Sinteza katjonskih ligno-celuloznih sorbenata i primena za uklanjanje anjonskih polutanata iz vode

Тhe aim of this dissertation was the development of new cationic sorbents, based on a modified lignocellulosic precursor (shell of L. vulgaris as a cheap and easily available plant material), intended for the removal of anionic pollutants from water, primarily phosphate and nitrate as the causative agents of eutrophication. Two original cationic sorbents (KALV and LVAT-CTAC), obtained by the developed procedures (chemical synthesis and surfactant grafting, respectively), were characterized using different methods (CHNS/O, pHPZC, FTIR, SEM-EDS). Sorption tests have shown that both sorbents can be used to remove phosphate and nitrate from the aqueous solutions. Sorbent LVAT-CTAC (based on surfactant) resulted in a maximum removal efficiency of 46% for phosphate, and 22% for nitrate. Sorbent KALV (based on ammonium agent) showed greater removal efficiency of investigated anions (88% for phosphate, and 79% for nitrate). Under optimal conditions, the maximum sorption capacity of KALV for phosphate was 17.85 mg/g, and 16.53 mg/g for the sorption of nitrate. The sorption process is complex in nature (ionic exchange and physical sorption), and takes place in a mixed reaction-diffusion regime. The kinetics of the anions sorption indicates that the results are the best fitted with the non-linear pseudo first-order model. The equilibrium study shows that the phosphate sorption can be best described by Freundlich and Sips isotherms, while the nitrate sorption is better described by Langmuir and Sips models. Thermodynamic parameters confirm that the anions sorption is exothermic and spontaneous in the temperature range of 20-40 oC. At higher temperatures, desorption of the anions from the sorbent surface is favored. The effect of coexisting anions in the solution on the sorption capacity of KALV decreases in the order of: H2PO4->NO3->SO42->Cl-. The possibility of regeneration and reuse of KALV sorbent was confirmed through five consecutive cycles of the sorption/desorption process. The exhausted sorbent with accumulated phosphates and nitrates can be used as a fertilizer to improve soil fertility

Study of Green Nanoparticles and Biocomplexes Based on Exopolysaccharide by Modern Fourier Transform Spectroscopy

The intention of this chapter is to contribute in clarification of nanoparticle synthesis and biocomplexes based on exopolysaccharide, green synthetic method development, their physico‐chemical characterization by modern spectroscopy, as well as testing of their antimicrobial activity. Silver nanoparticles of polysaccharide type have scientific interest, but practical importance too, because of their application in pharmaceutical and cosmetic product development due to proven antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. On the other hand, the biocomplexes based on exopolysaccharides are important in treatment of biometal deficiency in human and veterinary medicine, as well as in metal ion transporting in organism. Despite a number of studies of this kind of complexes, the investigations of effect of their structure to pharmaco‐biological activity are still interesting. It is important that question of interaction between reducing and stabilizing agents with metal ions is still opened. In this respect, the presented chapter offers further progress in the examination of silver nanoparticles and cobalt biocomplex synthesis with dextran oligosaccharides and its derivatives (such as dextran sulfate and carboxymethyl dextran). The complex structure, spectroscopic characterization, and the spectra‐structure correlation have been analyzed by different Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic techniques combined with energy‐dispersive X‐ray (EDX), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and surface plasmon resonance UV‐Vis methods

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

Oral squamous cell carcinoma detection by salivary biomarkers in a Serbian population

Early detection of oral squamous cell cancer (OSCC) is the key to improve the low 5-year survival rate. Using proteomic and genomic technologies we have previously discovered and validated salivary OSCC markers in American patients. The question arises whether these biomarkers are discriminatory in cohorts of different ethnic background. Six transcriptome (DUSP1, IL8, IL1B, OAZ1, SAT1, and S100P) and three proteome (IL1B, IL8, and M2BP) biomarkers were tested on 18 early and 17 late stage OSCC patients and 51 healthy controls with quantitative PCR and ELISA. Four transcriptome (IL8, IL1B, SAT1, and S100P) and all proteome biomarkers were significantly elevated (p lt 0.05) in OSCC patients. The combination of markers yielded an AUC of 0.86, 0.85 and 0.88 for OSCC total, T1-T2, and T3-T4, respectively. The sensitivity/specificity for OSCC total was 0.89/0.78, for T1-T2 0.67/0.96, and for T3-T4 0.82/0.84. In conclusion, seven of the nine salivary biomarkers (three proteins and four mRNAs) were validated and performed strongest in late stage cancer. Patient-based salivary diagnostics is a highly promising approach for OSCC detection. This study shows that previously discovered and validated salivary OSCC biomarkers are discriminatory and reproducible in a different ethnic cohort. These findings support the feasibility to implement multi-center, multi-ethnicity clinical trials towards the pivotal validation of salivary biomarkers for OSCC detection

Causes and manifestations of homicide resulting from domestic violence in the Republic of Serbia

