The study of effects of greenery on temperature reduction in urban areas

Urban landscape is largely characterized by high degree of built space, high share of artificial surface material and the reduction of green areas, which leads to changes in the microclimate and the deterioration of thermal comfort in out-door urban space. One of the most important roles of urban greenery is the impact on the reduction of air temperature due to less heating of green space com-pared to paved surfaces and due to tree shading. The paper analyses the influence of urban greenery on temperature reduction. Aim of the study was to measure the difference in warming up of grassy surfaces and paving materials commonly used for public areas and to evaluate the impact of tree shading on the surface cooling during the day. For this purpose, measuring of surface temperatures was performed during the summer months in 2015 in the central city zone of the city of Nis. The measuring included: grass, asphalt as most commonly used paving material, and concrete tiles commonly used for pedestrian areas. Results show the temperature of grass is significantly lower than the temperature of paved surface at any time of day. In the case of paved surfaces, temperature of shaded or partially shaded material is lower than the temperature of surface exposed to sunlight during the whole day, a temperature difference exists even after nocturnal cooling. The results indicate the importance of green areas for cooling of urban spaces, due to their lower warming and surface shading from tree canopy

Analysis of electric power production results in South Serbia: Recommendations for improvement of operation of first mini photovoltaic power plants

Solar radiation in Serbia is for about a third higher than in Middle Europe, which represents a very favorable energy potential. Southeast Serbia is a leading area in this aspect, since the annual average of daily global radiation on a horizontal surface exceeds 4.2 kWh/m2. This paper compares four photovoltaic power plants installed in southeastern Serbia. Analyzes are done based on results from two years of power plant exploitation. The power plants are not located in the same area – there are differences between topography and altitude of their locations, which is also taken into account during analyzes. Photovoltaic modules have different orientation and inclination toward horizontal surface, and their capacity varies from 30-40 kW. The conclusion provides recommendations for improvement of production where it is actually possible

Urban and architectural character of thermal ambient influences in operation of photovoltaic panels on buildings

This paper presents some basic urban and architectural requirements regarding the installation of solar panels for electricity production on buildings. These requirements are usually design ‒ aesthetic and functional ‒ constructive. However, from the thermal ambient aspect, constructor’s solution is often not in accordance with requirements of architectural and urban planning profession. It is a known fact that thermal environment impacts the yield in the solar panels production. The aim of this paper is to show, based on experience of solar power plant DOMIT, city of Leskovac, Serbia, what is the expected effect in that aspect, in order to choose the optimal solution with regard to the character of the building. The most favorable production have solar power plants built on buildings where the panels on the underside are completely open because they have the best ventilation, and therefore cooling

Development, features and application of DIET ASSESS & PLAN (DAP) software in supporting public health nutrition research in Central Eastern European Countries (CEEC)

In order to meet growing public health nutrition challenges in Central Eastern European Countries (CEEC) and Balkan countries, development of a Research Infrastructure (RI) and availability of an effective nutrition surveillance system are a prerequisite. The building block of this RI is an innovative tool called DIET ASSESS & PLAN (DAP), which is a platform for standardized and harmonized food consumption collection, comprehensive dietary intake assessment and nutrition planning. Its unique structure enables application of national food composition databases (FCDBs) from the European food composition exchange platform (28 national FCDBs) developed by EuroFIR (http://www.eurofir.org/) and in addition allows communication with other tools. DAP is used for daily menu and/or long-term diet planning in diverse public sector settings, foods design/reformulation, food labelling, nutrient intake assessment and calculation of the dietary diversity indicator, Minimum Dietary Diversity-Women (MDD-W). As a validated tool in different national and international projects, DAP represents an important RI in public health nutrition epidemiology in the CEEC region

Establishment and advances in the online Serbian food and recipe data base harmonized with EuroFIR (TM) standards

Within the European Food Information Resource Network of Excellence (EuroFIR NoE; FP6) and EuroFIR Nexus (FP7) project paucity in food composition databases (FCDB) in the Central Eastern Europe/Balkan (CEE/B) region was identified. As a member of EuroFIR NoE, the Centre of Research Excellence in Nutrition and Metabolism, Serbia initiated creation of the 1st online Serbian FCDB employing EuroFIR quality framework and CEN Food Data Standard requirements, supporting capacity development and designing the web-based Food Composition Data Management (FCDM) software for FCDB building. The 1st online version of Serbian FCDB was launched in 2007, and then extended with food composition data from other Balkan countries (Balkan Food Platform-Regional FCDB). All foods are indexed using LanguaL Thesaurus and coded with EFSA FoodEx2 coding system. To date, upgraded Serbian FCDB with 1046 foods and 129 traditional/common Serbian composite dishes is a prerequisite for nutritional research in Serbia, CEE/B region and wider Europe

Improving nutrition surveillance and public health research in Central and Eastern Europe/Balkan Countries using the Balkan Food Platform and dietary tools

The objective of this paper is to share experience and provide updated information on Capacity Development in the Central and Eastern Europe/Balkan Countries (CEE/BC) region relevant to public health nutrition, particularly in creation of food composition databases (FCDBs), applying dietary intake assessment and monitoring tools, and harmonizing methodology for nutrition surveillance. Balkan Food Platform was established by a Memorandum of Understanding among EuroFIR AISBL, Institute for Medical Research, Belgrade, Capacity Development Network in Nutrition in CEE - CAPNUTRA and institutions from nine countries in the region. Inventory on FCDB status identified lack of harmonized and standardized research tools. To strengthen harmonization in CEE/BC in line with European research trends, the Network members collaborated in development of a Regional FCDB, using web-based food composition data base management software following EuroFIR standards. Comprehensive nutrition assessment and planning tool - DIET ASSESS & PLAN could enable synchronization of nutrition surveillance across countries

Management of dyslipidaemia in patients with coronary heart disease: Results from the ESC-EORP EUROASPIRE V survey in 27 countries

Background and aims: One of the objectives of the ESC-EORP EUROASPIRE V survey is to determine how well European guidelines on the management of dyslipidaemias are implemented in coronary patients. Methods: Standardized methods were used by trained technicians to collect information on 7824 patients from 130 centers in 27 countries, from the medical records and at a visit at least 6 months after hospitalization for a coronary event. All lipid measurements were performed in one central laboratory. Patients were divided into three groups: on high-intensity LDL-C-lowering-drug therapy (LLT), on low or moderate-intensity LLT and on no LLT. Results: At the time of the visit, almost half of the patients were on a high-intensity LLT. Between hospital discharge and the visit, LLT had been reduced in intensity or interrupted in 20.8% of the patients and had been started or increased in intensity in 11.7%. In those who had interrupted LLT or had reduced the intensity, intolerance to LLT and the advice of their physician were reported as the reason why in 15.8 and 36.8% of the cases, respectively. LDL-C control was better in those on a high-intensity LLT compared to those on low or moderate intensity LLT. LDL-C control was better in men than women and in patients with self-reported diabetes. Conclusions: The results of the EUROASPIRE V survey show that most coronary patients have a less than optimal management of LDL-C. More professional strategies are needed, aiming at lifestyle changes and LLT adapted to the need of the individual patient