Background and Objectives: Although vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency is prevalent in children with allergic diseases, recommendations for supplementation dosing regimens are imprecise and variable in the literature, because clinical trials aiming to determine optimal doses were scarce in the past. This study aimed to investigate supplementation of vitamin D3 that may achieve therapeutically effective but not toxic serum levels in a subpopulation of children with allergic diseases and concomitant hypovitaminosis D. Materials and Methods: The retrospective, observational study with a cross-sectional design included 94 children suffering from allergic diseases and having vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency who were prescribed high-dose vitamin D3 supplementation by a pediatrician for at least 6 weeks and not more than 9 weeks. Serum levels of the major metabolite of vitamin D (25-(OH)D) were determined in all children twice: before and two weeks after the end of vitamin D3 supplementation. Results: An increase in serum level of the 25-(OH)D after supplementation was significant. However, if the subjects had higher serum levels of the 25-(OH)D before the supplementation, and if the supplementation lasted 8 instead of 6 weeks, the absolute increase in serum level of the 25-(OH)D was lower. Patients taking corticosteroids as inhalation or intranasally had a more intense effect of vitamin D3 supplementation, i.e., the absolute increase in levels of 25-(OH)D was higher than in patients not using such medication. Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in children with allergic diseases can be treated with maximal recommended doses of vitamin D3 for a short period of time, especially if they were prescribed with inhalation or intranasal corticosteroids.

Scholastic factors (academic achievement) are hypothesized to be important determinants of health-related behaviors in adolescents, but there is a lack of knowledge on their influence on physical activity levels (PAL), especially considering the COVID-19 pandemic and the imposed lockdown. This study aimed to investigate the associations between scholastic factors and PAL before and during the pandemic lockdown. The participants were adolescents form Bosnia and Herzegovina (n = 525, 46% females), who were observed prospectively at the baseline (before the pandemic lockdown) and during the lockdown in 2020 (follow-up). The scholastic factors (grade point average, behavioral grade, school absences, unexcused absences) were evidenced at the baseline (predictors). The outcome (PAL) was evaluated using the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents at the baseline and the follow-up. Gender, age, parental/familial conflict, and sport participation were observed as confounders. No significant influence of the predictors on PAL were evidenced at the baseline or at the follow-up. The scholastic variables were significantly associated with the changes of PAL which occurred due to pandemic lockdown, with a lower risk for negative changes in PAL among adolescents who were better in school (OR = 0.56, 95%CI: 0.34–0.81, and OR = 0.66, 95%CI: 0.34–0.97, for the grade point average and behavioral grade, respectively). Students who do well in school are probably more aware of the health benefits of proper PAL, and therefore are devoted to the maintenance of their PAL even during the home-confinement of lockdown. Public health authorities should focus more on helping adolescents to understand the importance and benefits of proper PAL throughout the school system.

Poultry meat production is one of the most dynamic sectors in agriculture, recording the quickest growth in the food industry, while egg production has shown strong growth in the last twenty years. Combined with meat production, it is achieving the highest growth when it comes to meeting protein needs for the global population. In economic terms, coccidiosis is one of the most significant poultry diseases. Effective application of coccidiostats in poultry feed has been playing a key role in development of commercial poultry production for more than 50 years. The aim of this research was to estimate occurrence and residue concentrations of coccidiostats in table eggs, poultry liver and meat, available on the market in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). Residues of lasalocid were found in table eggs, while residues of nicarbazin, maduramicin and diclazuril were detected in broiler meat and liver.

This research aimed to study the influence of differences in the composition and storage length of mechanically deboned poultry meat (MDPM) on the sensory properties of frankfurters. Three variants of frankfurters were produced from three respective alternatives of MDPM that differed solely in proportions of meat from broiler backs and necks. Similarly, a commercially available and freshly produced MDPM of unknown composition was used as the control. All the four variants of MDPM were stored at -18 °C for 1, 45 and 90 days. Sensory profiling of the frankfurters was performed by 8 panellists using a quantitative-descriptive analysis (QDA). Two-factorial ANOVA and principal component analysis (PCA) of the sensory evaluation results revealed significant (p < 0.05) effects of the storage time of the MDPM variants on sensory characteristics of the frankfurters, regardless of their composition.

The rise of nationalism that deepens hatred of the ‘other’, long-standing divisions and legacies of oppression threaten democracy around the globe. Despite the urgency of advancing transformative democratic education in the face of these daunting challenges, in real classrooms, most teachers do not take up this endeavour. Teacher education has a vital role to play in preparing teachers to educate democratic civic agents in contentious political contexts. This article presents teaching practices from two teacher educators from very different locations, Sarajevo and San Francisco, who equip pre-service teachers with pedagogical experiences and curricular tools that prepare them for five distinctive roles. These roles empower novices to bring transformative democratic education into their future classrooms.

Gold nanorods have been implicated in several biomedical applications. Herein, the effect of two surface-modified gold nanorods on the early stages of embryogenesis and angiogenesis was investigated using avian embryos at three days and their chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) at five days of incubation. We found that gold nanorods (GNR) modified with PEGylated phospholipid moiety show a high mortality rate in embryos after four days of exposure compared to GNR modified with PEGylated cholesterol moiety. Meanwhile, our data revealed that surface modified-GNR significantly inhibit the formation of new blood vessels in the treated CAM model after 48 h of exposure. Moreover, we report that surface-modified GNR significantly deregulate the expression of several genes implicated in cell proliferation, invasion, apoptosis, cellular energy metabolism, and angiogenesis. On the other hand, our data point out that GNR treatments can modulate the expression patterns of JNK1/2/3, NF-KB/p38, and MAPK, which could be the main molecular pathways of the nanorods in our experimental models.