Human resource management today, in an era of rapid technological achievements and a changing work environment, represents a great challenge. Particular attention is being directed toward the digitalization of business operations and technically modern management, while human resources still remain in the background. Teamwork, adaptability to new circumstances and quick response to problem-solving are the central part of this paper. The aim of the paper is to conduct an integrated performance evaluation of utility vehicle crews that collect and transport waste in the city of Doboj (Bosnia and Herzegovina) on a daily basis, using multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods. Five crews (each crew consists of a driver and two support workers) work daily to keep the city clean while properly disposing of municipal waste. The selection of the best-ranked utility vehicle crew for the month of March 2026 was carried out using the FUCOM (Full Consistency Method) and MARCOS (Measurement Alternatives and Ranking according to COmpromise Solution) methods. The FUCOM method was used to determine the weights of nine influential criteria, while the MARCOS method was applied to rank five alternatives of utility vehicle crews. The research results showed that alternative A3 was ranked as the best-rated crew in the observed period, achieving the highest value of the utility function f(K3) = 0.878. The value f(K4) = 0.433 belongs to the worst alternative (A4) and represents the lower reference value within the MARCOS model.

The free time of elementary school students is an important developmental resource that can contribute to the formation of personal competencies, creativity, social skills and healthy lifestyles. The aim of the paper is to present and analyze the role of family, school, peers and the wider social community in shaping the quality and content of students’ free time. The research was conducted on a sample of 210 respondents from two elementary schools in the city of Tuzla, students from grades VII to IX, of whom 107 are male and 103 are female. The results obtained show that parents/guardians, as the primary social environment, do not have a major role when it comes to creating free time or the function of completely protecting students from accessing social networks and using modern technologies, nor for the organization and quality of spending time outside of school obligations. In addition to the educational function, the school also has a significant educational function, and through its programs, extracurricular activities and cooperation with the local community it can encourage the constructive use of free time. Peers play a key role in socialization and interest formation, while the wider social community – including cultural, sports and other activities – provides conditions and opportunities for diverse activities. The results indicate the need for an integrated approach, in which the cooperation of all the above-mentioned actors contributes to the stimulating and balanced development of students.

This paper evaluates a hybrid institutional model for governing international transit highways in Georgia, with the Rikoti Pass section of the E-60 serving as a policy simulation case. The study combines institutional economics, public-choice theory, and transport economics to examine what the authors term “the free-access paradox”: when a capacity-constrained road is priced at zero, individual use decisions do not reflect the congestion and infrastructure costs imposed on other users and the public sector. The methodology is a transparent, parameterized mathematical simulation rather than an econometric estimation. It integrates a Bureau of Public Roads travel-time function, an endogenous short-run demand response and a social-welfare objective that treats toll revenue as a fiscal transfer rather than a social benefit. Under the stated reference assumptions, the fleet-average welfare-maximizing equivalent toll is approximately 44.04 GEL per vehicle. Meanwhile, premium-corridor demand declines from 12,000 to approximately 10,027 vehicles per day, and modeled operational welfare increases by about 34,185 GEL per day, or 2.83% relative to the free-access benchmark. The estimate excludes unverified fixed implementation costs and does not explicitly model congestion on the toll-free historical route. These results support a staged data-validation and pilot process, not the immediate adoption of a specific tariff. The paper’s institutional contribution is the integration of differentiated charging, public-private partnership governance, intelligent tolling, and a safeguarded free alternative within a single policy framework.

The paper provides a brief overview of the usability of the Transfer Function and Quiet Line Noise test functionalities for troubleshooting VDSL2 lines. This paper will analyze these test capabilities using a software application created for this paper. It will perform a graphical comparison between H.log and QLN graphs for lines with and without faults. This paper will show that such an analysis of H.log and QLN graphs for VDSL lines with pronounced faults can improve the efficiency of troubleshooting testing, enabling technical personnel to reliably assess whether faults or interference are causing degradation of IPTV QoS.

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This paper addresses the problem of path planning and tracking control of the Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) with a special focus on control tracking algorithms. The objectives of the research are the implementation, analysis, and comparison of different control strategies: PID, Stanley and Pure Pursuit. The implementation was carried out using the Robot Operating System (ROS) and the Gazebo simulator on the xMachines x100 UGV robot. Through a series of simulation experiments, the performance of the controllers was evaluated by employing a positioning error metrics, heading error and cross-track error. The obtained results indicated that the PID controller achieves the best performance regarding path tracking accuracy, while the Stanley and Pure Pursuit controllers obtain larger deviations, particularly pronounced in the final movement segment. Although the Stanley controller enabled faster task execution and the Pure Pursuit ensured smoother movement, the PID controller proved to be the most reliable solution. This paper provides a systematic insight into the practical application of these algorithms and guidelines for selecting an adequate controller depending on specific requirements.

Solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) have an increased risk of cutaneous malignancies due to long-term immunosuppressive therapy. To evaluate a risk stratification model for follow-up of SOTRs at Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden, in which SOTRs are categorized based on skin cancer risk (low, intermediate, high), 395 patients were followed from 2010 until 2023 in this retrospective, real-world cohort. Over a third of SOTRs (n=151, 38.23%) developed invasive skin cancer. High-risk SOTRs (n=30) displayed the shortest time to first post-transplant invasive skin cancer, followed by intermediate- (n=112) and low-risk SOTRs (n=253) (p<0.0001). In adjusted analyses, intermediate- and high-risk SOTRs had 5.98-fold (95% confidence intervals (CI): 4.05-8.34) and 11.90-fold (95% CI: 7.02-20.19) higher hazard of invasive skin cancer compared to low-risk SOTRs, respectively. Intermediate- and high-risk SOTRs had 1.53-fold (95% CI: 1.03-2.27) and 1.97-fold (95% CI: 1.10-3.54) higher hazard of death compared to low-risk SOTRs. Ten patients developed metastasis and four died of skin cancer. This model serves as a dynamic tool for follow-up and provides time-to-skin-cancer discrimination between intermediate- and low-risk SOTRs. The findings illustrate the potential utility of risk-based stratification of SOTR follow-up and secondary prevention of cutaneous malignancies, potentially improving survival outcomes in this patient group.

Background and Objectives: Myocardial protection during on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) limits ischaemic injury, particularly in patients with left main coronary artery disease (LMCAD), in whom severe proximal stenosis may compromise antegrade cardioplegia delivery. We investigated whether combined antegrade–retrograde blood cardioplegia reduces postoperative high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) concentrations, a marker of perioperative myocardial injury. Materials and Methods: We conducted a prospective, single-centre, randomised trial involving 60 adults undergoing elective isolated on-pump CABG for significant LMCAD. Patients were assigned (1:1) to antegrade-only or combined antegrade–retrograde blood cardioplegia. Cardiac biomarkers were measured after induction and at 4, 12, 24, and 48 h after ICU admission. The primary endpoint was peak hs-cTnI within 48 h; key secondary endpoints included the hs-cTnI area under the concentration–time curve, CK-MB, immediate myocardial electrical recovery and 30-day outcomes. Results: All patients received the assigned cardioplegia strategy, with no crossover. Peak hs-cTnI did not differ significantly between the antegrade-only and combined groups (median 529.1 [IQR 829.9] vs. 394.1 [503.4] ng/L; p = 0.21), nor did the hs-cTnI area under the concentration–time curve from 4 to 48 h (12,910.6 [23,127.4] vs. 8112.2 [11,686.2] ng·h/L; p = 0.16). Serial hs-cTnI, CK-MB, total creatine kinase, serum creatinine, immediate myocardial electrical recovery, and 30-day outcomes also did not differ significantly. No deaths, coronary sinus injuries, or other cardioplegia-related complications occurred. Conclusions: In patients undergoing isolated on-pump CABG for significant LMCAD, combined antegrade–retrograde blood cardioplegia did not significantly decrease peak hs-cTnI levels compared to the antegrade-only method. The combined approach was feasible with no cardioplegia-related complications, suggesting that an individualised strategy may be preferable to a routine one. Larger prospective studies are needed to determine whether higher-risk patients may derive greater benefit.

Background/Objectives: In heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), the gut–heart axis has emerged as a potential contributor to inflammation and cardiometabolic stress. We characterised gut microbiota composition, diversity, and predicted metabolic potential in HFpEF to assess their associations with disease status and clinical heterogeneity. Methods and Results: Faecal samples from 30 HFpEF patients and 28 healthy controls were profiled by means of bacterial ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. The groups were comparable in age (74 years in both groups) and sex (female: 60% vs. 60.7%). HFpEF patients exhibited lower community evenness (p = 0.04) and a trend toward lower diversity (p = 0.08), but no detectable shift in global community structure. The tested clinical and demographic variables explained only a modest proportion of the observed variation in community structure, with substantial residual variation across the beta-diversity analyses. No taxa were differentially abundant between groups at the predefined thresholds. Among clinical stratifications, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class showed the most consistent family-level associations, including stepwise depletion of Lachnospiraceae, Butyricicoccaceae, and Ruminococcaceae and enrichment of Akkermansiaceae; Enterobacteriaceae peaked in milder disease. These severity-associated taxonomic trajectories were accompanied by predicted functional shifts consistent with microbial adaptation to increasing metabolic constraints, including enrichment of stress-adaptation traits and, with increasing functional limitation, depletion of core metabolic and fermentative pathways and relative enrichment of oxidative stress-response pathways. Conclusions: HFpEF is associated with subtle gut microbiota alterations that appear to reflect severity- and context-dependent ecological reorganisation rather than uniform dysbiosis. These findings support severity-informed approaches targeting microbial metabolic function and ecological context rather than broad compositional changes.