Abstract Aims Women’s participation is steadily growing in medical schools, but they are still not sufficiently represented in cardiology, particularly in cardiology leadership positions. We present the contemporary distribution of women leaders in cardiology departments in the World Health Organization European region. Methods and results Between August and December 2020, we applied purposive sampling to collect data and analyse gender distribution of heads of cardiology department in university/third level hospitals in 23 countries: Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the UK. Age, cardiology subspecialty, and number of scientific publications were recorded for a subgroup of cardiology leaders for whom data were available. A total of 849 cardiology departments were analysed. Women leaders were only 30% (254/849) and were younger than their men counterpart (♀ 52.2 ± 7.7 years old vs. ♂ 58.1 ± 7.6 years old, P = 0.00001). Most women leaders were non-interventional experts (♀ 82% vs. ♂ 46%, P < 0.00001) and had significantly fewer scientific publications than men {♀ 16 [interquartile range (IQR) 2–41] publications vs. ♂ 44 (IQR 9–175) publications, P < 0.00001}. Conclusion Across the World Health Organization European region, there is a significant gender disparity in cardiology leadership positions. Fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace is a priority to achieve the full potential and leverage the full talents of both women and men.

Milton Friedman’s traditional claim is that flexible exchange rates facilitate external adjustment by means of their cor- rective movements before the balance of payments crisis occurs. In order to test this hypothesis, we employ the first order autoregression based on the panel data on exchange rate regime and external balance expressed as the share of balance of goods and services in GDP. The sample covers 16 Central and Eastern European (CEE) and 12 Common- wealth of Independent States (CIS) transition countries over the period 2000-2019. The results, which are based on the sample of all transition countries, failed to prove that more flexible exchange rate regimes facilitate external adjust- ment. When the analysis was performed on two groups of countries separately, the results showed that the deficit of balance of goods and services in CIS countries has a higher persistence compared to CEE countries. However, a more flexible exchange rate regime does not facilitate external ad- justment. On the other hand, in CEE countries, the relation- ship between exchange rate regime flexibility and the rate of balance of goods and services reversion exists, proving that Friedman’s hypothesis does hold.

An Retraction to this paper has been published: 10.1007/s00198-021-06031-0

Dear Editor, A 62-year-old female with metastatic melanoma presented with shortness of breath four days after her fourth cycle of combination checkpoint inhibitor therapy (CPI) (nivolumab and ipilimumab) having previously received 12 months of adjuvant nivolumab 14 months earlier. Subsequent investigations confirmed CPI related myocarditis. She also described new onset of symptoms consistent with Raynaud's. Her past medical history included recurrent migraines for which she took propranolol. She was admitted to hospital, and received two 500mg doses of intravenous methylprednisolone, and commenced on a reducing course or oral prednisolone (1mg/kg), lansoprazole and co-trimoxazole prophylaxis. Blood tests initially revealed a negative anti-nuclear antibody, lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies with normal complement levels and rheumatoid factor. However repeat bloods six weeks later revealed a positive ANA and a very mildly positive extractable nuclear antigen (anti-SSA52/Ro autoantibody) by rheumatology did not identify any underlying connective tissue disease and concluded that the Raynaud's was likely to be secondary to the CPI.

Introduction: C-reactive Protein (CRP) as an inflammatory biomarker can be easily determined in saliva, but the values of salivary CRP in periodontitis are not well-studied. The aim of this study was to analyze and determine the values of salivary CRP in non-smokers with periodontitis stage 3 or 4 before and after supragingival and subgingival full-mouth periodontal therapy.Methods: Standard periodontal parameters and saliva samples were collected in 12 non-smoking patients. Patients in the test group (n = 6) underwent supragingival and subgingival full-mouth periodontal therapy, and the control group (n = 6) received only supragingival full-mouth therapy. Both groups received the same oral hygiene instructions in addition to therapy. After 3 months, re-registration of periodontal parameters and re-sampling of saliva for analysis of salivary CRP were done for both groups.Results: Statistical analysis revealed large differences in the values of clinical periodontal parameters and CRP levels in the test group after therapy. Values of salivary CRP in the test and control groups were lower 3 months the therapy; however, the results were not statistically significant. The correlation of clinical periodontal parameters and salivary CRP varied in both groups.Conclusion: Our pilot study reveals decreased concentrations of salivary C-reactive protein in non-smoking patients following non-surgical periodontal therapy. Further studies are needed to prove the reliability of salivary CRP as a biomarker for periodontitis.

