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• A generalized mathematical model has been proposed to analysis COVID-19. • Deterministic and stochastic SIQR models with vaccination and treatment are studied. • Conditions for the extinction of the epidemic are obtained. • The theoretical results of model are verified by the epidemic data of Russia and Serbia. • We make the short-term prediction of COVID-19 in Russia and Serbia. In this paper, we propose and investigate the SIQR epidemic model with a generalized incidence rate function, a general treatment function and vaccination term. We firstly consider the existence and uniqueness of the global nonnegative solution to the deterministic model. Further, we show the locally asymptotic stability of the disease-free equilibrium and endemic equilibrium of the deterministic model, and obtain the basic reproduction number R 0. Then we study the existence and uniqueness of the global positive solution to the stochastic model with any positive initial value. Meanwhile, we obtain sufficient conditions for the extinction of the disease in the stochastic epidemic model, and find that the large noise can make the disease die out exponentially. Finally, we make an empirical analysis by the COVID-19 data of Russia and Serbia. By the performance comparison of different models, it shows that the model with vaccination and treatment we proposed is better for the real situation, which is also verified by different estimation methods. Especially, that shows the recovery rate of the infected increases by 0.042 and the death rate of the recovered is 1.525 times that of normal human in Russia. Through statistical analysis, the short-term trend of epidemic transmission is predicted: under the condition of unchanged prevention and control policies, it may reach a stable endemic equilibrium state in Russia and the epidemic will eventually extinct in Serbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to analyze the spatiotemporal variations in drought in Serbia over recent decades using the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI). The analysis is performed for time series of 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month SPEI indices (SPEI-01, SPEI-03, SPEI-06 and SPEI-12, respectively) calculated using the E -OBS gridded dataset with a horizontal resolution of 0.1° for the period of 1950–2022. In general, it was found that negative SPEI trends prevailed in Serbia for all months and all analyzed SPEI timescales, indicating a more frequent appearance of droughts in recent decades. Moreover, for a large majority of month-timescale combinations, the area with a negative trend was larger than the area with a positive trend. For several reasons, we focused on the SPEI for August. First, the SPEI for this month shows one of the most pronounced negative trends, which is rather consistent over different timescales and consistent in terms of the area over which the trend was found to be significant. Statistically significant negative trends of SPEI-03, −06 and − 12 for August were found over 11, 17 and 38% of the country area, respectively. To better understand the trends and changes in the SPEI for August, focusing on extreme and severe drought events, an innovative trend analysis (ITA) was applied. It was found that the occurrence of both extreme and severe SPEI drought categories has doubled over the last thirty years in comparison with the previous thirty-year period. Additionally, more frequent transitions from neutral and wet categories to dry categories were observed through an application of the Markov chain. Second, the special focus on SPEI-03, −06 and − 12 for August was motivated by the fact that we found a significant correlation between these index values and the annual maize production in Serbia, indicating that the SPEI for August can be useful for the assessment of drought impact on agriculture. To better understand interannual variability and long-term trends, this paper also explores the relations between the SPEI over Serbia and large-scale circulation patterns, together with general global and continental warming trends. Our findings indicate that drought changes over recent decades may be driven by the interplay of long-term warming and large-scale circulation patterns. In the context of climate change, especially climate projections, Serbia is situated in a region for which climate projections of mean precipitation change demonstrate weak signals and often with conflicting signs of change within multimodel ensembles. From this point of view, our results can be seen as a contribution to a better understanding of changes in extremes, in our case droughts, that can be hidden by inconclusive changes in the mean values. Finally, due to the similar situation in terms of precipitation and drought trends and changes, our results may be relevant for a wider region, and not only for Serbia. • For Serbia negative trends in SPEI index, for different months and timescales, are dominant. • Occurrence of extreme drought categories has doubled over the last decades. • Transitions from neutral and wet categories to dry categories are more frequent. • These changes are driven by long-term warming and large-scale circulation patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the global population becomes more concentrated in urban environments, higher numbers of people will be exposed to urban air pollution. The environmental and human health benefits of green roofs are widely recognized. The aim of this paper is to promote green roofs as an effective passive technique for pollution mitigation and adaptation to climate change. During the heating season, the ambient concentrations of PM1, PM2.5, and PM10 were measured above a green roof and a reference roof on a school building, located in New Belgrade, the second-most populous municipality and business center of Serbia's largest city. The percent reduction of PM10, PM2.5 and PM1, in January 2020, above the green roof compared to the reference roof was 7%, 16.6%, and 17.6%, respectively. The results show that lightweight green roof improve air quality in terms of PM concentrations for all months considered. In this paper, correlation analysis and the use of Pearson's coefficient were used in the process of analysis to determine the relationship between PM10, PM2.5, PM1, and ambient parameters: relative humidity, ambient temperature, and wind speed. It was found that the statistical correlation expressed by the Pearson coefficient between all PM particles and wind speed was statistically significant in all observed months except September. Also, the degree of significance of the correlation between PM particles and humidity and temperature of ambient air varies by month. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The local inhabitants of Pirot County in Eastern Serbia were interviewed about plant's application in veterinary ethnopharmacology. • It was noticed 46 veterinary plants and 206 use reports. • It was found 22 plants not mentioned and 9 plants with different use in neighboring regions. • A good starting point for new phytopharmacological studies. This paper provides essential information on medicinal plant uses in the veterinary ethnopharmacology of Pirot County in Eastern Serbia, known as a relatively isolated, multiethnic, and a traditional agricultural area. The aim of the study was to collect, analyze, and evaluate the medicinal plants' ethnoveterinary knowledge in a Pirot County (2761 km2, total 92,479 inhabitants, of which 34,672 in the rural area). The local inhabitants of the rural area were interviewed by a semi-structured questionnaire to determine how many of them are familiar with the plants' application in veterinary ethnopharmacology. Interviews were conducted in four municipalities of the Pirot County, where the samples of the local rural population included 631 respondents (mean age 50; 45.59% women, 53.41% men) at 144 sites, of which 148 respondents from 92 villages reported the use of plants in veterinary medicine. The data are presented in a tabular manner and include scientific and local names, the part used, pharmaceutical form, therapeutic indication, and mode of administration, followed with several reports. Furthermore, most frequently reported taxa are systemized for each therapeutic group municipality - wise with calculated informant consensus factor. A comparison with previously published data collected from surrounding territories on the Balkan Peninsula was performed by considering the Jaccard index. The survey revealed 192 plants used by the local population for various health indications, of which 46 species were reported for use in veterinary medicine. Plants reported for the treatment of health issues in livestock (206 reports) were distributed in 30 families out of which the main ones being Asteraceae (8 species), Lamiaceae (4 species), Rosaceae (4 species) and the most abundant were Asteraceae (43 reports), Hypericaceae (28 reports), Polygonaceae (26 reports) and Ranunculaceae (23 reports). The most frequently used plants in veterinary ethnopharmacology were Cichorium intybus, Hypericum perforatum, and Rumex patientia. Aerial plant parts were exploited more frequently than underground parts. The mode of administration was primarily oral in the water extract form. The primary reported therapeutic groups were diarrhea (98 reports), wounds (27 reports), dermatological diseases (scabies and pediculosis) (14 reports), and elevated temperature (10 reports). The use of 22 plant species was not reported in other ethnoveterinary surveys in the Balkan Peninsula. Knowledge of plants for veterinary use is still constrained among the population of the rural parts of Pirot County. The study identified plant species used by the local population to deal with health issues in domestic animals. The presented findings of this study can be a good starting point for new phytopharmacological investigations in the veterinary domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • New ring tensile specimen for pipeline material fracture testing is examined. • Specimens (ring and plane) produced by selective laser sintering from polymer PA12. • Determined dependence on specimen geometry and stress concentrator length. • PRNT specimen enables good assessment of pipeline material fracture properties. • Simple fabrication from pipe; Pressure simulated by contact with the testing tool. In order to develop a non-standard method for determining the resistance to fracture and damage of pipeline materials, a new geometry of ring-shaped specimens with sharp notches or cracks has been defined. The need to develop a new method for testing of the specimens cut from the pipes arises due to the difficulties in determination of fracture mechanics parameters on thin-walled pressure pipelines, especially those with a smaller cross-section, by application of the standard procedures/specimens. Previous studies dealing with the topic of pipeline testing by non-standard methods are presented in the introductory part of the paper. In the experimental part of the research, tests on PRNT (Pipe Ring Notched Tension) and SENT (Single Edge Notched Tension) specimens are performed. Samples of these specimens were produced by SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) technique of additive production from PA12 (polyamide PA 2200) material. For the purpose of this study, a tool that is protected at the national level (in Serbia) as intellectual property is used for testing of the ring-shaped PRNT specimens. Tensile testing of both types of specimens is monitored by Aramis GOM 2M system; its operation is based on the method of digital image correlation, DIC. Additionally, finite element analyses are conducted on the PRNT and SENT geometries, enabling the calculation of the fracture mechanics parameter – Stress intensity factor K. It is concluded that the presented procedure based on the PRNT specimen has a good potential for use as a non-standard method for fracture resistance examination of pipeline materials. It can be performed on the specimens cut directly from the pipes (new or from exploitation). The dependence of the fracture resistance on the stress concentrator size is not pronounced, which means that the results depend dominantly on the material properties, rather than on geometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of resilience is probably one of the best-known new international concepts, which have gained attention since the economic crisis in 2008. Since then, this global challenge has redirected general focus at all tiers from “faith” in unstoppable progress to more desirable stabilisation and preparedness. Being the major places of globalism, cities across the World have suffered from the crisis. Therefore, they have profoundly embraced the postulates of resilience, transforming them with “urban” footprint – urban resilience. The creation of this significant concept has been in the agenda of many international organisations. However, the concept of urban resilience is still a novelty, with accompanying implementation problems. This is a very important issue in the field of urban design, a part of urbanism very much connected to concrete functioning in situ . This “implementability” of the concept of resilience in urban design is an important issue for Serbia. As a post-socialist country, it has witnessed various problems and general inconsistency. With a strong motive to cope with them, local authorities and institutions often try to directly implement foreign-arisen concepts and knowledge, without any local adaptation. The results of these forceful acts are usually questionable. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to understand how the principles of resilient urban design are tailored and how they are important for Serbian cities. Hence, general urban plans as the main development documents in Serbian cities are researched through the lenses of these principles, with expectations to check if they are ready to make urban design in relevant cities more resistant. The final contribution of the paper is foreseen in the form of guidelines to enforce urban resilience at local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic congestion is, nowadays, one of the most important highway problems. Highway tolls with booth operators are one of the causes of traffic congestion on highways, especially in rush hour periods, or during seasonal holiday travels. The value of driver waiting time (needed to stop and pay the toll) and the cost of the toll booth operators can reach up to about one-third of the revenue. In this paper we propose a novel methodology for continuous-time optimal control of highway tolls by predicting the optimal number of active modules (booths) in toll stations. The proposed methodology is based on a combination of recurrent neural networks, queuing theory, and metaheuristics. We utilized several recurrent neural network architectures for predicting the average intensity of vehicle arrivals. Moreover, the prediction error of the first recurrent neural network was modelled by another one in order to provide confidence estimates, additional regularization, and robustness. The predicted intensity of vehicle arrival rates was used as an input of the queuing model, whereas differential evolution was applied to minimize the total cost (waiting and service costs) by determining the optimal number of active modules on a highway toll in continuous time. The developed methodology was experimentally tested on real data from highway E70 in the Republic of Serbia. The obtained results showed significantly better performance compared to the currently used toll station opening pattern. The solutions obtained by solving a system of differential equations of the queuing model were also validated by a simulation procedure. • In this paper we proposed the methodology for unsolved problem of predicting the optimal number of active modules on toll stations. • Flexible modelling of the intensity function without using complicated simulation procedures. • The proposed methodology was applied on real-world data and demonstrate its effectiveness in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia as European Union candidate countries, have to follow EU directives that include the adoption of several agri-environmental measures for promoting cleaner agricultural practices among farmers in the years to come. This paper aims to identify the main determinants of farmers' behavioral change towards more environmentally friendly agricultural practices in Serbia. In particular, farmers' intentions to adopt integrated pest management practices have been analyzed. Integrated pest management is a farming management approach which aims to reduce pest population in a cost-effective and environmental manner. To this aim, within a mixed-method research design framework, observational data from 400 farmers have been collected through a structured questionnaire. Theory of Planned Behavior provides conceptual as well as empirical framework for the analysis. The findings provided by structural equation modeling show that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, together with farm size, explain 49% of farmers' intentions to adopt integrated pest management practices. On the other side, farmers environmental knowledge, education level and the use of extension services do not play a significant role in integrated pest management adoption. Even if the use of a convenience sample limits the generalization of the results to the whole population, findings provide useful information and empirical insights into the development of public policies in Serbia and other Western Balkan countries. The identification of proper incentives as well are needed to enhance the adoption of more environmentally friendly agricultural practices amongst farmers, reducing the environmental impact of agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Republic of Serbia has a significant potential for the electricity production from solar energy, namely the floating photovoltaic (PV) systems, which are not exploited enough. Although there is a large interest in floating photovoltaic systems (FPVS) worldwide, studies related to the assessment of FPVS potential in this part of Europe have not been performed yet. This paper investigates, for the first time, the possibility of implementation of the FPVS on the six largest Serbian lakes and demonstrates the impact of geographical location on the energy output of the FPVS for the selected locations. The possibility of implementation is studied by simulating the energy output of FPVS using "PVGIS" tool. Energy production from the proposed FPVS, for selected locations, is discussed on a monthly and yearly basis. Installment of the FPVS on these water bodies can produce up to 8959 kWh of energy, while saves 164 · 10 6 m 3 / y e a r of water from evaporation at the same time. In addition, the annual reduction of carbon dioxide emissions was analyzed and found to be up to 6.34 tons per year, which further implies with carbon credit potential of up to 9741 € in 20 years period. Drawn conclusions provides better understanding of FPVS and their applicability in the Republic of Serbia to ensure a sustainable, ecological friendly, secure and reliable supply of green energy, and further the used approach can be easily applied in other countries with similar geographical characteristics. • Methodology for the application of floating PV systems on water bodies. • FPVS on six largest lakes in Serbia are able to produce up to 8959 kWh of energy. • FPVS could mitigate up to 126.8 tons of carbon dioxide in 20 years. • The Government of Serbia could earn total carbon credit per year from 381 to 487 €. • FPVS could save 3280 million cubic meters of water from evaporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper presents the results of a theoretical and experimental program developed to study the seismic performance of precast reinforced concrete wall panels, strengthened with composite materials. These type of elements, also known nowadays as lightly reinforced shear walls with medium ductility (DCM), were widely used between 1955 and 1990 in different European countries (Serbia, Bulgaria, Polonia, Romania etc) being designed at that time without using the principle of shear force associated to the bending resisting moment. The current results refer to the investigation made on five specimens, one "as-built" solid wall, two walls with initial opening and two walls with cut-out opening. Usually, the cut-out procedure is applied cutting the concrete and reinforcements in order to create a new opening or enlarging an existing one. This intervention is widely requested by owners of apartments when they reconfigure the architecture of flats, but this procedure could influence the seismic behaviour by weakening the initial performance of the wall, especially due to the reduction of stiffness. In order to investigate the specimens' seismic behaviour, in-plane reversed cyclic lateral loadings were applied together with axial vertical loads. The specimens were monitored through the experimental tests using strain gauges, pressure and displacement transducers. Based on the experimental investigations performed on the reference undamaged walls, the specimens were repaired, then after were strengthened with the aim to reestablish the initial capacity of the elements without an important influence to the stiffness. The strengthening strategy proposed had used externally bonded FRP composite reinforcement (EBR-CFRP) and near-surface mounted FRP composite reinforcement (NSM-CFRP). The strengthened elements were tested again to study the behaviour of elements and the effectiveness of the proposed solutions. A numerical analysis was performed in order to check on the accuracy of using simple numerical models to predict the behaviour of strengthened shear walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most seismic hazard analyses, ground motion prediction equations consider only the effects of the top ~30 m of local soil and fail to consider the effects of the deep geological surroundings of sites. However, a series of recent seismic microzonation studies in the Kopaonik region showed that geological formations of several hundreds of meters to a few kilometers in depth strongly affect the severity of both short and longer period waves. This paper presents the results of a study conducted at a ski resort located in Kopaonik National Park, the most seismically active region in the Republic of Serbia. For the past 50 years, small to medium avalanches have occurred at the ski resort. Most recently, a non-earthquake–induced avalanche was observed in 2012. In the present study, a series of alternative maps of earthquake-induced snow avalanche prone areas were produced using terrain slope and snow thickness data, the probabilistic estimates of peak ground acceleration (PGA) values, and three different scenarios with differing snow density and shear strength values. The results showed that, when all other parameters remained the same, standard seismic hazard assessments that considered only the shallow geology conditions of local soil sites (and not the deep geology conditions of the sites) significantly underestimated the risk of earthquake-induced avalanches. This occurs as the PGA estimates of the deep geology rock sites (such as those commonly found in the highest parts of mountain regions) are ~30–70% larger than the PGA values predicted by empirical equations that only take into account the effects of the local soil conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper explores the current and future potential of higher education for sustainable development in the Republic of Serbia drawing upon years of engagement in national sustainable development strategic planning and monitoring activities. Paper is structured as follows: first part is assessing the current developments in theory and practice of higher education for sustainable development, and possible implications on Serbian higher education practice. Following that, the criteria for the assessment of current situation in Serbian higher education space, including weakness and possibilities, are developed in the second part. Criteria are developed based on Copernicus charter. Conclusions and recommendations are drafted in the third part, based on the assessment results. The paper argues that it is appropriate and desirable to accelerate the efforts on internal integration of Serbian Universities, as a precondition for further activities on the introduction of sustainability. Besides that, public sector and academic community must quest for innovative way of connection between higher education institutions and the community, predominantly through modernization of curricula and new research agenda. Education of educators for sustainable development may be the starting point for further steps in Serbia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The efficiency of distribution systems is largely affected by the performances of distribution centres. The main objective of this paper is to develop and propose a DEA model for distribution centres efficiency measuring that can help managers in decision making and improving the efficiency. Due to numerous indicators that describe DCs operating, the main problem is indicators selection. In order to improve discriminatory power of classical DEA models PCA–DEA approach is used. This paper analysis the efficiency of distribution centres of one trading company in Serbia. Proposed models integrate operational, quality, energy, utilisation and equipment warehouse and transport indicators. Several hypotheses are tested in this paper. The results showed that small distribution centres are more efficient than large. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A fault detection and isolation approach, specially designed for steam separators in thermal power plants, is presented in the paper. The first step of the proposed algorithm is to identify the process. Because of the presence of sporadic high-intensity measurement noise (outliers), the paper proposes a robust version of recursive identification. Starting from the parameter vector of the identified model, the second step of the proposed procedure has the form of a data-driven fault detector. This particular fault detection and isolation approach was implemented at TEKOB1 Kostolac Thermal Power Plant in Serbia, whose nominal power output is 330MW. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recognized as a significant health hazard, radon (Rn) has been given increasing attention for years. Surveys of different kinds have been performed in many countries to assess the intensity and the geographical extent of possible Rn problems. Common surveys cover mainly dwellings, the indoor place with highest occupancy, and schools, where people spend a large fraction of their lifetime and which can also be considered exemplary for Rn exposure at workplaces; it has however been observed that relating them is difficult. It was unclear whether residential Rn at a location, or in a region, can be predicted by Rn at a school of that location, or vice versa. To current knowledge, no general rule seems applicable, as few models to describe the relationship between Rn in dwellings and in schools have been developed. In Southern Serbia, a Rn survey in a predominantly rural region was based on measurements in primary schools. The question arose whether or to which degree the results can be considered as indicative or even representative for residential Rn concentrations. To answer the question an additional survey of indoor Rn concentrations in dwellings was initiated, designed and performed in Sokobanja district in 2010–2012 in a manner to be able to detect a relationship if it exists. In the study region, 108 dwellings in 12 villages and towns were selected, with one primary school each. In this paper, we investigate how a relation between Rn in schools and dwellings could be identified and quantified, by developing a model and using experimental data from both the above main and additional surveys. The key criterion is the hypothesis that the relation dwellings – schools, if it