Introduction: Medical biochemical laboratory professionals play a critical role in diagnostics, research, and patient care, performing complex tasks that require extensive knowledge, professional attitudes, and adherence to best practices. Understanding their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) is essential for improving laboratory performance, ensuring quality, and enhancing patient outcomes. Despite the importance of quality control systems and international standards, the existing literature reveals a lack of validated instruments to assess KAP among laboratory professionals. This study aimed to develop and validate a comprehensive questionnaire targeting key domains of laboratory practice, with the goal of identifying operational gaps and guiding future interventions. Methods: The questionnaire was developed through a four-phase process: Literature review, item construction, questionnaire distribution, and validation. Psychometric evaluation included internal consistency testing and factor analysis to ensure reliability and validity. Results: The final instrument, titled KAP of Laboratory Professionals on Standards and Work Quality Systems, comprised 73 items across six domains. The overall Cronbach’s alpha was 0.673, indicating moderate but acceptable internal consistency. The questionnaire effectively identifies gaps in KAP related to quality control in medical-biochemical laboratories. Its results can support laboratory managers in recognizing areas for improvement, ultimately enhancing service quality and patient outcomes. Conclusion: This descriptive and analytical study presents a validated and reliable tool for assessing KAP regarding standards and quality control systems in medical-biochemical laboratories. Its application can guide targeted interventions to address deficiencies and strengthen practices in laboratory medicine.

We explicitly construct a heat kernel as a Neumann series for certain function spaces, such as $L^{1}$, $L^{2}$, and Hilbert spaces, associated to a locally compact Hausdorff space $\mathfrak{X}$ with Borel $\sigma$-algebra $\mathcal{B}$, and endowed with additional measure-theoretic data. Our approach is an adaptation of classical work due to Minakshishundaram and Pleijel, and it requires as input a parametrix or small time approximation to the heat kernel. The methodology developed in this article applies to yield new instances of heat kernel constructions, including normalized Laplacians on finite and infinite graphs as well as Hilbert spaces with reproducing kernels.

Objectives: Our work aimed to compare two strategic approaches in defining efficient personal dietary and physical activity plans based on available data. Methods: Energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended is the elementary cause of obesity and overweight and can be addressed with population based guidelines and recommendations for personalized dietary and physical activity plan methodologies. Two independent professionals in nutrition and physical coaching made a parallel set of personal plans for 15 participants who voluntarily asked for their dietary and physical activity plan. One professional used physical measurement and self-reported data while the second used genetic profiling data in addition. Main differences were observed in more specific plans for dietary restrictions in calorie type intake and type of endurance training that was feasible only when genetic data were taken into account.  Results: Out of 15 participants, 9 of them were into the category of obese or overweight. 46,7 % of them did not have any specific dietary regime, 73,33 % hade sedentary job while 53,3 % of them had regular physical activities 2 or 3 times per week. Discussion: Compared to the parameter "frequency of exercise" (using Interrater kappa agreement test), the value of the kappa parameter of -0.15 was obtained, which indicates a negative match between the two tested methods. Conclusions: Our study implies that informed and guided use of widely accessible genetic profiling and its standardized use could significantly contribute to the specificity of personalized dietary and physical activity plans.

This scientific research paper examines the connection between the use of social networks and the presence of internalized and externalized behavioral disorders in children and adolescents. By using multiple regression analysis, the effects of addiction tothe Internet and social networks, time spent on the Internet and the frequency of using social networks on the problems of children and young people were investigated. The results show that predictors related to the use of social networks explain 12% of the variance of internalized behavioral disorders and 10% of externalized ones. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that the abuse of the Internet and social networks has a significant impact on the appearance of anxiety, depression, aggressiveness and impulsivity. The work points to the need for preventive measures and education of children, parents and teachers about the responsible use of digital technologies. Key words:social networks, internet addiction, behavioral disorders, internalized problems

The aim of this retrospective study was to examine the association between the quality of life of mothers of children with cerebral palsy and various sociodemographic characteristics, as well as to analyze the relationship between mothers’ subjective assessments of their quality of life and the psychosocial functioning of their children.The sample consisted of 61 mothers and their children diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Data were collected using the PedsQL™ 2.0 Family Impact Module and the PedsQL™ 4.0 Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, both completed by the mothers. Socioeconomic status was assessed using the Hollingshead Index. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests, including Spearman’s correlation, and were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics 25.The results indicated that sociodemographic factors had a limited impact on mothers’ quality of life, whereas the psychosocial functioning of the child significantly influenced the mothers’ daily lives. These findings highlight the need for comprehensive support that addresses the emotional and social dimensions of children's health in order to improve the overall well-being of their mothers.Keywords: cerebral palsy, mothers, quality of life, psychosocial functioning, socioeconomic factors, caregivers.

