Understanding the level of economic freedom is an important indicator for investors and policymakers. The index of economic freedom, which the Heritage Foundation releases annually, is the most significant of the methods used to measure this indicator in practice, as this index evaluates the degree of market openness over the degree of fiscal and regulatory restraint. The research presented in this paper was conducted in order to establish the level of economic freedom in the Balkan countries. For this purpose, a multi-criteria ranking of Balkan countries based on economic freedom criteria was used. The weight of the criteria was determined using the Entropy method, and the countries were ranked using the CRADIS (Compromise Ranking of Alternatives from Distance to ideal Solution) method. These methods employed a double normalisation approach, and according to the results of this application, Bulgaria has the best indicators of economic freedom, while Montenegro has the worst, with sensitivity analysis and validation of the results confirming these findings. The approach of using double normalisation contributes to decision-making stability since the results of different methods are uniform when compared to the use of the classical approach in the case of multi-criteria analysis methods.

From the pure health crisis that countries faced at the very begin­ning of the COVID-19 pandemic, in later stages it led to the creation of multi­ple economic and financial vulnerabilities. When the world economies start­ed recovering from the pandemic negative impacts, Russia started its inva­sion of Ukraine. The study aims to add to the growing body of literature on the topic of crises caused by the COVID-19 and Russian–Ukraine war by ana­lyzing and comparing the volatility of the world’s leading stock market per­formance benchmarks in the pre-crisis and crisis periods. For the analysis, Levene’s test is used to check the homogeneity/heterogeneity of variances of stock market returns. Analysis shows that all indexes performed better in the Russian–Ukraine crisis compared to the COVID-19 crisis, i.e., the volatili­ty of returns of all indexes is significantly lower in the Russian-Ukraine crisis compared to the COVID-19 crisis.

In this paper we present VITAL-5G platform, a flexible 5G innovative infrastructure that can host Network Applications (NetApps) to optimize the performance and the efficiency of services in the Transport & Logistics (T&L) sector. It is a complete system that comprises hardware, software

Owing to the increasing engagement of service robots in everyday life, significant requirements are imposed on their control systems to ensure safe interaction between robots and humans. The stiffness of the motion executed by the service robots is not high, as with industrial robots, but has to be variable depending on the defined task. Therefore, a service robot needs to have soft actuation, delivering “human-like” motion dependant on the interaction force between the robot and its environment. Such an operation requires switching from the trajectory tracking (position control) mode to the interaction (force control) mode, and vice versa. Conventional control methods, based on hybrid position/force control, or switching between a position and force controller, may fail short in these cases. Thus, we have previously proposed a new control method, denoted as universal motion controller, that merges the position and force control into a single control structure. The control method is elaborated in this article, and its experimental validation is presented for the first time for multi-degree-of-freedom systems.

Intimacy is one of the fundamental aspects of our social life. It relates to intimate interactions with others, often including verbal self-disclosure. In this paper, we researched machine learning algorithms for quantification of the intimacy in the tweets. A new multilingual textual intimacy dataset named MINT was used. It contains tweets in 10 languages, including English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, and Chinese in both training and test datasets, and Dutch, Korean, Hindi, and Arabic in test data only. In the first experiment, linear regression models combine with the features and word embedding, and XLM-T deep learning model were compared. In the second experiment, cross-lingual learning between languanges was tested. In the third experiments, data was clustered using K-means. The results indicate that XLM-T pre-trained embedding might be a good choice for an unsupervised learning algorithm for intimacy detection.

