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Recently, an increased interest in learning Bulgarian by foreign citizens or by Bulgarians and people of Bulgarian origin outside the borders of Bulgaria has been observed. Because of this, the methodology of teaching Bulgarian as a second language is gaining relevance and teachers are looking for options to enrich their teaching practice with additional methods, tools, practices and resources. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to present a free resource -- popular music, which can be used depending on the learners' profile in different ways. In this article, the author's experience in teaching Bulgarian to Ukrainian refugees is shared. Some ways of incorporating the lyrics of popular songs into the learning process in order to achieve certain results are presented, for example: developing listening comprehension skills, deepening knowledge of some lexical and grammatical categories, learning idioms and cliché phrases, acquiring socio-cultural competence, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The social security contribution is a key element of the mechanism of functioning of public social insurance and it has decisive importance with regard to its financial organisation. It is the main and typical source of income of any insurance system. The social security contribution is defined as a percentage of the received labour income and represents a general average value, corresponding to the average risk for the pool and it is due only for income from personal labour activity, with regularity and periodicity arising from the regularity and periodicity of the received personal job income. The aim of the paper is to outline the guidelines for development and improvement of the organisation of the social security contribution in the public social insurance in Bulgaria, taking into account the approaches and the practice of determining the social insurance contributions in some EU countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, we will focus on some lexical features characteristic of the dialects spoken in the villages of Hloi (Greek Χλόη = Bulgarian Hebilevo/Хебилево) in the Greek region of Komotini (Κομοτηνή = Gyumyurdzhina/Гюмюрджина) and of the related dialects in the nearby village of Gorni Yurutsi (Горни Юруци) in the Bulgarian region of Krumovgrad. In particular, we will pay attention to isotopically significant terminology in the fields of health, healthcare, illness, and related phenomena. The local language variety spoken in both the Greek and the Bulgarian villages is clearly identified as a Bulgarian-based Rhodopean dialect, but the two villages deal with radically different conditions of language contact. In the first section, we will give a short overview of the problems of language contact in general. Then, in section two, we will focus on health terminology. We compare language materials collected on the two sides of the border, and discuss the impact of language contact in this area. Our conclusion is that contact-induced change is observed on both sides of the Bulgarian-Greek border, but it takes very different forms in Bulgaria and Greece due to quite different and very complex language influences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to put a stress on the significance of the context when facts from the history of philosophy are interpreted. The study of this particular case is based on research of archives, testifying simultaneously that the D. Michalchev - Rehmke's follower - positively appraises some of the ideas of Todor Pavlov while the Marxist, Nikolay Iribadzhakov, sharply criticizes him. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper deals with the lexical analysis of the Old Church Slavonic version of the Apocryphal Questions of Bartholomew, a literary monument written most likely in Greek in the 3rd century. The analysis shows that the Slavonic version contains not only lexical elements typical for the Preslav redaction, but also some archaic figures. This leads to the conclusion, that the primal Old Church Slavonic translation may be made in Bulgaria in the 10th century. There are two possibilities of a more exact dating. The text may have been translated in the early 10th century when the lexical elements of the Preslav redaction weren't strictly used yet and still there occurred many archaic figures. The second possibility is that the translation was made later in the 10th century in one of the distant centers of the Preslav literary school, in which a specific tradition in using Preslav and archaic lexical elements was held. However, a further lexical and language analysis is needed for the confirmation of the stated dating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bulgarianscienceproblems is the only e-mail discussion list, located at yahoogroups.com, moderated by Dr. Lazarin Lazarov, and dealing with the problems of the Bulgarian science and higher education. Its subscribers are currently 5194. This paper lists partly my contribution to the public discussion of the actual situations and challenges of the Bulgarian science in 2013. University/science policy and management and the problems with the failure of the Bulgarian Science Fund are among the main topics considered and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject matter of this paper is a new phenomenon in the Bulgarian contemporary urban culture - folk dance clubs and recently widely popular specialized festivals. Special attention is given to the idea and essence of the clubs for folk dancing (hora) - a specific dance phenomenon from the end of the 20th c. The author briefly presents its nature (objective, idea, motivation, leaders, participants, distinctive signs, repertoire, and expressions). The first attempts at creating a club dance format in Bulgaria were made in the mid 90s, and after 2005 there was a boom of such groups. The research points to problems of interpretation and analysis in the general rethinking of the folk dance club as a cultural phenomenon. The structure of the dance club is presented in detail as well as its distinctive features. The motivation of the founders and participants in the dance clubs is reviewed. The accent is placed on their social aspect. In