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The importance of industrial hemp as a source of highly valuable textile fi bres is briefly presented through its use for textiles and composites and its increasing cultivated areas in the 21st century. On the territory of present Slovenia, about 160 ha of agricultural area was cultivated with hemp before WWII, then it quickly began to decline and at the end of the 1970s, it was no longer cultivated. Revitalization of industrial hemp in Slovenia with fi eld experiments started already in the years 2000/2001 for producing seeds, whereas hemp fi bres were used only as an insulation for buildings. The textile technological properties of hemp fi bres from diff erent varieties grown in Slovenia have not been examined till now. They are important for using hemp fibres in highly valuable textile products. The properties of green hemp fi bres extracted mechanically from non-retted hemp stems of Cannabis sativa L. var. sativa (varieties: Novosadska, Juso-11, Bialobrzeskie, Unico- B and Beniko) were determined. All the analysed varieties except Beniko had stem height over 200 cm. The highest yield of green fibres was 33.1% (Novosadska). The analysed green fibres’ content was 1.24–3.26% of ash, 7.77–8.50% of moisture regain, 10.69–13.92% of water-soluble substances and 8.45–10.83% of pectin. Through a biodegradation process of retting green hemp fibres in tap water at temperature 35°C, 9.01– 18.89% of dry mass was removed after ten days. Average linear density of green hemp fi bres was very high, around 200 tex. Tenacity of fi bres’ bundles was in the range of 167–272 MPa, but tenacity of elementary fibres was 548–672 MPa. From the curves of specific stress-strain, it is seen that green hemp fibres from all five varieties had similar superstructure. All analysed green hemp fibres had high linear density and low mechanical properties. For textile application, they should be further processed into finer fibres in order to increase their tensile stress and become also more flexible and soft.

Incidentalom nadledvičnice je sprememba brez simptomov, naključno odkrita pri slikovnih preiskavah zaradi razlogov, ki ne vključujejo bolezni nadledvičnic. Njihova prevalenca strmo narašča na račun vedno večjega števila opravljenih slikovnih preiskav. Pretežno gre za benigne, hormonsko neaktivne adenome. Ob odkritju incidentaloma moramo razlikovati med benignimi in malignimi spremembami ter ugotoviti morebitno hormonsko aktivnost. Sodobno obravnavo incidentalomov predstavljava na izjemnem kliničnem primeru bolnice z drobnim incidentalomom leve nadledvičnice. Kljub visoki gostoti na nativni računalniški tomografiji (CT) smo na podlagi izplavljanja kontrasta v skladu s takratno prakso spremembo označili za benigno in odsvetovali nadaljnje morfološko spremljanje. Kljub temu je bolnica v naslednjih letih zaradi različnih zdravstvenih težav opravila več slikovnih preiskav, vendar spremembe velikosti tumorja ni bilo. Šele 6 let od odkritja so zaradi posledic covida-19 svetovali CT prsnega koša, ki je razkril izrazito rast tumorja. Bolnico smo napotili na levostransko laparoskopsko adrenalektomijo. Patohistološko je bil potrjen karcinom skorje nadledvične žleze, zato smo uvedli adjuvantno adrenolitično zdravljenje z mitotanom. Incidentalomi nadledvičnic so pretežno benigni in klinično nepomembni, včasih pa lahko ogrozijo življenje. Zato je pomembno, da jih obravnavamo v skladu s predstavljenimi smernicami. V izjemnih primerih z atipičnim potekom, kot je bilo pri naši bolnici, bo za ugoden razplet ključna obravnava znotraj interdisciplinarnega tima.

„Die Unterscheidung der Geister“ klingt für zeitgenössische Ohren anachronistisch und wird mit Exorzismen, Okkultismus oder anderen unklaren Praktiken in Verbindung gebracht. Selten denkt jemand an die Gemeinschaft von Qumran, den heiligen Paulus, Origenes oder die Wüstenväter, obwohl man dort bereits eine gründliche Bearbeitung dieses Themas finden kann. Noch seltener kommt jemand auf moderne Philosophie oder Psychologie, obwohl gerade dort eine weitere Entwicklung der angesprochenen Fragen zu finden ist. Die Unterscheidung der Geister hat eine lange, faszinierende Geschichte und deckt sich mit den Ereignissen des menschlichen Geistes. Darüber hinaus dauert der Kampf der Geister — ob wir es wollen oder nicht — weiter an, und jedes weitere menschliche Dasein wird zu ihrem Schlachtfeld. Das letzte Wort in dieser Angelegenheit ist noch nicht gesprochen. Daher ist die Rückkehr zur Theologie der „Unterscheidung der Geister“ bei Hans Urs Balthasar, die auf den geistlichen Übungen des heiligen Ignatius von Loyola basiert, die in diesem Artikel vorgestellt werden, von Interesse. Die Rolle dieses Artikels ist dankbarerweise weniger auf die Systematik und Disziplin des Unterrichts ausgerichtet, sondern betont die Praktikabilität und Nützlichkeit der präsentierten Realität, insbesondere bei der „Unterscheidung der Geister“ im Rahmen des Synodalen Weges in Deutschland.

Spark plasma sintering (SPS) is the most straightforward way to rapidly sinter nanoceramics, but the applied pressure prevents sintering of additively manufactured ceramics. Therefore, fast firing techniques such as “pressureless” SPS and ultra-fast high-temperature sintering, based on intense thermal radiation, are gaining interest. Here we compare pressure/current-assisted and pressureless SPS techniques for the rapid heating (∼300 °C/min, 5 min) of nanocrystalline zirconia with high sintering activity. The applied pressure and current indeed contributed to the lowestr temperatures needed for full densification of nanocrystalline zirconia, retaining very fine grain size, but also induced tetragonal phase transformations in the final sintering stages. When the radiative heat transfer was “decoupled” (pressureless SPS), a pronounced temperature difference between graphite crucible wall and simulated specimen temperature along with non-steady-state conditions during dwell were observed. Nevertheless, high heating rates facilitated fine and dense microstructures even in the absence of pressure/current.

In this paper, we present four significant records of plants in Slovenia: a vascular plant Calepina irregularis, and three moss species, Ptychostomum torquescens, Sphagnum papillosum; Tortella fasciculata.

Using a person-centered approach, this study sought to identify motivation types of volunteers based on their pattern of motives for volunteering and to compare volunteer types in terms of personality and subjective well-being. A two-step cluster analysis conducted on a sample of 441 volunteers revealed four clusters: integrated high function (high on all motives); integrated low function (low on all motives); self-oriented (primarily motivated to advance own career); other-oriented (primarily motivated to pursue values to help others). The other-oriented and the integrated high function clusters reported the highest levels of extraversion, agreeableness, and openness. While satisfaction with volunteering, subjective well-being, and satisfaction of the needs for relatedness and competence were highest in the integrated high function cluster, the other-oriented cluster exhibited the highest satisfaction of the need for autonomy. Our results complement the dimensional approaches to volunteer motivation and show that optimal motivation is achieved by pursuing multiple motives.

Osteoporoza je sistemska bolezen kosti z znižano mineralno kostno gostoto in spremenjeno mikroarhitekturo kostnine, kar vodi do zlomov ob majhni sili. Čeprav pogosteje prizadene ženske, imajo moški zaradi osteoporoze več zapletov in višjo umrljivost po zlomih. Pri moških diagnozo osteoporoze večkrat postavimo šele po zlomu. Pogosteje je sekundarna, med najpomembnejšimi sekundarnimi vzroki je hipogonadizem, ki je prav tako podcenjeno, premalo prepoznano ter preredko diagnosticirano in zdravljeno stanje. Zdravljenje osteoporoze pri moških je kompleksno, vključuje nefarmakološke in farmakološke ukrepe. Cilj zdravljenja je preprečevanje zlomov. Nadomestno zdravljenje s testosteronom poleg pozitivnih učinkov na skelet pri hipogonadnih moških izboljša tudi kakovost življenja. Neposrednih dokazov, da bi zdravljenje s testosteronom zmanjšalo tveganje za osteoporozne zlome, zaenkrat ni. Pred uvedbo testosterona skupaj z bolnikom skrbno pretehtamo koristi in tveganja. Bisfosfonati, denosumab in teriparatid izboljšajo mineralno kostno gostoto in zmanjšajo tveganje za zlome vretenc. Učinkoviti so tudi pri moških z osteoporozo in s hipogonadizmom.

