Belgrade Area Research Articles

Stratigraphy revision of upper Badenian of Rakovica stream near Belgrade (Central Paratethys, Serbia)

Belgrade area is a region of high paleobiodiversity, being ranked among the best known in Serbia. The prominent position among a number of Middle Miocene (Badenian) fossiliferous sites in the vicinity of Belgrade (southern Pannonian Basin, Central Paratethys) are occupied with sediments of Rakovica stream, also known as ?Rakovica sands?. Here, the integrated evidence based on new fossil findings of calcareous nannoplankton, foraminifera and molluscs assemblages, allows the stratigraphic revision of the clastic facies of the Rakovica succession. Based on the studies of lithological composition, high paleodiversity molluscs fauna and local palaeogeographical setting, it can be concluded with reasonable certainty that deposits of Rakovica stream entitled ?Rakovica sand? represents a sandstone of the shallow marine (littoral) environment during Lower Badenian time. Large benthic foraminifera Ammonia viennensis (d?ORBigny), and Borelis haueri (d?ORBigny) as well as zone marker nn5 Sphaenolithus heteromorphus defLandRe correspond to this biostratigraphic level. during the late early Miocene and Middle Miocene (Badenian), the climate in the Central Paratehys was mainly subtropical. This is supported at its southern margin by the presence of thermophilous mollusc taxa, as well as the Conidae, Strombidae, Xenophoridae, Pleurotomidae, Turridae, Muricidae, etc. Consequently, the investigated deposit can be ascribed to the early Badenian which biostratigraphically corresponds to the nn5 nannozone by correlation with successions in theirs type-areas to the Central Paratethys, and defines preciously the time of the marine transgression in this area.

Potential influence of meteorological variables on forest fire risk in Serbia during the period 2000-2017

Abstract To examine potential relationships between meteorological variables and forest fires in Serbia, daily temperature, precipitation, relative humidity and wind speed data for 15 meteorological stations across Serbia were used to construct fire indices. The daily values of the Ångström and Nesterov indices were calculated for the period 2000–2017. A high number of forest fires occurred in 2007 and 2012 in Serbia, during a period of extremely high air temperatures in 2007, followed by the longest heat wave and the worst drought in 2012. In order to identify the ideal weather conditions for fire break outs, different combinations of input variables, e.g., meteorological variables (mean temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, maximum temperature, minimum temperature and wind speed), fire danger indices or a combination of both, for the Belgrade area during the period 1986–2017, were tested. It was found that using relative humidity or precipitation as a predictor only generates a satisfactory model for forecasting of number of forest fires.

Machine learning based landslide assessment of the Belgrade metropolitan area: Pixel resolution effects and a cross-scaling concept

Improvements of Machine Learning-based landslide prediction models can be made by optimizing scale, customizing training samples to provide sets with the best examples, feature selection, etc. Herein, a novel approach, named Cross-Scaling, is proposed that includes the mixing of training and testing set resolutions. Hypothetically, training on a coarser resolution dataset and testing the model on a finer resolution should help the algorithm to better generalize ambiguous examples of landslide classes and yield fewer over/underestimations in the model. This case study considers the City of Belgrade area for training and its south-eastern suburb for testing. The dataset is exceptionally rich with detailed geological, morphological and environmental data, so 24 landslide predictors were used for multi-class mapping: Class 0 – stable ground, Class 1 - dormant landslides, and Class 2 – active landslides. Two state-of-the-art algorithms were implemented: Support Vector Machines and Random Forest. Additionally, our modelling included variants with an implemented feature selection by using the Information Gain and Correlation Feature Selection. All these variants were modelled across four resolutions - 25, 50, 100 and 200 m, whereby Cross-Scaling was implemented as follows: training on 50 and testing on 25, training on 100 and testing on 25, training on 100 and testing on 50, training on 200 and testing on 25, training on 200 and testing on 50, and finally, training on 200 and testing on 100 m resolution datasets. The results clearly show that Cross-Scaling improves the performance of the model, especially for Class 2, when compared to the performance of their non-Cross-Scaled counterparts; this thereby proves the initial hypothesis. Random Forest models tend to be less sensitive to scale and feature selection effects than the SVM. Class 1 remains the most difficult to discern, leaving some room for even further customization and adjustments. In conclusion, the Cross-Scaling technique is proposed as a method that could become a promising tool for training/testing protocols in landslide assessment.

Genetic variation at the apoB 3'hypervariable region in a Serbian population.

