Touristic and propagandic events as a segment of the touristic offer in Vojvodina (province of Serbia)

In the present tourist offer, events tourism can contribute to broader tourist demand and interest. It would be more appropriate to classify them in accordance with their contents: artistic, scientific, economic, sports, religious, politically or historically, ethnographic, entertainment, and touristically propagandic events. Touristically propagandic events for aim have to represent offer of tourist settlements and regions, in receptive tourist areas. Vojvodina is the biggest emitive tourist space in Serbia. As a multiethnic space, contains more than thirty different nations. Each of them has their own specifities of traditional living, religion, costumes, economy, different conditions and time of settling. The development of tourism, as economic activity, causing marketing as instrument in tourist offer presentation. As instrument of tourist offer presentation of events tourism, marketing is unsatisfactory, but, some of events are using as element of tourist marketing

REMOTE SENSING ROLE IN ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS ANALYSIS: ЕАST SERBIA WILDFIRES CASE STUDY (2007–2017)

Wildfire has been one of the most dangerous environmental stressors nowadays. It is an important disturbance where ecosystem biomass is burned and where organisms are damaged or killed by fire. Therefore, the detecting and monitoring of this stressor are of great importance. During last decades, extensive forest fires have spread in Southern Europe, and they are registered in Serbia as well. During year 2007, several significant fires were registered in Stara Planina and Svrljiške Planine Mountains. The aims of this study were to detect land cover changes for the studied site from 2007–2017, to focus on monitoring the area affected by the wildfire, and to analyse the environment response to stressor. The study area is situated in East Serbia, partially covering the Mountains Stara Planina (western part) and Svrljiške planine (eastern part). The remote sensing techniques were used in the analysis and main satellite data were obtained via USGS Earth Explorer application. Six different classes were selected: Water, Forest, Pastures, Artificial area, Agriculture, and Bare soil. Results showed significant changes in two classes, Forest, and Pastures — the forest spread for more than 20% at the expense of pasture, which decreased more than 23%

Protected Natural Areas and Ecotourism - Priority Strategies for Future Development in Selected Serbian Case Studies

This research deals with the evaluation of tourist attractions in selected protected areas (PAs) in Serbia for the purpose of developing ecotourism. Using the integral AHP-SWOT method, two authentic mountain areas were analyzed—Stara Planina Nature Park and Suva Planina Special Nature Reserve. The results confirmed the presence of numerous natural and, to a lesser extent, anthropogenic resources that represent the basis for the future ecotourism activities. However, significant weaknesses were also registered, which are reflected in overall poverty, underdeveloped infrastructure and depopulation. The analysis also showed that the highest rated factors for the development of ecotourism are local products that should be offered on the regional market, as well as the use of the geographical position of both areas (near the state border) through the use of donor funds (IPA funds). The application of the AHP-SWOT method enabled the definition and prioritization of several development strategies, of which the ones with the greatest weight are based on the use of the variegated biodiversity of both PAs. This research advances knowledge about strategic decision-making in PAs and could be beneficial to destination managers for the creation of successful strategic plans. Results suggest that future actions should be aimed at maximizing the detected advantages, which means creating an appropriate development policy, drafting legislation, encouraging social mobilization activities and determining the institutional elements for the development and management of ecotourism

Molecular Identification and Characterisation of Aspergillus flavus Isolates Originating from Serbian Wheat Grains

During previous years. regarding the shifts in climate conditions in temperate region, such as occurrence of high temperatures and prolonged drought, increased occurrence frequencies of Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxins in cereal grains were recorded. A reliable and accurate identification of the fungi is of great importance for evaluating the microbiological risks of contamination. The essential point of the present investigation was molecular characterisation and identification of A. flavus isolates originating from common wheat and spelt grains collected after harvest during the period of three years (2015-2017) in Northern Serbia. A holistic approach that included PCR amplification of two DNA genomic regions and PCR-RFLP assay followed by fragment length analysis, provided complete and comprehensive characterisation of A. Amiss isolated from wheat grains. The presented results indicate that there was no difference among the tested A. spergillus isolates on the molecular-genetic level. All 38 strains were identified as A. flavus by sequencing of combined ITS region and beta-tubulin gene fragments (ace. no.: MH582473 to MH582510). PCR-RFLP method in combination with a Lab-on-a-chip (LoaC) electrophoresis can be successfully used to rapidly identify A. flavus isolates

Spatio-temporal varilability of annual PM 2.5 concentrations and population exposure assessment in Serbia for the period 2001-201

The long-term exposure to PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm) is the leading global health risk factor. The spatio-temporal variability of annual values of the total PM2.5 concentrations in Serbia is analyzed using the high-resolution (0.01° × 0.01°) gridded data set V4.EU.02 for the period 2001–2016. Population counts and density data were used to calculate the population exposure while the urban land cover data were used to estimate the relations between the size of urban area and the concentration of PM2.5. The mean annual values vary in the range 13.93 μg/m3 –28.91 μg/m3 . The regional differences exist, but the highest values were obtained for urban environments (> 22.5 μg/m3 ). Negative trend of annual PM2.5 is present in most of the parts of the Serbian territory, especially in the eastern parts reaching –0.37 μg/m3 per year (p ≤ .05). More than 99% of the territory of Serbia has the mean annual values under the national safe limit established by regulation (25 μm/m3 ), but comparing to the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline (10 μm/m3 ), all the territory is above the safe level. In line with the trend of urbanization, there is a clear upward trend in the number of population exposed to the higher concentrations of PM2.5. The share of the population exposed to values higher than 25 μg/m3 increased from 6.65% in 2005 to 11.40% in 2015, while comparing to WHO standard, the total population in Serbia is exposed to the values higher than the safe one

