Amateurish and unprofessional handling of agricultural resources has lasting und unprecedented consequences for plant production, manifesting itself through the loss of soil quality, reduced crop yields, soil erosion, etc. The main focus of this research was to establish the characteristics of the agricultural soil within the municipality of Bužim, applying the FAO method AEZ (Agro-ecological Zoning), (FAO, 1978), and based on the achieved results, to assess the soil suitability for plum (Prunus domestica) cultivation. The assessment of the soil suitability has led to the conclusion that a significant part of land (classified S1 to N in quality), out of the total 13.026,27 ha of agricultural area belonging to the municipality of Bužim is well suited for fruit production. The following has been observed: areas with the best rated S1 class make up a total of 1.23% (159.52 ha), the S2 class takes up a total of 5.51% (717.24 ha), the S3 suitable class makes up a 2.29 % (298.24 ha) in total, and the largest area totaling 36.68 % (4.772.60 ha) is classified as N - meaning unsuitable soil. The main restraints imposed on intensive plum cultivation within the examined area are lack of nourishment, tilt, depth, rock-strewn soil and soil reaction.

Four new heteroleptic copper(II) complexes having chalcone or flavonol ligands and Schiff base (N-phenyl-5-chlorosalicylideneimine) as co-ligand were prepared, chemically and structurally characterized and investigated as functional biomimetic catecholase models. The complexes were prepared by the solution synthesis and crystal and molecular structures were determined by X-ray diffraction. Complexes were chemically characterized by elemental analysis, infrared and electronic absorption spectroscopy as well as by electrochemical measurements. Copper(II) chalcone complexes, with square-pyramidal CuO4N core, are binuclear, featuring phenolate oxygen from the Schiff base as a bridging atom, while copper(II) flavonol complexes are mononuclear, and reveal a square planar CuO3N coordination core. Catalytic activity of the complexes in 3, 5-di-tert-butylcatechol oxidation was confirmed by spectrophotometric and electrochemical measurements. Kinetic measurements revealed that the binuclear (chalcone-containing) complexes have enhanced catalytic activity as compared to the mononuclear Cu(II) flavonol complexes. Relatively high kcat values (300 – 750 h–1) confirmed their respectable biomimetic catecholase-like activity.

ABSTRACT Introduction:The anticonvulsant activity of cannabinoids attracted much attention in the last decade. Cannabinoids that are currently investigated with the intention of making them drugs for the treatment of epilepsy are cannabidiol, cannabidivarin, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabivarin, and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid. Areas covered:In this review, the authors look at the results of preclinical and clinical studies with investigational cannabinoids. Relevant literature was searched for in MEDLINE, SCOPUS, EBSCO, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, and SCINDEX databases. Expert opinion: Preclinical studies confirmed anticonvulsant activity of cannabidiol and cannabidivarin in a variety of epilepsy models. While the results of clinical trials with cannabidivarin are still awaited, cannabidiol showed clear therapeutic benefit and good safety in patients with therapy-resistant seizures associated with Dravet syndrome and in patients with Lennox–Gastaut syndrome who have drop seizures. However, the full therapeutic potential of cannabinoids in treatment-resistant epilepsy needs to be investigated in the near future.

This paper describes the transient performance and voltage regulation of a stand-alone self-excited induction generator (SEIG). All characteristics are calculated with a ftux-based mathematical model of the induction machine in the stationary reference frame appropriate for the stand-alone SEIG. The generator model and the control system model are developed using Matlab/Simulink. A presented generator model takes into account significant effects of magnetic saturation on the SEIG performance. The simulation was performed by loading the SEIG with a variable resistive load. Some of the computed characteristics are compared with experimental results. Both uncontrolled and controlled response of the SEIG to load variations were analyzed. It is shown that voltage variations can be reduced by using voltage source inverter and terminal voltage controller.

This paper explores how the functional safety of industrial deployments can be improved through emerging Industrie 4.0 approaches. We discuss how new sources of data, that are becoming accessible through advancing digitalization, can be used for this purpose, and how principles from predictive maintenance systems can be applied to industrial fail-safe applications: based on data from the industrial components themselves and from their environment as well as on metadata about interactions between these systems and people, we propose to create a model-based monitoring and controlling system that focuses on preserving the functional safety of the installation as a whole. We expect such a Predictive Fail-Safe system to mitigate or even prevent unsafe consequences of failures even in highly dynamic “smart factories”, thereby reducing or preventing harm to other equipment, the environment, and the involved people.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have tremendous potential for next-generation nano- and opto-electronics [1], [2]. However, heat dissipation and its removal from hot spots in the monolayer remains a critical concern to the design of 2D-based devices [2], [3]. Thermal currents flowing in a atomic layer can either dissipate through source/drain contacts, as in a transistor configuration, or through a supporting substrate via van der Waals (vdW) coupling to it. When a 2D mateiral is supported by a substrate, the interfacial area formed between it and the substrate is often far larger than the lateral source/drain contact area. Thus, it is suspected that the majority of waste heat is removed across the 2D-substrate interface and then via the substrate. Therefore, it is imperative that the thermal boundary conductance (TBC) between the 2D layer and substrate be well characterized for reliable 2D device performance. Herein we tackle the question of selecting the best substrate for each 2D material from the point of view of heat dissipation.

