Assessment of soil erosion potential by application of USLE and PESERA models on the territory of Prvonek catchment

Губитак земљишта изазван процесом ерозије је озбиљан проблем у Републици Србији, a процена губитака земљишта као и систем заштите од ерозије представљају неопходни услов за одрживи развој привреде и друштва. Предвиђање губитка земљишта је важно за процену опасности од ерозије и детерминацију одговарајућих мера конзервације и коришћења земљишта у сливу. Широк спектар модела је данас доступан за процену ризика од ерозије земљишта. Избор одређеног модела у великој мери зависи од сврхе истраживања, доступности података, времена и потребних материјалних средстава за његову реализацију. Степен угрожености земљишта процесима ерозије у овој докторској дисертације, оцењен је применом USLE и PESERA моделима, док је транспорт неких микроелемената са наносом услед ерозионог процеса процењен применом WaTEM/SEDEM модела. Применом USLE и PESERA модела добили су се релативно уравнотежени резултати, са вредностима класификованим у групу умерене угрожености од ерозионих процеса. На основу добијених резултата транспортованих микроелемената применом WaTEM/SEDEM модела, ризична подручја са нешто вишим вредностима транспортованих микроелемената се углавном јављају на локалитетима где су забележене веће укупне количине тешких метала у земљишту, односно, близу подручја са израженијим интензитетом ерозије. Резултати добијени применом USLE и PESERA модела у проучаваним условима пружају могућност око националног концензуса за избор ерозионог модела. Међутим, ниво њихове примене је првенствено условљен размерама подручја. Резултати указују да је примена USLE модела прикладнија када се ради о процени ерозионих губитака земљишта на мањим сливовима, пре свега због могућности модела да врши процену на детаљнијим резолуцијама. С друге стране, PESERA модел има предност када се ради о проценама губитака земљишта на регионалном нивоу, зато што боље одражава хидроеколошке параметре, који су од значаја за развој ерозионих процеса. На овакав закључак упућују и резултати примене оба модела, према анализираној литератури, у различитим подручјима у Европи

Radionuclides and heavy metals in soil, vegetables, and medicinal plants in suburban areas of the cities of Belgrade and Pancevo, Serbia

The content of radionuclides (K-40 , U-238 , Ra-226 , Th-232, and Cs-137) and heavy metals (As, Cd, Cu, and Pb) was determined in samples of soil, vegetables and medicinal plants collected in the period 2007-2017, from two suburban areas of Belgrade - the municipalities of Palilula and Surcin, and Pancevo - the Dr Josif Pancic Institute for the Study of Medicinal Herbs. During the research period, activity concentration of Cs-137 in soil decreased from 16 Bqkg(-1) to 3.9 Bqkg(-1) (Palilula, Belgrade) and from 18 Bqkg(-1) to 12 Bqkg(-1) (Surcin, Belgrade). Mean activity concentrations of natural radionuclides in the soil were higher than the global average. lkend for heavy metal levels, according to the average concentrations found in the soil, were as follows: Cu >Pb >As >Cd for Palilula, Pb >Cu >As >Cd for Surcin and Dr Josif Pancic Institute, Pancevo. The obtained results indicate that the industrial pollution has no impact on food production in the study area and that the main anthropogenic source of radionuclides and heavy metals in soil are mineral phosphorous fertilizers, often used in agricultural fields

Annotation Of The Functional Impact Of Coding Genetic Variants

Summary. Coding genetic variants can have profound effects on protein function. Computational tools for the prediction of these effects are used to complement and guide experimental biological studies. Phylogenetic analyses that determine the evolutionary relationship among related sequences are commonly used to distinguish between functionally significant and insignificant gene variations. Here, we have reviewed applications of the non-alignment sequence analyses method for phylogenetic analyses, ISTREE. Furthermore, we assessed how an unsupervised ISTREE-d3 method based on the universal d3 measure responds to this task compared to supervised and semi-supervised ISTREE methods that were previously used in two studies. The findings presented here suggest that ISTREE-d3 can efficiently substitute for the corresponding supervised models, given that it is more suitable for automatic applications. In conclusion, the ISTREE-d3 method has a broad biological relevance and represents a promising approach in functional assessment of coding gene variations

Evaluation of potentially toxic element contamination in the riparian zone of the River Sava

Contaminated sediments transported onto the river terrace during high water events can contribute significant quantities of potentially toxic elements to riparian soils. Seven trace elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) were analysed in the river sediment and riparian soil of the River Sava and their spatial distribution, potential toxicity and ecological risk levels were evaluated. The results showed that levels of all the trace metals were enriched to varying extents in both the sediment (As, Cr, Ni, and Pb) and soil (Ni) when compared to reference levels for sediments and European soils. Mean concentrations of trace metals in sediment and soil, apart from Pb, increased downstream in the River Sava. The similar increasing trend of these elements in sediment and soil may be explained by their increased load due to anthropogenic pressures (As, Cr, Ni, Pb and Zn in sediment and the significant accumulation of Ni in soil) and frequent periodic flooding (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn in sediment and Cd in soil are influenced by both high water events and natural factors such as the geological substrate), particularly in lowland regions. In this study, soluble As, Cd, Cr, Cu and Ni fractions in sediment and soil LT 10% indicated their low mobility. The exceptions were readily soluble Pb and Zn in the sediment and soil at some sampling sites. In the lower reaches, levels of Pb in sediment was indicative of a medium environmental hazard, while there was a high environmental hazard in the upper reaches with the average Pb content in sediment higher than the PEL. Pollution factors for Pb in soil indicated a medium environmental hazard in the upper and middle reaches and a high environmental hazard at some sites in the lower stretches of the Sava River, although total Pb content in soil was within the range proposed for European soils

Contamination, risk, and source apportionment of potentially toxic microelements in river sediments and soil after extreme flooding in the Kolubara River catchment in Western Serbia

Climate change is contributing to an increase in extreme weather events. This results in a higher river flooding risk, causing a series of environmental disturbances, including potential contamination of agricultural soil. In Serbia, the catastrophic floods of 2014 affected six river basins, including the Kolubara River Basin, as one of the larger sub-catchments of the large regional Sava River Basin, which is characterized by large areas under agricultural cultures, various geological substrates, and different types of industrial pollution. The main aim of this study was to establish the sources of potentially toxic elements in soil and flood sediments and the effect of the flood on their concentrations. Field sampling was performed immediately after water had receded from the flooded area in May 2014. In total, 36 soil samples and 28 flood sediment samples were collected. After acid digestion (HNO3), concentrations of the most frequent potentially toxic elements (PTE) in agricultural production (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) and Co which are closely related to the geological characteristics of river catchments, were analyzed. The origin, source, and interrelations of microelements, as well as BACKGROUND: values of the PTE of the river catchment, the pollution index (Pi), enrichment factor (Ef), and geological index (Igeo), were determined, using statistical methods such as Pearson correlations, principal component analysis (PCA), and multiple linear regression (MLRA). The content of the hot acid-extractable forms of the elements, PCA, and MLRA revealed a heavy geological influence on microelement content, especially on Ni, Cr, and Co, while an anthropogenic influence was observed for Cu, Zn, and Cd content. This mixed impact was primarily related to mines and their impact on As and Pb content. The pseudo-total concentrations of all the analyzed elements did not prove to be a danger in the catchment area, except for Cu in some samples, indicating point-source pollution, and Ni, whose pseudo-total content could be a limiting factor in agricultural production. For the Ef, the Ni content in 59% soil and 68% flood sediment samples is classified into influence classes. The similar pseudo-total contents of the elements studied in soil samples and flood sediment and their origin indicate that the long-term soil formation process is subject to periodic flooding in the Kolubara River Basin without any significant changes taking place. This implies that floods are not an endangering factor in terms of the contamination of soil by potentially toxic elements in the explored area

Assessment of soil erosion potential by application of USLE and PESERA models on the territory of Prvonek catchment

