Four species of soft scales from the genus Parthenolecanium have been
registered in urban areas in Serbia: Parthenolecanium corni, P. fletcheri,
P. pomeranicum, and P. rufulum. They all develop one ...generation annually and
overwinter as second-instar nymphs on host twigs. P. corni reproduces by
gamogenesis, while the other three species reproduce by parthenogenesis. The
species were recorded on the territory of Serbia in 22 locations on 20 host
plants, whereby P. corni was identified on 8 new host plants, and P.
fletheri on one new host. The intensity of scale attacks and damage symptoms
on the infested plants were variable. P. corni, P. fletcheri, and P. rufulum
formed numerous colonies on some woody and bushy plants, causing branches of
individual plants to dry and decay.
n this study we present an in-depth description of the colorimetric values for the lowest section of the Dukatar Loess Palaeosol Sequence (LPS) pedocomplex S5. Formed during the Marine Isotope Stage ...(MIS) 13-15, it represents the oldest pedocomplex exposed at the base of the Titel loess plateau (TLP), near the confluence of the Tisa and Danube rivers in Vojvodina (northern Serbia). The results of low-field magnetic susceptibility measurements (χlf) were compared to colour properties (obtained by conventional methods as well as instrumental measuring) and quantified Soil Development Indices (SDI). Of these measurements we found that the Redness Index (RI1) yielded the most useful results, as this index appears most sensitive to lithological changes and soil development intensity. It was also observed that a high level of correlation existed between χlf, and a* chromaticity. The initial results of this study highlight the utility of colorimetric methods as an interdisciplinary tool when evaluating the presence of ferromagnetics, and the application of rock magnetism to the Middle and Upper Pleistocene LPS of the Middle Danube Basin. The presented approach can be used to observe the evolution of climatic and ecological conditions in the given study area, and for establishing correlations between sites extending over the Eurasian LPS provinces.
•Maize samples collected during 2012–2015 in Serbia were investigated using LC-MS/MS.•Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicilium, Alternaria, and other metabolites were examined.•In 204 maize samples 109 ...different non-regulated fungal metabolites were detected.•Every single maize samples were contaminated by 13–55 fungal metabolites.•Fungal metabolites profile of maize samples highly dependent of weather conditions.
The main objective of this study was to screen, for the first time, the natural occurrence of non-regulated fungal metabolites in 204 maize samples harvested in Serbia in maize growing seasons with extreme drought (2012), extreme precipitation and flood (2014) and moderate drought conditions (2013 and 2015). In total, 109 non-regulated fungal metabolites were detected in examined samples, whereby each sample was contaminated between 13 and 55 non-regulated fungal metabolites. Moniliformin and beauvericin occurred in all samples collected from each year. In samples from year 2012, oxaline, questiomycin A, cyclo (l-Pro-l-Val), cyclo (l-Pro-l-Tyr), bikaverin, kojic acid and 3-nitropropionic acid were the most predominant (98.0–100%). All samples from 2014 were contaminated with 7-hydroxypestalotin, 15-hydroxyculmorin, culmorin, butenolid and aurofusarin. Bikaverin and oxaline were quantified in 100% samples from 2013 and 2015, while 3-nitropropionic acid additionally occurred in 100% samples from 2015.
Porcine Kobuvirus (PKV) infection is very common in pigs throughout the world. Since it has never been investigated in Serbia, to contribute to the knowledge of Porcine Kobuvirus, its role, and ...distribution, we tested 200 samples from domestic pigs and wild boars. From domestic pigs, 10 fecal, 22 spleen and 68 serum samples, and 100 spleen samples from wild boars were tested. The virus prevalence determined by real-time RT-PCR in domestic pigs was 22% and in wild boars 6%. The phylogenetic analysis of 3D region revealed that Serbian strains are closest related to the Hungarian strain from wild boar from 2011. This is the first report on PKV in Serbia in domestic pigs and wild boars, implying its wide circulation. Although the infection could not be directly related to any clinical manifestation, the frequency of virus found in feces suggests viral affinity to the gastrointestinal tract. However, due to the rather ubiquitous presence of PKV, the clinical and pathological assessment have to be considered when PKV infection is diagnosed.
•PKV infection is common in both domestic pigs and wild boars in Serbia.•Serbian strains are closely related to the Hungarian one from 2011 from wild boar.•AConsidering the frequency of virus found in feces, its affinity to the gastrointestinal tract is evident.
Major changes in the technological, economic, and social behavior of Middle Pleistocene hominins occurred at the onset of the Middle Paleolithic, 400–200 ka. However, until recently it was not ...possible to establish when, where, and how certain forms of Middle Paleolithic behavior appeared and spread into Southeastern Europe, mainly owing to gaps in the Paleolithic record. Here we report new results of dating, material culture, and the archaeological context of finds from the Balanica Cave Complex in Sićevo (Serbia). Two methods—thermoluminescence and electron spin resonance—were used to date the sequence. The geoarchaeological context was examined through sedimentology, micromorphology, and spatial analysis. Microfaunal remains were used to constrain the dates within an ecological zone, whereas macrofauna was analyzed for taxonomy and taphonomy to examine the source of accumulation and hominin behavior. Technological and typological features of the lithic assemblage were used to characterize lithic production at the site. Materials recovered from Layer 3 in Velika Balanica and from Layer 2 in Mala Balanica, both dated to MIS 9–7, include a distinctive set of archaeological assemblages which resemble contemporaneous Yabrudian assemblages from the Levant in important ways, and which are unlike contemporary material from the surrounding regions. In Velika Balanica, the lithic assemblages are associated with a large fireplace containing evidence of human activities similar to those from Qesem Cave (Israel). Dental remains uncovered in the same layer are consistent with Neanderthals. These findings suggest that the end of the Middle Pleistocene (before 300–240 ka) saw population movement and/or cultural transmission between Southwest Asia and the Balkans, which led eventually to a transfer of technology between Middle Eastern and European hominin populations and contributed to the shaping of Neanderthal behaviors throughout the eastern and northern Mediterranean.
Developing sustainable organic agriculture and resilient agribusiness sector is fundamental, keeping in mind the value of the opportunity presented by the growing demand for healthy and safe food ...globally, with the expectation for the global population to reach 9.8 billion by 2050, and 11 billion by 2100.Lately, the main threats in Europe, and worldwide, are the increasingly dynamic climate change and economic factors related to currency fluctuations. While the current environmental policy provides several mechanisms to support agribusinesses in mitigating organic food for daily increasing human population and stability of the currency, it does not contemplate the relative readiness of individuals and businesses to act correctly.Organic farming is the practice that relies more on using sustainable methods to cultivate crops and produce food animals, avoiding chemicals and dietary synthetic drug inputs that do not belong to the natural ecosystem. Organic agriculture can also contribute to meaningful socioeconomic, ecologically sustainable development, and significantly in the development of the agribusiness sector, especially in developing countries.
•The GP, SVM-FFA, ANN and SVM–Wavelet modeling of ET0 was reported.•SVM–Wavelet had the smallest RMSE of 0.233mmday−1 in testing phase.•The ANN model had the largest RMSE of 0.450mmday−1.•SVM–Wavelet ...model was found to perform better than the GP, SVM-FFA and ANN models.
Accurate estimation of reference evapotranspiration (ET0) is needed for planning and managing water resources and agricultural production. The FAO-56 Penman–Monteith equation is used to determinate ET0 based on the data collected during the period 1980–2010 in Serbia. In order to forecast ET0, four soft computing methods were analyzed: genetic programming (GP), support vector machine-firefly algorithm (SVM-FFA), artificial neural network (ANN), and support vector machine–wavelet (SVM–Wavelet). The reliability of these computational models was analyzed based on simulation results and using five statistical tests including Pearson correlation coefficient, coefficient of determination, root-mean-square error, absolute percentage error, and mean absolute error. The end-point result indicates that SVM–Wavelet is the best methodology for ET0 prediction, whereas SVM–Wavelet and SVM-FFA models have higher correlation coefficient as compared to ANN and GP computational methods.
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