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Influenza affects millions globally each year, often causing severe complications, hospitalizations, and deaths, particularly among the elderly. As the global population ages, infections will pose a growing health risk. Annual vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent influenza and its complications. After the age of 65, people suffering from chronic diseases become the majority of this population category. All the data support that most of the population over 65 years old, whose immune system goes through immunosenescence, presents multimorbidity, requiring age-appropriate anti-influenza protection. The immune response to the traditional influenza vaccine has been proven to be lower in the elderly, highlighting the need for a more immunogenic vaccine specifically tailored to the elderly population group. Therefore, high-dose (HD) influenza vaccines have demonstrated their safety and are more effective in preventing influenza and its associated complications compared to standard-dose (SD) vaccines in the elderly in the context of immunosenescence. These recommendations focus on the safety, effectiveness, and efficacy of HD influenza vaccines, adapted to the elderly and available on the Romanian market, to increase the vaccination rate and, thus, protect against influenza infection and its complications. Therefore, strategies such as increased accessibility and free immunizations, as well as ensuring that flu vaccines for the elderly are prescribed without restrictions based on the number of comorbidities, should be used., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

This paper presents the results obtained from the analysis of some filter paper samples using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) technique. Based on the FTIR capabilities, using the infrared light to scan the samples and identify their chemical properties, organic, polymeric and inorganic materials can be characterized. The samples analysed were six filter papers with different mass additions of Ulva Rigida C. Agardh seaweed collected from the Black Sea, in Constanta area, SE Romania. The additions used consisted of 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 4% and 8% seaweed material, grounded to a certain grain size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chicken meat is well known for its high nutritional value. Its shelf life is short, due to the pronounced perishability, even under refrigeration. Paper bags are usually used as packaging materials, due to their biodegradability. The main negative aspect concerning paper is its high porosity and low moisture barrier. In this regard, it has to be coated/modified with efficient moisture barrier materials. The storage of chicken breast meat wrapped in four types of paper‐based materials currently in use in Romania (RO), Italy (IT), Spain (SP) and Slovenia (SLO) is reported. RO and IT are paper coated with polyethylene (PE) film, SP is waxed paper, and SLO is paper modified with hydrophobized starch. The influence of the coating film on the organoleptical, biochemical and microbiological characteristics of the chicken breast meat stored at 4°C was the aim of the study. The mathematical modelling revealed two aspects: (1) the stability period in which the meat safe for consumption is in the range 1.92–2.18 days in the case of all paper types, and (2) cadaverine, the amine generated by protein degradation, is a less sensitive indicator of the meat alteration than microbial growth. The papers coated with PE (RO and IT samples) and with hydrophobized starch (SLO paper) were packaging materials more efficient that the waxed paper (SP sample). The polyethylene film reduced the conversion of putrescine into spermidine in a higher extent than wax. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its impact on all human activity, the new virus has therefore aroused increased interest in research. A large number of medical papers related to COVID-19 have been published as a result of the scientific community response to this emerging infectious disease. All measures that combat the spread of the disease came at a cost and the people had to add one more hardship which contributed to the rise in social inequality. Moreover, the costs for internet access, proper equipment to support online education, private healthcare, facemasks, and disinfectants have become a burden for a segment of Romanian society. In this study, 18 Romanian universities a Medicine bachelor specialisation, both public and private, were analysed to determine the dataset query from Web of Science. Our research aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 papers written by authors affiliated with Romanian universities with a medicine specialisation, which are the factors that influence the likelihood of a paper being cited and how the number of citations varies by university type. The obtained results reveal that University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Carol Davila" from Bucharest records the highest number of published papers, while "APOL-LONIA" University of Iași has the highest number of citations in both WOS Core Collection and in all WOS Databases per research. Furthermore, there is a significant difference in the number of citations between papers with and without a PUB MED ID. Logistic models show that neither the type of university nor the property type of the university (public or private) are determinants of the