Губитак земљишта изазван процесом ерозије је озбиљан проблем у Републици Србији, a процена губитака земљишта као и систем заштите од ерозије представљају неопходни услов за одрживи развој привреде и друштва. Предвиђање губитка земљишта је важно за процену опасности од ерозије и детерминацију одговарајућих мера конзервације и коришћења земљишта у сливу. Широк спектар модела је данас доступан за процену ризика од ерозије земљишта. Избор одређеног модела у великој мери зависи од сврхе истраживања, доступности података, времена и потребних материјалних средстава за његову реализацију. Степен угрожености земљишта процесима ерозије у овој докторској дисертације, оцењен је применом USLE и PESERA моделима, док је транспорт неких микроелемената са наносом услед ерозионог процеса процењен применом WaTEM/SEDEM модела. Применом USLE и PESERA модела добили су се релативно уравнотежени резултати, са вредностима класификованим у групу умерене угрожености од ерозионих процеса. На основу добијених резултата транспортованих микроелемената применом WaTEM/SEDEM модела, ризична подручја са нешто вишим вредностима транспортованих микроелемената се углавном јављају на локалитетима где су забележене веће укупне количине тешких метала у земљишту, односно, близу подручја са израженијим интензитетом ерозије. Резултати добијени применом USLE и PESERA модела у проучаваним условима пружају могућност око националног концензуса за избор ерозионог модела. Међутим, ниво њихове примене је првенствено условљен размерама подручја. Резултати указују да је примена USLE модела прикладнија када се ради о процени ерозионих губитака земљишта на мањим сливовима, пре свега због могућности модела да врши процену на детаљнијим резолуцијама. С друге стране, PESERA модел има предност када се ради о проценама губитака земљишта на регионалном нивоу, зато што боље одражава хидроеколошке параметре, који су од значаја за развој ерозионих процеса. На овакав закључак упућују и резултати примене оба модела, према анализираној литератури, у различитим подручјима у Европи

Protein content changes in wheat grain as influenced by nitrogen fertilization

The aim of the research was to investigate the effect of different doses of N on the yield and quality of winter wheat grain grown on two phosphorus backgrounds (low and high) in Kazakhstan. Results show that the content of proteins in wheat grain was influenced mostly by the level of nitrogen supply, and not by the ratio between nitrogen and phosphorus. Phosphorus had not any specific effect on the fractional composition of proteins and the content of amino acids. The content of gluten increased due to the addition of N, while albumin and globulin were not affected by N nutrition level

Assessment of Hepatitis C Virus Protein Sequences with Regard to Interferon/Ribavirin Combination Therapy Response in Patients with HCV Genotype 1b

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major and rising global health problem, affecting about 170 million people worldwide. The current standard of care treatment with interferon alpha and ribavirin in patients with the genotype 1 infection, the most frequent genotype in the USA and Western Europe, leads to a successful outcome in only about 50% of individuals. Accurate prediction of hepatitis C treatment response is of great benefit to patients and clinicians. The informational spectrum method, a virtual spectroscopy method for structure/function analysis of nucleotide and protein sequences, is applied here for the identification of the conserved information of the HCV proteins that correlate with the combination therapy outcome. Among the HCV proteins that we have analyzed the informational property of the p7 of HCV genotype 1b was best related to the therapy outcome. On the basis of these results, a simple bioinformatics criterion that could be useful in assessment of the response of HCV-infected patients to the combination therapy has been proposed

Analysis of the state of vegetation in the municipality of Jagodina (Serbia) through remote sensing and suggestions for protection

Both environmental control and appropriate measurement results present basis for the quality protection of geospatial elements. Providing environmental monitoring activities and creating control network is the obligation of each state, whereas local communities provide observation and control of air quality, water quality, waste quality, soil quality, vegetation and land cover control, etc. This has been the reason for the analysis of vegetation of the municipality of Jagodina in Serbia. By processing satellite images, data on the sources of pollution and polluting materials of the vegetation have been discovered. These include spot (stationary), linear (mobile and stationary) and surface (stationary and mobile) sources. While processing satellite images by the Idrisi software, we have acquired results that indicate certain vegetation modifications (images obtained through infrared spectral imaging). Results obtained through remote sensing indicate the necessity to define adequate vegetation monitoring, to complete a register of pollutants, to set up information system and define ways of data presentation in order to manage a single, complete register of environmental pollutants in the municipality of Jagodina