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Congenital malformations can be found in all organ systems of a newborn. Almost two-thirds of congenital malformations have an unknown cause. There are minor (mM) and major (MM) congenital malformations. Searching for minor malformations has its vital place in everyday neonatology practice. Minor malformations are defined as physical variants that have no medical consequences and are mostly located on the face and distal parts of the extremities and are easily noticed. Minor malformations occur in approximately 15% of newborns. Minor congenital malformations are of great importance because they can be an indicator of the existence of major congenital malformations and syndromes. In a one-year retrospective study that analyzed the occurrence of 38 minor malformations through the year 2023 at the University Clinical Hospital of Mostar, there was an incidence of 10.59% of minor malformations. The most frequently recorded minor malformation was deep a sacral dimple at 44.72%, then poorly modeled ears at 15.08%, and moderate rectal diastasis at 14.58%. Three or more minor congenital malformations indicate one or more major congenital malformations. Major congenital malformations are severe structural defects of tissues and organs that endanger life, create serious functional disturbances and hinder the development of the child. In our country, there is currently a recorded incidence of 8.04%. The search for minor malformations in the newborn period is of great importance to children and the whole family, and the search must not be neglected.

Introduction Smoking tobacco results in the death of more than 8 million people every year. Our study aims to explore a new approach for smoking cessation by analyzing body composition differences between smokers and non-smokers, focusing on potential variations in biological and chronological ages. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019 at the Special Hospital for Medical Rehabilitation in Croatia. It included 164 subjects, 81 smokers and 83 non-smokers, aged 40–65 years. This study was part of a two-year investigation on locomotor parameter changes as early COPD predictors. Measurements encompassed body parameters, spirometry tests, and body composition. Spirometry was done using the Flowscreen Pro device, and the FEV1/FVC ratio determined lung function. The GAIA 359 PLUS device assessed body composition and estimated biological age. Exclusion criteria applied to specific medical conditions and recent surgeries. Results Smokers had a slightly higher percentage of fat tissue than non-smokers (median=27%, IQR: 24–31) compared to non-smokers (median=25%, IQR: 22–28, p

This study explores the correlation between immunological and clinical characteristics in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with detectable severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in feces, analyzing data from 251 patients admitted to Mostar University Clinical Hospital (UCH) from December 2021 to January 2022. Methods involved reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) from nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs and feces, alongside serological tests for anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike IgGs. Demographic and clinical data were collected through questionnaires and medical records. The data analyses were performed using SPSS statistical software. Death occurred in 53 patients (21.1%, P < 0.001), mostly in the elderly (47/53, 88.7%, P = 0.001) and immunocompromised (19/53, 35.8%, P = 0.05), particularly those developing acute respiratory insufficiency (ARI) (46/53, 86.8%, P = 0.004), and severe/critical disease (46/53, 86.8%, P = 0.002). Among the patients with positive anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies (86/251, 34.3%, P < 0.001), 41 (47.7%) were vaccinated and 45 (52.3%) unvaccinated (P = 0.666), showing no significant differences in clinical outcomes or mortality. Unvaccinated patients with a negative antibody titer had a higher incidence of ARI (96/123, 78%, P = 0.029) and intensive care unit (ICU) admission (22/123, 17.9%, P = 0.026), than those with a positive antibody titer. Forty-seven (62.7%) patients, out of the 75 hospitalized who provided a feces sample, were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA (P = 0.028), without statistical differences between fecal SARS-CoV-2 positive and negative groups regarding vaccination status (15/47, 31.9%, P = 0.493), antibody status (18/47, 38.3%, P = 0.628), or death outcome (5/47, 10.6%, P = 0.706). In conclusion, unvaccinated hospitalized patients with a severe COVID-19 presentation and a negative anti-spike SARS-CoV-2 IgG titer had adverse outcomes more frequently. This suggests cautious consideration for the diagnostic use of fecal samples compared to NP swabs.

