The purpose of this study was to re-evaluate cut-off values used in screening for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in Croatia and to propose postnatal weight gain as an additional criterion, based on ...the Colorado Retinopathy of Prematurity prediction model. Medical records of 267 premature infants from the Zagreb University Hospital Centre that underwent ROP screening between January 2009 and December 2010 were reviewed retrospectively. Collected data included gestational age, birth weight, sex, weekly weight measurements and fundus examination records. Results showed the cut-off values of gestational age (GA) and birth weight (BW) used in Croatia to be appropriate and postnatal weight gain in the first 28 days could be used as an additional criterion on screening in the following way: net weight gain in the first 28 days of ≤932 g for prediction of any form of ROP and of ≤660 g for prediction of severe ROP should be added to the existing criteria of GA (≤32 weeks) and/or BW (≤1500 g). Infants with a non-physiological postnatal weight gain are exception. This is the first Croatian study to propose postnatal weight gain as an additional criterion on ROP screening and requires further validation on a larger sample of Croatian infants.The purpose of this study was to re-evaluate cut-off values used in screening for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in Croatia and to propose postnatal weight gain as an additional criterion, based on the Colorado Retinopathy of Prematurity prediction model. Medical records of 267 premature infants from the Zagreb University Hospital Centre that underwent ROP screening between January 2009 and December 2010 were reviewed retrospectively. Collected data included gestational age, birth weight, sex, weekly weight measurements and fundus examination records. Results showed the cut-off values of gestational age (GA) and birth weight (BW) used in Croatia to be appropriate and postnatal weight gain in the first 28 days could be used as an additional criterion on screening in the following way: net weight gain in the first 28 days of ≤932 g for prediction of any form of ROP and of ≤660 g for prediction of severe ROP should be added to the existing criteria of GA (≤32 weeks) and/or BW (≤1500 g). Infants with a non-physiological postnatal weight gain are exception. This is the first Croatian study to propose postnatal weight gain as an additional criterion on ROP screening and requires further validation on a larger sample of Croatian infants.
The aim of this systematic review is to summarize the data obtained from randomized controlled trials looking at new pharmacologic treatments for endometriosis published over the last decade with a ...focus on hormonal therapeutic options for endometriosis-associated pelvic pain (EAPP), excluding studies focusing on fertility.
We identified relevant original studies in the English language through a search of the MEDLINE, Scopus, and EMBASE (2012 to present) databases using the appropriate MeSH terms and applying the article type filter 'randomized controlled trials'. A total of 219 records were found during the electronic search. After a detailed evaluation and review of the manuscripts, 11 primary articles met the inclusion criteria. A systematic review of the data was conducted.
This review included several emerging drug therapies for EAPP. Randomized control trials showed promising results with several oral gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonists (elagolix, relugolix, ASP1707, linzagolix). However, studies of other hormonal agents such as aromatase inhibitors and selective progesterone receptor modulators have not yielded significant or new advantages. Selective estrogen receptor modulators have not been represented in randomized control trials and have failed to demonstrate clinical efficacy.
Although numerous novel agents are being investigated for the treatment of endometriosis, there is still no significant progress in the development of curative rather than suppressive drugs. Therefore, further efforts are needed to develop an effective and hopefully curative treatment for this chronic, costly, and overwhelming disease.
Koristeći se pristupom regionalne i lokalne povijesti u studiji se na primjeru Lovinačkog kraja u Lici analiziraju dramatične političko-društvene i kulturno-demografske preobrazbe izazvane osmanskom ...ekspanzijom u XVI. stoljeću. Ovaj kraj u svemu je dijelio sudbinu ostalih područja Like i Krbave koji su se našli na razmeđu suprotstavljenih imperija, stekavši tako karakter udaljene osmanske periferije i iskustvo „režima krajina“ koje će potrajati do duboko u XIX. stoljeće. Rad se primarno temelji na osmanskim izvorima, naročito poreznim katastarskim popisima za područje koje se od 1574. našlo u sastavu nahije Cvituša. Propituju se brojne dimenzije diskontinuiteta prouzročenih disolucijom krbavskog kneštva („zemlje Ivana Karlovića“) krajem XV. i početkom XVI. stoljeća te formiranjem vojno-upravnih struktura osmanskog „serhata“ u XVI. stoljeću. Analizira se kako su se navedeni dinamični procesi odrazili na lokalnom lovinačkom primjeru, posebice u kontekstu promjena naseljenosti, stanovništva i prostorne organizacije. Sagledavaju se osmanski planovi izgradnje fortifikacijskog sustava, kolonizacijske i fiskalne politike. Također se daje uvid u novonastali konfesionalni raspored i stanje vjerskih objekata.
