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Background/Aim. There is no available published data about the use of long-acting injectable paliperidone palmitate (PP) in schizophrenia patients in the Republic of Serbia. The aim of this study was to assess hospitalization rates be-fore and after the switch to once-monthly long-acting injectable PP in schizophrenia patients, as well as their compliance with this drug. Methods. We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study in which hospitalization rates were evaluated 12 months before and 12 months after the switch to once-monthly long-acting injectable PP in 113 schizophrenia patients. The age of the enrolled patients was between 18 and 66 years. Results. The average age of the enrolled patients was 38.36 ± 11.62 years. Among them, 77 (68.1%) were male, and 36 (31.9%) were female. Out of the total number of 113 patients treated with once-monthly injectable PP, 78 (69.03%) were on monotherapy, while 35 (30.97%) had one additional oral antipsychotic (risperidone, olanzapine, aripiprazole, or clozapine). Out of the total number of 113 patients, 68 (60.18%) were not hospitalized in the 12-month period before the switch to once-monthly long-acting injectable PP, while 45 (39.82%) were hospitalized in the same period. Given that 8 patients out of the total number of 113 were excluded from therapy due to an adverse event or their own decision in the period after the switch to PP, the analysis of the hospitalization rate after the switch to PP was performed for the remaining 105 patients, of which 9 (8.57%) were hospitalized in the period after the switch to PP, and 96 (91.43%) were not. Conclusion. Our results show high compliance in the treatment with once-monthly injectable PP and a positive impact of treatment with this drug on low hospitalization rate in a 12-month period in patients with schizophrenia. Considering the availability of this drug in the Republic of Serbia, these results encourage the use of once-monthly injectable PP as an important therapeutic option in schizophrenia patients.

The development of new therapeutic options focused on the recovery of patients with schizophrenia is primarily conditioned by elucidating the biological underpinnings of the disorder. The kynurenine pathway of tryptophan catabolism is the focus of psychiatric research since its catabolites have neuroactive properties, and one of the most important is the effect of kynurenic acid as the only endogenous NMDA receptor antagonist. According to the kynurenine hypothesis, there is an imbalance of excitatory and neuroprotective metabolites of the kynurenine pathway in patients with schizophrenia. It is postulated that excessive production of kynurenic acid leads to excessive blockade of NMDA glutamate and alpha-7 nicotinic receptors, acting as a trigger for the development of psychotic symptoms and neurocognitive deficits. This paper aims to review the kynurenine hypothesis of schizophrenia, important findings of studies exploring metabolites of the kynurenine pathway in patients with schizophrenia, and findings from the research on the potential impact of proinflammatory cytokines on the kynurenine pathway.

Nowadays, children are most often involved in different sports clubs where they can satisfy their need for movement through recreational activities or the practice of sport on a higher level, and obtain benefits brought by regular physical activity. If the program of these activities is well-organized, its contribution is reflected in the fact that in this manner young people can increase their total time of practicing physical activity during the day. The goal of this research was to establish the active exercise time of female gymnasts in rhythmic gymnastics training sessions, with various apparatuses used in the training, as well as exercises without any apparatuses. A method of descriptive analysis was applied in this paper, with the utilization of objectively acquired data in rhythmic gymnastics training sessions. The data was collected by trained observers by applying the "SOFIT" instrument, during November and December of 2022. Twelve training sessions were observed and analyzed, performed in three different gymnastics clubs, and attended by a total of 126 girls, aged 7 to 11. Out of the total number of training sessions, there were three that had exercises without apparatus as their content, three with jump rope exercises, three with ball exercises, and three with hoop exercises. The acquired data was first analysed by the methods of descriptive statistics, after which a comparative analysis of gained results was performed. The application of various forms of apparatuses or exercises without apparatuses influences the active exercise time, as well as coach behaviour in rhythmic gymnastics training.

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For primary school age pupils, it is characteristic to show passive, verbal and indirect aggression through behavior that can be active and passive-aggressive behavior. Stealing and lying are also present as forms of a hidden form of aggressiveness. The frequency of aggressive behavior usually decreases by the period of adolescence. Previous research indicates that situations in which aggressive behavior still occurs are less frequent among pupils who practice sports activities. Although there are opposing views, it is considered that regular participation in sports, especially in its aggressive forms, enables the discharge of negative energy in a socially acceptable way, so a person who practice this type of sport later becomes less aggressive in other, non-sports situations in everyday life. The implementation of sports in schools, such as judo and karate, gave positive results in reducing the aggressive behavior of pupils, because practicing these sports also includes learning ethical principles such as respect for the opponent and fair play, respect for one's own body and the body of the opponent, prohibition of dangerous techniques and preservation of health and the well-being of all practitioners as the highest values. This paper indicates the importance of implementation of such programs in elementary schools in the world and in our country.

