Parts Of Bulgaria Research Articles

A POLYCENTRIC APPROACH TO THE GREEN ENERGY TRANSITION IN BULGARIA

Ostrom’s polycentric model for the governance of social systems has been gaining popularity as an alternative approach to the low-carbon energy transition in recent years. This article considers its potential application to three issues in Bulgaria’s green energy transition: finding substitutes for coal-based electricity production in the Maritsa-East lignite complex, providing new employment opportunities for workers affected by the transition, and understanding the broader social impacts of moving away from the traditional hierarchic model in the energy sector. It is important to note that while polycentric organizing is intended to support low-carbon solutions, it could also serve the interests of coal energy actors, who may prioritize short-term gains over the long-term public interest. Overcoming inertia is a major challenge for adopting the polycentric principle as part of Bulgaria’s industrial policy, particularly in implementing decentralized low-carbon energy solutions.

Ethnobotany of Zmeyovski pelin: A Traditional Artemisia-Flavored Wine from Bulgaria

Flavoring wine with Artemisia species, together with other aromatic herbs and/or fruits, is a practice that has evolved in different parts of Bulgaria. The aromatized wine-based beverage, called pelin, is named after the Bulgarian common name for the genus Artemisia. In this paper, we present Zmeyovski pelin, the history of which dates back to the early 20th century. We employed semi-structured interviews with 15 pelin producers from the Zmeyovo village with an age span from 44 to 83 years. The relative frequency of citation for each stated taxon was recorded. We explored the changes in the plant knowledge of the pelin makers and discussed the drivers for it. From a modern perspective, pelin can be considered a functional beverage since the aromatic plants and fruits adds a variety of biologically active substances to it, thus enhancing its health benefits. We regard the consumers’ inquiry about the benefits of the added plants as a driver for mitigating the plant awareness disparity among the local community.

Functional TAKE as Inchoative and Mirative Marker in Bulgarian Multiple Agreement Constructions

This paper is an attempt to fill in a gap in the literature on the two-verb periphrases with the functional verb TAKE in Bulgarian. This goal is achieved by presenting the results of an online pilot study on the acceptability of verbal periphrases featuring functional vzemam ‘take’ in Bulgarian and by providing a first analysis of the syntax and semantics of such constructions. The study involved an acceptability judgment task of present and past sentences containing three periphrases of the type TAKE + connector + V2: two Multiple Agreement Constructions featuring either the connector da (labeled TAKE daMAC) or the connector če (TAKE čeMAC) and a Pseudo-Coordination with the connector i ‘and’ (iPseCo). This completely anonymous study was completed by 241 self-reported Bulgarian L1 speakers (167 F; 72 M) with an age ranging from 18 to 77 (M = 43.32; SD = 12.61), roughly from all parts of Bulgaria. The results show that TAKE daMAC and čeMAC are uniformly available to all the speakers, who mainly admit them in past contexts; iPseCo is instead less accepted overall, but surfaces in both present and past contexts. Moreover, the three constructions seem to be quite consistently admitted in all parts of Bulgaria, as no significant differences in the distribution of judgments were found. TAKE daMAC has an inchoative reading, while TAKE čeMAC is interpreted as mirative. No clear semantic specialization emerges for iPseCo. Structurally, TAKE MACs diverge from canonical MACs in that the former are monoclausal. However, the lexical V2 in TAKE daMAC always surfaces in the present tense, while TAKE čeMAC and iPseCo feature TAM sharing between V1 and V2.

A STUDY OF ADULT ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS’ ATTITUDES AND INTEREST TOWARDS THE USE OF AUDIOBOOKS IN FOREIGN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

This paper aims at presenting a survey conducted in 2022 among adults learning English as a foreign language, which explores their attitudes and interest in listening to audiobooks for the purpose of learning English as a foreign language. This study was provoked by the increase in the popularity of audiobooks in the last few years especially during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2022. It covers the age group of adult learners who are educated both in the formal education system and outside of it. 280 adults, who have studied, are studying or are fluent in English, from different parts of Bulgaria and those who live abroad have taken part in the survey. It includes two sections with the total number of 25 multiple questions. The results of the survey emphatically show that audiobooks are not a popular teaching tool for learning English, which confirms the current situation regarding the implementation of audiobooks in foreign language teaching, although academic sources reveal abundant evidence of their effectiveness in developing all language competences at all levels of language proficiency. The outcomes of the conducted survey could serve English language teachers as a starting point for the wider use and dissemination of listening to audiobooks as a method of teaching English as a foreign language.

