Understanding divisibility at the primary school level is a strong predictor of students’ mathematical achievements in secondary education. To correctly measure students’ understanding and achievements, a valid and reliable test is needed. This research focuses on the construction of valid and reliable test for the divisibility area studied at the primary school level. After constructing three pilot tests according to learning outcomes and standards for divisibility, and qualitative validation, tests were distributed in six primary schools, with 380 participating students (ages 12 – 13). The results were used for reliability and quantitative item analysis, and the final version of the test, which covered standards of students’ achievement and had all items of appropriate difficulty and discriminative validity, was created. This test can be used by mathematics teachers in classrooms but also in large scale testing, like state or international testing.

Previous biological tests have shown that some resveratrol analogs exhibited significant antioxidative and cholinesterase inhibitory potential, as evidenced by lower IC50 values compared to the established standards, resveratrol and galantamine, respectively. Photochemical transformations were made in parallel on these compounds in the presence of porphyrin photocatalysts in batch and microreactor, showing the significant advantage of flow photochemistry concerning productivity, selectivity, and yields. In this research, the products of photocatalysis and direct irradiation (photolysis) of resveratrol analogs were compared to elucidate how the types and ratios of the products depend on the excitation energy, to reveal the effects of the substituent on the photoinduced reactions and to rationalize experimentally and computationally the nature and ratio of the obtained products. Thus, two main paths were computed in agreement with the experimental results: isomerization with the participation of triplet state intermediates to yield the experimentally detected cis-isomers and subsequent cyclization following a pathway not available for the trans-isomers. The investigation of five model compounds confirmed the advantages of the flow photoreactor in the photochemical reactions of heterocyclic resveratrol analogs.

While driving, stress is caused by situations in which the driver estimates their ability to manage the driving demands as insufficient or loses the capability to handle the situation. This leads to increased numbers of driver mistakes and traffic violations. Additional stressing factors are time pressure, road conditions, or dislike for driving. Therefore, stress affects driver and road safety. Stress is classified into two categories depending on its duration and the effects on the body and psyche: short-term eustress and constantly present distress, which causes degenerative effects. In this work, we focus on distress. Wearable sensors are handy tools for collecting biosignals like heart rate, activity, etc. Easy installation and non-intrusive nature make them convenient for calculating stress. This study focuses on the investigation of stress and its implications. Specifically, the research conducts an analysis of stress within a select group of individuals from both Spain and Germany. The primary objective is to examine the influence of recognized psychological factors, including personality traits such as neuroticism, extroversion, psychoticism, stress and road safety. The estimation of stress levels was accomplished through the collection of physiological parameters (R-R intervals) using a Polar H10 chest strap. We observed that personality traits, such as extroversion, exhibited similar trends during relaxation, with an average heart rate 6% higher in Spain and 3% higher in Germany. However, while driving, introverts, on average, experienced more stress, with rates 4% and 1% lower than extroverts in Spain and Germany, respectively.

Introduction: Many studies have examined values of crestal bone loss according surgical techniques, time of implant placement (immediate post-extraction or after alveolar socket healing), platform switching or convectional platform, surface of the implant, functional loading (immediate or delayed), etc. Methods: This study analyzed a total of 443 dental implants on 115 images: 161 Bredent blueSKY dental implants and 282 Ritter spiral dental implants. All images were taken at the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Sarajevo: before implantation and after 1 year of functional loading. Crestal bone loss was measured on the mesial and distal side of each implant from the coronal portion of the abutment to the noticeable margin of the alveolar bone. Results: There is statistically significant differences between Bredent blueSKY and Ritter spiral dental implants regarding mesial (p < 0.001, df = 441, tstat = −64.22) and distal (p < 0.001, df = 441, tstat = −151.21) bone losses. Conclusion: Platform switching dental implants showed more bone loss on the mesial and distal side of implant than dental implants with conventional platform.

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ABSTRACT

Background: The aim of this paper was to investigate the dynamics of inflammatory parameters in patients after infrarenal abdominal aneurysm surgery.Methods: The retrospective study included patients with operated infrarenalabdominal aneurysm, divided into two groups. First group were patients that underwent endovascular aneurysm repair procedure (EVAR), and second group were patients that had open surgery. General data and inflammatory parameters (CRP, leukocytes, platelets, and fibrinogen) had been taken during hospitalization, compared mutually and analyzed.Main findings:All inflammatory parameters, observed preoperatively, were close to referent range. Serum CRP values in EVAR patients raised after operation, but returned to the reference range more quickly as well as leukocyte count. Around the middle of their own hospital stay and at the day of discharge, the group operated on by the open method had statistically significant higher platelet values than the EVAR group. During the preoperative period and in the middle of hospitalization, the group operated on by the open method shows higher fibrinogen values, while the opposite is at the day of discharge, where the EVAR group shows statistically significantly higher fibrinogen values.Principal conclusions: Observed serum inflammatory parameters (CRP, leukocytes, fibrinogen, and platelets) in different phases of hospitalization were lower; closer to the reference value in patients with infrarenal abdominal aneurysm that underwent EVAR, compared to patients operated by the open surgery method. Also, the observed parameters, except fibrinogen, returned to the reference value faster in patients who underwent EVAR.Key words: abdominal aortic aneurysm, endovascular aneurysm repair, inflammatory parameters