The aim of this article is to show the unconstitutional role of public sector trade unions in the restructuring of the Croatian public sector. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia ...rejected all referendum proposals of the trade unions that blocked the process of restructuring the public sector, pointing out to them that such blanket bans may restrict or prevent changes without which there will be no progress in the implementation of the necessary economic, social, political and administrative reforms, and thus no progress of society itself. The public sector unions have proven to be major opponents of all market reforms that Croatian society and the state should implement. The paper also analyzes the importance of the new public administration that creates the conditions for the implementation of Article 49 of the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia: " Entrepreneurial and market freedom are the basis of the economic structure of the Republic of Croatia.". A SWOT analysis of the privatization of auxiliary technical professions is also presented.
The paper analyses the migration and ethnocultural processes in the Kosinj Valley in western Lika, which peaked during and immediately after the end of the Great Turkish War at the end of the 17th ...century and the start of the 18th century. During that time, the area became the intersection of the primary early modern migration flows in this part of the imperial multiple borderlands – southeast and northwest – with their diverse religious (Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christians), linguistic (neo-Shtokavian Ijekavian and Ikavian, Chakavian, and transitional Chakavian- Kajkavian), traditional (Dinaric, Adriatic, Pannonian, Eastern Alpine), and socioeconomic characteristics (frontiersmen/peasants, pastoral/agrarian). Each ethnocultural component was internally heterogeneous, characterised by distinct layers shaped by migrations across the turbulent imperial borderlands from the 16th to the 18th centuries. This led to various interactions and intermingling of cultural traditions, ethnic elements, languages, and dialects. It is concluded that the state military-provincial and Chamber authorities played a dominant role in these processes, directly or indirectly encouraging and directing migration flows for geopolitical and economic reasons. Therefore, from the outset, these migratory movements were characterised by planned military and agrarian colonisation. They favoured Catholic elements originating from Habsburg territories. Phenomenologically, they closely parallel the Vlach colonization of the Kosinj Valley a century earlier, which was conducted and directed by Ottoman authorities. Migrations in the turbulent border area of conflicting empires, with the Kosinj Valley at its centre for over 160 years, exhibited distinct dynamics. It was a region marked by intense emigration and immigration of defectors, including internal, external, or cross-border, and return migrations. The 16th and 17th centuries witnessed intense migration that began to subside only at the beginning of the 18th century. Namely, very few families in the 17th century had the chance to live in one place for three generations. The sons and grandsons of the Croats who fled to Carniola returned to Croatian territory in Gorski Kotar, only for the second generation of returnees to move to Lika. Similar return migrations are also observed among the Croats, Vlachs, and Bunjevci from Ogulin. To understand the settlement process, certain internal aspects of differentiated rural society also need to be considered. It is no coincidence that the elders, who were also leaders of migrations, often acquired the largest plots of land and formed the most numerous families in their new homeland. The same applies to Vlach elder families who, on both sides of the old border, retained their prestigious role as village leaders. In that period, the basic outlines of the modern ethnocultural structure of the Kosinj region were formed. The region became an intersection of primary migration flows in the Early Modern Period: the Vlach-Bunjevac, originating from the deep southeastern Dinaric interior, and the Croatian-Carniolan from the northwest, which also included elements originating in the eastern Alpine region. Their protagonists were early modern ethnic groups