Traffic Safety Impact Factors Related to Changing the Vehicles Among Drivers in Closed Systems

Work-related road accidents are estimated to con-tribute to at least one quarter to over one third of all work-related deaths. Changing the vehicle has a major impact on traffic safety. Some studies have shown that drivers’ knowledge and practical driver training can improve traffic safety when changing vehicles. The aim of this paper is to determine whether there is an impact of the vehicle change on traffic safety. The research was conducted at the location with cylinders, braking coeffi-cient sensors, and brake pedal force detector, as well as with ten different passenger car brands and types. At the time of the research, all cars were registered and used daily in traffic. Prior to the research, the precision of the measuring instruments at the research site was checked. On the basis of the results, it can be concluded that there are two significant factors: the vehicle and the driver who needs to be trained before starting to drive a new ve-hicle. When changing the vehicle brand and type within the company, it is necessary to conduct systemic training of drivers which would include theoretical and practical parts and involve at least braking, driver distraction, and active and passive vehicle safety

Freshwater Cyanobacterial blooms and Cyanotoxin production in Serbia in the past 25 years

Since 1980 cyanobacterial blooms occurred in a large number of reservoirs lakes and water flows (rivers and channels) in Serbia. Among 83 water ecosystems examined, 58 were found in blooming condition almost every year during last 2 decades. All natural lakes, accumulations, rivers and canals in Vojvodina province (agricultural part) proved to be sites with frequent cyanobacterial proliferation. During the summer 2005-spring 2006 microcystin-LR survey in Vojvodina, the toxin was permanently present in all examined ecosystems and the highest value of 362.68 μgL-1 was detected in Ludoš Lake. The part of Central Serbia is very problematic for ground water supply. For that reason more than 20 reservoirs serve as drinking water suppliers. Significant and persistent cyanobacterial blooms have been recognized in 9 of them. Samples for cyanotoxin analyses were taken during and after blooms in Ćelije Reservoir and in drinking water in Kruševac town 2 days later. Concentration of microcystin-LR was 650 μgL-1 in the reservoir while the tap water contained 2.5μgL-1

Intelligent textiles and sports clothing

Special purpose fibers were found only in the middle of the last century and since then the possibility of their application has been studied. These fibers are used in the production of clothing that requires specific protective functions such as: protection against fi re and heat, ballistic protection, protection against various types of radiation, protection against nuclear, biological and chemical effects, sportswear etc...The new generation of textiles, intelligent textiles, no longer serves only as protection, but it can receive and recognize stimuli from the environment and respond to them

Putevi izloženosti ljudi cijanotoksinima i njihovi utjecaji na zdravlje

Cyanotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by cyanobacteria. They pose a threat to human health and the environment. This review summarises the existing data on human exposure to cyanotoxins through drinking water, recreational activities (e.g., swimming, canoeing or bathing), the aquatic food web, terrestrial plants, food supplements, and haemodialysis. Furthermore, it discusses the tolerable daily intake and guideline values for cyanotoxins (especially microcystins) as well as the need to implement risk management measures via national and international legislation.Cijanotoksini su sekundarni metaboliti potencijalno opasni za ljudsko zdravlje i okoliš, koje proizvodecijanobakterije. Ovaj pregledni rad donosi prikaz postojećih podataka o izloženosti ljudi cijanotoksinima putem vode za piće, rekreacije, vodenog hranidbenog lanca, kopnenih biljaka i nekih drugih specifičnih puteva (dodaci prehrani i intravenozni put). Nadalje, u njemu se raspravlja o dopuštenom dnevnom unosu (TDI) i preporučenim vrijednostima za cijanotoksine (naročito mikrocistine) i nužnost provedbe mjera upravljanja rizicima putem nacionalnih i međunarodnih zakona. To su mjere od najveće važnosti za očuvanje okoliša i ljudskog zdravlja

Biodegradation of a mixture of benzophenone, benzophenone-3, caffeine and carbamazepine in a laboratory test filter

The biodegradation of a mixture of four pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) (benzophenone (BP), benzophenone-3 (BP-3), caffeine (CF) and carbamazepine (CBZ)) was studied in a laboratory test filter. The column was filled with inert material to exclude the adsorption processes and to enable the development of the biofilm, while river water was recirculated. High removal for BP, BP-3 and CF was observed from the beginning of the experiment at the initial concentration of 20 μg L-1 (90–99 %). In the case of CBZ analytical difficulties were experienced. The efficacy of biodegradation reflected as a change of the overall toxicity of initial mixture of selected PPCPs vs. toxicity of samples which were undergone different biodegradation phases was assessed with two standard laboratory tests with apical endpoint – acute toxicity test with Daphnia magna (immobilisation) and bioluminescence inhibition with Vibrio fisheri. Toxicity tests showed the substantial reduction of the overall mixture toxicity in a laboratory test filter. The residual toxicity to D. magna might be attributed to undetected transformation products. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. OI172028