Due to their very wide range of indications, anticoagulants are one of the most commonly used drug groups. Although these drugs are characterized by different mechanisms of action, the most common complication of their use is still bleeding episodes, the frequency of which depends largely on the clinical condition of the patient using such therapy. For this reason, to this day, the best method of preventing bleeding complications remains the assessment of bleeding risk using scales such as HAS-BLED. There are many reports in the literature assessing the occurrence of this type of complication after the use of drugs affecting the coagulation process, as well as many reports comparing individual groups of drugs with different mechanisms of action. However, there are still no clear guidelines that would indicate which group of anticoagulants should be preferred in particular groups of patients. The aim of our article is to summarize the data collected so far regarding the safety of using specific groups of anticoagulants and the frequency of bleeding complications after their use.

Fatigue and dyspnea are the most commonly reported long-term complaints in individuals previously infected with SARS-CoV-2. This study aimed to comprehensively evaluate diaphragm muscle function in post-COVID-19 patients and investigate whether potential diaphragm dysfunction contributes to physical functioning impairment. A total of 46 patients who qualified for pulmonary rehabilitation were examined. Diaphragm muscle function parameters were evaluated using ultrasonography, while the severity of dyspnea, aerobic capacity, and the amount of energy used by the body during physical activity were assessed using the six-minute walk test, mMRC scale, and Metabolic Equivalent Task (MET), respectively. We identified that 69.5% of patients had diaphragm atrophy and 6.5% had diaphragm paralysis. The percentage of atrophy was not related to age, gender, BMI, oxygen therapy usage during the COVID-19 infection course, and disease severity. Patients who experienced cough, fever, and no loss of smell during the COVID-19 course had significantly greater diaphragm inspiratory thickness values, while patients with cough and no smell disorders had a significantly lower percentage of diaphragm atrophy. Diaphragm functional parameters were strongly associated with selected variables of exercise tolerance, such as distance in the six-minute walk test, oxygen saturation levels, fatigue, and exertion on the Borg scale. In conclusion, diaphragm muscle dysfunction is a serious long-term post-COVID-19 consequence and can be viewed as a major contributing factor to prolonged functional impairments.

(1) Background: Pituitary adenomas are benign tumors comprising about 18% of all intracranial tumors, and they often require surgical intervention. Differentiating pituitary tissue from adenoma during surgery is crucial to minimize complications. We hypothesized that using ICG dye would reduce the hormonal complication rates. (2) Methods: A prospective randomized study (February 2019–October 2023) included 34 patients with non-functional macroadenomas of the pituitary gland randomly assigned to receive intraoperative ICG or be in the control group. All underwent endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery. Pituitary function was assessed preoperatively, immediately postoperatively, and 3–6 months postoperatively. Adenohypophysis function was evaluated with hormonal tests (Cosyntropin stimulation test, TSH, fT3, fT4, prolactin, IGF-1, FSH, LH, and testosterone in men) and neurohypophysis function with fluid balance, plasma and urine osmolality, and serum and urinary sodium. (3) Results: Of the 34 patients (23 men, 11 women; average age 60.9 years), 5.9% in the ICG group developed diabetes insipidus postoperatively, compared to 23.5% in the control group. Adenohypophysis function worsened in 52.9% of the ICG group and in 35.3% of the control group. (4) Conclusions: Our study did not confirm the benefits of using ICG in these surgeries. Further research with a larger sample is needed.

Obravnava žensk v obdobju predmenopavze, ob menopavzi in kasneje se je v novem tisočletju pomembno spremenila. Randomizirane klinične raziskave so bistveno omejile indikacije za uvedbo hormonskega zdravljenja (HZ) in s tem menopavzno medicino postavile pred velik izziv. Na srečo so najnovejša dognanja potrdila, da je ob pravilni uporabi in izbiri HZ korist še vedno bistveno večja od tveganja. Zato smo pripravili posodobljena stališča o menopavzni medicini, ki so v skladu z aktualnimi mednarodnimi priporočili in prilagojena posebnostim slovenskega prostora.