such as Vlachs, Croats, Carniolans and Bunjevci, who differed from each other along several criteria: socio-economic status, livelihoods, religious affiliation, dialects, family models and cultural areas. They all had in common that each ethnic group was internally heterogeneous and multi-layered. For instance, among the Vlachs, we observe traces of the old Balkan layer, Croats from Ogulin display Carniolan and Uskok-Vlach elements, Carniolan Croats exhibit Slovenian and German influences, and the Bunjevci include Orthodox Vlach converts. Vlachs from Kosinj historically migrated from East Herzegovina. They were part of the “Glamoč” and “Dinaric” migration flows, much like the majority of the Orthodox Vlach population that settled in Lika during the 16th century. Only a small fraction of the newly arrived population was strategically settled by Ottoman authorities across vast areas along their northwestern border, spanning from the Adriatic hinterland to the Drava River between 1550 and 1560. Serb Orthodoxy, neo-Shtokavian Ijekavian (also known as the East Herzegovina-Krajina dialect), seasonal transhumance, and the pastoral-patriarchal culture of the Dinaric area are elements that made them distinctive and distinguishable from their surroundings. After breaking away from their origins in southeastern Herzegovina during the early migrations of the 15th and 16th centuries, they followed a unique development trajectory that shaped a distinct “krajiški” (borderland) type within this historical ethnocultural group in their new habitats across northwestern Ottoman, and later Habsburg and Venetian territories. In 1689, Croatian Krajišnici (frontiersmen) from the Ogulin captaincy settled in Lower Kosinj, situated on the northern edge of a valley that today comprises the hamlets of Sveti Ivan, Draškovići, Selište, Rudine, Klobučari, and Goljak. They were part of the Croatian Chakavian population, specifically peasant soldiers who congregated around borderland fortresses in Ogulin, Oštarije, and Modruš during the 17th century. Some of their Chakavian linguistic features have been preserved to this day in the hamlets of Goljak, Rudinka, and Selište. The ethno-demographic structure of these Croats, which emerged during the first half of the 17th century, shows a tripartite composition. It comprised natives of Modruš, newcomers and/or returnees from Vinodol and Carniola, along with various branches of the Uskok-Vlach migration flows, predominantly migrants from Senj. In 1689, approximately 40 settler families from Gorski Kotar or the borders of Carniola settled the land along the Bakovac stream, extending all the way to its confluence with the Lika River. This area encompasses present-day Upper Kosinj, including the hamlets of Sušanj, Podjelar, and Poljanka, as well as the region of Bakovac and its hamlets Ribnik and Ruja. In most cases, these were descendants of the Croatian population who fled to Carniola in the 16th century. Therefore, it is more appropri¬ate to refer to this segment of the Catholic population in Kosinj in the pre-modern sense as “Carniolan Croats” despite the presence of some Slovenian and German elements among them. Secondly, it is necessary to differentiate between narrower and broader contexts of the usage of the Carniolan ethnicity within Lika itself. Carniolans, in the narrower sense, are represented by these settlers from Gorski Kotar, who were dependent peasants settled in Lika by the Inner Austrian Court Chamber, which introduced its chamber system there. In a broader sense, this ethnic term became a general label for Catholics in the Karlovac Generalate, particularly among the Orthodox population of Lika and Kordun. Bunjevci, also known as “Catholic Vlachs”, who settled in the Kosinj Valley, belonged to the so-called “Krmpote branch”. They were Catholic Vlachs originating from West Herzegovina who gradually migrated northwest, following the Dinaric migration flow along the Dinara and Velebit mountains during the 16th and 17th centuries. Due to their Herzegovian roots, history of Ottoman subjugation, Vlach social structure, pastoral and patriarchal cultural traditions of the Dinaric area (the culture of “dark cloth and gusle”), and the linguistic features of neo-Shtokavian Ikavian dialect, they exhibited cultural affinities with schismatic Vlachs in Lika. Special attention is given to the