Assessing international competitiveness and its role towards the economic prosperity within EU integration framework

Enhancing competitiveness in the era of globalization has become an essential topic of academic and policy debates for all contemporary economies. The role of a country’s competitiveness has been addressed by many scholars aiming to assess the extent to which this concept is associated with economic prosperity matters, such as social welfare and attracting foreign direct investments. Along with this debate, there has been a growing interest in understanding the linkages between the competitive forces and the gap in economic progress across the EU members, this being one of the main concerns within the EU. Filling this gap and achieving greater convergence among the EU countries has been one of the critical goals in shaping the European structural policy reforms. However, following the empirical findings, there has been little consensus on what are the main sources of a country’s economic progress as addressed through the prism of national competitiveness, particularly if being studied in the context of EU integration. In this context, the study aims to assess the economic performance of the countries that joined the EU first and those that joined last, concerning its linkages with a country’s international competitiveness. The focus is placed on innovation and business sophistication factors’ relative significance and contribution to the economic growth for the observed period (2008-2017). The analysis is based on the World Economic Forum methodology for measuring the Global Competitiveness Index and World Bank database. The research is conducted through comparative analysis, as well as regression analysis aiming to evaluate the relationship between competitiveness and economic development indicators. The findings of the study emphasize a better understanding of the importance of the EU accession date for the country’s overall competitiveness and economic performance, as well as the contribution of R&D innovation and business sophistication, as more advanced competitiveness factors, to economic prosperity and development

Structural Changes in Agriculture: Implications for the Economy of the Republic of Serbia

Agriculture of the Republic of Serbia plays an important role in the national economy, making it significantly different from agriculture of developed countries. Its contribution to the national economy is reflected in a still significant share in the gross domestic product, total employment, and trade balance. Despite the insufficient utilization level of available natural resources, agriculture in Serbia is a backbone of the economic development of rural areas. The research goal of the paper is to examine structural changes in Serbian agriculture in the following aspects: changes in the employment structure, plant and animal production, as well as a change in the share of agriculture in the gross domestic product and trade balance of Serbia. The analysis has been carried out in the period from 2002 to 2017 based on the data of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Research results show that the Serbian agriculture has suffered significant changes in the analysed areas, resulting in its decreasing share in the overall employment and gross domestic product, but also in the slight increase of its share in the value of exports and imports

Prevalence and characteristics of endometrial polyps in patients with abnormal uterine bleeding

Background/Aim. The prevalence of endometrial polyps (EPs) in the general female population is about 24%. Abnormal uterine bleeding is frequently the presenting symptom of EPs. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of EPs in patients with abnormal uterine bleeding. Methods. The prevalence and characteristics of EPs were investigated in 961 patients with abnormal uterine bleeding who underwent dilatation and curettage between January and December 2006. Regarding histopathological features of EPs (presence of atypical hyperplasia or endometrial carcinoma), patients were divided into two groups: group A - patients who had EPs and EPs with hyperplasia without atypia (n = 204) and group B - patients who had EPs with atypical hyperplasia and EPs with carcinoma (n = 7). Results. In 211 (21.94%) patients EPs were found with abnormal uterine bleeding. Histopathologically, there were 175 (82.94%) EPs, 29 (13.74%) EPs with hyperplasia without atypia, 5 (2.37%) EPs with atypical hyperplasia, and 2 (0.95%) EPs with endometrial carcinoma. Contrary to the patients with EPs and EPs with hyperplasia without atypia (group A), patients who had EPs with atypical hyperplasia and EPs with carcinoma (group B) were older (p < 0.05), and more commonly postmenopausal (p < 0.05) and with hypertension (p < 0.05), all of statistical significance. Conclusion. The prevalence of endometrial polyps in patients with abnormal uterine bleeding according to our data was 21.95%. Atypical hyperplasia and endometrial carcinoma were rarely confined to a polyp. Older age, postmenopausal period and hypertension may increase the risk of premalignant and malignant changes in endometrial polyps

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT OF THE BALKAN COUNTRIES IN THE INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES SECTOR

The rapid technological development of the last decades has affected practically all areas of the economy, society, and culture. Almost every aspect of life and work in the modern world to a greater or lesser extent depend on the use of information and communication technologies (ICT). The aim of this paper is to analize the ICT performance of ten Balkan countries and to highlight areas that need further improvement. The analysis is based on the data published by the International Telecommunication Union in annual Measuring the Information Society Report. The research is conducted through comparative analysis and benchmarking method. The ten best-positioned European countries in terms of ICT development represent the benchmark group. The analysis finds low level of national ICT performance of the Balkan countries compared to the selected European countries. The conclusions of this research may serve as guidelines for ICT policy makers in the observed economies

