Generacija Y u rascjepu između izazova društva znanja i zahtjeva prosperitetnog tržišta

This paper deals with elements from which modern society has created a particular gap into which it has pushed young generations, named by scientists, the media and the public, Generation Y. This gap appears between the society of knowledge, in all its conceptual poverty and absurdity on the one hand, and demands of prosperous markets, on the other. The first part of this paper will present the definition and main characteristics of millennials, as well as the socio-historical context of their development. This is followed by an analysis of the media that reproduce and, to a large extent, determine the conditions and environment in which these generations exist. They are subject to technological socialization, which means they do not come into contact with each other but with machines. In this way they achieve only contact, instead of actual human relationships as experienced by previous generations. This paper also deals with technologies commonly known as “new”, although, as we write these lines, some of them have probably already become outdated and are being replaced by newer ones. This is how fast the world changes.Rad se bavi česticama od kojih je današnje društvo satkalo rascjep u koji je dovelo mlade generacije, a znanstvenici, mediji i javnost nazivaju ih genaracijom Y, rascjep između društva znanja, u svoj svojoj pojmovnoj siromašnosti i apsurdnosti te društva medija s jedne strane i zahtjeva prosperitetnog tržišta, s druge strane. U prvom dijelu rada bit će predstavljeni pojmovi i glavne markacije generacije Y, društveno-povijesni kontekst njihova odrastanja. Potom će biti govora i o medijskom koloritu koji reproducira, ali i u velikom dijelu i fabricira uvjete i okolinu u kojoj ove generacije egzistiraju, u kojoj su podvrgnute tehnološkoj socijalizaciji, dakle, socijalizaciji ne jedni s drugima, već s tehnološkim dostignućima preko kojih međusobno ostvaruju tek kontakt, a ne ljudski odnos, kakav su poznavale ranije generacije. Nadalje, dotaknut će se i tehnologija, koje je uvriježeno zvati „novima“, iako, dok pišem ove retke, neke od njih su već zastarjele i zamijenjene novijima. Toliko brzo se svijet mijenja

The palms (Arecaceae) of Sonora, Mexico

This publication is an account of the palms (Arecaceae) in the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. Six native palm species in three genera are recorded for Sonora: Brahea with four species, and Sabal and Washingtonia each with one species. Relationships and taxonomy within Brahea, especially B. elegans, remain unresolved. Brief botanical descriptions, taxonomic synopses, local names, identification keys, conservation status and recommendations, and distributional and ethno- botanical information are provided for each species. Basionyms and types are cited. Distributions are documented with citations of nearly all herbarium specimens known to us from Sonora. Many palm populations in this arid and semiarid region are threatened by development and in some cases over- exploitation. There is an urgent need for formal management and conservation action for local pop- ulations, although as a whole none of these species in Sonora are rare or immediately threatened

The Euphorbiaceae of Sonora, Mexico

This publication is an account of the Euphorbiaceae in the state of Sonora, México. Nineteen genera, 143 species, and three additional varieties are recorded for the state; three species expected within the state are also treated. One species of Acalypha and three species and one subspecies of Euphorbia are described. Dichotomous keys for the identification of genera and species are provided. Bibliographic citations, type information, synonyms, brief habit descriptions, times of reproduction, habitat preferences as well as elevational range within Sonora, geographical distribution, and representative specimens are given for each species. When appropriate, notes on uses, taxonomic or nomenclatural problems, and other points of interest are discussed

Estimating the numbers of malaria infections in blood samples using high-resolution genotyping data

People living in endemic areas often habour several malaria infections at once. High-resolution genotyping can distinguish between infections by detecting the presence of different alleles at a polymorphic locus. However the number of infections may not be accurately counted since parasites from multiple infections may carry the same allele. We use simulation to determine the circumstances under which the number of observed genotypes are likely to be substantially less than the number of infections present and investigate the performance of two methods for estimating the numbers of infections from high-resolution genotyping data.THE SIMULATIONS SUGGEST THAT THE PROBLEM IS NOT SUBSTANTIAL IN MOST DATASETS: the disparity between the mean numbers of infections and of observed genotypes was small when there was 20 or more alleles, 20 or more blood samples, a mean number of infections of 6 or less and where the frequency of the most common allele was no greater than 20%. The issue of multiple infections carrying the same allele is unlikely to be a major component of the errors in PCR-based genotyping.Simulations also showed that, with heterogeneity in allele frequencies, the observed frequencies are not a good approximation of the true allele frequencies. The first method that we proposed to estimate the numbers of infections assumes that they are a good approximation and hence did poorly in the presence of heterogeneity. In contrast, the second method by Li et al estimates both the numbers of infections and the true allele frequencies simultaneously and produced accurate estimates of the mean number of infections

Efficacy of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine in Tanzania after two years as first-line drug for uncomplicated malaria: assessment protocol and implication for treatment policy strategies.

