How well are pregnant women in Croatia informed about the oral glucose tolerance test?

Introduction: Preanalytical errors still constitute the largest source of errors in laboratory work. Proper patient preparation and patient’s knowledge about a particular procedure affects its accuracy and reliability. We hypothesized that most of pregnant women are not well enough informed about the proper procedure for the OGTT. The aims of this study were to investigate: (i) how well pregnant women are informed about the OGTT; (ii) the most common way to inform pregnant women about OGTT and (iii) whether pregnant women’s level of knowledge about the OGTT differ regarding source of information. Materials and methods: The anonymous questionnaire was conducted across the country in 23 Croatian primary and secondary healthcare centres. The questionnaire contained 9 questions on certain demographic data and familiarity with OGTT procedure. All 343 participants filled the questionnaire before the first blood draw. Results: 42% of the participants demonstrated high and 38% adequate level of knowledge about the OGTT procedure. Majority of participants were informed about the procedure by gynaecologist (56%). The level of knowledge differed among participants with different sources of information (P = 0.030). Further analysis showed that the level of knowledge was lower in pregnant women having received information from their gynaecologist compared to pregnant women who received information from the laboratory staff. Conclusions: In general, pregnant women are familiar with OGTT procedure, main source of information about the OGTT procedure is their gynaecologist, but the level of knowledge was higher in women who received information about the OGTT procedure from the laboratory staff

Laboratorijsko postrojenje za prečišćavanje i magnetnu obradu otpadnih voda

In this paper we present the description of laboratory installation for filtration and magnetic treatment of oiled waste water, whose integral parts are the magnets for magnetic treatment of water, and attached is equipment for electrical power supply, magnetic measurement, control and protection of overheating Addition to basic application of this installation is that it can be used for testing and monitoring of the effects of magnetic treated water which is used in different fields of industry, agriculture, medicine, etc.U radu je dat prikaz laboratorijskog postrojenja za prečišćavanje i magnetnu obradu zauljenih otpadnih voda. Sastavni deo postrojenja su i magneti za magnetnu obradu vode sa pratećom opremom za električno napajanje, magnetna merenja, regulaciju i zaštitu od preteranog zagrevanja. Pored osnovne namene postrojenje može da se koristi i za ispitivanje efekata magnetne obrade vode za primenu u različitim oblastima industrije, poljoprivrede, medicine i dr

Attitudes of Primary School Teachers Toward Inclusive Education

Background: The aims of our study are related to examining the relevance of teachers' attitudes toward the implementation of inclusive education. In addition, its subject is related to the implications on inclusive education policies, limitations of the existing study along with the recommendations for our future research endeavors. Methods: The research is a cross-sectional study type. The sample included 64 primary school teachers in the lower grades of primary school (grades 1–4), selected by using simple random sampling, in three primary schools on the territory of Belgrade, Serbia in 2021 (26, 17, and 21 primary school teachers). The Questionnaire for Teachers, which was used as a research instrument, was taken from the Master's Thesis Studen Rajke, which was part of the project “Education for the Knowledge Society” at the Institute for Educational Research in Belgrade. Dependent variables measured in the study referred to the attitudes of primary school teachers toward inclusive education. Categorical variables are represented as frequencies and the Chi-square test was used to determine if a distribution of observed frequencies differed from the expected frequencies. Results: One in three teachers (32.8%) thought that inclusion was useful for children with disabilities (29.7%), of them thought that schools did not have the conditions for inclusive education, whereas one in four teachers (25.0%) believed that inclusion was not good. No statistically significant differences were found in the attitudes of professors, when observed in terms of their gender, age and length of service. Conclusion: Investing more resources and time in developing and implementing special education policies can promote successful inclusive education

Sex and age differences and outcomes in acute coronary syndromes

Background: There is conflicting information about sex differences in presentation, treatment, and outcome after acute coronary syndromes (ACS) in the era of reperfusion therapy and percutaneous coronary intervention. The aim of this study was to examine presentation, acute therapy, and outcomes of men and women with ACS with special emphasis on their relationship with younger age ( lt = 65 years). Methods: From January 2010 to June 2015, we enrolled 5140 patients from 3 primary PCI capable hospitals. Patients were registered according to the International Survey of Acute Coronary Syndrome in Transitional Countries (ISACS-TC) registry protocol (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01218776). The primary outcome was the incidence of in-hospital mortality. Results: The study population was constituted by 2876 patients younger than 65 years and 2294 patients older. Women were older than men in both the young (56.2 +/- 6.6 vs. 54.1 +/- 7.4) and old (74.9 +/- 6.4 vs. 73.6 +/- 6.0) age groups. There were 3421 (66.2%) patients with ST elevation ACS (STE-ACS) and 1719 (33.8%) patients without ST elevation ACS (NSTE-ACS). In STE-ACS, the percentage of patients who failed to receive reperfusion was higher in women than in men either in the young (21.7% vs. 15.8%) than in the elderly (35.2% vs. 29.6%). There was a significant higher mortality in women in the younger age group (age-adjusted OR 1.52, 95% CI: 1.01-2.29), but there was no sex difference in the older group (age-adjusted OR 1.10, 95% CI: 0.87-1.41). Significantly sex differences in mortality were not seen in NSTE-ACS patients. Conclusions: In-hospital mortality from ACS is not different between older men and women. A higher short-term mortality can be seen only in women with STEMI and age of 65 or less

Rationale and design of the ESC Heart Failure III Registry - Implementation and discovery

AIMS Heart failure outcomes remain poor despite advances in therapy. The European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure III Registry (ESC HF III Registry) aims to characterize HF clinical features and outcomes and to assess implementation of guideline-recommended therapy in Europe and other ESC affiliated countries. METHODS Between 1 November 2018 and 31 December 2020, 10 162 patients with chronic or acute/worsening HF with reduced, mildly reduced, or preserved ejection fraction were enrolled from 220 centres in 41 European or ESC affiliated countries. The ESC HF III Registry collected data on baseline characteristics (hospital or clinic presentation), hospital course, diagnostic and therapeutic decisions in hospital and at the clinic visit; and on outcomes at 12-month follow-up. These data include demographics, medical history, physical examination, biomarkers and imaging, quality of life, treatments, and interventions - including drug doses and reasons for non-use, and cause-specific outcomes. CONCLUSION The ESC HF III Registry will provide comprehensive and unique insight into contemporary HF characteristics, treatment implementation, and outcomes, and may impact implementation strategies, clinical discovery, trial design, and public policy

Science and Society: behind the scenes : Exploring the science-society dynamic in Longyearbyen, Svalbard

The driving force behind this thesis is indications that the relationship between scientific community and the rest of society is strained. There is an apparent disconnection between the two, as well as the general societal consensus that for the mutual benefit of both communities, this detachment needs to be bridged. This thesis is a search for the roots of this crisis, as an attempt to identify the barriers that stand in the way of improving the relation between science and society. The assumption of this thesis is that changes in the way that science is conveyed, perceived, understood and ultimately materialized in society can result in this relation being reformed