Background: The pathophysiology and therapy of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), are a dilemma for scientists and health professionals, and the fact that patients show different symptoms and severity of the clinical picture also contributes to that. Objective: This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic protocols (the use of immunomodulators) in the treatment of COVID-19 patients of various severity of the clinical picture by monitoring inflammatory markers (ESR and CRP), as well as the impact of the type and number of comorbidities patients had on these markers. Methods: A total of 200 patients with a mild (n=76), moderate (n=70) or severe (n=54) clinical picture was included. Inflammatory markers [ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate), CRP (C-reactive protein)] were examined on three occasions: twice during hospitalization and once after hospital discharge. Immunomodulators used intrahospital were corticosteroids (methylprednisolone, dexamethasone, methylprednisolone + dexamethasone), tocilizumab or metenkefalin/tridecactide. Posthospital, patients were taking either methylprednisolone or did not use any immunomodulators. For statistical analysis, SPSS 26.0 and Microsoft Excel 2019 were used, with a level of significance of α=0.05. Nonparametric tests (Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank) were applied and effect size (ES) was calculated. Results: Three corticosteroid therapies used intrahospital caused a significant decrease in both inflammatory markers, especially in patients with a severe clinical picture, but the ES was the biggest with methylprednisolone + dexamethasone, then dexamethasone, and lastly methylprednisolone. Posthospital, methylprednisolone caused a significant decrease in both inflammatory markers, especially in patients with a severe clinical picture. The most common comorbidity in all patients, as well as in patients with a severe clinical picture, was hypertension. There was no statistically significant impact of the number of comorbidities patients had on ESR and CRP, but the highest number of comorbidities was in patients with a severe clinical picture. Conclusion: The use of immunomodulators, especially methylprednisolone + dexamethasone intrahospital and methylprednisolone posthospital, is justified in most COVID-19 cases as there is a significant correlation between this disease’s pathophysiology and the immune response. There is also a positive correlation between the number of comorbidities patients have and the severity of the clinical picture.

Allegations about the number of German soldiers engaged in Yugoslavia was one of the pillars of the narrative about the "People's Liberation War". This issue, however, was never given a proper historiographical treatment in the socialist period. It would have shown that the number of units in Yugoslavia depended on external factors (events on major fronts and broader strategic deliberations) at least to the same extent as on internal ones (guerrilla danger), that the occupation contingent was of highly heterogeneous nature, and that large numbers are not always synonymous for combat quality. This research, based almost entirely on unpublished primary sources, will attempt to provide a comprehensive account of the strength and quality of the German occupation contingent in the second half of the war. The original plan to hold the country with a symbolic force of 2 to 4 divisions was shattered already in the summer of the same year by the outbreak of the uprising in occupied Serbia and the NDH. From the early 1942 to mid-1943, anywhere from 4 to 7 divisions were engaged in anti-guerrilla duties, and from the summer of 1943 until the arrival of the Red Army in the late autumn of 1944, from 5 to 9 divisions (parts of the divisions that were nominally responsible for securing the coast, yet in practice constantly engaged against the Partisans, not counted). In the final phase of the war, almost the entire German contingent consisting of 11 to 15 divisions (including those stationed in Slovenia) ended up fighting the regular Yugoslav army. Apart from the divisions, dozens of independent combat battalions were involved in these operations. In the worst case, a large percentage of all these units could have been used to secure the rear areas of the main fronts, and a smaller percentage could be used directly against the Allied armies. Although, in general, these formations were of lower combat value, there is no doubt that their deployment to a secondary theater of war such as the Yugoslav one was to the detriment of the German war effort.

The primary objective of this research paper is to investigate the potential impact of emergency remote teaching on the academic performance of undergraduate students, while also assessing the consistency of academic outcomes across various courses during the emergency transition to distance learning. The research methodology involves the collection of students' accomplishments and course passing rates spanning four consecutive academic years, from 2018/2019 to 2021/2022. The study identifies three distinct teaching environments: traditional, distance learning, and hybrid. The academic year 2018/2019 is designated as a pre-pandemic reference point. The subsequent years mark a transition from distance learning to a hybrid teaching model and a return to the traditional in-class environment. The analytical framework includes descriptive and correlation analyses, supplemented by an analysis of variance to derive meaningful insights. It is essential to highlight that the results obtained are further validated by the passing rates for the academic year 2022/2023, reinforcing the contemporary relevance and credibility of the research findings.

