WELLNESS AT SCHOOL BY PRACTICING CHEERLEADING

The issue for the health of children and youth, their physical culture, and motor activity is becoming increasingly relevant in Bulgarian society. Physical education and sports (PES) and a healthy lifestyle are factors that support young people's adaptation to new living conditions, opposing the continuously complicated health and environmental situation. This material analyses the place of Cheerleading in the third lesson of the discipline “Physical Education and Sport” at school. The beneficial effects of regular activities are established, and it is positioned to be included in the "Gymnastics and Dance" module under the category of "other". Overall, incorporating cheerleading into a school wellness program can have a range of benefits for students, from improving physical fitness to promoting social and emotional wellbeing. It is important to ensure that safety protocols are in place and that cheerleading is practiced in a safe and supervised environment. Cheerleading can be a fun and engaging way for students to stay active and promote wellness at school

Mitochondrial DNA Suggests a Western Eurasian origin for Ancient (Proto-) Bulgarians

Ancient (proto-) Bulgarians have long been thought to as a Turkic population. However, evidence found in the past three decades show that this is not the case. Until now, this evidence does not include ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis. In order to fill this void, we have collected human remains from the VIII-X century AD located in three necropolises in Bulgaria: Nojarevo (Silistra region) and Monastery of Mostich (Shumen region), both in Northeast Bulgaria and Tuhovishte (Satovcha region) in Southwest Bulgaria. The phylogenetic analysis of 13 ancient DNA samples (extracted from teeth) identified 12 independent haplotypes, which we further classified into mtDNA haplogroups found in present-day European and Western Eurasian populations. Our results suggest a Western Eurasian matrilineal origin for proto-Bulgarians as well as a genetic similarity between proto- and modern Bulgarians. Our future work will provide additional data which will further clarify proto-Bulgarian origins; thereby adding new clues to current understanding of European genetic evolution

Effect of the Predecessor and the Nitrogen Rate on Productivity and Essential Oil Content of Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) in Southeast Bulgaria

Received: May 31st, 2022 ; Accepted: August 13th, 2022 ; Published: September 19th, 2022 ; Correspondence: [email protected] (Coriandrum sativum L.) is one of the most important essential oil crops on a global scale. Coriander productivity is determined by the genotype, the environmental factors, as well the agronomic practices. A field experiment was conducted in Southeast Bulgaria during three vegetation seasons (2015, 2016, and 2017). The present study aimed at analysing the influence of two crop predecessors (winter wheat and sunflower) and four nitrogen (N) levels (0, 40, 80, and 120 kg ha-1 ). Productivity elements, seed yield, and seed essential oil content of coriander (cv. Mesten drebnoploden) were under evaluation. The results obtained showed that winter wheat was a more suitable predecessor of coriander in comparison to sunflower. The highest results regarding the number of umbels per plant, the umbel’s diameter, the number of umbellets per umbel, the number of seeds per umbel, the seed weight per plant, the 1,000 seed mass, as well as the seed yield for the rate of 80 kg ha-1 of N were recorded. The highest essential oil content after applying 120 kg ha-1 of N was established. Increasing the N level from 0 to 120 kg ha-1 led to a positive and significant effect on essential oil yield. No significant differences between the N rates of 80 and 120 kg ha-1 were recorded. The received results contributed for the evaluatation of the optimum nitrogen level, as well as for the determination of a more suitable predecessor of coriander in order to obtain the highest yield of better quality in the region of Southeast Bulgaria

Ancient human mitochondrial genomes from Bronze Age Bulgaria: new insights into the genetic history of Thracians

Abstract One of the best documented Indo-European civilizations that inhabited Bulgaria is the Thracians, who lasted for more than five millennia and whose origin and relationships with other past and present-day populations are debated among researchers. Here we report 25 new complete mitochondrial genomes of ancient individuals coming from three necropolises located in different regions of Bulgaria – Shekerdja mogila, Gabrova mogila and Bereketska mogila – dated to II-III millennium BC. The identified mtDNA haplogroup composition reflects the mitochondrial variability of Western Eurasia. In particular, within the ancient Eurasian genetic landscape, Thracians locate in an intermediate position between Early Neolithic farmers and Late Neolithic-Bronze Age steppe pastoralists, supporting the scenario that the Balkan region has been a link between Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean since the prehistoric time. Spatial Principal Component Analysis (sPCA) performed on Thracian and modern mtDNA sequences, confirms the pattern highlighted on ancient populations, overall indicating that the maternal gene pool of Thracians reflects their central geographical position at the gateway of Europe

Low dimensional nanostructures of fast ion conducting lithium nitride

As the only stable binary compound formed between an alkali metal and nitrogen, lithium nitride possesses remarkable properties and is a model material for energy applications involving the transport of lithium ions. Following a materials design principle drawn from broad structural analogies to hexagonal graphene and boron nitride, we demonstrate that such low dimensional structures can also be formed from an s-block element and nitrogen. Both one- and two-dimensional nanostructures of lithium nitride, Li3N, can be grown despite the absence of an equivalent van der Waals gap. Lithium-ion diffusion is enhanced compared to the bulk compound, yielding materials with exceptional ionic mobility. Li3N demonstrates the conceptual assembly of ionic inorganic nanostructures from monolayers without the requirement of a van der Waals gap. Computational studies reveal an electronic structure mediated by the number of Li-N layers, with a transition from a bulk narrow-bandgap semiconductor to a metal at the nanoscale

Hepatitis C Virus Infection Epidemiology among People Who Inject Drugs in Europe: A Systematic Review of Data for Scaling Up Treatment and Prevention

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) are a key population affected by hepatitis C virus (HCV). Treatment options are improving and may enhance prevention; however access for PWID may be poor. The availability in the literature of information on seven main topic areas (incidence, chronicity, genotypes, HIV co-infection, diagnosis and treatment uptake, and burden of disease) to guide HCV treatment and prevention scale-up for PWID in the 27 countries of the European Union is systematically reviewed. Methods and Findings: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library for publications between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2012, with a search strategy of general keywords regarding viral hepatitis, substance abuse and geographic scope, as well as topic-specific keywords. Additional articles were found through structured email consultations with a large European expert network. Data availability was highly variable and important limitations existed in comparability and representativeness. Nine of 27 countries had data on HCV incidence among PWID, which was often high (2.7-66/100 person-years, median 13, Interquartile range (IQR) 8.7–28). Most common HCV genotypes were G1 and G3; however, G4 may be increasing, while the proportion of traditionally ‘difficult to treat’ genotypes (G1+G4) showed large variation (median 53, IQR 43–62). Twelve countries reported on HCV chronicity (median 72, IQR 64–81) and 22 on HIV prevalence in HCV-infected PWID (median 3.9%, IQR 0.2–28). Undiagnosed infection, assessed in five countries, was high (median 49%, IQR 38–64), while of those diagnosed, the proportion entering treatment was low (median 9.5%, IQR 3.5–15). Burden of disease, where assessed, was high and will rise in the next decade. Conclusion: Key data on HCV epidemiology, care and disease burden among PWID in Europe are sparse but suggest many undiagnosed infections and poor treatment uptake. Stronger efforts are needed to improve data availability to guide an increase in HCV treatment among PWID

Some results of evaluation of new-introduced apricot cultivars under conditions of Plovdiv region

Abstract. Apricot is not typical species for South Central Region of Bulgaria, where the Plovdiv region occupies a large part of the territory, but last 5 years the area and production remain stable. In this study, are presented the first results of investigation on seven new introduced apricot cultivars 'Bergecot', 'Flavor cot', 'Jenny cot', 'Lady cot', 'Perle cot', 'Sweet cot' and 'Tom cot', carried out at the Fruit Growing Institute in Plovdiv. The investigation included phelogical data, fruit dimensions, chemical composition and sensory evaluation of the fruits. The studied cultivars more often entered the stage of flowering after second part of March and the differences between them were insignificant – one or two days. Among the investigated cultivars four of themripened in the third decade of June, 'Lady cot' ripened in the beginning of July, 'Bergecot' in the end of July and 'Jenny cot' in the first half of August. The largest fruits had cultivar 'Lady cot' – 57.86 g, and the smallest one 'Flavor cot' – 37.64 g. The total soluble solids (TSS) content in the present study varied from 13.4° Brix in 'Perle cot' to 23.3° Brix in 'Jeny cot' cultivar. The highest vitamin C content was found in 'Bergecot' – 29.40 mg/100 g and it is statistically proved. According to the final evaluation the cultivars 'Bergecot' and 'Sweet cot' have exellent sensory characteristics and the other 5 cultivars are classified in the group of first class. According to the obtained data, all evaluated cultivars in this study are suitable for growing under the conditions of Plovdiv region. The most attractive and quality fruits have cultivars 'Lady cot', 'Perle cot', 'Bergecot' and 'Sweet cot

Environmental Accounting: Conceptual Framework

With the rise of industrial facilities in the world, more and more costs and losses for activities related to environmental protection. Their value is already hundreds of billions of dollars and they are largely covered by plants using natural resources. For this reason, in many industrialized countries are beginning to try to accommodate the environmental performance of the industry back in the 70s of the twentieth century

Case Studies and Best Practices: Reading the SGR Sustainability Reporting in Italy and in Bulgaria Using Institutional Theory

Institutional literature focuses on institutional stability and inertia (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983) contend that institutionalization brings about a homogenization of organizations. This process - called “isomorphism”- arises from the need for organizations to respond to environmental expectations, guarantee their survival and increase their success possibilities in a particular environment. Isomorphism emerges through three different mechanisms: coercive, normative and mimetic (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983) and Scott (1995) argued that legitimacy is based on three pillars: regulative, normative and cognitive. The chapter has the objective to analyze Sustainability reporting in SGR group-Italy and Bulgaria using neo-institutional theor

Characterization of ZnSe Nanolayers by Spectroscopic Ellipsometry

Single layers of ZnSe with thicknesses of 30, 40, 50, 70 and 100 nm are deposited at room substrate temperature by thermal evaporation of ZnSe powder in vacuum. The layers surface morphology has been investigated by atomic force microscopy. Structural characterization by the Raman scattering measurement revealed the existence of randomly oriented crystalline ZnSe particles in all layers, and the presence of amorphous phase in layers thinner than 100 nm. The ellipsometric measurements were performed in the range from 1.5 to 5 eV at room temperature in air. To interpret the experimental results, the Bruggeman effective medium approximation of dielectric function of ZnSe layers has been used, representing the layers as different mixtures of crystalline ZnSe (c-ZnSe), amorphous ZnSe (a-ZnSe), and voids. The assumption of polycrystalline ZnSe layers modeled as mixture of porous c-ZnSe (with volume fraction of voids ≈ 0.17) and a-ZnSe gives the best fit of ellipsometric experimental data. Single layer thicknesses similar to those expected from preparation conditions have been obtained by this fitting procedure. It has been also found that decrease in the layer thickness causes an increase of the volume fraction of a-ZnSe. Thus, c-ZnSe/a-ZnSe ratio, porosity and layer thickness obtained by spectroscopic ellipsometry, provides useful information about crystallinity and micro-/nanostructure of ZnSe nanolayers