Natural radionuclides in soil profiles surrounding the largest coal-fired power plant in Serbia

This study evaluates the influence of the largest Serbian coal-fired power plant on radionuclide concentrations in soil profiles up to 50 cm in depth. Thirty soil profiles were sampled from the plant surroundings (up to 10 km distance) and analyzed using standard methods for soil physicochemical properties and gamma ray spectrometry for specific activities of natural radionuclides (K-40, Ra-226 and Th-232) Spatial and vertical distribution of radionuclides was determined and analyzed to show the relations between the specific activities in the soil and soil properties and the most influential factors of natural radionuclide variability were identified. The radiological indices for surface soil were calculated and radiological risk assessment was performed. The measured specific activities were similar to values of BACKGROUND: levels for Serbia. The sampling depth did not show any significant influence on specific activities of natural radionuclides. The strongest predictor of specific activities of the investigated radionuclides was soil granulometry. All parameters of radiological risk assessment were below the recommended values and adopted limits. It appears that the coal-fired power plant does not have a significant impact on the spatial and vertical distribution of natural radionuclides in the area of interest, but technologically enhanced natural radioactivity as a consequence of the plant operations was identified within the first 1.5 km from the power plant

Impact of safety-related dose reductions or discontinuations on sustained virologic response in HCV-infected patients: Results from the GUARD-C Cohort

BACKGROUND: Despite the introduction of direct-acting antiviral agents for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, peginterferon alfa/ribavirin remains relevant in many resource-constrained settings. The non-randomized GUARD-C cohort investigated baseline predictors of safety-related dose reductions or discontinuations (sr-RD) and their impact on sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients receiving peginterferon alfa/ribavirin in routine practice. METHODS: A total of 3181 HCV-mono-infected treatment-naive patients were assigned to 24 or 48 weeks of peginterferon alfa/ribavirin by their physician. Patients were categorized by time-to-first sr-RD (Week 4/12). Detailed analyses of the impact of sr-RD on SVR24 (HCV RNA <50 IU/mL) were conducted in 951 Caucasian, noncirrhotic genotype (G)1 patients assigned to peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin for 48 weeks. The probability of SVR24 was identified by a baseline scoring system (range: 0-9 points) on which scores of 5 to 9 and <5 represent high and low probability of SVR24, respectively. RESULTS: SVR24 rates were 46.1% (754/1634), 77.1% (279/362), 68.0% (514/756), and 51.3% (203/396), respectively, in G1, 2, 3, and 4 patients. Overall, 16.9% and 21.8% patients experienced 651 sr-RD for peginterferon alfa and ribavirin, respectively. Among Caucasian noncirrhotic G1 patients: female sex, lower body mass index, pre-existing cardiovascular/pulmonary disease, and low hematological indices were prognostic factors of sr-RD; SVR24 was lower in patients with 651 vs. no sr-RD by Week 4 (37.9% vs. 54.4%; P = 0.0046) and Week 12 (41.7% vs. 55.3%; P = 0.0016); sr-RD by Week 4/12 significantly reduced SVR24 in patients with scores <5 but not 655. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, sr-RD to peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin significantly impacts on SVR24 rates in treatment-naive G1 noncirrhotic Caucasian patients. Baseline characteristics can help select patients with a high probability of SVR24 and a low probability of sr-RD with peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin

POZITIVNI UTICAJ MUZIKE NA UČENJE STRANOG JEZIKA

This paper explores the attitudes of Serbian tertiary-level EFL students towards doing a particular type of language exercise, a cloze test, and their attitudes towards music-based cloze tests in particular, as well as their general attitudes towards the inclusion of music into EFL classes at university level of study. It is comprised of two parts. The theoretical part reviews reference materials related to significant effects of music on FL learning in general and EFL learning in particular. The empirical part presents the results of the empirical research conducted with fourth-year students of the English Department, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Niš. The method used was descriptive together with the scaling technique and the five-level Likert scale consisting of 5 items. The first two items tested the students’ attitudes towards conventional cloze tests, the third item examined their attitude towards music-based cloze tests, and the remaining two items tested the students’ attitudes towards the integration of music-based exercises into EFL classes and the beneficial effects of music on EFL learning. The results of the empirical research confirmed the starting premise, i.e. that tertiary-level EFL students consider cloze tests important for the improvement of their proficiency in English and that they agree with the statement that the use of music in their classes is beneficial for improving their skills.Ovaj rad istražuje stavove srpskih studenata engleskog jezika na tercijarnom nivou učenja prema jednoj posebnoj vrsti jezičkih vežbanja, “cloze” testu,  kao i njihove stavove prema “cloze” testovima napravljenim na osnovu tekstova pesama i njihove stavove prema integrisanju muzike u nastavu engleskog jezika na osnovnim akademskim studijama. Rad čine dva dela. Teorijski okvir daje pregled referentnog materijala koji ukazuje na značajne pozitivne uticaje koje muzika ima na učenje stranog jezika i engleskog kao stranog jezika. Empirijski deo rada prikazuje rezultate dobijene nakon empirijskog istraživanja sprovedenog sa studentima četvrte godine osnovnih studija na Departmanu za anglistiku, na Filozofskom fakultetu Univerziteta u Nišu. Prilikom empirijskog istraživanja korišćene su deskripcija i skaliranje stavova pomoću Likertove skale, koja je sadržala pet tvrdnji. Prve dve tvrdnje su testirale stavove studenata prema tradicionalnoj formi “cloze” testa, treća tvrdnja se odnosila na stavove studenata prema “cloze” testu napravljenom na osnovu reči određene pesme, a preostale dve tvrdnje su ispitivale stavove studenata prema mogućnosti integrisanja muzike u nastavu engleskog jezika kao i prema pozitivnom uticaju muzike na učenje engleskog jezika. Rezultati empirijskog iztraživanja potvrdili su početnu premisu, odnosno stav da studenti engleskog jezika na tercijarnom nivou učenja smatraju da je “cloze” test važno vežbanje koje doprinosi njihovoj boljoj jezičkoj performansi kao i da se slažu sa tvrdnjom da upotreba muzike na časovima povećava mogućnost za njihovo napredovanje pri studiranju engleskog jezika

