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Sample records for center sofia bulgaria

  1. Cyanobacteria of the thermal spring at Pancharevo, Sofia, Bulgaria.

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Lukavský, Jaromír; Furnadzhieva, S.; Pilarski, P.

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 70, č. 2 (2011), 191-208 ISSN 0365-0588 R&D Projects: GA MŠk 1M0571 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60050516 Keywords : cyanobacteria * Thermal spring * Pancharevo, Sofia, Bulgaria Subject RIV: EF - Botanics Impact factor: 0.702, year: 2011

  2. Presentations at TENCompetence Workshop in Sofia, Bulgaria. March 30th-31st, 2006

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Several

    2006-01-01

    Several (2006). Presentations at International Workshop in Learning Networks for Lifelong Competence Development. March, 30-31, 2006, Sofia, Bulgaria: TENCompetence Conference. The full proceedings can be downloaded at: http://hdl.handle.net/1820/836.

  3. Bulgaria: INIS Center - 45 years experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Georgieva, Albena

    2015-01-01

    Bulgaria is one of 35 countries in the world operating nuclear power plants. Bulgaria's nuclear program was launched in 1956 with the construction of an IRT-2000 research reactor at the Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy (INRNE), which was commissioned in 1961. The reactor is now under reconstruction. In 1960, construction of the first Bulgarian nuclear power plant started. At the moment, there are 6 power units at the Kozloduy NPP site; 4 of them (VVER-440/B-230) under decommissioning and 2 (VVER-1000/B-320) in operation. Several storage facilities for radioactive waste, mainly from the Kozloduy NPP and from various sources of ionizing radiation in medicine and industry are also in operation. The Kozloduy NPP, INRNE, Sofia University, the Technical University, and the State Enterprise Radioactive Waste are the main generators of nuclear information in Bulgaria and the main consumers of INIS products. The Bulgarian INIS Center, therefore, maintains continuous and effective cooperation with these Institutions

  4. Development of Diversified Tourism Destination Products – A Case Study of Tourism Destination, Municipality of Sofia, Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena PETKOVA

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, it is argued that there is a variety of products and accordingly a diversity of types of tourism in the municipality of Sofia, Bulgaria: urban and "non-urban", mass and specialized, tourism based on natural and anthropogenic, on tangible and intangible resources. In this regard, diverse tourism products of the destination may be offered to its visitors, which to a greater extent meets their various needs and contributes to the sustainable tourism development. Thus, the aim of the paper is to reveal whether tourism professionals in Sofia are aware of the possibilities for combining various types of tourism and promoting the diversified destination tourism product among local and foreign visitors.

  5. CERN exhibition a big hit in Bulgaria

    CERN Multimedia

    2005-01-01

    The first CERN exhibition in Bulgaria attracted many visitors. In the first ever CERN exhibition to be held in Bulgaria, over 1,400 visitors, many of them students and young physicists, visited the 10-day event in Sofia. The CERN mini-exhibition took place at the National Earth and Mankind Museum between 8 and 17 November. Permanently staffed by young physicists from Sofia University, there were exhibits on display about research activities at CERN, as well as four additional posters describing Bulgaria's participation. The inauguration took place on the morning of 8 November in the presence of the Vice-Minister for Science and Education, Mrs. Vanya Dobreva, and some 200 guests. A series of short speeches were followed by a visit to the exhibition. CERN's representative at the event, Ray Lewis, was then asked by Professor Matey Mateev, President of the Union of Physicists in Bulgaria, to say a few words on behalf of the Organization. Numerous journalists were also present at the inauguration. A painting enti...

  6. Report of the experts' mission to review thermal hydraulic and structural analyses for PTS assessment of Kozloduy NPP units 1-4 reactor pressure vessels, Sofia, Bulgaria 3-7 April 1995

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    Based upon a request of the Government of Bulgaria and in order to assist its Regulatory Body, an experts' mission was carried out to Sofia and Kozloduy, 21-25 November 1994 within the framework of the IAEA TC Project BUL/9/013-05 and of the IAEA Extrabudgetary Programme on the Safety of the WWER NPPs. The mission also specified the technical content of further assistance by the IAEA. With respect to the findings and recommendations made in November 1994, WWER-SC-109, a follow-up expert's mission was carried out to Sofia, Bulgaria, April 3-7, 1995. The objective of the mission was to review the selection of transients, thermal hydraulic, stress and fracture mechanics analyses for reactor pressure vessel integrity assessment of Kozloduy unit 1-4. In addition, an update on the activities completed, underway and planned related to unit 1 reactor pressure vessel embrittlement was presented and discussed. The review was carried out by 4 international experts from Finland, France, Russia and IAEA in co-operation with the Bulgarian regulatory body, plant, Energoproject Sofia and Institute of Metals staff. The mission was conducted out within the frame of the IAEA TC Project BUL/9/013-05 and of the IAEA Extrabudgetary Programme on the Safety of the WWER NPPs. 18 refs

  7. The 2012 MW5.6 earthquake in the vicinity of the city of Sofia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simeonova, Stela; Solakov, Dimcho; Aleksandrova, Irena; Dimitrova, Liliya; Popova, Iliana; Raykova, Plamena

    2013-04-01

    The territory of Bulgaria represents a typical example of high seismic risk area in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The neotectonic movements on the Balkan Peninsula were controlled by extensional collapse of the Late Alpin orogen, and were influenced by extension behind the Aegean arc and by the complicated vertical and horizontal movements in the Pannonian region. The city of Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria. It is situated in the centre of the Sofia seismic zone that is the most populated (more than 1.2 mil. inhabitants), industrial and cultural region of Bulgaria that faces considerable earthquake risk. Seismicity in the zone is related mainly to the marginal neotectonic faults of Sofia graben. The available historical documents prove the occurrence of destructive earthquakes during the 15th-18th centuries in the Sofia zone. In 19th century the city of Sofia has experienced two strong earthquakes: the 1818 earthquake with epicentral intensity I0=8-9 MSK and the 1858 earthquake with I0=IX-X MSK64. The 1858 earthquake caused heavy destruction in the town of Sofia and the appearance of thermal springs in the western part of the town. After a quiescence of about 50 years a strong event with M=6.5 occurred in 1905 near the western marginal part of the Sofia zone. During the 20th century the strongest event occurred in the vicinity of the city of Sofia is the 1917 earthquake with MS=5.3 (I0=7-8 MSK64). The earthquake caused a lot of damages in the town and changed the capacity of the thermal mineral springs in Sofia and the surrounding villages. The earthquake was felt in an area of 50000 km2 and followed by aftershocks, which lasted more than one year. Almost a century later (95 years) an earthquake of moment magnitude 5.6 hit Sofia seismic zone, on May 22nd, 2012, at 25 km south west of the city of Sofia. This shallow earthquake was largely felt in the region and up to Greece, FYROM, Serbia and Romania. No severe injuries have been reported so far, though

  8. Performing “home” in the sharing economies of tourism: the Airbnb experience in Sofia, Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maartje Roelofsen

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available This article explores how “home” is performed in the emerging sharing economies of tourism, drawing on the example of Airbnb in Sofia, Bulgaria. Based on an (autoethnographic approach, this article analyses the sometimes contested ways in which both hosts and guests engage in the everyday embodied practices of home-making. In doing so, it challenges Airbnb’s essentialized idea of home as a site of belonging, “authenticity” or “localness”. It also shows how the political and historical specificities, as well as the materialities of people’s homes significantly shape the ways in which ordinary practices of homemaking play out and consequently affect feelings of (unhomeliness as part of the Airbnb experience. By using performance theory as an analytical framework, this article seeks to contribute to a critical understanding of the contemporary geographies of home in relation to the global sharing economies of tourism, one that is attuned to openness, interrelatedness, and a constant mode of becoming.

  9. The renewable energy resources in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ivanov, P.; Lingova, S.; Trifonova, L.

    1996-01-01

    The paper presents the results from the joint study between the National Laboratory of Renewable Energy Resources of USA and the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, Sofia (BG). The geographical distribution of solar and wind energy potential in Bulgaria as well as inventory of biomass is studied. Calculation of total, available and reserve solar and wind resources is performed. Comparative data on all kind of renewable energy resources in Bulgaria are presented. The evaluation of economically accessible resources and feasibility of implementation of specific technologies is given. 7 refs., 1 tab

  10. Pharmacy Practice and Education in Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petkova, Valentina; Atkinson, Jeffrey

    2017-06-22

    Pharmacies in Bulgaria have a monopoly on the dispensing of medicinal products that are authorized in the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as medical devices, food additives, cosmetics, and sanitary/hygienic articles. Aptekari (pharmacists) act as responsible pharmacists, pharmacy owners, and managers. They follow a five year Masters of Science in Pharmacy (M.Sc. Pharm.) degree course with a six month traineeship. Pomoshnik-farmacevti (assistant pharmacists) follow a three year degree with a six month traineeship. They can prepare medicines and dispense OTC medicines under the supervision of a pharmacist. The first and second year of the M.Sc. Pharm. degree are devoted to chemical sciences, mathematics, botany and medical sciences. Years three and four center on pharmaceutical technology, pharmacology, pharmacognosy, pharmaco-economics, and social pharmacy, while year five focuses on pharmaceutical care, patient counselling, pharmacotherapy, and medical sciences. A six month traineeship finishes the fifth year together with redaction of a master thesis, and the four state examinations with which university studies end. Industrial pharmacy and clinical (hospital) pharmacy practice are integrated disciplines in some Bulgarian higher education institutions such as the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Medical University of Sofia. Pharmacy practice and education in Bulgaria are organized in a fashion very similar to that in most member states of the European Union.

  11. LPHYS'14: 23rd International Laser Physics Workshop (Sofia, Bulgaria, 14-18 July 2014)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yevseyev, Alexander V.

    2014-04-01

    The 23rd annual International Laser Physics Workshop (LPHYS14) will be held from 14 July to 18 July 2014 in the city of Sofia, Bulgaria, at the Ramada Sofia Hotel hosted this year by the Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. LPHYS14 continues a series of workshops that took place in Dubna,1992; Dubna/Volga river tour, 1993; New York, 1994; Moscow/Volga river tour (jointly with NATO SILAP Workshop), 1995; Moscow, 1996; Prague, 1997; Berlin, 1998; Budapest, 1999; Bordeaux, 2000; Moscow, 2001; Bratislava, 2002; Hamburg, 2003; Trieste, 2004; Kyoto, 2005; Lausanne, 2006; Len, 2007; Trondheim, 2008; Barcelona, 2009; Foz do Iguau, 2010; Sarajevo, 2011; Calgary, 2012 and Prague, 2013. The total number of participants this year is expected to be about 400. In the past, annual participation was typically from over 30 countries. 2014 Chairpersons Sanka Gateva (Bulgaria), Pavel Pashinin (Russia) LPHYS14 will offer eight scientific section seminars and one general symposium: Seminar 1 Modern Trends in Laser Physics Seminar 2 Strong Field and Attosecond Physics Seminar 3 Biophotonics Seminar 4 Physics of Lasers Seminar 5 Nonlinear Optics and Spectroscopy Seminar 6 Physics of Cold Trapped Atoms Seminar 7 Quantum Information Science Seminar 8 Fiber Optics Symposium Extreme Light Technologies, Science and Applications Abstract of your presentation A one-page abstract should contain: title; list of all co-authors (the name of the speaker underlined); affiliations; correspondence addresses including phone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail addresses; and the text of the abstract. Abstracts should be sent to the following co-chairs of the scientific seminars and the symposium: Kirill A Prokhorov (Seminar 1) E-mail: cyrpro@gpi.ru Mikhail V Fedorov (Seminar 2) E-mail: fedorov@ran.gpi.ru Sergey A Gonchukov (Seminar 3) E-mail: gonchukov@mephi.ru Ivan A Shcherbakov (Seminar 4) E-mail: gbufetova@lsk.gpi.ru Vladimir A Makarov (Seminar 5) E-mail: makarov@msu.ilc.edu.ru Vyacheslav

  12. Medical radiation physics in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Todorov, V.; Vasileva, G.

    1999-01-01

    In Bulgaria medical radiation physics in not yet on a world level. The number of medical physicists working in diagnostic and therapeutic centres is low. Comparatively good is the situation of medical physics in the areas of therapy and radiation protection. But the role of physics in medicine is underestimated as a whole, because of subjective reasons. At the other hand the education in this area is good and very professional. Since 1992 there has been established a specialty 'medical physics' in University of Shoumen and since 1997 the same specialty exists in Sofia University. The situation is expected to be approved with reorganization of the Health System in Bulgaria with compliance with the European standards

  13. Pharmacy Practice and Education in Bulgaria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petkova, Valentina; Atkinson, Jeffrey

    2017-01-01

    Pharmacies in Bulgaria have a monopoly on the dispensing of medicinal products that are authorized in the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as medical devices, food additives, cosmetics, and sanitary/hygienic articles. Aptekari (pharmacists) act as responsible pharmacists, pharmacy owners, and managers. They follow a five year Masters of Science in Pharmacy (M.Sc. Pharm.) degree course with a six month traineeship. Pomoshnik-farmacevti (assistant pharmacists) follow a three year degree with a six month traineeship. They can prepare medicines and dispense OTC medicines under the supervision of a pharmacist. The first and second year of the M.Sc. Pharm. degree are devoted to chemical sciences, mathematics, botany and medical sciences. Years three and four center on pharmaceutical technology, pharmacology, pharmacognosy, pharmaco-economics, and social pharmacy, while year five focuses on pharmaceutical care, patient counselling, pharmacotherapy, and medical sciences. A six month traineeship finishes the fifth year together with redaction of a master thesis, and the four state examinations with which university studies end. Industrial pharmacy and clinical (hospital) pharmacy practice are integrated disciplines in some Bulgarian higher education institutions such as the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Medical University of Sofia. Pharmacy practice and education in Bulgaria are organized in a fashion very similar to that in most member states of the European Union. PMID:28970446

  14. Pharmacy Practice and Education in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valentina Petkova

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Pharmacies in Bulgaria have a monopoly on the dispensing of medicinal products that are authorized in the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as medical devices, food additives, cosmetics, and sanitary/hygienic articles. Aptekari (pharmacists act as responsible pharmacists, pharmacy owners, and managers. They follow a five year Masters of Science in Pharmacy (M.Sc. Pharm. degree course with a six month traineeship. Pomoshnik-farmacevti (assistant pharmacists follow a three year degree with a six month traineeship. They can prepare medicines and dispense OTC medicines under the supervision of a pharmacist. The first and second year of the M.Sc. Pharm. degree are devoted to chemical sciences, mathematics, botany and medical sciences. Years three and four center on pharmaceutical technology, pharmacology, pharmacognosy, pharmaco-economics, and social pharmacy, while year five focuses on pharmaceutical care, patient counselling, pharmacotherapy, and medical sciences. A six month traineeship finishes the fifth year together with redaction of a master thesis, and the four state examinations with which university studies end. Industrial pharmacy and clinical (hospital pharmacy practice are integrated disciplines in some Bulgarian higher education institutions such as the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Medical University of Sofia. Pharmacy practice and education in Bulgaria are organized in a fashion very similar to that in most member states of the European Union.

  15. ANALYSIS OF THE CONDITIONS AND ACTIVITIES PERFORMED IN DCC XXIV-SOFIA DURING THE 2011-2015 PERIOD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anton Koychev

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The adoption of the Health Insurance Act and the Health Act has resulted in setting up a contract based health insurance system in payment and delivery of medical services in Bulgaria. The health care reform has had a positive effect on outpatient care facilities such as the Diagnostic and Consultation Centers (DCC. The goal of the research is to analyze the activities performed in DCC XXIV-Sofia EOOD, focusing on the human, material and financial resources. Performance indicators, profitability and financial independence ratios have been calculated in order to prepare a financial and economic analysis of the activities. A thorough analysis of each resource flow would enable the management of DCC XXIV-Sofia EOOD to find ways of attracting funds through cash flow efficient management and entering into appropriate contracts in compliance with Bulgarian legislation.

  16. Assessment of the decreased productivity of patients with diabetes type 2 in the Clinical Endocrynological Center Sofia, Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Plaveev O,

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to assess the influence of type 2 diabetes on the patients’ productivity and quality of life. The WHO’s methodology – HLQ (Health and Labor Questionnaire is applied. Subjects were 38 patients with type 2 diabetes, diagnosed and treated at the Clinical center on endocrinology at the MU-Specialized hospital center for active treatment-Sofia. Control consisted of 100 patients without diabetes. The results from the study proofs the fact that the patients with type 2 diabetes manage with their day-to-day activities like their colleagues and even better, but they absent from work because of: their illness, experiencing fatigue and insomnia, pain in hands, legs, joints and muscles. They receive hospital treatment because of the insufficient control on their treatment and the advanced diabetes complications. The application of the Osterhaus method establishes that type 2 diabetes is connected with the excess illness-related work loss and with more often “medically related absences”. These do not lead to significant indirect productivity costs because these patients are with lower income. The cumulative costs from the sporadic work loss during their whole life are even greater, because of the increased spread of the disease, suboptimum treatment, and many complications and prolonged life duration thanks to the contemporary medicine.

  17. Contribution to the knowledge for distribution of Criodrilus lacuum (Annelida: Oligochaeta: Criodrilidae from Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hristo Valchovski

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available All known records of Criodrilidae earthworms in the country were presented. The current knowledge for distribution of family Criodrilidae in Bulgaria was summarized. In this paper we report new locality of Criodrilus lacuum Hoffmeister, 1845. Surprisingly this species was found in one of the parks in Sofia Town. New data confirm its presence in Sofia Plane. Also information about ecology, habitat type locality and short description of Criodrilus lacuum was provided.

  18. Project-Based Learning in Engineering Design in Bulgaria: Expectations, Experiments and Results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raycheva, Regina Pavlova; Angelova, Desislava Ivanova; Vodenova, Pavlina Minkova

    2017-01-01

    Using a students' workshop as a laboratory, this article summarises the observation of three years' implementation of a new study module for a Bachelor Program in Engineering Design (Interior and Furniture Design) at the University of Forestry, Sofia, Bulgaria. The article offers an analysis of group dynamics and the difficulties and issues…

  19. First report of Idiopterus nephrelepidis Davis, 1909 (Hemiptera: Aphididae from Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Tasheva-Terzieva

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Idiopterus nephrelepidis (Hemiptera: Aphididae is reported for the first time in Bulgaria on ornamental ferns in four greenhouses in Sofia and Varna. Dense colonies of apterous viviparous females and larvae were observed. The established host plants are Nephrolepis exaltata, Asplenium nidus and Pteris cretica. Infested ferns exhibit leaf deformation. The aphids were reared in laboratory conditions for four months. A morphometric study of apterae was carried out. Taking into account the presence of host plants of I. nephrelepidis in Bulgaria which are native to the local flora and the reports of the aphid from the Balkan area, it may spread in the country outdoors.

  20. The 2012 Mw5.6 earthquake in Sofia seismogenic zone - is it a slow earthquake

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raykova, Plamena; Solakov, Dimcho; Slavcheva, Krasimira; Simeonova, Stela; Aleksandrova, Irena

    2017-04-01

    Recently our understanding of tectonic faulting has been shaken by the discoveries of seismic tremor, low frequency earthquakes, slow slip events, and other models of fault slip. These phenomenas represent models of failure that were thought to be non-existent and theoretically impossible only a few years ago. Slow earthquakes are seismic phenomena in which the rupture of geological faults in the earth's crust occurs gradually without creating strong tremors. Despite the growing number of observations of slow earthquakes their origin remains unresolved. Studies show that the duration of slow earthquakes ranges from a few seconds to a few hundred seconds. The regular earthquakes with which most people are familiar release a burst of built-up stress in seconds, slow earthquakes release energy in ways that do little damage. This study focus on the characteristics of the Mw5.6 earthquake occurred in Sofia seismic zone on May 22nd, 2012. The Sofia area is the most populated, industrial and cultural region of Bulgaria that faces considerable earthquake risk. The Sofia seismic zone is located in South-western Bulgaria - the area with pronounce tectonic activity and proved crustal movement. In 19th century the city of Sofia (situated in the centre of the Sofia seismic zone) has experienced two strong earthquakes with epicentral intensity of 10 MSK. During the 20th century the strongest event occurred in the vicinity of the city of Sofia is the 1917 earthquake with MS=5.3 (I0=7-8 MSK64).The 2012 quake occurs in an area characterized by a long quiescence (of 95 years) for moderate events. Moreover, a reduced number of small earthquakes have also been registered in the recent past. The Mw5.6 earthquake is largely felt on the territory of Bulgaria and neighbouring countries. No casualties and severe injuries have been reported. Mostly moderate damages were observed in the cities of Pernik and Sofia and their surroundings. These observations could be assumed indicative for a

  1. SOFIA's Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors: An External Evaluation of Cycle 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Michelle

    2015-01-01

    The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) represents a partnership between NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The observatory itself is a Boeing 747 SP that has been modified to serve as the world's largest airborne research observatory. The SOFIA Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors (AAA) program is a component of SOFIA's…

  2. RUSSIAN-ORIGIN HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL SHIPMENT FROM BULGARIA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kelly Cummins; Igor Bolshinsky; Ken Allen; Tihomir Apostolov; Ivaylo Dimitrov

    2009-07-01

    In July 2008, the Global Threat Reduction Initiative and the IRT 2000 research reactor in Sofia, Bulgaria, operated by the Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy (INRNE), safely shipped 6.4 kilograms of Russian origin highly enriched uranium (HEU) spent nuclear fuel (SNF) to the Russian Federation. The shipment, which resulted in the removal of all HEU from Bulgaria, was conducted by truck, barge, and rail modes of transport across two transit countries before reaching the final destination at the Production Association Mayak facility in Chelyabinsk, Russia. This paper describes the work, equipment, organizations, and approvals that were required to complete the spent fuel shipment and provides lessons learned that might assist other research reactor operators with their own spent nuclear fuel shipments.

  3. Russian-Origin Highly Enriched Uranium Spent Nuclear Fuel Shipment From Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cummins, Kelly; Bolshinsky, Igor; Allen, Ken; Apostolov, Tihomir; Dimitrov, Ivaylo

    2009-01-01

    In July 2008, the Global Threat Reduction Initiative and the IRT 2000 research reactor in Sofia, Bulgaria, operated by the Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy (INRNE), safely shipped 6.4 kilograms of Russian origin highly enriched uranium (HEU) spent nuclear fuel (SNF) to the Russian Federation. The shipment, which resulted in the removal of all HEU from Bulgaria, was conducted by truck, barge, and rail modes of transport across two transit countries before reaching the final destination at the Production Association Mayak facility in Chelyabinsk, Russia. This paper describes the work, equipment, organizations, and approvals that were required to complete the spent fuel shipment and provides lessons learned that might assist other research reactor operators with their own spent nuclear fuel shipments.

  4. Typology of consumer behavior in times of economic crisis: A segmentation study from Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katrandjiev Hristo

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the second part of results from a survey-based market research of Bulgarian households. In the first part of the paper the author analyzes the changes of consumer behavior in times of economic crisis in Bulgaria. Here, the author presents market segmentation from the point of view of consumer behavior changes in times of economic crisis. Four segments (clusters were discovered, and profiled. The similarities/dissimilarities between clusters are presented through the technique of multidimensional scaling (MDS The research project is planned, organized and realized within the Scientific Research Program of University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria.

  5. High-precision Pb isotopic measurements of teeth and environmental samples from Sofia (Bulgaria): insights for regional lead sources and possible pathways to the human body

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamenov, George D.

    2008-08-01

    High-precision Pb isotopic measurements on teeth and possible sources in a given area can provide important insights for the lead (Pb) sources and pathways in the human body. Pb isotopic analyses on soils from the area of Sofia, Bulgaria show that Pb is contributed by three end-members represented by two natural sources and leaded gasoline. Sequential leaching experiments reveal that the alumosilicate fraction of the soils is mainly controlled by natural Pb derived from two mountain massifs bordering the city. Around 1/3 to a half of the Pb in the soil leachates, however, can be explained by contamination from leaded gasoline. Contemporary teeth from Sofia residents show very similar Pb isotopic compositions to the soil leachates, also indicating that around 1/3 to a half of the Pb can be explained by derivation from leaded gasoline. The remarkable isotopic similarities between the teeth and the most labile fractions of the local soils suggest that the lead can be derived from the latter. Pb incorporation in the human body via soil-plant-human or soil-plant-animal-human chains is unlikely due to the fact that no significant farming occurs in the city area. The isotopic compositions of the local soil labile fractions can be used as approximation of the bioaccessible lead for humans. Considering all possible scenarios it appears that soil and/or soil-born dust inhalation and/or ingestion is the most probable pathway for incorporation of local soil lead in the local population. The high-precision Pb isotope data presented in this work indicate that apparently the local soil is what plays major role in the human Pb exposure.

  6. First records of the American wasps Sceliphron caementarium (Drury, 1770 and Isodontia mexicana (de Saussure, 1867 (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae from Bulgaria

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    DENIS GRADINAROV

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Two alien sphecid species are reported for the first time for Bulgaria. Nearctic species Sceliphron caementarium (Drury, 1770 and Isodontia mexicana (de Saussure, 1867 were found in Sofia. The first species is collected as well from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, near Varna.

  7. Intensity earthquake scenario (scenario event - a damaging earthquake with higher probability of occurrence) for the city of Sofia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aleksandrova, Irena; Simeonova, Stela; Solakov, Dimcho; Popova, Maria

    2014-05-01

    Among the many kinds of natural and man-made disasters, earthquakes dominate with regard to their social and economical impact on the urban environment. Global seismic risk to earthquakes are increasing steadily as urbanization and development occupy more areas that a prone to effects of strong earthquakes. Additionally, the uncontrolled growth of mega cities in highly seismic areas around the world is often associated with the construction of seismically unsafe buildings and infrastructures, and undertaken with an insufficient knowledge of the regional seismicity peculiarities and seismic hazard. The assessment of seismic hazard and generation of earthquake scenarios is the first link in the prevention chain and the first step in the evaluation of the seismic risk. The earthquake scenarios are intended as a basic input for developing detailed earthquake damage scenarios for the cities and can be used in earthquake-safe town and infrastructure planning. The city of Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria. It is situated in the centre of the Sofia area that is the most populated (the population is of more than 1.2 mil. inhabitants), industrial and cultural region of Bulgaria that faces considerable earthquake risk. The available historical documents prove the occurrence of destructive earthquakes during the 15th-18th centuries in the Sofia zone. In 19th century the city of Sofia has experienced two strong earthquakes: the 1818 earthquake with epicentral intensity I0=8-9 MSK and the 1858 earthquake with I0=9-10 MSK. During the 20th century the strongest event occurred in the vicinity of the city of Sofia is the 1917 earthquake with MS=5.3 (I0=7-8 MSK). Almost a century later (95 years) an earthquake of moment magnitude 5.6 (I0=7-8 MSK) hit the city of Sofia, on May 22nd, 2012. In the present study as a deterministic scenario event is considered a damaging earthquake with higher probability of occurrence that could affect the city with intensity less than or equal to VIII

  8. Parameters of atmospheric radioactivity in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yaneva, B.; Todorov, P.; Georgieva, D.

    2006-01-01

    Bulgaria is a country which is located on the Balkan Peninsula, at the Eastern part of Europe. There are a lot of polluting sources, which can affect the environmental parameters and human health. One of these parameters is a radioactivity. It can be as a result from natural and anthropological sources. One of the most important sources of radiological influence to the environment and its components is from atmosphere. Anthropological sources of atmospheric pollution are Nuclear power plants, different kinds of industrial plants, and so on. The systematic control on these parameters is made by the Ministry of environment and water in Bulgaria. The atmospheric radioactivity research is based on collecting of many samples and its examine. The collecting of these aerosol samples on different kind of filters is automatic and it is put into practice by fixed stations located in some of the main towns in Bulgaria - Sofia, Varna, Burgas, Vratza and Montana. The required amount of air for each sample is 1000m 3 . These samples are analyzed by gamma-spectrometry analysis for determination of specifies activity of natural and anthropological radionuclides in them. Monitoring data for the atmospheric radioactivity can be characterized by concentrations of Cs-137, Be-7. The results show that concentrations of Cs-137 are 3 and the concentrations for Be-7 vary from 0.7 to 15.7 mBq/m 3 . Other important radionuclides are Sr-90, Uranium and Ra-226

  9. NASA Astrophysics E/PO Impact: NASA SOFIA AAA Program Evaluation Results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harman, Pamela; Backman, Dana E.; Clark, Coral; Inverness Research Sofia Aaa Evaluation Team, Wested Sofia Aaa Evaluation Team

    2015-01-01

    SOFIA is an airborne observatory, studying the universe at infrared wavelengths, capable of making observations that are impossible for even the largest and highest ground-based telescopes. SOFIA also inspires the development of new scientific instrumentation and fosters the education of young scientists and engineers.SOFIA is an 80% - 20% partnership of NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), consisting of an extensively modified Boeing 747SP aircraft carrying a reflecting telescope with an effective diameter of 2.5 meters (100 inches). The SOFIA aircraft is based at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, Building 703, in Palmdale, California. The Science Program and Outreach Offices are located at NASA Ames Research center. SOFIA is a program in NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Astrophysics Division.Data will be collected to study many different kinds of astronomical objects and phenomena, including star cycles, solar system formation, identification of complex molecules in space, our solar system, galactic dust, nebulae and ecosystems.Airborne Astronomy Ambassador (AAA) Program:The SOFIA Education and Communications program exploits the unique attributes of airborne astronomy to contribute to national goals for the reform of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, and to elevate public scientific and technical literacy.The AAA effort is a professional development program aspiring to improve teaching, inspire students, and inform the community. To date, 55 educators from 21 states; Cycles 0, 1 and 2; have completed their astronomy professional development and their SOFIA science flight experience. Evaluation has confirmed the program's positive impact on the teacher participants, on their students, and in their communities. The inspirational experience has positively impacted their practice and career trajectory. AAAs have incorporated content knowledge and specific components of their experience into their curricula, and have given

  10. Undergraduate Research Program Between SCU and SOFIA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulas, Kristin Rose; Andersson, B.-G.

    2018-06-01

    We present results on an undergraduate research program run in collaboration between Santa Clara University (SCU), a predominately undergraduate liberal arts college and the SOFIA Science Center/USRA. We have started a synergistic program between SCU and SOFIA (located at NASA Ames) where the students are able to be fully immersed in astronomical research; from helping to write telescope observing proposal; to observing at a world-class telescope; to reducing and analyzing the data that they acquired and ultimately to presenting/publishing their findings. A recently awarded NSF collaborative grant will allow us to execute and expand this program over the next several years. In this poster we present some of our students research and their success after the program. In addition, we discuss how a small university can actively collaborate with a large government-funded program like SOFIA, funded by NASA.

  11. Anomalies of hydrological cycle components during the 2007 heat wave in Bulgaria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mircheva, Biliana; Tsekov, Milen; Meyer, Ulrich; Guerova, Guergana

    2017-12-01

    Heat waves have large adverse social, economic and environmental effects which include increased mortality, transport restrictions and a decreased agricultural production. The estimated economic losses of the 2007 heat wave in South-east Europe exceed 2 billion EUR with 19 000 hospitalisation in Romania only. Understanding the changes of the hydrological cycle components is essential for early forecasting of heat wave occurrence. Valuable insight of two components of the hydrological cycle, namely Integrated Water Vapour (IWV) and Terrestrial Water Storage Anomaly (TWSA), is now possible using observations from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission. In this study anomalies of temperature, precipitation, IWV and TWS in 2007 are compared to 2003-2013 period for Sofia, Bulgaria. In 2007, positive temperature anomalies are observed in January, February and July. There are negative IWV and precipitation anomalies in July 2007 that coincides with the heat wave in Bulgaria. TWSA in 2007 are negative in January, May and from July to October being largest in August. Long-term trends of: 1) temperatures have a local maximum in March 2007, 2) TWSA has a local minimum in May 2007, 3) IWV has a local minimum in September 2007, and 4) precipitation has a local maximum in July 2007. The TWSA interannual trends in Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland show similar behaviour as indicated by cross correlation coefficients of 0.9 and 0.7 between Bulgaria and Hungary and Bulgaria and Poland respectively. ALADIN-Climate describes the anomalies of temperature and IWV more successfully than those of precipitation and TWS.

  12. Palaeobotanical data for climate change during the late Miocene - early Pliocene in Western Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hristova, Viktoria; Ivanov, Dimiter; Bozukov, Vladimir

    2015-01-01

    The Coexistence Approach (CA) analysis was applied to plant macro- and microfossils from the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene sites in western Bulgaria to obtain quantitative climate data and reconstruct climate dynamics. Calculated new values for the Sofia macro flora confirmed a warm-temperate and humid climate with mean annual temperature (MAT) between 12–170C, mean temperature of the warmest month (WMT) 23.6–280C, mean temperature of the coldest month (CMT) 0–50C and mean annual precipitation (MAP) 843–1179 mm. This is consistent with the climatic parameters obtained from the microflora – MAT 13.6–16, WMT 23.6–27.9, CMT 3.7–6 and MAP 803–1308mm. All presented data are in good accordance with other regional palaeoclimate reconstructions from Bulgarian and Europaean floras. Key words: Late Miocene–Early Pliocene, palaeoclimate, Sofia Basin

  13. Journalists' Perceptions of Nomenklatura Networks and Media Ownership in Post-communist Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lada Trifonova Price

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses the role of the former communist party elite (the nomenklatura in the Bulgarian post-communist media landscape in relation to media ownership and the origin of media outlets’ capital. The spotlight is on Bulgarian journalists’ perceptions explored in semi-structured interviews with media professionals from the capital city, Sofia. The findings indicate that Bulgarian journalists are strongly interested in, and concerned with, the influence of members of the former nomenklatura and their informal networks on the Bulgarian media landscape and particularly on the way Bulgarian media in Bulgaria have been owned and financed since 1989.

  14. EARLY SCIENCE WITH SOFIA, THE STRATOSPHERIC OBSERVATORY FOR INFRARED ASTRONOMY

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Young, E. T.; Becklin, E. E.; De Buizer, J. M.; Andersson, B.-G.; Casey, S. C.; Helton, L. A. [SOFIA Science Center, Universities Space Research Association, NASA Ames Research Center, MS 232, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Marcum, P. M.; Roellig, T. L.; Temi, P. [NASA Ames Research Center, MS 232, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Herter, T. L. [Astronomy Department, 202 Space Sciences Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-6801 (United States); Guesten, R. [Max-Planck Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Auf dem Huegel 69, Bonn (Germany); Dunham, E. W. [Lowell Observatory, 1400 W. Mars Hill Rd., Flagstaff AZ 86001 (United States); Backman, D.; Burgdorf, M. [SOFIA Science Center, NASA Ames Research Center, MS 211-1, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Caroff, L. J.; Erickson, E. F. [NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Davidson, J. A. [School of Physics, The University of Western Australia (M013), 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009 (Australia); Gehrz, R. D. [Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, 116 Church Street, S. E., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States); Harper, D. A. [Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago, 373 W. Geneva St., Williams Bay, WI (United States); Harvey, P. M. [Astronomy Department, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C1400, Austin, TX 78712-0259 (United States); and others

    2012-04-20

    The Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is an airborne observatory consisting of a specially modified Boeing 747SP with a 2.7 m telescope, flying at altitudes as high as 13.7 km (45,000 ft). Designed to observe at wavelengths from 0.3 {mu}m to 1.6 mm, SOFIA operates above 99.8% of the water vapor that obscures much of the infrared and submillimeter. SOFIA has seven science instruments under development, including an occultation photometer, near-, mid-, and far-infrared cameras, infrared spectrometers, and heterodyne receivers. SOFIA, a joint project between NASA and the German Aerospace Center Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft und-Raumfahrt, began initial science flights in 2010 December, and has conducted 30 science flights in the subsequent year. During this early science period three instruments have flown: the mid-infrared camera FORCAST, the heterodyne spectrometer GREAT, and the occultation photometer HIPO. This Letter provides an overview of the observatory and its early performance.

  15. SOFIA Technology: The NASA Airborne Astronomy Ambassador (AAA) Experience and Online Resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, C.; Harman, P. K.; Backman, D. E.

    2016-12-01

    SOFIA, an 80/20 partnership of NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), consists of a modified Boeing 747SP carrying a reflecting telescope with an effective diameter of 2.5 meters. SOFIA is the largest airborne observatory in the world, capable of observations impossible for even the largest and highest ground-based telescopes. The SOFIA Program Office is at NASA ARC, Moffett Field, CA; the aircraft is based in Palmdale, CA. During its planned 20-year lifetime, SOFIA will foster development of new scientific instrumentation and inspire the education of young scientists and engineers. Astrophysicists are awarded time on SOFIA to study many kinds of astronomical objects and phenomena. Among the most interesting are: Star birth, evolution, and death Formation of new planetary systems Chemistry of complex molecules in space Planet and exoplanet atmospheres Galactic gas & dust "ecosystems" Environments around supermassive black holes SOFIA currently has eight instruments, five US-made and three German. The instruments — cameras, spectrometers, and a photometer,— operate at near-, mid- and far-infrared wavelengths, each spectral range being best suited to studying particular celestial phenomena. NASA's Airborne Astronomy Ambassadors' (AAAs) experience includes a STEM immersion component. AAAs are onboard during two overnight SOFIA flights that provide insight into the acquisition of scientific data as well as the interfaces between the telescope, instrument, & aircraft. AAAs monitor system performance and view observation targets from their dedicated workstation during flights. Future opportunities for school district partnerships leading to selection of future AAA cohorts will be offered in 2018-19. AAAs may access public archive data via the SOFIA Data Cycle System (DCS) https://dcs.sofia.usra.edu/. Additional SOFIA science and other resources are available at: www.sofia.usra.edu, including lessons that use photovoltaic circuits, and other technology for the

  16. Thermal Simulation of a Zero Energy Glazed Pavilion in Sofia, Bulgaria. New Strategies for Energy Management by Means of Water Flow Glazing

    Science.gov (United States)

    del Ama Gonzalo, Fernando; Hernandez Ramos, Juan A.; Moreno, Belen

    2017-10-01

    The building sector is primarily responsible for a major part of total energy consumption. The European Energy Performance of Buildings Directives (EPBD) emphasized the need to reduce the energy consumption in buildings, and put forward the rationale for developing Near to Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB). Passive and active strategies help architects to minimize the use of active HVAC systems, taking advantage of the available natural resources such as solar radiation, thermal variability and daylight. The building envelope plays a decisive role in passive and active design strategies. The ideal transparent façade would be one with optical properties, such as Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) and Visible Transmittance (VT), that could readily adapt in response to changing climatic conditions or occupant preferences. The aim of this article consists of describing the system to maintain a small glazed pavilion located in Sofia (Bulgaria) at the desired interior temperature over a whole year. The system comprises i) the use of Water Flow Glazing facades (WFG) and Radiant Interior Walls (RIW), ii) the use of free cooling devices along with traditional heat pump connected to photo-voltaic panels and iii) the use of a new Energy Management System that collects data and acts accordingly by controlling all components. The effect of these strategies and the use of active systems, like Water Flow Glazing, are analysed by means of simulating the prototype over one year. Summer and Winter energy management strategies are discussed in order to change the SHGC value of the Water Flow Glazing and thus, reduce the required energy to maintain comfort conditions.

  17. SOFIA science instruments: commissioning, upgrades and future opportunities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Erin C.; Miles, John W.; Helton, L. Andrew; Sankrit, Ravi; Andersson, B. G.; Becklin, Eric E.; De Buizer, James M.; Dowell, C. D.; Dunham, Edward W.; Güsten, Rolf; Harper, Doyal A.; Herter, Terry L.; Keller, Luke D.; Klein, Randolf; Krabbe, Alfred; Logsdon, Sarah; Marcum, Pamela M.; McLean, Ian S.; Reach, William T.; Richter, Matthew J.; Roellig, Thomas L.; Sandell, Göran; Savage, Maureen L.; Temi, Pasquale; Vacca, William D.; Vaillancourt, John E.; Van Cleve, Jeffrey E.; Young, Erick T.

    2014-07-01

    The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is the world's largest airborne observatory, featuring a 2.5 meter effective aperture telescope housed in the aft section of a Boeing 747SP aircraft. SOFIA's current instrument suite includes: FORCAST (Faint Object InfraRed CAmera for the SOFIA Telescope), a 5-40 μm dual band imager/grism spectrometer developed at Cornell University; HIPO (High-speed Imaging Photometer for Occultations), a 0.3-1.1μm imager built by Lowell Observatory; GREAT (German Receiver for Astronomy at Terahertz Frequencies), a multichannel heterodyne spectrometer from 60-240 μm, developed by a consortium led by the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy; FLITECAM (First Light Infrared Test Experiment CAMera), a 1-5 μm wide-field imager/grism spectrometer developed at UCLA; FIFI-LS (Far-Infrared Field-Imaging Line Spectrometer), a 42-200 μm IFU grating spectrograph completed by University Stuttgart; and EXES (Echelon-Cross-Echelle Spectrograph), a 5-28 μm highresolution spectrometer designed at the University of Texas and being completed by UC Davis and NASA Ames Research Center. HAWC+ (High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera) is a 50-240 μm imager that was originally developed at the University of Chicago as a first-generation instrument (HAWC), and is being upgraded at JPL to add polarimetry and new detectors developed at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). SOFIA will continually update its instrument suite with new instrumentation, technology demonstration experiments and upgrades to the existing instrument suite. This paper details the current instrument capabilities and status, as well as the plans for future instrumentation.

  18. Origin and spread of HIV-1 in persons who inject drugs in Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexiev, Ivailo; Shankar, Anupama; Dimitrova, Reneta; Gancheva, Anna; Kostadinova, Asia; Teoharov, Pavel; Golkocheva, Elitsa; Nikolova, Maria; Muhtarova, Mariya; Elenkov, Ivaylo; Stoycheva, Mariyana; Nikolova, Daniela; Varleva, Tonka; Switzer, William M

    2016-12-01

    Increased HIV transmission in persons who inject drugs (PWIDs) has led to subepidemics and outbreaks in several countries in Europe, including Bulgaria. In this study in Bulgaria, we investigate the origin and spatiotemporal evolutionary history of HIV-1 infections in PWIDs and the distribution of antiretroviral resistance mutations and hepatitis co-infections in these populations. We analyzed HIV-1 polymerase sequences available from 117 of 359 PWIDs diagnosed with HIV/AIDS from 1999 to 2011. Of these, 50 (42.7%) were classified as CRF02_AG, 41 (35.0%) CRF01_AE, 12 (10.3%) URFs, ten (8.5%) subtype B, two (1.7%) subtype F1 and two (1.7%) CRF14_BG. Most recent common ancestor dating suggests that CRF01_AE was likely first introduced from Southeast Asia into persons reporting heterosexual infection in Bulgaria in 1992 and spread subsequently to PWIDs in the capital city of Sofia around 2003. Conversely, CRF02_AG in Bulgaria was likely first introduced into PWID from Germany in 2000 and later entered heterosexual populations around 2009. The overall prevalence of resistance mutations was 6.8% (8/117), of which 5.1% (5/117) was observed in patients on antiretroviral therapy and 1.7% (2/117) was from transmitted drug resistance mutations in drug-naïve individuals. 189/204 (92.6%) PWIDs were also co-infected with hepatitis C (HCV) and 31/183 (16.9%) were co-infected with hepatitis B (HBV). Our study provides valuable molecular epidemiological information on the introduction and distribution of the main HIV-1 subtypes, resistance mutations and hepatitis co-infections among PWIDs with HIV-1 in Bulgaria which can be used to target prevention efforts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. The genetic diversity of hepatitis A genotype I in Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cella, Eleonora; Golkocheva-Markova, Elitsa N; Trandeva-Bankova, Diljana; Gregori, Giulia; Bruni, Roberto; Taffon, Stefania; Equestre, Michele; Costantino, Angela; Spoto, Silvia; Curtis, Melissa; Ciccaglione, Anna Rita; Ciccozzi, Massimo; Angeletti, Silvia

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to analyze sequences of hepatitis A virus (HAV) Ia and Ib genotypes from Bulgarian patients to investigate the molecular epidemiology of HAV genotype I during the years 2012 to 2014. Around 105 serum samples were collected by the Department of Virology of the National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases in Bulgaria. The sequenced region encompassed the VP1/2A region of HAV genome. The sequences obtained from the samples were 103. For the phylogenetic analyses, 5 datasets were built to investigate the viral gene in/out flow among distinct HAV subpopulations in different geographic areas and to build a Bayesian dated tree, Bayesian phylogenetic and migration pattern analyses were performed. HAV Ib Bulgarian sequences mostly grouped into a single clade. This indicates that the Bulgarian epidemic is partially compartmentalized. It originated from a limited number of viruses and then spread through fecal-oral local transmission. HAV Ia Bulgarian sequences were intermixed with European sequences, suggesting that an Ia epidemic is not restricted to Bulgaria but can affect other European countries. The time-scaled phylogeny reconstruction showed the root of the tree dating in 2008 for genotype Ib and in 1999 for genotype Ia with a second epidemic entrance in 2003. The Bayesian skyline plot for genotype Ib showed a slow but continuous growth, sustained by fecal-oral route transmission. For genotype Ia, there was an exponential growth followed by a plateau, which suggests better infection control. Bidirectional viral flow for Ib genotype, involving different Bulgarian areas, was observed, whereas a unidirectional flow from Sofia to Ihtiman for genotype Ia was highlighted, suggesting the fecal-oral transmission route for Ia. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Large Scale Computations in Air Pollution Modelling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zlatev, Z.; Brandt, J.; Builtjes, P. J. H.

    Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Large Scale Computations in Air Pollution Modelling, Sofia, Bulgaria, 6-10 July 1998......Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Large Scale Computations in Air Pollution Modelling, Sofia, Bulgaria, 6-10 July 1998...

  1. Long-Term Calculations with Large Air Pollution Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ambelas Skjøth, C.; Bastrup-Birk, A.; Brandt, J.

    1999-01-01

    Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Large Scale Computations in Air Pollution Modelling, Sofia, Bulgaria, 6-10 July 1998......Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Large Scale Computations in Air Pollution Modelling, Sofia, Bulgaria, 6-10 July 1998...

  2. Application of Parallel Algorithms in an Air Pollution Model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Georgiev, K.; Zlatev, Z.

    1999-01-01

    Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Large Scale Computations in Air Pollution Modelling, Sofia, Bulgaria, 6-10 July 1998......Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Large Scale Computations in Air Pollution Modelling, Sofia, Bulgaria, 6-10 July 1998...

  3. Epidemiological characteristics and clinical manifestations of hepatitis E virus infection in Bulgaria: A report on 20 patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baymakova Magdalena

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Hepatitis E is one of the leading clinical manifestations of acute viral hepatitis in developing countries. In industrialized countries, during the past several years, sporadic “autochthonous” cases of HEV infection have been increased. Objective. The aim of this study was to analyze the epidemiological, clinical and laboratory features of HEV infection among patients hospitalized at the Department of Infectious Diseases in Military Medical Academy, Sofia, Bulgaria. Methods. A retrospective study of 806 cases of acute viral hepatitis was performed at the Department of Infectious Diseases in Military Medical Academy, Sofia, Bulgaria, between December 2004 and September 2012. The etiological diagnosis was established by ELISA. The statistical analysis was performed using Excel 2007 (Microsoft, Redmond, Washington, USA and SPSS Statistics 19.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, USA. Results. Specific reaction to anti-HEV-IgM and anti-HEV-IgG antibodies were detected in 20 (2.48% of 806 patients. The most observed clinical presentations were jaundice (85%, fatigue (85%, anorexia (65%, abdominal discomfort (55% and fever (40%. The mean values of aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase were 521 IU/l and 881 IU/l, respectively. The cholestasis was slight, marked with mean values of gamma-glutamyl transferase and alkaline phosphatase, respectively 418 IU/l and 486 IU/l. Conclusion. We report twenty autochthonous sporadic cases of acute infection with HEV. The zoonotic etiology of the virus as well as the foodborne transmission of the infection is discussed. We found that aging and pre-existing underlying diseases are risk factors for a severe course of the HEV infection.

  4. Regulatory aspects and activities in the field of radioactive waste management in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kastchiev, G.

    2001-01-01

    Bulgaria uses nuclear power for electricity generation and for a variety of nuclear applications in industry, research and medicine. Six WWER type Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) went into operation at Kozloduy between 1974 and 1991. Until 1988 spent fuel was transported back to the former Soviet Union, but since then has been stored on site. Operational low level waste is stored on site, but since 1993 a volume reduction strategy using supercompaction has been employed, which has reduced stored waste volumes by a factor of four. Institutional radioactive wastes are disposed at the Novi Han near surface repository, located 35 km from Sofia. It was commissioned in 1964 and is now about half full. Siting studies have begun for a new near surface repository that would accept both institutional and NPP waste. A legislative and regulatory framework, as well as organizational and institutional arrangements, are in place. A national strategy that includes provisions for compiling a national inventory of spent fuel and radioactive waste and provisions for funding spent fuel and radioactive waste management, has been developed. The paper elaborates on the current situation regarding radioactive waste management in Bulgaria. (author)

  5. Subionospheric VLF/LF radio waves propagation characteristics before, during and after the Sofia, Bulgaria Mw=5.6 earthquake occurred on 22 May 2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moldovan, Iren Adelina; Emilian Toader, Victorin; Nenovski, Petko; Biagi, Pier Francesco; Maggipinto, Tommaso; Septimiu Moldovan, Adrian; Ionescu, Constantin

    2013-04-01

    In 2009, INFREP, a network of VLF (20-60 kHz) and LF (150-300 kHz) radio receivers, was put into operation in Europe having as principal goal, the study of disturbances produced by the earthquakes on the propagation properties of these signals. On May 22nd, 2012 an earthquake with Mw=567 occurred in Bulgaria, near Sofia, inside the "sensitive" area of the INFREP VLF/LF electromagnetic network. The data collected on different frequencies, during April-May 2012 were studied using different methods of analysis: daily correlation methods, spectral approaches and terminator time techniques, in order to find out possible connections between the seismic activity and the subionospheric propagation properties of radio waves. The studies were performed with the help of a specially designed LabVIEW application, which accesses the VLF/LF receiver through internet. This program opens the receiver's web-page and automatically retrieves the list of data files to synchronize the user-side data with the receiver's data. Missing zipped files are also automatically downloaded. The application performs primary, statistical correlation and spectral analysis, appends daily files into monthly and annual files and performs 3D colour-coded maps with graphic representations of VLF and LF signals' intensities versus the minute-of-the-day and the day-of-the-month, facilitating a near real-time observation of VLF and LF electromagnetic waves' propagation. Another feature of the software is the correlation of the daily recorded files for the studied frequencies by overlaying the 24 hours radio activity and taking into account the sunrise and sunset. Data are individually processed (spectral power, correlations, differentiation, filtered using bandpass, lowpass, highpass). JTFA spectrograms (Cone-Shaped Distribution CSD, Gabor, Wavelet, short-time Fourier transform STFT, Wigner-Ville Distribution WVD, Choi-Williams Distribution CWD) are used, too.

  6. SOFIA: The Next Generation Airborne Observatory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunham, Edward; Witteborn, Fred C. (Technical Monitor)

    1995-01-01

    SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy, will carry a 2.5 meter telescope into the stratosphere on 160 7.5 hour flights per year. At stratospheric altitudes SOFIA will operate above 99% of the water vapor in the Earth's atmosphere, allowing observation of wide regions of the infrared spectrum that are totally obscured from even the best ground-based sites. Its mobility and long range will allow worldwide observation of ephemeral events such as occultations and eclipses. SOFIA will be developed jointly by NASA and DARA, the German space agency. It has been included in the President's budget request to Congress for a development start in FY96 (this October!) and enjoys strong support in Germany. This talk will cover SOFIA's scientific goals, technical characteristics, science operating plan, and political status.

  7. CURRENT STATUS OF RESEARCH PROJECT ACTIVITIES IN MEDICAL UNIVERSITIES IN BULGARIA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Svetoslav Garov

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: In Bulgaria there are five medical universities: in the cities of Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Pleven and Stara Zagora. Their main mission is training specialists in the fields of medicine and health care, increasing their qualification by means of postgraduate education and performing research activities. One of medical universities’ top priorities is encouraging research activities mainly aimed at preparation and implementation of research projects. Aim: The purpose of our study is to examine the current status of research project activities in Bulgarian medical universities.Material and methods: In order to define the science competitions related to Bulgarian medical universities we have applied a documentary and sociological approach. Results: Research projects that Bulgarian medical universities can apply for are divided into two groups – national and international. The most significant international projects are European ones since Bulgaria is an EU member state and this allows us to participate in such projects. Conclusion: Universities should strive for establishing even better conditions for encouraging application for research projects aimed at developing competent and experienced staff, even though the majority of them may not obtain approval for financing.The changes in the situation regarding Bulgarian science require the implementation and development of more research staff motivated to improve their knowledge and skills in the relevant dynamically changing competition and project field.

  8. Occultation Spectrophotometry of Extrasolar Planets with SOFIA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angerhausen, Daniel; Huber, Klaus F.; Mandell, Avi M.; McElwain, Michael W.; Czesla, Stefan; Madhusudhan, Nikku

    2012-01-01

    The NASA/DLR Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a 2.5- meter infrared telescope on board a Boeing 747-SP, will conduct 0.3 - 1,600 micrometer photometric, spectroscopic, and imaging observations from altitudes as high as 45,000 ft., where the average atmospheric transmission is greater than 80 percent. SOFIA's first light cameras and spectrometers, as well as future generations of instruments, will make important contributions to the characterization of the physical properties of exoplanets. Our analysis shows that optical and near-infrared photometric and spectrophotometric follow-up observations during planetary transits and eclipses will be feasible with SOFIA's instrumentation, in particular the HIPOFLITECAM optical/NIR instruments. The airborne-based platform has unique advantages in comparison to ground- and space-based observatories in this field of research which we will outline here. Furthermore we will present two exemplary science cases, that will be conducted in SOFIA's cycle 1.

  9. Factors of urban sprawl in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Slaev Aleksandar D.

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Urban sprawl has become a topical urban issue first in North America and later in Western Europe. It turned into a major challenge to urban sustainability. However, sprawl in Western Europe has displayed many specific features different than that in North America and these features are related to the concrete circumstances in the two continents. The social, economic and urban situation in the new European democracies is also quite different and this inevitably has its impact on the forms of sprawl. One of the main characteristics of sprawl is that it is considered to be market-led. More precisely, a major factor is the lack of balance between market trends and planning policy that allows for the market players to determine the use of their plots in suburban locations with little reference to the public interests and issues of sustainability. As the countries in Eastern and South-eastern Europe have already made certain progress on their way to market society, the problems of sprawl were faced in these countries too. The goal of the paper is to apply widely accepted definitions of sprawl to the processes in the suburbs of Sofia and, thus, to assess whether these are processes of sprawl. It also aims to study the specific traditions and residential preferences of Sofia’s population in order to identify specific characteristics and aspects of the Bulgarian model. The findings of the paper confirm that Bulgaria’s capital Sofia is experiencing processes of urban sprawl, particularly in its southern suburban areas - in the foot of Vitosha Mountain. Next, these processes display strong regional characteristics. So far sprawl in Bulgaria is less intensive than that in Western Europe but also than that in the post-socialist countries in Central Europe and in Baltic states. Eventually, the urban forms of Bulgarian sprawl tend to be denser and with mix of single-family and multi-family residential types and mix of land uses.

  10. St. Sofia in Ohrid, space, structure, forms: Sources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Korać Vojislav

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available This work comments in particular on studies dealing with the church of St. Sofia in Ohrid. Among them are the monographs of two authors, Barbara Maria Schellewald (Die Arhitektur der Sophien Kirchen in Ohrid, Bon 1986 and Boris Čipan (Sveta Sofija, katedralen hram na ohridskata arhiepiskopija, Skopje 1995. Special attention is devoted to the typological interpretation of St. Sofia, to its initial design as a triple-nave basilica with a dome at the centre. Insightful descriptions are given about the older monuments in the Byzantine capital, Constantinople. Special attention is paid to the external architectonic workmanship. The western façade of St. Sofia demonstrates the features of Late Byzantine architecture, while the eastern façade directly reveals the triple-nave spatial design. That is why this article on St. Sofia contains sketches of the western and the eastern façades, illustrating the features of its architectonic specificities. On the whole, the author presents St. Sofia in Ohrid as a unique work of architecture of the Byzantine region. .

  11. Forest-biological erosion control on coal-mine spoil banks in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haigh, M.J.; Gentcheva-Kostadinova, S.; Zheleva, E.

    1995-01-01

    The forest fallowing of coal-mine spoils helps re-establish the processes of natural, self-sustaining, soil formation. Environmental monitoring in Bulgaria demonstrates that forestation can moderate soil pH (from ph> 3.0 to pH 1.3 g/cm 3 in the 0-5 cm layer) in the case of coal briquette spoils at Pernik, near Sofia. Ground losses from forested, 16-17 degree slope, coal briquette-spoils at Pernik are a quarter of those from an entirely unvegetated section of the same embankment (48.5 vs 12. 1 mm in the period 1988-1994) despite the absence of ground cover beneath the trees. On lignite spoil banks, at Maritsa-Iztok, central Bulgaria, forestation increases the organic content of the soil to greater depths than revegetation with grass, and to a greater degree than conventional agricultural cultivation. On Pinus nigra forested crest sites at Pernik, and in Robinia pseudacacia forested groves on the lignite minespoil banks at Maritsa-Iztok, slopes showed ground advance rather than ground retreat. Slopes protected by mechanical means alone did not allow soil growth and, where the structure broke down, they suffered as much erosion as untreated sites. In sum, the forest fallowing of surface coal-mine disturbed land accelerates organic matter accumulation in the soil, helps improve soil structure, reduces erosion, and may transform soil loss into soil gain, even on steeply sloping sites. 17 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

  12. Queen Sofia Shawl

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    2009-01-01

    4. mail 2009 saabusid Eestisse riigivisiidile Hispaania kuningas Juan Carlos I ja kuninganna Sofia. Presidendi kantselei tellis kuningannale kingituseks Haapsalu salli. Juuresoleval fotol president Toomas Hendrik Ilves ja proua Evelin Ilves kingitust üle andmas

  13. Kuninganna Sofia sall

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    2009-01-01

    4. mail 2009 saabusid Eestisse riigivisiidile Hispaania kuningas Juan Carlos I ja kuninganna Sofia. Presidendi kantselei tellis kuningannale kingituseks Haapsalu salli. Juuresoleval fotol president Toomas Hendrik Ilves ja proua Evelin Ilves kingitust üle andmas

  14. Prevalence of human papillomavirus infection in women in some cities and regions of Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovachev, Stefan; Slavov, Victor; Slavova, Kremena

    2013-09-01

    This aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections among women (aged 15-55 years) in four of the biggest cities and regions in Bulgaria (viz., Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, and Burgas), as well as in two other smaller cities (viz., Pleven and Vidin). Furthermore, study aimed to identify the prevalence of the 12 high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) genotypes in 2012, and to predict the benefits of a future national vaccination campaign for 12-year-old girls in Bulgaria. This HPV genotypes prevalence study covered 2,331,341 women from these cities and regions, representing 61.7% of the female population of Bulgaria. DNA-sorb-AM nucleic acid extraction kit was used to analyze the HPV status in cervical samples collected during a 4-year period (2008-2011) from 1,120 women aged 15-55 years (divided into four age groups) who had visited 47 gynecological clinics across the study sites. HR-HPV infections were confirmed in 435 (38.8%) of the women examined. The remaining 685 (61.2%) women were found to be HR-HPV negative. The most common genotype in all 435 infected women was HPV16, which was found in 200 women (46%), followed by HPV56 in 86 women (19.8%), HPV31 in 53 women (12.2%), and HPV33 in 50 women (11.5%). This is the first study to have established the prevalence of HR-HPV infections in the larger Bulgarian regions and cities (including the capital), and to have drawn attention to the unusually high proportion of the different HR-HPV genotypes. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. IRT - Sofia conversion feasibility study experience 2002-2009

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Belousov, S.I.; Apostolov, T.G. [Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy of Bulgarian Academy of Science, Tsarigradsko 72, 1784 Sofia (Bulgaria)

    2010-07-01

    A joint conversion feasibility study concerning the IRT - Sofia research reactor between INRNE and the RERTR Program at ANL was initiated in 2002. The initial steps studies (up to 2006) were mainly focused on neutronics properties significant for reactor application and safety analyses. Thermal hydraulic, accident analyses as well as additional neutronics study required were performed after that (up to 2010). The obtained results show that the IRT-4M LEU fuel assemblies (19.75% {sup 235}U enrichment) are appropriate for IRT-Sofia conversion (IRT-Sofia was initially designed for the IRT-2M HEU fuel assemblies with 36% {sup 235}U enrichment). The results obtained in the frames of the joint study show that the IRT-Sofia operation even with usage of only one pump in the primary circuit meets all safety requirements at power level up to 1000 kW and that safety is maintained for accident transients. Presented results of analyses (neutronics, thermal hydraulic, and accident) and accumulated experience for the IRT-Sofia will be useful for other research reactors where conversion from IRT-2M (HEU) to IRT-4M (LEU) fuel is underway and/or foreseen. (authors)

  16. Radioecological problems in Bulgaria relating to development of uranium mining and nuclear energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paskalev, Z.

