Abstract Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, accounting for a significant proportion of healthcare costs. It is a major public health concern, and early detection and prevention are critical for reducing its burden. Several risk factors for CVD have been identified, including age, sex, genetics, hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and physical inactivity. Despite the identification of several risk factors, there is still a lack of understanding of the underlying mechanisms that contribute to CVD development. This study aimed to investigate the potential predictors of CVD and identify novel biomarkers that could be used for early detection and prevention. The study explored pre-processing strategies, including Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE), Z-Score Normalization, and Adaptive Synthetic Sampling (ADASYN), to address class imbalance and enhance model performance. The dataset consisted of medical images labeled with different cardiovascular diseases. By integrating the strengths of Support Vector Machines (SVM) classification and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and PCA with ReliefF feature retrieval methods, the study investigated various feature extraction approaches for classifying cardiovascular diseases.

Abstract Among the risk factors for dry mouth, or xerostomia, are both estrogen deficiency in women during menopause and the use of medications with xerogenic properties. Until now, it has not been clearly determined, whether dryness in the oral cavity in women during menopause is only associated with subjective sensations or is accompanied by qualitative and quantitative changes in mixed saliva. To determine the frequency and nature of xerostomia syndrome in women during menopause with high and extremely high risk of cardiovascular diseases. The study involved 35 patients (with subjective sensations of dryness in the oral cavity) and 20 apparently healthy women. All study participants were questioned for any dental complaints, and the quantitative indicators of the oral fluid were assessed. An individualized oral hygiene complex and a moisturizing gel were prescribed as correction of the subjective signs of xerostomia. The follow-up visit was carried out after 1 month. The patients in natural menopause felt slight subjective manifestations of dry mouth confirmed by objective decrease in salivary secretion; whereas in most cases subjective dryness in the oral cavity is accompanied by normal secretion. The prescribed complex for correction of dental complaints ensures decrease in the subjective signs of dryness, decrease in taste distortion and halitosis.

Abstract Endocarditis is a rare and potentially fatal infection of the endocardium. Bartonella endocarditis is an emerging disease that causes serious complications and high rates of mortality. Due to the fastidious nature of Bartonella species and their high degrees of antibiotic susceptibility, cultures of clinical samples most often remain sterile. The best specimens for polymerase chain reaction amplification are seldom available. The diagnosis of Bartonella infections relies mainly on serological methods. We report the case of a 58-year-old woman with dyslipidemia who presented with nocturnal fever, polyarthralgia, sweats and weight loss. The diagnosis of Bartonella endocarditis was confirmed by an indirect immunofluorescence assay. Medical treatment alone was efficient for our patient without any surgery.