Evaluation of Xpert MTB/RIF assay for rapid molecular diagnosis of tuberculosis in a two-year period in Croatia

Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains a major global health problem and is currently killing 1.5 million people every year. One of the most important steps in tuberculosis control is the rapid and accurate laboratory diagnosis. The Xpert MTB/RIF assay is a novel molecular, easy-to-use assay, which can lead to tuberculosis identification in less than 2 h. In this study, the Xpert MTB/RIF assay performance for rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis was evaluated in comparison with conventional culture methods; 361 pulmonary and extrapulmonary patient samples were collected between October 2010 and October 2012 and were analyzed at the National Reference laboratory for Mycobacteria, Zagreb, Croatia. For pulmonary samples the sensitivity and specificity were 86% and 100%, while for extrapulmonary samples the sensitivity and specificity were 75% and 99%, respectively. It was concluded that Xpert MTB/RIF assay has high sensitivity and specificity for both pulmonary and extrapulmonary specimens

Factors affecting rearing practices and health of calves on family farms

Aim of the study: Calf rearing practices vary in different countries and may be affected by many factors. Poor management is related to diseases outbreak and death in calves. This study aimed to analyze practices in calf rearing and the occurrence of common calf diseases on family farms in two European countries and to examine the characteristics of a farmer and his farm as factors that may affect the way of performing practices related to calves’ health.Area of study: Slovenia and Serbia.Material and methods: For collecting data, the same questionnaire-based survey was distributed among cattle farm owners in Slovenia and Serbia.Main results: The following factors showed a significant influence (p<0.05) on certain rearing practices: farm size (on time for checking calves, milk reheating, and providing rehydration fluids to the calf with diarrhea in Slovenia), specialization of the production (on preventive antiparasitic treatments and restriction of drinking water for calves with diarrhea in Slovenia, and the time for checking calves in Serbia), breeder’s age (on colostrum quality checking in Slovenia), and breeder’s education (on time for checking calves and checking colostrum quality in Serbia). The results pointed out the rearing practices to be improved in both countries, Slovenia and Serbia, such as colostrum management and prevention strategies of calf diseases.Research highlights: Characteristics of the farmer and his farm may affect many aspects of calves’ rearing. Continuous education of farmers and appropriate production planning can contribute to better farm productivity and better health and welfare of calves

Characterization of Sedimentary Minerals from Kolubara Mining Basin, Serbia, with the Determination of Natural Radioactivity

Diatomite (diatomaceous earth) and clay minerals deposits from the mining basin Kolubara, Serbia, are natural materials with high economic potential in many fields. As received and treated materials, diatomite and clay were characterized using X-ray diffraction, mercury intrusion porosimetry, particle size distribution, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Activity concentrations for natural radionuclides 40K, 226Ra and 232Th and anthropogenic radionuclide 137Cs in diatomite and clay were determined by gamma spectrometry with HPGe detector. For diatomite and clay, the mean activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K were found to be 9, 26 and 173 Bq kg-1 and 19, 26 and 470 Bq kg-1, respectively. In the present study was to show that these materials are environmentally safe for further use in many fields

Serum osteoprotegerin and renal osteodystrophy

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Fetal middle cerebral artery pulsatility index in no-risk pregnancies: Effects of auditory stimulation and pregnancy order

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Pulsatility index (PI) values in a fetal middle cerebral artery (MCA) were compared in no-risk pregnancies to examine the differences related to auditory stimulation test and pregnancy order. The study included 196 women with no-risk pregnancies selected from the database of more than 1000 pregnant women divided into two groups. Group 1 consisted of 98 nulliparous women (C1 = 98) and Group 2 consisted of 98 parous women (C2 = 98). All pregnant women were of comparable age and fetal gestational age (GA) when MCA-PI values were recorded. Measurements of PI values in fetal MCA were obtained before and immediately after the application of fetal auditory stimulation test. The MCA-PI measuring was conducted in the period between the 36th and the 41st week of GA. The results showed that PI baseline values and PI values after defined auditory stimulation were significantly different when measured in nulliparous women compared to parous women (p = 0.001; p = 0.003, respectively), while no group differences were observed in relative PI value changes due to auditory stimulation. These findings suggest that hemodynamic changes in fetal MCA caused by defined auditory stimulation measured by PI value changes may be valuable in the assessment of fetal auditory perception functionality and its development