Background and Objectives A subgroup of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) presents focal paramagnetic rims at the border between cortex and white matter (juxtacortical paramagnetic rims [JPRs]). We investigated the presence of this finding in our in vivo MS cohort and explored its potential clinical relevance. Moreover, we exploited postmortem MRI of fixed whole MS brains to (1) detect those rims and (2) investigate their histologic correlation. Methods Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) and magnetization-prepared 2 rapid acquisition gradient-echo (MP2RAGE) images at 3T-MRI of 165 patients with MS from the in vivo cohort were screened for JPRs and the presence of cortical lesions. Five postmortem brains from patients with MS were imaged with 3T-MRI to obtain QSM and MP2RAGE sequences. Tissue blocks containing JPRs were excised and paraffin-embedded slices stained by immunohistochemistry for myelin basic protein (for myelin) and anti-CR3/43 (for major histocompatibility complex II–positive microglia/macrophages). DAB-Turnbull stain was performed to detect iron. Results JPRs are present in approximately 10% of in vivo patients and are associated with increased cortical lesion load. One of the 5 postmortem brains showed JPRs. Histologically, JPRs correspond to an accumulation of activated iron-laden phagocytes and are associated with demyelination of the whole overlying cortical ribbon. Discussion JPRs are a novel potential MRI biomarker of focal cortical demyelination, which seems related to global cortical pathology and might be useful for diagnostic and stratification purposes in a clinical setting.

<p class="Abstract"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The strut-type hybrid system can be made in different geometric shapes, which are affected by: the number and arrangement of struts, the shape and position of the cable in relation to the girder, and the size and shape of the cross-section of the girder. When choosing a system, all the listed parameters can vary geometrically, which has consequences on the behaviour of the girder when carrying the load by directly affecting the change in the stiffness of the system. In addition to the geometric parameters, the stiffness of the hybrid system is affected by variations in the properties of the incorporated materials and their mutual relations. In this paper, based on a detailed parametric analysis, the principles of design, the choice of materialisation, and the possibility of further optimisation of the persistent-type hybrid systems are given, with the aim of additionally increasing the load capacity and reducing the deformability. The results of this research are presented in the form of general expressions and diagrams, which can be applied with sufficient accuracy in practice when choosing the form and materialisation of the hybrid system, as well as the possibility of further optimisation of the system by applying pre-stressing. Using the example of external pre-stressing of a glued laminated timber girder, with the assumption of ensuring the lateral stability of the system, the results of the analysis of the behaviour of such a system under load in real conditions, i.e. the influence of the environment and changes in material properties, are given.</span></p>

Background: Acute nasopharyngitis is a common condition usually accompanied by nasal congestion. The aim of this study was to compare efficacy and safety of the spray containing xylometazoline and lysozyme with spray containing only xylometazoline in the treatment of acute nasopharyngitis.Methods: Prospective, comparative, post-marketing study was performed on subjects with acute nasopharyngitisdivided into xylometazoline+lysozyme or xylometazoline nasal spray groups. Data collection was performed at the baseline before and 30 minutes after the therapy application and seven days after baseline.Main findings: Out of 173 included subjects, 59 were in the xylometazoline+lysozyme and 114 in the xylometazoline group. In both groups nasal patency was significantly improved 30 minutes after the therapy application (p<0.001). In the xylometazoline+lysozyme group all subjects had nasal decongestion within 20 minutes and this was significantly shorter (p=0.037) compared to xylometazoline group where 16 subjects (14%) needed 20 to 120 minutes for nasal decongestion. All adverse events were mild and there was no significant difference in the number of adverse events between the groups.Principal conclusions: Nasal sprays containing xylometazoline with or without lysozyme were effective and safe in the treatment of acute nasopharyngitis. Nasal spray containing xylometazoline with lysozyme showed a faster effect with significantly shorter time to nose decongestion. All recorded adverse events were mild and there was no difference between the groups in the number of recorded adverse events. Key words: nasopharyngitis, nasal obstruction, lysozyme, xylometazoline,nasal sprays

