Introduction: Health education is a process of acquiring knowledge and skills in order to improve the health of the individual and the community. It is considered the most effective, most economical and most rational aspect of health care and health culture. Aim To provide data on the effectiveness of printed health-educational materials. Methods This is a quantitative, applied, descriptive-analytical study. According to the type of research, it presents a public health evaluation manipulative study with triple testing. The research was conducted in elementary schools in the Zenica-Doboj Canton. The total number of students participating in the research is divided into groups: examined, control group. The research consisted of four phases. The research tool is a modified questionnaire The Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) with 38 questions, 8 modules. Results The total number of respondents was 120. The method of distribution of health-educational posters shows a lower but still present statistical significance (p<0.05) in relation to the acquired knowledge and a change in attitudes between the conducted surveys at different time points. There is no statistically significant change (p>0.05) in the level of knowledge and attitudes using leaflets between conducted surveys at three different times. In the control group without education, there was a low statistical significance (p<0.05) in terms of changing the level of knowledge and attitudes. Conclusion The distribution of health-educational posters is recommended in situations where it is necessary to reach a wide audience for a long period of time, if the site of the poster is protected. According to this study, there is no evidence that the leaflet distribution method should be used when it comes to the promotion of healthy lifestyles among healthy children. Alternative methods and ways of health education need to be identified.

Cocoa shell is a by-product of the chocolate industry that is rich in dietary fiber and bioactive components. In this research, the influence of high voltage electric discharge (HVED) treatment on chemical and physical characteristics of the cocoa shell, i.e., the effects of applied time and frequencies on grinding ability, water binding capacity (WBC), dietary fibers and tannin content was investigated. HVED had a significant influence on the chemical and physical properties of cocoa shell, all of which could be linked to changes in fiber properties. Along with the fiber content, grinding ability and water binding capacity were increased. These properties have already been linked to fiber content and soluble/insoluble fiber ratio. However, this research implies that change in fiber properties could be linked to tannin formation via complexation of other polyphenolic components. Additional research is needed to verify this effect and to establish mechanisms of tannin formation induced by HVED and its influence on fiber quantification.

Objectives The development of third molars can be helpful in dental age estimation of adolescents and in early adult period. We tested the repeatability and accuracy of the three dental age radiographic methods (Olze, Demirjian and Solari and Abramovitch) and evaluated which method is more useful. We also aimed at testing to find the correlation of estimated dental and chronological age by these three methods. Material and methods The orthopantomographs (OPGs) of 1007 individuals (8 - 25 years) were divided into two groups (cca 500 OPGs) - one group of OPGs has been presented with all four third molars, while another one was registered with third molar/s hypodontia. And all of OPGs were assessed, to verify the three methods (Olze, Demirjian and Solari and Abramovitch) for age estimation based on third molar development. Results There was a high Spearman's correlation coefficient between stages of development of wisdom tooth and chronological age of subjects by all these three methods. Conclusion We may recommend using third molars for assessing the dental age by Olze, Demirjian and Solari and Abramovitch dental method as well, on Bosnian and Herzegovinian population.

Introduction: Psoriasis is a common chronic skin disorder characterized by inflammation and abnormal epidermal proliferation. Its severity ranges from a chronic plaque psoriasis (CPP) to generalized psoriatic erythroderma (PE). The cause of psoriasis is unknown although most evidence supports the hypothesis that psoriasis is an immunologically mediated disease. The T-helper (Th) 1 and Th17 cells are responsible for the inflammation of psoriasis. Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is a class of immunoglobulin essential for the allergic response. There is some evidence that IgE may take a part in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Aim: The aim of the study was to compare serum levels of total IgE between patients with psoriasis and healthy subjects, and to assess the difference between localized form (CPP) and extensive form of disease (PE). Methods: Seventy-five patients with psoriasis and 30 healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. Data on age, gender, personal and family history, clinical type and duration of disease were collected and analyzed. Serum levels of IgE were measured using nephelometric method. Results: Serum levels of total IgE were significantly higher in patients than in controls (46.7% vs.. 10%; p<0.05). Statistical difference of IgE concentration was also observed between CPP and PE. Comparison between patients and controls with regard to the median of the serum level of total IgE levels showed a statistically highly significant elevation in patients (425 IU/ml) compared with controls (54.5 IU/ml) (p<0,05). A higher total IgE concentration was observed in the group of patients with a longer period of skin changes. No relation was found between the serum level of IgE and family history of psoriasis, age or sex (p>0.05). Conclusions: This study supports the evidence that elevation of total serum IgE is associated with psoriasis. The exact role of serum IgE in psoriasis should be additionally investigated in future studies.

