Forest fire analysis and classification based on a Serbian case study

A recent forest fire in the Republic of Serbia is discussed concerning classification, legislative framework and fire management, giving a detailed analysis of the forest fire occurrence. Analysing past and predicting future fires are crucial for policy development and forest management practices to prevent and mitigate fires. Fire hazard is discussed through several fire protection and prevention legislative documents. The nonparametric Mann-Kendall test was used to analyse resent forest fire data in an attempt to find causality in occurrences and frequency. The meteorological data and fire statistics provided by the Serbian Hydro-meteorological Service and the Ministry of Interior/Sector for Emergency Management of the Republic of Serbia were used to calculate the Forest Fire Weather Indices, along with deficit or surplus of precipitation for the case study of Tara Mountain. The paper highlights the need for better hierarchical classification of fire hazards and its harmonisation along with standardisations presented by leading international research institutions. A significant correlation between meteorological parameters and forest fire occurrence was found. This opens a possibility for further investigation and analysis of geophysical and anthropogenic driven factors that can influence disaster occurrence

The content of toxic and essential elements in trabecular and cortical femoral neck: a correlation with whole blood samples.

Pollution caused by heavy metals affects all forms of life. The aim of the study was to determine the content of toxic (Sr, Ni, Pb, V, Cd, U, Rb, As) and essential (Na, K, Ca, Mg, Zn, Cu, Se, Mn, Cr, Mo, Co) metals in the bone and whole blood samples, in regard to clinical means of long- and short-term exposure, respectively. For this purpose, the cortical and trabecular parts of femoral neck, as well as the blood samples, were collected to quantify bone-important metals by inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-based techniques. According to principal component analysis (PCA), the most influential metal discriminating blood samples was Cu, while all other quantified elements were present in higher amounts in the bones. Additionally, trabecular bones (TBs) could be characterized by higher content of Mo, Cr, V, Mn, Co, As, and Ni compared to cortical bones (CBs). Linear discrimination analysis (LDA) was successfully applied to distinguish trabecular bone from the cortical bone. Significant correlation between essential Ca and toxic Sr with other elements was found and discussed. This study provides novel data on the effects of metal pollutants on bone health hazards. The results obtained for investigating metals may serve as a baseline for further clinical investigations in the orthopedic fields

Duration of the Snow Cover and the Need for Artificial Snow—A Challenge for Management in Ski-Centres of Serbia

The production and use of artificial snow has become necessary in most ski centres in Europe. The lack of snow creates problems in ski centres that were built without the prior valuation of natural factors. The survey covered winter tourist centres in Serbia, which are facing problems due to the shortening of the tourist season caused by the lack of snow cover on the ski slopes. The duration of the snow cover is the result of several factors. Air temperature changes were analysed in mountain tourist centres in Serbia, as well as at undeveloped destinations with a potential for snow sports. On the basis of the quantitative indicators of the air temperature and the methodology by means of which snowmaking is carried out, the time periods during the year for making artificial snow are presented. Due to the forecast rise in air temperature, the issue of profitability of artificial snow in the ski centres of Serbia remains open