Rare and Threatened plants of the island of Pag

Rijetka i ugrožena vaskularna flora otoka Paga analizirana je s obzirom na primjenu kategorija ugroženosti iz 1994. i 2005. godine. S obzirom na katego-rizaciju ugroženosti iz 2005. godine, za otok Pag zabilježene su 33 vrste i pod-vrste ugroženih biljaka. Od 33 svojte (vrste i podvrste), osam je kritično ugrože-no (CR), sedam je ugroženo (EN), a 18 svojti pripada kategoriji osjetljivih (VU).Rare and threatened vascular plants of the island of Pag were analysed according to 1994 and 2005 Red Books. Based on 2005 Red Book, the flora of the island of Pag includes 33 treatened taxa (species and subspecies). Eight of them are critically endangered (CR), seven are in the endangered category (EN) and 18 taxa belong to the vulnerable category (VU)

Floristic characteristics of rotational grazing pastures near Puntera (Istria, Croatia

Samonikla vaskularna flora pašnjaka istraživana je na lokalitetima obi-teljskog gospodarstva s ovčarskom proizvodnjom u Punteri u Istri. Tijekom istraživanja 2004. i 2005. godine ustanovljeno je 100 biljaka (91 vrsta i 9 podvrsta) iz 80 rodova i 24 porodice. Većina biljaka pripada porodicama Gramineae (19%), Compositae (16%) i Leguminosae (16%). U spektru ži-votnih oblika prevladavaju hemikriptofiti (52%) i terofiti (36%).Autochthonous vascular pasture flora was researched at the locality of a family owned farm breeding sheep, situated near Puntera in Istria, Croatia. During the research in 2004 and 2005, a total of 100 plant taxa (91 species and 9 subspecies) were found. The taxa belonged to 80 genera and 24 families. The most dominant families were: Gramineae (19%), Compositae (16%) and Leguminosae (16%). According to the analysis of life forms, the most numerous were Hemicryptophyta (52%) and Therophyta (36%)

Engajamento ético, responsabilidade e comunicação estratégica na era digital: abordagens dos profissionais

Digital communication channels can be subject to exploitation, resulting in harming individuals or societies by promoting fake news, disinformation, radicalization, or social polarization. It is important that communicators are well prepared in identifying, preventing, and responding to such actions, in understanding the vulnerabilities of their audience, while respecting the rights and liberties of the population. Thus, ethical and strategic communication should be of top priority for institutional communicators, academia, journalists, or stakeholders when addressing security or sensitive issues. The article presents the results of an empirical sociological study, part of an extensive exploratory research within the CRESCEnt project, aiming at identifying elements of enhancing critical thinking, responsible communication and accountable behaviour. Three European states were targeted by the study: Romania, Spain and Greece, while 28 practitioners in communication, intelligence and security and law enforcement contributed to the research with significant input on topics related to ethical, successful, and strategic communication characteristics. Ethical communication implies acting by ethical principles, like being truthful, accurate, and well-intentioned. Responsibility is the central element of ethical engagement when informing the public. Effective messages are characterized by clearness, validity of information, novelty and presented in real time. Different types of authorities come into action for the communicators, such as the journalism code of practice, European values, or possible negative social impact.Los canales de comunicación digital pueden estar sujetos a explotación, lo que resulta en daños a las personas o sociedades promoviendo noticias falsas, desinformación, radicalización o polarización social. Es importante que los comunicadores estén bien preparados para identificar, prevenir y responder a tales acciones, comprender las vulnerabilidades de su audiencia y respetar los derechos y libertades de la población. Por lo tanto, la comunicación ética y estratégica debe ser la máxima prioridad para los comunicadores de instituciones, la academia, los periodistas o las partes interesadas al abordar temas delicados o de seguridad. El artículo presenta los resultados de un estudio sociológico empírico, parte de una extensa investigación exploratoria dentro del proyecto CRESCEnt, con el objetivo de identificar elementos para mejorar el pensamiento crítico, la comunicación responsable y el comportamiento responsable. El estudio se centró en tres estados europeos: Rumanía, España y Grecia, mientras 28 profesionales en comunicación, inteligencia y seguridad y aplicación de la ley contribuyeron a la investigación con aportes significativos sobre temas relacionados con la ética, el éxito. y características de la comunicación estratégica. La comunicación ética implica actuar de acuerdo con principios éticos, como ser veraz y bien intencionado. La responsabilidad es el elemento central del compromiso ético al informar al público. Los mensajes efectivos se caracterizan por la claridad, validez de la información, novedad y se presentan en tiempo real. Diferentes tipos de autoridades entran en acción para los comunicadores, como el código de práctica del periodismo, los valores europeos o el posible impacto social negativo.Os canais de comunicação digital podem estar sujeitos à exploração, resultando em danos a indivíduos ou sociedades ao promover notícias falsas, desinformação, radicalização ou polarização social. É importante que os comunicadores estejam bem preparados para identificar, prevenir e responder a tais ações, para entender as vulnerabilidades de seu público, respeitando os direitos e liberdades da população. Portanto, a comunicação ética e estratégica deve ser de alta prioridade para comunicadores institucionais, acadêmicos, jornalistas ou partes interessadas ao abordar questões de segurança ou delicadas. O artigo apresenta os resultados de um estudo sociológico empírico, parte de uma extensa pesquisa exploratória dentro do projeto CRESCEnt, com o objetivo de identificar elementos de reforço do pensamento crítico, da comunicação responsável e do comportamento responsável. Três estados europeus foram alvo do estudo: Romênia, Espanha e Grécia, enquanto 28 profissionais de comunicação, inteligência e segurança e aplicação da lei contribuíram para a pesquisa com contribuições significativas sobre tópicos relacionados à ética, sucesso e características de comunicação estratégica. A comunicação ética implica agir por princípios éticos, como ser verdadeiro, correto e bem intencionado. A responsabilidade é o elemento central do compromisso ético ao informar o público. Mensagens eficazes são caracterizadas pela clareza, validade da informação, novidade e apresentadas em tempo real. Diferentes tipos de autoridades entram em ação para os comunicadores, como o código de prática do jornalismo, os valores europeus ou o possível impacto social negativo. Palavras-chave: engajamento ético, responsabilidade, comunicação responsável, comunicação estratégica, profissionais da comunicação, ameaça à seguranç

