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The development of the State Border Geoinformation System of the Republic of Croatia (SBGiS), based on open-source technologies, has facilitated and accelerated the storage, processing, handling, analysis and visualization of large amounts of spatial data used in open border issues, as well as standard affairs on maintaining the regulated state border of the Republic of Croatia. Centralized data storage and their spatial visualization through an interactive map allows citizens to see the situation at the state border in real time, which significantly increases the safety of movement in the border zone, but also aids in the prevention of state border breaches. The SBGiS is the only system that has been established not only for maintaining a regulated state border but also for resolving border disputes and delimitation procedures. At the end of the paper, a proposal for future system upgrades is given.

Introduction: First impression on potential readers is created by the title; therefore, authors should give importance to the title structure. The aim of this study was to establish whether articles created by a smaller number of authors and with shorter, descriptive or declarative titles gain more citations and whether article title length and number of authors correlate to the number of citations. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study on article citation data for 30 scientific journals published in 2016 in Medical Laboratory Technology field according to Web of Science database was conducted. The type of article, type of title, as well as number of words in the title and number of authors was recorded. Results: In the group of original articles (N = 2623), articles with declarative titles (N = 336, 13%) showed statistically higher number of citations in multiple comparison analysis when compared to descriptive titles (P < 0.001). No correlation was found between number of citations and title word count (r = 0.07, P < 0.001) nor between number of citations and number of authors in group of original articles (r = 0.09, P < 0.001). Original articles with descriptive titles longer than 15 words or with more than six authors are cited more (P = 0.005 and P < 0.001, respectively). Conclusion: Based on results of our study, titles do matter. Therefore, authors of original articles might want to consider including their findings in the title and having longer titles.

Informed consent is a process in which a human subject who is to participate in research needs to give his or her consent after being properly informed of the expected benefits as well as the potential harm of the research that will be performed. The function and purpose of the research ethics committee is to ensure that the research that will take place is in accordance with the relevant ethical standards. This means that the committee must assess the appropriateness of the design of the study reviewed. Research in the field of laboratory medicine has specific features, i.e. the use of samples that remain after routine analysis, data collection from databases containing patient information, data mining, collection of laboratory management data, method/instrument comparisons and validation, etc. As most of such research is either retrospective or not directly associated with patients, the question arises as to whether all types of research require informed consent and ethics committee approval. This article aims to clarify what is specific about obtaining informed consent and ethical approval in laboratory medicine, to provide general guidance on informed consent and ethical approval requirements based on the type of study, and what information should be included in applications for ethical approval and informed consent. This could also provide some guidance for future contributors to the Biochemia Medica.

This paper describes a new multi-criteria land evaluation method, based on geomorphology and land cover, for the automated detection of suitable terrain for the sport of foot orienteering (footO). Reference data, in the form of areas already mapped and used for footO, was used to define criteria for geomorphology and land cover, and represents an expert knowledge component. The motivation for this research is that orienteering maps are often drawn for unfamiliar terrain that organizers of the event or mapmakers need to determine in advance, usually from base maps or by random reconnaissance. In a presented case study of Croatia and Slovenia, the geomorphology was derived from Digital Elevation Model over Europe (EU-DEM). The slope and aspect define components of the direction of the surface, and we tested the usability of these simple terrain parameters for the task. The CORINE dataset was used for the definition of the land cover. The results of the case study give potentially suitable areas for foot orienteering in Croatia and Slovenia, and in neighboring areas. Evaluation of the results, using reference areas as the control, proved that the proposed methodology gives a reliable indication of terrain suitability for orienteering. The method is simple, straightforward, and can be performed using standard GIS with common raster algorithms.

Sve veći i brži napredak tehnologije omogućava nove načine prikupljanja prostornih podataka. Razvoj tehnologije uvelike je utjecao na sve češće pojavljivanje dobrovoljnih geoinformacija kao izvora podataka. Iako su dobrovoljne geoinformacije napredak u prikupljanju podataka, postavlja se pitanje kvalitete takvih podataka. Najpoznatiji je primjer dobrovoljnih geoinformacija OpenStreetMap (OSM), kojim se stvara otvorena, slobodna, digitalna karta svijeta iz volonterski prikupljenih podataka. Predmet je ovog rada proučiti strukture podataka i objekte OpenStreetMapa za urbana područja te proučiti preporuke za standardizaciju podataka pri kartiranju sadržaja u OSM-u i modelu podataka OSM-a. U praktičnom dijelu rada prvo je analizirano prije prikazano područje grada Novske na OSM-u, zatim je to područje kartirano u skladu s opisanim preporukama. Kartiranje Novske izvedeno je u JOSM-u, a pomoću QGIS-a su dobiveni brojčani podaci za analizu., The technological progress enables new ways of spatial data acquisition. The development of technology has greatly influenced the increasingly frequent appearance of volunteered geographic information as a data source. Although volunteered geographic information represents progress in data acquisition, there is a question of the quality of such data. The most known example of volunteered geographic information is OpenStreetMap (OSM), which creates an open, free, digital map of the world with data collected by volunteers. The subject of the paper was to study the structure and features of OpenStreetMap data on urban areas, and to review the recommendations for standardization of data for editing the maps in OSM and OSM data model. In the practical part of the paper, first presented area of city Novska on OSM was analysed and then that area was mapped according to the described recommendations. Mapping of Novska was accomplished in JOSM, and numerical data for statistical analysis were obtained with QGIS.

