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Background: The impact of stress on Health Related Quality of Life is considered a certainty in modern society, but the magnitude of this phenomenon is still not very well known. Measuring perceived stress level and assessing the correlations with perceived Health Related Quality of Life scores may bring valuable information for medical, public health and also for social interventions. Objective: to assess the level of perceived stress in relationship with self evaluated Health Related Quality of Life both on physical and mental components and by the eight domains. Materials and methods: A sample of 928 adult subjects was selected through "snow ball method" from different geographic regions of Romania. Two well-known tools have been used for collecting data: Perceived Stress Scale 14 items (PSS-14) for measuring perceived stress level and SF-36v2 Health Survey, for perceived Health Related Quality of Life assessment. Possible correlation between PSS-14 scores level and different levels of SF-36 scores, by physical and mental components and by the eight domains, have been analyzed. Results: The lowest SF-36 score value was registered for vitality (61.8±17.69) and the highest for physical functioning (84.1±20.52), MCS and PCS had closed values (71.7±19.02 and 74.5±19.44 respectively). Males and people from urban areas tend to have a better perceived HRQoL, also people from Transilvania. Perceived HRQoL score decreases with age, especially after 55 years but it is positively correlated with education and income level, excepting an intriguing gap in 2000 - 2499 lei group. Significant moderate negative correlations were identified between PSS-14 scores and all SF- 36 Health Survey components - both Physical and Mental scores and for all of the eight analyzed domains. Conclusions: Study results provide additional arguments regarding the importance of perceived stress level assessment in medical, public health and social interventions, together with tailored stress reduction measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nicotine addiction is frequent in people with mood disorders; however the mechanisms involved in nicotine action are not well understood, despite numerous electrophysiological, pharmacological and behavioural studies. The present study investigates the antidepressant effect of nicotine on 30 male Wistar rats divided into three groups: nicotine, nicotine plus mecamylamine and control. The rats were exposed after substance administration to the forced swimming test, the most predictive and widely used animal test for antidepressant action. The results showed a significant increase in swimming activity, a reduction of immobility activity and a delay in immobility latency. The effects of nicotine were blocked by mecamylamine administration. The study demonstrates that acute nicotine administration induces the activation of serotonergic neurons, acting as an antidepressant pharmacological agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pneumoconioses still represent a current topic, due to the persistence of some productive activities at risk. Our aim is to assess the relationship between the radiological severity of the pneumoconiosis and the changes in pulmonary function tests. Material and method: The study group consists of 116 subjects with activity in gold mining, diagnosed with silicosis using the ILO 2000 Classification and evaluated by using spirometry. Results: The pulmonary tests indicative of obstruction are significantly lower in conglomerative forms of silicosis, the highest significance corresponding to MEF50%. The functional changes in silicosis are of obstructive type, mainly at peripheral level and are not influenced by the smoker/non-smoker status, suggesting that exposure to high concentrations of free crystalline SiO2 "erases" the differences given by the frequency of smoking. Conclusions: The main functional alteration is obstruction, more pronounced at the peripheral level of the airways, proving to be independent of the smoking habit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Besides the consumption of salt, sugar and fats, which has been shown to directly contribute to increased blood pressure, tobacco, alcohol consumption and the lack of exercise are also considered risk factors for the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. The impact these risk factors have on the health of people, as well as the costs of treating the diseases caused by them can be reversed by developing and implementing interventions to reduce tobacco and alcohol consumption among populations and to promote the active mobility. This paper presents the interventions made by some Member States, interventions that resulted in decreased consumption of the above-mentioned risk factors, improving thus, the public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]