Leafy kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala L.) is one of the most important Brassicaceae species with health-promoting properties and great diversity. To investigate variability within and among accessions, 12 accessions (each accession comprised four individuals/genotypes) from the Balkan region were genotyped at 12 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) loci. The selected SSR markers originated from the genomes of B. oleracea (eight), B. rapa (two) and B. napus (two). DNA was extracted from seeds, cotyledons, shoots, and young leaves, depending on the germination energy of each seed, using magnetic extraction method. Genetic analysis included eight accessions from Serbia (24 genotypes), two accessions from Montenegro (eight genotypes), and one accession from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia (with four genotypes each). Accession-specific polymorphism was found at the Ol12-FO2 and Ol10-F11a loci, where genotypes were qualitatively distinguished by horizontal agarose gel electrophoresis (binary detection). Among 12 loci, the average polymorphic information content (PIC) was 0.71, with the marker Ol13-C12 proving to be the most informative (PIC = 0.89). However, the analysis of molecular variability (AMOVA) showed 11% diversity between accessions, 19% diversity between genotypes, and 70% diversity within genotypes, explaining the molecular diversity of native Balkan leafy kale germplasm. According to the genetic structure, four genetic groups were formed with an average expected heterozygosity of 0.70 between clusters. In order to exploit the genetic diversity, it would be advisable to evaluate these accessions at phenotypic level and use their potential in breeding programmes.

Background Biobanking biospecimens and consent are common practice in paediatric research. We need to explore children and young people’s (CYP) knowledge and perspectives around the use of and consent to biobanking. This will ensure meaningful informed consent can be obtained and improve current consent procedures. Methods We designed a survey, in co-production with CYP, collecting demographic data, views on biobanking, and consent using three scenarios: 1) prospective consent, 2) deferred consent, and 3) reconsent and assent at age of capacity. The survey was disseminated via the Young Person’s Advisory Group North England (YPAGne) and participating CYP’s secondary schools. Data were analysed using a qualitative thematic approach by three independent reviewers (including CYP) to identify common themes. Data triangulation occurred independently by a fourth reviewer. Results One hundred two CYP completed the survey. Most were between 16–18 years (63.7%, N  = 65) and female (66.7%, N  = 68). 72.3% had no prior knowledge of biobanking ( N  = 73). Acceptability of prospective consent for biobanking was high (91.2%, N  = 93) with common themes: ‘altruism’, ‘potential benefits outweigh individual risk’, 'frugality', and ‘(in)convenience’. Deferred consent was also deemed acceptable in the large majority (84.3%, N  = 86), with common themes: ‘altruism’, ‘body integrity’ and ‘sample frugality’. 76.5% preferred to reconsent when cognitively mature enough to give assent ( N  = 78), even if parental consent was previously in place. 79.2% wanted to be informed if their biobanked biospecimen is reused ( N  = 80). Conclusion Prospective and deferred consent acceptability for biobanking is high among CYP in the UK. Altruism, frugality, body integrity, and privacy are the most important themes. Clear communication and justification are paramount to obtain consent. Any CYP with capacity should be part of the consenting procedure, if possible.

Entrepreneurship has been long recognized as an essential driver of economic growth. It is widely accepted that entrepreneurship increases innovation, firm formation, employment, and overall GDP. Despite the increasing research on both public entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship in healthcare, these different research areas have not been combined that much. To fill this research gap, this paper analyses whether public healthcare entrepreneurship influences economic growth. This study exploits the WHO Global Health Observatory database approximating various dimensions of entrepreneurship by specific aspects of compliance with international healthcare regulation. The study uses data for 170 countries from 2010 to 2019. Using the fixed effect panel setting, it tests whether improvements in public healthcare entrepreneurship (PHE) affect a country's economic growth. The results suggest that higher entrepreneurial orientation in public healthcare is associated with larger effects on output per capita, which is channelled through productivity. However, after reaching certain level of PHE development, the contributions to growth start diminishing. The findings from this paper produce several implications. First, by exploring the nexus between public entrepreneurship and healthcare entrepreneurship it introduces the concept of public healthcare entrepreneurship explaining its theoretical and empirical importance. It further provides empirical and quantitative support to the view that developing public healthcare entrepreneurship plays a role in achieving a higher output per effective worker. Thereby, this study provides evidence of a non-linear relationship between public healthcare entrepreneurship and growth. Finally, given the statistical and economic significance of the results, these findings motivate policymakers to consider developing policies that guide developing entrepreneurial orientation within public healthcare. We believe this is possibly the first study that considers entrepreneurial orientation withing a public sector into the economic growth discussion.

