Transition of collective land in modernistic residential settings in New Belgrade, Serbia

Turbulent periods of transition from socialism to neoliberal capitalism, which have a ected the relationships between holders of power and governing structures in Serbia, have left a lasting impact on the urban spaces of Belgrade’s cityscape. The typical assumption is that the transformation of the urban form in the post-socialist transition is induced by planning interventions which serve to legitimize these neoliberal aspirations. The methodological approach of this paper is broadly structured as a chronological case analysis at three levels: the identification of three basic periods of institutional change, historical analysis of the urban policies that permitted transformation of the subject area, and morphogenesis of the selected site alongside the Sava River in New Belgrade. Neoliberal aspirations are traced through the moments of destruction and moments of creation as locally specific manifestations of neoliberal mechanisms observable through the urban form. Comparison of all three levels of the study traces how planning and political decisions have a ected strategic directions of development and, consequently, the dynamics and spatial logic of how new structures have invaded the street frontage. The paper demonstrates that planning interventions in the post-socialist transition period, guided by the neoliberal mechanisms, has had a profound impact on the super-block morphology

CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT PHARMACOKINETIC INTERACTIONS OF ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS

Antiepileptic drugs show clinically significant interactions among themselves as well as with other medications, because of a specific pharmacokinetic profile and relatively small therapeutic spectrum. The most significant clinical interactions of AE occur during their metabolism and distribution. In the combined antiepileptic therapy, it is very important to know the order of application of AE because of their influence on liver enzymes and the affinity to attach to plasma proteins. The AE with shorter half-time elimination have a greater potential for interaction which is why therapy monitoring is recommended. Populational pharmacokinetic analysis can provide significant information concerning interactions of AE with other medications. Vulnerable, pediatric population is under a special risk of developing interactions alongside patients with liver and kidney function damage

The effect of acute heat exposure on rat pituitary corticotroph activation: the role of vasopressin.

The increased ambient temperature affects the function of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Since the correlation among vasopressin (VP), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone (CORT) responses to various stressors have been long recognized, the aim of this study was to reveal the aforementioned hormones production and morphology of the pituitary gland after exposure to acute heat. Rats were exposed to high ambient temperature (38 °C) for 20 or 60 minutes. The circulating hormones were determined by an ELISA test or chemiluminescence's method. The results obtained show the elevation in ACTH and CORT secretion depending on the duration of heat exposure. The VP concentration increased only after prolonged exposure to heat (60 min). The pituitary morphology was examined by routine and fluorescent immunohistochemistry as well as electron microscopy. Observed changes in the anterior and posterior pituitary well corresponded to circulating hormones, regarding the volume density of ACTH-immunopositive cells, percentage of ACTH immunopositive area v. total area and number of VP-immunopositive containing varicose fibers per total area. Acute heat exposure also induced changes in shapes of ACTH-immunopositive cells. Cells appeared stellate with numerous slender cytoplasmic processes and degranulated, which is the most obvious after 20 min. In addition, immunopositivity of endothelial and anterior pituitary cells for VP suggests its influence on ACTH secretion

Adsorbent from Textile Waste for Removal of Textile Reactive Dye from Water – Equilibrium Adsorption and Kinetics

The removal of textile reactive dye from an aqueous solution on a new adsorbent prepared from waste cotton knitted fabric was investigated in this study. Waste cotton textile, used for the production of adsorbents, is a by-product of the cutting of stacked parts of cotton knitwear planned for the production of women’s T-shirts. The degree of efficiency of a paper pattern determines the amount of collected waste. The qualitative and quantitative characterization of the new adsorbent showed carbon and oxygen to be dominant in the chemical composition. A longer contact time means a greater amount of dye on the adsorbent, i.e. the dye concentration in the solution decreases with the duration of the adsorption process. The percentage of removed dye decreases with an increase in the initial dye concentration in the solution. However, the actual amount of adsorbed dye increases as the initial dye concentration increases. The results for equilibrium adsorption show that the Langmuir isotherm can be used for the interpretation of reactive dye adsorption on a new adsorbent. The pseudo-first order model can be fully used to describe the kinetics of dye adsorption on an adsorbent, with respect to valid results for statistical indicators. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the new adsorbent obtained from waste textiles has the potential to remove textile reactive dye from aqueous solutions

Street frontage between socialism and neoliberalism – Case study Belgrade, Milutin Milankovic Boulevard

The paper focuses on the morphogenesis of street frontage, highly influenced by changes in planning and regulatory system, deepened by abandonment of socialist system and introduction of neoliberal concepts. The most intense changes are perceivable in the narrow street through densification, plot subdivision, increase of built and floor area ratio and change in land use. If the street frontage is observed both as a constructive element of the public realm and a dividing element between private and public ownership, these relations can be perceived as a critical aspects of the image and quality of place. The focus of the paper is on the morphological profile of Milutin Milankovic’s boulevard in New Belgrade, taken as a axis of linear central activities. This research polygon provides ground for the analysis of urban form development, planned by modernistic principles in socialist period, and transformed in market oriented development manner. The goal of this paper is to provide ground for spatial and temporal contextualization and offer understanding of urban tissue transformation over the time, using the space syntax model as an integral part of morphological studies. The synthesis of various methods in morphological research can provide a platform for better understanding of the existing built environment affected by socio political processes and needs of local residents and emerging businesses. At the same time, it could create a starting point for further improvement and development of the urban blocks located along the major streets

Heritage awareness and sustainability of built environment in architectural and urban design education : between best practices and real conditions

This paper presents the initial findings of the project on the Enhancing of Heritage Awareness and Sustainability of Built Environment in Architectural and Urban Design Higher Education (HERSUS), coordinated by University of Belgrade - Faculty of Architecture as a leading higher education institution, with partner institutions of Universita Iuav di Venezia, University of Cyprus – Department of Architecture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki – School of Architecture and University of Sevilla – UNESCO Chair on Built Urban Heritage CREhAR in the digital era. The paper will present the review of the best practices on educating sustainability and heritage, specifically regarding mapping representation of (1) various scales in education, building practice and policy context in each country, and (2) scales across the consortium countries, aiming at identifying strengths connected to methods, materials and teaching experiences. The purpose of this initial phase is to support the participating Architectural Schools in establishing high-quality standards in the terms of sustainability of the built heritage, through cross-cultural communication and solving problems in an international environment. The paper will present the best practices on educating sustainability of heritage in different schools within European context, hence map (1) the relation of selected teaching courses, built projects and policies in regards to different scales – Landscape planning, Urban planning and design, and Architecture, Construction and Interior design, and (2) provide valuable insight for the context of Serbia regarding teaching and policy recommendations. Having in mind that majority of Serbian Network of Urban Morphology members are participating in this project, as well as the project leader, the special emphasis will be on the morphological perspective. The paper will highlight parallels of conditions and educational practices from different countries with the morphological tradition, observable through the existence of UM regional networks

Department store’s role in modernization and “demodernization” of city centers in ex-Yugoslavia

The period between 1966 and 1995 is characterized by a constant need for the modernization of society and cities. Department store, introduced as a Western economic model of consumer culture, was established in Yugoslavia after the 1960’s economic reform. This typology had great influence on the market and consumer society in Yugoslavia but had also changed the image and the way central areas in the former Yugoslavia functioned. This paper has two goals. On one hand, it should examine the influence of consumerism in the socialist society of Yugoslavia on the positioning, function, design and construction of the “Belgrade” Department Stores buildings. On the other hand, we believe that the politics of consumer society, mass production and consumerism, integrated into the objects of department stores, significantly influenced the planning and design of city development which can be followed through morphogenic approach. Today, “Belgrade” department stores, built in more than 30 cities with 44 buildings in total, cannot satisfy newest demands in shopping and trade, remain as such in central positions, but with marginalized function. They cannot be perceived only as an economic model, as it was done during the 2009 reconstruction, since this approach cannot provide an adequate solution for reuse, nor can their meaning be understood in the history of city development. These buildings have been printed on postcards, and as such presented a symbol of modernization and tradition, as well as a hallmark of a time and ideology that is still insufficiently known. Research on department store’s previous role in modernization and today’s unfortunate contribution to demodernization of city centers can not only help establish a different approach in a contemporary design and reconstruction but can also address the need to bring them back the significance that they had for society and city or give them new one

