Serbian Large Agribusiness Corporations Knocking at the Door of E-Agribusiness Revolution

Transformation of large agribusiness corporations in Serbia is at its beginning. Institutional investors are taking control of these firms through foreign direct investments. Corporate reorganization of agribusinesses starts up by introducing efficient management, information technology, Net and e-commerce. IT environment generates a new business model, which creates connections in Serbia between the large agribusinesses, business processes and IT. The market of agricultural production in Serbia is rapidly changing and adapting itself to the global trends, mainly to the Internet economy. The speed of transactions and volume of information is increasing dramatically. It is important to explain the basic economic principles at macro and micro levels. Such revolutionary changes affect the operations and management of agribusiness on the Internet and outside of it. The purpose of this work is to stimulate further research in these processes, and to use the acquired knowledge as a tool for efficient corporate agribusiness management

Some Applications of the Image Analysis in the Metal Material Science

In different areas of science such as medicine, biology and engineering the image analysis is widely used. Quantitative measuring by the image analysis has also found application in metal materials science, especially in metallographic microstructure analysis. The measuring of the linear and area dimensions of the microconstituents in the metal material structure performed by the image analysis is presented in the paper. The effects of the heat treatment temperature on the brittle phase content in the structure of the heat resistant Ni-Cr-Co-W alloy were analysed. Investigation of the influence of the alloying elements content in the Al alloys for automotive application, on dendrite arm spacing in the cast structure are also presented. Obtained results of the quantitative measured dimensions have shown direct impact of the process parameters on the analysed metals microstructure characteristics. All tests were performed by the light optical microscope with automatic image analyser. Presented experimental results are based on a large number of measurements. A statistical analysis was performed and a high correlation of the results was obtained. For each of the presented investigations and analyzed phenomenon, a statistical mathematical model is suggested with the boundary conditions defined by the investigated intervals of variables

Evaluacija koncentracije metil-prednizolona posle intravenske i elektroforetske aplikacije kod domaće svinje

The current clinical research on pharmacokinetics of methylprednisolone was performed on male pigs to whom was administered either intravenously or locally, via iontophoresis. Equal doses of methylprednisolone sodium succinate (MPSS) were applied, i.e. 40 mg it total per animal. In all pigs artificial inflammation of knee and elbow joints was provoked four days prior to the treatment. Four hours after the application of methylprednisolone tissue samples (both synovial fluid and hyaline cartilage) were obtained from the inflamed joints and subjected to analysis. The quantification of the drug was performed by HPLC technique. The results indicated high quantities of methylprednisolone both in the synovial fluid and hyaline cartilage, the concentrations being significantly higher in animals after iontophoretic application (17.15±3.11 and 12.70±2.19 μg/g, respectively) in comparison with the animals treated intravenously (0.33±0.11 and 0.21±0.06 μg/g, respectively). Thus, iontophoresis was proved a highly advisable clinical means of application of methylprednisolone, especially having in mind the possibility of avoiding systemic adverse effects which are present after parenteral drug administration. In addition, it enables higher therapeutic concentrations of MPSS to be obtained both in the synovial fluid and in the hyaline cartilage of the treated inflamed joints.Ispitivana je farmakokinetika metil-prednizolona na svinjama muškog pola kojima je ovaj lek aplikovan intravenski ili lokalno, putem elektroforeze. Metilprednizolon-natrijum-sukcinat primenjen je jednokratno, u dozi od 40 mg po životinji. Četiri dana pre tretmana, kod svih svinja je izazvano arteficijelno zapaljenje kolenog i lakatnog zgloba. Četiri sata posle aplikacije metil-prednizolona uzorci tkiva (sinovijalna tečnost i hijalina hrskavica) uzeti su iz inflamiranih zglobova i zatim analizirani. Kvantifikacija metil-prednizolona obavljena je HPLC metodom. Rezultati su ukazali na prisustvo visokih koncentracija metil-prednizolona u sinovijalnoj tečnosti i hijalinoj hrskavici, koje su bile statistički signifikantno veće posle elektroforetske aplikacije (17,15 ± 3,11 u sinovijalnoj tečnosti i 12,70 ± 2,19 μg/g u hrskavici) u poređenju sa koncentracijama dobijenim posle intravenske primene (0,33 ± 0,11 u sinovijalnoj tečnosti i 0,21 ± 0,06 μg/g u hrskavičnom tkivu). Iz ovog razloga, elektroforeza se preporučuje kao način lokalne aplikacije metilprednizolona kod inflamacije zglobova, naročito kada se ima u vidu mogućnost da se time izbegavaju sistemski neželjeni efekti koji nastaju posle parenteralne primene. Elektroforeza obezbeđuje vrlo visoke terapijske koncentracije metilprednizolon-natrijum-sukcinata kako u sinovijalnoj tečnosti, tako i u hrskavici tretiranih inflamiranih zglobova svinja

