Background: Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) is one of the countries of Southeast Europe with the lack of data about chronic autoimmune thyroid diseases (CAITD) epidemiology. Objective: This research aimed to assess incidence of CAITD in the Tuzla Canton of B&H during a 6-year period (2015–2020). Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 82,000 hospital records of inpatients and outpatients with possible thyroid symptoms residing in Tuzla Canton of B&H (total of 445,028 inhabitants). The study included patients with laboratory and clinical proof of autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD). Incidence rates were calculated with age standardisation using European standard population. Trends in incidence were evaluated as moving three-year averages. Results: During the observed period, 1875 patients satisfied the diagnostic criteria for CAITD with male to female ratio of 1: 8.01. Median age of all cases was 46 years (interquartile range: 31 to 61) and women and men were on average the same age at the time of diagnosis. The overall standardized incidence was found to be 71.25 per 105 (%95 CI=63.36–79.15). The overall standardized incidence in men was 16.25 per 105 and 123.74 per 105 in women. In the end of the observed period, AITD prevalence was 427.52 per 105 (% 95 CI=408.17-446.87). Conclusion: There was a slight decline of incidence in our region during the observed period. This decrease might be the result of combination of various factors, mainly the Corona epidemics outbreak and emigration. On the basis of the lower incidence rate in the Tuzla Canton, one can assume that iodine prophylaxis carried out in order to eradicate goitre had satisfied expectations because there had not been any enormous increase in patients with AITD.

Abstract Interspecific hybridization in the Cyprinidae family has been recorded worldwide, with Abramis brama (bream) and Rutilus rutilus (roach) as one of the often-reported hybridizing pairs. The only account of such an event in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been in Modrac Reservoir. Using morphological and molecular markers, the presence of hybrids was surveyed, the hybridization direction was determined and the hybrid group structure in this ecosystem was evaluated. Our findings confirmed unhindered natural hybridization between roach and bream in Modrac Reservoir. Over 50% of the hybrid specimens were classified as F2 hybrids by the NewHybrids software, while the rest were categorized as pure parental form, making it the first such finding in Europe. The analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome b showed that 90% of hybrid individuals were of bream maternal origin. The hybrid group expressed higher mean values of observed heterozygosity and gene diversity than both parental species. Signs of introgressive hybridization between parental species were detected. The hybrid zone of Modrac Reservoir appears to follow the intermediate or “flat” hybrid model based on the balanced distribution of parental and hybrid genotypes. Further investigation is needed to elucidate the factors that enable the survival and mating success of post-F1 individuals.

Psoriasis is an autoimmune and inflammatory skin disease. Psoriatic patients express higher levels of plasma homocysteine (Hcy) concentration and pro-inflammatory mediators than healthy people; this is frequently associated with vitamin D deficiency. The aim of this clinical study was to investigate the effects of high doses of vitamin D supplementation on the parameters of Hcy metabolism and cytokines in sera of psoriatic patients. This prospective study was conducted on 40 psoriatic patients who had the vitamin D deficiency. All patients received vitamin D 5000 IU/day for three months. Clinical and biochemical measurements were taken at baseline and at follow up (3 months). The results showed that the severity of clinical features, measured by the psoriasis area severity index (PASI) score, were considerably improved in patients after vitamin D supplementation. After vitamin D supplementation, most of the patients (n = 25 or 62.5%) had mild clinical form (p < 0.001). After twelve weeks of intervention period, there were significant increases in vitamin D and B12 serum levels in comparison to the levels that had been measured at the beginning of the study (56.77 ± 14.66 nmol/L and 301.08 ± 95.02 pg/mL vs. 103.85 ± 32.20 nmol/L and 362.81 ± 118.56 pg/mL, respectively; p < 0.001). Moreover, serum levels of Hcy and folate were significantly lower at the end of the study in comparison with the initial levels (12.45 ± 1.92 µmol/L and 8.01 ± 3.88 mg/mL vs. 10.38 ± 1.66 µmol/L and 6.27 ± 2.60 mg/mL, respectively). High doses of vitamin D supplementation led to a significant decrease in pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-ɤ, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-17) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), whereas the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10, IL-5) was up-regulated. In conclusion, supplementation with high doses of vitamin D could be one of the possible preventive and therapeutic measures to reduce systemic inflammation in psoriatic patients.

