Moss biomonitoring of lithogenic impact on the distribution of various chemical elements in the air in the region of Mariovo, North Macedonia.

A study was conducted to investigate the air deposition and explore the distribution of potentially toxic elements in the Mariovo region, North Macedonia, using moss samples as biomonitors of air pollution. The distribution of 44 chemical elements was detected in 20 moss samples collected in the area. The moss samples were analyzed after microwave digestion using inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

Spatial distribution and isotopic signatures of N and C in mosses across Europe.

The accumulation of nitrogen (N) in moss tissue has proven to be a reliable marker of increasing N deposition. However, this measurement does not offer additional data about the origin of pollution. In this respect, the analysis of the N isotopic ratios might be a helpful tool in providing supplementary information about the nature of the nitrogenous species in biomonitoring surveys.

Anatomy education and clinical practice: students' views.

Background And Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate students' perspectives on the relevance of anatomy education to clinical practice throughout their studies at the Faculty of Medicine in Skopje.

Materials And Methods: The study was designed as a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based investigation and took place at the Faculty of Medicine in Skopje at the University of "Ss Cyril and Methodius", R. North Macedonia.

Impact of diabetes on epicardial reperfusion and mortality in a contemporary STEMI population undergoing mechanical reperfusion: Insights from the ISACS STEMI COVID 19 registry.

Background And Aim: Diabetes has been shown in last decades to be associated with a significantly higher mortality among patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated with primary PCI (PPCI). Therefore, the aim of current study was to evaluate the impact of diabetes on times delays, reperfusion and mortality in a contemporary STEMI population undergoing PPCI, including treatment during the COVID pandemic.

Methods And Results: The ISACS-STEMI COVID-19 is a large-scale retrospective multicenter registry involving PPCI centers from Europe, Latin America, South-East Asia and North-Africa, including patients treated from 1st of March until June 30, 2019 and 2020.

Clinical characteristics of human brucellosis in different age groups in the Republic of North Macedonia-A case series.

Background: Brucellosis is a zoonotic infection that presents a major challenge to public health worldwide.

Aim: This research compares demographic characteristics, clinical features, and outcomes across different age groups in patients with human brucellosis.

Material And Methods: Between 2003 and 2022 a total of 508 patients with brucellosis were subjected to diagnostics and treatment at the Clinic for Infectious Diseases in Skopje.

Twofold 6π-Electrocyclization as a Route Toward Multi-Heteroatom-Doped Nanographenes Built on a 1,4-Dihydropyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrrole Core.

Here we present a highly versatile synthetic strategy based on twofold 6π-electrocyclization accompanied with HBr elimination as a novel approach towards centrosymmetric multi-heteroatom-doped nanographenes build around an electron-rich 1,4-dihydropyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrrole core. A straightforward synthesis from readily available substrates offers a unique possibility of fusing the 1,4-dihydropyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrrole subunit not only with carbocyclic building blocks, such as electron-deficient phenanthrenes, chrysenes, or [4]helicenes, but also with heterocyclic systems, such as benzo[b]furan and 5-thiatruxene. The clear advantage of this strategy is that there is no requirement to assemble complex scaffolds possessing bromoaryl units since bromine atom is introduced by bromination of 1,4-dihydropyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrrole core which, because of its exceptionally electron-rich character, is straightforward reaction.

Living with COPD and its psychological effects on participating in community-based physical activity in Brazil: a qualitative study. Findings from the Breathe Well group.

Physical activity (PA) improves dyspnoea, psychological wellbeing and quality of life (QoL) for people with COPD reducing their risk of exacerbation. However, engagement in PA is low especially amongst those with anxiety and depression, and PA programmes are limited in countries with limited resources such as Brazil. We explored perceptions of 21 people with COPD about the impact of their disease on taking part in community-based PA programmes in Sao Paulo, Brazil through semi-structured telephone interviews from October 2020 to April 2021.

Towards harmonized laboratory methodologies in veterinary clinical bacteriology: outcomes of a European survey.

Introduction: Veterinary clinical microbiology laboratories play a key role in antimicrobial stewardship, surveillance of antimicrobial resistance and prevention of healthcare associated-infections. However, there is a shortage of international harmonized guidelines covering all steps of veterinary bacterial culture from sample receipt to reporting.

Methods: In order to gain insights, the European Network for Optimization of Veterinary Antimicrobial Treatment (ENOVAT) designed an online survey focused on the practices and interpretive criteria used for bacterial culture and identification (C&ID), and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of animal bacterial pathogens.

Impact of hypertension on mortality in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary angioplasty: insights from the international multicenter ISACS-STEMI registry.

Background: Hypertension is the most prevalent cardiovascular risk factor, with several detrimental effects on the cardiovascular system. Contrasting results have been reported so far on its prognostic role in patients admitted for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Therefore, we investigated the impact of hypertension on short-term mortality in a large multicenter contemporary registry of STEMI patients, including patients treated during COVID-19 pandemic.

Access to diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy technologies for patients with cancer in the Baltic countries, eastern Europe, central Asia, and the Caucasus: a comprehensive analysis.

Background: Only 10-40% of patients with cancer in low-income and middle-income countries were able to access curative or palliative radiotherapy in 2015. We aimed to assess the current status of diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy services in the Baltic countries, eastern Europe, central Asia, and the Caucasus by collecting and analysing local data.

Methods: This Access to Radiotherapy (ART) comprehensive analysis used data from 12 countries: the three Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), two countries in eastern Europe (Moldova and Ukraine), four countries in central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan), and three countries in the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia), referred to here as the ART countries.