    1993-01-01

    Over a period of more than four decades, uranium deposits have been developed at many sites in Bulgaria and treated in two uranium ore plants in Bukhovo and Eleshnitsa. Quantitative determination of uranium, radium-226, thorium-232, polonium-210, lead-210, radon and radon daughters in samples of soil, water, vegetation, bottom sediments, fruits, vegetables and atmospheric air in the regions surrounding uranium mines and mills is performed by the National Centre of Radiobiology and Radiation Protection, Sofia (BG). Analyses of urinary and blood contents of natural radionuclides in the personnel and the population residing in these regions are performed. The number of radionuclides into the surrounding environment and their possible intake by man are analysed. The migration of some highly toxic long-lived radionuclides (mostly strontium-90 and cesium-137) generated from Kozloduy NPP is also studied. An assessment of their possible impacts on man is reported. (author)

  17. Application of the neo-deterministic seismic microzonation procedure in Bulgaria and validation of the seismic input against Eurocode 8

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paskaleva, I.; Kouteva, M.; Vaccari, F.; Panza, G.F.

    2008-03-01

    The earthquake record and the Code for design and construction in seismic regions in Bulgaria have shown that the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria is exposed to a high seismic risk due to local shallow and regional strong intermediate-depth seismic sources. The available strong motion database is quite limited, and therefore not representative at all of the real hazard. The application of the neo-deterministic seismic hazard assessment procedure for two main Bulgarian cities has been capable to supply a significant database of synthetic strong motions for the target sites, applicable for earthquake engineering purposes. The main advantage of the applied deterministic procedure is the possibility to take simultaneously and correctly into consideration the contribution to the earthquake ground motion at the target sites of the seismic source and of the seismic wave propagation in the crossed media. We discuss in this study the result of some recent applications of the neo-deterministic seismic microzonation procedure to the cities of Sofia and Russe. The validation of the theoretically modeled seismic input against Eurocode 8 and the few available records at these sites is discussed. (author)

  18. Infrared Astrophysics in the SOFIA Era - An Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yorke, Harold W.

    2018-06-01

    The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) provides the international astronomical community access to a broad range of instrumentation that covers wavelengths spanning the near to far infrared. The high spectral resolution of many of these instruments in several wavelength bands is unmatched by any existing or near future planned facility. The far infrared polarization capabilities of one of its instruments, HAWC+, is also unique. Moreover, SOFIA allows for additional instrument augmentations, as new state-of-the-art photometric, spectrometric, and polarimetric capabilities have been added and are being further improved. The fact that SOFIA provides ample mass, power, computing capabilities as well as 4K cooling eases the constraints on future instrument design, technical readiness, and the instrument build to an extent not possible for space-borne missions. We will review SOFIA's current and future planned capabilities and highlight specific science areas for which the stratospheric observatory will be able to significantly advance Origins science topics.

  19. Deterministic earthquake scenarios for the city of Sofia

    CERN Document Server

    Slavov, S I; Panza, G F; Paskaleva, I; Vaccari, P

    2002-01-01

    The city of Sofia is exposed to a high seismic risk. Macroseismic intensities in the range of VIII-X (MSK) can be expected in the city. The earthquakes, that can influence the hazard at Sofia, originate either beneath the city or are caused by seismic sources located within a radius of 40km. The city of Sofia is also prone to the remote Vrancea seismic zone in Romania, and particularly vulnerable are the long - period elements of the built environment. The high seismic risk and the lack of instrumental recordings of the regional seismicity makes the use of appropriate credible earthquake scenarios and ground motion modelling approaches for defining the seismic input for the city of Sofia necessary. Complete synthetic seismic signals, due to several earthquake scenarios, were computed along chosen geological profiles crossing the city, applying a hybrid technique, based on the modal summation technique and finite differences. The modelling takes into account simultaneously the geotechnical properties of the si...

  20. Activities of the Sofia EC Energy Center in the framework of the THERMIE programme

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Latinski, K.

    1993-01-01

    The European Community Energy Center in Sofia is responsible for the EC implementation of the THERMIE programme. The programme's activities are promotion and dissemination of existing European technologies leading to better energy management and covering the fields of rational use of hydrocarbons, solid fuels and renewable energy sources. Application of these technologies would lead to substantial energy savings resulting in significant financial and environmental benefits. During its one-year operation the EC Energy Centre has organized and performed specific action as energy audits (food and beverage industrial units and buildings), demonstration projects (local heating control in buildings, diesel engine regulation of buses), training courses and seminars (in energy management and in space heating measuring and regulation), workshops (energy conservation in buildings, the bricks and clays sector and the food and beverage sector) and studies (wind energy potential, 'clean' coal technologies potential). Some of these actions have had very encouraging results showing potential energy savings of the order of 10-20% just by application of simple measures and with small additional investment. The activities of the EC Energy Centre in the coming year aimed at electricity savings along the entire line of electricity generation, transmission and consumption are outlined. (author)

  1. INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE «PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND GENETICS – SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES», 24\\26 SEPTEMBER 2014, SOFIA, REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA

    OpenAIRE

    F. B. Musayev; E. G. Kozar

    2014-01-01

    24-26 September 2014 in the Republic of Bulgaria the International scientific and practical conference entitled «Plant Physiology and Genetics – Achievements and Challenges» was hold. The forum discussed the biotechnology and genetic approaches for environmental and sustainable agriculture; genetic resources and biodiversity; efficient use of plant nutrition and symbiotic interaction; regulation of plant growth and development; photosynthesis under stress conditions.

  2. Eurobachelor in Chemistry - Bulgaria's Odds? [In Bulgarian

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B.V. Toshev

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available The Bachelor education in chemistry is presented in the Universities of Sofia, Plovdiv, Shumen and Blagoevgrad. The chemistry education in the University of Sofia has a long tradition. The paper examines the rules and criteria for obtaining the Eurobachelor label, developed by the European Chemistry Thematic Network (ECTN. The comparative analysis of the existing program with these European criteria shows that the eventual application of the University of Sofia for that label seems to be untimely at the present moment.

  3. Nuclear energy in Bulgaria. Improvement, decommission and new plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hakata, Tadakuni

    2001-01-01

    Author stayed in Bulgaria at total of 14 months among four years from 1996 to perform a lot of exchange on regulation, research, technology, and so on relating to nuclear safety by widely visiting Kozrodoi nuclear power station, engineering companies, universities, and so on, at center of the Bulgaria Committee of Nuclear Energy Peaceful Application. On a base of knowledge obtained by their experiences, here were introduced on past, present and future subjects remained in Bulgaria, an old Russian satellite nations in East Europe and on present state of nuclear power generation and so on. As exchange with Kozrodoi power station was not a main object of his international cooperation, because of its many subjects its introduction became a main subject. Here were introduced on the newest information such as closure and new construction plan of WWER-440, innovation of energy sector, and so on, furthermore, added some informations obtained from Dr. D.Popov, present quasi-professor of Sophia Technical Collage. (G.K.)

  4. Sofia Ionescu, the first woman neurosurgeon in the world.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciurea, Alexandru-Vlad; Moisa, Horatiu Alexandru; Mohan, Dumitru

    2013-11-01

    The authors present the activity of Mrs. Sofia Ionescu, the one female surgeon who was nominated as the first woman neurosurgeon in the world. Sofia Ionescu worked in the field of neurosurgery for 47 years, performing all the known neurosurgical procedures of the time. She made herself known through her incredible surgical skill and her enormous work power. Due to her incredible modesty and workload, she never participated at international congresses or manifestations. The nomination as first woman neurosurgery took place in Marrakech, Morocco, during the 2005 WFNS Congress. Although some claim that Diana Beck was the first woman neurosurgeon in the world, our theory suggests otherwise. The first documented surgical intervention performed by Diana Beck dates to 1952. Sofia Ionescu operated for the first time on a human brain as early as 1944. Furthermore, Diana Beck's actions surfaced in the year 1947, long after the war had ended and Sofia Ionescu had become a neurosurgeon. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  5. Star & Planet Formation Studies and Opportunities with SOFIA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Kimberly Ennico

    2018-01-01

    Star formation, the most fundamental process in the universe, is linked to planet formation and thus to the origin and evolution of life. We have a general outline of how planets and stars form, yet unraveling the details of the physics and chemistry continues to challenge us. The infrared and submillimeter part of the spectrum hold the most promise for studying the beginnings of star formation. The observational landscape recently shaped by Spitzer, Herschel and ALMA, continues to challenge our current theories. SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, equipped with state-of-the-art infrared instrumentation to a vantage point at 45,000 feet (13.7 kilometers) flight altitude that is above 99.9 percent of the Earth's water vapor, enables observations in the infrared through terahertz frequencies not possible from the ground. SOFIA is a community observatory, about to start its sixth annual observing cycle. My talk will focus on recent results in advancing star and planet formation processes using SOFIA's imaging and polarimetric capabilities, and the upcoming science enabled by the 3rd generation instrument High-Resolution Mid-Infrared Spectrometer (HIRMES) to be commissioned in 2019. I will show how mid-infrared imaging is used to test massive star formation theories, how far-infrared polarimetry on sub-parsec scales is directly testing the role of magnetic fields in molecular clouds, and how velocity-resolved high-resolution spectroscopy will push forward our understanding of proto-planetary disk science. I will also summarize upcoming opportunities with the SOFIA observatory. For the latest news about your flying observatory, see https://sofia.usra.edu/.

  6. Project-based learning in engineering design in Bulgaria: expectations, experiments and results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raycheva, Regina Pavlova; Angelova, Desislava Ivanova; Vodenova, Pavlina Minkova

    2017-11-01

    Using a students' workshop as a laboratory, this article summarises the observation of three years' implementation of a new study module for a Bachelor Program in Engineering Design (Interior and Furniture Design) at the University of Forestry, Sofia, Bulgaria. The article offers an analysis of group dynamics and the difficulties and issues observed during the process. Data from survey questionnaires are interpreted; proposals are made for future research. The conclusion of the authors includes the following points: positive response by students, important encounter with successful professionals and companies; creative fulfilment and experience of team work. On the weak side is the experienced discomfort in public presentation, lack of verbal and graphic skills, interpersonal issues and pressure of real requirements from teachers and company; lack of adequate attention by the tutors. The need of better understanding a team 'code' of behaviour and preparation for an active learning method was felt. A proposal leading to a mixed-team organisation for better support of first-time participants in the module is made.

  7. Liver transplantations in Bulgaria--initial experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vladov, N; Mihaylov, V; Takorov, I; Vasilevski, I; Lukanova, T; Odisseeva, E; Katzarov, K; Simonova, M; Tomova, D; Konakchieva, M; Petrov, N; Mladenov, N; Sergeev, S; Mutafchiiski, V

    2014-01-01

    The filed of liver transplantation (LT) continues to evolve and is highly effective therapy for many patients with acute and chronic liver failure resulting from a variety of causes. Improvement of perioperative care, surgical technique and immunosuppression in recent years has led to its transformation into a safe and routine procedure with steadily improving results. The aim of this paper is to present the initial experience of the transplant team at Military Medical Academy - Sofia, Bulgaria. For the period of April 2007 - August 2014 the team performed 38 liver transplants in 37 patients (one retransplantation). Patients were followed up prospectively and retrospectively. In 36 (95%) patients a graft from a cadaveric donor was used and in two cases--a right liver grafts from live donor. The mean MELD score of the transplanted patients was 17 (9-40). The preferred surgical technique was "piggyback" with preservation of inferior vena cava in 33 (86%) of the cases and classical technique in 3 (8%) patients. The overall complication rate was 48%. Early mortality rate was 13% (5 patients). The overall 1- and 5-year survival is 81% and 77% respectivelly. The setting of a new LT program is a complex process which requires the effort and effective colaboration of a wide range of speciacialists (hepatologists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, psychologists, therapists, coordinators, etc.) and institutions. The good results are function of a proper selection of the donors and the recipients. Living donation is an alternative in the shortage of cadaveric donors.

  8. Specific problems in Kozloduy municipality, concerning NPP operation and decommissioning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pironkova, L.

    2000-01-01

    The only nuclear power plant in Bulgaria, which operates for 25 years is located in Kozloduy. Kozloduy municipality is situated in the northern part of Danube plane, includes the administrative center and four villages. It is 200 km far from Sofia and 80 km from the regional center Vratza. The Kozloduy NPP operates 6 units of total capacity 3760 MW, producing more than 40% of the electricity needs in Bulgaria. Settled and recurring problems of the municipality are related to economic, geographical, demographic and administration issues. Future problems will be related to forthcoming reactor shutdown and decommissioning. This involves economic problems, possible bankruptcies of local firms servicing the NPP, decreasing budget and living standard, expected restrictions of social programs, increasing unemployment, possible changes in demographic structure of population

  9. Datafile: Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    Bulgaria's energy resources, electricity supply situation and nuclear power production are reviewed. Some 50% of Bulgaria's electricity is provided by the 3760MWe of nuclear capacity at Kozloduy. The condition of the station and lack of an adequate safety culture has caused international concern and since last summer a team of engineers from the World Association of Nuclear Operators has been working with the station staff and regulators on an agreed programme for the restoration and requalification of the plant. The programme also includes training Bulgarian engineers to Western levels. Good progress has been made. (author)

  10. Education and energy sustainability: Ten-year contribution of UNESCO Chair TU Sofia and REgional Network Engineering for Development (RENED)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monchaud, S.

    2006-01-01

    The United Nations Organization (UNO) implemented and supported all the recommendations and conclusions of the World Summit on the Earth State and more recently on Sustainable Development. Since 1952, UNESCO has received the tasks to develop studies and training on Education and Energy Sustainability. The UNESCO Chair 'Engineering for Development' established at the Technical University of Sofia (Bulgaria) in 1994 contributed from the beginning to these tasks. This paper will summarise the activities developed and the results reached as well some proposals of improvements in the near future. After some historical data about the Tempus-Tacis project and how Uchinsa has been involved as partner institution, the paper describes the actions promoted by Uchinsa and the first results achieved. Some first conclusions and recommendations and the next steps to be made by Uchinsa and the Ukrainian partners institutions to continue the cooperation even after the end of this project, are proposed. (author)

  11. Activities of the Sofia EC Energy Center in the framework of the THERMIE programme. Dejnost na centyra po energetika na EO v Sofia v ramkite na programata TERMIE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Latinski, K

    1993-01-01

    The European Community Energy Center in Sofia is responsible for the EC implementation of the THERMIE programme. The programme's activities are promotion and dissemination of existing European technologies leading to better energy management and covering the fields of rational use of hydrocarbons, solid fuels and renewable energy sources. Application of these technologies would lead to substantial energy savings resulting in significant financial and environmental benefits. During its one-year operation the EC Energy Centre has organized and performed specific action as energy audits (food and beverage industrial units and buildings), demonstration projects (local heating control in buildings, diesel engine regulation of buses), training courses and seminars (in energy management and in space heating measuring and regulation), workshops (energy conservation in buildings, the bricks and clays sector and the food and beverage sector) and studies (wind energy potential, 'clean' coal technologies potential). Some of these actions have had very encouraging results showing potential energy savings of the order of 10-20% just by application of simple measures and with small additional investment. The activities of the EC Energy Centre in the coming year aimed at electricity savings along the entire line of electricity generation, transmission and consumption are outlined. (author).

  12. Age Effect on Autonomic Cardiovascular Control in Pilots

    Science.gov (United States)

    2000-08-01

    Nantcheva**, M. Vukov *** *National Center of Hygiene, Medical Ecology and Nutrition 15 Dimitar Nestorov Blvd. 1431 Sofia, Bulgaria "**Military Medical...values and critique. Inter. Physiol. Behav. Sci. 1997, 3, of health risk compared with referents. 202-219. 14. Fluckiger L., Boivin J ., Quilliot D...during flight. Aviat. Space Chapman and Hall. 1991, 590 pp. Environ Med. 1998,4, 360-367. 4. Berntson G., Cacioppo J ., Quigley K. Autonomic 18. Hellman J

  13. SOFIA's secondary mirror assembly: in-flight performance and control approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinacher, Andreas; Lammen, Yannick; Roeser, Hans-Peter

    2016-08-01

    The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a 2.5m infrared telescope built into a Boeing 747 SP. In 2014 SOFIA reached its Full Operational Capability milestone and nowadays takes off about three times a week to observe the infrared sky from altitudes above most of the atmosphere's water vapor content. An actively controlled 352mm SiC secondary mirror is used for infrared chopping with peak-to-peak amplitudes of up to 10 arcmin and chop frequencies of up to 20Hz and also as actuator for fast pointing corrections. The Swiss-made Secondary Mirror Mechanism (SMM) is a complex, highly integrated and compact flexure based mechanism that has been performing with remarkable reliability during recent years. Above mentioned capabilities are provided by the Tilt Chopper Mechanism (TCM) which is one of the two stages of the SMM. In addition the SMM is also used to establish a collimated telescope and to adjust the telescope focus depending on the structure's temperature which ranges from about 40°C at takeoff in Palmdale, CA to about -40°C in the stratosphere. This is achieved with the Focus Center Mechanism (FCM) which is the base stage of the SMM on which the TCM is situated. Initially the TCM was affected by strong vibrations at about 300 Hz which led to unacceptable image smearing. After some adjustments to the PID-type controller it was finally decided to develop a completely new control algorithm in state space. This pole placement controller matches the closed loop system poles to those of a Bessel filter with a corner frequency of 120 Hz for optimal square wave behavior. To reduce noise present on the position and current sensors and to estimate the velocity a static gain Kalman Filter was designed and implemented. A system inherent delay is incorporated in the Kalman filter design and measures were applied to counteract the actuators' hysteresis. For better performance over the full operational temperature range and to represent an amplitude

  14. Deterministic earthquake scenarios for the city of Sofia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slavov, S.; Paskaleva, I.; Kouteva, M.; Vaccari, P.; Panza, G.F.

    2002-08-01

    The city of Sofia is exposed to a high seismic risk. Macroseismic intensities in the range of VIII-X (MSK) can be expected in the city. The earthquakes, that can influence the hazard at Sofia, originate either beneath the city or are caused by seismic sources located within a radius of 40km. The city of Sofia is also prone to the remote Vrancea seismic zone in Romania, and particularly vulnerable are the long - period elements of the built environment. The high seismic risk and the lack of instrumental recordings of the regional seismicity makes the use of appropriate credible earthquake scenarios and ground motion modelling approaches for defining the seismic input for the city of Sofia necessary. Complete synthetic seismic signals, due to several earthquake scenarios, were computed along chosen geological profiles crossing the city, applying a hybrid technique, based on the modal summation technique and finite differences. The modelling takes into account simultaneously the geotechnical properties of the site, the position and geometry of the seismic source and the mechanical properties of the propagation medium. Acceleration, velocity and displacement time histories and related quantities of earthquake engineering interest (e.g. response spectra, ground motion amplification along the profiles) have been supplied. The approach applied in this study allows us to obtain the definition of the seismic input at low cost exploiting large quantities of existing data (e.g. geotechnical, geological, seismological). It may be efficiently used to estimate the ground motion for the purposes of microzonation, urban planning, retrofitting or insurance of the built environment, etc. (author)

  15. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF RESEARCH PROJECT ACTIVITIES PERFORMED AT MEDICAL UNIVERSITIES IN BULGARIA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Svetoslav Garov

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: There are five Bulgarian medical universities in the cities of Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Pleven and Stara Zagora. A major priority of medical universities is to encourage research activities mainly aimed at preparation and implementation of research projects. Projects are managed by the participating organizations called “beneficiaries”. Beneficiaries develop projects, apply for finances and if approved they implement those projects.Aim: The purpose of our study is to examine the organizational structure of research project activities on the macro level and on the micro level in Bulgarian medical universities.Material and methods: In order to define the separate elements of the organizational structure and to analyze the relations and interaction between them we have applied a documentary and sociological approach. Results: During the last six years there was a significant increase in the number and the overall annual financial value of the projects performed at medical universities in Bulgaria. The reasons for such increase are: managers realizing the advantages of and benefits from the implementation of research projects ensuring high quality modernization of research units’ equipment and facilities; access to innovative technologies; development of interdisciplinary relations, etc. Benefits arising from improved results motivate us to consider as appropriate some additional investments aimed at increasing the number of team members and further optimization of the currently existing structures (research centers in charge of research with the purpose of achieving even better results in this particular field. Conclusion: The role of research project activities in medical universities’ research field is of vital importance for the educational institutions’ success. Taking into consideration the changed conditions, European possibilities and the highly competitive environment, realizing this aspect will be essential for the

  16. 8-isorpostanes – markers for oxidative stress in obstructive sleep apnea patients with systolic dysfunction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cherneva RV

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Radostina Vlaeva Cherneva,1 Ognian Borisov Georgiev,1 Daniela Stoichkova Petrova,1 Emil Ivanov Manov,2 Sylvia Rumenova Ruseva,3 Vanio Ivanov Mitev,3 Julia Ivanova Petrova4 1Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Medical University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria; 2Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Medical University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria; 3Department of Medical Chemistry and Biochemistry, Laboratory of Synthesis and Analysis of Bioactive Substances, Medical University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria; 4Department of Neurology, Medical University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria Objective: Increased oxidative stress is considered to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, but remains disputed in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA. Among oxidative stress markers, isorpostanes are considered to be the most sensitive and specific. Aims: The aim of the study was to compare urinary isorpostanes in patients with OSA and systolic dysfunction to patients with OSA and preserved ejection fraction (EF and determine their role as markers for increased oxidative stress and early cardiac damage. Materials and methods: Urinary 8F2-isorpostanes were measured in 30 patients with OSA and mild systolic dysfunction (EF = 45.7% ± 6.17% and compared to 15 patients with OSA and normal EF (EF = 60.3% ± 6.3%. Univariate regression analysis was performed to find predictors of left systolic dysfunction. Correlations between 8-isorpostanes, anthropometric, metabolic, and sleep study characteristics were explored. In addition, in 19 patients the effect of bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP therapy was evaluated during a 3 month follow-up. Markers of hemodynamic stress, N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide and oxidative stress, measured by 8-isorpostanes were compared before and after the follow-up. Results: Urinary levels of 8-isorpostanes were significantly higher in the group with mild systolic dysfunction

  17. Catalog of Investment Projects in Bulgaria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2011-10-15

    This catalog includes information about 129 potential investment projects in Bulgaria and was developed by a team of experts from InvestBulgaria Agency in cooperation with municipalities and private companies. The document presents in brief general facts about the regions in Bulgaria. Projects are divided into the following categories: Tourism, Manufacturing, Urban Planning, Real Estate, Environment and renewable energy sources, Commerce, and Innovative and creative projects. The catalog provides detailed information about each project such as: status of the project, location, ownership, infrastructure, estimated value, contact information, etc.

  18. VINE ROUTES IN BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lyuben Hristov

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with a scheme for the modern vine route in Bulgaria. Five basic vine routes and one international, between Bulgaria, Macedonia and Greece are defined. All routes consider characteristic varieties of grapes and kinds of vine products. Vine tourist products combined with visits of important natural and anthropological object are in the bases of the defined routes. The described routes are an important contribution to development of alternative tourist products in the country.

  19. Perspectives of development of green jobs in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stoyanova Zornitsa

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The transformation to green sectors of the economy in Bulgaria leads after it the need of new type of professions, which would be capable to cope with the new conditions and requirements which different businesses are facing. The knowledge of creation of green jobs in Bulgaria is insufficient, which makes this paper state of art. Green jobs in Bulgaria are connected with transfer of business activities to green ones. The paper analyzes and evaluates the current conditions of creation of green jobs in Bulgaria. It is proposed analysis of the requirements in Bulgaria about the eligible criteria to apply for funding under the measurement of green jobs; based on research SWOT analysis of creation of green jobs. The results are systematized in findings, conclusions and policy recommendations, as changing conditions of applying to measurement, payment connected to employees, and etc. As well is proposed cooperation between other existing measurements for reaching sustainable employment in Bulgaria.

  20. Possibility of construction in Bulgaria of a fast neutron therapy center on the base of the U-250 isochronous cyclotron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Angelov, V.A.; Enchevich, I.B.

    1985-01-01

    Development of oncological disease treatment by fast neutrons in the world practice is reviewed. Main radiobiological results, which point to peculiarities of neutron therapy in comparison with standard X-ray therapy are considered. Main requirements for devices to be met, used in fast neutron therapy, are enumerated. On the basis of it, the possibility of construction in Bulgaria a fast neutron therapy center using the U-250 multipurpose cyclotron has been made. The conclusion is made that the main parameters of a proton beam in combination with an isocentrical head as a fast neutron source will create the conditions for realization of high-efficiency neutron therapy

  1. Implementation of CLP4NET in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naydenova, I.; Pironkov, L.; Filipov, A.; Petrova, T.; Tsochev, G.; Ganev, I.

    2016-01-01

    Full text: Networking solutions (networks of excellence, communities of practice, knowledge portals, etc.) are recognized as effective tools for nuclear training and education services, transfer of good practices, knowledge and programmes, and knowledge management. In addition, the e-learning is recommended as a state of the art and cost effective approach for supplementing the traditional face to face training and education programmes. Thus, the Cyber Learning Platform for Nuclear Education and Training (CLP4NET) was implemented into the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) Training System. Based on the experience of KNPP, the CLP4NET was implemented also at the College of Energy and Electronics (CEE), Technical University of Sofia (TU-Sofia), providing an appropriate tool for further establishment of a National Nuclear Network of Competency. The current study is focused mainly on specific issues and lessons learned during the installation of CLP4NET at the CEE, TU-Sofia. (author

  2. Access to health care for Roma children in Central and Eastern Europe: findings from a qualitative study in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Spencer Nick J

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite the attention the situation of the Roma in Central and Eastern Europe has received in the context of European Union enlargement, research on their access to health services is very limited, in particular with regard to child health services. Methods 50 qualitative in-depth interviews with users, providers and policy-makers concerned with child health services in Bulgaria, conducted in two villages, one town of 70,000 inhabitants, and the capital Sofia. Results Our findings provide important empirical evidence on the range of barriers Roma children face when accessing health services. Among the most important barriers are poverty, administrative and geographical obstacles, low levels of parental education, and lack of ways to accommodate the cultural, linguistic and religious specifics of this population group. Conclusion Our research illustrates the complexity of the problems the Roma face. Access to health care cannot be discussed in isolation from other problems this population group experiences, such as poverty, restricted access to education, and social exclusion.

  3. PREREQUISITES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SPA TOURISM IN BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuela Vucheva

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The demand for spa tourism in Bulgaria has increased 3 times in the last five years. Worldwide demand for spa for travel increased 2 times since 2004. Indications show that spa tourism is developing in a positive direction, both in Bulgaria and abroad. In Bulgaria there are 25 spa destinations where there are hydromineral fields and complexes for accommodation and rest. The paper provides key conclusions in relation to the development of spa tourism in Bulgaria and recommendations for improvements in marketing and advertising and combination with other types of tourism.

  4. Characterization of Extrasolar Planets Using SOFIA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deming, Drake

    2010-01-01

    Topics include: the landscape of extrasolar planets, why focus on transiting planets, some history and Spitzer results, problems in atmospheric structure or hot Jupiters and hot super Earths, what observations are needed to make progress, and what SOFIA can currently do and comments on optimized instruments.

  5. SOSPEX, an interactive tool to explore SOFIA spectral cubes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fadda, Dario; Chambers, Edward T.

    2018-01-01

    We present SOSPEX (SOFIA SPectral EXplorer), an interactive tool to visualize and analyze spectral cubes obtained with the FIFI-LS and GREAT instruments onboard the SOFIA Infrared Observatory. This software package is written in Python 3 and it is available either through Github or Anaconda.Through this GUI it is possible to explore directly the spectral cubes produced by the SOFIA pipeline and archived in the SOFIA Science Archive. Spectral cubes are visualized showing their spatial and spectral dimensions in two different windows. By selecting a part of the spectrum, the flux from the corresponding slice of the cube is visualized in the spatial window. On the other hand, it is possible to define apertures on the spatial window to show the corresponding spectral energy distribution in the spectral window.Flux isocontours can be overlapped to external images in the spatial window while line names, atmospheric transmission, or external spectra can be overplotted on the spectral window. Atmospheric models with specific parameters can be retrieved, compared to the spectra and applied to the uncorrected FIFI-LS cubes in the cases where the standard values give unsatisfactory results. Subcubes can be selected and saved as FITS files by cropping or cutting the original cubes. Lines and continuum can be fitted in the spectral window saving the results in Jyson files which can be reloaded later. Finally, in the case of spatially extended observations, it is possible to compute spectral momenta as a function of the position to obtain velocity dispersion maps or velocity diagrams.

  6. WRF-Fire Applied in Bulgaria

    OpenAIRE

    Dobrinkova, Nina; Jordanov, Georgi; Mandel, Jan

    2010-01-01

    WRF-Fire consists of the WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting Model) coupled with a fire spread model, based on the level-set method. We describe a preliminary application of WRF-Fire to a forest fire in Bulgaria, oportunities for research of forest fire models for Bulgaria, and plans for the development of an Environmental Decision Support Systems which includes computational modeling of fire behavior.

  7. An historical overview of the activities in the field of exposure and risk assessment of non-ionizing radiation in Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Israel, Michel

    2015-09-01

    The exposure and risk evaluation process in Bulgaria concerning non-ionizing radiation health and safety started in the early 1970s. Then, the first research laboratory "Electromagnetic fields in the working environment" was founded in the framework of the Centre of Hygiene, belonging to the Medical Academy, Sofia. The main activities were connected with developing legislation, new equipment for measurement of electromagnetic fields, new methods for measurement and exposure assessment, in vivo and human studies for developing methods, studying the effect of non-ionizing radiation on human body, developing exposure limits. Most of the occupations as metal industry, plastic welding, energetics, physiotherapy, broadcasting, telephone stations, computer industry, etc., have been covered by epidemiological investigations and risk evaluation. In 1986, the ANSI standard for safe use of lasers has been implemented as national legislation that gave the start for studies in the field of risk assessment concerning the use of lasers in industry and medicine. The environmental exposure studies started in 1991 following the very fast implementation of the telecommunication technologies. Now, funds for research are very insignificant, and studies in the field of risk assessment are very few. Nevertheless, Bulgaria has been an active member of the WHO International EMF Project, since 1997, and that gives good opportunity for collaboration with other Member states, and for implementation of new approach in the EMF policy for workers and people's protection against non-ionizing radiation exposure.

  8. Temporal characteristics of some aftershock sequences in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Solakov

    1999-06-01

    Full Text Available We apply statistical analysis to study the temporal distribution of aftershocks in aftershock sequences of five earthquakes which occurred in Bulgaria. We use the maximum likelihood method to estimate the parameters of the modified Omori formula for aftershock sequences which is directly based on a time series. We find that: the maximum likelihood estimates of the parameter p show a regional variation, with lower values of the decay rate in North Bulgaria; the modified Omori formula provides an appropriate representation of temporal variation of the aftershock activity in North Bulgaria; the aftershock sequences in South Bulgaria are best modeled by the combination of an ordinary aftershock sequence with secondary aftershock activity. A plot of the cumulative number of events versus the frequency-linearized time t clearly demonstrates a transition from aftershock to foreshock activity prior to the second 1986 Strazhitsa (North Bulgaria earthquake.

  9. Politics and abortion in Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sirakova, K

    1992-01-01

    Political change in Bulgaria has meant the beginning of the recognition of the reproduction rights of women. Abortion, for example, was legalized in 1990. Women in Bulgaria, however, still lack the information they need on basic hygiene and sex. It is impossible to promulgate a progressive strategy in Bulgaria if one ignores the isolation of the Turkish and Gypsy ethnic communities. In addition, an economic crisis exists, and no real measures have been undertaken to mitigate the situation. The new democratic institutions have settled comfortably into the structures of the former communist rule, even to the point of adopting the same extensive demagogic terminology which perpetrates the old gap between words and deeds. For example, although a new birth control strategy and plan for sex education was announced 2 years ago, nothing definite has been done. One development, however, has been the legalization of abortion, which was accompanied by an immediate drop in the abortion rate (still 1.5 abortions/birth). Because of a lack of sex education, 900 children are born to girls under age 15 each year. Bulgaria is just starting to embrace modern values and must update its attitudes towards women. Bulgaria's formal institutions seem to be unable to face this issue, and many societies and foundations have emerged to work for women's rights, to protect out-of-wedlock children, and to fight disease (including AIDS) and drug addiction. However, these organizations are not producing real results and are simply providing shelter to representatives of the old nomenclature. Real efforts to overcome these problems will continue despite the current discouraging state of affairs.

  10. Experience with nuclear fuel utilization in Bulgaria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harizanov, Y [Committee on the Use of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes, Sofia (Bulgaria)

    1997-12-01

    The presentation on experience with nuclear fuel utilization in Bulgaria briefly reviews the situation with nuclear energy in Bulgaria and then discusses nuclear fuel performance (amount of fuel loaded, type of fuel, burnup, fuel failures, assemblies deformation). 2 tabs.

  11. English Language Cultures in Bulgaria: A Linguistic Sibling Rivalry?

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Reilly, Laurie M.

    1998-01-01

    In Bulgaria, a complex matrix of power relations governs English language education, and a triangle of international and intercultural relations between Bulgaria, United States, and United Kingdom. In the context of the changing economic and political milieu of central and eastern Europe, a study examines how Bulgaria fits into the emerging…

  12. History and Future of Technology-Enhanced Learning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Westera, Wim

    2009-01-01

    Westera, W. (2009). History and Future of Technology-Enhanced Learning. Keynote Presentation at the First International Conference on Software, Services & Semantic Technologies (3ST). October, 28, 2009, Sofia, Bulgaria.

  13. Seismic Hazard and risk assessment for Romania -Bulgaria cross-border region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simeonova, Stela; Solakov, Dimcho; Alexandrova, Irena; Vaseva, Elena; Trifonova, Petya; Raykova, Plamena

    2016-04-01

    parameter in the historical earthquake catalogues. A particular advantage of using intensities is that the very irregular pattern of the attenuation field of the Vrancea intermediate depth earthquakes can be estimated from detailed macroseismic observations that are available (in both countries) for the study region. Additionally, de-aggregation of the seismic hazard for a recurrence period of 475 years (probability of exceedance of 10% in 50 years) for intensity was performed for 9 cities (administrative centers) situated in northern Bulgaria. Finally, applying SELENA software earthquake risk for Bulgarian part of the cross-boarder region is analyzed. The results presented for the Romania-Bulgaria cross border region are part of the work carried out in the DACEA Project (2010-2013) that was implemented in the framework of the Romania - Bulgaria Cross Border Cooperation Programme (2007-2013).

  14. SOFIAS – Software for life-cycle assessment and environmental rating of buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oregi Isasi, X.

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes the development process of a new software tool, called SOFIAS (Software for a Sustainable Architecture, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivenes. Following CEN/TC 350 standard on environmental assessment of buildings, the tool aims at assisting building professionals on reducing the life-cycle environmental impact through the design of new buildings and the refurbishment of existing ones. In addition, SOFIAS provides a rating system based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA methodology. This paper explains the innovative aspects of this software, the working methodology and the different type of results that can be obtained using SOFIAS.Este artículo describe el proceso de desarrollo de la nueva herramienta informática SOFIAS (Software de Funciones Integradas para una Arquitectura Sostenible, financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad del Gobierno de España. En base al estandar de la evaluación ambiental de los edificios definido por el CEN/TC 350, esta nueva herramienta tiene como objetivo ayudar a los técnicos de la construcción en reducir el impacto ambiental durante el ciclo de vida a través del diseño optimizado de nuevos edificios o edificios rehabilitados. De forma paralela, SOFIAS proporciona un nuevo sistema de calificación basado en la metodología del Análisis de Ciclo de Vida (ACV. Este artículo expone los aspectos innovadores de esta herramienta informática, la metodología de trabajo y los diferentes tipos de resultados que se pueden obtener tras su aplicación.

  15. Maximum Expected Wall Heat Flux and Maximum Pressure After Sudden Loss of Vacuum Insulation on the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Liquid Helium (LHe) Dewars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ungar, Eugene K.

    2014-01-01

    The aircraft-based Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a platform for multiple infrared observation experiments. The experiments carry sensors cooled to liquid helium (LHe) temperatures. A question arose regarding the heat input and peak pressure that would result from a sudden loss of the dewar vacuum insulation. Owing to concerns about the adequacy of dewar pressure relief in the event of a sudden loss of the dewar vacuum insulation, the SOFIA Program engaged the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC). This report summarizes and assesses the experiments that have been performed to measure the heat flux into LHe dewars following a sudden vacuum insulation failure, describes the physical limits of heat input to the dewar, and provides an NESC recommendation for the wall heat flux that should be used to assess the sudden loss of vacuum insulation case. This report also assesses the methodology used by the SOFIA Program to predict the maximum pressure that would occur following a loss of vacuum event.

  16. Recent progress in floristic and taxonomic studies in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Petrova

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available An overview of floristic and taxonomic research on vascular plants in Bulgaria during the period of 2005-2016 has been made. The Bulgarian flora currently comprises 4064 species, belonging to 921 genera and 159 families. About 490 published papers were checked, in which 127 species were reported for the first time for the country by Bulgarian or foreign botanists, 11 of these taxa being ones new to science, while 51 are aliens. In the papers checked, 17 subspecies (two of them new to science and 18 hybrids (four of them new to science were also reported for the first time for the country, nine species were confirmed, and another 78 were unconfirmed, synonymised, or erroneously reported. In numerous papers, new localities for various species in different floristic regions in Bulgaria were reported. The books Flora of the Republic of Bulgaria Vol. 11, Red Data Book of the Republic of Bulgaria Vol. 1. Plants and Fungi, Atlas of Endemic Plants in Bulgaria, Invasive Alien Species of Vascular Plants in Bulgaria, Proceedings of Balkan Botanical Congress IV, etc., were published during the given period.

  17. Stakeholder analysis for coppice forestry in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    IvayloVelichkov

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available The study analyzes the state of coppice forestry in Bulgaria during last 18 years. Stakeholders and their interests and preferences in coppice forests are explored and assessed. Forests restitution process in Bulgaria started in 1997 and has not been finished yet. Nevertheless, significant further changes of the current ownershipdistribution are not expected. By the end of 2007, the state was the biggest coppice forest owner/stakeholder in Bulgaria with 71.3% of all coppice forests being state property. The other two important stakeholders are the municipalities (14.0% and private owners (12.0%. Currently, forest owners' number in Bulgaria exceeds 1million, the average holding area being smaller than 1 ha. Only 150 individual plots are larger than 50 ha. The majority of private owners aim at taking maximum and immediate profit from their recently restituted forest properties. In most cases that reflects in clearcuts. Coppice forests management has been one of the problematicissues of Bulgarian forestry for decades. Despite of forest authorities significant efforts, the area of coppice forests in Bulgaria (1.78 million ha in 2007 remained unchanged for a period of 50 years. The official forest policy is still aimed at conversionof coppice forests into seed ones through different silvicultural methods. That policy is applied to almost all coppice forests regardless of their ownership.

  18. SOFIA: MQ-based signatures in the QROM

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chen, Ming Shing; Hülsing, Andreas; Rijneveld, Joost; Samardjiska, Simona; Schwabe, Peter

    2018-01-01

    We propose SOFIA, the first MQ -based signature scheme provably secure in the quantum-accessible random oracle model (QROM). Our construction relies on an extended version of Unruh’s transform for 5-pass identification schemes that we describe and prove secure both in the ROM and QROM. Based on a

  19. Radiation monitoring program at nuclear scientific experimental and educational center - IRT-Sofia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mladenov, A.; Stankov, D.; Marinov, K.; Nonova, T.; Krezhov, K.

    2012-01-01

    Ensuring minimal risk of personnel exposure without exceeding the dose limits is the main task of the General Program for Radiation Monitoring of Nuclear Scientific Experimental and Education Centre (NSEEC) with research reactor IRT. Since 2006 the IRT-Sofia is equipped with a new and modern Radiation Monitoring System (RMS). All RMS detectors are connected to the server RAMSYS. They have online (real-time) visualization in two workstations with RAMVISION software. The RMS allows the implementation of technological and environmental monitoring at the nuclear facility site. Environmental monitoring with the RMS external system includes monitoring of dose rate; alpha and beta activity; radon activity; Po-218, Po-214, Po-212 activity; gamma control of vehicles. Technological control of reactor gases includes: Alpha beta particulate monitor; Iodine monitor; Noble gases monitor; Stack flow monitor. The General Program based on the radiation monitoring system allows real-time monitoring and control of radiation parameters in the controlled area and provides for a high level of radiation protection of IRT staff and users of its facilities. This paper presents the technical and functional parameters of the radiation monitoring system and radiation protection activities within the restricted zone in IRT facilities. (authors)

  20. Evaluation of antimicrobial resistance among Salmonella and Shigella isolates in the University Hospital "St. George," Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrov, Michael M; Petrova, Atanaska; Stanimirova, Irina; Mircheva-Topalova, Marina; Koycheva, Lalka; Velcheva, Rayna; Stoycheva-Vartigova, Mariana; Raycheva, Ralitsa; Asseva, Galina; Petrov, Petar; Kardjeva, Velichka; Murdjeva, Marianna

    2017-03-01

    The aim of this work is to study the epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance to the most commonly used antibiotics for the treatment of acute gastroenteritis caused by Salmonella and Shigella at the largest Bulgarian hospital-University Hospital "St. George," Plovdiv-for the period 2009-2013. Two hundred ninety strains were in vitro tested for resistance to 15 antimicrobial agents. The presence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) was demonstrated by a variety of specialized tests. For comparison, a collection of 28 strains submitted by the National Reference Laboratory (NRL) "Enteric Infections" at the National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (NCIPD), Sofia, was also tested for the production of ESBLs. In isolates, phenotypically demonstrated as ESBL producers, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of the genes bla-CTX-M, bla-SHV, and bla-TEM was performed. Among the 290 tested isolates, only two- Salmonella serotype Livingstone and Shigella flexneri-were phenotypically proven to be ESBL producers. Only 4 strains from the collection of 28, submitted from the NRL "Intestinal Infections" in NCIPD, Sofia, were phenotypically confirmed as ESBL producers. The presence of the bla-CTX-M gene was detected in all of the tested strains (4 from NRL, NCIPD, Sofia, and 2 from the University Hospital St. George, Plovdiv), the bla-SHV gene only in strain S. Livingstone from Plovdiv, and the bla-TEM gene in two from Sofia and one (again S. Livingstone) from Plovdiv. In conclusion, Salmonella and Shigella isolates from patients hospitalized at the University Hospital St. George, Plovdiv, with acute gastroenteritis demonstrate good susceptibility to the most commonly used antibiotic agents, including azithromycin.

  1. Country policy profile - Bulgaria. April 2015

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2015-04-01

    According to the Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the European Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources the target for the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final energy consumption in the year 2020 for Bulgaria is 16%, whereas in 2012 it reached 17,9%. Renewable electricity in Bulgaria is promoted primarily through a feed-in tariff. Producers are contractually entitled against the grid operator to the purchase and payment of electricity at a guaranteed price. The use of renewable energy for heating and cooling is promoted through a subsidy from the European Regional Development Fund and through an exemption for building owners from property tax. Main Bulgarian support scheme for renewable energy in transport is a quota system. There is a professional training programme for RES-installers as wells as a building obligation for the use of renewable heating and for the exemplary role of public authorities. This report monitors the policy changes after the release of the 2013 Progress Report for Bulgaria and is regularly updated. Recent RES policy changes in Bulgaria involve imposing a fee of 20% on the production of electricity in solar and wind power plants, however this decision was set aside due to the unconstitutional nature of this regulation

  2. Country policy profile - Bulgaria. December 2015

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2015-12-01

    According to the Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the European Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources the target for the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final energy consumption in the year 2020 for Bulgaria is 16%, whereas in 2012 it reached 17,9%. Renewable electricity in Bulgaria is promoted primarily through a feed-in tariff. Producers are contractually entitled against the grid operator to the purchase and payment of electricity at a guaranteed price. The use of renewable energy for heating and cooling is promoted through a subsidy from the European Regional Development Fund and through an exemption for building owners from property tax. Main Bulgarian support scheme for renewable energy in transport is a quota system. There is a professional training programme for RES-installers as wells as a building obligation for the use of renewable heating and for the exemplary role of public authorities. This report monitors the policy changes after the release of the 2013 Progress Report for Bulgaria and is regularly updated. Recent RES policy changes in Bulgaria involve imposing a fee of 20% on the production of electricity in solar and wind power plants, however this decision was set aside due to the unconstitutional nature of this regulation

  3. Hepatitis a virus genotypes and strains from an endemic area of Europe, Bulgaria 2012-2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruni, Roberto; Taffon, Stefania; Equestre, Michele; Cella, Eleonora; Lo Presti, Alessandra; Costantino, Angela; Chionne, Paola; Madonna, Elisabetta; Golkocheva-Markova, Elitsa; Bankova, Diljana; Ciccozzi, Massimo; Teoharov, Pavel; Ciccaglione, Anna Rita

    2017-07-14

    Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection is endemic in Eastern European and Balkan region countries. In 2012, Bulgaria showed the highest rate (67.13 cases per 100,000) in Europe. Nevertheless, HAV genotypes and strains circulating in this country have never been described. The present study reports the molecular characterization of HAV from 105 patients from Bulgaria. Anti-HAV IgM positive serum samples collected in 2012-2014 from different towns and villages in Bulgaria were analysed by nested RT-PCR, sequencing of the VP1/2A region and phylogenetic analysis; the results were analysed together with patient and geographical data. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two main sequence groups corresponding to the IA (78/105, 74%) and IB (27/105, 26%) sub-genotypes. In the IA group, a major and a minor cluster were observed (62 and 16 sequences, respectively). Most sequences from the major cluster (44/62, 71%) belonged to either of two strains, termed "strain 1" and "strain 2", differing only for a single specific nucleotide; the remaining sequences (18/62, 29%) showed few (1 to 4) nucleotide variations respect to strain 1 and 2. Strain 2 is identical to the strain previously responsible for an outbreak in the Czech Republic in 2008 and a large multi-country European outbreak caused by contaminated mixed frozen berries in 2013. Most sequences of the IA minor cluster and the IB group were detected in large/medium centers (LMCs). Overall, sequences from the IA major cluster were more frequent in small centers (SCs), but strain 1 and strain 2 showed an opposite relative frequency in SCs and LMCs (strain 1 more frequent in SCs, strain 2 in LMCs). Genotype IA predominated in Bulgaria in 2012-2014 and phylogenetic analysis identified a major cluster of highly related or identical IA sequences, representing 59% of the analysed cases; these isolates were mostly detected in SCs, in which HAV shows higher endemicity than in LMCs. The distribution of viral sequences suggests the existence

  4. QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS FROM FACULTIES OF DENTAL MEDICINE IN BULGARIA REGARDING THEIR MOTIVATION FOR PARTICIPATION IN AND THE WAY THEY ARE FAMILIAR WITH RESEARCH PROJECTS.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Svetoslav Garov

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: In recent years there has been a significant increase in the number and value of projects implemented by medical universities in Bulgaria. The involvement of representatives of the student community in the research teams increases their knowledge and skills and in this way they also gain experience in team work and become motivated to further develop their science careers. Aim: The purpose of our study is by analyzing data from our questionnaire to examine the level of students’ willingness to participate in research project activities performed by Bulgarian faculties of Dental Medicine. Material and methods: The written examination technique has been applied as a primary empirical sociological information registration method. For that purpose a 13-question survey (questionnaire has been prepared. The survey is anonymous and it has been completed by 190 students in their 4th and 5th year of studying in medical universities in Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna. Data was collected during the period from January to May 2013. Results: In order for us to achieve the goal of this study we focused on the questions from the questionnaire.Conclusion: The role that research projects play in medical universities and in particular in the faculties of dental medicine in Bulgaria is of key importance for their accreditation. The scientific cooperation between lecturers and students is a prerequisite for developing a competitive environment that defines the future scientific achievements in the relevant research institution.

  5. Simulator training and human factor reliability in Kozloduy NPP, Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stoychev, Kosta

    2007-01-01

    This is a PowerPoint presentation. Situated in North Bulgaria, in the vicinity of the town of Kozloduy, near the Danube River bank, there is the Bulgarian Kozloduy Nuclear Power plant operating four WWER-440 and two WWER-1000 units. Units 1 and 2 were commissioned in July, 1974 and November, 1975, respectively. These were shut down at the end of 2003. Units 3 and 4 were commissioned in December, 1980 and May, 1982. They were shut down at the end of 2006 as a precondition for Bulgaria's accession to the European Union. The 1000 MW units 5 and 6 of Kozloduy NPP were commissioned in September, 1988 and December, 1993, respectively. Large-scale modernization have been implemented and now the units meet all international safety standards. The paper describes the multifunctional simulator Kozloduy NPP for the operational staff training. The training stages are as follows: - Preparatory; -Theoretical studies; - Training at the Training Centre by means of technical devices; - Preparation and sitting for an exam before a Kozloduy NPP expert commission; - Simulator training ; - Preparation to obtain a permit for a license, corresponding to the position to begin work at the NPP; - Exams before the Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRA) and licensing; - Shadow training at the working place; - Permission for unaided operation. The following positions are addressed by the simulator training: - Chief Plant Supervisor; - Shift Unit Supervisor; - Senior Reactor Operator; - Simulator Instructor; - Controller physicist; -Senior Turbine Operator; - Senior Operator of Turbine Feedwater Pumps of Kozloduy NPP. Improving of training method led to a reduction of number of significant events while worldwide practice proves that improvement of engineering resulted in an increase in the percentage of events, related to human factor. Analysis of human reliability in 2005 and 2006 in cooperation with representatives from Great Britain and the Technical University in Sofia were worked on the DTI NSP B

  6. ТУРЪТ (BOS PRIMIGENIUS BOJANOS, 1827 (ARTIODACTYLA, MAMMALIA В ПРИРОДАТА И КУЛТУРАТА НА БЪЛГАРИЯ

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikolai Boev

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Numerous published data of osteology, craniology, folklore, toponimy, linguistics, archaeology and art-history on the former distribution and biological characteristics of the Aurochs have been gathered and analyzed. Based on these scattered various evidences, a general synthesis on the biology, morphology, ecology, bihaviour and the reasons for the disappearence and total exctinction of the Aurochs, is presented for the first time in the Bulgarian literature. New findings from Forum Serdica (pr. Sofia; 16-18th c. AD prove the species' existence in two remote regions in Bulgaria – NE Bulgaria (Veliki Preslav, and CW Bulgaria (Sofia; at least 16th c. AD, almost a century before its total disappearance in Poland (1627. Contents: 1. Foreword; 2. Distribution and disappearance of the Aurochs beyond the Balkan Peninsula; 3. Aurochs, wisents and buffalos in the ancient sources; 4. Distribution and disappearance of the Aurochs on the Balkan Peninsula and in Bulgaria; 5. Habitats; 6. Habitus and size; 7. Coloration; 8. Head; 9. Horns; 10. Biology and behavior; 11. Origin and taxonomy; 12. Domestication; 13. Utalitary significance; 14. Hunt; 15. The last Aurochs; 16. The Aurochs in the scientific collections; 17. The Aurochs in the Bulgarian legends and folklore; 18. The Aurochs in the mythology; 19. The Aurochs in the etymology; 20. Conclusions.

  7. General plan for the partial dismantling of the IRT-Sofia research reactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Apostolov Tihomir G.

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available After the decision of the Bulgarian Government to reconstruct it, the strategy concerning the IRT-Sofia Research Reactor is to partially dismantle the old systems and equipment. The removal of the reactor core and replacement of old equipment will not pose any significant problems. For a more efficient use of existing resources, there is a need for an engineering project which has been already prepared under the title "General Plan for the Partial Dismantling of Equipment at the IRT-Sofia as a Part of the Reconstruction into a Low Power RR".

  8. Optimising the management of vaginal discharge syndrome in Bulgaria: cost effectiveness of four clinical algorithms with risk assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cornier, Nadine; Petrova, Elena; Cavailler, Philippe; Dentcheva, Rossitza; Terris-Prestholt, Fern; Janin, Arnaud; Ninet, Béatrice; Anguenot, Jean-Luc; Vassilakos, Pierre; Gerbase, Antonio; Mayaud, Philippe

    2010-08-01

    To evaluate the performance and cost effectiveness of the WHO recommendations of incorporating risk-assessment scores and population prevalence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) into vaginal discharge syndrome (VDS) algorithms. Non-pregnant women presenting with VDS were recruited at a non-governmental sexual health clinic in Sofia, Bulgaria. NG and CT were diagnosed by PCR and vaginal infections by microscopy. Risk factors for NG/CT were identified in multivariable analysis. Four algorithms based on different combinations of behavioural factors, clinical findings and vaginal microscopy were developed. Performance of each algorithm was evaluated for detecting vaginal and cervical infections separately. Cost effectiveness was based on cost per patient treated and cost per case correctly treated. Sensitivity analysis explored the influence of NG/CT prevalence on cost effectiveness. 60% (252/420) of women had genital infections, with 9.5% (40/423) having NG/CT. Factors associated with NG/CT included new and multiple sexual partners in the past 3 months, symptomatic partner, childlessness and >or=10 polymorphonuclear cells per field on vaginal microscopy. For NG/CT detection, the algorithm that relied solely on behavioural risk factors was less sensitive but more specific than those that included speculum examination or microscopy but had higher correct-treatment rate and lower over-treatment rates. The cost per true case treated using a combination of risk factors, speculum examination and microscopy was euro 24.08. A halving and tripling of NG/CT prevalence would have approximately the inverse impact on the cost-effectiveness estimates. Management of NG/CT in Bulgaria was improved by the use of a syndromic approach that included risk scores. Approaches that did not rely on microscopy lost sensitivity but were more cost effective.

  9. SOFIA FORCAST Far-IR Photometry of Comet ISON and Constraints on the Coma Grain Size Distribution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wooden, D. H.; DeBuizer, J. M.; Kelley, M. S.; Woodward, C. E.; Harker, D. E.; Reach, W. T.; Sitko, M. L.; Russell, R. W.; Gehrz, R. D.; dePater, Imke; hide

    2014-01-01

    Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) was unique in that it was a dynamically new comet derived from the nearly isotropic Oort cloud reservoir of comets with a sun-grazing orbit. Infrared (IR) observations were executed on NASA's Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) by the FORCAST instrument on 2013 October 25 UT (r(sub h)=1.18 AU, Delta=1.5AU). Photometry was obtained in FORCAST filters centered at 11.1, 19.7, and 31.5 micron. The observations compliment a large world-wide effort to observe and characterize comet ISON.

  10. Seismic safety review mission to assist in the evaluation of the design of seismic upgrading for Kozloduy NPP. Sofia, Bulgaria, 19-23 October 1992

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma, D.; Prato, C.; Godoy, A.

    1992-10-01

    A seismic Safety Review Mission to assist in the evaluation of the design of seismic upgrading for Kozloduy NPP was performed in Sofia from 19-23 October 1992. The objectives of the mission were to assist the Bulgarian authorities in: the evaluation of the floor response spectra of the main buildings of units 1-4 at Kozloduy NPP, calculated for the new defined seismic parameters at site (Review Level Earthquake - RLE); the evaluation of the remedial and strengthening measures proposed for the seismic upgrading of the pump house and diesel generator buildings to the new defined RLE. This mission completed the scope of previous IAEA mission - BUL/9/012-18b - (see Report 3262) performed from 3-7 August 1992, with regard to tasks which were not evaluated at that time because they had not been finished. 2 tabs

  11. FIRST SCIENCE RESULTS FROM SOFIA/FORCAST: SUPER-RESOLUTION IMAGING OF THE S140 CLUSTER AT 37 {mu}m

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harvey, Paul M. [Astronomy Department, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C1400, Austin, TX 78712-0259 (United States); Adams, Joseph D.; Herter, Terry L.; Gull, George; Schoenwald, Justin, E-mail: pmh@astro.as.utexas.edu, E-mail: jdadams@astro.cornell.edu, E-mail: tlh10@cornell.edu, E-mail: geg3@cornell.edu, E-mail: jps10@cornell.edu [Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Space Science Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); and others

    2012-04-20

    We present 37 {mu}m imaging of the S140 complex of infrared sources centered on IRS1 made with the FORCAST camera on SOFIA. These observations are the longest wavelength imaging to resolve clearly the three main sources seen at shorter wavelengths, IRS 1, 2, and 3, and are nearly at the diffraction limit of the 2.5 m telescope. We also obtained a small number of images at 11 and 31 {mu}m that are useful for flux measurement. Our images cover the area of several strong submillimeter sources seen in the area-SMM 1, 2, and 3-that are not coincident with any mid-infrared sources and are not visible in our longer wavelength imaging either. Our new observations confirm previous estimates of the relative dust optical depth and source luminosity for the components in this likely cluster of early B stars. We also investigate the use of super-resolution to go beyond the basic diffraction limit in imaging on SOFIA and find that the van Cittert algorithm, together with the 'multi-resolution' technique, provides excellent results.

  12. SoFIA: a data integration framework for annotating high-throughput datasets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Childs, Liam Harold; Mamlouk, Soulafa; Brandt, Jörgen; Sers, Christine; Leser, Ulf

    2016-09-01

    Integrating heterogeneous datasets from several sources is a common bioinformatics task that often requires implementing a complex workflow intermixing database access, data filtering, format conversions, identifier mapping, among further diverse operations. Data integration is especially important when annotating next generation sequencing data, where a multitude of diverse tools and heterogeneous databases can be used to provide a large variety of annotation for genomic locations, such a single nucleotide variants or genes. Each tool and data source is potentially useful for a given project and often more than one are used in parallel for the same purpose. However, software that always produces all available data is difficult to maintain and quickly leads to an excess of data, creating an information overload rather than the desired goal-oriented and integrated result. We present SoFIA, a framework for workflow-driven data integration with a focus on genomic annotation. SoFIA conceptualizes workflow templates as comprehensive workflows that cover as many data integration operations as possible in a given domain. However, these templates are not intended to be executed as a whole; instead, when given an integration task consisting of a set of input data and a set of desired output data, SoFIA derives a minimal workflow that completes the task. These workflows are typically fast and create exactly the information a user wants without requiring them to do any implementation work. Using a comprehensive genome annotation template, we highlight the flexibility, extensibility and power of the framework using real-life case studies. https://github.com/childsish/sofia/releases/latest under the GNU General Public License liam.childs@hu-berlin.de Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. Fossil birds in the National Museum of Natural History, Sofia: composition, development and scientific value

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boev, Z.N.

    2005-01-01

    A review of the fossil and subfossil avian record kept in Bulgaria is presented. The only collection of fossil birds in Bulgaria was established in the 1980s. 99.6% originates from 98 localities throughout Bulgaria. Foreign fossils originate from Azerbaijan, Greece, Hungary, Namibia and New Zealand.

  14. Bulgaria ,Boosting Energy Cooperation with China Interview with Deputy Minster Yaneva, Ministry of Economy and Energy, the Republic of Bulgaria

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2007-01-01

    @@ Deputy Minister Yaneva of Economy and Energy, the Republic of Bulgaria, a nice lady with outstanding talents, headed a delegation of Bulgaria to visit China in late June, for the participation at the 13th Bulgarian-Chinese Intergovernmental Commission for Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technical Cooperation. As an important instrument, the Joint Commission played a significant role in promoting the overall development of the bilateral economic relations.

  15. Strategy for Sustainable Utilization of IRT-Sofia Research Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitev, M.; Apostolov, T.; Ilieva, K.; Belousov, S.; Nonova, T.

