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Introduction: Bronchiectasis is a chronic progressive respiratory disease characterized by permanent dilatation of the bronchi. It is a complex condition with numerous different etiologies, co-morbidities, and a heterogeneous presentation. As we know, there is a lack of studies that describe the differences and compare the characteristics between focal and multifocal bronchiectasis. The aim of this study is to identify differences in clinical characteristics presentation, severity or distribution in focal and multifocal bronchiectasis, and prognostic implications. Methods: 126 patients with computed tomography (CT)-verified bronchiectasis were enrolled. Baseline characteristics that included age, sex, smoking history, and respiratory symptoms were recorded, with special attention paid to hemoptysis appearance, body mass index, and comorbidities. The type of bronchiectasis determined by CT scan and the modified Reiff scores indicating radiological severity were recorded. Patients were divided in two groups (I is focal and II is multifocal). Results: There were no statistically significant differences in age, smoking status, comorbidity, and BMI between the two groups. Multifocality was associated with a significantly higher proportion of females (p = 0.014), the rate of hemoptysis (p = 0.023), and the number of hospitalizations, but not of exacerbations and prevalence of immunodeficiency (p = 0.049). Significantly, a high number of subjects with multifocality had bronchiectasis of moderate severity, and post-infective and asthma-associated phenotypes were the dominant in this group. Unexpectedly, the cystic and varicose radiological phenotype (which need more time to develop) were more dominant in the focal group. The cylindrical phenotype was equally observed in the multifocal and focal groups. Conclusions: Our study suggests that multifocality is not related to age, number of exacerbations, or radiological phenotype, but it seems to be associated with the clinical post-infective phenotype, immunodeficiency, frequent hospitalizations, and severity. Thus, the presence of multifocal bronchiectasis may act as a biomarker of severity and poor outcomes in these patients.

Background/Objectives: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) registries are established to enhance understanding of its natural history. Methods: Serbia (RS) participated in the EMPIRE (European Multi-Partner IPF Registry) from June 2015 to October 2022, involving four centers. The registry included patients over 18 diagnosed with IPF based on the 2011 international criteria. We aimed to gather key clinical, functional, and survival data, along with treatment information for IPF patients in RS, using a centralized electronic case report for consistency. Results: 188 RS patients participated (median age at diagnosis 65, 63.8% male, 51% smoking history, 56% radiological usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern). At the diagnosis, median forced vital capacity (FVC) was 73.7% and diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) was 38%. At initiation of antifibrotic therapy, median FVC was 73.2% (71.5% for deceased, 75.8% for survivors (p = 0.455), and DLCO was 33.8% (19.9% for deceased, and 35.6% for survivors (p = 0.046)). The median long-term survival from diagnosis was 29.4 months (95% CI: 22.6–36.2 months), and 9.4 months (95% CI: 5.9–12.9 months) from the initiation of therapy, with no difference in the duration of antifibrotic treatment between survivors and deceased (p = 0.598). Conclusions: The RS EMPIRE cohort represents a younger, less comorbid population with fewer smokers and more probable UIP, factors linked to a favorable prognosis. Nevertheless, survival was poorer than expected, mainly due to advanced disease severity at the time of antifibrotic initiation, as indicated by lower DLCO. These findings highlight the importance of earlier diagnosis and treatment before significant physiological decline to improve outcomes.

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic raised concerns about severe asthma (SA) patients, especially those on biological therapy. While initial fears of increased risks diminished for the general asthma population, a subset of severe cases undergoing specific treatments continued to be closely monitored. Our study aimed to evaluate COVID-19 occurrence, asthma exacerbations, hospitalizations, and outcomes in severe asthma patients. Methods: This multicenter study gathered data from 237 adult severe asthma patients in Croatia and Serbia to assess COVID-19 impact compared to the general population. Participants received omalizumab, mepolizumab, benralizumab, or reslizumab. Data on demographics, clinical features, and COVID-19 were collected. COVID-19 symptoms and diagnostic testing were assessed as described. Results: No demographic differences were seen between COVID-19-positive and -negative groups, with eosinophilic asthma prevailing. Among patients with SA treated with biologics, the occurrence of COVID-19 did not differ significantly from that in the general population, and biologic therapy was not associated with more severe disease or higher mortality. Importantly, no meaningful differences were observed among different biologics regarding COVID-19 outcomes. Vaccination was associated with a reduction in severe cases and hospitalizations. Conclusions: Biologic therapy for severe asthma appears safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients receiving biologics did not experience worse outcomes than the general population, and no biologic was linked to poorer COVID-19 prognosis. Vaccination further contributed to protection against severe disease.

U ovom radu je ispitan uticaj radnih parametara (transmembranski prtisak, temperatura, brzina strujanja retentata) na unakrsnu (cross--flow) mikrofiltraciju model rastvora vocnog soka i periodicno povratno ispiranje vazduhom. U eksperimentima je korišcena keramicka Kerasep W5 membrana sa granicom separacije od 0,2 [micro]m. Odreden je optimalni transmembranski pritisak, koji iznosi 2 bara. Optimalna temperatura procesa bistrenja vocnih sokova mikrofiltracijom je 55[degrees]C. Više temperature se ne koriste zbog degradativnog efekta na hemijski sastav soka i dugog procesa mikrofiltracije. Sa porastom temperature retentata od 22[degrees]C do 55[degrees]C ostvaruje se porast fluksa permeata do 60 %. Povecanjem brzine strujanja retentata smanjuje se debljina formiranog sloja na površini membrane. Zbog ogranicenja korišcene aparature i velike površine membrane, postignute specificne brzine strujanja retentata su male, pa efekat unakrsne filtracije izostaje. Periodicnim povratnim ispiranjem se nataloženi sloj na membrani podiže, fluks permeata je u visokoj zoni i sprecava se uspostavljanje stacionarnog stanja u zoni niskih flukseva. Vreme utrošeno na povratno ispiranje je malo u odnosu na povecanje sakupljene mase permeata. U svim eksperimentima sa povratnim ispiranjem sakupljena masa permeata je veca do 72,5 % u odnosu na eksperimente bez povratnog ispiranja. Povecanjem vremena trajanja povratnog ispiranja povecanje fluksa je do 5 %, što može biti znacajno za mikrofiltraciju u industrijskim uslovima. Kljucne reci: mikrofiltracija, periodicno povratno ispiranje, model rastvor vocnih sokova. In this paper, the influence of operating parameters (transmembrane pressure, temperature, the flow rate of retentate) on the cross - flow microfiltration of synthetic fruit juice and periodic backwashing with air was examined. In the experiments, the Kerasep W5 ceramic membrane with a separation limit of 0.2 [micro]m was used. The results of experiments in which different transmembrane pressures were used showed that stationary fluxes, at stationary conditions, after 60 minutes, have similar values. So, it can be concluded that the value of the driving force is irrelevant at steady state conditions. However, until the steady state conditions are established, a positive effect of the increase in the driving force is opposed to the negative effect of the increased polarization resistance, as a result of the driving force increase. Thus, the optimal transmembrane pressure was determined amounting to 2 bars. The optimum temperature of the process of clearing the fruit juices by microfiltration is reported as 55 [degrees]C. Higher temperatures are not used due to a degrading effect on the chemical composition of the juice and a long microfiltration process. With an increase in the temperature of retentate from 22 [degrees]C to 55 [degrees]C, the permeate flux increased up to 60 %. Increasing the flow rate of retentate reduces the thickness of the formed layer on the surface of the membrane. Due to limitations of the experimental setup and the large surface area of the membrane, the specific velocity of the retentate was low, so that the effects of cross-flow filtration were absent. The use of cross-flow filtration is one of the main requirements for increasing permeate flux, but in the present case it was in overall insufficient, so we have applied periodic air backwashing for improving fruit juice flux during membrane clarification. With this technique, the deposited layer on the membrane is lifted and the permeate flux is maintained at high levels preventing establishment of the steady state in the low flux zone. The time spent for the periodic backwashing was low as compared to the benefits of the increase in the collected permeate quantity. In all experiments with periodic backwashing with air, the collected permeate quantity is higher for up to 72.5 % as compared to experiments without backwashing. By increasing the backwashing duration, the flux increase is up to 5 %, which can be significant for microfiltration at industrial scale. Therefore, this technique is certainly recommended for microfiltration in the production of fruit juices. Keywords: microfiltration * backwashing with air * synthetic fruit juice

In this paper, the influence of operating parameters (transmembrane pressure, temperature, the flow rate of retentate) on the cross - flow microfiltration of synthetic fruit juice and periodic backwashing with air was examined. In the experiments, the Kerasep W5 ceramic membrane with a separation limit of 0.2 ?m was used. The results of experiments in which different transmembrane pressures were used showed that stationary fluxes, at stationary conditions, after 60 minutes, have similar values. So, it can be concluded that the value of the driving force is irrelevant at steady state conditions. However, until the steady state conditions are established, a positive effect of the increase in the driving force is opposed to the negative effect of the increased polarization resistance, as a result of the driving force increase. Thus, the optimal transmembrane pressure was determined amounting to 2 bars. The optimum temperature of the process of clearing the fruit juices by microfiltration is reported as 55?C. Higher temperatures are not used due to a degrading effect on the chemical composition of the juice and a long microfiltration process. With an increase in the temperature of retentate from 22?C to 55?C, the permeate flux increased up to 60%. Increasing the flow rate of retentate reduces the thickness of the formed layer on the surface of the membrane. Due to limitations of the experimental setup and the large surface area of the membrane, the specific velocity of the retentate was low, so that the effects of cross-flow filtration were absent. The use of cross-flow filtration is one of the main requirements for increasing permeate flux, but in the present case it was in overall insufficient, so we have applied periodic air backwashing for improving fruit juice flux during membrane clarification. With this technique, the deposited layer on the membrane is lifted and the permeate flux is maintained at high levels preventing establishment of the steady state in the low flux zone. The time spent for the periodic backwashing was low as compared to the benefits of the increase in the collected permeate quantity. In all experiments with periodic backwashing with air, the collected permeate quantity is higher for up to 72.5 % as compared to experiments without backwashing. By increasing the backwashing duration, the flux increase is up to 5 %, which can be significant for microfiltration at industrial scale. Therefore, this technique is certainly recommended for microfiltration in the production of fruit juices. nema