likelihood of an article being cited in the WOS core collection or in all WOS databases. As a consequence, a research paper with PUB MED ID and a higher number of pages, has a higher chance to be cited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A technique for manufacturing wood heat-insulating material for construction (known as wood delignification) without seriously affecting the cellulosic structure was inspired by the practices of the pulp and paper industry and adapted to the mentioned purpose. Among the numerous known methods of chemical treatment of wood for removing the lignin in the paper industry, the use of the suspension generated by mixing of NaOH, Ca(OH)2, and distilled water at 260 ℃ in an electric oven was adopted. For the first time, oak wood (recycled in the form of sawdust) was chosen as the basic raw material in the wood delignification process due to its large availability in Romania's climatic conditions. Using 58 % oak wood, 23.3 % NaOH, 16.7 % Ca(OH)2, and water addition, the best product had very low values of density (0,024 g·cm-3) and heat conductivity (0.031 W·m-1·K-1) as well as an acceptable value of compression resistance (0.9 MPa) for construction applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Romanian Case Law Review / Revista Română de Jurisprudenţă is the property of Universul Juridic Publishing House and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper discusses the results of a survey on university students' perceptions and attitudes towards the writing-up process of their final graduation paper. The google form questionnaire was addressed to all the BA and MA graduating philology students, covering four study programmes in English, in a university in western part of Romania. The findings indicate a possible re-thinking of the curricula aiming at the inclusion of mandatory courses in academic writing and research skills at the incipient phases of the study programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the role of the 'poporală' press, aimed at the illiterate peasant population, in promoting antisemitism and extreme right ideologies in rural areas of interwar Romania. It highlights the lack of comprehensive research on post-1918 'poporală' publications and the need for further investigation into their history and interactions with social actors.

Heavy metals, especially lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and chromium (Cr), are environmental contaminants which can be found in most foods in the food chain. These metals are also present in food contact materials, and, through them, can reach the human body. In the human body, these heavy metals are transported into body cells and tissues binding to proteins, nucleic acids destroying these macromolecules and disrupting their cellular functions. As such, heavy metal toxicity can have several consequences in the human body, such as affecting the central nervous function, damaging the blood constituents or vital organs, promoting several disease conditions. Within this study, several food contact materials (plastic, paper and board) were selected from different Romanian producers and evaluated in terms of heavy metals content. Analysis was performed in order to evaluate the compliance with the limits imposed by the legislation in force, using atomic absorption spectrometry as analysis technique. All the analyzed materials were compliant. Heavy metals content of paper and board samples were higher than all plastic samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disruptive force of the COVID-19 pandemic is lessening in power and plans are being made for the postcrisis period, among which increasing the sustainability of higher education is of significant importance. The study aims at establishing students' existing environment-related routines during their home confinement, as a basis for applying green measures to campus living once academic life is resumed with the physical presence of students. The collected data rely on self-reported information provided by 816 students from Politehnica University of Timisoara (Romania), collected via an online, anonymous survey. The novelty of the approach is that household environment-related routines are investigated during a crisis period, with the possibility to build upon the results to implement tailored measures to encourage or diminish environmentally relevant consumption by young, highly skilled individuals. The students display a moderate awareness of environmental issues and indicate consumption routines that may be steered towards an increased sustainability-conscious campus life, through the combined intervention of the university, city administration, and stakeholder involvement. The findings are used to explore the possible directions for action towards increasing or contributing to the territorial sustainability in the socio-ecological context of Timisoara, the largest university city in the western part of Romania via educational, managerial and policy interventions.

In June 2019, the 12th International Conference on Halophilic Microorganisms - Halophiles 2019, was held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. This thematic issue of FEMS Microbiology Letters contains papers based on lectures and posters presented at the conference. We here provide a short overview of past research on hypersaline environments in Romania and the microorganisms inhabiting them, and briefly present the papers published in this thematic issue., (© FEMS 2020.)