Емпирично изследване на управлението на услугите на агроекосистемите в България (An Empirical Study of the Management of Agro-Ecosystem Services in Bulgaria)

Емпирично изследване на управлението на услугите на агроекосистемите в България (An Empirical Study of the Management of Agro-Ecosystem Services in Bulgaria)

Chemical characterization of PM2.5 and PM2.5–10 samples collected in urban site in Mediterranean coast of Turkey

Cities located on Eastern Mediterranean is exposed to both local and distant anthropogenic and natural sources. In this study, to determine the effect of these sources on Particulate Matter (PM) concentrations in a coastal city, particulate matter with diameters less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and with diameters between 2.5 and 10 μm (PM2.5−10) were collected once in a two-day period for 24 h between July 2014 and July 2015 in downtown Antalya which is located on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Antalya is one of the fast growing city of Turkey with a population of 2.3 million. Samples were analyzed using an energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence for 15 elements (Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, K, Ca, Ti, V, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Pb). Statistical parameters were calculated for all measured elements in fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM2.5−10) fraction. Crustal and marine elements, such as Ti, Ca, Al and Na were abundant in the course fraction. Only S was found in higher concentration in the fine fraction. Monthly variation of Crustal Enrichment Factor ( EFC) results of Si showed that the area was under influence of non-local crustal dust especially during spring and late summer. EFC also indicated that during winter season, fine fraction K was due to local wood combustion. Source regions of S was determined using Potential Source Contribution Function (PSCF) and compared with previous studies conducted at a rural site of Antalya approximately twenty years ago. Most of the source regions affecting S concentrations at the Eastern Mediterranean region were found out to be same: western Anatolia, Marmara region, the Aegean Sea coasts of Greece and some parts of Bulgaria and Romania. However, due to decrease in SO2 emissions over the northeast coast of Black Sea and between Caspian Sea and Ukraine, the region was not turned up to be a source region.

Obraz cara bułgarskiego Samuela w źródłach bizantyńskich (XII w.)

Samuel, the ruler of Bulgaria from the turn of the tenth and eleventh centuries is without a doubt a significant figure in the history of his country, having left a clear mark on its relations with the Byzantine Empire. It was he who challenged the Byzantines, who occupied a considerable part of Bulgaria in 971. Over the course of several decades, he was first wrenching Bulgarian territories from the Byzantine hands and subsequently defended his possessions with great determination. It was only several years after his death (1014) that the Bulgarian state fell into Byzantine hands (1018), ushering an almost hundred and seventy yearperiod of its nonexistence – the time of Byzantine captivity.
 Information included in the 12th‑century Byzantine sources (Nicephor Bryennios, Anna Komnene, John Zonaras, Michael Glykas, The Life of Nikon Metanoeite”), analysed in the present article and relating to Samuel are focused on the two fundamental questions, specifically the circumstances in which he had taken the reins of power and the military activity he conducted against Byzantium. The portrayal of the Bulgarian ruler included therein was on the one hand influenced by the trend present in the Byzantine literature to diminish the successes of the Empire’s enemies by indicating their causes were to be found on the Byzantine side, and on the other by the fact that the Bulgarians became subjects of the Byzantine ruler. Some of them entered into the elite of the Byzantine society, sometimes through familial connections. In these circumstances, it was better to be related to Samuel the Basileus, rather than to Samuel the barbarian.

Treasuring the Tradition of Inspired Resistance: A Conversation with Maureen Freely

