An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) or a multi-AUV system performing autonomous seafloor exploration missions by a side-scan sonar need to perceive their environment in order to replan the mission if they detect interesting objects in sensor data. Several anomalous/salient object detection methods mostly used for natural images are here applied to sonar images. All methods were firstly benchmarked on a 1500 simulated side-scan sonar images dataset. Precision-recall and processing time analysis was conducted in order to choose the best suited method in such controlled conditions. The performance of the best performing detection method was then validated on a 350 real side-scan sonar images dataset. This method was then implemented and optimized for the computer onboard an AUV. It turned out to be fast enough for online processing of large volumes of sonar data.

Mobile robots are increasingly becoming the subject of research and a very important area of science, so that the 21st century will be named as the century of development of service robots. Mobile robots are an excellent “System Engineering” research example because it includes a lot of scientific research, namely in the area of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, electronics, computer science, social science, and more. As mobile robots perform their tasks in the same environment as humans, mobile robots should have the abilities that people have. The mobile robots should be able to recognize faces, gestures, signs, objects, speech and atmosphere. Successful realization set of tasks results in bypassing obstacles without collision and destruction in the shortest possible time and distance. They should communicate with people on the basis of emotion. The range of mobile robots application is huge. Mobile robots have found application in many areas, but this chapter will cover the following distribution of mobile robots areas of application: medicine, agriculture, defense, logistics, construction, demolition, professional cleaning, space exploration, education and scientific research. The price of robots is declining steadily and they are coming into ever wider use. It is only a matter of time before robots become available to the population of today's high school students, just as it happened with computers and cell phones.

All companies in the world are facing global competition. In order to keep up with the competition and meet the increasing demands of the market, it is essential that they use new technologies in the production processes (i.e., to implement Industry 4.0). The chapter presents smart sensors that automatically detect errors during the production process. Smart sensors communicate via IO-Link in stable communication, whereas the technology itself offers numerous practical benefits in everyday industrial work. Sensors are excellent data collectors and highly intelligent analysts that share their knowledge with their environment through an integrated real-time IO-Link interface. With the implementation of smart sensors in production systems, they become flexible production systems, contribute to the rapid start-up of the process, are automatically adjusted, enable digital data transmission, and can verify the device and the records.

Grass pea belongs to the legume family and it is traditionally used as a grain for human consumption while its foliage is used for fodder. In this study morpho-agronomic evaluation and characterisation of different grass pea accessions (Lathyrus sativus L.) from Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H)/Republic of Srpska was performed. A collection of 8 grass pea accessions was cultivated in Slovenia (Jablje) and Bosnia and Herzegovina/Republic of Srpska (Banja Luka) in the open field trials during the growing season of 2019. A number of quantitative and qualitative IPGRI descriptors for Lathyrus spp. concerning the vegetative growth, stem, branch, leaf, inflorescences, pods, and seeds were measured and/or visually estimated. The results of the present study will add value through the enrichment of the Lathyrus spp. collection in both countries, improving the existing data and documentation, as well as creating a certain basis for further studies of the morpho-agronomic traits of the grass pea.

Aim: The main purposes of the study were to assess the NPK fertilizer value of biogas digestates in different soils and to evaluate the risk of unwanted nutrient leaching. The fertilizer value of digestates from anaerobic digesters was investigated in a greenhouse pot experiment with wheat in three different soils; silt, loam and sand. The digestates were based on different feedstock and had a low, dry matter content. The fertilizing effect of digestates was compared to mineral fertilizer and manure. To investigate the fate of excess nutrients in soil after the growing season, the pots were leached after harvest. A complementary soil column leaching experiment without plants was carried out in the laboratory. Findings: The concentration of ammonium in digestates provided a good indicator of the nitrogen fertilizer value of the digestates. In the silt and loam, the ammonium N fraction in digestates had a fertilizer replacement1) value equal to that of mineral fertilizer N, whereas the replacement value was higher in the nutrient poor sandy soil. Digestates often have a ratio between nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium which is not favourable for plant growth2). However, the suboptimal balance did not result in reduced plant growth or unwanted leaching from soil. The results show that digestates from biogas production based on fundamentally different feedstock are promising as NPK fertilizers. The N fertilization can simply be based on the digestate NH4 + concentration and, at least for wheat production, considerable variation in the concentrations of K and P can be tolerated.

Centre for Biomedical Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Banja Luka, Banja Luka, the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Public Health Institute of the Republic of Srpska, Banja Luka, the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Agency for Certification, Accreditation and Healthcare Quality Improvement of the Republic of Srpska (ASKVA), Banja Luka, the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Department of Hygiene, Faculty of Medicine, University of Banja Luka, Banja Luka, the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Department of Hygiene, Public Health Institute of Republic of Srpska, Banja Luka, the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Banja Luka, Banja Luka, the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Institute for Medicinal Plant Research "Dr Josif Pančić", Belgrade, Serbia. Institute of Hygiene and Medical Ecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.