Strukturne promene u poljoprivredi Republike Srbije u funkciji unapređenja konkurentnosti

Agriculture has lately been exposed to significant changes caused by numerous factors. Years-long exploitation of agricultural potential for the purposes of contributing to economic growth has resulted in changes within the cross-sectoral level of the economy. Furthermore, the changes have also taken place within the structure of agricultural production itself. Nowadays, agriculture represents a sector of a significant importance in the economy of Serbia and it is crucial for improving the standard of living, alleviating poverty, providing markets for the industry and service sector expansion, as well as through the contribution to economic development. In order to meet the challenges that agriculture faces, improvement of its competitiveness appears as one of the priorities of the economic and agricultural policy. Therefore, a special attention should be paid to identifying and analysing key indicators of agricultural competitiveness that simultaneously represent the most important structural changes in Serbian agriculture. The aim of the scientific research is to comprehensively examine the structural changes in Serbian agriculture and the factors that determine the level of its competitiveness in order to point out the perspectives of its development in terms of improving competitiveness. Also, it is particularly important to examine and compare the level of agricultural competitiveness of Serbia and the EU countries by designing a composite Agricultural Competitiveness Index (ACI) as well as to study the influence that agricultural competitiveness indicators have on the national competitiveness in the EU and Serbia. The analysis of the structural changes in Serbian agriculture has shown that these changes are less intense in agriculture than in other sectors of the economy, as well as that these structural changes have contributed to the reduction of the relative importance of agriculture in the Serbian economy. The most significant structural changes in Serbian agriculture are also identified as key indicators of its competitiveness. Designed composite ACI has shown that investments in agriculture have a decisive impact on the overall competitiveness in agriculture. Also, the composite ACI has shown that Serbia lags far behind the EU countries regarding agricultural competitiveness. The analysis of the obtained research results has determined certain areas which are of special importance for the agricultural competitiveness in Serbia. Based on that, a set of recommendations for improving the agricultural competitiveness in Serbia has been drafted

Fotosenzibilizovana oksidacija lipida u rastvoru indukovana kontinualnim UV-stresom u prisustvu kvercetina

The aim of the present PhD thesis was to study UV(-A and -B) induced lipid peroxidation sensitized by synthetic (benzophenone) and endogenous photosensitizers (bilirubin, riboflavin) in the presence of quercetin as antioxidant. Phospholipid mixure was used as a ”protective target” and the whole process was followed in the simplest possible system – methanolic solution. Photodegradation of sensitizers and quercetin with the consequent occurrence of their degradation products both individually and in the mutual mixture, as well as in the mixture with phospholipids (where beside the mentioned processes peroxides production occurs), was followed by RP-HPLC chromatography. Unambiguous identification of degradation products was enabled by UHPLC-ESI-MS technique while free radical species were identified by EPR spectroscopy. Benzophenone was photostabile, photodegradation of bilirubin gave biliverdin and dipiroles while main degradation products of riboflavin were lumichrome and lumiflavin. Insight into the mechanism and control of lipid peroxidation provided ”conjugated diene” assay, by following the signal at 234 nm (the absorption maximum of conjugated diene structures). As typical Type I sensitizer, benzophenone generated superoxide radical anion, while riboflavin generated both superoxide and singlet oxygen by mixed Type I and II mechanisms. Irradiation of bilirubin-riboflavin mixture showed, in the indirect way, that bilirubin is typical Type II sensitizer. Photosensitizing capability of the studied sensitizers decreases in the order: riboflavin > benzophenone > bilirubin. Quercetin exhibited efficient antioxidant activity, mediated by its own degradation, in terms of its preventive (absorbing UV radition), chain-breaking activities (scavenging of generated superoxide radical anion, singlet oxygen and lipid peroxides) and besides all this effectively quenched triplet exited states of sensitizers (first of all benzophenone and riboflavin)

Indukcija i reindukcija eksperimentalnog alergijskog encefalomijelitisa u DA pacova - uticaj starosti i encefalitogena

