Distribution of heavy metals from tailings ponds and landfills into underground and surface waters

Heavy metals contaminate underground and surface waters from illegally constructed industrial and municipal landfills. Numerous papers on the subject contain undeniable evidence, and they have determined heavy metal migration into nature by measuring concentrations in underground and surface waters near tailings ponds and landfills. Heavy metal measured values exceed the WHO limit quota. The characteristics of heavy metals and their negative impact on the environment and people's health have prompted a large number of investigations into this global problem. This paper provides an overview of the literature on the subject, with the goal of emphasizing the anthropogenic influence of heavy metal pollution as a critical issue, particularly in developing countries

Identity of new media spaces

This paper has the goal to analyze influence that new media and technologies have made on the identity and quality of architectural space. In the present Information Age, digital technologies have crucially influenced and changed our reality, the way we behave, connect or communicate. Being part of the overall reality, architectural space is not an isolated category. It has also received and adopted the influence of new media and technologies. The way people communicate with space, due to new technologies, is now different. In some cases space is becoming an interface, a navigational environment waiting for the user to explore it. This paper analyzes the emerging new categories of space - new media spaces, qualities that such spaces possess and the identity they have developed

Principi i modaliteti primene novih medija u arhitekturi

The contemporary age is marked by the rapidly advanced digital revolution, unstoppable rise of computer technologies and omnipresence of technological advancements in all aspects of everyday life. In the information era, computer technologies have become pervasive, ubiquitous and dominant. Their hybridization with previously present media forms resulted in the emergence of a new and exuberant field of new media and technologies. New media is a hybrid field of computer based technological forms, which are used in contemporary practice, not only as tool, but also as an expressive medium. Because of the complex nature of new media, the field is extremely hybrid, positioned at the intersection of art, science and culture. Its emerged cultural paradigm is scientific culture, in which dominant characteristics are technological art and cultural forms, as well as information and techno society. In this overall context, architecture is not an isolated phenomenon. The new media have influenced the field of architecture too, offering new possibilities, features, design methodologies and principles for conceptualizing and developing architectural space. In architectural practice different modalities of the new media are being used. These modalities initiated the emergence of the field of new media architecture. The distinction of these state-of-the-art types of architectural space, together with the principles and concepts they rely on, were the main focus and main contribution of the research presented in this paper.Savremeno doba obeleženo je digitalnom revolucijom, rapidnim usponom računarskih tehnologija, kao i opštom tehnologizacijom svakodnevice. U informatičkoj eri, računarske tehnologije postale su dominantne, a uparene sa ranije prisutnim medijskim formama, oformile su bujno polje novih medija i tehnologija. Novi mediji predstavljaju hibridnu oblast računarski zasnovanih tehnoloških formi u kojima se tehnologije pojavljuju i u ulozi ekspresivnog medija. Zbog kompleksne prirode novih medija oblast predstavlja izrazito interdisciplinarno polje na preseku umetnosti, nauke i kulture, a kulturološka paradigma koju je ovo polje ustanovilo odlikuju izrazito naučna kultura, tehnologizovana umetnost i informaciono društvo. U ovakvoj situaciji, ni arhitektura nije izolovan fenomen, pa je prodor novih medija ustanovio nove pojave, postupke, kao i principe za konceptualizaciju i realizaciju prostora u arhitekturi. Pojava novih medija u arhitekturi podrazumeva njihove različite modalitete primene, koji su uslovili razvoj novih i specifičnih tipova prostora. Specificiranje tipova ovakvih prostora, zajedno sa principima i konceptima na kojima se zasnivaju, predmet je istraživanja koje je predstavljeno u radu koji sledi

The Structure of the 2-factor Transfer Digraph common for Thin Cylinder, Torus and Klein Bottle Grid Graphs

We prove that the transfer digraph ${\cal D}^*_{C,m}$ needed for the enumeration of 2-factors in the thin cylinder $TnC_{m}(n)$, torus $TG_{m}(n)$ and Klein bottle $KB_m(n)$ (all grid graphs of the fixed width $m$ and with $m \cdot n$ vertices), when $m$ is odd, has only two components of order $2^{m-1}$ which are isomorphic. When $m$ is even, ${\cal D}^*_{C,m}$ has $\left\lfloor \frac{m}{2} \right\rfloor + 1$ components which orders can be expressed via binomial coefficients and all but one of the components are bipartite digraphs. The proof is based on the application of recently obtained results concerning the related transfer digraph for linear grid graphs (rectangular, thick cylinder and Moebius strip).Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2212.0031

An Environmental Critique: Impact of Socialist Ideology on the Ecological and Cultural Sensitivity of Belgrade's Large-Scale Residential Settlements

This paper advocates the stance that sustainable approaches in architecture, although usually associated to contemporary practice, have a very complex relationship with the history of architecture and urbanism. By adopting an interpretative framework, the paper highlights the environmental aspects of the architectural practice of Belgrade's large-scale residential settlements created under the cultural influences of socialist ideology. The socialist system enabled systematic implementation of the principles of the Congres International d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM) on a large urban scale, in contrast to capitalist countries where these principles were applied on a smaller scale. The paper starts with the premise that these cultural influences, together with the integration of the principles of modernism, caused the rejection and the loss of traditional and ambience values in architecture. Research has shown that these values play a very important role in meeting the needs of ecological and cultural sensitivity in architecture. In its final consequences, the results of research have revealed that, although widely criticized for its break with tradition and the loss of ambience values, residential architecture in Belgrade during the socialist era included significant aspirations of the architectural practice directed at the improvement of aspects of sustainability, and especially aspects of ecological and cultural sensitivity

Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Periapical Lesions Upregulate the Production of Immunoregulatory Cytokines by Inflammatory Cells in Culture

The pathophysiology of periapical lesions (PLs) is under control of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory (mainly immunoregulatory) cytokines. We have recently established mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from PLs and showed their suppressive effects on the production of proinflammatory cytokines from PLs inflammatory cells (ICs). In this work we studied the production of interleukin (IL)-10, IL-27 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, by PL-ICs in direct or indirect contacts with PL-MSCs. PL-ICs, which were isolated from four different asymptomatic PLs, predominantly composed of lymphocytes, followed by neutrophil granulocytes, macrophages and plasma cells. PLMSCs, expressing typical MSC markers, were co-cultivated with PL-ICs at 1:10 ratio, either in direct contact or in a transwell-system, for 24 hours. The levels of cytokines in cell-culture supernatants were tested by ELISA. The results showed that PL-MSCs up-regulated the production of all three immunoregulatory cytokines by PL-ICs. PL-MSCs stimulated the production of IL-10 and IL-27 via soluble factors, whereas the up-regulation of TGF-β required direct cell-to-cell contacts. In conclusion, our results showed for the first time the involvement of PL-MSCs in restriction of inflammation in PLs by up-regulation of immunoregulatory cytokines

Mortgage market in the Republic of Serbia: present situation and prospects

This paper discusses the development of mortgage loans market in the Republic of Serbia through development of the instruments for provision of legal security of investments - both to creditors and to debtors. It explains the process of establishment of Real Estate Cadastre as a prerequisite for registration of real estate mortgages. Creation of the Central Mortgage Register is an additional service that provides transparency of the procedures and mortgage market development. The entire procedure has been illustrated by the statistical data on the increase of the number of registered mortgages, starting from 1998 through the end of 2011. The impact of the global economic crisis on the moderate decrease of the number of new mortgages in the Republic of Serbia is quite evident

Lactobacillus fermentum Postbiotic-induced Autophagy as Potential Approach for Treatment of Acetaminophen Hepatotoxicity

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of postbiotics originated from Lactobacillus fermentum BGHV110 strain (HV110) to counteract acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatotoxicity in HepG2 cells. This strain was selected according to its autophagy inducing potential, based on previous studies reporting protective role of autophagy in APAP caused cellular damage. Cell viability was assessed using MTT and LDH assays, while autophagy was monitored by qPCR analysis of BECN1, Atg5, p62/SQSTM1, and PINK1 mRNA expression and by Western blot analysis of p62/SQSTM1 and lipidated LC3 accumulation. Our results showed that detrimental effect of APAP on cell viability was suppressed in the presence of HV110 which was linked with increased conversion of LC3 protein and p62/SQSTM1 protein degradation. Additionally, higher p62/SQSTM1 and PINK1 mRNA transcription were noticed in cells co-treated with APAP/HV110, simultaneously. In conclusion, this study suggests that HV110 enhances activation of PINK1-dependent autophagy in HepG2 cells and its eventual co-supplementation with APAP could be potentially used for alleviation of hepatotoxic side effects caused by APAP overdose

Biocatalytic potential of Streptomyces spp. isolates from rhizosphere of plants and mycorrhizosphere of fungi

Biocatalytic potential of Streptomyces strains isolated from the rhizosphere of plants and from mycorrhizosphere of fungi has been investigated. A total of 118 Streptomyces isolates were selected and functionally screened for 10 different biotechnologically important enzymatic activities: hydrolase (cellulase, cutinase, gelatinase, lipase, protease, polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) depolymerase), phenol oxidase and peroxidase (laccase, tyrosinase, and lignin peroxidase), and aminotransferase. Out of 118 tested Streptomyces spp., 90% showed at least one enzymatic activity. The most abundant were enzymes involved in the biomass degradation, as the production of cutinase, cellulase, and lignin peroxidase were detected in 31%, 40%, and 48% of the isolates, respectively. The improved specific activities of lipase (isolates BV315 and BV100) and tyrosinase (isolates BV87 and BV88) were shown in comparison with the industrially relevant activities of Pseudomonas strains. Plant rhizosphere soils were more prolific source of Streptomyces strains with biocatalytic potential in comparison with mycorrhizosphere soils. Overall, 284 enzyme activities among 118 Streptomyces isolates have been detected. This is the first comprehensive screening of Streptomyces isolates from rhizosphere and mycorrhizosphere soils for novel biocatalysts, showing that specific environmental habitats, such as rhizosphere soils, are treasure troves of Streptomyces with biocatalytic potential.This is the peer reviewed version of the paper: Biocatalytic potential of Streptomyces spp. Isolates from rhizosphere of plants and mycorrhizosphere of fungi—Spasic—2018—Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry—Wiley Online Library. (без датума). Преузето 08. Децембар 2022., од [https://iubmb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bab.1664

Decision making tools in regional sanitary landfill location selection

The paper applies intelligent multicriteria analysis in order to rank the criteria in the process of site selection for the Regional Sanitary Landfill. The analysis was performed for 3 pre-selected sites that were selected based on available area, site access, potential preparation difficulties, groundwater occurrence, biodiversity, and proximity to urban area. These locations were selected as the most suitable for construction, both from the engineering and from the economic and environmental aspect. The analysis is the best example of the application of intelligent multicriteria analysis as a useful tool for environmental management in the decision-making process. The analysis was performed for three proposed locations of the Regional Sanitary Landfill: Kasilo, Kristal, and Savina Stena, in the municipalities of Zvecan and Leposavic. In order to achieve the most objective results, PROMETHEE methods were applied. Using these calculation methods, the following ranking list of locations for the Regional Sanitary Landfill was obtained according to their suitability: Savina Stena, Kasilo, and Kristal. This result can contribute to the decision-making process of determining the development strategy at the local and regional level