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Plastic pollution in water ecosystems is threatening the survival of wildlife. In particular, microplastics may be encapsulated into calcium carbonate, a crucial building block of hard tissue in many species such as molluscs, corals, phytoplankton, sponges, echinoderms, and crustaceans. Actually little is known on the effect of humic acids, a common component of dissolved organic matter, on the encapsulation of microplastic into calcium carbonate. Here, we precipitated calcium carbonate with humic acids and polystyrene microspheres. The precipitation process was followed by measuring pH during the reaction. Composition, structure, morphology, surface properties and microspheres encapsulation extent were analysed by infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, total organic carbon analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, electrophoretic and dynamic light scattering. Results show, for the first time, that encapsulation of polystyrene microspheres into calcite crystals occurs only after the treatment of the microspheres with humic acids, leading to encapsulation of about 5% of the initial microspheres mass. On the contrary, untreated microspheres did not encapsulate in calcium carbonate. Our findings imply that exposure of microplastics to dissolved organic matter in water ecosystems could result in enhanced encapsulation into the exoskeleton and endoskeleton of aquatic organisms.

Healthcare workforce shortage is a worldwide problem (1). Workforce shortage may be defined as not having the right number of people with the right skills in the right place at the right time, to provide the right services to the right people (2). In this regard, the trends are worrisome, and the situation is getting worse. The consequences are also very consistent – limited care health services and limited quality of health care (1). In short, there is an imbalance between need and supply. The solution: as health care needs increase worldwide, the “production” of personnel must be increased! But is it really that simple? Are the problem and the solution so reciprocal and directly linked?

Volunteers have been present in palliative care since its inception. With the development of palliative care systems, their role and position are changing. Given growing long-term care needs and limited resources in health and social care, volunteers are becoming an important resource in meeting these needs. In Croatia, palliative care has been developing as an integrated care model since 2014. To assess the position and the role of volunteers, we analyzed legislative documents from healthcare and social care and conducted a focus group with volunteers in palliative care. We found that volunteers provide support from the social aspect of care, for the patient and the family. The formal palliative care system involves them as partners in the provision of care, even though this cooperation is informal. The main determinants of their activities are an individualized approach, flexibility, a community presence, and project funding. In conclusion, these determinants allow them to react quickly to identified needs, but with them come some uncertainties of their sustainability. Their activities could indicate what needs to be integrated between health and social care and in what areas. Volunteers both fill in gaps in the system and are ahead of the system, and by doing this they develop new processes around identified unmet needs.

In recent years, the production and application of biochar as a soil amendment produced from pruning residues has gained attention worldwide. Since the effect of grapevine rootstock type on grapevine-pruning residues used as feedstock for biochar production had not yet been researched, the present research was performed. Two grapevine rootstocks, different in vigor, were selected, with the hypothesis that they would affect their chemical composition and, consequently, the composition of the produced biochar. In this work, grapevine-pruning residues of the indigenous variety “Istrian Malvasia” (Vitis vinifera L.) grafted on 420A and SO4 rootstocks were analyzed and used for biochar production under three peak temperature programs (400 °C, 500 °C, and 600 °C). Higher pyrolysis temperature decreased yield but increased EC, ash, and TC content, as well as the content of most of the studied elements. On the other hand, grapevine rootstock type affected biochar EC, ash content, and specific surface area. Results showed that a more vigorous rootstock affects the produced biochar qualities by enhancing the above-mentioned properties. The present research showed that biochar produced from grapevine-pruning residues, especially at 500 °C or 600 °C, could be a valuable tool for the valorization of this biomass as a soil amendment.

The biomineralization of corals occurs under conditions of high and low supersaturation with respect to aragonite, which corresponds to day- or night-time periods of their growth, respectively. Here, in vitro precipitation of aragonite in artificial seawater was investigated at a high supersaturation, allowing spontaneous nucleation and growth, as well as at low supersaturation conditions, which allowed only the crystal growth on the deliberately introduced aragonite seeds. In either chemical systems, soluble organic matrix (SOM) extracted from Balanophyllia europaea (light sensitive) or Leptopsammia pruvoti (light insensitive) was added. The analyses of the kinetic and thermodynamic data of aragonite precipitation and microscopic observations showed that, at high supersaturation, the SOMs increased the induction time, did not affect the growth rate and were incorporated within aggregates of nanoparticles. At low supersaturation, the SOMs affected the aggregation of overgrowing crystalline units and did not substantially change the growth rate. On the basis of the obtained results we can infer that at high supersaturation conditions the formation of nanoparticles, which is typically observed in the skeleton's early mineralization zone may occur, whereas at low supersaturation the overgrowth on prismatic seeds observed in the skeleton fiber zone is a predominant process. In conclusion, this research brings insight on coral skeletogenesis bridging physicochemical (supersaturation) and biological (role of SOM) models of coral biomineralization and provides a source of inspiration for the precipitation of composite materials under different conditions of supersaturation.

Security controls are certainly one of the most preferred ways of controlling the environment in which our system is “alive”. But although they are heavily represented and used in practice, security controls tend to become the same and not change after they are introduced. To try to make the most of the opportunities that this approach provides, this paper will explain the importance of implementing ICT security controls and propose a new approach by adding emergency ICT control. This approach gives us the ability to integrate the entire organization into the development of control by providing a better, more accurate and faster basis for managing the security risks of ICT technology.

