In Silico Domain Structural Model Analysis of Coronavirus ORF1ab Polyprotein

The world today is battling with a coronavirus infection that is considered a global pandemic. Coronavirus infection is mainly attribute to the varying technique of the replication and release of different genomic components of the virus. The present study aims to establish the physical and chemical features, as well as the basic structural and functional properties of Coronavirus ORF1ab domain. A molecular approach was adopt in this study using the Swiss Model and Phyre2 server whereas the prediction of the active ligand binding sites was done using Phyre2. The analysis of the structure of the protein showed that it has good structural and heat stability, as well as better hydrophilic features and acidic in nature. Based on the Homology modeling, only two binding active sites were noted with catalytic function being mediated by Zn2+ as the metallic heterogeneous ligand for binding sites prediction. The proteins mostly exhibited helical secondary configurations. This study can help in predicting and understanding the role of this domain protein in active coronavirus infection

Toksikološka istraživanja efluenata iz procesa uplinjavanja ugljena. Kronični pokus

The health effects of the gasifier ash (0.5, 1.0 and 5.0% added to the diet) from a Lurgi coal gasification plant in Yugoslavia were studied in a chronic experiment in rat\u27s. The exposure lasted 32 weeks. The growth .rate was dower only in animals exposed to the highest level of ash additive (5%). Determination of health effect parameters at the end of exposure i.e. of urinary protein excretion, hematological and hlstopathological examination revealed no morphological or functional impairment attributable to the treatment with ash. Therefore no health hazard of ash from coal gasification in conditions of environmental exposure is expected.Svrha ovog rada je bila ispitivanje mogućih učinaka šljake iz procesa rasplinjavanja ugljena na neke pokazatelje zdravstvenog stanja u štakora. Pokusne životinje su bile izložene šljaci putem hrane. Miješanjem samljevene šljake i standardne smjese za štakorsku hranu pripremljene su hrane koje su sadržavale 0,5, 1,0 i 5,0% šljake. Štakori obaju spolova, koji su na početku pokusa bili stari 6 tjedana, bili su izloženi šljaci tokom 32 tjedna. Za cijelo vrijeme trajanja pokusa životinje su svakodnevno promatrane radi praćenja mogućih promjena zdravstvenog stanja, a sedam puta tokom pokusa su svim životinjama izmjerene tjelesne težine. Na kraju pokusa određena je koncentracija proteina u mokraći, te standardna krvna slika. Sve životinje su nakon žrtvovanja u suvišku etera makroskopski pregledane, a u nekih je životinja učinjen i histološki pregled organa. Rezultati ovog kroničnog pokusa su pokazali da tretman šljakom nije utjecao na promatrane pokazatelje zdravstvenog stanja. Jedino je u životinja izloženih najvišoj koncentraciji šljake u hrani (5%) opaženo zaostajanje u rastu koje je bilo nešto izraženije u mužjaka. Na temelju rezultata prikazanih u ovom radu kao i naših ranijih istraživanja toksičnosti šljake i njezinih ekstrakata može se pretpostaviti da šljaka, iako sadržava niz toksičnih elemenata, neće predstavljati ozbiljnu opasnost za zdravlje kada se nađe u okolišu, čak ni u uvjetima kronične izloženosti viših organizama

Toksikološka istraživanja efluenata iz procesa uplinjavanja ugljena. Kronični pokus

The health effects of the gasifier ash (0.5, 1.0 and 5.0% added to the diet) from a Lurgi coal gasification plant in Yugoslavia were studied in a chronic experiment in rat\u27s. The exposure lasted 32 weeks. The growth .rate was dower only in animals exposed to the highest level of ash additive (5%). Determination of health effect parameters at the end of exposure i.e. of urinary protein excretion, hematological and hlstopathological examination revealed no morphological or functional impairment attributable to the treatment with ash. Therefore no health hazard of ash from coal gasification in conditions of environmental exposure is expected.Svrha ovog rada je bila ispitivanje mogućih učinaka šljake iz procesa rasplinjavanja ugljena na neke pokazatelje zdravstvenog stanja u štakora. Pokusne životinje su bile izložene šljaci putem hrane. Miješanjem samljevene šljake i standardne smjese za štakorsku hranu pripremljene su hrane koje su sadržavale 0,5, 1,0 i 5,0% šljake. Štakori obaju spolova, koji su na početku pokusa bili stari 6 tjedana, bili su izloženi šljaci tokom 32 tjedna. Za cijelo vrijeme trajanja pokusa životinje su svakodnevno promatrane radi praćenja mogućih promjena zdravstvenog stanja, a sedam puta tokom pokusa su svim životinjama izmjerene tjelesne težine. Na kraju pokusa određena je koncentracija proteina u mokraći, te standardna krvna slika. Sve životinje su nakon žrtvovanja u suvišku etera makroskopski pregledane, a u nekih je životinja učinjen i histološki pregled organa. Rezultati ovog kroničnog pokusa su pokazali da tretman šljakom nije utjecao na promatrane pokazatelje zdravstvenog stanja. Jedino je u životinja izloženih najvišoj koncentraciji šljake u hrani (5%) opaženo zaostajanje u rastu koje je bilo nešto izraženije u mužjaka. Na temelju rezultata prikazanih u ovom radu kao i naših ranijih istraživanja toksičnosti šljake i njezinih ekstrakata može se pretpostaviti da šljaka, iako sadržava niz toksičnih elemenata, neće predstavljati ozbiljnu opasnost za zdravlje kada se nađe u okolišu, čak ni u uvjetima kronične izloženosti viših organizama

Financial performance–efficiency nexus in public health services: A nonparametric evidence-based approach

Public health services, as a preventive aspect of health care, are essential for the sustainability of the entire health care system. However, the context of public health services, which focus is primarily on prevention, is not a common setting when measuring the efficiency within nonparametric evidence-based approach. The aim of this study is to measure the efficiency of the financial performance of organizational units of the public health institute in Croatia, the Health Ecology Department in particular, during the period 2016–2018 using data envelopment analysis. Among the many reasons behind choosing this nonparametric method is the fact that it identifies the sources of inefficiency and specifies the directions and magnitudes of improvements required. Two input-oriented models – CCR under constant and BCC under variable returns-to-scale assumption – are employed for evaluating three types of efficiency – technical, pure technical and scale efficiency. Two hypotheses are examined and empirically confirmed: first, that there is significant between-unit variability in financial performance, and second, that investments are the major source of inefficiency among the observed indicators. The results have additionally revealed that the mentioned differences are less pronounced in the case of pure technical efficiency, implying that the overall inefficiency of the Health Ecology Department units can be generally attributed to scale efficiency. Besides, only three out of twelve department units are considered efficient. The implications of the research results are aimed at further research and testing the efficiency of the entire network of public health institutes, as well as to provide policy makers with new insights when considering different modes of organizing and delivering public health services