– The aims of this paper were to describe seasonal changes in the qualitative and quantitative composition of diatom taxa and the potential application of benthic diatoms for ecological status evaluation. Diatom indices (IPS and TI) were calculated from data from three different locations along a longitudinal profile of the Bunica, a small karstic river in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A total of 147 taxa were recorded in 12 samples. The most common taxa were Meridion circulare (Greville) C.Agardh and Ulnaria ulna (Nitzsch) Compère. Physical and chemical analyses showed low concentrations of nutrients, good oxygenation, typical pH for carbonate bed/origin and generally oligotrophic conditions and high ecological status. All sites had similar physico-chemical conditions and there were only few seasonal differences. Ordination of the diatom data showed that samples showed neither longitudinal nor seasonal patterns. Median value for IPS (16.8) and for TI (7.3) can be possible ‘‘expected’’ values for ecological status assessment for small karstic rivers in the Mediterranean region. We propose the use of the phytobenthos Intercalibration Common Metric (pICM - an index that combines the IPS and TI) as a national metric for countries developing WFD diatom methods at a late stage. One situation is described, and a solution, which is potentially transferable to other locations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and also to other countries facing similar challenges.

The International Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), from the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, promoted One Health in global and national responses. The OIE accentuated the role of the veterinary profession due to testing capacity of animal health laboratories and expertise. Veterinary Faculty Sarajevo through its Veterinary Institute participates in the national veterinary service with diagnostic and advisory roles. It has proactively enhanced the scope and quality of laboratories, including strengthening the interdisciplinarity and internationality. Development achieved through earlier pandemic threats resulted in having laboratory and technical facilities for molecular SARS-CoV-2 detection in the wake of the unveiling COVID-19 pandemic (early 2020). From confirmation of the first COVID-19 cases in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), our staff participated in crisis response teams and, so far, held over sixty media addresses promoting public awareness and science based information. Our laboratories were included in the official detection system and were the first to sequence SARS-CoV-2, then to establish the Alpha COVID-19 variant in BiH human samples and to substantiate one-way virus transmission from humans to pets. The aim of this paper is to describe our activities as a participant in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside faced challenges and gained experiences.

Many wild animal populations are considered endangered due to anthropogenic activities. Wildlife and nature habitat preservation requires holistic and science based approaches supported by adequate regulations. One of the means for wildlife preservation is undoubtedly heath monitoring and investigation of infectious diseases of the wild animal populations, particularly if spillover effects are considered. Even though the theoretical background is well researched, implementation of disease prevention and control measures in wildlife populations entails more challenges than in domestic animal populations. Immediate signs of health disorders in wildlife often become evident when the infectious agent is well established in an area. Additionally, due to unrestricted and often long-range movement of wildlife, diseases are easily spread across borders. Brown bears, indigenous in Europe, are classified by EU regulations as endangered, almost extinct and rare. The wild bear population in Bosnia and Herzegovina shares a genetic lineage with bear populations of neighbouring Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro and is one of the few remaining fragments of bear populations in Europe. The aim of this paper is to describe implemented activities for health and telemetric monitoring of wild bears in the Nature Park Skakavac, Canton Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Simple Summary CD8+ T cells are prominent decidual cells in the third trimester of healthy human pregnancy. They have a cytotoxic capacity which may control invasion of extravillous trophoblast and therefore affect placentation and play the role in development of preeclampsia. In this study, we examined the expression of CD8+ T cells in decidual tissue and peripheral blood of women with severe and mild preeclampsia in comparison to gestational age-matched healthy pregnancies. Additionally, the expression of cytotoxic proteins in CD8+ T cells was examined in order to specify their subpopulations. Abstract In our study, we aimed to establish expression of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in the decidua basalis and the maternal peripheral blood (mPBL) of severe and mild preeclampsia (PE) and compare to healthy pregnancies. Decidual tissue and mPBL of 10 women with mild PE, 10 women with severe PE, and 20 age-matched healthy pregnancy controls were analyzed by double immunofluorescence and qPCR, respectively. By double immunofluorescence staining, we found a decreased total number of cells/mm2 in decidua basalis of granulysin (GNLY)+ (p ˂ 0.0001), granzyme B (GzB)+(p ˂ 0.0001), GzB+CD8+(p ˂ 0.0001), perforin (PRF1)+ (p ˂ 0.0001), and PRF1+CD8+ (p ˂ 0.01) in the severe PE compared to control group. Additionally, we noticed the trend of lower mRNA expression for GNLY, granzyme A (GZMA), GzB, and PRF1 in CD8+ T cells of mPBL in mild and severe PE, with the latter marker statistically decreased in severe PE (p ˂ 0.001). Forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) mRNA in CD8+ T cells mPBL was increased in mild PE (p ˂ 0.001) compared to controls. In conclusion, severe PE is characterized by altered expression of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in decidua and mPBL, suggesting their role in pathophysiology of PE and fetal-maternal immune tolerance.

