This paper analyses the implementation problems of the European Union’s (EU) most comprehensive agreement between Kosovo and the EU, namely, the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) and related them to the democratization process in Kosovo. The SAA aims to strengthen European integration and support Kosovo to fulfill European principles needed in order to become a member in the union. The agreement was signed in 2015 and annual progress reports have been published by the European Commission in order to evaluate the progress and shortcomings. These progress reports show that Kosovo has faced issues while trying to implement the SAA, mostly due to lack of strong democratic principles (judicial independence, public administration, institutions) and corruption. This paper also examines Kosovo’s democratization process since early 1980s in order to evaluate whether issues faced in the implementation of the SAA are related to poor democratization. By applying a case study design, analyzing relevant material and using democratization theory, this paper finds that Kosovo has undergone significant democratization, however, democratic consolidation is at an early stage and the problems faced there are of similar nature as those problems faced in the implementation of the SAA, hence why it is safe to assume that these issues are indeed related to one another.

<p>U disertaciji je razmatran problem stohastičkog programiranja s ograničenjima tipa jednakosti, odnosno problem minimizacije s ograničenjima koja su u obliku matematičkog očekivanja. Za re&scaron;avanje posmatranog problema kreirana su dva iterativna postupka u kojima se u svakoj iteraciji računa s uzoračkim očekivanjem kao aproksimacijom matematičkog očekivanja. Oba postupka koriste prednosti postupaka s promenljivom veličinom uzorka zasnovanih na adaptivnom ažuriranju veličine uzorka. To znači da se veličina uzorka određuje na osnovu informacija u tekućoj iteraciji. Konkretno, tekuće informacije o preciznosti aproksimacije očekivanja i tačnosti aproksimacije re&scaron;enja problema defini&scaron;u veličinu uzorka za narednu iteraciju. Oba iterativna postupka su zasnovana na linijskom pretraživanju, a kako je u pitanju problem s ograničenjima, i na kvadratnom kaznenom postupku prilagođenom stohastičkom okruženju. Postupci su zasnovani na istim idejama, ali s različitim pristupom.<br />Po prvom pristupu postupak je kreiran za re&scaron;avanje SAA reformulacije problema stohastičkog programiranja, dakle za re&scaron;avanje aproksimacije originalnog problema. To znači da je uzorak definisan pre iterativnog postupka, pa je analiza konvergencije algoritma deterministička. Pokazano je da se, pod standardnim pretpostavkama, navedenim algoritmom dobija podniz iteracija čija je tačka nagomilavanja KKT tačka SAA reformulacije.<br />Po drugom pristupu je formiran algoritam za re&scaron;avanje samog problema<br />stohastičkog programiranja, te je analiza konvergencije stohastička. Predstavljenim algoritmom se generi&scaron;e podniz iteracija čija je tačka nagomilavanja, pod standardnim pretpostavkama za stohastičku optimizaciju, skoro sigurno<br />KKT tačka originalnog problema.<br />Predloženi algoritmi su implementirani na istim test problemima. Rezultati numeričkog testiranja prikazuju njihovu efikasnost u re&scaron;avanju posmatranih problema u poređenju s postupcima u kojima je ažuriranje veličine uzorka<br />zasnovano na unapred definisanoj &scaron;emi. Za meru efikasnosti je upotrebljen<br />broj izračunavanja funkcija. Dakle, na osnovu rezultata dobijenih na skupu<br />testiranih problema može se zaključiti da se adaptivnim ažuriranjem veličine<br />uzorka može u&scaron;tedeti u broju evaluacija funkcija kada su u pitanju i problemi s<br />ograničenjima.<br />Kako je posmatrani problem deterministički, a formulisani postupci su stohastički, prva tri poglavlja disertacije sadrže osnovne pojmove determinističke<br />i stohastiˇcke optimizacije, ali i kratak pregled definicija i teorema iz drugih<br />oblasti potrebnih za lak&scaron;e praćenje analize originalnih rezultata. Nastavak disertacije čini prikaz formiranih algoritama, analiza njihove konvergencije i numerička implementacija.