Introduction/Objective. Benign transient hyperphosphatasemia (BTH) is a pathogenetic insufficiently clear clinical entity that is mostly seen in infants and young children. The objective of this paper is to present our experience regarding the age of occurrence, the conditions of the discovery, and the length of duration of BTH in children. Methods. The study was realized on a sample of 18 children, nine boys and nine girls, aged 10?42 (21.06 ? 9.35) months with BTH. The diagnosis of BTH is based on the absence of bone and hepatobiliary diseases, and its spontaneous disappearance over the course of several months. Results. One patient was in the first year, 13 in the second, three in the third, and one in the fourth. Isolated high activity of serum alkaline phosphatase, which was 2.04?21.9 (8.05 ? 5.31) times above the upper reference value for the corresponding age, in 14 cases it was found during the acute diarrhea, and in four with acute rhinopharyngitis, of which in two complicated with otitis media. The cause of diarrhea in six cases was rotavirus, in two Campylobacter, and in one adenovirus, and otitis media in one case was caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, while in others, etiologic factors of infection were not identified. Spontaneous normalization of serum alkaline phosphatase activity was recorded between one and three months after the onset. Conclusion. BTH is a harmless biochemical disorder that spontaneously subsides within three months after initial observation. It is found randomly as a routine laboratory finding most often within the treatment of acute gastrointestinal and respiratory infections.

Abstract Innovation and exporting both play a vital role in the sustained business performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Unfortunately, few studies have simultaneously examined the effects of technological and non-technological innovations on SMEs' export growth while considering SMEs' financial constraints, let alone explicated the effects of a firm's geographic diversification on the marketing innovations–export growth relationship. To address these limitations, the authors theoretically ground their research model in the resource-based and dynamic capabilities views, and empirically test it using survey data from SMEs operating in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The results indicate the SMEs' export growth depends not merely on successful technological innovations, but also on organizational innovations that, along with product innovations, foster SMEs' marketing innovations. Further, financial constraints amplify the positive effect of organizational innovations on product innovations. Finally, the authors show that exporting SMEs benefit more from marketing innovation when they diversify geographically.

: This paper investigates the relationship of information communication technology (ICT) and virtual reality (VR), and tourism, or specifically its interrelations and links to tourism sustainability. As a consumer technology, VR is still a relatively new concept, although it has been researched and used in the tourism industry for marketing purposes. The aim is to understand the different aspects of VR and ICTs and potentially link them to sustainability and perspectives on mass tourism, as well as to the potential future developments related to the ability of ICT and tourism to meet the tourists’ needs to a greater extent in the future. By use of the systematic mapping methodology, the insights into these concepts and their relations to each other are provided. The study reveals the evolution and links between the investigated concepts, the existing challenges and solutions, and the remaining gaps. The present findings indicate that VR as a trend in the tourism industry still needs significant work and improvement until it is ready to fully immerse itself into the tourism sector and especially involve itself into the issues concerning tourism and the potential of sustainability concept within the industry. Many of the concerns and conflicts still exist, but the potential of its right implementation is enormous.

Prisoner exchange is as old as warfare itself. Along with ransom, it was one of the few hopes for prisoners of war until the advent of modern international law. By the beginning of the 17th century, prisoner exchange had become a recognized institute of rules and customs of war, with European states agreeing on exchange arrangements (so-called “cartels”) whenever they fought. The prime motive behind the exchange was the need to get one’s own trained soldiers back as soon as possible, but also to minimize the cost of keeping enemy prisoners. Only full-fledged “civilized” nations could form a cartel; native tribes and rebels were not seen as subjects of law. It is therefore not surprising that the British did their utmost to avoid entering a general cartel during the Revolutionary War (1775–83), for by doing so they would recognize the legitimacy of the nascent United States and their Continental Army. Approximately ninety years later, the Federal government in Washington faced the same problem and kept refusing an all-encompassing cartel with the Southern “rebels” for over a year after the beginning of hostilities in April of 1861. The deal was eventually reached in July of 1862 and would be in place until May of 1863. Although the official text read that the Union representatives signed the agreement with the people who had been “commissioned by the authorities they respectively represent,” the signing was a ...

The total excellence of university teaching largely depends on pedagogical and didactical­methodical competencies of university professors. The development and promotion of academic teaching is enabled by the modernization of the teaching process which does not encompass only modernization of curriculum but the entire didactical­methodical organization of teaching. Pleasure and requirements of students are to be accentuated accordingly, as well as competencies of teachers and expectations of labor market. The purpose of this paper is to establish which element of didactical­methodical organization of university teaching is the most important dimension of excellence of teaching as well as in what way university professors perform self­evaluation of the excellence of didactical­methodical organization of teaching at the University of Tuzla. The analytical­descriptive survey method was used as a variant of analytical­descriptive method as well as procedures of analysis of contents and polling. It is supposed that there is statistically significant difference in self­evaluation of the importance of elements of excellence in didactical­methodical organization of teaching at the University of Tuzla and that self­evaluations of the importance of individual elements of excellence of university teaching differ with regard to age, sex, teaching/academic title, years of experience in academic institutions and scientific field the faculty belongs to. The results of this research show that the excellence of planning and preparation and excellence in choice of teaching methods are the most important elements of excellence in the organization of university teaching, and that 90% of teaching personnel evaluates that the classes they organize are at very high level of excellence.

Ukupna izvrsnost sveučilišne nastave najviše ovisi o pedagoškim i didaktičko­metodičkim kompetencijama sveučilišnih nastavnika. Za razvoj i unaprjeđenje sveučilišne nastave važno je osuvremenjivanje nastavnog procesa koje ne podrazumijeva samo osuvremenjivanje kurikula, nego cjelokupnoga didaktičko­metodičkog organiziranja nastavnoga rada. Pritom je potrebno naglasiti zadovoljstvo i potrebe studenata, kompetencije visokoškolskih nastavnika i očekivanja radnog tržišta. Cilj ovoga rada bio je ustvrditi koja je sastavnica didaktičko­metodičkog organiziranja sveučilišne nastave najvažniji čimbenik izvrsnosti nastavnog rada te kako sveučilišni nastavnici Univerziteta u Tuzli vrjednuju vlastitu izvrsnost didaktičko­metodičkog organiziranja nastavnog rada. Koristilo se analitičko­deskriptivnim upitnikom kao inačicom analitičko­deskriptivne metode, postupcima analize sadržaja i anketiranjem. Pretpostavljeno je kako postoji statistički značajna razlika u samovrjednovanju važnosti čimbenika izvrsnosti didaktičko­metodičke organizacije nastavnog rada visokoškolskih nastavnika Univerziteta u Tuzli te da se samovrjednovanja važnosti pojedinih čimbenika izvrsnosti sveučilišne nastave razlikuju s obzirom na dob, spol, znanstveno­nastavno/umjetničko zvanje, godine radnog iskustva u visokoškolskim ustanovama te znanstveno područje kojemu Fakultet pripada. Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su kako su izvrsnost planiranja i pripremanja te izvrsnost izbora nastavnih metoda najvažniji čimbenici ukupne izvrsnosti organiziranja sveučilišne nastave, a 90 % nastavnog osoblja ocjenjuje kako je nastava koju organiziraju visoke razine izvrsnosti.

Oil-in-water cationic nanoemulsions (CNE) are fine dispersions consisting of an oil core (from natural or synthetic origin) stabilized by a single cationic lipid or a mixture with phospholipids, non-ionic surfactants, and/or PEG-lipids. CNEs are considered to be suitable and potential delivery system for nucleic acids in gene therapy field due to their positively charged surface which complex with negatively charged gene material through electrostatic interactions [1]. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of cationic lipid-sterylamine (SA) on mean droplet size, zeta potential and pH of the CNEs. Formulations containing various concentrations of SA were prepared on high-pressure homogenizer. The mean droplet size and zeta potential of the emulsions were determined by photon correlation spectroscopy and electrophoretic light scattering, respectively (Malvern NanoZs Zetasizer). The mean droplet size of emulsions varied from 126 to 129 nm while the polydispersity index varied from 0,068 to 0,137. As expected, zeta-potential increased from +43,7 mV to +53,7 mV with the SA concentration increase from 0,25 to 0,75 % (w/w). During the 60-day storage period at 25 °C, the droplets stayed in the nanometer range with only a minor size increase (~10 nm), no significant changes in droplet size distribution nor zeta potential or any difference in their visual appearance (no creaming or phase separation) proving therefore a satisfactory formulation stability.

Cationic NLCs represent lipid vesicles bearing cationic lipids on its surface, which leads to electrostatic interactions with negative charges of the nucleic acids such as miRNA and formation of a complex which protect the nucleic acids from the inevitable physicochemical biological impacts within the blood circulation [1]. This study aimed to develop cNLCs in order to obtain the most suitable formulation for further delivery of miRNAs.

Objectives: The global burden of the current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing the corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19) is enormous No definitive treatment and prophylactic guidelines for COVID-19 currently exist except for physical distancing and aerial barriers between individuals This work explored the natural compound-binding efficiency of SARS-CoV-2 proteins essential for host cell interaction and infection Methods: The binding activity of artemisinin to SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein (Protein Data Bank (PDB) ID: 6VYB), SARS-CoV-2 main protease (3C-like main protease (3CLpro);PDB ID: 6Y84) and SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PLpro;PDB ID: 6W9C), were tested using in silico methods Moreover, chloroquine and hesperidin were used as the positive control of binding affinity and proven therapeutic effect, respectively Results: The highest affinities for binding to all tested SARS-CoV-2 proteins are observed for hesperidin (-5 8,-10 0, and -8 1 kcal/mol), then for artemisinin (-4 8,-8 3, and -6 0 kcal/mol), and the lowest for chloroquine (-4 1,-8 2, and -4 8 kcal/mol) Artemisinin, hesperidin, and chloroquine had similar positioning toward targeted proteins at specific sites when these interactions were visualized Conclusion: This study shows that artemisinin has the potential to bind and inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, the 3CLpro main protease, and PLpro proteinase similar to hesperidin and chloroquine that have been proven as antivirals in previous preclinical and clinical studies

Background/Aim: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a diagnostic challenge, particularly in prehospital care. The aim of this study was to determine to what extent the evaluation of D-dimer value helps physicians with differentiation of PE and whether D-dimer values are in correlation with the values of revised Geneva score. Methods: Data have been collected for the patients whose D-dimer has been evaluated at the Emergency Care Department of the City of Banja Luka in 2018. Gender, age, symptoms, working diagnosis and D-dimer value have all been recorded and also the fact whether the patient was referred to hospital treatment or not. For each patient the revised Geneva score was determined. Results: Sixty-eight tests were done in 2018. Out of 68 tests, 41 were negative (60.3 %). D-dimer results helped in making decisions about referring patients to the hospital or not (ch2 = 36.32, p < 0.001). Patients with elevated D-dimer levels, especially where the values were four times higher than the reference ones typically were referred to hospital treatment, whereas 67.5% patients with negative D-dimer results were sent home after giving a treatment and advice. In the elderly patients D-dimer was statistically more positive (F = 10.82, p < 0.001). Values of D-dimer were not significantly different regarding gender (ch2 = 2.19, p = 0.33). According to the results of the revised Geneva score, 5.1 % of patients had high risk of PTE, while moderate and low risk had 47.5 % each. Although it has been found that the values of D-dimer were slightly more elevated at higher values of the revised Geneva score and that the difference was not statistically significant (ch2 = 7.71, p = 0.10). Conclusion: Values of D-dimer considerably helped in differentiation of PE in the Emergency Care Department. D-dimer has a high negative predictive value and should be used to exclude PE diagnosis for patients with low clinical probability of PE.