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Background: Croatia belongs to the countries with a medium mortality rate due to suicide in youths. Previous epidemiological reports indicated a decreasing trend of suicide rates in adolescents. However, recent trend analysis in youth suicide rates in Croatia are missing. This study aimed to describe recent trends in child and adolescent completed suicide in Croatia and to compare the rates and methods of suicide („means“) across demographic groups. Subjects and methods: Data from the Croatian Committed Suicide Registry were used to calculate age-specific rates of suicide from 2000 to 2020 among 0 to 24 year olds, overall and by age, gender, and means of suicide. Results: The total average suicide rate for Croatian children and adolescents during the study period was 4.12 per 100,000. The male–female ratio was 4.1:1. The total youth suicide rate and male suicide rate significantly declined from 2000 to 2020; however, the decrease in female rates did not reach statistical significance. Nearly half of all suicides among Croatian youth of both gender occurred through hanging, whereas using firearms was the second-most common suicide method in males and jumping from a height in females. Conclusions: Suicide rates among children and adolescents in Croatia continue to decrease. High-risk groups include adolescents aged 20-24 years and male youth, so these data should be considered when designing prevention programmes for youth suicide.

Natural disasters pose serious threat to mental health. Experiencing two series of earthquakes with catastrophic consequences in March and December 2020 in the midst of COVID 19 pandemic was a unique situation for Croatian citizens with many new threats and challenges. This additional natural disaster has threatened the safety of Croatian people in their homes where they were supposed to be safe from COVID-19. Many Croatian children and adolescents have been in two parallel crisis during 2020 that contradict each other. COVID- 19 pandemic- related fears kept children in their homes and away from social interactions, while earthquakes triggered fears of entering and staying in buildings, being alone, loud noises and aftershocks after earthquakes.

Istraživanja ukazuju na visok stupanj prisutnih psihijatrijskih komorbiditeta kod različitih dermatoloških bolesnika, no u usporedbi s nekim drugim bolestima, Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) uzrokuje najveće poteškoće u kvaliteti života. Riječ je o kroničnoj bolesti koju karakteriziraju upalni, bolni i recividirajući čvorovi i apcesi koji se javljaju na područjima tijela gdje se događa često trenje kože, a koji ostavljaju i znatne ožiljke na tijelu. Kasno dijagnosticiranje bolesti, neadekvatan tretman do prepoznavanja i kroničnost doprinose pogoršanju tijeka bolesti, pa tako i značajno utječu na kvalitetu života, a upravo je kvaliteta života od posebne važnosti kada se govori o ovoj kroničnoj bolesti. Slabo poznavanje bolesti, nepoznavanje činjenice da bolest nije zarazna i uzrokovana lošom higijenom, oboljelima otežava integriranje u društvene i poslovne tokove. Na temelju rezultata dosadašnjih istraživanja definirani su problemi i hipoteze koje će pomoći stvaranju jasnije slike kako su dermatološki problemi povezani s mentalnim zdravljem i kvalitetom života. Cilj ovog istraživanja je bio istražiti osobitosti kvalitete života i psihičkih komorbiditeta kod oboljelih od HS, s obzirom na obilježja bolesti i psihičke osobine. Istraživanje se provodilo početkom 2021. godine putem online upitnika podijeljenog u grupi oboljelih na društvenoj mreži te na Klinici za kožne i spolne bolesti KBC Sestre milosrdnice. Upitnikom su se prikupili osnovni sociodemografski podaci, osobine bolesti (trajanje bolesti, vrsta liječenja, zdravstvene navike i ponašanja), uz psihologijske upitnike – kratku skalu otpornosti BRS, upitnik psihopatoloških teškoća CORE-OM, upitnik depresivnosti, anksioznosti i stresa DASS-21, upitnik temporalnog zadovoljstva životom TSWLS, upitnik percepcije bolesti IPQ, te DLQI upitnik kvalitete života. U Hrvatskoj dosada nije provedeno istraživanje koje je istraživalo kvalitetu života kod oboljelih od hidradenitisa, pa istraživanje ima i praktične implikacije i otvora prostor za osmišljavanje novih programa podrške i unapređenje već postojećih. Smanjenje stresa i osiguravanje adekvatne podrške za oboljele sa dermatološkim problemima, podizanje svijesti o važnosti te podrške za umanjenje posljedica bolesti osigurat će veću kvalitetu života oboljelih.

Tema ovog diplomskog rada je računanje u oblaku. U prvom poglavlju detaljno objašnjavamo pojam računanja u oblaku – što je to, zašto je nastalo, koje tehnologije i mehanizmi ga implementiraju, kako se isporučuje korisnicima te koje su njegove karakteristike, prednosti i mane. U sljedećem poglavlju opisujemo podatkovnu platformu u oblaku kao primjer kompleksnog proizvoda kojeg je poželjno implementirati u oblaku zbog prednosti opisanih u prvom poglavlju. U posljednjem poglavlju uvodimo studijski primjer računanja s visokim performansama na platformi u oblaku AWS. Postavljamo klaster virtualnih računala na AWS-u te na njemu distribuiramo treniranje modela strojnog učenja za klasifikaciju slika. Testiramo vremenske performanse u odnosu na broj virtualnih računala na kojima je treniranje distribuirano. This master thesis deals with cloud computing. In the first chapter, we explain in detail the concept of cloud computing – what it is, why it did evolve, what technologies and mechanisms implement it, how it is delivered to consumers, and what are its characteristics, benefits, and risks. In the next chapter, we describe the cloud data platform as an example of a complex product that is desirable to implement in the cloud environment because of the benefits described in the first chapter. In the last chapter, we introduce a case study of High Performance Computing on the AWS cloud platform. We are deploying a cluster of virtual machines on AWS and distributing training of a machine learning model for image classification on it. We test time performance against the number of virtual machines on which the training is distributed.

Iako pitanje spolnosti djece kod odraslih često izaziva nelagodu, važno je razumjeti kako je spolni, kao i intelektualni, emocionalni i fizički razvoj temeljni proces u odrastanju koji prolaze svi pojedinci. Spolnost je zdrav i normalan dio ljudskog života, isto kao što dijete fizički napreduje (npr. diže glavu, počne puzati i hodati, hvata stvari…) tako se paralelno i spolno razvija. Potrebno je imati na umu kako se spolnost ne može promatrati kao zaseban proces, obzirom da on uz fizičku, obuhvaća i emocionalnu, socijalnu te kulturalnu komponentu. Suvremena znanost ističe kako spolni razvoj započinje samim rođenjem. Svaku fazu spolnog razvoja koje se odvija i nakon perioda djetinjstva karakteriziraju određene fizičke promjene, osjećaji povezani sa seksualnošću i socijalne norme odnosno očekivane ili prikladne interakcije u odnosima s drugima.

Mindfulness (focused awareness) is defined as non-judgmental awareness in the present moment (Kabat-Zinn, 1990), or it can be described as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment” (El Morr et al., 2019). What makes mindfulness recognizable in practice is our focused activities that distinguish our mindful actions from automatic behaviour. “Mindfulness in the field of communication has mainly been considered in terms of how consciously people plan their approach to a communication exchange or the extent to which they identify and respond to relevant or irrelevant information in a given situation” (Seneviratne, 2018). When we mindfully look at the world around us, especially when we are mindfully communicating, we work on a holistic approach to humanity, and we consciously engage all the senses and decide to be involved in the present moment. This understanding of one's actions is crucial in interpersonal communication, the process of message transaction between people who work toward creating and sustaining shared meaning (Turner & West, 2006: 6. Workshops called “Be Mindful” are organized by the Edward Bernays University College (henceforth: Bernays) and are offered by the Office for Student Counselling. Students who were interested in extracurricular activities registered for the workshop, forming groups of up to 15 students / participants. The “Be Mindful” workshop consists of four sessions, with one taking place each month, through four months overall. Participants are Bernays students, with 10 to 15 students in each group, in which they practice mindfulness techniques with two trainers, one psychologist and one public relations expert. While providing them with the theoretical basics of mindfulness, we mostly focused on practicing mindfulness techniques through guided exercises and explaining homework assignments. Students receive homework assignments / exercises after the workshops, which they practice until the next session. Students in the group also had the opportunity to practice mindful interpersonal communication, that is, they had the opportunity to apply the learned techniques directly under the supervision of the two trainers. Two cycles of the workshop (with two different groups of students) have been conducted so far, and the third cycle, with a new student group, is currently underway. Our findings are based on anonymous surveys that students complete after each session. The surveys provide feedback on how participants experience benefits from the workshop, and they state their ideas and wishes for the next workshops, as well as small self-reports on whether they practice mindfulness at home with the provided materials, and how much it helps or distracts them in their daily lives, which assignments are difficult for them to practice, and which are easy. Our goal is to introduce young people to techniques that will help them cope with the stresses of life, while using additional techniques to improve interpersonal communication. This paper describes the techniques, which students learn and practice in mindfulness workshops, as part of extracurricular activities, and how young people can relate the experience from the workshops to interpersonal communication in their everyday lives. While the effects of mindfulness training are mostly presented through mental health benefits, our aim is also to explore how mindfulness could improve interpersonal communication and whether it could lead to better interpersonal relations. Therefore, we decided to bring mindfulness techniques closer to students through workshops. References: El Morr, C., Maule, C., Ashfaq, I., Ritvo, P., & Ahmad, F. (2019). Design of a Mindfulness Virtual Community: A focus-group analysis. Health Informatics Journal. DOI: 146045821988484. 10.1177/1460458219884840. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. New York: Delacorte. Seneviratne, K. (2018). Minful communication for sustainable development: perspectives from Asia. New Delhi, India: SAGE Publications India Pvt. Ltd. Turner, L. H., & West, R. (2006). The Family Communication Sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc.