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ARBRE-MOBIEU served as the platform to initiate a new research collaboration between partners from Croatia, Czech, Hungary and Slovakia which led to a joint project funded by International Visegrad Fund. In the frame of the corresponding project, we examined algal cells’ responses to laboratory-induced cadmium stress, focusing on the biointerface and intracellular changes by employing a multimethod approach. The biointerface is characterized in terms of surface properties (cell stiffness) and adhesion dynamics on a single cell level. The intracellular response was examined in terms of the cells’ autonomous feature (autofluorescence) and protein expression obtained from the cell culture. The results show that in spite of very a high cadmium concentration and prolonged cell exposure, the cells grew without significant suppression of growth dynamics. Cell adaptation to cadmium stress is manifested through cell shape deterioration, slower motility and an increase of physiological activity. AFM measurements revealed that cells are significantly stiffer in the presence of cadmium, which influenced the dynamics of the initial contact of the cell at the interface. The difference in adhesion behaviour was determined to be two times slower for initial attachment and deformation, while rate-limiting steps referring to the spreading of released intracellular content are not significantly different in comparison with the control. There was no change in the endogenous fluorescence in the red region (associated with chlorophyll) but there was a change in the green region (possibly associated with cadmium vesicular transport and beta carotene production), which provides insight into the cells’ adaptation strategy to maintain photosynthesis. Specific responses of natural fluorescence of cells under the influence of cadmium are most likely associated with the identified chlorophyll a-b binding protein. It seems that another identified protein, carbonic anhydrase, plays role in the photosynthetic pathway. Since production of these proteins can be related to the maintenance of the photosynthesis representing one of the cell defence mechanisms, it may also indicate the presence of toxic metal in seawater. This multimethod study enabled us to better understand cell responses under laboratory-induced cadmium stress to predict the fate of algae in a marine environment. Our results will substantially contribute to the biophysics of algal cells on a fundamental level. References [1] N. Ivošević DeNardis, J. Pečar Ilić, I. Ružić, N. Novosel, T. Mišić Radić, A. Weber, D. Kasum, Z. Pavlinska, R. Katalin Balogh, B. Hajdu, A. Marček Chorvatova, B. Gyurcsik, Algal cell response to laboratory-induced cadmium stress: a multimethod approach, Eur. Biophys. J. 48, 2019, 231-248.

Blockchain was introduced in the White Paper written by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 and in a short time it found multiple applications in modern society. It is fundamental technology for almost all cryptocurrencies. Nowadays it is used in various areas, especially in the financial sector. If properly analysed, blockchain can be important source of information. This was motivation to start development of application which would represent blockchain data in a form suitable for statistical analysis. With this application, analysing blockchain data will be much easier. Also, application would provide synthesized data for various purposes. In this paper, blockchain data structure is described, statistical methods that could be applied in blockchain analysis are suggested, and design of application model is presented.

We examine the nanomechanical properties and adhesion dynamics of the marine, unicellular, green flagellate Dunaliella tertiolecta in laboratory culture. Mechanical properties of motile cells are hard to access while keeping cells viable, and studies to date are limited. Immobilization of negatively charged cells to a positively charged substrate enables high-resolution imaging and nanomechanical measurements. Cells in exponential phase possess a large cell volume as imaged by AFM, in agreement with the large amount of amperometrically measured displaced charge at the interface. Cells are stiffer and more hydrophobic in exponential than in the stationary phase. Differences in the critical interfacial tensions of adhesion of cells in exponential and stationary phase show the analogy with adhesion of hydrophobic droplets of organic liquids. Differences in the kinetics of adhesion and spreading of cells at the interface are attributed to their volume and nanomechanical properties that vary during cell aging. Cell mechanical properties could be considered as a marker for environmental stress in order to better understand viability and adaptation strategies of algal populations in aquatic systems.

The single cell-electrode interaction is relevant to fundamental biological processes involving cell adhesion, cell fusion, cell activity, and membrane response to environmental stress. Cell surface properties play important role for the adhesion study. Model unicellular green algae Dunaliella tertiolecta is known as „naked cell“ since it poses only cell membrane. Adhesion and spreading of a cell at a charged interface cause double layer charge displacement which is measured as a well defined amperometric signal in millisecond time scale. The signal denotes establishment of intimate membrane contact at the interface with subsequent cell spreading, followed by cell breakdown in a few milliseconds. Dynamics of the cell adhesion at the charged interface has been examined by application of the reaction kinetics model on the amperometric signal.1 Model enables to decouple and identify temporal evolution of the individual states. Results suggest that the major structural disruption of the cell membrane, collapse of cytoskeleton and leakage of intracellular material appear 0.1 ms after initial cell-electrode contact. Kinetics of spreading of organic film at the interface to its maximal extent is being considered as the rate determining step, which could be consequence of the attenuated effect of potential at the modified interface, stronger intermolecular interactions and reorganization of molecules in the film. A simple system of an isolated plasma membrane vesicle without internal content has been developed and characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Adhesion kinetics of the algal cell is slower than that of its plasma membrane vesicle. Our findings offer insight into the mechanism of cell adhesion and spreading at the charged interfaces. Reference 1. N. Ivošević DeNardis, J. Pečar Ilić, I. Ružić, G. Pletikapić, Cell adhesion and spreading at a charged interface: Insight into the mechanism using surface techniques and mathematical modelling. Electrochim. Acta 2015, 176, 743-754.

The single cell-electrode interaction is relevant to fundamental biological processes involving cell adhesion, cell fusion, cell activity, and membrane response to environmental stress. We studied kinetics of adhesion and spreading of the algal cell and its plasma membrane vesicle to the charged mercury interface. Adhesion and spreading of a cell at a charged interface cause double layer charge displacement which is measured as a well defined amperometric signal in millisecond time scale. The signal denotes establishment of intimate membrane contact at the interface with subsequent cell spreading, followed by cell breakdown in a few milliseconds. Application of the reaction kinetics model enables calculation of kinetic parameters of the adhesion process from the signal, enabling to decouple and identify temporal evolution of the individual states. We demonstrate validity and pertinence of the reaction kinetics model in the wide range of surface charge densities. Adhesion kinetics of algal cell is slower than its plasma membrane vesicle. The model enables to associate individual states with various features of amperometric signal. At the time of current amplitude, ruptured state predominates and cell contact area is larger than contact area of the plasma membrane vesicle which contributes about one quarter to the cell contact area. These results suggest that the major structural disruption of the cell membrane, collapse of cytoskeleton and leakage of intracellular material could appear close to the time of current amplitude. Further, kinetics of spreading of organic film at the interface to its maximal extent is being considered as the rate determining step, which could be consequence of the attenuated effect of potential at the modified interface, stronger intermolecular interactions and reorganization of molecules in the film. Our findings offer insight into the mechanism of algal cell adhesion and spreading at the charged interfaces

Adhesion and spreading of algal cell at the charged interface causes double layer charge displacement which is measured as a well defined amperometric signal in millisecond time scale. The reaction kinetics model enables calculation of kinetic parameters of the adhesion process from the signal, enabling to decouple and identify temporal evolution of the individual states. We study kinetics of adhesion and spreading of algal cell and its plasma membrane vesicle at the charged interface. The simple system of isolated plasma membrane vesicle without internal content is developed and characterized by atomic force microscopy. We demonstrate validity and pertinence of the reaction kinetics model in the wide range of surface charge densities. Adhesion kinetics of algal cell is slower than its plasma membrane vesicle. The model enables to associate individual states with various features of amperometric signal. At the time of current amplitude, ruptured state predominates and cell contact area is larger than contact area of the plasma membrane vesicle which contributes about one quarter to the cell contact area. These results suggest that the major structural disruption of the cell membrane, collapse of cytoskeleton and leakage of intracellular material could appear close to the time of current amplitude. Further, kinetics of spreading of organic film at the interface to its maximal extent is being considered as the rate determining step, which could be consequence of the attenuated effect of potential at the modified interface, stronger intermolecular interactions and reorganization of molecules in the film. Our findings offer insight into the mechanism of algal cell adhesion and spreading at the charged interfaces, relevant for the electroporation based studies

In order to enable efficient management of inland navigation processes development of specialized information systems is needed, through the application of modern information and communication technology (ICT). For this purpose up to now individual European waterway and port authorities developed their own local information systems and databases. As a result of non-conformity of these databases, their integration on European level is confronted with serious problems (COMPRIS, 2003). One of the major problems is the lacking of a common used European unique identification number for inland barges. Due to this in some locally managed databases several different identification numbers are attributed to one and the same inland barge or a certain identification number is unknown. The same problem occurs in the communication between waterway authorities and from waterway to port authorities. Therefore, a unique identification number for all floating objects on European waterway should be introduced. At this moment there are only two official numbers for vessels. The first, IMO number, introduced in 1978, is only in use by maritime vessels. The second, OFS number (Official ship number) is used only for vessels that have a Rhine patent (issued by the CCNR). OFS number cannot be sufficient to cover all requirements related to RIS Directive 2005/44/EC and also to the amendment of Directive 82/714/EEC on technical requirements for inland navigation vessels in the enlarged European Union. The fact is that only 20% of ranges of codes is reserved for non-Rhine countries. A special Electronic Reporting International group (ERI) was appointed to formulate a new system for unique identification of inland vessels and also define a database model for vessel characteristics. The initial suggestion of ERI was to add one character in front of the OFS number in order to increase its coding capacity. The intention was to make least possible differences/modifications with regard to the system currently used under the regime of the Rhine Vessel Inspection Regulations in order to minimise administrative efforts of harmonisation. We as members of ERI group made a proposal for such a new identification number (so called ERN), which was discussed by ERI expert group taking into account input from Joint Working Group of CCNR and EC. In this paper we will describe our proposal to ERI, which was later slightly modified within a special ERI expert group.

Adhesion and spreading of living algal cell and its corresponding ghost membrane in suspension at the charged interface is explored with comprehensive surface techniques (i.e. amperometry and atomic force microscopy) and mathematical modelling. Kinetics of soft particle adhesion at the charged interface was not easy to access experimentally where completion of the whole process has been limited to the scale of the order of millisecond. The recorded amperometric signal of individual algal cell contains important information regarding dynamics of the corresponding process and reflecting collective surface properties of material itself. Reaction kinetics model enables determination of kinetics parameters from amperometric signal of the algal cell and reconstruction of individual states of adhesion process towards the final state formation [1]. Our results show the significant difference in kinetics of adhesion and spreading over the interface of intact algal cell and its ghost membrane. In the case of algal cell, the slower kinetics is associated with the release and spreading of intracellular material. The study of adhesion phenomena in single cell-electrode interaction is significant for relevant biological studies involving cell adhesion, cell fusion, cell activity and fundamental processes such as vesicular transport within and between cells. References [1] N. Ivošević DeNardis, I. Ružić, J. Pečar-Ilić, S. El Shawish, P. Ziherl (2012) Reaction kinetics and mechanical models of liposome adhesion at charged interface. Bioelectrochemistry 88:48–56.

Management of river navigation is a field of great economic importance, which is directly connected with environmental protection. It depends on hydrometeorological conditions and hydrological characteristics, and significantly influences the water quality within a navigable river basin. Timely information about momentary water levels is important for river traffic as well as for the protection against flooding at very high water levels. Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is crucial for efficient water quality protection in Europe based on river basin management (EU Water Framework Directive, WFD) and for efficient inland waterborne transport management in Europe (River Information Services, EC RIS Directive). Development of complex systems, applications and services requires timely communication and information management between the European bodies responsible for both fields. Since 2003, the Croatian Government has made great efforts to enhance this kind of activities at national level and to support cooperation at pan- European level. We have actively participated in several European projects and working groups through the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) and the GIS Forum Danube for establishment of the Integrated European RIS Platform. Our research and development activities have included ICT applications to environmental protection and river navigation surveillance. The main focus was the development of specialized information systems, web applications for temporal and spatial presentations and services necessary to provide efficient management of complex data and processes in investigations of water quality, natural and anthropogenic pollution sources, risk assessment and particularly the influence of river navigation on the waterways. In this paper, the most significant ICT-based research activities concerning the Danube River Basin will be presented and discussed.

Liposomes are a classical experimental model for studies of mechanisms of cell adhesion. Liposomes displace the double-layer charge during adhesion and spreading at the mercury electrode/aqueous electrolyte interface. A transient flow of compensating current is recorded as a well-defined electrical adhesion signal 1. The adhesion signal traces the transformation of a single liposome into a film of finite surface area on the milisecond time scale. Recently, we have developed a methodology based on the mathematical model of a first-order kinetics of particle adhesion at an electrified liquid interface 2. Here, we show how to access the kinetic parameters of adhesion process from the amperometric measurements performed in liposome heterosuspension within a broad potential range. In order to increase the precision of data analysis, current and charge transients are combined. We also interpret the adhesion signal in terms of a mechanical model of liposome spreading including the release of the liposome contents. The model provides an insight into the behavior of the liposome during the various stages of adhesion process, their most interesting aspect being liposome rupture. References: [1] V. Svetličić, N. Ivošević, S. Kovač, V. Žutić ; Langmuir 2000, 16, 8217 [2] I. Ružić, J. Pečar-Ilić, N. Ivošević DeNardis ; J. Electroanal. Chem. 2010, 642, 120

The dynamics of interaction of single liposome with a charged mercury electrode strongly depends on the adhesion forces which can be potentiostatically controlled by surface charge density and by interfacial tension. Dynamics of adhesion is analysed through its amperometric signal using a reaction kinetics model and a mechanical model. We present analytical solutions of the reaction kinetics model for decoupling and identifying temporal evolution of three distinct states: i) the initial state corresponding to an intact liposome, ii) the intermediate state where the liposome is partly deformed, and iii) the final state of a lipid layer formation. The results obtained with this model indicate that all three states simultaneously evolve from the onset of the adhesion process. The new mechanical model provides a physical interpretation of the three states and emphasises the role of the forces involved in liposome adhesion process. The main conclusion is that the water content of the liposome is released through the pores formed in the membrane rather than through the channels parallel to the electrode. Both models reproduce the measurements well. By combining the predictions of the two models, we demonstrate how to associate various features of the amperometric signal with the states of an adhesion event, and how to capture geometry of spherical liposome at the electrode. The complementary information extracted from the two models is important for better understanding of the adhesion mechanisms of soft organic particles at charged interfaces. These results may well be useful in related biological studies involving cell adhesion, cell activity, and cell fusion.

The paper presents a new method of classification and computerized coding for signs and marking, which is based on the extension of signs and marking described in Annexes 7 and 8 of the European Code for Inland Waterways (CEVNI). Originally, the CEVNI classification of inland waterway signs and marking was not intended to be used for computerized coding. However, in Section I, Annex 7 to CEVNI, only the main signs are specified in such a way that they can be used directly for computerized coding. Their classification was extensively used within the European Standard Inland ECDIS, developed for creation of Electronic Navigation Charts (ENCs). We have prepared a proposal for an improved classification of buoyage and marking of waterways and broad waterways from Sections II to IX, Annex 8 to CEVNI, which could also be used efficiently for computerized coding and information processing.

The paper gives a review of research and development activities of Croatia, where application of information and communication technologies significantly improves environmental information management and reporting. The most important ICT based research activities on several environmental projects either at the national or international level are presented and discussed. For example, some interesting results of the Adriatic Sea investigations are mentioned. Within the Environmental Programme for the Danube River Basin, Croatia contributes to efficient data management by developing Web GIS for the Transnational Monitoring Network. Major activities on implementation of river information services at the pan-European and national levels are also described. Specialized information system for surveillance of the Croatian segment of the Danube River enables temporal and spatial presentation of waterway data. Information system architecture, based on the Web-GIS-DBMS integration, is presented. The very important task of sharing environmental information is the responsibility of the Croatian Environment Agency. An integrated environmental information system has been recently developed by using modern information technologies and communication standards in line with the European requirements.