Introduction: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is an established treatment for patients with end-srage kidney disease. The method was developed as an alternative to hemodialysis (HD) presenting a patient survival rate equivalent to HD and better preservation of residual renal function. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients have different peritoneal membrane permeability (transport) characteristics. High peritoneal membrane permeability is associated with increased mortality risk in the patient population. Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze the importance of the peritoneal membrane transport status in patients treated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Methods: The study included 60 adult continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients, 29 male and 31 female, mean age 56.63±15.06 years. All patients treated with conventional glucose- based PD fluids. For the short term (within 3 month after start of PD) and long term (more than 12 months) peritoneal dialysis analysis of peritoneal transport characteristics has been used peritoneal functional test (PFT). With the test, categorisation of patients was possible into high (H), high-average (HA), low average (LA), and low (L) transporters. Results: Dialysate–to plasma ratio (D/P) of creatinine showed significantly increased over time (0.654±0.141 vs... 0.705±0.13, p<0.001). In multivariate analysis age, gender, time on dialysis, comorbid diseases, diabetes mellitus (DM), serum albumin, were considered as independent factors influencing the PFT. The high transporter group had higher D/Pcreat (H 0.84±0.03 vs... LA 0.57±0.05, p<0.001), higher proportion of man (H 100% vs... LA 39.5%, p<0.05), higher proportion of patients with comorbid diseases (H 60% vs... LA 20.9%, p<0.05), lower serum albumin concentration (H 29±6.0 vs... LA 37±5.2, p<0.001), lower D4/D0 glucose ( H 0.23±0.07 vs... LA 0.42±0.14, p<0.001), and lower drained volume (H 600±173 vs... LA 1016±355, p<0.001). Conclusion: The PFT was en easy, inexpensive, reliable test to assess peritoneal transport type and it also provided information about peritoneal clearance of solutes and ultrafiltration. Peritoneal transport type classification was recognized not only as aid for prescription, but also as a prognostic index.

Introduction: Idiopathic Idiopathic membranous nephropathy (iMN) is an immune-complex mediated renal disease which is usually associated with the nephrotic syndrome (NS). The course of the disease is variable. Some patients maintain normal kidney function with or without a spontaneous remission of proteinuria, while others progress to end-stage renal failure or die from complications related to the nephrotic syndrome. Whether or not to treat a patient with idiopathic membranous nephropathy is still controversial. The controversy is mainly related to the toxicity of the therapy and the variable natural course of the disease-spontaneous remission occurs in 40–50% of patients. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe our experience of treatment of an idiopathic membranous nephropathy (iMN), efficacy and complications rate. Case report: Our patient was older, mail gender, in high-risk group with persistent proteinuria 10,68 g/day and stable renal function. We have taken these factors into consideration, along with age and other comorbidities, that may significantly elevate the risk of treatment. We chose to start with early treatment, following the Ponticelli’s group protocol based on high dose corticosteroids (odd months) alternating with clorambucil (even months) for six months. This treatment was accompanied by the steroid side effects, including hyperglycaemia dependance on insulin therapy and pulmonary thromboembolism despite administered prophylactically low molecular weight heparin. The six-month treatment was successfully completed with the reduction of proteinuria to nephritic values 2,86 g/day, despite many complications. Complete remission of the disease with non-significant proteinuria and with stable renal function was achieved in 14 months which has been maintained for 2 years. Conclusion: We suggest that decisions on the timing of start of therapy, whom to treat, best sequence of the use of the various immunosuppressive drugs must be based on an individualized assessment of risks and benefits.

