Metabolizam visokomliječnih krava, obzirom na njihovu genetsku predispoziciju za visoku proizvodnju mlijeka s jedne i reproduktivnih zahtjeva s druge strane, često je opterećen te izložen promjenama koje za posljedicu mogu imati poremećaj funkcionalnog stanja pojedinih organa, a najčešće jetre i genitalnih organa. Fiziološke vrijednosti biokemijskih parametara krvi krava, koje nude različiti izvori, često znaju znatno varirati. U tom smislu, osobito su interesantni parametri metaboličkog profila u muznih krava, koji imaju višestruko značenje: od pokazatelja hranidbenog statusa i uvjeta držanja životinja do pokazatelja kliničkih bolesti. Cilj je ovog rada bio ustvrditi koncentraciju nekih biokemijskih parametara u krvnoj plazmi krava holštajn-frizijske pasmine tijekom perioda zasušenja. Ispitivanja koncentracije pojedinih sastojaka u krvnoj plazmi radi određivanja metaboličkog profila krava važna su, ne samo za postavljanje objektivne dijagnoze i određivanje težine poremećaja u životinja s izraženim simptomima, već i u prevenciji i rasvjetljavanju mehanizama nastanka novih, metaboličkih i drugih bolesti. Istraživanjem je obuhvaćeno ukupno 46 krava u zasušenju holštajn-frizijske pasmine iz dva farmska uzgoja. Istraženo je 20 krava s farme „A“ i 26 krava s farme „B“. U krvnoj plazmi su spektrofotometrijski određivane vrijednosti parametara koncentracija: glukoze, ukupnih proteina, albumina, kolesterola, triglicerida, bilirubina i ureje. Na temelju rezultata našeg istraživanja, zaključili smo da su krvni parametri koje smo pratili adekvatni za praćenje funkcionalnog stanja jetre i metabolizma u krava, a koji mogu biti od koristi i u procjeni očekivane dužine servis perioda.

Despite its tremendous potential, it is still unclear how quantum computing will scale to satisfy the requirements of its most powerful applications. Among other issues, there are hard limits to the number of qubits that can be integrated into a single chip. Multicore architectures are a firm candidate for unlocking the scalability of quantum processors. Nonetheless, the vulnerability and complexity of quantum communications make this a challenging approach. A comprehensive design should imply consolidating the communications stack in the quantum computer architecture. In this article, we explain how this vision, by entangling communications and computation in the core of the design, may help to solve the open challenges. We also summarize the first results of our application of structured design methodologies backing this vision. With our work, we hope to contribute with design guidelines that may help unleash the potential of quantum computing.

Abstract Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are formed from anthropogenic activities, i.e. industrial emissions, incomplete combustion of petroleum, coal and other fossil fuels and other industrial and domestic activities. Research areas of this study are four representative locations in the industrial complex, in the city of Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main objective of the paper is to determine the ecological risk and to assess probable sources of PAHs contamination in soil and groundwater. The results of this study reflect the effects of coal combustion (pyrogenic origin), petrogenic and biomass origin and may provide basic data for the remediation of PAHs in the location. The ecological risk in soil (at depths of 30, 100, 200, 300 and 400 cm) and groundwater is determined. The mean values of ecological risk in soil and groundwater decreased with soil depth. Values of RQ(NCs) for groundwater were found at high ecological risk, for Ant, Chr, DahA, Acy, Pyr, BaA, Phe, Flo, Nap, Ace and Fluo, with values 28.57, 20.59, 300.00, 242.86, 185.71, 1700.0, 76.67, 53.33, 15.83, 100.00 and 57.14, respectively. ∑16PAH indicated high ecological risk for most PAHs, which decreased with soil depth. The value of RQ(NCs) for ΣPAHs in groundwater indicates high ecological risk (ΣPAHs ≥ 800 and RQ(MPCs) ≥ 1). This is the first study on the ecological risk of PAHs in soil and groundwater in industrial soils in Banja Luka and provides baseline information for further studies and additional investigations of this industrial complex.

