Background: Llamas are becoming increasingly popular as livestock and as companion animals and their blood samples may require transportation over long distances and storage for extended periods prior to hematological analyses. Hematological parameters are influenced by a range of factors, including age, sex, diet and environment. Examining how these parameters change over time in stored blood samples can provide insights into the natural variation of these parameters in llamas, which can inform future research on the health and biology of these animals. This study sought to evaluate the stability of hematological markers at 0, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36 and 42 hours of storage in blood samples of llamas (Lama glama) stored at 4°C. Methods: The study was conducted on blood from eight clinically healthy llamas captivated at Sarajevo Zoo-Pionirska dolina, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The effect of storage was observed on the following hematological parameters: Red Blood Cell count (RBC), hematocrit (HCT), hemoglobin (HGB), Mean Cell Volume (MCV), Mean Cell Hemoglobin (MCH), Mean Cell Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC), Reticulocyte count (RETIC), White Blood Cell (WBC). White blood cell differentiation, absolute white blood cell counts, platelet count (PLT) and mean platelet volume (MPV) are also included. Result: During 42 hours of storage at 4°C, it was discovered that red blood cells, hemoglobin, white blood cells, mean cell hemoglobin and reticulocyte, as well as the differentiation of white blood cells and measurement of their absolute values, remained stable. However, hematocrit increased at 12 h, while mean cell hemoglobin concentration decreased at 12 h when stored at 4°C.
Background Biobanking biospecimens and consent are common practice in paediatric research. We need to explore children and young people’s (CYP) knowledge and perspectives around the use of and consent to biobanking. This will ensure meaningful informed consent can be obtained and improve current consent procedures. Methods We designed a survey, in co-production with CYP, collecting demographic data, views on biobanking, and consent using three scenarios: 1) prospective consent, 2) deferred consent, and 3) reconsent and assent at age of capacity. The survey was disseminated via the Young Person’s Advisory Group North England (YPAGne) and participating CYP’s secondary schools. Data were analysed using a qualitative thematic approach by three independent reviewers (including CYP) to identify common themes. Data triangulation occurred independently by a fourth reviewer. Results One hundred two CYP completed the survey. Most were between 16–18 years (63.7%, N = 65) and female (66.7%, N = 68). 72.3% had no prior knowledge of biobanking ( N = 73). Acceptability of prospective consent for biobanking was high (91.2%, N = 93) with common themes: ‘altruism’, ‘potential benefits outweigh individual risk’, 'frugality', and ‘(in)convenience’. Deferred consent was also deemed acceptable in the large majority (84.3%, N = 86), with common themes: ‘altruism’, ‘body integrity’ and ‘sample frugality’. 76.5% preferred to reconsent when cognitively mature enough to give assent ( N = 78), even if parental consent was previously in place. 79.2% wanted to be informed if their biobanked biospecimen is reused ( N = 80). Conclusion Prospective and deferred consent acceptability for biobanking is high among CYP in the UK. Altruism, frugality, body integrity, and privacy are the most important themes. Clear communication and justification are paramount to obtain consent. Any CYP with capacity should be part of the consenting procedure, if possible.
Entrepreneurship has been long recognized as an essential driver of economic growth. It is widely accepted that entrepreneurship increases innovation, firm formation, employment, and overall GDP. Despite the increasing research on both public entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship in healthcare, these different research areas have not been combined that much. To fill this research gap, this paper analyses whether public healthcare entrepreneurship influences economic growth. This study exploits the WHO Global Health Observatory database approximating various dimensions of entrepreneurship by specific aspects of compliance with international healthcare regulation. The study uses data for 170 countries from 2010 to 2019. Using the fixed effect panel setting, it tests whether improvements in public healthcare entrepreneurship (PHE) affect a country's economic growth. The results suggest that higher entrepreneurial orientation in public healthcare is associated with larger effects on output per capita, which is channelled through productivity. However, after reaching certain level of PHE development, the contributions to growth start diminishing. The findings from this paper produce several implications. First, by exploring the nexus between public entrepreneurship and healthcare entrepreneurship it introduces the concept of public healthcare entrepreneurship explaining its theoretical and empirical importance. It further provides empirical and quantitative support to the view that developing public healthcare entrepreneurship plays a role in achieving a higher output per effective worker. Thereby, this study provides evidence of a non-linear relationship between public healthcare entrepreneurship and growth. Finally, given the statistical and economic significance of the results, these findings motivate policymakers to consider developing policies that guide developing entrepreneurial orientation within public healthcare. We believe this is possibly the first study that considers entrepreneurial orientation withing a public sector into the economic growth discussion.
Allelopathy is a unique phenomenon in nature that refers to direct or indirect, positive or negative, impact of one plant (including microorganisms, insects, and herbivores) on another plant through chemical secretions (allelochemicals). Ambrosia artemisiifolia (ragweed) is a well-known invasive plant possessing allelochemicals that have been found to inhibit the growth and development of plants in their immediate environment. This study aimed to determine the allelopathic impact of the aqueous leaf extract isolated from ragweed leaves (concentrated extract, 1:2, 1:4, and 1:8) on seed germination and early seedling growth of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.). The examined aqueous extract of ragweed had a higher inhibitory effect on the germination of white clover seeds compared to barley. The germination of barley seeds was the lowest at the concentrated leaf extract (up to 70%), while the same process in barley seeds was not determined at this concentration. In the other treatments, germination was significantly lower in both examined species compared to the control. Shoot and root growth of both researched species was inhibited in all treatments compared to the control. The obtained results indicate that the aqueous ragweed extract significantly inhibits the growth of roots and shoots of both tested species, which increases the need for more intensive research on this topic.
Leafy kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala L.) is one of the most important Brassicaceae species with health-promoting properties and great diversity. To investigate variability within and among accessions, 12 accessions (each accession comprised four individuals/genotypes) from the Balkan region were genotyped at 12 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) loci. The selected SSR markers originated from the genomes of B. oleracea (eight), B. rapa (two) and B. napus (two). DNA was extracted from seeds, cotyledons, shoots, and young leaves, depending on the germination energy of each seed, using magnetic extraction method. Genetic analysis included eight accessions from Serbia (24 genotypes), two accessions from Montenegro (eight genotypes), and one accession from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia (with four genotypes each). Accession-specific polymorphism was found at the Ol12-FO2 and Ol10-F11a loci, where genotypes were qualitatively distinguished by horizontal agarose gel electrophoresis (binary detection). Among 12 loci, the average polymorphic information content (PIC) was 0.71, with the marker Ol13-C12 proving to be the most informative (PIC = 0.89). However, the analysis of molecular variability (AMOVA) showed 11% diversity between accessions, 19% diversity between genotypes, and 70% diversity within genotypes, explaining the molecular diversity of native Balkan leafy kale germplasm. According to the genetic structure, four genetic groups were formed with an average expected heterozygosity of 0.70 between clusters. In order to exploit the genetic diversity, it would be advisable to evaluate these accessions at phenotypic level and use their potential in breeding programmes.
The paper investigates the effects of digitalization on teaching and educational processes and the possible negative effects that these processes have. For the Sarajevo Canton and the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, digitalization in education has already begun and it is important to fully understand the potential threats it poses. Decision-making processes were a human competence where different programs were used only as a tool to aid the process of reaching the best decisions. Today, algorithms are decision-makers where humans perform tasks of justifying algorithm’s decisions and preventing the upheaval caused by the increasing social inequality caused by algorithmicizing. The main argument is that of higher education without understanding of the underlining algorithmicizing of its processes could consequently lead to social inequality and wrong decisions. On the other hand, the lack of awareness of accelerated digitization can lead to lagging behind in digitization processes and loss of competitiveness in an increasingly global university market. This paper explains algorithmic intermediation and remodeling of decision-making values and points out threats and needs in the higher education. It should serve educational institutions and policy makers as a guideline in the adoption of future strategies on digitization processes in higher education as well as provide the base for future discussions focusing on Global Digitization Trends within the Bosnian and Herzegovinian higher education area and its policies, laws, and strategies with a recommendation for the Digitization Action Plan in higher education in Canton Sarajevo.
