COMPLEXITY OF GEOTECHNICAL PROBLEMS IN THE PROCESS OF REVITALIZATION OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

Revitalization of residential buildings is a process of renovation and improvement of the residential environment with the goal of providing users with a safe and healthy space in which to live. Through a series of necessary interventions and technical improvements, in the first phase of revitalization, the load-bearing structure, starting from the subgrade soil and foundations all the way to the top of the building, i.e. the roof structure, must be repaired and strengthened. The reinforced structure must guarantee the successful implementation of other planned phases of revitalization. The paper deals with geotechnical issues within which damages are registered, their causes are analyzed and measures for repairing the base soil and foundations are proposed. The problem is treated from the point of view of its complexity, the numerous causes of which are disscussed in the paper

Parenteral Lipid-Based Nanoparticles for CNS Disorders: Integrating Various Facets of Preclinical Evaluation towards More Effective Clinical Translation

Contemporary trends in combinatorial chemistry and the design of pharmaceuticals targeting brain disorders have favored the development of drug candidates with increased lipophilicity and poorer water solubility, with the expected improvement in delivery across the blood–brain barrier (BBB). The growing availability of innovative excipients/ligands allowing improved brain targeting and controlled drug release makes the lipid nanocarriers a reasonable choice to overcome the factors impeding drug delivery through the BBB. However, a wide variety of methods, study designs and experimental conditions utilized in the literature hinder their systematic comparison, and thus slows the advances in brain-targeting by lipid-based nanoparticles. This review provides an overview of the methods most commonly utilized during the preclinical testing of liposomes, nanoemulsions, solid lipid nanoparticles and nanostructured lipid carriers intended for the treatment of various CNS disorders via the parenteral route. In order to fully elucidate the structure, stability, safety profiles, biodistribution, metabolism, pharmacokinetics and immunological effects of such lipid-based nanoparticles, a transdisciplinary approach to preclinical characterization is mandatory, covering a comprehensive set of physical, chemical, in vitro and in vivo biological testing

Expression of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) serine proteinase inhibitor gene (BvSTI) and the role in insect resistance

