Multi-Criteria Decision-Making in the Implementation of Renewable Energy Sources

The consideration of renewable energy sources as sources for the production of electricity, demands an approach that would enable an analysis which comprehends various factors and stakeholders. The Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE), as a mathematical model for multi-criteria decision-making, is one of the ideal methods used when it is necessary to rank scenarios according to specific criteria, depending on whom the ranking is applied. This chapter presents various scenarios whose ranking is done according to defined criteria and weight coefficients for each of the stakeholders. This model recognized and accepted according to the theory of decision-making could be used as a tool for so-called stakeholder value approach

Formal Elements, Wearable Jewelry

In my master's thesis and exhibition entitled Formal Elements, Wearable Jewelry, I explore the creative influences that inspire me to work in this medium. Texture, surface, line and movement contribute to a personal experience with materials and their natural qualities. These formal qualities, when translated into wearable jewelry, captivate and challenge our perception of what jewelry means. They create a visual dynamic and sustain the interest of the human eye. In my work, I often use traditional materials such as gold, silver, copper, steel, both semi-precious and precious stones, and explore their formal qualities. These qualities are heightened by their movement when worn. By the juxtaposition of positive and negative spaces and relief, rough and polished surfaces, I create an emotional connection by the wearer to the jewelry she or he is wearing.   I was greatly inspired by travel to Italy while an ECU student. Motifs and images of the Spanish steps in Rome, medieval towns, city walls, and window railings are translated and feature heavily in my recent body of work. Thus travel and movement are most closely intertwined in this work in both formal and conceptual terms. Organic forms deriving from formal and mental landscapes and my intrinsically sculptural sensibility is at the heart of all my work and is seen in the fluidity and movement I try to convey in sculpture for the body. I want the wearer and jewelry to become conjoined, so the act of wearing the jewelry initiates a performance, maybe by fantasy or the activation of a necklace or bracelet by the slightest move of the wearer.  M.F.A

Antiapoptotic proteins mcl-1 and bcl-2 as well as growth factors fgf and vegf influence survival of peripheral blood and bone marrow chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells

© 2020, University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Science. All rights reserved. Apoptosis inhibition in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is one of the most important mechanism in the disease onset, progression and therapy response and is dependent of interaction with different microenvironments. Aim of our paper is to determine expression of antiapop-toic proteins mcl-1 and bcl-2 in CLL cells isolated from two different compartments (peripheral blood and bone marrow) and its relation to percent of apoptotic cells and concentration of growth factors (FGF and VEGF). Our results showed that peripheral blood CLL lymphocytes have lower apoptotic rate then those isolated from bone marrow, though bone marrow CLL lymphocytes express higher levels of antipoptotic proteins bcl-2 and mcl-1. In bone marrow FGF concentration is 10-fold higher then in patients plasma but has an limited impact on mcl-1 expression. In contrary, VEGF concentration is higher in peripheral blood and corelate with percent of apoptotic cells and mcl-1 expression in this compartment. CLL cells derived from two different microenvironmets acts differently when tested for apoptosis „ex vivo“. In peripheral blood apoptosis is strongly connected with expression of antiapoptoic proteins (mcl-1 and bcl-2) and growth factors, but not in bone marrow

Project Managers’ Emotional Intelligence – A Ticket to Success

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to introduce recent research on correlation between project managers’ emotional intelligence and their professional success. The implications of this research are important to both project managers who wish to improve their performance and success rate and organizations in their human resource policy. Theoreti- cal considerations discussed potential impact of emotional intelligence on project managers’ success through review on concept and dimensions of emotional intelligence, findings of numbered empirical studies and leadership theories. Complementing these theoretical considerations with research study showed significant correlation between project managers’ emotional intelligence and professional success. Research was conducted on representative sample consi- sted of 75 project managers from top 10 Serbian companies. Data collection instrument was questionnaire consisted of self-descriptive emotional intelligence test and data on respondent's position in organizational hierarchy and edu- cational level. The empirical research reveals that there is a very high positive correlation between emotional intelli- gence and professional success and these findings should have a number of implications for project managers’ pra- ctice. Firstly, project managers should be aware of the concept, their level and way of improving different dimensions of emotional intelligence. Further, the human resource management departments of project oriented organizations should consider concept of emotional intelligence when recruiting staff to the position of project managers but also when deciding on human resources development programs. In order to help good project managers to become excel- lent there is a need for further investigations on methods for development of emotional intelligence competencies