Introduction: Our aim was to investigate if: (a) authors of Biochemia Medica meet authorship criteria given by International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), (b) authorship violations are more frequent in submissions containing some type of scientific misconduct. Materials and methods: Self-reported authorship contributions regarding the three ICMJE criteria were analysed for all submissions to Biochemia Medica (February 2013-April 2015) which were forwarded to peer-review. To test the differences in frequencies we used Chi-squared test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: 186 manuscripts were authored by 804 authors. All ICMJE criteria were met by 487/804 (61%) authors. The first and the last author met all the criteria more frequently than those authors in between (P < 0.001). The degree to which ICMJE criteria was met for the first author did not differ between manuscripts authored by only one author and those authored by >1 author (P = 0.859). In 9% of the manuscripts ICMJE criteria were not met by a single author. Authors of the 171/186 manuscripts declared that all persons qualify for authorship but only 49% of them satisfied all ICMJE criteria. Authors have failed to acknowledge contributors in 88/186 (47%) manuscripts; instead these contributors have been listed as authors without fulfilling ICMJE criteria. Authorship violation was not more common in 42 manuscripts with some type of scientific misconduct (P = 0.135). Conclusion: Large proportion of authors of the manuscripts submitted to Biochemia Medica do not fulfil ICMJE criteria. Violation of authorship criteria is not more common for manuscripts with some type of scientific misconduct.

In previous research we proved that meridians are straight lines and parallels are arcs of concentric circles on the map Nuova carta geografica dello Stato Ecclesiastico by J. R. Bošković and Ch. Maire, published in 1755. We also proved that the map was produced in a normal aspect conic projection equidistant along meridians. Knowing the map projection type is not enough. We need to know its parameters, too. In the first part of the paper, we described the procedure of determining standard parallels of the normal aspect conic projection equidistant along meridians. We proposed a procedure for determining projection parameters of an old map, especially its standard parallels, if the radius of the sphere in which the map was produced in is unknown. Constant C is introduced as a ratio of constant K and sphere radius R, both of which are unknown. The procedure is illustrated on the map Nuova carta … . Using the procedure, we obtained standard parallels φ1 = 41°50'N and φ2 = 44°30'N. In addition, we tested whether the obtained standard parallels are actually standard parallels in which the map was produced and determined the definitive standard parallels in which the map Nuova carta … has been produced.

Studies with positive results are greatly more represented in literature than studies with negative results, producing so-called publication bias. This review aims to discuss occurring problems around negative results and to emphasize the importance of reporting negative results. Underreporting of negative results introduces bias into meta-analysis, which consequently misinforms researchers, doctors and policymakers. More resources are potentially wasted on already disputed research that remains unpublished and therefore unavailable to the scientific community. Ethical obligations need to be considered when reporting results of studies on human subjects as people have exposed themselves to risk with the assurance that the study is performed to benefit others. Some studies disprove the common conception that journal editors preferably publish positive findings, which are considered as more citable. Therefore, all stakeholders, but especially researchers, need to be conscious of disseminating negative and positive findings alike.

The paper presents the development of an automated procedure for creating a small-scale world political map from OpenStreetMap (OSM) data, and the map itself. A novel approach was used for cartographic processing, while the fitness for use of OSM data for this task was evaluated. It was anticipated and shown that creating a world political map from OSM data is a methodologically and technologically demanding task. The result was a political map of the world at a scale of 1:30,000,000, showing independent states, dependencies and areas of special sovereignty as in the OSM data set, with no adaptation to specific political recognition issues. A high degree of automation built on open-source software was achieved. The resulting map is an intermediate stage of production, requiring modest manual intervention for the final map. By allocating a code to the community (http://github.com/GEOF-OSGL/OSMPoliticalMap), we have provided opportunities for its continuing development.

