Pensioners Versus Employees in Romania: A Regional Study

Romania may become overwhelmed by its ageing population in the future. One of the worrying issues is the falling support rate, which shows the relationship between the working population who is paying taxes and the nonworking population, aged 65 years or over (the pensioners). This paper has a regional focus, this ratio and some of the factors influencing it (fertility rate, immigration or life expectancy) being studied in different regions of Romania between 1996 to 2017. Forecasts by 2060 highlight that pensioners-employees ratio will increase over time if no legislative reforms are designed to increase the social security budget (and implicitly the pension system). The findings indicate that an increase in fertility rate and immigration will contribute to better support of pensioners. Since many people migrate to developed countries, Romania is not attracting immigrants to improve its labor force. Hence, a measure to redress the demographic decline and support the pensioners could be the increase in the rate of fertility, which could be sustained by the initiation and implementation of pronatalist policies, the increase in the economic status of the family. Among the results, it is also highlighted that an increase in life expectancy will deter the support because the ageing population will grow. As a result, it is necessary to explore and to implement measures to balance the country's social security budget having as target the old-age population

Study concerning the synthesis and the antibacterial and antifungal activity of some new sulphamides derivatives

Universitatea de Medicina si Farmacie „ Gr.T.Popa” Iasi, RomaniaWe decided to obtain new bioactive substances by inserting the radicals of thyoureea to the N4 atom of Davosine, a sulphamide with important therapeutic properties. We have treated this sulphamide with various aromatics isothyocianates, obtaining eight new derivatives of thyoureea The chemical structure of the new compounds was confirmed by C,H,N elemental and spectral analysis. We have tested the antibacterial and antifungal activity of the new synthesised products through the diffusimetric method. The assay was made on Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and on some species of Candida.We have elaborated a simple method for obtaining new sulphamides derivatives. This study represent a premiss for obtaining new antibacterial and antifungal derivatives of sulphamides. În scopul obţinerii unor substanţe cu acţiune antimicrobiana, s-au sintetizat noi derivaţi de tiouree ai Davosinului, sulfamida cu importante proprietăţi terapeutice. S-a propus grefarea radicalilor de tiouree la atomul de nitrogen aminic (N4) şi studierea relaţiei dintre structura chimică şi acţiunea antimicotică şi antibacteriană a noilor derivaţi obţinuti.Activitatea antibacteriana a fost determinata fata de bacterii Gram pozitiv si Gram negativ, iar actiunea antimicotica fata de diversii specii de Candida. Structura noilor produşi obţinuţi a fost confirmată de analiza elementală si spectrală. A fost elaborata o medota simpla si precisa de obtinere unor noi derivati de tiouree ai sulfamidelor. Acţiunea remarcabilă prezentată de noii derivaţi sintetizaţi reprezintă o premiză optimistă pentru obţinerea unor derivaţi cu acţiune antibacteriană şi antimicotică

Development and characterization of novel films based on sulfonamide-chitosan derivatives for potential wound dressing

The objective of this study was to develop new films based on chitosan functionalized with sulfonamide drugs (sulfametoxydiazine, sulfadiazine, sulfadimetho-xine, sulfamethoxazol, sulfamerazine, sulfizoxazol) in order to enhance the biological effects of chitosan. The morphology and physical properties of functionalized chitosan films as well the antioxidant effects of sulfonamide-chitosan derivatives were investigated. The chitosan-derivative films showed a rough surface and hydrophilic properties, which are very important features for their use as a wound dressing. The film based on chitosan-sulfisoxazol (CS-S6) showed the highest swelling ratio (197%) and the highest biodegradation rate (63.04%) in comparison to chitosan film for which the swelling ratio was 190% and biodegradation rate was only 10%. Referring to the antioxidant effects the most active was chitosan-sulfamerazine (CS-S5) which was 8.3 times more active than chitosan related to DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging ability. This compound showed also a good ferric reducing power and improved total antioxidant capacity

Chitosan-Based Delivery Systems Loaded with Glibenclamide and Lipoic Acid: Formulation, Characterization, and Kinetic Release Studies

Glibenclamide and lipoic acid are two drugs frequently recommended for the management of diabetes mellitus, and so, the development of a new formulation containing both substances has a great benefit in terms of efficiency and compliance, acting also as a multi-target drug system. Accordingly, the aim of this study was the formulation and physicochemicalcharacterization of new polymeric systems based on chitosan (CS) in whose matrix were encapsulated glibenclamide (Gly) and lipoic acid (LA). The polymeric systems were prepared as microparticles (CS–Gly, CS–LA, and CS–Gly–LA) through ionic gelation method, using pentasodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) as crosslinking agent. The polymeric systems obtained were characterized in terms of particle size and morphology, IR spectroscopy, entrapment efficiency and drug loading, swelling degree, and therelease of the active substances from the chitosan matrix. The polymeric systems obtained were stable systems; the presence of glibenclamide and lipoic acid into the polymer matrix were proved by IR spectroscopy. The entrapment efficiency was 94.66% for Gly and 39.68% for LA. The developed polymeric systems proved a favorable swelling degree and drug release profile, the percentage of release being 88.68% for LA and 75.17% for Gly from CS–Gly–LA systems

Comparative in vitro activity of azithromycin and other antimicrobial agents against staphylococci isolates

In the last decades resistance and reduced susceptibility to antimicrobial agents has become a major therapeutic problem. Both Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis are frequently resistant to methilpenicillins and derivatives, including methicillin, oxacillin and nafcillin. One of the antibacterial agents which exhibits a spectrum of activity against Gram-positive bacteria is azithromycin, a macrolide with properties closely resemble those of erytromycin. Azithromycin susceptibility was obtained for 84.3% of S. aureus and 87.4% of S. epidermidis respectively. Erythromycin resistance was more prevalent in S. aureus strains (20.5%) than in coagulase-negative staphylococci (15%). Oxacillin resistance has low and similar resistance rates for staphylococci (between 1.6-1.8%). Meropenem had excellent activity: all strains were susceptible. The results of surveillance of resistance has not been extensive

Composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils of a full grown tree of Pinus cembra L. from the Calimani mountains (Romania)

This study was carried out to investigate the chemical composition, the antioxidant and antimicrobial effects of the essential oils of Pinus cembra L. needles and twigs. The chemical composition was analyzed using both GC and GC-MS techniques. α-Pinene (69.14%) was the major constituent of the needle essential oil while the twig essential oil was characterized by a high content of limonene+ β-phellandrene (40.97%) and α-pinene (24.94%). The needle and twig essential oils showed weak DPPH radical scavenging effects (EC50=19.93±0.75 and EC50=18.66±0.70 mg ml-1, respectively). In antimicrobial assays, both essential oils showed high activity against Sarcina lutea and Staphylococcus aureus and no activity against Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The needle and twig essential oils had similar antimicrobial effects against Sarcina lutea with MIC and MBC values of 0.12 and 0.24 mg ml-1, respectively. The twig essential oil (MIC=1.95 mg ml-1, MBC=3.9 mg ml-1) was more active against Staphylococcus aureus than the needle essential oil (MIC=3.9 mg ml-1, MBC=15.62 mg ml-1) and also exhibited a moderate activity against Candida albicans (MIC=7.81 mg ml-1, MFC=15.62 mg ml-1)

Preparation and Antimicrobial Activity of Chitosan and Its Derivatives: A Concise Review

Despite the advantages presented by synthetic polymers such as strength and durability, the lack of biodegradability associated with the persistence in the environment for a long time turned the attention of researchers to natural polymers. Being biodegradable, biopolymers proved to be extremely beneficial to the environment. At present, they represent an important class of materials with applications in all economic sectors, but also in medicine. They find applications as absorbers, cosmetics, controlled drug delivery, tissue engineering, etc. Chitosan is one of the natural polymers which raised a strong interest for researchers due to some exceptional properties such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, nontoxicity, non-antigenicity, low-cost and numerous pharmacological properties as antimicrobial, antitumor, antioxidant, antidiabetic, immunoenhancing. In addition to this, the free amino and hydroxyl groups make it susceptible to a series of structural modulations, obtaining some derivatives with different biomedical applications. This review approaches the physico-chemical and pharmacological properties of chitosan and its derivatives, focusing on the antimicrobial potential including mechanism of action, factors that influence the antimicrobial activity and the activity against resistant strains, topics of great interest in the context of the concern raised by the available therapeutic options for infections, especially with resistant strains

Chemical, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Investigations of Pinus cembra L. Bark and Needles

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