historical anthroponymy of the inhabitants of Kosinj, which verifies the aforementioned dynamics. Archival materials, including various documents, lists, and registers, provide valuable insights into their origins, movements, and distribution. Surnames among the Catholic population were documented considerably earlier, allowing for continuous tracing, especially among Croats from Ogulin and Carniola, dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries. The surnames of Orthodox families in Kosinj, and to a lesser extent Bunjevci families, can only be traced from their appearance in the Karlovac Generalate records, which means at best from the 17th century. The structural formation and meaning of surnames in Kosinj largely align with the dialectal and sociocultural characteristics of ethnic groups. Essentially, we can identify two anthroponymic origins: Croatian-Carniolan and Vlach-Bunjevac. It should be noted that surnames became established significantly earlier among Catholics, starting from the decisions of the Council of Trent in 1563, which introduced the practice of church registers for baptisms (Liber baptizatorum), marriages (Liber copulatorum), and deaths (Liber mortuorum). The Roman Ritual of 1614 mandated and required the keeping of parish family books known as Status animarum (“State of Souls”) in each parish. Combining it with other sources makes it significantly easier to reconstruct the migration patterns and dispersion of certain Catholic families of Croats and Carniolans, unlike the Bunjevci and especially the Vlachs, who were under Ottoman rule for a long time. By incorporating certain Croatian families that were once part of the middle and lower nobility, anthroponymic continuity is fully established. The Orthodox Church only began to introduce records of its congregation in the 18th century, prompted by the Habsburg Monarchy. First, through parish Domovni protokoli (Household protocols) in the mid-18th century, which listed Orthodox families in specific parishes, but it was only with the Regulament (Regulation) of 1770 that the introduction of parish registers began, mirroring the practice of the Catholic Church. However, in most Orthodox parishes in the Eparchy of Upper Karlovac, this practice was not adopted until the first half of the 19th century. Therefore, it’s not possible to trace most of Kosi
The paper re-evaluates the traffic-geographical position of the Republic of Croatia after joining the EU and the Schengen area. Croatian strength is in the fact that it can connect several regions ...within Europe and that it functions as a link between Western Europe and the Western Balkans and Central Europe and the Mediterranean, however, its political-geographical and transport position can and should be further strengthened, as never before in its difficult and long history. Despite the pressures of malicious neighbors and internal opponents of European values, the Republic of Croatia entered the Schengen Area on January 1, 2023. Before that, it entered the European Union, and Croatian borders became the borders for entering Germany, Italy or France. Croatia's neighbors from the EU can no longer unilaterally block the flow of goods and services in the north-south direction, which is of vital importance for the strategic revaluation of Croatia's geotraffic position. The Adriatic-Ionian transport route is also important for the complete Croatian transport revaluation. The paper also analyzes the historical geopolitical position that influenced the Croatian transport policy.
This review paper will present the strategic position of the Republic of Croatia within the European political- energy context. The modern model of economic progress is based on constant increase in ...energy usage at acceptable prices. Intensive energy usage is a prerequisite for the development of the Croatian economy. Croatia has accepted the European Energy Charter as part of its international obligations in the process of approaching the EU. Croatia and its energy companies will have to adapt their energy policies to European energy trends, especially in the southern part of the continent. The paper presents SWOT analyses of the Croatian energy sector, as well as the development of the Croatian energy infrastructure. Additionally, the Croatian-Hungarian energy problems and strategic conflicts are also highlighted.
