Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the possibilities and limitations of venture capital formation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia where there has been a lack of success and benefits of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from this type of financing. Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides a rationale for specific methodological choices and justifies its choice. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed. The methods section (research design) explains the entry criteria for the study population, specific imaging techniques and methods of data analysis. Findings – Venture capital invest in companies in the beginning to achieve an above average return on investment. Unfortunately, there are no officially registered venture capital funds in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For the venture capital funds to operate, it is necessary to adopt regulations governing this area, to create a favorable tax system and introduce a cash basis for VAT calculation for SMEs. The ma...

“Normal” for the gut microbiota For the benefit of future clinical studies, it is critical to establish what constitutes a “normal” gut microbiome, if it exists at all. Through fecal samples and questionnaires, Falony et al. and Zhernakova et al. targeted general populations in Belgium and the Netherlands, respectively. Gut microbiota composition correlated with a range of factors including diet, use of medication, red blood cell counts, fecal chromogranin A, and stool consistency. The data give some hints for possible biomarkers of normal gut communities. Science, this issue pp. 560 and 565 Two large-scale studies in Western Europe establish environment-diet-microbe-host interactions. Deep sequencing of the gut microbiomes of 1135 participants from a Dutch population-based cohort shows relations between the microbiome and 126 exogenous and intrinsic host factors, including 31 intrinsic factors, 12 diseases, 19 drug groups, 4 smoking categories, and 60 dietary factors. These factors collectively explain 18.7% of the variation seen in the interindividual distance of microbial composition. We could associate 110 factors to 125 species and observed that fecal chromogranin A (CgA), a protein secreted by enteroendocrine cells, was exclusively associated with 61 microbial species whose abundance collectively accounted for 53% of microbial composition. Low CgA concentrations were seen in individuals with a more diverse microbiome. These results are an important step toward a better understanding of environment-diet-microbe-host interactions.

Cooking energy is a vital aspect of life for the survival of any household. It is a daily affair since man must eat in order to continue to exist in this planet. Many types of cooking energy exist and households must appropriately choose among them. In making choices, certain factors influence households choice, hence the need for this study. The study examined the determinants of household cooking energy choice in Oyo state, Nigeria. Primary data was used for the study. The data was collected using structured questionnaires administered to 130 households. The households were sampled from main areas in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed to analyze the data. The result indicated that fuel wood, charcoal, kerosene, gas and electricity were the cooking energy used by households in the study area but kerosene was the most preferred. Kerosene is the cooking energy choice that households find it difficult to do without. The study further revealed that choice of cooking energy is influenced by some factors such as income of households, prevailing weather condition/ season of the year, types of houses/ dwelling place of households, price of cooking energy, nearness to sources and familiarity of household to a cooking energy choice. Households with high income per month often choose gas and electricity and used kerosene as a backup while those with low income per month often choose fuel wood, charcoal and kerosene. The level of satisfaction obtained from kerosene, gas and electricity were high, moderate and very high respectively. It is therefore recommended that government should provide means of increasing the welfare / standard of living of the households in the study area so that they will be able to afford gas and electricity as cooking energy choice. This will therefore protect them against the harmful effects of using charcoal, fuel wood and stove. Government and other stakeholders in power sector should also find permanent solution to the irregular electricity supply in the study area so that households will find its usage more dependable and reliable.

Optimizacija parametara obrade tokarenja s vise kriterija kvalitete uporabom Grey relacijske analize Izvorni znanstveni clanak Optimizacija procesa obrade je neophodna za postizanje vece produktivnosti i visoke kvalitete proizvoda kako bi ostali tržisno konkurentni. Ovaj rad istražuje vise-kriterijsku optimizaciju procesa tokarenja s optimalnom kombinacijom parametara obrade koji osiguravaju minimalnu hrapavost povrsine (Ra) s maksimalnim ucinkom uklanjanja materijala (MRR) uporabom Grey-based Taguchi metode. Razmatrani parametri obrade tokarenjem su brzina rezanja, posmak i dubina rezanja. Primjenom Taguchijevog L9 (3 4 ) ortogonalnog plana provedeno je devet eksperimenata te je koristena Grey relacijska analiza kako bi se rijesio visekriterijski problem optimizacije. Temeljem vrijednosti Grey relacijskog stupnja utvrđene su optimalne razine parametara. Signifikantnost parametara na sveukupne kriterije kvalitete procesa tokarenja ocijenjena je analizom varijance (ANOVA). Optimalne vrijednosti parametara dobivene tijekom istraživanja potvrđene su verifikacijskim eksperimentom. Kljucne rijeci: ANOVA; Grey relacijska analiza; Taguchijeva metoda; tokarenje; visekriterijska optimizacija

Common variants in 94 loci have been associated with breast cancer including 15 loci with genome-wide significant associations (P<5 × 10−8) with oestrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer and BRCA1-associated breast cancer risk. In this study, to identify new ER-negative susceptibility loci, we performed a meta-analysis of 11 genome-wide association studies (GWAS) consisting of 4,939 ER-negative cases and 14,352 controls, combined with 7,333 ER-negative cases and 42,468 controls and 15,252 BRCA1 mutation carriers genotyped on the iCOGS array. We identify four previously unidentified loci including two loci at 13q22 near KLF5, a 2p23.2 locus near WDR43 and a 2q33 locus near PPIL3 that display genome-wide significant associations with ER-negative breast cancer. In addition, 19 known breast cancer risk loci have genome-wide significant associations and 40 had moderate associations (P<0.05) with ER-negative disease. Using functional and eQTL studies we implicate TRMT61B and WDR43 at 2p23.2 and PPIL3 at 2q33 in ER-negative breast cancer aetiology. All ER-negative loci combined account for ∼11% of familial relative risk for ER-negative disease and may contribute to improved ER-negative and BRCA1 breast cancer risk prediction. Oestrogen negative breast cancer is associated with a poor prognosis. In this study, the authors perform a meta-analysis of 11 breast cancer genome-wide association studies and identify four new loci associated with oestrogen negative breast cancer risk. These findings may aid in stratifying patients in the clinic.

Purpose. To describe the histopathological features of vitreous samples obtained after vitrectomy surgery from diabetic and nondiabetic patients. Methods. Vitreous specimens from 137 patients who underwent vitrectomy for different clinical conditions were analysed. All samples were centrifuged and each resulting pellet was fixed and processed as part of routine paraffin section histopathology. The histopathological features were categorized in a semiquantitative fashion. The samples from diabetic and nondiabetic patients were compared. Results. The 125 included patients (58 diabetic, 60% males) were aged 64.2 ± 13.9 years. The presence of hemorrhage, inflammatory cells, and histiocytes was significantly higher in the diabetic group (P < 0.001, P = 0.028, and P = 0.016, resp.), showing more vessels (P < 0.001) and ghost vessels (P = 0.049). The presence of inflammatory cells was the feature with the highest sensitivity for detecting diabetes mellitus (98%) and also the highest negative predictive value (89%). In the multivariate analysis, three variables emerged as independent significant predictors of diabetes in vitrectomy samples: hemorrhage, endothelial-lined vessels, and age (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, and P = 0.019, resp.). Conclusions. Different histopathological features can be found in vitreous samples from diabetic patients. Analysis of vitrectomy samples may serve as a tool for diabetes management.

Craniofacial and cervicovertebral anomalies can occur primarily as a result of alterations in the embryonic development or secondary after birth as a result of pathologic processes or through trauma. 1 ABSTRACT Introduction: Patients with genetic syndromes were characterized by variety of skeletal craniofacial and cervicovertebral morphology. Skeletal anomalies are recognized concomitants of the various genetic syndromes. The aim of the study was to review the current literature on this topic and to present the characteristics of craniofacial and cervicovertebral morphology and subsequent anomalies in three patients with Crouzon syndrome, Treacher Collins syndrome and cleidocranial dysplasia. Materials and methods: A comprehensive electronic search was performed using PubMed via Medline, Web of Science and SCOPUS. A manual search involved references form articles retrieved for possible inclusion. There were no restrictions as to date of publication, study design or language. The search, evaluation of relevant articles, and their critical appraisal were performed by two independent judges. Discrepancies between reviewers were resolved through a consensus with a third party. Case reports: Additionally, this paper presents a radiographic analysis of craniofacial and cervicovertebral morphology in patients with cleidocranial dysplasia, Crouzon, and Treacher Collins syndromes. The most characteristic findings of cervicovertebral morphology were the presence of cervical spine fusions in all three patients. The intervertebral fusions in patients with Crouzon and Treacher Collins syndromes have been characterized with “block vertebrae”. Cervicovertebral complex of the patient with cleidocranial dysplasia is characterized by delayed mineralization of vertebral bodies (C1–C7). Results: Although craniofacial and cervicovertebral anomalies in presented syndromes have different phenotype expression, the vast majority of cases are caused by mutations in specific, syndrome-related genes (FGFR2, FGFR3, RUNX2, TCOF1, POLR1C, POLR1D). Craniofacial anomalies, that include changes in development of hard and soft tissues, were considered as traditional concomitant of presented syndromes. Apart from these changes, cervicovertebral region could also be affected. Recent reports show different changes in vertebral structure (delayed mineralization) and unphysiological relations (cervical spine fusions). Conclusion: The limitation of cervical range of motion resulting from these anomalies may have clinical significance on multidisciplinary management approach in these patients. Recent progress in dentistry resulted in better diagnostic and therapeutic options and outcomes for individuals with genetic syndromes.

Molecular monitoring of chronic myeloid leukemia patients using robust BCR-ABL1 tests standardized to the International Scale (IS) is key to proper disease management, especially when treatment cessation is considered. Most laboratories currently use a time-consuming sample exchange process with reference laboratories for IS calibration. A World Health Organization (WHO) BCR-ABL1 reference panel was developed (MR1–MR4), but access to the material is limited. In this study, we describe the development of the first cell-based secondary reference panel that is traceable to and faithfully replicates the WHO panel, with an additional MR4.5 level. The secondary panel was calibrated to IS using digital PCR with ABL1, BCR and GUSB as reference genes and evaluated by 44 laboratories worldwide. Interestingly, we found that >40% of BCR-ABL1 assays showed signs of inadequate optimization such as poor linearity and suboptimal PCR efficiency. Nonetheless, when optimized sample inputs were used, >60% demonstrated satisfactory IS accuracy, precision and/or MR4.5 sensitivity, and 58% obtained IS conversion factors from the secondary reference concordant with their current values. Correlation analysis indicated no significant alterations in %BCR-ABL1 results caused by different assay configurations. More assays achieved good precision and/or sensitivity than IS accuracy, indicating the need for better IS calibration mechanisms.