Territory Of Belgrade Research Articles

A possibility of spatial-functional protected natural assets coexistence in the urban landscapes: Belgrade case study

In this paper we will analyze specific reconciliation emergency of nature assets protection with a spatial and functional urban landscapes development trend. Due to multifunctional nature of urban landscapes, high level of air, water and land pollution, noise magnitude exalted influence, disarrangement of autochthony communications flows inside major nature complexes, as well as other forms of anthrop pressure on the nature assets, active protection process of such assets and theirs management becomes more and more complex. On the town Belgrade territory it is recorded more than 45 natural objects which are protected by law and are under custody and managemental regime that enable theirs sustainable existence in the dominantly anthropogenic landscape.

Canine brucellosis: Epizootiological characteristics, therapy and control of the disease

The paper describes different aspects of canine brucellosis caused by Brucella canis. The disease is present in a large number of countries all over the world, where it inflicts severe economic damages, in particular in the commercial breeding and major dog breeding facilities. The disease was discovered in 1966 in the United States of America, but there were no data about its presence or distribution in our country until 1999. It was established, following the initial investigations, that the prevalence of the disease is extremely high, and that it amounted to 4.27% among pet dogs in the territory of Belgrade. Investigations of stray dogs in the territory of Podgorica showed that the seroprevalence (an equal titer or higher than 1/200) was 9.37%, while the prevalence among stray dogs in the territory of Belgrade was 10.87%. Data for other parts of Serbia are mostly lacking, and the seroprevalence for stray dogs in the Municipality of Pozarevac amounted to over 15%, while not a single serologically positive case was found among pet dogs. In addition to the epizootiological specificities of the disease established in our country, isolates of B. canis from the territory of Serbia also indicate digressions in the test of resistance to colors with respect to the referent strain RM6/66. All isolates (SR1-SR-7) are resistant to base fuchsine, and it is probable that this characteristic could also be an important epizootiological marker. Even though the isolation of the cause is the most reliable diagnostic method, it is not possible to achieve this in most cases. That is why one of the most important tasks is to define the most ideal tests for the serological diagnostics of the disease, and the obligation of reporting the disease makes it imperative that wider-scale investigations are conducted and that measures are taken toward reducing the number of positive cases in our country. .

Investigations of prevalence of antibodies to B.canis in stray dogs in territory of Belgrade

The paper covers investigations of stray dogs in the territory of the city of Belgrade. A total of 184 blood serum samples were examined for the presence of antibodies specific to Brucella canis. The method of slow agglutination in a test tube with 2- mercaptoethanol was used in the diagnostic procedure. Of the 184 examined serums, 49 (26.63%) had a titer of 1/50, 25 serums had a titer of 1/100 (13.58%), while 20 serums had a titer equal to or bigger than 1/200 (10.87%). Furthermore, 15 samples of full blood from serologiclly negative animals were also presented for isolation. The bacteriological finding for these samples was negative. The obtained results indicate that the number of seropositive stray dogs in the territory of Belgrade is extremely high and that 10.87% of the testes animals are definitely infected with Brucella canis.

Education of medical examiners qualified for death certification

Death certification is very important from public health perspective, in particular, referring to gathering of data for mortality statistics on local and national level. When examining the deceased, medical examiner is capable of detecting indications of violent death and report the case for further inquest. The Public Health Care Act of the Republic of Serbia defines the responsibilities of medical examiner (ME) to certify death and estimate the time and cause of death. On the territory of Belgrade, this Service is organized by Department of Public Health of the City Council. Education of doctors-medical examiners certifying death in Belgrade area was organized during 2002 and 2003. Demonstrate the structure of the Program of continual medical education (CME) of medical examiners in Belgrade area, to look into some aspects of their professional career, and to analyze the results of their testing. Based on the Program of CME for medical examiners, test consisting of 13 questions was prepared. These questions were related to thanatology and current legislation. The evaluation of test results as well as particular characteristics (age, duration of professional engagement, etc.) of tested doctors was carried out. A total of 138 participants of CME Program were subjected to test. Mean age of tested MEs was 40.27 +/- 8.06 years, while an average duration of professional engagement was 13.43 +/- 8.00 years. Almost 2/3 of tested MEs were employed as general practitioners, while the rest were specialists, mainly in internal medicine and emergency medicine. Slightly more than 1/5 of tested MEs (21.7%) failed on the test (less than 60% of maximum score). Given the fact that slightly more than 1/5 of tested MEs (21.7%), regardless of duration of their professional engagement, did not pass the test, the level of their specific knowledge of death certification was not sufficient. Therefore, it is necessary to organize periodical CME on specific topics, including practice related to death certification. Accordingly, the Institute of Forensic Medicine in cooperation with Center for CME, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, has created a specific program of CME whose realization is in progress.

Analysis of traffic accidents in children

Violent health damages of different origin (accidents, murders, suicides) in children and youth are one of the main causes of death and disabilities in this group of population in most countries. Objective of our paper was to analyze all related factors of traffic accidents involving children and to propose adequate measures of their prevention. The analysis of fatal traffic accidents of children and youth aged to 18 years on the territory of Belgrade, within the period from 1998 to 2002. In relation to other forms of violent death, the traffic mortality rate in children and youth holds the leading position, accounting for 56.9% with pedestrians as the most frequent category (57.4%). The most frequent age was between 7 and 9 years (46.8%) and the boys were more frequently injured than the girls. It was established that the majority of children (51.9%) was either running across the street outside the pedestrian/ zebra crossings or they were carelessly running out in the street, especially in April, July, August and September. More than a half of them (55.5%), predominantly school children, were injured by the end of working week, on Thursday and Friday. Results of our research have shown that the traffic education of children in our region is inadequate. Due to the abovementioned, it is primarily necessary to establish long-term and permanent education of this category of population. In addition, some public investments in the City infrastructure will be required in order to reduce the risk of traffic injuries in children.

Observation of the quality of Danube water in the Belgrade region based on benthic animals during periods of high and low water conditions in 2002

The present paper states conclusions about the quality of Danube water in the Belgrade Region based on analyses of the invertebrate community. The investigation was performed during periods of high (May, 2002) and low (October, 2002) water conditions. Meio- and macrozoobenthos were observed. Qualitative, quantitative, and saprobiological analy?ses were performed. The sampling area covered five stations along 66 km of the river. The community was represented by 26 species. Aquatic worms were the principal component of the benthos with respect to both species richness (six species) and abundance (58.39-99.47 % of the total community). Gastropods were also diverse (six species). Snails were found to be subdominant as far as participation in the total community density is concerned. Structure of the benthic community and the saprobity index (S= 2.78-3.43) indicated the presence of organic pollution. No notable differences of estimated environmental quality were observed between a station upstream from Belgrade and one situated below the exit from the broader territory of Belgrade. Since Belgrade is recognized as one of the main contaminants in regard to biodegradable pollutants in the Middle Danube, this finding points to an impressive self-purifying ability of this huge river.