Pension reform in Croatia

Croatia's transition toward independence, and the market economy in the 1990s, exacerbated problems in the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) system, and ultimately led to its financial collapse. Although a comprehensive three-pillar reform was initiated in late 1995, implementation of the reform only began in 1998, with an overhaul of PAYG parameters, including shifting to a German-style points system. Introduction of the mandatory, and voluntary funded pillars was announced in 1998, and implemented in 2002. The new system includes a privately-managed individual account scheme, with a contribution rate of five percent, in addition to a downsized pay-as-you-go, defined benefit component. This paper describes the design of the new system, and highlights areas where further refinements are needed.Pensions&Retirement Systems,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Public Sector Economics,Economic Stabilization

Efficient Synthesis of Room Acoustics via Scattering Delay Networks

An acoustic reverberator consisting of a network of delay lines connected via scattering junctions is proposed. All parameters of the reverberator are derived from physical properties of the enclosure it simulates. It allows for simulation of unequal and frequency-dependent wall absorption, as well as directional sources and microphones. The reverberator renders the first-order reflections exactly, while making progressively coarser approximations of higher-order reflections. The rate of energy decay is close to that obtained with the image method (IM) and consistent with the predictions of Sabine and Eyring equations. The time evolution of the normalized echo density, which was previously shown to be correlated with the perceived texture of reverberation, is also close to that of IM. However, its computational complexity is one to two orders of magnitude lower, comparable to the computational complexity of a feedback delay network (FDN), and its memory requirements are negligible

Spin-filtering by field dependent resonant tunneling

We consider theoretically transport in a spinfull one-channel interacting quantum wire placed in an external magnetic field. For the case of two point-like impurities embedded in the wire, under a small voltage bias the spin-polarized current occurs at special points in the parameter space, tunable by a single parameter. At sufficiently low temperatures complete spin-polarization may be achieved, provided repulsive interaction between electrons is not too strong.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Possible Application of Xenogeneic Osseous Implants in Dental Implantology

U rekonstrukciji koštanih defekata upotrebljavaju se autologni (autogeni), alogeni (homologni), ksenogeni (heterogeni) i aloplastični (sintetski) koštani usadci. Ksenogeni i aloplastični materijali danas su jedni od najčešće rabljenih materijala za rekonstrukciju koštanih defekata u oralnoj kirurgiji. Ksenogeni materijali proizvode se iz neorganskoga dijela životinjskih kostiju, a djeluju tako da potiču proces oseokondukcije. Karakterizira ih nastajanje nove kosti, apozicijom okolne kosti i diferenciranih mezenhimalnih stanica u avitalni koštani usadak. U radu je prikazano nekoliko slučajeva mogućnosti uporabe ksenogenoga materijala: 1. Uporaba ksenogenoga materijala kod gubitka bukalne stijenke gornjeg alveolarnoga grebena 2. Uporaba ksenogenoga materijala kod lateralnoga sinus liftinga 3. Uporaba ksenogenoga materijala nakon ekstrakcije zuba, cistektomije i imedijatne implantacije 4. Uporaba ksenogenoga materijala kod nedostatne visine i širine gornjeg alveolarnoga grebena 5. Uporaba ksenogenoga materijala nakon gubitka kosti zbog komplikacije nastale neadekvatnom implantacijom. Prikazani slučajevi upotrebe ksenogenoga koštanog usatka potvrdili su njegovu veliku uporabnu vrijednost u rekonstrukciji različitih vrsta koštanih defekata.In the reconstruction of bone defects use is made of autologous (autogenous), allogenous (homologous), xenogeneic (heterogeneous) and alloplastic (synthetic) osseous implants. Xenogeneic and alloplastic materials are today some of the most frequently used materials for the reconstruction of bone defects in oral surgery. Xenogeneic materials are produced from inorganic animal bones and have the effect of stimulating the process of osseoconduction. It is characterised by the formation of new bone by apposition of adjacent bones and differential mesenchymal cells in the non-vital bone implant. The paper presents several cases of possible application of xenogeneic material: 1. Application of xenogeneic material in the case of loss of the buccal wall of the upper alveolar ridge. 2. Application of xenogeneic material in lateral sinus lifting. 3. Application of xenogeneic material following tooth extraction, cystectomy and immediate implantation. 4. Application of xenogeneic material in the case of insufficient height and width of the upper alveolar ridge. 5. Application of xenogeneic material following the loss of bone due to complications caused by inadequate implantation. The presented cases of the application of xenogeneic osseous implant confirm the value of its comprehensive use in the reconstruction of various bone defects

A Cosmic Relation between Extinction and Star Formation

We study the relation between the star formation intensity of galaxies and the extinction by dust of their emitted light. We employ a detailed statistical analysis of Hubble Deep Field North data to show a clear positive correlation between the extinction and star formation intensity at all epochs from redshift 0.4 to 6.5. The extinction evidently increases with time for a given star formation intensity, consistent with the expected increase in the metallicity with time. Our observational results are well fitted at all epochs by a double power-law model with a fixed shape that simply shifts with redshift. The correlation between the extinction and the star formation intensity can be interpreted by combining two other trends: the correlation between the star formation rate and the gas content of galaxies, and the evolution of the dust-to-gas ratio in galaxies. If we assume that Kennicutt's observed relation for the former is valid at each redshift, then our findings imply an interesting variation in the dust-to-gas ratio in galaxies within each epoch and with time, and suggest new ways to investigate the cosmic evolution of this quantity.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, MNRAS Letters, revised versio

Novel High-Frequency Electrical Characterization Technique for Magnetic Passive Devices.