This article brings a brief review of asbestos exposure and asbestos-related diseases in Croatia in view of the asbestos ban. The first cases of asbestosis were diagnosed in workers from an ...asbestos-cement factory in 1961. Between 1990 and 2007, 403 cases of asbestosis had been registered as occupational disease: 300 with parenchymal fibrosis and the rest with parenchymal and pleural changes, or pleural plaques. As a rule, asbestos-related changes were diagnosed at an early stage thanks to regular checkups of the exposed workers. Pleural plaques, considered to be the consequence of asbestos exposure, were also occasionally found in subjects who lived in areas with asbestos processing plants, but were not occupationally exposed. Early epidemiological studies on respiratory and gastrointestinal tract tumours in areas with an asbestos processing plant (1994) and an asbestos-cement plant (1995, 1996) focused on the occurrence of malignant tumours in persons exposed to asbestos at work or in the environment. More recently, the focus has shifted to the malignant pleural mesotelioma (MPM). An epidemiological study published in 2002 showed that the MPM incidence was significantly higher in the coastal area than in the rest of the country. About two thirds of patients with the tumour were occupationally exposed to asbestos. This uneven distribution of the tumour incidence is obviously related to shipbuilding and other industrial sources of asbestos exposure located in the coastal Croatia. Sources of environmental exposure to asbestos also have to be taken into account. The second part of this article ventures into the issues ahead of us, after asbestos has been banned in the country. The long latency period of cancers, and particularly of asbestos-related mesothelioma, implies that the incidence of this tumour will not drop over the next few decades. In Croatia, the average annual rate of MPM between 1991 and 2006 was 40, and ranged between 20 in 1991 to 61 in 1999. In 2006 it was 58. Age-standardised incidence of this tumour between 1991 and 1997 was 0.74 per 100,000 (1.34 per 100,000 for men and 0.27 per 100,000 for women). Sadly, the diagnosis of mesothelioma is seldom timely, and treatment is usually unsuccessful.
Ljubičaste nesumporne bakterije zanimljive su s ekološkog i ekonomskog stajališta u održivim biotehnološkim procesima proizvodnje biogoriva, biokemikalija, biopolimera, biomase odnosno sintezi ...specifičnih spojeva kao što su npr. karotenoidi i pigmenti. Za uspostavu ekološki i ekonomski održivih bioprocesa nužan je adekavatan odabir radnih mikroorganizama, sirovina i uvjeta kultivacije, a dobar primjer za to je
razvoj bioprocesa na obnovljivim sirovinama kao što su to lignocelulozne sirovine. U ovom istraživanju proučavan je fotoheterotrofni uzgoj ljubičaste nesumporne bakterije Rhodovulum adriaticum DSM 2781 na tekućim hranjivim podlogama koje sadrže glukozu i/ili ksilozu kao izvore ugljika s ciljem dobivanja bakterijske biomase i
fotosintetskih pigmenata. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da su najveće
vrijednosti pokazatelja uspješnosti bioprocesa (YX = 2,095 g L-1; YX/S =
0,54 g g-1i Pr = 0,022 g L-1h-1) vezanih u dobivanje biomase ostvareni kod uzgoja na hranjivoj podlozi s 5 g L-1 glukoze. Uzgoj R. adriaticum DSM 2781 na hranjivoj podlozi s 3 g L-1 glukoze i ksiloze pokazao se najuspješnji za dobivanje fotosintetskih pigmenata (ukupni pigmenti 13,27 mg g-1 biomase) uz zadovoljavajuće ostale pokazatelje uspješnosti bioprocesa (YX = 1,507 g L-1; YX/S = 0,22 g g-1i Pr = 0,017 g L-1h-1).
Purple non-sulphur bacteria are interesting from ecologic and economic point of view in sustainable biotechnological production of biofuels, biochemicals, biopolymers and biomass as well as specific compounds such as carotenoids and pigments. In order to establish ecological and economic sustainable bioprocesses it is necessary to select adequate working microorganisms, raw materials and cultivation conditions. Development of bioprocesses on the renewable raw materials (e.g. lignocellulose containing feedstocks) are good example for such bioprocess types. In this research, the photoheterotrophic cultivation of purple non-sulfur bacteria Rhodovulum adriaticum DSM 2781 was studied on the liquid media containing glucose or /and xylose as a carbon sources in order to produce bacterial biomass and photosynthetic pigments. Results obtained in this study show that the highest values of bioprocess efficiency parameters (YX = 2,095 g L-1 ; YX/S = 0,54 g g-1 i Pr = 0,022 g L-1 h -1 ) related to the biomass production were observed during bacterial cultivation on media with 5 g L-1. Cultivation of R. adriaticum DSM 2781 on the media with 3 g L-1 glucose and xylose shows the highest total photosynthetic pigments content (13,27 mg g-1 biomass) together with satisfy other bioprocess efficiency parameters (YX = 1,507 g L-1 ; YX/S = 0,22 g g-1 i Pr = 0,017 g L-1 h -1 ).