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Enantio-discrimination and spin-dependent electrochemistry (SDE), as a manifestation of the chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect, are important phenomena that can be probed by "chiral" electrochemistry. Here, we prepared chiralized surfaces of gold and nickel, to serve as working electrodes, through effective chemisorption of enantiopure dimethyl-bis(ethylenedithio)-tetrathiafulvalene (DM-BEDT-TTF) 1, tetramethyl-bis(ethylenedithio)-tetrathiafulvalene (TM-BEDT-TTF) 2, and their capped silver nanoparticle (AgNPs) aggregate by simple incubation of the metallic substrates. The effective chemisorption was checked by means of ultrahigh vacuum x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and by electro-desorption experiments, i.e., cyclic voltammetry (CV) scans showing a first electro-desorption peak at about −1.0 V. The Au|1 and Au|2 chiral electrodes were successfully used in CV experiments exploiting chiral redox probes. Finally, the hybrid interfaces Ni|enantiopure 1 or 2|AgNPs served as working electrodes in SDE experiments. In particular, the hybrid chiral interfaces Ni|(R)-2|AgNPs and Ni|(S)-2|AgNPs exhibited a significant spin-filtering ability, as a manifestation of the CISS effect, with average spin polarization values of 15%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we exploit the electronic features of tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) as a backbone in synthesizing chiral derivatives. The aim is to make use of TTF's well‐known and unique redox and semiconducting properties in the fields of enantio‐selective recognition and chiral charge transfer (CT) complex preparation, with the ultimate objective of obtaining devices with various potential applications, ranging from plasmonics to quantum computing. In particular, both cyclohexane‐bis (TTF‐amide)–based enantiomers 1‐(S,S) and 1‐(R,R), stable under an oxidation regime, have been selected, and under these conditions, the electrochemical enantiospecific response of the four possible systems, coming from the combination with L‐ and D‐tartaric acid, respectively, was tested. The 1:tartaric acid adducts show lower oxidation potentials than the pristine 1, together with clear enantio‐discrimination demonstrated by sizeable potential differences in the range of 29–46 mV between the diastereomeric adducts. Because the oxidation potential of 1 suggests the possibility of the formation of CT complexes, impedance and FT‐IR spectra were recorded to confirm this hypothesis in the case of the CT complex 1:I2. The experimental results obtained through the FT‐IR analysis were also compared with the theoretical results deriving from the DFT‐based calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within this work we have investigated spiro‐based tetrathiafulvalenes (TTFs) obtained as mixtures of stereoisomers from racemic spiro[5.5]undeca‐1,8‐dien‐3‐one. Compared to previously described spiro‐TTFs, enantiomeric and diastereoisomeric forms have been here separated by chiral HPLC and fully characterized both experimentally and theoretically. The two types of spiro‐based chiral derivatives contain either one (2) or three (1) chiral centres out of each one is spiro‐type. Experimental CD, supported by TD‐DFT calculations, shows differences in the optical activity between the 1 and 2 and their intermediates. The low optical activity of 2 and 3 (spiro alone chirality) was attributed to the presence of two conformers in the solution (ax and eq) of opposite Cotton effect whereas in the case of 1 and 5 (spiro and stereogenic centres) the spiro chirality seems to be responsible of the Cotton effect in the high energy region whereas the R and S chirality in the low energy region. Racemic and enantiopure forms have been successfully used for the synthesis of charge transfer complexes with tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) based acceptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endometrial cancer is a real problem worldwide, being the fourth most common type of cancer. In the modern world, online information is an important documentation source due to its extensive accessibility. Checking the quality of medical information has become a necessity due to the influence it exerts on readers' decisions to consult a specialist and undergo treatment. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the health-related online information about endometrial cancer. Material and methods: The study was designed as an observational, cross-sectional investigation and included 50 websites, half Romanian and half English, obtained after searching on Google using 'cancer endometrial' and 'endometrial cancer' as search terms. Each website was rated for credibility, completeness, and accuracy by two independent evaluators. Credibility, completeness and accuracy scores were reported on a 0 to 10-point scale. Results: Credibility scores were 4.2 and 5.1 for Romanian and English websites, respectively (p=0.1451). The completeness scores were 4.8 and 5.8 respectively (p=0.0639) and the accuracy scores were 4.8 and 5.2 respectively (p=0.3334). The credibility score was correlated with the accuracy score only for Romanian-language sites (r=0.6317; p=0.0007). The results of the other correlation tests did not reach the statistical materiality threshold. Conclusions: Overall, English and Romanian-language websites about endometrial cancer were insufficiently complete and accurate. English-language sites were not statistically superior to Romanian-language sites. Credibility could be used as a reliable indicator of the quality of Romanian-language sites about endometrial cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Melanoma, acne, and psoriasis are amongst the most frequent dermatological diseases worldwide. Internet documentation has become an important criterion for patients when making health-related