    2013-01-01

    The Research Reactor IRT-2000 in Sofia is in process of reconstruction into a low-power reactor of 200 kW under the decision of the Council of Ministers of Republic of Bulgaria from 2001. The reactor will be utilized for development and preservation of nuclear science, skills, and knowledge; implementation of applied methods and research; education of students and training of graduated physicists and engineers in the field of nuclear science and nuclear energy; development of radiation therapy facility. Nuclear energy has a strategic place within the structure of the country’s energy system. In that aspect, the research reactor as a material base, and its scientific and technical personnel, represent a solid basis for the development of nuclear energy in our country. The acquired scientific experience and qualification in reactor operation are a precondition for the equal in rights participation of the country in the international cooperation and the approaching to the European structures, and assurance of the national interests. Therefore, the operation and use of the research reactor brings significant economic benefits for the country. For education of students in nuclear energy, reactor physics experiments for measurements of static and kinetic reactor parameters will be carried out on the research reactor. The research reactor as a national base will support training and applied research, keep up the good practice and the preparation of specialists who are able to monitor radioactivity sources, to develop new methods for detection of low quantities of radioactive isotopes which are hard to find, for deactivation and personal protection. The reactor will be used for production of isotopes needed for medical therapy and diagnostics; it will be the neutron source in element activation analysis having a number of applications in industrial production, medicine, chemistry, criminology, etc. The reactor operation will increase the public understanding, confidence

  16. Pointing and control system performance and improvement strategies for the SOFIA Airborne Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graf, Friederike; Reinacher, Andreas; Jakob, Holger; Lampater, Ulrich; Pfueller, Enrico; Wiedemann, Manuel; Wolf, Jürgen; Fasoulas, Stefanos

    2016-07-01

    The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has already successfully conducted over 300 flights. In its early science phase, SOFIA's pointing requirements and especially the image jitter requirements of less than 1 arcsec rms have driven the design of the control system. Since the first observation flights, the image jitter has been gradually reduced by various control mechanisms. During smooth flight conditions, the current pointing and control system allows us to achieve the standards set for early science on SOFIA. However, the increasing demands on the image size require an image jitter of less than 0.4 arcsec rms during light turbulence to reach SOFIA's scientific goals. The major portion of the remaining image motion is caused by deformation and excitation of the telescope structure in a wide range of frequencies due to aircraft motion and aerodynamic and aeroacoustic effects. Therefore the so-called Flexible Body Compensation system (FBC) is used, a set of fixed-gain filters to counteract the structural bending and deformation. Thorough testing of the current system under various flight conditions has revealed a variety of opportunities for further improvements. The currently applied filters have solely been developed based on a FEM analysis. By implementing the inflight measurements in a simulation and optimization, an improved fixed-gain compensation method was identified. This paper will discuss promising results from various jitter measurements recorded with sampling frequencies of up to 400 Hz using the fast imaging tracking camera.

  17. The Online Learning Knowledge Garden: A Pedagogic Planning Tool for e-Learning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Scott, Bernard

    2006-01-01

    Please, cite this publication as: Scott, B. (2006). The Online Learning Knowledge Garden: A Pedagogic Planning Tool for e-Learning. Proceedings of International Workshop in Learning Networks for Lifelong Competence Development, TENCompetence Conference. March 30th-31st, Sofia, Bulgaria:

  18. Integrating IMS LD and IMS QTIv2 using CopperCore Service Integration

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vogten, Hubert

    2006-01-01

    Vogten, H. (2006). Integrating IMS LD and IMS QTIv2 using CopperCore Service Integration. Presentation at International Workshop in Learning Networks for Lifelong Competence Development. March, 30-31, 2006. Sofia, Bulgaria: TENCompetence Conference. Retrieved June 30th, 2006, from

  19. Sofia entre mujeres

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    García Serrano, Yolanda

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Sofia Coppola ha tenido que luchar para lograr un reconocimiento propio como guionista y directora. Con tan sólo tres largometrajes en su haber, ha demostrado al público y a la crítica que su talento es independiente de su apellido. El aislamiento, la juventud, los hijos o el erotismo son temas coincidentes en las tres películas, donde la mujer brilla por encima de todo. Sus protagonistas nos hablan de las preocupaciones inherentes a su edad: qué hacer con el futuro, lo difícil que es amar, las primeras relaciones, el sexo, las relaciones materno-filiales, el miedo. En una palabra: la vida. Y de todo ello nos habla con personalidad propia y un punto de vista original, lo más difícil de encontrar en esta profesión.

  20. Economical issues on radiotherapy establishment in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gabrovski, R.; Hadjieva, T.

    2001-01-01

    On the ground of accurate cost analysis for construction and operation of a new radiotherapy center an average cost of radiotherapy (RT) per patient in Bulgaria has been estimated. There is a lack of Bulgarian economical standard for RT center. As a country of comparable population and cancer incidence rate Belgian economical approach was implemented. A base for standard cost for RT are investment costs for buildings, installations, salaries and supply in ratio of 5 : 72 : 7 : 12 : 4. A minimal cost per patient was worked out for a big center if 1500 - 2000 cases are treated per year. It is calculated to be 750 - 800 Euro for regular treatment and up to 900 Euro, if high technology is applied. Comparison to standard cost per patient in USA and European Community countries reveals 3.5 - 5 fold lower figures. The reason is a different cost structure: mainly very low expenses foe salaries, lower prices for buildings and other hospital expenditure. High technology appliance is not cost effective for the small RT centers. The initial investment of 20 - 25 mill Euro are urgently needed to decrease partly the gap between European and Bulgarian RT. Providing such funds is of fundamental importance for Bulgarian RT. (authors)

  1. VizieR Online Data Catalog: SOFIA Massive (SOMA) Star Formation Survey. I. (De Buizer+, 2017)

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Buizer, J. M.; Liu, M.; Tan, J. C.; Zhang, Y.; Beltran, M. T.; Shuping, R.; Staff, J. E.; Tanaka, K. E. I.; Whitney, B.

    2018-02-01

    The following eight sources, AFGL 4029, AFGL 437, IRAS 07299-1651, G35.20-0.74, G45.45+0.05, IRAS 20126+4104, Cepheus A, and NGC 7538 IRS9, were observed by SOFIA with the FORCAST instrument (see Table 1). Data were taken on multiple flights spanning the Early Science period, Cycle 1, and Cycle 2 SOFIA observing cycles (spanning 2011 May to 2014 June). (4 data files).

  2. Development of Bioethics and Clinical Ethics in Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aleksandrova-Yankulovska, Silviya S

    2017-03-01

    Bioethics and clinical ethics emerged from the classical medical ethics in the 1970s of the 20th century. Both fields are new for the Bulgarian academic tradition. The aims of this paper were to demarcate the subject fields of medical ethics, bioethics, and clinical ethics, to present the developments in the field of medical ethics in Bulgaria, to delineate the obstacles to effective ethics education of medical professionals, and to present the results of the application of an adapted bottom-up methodology for clinical ethics consultation in several clinical units in Bulgaria. Extended literature review and application of an adapted METAP methodology for clinical ethics consultation in six clinical units in the Northern Bulgaria between May 2013 and December 2014. Teaching of medical ethics in Bulgaria was introduced in the 1990s and still stands mainly as theoretical expertise without sufficient dilemma training in clinical settings. Earlier studies revealed need of clinical ethics consultation services in our country. METAP methodology was applied in 69 ethics meetings. In 31.9% of them non-medical considerations affected the choice of treatment and 34.8% resulted in reaching consensus between the team and the patient. Participants' opinion about the meetings was highly positive with 87.7% overall satisfaction. Development of bioethics in Bulgaria follows recent worldwide trends. Several ideas could be applied towards increasing the effectiveness of ethics education. Results of the ethics meetings lead to the conclusion that it is a successful and well accepted approach for clinical ethics consultation with a potential for wider introduction in our medical practice.

  3. Problems in the Deployment of Learning Networks In Small Organizations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shankle, Dean E.; Shankle, Jeremy P.

    2006-01-01

    Please, cite this publication as: Shankle, D.E., & Shankle, J.P. (2006). Problems in the Deployment of Learning Networks In Small Organizations. Proceedings of International Workshop in Learning Networks for Lifelong Competence Development, TENCompetence Conference. March 30th-31st, Sofia, Bulgaria:

  4. The uranium industry of Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pool, T.C.

    1991-01-01

    For 45 years, the Bulgarian uranium industry operated behind an impenetrable veil of secrecy. As this veil is slowly lifted, the breadth and structure of the industry are becoming apparent-and so are the problems. Bulgaria's uranium industry began in 1945 with the evaluation of several uranium mineral occurrences in the Balkan Mountains. These occurrences provided to be mineable deposits and became the foundation for a continuing program of exploration and development. Mining commenced in 1946, and all production was exported under contract to the Soviet Union in exchange for an eventual supply of fabricated nuclear fuel. In concert with most other countries of the COMECON block, Bulgaria's exploration and development program reached its zenith in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Like other COMECON countries, the contract with the Soviet Union was reduced during the 1980s and finally terminated. The Bulgarian uranium industry now is under substantial pressure to: (1) Maintain uranium production as a base of support for its 10,000 employees. (2) Develop mineral deposits other than uranium as a replacement for high-cost uranium production. (3) Clean up past and present production sites, most of which have significant environmental problems. The probability of successfully completing these three tasks without outside assistance is limited. Bulgaria's almost complete dependence for four and a half decades on Soviet aid, contracts, and technology has taken its toll

  5. Computer Simulation in Information and Communication Engineering

    CERN Multimedia

    Anton Topurov

    2005-01-01

    CSICE'05 Sofia, Bulgaria 20th - 22nd October, 2005 On behalf of the International Scientific Committee, we would like to invite you all to Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria, to the International Conference in Computer Simulation in Information and Communication Engineering CSICE'05. The Conference is aimed at facilitating the exchange of experience in the field of computer simulation gained not only in traditional fields (Communications, Electronics, Physics...) but also in the areas of biomedical engineering, environment, industrial design, etc. The objective of the Conference is to bring together lectures, researchers and practitioners from different countries, working in the fields of computer simulation in information engineering, in order to exchange information and bring new contribution to this important field of engineering design and education. The Conference will bring you the latest ideas and development of the tools for computer simulation directly from their inventors. Contribution describ...

  6. Seismic safety review mission for the follow-up of the seismic upgrading of Kozloduy NPP (Units 1-4). Sofia, Bulgaria, 16-20 November 1992

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    David, M.; Shibata, H.; Stevenson, J.D.; Godoy, A.; Gurpinar, A.

    1992-11-01

    A Seismic Safety Review Mission for the follow-up of the design and implementation of the seismic upgrading of Kozloduy NPP was performed in Sofia from 16-20 November 1992. This mission continued the second task of the follow-up activities of the design and implementation of the seismic upgrading (Phases 1 and 2), which is being carried out in Units 1 and 2 of the NPP. Thus the objectives of the mission was to assist the Bulgarian authorities in the technical evaluation of the design tasks defined for Phases 1 and 2 item HB of WANO 6 Month Programme, as follows: anchorage upgrades of low seismic capacity components; list of seismic safety related systems and components; detailed walkdown to assess seismic capacity of components and define priorities for the upgrading; determination of seismic structural capacity of pump house, diesel generator building and turbine building and design of required upgrades; liquefaction potential evaluation. Tabs

  7. Assessment of genetically significant doses to the Sofia population from natural gamma background

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasilev, G.; Khristova, M.

    1977-01-01

    Genetically significant dose to the population of Sofia city was assessed within a program covering larger urban communities in the country. Measurements were made of gamma background exposure rates in the gonadal region. Gonad doses were estimated using a screening factor of 0.73. Based on statistical data for total number of inhabitants and number of people of reproductive age, and on the mean annual gonad doses derived, calculations were made of genetically significant dose to the Sofia population. Base-line data were thus provided for an assessment of extra radiation dose resulting from occupational radiation exposure. (author)

  8. The first report of the prevalence of Nosema ceranae in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rositsa Shumkova

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae are the two main microsporidian parasites causing nosematosis in the honey bee Apis mellifera. The aim of the present study is to investigate the presence of Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae in the area of Bulgaria. The 16S (SSU rDNA gene region was chosen for analysis. A duplex PCR assay was performed on 108 honey bee samples from three different parts of the country (South, North and West Bulgaria. The results showed that the samples from the northern part of the country were with the highest prevalence (77.2% for Nosema ceranae while those from the mountainous parts (the Rodopa Mountains, South Bulgaria were with the lowest rate (13.9%. Infection with Nosema apis alone and co-infection N. apis/N. ceranae were not detected in any samples. These findings suggest that Nosema ceranae is the dominant species in the Bulgarian honey bee. It is not known when the introduction of Nosema ceranae in Bulgaria has occurred, but as in the rest of the world, this species has become the dominant one in Bulgarian Apis mellifera. In conclusion, this is the first report for molecular detection of Nosema infection of honey bee in Bulgaria. The results showed that N. ceranae is the main Nosema species in Bulgaria.

  9. ISO 9001 certification for hospitals in Bulgaria: does it help service?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoimenova, Assena; Stoilova, Ani; Petrova, Guenka

    2014-03-04

    The aim of our study is to review the published literature on establishment and implementation of ISO 9001 QMS in European hospitals, to study the availability of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) quality management systems (QMS) in Bulgarian hospitals and to outline the main advantages of ISO implementation in the hospitals in Bulgaria. The information on availability of ISO QMS in the hospitals in Bulgaria was gathered via Bulgarian certification register, the registries of various quality associations, websites of hospitals and certification companies presented in Bulgaria. A total number of 312 hospitals in Bulgaria were screened for the availability of QMS certified against the ISO 9001 requirements. The experience of European hospitals that implemented QMS is positive and the used approaches to improve the processes and the demonstrated effects from ISO implementation are analysed by the researchers. Unlike other European Union member states, the establishment of quality management systems in Bulgaria is not compulsory. However, our study revealed that 14.42% of the hospitals in Bulgaria have implemented and have certified quality systems against the requirements of ISO 9001. Our study confirmed that a quality management system using the ISO 9001 standard is useful for the hospitals as it can help to increase the operational efficiencies, to reduce errors, improve patient safety and produce a more preventive approach instead of a reactive environment.

  10. Shakespeare arean hypertexts in communist Bulgaria Shakespeare arean hypertexts in communist Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Shurbanov

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Since the first days of the reception of Shakespeare’s work in Bulgaria during the second half of the nineteenth century down to the present time two of his tragedies, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, have held an unrivalled sway on the national stage and over the people’s minds. Another one, Othello, was produced very frequently in the beginning, though often by non-Bulgarian troupes, and yet another, Macbeth, was a set text at the schools for many decades but rarely took the fancy of theatre directors and audiences. Since the first days of the reception of Shakespeare’s work in Bulgaria during the second half of the nineteenth century down to the present time two of his tragedies, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, have held an unrivalled sway on the national stage and over the people’s minds. Another one, Othello, was produced very frequently in the beginning, though often by non-Bulgarian troupes, and yet another, Macbeth, was a set text at the schools for many decades but rarely took the fancy of theatre directors and audiences.

  11. IRT‑Sofia, HEU to LEU conversion: regulatory approval tasks solution overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitev, Mladen; Belousov, Sergey; Dimitrov, Dobromir

    2014-01-01

    The HEU to LEU conversion of the IRT–Sofia research reactor of the Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences was jointly studied with the Argonne National Laboratory as a part of the RERTR Programme. The main purpose of the collaboration consisted in accomplishment of safety analyses and preparation of documents used for regulatory approval tasks solution. The main steps and results which are fundamental for the preparation of IRT–Sofia Safety Analyses Report including Operating Limits and Conditions are presented in this paper. The documents prepared by INRNE in accordance with the European nuclear safety requirements and IAEA recommendations were submitted for approval to the Bulgarian Nuclear Regulatory Agency at the end of 2010. Key words: research reactor, safety analyses report, Nuclear Regulatory Agency

  12. SOFIA - A simulation tool for bottom founded and floating offshore structures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Morten Eggert; Ulriksen, Martin Dalgaard; Damkilde, Lars

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents a recently developed simulation tool, SOFIA (Simulation Of Floaters In Action), suitable for modeling slender bottom founded and moored/freely floating space frame structures exposed to environmental loads. In contrast to traditional rigid body formulations of floating...... and structure domains, which are coupled through the structural equation of motion. The structural domain is handled by means of the finite element method, while large displacements and stress stiffening effects, exhibited by moored floating structures, are inherently included due to a co-rotational element...... formulation. The fluid domain is modeled by an appropriate water wave theory, and the hydrodynamic loads are evaluated at the instantaneous fluid-structure interface by means of a relative Morison equation. The equation of motion is solved in time domain, which makes SOFIA capable of handling bottom founded...

  13. Spent fuel disposal problem in Bulgaria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Milanov, M; Stefanova, I [Bylgarska Akademiya na Naukite, Sofia (Bulgaria). Inst. za Yadrena Izsledvaniya i Yadrena Energetika

    1994-12-31

    The internationally agreed basic safety principles and criteria for spent fuel (SF) and high level waste (HLW) disposal are outlined. In the framework of these principles the specific problems of Bulgaria described in the `National Concept for Radioactive Waste Management and Disposal in Republic of Bulgaria` are discussed. The possible alternatives for spent fuel management are: (1) sending the spent fuel for disposal in other country; (2) once-through cycle and (3) closed fuel cycle. A mixed solution of the problem is implemented in Bulgaria. According to the agreement between Bulgaria and former Soviet Union a part of the spent fuel has been returned to Russia. The once-through and closed-fuel cycle are also considered. The projected cumulated amount of spent fuel is estimated for two cases: (1) the six units of Kozloduy NPP are in operation till the end of their lifetime (3300 tHM) and (2) low estimate (2700 tHM) - only units 5 and 6 are operated till the end of their lifetime. The reprocessing of the total amount of 3300 tHM will lead to the production of about 370 m{sup 3} vitrified high level wastes. Together with the HLW about 1850 m{sup 3} cladding hulls and 7800 m{sup 3} intermediate-level wastes will be generated, which should be disposed off in deep geological repository. The total production of radioactive waste in once-through cycle is 181 000 m{sup 3}, and in closed cycle - 190 000 m{sup 3}. Geological investigations are performed resulting in categorization of the territory of the country based on geological, geotechnical and hydrogeological conditions. This will facilitate the choice of the most suitable location for deep geological repository. 7 figs., 11 refs.

  14. Study of the pollution exchange between Bulgaria and Northern Greece

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zerefos, C.; Vasaras, A.; Syrakov, D.; Ganev, K.

    2000-01-01

    The present work aims at a detailed study and explanation of the pollution transport in the air basin over South-Western Bulgaria and Northern Greece and assessment of the air pollution exchange between Bulgaria and Greece. Some well known specific climatic air pollution effects were studied and explained. Calculations were made of the S0 2 pollution of the Balkan peninsula from both Greek and Bulgarian sources for 1995 and the country to country pollution budget diagrams were build. Days with extreme mean concentration for Bulgaria and Northern Greece were picked out and some further specification of the contribution of the different sources in both the countries to these cases of extreme pollution was made. Some preliminary studies of possible mesoscale effects on the pollution exchange between Bulgaria and northern Greece were carried out. A three-layer pollution transport model with more complex chemistry block was introduced and some preliminary simulations of Sulfur and Nitrogen compounds transport were performed. (author)

  15. Dynamics in the devolopment of donkey population in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Vlaeva

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the recent study was to trace back the development of the donkey population in Bulgaria for the period 1950 – 2015. For that purpose the data from the National Statistic Institute and FAO was processed and other sources related to the problem were analyzed. Donkeys in Bulgaria used to be a comparatively large share of the traction power animals in the past, with the occurance of the social and economical changes after 1990 their number was dramatically reduced. This process is most noticeable after 2000, when for five year period until 2005 the donkey population in Bulgaria drops down from 207000 to 90000 individuals, as in 2013 this number falls down to 35000 according to FAO.

  16. Bulgaria: Ethnic differentials in rapidly declining fertility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimiter Philipov

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available This chapter provides a detailed description of the fertility changes in Bulgaria during recent decades and discusses possible reasons and consequences. It also gives an overview of the steps that the government has undertaken to offset the considerable decline in fertility. Before the fall of communism, fertility trends in Bulgaria were stable and characterized by a nearly universal entry into parenthood, dominance of a two-child family model, an early start and early end of childbearing, stable mean ages at entry into childbearing and marriage, and low percentages of non-marital births. During the 1990s and in the first years of the new century, we observe a marked, rapid change in fertility behaviour. Together with the severe decline in overall fertility rates, demographic data reveal a significant postponement of entry into motherhood and marriage, a decline of the two-child family model, and an emergence of new family forms. Most research attributes these changes to the particular political and social situation in Bulgaria since 1989.

  17. Control of absorbed dose in radiotherapy with 60 Co units

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Penchev, V.; Constantinov, B.; Buchakliev, Z.

    2000-01-01

    A Network for External Quality Audit has been developed and established in Bulgaria by the Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory (SSDL) - Sofia. The results prove the usefulness of the TL Postal Dose programme in helping Bulgarian radiotherapy departments improve and maintain the consistency of patient doses in clinically acceptable level. The participation of the SSDL-Sofia in the IAEA Quality Audit Programme confirms the quite satisfactory accuracy of the therapy level dose measurements and determination achieved. The role of the SSDL is critical in providing traceable calibration to hospitals

  18. Procedures for selecting and buying district heating equipment. Sofia district heating. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-11-01

    The aim of this Final Report, prepared for the project `Procedures for Selecting and Buying DistRict Heating Equipment - Sofia District Heating Company`, is to establish an overview of the activities accomplished, the outputs delivered and the general experience gained as a result of the project. The main objective of the project is to enable Sofia District Heating Company to prepare specifications and tender documents, identify possible suppliers, evaluate offers, etc. in connection with purchase of district heating equipment. This objective has been reached by using rehabilitation of sub-stations as an example requested by Sofia DH. The project was originally planned to be finalized end of 1995, but due to the extensions of the scope of work, the project has been prolonged until end 1997. The following main activities were accomplished: Preparation of a detailed work plan; Collection of background information; Discussion and advice about technical specifications and tender documents for sub-station rehabilitation; Input to terms of reference for a master plan study; Input to technical specification for heat meters; Collection of ideas for topics and examples related to dissemination of information to consumers about matters related to district heating consumption. (EG)

  19. Wind energy potential in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shtrakov, Stanko Vl.

    2009-01-01

    In this study, wind characteristic and wind energy potential in Bulgaria were analyzed using the wind speed data. The wind energy potential at different sites in Bulgaria has been investigated by compiling data from different sources and analyzing it using a software tool. The wind speed distribution curves were obtained by using the Weibull and Rayleigh probability density functions. The results relating to wind energy potential are given in terms of the monthly average wind speed, wind speed probability density function (PDF), wind speed cumulative density function (CDF), and wind speed duration curve. A technical and economic assessment has been made of electricity generation from three wind turbines having capacity of (60, 200, and 500 kW). The yearly energy output capacity factor and the electrical energy cost of kWh produced by the three different turbines were calculated

  20. Excavating the Psyche: A Social History of Soviet Psychiatry in Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chehirian, Julian

    2018-06-01

    This article investigates how an imported Soviet psychiatric model affected Bulgarians who experienced psychological crisis by examining therapeutic possibilities that were available and foreclosed in the People's Republic of Bulgaria. Bulgarians struggling with psychological disorders in the present day experience polar forms of marginalization: non-recognition on one extreme, and chronic medicalization on the other. Both tendencies can be traced to the Communist-period remodeling of mental healthcare, which outlawed private practice and individual-centered therapy, which reified empirically observable, physiological underpinnings of pathology while suppressing therapies that engaged with the existential context of mental illness. I argue that the reproduction of a Soviet psychiatric model instigated a modernization process but failed to anticipate the idiosyncrasy of economic and social conditions within the country. Furthermore, that this model rejected a therapeutic focus on the individual but developed no effective alternative for identifying and treating subjective characteristics of mental illness. Bulgaria's history of psychiatry has received little scholarly attention beyond Bulgarian psychiatrists who documented the development of their field. This article presents archival, literary and oral history footholds towards the development of a social history of Bulgarian psychiatry-a perspective that is especially and problematically missing.

  1. TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIC FARMING IN BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valentina AGAPIEVA

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to follow trends in the development of organic farming in Bulgaria, and to identify the factors’ strength and direction of their impact on organic production of agricultural products. The study covers the period from 2003 to 2013 and is based on information from official statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and the author's own research. There are distinct rates of increase in both areas and organic agricultural production in Bulgaria. While in 2003 the areas under organic management are 8,364 ha by 2013 they numbered 56, 287 ha. Bulgaria has a high potential for production and export of organic agricultural products fresh and processed, but significantly lags behind other European countries. However, there is increasing momentum in organic farming, driven by a group of economic, market, social and legislative initiatives. The main reason for this growth is consumer demand of organic products in Bulgaria. In general, the motivations of Bulgarian consumers of organic products are related to the benefits for health and the environment, to the improvement of food quality and to the support of local small farmers, communities and markets.

  2. Traditsioonilise folkloori käekäik Bulgaarias / Rahel Laura Vesik

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Vesik, Rahel Laura

    2008-01-01

    Arvustus: Живи човешки съкровища - Бьлгария: Living Human Treasures Bulgaria. Sofia : Academic Publishing House Marin Drinov, 2004. Kokkuvõte Bulgaaria Folkloori Instituudi UNESCO projektist

  3. Lidar investigations of atmospheric aerosols over Sofia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dreischuh, T.; Deleva, A.; Peshev, Z.; Grigorov, I.; Kolarov, G.; Stoyanov, D.

    2016-01-01

    An overview is given of the laser remote sensing of atmospheric aerosols and related processes over the Sofia area performed in the Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, during the last three years. Results from lidar investigations of the optical characteristics of atmospheric aerosols obtained in the frame of the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network, as well as from the lidar mapping of near-surface aerosol fields for remote monitoring of atmospheric pollutants are presented and discussed in this paper.

  4. Analysis of selected indicators of winegrowing and wine-production industries in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiří Duda

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with industry analysis of winegrowing and wine-production in Bulgaria and in the Czech Republic. The analysis is more focused on winegrowing and wine-production in Bulgaria with the aim to present the less known information.The annual production of wine in Bulgaria amounts for about 2 million hectoliters, being mostly proce- ssed by industrial producers, even though the area of productive vineyards is decreasing by almost 33% to the level of 100 000 hectares. Czech Republic has a lower area of vineyards than Bulgaria, and thanks to the higher yields per hectare it produces about 0.5 million hectoliters of wine. Wine consumption is also different – Czech Republic reaches about 75% of consumption in Bulgaria.Bulgaria, unlike the Czech Republic, belongs to the wine-export countries, especially focusing on exports of bottled red wine. The most important importers of Bulgarian wine – bottled and cask – are Poland, Russia, Great Britain, and Germany. The average prices of exported bottled wine oscillated around USD 1 per liter, in the monitored period. In case of the cask wine, the prices are almost 50% lower. The prices of wines imported to Bulgaria are slightly lower than prices of wines being exported from Bulgaria. Most of the wine was imported from Moldova and Macedonia, Hungary, and Poland.The wine foreign trade balance of Bulgaria and Czech Republic is active for Bulgaria, which exports about 24 thousand hectoliters of wine to the Czech Republic. Exports of Czech and Moravian wines to Bulgaria are minimal.

  5. ENERDATA energetic line: Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1996-01-01

    Here is a brief description of the energy situation in Bulgaria: in first is given who is responsible of energy policy and then the energy resources and supplies are detailed; the situation of nuclear power is noticed and then the consumption is reviewed with which sector is consumer and how much does it consumes. 2 figs., 1 tab

  6. IN LINE WITH BRUSSELS. ROMANIAN AND BULGARIAN POSITION ON THE UKRAINIAN CRISIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aneta Mihaylova

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The Ukrainian crisis has been a test for the alignment of Romania and Bulgaria with the EU on the background of the Union’s new foreign policy instruments as redesigned by the Lisbon Treaty. This paper aims to present the positions of Bulgaria and Romania towards the events of 2013-2015 in Ukraine. Our research target is to identify the driving forces that shaped these positions, to analyse and describe the main foreign policy goals and actions of Bucharest and Sofia regarding the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and to compare the attitude of these two countries toward the Ukrainian crisis. The paper analyses first the Romanian and the Bulgarian perspectives on the dramatic events in Ukraine in the first half of 2014. The positions of the two countries are further placed in the wider international context of the Ukrainian crisis – the UN resolutions, the EU sanctions against Russia, NATO activities, and the security in the Black Sea region. In the third part Romania and Bulgaria are viewed as a “playground” for the competing narratives and propaganda in regards to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. We also examine the economic impact of the crisis on the two Balkan countries, as well as the efforts of both Bucharest and Sofia to protect their respective minorities in Ukraine. In conclusion, we summarize the results of our research and explain how the Ukrainian crisis has reshaped the foreign policy debates in Romania and Bulgaria.

  7. Photoconductor arrays for a spectral-photometric far-infrared camera on SOFIA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolf, Juergen; Driescher, Hans; Schubert, Josef; Rabanus, D.; Paul, E.; Roesner, K.

    1998-04-01

    The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, is a joint US and German project and will start observations from altitudes up to 45,000 ft in late 2001. The 2.5 m telescope is being developed in Germany while the 747- aircraft modifications and preparation of the observatory's operations center is done by a US consortium. Several research institutions and universities of both countries have started to develop science instruments. The DLR Institute of Space Sensor Technology in Berlin plans on a spectral-photometric camera working in the 20 to 220 micrometers wavelength range, using doped silicon and germanium extrinsic photoconductors in large, 2D arrays: silicon blocked-impurity band detectors, Ge:Ga and stressed Ge:Ga. While the silicon array will be commercially available, the germanium arrays have to be developed, including their cryogenic multiplexers. Partner institutions in Germany and the US will support the development of the instrument and its observations.

  8. 11th Congress of South-East European Studies. Sofia 2015

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirella Korzeniewska-Wiszniewska

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available 11th Congress of South-East European Studies. Sofia 2015 The 11th Congress of South-East European Studies took place in Sofia, Bulgaria, between 31 August and 4 September 2015. It was organised by the International Association for Southeast European Studies (orig. in French: AIESEE – Associacion Internationale d’ Études du Sud-Est Européen. South-Eastern Europe is an area looked upon by world powers with a large amount of ambivalence. As the region’s states are not considered to be key global players, the events that occur in this part of the continent draw interest that is cyclical in nature and that is usually triggered by cyclical issues, too. Though relatively small, the area has been a point of interest for many researchers for over 100 years due to its ethnic diversity and the related inherent multi-nationality the scale of which is not encountered anywhere else in Europe. The cultural, linguistic, and religious pluralism of this region often produces specific social amalgams. With the cyclical interest aside, for a little more than a century the main European (and not only European political powers have been making efforts to exert influence in the region, understanding the significance of its geographic location, where East meets West. Regardless of the changing dynamics of interest in South-Eastern Europe, the region will certainly remain one of the most fascinating focus areas for researchers and academics across the world, who will meet again not in five, but in four years at another congress this time to be held in Romanian Constanţa to discuss issues and topics related to this corner of the world.   11. Kongres AIESEE, Sofia 2015 W dniach od 31 sierpnia do 4 września 2015 r. w Sofii (Bułgaria odbył się 11 Kongres Studiów nad Europą Południowo-Wschodnią, zorganizowany przez Międzynarodowe Stowarzyszenie Studiów nad Europą Południowo-Wschodnią (AIESEE - Associacion Internationale d’ Études du Sud-Est Europ

  9. Christo Deltshev & Pavel Stoev (eds) (2006): European Arachnology 2005, Acta zoologica bulgaria, Suppl. No. 1; Proceedings of the 22nd European Colloquium of Arachnology, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, 1-6 August 2005

    OpenAIRE

    Kunz, Dirk

    2006-01-01

    book review: Christo Deltshev & Pavel Stoev (eds) (2006): European Arachnology 2005, Acta zoologica bulgaria, Suppl. No. 1; Proceedings of the 22nd European Colloquium of Arachnology, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, 1-6 August 2005

  10. The development and prospects of nuclear power in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tadzher, O.

    1983-01-01

    Electric power has a vital role to play at the present stage of development of technology and production. Technical progress, and indeed the practical utilization of the achievements wrought by the scientific and technical revolution in all areas of the national economy, depend on the degree of development of electric power. The most characteristic, and a qualitatively new, factor in Bulgaria's power production is the accelerated development of nuclear power, which favours a great concentration of capacity and allows improvements in the technical and economic performance of power systems. In 1974 the first reactor of the Kozloduj nuclear power station went into operation, making Bulgaria one of the first 20 countries to have nuclear power. Today Kozloduj annually generates more than 9000 million kW.h of electricity, representing almost 28% of Bulgaria's total electric power. At the beginning of 1982 a fourth reactor is to be commissioned at Kozloduj, raising the power station's total capacity to 1760 MW. In 1981 the Kozloduj station produced 9075 million kW.h of electric power, thus performing above the design figure. This power station is one of the most reliable and stable sources pf power in Bulgaria's system. The average annual utilization of installed capacity is about 7000 h, giving Kozloduj in this respect a higher rating than that achieved at a number of other nuclear power plants elsewhere in the world. Nuclear power development in Bulgaria is closely associated with the concentration of capacity, a characteristic feature of technical progress in the field of power production. By 1987 the installed capacity will rise to 3760 MW at Kozloduj, where a fifth unit using a WWER-1000 reactor is under construction. The trend toward capacity concentration will continue in the future, and a second nuclear power station with an installed capacity of 4000 MW is being planned. (author)

  11. Bulgarian Rila mountain forest ecosystems study site: site description and SO42-, NO3- deposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karl Zeller; Christo Bojinov; Evgeny Donev; Nedialko Nikolov

    1998-01-01

    Bulgaria's forest ecosystems (31 percent of the country's area) are considered vulnerable to dry and wet pollution deposition. Coniferous forests that cover one-third of the total forest land are particularly sensitive to pollution loads. The USDA Forest Service, Sofia University, and the Bulgarian Forest Research Institute (FRI) established a cooperative...

  12. Country report: Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-01-01

    Bulgaria has only one site with operating nuclear energy reactors - Kozloduy nuclear power plant with six units in operation, four of them are WWER-440 type and two are WWER-1000. Spent fuel is to be stored for a three year period in water pools at reactors and after that to be transported to the away from reactor storage (AFRS) or back to the supplier. The AFRS operator has not been granted operating license until more stringent safety requirements will be met

  13. Calculation of Precipitable Water for Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy Aircraft (SOFIA): Airplane in the Night Sky

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Pey Chun; Busby, Christopher M.

    2011-01-01

    Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, is the new generation airborne observatory station based at NASA s Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility, Palmdale, CA, to study the universe. Since the observatory detects infrared energy, water vapor is a concern in the atmosphere due to its known capacity to absorb infrared energy emitted by astronomical objects. Although SOFIA is hoping to fly above 99% of water vapor in the atmosphere it is still possible to affect astronomical observation. Water vapor is one of the toughest parameter to measure in the atmosphere, several atmosphere modeling are used to calculate water vapor loading. The water vapor loading, or Precipitable water, is being calculated by Matlab along the planned flight path. Over time, these results will help SOFIA to plan flights to regions of lower water vapor loading and hopefully improve the imagery collection of these astronomical features.

  14. A Comparative Review of Demographics, Incidence, and Epidemiology of Histologically Confirmed Intracranial Tumors in Brazil and Bulgaria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarraf, Jonathan S; Matev, Boyko K; Dzhenkov, Deyan L; Kitanova, Martina; Iliev, Bogomil; Ghenev, Peter; Tonchev, Anton B; Enchev, Yavor; Adami, Fernando; De Carvalho, Luis Eduardo W

    2018-01-01

    Intracranial tumors (ICTs) attract numerous scientific teams and tremendous financial resources worldwide. These lesions of the central nervous system (CNS) can be both benign and malignant in biological behavior as well as local or metastatic in origin. We compared data from two studies on primary and metastatic ICTs from Brazil and Bulgaria, based on histopathologically confirmed ICTs from tertiary health centers. Primary ICTs significantly outweigh the frequency of metastatic ICTs. Primary ICTs represent 86.45% in Brazil and 69.17% in Bulgaria, with around 60% of their totals being malignant. There is a statistical dominance of tumors from the neuroepithelial origin, with the most common entry being glioblastoma multiforme. The second-most common primary ICT group comprises tumors of meningeal origin. Metastatic ICTs show great variance; 13.55% in Brazil and 31.38% in Bulgaria of all ICT cases being attributed to them. However, metastatic ICTs are even a more diverse group than neuroepithelial tumors, with the majority of this group comprising metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma (almost exclusively in males), metastatic breast adenocarcinoma in females, metastatic pulmonary carcinomas (primarily from the non-small cell group with a male predominance), and metastatic melanoma with an even gender ratio. PMID:29682433

  15. Parallel Adjective High-Order CFD Simulations Characterizing SOFIA Cavity Acoustics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barad, Michael F.; Brehm, Christoph; Kiris, Cetin C.; Biswas, Rupak

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents large-scale MPI-parallel computational uid dynamics simulations for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). SOFIA is an airborne, 2.5-meter infrared telescope mounted in an open cavity in the aft fuselage of a Boeing 747SP. These simulations focus on how the unsteady ow eld inside and over the cavity interferes with the optical path and mounting structure of the telescope. A temporally fourth-order accurate Runge-Kutta, and spatially fth-order accurate WENO- 5Z scheme was used to perform implicit large eddy simulations. An immersed boundary method provides automated gridding for complex geometries and natural coupling to a block-structured Cartesian adaptive mesh re nement framework. Strong scaling studies using NASA's Pleiades supercomputer with up to 32k CPU cores and 4 billion compu- tational cells shows excellent scaling. Dynamic load balancing based on execution time on individual AMR blocks addresses irregular numerical cost associated with blocks con- taining boundaries. Limits to scaling beyond 32k cores are identi ed, and targeted code optimizations are discussed.

  16. Status, problems and perspectives of the education on nuclear energetics and nuclear safety within the Technical University of Sofia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lakov, M.; Bonev, B.; Stoyanov, S.; Velev, V.

    2004-01-01

    Education on nuclear energetic within the Technical University of Sofia is conducted since 1966 within the framework of the specialty 'Thermal energetic' at that time, and since 1973, within the specialty 'Thermal and nuclear energetic'. In 1986 is opened a college on nuclear energetic teaching on specialty 'Nuclear Energetic' and 'Automation in Energetic'. Since 1998 the department 'Thermal and nuclear energetic' is the only one within the Republic of Bulgaria having the legal rights to train 'engineers-bachelors' and 'engineers-master of science' on 'Thermal and nuclear energetic', as well as doctors - engineers of the same specialty. The bachelor course is graduated from between 40 and 60 students annually. The training within the bachelor level is 4 years and finishes by defending diploma thesis. Part of the graduated bachelors (between 20 and 30 students) are closely specialized in the area of Nuclear Energetic. The specialization is trained through preparation of diploma thesis within the nuclear area. The master course has 3 semesters including preparation of diploma thesis. Within the master level are prepared 25 students annually. Within the sub-division 'Nuclear Energetic' are promulgated between 2 and 4 competitions for preparation of doctoral thesis annually. At the moment 7 students are preparing doctoral thesis. Graduated engineers on 'Nuclear Energetic' are engaged as operative personnel mainly in Kozloduy NPP. The rest of them are engaged within the engineering and scientific organizations, connected to nuclear energetic

  17. PREFACE: Fifteenth International Summer School on Vacuum, Electron and Ion Technologies (VEIT 2007)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerassimov, Nikolay; Möller, Wolfhard; Ghelev, Chavdar

    2008-03-01

    The International Summer School on Vacuum, Electron and Ion Technologies (VEIT) has been organized biannually since 1977. It is a forum for the interchange and dissemination of knowledge and ideas on the latest developments in electron-, ion-, and plasma-assisted technologies. The organizers of the event (since 2001) have been the Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria, the Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research, Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany, and the Evrika Foundation, Sofia, Bulgaria. The fifteenth meeting of VEIT was held in the Black Sea resort of Sozopol, Bulgaria from 17-21 September 2007 and was attended by around 120 participants from 17 countries: Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Pakistan, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, UK and USA. Following the tradition of publishing the VEIT Proceedings, a selection of papers presented at the event is published in this volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series, all peer reviewed to meet the originality and quality criteria of the journal. The school consisted of 11 oral and 3 poster sessions. There were 17 invited talks of general interest and 12 progress reports were presented orally. In total 86 contributed papers were presented during the three poster sessions. There were several scientific highlights covering the fundamentals of gas discharges and interaction of fast particles with solids, a wide range of conventional and novel applications such as for hard coatings and optical/protective layers, nanosized structures produced by evaporation, sputtering or external irradiation. Recent achievements in the modification of materials using charged particles or laser beams, thin layers deposition, properties, and characterization and novel materials, techniques, devices were highlighted. Despite the busy scientific program, the atmosphere was relaxed and informal

  18. Global Empirical Model of the TEC Response to Geomagnetic Activity and Forcing from Below

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-04-01

    Pancheva Plamen Mukhtarov Borislav Andonov National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography Bulgarian Academy of Sciences BL. 3...Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography Bulgarian Academy of Sciences BL. 3 Acad. Georgi Bonchev Sofia 1000 BULGARIA 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION... Geodesy and Geography, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) April 2014 Distribution A: Approved for public release

  19. A Bit of History of Russophilism and Rusofobstvo in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kosik Viktor

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The text of the article is associated with well-known in the history of the phenomena of russophilism a and rusofobstvo in Bulgaria in the nineteenth century. For complex historical background, rich in political surprises, these two opposite phenomena represented in the sayings and poems of the representatives of the Bulgarian national-minded intellectuals — him P., Rakowski, Z. Stoyanov, L. Karavelov, I. Vazov. Some of them were afraid of turning Bulgaria into a Russian province, others saw in the mighty Orthodox and Slavic Russia salvation of his homeland, his people. Still others saw the future of their country in Alliance with the Ottoman Empire and the creation of a dual Turkish-Bulgarian monarchy. Was observed and the change in its position as L. Karavelov underlining in his lines fortress of the Russian-Bulgarian friendship. Marked and attitude of Russian thought through reflections of a Russian diplomat, philosof, and publicist Konstantin Nikolaevich Leontiev to Bulgaria, the Russian-Bulgarian relations, which seemed to him not unlike many of his contemporaries, rainbow. Considerable attention is paid to the «troubled» by many parameters time when, after the Russo-Turkish war of 1877–1878 signifi cant part of the Bulgarian lands had the opportunity to form their own state in the form of a de facto independent from the Ottoman Empire Bulgarian principalities, in which the processes of russophilism and rusofobstvo not only not subsided, but has been further aggravation, especially after accomplished without the knowledge of Russia, the unification of Principality of Bulgaria with southern Bulgaria, not having statehood. In conclusion, given a brief description of russophilism and rusofobstvo.

  20. 76 FR 50283 - Finding Regarding Foreign Social Insurance or Pension System-Bulgaria

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-12

    ... Insurance or Pension System-- Bulgaria AGENCY: Social Security Administration (SSA). ACTION: Notice of finding regarding foreign social insurance or pension system--Bulgaria. Finding: Section 202(t)(1) of the... has in effect a social insurance or pension system which is of general application in such country and...

  1. The SOFIA Mission Control System Software

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heiligman, G. M.; Brock, D. R.; Culp, S. D.; Decker, P. H.; Estrada, J. C.; Graybeal, J. B.; Nichols, D. M.; Paluzzi, P. R.; Sharer, P. J.; Pampell, R. J.; Papke, B. L.; Salovich, R. D.; Schlappe, S. B.; Spriestersbach, K. K.; Webb, G. L.

    1999-05-01

    The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) will be delivered with a computerized mission control system (MCS). The MCS communicates with the aircraft's flight management system and coordinates the operations of the telescope assembly, mission-specific subsystems, and the science instruments. The software for the MCS must be reliable and flexible. It must be easily usable by many teams of observers with widely differing needs, and it must support non-intrusive access for education and public outreach. The technology must be appropriate for SOFIA's 20-year lifetime. The MCS software development process is an object-oriented, use case driven approach. The process is iterative: delivery will be phased over four "builds"; each build will be the result of many iterations; and each iteration will include analysis, design, implementation, and test activities. The team is geographically distributed, coordinating its work via Web pages, teleconferences, T.120 remote collaboration, and CVS (for Internet-enabled configuration management). The MCS software architectural design is derived in part from other observatories' experience. Some important features of the MCS are: * distributed computing over several UNIX and VxWorks computers * fast throughput of time-critical data * use of third-party components, such as the Adaptive Communications Environment (ACE) and the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) * extensive configurability via stored, editable configuration files * use of several computer languages so developers have "the right tool for the job". C++, Java, scripting languages, Interactive Data Language (from Research Systems, Int'l.), XML, and HTML will all be used in the final deliverables. This paper reports on work in progress, with the final product scheduled for delivery in 2001. This work was performed for Universities Space Research Association for NASA under contract NAS2-97001.

  2. Venezia Kuldlõvi võitis tänavu Sofia Coppola / Andres Laasik

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Laasik, Andres, 1960-2016

    2010-01-01

    67. Venezia rahvusvahelise filmifestivali auhinnasaajatest. Parim film: Sofia Coppola "Kusagil", parim lavastaja poolakas Jerzy Skolomowski ("Sisuline tapmine"), parim meesnäitleja Vincent Gallo ("Sisuline tapmine"), parim naisnäitleja Ariane Labed ("Attenberg"). Marcello Mastroianni noore näitleja auhind: Mila Kunis ("Must luik")

  3. Epidemiological Study of Hepatitis A Infection in Eastern Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsankova, Gabriela St; Todorova, Tatina T; Ermenlieva, Neli M; Popova, Tsvetelina K; Tsankova, Dayana T

    2017-03-01

    Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection is an acute, self-limited liver disease transmitted usually through the faecal-oral route via person-to-person contact. Bulgaria has intermediate HAV endemicity with higher susceptibility among adults and recurrent outbreaks. As HAV infection is strongly related to human movements and represents a significant risk to travelers and migrants, as well as to local population receiving these groups, we set out to analyze the epidemiological data on hepatitis A in five of the largest tourist border regions of Bulgaria located in its eastern part: Varna, Shumen, Dobrich, Burgas and Yambol. We reviewed retrospectively all reported cases of acute hepatitis A in the eastern regions of Bulgaria over a 7-year period between 2008 and 2014. A total of 2879 newly infected patients were registered during the study period, the number varying widely: from 190 cases in 2014 to 923 in 2012. The average incidence of HAV was higher in the south-eastern regions than in the northeastern regions (55.30%000 vs 15.04%000 respectively, p < 0.0001). The most affected age group in all regions was the 5-9-year olds (p < 0.0001) and males were significantly more susceptible to HAV (p = 0.02). Hepatitis A is still a major public health problem in Bulgaria; there is a significant difference in the incidence of the disease between the regions in the south-east and those in the north-east and between the different age groups and sexes.

  4. Evolution of the SOFIA tracking control system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fiebig, Norbert; Jakob, Holger; Pfüller, Enrico; Röser, Hans-Peter; Wiedemann, Manuel; Wolf, Jürgen

    2014-07-01

    The airborne observatory SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) is undergoing a modernization of its tracking system. This included new, highly sensitive tracking cameras, control computers, filter wheels and other equipment, as well as a major redesign of the control software. The experiences along the migration path from an aged 19" VMbus based control system to the application of modern industrial PCs, from VxWorks real-time operating system to embedded Linux and a state of the art software architecture are presented. Further, the concept is presented to operate the new camera also as a scientific instrument, in parallel to tracking.

  5. Assesment of opportunities for landfill gas utilisation in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gramatikov, S.; Iliev, I.; Andreev, S.; Hristoskov, I.

    2011-01-01

    In Bulgaria, about 14 million tons annually of municipal solid waste (MSW) are collected and disposed of in landfills - about 618 kg/capita annually. The implementation of Landfill Gas (LFG) energy recovery/utilization projects in Bulgaria serves as an essential landfill management strategy, and can also reduce greenhouse gases and air pollutants, leading to improved local air quality and reduced health risks. Results of assesment landfill tests of several municipalities, made by the team of Encon Services for estimation of the potential of their sites are shown in this paper. (authors)

  6. Bulgaria : Country Financial Accountability Assessment

    OpenAIRE

    World Bank

    2003-01-01

    Bulgaria's ambitious program of reforms in several areas, including public financial management (PFM), focuses greatly on its entry into the European Union (EU). Thus, the country has a well developed system, and structure of financial management, that relies heavily on information technology (such as in the area of cash management), and has independent external audits, and parliamentary o...

  7. Panthaleus major /Duges/ of cereals in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Maneva

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract. Until recently, Penthaleus major (Dugès has not been recognized as an economically significant pest for the cereal crops. After climatic changes, its population began to grow and inflict damages around the world. The aim of this study was to investigate its distribution in Bulgaria and establish whether it presents a danger to the cereal crops. In the autumn of 2015 and the spring of 2016, a monitoring survey was conducted to establish Penthaleus major (Dugès with the cereal crops in Bulgaria. Over 60 sowed fields were investigated from all around the country. Samples were taken to identify the pest. It was established that Penthaleus major (Dugès inflicted harm to the wheat in north-eastern (12-14 mites per stem and south-eastern Bulgaria (6-8 mites per stem. Its density was under the threshold of economic harm. There was not found infestation of barley, rye, oat and triticale. On the field boundaries bordering the areas attacked by the mite were reported the following weeds: Capsella bursa pastoris (L. Medic, Descurania sophia (L. Welb. et Berth, Senecio spp., Sisymbrium orientale Torn., Taraxsacum officinale Weber, Anthemis spp., Bromus arvensis L., Eragrostis pilosa (L. P.B. Lolium temulentum L., which can be habitat for Penthaleus major (Dugès.

  8. Regulatory framework in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yanev, Y.

    1996-01-01

    The basis of current nuclear safety legislation in Bulgaria was established in 1985 when a new Law on the Use of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes was issued by National Assembly Decree. The content of the law and the main amendments from 1995 are briefly described. Regulations in the field of radiation protection, developed by the Committee on the Use of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes (CUAEPP) and other Ministries, are also presented

  9. State and possibilities for development of renewable energy in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Varbanov, Marian; Temelkova, Maria

    2011-01-01

    After EU accession, Bulgaria adopted the following indicative goal: 16% of gross domestic energy consumption in 2020 to be produced from renewables. This has created favorable conditions and strong interest of Bulgarian and foreign business to invest in renewables. This interest is materialized in a boom in design and construction of the renewable energy installations. The paper examines the current state and opportunities for development of this sector in Bulgaria. Keywords: renewable energy, hydro power, wind power, solar power

  10. Preface (of the second special issue

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barna Iantovics

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available

    The primary aim of this special issue entitled Advances in Applied Sciences was to make some preparative steps by collecting state of the art research papers necessary in the beginning of the project entitled “Electronic Health Records for the Next Generation Medical Decision Support in Romanian and Bulgarian National Healthcare Systems” abbreviated as NextGenElectroMedSupport, a Bilateral Cooperation Research Project between Romania and Bulgaria having as directors from Bulgaria Prof. dr. Roumen Kountchev, Technical University of Sofia and from Romania Senior Lecturer dr. Barna Iantovics from Petru Maior University of Targu Mures. [...]

  11. A Three Dimensional Picture of Galactic Center Mass Flows From Kiloparsec to Subparsec Scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, Elisabeth A.

    2018-06-01

    The centers of galaxies host extreme and energetic phenomena, from the amassing of incredibly dense reservoirs of gas to nuclear starbursts producing tens to hundreds of solar masses per year to accreting supermassive black holes launching jets. All of these are found on compact scales from hundreds of parsecs to less than a microparsec. The nearest laboratory for examining these processes is the center of our own Milky Way Galaxy. Although the black hole is not currently active and the star formation rate is relatively low, it is still our best opportunity for detailed insight into the processes that regulate the growth of the central supermassive black hole. By providing access to mid and far infrared wavelengths, SOFIA plays a unique role in connecting large and small scales in the Galactic center and studying the cycling of gas through this region. In this talk I will highlight several key open questions and outline the role that SOFIA continues to play in answering them.

  12. A UK view of Bulgaria's potential

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haddon, J.

    2002-01-01

    This is a personal view of the options and challenges for the future of Eastern Europe countries. The widening of Europe, UK situation and investment criteria are discussed. Bulgaria is considered in better shape than some European states as a host for new or replacement nuclear power station construction

  13. Generic policy in Bulgaria: a policy of failure or success?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Assena Stoimenova

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Generic medicines play a key role in managing the financial resources for pharmaceuticals in every country. This study analysed the generic policy legislative framework in Bulgaria with the aim to identify whether the policy implementation can be considered successful in the light of an international review of such policies introduced in other countries, or on the contrary, it has failed to deliver the main benefits. Legislative analysis, desktop study and macroeconomic overview of the Bulgarian pharmaceutical market were included. The study showed that only 3 out of 11 important policy elements are implemented in the country. Bulgaria has one of the highest shares of generics, an average of 81.39% (volume, for the studied period (2006–2014. However, further research is needed to evaluate the success of the existing generic policy in Bulgaria, as the market share of generic drugs is not the only measure of the policy efficiency.

  14. The Austrian school in Bulgaria: A history

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikolay Nenovsky

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The main goal of this study is to highlight the acceptance, dissemination, interpretation, criticism and make some attempts at contributing to Austrian economics made in Bulgaria during the last 120 years. We consider some of the main characteristics of the Austrian school, such as subjectivism and marginalism, as basic components of the economic thought in Bulgaria and as incentives for the development of some original theoretical contributions. Even during the first few years of Communist regime (1944–1989, with its Marxist monopoly over intellectual life, the Austrian school had some impact on the economic thought in the country. Subsequent to the collapse of Communism, there was a sort of a Renaissance and rediscovery of this school. Another contribution of our study is that it illustrates the adaptability and spontaneous evolution of ideas in a different and sometimes hostile environment.

  15. Gender impact on the socioprofessional identification of women dentists in Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katrova, Lydia G

    2004-07-01

    Women comprise 73 percent of all dentists in Bulgaria. Almost all of them started their careers as salaried, and now they are self-employed. The purpose of this study was to show how female dentists in Bulgaria met the challenges of the social and health reforms during the period of transition from totalitarian to democratic rule. A field sociological survey was carried out between October 1996 and June 1997, involving a sample of 842 dentists. The questionnaire was designed to give information on dental demography trends, pattern of participation and practice of female dentists, and their career development. The data were treated statistically using an SPSS package. Results show that for the period 1991-96 women dentists owned more than 50 percent of the newly opened private practices in Bulgaria. They were more interested in improving their qualifications and more successful in obtaining specialty status than male dentists. Dentists in Bulgaria by the late 1990 s, with no gender difference, tend to identify themselves as liberal practitioners within the pluralistic model of dental services delivery. The volume of services delivered and profile of women in professional practice and their social and professional mobility are highly competitive, despite the growing problems of maternity leave coverage and funding to re-enter the profession.

  16. Cryoseston of the Pirin Mountains, Bulgaria

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Cepák, Vladislav; Lukavský, Jaromír

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 72, č. 2 (2013), s. 257-268 ISSN 0365-0588 R&D Projects: GA TA ČR TE01020080; GA TA ČR TA03011027 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60050516 Keywords : Chlainomonas * Pirin * Bulgaria Subject RIV: EI - Biotechnology ; Bionics Impact factor: 0.449, year: 2013

  17. QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY ON CRANIOMANDIBULAR DISORDER ISSUES IN STUDENTS' AND POST-GRADUATE TRAINING IN BULGARIA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Dimova

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The prevalence of craniomandibular disorders (CMD among the Bulgarian population as well as the risk factors for unlocking bruxism and bruxomania mechanisms pose a demand for education on these issues reflecting modern science. The authors' aim is to examine the subjective assessment of participants in “DAYS OF PROSTHETICS, Sofia, 15 -16 March 2014”, regarding: 1.Prevelance of CMD in the country; 2. Education and training of students and post-graduates in the issues related to diagnostics and treatment of craniomandibular disorders; 3. Theoretical background for successful treatment of patients with bruxism and bruxomania. Materials and methods: For the purpose of the present research 192 participants have been surveyed - among them 163 are dentists and 29 are students in the 4th and 5th year of study. The survey feedback has been obtained via an anonymous questionnaire consisting of 8 questions targeted at dentists' assessment of CMD prevalence and distribution, training in CMD issues in Bulgaria and the treatment of patients with bruxism and bruxomania. The results obtained indicate that 84.0% - 93.1% (95% CI of respondents, working as dentists in the country, expressed the view that students' curriculum lacks an overall concept for training them in the diagnostics and treatment of CMD. 79.6% - 90.2% (95% CI of participants, dentists in the country, define post-graduate training in CMD as insufficient or lacking. Conclusion: The development and promotion of a working platform for early screening, diagnostics and treatment of CMD for timely referral to a specialized treatment is necessary and expected by the professional community in our country.

  18. National conception for gasification development in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Donchev, S.; Tenev, A.

    1997-01-01

    In Bulgaria, as in the other East European countries the transition from centrally planned to market economy is accompanied by problems such as energy consumption efficiency, development of energy saving technologies, ecology etc. In this connection the corporation 'Overgas' started the development of 'National concept of the country gasification'. An analysis is done of the energy supply, energy and ecology efficiency and the natural gas consumption. The concept includes a program for a legal framework in the gas sector. Recently the question of energy dependence of the country became very important. It is known that Bulgaria has resources to supply only 1/4 of the energy needs. Natural gas is used now for satisfying of 16% of energy demand in the country. The participation of the country in the Balkan countries gasification projects by transition of Russian gas is considered necessary for the establishment of additional guarantees for stability and internal market supply conditions. Bulgaria has e good gas transition system, connected with the most perspective gas fields in the world but so far only 175 units in industry and energetics use natural gas due to some principle differences between inherited structure of gas consumption in Bulgaria and that in other Central and Western European countries. The absence of a clear logical approach in the price formation is one of the main reasons for the complicated situation with the gas prices. It is expected, under the currency board conditions, the tendency of a less increase in the gas prices (now around or above the market prices) and compared to the increase in other fuel prices to remain. A stabilization of the market is also expected. The energy efficiency can be improved 2-3 times by using of natural gas instead of electricity in the industry and households due to the minimal energy loss during the transportation and the greater efficiency coefficient of the natural gas combustion. In case of development of the

  19. Assessment of the mitigation options in the energy system in Bulgaria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Christov, C.; Vassilev, C.; Simenova, K. [and others

    1996-12-31

    Bulgaria signed the Framework Convention on Climate Change at the UNCEP in Rio in June 1992. The parliament ratified the Convention in March 1995. In compliance with the commitments arising under the Convention, Bulgaria elaborates climate change polity. The underlying principles in this policy are Bulgaria to joint the international efforts towards solving climate change problems to the extent that is adequate to both the possibilities of national economy and the options to attract foreign investments. All policies and measures implemented should be as cost-effective as possible. The Bulgarian GHG emission profile reveals the energy sector as the most significant emission source and also as an area where the great potential for GHG emissions reduction exists. This potential could be achieved in many cases by relatively low cost or even no-cost options. Mitigation analysis incorporates options in energy demand and energy supply within the period 1992-2020.