The remarkable development of a large number of vaccines against COVID-19 in a very short period of time represents one of the greatest successes of medicine and science in history, and mass vaccination at the global level will be crucial for prevention and mitigation of COVID-19. However, there are still numerous open questions about the vaccines, and the protection they provide, and answers to those questions will not only help to control this pandemic, but they will also prepare us to react better in case of future outbreaks. This review will present the latest findings on the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 and give an update on COVID-19 immunity. It will also provide an overview of the most important vaccines against COVID-19, especially those available in Serbia, with an emphasis on their immunogenicity, efficacy and safety, as well as the platforms used for their development. In addition, a special attention will be given to open issues related to immunization against COVID-19, such as the duration of post-vaccination immunity, the degree of protection against new virus variants and the need for booster doses and mixing and matching of different COVID-19 vaccines.

Physical education teaching is recognized as one of the key factors in promoting and increasing the physical activity of children and youth. However, the analysis of studies dealing with the students physical activity in physical education classes in primary school, showed that the share of time that students spend in physical activity in classes does not meet half of the total time duration of the class. Therefore, an active workout time of students during physical education classes was chosen to be the subject of this research. The goal of this research was to establish an active workout time of students in relation to different organizational-methodical forms of work in the main phase of the physical education class. Also, the goal of this research was to assess the activity of a physical education teacher in the physical and health education class, in relation to the applied organizational-methodical form of work. The research was conducted on a sample of 22 fifth grade elementary school students, where three classes of sports gymnastics were held. For providing information about students' physical activity and teacher's didactic-methodical activity, validated instrument SOFIT was used. All data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. It is determined that an active workout time of students in each class was over 50% of the total time duration of the class. The students' most active workout time was during a parallel-class form of exercises - 24.17 min, or 65.32%, in comparison with the total time of the class. During additional exercises, activity was 57.21%, while the shortest active time was during stops method (56.62%). The teacher spent most of the time giving instructions to the students, where, while applying a parallel-class form of exercises this task was using 49.55% of the total time of class, stops method 44.66% and additional exercises 36.04%. The rest of the time, the teacher was using "promotion of fitness" (encouraging students) and exercise assistance.

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of proprioceptive training on explosive strength, agility and coordination in young rhythmic gymnasts. The study was conducted on a sample of 74 healthy girls, aged 7 to 9 years of age who train rhythmic gymnastics. The whole sample was divided into two groups: experimental (43 girls) and control (31 girls). The experimental group had the proprioception training before their regular trainings for 12 weeks (24 trainings), while the control group had only rhythmic gymnastics trainings. Effects of proprioceptive trainings on the examined motor abilities were estimated by two explosive strength tests, three coordination tests and two agility tests. All respondents were tested before the application of the experimental treatment (pre-test) and after its completion (post-test). To examine differences in the achieved results between the initial and final measurement for each group, t-test for dependent samples was used. To determine differences between groups at the initial and final measurement, t-test for independent samples was used. By comparing results from the initial and final measurement, improvement in all tests for the observed abilities was perceived in the experimental group, while improvement in coordination tests and one agility test was noticed in the control group. Testing differences in results between groups in the final measurement showed that there are differed only in agility tests, and in favour of the experimental group. Based on the obtained results, the conclusion was that the application of proprioceptive training in rhythmic gymnasts can contribute to improvement of agility, while in other observed abilities we cannot conclusively claim that improvement was the direct product of proprioceptive training.

At the basis of tireless efforts to explain the nature of law lies the question of how judges should decide cases. Therefrom arises a need for a theory that would clarify the role of the courts and, moreover, provide guidance to them on reaching judgments. The history of legal theory abounds with various attempts to offer a generally acceptable answer to the question raised. The fervor of debate and the perpetual dissatisfaction with offered solutions prompted the thought of untamable arbitrariness of judges. In the contemporary debate the significance of argumentation is particularly emphasized as a link of the court procedure which provides reasonableness and therewith justification and persuasiveness of the decision. Before going into the matter, I will indicate in broad strokes which areas of legal theory do argumentation and interpretation belong to. The purpose of setting a conceptual framework is to prevent losing sight of the whole as well as to limit the scope of discourse to a certain section of legal issues. The second part deals with the concept of argumentation in general and some specific features of the argumentation in law. The third part examines the role of legal interpretation and draws a clear distinction between the interpretation as a process and the interpretation as a result. At the end of the discussion I shall put forward a thesis that the interpretation as a process is argumentation, while the interpretation as a result is an argument in the justification of judgment.