Complex construction projects are developed in a dynamic environment, where uncertainty conditions have a great potential to affect project deliverables. In an attempt to efficiently deal with the negative impacts of uncertainty, resilient baseline schedules are produced to improve the probability of reaching project goals, such as respecting the due date and reaching the expected profit. Prior to introducing the resilient scheduling procedure, a taxonomy model was built to account for uncertainty sources in construction projects. Thence, a multi-objective optimization model is presented to manage the impact of uncertainty. This approach can be described as a complex trade-off analysis between three important features of a construction project: duration, stability, and profit. The result of the suggested procedure is presented in a form of a resilient baseline schedule, so the ability of a schedule to absorb uncertain perturbations is improved. The proposed optimization problem is illustrated on the example project network, along which the probabilistic simulation method was used to validate the results of the scheduling process in uncertain conditions. The proposed resilient scheduling approach leads to more accurate forecasting, so the project planning calculations are accepted with increased confidence levels.

Organic food production contributes to the preservation of human health, preservation and protection of the environment and increase of soil fertility, reduction of all forms of pollution as a consequence of intensive agricultural production and animal husbandry. Hence by purchasing products that carry the label organic product consumers indirectly affect the protection and preservation of the environment Organic food is food that is worth investing in due to the smaller amount of harmful substances in the products. Cornel cherry (Cornus mas L.) is one of the most suitable species for organic production. It is adaptable to various abiotic factors and is resistant to numerous pests and diseases. Aims: The aim of the study was to select promising dogwood phenotypes from the natural population for further reproduction by grafting. Study Design: The subject of the research was selected 6 self-growing dogwoods from a rural area. Place and Duration of Study: Samples of fruit were collected at the site of Ćehaje, City of Srebrenik,Tuzla Canton, BiH in the spring of 2019. Methodology: In order to determine the best traits, the measurement of physical quantities, determination of coefficients of variation and analysis of chemical characteristics of dogwood fruits harvested from trees of 6 wild phenotypes marked as DKA1, DKA2, DKA3, DKA4, DKA5 and DKA6 were performed. Results: Based on the analyzed indicators, the DKA6 phenotype showed the best results.

University of Tuzla, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Urfeta Vejzagića 4, 75000 Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina European University ”Kallos”, Maršala Tita 2A-2B, 75000 Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina Institut für Kernphysik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, D-55099 Mainz,Germany P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute, 119991 Moscow, Russia Rudjer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, P.O. Box 180, 10002 Zagreb, Croatia Tesla Biotech, Mandlova 7, 10002 Zagreb, Croatia (Dated: July 15, 2021)

Um dos primeiros efeitos da imprensa de caracteres móveis, em Portugal, na segunda metade do século XV, foi a divulgação de obras de piedade popular, tais como os tratados religiosos e de moral prática. Essas obras concentravam diversas prédicas para iniciar os cristãos nos rudimentos da fé católica a partir, sobretudo, dos pecados mortais, dos sentidos do corpo e dos dez mandamentos da lei de Deus. O presente artigo tem como objetivo analisar o peso conferido, especificamente, às boas palavras, igualmente sustentadas sobre a explicitação na forma oral, nomeadamente no momento da confissão auricular e individual, expressos nos manuais impressos da doutrina cristã, de meados do século XV.

