Structural Features of Cultural Landscape in the Karst Area (Landscape in Transition)

Na območju krasa se je v dolgi zgodovinski kontinuiteti razvil svojevrsten krajinski tip, kar je pripisati raznovrstnim podnebnim, geomorfološkim, topografskim kot tudi družbeno-gospodarskim razmeram. To zvrst označuje velika tipološka raznolikost, ki sloni na avtentičnih značilnostih naravnega in kulturnega izvora, nastala pa je kot nasledek uravnotežene gospodarske rabe tal od zgodnjih obdobij dalje. Glavna kvaliteta kraških krajin izvira iz edinstvenih vzorcev rabe prostora, ki pomenijo eno najvrednejših prostorskih dediščin v celotnem Sredozemlju. Toda novejši razvoj, predvsem v družbenogospodarski sferi, je izzval daljnosežne posledice na podeželju, kar močno prizadeva celovitost in tradicionalno skladnost krasa nasploh in njegovih pokrajin posebej. Temeljni namen prispevka je orisati to preobrazbo kot resno grožnjo in veliko izgubo nacionalne kulturne dediščine ter podčrtati odgovornost naše generacije v teh procesih.During a long historical continuity in the karst area a specific landscape type has evolved due to varied climatic, geomorphological, topographic as well as socio-economic conditions. This is characterized by great typological diversity based on authentic features both of natural and cultural origin. These have occurred as a consequence of balanced economic land-uses from early periods on. The main quality of these landscapes is derived from unique agricultural land-use patterns, which constitute one of the most valuable spatial heritages in the entire Mediterranean. However, the recent evolution, mainly in the socio-economic sphere, generated far-reaching impacts in the rural areas which largely affect the integrity and traditional harmony the karst countryside in general and the landscape in particular. The basic intention of the paper is to outline these transformations as a serious threat and immense loss of the national cultural heritage and to emphasize the great responsibility of this generation in these processes

The investment policy and regional development of Serbia in the transition period

Our country can compensate the lagging in the economic development in relation to the EU countries as well as to the countries of the region only by increasing the economy's competitiveness, depending to a great extent on the possibilities of the economic entities investment in improving the attributes of the existing and development of new products and services, as well as on introducing modern technology and technological procedures. The transition program conducted by former socialist countries was highly based on foreign direct investments (FDI) enabling these countries the successful inclusion into global flows of international production and overall economy. In this paper the possibilities and sources of our economy investing will be analyzed and the influence on enhancement of the overall and regional competitiveness of the companies as a necessary condition for increasing the export and the overall economic development of the country

Morphological characteristics of three classic forms of natural equine glanders - a disease with high zoonotic significance

Equine glanders is a severe bacterial disease known since ancient times. Although eradicated in the most part of the world it is now considered re-emerging. Considering very scarce literature data, we used from formalin fixed collection material: nasal septum, lung and skin specimens from naturally infected horses. Tissues were grossly examined and photographed. Tissue samples, after standard processing, were stained with HE, Congo red and Groccot and microscopically examined. Gross changes include nodules and ulcers in the nasal mucosa with granulation and scarring, pyogranulomas in the lung tissue and nodules and ulcers of the skin. Microscopically marked inflammation of affected tissues with neutrophilic and mononuclear infiltration and fibrous tissue proliferation were seen. As a potent zoonotic agent it has been already used as a biological weapon in the past