WORLDLIT.ORG 53 Words Matter Writing as Inspired Resistance cover feature Featuring Maureen Freely 54 Iossif Ventura 58 Liliana Ancalao 59 Anna Maria Carpi 62 Scene from the“Indignant Citizens”protests, Syntagma Square, Athens, June 2011. For more, read Iossif Ventura’s poem“The Square”on page 58. Photo: Rania Hatzi/Flickr 54 WLT JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2018 cover section words matter Treasuring the Tradition of Inspired Resistance A Conversation with Maureen Freely by Michelle Johnson What would we have been writing, if we had not been engaged in all this firefighting? M aureen Freely is currently the president of English PEN and a writer, translator, and the head of the Department of English at the University of Warwick. Freely is the English translator of five novels by Nobel Prize laureate Orhan Pamuk and has authored seven novels, including Sailing through Byzantium (2013). Freely writes regularly for the British press on feminism, contemporary writing, and Turkish culture and politics. Born in the US, raised in Turkey, and educated at Harvard, she lives in Bath. Madonna in a Fur Coat, her English translation (with Alexander Dawe) of Sabahattin Ali’s Turkish classic, was published in October 2017. Here she discusses its fascinating journey into a symbol of resistance, various manifestations of resistance throughout the literary world, and how that very word itself— resist—risks emphasizing the negative. Michelle Johnson: Could you tell us a little bit about Sabahattin Ali? Maureen Freely: Sabahattin Ali was born in 1907 to a prominent Ottoman family that lost almost everything during the First World War and the imperial collapse that followed. He managed nonetheless to get himself an education, which he rounded off with two years in Berlin in the late 1920s. Returning to Turkey, he secured work in the provinces as a teacher of German, but not long afterward he was prosecuted and sent to prison for a poem allegedly critical of Atatürk. Upon his release, he wrote a poem about his love for his country. This paved the way to a new post in the state publication department in Ankara. He was well known in his day as a poet, dramatist, and short-story writer, and as the co-founder of Marko Pasha, the most daring satirical weekly of the age, but is best remembered now for his three novels. The last of these, Madonna in a Fur Coat, was published in the early 1940s in serial form. Even those writers whom he considered brothers in arms did not understand why he had taken it upon himself to write a love story at a time when their country was mercilessly crushing the opposition while coming dangerously close to siding with Nazi Germany. Soon enough, Ali was himself back in prison. After his release, he was unable to find work and also denied a passport. In desperation— because he had a wife and daughter to support —he set off across the mountains for his birthplace, Ardino, formerly Ottoman and by WORLDLIT.ORG 55 photo : andre avanessian then part of Bulgaria. But he was murdered by his guide, who later admitted to being in the pay of the Turkish security forces. On the day he made his confession, the Turkish press published a ghastly display of his personal effects. It was the last his family ever saw of them. His remains were never returned to them either. Johnson: I’ve seen this novel described as a simple romance and apolitical. How has this book become a symbol of resistance to so many in Turkey? Freely: Well, for one thing, there is the story of the book. Madonna did not die with him. During the Cold War, it was widely read throughout the Eastern bloc and on the syllabus for high school students in Bulgaria. In Turkey, it was widely forgotten until the turn of the century, when an all-too-brief cultural opening led to the rediscovery of works suppressed during the worst years of the early republic. Madonna was embraced first and foremost 56 WLT JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2018 cover section words matter by the younger generations, and with good reason. Which brings me to the larger questions around symbols of resistance and political writing...

Wolman Disease in Bulgarian Patients: Selective Genetic Screening in Two Presumable Endemic Regions

Wolman disease is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the LIPA gene (10q23.31). The LIPA gene encodes lysosomal acid lipase (LAL), which plays a key role in hydrolysis of the cholesteryl esters and triglycerides. Two unrelated families from Bulgaria were referred for genetic testing with clinical diagnosis Wolman disease. Sanger sequencing of all coding exons and exon-intron boundaries of the LIPA gene was performed. The index patients were found to be homozygous for two different mutations in the LIPA gene: a missense mutation, c.260G > T, p.Gly87Val, which affects the enzyme active site and a splice-site change, c.822+1G > A, which most probably destroys the enzyme polypeptide chain. These two completely different types of mutations along the LIPA gene resulted in a very similar phenotype involving liver, kidney, gastrointestinal, muscle and blood disturbances. As consanguinity is not typical for the Bulgarian population, a possible explanation of the homozygosity could be presence of endemic regions for given mutations. To check this hypothesis, selective screening for these mutations was performed in two presumable endemic regions in Bulgaria. Altogether, 100 newborns were screened for p.Gly87Val mutation and the detected carrier frequency was about 1% (1/100), while in the group of 100 newborns screened for the c.822 + 1G > A mutation the detected carrier frequency was 2% (2/100). The results indicate a high recurrence risk of Wolman disease in these particular Bulgarian regions of about 1:10000. These findings are from crucial importance for the inhabitants of the corresponding parts of Bulgaria. They may benefit from early genetic testing and adequate genetic counselling during family planning.