Background: Grieving is a life-long process, and children in the grieving process are faced with memories of a loved one, which act as a trigger for emotional reactions that may hinder the grieving process. Most children are able to cope with loss and complete the grieving process with the support of people close to them, however, some grieving children need the help of experts during the grieving process and adjustment to their loss, because they are at risk of developing long-term psychological difficulties. Aims: The aim of this paper is to provide information to experts in the field of mental health on effective counselling and psychotherapeutic methods and techniques, as well as practical guidelines in work with grieving children. Methods: Four databeses were searched on November 1, 2023 for peer-reviewed literature on therapeutic approaches for working with bereaved children. The key search terms were: “Child” OR “Children” OR “Adolescents” AND “Grief” OR “Grieving process” OR “Childhood bereavement” OR “Loss and trauma” OR “Traumatic grief” AND “Therapeutic techniques” OR “Psychotherapy” OR “Counselling” OR “Therapy” OR “Interventions”. The search was conducted in English. Twenty-eight articles/books published up until November 2023 that matched the inclusion requirements were found. Results: Two “category” of psychotherapy approach were identified, namely, evidence-based psychotherapy techniques and creative (expressive) techniques. The psychotherapy techniques are based on individual or group treatment, psycho-education and work with family members and peers. Alongside evidence-based psychotherapy treatments, it is useful to use creative or expressive techniques as a supplement. Conclusion and implications: The effectiveness of psychotherapy and counselling intervention has been proven beyond doubt through a great deal of research, and therefore counselling and psychotherapy should be seen as the first choice in treatment of children in the grieving process. The presented review results could guide clinicians in selectively implementing grief therapy in a way that will be the most helpful to bereaved children, adolescents, and their families.

Abstract Background While Croatia shared COVID-19 pandemic with other countries, its capital area was also hit by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake. The simultaneous impact of these two disasters on psychiatric patients is largely unknown, and we addressed those knowledge gaps. Methods The cross-sectional study was conducted during the pandemic’s first peak, in the aftermath of earthquake, by telephonic survey. Measurements included the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Perceived Stress Scale and the semi-structured interview to evaluate the impact of pandemic stress and earthquake. Overall 396 patients with depression and/or anxiety disorders (DAD), 229 participants with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) and 205 healthy controls were enrolled. Results Both patient groups had higher depression and stress levels than controls, independent of sex, age and the presence of somatic comorbidity. After controlling for the same covariates, patient groups had higher COVID-19- and earthquake-related fears than controls. In patients with DAD, both fears were greater than among SSD patients. When comparing the two fears, the fear from earthquake was higher in DAD and control groups, whereas in SSD patients there was no such difference. Conclusions Patients with DAD were the most vulnerable group during disasters, while earthquake seems to be associated with more fear than the pandemics, at least in DAD patients and healthy individuals. Future longitudinal studies should determine if early psychological support might alleviate stress levels after disasters and prevent further worsening of mental health, particularly among DAD patients.

Abstract Securing the availability of healthy food at affordable prices is of fundamental public interest. The formerly prevailing paradigm of the absolute superiority of free trade in the global food market is changing in favour of re-localization after vulnerabilities were exposed by the war in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent disorder in the global food market. Re-localization of food production could also have a positive impact on the environment, public health and sustainable local development. This paper analyses the trends and current conditions in the Croatian food market regarding the potential economic benefits of re-localization of food production. The purpose of the paper is to estimate the economic benefits of food re-localization in Croatia. The method of input–output analysis is applied to test hypotheses. Direct, indirect and induced effects of re-localization of food production are estimated and the results compared with other countries. The results confirm previous findings that re-localization of food production could stimulate the domestic economy. The multipliers estimated for Croatian agricultural and food production do not deviate significantly from the results published for other economies. Output multipliers related to the Croatian food sector are slightly lower than those estimated for new European Union members, while multipliers for the Croatian agriculture sector are in line with those estimated for the same group of countries. It is found that expenditures on domestic food products induce significantly larger economic effects in Croatia than expenditures on imported food. Import substitution and re-localization would also positively affect public finances. Re-localizing 10% of imports of agri-food products could increase the Croatian GDP by 0.32%. The employment effects would be even larger since labour intensity in the food and agriculture sectors is high.

Sensorineural hearing loss can be caused by lesions to the inner ear during development. Understanding the events and signaling pathways that drive inner ear formation is crucial for determining the possible causes of congenital hearing loss. We have analyzed the innervation and expression of SOX2, JAGGED1, β-catenin (CTNNB1), and vitamin D receptor (VDR) in the inner ears of human conceptuses aged 5 to 10 weeks after fertilization (W) using immunohistochemistry. The prosensory domains of the human inner ear displayed SOX2 and JAGGED1 expression throughout the analyzed period, with SOX2 expression being more extensive in all the analyzed timepoints. Innervation of vestibular prosensory domains was present at 6 W and extensive at 10 W, while nerve fibers reached the base of the cochlear prosensory domain at 7–8 W. CTNNB1 and VDR expression was mostly membranous and present during all analyzed timepoints in the inner ear, being the strongest in the non-sensory epithelium. Their expression was stronger in the vestibular region compared to the cochlear duct. CTNNB1 and VDR expression displayed opposite expression trends during the analyzed period, but additional studies are needed to elucidate whether they interact during inner ear development.

This paper investigates the change in hull girder failure probabilities and partial safety factors caused by the implementation of the new procedure for direct computation of wave loads recommended by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS). Differences between new and previous procedures are primarily related to the different associated scatter diagrams, and secondarily due to the assumptions on wave spectrum, wave energy spreading, and ship speed. This study performs a comparative structural reliability analysis of the global longitudinal bending of five oil tankers of different sizes between two procedures for wave load computation. Firstly, failure probabilities are compared, and secondly, modified partial safety factors are proposed, resulting in similar failure probabilities according to two separate procedures. It is found that implementation of the new revision of the IACS procedure for direct computation of wave loads results in a reduction of the minimum required ultimate vertical bending capacity of a ship hull by 10%. In addition to the novel investigation of the safety of oil tankers using a revised wave scatter diagram, this study offers a new rapid method for calculation of extreme vertical wave bending moments based on the regression of the parameters of the Weibull function, used for the long-term probability distribution of wave-induced loads.

Cilj je ovog izvješća u proteklom trogodišnjem razdoblju (2019–2022) prikazati: 1) aktivnosti Referentnog centra, 2) postignute stručne rezultate i primjenu novih metoda, postupaka i unaprjeđenje struke, i 3) znanstvenu i stručnu suradnju s inozemnim ustanovama visoke razine. Rezultati: Referentni je centar jedino mjesto u Republici Hrvatskoj koje kontinuirano zbrinjava populaciju najugroženijih i najtežih bolesnika pedijatrijske dobi sa srčanom patologijom. Ima kontinuirano, 24 sata dostupnu kardiološku, kardiokiruršku, anesteziološku, neonatalnu i intenzivnu skrb za djecu sa složenim prirođenim i stečenim srčanim bolestima. Također su dostupne metode nadomještanja funkcije organa u zatajivanju (ECMO potpora, LVAD-BiVAD, Berlin-Heart pumpa, hemodijaliza, program transplantacije srca / drugih organa), a sve zahvaljujući timskom radu i suradnji tima nekoliko Zavoda. Izvode se složene kardiokirurške operacije u djece s prirođenim srčanim greškama uz jasan trend povećanja broja i složenosti operacija, te uz i dalje prihvatljivo nisku smrtnost. Danas smo u mogućnosti samostalno liječiti gotovo sve srčane bolesti u djece. Godišnje se izvede oko 200 kateterizacija srca u djece. Više od 40% čine intervencijske procedure, a više od 50% tih intervencija izvodi se u dojenačkom periodu. Tijekom protekle tri godine uvedeno je pet novih perkutanih intervencijskih metoda: liječenje nativne koarktacije i rekoarktacije umetanjem stenta, liječenje stenoze pulmonalnih grana umetanjem stenta, perkutano umetanje valvule na pulmonalnu poziciju, dilatacija postojećeg stenta te zatvaranje aortopulmonalnih kolaterala u djece s univentrikulskim srcem. Navedeni iskoraci učinjeni su kontinuiranim zalaganjem članova tima uz potporu i mentorstvo, odnosno kontinuiranu suradnju s inozemnim stručnjacima iz triju inozemnih ustanova (DeutschesHerzZentrum Muenchen, KinderherzZentrum Linz, Kids Heart Center Budapest). Zaključak: Naš centar stoji uz bok rijetkih centara u Europi koji su u mogućnosti izvesti navedene procedure. Navedene su aktivnosti rezultirale unaprjeđenjem kvalitete skrbi na razini RH i temelj su za daljnji planirani rast i razvoj struke u okvirima naše zemlje.

