New internet services and growth of the operator's revenue in terms of monopoly

This paper begins with the current state of the electronic communications market in general, whose specificity is the existence of so-called a Significant Market Power (SMP) operator, and its ex-ante regulation by national regulatory authorities under predefined rules, that are based on EU legislation. European regulatory framework has changed many times and the number of markets with SMP operator also changed. Special attention has to be put on the existence of Internet market with of dominant wholesale operators. This market records continuous growth in revenues and three groups of participants appear on it: monopolists (one or more), alternative operators and regulator. Taking into account these facts, the paper analyzes the possibilities for simultaneous development of competition and further growth of monopolist's revenues, i.e. how much competition can be useful for the monopolists in the Internet market, either by encouraging himself to introduce new services or by the regulatory activities

Bioindicative values of microfungi in starch and possible deficiencies of the new Serbian regulation on food hygiene

The results of tests on the presence of yeasts and molds in cornstarch [AD ‘IPOK’ Zrenjanin, 2007-2008, made at the time when previous Regulations were valid] were analyzed in terms of bioindicative values of microfungi as indicators of quality and safety of raw material or final food products. Microbiological analysis was used to detect the presence of a number of microorganisms MMI-0001, and a questionnaire was designed at the Department of Public Health in Zrenjanin town (Republic of Serbia), where the anal­yses were done, regarding the microbiological tests on starch. In order to rationalize the analyses and make them more economical, several areas of product quality control (water, food, raw materials, space) were recommended either to be excluded or regarded as optional. Thus, analysis of presence of microfungi as indicators of product quality was categorized as optional. The results obtained from this research suggest a different conclusion because the bacteria in the samples indicated ˮmicrobiologically“, namely bacteriologically, safe samples of food, while, on the contrary, the presence of some microfungi as distinct xerophilous or xerotolerant microorganisms, indicated that the food was mycologically non-safe. The obtained data are crucial for questioning the decision to exclude the earlier required (mycological) analysis of the samples (in the production of starch, or end products, etc.) and categorize such analyses in new Regulations as optional, depending on the manufacturer’s preference. Bioindicative values of microfungi as indicators of the quality of starch, clearly point to the shortsightedness of the new Regulations on food hygiene and safety, where tests on certain microorganisms (in this case, yeasts and molds) are not legally defined as mandatory, but the Law leaves manufacturers a possibility to choose (or not to choose) the testing and frequency of testing on the presence (absence) of microorganisms, which can be risky, both in the production and marketing of the finial products. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. OI-179079

Algorithm for Implementation of Wavelength Division Multiplexing in EPON

Today, implementation of wavelength division multiplexing in the Ethernet passive optical network (EPON) is considered as one of the most perspective solutions for the bottleneck problem in the access network. With the development of new applications and services, multimedia applications above all, quality of service (QoS) support becomes a major concern in WDM EPON, as it was the case in EPON. In this paper, WDM EPON architecture is presented along with a novel algorithm for wavelength and bandwidth allocation with full QoS support. Besides theoretical analysis, simulation results are presented and they confirm a good performance of presented solution

Heavy metals concentration in soils from parks and green areas in Belgrade

The current study included the investigation of several metals and their distribution in urban soils from parks and green areas in the city of Belgrade. The soils were sampled in January and February 2008. The concentrations of Cd, Co, Cu, Pb, Mn and Zn were measured, as well as the pH values and organic matter contents. The obtained results showed that there was a significant level of contamination in some samples, especially with lead, and that it was most probably caused by anthropogenic activities, mostly from traffic. The results were compared with the National legislation and Netherlands standards. Also, the recent results were compared with the data from previous work and it was concluded that there has been a certain increase of the Pb concentration in the past three years. The level of pollution in playground soil was very high and each analyzed sample exceeded the Dutch target value for Cd, Co and Pb

Assessing the Gender Impacts and Contributions of CCAFS Climate-Smart Villages in Lao PDR

