Circulatory diseases and the wide sex and ethnic life expectancy gaps in Bulgaria since 2010.

Objectives: Despite extensive public health initiatives, Bulgaria still has the lowest life expectancy at birth (LE) in the European Union. Sex and ethnic differences in LE and mortality are also exceptionally large. We aimed to identify what causes of death drive these wide disparities and thus provide clear targets for future public health interventions.

Custom anterior segment optical coherence tomography indices for detection of corneal ectasia.

Introduction: Corneal thinning and changes in the corneal thickness profile are major symptoms of corneal ectasia. The anterior seg-ment optical coherence tomography is currently widely used, and the development of additional indices may lead to improvements in the diagnostics of keratoconus.

Aim: To determine the diagnostic value of newly developed custom anterior segment OCT indices in diagnosing corneal ectasia.

Catmint ( L.) Phylogenetics and Metabolic Responses in Variable Growth Conditions.

(catmint; Lamiaceae) is a perennial medicinal plant with a wide geographic distribution in Europe and Asia. This study first characterized the taxonomic position of using DNA barcoding technology. Since medicinal plants are rich in secondary metabolites contributing to their adaptive immune response, we explored the metabolic adjustment operating under variable environments.

Force modulated conductance of artificial coiled-coil protein monolayers.

Studies of charge transport through proteins bridged between two electrodes have been the subject of intense research in recent years. However, the complex structure of proteins makes it difficult to elucidate transport mechanisms, and the use of simple peptide oligomers may be an over simplified model of the proteins. To bridge this structural gap, we present here studies of charge transport through artificial parallel coiled-coil proteins conducted in dry environment.

Surface electric charge of thylakoid membranes from genetically modified tobacco plants under freezing stress.

In the present study we characterize for the first time electrokinetic and light scattering properties of thylakoids from freezing-tolerant tobacco plants, transformed to accumulate osmoprotectants (proline: AtP5Cs, VacP5Cs; fructan: SacB; glycine betaine: codA). Tobacco plants of wild type (WT) and transformed variants were cultivated at 2°C (cold acclimated) and -2°C (freezing stressed). "Lower salt" thylakoids (I=0.