decisions. Therefore, assessing the quality and reliability of medical information available online is essential. Objective: To investigate the quality of Romanian and English language websites about melanoma, acne, and psoriasis using the Brief DISCERN instrument. Material and methods: The observational, cross-sectional study included 25 Romanian and 25 English language websites for each topic. Website credibility and information quality (completeness and accuracy) were previously investigated using specific quality benchmarks. The websites were evaluated using the six-item Brief DISCERN tool. Comparisons between the Romanian and English language samples were studied using the Mann-Whitney or Student's t-tests. Correlations between Brief DISCERN scores and credibility, completeness, and accuracy scores were tested using the Pearson or Spearman tests. Results: Brief DISCERN scores of Romanian language melanoma, acne, and psoriasis websites were 9.0±2.6, 9.9±3.1, and 10.3±3.3, respectively. English language websites' scores were 15.6±4.3, 13.3±4.2, and 14.2±4.7, respectively. English language websites obtained significantly higher Brief DISCERN scores regarding each topic (melanoma, p<0.0001; acne, p=0.0021; psoriasis, p=0.0038). In the Romanian sample, significant correlations were identified in melanoma websites (with credibility and completeness) and acne websites (with credibility, completeness, and accuracy), whereas in the English sample, Brief DISCERN scores correlated with completeness in melanoma websites, accuracy in acne websites, and credibility in psoriasis websites. Conclusions: English websites proved to have much better information quality for all subjects. The Brief DISCERN tool did not consistently indicate website credibility and informational content quality in the studied sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To navigate the complicated world of electoral politics, individuals may make use of cognitive shortcuts. One such heuristic is partisanship. When it comes time to make a choice at the polls, voters will follow their party identification in order to choose a candidate. Yet, for such attachments to develop, voters need time to familiarize themselves with the party system. Using panel data from the Romanian Presidential Election Study 2009, gathered before and after the Presidential Elections, this article identifies three groups of individuals: consistent partisans, inconsistent partisans, and non-partisans. This analysis tests the theory of Affective Intelligence and finds that partisans who are made anxious by a candidate are less likely to rely on their party identification when making a vote choice, while anxiety does not appear to have any effect on non-partisans. The model only applies to partisans of the main challenger's party, and not for partisans of the incumbent's party. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides evidence that the Romanian voters have become familiar with the electoral system and they behave in such a manner as to maximize their utilities. For this purpose, it investigates whether strategic voting occurs and whether some electoral formulae provide more incentives for tactical voting than others. Namely, the presidential and parliamentary elections were compared, with encouraging results. The data used to measure voters' predispositions for sophisticated voting was gathered from the Soros Foundation's Public Opinion Barometer and was aggregated according to the requirements of the study. Individuals appear to be more conscious about wasting their votes in the more restrictive majoritarian election for president. The second part of the study focuses on identifying patterns of strategic voting by analyzing the effects of individual traits on one's chances of voting tactically. The method used was binary logistic regression. With some exceptions, Romanian voters conform to expectations drawn from relevant literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solid waste generated from processing rosehip fruits into jam is valuable due to its rich content in fibres, polyphenols, and carotenoids; it could be valorised as a functional ingredient in a powder form to enrich food products. This study aimed to test its potential as a value-added ingredient, especially to enrich waffle cones with fibres, polyphenols, and carotenoids. In this regard, four formulations of waffle cones were prepared by partially substituting wheat flour with rosehip waste powder at 0%, 10%, 15%, and 20%, reaching concentrations of 0%, 3.7%, 5.7%, and 7.5% of the total batter, respectively. These were assessed for their sensory, textural, and techno-functional properties; proximate composition (including crude fibre); energy value; pH; and colour, as well as the content of carotenoids and polyphenols. The contribution of rosehip powder to the production cost of these waffle cone formulations was also determined. The results showed that using rosehip waste powder as an ingredient reduced the waffle cones powder's capacity to hold water (from 3.11 g/g to 2.64-3.08 g/g) and to swell (from 4.98 mL/g to 4.23-4.48 mL/g), while it increased their oil-holding capacity (from 0.93 g/g to 0.96-1.19 g/g) and the content in fibre (from 1.58% to 3.41-4.83%), polyphenols (from 400.70 µg/g to 1732.26-2715.69 µg/g), and carotenoids (from n.d. to 6.86-14.28 µg/g); however, the solubility (72.65-75.33%), hardness (2.31-2.83 N), and fracturability (6-8) were not significantly influenced. The sensory acceptability of enriched waffle cones (92-93%) was higher than that of control waffle cones (90%). The production cost of a waffle cone increased by EUR 0.004-0.009 when wheat flour was substituted by rosehip powder in concentrations of 10-20%. In conclusion, to enrich waffle cones with fibres, polyphenols, and carotenoids, at least 10% of wheat flour must be substituted with rosehip waste powder in their manufacturing recipe.