Preserved lignin structures in Miocene-aged lignite lithotypes, Bulgaria.

Contents of preserved lignin structures in Miocene-aged lignite lithotypes were determined. Phenol aldehydes, ketones and acids released from lignin by CuO oxidative hydrolysis were separated by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). Products of degradation were separated and identified by GC–MS to confirm CZE data and to complement composition data. The following values for the contents of preserved lignin structures in lignite lithotypes were determined (in wt%): xylain, 8.5; humovitrain, 6.7; liptain, 6.4; and humoclarain, 3.3. Some fatty acids, negligible contents of benzene polycarboxylic acids and their hydroxy/methoxy counterparts were also observed using GC–MS

Rehabilitation of patients with hip joint endoprosthesis

Ставното заместване (ендопротезиране, алопластика) на тазобедрената става е сред най-разпространените оперативни интервенции в ортопедията и травматологията. Реха- билитацията представлява неотменна част от функционалното възстановяване на ендопротезираните пациенти. Целта на настоящото съобщение е да проследим и отчетем резултатите от приложената комплексна рехабилитация в ранния постоперативен период в домашни условия (13-45 ден след оперативната интервенция) при пациенти с ендопротезирана тазобедрена става. Материал и методика: В проучването са включени 152 пациенти (107 жени и 45 мъже) на възраст от 22 до 84 години с ендопротезирана тазобедрена става по повод остеоартроза или фрактура на бедрената шийка. Рехабилитационната програма включва: кинезитерапия (позиционна терапия, изометричните упражнения за глутеална и бедрена мускулатура, мобилизацията на протезно реконструираната тазобедрена става в допустимите обеми, активни упражнения за раменен пояс, горни крайници и контралатерален долен крайник) и ерготерапия (осигуряване на ергономична обстановка, като се приспособят домашните условия за превенция на падания и предизвикване на усложнения, повишаване мобилността и двигателната активност на пациента и възстановяване извършването на дейности от ежедневния живот). Проведоха се изследвания на локомоцията и тест за дейностите от ежедневния живот при изписване от Клиниката по ортопедия и травматология и при приемане на пациентите за лечение в Отделение за болнична рехабилитация, a резултатите са отбелязани в индивидуален фиш. Резултати и обсъждане: Осигуряването на ергономична домашна среда и самостоятелното прилагане на кинезитерапевтични и ерготерапевтични мероприятия (усвоени в периода на ранната рехабилитация) стимулира възстановяване автономността на пациентите, повлиява съществено психо-емоционалното им равновесие и самочувствие и се явява важна основа за по-късните периоди на рехабилитация. Ранната рехабилитация на пациентите с ендопротеза на тазобедрената става води до съкращаване сроковете за функционално възстановяване.Hip joint replacement (endoprosthesis, alloplasty) is one of the most common surgery interventions in orthopedics and traumatology. Rehabilitation is an indispensable part of the funcitional recovery for patients with endoprosthesis. The aim of this study is to track and measure the results of an applied complex rehabilitation program during the early post-surgery period in home setting (13-45 days after surgery) for patients with hip joint alloplasty. Methods and Materials: 152 patients (107 female and 45 male) aged between 22 and 84 with hip joint endoprosthesis due to osteoarthritis or femoral neck fracture participated in the study. The rehabilitation program consists of: kinesitherapy (positional therapy, isometric exercises for gluteal and hip muscles, movement of the artificial hip joint within the allowed volumes, exercises for the shoulder muscles, upper limbs and the healthy lower limb) and ergotherapy (ergonomic home environment adjusted to prevent from falling and complications, increasing the movements and physical activities of the patients and performing the daily activities of life). Locomotion test and DAL test measurements were taken upon discharge from the Orthopedics and Traumatology clinic and upon admittance for treatment at the rehabilitation department, and the results for each patient were stored in a special patient file. Results and Discussion: Ensuring an ergonomic home environment and independent practice of kinesitherapeutic and ergotherapeutic activities (learned during the early rehabilitation period) stimulate the recovery of the patients` self-reliance, significantly improve the psycho-emotional balance and self-respect, and serves as an important basis for the latter stages of rehabilitation. Early rehabilitation for patients with hip joint endoprosthesis shortens the period of functional recovery overall. Key words: endoprosthesis, hip joint, rehabilitatio

Sequential fatty acid analysis of a peat core covering the last two millennia (Tritrivakely lake, Madagascar): Diagenesis appraisal and consequences for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction.

Seven samples from a 1 m long peat core, taken from the centre of the Tritrivakely maar lake (Madagascar) and covering the last 2300 yr, were analysed for their fatty acid (FA) content. Solvent extraction, followed by acid hydrolysis and saponification allowed successive release of “free”, H+-labile and OH−-labile bound FAs. Downcore variations in the concentration of individual compounds released by the different treatments allowed distinction between the following three major types of input: (i) primary production; (ii) secondary production (that most certainly forms as a result of microbial degradation of primary products) immediately underlying the sub-surface; (iii) a notable bacterial stock that appears later and slowly at depth. The latter input is revealed by the regularly increasing concentration of several H+-labile compounds with depth. Sedimentary horizons that were sites for good preservation conditions are indicated by high relative amounts of nearly all the compounds, especially those inherited from the primary as well as from the secondary producers (including the primary consumers). In contrast, depth intervals that have been the site for intensive diagenetic alteration contain few compounds, including those inherited from late consumers

Microbial mat development and dolomite formation under pre-evaporitic conditions during the Atlantic in a temperate area: The Sarliève Lake (French Massif Central)

International audienceThe Sarliève marsh in the Limagne plain, in the heart of the French Massif Central, functioned as an endorheic lake during the Late Glacial and the Early and Middle Holocene. During the Late Boreal and the Atlantic it experienced drastic lowering of the water level as a result of dry and warm climatic episodes. Then, pre-evaporitic conditions triggered the deposition of sediment rich in organic matter (OM) and in carbonates including dolomite. Fifty-one samples from a ca. 1.8 m sediment core section covering the period were analysed using Rock-Eval pyrolysis and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Throughout the interval, the OM content remained notable to high [up to 13.35% total organic carbon (TOC)] and of good quality as indicated by low oxygen index (OI) values (<200 mg CO2 g−1 TOC) and high hydrogen index (HI) values (160-660 mg HC g−1) which, as a rule, increased with increasing TOC content. In contrast to the acid fractions, which sometimes contained notable proportions of n-C16 or n-C18 fatty acids (FAs; analysed as the methyl esters, FAMEs), the neutral fractions were almost devoid of low molecular weight compounds. The latter were probably biodegraded during early diagenesis. Conversely, high molecular weight compounds were abundant in both fractions and were dominated by n-alkanols, n-alkanes, steroids and hopanoids in the neutrals and even numbered FAs and hopanoids in the acid fractions. The hopanoids were dominated by regular bishomohopanoids, accompanied by 2-methylated bishomohopanoids, as well as by unidentified bishomohopanoids with methylation in either the D or E ring. These distributions, typical for bacteria, provide support for previous hypotheses on the contribution of microorganisms to the studied record and for providing conditions for the precipitation and growth of dolomite and other pristine carbonate minerals [Bréheret, J.G., Fourmont, A., Macaire, J.J., Négrel, Ph., 2008. Microbially mediated carbonates in the Holocene lacustrine deposits of the Marais de Sarliève (French Massif Central) testify to the evolution of a restricted environment. Sedimentology 55, 557-578]. The preservation of the compounds was probably ensured by persistent reducing conditions during diagenesis, despite variable climatic conditions and related changes in lake level and sedimentation rate. Comparable distributions of hopanoic acids and hopanols, as well as roughly parallel variation with depth in the corresponding components in both fractions, strongly suggest that all the hopanoids derive from the same microbial precursors, slight shifts in the acid/alcohol ratio being governed by limited changes in redox conditions during early diagenesis

Microcystis aeruginosa and M. wesenbergii Were the Primary Planktonic Microcystin Producers in Several Bulgarian Waterbodies (August 2019)

The rising interest in harmful cyanoprokaryote blooms promotes an increase of phycological and ecological research on potentially toxic species and their hazardous substances. The present study aimed to identify the main microcystin (MC) producers and their contribution to the phytoplankton of shallow waterbodies in Bulgaria, applying different methods. The sampling was performed in August 2019 in nine lakes and reservoirs, two of which (reservoirs Kriva Reka and Izvornik 2) were studied for the first time. The high contribution of cyanoprokaryotes to the total species composition and phytoplankton abundance was proved by light microscopic (LM) observations and HPLC analysis of marker pigments. The LM identification of potential MC-producers was supported by PCR amplification of mcyE and mcyB genes. The MCs amounts, detected by HPLC-DAD, varied by sites with a range from undetectable concentrations to 0.46 g L 1 with only one recorded variant, namely MC-LR. It was found only in the reservoirs Mandra and Durankulak, while toxigenic MC-strains were obtained by PCR from five more waterbodies. Both LM and PCR demonstrated that the MC-producers were Microcystis aeruginosa and M. wesenbergii, despite their occurrence in low amounts (<0.5–5% of the total biomass) when filamentous cyanoprokaryotes dominated.Peer reviewe

