Results of Fiscal Consolidation in Republic of Serbia

AbstractFiscal adjustment or fiscal consolidation is being performed on both the revenue and expenditure side of the budget. The authorities have at their disposal two instrumental variables available: taxes and public expenditure, divided into public spending, investment and transfer. To be able to achieve the desired effect, fiscal policy aims aligning these instrumental variables that are available to it. However, achieving the proper balance is difficult and it is uncertain which of the two instrumental variables have the strongest effect on economic activity. Traditional Keynesian theory holds that the changes within public expenditure are more effective instrumental variables than tax changes. This is because the concerned procurement of goods and services have a direct impact on GDP, while taxes shows its indirect effect trough decisions of households and businesses on consumption and investment. The Serbian Government has taken several measures in recent years, both on the revenue and on the expenditure side of the budget. The main aim of these measures is to reduce the budget deficit and consequently public debt, which is located at an alarming level. The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of the undertaken measures and suggesting possible effective measures to solve these problems

Streptococcus sinensis Endocarditis outside Hong Kong

Streptococcus sinensis has been described as a causative organism for infective endocarditis in 3 Chinese patients from Hong Kong. We describe a closely related strain in an Italian patient with chronic rheumatic heart disease. The case illustrates that S. sinensis is a worldwide emerging pathogen

Expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors in subcutaneous endometriosis

Endometriosis is a clinical disorder defined by the presence of functional endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. Depending on the localization of the endometrial tissue related to the pelvis, the endometriosis can be classified either as intrinsic or extrinsic. The prevalence of endometriosis is difficult to determine. Statistical data show that endometriosis could be associated both with female infertility (20%) and pelvic pains (24%), while in 4.1% of affected women, endometriosis has asymptomatic forms. The total prevalence of endometriosis is estimated to be between 5-10%. A 35-year-old woman from Knic, Serbia, was admitted to the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic of the Clinical Center in Kragujevac for surgical treatment of a suspicious swelling in the pubic region. Following surgical intervention, a nut-sized tumor was removed and sent for both pathohistological and immunohistochemical analysis. The results confirmed the presence of subcutaneous endometriosis positive for both estrogen and progesterone receptors. Endometriosis is usually described as a steroid hormone-dependent change that resembles the eutopic endometrial tissue characteristic for the presence of both glandular and stromal tissues. Given the fact that endometrial lesions are estrogen-dependent tumors, a crucial factor in the development of endometriosis is a late exposure to the hormone, mostly estrogen. Spontaneous subcutaneous endometriosis is rarely observed, but it could be assumed if there is recurrent pelvic pain which intensifies during menstruation. Given the fact that endometriosis coexists with different autoimmune diseases, multidisciplinary approaches are required for its proper diagnosis

Antioxidant and Anticancer Properties of Leaf and Fruit Extracts of the Wild Raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.)

In this study the leaves and fruits of wild raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) populations from the central Balkan region were examined to determine the level of secondary metabolites and related antioxidant activity, as well as biological activity, upon existing ethnobotanical evidence, primarily linked to gastrointestinal disorders. The values obtained for total phenols ranged from 59.68 to 96.83 mg GA g-1 and 24.29 to 38.71 mg GA g-1 in leaf and fruit extracts, respectively. The highest values of tannins and anthocyanins were determined for leaf extracts from a population of east Serbia at a level of 1.27 mg mL-1 and 9.00 mg mL-1. Antioxidant activity was evaluated by measuring the scavenging capacity of the extracts on DPPH. Higher antioxidant activity was detected in the leaf extracts than in the fruit extracts. Leaf and fruit extract were the most effective against Escherichia coli (ATCC 8739). Anticancer activity was studied on a human colorectal cancer cell line HCT-116. Leaf extracts exhibited anticancer activity with IC50/24 h 162.38 μg mL-1 and IC50/48 h 95.69 μg mL-1. Wild raspberry leaf and fruit extracts contain numerous secondary metabolites providing marked antioxidant, antimicrobial and anticancer activity

MONITORING OF IMMUNE RESPONSE IN VIROLOGIC SUCCESSFULLY TREATED HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS IN SOUTHEASTERN SERBIA