U ovom radu opisane su dvije metode procjene planimetrijske točnosti starih karata usporedbom položajnih odstupanja skupa identičnih točaka koje se nalaze na staroj i suvremenoj karti. Prva metoda uspoređuje geografske koordinate kontrolnih točaka nacrtanih na karti s njihovim suvremenim geografskim koordinatama koje su preslikane u ravninu, u ovom slučaju, uspravne ekvidistantne konusne projekcije. Da bi se primijenila ta metoda parametri projekcije u kojoj je karta izrađena moraju biti poznati. U drugom slučaju primijenjena je metoda dvodimenzionalne regresijske analize, koju je predložio Tobler, i to na geografske koordinate identičnih točaka te pravokutne koordinate identičnih točaka u uspravnoj ekvidistantnoj konusnoj projekciji. Primijenjena metoda dvodimenzionalne regresijske analize temelji se na Helmertovoj (prema Tobleru tzv. euklidskoj) transformaciji identičnih točaka iz jednoga koordinatnog sustava u drugi, npr. koordinatnog sustava suvremene karte u koordinatni sustav stare karte. Dobivena odstupanja primjenom obiju metoda statistički su analizirana i vizualizirana. Metode su primijenjene za procjenu planimetrijske točnosti karte Nuova carta geografica dello Stato Ecclesiastico, jer njezina planimetrijska točnost još do sada nije istraživana., This paper describes two methods for assessing the planimetric accuracy of old maps, by comparing the positional errors of sets of identical points located on one old and one contemporary map. The first method compares the geographical coordinates of the control points depicted on the map with their contemporary geographical coordinates mapped, in this case, in the plane of the normal aspect, equidistant conic map projection. To apply this method, the projection parameters in which the map was made must be known. In the second method, the bidimensional regression analysis proposed by Tobler was used for the geographical coordinates and coordinates of identical points in a plane of the normal aspect, equidistant conic projection. The bidimensional regression analysis method applied is based on Helmert’s transformation (according to Tobler, known as the Euclidian method) of identical points from one coordinate system to another, for example, the coordinate system of a contemporary map to the coordinate system of an old map. The deviations obtained by applying both methods are analyzed statistically and visualized. The methods were applied to produce a planimetric accuracy assessment of the Nuova carta geografica dello Stato Ecclesiastico, because this aspect has not yet been studied.

U radu proučavamo raspon deformacija u smjeru sjever-jug za uspravnu konusnu projekciju koja je ekvidistantna uzduž meridijana. Prvi dio rada opisuje postupak računanja parametara projekcije na temelju zadanih geografskih širina dviju standardnih paralela što se nalaze unutar područja preslikavanja i koji je uobičajen u poznatoj, do sada objavljenoj literaturi. Drugi dio rada proučava raspodjelu deformacija uz zadani uvjet da na sjevernom i južnom dijelu područja koje se prikazuje deformacije budu simetrične. Postavili smo uvjet da su linearna mjerila na rubu područja (uzduž južne i sjeverne paralele) međusobno jednaka. Zadnji dio rada proučava utjecaje širine i položaja područja preslikavanja u smjeru sjever-jug, u konusnim projekcijama ekvidistantnima uzduž meridijana, na raspon deformacija određujući vrijednosti nepoznate konstante proporcionalnosti (parametar n). U prvom dijelu tog istraživanja konstanta proporcionalnosti je bilo koji realni broj iz intervala (0, 1). U drugom dijelu istraživanja, da bismo odredili vrijednost parametra n iz tog intervala, postavili smo dodatni uvjet prema kojem bi linearne deformacije na rubnim paralelama bile po apsolutnoj vrijednosti jednake linearnim deformacijama u srednjem dijelu. Time smo odredili i relaciju koja omogućuje određivanje minimalne i maksimalne vrijednosti raspona linearnog mjerila uzduž paralele za konusne projekcije koje su ekvidistantne uzduž meridijana., In the paper, we study the range of distortions in a north-south direction for the normal aspect conic projection equidistant along meridians. The first part of the paper describes the procedure of calculating the projection parameters based on the given latitudes of two standard parallels within a range of mapped area. This procedure is common in the well-known literature published so far. The second part of the paper studies the distribution of distortion, on condition that the distortions on the north and south parts of the area shown are symmetrical. We set the condition that the linear scale in the marginal area (along the northern and southern parallels) is equal. The last part of the paper studies the influence of the width and position of the mapped area in a north-south direction, for conic projections equidistant along the meridians, in a range of distortions determining the value of an unknown proportionality constant (parameter n). In the first part of the research, the proportionality constant is a real number from the interval (0, 1). In the second part of the research, in order to determine the value of the parameter n from the interval, we set an additional condition, according to which linear distortions on marginal parallels would in terms of absolute values be equal to linear distortions in the central area. Thus, we determined the relation that allows the determination of the minimum and maximum values of the range of the linear scale along a parallel for conic projections which are equidistant along the meridians.

