“Give a Man a Fish: Reflections on the New Politics of Distribution”, by James Ferguson [Book Review]

Development policy and discourse have long shied away from the idea of giving money directly to the poor. In his latest book, anthropologist James Ferguson argues that this reluctance is slowly giving way. He documents a veritable ‘cash transfer revolution’ taking place in the Global South, with countries such as South Africa, Brazil and Namibia in the vanguard. Drawing on a rich empirical and ethnographic literature on cash transfers and the livelihoods of the poor, with a focus on southern Africa, Ferguson delivers a thought-provoking analysis of the genesis, limitations and radical potential of these programmes. At its most original, the book is a meditation on dependence, distribution and the future of work and radical politics

“Give a Man a Fish: Reflections on the New Politics of Distribution”, by James Ferguson [Book Review]

Development policy and discourse have long shied away from the idea of giving money directly to the poor. In his latest book, anthropologist James Ferguson argues that this reluctance is slowly giving way. He documents a veritable ‘cash transfer revolution’ taking place in the Global South, with countries such as South Africa, Brazil and Namibia in the vanguard. Drawing on a rich empirical and ethnographic literature on cash transfers and the livelihoods of the poor, with a focus on southern Africa, Ferguson delivers a thought-provoking analysis of the genesis, limitations and radical potential of these programmes. At its most original, the book is a meditation on dependence, distribution and the future of work and radical politics

Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT) - pathogenesis and laboratory

Introduction: Our interest was provoked by severe isolated thrombocytopenia (48x10 / 9 / L) in a baby born by Caesarean section. It was a newborn - firstborn after two consecutive spontaneous abortions after the third month of pregnancy.Materials and Methods: As a material, we used capillary blood taken with an EDTA anticoagulant, tested on an automatic hematology counter Mindray-BC-3000Plus and a blood smear stained by Romanowsky-Giemsa. The mother’s Rh group, as determined by the pregnancy record, was positive.Results and Discussion: Laboratory results showing thrombocytopenia, abortions identified from a past history, and the absence of visible genetic abnormalities in the baby have led to a suspicion of fetal/neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (F/NAIT).Conclusion: Although many cases are mild, NAIT is one of the most common causes of severe thrombocytopenia and intracranial hemorrhage in the fetus and the newborn. The diagnosis of NAIT should be considered in the differential diagnosis plan whenever the newborn is with severe thrombocytopenia

ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITIES OF SOME WILD MUSHROOM EXTRACTS AGAINST PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA

Mushrooms synthesize a multitude of low-molecular-weight secondary metabolites that have an important role as communication signals, to defend mushroom habitat or to inhibit the growth of competitors. Investigations have shown that some of these metabolites have potent antimicrobial activity and could be beneficial for humans. In this study, antimicrobial potential of the extracts from six wild mushrooms: Amanita echinocephala, Russula medulata, Cerena unicolor, Hericium erinaceus, Ishnoderma benzoinum and Laetiporus sulphureus was evaluated against Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The antimicrobial activities of the methanolic mushroom extracts were investigated by the microdilution method. All the extracts that demonstrated inhibitory activities were further tested for bactericidal activity and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values were determined. Antimicrobial activity was observed in all species included in the study, while the activities depended on the type and concentration of extract. The tested microorganism was more sensitive to the examined extracts from the polypore fungi (C. unicolor, H. erinaceus, I. benzoinum and L. sulphureus). The highest antibacterial activity was obtained in the extracts from polypores I. benzoinum and L. sulphureus (MBC=15.625 mg/mL). This study demonstrated that the analysed wild macrofungi have the potential to accumulate bioactive metabolites that possess antimicrobial activity

Possibilities for the use and influence of non-woven cover canvas - agrill on the development of spring cabbage on the open field

Cabbage is a cruciferous leafy vegetable that is mostly used fresh as a salad and juice, as stew, for pickling, marinated, dried or frozen product that allows it to be used throughout the year. Cabbage has a high content of dry matter, especially protein and sugar - monosaccharides, and its energy value is 106 kJ. It is rich in vitamin C, and also contains a lot of iron, calcium and potassium. Cabbage needs moderate temperature for cultivation. The main objective of this trial was to determine the possibility of using and the influence of non-woven cover canvas - agril on the development of spring cabbage in the open field. The trials were performed near the village Robovo, Bosilovo. The experiments were carried out during the production year 2022/23. The hybrid KEVIN F1, which is a mid-early hybrid of spring cabbage, was used for this researches. The vegetation period, using the agrill cover canvas in the production of early spring cabbage in the open field in the KEVIN F1 hybrid, was shortened. The use of agrill contributed to an increase in the cabbage yield per unit area. One of the possibilities that contribute to obtaining early production of fresh cabbage in the early spring part of the open field is the use of the covering non-woven canvas - agrill. Key words: cabbage, cover canvas, agrill, vegetation, yiel

“Give a Man a Fish: Reflections on the New Politics of Distribution”, by James Ferguson [Book Review]

Development policy and discourse have long shied away from the idea of giving money directly to the poor. In his latest book, anthropologist James Ferguson argues that this reluctance is slowly giving way. He documents a veritable ‘cash transfer revolution’ taking place in the Global South, with countries such as South Africa, Brazil and Namibia in the vanguard. Drawing on a rich empirical and ethnographic literature on cash transfers and the livelihoods of the poor, with a focus on southern Africa, Ferguson delivers a thought-provoking analysis of the genesis, limitations and radical potential of these programmes. At its most original, the book is a meditation on dependence, distribution and the future of work and radical politics

Intercultural Learning and Entrepreneurship

Report published in the Proceedings of the National Conference on "Education and Research in the Information Society", Plovdiv, May, 2014Intercultural learning, knowledge and competences are still widely divergent in the interpretations by academic authors and in the educational and VET programs in different European countries. The aim of the intercultural learning is to help students understand,communicate with, and incorporate other peoples’ cultural values in their national culture, while preserving the identity of each. Intercultural exchange, as a whole, is strongly dependant on the level and trends of the economic development. The current global crisis and political clashes decrease the magnitude of intercultural understanding as it was similar over some periods in the European history. Book binding, as an indispensable element of the cultural industry, has always reflected, followed and expressed these cultural trends.Association for the Development of the Information Society, Institute of Mathematics and Informatics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski