Background and Objectives: Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are among the most prescribed psychotropic drugs and significant number of patients use these drugs for longer periods than recommended. The objective of this study was to determine the factors associated with prescribing of BZDs at the primary healthcare level. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of family physicians’ prescriptions from the databases of family medicine teams of the Republic of Srpska was performed. The number of BZDs users, as well as the total number of prescriptions, were determined. Thereafter, it was determined which specific BZD had been prescribed, in which dose, for how long, as well as the specific social and demographic characteristics of patients to whom the drugs were prescribed. Results: The results showed that 38.47% of patients used the BZDs for a period longer than six months. The most frequent BZDs prescribed were the intermediate-acting BZDs, primarily bromazepam (58.69%). Two thirds of patients were women. The average age of the patients was 60, 60.46% of patients were single, and 69.68% lived in urban areas. The longer uses of BZDs were recorded in women, the elderly, single people and those who lived in urban areas, while higher doses of BZDs were prescribed to men, as well as younger and married people. The highest positive correlation was found between the dose and length of use of BZD. Conclusions: A significant percentage of patients used BZDs for a time period longer than recommended. Caution is necessary when prescribing BZDs to women, the elderly, patients that live in urban areas and patients who are single. When prescribing BZDs, family physicians should be aware of their potential interactions and addictive potentials.

In this paper we analyze the different ways in which COVID-19 is used as a carrier of cultural communication, whereupon it appears as a signifier of other socio-cultural phenomena and as a conveyer of messages of such communication. Accordingly, this paper will not observe health plan of COVID-19, nor the accompanying sociological phenomena of the epidemic in the strict sense of the word, but will focus instead on the cultural dimension of the infection. As a cultural phenomenon, the process of the planetary spread of COVID-19 infection – and hence the virus itself – can be viewed as an ambiguous symbol through which the collective experience of reality is constructed and communicated, perceived and interpreted. By relying on the decades-long tradition of Serbian ethnology and anthropology in the modified application of structural-semantic analysis, we define the use of COVID-19 as a symbolic means of cultural communication, here seen as indexical. This means that the said communication is organized on the principle that “A indicates B”, where the signifying A refers to the metaphorical and metonymic use of the disease, and B refers to various social phenomena related to it. As a metonymy, the considered phenomenon can be seen in the light of the classical binary division of purity and danger, whereupon the virus, in the cultural sense, divides the whole social reality into pure (still unpolluted) and impure aspects, one corresponding to the “normal” condition of things, and the other indicating a sense of explicit danger – not only from infection, but from the collapse of the social system and the disintegration of public health and community as well. As a metaphor, we observe the virus in relation to the official political instrumentalization of the discourse of warfare, which – depending on who employs it, and why – generates different notions on the “invisible enemy”, war victims (deceased as a consequence of infection) and “(super) heroes” (primarily, health workers, but also state officials and other public figures). COVID-19 is, however, peculiar because it can also play the role of an inverse sign, by which common cultural concepts and representations are perverted, destabilizing the shared sense of “real” and “normal”.

The paper analyzes through different historical periods in Indonesia the political instrumentalization of three prophetic narratives based on the prophecies of the medieval Javanese king Jayabaya, and looks at the ways in which millenniarist organizations and political activists have used the myths of the Savior and the Golden Age to achieve their own goals. The form of prophetic narratives has proved extremely productive in the process of channeling dissatisfaction and mobilizing for the purpose of political activism, and their interpretation does not only yield a clearer picture of the complex political situation and historical events, but also, through the actions of influential individuals, it provides insight into a number of other aspects of local culture, such as the forming of religious syncretism, the division of power in society or the cultural perception of time. The paper seeks to show that these prophecies do not aim to foretell future events, but rather serve as a means of ensuring the legitimacy of individuals in political struggles in the present time.

Background/Aim: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a diagnostic challenge, particularly in prehospital care. The aim of this study was to determine to what extent the evaluation of D-dimer value helps physicians with differentiation of PE and whether D-dimer values are in correlation with the values of revised Geneva score. Methods: Data have been collected for the patients whose D-dimer has been evaluated at the Emergency Care Department of the City of Banja Luka in 2018. Gender, age, symptoms, working diagnosis and D-dimer value have all been recorded and also the fact whether the patient was referred to hospital treatment or not. For each patient the revised Geneva score was determined. Results: Sixty-eight tests were done in 2018. Out of 68 tests, 41 were negative (60.3 %). D-dimer results helped in making decisions about referring patients to the hospital or not (ch2 = 36.32, p < 0.001). Patients with elevated D-dimer levels, especially where the values were four times higher than the reference ones typically were referred to hospital treatment, whereas 67.5% patients with negative D-dimer results were sent home after giving a treatment and advice. In the elderly patients D-dimer was statistically more positive (F = 10.82, p < 0.001). Values of D-dimer were not significantly different regarding gender (ch2 = 2.19, p = 0.33). According to the results of the revised Geneva score, 5.1 % of patients had high risk of PTE, while moderate and low risk had 47.5 % each. Although it has been found that the values of D-dimer were slightly more elevated at higher values of the revised Geneva score and that the difference was not statistically significant (ch2 = 7.71, p = 0.10). Conclusion: Values of D-dimer considerably helped in differentiation of PE in the Emergency Care Department. D-dimer has a high negative predictive value and should be used to exclude PE diagnosis for patients with low clinical probability of PE.

