Aquatic animals and consumers of aquatic animals are exposed to increasingly complex mixtures of known and as-yet-unknown chemicals with dioxin-like toxicities in the water cycle. Effect- and cell-based bioanalysis can cover known and yet unknown dioxin and dioxin-like compounds as well as complex mixtures thereof but need to be standardized and integrated into international guidelines for environmental testing. In an international laboratory testing (ILT) following ISO/CD 24295 as standard procedure for rat cell-based DR CALUX un-spiked and spiked extracts of drinking-, surface-, and wastewater were validated to generate precision data for the development of the full ISO-standard. We found acceptable repeatability and reproducibility ranges below 36 % by DR CALUX bioassay for the tested un-spiked and spiked water of different origins. The presence of 17 PCDD/Fs and 12 dioxin-like PCBs was also confirmed by congener-specific GC-HRMS analysis. We compared the sum of dioxin-like activity levels measured by DR CALUX bioassay (expressed in 2,3,7,8-TCDD Bioanalytical Equivalents, BEQ) with the obtained GC-HRMS chemical analysis results converted to toxic equivalents (TEQ; van den Berg et al., 2013).

During the 3-year field research in the Sarajevo Canton (from 2019 to 2022), numerous new sites for many alien species were noted. Three of them were covered by this paper. These are: Digitalis purpurea L., Symphyotrichum novi belgii (L.) G. L. Nelson and Armoracia rusticiana Gaertn., Mey et Scherb.. The aim of the research and the paper is to provide new data on these species. This is important for the lack of specific data for alien species about their distribution, environmental conditions in which they develop, which can be very important in fight against them or in their adequate control. For each locality, where the plants were found, number of other parameters were provided, such as: altitude, latitude and longitude, soil type and phytocenological affiliation. Altitude, latitude and longitude were determined by the "MagelaneXplorist 500" GPS. Maps were also done with help of the "ArcGis Pro 2.8.4." program with registered localities. The name of plants were aligned with the www.europlusmed.org. Numerous papers and material from the "Herbarium Collection of the National Museum of BiH – SARA" were reviewed, and yet it was found out that all the localities were new for the researched species. Here we provided all previously published and data on herbarized plants for the whole of BiH.

Extract COPD is nowadays considered to be a heterogeneous lung condition characterised by chronic respiratory symptoms caused by airway and/or alveolar abnormalities causing persistent airflow obstruction. This airflow obstruction is defined by a post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) to forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio lower than 0.7. However, the recent 2023 Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines also pointed out that some patients can present with symptoms and/or structural changes such as emphysema and/or physiological abnormalities without airway obstruction, defined as pre-COPD, bearing a higher risk for progression to COPD [1]. Shareable abstract There is a severity dependent increase in the size but not the absolute number of interalveolar pores of Kohn in COPD. In addition, the pore size shows important correlations with pulmonary function testing. https://bit.ly/3HL1GJ8

Background: An intraluminal, non-occlusive thrombus (ILT) is a common feature in an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). This study investigated the relative progression of ILT vs. AAA volume using a novel parameter, the so-called thrombus burden ratio (TBR), in non-treated AAAs. Parameters potentially associated with TBR progression were analyzed and TBR progression in large vs. small and fast- vs. slow-growing AAAs was assessed. Methods: This retrospective, single-center study analyzed sequential contrast-enhanced computed tomography angiography (CTA) scans between 2009 and 2018 from patients with an AAA before surgical treatment. Patients’ medical data and CTA scans were analyzed at two given time points. The TBR was calculated as a ratio of ILT and AAA volume, and relative TBR progression was calculated by normalization for time between sequential CTA scans. Spearman’s correlation was applied to identify morphologic parameters correlating with TBR progression, and multivariate linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the association of clinical and morphological parameters with TBR progression. Results: A total of 35 patients were included. The mean time between CT scans was 16 ± 15.9 months. AAA volume progression was 12 ± 3% and ILT volume progression was 36 ± 13%, resulting in a TBR progression of 11 ± 4%, suggesting overproportioned ILT growth. TBR progression was 0.8 ± 0.8% per month. Spearman’s correlation verified ILT growth as the most relevant parameter contributing to TBR progression (R = 0.51). Relative TBR progression did not differ significantly in large vs. small and fast- vs. slow-growing AAAs. In the multivariate regression analysis, none of the studied factors were associated with TBR progression. Conclusion: TBR increases during AAA development, indicating an overproportioned ILT vs. AAA volume growth. The TBR may serve as a useful parameter, as it incorporates the ILT volume growth relative to the AAA volume, therefore combining two important parameters that are usually reported separately. Yet, the clinical relevance in helping to identify potential corresponding risk factors and the evaluation of patients at risk needs to be further validated in a larger study cohort.

