Mešane migracije po talibanskem prevzemu oblasti v Afganistanu: zmogljivosti države in percepcije javnosti v Bolgariji

In light of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in August 2021, this paper aims to analyze both the Bulgarian population’s attitudes toward newcomers and the capacity of the Republic of Bulgaria to manage mixed migration adequately. Toward this aim, a public perceptions survey was conducted in the cities of Harmanli and Sofia, where four out of five migrant registration and reception centers (RRCs) in Bulgaria are located. The authors argue that the state’s difficulties in coping with an increased influx of migrants and their possible integration are mainly due to its apparent refusal to take the lead in this regard and the lack of communication with the local population, especially where RRCs are situated.Cilj prispevka je analizirati odnos prebivalcev Bolgarije do prišlekov ter zmožnosti Republike Bolgarije za upravljanje mešanih migracij v okoliščinah talibanskega prevzema oblasti v Afganistanu. V ta namen je bila opravljena raziskava javnega mnenja v mestih Harmanli in Sofija, v katerih se nahajajo štirje izmed petih centrov za registracijo in sprejem migrantov v Bolgariji. Avtorja argumentirata, da vzroki za težave države pri spoprijemanju s povečanim prihodom migrantov in njihovo potencialno integracijo ležijo predvsem v dozdevnem zavračanju države, da bi pri tem zavzela proaktivno držo, ter v pomanjkanju komunikacije z lokalnim prebivalstvom, zlasti na območjih, kjer se nahajajo centri za registracijo in sprejem

Chiropractic as a system of manual techniques

A historical review of the birth and development of chiropractic reveals its ancient roots. Chiropractors, in accordance with their knowledge and competence as neuromuscular specialists, focus primarily on muscle and joint pain. Over the years, evidence has been accumulating to support the effectiveness of chiropractic techniques in the pathology of the spine. The techniques are most commonly used in conditions linked to impaired „joint play“ of the vertebrae and pain in the spine, accompanied by dizziness and headache.The aim of the article is to explore chiropractic as a system of manual techniques.Material and MethodsDocumentary content analysis of bibliographic descriptions and relevant articles about historical development, concepts and theories, essence, distribution and application of chiropractic.ResultsChiropractic is established as training and practice in many countries around the world. There is still no licensed training and practice of chiropractic in Bulgaria. In Bulgarian conditions, the closest term corresponding to the concept of chiropractic is manual therapy performed by a doctor.ConclusionA review of the literature reveals the possibilities of chiropractic techniques in musculoskeletal dysfunction of the spine in order to overcome musculoskeletal blockage and change in quality of life. Chiropractic is an established profession in many countries around the world - USA, Canada, Russia and Germany, but in Bulgaria there is no legislative framework for regulating the profession of chiropractor, as well as training in higher medical institutions. In Bulgarian conditions the chiropractic manipulative techniques are performed by doctors in the specialties Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Orthopedics, Rheumatology and Neurology

BLACK SEA GAS SEEPAGE AND … 50 years University of Mining and Geology

ABSTRACT Only recently the international scientific community started to pay more attention of such natural, geological sources as submarine gas seepages and mud volcanoes and realized that they are significant sources of atmospheric methane. In this work the Black Sea is considered to be one of the most prolific areas in the World. Here we present a detail overview of the gas seepage areas documented offshore along the Bulgarian coastline, on the Georgian, Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish shelves as well as seabed gas venting structures as pockmarks, mud volcanoes, methane derived carbonate chimneys etc. Some speculations about massive gas outburst due to destabilization of gas hydrates are commented. The attempt to evaluate the annual quantities of gas methane venting from the seafloor, passing trough the water column and entering the atmosphere from gas seepage and venting structures shows values form 1.5 to 5.5 Tg (2.0-6.0x10 9 m 3 ) released from the Black Sea area, an area no exceeding one percent of the World Ocean aquatory

ECONOMIC CHALLENGES TO UKRAINIAN REFUGEE INTEGRATION IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has resulted in the displacement of millions of Ukrainians, leading to socio-economic and political challenges for the host countries. The Refugee Response Plan, encompassing heavily affected EU Member States, has been the focus of this study, examining how the issue of refugee integration was addressed, with a specific emphasis on flaws and omissions in the approach. Various demographic and socioeconomic data and strategic national documents related to refugee integration were compared for this analysis. Employment was identified as a key tool for the integration of Ukrainian refugees. The findings revealed a lack of a common refugee integration policy among the surveyed countries despite similar past and current socioeconomic circumstances and security environments, including mixed migration. Ambiguities across these countries, including local population perceptions hindering Ukrainian refugee integration, were observed. Consequently, we assert the necessity for EU harmonized measures, emphasizing their long-term implementation to alleviate the economic burden of the war in Ukraine and provide predictability in the actions of individual governments

Peptide binding to HLA-DP proteins at pH 5.0 and pH 7.0:a quantitative molecular docking study

Background: HLA-DPs are class II MHC proteins mediating immune responses to many diseases. Peptides bind MHC class II proteins in the acidic environment within endosomes. Acidic pH markedly elevates association rate constants but dissociation rates are almost unchanged in the pH range 5.0 - 7.0. This pH-driven effect can be explained by the protonation/deprotonation states of Histidine, whose imidazole has a pKa of 6.0. At pH 5.0, imidazole ring is protonated, making Histidine positively charged and very hydrophilic, while at pH 7.0 imidazole is unprotonated, making Histidine less hydrophilic. We develop here a method to predict peptide binding to the four most frequent HLA-DP proteins: DP1, DP41, DP42 and DP5, using a molecular docking protocol. Dockings to virtual combinatorial peptide libraries were performed at pH 5.0 and pH 7.0. Results: The X-ray structure of the peptide - HLA-DP2 protein complex was used as a starting template to model by homology the structure of the four DP proteins. The resulting models were used to produce virtual combinatorial peptide libraries constructed using the single amino acid substitution (SAAS) principle. Peptides were docked into the DP binding site using AutoDock at pH 5.0 and pH 7.0. The resulting scores were normalized and used to generate Docking Score-based Quantitative Matrices (DS-QMs). The predictive ability of these QMs was tested using an external test set of 484 known DP binders. They were also compared to existing servers for DP binding prediction. The models derived at pH 5.0 predict better than those derived at pH 7.0 and showed significantly improved predictions for three of the four DP proteins, when compared to the existing servers. They are able to recognize 50% of the known binders in the top 5% of predicted peptides. Conclusions: The higher predictive ability of DS-QMs derived at pH 5.0 may be rationalised by the additional hydrogen bond formed between the backbone carbonyl oxygen belonging to the peptide position before p1 (p-1) and the protonated ε-nitrogen of His 79β. Additionally, protonated His residues are well accepted at most of the peptide binding core positions which is in a good agreement with the overall negatively charged peptide binding site of most MHC proteins

Peptide binding prediction for the human class II MHC allele HLA-DP2:a molecular docking approach

MHC class II proteins bind oligopeptide fragments derived from proteolysis of pathogen antigens, presenting them at the cell surface for recognition by CD4+ T cells. Human MHC class II alleles are grouped into three loci: HLA-DP, HLA-DQ and HLA-DR. In contrast to HLA-DR and HLA-DQ, HLA-DP proteins have not been studied extensively, as they have been viewed as less important in immune responses than DRs and DQs. However, it is now known that HLA-DP alleles are associated with many autoimmune diseases. Quite recently, the X-ray structure of the HLA-DP2 molecule (DPA*0103, DPB1*0201) in complex with a self-peptide derived from the HLA-DR a-chain has been determined. In the present study, we applied a validated molecular docking protocol to a library of 247 modelled peptide-DP2 complexes, seeking to assess the contribution made by each of the 20 naturally occurred amino acids at each of the nine binding core peptide positions and the four flanking residues (two on both sides)

Some Ternary Phenylmethoxybis(tetrazolium) Complexes of Vanadium(IV,V) and Their Constants of Association

Several liquid-liquid extraction systems containing vanadium {vanadium(IV) or vanadium(V)}, azoderivative of resorcinol {ADR: 4-(2-pyridylazo)-resorcinol (PAR) or 4-(2-thiazolylazo)-resorcinol (TAR)} and (phenylmethoxibis)tetrazolium salts {MBT: 3,3\u27-(3,3\u27-dimetoxy-4,4\u27-biphenylene)-bis(2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium) chloride (Blue Tetrazolium, BT) or 3,3\u27-(3,3\u27-dimetoxy-4,4\u27-biphenylene)-bis[2,5-di(4-nitrophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium] chloride (Tetranitroblue Tetrazolium, TNBT)} were studied. The optimum operating conditions and compositions of the extracted species were found. The constants of association (β) between MBT2+ and the anionic V–ADR chelates (Cheln–) were calculated. Previously re-ported negative linear relationship between log β and the number of nitro groups included in tetrazolium cation (Nnitro) was discussed taking into account the obtained results and literature data for V–ADR–MBT complexes of the same class, in which MBT is BT or 3,3\u27-(3,3\u27-dimetoxy-4,4\u27-biphenylene)bis[2-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyl-2H-tetrazolium] chloride (Nitroblue Tetrazolium, NBT). (doi: 10.5562/cca1885

Spectrophotometric Determination of Gallium(III) with 4-(2-Pyridylazo)-resorcinol and Nitron

The formation and liquid-liquid extraction of ion-association complex between gallium(III) − 4-(2-pyridylazo)-resorcinol (PAR) – 1,4-diphenyl-3-(phenylamino)-1H-1,2,4-triazole (nitron, Nt), water and chloroform were studied. The optimum conditions for gallium(III) extraction as an ion-association complex, (NtH)+[Ga3+(PAR)2]-, were found: pH, concentration of the reagents and shaking time. The following key constants were calculated: constant of extraction (logKex = 6.28 ± 0.07), constant of association (logβ = 4.98 ± 0.05), constant of distribution (logKD = 1.30 ± 0.02) and recovery factor (R / % = 95.17 ± 0.02). Beerʼs law is obeyed for Ga(III) concentration up to 0.8 μg cm-3 with apparent molar absorptivity of (10.3 ± 0.4)×104 dm-3 mol-1 cm-1 at λmax = 510 nm. Some additional characteristics, such as limit of detection (LOD = 0.072 μg cm-3), limit of quantification (LOQ = 0.24 μg cm-3) and Sandellʼs sensitivity (SS = 0.000675 ng cm-2) were estimated as well

Cetacean mortality along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast during 2017

The present study provides information on the stranding of cetaceans along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast during 2017. Observations were made trough covering transects along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. A total of 198 cetaceans of three species were found - Harbor Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), and Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis). The most numerous were the harbor porpoise - 48% followed by the bottlenose dolphin - 15% and common dolphin - 8%. The most significant number of strandings was observed during July and August (54% of all cases). Cetacean strandings events were relatively highly concentrated in the area of Shabla, Varna and Pomorie