Kampus Sveučilišta Jurja Dobrile u Puli karakteriziraju istaknute arhitektonske vrijednosti i vrijednosti otvorenog prostora. Otvoreni prostori čine više od 50% površine kampusa i uvelike određuju njegovu estetiku. Kartiranje dendroflore i kategorizacija zelenih površina kampusa provedeno je s ciljem pružanja temeljnih znanja za učinkovitije i isplativije upravljanje zelenim površinama kampusa. Poticanje zelenih otvorenih površina napravili su studenti Pejzažne arhitekture na Univerzitetu u Sarajevu – Šumarski fakultet tokom međunarodne studentske radionice CAMPULA u listopadu 2019. Studija je rezultirala jasnim informacijama o funkcionalnim svojstvima zelenih elemenata u Kampusu. Na području kampusa kartirana je ukupno 301 jedinka (203 zimzelena stabla, 80 listopadnih stabala, 9 zimzelenih grmova, 6 listopadnih grmova i 3 zimzelene palme) . Ukupno su kartirana 32 taksona (20 zimzelenih i 12 listopadnih). Poboljšano upravljanje zelenim otvorenim prostorom pulskog kampusa može rezultirati iznimno vrijednim ekološkim, društvenim i estetskim akademskim zelenim prostorom.

Many recent research has focused on graphic design and shape of the packaging, and their effects on the customer's decision-making process as two separate categories. Since the shape of the packaging along with the graphic design plays an important role in the visual appearance of the packaging and attracts the customer's attention, the main objective of this research was to find out which packaging shapes and graphic elements customers find most attractive, as well as to understand the general opinion of customers about the influence of packaging aesthetics on their decision-making process when purchasing a product. Methodology of this research was conducted in two stages, from which the first one included creating three different graphic design solutions combined with three shape categories, and three variations of added value, for the same food packaging. The second part of the research covered an online questionnaire, in which a group of 50 people participated. This questionnaire focused on three variables: graphic design of the packaging, packaging shape and it’s added value. These variables were evaluated using the Likert scale. Through the questionnaire, participants were asked to answer general questions about the impact of the packaging visual appearance and added value, on their decision-making process when buying a product, as well as to choose the most appealing packaging between the given options. The research results showed that customers preferred non-standard packaging shapes and simple graphic design, as well as packaging with added value. The results of this research prove that the aesthetics of packaging has an impact on the customer's perception of a product, which means that packaging plays an important role in product marketing.

Abstract – Traffic safety should always be prioritized in all traffic systems. As the railway is a high-level complex technical and technological system, many factors affect its safety. Two factors that are the subject of research in this paper are train stopping distance and overlap. Keywords – Railway Traffic Safety, Train Stopping Distance, Overlap.

The efficient development and utilisation of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) for applications in enhanced biosensing relies on the use of magnetisation dynamics, which are primarily governed by the time-dependent motion of the magnetisation due to externally applied magnetic fields. An accurate description of the physics involved is complex and not yet fully understood, especially in the frequency range where Néel and Brownian relaxation processes compete. However, even though it is well known that non-zero, non-static local fields significantly influence these magnetisation dynamics, the modelling of magnetic dynamics for MNPs often uses zero-field dynamics or a static Langevin approach. In this paper, we developed an approximation to model and evaluate its performance for MNPs exposed to a magnetic field with varying amplitude and frequency. This model was initially developed to predict superparamagnetic nanoparticle behaviour in differential magnetometry applications but it can also be applied to similar techniques such as magnetic particle imaging and frequency mixing. Our model was based upon the Fokker–Planck equations for the two relaxation mechanisms. The equations were solved through numerical approximation and they were then combined, while taking into account the particle size distribution and the respective anisotropy distribution. Our model was evaluated for Synomag®-D70, Synomag®-D50 and SHP-15, which resulted in an overall good agreement between measurement and simulation.