The selection, appraisal and retention of digital scientific data: dighlights of an ERPANET/CODATA workshop

CODATA and ERPANET collaborated to convene an international archiving workshop on the selection, appraisal, and retention of digital scientific data, which was held on 15-17 December 2003 at the Biblioteca Nacional in Lisbon, Portugal. The workshop brought together more than 65 researchers, data and information managers, archivists, and librarians from 13 countries to discuss the issues involved in making critical decisions regarding the long-term preservation of the scientific record. One of the major aims for this workshop was to provide an international forum to exchange information about data archiving policies and practices across different scientific, institutional, and national contexts. Highlights from the workshop discussions are presented

Renal affection in gout

Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, The 6th International Medical Congress for Students and Young Doctors, May 12-14, 2016Introduction: Even from ancient times is known that uric acid is strongly Associated with renal disease. The disorders of uric acid metabolism lead to a nephropathy with variable clinical manifestations, defined as uric acid nephropathy. There are described the following kidney disorders in hyperuricemia: uric acid nephrolithiasis, acute hyperuricemia nephropathy, chronic urate nephropathy. Individuals with gout have a higher risk for uric acid stone formation due to the low urine pH, which creates an environment favourable for uric acid precipitation. Uric acid nephropathies are related to the increased produced amount or disposal in a low proportion of uric acid in the urine. Materials and methods: Study population included 50 patients from Republican Clinical Hospital, Department of Rheumatology, with primary gout. The age of patients varied from 35 to 75 years. To appreciate the renal impairment in gout they were selected such examinations as ultrasonography, blood urea and creatinine, excretion of uric acid, blood levels of uric acid, renal urine concentrating ability and rate of glomerular filtration. Discussion results: After the analyse of the results, it was made a classification of patients by the age of the disease. The patients with less than 10 years of gout presented: Uric acid nephropathy- 36.8%, Nephrolithiasis- 10.5%, Chronic kidney disease- 26.1%. Between the patients with a history of disease from 11 to 20 years it was observed next incidence: Uric acid nephropathy- 57%, Nephrolithiasis- 26,3%, Chronic kidney disease- 31.5%. The next group that included patients with gout from 21 to 30 years old presented the following data: Uric acid nephropathy- 71.4%, Nephrolithiasis- 85,7%, Chronic kidney disease- 42.8%. The last group of patients, with a history of more than 30 years of gout was divided like: Uric acid nephropathy- 82.1%, Nephrolithiasis- 60%, Chronic kidney disease- 40%. Conclusion: The renal affection caused by the elevated levels of uric acid in gout is clearly defined in this study. Our results have shown that in a gouty population several aspects of kidney function may be significantly impaired. It was declared an evident correlation between disease’s age and the evolution of kidney affection. This is consistent with a slowly progressive renal disorder, because the elimination of uric acid is reported to the renal good function and like this is creating a vicious circle. In conclusion, although the concept that uric acid might have a role in kidney disease once suffered a requiem, it has undergone a revival and seems deserving of additional, more developed study

Rolul familiei în prevenirea stigmatizării persoanelor cu depresie în timpul pandemiei COVID-19

Department of Psychiatry, Narcology and Medical Psychology, Nicolae Testemitanu SUMPhBackground. More than 350 million people suffer from depression. Stigmatization of people with depression is an important barrier in seeing a specialist and in compliance with treatment. Over 50% of people with depression have never visited a psychiatrist. Objective of the study. To analyze the role of the family in preventing the stigma of people with depression during COVID19 pandemic. Material and Methods. In a cross-sectional study, 43 students were evaluated. Data were collected on the basis of a self-reported anonymous questionnaire, which measured the stigma of people with depression and the individual and family characteristics of the participants. Stigma has been assessed using the depression stigma Assessment Scale (DSS), developed by Kathleen Griffiths. Results. The average level of stigma (standard deviation) measured by the stigma assessment scale for people with depression (DSS) showed lower values for personal stigma 18.83 (4.88), compared to perceived stigma 26.21 (3.30), p < 0.001. There is no difference in the level of stigma regarding the presence of a person with depression in the family. Previous studies show that the level of stigma decreases when the correct information about depression and through contact with people with depression is combined. Conclusion. The level of personal stigma towards people with depression is lower than compared to the perceived stigma in Moldova. Further research is needed to understand the role of the family and the characteristics of stigma against depression.Introducere. Peste 350 de milioane de oameni suferă de depresie. Stigmatizarea persoanelor cu depresie este o barieră importantă în adresarea la un medic specialist și în respectarea tratamentului. Peste 50% dintre persoanele cu depresie nu au vizitat niciodată un psihiatru. Scopul lucrării. Determinarea rolului familiei în prevenirea stigmatizării persoanelor cu depresie, în timpul pandemiei de Covid-19. Material și Metode. Într-un studiu transversal, au fost evaluați 43 studenți. Datele au fost colectate pe baza unui chestionar anonim auto-raportat, care a măsurat stigmatizarea persoanelor cu depresie și a caracteristicilor individuale și familiale ale participanților. Stigmatizarea a fost evaluată cu ajutorul Scalei de Evaluare a Stigmatizării Depresiei (DSS), dezvoltată de Kathleen Griffith. Rezultate.Nivelul mediu de stigmatizare (abatere standard), măsurat prin scala de evaluare a stigmatizării pentru persoanele cu depresie (DSS), a arătat valori mai mici pentru stigmatizarea personală 18,83 (4,88), comparativ cu stigmatizarea percepută 26,21 (3.30), p <0,001. Nu există nici o diferență în nivelul stigmatizării cu privire la prezența unei persoane cu depresie în familie. Studiile anterioare arată că nivelul stigmatizării scade atunci când se combină informarea corectă cu privire la depresie și prin contactul cu persoanele cu depresie. Concluzii.Nivelul de stigmatizare personală față de persoanele cu depresie este mai mic decât cel în comparație cu stigmatizarea percepută în Moldova. Sunt necesare cercetări suplimentare pentru a înțelege rolul familiei și caracteristicile stigmatizării față de depresie

An Assessment of, and Improvements to, the Digital Forensics Acquisition Process of a Law Enforcement Agency

Forensics addresses the collection and analysis of evidence. Digital forensics is forensics in the context of digital devices. It is a rapidly evolving field employed in various organizations such as law enforcement, government, and the private sector. The acquisition of digital evidence is the step in digital forensics where digital evidence is preserved. The preservation of digital evidence in its original form is customarily deemed a necessary property in the context of digital forensics, as such evidence may need to be re-examined in the future. In this thesis, we first analyze the acquisition phase of the digital forensics process of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to determine whether it is forensically sound. The OPP is a law enforcement agency that serves a population of 14 million people who reside in the province of Ontario in Canada. We extract a set of properties that OPP's acquisition phase does, and should, uphold to achieve forensic soundness. We then evaluate whether the desired properties are met by comparing OPP's process to three standards on forensic soundness for law enforcement. We conclude by proposing improvements to the parts of the process that do not uphold desired properties. While our thesis evaluates and provides suggestions to OPP's current process, it also serves a greater purpose. Our contributions allow OPP, and any other law enforcement agency, the framework needed to analyze an existing process, identify areas that may jeopardize forensic soundness, and implement changes that mitigate those threats

Stigma and discrimination of people with mental health issues among adolescents

State Medical and Pharmaceutical University ”N. Testemitanu”, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova.Introduction: According to the National Program of Mental Health for 2012-2016 in Republic of Moldova the process of deinstitutionalization, decentralization and reorganization of the mental health system is enhanced, in order to bring mental health services to the community and to facilitate inclusion of people with mental disabilities in society. Based on examples from countries with high socio-economic level the deinstitutionalization process began much earlier, about 40-50 years ago, and one of the major problems which made this process more difficult was the high stigma and discrimination against them. However in Moldova stigma and discrimination against people with mental disabilities in society is poorly studied. Purpose and objectives: To evaluate stigma and discrimination against people with mental disabilities among adolescents, to determine the causes and conditions in which this stigma and discrimination occur among adolescents. Materials and methods: The study is made in 3 schools from Chişinău, Bălţi and Orhei cities, in each school were included 25 students, total 75 adolescents. To evaluate stigma among adolescents the AQ-8-C test was administered, elaborated by Corrigan (2005). To evaluate discrimination the adolescents were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaire. Results: In the study was determined that the low level of acceptance towards the people with mental health issues is largely determined by the prejudices in society regarding these persons. Therefore, 57 (from 75) o f participants consider that children with mental disorders should be educated in special schools, 46 believe that people with mental health issues are unable to work, 44 think that these persons are dangerous and should be isolated, 21 consider that people with disabilities may not have family. Stereotypes frequently found in our society towards people with mental health problems are - debilitated, unable to work, dangerous, to be isolated, may not have family, sinful, poor. Conclusion: In Republic of Moldova were performed very few studies with reference to stigma against people with mental health problem, however our study shows that level of stigma is very high among adolescents - 76% of interviewed adolescents don’t want to study together with mentally ill people; 59% believe that these persons are dangerous and should be isolated; 28% think that society has to prohibit these persons to create families. To have a genuine inclusion of persons suffering from mental disorders in the community, the society needs to be educated in order to reduce stigma and discrimination against these persons