Keep the Lot: Housing Development on the Peripheries of Cities in Poland, Serbia and the United Kingdom

This article discusses some of the recent findings from a collaborative project between Cracow University of Technology, Belgrade University, and the International Seminar on Urban Form (ISUF) that focuses on the transformations in urban form experienced by these two European countries since the significant changes in their political regimes started 30 years ago. As the early years of these transformations have been well documented by Hirt and Stanilov (2009), here we will concentrate on the most recent changes by comparing Cracow and Belgrade with cities in Western Europe in general and in the United Kingdom in particular

Paleolinguistics brings more light on the earliest history of the traditional Eurasian pulse crops

Traditional pulse crops such as pea, lentil, field bean, bitter vetch, chickpea and common vetch originate from Middle East, Mediterranean and Central Asia^1^. They were a part of human diets in hunter-gatherers communities^2^ and are one of the most ancient cultivated crops^3,4^. Europe has always been rich in languages^5^, with individual families still preserving common vocabularies related to agriculture^6,7^. The evidence on the early pulse history witnessed by the attested roots in diverse Eurasian proto-languages remains insufficiently clarified and its potential for supporting archaeobotanical findings is still non-assessed. Here we show that the paleolinguistic research may contribute to archaeobotany in understanding the role traditional Eurasian pulse crops had in the everyday life of ancient Europeans. It was found that the Proto-Indo-European language^8,9^ had the largest number of roots directly related to pulses, such as *arnk(')- (a leguminous plant), *bhabh- (field bean), *erəgw[h]- (a kernel of leguminous plant; pea), *ghArs- (a leguminous plant), *kek-, *k'ik'- (pea) and *lent- (lentil)^10,11,12^, numerous words subsequently related to pulses^13,14^ and borrowings from one branch to another^15^, confirming their essential place in the nutrition of Proto-Indo-Europeans^16,17,18^. It was also determined that pea was the most important among Proto-Uralic people^19,20,21^, while pea and lentil were the most significant in the agriculture of Proto-Altaic people^22,23,24^. Pea and bean were most common among Caucasians^25,26^, Basques^27,28^ and their hypothetical common forefathers^29^ and bean and lentil among the Afro-Asiatic ancestors of modern Maltese^30^. Our results demonstrate that pulses were common among the ancestors of present European nations and that paleolinguistics and its lexicological and etymological analysis may be useful in better understanding the earliest days of traditional Eurasian crops. We believe our results could be a basis for advanced multidisciplinary approach to the pulse crop domestication, involving plant scientists, archaeobotanists and linguists, and for reconstructing even earlier periods of pulse history

Economic Evaluation of Pharmacogenetic Tests in Patients Subjected to Renal Transplantation: A Review of Literature

Renal transplantation is the treatment of choice for the patients with end-stage renal failure. Genetic factors, among others, can influence variability in response to immunosuppressive drugs. Nowadays, due to restrictive health resources, the question arises whether routine pharmacogenetic analyses should be done in the renal transplant recipients or not. The aim of this literature review was to present the up-to-date information considering the economic feasibility of pharmacogenetic testing in patients subjected to renal transplantation. The organization United Network for Organ Sharing in the United States estimated that total costs per renal transplant concerning these analyses were $334,300 in 2014. Pharmacogenetic testing prior to treatment initiation could be helpful to predict and assess treatment response and the risks for adverse drug reactions. This kind of testing before treatment initiation seems to be one of the most promising applications of pharmacokinetics. Although pharmacogenetic tests were found to be a cost-effective or cost-saving strategy in many cases, some authors represent another opinion. However, if the real costs of renal transplantation are recognized, the application of these tests in the standard daily practice could be considered more realistic, which additionally emphasizes the importance of future studies assessing their cost-effectiveness