Integrated magnetic components are key elements of the power supply on chip modules. Due to the application requirements, these magnetic devices work at very high frequency and have low inductances. Conventional small-signal tests do not provide all the required information about the magnetic device. Hence, it is important to develop new setups to apply large signals to accurately measure the performance of devices under realistic operating conditions, including nonlinear core effects. The proposed experimental setup is suitable to measure the device impedance under different large-signal test conditions, similar to those in the actual converter, since the excitation current can be configured through every winding: ac current up to 0.5 A at frequencies up to 120 MHz and dc bias current up to 2 A through one or both windings. Voltage and current are measured using commercial instrumentation. Due to the characteristics of the probes and the high frequency of the test, the attenuation and delay due to the probes and the experimental setup have to be taken into account when processing the voltage and current waveforms to calculate the impedances. The compensation test to calculate this attenuation and delay is described. Finally, the proposed setup is validated by measuring a two-phase coupled inductor microfabricated on silicon.This work was supported in part by the European Union through FP7 (Project: PowerSwipe) under Grant 318529, in part by the Science Foundation Ireland through the Investigators Programme under Grant 15/IA/3180, and in part by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and FEDER funds under Project DPI2014-53685-C2-1-R and Project DPI2017-88062-R. This paper was recommended for publication by Associate Editor Matthew A. Wilkowski

Molekulsko-orbitalno proučavanje oksidacije fenola u hinole i epoksihinole

The MO study showed that the radical oxidation of phenols into quinols occurs readily. Further radical oxidation (in the m-CPBA/(BzO)(2)/hv system) of quinols occurs through appropriate biradical species with an activation energy of 79.5 kJ/mol yielding syn-epoxyquinols. The stereochemical outcome presented in this study is in full agreement with the experimental results.Molekulsko-orbitalnim proučavanjem potvrđeno je da lako dolazi do radikalske oksidacije fenola u odgovarajuće hinole. Daljom oksidacijom sistemom m-CPBA/(BzO)2/hν hinoli se preko biradikalskih reakcionih vrsta oksiduju u odgovarajuće epoksihinole. Izračunato je da aktivaciona energija ove reakcije iznosi 79.5 kJ/mol. Stereohemijske posledice naših izračunavanja su u potpunom skladu sa eksperimentalnim rezultatima

Long-term Survival After Endovascular and Open Repair of Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Pla general interior de l'estació de Roquetes Andana central de 8m. d'ample, 100m de llargada i a 50m profunditat, amb bancs de pedra de color blanc en el centre

Anti-toxocara antibodies in patients with suspected visceral larva migrans and evaluation of environmental risk of human infection in Belgrade, Serbia

Toxocariasis is a frequent zoonotic parasitosis in Serbia. The aim of the study was to examine anti-Toxocara IgG antibodies in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in patients with suspected visceral larva migrans (VLM) in Belgrade, and to estimate the prevalence of T. canis eggs in dog fecal deposits collected in green public areas. A total of 145 patients were examined by ELISA. In 26.39% (38/144) of serum samples, T canis IgG were detected, and in 6 CSF samples, 2 were positive for antibodies. Seropositivity was detected in 26.1% (34/130) adults and 33.3% (5/15) children. A total number of 155 fresh dog feces were collected in five public parks in Belgrade where T canis eggs were identified with a prevalence of 33.55% (52/155). Based on the high prevalence of parasite eggs, we estimated a high risk of human infection by T canis eggs in public green areas in Belgrade

Three-Axis’ Heat Loss Anemometer Comprising Thick-Film Segmented Thermistors

NTC thick-film segmented thermistors were used as anemometer sensing devices. They were screen printed of thick-film thermistor paste based on modified NiMn2O4 fine powder, organic vehicle, and glass frit. Their electrical properties, such as resistance vs. temperature R(T) and thermistor exponential factor B were obtained using measurements in the climatic test chamber. A uniaxial anemometer was formed using a thick-film segmented thermistor, which was placed in the hole drilled in rectangular piece of thermally insulating material. The uniaxial anemometer was used for the optimization of operating point of segmented thermistors as self-heating/wind sensing devices. The dc supply voltage was correlated with the air temperature sub-ranges (RCV). The power save mode such as 30s self-heating/5 min pause was used to measure the thermistor response on stable wind blow. The three-axis' anemometer was formed using five sensor devices placed in five holes drilled in the cubical piece of thermally insulating material: three thermistor sensors measure wind speed on the x, y, z - axes, the fourth sensor Pt 1000 measures the air temperature T, while the fifth sensor (capacitive type) measures humidity H. The obtained sensitivity and inaccuracy were compared with respective ones of other anemometers