Abstract Age estimation is a key component in forensic analysis, be it in legal proceedings or archeological research. Current methods in forensic odontology are based on manual measurements of a wide array of morphometric parameters, typically from dental x-ray images, and occasionally from material remains. While those parameters follow a set progression during human development, thereby allowing current methods to precisely estimate the age of juveniles, estimation for adults and seniors proves to be more difficult. In this study, we explore the applicability of deep learning to the problem of chronological age estimation. We determine the best convolutional neural network model derived from state-of-the-art architectures, we determine the best performing model parameters using pretrained general-purpose vision model parameters as the starting point, and we perform ablation experiments to highlight which anatomical regions of the dental system contribute the most to the estimation. The proposed approach attains the lowest estimation error in literature for adult and senior subjects, which we verify on one of the largest datasets of panoramic dental x-ray images in literature. The dataset consists of 4035 panoramic dental x-ray images of male and female subjects with ages between 19 and 90 years. This study also evaluates the feasibility of the proposed model for age estimations of individual teeth, achieving an estimation error competitive with current methods while being fully automated. The estimation error is verified on our dataset of 76416 individual tooth images, which is the largest dataset to date in forensic odontology literature. Unlike current methods, dental alterations, decay, illnesses, or missing teeth do not pose a problem to the proposed model. With a median estimation error of 2.95 years for panoramic dental x-ray images and 4.68 years for individual teeth, and by deriving the model from state-of-the-art architectures, verifying those results on the largest dataset in forensic odontology literature and demonstrating the importance of different anatomical regions of the dental system for estimation, this study sets the baseline for future research of automated chronological age estimation in forensic odontology.