Invasive species Lemna L. (Lemnaceae) in the flora of Bulgaria

Background and Purpose: During the investigations of flora of Bulgaria new species from genus Lemna have been found in Bulgaria. Materials and methods : They were conducted during the period 2010 - 2015 for which purpose we explored diverse pools in different parts of Bulgaria (hot and cold swamps, spillages of rivers and streams, hot mineral waters). The species were determined by Flora of North America. Results: In the flora of Bulgaria we found the following new (invasive) species L . minuta Kunth., L . obscura (Austin) Daubs , L . perpusilla Torr., L . turionifera Landolt, L . valdiviana Philipi. Their morphology, chorology and ecology was recorded and data about the accompanying species are also given. Conclusion: Finding these Lemna species in several distant locations in our country is a clear indication that the species is transferred on the territory of Bulgaria a long time ago. The species are most likely invading from neighboring fields in Southeast Europe - Greece, Romania, Turkey and others.

St. Clement of Ohrid, Khan/kniaz Boris-Mikhail and Kniaz/tsar Simeon: Historical Aspects

Eastern and southwestern Macedonia, as well as southern Albania, became parts of Bulgaria in the first decade of the rule of Khan Boris. After his baptism (864/865) and the establishment of an archbishopric (870; 880), the renewal of the former Byzantine church organization on Bulgaria’s territory began. In the eastern parts, the process unfolded slowly because of the strength of the ruling ethnic Bulgarian class, which was pagan; in the western parts, however, the organization of church eparchies went more easily because the local, predominantly Slavic, population had accepted Christianity centuries earlier. This was exactly the reason why Boris-Mikhail sent the disciples of Cyril and Methodius, who had just arrived (885/886) and were well versed in holding religious services in the Slavonic language, to the remote southwest of the country to carry out the so-called “Slavonic Project.” These disciples (including Clement and his associates—Naum, Konstantin, and other unnamed companions) started training local people to serve as clergymen and formed a church structure in Kutmičevica in order to introduce religious services in the Slavonic language in those regions. When Kniaz Simeon came to power, he continued Boris’s “Slavonic Project,” which thus continued to be focused in the southwestern regions of Bulgaria. On being ordained the first Slavonic bishop, Clement organized his eparchy by ethnic (Slavonic) rather than territorial principles. It was Naum who continued his mission to educate people. Konstantin, for his part, was assigned bishop of Bregalnica when Bulgaria expanded close to Thessaloniki (904) in the early 10th century. Sources suggest that the fourth Slavonic bishop was Marko of Devol, one of Clement’s students, and therefore the question of the existence of a third Slavonic bishop has inevitably been raised. As of recently, scholars have been arguing that this third bishop is to be located in Pelagonija. The existence of these four Slavonic bishops and the location of the territories in which they served undoubtedly suggests that Boris’s “Slavonic Project” had chronological continuity and that it spread during Simeon’s rule to the neighboring Slavonic regions, along the Bregalnica and the surrounding area, and perhaps to Pelagonija as well. Their activities in the aforementioned regions continued at least until the middle of the 10th century.

Highway Viaduct Renovation

Summary The viaduct is positioned on the highway, connecting the city of Sofia with the northern part of Bulgaria. The total length of the viaduct is 645m, where it has 16 spans of 40.5m length each. The maximum height of the piers is 50m. During the renovation of the deck and the piers has been discovered that some of the 120t post-tensioned concrete beams are in very bad condition. Approximately more than 50% from their origin load bearing capacity has been diminished. A decision was taken for these beams to be replaced by steel ones. In the paper are described the design and the implementation of the renovation of the important structural elements, including the problems which were encountered upon. The design approach of the different elements has also been analyzed. The main innovation in the project is in the usage of concrete and steel beams in one and the same span. Due to the replacement of some post-tensioned beams with steel beams, the beneficent requested a full-scale load test of the bridge to be provided before it enters in operation again. The results from the static and dynamic tests of the renovated viaduct have been provided. The renovated viaduct is in operation since the beginning of December 2015.

