Effect of the Main Soil Tillage Types on the Agronomic Response of Wheat in the Region of Souht Dobrudzha

Wheat yield (Triticum aestivum L. – cv. Enola) obtained under different main soil tillage systems in 4-field crop rotation (common bean-wheat-sunflower-grain maize), is strongly influenced by the regional soil (Haplic Chernozems) and the climatic conditions. This study was carried out at the trial field of Dobrudzha Agricultural Institute-General Toshevo from 2014 to 2016. The influence of seven main soil tillage systems (MSTS) on the yield and the physical properties of wheat grain was investigated. Four of these MSTS were applied independently and annually in crop rotation: 1. CP - conventional plowing (24-26 cm); 2. D – disking (10-12 cm) 3. C – cutting; 4. NT - nil tillage (direct sowing). The other three MSTS systems included: 5. Plowing (for spring crops) – Direct sowing (of wheat); 6. Cutting (for spring crops) - Disking (for wheat) and 7. Plowing (for spring crops) - Disking (for wheat). The mineral fertilization in the crop rotation was as follows: Common bean – N60P60K60; Wheat – N120P120K60; Sunflower - N60P120K120 and Maize – N120P60K60.The objectives were: (i) to investigate the seasonal variability in wheat yield as influenced by the tillage systems; (ii) to investigate the variability in the physical properties of wheat grain and (iii) to evaluate the correlations between the grain yield and the physical properties of wheat grain. A significant differentiation in the productivity of wheat was found depending on the tested MSTS systems. Lowest mean yields were obtained at the annual use of systems 3 and 4 - 4541 kg ha-1. Among the annually applied systems, constant disking was the most favorable for expression of the crop’s production potential. The mean addition to yield according to constant plowing in the crop rotation was 4541 kg ha-1. The systems involving annual alternation of tillage types with and without turning of the plow layer exceeded with 232.0 kg ha-1 (4.77%) the same systems, which were applied independently. The alternation of plowing for root crops with direct sowing of wheat was most efficient from an agronomic point of view. In comparison to annual plowing, the increase of productivity was with 280.5 kg ha-1 (5.62%). The values of the physical properties of grain were also highly differentiated according to MSTS. The constant application of disking in the crop rotation contributed to the production of grain with the best physical indices – absolute weight 43.15 g and test weight 76.86 kg. The use of the systems Cutting – Cutting and Direct sowing – Direct sowing had negative effect on both the yield and the physical properties of gain. Averaged for the period, the correlation between the grain yield and the physical indices of grain was high and positive. The mean value of the correlation coefficient between the yield and the test weight (0.930**) was higher than the correlation coefficient of the yield with 1000 kernel weight (0.780**). The correlation between the absolute and the test weight of grain was very high in all three years of the investigation

Combined Partial Dental Prosthesis With Bar Attachment

Приема се, че за първи път Gilmore през 1913 г. е предложил траверса като опорно-задръжно средство на частична протеза. Тя представлява гредичка, която се разполага на около 1-2 мм над лигавицата и свързва по права линия две отстоящи коронки, които се залепват към опорните зъби. От тогава до днес технологиите са се развили неимоверно много и вече траверси се фиксират и към имплантати. Показания за използване на траверсно свързване има, когато е налице поне един ограничен участък, в който зъбите могат да се свържат по права линия. Но ако опорните зъби са депулпирани, с непрецизно запълнени коренови канали или с периапикални изменения и изгубени резервни сили на пародонта, такъв тип задръжно-опорно средство е неподходящ. Неудобството на металните траверсни системи с овоидни профили е, че след време (1-1,5 г.) еластичността на ездача отслабва, пружината се амортизира и протезата потъва. У нас са създадени траверсни системи със сменяеми ездачи от еластично податлива пластмаса, която обхваща плътно траверсата. След време се препоръчва подмяна на ездача и така функционалната годност на протезата се увеличава. Освен това вече масово навлизат безметалните технологии в зъбопротезирането. Целта на настоящата статия е да представи клиничен случай, отнасящ се до протезиране на пациент с помощта на комбинирана конструкция с траверси върху имплантати на долна челюст. Пластмасовият ездач, поради еластичната деформация и това, че стои свободно и не се фиксира неподвижно в частичната протеза, позволява да се развият микродвижения двустранно. Постига се висок естетически ефект, защото траверсата остава скрита. Въпреки изброените предимства на този вид зъбопротезни конструкции, все още не е разрешен проблемът с натрупването на зъбна плака и хранителни остатъци около траверсата и ездача. Това създава условия за възпаление на лигавицата. Възможно е да се образува въздушна камера с намалено налягане между траверсата и алвеоларния гребен и като последствие - пролиферация на лигавицата.It is thought that, in 1913, Gilmore was the first to suggest a bar as a fixing and stabilizing apparatus in a partial dental prosthesis. This is a bar, which is placed 1-2 mm over the mucosa and directly connects, in a straight line, two outlying crowns, which are glued to the abutment teeth. Since then the technology has evolved immensely and now bars are attached to dental implants as well. There are indications for bar attachment when there is at least one limited area in which teeth can be connected in a straight line. However, if the abutment teeth are depulped, with imprecisely filled root canals, or with periapical changes and with lost reserve strength of the periodontium, such fixing and stabilizing construction is not suitable. The disadvantage of metal bar systems with ovoid profiles is that with time (1-1.5 years) the elasticity of the saddle decreases, the spring wears out and the prosthesis sinks. In our country, bar systems with changeable saddles from flexible plastic, which enfold the bar completely, have been created. A change of the saddle is recommended after a certain period of time in order to extend the functional fitness of the prosthesis. In addition, nonmetal technologies have gained popularity in the field of prosthodontics. The aim of the current article is to present two clinical cases related to placing prostheses on patients with the help of combined constructions with bars over implants in the upper and lower jaw. The plastic saddle, due to elastic deformation and the fact that it is free and not fixed in the partial prosthesis, allows the development of bilateral micromovements. An excellent esthetic effect is achieved because the bar remains hidden. Despite the indicated advantages of this type of dental prostheses, the problem with the accumulation of dental plaque and food particles around the bar and the saddle remains. This creates conditions for inflammation of the mucosa. There is a possibility of the existence of an air chamber with decreased pressure between the bar and the alveolar ridge, which may lead to mucosal proliferation