Technical Engineering for Catalytic Reduction of Nitrous Oxide Emissions

Production of nitric acid is the major emission source of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide N2O. High temperature catalytic decomposition of N2O by installing a secondary catalyst has been applied at a nitric acid plant in Devnya, Bulgaria. A reconstruction of the ammonia burning reactors was done in august 2012 in order to increase the thickness of the secondary catalyst layer from 28 mm to 60 mm. Nitrous oxide concentration has been monitored for 5 year period – from 2010 to 2014. Monitoring results indicate that the effectiveness of N2O catalytic decomposition depends on the thickness of the secondary catalyst layer - increasing the layer thickness twice leads to over 60 % reduction of the maximum registered and annual average concentrations of N2O. Increasing the thickness of the secondary catalyst layer enhances the effectiveness of high temperature N2O decomposition, which is essential for the parties to the United Nations framework convention on climate change and the Kyoto protocol regarding the fulfillment of their quantitative commitments for greenhouse gas emission reduction

Composition and early diagenesis of fatty acids in lacustrine sediments, lake Aydat (France)

The organic acids from recent sediments from lake Aydat, a small eutrophic lake located in the French Massif Central, have been analysed to determine their possible source(s) and their fate during early diagenesis. The analytical procedure yields three groups of acids — free, H+-labile and OH−-labile — , successively obtained by solvent extraction, acid hydrolysis and saponification in toluene, in the presence of a phase transfer catalyst (PTC). The free components are relatively minor except for the presence of amounts of ββ-hopanoic acids (C32>>C30). The H+-labile components, assumed to be mostly of bacterial origin, disappear very rapidly at depth. In contrast, notable proportions of OH−-labile compounds, mostly derived from algae and terrestrial plants, survive in the deepest samples analysed, i.e. >40 cm. The various fatty acids (FA) identified comprise normal saturated FA (with a strong C20- dominance), monounsaturated FA (cis and trans C16:1, C18:1, C24:1 with ω5, ω7 and ω9 double bond position), branched (iso, anteiso) FA, 3-hydroxy FA and 3-methoxy FA, α,ω- dicarboxylic acids, as well as hopanoic acids and a few lignin-derived aromatic acids. A notable part of the most unusual of these various compound types are classically attributed to methanotrophs, which implies that markers from other micro-organisms are already destroyed in the water column. A distinctive acid composition at 20 cm depth might be explained by intensive microbial activity induced by unusual climatic conditions (i.e. an exceptional drought)

The patient as an active subject of the learning process

The development of human civilization is inextricably linked to education. Every great achievement of mankind finds expression through and in education. Medical education has a unique character. There is no other area of human activity that affects the most valuable – human life and health. The training of highly qualified health professionals is vital for the needs of society. A specific feature of the educational process in the higher medical school is its implementation in real hospital conditions and the active participation of the patient in it. As a part of the complex „teacher-student-patient“ interaction and as a user of health services, the patient communicates daily with future medical professionals, which in itself is important not only for the individual patient but also for the relationship between teachers and students. The modern understanding of the learning process is based on the understanding of building and implementing active interaction between teacher and student, as the main subjects in it, but without the emergence of the third subject – the patient, this would be unattainable. From this point of view, the role of the patient as an active subject of the educational process can be defined as key

Cuspidothrix Is the First Genetically Proved Anatoxin A Producer in Bulgarian Lakes and Reservoirs

The paper presents the first proof of planktonic cyanoprokaryote genus Cuspidothrix as an anatoxin A (ATX) producer in Bulgarian wetlands. The results from polymerase chain reaction (PCR) obtained from two summer sampling campaigns in 26 selected lakes and reservoirs demonstrated presence of the anaC gene, responsible for ATX production in 21 strains of the genus. They were found in three waterbodies sampled in 2018 (coastal lake Vaya, coastal reservoir Poroy, inland reservoir Sinyata Reka) and in four waterbodies sampled in 2019 (inland reservoirs Duvanli, Koprinka, Plachidol 2, Sinyata Reka). The detected genetic diversity generally corresponds to the observations conducted by conventional light microscopy, by which we distinguished three species of Cuspidothrix (Cuspidothrix issatschenkoi, Cuspidothrix elenkinii and Cuspidothrix tropicalis, the latter considered alien in the country). Eleven strains showed high similarity to two sequences of C. issatschenkoi available from the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Ten other strains assembled in a group, which&mdash;in lack of available from NCBI genetic sequences&mdash;were presumed related to C. tropicalis and C. elenkinii after comparison with the results from light microscopy. Cuspidothrix strains found in Bulgarian waterbodies showed high genetic similarity to those isolated and sequenced from Asia (Japan, China) and Northern Europe (Norway, Finland)