There is not a single country in the world that is so rich that it can remove all level crossings or provide their denivelation in order to absolutely avoid the possibility of accidents at the intersections of railways and road traffic. In the Republic of Serbia alone, the largest number of accidents occur at passive crossings, which make up three-quarters of the total number of crossings. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly find solutions to the problem of priorities when choosing level crossings where it is necessary to raise the level of security, primarily by analyzing the risk and reliability at all level crossings. This paper presents a model that enables this. The calculation of the maximal risk of a level crossing is achieved under the conditions of generating the maximum entropy in the virtual operating mode. The basis of the model is a heterogeneous queuing system. Maximum entropy is based on the mandatory application of an exponential distribution. The system is Markovian and is solved by a standard analytical concept. The basic input parameters for the calculation of the maximal risk are the geometric characteristics of the level crossing and the intensities and structure of the flows of road and railway vehicles. The real risk is based on statistical records of accidents and flow intensities. The exact reliability of the level crossing is calculated from the ratio of real and maximal risk, which enables their further comparison in order to raise the level of safety, and that is the basic idea of this paper.

Introduction: Vaccine inequality inflames the COVID-19 pandemic. Ensuring equitable immunization, vaccine empathy is needed to boost vaccine donations among capable countries. However, damaging narratives built around vaccine donations such as “vaccine diplomacy” could undermine nations’ willingness to donate their vaccines, which, in turn, further exacerbate global vaccine inequality. However, while discussions on vaccine diplomacy are on the rise, there is limited research related to vaccine diplomacy, especially in terms of its characteristics and effects on vaccine distribution vis-à-vis vaccine empathy. Thus, to bridge the research gap, this study aims to examine the defining attributes of vaccine diplomacy and its potential effects on COVID-19 immunization, particularly in light of vaccine empathy. Methods: A narrative review was conducted to shed light on vaccine diplomacy’s defining attributes and effects in the context of COVID-19 vaccine distribution and dissemination. Databases such as PubMed and Medline were utilized for literature search. Additionally, to ensure up-to-date insights are included in the review, validated reports and reverse tracing of eligible articles’ reference lists in Google Scholar have also been conducted to locate relevant records. Results: Vaccine empathy is an individual or a nation’s capability to sympathize with other individuals or nations’ vaccine wants and needs, whereas vaccine diplomacy is a nation’s vaccine efforts that aim to build mutually beneficial relationships with other nations ultimately. Our findings show that while both vaccine empathy and vaccine diplomacy have their strengths and weaknesses, they all have great potential to improve vaccine equality, particularly amid fast-developing and ever-evolving global health crises such as COVID-19. Furthermore, analyses show that, compared to vaccine empathy, vaccine diplomacy might be a more sustainable solution to improve vaccine donations mainly because of its deeper and stronger roots in multilateral collaboration and cooperation. Conclusion: Similar to penicillin, automated external defibrillators, or safety belts amid a roaring global health disaster, COVID-19 vaccines are, essentially, life-saving consumer health products that should be available to those who need them. Though man-made and complicated, vaccine inequality is nonetheless a solvable issue—gaps in vaccine distribution and dissemination can be effectively addressed by timely vaccine donations. Overall, our study underscores the instrumental and indispensable role of vaccine diplomacy in addressing the vaccine inequality issue amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its potentials for making even greater contributions in forging global solidarity amid international health emergencies. Future research could investigate approaches that could further inspire and improve vaccine donations among capable nations at a global scale to advance vaccine equity further.

The inception of artificial intelligence (AI) dates back to the 1950s, with the latest wave of AI featuring unprecedented “machine learning” capabilities, including “deep learning.” With these increased capacities, AI is disrupting society in both beneficial and disempowering ways, exemplified in medical and scientific advances and enabling oppressive surveillance [1]. The rate of adoption and potential of this wave of AI are novel, as are the socio-technical problems developing with emerging technologies powered by AI.