exists, is stronger for dwellings closer to a school than for those dwellings further away. We propose methods to test the hypothesis. As result, the hypothesis is corroborated at 95% significance level. More specifically, on town level (typical size about 1 km), the Rn concentration ratio dwelling/school is about 0.8 (geometrical mean), with geometrical standard deviation (GSD) about 1.9. For dwelling and school hypothetically in the same location, the ratio is estimated about 0.7 with GSD about 1.5. We think that the methodology can be applied to structurally similar problems. The results could be used to create “conditional maps” of Rn concentration in dwellings, i.e., for example a map of probabilities that indoor Rn concentrations in dwellings exceed 100 Bq/m 3 , as function of Rn concentration in the local school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The finite volume method (FVM) was examined to investigate application of electric heating cables (EHC) in the construction of floor heating panels (FHP). • The dynamic model in EnergyPlus was investigated. • The internal air temperature was monitoring. • Study was conducted to the test model chamber. Among panel heating systems (PHS), floor heating (FH) is mostly used in Serbia because it offers special benefits in terms of thermal comfort and final energy consumption. Uniform temperature distribution in the hanging room, low temperature mode, fairly simple way of installation and maintenance, long service life, simple ambient temperature control and currently low price of electricity in Serbia, is the reason for the increasing use of electric heating cables (EHC) in PHS. In addition to a number of advantages, when using floor heating panels (FHP), it must be taken into account that the maximum temperature of the available free floor surface does not exceed the recommended limits because it has a negative impact on thermal comfort in the room and negatively affects the health of users. In this paper, the subject of experimental and numerical research is a low-temperature electric floor heating panel (LTEFHP) in specific conditions. In the experimental part of the paper, a two-storey test house (TH) was used, with dimensions of one floor, ie. thermal zones 1 000 × 800 × 650 mm, within which a pre-prepared physically prepared electric heating panel (EHP) is implemented as an active heating system. In order to test the test houses and the mentioned heating system under stationary conditions, a test chamber (TC) with dimensions 1 500 × 1 500 × 1 800 mm was used, in which the following three scenarios were simulated (when the mean air temperature inside the test chamber: t TC = -5°C, t TC = 0 °C and t TC = 4.5 °C). The same experimental installation (for the same simulation scenarios) was tested numerically in the second part of the paper, first in the EnergyPlus software, and then in the Ansys Workbench software. The main goal of this paper is to use different methods and tools to show the appropriate temperature fields in the characteristic layers of the examined geometric structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: The importance of clinical natural language processing (NLP) has increased with the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs). One of the critical tasks in clinical NLP is named entity recognition (NER). Clinical NER in the Serbian language is a severely under-researched area. The few approaches that have been proposed so far are based on rules or machine-learning models with hand-crafted features, while current state-of-the-art models have not been explored. The objective of this paper is to assess the performance of state-of-the-art NER methods on clinical narratives in the Serbian language.Materials and Methods: We designed an experimental setup for a comprehensive evaluation of state-of-the-art NER models. The gold standard corpus we used for the evaluation is comprised of discharge summaries from the Clinic for Nephrology at the University Clinical Center of Serbia. The following models were evaluated: conditional random fields (CRF), multilingual transformers (BERT Multilingual and XLM RoBERTa), and long short-term memory (LSTM) recurrent neural networks, and their ensembles. In addition, we investigated the necessity of the pretraining task of transformer based models and the use of pretrained word embeddings with LSTM model.Results: Our results show that individually CRF had the best precision, the pretrained BERT Multilingual model had the best recall values, and the LSTM model had the best F1 score. The best performance was achieved by combining the existing models in a majority voting ensemble with an F1 score of 0.892. The presented results are similar to the inter annotator agreement on our gold standard corpus and are comparable to existing state-of-the-art results for clinical NER reported in literature.Conclusion: Existing state-of-the-art models can provide viable results for clinical named entity recognition when applied to languages with the complexity of the Serbian language without major modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residential building sector in Serbia has changed dramatically over the last two decades. Large scale projects have given way to individual, private initiative resulting in smaller interventions rarely exceeding one lot. For this reason architectural concepts, building types, scopes and construction technology have been marginalized and fallen under the influence of market mechanisms and stringent local planning procedures. New regulations on energy efficiency have risen the standards for thermal insulation therefore increasing the thickness of building enclosure. This actually means that construction costs are increased and net built area, therefore expected profit, reduced. In order to provide the viable ground for both implementation of new regulations and economic benefits for investors, authors of energy efficiency regulations in Serbia have noted a whole set of solar systems, among which sunspaces that would not count as a part of gross area, provided that they contribute to the increase of energy performance of the building. This paper describes the case of a typical residential new construction in Belgrade that has applied the prescribed solutions and became the first building that has obtained the building permit by applying a sunspace as an efficient strategy for energy saving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Serbia, radiant heating is increasingly used. Also, in Serbia, the largest portion of produced electricity is from the fossil fuels which results in a high value of primary energy consumption coefficient ( R ). This situation raises the question of the justification of the use of ground sources heat pump (GHSP) over natural gas boiler and GSHP with PV array. Also, the impact of the embodied energy and embodied carbon was included in this paper. The operation of this house is simulated by software EnergyPlus. The results indicated that the newly-developed floor-ceiling radiant heating system has the best performances and classical ceiling heating has the worst performances. However in future with decrease of R , it is shown that the panel heating powered by GSHP may have lower total energy consumption than that of such a system powered by natural gas. For the wall panel heating, this would happen for the highest value of R , while in the case of the ceiling heating, it would appear for the lowest value of R . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: One of the main, current, goals of the public postal operators in developing countries is to define the model for proper postal network design and access. The access to the postal network represents a set of different elements that interact with each other and have a common aim of providing continuous, of high quality, reliable and sustainable universal postal service. Worldwide experience suggests different approaches in defining the components and criteria for establishing the system of access to the postal network of the public operator. In this paper we present two different approaches. The first one is based on criteria determined in previous study and, here, we develop proper mathematical formulation. The second one is new, general, method created to generate fuzzy rules from numerical data, well known as Wang–Mendel’s method. The authors apply both methods on real data collected from Serbian municipalities and finally, compare results obtained by them. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Eco-labels are informational cues that transform credence into quasi-search attributes but their influence on consumer decision making is often disappointing. This paper identifies antecedents of trust in, and use of, eco-labels, validating a theoretical model with data for four publicly managed organic labels (the EU green leaf and three national labels from France, Germany and Serbia). Drawing on a large dataset of European consumers, the analysis reveals that the effect of institutional trust on use of an eco-label is mediated by trust in that eco-label. Trust in an eco-label positively affects use of that eco-label. Knowledge of third-party certification positively affects trust in, and use of, an eco-label. The results suggest that for eco-label managers wishing to increase consumer uptake of their labels, communicating third-party verification as is a critically important informational cue for enhancing consumer trust. • Identifies antecedents of trust in, and use of, publicly managed eco-labels. • Covers 4 organic labels: EU green leaf plus labels in France, Germany and Serbia. • Effect of institutional trust on use of an eco-label fully mediated by eco-label trust. • Trust in an eco-label positively affects eco-label use. • Knowledge of 3rd-party certification positively affects trust and use of eco-labels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents the development and evaluation of the Belgrade Domestic Energy Model (BEDEM) for predicting the energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of the existing housing stock. The distribution of energy use in relation to the end use is estimated as: space heating, 71%; light and appliances, 15%; water heating, 9%; and cooking 5%, while the distribution of CO2 emissions is space heating, 59%; light and appliances, 22%; water heating, 13%; and cooking 6%. Local sensitivity analysis is carried out for dwellings of different type and year built, and the largest normalized sensitivity coefficients were calculated for parameters which almost exclusively influence space heating energy consumption in housing. For all input parameters under investigation, the effects of the input uncertainty were linear for a moderate range of input change (Δx =±10%) and superposable for a small range of input change (Δx =±1%). However, the non-linear and non-additive properties of some input parameters over the wider range hinder the development of a simple but reliable model for estimating energy and CO2 reductions. The findings show that the uncertainty in the stock models predictions can be large and more work is needed in the area of the predictive uncertainty of stock models. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Every year, more than 400 people are killed in over 1.200 accidents at road-rail level crossings in the European Union (European Railway Agency, 2011). Together with tunnels and specific road black spots, level crossings have been identified as being a particular weak point in road infrastructure, seriously jeopardizing road safety. In the case of railway transport, level crossings can represent as much as 29% of all fatalities caused by railway operations. In Serbia there are approximately 2.350 public railway level crossings (RLC) across the country, protected either passively (64%) or by active systems (25%). Passive crossings provide only a stationary sign warning of the possibility of trains crossing. Active systems, by contrast, activate automatic warning devices (i.e., flashing lights, bells, barriers, etc.) as a train approaches. Securing a level crossing (whether it has an active or passive system of protection) is a material expenditure, and having in mind that Serbian Railways is a public company directly financed from the budget of the Republic of Serbia, it cannot be expected that all unsecured level crossings be part of a programme of securing them. The most common choice of which level crossings to secure is based on media and society pressure, and on the possible consequences of a rise in the number of traffic accidents at the level crossings. The process of selecting a level crossing where safety equipment will be installed is accompanied by a greater or lesser degree of uncertainty of the essential criteria for making a relevant decision. In order to exploit these uncertainties and ambiguities, fuzzy logic is used in this paper. Here also, modeling of the Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) is presented, which supports the process of selecting which level crossings should receive an investment of safety equipment. The ANFIS model is a trained set of data which is obtained using a method of fuzzy multi-criteria decision making and fuzzy clustering techniques. 20 experts in road and rail traffic safety at railway level crossings took part in the study. The ANFIS model was trained with the experiential knowledge of these experts and tested on a selection of rail crossings in the Belgrade area regarding an investment of safety equipment. The ANFIS model was tested on 88 level crossings and a comparison was made between the data set it produced and the data set obtained on the basis of predictions made by experts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents the results of measurements of thermal performance of 8 heat exchangers with parallel helical coils. Measurements were conducted in substations in 2 district heating systems in Serbia: Belgrade and Sremska Mitrovica. The values of fouling resistances were found to be slightly lesser than usual values for typical shell-and-tube heat exchangers with straight tubes. Analysis of thermal performance of heat exchangers showed that the shell-side heat transfer coefficient can be calculated using the correlation based on hydraulic diameter. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper presents a model of seasonal water pricing (SWP) aimed primarily at diminishing excessive fresh water use in the city of Belgrade. Seasonal prices are determined on meteorological observations of the average monthly temperatures and the total monthly precipitations in the period from 2000 to 2010, and their deviations from the thirty year normal levels. The SWP operation is based on an ex-post price determination, and it conveys a signal to water users on resource scarcity. Not knowing ex ante how high their monthly bill is going to be, but aware of the price-setting rule, consumers will be in a situation to change their pattern of behaviour towards a more sustainable water use. Potential of the SWP model implementation are a) pushing consumers towards rationality, b) valuable resource conservation and c) enabling the water supply company to cover peak-season supply and the related costs. The SWP model has been created for the Belgrade Water and Wastewater Company, but might be easily implemented in all other cities with the same problems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents the failure analysis and improvement of suspension system of Fbd wagons for coal transportation. Respecting the existing design of the wagon, the special solution of the rubber elastic element which was subsequently installed in suspension system is designed. The element is very easy to install in existing wagons, between the laminated spring buckle and underframe. The methodology of identifying the causes of unwanted fractures is focused on theoretical and experimental analysis of behavior of suspension system with and without rubber elastic elements. Subsequent installation of rubber elastic elements at about 400 wagons in thermal power plant “Nikola Tesla”, Obrenovac, Serbia, has prevented the very frequent fractures of laminated springs and cracks on the underframes. This has enormously reduced costs of maintenance of wagons and increased the efficiency of railway transportation of coal from mining basin to the thermal power plant. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents the results of experimental research on 8 plate heat exchangers. Their purpose is to heat water for radiator heating system and domestic hot water. Measurements were carried out in 4 substations in district heating system in Belgrade (Serbia). The main achievement of this research was that the fouling factors were determined experimentally, and the found values can be used further on in design of plate heat exchangers in district heating systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents results of measuring episodes of extremely high ozone concentrations in urban area of the town of Bor in Serbia. The measured ozone concentration of 3000 μgm−3 in two episodes, which lasted 3–5 days in November 2010, has not been recorded in the literature in this field. Sensitivity of generated ozone to the NOx was determined, since the concentrations of NOx in the same period were also high. In the morning when working hours start, episodes of increased NOx concentrations appear after several hours, leading to episodes of increased ozone concentrations reaching up to twenty times more than the threshold value, defined as harmful to vegetation and human health. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Niche analysis methods developed within the biogeography community are routinely used for species distribution modeling of wildlife and endangered species. So far, such techniques have not been used to explain distribution of people in an area, nor to assess spatio-temporal dynamics of human populations. In this paper, the MaxEnt approach to species distribution modeling and publicly available gridded predictors were used to analyze the population dynamics in Southern Serbia (South Pomoravlje Region) for the period 1961–2027. Population values from the census administrative units were first downscaled to 200m grid using a detailed map of populated places and dasymetric interpolation. In the second step, a point pattern representing the whole population (468,500 inhabitants in 2002) was simulated using the R package spatstat. MaxEnt was then used to derive habitat suitability index (HSI) as a function of gridded predictors: distance to roads, elevation, slope, topographic wetness index, enhanced vegetation index and land cover classes. HSI and environmental predictors were further used to explain spatial patterns in the population change index (PCI) through regression modeling. The results show that inhabiting preference for year 1961 is mainly a function of topography (TWI, elevation). The HSI for year 2027 shows that large portions of remote areas are becoming less preferred for inhabiting. The results of cross-validation in MaxEnt show that distribution of population is distinctly controlled by environmental factors (AUC>0.84). Population decrease is particularly significant in areas >25km distant from the main road network. The results of regression analysis show that 40% of variability in the PCI values can be explained with these environmental maps, distance to roads and urban areas being the main drivers of migration process. This approach allows precise mapping of demographic patterns that otherwise would not be visible from the census data alone. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: One of the numerous challenges awaiting Serbia in the process of European integration is the increase in use of renewable sources of energy. The reason for such an increase is not merely a formal acceptance of European goals but the high energy import dependence, a relatively developed agricultural sector, with insufficiently exploited potentials of biomass, accompanied by an ever-growing awareness of the need for establishing long-lasting sustainable development. Serbia has a relatively undeveloped livestock sector which can absorb a limited portion of the biomass produced. Additionally, insufficient awareness on the part of farmers and the preconception of the low cost-effectiveness of biomass utilisation for the purpose of energy production are factors which, unsurprisingly, contribute to the current practice of burning the largest portion of the biomass produced on site, which is economically and ecologically unacceptable. This paper analyses the amounts of biomass available in Serbia and the prospects of its economically viable utilisation. The cost analysis conducted indicates that the energy obtained from small rectangular straw bales (the most widespread way of utilisation), is less costly by 28%, than the energy obtained from coal, whereas the energy obtained from round bales is cheaper by 34%. Sensitivity analysis has shown that the results obtained are relatively resistant to price changes in the most important inputs. The sensitivity is higher towards the efficiency of the machinery used; therefore, insistent efforts should be made for creating conditions where the introduction of more up-to-date technical solutions, already existing in developed countries, will become feasible. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper the environmental condition is analyzed and radar images for severe weather potential over Serbia. Baroclynic boundary was favorable for classic supercell generation on 4 August 2006. The lifetime of supercell was 5 h and the cell track was more than 250 km over the territory of Serbia. Heavy rain (max 22 l/m2), damaging wind (max velocity 22 m/s) and hail (max diameter≥3.5 cm) were the product of this supercell. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents the results of research into the impact of media relations on certain organizational and business performances. The data were obtained using questionnaires completed by N = 394 middle managers from 123 companies in Serbia. To increase organizational performances, companies should pay close attention to modern media, as well as to the presence of the CEO in the media. To increase business performance, companies should pay considerable attention to both modern and traditional media, while the company’s media presence has an advantage over that of the CEO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The comprehensive survey on individual household heating in Serbia. • Results reveal barriers and opportunities for the successful energy transition. • The obsolescence of HSs, low efficiency, and lack of funds are evident. • Noticeable potential for achieving energy and GHG savings. • Subsidies and raising environmental awareness are recognized as policy measures. This paper presents the results of the household survey on individual household heating systems in Serbia. The survey was conducted in the period October to December 2020 with the participation of 1100 households with individual household heating systems. The information collected in the questionnaire can be separated into three main parts: basic household data, current heating system characteristics, and households' perceptions and attitudes. The survey results provide unique and comprehensive information concerning individual household heating systems and the main barriers and drivers for a successful energy transition in the future. The results show the obsolescence of household heating systems, low efficiency, insufficient investment in thermal insulation in the past, and lack of financial resources for investing in sustainable heating. On the other hand, this survey highlights the positive attitude of about half of households towards potential subsidizing of the cost of new heating systems. This survey presents a valid starting point for defining instruments aimed to improve energy efficiency in the household sector, diminish its influence on climate change, and secure energy transition towards sustainable heating systems. The obtained results should be indicative for middle-income developing countries at the beginning of the energy transition process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• For the first time, a picture fuzzy CODAS method is proposed to handle MCDM problems. • The developed method is used to solve the vehicle shredding facility location problem. • A real-life case study is provided to illustrate the picture fuzzy CODAS method. • The comparison with all available picture fuzzy set based MCDM methods is provided. • The developed picture fuzzy CODAS method generates highly robust outcomes. An emerging question for waste managers is how to determine the best vehicle shredding facility location from a finite set of available alternatives under numerous conflicting criteria as well as high levels of imprecise, vague, and uncertain information. For the first time, we investigate the vehicle shredding facility location problem via the picture fuzzy sets (PFSs), which show a great power in capturing ambiguous, uncertain, and vague information, and mitigating information loss. This paper aims to exploit PFSs and develop a novel picture fuzzy COmbinative Distance-Based ASsessment (CODAS) method for multi-criteria vehicle shredding facility location. The developed method is applied to a real-life case study for locating a new vehicle shredding facility in the Republic of Serbia. The results show that "Bor" is the best alternative among six possible alternative locations. In the decision-making process, four main criteria, such as economical, environmental, social, and technical, and 23 sub-criteria are considered. The robustness of the proposed method is validated by comparing its results with the outcomes of the PFS based TOPSIS, EDAS, TODIM, VIKOR, MABAC, Cross-entropy, Projection, Grey relational projection, and Grey relational analysis methods. The ranking similarity between the proposed picture fuzzy CODAS method and the available state-of-the-art PFS based methods is checked by applying the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, in which 90% of rankings are matched. The results of the comparative and sensitivity analyses showed that the proposed method generates highly robust outcomes. The formulated picture fuzzy CODAS method can help waste managers to more naturally express their preferences by voting and identify the best facility location. Besides, it can be used to solve any other MCDM problem under the picture fuzzy environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper reports results of gamma and alpha spectrometric measurements for mosses, lichens, fungi and soil samples from areas in the Balkans targeted by depleted uranium (DU). Samples were collected in 2002 and 2003 in the vicinity of several villages, principally Han Pijesak (Bosnia and Herzegovina, hit by DU in 1995) and Bratoselce (South Serbia, hit by DU in 1999) and in lesser numbers from Gornja Stubla, Kosovo (which is identified as a high natural radon/thoron area) and Presevo close to the Kosovo border. In the course of gamma spectrometric measurements some results suggested samples with unusual high uranium contents which might be considered to be a signature for the presence of DU, although many samples had very high detection limits. Alpha spectrometric measurements directly proved the presence of DU for five samples, all from directly targeted places. These were samples of mosses, lichens and soil. For some samples homogeneity tests were applied which showed a rather even distribution of DU in these samples. No trace of DU was found in any sample from a dwelling. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper presents the results of indoor radon concentration survey in 201 homes and offices in Niska Banja (the Spa of Nis), a well-known health resort and a spa in the South-East of Serbia. Radon indoor concentrations were determined by active charcoal method, according to standard EPA procedure. The indoor radon concentrations were in the range of up to 200 Bq/m3 (47%), from 200–600 Bq/m3 (26%) and over 600 Bq/m3 (27%). Three areas of extremely high average radon concentrations were found (1340–4340 Bq/m3), with a maximum above 13,000 Bq/m3. The content of natural radionuclides (226Ra, 214Pb, 214Bi, 235U, 228Ac, 212Pb, 212Bi, 208Tl, 40K) and 137Cs, as well as the content of total uranium, thorium and potassium in mud used in peloidotherapy in the Health Institute “Niska Banja” was determined, too. The activities of the radionuclides were determined on an HPGe detector, by standard gamma spectroscopy. The results indicated considerably high amounts of total uranium and thorium (0.021 g/kg mud and 0.003 g/kg mud, respectively), due to the karsts origin of the soil. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper reports the results of a study using lichens as biomonitors to investigate the environmental distribution of uranium and other trace elements at selected Kosovo sites. The results suggested that the use of depleted uranium (DU) ammunitions in Kosovo did not cause a diffuse environmental contamination in such a way to have caused a detectable U enrichment in lichens. Also isotopic 235U/238U measurements did not indicate the presence of DU particles in lichens. The present results also provided no indication of intense environmental contamination by the other trace elements analyzed, with the exception of Kosovska Mitrovica, where a diffuse environmental contamination by several heavy elements such as Pb, Zn, As and Cd was found. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper reports the results of a study using lichens as biomonitors to investigate the small-scale environmental distribution of uranium and other trace elements in an area of Kosovo (Djakovica) heavily shelled with depleted uranium (DU) anti-tank ammunition. The results of total uranium concentrations showed great variability and species-specific differences, mainly due to differences in the exposed surface area of the lichens. The uranium concentrations in lichen samples were rather similar at a site heavily shelled with DU ammunition and at a control site. Unexpectedly, the highest uranium concentrations were found at the control site. The observed U distribution can be explained by contamination of lichen thalli by soil particles. The soil geochemistry was similar at the two sampling sites. The 235U/238U ratios in the soil samples suggested a modest DU contribution only at the heavily shelled site. Measurements of U isotopes in lichens did not reveal DU pollution at the control site. The U isotopic ratios in lichens at the shelled site showed variable figures; only two samples were clearly contaminated by DU. There were no signs of contamination by other trace elements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Following the detection of 236U in depleted uranium (DU) ammunition used during the Balkans conflict in the 1990s, concern has been expressed about the possibility that other nuclides from the nuclear fuel cycle and, in particular, transuranium nuclides, might be present in this type of ammunition. In this paper, we report the results of uranium and plutonium analyses carried out on a depleted uranium penetrator recovered from a target site in southern Serbia. Our data show the depleted nature of the uranium and confirm the presence of trace amounts of plutonium in the penetrator. The activity concentration of 239+240Pu, at 45.4±0.7 Bq kg–1, is the highest reported to date for any penetrator recovered from the Balkans. This concentration, however, is comparable to that expected to be present naturally in uranium ores and, from a radiological perspective, would only give rise to a very small increase in dose to exposed persons compared to that from the DU itself. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The main aim of the study is analyzing of pupils' knowledge in mathematics by adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) after implementation of distance learning application or e-learning (electronic learning). Since a large number of faculties and other institutions are increasingly using e-learning, it can be stated that for this purpose the Modular object-oriented dynamic learning environment (Moodle) learning management system (LMS) is mostly used. This paper deals with the analysis of distance learning and the application of Moodle LMS in higher education institutions, taking into account the impact of such education on the quality of teaching and the acquisition of knowledge by students, and the methods teachers use in Serbia. The ANFIS is used to determine which factors are the most important for pupils' performance in mathematics. The results show that the main influence on the pupils' performance is their prior knowledge. The prior knowledge is more effective when it is combined with education software in the lectures of mathematics in elementary school. In secondary school, the prior knowledge is more effective if it is combined with motivation for learning mathematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to contribute to the empirical measurement of farmers' environmental awareness, and improve the understanding of the role of environmental awareness in farmers' adoption of cleaner agricultural practices. We provide a theoretical and methodological framework for measuring environmental awareness as a multi-dimensional concept. The data obtained from a survey of 382 farmers in northern Serbia are used as an empirical basis to test the developed latent environmental awareness construct. This construct includes several domains: environmental knowledge, biospheric concern, connectedness to nature, environmental attitudes, and environmental behavior. The results show that environmental knowledge contributes the most to explaining the environmental awareness construct (factor loading = 0.83), whereas biospheric concern contributes the least (factor loading = 0.23). Regarding agricultural practices, environmental awareness is higher among farmers who use biological pest control (+23%), mulching (+17%), and green manure (+9%). Thus, our results uncover the role of farmers' environmental awareness in the adoption of more sustainable agricultural practices. These results document the operational validity of the construct and its potential use in research activities and management programs geared toward promoting environmentally friendly food production. • Farmers' environmental awareness is discussed as a multi-dimensional concept. • A conceptual framework for measuring farmers' environmental awareness is provided. • The framework has been developed and tested using data from 382 farmers in Serbia. • Knowledge contributes the most to explaining the environmental awareness construct. • Environmental awareness is higher among farmers who use cleaner production methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will discuss the complexity of the investigation of mass graves in today's Serbia (part of ex Yugoslavia), belonging primarily to WWII with an exception of one mass grave from WWI, through the prism of historical events behind it. By interpreting historical and political circumstances, we will show why and on what occasions mass graves, as cultural-historical monuments and symbols of the sufferings of Serbs, Jews, Romani, and other nations or ethnic groups, remained outside the focus of expert teams. Also, through examples of explored sites related to WWII (Višnjica, Topola, Kragujevac, Ada Ciganlija), it will be shown the importance of engaging the forensic expert teams to locate sites, identifing victims and interpretation of historical events from their perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The impact of people's behavior during COVID 19 quarantine on energy consumption. • The study was conducted numerically (using EnergyPlus software) during March 2020. • The energy and water consumption, CO2 emissions and economic was analysed. • Protection measures adopted by the Government of the Republic Serbia were considered. • The energy and environmental indicators were presented for the last three years. Humanity is currently confronted with a new, unknown, highly contagious virus, where social isolation and increased personal hygiene seem to be the main means in preventing its spread. The world economy is very threatened by the new situation, which has not bypassed the energy sector either. The mortality rate is relatively high, people are not leaving their homes, which is directly reflected in the increase of the energy consumption in the residential sector. The same is valid for water consumption. For a household located in Kragujevac (Central Serbia), 4 simulation scenarios were analyzed (S1 – reference case, S2 – mild protection measures, S3 – semi-quarantine measures, S4 – complete quarantine) to assess the link between people's behavior (on the one hand) and the consumption of natural gas, electricity and water (on the other hand), in the residential sector, in unforeseen circumstances, such as the COVID-19 virus pandemic. The analysis was conducted numerically for the month of March 2020, using EnergyPlus software packages. In defining the above scenarios, a one-minute time step schedule of people's behavior was used, taking into account the number of family members in the household, their age, occupation, lifestyle, habits (all in accordance with cultural and socio-economic circumstances), as well as the measures taken by the Government of the Republic of Serbia to fight the pandemic. Also, an analysis of energy consumption at the level of the