Prikazana je 9. međunarodna radionica o digitalnom pristupu kartografskom nasljeđu koja je održana u Budimpešti, 4-5. 9. 2014.

Dvanaesta godišnja skupštine Hrvatskoga kartografskog društva (HKD) održana je 14. ožujka 2014. u predavaonici 120 Geodetskog fakulteta, Kačićeva 26 u Zagrebu. Skupštinu, koja se sastojala od tri dijela, otvorio je i vodio prof. dr. sc. Miljenko Lapaine, predsjednik HKD-a., The 12th annual assembly of the Croatian Cartographic Society (CCS) was held in lecture room no. 120 of the Faculty of Geodesy, Kačićeva 26, Zagreb on March 14, 2014. The assembly consisted of three parts and was opened and led by Prof. Dr. Miljenko Lapaine, president of CCS.

Peta jubilarna međunarodna konferencija o kartografiji i GIS-u održana je od 15. do 21. lipnja 2014. u ljetnom odmaralištu u Rivieri nedaleko od Varne u Bugarskoj. Konferenciju su organizirali Bugarsko kartografsko društvo (Bulgarian Cartographic Association – BCA), Međunarodno kartografsko društvo (In­­ter­national Cartographic Association – ICA) i Sveučilište arhitekture, građevinarstva i geodezije (University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy – UACEG) iz Sofije (Bugarska). Konferencija je održana pod pokroviteljstvom prof. dr. Krasimira Petrova, rektora bugarskog Sveučilišta arhitekture, građevinarstva i geodezije., The Fifth International Conference on Cartography and GIS was held in the Riviera summer resort near Varna in Bulgaria from June 15 to 21, 2014. The conference was organized by the Bulgarian Cartographic Association (BCA), International Cartographic Association (ICA) and the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy (UACEG) from Sofia, Bulgaria. The conference was sponsored by Prof. Dr. Krasimir Petrov, rector of the Bulgarian University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geo-desy.

Dan je pregled određivanja točnosti položaja točke određene presijecanjem naprijed uz pretpostavku da su poznate i bez pogrešaka određene dvije točke u kojima su mjereni kutovi prema nepoznatoj točki. Procjena točnosti presijecanja naprijed može se naći u literaturi, no izvodi odgovarajućih formula katkad su pogrešni. U nekim slučajevima izvodi su korektni, ali izvedeni zaključci nisu. Nadalje, mogu se naći izvodi koji su korektni, ali nepotpuni. U ovome se radu ukazuje na uočene propuste u literaturi i upotpunjuje jedan od nepotpunih izvoda. Dolazi se do zaključka da se točka s najmanjom položajnom pogreškom ne nalazi na presjecištu međusobno okomitih pravaca., An overview is given of determining position of a point determined by forward intersection on the condition that two given points in which angles are measure toward an unknown point are known and error-free. Accuracy estimation of forward intersection can be found in references, but derivations of corresponding formulas are sometimes erroneous. In some cases, derivations are correct, but conclusions are not. Furthermore, there are some correct but incomplete derived formulas. This paper emphasizes observed shortcomings and completes one of the incomplete derivations. The conclusion is that the optimal position of a point determined by forward intersection is not at an intersection of perpendicular straight lines.

Razmatra se problem određivanja pravca koji se po metodi euklidskih udaljenosti najbolje prilagođava zadanom skupu točaka u ravnini. Pokazuje se da problem nije linearan, ali se na njegovo rješavanje ne primjenjuje u geodeziji uobičajeni postupak linearizacije, nego se problem svodi na traženje ekstremnih vrijednosti funkcije jedne varijable te u konačnici na rješavanje kvadratne jednadžbe. Nadalje, istražuju se dovoljni uvjeti za ekstrem funkcije i pokazuje da problem općenito ima dva rješenja, jedan minimum i jedan maksimum. Za ilustraciju opisane metode, izvedene formule primijenjene su na određivanje jednadžbe pravca koji je po metodi euklidskih udaljenosti najbolje prilagođen skupu točaka koje reprezentiraju meridijan nacrtan u nepoznatoj kartografskoj projekciji karte J. R. Boškovića i Ch. Mairea Nuova carta geografica dello Stato Ecclesiastico iz 1755. godine., This paper analyses the problem of determining parameters of a straight line by the method of Euclidean distances that best fit the given set of points in a plane. It is shown that the problem is not linear. However, the method of linearization, which is frequently applied in geodesy, is not applied. Instead, extreme values of the functions of one variable are found and finally quadratic equation is solved exactly. Furthermore, sufficient conditions for the extreme of the function are explored and it is shown that the problem generally has two solutions, one minimum and one maximum. To illustrate the described method, derived formulas were applied to determine the equation of the straight line which, by the Euclidean distance method, best fits the point set which represents a meridian drawn in an unknown map projection of J. R. Bošković’s and Ch. Maire’s map Nuova carta geografica dello Stato Ecclesiastico published in 1755.

