Aim The damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has made the prevention of its further spread at the top of the list of priorities of many governments and state institutions responsible for health and civil protection around the world. This prevention implies an effective system of epidemiological surveillance and the application of timely and effective control measures. This research focuses on the application of techniques for modelling and geovisualization of epidemic data with the aim of simple and fast communication of analytical results via geoportal. Methods The paper describes the approach applied through the project of establishing the epidemiological location-intelligence system for monitoring the effectiveness of control measures in preventing the spread of COVID-19 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Results Epidemic data were processed and the results related to spatio-temporal analysis of the infection spread were presented by compartmental epidemic model, reproduction number R, epi-curve diagrams as well as choropleth maps for different levels of administrative units. Geovisualization of epidemic data enabled the release of numerous information from described models and indicators, providing easier visual communication of the spread of the disease and better recognition of its trend. Conclusion The approach involves the simultaneous application of epidemic models and epidemic data geovisualization, which allows a simple and rapid evaluation of the epidemic situation and the effects of control measures. This contributes to more informative decision-making related to control measures by suggesting their selective application at the local level.

At the end of 2019 the world became aware of the existence of a new virus stemming from the Coronaviridae family and causing a specific disease – COVID-19. In less than three months, the virus and its consequences, developed from being a local public health problem in China to a daunting global problem we all had to face. On March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic of COVID-19. On the international scale, even in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the response of the professionals and scientists has been rapid, although not always consistently efficient enough. Despite the selfless cooperation of scientists and practitioners worldwide, countries with developed economies, good public health and a strong scientific system have had the advantage in the fight against the disease over developing countries. Despite the fact that by these criteria BiH is not one of the most resilient countries, so far, its response to the pandemic has seemed to be satisfactory. The Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ANUBiH) was one of the first institutions of the science system to respond to the pandemic. On the initiative and under the leadership of academician Mirsada Hukić, on March 22, 2020 the development of the project "Epidemic Location Intelligence System (ELIS)" and its Geoportal began on a voluntary basis, with the task of permanently monitoring the spread of COVID-19. Theoretical and professional parts of the project in the areas of medicine, public health and informatics were completed by April 2, 2020. Thanks to the support to the project by the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Šefik Džaferović, the expert system received additional hardware support and was filled in time with data from across the country. This enabled the system to become operational as early as on April 8, 2020. The results of all these efforts are visible in this publication. Initially, the ELIS project was important for the epidemiological and public health area. The abundance of collected data and obtained virus samples enabled the extension of the project idea to the sequencing of viruses found in BiH and their typology. The transition of research to the clinical aspects of COVID-19 is the next phase in the development of the ELIS project. ANUBiH has already started the work on examining the economic and pedagogical consequences of COVID-19 in order to look at this medical phenomenon in the broadest possible context. All the results of ANUBiH in response to the epidemic challenges of COVID-19 are achieved due to the synergistic action of numerous individuals and institutions in different fields of science and public health in cooperation with government. Therefore, I believe that the ELIS project has shown the way to go in solving the burning problems of our society which we will encounter in the future.

This paper shows how to integrate data from enterprise database with spatial data, publish them together to online interactive map, and enable public users to perform analysis in simple web interface. The fact, that this is a public site, where users are not known in advanced and not trained, calls for importance of usability and intuitive user interface design. Also, system administrators are not willing to invest a lot of time in learning the basics of a system, and data providers need effective geoportals to enable access to spatial data and services via the Internet. All these needs should be reconciled during the implementation of the solution. Due to increasing interest of forestry and agricultural organizations in spatial data infrastructure (SDI) development and public users' needs for biomass data web presentation and analysis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as case study is used the project of Biomass Potential Database with Online Atlas development. Additionally, here is proposed application of the geoportal using online atlas as spatial decision support tool.

Online courses have potential to reach broader audience when compared to traditional learning methods, as they can be made instantly available to groups of students dispersed over wide range of locations and time zones. Some learning topics are easily adopted to this online environment, while others may be challenging to implement as online courses due to their specific requirements and associated cost. If mastering certain topic requires hands-on experience then online course must be made interactive to match the experience of a traditional instructor-led class. Otherwise, online course will be perceived as unsatisfactory and lacking positive impact. Computer Aided Design (CAD) training requires both high performance Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) and hands-on experience with specific CAD software. Both these requirements are difficult to meet on a remote student computer without additional cost. In this paper, grouping CAD workstations into cells is proposed in order to perform required graphics processing using existing hardware and software resources available in an average CAD laboratory. Proposed cell framework uses video capture and GPU hardware encoding to stream the content to the remote students while capturing their interactive feedback for the near real-time hands-on experience. The framework requires single capture card per cell and utilizes 20% of the resources for the cell overhead processing. Remaining 80% of workstations are fully available to the online students and instructors.

