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Scientific evidence regularly guides policy decisions1, with behavioural science increasingly part of this process2. In April 2020, an influential paper3 proposed 19 policy recommendations (claims) detailing how evidence from behavioural science could contribute to efforts to reduce impacts and end the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we assess 747 pandemic-related research articles that empirically investigated those claims. We report the scale of evidence and whether evidence supports them to indicate applicability for policymaking. Two independent teams, involving 72 reviewers, found evidence for 18 of 19 claims, with both teams finding evidence supporting 16 (89%) of those 18 claims. The strongest evidence supported claims that anticipated culture, polarization and misinformation would be associated with policy effectiveness. Claims suggesting trusted leaders and positive social norms increased adherence to behavioural interventions also had strong empirical support, as did appealing to social consensus or bipartisan agreement. Targeted language in messaging yielded mixed effects and there were no effects for highlighting individual benefits or protecting others. No available evidence existed to assess any distinct differences in effects between using the terms physical distancing and social distancing. Analysis of 463 papers containing data showed generally large samples; 418 involved human participants with a mean of 16,848 (median of 1,699). That statistical power underscored improved suitability of behavioural science research for informing policy decisions. Furthermore, by implementing a standardized approach to evidence selection and synthesis, we amplify broader implications for advancing scientific evidence in policy formulation and prioritization.

The field of nanotechnology is at the forefront of a scientific revolution, where the term "nano" transcends mere size and opens the door to enormous possibilities. In the context of drug development, the selection of a suitable drug delivery system (corresponding to a certain active pharmaceutical ingredient) is a pivotal decision. Accordingly, nanosystems have emerged as a promising avenue, offering innovative solutions, and gaining recognition for addressing healthcare issues. While these products hold immense promise, they have faced certain complexities in their translation from the preclinical to the clinical setting, reflected in the lack of proper assessment protocols for quality and safety aspects and, consequently, an insufficiently defined regulatory environment. Since the groundbreaking US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of liposomal doxorubicin in 1995, approximately 80 nanomedicine products have received regulatory approval so far. Recent attention has gravitated toward lipid-based nanomedicines, particularly in the development of mRNA vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, further highlighting their significance. However, the relatively modest number of approved nanomedicines compared to the extensive research efforts raises important questions and underscores areas of uncertainty. This article provides an overview of the challenges in defining nanomedicines, their properties, the complexities of regulatory frameworks, and the imperative for standardized characterization protocols.

The aim of the paper is to examine the contribution of the constructed device, props and the new mobile gym to children's interest in their use in physical activities. Both parents and pre-school teachers took part in the creation of the mobile gym and its equipment. They provided all the necessary material needed for making the following: ladders, beanbags, hula hoops, skipping ropes, cubes, mats, bowling pins, balance bar. This research included 55 children (30 boys and 25 girls). The research was carried out by monitoring the children and their interest in the provided props during the period of 3 weeks. The first pieces of props (5 of them) were introduced in the first week. In the second and the third week the pieces of props for which the children showed less interest were removed and new were introduced. Parents, teachers and children filled in the interviews. The research was carried out successfully. The results showed which props were more and which less interesting to children. Also, in general, children showed great interest in a new mobile gym and physical education (P.E.) props.

The current coronavirus pandemic (SARS-CoV-2) has presented many scientific disciplines, including philosophy, with various theoretical and practical challenges. In this paper, we deal with three philosophical issues related to the pandemic and specific approaches to them. The first part of the article is dedicated to the analysis of the term “expert,” whose significance was highlighted at the outbreak of the pandemic. By examining Plato’s ancient and Goldman’s modern understanding of this concept, we will try to emphasize the importance of expert opinion in crisis circumstances. In the second part of the paper, we will deal with the issue of public mistrust of scientific authorities as well as the problem of the flourishing of so-called conspiracy theories. Goldenberg’s and Cassam’s approach to this topic will help us see where the source of these problems might lie and what potentially harmful consequences they can produce. In the third part of the text, we list some of the main moral dilemmas we have faced since the beginning of the pandemic. Special attention is paid to Kant’s moral philosophy in which we find advice on how an individual should act in times of crisis.

Drug resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a leading problem in hospital infections. The aim of this study was to determine the best molecular genetic discrimination method for Pseudomonas spp. isolates among 94 outpatients and inpatients and see their grouping by phenotype characteristics (biofilm formation, frequency of serotypes, pigmentation, production of different class of beta-lactamases, and susceptibility to different antibiotic classes) and genotype. The most common serotypes were P1, P6, and P11, while co-productions of pyoverdine and pyocyanin were observed in 70 % of isolates. A total of 77.66 % isolates were mostly weak and moderate biofilm producers. Isolates were susceptible to colistin (100 %), aztreonam (97.87 %), imipenem (91.49 %), doripenem (90.43 %), and meropenem (84.04 %). MICs values confirmed susceptibility to ceftazidime and cefepime and singled out meripenem as the most effective inhibitor. Most isolates were resistant to aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones. Only two isolates produced ESBL, eight were carbapenemase producers, and five isolates produced MBLs. Twenty-nine isolates were multidrug-resistant; 82.8 % of which produced both pigments, 58.3 % were non-typeable, while the P6 and P11 serotypes were equally distributed (16.7 %). Thirteen MDR isolates were strong enzyme producers. RAPD PCR analysis using primer 272 proved the best at discriminatory fingerprinting for Pseudomonas isolates, as it allocated 12 clusters. A correlation between DNA patterns and antibiotic resistance, production of pigments, serotypes distribution, and biofilm formation was not observed, and only confirmed higher genetic heterogeneity among P. aeruginosa isolates, which suggests that other molecular methods are needed to reveal potential relations between genotypic patterns and phenotypic characteristics.

