Search

Social and economic barriers that students face during their studies can impact severely on their attainment and can be due to many factors. This study investigated how different socio-economic factors, with a focus on digital poverty and workspace availability may have affected students' attainment (during October 2021-March 2022) at university post-COVID-19. Quantitative data collected during the first teaching block of the 2021-2022 academic year using specific questions in a paper-based questionnaire indicated that a good proportion of life science students did not have access to a home internet source (35%) or proper workspace facilities (34%) and had the requirement to work alongside their degree in order to fund their studies. In contrast to the lack of internet students experienced, many of the surveyed students did have access to a personal computer within their household. Possible reasons for some of the findings, and the implications of the findings, are discussed here.

The need to identify methods to support self-regulated learning has raised the interest of researchers in recent years. Cognitive prompts are considered very promising instructional tools for developing self-regulatory abilities. The present study aims to investigate the usefulness of several types of cognitive prompts in activating learning strategies for studying an educationally relevant content by psychology students. Two empirical investigations were conducted in a realistic learning environment to test an instructional strategy which integrates cognitive prompts. The first experiment tested the effectiveness of prompts to stimulate deep and shallow processing, measuring immediate learning effects. The second experiment focused on long-term effects of the strategy. The findings indicate that prompts activating deep learning strategies resulted in a slightly improvement in students' performance, but this enhancing effect diminished over time. Cognitive prompts encouraging a deep learning approach can support the comprehension of complex content in a psychology course. Future research is suggested to identify conditions that facilitate long-lasting learning effects. Cognitive prompts may be an effective method for teaching psychology to support students' efforts to understand a complex content. For enhancing the long-term impact of the method, teachers should explore other learning strategies.

Anesthesia and analgesia have a major impact on ensuring animal welfare and safety, resulting in reduced stress response and effective pain control, ensuring the comfort of the animal, promoting faster recovery, and reducing the risk of complications associated with various research procedures. Each stage of anesthesia in sheep is vital for maintaining the animal's welfare, ensuring procedural success, minimizing stress, risks, and complications, and optimizing the quality of research data. Proper attention to detail and adherence to best practices at each stage contribute to the overall success of anesthesia management in sheep. Anesthesia protocols should suit individual requirements for each sheep, in light of factors such as health status, procedure duration, and desired anesthesia depth. Meticulous monitoring, adherence to best practices, and prompt intervention are essential for minimizing the risks of complications during sheep anesthesia and ensuring the safety and welfare of the animals undergoing anesthesia for research purposes. This article presents the main key points that can improve anesthetic management for sheep involved in experimental research to minimize stress response and complications, enhancing animal safety, welfare, and comfort during and after procedures. Multimodal anesthesia approaches ensure effective pain relief, tailored to the specific needs of individual animals or procedures, optimizing outcomes and minimizing risks. Anesthesia management contributes to improved research data collection under conditions that enhance the validity and reliability of results. Sheep's impressive capacity to maintain homeostasis even during extended periods of anesthesia highlights the critical importance of upholding data quality in alignment with the universally accepted principles of Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement for ethical animal research. By adhering to these principles, researchers can minimize the number of animals used, reduce any potential discomfort or distress experienced by the animals, and refine procedures to optimize animal welfare while still achieving scientific objectives. [Open Vet J 2024; 14(9.000): 2129-2137]

The aim of this study was to evaluate the the measurements of the circle of Willis (CW) arteries diameters in a Romanian population. Material and methods: We performed a retrospective study on a sample of 221 adult patients (≥18 years-old), hospitalized in the Emergency Clinical Hospital “Prof. Dr. N. Oblu” from Iași, Romania, over a period of 12 years, who died during hospitalization and on whom an autopsy was performed. Demographic data (age, gender, residence), causes of death and the outer diameters of CW constituent arteries were collected. There were 221 subjects, who were divided into four groups, according to the association of patient’s cause of death with the presence of anatomical variants of CW. 76.01% of all subjects presented cerebrovascular disease (CVDs) and anatomical variant of the CW, thus representing the great majority. Patients “with CVDs and anatomical variants of CW” were older with about 4 years compared to the other three categories of patients, having an average age of 64.17 ±14.22 years. 56.3% of those “without CVDs and with anatomical variant of CW” and 62.5% of those patients deceased ”with CVDs and anatomical variants of CW” had rural residences. 68.8% of all cases ”without CVDs, but with anatomical variants of CW” were female patients. 37.5% of the patients “with CVDs and anatomical variants of CW” and 43.8% of the patients “without CVDs, but with anatomical variants of CW” lived in the urban environment. Statistically significant differences were observed between the mean outer diameters of the arteries of CW and the patient’s cause of death (p

