Migrants' Smuggling is Knocking at the Danube's Door. Threats at the Romanian State Border

It is undeniable the devastating effect that the increase of the illegal migration has on the population, both in terms of access to the legal labor market and in socio-economic terms. This is the argument which supports our choice to analyze, through this scientific approach, the offenses of trafficking in migrants, an offense under art. 263 of the Criminal Code. We believe that the importance of the theme is special, especially because it represents one of the most acute manifestations of cross-border crime with consequences visible to victims and with side effects difficult to assess in the long term. The component of human trafficking, the illegal migration is a scourge increasingly widespread and difficult to contain due to the involved criminal networks, and the ingenuity of the offenders. Beyond the fact that this offense is committed, most often in the context of the organized crime (drug trafficking, arms smuggling, terrorism), the smuggling of migrants is a real danger to the socio-economic stability of states and even for peace and their security by disturbing the ethnic, cultural, demographic balance, by the inability of social protection mechanisms or public health, by exceeding the absorptive capacity of the market of legal work and implicitly, by upsetting the balance of forces between the control structures of legality and public order and the population channeled towards the criminal activities

Quantification of Anethole in Fennel and Anise Essential Oils using Gas Chromatography and 1H-NMR-Spectroscopy

Nine essential oils from fennel (seeds and herbs) and anise (seeds) from different origins were analysed for density, refractive index and for a complete composition through GC-MS and 1H-NMR-spectroscopy. Anethole was the main compound identified in fennel and anise essential oils. Anethole content varied between 30 – 90% in fennel oils and between 80 – 99% in anise oils; anethole is often used as flavouring substance in foods with a good antimicrobial activity also. A positive correlation was found between anethole content determined by GC-MS and 1H-NMR (r = 0.8567 for fennel oils and r = 0.6986 for anise oils). The results showed different levels of anethole in oils (values ranged between 30.66 % and 99.24 %). Electronic nose was a very good and rapid method for discrimination of essential oils based on PCA (Principal Component Analysis) with discrimination index above 90 for both essential oils

WHAT ENDORSES TEACHERS TO USE GAMIFIED APPROACHES IN THEIR CLASSROOMS: SELF-EFFICACY TECHNOLOGY PROFICIENCY, AND PERCEIVED USEFULNESS

Gamified approaches in the classroom gained more consideration in the recent years. Although the benefits of evolving technologies integrated in the teaching process are better recognized for the student population, what enhances the adoption of such technologies from the teachers` perspective is less investigated. The present study investigated the associations between self-efficacy, teachers’ technology proficiency, perceived usefulness of gamification and behavioral intention to use gamification among 170 teachers, aged between 18 to 64 years old (M = 34.9; SD = 9.69), with a teaching experience ranging from almost one year to 44 years of experience (M = 8.71; SD = 9.62). Correlation analyses showed that there are associations between teachers’ self-efficacy, teachers’ technology proficiency, and perceived usefulness of gamification levels and behavioral intention to use gamification. Furthermore, the mediation analyses showed that technology proficiency level and perceived usefulness of gamification partially mediate the relationship between self-efficacy and the behavioral intention to use gamification among Romanian k-12 inservice teachers. These results advanced our knowledge about the relationship between self-efficacy and the behavioral intention to use gamification and its underlying mechanism

EXPLORING ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN SELF-EFFICACY, WORK ENGAGEMENT AND BEHAVIORAL INTENTION TO USE GAMIFICATION

Along with the growing interest and the continuous development in technology, gamification gained more recognition in the educational areas. While knowledge concerning gamified approaches and their advantages in the classroom are better understood for student populations, less is investigated in terms of factors that drive teachers to use such approaches in the classroom. The present study investigated the associations between self-efficacy, teachers’ work engagement, and behavioral intention to use gamification among 170 teachers, aged between 18 to 64 years old (M = 34.9; SD = 9.69), with a teaching experience ranging from almost one year to 44 years of experience (M = 8.71; SD = 9.62). Correlation analyses showed that there are associations between teachers’ self-efficacy, teachers’ work engagement, and behavioral intention to use gamification. This study showed that there are significant associations between self-efficacy, work engagement, and the behavioral intention to use gamification. These results stress out the need for more investigations on the personal characteristics of teachers that may be related to the use of gamified approaches in the classroom

Romanian Aromatic and Medicinal Plants: From Tradition to Science

From ancient times, plants have been used by humans for food, fodder, fibre and medicinal purposes. Several plants were empirically considered as treatments for a large array of illness and medical conditions. Each community had specific natural remedies, based on the geographical area, environmental conditions and other factors. Thus, the use of plants can be considered as part of the intangible cultural heritage of each community. In the geographical area of today’s Romania, the ancient inhabitants, Dacians, had very good knowledge regarding the use of plants for medicinal purposes, as presented by several historical sources. The present work describes protocols for the extraction and purification of natural extracts, analytical characterisation, in vitro and in vivo evaluation of their potential applications as well as some practical examples of their application on selected Romanian native medicinal and aromatic plants. The presented results offer scientific support to their traditional use, suggesting in the same time some modern applications, for example in the nanotechnology field

Pulmonary adaptations to swim and inspiratory muscle training

Because the anomalous respiratory characteristics of competitive swimmers have been suggested to be due to inspiratory muscle work, the respiratory muscle and pulmonary function of 30 competitively trained swimmers was assessed at the beginning and end of an intensive 12-week swim training (ST) program. Swimmers (n = 10) combined ST with either inspiratory muscle training (IMT) set at 80% sustained maximal inspiratory pressure (SMIP) with progressively increased work–rest ratios until task failure for 3-days per week (ST + IMT) or ST with sham-IMT (ST + SHAM-IMT, n = 10), or acted as controls (ST only, ST, n = 10). Measures of respiratory and pulmonary function were assessed at the beginning and end of the 12 week study period. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in respiratory and pulmonary function between groups (ST + IMT, ST + SHAM-IMT and ST) at baseline and at the end of the 12 week study period. However, within all groups significant increases (P < 0.05) were observed in a number of respiratory and pulmonary function variables at the end of the 12 week study, such as maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressure, inspiratory power output, forced vital capacity, forced expiratory and inspiratory volume in 1-s, total lung capacity and diffusion capacity of the lung. This study has demonstrated that there are no appreciable differences in terms of respiratory changes between elite swimmers undergoing a competitive ST program and those undergoing respiratory muscle training using the flow-resistive IMT device employed in the present study; as yet, the causal mechanisms involved are undefined

Partial least squares model of moulting accelerating compounds with insecticide activity against lepidopteran species

In this study the insecticidal activity of a series of 33 dibenzoylhydrazinederivatives, expressed as the pEC50activity measured in vitro, based on an ecdysone-dependent reporter assay using cell lines derived from one lepidopteran species (the cotton leafworm Spodoptera littoralis), was correlated with structural descriptors using the partial least squares (PLS) approach. The data set was energy pre-optimized by molecular mechanics calculations using the MMFF94s force field. Several 0D, 1D, 2D and 3D descriptors were calculated for the minimum energy conformers. A two-components PLS model was obtained with acceptable statistical quality (R2X(Cum) = 0.705, R2Y(cum) = 0.821 and Q2 (Cum) = 0.793) for modeling the insecticidal activity. The model goodness of fit tested with the Y-randomization test indicated a stable model. Specific dibenzoylhydrazine structural features supplying information about topological distances and descriptors sensitive to any conformational change influence the insecticidal activity

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Airway Hyperresponsiveness in Asthma

ABSTRACT Despite the progress that has been made in the treatment of asthma, the prevalence and burden of this disease has continued to increase. Exercise is a powerful trigger of asthma symptoms and reversible airflow obstruction and may result in the avoidance of physical activity by patients with asthma, resulting in detrimental consequences to their health. Approximately 90% of patients with asthma are hyperresponsive to exercise and experience exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB). While pharmacologic treatment of asthma is usually highly effective, medications often have significant side-effects or exhibit tachyphylaxis. Alternative therapies for treatment (complementary medicine) that reduce the dose requirements of pharmacologic interventions would be beneficial, and could potentially reduce the public health burden of this disease. There is accumulating evidence that dietary modification has potential to influence the severity of asthma and reduce the prevalence and incidence of this condition. A possible contributing factor to the increased incidence of asthma in Western societies may be the consumption of a proinflammatory diet. In the typical Western diet, 20-to 25-fold more -6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) than -3 PUFA are consumed, which causes the release of proinflammatory arachidonic acid metabolites (leukotrienes and prostanoids). This review analyzes the existing literature on -3 PUFA supplementation as a potential modifier of airway hyperresponsiveness in asthma and includes studies concerning the efficacy of -3 PUFA supplementation in EIB. While clinical data evaluating the effect of -3 PUFA supplementation in asthma has been equivocal, it has recently been shown that pharmaceuticalgrade fish oil (-3 PUFA) supplementation reduces airway hyperresponsiveness after exercise, medication use, and proinflammatory mediator generation in nonatopic elite athletes with EIB. These findings are provocative and suggest that dietary -3 PUFA supplementation may be a viable treatment modality and/or adjunct therapy in airway hyperresponsiveness. Further studies are needed to confirm these results and understand their mechanism of action. 106

Sub-clinical left and right ventricular dysfunction in patients with COPD

SummaryBackgroundCardiovascular manifestations in COPD include increased arterial stiffness, ischaemic heart disease, chronic heart failure and cor pulmonale. We hypothesised that sub-clinical right (RV) and left ventricular (LV) dysfunction occurs in patients with COPD, related to the severity of airflow obstruction, arterial stiffness and systemic inflammation.MethodsThirty six patients and 14 controls, all free of overt cardiovascular disease underwent tissue Doppler echocardiography, spirometry, measurement of aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) and venous sampling for inflammatory markers.ResultsMean LV myocardial strain and strain rate were less in patients than controls, p<0.05. LV isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT) was prolonged in patients (125±15.2ms) compared with controls (98.2±21.1ms), p<0.01, indicating LV diastolic dysfunction. The RV free wall strain and strain rate were less in patients than controls, both p<0.05, indicating RV systolic dysfunction. Patients had sub-clinical pulmonary arterial hypertension with a greater RV myocardial relaxation time and Tei index, both p<0.01. Patients with mild airways obstruction had LV and RV dysfunction and evidence of increased RV afterload compared with controls. In multivariate analyses aortic PWV predicted LV IVRT, p<0.01, while FEV1 predicted RV Tei index and myocardial relaxation time, both p<0.01.ConclusionsPatients with COPD have sub-clinical left ventricular dysfunction related to arterial stiffness, and right ventricular dysfunction related to airways obstruction. Both right and left ventricular dysfunction are present in patients with mild airways obstruction suggesting that cardiac co-morbidities commence early in the development of COPD