Level of vascular ligation and association with oncological expediency in sigmoid and rectal cancer

Introduction: The techniques and oncology feasibility of high vascular ligation of the inferior mesenteric artery along with their varieties – low tie (LT) and high tie (HT) techniques in left-sided colon and rectal cancer, were described more than 100 years ago by Miles and Moynihan. However, the relationship between the level of vascular ligation and the microperfusion of the proximal anastomosis segment, on the one hand, and the volume and quality of lymphatic dissection, on the other, are the subject of numerous clinical trials and discussions. The vegetative nerve spare in the different approaches is also included in a consideration. Despite the well-established modern standardization in conventional and laparoscopic left colon and rectal cancer surgery, some surgeons still do ligation at the a. rectalis superior level in rectal cancer, which contradicts modern oncology principles.Materials and Methods: Prospective non-randomized comparative cohort study of patients from the Department of Surgery in Alexandrovska University Hospital with cancer of the sigmoid colon or rectum in clinical stage I-III, operated by an open or laparoscopic approach over a 4-year period, stratified into two groups according to the level of ligation of the inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) and vein - high tie - at the site of the origin  (1 cm) from aorta and low tie - distal to the origin of the left colic artery. The comparative indicators included the anastomotic leakage rate, the number of lymph nodes harvested with a metastatic lymph node index, a 3-year disease-free survival (DFS), disease-related survival OS. The follow-up period was 12-48 months.Results: For the period 2014-2018 a total of 217 patients with cancer of the sigmoid colon or rectum underwent 169 laparoscopic and 48 open surgeries. The distribution was as follows: 69% high ligation compared to 31% low ligation; 52 in an emergency or delayed emergency manner; 58% male and 42% female, mean age 64 ± 0.8 years; 56% in clinical stage III, 40% in II and only 4% in clinical stage I, relatively evenly distributed in the two target groups. There were wide variations in the number of lymph nodes harvested from the specimen (n = 4 to 22) for both groups without significant differences in the metastatic index. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of anastomotic leaks for both groups (3.8% for HT versus 3.0% for LT). With respect to the 3-year disease-free interval, there were also significant differences - 81.2% (HT) and 79.4% (LT) and the overall survival rate of 79.1% (HT) compared to 77.2% (LT) with a 72% follow-up coefficient.Discussion: The findings of this study are broadly consistent with those published so far and analyzed in three systematic reviews - the last one in 2018. This indicates that no statistically significant difference between high and low vascular ligation has been identified for the most important comparative indicators. It is extremely important to discuss several technical issues at present - contemporary problems requiring future high-quality clinical trials: the necessity and means of implementing left colic flexure mobilization in both types of vascular ligation with the lack of standardization; adequate and accurate identification of a correct cleavage plane of the dissection with differentiation of target vascular areas, avoiding erroneous entry into the sigmoid mesentery along with separate ligation of sigmoid vessels - oncologically inappropriate; sequence and level of ligation of the lower mesenteric vein with wide variations; pathoanatomic processing of the specimen with adequate isolation and examination of the removed lymph nodes, respectively adequacy of the pathohistological N-staging as well as the quality of the mesorectal excision; the need for stage control of the microvascular perfusion of the anastomosis segments by ICG fluorescence on the already validated global methods (hence the prevention of anastomotic leaks); progress in the importance and technical feasibility of low tie vascular ligation + perivascular lymph dissection to the IMA origin, and complete mesocolic excision (CME) in colon carcinoma (similar to TME in the rectal), the subject of more and more current studies; the specifics and advantages of robotic surgery of left-sided colon and rectal cancer with respect to accuracy of vascular and lymphatic dissection

Catalytic VOCs elimination over copper and cerium oxide modified mesoporous SBA-15 silica

[EN] Copper and cerium oxide bi-component materials with different Cu/Ce ratio were prepared using ordered SBA-15 silica as a support and compared with their bulk analogs. The samples were characterized by nitrogen physisorption, XRD, UV-Vis, FTIR, XPS, Raman spectroscopy and TPR with hydrogen. Cyclohexanol conversion was used as a catalytic test to obtain more information for the surface properties of the supported materials. The catalytic properties of the samples were studied in VOCs oxidation using toluene and ethyl acetate as probe molecules. A strong effect of mesoporous silica support and samples composition on the formation of catalytic sites was established. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Financial support of Bulgarian Academy of Science and National Scientific Fond of Ministry of Education Projects DTK 02/64 and ДНTC/Киtай 01/8, financial support from DGICYT in Spain (Project CTQ-2009-14495) and bilateral project Bulgarian-Spain Inter-academic Exchange Agreement (Project 2009BG0002) are acknowledged.Tsoncheva, T.; Issa, G.; Blasco Lanzuela, T.; Dimitrov, M.; Popova, M.; Hernández Morejudo, S.; Kovacheva, D.... (2013). Catalytic VOCs elimination over copper and cerium oxide modified mesoporous SBA-15 silica. Applied Catalysis A General. 453:1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcata.2012.12.007S11245

Prognostic factors for anastomotic insufficiency in elective colorectal surgery

Introduction: Anastomotic insufficiency is a severe, potentially fatal complication of colorectal surgery. Its frequency, according to different authors, reaches up to 20%. It is related to two main types of risk factors: associated with the patient and associated with the therapeutic approach.Aim: The aim of the study is to determine prognostic factors for anastomotic insufficiency. The collected data from patients operated on for a period of 5 years (2013-2017) in the Second Surgery Clinic, Alexandrovska University Hospital, Sofia, were analyzed.Materials and Methods: A total of 158 patients undergoing elective colorectal surgery have been retrospectively included. These on emergency, non-proven malignancies and with preoperative haemotransfusion were excluded from the study. All patients were evaluated by age, gender, BMI, ASA score, Charlson Comorbidity Score, localization, TNM stage and histological type. The surgical approach and the method of resection were determined. The postoperative period and complications were classified according to the Clavien-Dindo scale. The number of leukocytes, platelets, RDW, CRP and albumin were examined preoperatively, and on the day 1 and day 4, in the early postoperative period.Results: The average age of the patients was 67 (29-87). Of these, 100 (63.3%) were men, and 58 (36.7%) are women. The mean BMI was 27.1 (23-33). A total of  78.9% of the operated patients weree in TNM stage II and III. Histologically, 77.8% were moderately differentiated adenocarcinomas. The mean Charlson Comorbidity Score for the sample was 7.1 (range: 2-13), and the ASA score was 3 (2-4). The rectum was the most common localization - 40.1%, followed by right colon 22.8%, and the sigmoid colon 20.9%. Over the review period, most resections were conventional, with only 15.2% laparoscopic approach. The operations performed were right hemicolectomy - 36 (22.8%), left hemicolectomy -15 (9.5%), segmental resection - 38 (24.1%), total colectomy - 4 (2.5%) resection of the rectum - 44 (27.9%), and other - 21 (13.3%). In 12 (7.6 %) of the patients insufficiency was reported between day 2 and day 3, postoperatively. Five of them were treated conservatively and the other six were reoperated. Seven of the insufficiencies were after anterior resection of the rectum, 2 were after left hemicolectomy, 1 after resection of the sigmoid colon, one was after right hemicolectomy, which had been treated conservatively. The mean postoperative period of patients with insufficiency was 22 days (range: 9-45). For patients without complications, the postoperative period was 9.4 days (range: 4-21) and there was a strict statistical difference (P <0.05). All patients experienced an increase in leukocyte counts postoperatively, albumin drop, increased CRP and ESR. The mean platelet counts depended on the presence of insuffiency.Conclusion: The anterior resection, which is associated with technically more difficult anastomosis and neoadjuvant radiotherapy is a potential risk factor for anastomotic insufficiency. The use of blood parameters in the postoperative period allows early diagnosis of the complication and possible change of the therapeutic strategy

26th Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting (CNS*2017): Part 3 - Meeting Abstracts - Antwerp, Belgium. 15–20 July 2017

This work was produced as part of the activities of FAPESP Research,\ud Disseminations and Innovation Center for Neuromathematics (grant\ud 2013/07699-0, S. Paulo Research Foundation). NLK is supported by a\ud FAPESP postdoctoral fellowship (grant 2016/03855-5). ACR is partially\ud supported by a CNPq fellowship (grant 306251/2014-0)

Plastic Degradation by Extremophilic Bacteria

Intensive exploitation, poor recycling, low repeatable use, and unusual resistance of plastics to environmental and microbiological action result in accumulation of huge waste amounts in terrestrial and marine environments, causing enormous hazard for human and animal life. In the last decades, much scientific interest has been focused on plastic biodegradation. Due to the comparatively short evolutionary period of their appearance in nature, sufficiently effective enzymes for their biodegradation are not available. Plastics are designed for use in conditions typical for human activity, and their physicochemical properties roughly change at extreme environmental parameters like low temperatures, salt, or low or high pH that are typical for the life of extremophilic microorganisms and the activity of their enzymes. This review represents a first attempt to summarize the extraordinarily limited information on biodegradation of conventional synthetic plastics by thermophilic, alkaliphilic, halophilic, and psychrophilic bacteria in natural environments and laboratory conditions. Most of the available data was reported in the last several years and concerns moderate extremophiles. Two main questions are highlighted in it: which extremophilic bacteria and their enzymes are reported to be involved in the degradation of different synthetic plastics, and what could be the impact of extremophiles in future technologies for resolving of pollution problems

Effect of Selenium Supplementation on Redox Status of the Aortic Wall in Young Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Selenium (Se) is an exogenous antioxidant that performs its function via the expression of selenoproteins. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of varying Se intake on the redox status of the aortic wall in young spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Sixteen male Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats and nineteen male SHR, 16-week-old, were tested after being given diets with different Se content for eight weeks. They were divided into 4 groups: control groups of WKY NSe and SHR NSe on an adequate Se diet and groups of WKY HSe and SHR HSe that received Se supplementation. The Se nutritional status was assessed by measuring whole blood glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPx-1) activity. Serum concentration of lipid hydroperoxides and serum level of antibodies against advanced glycation end products (anti-AGEs abs) were determined. Expression of GPx-1 and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) were examined in aortic wall. Se supplementation significantly increased GPx-1 activity of whole blood and in the aortas of WKY and SHR. Decreased lipid peroxidation level, eNOS-3 expression in the aortic wall, and serum level of anti-AGEs abs were found in SHR HSe compared with SHR NSe. In conclusion, Se supplementation improved the redox status of the aortic wall in young SHR

Alterations in membrane stability after in vitro exposure of human erythrocytes to 2.41 GHz electromagnetic field

The growing use of wireless communication devices has been significantly increasing the level of high frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) in the environment, which raises a concern for possible deleterious effects on living organisms. Long lasting exposure to low-intensity EMFs can cause effects on the molecular and cellular level, and a number of morphological and physiological changes. The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of 2.41 GHz EMF emitted by wireless communication systems on human erythrocytes after in vitro irradiation. The amount of the hemoglobin released from the cells was measured as an indicator for membrane destabilization. Effects of different exposure times (20 min or 4 h) and time elapsed after exposure to 2.41 GHz pulsed or continuous EMFs with different intensities, emitted from a textile (0.213–0.238 V/m) or a dipole (5, 20, 40 and 180 V/m) antenna, were investigated. The obtained results showed that the low intensity EMF had no significant effect on the hemoglobin release from irradiated cells; even a slight tendency for membrane stabilization was noticed 3–4 hours after the end of 20-min exposure to 0.213–0.238 V/m, 2.41 GHz EMF. There was no difference in the effects of continuous and pulsed EMFs. Increased hemoglobin release was observed only during the 4-hour exposure to 180 V/m, 2.41 GHz continuous EMF. Under these conditions, the temperature of the cell suspension had been rising, so we compared the results obtained under EMF with the effects of conventional heating. Moreover, after 1-hour exposure to 180 V/m the released hemoglobin level was a bit higher than the control one but the difference disappears within an hour after terminating the irradiation. In conclusion, the in vitro exposure to 2.41 GHz EMF emitted by wireless communication devices with power density below the reference level for population exposure does not change the stability of the cell membrane of human erythrocytes