Person- and People-Centered Integrated Health Care for Alcohol Dependence – Whether It Is Real in the Present Moment

Alcohol continues to occupy a leading position in Europe as a popular substance of abuse. Together with cigarette smoking and obesity, alcohol is a major cause of preventable diseases. Harmful use of alcohol is one of the main factors contributing to premature deaths and disability and has a major impact on public health. The consequences of alcohol use on human health are enormous. Additionally, alcohol use can have harmful effects that do not directly affect the person who consumes alcohol (e.g. fetal alcohol syndrome, violations that are related to alcohol use…)Also, the harmful effects and consequences of alcohol use (e.g. acute and chronic illness, injuries in fights, at the workplace, in traffic, violent behavior, and death) create a great burden for the economic development of a society.Unfortunately, confirmed alcoholics that are still drinking are unlikely to be given a life insurance cover. On the other hand, if a person is now a recovering alcoholic with a considerable abstinence period, he/she may hope to get a good life insurance quote. Usually, a year or two is believed to be an adequate amount of time for a person to get a life insurance cover at an average price. However, this is only possible if the alcohol did not cause serious health issues to the person. Furthermore, relapsing after impatient rehabilitation can be viewed as an aggravating factor to get a life insurance.So far the research focused on the effects on the population level, such as the increase in taxes, advertising bans and the implementation of laws that prevent the use of alcohol in traffic. However, it seems that the problem may be viewed at the individual level.In any case, models of treatment should be tailored to the needs of the individual. These models should incorporate the reduction of alcohol intake, but also the path to abstinence. The plan should take into account the different (individual) needs for treatment, with regard to the degree of alcohol dependence and health status, but also include the needs of the family, community and broader society

Terminal DNA structure and ATP influence binding parameters of the DNA-dependent protein kinase at an early step prior to DNA synapsis

The DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) regulates the non-homologous end-joining pathway of DNA double-strand break repair in mammalian cells. The ability of DNA-PKcs to sense and respond to different terminal DNA structures is postulated to be important for its regulatory function. It is unclear whether discrimination occurs at the time of formation of the initial protein–DNA complex or later, at the time of formation of a paired, or synaptic complex between opposing DNA ends. To gain further insight into the mechanism of regulation, we characterized the binding of DNA-PKcs to immobilized DNA fragments that cannot undergo synapsis. Results showed that DNA-PKcs strongly discriminates between different terminal structures at the time of initial complex formation. Although Ku protein stabilizes DNA-PKcs binding overall, it is not required for discrimination between terminal structures. Base mispairing, temperature and the presence of an interstrand linkage influence the stability of the initial complex in a manner that suggests a requirement for DNA unwinding, reminiscent of the ‘open complex’ model of RNA polymerase–promoter DNA interaction. ATP and a nonhydrolyzable ATP analog also influence the stability of the DNA-PKcs•DNA complex, apparently by an allosteric mechanism that does not require DNA-PKcs autophosphorylation

Responsive Systems and Surfaces in Architecture - Design and Challenges

In the last two decades, the impact of digital technologies has dramatically changed the way of thinking in architecture. Following the overall development of digital media and computation, the process of generating forms has become more automated, with the use of algorithms and scripts. Moreover, computational design approach created new groundwork for the new, time-depended systems in architecture - responsive facades and structures. Responsive systems react to the surrounding by changing its surface in order to adapt the architectural form according to predefined influences. An example of such design approach are media facades, artistic based installations etc.Challenges are mainly oriented towards forming a user-architecture connection. Such bonds are formed between sensors and actuators, via programming board and language. Adaptive qualities of such systems are based on sustainability principles as well, utilizing alternative energy sources in situ. In this paper, design and challenges of responsive systems are analyzed, evaluated and applied on a case study in particular.Simultaneous use of above approaches is applied in the design of the structure that is located in Novi Sad's central core. The structure is optimized to use the maximum input of solar energy and adapt to it, while limiting the spatial openness of public squares and increasing human interaction. Resulting design is presented in this paper. Further exploration of responsive generative systems can contribute to financial benefit and better quality of given architectural solutions in the near future

