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This study evaluates the impact of web-based blended learning in the physiology course at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Montenegro. The two main goals of the study were: to determine the impact of e-learning on student success in mastering the course, and to assess user satisfaction after the introduction of e-learning. The study compared a group of students who attended the physiology course before, with a group of students who attended the physiology course after the Moodle platform was fully implemented as an educational tool. Formative and summative assessment scores were compared between these two groups. The impact of high vs. low Moodle use on the assessment scores was analyzed. The satisfaction among Moodle users was assessed by the survey. The study found that attendance of face-to-face lectures had a positive impact on academic performance. The introduction of Moodle in the presented model of teaching increased interest of students, attendance of face-to-face lectures, as well as formative and summative scores. High frequency of Moodle use was not always associated with better academic performance, suggesting that the introduction of a new method of teaching was most likely equally accepted by low- and high-achieving students. Most of the students agreed that Moodle was easy to use and it complemented traditional teaching very well, but it could not completely replace traditional face-to-face lectures. The study supports continuing the use of web-based learning in a form of blended learning for physiology, as well as for other courses in medical education.

Global viticulture has evolved following market trends, causing loss of cultivar diversity and traditional practices. In Montenegro, modern viticulture co-exists with a traditional viticulture that still maintains ancient practices and exploits local cultivars. As a result, this region provides a unique opportunity to explore processes increasing genetic diversity. To evaluate the diversity of Montenegrin grapevines and the processes involved in their diversification, we collected and analyzed 419 samples in situ across the country (cultivated plants from old orchards and vines growing in the wild), and 57 local varieties preserved in a grapevine collection. We obtained 144 different genetic profiles, more than 100 corresponding to cultivated grapevines, representing a surprising diversity for one of the smallest European countries. Part of this high diversity reflects historical records indicating multiple and intense introduction events from diverse viticultural regions at different times. Another important gene pool includes many autochthonous varieties, some on the edge of extinction, linked in a complex parentage network where two varieties (Razaklija and Kratošija) played a leading role on the generation of indigenous varieties. Finally, analyses of genetic structure unveiled several putative proto-varieties, likely representing the first steps involved in the generation of new cultivars or even secondary domestication events.

In Montenegro, red wines are produced predominantly, and Vranac accounts for nearly 80% of these wines, followed by Kratosija and Cabernet Sauvignon. In order to characterise polyphenols in red varieties, grapes were sampled from representative vineyards at harvest time during 2011 and 2012. The content and distribution of extractable anthocyanins, low-molecular mass proanthocyanidins (LMP) and highmolecular mass proanthocyanidins (HMP) in the seeds and skins of the grape berries were evaluated by applying a five-day extraction method using ethanol:water (12:88) as extraction solvent. On average, the highest content of LMP (2 006 INTRODUCTIONGrape growing and winemaking in Montenegro started to develop in ancient times due to the geographical position and warm climate of the area. Winemaking is traditionally based on local varieties such as Vranac and Kratosija. Kratosija dominated until the outbreak of phylloxera, although Vranac became the preferred grape variety due to its lower heterogeneity and improved skin coloration (Ulicevic, 1966;Pejovic, 1988). Vranac and Kratosija are also cultivated in Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia and are considered as indigenous varieties of the Western Balkan countries (Bozinovic, 2005). The winegrowing areas in Montenegro are increasing due to renewed investments in wine production, and are producing both local and international grape varieties. Vranac is the dominant grape among red grapes, whereas Kratosija is decreasing and Cabernet Sauvignon is increasing (Pajovic et al., 2011).Vranac grapes are considered to have a strong polyphenol potential (Ivanova et al., 2011), as well as a high colour potential (Avramov, 1991). In contrast, Pajovic et al. (2009) reported about 300 to 400 mg/L of anthocyanins in young Vranac wines.Flavonoids, i.e. anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins (also called grape condensed tannins), account for the major part of red wine polyphenols that have an impact on the sensorial quality of red wines; they are wine preservatives and the basis for ageing. Anthocyanins are responsible for the red colour (Ribéreau-Gayon, 1982) and proanthocyanidins for the colour stability (Somers, 1971), the taste of bitterness and the mouthfeel of astringency (Robichaud & Noble, 1990). Generally, the astringency of proanthocyanidins increases with chain length and the bitterness decreases (Peleg et al., 1999;Chira et al., 2009). Other studies, however, report that differences in astringency are mainly due to the total content of proanthocyanidins in wines (Brossaud et al., 2001;Preys et al., 2006). Flavonoids, besides having technological importance, are also strong antioxidants that are important for human health (Rodrigo et al., 2011). The levels of anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins and the distribution of proanthocyanidins between the skin and seeds of grape berries are determined by grape variety, and by climatic and pedological conditions (Mattivi et al., 2002a(Mattivi et al., , 2009. The grape variety also has an impact on the degree of proantho...

Objective:The study aimed to characterize morphological changes of the retinal microvascular network during the progression of diabetic retinopathy. Methods:Publicly available retinal images captured by a digital fundus camera from DIARETDB1 and STARE databases were used. The retinal microvessels were segmented using the automatic method, and vascular network morphology was analyzed by fractal parametrization such as box-counting dimension, lacunarity, and multifractals. Results:The results of the analysis were affected by the ability of the segmentation method to include smaller vessels with more branching generations. In cases where the segmentation was more detailed and included a higher number of vessel branching generations, increased severity of diabetic retinopathy was associated with increased complexity of microvascular network as measured by box-counting and multifractal dimensions, and decreased gappiness of retinal microvascular network as measured by lacunarity parameter. This association was not observed if the segmentation method included only 3-4 vessel branching generations. Conclusions:Severe stages of diabetic retinopathy could be detected noninvasively by using high resolution fundus photography and automatic microvascular segmentation to the high number of branching generations, followed by fractal analysis parametrization. This approach could improve risk stratification for the development of microvascular complications, cardiovascular disease, and dementia in diabetes. K E Y W O R D Sdiabetic retinopathy, fractal analysis, lacunarity, microvascular network morphology, multifractals 2 of 12 | POPOVIC et al.

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