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.

In the last two decades, attention on forests and ownership rights has increased in different domains of international policy, particularly in relation to achieving the global sustainable development goals. This paper looks at the changes in forest-specific legislation applicable to regular productive forests, across 28 European countries. We compare the legal framework applicable in the mid-1990s with that applicable in 2015, using the Property Rights Index in Forestry (PRIF) to measure changes across time and space. The paper shows that forest owners in most western European countries already had high decision-making power in the mid-1990s, following deregulation trends from the 1980s; and for the next two decades, distribution of rights remained largely stable. For these countries, the content and direction of changes indicate that the main pressure on forest-focused legislation comes from environmental discourses (e.g. biodiversity and climate change policies). In contrast, former socialist countries in the mid-1990s gave lower decision-making powers to forest owners than in any of the Western Europe countries; over the next 20 years these show remarkable changes in management, exclusion and withdrawal rights. As a result of these changes, there is no longer a clear line between western and former socialist countries with respect to the national governance systems used to address private forest ownership. Nevertheless, with the exception of Baltic countries which have moved towards the western forest governance system, most of the former socialist countries still maintain a state-centred approach in private forest management. Overall, most of the changes we identified in the last two decades across Europe were recorded in the categories of management rights and exclusion rights. These changes reflect the general trend in European forest policies to expand and reinforce the landowners’ individual rights, while preserving minimal rights for other categories of forest users; and to promote the use of financial instruments when targeting policy goals related to the environmental discourse.

Abstract The subject of this research are the demographic trends and the educational system of the Republic of Srpska. The aim of the research is to define the concepts required to comprehend the demographic trends and to explore their implications for the educational system of the Republic of Srpska. In order to establish sustainable development in the Republic of Srpska, education being a key component therein, it is necessary to perceive its demographic resources in order to create an educational system. By means of empirical research with a presentation of results through factor and cluster analysis, generated quantitative and qualitative indices of demographic resources, particularly in the educational system. The Republic of Srpska as a whole belongs to type D, featuring poor demographic resources and characteristics, as well as prominent demographic disparities regarding spatial development. However, in order to increase the coverage, relevance and efficiency of completion of the education process, it is necessary to determine the strategic commitments to be accomplished together with certain quantitative demographic indicators of the achievement level (educational coverage of different generations). Demographic changes will pose a major challenge for policy makers and to the society in general across the upcoming decades and will require shaping new economic, tax, health, pension, educational, social, family and other policies that affect demographic changes. The research endeavour in this paper focuses on that very aspect, together with the respective applicative capabilities.

Abstract The study of an effect of iron doping on the structural, microstructural and mechanical properties of sintered iron-doped mullite is presented. The results of phase composition, performed in detail by Mossbauer spectroscopy and XRD analysis, revealed that all added iron was inside the mullite lattice forming the single phase up to 12% by weight of Fe2O3 and 1300 °C. Samples, which were processed at 1550 °C, contained secondary phases, hematite or magnetite, regardless of the amount of added iron. Furthermore, the addition of iron decreases the values of relative linear shrinkage comparing to the values of undoped one (~18%) while the densities of the sintered samples rise as well as their values of microhardness. Even though the density values were not too high (90 TD%), the obtained values of microhardness were excellent, 1634 HV0.1 for maximum iron content due to the characteristic mullite microstructure.

Abstract The structural and morphological properties of iron-doped mullite powders are the subject of the present study. The powders of undoped and iron-doped mullite in the composition range of 3–15 wt% Fe2O3 were synthesized by a combination of sol-gel and combustion methods. The excess of water and urea were introduced in reaction solutions to enhance the copolymerization of aluminum and silicon species. The results of structural characterization revealed that the synthesized mullite powders were amorphous of a hybrid type. The specific surface area of the undoped mullite powder was 262 m2 g-1 with a maximum pore radius (dp) of 2 nm classifying it into mesoporous materials. The addition of iron has reduced the specific surface area, while the pore size value remained the same except for the sample with 3 wt% Fe2O3 (SBET = 278 m2 g-1; dp = 3 nm). The presence of iron caused lowering the temperature of liquid phase formation, while present urea combusted providing the increase of the temperature locally that caused the sintering and formation of agglomerates of smaller particles. However, the results of the particle size analysis are not straightforward. The values of mean volume diameter (D[3,4]) indicated that the particle size increased to 6 wt% Fe2O3 (123.6 μm), and then decreased and for the sample with 12 wt% Fe2O3, it was equal to 96.6 μm. Thus, the added iron contributed to the more uniform particle size distribution. The SEM analysis has also shown the coarse powder particles consisted of the coalesced smaller particles.