Biljni inhibitori proteinaza aktivno učestvuju u odbrani biljaka od insekata štetočina inhibirajući insekatske digestivne proteinaze. In planta analiza ekspresije BvSTI gena koji kodira inhibitora serinskih proteinaza urađena je sa ciljem otkrivanja uloge ovog inhibitora u otpornosti biljaka šećerne repe na insekte, kao i radi utvrđivanja potencijala ovog gena kao pogodnog kandidat-gena koji bi se biotehnološkim metodama mogao uvesti u osetljive biljne genome, čime bi se povećala njihova otpornost prema insektima štetočinama. Ekspresija BvSTI gena praćena je kod tri genotipa šećerne repe koji se odlikuju umerenom otpornošću prema larvama štetočine korena Tetanops myopaeformis Roder, F1016, F1015 i UT-8, kao i kod jednog osetljivog genotipa, F1010. Kod svih otpornih genotipova mehaničko povređivanje indukovalo je ekspresiju ovog gena, a nivo transkripcije bio je povišen u poređenju sa nivoom kod osetljivog genotipa. Najintenzivniji odgovor na povređivanje zabeležen je kod otpornih genotipova F1016 i UT-8. U listovima osetljivog F1010, ali i trećeg otpornog genotipa F1015, registrovan je samo neznatni porast u intenzitetu BvSTI transkripcije, dok je u korenovima ova dva genotipa mehaničko povređivanje dovelo do blage početne supresije u aktivnosti BvSTI gena. Akumulacija BvSTI transkripata u listovima i korenovima otpornog F1016 i osetljivog F1010 kojima su se hranile larve Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith pokazala je sličan obrazac ekspresije kod oba genotipa. U poređenju sa transkripcionim obrascima dobijenim nakon mehanilčkog povređivanja, ishrana insekata dovela je do znatno sporije indukcije i slabijeg intenziteta transkripcije. Analize na proteinskom nivou pokazale su da nakon povređivanja listova dolazi do akumulacije proteina veličine 30 kDa za koji su se vezala poliklonalna BvSTI specifična antitela kako kod otpornog F1016, tako i kod osetljivog F1010 genotipa. Aktivnost BvSTI inhibitora protiv tripsina pokazana je kod F1016 korenova i listova, kao i kod F1010 listova. U F1010 korenovima aktivnost BvSTI inhibitora nije detektovana. U biotestu u kome je ispitivana otpornost pojedinačnih genotipova na larve S. frugiperda korišćena su sva četiri genotipa šećerne repe kod kojih je pokazano da povređivanje utiče na ekspresiju BvSTI gena. Larve koje su se hranile listovima sva tri otporna genotipa bile su statistički značajno lakše od larvi koje su hranile osetljivim F1010 listovima...Plant proteinase inhibitor genes are among the prime candidates suitable for insect resistance improvement in plants. Expression pattern of a sugar beet serine proteinase inhibitor gene, BvSTI, was characterized in response to mechanical and fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith) induced wounding. BvSTI expression was analyzed in three breeding lines moderately resistant to sugar beet root maggot (Tetanops myopaeformis Roder.) and in a susceptible line, F1010. Increased mechanical wounding induced levels of BvSTI expression were observed in all resistant lines as compared to F1010. The most intensive response to wounding was observed in resistant lines, F1016 and UT-8, with a maximum up to 4- and 2,5-fold increase of BvSTI transcript levels over non-wounded roots and leaves, respectively. In contrast, slight increase of BvSTI transcript levels in leaves and even an initial decrease in roots were observed in sensitive F1010, but also in the third resistant line, F1015. BvSTI transcript accumulation in F1016 and F1010 tissues wounded by FAW showed a similar gene expression pattern, but it was delayed and less intense than the response incited by abiotic wounding. On the protein level, BvSTI-specific polyclonal antibodies confirmed increased accumulation of the 30 kDa BvSTI protein in wounded leaves but not in roots of F1016 and F1010. Using trypsin inhibition assays, the activity of BvSTI was confirmed in F1016 roots and leaves and F1010 leaves. In F1010 roots BvSTI activity was completely lacking. To confirm the potential role of the BvSTI gene in defending mechanisms to insect pests in sugar beet the same analyzed germplasm were bioassayed for resistance to fall armyworm insects. Larvae fed sugar beet leaves from all three resistant germplasms (F1016, F1015 and UT-8) had significant reductions in larval weights as compared to larvae fed on sensitive F1010 leaves. The observed daily weight increase was also the highest in larvae from sensitive vs. resistant leaves. As the larvae entered the pupal stage, pupal sizes did not reflect the overall larval weights and all developed pupae were similar. Larvae fed on roots were almost double lighter than larvae from leaves for all analyzed gemplasms. Some developmental abnormalities of the pupae fed on F1016 and F1015 leaves were noted..

The essence of truth is freedom. Heidegger’s concept of the essence of truth in the lecture “The Essence of Truth”