Advances in Cervical Cancer Control and Future Perspectives

The knowledge that the persistent infection with high-risk (HR) human papillomavirus (HPV) is the etiological factor in the development of cervical cancer has led to the development of the HPV DNA detection methods as well as the prophylactic vaccine against the most common HR-HPV types, HPV 16 and 18. Despite HPV vaccination, cervical cancer screening will remain the main preventive measure for both vaccinated and non-vaccinated women, but the nature of screening and management of women with cervical disease is being adapted to the new technologies. Although, HPV DNA detection is more sensitive that cytology, its specificity is lower, since most HPV infections are transient. Therefore, other methods are considered to improve the management of women with cervical disease. Typing of HPV DNA and viral load measurements are still used for research purposes only. Detection of viral oncogene E6/E7 transcripts, which is the marker of the productive infection, is a promising tool for follow-up of HPV DNA-positive women. The detection of p16INK4a over-expression, as an indirect test of E6/E7 expression, is used for confirmation of cervical neoplasia. Despite the lack of standardization, the detection of p16INK4a is useful in clinical settings, however its reproducibility in the management of low-grade and borderline cases is low. Future perspectives include the determination of the methylation status of several cellular genes that could predict the progression of the disease

Business Group Taxation In Croatia and the Implications of the EU Framework Adoption

The related companies’ taxation has been a debatable issue for decades in the EU. Taxation policies in the EU countries have been tried to be reconciled to the advantage of as many member countries as possible in numerous tries. Although there has been a general trend of income tax rates’ reduction in the last three decades, tax bases (and rates) still remain subject to national tax legislations. The greatest advance in direct taxation harmonisation has been achieved regarding the EU-headquartered multinational companies’ activities that are doing business within the EU. Yet, the SME sector makes the majority of business activity in the EU and small- and medium-sized companies’ networking is promulgated as a way of building up the competitiveness in the Single market. As a prospective EU member country, Croatia would have to adapt its taxation regulation according to the EU framework. Starting from the current related companies’ taxation practices, this paper analyses the necessary changes in Croatian legislation and questions what degree of fiscal autonomy could be expected to remain regarding the related companies’ taxation practices in Croatia after the EU joining

Microfluidics for studying metastatic patterns of lung cancer

The incidence of lung cancer continues to rise worldwide. Because the aggressive metastasis of lung cancer cells is the major drawback of successful therapies, the crucial challenge of modern nanomedicine is to develop diagnostic tools to map the molecular mechanisms of metastasis in lung cancer patients. In recent years, microfluidic platforms have been given much attention as tools for novel point-of-care diagnostic, an important aspect being the reconstruction of the body organs and tissues mimicking the in vivo conditions in one simple microdevice. Herein, we present the first comprehensive overview of the microfluidic systems used as innovative tools in the studies of lung cancer metastasis including single cancer cell analysis, endothelial transmigration, distant niches migration and finally neoangiogenesis. The application of the microfluidic systems to study the intercellular crosstalk between lung cancer cells and surrounding tumor microenvironment and the connection with multiple molecular signals coming from the external cellular matrix are discussed. We also focus on recent breakthrough technologies regarding lab-on-chip devices that serve as tools for detecting circulating lung cancer cells. The superiority of microfluidic systems over traditional in vitro cell-based assays with regard to modern nanosafety studies and new cancer drug design and discovery is also addressed. Finally, the current progress and future challenges regarding printable and paper-based microfluidic devices for personalized nanomedicine are summarized.publishedVersio