the publication a special emphasis is placed upon the discussion and analysis of the First folk dance festival "Horo at the spring" that took place on 14-15 July 2012 in Velingrad. Based on personal observation and participation at the festival the author presents its idea and specificity. For this purpose a specialized fieldwork was carried out, involving interviewing and developing questionnaires. The paper reviews the role of the Velingrad festival for safeguarding and popularizing dance traditions. Problems, accomplishments and perspectives in the task of safeguarding cultural heritage are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research presented in this paper was aimed at better understanding of the relationship between soil properties and the availability of trace elements in pasture soils. The research was conducted in several localities of Stara Planina mountain (Babin zub, Javor I, Javor II and Prelesje), where the dominant soil type is acid humus siliceous soil (Dystric leptosol) characterized by the presence of the Agrostietumvulgaris (capillaris) community Z. Pavl., 1955. In all localities the soil sampling was performed at fixed depths of 0-5, 5-10, 10 -20 and 20 - 40 cm. The pseudo-total contents of trace elements (Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn) (extracted with aqua regia solution), as well as the available contents (extracted with the DTPA chelating agent) in the soil were measured by AAS. The pseudo- total content of trace elements in the soil studied are lower or within the limits for multifunctional land use. A correlation was established between the content of available trace elements in soil and the content of pseudo-total trace elements, as well as between these contents and the properties of the soils studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper outlines the system connections of the participation of the personnel with the theory of corporate governance. It creates a base for applying the instruments of this theory in analytical and empirical studies in this area. It generalizes the results of actual international studies and determines the different forms of participation in the EU member countries. The study compares the differences in determining the forms of participation in the old and new EU member countries. It forms the reasons for the failure of the attempts for introducing the elements of the workers' self-management in the administrative system in Bulgaria. The paper identifies the first attempts for establishing forms of participation of the personnel in private Bulgarian enterprises. It determines the directions of development of these forms and makes suggestions for improving the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the theory of the knowledge economy, the paper interprets the role of the industrial property for improving the competitiveness of the firms and the significance of the patent-license firm policy for their innovative development. Based on analysis, the article formulates conclusions on using the intellectual property in the firms in Bulgaria: ·Exclusive rights on the objects of industrial property do not provide real economic benefits to the Bulgarian firms. ·The imitators are a serious threat to the industrial property of the firms, and the increase of the number of violations of the rights of the industrial property is a main problem in all sectors. ·The weak activity of the technological market in Bulgaria is a direct result of the low technological profile of the Bulgarian economy and of the lack of motivation of the firms creating and introducing new technological solutions. In conclusion the paper makes the statement that the industrial property is not considered and used as an economic resource by the firms in Bulgaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents problems to the educational preparation of the Bulgarian population, to the forming and presence of human capital, including such with high level and quality. It focuses the attention on more important barriers to increasing the quality of the human capital of the country, as well as some premises to the unfavorable phenomena and processes in the education. The paper states that the development of the education and human capital of Bulgaria should become a strategic national priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the state and perspectives of development of the scientific potential in Bulgaria and its role for establishing knowledge economy. It proves that the shortage of financial means for financing the science has had a negative effect on its development. The existing tendencies in the development of the scientific potential show that the developing processes are alarming, and that the shortage of financial means will have quite unfavorable consequences on the scientific potential in Bulgaria. The paper discusses one of the most significant problems for the scientific potential in Bulgaria - "brain drain". It concerns the large emigrant wave, ranging mostly young scientists and highly qualified specialists. The paper concludes that even the most complex problems of the society can be solved through increasing the investments in science and creating proper conditions for development of the scientific potential of the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the paper is to systemize and suggest scientific arguments to support the transition in Bulgaria from the model of financing social services based on the principle "money follows the supplier" to the alternative model based on the principle "money follows the client". Object of the study is the financing of the social services in the community. The paper focuses on learning lessons from the international experience (Netherlands, Great Britain) and from the Bulgarian practice. It suggests possible solutions for a change of the model of financing the social services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper studies the relation between the economic cycle and the labor market development in different periods of the economic cycle in the years 1990-2010. The impacts of the cyclic economic development on the forming and developing of the labor market is traced through evaluations of the degree of balancing of the labor demand and supply, employment restructuring, labor force mobility and labor market flexibility. The paper analyzes also the impact of other internal and external factors on the development of the labor market in the different stages of the cycle. It draws conclusions on the connection between growth and employment in the different stages of the economic cycle, outlining the stronger dependence in the transition period and the weaker influence of the growth on the employment in the period of stabilization and growth. The paper states the significance of the stabilization for the labor force restructuring, for the development of the forms of employment and for increasing the labor force mobility. The increase of the labor market flexibility through developing its institutions and legal bases is considered in the context of an instrument for softening of the impact of the cyclic economic development on the labor market [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The text is a paper presented at the scientific conference "Events and Turns in the Historical Development of the Philosophical Thought in Bulgaria" and is devoted both to the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the Department of History of Philosophy at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and to the eightieth anniversary of one of its long-standing leaders - Michael Bachvarov. The progress of the Department of Historical-Philosophical studies as well as the theoretical investigations of professor Bachvarov are analyzed. The discussion on the terminological definition of the philosophical search in Bulgaria is also mentioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of General Medicine / Obsta Medicina is the property of Medical University - Sofia, Central Medical Library and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper focuses on education in two ways! as giving value to personality development, on the one hand, and as a civilizational mechanism for constituting human communities, on the other. At the same time the contemporary situation of civilization and its declination from the declared values and hardships of education to observe and realize opposing missions is also being discussed. Answers and ways of action may be found in the transition from Civilizations to a Civilization of people with genealogical cooperative thinking. Specific and urgent pragmatic queries are also being raised in relation to the education in Bulgaria, which at first sight only seems not to have a deep civilizational genesis and answer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article traces the topic ore-education (and learning) as a current topic about Bulgarian school. The emphasize is on the terminology usage and the currency of that topic. The paper shows an empirical depiction of the state of readiness of Bulgarian schools for transition into e-education mode. The empirical data is gathered by the questionnaire method from representative group of schools at the territory of RIE - Sliven. The data is processed into results and brief analysis is done. The analysis is addressed in a significant extent towards differentiation of tendencies and problems that might arise in the near future, as well as possibilities for their overcoming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows the historic steps in the appearance and development of adult education throughout the Bulgarian territories. It also underlines the possibilities for learning available to the Bulgarians in different historic periods and in present time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of the paper is the differentiation of the traditional necked bowl lutes, part of the past and/or present instrumental practice of various ethnical and religious groups on Bulgarian territory. They are known as tambura, saz, bulgariya, baylama, karaduzen, etc. The main distinguishing marks outlined by researchers and instrument makers are size, number of strings and tuning, as well as fretting. Along with them, the issues of designation (in parallel to the Turkish instrumental practice mainly), origin (Ottoman and pre-Ottoman hypotheses), and ethnical identification are commented. Based on the exposed and analized data, a division of the traditional necked bowl lutes on Bulgarian territory in three main subdivisions - tambura, saz, bulgariya, is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical concepts discussed in present paper concerns on the nature of courier services and combinations of various additional components that can meet the demands and requirements of customers. Drawn are some specifics that apply to courier services, also there are described principles governing a modern system of customer service and we systematize the terms of delivery that can be used in forming the comparative characteristic of courier companies operating on a particular market. In the research part there has been conducted analysis of the non-universal postal services (NPU) in Bulgaria, the study traced their status in comparative perspective as characteristics of the proposed conditions for international and domestic supply of selected courier companies operating in our country. On this basis, are located several numbers of problems that accompany the provision of courier services in Bulgaria and allege some recommendations to improve the quality of customer service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a recent empirical research on the practical dimensions of social pedagogy in Bulgaria. The research is based on a discourse analysis of publications and academic documents which reflect relatively different practical aspects of socio-educational activities and events, seen not only as social steps and developments, but also as educational practices. The information and data which were obtained and analysed show that seen as a specific type of social practice, social pedagogy is used as a sort of "umbrella concept" comprising of several autonomous activities and practices in areas like education, social work or social control and correction. The results justify the expectation that social pedagogy and social work are interrelated but not identical. The research outcome also confirms the observation, that basic norms of society