Smart capacitive moisture sensor calibration in mineral wool and green roof soil substrate

The environmental benefits of green roofs have been widely recognized. In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to moisture management in the green roof systems. The moisture in the green roof has an influence on its thermal and hydrological performances. An accurate measurement of water content in green roof substrate is important for irrigation monitoring, optimal irrigation management, and plant growth. Knowing the performance and characteristics of the sensor for the chosen substrate layer in a green roof system is essential. This paper presents laboratory calibration of the capacitive moisture sensor in two types of the green roof substrate layer. The volumetric water content of several mineral wool and soil samples, with the water content from low until saturated, were measured using the gravimetric method and related to frequency obtained by the sensor. The results have shown that the capacitive moisture sensor has a good response to water content variation

The impact of the building envelope with the green living systems on the built environment

Altering the surface cover of an area causes the change in the environment. By erecting buildings change in the flow of energy and matter through the urban ecosystems occurs creating multiple environmental problems. Built areas exert considerable influence over their local climate, amplifying problems such as heat waves, air pollution, and flooding. Greening the building envelope these problems can be partially mitigated. By combining nature and built areas in their designs, architects and urban planners can respond to these serious human health and welfare issues and restore the environmental quality of dense urban areas. Green living systems are not the only solution for new designs. Retrofitting existing buildings by altering the buildings' surficial properties can reduce buildings' energy consumption in case of older buildings with poor existing insulation. Implementation of green living systems in the building envelope, greening horizontal surfaces with intensive and extensive green roofs or using vegetation in vertical greening systems for façades, is a strategy that provides ecological, economic and social benefits. This review paper presents collected evidence of effects and explores the important role that the green living systems can play in the dense urban areas. Benefits such as heat island amelioration, reduction of buildings energy consumption, air quality and indoor and outdoor comfort conditions improvement, stormwater management and improved water run-off quality, will be mainly considered. © 2018 Serbian Society of Heat Transfer Engineers

Impacts of Courtyard Envelope Design as an Important Architectural Parameter for Energy Savings

When designing facilities with lower energy consumption, the most crucial parameter is the correct choice of location. The terrain configuration has a distinct influence on the organization of the urban plan and the building design. It largely determines the microclimate, especially the temperature level, direction, and wind speed. The subject of this paper is the analysis of courtyard configuration as a dominant parameter in architectural design and energy savings. The courtyard is an open area that is tied to a specific building. It is usually surrounded by walls, other buildings, or a fence. The courtyard's dimensions significantly affect the project's development and the location's microclimatic characteristics. The courtyard's proportions and configuration directly affect the building's shape, so it is essential to consider the advantages and disadvantages of different influential parameters adequately. The influence of solar radiation on heat gains is evident, while it also increases the energy demand of buildings with different shapes and proportions of yards. Through an overview of various architectural aspects, the paper provides guidelines that can be useful to designers and spatial planners to form and select adequate courtyards for the buildings

IMPACT OF DIFFERENCES IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIOECONOMIC STABILITY ON BENZODIAZEPINE EXPOSURE BETWEEN THE THREE BALKANS COUNTRIES

Introduction: Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental disorders. Benzodiazepines belong to the group of anxiolytic sedatives and the most prescribed drugs in the world. The aim in ours study was to evaluate the differences in the exposure of the population to benzodiazepines (in period from 2014-2018) be tween Serbia, Slovenia and Croa tia, the three countries of th e Southwestern Balkans with varying degrees of socioeconomic development. Study design: A academic investigator initiated, pharmacoepidemiological difference-in -difference time se ries analysis of population exposure to benzodiazepines between the three, geogr aphically close Balkans countries (Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia) wi th varying degrees of socioeconomic developmen t has been carried out. Study was conducted as academic investigator initiated, in a retrospective manner on monthly basis international data set from January 2014 to December 2018. Results: At the annual level, during the study period from Januar y 2014 to December 2018, compared to Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia had higher DIDs, from 5 fold (Croatia) to 6 fold (Serbi a), for all benzodiazepines in total. By analyzing the differenc es-in- difference, we have shown that influence of both time (month) and c ountry on DIDs is significant as well as their mutual intera ction (the country × month) for all benzodiazepines in total. Conclusion: Serbia and Croatia must implement exp licit measures of reduci ng benzodiazepine prescription in health primary care based on evidence-based recommendations in the indicati ons where general medicine practitioners/family doctors most commonly prescribe these medicines. Without providing a realistic supplement/alternative to benzodiazepines such as increasing the availability of psychotherapy and impr oving the structure of psyc hiatric professionals in healthcare settings, implicit measures are not recommended for reducing pr escription, implementing accountability measures for prolonged prescription of benzodiazepines, and in particular for“ masked ”somatic diseases . All this comes to the fore by raising economic development and socioeconomic stabilit

IMPACT OF DIFFERENCES IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIOECONOMIC STABILITY ON BENZODIAZEPINE EXPOSURE BETWEEN THE THREE BALKANS COUNTRIES

