UNIVERSITY CLASSES DURING THE STATE OF EMERGENCY IN SERBIA INTRODUCED AFTER THE OUTBREAK OF THE COVID–19 PANDEMIC CRISIS: STUDENTS' ATTITUDES*

The state of emergency was declared in Serbia in the spring of 2020 due to the pandemic of the new disease, COVID–19. As a result, distance learning was introduced for the first time at Serbian universities – online learning in utterly specific crisis circumstances caused by the outbreak of the pandemic of a completely unknown infectious disease. This model of learning was adjusted to that fact in the form of emergency remote teaching. The paper presents the results of examining the attitudes of female students of teacher education faculties in Serbia regarding the efficiency and sustainability of the distance learning model in which they gained experience. The sample included 399 female students, who completed an online survey designed for the purposes of this research. The results of the survey showed the strengths and weaknesses of distance learning as a formerly untapped potential in higher education in Serbia, which specifically refers to the teaching model applied during the state of emergency introduced due to the crisis caused by the COVID–19 pandemic. Also, the differences in the knowledge of digital technologies by the professors came to the fore in terms of the methods that the professors used in their work. The results suggest that distance learning can be a useful tool in the process of knowledge transfer in higher education, but that final year students are most affected by the inability to acquire knowledge in practice that cannot be virtually compensated, which is a very important step in their work training, as well as the pronounced general problem of lack of social interaction and meeting social needs, arising as a result of the pandemic. In contrast, increased leisure time and health reasons stand out as the main advantages of the new teaching model, which is significantly characterized by the crisis environment. © 2022, Institute for Educational Research. All rights reserved.

Intrathecal baclofen therapy and COVID-19 infection – report of three cases

Introduction Patients with severe spasticity are effectively treated with intrathecal baclofen therapy (ITB), but because of their invalidity, in case of infection, prognosis is poor. Case outline We present three cases (two men and one woman) of patients treated with baclofen intrathecal therapy due to spasticity of all four extremities who underwent SARS-CoV2 virus infection. Two of them have multiple sclerosis, and one has trauma of the cervical segment of the spinal cord. In all three patients, the clinical presentation of COVID-19 infection occurred within six months of implantation of the pump for ITB. They were successfully treated in hospital with same dose of the drug and without exacerbation of neurological status. Barthel index (BI) and modified Rankin score were same before and after COVID-19 infection. In two cases BI was 20, and in one 69;and modified Rankin score (mRS) was 3 in one case, and 5 in two cases. Conclusion Patients with severe spasticity who require intrathecal baclofen therapy can be safely treated regardless of the pandemic. © 2022, Serbia Medical Society. All rights reserved.

Lipid nanoparticles employed in mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines: an overview of materials and processes used for development and production

In the light of the recommended application of the third dose, both public and professional community would benefit from a detailed report on the technological advances behind the developed messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) based COVID-19 vaccines. Although many vaccine developers are yet to reveal their precise formulations, it is apparent they are founded on nanotechnology platforms similar to the one successfully used for registered drug Onpattro™ (INN: patisiran). Optimal encapsulation of mRNA requires the presence of four lipids: an ionizable cationic lipid, a polyethylene-glycol (PEG)-lipid, a neutral phospholipid and cholesterol. Together with other excipients (mainly buffers, osmolytes and cryoprotectives), they enable the formation of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) using rapid-mixing microfluidic or T-junction systems. However, some limitations of thermostability testing protocols, coupled with the companies’ more or less cautious approach to predicting vaccine stability, led to rigorous storage conditions:-15° to-25°C or even-60° to-80°C. Nevertheless, some inventors recently announced their mRNA-LNP based vaccine candidates to be stable at both 25° and 37°C for a week. Within the formulation design space, further optimization of the ionizable lipids should be expected, especially in the direction of increasing their branching and optimizing pKa values, ultimately leading to the second generation of mRNA-LNP COVID-19 vaccines. © 2022, Pharmaceutical Association of Serbia. All rights reserved.

COVID-19 vaccines and cancer patients: acceptance, attitudes and safety

Purpose: Recommendations and guidelines consider cancer patients a high-priority population for COVID-19 immunization. Vaccination process in Serbia began in January 2021 with four available vaccines. We have conducted a cross-sectional study investigating cancer patients' acceptability of anti SARS-COV2 vaccines.

Original article covid-19 vaccines and cancer patients: Acceptance, attitudes and safety

Purpose: Recommendations and guidelines consider cancer patients a high-priority population for COVID-19 immuni zation. Vaccination process in Serbia began in January 2021 with four available vaccines. We have conducted a cross-sectional study investigating cancer patients' acceptability of anti SARS-COV2 vaccines. Methods: The study included 767 patients with solid and hematologic malignancies treated at the Oncology Institute of Vojvodina, Serbia. During July and August 2021 patients filled in an individual paper questionnaire on anti SARS-COV2 vaccination acceptance, preferences, side effects and information origin. Data on treatment phase, diagnosis and treatment was collected from electronic health records. Results: During the first six months of vaccination cam-paign in Serbia 41% (320/767) of the investigated oncol ogy patients received COVID-19 vaccines. The median age of vaccinated patients was 65 years (28-84). Most of them (75%) were in active treatment of cancer. Half of the un vaccinated patients (52%) wish to get vaccinated after the end of their cancer treatment. Around 10% of the patients definitely refused vaccination. The majority of information on COVID-19 vaccines cancer patients got from their oncolo gist, television and newspapers. Side effects were reported by 10.93% of the patients after the first dose and 13.31% after the second dose. No serious side effects were reported. Conclusion: We have confirmed that patients are reluctant of receiving vaccine due to fear of side effects, especially dur ing the active cancer treatment. However, real-world evidence and clinical trials data have gathered enough evidence to reassure any doubts of the patients and their oncologists on safety and efficacy of anti SARS-COV2 vaccines. © 2021 Zerbinis Publications. All rights reserved.