Strengthening Clinician-Researchers' Communication and Knowledge Translation Skills: An Innovative Game Model From the Breathe Well Group.

Communication is a core component of a clinician's role; however, when clinicians conduct research, communicating the emerging findings and recommendations to different types of stakeholders can be unfamiliar territory. Communicating research to advocate for change can be even more challenging. Clinician researchers seeking to be agents for change need to conceive and craft specific, evidence-based messages and communicate these effectively to different stakeholders to negotiate action.

Genuine anodic and cathodic current components in cyclic voltammetry.

Implicit anodic and cathodic current components associated with the real net current at a given potential of a simple quasireversible electrode reaction can be accurately estimated using basic mathematical modeling within the framework of Butler-Volmer electrode kinetics. This methodology requires only prior knowledge of the formal potential of the dissolved redox couple, offering direct insight into the electrode kinetics. The proposed approach facilitates a unique transformation of a conventional cyclic voltammogram, allowing the replacement of the common, net current with authentic anodic and cathodic current components.

Genuine differential voltammetry.

A novel form of differential voltammetry is proposed, developed through the implicit anodic and cathodic current components of the experimentally accessible conventional net current measured in a voltammetric experiment. By employing basic mathematical modelling of an electrode reaction of a dissolved redox couple at a conventional, macroscopic electrode within the framework of the Butler-Volmer electrode kinetic model, the implicit anodic and cathodic current components of the net conventional current are clearly defined and can be estimated. Consequently, a novel form of differential current, calculated as the difference between anodic and cathodic implicit current components associated with a single potential of the voltammetric experiment, can be established.

Assessment of radiological hazards of soils from the city of Bitola (Macedonia) and its environs.

To establish the radioactivity level of soils and assess the associated radiological impact on residents, 58 samples from the town of Bitola and its environs were collected. After conducting gross alpha and gross beta measurements with a gas-flow proportional counter as a preliminary screening test, subsequent gamma-spectrometry measurements reveal the presence of K, Ra, Th, and Cs in the soil samples as radionuclides with the highest impact. The absorbed gamma dose rate, the annual effective dose, radium equivalent activity, external hazard index, gamma index, excess lifetime cancer risk, and annual gonadal dose were calculated using the obtained activity concentrations of the radionuclides.

High economic inequality is linked to greater moralization.

Throughout the 21st century, economic inequality is predicted to increase as we face new challenges, from changes in the technological landscape to the growing climate crisis. It is crucial we understand how these changes in inequality may affect how people think and behave. We propose that economic inequality threatens the social fabric of society, in turn increasing moralization-that is, the greater tendency to employ or emphasize morality in everyday life-as an attempt to restore order and control.

Distribution of some natural and artificial radionuclides in soil from the city of Bitola (Macedonia) and its environs.

The aim of the study is a thorough investigation of the radioactivity level in soils of the town of Bitola (Macedonia) and its environs. Topsoil samples collected from 58 locations within a 5 × 5 km grid were analysed. Serving as a screening, gross alpha and beta activity measurements were performed using gas-flow proportional counter.

Rapid quantification models for assessing melamine adulteration in sport nutrition supplements via benchtop and portable NIRS instruments.

Sport nutrition supplements (SNS) are vulnerable to adulteration with melamine, artificially augmenting their protein content as determined by conventional assay methodologies. Vibrational spectroscopy techniques are suitable for the detection of adulteration because they allow rapid analysis, require minimal sample preparation, and can perform numerous analyses in a short time. The aim of this study was to develop rapid quantification models for the determination of melamine adulteration in a variety of SNS matrices using NIRS (near-infrared spectroscopy) in combination with multivariate data processing.

Molecular Hydrogen Acts as a Hydrogen Bond Proton Acceptor: From Protonated Betaine Tagging to the Weakest Hydrogen Bond.

In an attempt to gain further insights into the intermolecular interactions implied by Rizzo's group's cautionary tale related to molecular tagging in infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy with molecular messengers [Masson, A. . 2015, 143, 104313], in the present study, we provide an in-depth analysis of the noncovalent interaction between the molecular hydrogen and protonated betaine molecule in the gas phase.

Mercury distribution and contamination in the soils of the Mitrovica region, Republic of Kosovo.

The study was carried out to define the distribution of mercury in surface soils in the Mitrovica region, Republic of Kosovo and to assess the level and extent of contamination. A total of 156 soil samples were collected from a depth of 5 cm at each grid point of 1.4 × 1.

Confronting Views of Companies and Authorities on Food Safety Issues-A Cross-Country Survey.

This study investigated food safety issues as perceived by food companies and food safety authorities in six countries in Europe and Central Asia. A total of 66 companies and 16 authorities participated in the survey. The results provide important insights related to what the main food safety priorities are, how they are addressed in the countries that participated in the survey, and what the role of the main stakeholders is in the food value chain.

Regional air quality study by assessing trace metal atmospheric deposition.

This study addresses the atmospheric deposition of trace elements investigated in Albania, Croatia and Macedonia in 2010 as part of the European Moss Study. This study provides data on the concentration of ten metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, Zn, Fe, Al, and Li) in naturally growing mosses. In general, all concentration data follow a lognormal distribution.

Comparison of rhabdomyolysis in acutely intoxicated patients with psychotropic and chemical substances.

Rhabdomyolysis is characterized by a muscle injury that leads to the release of intracellular muscle contents/constituents into the systemic circulation.