Teaching English Literature in the Digital Era

Not many students (and teachers) like to study (andteach) literature. Reading, analysing and interpreting a literarywork may be a time-consuming and exhausting task especiallyfor those who are not bookworms. How can teachers motivatestudents to read literary works and make them develop criticalthinking? In the age of digital natives where everything startsand ends with a “click” on the swift keyboard, this seems to be afar-fetching undertaking. However, the use of audio-visualdevices and various online educational tools in teaching both –foreign language and literature – might trigger motivation andencourage the learning process. The aim of this paper is toidentify, explore and analyse innovative approaches to foreignlanguage acquisition, more precisely, the English languageteaching and learning, by using literature (prose and poetry) asan unconventional teaching tool. Apart from the works ofclassical literature, the creative works of pop culture such asfilms, TV series, video games and songs will be used as apowerful means of breaking boundaries, learning andintegrating, studying and having fun

Adrb2 gene polymorphisms and salbutamol responsiveness in Serbian children with asthma

Inhaled beta 2 adrenergic receptor (beta 2-AR) agonists are the mainstay of asthma therapy. The beta 2-AR protein is encoded by the ADRB2 gene and variants within this gene can have significant consequences for modulating the response to asthma therapy. This cross-sectional study performed at the University Children's Hospital in Belgrade, included 54 children with asthma. The subjects were genotyped for ADRB2 +46A gt G (Arg16Gly, rs1042713) and +79C gt G (G1n27G1u, rs1042714) polymorphisms and the association with asthma severity and response to inhaled salbutamol was examined. In Serbian asthmatic children, allele +46A was detected with a frequency of 41.7% and allele +79G was detected with a frequency of 23.1%. Allele +460 was found to be associated with a better response to inhaled salbutamol (p lt 0.05) and with mild form of asthma (p lt 0.05). Polymorphism ADRB2 +46A gt G may be a determinant of asthma severity and response to salbutamol in children with asthma. We did not find any association of +79C gt G polymorphisms with the asthma severity and bronchodilator response to inhaled salbutamol. The results of this study can be potentially useful for personalization of asthma treatment

Supplementary data for the article: Waisi, H.; Janković, B.; Nikolić, B.; Dragičević, V.; Panić, I.; Tosti, T.; Trifković, J. Influence of Various Concentrations of 24-Epibrassinolide on the Kinetic Parameters during Isothermal Dehydration of Two Maize Hybrids. South African Journal of Botany 2018, 119, 69–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2018.08.006

Supplementary material for: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2018.08.006]Related to published version: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/342

Povećanje nutritivnog kvaliteta soje pomoću nestandardnih folijarnih đubriva

Deficiencies of mineral elements in human nutrition could be surpassed by crop fortification. One of the prevalent measures of fortification is foliar fertilization. The aim of this study was to determine the content and availability of the mineral nutrients Mg, Fe and Zn, together with phytate, as an anti-nutritive factor, and β-carotene as a promoter of mineral nutrient availability in grain of two soybean cultivars (Nena and Laura) treated with different non-standard foliar fertilizers (mainly based on plant extracts). Generally, a negative correlation between Fe and phytate indicated that factors which decrease phytate and increase β-carotene could be primarily responsible for Fe utilization by humans and animals. Zlatno inje (based on manure) had the highest impact on increasing the grain yield and decreasing the ratios between phytate and mineral elements in Nena grain, while for Laura, it was generally Zircon (based on an extract of Echinacea purpurea L), increasing also availability of mineral elements

Supplementary data for the article: Waisi, H.; Janković, B.; Nikolić, B.; Dragičević, V.; Panić, I.; Tosti, T.; Trifković, J. Influence of Various Concentrations of 24-Epibrassinolide on the Kinetic Parameters during Isothermal Dehydration of Two Maize Hybrids. South African Journal of Botany 2018, 119, 69–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2018.08.006

Supplementary material for: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2018.08.006]Related to published version: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/342

New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records (July 2015)

The Collective Article ‘New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records’ of the Mediterranean Marine Science journal offers the means to publish biodiversity records in the Mediterranean Sea. The current article is divided in two parts, for records of native and alien species respectively. The new records of native species include: the neon flying squid Ommastrephes bartramii in Capri Island, Thyrrenian Sea; the bigeye thresher shark Alopias superciliosus in the Adriatic Sea; a juvenile basking shark Cetorhinus maximus caught off Piran (northern Adriatic); the deep-sea Messina rockfish Scorpaenodes arenai in the National Marine Park of Zakynthos (East Ionian Sea, Greece); and the oceanic puffer Lagocephalus lagocephalus in the Adriatic Sea.The new records of alien species include: the red algae Antithamnionella elegans and Palisada maris-rubri, found for the first time in Israel and Greece respectively; the green alga Codium parvulum reported from Turkey (Aegean Sea); the first record of the alien sea urchin Diadema setosum in Greece; the nudibranch Goniobranchus annulatus reported from South-Eastern Aegean Sea (Greece); the opisthobranch Melibe viridis found in Lebanon; the new records of the blue spotted cornetfish Fistularia commersonii in the Alicante coast (Eastern Spain); the alien fish Siganus luridus and Siganus rivulatus in Lipsi Island, Dodecanese (Greece); the first record of Stephanolepis diaspros from the Egadi Islands Marine Protected Area (western Sicily); a northward expansion of the alien pufferfish Torquigener flavimaculosus along the southeastern Aegean coasts of Turkey; and data on the occurrence of the Lessepsian immigrants Alepes djedaba, Lagocephalus sceleratus and Fistularia commersonii in Zakynthos Island (SE Ionian Sea, Greece)

