Introduction: Computed tomography angiography (CTA) represents the gold standard as a method for the diagnosis of carotid artery diseases. The current topic is the use of CTA for the evaluation of carotid arteries with a reduction in the dose of contrast agent and dose of ionizing radiation, which, with adequate preparation, would enable the use of this method in some risk groups. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and image quality of a new low-dose CTA protocol in comparison with a standard protocol. Methods: Forty patients with recumbent ischemic stroke were included in the study, twenty of whom underwent lowdose CTA, and the remaining twenty underwent a standard CTA protocol of the carotid arteries. Results: No significant difference was found between the mean values of CT number (Hounsfield unit), signal-to-noise ratio, contrast-to-noise ratio, and subjective assessment of image quality in the comparison of the control and experimental groups. CT dose index, volume, and dose length product were significantly lower in patients who underwent lowdose carotid CTA. There was no significant difference in the degree of carotid stenosis between color Doppler and CTA. Conclusion: The use of the low-dose protocol for carotid CTA allows the application of this method in risk groups, in which it was previously not possible to perform, with the same image quality in comparison with the standard protocol.

This research delves into the relatively uncharted territory of Islamic governance and its impact on strategic sustainability and climate resilience planning in Muslim-majority countries. It scrutinizes the role of religious regimes in public administration and policy-making within these nations. The study employs a case study methodology, focusing on 11 strategically chosen countries within the Islamic world, and evaluates their respective climate resilience and sustainable development objectives. Forty-five reports, plans, and government documents from 2017 to 2023 are analyzed using a two-cycle coding process facilitated by software. The paper makes three significant contributions. Firstly, it addresses the academic call for understanding the positive governance of sustainable development and resilience planning in Muslim-majority countries, specifically focusing on the role of religious regimes. Secondly, it reframes the general understanding of governance in public administration related to resilience planning in Islamic countries. Lastly, it offers an understanding of religious regimes to analyze climate resilience planning. The analysis reveals several thematic categories, each representing a different resilience and sustainability planning governance aspect. The study’s results suggest that nations with the most effective plans tend to have robust economies, comprehensive educational institutions, pluralistic societies, inclusive governments, and liberal religious regimes, all of which positively influence sustainable development and climate resilience planning.

Pruning large language models (LLMs) from the BERT family has emerged as a standard compression benchmark, and several pruning methods have been proposed for this task. The recent ``Sparsity May Cry'' (SMC) benchmark put into question the validity of all existing methods, exhibiting a more complex setup where many known pruning methods appear to fail. We revisit the question of accurate BERT-pruning during fine-tuning on downstream datasets, and propose a set of general guidelines for successful pruning, even on the challenging SMC benchmark. First, we perform a cost-vs-benefits analysis of pruning model components, such as the embeddings and the classification head; second, we provide a simple-yet-general way of scaling training, sparsification and learning rate schedules relative to the desired target sparsity; finally, we investigate the importance of proper parametrization for Knowledge Distillation in the context of LLMs. Our simple insights lead to state-of-the-art results, both on classic BERT-pruning benchmarks, as well as on the SMC benchmark, showing that even classic gradual magnitude pruning (GMP) can yield competitive results, with the right approach.

Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common cancers among women worldwide but can also affect men. Although the detection and diagnosis of BC is advanced, there is a demand for more efficient approaches to treatment. This review summarizes the most important and latest discoveries in the diagnosis and prevention of breast cancer, using scientific discoveries done in vitro cell models, molecular and genetic markers, and data from different in silico analysis studies. Using Google Scholar and PubMed, scientific articles were searched systematically from inception to November 2023.  As search terms in this review, we used:  breast cancer, in vitro cell lines in BC, genetic and biochemical markers, and miRNA in BC. Based on the literature search, biochemical and genetic markers play essential roles in breast cancer research, whereas in vitro and silico research utilizes breast cancer cell models. Cell models are indispensable tools for the identification of potential new drugs, offering valuable findings on breast cancer growth dynamics. Molecular markers and innovative research methods not only aid in early detection but also contribute to our understanding of BC at various stages, offering treatment strategies and improving outcomes.

The first ecological research in the Illyrian phytogeographic area, located on the Balkan peninsula in south-eastern Europe, dates back to the early 20th century. Traditionally, the Illyrian phytogeographic area includes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and parts of Slovenia. Due to climate change, more available data and new measurement techniques, the Illyrian phytogeographic area may have shifted northwards to the southern Alps and parts of Austria. In this study we have analysed climate as an important ecological variable for delineating the Illyrian phytogeographic area using precipitation and air temperature from 75 climatological stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria (Carinthia). Our statistical analysis suggests, that there are significant differences in the analysed climate parameters across the countries, suggesting that sub-sections may already exist within the extent of the Illyrian phytogeographic area.

Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines are increasingly popular in the production of furniture and wood products, because they combine high processing quality with short production time. The effective use of CNC machines depends on the processing parameters, which also affects the quality of the processed surface. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of feed rate, cutting direction, and grain direction on the surface roughness of various types of wood. Three European wood species (oak, beech, fir) were cut with a spindle speed of 16,000 rpm and two different feed rates (5,000 and 10,000 mm/min) using end mill tools on the CNC machine. The milling was performed in two cutting directions (radial and tangential) and two grain orientations (0° and 90°). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to evaluate the impact of the cutting parameters. The surface roughness measurements were taken, and two surface roughness parameters (Ra and Rz) were measured to determine the surface quality of the wood. According to the results of this study, the lowest surface roughness values, milling with the same processing parameters, occurred for oak wood, while the highest values occurred for fir.

Hand grip strength (HGS) serves as a multifaceted and critical parameter within the domain of motor function and is widely recognized as a pivotal aspect in the comprehensive evaluation of the development of school-aged children. The aim of the research was to determine the values of HGS, the trend of changes and differences between boys and girls aged 11-14 years from Bosnia and Herzegovina. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a sample of 585 students. The subsample was divided into 307 boys (11y = 81; 12y = 87; 13y = 77; 14y = 62) and 278 girls (11y = 66; 12y = 83; 13 y =79; 14y = 50). Hand muscle strength was measured using the method of isometric dynamometry in laboratory conditions, with a standardized test - Hand grip (according to the American Society of Hand Therapists). The force achieved during the maximum hand grip (dynamometry) was measured with a digital hand dynamometer CAMRY-EH101, USA. Statistically significant differences between male and female respondents were confirmed (for age 12, T = -2.651, p<0.009; for age 13, T =-5.178; p<0.000; for age 14, T =-7.124; p<0.000). In both sexes, the dominance of the strength of the right (dominant) hand than left (non-dominant) hand is evident. The study confirmed a positive trend of strength development in both sexes, as well as gender differences in the HGS test between children aged 12 to 14 years.

In the past seven decades, especially since the Global Financial Crisis, the financial system’s architecture has changed significantly around the world. New financial market entrants, such as fintech start-up companies, offer financial products and services more efficiently than established financial institutions (especially banks and insurance companies), bypassing the regulatory requirements established intermediaries must comply with. Despite the heterogeneity in the fintech concept, we use this term to consider innovations in financial products and services based on emerging information and communication technologies (i.e., information technology and mobile connectivity) as solutions that are changing the financial structure worldwide. Although the share of new participants in the financial system is rather small compared to the incumbents, fintech innovations are continuously advancing (e.g., crowdfunding, marketplace lending, cryptocurrencies, copy trading, robo-advice, insurtech, etc.), and their share is growing fast. This paper provides an overview of the fintech market and its impact (actual and potential) on the financial system’s architecture based on a comprehensive review of the theoretical and empirical literature.

The knowledge that is based on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is the basis for the development of any country. Less developed countries lack experts in these areas. Therefore, the ENABLE-BIH project (Enhancing and Advancing Basic Learning and Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina) was introduced in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which aims to improve the situation in the education sector. This study included the Public Institution “Ninth Elementary School” in Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina in which this project was implemented. The study included a total of 125 students from this school. The aim of this study is to examine the difference between attitudes about STEM from the point of view of gender differences and the age of students. After the data were collected, the statements were grouped into appropriate factors using factor analysis. The factor analysis showed that five factors stand out in this research. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that there is no difference between students ‘attitudes regarding gender differences, while there is a difference regarding students’ age. The results of this research showed that the ENABLE-BIH project delivered good results and suggests the importance of implementing similar projects in the future.

The blood–DRG barrier is composed of endothelial cells with high permeability and is monitored by a subset of CD163+ perivascular macrophages, a process that is arteriovenously zonated. Vascular monitoring is abrogated by interfering with caveolar transcytosis in endothelial cells or by depleting CD163+ macrophages.

Current research on entrepreneurial orientation is mostly from a firm-level perspective, focuses on developed countries, and recent studies treat entrepreneurial orientation as a uni-dimensional construct. Studies on entrepreneurial orientation from a generational perspective mostly use a comparison between two groups (young and old) and neglect the well-accepted classification of generational cohorts. This study therefore examines the individual dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (risk-taking, innovativeness and proactivity) among the Baby Boomers, Generations X, Y, and Z in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey that yielded a sample of 1,082 adults from Bosnia and Herzegovina. One-way analysis of variance with Brown-Forsythe, Welch’s F, and least significant post-hoc tests were used to test the hypotheses. The results show some evidence that individual entrepreneurial orientation varies significantly between generations, at different levels of significance. Risk-taking generally decreases with older generations, as does innovativeness, except when comparing Generations X and Y, while proactiveness increases with older generations. The study provides valuable information for future entrepreneurs, business incubators and potential investors.