The nephrotoxic mycotoxin ochratoxin A (OTA), a common contaminant of cereals, has been implicated in the etiology of endemic nephropathy. It was also frequently found in low concentrations in blood of healthy populations in countries where endemic nephropathy is not known. However, data on regional and seasonal differences in the frequency and concentration of OTA in human blood are scarce. In June, September and December 1997, and March 1998, about 50 human blood samples were collected randomly from blood donors for blood banks in the Coatian cities of Osijek, Rijeka, Split, VaraZdin and Zagreb. OTA was measured in the total of 983 samples using an HPLC technique with fluorescent detection. The daily intake of OTA was estimated from the mean concentration found in different cities and at different times of year. Samples containing OTA above the detection limit (0.2 ng/ml of plasma) were found in populations from all Croatian cities at all collecting periods. The highest frequency (59%) of samples containing OTA above the detection limit and the highest mean concentration (0.39 ng/ml) were found in June. Both the frequency and the mean concentration were lowest in all samples in December (36% and 0.19 ng OTA/ml, respectively). Osijek was the city with the highest frequency of OTA-positive samples (81%) and the highest mean OTA concentration (0.56 ng/ml). The total mean concentration of OTA in blood of healthy population in Croatia is lower (0.30 ng/ ml) than the mean concentration in European countries as a whole (0.90 ng/ml). The estimated daily intake, calculated from the mean concentration in all blood samples, is 0.40 ng OTA/kg body weight, which is much lower than that proposed by World Health Organization as the tolerable daily intake (16.0 ng/kg body weight). Healthy populations of Croatia are exposed to low, but seasonally and regionally variable amounts of OTA.

Prikazan je 4. kongres hrvatsko-mađarskih geomatematičara i 15. kongres mađarskih geomatematičara održan u Opatiji, 23-25.05.2012.

In this paper, the first method of adjustment, proposed by Josip Ruđer Bošković, is described in detail, on the example on five meridian degrees. Bošković sets three conditions on the data of the lengths of the meridian degrees to calculate corrections that would fix all degrees in order to get a better estimate of true values. The conditions that have to be satisfied are explained by geometric method which Bošković described in all his studies. For the purpose of this paper, in the process of computing these five meridian degrees, data from Bošković original book have been used. Geometric solution, described by Bošković himself, is not easy to understandat first, as this is noted by other authors who have studied Bošković’s method as well. Hence, geometric description of the Bošković’s method is shown in analytical form as well., U ovom radu detaljno je prikazana prva metoda izjednačenja, koju je osmislio Josip Ruđer Bošković, na primjeru pet stupnjeva meridijana. Bošković je izračunao popravke kojima bi popravio duljine meridijanskih stupnjeva i na taj način dobio što bolje procjene njihovih pravih vrijednosti. Postavljajući tri uvjeta tom prilikom formirao je svoju metodu izjednačenja koju je primijenio na podatke o duljinama meridijanskih stupnjeva. Uvjeti koji moraju biti zadovoljeni objašnjeni su geometrijskom metodom kakvu Bošković opisuje u svim svojim djelima. U postupku računanja, koja su provedena u ovom radu na pet meridijanskih stupnjeva, korišteni su podaci iz Boškovićevih originalnih djela. Geometrijsko rješenje kako ga je Bošković opisao nije odmah lako razumljivo, što su uočili i drugi autori koji su proučavali Boškovićevu metodu. Stoga će geometrijski opisana Boškovićeva metoda biti također prikazana i u analitičkom obliku.

The 1st Croatian NSDI and INSPIRE Day and the Cartography and Geoinformation conference, organized by the Croatian Cartographic Society and the State Geodetic Administration were held at the Faculty of Organization and Informatics in Varaždin from November 26 to 28, 2009.