Izet Masic

European National Society Cardiovascular Journals. Background, Rationale, and Mission Statement of the “Editors' Club”

Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology. Djamaleddine Nibouche MD, Karlen Adamyan MD, Kurt Huber MD, Hugo Ector MD, Izet Masic MD, Rumiana Tarnovska MD, Mario Ivanusa MD, Vladimir Staněk MD, Jorgen Videbaek MD, Mohamed Hamed MD, Alexandras Laucevicius MD, Pirjo Mustonen MD, Jean-Yves Artigou MD, Mamanti Rogava MD, Michael Bohm MD, Eckart Fleck MD, Gerd Heusch MD, Rainer Klawki MD, Panos Vardas MD, Christodoulos Stefanadis MD, Jozsef Tenczer MD, Gianluigi Nicolosi MD, Aleksandras Laucevicius MD, Joseph Elias MD, Aleksandras Laucevicius MD, Abdelhamid Moustaghfir MD, Olaf Rodevand MD, Piotr Kulakowski MD, Victor A. Lusov MD, Rafael G. Oganov MD, Arsen Ristic MD, Gabriel Kamensky MD, Miran F. Kenda MD, Christer Hoglund MD, Thomas F. Luscher MD, Rene Lerch MD, Sami Kabbani MD, Habib Haouala MD, Vedat Sansoy MD, Alexandr Shumakov MD, Adam Timmis MD. (Редакторы кардиологических журналов Европейских национальных обществ кардиологов; подробные данные см. в Приложении).

Conflict of interest policies and disclosure requirements among European Society of Cardiology National Cardiovascular Journals

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest (COIs) is used by biomedical journals to guarantee credibility and transparency of the scientific process. Conflict of interest disclosure, however, is not systematically nor consistently dealt with by journals. Recent joint editorial efforts paved the way towards the implementation of uniform vehicles for COI disclosure. This paper provides a comprehensive editorial perspective on classical COI-related issues. New insights into the current COI policies and practices among European Society of Cardiology National Cardiovascular Journals, as derived from a cross-sectional survey using a standardized questionnaire, are discussed.

Plagiarism in scientific Publishing

Scientific publishing is the ultimate product of scientist work. Number of publications and their quoting are measures of scientist success while unpublished researches are invisible to the scientific community, and as such nonexistent. Researchers in their work rely on their predecessors, while the extent of use of one scientist work, as a source for the work of other authors is the verification of its contributions to the growth of human knowledge. If the author has published an article in a scientific journal it cannot publish the article in any other journal h with a few minor adjustments or without quoting parts of the first article, which are used in another article. Copyright infringement occurs when the author of a new article with or without the mentioning the author used substantial portions of previously published articles, including tables and figures. Scientific institutions and universities should,in accordance with the principles of Good Scientific Practice (GSP) and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) have a center for monitoring,security, promotion and development of quality research. Establish rules and compliance to rules of good scientific practice are the obligations of each research institutions,universities and every individual-researchers,regardless of which area of science is investigated. In this way, internal quality control ensures that a research institution such as a university, assume responsibility for creating an environment that promotes standards of excellence, intellectual honesty and legality. Although the truth should be the aim of scientific research, it is not guiding fact for all scientists. The best way to reach the truth in its study and to avoid the methodological and ethical mistakes is to consistently apply scientific methods and ethical standards in research. Although variously defined plagiarism is basically intended to deceive the reader’s own scientific contribution. There is no general regulation of control of scientific research and intellectual honesty of researchers which would be absolutely applicable in all situations and in all research institutions. A special form of plagiarism is self-plagiarism. Scientists need to take into consideration this form of plagiarism, though for now there is an attitude as much as their own words can be used without the word about plagiarism. If the authors cite their own research facilities already stated then they should be put in quote sand cite the source in which it was published. Science should not be exempt from disclosure and sanctioning plagiarism. In the fight against intellectual dishonesty on ethics education in science has a significant place. A general understanding of ethics in scientific research work in all its stages had to be acquired during the undergraduate course and continue to intensify. It is also important ethical aspect of the publishing industry,especially in small and developing economies,because the issuer has an educational role in the development of the scientific community that aspires to relish so. In this paper author describe his experiences in discovering of plagiarism as Editor-in-Chief of three indexed medical journals with presentations of several examples of plagiarism recorded in countries in Southeastern Europe.