Inhibicija rasta plijesni Aspergillus ochraceus ZMPBF 318 i Penicillum expansum ZMPBF 565 djelovanjem četiriju eteričnih ulja

Fungi produce a large variety of extracellular proteins, organic acids, and other metabolites and can adapt to several environmental conditions. Mycotoxin-producing moulds of the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium are common food contaminants. One of the natural ways to protect food from mould contamination is to use essential oils. In this study, we evaluated the effect of essential oils of cinnamon, lavender, rosemary, and sage at 1 % (v/v) concentration in yeast media inoculated with spores (fi nal concentration 106 mL-1 media) of Aspergillus ochraceus ZMPBF 318 and Penicillium expansum ZMPBF 565, alone or in combination, on fungal biomass. Cinnamon showed the best inhibitory effect (100 %). Lavender oil best inhibited the growth of Aspergillus ochraceus (nearly 100 %), and was less successful with Penicillium expansum (having dropped to 57 % on day 28). With cultivation time the inhibitory effect of sage and rosemary oil grew for Aspergillus ochraceus and dropped for Penicillium expansum. These results suggest that fungi can be controlled with essential oils, especially with cinnamon oil.Plijesni su poznate po svojoj visokoj sposobnosti proizvodnje različitih izvanstaničnih proteina, organskih kiselina i drugih metabolita i po svojoj mogućnosti prilagodbe na nepovoljne okolišne uvjete, a primjenjuju se i u obradi otpadnih voda. Plijesni iz rodova Aspergillus i Penicillium česti su kontaminanti u hrani i posebno opasne jer tvore toksične metabolite mikotoksine. Eterična ulja mogu se primijeniti kao prirodna sredstva za zaštitu hrane od kontaminacije plijesnima. U radu su prikazani rezultati istraživanja utjecaja eteričnih ulja cimeta, lavande, ružmarina i kadulje na kontrolu rasta biomase plijesni Aspergillus ochraceus ZMPBF 318 i Penicillium expansum ZMPBF 565, u obliku čistih i miješanih kultura. Ulja su dodavana u koncentraciji od 1 % (v/v), a podloga (kvaščev ekstrakt) bila je nacijepljena suspenzijama spora plijesni (106 mL-1 podloge). Eterično ulje cimeta pokazalo je najveći inhibitorni učinak (100 %). Inhibitorni učinak eteričnog ulja lavande bio je veći na rast Aspergillusa ochraceusa (skoro 100 %) nego Penicilliuma expansuma (57 %). Eterična ulja kadulje i ružmarina pokazala su suprotne učinke. Inhibitorni učinak na Aspergillus ochraceus tijekom perioda uzgoja je rastao, a na Penicillium expansum opadao. Rezultati pokazuju da se rast plijesni može kontrolirati primjenom eteričnih ulja, a posebno uljem cimeta. Također upućuju na ekonomsku vrijednost takvih tretmana

New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records (December 2017)

The “New Mediterranean Biodiversity Records” series includes new records of marine species found in the Mediterranean basin and/or information on the spatial distribution of already established species of particular interest. The current article presents information on 20 marine taxa classified per country according to their geographic position in the Mediterranean, from west to east. The new records per ecoregion are as follows: Algeria: the first record of the fish Etrumeus golanii is reported along the Algerian coast. Tunisia: the alien jellyfish Phyllorhiza punctata is reported for the first time in the Gulf of Gabès. Italy: the first record of Siganus rivulatus in the Strait of Sicily and a new record of Katsuwonus pelamis from the central Tyrrhenian Sea are reported. The establishment of the isopod of the genus Mesanthura in the northern Tyrrhenian with some notes on its ecology are also included. Croatia: signs of establishment of the Lessepsian Siganus luridus and the occurrence of the alien mollusc Rapana venosa are reported. Albania: the first record of the elasmobranch Alopias superciliosus and a recent sighting of the rare monk seal Monachus monachus in Albanian waters are given. Greece: signs of the establishment of the fish Parupeneus forsskali and of the ascidian Hermania momus in Hellenic Aegean waters are reported. Turkey: a new record of the fish P. forsskali and of the Acarea of the genus Acaromantis and Simognathus are given, while the first case of Remora australis in association with delphinids and the occurrence of the sea star Coscinasterias tenuispina are reported. Also, the establishment of the two alien species Isognomon legumen and Viriola sp. [cf. corrugata] are presented. Egypt: the fish Bathygobius cyclopterus is reported for the first time in Mediterranean Sea waters. Also, a new record of Pagellus bogaraveo and a first record of Seriola fasciata in Egyptian Mediterranean waters are reported. Lebanon: the first record of Dondice banyulensis is presented

Ethical principles in machine learning and artificial intelligence: cases from the field and possible ways forward

Decision-making on numerous aspects of our daily lives is being outsourced to machine-learning algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI), motivated by speed and efficiency in the decision process. Machine learning (ML) approaches - one of the typologies of algorithms underpinning artificial intelligence - are typically developed as black boxes. The implication is that ML code scripts are rarely scrutinised; interpretability is usually sacrificed in favour of usability and effectiveness. Room for improvement in practices associated with programme development have also been flagged along other dimensions, including inter alia fairness, accuracy, accountability, and transparency. In this contribution, the production of guidelines and dedicated documents around these themes is discussed. The following applications of AI-driven decision making are outlined: a) Risk assessment in the criminal justice system, and b) autonomous vehicles, highlighting points of friction across ethical principles. Possible ways forward towards the implementation of governance on AI are finally examined