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An alternative to synthetic insecticides is the use of naturally occurring products, such as botanical products with insecticidal properties. Biological testing of the botanical products Krisant EC 750 ml/ha and Neem Azal T/S 0.3% was performed at the Maritza Vegetable Crops Research Institute - Plovdiv to determine their effectiveness against potato aphid (Macrosiphum euphorbiae Thomas, 1878), thrips (Thrips tabaci Lindemanla, 1889; Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande, 1895), greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood, 1856), cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera Hübner, 1808), tomato leaf miner (Tuta absoluta Meyrick, 1917) and two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch, 1836). These species are some of the most common economically important pests in growing tomatoes in greenhouses. The phytopesticides Neem Azal T/S and Krisant EC were applied alone and in combination. The tested plant protection products showed very good biological activity against these pests and relatively higher effectiveness over 78% shows the combined treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: We present our experience in the treatment of senile patient with multifocal atherosclerosis and severely impacted quality of life Clinical case: We describe a clinical case of a 86 years old patient with critical limb ischemia who received a femoroperoneal bypass with resection of the fibula in 2023 on the left lower extremity and perfect early result with dramatic improvement of the symptoms. Due to critical limb ischemia of the right lower extremity the patient received femoropopliteal bypass with prosthesis in 2024. During his second stay in the hospital the patient complained of chest pain and dispnea with massive elevation of troponin level. He was diagnosed with NSTEMI and but refused intervention at the time. Ten days later he is admitted in the cardiology unit in Gotse Delchev with clinical signs of right lower extremity ischemia. The treating physician performed thrombolysis with percutaneous angioplasty of the bypass with full restoration of the blood flow to the foot. Blood transfusion was also performed due to low haemoglobin level. Nevertheless the patient had anuria and progressing hypotension which led to patient's death 48 hours later. Discussion: In the recent years we observe an increasing number of patients with uncontrolled hypertension, diabetes, chronic renal disease. These patients are usually unsuitable for standard endovascular or open surgery procedures due to lack of outlet vessels. The only viable options for them is extraanatomical bypass surgery of deep venous arterialisation. Conclusion: Multidisciplinary approach is always needed in patients with multifocal atherosclerosis and failed attempts for revascularisation. In cases with other surgical options distal peroneal bypass with resection of the fibula offers the only appropriate solution for limb salvage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mechanical Occlusion Chemically Assisted Ablation (MOCA) is a well-known method for treating varicose veins. Being a non-thermal technique it offers some advantages over the popular laser and radiofrequency ablation. There are several issues and criticisms regarding MOCA. Some authors report that a huge amount of sclerosing agent is going into the deep veins, which increases the risk of DVT. Another issue is that tributary veins should be left untreated or treated only with miniphlebectomies. The aim of the study is to compare the results of the treatment of patients with chronic venous disease with the mechanochemical ablation method using the classical and aspiration method. Material and method: For a period of 5 years, more than 500 people passed through the Clinic and were treated with mechanochemical ablation. Of these, over 300 people went through a full three-year followup of the treatment results. The patients are divided into two homogeneous groups: group A - Classic MOCA (cMOCA) and group B - Aspiration MOCA (aMOCA). Patients in the two groups were compared in terms of method success - clinical and anatomical, complications, recurrences, improvement in CIVIQ-20 and VCSS scores, and satisfaction. The whole concept consists of inserting a 45 cm long 6 fr sheath in the GSV. Once the sheath is positioned ClariVein® catheter is advanced through the sheath. In contrast to the traditional protocol we use 3% Polidocanol foam instead of liquid. Once the procedure has started and the initial 3-4 second of stationary rotation of the device has passed, we insert а 20 cc syringe to the sheath and put it in aspiration mode so that the foam we use is drowned back into the syringe. Results: In the primary analysis of the results, it was found that the aspiration method of performing mechanochemical ablation resulted in a better anatomical success rate (92% aMOCA vs. 80% cMOCA) with a similar clinical success rate (95% aMOCA vs. 92% cMOCA), lower number of complications (two major complications of deep vein thrombosis in the cMOCA group compared to 0 in aMOCA with a similar percentage of mild complications such as hematomas, edema, hyperpigmentation, etc.), fewer relapses (5% of patients in the aMOCA group according to the indicator "Partial recanalization up to 20 cm - sonographically demonstrable, but without subjective complaints" compared to 12% of patients in the group with MOCA) and similar satisfaction of the patient. Conclusion: Using the aspirational technique when performing MOCA has the potential of significant increase in efficacy of the procedure and at the same time to reduce the potential side effects keeping patient satisfaction levels high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical and lipid composition of species of cultivated mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) grown in Bulgaria was examined. Pleurotus ostreatus is rich in carbohydrates (66.26 g 100 g-1 dw), followed by proteins (21.68 g 100 g-1 dw), ash (7.46 g 100 g-1 dw) and fat (4.59 g 100 g-1 dw). Also moisture (91.85%) and total energy (1572.39 kJ 100 