ANALIZA MALIH OBITELJSKIH KOMERCIJALNIH RIBNJAKA U HRVATSKOJ

The significant economical and political changes that affected Croatia in last decade influenced the approach of small family farmers to fisheries as well. Most of them started that job without any knowledge and experience. That is why 13 farmers were interviewed in order to get the data about their farms, families and problems they face. The average farm has about 1 ha pond area, 4 family members and income connected with fisheries about 70% of total income. The owner is an artisan in his forties who sells about three tons of fish per year primarily through restaurant and sport fishing, as in present situation on the fish market it became obvious that persisting only on fish culture is the most difficult way to earn money. In building the ponds the rules of landscape architecture should be respected together with those of fishery science. It would be necessary to offer the farmers better conditions in bank loans to start their business as well as to reduce many taxes, which they have to pay. The Croatian Agricultural Extension Service should be organized better to serve those farmers.Značajne ekonomske i političke promjene koje su se u proteklom desetljeću dogodile u Hrvatskoj utjecale su i na male obiteljske farme da se mnoge među njima priklone i ribarstvu. Većina ih je započela ovaj posao bez ikakvog znanja i iskustva. Zbog toga smo intervjuirali 13 farmera s ciljem da prikupimo podatke o njihovim farmama, obiteljima i problemima s kojima se suočavaju. Prosječna farma posjeduje oko 1 ha vodene površine, ima 4 člana obitelji, a prihod povezan s ribarstvom sudjeluje s oko 70% u ukupnom prihodu. Vlasnik je obrtnik četrdesetih godina, koji prodaje oko 3 tone ribe godišnje prvenstveno kroz restoran i sportski ribolov, obzirom da se u današnjoj situaciji najteže zarađuje samo uzgojem riba. Pri izgradnji ribnjaka, pored pravila ribarske znanosti treba poštivati i ona uređenja krajobraza. Također je farmerima potrebno ponuditi bolje kreditne uvjete kako bi lakše započeli svojim poslom, kao i reducirati mnogobrojne naknade koje prate izgradnju ribnjaka i proizvodnju. Hrvatska poljoprivredna savjetodavna služba trebala bi se organizirati i u kvalitetnom praćenju ovakvih farmi

Inorganic Nanoparticles: Innovative Tools for Antimicrobial Agents

Resistance of bacteria to antibiotics is an urgent problem of humanity, which leads to a lack of therapy for serious bacterial infections. Development of new antibiotics has almost ceased in the last decades—even when a new antibiotic is launched, very soon the resistance of bacteria appears. There is a long list of applications where antimicrobial protection is required to achieve effective treatment. However, if we use the same antibiotics for all these applications, we will remain caught in the “vicious circle” of constant discovery of new synthetic antibiotics and very fast development of their resistant species. Therefore, we need to find alternative strategies that will be routinely used for some specific conditions (wounds, implants, etc.). Thus, we will keep the activity of antibiotics and save them for acute conditions (pneumonia, meningitis, etc.). An option for designing alternative antimicrobial strategies is to go back to the antimicrobials that were used before the discovery of antibiotics, i.e., inorganic antimicrobial agents including ions (Ag+, Cu+/Cu2+, Zn2+, Ga3+, etc.) or nanoparticles (Ag/AgO, Cu/Cu2O/CuO, ZnO, Ga/Ga2O3, TiO2, MgO, V2O3, etc.). Here we are going to summarize the main properties of inorganic antimicrobials as well as advantages, disadvantages and perspectives for their application

NATIONALISM FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOCIAL TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH

U propasti totalitarne komunističke ideologije potkraj osamdesetih i početkom devedesetih godina prošloga stoljeća mnogi su vidjeli nestanak posljednje prepreke za ostvarenje liberalnih i demokratskih vrijednosti. Sam taj proces bio je uzrokovan i popraćen takvom eksplozijom nacionalnih emocija za koje se vjerovalo da pripadaju prošlosti. Slične pojave susrećemo i u drugim dijelovima Europe i svijeta s više ili manje tragičnih posljedica. U članku se želi kritički osvijetliti fenomene nacije i nacionalizma, kako i zašto su se razvili, te koje su njihove funkcije u modernome društvu. U daljnjem tijeku nastoji se predstaviti poglede socijalnog nauka Katoličke crkve na ovaj problem, posebno stavove pape Ivana Pavla II. Pri tome se pokazuje da nacionalizam nije neizbježna sudbina, nego pojava koja svoje korijene ima u opravdanoj težnji pojedinaca i naroda za ostvarenje vlastita identiteta, slobode i pravednosti. Ljudski se život zbiva između dvaju polova: između partikularnog kao član određene grupe ili nacije i univerzalnog kao član velike obitelji čovječanstva. Od presudne je važnosti stvoriti dobru ravnotežu između ovih dvaju polova.Many people viewed the fall of the totalitarian communist ideology in the late eighties and early nineties of the past century, as the abolishment of the last barrier to realise liberal and democratic values. The actual process was caused and followed by an explosion of national emotion which was thought to have been left to the past. We come across similar developments in other European countries and in the world leading to more or less, tragic consequences. In this article we want to critically review the phenomena of the nation and nationalism as well as the reason why they emerged and what their function is in modern society. The article continues to present the views of the social teachings of the Catholic Church with regard to this problem, particularly the stance of John Paul II. Nationalism is shown not as an inevitable destiny but rather a notion whose roots lie in the justified yearning of individuals and nations to realize their own identity, freedom and justice. Human life develops between two poles: between particularity, as a member of a certain group or nation; and universal, as a member of the great family of mankind. It is absolutely vital to create a good balance between these two poles

Growth and Gonad Changes in Stony Sea Urchin, Paracentrotus Lividus (Lamark, 1816) Fed Artificially Formulated Feed and Benthic Macrophyte Diet

This study reported the efficiency of artificially formulated feed and benthic macrophyte diet on growth and gonad development of cultured stony sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus (Lamark, 1816). An initial sample of 720 individual urchins was gathered in coastal area of SE Adriatic, near Dubrovnik, Croatia and for the purposes of the experiment, was held in a flow-through system. Sea urchin were fed four test diets A, B, C and D. Diet A consisted of seaweeds collected in the natural habitat of sampled sea urchin, artificial diets B, C, and D contained a different ratio of ingredients. The feed mixtures differed in respect to corn meal content; B (22%), C (30%) and D (35%) as well as the distribution of fish meal content; B (15%), C (5%) and D (0%). Prior to the commencement of feeding, sea urchins in all groups were starved for 15 days. During the period of starvation, recorded total urchin weight, gonadosomatic index (GSI) and gonad weight values for all experimental groups, showed a declining trend except in the control group, where they stayed the same. After 30 days, the declining trend of morphometric values was recorded for treatment A and the control group. During the two months of the intensive feeding conditions in the regimes with artificially prepared feed, B, C and D a growing trend was recorded for all morphometric values, and it was particularly evident in the treatment C. In the last month of the experiment, a significant decline in the GSI and gonad weight values were observed for the groups, A and the control. The differences among the artificially formulated feeds expressed through increase of GSI and gonad mass values revealed that the best among them was artificial feed C whose variance in consistence of essential nutritional components fits between prepared feeds B and D. Based on the results of our study we conclude that the artificially formulated feed is adequate food for sea urchins in a controlled environment, especially when it contains a smaller animal protein component (5- 10%) and a larger share of plant components (over 90%)

Fazni prijelaz drugog reda izazvan zamrznutim nasumičnim razrjeđenjem u 3D

The effect of the quenched random dilution on the ferromagnetic transitions, in particular, the conversion from the first- to second-order transition is discussed. The new results are presented for the diluted three-dimensional three-state Potts model. The critical exponents of the disorder-induced second-order phase transition are derived by the finite-size scaling analysis of the moments of the energy and the largest cluster, obtained from the Monte Carlo simulations.Raspravlja se učinak nasumičnog, zamrznutog razrjeđenja na feromagnetske prijelaze, posebice na promjenu iz prijelaza prvog u onaj drugog reda. Prikazani su novi rezultati za razrijeđeni trodimenzijski Pottsov model s tri stanja. Kritični eksponenti faznog prijelaza drugog reda izazvanog neredom izvedeni su ljestvičnom analizom momenata energije i najvećeg grozda, dobivenih Monte Carlo simulacijama