<br />&nbsp;</p> / <p>Stochastic programming problem with equality constraints is considered within thesis. More precisely, the problem is minimization problem with constraints in the form of mathematical expectation. We proposed two iterative methods for solving considered problem. Both procedures, in each iteration, use a sample average function instead of the mathematical expectation function, and employ the advantages of the variable sample size method based on adaptive updating the sample size. That means, the sample size is determined at every iteration using information from the current iteration. Concretely, the current precision of the approximation of expectation and the quality of the approximation of solution determine the sample size for the next iteration. Both iterative procedures are based on the line search technique as well as on the quadratic penalty method adapted to stochastic environment, since the considered problem has constraints. Procedures relies on same ideas, but the approach is different.<br />By first approach, the algorithm is created for solving an SAA reformulation of the stochastic programming problem, i.e., for solving the approximation of the original problem. That means the sample size is determined before the iterative procedure, so the convergence analyses is deterministic. We show that, under the standard assumptions, the proposed algorithm generates a subsequence which accumulation point is the KKT point of the SAA problem. Algorithm formed by the second approach is for solving the stochastic programming problem, and therefore the convergence analyses is stochastic. It generates a subsequence with&nbsp; accumulation point that is almost surely the KKT point of the original problem, under the standard assumptions for stochastic optimization.for sample size. The number of function evaluations is used as measure of efficiency. Results of the set of tested problems suggest that it is possible to make smaller number of function evaluations by adaptive sample size scheduling in the case of constrained problems, too.<br />Since the considered problem is deterministic, but the formed procedures are stochastic, the first three chapters of thesis contain basic notations of deterministic and stochastic optimization, as well as a short sight of definitions and theorems from another fields necessary for easier tracking the original results analysis. The rest of thesis consists of the presented algorithms, their convergence analysis and numerical implementation.</p>

Adipositas und ihre Folgeerkrankungen stellen eine wachsende medizinische Herausforde- rung globalen Ausmaßes dar. Im Rahmen der Adipositasforschung wurde das Fettgewebe als endokrines Organ identifiziert. Von ihm sezernierte Proteine, die sogenannten Adipo- kine, beeinflussen maßgeblich Insulinresistenz und Gefäßverletzbarkeit. Adipositas geht im Fettgewebe mit einer subklinischen chronischen Entzündung einher, die zu einer erhöhten Sekretion von proinflammatorischen Adipokinen führt. Die verstärkte Anwesenheit dieser Proteine ist mit den Komplikationen der Adipositas assoziiert. Die vorliegende Arbeit be- fasst sich mit dem Einfluss von Interleukin (IL)-1β, einem wichtigen Entzündungsmediator des Organismus, auf die Sekretion der proinflammatorischen Adipokine tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1, serum amyloid A (SAA)-3, Lipocalin-2 und Chemerin. Die zugrundeliegenden Untersuchungen wurden mit 3T3-L1- und braunen Adipozyten durch- geführt. Es erfolgte der Nachweis auf mRNA- sowie auf Proteinebene. Der Einsatz von spe- zifischen Inhibitoren erlaubte den Rückschluss auf grundlegende Signalwege. Für alle vier untersuchten Adipokine konnte eine signifikante dosis- und zeitabhängige Steige- rung der mRNA- und Proteinexpression durch IL-1β nachgewiesen werden. Die Transduktion des IL-1β-Signals erfolgte im Falle von Lipocalin-2 und SAA-3 über nuclear factor (NF)-κB und janus kinase (Jak)-2, bei TIMP-1 lediglich über Jak-2 und in Bezug auf Chemerin über NFκB, Jak-2, p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinase und Phosphatidylinositol-3-Kinase. Die in dieser Arbeit nachgewiesenen Expressions- und Sekretionssteigerungen von TIMP-1, SAA-3, Lipocalin-2 und Chemerin in braunen und weißen Adipozyten festigen IL-1β als einen entscheidenden Mediator proinflammatorischer Prozesse im Fettgewebe. Eine umfassende Bewertung der Funktion von IL-1β im Fettgewebe, insbesondere im Zustand der Adipositas, muss jedoch in weitergehenden Studien erfolgen.

