Sexually Transmitted Infections Management Legal Regulation in Bulgaria: Present Situation and Challenges

Introduction: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to be a significant public health problem with numerous health social, ethical and economic dimensions. The goal of this study is to present and discuss the Bulgarian legal framework dimensions related to the management of the spectrum of STIs, and associated public health challenges. An analysis of Bulgarian legislation normative documents connected with the presented problematic was applied. Results: For the effective STIs-spectrum management, the presented normative acts envisage a number of rules and requirements for conducting preventive, diagnostic and treatment activities. These rules are not sufficient and cannot cover all cases in the practical work of medical professionals most of them serve as general guides. The main problem that is emerging is the lack of financial resources and sources of funding. Conclusion: Despite the large legal framework, most documents are only a framework, without specifics in the organization and lack of funding for regulated activities

Ancient coastlines of the Black Sea and conditions for human presence – Black Sea expedition 2011

Project DO 02-337, an expedition on the RV Akademik, took place during June 2011 with financial support from the Bulgarian Science Fund. The location for this expedition was the Western Black Sea. 17 core and 8 grapple organic seabed samples were taken. The initial core samples were extracted from the submerged shorelines with subsequent ones taken from deeper water. So submerged shoreline was mapped, samples for dating, isotope analysis and pollen sampling were taken.Проект ДО 02-337, експедиція у східну частину Чорного моря на н/с «Академік» відбулася в червні 2011 року за фінансової підтримки Болгарського наукового фонду. Відібрано 17 проб трубкою і 8 проб драгою. Зразки відбиралися із затопленої берегової лінії, відібрано зразки для датування, ізотопного і пилкового аналізів.Проект ДО 02-337, экспедиция в восточную часть Черного моря на н/с «Академик» состоялась в июне 2011 г. при финансовой поддержке Болгарского научного фонда. Отобраны 17 проб трубкой и 8 проб драгой. Образцы отбирались из затопленной береговой линии, отобраны образцы для датирования, изотопного и пыльцевого анализов

Natural chain-breaking antioxidants and their synthetic analogs as modulators of oxidative stress

Oxidative stress is associated with the increased production of reactive oxygen species or with a significant decrease in the effectiveness of antioxidant enzymes and nonenzymatic defense. The penetration of oxygen and free radicals in the hydrophobic interior of biological membranes initiates radical disintegration of the hydrocarbon “tails” of the lipids. This process is known as “lipid peroxidation”, and the accumulation of the oxidation products as peroxides and the alde-hydes and acids derived from them are often used as a measure of oxidative stress levels. In total, 40 phenolic antioxidants were selected for a comparative study and analysis of their chain-breaking antioxidant activity, and thus as modulators of oxidative stress. This included natural and natural-like ortho-methoxy and ortho-hydroxy phenols, nine of them newly synthesized. Applied experimental and theoretical methods (bulk lipid autoxidation, chemiluminescence, in silico methods such as density functional theory (DFT) and quantitative structure–activity relationship ((Q)SAR) modeling) were used to clarify their structure–activity relationship. Kinetics of non-inhibited and inhibited lipid oxidation in close connection with inhibitor transformation under oxidative stress is considered. Special attention has been paid to chemical reactions resulting in the initiation of free radicals, a key stage of oxidative stress. Effects of substituents in the side chains and in the phenolic ring of hydroxylated phenols and biphenols, and the concentration were discussed

The genus Gautieria (Gomphales) in Europe and the Mediterranean Basin : a morphological and phylogenetic taxonomic revision

Type material and additional collections of 11 taxa of Gautieria described in Europe and North Africa have been studied, namely G. dubia , G. graveolens , G. morchelliformis var. globispora , G. morchelliformis var. magnicellaris , G. morchelliformis var. morchelliformis , G. morchelliformis var. stenospora , G. otthii , G. pseudovestita , G. retirugosa , G. trabutii and G. villosa . At the same time, morphological and genetic studies on recent and herbarium collections from several European countries have been carried out. This enabled clarification of sections within Gautieria and differentiation of 28 taxa, of which 21 are new to science. However, the deeper relationships and nomenclature changes related to the phylogenetic position of the genus Gautieria within Gomphaceae will not be addressed in this study because they would require a more complete molecular analysis together with that of related genera, e. g., Gomphus , Turbinellus , and the four subgenera of Ramaria . In addition, a lectotype for G. villosa var. villosa and reference specimens for G. graveolens and G. morchelliformis var. morchelliformis are selected, and the new combination G. morchelliformis var. dubia is proposed. Detailed descriptions, macro- and microphotographs and distribution maps of all taxa are provided, as well as extensive information on their ecology, chorology and phylogeny. A key is included to facilitate identification of taxa

Multi-agent systems in epidemiology: a first step for computational biology in the study of vector-borne disease transmission

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Computational biology is often associated with genetic or genomic studies only. However, thanks to the increase of computational resources, computational models are appreciated as useful tools in many other scientific fields. Such modeling systems are particularly relevant for the study of complex systems, like the epidemiology of emerging infectious diseases. So far, mathematical models remain the main tool for the epidemiological and ecological analysis of infectious diseases, with SIR models could be seen as an implicit standard in epidemiology. Unfortunately, these models are based on differential equations and, therefore, can become very rapidly unmanageable due to the too many parameters which need to be taken into consideration. For instance, in the case of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases in wildlife many different potential host species could be involved in the life-cycle of disease transmission, and SIR models might not be the most suitable tool to truly capture the overall disease circulation within that environment. This limitation underlines the necessity to develop a standard spatial model that can cope with the transmission of disease in realistic ecosystems.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Computational biology may prove to be flexible enough to take into account the natural complexity observed in both natural and man-made ecosystems. In this paper, we propose a new computational model to study the transmission of infectious diseases in a spatially explicit context. We developed a multi-agent system model for vector-borne disease transmission in a realistic spatial environment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Here we describe in detail the general behavior of this model that we hope will become a standard reference for the study of vector-borne disease transmission in wildlife. To conclude, we show how this simple model could be easily adapted and modified to be used as a common framework for further research developments in this field.</p

Quantitative Structure–Property Relationship Studies on Ostwald Solubility and Partition Coefficients of Organic Solutes in Ionic Liquids

Article discussing quantitative structure-property relationship studies on Ostwald solubility and partition coefficients of organic solutes in ionic liquids

Application of mobile fluorescence spectroscopy in determination of varietal differences in Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.)

Abstract. The present study aims to establish the application of fluorescence spectroscopy as a mobile field method in the determination of varietal differences in Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.). The experimental studies were conducted on site at the farm where the spinach accessions were grown. Fluorescence analysis was conducted using a light source emitting at a wavelength of 285 nm and a mobile fiber-optic experimental setup developed by the authors. The subjects of this research are leaves from Rembord, Marishka, Marquisa, and Victoria. The correlation between the emission signals of the samples was established. This discovery enables the successful application of mobile fluorescence spectroscopy as a rapid tool for determining the origin of unknown leaves. The results from the experiment can be used to optimize the timing for analyzing varietal differences in spinach genotypes after harvest. Fluorescence spectroscopy in a fiber-optical configuration will support the process of determining the belonging of a specific variety to a given variety, even for samples of unknown origin, when it is necessary to qualify the result of аccessions in a short time