The Health Insurance Reform In Bulgaria - Financing Models And Status Evaluation

The article presents a research on the specific characteristics of the existing models for healthcare financing worldwide. It also presents a brief overview of the specific characteristics of Bulgaria’s healthcare system and a survey on the need for healthcare reform in hospital care which identifies the bottlenecks in financing medical services for the population. The main problems resulting from the permanent shortage of financial resources and determined by financing methods that prioritize the quantity rather than the quality of the provided medical services are outlined. The degree of effectiveness of clinical pathways as a tool for hospital funding is assessed

Physiotherapy in Children With Cri Du Chat Syndrome: A Clinical Case

Cri du chat syndrome is a rare genetic abnormality characterized by a specific set of symptoms. It occurs as a result of the deletion of the short arm of the fifth chromosome. The syndrome can be inherited or congenital. Children suffering from this genetic disease have characteristic signs: low birth weight, microcephaly, short fingers, clinodactyly, muscular hypotonia, congenital heart defects, mental retardation, delayed psychomotor development, a characteristic cry resembling a cat`s meow, etc. The timely inclusion of physiotherapy and consistency in the implementation of the physiotherapeutic complexes would help prevent or limit the development of certain deficits, both in the physical development and in the neurological status of the child. This, in turn, will help the parents in their care of the child, ensuring greater independence and socialization within society.The aim of this report is to prepare and present a physiotherapeutic protocol whose purpose is to improve coordination and concentration while helping the patient adapt to activities of daily living.Materials and methods: A case study involving a five-year-old girl with congenital cri du chat syndrome.Results and discussion: Long-term physiotherapy, employing a range of methods and tools at each stage, combined with interdisciplinary collaboration with specialists such as speech therapists, psychologists, and occupational therapists. All of them contribute to the development and adaptation of the patient to the surrounding environment

Climate change coverage: more politics, less weather

Climate change is a global problem, and according to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, it is currently the “greatest challenge facing humanity.” But it is a long-term, slow developing, and often invisible phenomenon so most people do not experience it first hand. Research has shown that news outlets are people’s main source of information on climate change. But how much attention do media professionals pay to the topic

Metabolomic and Proteomic Analysis of the Mesenchymal Stem Cells’ Secretome

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stromal cells with a strong potential in human regenerative medicine due to their ability to renew themselves and differentiate into various specialized cell types under certain physiological or experimental conditions. MSCs secrete a broad spectrum of autocrine and paracrine factors (MSCs’ secretome) that could exert significant effects on cells in their vicinity. MSCs have been clinically tested and have displayed a great potential in the treatment of bone/cartilage fractures and disorders, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and immune, neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases. The therapeutic efficacy of MSCs was initially attributed to their multipotent character and ability to engraft and differentiate at the site of injury. However, in recent years, it has been revealed that either undifferentiated or differentiated MSCs’ secretome plays an important role in the therapeutic potential of MSCs. The deciphering of the composition of MSCs’ secretome through proteomic and metabolic analyses and implementation of certain advanced analytical (nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, mass spectrometry (MS), chromatography, etc.) and immunological methods could contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of MSCs

DOR undergoes nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling, which involves passage through the nucleolus

AbstractDOR is a bi-functional protein that regulates transcription and enhances starvation-induced autophagy. While autophagy has been mostly described as a stress–response mechanism, cells also need autophagy to maintain homeostasis in basal conditions. However, the mechanisms regulating basal autophagy still remain unknown. Our results show that DOR acts in basal autophagy. Indeed, DOR already undergoes nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling in basal conditions and, surprisingly, DOR exits continuously the nucleus and traverses the nucleolus. However, the nucleolus integrity is not essential for both DOR nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling and DOR function on basal autophagy. Taken together, we propose that DOR exit from the nucleus is essential for basal autophagy stimulation even under nucleolus disruption

Damage of Bi-material Structures and Reinforced Composites with Different Industrial Applications

The present paper consists of two parts. In the first part the interface delamination of bi-material structures (unit cell of wind rotor blade) with different material properties under mechanical loading at physical conditions – electricity, temperature and moisture is under consideration. The investigation of the above mentioned structures are motivated by the importance for safety of devices used for energy industry applications. The second part is devoted to renovation of old buildings by using new and modern composite materials. The goal is to find via mathematical modelling the safety zone, the reliability of the structures considered and the detection of possible interface delamination as a function of geometrical, material and physical parameters as well as the pull-out force of modern composites used in building industry. The analysis provided in both parts is based on the modified shear lag method. The results obtained in the first and second parts of the paper are illustrated by tables and figures. Some recommendations and possible criterions are proposed, as well

Водата и каменот како симболи во народната традиција во Свети Николе и Светиниколско

Верувањата се составен дел од животот на човекот, без разлика на која точка од светот живее. Верувањата во натприродните сили, во претскажувачката моќ и многузначноста на сонот, во магиските обреди, во магиската функција на зборовите, го следеле човекот отсекогаш. Во време на војна, на општествени превирања и промени, кога човекот се соочувал со сите форми на злото, таквите активности добиваат поинакво значење. Токму тие станувале средство за излез од безизлезноста, а вербата во невидливата сила што може да помогне кога не постои ништо друго, останувала единствената надеж дека човекот може да преживее и во невозможни услови. Народните верувања на македонскиот народ се поврзани со култните места кои одиграле важна улога при оформувањето на обредните дејства, кои пак, довеле до оформување на народните религии. Култните места произлегле од народните религиозни потреби, а како такви се извојуваат: дрвјата, каменот и водата, кои ce сметале за соодветно адаптирани места во природата, наменети за исползување на сакралните потреби на човекот

Development of AI-Based Tools for Power Generation Prediction

This study presents a model for predicting photovoltaic power generation based on meteorological, temporal and geographical variables, without using irradiance values, which have traditionally posed challenges and difficulties for accurate predictions. Validation methods and evaluation metrics are used to analyse four different approaches that vary in the distribution of the training and test database, and whether or not location-independent modelling is performed. The coefficient of determination,R2, is used to measure the proportion of variation in photovoltaic power generation that can be explained by the model’s variables, while gCO2eq represents the amount of CO2 emissions equivalent to each unit of power generation. Both are used to compare model performance and environmental impact. The results show significant differences between the locations, with substantial improvements in some cases, while in others improvements are limited. The importance of customising the predictive model for each specific location is emphasised. Furthermore, it is concluded that environmental impact studies in model production are an additional step towards the creation of more sustainable and efficient models. Likewise, this research considers both the accuracy of solar energy predictions and the environmental impact of the computational resources used in the process, thereby promoting the responsible and sustainable progress of data science.This research is supported by the Bulgarian National Science Fund in the scope of the project ”Exploration the application of statistics and machine learning in electronics” under contract number κπ-06-H42/1

MSCs Conditioned Media and Umbilical Cord Blood Plasma Metabolomics and Composition.

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) from umbilical cord (UC) blood (UCB) and matrix are tested clinically for a variety of pathologies but in vitro expansion using culture media containing fetal bovine serum (FBS) is essential to achieve appropriate cell numbers for clinical use. Human UCB plasma (hUCBP) can be used as a supplement for hMSCs culture, since UCB is rich in soluble growth factors and due to worldwide increased number of cryopreserved UCB units in public and private banks, without the disadvantages listed for FBS. On the other hand, the culture media enriched in growth factors produced by these hMSCs in expansion (Conditioned medium--CM) can be an alternative to hMSCs application. The CM of the hMSCs from the UC might be a better therapeutic option compared to cell transplantation, as it can benefit from the local tissue response to the secreted molecules without the difficulties and complications associated to the engraftment of the allo- or xeno-transplanted cells. These facts drove us to know the detailed composition of the hUCBP and CM, by 1H-NMR and Multiplexing LASER Bead Technology. hUCBP is an adequate alternative for the FBS and the CM and hUCBP are important sources of growth factors, which can be used in MSCs-based therapies. Some of the major proliferative, chemotactic and immunomodulatory soluble factors (TGF-β, G-CSF, GM-CSF, MCP-1, IL-6, IL-8) were detected in high concentrations in CM and even higher in hUCBP. The results from 1H-NMR spectroscopic analysis of CM endorsed a better understanding of hMSCs metabolism during in vitro culture, and the relative composition of several metabolites present in CM and hUCBP was obtained. The data reinforces the potential use of hUCBP and CM in tissue regeneration and focus the possible use of hUCBP as a substitute for the FBS used in hMSCs in vitro culture

‘Structured’ solidarity of the European Union towards illegal migration challanges in North Macedonia

The paper discusses the structured solidarity of the EU towards illegal migration challanges in North Macedonia. It gives an insight on the migration crisis in 2015 and on the modus operandi that was practiced in North Macedonia, involving the EU and EU member countries in order to manage the crisis and to fight illegal migration and smuggling of migrants