Heat stress has a significant effect on the growth and development of cereals and affects cereals production by reducing the total yield. High temperatures in plants lead to oxidative stress, which creates reactive oxygen species that are specific to cause damage to the cell membrane. Due to the action of reactive oxygen species, lipid peroxidation can occur. For that reason, it is important to find cultivars that are more resistant to the harmful effects of heat stress and thus enable higher productivity. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of heat stress on the degree of lipid peroxidation and yield elements in leaves of 10 wheat cultivars, in order to select cultivars more resistant to heat stress. The degree of lipid peroxidation was determined spectrophotometrically by measuring the concentration of reactive substances of thiobarbiturate acid (mainly malondialdehyde - MDA). The cultivar Renesansa with the largest increase in MDA in conditions of high air temperature (2.848 µmol/g fw) was also characterized by the lowest yield (2870 kg/ha). On the other hand, the cultivar Talas with the smallest increase in MDA content (1800 µmol/g fw) in conditions of high air temperature showed significantly higher yield (3830 kg/ha). In this paper was shown that lipid peroxidation has a significant effect on yield reduction in the investigated wheat cultivars. Cultivars Talas, Apač, Hyfi, Mila and Salasar were characterized as cultivars more resistant to heat stress with higher yields. These results suggest that wheat cultivars were significantly different in their ability to respond to heat stress, which could be useful for the development of tolerant wheat cultivars in the breeding programs.

Increasing fossil fuel depletion that leads to air pollution and global warming have become serious environmental problem. For this reason, a numerous of alternative biofuels have been developed and investigated as potential energy sources to substitute them. One of promising and highly effective technology for conversion of wet and waste biomass into multi-functional materials is a hydrothermal carbonization. In this study grape pomace was hydrothermally carbonized at different temperatures (180, 200 and 220°C). Produced hydrochars were characterized in order to investigate its potential application as an alternative and energy-efficient renewable fuels. The carbon, fixed carbon, sulphur and volatile matter contents were determined in all hydrochar samples. Obtained results showed that temperatures play significant role on the structural characteristics of produced materials. As expected, the carbon content and fixed carbon content in hydrochars were increased with temperature increasing. Higher yields of carbon and fixed carbon observed in hydrochars indicated that intensive carbonization of biomass occurred. On the contrary, sulphur and volatile matter content were decreased. Observed reduction may be a result of dehydration and decarboxylation of grape pomace during hydrothermal treatment. These reductions are highly beneficial and improve the efficiency of solids’ direct combustion. Decreased volatile matter content can potentially reduce the release of inorganic vapours and pollutant emission during combustion, while decreased sulphur content preventing generation and emission of harmful sulphur oxides, SOx, compared to the parent biomass. The present study showed that hydrothermal carbonization mproved fuel qualities and potential of grape pomace hydrochars among different reaction temperatures. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. TR 31003]

European Society of Cardiology guidelines on primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases were published in 2016. Those guidelines are to some extent different from current set of American College of Cardiology/ American Heart Association guidelines dealing with primary prevention. Both United States and European guidelines agree that primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases is essential. Guidelines ask for individual risk calculation and agree that LDL-cholesterol is directly related to cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality and should be adequately treated. However, there is substantial difference in risk estimation and treatment strategies in patients without established cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this short review is to underline similarities and especially difference between current primary prevention guidelines in United States and Europe, and to address advantages and disadvantages of each of these strategies.

In order to obtain effective mineral fertilizer, different mixtures of phosphate rock (PR) with natural clinoptilolite (Cp) and NH4+ saturated clinoptilolite (NH4-Cp) were subjected to soft mechanical activation. Mean concentrations of P released from mechanically activated (MA) substrates, MACp/PR and MANH4-Cp/PR, ranged between 2.81-3.19 mg L-1 and 2.02-7.74 mg L-1, respectively. These are 10 to 15 times higher P concentrations than those released from the corres-ponding non-activated mixtures. Solution Ca2+, K+, Na+ and Mg2+ concentrations varied according to the composition of the mixtures and the contact time between the two minerals within their optimal values required for plant growth. The obtained results suggest that the efficiency of the NH4-Cp/PR mixtures can be significantly increased by the proposed mechanical activation. Influence of process parameters on the observed concentrations of nutrients was shown using multivariate statistics. The highest fertilization potential demonstrated MANH4-Cp/PR mixture with the largest NH4-Cp share and the longest proposed mixing time. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. TR 31003] This article has been corrected. Link to the correction 10.2298/CICEQ170425016E