Open science includes open access to publications, research data and open educational content, open science redefines the whole process of scientific communication by encouraging dialogue, open review, open sources and tools. Demanding processes of digital transformation of scientific communication require significant support of academic libraries in the processes of advocacy and implementation of open science. Academic libraries in this context, and among other things, need to be recognized as indispensable partners in various open access initiatives at higher education institutions. In this regard, the aim of this research is to establish the specifics and current trends of e-publishing at the University of Sarajevo (UNSA), collect data on active open access journals published by UNSA organizational units, by website content analysis method, and in conclusion to address the benefits of cooperation with libraries of scientific institutions in planning the publishing of scientific journals in open access, as a segment of open science.
The leading argument of this article is that status issues of academic staff in the context of quality assurance should be addressed through the application of comparative law, respecting the guarantee of academic autonomy, principles of academic freedom, academic self-government, pluralism of scientific disciplines and preservation of scientific production of national importance. All of the above is correlated with the creation of an environment in which the criteria for academic advancement will be more demanding than the existing ones, while respecting the overall valorization of academic work. Changes in normative frameworks must be aimed at better quality research and teaching work and stronger competitiveness of the University of Sarajevo in the European environment. Reforms need to be implemented thoughtfully, based on analyzes with identified problems and goals to be achieved, taking into account the BiH social context and the current general legal framework in which the University of Sarajevo exists, as the largest and most important higher education institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The development of the teaching profession is considered a key prerequisite and the most important link in the process of improving and raising the quality of the educational system in BiH. The reform of education through various phases has lasted for almost two decades, it has set a number of challenges and expectations for teachers, who bear the greatest burden in the implementation of reform processes. Only quality teachers can educate holistically oriented students willing to live and nurture values, possess 21st century skills and be able to bring about change that will be geared towards development and progress. Occupational standards represent a harmonized minimum of best practice in accordance with needs occupations within the defined legal framework. Accordingly, the Occupational Standard for Teachers is a list of key tasks that teachers perform within their profession, and the competencies needed to perform them effectively. The Occupational standard represents the link between initial teacher education and the labor market, offering a clear framework for the organization and development of the teaching profession. The aim of the paper is to present the concept and methodology of developing the Teacher Occupation Standards and Teacher Qualification Standards, created in the TABLA project, to explain the role and function of occupational / qualification standards that define teacher work through prominent elements of high quality and efficient teaching in the 21st century. students at teacher training colleges. In addition to the above, the paper will explain the relationship between the Occupational / Qualification Standards and the continuum of competencies on the example of the Teacher Module - Common Core Curriculum (CPL) based on learning outcomes, which as such should be implemented in all teacher education programs. The conclusion of the paper indicates the contribution of the Teacher Occupation Standard and the Qualification Standard teachers, created in the TABLA project, in defining a clear and uniform training of teachers during initial education, and establishing a transparent and objective system for monitoring, self-assessment, teacher evaluation and their advancement in the profession.
The curriculum of the University of Sarajevo Faculty of Architecture (UNSA AF) has evolved from a predominantly theoretical framework and setting imaginary tasks to recognizing and adequately responding to current topics and real social problems. However, the inert institutional character is noticeable, limiting the academic community's timely response to urgent challenges and societal changes. To eliminate the identified shortcomings and improve the education process, the Faculty of Architecture has undertaken several activities in cooperation with partnering institutions in BiH and the EU, resulting in critical self-evaluation and novel guidelines. Previous examples of collaboration with industry illustrate possible ways to improve the quality of education and raise student competencies. The newly designed ERASMUS + project “APLE” (2022) aims to integrate practice and cooperation with the real sector to transfer (applicable) knowledge into the teaching process. New formats of interaction with the real and public sector “ARCHIPRAXIS” are envisaged as a testing ground for implementing various ideas. This paper aims to present the importance and modalities of incorporating the practical component into the process of student education and the actualization of global topics in the local context. It also wants to point out the inertia and shortcomings in the existing academic procedures at different levels, which should be valorized as extracurricular activities. The experience gained, i.e., "lessons learned," should serve all actors involved in the educational process: academia, and industry, to the broader community to create a better framework for acquiring and applying knowledge.
