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Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is increasingly used in transplantation settings, but also as a method of choice for in-depth analysis of population-specific HLA genetic architecture and its linkage to various diseases. With respect to complex ethnic admixture characteristic for East Croatian population, we aimed to investigate class-I (HLA-A,-B,-C) and class-II (HLA-DRB1,-DQA1,-DQB1) HLA diversity at the highest, 4-field resolution level in 120 healthy, unrelated, blood donor volunteers. Genomic DNA was extracted and HLA genotypes of class I and DQA1 genes were defined in full-length,-DQB1 from intron 1 to 3′ UTR, and-DRB1 from intron 1 to intron 4 (Illumina MiSeq platform, Omixon Twin algorithms, IMGT/HLA release 3.30.0_5). Linkage disequilibrium statistics, Hardy-Weinberg departures, and haplotype frequencies were inferred by exact tests and iterative Expectation-Maximization algorithm using PyPop 0.7.0 and Arlequin v3.5.2.2 software. Our data provide first description of 4-field allele and haplotype frequencies in Croatian population, revealing 192 class-I and class-II alleles and extended haplotypic combinations not apparent from the existing 2-field HLA reports from Croatia. This established reference database complements current knowledge of HLA diversity and should prove useful in future population studies, transplantation settings, and disease-associated HLA screening. Croatia is a Mediterranean, crescent-shaped south European country bordering Slovenia in the northwest, Hungary in the northeast, Serbia in the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro in the southeast, and Italy along the maritime border. Croatia consists of three major geomorphologic areas, which can be further broken down into five traditional districts based on history, topography, and economy; Istria and Dalmatia in the northern and southern Croatian littoral, Gorski Kotar in country's mountainous area, central continental Croatia, and Slavonia in the Pannonian basin in the east (Fig. 1). Slavonia territory was originally populated by the southern branch of the Indo-European Slavic populations in the 7 th century 1 , and has been a witness of significant population admixture ever since, including the Hungarian migration to Slavonia in 10 th century, and the influx of Islamic and Orthodox Balkan and Asian populations during the Ottoman conquest in 16 th century, causing at the same time, the continuous shift of Catholics from Bosnia to Slavonia during several centuries 2. Under the auspices of Habsburg monarchy, the settlement of Germans and Austrians in Slavonian urban areas peaks between 18 th and 19 th century, while Orthodox Vlachs from Bosnia, immigrating Czechs, Slovaks, Ukrainians, Italians, and

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Industry and related work and workplaces are constantly changing as a result of the implementation of new technologies, substances and work processes, changes in the composition of the workforce and the labor market, and new forms of employment and work organization. The implementation of new technologies represents certain ambivalence. Next to the positive impact on workers’ health, new risks and challenges can arise in the area of process and occupational safety and health of people at work. On these bases, it follows the need for predicting and handling the new risks, in order to ensure safe and healthy workplaces in the future. The aim of most forecasting studies is not only to identify new emerging risks, but also to foresee changes that could affect occupational safety and health. However, a number of questions still require proper investigation, i.e., “What impact do new emerging risks have on tertiary education in the area of Safety engineering? Has tertiary education already reacted to progress in science and research and does it have these innovations in its syllabus? How are tertiary graduates prepared for the real world of new technologies?” This paper represents a first attempt in the literature to provide answers to the raised questions, by a survey approach involving academics, Health Safety and Environment (HSE) industrial experts and university students in the Czech Republic. Even if statistical evaluation is limited to a single Country and to a small sample size, the obtained results allow suggesting practical recommendations that can contribute to ensuring new challenges in the area of education by addressing relevant culture issues needed to support new workplace realities according to the newly defined Safety 4.0.