Objectives: Food supplements and medicines which are not on the list of prohibited substances of the World Anti-Doping Agency are included in the group of permitted pharmacological agents for athlete’s recovery. The aim of this study was to describe qualitatively and quantitatively food supplements (FS) and over-the-counter drugs use among athletes in the last six month. Methods: This was a cross sectional study. Data on food supplements and the over-the-counter drugs, usage were collected during 2018 by self-administered, anonymous questionnaire. Results: A total of 112 athletes completed the survey. A total of 51.8% (n = 58) athletes reported the use of food supplements. The use of medical supplements was reported by 50.0% (n = 56) of athletes, 26.8% (n = 30) reported using ergogenic supplements, 1.8% (n = 2) using of sports food and 4.5% (n = 5) using other supplements. The use of over-the-counter drugs was reported by 35.7% (n = 40) of athletes. The over-the-counter analgesic drugs were used by 95% (n = 38) of over-the-counter drug users. Concomitant administration two or more over-the-counter drugs was reported by 40% (n = 16) athletes. Doctors and coaches had no advisory role in the use of food supplements or over-the-counter drugs.

Aflatoksin M1 ve M2, aflatoksin B1 ve B2'nin hidroksile metabolitleri olup, sut ve sut urunlerinde bulunabilir. Bu calismanin amaci, Bosna-Hersek'in farkli bolgelerinden farkli donemlere ait test sonuclarini kullanarak cig sutteki bu toksine maruz kalma ve saglik riski degerlendirmesi yapmaktir. AFM1 alim degerlendirmesi icin, Bosna-Hersek'te Tarim ve Kirsal Kalkinmaya Yonelik Katilim Oncesi Yardim Sektor Analizleri raporundaki veriler kullanilmistir. Aflatoksin M1'in cig sutteki konsantrasyonu icin, Saraybosna Eczacilik Universitesi Toksikolojik Kimya Fakultesi Laboratuvari'ndan alinan onceki calismalarin verileri ile yayinlanmamis veriler kullanilmistir. Dort maruziyet senaryosu icin yillik hepatoseluler karsinom riski (HCC) insidansi hesaplanarak risk karakterizasyonu yapilmistir. Sonuclar, ortalama tahmini gunluk aflatoksin M1 aliminin gunde 0.049 ng/kg vucut agirligi oldugunu gostermistir. Hepatoseluler karsinom riski (vaka/yil/100.000 kisi), HBsAg prevalansina bagli olarak nispeten dusuk bulunmustur (ortalama 0.000064-0.000074 vaka/yil/100.000). Son yillarda, aflatoksin M1'in kanserojen riskinin dusuk oldugu ve Bosna Hersek'te kritik olmadigi sonucuna varilmistir.

Background Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex endocrinopathy affecting up to 20% of pre-menopausal women. The most recent international guidelines set lifestyle management as the cornerstone of the PCOS treatment. Still, there is a paucity of data on the implementation of lifestyle management in clinical practice. This cross-sectional study aimed to explore physicians-reported practices in PCOS lifestyle management in the Sarajevo Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The profession of dietetics is not legally recognized in BiH. Nutritional interventions in health promotion and disease treatment are provided by medical professionals. Methods Data were collected by a paper-based questionnaire distributed during March-May 2018 in the Public Institution Health Centre of Sarajevo Canton. Results Forty-six physicians (response rate of 80.7%) completed the questionnaire. An initial treatment plan based solely on lifestyle measures (diet + physical activity), as recommended by current guidelines was reported by 34.8% of physicians. Although dietary interventions were rated as highly relevant in PCOS management by the vast majority of physicians, only one-half reported recording patients' adherence and 45.7% of physicians were unsure of the effectiveness of the lifestyle interventions in their patients. Conclusion PCOS lifestyle management in the study setting is sub-optimal. Additional education on effective PCOS lifestyle management strategies would be beneficial, especially for physicians with less than 15 years in practice. Possible obstacles to better physicians' engagement in PCOS lifestyle management should be further investigated.

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.

The main objective of this study was to determine the content of heavy metals Cd, Pb, Hg and metalloid As in samples of date mussels Lithophaga lithophaga L., 1758 in order to evaluate the health risks for mussel consumers. Samples of shellfish were obtained from commercial sources and fishery in the area of Sarajevo. The content of heavy metals and arsenic is determined in a total of 46 samples. Samples were prepared by microwave digestion. For the analysis of total As, cadmium and lead, an atomic absorption spectrophotometer with graphite furnace was used, while mercury content was determined using a direct Hg analyser. In all samples, the content of heavy metals and arsenic was above the quantification limit of the given methods. The content of all analysed metals and metalloid was below the limits of their maximum allowable concentration in food, according to the current regulations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union. Evaluation of the public health risks associated with date mussels' consumption indicates that there is no evident risk for a moderate adult consumer.

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.