This correlational study addressed two issues pertinent to developing mathematical competences for the 21st Century. Firstly, in a post-digital society, technology is recognized in teachers’ pedagogic and subject-specific knowledge domains. Secondly, cross-curricular teaching must be introduced to respond to societal requirements for maths knowledge application in diverse areas of life and work. Croatian educational reform recognized the importance of informatics and the integration of ICT across curricula supporting cross-curricular teaching. When reforming teaching, teaching efficacy beliefs inform change, and the study examined how technology pedagogy content knowledge (TPACK) contributes to teaching efficacy beliefs. Six hundred and six Croatian elementary school classroom teachers were surveyed for maths teaching efficacy beliefs (MTEBI) and self-assessment of their technology pedagogy content knowledge (TPACK). The study confirmed that the integration of technology knowledge in teachers’ pedagogical knowledge is, in addition to content knowledge, essential and predicts, with a large effect size ( f 2 = 0.64), the MTEBI subscale math teaching efficacy (MTE), while isolated technology knowledge does not. In addition, there is a positive correlation between years of service and pedagogy content knowledge and a negative correlation between years of service and technology pedagogy knowledge and technology knowledge, however, with a small effect size.

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) is an important legume that is also known as a rich source of isoflavones, which are compounds with mild estrogenic activity. Therefore, this plant is often used as a raw material in the production of dietary supplements recommended in menopause. Many factors can influence isoflavone content, but those genetically related are considered to be the most important. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the phytochemical profile of different plant parts of 30 red clover genotypes grouped according to ploidy and country of seed origin by analyzing the content of dominant isoflavones, total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity. It was found that there are significant differences in the examined traits among plant parts. Red clover leaves had the highest total isoflavone content, with biochanin A as the dominant compound, while flower extracts had the highest TPC and antioxidant activity. Diploid and tetraploid genotypes were significantly different concerning the content of daidzein, genistein, formononetin and TPC with higher quantities in tetraploid samples. On the other hand, seed origin was not a useful separating factor for the analyzed samples. The results of this research indicate that ploidy, as a previously poorly studied factor, could influence isoflavone content in red clover.

Escherichia coli is present in the normal intestinal flora but some strains can cause intestinal and extraintestinal diseases, and research on its presence in food of animal origin is in the interests of public health. This study was designed to characterise E. coli strains according to their origin, their carriage of virulence genes specific for certain pathogroups, and phylogenetic group affiliation.

Anđelko Vuletić bosanskohercegovački je pjesnik, pripovjedač, dramski pisac i prevoditelj. Kao mitski i stvarni prostor radnje svojih romana odabire podneblja Hercegovine u kojima se ostvaruje razigranost ekspresionističke vizije. U kompoziciji i formi njegovih romana prevladava narativno-ispovjedni ton, a time i intimno viđenje stvari kod likova. Najveći dio radnje veže se za sudbine glavnoga lika, a govorenjem u prvome licu, što je kod Vuletićevih likova jako često, lik nerijetko preuzima i ulogu pripovjedača iako on već postoji u vidu pouzdana pripovjedača. U ovome radu prikazat će se osnovne jezičnostilske odlike romana Gorko sunce. Analizirat će se posebnosti na semantičkoj, semiotičkoj i stilističkoj razini te će se izdvojiti najbitnije jezičnostilske jedinice.

