The Role of Managers’ Cultural Intelligence and Demographic Variables in Building Trust in Business Relations

Received 23 November 2021. Accepted 22 December 2022. Published online 30 December 2022.This article examines the role of such factors as gender, age, nationality, and cultural intelligence in building trust between business partners coming from different countries. The research involved 560 employees, of which 115 were Croatians (20.5%), 114—Russians (20.4%), and 331—Slovenians (59.1%). In addition to socio-demographic questions (gender, age, nationality), we employed the Organizational Trust Inventory and the Cultural Intelligence Scale. The research was made available to the participants online and in three language versions— Croatian, Russian, and Slovenian. We discovered that gender played the greatest role in building trust between business partners, since women rated all trust components higher than men. Cultural intelligence, nationality, and age are not predictors of trust among business partners. Our data contributes to a clearer understanding of the ambiguity of predictors of trust. While previous studies have focused on cultural intelligence as a factor in successful international interaction, our results show that cultural identity retains its importance even in the context of globalization and international cooperation

Levels of toxic elements in canned fish from the Serbian markets and their health risks assessment

A total of 138 samples of canned tuna, sardines and mackerel from the Serbian market were analyzed for toxic (As, Cd, Pb, Hg) element levels using ICPMS. The highest average contents of toxic elements were found to be 1.70 mg kg(-1) for arsenic and 0.026 mg kg(-1) for cadmium in sardine and 0.068 mg kg(-1) for mercury in tuna. The lead content was very similar (similar to 0.048 mg kg(-1)) of the three types of canned fish. None of the fish analyzed contained toxic elements in levels exceeding the maximum allowable levels currently in force. Human health risk assessment of As, Cd, Pb and Hg in canned fish were investigated. A risk assessment based on the measured levels of examined elements indicated that consumption of canned fish according to current eating habits in Serbia presents little risk to human health since the carcinogenic risk is within the acceptable range, 10(-4)-10(-6).Peer-reviewed manuscript: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/3235

Genetic diversity of tumorigenic bacteria associated with crown gall disease of raspberry in Serbia

During the last 3 years, crown gall disease was observed in some young raspberry plantations throughout Serbia, causing considerable economic losses. Based on biochemical and physiological tests, PCR targeting the 23S rRNA gene, and 16S rRNA and recA gene sequence analysis, at least two different species were identified as causal agents of disease. Out of 14 strains isolated from raspberry tumors, 12 were identified as tumorigenic Rhizobium rhizogenes, one belonged to Agrobacterium tumefaciens genomic species G8, while the remaining strain formed a separate phylogenetic lineage within A. tumefaciens species complex, different from all known genomic species. All strains investigated harbored nopaline-type of Ti plasmid and showed identical pathogenic properties by inoculating several test plants. However, they were divided into two genetic groups based on PCR-RFLP analysis of Ti plasmid virA-virB2 region. Furthermore, total of nine unique ERIC-PCR profiles were identified among the strains studied. Although strains of R. rhizogenes exhibited similar ERIC-PCR profiles, they were differentiated into six distinct genetic groups. Based on the fact that some genetic groups were composed of strains originating from different geographic areas, it can be assumed that they have a common origin and were probably disseminated by movement of infected plant material

Bacterial wilt and canker of tomato: fundamentals of a complex biological system

"Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is well-known as a model for study of plant–pathogen interactions, since it is a crop of global relevance and susceptible to multiple bacterial, fungal, viral and nematode pathogens. Among bacterial phytopathogens, the actinomycete Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis (Cmm) is the causal agent of bacterial wilt and canker of tomato, considered a quarantine disease at international level. The tomato–Cmm interaction has been studied to decipher the pathogenicity mechanisms in Cmm, susceptibility mechanisms in tomato, molecular basis of resistance to Cmm in wild species relative to domesticated tomato, and the level of genetic variability in Cmm. The objective of this review is to discuss recent advances in tomato–Cmm compatible interaction, which can be integrated for application in early diagnosis and biological control of bacterial wilt and canker of tomato. Further study of plant–microorganism interactions is a promising field for improvements in tomato pathogen resistance.