Stigmatisation against people with depression in medical students

Universitatea de Stat de Medicină şi Farmacie „Nicolae Testemiţanu”, Chişinău, Republica MoldovaIntroducere. Depresia este una dintre cele mai importante provocări de sănătate publică. Peste 350 de milioane de oameni din lume suferă de depresie. Stigma față de persoanele cu depresie reprezintă o barieră importantă în adresarea la specialiști. Peste 50% dintre persoanele cu depresie nu au vizitat niciodată un psihiatru. Scopul lucrării. Studierea caracteristicilor sociale și demografice ale stigmatizării față de persoanele cu depresie la studenții din Moldova. Material și metode. În total, 612 studenți au completat chestionarul. Stigma a fost evaluată folosind Scala de Stigmatizare a Depresiei (SSD), care măsoară stigmatizarea personală și percepute pe baza unei vignete despre o persoană cu depresie. Datele au fost rezumate folosind medii și abateri standard (sd), iar compararea a fost efectuată utilizând testul t Student și ANOVA. Rezultate. Nivelul mediu al stigmatizării (abaterea standard), măsurat prin Scala de stigmatizare a depresiei a prezentat valori mai mari la persoanele din localitățile rurale, atât pentru stigmatizarea personală [19,73 (4,88) vs. 14,09 (4,88) p<0,001] cât și pentru stigmatizarea percepută [27,43 (3,30) vs. 21,62 (4,15) p<0,001]. Nu există nicio diferență în nivelul de stigmatizare privind prezența unei persoane cu depresie în familie atât în localitățile rurale, cât și în cele urbane. Studiile anterioare arată că contactul cu persoanele care suferă de depresie scade nivelul de stigmatizare, totuși nu există niciun efect asupra nivelului de stigmatizare în studiul nostru. Concluzii. Nivelul de stigmatizare personală față de persoanele cu depresie este mai mic decât în comparație cu stigmatizarea percepută în Moldova. Sunt necesare cercetări suplimentare pentru a înțelege caracteristicile stigmatizării față de depresie.Background. Depression is one of the most significant public health challenges. More than 350 million people in the world suffer from depression. Stigma towards people with depression represent an important barrier in health seeking and treatment compliance. More than 50% of people with depression never visited a mental health specialist. Objective of the study. Studying the social and demographic characteristics of the stigma towards people with depression among Moldovan students. Material and methods. In total 612 students filled the questionnaire. Stigma was evaluated using The Depression Stigma Scale (DSS), that measures personal and perceived stigma based on a vignette about a person with depression. Data were summarized using means and standard deviations (sd), and comparison were performed using Student t-test and ANOVA. Results and discussion. The level of stigma mean (standard deviation), measured by the Depression Stigma Scale presented higher values in persons from rural localities, both for personal stigma [19.73 (4.88) vs. 14.09 (4.88) p<0.001] and for perceived stigma [27.43 (3.30) vs. 21.62 (4.15) p<0.001]. There is no difference in the level of stigma regarding the presence of a person with depression in the family in both rural and urban localities. Previous studies show that contact with people that have depression decreases the level of stigmatization; however, there is no effect on the level of stigma in our study. Conclusions. The level of personal stigma towards people with depression is lower than compared to the perceived stigma in Moldova. Further research is needed to understand the characteristics of depression stigma