The Role of Information and Communication Technology in Improving the Financial Performance of Hospitals

We are witnessing that the healthcare system of the Republic of Croatia is faced with numerous challenges, especially financial ones. Many activities are needed to improve the condition. In this paper, the emphasis is on the application of information and communication technology (ICT) as a tool for reducing costs and increasing income. The hypothesis of the work is that with the help of ICT we can directly, but also indirectly, by applying ICT through the so-called Dynamic Balanced Scorecard (DBSC) to influence business improvement. The DBSC method enables the evaluation of financial operations indirectly through employee education, optimization of business processes and increased patient satisfaction. In addition to the DBSC method, analysis of the collected literature, cost-benefit method and case studies are used to test the hypothesis. Regarding structure of the work, the introduction explains the context of the hospital\u27s operations, defines the goals, hypothesis and research methods. This is followed by a description of the conducted research. The conclusion contains final considerations as well as suggestions for future research

Art Colony Galichnik Exhibition

A group biennial exhibition of Galichnik art colony, held in Mala Stanica in Skopje. The works from the 31st and 32nd session of the colony were exhibited together. I was a participant if the 31st session along with artists from Macedonia. Due to the pandemic, our foreign fellow artists and collaborators were present online. I am featured with one solo work and a collaboration with Serbian USA based artist Marina Markovic

Kvalitet vode za piće grada Užica

In 2014, the Serbian public was informed on several occasions about water supply problems in the City of Užice. The reason behind the problem was the presence of potentially toxic species Planktothrix rubescens (Cyanobacteria) in the waters of the Vrutci Reservoir (the water supply intake for the City of Užice), the alternative water supply intake Sušičko Vrelo and in the city distribution network. Although the measured concentration of hepatotoxic microcystin-LR (< 0.01 μg/L) was considerably below World Health Organisation guidelines for drinking water (1 μg/ L), the water was declared unsafe. The study presents and comments on the results of physicochemical, microbiological and biological analyses of both raw water samples collected from the water supply intakes and treated chlorinated drinking water samples from the distribution network of the City of Užice water supply system.Tokom 2014. godine javnost Srbije je nekoliko puta obaveštavana o problemima vodosnabdevanja grada Užica. Razlog je bilo prisustvo potencijalno toksične vrste Planktothrix rubescens (Cyanobacteria) u vodi akumulacije Vrutci (vodozahvata grada Užica), alternativnog vodozahvata Sušičkog vrela i u gradskoj distributivnoj mreži. Iako je izmerena koncentracija hepatotokisčnog mikrocistina-LR (< 0,01 μg/L) bila znatno niža од dozvoljene vrednosti propisane od strane Svetska zdravstveno organizacije (1 μg/L), voda je proglašavana zdravstveno neispravnom. U radu su prikazani i komentarisani rezultati fizičko-hemijskih, mikrobioloških i bioloških analiza sirove vode vodozahvata kao i prečišćene i hlorisane vode za piće iz distributivne mreže gradskog vodovoda Užice

Mesenchymal stem cells attenuate acute liver failure by promoting expansion of regulatory T cells in an indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-dependent manner

© 2020, University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Science. All rights reserved. The influence of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on the phenotype and function of CD4+CD49b+FoxP3-regulatory cells has not been elucidated. We used Concanavalin A (ConA)-and α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer)-induced acute liver injury to estimate the effects of MSCs on liver-infiltrating CD4+CD49b+FoxP3-regulatory cells. MSCs significantly reduced ConA-and α-GalCer-mediated liver injury in C57BL/6 mice, as demonstrated by biochemical tests, reduced influx of inflammatory CD4+ T cells, and increased presence of CD4+CD49b+FoxP3-regulatory cells in the injured livers. The number of CD4+CD49b+FoxP3-regulatory cells was also significantly increased in α-GalCer-treated mice that received MSC-derived condi-tioned medium (MSC-CM). The presence of 1-methyltryp-tophan, a specific inhibitor of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), in MSC-CM completely abrogated the hepatopro-tective effect of MSCs and significantly decreased the total number of liver-infiltrated CD4+CD49b+FoxP3-regulatory cells, indicating the crucial importance of MSC-derived IDO for the expansion of CD4+CD49b+FoxP3-regulatory cells and the consequent MSC-dependent attenuation of acute liver injury

Thermophoresis or When Small Objects Meet Temperature Gradient: Numerous Applications

This mini review discusses the phenomenon of thermophoresis, also known as the thermophoretic effect. Thermophoretic effect arises from the combination of a temperature gradient and particles of very small dimensions, on the order of magnitude of the mean free path of the molecules of the surrounding gas. Despite being a little-known effect, it is critical to many physical and chemical processes and for characterising the properties of nanostructured materials that could be used in industry for sensing applications. A description and definition of otherwise very similar thermophoresis terms is provided, as well as a brief overview of the literature on this topic, with a focus on research in the twenty-first centur

Chemical composition and biological properties of Pelargonium graveolens, Leptospermum petersonii and Cymbopogon martinii var. motia essential oils and of Rosa centifolia absolute

Chemical composition of the essential oils (EO) of Pelargonium graveolens, Leptospermum petersonii and Cymbopogon martinii var. motia, and the absolute of Rosa centifolia and their bioactivity were examined. Major compounds in P. graveolens EO were monoterpene alcohols citronellol, geraniol and linalool; in L. petersonii EO monoterpene aldehydes geranial, neral and citronellal; in C. martiniii var. motia EO monoterpene alcohol geraniol and ester geranyl acetate, while in absolute of R. centifolia aromatic alcohol 2-phenylethanol. The EO of L. petersonii showed the strongest antibacterial while the EO of C. martinii var. motia the strongest antifungal potential. The best biofilm inhibition capacity was observed with R. centifolia absolute. The results of scanning electron microscopy analysis indicated that the EOs of L. petersonii and P. graveolens changed the number and morphology of C. albicans cells. The L. petersonii EO was the most potent toward tumour cells and exhibited the best biological activity. This is first comparative report summarizing efficacy of studied aromatic samples against pathogenic microbes, providing deeper insight into the modes of antimicrobial action, and at the same time describing their cytotoxicity against cell lines.The authors are grateful to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of Serbia (Grants No. 451-03-9/2021-14/200007 and 451-03-9/2021-14/200003).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio