Genetic patterns in range-edge populations of Vaccinium species from the central Balkans: implications on conservation prospects and sustainable usage

L., L. and L. are perennial, cold-adapted clonal shrubs distributed throughout Europe, northern Asia and North America. Due to their usage in food (berries) and pharmaceutical industry (berries and leaves), their natural populations are exposed to anthropogenic and other impacts that affect their genetic make-up. We analyzed 14 fragmentary distributed and small-sized peripheral populations of these species from the Balkans, which represents the southeastern-European marginal area of their wide European distributions, using RAPD molecular markers. The contemporary genetic patterns in all three species within the Balkans were generally similar, and in comparison to previous reports on populations of these species found in northward Europe, where they have a more continuous distribution, the levels of genetic diversity were more or less halved, genetic differentiation was several times higher, gene flow exceptionally low, and the expected prevalence of clonal individuals was lacking. The population dynamics of all three species within the Balkans was complex and distinct, and was characterized by a past admixture of individuals from discrete populations of the same species and interspecific hybridisation not only between and but also between and , the latter not being reported to date. Conservation measures suitable for preservation of presumably genetically distinct portions of the Balkansâ gene pools of studied species have been suggested, while the utility of interspecific hybrids in breeding programs and/ or in food/pharmaceutical industry is yet to be assessed. Vaccinium myrtillus Vaccinium uliginosum Vaccinium vitis-idaea V. myrtillus V. vitis-idaea V. uliginosum V. vitis-idae

Colletotrichum orbiculare on watermelon - identification and in vitro inhibition by antagonistic fungi

Anthracnose caused by the fungus Colletotrichum orbiculare is one of the most significant diseases of Cucurbitaceae. In Serbia watermelon fruits with typical anthracnose lesions were collected during the year of 2015. Affected fruits showed sunken, dark brown to black lesions with orange conidial masses produced in black acervuli. In an attempt to identify the causal organism, small pieces of necrotic tissue were surface sterilized and placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA). Macroscopic and microscopic morphologicaly characteristics of three isolates were observed after growth on PDA for 7 days at 25 ºC under a 12 h light/dark cycle. Fungal colonies developed white, grey to black dense aerial mycelium. Conidia were hyaline, aseptate, straight and cylindrical to clavate, 9–12.5 μm × 4–5.5 μm. Fungal isolates were also characterized by sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA region using ITS1F/ITS4 primers and β-tubuline 2 gene using T1/Bt2b primers. The nucleotide sequences were deposited in GenBank (ITS Acc. No. KT454386, KT454387 and KT454388; β-tubuline 2 gene Acc. No. KT581236, KT581237 and KT581238). BLAST analysis of ITS and β-tubuline 2 gene sequences showed that our isolates were 100% identical to other C. orbiculare in NCBI GenBank. Pathogenicity test was conducted on symptomless, detached watermelon fruits. All tested isolates caused anthracnose lesions on watermelon fruits after 10 days of incubation. Trichoderma harzianum (DSM 63059) and Gliocladium roseum (DSM 62726) were evaluated in vitro for their antagonistic potential against C. orbiculare. The results of this study identify T. harzianum and G. roseum as promising biological control agents (BCAs) for further testing against anthracnose disease on watermelon fruits

Product of Three Random Variables and its Application in Relay Telecommunication Systems in the Presence of Multipath Fading, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2019, nr 1

In this paper, the product of three random variables (RVs) will be considered. Distribution of the product of independent random variables is very important in many applied problems, including wireless relay telecommunication systems. A few of such products of three random variables are observed in this work: the level crossing rate (LCR) of the product of a Nakagami-m random variable, a Rician random variable and a Rayleigh random variable, and of the products of two Rician RVs and one Nakagami-m RV is calculated in closed forms and presented graphically. The LCR formula may be later used for derivation of average fade duration (AFD) of a wireless relay communication radio system with three sections, working in the multipath fading channel. The impact of fading parameters and multipath fading power on the LCR is analyzed based on the graphs presented

Modelling and enhancement of organizational resilience potential in process industry SMEs

The business environment is rapidly changing and puts pressure on enterprises to find effective ways to survive and develop. Since it is almost impossible to identify the multitude of complex conditions and business risks, an organization has to build its resilience in order to be able to overcome issues and achieve long term sustainability. This paper contributes by establishing a two-step model for assessment and enhancement of organizational resilience potential oriented towards Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the process industry. Using a dynamic modelling technique and statistical tools, a sample of 120 SMEs in Serbia has been developed as a testing base, and one randomly selected enterprise was used for model testing and verification. Uncertainties regarding the relative importance of organizational resilience potential factors (ORPFs) and their value at each level of business are described by pre-defined linguistic expressions. The calculation of the relative importance of ORPFs for each business level is stated as a fuzzy group decision making problem. First, the weighted ORPFs’ values and resilience potential at each business level are determined. In the second step, near optimal enhancement of ORPFs’ values is achieved by applying a genetic algorithm (GA).Research presented in this paper was supported by Ministry of Science and Technological Development of Republic of Serbia, Grant No 35033, Title: Sustainable development technology and equipment for the recycling of motor vehicles.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

“Perpetrators of Violence Control Women'S Cellphones, Regardless of a Pandemic or Not” : Professional’s Perspective on the Changed Work With Women Exposed to Violence During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The aim of this study is to investigate whether professionals' work with women exposed to violence has changed during the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of the study has focused on investigating whether the pandemic has affected the interaction and meeting between women exposed to violence and  professionals, as well as the presumed impact on women's opportunity to seek help during this period through the professionals' perception. This work follows a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews. Six Interviews have been made with five social secretaries and one social worker within a non-profit organization. The collected empirical evidence has undergone a thorough thematic analysis in relation to our theories; professionals' room for action, the professional approach and non-verbal communication. The results of the study show that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the work with women exposed to violence, to the extent that adjustments have been made to the work even though the actual way of helping has persisted and not changed. The pandemic has in many ways made the human interaction between professional and client more difficult, and women's search for help has been affected to some extent. The isolation has lead women to be more cautious and therefore made it more difficult to seek help. In order to facilitate the professionals' work and enable the meeting with clients, digitization has been of great help in this and the biggest change in the professional work as a result of the pandemic. However, professionals feel that digitization as a tool should be used with great caution, as they work with women who do not live free and are exposed to violence. The digital communication can easily be discovered by the perpetrator of violence. It is in the professionals greatest interest to ensure the safety and security of their clients, both in terms of the spread of the virus but also in the use of digital tools. The conclusion of this study is that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the work by making digitization a new way of executing their work, which in turn has contributed with both advantages and disadvantages. It can affect the interaction between the professional and the client, as it can be a risk to communicate via digital tools, and the human encounter can be difficult to maintain. It may also be beneficial in many cases as it is an efficient and time-saving way of working, for both parties. In conclusion, the use of digital tools will most likely not disappear, even if the pandemic will. It is largely appreciated and will be useful for various aspects in the future of social work

“Perpetrators of Violence Control Women'S Cellphones, Regardless of a Pandemic or Not” : Professional’s Perspective on the Changed Work With Women Exposed to Violence During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The aim of this study is to investigate whether professionals' work with women exposed to violence has changed during the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of the study has focused on investigating whether the pandemic has affected the interaction and meeting between women exposed to violence and  professionals, as well as the presumed impact on women's opportunity to seek help during this period through the professionals' perception. This work follows a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews. Six Interviews have been made with five social secretaries and one social worker within a non-profit organization. The collected empirical evidence has undergone a thorough thematic analysis in relation to our theories; professionals' room for action, the professional approach and non-verbal communication. The results of the study show that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the work with women exposed to violence, to the extent that adjustments have been made to the work even though the actual way of helping has persisted and not changed. The pandemic has in many ways made the human interaction between professional and client more difficult, and women's search for help has been affected to some extent. The isolation has lead women to be more cautious and therefore made it more difficult to seek help. In order to facilitate the professionals' work and enable the meeting with clients, digitization has been of great help in this and the biggest change in the professional work as a result of the pandemic. However, professionals feel that digitization as a tool should be used with great caution, as they work with women who do not live free and are exposed to violence. The digital communication can easily be discovered by the perpetrator of violence. It is in the professionals greatest interest to ensure the safety and security of their clients, both in terms of the spread of the virus but also in the use of digital tools. The conclusion of this study is that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the work by making digitization a new way of executing their work, which in turn has contributed with both advantages and disadvantages. It can affect the interaction between the professional and the client, as it can be a risk to communicate via digital tools, and the human encounter can be difficult to maintain. It may also be beneficial in many cases as it is an efficient and time-saving way of working, for both parties. In conclusion, the use of digital tools will most likely not disappear, even if the pandemic will. It is largely appreciated and will be useful for various aspects in the future of social work

Novel Method for Optimal Synthesis of 5G Millimeter Wave Linear Antenna Array

We will propose a useful method for 5G mm wave antenna array synthesis, based on Genetic Algorithm for the synthesis of linear array with nonuniform interelement spacing. Our design method was used to obtain the optimal position of the elements in order to get the minimum side lobe level and nulls in desired directions. The simulation results verify that proposed method outperforms the previously published methods in terms of suppression side lobe level while maintaining nulls in specified directions. The flexibility of proposed algorithm shows good potential for the antenna array synthesis

First-Order Statistical Characteristics of Macrodiversity System with Three Microdiversity MRC Receivers in the Presence of k-µ Short-Term Fading and Gamma Long-Term Fading

Macrodiversity system with macrodiversity SC receiver and three microdiversity MRC (maximum ratio combining) receivers is considered. Independent k-μ short-term fading and correlated Gamma long-term fading are present at the inputs of microdiversity MRC receivers. For this model, the probability density function and the cumulative density function of microdiversity MRC receivers and macrodiversity SC receiver output signal envelopes are calculated. Influences of Gamma shadowing severity, k-μ multipath fading severity, Rician factor and correlation coefficient at probability density function, and cumulative density function of macrodiversity SC receiver output signal envelopes are graphically presented