form an intrinsic part of the contents of education, which makes the interaction between human educability and sociability crucial and inevitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate social responsibility is a problem of enormous scientific-theoretical and practical significance. It turns out that in the conditions of economic crisis the companies do not give up on social initiatives and engagements. The objective of the presentation is to focus on the currency of the problems concerning the social audit and the European experience in this direction. The paper analyzes the standards of corporate social responsibility and their application in Bulgaria. The article presents a study of 150 Bulgarian firms and generalizes the results for applying the CSR standards. It discusses the role of the responsible institutions in Bulgaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study uses new methodology developed by Corrado, Hulten and Sickel in 2006 for measuring the intangible assets in Bulgaria and the factors that premise it. The study ranges data for 1990-2006. The data are aggregated from firm to sector level when reporting the import and export. Intangible assets are: costs for software and computer databases, innovative property, R&D costs, property rights, costs for acquiring licenses, architecture and engineer design, trademarks property, brands and economic compensations, costs for market research and brand advertising, specific firm human capital and organization structure. Recalculating by the new methodology, the paper shows the contribution of the intangible assets in forming GDP in the studied period. It takes into consideration the deep changes in the Bulgarian economy in the analyzed period, like the carried out privatization, the collapse of the industry, the financial crisis in 1996-1997, and the mass introduction of FDI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current economic conditions the survival and prosperity of organizations more and more depends on the success they have in unlocking the innovation potential of their employees. To greatest extent the human resource is capable to contribute to the progress of the Bulgarian economy in the long economic crisis. The paper presents modern approaches from the practice of effective organizations developing their human resources and using their skills for developing and introducing innovations. The article analyzes the characteristics of the small and medium-sized enterprises, dominating in Bulgaria, regarding the opportunities for increasing the innovation activity of the employees. It attempts to study the available statistical information concerning the obstacles to using the approaches in selection, training and developing the human resources in the organizations for increasing the innovation activity in the Bulgarian organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With today's turbulence and global crisis the forming of innovation platform of development is considered a key approach for creating a sustainable social-economic dynamics at global, national, regional, local, branch and organization level. Based on short review of the international experience, the paper suggests an optimistic scenario for forming an innovation platform for development of Bulgaria. According to this scenario, based on innovation policy formatted into a concrete strategy carried out by the state, a flexible integration of economic, academic and education circles should be done. Through a cascade of events, those circles should create conditions for innovation regime of functioning in short-term, middle-term and long-term perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents one possible way to examine the evaluation process in the Bulgarian secondary education. For that purpose we make a research of the records of a particular school and check for any influence of a range of factors over the grades of the particular student population. Applying the method of studying documents allows us to analyze not only the students' grades by themselves, but what is standing behind them - the quality of educational outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the system of science-metrics criteria, used the the „Angel Kanchev" University of Ruse when selecting applicants to be appointed at academic positions. Several versions of a formula to calculate the so called publication index are [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article proves that there is an opportunity to practically apply policy for research advancement in the Bulgarian universities using specific academic instruments. The differentiated payment based on the results of periodic attestation of academic staff figures among them. Using sophisticated statistical apparatus in the analysis of the attestation information from the Faculty of Philosophy at St. Kl. Ohridski University of Sofia we have proven that there are a few indicators of research performance which substantially differentiate the teaching staff and thus demonstrate a specific structure of the research productivity. We found that 1) there is a small number of super-active professor whose research performance creates the illusion of a huge number of research results which actually hides the fact that nearly one third of all assistant professors and professors alike have no significant research results of their activities or no activities at all; 2) the gravest problem of academic science is the predominant passivity among the young teaching staff. It is a problem of the institutional opportunities for scientific accomplishments, mainly -- the hindered access to academic research abroad. Hence, the formidable obstacle to their career advancement is not the protracted habilitation procedures but the hampered access to research performances that would make them academically significant. The paper offers a practical device for a differentiated payment as an instrument for launching active rectors' policy for research promotion. The main advantage of the proposed model is its flexibility. It can stimulate a varying number of individuals, and it can vary in its implementation year by year. It can be used to encourage different groups of academic staff -- the laggers or the