Participation of employees in the making of marketing decisions in enterprises in Serbia

Contemporary approaches to the analysis of business activities of modern organizational systems are focusing on human resources and considering them the most important property. Participation of employees in the decision-making process contributes to the improvement of company's performances, and also to the satisfaction and motivation of employees. Objective of this research paper is to point out to the significance of employees' participation in the making of strategic decisions in an enterprise and to examine the share of employees in the making of marketing decisions in Serbia's economy. Through empirical analysis presented in this work, we analyzed the level of involvement of employees in the process of making marketing decisions through the presentation of their attitudes depending on their personal characteristics, type of organization and their position in the organization. The results obtained say that there is room for increasing the level of employees' involvement in the process of making marketing decisions, as well as the influence of age and hierarchical positions on the possibility of influencing the decision-making process

How to improve entrepreneurship in the Republic of Serbia?

The aim of this paper is to define whether the entrepreneurship policy is efficient enough and whether the Government of the Republic of Serbia has created preconditions for entrepreneurship development. The research is based on quantitative and qualitative analysis. The quantitative analysis covered the indicators, such as: the share of SMEs in the basic indicators of economic activity (gross domestic product, employment and gross value added), the level of profit and profit margins of SMEs, share of SMEs in foreign trade, structure of SMEs by sectors, business demography, etc. The qualitative analysis is based on the analysis of policy implementation, which could be studied through country rating by different methodologies (Doing Business list, Global Competiveness Report, Global Entrepreneurship Index). The research results showed that the biggest problem for entrepreneurs in Serbia is still an inadequate business climate and affordability of financial services. The recommendations are defined as concrete economic measures, which have practical implications

Prefrontal Cortex Cytosolic Proteome and Machine Learning-Based Predictors of Resilience toward Chronic Social Isolation in Rats

Chronic social isolation (CSIS) generates two stress-related phenotypes: resilience and susceptibility. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying CSIS resilience remain unclear. We identified altered proteome components and biochemical pathways and processes in the prefrontal cortex cytosolic fraction in CSIS-resilient rats compared to CSIS-susceptible and control rats using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry followed by label-free quantification and STRING bioinformatics. A sucrose preference test was performed to distinguish rat phenotypes. Potential predictive proteins discriminating between the CSIS-resilient and CSIS-susceptible groups were identified using machine learning (ML) algorithms: support vector machine-based sequential feature selection and random forest-based feature importance scores. Predominantly, decreased levels of some glycolytic enzymes, G protein-coupled receptor proteins, the Ras subfamily of GTPases proteins, and antioxidant proteins were found in the CSIS-resilient vs. CSIS-susceptible groups. Altered levels of Gapdh, microtubular, cytoskeletal, and calcium-binding proteins were identified between the two phenotypes. Increased levels of proteins involved in GABA synthesis, the proteasome system, nitrogen metabolism, and chaperone-mediated protein folding were identified. Predictive proteins make CSIS-resilient vs. CSIS-susceptible groups linearly separable, whereby a 100% validation accuracy was achieved by ML models. The overall ratio of significantly up- and downregulated cytosolic proteins suggests adaptive cellular alterations as part of the stress-coping process specific for the CSIS-resilient phenotype

Testing of Currency Substitution Effect on Exchange Rate Volatilityin Serbia

Despite numerous different definitions existing in the literature, currency substitution is generally understood as a phenomenon when domestic residents prefer to use foreign currency rather thandomestic currency. The main reasons for such phenomenon include high and volatile inflation, strong depreciation of national currency and high interest rate differential in favour of foreign currency. Currency substitution, as a monetary phenomenon, is widely spread in Latin American, Eastern European and some Asian countries. This paper is dedicated to the influence of currency substitution onexchange rate volatility in Serbia. The research included testing of three hypotheses: (i) currency substitution positively affects depreciation rate volatility, (ii) depreciation rate volatility has stronger responses to the past negative than to the past positive depreciation shocks,and (iii) currency substitution positively affects expected depreciation rate. The analysis was implemented for the period 2002:m1-2015:m12 (2004:m1-2015:m12), applying modified EGARCH-M model. Based on the obtained results, all three hypotheses have been supremely rejected regardless of the manner of quantification of currency substitution

Metabolic Fingerprints of Effective Fluoxetine Treatment in the Prefrontal Cortex of Chronically Socially Isolated Rats: Marker Candidates and Predictive Metabolites

The increasing prevalence of depression requires more effective therapy and the understanding of antidepressants’ mode of action. We carried out untargeted metabolomics of the prefrontal cortex of rats exposed to chronic social isolation (CSIS), a rat model of depression, and/or fluoxetine treatment using liquid chromatography–high resolution mass spectrometry. The behavioral phenotype was assessed by the forced swim test. To analyze the metabolomics data, we employed univariate and multivariate analysis and biomarker capacity assessment using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. We also identified the most predictive biomarkers using a support vector machine with linear kernel (SVM-LK). Upregulated myo-inositol following CSIS may represent a potential marker of depressive phenotype. Effective fluoxetine treatment reversed depressive-like behavior and increased sedoheptulose 7-phosphate, hypotaurine, and acetyl-L-carnitine contents, which were identified as marker candidates for fluoxetine efficacy. ROC analysis revealed 4 significant marker candidates for CSIS group discrimination, and 10 for fluoxetine efficacy. SVM-LK with accuracies of 61.50% or 93.30% identified a panel of 7 or 25 predictive metabolites for depressive-like behavior or fluoxetine effectiveness, respectively. Overall, metabolic fingerprints combined with the ROC curve and SVM-LK may represent a new approach to identifying marker candidates or predictive metabolites for ongoing disease or disease risk and treatment outcome