The paper outlines a presentation regarding the theoretical aspects of sustainable corporate performance, the determinants of it, as well a bibliometric analysis of the determinants of sustainable corporate performance. The main objective of this work is represented by the study of the term sustainable corporate performance, the presentation of the different forms of the organizations performance: financial performance, social performance, environmental performance. The last part of the paper includes the bibliometric analysis of the main determinants of sustainable corporate performance from the perspective of the co-author and bibliographic coupling. The co-author analysis was carried out from all 3 perspectives, namely, author, country and organizations, the bibliographic coupling analysis was carried out from the perspective of the number of documents and citations. The main research method in the elaboration of this paper was the documentation and use of the bibliometric analysis software VOSviewer. The main studies carried out in the field by different researchers were analyzed

This study aimed to analyze the effect of pollution caused by stone quarries on the morpho-anatomy, biochemistry, and physiology of a medicinal wild bramble Rubus plicatus Weihe & Nees. Samples were collected from two natural protected areas: Iron Gates Natural Park and Jiu Gorge National Park, both located in the southwestern part of Romania, and two unpolluted areas from these parks as background sites. We carried out the following analyses on the collected leaves of this taxon: morphology, micromorphology, anatomy, assimilating pigments, heavy metals (Pb, Ni, Cr, Fe), dry mass, bioactive compounds (total phenols and flavonoids), and antioxidant capacity. The results showed more stomata, higher amounts of assimilating pigments, higher amounts of heavy metals (especially lead), less dry mass, less phenols, and more flavonoids in Rubus plicatus leaves from polluted areas compared to areas without sources of pollution. The increased number of stomata and the amounts of assimilator pigments revealed the mechanisms developed by this species in order to survive in polluted conditions.

This article aims to investigate the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court regarding the public administration reform in Romania. We take into consideration the motivation of the public authorities involved in the law-making process, as well as the interpretation of the judges of the Constitutional Court concerning the legislative steps regarding the adoption of an Administrative Code, decentralization, the transfer of competences, the status of civil servants, and finally the legal regime of the newly established or reorganized institutions/authorities.The study also evaluates the steps to reform the public administration concerning the observance of the principles of constitutional loyalty, the separation of powers, the supremacy of the Constitution, and the role of the Parliament.

In the last two decades, along with the process of digitalisation of businesses and state apparatuses, the world has faced a new major issue that can produce physical / non-physical damage, and equally threaten individual security and the state’s sovereignty: cyberattacks. Confronted with the strategic competition – within a multipolar world – coupled with this new challenge that can redefine the nature of war, NATO member states have tried to find a common answer by linking cyberattacks to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, NATO’s collective defence principle. Understandably, Article 5 was drafted while having in mind the aspects of deterrence and defence related to conventional wars. However, it has been invoked by the Allies only once, i.e., after the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the USA, which represented quite an unconventional scenario, certainly unanticipated by the Alliance’s Founding Fathers. Given the current trend, and reflecting on the increase in the complexity, intensity and persistence of the known cyberattacks, it is important to study the potential game-changing circumstances of such unconventional attacks, which might trigger Article 5 and its collective defence principle. The present paper seeks to depict the complexities and consequences of cyberattacks within the framework of the collective defence principle.

The increase in life expectancy implies a greater attention to the prophylaxis of pathology specific to geriatrics (cardiovascular, osteoarticular) Menopause, a natural process, involves hormonal changes such as insomnia, irritability and anxiety Methods: The batch of this study included 106 women who were divided into 2 groups: the study group (G1) with 54 patients, who followed a program of controlled physical exercises, on land and in water, and the control group (G2) with 52 people, who performed only controlled physical exercises on land. The parameters body mass, height, Body Mass Index), systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, heart rate) were evaluated. (3) Results: After performing physical exercises on land and in water, the systolic blood pressure improved by 11.46% in the G1 group compared to 1.14% in the G2 group, the diastolic blood pressure recorded a reduction of 14.78% in the G1 group and by 0.7% in the G2 group, and heart rate improved by 15.15% in the G1 group compared to 11.84% in the G2 group. (4) Conclusions: Anthropometric and hemodynamic parameters can be improved by regular physical exercises, on land and in water, performed by premenopausal and postmenopausal women. The improvement of blood pressure and heart rate values ​​is due to regular physical exercises, individualized and adapted to the age group and pathology.

