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Background: In view of the high recurrence rate of urinary tract infections and the increasing number of germs resistant to multiple antibiotics, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the antibacterial properties of clove, oregano, thyme, eucalyptus, tea tree essential oils (EOs) against 32 isolates of Escherichia coli and 28 isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae from patients with urinary tract infections (UTI).

One considers a group S of subjects and one uses the measured values of EEG waves and the levels of anxiety given by the psychologists for the members of S in order to construct a monotone measure µ. This measure µ is such that the levels of anxiety of the members of S are Choquet integrals with respect to µ. One infers that this is true for any other subject. This inference is validated by comparing the values obtained via the above mentioned method with the results given by the psychologists for another group of subjects S’. We think that this procedure is completely new for the computation of the anxiety degree.

As artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly integrated into critical infrastructures, it brings about both transformative benefits and unprecedented risks. AI has the potential to revolutionize the efficiency, reliability, and responsiveness of essential services, but it can also offer these benefits along with the vulnerability to a growing array of sophisticated adversarial attacks. This paper explores the evolving landscape of adversarial threats to AI systems, highlighting the potential of nation-state actors to exploit these vulnerabilities for geopolitical gains. A range of adversarial techniques is examined, including dataset poisoning, model stealing, and privacy inference attacks, and their potential impact on sectors such as energy, transportation, healthcare, and water management is assessed. The consequences of successful attacks are substantial, encompassing economic disruption, public safety risks, national security implications, and the erosion of public trust. Given the escalating sophistication of these threats, this paper proposes a comprehensive security framework that includes robust incident response protocols, specialized training, the development of a collaborative ecosystem, and the continuous evaluation of AI systems. The findings of this study 11 underscore the critical need for a proactive approach to AI security in order to safeguard the future of critical infrastructures in an increasingly AI-driven world.

Abstract Progressive gait impairment is common among aging adults. Remote phenotyping of gait during daily living has the potential to quantify gait alterations and evaluate the effects of interventions that may prevent disability in the aging population. Here, we developed ElderNet, a self-supervised learning model for gait detection from wrist-worn accelerometer data. Validation involved two diverse cohorts, including over 1000 participants without gait labels, as well as 83 participants with labeled data: older adults with Parkinson's disease, proximal femoral fracture, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, and healthy adults. ElderNet presented high accuracy (96.43 ± 2.27), specificity (98.87 ± 2.15), recall (82.32 ± 11.37), precision (86.69 ± 17.61), and F1 score (82.92 ± 13.39). The suggested method yielded superior performance compared to two state-of-the-art gait detection algorithms, with improved accuracy and F1 score (p

The perceived disadvantage faced by high school students from rural areas in pursuing higher education is often associated with the fact that these areas are by default affected by socio-economic disadvantages. The analysis of the results from the high school baccalaureate examination for Romania, which is mandatory for admission to higher education, and which plays a major role in ranking the applicants, shows the potential outcomes of the university admission policy targeting high school baccalaureate holders from rural areas. Under different scenarios, this can lead to either targeted admission places being allocated to students that would have been otherwise successfully admitted by competing on general admission places or could have helped students from other disadvantaged backgrounds. These results may help as a basis for guiding policy designs that can better target admission places for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The possibility of depositing multi layers made of metals/alloys and high temperature ceramics by electron beam physical evaporation process under high vacuum (EB-PVD) on the surface of a parallelepiped sample made by selective laser melting (SLM) from a Ni base refractory super alloy was experimentally tested. The SEM-EDAX micro structural analysis revealed the morphology and thickness of the coatings consisting of a NiCrAlY base alloy as bonding layer and three successive YSZ, LZO and GZO ceramic layers on the Ni-based super alloy substrate obtained by additive manufacturing. The adhesion of the layer deposited was evaluated by the scratch test method. The analysis highlighted the importance of pre-preparing the surface of the additive manufactured substrates, in order to control the adhesion and uniformity of the deposited layers.