Čovjek, biće koje može misliti o svom bivanju, često unutar granica vlastita mišljenja, biva zapleten u mnijenju i računanju. Ljudi tragaju za istinom, žele je dohvatiti svojim mišljenjem i bivanjem. No zablude nas često dovode u »bijednost približnog znanja i ravnodušnost prema njemu«. Čini se da smo zaboravili istinsko mišljenje, neodvojivo od mišljenja bitka. Martin Heidegger želi nas izbaviti iz zabluda u koje je kroz povijest čovječanstva dospjelo metafizičko mišljenje te postavlja pitanje o biti istine, što ona jest. Nadilazeći mišljenje pukog, običnog razuma, razjašnjava uobičajen pojam istine kao »adaequatio intellectus et rei«, nudeći nam mogućnost mišljenja biti istine kao slobode, ukoliko je shvaćamo kao ispravnost iskaza. Sukladno svom pomalo šokantnom i inovativnom načinu mišljenja, objašnjava odnos biti i ne-biti istine nastojeći nas obratiti od lutanja koje smo započeli unutar vlastita metafizičkog mišljenja. Svako pitanje pretpostavlja odgovor, od čega on u ovom predavanju pomalo uzmiče, ostavljajući nam mjesta za osobna upućivanja u traženje odgovora na postavljeno pitanje: »Što je bit istine?« Navraćajući na cjelovitost mišljenja, podsjeća nas na vječno i neodgovoreno pitanje: »Što je biće kao takvo u cjelini?«, odnosno na pitanje o bitku. Vraćajući se na sam početak mišljenja, upozorava nas da svaka spoznaja, ako je istinita, mora biti mišljena u cjelini bitka.Human being, who is in possibility to think about its being, is frequently intricated in the limits of its own thoughts through the thinking and calculating. People search for the truth; they want to reach it by their thoughts and being. But, delusion often leads us to “misery of approximate knowledge and indifference towards it”. It seems that we have forgotten the true thinking, inseparable of the “thinking of being”. Martin Heidegger wants to take us out of the metaphysical misconception that the history of mankind has brought us and raise the questions about the essence of the truth as it is. Transcending mere, common sense, opinion, he explains usual notion of the truth as “adaequatio intellectus et rei”, offering us the ability to think the essence of the truth as freedom, if it is understood as the correctness of the statement. In accordance with his somewhat shocking and innovative way of thinking he explains the relation between the essence and non-essence of truth, trying to convert us from wondering in our own metaphysical thoughts. Each question assumes an answer, of which he, in this lectures somewhat redraws from, while leaving the space for personal reflection in order to seek an answer to the question: “What is the essence of the truth?”. Referring to the wholeness of the thinking he reminds us on the eternal and unanswered question: “What is the being as such in the wholeness?” i.e. the question of the being. Going back to the beginning of the thinking, he is warning us that any cognition, if it is to be true, has to be thought in the wholeness of the being

Revitalizacija stambenih zgrada u konstruktivnom kontekstu

The doctoral dissertation analyses revitalization process of the existing residential buildings whose basic structural system comprises load-bearing wall system, and which were constructed in the period prior to enacting the regulations of construction in seismically active areas. The reasons for their revitalization are protection and preservation of the housing stock in order to improve the quality of housing. In order to correctly evaluate status of such structures, here are listed types and causes of damage, with necessary classifications and tabular presentations. The status assessment is performed from a developed methodological framework, which contains all the phases and activities in the process, with a defined goal and contents. The methods of rehabilitation and reinforcement of the basic load bearing wall structure, as the first phase of revitalization in which bearing capacity and safety should be ensured, as well as the necessary calculus, were provided in accordance with Eurocode 6 and Eurocode 8. For the analysis were selected two characteristics types of masonry buildings within a mixeduse (but mostly residential) block in Nis. Variations of the walls bearing capacity and load to compression and shear, as well as the variation of horizontal relative floor displacements and absolute displacements by height of the building for the selected models of bearing structure strengthening was monitored by implementing the software package FEDRA for design of masonry structures in seismically active areas, based on the principles of Eurocode 6 and Eurocode 8, in order to select the most appropriate solutions

Design, synthesis, physicochemical and biological properties of ß-hydroxy-ß-arylalkanoic acid derivatives

Nesteroidni antiinflamatorni lekovi (NSAIL) se koriste za ublažavanje simptoma akutne i hronične inflamacije već više od pedeset godina. Grupa NSAIL je veoma brojna i obuhvata različite hemijske strukture. Potreba za pronalaženjem novih NSAIL i dalje postoji jer neselektivni NSAIL često izazivaju neželjene gastrointestinalne efekte, a neki noviji selektivni lekovi se dovode u vezu sa ozbiljnim neželjenim kardiovaskularnim efektima. U ovoj disertaciji opisani su dizajniranje, sinteza, ispitivanje fizičko-hemijskih i bioloških osobina β-hidroksi-β-arilalkanskih kiselina. U doking studijama je ispitan uticaj α supstitucije jednom ili dvema metil grupama bočnog niza šest prethodno već sintetisanih β-hidroksi-β-arilalkanskih kiselina koje su derivati β-hidroksi-β- bifenilbuterne kiseline ili β-hidroksi-β,β-difenilpropionske kiseline na inhibiciju enzima ciklooksigenaze kao i na selektivnost prema izoformi ciklooksigenaza-2. Doking studijama je ispitan uticaj različitih supstituenata (nitro, trifluorometil, metil, metoksi, dimetilamino grupe i hlora) na benzenovom prstenu sedam derivata 3-hidroksi-3,3- difenilpropanske kiseline na inhibiciju i selektivnost prema COX-2 izoformi. Izračunate su molekulske zapremine za sva dokovana jedinjenja i utvrđeno je da ispunjavaju uslov da su za minimalno 15 Å3 veće od molekulske zapremine ibuprofena, što znači da su ove kiseline potencijalno selektivne za COX-2. Modifikovanom Reformatski reakcijom sintetisano je sedam derivata 3-hidroksi- 3,3-difenilpropanske kiseline. Tri planirana jedinjenja nije bilo moguće sintetisati na ovaj način, kao ni korišćenjem indijuma kao katalizatora, niti klasičnom Reformatski reakcijom. Modifikovana Reformatski reakcija se sastoji iz dve faze. U prvoj fazi se sintetišu α-bromo alkil 1-etoksiestri iz α-bromsirćetne kiseline i etilvinil etra..