Despite the numerous benefits of information and communications technology (ICT) in promoting economic growth and sustainable development, its impacts are insufficiently researched. In particular, there have been few attempts to quantity the contribution of ICT sectors to national economies or the level of integration between ICT sectors. In this paper, an alternative model of sector extraction is developed to quantify the importance of ICT sectors in open and closed input--output systems. The proposed model calculates the contribution of ICT sectors to the national gross value added and employment, as well as the cross-sectoral and intra-sectoral deliveries between ICT sectors. The model is applied to study the Croatian ICT sectors in the years 2010 and 2020. The results indicate that the ICT manufacturing industries lag behind ICT service industries in Croatia. The level of integration differs between individual ICT sectors.

During the 20th century, the representation of the stock female character in the caricatures of the newspaper “Jež” underwent a significant transformation: while in the 1930s the character of the peasant woman was reduced to a simple graphic form, rough and without details, an attractive peasant woman appeared in the mid-20th century, primarily in drawings by Desa Glišić, with a short skirt, narrow waist and enlarged bust. However, in accordance to the traditional cultural norms, she was still dressed in folk costume. Broadly speaking, Desa’s female characters paraphrased the craze for novelties from shops in Belgrade which retailed imported costume items. This visualization of women through the synergy of traditional and modern, or more precisely clothing and fashion, proved to be a convenient platform for interpreting the potential objectification of women (Fredrickson & Roberts). At the same time, we are going to determine whether the mentioned depiction of a rural woman endangered the hitherto dominant patriarchal pattern of visualizing women, when their function as a symbol of traditional values through the role of mother and housewife underwent transformation.

The departure of a parent to serve a sentence of imprisonment affects the change of a family’s climate, which can be divided into three groups: (a) changes in daily life navigation and activity; (b) changes in parent-child relationships; and (c) changes in financial circumstances. The abrupt change that a child experiences can lead to the development of externalized and internalized behavioral problems, as well as changes in student academic achievement due to lack of motivation and concentration. Since the school is an educational institution that provides children with secondary socialization opportunities, it has an important role in supporting students whose parents are serving prison sentences. This paper presents research suggesting that stigmatizing students whose parents are in prison can bring shame, discomfort, and withdrawal to themselves. Considering that there are no clear suggestions on how the primary school should act when the parent goes to prison, the authors of this paper propose guidelines on minimizing the harmful consequences on socioemotional development and academic success of students whose parents go to prison.

Translations of instruments for measuring quality of life developed in certain, mostly more developed, parts of the world usually do not cover regionally specific aspects of health-related quality of life, even after transcultural validation. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a reliable questionnaire in Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin languages suitable for measuring health-related quality of life in adults.

Objective: To investigate the impact of certain clinical parameters on likelihood of hearing recovery after SSNHL and to detect potential variables that predict its outcome. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in order to identify the clinical parameters which influence hearing recovery after SSNHL. Medical charts of 87 patients diagnosed with SSNHL and treated in the clinic from January 2015 to December 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. The effects of several parameters on the success of the treatment were statistically evaluated. Such parameters studied were age, gender, the severity of hearing loss, audiometric curve pattern, the time treatment was initiated, and metabolic factors. Results: Patient categorization according to tonal audiometric curve results statistically differed in terms of recovery (complete, partial, no recovery) (χ2 = 32.5; p

