Public Opinion on European Health Policy, Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Often, global crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, bring to light crucial weaknesses in political, economic, social and health systems. First, there are governments who formulate and implement policies and, second, there are the citizens who support them, thus contributing a great deal to their success. Our paper investigates the European citizens' opinion on health policy, focusing on their preference for European health policy during the coronavirus pandemic. The paper uses bibliometric analysis, descriptive statistics, and logistic regression to discuss the public opinion on health policy, the factors of influence, the change in perspectives between 2020 and 2021, and the socio-demographic profile of those favorable for the development of a European health policy in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Our findings show that citizens from southern and central European countries are more likely to prioritize the development of a European health policy, as compared to Nordic countries. Between 2020 and 2021, pro-European health policy citizens profile changes and becomes clearer, from pensioners to young working age males with medium education. In general, people prioritizing a European health policy value health as the most important issue at a national level are generally satisfied with the European Union and do not trust their national government.

Digital divide, skills and perceptions on digitalisation in the European Union-Towards a smart labour market.

The new technologies, the digitalisation of processes and automation of work will change the manner of doing business, working and living. The effects of digitalisation on the economy, society and quality of life imply significant challenges of the labour market. All the participants will be concerned: authorities, companies and ordinary people. The objective of this research is to analyse the perceptions of the EU citizens about digitalisation and to highlight the differences among specific socio-demographic groups. The analysis is grounded on a composite methodology, comprising several statistical and econometric methods that provide scientific support to achieved conclusions: statistical analysis (with the primary goal to shed light on the EU citizens' perceptions about their digital technology skills), TwoStep Cluster Analysis (TSCA) (with the purpose to identify the 'digital vulnerable groups' and then the 'digital vulnerable countries' in terms of the exposure to digital divide) and logistic regression (with the main aim to quantify the impact of the relevant factors on citizens' perceptions about digitalisation). We identified a group of respondents evaluating themselves as having meagre digital skills, very afraid that robots could steal their jobs and with low usage of the internet. They are elderly, with a low level of education, manual workers or not working, with a relatively low level of income and little Internet use. The originality of our approach is given by the fact that we focused on investigating if digital divide leads to the creation of vulnerable groups (citizens and/or countries) and if there are specific patterns in terms of the perception on being skilled in the use of digital technologies in daily life or at work and of the understanding that robots replace human on the labour market. We aim to find relevant factors for the labour market to assume targeted measures that should be taken for a better match of supply and demand on the labour market and for creating a smart labour market. It is highly needed to increase the people's confidence in their skills level and to make the most of digitalisation of the societies. The results show consistent patterns in term of socio-demographic characteristics and perception towards digitalisation. The latter will have a meaningful impact on the economy and the society in the European Union in the next period. That is why a positive attitude towards digitalisation is essential for transforming this relatively new challenge into an excellent opportunity for the future.

Inflamed molluscum contagiosum in a 6-year-old boy: a case report.

The precise prevalence of molluscum contagiosum (MC) is still unknown. The pediatric studies showed a cumulative incidence of 17% in children less than 15 years, but there are no studies available for Romania. The papular skin lesions are generally less than 5 mm, but the immunocompromised patients may develop large uncommon lesions. The pediatric cases are located mostly on the limbs, trunk or the face. The lab investigations are not usually required because the clinical features are typical. A biopsy followed by a light microscopy may help in some cases. We are presenting the case of a 6-year-old boy suffering from MC since almost a year. When examined in our clinic, the child developed 2 to 4 mm dome-shaped flesh-colored papules with central umbilication on his trunk diagnosed as MC. The microscopic examination revealed bud-like proliferation of the epidermis, molluscum bodies and moderate chronic inflammation of the dermis. In about one month of treatment, all the lesions disappeared without other local or general complications.

Profile of the Romanian hypertensive patient data from SEPHAR II study.

AIM: The objective of this paper is to present the profile of the Romanian hypertensive patient as revealed by the analysis of hypertensive subjects from SEPHAR II survey. METHODS: A total number of 798 hypertensive subjects identified by SEPHAR II survey were analyzed in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, cardiovascular risk factors, subclinical target organ damage, established target organ disease, total CV risk and HT awareness, treatment and control. The profile of the Romanian hypertensive patients was built using the mod of every above mentioned target variables. RESULTS: The majority of hypertensive subjects were females (54.9%), mean age of 57.42 +/- 13.38 years, coming from the South region (17.8%), living in urban areas (59.5%) and aware of their condition (69.5%), associating most often other 4 CV risk factors among which physical inactivity (67.3%), visceral obesity (60.4%) and hypercholesterolemia (61.3%) are the most prevalent, having therefore a very high added CV risk (60.3%). Despite the widespread use of at least 2 antihypertensive drugs (72.3%), an effective treatment was recorded only in a quarter of treated hypertensives. CONCLUSION: The profile of Romanian Hypertensive patient is: middle aged female living in urban area of the South region of the country, with secondary education and a low average income, sedentary lifestyle, nonsmoker and aware of BP values, having visceral obesity, a high total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels and normal HDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels, having metabolic syndrome, nondiabetic and associating 4 other cardiovascular risk factors and therefore having a high added cardiovascular risk.

[Phytochemical and microbiological characterization of two Allium cepa L. extracts in order to include in dermo-cosmetics]. / Caracterizarea fitochimica si microbiologica a doua extracte de Allium cepa L. în vederea includerii în dermopreparate.

We have obtained two Allium cepa extracts (C1 and C2) which were characterized from chemical and microbiological point of view. The C1 extract is the richest concerning the content in flavonoids, triterpenic acids, amino acids, compounds recognized for their beneficial effects in wound healing. All this data shows us the possibility of using the Allium cepa extracts in the treatment of wounds, scars. As well, the antimicrobial activity of the two extracts was evaluated. The C2 extract was efficient as antimicrobial agent, but there are necessary special preserving conditions.

[VIS spectrophotometry used for quantitative determination of iodide in food products of animal origin]. / Spectrofotometria în domeniul vis utilizata la determinarea cantitativa a iodurii din produse alimentare de origine animala.

The spectrophotometric method used in dozing the iodides in the water, has been studied in order to use it in determining the iodides in a series of food products. This method is based on the catalyzed reduction of the iodide of Ce4+ by the arsenious acid. In order to determine the iodide in several food products of animal origin (eggs, milk and meat), the sample is first treated with a concentrated KOH solution and is maintained on a water bath until is obtained a residue; this is then subjected to calcination at temperatures of 500-600 degrees C until a perfectly white ash is obtained. After cooling, the ash is dissolved in water, concentrated H2SO4 is added and is completed with water up to a certain volume. The thus obtained solution is used for determination of the iodide in food, according to the method described above. The content of iodide (microgram%) have been calculated with the relation deduced from the equation of the regression line delineated in VIS at 459 nm. The method is selective and the procedure is widely applicable to the determination of iodide in different food products of animal origin.

[The polarimetric determination of pentavalent vanadium by using quinine chlorohydrate as reagent]. / Determinarea polarimetrica a vanadiului pentavalent utilizând clorhidratul de chinina drept reactiv.

The researches of the authors on the quinine chlorohydrate QH+Cl- and sodium metavanadate (Vv) reaction have led to the elaboration of two methods--a conductometric one and a gravimetric one--of dozing the QH+Cl- and, in general, of any quinine soluble salt with NaVO3. The methods, that have applications in the domain of drugs and is based on the formation of a white precipitate, in which the molar ratio QH+:Vv = 1:1. Since some authors have used quinine as a reagent in order to determine polarimetrically some ions (Ag+ and Cu2+), by taking into consideration the optic activity of quinine, we have aimed at using the formation reaction of QHVO3 for quantitatively determine the Vv with quinine chlorohydrate, by measuring the rotation angle of polarized light alpha both for the excess of QHCl reagent and for the solution obtained by dissolving the QHVO3 precipitate formed within the reaction. For this purpose there has been necessary the construction of two standard scales alpha = f(c) and there has been suggested a working methodology for the dozing of Vv with quinine chlorohydrate or any other of its soluble salts, by using any laboratory polarimeter. The results are satisfactory and depend on the sensitivity of the apparatus.

[UV spectrophotometry used for quantitative determination of oleanolic acid]. / Spectrofotometria în UV utilizata la determinarea cantitativa a acidului oleanolic.

In order to adapt the UV spectrophotometry method to oleanolic acid dosing, absorption spectra within the range from 230 to 350 nm have been determined for both OA systems in glacial acetic acid (lambda max = 256 nm) and OA systems in ethyl alcohol (lambda max = 277 nm). The time stability of oleanolic acid in the presence of the two solvents has also been investigated in this study. Besides, the composition of etalon series and graphical representation of experimental results (n = 6) have been performed. Also, the calculation algorithm was given, the regression lines have been drawn and statistical parameters were calculated to establish the mathematical expression of OA concentration (mg%).