Liposomes (lipid vesicles) are often considered to be a versatile tool for the synthesis of advanced materials, as they allow various control mechanisms to tune the materials’ properties. Among diverse materials, the synthesis of calcium phosphates (CaPs) and calcium carbonates (CaCO3) using liposomes has attracted particular attention in the development of novel (bio)materials and biomineralization research. However, the preparation of materials using liposomes has not yet been fully exploited. Most of the liposomes used have been anionic and/or zwitterionic, while data on the influence of cationic liposomes are limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate and compare the influence of differently charged liposomes on CaPs and CaCO3 formation. Zwitterionic 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC), negatively charged 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine (DMPS), and positively charged 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-ethylphosphocholine (EPC) lipids were used to prepare the respective liposomes. The presence of liposomes during the spontaneous precipitation of CaPs and CaCO3 affected both the precipitation and transformation kinetics, as well as the morphology of the precipitates formed. The most prominent effect was noted for both materials in the presence of DMPS liposomes, as (nano) shell structures were formed in both cases. The obtained results indicate possible strategies to fine-tune the precipitation process of CaPs and CaCO3, which may be of interest for the production of novel materials.

This work is focused on a practical procedure by which pure and well-formed COD crystals were obtained. The effect of different type of stirring on the precipitation process and properties of COD crystals is studied. Mechanical and magnetic stirring are two common stirring types for precipitation of calcium oxalate and method using ultrasonic irradiation is newly described. The precipitation processes are systematically investigated varying solution stoichiometry (defined as a ratio of concentrations of the constituent ions in solution, (Ca+/(C2O42−) and concentration of additive (citrate). The differences of the structure, morphology and crystals properties between precipitates were investigated by SEM, FT-IR, TG and PXRD. In the ultrasonically stirred systems, COD was the only precipitated phase regardless of solution stoichiometry. Pure and well formed COD crystals with well-formed planes were obtained in the system with c(Ca2+)/c(C2O42−) = 3.86 and c(citrate) = 0.009 mol dm−3. The results demonstrate that ultrasonically assisted precipitation could be a new way in synthesis of COD crystals having different potential applications (in the fields of medicine and biotechnology).

Croatia is among the last countries in Europe to develop organized palliative care at the national level. Real changes in this area started after the parliamentary elections in 2011 and culminated in the 2013 adoption of the Strategic Plan for Palliative Care Development 2014–2016. The National Board for Palliative Care (NBPC), appointed by the Ministry of Health, was in charge of creating a scalable palliative care model and national guidelines. The Board drew on experiences from both neighbouring countries with similar societies and/or health care models (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland) and an international leader in palliative care (United Kingdom). It recognised that provision of palliative care in Croatia, thus far based on volunteering and isolated enthusiastic activities, needed to be improved through professionalization, regulation, and organized development. A variety of policy measures was used to implement these changes, including the introduction of professional guidelines and new payment models. The development of new palliative care structures and services significantly increased the number of patients who could access palliative care, from around 1–2% of patients needing such care in 2011 to 20–35% in 2014. It also ensured the provision of more appropriate services at each point of the palliative care pathway. The Strategy was extended for the 2017–2020 period.

Spontaneous precipitation of CaCO3 polymorphs in the presence of selected amino acids (AA) has been investigated. The l -aspartic acid (Asp), l -lysine (Lys), l -asparagine (Asn), l -tyrosine (Tyr), l -phenylalanine (Phe), l -serine (Ser) and l -alanine (Ala) were selected because of different charge and polarity of their side chains at applied experimental conditions. The investigated AA are building units of soluble macromolecules, putatively responsible for biomineralization of molluscs’ exoskeletons. It was assumed that not only the acidic, but also the polar (hydrogen bonding) AA might contribute to macromolecules’ interactions with the mineral surfaces. The mineralogical composition, structure and morphology of precipitates formed in the presence of wide range of concentrations of AA have been determined by XRD, FT-IR and EPR spectroscopy, HPLC-MS and SEM. In the reference system, without AA addition, a mixture of typical calcite rhombohedral crystals and vaterite spherulites has been observed, while AA with negatively charged or polar side chains (Asp, Tyr, Lys, Asn, Ser) significantly changed the morphology, phase composition and crystal structure of the precipitates. The effects of nonpolar AA (Phe, Ala) on the structural and morphological properties of precipitates are less pronounced. The stronger impact observed for polar AA and particularly negatively charged Asp, may be correlated with the additional electrostatic interactions of side-chain groups with mineral surfaces.

In this Special Issue, we focus on biomineralization/pathological biomineralization systems and the synthesis of bioinspired materials. This Special Issue promotes the current trend of “green chemistry”, and, as such, in all published papers, only aqueous solutions and eco- friendly additives were used for the production of well-characterized bioinspired materials. This Special Issue contains four papers: three original research papers and one review. Here, a brief introduction of these papers is provided.

The aim of this study is to contribute to understanding the mechanisms underlying the formation of biologically relevant minerals by comparing the properties of solid phases formed in calcium phosphate (CaP) or calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitation systems, at defined initial experimental conditions: supersaturation, constituent ions ratio, ionic strength, and/or presence of relevant inorganic ions. Thus, three systems of different chemical complexities were investigated: (a) system containing constituent ions, (b) system containing additional co-ions, and (c) system with higher ionic strength and addition of Mg2+. The respective precipitation diagrams were constructed, and supersaturation domains of different CaP and CaCO3 solid phases formation were identified. The obtained results may have implications not only for biomineralization and geochemistry, but also for materials science in general.