Allelopathy is a unique phenomenon in nature that refers to direct or indirect, positive or negative, impact of one plant (including microorganisms, insects, and herbivores) on another plant through chemical secretions (allelochemicals). Ambrosia artemisiifolia (ragweed) is a well-known invasive plant possessing allelochemicals that have been found to inhibit the growth and development of plants in their immediate environment. This study aimed to determine the allelopathic impact of the aqueous leaf extract isolated from ragweed leaves (concentrated extract, 1:2, 1:4, and 1:8) on seed germination and early seedling growth of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.). The examined aqueous extract of ragweed had a higher inhibitory effect on the germination of white clover seeds compared to barley. The germination of barley seeds was the lowest at the concentrated leaf extract (up to 70%), while the same process in barley seeds was not determined at this concentration. In the other treatments, germination was significantly lower in both examined species compared to the control. Shoot and root growth of both researched species was inhibited in all treatments compared to the control. The obtained results indicate that the aqueous ragweed extract significantly inhibits the growth of roots and shoots of both tested species, which increases the need for more intensive research on this topic.

The article analyzes the role of higher education institutions in developing and improving sustainable competencies, particularly emphasizing the presence of sustainable development goals in the bachelor programs of the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Sarajevo. The authors have analyzed the compatibility of learning outcomes of bachelor programs with sustainable competencies. This analysis showed that the learning outcomes of the six programs were partially aligned with sustainable competencies. In addition to the analysis of learning outcomes, authors have analyzed the presence of the sustainable development goals in thematic units, and they have found that out of 143 courses, 74 courses contain thematic units related to sustainable development goals. Based on this analysis, it was determined that all sustainable development goals were covered within 74 courses. The research results were used to prepare recommendations for improving bachelor programs.

According to the WHO data from May 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a global health crisis with more than 515 million infected and over 6 million deaths as a result of COVID-19. Just over 11.5 billion vaccines have been administered to prevent severe disease and mortality from SARS-CoV-2 infection. In addition to that, COVID-19 had dramatic effects on all aspects of the society, including the fundamental factors of its functionality - education and health, preventing the continuity of its "normal" functioning. Crisis management measures have had more or less successful results in different countries, but no health system has been able to fully address the effects of the pandemic on the health of the population. The course of the epidemiological crisis and the success of the implementation of global vaccination measures are directly related to the adaptability of individual societies / its capacity to change and adapt. in analyzing the situation and predicting the course of the pandemic. Analytical ability, reliability of prediction, but also flexibility of legislative and executive power, are the most prominent parameters of a society that is ready for the unpredictability of the course and outcome of the global social crisis caused by the pandemic. In the local concept of the development of higher education until 2030, it is necessary to include the mentioned, global principles of adaptability to crises in all spheres of social activity. One of the most powerful instruments of social understanding is education, and here lies the potential of society to adapt and change in order to adapt to the challenges of the modern world through the acceptance of values and norms based on knowledge.

In order to raise and harmonize the quality standards of pharmaceutical studies at the national level of Bosnia and Herzegovina and thus get closer to the implementation and quality assurance of study programs of EU countries, a team of professors from the University of Sarajevo-Faculty of Pharmacy prepared and was awarded the Erasmus+ project IQPharm. IQPharm (Innovating quality assessment tools for pharmacy studies in Bosnia and Herzegovina) aims at capacity building of quality management, and aims to introduce new tools for quality improvement, digitization and modernization of pharmacy studies at public universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including strengthening semi-structured experiential education in line with EU standards and higher education regulations for regulated professions. The introduction of new tools for the assessment of the quality of study programs (KREF) enables the development of evidence-based recommendations for change, modification and innovation of existing methods of knowledge transfer, didactic approaches and curricula. The introduction of a new system of proficiency testing through experiential education (OSCE) sets equal standards at the national level for the learning outcomes of graduate pharmacists. The development of E-platform ensures the digitization and modernization of experiential education management. Experiential education at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be significantly improved through the introduction of the E-platform, by raising the standards of the practice itself and facilitating its implementation by student services, students and their mentors. A special part of this project is the development of free modules, which are extracurricular subjects intended to enrich the knowledge of students and graduates of pharmacy, They should track the labor market trends, and thus make higher education more agile and attractive.

The quality management system at the University of Sarajevo is guided by the following principles: promotion of constant improvement of the quality of the study programmes and the application of the best educational approaches and practices. The Bologna process gives special importance to outcome based education (OBE), so learning outcomes are established as a new measure of institutional excellence, shifting a change in focus from "What should student do to successfully complete her/his studies?" to "What competences student acquired during her/his studies?" or more precisely "What can student do after finishing her/his studies?". In this paper, after basic information about outcome based education and the importance of this approach with the implementation of the Bologna process in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), an overview of the approach to quality assurance and to study programmes improvements based on learning outcomes is given. Focus on learning outcomes enables the fundamental change of the focus from the teacher to the student, which is one of the foundations of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the EHEA (ESG).