: Autonomous cooperative driving systems require the integration of research activities in the field of embedded systems, robotics, communication, control and artificial intelligence in order to create a secure and intelligent autonomous drivers behaviour patterns in the traffic. Beside autonomous vehicle management, an important research focus is on the cooperation behaviour management. In this paper, we propose hybrid automaton modelling to emulate flexible vehicle Platoon and vehicles cooperation interactions. We introduce novel coding function for Platoon cooperation behaviour profile generation in time, which depends of vehicles number in Platoon and behaviour types. As the behaviour prediction of transportation systems, one of the primarily used methods of artificial intelligence in Intelligent Transport Systems, we propose an approach towards NARX neural network prediction of Platoon cooperation behaviour profile. With incorporation of Platoon manoeuvres dynamic prediction, which is capable of analysing traffic behaviour, this approach would be useful for secure implementation of real autonomous vehicles cooperation.

Chemerin is an adipokine associated with parameters of inflammation and the metabolic syndrome. Small observational studies suggested that high circulating chemerin levels are also related to bone erosion. We aimed to determine whether plasma chemerin levels are related to bone quality in the general population and to investigate the influence of body mass index (BMI) on that relation. For our analyses, we obtained data from 3583 adults who participated in the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania-Trend. The participants were divided into three groups according to their BMI: lean (<25 kg/m2), overweight (25 to 30 kg/m2), and obese (≥30 kg/m2). Chemerin concentrations were determined in EDTA plasma. Bone quality was assessed using quantitative ultrasound at the heel. Broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA), speed of sound (SOS), stiffness index, and osteoporotic fracture risk were derived from this measurement. Sex- and BMI-specific linear regression models revealed inverse associations between chemerin levels and BUA in obese men. In obese women, inverse relations between chemerin levels and SOS or stiffness index were found. Logistic regression models revealed positive associations between chemerin levels and osteoporotic fracture risk. In lean or overweight subjects, no statistically significant associations were found. Our sex- and BMI-specific analyses showed that inverse associations between chemerin levels and bone quality are restricted to obese men and women. The observed association may be due to a chemerin-induced negative affect on bone metabolism, possibly due to abrogation of osteoblastogenesis or stimulation of adipogenesis.

A company follows the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) when, in addition to its basic economic functions, it fulfi lls other functions to achieve greater social goals. Corporate social responsibility is an imperative in the modern world of business while in theory, it is still the subject of discussions. Nevertheless, within diff erent theories, there is a certain consensus specifi cally related to the understanding of the importance of stakeholders and the existence of diff erent levels of CSR. Th e main aim of this paper is to explore and analyze employee perceptions of CSR activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Th is paper will present a survey of the perception of 100 corporate representatives related to CSR, with an analysis of the infl uence of sociodemographic factors and job characteristics on their attitudes. In addition, the paper off ers the conclusion, with a number of recommendations for improving the current state of CSR in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This paper presents an overview of a study in which the immunity and susceptibility of life-supporting medical equipment was evaluated by exposing the equipment to electromagnetic interference (EMI). Electromagnetic interference, in the past, has been proven to influence the activity and reliability of certain medical devices. Since there has been dramatic increase in the use of cellular phones, these electromagnetic emitting devices have become part of the environment of medical devices. In the present paper, the influence of cellular phones at various distances and proportions on a wide range of medical devices were studied. In total 136 devices were tested after being exposed to cellular phones working in different operating modes. Testing was performed in Healthcare institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Out of all 136 devices, a significant interference was detected in only one of the various defibrillators tested. Other EMI encountered in two electrocardiograms, during the tests, were negligible which proves that current medical devices are designed to operate more safely, with higher immunity and lower susceptibility. The improved designs of medical devices are results of strict electromagnetic compatibility standards to which the devices must comply.

Nanotechnology has shown its great potential in different fields of science such as medicine and pharmacy. This paper presents a review on artificial neural networks used in nanotechnology based on information gathered from different research. It is important to understand applications of artificial neural networks so that they can be used even more efficiently in future applications. Research papers summarized and compared here show different results in two fields of science. Artificial neural networks were made and proven to be useful in diagnostics and tracing diseases. The pharmaceutical industry has also shown to be a good candidate for the development of ANNs on the nanotechnology level. Regression analysis was used as a statistical method for presenting the best results from both fields observed. Root mean square error and mean error were calculated to measure the differences between values predicted by a model and the values actually observed from the environment that was being modelled. Based on individual results, each of the ANNs made were accurate enough to be considered as a diagnostic tool in fields of medicine and pharmacy. Performance is greater than 90% 10 out of 12 times, which is viewed in this paper. The multilayer perceptron ANN is mostly used. Based on the latest results, in upcoming years, one can expect better understanding and more research in the field of ANN applications in nanotechnology.

Today's systems are being built to connect to public or semi-public networks, are able to communicate with other systems, e.g., in the context of Internet-of-Things (IoT), involve multiple stakeholders, have dynamic system reconfigurations, and operate in increasingly unpredictable environments. In such complex systems, assuring safety and security in a continuous and joint effort is a major challenge, not the least due to the increasing number of attack surfaces arising from the increased connectivity. In this paper we present an approach that aims to bridge the gap between safety and security engineering. The potential of the approach is illustrated on the example of E-gas system, discussing the cases when unintentional faults as well as malicious attacks are taken into consideration when assuring safety of the described system.