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Teaching staff
The list of teaching staff involved in the in the study of Psychology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is shown below, with their notable research interests.
Scientific productivity and citations of employees at the Department of Psychology is avaliable here.
The primary scientific research interest of Linda Lusic Kalcina is a scientific field of sleep disorders and sleep habits, with a special emphasis on the research of psychomotor abilities in patients with breathing disorders during sleep.
Some of the most important publications in which Linda Lusic Kalcina participated are listed and described below:
Linda Lusic Kalcina participated in the aforementioned cross-sectional study conducted at the Center for Sleep Medicine in Split, which included 101 patients with severe OSA (78.2% men). The aim was to determine the contribution of clinical characteristics and comorbid conditions to changes in adherence to CPAP treatment in a total sample of patients with severe OSA. Men and elderly patients (who are more likely to suffer from OSA) were recognized by the research as patients at risk and for reduced adherence to the use of CPAP devices. As the second author in this research, Linda Lusic Kalcina participated in a large part of the implementation of the research protocol and the formulation of research hypotheses, as well as in the creation of the publication itself.
In a previous research paper, which was cited 91 times according to the WoS database, Linda Lusic Kalcina participated in the creation and planning of a research protocol during which the goal was to investigate the effect of the lockdown due to the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) on lifestyle and mood. 3,027 respondents (70.3% women) of the general population participated in the study, and the study was among the first to provide data on changes in lifestyle habits during confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic in Croatia, showing changes in physical activity, smoking frequency, and changes in body weight in a sample of the general Croatian population. The findings of the conducted research indicated the connection of the same changes with difficulties in the field of mental health, thereby increasing the global burden of the pandemic.
Pecotic R, Dodig IP, Valic M, Galic T, Kalcina LL, Ivkovic N, Dogas Z. Effects of CPAP therapy on cognitive and psychomotor performances in patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea: a prospective 1-year study. Sleep Breath. 2019;23(1):41-8.
In a previous study, Linda Lusic Kalcina participated in a research protocol during which the effects of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on long-term cognitive and psychomotor abilities and excessive daytime sleepiness in patients with severe OSA were prospectively investigated. Linda Lusic Kalcina participated in the implementation of the research protocol in the follow-up periods after 1, 3 and 6 months and 1 year after the start of therapy. The conclusions of the conducted research determined the effects of CPAP treatment on the acceleration of reaction time on the CRD-series of tests with the most significant improvement observed in the complex psychomotor coordination of the limbs of patients with severe OSA.
103 male patients of the Center for Sleep Medicine with a diagnosis of severe obstructive sleep apnea and 103 control subjects matched by age, gender and BMI with the patients participated in the study. All patients were evaluated at the Center for Sleep Medicine by performing polygraphic or polysomnographic recording, while the control subjects were evaluated with the STOP questionnaire. All research participants underwent a neuropsychological assessment using a chronometric CRD instrument, which determined that patients with OSA had the most differences in psychomotor abilities compared to the control group when measuring the speed of distinguishing the position of signals (CRD311 test), where patients with OSA were slower in all measures except for the shortest test solving time. The contribution of the conducted research is the assessment of patients with OSA by measuring the reaction time with an instrument that allows the calculation of the total time required to solve the tests and the change in the solution time during each individual test. Linda Lusic Kalcina actively participated in every part of the research, data collection by testing reaction time, data collection from polygraph and polysomnography records at the Center for Sleep Medicine, as well as setting research goals and hypotheses, data processing and data interpretation.
The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is used as an instrument in the screening and evaluation of patients with a suspected diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea, despite the fact that it does not take into account all the symptoms present in the patient. Therefore, the aim of the previously highlighted research was to evaluate the quality of sleep using the PSQI in patients with obstructive sleep apnea and to determine the threshold value for differentiating patients with characteristics of good and poor sleep quality based on the same. The study protocol included the assessment of sleep quality in 130 patients with obstructive sleep apnea and 75 healthy control subjects. Linda Lusic Kalcina actively participated in the implementation of research and collected data from polysomnography records at the Center for Sleep Medicine. All subjects were assessed with the Croatian version of the PSQI, and polysomnographic recording was performed during the night. Psychometric characteristics of the PSQI in predicting sleep efficiency greater than 85% assessed by polysomnography showed that a threshold score of 9.5 on the PSQI distinguishes patients with characteristics of good and poor sleep quality in the following values: total sleep time, duration of REM sleep, time spent awake state during sleep, after sleep and wakefulness after the first sleep. The findings allowed for an increase in the interpretability of the PSQI results in the population of patients with obstructive sleep apnea, in which it was often and routinely used without the possibility of a valid interpretation. In cooperation with the mentor, Linda Lusic Kalcina participated in planning the implementation of the research, determining the research methodology and defining the data collection protocol.
