Radioactivity of the soil in Vojvodina (northern province of Serbia and Montenegro)

The widespread public belief that during the bombardment of Vojvodina (Yugoslavia) this region was contaminated by depleted uranium has recently raised public concern with respect to the potential contamination of agricultural products due to soil radioactivity. Based on the gamma-spectrometric analysis of 50 soil samples taken from the region of Vojvodina we concluded that there is no increase of radioactivity that could endanger the food production. Taking into account the transfer factors of 137Cs to plants, the measured activity concentrations of this isotope should not endanger the health safety of the produced food. No traces of depleted uranium have been found. The natural radioactivity levels are compared with the results form other countries.     

Influence of suspended clay minerals and humic matter on the solid phase extraction efficiency of selected pesticides from water

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the influence of humic acids (HA) and Ca-montmorillonite (CaM) on the solid-phase extraction (SPE) efficiency of atrazine, alachlor and alpha-cypermethrin from water samples at various pH-values. The nature and intensity of binding of the studied pesticides to CaM were determined by X-ray diffraction analysis and termogravimetric analysis (TGA) test. The studied pesticides eluted from discs were analysed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC). The effects of CaM and humic acid were generally pH-dependent and acted independently in extraction efficiency influence. Lower recovery of pesticides was observed at higher pH values when CaM was > or =0.1 g and was attributed to greater dispersion of clay, increased surface area and subsequent adsorption. Concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in humic acid had less effect on the extraction efficiency when water was at pH 8 compared to water at pH 2, which was probably due to greater nonpolar interactions of the pesticides to the charge-neutralized humic acid molecule.     

Impact of a severe flood on large-scale contamination of arable soils by potentially toxic elements (Serbia)

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Extreme flooding in May, 2014 affected the sub-catchments of six major rivers in Serbia. The goal of the study was to evaluate the contents of potentially...     

Generalist cuckoo bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Sphecodes) are species-specialist at the individual level

Intensive and incessant arms races between a parasite and its host are generally expected to lead to parasite specialization. Nevertheless, some parasitic species still successfully attack wide spectra of hosts. One of the solutions to the evolutionary enigma of the long-term existence of generalist parasites is their specialization at an individual level, a phenomenon well known, e.g., in European common cuckoo. Over its range, it parasitizes a number of bird species; however, individual females are mostly specialists possessing adaptations to a particular host species. In this study, we test the possibility of individual specialization in generalist cuckoo bees, the insect counterparts of avian cuckoos. Females of cuckoo bees lay each egg into a single brood cell in the nests of other bee species. The host’s offspring is destroyed by the parasitic female or later by her larvae, which feed on pollen supplies accumulated by the host. Both studied cleptoparasitic bees (Sphecodes ephippius and Sphecodes monilicornis) are widely distributed in Europe, where they have been reported to use broad host spectra. We recorded several host species (including some previously unknown) for both cuckoo bee species, and confirmed that these parasites are indeed generalist even at a small local scale. However, we demonstrate that exactly as in the avian cuckoos, each female in both species of generalist bee parasites tends to attack just one host species.     

Quantifying inconsistencies in old cadastral maps and their impact on land-use reconstructions

ABSTRACT

Old cadastral maps represent a historical reference dataset for long-term land-use reconstructions. This study presents identification of inconsistencies in the nineteenth century Franziscean cadastre, one of the largest sets of old cadastral maps worldwide, by comparing three versions of the maps and written documents created in the same period. We identified all parcels and their land-use in the four sub-sources in six study areas. The overall share of inconsistencies among 5 771 identified parcels is 7.4%, with the biggest share of inconsistency in agroforestry and forestry classes. The most frequent inconsistencies are of ‘Not differentiable land use’ (n = 212) and ‘Different land-use’ categories across the sub-sources (n = 113). We conclude that the frequency of uncertainties in old cadastral maps may limit the validity of historical land-use reconstructions, affecting the eventual restoration and management efforts based on such data. We provide a summary for the use of Franziscean cadastre.     

The synaptosomal membrane bound ATPase as a target for the neurotoxic effects of pyrethroids,permethrin and cypermethrin

Pyrethroids are used widely as insecticides both in agriculture and in households. A cellular target of pyrethroids is the sodium channel in the membrane. In the present study, the activity of the membrane bound integral protein ATPase was studied as a biomarker for the membrane effect of the pyrethroids permethrin and cypermethrin. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were used for cerebral synaptosome preparation. The isolation of synaptosomes was performed with the Percoll gradient method. Both total ATPase and Mg(2+) activated ATPase were studied by determining inorganic phosphate liberated from the substrate ATP. One hour exposure to permethrin (Biokill) and cypermethrin (Ripcord) insecticide products affected ATPase activities. The activity of Na(+), K(+) ATPase decreased dose-dependently in 10-50 microM concentrations of permethrin, and Mg(2+) activated ATPase increased over twofold in the same concentrations of the active components. The effect of the cypermethrin compound Ripcord was not clearly dose-dependent. The activity of total ATPase was almost entirely lost in the concentrations of 100 microM of permethrin and cypermethrin. The results support the idea that membrane ATPases are one target of the neurotoxic effect of pyrethroid compounds.     

Effects of uncontrolled particulate matter release on precipitation under warfare conditions

This study has shown theoretical, observed and experimental evidence of pollutants released, transported and deposited during the Kosovo conflict in 1999 and their effects on precipitation in Serbia. The greatest bombardment of the chemical industry, oil refineries and fuel storage in Serbia which occurred during April, resulted in releases of many hazardous, toxic and cancerogenic substances. The number of April's days with precipitation greater or equal to 0.1 mm in 1999 are compared to those in the period from 1961 to 1990 registered at thirty meteorological stations in Serbia and especially at the Belgrade-Observatory station in the period from 1888 to 1995. The maximums of days with precipitation greater or equal to 0.1 mm were at the wider Belgrade area and at the central and southwestern parts of Serbia during April 1999. This is confirmed by using the Eta trajectory analysis.