Insight into challenges for researchers and Universities in Bulgaria

The paper presents the results of studies carried out recently among Bulgarian stakeholders to investigate the career and mobility of researchers, as well as problems in industry-academia collaboration. The methodological approach is inspired by the FP7 E*CARE and SISTER projects of Sofia University. The paper presents some general issues for research and innovation landscape in Bulgaria, and outlines the case of Technical University of Sofia

Larger fungi in the Pirin national park, Bulgaria

Data on the species diversity and conservation of larger fungi in the Pirin National Park are reported. The total number or currently known species is 373 (33 ascomycetes and 340 basidiomycetes). A large part of materials has been collected in the framework of Update of Plan for management of the Pirin National Park Project. During the field investigations have been recorded 198 fungal species. Eighty seven of them are reported for the first time for the Pirin National Park. Five species are new for Bulgaria. Twenty five larger fungi are of conservation value — included in Red List of fungi in Bulgaria. Seventeen of them are included also in national Red Data Book. Eight species with conservation value were founded during 2014. Three species are the first records for the park and for all mountain

Chloroplast capture by a new variety, Juniperus sabina var. balkanensis R. P. Adams and A. N. Tashev, from the Balkan peninsula: A putative stabilized relictual hybrid between J. sabina and ancestral J. thurifera

An example of chloroplast capture has been found in Juniperus sabina from Bulgaria and Greece in the Balkan peninsula. The cpDNA from these populations is very uniform and is nearly identical to that of J. thurifera (currently growing in France, Spain and Morocco). The new taxon is recognized as Juniperus sabina var. balkanensis R. P. Adams and A. Tashev. At present, the variety, with the thurifera cpDNA, is known only from Bulgaria and Greece

Chloroplast capture in Juniperus sabina var. balkanensis R. P. Adams and A. N. Tashev, from the Balkan peninsula: A new variety with a history of hybridization with J. thurifera

example of chloroplast capture has been identified in Juniperus sabina from Bulgaria and Greece in the Balkan peninsula. Nuclear DNA and overall morphology clearly indicate a close relationship to Juniperus sabina, whereas the cpDNA from these populations is very uniform and is nearly identical to that of J. thurifera, an unrelated species currently growing in France, Spain and Morocco. The new taxon is recognized as Juniperus sabina var. balkanensis R. P. Adams and A. Tashev. At present, this new variety is known only from locations in Bulgaria and Greece

Chloroplast capture by a new variety, Juniperus sabina var. balkanensis R. P. Adams and A. N. Tashev, from the Balkan peninsula: A putative stabilized relictual hybrid between J. sabina and ancestral J. thurifera

An example of chloroplast capture has been found in Juniperus sabina from Bulgaria and Greece in the Balkan peninsula. The cpDNA from these populations is very uniform and is nearly identical to that of J. thurifera (currently growing in France, Spain and Morocco). The new taxon is recognized as Juniperus sabina var. balkanensis R. P. Adams and A. Tashev. At present, the variety, with the thurifera cpDNA, is known only from Bulgaria and Greece

Juniperus communis in Azerbaijan: analyses of nrDNA and cpDNA regions

Juniperus \u27pygmaea\u27 from Azerbaijan was analyzed by DNA sequence data from nrDNA plus four cp DNA regions (4315 bp) and found in a clade with J. communis \u27oblonga\u27 (= J. communis) Armenia, not with J. c. forma pygmaea of Bulgaria. It seems prudent to not recognize this variant taxonomically but treat it as J. communis

Discovery of Juniperus sabina var. balkanensis R. P. Adams and A. N. Tashev in western Turkey (Anatolia)

Additional analyses of trnS-trnG and nrDNA from herbarium specimens from Europe revealed the presence of J. sabina var. balkanensis in western Turkey near Izmir and expands the range previously known only from Bulgaria and adjacent mountains in Greece. A more detailed map of the taxon\u27s distribution is presented

Rotation Measure Synthesis of Galactic Polarized Emission with the DRAO 26-m Telescope

Radio polarimetry at decimetre wavelengths is the principal source of information on the Galactic magnetic field. The diffuse polarized emission is strongly influenced by Faraday rotation in the magneto-ionic medium and rotation measure is the prime quantity of interest, implying that all Stokes parameters must be measured over wide frequency bands with many frequency channels. The DRAO 26-m Telescope has been equipped with a wideband feed, a polarization transducer to deliver both hands of circular polarization, and a receiver, all operating from 1277 to 1762 MHz. Half-power beamwidth is between 40 and 30 arcminutes. A digital FPGA spectrometer, based on commercially available components, produces all Stokes parameters in 2048 frequency channels over a 485-MHz bandwidth. Signals are digitized to 8 bits and a Fast Fourier Transform is applied to each data stream. Stokes parameters are then generated in each frequency channel. This instrument is in use at DRAO for a Northern sky polarization survey. Observations consist of scans up and down the Meridian at a drive rate of 0.9 degree per minute to give complete coverage of the sky between declinations -30 degree and 90 degree. This paper presents a complete description of the receiver and data acquisition system. Only a small fraction of the frequency band of operation is allocated for radio astronomy, and about 20 percent of the data are lost to interference. The first 8 percent of data from the survey are used for a proof-of-concept study, which has led to the first application of Rotation Measure Synthesis to the diffuse Galactic emission obtained with a single-antenna telescope. We find rotation measure values for the diffuse emission as high as approximately 100 rad per square metre, much higher than recorded in earlier work.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journa

Geographic variation in nrDNA and four cpDNA regions of Juniperus excelsa: Analysis of new records from Bulgaria, Cyprus and southwestern Turkey

Sequencing of nrDNA, plus four cp DNA regions: petN-psbM, trnS-trnG, trnD-trnT and trnL-trnF of newly acquired samples of J. excelsa from Bulgaria, Cyprus and Turkey showed little variation in J. excelsa (sensu stricto), except for the unusual situation in Lebanon, where J. excelsa and J. polycarpos (and likely J. p. var. turcomanica) grow near each other and may be hybridizing. The genetic composition of the eastern-most populations of J. excelsa in Turkey is unknown and deserves further study