As for the nature and scope of the research, we emphasize that it included: the nature of the objects used in cases involving homicide; crime scene; family relationships between the perpetrator and the victim; measures taken by state authorities; analysis of the causes of depriving family members of their lives; the number of suicides following the cases of homicide, and types of homicides. The methods used include primarily the statistical method, at the level of descriptive statistics; case study method; content analysis method, and formal-logical method. It has been found that the application of the pre-crime concept gives certain positive results that are related to our research problem. They are reflected in the reduced number of victims deprived of their lives as a result of domestic violence. On the other hand, however, we notice a negative tendency of an increased number of homicides in the events involving perpetrators/repeat offenders who were previously reported due to domestic violence, which may bring into question the effectiveness in the acting of the competent state authorities

The calculation of costs of postal network and universal postal service based on standard and average cost principles

The provision of universal postal service involves high costs for operator, especially in rural areas. The aim of this paper is to propose and test tool for managing the cost of providing universal postal service and maintaining the postal network in order to facilitate understanding of the problem in the sector. The proposed approach use standard prices and standard quantities (the redefined number of postal units, the number of employees, etc.) as well as average costs for calculation of the costs of the universal postal service and postal network. The methodology provides the efficiency analysis, benchmarking and identification of causes of poor performance of management and resource allocation. It can be used for postal operators that do not have modern accounting systems

The biosorption potential of waste biomass young fruit walnuts for lead ions: Kinetic and equilibrium study

The biosorption potential of waste biomass young fruit walnuts (YFW) as a low-cost biosorbent, processed from liqueur industry, for Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution was explored. The structural features of the biosorbent were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, which indicates the possibility that the different functional groups may be responsible for the binding of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution. The effects of relevant parameters such as pH (2 - 6), contact time (0 - 120 min), biosorbent dosage (2 - 20 g), initial metal ion concentration (10 - 120 mg dm-3), at a temperature of 25(C with stirring (120 rpm) and a constant ionic strength of 0,02 mol dm-3 were evaluated in batch experiments. The sorption equilibrium of Pb(II) ion (when 84 % of metal ions were sorbed at an initial concentration of 15 mg dm-3) was achieved within the pH range 4 - 5 after 50 min. Kinetic data were best described by the pseudo-second order model. Removal efficiency of Pb(II) ion rapidly increased with increasing biosorbent dose from 2.0 to 8.0 g per dm-3 of sorbate. Optimal biosorbent dose was set to 6.0 g per dm3 of sorbate. An increase in the initial metal concentration increases the biosorption capacity. The sorption data of investigated metal ion are fitted to Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models. The equilibrium data were well fitted by the Langmuir isotherm model (R2 ≥ 0.990). The maximum monolayer biosorption capacity of waste biomass YFW for Pb(II) ion, at 25.0 ± 0.5°C and pH 4.5, was found to be 19.23 mgg-1. This available waste biomass is efficient in the uptake of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution and could be used as a low-cost and an alternative biosorbent for the treatment of wastewater streams bearing these metal ions

Kinetic, equilibrium and thermodynamic studies of Ni(II) ions sorption on sulfuric acid treated Lagenaria vulgaris shell

Chemically modified Lagenaria vulgaris shell (ccLVB) was tested as a new sorbent for the removal of Ni(II) from aqueous solution, in batch conditions. The sorption process was very fast reaching equilibrium in about 20 min. Ni(II) sorption is almost invariant in the pH range from 3 to 6. Sorption kinetics followed pseudo-second order, intraparticle diffusion and Chrastil’s models, which suggest that both surface reaction and diffusion were the rate-limiting steps. Equilibria experimental results are well fitted by Langmuir and Temkin sorption isotherm models, indicating mixed adsorption process. The maximum biosorption capacity of ccLVB for Ni(II) was found to be 84.51 mg g-1. The calculated thermodynamic parameters showed that the biosorption of nickel on ccLVB was feasible, spontaneous and exothermic at 25-45ºC. The desorption experiments showed that the ccLVB could be reused for five cycles without significant loss in sorption capacity. Release of Na+ ions from the biosorbent during sorption of Ni(II) reveals that the main sorption mechanism is ion exchange. Presented study suggests that ccLVB can be used effectively for the removal of Ni(II) ions from aqueous solution

Chromosomes aberations and enviromental factors

Explanation the topic: Changes in genetic material can lead to aberrant cell in the direction of disorders of cellular regulation, malignant transformation, cell death, or if the adjustment was made at the level of the reproductive cells, to genetic changes in some of the consequent off spring. The topic position in scientific/professional public: Breaking of chromosomes can occur spontaneously or can be induced. Chromatid/chromosome breakings can be induced by different environmental factors: chemicals, biological clastogenic agents, accidentally or intentionally. Conclusions: The authors suggest: - making conditions for strong respect of environmental regulations; - to use higher plants for the early detection of environmental mutagens; - create and orderly update National radionuclide database