ABSTRACT Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has a continuously rising prevalence worldwide. Pharmacogenetics has been recognized as a promising concept for pharmacological treatment of T2D, as antidiabetic drugs are not equally effective and safe for all patients, and the costs of diabetes treatment are increasing. The latest published guidelines on T2D treatment firmly endorse the use of newer antidiabetic drugs, sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-IVi), and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA), considering their satisfactory pharmacological effect and good safety profile. Furthermore, SGLT2i and GLP-1RA show protective effects in patients with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease. However, there has been growing evidence that the effectiveness and safety of these drug classes could depend on genetic variability. Here, we summarized the results of the published studies on the pharmacogenetic biomarkers for the three drug classes. A number of genetic variations have been investigated so far. The explored candidate genes mostly encode drug targets, drug-metabolizing enzymes, and genes linked to T2D risk. Although many of the results are promising, it is still necessary to obtain more information from larger controlled studies to confirm their clinical significance. This approach may lead towards more personalized treatment for patients with T2D.

Music education is an important factor of students’ development. The positive effect of music training is evident in all areas, from the intellectual, psychomotor to social and emotional ones, and therefore music classes in the music school should focus both on music making and on experience, understanding and evaluating music, as well as on expressing one’s own ideas, feelings and thoughts. In ear training classes it can be achieved through the area of music listening. Didactical initiatives of the 19th and 20th century contributed to the recognition of the advantages of the auditory approach, while technological innovations allowed the practical application of music listening. Although there are examples that point to fostering the emotional experience in music classes, music listening is still focused on giving assignments of cognitive type and learning about music components. Some exceptions pertain to the application of multimodality in music teaching using both musical and extra-musical areas. The paper is aimed at pointing to the value of the cognitive-emotional music listening and to the possibilities it opens in ear training classes. The cognitive-emotional music listening focuses on experiencing, understanding and appreciation of classical music aimed at shaping students’ worldview and improving their music competences. It can be achieved by the multimodal and interdisciplinary approach to a musical piece. Students learn about the musical-historical context of the emergence of a piece in a given time and circumstances, about the composing approach and the theoretical and harmony features of the work, they develop their musical and critical thinking, make music, and evaluate both music and their own achievements. Repeated listening to a musical piece or excerpts from it, observing and familiarizing with the piece from different perspectives and discussion about the piece and experience after listening make it possible to better understand the piece and its specifics, as well as to discover and improve one’s own self and accept others and the different.

During their work, pharmacists are faced with a number of ethically difficult situations which include consideration of the values, rights and responsibilities. The overall aim of this study was to analyse the factors that influence the ethical values of pharmacists. We aimed to determine the relationship of these factors and the pharmacists’ perceptions of difficulty and frequency of ethical issues in community pharmacy settings. The research design was cross-sectional and descriptive; the data were gathered from a sample of community pharmacists in Serbia by using validated self-administered survey instrument. In all, 590 pharmacists participated (94.06% females) with working experience from 1 to 39 years (mean 15.17 ± 10.04 years). The majority of respondents stated that the main factor influencing the ethical values of pharmacists is professional ethics, followed by family norms. The most common reasons for addressing ethical issues associated with values are related to the following: importance of cooperation with other healthcare professionals, respect for the rules and regulations, patients` wellbeing, working within one’s competence to limit liability, controlling and monitoring the organizational and occupational framework of pharmacy profession. The respondents in our study identified an ethical imperative for pharmacists in limiting harm to patients and resistance to commercial pressures which might compromise their judgment. The results demonstrate a need for careful examination of the values that could be identified and explored in dilemmas created by commercial environment and dual personality of users (patients, costumers) of community pharmacy service.

ABSTRACT Based on available literature, practices, and agricultural movements, this study analyzed the conceptualization of agroecology in the West Balkans (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and North Macedonia). For decades, like Yugoslavia, they shared common agricultural development, and agroecology was viewed on a theoretical basis alone. Currently, cooperation exists between agroecology (scientific discipline) and organic agriculture (practical platform). All countries have committed to transition toward sustainable agriculture; however, lower productivity and economical/structural impediments have resulted in variable acceptance of agroecology. Nevertheless, agroecology is recognized as an alternative approach to conventional agriculture, with the potential to meet future food demands.

Executive functions (EF) play a crucial role in overall human functioning. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often have EF deficits. The goal of this study was to examine EF and developmental domains in preschool children with ASD. The sample for this study comprised 32 children (27 boys, mean age 65.3 months, SD- 4.0 months) with ASD. The control group consisted of 32 typically developing children (16 boys, mean age 64.3 months, SD- 5.1 months). EF were assessed with Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function and developmental domains were assessed with the Developmental Assessment of Young Children. The results of this study indicated that children with ASD do not have uneven EF and developmental profiles, although the EF and developmental domains scores were more heterogeneous than in typically developing children. Children with ASD had substantially lower EF and developmental scores than typically developing children. Implications of these results are discussed.

Background: A precise three-point shot (3S) is considered a key parameter of success in a basketball game, and therefore the factors that affect its success have always attracted the attention of researchers. Aim: The aim of this research was a biomechanical-mathematical analysis of 3S in basketball, in order to determine the key parameters for performing a 3S. Results:  The research shows a model of shooting a basketball player from the central position of the shot with 6.75 m. The modeling led to the conclusion that the height of the throw, the speed and the angle of the throw of the ball have a positive and direct relationship with the angle at which the ball falls into the basket when it comes to a shot for three points. Conclusion:  The height of the throw, the speed and the angle of the ball have a positive and direct relationship with the angle at which the ball hits the basket when it comes to a shot for three points. Anthropometric characteristics of the player, such as the length of the arm, and the height of the player, directly lead to a positive relationship with the throwing angle.