Different methodologies are used to assess the potential for using high efficiency cogeneration for cooling and heating. They are mostly adapted to the availability of data and tools for their analytical processing. This paper presents the approach applying location intelligence as a tool that allows using geospatial analysis algorithms and geovisualization of its results. Due to the extremely large amount of data and the dependence of the results on their accuracy and the level of aggregation, the initial methodology of the analytical process implied two steps: wide scale mapping by the ”top down” method, and local mapping by “bottom up” method. However, in order to overcome the problem of regional disparities of quality and the existence of spatial data, certain adaptations of the initial methodology have been made considering the need for a single analytical approach for the entire area of interest. Randomized control of the obtained results indicate that applied geospatial algorithms satisfy the required level of accuracy and reliability of the final methodology.

Development of a spatial decision support system requires integration of various spatial data sets coming from different information systems of possibly more than one organization. The spatial decision support system development for spatial planning and environmental protection is discussed and spatial data integration is described. The heterogeneity of information systems from which spatial data come is reflected through their purpose. Utility and real estate cadaster systems imply services to citizens as part of spatial data infrastructure in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The spatial planning information system is intended for registration of environmental changes and spatial decision making. Utility cadaster information system development is described along with important aspects on how to satisfy both functional cadastral services and spatial planning experts needs to analyze information related to land use and network supply systems. Particular attention is given to spatial data transformation for utility cadaster database development in accordance with a prescribed data model.

This paper describes an approach introducing location intelligence using open-source software components as the solution for planning and construction of the airport infrastructure. As a case study, the spatial information system of the International Airport in Sarajevo is selected. Due to the frequent construction work on new terminals and the increase of existing airport capacities, as one of the measures for more efficient management of airport infrastructures, the development team has suggested to airport management to introduce location intelligence, meaning to upgrade the existing information system with a functional WebGIS solution. This solution is based on OpenGeo architecture that includes a set of spatial data management technologies used to create an online internet map and build a location intelligence infrastructure.

