Northwest Croatia Research Articles

Medžiugorjės bažnytinis giedojimas. Atspindžiai katalikų laikraštyje „Katolički list“

Međimurje is a region in the northwest of the Republic of Croatia. Among its many peculiarities, it is characterised by specific folk lyrical solo vocal female singing, the so-called Međimurska popevka (Folk song from Međimurje). In 2013, that traditional Međimurje song was declared an intangible cultural good of the Republic of Croatia. In 2018, it was put on the list of elements on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This article presents the results of the authors’ research into the writings of the weekly Katolički list (Catholic Newspaper) (Zagreb, 1849–1945) about Međimurje singing. It can be seen from the weekly that the people of Međimurje attracted attention with their singing at all church ceremonies and on other occasions. However, with the Caecilian reform of church singing (1870–1920), which was more intense in Croatia from 1907 onwards, Međimurje singing began to be valued differently by some individuals (mainly priests). Echoes of these musical turmoils are also found in the weekly Katolički list. Although the entries of this weekly must be thoroughly supplemented with a description of the socio-political circumstances of the time, including Međimurje singing, and especially with the description of the nature of the Caecilian movement, the patriotic importance and traditional value of that folk singing in northwest Croatia can be strongly glimpsed in all the recorded texts.

Analysis and Assessment of the Impact of Logistics on the Perception of the Sustainability of the Urban Area: The Case of North-West Croatia

Increasing the sustainability of the urban area is an imperative that is based on the increasing number of inhabitants but also the increasing demand for resources. In order to ensure the normal development of social processes in urban areas, it is necessary to ensure a sufficient amount of resources such as energy, water, and food, and to ensure the normal functioning of all other processes that determine the quality of life. Given that logistics is a supporting process that ensures the efficient functioning of the core process, everything described is the task of logistics. In order to investigate the potential impact that logistics has on sustainability, in this paper is described research related to the perception of sustainability and analysis of the impact of logistics on the perception of the sustainability of an urban area. The research showed that there is an impact that can be identified through several branches of logistics. Likewise, the research indicated the most important parameter that the respondents considered to have an impact on the sustainability of the urban area was.

Andrea Matošević, Almost, But Not Quite Bored in Pula: An Anthropological Study of the Tapija Phenomenon in Northwest Croatia

Andrea Matošević, Almost, But Not Quite Bored in Pula: An Anthropological Study of the Tapija Phenomenon in Northwest Croatia

Groundwater contamination in public water supply wells: risk assessment, evaluation of trends and impact of rainfall on groundwater quality

This study investigates the risk to contamination of groundwater in public water supply wells in the Koprivnica-Križevci county (northwest Croatia). Five physicochemical parameters were monitored in all groundwater samples from 2008 to 2017 to identify major differences between the wells, assess temporal variations and understand the capacity for rainfall to alter groundwater pollution loadings. Multivariate discriminant analysis showed statistically significant differences between the six sampled wells based on the analyzed parameters (Wilks' lambda: 0.001; F = 26.2; p < 0.0000). Principal component analysis revealed two significant factors, including factor 1 which explained 32.8% of the variance (suggesting that the quality of the groundwater was mainly controlled by nitrate) and factor 2, accounting for 16.2% of the total variance (which corresponded to KMnO4/oxidizability and to a lesser extent, pH). The time series data showed disparate trends, with nitrate concentrations increasing, whereas pH and KMnO4 decreased, while electrical conductivity and chloride levels remained stable. Although rainfall can impact groundwater pollution loadings through dilution processes in aquifers, the resulting fluctuations in physicochemical parameters are complicated by variations in rainfall events and local topography, as well as from climate change. Therefore, it is important to predict the contamination of groundwater quality in the future using machine learning algorithms using artificial neural network or similar methods. Multivariate statistical techniques are useful in verifying temporal and spatial variations caused by anthropogenic factors and natural processes linked to rainfall. The resulting identified risks to groundwater quality would provide the basis for further groundwater protection, particularly for decisions regarding permitted land use in recharge zones.

Seasonal distribution of multiclass pesticide residues in the surface waters of northwest Croatia.

As part of our OPENTOX project, we evaluated the incidence and mass concentrations of multiclass pesticide residues in 23 river/stream water samples collected in urban and agricultural areas of northwest Croatia at various points of the pesticide application season in 2015. The study included 16 compounds of five herbicide classes and seven compounds of three insecticide classes. Pesticide residues were accumulated from water by solid-phase extraction and analysed using high performance liquid chromatography with UV-diode array detection and/or gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Herbicide residues were more common than the insecticide ones, and, as expected, they peaked in the middle of the application season. Metolachlor showed the highest concentrations and was found in 91 % of all samples, followed by terbuthylazine, found in 70 % of the samples. The highest total mass concentration of detected pesticides was measured in the water samples of the Krapina (3992 ng/L) and Sutla (3455 ng/L) collected in rural areas with intensive agriculture. Our findings strongly speak in favour of continued monitoring of surface waters and possibly extending the list of priority water pollutants.

Determination of the Personal Nutritional Status of Elderly Populations Based on Basic Foodomics Elements.

Nutritional status is a series of related parameters collected using different available methods. In order to determine the nutritional status of elderly populations and ensure nutritional support based on an individual approach, the implementation of the increasingly used foodomics approach is available; this approach plays a key role in personalized diets and in the optimization of diets for a population group, such as an elderly population. The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) method and the Nottingham Screening Tool (NST) form were used on 50 users in a home for the elderly in northwest Croatia. A loss of body mass (BM) was statistically significantly higher for those who had the following: decreased food intake in the last week and users who had complete and partial feeding autonomy. Additionally, the obtained data on drug intake, fluid, individual nutrients, and physical activity are based on an individual approach. The available documentation provides insight into nutritional values and food preparation in an attempt to satisfy a holistic approach in the evaluation of exposure while trying to achieve as many elements of foodomics as possible.

Emerging Trends in the West Nile Virus Epidemiology in Croatia in the 'One Health' Context, 2011-2020.

West Nile virus (WNV) is one of the most widely distributed (re-)emerging arboviruses. In Croatia, acute WNV infections as well as seropositivity were detected in humans, horses, birds and poultry. Although serologic evidence of WNV human infections dates back to the 1970s, no clinical cases were reported until 2012. WNV outbreaks, as well as sporadic infections, were continuously recorded in continental Croatian counties from 2012 to 2018. In addition, acute asymptomatic infections (IgM antibodies) in horses have been regularly notified in continental regions since 2012, while seropositive horses (seroprevalence rates 3.7–21.4%) were detected in both continental and coastal regions. Moreover, WNV seropositivity in poultry (1.8–22.9%) was reported from 2013 to 2020. During the largest WNV outbreak in 2018, WNV RNA was detected for the first time in two dead goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) from the same aviary in North-West Croatia, while WNV antibodies were found in one buzzard (Butteo butteo) from the same region. In addition, WNV RNA was detected in a dead blackbird (Turdus merula) at the Croatian littoral. The phylogenetic analysis of 11 strains detected in urine samples of patients with neuroinvasive disease and 1 strain detected in a goshawk showed circulation of WNV lineage 2. Thus far, WNV has not been detected in mosquitoes in Croatia.

Monitoring of some dissolved heavy metals in surface waters of north-west Croatia from year 2016 to 2018

Heavy metals have a negative impact on environment and wildlife. In waters, heavy metals appear in two forms, as dissolved and bioavailable; and as solid and non-soluble. We monitored the concentration of dissolved copper, nickel, manganese and iron in water samples at five river locations of north-west Croatia from 2016 to 2018. Concentrations of dissolved nickel measured at Melačka river, near Vularija in Međimurje county and HE Čakovec dam, near Štefanec in Međimurje county were below 5 µg/l and could be considered as not polluted. Concentrations of dissolved copper measured at Plitvica river, near Zbela in Varaždinska county and Horvatska, near Veliko Trgovišće in Krapinsko-Zagorska county were mostly below 5 µg/l and could be considered as not polluted. At Kosteljina river near Jalšje at the Krapinsko-Zagorska county concentrations of dissolved copper were mostly below 5 µg/l; concentrations of dissolved manganese and iron were higher especially during second part of the year, with some fluctuations. For this reason, Kosteljina river could be considered as medium polluted.

Epidemiologic and Epizootic Data of Tularemia in the Past and in the Recent History in Croatia.

Tularemia is a zoonotic disease caused by Francisella tularensis. A large number of recent studies have provided an update on the disease characteristics and the distribution across Europe. In Croatia, most of the clinical cases, as well as the reports of the disease in animals, date from the 20th century. In that period, epidemic and epizootic research had given detailed information about endemic regions and their characteristics, including suspected animal hosts and vectors. The region along the middle course of the Sava River, called Middle Posavina, is described as an endemic region, i.e., a “natural focus” of tularemia, in Croatia. In the 21st century, cases of human tularemia are being reported sporadically, with ulceloglandular, oropharyngeal and typhoid forms of disease. A majority of the described cases are linked with the consumption of contaminated food or water. The disease outbreaks still occur in areas along the course of the river Sava and in northwest Croatia. In this review article, we have summarized epidemiologic and epizootic data of tularemia in the past and in recent Croatian history.

Long term investigation of 137Cs in chicken meat and eggs from northwest Croatia

This paper presents the results of long-term investigations of 137Cs activity concentrations in chicken meat and eggs from northwest Croatia for the period 1987–2018. The research has been done as a part of monitoring program of radioactive contamination in Croatia. The highest activity concentrations in both of these foodstuffs were measured in 1987 and have been decreasing exponentially ever since. The Fukushima-Daiichi accident in 2011 did not cause any increase of 137Cs activity concentrations. The ecological half-life for 137Cs was estimated to be 8.0 and 8.4 years for chicken meat and eggs respectively. The correlation between 137Cs in fallout and chicken meat as well as between 137Cs in fallout and eggs is very good, the respective correlation coefficients being 0.79 and 0.72, indicating that fallout was the main source of 137Cs contamination in both foodstuffs. The estimated effective doses received by adult members of the Croatian population due to the intake of radiocaesium by chicken meat and egg consumption for the overall observed period are very small, 2.0 and 0.6 µSv respectively. Therefore, chicken meat and chicken egg consumption was not a critical pathway for the transfer of radiocaesium to humans.

Impact of Seasonal Changes of Precipitation and Air Temperature on Clay Excavation

Excavation of clay soil is one of the most important economic branches in the northern part of Croatia. The impact of clay soil in Croatia compared to the global exploitation fields of clay soil is negligible. Modern methods of clay excavation during winter months due to negligible amounts are not profitable. Therefore, it is important to optimize clay soil excavation throughout the year to increase the efficiency of exploitation and increase profits. In the case of large amounts of precipitation (rain), clay absorbs water and becomes grain. For this reason, access to the exploitation field and excavation itself becomes impossible. Air temperature also plays an important role in excavation. Long-lasting low air temperatures below 0 °C during the winter months result in clay frost. As a result, excavation cannot occur at that time. The paper describes a new method of modeling the precipitation and air temperature on the exploitation fields of clay in Northwest Croatia on the exploitation fields of Cukavec and Cukavec II. The method involves the calculation of the drought index and use of the rescaled adjusted partial sums (RAPS) statistical method and its application on a time series of total daily precipitation and average daily temperatures as a climatic indicator of any observed area. Using this process, it is possible to determine the time period of the year when clay soil can be excavated.

Application of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) Coupled with Near-InfraRed(NIR) Spectroscopy for Detection of Adulteration in Honey

Honey is a naturally sweet and viscous product for which the addition of any substance is prohibited by international regulation. Detection of adulteration in honey is a technical problem: adulteration of honey with invert sugar and syrup may not be reliably detected by direct sugar analysis because its constituents are identical to the major natural components of the honey. Therefore, it is important to develop a rapid and reliable analytical method to detect such additions. We used near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) combined with principle component analysis (PCA) and artificial neural networks (ANN) modelling to discriminate between honey and corn syrup in adulterated honey. Fifteen honey samples from north-west Croatia (Krapina-Zagorje County) were intentionally supplemented with differing proportions of corn syrup ranging from 10-90%. We collected a total of 460 NIR spectra using the Control Development NIR128L-1.7 spectrophotometer (Control Development, South Bend, Indiana, USA) with their software Spec32 software anda HL-2000 halogen light source. For each of the prepared samples, we measured water content by refractometer (Brouwland, Belgium), conductivity byconductometer (SevenCompact, MettlerToledo, Switzerland), and colour using a PCE-CSM3 colorimeter (PCE Instruments, Germany). Prior to ANN modelling, PCA was used to identify patterns and highlight similarities and differences in data of the individual set of the experiment. The goal of PCA is to extract important information from the data table and to express this information as a set of new orthogonal variables called principal components or factors (PCs or Fs). We conducted PCA of raw spectra using the Unscrambler® X 10.4 software (CAMO software, Norway). Data were divided into ANN model training, test, and validation datasets at a 70:15:15 ratio using the first five PCs. ANNs were calibrated using model training data, and evaluated using model test and model validation datasets for their ability to predict: i) the amount of added adultering substance in honey, ii) water content, iii) conductivity and iv) colour of the adulterated honey. Multiple layer perception (MLP) networks were developed in Statistica v.10.0 software (StatSoft, Tulsa, USA). Back error propagation algorithm available in Statistica v.10.0 was applied for the model training. Model performance was evaluated using R2 and root mean squared error (RMSE) values for model training, test, and validation datasets. Results show that network MLP 5-8-6 with five neurons in the input layer, 8 neurons in the hidden layer and 6 neurons in the output layer predicts the analysed output variables with high precision (R2validation,concentration = 0.995, R2validation,water content = 0.993, R2validation,conductivity = 0.992, R2validation,L = 0.939, R2validation,a = 0.895, R2validation,b = 0.924).

“Antibureaucratism” as a Yugoslav Phenomenon: The View from Northwest Croatia

AbstractMost studies of the antibureaucratic revolution have focused on political elites and activists in Serbia, Montenegro, and the autonomous provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo. Recent scholarship has focused on individual participants, often workers, and takes their agency seriously. Building upon such research, this article explores the antibureaucratic revolution as a particular manifestation of a larger sociocultural process, constitutive of long-term structural changes across the whole of Yugoslavia. An analysis of workplace documents and local newspapers in northwest Croatia demonstrates that antibureaucratic sentiment was not the prerogative of Serbian and Montenegrins but of Yugoslav citizens more generally. Yugoslavs were conditioned by the party-state to be critical of bureaucracy. Workers began to admonish the expansion of administrative positions, which they blamed for their falling living standards. Despite decentralizing and autarkic tendencies in political and economic life in late socialist Yugoslavia, working class discontents (and representations of it) remained remarkably similar across republican boundaries. In Rijeka and its environs, a shift does not occur until in mid-1988. Condemnations of nationalism become more urgent and a skepticism toward the mass protests occurring in Serbia is palpable from this point onward.

The Baroque Artistic Legacy of Confraternities in the Croatian Franciscan Province of Sts. Cyril and Methodius

During the 17th and 18th centuries, confraternities in continental Croatia acted as commissioners of art—altar sculpture, paintings, and liturgical furnishings—but their overall contribution to the visual and cultural identity of this area has been less thoroughly researched than the confraternities’ legacy in Adriatic Croatia. Thus, the aim of this essay is to offer insight into the significant heritage of lay confraternities in the Croatian Franciscan Province of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. Essential facts about the history of the foundations and the activities of the confraternities in this Franciscan Province may be obtained by collecting data presented in a series of important publications on the friaries and churches of the Province by Friar Paškal Cvekan. Based partially on his studies of the archives in Franciscan conventual houses from Trsat and Zagreb in the territory of Croatia, to Bač and Subotica in the territory of Serbia, and complemented by my own archival and on-site research, this essay provides a topographic overview of the confraternities’ achievements in art patronage in the Province. The discussion of the patrons, artists, and workshops, as well as the stylistic identity and iconography of individual works, reveals significant new aspects of the religious and artistic heritage of Northwest Croatia.

Long-term Investigations of 134Cs and 137Cs Activity Concentrations in Honey from Croatia.