Alcoholic liver cirrhosis (ALC) is the most common indication for liver transplantation (LT) in Croatia and presents a risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, genetic susceptibility has not yet been systematically studied. We aimed to investigate the contribution of the risk polymorphisms PNPLA3 rs738409, EGF rs4444903, TM6SF2 rs58542926, MTHFR rs1801133, previously identified in other populations and, additionally, the contribution of Notch-related polymorphisms (NOTCH1 rs3124591, NOTCH3 rs1043996 and rs1044116, NOTCH4 rs422951). The study included 401 patients. The ALC group consisted of 260 LT candidates, 128 of whom had histopathologically confirmed HCC, and 132 of whom were without HCC. The control group included 141 patients without liver disease. Genotyping was performed by PCR using Taqman assays. The patients’ susceptibility to ALC was significantly associated with PNPLA3 rs738409, TM6SF2 rs58542926, and NOTCH3 rs1043996 polymorphisms. These polymorphisms remained significantly associated with ALC occurrence in a logistic regression model, even after additional model adjustment for sex and age. Cirrhotic patients with the PNPLA3 GG genotype demonstrated higher activity of ALT aminotransferases than patients with CC or CG genotypes. The susceptibility to the development of HCC in ALC was significantly associated with PNPLA3 rs738409 and EGF rs4444903 polymorphisms, and logistic regression confirmed these polymorphisms as independent predictors.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) causes a progressive decline of motor and cognitive functions, often affecting postural control. Training through virtual reality has been shown to be effective in improving this condition. This study aims to analyse the effects of the Kinect Adventures! games in postural control of people with PD. Ten individuals diagnosed with idiopathic PD, in stages I to III of the Hoehn & Yahr scale, aged between 48 and 73 years, were selected. Fourteen training sessions of one hour each, twice a week, were performed. Individuals were evaluated pre, post-intervention and 30 days after the last session of intervention by a force platform that measured the oscillation area (COP) and velocity (VOS) of the centre of pressure in ten different sensory conditions and the Limits of Stability (LOS). LOS showed a statistically significant increase immediately after the training the 14 sessions, as were observed and there were no significant changes in COP and VOS immediately after the intervention or 30 days after the end of training. The results of this study indicate that the training with Kinect Adventures! Games improve the postural control of people with PD, by increasing the LOS. Keywords: Parkinson disease; postural balance; virtual reality exposure therapy; video game

Os acidentes com animais peçonhentos têm importância na saúde pública, sendo fundamental ações educativas para prevenção, diagnóstico e tratamentos. No Brasil, os soros hiperimunes são preconizados para o tratamento dos acidentados. Esses produtos são produzidos por laboratórios oficiais seguindo requisitos das Boas Práticas de Fabricação (BPF) e distribuídos gratuitamente pelo Sistema Único de Saúde. Buscando atender uma demanda da sociedade, o projeto de extensão “Kaizen: Formação de recursos humanos e o aperfeiçoamento contínuo profissional, institucional e social sobre animais peçonhentos e a produção de soros na saúde pública” estabeleceu uma parceria entre o Instituto Vital Brazil (IVB) e o Curso de Farmácia da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ-Macaé) para o desenvolvimento de ciclos de ações educativas para diferentes públicos. O primeiro ciclo foi realizado pela universidade e direcionado aos colaboradores do IVB envolvendo conteúdos das BPF. O segundo ciclo foi realizado pelo IVB para o público de Macaé e municípios limítrofes com a participação de estudantes de ensino fundamental, médio e superior, além de agentes de combate de endemias, exército brasileiro, defesa civil, centro de zoonoses e guarda ambiental. Após a realização das ações, formulários de avaliação foram fornecidos aos participantes, observando-se alto grau de satisfação. Dessa forma, as ações contribuíram para o aprimoramento do conhecimento das BPF, além de ampliar os espaços de construção do conhecimento e aprendizagem para evitar os acidentes com animais peçonhentos, assim como nos tratamentos e produção dos soros hiperimunes e distribuição na saúde pública.

A temática fechamento de escola do campo tem sido fortemente discutida nos últimos anos em vários trabalhos científicos, sendo também fator de preocupação por parte das comunidades localizadas em área rural. Este artigo analisa a política de municipalização do ensino fundamental e de nucleação de escolas, indicando que tal política é o principal motivador do fechamento de milhares de escolas do campo no Brasil e de dezenas de escolas no Município de Passos Maia. Além disso, está elaboração apresenta dados sobre as escolas que foram fechadas no Município de Passos Maia e aponta os impactos negativos que a comunidade Conquista de Sepé obteve ao ser fechada sua escola local. Conclui-se, dessa forma, que fechar as Escolas do Campo provoca a destituição da organização social e da vivência comunitária. Nesta direção é que se localiza a afirmação de que Escola do Campo é “vida na comunidade”, por compreende-se que o fechamento/extinção de escolas do campo leva ao fechamento/extinção das comunidades rurais.  Como instrumentos metodológicos, para a elaboração do trabalho, foram utilizados estudo bibliográfico e entrevistas.