From July – September 2021, a Gender Impact Assessment (GIA) was conducted to measure the impacts of the CSV gender strategy in regards to project participation, agricultural productivity, and overall socio-economic impacts at the village-cluster level. The GIA also aimed to provide insight on the impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic on project objectives, and more specifically, women’s coping strategies as they relate to Climate-Smart Villages. Primary data was collected from two villages in Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR, and included a total of 28 respondents (9 female, 19 male). Although all respondents reported positive impacts to their livelihoods and improved resilience to climate change-related challenges, the CSV did not achieve gender-transformative outcomes. This is likely the result of a gender strategy which emphasized equal participation without improving knowledge on gender equality principles or fostering an enabling environment for social behaviour change. Also, since the CSV gender strategy did not include specific gender development targets, it could not be determined whether gender-specific outcomes were reached. This highlights the need for long-term systemic gender strategizing across sectors, programmes, and partnerships

Individual response to different forms of resistance training in school-aged boys

The aim of this study was to examine individual responses to different forms of resistance training on measures of jumping and sprinting performance in school-aged boys. Eighty boys were categorized into two maturity groups (pre- or post-PHV) and randomly assigned to a plyometric training, resistance training, combined training, or control group. Intervention groups participated in training twice weekly for six weeks, with measures of acceleration, maximal running velocity, squat jump height and reactive strength index collected pre and post intervention. In the pre-PHV cohort, plyometric training and combined training resulted in significantly more positive responders than the other two groups in both sprint variables (standardized residual values > 1.96). In the post-PHV cohort, significantly more positive responders for acceleration and squat jump height resulted from traditional strength training and combined training groups, compared with other groups. Conversely, plyometric training and combined training resulted in a significantly greater number of positive responders than the other two groups for maximal velocity and reactive strength index. Control participants rarely demonstrated meaningful changes in performance over the six-week period. Irrespective of maturation, it would appear that combined training provides the greatest opportunity for most individuals to make short-term improvements in jump and sprint performance. Taking maturation into account, our data show that a plyometric training stimulus is important for individuals in the pre-PHV stage of development, whether as a standalone method or in combination with traditional strength training, when attempting to improve jumping and sprinting ability. However, individuals in the post-PHV stage require a more specific training stimulus depending on the performance variable that is being targeted for improvement

Changes in muscle contractile characteristics and jump height following 24 days of unilateral lower limb suspension

We measured changes in maximal voluntary and electrically evoked torque and rate of torque development because of limb unloading. We investigated whether these changes during single joint isometric muscle contractions were related to changes in jump performance involving dynamic muscle contractions and several joints. Six healthy male subjects (21 ± 1 years) underwent 3 weeks of unilateral lower limb suspension (ULLS) of the right limb. Plantar flexor and knee extensor maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque and maximal rate of torque development (MRTD), voluntary activation, and maximal triplet torque (thigh; 3 pulses at 300 Hz) were measured next to squat jump height before and after ULLS. MVC of plantar flexors and knee extensors (MVCke) and triplet torque decreased by 12% (P = 0.012), 21% (P = 0.001) and 11% (P = 0.016), respectively. Voluntary activation did not change (P = 0.192). Absolute MRTD during voluntary contractions decreased for plantar flexors (by 17%, P = 0.027) but not for knee extensors (P = 0.154). Absolute triplet MRTD decreased by 17% (P = 0.048). The reduction in MRTD disappeared following normalization to MVC. Jump height with the previously unloaded leg decreased significantly by 28%. No significant relationships were found between any muscle variable and jump height (r < 0.48), but decreases in torque were (triplet, r = 0.83, P = 0.04) or tended to be (MVCke r = 0.71, P = 0.11) related to decreases in jump height. Thus, reductions in isometric muscle torque following 3 weeks of limb unloading were significantly related to decreases in the more complex jump task, although torque in itself (without intervention) was not related to jump performance