Introduction: Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental disorders. Benzodiazepines belong to the group of anxiolytic sedatives and the most prescribed drugs in the world. The aim in ours study was to evaluate the differences in the exposure of the population to benzodiazepines (in period from 2014-2018) be tween Serbia, Slovenia and Croa tia, the three countries of th e Southwestern Balkans with varying degrees of socioeconomic development. Study design: A academic investigator initiated, pharmacoepidemiological difference-in -difference time se ries analysis of population exposure to benzodiazepines between the three, geogr aphically close Balkans countries (Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia) wi th varying degrees of socioeconomic developmen t has been carried out. Study was conducted as academic investigator initiated, in a retrospective manner on monthly basis international data set from January 2014 to December 2018. Results: At the annual level, during the study period from Januar y 2014 to December 2018, compared to Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia had higher DIDs, from 5 fold (Croatia) to 6 fold (Serbi a), for all benzodiazepines in total. By analyzing the differenc es-in- difference, we have shown that influence of both time (month) and c ountry on DIDs is significant as well as their mutual intera ction (the country × month) for all benzodiazepines in total. Conclusion: Serbia and Croatia must implement exp licit measures of reduci ng benzodiazepine prescription in health primary care based on evidence-based recommendations in the indicati ons where general medicine practitioners/family doctors most commonly prescribe these medicines. Without providing a realistic supplement/alternative to benzodiazepines such as increasing the availability of psychotherapy and impr oving the structure of psyc hiatric professionals in healthcare settings, implicit measures are not recommended for reducing pr escription, implementing accountability measures for prolonged prescription of benzodiazepines, and in particular for“ masked ”somatic diseases . All this comes to the fore by raising economic development and socioeconomic stabilit

UPRAVLJANJE NASTAVNIM PROGRAMOM U VISOKOŠKOLSKOJ NASTAVI

Curriculum management is an important aspect and prerequisite for successful teacher leadership and teaching process quality. In order to ensure horizontal and vertical alignment and the development vision of instruction, it is necessary to identify the functional elements of this dimension in the context of higher education. For these reasons, the concept of curriculum management is viewed in this paper from the perspective of three main functions: monitoring and evaluating the teaching process, coordinating curriculum development, and tracking student progress by university teachers and associates. With the aim of determining whether and to what extent the above-mentioned dimensions of curriculum management are present at the higher education level, the research was conducted on a sample of 216 students from four faculties of the University of Niš. The results of this research show the studied functions a are present at a significant level with a statistically significant frequency of their use among the teaching associates. As for the individual components of the surveyed functions, a statistically significant difference was found between the teachers from different faculties in terms of: teacher evaluation of students' involvement in the instruction process, student motivation for more intense engagement and student involvement in the evaluation process. On the other hand, teaching associates are characterized by different approaches to monitoring and evaluating instruction in terms of checking the level of understanding of the content covered in class. The established differences point to the conclusion that the researched functions are more effectively realized at faculties where instruction happens in smaller groups and where the functional learning objectives are emphasized. From the standpoint of legislation and standards for the accreditation of study programs, it can be concluded that they provide a favorable foundation for curriculum management, and that by mapping shortcomings and strategic planning of future activities, this field can be significantly improved.Upravljanje nastavnim programom važna je dimenzija i pretpostavka uspešnog liderstva nastavnika i kvaliteta nastave. Kako bi se obezbedila horizontalna i vertikalna usklađenost pa i razvojna vizija nastave neophodno je sagledati funkcionalne elemente ove dimenzije i u kontekstu visokog obrazovanja. Iz tih razloga koncept upravljanja nastavnim programom je u ovom radu sagledan sa aspekta tri osnovne funkcije: praćenja i vrednovanja nastave, koordinisanja razvoja kurikuluma i praćenja napredovanja studenata od strane univerzitetskih nastavnika i saradnika. S ciljem da se  utvrdi da li su i u kojoj meri navedene dimenzije upravljanja nastavnim programom zastupljene na visokoškolskom nivou, istraživanje je sprovedeno na uzorku od 216 studenata četiri fakulteta Univerziteta u Nišu. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju zavidan nivo zastupljenosti istraživanih funkcija uz statistički značajniju učestalost njihovog ostvarivanja među populacijom saradnika. U okviru pojedinačnih komponenti istraživanih funkcija  utvrđena je statistički značajna razlika među nastavnicima pojedinih fakulteta i to u pogledu: nastavnikovog vrednovanja uključenosti studenata za nastavni rad, motivisanja studenata na intenzivnije angažovanje i  uključivanje studenata u proces vrednovanja postignuća. S druge strane, saradnike karakteriše različitost pristupa funkciji praćenja i vrednovanja nastave u domenu provere stepena razumevanja sadržaja koji se obrađuje na času. Utvrđene razlike upućuju na zaključak da se istraživane funkcije efikasnije ostvaruju na fakultetima na kojima dominira rad sa manjim grupama studenata i na kojima su naglašeni funkcionalni zadaci nastave. Posmatrano sa aspekta zakonske regulative i normativa za akreditaciju studijskih progama, može se zaključiti da oni pružaju povoljne osnove za upravljanje nastavnim programom, te da se mapiranjem slabosti i strateškim planiranjem budućih aktivnosti ova oblast može značajno unaprediti