Social Media Interactions and Online Games - Building up New Human Relationships in Danube Region

In this paper we are trying to explore possibilities of using online environment,multiplayer gaming culture and social media networks to engage people in the DanubeRegion around social, multi-cultural and environment initiatives. The Danube Region onlinecommunity could become a new cultural phenomena, technology mediated, built on humaninteractions, common interests and cultural heritage which open space for future humancenteredsocial and infrastructural design initiatives. We believe that such social mediaenvironment could also be a research playground where people form Danube Region mayexpress their needs and desires as well as to leave the trace of their behavior, significant forfurther Danube Region development

Assessment of natural radioactivity levels and radon exhalation rate potential from various building materials

Various imported building materials commonly used in construction and industry in Serbia were analyzed using gamma spectrometry. Based on the activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in the investigated samples, radium equivalent activity, Raeq, absorbed dose rate, D, annual effective dose, DE, and the external hazard index, Hex, were calculated to assess the radiation hazard for people. The Raeq for most of the analyzed samples (416 in total) was lower than the maximum admissible value of 370 Bqkg-1 set in the UNSCEAR report. The absorbed gamma dose rate in air was found to vary from 0.030 mGyh-1 to 1.328 mGyh-1 which in some cases exceeded indoor dose rates in Europe. The obtained values for annual effective dose exceed the limits of 0.41 mSv given in literature for about 5 % of measured samples, while values of Hex were higher than unity for three samples of cement, eight samples of granite, and one sand sample. As a possible source of elevated effective dose, the radon exhalation from building materials was estimated using the parameters given in literature. The internal dose due to 222Rn exhaled from the building material was found to be up to nine times higher than external dose due to 226Ra content in some cases

Genetic differentiation of European grayling (Thymallus thymallus) populations in Serbia, based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analyses

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The structure and diversity of grayling (<it>Thymallus thymallus</it>) populations have been well studied in most of its native habitat; however the southernmost populations of the Balkan Peninsula remain largely unexplored. The purpose of this study was to assess the genetic diversity of Serbian grayling populations, detect the impact of stocking and provide guidelines for conservation and management.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Eighty grayling individuals were collected from four rivers (Ibar, Lim, Drina and Rzav). The mitochondrial DNA control region (CR; 595 bp of the 3'end and 74 bp of flanking tRNA) and the ATP6 gene (630 bp fragment) were sequenced for 20 individuals (five from each locality). In addition, all individuals were genotyped with 12 microsatellite loci. The diversity and structure of the populations as well as the recent and ancient population declines were studied using specialized software.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We detected three new haplotypes in the mtDNA CR and four haplotypes in the ATP6 gene of which three had not been described before. Previously, one CR haplotype and two ATP6 gene haplotypes had been identified as allochthonous, originating from Slovenia. Reconstruction of phylogenetic relations placed the remaining two CR haplotypes from the River Danube drainage of Serbia into a new clade, which is related to the previously described sister Slovenian clade. These two clades form a new Balkan clade. Microsatellite marker analysis showed that all four populations are genetically distinct from each other without any sign of intra-population structure, although stocking of the most diverse population (Drina River) was confirmed by mtDNA analysis. Recent and historical population declines of Serbian grayling do not differ from those of other European populations.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study shows that (1) the Ibar, Lim and Drina Rivers grayling populations are genetically distinct from populations outside of Serbia and thus should be managed as native populations in spite of some introgression in the Drina River population and (2) the Rzav River population is not appropriate for further stocking activities since it originates from stocked Slovenian grayling. However, the Rzav River population does not represent an immediate danger to other populations because it is physically isolated from these.</p

Social Media Interactions and Online Games - Building up New Human Relationships in Danube Region

In this paper we are trying to explore possibilities of using online environment, multiplayer gaming culture and social media networks to engage people in the Danube Region around social, multi-cultural and environment initiatives. The Danube Region online community could become a new cultural phenomena, technology mediated, built on human interactions, common interests and cultural heritage which open space for future humancentered social and infrastructural design initiatives. We believe that such social media environment could also be a research playground where people form Danube Region may express their needs and desires as well as to leave the trace of their behavior, significant for further Danube Region development

Alien freshwater fish species in the Balkans-Vectors and pathways of introduction

Fish introductions, particularly in areas of high biological diversity and endemism, represent a major threat for biodiversity. In the Balkan Peninsula, 60 fish species have been introduced to date, of which 36 have become naturalized in inland waters. Since the Balkans are one of the world's 35 biodiversity hot spots, this large presence of alien fish species poses a serious threat for the stability of freshwater ecosystems and the survival of the native ichthyofauna and of aquatic biodiversity in general. The motivation for the introductions, and the historical timeline, varies among the Balkan states. Despite recent attempts to implement and align legislation aimed at preventing the introduction of potentially invasive species, and the implementation of rigorous controls of introductions and increased protection of open waters, the majority of current introductions remain intentional, primarily via aquaculture. This review article provides a historical overview of freshwater fish introductions, the motivation behind them a nd the current distribution of alien freshwater fishes in the Balkans. The ecological implications and future perspectives concerning alien fish species in the region are also discussed

Energy and centrality dependence of anti-p and p production and the anti-Lambda/anti-p ratio in Pb+Pb collisions between 20A GeV and 158A GeV

The transverse mass mt distributions for antiprotons are measured at midrapidity for minimum bias Pb+Pb collisions at 158A GeV and for central Pb+Pb collisions at 20A, 30A, 40A, and 80A GeV beam energies in the fixed target experiment NA49 at the CERN SPS. The rapidity density dn/dy, inverse slope parameter T, and mean transverse mass &lt;mt&gt; derived from the mt distributions are studied as a function of the incident energy and the collision centrality and compared to the relevant data on proton production. The shapes of the mt distributions of anti-p and p are very similar. The ratios of the particle yields, anti-p/p and anti-Lambda/anti-p, are also analyzed. The anti-p/p ratio exhibits an increase with decreasing centrality and a steep rise with increasing beam energy. The anti-Lambda/anti-p ratio increases beyond unity with decreasing beam energy