The main purpose of this research is to assess the outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) of Belgrade, in order to investigate how distinct bioclimatic conditions influence on the human organism during the summer in urban environments. Universal Thermal Climate Index, which represents the heat stress of the human organism caused by meteorological conditions, was used as an indicator of thermal comfort in the study. The main goal was to monitor changes in the index values, as well as the frequency of various categories of thermal stress during the hottest part of the year (months June, July, and August). For this research, mean daily meteorological data from the Meteorological Observatory Belgrade have been collected for the period from 1999 to 2018. The obtained results show a gradual change in the bioclimatic conditions, which are generally more adverse in July and August. Results also indicate that OTC in Belgrade was considerably reduced, especially in 2007, 2012, 2015, 2017, and 2018.

This paper aims to: (1) provide a brief overview of hospital sector characteristics in 11 Central and Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia); (2) compare recent (2008 – 2019) hospital reforms in these countries; and (3) identify common trends, success factors and challenges for reforms. Methods applied involved five stages: (1) a theoretical framework of hospital sector reforms was developed; (2) basic quantitative data characterizing hospital sectors were compared; (3) a scoping review was performed to identify an initial list of reforms per country; (4) the list was sent to national researchers who described the top three reforms based on a standardized questionnaire; (5) received questionnaires were analysed and validated with available literature. Results indicate that the scope of conducted reforms is very broad. Yet, reforms related to hospital sector governance and changes in purchasing and payment systems are much more frequent than reforms concerning relations with other providers. Most governance reforms aimed at transforming hospital infrastructure, improving financial management and/or improving quality of care, while purchasing and payment reforms focused on limiting hospital activities and/or on incentivising a shift to ambulatory/day care. Three common challenges included the lack of a comprehensive approach; unclear outcomes; and political influence. Given similar reform areas across countries, there is considerable potential for shared learning.

Terapija pacijenata s oralnim karcinomom složena je i zahtijeva multidisciplinaran pristup koji uključuje maksilofacijalnog i oralnog kirurga, onkologa i stomatološkog protetičara, a često je potrebna i psihološka pomoć. U ovom prikazu slučaja opisana je protetička rehabilitacija pacijentice nakon uklanjanja oralnoga karcinoma izradom resekcijske proteze. Resekcijska šupljina nalazi se na srednjem dijelu tvrdog nepca, a prema Aramanyju pripada trećem razredu maksilarnih defekata. Otisak ležišta proteze i resekcijske šupljine proveden je u dva koraka. Prvi je korak otisak ireverzibilnim hidrokoloidom za ležište proteze, a drugi, otisak resekcijske šupljine dobiven kondenzacijskim silikonskim materijalom s pomoću metalne baze resekcijske proteze. Resekcijskom protezom pacijentici su nadomješteni izgubljeni zubi te joj je, uz minimalne troškove, poboljšana oralna funkcija i estetika., The treatment of patients with oral cancer is complex: a multidisciplinary approach needs to be taken and maxillofacial and oral surgeons, an oncologist, a prosthodontist should be included, and a psychologist is often needed. This case report describes the prosthetic rehabilitation of a patient after surgical removal of oral cancer with obturator prosthesis. Resection cavity was located in central part of the hard palate and the condition belonged to Aramany class 3 maxillary defects. The two-step impression technique of denture bearing area and the resection cavity was performed. A primary impression- the impression of denture bearing area was made using irreversible hydrocolloid material, while the second impression – the impression of resection cavity was made using condensation silicone material and obturator prosthesis framework. The obturator prosthesis replaced lost teeth, improved oral function and esthetics at minimal costs.

Comprehensive whole-genome structural variation detection is challenging with current approaches. With diploid cells as DNA source and the presence of numerous repetitive elements, short-read DNA sequencing cannot be used to detect structural variation efficiently. In this report, we show that genome mapping with long, fluorescently labeled DNA molecules imaged on nanochannel arrays can be used for whole-genome structural variation detection without sequencing. While whole-genome haplotyping is not achieved, local phasing (across >150-kb regions) is routine, as molecules from the parental chromosomes are examined separately. In one experiment, we generated genome maps from a trio from the 1000 Genomes Project, compared the maps against that derived from the reference human genome, and identified structural variations that are >5 kb in size. We find that these individuals have many more structural variants than those published, including some with the potential of disrupting gene function or regulation.

Poly-L-glutamic (pGlu) and poly-L-aspartic (pAsp) acids, as analogues of naturally occurring soluble acidic proteins, were used to investigate specific interactions between the acidic polypeptides and calcite as a mineral surface. A basic polypeptide (poly-L-lysine, pLys) served as a negative control for testing the role of conformity between the substrate and the adsorbed polypeptides in biomineralization processes. The kinetics of calcite crystal growth was determined in a simplified precipitation model system by inoculating well defined calcite seed crystals into a moderately supersaturated solution containing one of the polypeptides. From the kinetic data, the mode and extent of the calcite/polypeptide interactions were determined. The parabolic rate law was found to be valid for the calcite crystal growth, the integration of ions into the spiral steps at the calcite crystal surface being the rate-determining mechanism. Small amounts of pGlu or pAsp caused an inhibition of calcite crystal growth, the effect being pAsp > pGlu, and the exponential dependence of the growth rate on supersaturation confirmed that surface nucleation was the growth controlling mechanism in the presence of the two acidic polypeptides. The pLys non-selective, weak, electrostatic adsorption at the crystal surface was probably responsible for increasing the calcite growth rate at low concentrations and for inhibiting it at higher concentrations. The strongest interactions between the crystal surfaces and the polypeptides were observed for the calcite/pAsp systems. They could be accounted for by coordinative interactions between the side chain carboxylic groups of the predominantly planar arrangement of the pAsp structure (β -pleated sheet) and Ca2+ ions from the calcite surface.

