Although results of animal research show that interactions between stress and sex hormones are implicated in the development of affective disorders in women, translation of these findings to patients has been scarce. As a basic step toward advancing this field of research, we analyzed findings of studies which reported circulating cortisol levels in healthy women in the follicular vs. luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. We deemed this analysis critical not only to advance our understanding of basic physiology, but also as an important contrast to the findings of future studies evaluating stress and sex hormones in women with affective disorders. We hypothesized that cortisol levels would be lower in the follicular phase based on the proposition that changes in levels of potent GABAergic neurosteroids, including allopregnanolone, during the menstrual cycle dynamically change in the opposite direction relative to cortisol levels. Implementing strict inclusion criteria, we compiled results of high-quality studies involving 778 study participants to derive a standardized mean difference between circulating cortisol levels in the follicular vs. luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. In line with our hypothesis, our meta-analysis found that women in the follicular phase had higher cortisol levels than women in the luteal phase, with an overall Hedges' g of 0.13 (p < 0.01) for the random effects model. No significant between-study difference was detected, with the level of heterogeneity in the small range. Furthermore, there was no evidence of publication bias. As cortisol regulation is a delicate process, we review some of the basic mechanisms by which progesterone, its potent metabolites, and estradiol regulate cortisol output and circulation to contribute to the net effect of higher cortisol in the follicular phase.

Objective: To explain the global between-countries variance in number of deaths per million citizens (nDpm) and case fatality rate (CFR) due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Design: Systematic analysis. Data sources: Worldometer, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, United Nations Main outcome measures: The explanators of nDpm and CFR were mathematically hypothesised and tested on publicly-available data from 88 countries with linear regression models on May 1st 2020. The derived explanators - age-adjusted infection fatality rate (IFRadj) and case detection rate (CDR) - were estimated for each country based on a SARS-CoV-2 model of China. The accuracy and agreement of the models with observed data was assessed with R2 and Bland-Altman plots, respectively. Sensitivity analyses involved removal of outliers and testing the models at five retrospective and two prospective time points. Results: Globally, IFRadj estimates varied between countries, ranging from below 0.2% in the youngest nations, to above 1.3% in Portugal, Greece, Italy, and Japan. The median estimated global CDR of SARS-CoV-2 infections on April 16th 2020 was 12.9%, suggesting that most of the countries have a much higher number of cases than reported. At least 93% and up to 99% of the variance in nDpm was explained by reported prevalence expressed as cases per million citizens (nCpm), IFRadj, and CDR. IFRadj and CDR accounted for up to 97% of the variance in CFR, but this model was less reliable than the nDpm model, being sensitive to outliers (R2 as low as 67.5%). Conclusions: The current differences in SARS-CoV-2 mortality between countries are driven mainly by reported prevalence of infections, age distribution, and CDR. The nDpm might be a more stable estimate than CFR in comparing mortality burden between countries.

The Dark Triad (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism) has garnered intense attention over the past 15 years. We examined the structure of these traits’ measure—the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (DTDD)—in a sample of 11,488 participants from three W.E.I.R.D. (i.e., North America, Oceania, Western Europe) and five non-W.E.I.R.D. (i.e., Asia, Middle East, non-Western Europe, South America, sub-Saharan Africa) world regions. The results confirmed the measurement invariance of the DTDD across participants’ sex in all world regions, with men scoring higher than women on all traits (except for psychopathy in Asia, where the difference was not significant). We found evidence for metric (and partial scalar) measurement invariance within and between W.E.I.R.D. and non-W.E.I.R.D. world regions. The results generally support the structure of the DTDD.

Problem koji se istražio odnosi se na ispitivanje stavova vaspitača o saradnji i partnerstvu porodice i predškolske ustanove kao različitim konceptima. Istraživanjem se došlo do podataka i rezultata istraživanja o tome da li je zastupljeno partnerstvo između porodice i predškolske ustanove. Istraživanjem je obuhvaćen uzorak od 120 ispitanika. U sitraživanju su učestvovali ispitanici obje polne strukture, u starosnoj dobi od 22 do 60 godina. Kao instrument u istraživanju korištena je skala stavova petostepenog Likertovog tipa za mjerenje afirmativnosti stavova vaspitača prema partnerstvu u odnosu na saradnju između porodice i predškolske ustanove. Kvantitativna analiza empirijskog istraživanja pokazala je, za uzorak u cjelini, da se u populaciji vaspitača pouzdano može očekivati preferiranje partnerstva u odnosu na saradnju porodice i predškolske ustanove.