This paper presents the results of long-term post-Chernobyl investigations of 134Cs and 137Cs activity concentrations in multifloral and chestnut honey sampled in northwest Croatia. For both radionuclides, the activity concentrations peaked in May 1986, decreasing exponentially until the mid-1990s, when they fell under the detection limit for both radionuclides. After the Fukushima-Daiichi accident in 2011, the presence of both radionuclides in honey was detected once again. The ecological half-life was estimated to be 1.67 and 1.45years for 137Cs and 134Cs, respectively. The correlation between 134Cs and 137Cs activity concentrations in fallout and honey was very good, indicating fallout to be the main source of honey contamination. The observed 134Cs/137Cs activity ratio in honey was similar to the ratio found in other environmental samples. The estimated collective effective doses for the Croatian population incurred by honey consumption indicate that honey was not a critical pathway for the transfer of 134Cs and 137Cs from fallout to humans.

Electronic services with impact on quality of life - a survey of usage and attitudes of north-western croatian

Nowadays governmental and non-governmental organizations and private businesses offer a range of electronic services that, if used, directly or indirectly affect quality of life. The supply of electronic services is growing fast, and this growth is expected to continue in the near but also in the distant future. Current generation of digital natives will not know how to live without ICTs and services provided by these technologies. User attitudes towards electronic services and the relationship between their supply and demand are the focus of this paper. Data on demand for and user attitudes towards electronic services were collected on a representative sample of adult population from Northwest Croatia. Participants were interviewed using a measurement instrument created for this purpose. Survey covered usage of electronic services offered by various governmental and non-governmental organizations and private businesses, the nature of user attitudes and the extent to which electronic services are used for the purpose of education, communication, entertainment, employment, improvement of health services and culture. The results show that, on the one hand, participants' demand for electronic services is very poor, while on the other hand their motivation and attitudes towards these services are very positive. Consistently significant differences were found in usage and attitudes toward electronic services by age, level of education and English language fluency. On the other hand, gender, standard of living and urban / rural residence were generally not associated with differences in usage of or attitudes to electronic services.

Evaluation of four dwarfing cherry rootstocks combined with ‘Kordia’ and ‘Regina’ in the agro-environmental conditions of northwest Croatia

Evaluation of four dwarfing cherry rootstocks combined with ‘Kordia’ and ‘Regina’ in the agro-environmental conditions of northwest Croatia

Organic agricultural production on family farms in Croatia

ABSTRACTThe Croatian organic products market is not developed as it is in economically more developed European Union (EU) countries. There are 2,319 registered organic producers on a total area of 50,054 ha. It was assumed that producers’ motives of organic products are predominantly noneconomic and that they sell most of products through direct sales channels and have positive attitudes toward producers’ associations. A survey was conducted with organic producers in Northwest Croatia. They (72.7%) switched from conventional to organic farming due to noneconomic motives. Due to an unorganized distribution network, products placement in markets mainly takes place locally (71.4%). Most producers are cooperating but in an informal way.

Pollen, Physicochemical, and Mineral Analysis of Croatian Acacia Honey Samples: Applicability for Identification of Botanical and Geographical Origin

The aim of the study was to investigate health safety and quality of the Croatian acacia honey, the selected elements in the soil, and whether multivariate methods can provide identification of the origin of honey. The study included 200 acacia honey samples and 100 soil samples from East, Northwest Croatia, and Istria. The proportion of acacia in honey was determined by conducting pollen analysis. Water, free acids, electric conductivity, reducing sugars, saccharose, diastase, and HMF were determined. No significant differences were found using Kruskal-Wallis test regarding the physicochemical parameters (p=0.9190), the mineral content of honey (p=0.8955), or the mineral composition of the soil (p=0.8789). No significant correlation was found between the analyzed elements in honey and soil. Multivariate methods indicated that East Croatia honey samples have higher concentrations of water, HMF, and higher concentrations of measured elements, except for Al. Honey samples from Northwest Croatia are characterized by low concentrations of elements and a higher concentration of saccharose. The Istria samples are richer in reducing sugars, free acids, diastase, higher conductivity, higher content of the acacia pollen grains, and lower concentrations of most metals. Honey from Northwest Croatia and Istria shares the high concentration of Al in honey.

Prinos i kvaliteta korijena istraživanih hibrida šećerne repe u sjeverozapadnoj Hrvatskoj u razdoblju od 2010. do 2013. godine

Prinos i kvaliteta korijena istraživanih hibrida šećerne repe u sjeverozapadnoj Hrvatskoj u razdoblju od 2010. do 2013. godine