Discoidin domain receptors DDR1 and DDR2 are the only receptor tyrosine kinases that bind to and signal in response to collagen. In cancer, DDRs have been shown to play a key role in mediating the crosstalk between tumor cells and the stromal collagen matrix. Because prostate cancer (PCa) preferentially metastasizes to bone, a collagen-rich microenvironment, we set out to investigate the role of DDR1 in intraosseous growth of PC3 cells, a human PCa cell line that expresses DDR1 but not DDR2. PC3 cells were engineered to express short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) against DDR1, or a scrambled shRNA as a control. These cells were inoculated into the tibiae of male SCID mice, and then bone response and intraosseous tumor growth evaluated by X-ray and histomorphometry. Whereas no differences were observed in bone response (osteolytic lesions), downregulation of DDR1 in PC3 cells was associated with a significant increase in intraosseous tumor growth when compared to control PC3 cells (P Citation Format: R. Daniel Bonfil, Anjum Sohail, Semir Vranic, Daniel S. Oliveira, Dongping Shi, Wei Chen, Hyejeong Jang, Allen D. Saliganan, Benjamin D. Wasinski, Hyeong-Reh C. Kim, Rafael A. Fridman. Discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1): A potential suppressor of prostate cancer progression [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1070.

Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA) has resulted in asymmetric decentralization in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in all aspects: political, administrative and fiscal. Decentralization driven by non-economic reasons is rather usual concept, and often the main reasons are political, ethnical or overall country stability. Decentralization model implemented in BiH became huge obstacle not only in reaching efficiency in provision of public services, but also to further economic development. While the purpose of DPA was to stop armed conflict, and while valuable back in time, there is no excuse to keep these solutions for more than 20 years. This paper aims to provide deep insight into experience of selected comparative countries where non-economic reasons initiated decentralization. In addition, it aims to identify patterns and features of administrative, fiscal and political arrangements that perform better in the environment similar to BiH. Analysis of the experience in developed countries identified different models in organizing ethnically divided societies and establishing different forms of cooperation between sub-national government units to increase efficiency. Transitional countries experience shows mixed results in terms of positive effects of decentralization on overall efficiency and citizens' well-being, but there is valuable experience and number of features, which may improve municipal efficiency in BiH as well. Having in mind very limited literature focused on specific BiH context as well as the need to improve efficiency at local community level, this paper takes an important first step in this direction by providing a systematic review of decentralization design in countries that had similar challenges as BiH. The focus of comparative analysis is on the administrative decentralization (territorial organization and responsibility designation), political decentralization (addressing democratic principles) and fiscal independency. Paper has identified certain mechanisms that do not require any or require minor changes in core legislation introduced by DPA. These primarily include activation of cooperation mechanisms already allowed by law as well as improving system of revenue and grant allocation. Democratization still did not reached proper level as mechanisms introduced by DPA do not address rights of minorities, and this has to be changed. Improving municipal efficiency in BiH by applying experience of developed and transitional countries therefore may range from better cooperation according to the existing laws, to substantive changes of legislation.

Alopecia areata (AA) is a non-scarring inflammatory disease of the hair follicle. Although it usually presents as asymptomatic localized hair loss, it is a disese of very broad spectrum. Alopecia universalis (AU) is an uncommon form of AA that involves the loss of all haed and body hair and is estimated to account approximately 5% of all alopecia cases [1]. The cause of disease is unknown, although there is evidence to suggest that the link between lymphocytic infiltration of the follicle and the disruption of the hair follicle cycle in AA may be provided by a combination of factors, including cytokine release, cytotoxic T-cell activity, and apoptosis [2,3]. It is also considered that a disequilibrium in the production of cytokines, with a relative excess of proinflammatory and Th1 types, vs. anti-inflammatory cytokines may be involved in the persistence of AA lesions, as shown in human scalp biopsies [4]. The immune response presented in AU is associated with aberrant lesional expression of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin-2 (IL-2) and IL-1β, and overexpression of ICAM-1 and MHC molecules on hair follicle keratinocytes and dermal papilla cells [5].

In this paper we analyze descriptions of group decision-making processes provided by 200 individuals organized in 55 groups. The goal of the paper is to show how such an analysis can be used when designing more efficient group recommender systems. To this end, we demonstrate that a) the provided group decision-making process descriptions can be systematically characterized by certain qualitatively identified aspects, b) the decision-making process that is adopted by a specific group is related to the characteristics of individuals in that group as well as to the characteristics of the group as a whole, and c) the decision reaching approach that a group naturally adopted can be determined, to a considerable extent, by certain characteristics of the group. Therefore, by examining real groups in a natural scenario, we can learn how a group recommender system should adapt when supporting group decision-making processes.