The current paper presents analytical and numerical approaches of velocity performances estimations for the EFP (Explosively Formed Projectiles). The proposed analytical methods mathematically develop velocities parameters of a particular segment for EFP liner propelled by explosive process. This model is based on the well-known theoretical approaches of energy distribution on plastic body in dynamical conditions providing integral solution for projectile final velocity. The redundant to analytical, the numerical method is also developed, to provides estimations about behavior of projectile vs. time in the EFP forming process powered by explosion. Both models are valid for performances estimations of EFP warheads and design data for optimal EFP configuration. Simulations are supported by the software Matlab and Autodyn for analytical and numerical modeling respectively. The obtained numerical and analytical results are compared with the available experimental data.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of peripheral blood markers as additional diagnostic tools to transvaginal ultrasound (TVU) findings in the diagnosis of endometriosis. Methods: This study included 40 patients undergoing laparoscopy for suspected endometriosis from January to December 2012. Preoperative levels of serum CA125, CA19-9, CEA and mRNA expression levels for survivin and VEGF were obtained. Real-time PCR was used to determine relative gene expression. A new diagnostic score was obtained by deploying the peripheral blood markers to the TVU findings. Statistical methods used were Chi-square, Fisher's, Student's t-test or the Mann - Whitney test. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in serum CA125, survivin and VEGF levels in patients with endometriosis and those without endometriosis (p

The goals of this research are to test the relationships of appropriate nonline of site (NLOS) missile flight performances and conditionally created their tactical ranges, spaces zones and shooting time during employment on the surface targets. Flight maneuver of distance remote controlled NLOS missile is tested with the conditionally joint constrains coming from flight kinematics with turbo-jet engine of NLOS missile and manner of target motion, typical of rapid reaction attacks. The constraints of maneuverability and flight, in the cruise phase, are considered as the mass point motion to create both unguided (searching) and guided navigated kinematical trajectories, which was designed by the appropriate guidance law. Research used numerical methods to simulate NLOS missile and targets motions in horizontal plane by controlling line of target (LOT) referred at the appropriate flight height. This generates borders of target impact and launching areas, establishes NLOS missile operation time, as well as masses variations for the expected manner of battle flight. .

Sport is an anthropological constant of childhood and adolescence, and as such insufficiently present form of physical activity in accordance with the conditions of modern life and the needs of young people. The subject of this study is children's engagement in sport in the city of Belgrade. The aim was to determine possible differences in sport's involvement between boys and girls. Nonexperimental research-type survey was carried out on a sample of 1279 respondents of both sexes (female = 640; male =639), aged 10 to 15 years. For the purpose of this study was applied non-standardized questionnaire, open type. The calculation of statistical significance of differences between the groups was performed by the Chi - square test (c2) of independence at the conclusion of the significance level 0.01. On the basis of obtained results there were determined statistically significant differences, therefore it can be concluded that engagement of children in sports, in the city of Belgrade varies according to gender.

The aim of this paper is to define noncommercial or political risks, determine their nature and genesis, and analyse their impact on foreign direct investment as an important element of foreign trade relations. Also, starting from the need to implement one of the postulates of international economic relations - the principle of free movement of capital - the paper analyses the extent of protection against certain non-commercial risks of the capitalexporting countries and capital importing countries. A significant part of the paper is devoted to the measures for international insurance of foreign direct investment against political risks, which were adopted as a result of the activities of the organs of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Binding multilateral documents and regulations, created upon the initiative of the most developed countries of the world, have become an international legal framework for investments, and a matrix for building national investment legislations. Harmonisation of national legal standards for the protection of foreign direct investment was achieved through the membership in the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency which insures the countries from the political risks, but also during the process of settling investment disputes through the International Centre for Dispute Resolution, both headquartered in Washington, D.C. National and international insurance of foreign investments against political risks have been standardised and they guarantee the free movement of capital.

Abstract Background Interleukin-17 (IL-17)-producing cells are increasingly considered to be the major pathogenic population in various autoimmune disorders. The effects of glucocorticoids, widely used as therapeutics for inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, on IL-17 generation have not been thoroughly investigated so far. Therefore, we have explored the influence of methylprednisolone (MP) on IL-17 expression in rat lymphocytes, and compared it to the effect of the drug on interferon (IFN)-γ. Results Production of IL-17 in mitogen-stimulated lymph node cells (LNC) from non-treated rats, as well as in myelin basic protein (MBP)-stimulated draining LNC from rats immunized with spinal cord homogenate and complete Freund's adjuvant was significantly reduced by MP. The reduction was dose-dependent, sustained through the follow-up period of 48 hours, and was not achieved through anti-proliferative effect. Additionally, MP inhibited IL-17 production in purified T cells as well, but to less extent than in LNC. In its influence on IL-17 production MP inhibited Ror-γT transcription factor expression, as well as Jun phosphorylation, but not ERK or p38 activation in mitogen-stimulated LNC. Importantly, MP collaborated with IFN-γ in inhibiting IL-17 generation in LNC. Conclusion The observed difference in the effect of MP on IL-17 and IFN-γ could be important for the understanding of the variability in the efficiency of glucocorticoids in the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

The difference between the VTEC values obtained from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and satellite altimetry is much more noticeable over the ocean and the sea due to less coverage of the GNSS observations. Previous research shows that differences can go up to 15 TECU. The main problem is calculating VTEC from raw data which is ambiguous. This paper presents filtering methods for estimating the differences between mentioned datasets. By using this solution, it is possible to achieve better accuracy on a global estimation of the deviation. The International Reference Ionosphere values were used for validation of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]