BACKGROUND\ud \ud Systematic surveillance for resistant malaria shows high level of resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) across eastern and southern parts of Africa. This study assessed in vivo SP efficacy after two years of use as an interim first-line drug in Tanzania, and determined the rates of treatment failures obtained after 14 and 28 days of follow-up.\ud \ud METHODS\ud \ud The study was conducted in the Ipinda, Mlimba and Mkuranga health facilities in Tanzania. Children aged 6-59 months presenting with raised temperature associated exclusively with P. falciparum (1,000-100,000 parasites per microl) were treated with standard dose of SP. Treatment responses were classified according to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition as Adequate Clinical and Parasitological Response (ACPR), Early Treatment Failure (ETF), Late Clinical Failure (LCF) and Late Parasitological Failure (LPF) on day 14 and day 28.\ud \ud RESULTS\ud \ud Overall 196 (85.2%) of 230 patients had ACPR on day 14 but only 116 (50.9%) on day 28 (57.7% after excluding new infections by parasite genotyping). Altogether 21 (9.1%) and 13 (5.7%) of the 230 patients assessed up to day 14 and 39 (17.1%) and 55 (24.1%) of the 228 followed up to day 28 had clinical and parasitological failure, respectively.\ud \ud CONCLUSION\ud \ud These findings indicate that SP has low therapeutic value in Tanzania. The recommendation of changing first line treatment to artemether + lumefantrine combination therapy from early next year is, therefore, highly justified. These findings further stress that, for long half-life drugs such as SP, establishment of cut-off points for policy change in high transmission areas should consider both clinical and parasitological responses beyond day 14

DISCRIMINATION OF WOMEN IN MANAGEMENT POSITIONS IN POLITICS IN CROATIA - THE CASE OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT BETWEEN 1990 AND 2016

Democracy in the contemporary and modern world is inconceivable without the active and equal participation of women in all fields of social life, especially at the management level. The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent, and if at all, the transition path to modern democracy was accompanied by adequate political participation of women in management positions and the executive branch. The question is whether the proportion of women in the Croatian Government in the period 1990-2016 recorded an increase in relation to men? Since Croatia had a similar political path to declaring its independence like the neighbouring Republic of Slovenia, a comparison was made regarding the proportion of women in the Croatian Government as opposed to the neighbouring Slovenia. To further argue the data obtained from quantitative research, the share of women in the governments of Croatia and Slovenia was compared with the current average share of women in the governments of 28 EU member states. The first part describes how women in the world got the right to vote and the development of women’s rights in Croatia. A total of 13 Croatian Governments were analysed with an emphasis on the proportion of women in the executive branch, as well as areas of political interest to women in government. The proportion of women in the same period in the Government of the Republic of Slovenia was also analysed, and a comparison was made with the share of women in the Croatian Government. Consequently, an attempt was made to compare the proportion of women with the average share of women in the governments of the 28 EU countries

2. Genotypes of merozoite surface protein 2 of Plasmodium falciparum in Tanzania

The merozoite surface protein 2 (MSP2) of Plasmodium falciparum is extremely polymorphic: 82 different msp2 alleles were found in 4 studies of molecular epidemiology conducted in Tanzania. This diversity renders msp2 suitable as a marker gene for the genotyping of P. falciparum infections. Amplification of msp2 by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and subsequent restriction digests of the PCR product (PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism genotyping), has proved to be an informative tool for enumerating multiple concurrent infections in a blood sample, and distinguishing individual alleles. Depending on the specific questions asked in a genotyping study, analytical techniques of different degrees of complexity are employed. The restriction fragments resulting from a single HinfI digest generally allow the enumeration of multiple concurrent infections and the determination of their allelic families. When a restriction pattern is too complex to be resolved, owing to the high number of concurrent infections, or due to the appearance of previously undescribed alleles, one or more additional digests (DdeI, RsaI, ScrfI) may be necessary. To determine individual alleles unequivocally, in particular in longitudinal studies, when several consecutive samples need to be compared with each other, a more detailed analysis involving all 3 additional digests is applied. The methodological experience and results gained in 4 epidemiological field studies involving msp2 genotyping are summarized. We also provide the HinfI restriction patterns and some nucleotide sequences of the alleles found so far in our studies in Tanzani

11. Premunition in Plasmodium falciparum infection: insights from the epidemiology of multiple infections

Epidemiological studies of multiple clone infections by Plasmodium falciparum in highly endemic areas have demonstrated age dependence in both the multiplicity of infection and the relationships between this multiplicity and the risk of acute illness. We hypothesize that, in infants, host defence against blood-stage infections with P falciparum relies mainly on fever and cytokine activities, and the infections are of short duration. In older children, a high multiplicity of infection is characteristic of low-level chronic parasitaemia. This appears to confer cross-protection against newly inoculated parasites, via partially genotype-specific responses which are short-term, lasting little longer than the infections themselves. This has important implications for our understanding of immunity against P. falciparum, its ecological niche, and the epidemiological impact of interventions against i