Agricultural production has benefited a lot from herbicides; however, the use of herbicides caused many environmental problems. Herbicide application can affect the biodiversity of an ecosystem by killing non-target organisms. Microorganisms in the soil are important factors for plant growth; they represent the biological factor of soil fertility. Herbicides can have a beneficial effect on the development of some microorganisms and a negative on others, leading to depletion of microbial diversity in soil. The objective of this work is to determine microbial activity in the soil and to isolate herbicide-resistant bacteria after the use of the "Stomp" herbicide. Agar plate method was used for the determination of microbial prevalence in the soil. The results showed an increase in the total number of bacteria, ammonifiers, fungi, and actinomycetes. Nine isolates, mostly Gram-positive spore-forming rods, showed an ability to grow in the mineral salt medium with different concentrations of "Stomp" herbicide. Isolates G1/1 and G1/2, showed high level of tolerance at the initial pendimethalin concentration of 25 mg/l. Those isolates have the potential to be used to decontaminate herbicide affected ecosystems.

The dark-red spider mite, Tetranychus ludeni Zacher (Acari: Tetranychidae), is a highly polyphagous species and an important pest of economic plants belonging to the families Cucurbitaceae, Malvaceae, Fabaceae and Solanaceae, and growing in tropical and subtropical regions. In the Western Palaearctic, its distribution reports have recently come mostly from the Mediterranean Basin, i.e. Portugal, Spain, Italy and Israel. In a survey conducted in Serbia 2019-2021 (comprising 159 sampling locations), T. ludeni was found at 89 locations on 27 plant species of the families Rosaceae (8), Solanaceae (6), Cucurbitaceae (4), Fabaceae (2), Amaranthaceae (2), Asteraceae (2), Apiaceae (1), Convolvulaceae (1) and Poaceae (1). The dark-red spider mite was found in mixed populations with other spider mites (mostly Tetranychus urticae and T. turkestani) in around half of the sampling locations. Heavy infestation and visible symptoms of injury were observed in several locations. Three Rosaceae plant species, plum (Prunus domestica), blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) and crab apple (Malus sylvestris) were its new hosts. Serbian records of T. ludeni from locations situated at latitudes between 42?N and 46?N were the northernmost distribution records of this species in the Western Palaearctic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people live on the planet. The global economy suffered the biggest blow. The fashion industry has been forced to implement significant changes in their value chains. The subject of the research carried out in this work is to look at the specifics of marketing logistics activities that companies operating in the fashion industry were forced to implement in order to adapt to the business conditions that arose as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the work is to point out the most important specifics of marketing logistics in the fashion industry in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, using the example of the Zara company, which effectively and quickly implemented numerous adjustments, which enabled it to reduce the negative impact of the crisis event.

Carbonation is inevitable process during the service life of concrete structures, where CO2 causes decalcification of the calcium-bearing phases. These changes affect the durability of concrete and accelerate the corrosion of reinforcement. Alkali-activated materials (AAMs) are alternative, cement-free binders based on aluminosilicate rich precursor and alkaline activator. The interest in AAMs increased during the last century, due to the production process with low CO2 footprint comparing to Portland cement (PC) concrete, the possibility to use wide range of industrial by-products as precursors and comparable performance to PC concrete. Despite the extensive research in this field, the carbonation resistance of AAMs needs to be better understood, due to the differences and complexity of binder chemistry compared to PC concrete. The propagation of carbonation process will depend on chemical composition of the precursors and the type and dosage of activators. This paper presents the results of microstructural changes of three alkali-activated concrete mixes after exposure to accelerated carbonation. Ground granulated blast furnace slag was used as a precursor and sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate as activators. Three mixes have constant water to binder ratio and slag content, while alkali content and silica modulus were varied. The carbonation resistance was evaluated by testing carbonation depth after 7 and 28 days of exposure in carbonation chamber. Microstructural changes during carbonation were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis and mercury intrusion porosimetry.

