Summary Background: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARg) is a key transcription factor in adipogene-sis, and also regulates a number of genes associated with lipid storage and insulin sensitivity. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the PPARG gene have been associated with obesity and diabetes. In this study, we explored the relationship of three PPARG gene variants with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and related traits in a population from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Methods: Anthropometric and biochemical parameters were measured in 43 patients with MetS and 43 healthy controls. Subjects were genotyped for Pro12Ala (rs1801282) and 1431C>T (rs3856806) SNPs by classic PCR–restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, and for-681C>G (rs10865710) variant by real-time PCR. Results: The genotype distributions for the three polymorphisms were not significantly different between MetS patients and controls. The Pro12Ala and 1431C>T variants were associated with lower body mass index in the control subjects (p=0.012 and p=0.049, respectively). In this group, the carriers of Pro12Ala had also lower waist circumference compared to the wild-type homozygotes (p=0.045). Conclusions: Results of our preliminary study indicate a beneficial effect of a common Pro12Ala variant on the metabolic phenotype in healthy non-obese subjects.

Background: For many years, performance indicators have served as a valid instrument for the evaluation of the public sector quality and efficiency in the majority of developed countries. Such measurements allow internal and external evaluation of the efficiency of the budget and public companies. Objectives: The aim of the paper is to determine to what extent public sector entities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FB&H), as a representative of transition countries, measure and report performance indicators. Methods/Approach: An electronic survey has been conducted among representatives of cantons in FB&H and public utility companies in the Canton of Sarajevo. The Mann-Whitney test was applied in order to test differences between public sector entities according to their performance. Results: The Mann-Whitney non-parametric tests show that the degree of measuring and reporting performance indicators in the public sector in FB&H has a direct impact on the operational results shown in financial statements. Conclusions: EU legislation encourages the development of competition between different programs, products and services in the public sector. This paper sheds light on the causes and consequences of the absence of valid performance measurement in the public sector of FB&H and provides possible solutions to overcome identified problems within measurement, reporting and monitoring of performance indicators.

The doping mechanism and realistic Fermi surface (FS) evolution of La2−xSrxCuO4 (LSCO) are modelled within an extensive ab initio framework including advanced band-unfolding techniques. We show that ordinary Kohn-Sham DFT+U can reproduce the observed metal-insulator transition, when not restricted to the paramagnetic solution space. Arcs are self-doped by orbital charge transfer within the Cu-O planes, while the introduced Sr charge is strongly localized. Arc protection and the inadequacy of the rigid-band picture are consequences of a rapid change in orbital symmetry at the Fermi energy: the material undergoes a dimensional crossover along the Fermi surface, between the nodal (2D) and antinodal (3D) regions. In LSCO, this crossover accounts for FS arcs, the antinodal pseudogap, and insulating behavior in c-axis conductivity, all ubiquitous phenomena in high-Tc cuprates. Ligand Coulomb integrals involving out-of-plane sites are principally responsible for the most striking effects observed by ARPES in LSCO.

The main aim of this paper is to examine the influence of bank specific determinants on realization of credit risk in the portfolio of commercial banks in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). This study comprises a sample of seventeen out of twenty eight planned banks that are analyzed over the period of 2002 to 2012. The effect of variations in the determinants of bank credit risk exposure is based on using a multivariate panel regression model. Our empirical results suggest that a significant relationship exists between credit risk and the following variables:[Inefficiency (IE), profitability (ROE), Credit growth (CG) and Deposit rate (DR) while variables Solvency (SR), Loans to deposit ratio (LTD), Market power (MP), profitability (ROA) and Reserve ratio (RR)] are not statistically significant in terms of credit risk.