The design of wearable antennas presents a challenge from multiple perspectives, as they must meet technical requirements and satisfy safety standards while also being suitable for integration into clothing and aesthetically pleasing. In recent years, the development of conductive fabrics has, in many ways, allowed for significant progress in the manufacturing of wearable antennas, and in previous work, we developed textile slotted waveguide antennas using conductive textiles and traditional sewing processes. However, various aspects of the design and realization of such antennas remain challenging. In particular, this work investigates the issue of using foam-based molds, which enables the realization of thin, flexible, wearable antennas, as well as the issue of antenna feed, specifically the transition from a classic coaxial transmission line to a waveguide. The design of the transition was focused on simplicity and robustness, due to which we limited the number of degrees of freedom in the design process in order to achieve a structure suitable for mounting on textile waveguide antennas. In addition, the antenna design procedure and the body-channel model were considered in order to optimize the performance of the antennas and the wireless body-centric system itself. Several prototypes of different kinds were developed in the 5.8 GHz ISM band, confirming the feasibility of the proposed concepts through experimental results.

SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2) is a novel virus that has been identified as a causal agent of COVID-19, an emergent infectious disease which brought about a new pandemic in the twenty-first century. The immune responses and clinical features of individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 have not yet been fully described. Thus, in this study, we compare the seroprevalence and define the correlation between symptoms and serological results in the first COVID-19 cluster in the city of Konjic, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Of the total number, 93% of RT-PCR positive participants had positive IgG serology and 75% of them developed symptoms of COVID-19. We found that there was no significant alteration in specific IgG (p = 0.504) antibody levels during the 1-year period after COVID-19. Our results indicate that symptomatic COVID-19 patients have a higher rate of seroconversion (p < 0.01). The IgG seroconversion was correlated with high fever (p = 0.002) and headache (p = 0.007), suggesting that these symptoms could be considered as indicators of a better immune response. This study has demonstrated persistence of sustained levels of specific SARS-CoV-2 antibodies after recovering from COVID-19 infection. However, in order to gain a better insight into the immune response to SARS-CoV-2, further systematic studies should be focused on quality and longevity analyses.

Addiction is a complex psychosocial problem that has significant psychosocial effects on family members. The aim of this study is to gain insight into the burden and psychological distress suffered by caregivers of drug abusers. Ninety-nine caregivers of hard drug addicts participated in this study. The test group consisted of 50 participants and the control group had 49 participants. The participants filled out the General Demographic Questionnaire; Caregiving and the Experience of Subjective and Objective Burden; SCL-90-R; and WHOQOL-BREF. Caregivers of addicts who were preparing to join the community exhibited a significantly higher objective burden, subjective burden, subjective stress burden and greater psychological distress in comparison to caregivers of addicts in the community, and their quality of life was poorer (p < 0.001). The following showed to be risk factors for psychological distress: families with a greater number of children, marital, employment and economic status and duration of addiction. The protective factors were better quality of life, long-term marriage and higher education level of caregivers. Caring for addicts who are living with their families is a significant responsibility and burden for caregivers.

The environmental contours represent an approach for defining extreme environmental conditions, resulting in extreme responses of marine structures with a given return period. Over the past decade, an increasing number of studies have been developed dealing with the methods for defining environmental contours and enhancing their practical application in different marine environments. In the present study, environmental contours describing significant wave heights and peak wave periods are created for the Adriatic Sea. This small semi-enclosed sea basin within the Mediterranean Sea encounters increasing maritime and offshore activities. Considering also a great but still unused potential for the installation of renewable energy facilities, the main motives for the presented study are concluded. The environmental contours are established based on 24 years of hindcast wave data extracted from the WorldWaves database. Joint distributions consisting of the marginal distribution of significant wave height and conditional distributions of peak wave periods are used as a basis for the creation of environmental contours using the IFORM and ISORM methods. Return periods of 1 year, 25 years, and 100 years are considered relevant for the marine operation, design of ships, and offshore structures, respectively. A possibility of environmental contour practical application to the calculation of global wave loads upon ship structures is presented. Based on the uncertainty assessment performed, conservative environmental contours for the whole Adriatic are also presented.