This paper reports on the precipitation of CaCO3 polymorphs, having various crystal morphologies under different conditions. In particular, systems that were subject to ultrasonic irradiation were compared to the corresponding reference systems in the absence of such a treatment. The application of ultrasonic irradiation predominantly resulted in a change of particle size distribution and polymorphic composition of the precipitate, in comparison to the reference systems. Thus, it was found that the supersaturation and temperature influenced the size distribution, in both the reference and sonicated systems. A mixture of calcite, vaterite and aragonite was obtained in all reference systems, at 25 °C. At this temperature, the sonication caused the vaterite content to increase, while aragonite was not detected. In reference and sonicated systems at 80 °C, only aragonite precipitated. The results also indicate that the principle parameter responsible for the morphology of vaterite was the initial supersaturation: at higher supersaturation spherical vaterite particles precipitated, while at lower supersaturation hexagonal platelets were obtained. The morphological investigations also indicated different mechanisms of vaterite formation in the systems in which precipitation was initiated at higher supersaturation: spherulitic growth of vaterite was observed in sonicated systems, while the aggregation of primary particles was predominant in the reference systems. At lower supersaturation, the effect of c(Ca2+)/c(CO32-) on the morphology of hexagonal platelets of vaterite was observed as well. By varying the c(Ca2+)/c(CO32-), significant changes of the polymorphic composition were observed only in the sonicated systems, at 25 ˚C.

Objective Whole-genome sequencing of circulating cell free (ccf) DNA from maternal plasma has enabled noninvasive prenatal testing for common autosomal aneuploidies. The purpose of this study was to extend the detection to include common sex chromosome aneuploidies (SCAs): [47,XXX], [45,X], [47,XXY], and [47,XYY] syndromes. Method Massively parallel sequencing was performed on ccf DNA isolated from the plasma of 1564 pregnant women with known fetal karyotype. A classification algorithm for SCA detection was constructed and trained on this cohort. Another study of 411 maternal samples from women with blinded-to-laboratory fetal karyotypes was then performed to determine the accuracy of the classification algorithm. Results In the training cohort, the new algorithm had a detection rate (DR) of 100% (95%CI: 82.3%, 100%), a false positive rate (FPR) of 0.1% (95%CI: 0%, 0.3%), and nonreportable rate of 6% (95%CI: 4.9%, 7.4%) for SCA determination. The blinded validation yielded similar results: DR of 96.2% (95%CI: 78.4%, 99.8%), FPR of 0.3% (95% CI: 0%, 1.8%), and nonreportable rate of 5% (95%CI: 3.2%, 7.7%) for SCA determination Conclusion Noninvasive prenatal identification of the most common sex chromosome aneuploidies is possible using ccf DNA and massively parallel sequencing with a high DR and a low FPR. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Supporting information may be found in the online version of this article. Funding sources: Sequenom, Inc. and Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine (SCMM). The sponsors participated in the design of the study, data collection, data management, data analysis, decision to submit the report for publication, manuscript preparation, and review. Conflicts of interest: Mazloom, Dzakula, Wang, Oeth, Jensen, Tynan, McCullough, Saldivar, Bombard, and Deciu are employees of Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine and Sequenom shareholders. Ehrich, van den Boom, Maeder, and McLennan are employees of Sequenom, Inc. and Sequenom shareholders. Palomaki and Canick were members of the Sequenom Clinical Advisory Board between November 2007 and October 2008 and resigned when they received study funding. Palomaki and Canick were Co-Principal Investigators for a Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island project fully funded to through a grant from Sequenom, Inc., between October 2008 and February 2012.

Negatively ionisable poly-L-glutamic acid (pGlu) and poly-L-aspartic acid (pAsp), considered as analogues of the naturally occurring acidic macromolecules involved in biomineralization processes, were used as additives in the calcium carbonate precipitation systems in order to investigate their interactions with the vaterite crystallites. Poly-L-lysine (pLys), a positively ionisable poly(amino acid), was also used in order to elucidate the impact of the side chain charge. The growth kinetics of vaterite was found parabolic, indicating that the integration of growth units into the spiral step at the vaterite crystal surfaces is the rate-determining mechanism. The presence of small amounts of pGlu and pAsp inhibited the crystal growth. At the highest concentrations of both acidic macromolecules the exponential rate law was observed, which indicates the surface nucleation as the rate controlling mechanism. The addition of pLys in the range of applied concentrations did not significantly influence the crystal growth of the vaterite. Thus, the kinetic results, corroborated by morphological observations, pointed out to the significance of the negative charge of the side chains of selected polypeptides in the interfacial interactions with mineral planes. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Mineralized tissues grow through biologically controlled processes in which specific macromolecules are involved. Some of these molecules, which are present in very low concentrations and are difficult to localize and characterize, become entrapped inside the mineralized tissue. Herein, a protein fragment, GP, which was obtained by the alkaline digestion of the green sheet of the abalone shell, is used as a probe to study the changes in molecular structure that occur during the precipitation of calcium carbonate. This important goal was achieved by exploiting a fluorescent tag in GP. The experimental results that were obtained by using spectroscopic-, chromatographic-, and microscopic techniques indicate that GP controls the precipitation kinetics and morphology of calcium carbonate crystals, and that it only undergoes structural reorganization when entrapped inside calcium carbonate crystals. To the best of our knowledge, this report represents one of the first studies on the conformational changes of a protein fragment that is involved in biomineralization processes on moving from the solution phase into the mineral phase.

