Ökolandbau in Bulgarien–vor allem Arznei- und Aromapflanzen sowie Waldfrüchte, Obst und Bio-Honig für den Export

The statistical data of the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture show an certified growing area of 9 370 ha in near 80 farm holdings for organic plant production, 2 in mixed plant and animal production and 5 organic livestock breeding farms. Much bigger area of ca. 155 793 ha is certified grassland and protected areas for wild collection of herbs and wild berries. The average agricultural holdings cover 0,5 ha. Two hubs in South and North Bulgaria launched the pilot Organic Herbs initiative in an UNDP JOBS project at the end of 2002. Now 8 support centers have nurseries for organic seeds and seedlings, trail plots, demonstration and production fields, driers and primary processing facilities. The main products are sage, lemon balm, peppermint, valerian, mountain tea, savory, chamomile, dog-rose, lavender, thyme, hyssop and marigold

INFLUENCE OF BETA-ADRENOBLOCKADE WITH PROPRANOLOLUM UPON BLOOD-THROMB-FORMATION IN MICE

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The SPARC complex defines RNAPII promoters in Trypanosoma brucei

Kinetoplastids are a highly divergent lineage of eukaryotes with unusual mechanisms for regulating gene expression. We previously surveyed 65 putative chromatin factors in the kinetoplastid Trypanosoma brucei. Our analyses revealed that the predicted histone methyltransferase SET27 and the Chromodomain protein CRD1 are tightly concentrated at RNAPII transcription start regions (TSRs). Here, we report that SET27 and CRD1, together with four previously uncharacterized constituents, form the SET27 promoter-associated regulatory complex (SPARC), which is specifically enriched at TSRs. SET27 loss leads to aberrant RNAPII recruitment to promoter sites, accumulation of polyadenylated transcripts upstream of normal transcription start sites, and conversion of some normally unidirectional promoters to bidirectional promoters. Transcriptome analysis in the absence of SET27 revealed upregulated mRNA expression in the vicinity of SPARC peaks within the main body of chromosomes in addition to derepression of genes encoding variant surface glycoproteins (VSGs) located in subtelomeric regions. These analyses uncover a novel chromatin-associated complex required to establish accurate promoter position and directionality

Young love: Romantic concerns and associated mental health issues among adolescent help-seekers

Over 50% of young people have dated by age 15. While romantic relationship concerns are a major reason for adolescent help-seeking from counselling services, we have a limited understanding of what types of relationship issues are most strongly related to mental health issues and suicide risk. This paper used records of 4019 counselling sessions with adolescents (10-18 years) seeking help from a national youth counselling service for a romantic relationship concern to: (i) explore what types and stage (pre, during, post) of romantic concerns adolescents seek help for; (ii) how they are associated with mental health problems, self-harm and suicide risk; and (iii) whether these associations differ by age and gender. In line with developmental-contextual theory, results suggest that concerns about the initiation of relationships are common in early adolescence, while concerns about maintaining and repairing relationships increase with age. Relationship breakups were the most common concern for both male and female adolescents and for all age groups (early, mid, late adolescence). Data relating to a range of mental health issues were available for approximately half of the sample. Post-relationship concerns (including breakups) were also more likely than pre-or during-relationship concerns to be associated with concurrent mental health issues (36.8%), self-harm (22.6%) and suicide (9.9%). Results draw on a staged developmental theory of adolescent romantic relationships to provide a comprehensive assessment of relationship stressors, highlighting post-relationship as a particularly vulnerable time for all stages of adolescence. These findings contribute to the development of targeted intervention and support programs

The Impact of Gender on Mid-Career Labour Income: The Case of Bulgaria

The impact assessment of education and gender on mid-career labour income in a transitional economy could provide for better understanding of the influence of the labour market dynamics over individuals with different characteristics. Here, we attempt to find an answer to the question: How education and gender determine mid-career labour income? We estimate the returns to education depending on gender using Mincerian equations and regressions. The data set we use is from the Structure of Earnings Survey conducted by the National Statistical Institute in 2002 and 2006. The analysis covers over 130,000 employees between 35 and 49 years old. The impact assessment allows conclusions about the wage gap between men and women, working in different economic sectors incl. the division of public and private sector, services and industry. The access to managerial position and gender differences in the type of the labour contract have been investigated for their contribution to the persistence of a gender pay gap among the individuals with a tertiary education

Synergy of wind wave model simulations and satellite observations during extreme events

