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Long- and short-term biometeorological conditions in the Republic of Serbia were analyzed using official meteorological data from numerous weather stations located across the country. Selected biometeorological indices HUMIDEX, Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET), and Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) are calculated based on air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and cloudiness data from the meteorological stations on annual and summer level as well as during selected heat wave periods during 2000–2020. Application of different biometeorological indices provides similar but somewhat different results. For example, average annual HUMIDEX and UTCI values indicate no thermal stress and no discomfort at all stations, while PET indicates the occurrence of slight to moderate cold stress at all stations. Average summer PET and UTCI indicate the occurrence of slight to moderate heat stress throughout the country, while HUMIDEX indicates no discomfort. Trends of biometeorological indices on annual and summer level show a general increase throughout the country. Furthermore, heat wave analysis indicated that the most populated cities of Serbia are under dangerous and extreme heat stress during these extreme temperature events, which can influence human health and well-being. The obtained biometeorological information can be used for the preparation of climate adaptation strategies that consider the human biometeorological conditions, with a special focus on developing climate-sensitive and comfortable cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensive urbanization and global warming are impacting the health and well-being of urban population. Nevertheless, urban environments with different designs will have different micro and local climate conditions. This study used data from micrometeorological measurements performed in different urban spaces (downtown, urban park, riverside) in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on hot summer days in June 2021. Air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and globe temperature were measured and Mean Radiant Temperature (Tmrt), Psychologically Equivalent Temperature (PET), and modified Psychologically Equivalent Temperature (mPET) were calculated for each location. Results show that the downtown is the most uncomfortable area in terms of the highest Ta, Tg, Tmrt, PET, and mPET values registered at this location. The urban park is the most comfortable area with the lowest values of Tg, Tmrt, PET, and mPET. Relative humidity is the highest at the riverside and the lowest in downtown. Furthermore, riverside had lower average Ta during summer daytime compared to urban park and downtown likely due to the synergy between river cooling effect (evaporation and sensible heat transfer) and tree shade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive analysis of air temperature (Ta) dynamics in "local climate zones" (LCZs) of Novi Sad (Serbia) was based on measurements from 17 stations during 3 years. Hourly changes of Ta, cooling rates (CR), heating rates (HR), and urban heat island (UHI) intensity were assessed on seasonal and annual level and during heat wave (HW) and cold wave (CW) periods. Substantial differences are observed for minimum (Tmin) and mean temperatures (Tmean) between LCZs. Two-phase nocturnal cooling was recognized with the first cooling phase characterized by intensive LCZ dependent cooling starting at 1–3 h before sunset and lasting until 3–4 h after sunset. The second cooling phase lasts until sunrise and is characterized by less intensive and LCZ nondependent cooling. The most intensive cooling (CRpeak) was observed in first cooling phase of HW and ranged from − 1.6 °C h−1 in street canyon (LCZ 2) to − 3.9 °C h−1 in forest (LCZ A). Furthermore, a new cooling indicator (CRtotal) was introduced. Due to cooling differences, the most intensive UHI of 5.5 °C was noticed between LCZs 2 and A at sunset + 1 h during HW. Two-phase diurnal heating was also recognized in LCZs with the first heating phase characterized by intensive LCZ dependent heating starting at sunrise and lasting until 4–7 h afterwards. The most intensive heating (HRpeak) ranged from 2.0 °C h−1 in street canyon to 3.0 °C h−1 in industrial area (LCZ 8) during HW. The second heating phase lasts until sunset and is characterized by less intensive heating and smaller HR differences between LCZs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporal and spatial variability of annual and seasonal precipitation from 71 stations located in Western Balkan (WB) countries (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro) and their correlations with nine atmospheric circulation patterns was examined for the period 1950-2016. Annual precipitation increased significantly throughout the WB (from 2% to 8% per decade) on 20% of stations located mainly in the mountainous western Serbia and eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Winter was characterized by non-significant precipitation changes in most of the studied area, with only a few stations characterized by significant precipitation increase (up to 12% per decade) in the mountainous area of WB, and a