Experimental investigations on top surface of prismatic specimens, manufactured by Selective Laser Melting of IN 625 alloy, were carried out in order to assess the influence of laser power and scanning speed on edge and corner effects. Since the melt-pool behaviour is strongly influenced by the process parameters, all specimens were manufactured with no contour using the same layer thickness, hatch distance and scanning strategy at different levels of laser powers and scanning speeds. 3D laser surface scanning was performed in order to measure surface changes. The experimental results have revealed that melt-pool behaviour during solidification generates elevated ridges on both specimen sides and corners that are strongly influenced by the energy input. The edge ridges width increases with increasing the laser power and decrease with increasing the scanning speed, the rising of corners being much more pronounced. On the contrary, at constant laser power and variable scanning speeds the edge and corner ridges decrease.

Additive manufacturing of high-quality materials by Selective Laser Melting depends not only on establishing appropriate process parameters, but also on the characteristics of the metal powders used and their stability over time or after recycling. The aim of the research was to characterize the IN 625 powder used over multiple manufacturing cycles with a Lasertec 30 SLM machine. In order to achieve the research's goal, virgin and recirculated powder's physical and technological characteristics were investigated. A decrease in all D-values (D10, D50, D90) of the powder size distribution was observed after multiple recirculation cycles showing a decrease of the powder dimensional range over time. Both virgin and recirculated powders are composed of mainly spherical particles, but elongated particles and satellite particles were observed as well. The dimensional evolution analysis showed a deviation from the powder ideal roundness, deviation that is more pronounced over multiple recirculation cycles. It was experimentally determined that the powders present a good flowability based on the flow rate value obtained for both virgin and recirculated powders, confirmed also by the Hausner ratio and angle of repose.

Sorghum bicolor L. Moench is a herbaceous annual C4-type plant, with a high ecological plasticity because it can be grown in tropical, subtropical, temperate and semi-arid regions, harnessing soils with reduced natural fertility, from the category of sandy soils. Studies on 5 sweet sorghum hybrids studied under psamosols in southern Oltenia highlight a bioenergy potential in the milk-wax phase of the grain, ranging from 60847.4-89338.65 Mcal / ha, with a maximum in the hybrid Shaşm 2, which achieved a distinctly significant difference in production, compared to the average production of hybrids. The results recorded in sugar sorghum production were positively correlated, significantly distinct with leaf index determined during the flowering of the plants (r = 0.9854**).

The area of psamosols in southern Oltenia is characterized by thermohydraulic stress, accentuated by the thermal resources recorded and by the poor hydrophysical properties of the soil. Higher capitalization of these lands has been an important concern both in the world and in our country, and the choice of plant species with increased drought resistance and low water consumption is a measure to counteract the negative effects of the drought. The humidity analysis of a psamosol, on the 0-125 cm profile, indicates a momentary supply of reduced water and a water deficit compared to the field capacity of -34.4 ... -65.5 m3 / ha. In order to obtain economic results on these soils, it is necessary to cultivate low-water plants, such as a cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) that consumes about 4160 m3 / ha, compared to soybeans that have almost double consumption. The results obtained in 4 genotypes of cowpea highlight the daily average values of the plant's foliar sweating, in the blooming phase, ranging between 4.05 -5.23 mmol H2O / m2 / s, which correlated negatively with the level of grain production.

Abstract Influenza viruses are responsible for a high number of infections and hospitalizations every year. In this study, we aimed to identify clinical and host-specific factors that influence the duration of hospitalization and the progression to acute respiratory failure (ARF) in influenza. We performed an analysis of data from a prospective active influenza surveillance study that was conducted over five seasons (2018/19 to 2022/23). A total of 1402 patients with influenza were included in the analysis, the majority of which (64.5%) were children (under 18 years), and 9.1% were elderly. At least one chronic condition was present in 29.2% of patients, and 9.9% of patients developed ARF. The median hospital stay was 4 days (IQR: 3, 6 days). The most important predictors of prolonged hospital stay and development of ARF were extremes of age (infants and elderly), presence of chronic diseases, particularly the cumulus of at least 3 chronic diseases, and late presentation to hospital. Among the chronic diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and chronic kidney disease were strongly associated with a longer duration of hospitalization and occurrence of ARF. In this context, interventions aimed at chronic disease management, promoting influenza vaccination, and improving awareness and access to health services may contribute to reducing the impact of influenza not only in Romania but globally. In addition, continued monitoring of the circulation of influenza viruses is essential to limit their spread among vulnerable populations.