Alkali-activated materials (AAM) consist of a precursor, which is a source of aluminosilicates, and an alkali source. The precursors are usually waste materials from various industries such as fly ash from thermal power plants and slags from the metallurgical industry. Due to the increasing use of these materials in the cement industry and strategies for decommissioning coal-fired power plants, alternative raw materials from waste streams are increasingly being explored. One of these materials is waste from the aluminium industry, known as red mud. Due to its chemical composition, which is similar to that of other cementitious materials, red mud is suitable for use in the cement industry. It can also be used as a source of aluminosilicates in the synthesis of AAM. In this study, the corrosion behaviour of steel in chloride exposed AAMs based on fly ash and slag was investigated with and without the addition of red mud. During exposure of AAM to tap water and a 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution, the corrosion process was monitored by corrosion potential and polarisation resistance. AAM mixes containing red mud exhibited better corrosion resistivity and lower current density values compared to mixes without red mud, indicating a possible contribution of the red mud to chloride binding and improving the passivity of the steel.

Recently, the cement industry has faced new challenges in addition to the environmental constraints of the last decade. The decline in availability and current inconsistent prices of common supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), such as by-products from the iron industry or coal-fired power plants, have opened the search for more reliable materials. Research on cements containing calcined clays now serve as a possible solution to the forementioned problems. Clays containing the mineral kaolinite in sufficient quantities, when calcined and mixed with limestone powder, produce hydration products that can improve the strength and durability of concrete. In addition, the production of limestone calcined clay is reported to be less CO2 intensive, but this eco-efficient solution is viable only if the materials are locally available. For this reason, this study investigates the possibility of using natural clays from the Southeast European region (SEE) as cement replacements. A systematic experimental study was conducted on 18 different clays from 13 different deposits to determine the physical and mineralogical composition of the raw clays, their reactivity and mortar strength. The results were then related to the environmental contributions they might have in comparison with ordinary Portland cement in concrete.

There are now several initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of cement production, such as the use of alternative binders for clinker. However, reducing the carbon emissions of the cement sector will only be possible when design optimization is combined with other measures. The construction industry is reluctant to reduce the cement content of concrete mixes and is not encouraged to use performance-based design for concrete. In most cases, these steps will negate the benefits of using alternative binders in concrete. The objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of lowering the cement content and additionally substituting part of the cement on the mechanical properties and durability of concrete. The reference mix was taken from a real bridge recently built in Croatia, and the alternative combination was prepared with a reduced cement content of 22%. All mixes were evaluated based on their mechanical strength and resistance to chloride penetration. The carbon footprint of each mix was also studied. The study concluded that the alternative mix with lower cement content had comparable durability and a significantly lower carbon footprint, meaning that the alternative mix proved to be a more sustainable option.

Throughout their service life, concrete structures are exposed to various environmental conditions that affect their durability. The cementitious matrix inevitably comes into contact with air, which leads to a progressive carbonation reaction. As a result of carbonation, changes occur in the microstructure and porosity of the cementitious matrix. Calcium aluminate cement is produced to increase the resistance of composites to aggressive environments, but its application is limited by the occurrence of conversion process. The addition of slag inhibits the conversion process of calcium aluminate cement and prevents a reduction in compressive strength due to the formation of C2ASH8 hydrate, while contributing to the net zero commitment of the cement industry. It remains an open question how these changes in microstructure caused by the addition of slag affect the carbonation rate of calcium aluminate cement-based concrete. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effects of slag on the microstructure and porosity of calcium aluminate-based concrete before and after accelerated carbonation. For this purpose, the mechanical properties, porosity, and reaction product of a concrete mix containing 30% calcium aluminate cement replacement by slag were compared to calcium aluminate cement-based concrete before and after exposure to 3% CO2 for 7 and 28 days. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) were tested to understand the changes in reaction products and pore size distribution, respectively.

