Cd, Cr, and Pb concentrations were analysed in 18 bottled drinking water samples from the Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) market, classified as natural spring water or still natural mineral water. Metal concentrations were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry with electrothermal atomisation in a graphite furnace. Cr was quantified in two samples, Pb in four samples, while Cd concentrations were below the limit of detection in all samples. All concentrations were below national regulatory limits. Health risks associated with Cr and Pb exposure through bottled water consumption were assessed for adolescents, adults, and pregnant women by calculating the hazard quotient (HQ), hazard index (HI), carcinogenic risk (CR), and total carcinogenic risk (TCR). Some exposure scenarios exceeded HQ and HI thresholds, suggesting potential non-carcinogenic effects, primarily due to Pb exposure. CR and TCR values across all exposure scenarios were below established thresholds, indicating generally acceptable or negligible carcinogenic risk. Given the limited sample set, the data on Cd, Cr, and Pb content, along with the health risk assessment, should be regarded as preliminary, serving as a starting point to guide future research. Considering the health implications of heavy metal exposure, continuous water-quality monitoring and a more comprehensive health risk assessment, including additional heavy metals and a larger sample set, are essential, as regulatory compliance does not necessarily imply the absence of health risks.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the dietary habits, diet quality, and mental well-being of university students in different countries. Material and Methods: The descriptive general characteristics, disease status, dietary habits, smoking status, and alcohol consumption status of the students were recorded. In addition, the Mediterranean Dietary Adherence Scale (MEDAS) was used to assess diet quality, the Short Physical Activity Assessment Tool was used to assess physical activity levels, and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale was used to assess mental well-being. Results: 58% of the students in Turkey and 69.9% of the students in Bosnia and Herzegovina had a normal BMI. The percentage of students in Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina with high adherence to the Mediterranean diet ranged from 20.3% to 32.5%. The mental well-being scores of students in the two countries were similar, with averages of 51.7±9.3 in Turkey and 51.2±8.8 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Conclusion: Since university represents a critical transitional stage to adulthood, it is important to promote and support healthy behaviors during this period. Therefore, adopting and implementing nutrition and health education programs, along with increasing students' physical activity levels, is recommended to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity amonguniversity students and to improve their dietary habits. Keywords: Dietary habits, mental well-being, Mediterranean diet, different countries.

Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli are contaminants of broiler skin, and in unauthorized numbers cause campylobacteriosis in consumers where symptoms range from gastrointestinal to life-threatening. The number of chicken bacteria and their genetic diversity depend on the growing conditions, and the presence of antibiotic resistance genes is the result of irrational use of antibiotics. The purpose of this paper is to point out the importance of reducing the contamination of Campylobacter spp. in broiler production as well as the importance of the rational use of antibiotics in the production of broilers with a contribution to the prevention of the spread of campylobacteriosis and antibiotic resistance. The incidence of campylobacteriosis can be prevented by the concept of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) in broiler production and the use of probiotics as biological preservatives in broiler meat. The spread of antibiotic resistance genes can be reduced by prohibition of antibiotic use for   prophylaxis and only permitted for medication.

C. jejuni and C. coli have the greatest zoonotic potential. In humans, they cause campylobacteriosis with symptoms of food poisoning. Epidemics are mostly related to the consumption of non-chlorinated water and contaminated chicken food and in the spring-summer season. Since 2005, according to the European Food Safety Agency and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, campylobacteriosis has been considered the leading alimentary intoxication. A review of the literature was published in Medline, PubMed, Google Scholar, electronically available scientific journals, books, textbooks, proceedings books and reports EFSA/ ECDC, FAO/ WHO. Only literature in English, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian is included. As a measure to prevent campylobacteriosis, sanitation is recommended in the primary production of chicken meat, and the use of probiotics in meat as biological preservatives is being investigated

Antibiotic resistance is considered a global public health problem and is related to the problem of resistance of bacteria in human and veterinary medicine that are transmitted directly and through the food chain. Uncontrolled use of antibiotics in veterinary practice is a special danger for the development of antibiotic resistance. The problem of public health, human and veterinary is the acquired resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. Of particular importance is the emergence of multidrug resistance to Escherichia coli, which is becoming more common in the world, both in human and veterinary medicine, and the possible transmission of resistant Escherichia coli between animals and humans. The purpose of this paper is to show the importance of the rational use of antibiotics in animals and humans to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance. Escherichia coli is an intestinal bacterium of all mammals, widespread in the environment and often present in food of animal origin. Today, a pluripotent bacterium and a carrier of antibiotic resistance genes due to anthropogenic factors, and genes are transmitted through animal bacteria, food bacteria to bacteria of human origin.

The incorporation of β‐amino acids into a peptide sequence has gained particular attention as β‐ and α/β‐peptides have shown remarkable proteolytic stability, even after a single homologation at the scissile bond. Several peptidases have been shown to cleave such bonds with high specificity but at a much slower rate compared to α‐peptide bonds. In this study, a series of analogs of dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 (DPP‐4) substrate inhibitors were synthesized in order to investigate whether β‐amino acid homologation at the scissile bond could be a valid approach to improving peptide stability towards DPP‐4 degradation. DPP‐4 cleaved the α/β‐peptide bond after the N‐terminal penultimate Pro with a broad specificity and retained full activity regardless of the β3‐amino acid side chain and peptide length. Significantly improved half‐lives were observed for β3Ile‐containing peptides. Replacing the penultimate Pro with a conformationally constrained Pro mimetic led to proteolytic resistance. DPP‐4 cleavage of α/β‐peptide bonds with a broad promiscuity represents a new insight into the stability of peptide analogs containing β‐amino acids as such analogs were thought to be stable towards enzymatic degradation.

Folic acid (FA) supplementation is recommended for all women of childbearing age and pregnant women. Still, women’s adherence to these recommendations is often low. This crosssectional survey aimed to assess FA supplementation among pregnant women in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) since no such data exist to date. Data were collected by a voluntary, anonymous, self-administered internet-based questionnaire. The inclusion criteria were current pregnancy, BiH origin, and BiH residence for at least the past 5 years. The vast majority (82.1%) of women reported inadequate periconceptional FA supplementation, and only 26.9% reported supplementation during the critical period for neural tube closure. The use of a high dose (≥5 mg/day) FA beyond the first trimester was reported by 9.0% of women. Women’s age was significantly associated with adequate folic acid use for the prevention of neural tube defects (OR=1.207, p<0.05). The periconceptional FA supplementation in the studied population is suboptimal. These preliminary data call for action, especially because BiH is a lower-middleincome country without mandatory FA food fortification program. Further research on folate dietary intake and folate status in the target group, as well as possible predictors of the low prevalence of supplementation, is recommended.

In this work, both farm milk samples (n=3), as well as samples of milk from Bosnia and Herzegovina market (n=7), were analyzed to quantify the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls. The PCB content (as Aroclor 1254) was determined in the fat extracts using the PCB ELISA kit, according to the procedure provided by the manufacturer. The total PCB concentrations (as Aroclor 1254) in individual milk sample ranged from <LoD to 787.74 μg/kg lipid weight (l.w.). The calculated Ʃ6PCB were ranged from <LoD to 187.72 μg/kg l.w. In one out of ten analyzed samples the presence of PCB higher than maximum limit (ML) was found. However, the absorbance measured for this sample is out of the linear range. In this case the sample can be considered as a suspect and should be analyzed with the quantitative confirmatory method. In other milk samples the concentration of PCB was in the acceptable range, and far below the ML.