  20. Exposure to environmental polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Influences on cellular susceptibility to DNA damage (sampling Kosice and Sofia)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cebulska-Wasilewska, Antonina [Department of Radiation and Environmental Biology, Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics PAN, Radzikowskiego 152, 31-342 Cracow (Poland) and Chair of the Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, CM UJ, Cracow (Poland)]. E-mail: b7wasile@cyf-kr.edu.pl; Pawlyk, Igor [Department of Radiation and Environmental Biology, Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics PAN, Radzikowskiego 152, 31-342 Cracow (Poland); Panek, Agnieszka [Department of Radiation and Environmental Biology, Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics PAN, Radzikowskiego 152, 31-342 Cracow (Poland); Wiechec, Anna [Department of Radiation and Environmental Biology, Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics PAN, Radzikowskiego 152, 31-342 Cracow (Poland); Kalina, Ivan [Department of Molecular Biology of the P.J.Safarik University, Kosice (Slovakia); Popov, Todor [Department of Toxicology, National Centre of Public Health Protection, Sofia (Bulgaria); Georgieva, Tzveta [Department of Toxicology, National Centre of Public Health Protection, Sofia (Bulgaria); Farmer, Peter B. [Cancer Biomarkers and Prevention Group, University of Leicester (United Kingdom)

    2007-07-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate a possible influence of occupational exposure to carcinogenic environmental polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (c-PAHs) on cellular susceptibility to the induction of the DNA damage. Monitoring was performed and blood samples were collected from two groups of male subjects: occupationally exposed and matched controls. The group exposed to c-PAHs (average age of 35.1 years) consisted of 52 policemen from Kosice and 26 policemen and 25 bus drivers (51 altogether) from Sofia. The control group (average age of 36.4 years) consisted of 54 unexposed subjects from Kosice and 24 from Sofia. In the investigated groups 52.5% of exposed subjects and 45.3% of control were current smokers. A challenging dose of X-rays (3 Gy) and an alkaline version of the single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) assay, known as Comet assay, were used to evaluate levels of induced DNA damage and repair kinetics in isolated human blood lymphocytes. DNA damage detected in lymphocytes prior to or after irradiation did not differ significantly between exposed and unexposed subjects. A significant decrease in repair efficiency due to exposure to PAHs was observed in the exposed individuals from Kosice and Sofia, when analysed separately or together. A negative influence of tobacco smoking on the efficiency of DNA repair was observed. Statistically significant differences were found between subgroups stratified according to education level in Sofia: the half times for DNA repair declined with the increasing level of education. These results confirm that environmental exposure to c-PAHs can alter the ability of blood lymphocytes to repair DNA damage and, as a result could potentially lead to effects that are hazardous to human health.

  1. Handling Qualities Flight Testing of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glaser, Scott T.; Strovers, Brian K.

    2011-01-01

    Airborne infrared astronomy has a long successful history, albeit relatively unknown outside of the astronomy community. A major problem with ground based infrared astronomy is the absorption and scatter of infrared energy by water in the atmosphere. Observing the universe from above 40,000 ft puts the observation platform above 99% of the water vapor in the atmosphere, thereby addressing this problem at a fraction of the cost of space based systems. The Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) aircraft is the most ambitious foray into the field of airborne infrared astronomy in history. Using a 747SP (The Boeing Company, Chicago, Illinois) aircraft modified with a 2.5m telescope located in the aft section of the fuselage, the SOFIA endeavors to provide views of the universe never before possible and at a fraction of the cost of space based systems. The modification to the airplane includes moveable doors and aperture that expose the telescope assembly. The telescope assembly is aimed and stabilized using a multitude of on board systems. This modification has the potential to cause aerodynamic anomalies that could induce undesired forces either at the cavity itself or indirectly due to interference with the empennage, both of which could cause handling qualities issues. As a result, an extensive analysis and flight test program was conducted from December 2009 through March 2011. Several methods, including a Lower Order Equivalent Systems analysis and pilot assessment, were used to ascertain the effects of the modification. The SOFIA modification was found to cause no adverse handling qualities effects and the aircraft was cleared for operational use. This paper discusses the history and modification to the aircraft, development of test procedures and analysis, results of testing and analysis, lessons learned for future projects and justification for operational certification.

  2. The Invisible Universe Online for Teachers - A SOFIA and SIRTF EPO Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gauthier, A.; Bennett, M.; Buxner, S.; Devore, E.; Keller, J.; Slater, T.; Thaller, M.; Conceptual Astronomy; Physics Education Research CAPER Team

    2003-12-01

    The SOFIA and SIRTF EPO Programs have partnered with the Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team in designing, evaluating, and facilitating an online program for K-12 teachers to experience multiwavelength astronomy. An aggressive approach to online course design and delivery has resulted in a highly successful learning experience for teacher-participants. Important aspects of the Invisible Universe Online will eventually be used as a part of SOFIA's Airborne Ambassadors Program for pre-flight training of educators. The Invisible Universe Online is delivered via WebCT through the Montana State University National Teacher Enhancement Network (http://btc.montana.edu/). Currently in its fourth semester, the course has served 115 K-12 teachers. This distance learning online class presents our search for astronomical origins and provides an enhanced understanding of how astronomers use all energies of light to unfold the secrets of the universe. We cover the long chain of events from the birth of the universe through the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets by focusing on the scientific questions, technological challenges, and space missions pursuing this search for origins. Through textbook and internet readings, inquiry exploration with interactive java applets, and asynchronous discussions, we help our students achieve the following course goals: develop scientific background knowledge of astronomical objects and phenomena at multiple wavelengths; understand contemporary scientific research questions related to how galaxies formed in the early universe and how stars and planetary systems form and evolve; describe strategies and technologies for using non-visible wavelengths of EM radiation to study various phenomena; and integrate related issues of astronomical science and technology into K-12 classrooms. This course is being developed, evaluated, and offered through the support of SOFIA and SIRTF EPO Programs, two NASA infrared missions

  3. Business Cycle Accounting: Bulgaria after the introduction of the currency board arrangement (1999-2014

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksandar Vasilev

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on explaining the economic fluctuations in Bulgaria after the introduction of the currency board arrangement in 1997, the period of macroeconomic stability that ensued, the EU accession, and the episode of the recent global financial crisis. This paper follows Chari et al. (2002, 2007 and performs business cycle accounting (BCA for Bulgaria during the period 1999-2014. As in Cavalcanti (2007, who studies the Portuguese business cycles, most of the volatility in output per capita in Bulgaria over the period is due to variations in the efficiency and labor wedges.

  4. PRICING, REIMBURSEMENT, AND HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT OF MEDICINAL PRODUCTS IN BULGARIA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benisheva-Dimitrova, Tatyana; Sidjimova, Dobriana; Cherneva, Daniela; Kralimarkov, Nikolay

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the analysis, discussion, and challenges of the price and reimbursement process of medicinal products in Bulgaria in the period 2000-15 and health technology assessment (HTA) role in these processes. The dynamics of the reform, with respect to the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors, are tracked by documentary review of regulations, articles, and reports in the European Union (EU), as well as analytical and historical analysis. Pricing and reimbursement processes have passed through a variety of committees between 2003 and 2012. Separate units for pricing and reimbursement of medicinal products were established in Bulgaria for the first time, in 2013, when an independent body, the National Council at Prices and Reimbursement of Medicinal Products, was set up to approve medicinal products with new international nonproprietary names (INN) for reimbursement in Bulgaria. Over the course of 2 years (2013-14), thirty-three new INNs were approved for reimbursement. In December 2015, a new HTA body was introduced, and assigned to the National Centre for Public Health and Analyses. Although Bulgaria has current legislation on pricing and reimbursement which is in accordance with the EU rules, there is no mechanism for reporting and monitoring these processes or the financial resources annually, so as to provide an overall objective assessment and analysis by year. Therefore, this financial assessment should become a national policy objective for the future.

  5. The trophic plasticity of genus phelipanche pomel (orobanchaceae in bulgaria Trofichna plastichnost na rod phelipanche pomel (orobanchaceae v bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kiril STOYANOV

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available New data about the natural parasitism of Phelipanche ramosa (L Pomel, P. mutelii (Shultz Pomel, P. oxyloba, P. arenaria and P. purpurea in Bulgaria are collected. The information for the hosts describes 46 new trophic systems with species from the families: Brassicaceae, Solanaceae, Fabaceae, Asteraceae, Apiaceae, Poaceae, Lamiaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Araliaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Geraniaceae, Dioscoreaceae and Verbenaceae. The samples are collected outside the crop fields, far from the known host crops, from different parts of the country. Some of the registered hosts are new for Bulgaria. The voucher specimens with physical connection to the hosts are deposited in the Herbarium of The Agricultural University - Plovdiv (SOA. The collected data suggest that genus Phelipanche is represented by two trophic groups according to the known sections. Sect. Phelipanche unites the polyphags P. ramosa, P. oxyloba and P. mutelii. Sect. Arenariae consist oligophags - P. arenaria and P. purpurea.

  6. The feast "STAR NIGHT 2009" in Shumen, Bulgaria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kyurkchieva, Diana P.

    Information about the preparation and realization of the attractive program for the "Star Night" on September 25, 2009, in Shumen, is presented. Its goal is popularization of the European initiative "Research Night" in Bulgaria.

  7. Understanding informal payments for health care: the example of Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balabanova, Dina; McKee, Martin

    2002-12-01

    Throughout the 1990s, in response to funding deficits, out-of-pocket payment has grown as a share of total expenditure in countries in transition. A clear policy response to informal payments is, however, lacking. The current study explores informal payments in Bulgaria within a conceptual framework developed by triangulating information using a variety of methodologies. To estimate the scale and determinants of informal payments in the health sector of Bulgaria and to identify who benefits, the characteristics and timing of payments, and the reasons for paying. Data were derived from a national representative survey of 1547 individuals complemented by in-depth interviews and focus groups with over 100 respondents, conducted in Bulgaria in 1997. Informal payments are defined as a monetary or in-kind transaction between a patient and a staff member for services that are officially free of charge in the state sector. Informal payments are relatively common in Bulgaria, especially if in the form of gifts. Informal cash payments are universal for operations and childbirth, clear-cut and life-threatening procedures, in hospitals or elite urban facilities or well-known physicians. Most gifts were given at the end of treatment and most cash payments-before or during treatment. Wealthier, better educated, younger respondents tend to pay more often, as a means of obtaining better-quality treatment in a de facto two-tier system. Since the transition, informal payments had become frequent, explicit, solicited by staff, increasingly in cash, and less affordable. Informal payments stem from the low income of staff, patients seeking better treatment; acute funding shortages; and from tradition. Attitudes to informal payments range from strongly negative (if solicited) to tolerant (if patient-initiated), depending on the circumstances. The study provides important new insights into the incidence and nature of informal payments in the health sector in Bulgaria. Payments were less

  8. Epidemiology of Multiresistant Acinetobacter Infections in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Savov, E.; Borisova, M.; Michailova, G.

    2007-01-01

    Evolution of bacteria towards resistance to antimicrobial drugs, including these with multidrug resistance, is very important issue for hospital epidemiology in all over the world. There are many papers about an increasing number of Acinetobacter baumannii blood stream and other type of infections in patients at military medical facilities in the Iraq / Kuwait region and in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom /OEF /. It has now become also a one of the major cause of hospital acquired infections in Bulgaria which due to its remarkable propensity to rapidly acquire resistance determinants to a wide range of antimicrobial drugs. According to the data obtained in Bulgaria, it can be concluded that the majority of the A.baumannii isolates was strikingly resistant, including the 3rd generation of cephalosporins, quinolones and also carbapenems, in the last years. Different methods / phenotypical and molecular methods, including PCR/ for a multidrug A.baumannii investigation and its clonality determination are needed, especially when the strains are not epidemiological related.(author)

  9. Technological and economical problems in exploitation of coal stripe mines in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khristov, Stoyan; Borisov, Bogomil

    1997-01-01

    Taking into consideration the restructure of the mining-energetic industry into the new economic conditions, financial, technical and technological problems are analysed, as well as their influence on the economic effects of the coal production in Bulgaria. Ecological standards for environmental policy are noticed. Perspectives for development of the coal production industry are pointed out, especially in the mining/power complex Maritsa East, one of the most important region for power generation in Bulgaria

  10. Historical review, present status and perspectives of nuclear sciences education at the Sofia University

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Djingova, R.; Kuleff, I.; Todorovsky, D.; Kovacheva, P.; Tsankov, L.; Staevski, K.; Tsenov, R.

    2004-01-01

    A brief review of the history of the education in nuclear sciences at the Faculty of Physics and Faculty of Chemistry of the Sofia University is made in the report. The present status of Bachelor, Master and PhD programmes in both Faculties is presented. (authors)

  11. Safeguards at Kozloduy NPP - Experience and expectations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elenkov, Todor

    2001-01-01

    Bulgaria is a party of Non Proliferation Treaty since 5 September 1969. The agreement between IAEA and Bulgaria - INFCIRC 178 - has been in force since 29 February 1972. At that time Bulgaria had one research reactor IRT-2000 in Sofia and two power reactors of WWER-440 type under construction. Now at Kozloduy NPP site there are 4 facilities, which consist of 4 WWER-440 and 2 WWER-1000 type power reactors, producing almost 50% of the electricity in Bulgaria and 1 wet away from reactor spent fuel storage. In 1991 under the green movements and social pressure, the research reactor in Sofia was closed and the construction of the second NPP in Belene with 2 WWER-1000 type reactors was halted. After the transfer in 1994 of the fresh fuel from the research reactor to Kozloduy due to security reasons practically NPP Kozloduy remains the only significant (from safeguards point of view) nuclear site in Bulgaria. In 1972 a 'Nuclear Fuel' group was formed at the Physicists Department in NPP Kozloduy with responsibilities to carry out for safeguards records and reports, fresh and spent fuel transport and control. In 1990 this group was transferred to the Safety Section and since 1992 it exists as 'Control and Accounting for of the Nuclear Materials' - a section in the Safety Department. Currently the section serves all four facilities in NPP Kozloduy and has four people: section head, chief inspector and two inspectors. The main activities of the section include: a) Control of the nuclear fuel location as well as meeting the storage and transport conditions regulations; b) Control of the conditions for normal operations of the installed IAEA surveillance systems; c) Preparation of documents for licensing of fresh and spent nuclear fuel transport; d) Preparation of the official information on nuclear materials location and quantity; e) Preparation of accounting records and the reports for IAEA (ICR, PIL, MBR); f) Co-ordination of the IAEA safeguards inspection activities at NPP

  12. Future development of the research nuclear reactor IRT-2000 in Sofia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Apostolov, T.G.

    1999-01-01

    The present paper presents a short description of the research reactor IRT-2000 Sofia, started in 1961 and operated for 28 years. Some items are considered, connected to the improvements made in the contemporary safety requirements and the unrealized project for modernization to 5 MW. Proposals are considered for reconstruction of reactor site to a 'reactor of low power' for education purposes and as a basis for the country's nuclear technology development. (author)

  13. Computer simulations of the atmospheric composition climate of Bulgaria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gadzhev, G.; Ganev, K.; Syrkov, D.; Prodanova, M.; Georgieva, I.; Georgiev, G.

    2015-07-01

    Some extensive numerical simulations of the atmospheric composition fields in Bulgaria have been recently performed. The US EPA Model-3 system was chosen as a modelling tool. As the NCEP Global Analysis Data with 1 degree resolution was used as meteorological background, the MM5 and CMAQ nesting capabilities were applied for downscaling the simulations to a 3 km resolution over Bulgaria. The TNO emission inventory was used as emission input. Special pre-processing procedures are created for introducing temporal profiles and speciation of the emissions. The biogenic emissions of VOC are estimated by the model SMOKE. The simulations were carried out for years 2000-2007. The numerical experiments have been carried out for different emission scenarios, which makes it possible the contribution of emissions from different source categories to be evaluated. The Models-3 “Integrated Process Rate Analysis” option is applied to discriminate the role of different dynamic and chemical processes for the air pollution formation. The obtained ensemble of numerical simulation results is extensive enough to allow statistical treatment – calculating not only the mean concentrations and different source categories contribution mean fields, but also standard deviations, skewness, etc. with their dominant temporal modes (seasonal and/or diurnal variations). Thus some basic facts about the atmospheric composition climate of Bulgaria can be retrieved from the simulation ensemble. (Author)

  14. Computer simulations of the atmospheric composition climate of Bulgaria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gadzhev, G.; Ganev, K.; Syrakov, D.; Prodanova, M.; Georgieva, I.; Georgiev, G.

    2015-07-01

    Some extensive numerical simulations of the atmospheric composition fields in Bulgaria have been recently performed. The US EPA Model-3 system was chosen as a modelling tool. As the NCEP Global Analysis Data with 1 degree resolution was used as meteorological background, the MM5 and CMAQ nesting capabilities were applied for downscaling the simulations to a 3 km resolution over Bulgaria. The TNO emission inventory was used as emission input. Special pre-processing procedures are created for introducing temporal profiles and speciation of the emissions. The biogenic emissions of VOC are estimated by the model SMOKE. The simulations were carried out for years 2000-2007. The numerical experiments have been carried out for different emission scenarios, which makes it possible the contribution of emissions from different source categories to be evaluated. The Models-3 Integrated Process Rate Analysis option is applied to discriminate the role of different dynamic and chemical processes for the air pollution formation. The obtained ensemble of numerical simulation results is extensive enough to allow statistical treatment calculating not only the mean concentrations and different source categories contribution mean fields, but also standard deviations, skewness, etc. with their dominant temporal modes (seasonal and/or diurnal variations). Thus some basic facts about the atmospheric composition climate of Bulgaria can be retrieved from the simulation ensemble. (Author)

  15. Building waste management in Bulgaria: challenges and opportunities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hadjieva-Zaharieva, R.; Dimitrova, E.; Buyle-Bodin, Francois

    2003-01-01

    Building waste recycling as aggregates is a modern approach for preventing environmental pollution through both reducing the stocks of waste and decreasing the use of natural aggregates. The reuse of building waste is a relatively new issue for Bulgaria despite the existing considerable quantity of building waste and the significant changes in the environmental rules applied. The paper discusses generated and potential waste streams in Bulgaria in the context of the social and economic restructuring and recent urban development undergone by the country. The main preliminary conditions for developing the recycling activity such as: streams of building waste, experience in recycling, technical and environmental standardization, appropriate technologies, etc. are examined. The authors analyze current practice and research activities with regard to the implementation of advanced EU building-waste recycling methods. Conclusions are drawn about existing opportunities and the priorities of the needed building waste management strategy in the country

  16. Comparison of erosion and erosion control works in Macedonia, Serbia and Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Blinkov

    2013-12-01

    Natural conditions in the Balkan countries contribute to the appearance of various erosion forms and the intensity of the erosion processes. Over the history of these countries, people who settled this region used the available natural resources to fill their needs (tree cutting, incorrect plugging, overgrazing, which contributed to soil erosion. Organized erosion control works in the Balkans started in the beginning of the 20th century (1905 in Bulgaria. The highest intensity of erosion control works were carried out during the period 1945 – 1990. Various erosion control works were launched. Bulgaria had a large anti-erosion afforestation, almost 1 million ha. Bulgaria's ecological river restoration approach has been in use for almost 50 years. Serbia contributed significant erosion and torrent control works on hilly agricultural areas. Specific screen barrages and afforestation on extremely dry areas are characteristic in Macedonia. A common characteristic for all countries is a high decrease in erosion control works in the last 20 years.

  17. MEDICO-LABORATORY SERVICES IN OUTPATIENT CARE IN NORTHEASTERN BULGARIA – STATE AND PROSPECTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emilia P. Georgieva

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this article is to study the satisfaction of patients with laboratory services in outpatient care in Northeastern Bulgaria regarding access and quality of service. Study design: Prospective cohort study Material and methods: The survey was carried out on the territory of Northeastern Bulgaria and covered the districts of Varna, Dobrich and Shumen and thirty municipalities. The following methods were applied in the study: sociological method by applied direct anonymous questionnaire, documentary method and statistical methods for analysis and interpretation of the data in order to reveal the nature of the observed phenomena and their interrelations. Results: The research data show that 24,4% of the respondents live at a distance of more than ten kilometres from the nearest medico-diagnostic laboratory. The larger share of these patients are residents of small settlements in Northeastern Bulgaria. More than half (55% of the respondents are not satisfied with their provision of laboratory services, but the majority of patients claim that the location of the selected laboratory is accessible (69,4% and the quality of the laboratory service is high (83,7%. Conclusion: The main problems in outpatient care are related to the poor provision of medico-laboratory services and specialized outpatient care in the smaller settlements in Northeastern Bulgaria.

  18. New Data on the Vertical Distribution of Some Species of the Flora in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Tashev

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available During field studies in different floristic regions of Bulgaria in the period 2006-2013, we found localities of Stellaria alsine, Trifolium heldreichianum, Koeleria nitidula, Sieglingia decumbens, Stipa tirsa, Verbascum formanekii, Pedicularis leucodon, Saxifraga stribrnyi, Inula aschersoniana and Scilla bifolia that expand our knowledge of the vertical distribution of these species in Bulgaria, and hence their ecological niche in the country.

  19. Current approaches on the management of disused sealed sources in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benitez-Navarro, J. C.; Canizares, J.; Asuar, O.; Tapia, J.; Demireva, E.; Yordanova, O.; Stefanova, I.; Karadzhov, S.

    2005-01-01

    The main options for the safe management of existing Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources (DSRS) in Bulgaria are discussed. The specific installations for handling and conditioning of all type of DSRS are being designed. The necessary equipment and materials for all conditioning operations have been defined. As the final disposal route for the radioactive wastes in Bulgaria is not defined yet, the proposed conditioning process for the DSRS ensures that end-point disposal of DSRS is not jeopardized by actions taken at present. All the DSRS would be packaged in secure, safe, monitorable and retrievable manner for interim storage

  20. Combating illicit trafficking of nuclear material and other radioactive sources in Republic of Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gotsev, A.; Dimitov, K.

    2001-01-01

    The turbulent history of the Republic of Bulgaria is proof of its importance for the commercial and military interests of the nations that have conquered and exploited the country through the ages. It is clear that it is the connecting node of two continents, Europe and Asia. It is a natural stop in the movement of goods for transcontinental commercial purposes as well as a natural resting place for the movement of armies during the ancient and medieval times. The geopolitical situation that currently exists in the Republic of Bulgaria may form conditions for illicit trafficking. This paper gives a short description of the efforts of the Government of Bulgaria to combat the illicit trafficking of nuclear material and other radioactive sources. (author)

  1. Bulgaria's Fiscal Expansion: Navigating Through Stormy Waters

    OpenAIRE

    Georgy Ganev

    2010-01-01

    Most EU governments reacted to the global economic crisis with a dramatic increase in spending. Their reactions had two main goals in mind: first, to bailout failing financial systems and second, to substitute the decline in private demand with a boost in aggregate public spending. For Bulgaria, fiscal stimulus programs proved to present their own unique set of challenges.

  2. WIN Bulgaria - organization with history and development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsokova, L.

    2011-01-01

    The report presents information about the establishing, activities and perspectives of WIN Global and WIN Bulgaria - the history of the association, structure, organization, goals and tasks. The social involvement is expressed by issuing of declarations, opinions, memoranda and other documents on important problems in the nuclear area, connected with the power plan, waste management facilities etc

  3. Future development of the research nuclear reactor IRT-2000 in Sofia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Apostolov, T.G. [Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy, BAS, Sofia (Bulgaria)

    1999-07-01

    The present paper presents a short description of the research reactor IRT-2000 Sofia, started in 1961 and operated for 28 years. Some items are considered, connected to the improvements made in the contemporary safety requirements and the unrealized project for modernization to 5 MW. Proposals are considered for reconstruction of reactor site to a 'reactor of low power' for education purposes and as a basis for the country's nuclear technology development. (author)

  4. Reconstruction of the Sofia (Bulgaria) IRT-2000 research reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valenta, V.

    2006-01-01

    The history and structure of the original reactor are described, followed by a description of the new solution based on SKODA JS's design. The article focusses on the design of the reactor and spent fuel storage pool that have been developed and delivered by SKODA JS. (orig.)

  5. Change in tobacco excise policy in Bulgaria: the role of tobacco industry lobbying and smuggling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skafida, Valeria; Silver, Karin E; Rechel, Boika P D; Gilmore, Anna B

    2014-05-01

    To examine how transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) tried to penetrate the Bulgarian cigarette market and influence tobacco excise tax policy after the fall of communism and during Bulgaria's accession to the European Union (EU). Analysis of internal tobacco industry documents supplemented by analysis of press coverage, tobacco industry journals, market reports and key informant interviews. TTCs have been involved in cigarette smuggling to and through Bulgaria since at least 1975 and used smuggling as a market-entry strategy. National tobacco company Bulgartabac appears to have been involved in smuggling its own cigarettes from and reimporting them to Bulgaria. Since Bulgaria's accession to the EU opened the market to the TTCs, TTCs have exaggerated the scale of the illicit trade to successfully convince politicians and public health experts that tax increases lead to cigarette smuggling. Yet, sources point to TTCs' continued complicity in cigarette smuggling to and through Bulgaria between 2000 and 2010. TTCs aimed to influence the Bulgarian tobacco excise tax regime, import duties and pricing mechanism, but appear to have been less successful than in other former communist countries in part due to the co-existence of a state-owned tobacco company. Undisclosed meetings between the tobacco industry and government ministers and officials are ongoing despite Bulgaria being a party to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The TTCs continued involvement in smuggling suggests that deals in 2004, 2007 and 2010 which the European Commission has reached with TTCs to address cigarette smuggling are inadequate. The TTCs' continued access to policymakers suggests that the FCTC is not being properly implemented. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  6. The medicinal plants of Chepan Mountain (Western Bulgaria)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zahariev, Dimcho

    2015-12-01

    Bulgaria is one of the European countries with the greatest biodiversity, including biodiversity of medicinal plants. The object of this study is Chepan Mountain. It is located in Western Bulgaria and it is part of Balkan Mountain. On the territory of the Chepan Mountain (only 80 km2) we found 344 species of medicinal plants from 237 genera and 83 families. The floristic analysis indicates, that the most of the families and the genera are represented by a small number of inferior taxa. The hemicryptophytes dominate among the life forms with 49.71%. The biological types are represented mainly by perennial herbaceous plants (60.47%). There are 7 types of floristic elements divided in 27 groups. The largest percentage of species are of the European type (58.43%). Among the medicinal plants, there are two Balkan endemic species and 18 relic species. We described 23 species with protection statute. The anthropophytes among the medicinal plants are 220 species (63.95%).

  7. 4th International Bulgarian Forum “Origins, Historical Development and Cultural Heritage of Bulgarian Civilization” (Varna, Bulgaria, 22-25 October 2012

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khuzin Fayaz Sh.

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The work of the 4th International forum "Origins, historical development and cultural heritage of Bulgarian civilization" is highlighted in the article. The forum was organized by the Tatarstan Republican Fund "Vozrozhdenie", Ministries of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Tatarstan, the National Archaeological Institute and Museum with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of History named after S. Mardjani, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, and Varna Regional Historical Museum. It was attended by more than 100 scholars from different research centers of Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, and Switzerland. They discussed issues related to the ethnogenesis, ancient and medieval history of the peoples whose origin is connected with the history of the Bulgarians and their state, questions of mutual influence in the field of culture between the Bulgarians and the neighboring peoples, as well as actual problems of cultural heritage study and conservation.

  8. SOFIA: An innovative setup to measure complete isotopic yield of fission fragments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pellereau E.

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available We performed an experiment dedicated to the accurate isotopic yield measurement of fission fragments over the whole range. SOFIA exploits the inverse kinematics technique: using heavy ion beams at relativistic energies, fission is induced by Coulomb excitation in a high-Z target. The fragments are emitted forward and both of them are identified in charge and mass. The setup will be presented, as well as preliminary spectra.

  9. Le minoranze islamiche nella Bulgaria post-comunista: ingerenze statali e libertà confessionale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paola Fantelli

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Contributo segnalato dal Prof. Paolo Moneta, ordinario di Diritto ecclesiastico nella facoltà di Giurisprudenza dell’’Università di Pisa SOMMARIO: 1. Profili istituzionali delle relazioni tra Stato e confessioni religiose nella Bulgaria post-comunista: la posizione dell’Islam. 2. Le ingerenze del Governo bulgaro nell’organizzazione interna delle rappresentanze islamiche secondo la Corte di Strasburgo. 3. Alcune osservazioni sull’ingresso della Bulgaria nell’U.E. e sulle problematiche dell’Islam bulgaro – balcanico.

  10. Diagnosis of the socionic temperament of personality and creating a psychological portrait of the Western European SPA and wellness tourists in Bulgaria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoyanova, Milena

    2017-03-01

    Human personality is a set of psychological characteristics that distinguishes it from others. However people can be classified as congenital personality types, interactions that are precisely defined. The aim of this article is to characterize the socionic temperament and psychological profile of the spa and wellness tourists in Bulgaria. The study is based on a survey of 460 tourists who visited Bulgarian spa centers in the summer and autumn of 2015.

  11. Analysis and modeling of daily air pollutants in the city of Ruse, Bulgaria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheleva, I.; Veleva, E.; Filipova, M.

    2017-10-01

    The city of Ruse is situated in the north-eastern part of Bulgaria. The northern boundary of Ruse region goes along the Danube river valley and coincides with the state boundary of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Romania. The climate of the region of Ruse is temperate continental, characterized by cold winters and dry, warm summers. Spring and autumn are short. In our previous work we studied information from 40 years period measurements [6] of temperature, air humidity and atmospheric pressure in Ruse region, Bulgaria. It was shown that mean values of the temperature in Ruse region are slightly goes up for the last 10 years and they are bigger than the mean temperature for Bulgaria. This could be a proof for climate change in Ruse region of Bulgaria. The most variable atmospheric parameter is air humidity during the spring seasons. The hardest change of temperature and atmospheric pressure is during January. Temperature has biggest change in January and smallest - in July. Humidity has biggest change in April and smallest - in October. Atmospheric pressure has biggest change in January and smallest - in July [5]. Air pollution maybe affects temperature, atmospheric pressure and humidity. All this in our opinion may be a reason for the increase in average temperatures for the period examined. This paper is devoted to examine air pollution in the Ruse region. It presents a statistical analysis of the level of air pollution in Ruse on data from the monitoring stations in the city. The measurements cover the period from 2015 including up to now. For the most dangerous pollutant PM10 we create an ARIMA model which is in a good agreement with the PM10 measurements.

  12. Flexible Working Time Arrangements in Bulgaria

    OpenAIRE

    Beleva, Iskra

    2009-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to analyze the flexible working time arrangements in Bulgaria, using a life-course perspective. Two important features have to be outlined, namely: underdeveloped flexible forms of employment in the country, including working time arrangement, and lack of previous analysis on flexible working time arrangements from the angle of life-course perspective. The author describes the regulatory framework, collective agreements at national and company level as a frame w...

  13. The Electronic Agora of the British Society in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Rangelova

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available H. Rheyngold (1993 introduces the concept of "electronic agora", claiming that virtual communities act on the square - an open space where it all happens. The theoretical framework of this paper will be set by the theory of Schutz for multiplication of reality and will build on the theory of Muggleton virtual identity. Commonwealth in Bulgaria communicates in a parallel to the real world to the virtual. Through virtual identity can reinvent itself, moving freely between multiple online roles, to be the opposite sex, younger, older, anonymous and thus to avoid the presentation of the true self. What roles occupy the British in Bulgaria in the early 21st century in cyberspace and how it used? Do they experiment with their identity? Do they develop strong relationships in social groups? Answers to these questions will be looking for in this study.

  14. ABSOLUTE AND COMPARATIVE SUSTAINABILITY OF FARMING ENTERPRISES IN BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Bachev

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Evaluating absolute and comparative sustainability of farming enterprises is among the most topical issues for researchers, farmers, investors, administrators, politicians, interests groups and public at large. Nevertheless, in Bulgaria and most East European countries there are no comprehensive assessments on sustainability level of Bulgarian farms of different juridical type. This article applies a holistic framework and assesses absolute and comparative sustainability major farming structures in Bulgaria - unregistered farms of Natural Persons, Sole Traders, Cooperatives, and Companies. First, method of the study is outlined, and overall characteristics of surveyed farming enterprises presented. After that an assessment is made of integral, governance, economic, social, environmental sustainability of farming structures of different juridical type. Next, structure of farming enterprises with different sustainability levels is analyzed. Finally, conclusion from the study and directions for further research and amelioration of sustainability assessments suggested.

  15. International technical assistance example. Consortium action in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mattei, J.M.; Milhem, J.L.

    1993-03-01

    The safety status achieved last year at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and the capability of the Bulgarian Nuclear Safety Authority (BNSA) to assess the safety of the plant and the adequacy of proposed improvements have been matters of international concern. However, the Kozloduy NPP contributes 35-40 per cent of the electrical generating capacity in Bulgaria. For further operation of the plants, it is therefore, essential that safety is improved. In july 1991, the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) instituted a Six Months Emergency Action Programme for Bulgaria under the PHARE regional nuclear safety programme. The programme consisted of three parts: - an industrial emergency programme supporting the utility of the Kozloduy NPP, - a study to evaluate Bulgaria's electricity needs, - technical assistance for reinforcement of the Bulgarian Nuclear Safety Authority. For the third part, complementary to the industrial emergency programme carried out by the WANO (World Association of Nuclear Operators), a Consortium of expert institutions and regulatory from EC member states was established by CEC for assistance to BNSA. The Consortium consisted of: - Institut de Protection et de Surete Nucleaire (IPSN), France, technical support of the French regulatory body, - Gesellschaft fur Anlagen und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) mbH, Germany, an organization in safety engineering, technical support of governmental regulatory body, - AIB-Vincotte Nuclear (AVN), Belgium, the organization authorized by the Belgian Government for licensing and inspection of nuclear power plants, - UK Atomic Energy Authority (AEA Technology), an independent UK Government owned nuclear R and D and consultancy organization, - Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) of the Health and Safety Executive, United Kingdom, the nuclear regulatory body for the United Kingdom

  16. A data-driven approach to identify controls on global fire activity from satellite and climate observations (SOFIA V1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Forkel

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Vegetation fires affect human infrastructures, ecosystems, global vegetation distribution, and atmospheric composition. However, the climatic, environmental, and socioeconomic factors that control global fire activity in vegetation are only poorly understood, and in various complexities and formulations are represented in global process-oriented vegetation-fire models. Data-driven model approaches such as machine learning algorithms have successfully been used to identify and better understand controlling factors for fire activity. However, such machine learning models cannot be easily adapted or even implemented within process-oriented global vegetation-fire models. To overcome this gap between machine learning-based approaches and process-oriented global fire models, we introduce a new flexible data-driven fire modelling approach here (Satellite Observations to predict FIre Activity, SOFIA approach version 1. SOFIA models can use several predictor variables and functional relationships to estimate burned area that can be easily adapted with more complex process-oriented vegetation-fire models. We created an ensemble of SOFIA models to test the importance of several predictor variables. SOFIA models result in the highest performance in predicting burned area if they account for a direct restriction of fire activity under wet conditions and if they include a land cover-dependent restriction or allowance of fire activity by vegetation density and biomass. The use of vegetation optical depth data from microwave satellite observations, a proxy for vegetation biomass and water content, reaches higher model performance than commonly used vegetation variables from optical sensors. We further analyse spatial patterns of the sensitivity between anthropogenic, climate, and vegetation predictor variables and burned area. We finally discuss how multiple observational datasets on climate, hydrological, vegetation, and socioeconomic variables together with

  17. A data-driven approach to identify controls on global fire activity from satellite and climate observations (SOFIA V1)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forkel, Matthias; Dorigo, Wouter; Lasslop, Gitta; Teubner, Irene; Chuvieco, Emilio; Thonicke, Kirsten

    2017-12-01

    Vegetation fires affect human infrastructures, ecosystems, global vegetation distribution, and atmospheric composition. However, the climatic, environmental, and socioeconomic factors that control global fire activity in vegetation are only poorly understood, and in various complexities and formulations are represented in global process-oriented vegetation-fire models. Data-driven model approaches such as machine learning algorithms have successfully been used to identify and better understand controlling factors for fire activity. However, such machine learning models cannot be easily adapted or even implemented within process-oriented global vegetation-fire models. To overcome this gap between machine learning-based approaches and process-oriented global fire models, we introduce a new flexible data-driven fire modelling approach here (Satellite Observations to predict FIre Activity, SOFIA approach version 1). SOFIA models can use several predictor variables and functional relationships to estimate burned area that can be easily adapted with more complex process-oriented vegetation-fire models. We created an ensemble of SOFIA models to test the importance of several predictor variables. SOFIA models result in the highest performance in predicting burned area if they account for a direct restriction of fire activity under wet conditions and if they include a land cover-dependent restriction or allowance of fire activity by vegetation density and biomass. The use of vegetation optical depth data from microwave satellite observations, a proxy for vegetation biomass and water content, reaches higher model performance than commonly used vegetation variables from optical sensors. We further analyse spatial patterns of the sensitivity between anthropogenic, climate, and vegetation predictor variables and burned area. We finally discuss how multiple observational datasets on climate, hydrological, vegetation, and socioeconomic variables together with data

  18. OPPORTUNITIES OF GROWING QUINCES IN BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Semkov

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Investments in orchards with quinces are very profitable, as they are the most scarce crops currently in Bulgaria. Yields of quince are eight tons per hectare, making it potentially the most profitable fruit trees (with profit around 4 thousand Lev per hectare. In the list of endangered varieties important for agriculture, for which the amount of the annual subsidies from EU funds is € 787.39 / ha, enters the local variety Apple-like of Pazardzhik.

  19. Studying the impacts of event tourism on the host communities in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Toneva Petya Ivanova

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The research interest is directed towards assessing the impacts of event tourism in Bulgaria as a popular and dynamic element of the tourism supply and demand, which is has a potential for combinations, development and creation. The article outlines the main theoretical and methodological principles of assessing the impacts of event tourism. Based on the existing achievements in the specialized literature, the study offers a model for assessing these effects. The developed instrument is applied empirically and the collected data is analysed. The impacts of the contemporary event tourism on destination Bulgaria are assessed at the aggregate level.

  20. Current situation of oil refinery in Bulgaria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vershkova, Elena; Petkova, Petinka; Grinkevich, Anastasia

    2016-09-01

    This article deals with the classification approach for oil refineries in international practices. Criteria of refinery estimation group, including its financial status estimation, have been investigated. The analysis object is “Lukoil Neftochim Bourgas” AD (LNCHB) activity. This company is a leading enterprise in Bulgaria. The analysis of LNCHB operating: energy intensity index; index of operating costs and return on investment index have been performed.

  1. Renewable energy sources in Bulgaria: Current state and trends

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolev, K.

    The over-dependency of Bulgaria on imported fuel stressed the importance of developing a new energy strategy based on energy saving which includes also using renewable energy sources (RES). The target is the substitution of at least 2 percent of the real primary energy consumption with RES by 2010. The author gives a generalized analysis of the available RES in Bulgaria -solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and mini-hydraulic. The potentialities of each source for its usage as a suitable energy supply are pointed out, as well as the current status of research and implementation work, problems connected with legislation, financing and production of particular facilities. The governmental policy concerning RES is considered briefly. A description is given to the project 'Technical and Economical Assessment of Possibilities for Expansion of the RES-part in the Energy Balance of the Country' developed and started in 1994 in the framework of the PHARE program.

  2. Nursing ethics: what lies ahead? The case of Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popova, S

    1996-03-01

    In Bulgaria, we are sharing a transition to a civic society and a market economy, which means transferring to new parameters of our culture. Many old customs based on coercion, obedience and unacceptable interference are gradually dying out, and new principles tend to shape the way we live our collective lives. These include the ethics of partnership, which tend to create an assertion of individual rights and an affirmation of free will and autonomy, and within which the individual is protected in the pursuit of personal judgements. It is remarkable, however, that we have so much difficulty in talking about and identifying the most beneficial approaches for the achievement of the new design of our society. In this paper, I propose to illustrate the current crisis in nursing ethics with information mainly from Bulgaria. However, I think that the problems and trends in the other Eastern European countries are similar.

  3. Strong intermediate-depth Vreancea earthquakes: Damage capacity in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kouteva-Guentcheva, M.P.; Paskaleva, I.P.; Panza, G.F.

    2008-08-01

    The sustainable development of the society depends not only on a reasonable policy for economical growth but also on the reasonable management of natural risks. The regional earthquake danger due to the Vrancea intermediate-depth earthquakes dominates the hazard of NE Bulgaria. These quakes have particularly long-period and far-reaching effects, causing damages at large epicentral distances. Vrancea events energy attenuates considerably less rapidly than that of the wave field radiated by the seismically active zones in Bulgaria. The available strong motion records at Russe, NE Bulgaria, due to both Vrancea events - August 30, 1986 and May 30, 1990 show higher seismic response spectra amplitudes for periods up to 0.6 s for the horizontal components, compared to the values given in the Bulgarian Code and Eurocode 8. A neo-deterministic analytical procedure which models the wavefield generated by a realistic earthquake source, as it propagates through a laterally varying anelastic medium, is applied to obtain the seismic loading at Russe. After proper validation, using the few available data and parametric analyses, from the synthesized seismic signals damage capacity of selected scenario Vrancea quakes is estimated and compared with available capacity curves for some reinforced concrete and masonry structures, representative of the Balkan Region. The performed modelling has shown that the earthquake focal mechanisms control the seismic loading much more than the local geology, and that the site response should be analyzed by considering the whole thickness of sediments until the bedrock, and not only the topmost 30 m. (author)

  4. Current healthcare in Bulgaria: time for predictive diagnostics and preventive medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimitrov, Dimiter V

    2010-12-01

    Since 1990 Bulgaria gradually moved from monopolistic to market regulated economy and healthcare. In 2007 the country became member of the European Union and started to adopt EU legislations. However, significant gaps between the average European and Bulgarian level of social, health and economic efficiency remain to be narrowed. The major challenge is the demographic situation, where recent trends give alarming signals. Plans for reformation include transition towards out-patient palliative healthcare centers for the aging population as well as reduction of the costs with new electronic system of health insurance. The favorable location of the country at the Black Sea coast gives opportunities for medical tourism, which can provide quality health service for foreign customers. Finally, national platforms on prevention of major non-communicable diseases, such as obesity, cancer and diabetes, must be established as coordinated actions for the health and wellness of next generations.

  5. A review of Sphaeropsis sapinea occurrence on Pinus species in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margarita Georgieva

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Sphaeropsis sapinea (Fr. Dyko & Sutton causes shoot blight and canker disease throughout the world on conifers predisposed by stress. The disease is most important to Pinus species that are affected from the seedling stage in nurseries to mature trees in ornamental planting, forest plantations and natural stands. In Bulgaria, the first findings of the disease were noted in 1989 on Pinus nigra plantations in the North-eastern part of the country. Over the past few years, new emergency and severe damages have developed rapidly as a consequence of the prolonged drought periods during the last growing seasons. The high existence of S. sapinea outbreaks contributed considerably to the physiological weakness of pine trees that become more susceptible to attack by aggressive xylophages and other fungal pathogens. Disease occurrence and its pathogenicity are economically important affecting a number of pine trees from all ages. In Bulgaria, S. sapinea has been obtained on six pine species P. nigra, P. strobus, P. radiata, P. ponderosa, P. pinaster and P. halepensis. The aim of this review is to present the available knowledge on distribution, host specificity, biology, ecology, management of the disease, and to discuss its current prevalence and pathogenicity effect on pine species in Bulgaria.

  6. FDI by Economic Activities and Investment Incentives in Bulgaria and Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Biljana Stankov

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Since 2007, when Bulgaria became a full member of the EU and 2012, when Serbia was granted the status of candidate for EU membership, these countries have become very attractive investment destinations. The object of this research is the movements of FDI in the mentioned countries in 2013 and their structure by economic activities. The scientific problem is related to the positive effects of FDI on the host country, making an attractive investment environment, creating incentives for foreign investors and comparing the structure of FDI in Bulgaria and Serbia with simultaneous comparison with the European average. It may be noted that this is a current theoretical and empirical research that deals with modern state of the subject. The necessary quantitative data have been collected using the desk method and using the secondary data source and the method of description as well as the comparative method were used in the ensuing analysis. The aim of the study is to, by applying the above methods, determine the most attractive investment areas, analyze the current investment incentives and provide recommendations on adjustments to be made to improve the actual investment strategies and create attractive investment locations in Bulgaria and Serbia.

  7. Prerequisites to promote energy efficiency investments in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boernsen, O.

    1994-01-01

    The PHARE Energy Programme's team observation and advice to the Committee of Energy in Bulgaria are outlined. In comparison to the Western European countries energy intensity in Bulgaria is 2-3 times higher. It is explained by the energy intensive industrial structure and the old and depreciated capital equipment. Cost-covering energy prices would make energy efficiency investment financially feasible and would attract financiers. But the lesson from Western European experience is that availability of finance capital and cost reflecting energy prices is not at all a necessary prerequisite for energy efficiency improvement. This improvement can be achieved with no cost or low cost measures. The potential for energy efficiency in industry (consuming more than 50% of the energy) is 11%-20%; in buildings - 6%; in transport - 4%. There are other obstacles, as lack of information, other business interests and no internal expertise, especially for small and medium size industries. The basic prerequisite to improve energy efficiency is raising of awareness and change of management culture, as well as radical change in organisational and management structures. (orig.)

  8. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL DETERMINANTS OF COMMERCIAL BANKS PROFITABILITY: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM BULGARIA AND ROMANIA

    OpenAIRE

    FIRTESCU BOGDAN; Angela ROMAN

    2015-01-01

    Our study focuses on commercial banks which are operating in Bulgaria and Romania, two countries whose banking sectors have registered major structural changes in the transition to a market economy and which are showing some similarities. Similar to other EU countries, the financial system from Bulgaria and Romania is dominated by the banking sector, which holds the largest share of total assets. Thus, we can say that health, strength and performance of the banking sector are of major importa...

  9. The seismicity of Bulgaria and the possibility for radioactive waste storage (preliminary considerations)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Christoskov, L.; Samardjieva, E.; Solakov, D.

    1993-01-01

    Data on the number of earthquakes in the Balkan countries for the period 1901-1970 with magnitude M>4 and M>7 and epicentral intensity I 0 >IX are summarized. An overview of the seismicity of Bulgaria is given according to historical data taken from the Catalogue of Bulgarian Earthquakes (where destructive events since the 1 c. B.C. are documented). In more detail an analysis of the seismic activity since the beginning of the present century is made. In comparison with the data for the Central Balkans, the data concerning Bulgaria show lower recurrence of the shocks, i.e. longer average time intervals between earthquakes of a given M. Maps of epicenters of the earthquakes with M≥2 and M≥4 as well as of the magnitude-frequency distribution of the contemporary seismic events are given. A map of expected seismic source zones (SSZ) for Bulgaria and neighbouring lands and a detailed SSZ map for the territory of Bulgaria in magnitude intervals from 7.6 to 5.0, from which impacts of VII degree and greater, according to MSK-64 scale, could be expected, are also presented. It is concluded that the zones with a magnitude higher than 7.1 are exposed to potentially strong danger of future earthquakes and in regions with bad ground conditions SSZ of magnitude 6.1-7.0 could cause destructive consequences as well. The most appropriate places for preservation of radioactive wastes are the SSZ of magnitude below 5.0. In the initial steps towards the selection of site of radwaste repository, one must proceed from the normative shakeability map, taking into account the similar map for a 10000 year period as well as the map of expected SSZ. In the principally unsuitable seismic conditions in the country, it is advisable such kind of installations to be oriented to regions in the most NW part of Bulgaria and Burgas province. 9 refs., 11 figs., 3 tabs. (author)

  10. Experience of international collaboration in preparation of masters in “Mechatronics” with call for funds from Tempus and Erasmus programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhmud, V. A.; Frantsuzova, G. A.; Dimitrov, L. V.; Nosek, J.

    2018-05-01

    This paper reveals the main problems of creating and implementing double diploma programs between universities of Russia and Europe. Novosibirsk State Technical University implements such programs with Technical Universities of Sofia (Bulgaria) and Liberec (Czech Republic). The paper presents the latest results of this activity and discusses the possibilities of its development in the field of joint postgraduate training, as well as joint scientific research with the involvement of students and postgraduate.

  11. SOFIA/FORCAST OBSERVATIONS OF WARM DUST IN S106: A FRAGMENTED ENVIRONMENT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adams, J. D. [Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, Universities Space Research Association, NASA/Armstrong Flight Research Center, 2825 East Avenue P, Palmdale, CA 93550 (United States); Herter, T. L.; Lau, R. M.; Hankins, M. [Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Space Sciences Building, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Hora, J. L.; Fazio, G. G.; Fernandez, A. Guzman; Keto, E. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Schneider, N.; Simon, R. [KOSMA, I. Physikalisches Institut, Universität zu Köln, Zülpicher Strasse 77, D-50937 Köln (Germany); Staguhn, J. G. [NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Smith, N. [Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065 (United States); Gehrz, R. D. [Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota, 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States); Allen, L. E. [National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); Bontemps, S. [Université Bordeaux, LAB, UMR 5804, CNRS, F-33270, Floirac (France); Carey, S. J. [Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Gutermuth, R. A. [Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, LGRT-B 619E, 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01003-9305 (United States); Hill, T. [Joint ALMA Observatory, 3107 Alonso de Cordova, Vitacura, Santiago (Chile); Koenig, X. P. [Department of Astronomy, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States); Kraemer, K. E. [Institute for Scientific Research, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 (United States); and others

    2015-11-20

    We present mid-IR (19–37 μm) imaging observations of S106 from SOFIA/FORCAST, complemented with IR observations from Spitzer/IRAC (3.6–8.0 μm), IRTF/MIRLIN (11.3 and 12.5 μm), and Herschel/PACS (70 and 160 μm). We use these observations, observations in the literature, and radiation transfer modeling to study the heating and composition of the warm (∼100 K) dust in the region. The dust is heated radiatively by the source S106 IR, with little contributions from grain–electron collisions and Lyα radiation. The dust luminosity is ≳(9.02 ± 1.01) × 10{sup 4} L{sub ⊙}, consistent with heating by a mid- to late-type O star. We find a temperature gradient (∼75–107 K) in the lobes, which is consistent with a dusty equatorial geometry around S106 IR. Furthermore, the SOFIA observations resolve several cool (∼65–70 K) lanes and pockets of warmer (∼75–90 K) dust in the ionization shadow, indicating that the environment is fragmented. We model the dust mass as a composition of amorphous silicates, amorphous carbon, big grains, very small grains, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. We present the relative abundances of each grain component for several locations in S106.

  12. Regional climate change: Precipitation variability in mountainous part of Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikolova Nina

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of paper is to analyze temporal and spatial changes in monthly precipitation as well as extremely dry and wet months in mountainous part of Bulgaria. Study precipitation variability in mountainous part is very important because this part is the region where the rivers take its source from. Extreme values of monthly precipitation are important information for better understanding of the whole variability and trends in precipitation time series. The mean investigated period is 1951-2005 and the reference period is so called temporary climate - 1961- 1990. Extreme dry precipitation months are defined as a month whose monthly precipitation is lower than 10% of gamma distribution in the reference period 1961-1990. Extreme wet months are determined with respect to 90% percentiles of gamma distribution (monthly precipitation is higher than 90%. The result of the research show that in mountainous part of Bulgaria during 1950s and 1960s number of extremely wet months is higher than number of dry months. Decreasing of monthly precipitation is a feature for 1980s. This dry period continues till 2004. The years 2000 makes impression as driest year in high mountains with about 7 extremely dry months. The second dry year is 1993. The negative precipitation anomaly is most clearly determined during last decade at study area. The present research points out that fluctuation of precipitation in mountainous part of Bulgaria are coinciding with regional and global climate trends.

  13. Mid-infrared imaging of the bipolar planetary nebula M2-9 from SOFIA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Werner, M. W.; Sahai, R.; Davis, J.; Livingston, J. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91107 (United States); Lykou, F. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Vienna, Turkenschanzstrasse 17, A-1180, Vienna (Austria); DE Buizer, J. [USRA SOFIA Science Center, M/S 211-3, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); Morris, M. R. [Division of Astronomy, P.O. Box 951547, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095 (United States); Keller, L. [Department of Physics, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY 14850 (United States); Adams, J.; Gull, G.; Henderson, C.; Herter, T.; Schoenwald, J., E-mail: Michael.W.Werner@jpl.nasa.gov [Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States)

    2014-01-10

    We have imaged the bipolar planetary nebula M2-9 using SOFIA's FORCAST instrument in six wavelength bands between 6.6 and 37.1 μm. A bright central point source, unresolved with SOFIA's ∼4''-5'' beam, is seen at each wavelength, and the extended bipolar lobes are clearly seen at 19.7 μm and beyond. The photometry between 10 and 25 μm is well fit by the emission predicted from a stratified disk seen at large inclination, as has been proposed for this source by Lykou et al. and by Smith and Gehrz. The principal new results in this paper relate to the distribution and properties of the dust that emits the infrared radiation. In particular, a considerable fraction of this material is spread uniformly through the lobes, although the dust density does increase at the sharp outer edge seen in higher resolution optical images of M2-9. The dust grain population in the lobes shows that small (<0.1 μm) and large (>1 μm) particles appear to be present in roughly equal amounts by mass. We suggest that collisional processing within the bipolar outflow plays an important role in establishing the particle size distribution.

  14. Mid-infrared imaging of the bipolar planetary nebula M2-9 from SOFIA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Werner, M. W.; Sahai, R.; Davis, J.; Livingston, J.; Lykou, F.; DE Buizer, J.; Morris, M. R.; Keller, L.; Adams, J.; Gull, G.; Henderson, C.; Herter, T.; Schoenwald, J.

    2014-01-01

    We have imaged the bipolar planetary nebula M2-9 using SOFIA's FORCAST instrument in six wavelength bands between 6.6 and 37.1 μm. A bright central point source, unresolved with SOFIA's ∼4''-5'' beam, is seen at each wavelength, and the extended bipolar lobes are clearly seen at 19.7 μm and beyond. The photometry between 10 and 25 μm is well fit by the emission predicted from a stratified disk seen at large inclination, as has been proposed for this source by Lykou et al. and by Smith and Gehrz. The principal new results in this paper relate to the distribution and properties of the dust that emits the infrared radiation. In particular, a considerable fraction of this material is spread uniformly through the lobes, although the dust density does increase at the sharp outer edge seen in higher resolution optical images of M2-9. The dust grain population in the lobes shows that small (<0.1 μm) and large (>1 μm) particles appear to be present in roughly equal amounts by mass. We suggest that collisional processing within the bipolar outflow plays an important role in establishing the particle size distribution.

  15. BULGARIA'S PLACE IN WORLD TOURISM (AN ATTEMPT TO POSITIONING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krasimir Levkov

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The article presents an attempt to determine the place of Bulgaria in global tourism by using the indicators included in the report of the World Economic Forum in 2015. The positions of the country are compared with those of its main competitors in the Balkan region.

  16. Beijing Lineage of MDR Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Bulgaria, 2007-2011

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Panaiotov, Stefan; Bachiyska, Elizabeta; Yordanova, Stanislava; Atanasova, Yuliana; Brankova, Nadia; Levterova, Viktoria; Sengstake, Sarah; Anthony, Richard; Bergval, Indra; Sola, Christophe; Kantardjiev, Todor

    2014-01-01

    To assess the spread of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing genotype among patients with multidrug-resistant and extensively resistant tuberculosis in Bulgaria, we genotyped 188 (72%) of 261 microbiologically confirmed resistant isolates obtained during 2007-2011. The estimated prevalence of the

  17. System of prediction and warning of floods in the water basin of Struma/ Strymonas River

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mimides, Theologos; Rizos, Spyros; Soulis, Kostas; Dimitrov, Dobri

    2004-01-01

    Struma is collecting waters from four countries: Bulgaria, Serbia, FYROM and Greece. Most of its basin area is located in Bulgaria and Greece, while the upper part of its basin is in Bulgaria. There are important hydro technical structures just below the Bulgarian-Greek border, and the floods generated in the Bulgarian part of the basin could significantly affect the security of those structures and their operational rules. That is why several years ago a project related to flood warning at Struma/ Strymonas river basin was formulated and its first phase was completed in 2000. The main objective of the project was to demonstrate the principal possibility for issuing reliable warnings for hazardous flood events with sufficient lead-time to organize flood mitigation measures. The project implementation team included various scientists from the Agricultural University of Athens-Greece (leader), from the Center of Remote Sensing, Bristol University-UK, and from the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology of Sofia - Bulgaria. The work program of the first project phase included a range of activities implemented by the Bulgarian and Greek team members, coordinated by the Agricultural University of Athens. Among the activities of the Project are included: a) a preliminary model for peak flood hydrographs and specifications of an early warning system, b) a real time flood forecasting by routing flood hydrographs through the system of the river and Kerkini lake, c) thematic maps of vegetation and land cover derived by satellite remote sensing, d) satellite snow monitoring in the basin, e) an adaptation of the Alladin Weather Forecast Model at the hydrological basin and scaling of the Crocus Snow Model at a preliminary stage, and f) development of a geo environmental recording system.(Author)

  18. Climate change research in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iotova, A.; Koleva, E.

    1995-01-01

    Climate is traditionally one of the main fields of research interest and objects for study in Bulgaria. Therefore, many investigations on its genesis and specific features are carried out in the past and present. Recently, climate change research appears to be the most actual topic and it is in the centre of climatic studies. A major part of these studies are realized at the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (NIMH) because of its essential role in collection and analysis of the basic climatic data for the country. A brief description of the climate change research at NIMH is presented and the obtained results are summarized

  19. The Contribution of Bulgaria to CERN

    CERN Document Server

    2001-01-01

    Following the discussions in the Committee of Council on 14th December 2000, concerning the request by Bulgaria for a reduction of its contribution to CERN for 2000 and 2001, the Bulgarian Minister of Education & Science expressed on 26 January 2001 his readiness to accept the scheme of reductions that emerged from these discussions. The Management considers that this scheme constitutes a reasonable solution and invites the Committee of Council to recommend the Council to take note of this document and to approve the annexed draft Resolution (Annex VI).

  20. LABOR DISCRIMINATION IN BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vyara Slavyanska

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Labor discrimination is a phenomenon with very serious social and economic consequences, which has increased actuality and importance in Bulgaria nowadays. Because of the high price of discrimination, building effective anti-discrimination legislation occupies a special place in the policy of the European Union. Despite the European directives, the presence of anti-discrimination legislation and the broadly declared anti-discrimination inclinations in our country, these are absolutely not enough for providing environment of equality, with a climate of respect and tolerance to the differences. It turns out that certain groups are definitely victims of labor discrimination. In this connection the present article consecutively identifies these groups, as well as the reasons for their discrimination, underlining the necessity and benefits of the integration of the different.

  1. Fundação de assistência integral à saúde/Hospital Sofia Feldman: uma experiência de administração flexível? Fundación de asistencia integral a la salud/hospital Sofia Feldman: una experiencia de administración flexible? Foundation of integral health care: an experience of flexible administration?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marília Alves

    1999-10-01

    Full Text Available O presente trabalho teve como objetivo traçar um paralelo entre a experiência administrativa do Hospital Sofia Feldman e a teoria de gerência flexível proposta por MOTTA (1991 e MÉDICI & SILVA (1993. Descreve, também, elementos inovadores de integração da instituição com a comunidade: mãe substituta, ombudsman e trabalho voluntário sistematizado da Associação Comunitária dos Amigos e Usuários do Hospital Sofia Feldman. A coleta de dados foi feita através de roteiro de entrevista semi-estruturada, aplicado a funcionários de diferentes setores, procurando conhecer a percepção dos mesmos sobre o modelo gerencial adotado. Os depoimentos apontaram características de administração flexível no hospital, porém, permeada de traços da gerência clássica.El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo trazar un paralelo entre la experiencia administrativa del Hospital Sofia Feldman y la teoria de gerencia flexible propuesta por MOTTA (1991 y MEDICI& SILVA (1993. Describe, también, elementos innovadores de integraçión de la instituición com la comunidad: madre sustituta, ombdsman y trabajo voluntario sistematizado de la Associación Comunitaria de los Amigos y Usuarios del Hospital Sofia Feldman. La recolección de los dados fue realizada a través de una guía de entrevista semi-estructurada aplicada al modelo gerencial adoptado. Las informaciones coletadas puntualizan características de administración flexible en el hospital, pero, intercalada de trazos de gerencia clásica.The purpose of the present study was to verify the correspondence between the administrative experience of the Hospital "Sofia Feldman" and the theory on flexible management proposed by MOTTA (1991 and MÉDICI & SILVA (1993. It also described innovation elements for institutional integration with the community, such as the substitute mother, ombudsman and systematic voluntary work, done by Community Association of Friends and Users of Sofia Feldman Hospital

  2. Student Migration Potential: The Case of Bulgaria

    OpenAIRE

    Valentina Makni

    2011-01-01

    Transnational student mobility is a major factor, which plays an ambiguous role in the dynamic process of international highly skilled migration. In this paper we try to attempt an approximate profile of the potential migrant student in Bulgaria, according to the migration incentives, intentions and expectations of highly educated young people from six reputable universities in the country. For this purpose a sample study is applied based on binary logistic regression analysis. Some of the co...