We investigated common length polymorphism caused by a variable number of tandem repeats in the hypervariable region located at the 3' end of the human apolipoprotein B gene in 696 Serbian (Belgrade area) unrelated individuals of both genders. After using the polymerase chain reaction to amplify this polymorphic region, 17 different alleles, containing 22-54 repeats, were distinguished. The bimodal distribution and the heterozygosity index (average 0.71) obtained in both genders are similar to those reported for other Caucasian populations. However, the HVE34 allele was found to be the commonest in both female and male samples. There was also a lower frequency of the HVE > 36 alleles than in other Caucasian populations studied.

Risk Perception of Building Fires in Belgrade

Starting from the frequency and seriousness of fire in residential buildings in the area of Belgrade, this paper presents the results of research on the perception of citizens’ risks of fires in residential buildings. A series of 322 face-to-face interviews were conducted at the beginning of 2017 in Belgrade. The results of multivariate regressions of risk perception of building fires show that the most important predictor of perceived risk of building fires is fear, age, employment status, income level, and marital status. The remaining variables (e.g., gender, education level, previous experience) did not have a significant impact. Respondents who have fear, are married, have higher income, and elderly people perceive the higher level of risk in relation to those who have no fear, live alone, have lower incomes and younger persons. The results of the research can beused to improve the level of safety of citizens by raising their awareness of the risks of fires in housing facilities by designing and using appropriate educational programs and campaigns.

Green infrastructure evaluation model: Case study of Belgrade

In this article, we consider possibilities to apply green infrastructure as an urban planning approach that provides polyvalent space for ecosystem services and human well-being and evaluates their impact on the city (re)generative space of biophilia. Two residential areas in Belgrade (block 45 in New Belgrade and Savamala neighborhood in the old city center) will be used as the focus of the research presented in this article. Even though they are characterized by different ecological, urban, morphological and social characteristics, they share direct contact with Sava River. Therefore, the adaptive potential of these spatial segments will be the subject of the analysis presented in this article, and the emphasis will be on applying and evaluating design within the integrated network of green infrastructure, and the study will determine what impact it has to planning and implementation of elements of green infrastructure.

Radionuclides and heavy metals in soil, vegetables and medicinal plants in suburban areas of the cities of Belgrade and Pancevo, Serbia

The content of radionuclides (40K, 238U, 226Ra, 232Th, and 137Cs) and heavy metals (As, Cd, Cu, and Pb) was determined in samples of soil, vegetables and medicinal plants collected in the period 2007-2017, from two suburban areas of Belgrade ? the municipalities of Palilula and Surcin, and Pancevo ? the 'Dr Josif Pancic' Institute for the Study of Medicinal Herbs. During the research period, activity concentration of 137Cs in soil decreased from 16 Bqkg?1 to 3.9 Bqkg?1 (Palilula, Belgrade) and from 18 Bqkg?1 to 12 Bqkg?1 (Surcin, Belgrade). Mean activity concentrations of natural radionuclides in the soil were higher than the global aver- age. Trend for heavy metal levels, according to the average concentrations found in the soil, were as follows: Cu >Pb >As >Cd for Palilula, Pb >Cu >As >Cd for Surcin and Dr Josif Pancic' Institute, Pancevo. The obtained results indicate that the industrial pollution has no impact on food production in the study area and that the main anthropogenic source of radionuclides and heavy metals in soil are mineral phosphorous fertilizers, often used in agricultural fields.

Presence of radionuclides and toxic elements in feedstuffs and food of animal origin

Introduction. The aim of this study was to determine the content of radionuclides and toxic elements in samples feedstuffs and food of animal origin collected between 2007- 2017 from two suburban areas of Belgrade, the municipalities of Palilula and Surcin, both areas with intensive agricultural production. Materials and Methods. Radionuclides (40K and 137Cs) and toxic elements (As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) were determined in samples of corn, hay, meat, milk and eggs, by gamma ray spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (ICP-OES, Spectro Genesis). Results and Conclusions. The obtained results showed that natural 40K was present in all investigated samples. The average activity concentration of 40K was 94 Bq/kg in corn, 117 Bq/kg, 108 Bq/kg and 95 Bq/kg in beef, pork and chicken meat, respectively, as well as 61 Bq/kg in cow?s milk and 48 Bq/kg in eggs. Anthropogenic radionuclide 137Cs was not detected. The trend for toxic element levels according to the average concentrations found in the studied feed samples (corn and hay) was as follows: Zn>Cu>Pb>As>Ni>Cd. Arsenic was detected in animal feed in both Belgrade municipalities, with the average concentration being 1.08 mg/kg (0.5-1.37 mg/kg), and in corn, the As content was higher than in hay samples. In food of animal origin, only Zn and Cu were detected. It is concluded that the presence of radionuclides and toxic elements in feedstuffs and foods of animal origin does not pose a health risk for either humans or animals.

Parking policy as an instrument for reducing passenger cars’ harmful emissions

Passenger car related harmful gas emissions have become one of the most significant problems that cities worldwide are facing during the last thirty years. One of the approaches to harmful emissions reduction is certainly preventing or reducing traffic congestion in central urban areas and high trip-attraction zones. One of the congestion influence factors, i.e. (already low) traffic flow speed further reduction, is parking, that is search for a vacant on-street parking space. Since parking search is primarily due to the high occupancy of parking spaces, (better) parking management can affect its reduction. The paper presents the impact of parking time limit and parking price on the passenger cars’ total parking search (cruising for parking) time, as well as their related harmful gases emissions. A survey presented in this paper was carried out in the central urban area of Belgrade, the so-called red parking zone, in order to examine the passenger car users’ preference regarding the parking time limit and parking price variations. The potential benefits in the field of air pollution and fighting climate change due to the implementation of a balanced parking policy and on-street parking price were analysed in this paper.

Influence of plant density on toxigenic fungal and mycotoxin contamination of maize grains

Field trials were set up in the Belgrade area (Serbia) in 2013 and 2014 to determine the effect of plant density on the natural incidence of potentially toxigenic fungi and the level of mycotoxins, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisins (FBs) in two Serbian maize hybrids of the FAO maturity group 700 (ZP 735 and NS Zenit). Three plant density treatments, namely, 55,000 plants ha−1 (PD1), 64,000 plants ha−1 (PD2) and 75,000 plants ha−1 (PD3), were evaluated.The incidence of identified potentially toxigenic fungi of the genera Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium and the FB level increased significantly (P ≤ 0.01) at PD3. The effect of year was also significant (P ≤ 0.01) on the incidence of toxigenic fungi, as all fungal species had a higher incidence in 2014 than in 2013, with the exception of Aspergillus spp. that showed a significantly higher incidence in 2013. Levels of all tested mycotoxins were higher in 2014 than in 2013. The higher incidence of Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium proliferatum, Fusarium subglutinans, Fusarium verticillioides and Penicillium spp. and higher levels of AFB1 and FBs were observed in the hybrid ZP 735, whereas the hybrid NS Zenit had a higher incidence of Aspergillus spp. The effect of hybrids was not significant on the incidence of F. subglutinans and the DON level.These results indicated that the highest investigated plant density increased the fungal incidence and the FB level, especially in 2014. Although the two hybrids originated from the same FAO group, they differed in their effects on some toxigenic fungi and mycotoxins.

Towards new learning environments—Collective civic actions as learning interventions in post‐Communist Belgrade

AbstractThis article focuses on the social dimension of well‐being, based on a critical analysis of the way it is conceptualised in late capitalism: As the dimensions of individual state of mind and body, something that evolves in the individual realm, stressing personal responsibility and achievement of well‐being as a solitary act. Then, the contemporary conceptualisation and approaches to policy making for well‐being are compared with the policy of adult and youth education and learning. The perspective of a strong individual orientation, detachment from the social, community and collective aspects and efforts seem to be a common denominator. Agency is considered not only as a possibility for individuals to create and change the environment, but also as a process of active co‐construction of social reality. This includes (re)connection with a community, very often through new ways of community learning, civic actions and civic activities. An analysis of how these perspectives converge in civic interventions in urban areas of Belgrade places togetherness at the core of the broader approach to well‐being and learning. This article presents several examples of civic activities in urban spaces whose learning character is interpreted within the concept of public pedagogy. The examples presented prevail in the post‐Communist countries because public spaces as zones of civic interventions can oppose the controlling authority and through the fight for human and civil rights represent the bottom line of togetherness and collective agency. Learning through collective civic actions thus provides new ways of understanding well‐being.

