German insurance industry: market overview and trends

This article presents an overview of the contemporary German insurance market, its structure, players, and development trends. First, brief information about the history of the insurance industry in Germany is provided. Second, the contemporary market is analyzed in terms of its legal and economic structure, with statistics on the number of companies, insurance density and penetration, the role of insurers in the capital markets, premiums split, and main market players and their market shares. Furthermore, the three biggest insurance lines—life, health, and property and casualty—are considered in more detail, such as product range, country specifics, and insurance and investment results. A section on regulation outlines its implementation in the insurance sector, offering information on the underlying legislative basis, supervisory body, technical procedures, expected developments, and sources of more detailed information

Moscow and Beijing Green City Planning. Research of Concepts and New Ideas.

Urban planning is closely related to social conditions, production, science and culture, natural conditions, and national characteristics; it covers complex socio-economic, construction and technical, architectural and artistic, sanitary and hygienic problems. This research aims to familiarize the experience of urban development cooperation between the two countries - China and Russia. In particular, the two cities of Moscow and Beijing, in green construction. Studying the experience of the two countries provides an enormous interest. Research of the topic will show alternative possibilities to learn gardening concepts, solving environmental and social issues related to public spaces.  &nbsp

Renin-sodium profile and renal prostaglandins in the pathogenesis of systemic arterial hypertension in blacks

Thirteen black women with systemic (essential) arterial hypertension, age-matched with normotensives, were examined during two protocols inducing sodium depletion and sodium loading respectively. Changes in plasma renin activity (PRA), urinary aldosterone values and prostaglandin E2, (PGE2,) and F2a (PGF2a) excretion were simultaneously assessed. Renin profiles, obtained by the plotting of PRA against the urinary excretion of sodium, showed a 62% prevalence of low-renin hypertension, the remaining 38% of the patients having normal-renin hypertension.At basal level the hypertensives had suppressed renal synthesis of vasodilator PGE2, and a non-significant increase in venopressor PGF2a. This was reflected in the significant 32% decrease in the PGE2/PGF2a ratio. This finding was in keeping with their low-renin hypertension. During sodium depletion PG excretion wasincreased in both normotensive and hypertensive groups. The opposite effect was found during sodium loading.The results of this study do not support a natriuretic role for renal PGE2 but do support the hypothesis that there is decreased renal vasodepressor PGE2, synthesis in black hypertensive patients

Collaborative Learning and Assessment in e-Learning

Report published in the Proceedings of the National Conference on "Education and Research in the Information Society", Plovdiv, May, 2016The article provides a summary of collaborative learning and assessment and presents their definition, basic elements, advantages and application. It is focused on the new role of the learners – who carry the responsibility for their own education and to their peers’, in which they work together, during collaborative activities. Collaborative assessment can be regarded as an educational activity in the collaborative learning. Other advantages, besides the academic ones, are shown – social and psychological. Particular attention is paid to the use of this method in e-learning. E-learning environments that implement collaborative education and assessment are reviewed.Association for the Development of the Information Society, Institute of Mathematics and Informatics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski

Tunnel Parsing with counted repetitions

The article describes a new and efficient algorithm for parsing, called Tunnel Parsing, that parses from left to right on the basis of a context-free grammar without left recursion and rules that recognize empty words. The algorithm is applicable mostly for domain-specific languages. In the article, particular attention is paid to the parsing of grammar element repetitions. As a result of the parsing, a statically typed concrete syntax tree is built from top to bottom, that accurately reflects the grammar. The parsing is not done through a recursion, but through an iteration. The Tunnel Parsing algorithm uses the grammars directly without a prior refactoring and is with a linear time complexity for deterministic context-free grammars

Game-based Approach in e-Learning

Report published in the Proceedings of the National Conference on "Education and Research in the Information Society", Plovdiv, May, 2016In this article a summary is made of the use of standard electronic game’s methods in e-learning. It shows how game-elements and game-mechanics can be applied in e-learning environments. Different types of Serious games – Game-based learning, Gamification of learning, Organizational-dynamic games, Simulation Games and Edutainment have been discussed. The article introduces the game-based model for learning and 70:20:10 education framework. There are examples for e-Learning environments that include some of the abovementioned game-elements and game-techniques. The focus in the conclusion is on the potential benefits of successful implementation of serious games into a learning environments.Association for the Development of the Information Society, Institute of Mathematics and Informatics Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski

Pathophysiological mechanisms of urbanisation-related hypertension and the sodium pressor response in black Zimbabweans

This study examined the role of endothelin (ET), the thromboxane A, (TXA2)-prostacyclin (PGI2) ratio (TXA2/PGI2), plasma renin activity (PRA) and urinary aldosterone excretion (ALDO) in urban hypertensive patients and in the sodium pressor response in normotensives. Twenty-seven urban hypertensive patients and the same number of normotensive controls were studied on baseline diet, after 5 days of sodium restriction and after 5 days of sodium loading. Mean arterial blood pressure, plasma and ET values, PRA, TXA2/PGI2 and ALDO were assessed on each diet.The results showed that baseline PRA was suppressed in the hypertensive patients; this indicates that urbanisation-related hypertension is of the low renin type. ET levels and TXA2/PGI2 were higher in hypertensive than in normotenisve subjects, suggesting an association between high blood pressure and these factors. Although the baseline PRA in hypertensives was suppressed, urinary ALDO was no different from that in the normotensive controls where PRA was normal. In addition, sodium restriction did not increase PRA in hypertensive subjects while it more than doubled it in the controls. However, ALDO in hypertensive patients increased to levels that were no different from those in the normotensive subjects. Sodium loading increased blood pressure, ET values and TXA2/PGI2 indicating an association between the latter two factors and the sodium pressor response in those with hypertension. ALDO decreased to similar levels on sodium loading in the two groups. This decrease in ALDO was accompanied by suppression of PRA only in normotensive subjects.In conclusion, the low-renin-activity urban hypertensives we studied had increased baseline ET levels and TXA2/PGI2. The observed pressor response was accompanied by increases in these two factors. This suggests an important role for the two factors in this form of hypertension and the sodium response in normotensives

Autophagy in adipose tissue

Autophagy is an essential mechanism of recycling, which represents a path leading to utilization and reorganization of intracellular components (nutrients, organelles, etc). Recent studies on adipose tissue have shown, that autophagy plays crucial role in differentiation of the adipocytes precursors and in phenotypic tissue transformations. The aim of this thesis is to summarize the characteristics of autophagy in terms of various adipose tissues as well as to present the regulation of autophagy as a potentially useful in therapy focused on obesity treatment. However, with the regulation of autophagy, there are risks that will also be considered in the present thesis. Keywords: autophagy, adipose tissue, therapyAutofagie je esenciální recyklační mechanismus, představující dráhu vedoucí k utilizaci a reorganizaci intracelulárních komponent (živin, organel, aj). Nedávné studie prováděné na tukové tkáni navíc naznačují, že se autofagie spolupodílí na diferenciaci prekurzorů tukových buněk a fenotypových přeměnách tkáně. Cílem této práce je shrnout vlastnosti autofagie v kontextu různých druhů tukové tkáně, a zároveň představit regulaci autofagie jako potenciálně využitelnou v terapiích zaměřených na léčbu obezity. Existují však rizika provázející regulaci autofagie, která budou v této práci rovněž zohledněná. Klíčová slova: autofagie, tuková tkáň, terapieDepartment of Cell BiologyKatedra buněčné biologiePřírodovědecká fakultaFaculty of Scienc