BackgroundThere is a demand for facilitators who can ease the collaboration within a team or an organization in the implementation of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) and who are positioned to build the implementation capacity in an organization. This study aimed to evaluate the results the Building implementation capacity for facilitation (BIC-F) intervention had on the participants' perceived knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy to facilitate implementation and the normalization of a systematic implementation model into their work routines, and its use into their respective organizations.MethodsThe BIC-F intervention was delivered to 37 facilitators in six workshops, which focused on teaching participants to apply a systematic implementation model and various facilitation tools and strategies. A longitudinal mixed methods design was used to evaluate the intervention. Data was collected pre- and post-intervention using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews grounded on the Normalization Process Theory (NPT). Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive (mean, SD) and inferential (paired t-tests) methods. Qualitative data were analyzed using deductive content analysis according to NPT.ResultsAn increase in the participants' perceived knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy was observed post-intervention. Normalization of the systematic implementation model in the participants' work routines was in an early phase, facilitated by high coherence, however, other NPT mechanisms were not sufficiently activated yet to contribute to full normalization. In the organizations where participants initiated the normalization process, they were still working towards achieving coherence and cognitive participation among relevant stakeholders.ConclusionThe intervention had positive results on the participants' perceived knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy and these recognized the value of a systematic implementation model for their practice. However, further efforts are needed to apply it consistently as a part of their work routines and in the organization. Future interventions should provide long-term support for facilitators, and include methods to transfer training between organizational levels and to overcome contextual barriers.

Documents of a classified nature may be of a contentious nature, the paper focusing on those concerning the service relationships of active officers. In the event of a dispute arising, the question arises as to the extent to which a plaintiff is able to mount an effective defence if he cannot know their content and whether he can be granted guarantees equivalent to respect for the right to a fair trial. Restricting the lawyer's access to important documents in a case affects to a large extent the represented party. In the European countries, the situation regarding conditional access to classified documents from the point of view of lawyers and parties against whom such documents are issued is similar, in that it is recognised that the principle of adversarial proceedings and the rights of the defence must be limited because of the need to protect national security. From a procedural point of view, it is important that the general principles of adversarial proceedings, equality, orality, non-disclosure and publicity are respected in every dispute. In this context, noting the difficulties that arise in the work of the court due to restricted access to classified documents, I have tried to identify guarantees equivalent to respect for the right to a fair trial in the cases referred to in the title of the paper, analysing national case law, that provided by the ECtHR and studies of doctrine. In accordance with these, I have developed equivalent guarantees compatible with Romanian law: the possibility of challenging the classification of the document, the request for declassification of classified information, the right of the interested party to be assisted by an ORNISS-certified lawyer and the possibility for the accused to participate in proceedings which reveal the content of classified documents.

Our study discusses the impact of dietary changes on nutritional status and bone mass, emphasizing the importance of balanced nutrition for overall health. Extreme diets with severely restricted calorie intake relative to physical activity levels pose risks of bone loss and other health complications. Therefore, any weight loss regimen should prioritize a balanced mix of macronutrients and micronutrients to ensure optimal nutrient intake. A low-calorie diet, enriched with essential nutrients like calcium, vitamin D, protein, and minerals, can positively influence bone mass by creating a calorie deficit. This deficit prompts the body to burn fat, leading to a redistribution of body mass and reduced pressure on the skeletal system, which benefits bone health. A study conducted demonstrates a significant reduction in body mass following a low-calorie diet intervention, resulting in increased bone mass post-intervention. This confirms the hypothesis that adopting a hypocaloric dietary plan can positively impact final bone mass values. Overall, maintaining an optimal body weight is essential for preserving bone health and underscores the importance of balanced nutrition in achieving this goal.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) as a tool for measuring morphometric and volumetric measurements of the orbit. Patients and methods: Morphometric and volumetric values of 100 orbits (50 subjects, 21 men/29 women) were measured using CBCT. Their mean and standard deviation were measured and analyzed. The measurement were realized using two imaging diagnosis softwares: Romexis and Radiant. Results: CBCT could accurately measure the various morphometric and volumetric parameters of the orbit. The results obtained from the measurement of parameters on CBCT in specific sections at both orbits are: the mean cranio-caudal diameter of the orbit was 38.2 mm, the mean transverse diameter of the orbit was 34.22 mm, the average of the antero-posterior diameter of the orbit was 47.41 mm, the average orbital volume was 83.55 cm3. The maximum and mean value of the left antero-posterior diameter in the axial plane was higher when measured with the RadiAnt program, while the minimum value showed a higher result when measured with Romexis. Conclusion: CBCT is an important viable tool for morphometric and volumetric measurements of the orbit and other craniofacial structures. It can also assess age and gender variability. The low cost, high accuracy, low radiation, and ease of use can help in reproducibility among the different living populations.