The line graph L(G) of a graph G is defined as a graph having vertex set identical with the set of edges of G and two vertices of L(G) are adjacent if and only if the corresponding edges are incident in G. Higher iteration L i(G) is obtained by repeatedly applying the line graph operation i times. Wiener index W(G) of a graph G is defined as the sum of distances which runs over all pairs of vertices in G. The problem of establishing the extremal values and extremal graphs for the ratio W(L i(G))/W(G) was proposed by Dobrynin and Melnikov [Mathematical Chemistry Monographs, Vol. 12, 2012, pp. 85-121]. In this paper we establish the maximum value and characterize the extremal graphs for i = 1. In doing so, we derive unexpectedly an interesting relation that involves the Gutman index and the first Zagreb index.

Uvod: U današnje vrijeme kao glavni alat za procjenu starosti u forenzičkoj medicine koriste se radiološki snimci. Pojavom kompjuterizirane tomografije konusnim snopom omogućen je 3D uvid u anatomske strukture zuba, a samim tim unaprijeđen i olakšan proces identifikacije, obzirom da su zubi najtvrđi dio ljudskog tijela i kao takvi se često koriste za procjenu starosti. Cilj rada je ispitati radnu hipotezu prema kojoj dentalna dob procijenjena metodom volumetrijske analize pulpe kompjuteriziranom tomografijom konusnim snopom odgovara hronološkoj dobi ispitanika. Metode: Kroz ovu prospektivnu pilot studiju analizirani su CBCT snimci bosanskohercegovačke populacije kod 30 ispitanika (17 žena i 13 muškaraca). Snimci su u .DICOM formatu importovani u ITK Snap program pomoću kojeg je izmjeren volumen pulpe zuba interkaninog sektora gornje i donje vilice, i to za očnjake, centralne i lateralne sjekutiće. Kriteriji za uključivanje podrazumijevali su odsustvo kalcifikacije, artefakata i bez većih restauracija kod navedenih zuba. Podaci o svakom mjerenju korelirani su sa dobi i spolom ispitanika. Statistička obrada i interpretacija prikupljenih podataka urađena je pomoću statističkog programa SPSS. Rezultati: Provedeno istraživanje je potvrdilo da se volumen pulpe zuba smanjuje sa godinama starosti. Dob ispitanika je varirala između 16 i 54 godine. Najmanji volumen pulpe izmjeren je kod centralnog sjekutića mandibule, a najveći kod maksilarnog očnjaka. Volumen pulpe zuba gornje vilice općenito je bio veći nego kod zuba donje vilice. Kod žena je zabilježen manji volumen pulpe zuba u odnosu na volumen pulpe kod muškaraca. Zaključak: Kod svih analiziranih zuba postojala je značajna korelacija između dobi i volumena pulpe zuba, sa jačom korelacijom kod muškaraca. Studija je pokazala da se dob može procijeniti na osnovu poznavanja volumena pulpe zuba interkanine regije, uz uspostavljanje matematičkog modela za koji je potreban veći broj ispitanika.

Funkcionalna magnetna rezonanca (fMRI) je neinvazivna dijagnostička metoda koja služi za vizualizaciju nervne aktivnosti u ljudskom mozgu. Svoju primjenu je našla u neurologiji i omogućava bolje praćenje bolesti, njihovu klasifikaciju, prognozu i liječenje. To je sigurna i ponovljiva metoda, kako za djecu tako i za odrasle, te je svoju primjenu našla i u drugim naukama. Ovaj pregledni rad uključuje 20 naučno–istraživačkih radova, koji su u svojim rezultatima opisali tehniku izvođenja fMRI, njene prednosti i ograničenja, kao i oboljenja u kojima je našla kliničku primjenu. Primjenom fMRI u praksi počela je revolucija u polju neuroimaging-a. Umjesto da magnetna rezonanca daje samo anatomsku sliku i neke osnovne fiziološke informacije, sada je mogla da proizvodi dinamičke mape aktivacije mozga. FMRI se ne treba smatrati konkurentskom metodom, već komplementarnom, te umjesto da se koristi u svrhu pobijanja ili potvrđivanja određene dijagnoze, ona bi se mogla koristiti kao dopunska metoda za mnoge konvencionalne testove.