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Introduction. Intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia is an unusual reactive proliferation of endothelial cells around an organized thrombus, which occurs either in a dilated blood vessel, hematoma, or preexisting vascular lesion. These tumors rarely affect the central nervous system. Symptoms depend on the localization of the process itself. Localization in the central nervous system is limited to the intracranial space. Localization in the spinal canal is extremely rare, and only a few clinical cases have been described so far in the literature. Case report. A 67- year-old female patient was examined neurologically initially due to bilateral weakness of the lower extremities, accompanied by a feeling of pain and muscle tension, dominantly in the upper legs, more to the right. The complaints were present a year ago, and before that period, the patient was in a stable state of health. Due to a severe neurological deficit and the need for detailed exploration, the patient was hospitalized. A diagnosis was performed, which showed the localization of the pathological process in the thoracic 5–6 region of the spinal column. Decompression surgery was performed, and with the ex tempore findings metastasis was ruled out. Definitive pathohistological findings proved Masson’s tumor. After the operation, the neurological weakness recovered. Conclusion. Masson’s tumor, although rarely localized in spinal canal, is curable if it is correctly diagnosed and if an adequate therapeutic approach is applied. The initially presented symptoms may resemble numerous neurological or systemic diseases, which requires the clinician to be continuously aware of such rare pathological processes.

Background/Aim. Measuring the quality of life (QoL) is vital in daily clinical practice because it shows significant in-formation in addition to symptoms. There are a large number of scales for assessing the QoL. The Brunnsviken Brief Quality of Life scale (BBQ) measures importance-adjusted satisfaction across six life areas. A validation study of the BBQ scale showed good questionnaire features (high con-current and convergent validity, internal and test-retest reliability, and sensitivity to change). Therefore, the BBQ scale is excellent for use in psychiatric patients to measure outcomes, as well as for everyday screening. Methods. This prospective cross-sectional study was performed among the final-year students in five high schools in Kragujevac, Serbia. Students completed the BBQ questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using a standard statistical method for scale validation and standardization. Results. Our study showed that the BBQ scale had high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.687). That result showed that the scale had good reliability in our study. The average BBQ score was 69.63 ± 16.70 (male: 69.66 ± 18.46; female: 69.83 ± 15.78, p = 0.944). Conclusion. The Serbian version of BBQ satisfies all the criteria of successful validation. There-fore, this scale can be helpful in assessing the QoL in the healthy youth population in Serbia.

A division between urban and rural settlements/areas has been traditionally applied in statistical reporting worldwide. The reports applying these terms have been used to create and implement development policies and measures. However, international policies such as those featured by the European Union (EU), as well as national policies, also recognize, define and render transitional types of settlements. The Program of Implementation of the Spatial Plan of the Republic of Serbia (2010) called for a new definition of the term "settlement" determined by new criteria for a settlement typology by the end of 2015. Except for theoretical contributions, this task has not been completed yet. At the same time, a trichotomous settlement typology has been recommended to Serbia by the EU as a result of the accession process. Therefore, this paper aims to analyze and discuss a new settlement categorization, taking into account considerations on the number of categories, number of variables, choice of variables and territorial level for data collection. These aspects are empirically tested on a data set collected through the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) in Serbia. The data are analyzed using two approaches: descriptive and cluster analysis. A parallel with other countries and theoretical recommendations is drawn in the discussion, based on which some recommendations are presented.

Land, as one of the basic environmental factors, is under large impact by intensive agricultural production, urbanisation, mining activities, erosion caused by anthropogenic factors, etc., which can easily result in its degradation. The unplanned land use increases the risks of degradation and reduction of the land resource. Chemical pollution, unfavourable physical and mechanical characteristics, disruption and accumulation processes, infrastructural occupancy of land represent only few forms of the land degradation. The largest portion of the land in the Republic of Serbia is covered by forests, and only then agricultural, water and construction land. The land use, management and protection is regulated by legislation and planning documents, which are the object of this paper. In the first part of the document analysis, the focus is on the review of the relevant laws adopted in Serbia, such as the Law on Forests, the Law on Spatial Planning and Construction, the Law on Environmental Protection, the Law on Land Protection, and the Law on Agricultural Land, bearing in mind the fact that the legislation forms a basis for further implementation of the planning management and supervision of the land use of all types and purposes. The other part of the review deals with the planning acts as pioneering documents in the integral overview of space, and/or all the activities in it. To that purpose, several spatial plans for different types of areas and different primary functions of land use have been chosen. In its conclusion, this paper explains the symbiosis of legislation and planning documents, and/or their implementation, as well as the significance of such symbiosis for the land function and its sustainable utilisation in the Republic of Serbia.

