How (Fictional) Politicians Persuade and Manipulate Their Viewers? The Case of House of Cards

In times of increasing individualism when many traditional socialization institutions lose their primary role and influence, television series characters have become new role models that people can identify with. Modern television production is inclined to portray protagonists as antiheroes because viewers are more engaged and intrigued by them compared to the traditional protagonists. Series often break the so-called “fourth wall” in a way of transcending boundaries between virtual and real life, talking directly to the viewers, thus creating parasocial interaction. According to the transportation theory of persuasion, the greater the emotional bond with the characters, the higher the possibility for the viewers to “transport” within the narrative. This phenomenon can be particularly noticed in the political drama House of Cards, where the Machiavellian politician Frank Underwood persuades both characters in the story and the viewers in order to achieve some of his personal goals. The aim of this paper is to highlight the methods of persuasion and manipulation used by the protagonist in order to recognize how he wants to persuade us and recognize what his underlying goals are

Large residental neighborhood construction-technoeconomical analysis

The thesis is dealing with construction of neighborhood Celovški dvori Ljubljana. The emphasis is placed to quality assurance, construction organization and analysis of profitability of setting up co-production plants (aggregate separation and concrete plant). Complete project, layout and organization of the building site and co-production plants are presented. Analysis of profitability is based on comparison of prices for concrete supply from the stationary concrete plant construction company GP Bežigrad and delivery from mobile concrete plant Celovški dvori. Aggregate for concrete production in the mobile concrete plant has been delivered from the temporary on-site installation for aggregate crushing, washing and screening. In terms of quality assurance, the emphasis is on quality control of concrete in concrete plant (in accordance with the standards SIST EN 206-1:2006 and SIST 1026:2004), quality control of concrete during placement and after, and the verification of the production capacity of concrete plants. The thesis also presents the quality control of aggregate to be used in concrete production. Analysis of the profitability of installing aggregate separation and concrete plant shows that considering the structure of the soil, duration of construction and quantities of concrete placed into the building, plant installation is cost and time profitable

Therapy of Umbilical Hernia during Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

The aim of this study is to show our experience with umbilical hernia herniorrhaphy and laparoscopic cholecys- tectomy, both in the same act. During last 10 years we operated 89 patients with cholecystitis and pre-existing umbilical hernia. In 61 of them we performed standard laparoscopic cholecystectomy and additional sutures of abdominal wall, and in 28 patients we performed in the same act laparoscopic cholecystectomy and herniorrhaphy of umbilical hernia. We observed incidence of postoperative herniation, and compared patients recovery after herniorrhaphy combined with laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the same act, and patients after standard laparoscopic cholecystectomy and additional sutures of abdominal wall. Patients, who had in the same time umbilical hernia herniorrhaphy and laparoscopic chole- cystectomy, shown better postoperative recovery and lower incidence of postoperative umbilical hernias then patients with standard laparoscopic cholecystectomy and additional abdominal wall sutures

Validacija hrvatske verzije upitnika o strahu od operacije u odraslih bolesnika planiranih za elektivni zahvat