Background/Aim: There have been different experimental conditions for in vitro studies on human umbilical arteries (HUA) in tissue bath system. This diversity was mainly reflected in variables such as stretching tension, incubation period and initial constriction challenging with potassium (KCl). The aim of the study was to establish optimal experimental conditions which will provide better responsiveness of HUA preparations, as well as to examine the impact of 24 h cold storage on viability and responsiveness of HUA to KCl and serotonin. Methods: The KCl-induced constrictions at different stretching tensions (0.5 g, 1.0 g, 2.0 g, 4.0 g), incubation times (30 min, 60 min, 120 min), and after multiple initial constriction challenging were compared. Dose response curves for serotonin were obtained under different conditions (1.0 g and 60 min vs. 2.0 g and 120 min). The influence of 24 h cold storage on KCland serotonininduced vasoconstriction of HUA preparations was examined as well. Results: The strongest constrictions induced by serotonin or KCl were obtained when preparations were adjusted at 2.0 g and incubated for 120 min. The KCl-induced constrictions observed after 120 min were statistically higher (p < 0.05) when preparations were challenged three times (30 min, 60 min, 120 min), compared to those challenged only once. The preparations that were stored at 4 0C for 24 h showed significantly stronger serotonin-induced constrictions (p < 0.01). The cold storage had no influence on KCl-induced constriction. Conclusion: For performing in vitro studies on HUA preparations in tissue bath, we propose stretching tension of 2.0 g, incubation period of 120 min and multiple initial constriction challenging with KCl as optimal experimental condition. We also showed that HUA preparations retained functional viability even after 24 h of cold storage.

In Issues 1 and 2 the scientific biomedical journal Scripta Medica devoted a total of six articles to the aetiological, epidemiological and clinial aspects of serious acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the disease caused by this virus coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The present Issue 2 also contains an obituary on the occasion of demise of Professor Folke Sjöqvist, one of the founding fathers of clinical pharmacology as a discipline and several other articles from the fields of quality assurance in healthcare, experimental and clinical medicine.

Abstract Carboxylesterases (CarbE) represent an important factor in studying the new antidotes against G-agents, tabun, sarin, and especially soman. Its isoenzymes exist in many mammalian tissues, but the most important is blood, as it is a medium for transportation of nerve agents to the target organs, such as the central nervous system and respiratory muscles. Rodent species used extensively in such research contain high plasma CarbE activity (mice, rats) or medium level (guinea pigs). At the same time, a low level of plasma CarbE activity was found in marmosets and there was practically no such activity in the plasma of rhesus monkeys and humans. In order to obtain results that would be easily extrapolated to humans, either nonhuman primates with naturally minimal plasma CarbE activity or rodents pretreated with CarbE inhibitors (TOCP, CBDP) should be utilized. In such animals, the LD50 of nerve agents is very similar, as is the efficacy of the prophylactic/postexposure antidotes. CarbEs are also potential stoichiometric scavengers of nerve agents and can be used intravenously to bind organophosphorus compound molecules.

Abstract Pomegranate peel contains high levels of various phytochemicals. We evaluated the effects of pomegranate peel extract (PoPEx) consumption on plasma lipid profile, fatty acids (FA) level and blood pressure (BP) in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 (DMT2). Thirty-seven subjects were recruited in this double blind, placebo controlled randomized trial. The study group (n = 19) received over 8 week’s capsules containing PoPEx twice a daily, while the placebo group received placebo. Treatment with PoPEx induced a significant lowering of both systolic and diastolic BP. The plasma levels of triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (LDL-C/HDL-C), and HbA1c were significantly decreased, while the level of HDL-C was significantly increased, compared with placebo intake. Moreover, the PoPEX treatment significantly improved the plasma lipids fatty acids content. It is concluded that consumption of PoPEx in DMT2 subject had favourable effects on some metabolic parameters, BP, lipid profile and plasma lipid FA composition.

This editorial presents the analysis of volumes 50 (2019) and 51 (2020) of Scripta Medica. Original articles made 53 % of 80 articles published in these two volumes. Article rejection rate was 38 %. Mean duration of period until reaching the first decision on an article was 20 days, while mean time until reaching the final decision was 31 days. Mean time needed for accepting the revised manuscript was 3 days, reflecting a significant decrease from 5 days in 2019 to 2 days in 2020. Mean time needed for reaching a decision to reject an article was 7 days. Coverage of the journal included both basic and clinical research and a considerable space was devoted to articles on COVID-19. Further efforts will be made in order to reach a more international recognition of the journal.