Evidence Based Medicine - New Approaches and Challenges

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: NONE DECLARED Evidence based medicine (EBM) is the conscientious, explicit, judicious and reasonable use of modern, best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. EBM integrates clinical experience and patient values with the best available research information. It is a movement which aims to increase the use of high quality clinical research in clinical decision making. EBM requires new skills of the clinician, including efficient literature-searching, and the application of formal rules of evidence in evaluating the clinical literature. The practice of evidence-based medicine is a process of lifelong, self-directed, problem-based learning in which caring for one’s own patients creates the need for clinically important information about diagnosis, prognosis, therapy and other clinical and health care issues. It is not “cookbook” with recipes, but its good application brings cost-effective and better health care. The key difference between evidence-based medicine and traditional medicine is not that EBM considers the evidence while the latter does not. Both take evidence into account; however, EBM demands better evidence than has traditionally been used. One of the greatest achievements of evidence-based medicine has been the development of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, methods by which researchers identify multiple studies on a topic, separate the best ones and then critically analyze them to come up with a summary of the best available evidence. The EBM-oriented clinicians of tomorrow have three tasks: a) to use evidence summaries in clinical practice; b) to help develop and update selected systematic reviews or evidence-based guidelines in their area of expertise; and c) to enrol patients in studies of treatment, diagnosis and prognosis on which medical practice is based.

Medical Informatics in a United and Healthy Europe

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: NONE DECLARED

E-learning as new method of medical education.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: NONE DECLARED Distance learning refers to use of technologies based on health care delivered on distance and covers areas such as electronic health, tele-health (e-health), telematics, telemedicine, tele-education, etc. For the need of e-health, telemedicine, tele-education and distance learning there are various technologies and communication systems from standard telephone lines to the system of transmission digitalized signals with modem, optical fiber, satellite links, wireless technologies, etc. Tele-education represents health education on distance, using Information Communication Technologies (ICT), as well as continuous education of a health system beneficiaries and use of electronic libraries, data bases or electronic data with data bases of knowledge. Distance learning (E-learning) as a part of tele-education has gained popularity in the past decade; however, its use is highly variable among medical schools and appears to be more common in basic medical science courses than in clinical education. Distance learning does not preclude traditional learning processes; frequently it is used in conjunction with in-person classroom or professional training procedures and practices. Tele-education has mostly been used in biomedical education as a blended learning method, which combines tele-education technology with traditional instructor-led training, where, for example, a lecture or demonstration is supplemented by an online tutorial. Distance learning is used for self-education, tests, services and for examinations in medicine i.e. in terms of self-education and individual examination services. The possibility of working in the exercise mode with image files and questions is an attractive way of self education. Automated tracking and reporting of learners’ activities lessen faculty administrative burden. Moreover, e-learning can be designed to include outcomes assessment to determine whether learning has occurred. This review article evaluates the current status and level of tele-education development in Bosnia and Herzegovina outlining its components, faculty development needs for implementation and the possibility of its integration as official learning standard in biomedical curricula in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Tele-education refers to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance knowledge and performance. Tele-education in biomedical education is widely accepted in the medical education community where it is mostly integrated into biomedical curricula forming part of a blended learning strategy. There are many biomedical digital repositories of e-learning materials worldwide, some peer reviewed, where instructors or developers can submit materials for widespread use. First pilot project with the aim to introduce tele-education in biomedical curricula in Bosnia and Herzegovina was initiated by Department for Medical Informatics at Medical Faculty in Sarajevo in 2002 and has been developing since. Faculty member’s skills in creating tele-education differ from those needed for traditional teaching and faculty rewards must recognize this difference and reward the effort. Tele-education and use of computers will have an impact of future medical practice in a life long learning. Bologna process, which started last years in European countries, provide us to promote and introduce modern educational methods of education at biomedical faculties in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Cathedra of Medical informatics and Cathedra of Family medicine at Medical Faculty of University of Sarajevo started to use Web based education as common way of teaching of medical students. Satisfaction with this method of education within the students is good, but not yet suitable for most of medical disciplines at biomedical faculties in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

How to search, write, prepare and publish the scientific papers in the biomedical journals.

This article describes the methodology of preparation, writing and publishing scientific papers in biomedical journals. given is a concise overview of the concept and structure of the System of biomedical scientific and technical information and the way of biomedical literature retreival from worldwide biomedical databases. Described are the scientific and professional medical journals that are currently published in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Also, given is the comparative review on the number and structure of papers published in indexed journals in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are listed in the Medline database. Analyzed are three B&H journals indexed in MEDLINE database: Medical Archives (Medicinski Arhiv), Bosnian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences and Medical Gazette (Medicinki Glasnik) in 2010. The largest number of original papers was published in the Medical Archives. There is a statistically significant difference in the number of papers published by local authors in relation to international journals in favor of the Medical Archives. True, the Journal Bosnian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences does not categorize the articles and we could not make comparisons. Journal Medical Archives and Bosnian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences by percentage published the largest number of articles by authors from Sarajevo and Tuzla, the two oldest and largest university medical centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The author believes that it is necessary to make qualitative changes in the reception and reviewing of papers for publication in biomedical journals published in Bosnia and Herzegovina which should be the responsibility of the separate scientific authority/ committee composed of experts in the field of medicine at the state level.

On-line biomedical databases-the best source for quick search of the scientific information in the biomedicine.

Most of medical journals now has it’s electronic version, available over public networks. Although there are parallel printed and electronic versions, and one other form need not to be simultaneously published. Electronic version of a journal can be published a few weeks before the printed form and must not has identical content. Electronic form of a journals may have an extension that does not contain a printed form, such as animation, 3D display, etc., or may have available fulltext, mostly in PDF or XML format, or just the contents or a summary. Access to a full text is usually not free and can be achieved only if the institution (library or host) enters into an agreement on access. Many medical journals, however, provide free access for some articles, or after a certain time (after 6 months or a year) to complete content. The search for such journals provide the network archive as High Wire Press, Free Medical Journals.com. It is necessary to allocate PubMed and PubMed Central, the first public digital archives unlimited collect journals of available medical literature, which operates in the system of the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda (USA). There are so called on- line medical journals published only in electronic form. It could be searched over on-line databases. In this paper authors shortly described about 30 data bases and short instructions how to make access and search the published papers in indexed medical journals.

Ethical aspects and dilemmas of preparing, writing and publishing of the scientific papers in the biomedical journals.

Introduction: In this paper author discussed about preparing and submitting manuscripts - scientific, research, professional papers, reviews and case reports. Author described it from the Editor’s perspective, and specially talked about ethical aspects of authorship, conflict of interest, copyright, plagiarism and duplicate publication from the point of view of his experiences as Editor-in-Chief of several biomedical journals and Chief of Task Force of European Federation of Medical Informatics journals and member of Task Force of European Cardiology Society journals. The scientific process relies on trust and credibility. The scientific community demands high ethical standards to conduct biomedical research and to publish scientific contents. During the last decade, disclosure of conflicts of interest (COI ), (also called competing loyalties, competing interests or dual commitments), has been considered as a key element to guarantee the credibility of the scientific process. Biases in design, analysis and interpretation of studies may arise when authors or sponsors have vested interests. Therefore, COI should be made clear to the readers to facilitate their own judgment and interpretation of their relevance and potential implications. Results and Discussion: Authors are responsible to fully disclose potential COI . In October 2009 the ICMJE proposed an electronic “uniform” format for COI disclosure. Four main areas were addressed: authors´ associations with entities that supported the submitted manuscript (indefinite time frame), associations with commercial entities with potential interest in the general area of the manuscript (time frame 36 months), financial association of their spouse and children and, finally, non-financial associations potentially relevant to the submitted manuscript. Consumers of medical scholarship expect a reliable system of disclosure in which journals and authors make disclosures appropriately and consistently. There is a stigma surrounding the reporting of COI that should be progressively overcome. Further actions are required to increase awareness of the importance of COI disclosure and to promote policies aimed to enhance transparency in biomedical research. In this article author discuss about important ethical dilemmas in preparing, writing and publishing of scientific manuscripts in biomedical journals.

The Importance of Neutrophil Lymphocyte Ratio In Patients With Psoriasis

Objective: The aim of this study is to confirm the effect of one month dietary treatment on the level serum lipids (cholesterol and tryglicerides) and aminotransferases in overweight patients aged over 50 years. Methods: In agreement with the respondents we requested that they immediately only reduce consumption and that in the reporting period use only food without the use of pharmacotherapy (fat lowering agents and lipid lowering medications). The reason for this assumption is that there is physiological variation for biochemical and hematological examinations by number of internal and external influences determine the size of physiological changes, as well as the necessity of the necessary concentration of certain nutrients for basal metabolism, and function of the body–cells or metabolites. These same subjects, we monitored the frequency of the results, the results of blood glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, aminotransferase, acidum uricum creatinine after 1 month. The study was carried out on a targeted sample of 10 respondents in the Primary health care center in Gracanica for a period of 30 days. The tests on this sample were conducted survey on health status and nutrition, HIV treatment and diagnosis. Findings: Thee results show that there is an increased number of obese subjects. The paper analyzes the results of biochemical tests in subjects aged over 50 years. On the target medical and biochemical laboratory diagnostic examinations in 10 subjects of both sexes were observed: elevated results of blood glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, aminotransferase, uric acid and creatinine. It was also observed the fact that most patients was with increased body mass (BMI = and> 25). It has been observed continuous decline or normalization of laboratory test results after one month. Conclusion: There is a growing number of people who are overweight (BMI 25-30) and obese (BMI> 30) due to poor habits, which is dominated by excessive calorie intake. Due to the increased supply of food nutrients: glucose and/or triglyceride, cholesterol, protein in the body, there is increase in the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, nonprotein compounds, purine and lipid, with an intense oxidative processes in the mitochondria in particular fat cells and liver disorder utilization of glucose, lipids, purine. As a consequence, the pathological results: higher levels of glucose in the blood, cholesterol, triglycerides, uric acid, creatinine and aminotransferase were observed.