  3. Naval War College Review. Volume 68, Number 2, Spring 2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-01-01

    attention must be paid to the law that governs these activities—to borrow a sports analogy, a team that takes the field without knowing the rules is...coordinated [malicious] cyber operations” (Tallinn Manual, p� 257)� To borrow a sports analogy, a team that takes the field without knowing the rules...Security,” Sofia, 1–3 November 2005; proceedings available at eaei�files�wordpress�com/2008/01/ black-sea�pdf� 3� “Bulgaria Tourism Statistics for

  4. Nuclear power of Korea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chun Bee-Ho

    2011-01-01

    National nuclear is presented. Nuclear energy safety after Fukushima, international cooperation in nuclear energy is discussed. Nuclear projects with the United Arab Emirates have been developed to build 4 nuclear power plants in the UAE - APR 1400. At the Korea-Bulgaria Industrial Committee Meeting in Sofia (March 2011) Korean side proposed Nuclear Safety Training Program in Korea for Bulgarian government officials and experts transfer of know-how and profound expertise on world-class nuclear technology and nuclear safety

  5. Nature of shocks revealed by SOFIA OI observations in the Cepheus e protostellar outflow

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gusdorf, A.; Anderl, S.; Lefloch, B.

    2017-01-01

    in the various components, and to understand the nature of the underlying shocks, thus probing the origin of the mass-loss phenomenon. Methods. We present observations of the O i 3P1 → 3P2, OH between 2Π1/2Π1/22J = 3/2 and J = 1/2 at 1837.8 GHz, and CO (16-15) lines with the GREAT receiver onboard SOFIA towards...

  6. Conceptual model for concessioning in the Water Supply and Sanitation sector in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Todor Raychev

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to create a new conceptual model for sustainable development of the water sector in Bulgaria on the basis of concessions by statistical regions according to the NUTS-2 classification of the European Union. The essence of the proposed model includes an approach for consolidating the existing 66 WSS operators in three WSS operators – concessionaires. The approach is applied to provide WSS services for drinking and household needs of the population. WSS services for the sectors – Industry, Services, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries remain outside the scope of the study. The proposed model is based on statistical analyses of the effectiveness of the WSS operators working by statistical regions and the state of the technical infrastructure they use. Such concessioning by combining one region from the North and South Bulgaria should help to overcome the existing disproportions in the social and economical development and its harmonization in the regions of Northern and Southern Bulgaria. Its implementation should create new opportunities for introducing foreign direct investment which will contribute to the sustainable development of the water sector in the country. The practical significance of the proposed model for overall concessioning of the WSS sector is for Bulgaria as well as for other countries with low and middle incomes. The model is a part of a comprehensive study of a scientific project, according to the Ordinance No.9 of the Ministry of Education and Science of 08.08.2013, with No.NPI-130/2014, on the topic: „The concession as a factor for development of the Water Supply and Sanitation sector in the Republic of Bulgaria“.

  7. Total, accessible and reserve wind energy resources in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ivanov, P.; Trifonova, L.

    1996-01-01

    The article is a part of the international project 'Bulgaria Country Study to Address Climate Change Inventory of the Greenhouse Gases Emission and Sinks Alternative Energy Balance and Technology Programs' sponsored by the Department of Energy, US. The 'total' average annual wind resources in Bulgaria determined on the basis wind velocity density for more than 100 meteorological stations are estimated on 125 000 TWh. For the whole territory the theoretical wind power potential is about 14200 GW. The 'accessible' wind resources are estimated on about 62000 TWh. The 'reserve' (or usable) wind resources are determined using 8 velocity intervals for WECS (Wind Energy Conversion Systems) operation, number and disposition of turbines, and the usable (3%) part of the territory. The annual reserve resources are estimated at about 21 - 33 TWh. The 'economically beneficial' wind resources (EBWR) are those part of the reserve resources which could be included in the country energy balance using specific technologies in specific time period. It is foreseen that at year 2010 the EBWR could reach 0.028 TWh. 7 refs., 2 tabs., 1 fig

  8. Derecho-like event in Bulgaria on 20 July 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gospodinov, Ilian; Dimitrova, Tsvetelina; Bocheva, Lilia; Simeonov, Petio; Dimitrov, Rumen

    2015-05-01

    In this work we analyze the development of a severe-convective-storm system in northwestern Bulgaria on 20 July 2011 which exhibited derecho-like characteristics. Prior to this event, a derecho had never been documented in Bulgaria. The convective system was associated with a cold front. We present a synoptic-scale analysis of the evolution of the cold front and an overview of the wind and the damage that has occurred in the region with the strongest impact. The convective system consisted of two multi-cell thunderstorms that are analyzed in some detail, based on radar data. The two storms merged and the convective system evolved into a bow-shape reflectivity structure with two rear inflow notches. The analysis of the radar data revealed cloud top heights of 17 km, with the formation of а bounded weak echo region, a maximum radar reflectivity factor of 63 dBZ, and wind speeds above 30 m/s. The field investigation revealed patterns in the damaged crops typical of strong wind gusts.

  9. Trends in Organic Farming Development in Bulgaria: Applying Circular Economy Principles to Sustainable Rural Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimitrov Dimitar K.

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The paper examines the development of organic farming in Bulgaria through the viewpoint of its links to circular economy concept and its potential to contribute to sustainable rural development. The significant increase in the number of organic operators and areas is analyzed in the context of stable growth in the European sector and worldwide and the increase in consumer demand. Main indicators reported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Bulgaria and the support provided by the National Rural Development Program are used to present the characteristics of organic production and agricultural holdings. The advantages of Bulgaria are underlined as a country offering the necessary conditions, along with the main problems in production and marketing. Recommendations are provided for organic sector encouragement as a sustainable business model and an entrepreneurial initiative for sustainable rural development putting a special accent on networking and capacity building activities in connection to potential solutions and policy development.

  10. New record of cryoseston in the Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Lukavský, Jaromír; Cepák, Vladislav

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 99, 3-4 (2014), 453-466 ISSN 0029-5035 R&D Projects: GA TA ČR TE01020080; GA TA ČR TA03011027 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60050516 Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : Aphanocapsa nivalis * Bulgaria, cryoseston * Rhodope Mountains * snow algae Subject RIV: EI - Biotechnology ; Bionics Impact factor: 1.195, year: 2014

  11. Explaining the Undeclared Economy in Bulgaria: an Institutional Asymmetry Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Williams Colin C.

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a way of explaining the undeclared economy that represents participation in undeclared work as a violation of the social contract between the state and its citizens, and as arising when the informal institutions comprising the norms, values and beliefs of citizens (civic morality do not align with the codified laws and regulations of a society’s formal institutions (state morality. Drawing upon evidence from 1,018 face-to-face interviews conducted in Bulgaria during 2013, the finding is that the greater is the asymmetry between formal and informal institutions (i.e., citizens’ civic morality and state morality, the greater is the likelihood of participation in the undeclared economy, and vice versa. The outcome is that tackling the undeclared economy requires a focus upon reducing this lack of alignment of formal and informal institutions. How this can be achieved in Bulgaria in particular and South-East Europe and beyond more generally, is then discussed.

  12. Time of flight measurement on the SOFIA experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bail, A.; Taieb, J.; Chatillon, A.; Belier, G.; Laurent, B.; Pellereau, E.

    2011-01-01

    The SOFIA experiment, which will be held at GSI (Darmstadt (Germany)) will allow to completely determine the mass and charge numbers of fragments produced in the fission reaction of radioactive actinides in reverse kinematics. Therefore, a dedicated setup has been developed for the Time of Flight measurement of relativistic heavy ions. The studies, which led to the choice of the adequate plastic scintillators and photomultipliers, are presented. Tests have been undertaken with the ELSA laser and electron beam facility. They shown that a suitable choice would be EJ-232 plastic scintillator for the ToF wall and EJ-232Q for the start detector and Hamamatsu H6533 and H10580 photomultipliers. This was confirmed by two test experiments realized at GSI with relativistic heavy ion beam ( 56 Fe and 238 U), where a time of flight resolution better than 20 ps FWHM was reached. (authors)

  13. Time of flight measurement on the SOFIA experiment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bail, A.; Taieb, J.; Chatillon, A.; Belier, G.; Laurent, B.; Pellereau, E. [CEA/DAM/DIF, Arpajon (France)

    2011-07-01

    The SOFIA experiment, which will be held at GSI (Darmstadt (Germany)) will allow to completely determine the mass and charge numbers of fragments produced in the fission reaction of radioactive actinides in reverse kinematics. Therefore, a dedicated setup has been developed for the Time of Flight measurement of relativistic heavy ions. The studies, which led to the choice of the adequate plastic scintillators and photomultipliers, are presented. Tests have been undertaken with the ELSA laser and electron beam facility. They shown that a suitable choice would be EJ-232 plastic scintillator for the ToF wall and EJ-232Q for the start detector and Hamamatsu H6533 and H10580 photomultipliers. This was confirmed by two test experiments realized at GSI with relativistic heavy ion beam ({sup 56}Fe and {sup 238}U), where a time of flight resolution better than 20 ps FWHM was reached. (authors)

  14. Long-term trend of radioactive contamination of food products in Bulgaria after the Chernobyl accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirov, K.; Marinov, V.; Naidenov, M.

    1997-01-01

    Results which characterize the dynamics for the power of radioactive contamination of foods in the Bulgaria with Cesium radionuclides from May 1986 to December 1995 are presented. It was done for motivation of some conclusions during the progress of radiation situation in Bulgaria after the Chernobyl accident. The data are compared with Maximum residues limits (MRL) of our country as well as that of international organizations. They are compared with the background contamination of foods descended from regions affected after experimental nuclear explosion till 1963 too

  15. EDITORIAL: 23rd International Laser Physics Workshop (LPHYS'14)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-03-01

    Dear Readers, The 23rd annual International Laser Physics Workshop, LPHYS'14, took place in the City of Sofia, Bulgaria. 361 participants from 35 countries attended the conference. It was hosted by the Institute of Electronics at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. This year's Workshop was dedicated to paying tribute to two major events: • 50th anniversary of 1964 Nobel Prize in physics, • 145th anniversary of the establishment of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. LPHYS'14 has been taken under the High Patronage of Rosen Plevneliev, President of the Republic of Bulgaria. The LPHYS'14 Steering Committee and the Advisory & Program Committee would like to extend their sincere gratitude to Professor Sanka Gateva (Co-Chair) and Professor Ekaterina Borisova (Head of the Local Organizing Committee) and to their team for the outstanding job performed in organizing, arranging, managing and putting in order the conference. Their combined efforts lead to a successful result. In this volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series you will find selected proceedings of the Workshop in Sofia. Please make a note that the 24th annual International Laser Physics Workshop (LPHYS'15) will take place from August 21 to August 25, 2015 in the city of Shanghai, China hosted by Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. With kind regards, Steering and Advisory & Program committees LPHYS'14

  16. OBSERVATIONS OF TYPE Ia SUPERNOVA 2014J WITH FLITECAM ON SOFIA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vacca, William D.; Hamilton, Ryan T.; Savage, Maureen; Shenoy, Sachindev; Becklin, E. E.; Helton, L. A. [SOFIA-USRA, NASA Ames Research Center, Mail Stop N232-12, Moffet Field, CA 94035-1000 (United States); McLean, Ian S.; Logsdon, Sarah E. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1562 (United States); Marion, G. H. [University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C1400, Austin, TX 78712-0259 (United States); Ashok, N. M.; Banerjee, D. P. K. [Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad 380009 (India); Evans, A. [Astrophysics Group, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG (United Kingdom); Fox, O. D. [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States); Garnavich, P. [University of Notre Dame, 225 Nieuwland Science Ctr, Notre Dame, IN 46556-5670 (United States); Gehrz, R. D. [Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota, 116 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0149 (United States); Greenhouse, M. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 665, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Kirshner, R. P. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Shenoy, D. [Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, 116 Church Street, S. E., Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States); Smith, Nathan [Steward Observatory, 933 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States); Spyromilio, J., E-mail: wvacca@sofia.usra.edu [European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, Garching, D-85748 (Germany); and others

    2015-05-01

    We present medium-resolution near-infrared (NIR) spectra, covering 1.1–3.4 μm, of the normal Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) SN 2014J in M82 obtained with the FLITECAM instrument on board Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) between 17 and 26 days after maximum B light. Our 2.8–3.4 μm spectra may be the first ∼3 μm spectra of an SN Ia ever published. The spectra spanning the 1.5–2.7 μm range are characterized by a strong emission feature at ∼1.77 μm with a FWHM of ∼11,000–13,000 km s{sup −1}. We compare the observed FLITECAM spectra to the recent non-LTE delayed detonation models of Dessart et al. and find that the models agree with the spectra remarkably well in the 1.5–2.7 μm wavelength range. Based on this comparison we identify the ∼1.77 μm emission peak as a blend of permitted lines of Co ii. Other features seen in the 2.0–2.5 μm spectra are also identified as emission from permitted transitions of Co ii. However, the models are not as successful at reproducing the spectra in the 1.1–1.4 μm range or between 2.8 and 3.4 μm. These observations demonstrate the promise of SOFIA, which allows access to wavelength regions inaccessible from the ground, and serve to draw attention to the usefulness of the regions between the standard ground-based NIR passbands for constraining SN models.

  17. OBSERVATIONS OF TYPE Ia SUPERNOVA 2014J WITH FLITECAM ON SOFIA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vacca, William D.; Hamilton, Ryan T.; Savage, Maureen; Shenoy, Sachindev; Becklin, E. E.; Helton, L. A.; McLean, Ian S.; Logsdon, Sarah E.; Marion, G. H.; Ashok, N. M.; Banerjee, D. P. K.; Evans, A.; Fox, O. D.; Garnavich, P.; Gehrz, R. D.; Greenhouse, M.; Kirshner, R. P.; Shenoy, D.; Smith, Nathan; Spyromilio, J.

    2015-01-01

    We present medium-resolution near-infrared (NIR) spectra, covering 1.1–3.4 μm, of the normal Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) SN 2014J in M82 obtained with the FLITECAM instrument on board Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) between 17 and 26 days after maximum B light. Our 2.8–3.4 μm spectra may be the first ∼3 μm spectra of an SN Ia ever published. The spectra spanning the 1.5–2.7 μm range are characterized by a strong emission feature at ∼1.77 μm with a FWHM of ∼11,000–13,000 km s −1 . We compare the observed FLITECAM spectra to the recent non-LTE delayed detonation models of Dessart et al. and find that the models agree with the spectra remarkably well in the 1.5–2.7 μm wavelength range. Based on this comparison we identify the ∼1.77 μm emission peak as a blend of permitted lines of Co ii. Other features seen in the 2.0–2.5 μm spectra are also identified as emission from permitted transitions of Co ii. However, the models are not as successful at reproducing the spectra in the 1.1–1.4 μm range or between 2.8 and 3.4 μm. These observations demonstrate the promise of SOFIA, which allows access to wavelength regions inaccessible from the ground, and serve to draw attention to the usefulness of the regions between the standard ground-based NIR passbands for constraining SN models

  18. Motivational factors for the adoption of ISO 9001 standards in Eastern Europe: the case of Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Svetoslav Georgiev

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: This study analyzes the motivational factors for ISO 9001 certification in Bulgaria from the internal/external motivations perspective, or the so-called dual model.Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on a mixed method research approach, which employed two interviews with experts in the field of quality management at the exploratory stage, and a survey involving 127 companies at the descriptive stage.Findings: This study claims that enhanced company image and competitiveness – an external motivation - is the leading motivational factor for ISO 9001 certification in Bulgaria. At the same time, our primary investigation reveals that Bulgarian firms are not predominantly externally driven, for internal motivations including process improvement and product quality improvement seem to be an important driver for ISO 9001 certification. Last but not least, this research asserts that enhanced company image and competitiveness has a stronger impact on the motivations for ISO 9001 certification than customer and supplier pressure, which is in line with previous research works on developing economy economies such as Bulgaria. Finally, our study indicates a moderate, yet positive correlation between motivations for and benefits of ISO 9001 certification.Social implications: This research work casts some light on the evolution of quality management in Bulgaria since the end of communism, which can serve as an important foundation for the better understanding of quality management in former communist economies in general and Eastern European states in particular.Originality/value: Derived from the acute gap between ISO studies in Western and former communist economies, this research work presents one of the first official, international studies in the field of ISO certification in Bulgaria, and more precisely, a paper describing the motives for ISO 9001 certification among Bulgarian businesses.

  19. Bulgaria health system review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimova, Antoniya; Rohova, Maria; Moutafova, Emanuela; Atanasova, Elka; Koeva, Stefka; Panteli, Dimitra; van Ginneken, Ewout

    2012-01-01

    In the last 20 years, demographic development in Bulgaria has been characterized by population decline, a low crude birth rate, a low fertility rate, a high mortality rate and an ageing population. A stabilizing political situation since the early 2000s and an economic upsurge since the mid-2000s were important factors in the slight increase of the birth and fertility rates and the slight decrease in standardized death rates. In general, Bulgaria lags behind European Union (EU) averages in most mortality and morbidity indicators. Life expectancy at birth reached 73.3 years in 2008 with the main three causes of death being diseases of the circulatory system, malignant neoplasms and diseases of the respiratory system. One of the most important risk factors overall is smoking, and the average standardized death rate for smoking-related causes in 2008 was twice as high as the EU15 average. The Bulgarian health system is characterized by limited statism. The Ministry of Health is responsible for national health policy and the overall organization and functioning of the health system and coordinates with all ministries with relevance to public health. The key players in the insurance system are the insured individuals, the health care providers and the third party payers, comprising the National Health Insurance Fund, the single payer in the social health insurance (SHI) system, and voluntary health insurance companies (VHICs). Health financing consists of a publicprivate mix. Health care is financed from compulsory health insurance contributions, taxes, outofpocket (OOP) payments, voluntary health insurance (VHI) premiums, corporate payments, donations, and external funding. Total health expenditure (THE) as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) increased from 5.3% in 1995 to 7.3% in 2008. At the latter date it consisted of 36.5% OOP payments, 34.8% SHI, 13.6% Ministry of Health expenditure, 9.4% municipality expenditure and 0.3% VHI. Informal payments in the health

  20. Legislative and regulatory framework on the safety of radioactive waste management in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kastchiev, G.

    2000-01-01

    There are six nuclear power units in operation in Bulgaria. Over 2000 sites use sources of ionizing radiation. NPP radioactive waste is stored on-site and the institutional waste was disposed of at the Novi han repository until 1994. Bulgaria signed the Joint Convention in 1998 and is to ratify it until the end of 1999. A plan on preparation of the country for the obligations following the forthcoming ratification was developed and has been implemented. A National Strategy on SNF and RAW was developed, as well as a Comprehensive Legislative Programme in this field. Emphasis is put on the strengthening the regulatory body, improvement of the supervision and control activities. (author)

  1. Innovative development and factors affecting the innovative activity of industrial enterprises in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sotirova Asya Olegova

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Innovations are a necessity, innovations are a factor, innovations are the moving force of the companies in the 21st century. Every modern manager should recognize the role of innovations for the existence of the enterprises and to aim at innovative development. The novelties in various areas are to be followed up. It is necessary to look for the options and to overcome the obstacles standing in the way of innovations. The major objective of this article is to establish the state of innovative activity of industrial enterprises in Bulgaria and to identify the factors exercising the largest influence on their innovative development. The major results to be achieved are the establishment of the basic internal and external factors that support innovations, the deduction of the major problems occurring during the innovation process and the establishment of some directives to activation. The major methods of study used in this work are statistical methods for evaluation, method of analysis and synthesis, method of comparison. Information of literature sources has been studied and systematized within the process of research, as well as analytical reports of Bulgaria and the European Union, and results from an inquiry held are used, as well as statistical data of the National Statistical Institute of the Republic of Bulgaria.

  2. Flora of the Mediterranean Rivers in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yordanka G. Hristeva

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Species composition and distribution of aquatic bryophytes and vascular plants assemblages in Mediteranean Rivers in Bulgaria are presented in this work. Aquatic macrophytes were studied at thirteen rivers in South Bulgaria during 2014, together with abiotic factors (flow velocity, shading, and substrate type, mean depth and altitude. In total, 73 species were registered, of them 13 bryophytes and 60 vascular plants were identified. Aquatic bryophytes included 10 mosses and 3 liverworts. The recorded bryophytes species refer to 7 families and 12 genera. The most frequently distributed species was Leptodictyum riparium (Hedw. Warnst., followed by Cratoneuron filicinum (Hedw. Spruce and Platyhypnidium riparioides (Hedw. Dixon, Brachythecium rivulare Schimp. and Hygroamblystegium tenax (Hedw. Jenn. The recorded 60 species of vascular plants refer to 25 families and 43 genera. The most common hydrophyte species was Lemna minor L., followed by Ranunculus trichophyllus Chaix, Myriophyllum spicatum L. and Potamogeton nodosus Poir. The most abundant species from the group of helophytes and amphiphytes was Mentha aquatica L., followed by Agrostis stolonifera L. Mentha spicata L., Berula erecta (Huds. Coville, Juncus effusus L., Lycopus europaeus L., Lythrum salicaria L., Phalaris arundinacea L., Ranunculus repens L., Sparganium erectum L., Typha latifolia L., and Veronica anagalis-aquatica L. The majority of studied rivers sites were sunny, with moderate velocity, stony bottom, average depth up to 0.3 m and altitude between 100 and 500 m a.s.l.

  3. CLASSIFICATION OF SEMI-NATURAL GRASSLANDS IN NORTH-EASTERN BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    IVA APOSTOLOVA

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available This study presents the syntaxonomic diversity of the semi-natural grasslands in NorthEastern Bulgaria following the principles of the Ziirich-Montpellier School. A total number of 172 releves, collected during 2002-2004, is used. TWINSPAN clustering is applied for determination vegetation types. The diagnostic species groups for the associations and subassociations are created by Cocktail method using the phi-coefficient with values above 0.3 within the JUICE software. As a result class Fesluco-Brometea is established with the alliances Festucion valesiacae, Pimpinello-Thymion and Chrysopogoni-Danthonion. The originally described Botriochloetum ischaemi Pop 1977 association is considered as typical on the subassociation level and a part of our releves are referred to it. Following the nomenclature rules we determined the subassotiation typicum. One new subassociation named Thymefosum pannonici of more xerophytic character, as compared to typical one, and well represented by differential species is established. The geographical distribution of Agropyro-Thymetum zygoidi and Agrostideto-Chrysopogonetum grylli associations is extended to the territory of Bulgaria. Class Molinio-Arrhenalherefea is represented by Cynosurion alliance and Festuco-Agrostidetum association is established by its probably most eastern area of distribution.

  4. Exploring the effects of energy consumption on output per worker: A study of Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Ronald Ravinesh; Stauvermann, Peter Josef; Patel, Arvind; Kumar, Radika Devi

    2014-01-01

    In this article, we explore the long-run cointegration between output, capital and energy consumption, in per worker terms, for Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. We use the augmented Solow (1956) model and the ARDL bounds procedure (Pesaran et al., 2001) to examine the short-run and long-run effects of energy and capital on output (in per worker terms). We also conduct causality test using the Toda and Yamamoto (1995) non-causality procedure. Our results show the existence of long-run cointegration between output per worker and energy per worker for all the four countries. We find that energy per worker have a dynamic short-run positive effect in Albania (0.37%), Bulgaria (0.25%), Hungary (0.36%) and Romania (0.68%), and a long-run positive effect in Bulgaria (0.32%) and Romania (0.63%) which duly indicate that energy consumption has a momentous long-run effect in these two countries. The causality results indicate a unidirectional causation from output per worker to energy per worker for all the four countries, and from capital per worker to energy per worker for Albania and Romania. Consequently, a balance between effective energy consumption and sound energy conservation policies are likely to support economic growth in the four countries. - Highlights: • Energy has a short-run positive effect in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. • A long-run positive elasticity is noted in Bulgaria and Romania. • Output per worker cause energy per worker in the four countries. • A unidirectional causality from capital to energy is noted for Albania and Romania

  5. Viticulture in Bulgaria – condition and prospects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Popov Kiril

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available As industrial culture the vine is grown successfully between 25–50 ° N and 30–50 ° S. with certain deviations depending on the orographic features of the terrain. Most suitable conditions for the development of the vine there are in moderately warm regions, located between 34–45 ° north latitude. Precisely in this most favorable for development of vine culture zone is located the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria – between 41°14′ and 44°12′ N / Fig. 1 /.

  6. V. F. Gening and problems of the Volga Bulgaria archaeology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rudenko Konstantin A.

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available V.F. Gening’s contribution to the study of the Volga Bulgaria and his views concerning the history and archaeology of this state formation are considered in the article. His sphere of interest first of all included the links between the Volga Bulgaria population and the tribes belonging to preceding cultures, such as Pyanoborye and Imenkovo ones. V.F. Gening investigated the Bolshie Tarkhany, Turaevo and Rozdestveno burial grounds dated by the 8-9th, 5th and 6-7th centuries A.D., and the materials collected modified the notion of the time and character of the Bulgars arrival in the Volga area. He reconsidered the chronology and interpretation of the archaeological monuments, which referred to the epoch preceding the Bulgars appearance on the Volga, and proposed a hypothesis of the Volga Bulgars as a Turkic-Ugrian ethnos. V.F. Gening created a periodization of the Bolgars history in Eastern Europe within the time span between 1st-3rd centuries AD and the early 13th century AD

  7. The design of the Bulgaria rad waste repository; Diseno del centro de almacenamiento de residuos radiactivos de Bulgaria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stefonova, I.; Petrov, I.; Navarro, M.; Sanchez, M.; Medinilla, G.

    2012-11-01

    In October 2011 a consortium composed by Westinghouse Engineering Spain SAU, ENRESA and DBE Technology GmbH was awarded a contract for the design of the Bulgaria rad waste repository. The facility, inspired in the spanish centre of El Cabril owned by ENRESA, will consist of a 66 reinforced concrete cells surface repository capable of receiving 18600 already conditioned waste containers of 20 t each, during 60 years, and the related auxiliary facilities and buildings. The project, representing a challenge because of the schedule and required level of detail, goes on fulfilling main milestones and getting customer satisfaction. (Author)

  8. Leadership Training in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education in Bulgaria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bairaktarova, Diana; Cox, Monica F.; Evangelou, Demetra

    2011-01-01

    This synthesis paper explores current leadership training in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in Bulgaria. The analysis begins with discussion of global factors influencing the implementation of leadership training in STEM education in general and then presents information about the current status of leadership…

  9. Analysing the Transformation of Higher Education Governance in Bulgaria and Lithuania

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dobbins, Michael; Leisyte, Liudvika

    2014-01-01

    Drawing on sociological neo-institutional theory and models of higher education governance, we examine current developments in Bulgaria and Lithuania and explore to what extent those developments were shaped by the Bologna reform. We analyse to what extent the state has moved away from a model of

  10. New results from air pollution studies in Bulgaria (moss survey 2000-2001)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stamenov, J.; Jovchev, M.; Vachev, B.

    2002-01-01

    New results of moss survey 2000 of systematic study of air pollution with heavy metals and other toxic elements in Bulgaria are reported. The moss samples collected at 103 sites in Bulgaria, along the borders with Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey were analyzed by instrumental activation analysis using epithermal neutrons (ENAA) at the IBR-2 pulsed fast reactor for a wide set of elements including heavy metals and rare earth elements (Na, Mg, Al, Cl, K, Ca, Sc, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, As, Se, Br, Rb, Sr, Mo, Sb, I, Cs, Ba, La, Sm, Tb, Yb, Hf, Ta, W, Au, Th, and U). The results obtained are consistent with the mean European values for most of elements. The principle component analysis is applied to distinguish heavy and light crust elements and vegetation ones from those of anthropogenic origin

  11. New Results from Air Pollution Studies in Bulgaria (Moss Survey 2000-2001)

    CERN Document Server

    Stamenov, J N; Vachev, B; Gueleva, E; Yurukova, L; Ganeva, A; Mitrikov, M; Antonov, A; Srentz, A; Varbanov, Z; Batov, I V; Damov, K; Marinova, E; Frontasyeva, M V; Pavlov, S S; Strelkova, L P

    2002-01-01

    New results of moss survey 2000 of systematic study of air pollution with heavy metals and other toxic elements in Bulgaria are reported. The moss samples collected at 103 sites in Bulgaria, along the borders with Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey were analyzed by instrumental activation analysis using epithermal neutrons (ENAA) at the IBR-2 pulsed fast reactor for a wide set of elements including heavy metals and rare earth elements (Na, Mg, Al, Cl, K, Ca, Sc, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, As, Se, Br, Rb, Sr, Mo, Sb, I, Cs, Ba, La, Sm, Tb, Yb, Hf, Ta, W, Au, Th, and U). The results obtained are consistent with the mean European values for most of elements. The principle component analysis is applied to distinguish heavy and light crust elements and vegetation ones from those of anthropogenic origin.

  12. Possible use of dual purpose dry storage casks for transportation and future storage of spent nuclear fuel from IRT-Sofia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manev, L.; Baltiyski, M.

    2003-01-01

    Objectives: The main objective of the present paper is related to one of the priority goals stipulated in Bulgarian Governmental Decision No.332 from May 17, 1999 - removal of SNF from IRT-Sofia site and its exporting for reprocessing and/or for temporary storage at Kozloduy NPP site. The variant of using dual purpose dry storage casks for transportation and future temporary storage of SNF from IRT-Sofia aims to find out a reasonable alternative of the existing till now variant for temporary SNF storage under water in the existing Kozloduy NPP Spent Fuel Storage Facility until its export for reprocessing. Results: Based on the given data for the condition of 73 Spent Nuclear Fuel Assemblies (SNFA) stored in the storage pool and technical data as well as data for available equipment and IRT-Sofia layout the following framework are specified: draft technical features of dual purpose dry storage casks and their overall dimensions; the suitability of the available equipment for safety and reliable performance of transportation and handling operations of assemblies from storage pool to dual purpose dry storage casks; the necessity of new equipment for performance of the above mentioned operations; Assemblies' transportation and handling operations are described; requirements to and conditions for future safety and reliable storage of SNFA loaded casks are determined. When selecting the technical solutions for safety assurance during performance of site handling operations of IRT-Sofia and for description of the exemplary casks the Effective Bulgarian Regulations are considered. The experience of other countries in performance of transfer and transportation of SNFA from such types of research reactors is taken into account. Also, Kozloduy NPP experience in SNF handling operations is taken into account. Conclusions: The Decision of Council of Minister for refurbishment of research reactor into a low power one and its future utilization for experimental and training

  13. Nuclear safety, international cooperation and perspectives of Bulgaria; Yadernaya bezopasnost`, mezhdunarodnoe sotrudnichestvo i perspektivy dlya Bolgarii

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yanev, Y

    1996-12-31

    The use of atomic energy in Bulgaria is under regulation since 1985 by the Atomic Energy Law. The main points of the Law are discussed and some deficiencies are pointed out. The ratification of the Vienna and Paris conventions has contributed to updating the legislation. The participation in international projects related to the use of atomic energy and nuclear safety in particular is revised. Future development of nuclear energy in Bulgaria depends mainly on successful reconstruction, modernization and safety enhancement of the Kozloduy NPP and development of a national grid of technical and consultant firms.

  14. QUESTIONNAIRE FOR LECTURERS FROM FACULTIES OF DENTAL MEDICINE IN BULGARIA REGARDING THEIR MOTIVATION FOR PARTICIPATION IN AND THE WAY THEY ARE FAMILIAR WITH RESEARCH PROJECTS.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Svetoslav Garov

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: In recent years, especially after Bulgaria accession to the EU on 1st January 2007, new scientific horizons have appeared in front of the academic community in our country. Medical universities work in a really competitive environment both on a national and global scale, where the high quality of lecturing, research and medical activities is a key factor for success.Aim: The purpose of this study is by analyzing data from our questionnaire to define the most distinctively expressed lecturers’ opinions regarding the research project activities performed by Bulgarian faculties of Dental Medicine. Material and methods: The questionnaire including 13 questions was completed by 75 lecturers from Faculties of Dental Medicine in Sofia, Varna and Plovdiv. The questionnaire was anonymous so that maximum objectivity and reliability of the collected information can be achieved. The questionnaires were filled in between January and May 2013. Results: In order for us to achieve the goal of this study we focused on the questions from the questionnaire.Conclusion:Lecturers from all three faculties of dental medicine are partially aware of the procedures and various types of project financing. They express their willingness to participate in research project activities although their implementation is rather difficult. Lecturers estimate the advantages and disadvantages of participation in projects and in their opinion the unit in charge of project activities at the relevant Faculty of Dental Medicine should comprise of various experts who are to ensure up-to-date information on current or future projects.

  15. Bulgarian INIS Center

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Georgieva, A.

    2007-01-01

    The International Nuclear Information System (INIS) is an international co-operative information system, operated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in collaboration with 116 Member States and 22 International Organizations, with over 35 years of experience. INIS processes most of the world's scientific and technical literature on the peaceful application of nuclear science and technology. The bibliographic database currently contains over 2.7 million records and a comprehensive collection of over 700,000 of full texts of INIS scope publications not easily available through the commercial channels. Bulgaria is a member of INIS since its establishment in 1971. In Bulgaria INIS operates through the National INIS Centre and is represented by INIS Liaison Officer. In this paper an overview of INIS System operation and the information, which can be obtained from INIS database, and how that can be done in Bulgaria is presented. The main activities and services at Bulgarian INIS Centre as well as the input of information, published in Bulgaria, to the INIS database are discussed. (author)

  16. TRADITIONAL WOMEN’S APPARELS OF BULGARIA N IMMIGRANTS LIVING IN ESKİŞEHİR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Başak BOĞDAY SAYĞILI

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available As part of culture, clothing is a phenomenon which develops with humanity, which is specific to communities, being shap ed according to the ir taste, and reflecting the community’s living conditions and li fe styles . T he Turks who e migrated changed their clothing to adapt to the geo graphical and physical features as well as the living conditions at the places they migrated to, and through being influenced by the people in their region. Bulgaria is one of the countries to which great e migrations from the Ottoman empire took place. Having lived together for many years, the Turks and the Bulgarians were influenced by each other in clothing culture just as in every other field. These migrations , which took place intensively from time to time , are still co ntinuing. This research aims to reveal the traditional women’s apparels of immigrants from Bulgaria living in Eskişehir and the characteristics of their apparel . Historical and review methods were used in the research. From the sources reached using the survey form prepared as data collection tool, apparels reflecting general characteristics of the traditional women’s apparels of the immigrants from Bulgaria livi ng in Eskişehir were examined.

  17. Union formation and fertility in Bulgaria and Russia: A life table description of recent trends

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aiva Jasilioniene

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper provides an extensive descriptive analysis and comparison of recent trends in union formation and fertility in Bulgaria and Russia. The analysis is based on data from the Generation and Gender Surveys (GGS carried out in 2004. We generate a large number of single- and multi-decrement life tables describing various life course events: leaving home and separation from the parental family, entry into union, first and second childbirth, divorce. Life tables are constructed for real cohorts as well as for synthetic cohorts. We study four real cohorts, born in 1940-44, 1950-54, 1960-64 and 1970-74. Synthetic-cohort life tables are constructed for three periods of time, referring to the pre-transitional demographic situation (1985-1989, the beginning of the transition (1990-1994 and recent demographic developments (1999-2003. We study also Roma and Turkish ethnic groups in Bulgaria. The life tables deliver detailed information that is otherwise unavailable. Our tentative findings indicate that societal transformation had a stronger impact on family-related behavior in the Bulgarian population than in the population of Russia. There is evidence that in some aspects Bulgaria is lagging behind other former socialist and Western European countries where the second demographic transition is more advanced. Evidence also suggests that Russia is lagging behind Bulgaria. However, certain specific features distinctive to Russia, such as the low level of childlessness, a drastic drop in second and subsequent births, and very high divorce rates even compared to Western European countries (it is a long-standing, not just recent trend, lead us to think that Russia may have a model of change particular to the country.

  18. Nuclear fuel licensing procedures in Bulgaria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harizanov, Y [Komitet za Mirno Izpolzuvane na Atomnata Energiya, Sofia (Bulgaria). Komysia za Biologichni i Selskostopanski Nauki

    1994-12-31

    A brief description of the structure and role of the Committee on the Use of Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes (BG) as a main governmental institution responsible for safety atomic energy management is presented. The main documentation and licensing procedures adopted for import, export, operation, storage and transportation of nuclear material including nuclear fuel for NPP are outlined. The corresponding institutions are facing now the urgent need for changing some regulations to meet the requirements of the international treaties and conventions recently signed by Bulgarian authorities. A new version of Atomic Law disposed at the Parliament for adoption is essential for updating the management of NPP in Bulgaria where four WWER-440 and two WWER-1000 are under operation.

  19. Possibilities for construction of small hydroelectric power plants in the Republic of Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iliev, S.; Angelov, M.; Stojkov, S.; Lefterov, B.

    2001-01-01

    The hydroenergy potential of Bulgaria and its utilization until 2000 is discussed. An assessment is made of the possibilities of the use of additional micro-hydroenergy potential (the preliminary evaluation gives about 1.3 bill. kWh/y with total power 250 MW). In the National Strategy for the development, use and preservation of water in Bulgaria till 2020 it is envisioned 60 micro HPP with power of 36 MW power to be constructed. The Program for hydro energy to 2010 envisioned including of private investments if the construction, buying up the electric energy by the National Electric Company and two-stage construction of the cascade 'Sreden Iskyr' with 10 small NPPs. The necessity of the development of a Manual of express investigation and design of small NPP is substantiated

  20. Fundamental Investigations on the Unit Groups of Commutative Group Algebras in Bulgaria

    OpenAIRE

    Mollov, Todor

    2010-01-01

    In this paper we give the first investigations and also some basic results on the unit groups of commutative group algebras in Bulgaria. These investigations continue some classical results. Namely, it is supposed that the cardinality of the starting group is arbitrary.

  1. Antioxidant activity screening of extracts from Sideritis species (Labiatae) grown in Bulgaria

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koleva, I.; Linssen, J.P.H.; Beek, van T.A.; Evstatieva, L.N.; Kortenska, V.; Handjieva, N.

    2003-01-01

    Plant samples from several species and populations of the genus Sideritis (Labiatae) grown in Bulgaria (S scardica, S syriaca and S montana) were extracted with different solvents. Their antioxidant activities were determined by the -carotene bleaching test (BCBT), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl

  2. International Migrant Remittances in the Context of Economic and Social Sustainable Development. A Comparative Study of Romania-Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alina Petronela Haller

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The economic stability is the main goal of every country’s administration, contributing to the decrease of uncertainty, creating an attractive business environment, attracting foreign direct investment and contributing to economic growth, which increases the standard of living, reduces income inequalities, represents a sustainable development for the country and puts an end to the migration process. Migration flows lower the demographic resources of the states going through this process and consequently they compromise the possibility for future generations to support a sustainable economic growth. Migration is a process with an aggressive and alarming manifestation in Romania and Bulgaria, raising the problem of the future capacity of these countries to ensure long-term economic and social sustainability and requiring an analysis framework from a scientific perspective. The current study proposes a comparative study to identify the important determinants of international migration in the EU28 and analyses the impact of remittances on economic growth/stability and income inequality in Romania and Bulgaria—Central and Eastern Europe countries—for the period between 1990 and 2015. The main contribution of the present study consists in emphasising the common determinants of the two countries regarding the migration process and at the same time providing solutions to improve government policies to contribute to the economic and social sustainability. The authors employed a multiple regression model and the correlation analysis, and tested 8 hypotheses for Romania and Bulgaria. The results indicated that the main determinants of the migration process in Romania and Bulgaria are the inflation rate, the income inequality and household consumption expenditure. Furthermore, the results indicated that there is not a direct relationship between the remittances received/capita and GDP/capita growth rate in Romania and Bulgaria. In addition, there is a

  3. Feasibility assessment of a solar-powered charging station for electric vehicles in the North Central region of Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilieva Liliya Mihaylova

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper discusses the topical issue related to the prospects of widespread deployment of electric vehicles and their associated infrastructure in Bulgaria. The main problems hindering the development of electric vehicle transport are summarized and the current status of charging infrastructure in the country is discussed. An approach is proposed for analysis and evaluation of the financial feasibility of investment in a solar-powered charging station for electric vehicles in North Central region of Bulgaria.

  4. Corporate Social Responsibility Activities Of Business Organizations In Bulgaria

    OpenAIRE

    Kiril Dimitrov

    2010-01-01

    This article presents the results of a survey of corporate social responsibility activities, under-taken by a group of business entities in Bulgaria in the context of great political, economical and cultural changes that the country has been passing through from 1990 up to date, and that affected the organizational behaviour of locally operating companies, as well as the beliefs, values and underlying assumptions of the individuals, working there. Environmental factors, influencing the initia...

  5. Clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and socio-economic burden of COPD in Bulgaria

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kamusheva, Maria; Dimitrova, Maria; van Boven, Job F. M.; Postma, Maarten J.; van der Molen, Thys; Kocks, Janwillem W. H.; Mitov, Konstantin; Doneva, Miglena; Petrova, Daniela; Georgiev, Ognyan; Petkova, Valentina; Petrova, Guenka

    Background: While the impact of COPD in Western-Europe is known, data from Eastern-Europe is scarce. This study aimed to evaluate clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and the socio-economic burden of COPD in Eastern-Europe, taking Bulgaria as a reference case. Methods: A representative

  6. Low level radioactive waste disposal in Kozloduy NPP in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stanchev, V.

    2001-01-01

    Kozloduy NPP is the biggest power plant in the Republic of Bulgaria. It is in operation since 1974 and for the past 25 years it has generated over 263 billion kWh electric power. The NPP share in the total electric production in 1998 was about 50%. It has six units in operation - four WWER 440 B-230 and two WWER 1000 B-320. In the nuclear reactor operation the generation of radioactive waste (RAW) is an inevitable process. The waste must be conditioned, stored and disposed of in a safe manner. There are no national radioactive waste disposal facilities, for waste generated by an NPP, in Bulgaria to the moment. This situation necessitates the storage of operational RAW to be carried out on site for a long period of time (30 to 50 years). Following the principle for protection of human health and environment now and in the future, Kozloduy NPP adopted the concept for conditioning the RAW to a stable solid form and placing the waste in a package which should keep its features for a sufficiently long term so that the package can be safely transported to the disposal site. (author)

  7. V.F. Gening and issues on the archaeology of Volga Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rudenko Konstantin A.

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available V.F. Gening’s contribution to the study of the Volga Bulgaria and his views concerning the history and archaeology of this state formation are considered in the article. His sphere of interest first of all included the links between the Volga Bulgaria population and the tribes belonging to preceding cultures, such as Pyanoborye and Imenkovo ones. V.F. Gening investigated the Bolshie Tarkhany, Turaevo and Rozdestveno burial grounds dated by the 8-9th, 5th and 6-7th centuries A.D., and the materials collected modified the notion of the time and character of the Bulgars arrival in the Volga area. He reconsidered the chronology and interpretation of the archaeological monuments, which referred to the epoch preceding the Bulgars appearance on the Volga, and proposed a hypothesis of the Volga Bulgars as a Turkic-Ugrian ethnos. V.F. Gening created a periodization of the Bolgars history in Eastern Europe within the time span between 1st-3rd centuries AD and the early 13th century AD

  8. Development of nuclear fuel cycle in Bulgaria and worldwide experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nochev, T.; Madolev, T.

    2002-01-01

    A survey is made of the natural and enriched uranium market situation, as well as the possible options for resolving the issue of spent nuclear fuel. At present the best economical solution for the spent fuel is considered to be interim storage. A assessment of the Bulgarian deposits of natural uranium is recommended and the possibility for partial recovery of the uranium extraction in Bulgaria is considered

  9. Possibilities of using geothermal energy for district heating in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Levterov, B.

    1996-01-01

    An overview of the technical, economic and legal aspects of thermal water resources in Bulgaria is made. There is 137 sources of thermal waters in the country with a total flowrate of 3865 l/s and average temperature 44.5 o C. Some recommendations to various governmental bodies concerning thorough investigation, assessment and effective utilization of thermal waters as energy source are presented. 1 tab

  10. Present status and progress of safeguards activities and physical protection on the eve of year 2000 in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simov, R.; Gotzev, A.

    1999-01-01

    From the very beginning of the IAEA safeguards implementation in Bulgaria, up to now the IAEA inspections verified no deviations or uncertainties in accounting of the nuclear materials. According to the official IAEA reports Bulgaria has fulfilled completely its duties under the safeguards and the Non-proliferation Treaty and has fully assisted the IAEA inspection activity. As for the physical protection, the complicated up-to-date system was established contributing to the safety of Kozloduy NPP and the plant operation

  11. Current Trends in Name Giving among Bulgarians: A Study of the Names of Newborns in the Sofia Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maya Vlahova-Angelova

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The article showcases a large-scale study of the modern Bulgarian anthroponymic system conducted by the Applied Onomastics section of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Institute for the Bulgarian Language (IBL with the aim of revealing the current trends in the choice of personal names by the Bulgarians at the beginning of the 21st century. The study focuses on personal names of Bulgarians born in 2010 in the Sofia region, as extracted from the Unified System of Civil Registration and Administrative Services of the Population of the Republic of Bulgaria. The total number of births this year was 1,005, of which 51.5% were boys, 48.5% were girls. Statistical and linguistic analysis of names allowed to measure the popularity of both individual personal names and different name types. It shows the quantitative ratio between most commonly chosen names and those of a singular use in relation to the total number of anthroponyms in the corpus, and proves that the male names are more sustainable in terms of usage than female. The derivational and etymological analysis of personal names helped to identify the productive word-formation types of names and the so-called “unisex names,” to distinguish between the native Bulgarian and the borrowed foreign names, as well as to classify graphic and phonetic variants of the same anthroponym. A number of quantitative comparisons were made between certain categories of names, for example, between compound (two-stem personal names (such as Miroslav and simple names (such as Biser, showing the ratio of the two-component personal names (such as Anna-Maria to the rest of the anthroponyms. It was found that the Bulgarian anthroponymic system in the beginning of the 21st century is more open to the non-adapted foreign names (like Mishel, Nancy, shows wider usage of diminutive “unisex names” (Moni, Stephy, Toni, as well as the growing popularity of shortened forms used as official names (Alex, Boni, Pepi, and the

  12. Kozloduy NPP units 1-4 significance for Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Georgiev, J.

    2003-01-01

    General data about nuclear power in Bulgaria is presented. The main topics covered are: estimated energy reserve; energy balance, new capacities, installed in 2002; information about the WWER-230 reactors operation; environmental impact and global warming; Bulgarian export and regional electricity demand; public opinion etc. The problem 'Long term safe operation vs forced early closure' is discussed. It is concluded that the decision on early closure of any unit should be made on economic grounds or failure to meet regulatory safety standards and must not be politically motivated

  13. Health effects of exposure to ultraviolet and infrared radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thuerauf, J.R.

    1979-01-01

    A working group on the Health Effects of Exposure to Ultraviolet and Infrared Radiation met in Sofia (Bulgaria) from February 21-25, 1978. The conference was organized by the European Regional Bureau of the World Health Organization, WHO, in cooperation with the Bulgarian government. The main task for the participants was the revision and discussion of two guidelines. A Manual on Nonionizing Radiation Protection will be made available in 1979 to governmental and official organs to support them in establishing standards for the control of radiation. (orig.) [de

  14. Decentralized electricity generation by using photovoltaic grid-connected solar system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tyutyundziev, N.; Vitanov, P.; Radkov, R.; Grottke, M.

    2006-01-01

    AcadPV is the first demonstration installation connected permanently to LV grid in Sofia, Bulgaria aiming at assessment of PV efficiencies and cost-effectiveness. A thorough analysis has been carried out in order to select PV system site, supporting construction design and orientation. The PV generator is divided to 3 PV subfields equipped by 3 SUNPOWER inverters connected to 3 separated phases of the grid. The performance of 10kWp PV system has been evaluated during the first year of operation and compared to PV simulation software results

  15. SERVICE QUALITY MEASUREMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTHCARE SECTOR IN BULGARIA

    OpenAIRE

    VASSILEVA, Bistra; BALLONI, Antonio José

    2014-01-01

    The aim of the paper is to present the service quality situation in hospitals in North-Eastern Planning Region in Bulgaria. Our intention was to assess the gap between the expected and perceived healthcare service quality in hospitals. To meet these goals we conducted a study using prospective questionnaire provided by the GESITI project (Management of System and Information Technology in Hospitals [GESITI], 2013) and SERVQUAL scale. The results helped us to summarize the challenges for Bulga...

  16. DIAGNOSIS OF OSTEOARTHROSIS IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE OF BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Panchovska

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Osteoarthrosis is the most common rheumatic disease and occurs in more than 50% of all rheumatic patients. These patients are diagnosed and treated by rheumatologists, orthopedists, and neurologists in the primary health care ofBulgaria. The problems in these patients are primarily encountered by general practitioners (family physicians who estimate the need for specialized medical care. The paper considers the organizational aspects of primary medical carefor patients with ostheoarthosis. Six-year data are analyzed.

  17. Understanding Tax Corruption in Transition Economies: Evidence from Bulgaria

    OpenAIRE

    Pashev, Konstantin

    2006-01-01

    Measures of corruption are based on the concept of bribes as extra business costs. Drawing evidence from corruption surveys of business and tax service in Bulgaria, this paper looks at the bribe as a price paid by the taxpayer in exchange for income-maximizing services supplied by corrupt tax officials. It distinguishes between corruption for tax evasion and corruption related to excessive voluntary compliance costs. The latter is closer to the concept of bribes as costs imposed on business, ...

  18. Hazard assessment for Romania–Bulgaria crossborder region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Solakov, Dimcho; Simeonova, Stela; Alexandrova, Irena; Trifonova, Petya; Ardeleanu, Luminita; Cioflan, Carmen

    2014-01-01

    Among the many kinds of natural and man-made disasters, earthquakes dominate with regard to their social and economical impact on the urban environment. Global seismic hazard and vulnerability to earthquakes are steadily increasing as urbanisation and development occupy more areas that are prone to effects of strong earthquakes. The assessment of the seismic hazard is particularly important, because it provides valuable information for seismic safety and disaster mitigation, and it supports decision making for the benefit of society. The main objective of this study is to assess the seismic hazard for Romania-Bulgaria cross-border region on the basis of integrated basic geo-datasets

  19. Marketing approaches for OTC analgesics in Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petkova, Valentina; Valchanova, Velislava; Ibrahim, Adel; Nikolova, Irina; Benbasat, Niko; Dimitrov, Milen

    2014-03-04

    The marketing management includes analysis of market opportunities, selection of target markets, planning, developing and implementing of marketing strategies, monitoring and result control. The object of the present study was to analyse the marketing approaches applied for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in Bulgaria. The performed SWOT(planning method used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis for one of the leading Bulgarian manufacturers marked the complex corporative strategy for stimulating the sales of NSAIDs. The study results show that the legislation frame in the country gives an opportunity for regulation of the NSAID market in order that incorrect marketing approaches such as disloyal competition are avoided.

  20. Fathers in Context: Comparative Analysis of Father Involvement in Bulgaria and the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    N.A. Conkova (Nina); B.E. Ory (Brett)

    2016-01-01

    markdownabstractThis report compares father involvement with their children in Bulgaria and the Netherlands by examining country differences in family formation patterns, policy context, and cultural prescriptions regarding family life. In studying the time fathers spend with their children, it is

  1. Advantages and Disadvantages of Fiscal Discipline in Bulgaria in Times of Crisis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vasil S. Petkov

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The global economic crisis of 2008 has posed serious challenges to the Bulgarian economy and was reflected in worsened macroeconomic indicators. The subsequent sovereign debt crisis in Europe further aggravated the situation and blocked its path to recovery. In line with the overall sentiment in the European Union (the EU, Bulgaria made maintaining fiscal stability a priority that it set out to accomplish by following a policy of austerity. The country managed to achieve the desired effect relatively quickly. It became one of the best performers in terms of budget deficit and government debt as a share of GDP (which are among the lowest in the EU. These accomplishments underlie international institutions’ greater confidence in Bulgaria, which has led to an increase in its credit rating. Nevertheless, the state has not managed to reap the maximum benefits that this type of policy offers. Fiscal sustainability was accomplished at the expense of economic growth, the slow pace of which was accompanied by impoverishment of the population, high unemployment, restricted consumption, and operational difficulties faced by real-sector companies. These problems fueled doubts about the adequacy of strict budget discipline, especially in times of crisis. They provoked the author to examine in greater depth the benefits and the drawbacks that such a policy ultimately offers to Bulgaria. The results show that the strict fiscal measures have put additional pressure on the already fragile economic growth and have a high social cost as well. All this justifies the need for the government to take on a new course to achieve economic recovery by means of more active state support that would stimulate a pickup in consumption and production activity.

  2. Two-Year Monitoring of Water Samples from Dam of Iskar and the Black Sea, Bulgaria, by Molecular Analysis: Focus on Mycobacterium spp.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Panaiotov

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The coast of the Bulgarian Black Sea is a popular summer holiday destination. The Dam of Iskar is the largest artificial dam in Bulgaria, with a capacity of 675 million m3. It is the main source of tap water for the capital Sofia and for irrigating the surrounding valley. There is a close relationship between the quality of aquatic ecosystems and human health as many infections are waterborne. Rapid molecular methods for the analysis of highly pathogenic bacteria have been developed for monitoring quality. Mycobacterial species can be isolated from waste, surface, recreational, ground and tap waters and human pathogenicity of nontuberculose mycobacteria (NTM is well recognized. The objective of our study was to perform molecular analysis for key-pathogens, with a focus on mycobacteria, in water samples collected from the Black Sea and the Dam of Iskar. In a two year period, 38 water samples were collected—24 from the Dam of Iskar and 14 from the Black Sea coastal zone. Fifty liter water samples were concentrated by ultrafiltration. Molecular analysis for 15 pathogens, including all species of genus Mycobacterium was performed. Our results showed presence of Vibrio spp. in the Black Sea. Rotavirus A was also identified in four samples from the Dam of Iskar. Toxigenic Escherichia coli was present in both locations, based on markers for stx1 and stx2 genes. No detectable amounts of Cryptosporidium were detected in either location using immunomagnetic separation and fluorescence microscopy. Furthermore, mass spectrometry analyses did not detect key cyanobacterial toxins. On the basis of the results obtained we can conclude that for the period 2012–2014 no Mycobacterium species were present in the water samples. During the study period no cases of waterborne infections were reported.

  3. An aircraft gas chromatograph–mass spectrometer System for Organic Fast Identification Analysis (SOFIA: design, performance and a case study of Asian monsoon pollution outflow

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Bourtsoukidis

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Volatile organic compounds (VOCs are important for global air quality and oxidation processes in the troposphere. In addition to ground-based measurements, the chemical evolution of such species during transport can be studied by performing in situ airborne measurements. Generally, aircraft instrumentation needs to be sensitive, robust and sample at higher frequency than ground-based systems while their construction must comply with rigorous mechanical and electrical safety standards. Here, we present a new System for Organic Fast Identification Analysis (SOFIA, which is a custom-built fast gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS system with a time resolution of 2–3 min and the ability to quantify atmospheric mixing ratios of halocarbons (e.g. chloromethanes, hydrocarbons (e.g isoprene, oxygenated VOCs (acetone, propanal, butanone and aromatics (e.g. benzene, toluene from sub-ppt to ppb levels. The relatively high time resolution is the result of a novel cryogenic pre-concentration unit which rapidly cools (∼ 6 °C s−1 the sample enrichment traps to −140 °C, and a new chromatographic oven designed for rapid cooling rates (∼ 30 °C s−1 and subsequent thermal stabilization. SOFIA was installed in the High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft (HALO for the Oxidation Mechanism Observations (OMO campaign in August 2015, aimed at investigating the Asian monsoon pollution outflow in the tropical upper troposphere. In addition to a comprehensive instrument characterization we present an example monsoon plume crossing flight as a case study to demonstrate the instrument capability. Hydrocarbon, halocarbon and oxygenated VOC data from SOFIA are compared with mixing ratios of carbon monoxide (CO and methane (CH4, used to define the pollution plume. By using excess (ExMR and normalized excess mixing ratios (NEMRs the pollution could be attributed to two air masses of distinctly different origin, identified by back

  4. An aircraft gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer System for Organic Fast Identification Analysis (SOFIA): design, performance and a case study of Asian monsoon pollution outflow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourtsoukidis, Efstratios; Helleis, Frank; Tomsche, Laura; Fischer, Horst; Hofmann, Rolf; Lelieveld, Jos; Williams, Jonathan

    2017-12-01

    Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are important for global air quality and oxidation processes in the troposphere. In addition to ground-based measurements, the chemical evolution of such species during transport can be studied by performing in situ airborne measurements. Generally, aircraft instrumentation needs to be sensitive, robust and sample at higher frequency than ground-based systems while their construction must comply with rigorous mechanical and electrical safety standards. Here, we present a new System for Organic Fast Identification Analysis (SOFIA), which is a custom-built fast gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) system with a time resolution of 2-3 min and the ability to quantify atmospheric mixing ratios of halocarbons (e.g. chloromethanes), hydrocarbons (e.g isoprene), oxygenated VOCs (acetone, propanal, butanone) and aromatics (e.g. benzene, toluene) from sub-ppt to ppb levels. The relatively high time resolution is the result of a novel cryogenic pre-concentration unit which rapidly cools (˜ 6 °C s-1) the sample enrichment traps to -140 °C, and a new chromatographic oven designed for rapid cooling rates (˜ 30 °C s-1) and subsequent thermal stabilization. SOFIA was installed in the High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft (HALO) for the Oxidation Mechanism Observations (OMO) campaign in August 2015, aimed at investigating the Asian monsoon pollution outflow in the tropical upper troposphere. In addition to a comprehensive instrument characterization we present an example monsoon plume crossing flight as a case study to demonstrate the instrument capability. Hydrocarbon, halocarbon and oxygenated VOC data from SOFIA are compared with mixing ratios of carbon monoxide (CO) and methane (CH4), used to define the pollution plume. By using excess (ExMR) and normalized excess mixing ratios (NEMRs) the pollution could be attributed to two air masses of distinctly different origin, identified by back-trajectory analysis. This work

  5. The Hotel Franchising In Bulgaria: Current Situation And Perspectives

    OpenAIRE

    Lina Anastassova

    2012-01-01

    The article discusses, after presenting the global franchising market in 2012, the essence of franchising, its types and the specific of hotel franchising. The first aim of the article is to classify the marketing differ ences of the various hotel franchise systems applied in Bulgaria. Based on the desk research the second important article aim is, after providing an actual review of the hotel franchising in the country, to draw conclusions about the barriers and problems in front of the fran...

  6. Coulex fission of 234U, 235U, 237Np, and 238Np studied within the SOFIA experimental program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, Julie-Fiona

    2014-01-01

    SOFIA (Studies On FIssion with Aladin) is an experimental project which aims at systematically measuring the fission fragments' isotopic yields as well as their total kinetic energy, for a wide variety of fissioning nuclei. The PhD work presented in this dissertation takes part in the SOFIA project, and covers the fission of nuclei in the region of the actinides: 234 U, 235 U, 237 Np and 238 Np. The experiment is led at the heavy-ion accelerator GSI in Darmstadt, Germany. This facility provides intense relativistic primary beam of 238 U. A fragmentation reaction of the primary beam permits to create a secondary beam of radioactive ions, some of which the fission is studied. The ions of the secondary beam are sorted and identified through the FR-S (Fragment Separator), a high resolution recoil spectrometer which is tuned to select the ions of interest.The selected - fissile - ions then fly further to Cave-C, an experimental area where the fission experiment itself takes place. At the entrance of the cave, the secondary beam is excited by Coulomb interaction when flying through an target; the de-excitation process involves low-energy fission. Both fission fragments fly forward in the laboratory frame, due to the relativistic boost inferred from the fissioning nucleus.A complete recoil spectrometer has been designed and built by the SOFIA collaboration in the path of the fission fragments, around the existing ALADIN magnet. The identification of the fragments is performed by means of energy loss, time of flight and deviation in the magnet measurements. Both fission fragments are fully (in mass and charge) and simultaneously identified.This document reports on the analysis performed for (1) the identification of the fissioning system, (2) the identification of both fission fragments, on an event-by-event basis, and (3) the extraction of fission observables: yields, TKE, total prompt neutron multiplicity. These results, concerning the actinides, are discussed, and

  7. 14 October 2014 - R. Plevneliev President of the Republic of Bulgaria

    CERN Multimedia

    Brice, Maximilien

    2014-01-01

    His Excellency Mr Rosen Plevneliev President Republic of Bulgaria welcoming by CERN Director-General at CMS (Point 5); visiting the CMS cavern with CMS Spokesperson T. Camporesi; visiting the LHC tunnel at Point 5 with Technology Department Head J.M. Jiménez; signing the Guest-Book; assisting to a meeting with Bulgarians at CERN and family photograph with Bulgarians at CERN.

