The post-war period (1996 to presence) in the Western Balkans is colored by a kind of competition among (pseudo) scientists and self-proclaimed experts in search for the deepest roots of a particular ethnic group. General conclusions have been reached based of the distribution of a single or only few genetic markers, with no reference to the specific pheno-genotype system studied. The conclusions were all biased by earlier misconceptions and myths about the successive colonization of the Balkans and the inter-genetic relationships among regional populations. In this paper we elaborate methodology and limitations and misconceptions that arise from unsubstantiated use thereof.

Background: The 17q21.31 band is one of the most structurally complex and evolutionarily dynamic region of the genome. Frequencies of two SNPs: rs9468 and rs1800547 determine worldwide distribution of H1 and H2 haplotypes. Recent studies have demonstrated that H2 haplotype is ancestral in hominoids and under positive selection in European populations. The role of non-inverted orientation (H1 haplotype) and inverted orientation (H2) remains unclear, i.a. it is suggested that mothers who are H1H2 heterozygotes, tend to have more children than H2H2 homozygotes on average. Materials and methods: We investigated the prevalence of haplotypes of the 17q21 inversion in 154 women with pregnancy loss and 154 mothers with at last one live-born child, mean age: 33.0 (±5.4) y/o and 31.4 (±6.7) y/o, respectively. Following DNA extraction from buccal swabs, the genotyping was performed. All tests were performed using the R CRAN statistical software. Haplotypes were compared between groups. Results: In women with and without pregnancy loss we identified: 74.7% and 79.2% H1H1, 24.0% and 17.5% H1H2 and 1.3% and 3.3% H2H2 of haplotypes, respectively. There were no significant differences between the distributions of haplotypes in women with and without pregnancy loss. Statistically significant difference between the average number of children in women with H1H2 haplotype (navg. = 1.54) compared to women with H2H2 haplotype (navg. = 1.29), was not found. Conclusion: Haplotype H2 of the 17q21.31 inversion was not linked to pregnancy loss and number of children in Bosnian women.

© The Author 2020. Published by ARDA. Abstract The effectiveness of a firm mostly depends on the capability of the managers to obtain flexible credits for the implementation of sustainable innovations. The aim of this study is focused on the impact of access to credit on process innovations in SMEs. Data from the manufacturing and the service sectors of the economies of Africa and the Middle East are collected from the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey database. The survey employs random sampling to select firms in each country and they are stratified based on the number of employees. The sampled observations are scaled down from 136,887 to 33,977 firms covering 53 countries due to the scope of this research. The factors of access to credit are the independent variables of this research: the working capital from a commercial bank, overdraft facility, lines of credit, external auditing of accounts, and working capital from suppliers. The dependent variable is process innovation. The results show that there are significance levels of p-values below 1% although some of the Pearson correlation coefficients of the independent variables with the dependent variable are not too high. The factors of access to credit used in the regression model have a significant impact on process innovation. The findings from the analysis help the policy directions of managers.

SAŽETAK: Uporaba drvenih lameliranih nosača posljednjih desetljeća sve je veća zahvaljujući upravo karakterističnim prednostima ovih nosača u odnosu na nosače od drugih materijala – mala vlastita težina (od 400 do 600 kg/m3), dobra mehanička svojstva u odnosu na težinu (tlačna čvrstoća od 40 do 80 MPa, vlačna čvrstoća i do 180 MPa), mogućnost proizvodnje izrazito dugih nosača (dužine i do 100 m), te mogućnost različitog oblikovanja (nosači mogu biti ravni, zaobljeni, kružni). Proces proizvodnje drvenih lameliranih nosača razlikuje se u zavisnosti od primijenjenog tipa tehnologije – klasična ili sofisticirana (automatizirana) tehnologija. Linije za proizvodnju drvenih lameliranih nosača primjenom klasične i sofisticirane tehnologije prikazane su u ovom radu. Također su predstavljeni aspekti zaštite na radu pri izradi drvenih lameliranih nosača primjenom spomenutih tehnologija s težištem na zaštitu zdravlja i sigurnost na radu pri proizvodnji drvenih lameliranih nosača u Bosni i Hercegovini. Analiziran je proces proizvodnje drvenih lameliranih nosača i za svaku navedenu tehnologiju detektirana su moguća mjesta rizika i tip opasnosti za zdravlje i sigurnost na radu za radnike koji sudjeluju u procesu. U ovome radu prikazani su važni i potrebni koraci te specifične mjere zbog osiguranja zaštite zdravlja i sigurnosti na radu u procesu proizvodnje drvenih lameliranih nosača. Njihova primjena utječe na smanjenje troškova proizvodnje, pravnih sporova i stope bolovanja.

Laminar flow of ethylene glycol-based silicon nitride (EG-Si3N4) nanofluid in a smooth horizontal pipe subjected to forced heat convection with constant wall heat flux is computationally modeled and analyzed. Heat transfer is evaluated in terms of Nusselt number (Nu) and heat transfer coefficient for various volume fractions of Si3N4 nanoparticles in the base fluid and different laminar flow rates. The thermophysical properties of the EG-Si3N4 nanofluid are taken from a recently published experimental study. Computational modelling and simulation are performed using open-source software utilizing finite volume numerical methodology. The nanofluid exhibits non-Newtonian rheology and it is modelled as a homogeneous single-phase mixture, the properties of which are determined by the nanoparticle volume fraction. The existing features of the software to simulate single-phase flow are extended by implementing the energy transport coupled to the fluid flow and the interaction of the fluid flow with the surrounding pipe wall via the applied wall heat flux. In addition, the functional dependencies of the thermophysical properties of the nanofluid on the volume fraction of nanoparticles are implemented in the software, while the non-Newtonian rheological behavior of the nanofluid under consideration is also taken into account. The obtained results from the numerical simulations show very good predicting capabilities of the implemented computational model for the laminar flow coupled to the forced convection heat transfer. Moreover, the analysis of the computational results for the nanofluid reflects the increase of heat transfer of the EG-Si3N4 nanofluid in comparison to the EG for all the considered nanoparticle volume fractions and flow rates, indicating promising features of this nanofluid in heat transfer applications.