Awareness about the importance of marketing of higher education institutions has been steadily growing amongst decision makers on international level. That trend is particularly noticeable in case of adult education programs, which need continual promotion since it is a type of non-formal education. In Bosnia and Herzegovina private universities and private providers of non-formal education programs have been promoting adult education for some time now. At the same time public universities, mainly influenced by the marketing myopia phenomenon, use promotional activities only sporadically. Therefore, for the purpose of improving promotion of adult education programs in public universities, a qualitative exploratory study has been conducted. The aim was to investigate attitudes and opinions of adults about promotion activities for adult education programs. Data was collected through focus groups from representatives of four generations: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Y and Z. Research results show that different generations have different needs and expectations when it comes to adult education programs. A generally positive attitude towards adult education programs has emerged. Values have been identified which could be communicated through promotion activities. Based on research results several recommendations are given for improvement of adult education promotion. Research results presented in this article directly contribute to achieving UNESCO's Education for Sustainable Development 2030 agenda (priorities 1, 2, 3 and 5), contributing further indirectly to achieving Sustainable Development Goals 4, 8 and 10.

Academic mobility is a valuable and indispensable mechanism in each country's higher education quality assurance system. It also contributes to building and improving the capacities of individual universities because it enables the introduction of positive and proven teaching practices, modern teaching and research methods, and operational and administrative processes. The added value of mobility is the establishment of personal contacts and professional networking of teaching, scientific, artistic and non-teaching staff of the University of Sarajevo (from now on: "UNSA"), which has a long-term effect on the development of teaching, scientific and technological capacity. Studying through mobility gets an international note - students understand their work in a global context, their CV is enriched with new experiences, their knowledge of a foreign language (s) is improved, and after graduation, they become a competitive workforce. Teaching / scientific, artistic and non-teaching staff gain international experience through mobility, improve themselves, participate in active professional development, and increase the quality of the working environment. In the last 15 years, the University of Sarajevo has had over 2,500 outgoing mobility while hosting more than 1,500 international students, teaching / scientific, artistic and non-teaching staff. The mobility of students and staff significantly improves both the quality and the professional standard of UNSA activities. It indirectly contributes to the development and transformation of society as a whole. Through the integration of UNSA, many processes are uniform and simplified, but still, the heterogeneity and specificity of each organizational unit are present. In addition to all the benefits of student mobility, the most significant administrative challenge is the equivalence and recognition of ECTS credits earned at foreign institutions upon return to home institutions. Student services are faced with many formalities around keeping registers and other administrative forms that need to be tailored to exchange students. The current legal regulations in higher education do not value participation in mobility programs, which is undoubtedly not motivating for students and staff to get involved in them. On the contrary, the current vague legal framework and administrative barriers are significantly demotivating for students as they lose a semester or school year due to participation in mobility programs. It is necessary to develop more adequate regulations that will encourage more frequent, productive, more straightforward and better implementation of academic mobility for students. This could be achieved through participation in programs intended for international students (one-year specialist study, master's degree, dual education, summer schools, etc.). It is necessary to develop mechanisms for adequate evaluation of mobility for teaching, artistic and scientific staff of UNSA, which is particularly important for advancement to higher academic titles. It is also crucial to promote the exchange of administrative staff, which is often unjustifiably neglected, to improve the administrative processes at UNSA and its (sub) organizational units. To achieve this, we should be focused on developing cooperation with potential partners interested in administrative / non-teaching staff mobility.

The aim of this paper is to present the Information System on Research Activity in Bosnia and Herzegovina - E-CRIS.BH, and the total number of registered researchers, research organizations, departments and projects, but also the number of bibliographic records to which the typology of documents/works has been assigned within the mutual COBISS.BH database. E-CRIS.BH is an information system that represents an electronic database of researchers, research organizations, research departments and research projects. It is an information system on research activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which originated from the Register of Scientific Institutions, Scientific Staff, Scientific and Research Projects and Infrastructure Investments in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Register of Scientific Institutions, Scientific Staff, Scientific and Research Projects and Infrastructure Investments in Canton of Sarajevo. The Register of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is conceived as an umbrella system and the registers of the canton as its subsystems. The project was implemented by the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The connection of E-CRIS.BH with the bibliographic database of COBISS.BH provides insight into the bibliographies of researchers, which are an integral part of every scientific work, a condition for synthesizing knowledge and data that lead to the required scientific results. The COBISS users have the opportunity to record researchers, research organizations, departments and projects necessary for the creation of a bibliography of researchers and organizations within their national library information systems in the COBISS.Net network (regional network). The results show that 2.230 researchers and 86 organizations have been registered so far in E-CRIS.BH. A total of 73.657 bibliographic records have been created so far within the COBISS.BH common database, which a typology of documents/works has been assigned to. In the first group – articles and other components – a typology was determined for 21.122 bibliographic records. In the second group – monographs and other completed works - a typology was determined for 52.372 bibliographic records. In the third group – performed works - (events) – a typology was determined for 163 bibliographic records.

