Coping with Crisis in Eastern Europe's Environment

Along with the winds of political change in Central and Eastern Europe have come the realities of severely polluted air, water and soil. Among the greatest challenges for Eastern Europeans will be how to cope with these environmental problems during a period of difficult economic and political transition. This book is one of the first published since the revolutions of 1989 giving the views of top environmental experts from six Central and Eastern European countries on these issues. In individual chapters these experts analyze the air and water quality situations of their countries in depth. Much of the data and analyses contained is being made available for the first time to an international audience. This volume not only gives an overview of the current environmental situation, but also presents many ideas for reforms and actions needed for coping with the environmental crisis in each country in the short run. These include suggestions for institutional and economic reforms, as well as specific recommendations for technology transfer and training that are most needed for environmental protection

Enriched mannose glycosylation contributes to Act d 2 allergenicity.

Allergens are responsible for the Th2 response in patients as part of complex mixtures of proteins, fatty acids and other molecules. Plant allergens have hitherto been included in several protein families that share no common biochemical features. Their physical, biochemical and immunological characteristics have been widely studied, but no definite conclusion has been reached about what makes a protein an allergen. N-glycosylation is characteristic of plant allergen sources but is not present in mammals

Forest Fires in Europe Middle East and North Africa 2013

This is the 14th “Forest Fires in Europe” report published by the European Commission. The report contains a summary of the 2013 fire season in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa with official statistics on the number of fires and burnt areas compiled by the contributing countries. In addition to country reports with a summary of the past fire season provided by the countries, the report Forest Fires in Europe, Middle East and North Africa informs about the latest developments in terms of forest fire prevention and initiatives of the European Commission to support forest fires fire protection activities in the European Union. Furthermore it provides the results of the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) operating during the fire season, with special emphasis on the EFFIS Danger Forecast, providing daily maps of meteorological fire danger forecast of EU, and the EFFIS Rapid Damage Assessment, performing the daily mapping and assessment of main land cover and Natura2000 areas affected by fires of at least 40 ha during the fire season.JRC.H.3-Forest Resources and Climat

The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia

"The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia is a landmark study in the origins of metallurgy. The project aimed to trace the invention and innovation of metallurgy in the Balkans. It combined targeted excavations and surveys with extensive scientific analyses at two Neolithic-Chalcolithic copper production and consumption sites, Belovode and Pločnik, in Serbia. At Belovode, the project revealed chronologically and contextually secure evidence for copper smelting in the 49th century BC. This confirms the earlier interpretation of c. 7000-year-old metallurgy at the site, making it the earliest record of fully developed metallurgical activity in the world. However, far from being a rare and elite practice, metallurgy at both Belovode and Pločnik is demonstrated to have been a common and communal craft activity. This monograph reviews the pre-existing scholarship on early metallurgy in the Balkans. It subsequently presents detailed results from the excavations, surveys and scientific analyses conducted at Belovode and Pločnik. These are followed by new and up-to-date regional syntheses by leading specialists on the Neolithic-Chalcolithic material culture, technologies, settlement and subsistence practices in the Central Balkans. Finally, the monograph places the project results in the context of major debates surrounding early metallurgy in Eurasia before proposing a new agenda for global early metallurgy studies.

The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia

"The Rise of Metallurgy in Eurasia is a landmark study in the origins of metallurgy. The project aimed to trace the invention and innovation of metallurgy in the Balkans. It combined targeted excavations and surveys with extensive scientific analyses at two Neolithic-Chalcolithic copper production and consumption sites, Belovode and Pločnik, in Serbia. At Belovode, the project revealed chronologically and contextually secure evidence for copper smelting in the 49th century BC. This confirms the earlier interpretation of c. 7000-year-old metallurgy at the site, making it the earliest record of fully developed metallurgical activity in the world. However, far from being a rare and elite practice, metallurgy at both Belovode and Pločnik is demonstrated to have been a common and communal craft activity. This monograph reviews the pre-existing scholarship on early metallurgy in the Balkans. It subsequently presents detailed results from the excavations, surveys and scientific analyses conducted at Belovode and Pločnik. These are followed by new and up-to-date regional syntheses by leading specialists on the Neolithic-Chalcolithic material culture, technologies, settlement and subsistence practices in the Central Balkans. Finally, the monograph places the project results in the context of major debates surrounding early metallurgy in Eurasia before proposing a new agenda for global early metallurgy studies.