Copyright of Romanian Case Law Review / Revista Română de Jurisprudenţă is the property of Universul Juridic Publishing House and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Given the global economic issues and environmental pollution, there is a growing interest in research addressing the use of biomasses resulting from agricultural production. One main category of biomass components is lignin, the use of plant waste in the pulp industry being one of the ways in avoiding additional deforestation by suppling inputs for the paper industry. The implementation of a strategy for capitalizing the potential of renewable sources, as, but not limited to, paper production, provides the appropriate framework for decision on renewable alternatives and inclusion in the acquis domains in Romania. The present study analyzed the potential use of waste obtained from field crops, mainly annual, as wheat, sunflower, maize, soy, rape, rye, barley, sorghum, rice, to produce paper. Biomass/waste from field crops is a promising source for paper, primarily because it is renewable and has the potential to exploit over 7 million hectares of arable land, with annual use. The diversity of pedoclimatic conditions in Romania makes possible the cultivation of a wider range of species and, within them, a multitude of varieties and hybrids, with variable amounts of lignocellulosic agricultural waste. In addition, accidental years as 2022, the year with the worst drought in Europe in the last 500 years, reshaped the need of valorizing any available biomass, regardless of the production of the main crop. Our calculations show that for a paper containing 28% of renewable cellulose, with the wheat straws collected from Romania in 2019, 9633.31 thousand tons of paper would have been obtained, with an average per hectare of 2786.62 kg of paper. Our analysis shows the opportunity of using lignocellulosic agricultural waste for use as a raw material for paper production. A throughout analysis is needed in the context of extreme droughts experienced recently, to show which valorization of by-products is the most economically justified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses Romania's burgeoning development aid policy to the post-colonial space. By leveraging its expertise in petroleum extraction to forge a strategic relationship with India in the 1950s, Bucharest was able to gain a strategic foothold as oil assistance provider to the non-aligned countries. This text details Romania's efforts to help build India's national oil industry by bringing into focus the broad nexus of forces at play in such process. It therefore aims to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of 'the Second World's Third World' by discussing the ideological and geopolitical considerations of both East-East and East-South relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These instructions give you guidelines for preparing the papers for Annals of the University of Craiova, Economic Sciences Series. These instructions are also formatted as a sample for your paper layout. No fulfillment of these instructions determines the Editorial Board to reject the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During 1982 the living standard in the county of Timiș (like in the whole Romania) went up in decreasing following both the accelerate process of industrialization and the international energetic crisis, and need to pay back the external falling due. Crops export in order to pay back the external debt led to a ever greater penury of food of prime necessity: bread, sugar, and oil, meat and processed meat, flour, eggs, and butter, milk, cheese, etc. Lack of industrial products or the necessary products for an elementary hygiene – soap, toilet paper, or tooth paste – came together with the ones above. The population in Timiș County had to face the ever frequent stoppages of energy, of warm water, and apartments warming, or long files at the petrol stations or stations for gas cylinders. Such a crisis generated deep dissatisfaction in the county, a population frame of mind the reports of the Timiș County Inspectorate of the Ministry of Inner Affairs registered down and those reports were submitted to the prime-secretary of the County Committee of the Romanian Communist Party. The small retributions the villagers working in cooperates were given (after months and months) emphasized such dissatisfactions, all together with the salaries diminishing for unseating the plans in the case of those who worked in industry where the technological process was stopped for energy stoppages or lack of raw material. The papers register so the tensions of population, their critical reaction against the economical policy promoted by the Romanian communist leaders, and the distrust of people in the communist regime and ever frequent comparisons between the situation in Romania and Poland, an image that realistically put in light the ever less living standard in Romania during the 80s of the past century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat is the main cereal crop in the EU- world production is about 582.7 million tons from 213.8 million ha. (FAOSTAT, 2020). Romania is a traditional grower and producer of wheat; therefore it is necessary to obtain a high quality of seed material. Storage fungi are among the major factors causing post-harvest deterioration of crop produce worldwide. FAO estimates that annually, through conditioning and storage, the percentage of losses reaches 6-10%. Three varieties of wheat seeds from crops in south-eastern Romania were analysed, in storage conditions. Measurements were aimed at determining the associated fungal load of wheat seeds and establishing their influence on quality indicators. The paper presents a study on the appearance and development of storage-specific micromycetes. The research was carried out on common wheat seeds from the warehouses of the National Administration of State Reserves and Special Issues. Wheat is stored during the cold season at an optimal level of temperature and humidity, to preserve quality. Seed testing for germination and incidence of was performed in the laboratory by the classic method of filter paper and PDA medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to perform dimensional, morpho-structural, mechanical and chemical characterization of four materials based on paper currently in use in Romania (RO), Italy (IT), Spain (SP) and Slovenia (SLO) designed for the temporarily wrapping of meat. SEM-EDXS, FTIR and DSC showed that RO is laminated on one side with polyethylene, SP is waxed, IT is modified with a multilayered polyethylene film and SLO is coated with hydrophobized starch. RO, IT and SLO comply with the standards of determination of density, roughness, breaking length and bending resistance. The highest content of metals found in the SP explains the highest electrical conductivity and the poor quality of the recycled material used for manufacturing. The highest values of total dissolved solids (TDS) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) resulted for SP sample expressed its water solubility and availability of migration into foodstuff. RO, IT and SLO are suitable for food packaging. In contrast, SP do not meet the requirements for safety and mechanical resistance. [Display omitted] • Characterization of four types of materials based on paper. • RO, IT-single-face coated with PE, SP-double-side waxed, SLO-coated with starch. • RO, IT, SLO comply the standards of mechanical resistance and are suitable for food packaging. • SP do not meet the requirements for safety and mechanical resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the current paper is to explore the way in which economics students from the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (Romania) make use of the opportunity to conduct research in modern languages provided by the Annual Students' Conference. We resort to a quantitative analysis focused on the panels organised by the Department of Modern Languages and Business Communication during the period 2016-2019. We place our investigation against the background of the 21st century job market demands for multilingual professionals with higher-order thinking skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the development potential of bioeconomy in Romania, in the context of European Union membership. The paper presents the concept of bioeconomy and an overview of the documents referring to the bioeconomy sector in the European Union and in Romania. Many European Union countries, including Romania, emphasize the importance of bioeconomy in many official documents, but they have not developed a complex strategy for this sector. Romania has one of the largest agricultural sectors in Europe and a strong chemical industry. These sectors, together with the food industry, wood processing, pulp and paper industry can contribute to the development of bioeconomy in Romania, creating high value-added and environmentally friendly products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many proposals in literature for improving the forecast performance. In this paper we applied the regression approach and Bayesian inference to obtain more accurate forecasts of the inflation rate in the case of the Romanian economy. The necessity of using the most accurate forecasts for the inflation rate is required by the realisation of economic criteria for the accession to the eurozone and by the inflation targeting strategy of the National Bank of Romania. Considering the assumption that simple econometric models provide better forecasts than complex models, in this paper we combined various forecasts from individual models using as prior information the expectations of experts. The empirical findings for Romanian inflation rate forecasts over the horizon of 2016-2018 indicated that a fixed effects model performed better than other simple models (autoregressive moving average model, dynamic model, simple and multiple linear model, VAR, Bayesian VAR, simultaneous equations model). The Bayesian combined forecasts that used experts' predictions as priors, with a shrinkage parameter tending to infinity, improved the accuracy of all predictions using individual models, outperforming also naïve forecasts and zero and equal weights forecasts. However, predictions based on Monte Carlo simulation outperformed all the scenarios in terms ofthe mean error and mean absolute error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Aims: Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection is a common condition with endemic prevalence in some areas of the world. In Romania, the mean prevalence is about 3%. New treatments became available on the market in recent years and new drugs are in the pipeline. A re-evaluation of HCV therapy was considered mandatory. The Romanian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology undertook this task