Assessment of possible association between rs378854 and prostate cancer risk in the Serbian population

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among men worldwide. Despite its high incidence rate, the molecular basis of PCa onset and its progression remains little understood. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have greatly contributed to the identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) associated with PCa risk. Several GWAS identified 8q24 as one of the most significant PCa-associated regions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of SNP rs378854 at 8q24 with PCa risk in the Serbian population. The study population included 261 individuals diagnosed with PCa, 257 individuals diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and 106 healthy controls. Data quality analysis yielded results showing deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in groups of PCa patients and BPH patients as well as in the control group. There was no significant association between alleles and genotypes of the genetic variant rs378854 and PCa risk in the Serbian population. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 173016

Creating value added to customers: Marketing and sales role

This paper presents the new trends in sales and marketing areas which reshaping markets and changing the way business is done. Marketing and sales management need a well-defined strategy for added value exploration, creation and delivery. The holistic marketing process involves all stakeholders and required them to participate in the value added creation process

Brand positioning through banking services' offer: Serbian perspective

The subject of this paper relates to the determination of interdependent relationship of the key elements necessary for the positioning of brands in the banking market in Serbia. The main goal of this paper is to analyze the way in which managers of banks in Serbia perceived brand positioning of banks in which they work, and the value of the customer service offer - corporate clients. Research focuses on identifying and comparing the dependent relationships between the key elements of offers' brand positioning: brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty. For the purpose of the research presented in this paper on-line surveying techniques was applied. 49 responses were collected form banking managers responsible for corporate clients. Results were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).Acquired results indicate that there is a strong correlation between the observed elements: awareness of the brand-brand associations, brand association-perceived quality and perceived quality of brand-loyalty. Also, this paper provides an overview of the current position of the banking brands, as well as guidelines for improving the position of banking brands on the Serbian market

The factors of retail brand positioning

This paper gives the basic characteristics of a retail process as a function of the development of a successful brand. The retail network is continuously progressing, developing its abilities, successfully adjusting to its environment, and which is the most important it is persistently following wishes and needs of its consumers, and is satisfying them through high-quality offers. The retail network is relatively a new business structure, which has a great potential for competitive advantage. Once, prestigious partners to retailers, which have represented successful brands, they are often perceived to be stripped of rank and to come back at the level of common suppliers. Also, the suppliers' brands have no longer the position as they had, their status has decreased and their former power is gone, as a more superior, compared to the retailers. The inertia, enjoying 'the old glory', thinking in the manner of the same well-established formula as well as the inability to adjust themselves to the changes occurring among consumers have led the majority of the brands to be stuck in the past. The companies have to stop this increasing phenomenon, if they do not want to face in the near future, even more dramatic and more harmful consequences. Since the main aim of the research, performed in this work, was to determine the importance of retail brand positioning, the retail environment was analyzed, with special emphases on the consumer role in retail, and factors of successful retail activities. As a special aspect of successful retail, the environment of retail place was determined and within this, the effects of the retail places' atmosphere. For setting the retail strategy framework, the following basic entities are observed: product, price, exclusivity, quick response, information technology, price strategy, logistics and competitiveness.

Importance of the body mass index in development of osteoporosis

INTRODUCTION: Osteoporosis is characterized by reduced bone mineral density (BMD), increased fragility and proneness to fractures. Low body mass index (BMI) is one of risk factors with large influence in development of osteoporosis. AIM: to establish importance of the body mass index in development of osteoporosis. METERIAL AND METHOD: Prospective study was done in the Special Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Novi Sad, encompassing 1323 patients of both genders, with average age of 64 years. All patients had their mineral bone density measured at the lumbar spine and at the hip. Results of osteodensitometry findings were interpreted according to the valid definition of osteoporosis. Body height and body weight were measured in all patients, and their body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Connection between BMD and BMI was examined. All data were entered in the Bonlink database. For statistical data analysis, descriptive statistics, central tendency measures and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used. RESULTS: Females have been the majority among subjects (96%). Regarding BMI of patients, 43%were overweight, 20% obese, 35% normal weight and 2% underweight. Most patients had their T score of the hip and of the spine at the osteopenia level (66% and 61%, respectively). Correlation between observed parameters of T score and BMI is positive, showing statistical connection at the p<0,01 level. CONCLUSION: Subjects with lower body weight have lower bone mineral density, which puts low body weight among important risk factors for development of osteoporosis