Microcystin concentration in fishpond waters

Cyanobacterial blooming is a worldwide problem which sometimes results in cyanotoxin production. Most commonly produced cyanotoxins are microcystins (MCs), potent inhibitors of protein phosphatases. Protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) is known to be involved in the regulation of a variety of cellular processes. In this study, MC concentration was assessed via inhibition of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1 assay) in water samples taken from 14 lakes of Mužlja fishpond, Vojvodina, Serbia. During the summer of 2011, cyanobacterial growth occured in the fishpond lakes and small, planktonic crustacean Daphnia sp. was used to control or/and prevent further development of cyanobacteria. Different MC concentrations (calculated as microcystin-LR equivalents) were detected, mostly depending on the occurrence and grazing of Daphnia sp. More thorough monitoring of fishponds should be conducted, both in Serbia and around the world, in order to gain more precise estimation of cyanotoxin concentrations and their accumulation in organisms used for human consumption and thus prevent possible negative health effects. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br.176020

Determination of Volatile Organic Compounds in Selected Strains of Cyanobacteria

Microalgal biomass can be used in creating various functional food and feed products, but certain species of microalgae and cyanobacteria are known to produce various compounds causing off-flavour. In this work, we investigated selected cyanobacterial strains of Spirulina, Anabaena, and Nostoc genera originating from Serbia, with the aim of determining the chemical profile of volatile organic compounds produced by these organisms. Additionally, the influence of nitrogen level during growth on the production of volatile compounds was investigated for Nostoc and Anabaena strains. In addition, multivariate techniques, namely, principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), were used for making distinction among different microalgal strains. The results show that the main volatile compounds in these species are medium chain length alkanes, but other odorous compounds such as 2-methylisoborneol (0.51–4.48%), 2-pentylfuran (0.72–8.98%), β-cyclocitral (0.00–1.17%), and β-ionone (1.15–2.72%) were also detected in the samples. Addition of nitrogen to growth medium was shown to negatively affect the production of 2-methylisoborneol, while geosmin was not detected in any of the analyzed samples, which indicates that the manipulation of growth conditions may be useful in reducing levels of some unwanted odor-causing components

Detection of phosphatase activity in aquatic and terrestrial cyanobacterial strains

Cyanobacteria, as highly adaptable microorganisms, are characterized by an ability to survive in different environmental conditions, in which a significant role belongs to their enzymes. Phosphatases are enzymes produced by algae in relatively large quantities in response to a low orthophosphate concentration and their activity is significantly correlated with their primary production. The activity of these enzymes was investigated in 11 cyanobacterial strains in order to determine enzyme synthesis depending on taxonomic and ecological group of cyanobacteria. The study was conducted with 4 terrestrial cyanobacterial strains, which belong to Nostoc and Anabaena genera, and 7 filamentous water cyanobacteria of Nostoc, Oscillatoria, Phormidium and Microcystis genera. The obtained results showed that the activity of acid and alkaline phosphatases strongly depended on cyanobacterial strain and the environment from which the strain originated. Higher activity of alkaline phosphatases, ranging from 3.64 to 85.14 μmolpNP/s/dm3, was recorded in terrestrial strains compared to the studied water strains (1.11-5.96 μmolpNP/s/dm3). The activity of acid phosphatases was higher in most tested water strains (1.67-6.28 μmolpNP/s/dm3) compared to the activity of alkaline phosphatases (1.11-5.96 μmolpNP/s/dm3). Comparing enzyme activity of nitrogen fixing and non-nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria, it was found that most nitrogen fixing strains had a higher activity of alkaline phosphatases. The data obtained in this work indicate that activity of phosphatases is a strain specific property. The results further suggest that synthesis and activity of phosphatases depended on eco-physiological characteristics of the examined cyanobacterial strains. This can be of great importance for the further study of enzymes and mechanisms of their activity as a part of cyanobacterial survival strategy in environments with extreme conditions. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III 43002

Toxic effects of a cyanobacterial strain on Chironomus riparius larvae in a multistress environment

Cyanobacteria and their toxic metabolites present a global threat to water habitats, but their impact on aquatic organisms in a multistress environment has been poorly investigated. Here we present the results of a survey on the effects of the toxic cyanobacterial strain Trichormus variabilis (heterotypic synonym Anabaena variabilis), and its toxic metabolite, cyanotoxin microcystin-LR, on Chironomus riparius larvae in a multistress environment. An environmentally relevant concentration of microcystin-LR (0.1 mg/L) caused an increase in larvae mortality in an acute toxicity test, which became greater in the presence of environmental stressors (NO3−, NH4+, PO43− and Cd2+), pointing to an additive effect of these agents. Chronic exposure of C. riparius larvae to the microcystin-LR producing strain of T. variabilis in a multistress environment led to a reduction in the larval mass and hemoglobin concentration, and it induced DNA damage in larval somatic cells. The results revealed the additive effect of microcystin-LR in combination with all three tested stressors (NO3−, NH4+, PO43−), and the deleterious effect of chronic exposure of C. riparius larvae to the microcystin-LR producing T. variabilis in a multistress environment. However, the present study further emphasizes the importance of investigating interactions between stressors and cyanotoxins, and their effect on aquatic organisms.This is a manuscript of an article published as Stanković, Nikola, Boris Jovanović, Ivana Kostić Kokić, Milica Stojković Piperac, Jelica Simeunović, Dimitar Jakimov, Ivica Dimkić, and Djuradj Milošević. "Toxic effects of a cyanobacterial strain on Chironomus riparius larvae in a multistress environment." Aquatic Toxicology (2022): 106321. doi:10.1016/j.aquatox.2022.106321. Posted with permission.This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License