The floristic composition and ecological characteristics of the area where honey grazing is carried out directly define the botanical origin as well as the physical and chemical properties of honey. The goal of this research was to determine the potential of woody and shrubby plant species in the apiflora from Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) based on the qualitative-quantitative palynological analysis of honey samples. In the research, 100 different types of honey samples from B&H were collected and analyzed. The melissopalinological preparations were prepared and analyzed in accordance with the Rulebook on methods for the control of honey and other bee products of B&H, as well as the methods proposed by ICBB. After the melissopalinological analysis, 25 plant families with a total of 30,000 pollen grains were identified, of which 16 were woody or shrubby plants with 18,126 pollen grains in the preparations. In the research, the most presented honey-bearing woody plants were: black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), chestnut (Castanea sativa) and linden (Tilia sp.). Each analyzed palynological profile represented a unique combination of pollen from honey-bearing plants, as a specific biological imprint of the place of honey grazing.

Cotoneaster integerrimus represents a multiploid and facultative apomictic system of widely distributed mountain populations. We used flow cytometry to determine genome size, ploidy level, and reproduction mode variation of the Balkan populations, supplemented by analysis of nuclear microsatellites in order to address: (i) geographic distribution and variation of cytotypes among the populations; (ii) variation of reproduction mode and the frequency of sexuality; (iii) pathways of endosperm formation among the sampled polyploids and their endosperm balance requirements; (iv) genotypic diversity and geographic distribution of clonal lineages of polyploids. The prevalence of apomictic tetraploid cytotype followed by sexual diploids and extremely rare triploids was demonstrated. This prevalence of tetraploids affected the populations’ structure composed from clonal genotypes with varying proportions. The co-occurrence of diploids and tetraploids generated higher cytotype, reproductive mode, and genotypic diversity, but mixed-ploidy sites were extremely rare. The endosperm imbalance facilitates the development and the occurrence of intermediate triploids in mixed-ploidy populations, but also different tetraploid lineages elsewhere with unbalanced endosperm. All these results showed that the South European populations of C. integerrimus have higher levels of cytotype and reproductive diversity compared to the Central European ones. Therefore, the South European populations can be considered as a potential reservoir of regional and global diversity for this species.

In this study, the chemical composition and antioxidant activity of the hydrodistilled essential oil of Achillea lingulata, an endemic species of the Euro-Mediterranean region, originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina, was investigated for the first time. For comparison, an analysis of the essential oil of the widely distributed Achillea millefolium, which grows together in the same habitat, was made. Ninety-six components were identified in A. lingulata and A. millefolium oils comprising 97.8% and 85.8%, of the total oil, respectively. The oil of A. lingulata was characterized by a high content of oxygenated monoterpenes (76.8%). The main compounds were borneol (30.1%), trans-verbenol (15.5%), 2-tridecanone (12.2%), fragranol (8.3%), and myrtenol (7.9%). In contrast, essential oil of A. millefolium had oxygenated sesquiterpenes (60.8%) as the most abundant compounds, with elemol (32.9%) as the main constituent. In addition, γ-eudesmol (12.9%), caryophyllene oxide (7.7%), transcaryophyllene (5.7%) and γ-muurolene (4.7%) were present in a significant percentage in A. millefolium oil. Antioxidant activity was tested by three methods, ABTS, DPPH and FRAP, and the obtained results showed low activity of both investigated oils.

Aim To characterize methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains phenotypically and genotypically and to determine their clonal affiliation, representation and antibiotic resistance profile. Methods A total of 62 randomly selected MRSA isolates of different clinical samples collected from 2009 to 2017 were phenotypically and genotypically analysed. Phenotypic analyses were performed by standard microbiological procedures, and using VITEK 2/AES instrument as well as MALDI-TOF (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization) technology. Genotypic characterization included spa, MLST (multilocus sequence typing) and SCCmec typing, and detection of the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) and other enterotoxin encoding genes. Results The largest number of isolates, 21 (33.87%) belonged to ST228-MRSA-I, spa type t041, t1003 and t001. Other major clones were: ST239-MRSA-III, spa type t037 and t030 (27.41%); ST8-MRSA-IV, spa type t008 and t121 (12.9%); ST247-MRSA-I, spa type t051 (4.83%). PVL was detected in 10 isolates (SCCmec IV/V). During 2009 and 2010 the most frequent MRSA strain was South German clone, ST228-MRSA-I (80% and 90%, respectively), while in later years it was replaced with Brazilian-Hungarian clone ST239-MRSA-III (75% in 2015 and 2016). The South German clone, spa type t041 in 90.48% of cases was resistant to clindamycin, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, cefoxitin, gentamicin, kanamycin, tobramycin and penicillin, while 70.58% samples of the Brazilian-Hungarian clone spa type t037 were additionally resistant to tetracycline and rifampicin. Conclusion This research can supplement the existing knowledge about the clonal distribution of MRSA in Bosnia and Herzegovina and their sensitivity to antibiotics in order to improve the national control of these infections.

Summary: The paper presents a procedure for numerical modelling of the geometric nonlinearity of a rod. The calculation of cross-sectional forces, displacements and rotations of nodes was done by iterative methods on a deformed system. By the described procedure, the equilibrium state is established in the finite position of the rod. In the process of deformation, there is an increase in cross-sectional forces and deformation of the rod. The presented calculation methods are used to model geometric nonlinearity with constant and variable stiffness of the cross section of the rod. The calculations were done numerically, and the results were controlled using the SCIA software package. Through numerical examples, the calculation procedure was presented and the analysis of the results was performed.