Ixodid ticks are distributed across all countries of the Western Balkans, with a high diversity of species. Many of these species serve as vectors of pathogens of veterinary and medical importance. Given the scattered data from Western Balkan countries, we have conducted a comprehensive review of available literature, including some historical data, with the aim to compile information about all recorded tick species and associated zoonotic pathogens in this region. Based on the collected data, the tick fauna of the Western Balkans encompasses 32 tick species belonging to five genera: Ixodes , Haemaphysalis , Dermacentor , Rhipicephalus and Hyalomma . A range of pathogens responsible for human diseases has also been documented, including viruses, bacteria and parasites. In this review, we emphasize the necessity for integrated surveillance and reporting, urging authorities to foster research by providing financial support. Additionally, international and interdisciplinary collaborations should be encouraged that include the exchange of expertise, experiences and resources. The present collaborative effort can effectively address gaps in our knowledge of ticks and tick-borne diseases. Graphical Abstract

We report on the development of a novel pixel charge readout system, Grid Activated Multi-scale pixel readout (GAMPix), which is under development for use in the GammaTPC gamma ray instrument concept. GammaTPC is being developed to optimize the use of liquid argon time projection chamber technology for gamma ray astrophysics, for which a fine grained low power charge readout is essential. GAMPix uses a new architecture with coarse and fine scale instrumented electrodes to solve the twin problems of loss of measured charge after diffusion, and high readout power. Fundamentally, it enables low noise and ultra low power charge readout at the spatial scale limited by diffusion in a time projection chamber, and has other possibly applications, including future DUNE modules.

Darwinian evolution, including the selection of the fittest species under given environmental conditions, is a major milestone in the development of synthetic living systems. In this regard, generalist or specialist behavior (the ability to replicate in a broader or narrower, more specific food environment) are of importance. Here we demonstrate generalist and specialist behavior in dynamic combinatorial  libraries composed of a peptide-based and an oligo(ethylene glycol) based building block. Three different sets of macrocyclic replicators could be distinguished based on their supramolecular organization: two prepared from a single building block as well as one prepared from an equimolar mixture of them. Peptide-containing hexamer replicators were found to be generalists, i.e. they could replicate in a broad range of food niches, whereas the octamer peptide-based replicator and hexameric ethyleneoxide-based replicator were proven to be specialists, i.e. they only replicate in very specific food niches that correspond to their composition. However, sequence specificity cannot be demonstrated for either of the generalist replicators. The generalist versus specialist nature of these replicators was linked to their supramolecular organization. Assembly modes that accommodate structurally different building blocks lead to generalist replicators, while assembly modes that are more restrictive yield specialist replicators.

A 2-year study was done to compare fruit morphological and chemical composition of three nectarine cultivars grown in south Hercegovinia conditions. A high variability among and within cultivars was found and significant differences were observed among them in all properties analyzed. On the basis of evaluated data, the best fruit performance was registered in ‘Caldesi 2000’ and ‘Venus’ grown in the condition of this part of the Mediteran. This evaluation may help to select a set of nectarine cultivars with better fruit quality attributes, which in our growing conditions might be indicated in ‘Caldesi 2000’ and somewhat in ‘Venus’. The highest average of fruit width (61.18 mm) and fruit weight (148.24 g) was found in cultivar Caldesi 2000. As for friut thickness, also cultivar Caldesi 2000 had the highest value (55.39 mm). The results for the highest fruit length (60.48 mm) had Venus cultivar also fruit stone weight length, width and thickness. The contents sugars (glucose, fructose) total soluble dry matter, and total acids in fruits were found in cultivar Venus, but pH and sucrose were found in cultivar Sun Grand.