Susceptibility to experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) was investigated in DA rats of both sexes, aged 5, 8 or 27 weeks. Guinea pig or Lewis rat spinal cords (GPSC or RSC) emulsified in complete Freund's adjuvant were used for both induction and reinduction of EAE. The results showed that: a) sex has no influence on clinical signs of EAE in young DA rats aged 5 or 8 weeks; b) susceptibility to EAE induction increases with age; c) RSC is a more potent encephalitogen than GPSC; d) GPSC is a more effective antigen for anti-MBP antibody production than RSC; e) anti-MBP antibody levels are not correlated with clinical score of EAE; f) EAE can be reinduced in 27-week- old rats if RSC is used for induction and/or reinduction; and g) anti-MBP antibodies are not related to resistance to EAE reinduction in DA rats.U radu su prikazani rezultati ispitivanja osetljivosti na indukciju i reindukciju eksperimentalnog alergijskog encefalomojelitisa (EAE) u DA pacova, oba pola, starosti 5,8 i 27 nedelja. Za imunizaciju su korišćeni homogenati kičmene moždine zamorca (KMZ) ili kičmene moždine Lewis pacova (KMP) u kompletnom Freund-ovom adjuvansu. Rezultati su pokazali da: a) pol ne utiče na razvoj EAE-a u 5 i 8 nedelja starih DA pacova; b) osetljivost na EAE raste sa starošću; c) KMP je jači encefalitogen od KMZ; d) produkcija anti-mijelin bazni protein (MBP) antitela je veća nakon imunizacije sa KMZ nego sa KMP; e) nivo anti-MBP antitela nije u korelaciji sa kliničkim znakom EAE-a; f) reindukcija EAE-a je moguća u pacova starih 27 nedelja ako se za indukciju i/ili reindukciju koristi KMP; i g) anti-MBP antitela nisu odgovorna za rezistenciju na reindukciju EAE-a u DA pacova

BENCHMARKING ANALYSIS OF THE BALKAN COUNTRIES ACCORDING TO THE CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX

The aim of this paper is to analyze the position of the Balkan countries, according to the Corruption Perception Index (CPI). Due to the efforts of the Balkans countries to improve their level of economic development and for some of them that are not already, to become members of the European Union (EU), the average of relevant indicator for the EU is used as a benchmark in the analysis. The purpose of the paper is to identify deviations of the Balkans in the level of corruption in relation to the EU and to each other. Also, the aim is to formulate recommendations for the possible reduction of corruption and improvement of the position of these countries with regards to the CPI

A contrastive view of adjectives in Croatian, Polish and English: subjectification as a local phenomenon

A contrastive view of adjectives in Croatian, Polish and English: subjectification as a local phenomenonA study of English adjectives (Athanasiadou 2006) suggested that subjectification (defined as the degree to which the conceptualizer plays a role in construing the objective scene; Langacker 2000) may be helpful in examining the various uses of adjectives in English. In this paper we attempt to do the same, comparing and contrasting three languages: English (as the point of reference), and Croatian and Polish. Croatian and Polish were selected because they allow relatively free combinations, with the caveat that Polish uses postposition for classifying senses. We examine whether subjectification may be taken as the organizing principle behind the prenominal, postnominal and predicative positions found in the three languages, i.e. whether the role of subjectification is global – working across constructions, or local – working within a construction. Examples from three languages showed that although subjectification does play a role in the various positions, it may not be taken as the organizing principle behind the differences. We argue that this is due to the fact that subjectification is a local phenomenon which works within a single construction, which is delimited formally and functionally. This is corroborated by other subjectified constructions. We believe that this is due to the gradual nature of subjectification, which requires recoverable links to previous stages

Quality testing of industrially produced essential oil of white pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) from the Republic of Srpska

The quality of the essential oil obtained from white pine wood greenery from the territory of the Republic of Srpska was analyzed by examining the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of samples produced by the hydro-distillation process in industrial production conditions. The chemical composition of the essential oil was analyzed by GC/MS and GC/FID analysis. The antimicrobial activity of the obtained white pine oil was investigated for its possible use as an antimicrobial agent. The obtained results prove the presence of 37 components in the analyzed sample, which represents 98.5% of the total components present. The most common are monoterpene hydrocarbons, followed by sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, much less represented are monoterpenes containing oxygen and aromatic compounds, while aliphatic esters are found only in traces. Antimicrobial activity was examined using the disk diffusion method. The results showed large zones of inhibition, both for the tested oil sample and for all eight analyzed bacterial strains (from 12.00 ± 0.00 to 17.33 ± 1.15mm), as well as for the fungal strain. The chemical composition and antimicrobial action of essential white pine oiled from plant material originating from the territory of the Republic of Srpska indicates its significant phytomedical potential