Linda Lusic Kalcina participated as an associate in numerous professional and scientific research projects listed below:
1. Digital literacy enables up-to-date sleep medicine in inclusive healthcare (Erasmus+ project in field Higher Education) – associate, 2023.
Link eSleep dHealth
2. European Football concussion awareness, prevention and management model (REFORM); Call Erasmus-sport-2023 – associate 2023.
Link REFORM Eramus sport 2023
3. Sleep revolution, European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, grant agreement no. 965417. – associate
Link Sleep revolution HORIZON 2020
4. Improvement of the work of the Ante Kuzmanić Medical School Zadar - regional competence center in the health sector, Projects financed by the European Social Fund, Medicinska plus, - associate, 2020.
5. Sleep medicine Joint Delivery of Sleep Medicine Diagnostic and Therapeutic Services in the Cross-Border Area of Southern Croatia and Western Bosnia and Herzegovina – IPA Interreg (2017-2019) – associate
Link Sleep medicine project IPA
6. Internationalization of study programs of all levels at the Faculty of Medicine in Split - Operational Program Effective Human Resources (2014-2020) – associate
7. Translational research on neuroplasticity of breathing and the effect of intermittent hypoxia on anesthesia and sleep, (leader Prof. Zoran Đogaš, Ph.D., University of Split, Faculty of Medicine, 2014, HRZZ) - associate
Link TIHO HRZZ project
8. Changes in breathing and sympathetic nervous activity during repeated hypoxia - the role of serotonin (leader Prof. Maja Valić, Ph.D., University of Split, Faculty of Medicine, 2012-2015, HRZZ) - associate
9. Neural control of breathing during wakefulness and sleep (supervisor Prof. Zoran Đogaš, Ph.D., University of Split, Faculty of Medicine, 2008-2014, MZOŠ) - researcher
Link Neural control of breathing project
10. Early diagnosis and thrombolytic therapy of ischemic stroke (leader Prof. Stipan Janković, Ph.D., University of Split, 2012. Faculty of Medicine, MZOŠ) - researcher/assistant
In the mentioned projects, Linda Lusic Kalcina participated in the activities described below:
• Activities that achieve the goals of the Sleep Revolution HORIZON 2020 project (all preparatory activities for the implementation of research methodology aimed at transforming diagnostics and patient monitoring in sleep medicine centers across Europe).
• Activities to develop methodology and project planning, and to achieve international cooperation in the field of sleep disorder research through the application of two Erasmus+ projects (Digital literacy enables up-to-date sleep medicine in inclusive healthcare and European Football concussion awareness, prevention and management model (REFORM)) which were approved in 2023.
• Activities on the project "Sleep medicine" Joint Delivery of Sleep Medicine Diagnostic and Therapeutic Services in the Cross-Border Area of Southern Croatia and Western Bosnia and Herzegovina - IPA-Interreg project (2017-2019) participated in a significant improvement of the quality of work and opportunities diagnostics and therapy at the Center for Sleep Medicine in Split and the establishment of the Center for Sleep Medicine in Mostar.
• Activities on the project Translational research on neuroplasticity of breathing and the effect of intermittent hypoxia on anesthesia and sleep, (leader Prof. Zoran Đogaš, PhD, University of Split, Faculty of Medicine, 2014, HRZZ) participated in the realization of research goals that achieved better interpretability changes in psychomotor abilities and sleep quality in patients with OSA.
• Through active participation in the organization of events related to the popularization of science since the beginning of work at the Faculty of Medicine, especially through work on the planning and implementation of Brain Awareness Week from 2013 to 2023, Linda Lusic Kalcina contributed to the dissemination of knowledge about sleep disorders and disorders in the field of mental health.