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) is a versatile and inexpensive additive manufacturing (AM) technique for fabrication of complex shaped ceramic structures. The composition of the binder phase in ceramic-filled feedstock is crucial in determining its rheological behaviour during processing as well as the ability to obtain a defect-free part following debinding and sintering. In this study, the effect of paraffin wax (PW) addition to alumina feedstock with ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) binder, on feedstock preparation, printability, and debinding has been investigated. The PW incorporation resulted in successful fabrication of a flexible filament with a bending (fracture) strain of 4±1 %. The addition of PW however did not have a significant impact on the debinding of the developed alumina filaments. The printed parts could only be successfully debinded up to 2 mm wall thickness. The subsequent sintering of the debinded parts resulted in a relative density of 98 %.

The study aimed to investigate measurement invariance of the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) across gender, age, and education. Adults from a general population of Slovenia (N = 431; 58% female; age 18 to 59 years) filled in the CD-RISC-10, the short form of the Mental Health Continuum and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale. Measurement invariance of the proposed one-factor model of CD-RISC-10 by gender, age, and level of education was examined using multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis. The results showed configural, metric, and scalar invariance of the CD-RISC-10 across gender, age, and educational groups. The measure showed satisfactory reliability, positive associations with emotional, psychological, and social well-being, and negative links with negative emotional states. Group differences in latent means suggested higher resilience in men than women, early adults as compared to emerging adults, and people with higher as compared to those with lower level of education. The Slovenian version of the CD-RISC-10 is an acceptably reliable and valid measure of resilience, suitable to detect possible differences between gender, age, and educational groups. Resilience shows favorable associations with enhanced positive mental health and diminished symptoms of mental problems., Author(s): Tina Kavcic [sup.1] , Gaja Zager Kocjan [sup.2] , Petra Dolenc [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.8954.0, 0000 0001 0721 6013, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ljubljana, , Zdravstvena [...]

Preclinical and clinical research on two-piece zirconia implants are warranted. Therefore, we evaluated the in vitro fracture resistance of such a zirconia oral implant system. The present study comprised 32 two-piece zirconia implants and abutments attached to the implants using a titanium (n = 16) or a zirconia abutment screw (n = 16). Both groups were subdivided (n = 8): group T-0 comprised implants with a titanium abutment screw and no artificial loading; group T-HL was the titanium screw group exposed to hydro-thermomechanical loading in a chewing simulator; group Z-0 was the zirconia abutment screw group with no artificial loading; and group Z-HL comprised the zirconia screw group with hydro-thermomechanical loading. Groups T-HL and Z-HL were loaded with 98 N and aged in 85 °C hot water for 107 chewing cycles. All samples were loaded to fracture. Kruskal–Wallis tests were executed to assess the loading/bending moment group differences. The significance level was established at a probability of 0.05. During the artificial loading, there was a single occurrence of an implant fracture. The mean fracture resistances measured in a universal testing machine were 749 N for group T-0, 828 N for group Z-0, 652 N for group T-HL, and 826 N for group Z-HL. The corresponding bending moments were as follows: group T-0, 411 Ncm; group Z-0, 452 Ncm; group T-HL, 356 Ncm; and group Z-HL, 456 Ncm. There were no statistically significant differences found between the experimental groups. Therefore, the conclusion was that loading and aging did not diminish the fracture resistance of the evaluated implant system.

In this article, a response of the complex-phase high-strength steel SZBS800 was modelled by considering the strain-rate influence. The material’s response was first measured with a series of standard tensile tests at lower strain rates. Higher strain rates were achieved using the unconventional test of shooting the ball into flat specimens. A viscoplastic formulation of the Cowper–Symonds material model was applied to consider the strain-rate effects. The parameters SIGY, p, and C of the material model were estimated using a step-wise procedure. First, rough estimates of the three parameters were obtained from the tensile tests using the grid search method. Then, the parameters p and C were fine-tuned using the reverse engineering approach. With the help of explicit dynamic simulations and all the experimental data, a multi-criteria cost function was defined and applied to obtain a smooth response function for the parameters p and C. Its optimum was determined by a real-valued genetic algorithm. The optimal values of the estimated parameters model the material response well, although a domain of optimum candidates spans two orders of magnitude for the parameter p and a few orders of magnitude for the parameter C.