Our intention is to provide easy methods for estimating entropy and chemical potentials for gas phase reactions. Clausius’ virial theorem set a basis for relating kinetic energy in a body of independent material particles to its potential energy, pointing to their complementary role with respect to the second law of maximum entropy. Based on this partitioning of thermal energy as sensible heat and also as a latent heat or field potential energy, in action mechanics we express the entropy of ideal gases as a capacity factor for enthalpy plus the configurational work to sustain the relative translational, rotational, and vibrational action. This yields algorithms for estimating chemical reaction rates and positions of equilibrium. All properties of state including entropy, work potential as Helmholtz and Gibbs energies, and activated transition state reaction rates can be estimated, using easily accessible molecular properties, such as atomic weights, bond lengths, moments of inertia, and vibrational frequencies. We conclude that the large molecular size of many enzymes may catalyze reaction rates because of their large radial inertia as colloidal particles, maximising action states by impulsive collisions. Understanding how Clausius’ virial theorem justifies partitioning between thermal and statistical properties of entropy, yielding a more complete view of the second law’s evolutionary nature and the principle of maximum entropy. The ease of performing these operations is illustrated with three important chemical gas phase reactions: the reversible dissociation of hydrogen molecules, lysis of water to hydrogen and oxygen, and the reversible formation of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen. Employing the ergal also introduced by Clausius to define the reversible internal work overcoming molecular interactions plus the configurational work of change in Gibbs energy, often neglected; this may provide a practical guide for managing industrial processes and risk in climate change at the global scale. The concepts developed should also have value as novel methods for the instruction of senior students.

Introduction: A new disease coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is with insufficiently known epidemiological characteristics and spectrum of clinical expression in childhood. Children have a lower incidence of this disease with a predominance of mild forms but severe clinical forms, such as among others, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and multisystem inflammatory syndrome may occur, according to current findings. In children with atypical symptomatology and positive or suspicious epidemiological survey, practitioners should consider the possibility of COVID-19.Methods: This study formed the group of 70 children previously healthy or with no pre-existing heart disease from Sarajevo with positive post-COVID history. Following the history of disease and epidemiological data, establishing the 1st day of disease or contact, a detailed cardiovascular examination was performed, including parameters of body weight, height, oxygen saturation, pulse, blood pressure, 12 leads electrocardiogram (ECG) done on Schiller machine, values of polymerase chain reaction (PCR), or serological test on corona: Immunoglobulin (Ig) G and IgM. Echocardiographic examination was done using M, B mode, color, continuous wave, and pulse wave Doppler in standard views. Laboratory blood tests included: Full blood count, creatinine phosphokinase myofibril, creatinine phosphokinase, lactate dehydrogenase; liver enzymes, D dimer, C reactive protein, and urine.Results: Majority of children (64.3%) were asymptomatic. ECG was normal in relation to patients’ age except in eight patients (intermittent palpitations on exertion) who had short PR interval 0.120–0.140 ms, with no delta wave, with heart rate within the normal range according to age, so 24 h ECG Holter was performed without any significant arrhythmias, incomplete right branch block has been documented in 12%, monofocal ventricular ectopic extrasistoly in 15%. Mean IgG, as a marker of infection, showed a statistical significance when compared between age Groups I and II (<5) and older groups: III, IV, and V (>5) (p < 0.05; p = 0.043). PCR test was negative in 9 (70 children), although they showed symptoms, COVID-19 infection clinical data, and positive laboratory findings. Echocardiogram was normal in all patients with normal ejection fraction of the left ventricle.Conclusion: The possibility of COVID-19 in children with atypical symptomatology and positive or suspicious epidemiological survey should be in the focus of every pediatrician at primary care institutions nowadays. Cardiovascular assessment should always be an option in post-COVID patients. Immunological assessment is necessary in post-COVID patients in order to gain a further understanding of PTS status. With more serological testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 physicians would be able to make a diagnosis of COVID-19 timely and more accurately, as well as to evaluate the role of asymptomatic children in disease transmission and to assess the importance of protective antibodies and the distribution of COVID-19.