The modern and the vernacular in urban transformation of Banja Luka

Испитивање урбане историје малог града припада до сада недовољно покривеном истраживачком пољу у области архитектуре и урбанизма. Истраживање релација према наслијеђеном и прошлости у процесу урбане трансформације Бањалуке открива један од облика модерног искуства који се одвија изван метропола, на периферији некадашњих великих империја, у контексту у ком се никако или споро успостављају модерни друштвено–економски услови (у терминологији Маршала Бермана „модернизам неразвијености“), и доприноси разумијевању сложености и плуралности модерног и модернизације, виђених из перспективе истраживача – архитекте. Проблем истраживања је специфична модерност малог града у контексту закашњелих и успорених трансформација начина живота, сагледана у домену његове архитектуре и урбанизма. Кроз многоструке, хетерогене и амбивалентне релације новог и наслијеђеног, у малом граду се развија комплексна граматика физичког и менталног припадања и долази до нових начина размишљања којима се обликује отпор деструктивним аспектима модернизације. Предмет истраживања je Бањалукa у процесy урбане трансформације у периоду од краја XIX вијека до 1975. године. У вези са истраживањем проблема културног идентитета у контексту БиХ данас, у домену архитектуре и урбанизма и урбане историје повећано је занимање и јављају се нове интерпретације тема повезаних са периодом аустроугарске управе или периодом Врбаске бановине. Овај рад се укључује у ту дебату испитујући релације према наслијеђеном и прошлом у архитектури и урбанизму у мањој средини, далеко од утицаја великих урбаних центара. Наиме, у досадашњим радовима о архитектури и урбанизму у БиХ интересовање је усмјерено на збивања на архитектонској сцени Сарајева, док о архитектури других градова, укључујући и Бањалуку, нема систематских студија...The examination of urban history of small towns belongs to the research area of architecture and urbanism that has not been fully covered yet. The research on the relations towards the past and the inherited in the process of urban transformation of Banjaluka reveals one of the forms of modern experience that develops outside the metropolis, at the periphery of former grand empires, in the context where modern socio–economic conditions are established slowly or not at all (modernism of underdevelopment, as defined by Marshall Berman), and contributes to the understanding of complexity and plurality of the modern and the modernization, as seen from the perspective of an architect – researcher. The research problem is the specific modernity of a small town in context of belated and slow transformations of the ways of life, seen in its architecture and planning. A complex grammar of physical and mental belonging has been developed through manifold, heterogeneous and ambivalent relations of the new and the inherited in the small town, and new ways of thinking have emerged, that have shaped the resistance to the destructive aspects of modernization. The subject of analysis and interpretation is Banjaluka in the process of transformation between the end of 19th century and 1975. In relation to the research on the issues of cultural identity in the present context of Bosnia and Herzegovina, interest has been raised and new interpretations have emerged in architecture and urban history for the matter related to the Austro–Hungarian or Vrbas Banate periods. This work joins the debate, by examining relations with the inherited and the past in architecture and urbanism of a small town, far away from the influence of big urban centers. It should be mentioned that the focus of interest in the existing works on architecture and urbanism of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been on the architectural scene of Sarajevo, while there are no systematic studies about the architecture of other cities, including Banjaluka..