In this study, the quality of wave data provided by the new Sentinel-3A satellite is evaluated and the sensitivity of the wave model to wind forcing is tested. We focus on coastal areas, where altimeter data are of lower quality and wave modelling is more complex than for the open ocean. In the first part of the study, the sensitivity of the wave model to wind forcing is evaluated using data with different temporal and spatial resolution, such as ERA-Interim and ERA5 reanalyses, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) operational analysis and short-range forecasts, German Weather Service (DWD) forecasts and regional atmospheric model simulations (coastDat). Numerical simulations show that the wave model forced using the ERA5 reanalyses and that forced using the ECMWF operational analysis/forecast demonstrate the best capability over the whole study period, as well as during extreme events. To further estimate the variance of the significant wave height of ensemble members for different wind forcings, especially during extreme events, an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis is performed. In the second part of the study, the satellite data of Sentinel-3A, Jason-2 and CryoSat-2 are assessed in comparison with in situ measurements and spectral wave model (WAM) simulations. Intercomparisons between remote sensing and in situ observations demonstrate that the overall quality of the former is good over the North Sea and Baltic Sea throughout the study period, although the significant wave heights estimated based on satellite data tend to be greater than the in situ measurements by 7 to 26&thinsp;cm. The quality of all satellite data near the coastal area decreases; however, within 10&thinsp;km off the coast, Sentinel-3A performs better than the other two satellites. Analyses in which data from satellite tracks are separated in terms of onshore and offshore flights have been carried out. No substantial differences are found when comparing the statistics for onshore and offshore flights. Moreover, no substantial differences are found between satellite tracks under various metocean conditions. Furthermore, the satellite data quality does not depend on the wind direction relative to the flight direction. Thus, the quality of the data obtained by the new Sentinel-3A satellite over coastal areas is improved compared to that of older satellites.</p

Newly Identified Star Clusters in M33. III. Structural Parameters

We present the morphological properties of 161 star clusters in M33 using the Advanced Camera For Surveys Wide Field Channel onboard the Hubble Space Telescope using observations with the F606W and F814W filters. We obtain, for the first time, ellipticities, position angles, and surface brightness profiles for a significant number of clusters. On average, M33 clusters are more flattened than those of the Milky Way and M31, and more similar to clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The ellipticities do not show any correlation with age or mass, suggesting that rotation is not the main cause of elongation in the M33 clusters. The position angles of the clusters show a bimodality with a strong peak perpendicular to the position angle of the galaxy major axis. These results support the notion that tidal forces are the reason for the cluster flattening. We fit King and EFF models to the surface brightness profiles and derive structural parameters including core radii, concentration, half-light radii and central surface brightness for both filters. The surface brightness profiles of a significant number of clusters show irregularities such as bumps and dips. Young clusters (Log age < 8) are notably better fitted by models with no radial truncation (EFF models), while older clusters show no significant differences between King or EFF fits. M33 star clusters seem to have smaller sizes, smaller concentrations, and smaller central surface brightness as compared to clusters in the MW, M31, LMC and SMC. Analysis of the structural parameters presents a age-radius relation also detected in other star cluster systems. The overall analysis shows differences in the structural evolution between the M33 cluster system and cluster systems in nearby galaxies. These differences could have been caused by the strong differences in these various environments.Comment: 30 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Coastal Ocean Forecasting: science foundation and user benefits

The advancement of Coastal Ocean Forecasting Systems (COFS) requires the support of continuous scientific progress addressing: (a) the primary mechanisms driving coastal circulation; (b) methods to achieve fully integrated coastal systems (observations and models), that are dynamically embedded in larger scale systems; and (c) methods to adequately represent air-sea and biophysical interactions. Issues of downscaling, data assimilation, atmosphere-wave-ocean couplings and ecosystem dynamics in the coastal ocean are discussed. These science topics are fundamental for successful COFS, which are connected to evolving downstream applications, dictated by the socioeconomic needs of rapidly increasing coastal populations

N-body Models of Rotating Globular Clusters

We have studied the dynamical evolution of rotating globular clusters with direct $N$-body models. Our initial models are rotating King models; we obtained results for both equal-mass systems and systems composed out of two mass components. Previous investigations using a Fokker-Planck solver have revealed that rotation has a noticeable influence on stellar systems like globular clusters, which evolve by two-body relaxation. In particular, it accelerates their dynamical evolution through the gravogyro instability. We have validated the occurence of the gravogyro instability with direct $N$-body models. In the case of systems composed out of two mass components, mass segregation takes place, which competes with the rotation in the acceleration of the core collapse. The "accelerating" effect of rotation has not been detected in our isolated two-mass $N$-body models. Last, but not least, we have looked at rotating $N$-body models in a tidal field within the tidal approximation. It turns out that rotation increases the escape rate significantly. A difference between retrograde and prograde rotating star clusters occurs with respect to the orbit of the star cluster around the Galaxy, which is due to the presence of a ``third integral'' and chaotic scattering, respectively.Comment: 16 pages, 17 figures, accepted by MNRA