It is shown that locally asymptotically stable equilibria of planar cooperative or competitive maps have basin of attraction \begin{document}$ \mathcal{B} $\end{document} with relatively simple geometry: the boundary of each component of \begin{document}$ \mathcal{B} $\end{document} consists of the union of two unordered curves, and the components of \begin{document}$ \mathcal{B} $\end{document} are not comparable as sets. The boundary curves are Lipschitz if the map is of class \begin{document}$ C^1 $\end{document} . Further, if a periodic point is in \begin{document}$ \partial \mathcal{B} $\end{document} , then \begin{document}$ \partial\mathcal{B} $\end{document} is tangential to the line through the point with direction given by the eigenvector associated with the smaller characteristic value of the map at the point. Examples are given.

This paper presents major gaps and challenges for implementing the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) in the Mediterranean region. The authors make recommendations on the scientific knowledge needs and co-design actions identified during two consultations, part of the Decade preparatory-phase, framing them in the Mediterranean Sea’s unique environmental and socio-economic perspectives. According to the ‘Mediterranean State of the Environment and Development Report 2020’ by the United Nations Environment Programme Mediterranean Action Plan and despite notable progress, the Mediterranean region is not on track to achieve and fully implement the Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030. Key factors are the cumulative effect of multiple human-induced pressures that threaten the ecosystem resources and services in the global change scenario. The basin, identified as a climate change vulnerability hotspot, is exposed to pollution and rising impacts of climate change. This affects mainly the coastal zones, at increasing risk of extreme events and their negative effects of unsustainable management of key economic assets. Transitioning to a sustainable blue economy is the key for the marine environment’s health and the nourishment of future generations. This challenging context, offering the opportunity of enhancing the knowledge to define science-based measures as well as narrowing the gaps between the Northen and Southern shores, calls for a joint (re)action. The paper reviews the state of the art of Mediterranean Sea science knowledge, sets of trends, capacity development needs, specific challenges, and recommendations for each Decade’s societal outcome. In the conclusions, the proposal for a Mediterranean regional programme in the framework of the Ocean Decade is addressed. The core objective relies on integrating and improving the existing ocean-knowledge, Ocean Literacy, and ocean observing capacities building on international cooperation to reach the “Mediterranean Sea that we want”.

Introduction. Mirror therapy was developed by Vilayanur Subramanian Ramachandran for the treatment of phantom pain after limb amputation. Mirror therapy is a neurorehabilitation technique that helps to relearn the use of affected limbs on many neurological and psychological levels. Material and Methods. A literature review was conducted using the following databases: KOBSON, Google Scholar, PubMed and MEDLINE. Results. A systematic literature review has shown that there is insufficient evidence of the effectiveness of this treatment in relieving and suppressing phantom limb pain. The results indicate the effectiveness of mirror therapy in relieving pain in people after a stroke. The small amount of evidence and lack of methodology reports have a major impact on the quality of this evidence. After mirror therapy, a significant reduction in pain at rest and during active movement was reported. Conclusion. Further research on mirror therapy is needed to help relieve pain. Evidence of the effectiveness of mirror therapy on pain has not been sufficiently investigated so far.

Background: Amniocentesis (AC) is the most commonly used invasive prenatal test. The aim of this study was to determine which were the most common indications for AC, chromosomal abnormalities in relation to the age of the mother and complications as a result of AC. Methods: This is a retrospective thirteen-year cohort study including pregnant women who underwent AC in the period from 2008 to 2020. Patients were divided into two groups: below and above 35 years of age of mother at the time of AC. Results: During study period 2213 AC were performed, out of which 759 (34.29%) were in mother below, and 1454 (65.70%) above 35 years of age (p < 0.00001). The most common indication for AC in group above 35 years of age was advanced maternal age (93.9%), in group below 35 years of age was familial chromosomal diseases (29.91%). In all indications there is a statistically significant difference between the two age groups of pregnant women, all these indications are more prevalent in the group of pregnant women younger than 35 years (p < 0.00001). The most common chromosomal abnormalities in both groups was Down syndrome from numerical aberrations, and from structural inversion of chromosome 9. Short term complications were spontaneous abortion in 26 (1.17%), missed abortion in 4 (0.18%) and premature rupture of membranes in 4 (0.18%) cases. Conclusion: Advanced maternal age, demonstrated the strongest association with the uptake of AC, trisomy 21 was the most prevalent abnormal finding. Complications of AC are not significant compared to the general population of pregnant women.

Introduction: Since December 2019, the humanity is constantly under affection of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Despite global dissemination, neither the treatment or the specific predictive factors have been found or strictly defined yet. Aim: Aim of this study was to assess the long-term (1 year) predictive value of high-sensitive Troponin T (hsTnT) in COVID-19 affected, hospitalised patients. Methods: Between 5 March 2020 and 31 March 2020, 87 consecutive patients hospitalised at University Clinical Centre of the Republic of Srpska due to SARS-CoV2caused pneumonia, in whom hsTnT was measured, were included. The Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to assess differences in all-cause mortality between the groups. Independent predictors of all-cause mortality were identified through univariateand multivariate Cox regression analysis. Results: Compared with patients who had normal hsTnT levels, patients with raised hsTnT were significantly older (70.7 ± 13.23 vs 49 ± 15.29; p < 0.001). Glucose values were significantly increased in patients with raised hsTnT (9.29 ± 5.14 vs 6.76 ± 2.46 [4.1-5.9] mmol/L; p = 0.005), as well as serum creatinine (179.07 ± 225.58 vs 87.53 ± 18.16 μmol/L; p = 0.01), hsTnT (187.43 ± 387.29 vs 7.58 ± 3.40 pg/mL; p = 0.003), D-dimer (5.94 ± 13.78 vs 1.04 ± 1.26 [0-0.50] mg/L; p = 0.024), C-reactive protein (125.92 ± 116.82 vs 69.97 ± 73.09) [< 5.0] mg/L; p = 0.009) and calcium (1.32 ± 0.46 vs 1.03 ± 0.173 [2.20-2.65] mmol/L; p = 0.001). Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the number of all-cause deaths at 1 year was 19 of whom 18 were presented with elevated hsTnT (log-rank p < 0.001). When univariate Cox regression was applied, multiple predictors of all-cause mortality have been identified ie age, haemoglobin, haematocrit, urea, CK-MB as well as hsTnT. In a multiple regression model, hsTnT remained an independent predictor of poor outcome. Conclusion: Results from this study showed that the value of hsTnT during hospitalisation is possibly associated with long-term poor outcome of COVID-19 patients. Therefore, hsTnT may appear as a surrogate factor to differentiate between patients at high risk who need more intensive follow-ups.