Abstract Cathodic protection system is commonly employed approach for the protection of the metallic infrastructure placed in electrolyte against corrosion. Adequate design of the cathodic protection system requires the determination of electrical potential and current density distribution on the protected object surface that meets the defined criteria. In this paper, the application of the direct boundary element method in conjunction with Newton-Raphson method was considered for the calculation of the electric potential and current density distribution on the surface of the cathodically protected underground object. The considered method was applied on the sacrificial anode cathodic protection system of the underground pipeline. The non-linear boundary conditions of the electrode surfaces of the cathodic protection system are taken into account. The method was used to determine the current density and electric potential distribution on the external wall of the protected pipeline.

Using the CO molecule as target, we investigate high-order harmonic generation by a bichromatic elliptically polarized laser field. This field consists of two elliptically polarized components with the commensurable frequencies and mutually orthogonal semi-major axes. Both odd and even harmonics are emitted and their ellipticity can be large depending on the values of the laser-field parameters. It is often the case that the ellipticity of subsequent odd and even harmonics is substantially different so that, in order to produce a series of high-order harmonics with similar ellipticity, it is beneficial if the emission of odd or even harmonics is suppressed. In this paper we explore how this can be achieved using the ellipticity of the laser-field components and the relative phase as control parameters. For some values of these parameters it is possible to produce a comb of odd or even harmonics with similar ellipticity. These harmonics can later be employed for various applications the example of which is the generation of an elliptically polarized attosecond pulse train.

Abstract The global Covid-19 pandemic led to the turn toward online learning and the need to adapt to new ways of English foreign language (EFL) teaching. This mixed-methods research aimed to examine teacher attitudes, well-being, and coping strategies related to online EFL teaching. The results indicated that Croatian EFL teachers had a positive attitude toward online teaching and acknowledged the importance of being digitally competent. EFL teachers were unsure about their ability to deal with online teaching and indicated their need to improve their IT skills. They revealed more negative than positive responses regarding their well-being and showed that they tried to actively cope during the pandemic. Results also showed better coping strategies among female teachers.

Abstract Frequent changes in fiscal policies are the main cause of credit risk. To prevent households from increasing their non-performing loans, the government can use various policies and instruments. One of these tools is tax regulations, with a particular focus on the value-added tax. This paper examines whether tax policies have affected non-performing household loans in Turkey over the period from 2017 to 2021. To acquire meaningful empirical results, the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) cointegration model have been applied. The results of analysis indicated that the effect of tax regulations on non-performing household loans is quite strong. It can be demonstrated that the strength of the income effect generated by tax cuts might be robust.

The research relates to determining the dependence of the strength and hardness, as well as the pH factor and solubility in water, of pellets made based on dolomite powder on the type and concentration of the binder. During the research, the technological parameters of the pelletizing device (speed and inclination of the disk, dosing speed of powder and binder suspension, and mixing time) were kept constant. Variations were made in the concentration of starch and molasses binder at values of 1.0, 2.5, and 4.0% and the control sample of 2.0 %. The purpose of pellets made of dolomite powder is to correct the pH factor of agricultural soil. The obtained results indicate that the production of pellets for the stated purpose requires an optimal choice of binder and its concentration due to the influence on the qualitative indicators of the pellet itself from dolomite powder. The research results are a partial extract of the Study: “Investigation of the optimal technology for the production of dolomite pellets from the “Očura” deposit for agriculture, Phase I”. Keywords: pellet, agriculture, binder concentration, strength, hardness, pH of pellets.

A study of the phytochemical and molecular characteristics of ten Micromeria and six Clinopodium taxa (family Lamiaceae) distributed in the Balkan Peninsula was carried out. The phytochemicals detected in essential oils by gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, and molecular data amplified fragment length polymorphism were used to study the taxonomic relationships among the taxa and the correlations between phytochemical and molecular data. STRUCTURE analysis revealed three genetic groups, while Bayesian Analysis of Population Structure grouped the studied taxa into 11 clusters nested in the groups obtained by STRUCTURE. Principal components analysis performed with the 21 most represented compounds in the essential oils yielded results that were partly consistent with those obtained by STRUCTURE and neighbour-joining analyses. However, their geographic distributions did not support the genetic grouping of the studied taxa and populations. The Mantel test showed a significant correlation between the phytochemical and genetic data (r = 0.421, p < 0.001). Genetic distance explained 17.8% of the phytochemical distance between populations. The current taxonomic position of several of the studied taxa is yet to be satisfactorily resolved, and further studies are needed. Such future research should include nuclear and plastid DNA sequences from a larger sample of populations and individuals.

We discuss the scope of accreditation presentation in certificates and annexes issued by NABs for calibration laboratories (accredited in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025 [1]) in accordance with ILAC P14:2020 [2], with specific requirements stated in clause 4.3 for expression of measurement uncertainty (expanded uncertainty) regarding the unit. Due to the close link between accreditation, metrology, and standardization, we consult BIPM documents [3] and discuss the practice in metrological institutes when it comes to expressions of expanded uncertainty in order to give another view and arguments on ILAC P14:2020 requirement for expanded uncertainty to be expressed only in terms of measurand's unit. We present our case for the quantity of temperature, in addition to some other physical quantities with similar cases as temperature.

We present different approach in teaching physics for high-school students for various branches of physics, such as thermodynamics, electromagnetism, etc. When we use term “different”, we want to offer complementary approach to the traditional one. This approach involves bringing everyday situations [1], such as drinking tea in a desert, making coffee, etc., to the physics classroom context without theoretical teaching with formulae, laws, and definitions in the beginning or opening of the class. The idea is to develop logical concepts to prepare students for theoretical teaching and introduce formulae to them in order to have a complete frame of specific physical phenomena. Some classes include practical demonstrations [2] where students immerse in discussion and spontaneously involve in growing logical concepts needed for better adoption of definitions, laws, and formulae [3].

Abstract Background: Low-grade chronic inflammation is an important feature of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Aim: To determine the values of C-reactive protein (CRP), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in patients with different stages of CKD and to examine how they change depending on the progression of renal damage. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive comparative study included 157 subjects at different stages of CKD which was assessed based on glomerular filtration rate (GFR) calculated according to the MDRD equation. CRP was analyzed by an immunoturbidimetric method. NLR and PLR were calculated by a mathematical calculation after a blood count was performed. Results: The present study showed an increase in serum creatinine, CRP, and NLR values with progression of renal failure. There was a statistically significant difference in the creatinine and CRP concentrations between groups with different stages of CKD (p <0.001 for all comparisons). A significant positive correlation was found between NLR and CRP, while negative, significant correlations were observed between NLR and eGFR as well as between PLR and eGFR. There was a slight increase in PLR value with the progression of renal impairment, but the correlation between PLR and CRP was not significant. Conclusion: These results suggest that NLR, together with CRP, may serve as an indicator of systemic low-grade inflammation progression in patients with CKD. Larger prospective studies are required to observe the possibility of using NLR as a surrogate marker for CRP in patients with CKD.