elite, the young, or the ones doing a particular prioritized type of research, etc., yet remaining the very same in its principles of operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The actuality of global supply chain management increases together with the growing rates of globalization and the extending specialization of organizations which makes them dependant on each other. The ways to increase the effectiveness of material, information, financial and knowledge flows management in the global supply chains are based on the proper evaluation of a great number of factors from the international environment, the strategic configuration of the supply chain concerning its members, the functions they perform and the location of their operations, as well as on the continuous coordination of the activities in the chain through information and knowledge exchange and the development of relationships of trust and cooperation. On the basis of a research, carried out in Bulgarian organizations participating in global supply chains, the paper reveals the integration practices applied in the relationships with their foreign partners. There are proofs for the absence of readiness amongst the researched organizations to apply practices characteristic for the highly developed countries as well as to make efforts for integration with their Bulgarian contracting parties. JEL: R11; R19; C49; O18 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study presents information and comments on frame documents of the Global Commission of International Migration and the Development Center of OECD, which set the main principle and directions for improving the global approach to the migration. Special attention is drawn to the financing of this approach, as well as to the adopted in October 2008 during the French chairmanship "European Pact on Migration and Asylum". The paper presents the migration flows, practiced by the government policies of restraining, or on the contrary - of encouraging the international migration. Special attention is drawn to the migration pressure and situation in the EU countries. The development and debate on the European migration policy is traced. A review of many European initiatives for encouraging the global approach is made, concerning the legal migration and interaction of the illegal migration, as well as its geographic expedience. The focus is on the interdependency "migration - development". The study ends with presentation of the policies for migration and integration, carried out in Bulgaria. Sought are opportunities for synchronizing the management of the migration and cooperation for development in the context of the concrete Bulgarian conditions. JEL: F01; F22; J61; 015; 019 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the impact of the institutions of the labor market in Bulgaria on its flexibility. The institutions are widely defined, labor market policies included. Empirical evaluations of the flexibility of the labor market are made based on the adopted definition of flexibility. Suggested are quantitative evaluations and comparative analysis of the labor market institutions (the legal protection of the employed and the collective labor contracting), which are compatible with the OECD methodology. An evaluation and conclusions are drawn for the connection between the institutions of the labor market and its flexibility. JEL: C52; J20; J30; J50; J60 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Economics & Management / Ikonomika i Upravlenie na Selskoto Stopanstvo is the property of Institute of Agricultural Economics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Bulgarian Journal of Public Health is the property of National Center of Public Health & Analyses and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of History Scientific Journal is the property of Az Buki National Publishing House and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Modern Russian History & Historiography is the property of Brill Academic Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article attempts to propose a reflexive approach towards the communist legacy in museums. By comparing the trend of decolonization in museums of Western Europe with particular attention to the practices in the Netherlands the author draws attention to the potential solutions and mechanisms for reassessing the traumatic institutional past. The search for new museum identity in 21st century in Europe reflects the social turbulence and follows academic critique to reform the institution profoundly. The lack of visitor flow and problematic interaction between Bulgarian state-funded museums and their local audiences are perceived as a signal for the institutional struggle with communist legacies in museological theory and practice. The article pretends to examine the main areas affected by the legacies and to outline the need for post-communist museum studies in Bulgaria, as well as the need for critical approach towards Bulgarian museums’ identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bulgarian Folklore / Bulgarski Folklor is the property of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Ethnology & Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The publications of new materials allow to make observations on the characteristics, origin, dating and spatial distribution of the amphorae with englyphic stamps in Bulgaria. Obviously the discussion about the origin of these amphorae will continue until incontestable evidence is found, such as furnaces or remains of their manufacture in situ or until a highly representative chemical analyses of the clay is carried out. The amphorae with englyphic stamps differ from most of the similar vessels manufactured during the Classical and the Hellenistic periods in several typical particularities The oldest stamps bearing only one name, were determined to belong the last years of the 5th c. BC and the first decade of the 4th c. BC. The dating of the stamps bearing eponymous name often with the affix "..." at the beginning is more complicated. As a whole they are included in the period from 390/385 to 325/315 BC. The dating of the latest specimens of this type of vessels remains under discussion. Against the backdrop of the current studies