One of the most important public- health tasks is to provide hygienic and healthy food and water, which will not have harmful consequences for the health of consumers, and in this way a safe food trade is ensured, therefore protecting everyone in the chain from the producer to the consumer. This paper presents the concentrations of heavy metals Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu, obtained by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS), from 5 samples of thyme infusion (lat. Thymus serpyllum), which can be found on the market of Travnik. Sample infusions were prepared by holding the filter bags in boiling deionized water for 10 minutes. Mean values of concentrations of these heavy metals were for Fe 0.0508 ± 0.0139 mg/kg, Mn 0.06 ± 0.0069 mg/kg, Zn 0.0436 ± 0.0147 mg/kg, while the Cu content was not detected in any infusion of the said tea. The risk assessment of the intake of tested heavy metals for the health of consumers, expressed through the Hazard Index (HI), which was <1, shows that the samples of analyzed teas are safe for consumption.

This paper examines possibilities for improving the existing strategies of consistency management for highly-distributed transactional database in a hybrid cloud environment. With a detailed analysis of the existing consistency models for distributed database and standard strategies including Classic, Quorum and Tree Based Consistency (TBC), it is concluded that an improved advanced model of so-called visible adaptive consistency needs to be applied in a highly-distributed cloud environment, as necessary and sufficient degree of synchronization of all replicas. Along with the proposed model, research and development of an advanced novel strategy for consistency management Rose TBC (R-TBC) approach has been conducted, by improving standard TBC approach. Regarding implementation, a specific agglomerative Rose Tree Algorithm (RTA) has been developed, based on Bayesian hierarchical clustering and Graph Partitioning Algorithm - Multidimensional Data Clustering (GPA-MDC) intelligent partitioning of transactional Cloud Database Management System (CDBMS). The final result is constructed R-TBC model that changes in accordance with dynamic changes of entire heterogeneous CDBMS environment.

Background: Diesel engine exhaust causes adverse health effects. Meanwhile, the impact of renewable diesel exhaust on human health is less known. In this study, nasal patency, pulmonary function, and self-rated symptoms were assessed in 19 healthy volunteers after two separate 3-hour exposures to renewable diesel (hydrotreated vegetable oil [HVO]) exhaust, and exposure to filtered air (FA) for comparison. The HVO exposures were generated with two modern non-road vehicles (2019) having either: 1) no aftertreatment system (HVOPM+NOx), or 2) an aftertreatment system containing a diesel oxidation catalyst and a diesel particulate filter (HVONOx). The exposure concentrations complied with current EU occupational exposure limits (OELs) of NO, NO2, formaldehyde, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and future OELs of elemental carbon (EC) from 2023. Results: Exposure to HVOPM+NOx consisted of PM1 (≈90 µg m-3, 54 µg m-3 EC) and NOx (NO 3.4 ppm, NO2 0.6 ppm). The average total respiratory tract deposition of PM1 was 27 µg h-1. The deposition fraction of HVO PM1 was 40-50% higher compared to diesel exhaust PM1 from an older vehicle, due to smaller particle sizes of the HVOPM+NOx exhaust. Exposure to HVONOx consisted mainly of NOx (NO 2.0 ppm, NO2 0.7 ppm) with low level of PM1 (~1 µg m-3). Compared to filtered air, exposure to HVOPM+NOx and HVONOx caused higher incidence of self-reported symptoms (78%, 63%, respectively, vs. 28% for FA, p<0.03). Especially, exposure to HVOPM+NOx showed 40-50% higher eye and throat irritation symptoms. Compared to filtered air, a decrement in nasal patency was found for the HVONOx exposures (-18.1, 95%CI: -27.3 to -8.8 L min-1), and for the HVOPM+NOx (-7.4 (-15.6 to 0.8) L min-1). Overall, no change was indicated in the pulmonary function tests (spirometry, peak expiratory flow, forced oscillation technique), except a slight increase in FEV1/FVC after exposure to HVONOx.Conclusion: Short-term exposure to HVO exhaust below the EU OELs did not cause severe pulmonary function changes in healthy subjects. However, an increase in self-rated mild irritation symptoms, and mild decrease in nasal patency after two HVO exposures may indicate irritative effects from exposure to HVO exhaust from modern non-road vehicles below future OELs.

Three fractions of tobacco waste (scrap, dust and midrib) were subjected to a high voltage electric discharge (HVED) assisted extraction procedure under different experimental conditions: solvent:solid ratio (300, 500, 700 mL/g), frequency (40, 70, 100 Hz) and treatment time (15, 30, 45 min), in order to study the influence of these conditions on the content of chlorogenic acid. The content of chlorogenic acid ranged from 1.54 to 3.66 mg/100 g for scrap, from 1.90 to 2.97 mg/100 g for dust, and from 2.30 to 3.38 mg/100 g for midrib extract, showing a strong dependence on the applied process parameters. The temperature change and the change in pH and electrical conductivity of the extracts after high voltage discharge treatment were also observed. The studied process parameters showed a statistically significant effect on the chemical and physical properties of the extracts from tobacco waste as well as on the content of chlorogenic acid, indicating the potential of HVED assisted processes in the separation of chlorogenic acid from tobacco industry waste. Multiple regression analysis was used to fit the results for the chlorogenic acid to a second order polynomial equation and the optimum conditions were determined.