g-1 dw) were calculated. The content of saturated fatty acids (SFA) was (40.99%). The total phenolic and total flavonoid contents of Pleurotus ostreatus species were 27.81 and 9.85 mg g-1, respectively. The content of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) in the oil from mushroom was (59.01%) and that of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) consisted of (23.47%). On the other hand, the amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was higher (35.54%). Based on the results, can be concluded that the examined species of mushrooms is a potential source of phospholipids and fatty acid, and can be used as a functional food or as food additives in many products. On the grounds of the obtained data, it can be seen that in the phospholipid fraction from mushrooms, there predominated phosphatidic acids (31.60%) as a major component, followed by lysophosphatidylcholine (12.20%). The quantities of diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylinositol in the phospholipid fraction were from 6.50 to 7.90%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mushrooms are important food resources valued for its high quality protein content, health promoting properties and potential to enhance food palatability. There is not enough or lack of information in the literature particularly on the amino acid composition of mushrooms in the study area. The aim of this study was to investigatе the carotenoid and amino acid content of two mushroom species (Marasmius oreades and Cantharellus aurora). The study revealed found out seventeen amino acids, lycopene and β-carotene by high performance liquid cromatography with reversed-phase and DAD (Diode Array Detector). The highest quantities of essential amino acids in Marasmius oreades specie were leucine (6.76 ± 0.12 g 100 g-1 protein) and isoleucine (4.47 ± 0.25 g 100 g-1 protein) followed by lysine, phenylalanine, valine, threonine, methionine, tyrosine and cysteine. The most abundant essential amino acid in Can- tharellus aurora was leucine (4.12 ± 0.34 g 100 g-1 ) followed by phenylalanine + tyrosine (5.23 ± 0.24 g 100 g-1 ) and isoleucine (3.36 ± 0.23 g 100 g-1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nine microelements (Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr, Mn, Co, Cu, Zn and Fe) were studied in wild edible mushroom species Agaricus sylvicola collected from Rhodope region of Bul- garia, using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) after microwave digestion. The microelements contents (mg kg-1) ranged as follows: Pb = 3.78, Cd = 0.82, Ni = 1.93, Cr =3.50, Mn = 47.7, Co = 0.059, Cu = 74.2, Zn = 146.5 and Fe = 127.5. All values of the microelements in the wild edible mushrooms Agaricus sylvicola were within the permitted WHO limits. Thus, the mushrooms analysed are safe for human consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study were to determine Cd and Pb contents in wild edible mushroom Suillus luteus from the Batak mountain, Bulgaria and thus to assess the Health risk index arisen from the long-term consumption of them. The toxic elements levels were determined by PerkinElmer AAnalyst 800 model atomic absorption spectrometer (PerkinElmer Instruments, Shelton, CT, USA) equipped with Transversely heated graphite atomisation (THGA), and a longitudinal Zeeman effect background corrector was also used. Lumina lamp, Electrodeless discharge lamp (EDL) and hollow cathode lamps were employed as radiation sources. The samples were digested in a microwave closed system Multiwave 3000. The average content of studied elements Pb and Cd in Suillus luteus samples were: 0.066 and 0.052 mg kg-1, respectively. According to the EC Regulation No 629/2018, none of the mushroom samples assayed in this study represented a toxicological risk from lead and cadmium exposure. According to the above results, all calculated Health risk index (HRI) values of heavy metals were within the safe limits for children and adults (HRI < 1). Furthermore, the Total health risk index (THRI) values, were also in the safe limit (THRI < 1). The values HRICd (74%) and HRIPb (26%) have percentage content from THRI. From the point of view of risk assessment, all mushrooms are below provisional tolerable monthly intake (PTMI) for Cd and Pb established by the JOINT FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, when temporarily high consumption of mushrooms (100 g/day monthly) is taken under consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mushroom samples were collected in 2018 and 2019 from the Batak Mountain by the authors themselves. The aim of this study was to perform analysis of the content of phospholipids and fatty acid, in wild edible mushroom (Suillus luteus) grown in the Batak Mountain, Bulgaria. Phosphatidic acids were the main components in lipids from Suillus luteus (16.4 %). The content of the other phospholipids in the oils from Suillus luteus was from 9.6 to 14.9%. Phosphatidylcholine was identified in Suillus luteus (14.9%). The content of Saturated fatty acids (SFA) consisted of 28.6%. Unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) in the oil from mushroom 71.4% and the content of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) consisted of 37.7%. On the other hand, the amount of monounsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was lower 33.7%. Based on the results, can be concluded that the examined species of mushrooms is a potential source of phospholipids and fatty acid, and can be used as a functional food or as food additives in many products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical and lipid composition of species of wild edible mushrooms (Morchella escu- lenta) grown in Bulgaria was examined. Morchella esculenta is rich in carbohydrates (78.33 g 100 g-1 dw), followed by proteins (11.31 g 100 gg-1 dw), ash (7.81 g 100 gg-1 dw) and fat (2.54 g 100 g-1 dw). Also moisture (89.41%), and total energy (1618.04 kJ 100 g-1 dw) were calculated. The content of Saturated fatty acids (SFA) consisted of 32.3%. Unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) in the oil from mushroom are 67.7% and the content of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) consisted of 9.0%. On the other hand, the amount of monounsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was lower 58.7%. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the examined species of mushrooms is a potential source of phospholipids and fatty acid, and can be used as a functional food or as food additives in many products. Phosphatidic acids were the main components in lipids from Morchella esculenta (19.6%). The content of the other phospholipids in the oils from Morchella esculenta was from 2.7 to 19.5%. Phosphatidylethanolamine was identified in Morchella esculenta (19.5%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Black Sea coastal nowcasting and forecasting system was built within the framework of EU FP6 ECOOP project for five regions: the south-western basin along the coasts of Bulgaria and Turkey, the North-Western shelf along the Romanian and Ukrainian coasts, coastal zone around of the Crimea peninsula, the north-eastern Russian coastal zone and the coastal zone of Georgia. The system operates in the real-time mode during the ECOOP project and afterwards. The forecasts include temperature, salinity and current velocity fields. Ecosystem model operates in the off-line mode near the Crimea coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of a network of areas in the parietal and premotor cortices, which are active both during action execution and observation, suggests that we might understand the actions of other people by activating those motor programs for making similar actions. Although neurophysiological and imaging studies show an involvement of the somatosensory cortex (SI) during action observation and execution, it is unclear whether SI is essential for understanding the somatosensory aspects of observed actions. To address this issue, we used off-line transcranial magnetic continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) just before a weight judgment task. Participants observed the right hand of an actor lifting a box and estimated its relative weight. In counterbalanced sessions, we delivered sham and active cTBS over the hand region of the left SI and, to test anatomical specificity, over the left motor cortex (M1) and the left superior parietal lobule (SPL). Active cTBS over SI, but not over M1 or SPL, impaired task performance relative to sham cTBS. Moreover, active cTBS delivered over SI just before participants were asked to evaluate the weight of a bouncing ball did not alter performance compared to sham cTBS. These findings indicate that SI is critical for extracting somatosensory features (heavy/light) from observed action kinematics and suggest a prominent role of SI in action understanding., (Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Traditionally the mirror neuron system (MNS) only includes premotor and posterior parietal cortices. However, somatosensory cortices, BA1/2 in particular, are also activated during action execution and observation. Here, we examine whether BA1/2 and the parietofrontal MNS integrate information by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-guided continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) to perturb BA1/2. Measuring brain activity using fMRI while participants are under the influence of cTBS shows local cTBS effects in BA1/2 varied, with some participants showing decreases and others increases in the BOLD response to viewing actions vs control stimuli. We show how measuring cTBS effects using fMRI can harness this variance using a whole-brain regression. This analysis identifies brain regions exchanging action-specific information with BA1/2 by mapping voxels away from the coil with cTBS-induced, action-observation-specific BOLD contrast changes that mirror those under the coil. This reveals BA1/2 exchanges action-specific information with premotor, posterior parietal and temporal nodes of the MNS during action observation. Although anatomical connections between BA1/2 and these regions are well known, this is the first demonstration that these connections carry action-specific signals during observation and hence, that BA1/2 plays a causal role in the human MNS., (© The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press.)

Perceiving other people's actions triggers activity in premotor and parietal areas, brain areas also involved in executing and sensing our own actions. Paralleling this phenomenon, observing emotional states (including pain) in others is associated with activity in the same brain areas as activated when experiencing similar emotions directly. This emotion perception associated activity has been shown to be affected by the perceived fairness of the actor, and in-group membership more generally. Here, we examine whether action observation associated brain activity is also affected by the perceived social fairness of the actors. Perceived fairness was manipulated using an alternating iterated Prisoner's Dilemma game between the participant and two confederates, one of whom played fairly and the other unfairly. During fMRI scanning the participants watched movies of the confederates performing object-directed hand actions, and then performed hand actions themselves. Mass-univariate analysis showed that observing the actions triggered robust activation in regions associated with action execution, but failed to identify a strong modulation of this activation based on perceived fairness. Multivariate pattern analysis, however, identified clusters potentially carrying information about the perceived fairness of the actor in the middle temporal gyrus, left postcentral gyrus, right inferior parietal lobule, right middle cingulate cortex, right angular gyrus, and right superioroccipital gyrus. Despite being identified by a whole-brain searchlight analysis (and so without anatomical restriction), these clusters fall into areas frequently associated with action observation. We conclude that brain activity during action observation may be modulated by perceived fairness, but such modulation is subtle; robust activity is associated with observing the actions of both fair and unfair individuals.

The primary somatosensory cortex (SI) plays a critical role in somatosensation as well as in action performance and social cognition. Although the SI has been a major target of experimental and clinical research using non-invasive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), to date information on the effect of TMS over the SI on its resting-state functional connectivity is very scant. Here, we explored whether continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS), a repetitive TMS protocol, administered over the SI can change the functional connectivity of the brain at rest, as measured using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). In a randomized order on two different days we administered active TMS or sham TMS over the left SI. TMS was delivered off-line before scanning by means of cTBS. The target area was selected previously and individually for each subject as the part of the SI activated both when the participant executes and observes actions. Three analytical approaches, both theory driven (partial correlations and seed based whole brain regression) and more data driven (Independent Component Analysis), indicated a reduction in functional connectivity between the stimulated part of the SI and several brain regions functionally associated with the SI including the dorsal premotor cortex, the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and anterior cingulate cortex. These findings highlight the impact of cTBS delivered over the SI on its functional connectivity at rest. Our data may have implications for experimental and therapeutic applications of cTBS over the SI., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Seeing others performing an action induces the observers' motor cortex to "resonate" with the observed action. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies suggest that such motor resonance reflects the encoding of various motor features of the observed action, including the apparent motor effort. However, it is unclear whether such encoding requires direct observation or whether force requirements can be inferred when the moving body part is partially occluded. To address this issue, we presented participants with videos of a right hand lifting a box of three different weights and asked them to estimate its weight. During each trial we delivered one transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) pulse over the left primary motor cortex of the observer and recorded the motor evoked potentials (MEPs) from three muscles of the right hand (first dorsal interosseous, FDI, abductor digiti minimi, ADM, and brachioradialis, BR). Importantly, because the hand shown in the videos was hidden behind a screen, only the contractions in the actor's BR muscle under the bare skin were observable during the entire videos, while the contractions in the actor's FDI and ADM muscles were hidden during the grasp and actual lift. The amplitudes of the MEPs recorded from the BR (observable) and FDI (hidden) muscle increased with the weight of the box. These findings indicate that the modulation of motor excitability induced by action observation extends to the cortical representation of muscles with contractions that could not be observed. Thus, motor resonance appears to reflect force requirements of observed lifting actions even when the moving body part is occluded from view., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Multivoxel pattern analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data is continuing to increase in popularity. Like all fMRI analyses, these analyses require extensive data processing and methodological choices, but the impact of these decisions on the final results is not always known. This study explores the impact of four methodological choices on analysis outcomes and introduces the technique of partitioning on random runs for characterizing temporal dependencies and evaluating partitioning methods. The analyses were performed on two fMRI data sets, which were repeatedly analyzed with support vector machines, varying the method of temporal compression, smoothing, voxel-wise detrending, and partitioning into training and testing sets. Smoothing sometimes slightly increased classification accuracy. Partitioning other than on the runs increased classification accuracy, and the random runs technique allowed us to attribute this improvement to the increased amount of training data, rather than to bias. The impact of the temporal compression and detrending methods varied so strongly with data set that general recommendations could not be drawn. These interactions suggest that, rather than searching for a universally superior set of methodological choices, researchers must carefully consider each choice in the context of each experiment., (Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

A well-established phenomenon in the study of attention is the attentional blink (AB): a deficit in reporting the second of two targets when it occurs 200-500 ms after the first. Although the effect has been shown to be robust in a wide variety of task conditions, we recently reported that some individuals show little or no AB, and presented psychophysiological evidence that target processing differs in nonblinkers (who do not show an AB) and blinkers (who do show an AB). Here we present evidence that the level of distractor processing and subsequent interference with target identification processes also differs between the two groups. In one task, two masked targets were centrally presented at varying temporal intervals, with or without additional distractors. In a second task, the masked targets were presented eccentrically, with or without the presence of a central sequential stream of the task-irrelevant distractors. In both cases, the presence of distractors led to an increased AB magnitude in blinkers, whereas performance for nonblinkers remained relatively unaffected. The results thus support the hypothesis that nonblinkers are more efficient in ignoring irrelevant information than blinkers.