Through these activities, Linda Lusic Kalcina also participated in FENS projects for the popularization of Fearless brain science as a winner of Dana-FENS Brain Awareness Week grants 2021, and as a collaborator on the project Meet mr. Brain, Split 2020. Linda Lusic Kalcina acted as a member of the organizing committee during the 1st Croatian Conference on Sports Related Brain Injuries, June 15-17, 2017, and participated in the organization of numerous activities aimed at popularizing sleep medicine. Linda Lusic Kalcina actively participated in the planning and preparation of the study of the post-graduate specialist study of Sleep Medicine, under the guidance of prof. Đogaš and foreign experts in the field.
Through active participation in the conferences of the Croatian Neuroscience Society and the European sleep respiratory society, during which Linda Lusic Kalcina presented the work of her research group, Linda Lusic Kalcina contributed to the recognition of the Center for Sleep Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine in Split and KBC Split, and achieved a number of collaborations.
• As part of the activities of the Center for Sleep Medicine Split, Linda Lusic Kalcina participated in the creation of a database for more than 4,000 patients (Split Sleep Cohort - SSC), which is the basis for future scientific and research work in sleep medicine of significant international recognition. In 2016, the Center for Sleep Medicine in Split joined the international multicenter project European Sleep Apnea Database (ESADA), and the goal of the project is to create a European database of sleep medicine laboratories for the purpose of conducting joint scientific research on breathing disorders during sleep. During her professional work, Linda Lusic Kalcina participated in the data entry of the Center for Sleep Medicine in Split into the ESADA database.
• In the project Internationalization of study programs of all levels at the Faculty of Medicine in Split, the Operational Program "Effective Human Resources 2014 - 2020", contributed to the development of new summer school programs that are adapted to the latest requirements for improving the quality of scientific research and adapted to the needs of the economy and the business sector .
• During activities on the project "Improving the work of the Medical School of Ante Kuzmanić Zadar - Regional Center of Competence in the Health Sector", Operational Program "Effective Human Resources 2014-2020", Linda Lusic Kalcina contributed to the establishment of a regional center of competence in the health sector through the introduction of new education and training programs and improvement of personnel conditions.
The role of Linda Lusic Kalcina in science popularization projects, and these activities are described and listed below:
Below are the forms of participation:
Evidence of the participation of Linda Lusic Kalcina in science popularization programs from 2013 until today, are available in open access on the websites of the Faculty of Medicine, the Croatian Neuroscience Society and FENS, as well as educational activities in the skole.hr domain.
Below are some available links:
Linda Lusic Kalcina participates in numerous international project collaborations, and has completed her international mobility with the following activities:
- 2015. Sleep medicine summer school, University of Oxford UK
- Basel, ESRS conference – lecture and participation at the 24th Congress of the European Sleep Research Society, Basel, Switzerland
She has recently received a 2ndprize in a NetHub Research programme for innovations in the healthcare system, after joining the 5 teams presenting their ideas in the final NetHub presentation day.
Additionally, she participated as a contestant in the Falling Walls Lab, international conference aimed at recognizing new discoveries. She presented her ideas, in a three-minute presentation, competing to go to the finals in Berlin. She received a 3rd place with the following topic - Breaking the wall of sleepless brain in a tech-driven world.
Linda Lusic Kalcina participated as a co-author of chapters in the following publications:
1. Lusic I, Lusic L. Sleep quality following stroke. Ed: Sinanovic O, Trkanjec Z, Aleksic V, ed. Non-motor symptoms following stroke. Medical publishing house. 2015. 257-261.
2. Lusic I, Lusic L. Cognitive behavioral rehabilitation following stroke. Ed: Sinanovic O, Trkanjec Z, Aleksic V, ed. Non-motor symptoms following stroke. Medical publishing house. 2015. 262-269.