  8. Taxonomic status of the roses (Rosa) described by S.G. Dimitrov from Bulgaria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zielinski, J.; Petrova, A; Tan, Kit

    2004-01-01

    The original herbarium vouchers for six species of Rosa (Rosaceae) described by S. G. Dimitrov from Bulgaria are taxonomically evaluated. Two species (R. balcanica, R. orphei) are considered hybrids, four other names (R. bulgarica, R. parilica, R. pontica and R. rhodopaea) are taxonomic synonyms...

  9. SWOT ANALYSIS OF SPA TOURISM IN BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksandar Davchev

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Our time is marked by the increasingly dynamic changing environment. The new conditions in which we operate are characterized by increasing complexity and labor activities that require more responsible behavior. The rising levels of stress and the increasing lack of free time for relaxation and recreation require a new look at the possibilities for the prevention of personal health. The plane of the consumer society in which we live is increasingly shifted by aspiration and vision of an environmentally friendly lifestyle. The focus here is the implementation of a multilevel wellness concept that changes qualitatively the status quo and seeks for ways to harmonize the body with the nature. One of the options is the practice of SPA tourism in whose genesis is the multilayered beneficial impact of a series of procedures and actions. This new alternative through its economic dimensions is an attractive business niche which over time becomes an industry. The current state of the SPA tourism in Bulgaria is controversial despite existing achievements and introduced best practices. Traditions in this direction and the presence of favorable basis for its approval, however, are not sufficient to achieve stability and an upward trend in development. There are existing a number of weaknesses and negative aspects that create frustration in users, which is a real threat to its future. The proposed SWOT-analysis as part of a comprehensive and multilateral study of the state of SPA tourism in Bulgaria reveals some of the existing problems. There have been some suggestions to minimize the impact of weaknesses and eliminate the errors found in leading business organizations managing processes. A detailed analysis and evaluation of the formulated conclusions is ahead, as well as concluding on ideas to improve the state of the sector – a subject of a further investigation by the author.

  10. The Notions of "A Border", "A Foreign Country (Abroad" and "A Foreigner": In the Relations between the USSR (Russia and Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Sedakova

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available A border and related concepts of “abroad” and “a foreigner” are analyzed from the linguistic, semiotic and socio-cultural points of view with regard to the USSR (Russia –Bulgaria relations. In spite of being very close to, even regarded as the 16th republic of the USSR and imitating many Soviet ideas, Bulgaria was a foreign country. The reasons for that on the lingua-cultural data partly of biographical character are discussed in the paper. The border can be a synonym to the language barrier, which exists or does not exist between native speakers of Bulgarian and Russian. The new developments of mutual Russian-Bulgarian language communication on the Bulgaria seashore provide us new data of the symbolism of temporal and spatial borders.

  11. The design of the Bulgaria rad waste repository

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stefonova, I.; Petrov, I.; Navarro, M.; Sanchez, M.; Medinilla, G.

    2012-01-01

    In October 2011 a consortium composed by Westinghouse Engineering Spain SAU, ENRESA and DBE Technology GmbH was awarded a contract for the design of the Bulgaria rad waste repository. The facility, inspired in the spanish centre of El Cabril owned by ENRESA, will consist of a 66 reinforced concrete cells surface repository capable of receiving 18600 already conditioned waste containers of 20 t each, during 60 years, and the related auxiliary facilities and buildings. The project, representing a challenge because of the schedule and required level of detail, goes on fulfilling main milestones and getting customer satisfaction. (Author)

  12. Social entrepreneurship as a form of social responsibility in Bulgaria

    OpenAIRE

    Ilieva-Koleva Daniela; Dobreva Julia

    2015-01-01

    Social entrepreneurship is becoming a popular form of social responsibility and a way to solve a variety of urgent social problems. In order for a society to boost social entrepreneurship it needs a specific environment where such ideas can emerge and develop into an active business activity. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive literature review of the terms social responsibility and social entrepreneurship and to examine the current social entrepreneurship activities in Bulgaria. The ...

  13. Longshore sediment transport at Golden Sands (Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hristo Nikolov

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents the results of studies on the qualitative and quantitative features of the littoral drift at Golden Sands (Bulgaria, carried out jointly by Polish and Bulgarian researchers. The mathematical modelling of physical coastal processes took wave transformation (wave diffraction and refraction; the effects of shoaling and wave breaking and longshore sediment transport into account. The computations were carried out for the mean statistical annual wave climate, determined on the basis of IO BAS wave data, simulated using the WAM method from long-term Black Sea wind data. The results of sediment transport computations clearly show that its direction off the Golden Sands shore is from north to south.

  14. Seroepizootology of Q fever in Bulgaria during the last five years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinov, S P; Pandarov, S; Popov, G V

    1989-12-01

    The work presents results of investigations on Q fever seroepizootology in Bulgaria during the last five years. These data are compared with the preceding period from 1950 to 1983. The basic method for investigation is Complement fixation test. Also used are immunofluorescence, agglutination reaction, cultivation and direct Electron microscopy. In general 15,814 samples were tested. Q fever positivity was foundin 10.08% of cattle, 20.44% of sheep, 10.17% of goats, 59.25% of dogs, 26.66% of magpies, 11.11% of wood-pigeons, 7.40% of mouflons, 7.14% of foxes and 5.82% of hens. These data confirm the results of our preceding investigations for the wide dissemination of C. burnetti among domestic animals. Positive data for the significant spread of C. burnetti among the wild animals and birds also exists. The disease manifests itself clinically in abortions in sheep and cattle and mastitis in sheep. The inapparent form, however, is much more frequent. The infected dogs represent a special interest. The control measures are based on the wide use of tetracyclines. The presented data testify to the continuing importance of the problem of Q fever in Bulgaria.

  15. Spent nuclear fuel in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peev, P.; Kalimanov, N.

    1999-01-01

    The development of the nuclear energy sector in Bulgaria is characterized by two major stages. The first stage consisted of providing a scientific basis for the programme for development of the nuclear energy sector in the country and was completed with the construction of an experimental water-water reactor. At present, spent nuclear fuel from this reactor is placed in a water filled storage facility and will be transported back to Russia. The second stage consisted of the construction of the 6 NPP units at the Kozloduy site. The spent nuclear fuel from the six units is stored in at reactor pools and in an additional on-site storage facility which is nearly full. In order to engage the government of the country with the on-site storage problems, the new management of the National Electric Company elaborated a policy on nuclear fuel cycle and radioactive waste management. The underlying policy is de facto the selection of the 'deferred decision' option for its spent fuel management. (author)

  16. Patient charges for health services: the opinions of healthcare stakeholders in Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atanasova, Elka; Pavlova, Milena; Moutafovа, Emanuela; Kostadinova, Todorka; Groot, Wim

    2015-01-01

    The reforms of the Bulgarian healthcare sector have been widely discussed, both nationally and internationally. In spite of the reforms, problems with the efficiency, equity and quality in healthcare provision continue to exist in Bulgaria. Among others, the reforms included the implementation of formal patient charges for the use of healthcare services. These were established in the country in 2000. Formal patient charges are applied to all levels of medical services with the exception of emergency care. The aim of this paper is to describe and analyze the attitudes of Bulgarian healthcare stakeholders toward patient charges. The analysis is based on data collected in focus group discussions and in-depth interviews carried out in Bulgaria in May-June 2009. The paper concludes by recommendations for policies related to patient payments. The social sensitivity of these payments requires broad discussion before policy decisions are implemented. There is also a need of a well-thought communication strategy on the issue of patient payments by the Ministry of Health. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  17. An Overview of the Reimbursement Decision-Making Processes in Bulgaria As a Reference Country for the Middle-Income European Countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Kamusheva

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundPolicy makers face a lot of challenges in the process of drug reimbursement decision-making, especially in the context of entering the market of more and more innovative medicinal products (MPs. The aim of the current study is to make an overview of the reimbursement system development and to evaluate the access of innovative medicines, which have entered the EU-market in the period 2015–2017, in Bulgaria as reference example for middle-income European country.MethodsA literature and a legislative systematic review regarding the Bulgarian reimbursement system as well as a defining the number of available innovative reimbursed MPs in 2017 in Bulgaria was made.ResultsThe reimbursement legislation in Bulgaria is quite unstable due to constant changes, which have been made, especially in the recent years. Despite this fact, the reimbursement process in Bulgaria is in accordance with the Transparency Directive. Bulgarian patients have a relatively delayed access to innovative medicines as only 5% of centrally authorized MPs in 2017 are available in the positive drug list (PDL, 16% of all in 2016 and 18%—in 2015. This could be explained by the long procedure for their appraisal in Bulgaria: the first step is issuing an opinion by the HTA Committee, followed by negotiation of discounts between the marketing authorization holder and the National Health Insurance Fund and making a final decision by the National Council on Prices and Reimbursement (NCPR for the inclusion into the PDL.ConclusionOptimization of the procedure for issuing reimbursement status for innovative MPs is needed, such as improvements in the process of conducting HTA reports and their appraisal, incorporation of adequate systems for following the effectiveness and safety of MPs in the real-world conditions, value-based pricing implementation, and increasing the financial control over the health insurance system.

  18. An Overview of the Reimbursement Decision-Making Processes in Bulgaria As a Reference Country for the Middle-Income European Countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamusheva, Maria; Vassileva, Mariya; Savova, Alexandra; Manova, Manoela; Petrova, Guenka

    2018-01-01

    Policy makers face a lot of challenges in the process of drug reimbursement decision-making, especially in the context of entering the market of more and more innovative medicinal products (MPs). The aim of the current study is to make an overview of the reimbursement system development and to evaluate the access of innovative medicines, which have entered the EU-market in the period 2015-2017, in Bulgaria as reference example for middle-income European country. A literature and a legislative systematic review regarding the Bulgarian reimbursement system as well as a defining the number of available innovative reimbursed MPs in 2017 in Bulgaria was made. The reimbursement legislation in Bulgaria is quite unstable due to constant changes, which have been made, especially in the recent years. Despite this fact, the reimbursement process in Bulgaria is in accordance with the Transparency Directive. Bulgarian patients have a relatively delayed access to innovative medicines as only 5% of centrally authorized MPs in 2017 are available in the positive drug list (PDL), 16% of all in 2016 and 18%-in 2015. This could be explained by the long procedure for their appraisal in Bulgaria: the first step is issuing an opinion by the HTA Committee, followed by negotiation of discounts between the marketing authorization holder and the National Health Insurance Fund and making a final decision by the National Council on Prices and Reimbursement (NCPR) for the inclusion into the PDL. Optimization of the procedure for issuing reimbursement status for innovative MPs is needed, such as improvements in the process of conducting HTA reports and their appraisal, incorporation of adequate systems for following the effectiveness and safety of MPs in the real-world conditions, value-based pricing implementation, and increasing the financial control over the health insurance system.

  19. Holy Places and Pilgrimage in the Post-Socialist Bulgaria (Karamihova, 2014 [In Bulgarian

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Antova

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available After the communist regime in Bulgaria, the interest of the people to religion was revived. Many of anthropological dimensions with religious nature are considered in Karamihova’s book (2014. Religious tourism and places of pilgrimages are described. The dynamics of this new social development is studied.

  20. Characterization of the elastic displacement demand: Case study - Sofia city

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paskaleva, I.; Kouteva, M.; Vaccari, F.; Panza, G.F.

    2008-02-01

    The results of the study on the seismic site response in a part of the metropolitan Sofia are discussed. The neo-deterministic seismic hazard assessment procedure has been used to compute realistic synthetic waveforms considering four earthquake scenarios, with magnitudes M = 3.7, M = 6.3 and M = 7.0. Source and site specific ground motion time histories are computed along three investigated cross sections, making use of the hybrid approach, combining the modal summation technique and the finite differences scheme. Displacement and acceleration response spectra are considered. These results are validated against the design elastic displacement response spectra and displacement demand, recommended in Eurocode 8. The elastic response design spectrum from the standard pseudo-acceleration, versus natural period, Tn, format is converted to the Sa - Sd format. The elastic displacement response spectra and displacement demand are discussed with respect to the earthquake magnitude, the seismic source-to-site distance, seismic source mechanism, and the local geological site conditions. (author)

  1. A construção de uma jornada intimista: entre autoria e colaboração, o processo criativo da direção de arte em Maria Antonieta de Sofia Coppola

    OpenAIRE

    Dourado, Patrícia

    2013-01-01

    Sofia Coppola tinha um projeto pessoal, apresentar ao público o ponto de vista da rainha Maria Antonieta. Para isso, decidiu buscar a jornada intimista da personagem histórica. O diálogo com seus colaboradores foi fundamental neste caminho. Entre eles, o diretor de arte KK Barret e a figurinista Milena Canonero. Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo investigar a construção da jornada intimista em Maria Antonieta de Sofia Coppola, com foco no trabalho da direção de arte, a partir das r...

  2. Prevalence of American Foulbrood and Paenibacillus Larvae Genotypes in Bulgaria

    OpenAIRE

    RUSENOVA, Nikolina; PARVANOV, Parvan

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to analyse the prevalence of American foulbrood and Paenibacillus larvae genotypes in Bulgaria. For this purpose, data concerning American foulbrood outbreaks were used. Also, available data on the number of destroyed bee families covering a twenty-five-year period (1989 - 2013) was collected from the register of Bulgarian Food Safety Agency. In addition, Paenibacillus larvae genotypes in 15 apiaries were established by rep - PCR with BOXA1R and MBOREP1 primers. Results showe...

  3. A wooden calendar from southeastern Bulgaria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koleva, Vesselina; Georgiev, Iliya

    Wooden calendars are a specific tool for preserving the church calendar in medieval Europe. The Christian symbols are skillfully interwoven with traditional signs, which mark the days of importance for the economic and ritual life in a year. The archaic method of time reckoning has turned into a tool for disseminating and establishing the Christian festival system, and is one of the proofs of the syncretism between the pagan tradition and the new religious ritualism. Bulgarian Christians used such objects until the beginning of the 20th century. The earliest date fixed on a wooden calendar is 1783. These calendars are also called rabosh in Bulgaria. The calendar presented here is based on the Julian (solar) calendar containing the major fixed feasts of the Orthodox Church. It has not been published so far and is kept in a private collection.

  4. Renewable Energy Policy Fact sheet - Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2017-07-01

    The EurObserv'ER policy profiles give a snapshot of the renewable energy policy in the EU Member States. Main support policy: Renewable electricity in Bulgaria is promoted primarily through a feed-in tariff scheme. For new projects this scheme is only open for installations up to 30 kW. The grid operator is mandated to the purchase and dispatch electricity at a guaranteed price for eligible generators. The use of renewable energy for heating and cooling is promoted through a subsidy from the European Regional Development Fund and through an exemption for building owners from property tax. Main Bulgarian support scheme for renewable energy in transport is a quota system. There is a professional training programme for RES-installers as well as a building obligation for the use of renewable heating and for the exemplary role of public authorities

  5. Reconstruction of the Transmission History of RNA Virus Outbreaks Using Full Genome Sequences: Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus in Bulgaria in 2011

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Valdazo-González, Begoña; Polihronova, Lilyana; Alexandrov, Tsviatko

    2012-01-01

    the origin and transmission history of the FMD outbreaks which occurred during 2011 in Burgas Province, Bulgaria, a country that had been previously FMD-free-without-vaccination since 1996. Nineteen full genome sequences (FGS) of FMD virus (FMDV) were generated and analysed, including eight representative...... identified in wild boar. The closest relative from outside of Bulgaria was a FMDV collected during 2010 in Bursa (Anatolia, Turkey). Within Bulgaria, two discrete genetic clusters were detected that corresponded to two episodes of outbreaks that occurred during January and March-April 2011. The number...... of nucleotide substitutions that were present between, and within, these separate clusters provided evidence that undetected FMDV infection had occurred. These conclusions are supported by laboratory data that subsequently identified three additional FMDV-infected livestock premises by serosurveillance, as well...

  6. Challenges of nature conservation in postsocialist Bulgaria: A view from the Rhodope Mountains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbara A. Cellarius

    2007-01-01

    Since the crumbling of its socialist dictatorship in 1989- 90, nature conservation efforts in Bulgaria have accelerated. New parks have been established, protected area management plans are being developed, and legislation has been passed standardizing protected area categories. Yet this small and relatively biodiversity-rich country in southeastern Europe has faced...

  7. SOFIA MID-INFRARED IMAGING AND CSO SUBMILLIMETER POLARIMETRY OBSERVATIONS OF G034.43+00.24 MM1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, T. J.; Gordon, Michael; Shenoy, Dinesh; Gehrz, R. D.; Vaillancourt, John E.; Krejny, M.

    2016-01-01

    We present 11.1 to 37.1 μ m imaging observations of the very dense molecular cloud core MM1 in G034.43+00.24 using FORCAST on SOFIA and submillimeter (submm) polarimetry using SHARP on the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. We find that at the spatial resolution of SOFIA, the point-spread function (PSF) of MM1 is consistent with being a single source, as expected based on millimeter (mm) and submm observations. The spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of MM1 and MM2 have a warm component at the shorter wavelengths not seen in mm and submm SEDs. Examination of H(1.65 μ m) stellar polarimetry from the Galactic Plane Infrared Polarization Survey shows that G034 is embedded in an external magnetic field aligned with the Galactic Plane. The SHARP polarimetry at 450 μ m shows a magnetic field geometry in the vicinity of MM1 that does not line up with either the Galactic Plane or the mean field direction inferred from the CARMA interferometric polarization map of the central cloud core, but is perpendicular to the long filament in which G034 is embedded. The CARMA polarimetry does show evidence for grain alignment in the central region of the cloud core, and thus does trace the magnetic field geometry near the embedded Class 0 YSO.

  8. Sustainability assessment and comparison of waste management systems: The Cities of Sofia and Niš case studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milutinović, Biljana; Stefanović, Gordana; Kyoseva, Vanya; Yordanova, Dilyana; Dombalov, Ivan

    2016-09-01

    Sustainability assessment of a waste management system is a very complex problem for numerous reasons. Firstly, it is a problem of environmental assessment, economic viability and social acceptability, and also a choice of the most practical waste treatment technique, taking into account all the specific areas in which a waste management system is implemented. For these reasons, among others, it is very important to benchmark, cooperate and exchange experiences in areas with similar characteristics. In this study, a comparison of waste management scenarios in the Cities of Niš and Sofia was performed. Based on the amount and composition of municipal solid waste, and taking into account local specifics (economic conditions, social acceptance, etc.), different scenarios were developed: landfilling without energy recovery, landfilling with energy recovery, mechanical-biological treatment, anaerobic digestion with biogas utilization and incineration with energy recovery. Scenario ranking was done using multi-criteria analysis and 12 indicators were chosen as the criteria. The obtained results show that the most sustainable scenario in both case studies is the mechanical-biological treatment (recycling, composting and Refuse Derived Fuel production). Having in mind that this scenario is the current waste management system in Sofia, these results can help decision-makers in the City of Niš in choosing a successful and sustainable waste management system. © The Author(s) 2016.

  9. Investigation of possibilities for appearance of African horse sickness virus and changes in species of the genus "Culicoides" in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chenchev I.

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available To date, Bulgaria has been free of African Horse Sickness (AHS. Contacts with and proximity to countries, in which it is assumed there are cases of the disease, necessitate surveillance of equine animals near the border strict control of outgoing and incoming animals, especially those returning to the country after a long stay abroad of participation in races. Instructions for carrying out veterinary activities in instances when the disease occurs in Bulgaria have been worked out, since there were occurrences of Blue tongue disease (the disease has the same epizootiological vectors of spreading in regions bordering with Turkey last year. The serological screening investigations of blood sera by ELISA of equine animals from the same villages and regions during one active period of flight of culicoides did not establish the presence of antibodies to this dangerous transmissive disease. The present study contributed to working out scientific-methodological diagnostic preparedness in Bulgaria as regards this exotic transmassive disease.

  10. Performance of the Quidel Sofia Rapid Influenza Diagnostic Test During the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 Influenza Seasons

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-03-23

    Performance of the Quidel Sofia rapid influenza diagnostic test during the 2012–2013 and 2013–2014 influenza seasons Peter E. Kammerer, Jennifer M... Influenza A+B Fluorescent Immunoassay was used to test nasal swab specimens from patients with influenza -like illness at US–Mexico border-area clinics in...the 2012–2013 and 2013–2014 influenza seasons. Compared with real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, the overall sensitivities and

  11. Approaches in setting up a system for certification of the Medical Physicists in some European Countries - possibilities for application in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dimov, A.; Slavchev, A.; Tabakov, S.; Stoeva, M.; Lichev, A.

    2004-01-01

    In Europe there are different approaches for harmonization with the Medical Exposure Directive (MED) and the EFOMP recommendations concerning the medical physicists' certification. The two most appropriate types are: 1) Based on folder with evidences and 2) Based on continuous professional development (CPD) evidences assessed by credit points system. An example for certification type 1 is the Radiation Protection Advisers (RPA) certification made by RPA2000 in the UK, which is described in the report. The experience of the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium are also presented. The situation in Bulgaria is analysed and proposal for further improvement and harmonization with the EC and EFOMP are given. A conclusion is made efforts should be done for establishing of modern accreditation and registration scheme of the MP and MPE in Bulgaria. In Bulgaria there is an urgent need for education, training and official certification of new specialists in this field

  12. 10th Annual Meeting of the Bulgarian Section of SIAM

    CERN Document Server

    Todorov, Michail; Georgiev, Ivan

    2017-01-01

    This book presents recent research on Advanced Computing in Industrial Mathematics, which is one of the most prominent interdisciplinary areas and combines mathematics, computer science, scientific computations, engineering, physics, chemistry, medicine, etc. Further, the book presents the tools of Industrial Mathematics, which are based on mathematical models, and the corresponding computer codes, which are used to perform virtual experiments to obtain new data or to better understand the existing experimental results. The book gathers the peer-reviewed papers presented during the 10th Annual Meeting of the Bulgarian Section of SIAM (BGSIAM) from December 21 to 22, 2015 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

  13. International Conference on Advanced Computing for Innovation

    CERN Document Server

    Angelova, Galia; Agre, Gennady

    2016-01-01

    This volume is a selected collection of papers presented and discussed at the International Conference “Advanced Computing for Innovation (AComIn 2015)”. The Conference was held at 10th -11th of November, 2015 in Sofia, Bulgaria and was aimed at providing a forum for international scientific exchange between Central/Eastern Europe and the rest of the world on several fundamental topics of computational intelligence. The papers report innovative approaches and solutions in hot topics of computational intelligence – advanced computing, language and semantic technologies, signal and image processing, as well as optimization and intelligent control.

  14. Drought periods in non-mountainous part of South Bulgaria on the background of climate change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikolova Nina

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The scientific investigations and various analyses show a trend towards a significant extension of water scarcity across Europe. Decreasing of precipitation totals and increasing of drought periods are characteristic for many regions of Bulgaria. Often high temperatures, strong winds and low relative humidity occur in conjunction with the drought. This makes the drought very strong expressed. The present work aims to analyze drought periods in South Bulgaria in terms of its temporal variability, intensity, seasonal and territorial differences. The study areas are one of the main agricultural areas in Bulgaria and because of this investigation of drought in this region is very important. Drought periods are investigated on the base of seasonal precipitation totals and precipitation indices. The data for monthly precipitation from nine meteorological stations situated at the regions with different geographical conditions are used. The deviations of the seasonal and annual precipitation from normal (precipitation for the period 1961-1990 are used to determine drought periods in investigated stations. The duration of drought event is determined by Cumulative Precipitation Anomalies (CA. The Standardized Precipitation Indices (SPI are calculated in order to determine moisture conditions and occurrence of drought periods in the investigated stations. The results from the research show that drought was widespread in 1945 and 1949. The years with dry seasons are more often during 80’s and 90’s but drought during these periods was observed in a few of the investigated stations.

  15. SOFIA/EXES High Spectral Resolution Observations of the Orion Hot Core

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangwala, Naseem; Colgan, Sean; Le Gal, Romane; Acharya, Kinsuk; Huang, Xinchuan; Herbst, Eric; Lee, Timothy J.; Richter, Matthew J.; Boogert, Adwin

    2018-01-01

    The Orion hot core has one of the richest molecular chemistries observed in the ISM. In the MIR, the Orion hot core composition is best probed by the closest, compact, bright background continuum source in this region, IRc2. We present high-spectral resolution observations from 12.96 - 13.33 μm towards Orion IRc2 using the mid-infrared spectrograph, EXES, on SOFIA, to probe the physical and chemical conditions of the Orion hot core. All ten of the rovibrational C2H2 transitions expected in our spectral coverage, are detected with high S/N, yielding continuous coverage of the R-branch lines from J=9-8 to J=18-17, including both ortho and para species. Eight of these rovibrational transitions are newly reported detections. These data show distinct ortho and para ladders towards the Orion hot core for the first time, with an ortho to para ratio (OPR) of only 0.6 - much lower than the high temperature equilibrium value of 3. A non-equilibrium OPR is a further indication of the Orion hot core being heated externally by shocks likely resulting from a well-known explosive event which occurred 500 yrs ago. The OPR conversion timescales are much longer than the 500 yr shock timescale and thus a low OPR might be a remnant from an earlier colder pre-stellar phase before the density enhancement (now the hot core) was impacted by shocks.We will also present preliminary results from an on-going SOFIA Cycle-5 impact program to use EXES to conduct an unbiased, high-S/N, continuous, molecular line survey of the Orion hot core from 12.5 - 28.3 microns. This survey is expected to be 50 times better than ISO in detecting isolated, narrow lines to (a) resolve the ro-vibrational structure of the gas phase molecules and their kinematics, (b) detect new gas phase molecules missed by ISO, and (c) provide useful constraints on the hot core chemistry and the source of Orion hot core excitation. This survey will greatly enhance the inventory of resolved line features in the MIR for hot cores

  16. Condition of The Stratospheric and Mesospheric Ozone Layer Over Bulgaria for the Period 1996-2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaleyna, Petya; Mukhtarov, Plamen; Miloshev, Nikolay

    2014-05-01

    A detailed analysis of the variations of the stratospheric and mesospheric ozone over Bulgaria, in the period 1996-2012, is presented in the article on the basis of ground and satellite measurements of the Total Ozone Content (TOC). The move of the most important components: yearly running mean values, amplitudes and phases of the first four harmonics of the seasonal cycle. Their mean values for the period and the existing long term trends have been found. An evaluation of the general characteristics of the short term variability of the Total Ozone Content (TOC) over Bulgaria also has been made in the article. The impact of the planetary wave activity of the stratosphere on the total ozone has been studied and the climatology of the oscillation amplitudes with periods of 4, 7, 11 and 25 days has been defined.

  17. Assessment of cyanoprokaryote blooms and of cyanotoxins in Bulgaria in a 15-years period (2000-2015)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Stoyneva-Gärtner, M.; Descy, J.-P.; Latli, A.; Uzunov, B. A.; Pavlova, V. T.; Bratanova, Z.; Babica, Pavel; Maršálek, Blahoslav; Meriluoto, J.; Spoof, L.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 8, č. 1 (2017), s. 131-152 ISSN 1947-573X Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : microcystins * cyanobacteria * Bulgaria Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour OBOR OECD: Marine biology, freshwater biology, limnology

  18. Economic costs due to workers' sick leave at wastewater treatment plants in Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toseva, Elka Ilieva; Stoyanova, Rumyana; Turnovska, Tanya

    2018-03-09

    The compensatory mechanisms of social security include expenses for sick leave. The aim of the study is to determine the economic cost due to sick leave among workers in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), comparing with the same economic indicators of the National Social Security Institute (NSSI) in Bulgaria. The sick leave of 111 workers at 3 WWTPs was studied in the period 2012-2014 on the grounds of registered absences from work due to temporary incapacity for work. The economic indicators of the NSSI, the gross salary at WWTPs, payable social security contributions and compensatory payments for sick leave have been used for economic cost calculation for temporary incapacity of the workers. The frequency of cases and the frequency of lost days due to temporary incapacity were increased in the observed period at WWTPs and in Bulgaria, and it is significantly higher for the employed at WWTPs. The percentage share of workers equivalent to 1.66% at WWTPs have not worked for an entire year as a result of temporary incapacity in 2012, 2.76% - in 2013, and 4.61% - in 2014. The economic burden due to sick leave at WWTPs was raised from EUR 4913.02 in 2012 to EUR 16 895.80 for 2014 for employers and the NSSI. The frequency of cases and the frequency of lost days due to temporary incapacity were increased in the observed period at WWTPs and in Bulgaria, and it is significantly higher for the employed at WWTPs. The economic burden was equally distributed between employers and the NSSI. Med Pr 2018;69(2):129-141. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

  19. PEDIATRIC URINARY INFECTIONS, CAUSED BY EXTENDED-SPECTRUM BETA-LACTAMASE - PRODUCING MICROORGANISMS IN VARNA, BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neli M. Ermenlieva

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBLs producing bacteria are microorganisms which have the ability to hydrolyze β-lactame ring of a large part of the antibiotics, commonly used to treat bacterial infections including urinary tract infections. Purpose: The aim of this study is present the epidemiology of childhood urinary tract infections caused by ESBL-producing strains in Varna, Bulgaria. Material/methods: A total of 3895 urine samples of children patients (aged 0 to 18 years were examined during the period 2010-2012 for presence of ESBL-producing bacteria. Results: Six percent of the tested urinary samples were positive for ESBL production. All of the isolates were resistant to ampicillin, piperacillin, cephalothin, cefprozil, cefuroxime, ceftriaxone, ceftazidime, levofloxacin, cefaclor, but were were sensitive to meropenem and imipenem. Conclusions: Cephalosporins and penicillins are the most used antibiotics in Bulgaria, but they should be very precisely prescribed in medical practice, because otherwise preconditions for maintaining high share of ESBLs are created.

  20. The importance for Bulgaria of multilateral approaches to the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Necheva, Ch.; McCombie, Ch.

    2005-01-01

    Bulgaria has a comparatively small nuclear program, but this provides a significant contribution of about 45% to the total electricity production in the country. There are 4 WWER units in operation at Kozloduy NPP and the national energy policy foresees construction of a further plant, Belene NPP. Further development of the nuclear option is dependent on the assurance of both fresh nuclear fuel supply and long-term management of spent fuel and high level waste. Because of the technical and economic challenges involved, international co-operation (bilateral and multilateral) in the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle is a strategic issue of prime importance. This approach is very politically and socially sensitive at home and abroad and requires international consensus on the legal framework. For Bulgaria, as a producer of nuclear energy which relies on imported fresh nuclear fuel, an option of major interest is to seek a final solution for dealing with spent fuel in co-operation with the supplier of fresh fuel, i.e. Russia at present. But Bulgaria does not address only this option. In parallel, Kozloduy NPP is an organizational member of the international association ARIUS, established in 2002 in Baden, Switzerland. Thus the country also directly supports the mission of Arius, namely the promotion of concepts for safe, secure, economic and politically and socially acceptable regional and international storage and disposal of spent fuel and HLW. Bulgaria also participates directly in the SAPIERR project that was initiated by Arius under the 6 Framework Programme of the European Commission in order to study the concept of regional repositories to be shared by European partners. The range of Bulgarian waste management activities - including practical issues at the power plants, national studies on waste treatment, and involvement in the bilateral and multinational approaches described above - ensures that the country continues to maintain the necessary technical

  1. Dynamics of Inequalities in Access to Higher Education: Bulgaria in a Comparative Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ilieva-Trichkova, Petya; Boyadjieva, Pepka

    2014-01-01

    This paper aims at studying the dynamics of inequalities in access to higher education (HE) both in a historical and a comparative perspective. It uses Bulgaria as a case study and places it among five other countries such as Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The adopted approach differentiates between equity in HE and inequalities…

  2. Effectiveness of the Use and Management of Municipal Real Property in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Statty Stattev

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available The paper provides an assessment of the effectiveness of the use and management of municipal real property (MRP, using data gathered through 173 questionnaires, addressed to representatives of 39 municipalities in Bulgaria. The paper is structured as follows: The first section gives information about the municipalities and is based on the following criteria: evaluation of the conditions in the cities; appraisal of the financial situation of the municipalities, the main sources of funding, and the sources that should be used in order to improve the their finances; existence of the relevant planning instruments, etc. The second section focuses on MRP and refers to criteria such as: rating of different aspects of MRP; existence of MRP inventory, municipal strategy and municipal unit dealing exclusively with MRP; evaluation of the selling values and the level of actual MPR rents in comparison to market rents; outsourcing of MRP management functions; assessment of the interdependence between different units of the municipalities; analysis of the focus of the attention of the elected decision makers. The paper ends with some conclusions concerning the identified problems in the process of MRP management in Bulgaria.

  3. Trends on port concession disclosures in concessionaire financial statements in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Galina Sabcheva

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available This article is focused on the port concession disclosure of concessionaire financial statements in Bulgaria. The research is based on disclosure index development. The empirical study is based on publicly available information from annual financial statements. The results testify a higher level of disclosure to IFRS adoption entities than the domestic standards entities. There is a need to raise and specify the disclosure requirements for domestic standards applying companies.

  4. Gas demand growth and trade in South-East Europe: What perspectives for Bulgaria?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brendow, K.

    2002-01-01

    Gas demand and trade are said to grow in South-East Europe, and inter-regional gas transit is believed to gain importance. Despite a 5 to 10 year delay in economics and energy reforms compared to EU accession countries, prospects for economic recovery and a sustained growth of gas demand around 3.9%/year to 2020 in the region and 6.7% in Bulgaria appear real. Growth is contained by investment needs, vested interests in, and competition from, coal and nuclear as well as concerns about future gas prices, and import dependence. The densification of national and regional gas systems will proceed. Inter-regional (North-South and East-West) high-capacity gas pipeline will emerge as a tempting business perspective. While these perspectives are medium- and long-term, competition among pipeline projects is already waging at present. Bulgaria, Romania and Greece position themselves so as to safeguard future transit revenues, the latter country, in cooperation with Turkey, appearing to move fast with the support of the EU. A region wide optimisation of infrastructure projects appears desirable, however national strategic interests may conflict. (author)

  5. Pathogenicity of Phytophthora isolates originating from several woody hosts in Bulgaria and Poland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lyubenova Aneta B.

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Our aim was to examine the virulence of eight Phytophthora isolates belonging to three species (Phytophthora cryptogea, Phytophthora plurivora and Phytophthora quercina obtained from diverse European ecosystems (in Bulgaria, Poland and Germany towards three forest tree hosts – English oak (Quercus robur L., Turkey oak (Quercus cerris L. and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L..

  6. Leisure/Crime, Immaterial Labor, and the Performance of the Teenage Girl in Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers and Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wilkinson, M.

    2017-01-01

    Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers (2012) and Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring (2013) introduced audiences to girls exploring criminal behavior both for and as leisure. The films introduce an idea of leisure/crime: criminal acts that appear to develop as natural, fruitful extensions of leisure

  7. Workshop on PSA applications, Sofia, Bulgaria, 7-11 October 1996. Lecturing materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-01-01

    The objective of this workshop was to present detailed, systematic and useful information about PSA-based tools and PSA applications. The first presentation of the workshop was titled ''The role of PSA in safety management''. This topic served to introduce the workshop and to highlight several concepts that were afterwards stressed during the week, i.e. the defence in depth principle and the use of deterministic and probabilistic approaches in a complementary way. This presentation provided a basis for the discussion of ''PSA applications''. As a complement to the theoretical lectures, there was a workshop during which three different exercises were run in parallel. For two of these, computer-based PSA tools were used. One of them was focused towards the analysis of design modifications and the other one towards demonstrating configuration control strategies. The objective of the third practice was to obtain Allowed Outage Times using different PSA-based approaches and to discuss the differences observed and the insights obtained. To conclude the workshop, stress was put on the importance of the quality of the PSA (the development of a high quality Living PSA should be the first step), the necessity to be cautious (before taking decisions both the qualitative and numerical results should be carefully analyzed), and the logical order for the implementation of PSA applications. Refs, figs, tabs

  8. Professional realization of the graduated in 2014 radiographers in Medical College “J. Filaretova” –, Sofia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gagova, P.; Boninska, N.; Yovchev, D.

    2015-01-01

    Full text: The interest of the X-ray technician students to this profession appears in the beginning of their education. From the first year onwards parallel to their own goals, specific characteristics and the desire to work in the sphere of healthcare, they demonstrate and develop skills for practicing the studied profession. The aim of the presentation is to demonstrate the professional realization of the graduated X-ray technicians and their adaptation to the services they perform. Documentary and sociologic methods are applied. A questionnaire study is made in December 2014. thirty-two students, graduated this year in Medical College “J. Filaretova” - Sofia, are assayed. The study shows that 75% of the questioned graduates in the specialty “X-ray technician” are implemented in the healthcare system immediately after their graduation. the professional knowledge acquired in the Medical College is assessed as “effective” by 75% of them and 96 % report that they have not had problems their adaptation to practical activity. The willingness for upgrading their education shows serious attitude towards profession. 84% of the respondents demonstrate desire to continue their development in the sphere of healthcare. The basic training is on the required academic level. the teaching, educational practice and the free time organization of the trainees are on a high level. The questioned indicate as a problem that they have no possibility of upgrading the educational degree in the same profession, in which they are trained, however, as their colleagues in other professions, graduated Medical College – Sofia, have

  9. Fuzziness and fuzzy modelling in Bulgaria's energy policy decision-making dilemma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xingquan

    2006-01-01

    The decision complexity resulting from imprecision in decision variables and parameters, a major difficulty for conventional decision analysis methods, can be relevantly analysed and modelled by fuzzy logic. Bulgaria's nuclear policy decision-making process implicates such complexity of imprecise nature: stakeholders, criteria, measurement, etc. Given the suitable applicability of fuzzy logic in this case, this article tries to offer a concrete fuzzy paradigm including delimitation of decision space, quantification of imprecise variables, and, of course, parameterisation. (author)

  10. International technical assistance example. Consortium action in Bulgaria; Exemple d`assistance internationale. Cas de la Bulgarie, action du consortium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mattei, J M; Milhem, J L [CEA Centre d` Etudes de Fontenay-aux-Roses, 92 (France). Inst. de Protection et de Surete Nucleaire; Heuser, F W; Kelm, P [Gesellschaft fuer Reaktorsicherheit mbH (GRS), Koeln (Germany)

    1993-03-01

    The safety status achieved last year at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and the capability of the Bulgarian Nuclear Safety Authority (BNSA) to assess the safety of the plant and the adequacy of proposed improvements have been matters of international concern. However, the Kozloduy NPP contributes 35-40 per cent of the electrical generating capacity in Bulgaria. For further operation of the plants, it is therefore, essential that safety is improved. In july 1991, the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) instituted a Six Months Emergency Action Programme for Bulgaria under the PHARE regional nuclear safety programme. The programme consisted of three parts: - an industrial emergency programme supporting the utility of the Kozloduy NPP, - a study to evaluate Bulgaria`s electricity needs, - technical assistance for reinforcement of the Bulgarian Nuclear Safety Authority. For the third part, complementary to the industrial emergency programme carried out by the WANO (World Association of Nuclear Operators), a Consortium of expert institutions and regulatory from EC member states was established by CEC for assistance to BNSA. The Consortium consisted of: - Institut de Protection et de Surete Nucleaire (IPSN), France, technical support of the French regulatory body, - Gesellschaft fur Anlagen und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) mbH, Germany, an organization in safety engineering, technical support of governmental regulatory body, - AIB-Vincotte Nuclear (AVN), Belgium, the organization authorized by the Belgian Government for licensing and inspection of nuclear power plants, - UK Atomic Energy Authority (AEA Technology), an independent UK Government owned nuclear R and D and consultancy organization, - Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) of the Health and Safety Executive, United Kingdom, the nuclear regulatory body for the United Kingdom.

  11. Diversity of earthworms (Clitellata: Lumbricidae from Sredna Gora Mountain (Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valchovski, H.

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available In the current study the diversity, zoogeographical position and distribution of earthworms from Sredna Gora Mountain (Bulgaria is presented. During the present investigation, altogether ten earthworm species belonging to seven genera were collected. Among them, seven taxa are reported for the first time from the Sredna Gora Mt.: Cernosvitovia rebeli, Dendrobaena alpina, Allolobophoridella eiseni, Dendrodrilus rubidus rubidus, Aporrectodea caliginosa, Aporrectodea rosea and Lumbricus terrestris. On the basis of the new and literature data here we provide the first list of lumbricid earthworms from Sredna Gora Mountain.

  12. Healing Chains, Relationships of Power and Competing Religious Imageries in the Monastery of Saints Kosmas and Damian in Kuklen (Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magdalena Lubanska

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This article offers an anthropological analysis of a conflict over the use of a set of 'healing chains' and other focal objects kept in the Orthodox Christian monastery of Saints Kosmas and Damian in Kuklen, Bulgaria. In a nutshell, the conflict captures the leading religious imageries propagated by the custodians of the monastery on the one hand, and the spiritual leaders of a new religious movement, so-called Deunovians, on the other. The analysis helps situate some of the significant changes currently affecting the religious culture of Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria within a broader social and cultural context.

  13. Tobacco Industry interference in TAPS policy making in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavel P Antonov

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Tobacco industry (TI has a powerful grasp of politics and the media in Bulgaria, but there is limited knowledge of its methods and communication messages. To explore and analyse them, we are using a recent case from the policy advocacy practice of the Smoke-free Life Coalition, ENSP member in Bulgaria. A mixed social research methodology was employed, involving: a case study; qualitative content analysis of documented communication; ethnographic participant observation; and semi-structured interviews with TAPS advocacy campaigners, policy makers and TI representatives, in the action research tradition. The case study analyses TI reaction to a surprising proposal for a complete ban of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, submitted to Bulgaria’s Parliament in November 2016 – and consecutively withdrawn. Being involved in all stages of the case and present at meetings between TI and MPs enables the researchers to gather rich information and analyse it, to cast light on: the methods for successful interference with democratic decision making, applied by industry representatives; the specific communication messages and arguments they employ to suppress smoke-free legislation. The paper observes how TI speculates with the interests of different groups, affected by and involved in its operations, to successfully contradict health concerns voiced by MPs. Democratically elected representatives appear unable to uphold the social and health interests of their voters and succumb to TI priorities. The paper concludes that a pro-industry discourse, which favours corporate incomes over concerns for people’s health and life, dominates democratic decision making mechanisms in Bulgaria’s post-socialist political landscape. Funding The Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases

  14. Guidelines for assessing favourable conservation status of Natura 2000 species and habitat types in Bulgaria

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zingstra, H.L.; Kovachev, A.; Kitnaes, K.; Tzonev, R.; Dimova, D.; Tzvetkov, P.

    2009-01-01

    This executive summary describes the methodology for assessing the favourable conservation status of N2000 habitats and species on site level in Bulgaria and gives guidelines for its application. The methodology was developed in the frame of the BBI/Matra project 2006/014 “Favourable Conservation

  15. Plans for environmental restoration of uranium mining and milling sites in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nedyalkov, K.

    1997-01-01

    In 1992, uranium mining and milling industry in Bulgaria was closed down by Decree No. 163 of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria which defined the procedure for development of liquidation plans, their approval and the procedure for funding from the national budget. The 1994 Decree No. 56 of the Council of Ministers assigned the organization of the liquidation and rehabilitation activities to the Committee of Energy (later, in 1996, transformed to the Ministry of Energy and Energy Resources). An Interdepartmental Board of Experts including representatives of all concerned ministries and agencies was established to coordinate the above activities and to approve work plans. The main stages of liquidation of the uranium industry and its after-effects were defined as follows: (1) environmental status (maintenance of a minimized service mode in order to preserve the state of the site- environment system); (2) technical liquidation; (3) technical recultivation; (4) biological recultivation; (5) purification of contaminated waters; and (6) monitoring. In 1992 and 1993, preparation for the above activities was carried out by development of detailed preliminary studies and work plans for the first stage - the stage of technical liquidation. Their implementation was launched by evacuation of mining and drilling machinery, haulage and processing of finished products etc. (author)

  16. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL DETERMINANTS OF COMMERCIAL BANKS PROFITABILITY: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM BULGARIA AND ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    FIRTESCU BOGDAN

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Our study focuses on commercial banks which are operating in Bulgaria and Romania, two countries whose banking sectors have registered major structural changes in the transition to a market economy and which are showing some similarities. Similar to other EU countries, the financial system from Bulgaria and Romania is dominated by the banking sector, which holds the largest share of total assets. Thus, we can say that health, strength and performance of the banking sector are of major importance for the sustainable economic development of states, but also for efficient transmission of monetary policy decisions on the real economy. The paper aims to identify the key factors that affect bank profitability and to evaluate empirically their contribution to a sample of 29 commercial banks in Bulgaria and Romania, for the period 2003-2012. Our research is based on data from the Bureau Van Dijk database, the World Bank and the European Central Bank and uses panel data estimation techniques. The dependent variable used in our study is the bank profitability, which is measured by two representative indicators the Return on Average Assets (ROAA and Return on Average Equity (ROAE. Regarding the independent variables, our analysis includes capital adequacy, the loan loss reserve rate, cost to income ratio, the ratio of liquid assets to total assets, the interest expenses to deposits ratio, the non-interest income over total gross revenues, bank size, the GDP per capita growth, inflation rate, domestic bank credit to private sector and banking industry concentration. The results of our empirical study shows that among the variables considered, the loan loss reserve rate, the ratio of cost to income, GDP per capita growth and domestic bank credit to the private sector, have a significant impact on bank profitability, results in line with our expectations, but also with the results of other empirical studies.

  17. International Trends in Health Science Librarianship Part 19: The Balkan States (Bulgaria and Croatia).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirilova, Savina; Skoric, Lea

    2016-09-01

    This is the 19th in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in the 21st century. The focus of the present issue is the Balkan Region (Bulgaria and Croatia). The next regular feature column will investigate two other Balkan states - Serbia and Slovenia. JM. © 2016 Health Libraries Group.

  18. Calculations and analysis of the radiation protection of PET/CT Center

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ivanova, S.; Artinyan, A.

    2015-01-01

    Positron Emission Tomography (PET) has been available in number of centers for more than 25 years, but its use was not wide spread until 10 years ago. In Bulgarian PET/CT was installed for the first time in 2009 in Nuclear Medicine Department in University Hospital St. Marina in Varna, Bulgaria. As a physicists the aim for us was to consider and calculate the shielding so that to protect the people and the staff. The purpose of this paper is calculating and analysis of the radiation protection and shielding of Nuclear Medicine Center including PET/CT center situated in University Hospital St. Marina in Varna, Bulgaria. Following the Recommendation of International Commission of Radiation Protection (ICRP) Report 60, Report 73, American Association of Physics in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group 108: PET and PET/CT Shielding Requirements, Medical Physics, DIN 6844-3, Installation of Nuclear Medicine; Radiation protection calculation and the Bulgarian regulations in NM, the new Department was made. The design of the Existing Department was renovated following the requirements for PET/CT Center. The shielding was calculated for imaging room as well as the uptake room, resting room, the PET control room, places above and under the facility, patient WCs and other surrounding laboratories and stuff cabinets. The radiotracer used for the examinations is fluoro-2-desixyglucose (FDG). FDG is labeled with F-18, whose time of flight is only 109min, but it is positron emitting. The energy of annihilation is 511keV. The aim was achieved. The Department was opened. It is working now with about 15 patients every day. The dose rates measured with personal TLD’s for the last 5 years for the stuff are under 3mSv. As the average dose is around 1mSv, and the doses over 1mSv are only for nurses who injected the FDG. (authors)

  19. Food safety knowledge and hygiene practices among veterinary medicine students at Trakia University, Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stratev, Deyan; Odeyemi, Olumide A; Pavlov, Alexander; Kyuchukova, Ralica; Fatehi, Foad; Bamidele, Florence A

    The results from the first survey on food safety knowledge, attitudes and hygiene practices (KAP) among veterinary medicine students in Bulgaria are reported in this study. It was designed and conducted from September to December 2015 using structured questionnaires on food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices. Data were collected from 100 undergraduate veterinary medicine students from the Trakia University, Bulgaria. It was observed that the age and the gender did not affect food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) on food safety knowledge and practices among students based on the years of study. A high level of food safety knowledge was observed among the participants (85.06%), however, the practice of food safety was above average (65.28%) while attitude toward food safety was high (70%). Although there was a significant awareness of food safety knowledge among respondents, there is a need for improvement on food safety practices, interventions on food safety and foodborne diseases. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  20. Labour Market Policies for Encouraging Economic Activity and Labour Productivity in Bulgaria

    OpenAIRE

    Beleva, Iskra

    2016-01-01

    This article aims to present the recent labour market policies for encouraging economic activity of working age population, labour market inclusion and increasing labour productivity. It points out that a number of different programs and labour market measures have been implemented in Bulgaria in the last twenty years. The results of the analysis show up both positive and negative features of the implemented policies. These policies contribute to increasing labour market inclusion in the shor...

  1. INCIDENCE OF SECONDARY ROOT CARIES LESIONS IN PATIENTS REFERRED FOR TREATMENT IN THE FACULTY OF DENTAL MEDICINE – SOFIA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirela Marinova-Takorova

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of the presented study was to determine the incidence of secondary root caries lesions in patients referred for treatment in the Faculty of Dental Medicine – Sofia. Material/Methods: The subjects who took part in the study were patients referred for treatment of caries lesions in the Faculty of Dental Medicine, Sofia. They were interviewed for smoking, presence of systematic diseases and medications and debris and plaque were removed from natural teeth prior to examination. Dental examination was carried out with a dental mirror and a probe. Decayed, missed and filled teeth (DMFT were recorded. Root caries lesions, restorations of those lesions and secondary caries lesions were recorded separately. Results: A total number of 603 patients were examined. The frequency of appearance of root caries in the investigated population was 33.5% (202 patients. The whole number of root caries lesions was 857. Three hundred forty three (41.4% of those lesions were restored. Presence of secondary caries lesions was observed in 138 cases (39.1%. Conclusions: Based on the data obtained from the presented study it may be concluded that most of the root caries lesions remain untreated (58.8%. Secondary carious was diagnosed in 39.1% of the root caries restorations. The patients with secondary caries lesions presented with higher incidence of concomitant diseases and lower incidence of smoking.

  2. Students attitude towards professional development of radiographers in Medical College 'J. Filaretova', Sofia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boninska, N.; Borisova, I.; Djambazova, D.; Grozdanov, Z.; Gagova, P.

    2015-01-01

    Full text: The purpose of the given study is to establish the attitude towards professional development of the students at the Medical College in Sofia. An anonymous survey was undertaken in April, 2015. the 71 students who participated were all x-ray technician students, who are either in 1st, 2nd or 3rd year of study. Documentary and sociological method and analysis were used in order to process the results. The results were illustrated and presented graphically in various tables and charts. The analysis displays that 91% of the participants have stated that the educational level in the Medical College in Sofia is effective, which aids their professional development. Despite the fact that 23.9 % of the participants are worried about working in an environment of ionizing radiation, 80.3% of the participants are determined that they will practice the given profession. The research shows that the 47.9% of the participants have stated that the economic status of the profession is “great”, and 26.8% have stated that it is “satisfactory”, which is one of the main reasons for a possible realization abroad (54.9% of the participants). only 11.3% have stated that, if possible, they would change their choice of profession, which is mainly because they would like to have the opportunity to build upon their bachelor's degree, but they are unable to do so. The choice of realization is pursuant with the professional training, skills and personal attributes of the individual. For our education, it is essential that key competencies and social skills are formed, as they are vital contributing factors in the individual realization in both educational and professional environments

  3. SOFIA OBSERVATIONS OF SN 2010jl: ANOTHER NON-DETECTION OF THE 9.7 μm SILICATE DUST FEATURE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, Brian J.; Fox, Ori D.

    2015-01-01

    We present photometric observations from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) at 11.1 μm of the Type IIn supernova (SN IIn) 2010jl. The SN is undetected by SOFIA, but the upper limits obtained, combined with new and archival detections from Spitzer at 3.6 and 4.5 μm, allow us to characterize the composition of the dust present. Dust in other SN IIn has been shown in previous works to reside in a circumstellar shell of material ejected by the progenitor system in the few millenia prior to explosion. Our model fits show that the dust in the system shows no evidence for the strong, ubiquitous 9.7 μm feature from silicate dust, suggesting the presence of carbonaceous grains. The observations are best fit with 0.01–0.05 M ⊙ of carbonaceous dust radiating at a temperature of ∼550–620 K. The dust composition may reveal clues concerning the nature of the progenitor system, which remains ambiguous for this subclass. Most of the single star progenitor systems proposed for SNe IIn, such as luminous blue variables, red supergiants, yellow hypergiants, and B[e] stars, all clearly show silicate dust in their pre-SN outflows. However, this post-SN result is consistent with the small sample of SNe IIn with mid-IR observations, none of which show signs of emission from silicate dust in their IR spectra

  4. SOFIA OBSERVATIONS OF SN 2010jl: ANOTHER NON-DETECTION OF THE 9.7 μm SILICATE DUST FEATURE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Williams, Brian J. [CRESST and X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA/GSFC, Code 662, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD (United States); Fox, Ori D., E-mail: brian.j.williams@nasa.gov [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States)

    2015-07-20

    We present photometric observations from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) at 11.1 μm of the Type IIn supernova (SN IIn) 2010jl. The SN is undetected by SOFIA, but the upper limits obtained, combined with new and archival detections from Spitzer at 3.6 and 4.5 μm, allow us to characterize the composition of the dust present. Dust in other SN IIn has been shown in previous works to reside in a circumstellar shell of material ejected by the progenitor system in the few millenia prior to explosion. Our model fits show that the dust in the system shows no evidence for the strong, ubiquitous 9.7 μm feature from silicate dust, suggesting the presence of carbonaceous grains. The observations are best fit with 0.01–0.05 M{sub ⊙} of carbonaceous dust radiating at a temperature of ∼550–620 K. The dust composition may reveal clues concerning the nature of the progenitor system, which remains ambiguous for this subclass. Most of the single star progenitor systems proposed for SNe IIn, such as luminous blue variables, red supergiants, yellow hypergiants, and B[e] stars, all clearly show silicate dust in their pre-SN outflows. However, this post-SN result is consistent with the small sample of SNe IIn with mid-IR observations, none of which show signs of emission from silicate dust in their IR spectra.

  5. The concept of a new natural gas price policy in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goshev, P.

    1996-01-01

    Development of the gas industry is an important issue in the energy policy in Bulgaria. It is based on a long term strategy based on available natural resources, geopolitical considerations, regional development an international co-operation. Current political and economic situation and a market based transition of the economy exert the key influence on the strategy. Regardless the mentioned, it is obvious that there is a desire to use relevant world experience, which opens up the possibility of a quick integration in the European energy market

  6. Agaricus chionodermus Pilát, a species new to Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Nikolova Lacheva

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the first record of Agaricus chionoderma Pilát in Bulgaria. Basidiomata of the species were found on June 2004, September 2010, and September 2011 in the Thracian Lowland floristic region. The article brings closer taxonomic profile, ecological requirements and distribution pattern of the species. Differences from similar species are discussed. It also describes macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of the discovered specimens and presents the specification of habitat the fungus concerned. The species are described and illustrated by photographs of macroscopic and microscopic features on the basis of Bulgarian specimens.

  7. Supporting the Co-operative Organisation of Rational Energy Use (SCORE). Bulgaria Country Document

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-12-01

    SCORE stands for Supporting the Co-operative Organisation of Rational Energy Use. It aims at assisting the social transformation in the Central and Eastern European countries by creating self-supporting structures that are able to stimulate the efficient use of energy in end-user sectors. This document aims at presenting an in-depth institutional analysis of the energy efficiency situation in Bulgaria, including the current situation with regard to energy supply, consumption and environmental aspects, as well as an analysis of energy efficiency policies, instruments and organisations. Also, the document identifies problems related to energy efficiency in Bulgaria and indicates the areas of actions for an integrated SCORE programme in Bulgaria. The input for this process was provided by a survey among the main actors in the field, consisting of a questionnaire and interviews and a review of available information. The results were discussed in a workshop attended by the main stakeholders. The main characteristics of the Bulgarian energy sector are summarised in chapter 2. They indicate a high dependency on imported resources, a low quality of domestic fuels, a relatively high energy intensity of production and a low efficiency at supply and demand side with consider able potential for improvement. The restructuring of the sector has started but the process is far from completed. In the main towns heat is mainly supplied by district heating generated partly in co-generation plants. Gas distribution for public and residential buildings is quickly developing. In Chapter 3 the existing policies and actors are described and a 'roadmap' for energy efficiency actors is given. This provides the basis for defining the priorities for energy efficiency improvements presented in Chapter 4, by analysing the tools, policy instruments and organisations. Barriers and priority actions were defined in relation to the national policy level, the institutional structure, financial and

  8. Development of a Centralized Automated Scientific and Technical Information Service in the People's Republic of Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiratsov, P.

    1983-01-01

    Discusses the design and organization of the Automated Information Centre, a centralized automated scientific and technical information service established within the main organ of Bulgaria's National System for Scientific and Technical Information, with UNESCO and United Nations Development Program assistance. Problems and perspectives for…

  9. Filamentous cyanoprokaryotes (Cyanoprokaryota/Cyanobacteria in standing waters of Bulgaria: diversity and ecology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PLAMEN STOYANOV

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Cyanoprokaryotes are widespread organisms, which dominate in different water basins. In the present study, we have investigated the diversity of this group and related physicochemical parameters in 35 standing water basins in Bulgaria. We found 29 cyanoprokaryotic species, which belong to 13 genera from the orders Synechococcales, Spirulinales and Oscillatoriales. The frequency quotient of each species was calculated. Information about the distribution of the identified species and typology of the water basins is also provided.

  10. The Mining of Uranium–Cases from Namibia, Niger, Brazil, and Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomislav Tkalec

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The text is a dossier focusing on the problems of uranium mining. The first part deals with some general issues and dilemmas associated with nuclear energy production and its environmental impacts; the second deals with case studies of uranium mining in Namibia, Niger, Brazil, and Bulgaria. The dossier is based entirely on the reports and documents of the EJOLT international project. Most of the research and studies mentioned in the article was carried out by CRIIRAD, a French organization, which participated in the EJOLT project.

  11. Integrated Diabetes Care Delivered by Patients – A Case Study from Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Verena Struckmann

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Increasing numbers of persons are living with multiple chronic diseases and unmet medical needs in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian ‘Diabetic care’ non-profit (DCNPO programme aims to provide comprehensive integrated care focusing on people with diabetes and their co-morbidities. Methods: The DCNPO programme was selected as one of eight ‘high potential’ programmes in the Innovating Care for People with Multiple Chronic Conditions (ICARE4EU project, covering 31 European countries. Data was first gathered with a questionnaire after which semi-structured interviews with project staff and participants were conducted during a site visit. Results: The programme trains diabetic patients to act as carers, case managers, self-management trainers and health system navigators for diabetic patients and their family. The programme improved care coordination and patient-centered care by offering free care delivered by a multidisciplinary team. It facilitates the collaboration between patients, volunteers, health providers and the community. Internal evaluations demonstrate reduced hospital admissions and avoidable amputations, with consequent cost savings for the health care system. Conclusion: Integrated care provided by volunteering patients can empower people suffering from diabetes and their co-morbidities and address health and social inequalities in resource-poor settings. It can also contribute to an increased trust and improved satisfaction among vulnerable patients with complex care needs.

  12. The SOFIA/SAFIRE Far-Infrared Spectrometer: Highlighting Submillimeter Astrophysics and Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benford, Dominic J.

    2009-01-01

    The Submillimeter and Far-InfraRed Experiment (SAFIRE) on the SOFIA airborne observatory is an imaging spectrometer for wavelengths between 28 microns and 440 microns. Our design is a dual-band long-slit grating spectrometer, which provides broadband (approx. 4000 km/s) observations in two lines simultaneously over a field of view roughly 10" wide by 320" long. The low backgrounds in spectroscopy require very sensitive detectors with noise equivalent powers of order 10(exp -18) W/square root of Hz. We are developing a kilopixel, filled detector array for SAFIRE in a 32 x 40 format. The detector consists of a transition edge sensor (TES) bolometer array, a per-pixel broadband absorbing backshort array, and a NIST SQUID multiplexer readout array. This general type of array has been used successfully in the GISMO instrument, so we extrapolate to the sensitivity needed for airborne spectroscopy. Much of the cryogenic, electronics, and software infrastructure for SAFIRE have been developed. I provide here an overview of the progress on SAFIRE.