In diagnosing COVID-19, false negative findings from the biological sample taken from a mucosal swab of the upper respiratory tract and tested with the real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique have been reported. This patient has had a proven contact with an infected person, clear symptoms of viral respiratory disease, yet negative test results on the fifth day of self-isolation. On repeated test after 48 hours, on the 7th day of isolation, due to persistence of some symptoms, he tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The existence of symptoms and characteristic sings after laboratory and radiological analysis of the patient prompted the repetition of the tests, which at the end led to the confirmed diagnosis and the possibility for adequate treatment of the patient as well.

Since the creation of football fan groups, music and fan practices have been inseparably linked everywhere in the world. This paper will highlight the importance of punk music and other content that personify this specific urban subculture for a particular group of Gravediggers, respectively fans of JSD Partizan. The research was inspired by the appearance of punk rock band Grupa JNA (JNA Group), whose music is solely dedicated to Partizan and Gravediggers, but also to the already developed tradition of fanzine making and graffiti drawing that has flourished over the past few years, thanks primarily to the multimedia group Grobarski Trash Romanticism. We will try to find an answer to how punk as an idea and practice fits into the abstract idea of Partizan as something that so tightly connects a large number of individuals and again among them evokes an unfamiliar “sublime emotion”, unknown to non-fans.

Depression is becoming a widespread illness. One of the most dangerous types of depression is postpartum depression. In the presented case of postpartum depression, aggravating factor was patient’s personality structure. With the frequent giving up on previous therapy, frequent mood swings, and the present feeling of helplessness, the very treatment of depressive episode within the postpartum depression was difficult. In this case report, the introduction of aripiprazole as a drug with a proven effect on mood swings and tendency to mood stabilisation resulted with complete and long-lasting remission.

Background: Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are very often inappropriately prescribed drugs. The aim of this study is to analyse physicians' prescribing patterns for BZD in Republic of Srpska, and to assess to what extent primary diagnosis determine the dose and the length of use of BZDs. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the physicians' prescription habits based on the database of Family Medicine Information Systems of Republic of Srpska, as well as on data from patient’s medical record were performed. Patients’ socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, including the data on the type and dose of BZDs prescribed, were recorded and evaluated. Results: BZDs were mostly prescribed for anxiety disorders (30.05%), for depressive disorders (17.54%), and for anxiety-depressive disorders (10.86%). A significant amount of BZDs was prescribed for non-psychiatric diagnoses (23.81%). Patients suffering from psychotic disorders were taking the highest dose of BZD and for the longest periods of time (p<0.001). Longer use of BZDs was in women (r=0.04, p<0.001), elderly (r=0.178, p<0.001), single people (r=0.12, p<0.001), those who live in urban areas (r=0.45, p<0.001) and those who were prescribed higher doses (r=0.213, p<0.001). Conclusion: A significant percentage of patients were using the BZDs for longer period of time than recommended. Strongest positive correlation was found between the dose and the length of use, which implies the addictive potential of BZDs. Since it has been noticed that prolonged use, or abuse is present regardless of the diagnosis, precaution is advised when prescribing BZDs even for acute diseases.

Gatta ca (1997) represents an artistic view of a dystopian future in which the genetic engineering of humans is commonplace. Through the analysis of the ways in which motifs of discrimination and disability are used in this film, wider societal implications of the development of science and the consideration of humanity in western culture are considered. The paper discusses the argumentation for the idea that gene modification means espousing the role of the Creator, and seeks answers to the question of what it means to be human in a genetically deterministic world. The issue of new kinds of discrimination in a potential post-racial world is highlighted, and the possibility of achieving authenticity and the freedom to create one's own identity in a society wherein designed people are the norm is considered. Finally, the ideas and conclusions of numerous authors who dealt with the world of Gattaca are presented, and a new point of view is offered - one which puts the focus on the religious symbolism in the film, a surprisingly neglected motif in previous analyses.

CILJ ISTRAŽIVANJA: Osnovni cilj sprovedenog istraživanja je ispitivanje ucestalosti internet zavisnosti među studentima Medicinskog i Pravnog fakulteta Univerziteta u Banjaluci. METODE: U ispitivanju je koriscen standardizovani test za ispitivanje internet zavisnosti dr Kimberly Young (IAT). Testiranje je sprovedeno anonimno, uz informisani pristanak, nad 147 studenata Medicinskog (75) i Pravnog (72) fakulteta. REZULTATI: Istraživanje je pokazalo da prema je rezultatima IAT-a, od 75 studenata Medicinskog fakulteta, njih 19 (25.3%) zavisno od interneta. Od toga, 17 studenata (22.7%) ima blagi stepen, dok njih dvoje (2.67%) ima srednji stepen zavisnosti od interneta. Nema medicinara sa visokim stepenom ove zavisnosti. Veci postotak studenata Pravnog fakulteta je internet zavisno: 35 studenata (48.6%). Od ukupnog broja njih 30 (41.7%) ima blagi stepen zavisnosti, 4 (5.56%) srednji stepen, dok 1 buduci pravnik (1.39%) ima visok stepen internet zavisnosti.