E-government plays a vital part in the progress of countries in the European Union, especially in Eastern European Member States. It facilitates citizens, irrespective of their geographic location or socioeconomic status, in accessing government services and information, as well as participating in digital interactions with public authorities. The current paper analyses the evolution of e-government in Eastern European Member States in terms of the general populations’ ability to utilize the internet for downloading and submitting government official forms. Also, the current research paper aims to provide a predictive model of the evolution of digital interactions with public authorities in Romania by using time series data, specific statistical tests, and Holt's additive double exponential smoothing model for forecasting. The results suggest that Romania has potential for growth in digital interactions with public authorities and acknowledge the need for investments in digital literacy programs, simplification of administrative procedures, and improvement of regional digital infrastructure.

Review of: Carmen Borbély, Erika Mihálycsa, Petronia Petrar (eds.), Temporalities of Modernism, Milano, Ledizioni, 2022

The rising prevalence of eye disorders has raised concerns, emphasizing the need to accelerate the detection of retinal diseases. Early and accurate classification of these conditions is crucial for timely diagnosis and effective treatment in order to address critical situations. The recent advancements in retinal imaging have enhanced the diagnosis and management of Choroidal Neovascularization (CNV), Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) or Drusen and the deep learning-based applications on Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) images have further revolutionized the field by enabling automated, precise, and efficient disease classification, paving the way for earlier interventions and improved patient outcomes. This study investigates the use of Vision Transformers (ViTs) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for automated retinal disease classification. Three models were implemented: ViT, DeepViT, and a hybrid model combining ResNet50 with ViT, trained and evaluated on a publicly available OCT dataset. The hybrid model achieved the highest accuracy of 99.97%, thanks to its ability to capture both local and global features. This study underscores the potential of ViTs in medical image analysis and their integration with CNNs to develop accurate, robust, and scalable diagnostic tools, showing great promise for clinical applications.

Abstract The objective of this study is to perform an analysis to determine the most suitable type of wind turbine that can be installed at a specific location for electricity generation, using annual measurements of wind characteristics and meteorological parameters. Wind potential analysis has shown that the analyzed location is suitable for the development of a wind farm. The analysis was carried out for six different types of wind turbines, with a power ranging from 1.5 to 3.0 MW and a hub height set at 80 m. Wind power potential was assessed using the Weibull analysis. The values of the scale coefficient c were determined, and a large monthly variation was observed, with values ranging from 1.92 to 8.36 m/s and an annual value of 4.95 m/s. Monthly values for the shape coefficient k varied between 0.86 and 1.53, with an annual value of 1.07. Additionally, the capacity factor of the turbines was determined, ranging from 17.75 to 22.22%. The Vestas turbine, with a nominal power of 2 MW and a capacity factor of 22.22%, proved to be the most efficient wind turbine for the specific conditions of the location. The quantity of greenhouse gas emissions that will be reduced if this type of turbine is implemented was also calculated, considering the average CO2 emission intensity factor (kg CO2/kWh) of the national electricity system.

The Molydenum thermal sprayed coatings on steel substrate using electric arc, atmospheric plasma spray and high velocity oxy-fuel spray were investigated. The tensile bond strength tests were made in order to examine the degree of adhesion/cohesion strength of coatings. The Vickers indentation fracture toughness tests were made on parallel and perpendicular direction to the coating-substrate interface in order to examine the fracture toughness of the material in relationship with the microstructure, indentation direction, hardness and the length of microcracks developed under different loads. It was found that the fracture toughness is influenced by the direction and load of indentation. It was established a correlation between the fracture toughness and cohesion strength of Mo coatings and a general trend was described

This research is part of the RO-BG Cross-Border Cooperation Program, project “CLEANDANUBE”, MIS-ETC 653, which has finalised by providing a common strategy to prevent the Danube’s pollution technological risks with oil and oil products. This paper presents a new sustainable water purification solution. A short introduction will be offered and an overview regarding the research and new methods to greening the waste is provided. The theoretical aspects of the centrifugal separation phenomenon are studied and the preliminary project bases were established. The paper conveys the possible constructive variations and the technological implications of those. Ultimately, the technical project for a new water purification solution and conclusions with critical points encountered during the designing phase are presented.