There are various predictors of citizens’ satisfaction with health care system, but there are two main political factors: patient participation and institutional influence of their representative organizations, and political party affiliations (1-4). Some authors concluded that socio-demographic characteristics were only a minor predictor of satisfaction with health care system, but older age appeared to be one of the most consistent positive determinants of health care satisfaction (5-13). Women were found to be less satisfied with care than men because they were more frequent users of care and had higher expectations (14,15). Studies in post-communist states provide mixed evidence in this regard. In a 1991 cross-country survey study, most of the respondents believed that, while the market system was essential to economic development, policies that promoted social and economic egalitarianism were important (16). They also found that women, those with lower educational level, and those with lower income were more likely to be supportive of socialist principles. On the other hand, a study conducted in 1999 showed a change in value systems, with a majority of respondents from Poland and Hungary not favoring further redistribution of income, even at the expense of welfare (17). Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between education and positive attitude to health care competition. Still, in Hungary the older generations were predominantly against increases in health care competition. Since the early 1990s, the public level of satisfaction with the health care system reforms in Croatia has not matched the apparent success of the reform goals. A 1994 consumer survey found that a vast majority of lower- and middle-income Croats was skeptical of health care reforms (18). They attributed this to the legacy of universal access to health care, the view of health care access as a universal right, negative consequences on the patients, and lack of public understanding of the reforms. The same study (18) found the distribution of out-of-pocket payments and co-payment for health care to represent a regressive burden on those in the lower income group. Patient satisfaction was also low: 44% were dissatisfied with the quality of health facilities and 48% with the equipment (18). Similar face-to-face interviews found that citizens of Croatia did not hold a positive view of the health insurance reform (19). Their primary concern were limitations of their rights and the increase in the financial burden related to medical care. A 2005 survey found that during the presidential election campaign period health care was the second most important issue on the voters’ minds, closely following economy (20). Finally, a national survey on patients’ satisfaction with hospital and primary health care in 2006 showed considerable concerns with relations between patients and medical professionals, hospital accommodation, communication between primary and secondary health care, and corruption (21,22). In this study, we present and compare the results of a series of public opinions surveys conducted between 2005 and 2009. This is the first study that targeted public experiences and voters’ opinion as an evaluation of the health care sector in Croatia.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is still at an early stage in development of functional economic and social environment. “How do tax evasion and tax policy effect on economic and social environment?” This is one of the key issues that requires full attention of fiscal policy and is also the hypothesis of this study. Is tax evasion in direct correlation with the economic welfare of a society, social environment and economic activity? The effort to shed light on these questions can help in the implementation of measures and activities on the prevention and suppression of tax evasion.In the focus of interests of this study are two groups of respondents, the taxpayers on one side who make contacts with professional groups on the other side employed in tax administrations (inspectors). For the purpose of analysing the collected data, the statistical package of SPSS was used. The contribution of this research and the main research result indicate that tax evasion has multiplicative effects, it destroys the reputation of institutions primarily and in particular the reputation of the tax administration, it poses a threat to the tax system and rule of law, causing taxpayer’s distrust of the tax system itself. Thus, by reducing tax evasion the situation in public finances improves substantially. The study shows the theoretical analysis of the phenomenon of tax evasion in BiH (which is not a goal in itself), including analysis of current tax procedures and tax policy of BiH and their influence on economic and social environment.

Objective To determine the progress in the development and implementation of health policies on a county level resulting from the learning-by-doing training provided through the County Public Health Capacity Building Program started in 2001 in Croatia. Methods Modular training using management tools, public health theory and practice, and SMDP's Healthy Plan-it™ tool, followed by the self-evaluation of the progress made by county teams in health needs assessment and health policy development, implementation, and assurance. Fifteen county teams consisting of politicians, executive officers, public health professionals, and community members. Results Twelve of 15 county teams completed the program. The teams made progress in the evaluated areas, although to a different extent, which did not depend on the amount of time they had or the governance experience. The differences in improvement depended on the differences in the strength of political, executive, and professional components of the teams. Teams with a strong political and/or executive component, but weak public health professional and community components made major improvements in policy development and/or assurance function, but performed less well in the health needs assessment and constituency building. The reversed was also true. Conclusion Learning-by-doing training program improved public health practices on a county level in Croatia.

Our study reviewed policies in 8 high-income countries (Australia, Canada, United States, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Croatia and Estonia) in Europe, Australasia and North America with regard to hospitals in rural or remote areas. We explored whether any specific policies on hospitals in rural or remote areas are in place, and, if not, how countries made sure that the population in remote or rural areas has access to acute inpatient services. We found that only one of the eight countries (Italy) had drawn up a national policy on hospitals in rural or remote areas. In the United States, although there is no singular comprehensive national plan or vision, federal levers have been used to promote access in rural or remote areas and provide context for state and local policy decisions. In Australia and Canada, intermittent policies have been developed at the sub-national level of states and provinces respectively. In those countries where access to hospital services in rural or remote areas is a concern, common challenges can be identified, including the financial sustainability of services, the importance of medical education and telemedicine and the provision of quick transport to more specialized services.

