Impact of global financial crisis on insurance industry in selected Western Balkan countries

The chapter analyses the effects of the global financial crisis on the insurance market of selected Western Balkan countries, taking into account their characteristics, the achieved level of development, frameworks within which they function, and emerged tendencies on the world insurance market. The impact of the crisis is considered with respect to both business and investment side of the insurance company results. In addition to identifying existing problems of insurers during the crisis, warns of upcoming issues expected in the post-crisis period are indicated and possibilities for overcoming them suggested. Useful recommendations for further conduct and development of insurance operations are provided on the basis of comparative analysis of the insurance industry performances in time segments before and after the onset of the crisis

Aktuarski efekti prevremenog raskida ugovora o osiguranju života

Predmet analize ovog rada je merenje aktuarskih efekata prevremenog raskida ugovora o osiguranju života. Cilj rada je da se ukaže na negativne efekte raskida ovih ugovora, kako sa aspekta osiguranika, tako i sa aspekta osiguravača. Rizik prevremenog odustajanja od životnog osiguranja, koji je posebno izražen u nepovoljnim ekonomskim uslovima, narušava svrhu životnog osiguranja i ugrožava finansijski položaj osiguravača. Negativni efekti odustajanja od životnog osiguranja, koji su u radu prikazani na primeru mešovitog osiguranja kapitala, su utoliko vei u prvim godinama trajanja ugovora o osiguranju. Pouzdana statistika osiguranja, kao i realnost vrednosti relevantnih parametara makroekonomskog ambijenta u kome se odvija poslovanje životnih osiguravača, uslovljavaju pouzdanost prognoze broja raskida ugovora o osiguranju života, kao i obima njihovih negativnih efekata

THE IMPACT OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY ON THE ENVIRONMENT

This paper focuses on the environmental impact of blockchain technology, particularly on electricity consumption for equipment operation and cooling. During its operation, the device energy is converted into heat, which must be efficiently dispersed. Additionally, the paper examines the rate of mining equipment replacement and the subsequent e-waste concerns. The impact of blockchain technology on the environment is a complex and debated topic. Only the following two aspects are discussed in this paper:1)                   Energy Consumption: (a) Positive Impact: Blockchain technology, especially in the context of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, has been criticized for its high energy consumption due to the consensus mechanism called Proof of Work (PoW). However, some blockchain networks use alternative consensus mechanisms like Proof of Stake (PoS), which is more energy-efficient, and b) Negative Impact: PoW-based blockchains, such as Bitcoin, require significant computational power, leading to high energy consumption. The environmental impact is a concern, especially if the electricity used comes from non-renewable sources.2)                   Mining and E-Waste: (a) Positive Impact: Blockchain technology can help in tracking the supply chain and provenance of minerals, which could reduce the use of conflict minerals and promote ethical mining practices. (b)Negative Impact: The mining of cryptocurrencies involves specialized hardware that becomes obsolete quickly, contributing to electronic waste (e-waste). This can have negative environmental consequences if not properly managed and recycled.The central topic of this paper is electric energy consumption and as a consequence CO2 emission footprint. Because of the fast growth of data centers and mining centers, consumption of electric energy has grown exponentially in the past decade. Together with the consumption of electric energy, CO2 emission grows dramatically

Students’ perspective of ESP in IT classroom: challenges and opinions

ESP has become a crucial part of every EFL curriculum. Hence, there are numerous challenges that both students and teachers encounter during their classes. This paper deals with potential problems that students face in ESP classroom, their attitudes towards the content and perspective of ESP classes and materials, as well as implications and recommendations for future methods and resources used in ESP classrooms. For the purpose of the study, we conducted a survey among students to examine their attitudes and to investigate their perspectives of ESP classes and materials. The paper presents the results of a survey conducted among IT students. The main research instrument used in our study was a questionnaire combined with a semi-structured interview and a small-scale needs analysis. The results show that students are aware of the importance of ESP and are motivated to improve their level of professional English in order to be successful in their future careers. The findings also show that most of the students’ value authentic materials and speaking activities, which were both evaluated as positive aspects of ESP classes. These findings can help us design future ESP curricula and overcome difficulties and challenges in an ESP classroom.Publishe