This paper describes influences of heat input on leg size of pulsed GMAW fillet welds of unalloyed steel with thicknesses of 4 mm, in horizontal and overhead position. Varied parameters were welding current and speed, while voltage and current profile were predefined by welding equipment manufacturer. Influence is described through models based on linear regression analysis. Comparison is made between developed models, as well as with those available in literature.

Background: Patients infected by coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), display various symptoms and severity of the clinical picture. Thus, the therapy and pathophysiology of this disease are a dilemma for health professionals and scientists. Objective: This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic protocols (the use of anticoagulants) in the treatment of COVID-19 patients of various severity of the clinical picture by monitoring coagulation markers (PT, INR, aPTT and D-dimer), as well as the impact of the type and number of comorbidities patients had on these markers. Methods: A total of 200 patients with a mild (n=76), moderate (n=70) or severe (n=54) clinical picture was included. Coagulation markers [PT (prothrombin time), INR (international normalized ratio), aPTT (activated partial thromboplastin time), D-dimer] were examined on three occasions: twice during hospitalization and once after hospital discharge. Anticoagulants used intrahospital were fraxiparine, rivaroxaban or unfractionated heparin. Posthospital, patients were taking either rivaroxaban or did not use any anticoagulants. For statistical analysis, SPSS 26.0 and Microsoft Excel 2019 were used, with a level of significance of α=0.05. Nonparametric tests (Kruskal-Wallis, Wilcoxon Signed-Rank and Bonferroni) were applied and effect size (ES) was calculated. Results: Three anticoagulants used intrahospital caused a significant decrease in PT, INR and D-dimer and a significant increase in aPTT, especially in patients with a severe clinical picture, but the ES was the biggest with fraxiparine, then rivaroxaban, and lastly unfractionated heparin. Posthospital, rivaroxaban caused a significant decrease in PT, INR and D-dimer and a significant increase in aPTT, especially in patients with a severe clinical picture. Hypertension was the most common comorbidity in all patients, as well as in patients with a severe clinical picture. There was a statistically significant impact of the number of comorbidities patients had on D-dimer, and none on PT, INR and aPTT, but the highest number of comorbidities was in patients with a severe clinical picture. Conclusion: The use of anticoagulants, especially fraxiparine intrahospital and rivaroxaban posthospital, is justified in most COVID-19 cases as there is a significant correlation between this disease’s pathophysiology and the coagulation process. There is also a positive correlation between the severity of the clinical picture and the number of comorbidities patients have.

Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an acute inflammatory illness of the pancreas representing a true question in diagnostic process. Laboratory markers of the hepatobiliary tract such as liver transaminases with pancreatic enzymes give a true hint of a hidden diagnosis together with urea, creatinine and creatine kinase (CK). Objective: This clinical study aims to show whether there is any correlation between alpha-amylase and CK or their ratio examining hospitalized patients with AP diagnosis. Methods: From total number of 99 patients with a clinical picture of AP, 71 patients in this retrospective analysis (including both genders) were included according to the presence of two biochemical markers in collected laboratory analysis at admission and 72 hours later on a laboratory check-up: CK and alpha-amylase. Results: The median CK value of AP cases was 92 (41.75 – 207.25) in the acute period and 73 (37 – 159) after 72h staying in the hospital without statistical significant (p=0.521; p<0.05). However, there was a statistically significant correlation between the parameters of CK at admission and creatine kinase after 72h staying in the hospital. The median value of CK/Amylase ratio in the acute period was 0.168 (0.069 – 0.532) and 0.386 (0.12 – 1.12) after 72 hours of staying in the hospital. There was a statistically significant difference between values of CK/amylase ratio in these two groups (p=0.000; p<0.01). Conclusion: In conclusion, a connection between CK and alpha-amylase needs to be elucidated in further studies and its existence must be researched both in physiological and pathophysiological conditions, and it is two-way and very complex. This study helped us obtain significant information about the perspective of AP in the potential relation to other non-standard laboratory markers for some diseases