Sources of Income Inequality: Empirical Evidence from Bulgaria

The paper contributes to the empirical research on the micro-determinants of income inequality in Southeast European transition countries. The analysis utilizes data from a representative survey of 3,300 Bulgarian households conducted in 2007 and quantifies income differentiation effects related to certain socio-demographic characteristics. Quantile regression analysis reveals positive net effects of the degree of urbanization and the number of employed in the household as well as negative effects of the number of unemployed, children, and pensioners on the per-capita income level at all parts of the income distribution. Inequality indices decomposition by subgroups identifies the type of settlement, ethnical group, the number of children and unemployed as substantial sources of income inequality in Bulgaria.

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THE BULGARIAN NATIONAL BLACK SEA RESORTS IN THE CONTEXT OF DOMESTIC TOURISM

Stimulating domestic tourism is a priority in the development of the tourism industry in Bulgaria. The share of the population's expenditure on travel within the country averages 69% of total travel expenditure. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to analyse the attractiveness, effectiveness, and significance of the national Black Sea resorts for domestic tourism. The data used in the present paper are published and accessible at the web site of the National Statistical Institute of Republic of Bulgaria. To examine the main tendencies in the yearly time series, concerning the Bulgarian Black Sea resorts, we have used statistical analysis of the trend cycle. The selected indicators used for analyses are bed-places in the accommodation establishments in the Bulgarian national Black Sea resorts, arrivals in accommodation establishments, nights spent, revenue from the nights spent and average daily rate per person. The results of the present analysis confirm some trends regarding tourists' attitudes towards domestic tourism and that the resorts offer a pricing policy to attract Bulgarian tourists. The analysis shows the potential of domestic tourism to recover the tourism industry in crises

Rapid-scan electron paramagnetic resonance using an EPR-on-a-Chip sensor

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy is the method of choice to investigate and quantify paramagnetic species in many scientific fields, including materials science and the life sciences. Common EPR spectrometers use electromagnets and microwave (MW) resonators, limiting their application to dedicated lab environments. Here, we present an improved design of a miniaturized EPR spectrometer implemented on a silicon microchip (EPR-on-a-chip, EPRoC). In place of a microwave resonator, EPRoC uses an array of injection-locked voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs), each incorporating a 200 μm diameter coil, as a combined microwave source and detector. The individual miniaturized VCO elements provide an excellent spin sensitivity reported to be about 4 × 109spins/√Hz, which is extended by the array over a larger area for improved concentration sensitivity. A striking advantage of this design is the possibility to sweep the MW frequency instead of the magnetic field, which allows the use of smaller, permanent magnets instead of the bulky and powerhungry electromagnets required for field-swept EPR. Here, we report rapid scan EPR (RS-EPRoC) experiments performed by sweeping the frequency of the EPRoC VCO array. RS-EPRoC spectra demonstrate an improved SNR by approximately two orders of magnitude for similar signal acquisition times compared to continuous wave (CW-EPRoC) methods, which may improve the absolute spin and concentration sensitivity of EPR-on-a-Chip at 14 GHz to about 6 × 107 spins/√Hz and 3.6 nM⁄√Hz, respectively

Materials on the Lepidoptera fauna of the Dagestan Republic (Northeastern Caucasus, Russia): autumn aspect (Insecta: Lepidoptera)

The article provides the list of Lepidoptera (the families: Cossidae, Coleophoridae, Choreutidae, Ethmiidae, Pterophoridae, Pyralidae, Crambidae, Lemoniidae, Lasiocampidae, Drepanidae, Geometridae, Sphingidae, Erebidae, Noctuidae, Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae, Pieridae), collected in four localities in the Republic of Dagestan in September 2020. In total, 207 species have been recorded. Five species are reported for the fauna of Russia for the first time: Casignetella texanella (Chambers, 1878) (Coleophoridae), Agriphila cyrenaicellus (Ragonot, 1887), Thyridiphora furia (Swinhoe, 1884), Haritalodes derogata (Fabricius, 1775) (Crambidae), and Scopula minorata (Boisduval, 1833) (Geometridae); 23 species - for the fauna of Eastern Caucasus: Perygra glaucicolella (Wood, 1892), Ecebalia halophilella (Zimmermann, 1926), E. linosyris (E. Hering, 1937), Ionescumia clypeiferella (O. Hofmann, 1871), Carpochena trientella (Christpoh, 1872) (Coleophoridae), Tebenna micalis (Mann, 1857) (Choreutidae), Ethmia candidella (Alpheraky, 1908) (Ethmiidae), Stenoptilia zophodactyla (Duponchel, 1838), Stenoptilodes taprobanes (Felder & Rogenhofer, 1875), Crombrugghia laetus (Zeller, 1847) (Pterophoridae), Glyptoteles leucacrinella Zeller, 1848, Cadra calidella (Guenée, 1845), (Pyralidae), Agriphila selasella (Hübner, 1813), Agriphila tolli (Bleszynski, 1952), Agriphila poliellus (Treitschke, 1832), Pediasia contaminella (Hübner, 1796), Pediasia fascelinella (Hübner, [1813]), Uresiphita gilvata (Fabricius, 1794), Antigastra catalaunalis (Duponchel, 1833) (Crambidae), Watsonalla binaria (Hufnagel, 1767) (Drepanidae), Idaea degeneraria erschoffi (Christoph, 1872), Scopula nigropunctata (Hufnagel, 1767), and Rhodometra sacraria (Linnaeus, 1767) (Geometridae)

Optically induced dynamic nuclear spin polarisation in diamond

The sensitivity of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) depends strongly on nuclear spin polarisation and, motivated by this observation, dynamical nuclear spin polarisation has recently been applied to enhance MRI protocols (Kurhanewicz, J., et al., Neoplasia 13, 81 (2011)). Nuclear spins associated with the 13 C carbon isotope (nuclear spin I = 1/2) in diamond possess uniquely long spin lattice relaxation times (Reynhardt, E.C. and G.L. High, Prog. in Nuc. Mag. Res. Sp. 38, 37 (2011)) If they are present in diamond nanocrystals, especially when strongly polarised, they form a promising contrast agent for MRI. Current schemes for achieving nuclear polarisation, however, require cryogenic temperatures. Here we demonstrate an efficient scheme that realises optically induced 13 C nuclear spin hyperpolarisation in diamond at room temperature and low ambient magnetic field. Optical pumping of a Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) centre creates a continuously renewable electron spin polarisation which can be transferred to surrounding 13 C nuclear spins. Importantly for future applications we also realise polarisation protocols that are robust against an unknown misalignment between magnetic field and crystal axis.Comment: This is the revision submitted to NJ

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase 1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age  6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score  652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N = 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in Asia and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

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