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Dražen Shejbal,1 Davor Vagic, 2 Siniša Stevanovic, 3 Elvira Koic, 4 Livije Kalogjera21Division of Otorhinolaryngology, Pakrac City Hospital, Pakrac, Croatia; 2Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Sisters of Mercy Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia; 3Division of Otorhinolaryngology, 4Division of Psychiatry, Virovitica General Hospital, Virovitica, CroatiaBackground: Severity of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), measured by disease-specific health-related quality-of-life questionnaires, is expected to increase in patients who also suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Altered pain perception, sleep disorders, and fatigue may be associated with this comorbidity.Methods: Severity of CRS was compared between a group of 28 patients with CRS and a group of 28 patients with CRS and concomitant PTSD using different disease-specific and generic instruments, such as visual analog scale (VAS), Short Form-36 test (SF-36), and Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT 22).Results: SNOT-22 test showed significantly higher CRS severity in patients with CRS and PTSD, compared to patients with CRS without PTSD.Conclusion: Patients with less severe CRS, measured by objective outcome measures, due to the impact of comorbid PTSP, are classified as having severe rhinosinusitis, and are exposed to the risk of unnecessary diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. In patients with difficult-to-treat rhinosinusitis, diagnosis should be revised, and one item that should be evaluated is whether they suffer from PTSD.Keywords: posttraumatic stress disorder, chronic rhinosinusitis, quality of life

Platinum supported on glassy carbon (GC) was used as a model system for studying the influence of the surface morphology of a Pt catalyst on methanol oxidation in alkaline and acidic solutions. Platinum was deposited by the potential step method on GC samples from H2SO4 + H2PtCl6 solution under the same conditions with loadings from 10 to 80 mg cm-2. AFM and STM images of the GC/Pt electrodes showed that the Pt was deposited in the form of 3D agglomerates composed of spherical particles. Longer deposition times resulted in increased growth of Pt forms and a decrease in the specific area of the Pt. The real surface area of Pt increased with loading but the changes were almost negligible at higher loadings. Nevertheless, both the specific and mass activity of platinum supported on glassy carbon for methanol oxidation in acidic and in alkaline solutions exhibit a volcanic dependence with respect to the platinum loading. The increase in the activity can be explained by the increasing the particle size with the loading and thus an increase in the contiguous Pt sites available for adsorption and decomposition of methanol. However, the decrease in the activity of the catalyst with further increase of loading and particle size after reaching the maximum is related to the decrease of active sites available for methanol adsorption and their accessibility as a result of more close proximity and pronounced coalescence of the Pt particles.

The aim of this work was analysis of isothermal sintering of zinc titanate ceramics doped with MgO obtained by mechanical activation. Mixtures of ZnO, TiO2 and MgO (0, 1.25 and 2.5%) were mechanically activated 15 minutes in a planetary ball mill. The powders obtained were pressed under different pressures and the results were fitted with a phenomenological compacting equation. Isothermal sintering was performed in air for 120 minutes at four different temperatures. Structural characterization of ZnO-TiO2-MgO system after milling was performed at room temperature using XRPD measurements. DTA measurements showed different activation energies for pure and doped ZnO-TiO2 systems. Thus addition of MgO stabilizes the crystal structure of zinc titanate.

Reduction of the specific surface area of porous ZnO during the sintering process was studied. ZnO powder was sintered at temperatures from 673 K to 1173 K. The decrease in the specific surface area was observed as a function of temperature and sintering time. Two different models were involved in order to define the appropriate parameters. The Arrhenius equation was used to give information on the activation energy of sintering. The LSE method was applied for determining optimum parameter values.

Sintering kinetics of the mechanically activated ZnO-TiO2 system was studied. Mixtures of ZnO and TiO2 powders were mechanically activated using a high-energy ball mill for different time intervals from 0 to 300 minutes. Formal phenomenological analyses were performed in order to describe the specimen’s behavior during isothermal sintering at 1100oC. Non-isothermal sintering was investigated by dilatometer measurements up to 1100oC with a constant heating rate. The Dorn method was applied in order to give information on the activation energy. .

Objective: This case report discusses a successful emergency Lichtenberger lateralisation procedure after immediate bilateral laryngeal immobility, occurring after total thyroidectomy. Methods: A 63-year-old female with right-sided vocal fold paralysis due to compression by a multinodular thyroid goitre underwent total thyroidectomy, which resulted in immediate post-operative bilateral vocal fold immobility. The patient had acute-onset post-operative dyspnoea, was promptly re-intubated, and an emergency lateralisation Lichtenberger suture was placed over the right vocal fold and fixated on the outer surface of the neck. Results: After two weeks, her right vocal fold recovered first, with the suture still in place. At four weeks, both vocal folds regained function and the suture was extracted. Conclusion: The take-away message is that an emergency lateralisation suture may be a viable option in maintaining airway patency, while allowing for normal deglutition, in patients who would otherwise be candidates for prolonged intubation, posterior cordotomy, medial arytenoidectomy or tracheostomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study deals with historical, social, cultural, and anthropological aspects of Roman Catholic liturgical music during the Second Vatican Council. After the Council’s closure, the determination of the boundary between sacred and secular music was postponed indefinitely. This was significantly contributed to by the activities of the Council for the Implementation of Decisions on the Holy Liturgy, professional church musicians, and their interaction. Insights into the process of preparation, Council’s decision-making, and implementation of the decisions in practice justified the need for an interdisciplinary approach in examining church music.

Throughout centuries, the concept of church music has held significant importance within the Orthodox Church. Its positive reception in the life of the Serbian Orthodox Church is evident by its frequent usage to describe various musical practices, such as: 'church singing, 'choral singing, 'polyphonic singing (or singing from sheet music)', 'Serbian folk singing', 'Karlovac chant', 'Belgrade chant' or 'Byzantine chant'. Drawing from anthropological research, we establish the definition of music through two interdependent approaches. Music is a cultural construct that lacks uniqueness and universality, but rather possesses a multitude of meanings dependent on collective and individual perspectives. Simultaneously, music is a cultural phenomenon that engenders diverse forms of identity, ranging from ethnic, gender, individual, collective, to local or global identities. From the perspective of Eucharistic theology, the Church is presented as the Mystery of unity between the created and the uncreated, founded in the Trinitarian nature of existence. The identity of the Church is not confined to historical and institutional frameworks, but is found in eschatology - the Kingdom of God. The Eucharistic church singing is examined in relation to church music and its connection with the anthropological understanding of music. The findings are analyzed from the standpoint of Orthodox ecclesiology. This paper aims to explore whether the identification of Eucharistic church singing with music, as a human category, can be positively argued within Orthodox theology.

The use of RESs reduces the emission of gases and hazardous materials into the atmosphere, which has an impact on the improvement of the quality of the environment. The use of biomass, especially that from municipal waste and agriculture, reduces the need for importing energy sources. Energy production from RES is a fast-growing economy branch employing a significant workforce. Of 5.6 Mtoe of the total annual usable technical potential of the RES in Serbia, 1.96 Mtoe (i.e. 35%) is used up, whereas only 1.1 Mtoe (i.e. 32%) is used up of 3.4 Mtoe of the total biomass. The paper is aimed at indicating the significance of the production of renewable energy from biomass, the available quantities, the structure and the advantages of using it in the future development of the energy sector. Some states, Serbia included, have prescribed stimuli to green energy kW delivered to power distribution enterprises.