Origin identification of Pinus nigra populations in southwestern Europe using terpene composition variations

The geographical variation of terpenes of Pinus nigra populations from southwestern Europe was studied. Terpenes from the foliage of 16 populations from Corsica, Herault (France) and the East Pyrenees (France and Spain) were analyzed. A total of 42 terpenes were detected, with alpha-pinene the dominant monoterpene and germacrene-d and caryophyllene the dominant sesquiterpenes. The differences in quantitative content of selected compounds clearly divide populations into two basic geographical groups: on one side the populations from Herault and the East Pyrenees and on the other the populations from Corsica. beta-Phellandrene and delta-cadinene have the greatest influence on this global discrimination. Some trees and populations show a similarity although they belong to different geographic locations. The similarity of some trees from Herault and the East Pyrenees and trees from Corsica points to their common origin (Corsica). Our results confirm the hypothesis that the afforestation of Herault and the East Pyrenees was also performed with black pine from Corsica.nul

Origin identification of Pinus nigra populations in southwestern Europe using terpene composition variations

The geographical variation of terpenes of Pinus nigra populations from southwestern Europe was studied. Terpenes from the foliage of 16 populations from Corsica, Herault (France) and the East Pyrenees (France and Spain) were analyzed. A total of 42 terpenes were detected, with alpha-pinene the dominant monoterpene and germacrene-d and caryophyllene the dominant sesquiterpenes. The differences in quantitative content of selected compounds clearly divide populations into two basic geographical groups: on one side the populations from Herault and the East Pyrenees and on the other the populations from Corsica. beta-Phellandrene and delta-cadinene have the greatest influence on this global discrimination. Some trees and populations show a similarity although they belong to different geographic locations. The similarity of some trees from Herault and the East Pyrenees and trees from Corsica points to their common origin (Corsica). Our results confirm the hypothesis that the afforestation of Herault and the East Pyrenees was also performed with black pine from Corsica.nul

Characteristics of radioactivity in the surface air along the 45°N zonal belt in South-Eastern Europe

This study investigates the beryllium-7, lead-210 and caesium-137 activity concentrations in aerosol filter samples collected monthly along the 45°N zonal belt over 1991–2019. Sampling was performed in three locations, one in Serbia and two in Slovenia, and the Slovenian data records are published here for the first time. The activity concentrations were determined by standard gamma spectrometry. The obtained results are in general agreement with the literature data for Europe. The data sets at different sites display similarities in measurement ranges, overall means and seasonal cycles. Still, statistical tests show significant differences among the radionuclides’ concentrations across the locations. To investigate underlying processes that affect radioactivity in the surface air in this region, multivariate statistical concepts are applied to the radionuclides’ concentrations and local meteorological parameters. Discriminant analysis shows that all three sites are well separated from each other. Principal component analysis gives common pattern of interconnection between the observables: temperature has a stronger influence on the behaviour of beryllium-7 and lead-210 than that of caesium-137, but a negative correlation of the radionuclides’ concentrations with precipitation seems the strongest for caesium-137. Principal component analysis also shows local differences in the degree of relationship between the meteorological parameters and activity concentrations of the investigated radionuclides. This is an important finding for future atmospheric transport studies