Tumor microenvironment (TME) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has a major influence on disease progression and therapy response. One of the predominant stromal cell types in the TME of HNSCC is cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF). CAF constitute a diverse cell population and we are only at the beginning of characterizing and understanding the functions of various CAF subsets. CAF have been shown to interact with tumor cells and other components of the TME to shape mainly a favourable microenvironment for HNSCC progression, although some studies report existence of tumor-restraining CAF subtypes. The numerous pathways used by CAF to promote tumorigenesis may represent potential therapeutic targets. This review summarizes current knowledge on the origins, subtypes and mechanisms employed by CAF in HNSCC. The aim is to contribute to the understanding on how CAF actively influence the TME and modulate different immune cell types, as well as cancer cells, to establish a conducive setting for cancer growth. Although CAF are currently a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of other types of cancer, there is no significant therapeutic advancement in HNSCC.

Rationale & Objective: The incidence of arrhythmia varies by time of day. How this affects individuals on maintenance dialysis is uncertain. Our objective was to quantify the relationship of arrhythmia with the time of day and timing of dialysis. Study Design: Secondary analysis of the Monitoring in Dialysis study, a multicenter prospective cohort study. Settings & Participants: Loop recorders were implanted for continuous cardiac monitoring in 66 participants on maintenance dialysis with a follow up of 6 months. Exposure: Time of day based on 6-hour intervals. Outcomes: Event rates of clinically significant arrhythmia. Analytical Approach: Negative binomial mixed effects regression models for repeated measures were used to evaluate data from the Monitoring in Dialysis study for differences in diurnal patterns of clinically significant arrhythmia among those with end-stage kidney disease with heart failure and end-stage kidney disease alone. We additionally analyzed rates according to presence of heart failure, time of dialysis shift, and dialysis versus nondialysis day. Results: Rates of clinically significant arrhythmia peaked between 12:00 AM and 5:59 AM and were more than 1.5-fold as frequent during this interval than the rest of the day. In contrast, variations in atrial fibrillation peaked between 6:00 AM and 11:59 AM, but variations across the day were qualitatively small. Clinically significant arrhythmia occurred at numerically higher rate in individuals with end-stage kidney disease and heart failure (5.9 events/mo; 95% CI, 1.3-26.8) than those without heart failure (4.0 events/mo; 95% CI, 0.9-17.9). Although differences in overall rate were not significant, their periodicity was significantly different (P

The development of IoT applications generally relies on centralized architectures, whether they use solutions based on cloud or on premises environments, usually operated by a single entity. However, recent technologies and the increasing number of interconnected intelligent devices are driving new approaches, the essential requirements being scalability and fault-tolerance. This work studies an alternative concept based on a decentralized architecture useful in several scenarios and focuses on available technologies for potential practical implementations.

The Covid-19 pandemic represented a major stress factor for humankind and brought multiple changes on various layers of the society. Along many other challenges, the pandemic period raised the issue of human rights, in general. For the families of children with disabilities, the changes brought by the pandemic and the restrictions imposed in order to prevent the spreading of the virus and the lowering of the number of infections represented a major stressor and a potential factor that negatively impacted the respect for human rights. The current study has as a goal the investigation of perceptions of a sample of parents, regarding the impact of the pandemic and the support measures taken during this period. The results of the study partly reflect the reality of these families, where various effects were acknowledged, from minor effects, managed with the resources that the families had, to more significant ones, the negatively marked the family system. Thus, the pandemic tested the resources of society to cope with vulnerability and raised the attention on the needs of children with disabilities and their families, during crisis situations.

This paper presents a study dedicated to the development of Digital and Smart Tools, based on solved applications of design engineering and reverse engineering. This approach is justified by the fact as well as the need for preparations prior to Composite Additive Manufacturing. Future integration of Digital Smart Tools with Composite Additive Manufacturing will significantly contribute to the efficient and effective support of the green economy, the active, responsible, safe and resilient protection of environment, life and climate. The research involved in this paper contributes to develop Digital and Smart Tools Applications, intended for integrated digital design, development, manufacturing and further predictive maintenance and services, based on robotic systems, extended automatic control, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, including Mathematical Modeling and Numerical Simulations for Performance Prediction at Design Regime and Off-Design Regimes for jet engines, with the best capabilities to generate and integrate improvements, optimizations and potential innovative solutions. This paper presents significant applications of design, concept engineering development and reverse engineering design, as: 1/ the design of a transonic axial compressor rotor blade, 2/ the design of a swept axial compressor rotor, 3/ concept design engineering developments in case of a swept fan rotor blade, 4/ concept design developments and reverse engineering in case of a HP axial compressor rotor blade, part of Spey 512-14 DW turbofan engine, 5/ reverse engineering design of a Cessna 182 Skylane N223IF light aircraft wheel cover. In line with Europe´s vision for sustainable aviation, this research study and INCAS´ TGA Project "Technological Development Platform for "Green" Technologies in Aviation and Ecological Manufacturing with Superior Added Value; TGA - Technologies for Green Aviation" will significantly contribute to the Green Deal, as a production center using "Green" Technologies in aviation and ecological manufacturing, as well as collaborative developer of Digital and Smart Tools for Composite Additive Manufacturing.

Digital transformation has become a topic of interest since public institutions digitalize their processes to improve efficiency, while citizens wish to solve their issues through online platforms. Even if this topic is a priority, the Digital Economy and Society Index reveals that digital public services from UE are under 30% development and implementation. This paper presents the current research made on digital public services and the perspective of Romanian citizens on the adoption of these platforms. The authors conduct bibliometric research to highlight the current progress and concerns. Furthermore, a quantitative analysis is made to determine the perception of Romanian citizens on digital public services and the factors that influence their decision to use them instead of traditional methods. According to the bibliometric analysis, 23 countries showed a raised interest for digital public services after 2020, which was a crucial moment that pushed digitalization among public institutions. Although Romanian citizens are aware of the benefits brought by digital public services, they encounter issues in terms of lack of information and technical support, knowledge, data security, and the complexity of these platforms. Therefore, the government should implement an integrated approach that considers cultural values as well as reliable and accessible digital solutions.

Background and Objectives: Systemic inflammatory indices have been largely investigated for their potential predictive value in multiple inflammatory, infectious, and oncological diseases; however, their value in colorectal cancer is still a subject of research. This study investigates the dynamics of pre- and postoperative values of NLR, PLR, SII, and MLR in patients with colorectal cancer and their predictive value for early postoperative outcomes. Materials and Methods: A 2-year retrospective cohort study was performed on 200 patients operated for colorectal adenocarcinoma. Systemic inflammatory indices were calculated based on complete blood count preoperatively and on the first and sixth postoperative days. The patients were divided into two groups based on their emergency or elective presentation. The pre- and postoperative values of serum inflammatory biomarkers and their correlations with postoperative outcomes were separately analyzed for the two study subgroups. Results: There were no significant differences in sex distribution, addressability, associated comorbidities, or types of surgery between the two groups. Patients in the emergency group presented higher preoperative and postoperative values of WBC, neutrophils, NLR, and SII compared to elective patients. The postsurgery hospital stays correlated well with pre- and postoperative day one and day six values of NLR (p = 0.001; 0.02; and p < 0.001), SII (p = 0.037; p = 0.002; p = 0.002; Conclusions: Easy-to-calculate and inexpensive systemic inflammatory biomarkers could be useful in predicting early postoperative outcomes in colorectal cancer for both elective and emergency surgery.