Sustainability assessment of recycled aggregate concrete structures: A critical view on the current state-of-knowledge and practice

The environmental impacts of activities such as raw material extraction, construction of infrastructure, and demolition, place construction as one of the sectors that exert the highest pressures on the environment, society, and economy. Some of the major environmental impacts for which the construction industry is responsible are mineral resource depletion, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste generation. Among the different strategies that exist to decrease such impacts, recycling demolition waste into recycled concrete aggregates has been considered a promising alternative. As such, at present, the literature dealing with the impact assessment of recycled aggregate concrete structures is very extensive. Therefore, the objective of this article is to present a critical view of the state-of-the-art in terms of sustainability assessment of recycled aggregate concrete structures, taking a holistic perspective by considering environmental, social, and economic impacts

Fitotoksični efekti hlorpirifosa na ponike ječma i krastavca

Under Directive 2008/105 / EC, chlorpyrifos is one of the priority water pollutants. Its presence is mainly detected by chemical methods, although bioindicators are gaining in importance. The effect of chlorpyrifos (0.05-10 µg L-1) was evaluated on germination energy -GE and germination -G, length, fresh and dry weight of roots and shoots of barley and cucumber seedlings. In the bioassay, chlorpyrifos applied at MAC rate (0.1 µg L-1) caused a significant inhibition of GE and G of barley and at 0.5 µg L-1 of cucumber seeds, compared to control. At 50 % MAC (0.05 1 µg L-1), length, fresh and dry weight of roots and shoots of both tested plants were significantly inhibited, while in treatments with 0.5 µg L-1 and higher rates, there was no formation of hypocotyl and epicotyl of barley, i.e. hypocotyl of cucumber seedlings.Prema Direktivi 2008/105/EC, hlorpirifos je jedan od prioritetnih polutanata voda. Njegovo prisustvo se uglavnom detektuje hemijskim analizama, iako su sve značajnije i metode koje uključuju bioindikatore. U radu je procenjen uticaj hlorpirifosa (0,05-10 µg L-1) na energiju klijanja -EK, klijavost -K, dužinu, svežu i suvu masu korena i izdanka ječma i krastavca, kao potencijalnih indikatora. Hlorpirifos je izazvao značajnu inhibiciju EK i K semena ječma u MDK količini (0,1 µg L-1), a kod semena krastavca u količini 0,5 µg L-1, u odnosu na kontrolu. U količni 50% manje od MDK (0,05 µg L-1), dužina, sveža i suva masa i korena i nadzemnog dela obe test biljke su bili značajno smanjeni, dok u tretmanima sa preko 0,5 µg L-1 hlopririfosa, formiranje hipokotila i epikotila kod ječma, odnosno hipokotila kod krastavca, je izostalo

Iskustva učitelja u korišćenju elektronske knjige u izmenjenom društvenom kontekstu

The requirements of information technology-aided contemporary teaching as well as the changed social context, due to the global health pandemic, have transformed the traditional educational communication paradigm into a new one, created by digital media tech- nology, and have affirmed the use of e-books in teaching and learning. The present paper investigates primary school teachers’ experiences (N = 1117) as re- gards using (a) e-books for teaching purposes; (b) e-textbooks for the purpose of distance teaching; (c) certain e-books for teaching purposes; (d) digital libraries. The majority of primary school teachers have experience in using e-books for teaching purposes, with e-textbooks being used to an almost equal extent in both direct and online distance teaching; regarding professional literature, the respondents mostly use e-books on teaching methods, on pedagogy and psychol- ogy, while most interest has been expressed in using the Digital National Library of Serbia and the Internet Archive. The research results show that primary school teachers use resources from electronic sources for the purposes of education and self-education, which has been in part influenced by the global health crisis, but that there is also a need for further development of their digital competences in this particular domain, so that they would be able to respond to the future challenges posed by the digital age.Publishe

