Seven Centaurea species from Croatia ( C. alba , C. calcitrapa , C. cristata , C. rhenana , C. rupestris , C. salonitana and C. solstitialis ) belonging to five sections were studied. Chromosome numbers and metaphase plates are presented. All species studied here were found to be either diploid or tetraploid with the exception of C. salonitana which presented both ploidy levels: one diploid and one tetraploid population were detected

Mioljub RISTIĆ Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina Futoška 121, 21000 Novi Sad Serbia mioljub.ristic@mf.uns.ac.rs SUMMARY Introduction/Objective Scabies is a major dermatological and a public health concern worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the trend of scabies, the age-specific incidence and seasonality of scabies in Vojvodina Province, Serbia. Methods We investigated the epidemiological characteristics of scabies in Vojvodina (northern region of Serbia). We carried out a descriptive study over a 10-year period (from 2006 to 2015) and covered 21,996 patients. Results The average incidence rate of scabies was 113.9/100,000 inhabitants with the evident increasing trend among all age groups, and especially among patients 15–19 years old. The highest incidence rate (323.9/100,000 inhabitants) was registered among children younger than 14 years. Most cases of scabies were registered during the cold months of the year, with peak activity throughout December (14.4/100,000; 95% CI: 12.2–16.6). Conclusion A high frequency and increasing trend of scabies in Vojvodina indicates that more attention should be paid to this problem.

Background/Aim. Q fever occurs worldwide and can be found in humans as well as in domestic mammals. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiological characteristics of Q fever and evaluate correlation between the Q fever occurrence and weather conditions. Methods. We conducted a descriptive epidemiological study using data of the Institute of Public Health of Vojvodina, Scientific Veterinary Institute, Novi Sad, and the Republic Hydrometeorological Service of Serbia, from 2006 to 2015. Results. Out of 272 human Q fever cases, 114 (41.9%) patients were aged between 20 and 39 years. Between January and May, a total of 193 (71.0%) cases of disease were registered. In the Central Banat and South Banat, a strong positive correlation between an increase in Q fever detection and an increase of average wind speed (ρ= 0.69719 and ρ=0.62303, respectively) was observed, while a strong negative correlation was determined between the average rainfall with the number of Q fever cases in the Central Banat, the South Banat and Srem district (ρ = -0.78033, ρ = -0.70675 and ρ = -0.70431, respectively). During a 10-year period, a strong positive correlation was found between the human Q fever cases compared to the number of cattle and sheep Q cases in the Srem district (r = 0.7989 and r = 0.7966, respectively). Direct contact with domestic animals was the most frequent route of Q fever transmission in Vojvodina. Conclusion. The timely sharing of information between the animal and human health sectors as well as between neighbouring countries is crucial for an appropriate and an early outbreak response, especially during windy and dry months of the year. Additionally, it is essential that people who are exposed to a risk of infection must be permanently educated about reducing the risk of transmission of infection.

Sustainable and economically feasible polluted sediment treatment is gaining more and more importance. Stabilization/solidification (S/S) technologies are widely used for treatment of sediment and possibilities of using low-cost and readily available materials and binders are increasingly being examined. This work is concerned with aquairing more data about long-term performance of this kind of treatment in therms of metal leaching and microstructural cnaracterization when treating sediment with fly ash and lime. Extraction potential of metals and the effectiveness of the S/S treatment applied, together with compliance with national legislative, were performed by using Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure TCLP and The German standard leaching test DIN 3841-4 S4. Leaching test results showed that the applied S/S treatment was effective in immobilizing metals even after seven years of aging. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that pozzolanic reactions took place during 28 days and continued along S/S mixture maturation. Compressive strength measurement further proved the treatment efficacy in terms of obtained matrix stability, which enables their subsequent use. It can be concluded that the S/S technique, with the usage abundant materials has a significant potential for treatment of metal polluted sediment.