Tularemia is a vector-borne zoonosis with a complex epidemiology caused by Francisella tularensis. F. tularensis is a non-motile, obligatory aerobic, facultative intracellular Gram-negative coccobacillus. The bacterium has a broad host range, i.e. mammals, birds and invertebrates. Two types (A, B) and four subspecies (F. tularensis subsp. tularensis (type A), F. tularensis subsp. holarctica (type B), F. tularensis subsp. mediasiatica and F. tularensis subsp. novicida.) are known today. Types A and B are of importance as they cause disease in humans and animals. Type A is present almost exclusively in North America and type B is found all over the Northern hemisphere. F. tularensis is considered to be a class A biological warfare agent, it is notoriously difficult to recognize infections in non-endemic regions and was produced as a weaponized agent by several countries in the 1960ties and 70ties. Humans can acquire tularemia by inhaling dust or aerosols contaminated with F. tularensis bacteria, this type of exposure can result in pneumonic tularemia, one of the most severe forms of the disease. especially farming involving machines that disperse remains of infected animals or carcasses. Rarely, water can become tularemia contaminated through contact with infected animals. Humans who drink contaminated and untreated water may contract oropharyngeal tularemia. The tularemia outbreak in B&H in 1995 showed an unusual number of oropharyngeal cases. As all aspects of this particular tularemia epidemic were not thoroughly investigated and the possible intentional use of agents of biological warfare remained a possibility, we reviewed all available data in order to assess whether the outbreak was natural. Correspondence to: Mirsada Hukić, Institute for Biomedical Diagnostic and Research Nalaz, Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tel: +387-33-651 371; E-mail: mirsadahukic@yahoo.com Received: May 23, 2017; Accepted: June 20, 2017; Published: June 22, 2017 Introduction Tularemia is a vector-borne zoonosis with a complex epidemiology caused by Francisella tularensis. F. tularensis is a non-motile, obligatory aerobic, facultative intracellular Gram-negative coccobacillus. The bacterium has a broad host range, i.e. mammals, birds and invertebrates. Four subspecies are known today; F. tularensis subsp. tularensis (type A), F. tularensis subsp. holarctica (type B), F. tularensis subsp. mediasiatica and F. tularensis subsp. novicida. Types A and B are of importance as they cause disease in humans and animals. Type A is present almost exclusively in North America and type B is found all over the Northern hemisphere [1]. Infections due to tick and deer fly bites usually take the form of ulceroglandular or glandular tularemia. F. tularensis bacteria can also be transmitted to humans via the skin when handling infected animal tissue. This can occur when hunting or skinning infected rodents like rabbits, muskrats and other rodents. Many animals have also been known to become infected and clinically ill from tularemia. Domestic cats are very susceptible and can transmit the bacteria to their owners. Therefore, care should always be taken when handling sick or dead animals. Infection due to handling animals can result in glandular, ulceroglandular and oculoglandular tularemia. Eating of under-cooked meat of infected animal’s tularemia can also result in oropharyngeal tularemia [2]. Humans can acquire tularemia by inhaling dust or aerosols contaminated with F. tularensis bacteria, this type of exposure can result in pneumonic tularemia, one of the most severe forms of the disease. especially farming involving machines that disperse remains of infected animals or carcasses. Rarely, water can become tularemia contaminated through contact with infected animals. Humans who drink contaminated and untreated water may contract oropharyngeal tularemia [3]. Transmission from person to person has so far not been reported. Inhalational tularemia following intentional release of a virulent strain of F. tularensis would have the greatest adverse human Hukić M (2017) Recognizing the possibility of bioterrorism in the face of emerging and reemerging zoonotic pathogens in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war (1992-1995) Volume 1(3): 2-7 Virol Res Rev, 2017 doi: 10.15761/VRR.1000113 consequence because of its very high infectivity if delivered as an aerosol. It has been estimated that an aerosol dispersal of 50 kg of virulent F. tularensis over a metropolitan area with 5 million inhabitants would result in 250 000 incapacitating casualties, including 19,000 deaths. Outbreaks of pneumonic tularemia, particularly in low incidence areas, should prompt consideration of bioterrorism. F. tularensis has long been considered a potential biological weapon. It was one of the agents studied the Japanese germ warfare research units in Manchuria, China between 1932 and 1945; it was also considered for military purposes in the West [4]. An outbreak of tularemia reported in Soviet and German soldiers during the second world war may have been the result of intentional release [5]. F. tularensis has been studied, weaponized and stockpiled by several countries, including Japan, the USSR and the US [4]. Pathogenesis Francisella tularensis can infect humans through the skin, mucous membranes, gastrointestinal tract, and lungs. The major target organs are the lymph nodes, lungs and pleura, spleen, liver, and kidney. Bacteremia is common in the early phase of infection. The initial tissue reaction to infection is a focal, suppurative necrosis. Suppurative lesions become granulomatous, typical of other granulomatous conditions, i.e. tuberculosis or sarcoidosis. Humans with inhalational exposure also develop early in the course of illness hemorrhagic signs and inflammation of the airways which usually evolves to bronchopneumonia. Clinical manifestations The primary clinical forms of tularemia vary in severity and presentation according to virulence of the infecting organism, the dose, and way of administration. Primary disease presentations can be glandular, ulceroglandular, oculoglandular, oropharyngeal, pneumonic, typhoidal, and septic forms. The onset of tularemia is usually abrupt, with fever (38°C-40°C), headache, chills and rigors, generalized body aches (lower back pain) and sore throat. A dry or slightly productive cough frequently occurs with or without signs of pneumonia. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea sometimes occur. Sweats, fever and chills, malaise, progressive weakness and weight loss characterize the continuing illness. In untreated tularemia, symptoms often persist for several weeks or months. Any form of tularemia may be complicated by hematogenous spread, resulting in secondary pleura-pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis. Prior to the administration of antibiotics, the overall mortality with the more severe type A strains is of 5% to 15%, and in the case of untreated pneumonic and severe systemic forms fatality rates as high as 30% to 60% were reported. Type B infections are in contrast rarely fatal. Ulceroglandular tularemia, after handling a contaminated carcass or due to an infective arthropod bite, a local cutaneous papule appears at the inoculation site together with the onset of generalized symptoms, becomes pustular, and ulcerates within a few days. The ulcer is tender may show an eschar. Antibiotic treatment does not prevent the affected nodes from becoming fluctuant and rupture. Oculoglandular tularemia, which follows direct contamination of the eye, ulceration occurs on the conjunctiva, accompanied by pronounced chemosis, vasculitis, and regional lymphadenitis. Glandular tularemia is characterized by lymphadenopathy without an ulcer. Oropharyngeal tularemia is acquired by drinking contaminated water, ingesting contaminated food, or by inhaling contaminated droplets or aerosols. Affected persons may develop stomatitis but more commonly develop exudative pharyngitis or tonsillitis, sometimes with ulceration. Tularemia pneumonia is the direct result of inhaling contaminated aerosols. Inhalational exposures commonly result in an initial clinical picture of systemic illness without prominent signs of respiratory disease. The earliest pulmonary radiographic findings of inhalational tularemia may be peribronchial infiltrates, typically advancing to bronchopneumonia in one or more lobes. Pulmonary infection can sometimes rapidly progress to severe pneumonia, respiratory failure, and death. Lung abscesses occur infrequently. Typhoidal tularemia is used to describe systemic illness when the site of inoculation or the localization of infection is unclear. Tularemia sepsis is severe and potentially fatal. As in the case of typhoidal tularemia, fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting may be prominent early in the course of illness. The patient typically appears toxic and may develop confusion and coma. Unless treated promptly, septic shock and other complications of systemic inflammatory response syndrome may develop with hemorrhagic signs, acute respiratory distress syndrome and organ failure [4]. The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) (1992-1995) As in all conflicts, the inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina were under extreme pressure during the war that took place 1992-1995. Due to the nature of the conflict that sometimes involved hostilities amongst neighbors, there was minimal respect for human rights and civilians, children and old people as well as soldiers suffered the consequences. In particular the weakest individuals, namely women and children suffered the most. Horrific ethnic cleansing campaigns between 1992 and the end of 1995 killed thousands and violently displaced more than two million people in much of B&H. International intervention into the Bosnian conflict led finally to a peace agreement in late 1995 (the Dayton Accords). The Dayton agreement finally ended the war in B&H. In 1995, the conflict between multiple factions was ag