DIRECTIONS IN THE EVOLUTION OF CERVICAL L-SIL LESIONS

Molecular activities in the basic cytopathological substratum of the lesions on utherus cervicus, in case of HPV infection in form of squamous intraepithelial lesions of the low (L - SIL) and high (H - SIL) level, are defined by bathesda therminological system. More frequent, L - SIL changes include CIN I, coil atypia and condilomata lata and can be recognized by cellular abnormalities in the basal and parabasal layer with minor cellular structural changes , nuclei hyperhromasia with hromatin condensation, acantosis, paraceratosis with well differentiated cells and faster exfoliation. Women more prone to develop L-SIL are those older than 41, with III degree of vaginal secretion, with the colposcopic finding of aceto-white epithelium and Papa-Nicholaus test of III group. The control cervical, colposcopically controlled biopsy was resumed after four control medical check-ups done every three months after the L-SIL diagnosis. The results showed that lesions remained at the same stage (41,67%), whereas regression appeared in every third examinee (33,33%), slight progression in every eight examinee (12,50%), and significant progression in every twelfth examinee (8,33%).Our conclusion was that L-SIL lesions do not require the ablativ therapy a priory, and what is needed is a regular colpocytological check-up every three months and cervical biopsy, if necessary. Diagnosis of HPV infection certainly changes one’s attitude and requires loop diameter because of the additional diagnostic indications and final therapy

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

A STUDY OF THE USE OF MIXED REALITY FOR CAPTURING HUMAN OBSERVATION AND INFERENCES IN PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENTS

Augmented and mixed reality is already considered as needful technology of the modern production systems. It is primarily employed to virtualize proper digital content, mainly related to 3D objects, into the human visual field allowing people to visualize and understand complex spatial shapes, their mutual relations, and positioning. Yet, the huge potential of the technology is waiting to be revealed in its usage for collecting and recording human observations and inferences about the context of the production environment. Its bi-directional interface makes it the most direct and the most efficient knowledge capturing means to date. The paper presents the challenges and benefits that come from the usage of a conceptual interface of an mixed reality application that is designed to collect data, semantics and knowledge about the production context directly from the man-in-process. As a production environment for the development, implementation, and testing of mixed reality applications for this purpose, various processes for the assembly and maintenance of medium-voltage equipment were used

Other profitable activities on family agricultural holdings according to their economic size

In the paper will be emphasized the importance of the other profitable activities (OPA) on the family agricultural holdings, according to their economic size within the territory of Republic of Serbia, with special focus on the Vojvodina Region. Economic size of the agricultural holding is recognized by the value of its total standard output (SA). Other profitable activities related to the agricultural holdings include incomes from agricultural products sale, rural tourism, fishery, etc., whether they are performed on or outside the holding. Other profitable activities that are not related to agricultural holdings include activities that do not consume resources of the holding, but only the labor, as like in previous case they may be carried on, or outside the holding. According to gained results, average economic size of the holding in the Republic of Serbia is 5.939 EUR, while the realized economic value on the family agricultural holdings (FAH) is 4.990 EUR. Census of Agriculture in 2012 showed that the highest average economic size of the agricultural holdings has a Vojvodina Region (12.032 EUR), what is 3,5 times higher than the value achieved in other regions. From the total sum of 631.552 agricultural holdings in the Republic of Serbia (family agricultural holdings (FAH), as well as legal entities (LE) and entrepreneurs) only 78.301 holdings possess DPA that are in relation to the holding (where 21% of them are within the economic class in range of 4.000 - 7.000 EUR). At the level of the Vojvodina Region, in total there were registered 147.624 agricultural holdings (AH), where 8.405 of them have OPA in relation to the holding (13,6% are within the class of economic sizes 100.000 and more EUR)

THE EFFECTS OF AQUATIC ACTIVITIES ON PHYSICAL FITNESS AND AQUATIC SKILLS IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Autism spectrum disorder is a complex brain development disorder characterized by restrictive and repetitive behaviors and a significant impairment of one’s ability to interact with other people and engage in verbal or nonverbal communication, as well as in play. One form of physical activity which can be used with success in people with autism is aquatic activity. The objective of this systematic review study is to collect and analyze studies of the effects of aquatic activity on improving physical fitness and aquatic skills in children with autism. Based on an analysis of electronic databases and the inclusion criteria set, 13 studies were included in the analysis. The following conclusions are proposed based on their analysis: In terms of influence on aquatic skills, aquatic programs at least 10 weeks in duration can effect improvement in aquatic skills in children with autism, by means of learning methods well-used with autistic children, such as the Constant delay procedure, Most to least prompting procedure, and assistance from siblings and peers. Regarding physical fitness improvements following aquatic activity, it is difficult to draw conclusions based on the results obtained in only three studies. Recommendations for future research include the application of aquatic programs with a higher weekly frequency, as well as the use of heart rate monitors during aerobic exercise in order to control heart rate training zones