Entrepreneurship during the Times of the Coronavirus Pandemic in Republic of Croatia

Entrepreneurship is a key driver of economic growth and a generator of employment opportunities in all modern economies across the world. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the engines of modern entrepreneurship. In the Republic of Croatia, SMEs are indispensable to boost employment and economic growth. Numerous economic activities have been slowed down due to the coronavirus pandemic, and some have even been completely halted. In these extraordinary circumstances, not only in the Republic of Croatia but also all over the world, an entrepreneur must be proactive and able to promptly adapt to this new situation. The purpose of this article is to investigate the entrepreneur’s position in the Republic of Croatia and to identify key problems entrepreneurs face during the coronavirus pandemic. As indicated by the research results, the coronavirus pandemic has drastically altered business activity conduction and entrepreneurship. For their businesses to survive these new, everyday challenges, many companies are forced to adapt their supply to market demands, introduce business informatization, lower the product and service prices and invest in employee education

Development of Small and Medium Entrepreneurship in the Republic Of Croatia

Entrepreneurship is a key driver of economic growth and a generator of employment opportunities in all modern economies across the world. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the engines of modern entrepreneurship. In the Republic of Croatia, SMEs are also indispensable in the effort to boost employment and economic growth. The global economic crisis has virtually brought the national economies worldwide to a halt, causing a considerable decline in production, consumption, and gross domestic product. In such conditions, the development of individual entrepreneurial competencies and entrepreneurial culture represents the main preconditions for successful economic growth and development. The SME sector plays a key role in achieving this by increasing the national economy’s competitiveness in the regional and European Union markets. The aim of this paper is to present the position of entrepreneurs in the Republic of Croatia, to identify challenges that come with setting up a business, and to describe the state of small and medium entrepreneurship in the Republic of Croatia. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.</p

Anthropometric and lipid parameters trends in school children: One decade of YUSAD study

Introduction. Athersclerosis is a multifactorial disease that begins in childhood. There are few reports regarding influence of risk factors on the atherosclerotic processes in early period of life and adolescence. Objective. The aim of this study was to present and analyze risk factor trends in school children over a 10-year period that were included and followed-up by the Yugoslav Study of Atherosclerosis Precursors in School Children (YUSAD Study). Methods. There were three examinations of selected population from 13 centres. The first examination was performed when children were 10 years of age (first group; N=6381 participants), the second examination on the same population when they were 15 years of age (second group; N=5017) and third when children were 19/20 years of age (third group; N=1293). Evaluated parameters included: BMI, waist circumference (WaC) and lipid profile (total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglyceride). Results. A significant elevation of values (p&lt;0.001) of BMI, WaC and triglycerides and a significant decline (p&lt;0.001) of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in boys over 5 and 10-year period was noticed. There was a significant elevation (p&lt;0.001) of BMI, WaC and HDL values and a significant decline in LDL cholesterol values in girls over the 5 and 10-year period. Conclusion. Our results point out that girls between 10 and 19/20 years have a better lipid profile during growth. It should be stressed out that childhood and adolescence can be more beneficial in the observation of risk factor influences on pathological, genetic and clinical levels

Development of small and medium entrepreneurship in the Republic of Croatia

Poduzetništvo predstavlja generator gospodarskog razvoja i zapošljavanja u svim nacionalnim ekonomijama suvremenog svijeta. Glavni pokreta razvoja suvremenog poduzetništva su malo i srednje poduzetništvo koje u Republici Hrvatskoj predstavlja jedan od vodećih gospodarskih sektora koji pozitivno djeluje na sveukupno zapošljavanje i gospodarski razvoj. Globalna ekonomska kriza manifestirala se, kako u Hrvatskoj tako i u svijetu, zaustavljanjem gospodarskog rasta i značajnim smanjenjem proizvodnje i potrošnje te padom bruto društvenog proizvoda. Razvijene poduzetnike kompetencije pojedinca i društva u cjelini, a u uvjetima globalne ekonomske krize predstavljaju temeljnu pretpostavku za uspješan rast i razvoj. Upravo sektor malog i srednjeg poduzetništva ima kljunu ulogu u rastu i razvoju gospodarstva sa svrhom konkurentnosti na tržištu zemalja regije i Europske unije. Svrha i cilj ovog rada jest prikazati položaj poduzetnika u Republici Hrvatskoj, identificirati probleme s kojima se susreću prilikom osnivanja tvrtki te prikazati tijek razvoja malog i srednjeg poduzetništva u Republici Hrvatskoj.Entrepreneurship is a generator of economic development and employment in all national economies of the modern world. The main driver for the development of modern entrepreneurship are small and medium-sized enterprises, which in the Republic of Croatia represent one of the leading economic sectors that have a positive effect on overall employment and economic development. The global economic crisis has manifested itself, both in Croatia and in the world, by halting economic growth, showing a significant decline in production and consumption and a decline in gross domestic product. Developed entrepreneurial competences of the individual and society as a whole, in the conditions of the global economic crisis is a fundamental prerequisite for successful growth and development. The SME sector plays a key role in the growth and development of the economy in order to compete on the markets of the countries of the region and the European Union. The purpose and the goal of this paper is to show the position of entrepreneurs in Croatia, to identify the problems they come across when they are trying to start a company and to show the course of development of small and medium-sized enterprises in Croatia

Arias icterus: Prolonged unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia caused by breast milk

Introduction Breast milk jaundice occurs in 1-2% of healthy breast-fed newborns and young infants. It develops as the result of liver immaturity and the inhibitory effect of mother’s milk to the clearance of unconjugated bilirubin. Objective The paper analyzes variations in the level and length of unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia in breast-fed infants. Method The study was conducted on a sample of 29 young infants (19 male) with breast milk jaundice. All infants were born on time, by natural delivery and without complications. All were on breast-feeding only and developed optimally. None of the infants had either haemolysis or any other disease associated with unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia. Results All infants had physiological jaundice in the first week after birth, with unconjugated bilirubin level of 166-260 μmol (201.50±36.37 μmol). In the postneonatal period the highest bilirubin level was recorded in the fifth week of life and was 87-273 μmol (166.82±45.06 μmol), which then spontaneously, without interruption of breast-feeding, gradually declined. The decrease of the unconjugated fraction of serum bilirubin between the fourth and fifth week was significant, and after that highly significant. The normalization of serum bilirubin occurred in the seventh and thirteenth week (10.41±1.68 μmol). Negative consequences of hyperbilirubinemia were not noted in any of the infants. Conclusion Breast milk jaundice presents a harmless and transitory disorder of bilirubin metabolism. It occurs in healthy breast-fed neonates and young infants. Jaundice is most marked in early neonatal period, and then it gradually declines and disappears between the seventh and thirteenth week

Congenital pes metatarsus varus: Role of arterial abnormalities in feet and treatment duration and outcome in children

Introduction/Objective. The aim of this paper was to examine proportion of patients with arterial abnormalities of feet due to age and severity degree of pes metatarsus varus (PMV), and to evaluate the treatment duration and outcome. Methods. The prospective longitudinal study included 240 patients with congenital PMV classified into three age groups: group < 3 months of life (Group 1), group 3–9 months (Group 2), and group 9–12 months (Group 3). Three categories of PMV were analyzed: mild/moderate/severe. Groups with arterial anomalies (Group A) and without (Group B) were analyzed. Clinical outcome was graded as: good/satisfactory/poor. Results. There is statistically significant difference in distribution of children regarding age and severity degree on first visit and presence of feet arterial abnormalities (p < 0.01). For Group A, younger children had longer physical therapy, while for Group B, older children had longer duration of physical therapy. Same trend applies as severity degree of foot deformity increase. In Group A, the most frequent treatment outcome was poor (for Group 1 – 46.7%; Group 2 – 60%; Group 3 – 62%), while in Group B for Group 1 and Group 2 it was frequently good (Group 1 – 90%; Group 2 – 40%), and for Group 3 frequently satisfactory (Group 3 – 53.3%). Conclusion. In children with PMV it might be advisable to perform ultrasound evaluation of arterial structure of feet, and particularly in cases were such deformity is more severe

Effectiveness of various surgical methods in treatment of Hirschsprung’s disease in children

Background/Aim. Hirschsprung’s disease is the most common identifiable developmental disorder of the enteric nervous system, characterized by a failure of its formation in a variable segment of distal bowel. Currently available surgical therapies for Hirschsprung’s disease, although lifesaving, are associated with numerous complications. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of different surgical methods and the incidence of serious complications after radical surgery of rectosigmoid Hirschsprung’s disease. Methods. A retrospective analysis, from June 1997 until May 2012 was carried out on 84 patients operated for Hirschsprung’s disease of rectosigmoid colon. Transanal endorectal pull-through was performed in 30 (35.7%) patients (group I), while 54 (64.3%) patients were operated by other (Soave, Duhamel or Swenson) procedures (group II). The age at operation, the incidence and severity of postoperative complications, the need for previous colostomy and the number of reoperations are countered in order to evaluate the efficacy of surgical procedures. Results. In the group I, the mean age at operation was 9.41 ± 6.37 months and in the group II the mean age at operation was 16.8 ± 13.9 months which was significantly higher (p < 0.01). In the group I there were only 3 (10%) patients with complications, one (3%) of them was prone to only one redo procedure (1.00 ± 0.00) and there was no need for previous colostomy in all patients (100%). In the group II there were 16 (30%) patients with significantly frequent complications (p < 0.05), about 2 reoperations on the average (1.94 ± 1.84) in 4 of them (25%) and 22 (41%) redo procedures, which was, in total, significantly higher than in the group I (p < 0.01). Only Soave’s procedure was performed without previous colostomy in 20 (37%) patients. Conclusion. Transanal endorectal pull-through in surgical treatment of patients with Hirschsprung’s disease is more effective than other procedures concerning earlier onset, low incidence and less severe complications, which would require further operations, and no scars

Epilepsy in a child with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome

Introduction. Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS) is a rare chromosomal disorder characterized by facial dismorphy, multiple congenital anomalies, delayed psychomotor development and pharmaco-resistant epilepsy. Case Outline. We present a 5-year-old girl with severe delay in growth and development, microcephaly, mild facial dismorphy and epilepsy. The pregnancy was complicated by intrauterine growth retardation. Generalized muscle hypotonia was observed at birth. First seizures started at age of 9 months as unilateral convulsive status epilepticus (SE), sometimes with bilateral generalization. Seizures were often triggered by fever and were resistant to antiepileptic treatment. Introduction of lamotrigine and valproate therapy led to complete seizure control at the age of 33 months. Electroencephalographic (EEG) finding was typical at the beginning. After transitory improvement between age four and five years, epileptiform EEG activity appeared again at the age of five years, without observed clinical seizures. Magnetic resonance imaging showed diffuse brain atrophy and delay in myelination. Using Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) method, we disclosed heterozygote microdeletation of the distal part of the short arm of chromosome 4 (4p16). Conclusion. We present a clinical course of epilepsy in a patient with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. The diagnosis was verified by modern molecular technique. This is the first molecular characterization of a patient with WHS performed in our country