Online Testing of Federated and Heterogeneous Distributed Systems

DiCE is a system for online testing of federated and heterogeneous distributed systems. We have built a prototype of DiCE and integrated it with a BGP router. DiCE quickly detects three important classes of faults, resulting from configuration mistakes, policy conflicts and programming errors

Microwave-assisted synthesis of n-doped carbon quantum dots for the photocatalytic removal of methylene blue from wastewater

Wastewater treatment is an emerging problem in the industrialized world. The development of new semiconducting materials with the potential to be used in photocatalysis is the focus of the scientific community. Here, we present the synthesis of N-doped carbon quantum dots (NCQDs) using microwave radiation. N-CQDs were synthesized by irradiation of glucose solution in the presence of ammonia hydroxide as a nitrogen doping agent at low temperature (100 °C), low applied microwave power (100 and 200 W), and for a short period of time (60 s). The possible application of N-CQDs as a catalyst for photocatalytic degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) dye under blue light, green light, red light, and daylight was investigated. The highest values of MB degradation were observed for the samples exposed to red light with a maximum of 58.8 % for N-CQDs sample prepared at the reactor power of 200 W exposed to red light for 2 h

Association between risk factors, basal viral load, virus genotype and the degree of liver fibrosis with the response to the therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection

© 2015, Institut za Vojnomedicinske Naucne Informacije/Documentaciju. All rights reserved. Background/Aim. Hepatitis C is an important sociomedical problem worldwide due to frequent progression to chronic dis-ease, occurrence of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Standard pegylated interferon alfa 2a plus ribavirin therapy results in resolution of infection only in 50% of patients. The aim of this study was to determine the association of various factors with re-sponse to the therapy in patients with chronic heptitis C virus (HCV) infection. Age and sex of patients, inoculation risk factors, histopathological changes in the liver, viral load and HCV geno-type were analyzed. Methods. The study included a group of 121 patients with chronic HCV infection. The treatment was carried out 24 weeks for virus genotype 2 and 3, and 48 weeks for geno-type 1 and 4. The degree of histopathological changes in the liver was determined by hematoxylin and eosin staining, whereas polimerase chain reaction was used for HCV genotyping. Results. In the group of non-responding patients genotype 1 was repre-sented with 100%, while in the other groups, although predomi-nantly present, its percentage was lower. Unresponsiveness to therapy and relapse of disease were associated with higher viral load and advanced fibrosis. Intravenous use of psychoactive sub-stances, as a risk factor, was present in a high percentage in the group of patients with sustained response, while blood transfusion and dialysis were leading risk factors in the group of relapse re-sponders and non-responders. Conclusion. The results of our study showed that the treatment outcome of chronic HCV infec-tion was associated with baseline HCV ribonucleic acid, HCV genotype, route of infection and the degree of histopathological changes in the liver

COVID-19 effects on mental health of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities in North Kosovo

Background. People with intellectual disabilities (ID) are susceptible to physical, mental and social implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aim. Learning the way young individuals with disabilities dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic and how it affected their lives. Materials and Methods. An epidemiological questionnaire including information on the person’s health, mental state, behavior, educational capabilities, and epidemiological and clinical features of the COVID-19 infection was completed by 41 children/young adults and their family members. Results. During the two-year period of the pandemic, we monitored the frequency of COVID-19 infection in children and adolescents with intellectual disorders, children’s mental condition, and the occurrence of post-COVID symptoms. We also discussed the role of society regarding economic stability and support for families with a disabled member. Conclusions. The severity of COVID-19 symptoms was the independent predictor of mental status deterioration. Children and adolescents with ID experienced a greater prevalence of COVID-19 infection as well as post-COVID sequelae