The prevailing paradigm in AI for physical systems, scaling general-purpose foundation models toward universal multimodal reasoning, confronts a fundamental barrier at the control interface. Recent benchmarks show that even frontier vision-language models achieve only 50-53% accuracy on basic quantitative physics tasks, behaving as approximate guessers that preserve semantic plausibility while violating physical constraints. This input unfaithfulness is not a scaling deficiency but a structural limitation. Perception-centric architectures optimize parameter-space imitation, whereas safety-critical control demands outcome-space guarantees over executed actions. Here, we present a fundamentally different pathway toward domain-specific foundation models by introducing compact language models operating as Agentic Physical AI, in which policy optimization is driven by physics-based validation rather than perceptual inference. We train a 360-million-parameter model on synthetic reactor control scenarios, scaling the dataset from 10^3 to 10^5 examples. This induces a sharp phase transition absent in general-purpose models. Small-scale systems exhibit high-variance imitation with catastrophic tail risk, while large-scale models undergo variance collapse exceeding 500x reduction, stabilizing execution-level behavior. Despite balanced exposure to four actuation families, the model autonomously rejects approximately 70% of the training distribution and concentrates 95% of runtime execution on a single-bank strategy. Learned representations transfer across distinct physics and continuous input modalities without architectural modification.

This study aimed to examine the role of recruitment and selection practices in shaping employee organizational commitment in organizations operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The empirical research was conducted on a sample of 128 companies from different regions of the country, and the data were collected through a survey questionnaire. The dimensional structure of the research constructs was examined using multivariate statistical procedures, after which the proposed hypotheses were tested through regression analysis. The findings indicate that recruitment and selection practices have a statistically significant and positive impact on overall organizational commitment. In addition, a significant positive relationship was identified between recruitment and selection practices and affective and normative organizational commitment, while the relationship with continuance commitment, although statistically significant, was notably weaker. These results suggest that transparent, fair, and consistently implemented recruitment and selection practices contribute more strongly to employees’ emotional attachment and sense of moral obligation toward the organization than to commitment primarily driven by perceived costs of leaving. The findings are discussed in relation to existing theoretical and empirical research, emphasizing the importance of professional hiring practices for long-term employee commitment. In the specific context of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where organizations face persistent challenges related to employee retention and labor market mobility, the study emphasizes the strategic role of recruitment and selection systems as internal mechanisms for enhancing organizational commitment and fostering stable and sustainable employment relationships.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the CONNECT 2025 Symposium in Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina, from the angle of a junior organizer and a lecturer. We share our journey from the Western Balkans toward academic and research paths in the EU, beginning with CONNECT in 2017 and continuing through studies, research, and PhD work in Germany. Along the way, we highlight why studying abroad matters, what it teaches beyond formal education, and how these experiences can be brought back to strengthen local communities. The contribution also summarizes two accompanying lectures on AI in Science and Gender and Science in the Western Balkans, linking personal experience with broader scientific and societal themes.

In this editorial, we comment on the article published by Qiu et al. Pyogenic liver abscess is a serious clinical condition requiring timely and effective intervention. Ultrasound (US)-guided techniques - whether needle aspiration (NA) or catheter drainage - are key minimally invasive treatments, especially in patients with multiple or deep-seated abscesses where conventional surgery is often impractical. The timing and choice of evacuation method significantly influence clinical outcomes. Although catheter drainage may be necessary for larger or refractory collections, NA represents a less invasive alternative that is often sufficient for smaller abscesses - particularly multiloculated ones - and can avoid multiple catheter placements. This consideration is especially important in the early phase of the disease, when the abscess collection is poorly demarcated from surrounding tissue and more prone to bleeding during or after intervention. Traditional practice delays intervention until liquefaction occurs; however, emerging evidence supports early US-guided evacuation - even in partially liquefied or non-liquefied abscesses - as both safe and effective. Early intervention, particularly via NA when feasible, is associated with faster symptom resolution, shorter hospitalization, and fewer complications. This editorial explores the role of US-guided interventions in pyogenic liver abscess manaement, emphasizing the importance of individualized, timely approaches that optimize disease outcomes while minimizing procedural risk.