Rubbery taproot disease of sugar beet in Serbia associated with 'Candidatus phytoplasma solani'

Rubbery taproot disease (RTD) of sugar beet was observed in Serbia for the first time in the 1960s. The disease was already described in neighboring Bulgaria and Romania at the time but it was associated with abiotic factors. In this study on RTD of sugar beet in its main growing area of Serbia, we provide evidence of the association between 'Candidatus Phytoplasma solani' (stolbur phytoplasma) infection and the occurrence of typical RTD symptomatology. 'Ca. P. solani' was identified by PCR and the sequence analyses of 16S ribosomal RNA, tuf, secY, and stamp genes. In contrast, the causative agent of the syndrome “basses richesses” of sugar beet-namely, 'Ca. Arsenophonus phytopathogenicus'-was not detected. Sequence analysis of the stolbur strain's tuf gene confirmed a previously reported and a new, distinct tuf stolbur genotype (named 'tuf d') that is prevalent in sugar beet. The sequence signatures of the tuf gene as well as the one of stamp both correlate with the epidemiological cycle and reservoir plant host. This study provides knowledge that, for the first time, enables the differentiation of stolbur strains associated with RTD of sugar beet from closely related strains, thereby providing necessary information for further epidemiological work seeking to identify insect vectors and reservoir plant hosts. The results of this study indicate that there are differences in hybrid susceptibility. Clarifying the etiology of RTD as a long-known and economically important disease is certainly the first step toward disease management in Serbia and neighboring countries.This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Ćurčić Ž., Stepanović J., Zübert C., Taški-Ajduković K., Kosovac A., Rekanović E., Kube M., Duduk B. Rubbery taproot disease of sugar beet in Serbia associated with 'Candidatus phytoplasma solani'. Plant Disease 2021, 105 (2), 255 – 263. [https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-07-20-1602-RE]

Drought Impact Is Alleviated in Sugar Beets (Beta vulgaris L.) by Foliar Application of Fullerenol Nanoparticles

Over the past few years, significant efforts have been made to decrease the effects of drought stress on plant productivity and quality. We propose that fullerenol nanoparticles (FNPs, molecular formula C-60(OH)(24)) may help alleviate drought stress by serving as an additional intercellular water supply. Specifically, FNPs are able to penetrate plant leaf and root tissues, where they bind water in various cell compartments. This hydroscopic activity suggests that FNPs could be beneficial in plants. The aim of the present study was to analyse the influence of FNPs on sugar beet plants exposed to drought stress. Our results indicate that intracellular water metabolism can be modified by foliar application of FNPs in drought exposed plants. Drought stress induced a significant increase in the compatible osmolyte proline in both the leaves and roots of control plants, but not in FNP treated plants. These results indicate that FNPs could act as intracellular binders of water, creating an additional water reserve, and enabling adaptation to drought stress. Moreover, analysis of plant antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT, APx and GPx), MDA and GSH content indicate that fullerenol foliar application could have some beneficial effect on alleviating oxidative effects of drought stress, depending on the concentration of nanoparticles applied. Although further studies are necessary to elucidate the biochemical impact of FNPs on plants; the present results could directly impact agricultural practice, where available water supplies are often a limiting factor in plant bioproductivity

Widespread white matter microstructural differences in schizophrenia across 4322 individuals:Results from the ENIGMA Schizophrenia DTI Working Group

The regional distribution of white matter (WM) abnormalities in schizophrenia remains poorly understood, and reported disease effects on the brain vary widely between studies. In an effort to identify commonalities across studies, we perform what we believe is the first ever large-scale coordinated study of WM microstructural differences in schizophrenia. Our analysis consisted of 2359 healthy controls and 1963 schizophrenia patients from 29 independent international studies; we harmonized the processing and statistical analyses of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data across sites and meta-analyzed effects across studies. Significant reductions in fractional anisotropy (FA) in schizophrenia patients were widespread, and detected in 20 of 25 regions of interest within a WM skeleton representing all major WM fasciculi. Effect sizes varied by region, peaking at (d=0.42) for the entire WM skeleton, driven more by peripheral areas as opposed to the core WM where regions of interest were defined. The anterior corona radiata (d=0.40) and corpus callosum (d=0.39), specifically its body (d=0.39) and genu (d=0.37), showed greatest effects. Significant decreases, to lesser degrees, were observed in almost all regions analyzed. Larger effect sizes were observed for FA than diffusivity measures; significantly higher mean and radial diffusivity was observed for schizophrenia patients compared with controls. No significant effects of age at onset of schizophrenia or medication dosage were detected. As the largest coordinated analysis of WM differences in a psychiatric disorder to date, the present study provides a robust profile of widespread WM abnormalities in schizophrenia patients worldwide. Interactive three-dimensional visualization of the results is available at www.enigma-viewer.org.Molecular Psychiatry advance online publication, 17 October 2017; doi:10.1038/mp.2017.170