Private forests are widespread in Europe providing a range of ecosystem services of significant value to society, and there are calls for novel policies to enhance their provision and to face the challenges of environmental changes. Such policies need to acknowledge the importance of private forests, and importantly they need to be based on a deep understanding of how property rights held by private forest owners vary across Europe. We collected and analysed data on the content of property rights based on formal legal requirements existing in 31 European jurisdictions. To allow a comparison across jurisdictions, we constructed an original Property Rights Index for Forestry encompassing five rights domains (access, withdrawal, management, exclusion and alienation). We documented substantial variation of the private forest owners’ rights, and notably to i) make decisions in operational management and the formulation of management goals, ii) withdraw timber resources from their forest, and iii) exclude others from the use of forest resources. We identified broad relations between the scope for decision making of private forest owners and jurisdictions’ former socio-political background and geographical distribution. The variation in the content of property rights has implications for the implementation of international environmental policies, and stresses the need for tailored policy instruments, when addressing European society’s rural development, the bioeconomy, climate change mitigation measures and nature protection strategies.

Abstract Using data available from the FACTS database for 19 dangerous goods, a sample of 9467 accidents realized between the years 1980 and 2015 has been formed. Accidents have been systemized qualitatively according to their consequences and location within logistics subsystems. The qualitative outcomes of consequences have three discrete states concerning injuries and/or fatalities: without consequences, with injuries (with at least one injury but without fatalities), and with fatalities (at least one fatality regardless of the number of injuries). The distribution of accidents within the logistical system is based on the elementary structure of logistics subsystems and has five discrete states: production, storage, reloading, transport, and use. For the calculation of referent risk within logistical subsystems, accident with fatalities has been adopted. The results obtained point to the significant influence of logistical subsystems on the distribution of the risk of accidents with fatalities for different dangerous goods.

The inconsistency of phytogenic feed additives’ (PFA) effects on the livestock industry poses a risk for their use as a replacement for antibiotic growth promoters. The livestock market is being encouraged to use natural growth promotors, but information is limited about the PFA mode of action. The aim of this paper is to present the complexity of compounds present in essential oils (EOs) and factors that influence biological effects of PFA. In this paper, we highlight various controls and optimization parameters that influence the processes for the standardization of these products. The chemical composition of EOs depends on plant genetics, growth conditions, development stage at harvest, and processes of extracting active compounds. Their biological effects are further influenced by the interaction of phytochemicals and their bioavailability in the gastrointestinal tract of animals. PFA effects on animal health and production are also complex due to various EO antibiotic, antioxidant, anti-quorum sensing, anti-inflammatory, and digestive fluids stimulating activities. Research must focus on reliable methods to identify and control the quality and effects of EOs. In this study, we focused on available microencapsulation techniques of EOs to increase the bioavailability of active compounds, as well as their application in the animal feed additive industry.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a fatal Xlinked muscle disorder caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene with a consequence of progressive degeneration of skeletal and cardiac muscle. Golden retriever muscular dystrophy (GRMD) is a spontaneous X-linked canine model of DMD with similar effects. Due to high soft-tissue contrast images, MRI is preferred as a non-invasive method to extract information corresponding to biological characteristics. We propose and evaluate non-invasive MRI-based imaging biomarkers to assess the severity of golden retriever muscular dystrophy (GRMD) using 3T and 4.7T MRI data of nine animals. These imaging biomarkers use first order statistics and texture (assessed by wavelets) in quantitative MRI (qMRI). In a leave-one-sampleout cross-validation framework, we use SVM to differentiate between young and old GRMD animals. The preliminary results show good differentiation between young and old animals for different qMRI sequences and based on a different selection of features.

In March 2015, a few days after a major horse fair event in Bjelovar, Croatia, an equine influenza outbreak began and in the days that followed spread to more than 20 stud farms in the continental part of Croatia. The epidemiological investigation showed the importance of the national and international movement of asymptomatic carrier animals as a major risk factor for the introduction of the equine influenza virus and its spread in the naïve population. Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analyses confirmed that the EI outbreak was caused by an imported viral strain of the H3N8 subtype, phylogenetically similar to recent European strains belonging to Florida sublineage clade 2. The post-outbreak equine influenza seroprevalence in continental Croatia, based on ELISA testing, was 12.3% and varied between 1.1% and 32.6% on a county level. The highest seroprevalence in counties with predominantly sport and leisure horses highlighted animal management as a principal risk factor for equine influenza infection. On the other hand, variations in haemagglutination inhibition titres in the tested serum samples suggested different times of infection acquisition and unreported outbreaks of equine influenza in continental Croatia after the 2015 outbreak. Vaccination coverage, even after the large outbreak in 2015, was still below 10%, which suggests the lack of education of horse owners and represents a high risk for further outbreaks. In conclusion, influenza is a wide spread infection with multiple, often unrecorded, outbreaks in continental Croatia. A high risk of further outbreaks is present due to low vaccination coverage, an increase in the sport and leisure horse population and the intensive movement of those animals. In order to prevent *Corresponding author: Ljubo Barbić, PhD, DVM, Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases with Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia, Phone: +385 1 2390 211; Fax: +385 1 2390 211; E-mail: ljubo.barbic@vef.hr DOI: 10.24099/vet.arhiv.0033

BACKGROUND Tooth formation was recognized as useful body system to assess maturity and predict age. Tooth mineralization is much less affected by the endocrine and different nutritional status than bone mineralization, and teeth formation provides a more reliable indication of chronological age. Demirjian et al. in 1973 presented a scoring system and method for dental age estimation on a sample of French-Canadian children. Chaillet et al. and Willems et al. modified original Demirjian method. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of four Demirjian's, Chaillet and Willems methods for age estimation in the children of Kosovo. MATERIALS AND METHODS The cross-sectional study was based on the evaluation of the sample of 1022 orthopantomograms (OPTs) of healthy Kosovar children, aged between 5 and 14 years. OPTs were taken from the Radiology unit of University Dentistry Clinical Center of Kosova, as part of random clinical treatment. We tested the accuracy of four methods based on seven mandibular teeth, Demirjian from 1973 (Dem73) and 1976 (Dem76), Chaillet from 2005 (Chaillet) and Willems from 2001 (Willems) and two Demirjian's methods based on different sets of four teeth (Dem76PM1 and Dem76IN2). RESULTS For most tested methods, we found statistically significant differences between the chronological age (CA) and dental age (DA) (p < 0.05). In males, the most accurate method were those using four teeth, Dem76IN2 (0.03 years) following by Dem76PM1 (-0.05 years), following those using seven teeth, Willems (-0.14 years), Chaillet (-0.24 years) and Dem73 (0.43 years). In females, dental age was the most accurate for the Willems method (-0.24 years) following Chaillet (-0.35 years), Dem76 (0.43 years) and Dem73 (0.55 years), while Dem76PM1 and Dem76IN2 overestimated by 0.45 years and 0.46 years, respectively. The mean absolute difference between DA and CA were between 0.61 years for the Willems, to 0.78 years for the Dem73 in males, and 0.64 years for the Willems to 0.75 years for the Dem76IN2 in females. CONCLUSION The Willems method was the most accurate for estimating a dental age if all seven mandibular teeth are available for analysis, and we found the similar accuracy of Dem76PM1 and Dem76IN2 methods. Therefore, we may encourage their use for age estimation on the Kosovar children.

AIM From a medico-legal and penalty point of view, it is essential to conclude if an individual is a minor or an adult (18 years of age). Methods based on the third molar development have been used for this purpose. The present article aims to verify the Nolla's stages of mineralization of the third molars and a third molar maturity index (I3M) which is based on the measures of the projections of open apices normalized by their height in the sample of Montenegrins. METHOD AND SAMPLE The sample consisted of 683 panoramic radiographs (324 males and 359 females) between 13 and 24 years of age. The specific mineralization stages of Nolla and the cut-off value of I3M < 0.08 was used to discriminate adults and minors. RESULTS The best performance in discriminating adults and minors was for I3M < 0.08 followed by the Nolla stage 9. For I3M < 0.08 the results demonstrated high sensitivity of 0.92 and 0.82 and specificity of 0.94 and 0.96 in males and females, respectively. The proportions of correctly classified individuals were 0.93 in males and 0.89 in females. The Nolla stage 9 demonstrated the sensitivity of 0.95 and 0.85 and the specificity of 0.84 and 0.90 in males and females, respectively. The proportions of correctly classified individuals were 0.90 in males and 0.87 in females. CONCLUSION The suggested value of I3M < 0.08 followed by Nolla stage 9 can be used to discriminate adults from minors with high specificity.