Summary A word, a term, written or spoken is the most beautiful jewel that a civilization can make. It can be therefore said that the specialized terminology of a particular profession – is its jewel. This professional jewel, specialized terminology, reflects not only its present time but also all the past ages it was developed through into a jewel of a culture and its civilizational value. This also applies to the specialized terminology of physical culture that is, the terminology of physical education and sport. It is also the jewel which reflects the present and the past; its developmental path that has always been adjusted to the social circumstances and time it has existed in. Its terminology can provide insight into its development, rises and falls, turns to the prevailing ’’noble’’ ideas, inflow of foreign words into the body of the specialized terminology. Development of the specialized terminology for physical culture that is, physical education and sport includes not only deep consideration and proficiency but also good intentions to make improvements to the profession and not to the current geopolitical (in)conveniences. It is therefore very important to emphasize that search and selection of a term which can indeed reflect the conceptual content in question is neither easy nor automatic. Moreover, if a good intention is missing, then various problems in communication can occur. The Latins described it very well: Nomen est omen. Doubts about terms: physical culture – sport, physical education – sport education, physical exercising – physical activity, physical recreation – sport recreation are just some of the examples indicating that it is necessary to continue the development of the multilingual specialized terminology dictionary for our profession.

Roadway free-flow speed captures the typical vehicle speed in low traffic conditions. Modeling free-flow speed is an important problem in transportation engineering with applications to a variety of design, operation, planning, and policy decisions of highway systems. Unfortunately, collecting large-scale historical traffic speed data is expensive and time consuming. Traditional approaches for estimating free-flow speed use geometric properties of the underlying road segment, such as grade, curvature, lane width, lateral clearance and access point density, but for many roads such features are unavailable. We propose a fully automated approach, RasterNet, for estimating free-flow speed without the need for explicit geometric features. RasterNet is a neural network that fuses large-scale overhead imagery and aerial LiDAR point clouds using a geospatially consistent raster structure. To support training and evaluation, we introduce a novel dataset combining free-flow speeds of road segments, overhead imagery, and LiDAR point clouds across the state of Kentucky. Our method achieves state-of-the-art results on a benchmark dataset.

SUMMARY The role of T regulatory lymphocytes (Treg) particularly in cancer is well known. The goal of the present study was to determine the contribution of these lymphocytes in the regulation of anti-tumor immunity of CBA/HZgr mice against MC-2 fibrosarcoma (4th generation of methylcholanthrene induced tumor). The levels of T lymphocytes (CD4+, CD8+ and CD4+CD25+) were determined 8 and 20 days after tumor transplantation. Further, the role of CD4+CD25+ (Tregs) in tumor-host interaction was evaluated in vitro and in vivo by using specific monoclonal antibodies. We found that splenocytes of both control and Treg depleted tumor bearing mice strongly but differently inhibited growth of tumor cells in vitro. While splenocytes of untreated mice exhibited significant decrease of this activity (from 74.4% to 62.6% and 32.95%), the splenocytes of Treg depleted mice showed increase of this activity (from 79.5% to 84.3% and 86.2%) from day 6 to day 13 and day 21 after tumor grafting, respectively. Further, upon i.v. injecting specific monoclonal anti-Treg antibody tumor immediately prior to tumor cell intracutaneous transplantation, the tumor was rejected after initial growth. In treated mice, the incidence of Treg cells was very low initially, reaching normal values two weeks later. These animals were shown to be resistant to tumor transplantation four months later.