Fractionation and Soil-Plant Transfer of 241Am in Different Soil Types

Monitoring the behavior of radioactive contaminants associated with military applications, nuclear power facilities, and interim storage of radioactive waste materials is of significant concern in radiological analysis. Four sequential extraction schemes (SES) for fractionation of 241Am were compared using five different types of soils, Vertisol, Cambisol, Chromic Luvisol, Eutric Fluvisol, and mixed urban soil, collected from different parts of Bulgaria. The results for the exchangeable 241Am were in a wide range and depended on the SES used. Soil 241Am varied from 0.5% to 6% in the exchangeable phase, from 0.5% to 35% in the carbonate phase, from 0.4% to 36% in the reducible phase (easily reducible and moderately reducible), from 3% to 17% in the oxidizable phase, and from 10% to 50% in the residual phase. After 100 d of contamination, around 50% of soil 241Am was permanently fixed in the residual phase. There was strong evidence that the preferable soil phase for 241Am was the carbonate phase. The transfer factor of 241Am in the soil-plant system depended on 241Am in the easily oxidizable phase (fulvic acid (FA)+humic acid (HA) phase). These confirmed the applicability of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) sequential extraction scheme for fractionation of soil 241Am since it includes extraction of FA+HA phase and then the carbonate phase.

INDOOR RADON MEASUREMENT IN FORMER URANIUM MINING REGIONS IN BULGARIA

Radon exposure situations have the characteristics of existing exposure situations since the source is unmodified concentrations of ubiquitous natural activity in the earth’s crust. Human activities may create or modify pathways increasing indoor radon concentration compared to outdoor background. The mining and processing of uranium bearing minerals generate a variety of waste materials containing a number of radioactive and non-radioactive hazardous constituents. Conventional underground and open pit mining activities produce overburden, mineralized waste and barren waste rock, which are generally low in their uranium and thorium contents and are left at the mine site. The study focuses on regions of former uranium mining industries, where the radiological risk is higher. Methods: The cumulative (passive) method was used for the study. The measurements are carried out by E PERM® system. Detectors are placed for approximately 6 months in randomly selected houses in former uranium mining sites - Sliven-villages area, Eleshnica and Bachkovo. These sites are situated in mountains in different part of Bulgaria. Results: The results of indoor radon concentration for investigation villages range from 125 Bq/m3 to 4000 Bq/m3. The maximum concentration was measured in Bachkovo village in Rodopi Mountain. This village is the least affected by the former uranium mining industry. Conclusion: The results prove assumption that former uranium mining sites are radon prone areas where radiological risk is higher. The level of indoor radon of residential buildings in areas with higher uranium availability is around or above the recommended reference radon levels. The maximum value of the concentration of radon is measured in areas less affected by uranium mining, proving the necessity to undertake a radon national survey to determine exact radon prone areas. Key words: Radon concentration, long-term measurement, radon prone areas

Changes in air temperatures and atmosphere circulation in high mountainous parts of Bulgaria for the period 1941–2008

Changes of air temperatures and atmosphere circulation at three high mountainous stations in Bulgaria are investigated for the period of 1941–2008. The three stations are located on peaks Musala, Cherni vrah and Botev, where air temperature data have good quality. Some missing data were recovered using the method of differences. A significant mean annual air temperature rise happened in high mountainous parts of Bulgaria — the warming is in the order of 0.7 °C for the entire period. The increase is very prominent particularly in the last 30 years. Main contributors to this overall tendency are summer months — June, July and August. To some degree, January also could be included in this group. November trend shows temperature rise at the beginning of the investigated period. One of the causes for such a tendency is atmosphere circulation in respective months. It also shows signs of considerable reorganization in both winter and summer. There is an increase of the cases of warm atmosphere patterns typical for winter, summer and autumn seasons in Bulgaria. Meridional circulation has essential significance for air temperatures during the cold half of the year. In January and June atmosphere circulation has a substantial influence on the thermal regime of air in high mountains of Bulgaria. In July, August and November this influence is reduced. There are no cycles in air temperatures for the investigated period.

Characterization of enterococci isolated from homemade Bulgarian cheeses and katuk

A collection of 107 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolates was obtained from traditional Bulgarian dairy products—homemade cheeses and katuk samples, produced from heat-treated cow, goat, ewe and buffalo milk without the addition of any bacterial starter culture. The samples were collected from mountain region of Rhodope (south part of Bulgaria), Tracian valley and mountain region of Stara Planina (west part of Bulgaria). These LAB produced bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances (BLIS) and proteinases. Preliminary strain determination was performed according to their fermentation ability using API 50CHL and API 20 Strep. Most of the characterized strains (58) belong to genus Enterococcus; 21, 20 and 11 strains were identified as Lactobacillus sp., Streptococcus sp. and Lactococcus sp., respectively. Isolated enterococcal strains were characterized using phenotypic features as well as by DNA typing. The strains were identified as Enterococcus faecium (34), Enterococcus durans (22) and Enterococcus faecalis (2). The proteolytic activity varied from 0.094 to 0.455 mM/L Gly into the group of E. faecium and from 0.109 to 0.487 mM/L Gly into the group of E. durans strains, while both E. faecalis strains showed relatively high proteolytic activity. The samples obtained after 3 h of hydrolysis of β-casein by E. faecalis B1 strain were further used for mass spectrometry analysis, and 31 peptides were identified.