The majority of European countries share challenges related to demographic change. A decline in the total population size and population aging have already spread from rural to some urban areas. The case of Serbia is no exception. The focus of this article is the parameters of demographic change analysed particularly for larger (cities) and smaller (towns) urban settlements - population size, birth rate, rate of natural increase, average age of first-time mothers, total fertility rate, share of the young and elderly population, average population age, and developing demographic trends. The paper also stresses the necessity to use other definitions for a “city” than the one used in legislation or statistical reports, by showing the extent to which results might differ depending on the chosen definition. One of the definitions used in this paper relies on a slightly adapted division of settlements used in statistical reporting, while the other is based on the Law on Local Self-Government (2007), the Law on the Territorial Organization of the Republic of Serbia (2007) and functional urban areas defined by the Spatial Plan of the Republic of Serbia. Cities and towns are observed from the perspective of their spatial distribution; therefore, each parameter is considered at the settlement, regional and district level. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. TR 36036: Sustainable spatial development of Danube area in Serbia]

We continue our research in the enumeration of Hamiltonian cycles (HCs) on thin cylinder grid graphs Cm × Pn+1 by studying a triangular variant of the problem. There are two types of HCs, distinguished by whether they wrap around the cylinder. Using two characterizations of these HCs, we prove that, for fixed m, the number of HCs of both types satisfy some linear recurrence relations. For small m, computational results reveal that the two numbers are asymptotically the same. We conjecture that this is true for all m ≥ 2.

The article deals with the morphogenesis of the through cave Pećina na Reci Zamni (meaning in Serbian: Cave on the Zamna River; in further text: the Zamna Cave). The Zamna Cave was the subject of several geomorphological studies, mostly aimed at explaining the cave genesis through the evolutionary concept from through caves to natural bridges. In order to get better insight into the morphogenesis of this cave, modern geomorphometrical methods were applied. The cave and the surface topography above it were scanned in high resolution using the instrument Leica Nova MS50, applying the method of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS). Data processing produced the model for the analysis of the relation between surface and underground forms of karst relief. The results point to the conclusion that the Zamna Cave is an example showing that in the process of natural bridges formation by cave roof collapse, it is not necessary that there is a dry valley above the cave, as previously thought.

Solving traffic problems, rather than in a conventional manner, i.e. through the construction of infrastructure and customization requirements, began to be implemented in a different way, by applying measures to motivate users to -use passenger car less, and that more of their daily activities are reached by nonmotorized modes of movement. Sustainable urban transport plans (SUP) were introduced in legislation of the EU, strategic documents that help create a better quality of life in cities. For the purposes of this study, a review of the literature related to existing plans of some major European cities was carried out, as well as small, focusing on cities of the surroundings. On this basis, the similarities and differences were ephasized in proposed measures to reach the goals of sustainable development of transportation systems. In conclusion recommendations are given on the possibility of use of experiences and applications in all the individual local communities.

The impregnation of differently prepared chitosan gels with thymol using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) was studied in order to obtain new materials with added value without the use of organic solvents. The optimum conditions of supercritical impregnation (15 MPa, 35 °C and 24 h) were defined based on previously investigated thymol solubility in scCO2. Cross-linkers formaldehyde and glutardialdehyde were used to prepare chitosan hydrogels. The obtained hydrogels of chitosan were converted in acetogels and then dried with air or by using scCO2 in order to obtain xerogels and aerogels. The best results, in terms of morphology and yield of impregnation with thymol, have been achieved for the aerogel of chitosan (11.30%) which was obtained with cross-linker formaldehyde and dried with scCO2 at 15 MPa and 50 °C.

Mountains are usually understood as high elevation areas, which are sparsely populated and where nature is preserved. The elevation above sea level is the most commonly taken as a criterion for mountain delineation, but the complexity of the task arises when definitions are compared in different national contexts, between projects and particularly when they are applied in decision-making process. Therefore, this paper aims to give a review of the existing palette of mountain definitions and mountain area delineations, to recognize some common criteria used in the definitions, as well as to review topics and situations in which the delineations are applied and used in spatial planning. Due to the diversity of cases, it was necessary to reduce scope of the topic; therefore the paper is limited to the European context and particularly to countries representing the largest European mountain massifs - Alps, Apennines, Pyrenees, Dinaric Alps and Carpathians.

Tourist events represent not only a significant tourism potential, but also the touristic product of Serbia. There are approximately 2500 events every year, attended by several million visitors from Serbia and all around the world. Since the 1990s in the world and since the beginning of the 21st century in Serbia, the organization and development of events has become a significantly profitable activity. Certain countries developed event tourism strategies on the level of the country or on the regional level; in Serbia, the event tourism is mentioned in the national tourism development strategies and certain regional ones. This paper targets the need for development of Event Tourism Strategy on the level of Serbia.