Wo und wie werden komplexe Regelsätze im Gehirn repräsentiert? Drei empirische Studien dieser Doktorarbeit untersuchen dies experimentell. Eine weitere methodische Studie liefert Beiträge zur Weiterentwicklung der genutzten empirischen Methode. Die empirischen Studien nutzen multivariate Musteranalyse (MVPA) funktioneller Magnetresonanzdaten (fMRT) gesunder Probanden. Die Fragestellungen der methodischen Studie wurden durch die empirischen Arbeiten inspiriert. Wirkung und Anwendungsbreite der entwickelten Methode gehen jedoch über die Anwendung in den empirischen Studien dieser Arbeit hinaus. Die empirischen Studien bearbeiten Fragen wie: Wo werden Hinweisreize und Regeln repräsentiert, und sind deren Repräsentationen voneinander unabhängig? Wo werden Regeln repräsentiert, die aus mehreren Einzelregeln bestehen, und sind Repräsentationen der zusammengesetzten Regeln Kombinationen der Repräsentationen der Einzelregeln? Wo sind Regeln verschiedener Hierarchieebenen repräsentiert, und gibt es einen hierarchieabhängigen Gradienten im ventrolateralen präfrontalen Kortex (VLPFK)? Wo wird die Reihenfolge der Regelausführung repräsentiert? Alle empirischen Studien verwenden informationsbasiertes funktionales Mapping ("Searchlight"-Ansatz), zur hirnweiten und räumlich Lokalisierung von Repräsentationen verschiedener Elemente komplexer Regelsätze. Kernergebnisse der Arbeit beinhalten: Kompositionalität neuronaler Regelrepräsentationen im VLPFK; keine Evidenz für Regelreihenfolgenrepräsentation im VLPFK, welches gegen VLPFK als generelle Task-Set-Kontrollregion spricht; kein Hinweis auf einen hierarchieabhängigen Gradienten im VLPFK. Die komplementierende methodische Studie präsentiert "The Same Analysis Approach (SAA)", ein Ansatz zur Erkennung und Behebung experimentspezifischer Fehler, besonders solcher, die aus Design–Analyse–Interaktionen entstehen. SAA ist für relevant MVPA, aber auch für anderen Bereichen innerhalb und außerhalb der Neurowissenschaften. / Where and how does the brain represent complex rule sets? This thesis presents a series of three empirical studies that decompose representations of complex rule sets to directly address this question. An additional methodological study investigates the employed analysis method and the experimental design. The empirical studies employ multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from healthy human participants. The methodological study has been inspired by the empirical work. Its impact and application range, however, extend well beyond the empirical studies of this thesis. Questions of the empirical studies (Studies 1-3) include: Where are cues and rules represented, and are these represented independently? Where are compound rules (rules consisting of multiple rules) represented, and are these composed from their single rule representations? Where are rules from different hierarchical levels represented, and is there a hierarchy-dependent functional gradient along ventro-lateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC)? Where is the order of rule-execution represented, and is it represented as a separate higher-level rule? All empirical studies employ information-based functional mapping ("searchlight" approach) to localise representations of rule set features brain-wide and spatially unbiased. Key findings include: compositional coding of compound rules in VLPFC; no order information in VLPFC, suggesting VLPFC is not a general controller for task set; evidence against the hypothesis of a hierarchy-dependent functional gradient along VLPFC. The methodological study (Study 4) introduces "The Same Analysis Approach (SAA)". SAA allows to detect, avoid, and eliminate confounds and other errors in experimental design and analysis, especially mistakes caused by malicious experiment-specific design-analysis interactions. SAA is relevant for MVPA, but can also be applied in other fields, both within and outside of neuroscience.

Partial Nitritation/Anammox process (deammonification process), by which occurs oxidation of ammonium to nitrogen gas by autotrophic bacteria in anaerobic conditions, considered to be cost-effective and environmentally friendly method of nitrogen removal. Present research work focuses on achieving a high nitrogen removal degree, thanks to Anammox bacteria, while providing the best performance of the ongoing process. Integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS) reactor was supplied with the main stream of the wastewater after UASB reactor, characterized by low concentration of nitrogen and organic matter. The bacteria ability to accommodate, were tested in the biofilm and in the activated sludge, depending on the different stages in which the process were being conducted. Batch test, such as Specific Anammox Activity (SAA), Nitrate Uptake Rate (NUR) and Oxygen Uptake Rate (OUR), were used for the evaluation of activity of various groups of bacteria. On the basis of laboratory analysis verified the values obtained from the batch tests. It was determined that a high degree of nitrogen removal (92% of NH4-N) was achieved thanks to the dominant activity of the Anammox bacteria, with low participation of other groups of bacteria. It was also proved, that Anammox bacteria activity were overwhelming in the biofilm. Dominant role of Ammonium Oxidizing Bacteria (AOB) was associated with high activity of Anammox bacteria, which together satisfyingly out-competed Nitrite Oxidizing Bacteria (NOB) and heterotrophic bacteria. It has been shown that Anammox bacteria quickly adapt to the new conditions and they are able to assume a dominant role, even in the case of inoculation of the reactor with the sludge from SBR. This allows conclude, that in the case of operational problems, the reactor can be supplied from another source, in order not to inhibit the process.