Extension of coding CEVNI Signs and Marking enables their use in databases, GIS systems and Web applications for efficient maintenance of waterway information. The intention is to make a contribution to international data exchange for creation of standardised electronic messages described by ERI and NtS working groups. New codes proposed are presented in the MS Excel file CEVNIextendedCoding.xls within three different sheets: MainSignsAnnex7, BouyageLandMarksAnnex8 and AuxiliarySignsAnnex7. The table of codes is extended with the corresponding Dutch and Hunarian National Coding Systems.

This paper presents a new method of coding for signs and marking, which is based on the extension of signs and marking described in Annexes 7 and 8 of the European Code for Inland Waterways (CEVNI). Being members of three European expert groups, we have proposed these new codes of waterway signs and marking and recommend them for cases where they can be efficiently used. The main goal is to enable the use of these codes in databases, GIS systems and Web applications for efficient maintenance of waterway information. In addition, they will also contribute to international data exchange for creating standardised electronic messages described by ERI and NtS working groups. The intention is not to amend the existing coding from the Inland ECDIS Standard, which was developed for creation of Electronic Navigation Charts (ENCs). For example, the use of these new codes is tested through the Web GIS application for presentation of inland waterway signs and marking on the Danube River in Croatia. The application examples concern automatically generated reports on the position, characteristics and functioning of different waterway signs and river navigation marking located on the digital map.

Development of a method for coordinate system transformations, which can be used within GIS applications for en-vironmental information management, is described. Transformation of geographic (in degrees) into geodetic (in m) coordinates was investigated using the old Yugoslav coordinate system (still in use in the newly established states of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia) as source data, with precision of cm. To simplify the transformation procedure, the general polynomial coordinate transformation was used, organized in several steps. First, an equation of the third order for interpolation of northing coordinates along a central merid-ian, as a function of latitude, was developed using a central difference scheme. Using the results obtained in such a way equations of second and fourth orders were developed for calculation of the increase in northing and shifts of easting from false easting, as a function of longitude (for a distance of 2o from the central meridian) along the corre-sponding parallel. Interpolation by 1o resulted in errors up to 5 cm, while interpolation by 30' resulted in errors below 1 cm, which corresponds to the precision of original source data. Interpolation by 15' or less cannot further increase the accuracy. Quadratic terms (about 485m/o) are dominant in equations for the increase in northing and linear terms (about 80000m/o) are dominant in those for the shift in easting, while other terms are in the range of centimetres or less.

At the beginning of 2004, the International Navigation Association (PIANC) in cooperation with the Central Commission for the Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR) prepared the "Guidelines and Recommendations for RIS, Edition 2". The document was also supported by UNECE (TRANS/SC.3/165). In Annex 2 to this document, "Electronic Reporting in Inland Navigation", there are 17 classifications and code lists that have to be used. They are intended to be used to the highest possible extent in order to minimize interpreting work to be done by the receivers of messages. On the basis of these recommendations, object locations on a waterway could be determined using the following combination of codes: UN country code (ISO 3166-1), UN location code (UN/LOCODE), waterway section code, terminal code or any other construction important for inland navigation and, finally, the fairway section hectometre starting from the mouth of the river. The first two codes are well established worldwide and the corresponding list is maintained according to UN/CEFACT, Recommendation No. 28. Waterway section code is used in the European Inland ECDIS Standard, Section 2, Inland ECDIS Data Standard. Initially, the terminal code contained the short name of a terminal or simply a number. In addition, experts from the Netherlands introduced also codes for terminal types, types of structures on the waterway and location types. Later, numerical codes of the type of structure on the waterway were extended for the Operational Test Platform (OTP) within the Pan-European 5th Framework Project COMPRIS. In 2004, in the framework of the international working group ERI, experts from Austria described how the terminal code could be used also for determination of other structures along waterways. Similar needs for coding the type of structures on the waterway were recognised also by another international working group, NtS. Fairway section hectometre value fits well within the additional 5 character field for waterways navigable within a distance of thousands of kilometres from the river mouth. In this paper, we present our contribution to the development of coding the objects on waterways trying to increase the coding capacity, which may become critical if used all over Europe. In 2006, we initiated a discussion on codes for terminals and structures on the waterway within ERI, NtS and Inland ECDIS expert groups. A number of experts from the Netherlands, Austria, Croatia and Romania were consulted. The final proposal was compiled and the methods proposed are illustrated with examples of objects on the Danube River in Croatia and Hungary.

The digital navigation map for the Croatian segment of the Danube River was created from the Danube Commission printed maps, which were geo-referenced using the Croatian national geodetic system and then transformed into geographic coordinates using the AutoCAD Map software. During the production of the navigation map, we discovered that the software used for the map production did not transform accurately Croatian national geodetic data into national and WGS-84 geographic coordinates. We designed a correction procedure, which could be efficiently used to obtain satisfactory results. We used the DAT_ABMO software tool for transformation of WGS-84 compatible ETRS coordinates into the new Croatian State Coordinate system (HDKS). Reverse calculations are inaccurate and cannot be used. Linear functions for determination of the differences between HDKS and European Terrestrial Reference System (ETRS) coordinates were used on the basis of 14 GPS control points, for which all coordinates had been measured (errors below 3 cm were obtained). In addition, we used the same procedure to reproduce the WGS-84 coordinates of two control points at the state border with Hungary. We compared them with the ones obtained earlier in Hungary. The accuracy of the Hungarian data is not known ; however, the differences obtained are small enough (about 60 cm) to produce accurate digital maps of the 1:1000 scales.

Within "GIS Forum Danube" Croatian delegates proposed the separation of attributes from the previous common Object Catalogue for the D4D project. In addition, the number of common attributes is significantly reduced without decreasing ability to describe individual objects within the catalogue. A new List of attribute acronyms is proposed consisting from six characters, harmonized with the existing European Inland ECDIS standard. This proposal is used for the preparation of the common Catalogue of attributes for D4D project.

Objectives of this report are to define the first version of the Croation Catalogue of the Ship Attributes and concept of the Croatian Inland Navigation Ship Registration Data Model. This catalogue is compared with those of other EU countries in order to arrive to a common catalogue of ship attributes and the corresponding concept of the common ship registration data model. They are compared and discused by special expert group for hull data and vessel identification number established by the Electronic Reporting International (ERI).

The aim of the Croatian national joint project as part of the CROatian River Infor-mation Services (CRORIS) is to develop a specialized information system for sur-veillance of the Croatian segment of the Danube River (i.e., River IS). In this paper, emphasis is placed on sharing relevant and timely information among different River IS user groups as well as on efficient data management provided by this in-formation system. For this purpose, a use case diagram of the Unified Modeling Language (UML) was created to represent the hierarchies of user groups and differ-ent applications accessed by a particular group. As an example, the Web application architecture for automatic generation of maps, diagrams and reports of water level data is shown. Application architecture is based on the three-tier client-server archi-tecture for the Web. The eXtensible Markup Language (XML) based approach using modern object technologies was applied. For presentation of the time series dia-grams, the Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG) documents were created. The concrete application example involves presentation of daily average water level data in the form of the time series diagram for the monitoring station selected on the map.

Safety of inland navigation requires efficient remote processing of automatically measured hydrological and meteorological data and their display on visible devices along the fairway. A pilot project was initiated in which large electronic LED displays will be installed at bridges on Danube river in Croatia. Data from automatic water gauges will be prepared on the Web server as an XML document and extracted with additional important alarm messages into text files for transmission to remote displays. Wireless communication is performed using GSM modems or simple GPRS mobile phones. Screen capture of information displayed can be received by a remote Control Station as a raw JPG files.

In this paper the River Information System architecture is formally described at the highest level by the standard Unified Modeling Language (UML). UML package diagram, which represents necessary packages (subsystems) and their mutual communication, was created. Based on that description the detailed Object Oriented (OO) development of each subsystem can be performed later. Here we propose a solution using eXtensible Markup Language (XML) as the format of exchanged data. The example of the automatic eXtensible Markup Language (XML) processing is described as well. These activities are a part of the CRORIS programme carried out by the Rudjer Boskovic Institute and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Communications of the Republic of Croatia.

Efficient data management requires a timely availability and completeness of information in the form acceptable for its efficient application. The concept of dynamic temporal and spatial data presentations on the Web has shown to be the best solution for satisfying such requirements. This concept has been applied in the development of an integrated Information system for temporal and spatial presentation of complex data [1]. The Information system possesses the main characteristics of both the Geographic Information System (GIS) and DataBase Management System (DBMS). Based on the performed GIS-DBMS integration, it is possible to analyze all the necessary types of information, so that presentations such as maps, statistical reports, time series diagrams and others could be obtained. In this paper, the most significant aspects of the development of the integrated Information system by using the Object-Oriented (OO) approach and modern technologies have been brought out. Attention is also paid to the description of its interactive dynamic Web application, which enables a timely availability of relevant temporal and spatial presentations. Examples of the Web application deal with the problems from the multidisciplinary field of environmental protection [1, 2].

Object-relational databases represent a hybrid solution between pure object an relational databases. Object Relational DataBase Management Systems (ORDBMSs) support some of the Object-Oriented (OO) concepts which enable coexistence between objects and relational tables. In this paper, the most significant tasks during the OO development of database, related to basic problems of the river navigation, are presented. In a contemporary OO modeling all aspects of programming system are included, those from a request definition up to their implementation, as well as from system static structure to its dynamic behavior. Object-oriented modeling is performed by using concepts and some of diagram techniques of the standard Unified Modeling Language (UML) supported also from the available Oracle Object Database Designer (ODD) CASE tool. UML class diagram is used for formal description of the complex problems, i.e. the creation of the river navigation object model. It contains corresponding classes, their attributes and necessary operations as well as their mutual associations. Object model implementation is performed in the Oracle ORDBMS as a relational design with Oracle 8 object views. Both, concept of object views and Oracle 8 object types provides object-oriented aspect of a hidden relational or object tables.