Magnetno-strukturne korelacije kod bakar(II) kompleksa sa hloridnim ligandima u mostu

A considerable amount of work has been carried out aiming at correlating structures of a large variety of chlorido-bridged copper(II) complexes and their magnetic properties. Magnetic properties of such systems depend on the nature of terminal ligands, the coordination geometry around the copper atoms, and structural distortions from an ideal geometry. Copper(II) complexes with the condensation derivative of methyl hydrazinoacetate and 2-acetylpyridine were synthesized and characterized by a single crystal X-ray diffraction. Magnetic properties of both complexes are discussed based on X-ray structures and SQUID measurements. Magnetostructural comparisons to structurally similar copper(II) complexes are provided, and a possible correlation has been established.Obimna istraživanja su izvršena u cilju korelacije strukture i magnetnih svojstava velikog broja različitih bakar(II) kompleksa sa hloridnim ligandima u mostu. Magnetna svojstva ovakvih sistema zavise od prirode terminalnih liganada, koordinacione geometrije oko atoma bakra i strukturnih distorzija od idealne geometrije. Sintetisana su dva bakar(II) kompleksa sa kondenzacionim derivatom metilhidrazinoacetata i 2-acetilpiridina koja su okarakterisana metodom difrakcije X-zraka sa monokristala. Diskutovana su magnetna svojstva kompleksa na osnovu rezultata rendgenske strukturne analize i magnetnih merenja merenja SQUID tehnikom. Izvršena su magnetno-strukturna poređenja sa strukturno sličnim bakar(II) kompleksima i uspostavljena je moguća korelacija između strukture i magnetnih svojstava kompleksa

Dr. Dimitrije Radulović, pioneer in the field of sports medicine: Life, work and achievements

U istoriografiji srpske medicine malobrojni su podaci o životu i radu dr Dimitrija Radulovića. Dr Radulović pripadao je prvoj generaciji Srba lekara devetnaestog veka. Rođen je 1814. godine u Beloj Crkvi, a studije medicine završio je u Pešti, u kojoj je stekao zvanje doktora medicine. Posle Pešte odlazi u Beč, gde se specijalizuje u oblasti porodiljstva. Među Srbima je bio autor prvog rada iz oblasti koju danas nazivamo sportskom medicinom. Tim radom, kao i svojim kasnijim delovanjem, postavio je temelje sportske medicine među Srbima. Prvi je pisao o važnosti telesnog vežbanja i uticaju različitih sportova na fizički razvoj dece, omladine i odraslih; na taj način dao je doprinos definisanju optimalnih fizičkih opterećenja i higijensko-dijetetskih režima. Cilj mu je bio da se očuva i unapredi zdravlje, odnosno da se poboljšaju prevencija i kurativa različitih oboljenja i povreda, ali i rehabilitacija pacijenata.In the historiography of Serbian medicine, there is little data on the life and work of Dr. Dimitrije Radulović. He belonged to the first generation of Serbian doctors of the 19th century. He was born in 1814, in Bela Crkva, completed his studies of medicine in Pest, where he received his title Doctor of Medicine. After Pest, he went to Vienna, where he specialized in obstetrics. Among Serbs, he was the author of the first work in the field which we today call sports medicine. With this work, as well as with his later work, he established important foundations of sports medicine among the Serbian people. He was the first to write about the importance of physical exercise and the impact of different sports on the physical development of children, adolescents, and adults, thus contributing to the definition of optimal physical activity and hygienic-dietary regimes. His goal was to preserve and improve health, i.e. to improve the prevention and curative of various diseases and injuries, as well as the rehabilitation of patients

Dr Dimitrije Radulović, pionir u oblasti sportske medicine - život i delo

In the historiography of Serbian medicine, there is little data on the life and work of Dr. Dimitrije Radulović. He belonged to the first generation of Serbian doctors of the 19th century. He was born in 1814, in Bela Crkva, completed his studies of medicine in Pest, where he received his title Doctor of Medicine. After Pest, he went to Vienna, where he specialized in obstetrics. Among Serbs, he was the author of the first work in the field which we today call sports medicine. With this work, as well as with his later work, he established important foundations of sports medicine among the Serbian people. He was the first to write about the importance of physical exercise and the impact of different sports on the physical development of children, adolescents, and adults, thus contributing to the definition of optimal physical activity and hygienic-dietary regimes. His goal was to preserve and improve health, i.e. to improve the prevention and curative of various diseases and injuries, as well as the rehabilitation of patients.U istoriografiji srpske medicine malobrojni su podaci o životu i radu dr Dimitrija Radulovića. Dr Radulović pripadao je prvoj generaciji Srba lekara devetnaestog veka. Rođen je 1814. godine u Beloj Crkvi, a studije medicine završio je u Pešti, u kojoj je stekao zvanje doktora medicine. Posle Pešte odlazi u Beč, gde se specijalizuje u oblasti porodiljstva. Među Srbima je bio autor prvog rada iz oblasti koju danas nazivamo sportskom medicinom. Tim radom, kao i svojim kasnijim delovanjem, postavio je temelje sportske medicine među Srbima. Prvi je pisao o važnosti telesnog vežbanja i uticaju različitih sportova na fizički razvoj dece, omladine i odraslih; na taj način dao je doprinos definisanju optimalnih fizičkih opterećenja i higijensko-dijetetskih režima. Cilj mu je bio da se očuva i unapredi zdravlje, odnosno da se poboljšaju prevencija i kurativa različitih oboljenja i povreda, ali i rehabilitacija pacijenata