Medical ethnobotany on the Javor Mountain (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Introduction: The study provides significant ethnobotanical information on plant resources traditionally used in the Javor Mountain region (eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina), aiming at identifying medicinal plants and collecting information concerning the specific methods of their therapeutic application. Methods: A qualitative anthropological method using a semi-structured questionnaire was used to interview 70 people. The relative importance of wild plant species, as reported by the informants, was assessed by the quantitative methods: use-value (UV), cultural importance value (CIV) and Shannon-Wiener index. Also, the level of homogeneity among information provided by different informants was calculated by the Informants' Consensus Factor (FIC). Results: 73 plant species with medicinal properties were collected, identified and their methods of preparation and uses were recorded. Asteraceae, Lamiaceae and Rosaceae have the greatest species diversity. The most commonly used are Hypericum perforatum, Mentha x piperita, Sambucus nigra and Achillea millefolium, with UV over 0.9. The most frequently used plant parts are the aerial part (29%) and the leaf (26%), while infusion being the most common way of preparing herbal remedies (57%). The plant most appreciated by the people interviewed was Hypericum perforatum used to treat skin complaints, haemorrhoids, moderate depression, gastrointestinal ailments and respiratory infections. Also, phytotherapeutic use of Veronica officinalis rhizome in jaundice treatment, as well as utilization of Prunus domestica bark for cavity protection were noted. Conclusion: The results of the current study may be significant in rural development programs in the Javor Mountain region, in aiming to foster community-based strategies of management of natural resources

Doking studije nekih jedinjenja sa pirazolom u aktivnom mestu ciklooksigenaze-2

Whereas nonselective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as aspirin, ibuprofen and diclofenac, inhibit both cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxigenase-2 enzymes, selective inhibitors target cyclooxygenase-2, which is overexpressed in inflammation, but also in cancer, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson`s disease. Potential cardiovascular and hepatic side effects of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors have limited their use. The development of selective and safe cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors remains a high priority in drug discovery. Based on the structure of previously investigated newly synthesized β-hydroxy-β-arylpropanoic acids, two groups of compounds were designed: analogs in which one of the benzene rings was replaced by a pyrazole, while the carboxyl group was retained, and amides of β-hydroxy-β-arylpropanoic acids with pyrazole. The compounds were docked into the 3D structure of the catalytic site of the enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 using AutoDock Vina 1.2.0. and the obtained interactions were compared with the interactions of celecoxib, a selective inhibitor. The amides had lower binding energies than the designed acids, which makes them attractive target compounds for synthesis and further examination.Neselektivni nesteroidni antiinflamatorni lekovi poput aspirina, ibuprofena i diklofenaka inhibiraju enzime ciklooksigenazu-1 i ciklooksigenazu-2, a selektivni inhibitori ciljaju ciklooksigenazu-2 koja je prekomerno izražena u inflamaciji, ali takođe i kod kancera, ateroskleroze, Parkinsonove i Alchajmerove bolesti. Potencijalni kardiovaskularni i hepatički neželjeni efekti selektivnih inhibitora ciklooksigenaze-2 su ograničili njihovu primenu. Razvoj selektivnih i bezbednih inhibitora ciklooksigenaze-2 ostaje veoma prioritetna oblast u otkrivanju lekova. Na osnovu strukture prethodno istraživanih novosintetisanih β-hidroksi-β-arilpropanskih kiselina dizajnirane su dve grupe jedinjenja: analozi u kojima je jedan od benzenovih prstenova zamenjen pirazolom, uz zadržavanje karboksilne grupe, i amidi β-hidroksi-β-arilpropanskih kiselina sa pirazolom. Program AutoDock Vina 1.2.0 je korišćen za dokovanje dizajniranih jedinjenja u 3D strukturu katalitičkog mesta enzima ciklooksigenaze-2, a ostvarene interakcije su upoređene sa interakcijama koje ostvaruje selektivni inhibitor celekoksib. Amidi su imali nižu energiju vezivanja od kiselina, što ih čini dobrim kandidatima za sintezu