Vehicles that are non-roadworthy pose a hazard for all road users and can be one of the main causes of traffic accidents. Previous studies have analysed the impact of the driving style on environmental sustainability and road safety. Starting from this, there was a need to further investigate the relationship between the driving style and vehicle roadworthiness as well. Vehicles that do not comply with the prescribed requirements should be excluded from traffic at a periodic technical inspection. However, the causes of detected vehicle defects cannot be established at a periodic technical inspection. The paper therefore, examines the factors affecting vehicle roadworthiness. First, the failure rate and mileage of vehicles at periodic technical inspection regarding the type of ownership was examined. In addition, a questionnaire was conducted to collect data about the driving style and maintenance habits of different types of car owners. The paper argues that vehicles owned by legal entities were generally in a worse condition than the vehicles owned by natural persons, due to the increased vehicle exploitation, but also due to a more aggressive driving style. Finally, it was found that by modifying their driving style, the drivers can affect the condition of their vehicles, considering the same mileage and maintenance habits.

This study presents a preliminary research towards a conceptual model of relationship between the overall and the destination attributes satisfaction. Precisely, the paper explores and classifies destination pull factors as a precondition to design a conceptual model. Therefore, the first step was to categorise destination attributes into meaningful groups of pull factors that provide greater efficiency in achieving and maintaining a desired perception of destination quality, measured by tourists’ satisfaction. The exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the sample of 289 tourists visiting the town of Split (Croatia). The required prior statistical preconditions were successfully met and the principal component analysis was conducted on 20 items with Varimax rotation method. Based on the results, four pull factors were retained in the final analysis, explaining 54.760% of the variance. In the final categorisation, factor loading was above 0.4 for all four extracted factors, with reliability of measurement scales. Major findings of this study confirm that destination attributes can be grouped in a meaningful way regarding tourist satisfaction and indicate that the extracted pull factors, representing both common and unique destination attributes, have the potential to be generally applicable. The extracted factors are the primary or fundamental offer components; additional/expanded offer components; tertiary or tendency/affinity/preference offer components and specific offer components. Recommendations for further research are given, in order to explore to what extent the tourists’ overall satisfaction is related to their satisfaction with destination attributes, and to expand the model with the impact of other moderating elements.

Neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet–lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte–lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII index) are increasingly used as indicators of inflammation in different conditions, including schizophrenia. However, their relationship with negative symptoms, including anhedonia, is largely unknown. Included were 200 patients with schizophrenia and 134 healthy controls (HC), assessed for physical anhedonia (PA), using the Revised Physical Anhedonia Scale (RPAS), and social anhedonia (SA) by the Revised Social Anhedonia Scale (RSAS). Patients were rated by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS) and the Brief Negative Symptom Scale (BNSS). Most of the negative symptoms were in a weak to moderate positive correlations with blood cell inflammatory ratios, namely, between NLR and MLR with PANSS negative scale, CAINS, and BNSS, and in male patients, between PLR and PANSS negative scale and CAINS. Fewer correlations were detected in females, but also in a positive direction. An exception was SA, given the negative correlation between its severity and the SII index in females, and its presence and higher PLR in males. While different negative symptoms were associated with subclinical inflammation, the relationship between SA and lower inflammatory markers deserves further exploration.

The treatment of fractures, refractures, and bone nonunions with avascular segments of osteoporotic bones still represents a problem in surgical practice. The major concerns are the biological potential and biomechanical instability of the bone. Therefore, new osteosynthetic techniques and implants are constantly being developed.

The amniotic membrane is the innermost layer of the placenta. It consists of stem cells with reduced immunogenicity that secrete cytokines and growth factors, which have anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects and promote epithelialization. Membranes are obtained from women who are undergoing elective cesarean delivery. These allografts are typically used in ophthalmology for ocular surface reconstruction but have the potential for other applications, such as wound healing.

Falls are the most common cause of spinal cord injuries (SCIs) in patients older than 65. The worldwide annual incidence of SCIs is reported to be around 15 – 40/ 1000000.