Determining the Discount Rate: The Case of Oil Industry in Serbia

The paper presents theoretical and methodological aspects of determining the discount rate on the example of NIS, as the largest energy company in Serbia and one of the largest in Southeast Europe. The total cost of capital which represents the weighted average of equity and long-term debt costs is used as discount rate. The cost of equity capital is calculated using the CAPM which, despite all its limitations, is still theoretically the most correct and frequently used model in practice. The average cost of long-term debt capital to the company NIS is equal to 14.773%, the cost of equity capital is 12.453% and the total cost of capital, WACC, is 12.505%. The main component of the cost of equity capital is the risk premium of investing in Serbia. The results show that macroeconomic stability strengthening and adequate management of borrowed funds can contribute to reduction of the total cost of capital in the Serbian oil industry

Synthesis and Investigation of Anti-Inflammatory Activity of New Thiourea Derivatives of Naproxen

The aim of the study was a synthesis and investigation of the dose-dependent anti-inflammatory effect of new thiourea derivatives of naproxen with selected aromatic amines and esters of aromatic amino acids. The results of the in vivo study indicate that derivatives of m-anisidine (4) and N-methyl tryptophan methyl ester (7) showed the most potent anti-inflammatory activity four hours after injection of carrageenan, with the percentage of inhibition of 54.01% and 54.12%, respectively. In vitro assays of COX-2 inhibition demonstrated that none of the tested compounds achieved 50% inhibition at concentrations lower than 100 µM. On the other hand, the aromatic amine derivatives (1–5) accomplished significant inhibition of 5-LOX, and the lowest IC50 value was observed for compound 4 (0.30 μM). High anti-edematous activity of compound 4 in the rat paw edema model, together with potent inhibition of 5-LOX, highlight this compound as a promising anti-inflammatory agen

Selected thiourea derivatives of naproxen as potential anti-inflammatory agents: in vivo, in vitro, and in silico approach

The aim of the conducted study was to develop new potential dual COX-2 and 5-LOX inhibitors based on naproxen scaffold. We performed the evaluation of in vivo and in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of newly synthesized thiourea derivatives of naproxen containing m-anisidine and N-methyl tryptophan methyl ester in a side chain. An in vivo study was carried out using a carrageenan-induced paw edema model of acute inflammation. COX-2 and 5-LOX inhibitory potential of synthesized compounds was evaluated using fluorometric inhibitor screening kits. In silico study was performed in OEDocking 3.2.0.2 software with the FRED tool. Two investigated derivatives exhibited comparable anti-inflammatory activity to naproxen (56.32%) four hours after injection of carrageenan, with the percentage of inhibition being 54.01% (m-anisidine derivative) and 54.12% (N-methyl tryptophan methyl ester derivative). In vitro studies of COX-2 inhibition demonstrated that none of the tested compounds achieved 50% inhibition at concentrations below 100 μM, whereas the m-anisidine derivative accomplished comparable inhibition of 5-LOX (IC50 = 0.30 μM) to commercial 5-LOX inhibitor zileuton (IC50 = 0.36 μM). Inability of the tested compounds to form three hydrogen bonds with ARG120 and TYR355 could be a reason why these compounds showed weak COX-2 inhibition. The m-anisidine derivative formed a more stable complex with the 5-LOX enzyme (−8.39 kcal/mol), compared to N-methyl tryptophan methyl ester derivative (−7.98 kcal/mol), with the absence of the iron ion chelation in the active site in both cases. The significant in vivo anti-inflammatory activity of the m-anisidine derivative, together with the potent inhibition of 5-LOX, highlighted this compound as a promising anti-inflammatory agent

Synthesis, Characterization, and Investigation of Anti-Inflammatory and Cytotoxic Activities of Novel Thiourea Derivatives of Naproxen

The objective of this study was to synthesize seven novel thiourea derivatives of naproxen (8–14), examine the anti-inflammatory activity of the newly synthesized compounds, investigate the cytotoxic potential of both sets of synthesized compounds (1–7 and 8–14), and select the most promising anti-inflammatory and antitumor drug candidates. The results of the in vivo anti-inflammatory study clearly showed that compounds 8 and 9 were capable of decreasing paw edema, as evident from a high percentage of inhibition (44.83% and 49.29%, respectively). In addition, the results of in vitro enzyme inhibition assays demonstrated that neither of the newly synthesized compounds reached 50% inhibition of 5-LOX at concentrations lower than 100 μM. In terms of antitumor potential, derivatives 3 and 8 exhibited strong cytotoxic effects on the HeLa cell line, suggesting the involvement of the extrinsic pathway of apoptosis. According to the overall results obtained for both sets of synthesized molecules, derivatives 4 and 8 can be underlined as molecules with the strongest anti-inflammatory activity, while derivatives 3 and 8 are the most promising cytotoxic agents