At the beginning of the 21st century, environmental issues became leaders in all areas of human activity without competition. All other essential topics: health, food, energy, water, and air, are predominantly determined by environmental problems. Climate change is a result of excessive CO2 emissions due to the greenhouse effect, air pollution as a result of emissions of harmful substances by thermal power plants, chemical plants, heating boilers, individual furnaces, means of transport; pollution of drinking water, pollution and devastation of arable land, destruction of forests, pollution of rivers due to inadequate wastewater treatment, etc. are problems that require a radical change in man's attitude towards the environment, which leads to the need to reconsider and change the current way of doing business. The paper analyzes the impact of scientific achievements in electrical engineering on the accelerated industrial growth that has led to today's environmental problems. Industrial development is explored in phases (Industry 1.0, Industry 2.0, Industry 3.0, Industry 4.0) regarding the impact of radical changes in doing business. Since we are now in phase 4, the dominant topics are energy transition, energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, recycling, innovation, electric vehicles, networking, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and 5G. Although all the above topics are multidisciplinary, a significant share of electrical engineering is clear. Existing plans and programs in electrical engineering, whether based on the traditional model of education or in the process of innovation, are adapted to new technological trends. As a rule, little or no importance is attached to environmental issues. As one of the answers to the mentioned problem at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Sarajevo, a new course, “Sustainable Development” was included. The paper briefly describes the content of this course.
What is the purpose of universities - education or job training? What should be our priority - competences for the 21st century or finding a job within a year after graduating? The future is unpredictable and today’s actions are not necessarily good, but the worst thing to happen would be doing nothing. The survival and development of university depends on our vision of who are the generations to come, what we will teach them, how we will develop the curricula and how far we will succeed in moving away from linear careers as a Procrustean bed, punishing and forcing us to believe that what we have is the only thing possible if deviations from the prescribed norm happen or if one attempts spurring development. On the other hand, the context in which education takes place is constantly changing, and today’s careers, defined as a collection of all experiences and changes in values and attitudes (not advancement in the workplace) are changing their forms just like Proteus. Therefore, the important question is how to reject the Procrustean bed and accept the concept of a protean career as a guide in the development of higher education? The development of new study programs and the revision of existing ones should be guided by the following postulates: internationalization, interdisciplinarity, equality in access and adaptation to the needs of people who need to build their careers in the next dozen years. Innovative study programs should offer: experiences that will be attractive to students from all over the world, a holistic approach to the learning experience and multiperspective, equality in access to all interested parties at every moment of their lives, and flexibility that will allow the student to have his own pace of learning. Some examples of such programs are dual studies, short cycles, combined studies and recognition of prior learning. The University of Sarajevo is a participant in two ERASMUS+ projects aimed at the development of dual studies and short-cycle programs with the aim of increasing access to education and adapting to the needs of students and employers, which directly support the principles of a protean career.
Background Next-generation sequencing (NGS), including whole genome sequencing (WGS) and whole exome sequencing (WES), is increasingly being used for clinic care. While NGS data have the potential to be repurposed to support clinical pharmacogenomics (PGx), current computational approaches have not been widely validated using clinical data. In this study, we assessed the accuracy of the Aldy computational method to extract PGx genotypes from WGS and WES data for 14 and 13 major pharmacogenes, respectively. Methods Germline DNA was isolated from whole blood samples collected for 264 patients seen at our institutional molecular solid tumor board. DNA was used for panel-based genotyping within our institutional Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments- (CLIA-) certified PGx laboratory. DNA was also sent to other CLIA-certified commercial laboratories for clinical WGS or WES. Aldy v3.3 and v4.4 were used to extract PGx genotypes from these NGS data, and results were compared to the panel-based genotyping reference standard that contained 45 star allele-defining variants within CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, CYP3A4, CYP3A5, CYP4F2, DPYD, G6PD, NUDT15, SLCO1B1, TPMT, and VKORC1. Results Mean WGS read depth was >30x for all variant regions except for G6PD (average read depth was 29 reads), and mean WES read depth was >30x for all variant regions. For 94 patients with WGS, Aldy v3.3 diplotype calls were concordant with those from the genotyping reference standard in 99.5% of cases when excluding diplotypes with additional major star alleles not tested by targeted genotyping, ambiguous phasing, and CYP2D6 hybrid alleles. Aldy v3.3 identified 15 additional clinically actionable star alleles not covered by genotyping within CYP2B6, CYP2C19, DPYD, SLCO1B1, and NUDT15. Within the WGS cohort, Aldy v4.4 diplotype calls were concordant with those from genotyping in 99.7% of cases. When excluding patients with CYP2D6 copy number variation, all Aldy v4.4 diplotype calls except for one CYP3A4 diplotype call were concordant with genotyping for 161 patients in the WES cohort. Conclusion Aldy v3.3 and v4.4 called diplotypes for major pharmacogenes from clinical WES and WGS data with >99% accuracy. These findings support the use of Aldy to repurpose clinical NGS data to inform clinical PGx.
The sustainable forest management concept contains the essence of the sustainable development paradigm - meeting the current needs of society without compromising the needs of future generations. The strategic commitment of the Faculty of Forestry University of Sarajevo is aimed at quality education of forestry experts, conducting innovative research and the most intensive cooperation with the economy. The methodological approach in this paper is based on a critical analysis of the scope of the educational-research process at the Faculty of Forestry University of Sarajevo, and the potentials of sustainable forest management in BiH, to determine to what extent higher education and research on environmental, sociological and economic aspects of forest management can affect positive changes in BiH society. Apart from identifying the benefits of forest ecosystems in the context of contributing to sustainable development, the research on the attitudes of teaching staff related to the contribution of the educational-research process to general goals of sustainable development from the 2030 Agenda was conducted. The results of this paper show that the concept of sustainable forest management, as it is realized in educational-research process at the Faculty of Forestry University of Sarajevo, has significant potential to contribute to sustainable development in BiH. This contribution is reflected in biodiversity conservation, mitigation of climate change, carbon storage, prevention of natural disasters, impact on the stability of water and soil, energy supply from renewable sources, continuous economic growth, socially responsible production and consumption, job security, development of rural and urban areas as well as maintaining and improving the psychophysical health of the population. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that sustainable forest management, grounded on scientific postulates, understanding of diversity of forest ecosystem services and dynamics in society's requirements towards forests, multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral cooperation, can be an important factor of sustainable development in BiH.
Abstract Environmental issues and the current global energy crisis serve as further motivators for the promotion of renewable energy sources. However, integrating these sources into existing power grids presents numerous challenges. As the connection capacity approaches its limits, it is imperative to employ innovative engineering methods to integrate distributed generation (DG) into resilient, self-healing smart grids of the future. One such tool is Hosting Capacity (HC) analysis, which is an emerging power system-planning tool used to position investments toward parts of the network that can absorb additional generation and promote efficient use of energy sources, avoiding overloading, inefficiencies, DG misallocations, and network failures. In this study, a technique for calculating the ideal HC in a power system is presented. The goal of this research is to develop a replicable optimization methodology for determining HC in smart distribution systems using a single objective constrained optimization problem solved through the use of genetic algorithm (GA). Detailed power system load and generation modeling and the use of advanced open-source research tool for load flow optimization improve the confidence in the proposed model. This research contributes to collective knowledge of the subject matter and establishes a reliable optimization methodology for determining HC in power systems.
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