This study provides an overview of the incidence of smoking, the socio-demographic characteristics of Croatian smokers during a five-year period and an assessment of predictors of the desire/decision ...to quit smoking. Analyses were performed separately for 2003 and 2008. A total of 3,229 subjects were included in the survey. There is a significant trend of a decreasing number of smokers in all age groups in 2008, compared to 2003. Almost half of the smokers included in the study expressed desire to quit smoking. Factors contributing significantly to decision to quit smoking were different in
2003 and 2008, except one. Concern about the harmful effects of tobacco smoking on health was a significant predictor in both models. Very worried respondents were more likely to decide to quit smoking (OR 17.6, 95% CI 9.41 to 33.17 vs. OR 12.54; 95% CI 6.0 to 26.2) than those who were not worried at all.
The aim of this study was to determine the characteristics of psychiatric inpatients who committed suicide in the Vrap~e Psychiatric Hospital with respect to clinical, ethical, and legal context. The ...study included all patients hospitalized in the Vrap~e Psychiatric Hospital between 1 January 1996 and 31 December 2006 who committed suicide (n=25). The suicide rate in the observed period was 32.9 per 100.000 (suicide coefficient, 50), which is similar that in general population. Based on the characteristics of hospitalized patients who committed suicide, we obtained a typical profile as follows: a middle-aged person, single, unemployed, repeatedly hospitalized, with schizophrenia and a history of suicide attempts, committing suicide using a violent method after more than three weeks of hospital treatment. If further prevention of hospital suicide will be treated as a legal rather than medical issue, the hospital atmosphere would be totalitarian rather than therapeutic. The success of psychiatric treatment is the perception of both of these aspects of suicide as well as their efficient balancing.
Cilj Odrediti smanjuju li atipični antipsihotički lijekovi stopu rehospitalizacije bolesnika s novodijagnosticiranom ili kroničnom shizofrenijom više nego tipični lijekovi.
Postupci Od 1. siječnja ...2003. do 31. prosinca 2004. retrospektivno smo uspoređivali dvogodišnje stope rehospitalizacije 135 bolesnika s novodijagnosticiranom i 398 bolesnika s kroničnom shizofrenijom (62%, odnosno 65% muškaraca) koji su otpušteni s liječenja u Psihijatrijskoj bolnici Vrapče u Zagrebu u razdoblju između 1. siječnja 2002. do 31. prosinca 2002. a bili su im prepisani atipični (olanzapin, risperidon ili klozapin) ili tipični (haloperidol ili flufenazin) antipsihotici. Vrijeme do ponovnog primanja u bolnicu određeno je Kaplan-Meierovom formulom za analizu preživljenja.
Rezultati Za vrijeme dvije godine koliko je trajalo praćenje rehospitalizirana su 52 (39%) bolesnika s novodijagnosticiranom i 197 (47%) bolesnika s kroničnom shizofrenijom. Nije bilo značajnih razlika u vremenu do rehospitalizacije s obzirom na vrstu uzimanog lijeka između bolesnika s novodijagnosticiranom (P=0,378) i bolesnika s kroničnom shizofrenijom (P=0,531).
Zaključak. Stopa rehospitalizacije u bolesnika kojima su prepisani atipični antipsihotici bila je slična stopi u bolesnika kojima su prepisani tipični antipsihotici i za bolesnike s novodijagnosticiranom i za bolesnike s kroničnom shizofrenijom.
To reduce pollution from ships in coastal and international navigation, shipping companies are turning to various technological solutions, mostly based on electrification and the use of alternative ...fuels with a lower carbon footprint. One of the alternatives to traditional diesel fuel is the use of hydrogen as a fuel or hydrogen fuel cells as a power source. Their application on ships is still in the experimental phase and is limited to smaller ships, which serve as a kind of platform for evaluating the applicability of different technological solutions. However, the use of hydrogen on a large scale as a primary energy source on coastal and ocean-going vessels also requires an infrastructure for the production and safe storage of hydrogen. This paper provides an overview of color-based hydrogen classification as one of the main methods for describing hydrogen types based on currently available production technologies, as well as the principles and safety aspects of hydrogen storage. The advantages and disadvantages of the production technologies with respect to their application in the maritime sector are discussed. Problems and obstacles that must be overcome for the successful use of hydrogen as a fuel on ships are also identified. The issues presented can be used to determine long-term indicators of the global warming potential of using hydrogen as a fuel in the shipping industry and to select an appropriate cost-effective and environmentally sustainable production and storage method in light of the technological capabilities and resources of a particular area.
Introduction: Addiction is a mental state or physical condition that results from the continued use of a
substance or performance of a particular activity. Dual diagnosis is the co-occurrence in the ...same individual
of severe mental problems and addiction disease. Objective: To test the frequency of co-occurring disorders
among the users of psychosocial services in the therapeutic communities in the Republic of Croatia. Subjects
and methods: A cross-sectional study on a sample of 648 members of therapeutic communities was carried
out. The data were collected by means of a modified international Pompidou Group’s questionnaire
consisting of general sociodemographic data and the data on treatment, risky behaviour and legal problems.