  13. O memorial de Sofia: leitura psicanalítica de um conto de Clarice Lispector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosenbaum Yudith

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available Esse trabalho pretende analisar o conto "Os "Desastres de Sofia", de Clarice Lispector, utilizando-se o instrumental da Psicanálise e da Estilística. Considerando-se que se trata de uma narrativa confessional, em que sujeito e objeto se confundem, a leitura proposta mostra de que maneira memória e ficção estão interrelacionadas na construção do texto, trazendo o inconsciente como material privilegiado da criação literária. As personagens são entendidas no interior de um campo de projeções e identificações, resultando daí uma descoberta surpreendente: a protagonista adolescente se descobre escritora, à sua própria revelia, em meio aos jogos sádicos com o seu professor.

  14. Energy poverty policies in the EU: A critical perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bouzarovski, Stefan; Petrova, Saska; Sarlamanov, Robert

    2012-01-01

    Once confined to the UK context – where it was struggling to receive political recognition for years – the concept of energy (or fuel) poverty is slowly entering the EU's agenda, where it has crept into a number of regulatory documents and policy proposals. Using evidence gathered from an international workshop and semi-structured interviews with decision-makers, experts and advocacy activists in Brussels and Sofia, this paper explores the adoption of policies aimed at addressing energy poverty within (i) the organisational context of the EU; and (ii) national state institutions in Bulgaria – a member state facing considerable problems at the energy affordability – social inequality nexus. While the former are largely nascent and poorly co-ordinated, the latter have already been implemented de jure to a significant extent. However, many unresolved issues surrounding their de facto implementation remain. At the same time, national policy makers remain largely unaware of the existence of direct energy poverty related initiatives at the EU level. - Highlights: ► This paper explores the adoption of energy poverty policies within the EU and Bulgaria. ► We establish the existence of a range of nascent efforts to address the issue at EU level. ► Bulgaria has been good at implementing EU energy poverty relevant directives. ► However, policy makers speak a different language when it comes to direct energy poverty action.

  15. Future state of the climate change, mitigation and development of sustainable agriculture in Bulgaria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazandjiev, V.; Georgieva, V.; Moteva, M.; Marinova, T.; Dimitrov, P.

    2010-09-01

    The farming is one of the most important branches that bring the increase to the gross internal production in Bulgaria. At the same time, the agriculture is the only branch, as in home, so in world scale in which the made as well direct production spending and investing regenerating (or not) only in the frameworks to one vegetative season. In addition on this, development of the intensive farming without using the most advanced technologies such as irrigation, automation, selection - for obtaining stable cultivars and hybrids, permanent weather monitoring and agroclimatic zoning and integrated and biochemical protection to the cultures and plantations had not possible. Analysis of long-term meteorological data from different regions shows clear tendencies to warming and drying for the period of contemporary climate (1971-2000) as well in Bulgaria. Hydro-meteorological conditions in the country are worsened. The most entire estimate is made from the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) 2007. Most of authors proven that the last decades are really warmest for last century, even for the entire period of the most instrumental observations. The causes for global warming was long time debatable, but the last investigations prove it anthropogenetic derive. The main goal of the paper is framing in conditions of the expected climate changes in our country for period 2020-2050-2070 and the most likely impacts on the agriculture with inspection padding to the consequences in them and making physical conditions for development of proof farming in production regions of the country. By the means of the systematized database of meteorological and agrometeorological data which we have at disposition for the period of this survey (1971-2000); Provide assignment of the expected climatic changes according to the scenarios in the centers for observing and investigations of climatic changes in Europe, US., Canada and Australia (ECHAM 4, HadCM 2, CGCM 1, CSIRO-MK2 Bs and

  16. Effects of the Trilemma Policies on Inflation, Growth and Volatility in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu HSING

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper finds evidence of the trilemma for Bulgaria, suggesting that exchange rate stability, monetary independence and free capital mobility are binding and constrained. The policy combination of exchange rate stability and monetary independence has been prevalent. More exchange rate stability increases the growth rate of real GDP whereas more monetary independence or free capital mobility reduces the growth rate. The inflation rate, inflation volatility and output volatility are not affected by either one of the three trilemma policies.

  17. LEVEL OF AWARENESS OF REPUBLIC BULGARIA'S POPULATION FOR TREATMENT OF ISCHEMIC STROKE VIA THROMBOLYSIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    GRETA KOLEVA

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The stroke is a socially significant disease that is characterized with high levels of morbidity and mortality, causing severe disability worldwide. It is the second most significant cause of death among the people in the western world, falling back only to the heart diseases and preceding the cancer, as it causes 10% of the mortal cases in the world. Since 2009 the Bulgarian association of neurosonology and cerebral hemodynamics(BANCH organizes different initiatives of training doctors to conduct a thrombolytic treatment to acute ischemic stroke(AIS. The intravenous thrombolysis has not been established as a leading differential treatment of AIS in Bulgaria, and the thrombolytic therapy is still not well developed in Bulgaria.The suport of national and local institutions is crucial for insuring and guarantee for a proper stroke treatment. Efforts are necessary for adequate financing of the health facilities, as well as professional preparation of the human resource, and training the population via creating an integrated national strategy for its application and control, which can underlie as a state politics in healthcare at optimal usage of public-private partnership.

  18. Comet C2012 S1 (ISON): Observations of the Dust Grains From SOFIA and of the Atomic Gas From NSO Dunn and Mcmath-Pierce Solar Telescopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wooden, Diane H.; Woodward, Charles E.; Harker, David E.; Kelley, Michael S. P.; Sitko, Michael; Reach, William T.; De Pater, Imke; Gehrz, Robert D.; Kolokolova, Ludmilla; Cochran, Anita L.; hide

    2013-01-01

    Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) is unique in that it is a dynamically new comet derived from the Oort cloud reservoir of comets with a sun-grazing orbit. Infrared (IR) and visible wavelength observing campaigns were planned on NASA's Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) and on National Solar Observatory Dunn (DST) and McMath-Pierce Solar Telescopes, respectively. We highlight our SOFIA (+FORCAST) mid- to far-IR images and spectroscopy (approx. 5-35 microns) of the dust in the coma of ISON are to be obtained by the ISON-SOFIA Team during a flight window 2013 Oct 21-23 UT (r_h approx. = 1.18 AU). Dust characteristics, identified through the 10 micron silicate emission feature and its strength, as well as spectral features from cometary crystalline silicates (Forsterite) at 11.05-11.2 microns, and near 16, 19, 23.5, 27.5, and 33 microns are compared with other Oort cloud comets that span the range of small and/or highly porous grains (e.g., C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) and C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) to large and/or compact grains (e.g., C/2007 N4 (Lulin) and C/2006 P1 (McNaught)). Measurement of the crystalline peaks in contrast to the broad 10 and 20 micron amorphous silicate features yields the cometary silicate crystalline mass fraction, which is a benchmark for radial transport in our protoplanetary disk. The central wavelength positions, relative intensities, and feature asymmetries for the crystalline peaks may constrain the shapes of the crystals. Only SOFIA can look for cometary organics in the 5-8 micron region. Spatially resolved measurements of atoms and simple molecules from when comet ISON is near the Sun (r_hmeasures 4 settings: Na I, K, C2 to sample cometary organics (along with Mg I), and [OI] as a proxy for activity from water (along with Si I and Fe I). State-of-the-art instruments that will also be employed include IBIS, which is a Fabry-Perot spectral imaging system that concurrently measures lines of Na, K, Ca II, or Fe, and ROSA (CSUN/QUB), which is a

  19. Out-of-pocket payments for health care services in Bulgaria: financial burden and barrier to access.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atanasova, Elka; Pavlova, Milena; Moutafova, Emanuela; Rechel, Bernd; Groot, Wim

    2013-12-01

    In recent years, Bulgaria has increasingly relied on out-of-pocket payments as one of the main sources of health care financing. However, it is largely unknown whether the official patient charges, combined with informal payments, are affordable for the population. Our study aimed to explore the scale of out-of-pocket payments for health care services and their affordability. Data were collected in two nationally representative surveys, conducted in Bulgaria in 2010 and 2011, using face-to-face interviews based on a standardized questionnaire. To select respondents, a multi-stage random probability method was used. The questionnaire included questions on the out-of-pocket payments for health care services used by the respondent during the preceding 12 months. In total, 75.7% (2010) and 84.0% (2011) of outpatient service users reported to have paid out-of-pocket, with 12.6% (2010) and 9.7% (2011) of users reporting informal payments. Of those who had used inpatient services, 66.5% (2010) and 63.1% (2011) reported to have made out-of-pocket payments, with 31.8% (2010) and 18.3% (2011) reporting to have paid informally. We found large inability to pay indicated by the need to borrow money and/or forego services. Regression analysis showed that the inability to pay is especially pronounced among those with poor health status and chronic diseases and those on low household incomes. The high level of both formal and informal out-of-pocket payments for health care services in Bulgaria poses a considerable burden for households and undermines access to health services for poorer parts of the population.

  20. The Kresna earthquake of 1904 in Bulgaria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ambraseys, N. [Imperial College of Science, London (United Kingdom). Technology and Medicine, Dept. of Civil Engineering

    2001-02-01

    The Kresna earthquake in 1904 in Bulgaria is one of the largest shallow 20th century events on land in the Balkans. This event, which was preceded by a large foreshock, has hitherto been assigned a range of magnitudes up to M{sub s} = 7.8 but the reappraisal of instrumental data yields as much smaller value of M{sub s} = 7.2 and a re-assesment of the intensity distribution suggests 7.1. Thus both instrumental and macroseismic data appear consistent with a magnitude which is also compatible with the fault segmentation and local morphology of the region which cannot accommodate shallow events much larger than about 7.0. The relatively large size of the main shock suggests surface faulting but the available field evidence is insufficient to establish the dimensions, attitude and amount of dislocation, except perhaps in the vicinity of Krupnik. This down sizing of the Kresna earthquake has important consequences for tectonics and earthquake hazard estimates in the Balkans.

  1. The Kresna earthquake of 1904 in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. N. Ambraseys

    2001-06-01

    Full Text Available The Kresna earthquake in 1904 in Bulgaria is one of the largest shallow 20th century events on land in the Balkans. This event, which was preceded by a large foreshock, has hitherto been assigned a range of magnitudes up to M S = 7.8 but the reappraisal of instrumental data yields a much smaller value of M S = 7.2 and a re-assement of the intensity distribution suggests 7.1. Thus both instrumental and macroseismic data appear consistent with a magnitude which is also compatible with the fault segmentation and local morphology of the region which cannot accommodate shallow events much larger than about 7.0. The relatively large size of the main shock suggests surface faulting but the available field evidence is insufficient to establish the dimensions, attitude andamount of dislocation, except perhaps in the vicinity of Krupnik. This downsizing of the Kresna earthquake has important consequences for tectonics and earthquake hazard estimates in the Balkans.

  2. CAS Introduction to Accelerator Physics in Bulgaria

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN Bulletin

    2010-01-01

    The CERN Accelerator School (CAS) and the Institute for Nuclear Research & Nuclear Energy (INRNE – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) jointly organised a course on Introduction to Accelerators, at the Grand Hotel Varna, Bulgaria, from 19 September to 1 October, 2010.   CERN Accelerator School group photo. The course was extremely well attended with 109 participants representing 34 different nationalities, coming from countries as far away as Australia, Canada and Vietnam. The intensive programme comprised 39 lectures, 3 seminars, 4 tutorials where the students were split into three groups, a poster session where students could present their own work, and 7 hours of guided and private study. Feedback from the participants was extremely positive, praising the expertise and enthusiasm of the lecturers, as well as the high standard and excellent quality of their lectures. For the first time at CAS, the CERN Director-General, Rolf Heuer, visited the school and presented a seminar entitled...

  3. ASSESING TECHNICAL UNIVERSITIES’ WEBSITES. ROMANIA VS. BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ioana Ancuţa IANCU

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available In a technology era, institutions have to be present on the World Wide Web (www, not only because of the competitiveness but also for a better presentation of their academic offers. Being a communication channel, universities’ websites must contain a series of information addressed not only to students or future students but also to the foreign students, academic staff, governmental institutions and press. While assessing Romania’s and Bulgaria’s Technical Universities’ websites, in March 2017, we searched and analyzed 104 criterion. We have grouped them into four dimensions: content, interactivity, navigation and appearance. Each criterion and dimension received a certain score (a grade for the presence / absence of a criterion using the ProfNet procedure. Of the two countries that we have analyzed (Romania and Bulgaria we have concluded, that the websites of the Romanian Universities possess a little more functionalities, gathering a score of 14.39 points (the means on all dimensions, compared to the Bulgarian ones which scored 14.25 points.

  4. Contribution to the design, fulfillment, and data analysis of fission fragment yields of the SOFIA experiment at GSI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pellereau, Eric

    2013-01-01

    The isotopic fission yields of U 238 following the SOFIA experiment, conducted at the GSI facility (Darmstadt), are presented here. This experiment takes advantage of the inverse kinematics technique at relativistic energies. Benefits are several: fission fragments are highly focused (high geometrical efficiency) and are also completely stripped, which greatly simplifies their nuclear charge measurement. The first detector of the SOFIA setup is an active target in which fission occurs via electromagnetic excitation, followed by an ionization chamber to measure the nuclear charge and the horizontal angle of both fission fragments. The masses are deduced by the bending radius measurement of the fragments, deflected by a strong magnet (ALADIN), thanks to two position detectors (MWPC), and also by a highly resolved time-of-flight measurement (40 ps FWHM) so that heavy neighboring isotopes can be separated. The data analysis shows that the main goals are achieved since the isotopic separation is reached over the whole range of the fission fragments. A strong even-odd effect is seen in the charge spectrum, which also exhibits a mean heavy charge close to Z = 54. Surprisingly, the neutron even-odd effect of the light region is seen to be very close to the one in thermal neutron induced fission. The peak-to-valley ratio of the mass spectrum confirms that the mean excitation energy at fission is close to the expected one (14 MeV). The GEF code is used for comparison and always gives results very close to ours. (author) [fr

  5. POLLEN MORPHOLOGY OF CROCUS L.(IRIDACEAE IN BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    UZUNDZHALIEVA KATYA SPASOVA

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The pollen of the wild species from the genus Crocus L., spread in Bulgaria has been analyzed. The investigations, made by light microscope show that the pollen of these species is spherical in shape and round in outlines, comparatively big. These morphological characteristics of the pollen of the wild Bulgarian Crocuses define it as a primitive one [6]. The Scanning Electron Microscope investigations, made by Beug [1], established two types of pollen morphology. The results of our investigation led to the conclusion that the same types are also presented in Bulgarian species: – C.biflorus –type, or syncolpate and C.vernus – type, or inaperturate. Eight of the species belong to the first type and only C. pallasii belongs to the second. The pollen of C. reticulatus is with quite unclear aperture – maybe transition to the inaperturate type.

  6. Geotechnical conditions of Bulgaria and site selection for radioactive waste repository

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iliev, I.; Tacheva, E.

    1993-01-01

    A comparative study of the complex structure of the Bulgarian lands and the engineering geological criteria for site selection of national repositories for high level radwastes is made. A detailed description of the following geotechnical conditions of Bulgaria's territory is given: genetic, lithological and engineering-geological types of rocks; physico-mechanical parameters of the most widespread rocky and semi-rocky engineering geological types; fissuring of the rocks; rock massifs; geodynamic processes. The number of promising variants for repositories have been classified according to the structure of the rock massif and the engineering-geological properties of the layers which are promising for the purpose. The following sites are investigated: 1) sites in one-type homogeneous rock massifs of high strength and elasticity; 2) sites of various type massifs with a promising layer of rocks with medium strength and elasticity; 3) sites in various type massifs with a promising layer of plastic rocks of low strength. It is concluded that the complexity of the geotechnical and other conditions in the territory of Bulgaria would predetermine the deficiency of the list of the properties required for the selected sites. The building up of engineering defence will be needed to offset that deficiency and their problems will be resolved after the specific site have been chosen. Geotechnical elements should be likewise envisaged within the general pattern of the monitoring needed. The designing, installing and putting into operation of the monitoring systems should be accomplished as early as the stage of the detailed investigation of the site selected. 19 refs., 2 suppls. (author)

  7. RATIONAL PHARMACOTHERAPY BASED ON PHARMACOECONOMIC DATA AUDIT: PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATION IN BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Vekov

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The theoretical foundations of the application of pharmacoeconomic evaluations of pharmacotherapies in order to improve their economic efficiency and support the process of taking decisions on their payment from public funds are examined. An algorithm is presented for the pharmacoeconomic audit, which is applicable for assessing the objectivity and reliability of the proposed pharmacoeconomic data from pharmaceutical manufacturers in the application process for inclusion in the positive list of medicines in Bulgaria and the reimbursement of economically rational pharmacotherapies from the public health fund.

  8. Success as a Cultural Value: a Comparison Between the Notions of Success and Well-being in Bulgaria and Hungary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hristina Sokolova

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this paper is to compare the notions of personal well-being and individual success in Bulgaria and Hungary. Such comparison has not been studied yet in social and cultural sciences. The analysis is based on the results from the 3rd, 4th and 5th Round of the European Social Survey, the 2011řs Eurobarometer Qualitative Survey on attitudes to well-being and a small survey on the notions of individual success conducted by the author of this paper in Bulgaria and Hungary in January 2012. Results of this paper shed light on the most important motivating force of oneřs existence and could be used as guidance for creating problem-solving practices in business and entrepreneurship, based on cultural values.

  9. Opportunities of Establishment of Destination Management and Marketing Organizations in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Venelin Terziev

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper examines tourism sector development in the Republic of Bulgaria in the context of the country’s strategic priorities till 2020 of knowledge-based economy, sustainable growth and smart specialization, the opportunities for its integration with agri-food sector and potential contribution to balanced rural development. The principles and roles of destination management and marketing organizations are discussed and the opportunities for their application in the national conditions are explored. A framework for of establishment, management and functioning of such organizations is proposed based on integrated and participatory approaches, planning, coordination and communication activities, permanent monitoring and controlling.

  10. Perfil de mercado de Alemania, Austria, Bélgica, Bulgaria y Chipre

    OpenAIRE

    López Rodríguez, Maria Alexandra; Martínez Giraldo, Maria Paula; Rosero Cely, Erika Natalia

    2015-01-01

    Es por esto que el objetivo de este proyecto es dar a conocer mediante la investigación del comercio internacional entre Colombia y la Unión Europea, específicamente para los países de Alemania, Austria, Bélgica, Bulgaria y Chipre estrategias de internacionalización y expansión de las PYMES a nuevos mercados. Entonces, con este proyecto se quiere conseguir que por medio de la investigación y la información se determinen aquellos productos y servicios que Colombia está ofreciendo a los país...

  11. Anti-Semitism and Islamofobia in Bulgaria. Actual legal and sociological aspects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irena Ilieva

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available This article is based on the lecture held on 23rd September 2011 at the Law faculty of the University of Bologna. SOMMARIO: 1. Introduction – 2. Statistical data – 3. The Muslim community – 4. The Jewish community – 5. General overview of the relevant law provisions in Bulgaria – 6. Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia and the political rights according to the domestic legislation – 7. The Law on Protection against Discrimination, the concept of “positive” discrimination and some new case-laws - 8. Religious Rights and Freedoms – 9. Criminal Law – 10. Some conclusions.

  12. Detailed Molecular Epidemiologic Characterization of HIV-1 Infection in Bulgaria Reveals Broad Diversity and Evolving Phylodynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivanov, Ivailo Alexiev; Beshkov, Danail; Shankar, Anupama; Hanson, Debra L.; Paraskevis, Dimitrios; Georgieva, Viara; Karamacheva, Lyudmila; Taskov, Hristo; Varleva, Tonka; Elenkov, Ivaylo; Stoicheva, Mariana; Nikolova, Daniela; Switzer, William M.

    2013-01-01

    Limited information is available to describe the molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 in Bulgaria. To better understand the genetic diversity and the epidemiologic dynamics of HIV-1 we analyzed 125 new polymerase (pol) sequences from Bulgarians diagnosed through 2009 and 77 pol sequences available from our previous study from persons infected prior to 2007. Epidemiologic and demographic information was obtained from each participant and phylogenetic analysis was used to infer HIV-1 evolutionary histories. 120 (59.5%) persons were infected with one of five different HIV-1 subtypes (A1, B, C, F1 and H) and 63 (31.2%) persons were infected with one of six different circulating recombinant forms (CRFs; 01_AE, 02_AG, 04_cpx, 05_DF, 14_BG, and 36_cpx). We also for the first time identified infection with two different clusters of unique A-like and F-like sub-subtype variants in 12 persons (5.9%) and seven unique recombinant forms (3.5%), including a novel J/C recombinant. While subtype B was the major genotype identified and was more prevalent in MSM and increased between 2000–2005, most non-B subtypes were present in persons ≥45 years old. CRF01_AE was the most common non-B subtype and was higher in women and IDUs relative to other risk groups combined. Our results show that HIV-1 infection in Bulgaria reflects the shifting distribution of genotypes coincident with the changing epidemiology of the HIV-1 epidemic among different risk groups. Our data support increased public health interventions targeting IDUs and MSM. Furthermore, the substantial and increasing HIV-1 genetic heterogeneity, combined with fluctuating infection dynamics, highlights the importance of sustained and expanded surveillance to prevent and control HIV-1 infection in Bulgaria. PMID:23527245

  13. The importance of quality, access and price to health care consumers in Bulgaria: A self-explicated approach'

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pavlova, M.; Groot, W.J.N.; van Merode, F.

    2003-01-01

    One approach to the problem of low patient satisfaction in Bulgaria is to identify attributes of health care services that the consumers value most and to focus on their improvement. Based on data from a household survey, this paper examines the importance that health care consumers attach to

  14. The Early to Middle Triassic continental–marine transition of NW Bulgaria: sedimentology, palynology and sequence stratigraphy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ajdanlijsky George

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Sedimentary facies and cycles of the Triassic continental–marine transition of NW Bulgaria are documented in detail from reference sections along the Iskar river gorge between the villages of Tserovo and Opletnya. The depositional environments evolved from anastomosing and meandering river systems in the Petrohan Terrigenous Group to mixed fluvial and tidal settings in the Svidol Formation, and to peritidal and shallow-marine conditions in the Opletnya Member of the Mogila Formation. For the first time, the palynostratigraphic data presented here allow for dating the transitional interval and for the precise identification of a major sequence boundary between the Petrohan Terrigenous Group and the Svidol Formation (Iskar Carbonate Group. This boundary most probably corresponds to the major sequence boundary Ol4 occurring in the upper Olenekian of the Tethyan realm and thus enables interregional correlation. The identification of regionally traceable sequence boundaries based on biostratigraphic age control is a first step towards a more accurate stratigraphic correlation and palaeogeographic interpretation of the Early to early Middle Triassic in NW Bulgaria.

  15. Determinants of Foreign Direct Investments in Bulgaria and Romania in the Context of Recent Economic Crisis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirel-Daniel Simionescu

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to select some relevant macroeconomic determinants for foreign direct investment (FDI in Bulgaria and Romania since the start of the recent economic crisis (2008-2015. Even if the economic recession installed in 2009 in Romania, the foreign investors’ decisions were influenced by the moment of global recession from 2008. A Bayesian approach was proposed, because of the small sample for the variables in analyzed period: FDI as percent of GDP, real GDP rate, unemployment rate, inflation rate, real interest rate, real effective exchange rate index (2010=100 and money demand (M2 as percent of GDP. The estimation results reflected that foreign investors in both countries were attracted by the increase in GDP from a year to another. On the other hand, for Bulgaria the inflation rate was the strongest determinant, indicating the economic stability of the country that made huge efforts in getting one digit inflation rate. In Romania, as expected, the foreign investors were searching for cheap labour force and the increase in unemployment rate attracted more FDI during the crisis period.

  16. The Early to Middle Triassic continental-marine transition of NW Bulgaria: sedimentology, palynology and sequence stratigraphy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ajdanlijsky, George; Götz, Annette E.; Strasser, André

    2018-04-01

    Sedimentary facies and cycles of the Triassic continental-marine transition of NW Bulgaria are documented in detail from reference sections along the Iskar river gorge between the villages of Tserovo and Opletnya. The depositional environments evolved from anastomosing and meandering river systems in the Petrohan Terrigenous Group to mixed fluvial and tidal settings in the Svidol Formation, and to peritidal and shallow-marine conditions in the Opletnya Member of the Mogila Formation. For the first time, the palynostratigraphic data presented here allow for dating the transitional interval and for the precise identification of a major sequence boundary between the Petrohan Terrigenous Group and the Svidol Formation (Iskar Carbonate Group). This boundary most probably corresponds to the major sequence boundary Ol4 occurring in the upper Olenekian of the Tethyan realm and thus enables interregional correlation. The identification of regionally traceable sequence boundaries based on biostratigraphic age control is a first step towards a more accurate stratigraphic correlation and palaeogeographic interpretation of the Early to early Middle Triassic in NW Bulgaria.

  17. SOFIA/GREAT Discovery of Terahertz Water Masers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neufeld, David A.; Melnick, Gary J.; Kaufman, Michael J.; Wiesemeyer, Helmut; Güsten, Rolf; Kraus, Alex; Menten, Karl M.; Ricken, Oliver; Faure, Alexandre

    2017-07-01

    We report the discovery of water maser emission at frequencies above 1 THz. Using the GREAT instrument on SOFIA, we have detected emission in the 1.296411 THz {8}27-{7}34 transition of water toward three oxygen-rich evolved stars: W Hya, U Her, and VY CMa. An upper limit on the 1.296 THz line flux was obtained toward R Aql. Near-simultaneous observations of the 22.23508 GHz {6}16-{5}23 water maser transition were carried out toward all four sources using the Effelsberg 100 m telescope. The measured line fluxes imply 22 GHz/1.296 THz photon luminosity ratios of 0.012, 0.12, and 0.83, respectively, for W Hya, U Her, and VY CMa, values that confirm the 22 GHz maser transition to be unsaturated in W Hya and U Her. We also detected the 1.884888 THz {8}45-{7}52 transition toward W Hya and VY CMa, and the 1.278266 THz {7}43-{6}52 transition toward VY CMa. Like the 22 GHz maser transition, all three of the THz emission lines detected here originate from the ortho-H2O spin isomer. Based upon a model for the circumstellar envelope of W Hya, we estimate that stimulated emission is responsible for ˜85% of the observed 1.296 THz line emission, and thus that this transition may be properly described as a terahertz-frequency maser. In the case of the 1.885 THz transition, by contrast, our W Hya model indicates that the observed emission is dominated by spontaneous radiative decay, even though a population inversion exists. GREAT is a development by the MPI für Radioastronomie and the KOSMA/Universität zu Köln, in cooperation with the MPI für Sonnensystemforschung and the DLR Institut für Planetenforschung.

  18. Social Costs of the Inefficient Management of the EU Funds for Bulgaria

    OpenAIRE

    Nozharov, Shteryo

    2016-01-01

    The study identifies and defines the social costs of the inefficient management of EU funds for Bulgaria. It is analyzed the last due programme period (2007-2015) and its prolongation. As methodology of the research the V4 BM model of Al-Debei and Avison (2010) which has not been used for analysis of EU funds management for cohesion policy in the public sector, is applied. In this way its potential for application in this field is tested. The concept of the study could be successfully used fo...

  19. Air pollution studies in Bulgaria using the moss biomonitoring technique, NAA and AAS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marinova, S.; Karadzhinova, A.G.; Yurukova, L.; Frontas'eva, M.V.; Strelkova, L.P.; Marinov, A.; Steinnes, E.

    2009-01-01

    The moss biomonitoring technique was used to study trace element atmospheric deposition in four areas of Bulgaria (the western Thracian-Rhodope, the eastern Thracian-Rhodope, the south-eastern and the northern central regions) during the European moss survey in 2005. A total of 41 elements (Na, Al, Cl, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Br, Rd, Sr, Mo, Cd, Sb, I, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Tb, Dy, Tm, Yb, Hf, Ta, W, Au, Pb, Th, and U) were determined by instrumental epithermal Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) and Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS) in 97 samples of terrestrial moss. The moss species used was Hypnum cupressiforme. Principal component analysis (factor analysis)was used to identify and characterize different pollution sources and to point out the most polluted areas. The interpretation of the factor analysis findings points to natural crust, marine, and vegetation components as well as to anthropogenic sources: ferrous (Plovdiv, Haskovo) and non-ferrous industries (Plovdiv, Kardzhali, Burgas); and central heating stations (Plovdiv, Haskovo, Stara Zagora, Burgas). Comparison of the medians of the elemental concentrations in moss samples collected in Bulgaria with those in the Balkan and other European countries reveals that the Balkan countries show considerably higher concentrations of most elements in moss than observed in other European countries where moss sampling has been employed

  20. Floristic diversity of 'Chinarite' protected area – Rodopi municipality, Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Dospatliev

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract. Study on the species composition of vascular plants in 'Chinarite' protected area in Belashtitsa village, Rodopi Municipality, Bulgaria was conducted using the floristic analysis method. A total of 147 species of vascular plants were identified, belonging to 124 genera and 51 families. The families Poaceae, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Brassicaceae, Apiaceae, Rosaceae and Fabaceae are the most highly represented. The comparative analysis shows that the angiosperm taxa are dominating in the studied area. Dicotyledonous plants are prevailing among them, while monocotyledonous are significantly less in number. Molinia caerulea species, identified in the present study, has not been reported to have been found so far in the Thracian lowland floristic region.

  1. Social entrepreneurship as a form of social responsibility in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilieva-Koleva Daniela

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Social entrepreneurship is becoming a popular form of social responsibility and a way to solve a variety of urgent social problems. In order for a society to boost social entrepreneurship it needs a specific environment where such ideas can emerge and develop into an active business activity. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive literature review of the terms social responsibility and social entrepreneurship and to examine the current social entrepreneurship activities in Bulgaria. The analysis highlights the importance of social entrepreneurial ideas for improving the business climate in the country. A number of case studies are discussed to provide evidence of particular entrepreneurial activities which have successfully solved a number of social problems.

  2. Assessment of photovoltaic conversion technology for electricity producing in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vitanov, P.; Tyutyundzhiev, N.; Peneva, M.; Delibasheva, M.

    1996-01-01

    Characteristics of a 36W/12V solar photovoltaic converter developed in the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences have been studied. Technical description of the module containing 4 monocrystal Si solar elements is given. Each element is with conversion efficiency more than 12% and has multilayer metallization. The power generated by the module is directly proportional to solar radiation. The electric energy generated in a sunny day is more than 240 Wh and more than 7 kWh in a spring month (April). The system can work without a battery for 8 - 18 hours. The results show that the utilization of such type of economically efficient stand-alone systems is advisable for Bulgaria. 4 figs., 3 refs

  3. Unutargradska saobraćajna dostupnost gradova Bugarske

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Apostolov Najden

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The article presents micro geographical analysis of the inner city transport accessibility to the cities in Bulgaria. It is taken into consideration: the localization of a railway station (RS, a bus station (BS and a central business district (CBD. There are formed 5 types accessibility: a concentrated (Kazanlak, Montana, b nearness of a railway and bus station (Ruse, Vraca, c closeness of a railway station and CBD (Varna, Dimitrovgrad, d nearness of a bus station and CBD (Dobrich, Pazardjik, e dispersed (Sofia, Veliko Tarnovo. The most convenient for traveling to the city is type "a", for transit passengers type "b", and type "c" for those who are coming by buses from near settlements.

  4. Ministerial presentation: Bulgaria [International ministerial conference on nuclear power for the 21st century

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Minev, A.

    2005-01-01

    His Excellency A. Minev, Deputy Minister of Energy and Energy Resources, Bulgaria, suggested that, over the long term, it is clear that the need for sustained human development will require a substantial investment in energy generation in the coming decades, and that, given its capacity for emissions free electricity generation, nuclear energy has strong potential as a reliable baseline energy source. He reported that the construction of the second nuclear power plant in Bulgaria has very strong political and public support at the local and national level. More than 97% of the local community, and more than 72% of Bulgarians, strongly support the plans for a new nuclear facility. He stressed that national responsibility for the safety of nuclear installations is the fundamental principle on which the regulation of nuclear safety and of radioactive waste management has been developed by the international community as endorsed by the Convention on Nuclear Safety and its parties, including the European atomic energy community, and reflected in the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, and acknowledges that the IAEA's standards and approaches, as reflected notably in the IAEA Safety Fundamentals and Safety Requirements series, constitute an internationally recognized framework which Bulgarian national safety requirements use as a reference

  5. An Energy Overview of the Republic of Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-01-01

    The DOE Office of Fossil Energy is maintaining a web site that is meant to provide useful business- and energy-related information about countries and regions of the world for exporters, project developers, and researchers. The site consists of more than 130 country pages (organized into seven different world regions), with each country page having its own set of links to information sources about that country. There are also more than 30 Country Energy Overviews at the web site -- each of these is a comprehensive review of a specific country's entire energy situation, including sections on Energy Policy, Oil, Natural Gas, Coal, Hydroelectric/Renewables, Nuclear Power, Energy Transmission Infrastructure, Electricity, Electric Industry Overview, Environmental Activities, Privatization, Trade, and Economic Situation. The specific country highlighted in this Country Energy Overview is Bulgaria. The site is designed to be dynamic. Updates to the overviews will be made as need and resource s permit

  6. A group find of the bronze coins struck under Philip II and Alexander III from Svoboda near Plovdiv (Bulgaria)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Militký, Jiří

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 27, č. 2 (2013), s. 147-160 ISSN 0546-9414 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-24707S Institutional support: RVO:67985912 Keywords : Macedonia * Bulgaria * Philip II * hoard Subject RIV: AC - Archeology, Anthropology, Ethnology

  7. Conceptual model for concessioning in the Water Supply and Sanitation sector in Bulgaria

    OpenAIRE

    Todor Raychev

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to create a new conceptual model for sustainable development of the water sector in Bulgaria on the basis of concessions by statistical regions according to the NUTS-2 classification of the European Union. The essence of the proposed model includes an approach for consolidating the existing 66 WSS operators in three WSS operators – concessionaires. The approach is applied to provide WSS services for drinking and household needs of the population. WSS services fo...

  8. Revision of Boletus section Appendiculati (Boletaceae) in Bulgaria with a key to the Balkan species

    OpenAIRE

    ASSYOV, Boris

    2012-01-01

    The paper presents the results from the taxonomic revision of Boletus section Appendiculati in Bulgaria. Descriptions are provided based on Bulgarian specimens for the 5 species of the section: Boletus appendiculatus, B. fechtneri, B. fuscoroseus, B. regius, and B. subappendiculatus. The priority of the name B. fuscoroseus against B. pseudoregius is briefly discussed. A dichotomous key for the determination of members is also included.

  9. South-East Region in Bulgaria: Economic Performance and Key Sectors Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antoaneta GOLEMANOVA

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The present paper attempts to provide insight into the economicperformance of the South-east region (SER of Bulgaria by presenting quantitativerelationships between sectors in the regional economy. Methodologically it is basedon the construction of the regional Input–Output model. It was carried out troughapplying the non-servey GRIT technique, based on Flegg & Webber locationquotient (2000. The dirived Rasmussen & Hirschman backward linkages andMattas & Shrestha input-output elasticities from the model enable to identify thekey economic sectors within the region. This could be considered as a starting pointfor the future impact assesment of different EU policies, as well as designing ofbetter regional development strategies, assuring better economic performance.

  10. Construction of new nuclear power plant in Bulgaria - incentives and problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Popov, M.; Bataklieva, L.; Hinovski, I.

    2002-01-01

    Advantages and disadvantages of constriction of new nuclear power plant in Bulgaria are discussed. Several options for further development are considered: Completion of the Belene NPP; Evolutionary design installations PWR technology, 600 MW (AP-600 Westinghouse design; B-407 Russian design); Standard design of Framatome, 900 MW; Standard design - heavy water technology CANDU-6 (700 MW) and other.The results of the preliminary economic analyses show that the first two options are approximately equal, but the all options are acceptable from investment point of view, considering an average macro economic environment. The need of assessment of all aspects (technical, economical, financial, social, environmental, national infrastructure) of nuclear sector development is outlined

  11. Failures of the national policy for sustainable development of Bulgaria – economic dimensions

    OpenAIRE

    Nozharov, Shteryo; Koralova, Petya

    2017-01-01

    Bulgaria is a member of the EU since 2007. The country has issues with its economic policy, which issues could have negative impact over the EU’s policies as a whole. When the economic policy of a Member State is blemished by a systematic strategic misconceptions, it is necessary this to be analysed in depth. The debate, about the future of the EU after Brexit and the concept about multi-speed Europe is consequence of the efficiency of the economic and political systems in each individual Mem...

  12. Observable Effects of Atmospheric Pollution on Outpatient and Inpatient Morbidity in Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Platikanova, Magdalena; Penkova-Radicheva, Mariana

    2016-04-01

    One of Europe's most well-developed industrial regions is found in the Republic of Bulgaria. The industrialization of the region has a big impact on air pollution. Thermal power plant "Maritza East" (the largest of its kind in southeastern Europe), the army training range, machine manufacturers, household heating and high volume of automobile traffic are all major sources of pollution in the region. A five year study (2009-2013) followed yearly concentrations of principal atmospheric pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, dust, nitrogen dioxide, lead aerosols and hydrogen sulfide, and the way in which those levels had an effect on morbidity (outpatient and inpatient medical care) in the area. Statistical processing of data has been completed to represent and analyze the collected data in nonparametric and alternative format. Atmospheric pollution affects human health directly through pathological changes in the human organism. The registered outpatient care provided for the period 2009-2013 is highest for diseases of the cardiovascular system (11.85%), the respiratory system (17.34%) and the genitourinary system (9.76%). The registered rate of hospitalization for the same period is for diseases of the digestive system (11.90%), the cardiovascular system (11.85%), respiratory system (10.86%) and the genitourinary system (8.88%). The observed period shows a decrease in average yearly concentrations of the principal atmospheric pollutants in the industrial region (Bulgaria) and reflects a decrease in morbidity based on outpatient care and an increase in morbidity by inpatient care (hospitalization). Our findings should be corroborated in future longitudinal studies.

  13. Adaptation and Validation of a Burnout Inventory in a Survey of the Staff of a Correctional Institution in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harizanova Stanislava N.

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Burnout syndrome is a phenomenon that seems to be studied globally in relation to all types of populations. The staff in the system of correctional institutions in Bulgaria, however, is oddly left out of this tendency. There is no standardized model in Bulgaria that can be used to detect possible susceptibility to professional burnout. The methods available at present only register the irreversible changes that have already set in the functioning of the individual. V. Boyko’s method for burnout assessment allows clinicians to use individual approach to patients and affords easy comparability of results with data from other psychodiagnostic instruments. Adaptation of the assessment instruments to fit the specificities of a study population (linguistic, ethno-cultural, etc. is obligatory so that the instrument could be correctly used and yield valid results. Validation is one of the most frequently used technique to achieve this.

  14. Investigation about the presence of organochlorine pollutants in mussels from the Black Sea, Bulgaria

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    Georgieva Stanislava

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs, organochlorine pesticides (HCB, DDT and its metabolites and HCBD in mussels from Bulgarian Black Sea coast. Mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis are aquatic organisms which are immobile so that the concentration of pollutants should primarily be considered as an indication of local levels of organochlorine compounds. Samples were collected from three areas of Black Sea coast of Bulgaria in summer 2015.

  15. The town in Serbia and Bulgaria: A comparative reading of current processes. Introduction

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    Zlatanović Sanja

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The topic of this volume is a result from The Contemporary City in Serbia and Bulgaria: Processes and Changes, a bilateral project of the Institute of Ethnography of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (2014-2016. The six papers offer a comparative view of current social processes in two neighbouring Balkan countries, linked by numerous historical and political experiences. Comparative research into societal trends enables a more thorough understanding and monitoring of global processes. In today’s increasingly globalised and glocalised world, towns experience sudden changes and it is in the towns that these changes are most vividly to be seen. The focus of our research is on the dynamism of the contemporary town, on processuality and changes in societal practices. Ana Luleva examines life in the small town of Nessebar in southeast Bulgaria, which has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1983. The protection, management and presentation of Nessebar’s cultural heritage are highly complex issues, further complicated by the problem of collision with the interests of the inhabitants. The author analyses the relations between the various factors - the state administration, municipal authorities and the local population. Here the tourist industry, investment interests, corrupt institutions and civil society all play their part. Ivanka Petrova chose to research Belogradchik, a small town in northwest Bulgaria. Petrova investigates how local social and cultural resources are used in the work of a family tourist enterprise. The author looks for answers to questions such as: how its members identify with the town and its culture and how the work of the enterprise fits into the Belogradchik local context. At the focus of her paper are current societal practices: the local urban economy and the production of images and symbols

  16. Bees (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Apiformes in the Agricultural Landscape of Bulgaria: Species Diversity

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    Banaszak Józef

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Wild bees (Apiformes were studied in 4 crop fields and 8 refuge habitats for 2 - 5 years in agricultural landscapes in the Pleven and Plovdiv regions of Bulgaria. In total, 233 bee species were recorded. Bee forage plants visited by the honey bee and wild Apiformes are listed for each refuge habitat. Species composition is given for individual habitats, including fields of alfalfa (Medicago sativa, oilseed rape (Brassica napus, sunflower (Helianthus annuus, and radish (Raphanus sativus. Species richness and dominance structure of bee communities in the 2 regions are compared, and species responsible for significant differences are identified.

  17. Scenarios of energy demand and efficiency potential for Bulgaria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tzvetanov, P.; Ruicheva, M.; Denisiev, M.

    1996-12-31

    The paper presents aggregated results on macroeconomic and final energy demand scenarios developed within the Bulgarian Country Study on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Mitigation, supported by US Country Studies Program. The studies in this area cover 5 main stages: (1) {open_quotes}Baseline{close_quotes} and {open_quotes}Energy Efficiency{close_quotes} socioeconomic and energy policy philosophy; (2) Modeling of macroeconomic and sectoral development till 2020; (3) Expert assessments on the technological options for energy efficiency increase and GHG mitigation in the Production, Transport and Households and Services Sectors; (4) Bottom-up modeling of final energy demand; and (5) Sectoral and overall energy efficiency potential and policy. Within the Bulgarian Country Study, the presented results have served as a basis for the final integration stage {open_quotes}Assessment of the Mitigation Policy and Measures in the Energy System of Bulgaria{close_quotes}.

  18. STATE AND EFFICIENCY OF MANAGEMENT OF AGROECOSYSTEM SERVICES – THE CASE OF BULGARIA

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    HRABRIN BACHEV

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper incorporates New Institutional Economics and analyzes the state and efficiency of management of agro-ecosystem services in Bulgaria. Firstly, it presents framework of analyses of management of agro-ecosystem services including: definition of agroecosystem services and its management; specification of management needs and spectrum of governing modes (institutions, market, private, public, hybrid; assessment of efficiency of different form of management in terms of potential to protect eco-rights and investments, assure socially desirable level of agro-ecosystem services, minimize costs, coordinate and stimulate eco-activities, meet preferences and reconcile conflicts of related agents. Secondly, it identifies and assesses the management of agro-ecosystem services in Bulgaria. Transition and EU integration have brought about significant changes in the state and management of agroecosystems services in the country. Newly evolved market, private and public governance have led to a significant improvement of a part of agro-ecosystems services introducing modern ecostandards and public support, enhancing environmental stewardship, disintensifyingproduction, recovering landscape and traditional productions, diversifying quality, products,and services. At the same time, the novel eco-management is associated with new challenges such as unsustainable exploitation, lost biodiversity, land degradation, water and air contamination. Moreover, implementation of EU common policies would have no desired impact on agro-ecosystem services unless special measures are taken to improve management of public programs, and extend public support to dominating small-scale and subsistence farms.

  19. ANALYSIS OF COSTS AND BENEFITS OF INVESTMENTS IN WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN BULGARIA

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    Presiana Nenkova

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper represents a study employing Cost-Benefit Analisys for efficiency appraisal of a set of 19 projects for Regional Waste Management Systems (RWMS construction, envisaged for funding under Priority axis 2: Improvement and development of waste treatment infrastructure within Operational Programme Environment 2007-2013 in Bulgaria. The member states are required to submit a Cost-Benefit Analysis to the Commission services for major projects to provide evidence that, in the framework of EU regional policy objectives, the project is both desirable from an economic point of view and needs the contribution of the Funds in order to be financially feasible. To draw the conclusion on potential impact on social welfare of the public investments undertaken in waste management ecological infrastructure costs and benefits are first identified and monetized. The aggregated model for assessing the impact of investments is based on information declared in those specific project proposals, and the data has then been processed to extract averages and aggregates needed for the purposes of analysis. Financial Analysis is employed to assess the need of co-financing by the European fund for regional development and to estimate the amount of the EU assistance. Economic Analysis is employed to determine whether the society would be better-off with the projects. According to the economic evaluation undertaken the projects’ net present value is positive thus proving that investments in ecological infrastructure in Bulgaria generate net benefits for society as a whole.

  20. Tooth replacement related to number of natural teeth in a dentate adult population in Bulgaria: a cross-sectional study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Damyanov, N.D.; Witter, D.J.; Bronkhorst, E.M.; Creugers, N.H.J.

    2013-01-01

    PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the relationships among tooth replacement, number of present natural teeth, and sociodemographic and behavioral factors in an adult population in Bulgaria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Quota sampling was used to recruit 2,531 dentate subjects aged 20 years and over

  1. Monitoring the establishment and prevalence of the fungal entomopathogen Entomophaga maimaiga in two Lymantria dispar L. populations in Bulgaria

    Science.gov (United States)

    D. Pilarska; M. McManus; P. Pilarska; G. Georgiev; P. Mirchev; A. Linde

    2005-01-01

    The establishment and prevalence of the entomopathogenic fungus Entomophaga maimaiga, (Zygomycetes, Entomophthorales), introduced into two gypsy moth populations in Bulgaria, was monitored during 2000-2004. In the Karlovo Region population, where E. maimaiga was introduced in 1999, the fungus was recovered every year and the...

  2. Lead in the blood of children living close to industrial point sources in Bulgaria and Poland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willeke-Wetstein, C.; Bainova, A.; Georgieva, R.; Huzior-Balajewicz, A.; Bacon, J. R.

    2003-05-01

    ln Eastern European countries some industrial point sources are still suspected to have unacceptable emission rates of lead that pose a major health risk in particular to children. An interdisciplinary research project under the auspices of the EU had the aims (I) to monitor the current contamination of two industrial zones in Bulgaria and Poland, (2) to relate the Pb levels in ecological strata to the internal exposure of children, (3) to develop public health strategies in order to reduce the health risk by heavy metals. The human monitoring of Pb in Poland did not show increased health risks for the children living in an industrial zone close to Krakow. Bulgarian children, however, exceeded the WHO limit of 100 μg lead per litre blood by over one hundred percent (240 μg/1). Samples of soil, fodder and livestock organs showed elevated concentrations of lead. Recent literature results are compared with the findings in Bulgaria and Poland. The sources of the high internal exposure of children are discussed. Public health strategies to prevent mental dysfunction in Bulgarian children at risk include awareness building and social masures.

  3. International Expert Team Concludes IAEA Peer Review of Bulgaria's Regulatory Framework for Nuclear and Radiation Safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2013-01-01

    Full text: An international team of senior nuclear safety and radiation protection experts today concluded a 12-day mission to review the regulatory framework for nuclear and radiation safety in Bulgaria. The Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) mission, conducted at the request of the Government of Bulgaria, identified a series of good practices and made recommendations to help enhance the overall performance of the regulatory system. IRRS missions, which were initiated in 2006, are peer reviews based on the IAEA Safety Standards; they are not inspections or audits. ''Bulgaria has a clear national policy and strategy for safety, which are well in line with international standards and practices and contribute to a high level of nuclear safety,'' said Mission Team Leader Marta Ziakova, Chairperson of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of the Slovak Republic. The mission team, which conducted the review from 8 to 19 April, was made up of 16 senior regulatory experts from 16 nations, and six IAEA staff. ''The results of the IRRS mission will be valuable for the future development and reinforcement of the Bulgarian Nuclear Safety Agency (BNRA). The use of international standards and good practices helps to improve global harmonization in all areas of nuclear safety and radiation protection,'' said Sergey Tzotchev, Chairman of the BNRA. Among the main observations in its preliminary report, the IRRS mission team found that BNRA operates as an independent regulatory body and conducts its regulatory processes in an open and transparent manner. In line with the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety, the mission reviewed the regulatory implications for Bulgaria of the March 2011 accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan. It found that the BNRA's response to the lessons learned from that accident was both prompt and effective. Strengths and good practices identified by the IRRS team include the following: A no-blame policy is enshrined in law for

  4. SPECIFIC SUBJECTS OF LICENSE ACADEMIC PROGRAM - AN IMPORTANT STAGE OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE MILITARY LEADERS AT NATIONAL MILITARY UNIVERSITY, BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elitsa Stoyanova PETROVA

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available On the basis of an approved request by the Head of National Military University it is conducting research on motivation in military formations of the example of Vasil Levski National Military University in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria. Subject of the study is motivation for training and military activities of the cadets and the objects of the study are students in professional military direction in "Organization and management of military units at the tactical level," Land forces faculty at the National Military University of Bulgaria. The article presents results of the study at second item - "Do you agree that the study of specialized topics is an important stage of your professional development of future military leader?". The interviewees were cadets who graduated through the following academic years - 2013/2014, 2014/2015, 2015/2016.

  5. Chemical Analysis of Organic Residues Found in Hellenistic Time Amphorae from SE Bulgaria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zlateva, B.; Rangelov, M.

    2015-05-01

    We have used IR spectroscopy, 1H NMR spectroscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography and thin-layer chromatography to study the composition of resin residues found in 22 amphorae from Apollonia Pontika (SE Bulgaria). In particular this analysis of the resin residues was aimed at discovering the content of the amphorae and to verify the hypothesis on the transport of wine, named "Retsina". Additionally this hypothesis has been confirmed by a similar analysis of the modern resin sample from Aleppo pine (Pinus Halepensis) growing in the Attica region (Greece).

  6. Assessing the Influence of the Automobile Traffic on the Amphibians and Reptiles in the Buffer Zone of Biosphere Reserve “Srebarna” (NE Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivelin A. Mollov

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Currently the problem of the effects of the road network and traffic on the amphibians and reptiles in Bulgaria is poorly studied. During the period March 2002 - March 2004 in the Buffer Zone of Biosphere Reserve "Srebarna" (NE Bulgaria were built two anti-fire roads from the eastern and western side of the lake in area of grasslands of semi-steppe type, typical for north-eastern Bulgaria. The aim of the constructed roads is to provide access for fire vehicles to areas in and around the reserve. The current study aims to provide data on the impact of road traffic and the newly constructed road network and another previously existing road on the amphibians and reptiles inhabiting the buffer zone of the biosphere reserve "Srebarna". For the entire period of study in the three studied road sections a total of 15 dead specimens of amphibians belonging to 4 species (Bombina bombina, Hyla arborea, Bufo bufo, Bufo viridis and 70 dead specimens of reptiles belonging to 8 species (Emys orbicularis, Ablepharus kitaibelii, Lacerta viridis, Podarcis tauricus, Podarcis muralis, Natrix natrix, Coronella austriaca and Dolichophis caspius were recorded. Several “hot spots”, where most cadavers were recorded are well described and possible conservation measures are discussed.

  7. Determination of total Betta-activity and heavy metals in biomonitor species (phytomonitors) from the area of ITR-Sofia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dimitrov, S.; Yovchev, M.; Geleva, E.

    2010-01-01

    For the purposes of environmental assessment of the area around the Research reactor in Sofia, species from monitored control points, selected in a certain way (habitat, population, air and hydrogeological parameters) are examined. Samples from following phytomonitored species: Betula pendula (silver birch) popullus canadensis (Canadian populus), Quercus sp. (Oak), Dactilus glomerata (Cock's-foot), Abies alba (Silver Fir) and Sequoia sempervirens (Coast Redwood) were analyzed. The total beta activity was determined by radiometric analysis and heavy metals content was measured using X-ray fluorescence analysis. The results are discussed in terms of radiation monitoring program of INRNE (gamma-background, aerosols, surface and groundwater, soil, plants) and obtained values are compared with reference points in the country

  8. New measurements of D/H on Mars using EXES aboard SOFIA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Encrenaz, T.; DeWitt, C.; Richter, M. J.; Greathouse, T. K.; Fouchet, T.; Montmessin, F.; Lefèvre, F.; Bézard, B.; Atreya, S. K.; Aoki, S.; Sagawa, H.

    2018-05-01

    The global D/H ratio on Mars is an important measurement for understanding the past history of water on Mars; locally, through condensation and sublimation processes, it is a possible tracer of the sources and sinks of water vapor on Mars. Measuring D/H as a function of longitude, latitude and season is necessary for determining the present averaged value of D/H on Mars. Following an earlier measurement in April 2014, we used the Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph (EXES) instrument on board the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) facility to map D/H on Mars on two occasions, on March 24, 2016 (Ls = 127°), and January 24, 2017 (Ls = 304°), by measuring simultaneously the abundances of H2O and HDO in the 1383-1391 cm-1 range (7.2 μm). The D/H disk-integrated values are 4.0 (+0.8, -0.6) × Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW) and 4.5 (+0.7, -0.6) × VSMOW, respectively, in agreement with our earlier result. The main result of this study is that there is no evidence of strong local variations in the D/H ratio nor for seasonal variations in the global D/H ratio between northern summer and southern summer.

  9. Licensing activities for the partial decommissioning of IRT-2000 research reactor in Sofia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Apostolov, T.; Ilieva, Kr.; Papukchiev, A.; Kalchev, B.

    2001-01-01

    The project for refurbishment of IRT-2000 research reactor in Sofia into low-power reactor (200 kW) is based on the retention of some IRT-2000 buildings, facilities and equipment. The activities, which determine the partial decommissioning should be realized in accordance with preliminary developed licensing documents as General Plan, Safety Analysis Report and Environment Impact assessment Report. The goal of these documents is to provide and guarantee safe and effective activities with radioactive materials, to define strictly the dismantling procedures, and in the same time to minimize their influence on the environment. The Technical Tasks for General Plan, Safety Analysis Report and Environment Impact Assessment Report have been prepared and will be presented as preliminary licensing documents to the National Regulatory Body for approval before their application. A Quality Management system is being developed nowadays at INRNE. After its certification some requirements of the regulatory body will be completed. This certified QA system is a major part of the licensing procedure for the reconstruction of IRT-2000 research reactor. (author)

  10. Comparative mineralogical characteristics of red soils from South Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marlena Yaneva

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study aims to compare mineralogical composition of red soils, formed on marbles in South Bulgaria. We used mineralogical analysis of heavy and light mineral fraction in immersion under polarizing microscope and X-ray diffraction analysis of bulk sample and clay fraction. Three test polygons, located in South Bulgaria were examined: Petrovo, Nova Lovcha and Dobrostan, which are characterized with different latitude, altitude, and exposition. Three or more sites from each polygon were sampled and analyzed. The red soils are formed on white and gray calcite and calcite-dolomite marbles, impure silicate-rich marbles and only in one site – on marble breccias. We determined the following mineral phases in red soils: calcite, dolomite, quarts, and feldspars, mica, illite-type mica, illite, smectite, vermiculite-smectite, and kaolinite. Heavy minerals are represented by amphibole, titanite and epidote, and minor amounts of zircon, garnet, tourmaline, rutile, pyroxene, andalusite, kyanite, sillimanite and apatite. Opaque minerals are predominantly goethite and hematite. Plant tissue is abundant in light fraction from the uppermost soil horizons. Analyses of heavy mineral fraction show presence of metamorphic and igneous minerals which indicate participation of weathering products from other rock types in the nearby area. The types of heavy minerals in soils depend more on composition of parent rocks and geomorphic position than on climate type. Soils from Nova Lovcha show similar composition, but the quantity of goethite and hematite significantly increase in soil from plain. Typical high-metamorphic minerals as andalusite, kyanite and sillimanite present only in Nova Lovcha, while garnet dominates in Petrovo and opaque minerals - in Dobrostan. Red soils, formed on slopes, where erosion prevails over accumulation, contain more illite, smectite and vermiculite-smectite, and very few or no kaolinite, whereas the kaolinite is dominant in soils

  11. Effects of a High Intensity Fire on the Abundance and Diversity of Reptiles in the Eastern Rhodopes Mountains, Southeastern Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georgi S. Popgeorgiev

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available The numerous fires during the past decade in the Eastern Rhodopes (southeastern Bulgaria resulted in extensive loss of habitat for multiple species. In this study on the reptilian fauna found near Kolets village (Haskovo District, Bulgaria we compared two adjacent territories during 2004–2006, a control and a recently burned. We found no effect on the Shannon-Wiener index of biological diversity (mean for the three years: Hburned = 0.488, Hcontrol = 0.498. However, fire led to decrease of abundance (Ab, individuals / 1000 m, best detected for the following species: Testudo hermanni (Abburned = 1.8, Abcontrol = 5.6; p = 0.003316, T. graeca (Abburned = 1.1, Abcontrol = 3.2; p = 0.071786, Lacerta viridis (Abburned = 16.8, Abcontrol = 40.6; p = 0.000263, and L. trilineata (Abburned = 6.8, Abcontrol = 19.2; p = 0.000879, where values for Ab are combined for 2004–2006.

  12. Macro- and microelement determination of some species of the family Fumaria L. distributed in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marichkova, L.; K'ostarova, O.

    1985-01-01

    The mineral composition of different species of the family Fumaria L. is of interest as it is widely used in traditional popular medicine and participates in metabolism of the human body.The micro- and macroelement determination was carried out by means of nondestructive neutron activation analysis. The measured probes and standards were irradiated in Sofia IRT-reactor for the time periods according to radioactive isotope activations. The elements Mn, Sr, Zr were determined using radioisitope X-ray fluorescence analysis for both the plants and the soils. Cd 109 source, Si(Li) detectoprt and Nockie multichannel analyser were used. It was found that particularly useful for the quantities of drugs are the elements: Ca, Cu, K, Co and Fe

  13. Optimal unit commitment of the power system in Bulgaria during the transitional period to power wholesale market (cont..)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stoilov, D.

    2001-01-01

    The first part of the parer considers the general problem of optimal yearly unit commitment in the new economical conditions in Bulgaria. The second part deals with non-convex problem , taking into account some costs for starting and stopping of power systems. The transition from yearly commitment to weekly or daily dispatching is commented

  14. Evaluation of the hexagonal and spherical model of vocational interests in the young people in Serbia and Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hedrih Vladimir

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to validate Holland’s hexagonal and Tracey’s spherical model of vocational interests in young adults in Serbia and Bulgaria. To this end, 1250 participants, 560 from Serbia and 690 from Bulgaria, filled in Serbian and Bulgarian versions of the Personal Globe Inventory (PGI, Tracey, 2002. Hubert and Arabie’s randomization test of hypothetical orders, multidimensional scaling with fixed coordinates, Myors test and exploratory factor analysis were used. The results showed that the hexagonal and spherical models well explained the structure of vocational interests in both samples. The level of fit of the hexagonal model to the data obtained by using the PGI was generally higher than those established in the studies that used other Holland-based instruments. Furthermore, the levels of fit of both hexagonal and spherical model were in the same range like those obtained in previous studies in other countries. The results also pointed out a remarkable similarity in the structure of vocational interests in the Bulgarian and Serbian samples. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179002

  15. The Text of the Agreement connected with the Agency's Assistance to Bulgaria in furthering Projects by the Supply of Materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1971-05-20

    The text of the Master Agreement between the Agency and the Government of Bulgaria for assistance by the Agency in furthering projects by the supply of materials is reproduced herein for the information of all Members. This Agreement entered into force on 15 July 1970.

  16. The Text of the Agreement connected with the Agency's Assistance to Bulgaria in furthering Projects by the Supply of Materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1971-01-01

    The text of the Master Agreement between the Agency and the Government of Bulgaria for assistance by the Agency in furthering projects by the supply of materials is reproduced herein for the information of all Members. This Agreement entered into force on 15 July 1970.

