Nitrate is one of the major sources of nitrogen for the growth of plants. It is taken up by plant roots and transported to the leaves where it is reduced to nitrite in the. The main objective of this research was to investigate stimulatory effects of sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, ammonia and urea on the production/generation of the nitrate reductase mRNA in Triticum aestivum plants. The plants were grown in standard nutrient solution for 21 days and then starved in a media without nitrate f...

Molecular Biology 

Lactoferrin (Lf) is an iron-binding multi-functional glycoprotein which has numerous physiological functions such as iron transportation, anti-microbial activity and immune response. In this study, different in silico approaches were exploited to investigate Lf protein properties in a number of mammalian species. Results showed that the iron-binding site, DNA and RNA-binding sites, signal peptides and transferrin motifs in the Lf structure were highly conserved. Examined sequences showed three c...

Molecular Biology 

Hemoglobin is a porphyrin containing protein with an a2b2 tetrameric structure and like other porphyrin compounds shows spectral behavior of species specific characteristics. Researchers tend to relate bands in the hemoglobin spectra to certain structural and/or functional features. Given the fact that hemoglobin is the main oxygen carrier in animals functioning through the Oxy？Deoxy equilibrium, the determination of oxy and deoxy conformations of hemoglobins of different animals may shed light ...

Molecular Biology 

Clostridium botulinum type A (BoNT/A) produces a neurotoxin recently found to be useful as an injectable drug for the treatment of abnormal muscle contractions. The catalytic domain of this toxin which is responsible for the main toxin activity is a zinc metalloprotease that inhibits the release of neurotransmitter mediators in neuromuscular junctions. A cell penetrating cationic peptide, Tat, which is a truncated N-terminal part of the Tat protein from human immunodeficiency virus, can help the...

Molecular Biology 

The present study was conducted to find the effect of three heavy metals, Ag, Hg and Pb on the expression level of a gene encoding plasma membrane H -ATPase in Aeluropus littoralis. The experiment was laid out in a completely random design with three replications. The expression of the main gene was normalized to the expression of the housekeeping gene actin. Two 259 and 187 bp fragments were amplified from plasma membrane H -ATPase and actin genes using specific primers in polymerase chain reac...

Molecular Biology 

The present study aimed at investigating the beneficial effects of co-administering granulocyte colony–stimulating factor (G-CSF) and stem cell factor (SCF) in a model of chronic liver injury induced by thioacetamide (TAA). Biochemical and histopathology- cal examinations were performed on serum and liver specimens. At the end of the treatment period, the rats were anesthetized with ether, serum was collected and sections of randomly selected fixed liver specimens from each group were embedded i...

Molecular Biology 

Microtubule Affinity-Regulating Kinase 2 (MARK2) protein has a substantial role in regulation of vital cellular processes like induction of polarity, regulation of cell junctions, cytoskeleton structure and cell differentiation. The abnormal function of this protein has been associated with a number of pathological conditions like Alzheimer disease, autism, several carcinomas and development of virulent effects of Helicobacter pylori. Here we tried to verify the structural changes induced in MAR...

Molecular Biology 

This report discusses the need for construction and demolition waste management aimed at preserving the environment. It points out the need for waste management in the country based on practices adopted in the European Union. The report makes an analysis of the current state of construction and demolition waste management in the Republic of Bulgaria. It points out the existing practices of collection and transportation of construction and demolition waste. It also points out practices with negat...

Management Organization  Environmental Sciences 

Doi:10.12709/mest.03.03.02.12

The problems connected with developing an efficient market mechanism, enhancing the competitiveness of manufactured goods and services and the availability of working market institutions are of crucial importance for the countries that have taken the path of economic integration. During the last few years, franchising as a model for development of business activity gets more popular in Bulgaria. This allows Bulgarian companies to be more competitive and to provide services with better quality. T...

Business Finance and Investment  Operations Management 

Doi:10.12709/mest.03.03.02.13

Transportation is an important challenge in the territory of the European Union as the organization keeps growing constantly from the original 6 members, concentrated in Western Europe, to a wider organization including East Europe, and soon all the Balkan Region. The big differences in terms of infrastructure among the member states of the EU are a consequence of their different level of development and different recent history as the ex-communist area presents higher deficiencies in terms of t...

Law  International Relations  International Economics 

Doi:10.12709/mest.03.03.02.15