THE ANIMATION – AN ATTRACTION AND /OR A NEED (THE CASE OF COMPANY BVS ENTERTAINMENT LTD.)

Animation industry is constantly presented in each tourism activity. It has the purpose to positively affect the tourists and leave the feeling of exclusiveness, uniqueness and unforgettable memories of the trip. Tourism animation has complex nature – it should affect the tourists to take part in animation events without using any compulsion, bring people together through communication, find, direct and develop various types of talents and abilities among the tourists, and etc. Therefore the problems animator is facing require him/her to have different knowledge and skills which should be successfully applied in a particular case. In a way animator’s occupation represents a mixture of the jobs of the teacher, social worker, colleague, friend and all of this should be skilfully combined in one person. Animator should predispose all the tourists, affect them positively, make lots of contacts without neglecting or protecting individuals, be able to entertain and amuse all the tourists in interesting and attractive way. Animator should be able to work in perfect harmony not only with tourists and fellow animators but also with his/her colleagues performing other types of tourism services / accommodation and food / because otherwise a separate animation program could hardly be achieved.The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that animation is no longer an additional service in tourism, but a vital necessity for any tourist complex, providing it with an unique competitive advantage.Animation industry is constantly presented in each tourism activity. It has the purpose to positively affect the tourists and leave the feeling of exclusiveness, uniqueness and unforgettable memories of the trip. Tourism animation has complex nature – it should affect the tourists to take part in animation events without using any compulsion, bring people together through communication, find, direct and develop various types of talents and abilities among the tourists, and etc. Therefore the problems animator is facing require him/her to have different knowledge and skills which should be successfully applied in a particular case. In a way animator’s occupation represents a mixture of the jobs of the teacher, social worker, colleague, friend and all of this should be skilfully combined in one person. Animator should predispose all the tourists, affect them positively, make lots of contacts without neglecting or protecting individuals, be able to entertain and amuse all the tourists in interesting and attractive way. Animator should be able to work in perfect harmony not only with tourists and fellow animators but also with his/her colleagues performing other types of tourism services / accommodation and food / because otherwise a separate animation program could hardly be achieved.The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that animation is no longer an additional service in tourism, but a vital necessity for any tourist complex, providing it with an unique competitive advantage

VIOLENT AND NON-VIOLENT DEATH IN THE CITY OF SOFIA AND SOFIA REGION FOR THE PERIOD 2011-2017 BY MATERIALS OF THE CLINIC OF FORENSIC MEDICINE AT UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL "ALEXANDROVSKA" - SOFIA

Introduction: The subject of the present study are the causes of death for the period 2011-2017, established in the Clinic of Forensic Medicine and Deontology, Sofia, covering cases from Sofia city and Sofia region. All cases are divided into two categories - sudden, non-violent death and violent death /homicide, suicide or accidents/. Materials and methods: Forensic autopsies were performed according the standard section technique, as well as additional histological and toxicological examinations of blood, urine and internal organ samples. A statistical analysis was carried out. Results: For the studied period of time, a total of 6614 forensic medical autopsies were performed. In both groups of non-violent sudden death and violent death, the most common causes of death were divided by sex and age. Discussion: The statistical indicators that take into account the number, type and structure of distribution of the human mortality, represent the ultimate outcome of life as a consequence of changes in the individual's state of health. These findings are a clear and fair indicator of the socio-economic, domestic and socio-political conditions in which people live. The report and analysis of the results on the cause, type and structure of death enables the determination of the level of quality of human life in the society as well as it helps searching, identifying and solving problems, in order to prevent adequately deaths from these diseases

Photodynamic opening of the blood-brain barrier using different photosensitizers in mice

In a series of previous studies, we demonstrated that the photodynamic therapy (PDT), as a widely used tool for treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), also site-specifically opens the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in PDT-dose and age-related manner via reversible disorganization of the tight junction machinery. To develop the effective protocol of PDT-opening of the BBB, here we answer the question of what kind of photosensitizer (PS) is the most effective for the BBB opening. We studied the PDT-opening of the BBB in healthy mice using commercial photosensitizers (PSs) such as 5-aminolevulenic acid (5-ALA), aluminum phthalocyanine disulfonate (AlPcS), zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and new synthetized PSs such as galactose functionalized ZnPc (GalZnPc). The spectrofluorimetric assay of Evans Blue albumin complex (EBAC) leakage and 3-D confocal imaging of FITC-dextran 70 kDa (FITCD) extravasation clearly shows a revisable and dose depended PDT-opening of the BBB toEBACand FITCD associated with a decrease in presence of tight junction (TJ) in the vascular endothelium. The PDT effects on the BBB permeability, TJ expression and the fluorescent signal from the brain tissues are more pronounced in PDT-GalZnPc vs. PDT-5-ALA/AlPcS/ZnPc. These pre-clinical data are the first important informative platform for an optimization of the PDT protocol in the light of new knowledge about PDT-opening of the BBB for drug brain delivery and for the therapy of brain diseases. © 2019 by the authors

BIO-TRACE ANALYSIS OF A BITE MARK SCAR LEFT ON THE HAND OF A PERPETRATOR OF A CRIME – A FORENSIC CASE REPORT

Introduction: We present a case of a homicide of a woman that was manually strangulated after she was sexually abused. On the right hand of the suspect specific scars were observed that could be dated around a month before our examination. In addition we were given gypsum casts of the deceased’s upper and lower jaws, as well as all the autopsy findings. Materials and methods: Examination of the suspect, analysis of the autopsy findings and the gypsum casts from the upper and lower jaws of the deceased, photo-superimposition, analysis of the results. Results: In this case, the obtained results showed the stable characteristics after the static and dynamic impact on perceptive surface (the hand of the perpetrator). These characteristics of the scars perfectly matched the specific features of the gypsum casts from the upper and lower jaw of the deceased. The study was performed by photo-superimposition and bio-trace analysis. Conclusion: Such types of forensic analysis are extremely important and informative in investigating criminal offenses, especially in cases where there is no other objective evidence (material evidence, testimony, available DNA research material, etc.) to identify the perpetrator of the crime

The laser technologies of targeted opening of blood-brain barrier for drug brain delivery

Here we show the photodynamic treatmen

A review of career devoted to biophotonics-in memoriam to Ekaterina Borisova (1978-2021)

Regretfully, because of her sudden demise, Assoc. Prof. Ekaterina Borisova is no longer amongst us. COVID-19 pulled away a brilliant scientist during the peak of her scientific career (see Fig. 1). All authors would like to express deepest condolences and sincere support to her family, friends, relatives and colleagues! We, therefore, rightfully commemorate her dedicated and devoted contribution to biophotonics, her readiness to always support, help, motivate and inspire all her colleagues and collaborators

Identifying Individual T Cell Receptors of Optimal Avidity for Tumor Antigens.

Cytotoxic T cells recognize, via their T cell receptors (TCRs), small antigenic peptides presented by the major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) on the surface of professional antigen-presenting cells and infected or malignant cells. The efficiency of T cell triggering critically depends on TCR binding to cognate pMHC, i.e., the TCR-pMHC structural avidity. The binding and kinetic attributes of this interaction are key parameters for protective T cell-mediated immunity, with stronger TCR-pMHC interactions conferring superior T cell activation and responsiveness than weaker ones. However, high-avidity TCRs are not always available, particularly among self/tumor antigen-specific T cells, most of which are eliminated by central and peripheral deletion mechanisms. Consequently, systematic assessment of T cell avidity can greatly help distinguishing protective from non-protective T cells. Here, we review novel strategies to assess TCR-pMHC interaction kinetics, enabling the identification of the functionally most-relevant T cells. We also discuss the significance of these technologies in determining which cells within a naturally occurring polyclonal tumor-specific T cell response would offer the best clinical benefit for use in adoptive therapies, with or without T cell engineering

Correction to: Two years later: Is the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still having an impact on emergency surgery? An international cross-sectional survey among WSES members

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is still ongoing and a major challenge for health care services worldwide. In the first WSES COVID-19 emergency surgery survey, a strong negative impact on emergency surgery (ES) had been described already early in the pandemic situation. However, the knowledge is limited about current effects of the pandemic on patient flow through emergency rooms, daily routine and decision making in ES as well as their changes over time during the last two pandemic years. This second WSES COVID-19 emergency surgery survey investigates the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on ES during the course of the pandemic. Methods: A web survey had been distributed to medical specialists in ES during a four-week period from January 2022, investigating the impact of the pandemic on patients and septic diseases both requiring ES, structural problems due to the pandemic and time-to-intervention in ES routine. Results: 367 collaborators from 59 countries responded to the survey. The majority indicated that the pandemic still significantly impacts on treatment and outcome of surgical emergency patients (83.1% and 78.5%, respectively). As reasons, the collaborators reported decreased case load in ES (44.7%), but patients presenting with more prolonged and severe diseases, especially concerning perforated appendicitis (62.1%) and diverticulitis (57.5%). Otherwise, approximately 50% of the participants still observe a delay in time-to-intervention in ES compared with the situation before the pandemic. Relevant causes leading to enlarged time-to-intervention in ES during the pandemic are persistent problems with in-hospital logistics, lacks in medical staff as well as operating room and intensive care capacities during the pandemic. This leads not only to the need for triage or transferring of ES patients to other hospitals, reported by 64.0% and 48.8% of the collaborators, respectively, but also to paradigm shifts in treatment modalities to non-operative approaches reported by 67.3% of the participants, especially in uncomplicated appendicitis, cholecystitis and multiple-recurrent diverticulitis. Conclusions: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still significantly impacts on care and outcome of patients in ES. Well-known problems with in-hospital logistics are not sufficiently resolved by now; however, medical staff shortages and reduced capacities have been dramatically aggravated over last two pandemic years