Conscientious students: More successful at school, none the happier for it

The results of numerous studies indicate that besides intellectual abilities, personality features figure as the strongest predictors of academic achievement. This research is aimed at exploring the relationship between personality features and academic achievement in secondary school students, as well as at testing whether academic achievement is one of the mechanisms suitable for explaining the relationship between personality features and the subjective well-being of students. The research included 408 students, with the average age of 16 years and 6 months. The results indicate that in both girls and boys a significant predictor of academic achievement is only the feature of conscientiousness. However, in conscientious students, higher academic achievement does not yield higher satisfaction with school and life, nor more frequent experiencing of pleasant emotions. Academic achievement is neither connected with openness towards experience nor with curiosity. The paper discusses practical implications of these findings and offers suggestions for future research. [Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179006: Nasledni, sredinski i psihološki činioci mentalnog zdravlja i br. 179022: Efekti egzistencijalne nesigurnosti na pojedinca i porodicu u Srbiji

Structure and sociodemographis characteristics of the family climate in Vojvodina

Research presented in this paper aimed to investigate psychometric characteristics and factor structure of Family Climate Inventory (FCI Kurdek et al., 1995), as well as the sociodemographic correlates of the quality of family environment operacionalized by this scale. The research sample consisted of 561 adolescents (average age 16). Four factores were extracted.Total variance explained by these four factors was 62. 29%. First factor has been defined as Acceptance, the second (Autonomy) considers the estimated level of independence between family members. The third factor Conflicts implies frequency and influence of conflict situations and relations within the family. The fourth isolated factor- Supervision, was the dimension of original FCI scale, but has shown poor metric characteristics in our sample, and has been excluded from further analysis. The reduced Family Climate Inventory consists of 18 items, and has good psychometric characteristics (Cronbah a =.94). Family climate is assessed as better in dual earning families with egalitarian division of parental roles and household labor. Adolescents from rural families describe their family environment as better in quality

Serum Catestatin Level as a Stratification Assessment Tool in Non-Critical COVID-19 Patients

Introduction: Catestatin (CST) is a peptide with immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial activities. There are only a few studies that have investigated plasma CST levels in COVID-19 patients (mostly in ICU patients). In our work, the aim was to demonstrate serum CST levels and their correlation with clinical outcomes in a group of severe COVID-19 patients admitted to the non-ICU department. Methods: The subjects were 32 patients (25 females, 7 males) admitted to the non-ICU unit for COVID-19 patients. Results: CST levels in our cohort were higher (8.91 ± 7.00) than previously reported CST levels in control subjects. We found a significant positive correlation between serum CST levels and C-reactive protein (r = 0.423, p = 0.008), D-dimers (r = 0.395, p = 0.013), hsTNT (high-sensitivity troponin T) (r = 0.603, p p p = 0.014). There was a difference between groups of participants with SOFA n = 18) and SOFA >=3 (n = 14) in catestatin serum levels (7.25 ± 3.66 vs. 11.05 ± 9.52 ng/mL), but the difference was statistically insignificant (p = 0.065). Conclusion: We considered plasma CST level at hospital admission as a possible tool for early risk assessment in non-critical COVID-19 patients. This study is an attempt to clarify the complex pathophysiological mechanisms present in the development of severe forms of SARS-CoV2 infection

Registered Drug Packs of Antimicrobials and Treatment Guidelines for Prostatitis: Are They in Accordance?

The aim of this study was to analyze if registered drug packs of antibiotics are in accordance with national guidelines for prostatitis treatment regard to the amount of drug units.; Methods: Croatian, UK (NICE), Australian, Spanish and Slovenian national guidelines were analyzed in this study. Results: Comparing treatment guidelines with registered drug packs resulted in perfect accordance only for drug packs registered in the UK with the NICE guidelines, where even split-pack dispensing is possible. Interestingly, when comparing drug packs registered in the UK with treatment proposed in the national guidelines of Croatia, Italy, Spain, Australia, USA and Slovenia, they matched almost perfectly. In other investigated countries, registered drug packs’ national guidelines’ analysis showed mismatch in 25–100% of recommendations (Italy and Slovenia, respectively). Conclusions: Mismatch between registered drug packs that are dispensed to patients and treatment guidelines may result in excess units of antimicrobials that may be misused by the patient in the future, or excess antimicrobials may become unnecessary waste, further promoting antimicrobial resistance. Greater accordance of registered drug packs of antimicrobials with treatment guidelines may lower rates of antimicrobials misuse

A multicentre, double-blind, randomized study to compare the safety and efficacy of once-daily ORG 10172 and twice-daily low-dose heparin in preventing deep-vein thrombosis in patients with acute ischaemic stroke

A multicentre, double-blind, randomized study was performed in 179 patients with acute ischaemic stroke resulting in limb paresis. The purpose was to compare the safety and efficacy of Org 10172 (1250 anti-Xa Units s.c. once daily) and heparin sodium (5000 IU s.c. twice daily) in preventing deep-vein thrombosis (DVT).Prophylaxis started within 72 hours of the onset of stroke and continued for at least 9 days. To detect DVT, patients underwent a daily 125I fibrinogen leg scanning which, if found positive, was followed by venography. A first computed tomography scan of the brain was performed at screening to rule out cerebral haemorrhagic and second at cessation of treatment to detect any haemorrhagic transformations. At the 2-3-months' follow-up period the patients were examined for signs and symptoms of DVT or pulmonary embolism.On an intention-to-treat analysis, DVT occurred in 14.6% of patients receiving Org 10172 and in 19.8% of those receiving heparin during the treatment period (p=0.392, NS). Pulmonary embolism was diagnosed in one patient in each group. Major conversion to a symptomatic haemorrhagic brain infarct was found in one patient in each group. Death occurred in 13.5% of patients treated with Org 10172 and in 6.7% of patients treated with heparin (p=0.135, NS). Deaths were mainly related to pulmonary infection and cerebral oedema, thus considered to be due directly to the clinical status of the patients.1250 anti-Xa Units of Org 10172 once daily is both safe and as effective as 5000 IU of heparin sodium twice daily given for DVT prophylaxis in patients with acute ischaemic stroke of recent onset. © 1994 British Geriatrics Society.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe