Controversy About the Analysis of Complaints Received in Professional Ethics Committees of the Bulgarian Medical Association

Health care reform`s ethical challenges largely reflect on physicians, patients and society.The purpose of this paper is to put the question about the applicability of a summary analysis of complaints filed at the Professional Ethics Committees of the Bulgarian Medical Association, towards contributing to the identification of problems and possible solutions for improving the situation in the healthcare system and highlighting the role of the medical professional organization in this process.Materials and methods: We present our experience in the ethical analysis of complaints received in the Professional Ethics Committee at Bulgarian Medical Association, Stara Zagora for 2007-2010 and 2011-2014 years. Qualitative content analysis of the documents was applied. Cases described in the complaints are analyzed using specifically designed questionnaire.Results and discussion: In most cases, the authors of the complaints describe conflicts with various dimensions of medical care quality as the most highlighted cases are ones related to the access to timely and specialized medical care, as well as the adequacy of the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and achieved results of treatment process. Problems that emerged reflect the ethical conflicts in the health care system associated with limited access and doctor-patient ailing trust.Conclusion: Considering the strengths and weaknesses of the applied methodology, the highly subjective interpretation of the issues presented in the perspective of different people, as well as the manner in which this analysis is provided we raise the following issue: how appropriate it is for professional ethics committees to carry out such analysis

Sexually Transmitted Infections Management Legal Regulation in Bulgaria: Present Situation and Challenges

Introduction: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to be a significant public health problem with numerous health social, ethical and economic dimensions. The goal of this study is to present and discuss the Bulgarian legal framework dimensions related to the management of the spectrum of STIs, and associated public health challenges. An analysis of Bulgarian legislation normative documents connected with the presented problematic was applied. Results: For the effective STIs-spectrum management, the presented normative acts envisage a number of rules and requirements for conducting preventive, diagnostic and treatment activities. These rules are not sufficient and cannot cover all cases in the practical work of medical professionals most of them serve as general guides. The main problem that is emerging is the lack of financial resources and sources of funding. Conclusion: Despite the large legal framework, most documents are only a framework, without specifics in the organization and lack of funding for regulated activities

The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2

The Eurasian (née European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land cover, and land use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60 % from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated map-based viewer at https://empd2.github.io and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019)Swiss National Science Foundation | Ref. 200021_16959

The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2

The Eurasian (nee European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land cover, and land use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60% from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated map-based viewer at https://empd2.github.io and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019).Peer reviewe

The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2

Abstract. The Eurasian (née European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land cover, and land use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60 % from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated map-based viewer at https://empd2.github.io and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019).</jats:p

Contribution to the flora of disappearing wetlands in the Toundzha Hilly Country (SE Bulgaria)

This study presents information on the ongoing investigations of the recent state of the disappearing wetlands in the area of Kermen town (Southeast Bulgaria, Toundzha Hilly Country) and of the vascular flora found in the wetlands and their surroundings. As a result of the investigation, 120 vascular plant species (26 of them aquatic and fen plants) from 93 genera and 41 families have been identified.status: publishe

Anthropogenic impact on vegetation and environment during the Bronze Age in the area of Lake Durankulak, NE Bulgaria: Pollen, microscopic charcoal, non-pollen palynomorphs and plant macrofossils

A new pollen core, called "Durank-ulak-3", comes from the lake of that name, situated at the Black Sea coast of northeastern Bulgaria. The location of the core close to archaeological sites permits the correlation of palynological data, including non-pollen palynomorphs (NPP) (spores of fungi, remains of algae etc., as defined by van Geel, B., 2001. Non-pollen palynomorphs. In: Smol, J.P., Birks, H.J.B., Last, W. M. (Eds.), Tracking environmental changes using lake sediments. Vol. 3: Terrestrial, algal and siliceous indicators. Kluwer Academic Press, Dordrecht, pp. 99-119.), microscopic charcoal, and plant macrofossils with the archaeological data. A detailed reconstruction of the past vegetation reveals the extent of anthropogenic influence in the area. Radiocarbon dates from the basal part of the core show that the palaeoecological record begins at about 4500 BP. This start corresponds to the end of Chalcolithic and transition to the Bronze Age in the area and is connected with a rise of the take level around Great Island and the lake shore to the west.status: publishe

The vegetation of Troy-changed and human impacts

status: publishe

Plant economy and vegetation of the Iron Age in Bulgaria: archaeobotanical evdence from pit deposits

Major social and economical changes occurred in human societies during the Iron Age of Southeastern Europe: increasing structuring of societies; intensifying production and metal technologies and the establishment of a market economy. However, the related plant economy of the region is still poorly studied and understood. The Iron Age “pit-field sites” (groups of pits distributed over a certain area) in Southeastern Bulgaria were recently intensively excavated and their study provides rich archaeobotanical assemblages, which are used for filling this gap in our knowledge. The current study presents the archaeobotanical information from 196 flotation samples from 50 Iron Age pits. The results show a wide range of annual crops, the most important of which seem to be hulled wheats (mainly einkorn), barley and also millet. A variety of pulses and fruits is retrieved, each in small quantities. Some species like Olea europaea and Cucumis melo are an indication for contacts with adjacent regions (especially the Mediterranean area). The archaeobotanical assemblages also documented the environment and land use, revealing the exploitation of a variety of habitats like cropland, open grassland, shrub land and wetland. The archaeobotanical analyses of the Iron Age pit fields show that this type of structures can be an important source of information on the Iron Age plant economy in the region.status: publishe

Plant remains preserved in products of metal corrosion : source of evidence on ancient plant materials and environment from burial contexts

By-products of metal corrosion, when coming into contact with organic matter, have the capacity to preserve it from decay. A pilot study was conducted aiming to explore the potential and limitations of plant remains preserved in by-products of metal corrosion for archaeobotanical research. The organic remains considered come from the surface/immediate proximity of the metal funerary artefacts of two ancient cemeteries—Varna and Messambria, Eastern Bulgaria. Metal corrosion by-products were observed and sampled, under a low magnification stereo microscope. Subsequently, the plant macrofossils recognised were analysed under reflected light and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Additionally, pollen was extracted from the metal corrosion by-products, using standard acetolysis. The analyses from the graves of both cemeteries allowed identification of textiles and plant fibres, as well as wood (Cornus sp., Pinus sp., Viburnum sp.). At Varna cemetery epidermis fragments of Juncus sp. were recognized, while at Messambria necropolis fruits of almond were found. The pollen analysis from Varna points to use of flowers in the ritual (Daphne tetrads were recorded) and shows a notably open landscape with 77% non-arboreal pollen (NAP). The palynological analysis from the Messambria necropolis revealed the use of flowers in the burial ritual indicated by clusters of Vitis, Cistus and Rosaceae pollen. The surrounding vegetation was dominated by open oak woodland and open habitats (43% NAP) with a strong presence of anthropogenic indicators. The outcome of the study proved to be promising for reconstructing details of the burial rituals including associated plant materials, as well as the surrounding plant habitats during the functioning of the cemeteries