city of Kragujevac for the past three years was made, based on data obtained from public companies – distributors (thermal energy, natural gas, electricity, water). In this paper, an analysis of air quality for the same time period was conducted, which is closely related to energy consumption and limited population movement. The simulatinos show that the consumption of natural gas can increase by 21.26% (S2), electricity by 58.39% (S4), and the consumption of water from the city water supply network by 25.45% (S3) compared to the reference case (S1). On the other hand, based on the invoice for payment of services to distributors, the actual energy consumption that was made on the analyzed house during the month of March 2020 was: natural gas (260.36 Sm3), electricity (1418 kWh), and water (22.5 m3). The conducted economic analysis showed that the largest funds at the level of the entire facility were allocated in S3 (27.33% more than in S1), and that the actual costs were 15.09% higher than in S1, and 16.41% lower than in S2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Farmers prioritize measures they view as beneficial in their local environment. • MCDA points to objective and timely adaptation measures of general interest. • Government-assisted training in risk assessment and new technologies is crucial. • Importance of agricultural insurance is recognized by farmers. The risks in agriculture due to climate change are highly specific because they largely depend on the agricultural system, latitude, topography, disposition, and other local conditions. As such, it is difficult to decide which mitigation and adaptation measures are the most suitable in a given country and which should be prioritized in planning and implementation. The objective of the paper is to present farmer and expert rankings of potential adaptation measures in Serbia's agriculture, to compare the two perspectives, and to propose priority measures. Twenty-four measures are identified as most appropriate for adaptation to climate change in Serbia. Farmers (141) provided feedback on priority measures by responding to an online questionnaire, while experts evaluated the measures through a two-stage multicriteria decision-making analysis (MCDA). Applying AHP, ten experts first assessed seven criteria identified as most relevant, including: level of responsibility, category, implementation timeframe, multifunctionality, technical skills, cost-benefit ratio, and the mitigation effectiveness of the measure. In the second stage, the measures were evaluated against the criteria and ranked by TOPSIS. The outcomes of the study indicate that the MCDA ranking was slightly different from that resulting from farmers' feedback. There is direct agreement on two of the first five priority measures (use of multi-purpose river reservoirs for water supply and agricultural technologies), and six of the first 10 measures – the most closely ranked are irrigation and antihail netting. However, there is a considerable difference in the case of measures that farmers and stakeholders do not recognize as significant because they either do not see a direct benefit for them (e.g. restoration of wetlands or vegetation and afforestation to prevent flooding or erosion), or they cannot implement the measures due to topography (e.g. use of drainage ditches for irrigation). The applied methodology shows that planning of adaptation measures requires consultation of experts in different fields and appreciation of numerous criteria, in order for decisions to be sustainable and applicable in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), triple bottom line (TBL) of sustainability (economic, social, and environmental) are considered when selecting the suppliers. In this paper, the relative weights of SSCM practices are extracted by fuzzy best worst method (F-BWM) which is capable of better modeling of human thinking. Afterwards, the traditional Combined Compromise Solution (CoCoSo) method is enhanced by the integration of the normalized weighted and the normalized weighted geometric Bonferroni mean functions to select the most proper supplier in a supply chain. The integration of the Bonferroni functions into the CoCoSo method (CoCoSo'B) enables: (1) flexible decision-making respecting the interaction between decision attributes; (2) the elimination of the influence of extreme/awkward data on the values of the criterion functions, and (3) checking the robustness of the results through a variation of the parameters λ, p, and q. Testing the model on the example of sustainable supplier selection demonstrates the rationality, objectivity, flexibility, and stability of the results of the proposed model. Further, the proposed framework makes it possible to evaluate suppliers in terms of sustainability in spite of ambiguities in the decision-making process and a lack of quantitative information. Finally, a real world example of home appliance manufacturer in Serbia is discussed to verify the proposed model applicability. • A new FMCDM model for sustainability supplier selection (SSS) is presented. • The F-BWM-CoCoSo'B model enables a more flexible decision-making process. • A comprehensive validity analysis and a comparison analysis are also conducted. • The proposed method can be used for other engineering and management fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emission parameterization is a crucial part of numerical pollen dispersion models. This paper shows that Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) can substantially improve the performance of the Ambrosia pollen emission in numerical pollen dispersion models such as COSMO-ART. Based on simultaneous measurement of Ambrosia pollen concentrations and meteorological variables in the source area, ANNs were trained to predict the diurnal profile of pollen emission. Six different combinations of explanatory meteorological variables were trained with five different ANN configurations resulting in 30 candidate emission models. The best network configuration for each combination of explanatory variables were used as emission parameterization in the numerical pollen dispersion model COSMO-ART. In addition, two benchmarks were implemented: an emission parameterization based on sigmoid functions and an artificial neural network using only time as an explanatory variable. The Ambrosia pollen seasons of 2015 and 2016 were simulated using the two benchmarks and the six emission parameterizations. The modelled diurnal profile of emission fluxes at 15 different sites from Serbia, Hungary and France with strong local pollen sources were compared with observed concentrations. Artificial Neural Networks based emission parameterization substantially improved the performance of the Ambrosia pollen emission in COSMO-ART compared to the emission based on the sigmoid functions in all these three countries. However, a time-related explanatory variable must be used. This suggests that the ANN-based emission parameterizations can be used at distant locations as well. On the other hand, the use of meteorological related parameters did not increase the performance compared with the time-only benchmark. • Artificial Neural Networks allowed to substantially improve the Ambrosia pollen emission in COSMO-ART. • The emission parametrization should include a variable representing time. • Meteorological parameters did not significantly improve the time-only Ambrosia emission parameterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The events of 11 September and the subsequent anthrax outbreaks in the USA have opened the world's eyes to the threat posed by terrorist groups, criminal organizations and lone operators who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. The open or covert use of pathogens and toxins as biological warfare agents can no longer be ruled out. Against this background, the appearance of an unusual disease must be studied in order to clarify whether it is a natural or artificially caused occurrence. This issue was recently raised in discussions with local representatives and relief organizations during a tularemia epidemic in Kosovo from October 1999 to May 2000. This paper will present a procedure which attempts to use certain criteria to identify or rule out the use of biological warfare agents in the event of an unusual outbreak of disease. Data and findings gathered by routine epidemiologic and microbiological studies often provide only an indirect answer to this problem. For this reason, various criteria were formulated and points allocated to represent their importance, allowing us to deduce in a semiquantitative manner the degree of possibility of an artificial genesis of outbreaks. The significance and characterization of each criterion are discussed. An analysis of the tularemia epidemic in Kosovo based on the procedure described here indicates that a deliberate release of the causative agent of tularemia, Francisella tularensis , as a biological warfare agent is doubtful. In this paper, an approach is described to discriminate between the intentional use of biological warfare agents and natural outbreaks of infectious diseases. The developed model is flexible and considers the political, military and social analysis of the crisis-afflicted region, the specific features of the pathogen, and the epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of the epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]