A specialized Information system for the data of water quality monitoring for the Danube River Basin has been developed. The Information system enables efficient environmental water-related data management and its verification was performed using the data from the Environmental Programme for the Danube River Basin (EPDRB), in which we actively participated (Pecar-Ilic/Ruzic 2001). This paper brings out the most significant aspects of the Object Oriented (OO) modeling of the database for the surface water quality monitoring within the EPDRB. The database was implemented in the OracleŽ ORDBMS and served as a data source for the interactive dynamic Web application for temporal and spatial presentation of relevant data. The use of ORDBMS as a database server in a Web based three-tier client/server architecture, such as integrated Information system architecture, has many advantages compared to the use of relational DBMS. The main concepts influencing the increase in Web application performances have been described.

This paper present the main advantages of the Specialized Information System based on integration of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and the database thus enabling efficient temporal and spatial presentations of environmental water related data. The most important parts of the dynamic Web application development process are brought out, applying the modern object-oriented (OO) approach and technologies. Dynamic Web application provides timely availability of relevant data to authorized users. This application enables automatic generation of various report types (such as maps, time series diagrams, tables, etc.), as well as generation of thematic maps based on built-in knowledge and user queries. The verification of this system has been performed using the data from EPDRB (Environmental Programme for the Danube River Basin) in which we have actively participated.

The Environmental Programme for the Danube River Basin was established to reduce the pollution load in the region. Water quality is managed by the Monitoring, Laboratory and Information Management expert group. A Data Exchange File Format (DEFF) relational database was used for the storage, processing and exchange of the Trans-National Monitoring Network (TNMN) data. The Croatian Reference Laboratory became the Central Point for the collection and merging of the TNMN Data for the entire Danube River Basin. Using Autodesk MapGuide products, we integrated the digital vector-based map of the Danube River basin with the DEFF relational database. A dynamic web application was created using the Autodesk MapGuide™ Author and Active Server Pages (ASP) tools. The application is created in such a way that the amount of information visible is controlled by the scale of the digital map in the viewer. Different reports as well as dynamic, thematic maps may be created automatically on demand by the user for the selected year and determinand (officially accepted term for parameter determined). The aim of this paper is to describe the state of this research and the possibility of using Autodesk products for the management of water related environmental data.

Using Autodesk MapGuide Server and Author we integrated digital vector-based map of the Danube River Basin with DEFF relational database for TNMN data. MapGude Server is installed at the Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, in the Croatian Nationl Reference Laboratory CMER (Center for Marine & Environmental Research) under the educational licence. Dynamic Web Pages are created on the server by using Autodesk MapGuide Author and could by dynamically accessed with Autodesk MapGuide Plug-In software which can be downloaded for free from corresponding Internet site. At present, due to the educational licence for Autodesk MapGuide Server and Author as well to the restrictions for dissemination of the TNMN data to the public under the provisions of the Danube Convention (DRPC) the results of the above mentioned experiments are not directly accessible through the Internet. These results will be a part of the PhD Thesis of mrs. Jadranka Pečar-Ilić, which is in preparation, and is planned to submitted for consideration to the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing at the University of Zagreb in Croatia. These results have been partially supported by UNDP/GEF Danube Pollution Reduction Programme within the special project for the Development of Danube Information System (DANUBIS, coordinated by the International Society for Environmental Protection, ISEP Vienna), and could be used within the Intranet of the International Commission of the Danube Convention. This presentation has a purpose to describe the state of the art of this research to potential users in the future if they acquire the appropiate licence for Autodesk MapGuide Server and Author software and obtain the permission to use the application from the authors.

Organization and techical aspects relevant for development of Danube Information System were described. Planning details based on the results of the inception meeting are given. Elements and implementation steps for Danube International Commission Information System are presented. Data inputs, the implementation and test of information system were identified. The Danube Information System (DANUBIS) will be accomplished by means of a distributed Web space with inputs from available information sources and links to a national Web Pages.

Setup of the technical arhitecture of the Danube Information System has been described. The structure and elements of the Information System have been presented. The available information resources have been analysed and the further implementation has been outlined. The following main working fields for the Danube Information System have been identified. - development of a national reviews database - integration of the resourecs from expert groups (as the task of a data and information management expert group) - support for the production of statistical yearbooks and publications - support for the maintenance of the Danube Environment Library and a Central Address Database

This presentation is only a part of the larger project Water Releated Transnational Monitoring Network in Croatia (Croatia TNMN) for which GP Form was prepared. Activities of Monitoring, Laboratory and Information Management within Danube River Protection Convention have been described. Problems in data colection and maintenance in Danubian Countries are discused. Harmonization of national data within the TNMN for Danube River Basin was described. Detailed description of information flow was created. Posible applications of new telematic technologies are discussed with special attention to the integration of relational database and GIS.

This Study is initiated within UNDP/GEF-Project Implementation Activities, after organisation of the UNDP/GEF Implementation Inception Workshop (1997) for Country Project Coordinators and technical personel from Expert Gorups, to discuss UNDP/GEF Work Programme and Operational Principles. The mean Goal of this Study is to contribute to the establishment of a Danube Information System, reinforcement of awareness building and particularly to realise study on information needs and summarise information on communication aspects, relevant for the development of a DRB comprehensive information system. When completed, this study should serve as a basis for discussion on the future Information System Workshop.

