Medical Association in Fiume (Associazione Medica Fiumana) - First Professional Association of Physicians In Fiume (Rijeka)?

The second half of the 19th century in Fiume (now Rijeka) was characterized by the expansion of industrial activity and trade, and the new wealth resulted in a dynamic social life. As a consequence, many new associations were founded in the city, including the Medical Association in Fiume (Associazione medica fiumana), which was established in 1901. The founding procedure was really fast. On January 10th, 1901, the founding committee delivered four samples of the Statute in Italian and one in Hungarian to the Municipality. These were to be passed on via the Governor's office to the Hungarian Ministry of the Interior for approval. On May 4th, 1901, the governor informed the Municipality about the received approval and returned two copies of the statute to the Association. The founding assembly was held on May 23rd, 1901, in the building of the Municipal School for Boys (Ciotta St. 1). The Association's goals included the improvement of medical knowledge, the protection of professional interests, and the enhancement of communication between colleagues. The first president elected was Dr. Giorgio Catti, who held this position until 1913. The members were divided into two categories: ordinary members, who were residents of the town, and extraordinary members residing elsewhere. The official language was Italian, but lectures and discussions could be conducted in any language. The association ceased its activity with the beginning of World War I.

Airborne desert dust in the Northern Adriatic area (Croatia): Different sources.

During the implementation of the INTERREG IT-HR project ECOMOBILITY, whose one of the goals was to estimate the impact of ship emissions on air quality in the port city of Rijeka (Croatia) and Venice (Italy), two particular weekly samples were collected in Rijeka, during the first and the thirteen weeks of sampling, i.e. S01 (16.10.-23.10.2018) and S13 (24.04.-30.04.2019.), respectively. Both samples have similarities regarding species characteristic for desert dust contribution, but HYSPLIT analyses excluded Saharan desert to be the source of the S01 sample. Unlike Saharan dust, this sample had a high contribution of fine and ultrafine particles (>50 % and 9.8 %, respectively), as well as secondary inorganic (sulfates, ammonium) and organic (water soluble organic compounds - WSOC) aerosols. Detailed synoptic situation and HYSPLIT backward trajectories pointed out the Syrian Desert as the source of this collected sample. The same source was proved by MERRA-2 reanalysis of the desert dust emission. Although the Saharan dust episodes, mostly in precipitation, are well known in the Northern Adriatic area, this is the first time to indicate Syrian Desert as a source of airborne particulates. This assumption was confirmed with chemical species characteristic for the Syrian Desert, i.e. higher content of potassium from K- feldspar and phosphates.

Sources of airborne particulates (PM10) in the port city of Rijeka, Croatia.

The air quality monitoring in Rijeka started in the early 1970s and has been oriented to air pollution caused by the big industrial sources (new petroleum refinery, oil burning power plant, coke plant), while maritime traffic was neglected. First emission inventory comprising port emission was done only in 2008 indicating similar level of emissions as road traffic. Further analyses on maritime impact were done within MED project POSEIDON. This was the good opportunity to perform positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis on airborne particulate data and identify principal sources of pollution within the Rijeka urban area. PMF analyses of PM10 collected from the urban background site in the period 2008-2010 identified 5 factors: biomass burning, secondary sulphates, sea spray, road/soil dust and metal industry/traffic. Condition probability functions (CPF) obtained from PMF factors of dust and secondary sulphates indicate that Ca, Fe, Zn and Cu originate from harbour area due to reloading of fertilizers and metal waste, as well as SO42- and NH4+ pointing to maritime corridor leading to the Rijeka harbour. These data could not quantify the maritime impact on the air quality, but gave the first estimation of contribution of various sources to air pollution within the Rijeka Bay area. The maritime contribution to air quality was estimated in other part of the same project, as primary PM2.5 emission obtained from vanadium. Both primary PM2.5 emission and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon profiles indicated reduced economic activity, including maritime traffic, during economic crisis in the period 2008-2012.

Characterization of airborne particulate fractions from the port city of Rijeka, Croatia.

The aim of this work was characterization of airborne particulates in the port city of Rijeka in order to evaluate impact of ship emissions on air quality. Samples of airborne particulates were collected with a ten stages cascade impactor during two campaigns: autumn and spring. A total of 16 weekly samples were analyzed on mass concentration, ions, metals and carbonaceous species (EC, OC, WSOC). Distribution of airborne fractions showed a bimodal distribution, with two maxima: one in coarse, and other in fine fraction. Source apportionment using PMF receptor model identified six sources of airborne particulates in Rijeka: crustal, biomass burning, sea salt, traffic/metal industry, combustion/SIA and HFO burning, i.e., ship emission (contribution 3%). The contribution of ship traffic to primary emission of particulate matter, using vanadium as tracer, indicated a twofold increase for PM10 and PM2.5 relative to 2012-14. An unusual desert dust event was registered in autumn campaign.

Sanitary conditions in the Austrohungarian war harbour Pola (Pula, Croatia) in 1916-17: foundation of the Hygienic Institute.

Since 1850 the town of Pola (today Pula, Croatia) underwent big changes and growth due to its transformation into the principal military port of Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Besides the Admiralty that governed the naval actions, the harbor was supported by different organizations needed for normal functioning of the harbor. One of this organizations was Naval Technical Committee (Marine Technisches Komitee), founded in 1874 with the purpose of solving the technical and technological issues related to the navy. The outbreak of World War I (WWI) posed new challenges for Europe. Thus, on February 29th 1916, the Hygienic Institute was founded in the harbor area and Dr. Karl Cafasso was appointed as the first director. The purpose of the Institute was to provide scientific and professional aid to the Head of the Medical Corps of the Ports' Board (Kriegs-Hafenkommando) in the field of epidemiology, microbiology, social medicine and hygiene, the main fields of public health even today. By the end of the war, the Institute ceased its activity, and similar was founded only in 1938, under Italian rule and has been developed to the present Institute of Public Health.

Secondary Sulfur and Nitrogen Species in PM10 from the Rijeka Bay Area (Croatia).

Samples of PM10 were collected over a 12 month period at two sites approximately 5 km apart. Site 1 was an urban site in the center of the city of Rijeka, Croatia, and Site 2 was an industrial site in the proximity of a shipyard, located in the southeastwards direction from the city. No significant differences in airborne concentrations of PM10 or secondary inorganic ions were found between the two sites. Therefore, the sampling continued only at Site 1. The dominant airborne compound was ammonium sulfate, being approximately six times more abundant in the summer (S) months than ammonium nitrate. This ratio was lower in the winter (W) months, being approximately 1.5 at both sites. Seasonal distribution of secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA), particularly SO42- is emphasized in 2008-2009 with W/S <1, most likely caused by local emissions, meteorology and long-range transport. In spite of closing down the petroleum refinery facilities in mid-2008, no significant decline in airborne concentrations of sulfates, nitrates or ammonium were observed during the period from 2007 to 2009 at the site nearest to the refinery (Site 1).

Beginning of modern meteorological measurements in Fiume (Rijeka).

When reporting on extreme weather conditions in the city of Rijeka (former Fiume), it is often specified " ... since the beginning of measurements in 1948". In reality the modern meteorological measurements in Fiume had started already in 1868, when the Austrian Imperial Academy of Science established the meteorological station. The station was operating at the Naval Academy, under the supervision of prof. dr. Emil Stahlberger, the first university professor of physics in Fiume (Rijeka). The following year the station was equipped with mareograph (marigraph/tide gauge). Based on three years measurements, prof. Stahlberger published the first book on tides in the Rijeka bay (Ueber die Ebbe und Flut in der Rhede von Fiume). After his sudden death, Prof. Peter Salcher, his succesor at the Physics chair at the Naval academy, took charge of the Meteorological station. In 1884. He published the book entitled Climate in Rijeka and Opatija (Das Klima von Fiume und Abbazia). The meteorological data in the book are presented in the very same way as it is done today, and therefore these data can be used for comparative purposes regarding climate variations/ changes.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in marine sediments from the Rijeka Bay area, Northern Adriatic, Croatia, 1998-2006.

The first analyses of PAHs in marine sediments within Rijeka Bay started in 1998 at three sampling sites offshore from the petroleum refinery facilities and were extended in 1999 to three more sampling points in front of the repair shipyard within the same east industrial zone. The small Svezanj cove, lying between the shipyard and the petroleum refinery was chosen as the reference point. The concentrations of PAHs were considerably higher in the shipyard environment (average: 3009-6314 µg kg⁻¹ d.w.) in comparison to the petroleum refinery area (average: 279-919 µg kg⁻¹ d.w.), while the PAHs load at reference point was close to the latter level (average: 717 µg kg⁻¹ d.w.). The Phe/Anth and Flo/Py ratios indicate the dominant pyrogenic sources, except for the results from 1999 to 2000 with dominant petrogenic origin at some sites. A declining trend of total PAHs, and consequently toxicity indices was observed at all sites.

Sanitary conditions in the city of Fiume (Rijeka) at the of the 19th century.

The Municipal Sanitary Commission (Commisione sanitaria municipale) was founded in Fiume (Rijeka) at the end of the 19th century. The well known physician of the municipal hospital, Dr. Antonio Grossich was its first president. In his inaugural speech he pointed out the mortality within the city during the last decade as 28 ‰. Based on the monthly reports from the municipal physicians, Dr. Giovanni Benzan evaluated the mortality within the city as 25,9 ‰ in 1900. Mortality of children under age of five accounted for almost half of the estimated mortality (11,4‰), while contribution of tuberculosis was the second (5,8‰). Feeding with cow milk caused considerable mortality among small children, thus pointing to the necessity for milk control in the market. He also proposed destruction and resettling the population from the inner city area with poor sanitary conditions. In his opinion, municipal authorities' duty was to educate the population to promote hygiene, e.g. disinfection of homes and cloth, in order to prevent tuberculosis. Dr. Benzan complained about hygiene in the old inadequate school buildings, with technical faults. He proposed the systematic check-up of school children. He pointed out the importance of the new water supply system, that led to eradication of typhus in the city. The problem of dusty roads though remained, and his solution was to wash the streets. He promoted food control, hygiene in public places and disinfection of sewage water. His plans included building up of the new municipal hospital, waste incinerator, crematorium, public and sea-side bath, new hostel for workers immigrating into the city.

Dustfall measurements in Primorsko-Goranska County, 1975-2008.

Dustfall measurements in Primorsko-goranska county started in 1975 in the Bakar Bay (Site 2 - Bakar and Site 3 - Kraljevica). The measurements were extended to the city of Rijeka (Site 1 - Rijeka) in 1982, to the nearby islands (Site 4 - Krk and Site 5 - Cres) in 1986, and inland to Gorski Kotar (Site 6 - Delnice and Site 7 - Lividraga) in 1995. This article brings the results of dustfall measurements from 1975 to 2008. Dustfall was low in the city, the nearby islands, and Gorski Kotar. Recommended and limit values were occasionally exceeded in the Bakar Bay due to emissions from the coke plant and harbour at Site 2 (1979-1997) and from the shipyard at Site 3. Lead content in the dustfall was below the national limits, save for two occasions at Site 2. Deposition of sulphur and nitrogen at the inland sites were below the respective critical load values.

2008 - a year of three anniversaries: 125th anniversary of the Club for Natural Sciences in Fiume (Rijeka), 160th anniversary of the birth and 80th anniversary of the death of Professor Peter Salcher.

The Natural Science Club was founded in Fiume/Rijeka (Naturwissentschaflichen Club in Fiume/Club di scienze naturali in Fiume) on November 28th 1883. The foundation charter stipulated no restriction on language use, and lectures could be held in any language. Right from the start, the Club had active women members, and one of them, Rosa Fatour, the headmistress of the municipal school, held a lecture entitled "Development of anthropology" as early as in 1889. The Club started to publish a bilingual bulletin in German and Italian in 1896 (Mittheilungen des Naturwissenshaftlichen Clubs in Fiume/Bolletino del Club di scienze naturali in Fiume), bringing not only reports on lectures held in the Club, but also important scientific and professional papers. In 1896, several sections were founded within the Club, as follows: 1. The Committee for Röntgen, whose aim was to purchase the Röntgen apparatus. This task was completed in 1897. The apparatus was ceded to the municipal hospital in 1899, and the Committee was disbanded. 2. The Photography Section, lead initially by A. Riegler. The section organized several photo exhibitions in which women often took part.3. The Prehistoric Research Section was founded subsequent to the discovery of the remains of an old fortification in the town. This section collaborated closely with the municipal museum. Since founding and until 1902, Prof Peter Salcher held important positions in the Club; he founded the Röntgen Committee and the Photography Section; he himself gave 31 lectures and was editor of the German part of the Bulletin.

Airborne ammonia and ammonium within the Northern Adriatic area, Croatia.

Determination of airborne ammonia started in the early 1980s, as a part of air pollution monitoring of industrial plants. Due to high emissions, the city of Rijeka was one of the most polluted in Croatia in the mid-1980s. Considerable reductions in SO2 and NO(x) emissions led to lower airborne levels of these pollutants in the mid 1990s. In spite of the coke plant closure in 1994, there was only a weak decline in airborne ammonia over the period 1980--2005, with annual means in the range of 12-20 microg m(-3) at urban Site 1 and 6-28 microg m(-3) at suburban Site 2. Similar behaviour has been observed with ammonium in bulk rainwater samples since 1996. Higher and approximately equal deposition of nitrogen as ammonium (N-NH4+) were obtained for the urban Site 1 and the mountainous Site 4, but with different causative facts. Ammonium's contribution to total nitrogen (NO3(-)+NH4+) deposition is approximately two thirds, even for a remote Site 3.

Atmospheric particulate matter and ozone under heat-wave conditions: do they cause an increase of mortality in Croatia?

In August 2003 Croatia experienced a heat-wave period during which elevated concentrations of particulate matter (PM10) and ozone in ambient air were measured. By applying the model of Stedman and Rooney et al., it was shown that a significant part of excess mortality during this period can be attributed to PM10 and ozone in ambient air.

Plasma copper concentrations in pathological pregnancies.

Copper is an essential element required for the formation of many enzymes with important roles in the human body. During pregnancy, the maternal serum copper concentration is increased due to the higher levels of ceruloplasmin that are the result of elevated oestrogen levels. The aim of this work was to investigate maternal plasma copper concentrations in relation to various pathological conditions during pregnancy. A total of 319 maternal plasma samples were analysed: 103 taken from women in the first trimester, 73 in the second trimester, 99 in the third trimester of pregnancy and 44 at delivery. The plasma concentration of copper during each trimester of normal pregnancy was taken as a reference value. Group comparisons performed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Dunnett test indicated substantially lower plasma concentrations of copper in pathological conditions diagnosed during the first trimester of pregnancy (spontaneous abortion, threatened abortion, missed abortion and blighted ovum). No significant differences in maternal plasma blood copper concentrations were found in pathological conditions (threatened abortion, threatened preterm delivery and pyelonephritis) diagnosed in the second trimester of pregnancy. Significant differences in plasma copper concentrations were found in the third trimester, for which finding the Dunnett test indicated the cholestasis group to be responsible. Except for twin pregnancy, a tendency to higher plasma copper concentrations, however not statistically significant, was observed in other pathological conditions during the third trimester (gestosis, intrauterine growth retardation, preterm labour).

[100 years of continuous preventive medicine in the area of Rijeka]. / Sto godina neprekinutog djelovanja preventivnomedicinskih ustanova na podrucju Rijeke.

The Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture established a chemical investigation service named. The Hungarian Royal Experimental Chemical Service of the City of Rijeka. According to the information found in the city's archive, as well as to the news published in the daily newspaper of that time "La Bilancia", the Service started its activity on April 8th, 1900. The Service was in fact the first organized institution of public health within this region and the current Institute of Public Health is its direct heir. At the end of the World War I, the city of Rijeka was incorporated to the Kingdom of Italy in 1924, while the territory of Susak came under the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The Chemical Investigation Service, though changing different names, continued its activity. As the Provincial Laboratory for Hygiene and Prophylaxis, the institution carried on its activity from 1927 until the end of World War II in 1945. As the consequence of the frontier erected on the river banks of Rjecina, the Susak area remained without a single medical institution. The first organized institution of public health in this area was the Bacteriological Service in Kraljevica, established in 1923. The Health Care Center Susak was founded in February 1926 and moved in a new building located in Kumicica St. No 6. Subsequent to Italian occupation of Susak in 1941, the major parts of the Health Care Center moved to Crikvenica, continuing its activity within the district of Susak that came under the Independent State of Croatia (NDH). The smaller part of the Center that remained in Susak ceased its activity in 1942. After the liberation in May 1945, the Health Care Center came back to Susak. Due to the fact that the most of experts left the town by the end of war, the activity of the Laboratory in Rijeka was reduced in that period. In 1946 the organization structure had already been changed with Sanitary Epidemiological Service (SES) founded in Susak, and the Municipal SES established in Rijeka. Both institutions were on January 1st united into the regional Hygienic Institute in Rijeka. The Hygienic Institute and the Health Care Center Rijeka (founded in 1953) were unified into the Institute of Public Health on July 1st 1960. A huge improvement in preventive medical service was obtained by moving into a new building of the Institute in nowdays location in Kresimirova St. No 52a.