Influence of humid aging on tensile properties of two polymeric composites was studied. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the suitability of the materials for a naval helicopter external fuel tank. Due to the application, the humid environment was kerosene and saline solution to evaluate the sea water effect on the composite tensile strength. The composite samples were immersed in kerosene for 168 hours, respective 1752 hours and in saline solution for 168 hours. Tensile tests were performed after the immersion. The composite sample tensile tests showed that kerosene and saline solution had no influence on the elastic modulus of the materials, but it was observed a slight improvement of the tensile strength of the two polymeric composites.

The digitisation of public administration offers many benefits for both employees and citizens, improving resource management and fostering the development of innovative public services. Effective digitisation prioritises the needs of citizens, with an emphasis on simplicity, speed and transparency in public services. This comprehensive digital transformation presents opportunities for increased transparency, accountability, efficiency and improved tax collection, which have become even more crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic as online solutions have soared. Our research provides an in-depth analysis of strategic management in public administrations, focusing in particular on the impact of digitisation on local tax revenue collection in Romania over the period 2015-2021. Authority for the Digitalization of Romania plays a key role in advancing the digitisation of public administration. This thesis examines the Authority’s contributions to the transformation of public services through digital means, with a focus on improving efficiency, transparency and citizen engagement. Analysing key initiatives and strategic frameworks implemented by the Authority, the research highlights significant progress in streamlining administrative processes and improving public service delivery. The study also explores the challenges faced in the digital transformation journey and provides recommendations for overcoming these obstacles. Using data from the national e-payment platform ghiseul.ro, we used panel data analysis, complemented by reliability and robustness testing, to explore this impact. Through comprehensive analysis and case studies, the paper highlights the critical impact of Romania’s efforts on the digital evolution of its public sector, promoting a more responsive and efficient governance model.

Abstract Background Multiple sclerosis is a progressive neurological disease that affects the central nervous system, resulting in various symptoms. Among these, impaired mobility and fatigue stand out as the most prevalent. The progressive worsening of symptoms adversely alters quality of life, social interactions and participation in activities of daily living. The main objective of this study is to bring new insights into the impact of a multidisciplinary inpatient rehabilitation on supervised walking tests, physical activity (PA) behavior and everyday gait patterns. Methods A total of 52 patients, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, were evaluated before and after 3 weeks of inpatient rehabilitation. Each measurement period consisted of clinical assessments and 7 days home monitoring using foot-mounted sensors. In addition, we considered two subgroups based on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores: ‘mild’ (EDSS

Explosion protection is of particular importance for safety as explosions also endanger the health of workers due to the uncontrolled effects of flames and pressure, the presence of harmful reaction products and the consumption of oxygen in the ambient air breathed by workers. CuAlBe alloy is proposed as a solution for mechanical actuators such as gears that work in environments with possible explosive atmosphere. Made of CuBe master alloy and pure aluminum in a induction furnace the material present large grains in melted state. After the hot rolling (heated 600s at 900°C) of the ingots small variation of chemical composition was observed based on the oxidation of the material, appearance of small cracks on the edges and a preferential orientation of the grains along the lamination direction. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize the microstructural states of CuAlBe as laminated and heat treated states.

Gut microbiota has complex immune functions, related to different pathologies, including multiple sclerosis (MS).This study evaluated the influence of treatments on gut microbiota in people with MS (PwMS). The research comprised 60 participants, including 39 PwMS and 21 healthy controls (HC). Among the PwMS, 20 were prescribed a disease-modifying therapy (DMT), either interferon beta1a or teriflunomide, while 19 received a combination of classical DMT and an immunoglobulin Y (IgY) supplement. For each participant, two sets of gut samples were collected: one at the study's outset and another after two months. Alpha and beta diversity analyses revealed no significant differences between groups. In comparison to the HC, the MS group exhibited an increase in Prevotella stercorea and a decrease in Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. Following treatment, individuals with MS showed enrichment in Lachnospiraceae and Streptococcus. The second sample, compared to the first one, demonstrated an increase in Bifidobacterium angulatum and a decrease in Oscillospira for individuals with MS. Gut microbiota diversity in PwMS is not significantly different to HC. However, specific taxonomic changes indicate the presence of a dysbiosis state. The use of DMTs and immunoglobulin Y supplements may contribute to alterations in microbial composition, potentially leading to the restoration of a healthier microbiome.