Bosna i Hercegovina je suočena sa izuzetno visokom stopom nezaposlenosti od 44%, stoga je smanjenje stope nezaposlenosti, u predstojećem periodu, ključ za povećanje životnog standarda stanovništva i društvenog blagostanja, za šta je potrebno iznaći prave strategije jer povećano zapošljavanje mora ići u korak sa povećanom stopom ekonomskog rasta i razvoja, odnosno povećana zaposlenost mora da stvori veću vrijednost od troškova tog zapošljavanja kako bi se obezbjedio i društveni rast i razvoj.Konstrukcija odgovarajućih strategija, podrazumijeva neophodnost razmatranja svih faktora ekonomskog rasta i razvoja i njihove povezanosti sa zaposlenošću kao faktorom,kako bi se ostvario optimalan mix u realizaciji samog rasta i razvoja. Da bi društvo bilo ekonomski razvijeno, neophodno je da stopa nezaposlenosti bude što niža jer se tako većina uključuje u stvaranje vrijednosti i bogatstva, drugim riječima postoji visok stepen korelacije između niske nezaposlenosti i visokog životnog standarda, tako je stopa nezaposlenosti u Njemačkoj 5% a u Švajcarskoj 3,4%, s druge strane visoka zaposlenost podrazumijeva i pravedniju distribuciju stvorenog bogatstva i manje socijalne razlike i tenzije. Smanjiti stopu nezaposlenosti nije lak zadatak jer je riječ o stvaranju novih radnih mjesta, što zahtijeva investicije, a pri tome je potebno i da postoji adekvatna radna snaga da zauzme nova radna mjesta; što znači da se prilikom razvoja strategije zapošljavanja mora voditi računa i o karakteru i kvalifikacijama nezaposlenih, koja slika u BiH nije baš zadovoljavajuća; tako da je za primjenu pojedinih strategija zapošljavanja potrebno uključiti i obrazovni sistem kako bi se izvršile neophodne obuke, odnosno prekvalifikacija i dokvalifikacije nezaposlene radne snage.

Glucose conversion by brain synaptosomes can be regarded as a special case of intrinsic kinetic properties of the enzyme substrate system. Temperature modulation of apparent K(m) for this process can be described with our kinetic model. Using experimental data and the kinetic model, the minimal K(m) value for glucose conversion in ground squirrel synaptosomes was found at the lower temperature (6.5 degrees C), much lower than that for the rat (16.6 degrees C). The inversion temperatures (T(min)) closely coincided with the lowest body temperatures from which the unassisted recovery from hypothermia was demonstrated in both species. This study indicated that thermal modulation of enzyme affinities may have an adaptive role in endotherms that is linked to their tolerance to hypothermia.

The remarkable time-resolution enhancement by deep lethargic hypothermia (15 degrees C rectal temperature, "cold narcosis," "anesthesia by internal cold") of metabolic events in the rat brain after oxygen deprivation has been exploited to monitor metabolic changes by in vivo (31)P-NMR. A correlation was established between the bioenergetic status of the brain and physiological descriptors of tolerance (survival and revival times) determined in parallel experiments with large series of animals. Spectral peak integrals were transformed into absolute concentrations by comparison to biochemically determined time series of data obtained in freeze-trapping experiments conducted under identical conditions. Serial spectra were used to reconstruct the time-course kinetics of intracellular brain pH and of concentration changes of inorganic phosphate, phosphocreatine, ATP, and ADP. Both the biochemical and NMR time series of data were simultaneously fitted by a set of exponential kinetic equations accounting for relationships imposed by the Lohmann and adenylate kinase reactions. Depletion profiles were then computed for a number of descriptors of brain energy status (energy charge, phosphorylation potential, total adenylate, and primary energy stores expressed as the sum of high-energy phosphate-bond equivalents). The results contribute to the understanding of the role of brain energetics in tolerance to oxygen deprivation.

One-minimum U-shaped temperature profiles of the dissociation constant ( K m ) have been observed experimentally with a variety of enzyme–substrate (E–S) systems. The increase of E–S affinity with falling temperature (“positive thermal modulation of affinity”), which opposes the cold-induced reduction in catalytic velocity, has been often interpreted as significant for both immediate and evolutionary temperature compensations and of major importance in setting thermal limits in ectothermic organisms. This role was denied to enzymes from endotherms, on the ground that their minimal K m values were situated well below their normal body temperature. Evidence is presented in this report that affinity changes described by U-shaped profiles can simply be the consequence of intrinsic kinetic properties of the E–S system. Theoretical modeling is achieved by combining the classical expression for the Michaelis constant with Transition State Theory expressions for the three rate constants involved. It provides for the U-shape of the K m vs. T profile and allows for the derivation of an equation for identifying its inversion point. Modeling of V max and V min (reaction velocity under conditions of substrate saturation and of dilution, K m ⪢[ S ], respectively) is also included. An expression was formulated for predicting the “critical temperature,” T C , corresponding to the low-temperature break in Arrhenius lines. Using existing K m data from literature, concerning a variety of E–S systems, our modeling proved to be highly satisfactory. Our own experiments show that glucose uptake by rat brain synaptosomes can be regarded as a special case of basically the same kinetic scheme, and that the U-shaped temperature modulation of apparent K m for glucose conversion is also in full agreement with our kinetic modeling. These experiments indicate that positive thermal modulation, although based on intrinsic kinetic properties of the underlying E–S system, may have an adaptive role in endotherms as well, linked, however, to their tolerance to hypothermia.