Factors triggering landslide occurrence on the Zemun loess plateau, Belgrade area, Serbia

Among the numerous factors that trigger landslide events, the anthropogenic impact caused by inadequate planning and faulty land use in urban areas is increasing. The Zemun settlement on the northern outskirts of Belgrade has experienced a number of landslides in the last three decades, endangering buildings and roads, and claiming human lives, particularly in the case of the 2010/2011 landslides. Selected meteorological parameters were used to calculate rainfall erosivity indices such as Precipitation Concentration Index and Modified Fournier Index over the period 1991–2015. Drought indices, Lang aridity index and Palfai Drought Index were calculated as well. Mann–Kendall trend test was applied to identify potential rising and/or declining trends both in meteorological parameters and calculated indices. Trend analysis of the annual and seasonal scales yielded a statistically significant trend in the spring time series. Stable arid and pronounced drought conditions were recorded. The modified Fournier index based on monthly mean values yields moderate aggressiveness, with several extreme values indicating very high erosivity classes, especially for 2010/2011. The geological substrate is predominantly loess and hence highly susceptible to erosion and slope failure when climatological conditions are suitable. Accelerated urbanization at the end of the last century reduced vegetation cover, intensified pressure on the vertical loess slope, and lacked suitable rain drainage systems so that surface-water runoff was directed into the porous loess, thereby endangering slope stability. We proposed a geomorphic model to describe the nature of the erosional processes on the loess cliffs of the Zemun loess plateau. Results from this study have implications for mitigation strategies.

Influence of parking price on reducing energy consumption and co2 emissions

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the potential contribution of parking price to reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions. In this respect, the methodology for determining the energy efficient parking price is developed. The main objective of the methodology is to decrease volume and time of cruising for a vacant parking space and thus reduce excess energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The methodology is tested in a part of central area of Belgrade. According to results, an adequate parking price can eliminate cruising for parking and provide significant effects on fuel savings and pollutant emissions.

Partitioning of particulate matter and elements of suburban continental aerosols between fine and coarse modes.

The results presented in this work demonstrate for the first time a distribution of elements in the spectral analysis of aerosols in the suburban continental Balkan Peninsula. Samples were collected in the suburban area of Belgrade (Serbia) in the period from March 2012 till December 2013. Results presented here are from long-term measurements of masses of size-segregated aerosols and macro- and microelements in the range of PM0.27-16. The following elements were analyzed: Al, Ag, As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Sb, Ti, Tl, V, and Zn; levels of Be, Hg, and Se were under the detection limits in all samples. Average concentrations and time and seasonal variations of particulate matter (PM) as well as element contents and their percentage shares are given. The results showed the domination of particle content around the accumulation mode in the range of 0.53 < Dp < 1.06μm, but the fractional distribution of elements showed maximal average concentrations in different fractions depending on the origin of each element. Crustal elements (Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ti, etc.) dominated in coarse mode, while anthropogenic elements (As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Sb, etc.) were mainly distributed in fine mode fractions. Some elements, such are As and Ni, were detected in investigated aerosols only occasionally, while others, such as Ca, Fe, and Mg, were detected in all analyzed samples. The application of multivariate analysis (PCA) demonstrated the connection between the elements of similar origin, in fine fractions mainly of anthropogenic origin, while in coarse mode of crustal origin, indicating the resuspension with contribution of about 40%. The contents of some measured elements were compared with their contents in aerosols in some European suburban areas.

Pressure drop test as a hydroinformatic tool for preliminary network topology validation

Abstract Usage of the appropriate model of water distribution systems (WDS) enables easier everyday operations and management decisions. Creating a reliable model of WDS requires a large amount of system response data for different case scenarios. Commonly used software for creating models of WDS is EpaNet. Ongoing processes in WDS, such as pipe bursts, permanently closed valves which are not registered in the data base and other inconsistencies will change WDS network topology, so WDS validation tests are to be applied from time to time. This paper presents the WDS network topology validation test conducted on one district metered area of Belgrade with two inflows. The pressure drop test combined with genetic algorithm and ant colony optimization are simple hydroinformatic tools available for network topology validation. The system's reaction under a pressure change during the isolation test was measured at two observation points. Obtained results are then compared with assumed WDS topology using 55 potential locations of inconsistencies in the EpaNet model. This step is repeated until a good enough match between results from the real system and the created model's version is obtained. Heuristic optimization algorithms are used for speeding up the process of finding a satisfactory match (unknown locations of inconsistencies) by minimizing or maximizing the defined criteria function.

Epidemiološke karakteristike obolevanja od velikog kašlja na području Beograda za period 2008-2017. godine

The paper describes the epidemiological characteristics of pertussis (whooping cough) cases, reported in the area of Belgrade during period 2008.-2017. Descriptive epidemiological study was applied. According to the annual reports regarding the work in the prevention, combating and elimination of infectious diseases and the targeted epidemiological questionnaires (using during the pertussis outbreak in one elementary school in Belgrade), a total of 109 cases were registered. It is 19,09% of all reported vaccine preventabile diseases (without hepatitis B and invasive infection by haemophilus influenzae type B). The highest incidence rate for pertussis was 2,47 per 100.000 inhabitants during 2017. but without a single case during the first three years of ten year period mentioned above. Young infants, less than 1 year old, took a great part (43,12%) of all reported cases. Whooping cough occurred during all seasons of the year, but predominantly in march, may and September (49,53% of all reported cases). During the observed ten year period, 4 outbreaks of pertussis were registered in the area of Belgrade. The greatest one took place in one high school in Belgrade with a total of 22 cases. For a better understanding of current pertussis epidemiological situation, it is necessary to conduct active surveillance, as well to make more available laboratory diagnostics in order to confirm cases.

The value of the post mortem analysis of carboxyhemoglobin concentration in the blood: A 15-year study

Introduction/Objective. The purpose of this retrospective study was to assess carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO) concentration in all autopsy cases of fire and non-fire victims ? all those who have been suspected to be under the influence of carbon monoxide (CO) in the Belgrade area during a 15-year period (1990?2005). Methods. Correlations between the concentration of HbCO, circumstances of death, vital signs, and prior health conditions, smoking and history of alcohol-abuse, have been particularly analyzed in 192 autopsy cases. Results. The investigation included 52 (27%) females and 140 (73%) males, their average age being 50.78 years. CO poisoning has been established as the cause of death in 74 cases (38%). The manner of death in 170 cases (89%) was an accident, in eight (3%) suicide, in two (1%) murder, in 11 (6%) natural death, and in one case the manner of death hasn?t been established. Such distribution of the manner of death differentiates this study from others of similar type, and it is conditioned by the specificity of life in this region. Conclusion. The predictors of a high HbCO concentration are the sex, cause of death, manner of death, soot aspiration, lower-degree burns. According to the results, we profiled a typical victim of CO poisoning.

Sagledivost javnih spomenika na području grada Beograda

Sagledivost javnih spomenika na području grada Beograda

Land cover changes of the Belgrade area over the past three centuries

This paper studies land cover changes of Belgrade over the past three centuries. For this purpose we applied an interdisciplinary approach by integrating historical and landscape ecological perspectives. We have produced four reconstruction maps presenting land cover at the turn of the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, based on historical maps and written sources. The conversion of the land cover from historical maps was done based on CORINE Land Cover level 3, while Land Cover level 1 was used for displaying on the reconstruction maps. This allowed us to compare the changes that occurred from the turn of one century to the next. It has been determined that the land cover of Belgrade has transformed from dominantly semi-natural in the 18th century, to agricultural in the 19th century, and artificial in the 20th century. We have determined that the driving forces of the land cover changes were activities that were part of the political agendas of various states that governed Belgrade. The present analysis bridges the gap in the relevant literature on the land cover changes in Belgrade in the long-term, and provides qualitative and quantitative results relevant for research-based management actions, planning processes and restoration ecology.

Psychometric properties of the Serbian version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV)

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) is an individually administered clinical instrument designed for assessment of intellectual abilities of adolescents and adults. The WAIS-IV consists of 15 subtests (10 core and 5 supplemental) reflecting the efficacy of cognitive functioning in four domains (verbal comprehension-VCI, perceptual reasoning-PRI, working memory-WMI, and processing speed-PSI), and general intellectual ability (Full-Scale IQ-FSIQ). The WAIS-IV was administered to a sample of 262 respondents ? specifically, 104 respondents from sample representative for the wider Belgrade area, 62 schizophrenic, 63 depressive, and 33 patients with intellectual disability. Psychometric properties of WAIS-IV subtests were analysed within the frameworks Item Response Theory (IRT) and Classical Test Theory (CTT). Results show that IRT reliability of subtests ranges from .86 (Comprehension and Picture Completion) to .95 (Cancellation), while the IRT reliability of the FSIQ is .94. Overall, all subtests discriminate participants well along the whole continuum of intellectual abilities. The WAIS-IV enables highly reliable assessment of intellectual abilities on Serbian population.