The extreme significant wave height predictions often neglect within-year wave climate variability and wave directionality. Depending on a geographical region, local wind patterns and year climate variability could have an influence on the long-term prediction of waves. The Adriatic Sea having two dominant wind patterns of different characteristics, Bura and Jugo, is a great example for the case study. The 23-year hindcast wave data used in the presented study is extracted from the WorldWaves database. Based on wind and wave data, annual extreme significant wave heights generated by different wind patterns and for different months are fitted by Gumbel distribution using maximum likelihood estimation. Combined long-term extremes are then predicted by calculating system probability. It was found that considering the wave directionality, and especially the seasonality of wave climate, leads to a larger prediction of extreme significant wave heights. The extreme value prediction considering wave directionality on average yields 4% larger significant wave heights, while considering within-year climate variability leads to, on average, 8% larger extremes compared to the predictions when both effects are neglected.

Disease- and treatment-mediated immunodeficiency might render SARS-CoV-2 vaccines less effective in patients with hematologic diseases. We performed a prospective non-interventional study to evaluate humoral response after one and two doses of mRNA-1273, BNT162b2, or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in 118 patients with different malignant or non-malignant hematologic diseases from three Croatian treatment centers. An electrochemiluminescent assay was used to measure total anti-SARS-CoV-2 S-RBD antibody titers. After one vaccine dose, 20/66 (33%) achieved seropositivity with a median antibody titer of 6.1 U/mL. The response rate (58/90, 64.4%) and median antibody titer (>250 U/mL) were higher after two doses. Seropositivity varied with diagnosis (overall p < 0.001), with the lowest rates in lymphoma (34.6%) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (52.5%). The overall response rate in chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms (CMPN) was 81.3% but reached 100% in chronic myeloid leukemia and other non-myelofibrosis CMPN. At univariable analysis, age > 67 years, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, active treatment, and anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody therapy increased the likelihood of no vaccine response, while hematopoietic stem cell recipients were more likely to respond. Age and anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody therapy remained associated with no response in a multivariable model. Patients with the hematologic disease have attenuated responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, and significant variations in different disease subgroups warrant an individualized approach.

Resistance of the bare hull of the tourist submarine with spherical heads, moving in forward and transverse directions is analyzed in OpenFOAM using Computational Fluid Dynamics. The resistance coefficients of the submarine are estimated for different length-to-diameter ratios and Reynolds numbers. The Artificial Neural Network with the optimum number of neurons is then trained to predict the resistance coefficients. Two simplified Artificial Neural Network models and Nonlinear Least Squares Marquardt-Levenberg algorithm are employed to fit the results in the form of equations that may be used in the initial design of this type of submarines. The comparative analysis of different prediction models is performed and guidelines for their practical application are given.

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG titer decreases rapidly after primovaccination, leading to a mandatory booster vaccination. We analysed anti-SARS-CoV-2 Spike RBD IgG levels (positive ≥ 50 AU/mL) in 405 healthcare workers (3010 sera) who received a booster dose (BD) 9 months after two-dose BNT162b2 primovaccination. Median antibody titer at the time of BD (582.6 AU/mL) was 1.7-fold and 16.4-fold lower than the peak titer after the first (961.5 AU/mL) and the second vaccine dose (SVD) (10,232.6 AU/mL), respectively. One month after vaccination, IgG titer increased 40.6-fold after BD compared with a 10.8-fold increase after primovaccination. Three months after vaccination, post-booster antibodies decreased significantly slower (2.2-fold) than after primovaccination (3.3-fold). At six months, antibodies decreased slower after BD (4.5-fold; median 5556.0 AU/mL) than after primovaccination (9.6-fold; median 1038.5 AU/mL). Antibody titers before and one month after BD correlated weakly (r = 0.30) compared with a strong correlation (r = 0.65) between the corresponding post-primovaccination titers. Pre-vaccination COVID-19 had no effect on IgG levels after BD compared with a positive effect after primovaccination. Despite high post-booster IgG levels, 22.5% of participants contracted mild COVID-19. The trend of IgG decline indicates the need for further revaccination, but the vaccine type should be defined according to viral mutations.