Language, as the linguistic manifestation of extralinguistic experiences, often functions as a means for the creation and expression of societal inequality. In addition to the fact that the participants of social reality are almost never socially equal, which means that someone has power over others, the linguistic reflection of those relationships always derives from the author, who has the power to control the context; his practical instrumentation comes from his own lexical and grammatical choices, as well as their conscious and targeted combination. In this paper, the focus is on noticing and distinguishing, and analyzing and interpreting the choices of V. Paterculus as an author within the framework of collective agency and the topoi with which the Roman national identity is first built, and then positioned as superior to the identities of the peoples with whom the Romans came into contact. While for authors from the 1st century A.D. the language strategies touched on in this paper were not available, since they were neither described nor defined before the 20th century, ancient writers used them completely unconsciously in their spontaneous writing; therefore, these texts, as well as modern ones, are subject to linguistic analysis, interpretation and criticism precisely according to the guidelines of modern language criteria. In this paper one of the possible methods of analysis of the construction of the national and supranational identity of a nation in the historiographical discourse will be offered; the analysis will be based on discursive strategies and macro-strategies offered by the discursive-historical approach and based on empirical data gathered in tabular reviews. An indispensable part of the analysis will be the analyst’s criticism, which derives from democratic norms, human rights and the criteria of rational argumentation from today’s temporal, cultural and political context, because the purpose of critical discourse studies is to expose and point out how domination, i.e., the abuse of social power and inequality, are realized and reproduced in text and speech, but also on how to oppose them in a social and political context (van Dijk 2001, 352).

In this paper, a linguistic analysis of the Itinerarium Egeriae, one of the oldest documented Christian pilgrimages to the eastern Mediterranean, is presented. The aim of the work is to present characteristics related to Vulgar Latin. The linguistic analysis is focused on characteristics which are not in keeping with classical norms, in an attempt to describe certain changes with regard to Classical Latin and traditional grammar, which may cause difficulty for the reader. It is evident that the Itinerarium Egeriae is not characterized by ornate expression like the texts of classical writers, but it offers interesting, if sometimes confusing, deviations from classical norms. The paper is divided into two parts. In the first section Egeria, the purpose of the trip, the text, the author’s ability to observe, and her style aimed at spiritual instruction are presented. Egeria’s style of Latin are the subject of the second and main section of the work, which includes language, style, literary aspect and phonological, morphological, syntactic and lexical characteristics of travel writing.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the yields of acetylsalicylic acid synthesis based on the traditional approach and green chemistry approach. Green chemistry is one of the most important approaches in pharmaceutical sustainability. The reagents used for the acetylsalicylic acid synthesis can be environmentally harmful, so there is a need for a better and safer alternative. Methods: We conducted five syntheses based on the traditional approach and five syntheses based on the green chemistry approach. The synthesis process was identical except for one part – traditional synthesis used sulfuric acid and green chemistry synthesis used phosphoric acid. After synthesis, theoretical and experimental yields were calculated. The obtained products were tested using high performance liquid chromatography.Main findings: The theoretical yield of acetylsalicylic acid in both reactions was determined as 3.896 g. Traditional synthesis gave us a mean yield of 3.113 g (79.8%). Green chemistry synthesis gave us a mean yield of 3.104 g (79.4%). The quality of both products was confirmed by the above-mentioned chromatography method. There was no statistically significant difference between the means of the product masses (p=0.8220).Principal conclusions: Phosphoric acid can be used as a safe alternative to acetylsalicylic acid synthesis instead of sulfuric acid. As phosphoric acid is much safer than sulfuric acid in terms of environmental impact, these findings can be used in the pharmaceutical industry setting to obtain a better, cleaner and safer alternative to acetylsalicylic acid synthesis.Key words: acetylsalicylic acid, synthesis, green chemistry, medicinal chemistryArticle processing history:Received July 19, 2023 Revised November 7, 2023 Accepted November 21 , 2023 ORCID IDs of the authors: L.G. 0009-0005-9137-6218M.K. 0000-0003-3904-4994Corresponding author:Assistant Professor Martin Kondža, PhD; Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Mostar, Matice hrvatske bb, 88000Mostar, Bosnia and HerzegovinaE‒mail: martin.kondza@farf.sum.baCite this article as: Golemac L, KondžaM. Synthesis of acetylsalicylic acid –an environmentally friendly approach. Annals of Biomedical and Clinical Research. 2023;2:100 -108 . https://doi.org/Copyright © School of Medicine, University of Mostar 2023