DETERMINATION OF CD, PB, AS, ZN, CU IN VEGETABLES AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTS AND HERBS

In order to control the hygienic and health conformity of vegetable food products from the consumer basket for the preparation of a full-day military meal, among other analyses, the maximum allowable quantities of the elements Cd, Pb, As, Zn, Cu are monitored. With the AAS technique, three samples each of twenty fresh vegetables, vegetable products and herbs were analyzed and the quantity of the elements of interest was examined. The results of the examination of three samples of: fresh beans, carrots, potatoes, onions, cabbage, spinach; canned vegetables: peas, green beans, peppers (glass and tin packaging), beets (glass and tin packaging), cucumbers (glass and tin packaging), tomato paste, mushrooms; herbs: ground paprika, black pepper, parsley and mixed seasoning are presented. The samples are from different producers from the Macedonian area. Using the method of comparative analysis, it was concluded that the obtained results are in accordance with the norms of the rulebook and those of the literature

OPTIMIZATION OF HEALTH CARE FINANCIAL RESOURCES IN BULGARIA THROUGH HOME CARE AND ASSISTANCE SERVICES

Health care in Bulgaria is based on hospital care. According to the Euro Health Consumer Index for 2016, our country ranks first in terms of hospital stay. However, in small towns and villages, the cost of hospital care is too high and unviable. This calls for the development of a new type of health services to reduce costs and optimize the inclusion of skilled workforce in the social and health sectors. The main purpose of this paper is to examine and analyse the possibilities to reduce healthcare costs through the introduction of a system of integrated health and social services at home, which necessitates the establishment of middle units – Home Care Centres. It examines and analyses the results from a pilot project of the Bulgarian Red Cross, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, which envisaged the provision of integrated home care services for elderly people with chronic diseases and permanent disabilities in the Vratsa region as from the year 2012

The point and purpose of sport – a few considerations

Self-validation and self-improvement, peer and public approval, sense of purpose and understanding of greatness are components of the motives for doing sports. But when it comes to professional involvement in sports, the stakes get high and the reasons dramatically shift. However, although the present major concern of theoreticians is the emphasis on the contemporary industrialization of sport, the discussion about its aspects can only be plausible if the history of sport\u27s development gets taken into account, for the motive and justifi cation of sport have always been greatly infl uenced by the broader cultural context of the communities, making sport a signifi cant part of the relation man-world and thus prone to diff erent approaches. Sport has evolved rather ambivalently, from a mere physiological need for survival to a part of sacred rituals, to profane entertainment and sacred involvement again, and to a realm for exhibiting mechanisms of power (coming from the spirit of competitiveness and togetherness) and a lucrative "machinery". Hope remains that understanding the development of its purpose would shed some light on its present purpose, facilitating the direction of further, more focused investigations

The point and purpose of sport – a few considerations

Self-validation and self-improvement, peer and public approval, sense of purpose and understanding of greatness are components of the motives for doing sports. But when it comes to professional involvement in sports, the stakes get high and the reasons dramatically shift. However, although the present major concern of theoreticians is the emphasis on the contemporary industrialization of sport, the discussion about its aspects can only be plausible if the history of sport\u27s development gets taken into account, for the motive and justifi cation of sport have always been greatly infl uenced by the broader cultural context of the communities, making sport a signifi cant part of the relation man-world and thus prone to diff erent approaches. Sport has evolved rather ambivalently, from a mere physiological need for survival to a part of sacred rituals, to profane entertainment and sacred involvement again, and to a realm for exhibiting mechanisms of power (coming from the spirit of competitiveness and togetherness) and a lucrative "machinery". Hope remains that understanding the development of its purpose would shed some light on its present purpose, facilitating the direction of further, more focused investigations

Uniform Probability Response Spectra for Selecting Site Specific Design Motions

In the majority of the current building codes, the shape of a design spectrum is defined by considering only the local soil conditions. This paper examines the validity of this simplification. In particular, it is shown how effects of deep soil or rock soil conditions on uniform probability site specific spectra can be simulated by varying the geological site conditions (depth of sediments) and the distance from the fault. On the basis of the results presented in the paper and similar results from earlier papers considering the effects of the choice of the geometry of the model fault and the assumed rupture area, as well as the seismic moment rate, the maximum magnitude, the b-value, and the confidence of the prediction, it is concluded that the shapes of design spectra should not be determined only on the basis of the local soil conditions

Energy dissipation by nonlinear soil strains during soil-structure interaction excited by SH pulse

Three variants of a two-dimensional (2-D) model of a building supported by a rectangular, flexible foundation embedded in nonlinear soil are analyzed. The building, the foundation, and soil have different physical properties. The building is assumed to be linear, but the foundation and the soil can experience nonlinear deformations. It is shown that the work spent for the development of nonlinear strains in the soil can consume a significant part of the input wave energy, and thus less energy is available for excitation of the building. The results help explain why the damage, during the 1994 Northridge earthquake in California, to residential buildings in the areas that experienced large strains in the soil was absent or reduced

From genetics to genomics in plants and animals

The classical concepts in plant and livestock selection for economically important quantitative traits traditionally are based on phenotypic records, aiming at improvement of the traits by obtaining better genetic gain. The increase in genetic variation together with shortening of the generation interval is the major target of long term improvement of methods and tools for selection activities. The discoveries and implementations of biotechnology and molecular biology for selection purposes provide a stable background for generating of new knowledge and practical use in agricultural research and practice as well as to meet the growing demand for more and with better quality food and feed. The innovations in molecular knowledge related to practical selection aside with the quick quantification in breeding schemes allowed to reconsider the opportunities for sustainable development of selection methods for improvement of the traits of interest in agriculture, the quick invention and practical application of new high-throughput technologies for studying of the genomic variation, evolution, translation of proteins and metabolite determination altogether put in an open and communicative environment of information technologies provide a new holistic platform for better research and more knowledge for practical application of selection decisions

Reduction of seismic wave energy of SH pulse by nonlinear soil

Two-dimensional models of a building on a rectangular, flexible foundation in nonlinear soil are analyzed. The building is assumed to be linear, but the foundation and the soil can experience nonlinear deformations. It is shown that the wave energy dissipated during the development of nonlinear strains in the soil can consume a significant part of the input wave energy, and thus less energy is available for excitation of the building. The results help explain why, during the 1994 Northridge earthquake in California, the damage to residential buildings in the areas that experienced large strains in the soil was absent or significantly reduced. The results also suggest major advantages that result from the designs that consider nonlinear soil response