related to the importation of Greek amphorae in Ancient Thrace, the large spread of vessels marked with englyphic stamps in a vast geographical region (Dobrudzha and Ludogorie, to the west of the river Yantra and across the Thracian plain and the sub-Balkan valleys up to the nominal line to the west between Simeonovgrad-Elkhovo-Fakia) represents an interesting phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study is based on little-known documents (Bulgarian, Greek and Turkish) for demographic and ethno-religious state of Gorna Dzhumaya area during the period 1879-1902, i.e. before the Gorna Dzhumaya uprising. The aim of the study was comparative analysis of Bulgarian and Greek documents referring to the ethno-demographic character of the region and its ecclesiastical structure. During the period the ethnic image of Gorna Dzhumaya is Bulgarian and the Hellenistic claims are unfounded. For the latter the official Turkish Statistics of the Greek consulate in Serres are directly witnessing. And Bulgarian documents were studying in details the ethnic character of the area and basic demographics of the Bulgarian population. They show that the Bulgarian population in Gorna Dzhumaya registered the highest indicators of marriage and fertility in Eastern Macedonia, approaching the data for the Bulgarian Principality. Not least, it should be noted that the comparative analysis of the Bulgarian and Greek documents show that typification of personalities and actions is not applicable in the case of Gorna Dzhumaya. There is a lost cause for the Hellenism, but lost still in its birth. Key moments in this case are several: skilled and adequate Exarchate policy, the Bulgarian character of the area and the awareness of the population in regard to their nationality, activities of the Bulgarian bishop vicarage and community, pro-Bulgarian Policy of Melnik Bishop Procopius and his "inaction" to the authorities and Patriarchy in 1890-1891, the carelessness of his successors to the area after 1892, the weak financial support by the Silogos and the passivity of the small "Greek" community in Gorna Dzhumaya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with a comparative analysis of the serological and ecological properties of Pseudomonas syringae pv. atrofaciens strains from the collections of microbial cultures at the Malkov Institute for Plant Genetic Resources and Zabolotny Institute of Microbiology and Virology. All of the strains from the Bulgarian collection, except for one, fall into five serogroups (II through VI) of the classification system of Pastushenko and Simonovich. The P. syringae pv. atrofaciens strains isolated from Bulgarian and Ukrainian wheats belong mainly to serogroups II and IV, respectively. The strains that were isolated from rye plants belong to serogroup I. The strains isolated from sorghum and Sudan grass belong to serogroups II, IV, and VL. Serogroup III includes the P. syringae pv. atrofaciens strains that were isolated from cereals in the United Kingdom but not in Ukraine.

The paper provides a socio-economic evaluation of mortality from ischemic heart disease (IHD) in Bulgaria during 1983-1985. The influence of IHD on mean life expectancy at birth was determined by using concise methods. IHD shortens the mean life expectancy in urban areas by 2.4 years in boys and by 1.7 years in girls, in rural areas by 2.5 years in boys and by 1.2 in girls. Economic losses due to mortality from this disease were estimated.

The paper describes organization and achievements of the struggle against human helminthiases over a 30-year period in Bulgaria. Over this period, in Bulgaria Taenia solium was eradicated, while the incidence of taeniasis, ascariasis, trichocephaliasis, hymenolepiasis, enterobiasis and ascariasis, trichocephaliasis, hymenolepiasis, enterobiasis and echinococcosis was reduced several-fold. The authors suggest effective measures for the struggle against other helminthiases in the following 5-10 years.

Dwelling and rest - two of the basic elements of life activity, draw now-a-days the attention of state, political, economic and scientific bodies and organizations in our country. The care of man in our society is expressed in such a formation and protection of the environment that could guarantee adequate conditions for dwelling and rest at present and in the future. The hygienic problems, associated with that type activity, include planning and construction of new settlement systems studies on the deleterious and favourable physical factors (noise, vibration, electromagnetic fields, natural solar radiation), mode of construction, equipment and exploitation of residential and administrative buildings. They are the object of the present paper, which presents, in a summarized way, the experience of the research work at the laboratory "Physical factors of the environment, planning and construction in settlements", at the RIHOD, carried out during the seventh 5-year period. Some results are presented that have an essential share in the new approach to the hygienic standardization and regulation of the qualities of the environment for dwelling and rest.

The study was performed using questionnaires which were filled in by 114 pathologists and 210 clinicians. The pathologists considered the major attractive professional motivations to be the elucidation of clinical aspects and possibility to be engaged in biopsy diagnosis, the most unattractive thing was a small salary. The clinicians supported the view that an autopsy was obligatory, the ratio of supporters to ++nonsupporters among clinicians and pathologists being 2.5:1 and 1:1, respectively. The average expected autopsy cost is 50 levs, but its real one is 84 levs. The overload of dissectors decreases the quality of autopsies and requires the revision of their performance rates. Pathologists's specialization, contact with clinicians, and labour safety are also discussed in the paper. It is only one half of the clinicians who are able to determine which disease is the major one. The death certificates that are filled in by a physician are insignificant (20% of errors are due to improper diagnosis of the major disease). The authors believe that it is high time to set up a national pathoanatomical record office equipped with computers.