for the practitioners of this country. Methodology: A group of recognized experts was created who screened the available literature and the major available guidelines. A list of items requiring attention has been created. These items were discussed and rated. Decisions were taken by consensus. Recommendations: We present here the first of the two parts of our Society's recommendations for chronic HCV infection treatment. An agreement was reached regarding the diagnostic tools, the assessment of severity and the up-dated therapy schedules. Conclusions: This Position Paper represents a guide for the assessment and the therapy of HCV infection. The recommendations are in concordance with other guidelines but are applied to the real-life conditions in this country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Honey is a natural product with multiple health benefits. The paper presents the chemical characterization and the antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of ten types of honey (knotweed, linden, wild cherry, acacia, honeydew, oilseed rape, sunflower, phacelia, plain polyflora and hill polyflora) from the Banat region, Romania. We studied the water content, dry matter, impurities, acidity and pH of honey. We also determined the content of reducing sugar, minerals and flavonoids and the total phenolic content. All honey samples analysed showed good nutritional characteristics according to the standard codex for honey. From the analysis of the mineral content of the honey samples, we observed a variability in the macro and microminerals, influenced by the botanical origin, ranging between 0.25% (wild cherry honey) and 0.54% (honeydew). The toxic metals' (Cd and Pb) levels met the standard for almost all samples analysed except for knotweed. The flavonoid content of the samples ranged from 9.29 mg QE/100 g for wild cherry honey to 263.86 mg QE/100 g for linden honey, and for polyphenols between 177.6 mgGAE/100 g for acacia honey and 1159.3 mgGAE/100 g for honeydew. The best antioxidant capacity was registered in the case of linden honey (79.89%) and honeydew (79.20%) and the weakest in acacia (41.88%) and wild cherries (50.4%). All studied honey samples showed antimicrobial activity, depending on the type of honey, concentration and strain analysed. The novelty of this study is given by the complex approach of the study of honey quality, both from the perspective of chemical attributes and the evaluation of the antimicrobial potential on specific strains in correlation with the botanical and geographical origin of the analyzed area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last two decades the web expansion from web of things to web of thought presents a real provocation for governments across societies to achieve citizens' expectations. The transition from e-government to digital government from reactive to proactive service delivery mechanisms is one of the governments main challenges worldwide. The aim of this paper is to analyse the readiness of governments across Europe for the transition from the traditional e-government to digital government. In the paper the digital government is analyzed comparatively with the e-government and focusing on the main differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Romania, domestic tourism is increasingly incorporating rural tourism. The number of travelers using the specific services provided by agritourism and tourism guesthouses increased during the pandemic. In this context, in this paper it was analyzed the evolution of this categories of guesthouses, at the national level in the period 2018-2023, with the following statistical indicators: tourist destinations, types of tourists, degree of occupancy, accommodation capacity, tourist arrivals, occupancy rate, and number of overnight stays. The study reveals a preference of tourists for guesthouses and the efficient use of natural, cultural and human zonal resources. The creation of tourism products that capitalize on the zonal development potential is one of the options with a great development potential. Tourism and agritourism guesthouses have adapted more easily to the requirements of the health crisis by promoting a personalized tourist offer closer to the needs of tourists. The creation of diversified tourism products that capitalize on the regional specificity is one of the options with a great potential for future development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Central European Agriculture is the property of Journal of Central European Agriculture and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An important step in the conservation of old paper documents is the analysis of both the medium and the ink, in an attempt first to determine the extent of deterioration and degradation and then to choose the best preservation and restoration solutions. Our paper focuses on the analysis of three old documents displayed at the 'Poni-Cernătescu' Museum in Iaşi City, Romania by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), micro-FTIR spectroscopy and FT-Raman. Thus, the morphology and chemical composition of the paper media and the type of ink, as well as the cellulose crystallinity index were determined. PCA (Principal Component Analysis) was also used while relying on spectra collected by FTIR spectroscopy. We were able to determine the extent of degradation of the documents by corroborating all these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]