Non-performing loans are loans that do not generate income for banks and represent one of the most sensitive categories of a bank’s balance sheet. Their increase can affect both the liquidity and the solvency of banks. This paper investigates internal (specific) and external (macroeconomic) determinants of non-performing loans of the banking sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2008: Q1 - 2020: Q4 including correlation and regression analysis. The results of the research showed that the following independent variables have the strongest impact on non-performing loans as a dependent variable: unemployment rate, provisions to non-performing loans, and real GDP growth rate. On the other hand, the independent variable return on equity had the weakest impact on non-performing loans.

Banks play an important role in a country's economy because increasing savings and capital accumulation has a positive effect on economic growth and employment through the banks' resource transfer function. The purpose of this study is to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between bank profitability and economic growth in three selected countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Croatia. In this research, a panel causality test is applied to examine the cause-and-effect relationship for the time period from the first quarter of 2008 to the fourth quarter of 2020. Empirical findings in this study showed that the profitability of banks in selected developing countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia) has a positive effect on economic growth. Also, this research provides insight into in-depth analysis in terms of considering several countries through the use of a panel causality test, for the purpose of studying the relationship between bank profitability and economic growth.

Health care is the most important activity and human kind is dealing with its organization for centuries. Public health policies and functional health care systems have as their primary objectives the preservation and improvement of public health. Problems of intensive aging of the population, continuous growth of health spending, ensuring sustainable financing of health systems and efficient use of resources are present in all world health systems. Health care system reforms have become a global phenomenon for the last twenty years of the last century. The goal of this review paper is to point out the importance and need for timely modifications of the strategy of the health care optimization plan in Serbia by 2035, so that the health care system of Serbia would be ready to respond to potential global health crises in the future. The Plan for optimizing the health care institutions network by 2035 as a key document of the Master Plan will be briefly presented with an analysis of key parameters of health care effectiveness and above all improvement of the implementation of basic principles of health care - uniformity and availability of health services on the territory of Republic of Serbia. In order to present future key changes in the health system, it is necessary to take into account the current situation, as well as the potential consequences of the global pandemic of COVID-19 virus on health systems. Databases were used for analysis: WHO, OECD, World Bank Reports. The tendency of increasing the share of health care costs in GDP, with the problems of efficient use of health care resources, is becoming the most important reason for reforming health insurance and health care in almost all countries in the world. Numerous researches of eminent experts in the field of economy and finance indicate that the introduction of compulsory health insurance with a clearly defined package of health conditions is the most rational choice in the implementation of the World Health Organization project: "Health for all in the 21st century". A health system could be said to be effective if it provides health care of maximum quality in terms of medical outcome, with minimal costs in relation to the allocated funds. Health care systems around the world today face very similar problems, and the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how "vulnerable" it is not only the health system but all of humanity when faced with such challenges.

. Healthcare professionals have a key role to play in the introduction, application and use of technology in clinical practice. The lack of technical expertise and technological understanding poses a challenge to the quality of health services and probably to the safety, dignity and quality of life of patients. Experience so far speaks of computer literacy, which is the basis of the implementation of the health information system and varies according to gender, age and years of work experience. Determine whether computer literacy depends on gender, age, and years of service. The research was conducted according to the type of cross-sectional study, in the population of health workers employed at the Health Center in Jagodina and the General Hospital in Ćuprija. Yesterday’ s sample consisted of 142 respondents. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection, statistical data processing was performed with the computer support of the statistical package for social sciences IBM SPSS Statistics, Version 23 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences). Analysis of variance was used from statistical tests. Results. Sample composed of 78.2% of respondents and 27.2% of respondents; in both groups of respondents, the average achievement on the literacy scale is around 17 points. Age 40 and over is 59%; the first two groups (less than 30 years of age and 30 to 39 years of age) are statistically significantly different from the oldest groups of respondents (F = 4.949, p = 0.003, df = 3). The largest percentage of respondents have a work experience of 10-29 years; younger respondents have more knowledge of computers (F = 7.239, p = 0.000, df = 3). Computer literacy depends on age and years of service.

Cancer-related cognitive dysfunction is an important clinical problem that can interfere with the daily functioning, work productivity, childcare, and other responsibilities of women with a history of breast cancer. Risks of cancer-related cognitive impairment include cancer and cancer treatment, as well as patient-related vulnerabilities. There is no established standard of neuroprotective care or treatment for breast cancer-related cognitive impairment.

This study was undertaken to determine the effects of humic acid on the growth seedling of two tomato cultivars CeylandoF1 and RallyF1, under greenhouse conditions. Treatment with „Humistar“ was started in the two-leaf stage of the plant. One level of humic acid of 20 ml l-1 was applied to the seedling growing media and each seedling of the species was treated every ten days until transplanting directly into the soil in greenhouse.The higest growth rate: leaf (weight), stem (diameter and weight) and root (weight and lenght) growth were optained in cultivar RallyF1 as compared to the control and leaf, stem and root weight compared to Ceylando F1 cultivar.General, the results showed that humic acid influenced better root development in both examined tomato cultivars.

Introduction Infective endocarditis is relatively rare in pediatric population, but can result in significant morbidity and mortality. Children with bicuspid aortic valve are at higher risk of developing infective endocarditis as compared to general population. Our objective is to emphasize the importance of rapid diagnosis and proper treatment of infective endocarditis in patients with bicuspid aortic valve with aim to prevent serious adverse events. Case outline We report a case of a 13-year-old girl with newly diagnosed bicuspid aortic valve who developed infective endocarditis with severe complications and underwent cardiac surgery. Recurrent fever and anemia, as well as cardiac murmur were present for six months prior to diagnosing infective endocarditis. During the course of illness, only one of many blood cultures taken was positive for Streptococcus sanguinis. Conclusion Patients with bicuspid aortic valve require careful evaluation for infective endocarditis, especially if recurrent fever associated with anemia is present. Delayed diagnosis of infective endocarditis is associated with serious complications.