Informatrion management of data collected within the Trans-National Monitoring Network for Danube River Basin was initiated in 1996 as a first step towards an integrated trans-national cooperation is the improvement of the existing national information management systems, increasing their compatibility and providing for the information needs at local level, as well as permiting exchange of information at international level. Using new technology, Relational Data Bases (RDB), Geographic Information systems (GIS) and WWW could ne integrated in a Distributed Data Management System (DDMS)

The present report is based on the Assessment of Information Needs and Evaluation of Existing and Proposed Information Systems which was used as a beackground information for the UNDP/GEF Danube River Basin Information System Workshop held in March 23-25. 1998. in Baden (Austria). The results of this report shall support in particular the activities of the ICPDR in conceptualizing and developing a comprehensive Danube Information Network. Furthermore communicartion on environmental aspects and reinforcement of public awareness building should be stimulated in the Danube Region

Environmental Programme for Danube River Basin EPDRB was initiated in Sept. 1991 in Sofia, the Environmental Action Programme was established in 1993 by EEC Coutries, while Danube Protection Convention DRPC was signed in june 1994 in Sofia. This Convention was signed and ratified by Croatia. Within EPDRB Programme the Transnational Monitoring Network for the Danube River Basin TNMN was initiated in 1996. Despite the fact that Croatia was not financially supported by PHARE and other donors it participates in EPDRB Programme from the very beginning. National Monitoring Network in Croatia consists of 132 stations for water quality measurements out of which 8 are included in the First Phase of TNMN. Croatia conducts an active policy in water protection against pollution on national, bilateral and international levels. TNMN data are collected from 1995. At the end of 1996 first experimental WWW page was prepared for TNMN in Croatia. In 1997 Croatia became the Central Point for processing of Basin-Wide TNMN data.

Procjena rizika ima svoje znanstvene i društvene aspekte. To je proces koji koristimo za utvrđivanje utjecaja nekih štetnih uvjeta na zdravlje ljudi ili na kvalitetu okoliša općenito. Znastveni aspekti procjene rizika odnose se na pripremu podloga na kojima će takova procjena biti zasnovana. Primjena procjene rizika provodi se kroz upravljanje rizikom, dakle donošenjem konkretnih mjera za smanjenje rizika, usvajanjem propisa i donošenjem odluka o prihvatljivosti rizika. Sama procjena rizika osigurava prelaz od znanstvenih spoznaja i društvenih potreba prema kontroli rizika koja ima za svrhu održavanja njezine prihvatljive razine. Procjena rizika usko je povezana sa problemima pouzdanosti koji ju ograničavaju. Ona se zasniva na vjerojatnosti nepoželjnog događaja i intenzitetu posljedica takovog događaja. Poimanje rizika u javnosti često ima odlučujući utjecaj na reakciju društva.

Tokom 1995 godine izvršena su uzorkovanja na sve tri postaje (Donji Miholjac, Botovo i Varaždin). Statistički pregledi izrađeni su za svaku postaju koristeći programski paket AARDVARK.

Na poticaj Komisije Evropske zajednice i Programa PHARE uspostavljena je mreža Transnacionalnog monitoringa sliva rijeke Dunav, koja za I. fazu uključuje podatke o kvaliteti voda rijeke Save, Drave i Dunava na 8 lokacija u Republici Hrvatskoj. Tokom 1995 godine uzorci voda nisu prikupljani na rijeci Dunav i na postaji uzvodno od Jasenovca. Raspoloživi podaci za 1995 godinu naknadno su obrađeni pomoću statističkog programskog paketa AARDVARK. Izrađeni su sumarni pregledi podataka za sliv rijeke Save, za sliv rijeke Drave i sumarni pregled za čitav sliv rijeke Dunav u Republici Hrvatskoj.

Development of the integral referral Information System on Investigations of the Adriatic Sea, with built-in functional and organizational aspects of the performed investigations, is described. According to the selected development method, adapted to the software available CASE (Computed Aided System Engineering) "POSE" & RDBMS (Relational DataBase Management System) "INGRES", the Information System (IS) has been designed and implemented. The IS design process is described in detail. The system was subdivided into three subsystems: POM (Project Organization Module), EOM (Expedition Organization Module), and SPMM (Sampling and Parameter Measurements Module). The necessary entities and their relationships were defined using the E-R (Entity-Relationship) diagram concept. The integral E-R diagram was transformed into a set of 3NF (Third Normal Form) relation schemes. The SQL (Structured Query Language) command file was generated and started in the INGRES, producing a relational database scheme. The integrity constraints were built into the database by defining 87 SQL procedures and 146 rules for 61 relation schemes. Therefore, the database integrity control could be performed while the data were inserted. The developed application is based on hierarchically organized frames (Menu, Browse and Report), allowing the information flow ("top-down") between them. The application enables data presentation in space and time under user-defined conditions. The verification of the system was performed using real data from three research projects.

Main regions of radiological measurements in Croatia are: Zagreb region (measurements for NPP Krško) Podravina (measurements for NPP Paks) Baranja (OSIJEK, measurements for NPP Paks) Istra (UČKA, referent station) Velebit (ZAVIŽAN, referent station) Knin (referent station) Biokovo (sv. Jure, referent station) Southeastern Adriatic (DUBROVNIK, referent station). Co-ordination of radiological measurement: Responsible Authority - Division of Nuclear Safety, Ministry of Economic Affairs Responsible Research Institutions - Center for Marine & Environmental Research (ZIMO) of the Ruđer Bošković Institute (IRB) Co-ordinator of radiological measurements - Dr. Stipe Lulic, Laboratory for Radioecology (ZIMO, IRB) Quality Assurance Co-ordinator - Prof. dr. Ivica Ružić, Laboratory for Physico-Chemical Separations (ZIMO, IRB). Participating institutions are: Center for Marine & Envirnmental Research (ZIMO) Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb (IMI) Meteorological and Hydrological Service, Zagreb (DHMZ). Main sources of radiological contamination are: Nuclear Power Plant in Krško, Slovenia Nuclear Power Plant in Paks, Hungary. Reports on NPP Krško Operation and its influence on the environment are given quartaly (including 1996) and summary report is given for the whole year.

Tokom 1996 godine izvršena su uzorkovanja na sve tri postaje (Županja, Jasenovac i Jesenice). Statistička analiza provedena je za svaku postaju primjenom programskog paketa AARDVARK.

Information management should play a very important role in the EPDRB programme because it should enable the effective use of collected information within the Programme for the benefit of all countries involved and serve as a basis for decision-making support in the process of solving environmental problems facing all countries from the region. Danube Applied Research Projects should contribute to the achievment of these goals. In the framework of the EPDRB the activities in developing sound information management were initiated in 1996. Some fundamental results have been obtained by now. Collection and exchange of the First Phase TNMN data is organizes and approved by all reparian countries. Data for water quality determinands are collected for the years 1995 and 1996 and this activity is continued with Data Exchange File Format (DEFF). The exchange was initiated using 3.5" diskettes by traditional mail. In 1997 a succesfull attempt is made to exchange data also via electronic mail. So far data are collected from the following countries: 1. Germany (also by e-mail) 2. Austria 3. Czech Rep. (only 1995, e-mail available) 4. Slovakia 5. Hungary 6. Slovenia (also by e-mail) 7. Croatia (also by e-mail) 8. Bulgaria (diskettes with data files are incorect and cannot be used) 9. Romania (also by e-mail). Water quality data were as yet not collected from Moldavia, Ukraine and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Experimental WWW pages are produced in Croatia and the creation of similar DANUB-ECO WWW pages is proposed for the whole Danube River Basin. The access to textual databases are organised within DANIS (managed by CEIT in Slovakia) and interfaced to WWW by CEDAR at the University of Vienna. Danis provice information on: 1. EPDRB Programme and Danube SAP 2. Danube Watch 3. Working Groups 4. Danube documents, PCU Library 5. Programmes & Projects 6. REC Library Catalogue 7. Experts 8. Events 9. Danube partners 10. Standards 11. Bilateral & Multirateral Treaties12. English-Slovakia-Hungaria water vocabulary. Of course in these activities a number of problems appear which need to be solved. - Funding of basic activities of IMWG and National Information Managers is not completely solved even if the present finantial support needed is lessthan moderate. - Some countries have problems in transfering national data from local systems to DEFF. IMWG tried to solve these problems but responsible authorities from individual countries are not encouraging these attempts. - Applied Research Projects which should support information management (for example M1, M2 and M3) are not collaborating with working groups or they are not yet initiated. - Data Management Sub-Group which is suppose to coordinate development of DANIS has not been active few years. This is one of the reasons, why there is no interaction between DANIS and IMWG. - DANIS needs improvements in order to incease its efficiency. Much of the information is not any more up-to-date. Searching capabilities are not efficient and should be improved substantially. - A number of similar and relevant earlier and present activities on information management are isolated from IMWG activities. For example, earlier Rhine-Danube Project, Danube Project for Equipe Cousteau and new initiatives like Linkage grant from NATO project "Public Access to Danube Environmental Information". - The finantial resources for the improvement of DEFF and AARDVARK are not available for now. However, new technologies are appearing in the market which can fully integrate different remote Relational Data Bases (RDBMS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and World Wide Web facilities. Such new technologies can be used for information activities within EPDRB programme via INTRANET and for dissemination of information to the public via INTERNET. These new developments represent ideal tools for data management within large international programmes such as EPDRB. Unfortunately, at present finantial resources are not yet available for investigating the potential benefits in using these new technologies. One of the ARP should be dedicated to this subject. New development for data management within EPDRB should have high priority in the future ARP"s. Information management should be organised in the future within DMSG subgroup for global needs and specialised management of measured data within MLIM. However, the intensive cooperation is necesary between DMSG and MLIM SG, as well as ARP Projects. The ectablishment of the experimental WWW pages for MLIM and IMWG could serve as a practical implementation of such cooperation. This cannot be achieved without the minimum finantial resources available for these activities.

Information management of data collected within the Transnational Monitoring Network for Danube River Basin is initiated in 1996 as a first step towards an integrated transnational environmental information system. The main goals of this transnational cooperation is improvement of existing national information management systems, increasing their compatibility and providing information needs at the local level as well as permitting the exchange of information at the international level. Monitoring, laboratory and information management activities are described in general, while the information management is discussed in more details. The use of DEFF data and AARDVARK statistical analysis tool are presented on WWW pages for the part of Transnational Monitoring Network of Danube River Basin in Croatia.