During the last few years, we have witnessed more frequent floods affecting the northeastern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the valley of the Spreca River. Flooded soil has undergone various changes, in terms of numerous deficiencies and heavy metal contamination, where such soil represents a great danger both for people and animals. Therefore, in this paper the physicochemical analysis of soil and degree of pollution is determined. The aim of soil sampling and analysis is to determine its status after water withdrawal, in terms of nutrient supply, and to determine possible chemical pollution. Based on the results obtained, agricultural producers will receive recommendations regarding restoration of production on these areas, the choice of cultivated culture, corrective measures or remediation of these areas. As part of the analysis, hygroscopic moisture, acid-base soil status, oxidoreduction potential, organic matter content, carbonate content and heavy metals content were determined. Based on the performed analyzes, the soil was shown to be of neutral character (determined in 1M KCl), and weakly alkaline (determined in distilled H2O) with predominantly reducing condition prevailing in the soil. The conducted analyzes have shown that the soil is very poor in humus, and that the heavy metals content is within the limit values determined by the Rulebook on Determination of Allowed Quantities of Harmful and Dangerous Substances in Soil and Method of Testing there of (“Official Gazette of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, number 52/09). Therefore, from the aspect of the pollution degree, the soil from this plot belongs to the first class when it comes to iron, manganese, cadmium and lead, to the second class when it comes to zinc, and the third class when it comes to copper.

U radu autor prikazuje rezultate istražibanja provedenog na uzorku654 učenika iz 7 osnovnih škola grada Tuzle, uzrasta od 13 do 14 godina. Unutar provedenoh istražianja željelo se putem originalnog Testa muzičke kreativnosti – MASKA (muzučka skala kreativnosti), konstruisanog samo za ovu priliku, ispitati i tražiti odgovore da li učenici primijete koliko ih nastava muzičke kulture motiviše za kreativan rad. Pregled rezultata dobijenih multiplom regresijom, ukazuju da na osnovu samo četiri parametra muzičke kreativnosti moguće pojasniti kvalitet nastave muzičke kulture u osnovnoj školi. Dobijeni nalazi pokazuju da je statistički značajna razlika, s obzirom na muzičku kreativnost učenika, samo u odnosu na pol djece, u korist učenika osnovne škole ženskog pola. Ocjena iz muzičke kulture najznačajniji je prediktor motivacije učenika za uživanje u muzici. Značajan je i nalaz koji nas upućuje da dječaci slabije ispoljavaju emocije u odnosu na djevojčice.

PROBLEM The aim of this study was to quantify and compare the distribution of regulatory CD25+ FOXP3+ and activated CD4+ CD25+ T cells in decidua basalis and parietalis of severe and mild pre-eclampsia (PE) to normal healthy pregnancies. METHOD OF STUDY Decidual tissue (decidua basalis and parietalis) of 13 women with mild PE, 15 women with severe PE and 19 women with healthy term pregnancies were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and double immunofluorescence. RESULTS The total number of CD25+ FOXP3+ cells/mm2 in decidua basalis was decreased in the severe and mild PE versus normal pregnancy group. The total number of CD4+ CD25+ cells/mm2 in decidua basalis was decreased in the severe PE versus normal pregnancy group. The number of CD25+ FOXP3+ and CD4+ CD25+ cells in decidua parietalis was decreased in both PE groups. CONCLUSION Our data suggest that immunological changes of PE reflect on decidua basalis and parietalis and emphasize the importance of characterizing T cells in both decidual departments.

In this paper we consider a generalized length spectrum in the case of compact symmetric spaces generated as quotients of the special linear group of order four over real numbers. While the classical length spectrum is given as an estimate for a yes function counting prime geodesics of appropriate length, its generalized form is usually represented by a higher order counting function of Chebyshev type. Our goal is to prove that the error term that appears in the classical case in this setting can be significantly improved when derived via analogous, generalized apparatus.

In this paper, we consider the remainder in a weighted form of the length spectrum for compact Riemann surfaces of genus greater than or equal to two. Earlier, we conducted a similar research where we applied the Cauchy residue theorem over two different square boundaries, one of which intersected the corresponding critical line, and some, quite complex estimates for the logarithmic derivative of the associated zeta functions of Selberg and Ruelle. The main goal of this paper is to achieve the same length spectrum with the same remainder as in our previous study, but in a much simpler way.