurous structures of the 1970s and 1980s as objects of genuine fascination. Presented through the seemingly objective medium of photography, however, these buildings are nevertheless firmly inscribed into the old ideological framework inherited from the Cold War that reduced all agency under state socialism to totalitarian control. Contradicting recent scholarship that has revealed a great deal of complexity in the construction of the socialist built environments, these new media representations constitute a novel form of Orientalism. Its object is still coincidentally located in the East—Europe’s own East—but this time around the alleged otherness rests on ideological rather than cultural or racial grounds. The paper analyzes two widely known projects responsible for this neo-Orientalist turn, Jan Kempenaers’ Spomenik and Frédéric Chaubin’s Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed, which pose fundamental questions for the historians of European architecture: Who should have the right to shape the public perception of architectural history? How is architectural history used to maintain the geopolitical divisions and hierarchies within Europe itself

Distribution of EGFR SNPs -191C/A and 181946G/A in patients with lung cancer depending on smoking status in the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina

To analyze the frequencies of two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of EGFR gene, -191C/A and 181946G/A, among lung cancer patients from the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Hercegovina, as well as to assess the association of SNP genotypes with the cancer type and other demographic characteristics of patients, particularly with the smoking status.Publishe

Quality of Root Canal Fillings in a Bosnian Adult Population Treated in Public and Private Dental Clinics / Kvalitet Punjenja Kanala Korena Kod Odraslog Stanovništva U Bosni I Hercegovini Lecenih U Državnim I Privatnim Stomatološkim Klinikama

The aim of this study is to examine the technical quality of root canal fillings in an adult population in the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, who were treated in public dental institutions and private dental clinics

Acoustic and Perceptual Characteristics of the Voice in Patients With Vocal Polyps After Surgery and Voice Therapy

Objective. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of endolaryngeal phonomicrosurgery (EPM) and voice therapy in patients with vocal fold polyps using perceptual and acoustic analysis before and after both therapies. Methods. The acoustic tests and perceptual evaluation of voice were carried out on 41 female patients with vocal fold polyp before and after EPM and voice therapy. Both therapy strategies were performed. Used acoustic parameters were Jitter percent (Jitt), pitch perturbation quotient (PPQ), shimmer percent (Shim), amplitude perturbation quotient (APQ), fundamental frequency variation (vF0), noise-to-harmonic ratio (NHR), Voice Turbulence Index (VTI). For perceptual evaluation, GRB scale was used. Results. Results indicated higher values of investigated parameters in patients' group than in the control group (P lt 0.01). Good correlation between the perceptual hoarseness factors of GRB scale and objective acoustic voice parameters were observed. All analyzed acoustic parameters improved after the phonomicrosurgery and voice therapy and tend to approach to values of the control group. For Jitt percent, Shim percent, vF0, VTI, and NHR, there were statistically significant differences. Perceptual voice evaluation revealed statistically significantly (P lt 0.01) decreased rating of G (grade), R (rough) and B (breathy) after surgery and voice therapy. Conclusions. Our data indicated that both acoustic and perceptual characteristic of voice in patients with vocal polyps significantly improved after phonomicrosurgical and voice treatment

Risk of COVID-19 after natural infection or vaccinationResearch in context

Background: While vaccines have established utility against COVID-19, phase 3 efficacy studies have generally not comprehensively evaluated protection provided by previous infection or hybrid immunity (previous infection plus vaccination). Individual patient data from US government-supported harmonized vaccine trials provide an unprecedented sample population to address this issue. We characterized the protective efficacy of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and hybrid immunity against COVID-19 early in the pandemic over three-to six-month follow-up and compared with vaccine-associated protection. Methods: In this post-hoc cross-protocol analysis of the Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen, and Novavax COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, we allocated participants into four groups based on previous-infection status at enrolment and treatment: no previous infection/placebo; previous infection/placebo; no previous infection/vaccine; and previous infection/vaccine. The main outcome was RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 >7–15 days (per original protocols) after final study injection. We calculated crude and adjusted efficacy measures. Findings: Previous infection/placebo participants had a 92% decreased risk of future COVID-19 compared to no previous infection/placebo participants (overall hazard ratio [HR] ratio: 0.08; 95% CI: 0.05–0.13). Among single-dose Janssen participants, hybrid immunity conferred greater protection than vaccine alone (HR: 0.03; 95% CI: 0.01–0.10). Too few infections were observed to draw statistical inferences comparing hybrid immunity to vaccine alone for other trials. Vaccination, previous infection, and hybrid immunity all provided near-complete protection against severe disease. Interpretation: Previous infection, any hybrid immunity, and two-dose vaccination all provided substantial protection against symptomatic and severe COVID-19 through the early Delta period. Thus, as a surrogate for natural infection, vaccination remains the safest approach to protection. Funding: National Institutes of Health

Risk of COVID-19 after natural infection or vaccinationResearch in context

Summary: Background: While vaccines have established utility against COVID-19, phase 3 efficacy studies have generally not comprehensively evaluated protection provided by previous infection or hybrid immunity (previous infection plus vaccination). Individual patient data from US government-supported harmonized vaccine trials provide an unprecedented sample population to address this issue. We characterized the protective efficacy of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and hybrid immunity against COVID-19 early in the pandemic over three-to six-month follow-up and compared with vaccine-associated protection. Methods: In this post-hoc cross-protocol analysis of the Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen, and Novavax COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, we allocated participants into four groups based on previous-infection status at enrolment and treatment: no previous infection/placebo; previous infection/placebo; no previous infection/vaccine; and previous infection/vaccine. The main outcome was RT-PCR-confirmed COVID-19 >7–15 days (per original protocols) after final study injection. We calculated crude and adjusted efficacy measures. Findings: Previous infection/placebo participants had a 92% decreased risk of future COVID-19 compared to no previous infection/placebo participants (overall hazard ratio [HR] ratio: 0.08; 95% CI: 0.05–0.13). Among single-dose Janssen participants, hybrid immunity conferred greater protection than vaccine alone (HR: 0.03; 95% CI: 0.01–0.10). Too few infections were observed to draw statistical inferences comparing hybrid immunity to vaccine alone for other trials. Vaccination, previous infection, and hybrid immunity all provided near-complete protection against severe disease. Interpretation: Previous infection, any hybrid immunity, and two-dose vaccination all provided substantial protection against symptomatic and severe COVID-19 through the early Delta period. Thus, as a surrogate for natural infection, vaccination remains the safest approach to protection. Funding: National Institutes of Health