The subject of the analysis are the practices and effects of changed direct, interpersonal communication on teachers – students reality in the form of online consultations, in new communication technologies mediated by patterns. The text analyzes the transformation of traditional, academic communication practices in teaching processes conditioned not primarily by technological but existential reasons, starting from the hypothesis that the effectiveness of consultative, communication forms cannot be achieved exclusively through mediated forms, the absence of interpersonal, social interaction. The purpose of the analysis was related both to recording the real effects of mediated communication patterns of online consultations and to analyzing indicators of improvement and development forms of online teaching. On the selected sample of students and teachers of the Department of Communication and Journalism Studies, Faculty of Political Science, University of Sarajevo, primarily, study-oriented and interested in the field of studying and researching communication processes, the surveys aims to analyze conditionally mediated communication from the aspect of communicators, participants in the communication as well as from the aspect of the content and mediator of the communication process and its effects in comparison with established, traditional academic practices. The results of the examination of attitudes indicate that the mediated patterns of consultative forms optimized the material, technical dimension of transmission and reception, but reduced the qualitative, content aspect of the message in terms of its understanding and the inclusion of sensory inputs in the communication process. Untimeliness in responding to inquiries, different denotative and connotative forms of understanding the message, and the absence of metacommunication are just some of the recorded indicators of the absence of basic conditions for effective communication in forms of mediated consultation.

This paper presents the electronic publishing development at the University of Sarajevo through two projects, the development of the publishing portal of the Faculty of Philosophy and the implementation of the Open Journal System for the Social Issues Journal Pregled, published by the University of Sarajevo. As a technical solution, the electronic publishing portal of the Faculty of Philosophy combines Open Monograph Press and Open Journal System. Till now, three journals and more than sixty books published by the Faculty are available through this portal. In the previous period we completed the first phase of archiving the magazine Pregled with 1000 articles, accompanied by relevant metadata. This paper aims to present how librarians can contribute to the development of electronic publishing and open access. In the paper, we will also present plans for the next period that includes the creation of the Scientific Serial Publications Register of the University of Sarajevo.

Open science includes open access to publications, research data and open educational content, open science redefines the whole process of scientific communication by encouraging dialogue, open review, open sources and tools. Demanding processes of digital transformation of scientific communication require significant support of academic libraries in the processes of advocacy and implementation of open science. Academic libraries in this context, and among other things, need to be recognized as indispensable partners in various open access initiatives at higher education institutions. In this regard, the aim of this research is to establish the specifics and current trends of e-publishing at the University of Sarajevo (UNSA), collect data on active open access journals published by UNSA organizational units, by website content analysis method, and in conclusion to address the benefits of cooperation with libraries of scientific institutions in planning the publishing of scientific journals in open access, as a segment of open science.

The development of the teaching profession is considered a key prerequisite and the most important link in the process of improving and raising the quality of the educational system in BiH. The reform of education through various phases has lasted for almost two decades, it has set a number of challenges and expectations for teachers, who bear the greatest burden in the implementation of reform processes. Only quality teachers can educate holistically oriented students willing to live and nurture values, possess 21st century skills and be able to bring about change that will be geared towards development and progress. Occupational standards represent a harmonized minimum of best practice in accordance with needs occupations within the defined legal framework. Accordingly, the Occupational Standard for Teachers is a list of key tasks that teachers perform within their profession, and the competencies needed to perform them effectively. The Occupational standard represents the link between initial teacher education and the labor market, offering a clear framework for the organization and development of the teaching profession. The aim of the paper is to present the concept and methodology of developing the Teacher Occupation Standards and Teacher Qualification Standards, created in the TABLA project, to explain the role and function of occupational / qualification standards that define teacher work through prominent elements of high quality and efficient teaching in the 21st century. students at teacher training colleges. In addition to the above, the paper will explain the relationship between the Occupational / Qualification Standards and the continuum of competencies on the example of the Teacher Module - Common Core Curriculum (CPL) based on learning outcomes, which as such should be implemented in all teacher education programs. The conclusion of the paper indicates the contribution of the Teacher Occupation Standard and the Qualification Standard teachers, created in the TABLA project, in defining a clear and uniform training of teachers during initial education, and establishing a transparent and objective system for monitoring, self-assessment, teacher evaluation and their advancement in the profession.