few stations characterized by significant decrease (up to -6% per decade) in the Pannonian plain. Significant precipitation increase was noticed on 15% of the stations in spring, while it was noticed on 17% of the stations in autumn. Summer precipitation decreased significantly (up to -5% per decade) on a limited area of northern Serbia (6% of the stations), while the majority of stations showed non-significant increase. The strongest influences on annual precipitation in WB region are of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and Mediterranean Oscillation (MO), leading to the precipitation decrease during their positive phases. Winter precipitation is significantly negatively correlated with AO, East Atlantic/Western Russia oscillation (EA/WR), and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and has a significant positive correlation with Western Mediterranean Oscillation (WeMO) on the majority of stations. MO has the strongest influence on summer precipitation in WB region leading to precipitation decrease, while AO has the dominant influence on precipitation in the region during autumn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saline habitats of the Pannonian plain are specific regarding their extraordinary biodiversity with many endemic species, yet they are among the most threatened European communities with limited spatial distribution. These habitats are present in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in the north of Serbia, in the area of Srednja Mostonga, and they are in the procedure of protection as the II category protected area - "region of exceptional characteristics". Great variety of rare and endemic species makes this area interesting for recreational and educational activities. In this paper we investigate micrometeorological and outdoor thermal comfort conditions in different natural environments at the area of Srednja Mostonga. This is the first micrometeorological field measurement study conducted in this region. Measurements were performed during the daytime of a sunny autumn day in 2019. The results showed that daytime air temperature was up to 3.4 °C lower in forest compared to steppe, while relative humidity was up to 5-6% higher in forest than in steppe with up to 3.2 m/s lower wind speeds in forest than in steppe area. Micrometeorological values were similar between forest-steppe and steppe. However, the outdoor thermal comfort conditions expressed via Humidex showed that 'some discomfort' was most often observed in forest-steppe during 27% of measurement time, followed with 13% of 'some discomfort' observed in steppe and only 1% of 'some discomfort' was observed in forest. Accordingly, during the warmest daytime hours outdoor activities could be performed in forest, while early morning and evening hours could be spent in steppe and forest-steppe areas of Srednja Mostonga. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation of the reliability status of complex technical systems is of great importance for their uninterrupted operation at full capacity and with a preventive maintenance plan in place. Limited research on the subject indicates that there is need to improve models of reliability simulation. The goal of the paper is to outline an improved operational reliability model of a thermal power plant using the power plant block "TENT A" as an example. The model is based on the failure interaction of the system components and is based on probability theory - the Weibull distribution, the Monte Carlo simulation and the established mathematical models of failure interaction of components using new software solutions. The results of the simulations show which direction the development of preventive activities should take in the case of failure interaction, which might lead to minimum downtime in power plant operations in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban climate monitoring system (UCMS) was established in Novi Sad (Serbia) in 2014 based on the Local Climate Zones (LCZs) classification system, GIS model calculations and field work. Seven built and two land cover LCZ types were delineated and 27 stations equipped with air temperature and relative humidity sensors were distributed across all LCZs. Suitability of the developed monitoring system for human outdoor thermal comfort research in different LCZs of the city and its surroundings was investigated during a heat wave period using Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) index. During the daytime (night-time) the highest thermal loads are present in open midrise (compact midrise) LCZ, while the most comfortable is LCZ A (dense trees) during the whole day. In general, the highest thermal loads are obtained in midrise, followed by low-rise, sparsely built, low plants and dense trees LCZs. All LCZs (except LCZ A - dense trees) had higher PET when compared to LCZ D (LCZ D - low plants) during evening and nocturnal hours with maximum difference of 7.1 °C (00 UTC) between LCZ 2 (compact midrise) and LCZ D (low plants). Contrary to this, LCZ D (low plants) had higher PET compared to the majority of LCZs during the daytime with maximum difference of 8.5 °C (9 UTC) when compared to LCZ A (dense trees). Furthermore, the smallest thermal comfort differences during heat wave occurred between LCZs with similar structure (i.e. open low-rise and large low-rise, compact midrise and compact low-rise) and cover (i.e. sparsely built and low plants). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of recent climate change, temperature-attributable mortality has become an important public health threat worldwide. A large number of studies in Europe have identified a relationship between temperature and mortality, while only a limited number of scholars provided evidence for Serbia. In order to provide more evidence for better management of health resources at the regional and local level, this study aims to assess the impact of summer temperature on the population in Serbia, using daily average temperature (Ta) and mortality (CDR (crude death rate) per 100,000). The analysis was done for five areas (Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš, Loznica, and Vranje), covering the summer (June–August) period of 2001–2015. In order to quantify the Ta-related CDR, a generalized additive model (GAM) assuming a quasi-Poisson distribution with log as the link function was used. Five regression models were constructed, for each area, revealing a statistically significant positive relationship between Ta and CDR in four areas. The effect of Ta on CDR was defined as the relative risk (RR), which was obtained as the exponential regression coefficient of the models. RR indicates that a 1 °C increase in Ta at lag0 was associated with an increase in CDR of 1.7% for Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Niš and 2% for Loznica. The model for Vranje did not quantify a statistically significant increase in CDR due to Ta (RR=1.006, 95% CI 0.991–1.020). Similar results were confirmed for gender, with a slightly higher risk for women. Analysis across lag structure showed different exposure, but the highest effect of Ta mainly occurs over the short term and persists for 3 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate spatial and temporal dynamics and relationship between air temperature and five air humidity parameters (relative humidity, water vapor pressure, absolute humidity, specific humidity, and vapor pressure deficit) in Novi Sad, Serbia, based on two-year data (December 2015–December 2017). The analysis includes different urban areas of Novi Sad, which are delineated in five built (urban) types of local climate zones (LCZ) (LCZ 2, LCZ 5, LCZ 6, LCZ 8, and LCZ 9), and one land cover (natural) local climate zone (LCZ A) located outside the urban area. Temporal analysis included annual, seasonal, and monthly dynamics of air temperature and air humidity parameters, as well as their patterns during the extreme periods (heat and cold wave). The results showed that urban dry island (UDI) occurs in densely urbanized LCZ 2 from February to October, unlike other urban LCZs. The analysis of the air humidity dynamics during the heat wave shows that UDI intensity is most pronounced during the daytime, but also in the evening (approximately until midnight) in LCZ 2. However, lower UDI intensity is observed in the afternoon, in other urban LCZs (LCZ 6, LCZ 8, and LCZ 9) and occasionally in the later afternoon in LCZ 5. Regression analysis confirms the relationship between air temperature and each of the analyzed air humidity parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various micro-scale models for comparing alternative design concepts have been developed in recent decades. The objective of this study is to provide an overview of current user-friendly micro-climate models. In the results, a vast majority of models identified were excluded from the review because the models were not micro-scale, lacking a user-interface, or were not available. In total, eight models met the seven-point inclusion criteria. These models were ADMS Temperature and Humidity model, advanced SkyHelios model, ANSYS FLUENT, ENVI-met, RayMan, SOLWEIG, TownScope, and UMEP. These models differ in their complexity and their widespread use in the scientific community, ranging from very few to thousands of citations. Most of these models simulate air temperature, global radiation, and mean radiant temperature, which helps to evaluate outdoor thermal comfort in cities. All of these models offer a linkage to CAD or GIS software and user support systems at various levels, which facilitates a smooth integration to planning and design. We detected that all models have been evaluated against observations. A wider model comparison, however, has only been performed for fewer models. With this review, we aim to support the finding of a reliable tool, which is fit for the specific purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change at the regional and local levels is forcing strong implementation of urban adaptation strategies related to climate-conscious urbanization and public health. Accordingly, the application of parameters that assess thermal stress in urban areas, such as outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) indices, is of paramount importance. As a contribution to this statement, long-term (1961–2020) datasets of daily OTC indices for the city of Banja Luka (Bosnia and Hercegovina) were used. Detailed temporal analysis using Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET), Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), and Mean Radiant Temperature (Tmrt) was performed for (a) the entire research period, (b) the decadal level, and (c) defined heat/cold stress subcategories. The results show an intensive increase in extreme/strong heat days in the last 20 years, and the number of these days is five times higher than in the'70 s and'80 s. Decreasing tendencies are noticed in extreme/strong cold days towards the last two decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is a surgical procedure performed to remove deposits of fat, called plaque, from the carotid arteries in the neck. Two main arteries, one on each side of the neck, deliver blood and oxygen to the brain. Plaque occurs in subintimal layer in large and medium arteries as people get older, depending on the lifestyle and hereditary facors. The plaque build up is a vascular disease called atherosclerosis. When this happens, the arteries narrow and that condition is called stenosis. During carotid endarterectomy, a surgeon removes the plaque, corrects narowing, and allows normal flow of blood and oxygen to brain. The goal of our work was examination of hemodynamic stability and oscillation of blood pressure during operation procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, air temperature and precipitation seasonality and their correlation with large-scale atmospheric circulations over the Sava River Basin (SRB), i.e., over the areas of Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia, are analyzed. We used daily air temperature and precipitation measurements from 12 meteorological stations for the period from 1981 to 2010. In addition, mean (Ta), maximum (Tmax), and minimum (Tmin) daily temperatures and daily precipitation (P) were included in the analysis. Temperature values were correlated with atmospheric circulation patterns (ACPs), i.e., daily indices Arctic Oscillation (AO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and Mediterranean Oscillation (MO) for the same study period. The daily air temperature and precipitation data were obtained from European Climate Assessment & Dataset (ECA&D). The results generally show increasing trends in air temperatures, mainly during the spring and summer seasons, but also non-significant trends for precipitation. Moreover, the correlation results show no or weak influence of ACPs on seasonal air temperatures and precipitation, but the dominant effects differ by ACP type as well as at different seasonal levels. Among the selected ACPs, MO proved to be the most significant for the Sava River Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blunt chest trauma can cause a spectrum of cardiac injuries, ranging from asymptomatic arrhythmias to rupture of the cardiac chambers or great blood vessels. Pericardial tamponade is an acute life-threatening complication of blunt chest trauma with a high mortality rate despite aggressive treatment. It is generally accepted that early recognition, prompt diagnosis and immediate treatment of cardiac tamponade are critical for survival of those patients. The case in our study was a male, aged 44, admitted to ICU after blunt chest trauma, 40 minutes after an accident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In urban environments, people's exposure to harmful ambient conditions and noise represents a particular challenge in the modern world. Global climate change and increasing population density, along with the increasing number of vehicles in urban areas, are constantly exacerbating this problem. The idea of this study is to assess the effects of temperature risks and noise pollution in two microlocations. An analysis of the ambient conditions and noise in the urban environment was conducted at two locations in Belgrade, which differed in configuration. Simultaneous measurements of temperature (Ta and Tg), humidity, wind speed, and equivalent noise level were taken during a hot summer day (maximum temperature over 30°C). It was shown that the noise level exceeds the prescribed noise level values for the analyzed acoustic zone. The noise level values differ for the two locations due to the different traffic densities in the environment and different urban characteristics. This study showed that the concept of green space, but also of built-up type in urban planning could has importance impact in regulating thermal and noise conditions and obtained improved urban environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased temperature risk in cities threatens the health and well-being of urban population and is fueled by climate change and intensive urbanization. Consequently, further steps must be taken for assessing temperature conditions in cities and their association with public health, in order to improve public health prevention at local or regional level. This study contributes to solving the problems by analyzing the connection between extreme temperatures and the tendencies of all-cause hospital admissions. The analyses used (a) 1-h air temperature data, and (b) daily data of all-cause hospital admissions. The datasets include the summer period (June, July, August) for the years 2016 and 2017. We tested the effects of two temperature indices, day-to-day change in maximum temperature — Tmax,c and daily temperature range — Tr, with all-cause hospital admission subgroups, such as all-cause cases — Ha, hospital admissions in the population below 65 — Ha<65, and hospital admissions in the population aged 65 and over — Ha≥65. The results show the highest values of Ha when Tmax,c is between 6 and 10 °C. Therefore, more intensive hospital admissions can be expected when Tmax increases from day-to-day (positive values of Tmax,c), and it is more visible for Ha and Ha<65 (1 °C = 1% increase in hospital admissions). Also, Tr values between 10 °C and 14 °C cause an increase in the number of hospital admissions, and it is more noticeable for Ha≥65. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A method for mitigating UHI effects was developed and applied. • Trees in planters reduce UTCI values at a single manikin location by up to 6.11 °C. • Cylinder-shaped and sphere-shaped tree crowns are best for reducing heat stress. • The method supports landscape planning and UHI mitigation strategies. Urban downtown areas are often overheated and contribute to the creation of urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon. Implementation of trees is considered an effective way to mitigate UHI and improve outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) in densely built-up areas. This study aims to investigate the potential of applying additional trees in planters to mitigate UHI effects and improve OTC in open urban areas. Simulation of OTC is performed for hot summer days using Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). In this study, we have devised a method to determine favourable locations for a predetermined number of additional trees, with different crown shapes (cylinder, sphere and cone), to improve OTC conditions. In the proposed method, an evolutionary algorithm based on natural selection was used as it is effective for solving problems that have a large number of combinations. The method considers the geometry of the built environment, the geometry, locations and number of additional trees, weather data and UTCI simulation. The method was applied to three different urban morphologies located in the downtown of Novi Sad, Serbia. The results show that, depending on urban geometries and morphologies, different crown shapes lead to different UTCI reduction. Cylinder-shaped and sphere-shaped tree crowns showed to be the most effective in reducing heat stress. The positioning of additional trees reduced the UTCI values at single manikin locations by up to 6.11 °C, indicating that the process of determining their locations is crucial for mitigating the heat and improving OTC conditions during hot summer days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the light of climate change and burgeoning urbanization, heat loads in urban areas have emerged as serious issues, affecting the well-being of the population and the environment. In response to a pressing need for more standardised and communicable research into urban climate, the concept of local climate zones (LCZs) has been created. This concept aims to define the morphological types of (urban) surface with respect to the formation of local climatic conditions, largely thermal. This systematic review paper analyses studies that have applied the concept of LCZs to European urban areas. The methodology utilized pre-determined keywords and five steps of literature selection. A total of 91 studies were found eligible for analysis. The results show that the concept of LCZs has been increasingly employed and become well established in European urban climate research. Dozens of measurements, satellite observations, and modelling outcomes have demonstrated the characteristic thermal responses of LCZs in European cities. However, a substantial number of the studies have concentrated on the methodological development of the classification process, generating a degree of inconsistency in the delineation of LCZs. Recent trends indicate an increasing prevalence of the accessible remote-sensing based approach over accurate GIS-based methods in the delineation of LCZs. In this context, applications of the concept in fine-scale modelling appear limited. Nevertheless, the concept of the LCZ has proven appropriate and valuable to the provision of metadata for urban stations, (surface) urban heat island analysis, and the assessment of outdoor thermal comfort and heat risk. Any further development of LCZ mapping appears to require a standardised objective approach that may be globally applicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensing and measuring meteorological and physiological parameters of humans, animals, and plants are necessary to understand the complex interactions that occur between atmospheric processes and the health of the living organisms. Advanced sensing technologies have provided both meteorological and biological data across increasingly vast spatial, spectral, temporal, and thematic scales. Information and communication technologies have reduced barriers to data dissemination, enabling the circulation of information across different jurisdictions and disciplines. Due to the advancement and rapid dissemination of these technologies, a review of the opportunities for sensing the health effects of weather and climate change is necessary. This paper provides such an overview by focusing on existing and emerging technologies and their opportunities and challenges for studying the health effects of weather and climate change on humans, animals, and plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hot summers with several intensive heat waves lead to strong heat-related mortality in Central and Southeast European cities. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate association between maximum temaprature and mortality during the summer period in 2015 and to contribute to the future long-term assessment of heat-related mortality in urban population. The daily number of deaths of all causes and cause-specific mortality for the population of Novi Sad were used, as well as hourly air temperature data from the Novi Sad urban network (NSUNET) system. Four heat waves were detected using the Huth and Kysely methods. Three heat wave periods lasted longer than ten days. In July and August, 45% of days had a maximum temperature above 30 °C, and more than 70% of days had a maximum temperature above 25 °C. The average number of deaths was higher during the heat wave days. Significant association was found between Tmax and all-cause, cardiorespiratory, non-cardiorespiratory in total population, all-cause and cardiorespiratory mortality in the age group 65 and over. This study demonstrates a high magnitude of relation between mortality and temperature. Finally, the results show that population in urban areas is highly vulnerable during heat waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is one of the most important issues of anthropogenic activities. The increasing drought conditions can cause water shortage and heat waves and can influence the agricultural production or the water supply of cities. The Carpathian region is also affected by this phenomenon; thus, we aimed at identifying the tendencies between 1960 and 2010 applying the CarpatClim (CC) database. We calculated the trends for each grid point of CC, plotted the results on maps, and applied statistical analysis on annual and seasonal level. We revealed that monthly average temperature, maximum temperature and evapotranspiration had similar patterns and had positive trends in all seasons except autumn. Precipitation also had a positive trend, but it had negative values in winter. The geospatial analysis disclosed an increasing trend from West to East and from north to west. A simple binary approach (value of 1 above the upper quartile in case of temperature and evapotranspiration, value of 1 below the lower quartile; 0 for the rest of the data) helped to identify the most sensitive areas where all the involved climatic variables exceeded the threshold: Western Hungary and Eastern Croatia. Results can help to prepare possible mitigation strategies to climate change and both landowners and planners can draw the conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses the MUKLIMO_3 urban climate model (in German, Mikroskaliges Urbanes KLImaMOdell in 3-Dimensionen ) and measurements from an urban climate network in order to simulate, validate and analyse the spatiotemporal pattern of human thermal comfort outdoors in the city of Brno (Czech Republic) during a heat-wave period. HUMIDEX, a heat index designed to quantify human heat exposure, was employed to assess thermal comfort, employing air temperature and relative humidity data. The city was divided into local climate zones (LCZs) in order to access differences in intra-urban thermal comfort. Validation of the model results, based on the measurement dates within the urban monitoring network, confirmed that the MUKLIMO_3 micro-scale model had the capacity to simulate the main spatiotemporal patterns of thermal comfort in an urban area and its vicinity. The results suggested that statistically significant differences in outdoor thermal comfort exist in the majority of cases between different LCZs. The most built-up LCZ types (LCZs 2, 3, 5, 8 and 10) were disclosed as the most uncomfortable areas of the city. Hence, conditions of great discomfort (HUMIDEX > 40) were recorded in these areas, mainly in the afternoon hours (from 13.00 to 18.00 CEST), while some thermal discomfort continued overnight. In contrast, HUMIDEX values in sparsely built-up LCZ 9 and non-urban LCZs were substantially lower and indicated better thermal conditions for the urban population. Interestingly, the model captured a local increase of HUMIDEX values arising out of air humidity in LCZs with the presence of more vegetation (LCZs A and B) and in the vicinity of larger bodies of water (LCZ G). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rivers Danube, Sava and Tisa belong to the Black Sea river basin and they flow through many European countries, while in Serbia they flow through the Pannonian flatland. The water quality of these rivers, which is affected by complex anthropogenic activities and natural factors, is one of important factors that are taken into account in the evaluation of development sustainability of this region. Using the correlation analysis in this paper we tested the impact of air temperature as a natural factor on certain parameters indicating the water quality. A significant correlation was found between air temperature and total nitrogen oxides in the Danube of up to -0.744, namely of -0.740 on the Tisa, and -0.299 on the Sava. A significant correlation was found in electrical conductivity - up to -0.793 on the Danube, -0.226 on the Tisa, and 0.380 on the Sava. Correlation links were found between air temperature and oxygen, Biochemical oxygen demand, as well as suspended matters saturation percentage, but their correlation values are significantly lower. Based on the results of the research it was concluded that air temperature had low effect on changes in water quality during the year and that anthropogenic impact was far more dominant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Drina River is the biggest tributary of the Sava River, created by the merger of the Tara and Piva rivers at Šćepan Polje. The Drina represents the border between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Water quality index (WQI) is a numeric expression used to evaluate the quality of water bodies and make it more easily understood by managers. In this study, the water quality status and the spatial and temporal trends along the Drina were assessed through the application of seven WQI parameters, to an eight-year public database of environmental data (2004-11). Water quality of the Drina is one of the significant factors taken into consideration in evaluation of sustainability of the development of this region and it is controlled by complex anthropogenic activities and natural factors. Values of pH grew steadily from CP1 to CP3, but on CP4 values of pH were lower (8.11) than on two previous control points (CP2 8.14 and CP3 8.16). O2 saturation shows highest values at CP1 121.3%, while the lowest values were observed at CP3 101.8%. BOD5 at all four CPs shows that water quality of the Drina can be classified as I class (< 2 mg/l). According to statistical data processing we can state that Drina water quality at all four control points allows for its exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An urban environment defines a specific micro-climate which directly affects the quality of life in urbanized areas and often has a negative impact on urban populations. Phenomena like urban heat and surface heat islands are direct products of an urban lifestyle. Urban meteorological networks (UMNs) are a tool that can help to better understand and analyze the current situation and make the right decisions about future urban development. Deployed to monitor and record different objects and their states inside urban areas, UMNs build a long-term meteorological data time series database. The most commonly used systems for achieving this goal include wireless sensor networks (WSNs). This paper presents a combined experience in deploying three different WSN systems. During seven years of research in this field, the authors have recognized the importance of data reliability in data acquisition. More importantly, due to the lack of research addressing the reliability of the data received from WSNs by the core segment of the server (processes used in receiving, validating, parsing, and storing data into a database instance), the received data are used in scientific studies without questioning their reliability. To determine the possibility of shifting information provided by the data measured from sensor networks before it is stored in a desired form of database, this paper proposes a highly reliable socket server model. The model is built with high reliability and performance in mind and it includes three major processes, which use a combination of signals and control messages to pass information about their states. A case study is performed using high-end hardware, running a Linux operating system stressed to its limits. Repetition testing revealed inconsistency in the information provided by the operating system to the application layer, which could lead to the loss of information about short-term and rarely occurring monitored objects. The results lead to the conclusion that there is a clear need for a higher level of data reliability in the process of data acquisition by UMNs. The proposed socket server should fill this gap within the server's core segment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) (Novoseven®) is a novel hemostatic agent originally developed to treat bleeding episodes in hemophillic patient with inibitors against coagulation factors VIII and IX. In recent years, years, rFVIIa has also been employed for the menagenent of uncontrolled bleeding in a number of congenital and aquired hemostatic abnormalities. Effective treatment of severe and uncontrolled bleeding is a challenge for physicians in the operating room. Administration of recombinant activated factor VII may be the only remaining therapeutic option to stop life-treatening coagulopatic bleeding. Here we describe the clinical corse of patient exhibiting severe continuos bleeding that could not be stopped by surgical intervention and appropriate hemostatic menagement, but resolve after two doses of 90 µg/kg of rFVIIa. Bleeding from wound surfaces were stopped within fifteen minutes from moment rFVIIa was administrated. No adverse effects associated with rFVIIa were observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]