Cytogenetic analysis of a hybrid, Glyptotendipes pallens Mg. ×Glyptotendipes glaucus Mg. (Diptera, Chironomidae): evolutionary considerations

The karyotype of experimentally obtained hybrids between the two closely related species Glyptotendipes pallens and Glyptotendipes glaucus is described. Hybridization was successful in one direction only (G. pallens ♂ x G. glaucus ♀). The polytene chromosomes AB and EF of the hybrid show a more or less intimate pairing throughout their length. In the chromosomes CD in which an inversion occurs the characteristic loop is formed. The homologues of chromosome G are almost completely asynaptic. The localization of centromere heterochromatin was also studied. Centromere heterochromatin as well as intercalary heterochromatin could be observed in all chromosomes. By C banding analyses it could be shown that G. pallens has a telomeric chromosome G while in G. glaucus it is acrocentric. According to karyotype similarity it can be assumed that these two species have quite recently derived from a common ancestor since they still share much of their genomic organization. On the Black Sea coast (southeast part of Bulgaria) a natural hybridization zone between the sympatric species G. pallens and G. glaucus has been detected. The idea that hybridization between the two species might finally proceed to the formation of a new species by hybrid origin and introgression is discussed.

Comparison of Hungarian and Bulgarian isolates of maize dwarf mosaic virus

Maize dwarf mosaic is the most widespread virus disease affecting corn production in Hungary and Bulgaria. Samples from virus infected maize were collected from different part of Bulgaria and employed test plants, ELISA serological method and RT-PCR in order to identify the viral pathogen. Maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV) was detected in all tested samples. For further investigation three MDMV isolates were selected and cloned. Cloned cDNAs representing the coat protein gene of the virus have been sequenced. The coat protein genes of Bulgarian and Hungarian isolates of MDMV were compared. The nucleotide sequence identity and amino acid sequence similarity of the coat protein region varied from 88% to 99.1% and from 95.1% to 99.6%, respectively. The N-terminal region of coat protein was compared with other members SCMV subgroup and phylogenetic tree was constructed.

Penicillium verrucosum . [Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria

Abstract A description is provided for Penicillium verrucosum . Information is included on the disease caused by the organism, its transmission, geographical distribution, and hosts. HOSTS: Widely distributed in foods and feedstuffs. It is common in cereals in Europe and Canada (MILLS, 1990), as well as meat products (ANDERSEN, 1995), cheese (LUND et al. , 1995), and Madeira cake (CABI BIOSCIENCE, 1999). DISEASES: In man it has been implicated in Balkan Endemic Nephropathy, a kidney disease with a high mortality rate in certain parts of Bulgaria, Romania and states in the former Yugoslavia (PAVLOVIC et al. , 1979). In animals it causes nephritis in Scandinavian pigs, a serious problem in animal health (RUTQVIST et al. , 1978). A case of osteomyelitis in a German shepherd dog implicated P. verrucosum as the causal agent (WIGNEY et al. , 1990). GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION: Mostly in temperate regions, particularly N Europe.

Geographic variability and taxonomy of the nose-horned viper, Vipera ammodytes (L. 1758), in the central and eastern parts of the Balkans: A multivariate study

AbstractA multivariate analyses of various morphological characters (morphometric, meristic and qualitative) of nose-horned viper (Vipera ammodytes) revealed a complex morphological differentiation of populations from the central and the eastern Balkan Peninsula. Analyses of quantitative data showed no clear morphological discrimination or well-defined taxonomical units. On the contrary, analyses of qualitative traits separated two discrete taxa in the analysed area. One, inhabiting the eastern and the southern part of the Balkans, includes samples from most parts of Bulgaria, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and south-eastern Serbia, whereas the other ranges from north-western Bulgaria through the main part of Serbia (except the south-east) to Montenegro.