The number of CD4 lymphocytes defines the evolutional stage of HIV-infection and is the most important for a reliable estimation of the individual risk of developing AIDS. However, it is difficult to predict the degree of immune reconstitution during antiretroviral therapy, as it varies significantly from one person to another. Further investigations to better understand the limitations of immunological success are necessary to improve the response to treatment and regimen durability. The current study includes HIV-infected patients in Southeastern Serbia with achieved virologic suppression of HIV infection. The CD4 count was determined by flow cytometry, and was correlated with the duration of treatment, initial number of CD4 cells, type of antiretroviral therapy, mode of transmission of infection, age and gender of examinees. The resulting arithmetic mean and standard deviation of CD4 number was 473±259 cells/µl (range, 1130 cells/µl). There was no statistically significant correlation between the values of CD4 count and length of treatment, stage of the infection at which the therapy was started, treatment profile, method of infection, age or gender. The obtained results are comparable with the existing studies that follow immunological response to antiretroviral therapy and primarily point out the issue of substantial individual response variability, which has not yet been fully elucidated

SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN SPORTS ENGAGEMENT

Summary. The number of overfed children, not satisfying the daily movement dose, is increasing. It is a serious problem which is to be prevented. The objective of this work is to get the insight into the level of children inclusion (engagement) in different organized sports activities, as well as to find out how the parents level o education and economic situation in the family impact that. Based on the literature search of previoussimilar studies, the results obtained may be consideredin the right way. The data processing has been made by means of Т-test and X2- test. The study covered 1630 parents of primary school children, from I to IV grade in the territory of the towns, as follows: Nis, Vranje, Knjazevac and Pirot. We covered schools both from urban and rural areas of the mentioned cities. Results achieved indicate that the increased educational level of parents and better economic situation impact the children sports engagement. Keywords: education, sports, Serbia, parents, childre

Photocatalytic degradation of mesotrione in the presence of TiO2 hombikat modified with different Au nanoparticles

Due to the harmful and toxic effects of organic pollutants scientists are searching for an effective method to remove these substances from the environment. One of the most efficient and environmentally friendly technologies for removing of organic water pollutants is photocatalytic degradation in the presence of various photocatalysts [1]. There are many metal-oxide photocatalysts which showed great photoactivity, but the most frequently used is TiO2 [2]. Recently, great attention has been paid to Au nanoparticles because in the case of TiO2 have showed extend of the spectral response to the visible light region in comparison with nonmodified TiO2 [3], and efficiently suppress the e– –h recombination [4]. Mesotrione [2-(4-methylsulfonyl-2-nitrobenzoyl)-1,3-cyclohexanedione] is a selective herbicide for preand post-emergence control of broad-leaf and grassy weeds in corn. It was developed by the company Syngeta Crop Protection and it was registered in Europe in 2000, and in the United States in 2001. Beside good properties in control of weeds mesotrione has harmful and toxic effects on non-target organisms. Low sorption of mentioned herbicide may indicate the leaching potential in the groundwater from maize production fields [5], wherein its presence in environmental waters can lead to negative consequences on the aquatic ecosystem. In this paper, photocatalytic degradation of mesotrione using TiO2 Hombikat modified with Au nanoparticles (nonmodified and modified with 2-mercaptoethanol, as well as with 2- mercaptoethanol and fullerenol nanoparticles) under simulated solar irradiation was investigated. Different volumes of various nanoparticles were added in suspension in order to enhance activity of commercial TiO2 Hombikat under simulated sunlight

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

Search for stop and higgsino production using diphoton Higgs boson decays

Results are presented of a search for a "natural" supersymmetry scenario with gauge mediated symmetry breaking. It is assumed that only the supersymmetric partners of the top-quark (stop) and the Higgs boson (higgsino) are accessible. Events are examined in which there are two photons forming a Higgs boson candidate, and at least two b-quark jets. In 19.7 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collision data at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV, recorded in the CMS experiment, no evidence of a signal is found and lower limits at the 95% confidence level are set, excluding the stop mass below 360 to 410 GeV, depending on the higgsino mass