As one of the signs of demographic change, population aging influences various spatial categories: economic activities, social features, land-use, perspectives for future development and more. Even though the process is indicative on a national level, there are significant differences among geographically and functionally distinctive regions. Based on considerable regional differences in the development of Serbia, this paper analyses the key problems of rural areas related to the interdependences of population aging and agricultural activities. Research on aging processes, changes in agricultural activities and their features is based here on the examples of two case studies. The Inđija and Knjaževac Municipalities have been chosen to represent geographically different regions - lowland and mountainous. This study uses both quantitative and qualitative approaches in order to achieve a better understanding of the situation. Statistical data were used to illustrate processes of aging and agriculture where data from two census years indicate a trend of changes. Interviews conducted with representatives of local government, entrepreneurs and local citizens from the villages are the source of information for quantitative analysis. Population aging and agriculture are examined separately, followed by an illustration of their interdependences.

Introduction. A cognitive model of aetiology of panic disorder assumes that people who experience frequent panic attacks have tendencies to catastrophically interpret normal and benign somatic sensations - as signs of serious illness. This arise the question: is this cognition specific for patients with panic disorder and in what intensity it is present in patients with serious somatic illness and in healthy subjects. Objective. The aim of the study was to ascertain the differences in the frequency and intensity of 'catastrophic' cognitions related to body sensations, and to ascertain the differences in the frequency and intensity of anxiety caused by different body sensations all related to three groups of subjects: a sample of patients with panic disorder, a sample of patients with history of myocardial infarction and a sample of healthy control subjects from general population. Methods. Three samples are observed in the study: A) 53 patients with the diagnosis of panic disorder; B) 25 patients with history of myocardial infarction; and C) 47 healthy controls from general population. The catastrophic cognitions were assessed by the Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire (ACQ) and the Body Sensations Questionnaire (BSQ). These questionnaires assess the catastrophic thoughts associated with panic and agoraphobia (ACQ) and the fear of body sensations (BSQ). All study subjects answered questionnaires items, and the scores of the answers were compared among the groups. Results. The results of the study suggest that: 1) There is no statistical difference in the tendency to catastrophically interpret body sensations and therefore to induce anxiety in the samples of healthy general population and patients with history of myocardial infarction; 2) The patients with panic disorder have a statistically significantly more intensive tendency to catastrophically interpret benign somatic symptoms and therefore to induce a high level of anxiety in comparison to the sample of patients with the history of serious somatic illness (myocardial infarction) and the sample of healthy general population. Conclusion. The tendency to catastrophically interpret benign somatic symptoms and therefore to induce a high level of anxiety in patients with panic disorder, confirms the cognitive aetiology model of panic disorder and suggests that it should be the focus of prophylactic and therapeutic management of patients with panic disorder.

Cytogenetic analysis has proven to be a mandatory part of the diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) as well as a major indicator for predicting clinical course and outcome. Aside from the 5q-syndrome, no specific clinico-cytogenetic entity has been reported. To determine the incidence and clinical significance of acquired abnormalities of chromosome 17 in adult primary MDS, we reviewed the cytogenetic features of 271 patients detected at our institution during a 10-year period. Clonal cytogenetic abnormalities were identified in 109 cases. Among them, abnormalities of chromosome 17 were identified in 13 patients (11.9%). Five patients had „single" defects, while in eight patients abnormalities of chromosome 17 were associated with other chromosomal rearrangements („complex" defects). After chromosomes 5,7,8 and 1, abnormalities of chromosome 17 were the most frequent chromosomal rearrangements in our patients with MDS. Following „single" defects of chromosome 17 were identified: del(17)(pl2) in two cases, and i(17)(q10), del(17)(q21;q23) and del(17)(ql2;q22) in one case each. Two patients with del(17p), one with RAEB-t and the other one with CMML, had an aggressive course of the disease with accelerated leukemic transformation and short survival. Patient with i(17q) had RARS subtype and died soon after diagnosis, while other two cases with interstitial deletions of the long arm of chromosome 17 had RAEB subtype and stable, no progressive course of the disease. Among „complex" karyotypes with abnormalities of chromosome 17 we identified der(l 7) in four, monosomy 17 in two, and del(17p) and i(17q) in one case each. Most of these patients transformed to acute leukemia and had very short survival. The results of this study suggest that abnormalities of chromosome 17 are frequent finding in MDS. Loss of genetic material in 17p, both in „single" and „complex" defects, seems to be closely related to poor prognosis of MDS patients.

Some differences in territorial organization between Serbian and EU countries are obvious. The level of centralization and tradition in systems for implementation of ideas are differently back- grounded. However, these are the most important facts for the opportunity to realize Learning Region as a concept of the European future. There is no part of space that should be considered as unchangeable and the way to a better position and Learning Region concept implementation of each region in Serbia in practice should lead towards few necessary steps and further. The starting point is awareness of the facts on the creation of Subotica region as it is at present. The healthy future of each region is provided by looking back in the past and learning from the history. The other important thing is bench marking- learning on the positive and successful experiences of other regions, and finally, making its own concept of Learning Region adapted to local surrounding and true need of local people. Some experiences, suggestions and comparisons will be made in this case study, in relation to one of the Serbian municipalities nearest t to EU neighboring countries in a territorial way. .