Croatia is a small central European country on the Balkan peninsula, with a population of approximately 4.3 million and a gross domestic product (GDP) of 62% of the European Union (EU) average (expressed in purchasing power parity; PPP) in 2012. On 1 July 2013, Croatia became the 28th Member State of the EU. Life expectancy at birth has been increasing steadily in Croatia (with a small decline in the years following the 1991 to 1995 War of Independence) but is still lower than the EU average. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the population has increased during recent years and trends in physical inactivity are alarming. The Croatian Health Insurance Fund (CHIF), established in 1993, is the sole insurer in the mandatory health insurance (MHI) system that provides universal health coverage to the whole population. The ownership of secondary health care facilities is distributed between the State and the counties. The financial position of public hospitals is weak and recent reforms were aimed at improving this. The introduction of concessions in 2009 (public private partnerships whereby county governments organize tenders for the provision of specific primary health care services) allowed the counties to play a more active role in the organization, coordination and management of primary health care; most primary care practices have been privatized. The proportion of GDP spent on health by the Croatian government remains relatively low compared to western Europe, as does the per capita health expenditure. Although the share of public expenditure as a proportion of total health expenditure (THE) has been decreasing, at around 82% it is still relatively high, even by European standards. The main source of the CHIFs revenue is compulsory health insurance contributions, accounting for 76% of the total revenues of the CHIF, although only about a third of the population (active workers) is liable to pay full health care contributions. Although the breadth and scope of the MHI scheme are broad, patients must pay towards the costs of many goods and services, and the right to free health care services has been systematically reduced since 2003, although with exemptions for vulnerable population groups. Configuration of capital and human resources in the health care sector could be improved: for example, homes for the elderly and infirm persons operate close to maximum capacity; psychiatric care in the community is not well developed; and there are shortages of certain categories of medical professionals, including geographical imbalances. Little research is available on the policy process of health care reforms in Croatia. However, it seems that reforms often lack strategic foundations and or projections that could be analysed and scrutinized by the public, and evaluation of reform outcomes is lacking. The overall performance of the health care system seems to be good, given the amount of resources available. However, there is a lack of data to assess it properly.

A new method is described for accurate Phase Angle Measurement from Peak AreaS (PAMPAS) with the goal of facilitating automated phase correction of NMR spectra. PAMPAS measures phases of isolated NMR peaks by using Fourier analysis of a series of peak areas measured with systematically incremented phase shifts. The calculated phases of individual peaks can be employed to extract the zero- and first-order phase corrections by means of linear regression. The method is accurate, independent of the lineshape, robust, fast, and easy to implement. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.

Analytical expressions have been derived that translate uncertainties in distance constraints (obtained from NMR investigations) into uncertainties in atom positions in the maximum likelihood (ML) structure consistent with these inputs. As a test of this approach, a comparison was made between test structures reconstructed by the new ML approach, which yields a single structure and a covariance matrix for coordinates, and those reconstructed by metric matrix distance-geometry (MMDG), which yields a family of structures that sample uncertainty space. The test structures used were 560 polyhedra, with edges of arbitrary length containing up to 50 vertices, and one polyhedron, with 100 vertices; randomized distance constraints generated from these structures were used in reconstructing the polyhedra. The uncertainties derived from the two methods showed excellent agreement, and the correlation improved, as expected, with increasingly larger numbers of MMDG structures. This agreement supports the validity of the rapid analytical ML approach, which requires the calculation of only a single structure. As a second test of the ML method, the approach was applied to the determination of uncertainties in the structure of a cyclic dipeptide, cyclo(DL-Pro-Gly) (cPG), derived from NMR cross-relaxation data. The input data were interproton distances calculated from NOEs measured for a solution of the peptide in 2:1 DMSO:H2O at -40 degreesC (so as to yield large negative NOEs). In order to evaluate effects of the quality of the input spectral parameters on the precision of the resulting NMR structure, information from the covalent geometry of cPG was not used in the structure calculations. Results obtained from the analytical ML approach compared favorably with those from the much slower random-walk variant of the Monte Carlo method applied to the same input data. As a third test, the ML approach was used with synthetic structural constraints for a small protein; the results indicate that it will be feasible to use this rapid method to translate uncertainties associated with a given set of distance restraints into uncertainties in atom positions in larger molecules.

The solution structures of staphylococcal nuclease (nuclease) H124L and itsternary complex, (nuclease-H124L)•pdTp•Ca2+, were determinedby ab initio dynamic simulated annealing using 1925 NOE, 119 φ, 20χ1 and 112 hydrogen bond constraints for the free protein,and 2003 NOE, 118 φ, 20 χ1 and 114 hydrogen bondconstraints for the ternary complex. In both cases, the final structuresdisplay only small deviations from idealized covalent geometry. In structuredregions, the overall root-mean-square deviations from mean atomic coordinatesare 0.46 (±0.05) A and 0.41 (±0.05) A for thebackbone heavy atoms of nuclease and its ternary complex, respectively. Thebackbone conformations of residues in the loop formed byArg81–Gly86, which is adjacent to the activesite, are more precisely defined in the ternary complex than in unligatednuclease. Also, the protein side chains that show NOEs and evidence forhydrogen bonds to pdTp (Arg35, Lys84,Tyr85, Arg87, Tyr113, andTyr115) are better defined in the ternary complex. As has beenobserved previously in the X-ray structures of nuclease-WT, the binding ofpdTp causes the backbone of Tyr113 to change from an extendedto a left-handed α-helical conformation. The NMR structures reportedhere were compared with available X-ray structures: nuclease-H124L [Truckseset al. (1996) Protein Sci., 5, 1907–1916] and the ternary complex ofwild-type staphylococcal nuclease [Loll and Lattman (1989) Proteins Struct.Funct. Genet., 5, 183–201]. Overall, the solution structures ofnuclease-H124L are consistent with these crystal structures, but smalldifferences were observed between the structures in the solution and crystalenvironments. These included differences in the conformations of certain sidechains, a reduction in the extent of helix 1 in solution, and many fewerhydrogen bonds involving side chains in solution.

Dosadašnja istraživanja pokazuju vezu između niskog socioekonomskog statusa (SES) i povećanog pobola i smrtnosti. Iako je socijalna uvjetovanost rizičnih zdravstvenih ponašanja i nepovoljnih zdravstvenih ishoda u hrvatskoj literaturi istraživana, pitanja povezanosti nezdravog načina prehrane, tjelesne inaktivnosti, pušenja i prekomjerne konzumacije alkohola sa socijalnim statusom još uvijek nisu dovoljno istražena. Cilj rada je bio istražiti povezanost SES-a te nezdravog načina prehrane, tjelesne inaktivnosti, pušenja i prekomjerne konzumacije alkohola u hrvatskoj odrasloj populaciji te dolazi li do promjena u zastupljenosti rizičnih zdravstvenih ponašanja u različitim skupinama SES-a u promatranom petogodišnjem razdoblju. Korišteni su podaci dvaju ciklusa Hrvatske zdravstvene ankete (HZA), 2003. i 2008. godine, a u istraživanje je uključeno 1227 ispitanika. Analize su rađene za zdravu populaciju i kronične bolesnike, 2003., u kompletnom uzorku, ali i u zdravoj populaciji odvojeno, socijalni status statistički je značajno bio povezan s nezdravim načinom prehrane (p, Introduction and Aim: Based on the previous research, there is strong association between low socioeconomic status (SES) and high morbidity and mortality rates. Even though association between SES and risky health behaviors as the main factors influencing health has been investigated in Croatian population, some questions are yet to be answered. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, smoking and excessive drinking in low, middle, and high socioeconomic group of adult Croatian population included in the cohort study on regionalism of cardiovascular health risk behaviors. We also investigated the association between SES measured by income, education and occupation, as well as single SES indicators, and risky health behaviors. Sample and Methods: We analyzed data on 1227 adult men and women (aged 19 and older at baseline) with complete data on health behaviors, SES and chronic diseases at baseline (2003) and 5-year follow up. Respondents were classified as being healthy or chronically ill. SES categories were derived from answers to questions on monthly household income, occupation and education by using two-step cluster analysis algorithm. Results: At baseline, for the whole sample as well as for healthy respondents, SES was statistically significantly associated with unhealthy diet (whole sample/healthy respondents: p=0.001), physical inactivity (whole sample/healthy respondents p=0.44/p=0.007), and smoking (whole sample/healthy respondents p

A method for preparation of significant amount of hollow rhombohedral calcite nanoparticles, based on carbonation of calcium hydroxide suspension, is described. The mineralogical and morphological analyses of the precipitate confirmed the existence of exclusively stable polymorphic modification, calcite, with the mean particle size of about 100 nm and the diameter of the holes observed at the surfaces that are about 50 nm. The analysis of carbonation kinetics pointed out to a complex mechanism of hollow particles formation at high initial supersaturation, that assumed nucleation of amorphous precursor calcium carbonate phase and its solution mediated transformation into nanosized crystalline calcite. The holes obtained at the calcite surfaces are most probably the imprints remained after the dissolution of amorphous calcium carbonate particles.

Whole-genome sequencing of circulating cell free (ccf) DNA from maternal plasma has enabled noninvasive prenatal testing for common autosomal aneuploidies. The purpose of this study was to extend the detection to include common sex chromosome aneuploidies (SCAs): [47,XXX], [45,X], [47,XXY], and [47,XYY] syndromes.Massively parallel sequencing was performed on ccf DNA isolated from the plasma of 1564 pregnant women with known fetal karyotype. A classification algorithm for SCA detection was constructed and trained on this cohort. Another study of 411 maternal samples from women with blinded-to-laboratory fetal karyotypes was then performed to determine the accuracy of the classification algorithm.In the training cohort, the new algorithm had a detection rate (DR) of 100% (95%CI: 82.3%, 100%), a false positive rate (FPR) of 0.1% (95%CI: 0%, 0.3%), and nonreportable rate of 6% (95%CI: 4.9%, 7.4%) for SCA determination. The blinded validation yielded similar results: DR of 96.2% (95%CI: 78.4%, 99.8%), FPR of 0.3% (95%CI: 0%, 1.8%), and nonreportable rate of 5% (95%CI: 3.2%, 7.7%) for SCA determinationNoninvasive prenatal identification of the most common sex chromosome aneuploidies is possible using ccf DNA and massively parallel sequencing with a high DR and a low FPR.

This study examined individual and combined influence of smoking, physical inactivity, alcohol drinking, and unhealthy diet on total mortality. Relationship between individual and combined poor health behaviours and total mortality were examined using Cox proportional hazards regression. Out of 7490 individuals included in the study, during 5 years follow up 808 died. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs), and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for men with health behaviour scores 1, 2, 3, and 4 compared with those with score 0 were 1.67 (1.24-2.24), 2.28 (1.64-3.18), 2.24 (1.32-3.84), and 2.86 (0.77-11.70), respectively (p value for trend < 0.001). Adjusted HRs (95% CIs) for women with health behaviour scores 1, 2, and 3 compared with those with score 0 were 1.17 (0.97-1.42), 1.37 (1.02-1.86), and 1.20 (0.37-3.61), respectively (p value for trend = 0.04). A unit of the health behaviour score increased mortality risk equivalent to being 5.9 and 2.9 years older, for man and woman respectively.