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In Bulgaria, like in most countries, the comprehensive assessments on agrarian sustainability are mostly at sectoral or farm levels while there is practically no in-depth study on sustainability at sub-sector (industry) level. This paper tries to fill the gap and assess the sustainability of different sub-sectors in Bulgarian agriculture. First, a holistic hierarchical framework for assessing the integral, economic, social and ecological sustainability of Bulgarian agriculture is suggested, including 17 principles, 35 criteria, and 46 indicators and reference values. After that, an assessment, on the overall and aspects sustainability of major crop, livestock and mixed subsectors of Bulgarian agriculture, is made. It is based on first-hand information collected though in-depth interviews with the managers of "typical" farms in analyzed industries. The study has found out that there is a considerable differentiation in the level of integral and aspects sustainability in individual sub-sectors in Bulgaria, with mixed livestock-breeding, mixed crop-growing, and perennial crops sub-sectors having the highest integral sustainability, while pigs, poultry and rabbits; vegetables, flowers and mushrooms, and mixed livestock-crops subsectors the lowest one. There are also substantial variations in the levels of economic, social and ecological sustainability of different agricultural sub-sectors and individual indicators with the highest and lowest values showing (critical) factors enhancing and deterring particular or overall sustainability of evaluated agro-industries. Results on the integral agrarian sustainability level of this study based on the micro sub-sector (farm) data are similar to the previous assessment based on the aggregate sectoral (statistical, etc.) data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic arsenic is considered to be the most toxic form of the element and exists in groundwater and surface water, which has threatened human health. Based on aptamer's superior biologic characteristics, three colourimetric methods were established to satisfy the demands of rapid and on-site detection. All sensing methods exhibited high selectivity for arsenic(III), and the detecting limits were even down to 5.3, 0.6 and 6ppb respectively, indicating a promising future in environmental detection of arsenic(III). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite big academic and practical importance, in Bulgaria and other countries in East Europe, there are very few empirical studies on dominating governing structures in agriculture, and their impact(s) on agrarian sustainability. In this paper the interdisciplinary New Institutional Economics framework is incorporated, and the impact of diverse market, private, collective, public and hybrid modes of governance on agrarian sustainability at the current stage of development in Bulgaria assessed. First, the methodological framework of the study is outlined. After that dominating governing modes in Bulgarian farms of different juridical type, size, specialization, ecological and geographical location are identified, and their impacts on agrarian sustainability and its economic, social, and environmental pillars evaluated. In conclusion implications for further research, public policy improvement, and private managerial strategy formation are presented. Agricultural producers of different type use quite unlike mixture of effective market, private, collective and hybrid modes for governance of their activities and relations. Individual factors and modes most contributing to improvement of agrarian sustainability at the current stage of development are: manager's personal convictions and initiatives, farms resources and innovation potential, near future profit and benefits strategies, market prices levels and dynamics, area-based EU subsidies, and informal agreements. Research on relations between the governing structure and agrarian sustainability is to continue though increasing representation, and the spectrum of specific governing modes used by farms of different type as well as assessments of the impact of institutions on agrarian sustainability and the impact of the governance at different hierarchical levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to present results of the first large-scale study on integral, governance, economic, social, and environmental sustainability of Bulgarian farms in general and holdings of different juridical type, size, specialization and location during current EU CAP implementation. Initially, a framework for assessing farm sustainability is outlined which is based on incorporation of the interdisciplinary methodologies of New Institutional Economics, and Sustainable Development. That holistic framework includes a system of appropriate principles, criteria, indicators, and reference values for evaluating the individual aspects and the integral sustainability of farms in the specific Bulgarian conditions. After that an assessment is made on the overall, governance, economic, social, and environmental sustainability levels of Bulgarian farms in general and holdings of different juridical type, size, specialization and location. The assessment is based on a survey with the managers of 190 typical farms of different type carried out in the summer of 2016 with the cooperation of major professional associations and the National Agricultural Advisory Service. The study has found out that Bulgarian farms are with a good integral sustainability due to moderate governance and economic sustainability, and a higher social and ecological sustainability. There are considerable differences in the sustainability level of farms of different type - while Companies and Cooperatives are with a higher sustainability level, the Physical Persons and Sole Trades are with lower one. Furthermore, 30% of all farms are with low sustainability or unsustainable at all, including 34% of Physical Persons, a quarter of Sole Traders, 15% of Cooperatives, and almost 6% of Companies. There is also a significant variation in sustainability levels of farms with different specialization, size and location - e.g. 45% of holdings specialized in vegetable, flowers and mushrooms are with low sustainability or unsustainable as well as 57% of those with mix livestock specialization, a half of semi-market and a third of small-size holdings, 39% of farms located in mountainous regions with handicaps, and 40% of farms in South-West and 37% in North-West regions of the country. Finally, implications for further research, farm management and strategy formation, and improvement of public policies are withdrawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1984, Pomeranz and coauthors reported a case of a chylous peritonitis in an 8-year-old girl with extensive burns and aminoglycoside-induced acute renal failure, treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD) [1]. There are still very few publications in the medical literature concerning this particular problem in PD patients [2-4]. We report two very similar cases of chylous peritonitis in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]