Link Nemotorni simptomi nakon moždanog udara
She presented her scientific research activity at numerous international research meetings listed below:
1) Đogaš, Z ; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana ; Lusić Kalcina, Linda ; Antičević, Darko Sleep quality, excessive daytime sleepiness and increased risk for OSA in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta // Balancing life with OI - Topical meeting on the impact of pain in osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) / Lande Wekkre, Lena ; Astrom, Eva, editor. Stockholm, 2023. p. 39-39
2) Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Pecotic, Renata; Patala, Athanasia; Basoglu, K. Ozen; Sezai Tasbakan; Dogas, Zoran. Proposed cut-off points for optimal bmi, age and neck circumference value in the stop-bang: comparison of Greece, Turkey and Croatia. 26th Congress of the European Sleep Research Society. 27 – 30 September 2022. Athens, Greece.
3) Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Pecotic, Renata; Patala, Athanasia; Basoglu, K Ozen; Sezai Tasbakan, Mehmet; Dogas, Zoran. Excluding item T (tired) from STOP-BANG questionnaire in different nations: the role of age and sex. 26th Congress of the European Sleep Research Society. 27 – 30 September 2022. Athens, Greece. (adopted)
4) Demirovic, Sijana; Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Pecotic, Renata; Vali, Maja; Dogas, Zoran. The promising role of the slope of the oxygen desaturation curve in CPAP adherence prediction. 26th Congress of the European Sleep Research Society. 27 – 30 September 2022. Athens, Greece.
5) Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Demirovic, Sijana; Pecotic, Renata; Valic, Maja; Dogas, Varja; Dogas, Zoran. COVID-19 lockdown revealed the great workload, chronic sleep deprivation and anxiety of medical students in the pre-lockdown period // 8. Hrvatski kongres neuroznanosti / 8. Croatian Neuroscience Congress. September 24 - 25, 2021. Zagreb, Croatia.
6) Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Demirovic, Sijana; Pecotic, Renata; Valic, Maja; Dogas, Zoran. Detecting OSA early: the role of tiredness in screened patients // 8. Hrvatski kongres neuroznanosti / 8. Croatian Neuroscience Congress. September 24 – 25, 2021. Zagreb, Croatia.
7) Demirovic, Sijana; Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Pecotic, Renata; Valic, Maja; Dogas, Zoran. The slope of the oxygen desaturation as a predictor of CPAP adherence in severe OSA patients // 8. Hrvatski kongres neuroznanosti/8. Croats
8) Pecotic, Renata; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Demirovic, Sijana; Madirazza, Katarina; Valic, Maja; Dogas, Zoran. The COVID-19 lockdown induced changes in sleep habits among Croatian general population // 8. Hrvatski kongres neuroznanosti / 8. Croatian Neuroscience Congress. 24 - 25 Rujan 2021. Zagreb, Hrvatska.
9) Qazzafi, Aisha; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Demirovic, Sijana; Pecotic, Renata; Valic, Maja; Dogas, Zoran. The correlations between results in different domains of cognitive abilities measured in medical students // 8. Hrvatski kongres neuroznanosti / 8. Croatian Neuroscience Congress. 24 - 25 Rujan 2021. Zagreb, Hrvatska.
10) Mihaljevic, Ana; Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Demirovic, Sijana; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Pecotic, Renata; Dogas, Zoran; Valic, Maja. The impact of age and sex on behavior and mood changes, sleep habits and attitudes toward vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic // 8. Hrvatski kongres neuroznanosti / 8. Croatian Neuroscience Congress. 24 - 25 September 2021. Zagreb, Hrvatska.
11) Demirovic, Sijana; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Pecotic, Renata; Valic, Maja; Dogas, Zoran. Age and gender related effects on the risk for OSA and daytime sleepiness - a large population study // Special Issue: Abstracts of the 25th Congress of the European Sleep Research Society. 22 ‐ 24 Rujan 2020. Virtual Congress.
12) Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Demirovic, Sijana; Pecotic, Renata; Valic, Maja and Dogas, Zoran. Critical concerns in the interpretation of STOP and STOP-BANG in the elderly: recommendation of differently assessed cut-off values for STOP-BANG. // Special Issue: Abstracts of the 25th Congress of the European Sleep Research Society. 22 ‐ 24 Rujan 2020. Virtual Congress.
13) Valic, Maja; Valic, Zoran; Pecotic, Renata; Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana, Dogas, Zoran. Sleep architecture in severe OSA patients // 7th Croatian Neuroscience Congress. 12 ‐ 15 Rujan 2019. Zadar, Hrvatska.
14) Demirovic, Sijana; Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Pecotic, Renata; Valic, Maja; Dogas, Zoran. Introducing the slope of the oxygen desaturation curve as a novel index in assessing phenotypes in severe OSA patients // 7th Croatian Neuroscience Congress. 12 ‐ 15 Rujan 2019. Zadar, Hrvatska.
15) Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Valic, Maja; Pecotic, Renata; Dogas, Zoran. Sleep, anxiety, and cognitive and psychomotor abilities of medical students measured by tests of the Complex Reactionmeter Drenovac series // 7th Croatian Neuroscience Congress. 12 - 15 September 2019. Zadar, Croatia.
16) Kristo, Dona; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Pecotic, Renata; Valic, Maja; Dogas, Zoran. Influence of age and gender on cognitive and psychomotor abilities measured by the Complex Reactionmeter Drenovac-series tests // 7th Croatian Neuroscience Congress. 12 - 15 September 2019. Zadar, Croatia.
17) Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Pecotic, Renata; Valic, Maja; Dogas, Zoran. Polysomnography parameters and sleep architecture: the role in daytime sleepiness and sleep quality of OSA patients // 7th Croatian Neuroscience Congress. 12 - 15 September 2019. Zadar, Croatia.
18) Tranfic, Mia; Peros, Kristina; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Valic, Maja; Pecotic, Renata; Dogas, Zoran. The association of salivary parameters with the severity of obstructive sleep apnea // 9th Croatian Congress of Pharmacology with International Participation: book of abstracts. 25 – 28 September 2019. Zagreb, Croatia.
19) Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Pecotic, Renata; Valic, Maja; Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Dogas, Zoran. Moderate and severe OSA in males impair psychomotor reaction times assessed by CRD-series testing // Special Issue: Abstracts of the 24th Congress of the European Sleep Research Society. 25 – 28 September 2018. Basel, Switzerland.
20) Zuljan Cvitanovic, Marija; Roje, Romilda; Krnic, Duska; Lusic Kalcina, Linda; Anticevic, Vesna. Anxiety, impulsiveness and self-esteem as predictors of adolescent social network addiction // Knjiga sazetaka. 2018. Opatija, Croatia.
21) Mihalj, Mario; Lusic, Linda; Dogas, Zoran; Titlic, Marina. Obstructive sleep apnea and sensorimotor polyneuropathy // Abstracts of the 2nd Congress of the European Academy of Neurology; in: European Journal of Neurology 23 (2016) (S2) P21271 Copenhagen, Denmark.
22) Mihalj, Mario; Lusic, Linda; Dogas, Zoran. Subclinical axonal damage of upper limb's nerves in OSA patients // Abstracts of the 23rd Congress of the European Sleep Research Society (ESRS). 2016. Bologna, Italy,.
23) Lusic, Linda; Valic, Maja; Pecotic, Renata; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Dogas, Zoran. Sleep quality and overnight polysomnography findings among obstructive sleep apnea patients // 5. Croatian Neuroscience Congress. 17 – 19 September 2015. Split, Croatia.
24) Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Lusic, Linda; Pecotic, Renata; Valic, Maja; Dogas, Zoran. Cognitive and psychomotor performance in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome // 5. Croatian Neuroscience Congress. 17 – 19 September 2015. Split, Croatia.
25) Pecotic, Renata; Valic, Maja; Lusic, Linda; Peros, Kristina; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Dogas, Zoran. Sleep medicine knowledge and attitudes among dental medicine students // 9th FENS Forum of Neuroscience. 5 – 9 July 2014. Milan, Italy.
26) Lusic, Linda; Pecotic, Renata; Valic, Maja; Pavlinac Dodig, Ivana; Dogas, Zoran. Sleep quality and other psychological variables in obstructive sleep apnea patients. // The Oxford Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Summer Schools. July, 2014 John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK.
27) Valic, Maja; Pecotic, Renata; Lusic, Linda; Peros, Kristina; Pribudic, Zrinka; Dogas, Zoran. The relationship between sleep habits and academic performance in dental medicine students in Croatia // 4th Croatian Neuroscience Congress. September 20 – 21, 2