Results: More than a half of the total number of subjects had dual diagnosis. The most frequent diagnoses
co-occurring with addiction were disorders of adult personality and behaviour and schizophrenia,
schizophrenia-like disorders and delusional disorders. Co-occurring disorders were more frequent in women
than in men. In the Pope John XXIII Community, the main addiction substance among people of young age
was amphetamine, and this change in trends of psychoactive substance abuse should be additionally
explored. Conclusion: Somewhat more than a half of users of psychosocial services in the therapeutic
communities in the Republic of Croatia had dual diagnosis.
Electrical power systems on hybrid-electric ferries are characterized by the intensive use of power electronics and a complex usage profile with the often-limited power of battery storage. It is ...extremely important to detect faults in a timely manner, which can lead to system malfunctions that can directly affect the safety and economic performance of the vessel. In this paper, a power disturbance classification method for hybrid-electric ferries is developed based on a wavelet transform and a neural network classifier. For each of the observed power disturbance categories, 200 signals were artificially generated. A discrete wavelet transform was applied to these signals, allowing different time-frequency resolutions to be used for different frequencies. Three statistical parameters are calculated for each coefficient: Standard deviation, entropy and asymmetry of the signal, providing a total of 18 variables for a signal. A neural network with 18 input neurons, 3 hidden neurons, and 6 output neurons was used to detect the aforementioned perturbations. The classification models with different wavelets were analyzed based on accuracy, confusion matrices, and other parameters. The analysis showed that the proposed model can be successfully used for the detection and classification of disturbances in the considered vessels, which allows the implementation of better and more efficient algorithms for energy management.
An important aspect of introducing hybrid or all-electric ferries on coastlines is to analyze the supporting land-based energy infrastructure to determine if it is possible to implement charging ...systems that such vessels rely on. The battery energy storage systems on such vessels will need to be rapidly recharged as passengers and vehicles disembark, which means that the flow of electricity through the distribution grid will be much higher and may lead to power quality issues on the local grid. Once implemented, shore connection and battery charging systems must be safe for both people and connected equipment. The issue of implementing shore connections needs to be analyzed from a technical, economic, and legal perspective. This paper presents the challenges and problems of implementing charging stations for ferries in Croatian ports as a result of the research conducted within the project METRO - Maritime Environment-Friendly Transport Systems.
Honey bee health has been an important and ongoing topic in recent years. Honey bee is also an important model organism for aging studies. Polyamines, putrescine, spermidine and spermine, are ...ubiquitous polycations, involved in a wide range of cellular processes such as cell growth, gene regulation, immunity, and regulation of lifespan. Spermidine, named longevity elixir, has been most analysed in the context of aging. One of the several proposed mechanisms behind spermidine actions is antioxidative activity. In present study we showed that dietary spermidine supplementation: (a) improved survival, (b) increased the average lifespan, (c) influenced the content of endogenous polyamines by increasing the level of putrescine and spermidine and decreasing the level of spermine, (d) reduced oxidative stress (MDA level), (e) increased the antioxidant capacity of the organism (FRAP), (f) increased relative gene expression of five genes involved in polyamine metabolism, and (g) upregulated vitellogenin gene in honey bees. To our knowledge, this is the first study on honey bee polyamine levels in reference to their longevity. These results provide important information on possible strategies for improving honey bee health by introducing spermidine into their diet. Here, we offer spermidine concentrations that could be considered for that purpose.
Since vascular calcification is considered a process regulated similar to that of bone tissue mineralization, we investigated the participation of bone formation proteins. We analyzed the correlation ...of serum circulating bone markers, osteoprotegerin (OPG) and receptor activator of nuclear factor ĸB ligand (RANKL) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, to coronary artery calcification score. We also considered the effect of inorganic phosphate on pro- and anti-calcifying tissue factors. We confirmed that circulating OPG is an independent calcium score predictor with its high serum concentration favoring high coronary artery calcification. In tissue samples of non-diseased human renal arteries, the expression of OPG and receptor activator of nuclear factor ĸB (RANK) was positive, while expression of RANKL was absent. In atherosclerotic specimens and arteries with medial calcification, the most upregulated was expression of bone morphogenetic proteins, BMP-2 and BMP-7, as well as expression of RANK and RANKL. In the diseased arteries, OPG expression was present only in areas where bone structures were formed. In atherosclerotic and medial calcification arteries, loss of alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression was observed. These data suggest a possible regulatory role of the examined proteins, especially OPG and RANKL, in vascular calcification, as well as their possible clinical significance as circulating predictors of vascular calcification.
Seagoing vessels are highly complex systems. Major requirements of marine vessels are continuous running time and high production output. As such, these systems require high availability and ...reliability, and are dependent on preventive maintenance procedures. Development of diverse range of sensors, combined with overall reduction in price, enabled implementation of condition based maintenance in such systems. Large increases in fuel cost, environmental restrictions and further crew reduction are current trend in maritime industry. Considering marine sector emphasis on the reduction of fuel consumption, environmental restrictions, and reduction of crew size, implementation of condition based maintenance is favourable, especially with regard to lost man-hours. However, high initial cost of installation on moving vessels, necessary crew training and additional sensor maintenance inhibits implementation of condition based maintenance. Replacing wired monitoring system with wireless ship-board sensor network would mitigate the above mentioned problems. However, current research of wireless sensor networks is based on terrestrial installation. This paper analyses the application of wireless sensor network technology on board seagoing vessels. Practical engineering solutions, including sensor types, configurations and wireless network topologies have been identified and reviewed.
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