Introduction. The human voice is an important characteristic that enables the distinction of human from other living beings. Otherwise, it represents a picture of a person΄s personality, his health, mental and emotional state. The research aims are to determine the voice characteristics of vocal professionals with diagnosed vocal cord nodules by subjective voice assessment and objective voice measurement before and after vocal rehabilitation. Methods. This study has involved 25 examinees, aged 23 to 56. The subjective voice assessment was conducted with the Voice Handicap Index - VHI questionnaire and the objective voice measurement by a computerized laboratory for voice analysis ''Kay Elemetrics''. The obtained data were processed using descriptive and analytical statistics. Results. Before the vocal rehabilitation and the subjective and objective voice measurements, the examinees had greater psychosocial difficulties associated with their voice quality. After two months of vocal rehabilitation, there has been a significant improvement in the voice of all subjects on the VHI scale. A statistically significant and highly statistically significant improvement have been noticed in six out of seven analyzed parameters of vocal A, by the objective measurement of voice. Namely, the obtained values - the percentage of jitter Jitt (%), the percentage of shimmer Shim (%), the relative average perturbation value RAP (%) and the coefficient of fundamental frequency variation - vFo were highly statistically significant (p < 0.01). The VTI - voice turbulence index and the SPI - soft phonation index also improved, the observed difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05), while the observed difference in the FTRI parameter was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion. Vocal rehabilitation has influenced the improvement of the voice quality, which means that the results obtained by objective voice measurements were more in accordance with the results of the subjective voice assessment.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Society for Hypertension, elevated blood pressure is defined as the blood pressure the readings of which consistently range ≥140 mmHg systolic and/or 90 mmHg diastolic. Having in mind the fact that hypertension is one of the leading risk factors for cardiovasluar disease, kidney failure and premature mortality, it is clear that preventive measures should be imposed before the diagnosis is established. The main nutritional measures used in preventing hypertension are: weight loss, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH diet), reducing salt and alcohol intake and increasing potassium intake. The aim of this paper was to show the preventive effect of the DASH diet on hypertension onset in normotensive patients as well as to highlight that the diet is an integral part of hypertension treatment, in addition to the use of drug therapy for hypertensive patients.

Background/Aim: Antibiotic use and resistance represent a growing public health issue, with a specific risk of uncontrolled use of antibiotics in children. The aim of the study was to examine differences in parental knowledge, attitudes and practices about antibiotic use in children between urban and rural areas of the Republic of Srpska. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1459 parents of children under 6 years of age, out of which 1201 (82.3 %) lived in urban areas while 258 (17.7 %) lived in rural areas. The research is conducted among parents who brought their children to the selected primary healthcare centres and among parents of children in preschool institutions. Results: The majority of respondents (98.4 %) state that doctors are their main source of information. Only 61.2 % of respondents precisely know which drug is an antibiotic when offered different drugs and respondents from rural areas (54.3 %) more often (p = 0.012) gave more accurate answers when compared to respondents from urban areas (37.3 %). Among parents, 86 % agree with the statement that improper use of antibiotics reduces their effectiveness and leads to bacterial resistance, regardless of groups. More than a half of respondents (52.4 %) do not think that children with flu or common cold symptoms recover faster when they receive antibiotics, significantly more respondents from urban areas (p = 0.001). Respondents from rural areas significantly more often believe that antibiotics can produce harmful effects compared to respondents from urban areas (p = 0.049). Respondents from rural areas significantly more often think that antibiotic use can prevent complications caused by inflammation of the upper respiratory tract (p = 0.006). Parents from rural areas give their children antibiotics without a paediatrician's recommendation significantly more often (4.3 %) compared to respondents from urban areas (0.6 %) (p < 0.001). Conclusion: There are differences in parental knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance among parents in rural and urban areas. There is need for additional education of parents and for greater engagement of paediatricians in providing guidance and explanations regarding the use of antibiotics.

Introduction/Objective Patient safety is defined as the prevention of errors and adverse effects aimed at patients and associated with health care. Patient safety culture (PSC) is "the product of individual and group values, attitudes, perceptions, competencies and patterns of behaviour that determine the commitment to, and the style and proficiency of, an organization's health and safety management." Improving the perception of the PSC within the healthcare sector plays a key role in improving its overall quality, efficacy and productivity. This article aims to point out the importance of the inexhaustible and very interesting topic of safety culture as a basis for further research and strategy creation. Methods This is a qualitative research paper, based on a scientific review of the literature. Relevant articles for this review have been identified by searching digital databases: PubMed, Medline and Google Scholar. The research was retrospective and covered a timeframe of five years. Articles were selected by introducing keywords relevant to the subject. Results The results are based on the analysis and review of 12 published scientific articles from 2017 to 2021. Conclusion Patient safety must be the priority of the healthcare provider. Theoretical foundations should be combined with educational experiences following the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes for effective patient safety. Adverse event reporting should include learning from mistakes, supporting an environment that encourages reporting without blame or fear of punishment. The healthcare system needs to be made as safe as possible for both the patients and all those providing healthcare. Improving and developing the quality of healthcare requires knowledge, selection and application of specific methods and tools tailored to the capabilities of individual healthcare institutions.