Although a growing body of evidence emphasizes the superiority of VATS over conventional thoracotomy, little is still known about early postoperative diaphragm muscle function after lobectomy via these two approaches. To fill the gap in existing literature, we conducted a comparative study between VATS and conventional thoracotomy in terms of postoperative diaphragm muscle function, assessing its contractility, strength, the magnitude of effort and potential risk of dysfunction such as atrophy and paralysis. A total of 59 patients (30 after VATS), who underwent anatomical pulmonary resection at our institution, were enrolled in this study. The control group consisted of 28 health subjects without medical conditions that could contribute to diaphragm dysfunction. Diaphragm muscle was assessed before and after surgery using ultrasonography. We found that both surgical approaches were associated with postoperative impairment of diaphragm muscle function—compared to baseline data. Postoperative reduction in diaphragm contraction was demonstrated in most of the 59 patients. In the case of the control group, the differences between measurements were not observed. We noted that lobectomy via thoracotomy was linked with a greater percentage of patients with diaphragm paralysis and/or atrophy than VATS. Similar findings were observed in referring to diaphragm magnitude effort, as well as diaphragm contraction strength, where minimally invasive surgery was associated with better diaphragm function parameters—in comparison to thoracotomy. Disturbance of diaphragm work was reported both at the operated and non-operated side. Upper-right and left lobectomy were connected with greater diaphragm function impairment than other segments. In conclusion, the VATS technique seems to be less invasive than conventional thoracotomy providing a better postoperative function of the main respiratory muscle.

Textured microstructures in ceramics have gained interest due to their beneficial effect on structural and functional properties. For instance, morphologically textured grains in alumina-based ceramics can increase their damage tolerance. Texturing of alumina ceramics may be achieved through templated grain growth (TGG) occurring during sintering at high temperatures with prolonged dwell times (hours) and may be further enhanced by the presence of a liquid phase. In this study, we demonstrate the feasibility of texturing 3D-printed alumina ceramics within minutes by combining rapid heating (∼450 °C/min) and short dwell times (

In the setting of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), [18F]fluorocholine PET/CT (FCH-PET) has excellent diagnostic performance, with experienced practitioners achieving 97.7% accuracy in localising hyperfunctioning parathyroid tissue (HPTT). Due to the relative triviality of the task for human readers, we explored the performance of deep learning (DL) methods for HPTT detection and localisation on FCH-PET images in the setting of PHPT.

Thermoplastic 3D printing (T3DP) is a ceramic additive-manufacturing (AM) process that uses a thermoplastic feedstock. During T3DP, parts are manufactured by rapid deposition of micron-sized droplets, which fuse and solidify to form lines that fuse further to form layers. This building logic allows modifying the direction of droplet (and line) deposition, and can affect the mechanical properties. Here, we have studied, for the first time, the effect of 0° and 90° infill strategies as well as their combination (0° + 90°) on the strength of fabricated and sintered 3Y-TZP bending bars. The 0° infill strategy had the highest characteristic strength and Weibull modulus. Unlike fused filament fabrication, the strength and Weibull modulus for the 90° infill strategy were not significantly inferior to 0° strategy, due to the better fusion of subsequent lines. However, the 0° + 90° infill strategy had the least strength due to alternating infill strategies each layer.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a late complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection, either symptomatic or asymptomatic. The underlying cause is immunological dysregulation, leading to severe inflammatory processes. Children with MIS-C require hospital treatment, the use of immunomodulating drugs, and often intensive care. COVID-19 vaccination is safe and highly effective in preventing not only severe COVID-19, but also MIS-C in adolescents. However, there are no explicit vaccination recommendations for children who underwent MIS-C. We present a summary of current knowledge on vaccinations against COVID-19 in the context of MIS-C. Moreover, we propose guidance concerning vaccinations for children following MIS-C.