Artikulacija ženskih interesa u Bosni i Hercegovini započela je osnivanjem ženskih društava u vrijeme austrougarske uprave i nastavljena je u okviru prve Jugoslavije. Ključan aspekt feminizma u Socijalističkoj Federativnoj Republici Jugoslaviji očituje se u feminističkome marksizmu i teorijskome radu, ponajviše Blaženke Despot i Žarane Papić. One su dale velik prinos feminističkoj naraciji u okviru socijalističkoga samoupravljanja. Pod utjecajem aktualnih feminističkih gibanja i u BiH u to doba prepoznaje se aktivnije djelovanja žena. Unatoč krutim patrijarhalnim normama i društvu koje se teško nosilo s nazočnošću žena u javnome prostoru pojavljuju se žene na pozicijama ravnateljica škola i urednica novinâ. Tako su žene u BiH formalnopravnu izjednačenost uspjele ostvariti u okviru socijalističke Jugoslavije. Pedesetak godina poslije u samostalnoj i neovisnoj BiH usvojeno je više zakona i institucionalnih mehanizama kojima se nije postigla očekivana ravnopravnost žena u praksi. Naime raskorak između primjene i učinka pozitivnih zakonskih propisa upućuje na ključan utjecaj patrijarhalnoga naslijeđa koje uvjetuje subordinaciju žena. Time se potvrđuje činjenica da je društveno-politički položaj žene neodvojiv od privatne sfere. Mjesto i uloga žene u BiH velikim su dijelom određeni religijskim ili etičkim običajima i normama. Takve se norme teško mijenjanju i otežavaju ženama da utječu na promjene kojima bi ostvarile stvarnu ravnopravnost. Nakon više od desetljeća postojanja novoga ženskog pokreta (iako neki smatraju da u BiH ne postoji ženski pokret) i unatoč njegovoj slabosti i podijeljenosti primjetni su ipak i određeni pozitivni pomaci. Ključne riječi: feminizam; patrijarhat; socijalizam; retradicionalizacija; žene; Bosna i Hercegovina

The increasing focus on a healthy lifestyle has emphasized a connection between gut microbiome and health. Consumers face the choice between consuming traditional dairy kefirs or more trendy fruit-based fermented drinks. Also, the aim of this study is to determine the similarities and differences theoretically and experimentally based on a higher ratio of grains to make a lower pH-based beverage at different inoculation times and durations. This study also aims to assess acceptability from a sensory perspective. The goal of the research was to make kefir grain-based beverages with a higher number of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) owing to their probiotic impact on the human gut. After analysis, it was found that there was the highest content of LAB in water kefir after 48 h of inoculation. However, consumer acceptance tests found traditional dairy kefir with a 24-h inoculation to be more acceptable. Although both drinks were inoculated in a 1:4 ratio, it is important to note the variations in grain origin as well as the initial composition of the milk–water suspension, which significantly affects the final product. Since the recipe of the kefir determines the benefits of the drink, the onus is on the consumers to decide which fermented drink suits their health condition best.

Therapeutic approaches targeting proteins on the surface of cancer cells have emerged as an important strategy for precision oncology. To fully capitalize on the potential impact of drugs targeting surface proteins, detailed knowledge about the expression patterns of the target proteins in tumor tissues is required. In castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), agents targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) have demonstrated clinical activity. However, PSMA expression is lost in a significant number of CRPC tumors, and the identification of additional cell surface targets is necessary in order to develop new therapeutic approaches. Here, we performed a comprehensive analysis of the expression and co-expression patterns of trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2), delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3), and carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 5 (CEACAM5) in CRPC samples from a rapid autopsy cohort. We show that DLL3 and CEACAM5 exhibit the highest expression in neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC), while TROP2 is expressed across different CRPC molecular subtypes, except for NEPC. We observed variable intra-tumoral and inter-tumoral heterogeneity and no dominant metastatic site predilections for TROP2, DLL3, and CEACAM5. We further show that AR amplifications were associated with higher expression of PSMA and TROP2 but lower DLL3 and CEACAM5 levels. Conversely, PSMA and TROP2 expression was lower in RB1-altered tumors. In addition to genomic alterations, we demonstrate a tight correlation between epigenetic states, particularly histone H3 lysine 27 methylation (H3K27me3) at the transcriptional start site and gene body of TACSTD2 (encoding TROP2), DLL3, and CEACAM5, and their respective protein expression in CRPC patient-derived xenografts. Collectively, these findings provide novel insights into the patterns and determinants of expression of TROP2, DLL3, and CEACAM5 with important implications for the clinical development of cell surface targeting agents in CRPC.