Introduction: Noise is the leading cause of hearing loss worldwide. In recent years, reduced hearing ability among young people has been observed, along with an increased frequency of headphone use for sound transmission. The purpose of this study is to determine the frequency and patterns of headphone use for sound reproduction among students and to analyze their impact on the occurrence of symptoms associated with hearing loss. Methods: The cross-sectional study included students from two public universities from three public faculties in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were used to process the results. To test the statistical significance of the findings, the Chi-square goodness-of-fit test was applied, with the level of statistical significance set at 0.01. Results: The study sample included 246 participants and it was found that 77.6% of surveyed students use headphones for sound transmission. The longest duration of use was reported by 44.6% of participants, who had been using headphones for more than 5 years. The most common maximum daily use was up to 2 h (28.7%), while 67.5% of respondents reported using headphones every day, most often in the evening (46.4%). The Chi-square test showed statistically significant differences in the frequency of symptom occurrence following headphone use (χ2(6) = 55.466, p < 0.001). The most frequently reported symptoms were tinnitus (28.3%), a sensation of fullness and ear pressure (17.8%), and ear pain (16.2%). Conclusion: The results indicate a high prevalence of headphone use among students, with many reporting daily use over several years. The analysis showed a statistically significant association between headphone use and the occurrence of hearing-related symptoms, suggesting a potential threat to the auditory health of young people. These findings highlight the need to educate youth on the safe use of headphones.

Background/Objectives: Beyond respiratory problems, COVID-19 can cause a variety of symptoms, such as neurological disorders caused by biological and psychological factors. Brain fog (BF), a post-illness cognitive impairment that many patients report, can be evaluated with reaction time (RT) testing. Response latency is measured by RT, which can be either simple (sRT) or complex (cRT). This study focuses on how COVID-19 affects cognitive function, with particular attention on RT changes, BF prevalence, and implications for daily life. Methods: The study included 599 participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia. RT was measured using PsyToolkit and participants completed a COVID-19-associated BF questionnaire. Participants who experienced BF after their latest COVID-19 infection rated its severity using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Additional clinical data were obtained from medical records. Results: BF was reported by 40% of participants post-COVID-19. Men reported it less frequently but found it more disruptive. RT progressively declined post-infection, reaching peak impairment at 15 weeks, following recovery, with RT normalizing by six months. Conclusions: COVID-19 is linked to temporary RT impairment, peaking at 15 weeks post-infection and resolving by six months, independent of BF presence. This study emphasizes the need for a biopsychosocial approach to BF management. Easily available RT assessments should be incorporated into routine clinical practice.

This study investigated the influence of biological maturity status on anthropometric, body composition, and physical performance characteristics in elite youth male basketball players. A total of 140 players (15.12 ± 0.78 years) competing in national elite programs were categorized as early, on-time, or late maturers according to years from peak height velocity (PHV). Each participant completed a standardized testing battery including anthropometric assessments, body composition analysis (InBody 720), countermovement jump (CMJ) with and without arm swing, drop jump from 40 cm (DJ40), linear sprints over 5–20 m, and agility tests (t-test and Lane Agility). Between-group differences were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc tests, while partial eta squared (ηp2) and magnitude-based inference (MBI) were applied to assess effect size and practical significance. Significant differences were observed across maturity groups (p < 0.05), with early maturers being taller, heavier, and more muscular than their on-time and late-maturing peers. Large effects were found for height (ηp2 = 0.667) and body mass (ηp2 = 0.455), and moderate-to-large effects for jump, sprint, and agility performance (ηp2 = 0.051–0.166). MBI results indicated that most differences between early and late maturers were “very likely” or “almost certain,” highlighting their practical relevance. These findings confirm that biological maturity substantially affects physical and performance profiles in adolescent basketball players and underscore the importance of maturity-informed approaches such as bio-banding and individualized training to ensure fair evaluation and equitable talent development in youth sport.