The Surgical Fear Questionnaire (SFQ) is an instrument for self-assessment of surgical fear and consists of two subscales, one assessing the fear of short-term consequences (SFQ-s) and another one of long-term consequences (SFQ-l) of surgery. The aim of this study was to test the Croatian version of the SFQ with regard to its psychometric properties. This prospective cohort study included patients who presented to the Department of Surgery for elective surgery in the inpatient setting at a tertiary health care facility in Croatia between April 1 and May 31, 2019. Data on 144 patients were suitable for data analysis. Data collection was performed in the afternoon before surgery using the Personal Information Form, Numerical Rating Scale self-report instruments (NRS), SFQ and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) assessing sociodemographic factors, surgical fear via NRS and SFQ, expected pain and emotional state. The Cronbach alpha value as a statistical measure for reliability of psychometric tests for the SFQ-s subscale was 0.79, for SFQ-L subscale 0.84, and for total SFQ 0.81. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) showed a two-factor structure. Significant correlations of the SFQ with the NRS and HADS-anxiety subscale were demonstrated. Our study demonstrated the Croatian version of the SFQ to have a high level of reliability and hence can be used as a self-report instrument for surgical fear with two subscales. Convergent validity of the SFQ with other self-report instruments is shown.Surgical Fear Questionnaire (SFQ) je instrument za procjenu straha od operacije, a sastoji se od dvije podljestvice: jedna ispituje strah od kratkoročnih posljedica (SFQ-s), a druga strah od dugoročnih posljedica (SFQ-l) operativnog zahvata. Cilj ove studije bio je testirati psihometrijska svojstva hrvatske inačice SFQ. Ova prospektivna kohortna studija uključivala je bolesnike hospitalizirane na Klinici za kirurgiju zbog planiranog elektivnog operativnog zahvata u sklopu jedne zdravstvene ustanove treće razine u Hrvatskoj od 1. travnja do 31. svibnja 2019. godine; podatci 144 ispitanika pokazali su se pogodnima za analizu. Prikupljanje podataka odvijalo se tijekom poslijepodneva na dan prije operacije uz primjenu Obrasca za osobne podatke, Brojčane ljestvice (NRS), SFQ te Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS) kojima su se dobile informacije o sociodemografskim čimbenicima, strahu od operacije preko NRS i SFQ, očekivanoj boli te o emotivnom stanju. Mjerena je vrijednost Cronbach alfa kao statistička mjera za pouzdanost psihometrijskih testova; ona je za SFQ-s iznosila 0,79, za SFQ-l 0,84, a za ukupni SFQ 0,81. Eksploratorna faktorska analiza (EFA) pokazala je dvofaktornu strukturu upitnika. Dokazane su značajne korelacije SFQ-a s ljestvicama NRS i HADS-anksioznost. Naša studija pokazala je kako hrvatska inačica SFQ ima visoku razinu pouzdanosti te se stoga može rabiti kao instrument za procjenu straha od operacije s dvije podljestvice. Dokazana je konvergentna valjanost SFQ s drugim instrumentima

Effects of diclofenac, L-NAME, L-Arginine, and pentadecapeptide BPC 157 on gastrointestinal, liver, and brain lesions, failed anastomosis, and intestinal adaptation deterioration in 24 hour-short-bowel rats

Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 was previously used to ameliorate wound healing following major surgery and counteract diclofenac toxicity. To resolve the increasing early risks following major massive small bowel resectioning surgery, diclofenac combined with nitric oxide (NO) system blockade was used, suggesting therapy with BPC 157 and the nitric oxide synthase (NOS substrate) L-arginine, is efficacious. Immediately after anastomosis creation, short-bowel rats were untreated or administered intraperitoneal diclofenac (12 mg/kg), BPC 157 (10 μg/kg or 10 ng/kg), L-NG-nitroarginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 5 mg/kg), L-arginine (100 mg/kg) alone or combined, and assessed 24 h later. Short-bowel rats exhibited poor anastomosis healing, failed intestine adaptation, and gastrointestinal, liver, and brain lesions, which worsened with diclofenac. This was gradually ameliorated by immediate therapy with BPC 157 and L-arginine. Contrastingly, NOS-blocker L-NAME induced further aggravation and lesions gradually worsened. Specifically, rats with surgery alone exhibited mild stomach/duodenum lesions, considerable liver lesions, and severe cerebral/hippocampal lesions while those also administered diclofenac showed widespread severe lesions in the gastrointestinal tract, liver, cerebellar nuclear/Purkinje cells, and cerebrum/hippocampus. Rats subjected to surgery, diclofenac, and L-NAME exhibited the mentioned lesions, worsening anastomosis, and macro/microscopical necrosis. Thus, rats subjected to surgery alone showed evidence of deterioration. Furtheremore, rats subjected to surgery and administered diclofenac showed worse symptoms, than the rats subjected to surgery alone did. Rats subjected to surgery combined with diclofenac and L-NAME showed the worst deterioration. Rats subjected to surgery exhibited habitual adaptation of the remaining small intestine, which was markedly reversed in rats subjected to surgery and diclofenac, and those with surgery, diclofenac, and L-NAME. BPC 157 completely ameliorated symptoms in massive intestinal resection-, massive intestinal resection plus diclofenac-, and massive intestinal resection plus diclofenac plus L-NAME-treated short bowel rats that presented with cyclooxygenase (COX)-NO-system inhibition. L-arginine ameliorated only L-NAME-induced aggravation of symptoms in rats subjected to massive intestinal resection and administered diclofenac plus L-NAME

Celecoxib-induced gastrointestinal, liver and brain lesions in rats, counteraction by BPC 157 or L-arginine, aggravation by L-NAME