Pored oblika i ukrasa, natpisi predstavljaju najkarakterističniji i najznačajniji faktor naučne i umjetničke vrijednosti stećaka. Kada je poznato vrijeme nastanka natpisa, onda istraživači imaju bolja polazišta za svestranije proučavanje stećaka. Prije svega, datacija natpisa značajno pomaže u praćenju razvoja jezika i pisma. Svaki datirani stećak predstavlja značajnu i stabilnu stepenicu na slabije poznatom putu u razvoju srednjovjekovnog pisma. Na ovom mjestu dajemo prilog dataciji natpisa na stećku Vukašina Dobrašinovića iz Vrsinja u naselju Konjsko u blizini Trebinja. Ranije ponude datiranja ukazuju na odstupanjameđu vrsnim epigrafičarima i prave dodatne nejasnoće na polju epigrafike. Novim arhivskim pokazateljima historijat Dobrašinovića iz Vrsinja dobija svoje konture. Egzaktno utvrđena životnost Vukašina Dobrašinovića (1421-1428) je relevantna polazna osnova za datiranje natpisa na njegovom nadgrobnom spomeniku pa time i jasnija osnova za daljnje proučavanje jezika i pisma. 

U antičko doba bile su prisutne predstave zmija u mnogim mitovima i kultovima. Zmija je često bila simbol života i smrti. Kao kultna životinja javlja se u Mitraizmu, a kao simbol zla javlja se u hrišćanskoj tradiciji. Na području velikog rudarskog nalazišta Japra pronađena su dva ulomka keramike sa predstavama zmija koje su bile omotane oko drške. Prema analogijom sa sličnim slučajevima može se reći da su ove posude povezane sa kultom Mitre i korišteni u vjerske svrhe.  

Ljubomir Maksimović: Vizantijski svet i Srbi, Beograd: Istorijski institut, 2008,Studia historica collecta, knjiga 6, 535 str. (Dženan Dautović)   Spomenica akademika Marka Šunjića (1927-1998), ur. Dubravko Lovrenović,Filozofski fakultet u Sarajevu, Sarajevo 2010, 366 str. (Nedim Rabić)

In the past years the interest in Solute Carrier Transporters (SLC) has increased due to their potential as drug targets. At the same time, macrocycles demonstrated promising activities as therapeutic agents. However, the overall macrocycle/SLC‐transporter interaction landscape has not been fully revealed yet. In this study, we present a statistical analysis of macrocycles with measured activity against SLC‐transporter. Using a data mining pipeline based on KNIME retrieved in total 825 bioactivity data points of macrocycles interacting with SLC‐transporter. For further analysis of the SLC inhibitor profiles we developed an interactive KNIME workflow as well as an interactive map of the chemical space coverage utilizing parametric t‐SNE models. The parametric t‐SNE models provide a good discrimination ability among several corresponding SLC subfamilies’ targets. The KNIME workflow, the dataset, and the visualization tool are freely available to the community.

Introduction: Covert brain infarcts (CBI) are frequent incidental findings on MRI and associated with future stroke risk in patients without a history of clinically evident cerebrovascular events. However, the prognostic value of CBI in first-ever ischemic stroke patients is unclear and previous studies did not report on different etiological stroke subtypes. We aimed to test CBI phenotypes and their association with stroke recurrence in first-ever ischemic stroke patients according to stroke etiology. Patients and methods: This study is a pooled data analysis of two prospectively collected cohorts of consecutive first-ever ischemic stroke patients admitted to the comprehensive stroke centers of Bern (Switzerland) and Graz (Austria). CBI phenotypes were identified on brain MRI within 72 h after admission. All patients underwent a routine follow-up (median: 12 months) to identify stroke recurrence. Results: Of 1577 consecutive ischemic stroke patients (median age: 71 years), 691 patients showed CBI on brain MRI (44%) and 88 patients had a recurrent ischemic stroke (6%). Baseline CBI were associated with stroke recurrence in multivariable analysis (HR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1–3.3). CBI phenotypes with the highest risk for stroke recurrence were cavitatory CBI in small vessel disease (SVD)-related stroke (HR 7.1, 95% CI 1.6–12.6) and cortical CBI in patients with atrial fibrillation (HR 3.0, 95% CI 1.1–8.1). Discussion and conclusion: This study reports a ≈ 2-fold increased risk for stroke recurrence in first-ever ischemic stroke patients with CBI. The risk of recurrent stroke was highest in patients with cavitatory CBI in SVD-related stroke and cortical CBI in patients with atrial fibrillation. Subject terms: Covert brain infarcts, stroke Graphical abstract