Health state of the citizens of Nothern Kosovska Mitrovica

Introduction. For health assessment, beside the data of routine health statistics, it is necessary to include and data obtained by a health survey of the citizens. Objective. The aim of this study was to establish how northern Kosovska Mitrovica adults assess their health and which diseases are most common among the population, as well as to investigate differences in relation to demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, the characteristics of social interaction and health behavior and habits. Methods. The research was conducted as a cross-sectional study conducted on the representative sample of adult citizens in northern Kosovska Mitrovica in 2006. Two hundred-eighteen respondents were included in the survey. In the research we used a questionnaire identical to the Health Survey conducted in Serbia in 2006. The significance of differences in responses about self-rated health and chronic diseases in relation to the characteristics of respondents´ responses were determined by X2-test with the significance level of 0.05. Results. Over half of the respondents (54.7%) assessed their health condition as good or very good. There was a significant difference in self-rated health in relation to the respondents´ age (χ2=202.036; p=0.000), education (χ2=72.412; p=0.000), social support (χ2=12.416; p=0.015), smoking (χ2=11.675; p=0.020) and physical activity (χ2=61.842; p=0.000). The leading health problems among the respondents were high blood pressure, rheumatologic diseases of joints, ulcer of the duodenal or gastric ulcer, gall bladder disease and high blood fat. Conclusion. Adult residents of northern Kosovska Mitrovica assessed their health as better than the residents of Serbia without Kosovo and Metohia. The diseases in which stress plays the major role among etiological factors are in the leading position. The obtained data on the population level of specific areas represent the basis in the planning of health education and health promotion activities

Do we have primary health care reform? The story of the Republic of Serbia

Objective To provide insight of national activities and international assistance in PHC reform and to assess their effects on technical and allocative efficiency as well as financial sustainability of primary health care in the Republic of Serbia.Materials and methods Analytical framework of the study consisted of gathering and reviewing of relevant political documents, international assistance project documentation, and analysis of routinely collected national statistical data based on the evaluation model of three groups of criteria: allocative, technical efficiency and financial sustainability in the public sector of Serbia from 2000 to 2007. Time trends were analyzed by Poisson regression models using average annual percentage changes - AAPC, and the percent of targeted change achieved by progress quotient - PQ.Results Allocative efficiency of the PHC during period of 8 years was improved, but technical efficiency was almost unchanged for all service, except for preschool health care. Financial sustainability was also improved measured by indirect indicators of health expenditure.Conclusions Results of this study indicated that we are on the right track with PHC reform, and international support is in accordance with the reform goals. Our approach has been and will remain incremental, gradualist and multi-faceted.PHC reform Evaluation Projects and activities Republic of Serbia

Recording blood pressure and eGFR in primary care after the Belgrade screening study

Background: In 2009, Belgrade nephrologists and general practitioners from thirteen health centers carried out screening for chronic kidney disease (CKD). Three years later, medical records of patients from four health centers participating in the screening study were retrospectively analyzed in order to check whether general practitioners had continued to control patients at risk for CKD in accordance with the recommendations provided. Methods: The study included 460 patients who visited their doctor at least once in the three-year period. Data on blood pressure, ACEI use, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and comorbidities were taken from patients’ medical records. Results: Blood pressure was not recorded in any of the three years in 42.8% and eGFR in 36.7% of the patients, but blood pressure was registered every year in 7.8% and eGFR in 4.3% of them. Over the three years, the relative number of patients with recorded blood pressure decreased from 41.7% to 17.8%, and with recorded eGFR from 41.7% to 21.5%. Multivariate linear regression found that Health Center, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and presence of hypertension were negatively associated with number of years with recorded blood pressure. Health Center, systolic blood pressure and sum of years with recorded eGFR below 60 ml/min/1.73m2 were associated with number of years with recorded eGFR. Conclusions: Under-recording of blood pressure and eGFR in primary care health centers suggests lack of adherence to current guidelines and insufficient care of CKD patients. This implies the necessity for continuous education of physicians