AIM: To counteract/reveal celecoxib-induced toxicity and NO system involvement. ----- METHODS: Celecoxib (1 g/kg b.w. ip) was combined with therapy with stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 (known to inhibit these lesions, 10 μg/kg, 10 ng/kg, or 1 ng/kg ip) and L-arginine (100 mg/kg ip), as well as NOS blockade [N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME)] (5 mg/kg ip) given alone and/or combined immediately after celecoxib. Gastrointestinal, liver, and brain lesions and liver enzyme serum values in rats were assessed at 24 h and 48 h thereafter. ----- RESULTS: This high-dose celecoxib administration, as a result of NO system dysfunction, led to gastric, liver, and brain lesions and increased liver enzyme serum values. The L-NAME-induced aggravation of the lesions was notable for gastric lesions, while in liver and brain lesions the beneficial effect of L-arginine was blunted. L-arginine counteracted gastric, liver and brain lesions. These findings support the NO system mechanism(s), both NO system agonization (L-arginine) and NO system antagonization (L-NAME), that on the whole are behind all of these COX phenomena. An even more complete antagonization was identified with BPC 157 (at both 24 h and 48 h). A beneficial effect was evident on all the increasingly negative effects of celecoxib and L-NAME application and in all the BPC 157 groups (L-arginine + BPC 157; L-NAME + BPC 157; L-NAME + L-arginine + BPC 157). Thus, these findings demonstrated that BPC 157 may equally counteract both COX-2 inhibition (counteracting the noxious effects of celecoxib on all lesions) and additional NOS blockade (equally counteracting the noxious effects of celecoxib + L-NAME). ----- CONCLUSION: BPC 157 and L-arginine alleviate gastrointestinal, liver and brain lesions, redressing NSAIDs' post-surgery application and NO system involvement

Single Incision Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy – A New Advantage of Gallbladder Surgery

In this study is demonstrated our experience in single incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (SILS), compared to standard laparoscopic cholecystectomy. There were 48 single incision laparoscopic cholecystectomies (SILS) performed during one-year period (A group) and results have been compared with a group of 50 patients who underwent standard laparoscopic cholecystectomy (B group). Outcome measures included operative time, need for conversion, complications, additional analgesia for pain control after procedure, hospital stay and cosmetic outcome. The mean operative time was 46+/–3.5 min in A group, and 43+/–4 min in B patients group. Early postoperative complications were not detected. The mean hospitalization period was 2 days in both groups. Our experience suggests that SILS cholecystectomy can be performed with outcome similar to standard laparoscopic surgery while affording better cosmesis

Laparoscopic resection of complicated Meckel`s diverticulum: report of two cases

Background: Meckel`s diverticulum is a true congenital diverticulum of a small intestine. It is remnant of the omphaloenteric duct and positioned at about 50-100 cm proximal to ileocecal valve on an antimesenteric border of ileum. Meckel`s diverticulum can be found in approximately 2% of population and it is asymptomatic in most people. Most common complication is intestinal obstruction (intussusception) (36.5%), inflammation of diverticulum with or without perforation (12.7% and 7.3%) and hemorrhage from ulceration due to an ectopic gastric mucosa (11.8%). Case study: We report two cases of complicated Meckel`s diverticulum (inflammation and hemorrhages) which were treated laparoscopically. Conclusion: We find that laparoscopic resection of Meckel`s diverticulum with endostapler is as safe method as open resection with all already known benefits of laparoscopic surgery

Functional differentiation of holm oak provenances in the east Adriatic coast

Hrast crnika (Quercus ilex L.) je sredozemna vazdazelena vrsta drveća, koja na svom području pridolaska pokazuje veliku morfološku i funkcionalnu varijabilnost. Cilj ovoga rada bio je utvrditi postoji li diferencijacija hrasta crnike na klimatskom gradijentu istočne obale Jadranskoga mora (opisanom s prosječnom godišnjom količinom oborina, prosječnom količinom oborina tijekom ljetnog perioda i klimatskim deficitom vlage) s obzirom na funkcionalne značajke lišća (opisane sa specifičnom lisnom površinom, indeksom relativnog sadržaja ukupnih klorofila u lišću i stopom neto fotosinteze mjerene u lišću). Specifična lisna površina mjerena je na lišću uzorkovanom u tri provenijencije na prirodnom staništu te lišću uzorkovanom u pokusnom nasadu na mladim biljkama porijeklom iz tih istih provenijencija. U pokusnom nasadu mjeren je i indeks relativnog sadržaja ukupnih klorofila i stopa neto fotosinteze. Provenijencija Pula u odnosu na provenijencije Zadar i Bar ima veću specifičnu lisnu površinu te manji indeks relativnog sadržaja ukupnih klorofila i stopu neto fotosinteze. To potvrđuje prilagodbu provenijencije Pula na vlažnije stanište, a provenijencija Zadar i Bar na suše stanište te ujedno ukazuje na funkcionalnu diferencijaciju provenijencija hrasta crnike na istočnoj obali Jadranskoga mora s obzirom na klimatske prilike. Isti obrazac diferencijacije prema specifičnoj lisnoj površini u prirodnim sastojinama i pokusnom nasadu ukazuje na ekotipsku diferencijaciju istraživanih provenijencija. Prema tomu, hrast crnika mogao bi imati značajnu mogućnost funkcionalne prilagodbe na promijenjene klimatske uvjete.Holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) is an evergreen tree species with natural distribution within the Mediterranean, from Portugal and Morocco on the west to the western coast of Turkey on the east part of its range. On the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, it occupies warmer localities on the coast of Istria and northern Adriatic islands while on the southern Adriatic islands as well as on the narrower coastal area south of Zadar it has a more continuous distribution. Given the size of the area of distribution, holm oak shows a big morphological and functional variability so certain populations differ according to the climate conditions in their area. This fact has been very well researched in the western and central part of its range, while the data for the eastern part, and thus for the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, are scarce. The great morphological and functional variability of holm oak reflects its great phenotypic plasticity. Although phenotypic plasticity is conditioned by the environment, it can also have a genetic basis through local adaptation to the established environmental conditions in different parts of the species’ area of distribution. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a differentiation of holm oak down the climatic gradient of the eastern Adriatic coast with respect to the functional characteristics of its leaves.The research was conducted on three provenances of holm oak from the area of ​​Pula and Zadar in the Republic of Croatia and Bar in Montenegro. During the winter of 2019, 12 leaves were sampled per 12 trees in each provenance in order to determine the specific leaf area (SLA). Additionally, acorns were collected beneath those trees with which an greenhouse experiment was established. In the experiment, a total of 64 plants were grown, of which 22 plants from the provenances of Pula and Zadar, and 20 plants from the provenance of Bar. In the second part of the vegetation period in 2020, one leaf was sampled from each plant with the aim of determining the specific leaf area (SLA). In addition, the rate of net photosynthesis (A) and the relative total chlorophyll content index (CCI) were measured in the greenhouse experiment. Measurements were performed in July and September of 2020. A was measured using a portable gas exchange measuring device LCpro + (ADC BioScentific, 2007), while the CCI was measured using the CCM-200 (Opti-Sciences, Tyngsboro, MA).Analysis of the variance revealed a statistically significant difference among the studied provenances for most of the measured characteristics both on the leaves sampled in the natural habitat and on the young plants in the experimental plantation. Previous research on holm oak indicates that there is a functional differentiation of provenances on different climatic gradients in the central and western Mediterranean, with our results confirming this on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. Young plants in the experimental plantation retain the same pattern of differentiation with respect to SLA as their mother trees in natural stands (Figure 1c). Such a result indicates that the differentiation of holm oak provenances is at least partly the result of genetic adaptation to local habitat conditions, i.e. that the holm oak on the eastern Adriatic coast as well as in other parts of its range could distinguish ecotypes. The sclerophilicity of the leaves described by SLA (Figure 1c) does not coincide with the average annual rainfall (Figure 1a), but with the amount of precipitation in the summer (Figure 1b) and the climate deficit of moisture (Figure 2a). The established pattern of provenance differentiation with respect to SLA and climatic conditions is followed by A measured on young plants in the experimental plantation. Therefore, Pula, which has the highest SLA and comes in the least arid climatic conditions, has the lowest A, while Zadar, which has the lowest SLA and comes in the most arid conditions, shows the highest values of A (Figures 1 and 2). This is in line with the literature that shows that the intensity of photosynthesis per unit leaf area in holm oak decreases with increasing SLA (Niinemets 2015, Peguero-Pina et al. 2017). Namely, the anatomical structure of holm oak leaves is adapted in such a way that those leaves that have a lower SLA also have better conductivity of CO2 through the mesophilic leaves and contain more nitrogen per unit area. Accordingly, the provenances of Zadar and Bar compared to the provenance of Pula had a lower SLA (Figure 1c) and a higher CCI (Figure 2b) which has a positive correlation with the nitrogen content in the leaves.Holm oak could have a significant ability to functionally adapt to different climatic conditions. Accordingly, when considering the impact of climate change on natural populations of holm oak, its phenotypic plasticity should be considered, as well as the observed functional ecotypic differentiation

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