  17. Understanding unemployment scars: A vignette Experiment of employers' decisions in Bulgaria, Greece, Norway and Switzerland

    OpenAIRE

    Hyggen, Christer; Imdorf, Christian; Parsanaglou, Dimitris; Sacchi, Stefan; Samuel, Robin; Stoilova, Rumiana; Shi, Lulu P.; Yfanti, Aggeliki; Yordanova, Gabriela

    2016-01-01

    In an effort to broaden the understanding of how early job insecurity can affect an individual’s future career from an employer’s perspective NEGOTIATE conducted an employer‐sided survey with an integrated multidimensional vignette experiment in Bulgaria, Greece, Norway and Switzerland. This report documents the sampling and data‐collection in the four countries. In addition we present some basic descriptive results from the survey. Data from the survey will be available for public use, follo...

  18. Presowing treatments to breaking seed dormancy of Pterocarya stenoptera C. DC. as an indicator of potential invasiveness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grbić Mihailo

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The Small-winged wingnut is a 12 to 20 metres tall, deciduous and fast growing tree with large substantial branches that spread as wide as the tree is tall. The 15 to 30 cm long winged fruit catkins, which turn brown in the autumn, are suspended below the branches. The species is not described by domestic authors in Serbia. The seed was introduced from Sofia (from the Arboretum of the Forestry University of Sofia, Bulgaria - Lesotehničeski universitet, Sofija, and subjected to classical stratification and naked stratification during the period of 1 and 2 months. Germination capacity varied among the treatments. The largest number of germinated seeds was observed in the shorter stratifications, (1 month the classical (56.5% and the naked (51.0% with no significant difference. The values of real germination of all treatments were between 69-88%. High value of RG, compared to GC, indicated that more than 40% of the seeds were empty. However, the results of the control as well as other parameters of seed germination clearly point to the fact that practically no deep embryo dormancy was observed, but the seed is recalcitrant and microbiotic. The results indicate a non-invasive character of the species in terms of reproductive potential.

  19. Quantification of Selected Trace and Mineral Elements in Royal Jelly from Bulgaria by Icp-Oes and Etaas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Balkanska Ralitsa

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The objective of the present study was to investigate selected trace and mineral elements in Royal Jelly (RJ from Bulgaria. A total of 30 RJ samples were included in the study. The analytical procedure consisted of the microwave digestion of the RJ samples with nitric acid followed by instrumental measurement. Concentrations of Al, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Sr and Zn were determined using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES, while As, Cd, Co, Ni and Pb were determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS. Our results showed that elements K, Mg, Ca represented 96% from the total mineral content of the RJ samples from Bulgaria, while the most abundant trace element was Na, followed by Zn. The elements Ba, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Sr were found in trace concentration levels and elements As, Pb, Cd, Co and Ni in microconcentration levels. Selected mineral and trace elements were found in relatively constant concentration levels in all of the analyzed RJ samples. It was concluded that chemical element content did not depend on geographical origin and was under homeostatic adjustment in RJs.

  20. Patrilineal traditional family: Examples of Serbia and Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajković Ljubica

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper aims to investigate from comparative and sociological perspective the similarities between the roles of family and household in social development of Bulgaria and Serbia. The focus of the study is placed on the similarities and differences between the traditional phase of development and the industrial, modern one. Modern society as a whole is defined as untransformed and subject to re-traditionalization. The investigation rests on the assumption that within East European model, the traditional family/household is a phenomenon linked to the 19th and 20th centuries, but not to the 21st one. However, the Balkan extended family/household retains the influence it had in the traditional phase of development. In the traditional phase, the extended family commune (zadruga, characteristic of the Balkans, played an essential role for survival. In modern societies, it regains its importance for survival during social and economic crises; however, it also poses traditionally experienced risks concerning substantial deterioration of the position of women. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179035: The New Challenges Of Social Integration In Serbia - Challenges And Actors

  1. Capitalists, Spies and Aliens: Conspiracy Theories in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hristov Todor

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The paper claims that conspiracy theories in Bulgaria are organized as a milieu rather than as a genre, and that, depending on their intensity, conspiracy theories can perform heterogeneous functions, which range from justification of political claims and popular mobilization to entertainment. Building on that conceptual framework, the paper illustrates the most prominent functional types of Bulgarian conspiracy theories. The higher-intensity theories are exemplified by the narratives of corruption and of the afterlife of the former communist secret services. The lower-intensity theories are illustrated by the fortunately short-lived question if the president of the United States has been abducted by aliens. The impact of the Bulgarian conspiratorial milieu on global theories is represented by the example of the Bulgarian modifications of the traveling narrative of the conspiracy of Jewish bankers. The emancipatory potential of the conspiracy theories is demonstrated by the example of the 2011 anti-GMO protests, motivated by narratives of conspiracy between the government and transnational corporations, which derived their energy from the associated milieu of ecological concerns.

  2. The articulation of neoliberalism: narratives of experience of chronic illness management in Bulgaria and the UK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vassilev, Ivaylo; Rogers, Anne; Todorova, Elka; Kennedy, Anne; Roukova, Poli

    2017-03-01

    The shift from social democratic to a neoliberal consensus in modern welfare capitalist states is characterised by an emphasis on individual responsibility, consumer choice, market rationality and growing social inequalities. There has been little exploration of how neoliberalism has shaped the environment within which chronic illness is experienced and managed. This article explores the different articulations of neoliberalism manifest in the arena of personal illness management in Bulgaria and the UK. People with type 2 diabetes discussed their experiences in terms of struggling with diet, diabetes as a personal failure, integrating illness management and valued activities, and the trustworthiness of the healthcare system. The UK narratives were framed within an individual responsibility discourse while in Bulgaria lack of resources dominated discussions, which were framed as structurally generated and unrelated to individual capabilities and choices. Respondents faced personal management challenges related to consumer and healthcare market failures in both countries. Differences in market regulation and emerging stakeholder and interest coalitions influenced users' expectations and their navigation and adaption to market failures in managing their everyday illnesses. The UK and Bulgarian articulations of neoliberalism can be described differently: the first as a logic of managed choice and the second as a logic of unmanaged consumerism. © 2016 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

  3. Modeling returns to education and labour market outcomes of doctoral degree holders in Bulgaria

    OpenAIRE

    Simeonova-Ganeva, Ralitsa; Panayotova, Nataliya; Ganev, Kaloyan

    2013-01-01

    In this study we present the theoretical framework of the so called Mincerian equations used for modelling returns to education. Then, we construct a conceptual framework which allows us to answer the question “What happens to doctoral degree holders in the labour market?”. We analyse data for about 45,000 PhD graduates in Bulgaria from the NSI survey Career development of PhD degree holders run in 2007, 2009, and 2010. An attempt is made to measure pay gaps in terms of gender and major of st...

  4. Implementation of systematic training approach in Kozloduy Training Centre - Current situation. Presentation of Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kosturkov, L.

    1993-01-01

    To identify the needs in implementation of the systematic training approach, a relation between the number of trainees, duration of the training and the type of training should be made. In other hand, as it was stated in the TWG-T(93) Status Report, in order to be better identified outstanding training needs, the existing capabilities and other related projects should be taken into account. This report is pointed to give more details for the current situation in Bulgaria and to clarify the needs of international assistance. 3 refs, 3 tabs

  5. Accounting interpretation of concession rights in the Republic of Bulgaria – topical issues  

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rumiana Pozharevska

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The subject of this paper covers the topical problems for the Republic of Bulgaria on the recognition, presentation and disclosure of concession rights and transactions for accounting purposes. The issues identified by the authors have a regulatory, theoretical character and concern their practical application. The aspects studied within this paper are: recognition of concession rights as intangible assets and their positioning in the total amount of assets of concessionaire enterprises; requirement and readiness for disclosure of information relating to concession agreements. The authors seek to suggest solutions in the specified directions.

  6. Restructuring of the Bulgaria power sector - changes and risks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrov, K.

    1999-01-01

    On the base of the analysis made by KEMA Consulting GmbH, Germany in 1998 - 1999 according to the project 'Aid for the development of the power authority in Bulgaria' some of the possibilities and risks for the new organization are discussed. Currently the National Electric Company is a monopolist in the electricity production sector. The government policy is aimed to efficiency improvement, creation a competition where possible, expanding of the private sector. The reconstruction is based on the model of 'the single customer'. Disadvantages are: insufficient competition, centralized planning and inappropriate risk distribution, necessity of a comprehensive regulatory control. The advantages of the method are: smooth transition to the new structures, separation of the monopole and competition functions, clear predictability of the purchases, competition of new capacities. The recommendations include urgent developing of system rules, conclusion of short-term agreements for power purchase, preparation for introduction of open access and development of the Government Agency for Power Regulation

  7. Bulgaria: act on the safe use of nuclear energy (as last amended on 29 december 2002)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-01-01

    This issue concerns the act on the Safe use of nuclear energy (as last amended on 29 december 2002) in Bulgaria. This act covers the activities associated with the State regulation of the Safe use of nuclear energy and ionizing radiations and with the safety of radioactive waste management and spent fuel management. it specifies the rights and duties of licenses in conducting those activities, to ensure nuclear safety and radiation protection. (N.C.)

  8. Problems and management of radioactive sources and measures against illicit trafficking of nuclear materials in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strezov, A.

    1998-01-01

    Illicit trafficking of nuclear materials continues to pose a danger to public health and safety and to nuclear non proliferation efforts. The majority of cases so far have involved only small amounts of fissile materials or mainly radioactive sources in Bulgaria. A proper scheme for analysis of seized nuclear materials will be developed based on existing equipment for NDA analysis of nuclear materials supplemented by new system through PHARE project assistance by EU experts. (author)

  9. The Early to Middle Triassic continental–marine transition of NW Bulgaria: sedimentology, palynology and sequence stratigraphy

    OpenAIRE

    Ajdanlijsky George; Götz Annette E.; Strasser André

    2018-01-01

    Sedimentary facies and cycles of the Triassic continental–marine transition of NW Bulgaria are documented in detail from reference sections along the Iskar river gorge between the villages of Tserovo and Opletnya. The depositional environments evolved from anastomosing and meandering river systems in the Petrohan Terrigenous Group to mixed fluvial and tidal settings in the Svidol Formation, and to peritidal and shallow-marine conditions in the Opletnya Member of the Mogila Formation. For the ...

  10. POLLUTION OF SHOKARSKI STORMWATER CANAL AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE QUALITY OF THE VARNA BLACK SEA COASTAL AREA, BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Simeonova

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Pollution of Shokarski stormwater canal and its influence on the quality of the Varna Black Sea coastal area, Bulgaria. In the present study was investigated the pollution of Shokаrski stormwater canal, discharging its water into the Varna Black Sea coastal area. Monitoring was carried out during 2011 year at 5 sites along the canal water flow. The pollution was determined by organoleptic and physico- chemical characteristics, nutrients concentrations and the organic load. Critical levels of dissolved oxygen were measured at some of the monitoring sites ranging from 0,65 to 2,79 mg/dm3. Ammonium and nitrite concentrations were above the threshold limits at all sites. The phosphates’ concentrations varied very dynamically ranging from 0,18 to 11,8 mg/dm3 and in most of the cases exceeded the threshold limit. Very high levels of biochemically degradable organic pollutants were determined with biochemical oxygen demand values reaching- 68,96 mg/dm3. The Shokarski canal pollution could be considered as a tremendous thread for the quality of the Varna Black Sea coastal area, Bulgaria.

  11. On creating of a new pricing policy for natural gas in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    G'oshev, P.

    1994-01-01

    The joint venture company BULSOFGAS, representing the interests of SOFREGAS (France) and GAZSTROJMONTAZH (Bulgaria) have investigated in 1991 the natural gas usage in household sector in the towns of Montana and Blagoevgrad. The results received show the necessity of introducing a new pricing policy directed to different consumers' groups. The solving of this problem will contribute to: 1) creating possibilities for financing the projects, their realisation and motivation of users; 2) generating preconditions for setting up domestic corporations involved in organizing, financing and operation of urban gas supply networks; 3) more efficient and economically beneficial usage of energy sources at a significantly higher comfort. A special attention is paid to the government activities in this matter. (orig.)

  12. Study on variability of temperature and precipitation conditions in the South Eastern Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koleva-Lizama, Ivanka; Lizama Rivas, Bernardo

    2004-01-01

    Freshwater resources are an essential component of the earth's hydrosphere and an indispensable part of all terrestrial ecosystems. The freshwater environment is characterized by the hydrological cycle. Global climate change and pollution could also have an impact on freshwater resources and their availability. There is now sufficient evidence, accepted by internationally respected scientists, that human activity is having an effect on the climate of the planet. The effects are mostly the result of greenhouse gas emissions, and are in addition to naturally occurring climate change. The impacts of climate change on water resources are displayed in every sector of water system. The temperature and precipitation are the most important factors, which affect on water resources. On the basis of meteorological data for more than 45 years from several gauging stations is made an analysis on the peculiarities of the climatic conditions in the southeastern Bulgaria. In order to trace the variability of historical precipitation and temperature series the analysis of trend and deviations from climate mean of recommended by WMO 'climate normal' period 1961-1990 was used. Precipitation over the southeastern Bulgaria has a significant variability over wide range of temporal and spatial scales. The annual precipitation data were examined for evidence of a secular trend by calculation of a linear best fit for the 1952 to 2000. The tendency of rainfall decrease was determined. The drought period in the studied region is noticeable during the summer. It should be concluded that temperature increase and precipitation decrease conduct to drought in the region and it may have more severe impacts on agriculture, water supply and society.(Author)

  13. Childlessness and fertility by couples' educational gender (inequality in Austria, Bulgaria, and France

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beata Osiewalska

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: In modern, highly developed countries the association between education and fertility seems to be equivocal: A negative influence of education mainly applies to women, while among men the correlation is often positive or negligible. Although the gender differences have been examined in depth, couples' procreative behaviour treated as the result of a conflict between male and female characteristics is still understudied. Objective: This study aims to investigate couples' reproductive behaviour among contemporary European populations with regard to (inequality between partners' educational levels and the joint educational resources of a couple. Various measures of educational endogamy are considered. Methods: The hurdle zero-truncated Poisson model within the Bayesian framework is applied. The data comes from the first wave of the Generations and Gender Survey for Austria, Bulgaria, and France. Results: Homogamous low-educated partners have, on average, the highest fertility. The highly educated postpone childbearing and have a smaller number of children in all countries except France, where their completed fertility does not differ from that of other unions. The effect of hypergamy is insignificant and is thus similar to homogamy in medium education. Hypogamy negatively influences fertility in Bulgaria and Austria, while in France the effect is insignificant. Conclusions: The small variation in fertility due to couple-level education observed in France indicates that proper institutional support for families might help couples overcome possible obstacles and enhance fertility for all educational profiles. Contribution: This study provides a perspective on the relationship between reproductive behaviour and educational pairing in varying country-specific contexts. It reaches key conclusions on contemporary fertility regarding both childlessness and parenthood and their association with couples' different educational profiles.

  14. Current Situation and Reforms Making Way for Future Positive Developments in the National Education System of Bulgaria: An Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Genova, Teodora

    2015-01-01

    This paper on the education system of Bulgaria is aimed at presenting its structure, current situation, problems and challenges that it faces, and on-going reforms leading to some positive trends in the development of the national education sector. At the moment of writing this paper in the year 2015, we will mark the 1160th anniversary of the…

  15. EFFICACY OF SOFT TISSUE APPLICATION, MANUALLY-THERAPEUTICAL TECHNIQUES FOR KNEE ARTHROKINEMATICS RECOVERY COMPLEX IN PATIENTS AFTER ARTHROSCOPIC MENISCECTOMY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kostov Rostislav V

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: In this article we present the final effect of the application of complex soft tissue manually-treatment system for recovery of joint kinematics in patients with moderate and minimal protective period of rehabilitation after arthroscopic meniscectomy. Material and Methods: The study was conducted in 2005-2012 into three medical centers in Bulgaria: Blagoevgrad, Sofia and Pleven. The study included a total of 110 patients divided into three groups (Control and Experimental I and Experimental Group II who studied the effect of topical application of the manual therapeutic techniques compared to traditional rehabilitation methods applied. For testing the efficacy of a treatment approach in the three groups of patients, the results have processed by the method of variational analysis. Results: After analysis of results we find significantly more fully and without residual short violations recovery for all controlled parameters in patients who have implemented comprehensive manually-therapeutic treatment compared with control group patients. Conclusion: Application of adequate physiological and pedagogically grounded complex rehabilitation is required in patients after arthroscopic meniscectomy model with motor deficits in tractable routine rehabilitation. Observations allow us to offer a methodology for implementation in general practice rehabilitation in patients after meniscal ruptures treated by arthroscopic meniscectomy and motor deficits, intractable routine rehabilitation.

  16. After Euro 620 m arbitration ruling. What next for Bulgaria's Belene nuclear project?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kraev, Kamen [NucNet, Brussels (Belgium)

    2016-08-15

    Iran is considering Bulgaria's offer to sell it the Russian-made reactor equipment produced for the abandoned Belene nuclear project. The Belene project was initially planned and started in the 1980s, but was stopped in the early 1990s. In 2008 the project was formally given new life, but suspended again in 2010 and abandoned in 2012. The International Court of Arbitration (ICA) ordered the Bulgarian operator Natsionalna Elektricheska Kompania EAD to pay Euro 620 m in compensation to Russia's Atomstroyexport.

  17. Possibilities of radiation technique application in machine-building industry of Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petrov, A.; Avramov, D.; Kostov, St.

    1979-01-01

    In last ten years, in development of machine-building industry, tendency has been outlined for creation of machines and constructions having minimum weight and elevated reliability from one side due to improvement of design and technology of production and from the other side due to application of materials with improved parameters. Solution of these problems is closely connected with application of the radiation methods. State-of-art of the radiation technology application in the machine-building industry is analyzed and mainly for investigation of wear resistance of friction machineparts. Use of spatial radioactive labelling in investigation of materials and application of radiation methods for optimization of technological processes in metallurgy, foundry and so on is considered. Estimation is give of perspectives of further growth of introduction of radiation methods in Bulgaria [ru

  18. Morphological and hydrological characteristics of the Serbian border zone towards Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Đurović Predrag

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Morphological and hydrological analyses of the characteristics of the Serbian border zone towards Bulgaria were performed. The morphological analysis included the mountain (Stara Planina, Tupižnica, Svrljiške Planine, Suva Planina and Vidlič, structural basin (Zaječar, Knjaževac, Svrljig and Bela Palanka and valley (Veliki Timok, Beli Timok, Visočica, Dragovištica parts. Within the hydrological analysis, the areas with the highest and lowest annual amount of precipitation were identified, as well as the hottest and coldest areas. The change of river basins runoff was analysed, as well as the distribution of waters throughout the year in the studied area. The most important elements of the water balance were shown and the hydrological characteristics of the karst terrain were analysed.

  19. On the reliability of the geomagnetic quake as a short time earthquake's precursor for the Sofia region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Cht. Mavrodiev

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The local 'when' for earthquake prediction is based on the connection between geomagnetic 'quakes' and the next incoming minimum or maximum of tidal gravitational potential. The probability time window for the predicted earthquake is for the tidal minimum approximately ±1 day and for the maximum ±2 days. The preliminary statistic estimation on the basis of distribution of the time difference between occurred and predicted earthquakes for the period 2002-2003 for the Sofia region is given. The possibility for creating a local 'when, where' earthquake research and prediction NETWORK is based on the accurate monitoring of the electromagnetic field with special space and time scales under, on and over the Earth's surface. The periodically upgraded information from seismic hazard maps and other standard geodetic information, as well as other precursory information, is essential.

  20. Drug Policy in Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimova, Antoniya; Rohova, Maria; Atanasova, Elka; Kawalec, Paweł; Czok, Katarzyna

    2017-09-01

    Bulgaria has a mixed public-private health care financing system. Health care is financed mainly from compulsory health insurance contributions and out-of-pocket payments. Out-of-pocket payments constitute a large share of the total health care expenditure (44.14% in 2014). The share of drugs expenditure for outpatient treatment was 42.3% of the total health care expenditure in 2014, covered mainly by private payments (78.6% of the total pharmaceutical expenditure). The drug policy is run by the Ministry of Health (MoH), the National Council on Prices and Reimbursement of Medicinal Products, and the Health Technology Assessment Commission. The MoH defines diseases for which the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) pays for medicines. The National Council on Prices and Reimbursement of Medicinal Products maintains a positive drug list (PDL) and sets drug prices. Health technology assessment was introduced in 2015 for medicinal products belonging to a new international nonproprietary name group. The PDL defines prescription medicines that are paid for by the NHIF, the MoH, and the health care establishments; exact patient co-payments and reimbursement levels; as well as the ceiling prices for drugs not covered by the NHIF, including over-the-counter medicines. The reimbursement level can be 100%, 75%, or up to 50%. The PDL is revised monthly in all cases except for price increase. Physicians are not assigned with pharmaceutical budgets, there is a brand prescribing practice, and the substitution of prescribed medicines by pharmacists is prohibited. Policies toward cost containment and effectiveness increase include introduction of a reference pricing system, obligation to the NHIF to conduct mandatory centralized bargaining of discounts for medicinal products included in the PDL, public tendering for medicines for hospital treatment, reduction of markup margins of wholesalers and retailers, patient co-payment, and the introduction of health technology assessment

  1. PREFACE: Second International Workshop & Summer School on Plasma Physics 2006

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benova, Evgeniya; Atanassov, Vladimir

    2007-04-01

    The Second International Workshop & Summer School on Plasma Physics (IWSSPP'06) organized by St. Kliment Ohridsky University of Sofia, The Union of the Physicists in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Bulgarian Nuclear Society, was held in Kiten, Bulgaria, on the Black Sea Coast, from 3-9 July 2006. As with the first of these scientific meetings (IWSSPP'05 Journal of Physics: Conference Series 44 (2006)), its aim was to stimulate the creation and support of a new generation of young scientists for further development of plasma physics fundamentals and applications, as well as to ensure an interdisciplinary exchange of views and initiate possible collaborations by bringing together scientists from various branches of plasma physics. This volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series includes 33 papers (invited lectures, contributed talks and posters) devoted to various branches of plasma physics, among them fusion plasma research, dc and microwave discharge modelling, transport phenomena in gas discharge plasmas, plasma diagnostics, cross sections and rate constants of elementary processes, material processing, plasma-chemistry and technology. Some of these papers were presented by internationally known and recognized specialists in their fields; others are MSc or PhD students' first steps in science. In both cases, we believe they will raise readers' interest. We would like to thank the members of both the International Advisory Committee and the Local Organizing Committee, the participants who sent their manuscripts and passed through the (sometimes heavy and troublesome) refereeing and editing procedure and our referees for their patience and considerable effort to improve the manuscripts. We greatly appreciate the financial support from the sponsors: the Department for Language Teaching and International Students at the University of Sofia and Natsionalna Elektricheska Kompania EAD. We would like to express our gratitude to the invited

  2. Collective identity and wellbeing of Roma minority adolescents in Bulgaria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimitrova, Radosveta; Chasiotis, Athanasios; Bender, Michael; van de Vijver, Fons

    2013-01-01

    In Europe and particularly in Bulgaria, Roma represent the largest low-status minority group that is subjected to marked public intolerance and discrimination. This study examined links among Roma (N = 207) and Bulgarian (N = 399) adolescents' ethnic, familial, and religious identities as salient identity aspects for their psychological wellbeing. Results indicated that, as expected, Roma youth reported lower levels of wellbeing than Bulgarian youth. The latter revealed a weaker religious identity than Roma youth, whereas no ethnic group differences emerged regarding Bulgarian or familial identity. Furthermore, we observed that collective identity was higher in older participants of both groups. Finally, a multigroup analysis using structural equation modeling showed that collective identity was a positive predictor of wellbeing for both Roma and Bulgarian adolescents. Findings demonstrated differences in salience as well as structural communalities regarding ways in which collective identity affects wellbeing of youth from two ethnically diverse communities.

  3. The medicinal plants of Frangensko Plateau (Northeastern Bulgaria)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zahariev, Dimcho; Kacheva, Cvetelina

    2015-12-01

    The Frangensko Plateau is located in the northeastern part of Bulgaria and covers an area of 360 km2. On the territory of the plateau there are two protected areas, as well as two areas of the European ecological network NATURA 2000. The study of the medicinal plants on the territory of the Frangensko Plateau is made for the first time. As a result of our research we found 362 species of vascular plants from 242 genera and 80 families. The most of the families and the genera are represented by a small number of inferior taxa. The analysis of their life form indicates that the hemicryptophytes dominate with 39.50%, followed by the phanerophytes (22.10%). The biological types are represented mainly by perennial herbaceous plants (52.21%), annual herbaceous plants (14.09%) and trees (10.50%). There are 8 types of floristic elements divided in 32 groups. The largest percentage of species is of European type (51.93%). Among the medicinal plants, there are two Balkan endemic species, one Bulgarian endemic species and 30 relic species. Thirty four species with protection statute are described. The anthropophytes among the medicinal plants are 242 species (66.85%).

  4. Non-fatal case of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever imported into the United Kingdom (ex Bulgaria), June 2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lumley, S; Atkinson, B; Dowall, Sd; Pitman, Jk; Staplehurst, S; Busuttil, J; Simpson, Aj; Aarons, Ej; Petridou, C; Nijjar, M; Glover, S; Brooks, Tj; Hewson, R

    2014-07-31

    Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) was diagnosed in a United Kingdom traveller who returned from Bulgaria in June 2014. The patient developed a moderately severe disease including fever, headaches and petechial rash. CCHF was diagnosed following identification of CCHF virus (CCHFV) RNA in a serum sample taken five days after symptom onset. Sequence analysis of the CCHFV genome showed that the virus clusters within the Europe 1 clade, which includes viruses from eastern Europe.

  5. Exposures to road traffic, noise, and air pollution as risk factors for type 2 diabetes: A feasibility study in Bulgaria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dzhambov, Angel M; Dimitrova, Donka D

    2016-01-01

    Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a growing public health problem in Bulgaria. While individual and lifestyle determinants have been researched; till date there has been no study on environmental risks such as road traffic, noise, and air pollution. As a first step toward designing a large-scale population-based survey, we aimed at exploring the overall associations of prevalent T2DM with exposures to road traffic, noise, and air pollution. A total of 513 residents of Plovdiv city, Bulgaria were recruited. Individual data on self-reported doctor-diagnosed T2DM and confounding factors were linked to objective and self-rated exposure indicators. Logistic and log-link Poisson regressions were conducted. In the fully adjusted logistic models, T2DM was positively associated with exposures to Lden 71-80 dB (odds ratio (OR) = 4.49, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.38, 14.68), fine particulate matter (PM)2.5 25.0-66.8 μg/m3 (OR = 1.32, 95% CI: 0.28, 6.24), benzo alpha pyrene 6.0-14.02 ng/m3 (OR = 1.76, 95% CI: 0.52, 5.98) and high road traffic (OR = 1.40, 95% CI: 0.48, 4.07). Lden remained a significant risk factor in the: Poisson regression model. Other covariates with consistently high multivariate effects were age, gender, body mass index, family history of T2DM, subjective sleep disturbance, and especially bedroom location. We concluded that residential noise exposure might be associated with elevated risk of prevalent T2DM. The inferences made by this research and the lessons learned from its limitations could guide the designing of a longitudinal epidemiological survey in Bulgaria. PMID:27157686

  6. CULTURAL-ECOLOGICAL THEORY AND THE LANGUAGE EDUCATION OF ROMA CHILDREN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hristo Kyuchukov

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents results from language testing of 70 Roma children from Bulgaria - pupils of grade 1, studying in one of the biggest Roma settlement’s schools in Sofia, “Fakulteta” district. The children were tested using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. The test measures language comprehension and language production of the children at the beginning and end of the school year. Between the first and second testing, the teaching methodology in instruction for the children was changed - a Roma assistant teacher whose task was to use the mother tongue of the children as a communicative tool was introduced to the classes. The results of the children during the second testing were substantially better and they are discussed in the light of the theory of the American anthropologist J. Ogbu, who developed his cultural-ecological theory (CE in the 1980s. The results of the children are analyzed via dispersion analysis using ANOVA. According to Ogbu’s CE theory, the school success of minority children depends on the attitudes of the society at large and the level of community support. The paper also briefly discusses the reason why the de-segregation of the Roma children and their integration into mainstream schools in Bulgaria has largely proved to be a failure.

  7. Social developmnet of ecologically sensitive rural areas: Case studies of the Moravian Karst (Czech Republic) and the Devetashko Plato (Bulgaria)

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Zapletalová, Jana; Stefanová, D.; Vaishar, Antonín; Stefanov, P.; Dvořák, Petr; Tcherkezova, E.

    3-4, 3-4 (2016), s. 65-84 ISSN 0204-7209 Institutional support: RVO:68145535 Keywords : social development * rural sensitive areas * Devetashko Plato * Bulgaria * Moravian karst - Czech Republic Subject RIV: DE - Earth Magnetism, Geodesy, Geography OBOR OECD: Cultural and economic geography http://geoproblems.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2016_34/4_zapletalova.pdf

  8. Landscaping and ecology in the lignite mining area of Maritza-East, Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haege, K.; Drebenstedt, C.; Angelov, E.

    1996-01-01

    The study on the future mining concept of the open-cast mine Trojovano-North, Bulgaria which is presented in this paper was prepared in close cooperation with Bulgarian specialists. It particularly takes into account ecological aspects. The mining concept clearly shows that economy and ecology can be combined usefully. The advantages are, among others, reduced occupation of land, avoiding of river and village translocation and the efficient use of chernozems for topsoil. Various landscape elements are used for the improvement of the ecological conditions in this intensively agricultural area. The illustrated measures show that the mining impacts on nature can be limited, minimized and balanced. It is possible to win the required public acceptance. 3 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs

  9. Intergenerational communication satisfaction and age boundaries in Bulgaria and the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giles, Howard; Hajek, Christopher; Stoitsova, Tolya; Choi, Charles W

    2010-06-01

    This paper examines Bulgarian and American young adults' perceptions of prior experiences of intergenerational communication. Irrespective of culture, as age of target increased from young adult to middle-aged and elderly adult, so did attributions of benevolence, norms of politeness and deference, and communicative respect and avoidance; conversely, attributions of personal vitality and communication satisfaction decreased linearly. However, American youth reported more of a tendency to avoid, but expressed more respect when communicating with, older adults than their Bulgarian counterparts. In both settings, young adults' avoidant communication with older people negatively, and the norm of politeness positively, predicted intergenerational communication satisfaction. In Bulgaria only, age stereotypes also predicted communication satisfaction whereas only in the USA was communicative respect a predictor.

  10. Alternative energy balances for Bulgaria to mitigate climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christov, Christo

    1996-01-01

    Alternative energy balances aimed to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are developed as alternatives to the baseline energy balance. The section of mitigation options is based on the results of the GHG emission inventory for the 1987 1992 period. The energy sector is the main contributor to the total CO2 emissions of Bulgaria. Stationary combustion for heat and electricity production as well as direct end-use combustion amounts to 80% of the total emissions. The parts of the energy network that could have the biggest influence on GHG emission reduction are identified. The potential effects of the following mitigation measures are discussed: rehabilitation of the combustion facilities currently in operation; repowering to natural gas; reduction of losses in thermal and electrical transmission and distribution networks; penetration of new combustion technologies; tariff structure improvement; renewable sources for electricity and heat production; wasteheat utilization; and supply of households with natural gas to substitute for electricity in space heating and cooking. The total available and the achievable potentials are estimated and the implementation barriers are discussed.

  11. ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF PEANUT PRODUCTION IN BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nelly BENCHEVA

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Peanut is not listed as one of the major crops in the Bulgarian agricultural sector, but its economic and fi nancial viability is promising, but unknown. We use enterprise budgets, capital budgeting techniques, risk analysis and logistic regression models to examine the fi nancial and economic structure of peanut farms and to evaluate the factors infl uencing short and long-term profi tability. The results show that peanut production is a profi table venture for most peanut farmers in Bulgaria. Long-run analyses show that peanut production may be economically feasible and producers engaged in production for a period of seven years, and at a discount rate of 13%, may generate internal rates of return (IRR that vary from -20.57% to 67.39%. About 70% of the farms studied had IRRs greater than the discount rate. Sensitivity analyses show that profi tability of peanut production was infl uenced by yield and variable costs. There were risks at the village level associated with peanut production.

  12. THE ECONOMICS OF PEANUT PRODUCTION IN BULGARIA DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nelly BENCHEVA

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available We examined peanut production systems and selected factors affecting the development of commercial peanut enterprises in Bulgaria. A survey of 220 individual farms and farm cooperatives engaged in the cultivation of peanuts was conducted during 2000 and 2002. Poor farm structure, low level of technology, and nonconformity to farm decision making impede the financial and economic development of Bulgarian peanut production and farm growth, thus limiting farm enterprises emergence into competitive economic units financially operative in a freemarket economy. The underlying cost structure, couple with small farms, averaging 0.8 ha in size, prevent farmers from capturing economies of scale, limit farm profitability and hence farm modernization. The lack of owned farm machinery, equipment and storage facilities renders the restructuring and specialization extremely difficult. However, peanut production is still a viable farm enterprise for Bulgarian farmers.

  13. Proceedings of the VI Serbian-Bulgarian Astronomical Conference, May 7 - 11 2008, Belgrade, Serbia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimitrijević, M. S.; Tsvetkov, M.; Popović, L. C.; Golev, V.

    2009-07-01

    The Sixth Serbian-Bulgarian Astronomical Conference was organized by Belgrade Astronomical Observatory, and held in Belgrade, in the building of Mathematical Faculty in Jagiceva Street, from 75th to 11th May 2008. Co-organizers were Mathematical Faculty, Astronomical Society "Rudjer Boskovic", Institute of Astronomy of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), Space Research Institute of BAS and Department of Astronomy of the University of Sofia. Co-chairmen of the Scientific Organizing Committee were Milan Dimitrijevic and Milcho Tsvetkov and Co-vice chairmen Luka C. Popovic and Valeri Golev. Chair of the Local Organizing Committee was Andjelka Kovacevic. The conference [was] attended by 58 participants. From Serbia were 36, from Belgrade Astronomical Observatory, Mathematical Faculty, Faculty of Sciences from Nis, Institute of Physics from Zemum, High School for pedagogues of occupational studies from Aleksinac, Faculty of Sciences from Kragujevac, Mathematical Institute of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Astronomical Society "Rudjer Boskovic" and Astronomical Society "Magellanic Cloud." From Bulgaria were present 17 colleagues: Svetlana Boeva, Ana Borisova, Momchil Dechev, Peter Duchlev, Lostadinka Koleva, Georgi Petrov, Vasil Popov, Konstatin Stavrev, Katya Ysvetkova and Milcho Tsvetkov from Institute of Astronomy of BAS, Rumen Bogdanovski and Krasmimira Ianova from Space Research Institute of BAS, Georgi R. Ivanov, Georgi Petrov and Grigor Nikolov from Department of Astronomy, Sofia University "St Kliment Ohridski,", Yavor Chapanov from Central Laboratory for Geodesy of BAS and Petya Pavlova from Technical University of Sofia, Branch Plovdiv. Besides participants from Serbia and Bulgaria the Conference [was] attended [by] Vlado Milicevic from Canada, Jan Vondrak from Czech Republic, Aytap Sezer from Turkey and Tetyana Sergeeva and Alexandr Sergeev from Ukraine. On the Conference were presented 13 invited lectures, 22 short talks and 35 posters, in total

  14. AWARENESS OF MEDICAL SPECIALISTS AND PATIENTS IN BULGARIA OF ETHICS COMMITTEES AND THE BENEFITS OF THEIR WORK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neli Gradinarova

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available In today’s healthcare, the role of morality emerges to the forefront as a result of the high degree of uncertainty in our modern environment. Ethically responsible behaviour is therefore perceived as a prerequisite for preventing and counteracting a number of moral risks in society. With regard to moral hazard and responsibility, ethical codes represent a rational control mechanism, lowering the extent of the probability of moral peril. Ethics committees are also founded based on such ethical codes, the purpose of such committees being the proclamation and observation of the principles and norms set forth. At the healthcare institutions of the Republic of Bulgaria, ethics committees are established that are based on the principles of medical ethics and medical law. The significance with which ethics committees are charged regarding the sustainable development of the healthcare system consists of protecting the patients, the medical professionals and the institution itself. Awareness of the significance, functions and benefits of ethics committees and their impact on the medical practice and patients in Bulgaria is, however, insufficiently low. In a questionnaire survey conducted among 149 medical specialists employed at three medical establishments for hospital care in the country, and 269 patients under treatment at them, at being asked “Do you think that ethics committees contribute to protecting and respecting patients’ rights?”, 26.2% of the respondents among the medical professionals replied that they are not sure, while 25.7% of did not provide an answer to the question thus asked due to being unfamiliar with ethics committees as an institutionalized body and their functions. The analysis of the results of the abovementioned survey among medical professionals and patients evidences a low level of awareness of the ethics committees and their work on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria. It is essential for healthcare

  15. In-situ gamma spectroscopic measurement of natural waters in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manushev, B.; Mandzhukov, I.; Tsankov, L.; Boshkova, T.; Gurev, V.; Mandzhukova, B.; Kozhukharov, I.; Grozev, G.

    1983-01-01

    In-situ gamma spectrometric measurements are carried out to record differences higher than the errors of measurement in the gamma-field spectra in various basins in Bulgaria - two high mountain lakes, dam and the Black sea. A standard scintillation gamma spectrometer, consisting of a scintillation detector ND-424 type, a channel analyzer NP-424 and a 128 channel Al-128 type analyzer, has been used. The sensitivity of the procedure used is sufficient to detect the transfer of nuclides by dissolution from rocks, forming the bottom and the water-collecting region of the water basin. The advancement of the experimental techniques defines the future use of the procedure. In-situ gamma spectrometric determination may be used in cases of continuous and automated control of the radiation purity of the cooling water in atomic power plants or the water basins located close to such plants and of radioactive contamination of the sea and ocean water

  16. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT USED IN DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING IN BULGARIA AND COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE AND OPTIMIZATION AIMED AT IMPROVING THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM MANAGEMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Svetoslav Garov

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: to reveal the current condition of medical equipment in Bulgaria related to those major groups of socially significant diseases and to make an attempt to define guidelines for its optimization in view of improving the functioning and management of the healthcare system in this field. Material and methods: The following research methods have been applied: 1. Document review method – research, processing and analysis of medical statistical information taken from data from WHO and annual reports of NRA. The study includes data from 2009 - 2015. 2. Graphical method – summarizing data in relevant tables and diagram presentations. Results: The article analyzes the condition of medical equipment in the field of oncologic and cardiologic medical aid in Bulgaria based on data taken from WHO (World Health Organization and annual reports of NRA (Nuclear Regulatory Agency. Six types of diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy devices have been studied: Magnetic Resonance Imaging units (MRI; Computed Tomography Scanners (CT, Positron Emission Tomography Scanners, Mammographs, Linear accelerators and Telecobalt units (Cobalt-60. The condition of medical equipment since 2009 has been analyzed, results have been reported and trends - studied. Conclusion: The oncologic and cardiologic medical equipment in Bulgaria has been gradually improving in the last seven years, but quantitative indicators regarding the devices studied are still far away from the figures recommended by WHO with one single exception, i.e. Computed Tomography Scanners.

  17. First bioacoustic and morphological data for the presence of Pelophylax bedriagae in Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lukanov Simeon

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Water frog mating calls from two localities were studied and analyzed. Recordings were made in the summer of 2010 at the Arkutino swamp near the town of Primorsko and at the Vurbitza River near the town of Momchilgrad. A total of 154 calls were analyzed and the results suggested the presence of both the Marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus and the Levant frog (Pelophylax bedriagae in both sites, with the former being more frequent in Vurbitza River, and the latter – in Arkutino. At Vurbitza, we also captured and measured 2 specimens, which morphological characteristics differed from P. ridibundus and matched those of P. bedriagae. These are the first localities for P. bedriagae in Bulgaria.

  18. Storage of spent nuclear fuel: the problem of spent nuclear fuel in Bulgaria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boyadzhiev, Z; Vapirev, E [Kombinat Atomna Energetika, Kozloduj (Bulgaria)

    1996-12-31

    A review of existing technologies for wet and dry storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and the reprocessing policies is presented. The problem of SNF in Bulgaria is arising from nonobservance of the obligation to return SNF back to the former Soviet Union as agreed in the construction contract. In November 1994 approximately 1800 fuel assemblies have been stored in away-from-reactor (AFR) facility and another 1060 in at-reactor (AR) pools. The national policy is to export SNF out of the country. The AFR facility has a limited capacity and it is designed only for WWER-440 fuel although work is going on to extend it in order to store WWER-1000 SNF. 14 refs.

  19. A credit line appropriated for energy efficiency and renewable energy sources in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iliev, I.

    2008-01-01

    The credit line was developed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in co-operation with the Bulgarian government. In this financial project several bulgarian banks are involved. The purpose of this project is to support mainly the private enterprises in the sector of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. The main steps of the applying process are discussed and useful practical information is given. In Bulgaria till now 125 projects are successful financed with total amount about 72 million Euro. The projects will generate annually more than 457 000 MWh electric power and 615 285 MWh thermal power, as well as an annual reduction of about 494 200 t CO 2 emissions is expected

  20. Storage of spent nuclear fuel: the problem of spent nuclear fuel in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boyadzhiev, Z.; Vapirev, E.

    1995-01-01

    A review of existing technologies for wet and dry storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and the reprocessing policies is presented. The problem of SNF in Bulgaria is arising from nonobservance of the obligation to return SNF back to the former Soviet Union as agreed in the construction contract. In November 1994 approximately 1800 fuel assemblies have been stored in away-from-reactor (AFR) facility and another 1060 in at-reactor (AR) pools. The national policy is to export SNF out of the country. The AFR facility has a limited capacity and it is designed only for WWER-440 fuel although work is going on to extend it in order to store WWER-1000 SNF. 14 refs

  1. Economical, political and social aspects of atomic energy in Bulgaria; Dvadtsat` let atomnoj ehnergetiki Respubliki Bolgarii

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shervashidze, N

    1996-12-31

    The future of atomic energy in Bulgaria is discussed in terms of the challenge to make correct political and economical decisions. The building of a second nuclear power plant at Belene should be considered taking into account the time needed for project realisation and the adherence to standards. The political aspects are connected closely to the financial crediting and to marketing research for electricity export. It is stressed that the development of atomic energy is closely related to the national stability and economical independence.

  2. First-year dental students' motivation and attitudes for choosing the dental profession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avramova, Nadya; Yaneva, Krassimira; Bonev, Boyko

    2014-01-01

    To determine first-year dental students' current motivation and attitudes for choosing the dental profession at the Faculty of Dental Medicine, Medical University - Sofia, Bulgaria. An anonymous questionnaire, consisting of 12 questions about students' socio-demographic profile and their motivation for choosing dentistry, was administered to 119 first-year dental students at the Faculty of Dental Medicine of the Medical University of Sofia. The study was conducted at the beginning of the 2012-2013 academic year. The data was processed and analyzed with the following software: Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2; Microsoft SQL Server 2008; Internet Information Server 7.5.; Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010. The majority of the students (73%) were self-motivated for choosing dentistry as a career; 61% of them did not have relatives in the medical profession; 43% chose dental medicine because it is a prestigious, humane and noble profession; 50% - for financial security; 59% - because of the independence that it provides. There were no significant differences in the motivation between males and females. Independence, financial security and 'prestige' were the predominant motivating factors in this group of first-year dental students. Determining the reasons for choosing dentistry has important implications for the selection and training of students as well as for their future job satisfaction. Copyright © 2014 by Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

  3. Mathematical methods for assessment and analysis of honey yield data for Bulgaria and the European Union for the period 1961-2014

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Keranova

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract. The objective of this work is to assess the average yields of bee honey for the period from 1961 to 2014 for all countries of the European Union. For this purpose, a single-factor analysis of variance was used. As a result of the surveys, it was found that the highest average yield of honey in the EU is in Germany (20541.91 t and Spain (20253.43 t, while the lowest yield is in Ireland (199.74 t and Luxembourg (133,2 t. Data on the production of bee honey in Bulgaria by regions from 2006 to 2014 were also analyzed, and mathematical models were made, reflecting the relationship between the respective honey yields and the survey period. The data on the basis of which the study was carried out are from the FAOSTAD database and the Agro-statistical reference book for 2000-2014 of the “Agro-statistics” Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry of the Republic of Bulgaria.

  4. Ethnic, Familial, and Religious Identity of Roma Adolescents in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Kosovo, and Romania in Relation to Their Level of Well-Being

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dimitrova, Radosveta; van de Vijver, Fons J. R.; Tausova, Jitka; Chasiotis, Athanasios; Bender, Michael; Buzea, Carmen; Uka, Fitim; Tair, Ergyul

    2017-01-01

    This study examines ethnic, national, familial, and religious identity and well-being of 632 Roma minority and 589 majority adolescents (age: M = 15.98 years, SD = 1.34) in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Kosovo, and Romania. Results indicated that Roma showed lower endorsement of national identity

  5. Polonium 210 content in foodstuffs produced in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keslev, D.; Novakova, E.; Boyadzhiev, A.; Kerteva, A.

    1975-01-01

    A study of the content of polonium-210 in a variety of foodstuffs produced in Bulgaria in 1970 revealed peak radionuclide concentration in wheat - 6.7 pCi/kg, followed by prunes - 2.2 pCi/kg, cabbage - 1.86 pCi/kg, peppers - 1.64 pCi/kg. The content of polonium-210 in onions, meat and potatoes was low (0.5, 0.8 and 0.9 pCi/kg accordingly). All other food products studied - milk, bread, beans, eggs, tomatoes, apples, pears, grapes and drinking water - appeared to have approximately equal polonium-210 concentration - from 1.21 to 1.35 pCi/kg. The daily intake of polonium-210 with food and water amounted accordingly to 1.61, 1.79 and 2.08 pCi/kg in preschool children, in school children and in senile individuals. The major part (68 - 82 per cent) of incorporated polonium-210 was eliminated with the stools. In all age groups the amount of polonium-210 removed daily from the body with the excreta corresponded to the intake, i.e. the balance of polonium-210 was in a state of equilibrium. The age factor in all three groups exerted no effect on the radionuclide intake and elimination from the body. (Ch.K.)

  6. Site selection procedure for high level radioactive waste disposal in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Evstatiev, D.; Vachev, B.

    1993-01-01

    A combined site selection approach is implemented. Bulgaria's territory has been classified in three categories, presented on a 1:500000 scale map. The number of suitable sites has been reduced to 20 using the method of successive screening. The formulated site selection problem is a typical discrete multi-criteria decision making problem under uncertainty. A 5-level procedure using Expert Choice Rating and relative models is created. It is a part of a common procedure for evaluation and choice of variants for high level radwaste disposal construction. On this basis 7-8 more preferable sites are demonstrated. A new knowledge and information about the relative importance of the criteria and their subsets, about the level of criteria uncertainty and the reliability are gained. It is very useful for planning and managing of the next final stages of the site selection procedure. 7 figs., 8 refs., 4 suppls. (author)

  7. Social, economic and political aspects of Chernobyl in Bulgaria - One characteristic feature of the development of the radiation situation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belokonski, I.I.; Bosevski, V.; Bontchev, Tz.; Marinov, V.

    1997-01-01

    It is shown a characteristic feature of the progress of radiation situation in Bulgaria after the failure in Chernobyl, as this was discussed untraditionally. The raised radiation risk for population during one year after the incident is interpreted as function from the inadequate radiation protection policy of the Government at that time. Preconditions for some social, economical and political results after the accident for Bulgarian country are described

  8. Aetiology of acute paediatric gastroenteritis in Bulgaria during summer months: prevalence of viral infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mladenova, Zornitsa; Steyer, Andrej; Steyer, Adela Fratnik; Ganesh, Balasubramanian; Petrov, Petar; Tchervenjakova, Tanja; Iturriza-Gomara, Miren

    2015-03-01

    Paediatric acute gastroenteritis is a global public health problem. Comprehensive laboratory investigation for viral, bacterial and parasitic agents is helpful for improving management of acute gastroenteritis in health care settings and for monitoring and controlling the spread of these infections. Our study aimed to investigate the role of various pathogens in infantile diarrhoea in Bulgaria outside the classical winter epidemics of rotavirus and norovirus. Stool samples from 115 hospitalized children aged 0-3 years collected during summer months were tested for presence of 14 infectious agents - group A rotavirus, astrovirus, Giardia, Cryptosporidium and Entamoeba using ELISAs; norovirus by real-time RT-PCR; picobirnavirus and sapovirus by RT-PCR; adenovirus using PCR, and Salmonella, Shigella, Escherichia coli, Yersinia and Campylobacter using standard bacterial cultures. Infectious origin was established in a total of 92 cases and 23 samples remained negative. A single pathogen was found in 67 stools, of which rotaviruses were the most prevalent (56.7 %), followed by noroviruses (19.4 %), enteric adenoviruses (7.5 %), astroviruses (6.0 %), bacteria and parasites (4.5 % each) and sapoviruses (1.4 %). Rotavirus predominant genotypes were G4P[8] (46.3 %) and G2P[4] (21.4 %); for astroviruses, type 1a was the most common, while the GII.4/2006b variant was the most prevalent among noroviruses. Bacteria were observed in five cases, with Salmonella sp. as the most prevalent, while parasites were found in ten stool samples, with Giardia intestinalis in five cases. The results demonstrated high morbidity associated with viral infections and that rotavirus and norovirus remain the most common pathogens associated with severe gastroenteritis during summer months in Bulgaria, a country with a temperate climate, and significant molecular diversity among circulating virus strains. © 2015 The Authors.

  9. THE ELECTRONIC COMMERCE IN THE TRAVEL AGENCIES’ ACTIVITIES IN BULGARIA AND TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR ITS ELABORATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Velina Kazandzhieva

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The data used in the paper and the sources of information studied, show regaining of the positions and the role of travel agencies in the distribution system of tourism. The main trends and special features of the European on-line tourist market have been analyzed, as well as the state of the electronic commerce in travel agencies in Bulgaria. Alternatives and values-generating strategies for the intermediary business through efficient use of the advantages of е-commerce have been pointed out.

  10. Natural radioactivity levels in different mineral waters from Bulgaria

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kamenova-Totzeva, R.; Kotova, R.; Tenev, J.; Ivanova, G.; Badulin, V. [Public Exposure Monitoring Laboratory, National Centre of Radiobiology and Radiation Protection, Sofia (Bulgaria)

    2013-07-01

    The total radioactivity content of 76 mineral waters from different districts in Bulgaria was determined. Natural radioactivity levels resulting from uranium, radium-226, gross alpha and gross beta activity were measured. The results show that the specific activity range from < 0.02 Bq/l to 1.34 (12) Bq/l and from 0.068 (23) Bq/l to 2.60 (50) Bq/l for gross alpha and gross beta activity respectively. For natural Uranium the results vary between 0.020 (5) μg/l and 180(50) μg/l. Radium-226 content is between < 0.03 Bq/l to 0.296 (75) Bq/l. Due to differences in the geological structure of the aquifer, a large difference in values of the radioactive content was mSv/year. Excluding one value, TID do not exceed the permissible limit of 0.10 mSv/year. The correlations between investigated isotopes and Total Dissolved observed. The estimated Total Indicative Dose (TID) ranged from 0.0113 (57) mSv/year to 0.1713 (481) Solvents (TDS) in water were carried out. The results do not show a strong correlation between TDS values and dissolved radionuclides. (author)

  11. Spectroscopic study of barite from the Kremikovtsi Deposit (Bulgaria with implication for its origin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimova Maya

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Different genetic types (endogene and supergene of barite from the Kremikovtsi deposit (Bulgaria were studied by Laser-induced time-resolved luminescence (LITRL, Infrared (IR and Raman spectroscopy. The IR spectra of the endogene barites are quite similar to those reported in the literature and do not show appreciable differences among them. The IR spectra of the supergene barites are almost identical to those of the endogene ones in respect to the positions of the vibrational modes ν1, ν2 and ν4 of SO4 2 except for a shift of 3 cm-1 for the ν 3 band. They displayed a presence of additional bands, which are close to the ν3 and ν1 modes of CO3 2- in calcite. The Raman studies support the suggestion that the supergene barite contains traces of calcite. The modern LITRL technique allowed the detection of several luminescent centers in the endogene barite. Eu3+ luminescence was identified for the first time in barite. The different emission spectra at 266 and 532 nm excitations suggest there are at least 2 structural positions for Eu3+ in the barite crystal lattice. The luminescent spectra also revealed a rather unusual violet-blue Nd3+ emission, which usually occurs in the IR spectral range, as well as emissions of Ce3+, Eu2+, Tb3+, Ag+, Sn2+(? and UO2 2+. The oxidation state of cations isomorphically present in the barite crystal lattice suggests the endogene barite in the Kremikovtsi deposit precipitated from reduced fluids supposedly subjected to cooling (conductive/convective and oxidation (mixing with seawater.

  12. Evaluation of the spatial patterns and risk factors, including backyard pigs, for classical swine fever occurrence in Bulgaria using a Bayesian model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beatriz Martínez-López

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The spatial pattern and epidemiology of backyard pig farming and other low bio-security pig production systems and their role in the occurrence of classical swine fever (CSF is described and evaluated. A spatial Bayesian model was used to explore the risk factors, including human demographics, socioeconomic and environmental factors. The analyses were performed for Bulgaria, which has a large number of backyard farms (96% of all pig farms in the country are classified as backyard farms, and it is one of the countries for which both backyard pig and farm counts were available. Results reveal that the high-risk areas are typically concentrated in areas with small family farms, high numbers of outgoing pig shipments and low levels of personal consumption (i.e. economically deprived areas. Identification of risk factors and high-risk areas for CSF will allow to targeting risk-based surveillance strategies leading to prevention, control and, ultimately, elimination of the disease in Bulgaria and other countries with similar socio-epidemiological conditions.

  13. Screaming at a Wall. Societal accountability from below in Bulgaria and Hungary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea L.P. Pirro

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The article investigates engagement in anti-corruption activism in Bulgaria and Hungary. Since the late 2000s, protest events occurred in greater numbers in the two post-communist countries, addressing questions either directly or indirectly related to high-level or political corruption. Bulgarian and Hungarian collective anti-corruption actors share a common framing of the issue ('state corruption' or 'state capture', though their struggles vary in their modes and strategies ('civic self-organisation' versus the dominant role of 'transactional activism'. The article crucially reconstructs the context within which anticorruption activism took place, the different forms of mobilisation, and the specific framing of the issue by means of original interviews with prominent Bulgarian and Hungarian activists. Finally, attention is devoted to the subaltern fortunes of these struggles in attaining the aspired goal of societal accountability.

  14. Comparison of several hydrological cycle parameters in Croatia for two periods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pandzic, Kreso; Trninic, Dusan

    2004-01-01

    Comparison of several hydrological cycle parameter averages for two periods in Croatia is considered. Parameters are: yearly averages of: 2m air temperature, precipitation amounts, potential and real evapotranspiration amounts. A basic period (1951-1980) and period for comparison (1981-1997) have been chosen. (These periods accepted at The First Sub-Regional Expert Meeting on the 'Assesment of Climate Change Impacts on the Hydrological Cycles in South-Eastern Europe' held in Sofia (Bulgaria) 17-20 February 1999.) Differences between two period averages for 30 weather stations have been calculated. Temperature differences and those for potential evaporation are positive while for precipitation they are mainly negative. Real evaporation differences for two periods are an exception i.e. they are positive in continental but negative in Mediterranean part of Croatia. These results agree with global warming trend. (Author)

  15. International perspectives on the importance of electric tariff transitioning to cost-based levels in Bulgaria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simpson, T.; Davis, F.; Dilovska, I.

    1996-01-01

    The traditional cost-of-service approach to power pricing has been replaced in many countries by market pricing mechanisms that compensate power producers at the marginal cost of production established collectively in the marketplace. The paper stresses the importance of cost-based tariff setting pointing out two main pricing principles of utility services: 1) Revenues must meet or exceed the utility average cost of production; 2) Marginal cost pricing for incremental consumption must ensure efficient allocation of resources. Examples describing the factors encouraging transition to economically efficient tariffs at a small utility are given for: Northwest U.S., MINENERGO in Belarus, Pacific Gas and Electric Co in California and the National Electric Co (NEK) in Bulgaria.The analysis of the Bulgarian electric sector is based on ongoing work being funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Each of the four utilities described faces a different challenge for transitioning tariffs to cost- based levels. However, one and the same broad conclusion applies in all cases: utility pricing must take into account the underlying average and marginal cost structures of the regional power industry. Bulgaria needs transition to cost-based tariffs to recover the electricity cost-of-service and to ensure that the electric sector operates efficiently and consumers are treated fairly. Measures that facilitate the process of tariff transitioning include: 1) Developing a transparent process of tariff setting with clear objectives, a plan and timetable, and roles of organizations; 2) Establishing of independent regulation to ensure that tariff setting objectives are achieved; 3) Instituting mechanisms to reward organizations for performance that achieves electric sector objectives. 3 figs

  16. The Text of the Agreement between Bulgaria and the Agency for the Application of Safeguards in connection with the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1973-04-13

    The text of the Agreement between Bulgaria and the Agency for the application of safeguards in connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members.

  17. The Text of the Agreement between Bulgaria and the Agency for the Application of Safeguards in connection with the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1973-01-01

    The text of the Agreement between Bulgaria and the Agency for the application of safeguards in connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is reproduced in this document for the information of all Members

  18. New earthworm (Megadrili: Lumbricidae records from Bulgaria with the first finding of Dendrobaena platyura (Fitzinger, 1833 in the country

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    HRISTO VALCHOVSKI

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Results of recent earthworm collectings in Bulgaria are presented. During the investigations altogether 18 species have been registered. Dendrobaena platyura (Fitzinger, 1833 is a new record for the country, and with D. hrabei (Černosvitov, 1934 and Octodrilus transpadanus (Rosa, 1884 also for the region of Stara Planina (Balkan Mts. D. hrabei, D. depressa (Rosa, 1893, D. octaedra (Savigny, 1826 and Eiseniella tetraedra (Savigny, 1826 represent new records for Pirin Mts.

  19. Construction of research wind-solar monitoring station 'North-East Bulgaria'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mateeva, Z.; Filipov, A.; Filipov, V.

    2008-01-01

    The rising energy prices, the lack of conventional energy sources, as well as the growing ecological problems, imposing the development of a new energy strategy of Bulgaria, are the prerequisites for the thorough researches in the field of wind-solar resources and the construction of experimental bases with modern equipment for the detailed investigations on the specificities of these resources with the view of their optimal utilization. The lack of homogenous covering of the territory of the country with meteorological stations, as well as the rather specific microclimatic conditions in the diverse physical-geographic localities in the country make the necessity of building experimental stations for meteo-monitoring under specific local conditions still more indispensable. This work presents the monitoring parameters of wind-solar resources in a real physical-geographic environment, for carrying out scientific-research, applied-practical and educational-training activity. A broad spectrum of scientific methods and approaches - instrumental, topographic, terrain, mathematical-statistical, numerical modeling, cartographic, educational and team-working, are envisaged for attaining the set objective. (author)

  20. Organisation and financing of the health care systems of Bulgaria and Greece – what are the parallels?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Exadaktylos Nikolaos M

    2005-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The Bulgarian and Greek Medical Care systems have been reformated the last fifteen years. The aim of this study was an examination and comparison of the Bulgarian and Greek Medical Care Systems. Methods This study was prepared by using all the published data related to both Bulgarian and Greek Medical Care systems. Besides, personal communications with related offices such as administration offices of hospitals and Ministries of Health were made. Results In both countries, besides the compulsory insurance there is also additional voluntary insurance which is provided by private companies. The most important difference is the family doctor (specialist in general medicine existing in Bulgaria. Every insured person needs a 'referral form' completed by the family doctor before visiting a hospital for medical attention (except emergencies. In contrast, in Greece an insured person can directly visit any hospital without needing any forms and independent of the severity of their health problem. An important disadvantage of the Greek health system is the low number of hospitals (139, in relation to population. In contrast, there are 211 hospitals in Bulgaria, although its population is lower than in Greece. Conclusion In both Greek and Bulgarian health systems changes must be done to solve the problems related to informal payments, limited financing, large debts, lack of appropriate investment policy, lack of an objective method for the costing of medical activities and inefficient management.