Vilnius College of Design

In the past several years, silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) have made great progress because of their exceptional properties in a variety of applications. The green production method of nanoparticles has been gaining ground on conventional chemical and physical processes by eschewing the usage of costly devices and several harmful substances. Consequently, AgNPs have been produced in this study using Portulaca oleracea extract as reducing, capping, and stabilising agents. It is an easy, green, and environmentally friendly process. UV-visible spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD, and DLS were used to prove the stability and making of the synthesised Po-AgNPs. AgNPs production was demonstrated by the UV–vis spectra, which showed a transition from a colourless liquid to a brownish solution. FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) was used to show how the extract accessible functional groups contributed to the reduction and capping of NPs. The X-ray diffraction validated the synthesised NPs crystalline structure. The cumulant hydrodynamic diameter of Po-AgNPs was measured by DLS to be 368.6 nm, with a PdI of 0.433. The zeta potential value was found to be –34.3 mV, indicating that the Po-AgNPs are more stable and have negative charge. When biosynthesised Po-AgNPs were evaluated for antioxidant activity using DPPH tests, Po-AgNPs showed greater antioxidant activity. The results indicates that the stability, purity, degree of crystallinity, and cubic form of NPs produced by Portulaca oleracea extract are excellent. In general, more investigation is needed to examine the potential health benefits of the Ag-NP-based P. oleracea aqueous extract.

Background: Changes in metabolic pathways have been described in patients with heart failure (HF) and reduced ejection fraction. Selected patients with end-stage HF are candidates for left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) implantation to improve survival and quality of life. Myocardial tissue obtained at the time of LVAD implantation offers the possibility to study the metabolic pathways at end-stage HF. The effects of HF etiology and sex on the metabolomic profile of end-stage HF have not been described. Our objective was to compare the sex-specific metabolomic signatures in end-stage HF of ischemic (ICMP) and non-ischemic (NICMP) cardiomyopathy patients. Methods: Blood and myocardial tissue were collected at the time of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation in end-stage HF patients. A total of 119 patients were included in the study. Of these 35 (29.4%) were female. Fifty-four (45.4%) patients had ICMP. The mean age of our cohort was 57.8 ± 12.9 years, and 105 (88.2%) were white. A total of 96 blood samples and 119 myocardial tissue samples were analyzed. Metabolomic profiles for blood and myocardial tissue were obtained utilizing proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H-NMR) and liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Patients were classified according to sex and etiology of HF (NICMP and ICMP). Concentrations of metabolites were compared between groups. Those metabolites with a p-value <0.05 were considered significantly different. Results: Substantial differences were observed in the metabolome when samples were analyzed according to sex and etiology of HF (graphic representation in Figure 1). In serum, a total of 673 metabolites were accurately quantified. In males, 4 metabolites were increased in ischemic cardiomyopathy (1A), whereas 50 metabolites were different in female patients (1B). In myocardial tissue, a total of 576 metabolites were quantified. In males, 200 metabolites differed between ischemic and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (1C), whereas female patients had differential concentration of 100 different metabolites (1D). Conclusion: The metabolome of blood and myocardial tissue in patients with end-stage HF differs between ischemic and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, the differences are accentuated in a sex specific manner. Further studies are required to determine the implications of these differences in the progression and recovery of HF.

Due to the inconsistency of the evidence about the cancer risk among patients with schizophrenia, the aim of this study was to analyse cancer mortality and morbidity in patients with schizophrenia treated in a single centre in Lithuania during the study period of 1992-2020. A retrospective cohort study was conducted in Vilnius Republican Psychiatric Hospital, the biggest specialised psychiatric hospital in Lithuania, with approximately 5000 hospital admissions annually. The patients' cohort was established by identifying all patients with the diagnosis of schizophrenia (ICD-10 code F20) in the hospital database from 1 January 1992 until 31 December 2017. The cancer cases and cancer deaths in the cohort were identified in the Lithuanian Cancer Register through linkage procedures. The analysis of risk was based on a comparison of observed and expected numbers of cancers and deaths. Expected number of cancer cases were calculated by multiplication of the exact person-years under observation in the cohort by sex, calendar year and a 5-year age-group-specific national incidence and mortality rate. All statistical analyses were carried out using STATA 15 statistical software. During the follow-up, out of 8553 patients, 673 cases of cancer were diagnosed in both sexes. Statistically significantly lower risk for overall cancer incidence was observed in men (SIR 0.74, 95% CI 0.66-0.83), but not in women (SIR 1.07, 95% CI 0.97-1.18). Statistically significant lower overall cancer mortality risk was observed in men (SMR 0.82, 95% CI 0.70-0.96), while in the women's group, risk of cancer deaths was significantly higher compared to the general population (SMR 1.28, 95% CI 1.11-1.48). We observed lower risk for pancreatic cancer (SIR 0.36, 95% CI 0.14-0.96), non-melanoma skin cancer (SIR 0.54, 95% CI 0.33-0.88) and prostate cancer (SIR 0.69, 95% CI 0.55-0.87) in men and higher risk for malignant neoplasm of liver (SIR 2.58, 95% CI 1.53-4.36) and skin melanoma (SIR 2.03, 95% CI 1.12-3.66) in men and for breast cancer (SIR 1.38, 95% CI 1.14-1.66) and corpus uteri cancer (SIR 1.56, 95% CI 1.18-2.07) in women. The current results of our study indicate lower risk of overall cancer incidence and mortality in male patients with schizophrenia, while female patients had a higher mortality risk, alongside variations in the risk of different cancer types. This information is important not only for patients, but for healthcare specialists to develop effective disease-specific preventive interventions and programmes.

Hybrid GaSb/Si tunable laser spectrometer-on-a-chip technology offers scalable all-semiconductor solutions for spectroscopic sensing of liquids and multiple gases in 1900 nm- 2400 nm the spectral range. We demonstrate a 4-channel spectrometer on chip with> 400 nm tuning bandwidth and excellent power and wavelength stability.

Biometrics deals with identification of individuals based on their characteristics. In traditional systems people use to remember passwords, PIN's, tokens for identification. But in recent years biometrics have gained a lot of popularity due to advancement in technology and the secure environment. Variety of biometrics have been developed in recent years such as fingerprint, iris, retinal. Ears are considered as the future of biometrics due to its properties of Universality, which means that every person should have it. Uniqueness, which indicates that no two persons should behave the same characteristic. Permanence, which means that this characteristic does not change over time. Collectability, which indicates that the characteristic can be measured quantitatively. Ears are comparatively large in size and hence are more visible and also their shape does not change radically over a period of time and so are their images easy to be captured.

In 2014 the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania initiated creation of Methodology of the Assessment of Visual Pollution to Natural Landscape Complexes and Objetcs. In order to prepare the Methodology legal (international and national level) and theoretical framework (world-wide and Lithuanian experience in the field of visual impact assessment (VIA) and assessment of landscape visual-aethetic potential) was analysed and evaluated. Using the method of logical analogy and considering the results of analysis of legal and theoretical framework of VIA, and peculiarities of Lithuanian landscape, the concept of visual pollution and the main methodological stages of visual pollution assessment (VPA) for natural landscapes were proposed. The authors of the methodology state that the assessment of visual pollution should be based on: the establishment of the overall landscape character, visual character, visual capacity, and other aspects as the starting point for the evaluation of visual pollution; assessment of visibility of a pollution object; description of physical, visual and other characteristics of the pollution object; evaluation of negative visual impact (visual pollution) according the level of contrast of physical, visual and other characteristics of landscape and the pollution object. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sace.13.4.13820