How Does the Supply of Tertiary Graduates Correlate with the Labour Market? Evidence from European Countries

It is well-known that the education level has significant impact on employment prospects on the labor market. Despite a slight decrease in the number of tertiary graduates in 2018-2019, the year 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, was marked by an increase in the indicator-level. In the long term, the supply of tertiary graduates registered an upward trend. The paper performs - in a note of originality - a cluster analysis of the European countries by the correlation between the evolution of the graduates with higher education and that of the employment rate of the highly qualified, in order to identify the main behavioral patterns. As a novelty element, the paper tests the hypothesis of the existence of statistically significant changes from the perspective of the share of tertiary graduates and that of the employment rate of highly educated, during the current pandemic crisis compared to the previous global financial crisis. The results indicated an important improvement only of the second indicator, which shows the need to develop policies to stimulate the youth to raise their education level, and thus improve the situation on the labor market, even in crisis times

Bank Non-Performing Loans – a Panel Data-Based Analysis in European Context. Study Case: Germany

Humanity has recently been crossed by periods of great crises, and banks have had a particularly important role in keeping the economy afloat and in relaunching economic activities in these difficult periods. If we refer to the stability, health and efficiency of the banking system, one of the important factors mentioned in the specialized literature is the size of Non-Performing Loans. The present work carries out a time and space analysis of this indicator for the EU member countries, observing its behavior during major crises. Thus, in the distribution of European countries there was a decrease in the median level of the indicator and in its variability, but also an increase in the predominance of countries with low non-performing loans ratio. At the same time, the case of Germany is studied, with the strong and weak points of its banking system and the key determinants of the rate of non-performing loans, for the main commercial banks in Germany are identified, using a panel data regression model. The results revealed that the indicator-level is negatively and significantly correlated with the loan-deposit ratio and the degree of financial profitability and positively and significantly correlated with the total value of assets and the degree of capital adequacy. From this emerges the need to promote policies to stimulate the prudent behavior of banks in granting loans, in order to ensure the stability and health of the banking system in European countries

Studies on the Short-Term Effects of the Cease of Pesticides Use on Vineyard Microbiome

In this chapter, an overview of the impact of phytosanitary treatments on the vineyard microbiome is provided, together with the results of the research we conducted. The studied plant material consisted of grapevine from the cultivars Sauvignon blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon, cultivated within the plantation of the Research Station for Viticulture and Enology from Murfatlar, Romania. For each cultivar, a treated plot and an untreated plot were established. For each of those, the phyllosphere microbiota was quantified using the epifluorescence microscopy method, followed by automated image analysis using CellC software. At the same time, the soil fungal diversity was evaluated in three stages during the year 2021, using microscopic morphological criteria. The results give useful information regarding the phytosanitary state of the studied plant, as well as the short-term effects produced by the ceasing of pesticide application on the grapevine microbiota

Self-Cleaning and Antibacterial Properties of the Cement Mortar with ZnO/Hydroxyapatite Powders

According to literature data, different micro- and nanopowders have been used as a partial substitute for cement mortar due to their small size and large specific surface area. The aim of the work is to develop innovative materials based on cement mortar with antibacterial and self-cleaning properties, which can be used in the long-term maintenance of clean spaces. First, zinc oxide/hydroxyapatite (ZnO/Hap) powder denoted as ZH was synthesized by the hydrothermal method; then it was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/ energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and adsorption–desorption isotherms. The second step was the cement mortar preparation: one plain, denoted E, and one with ZH powder inside, denoted MZH. Both mortars were subjected to self-cleaning and antibacterial tests. In the self-cleaning tests, two concentrated solutions of rhodamine B and methylene blue were used. MZH showed a better decolorating after 24 h of UV light than plain cement mortar denoted E for both solutions. In order to highlight the antibacterial effect of cement mortars on some strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, the direct contact method was used. The study revealed that, after 24 h of incubation, the planktonic growth of the E. coli strain is significantly inhibited in the presence of the MZH sample, compared to the control strain. MZH cement mortar exhibits a better growth inhibitory property than the plain cement mortar E

Self-Cleaning and Antibacterial Properties of the Cement Mortar with ZnO/Hydroxyapatite Powders

According to literature data, different micro- and nanopowders have been used as a partial substitute for cement mortar due to their small size and large specific surface area. The aim of the work is to develop innovative materials based on cement mortar with antibacterial and self-cleaning properties, which can be used in the long-term maintenance of clean spaces. First, zinc oxide/hydroxyapatite (ZnO/Hap) powder denoted as ZH was synthesized by the hydrothermal method; then it was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/ energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and adsorption–desorption isotherms. The second step was the cement mortar preparation: one plain, denoted E, and one with ZH powder inside, denoted MZH. Both mortars were subjected to self-cleaning and antibacterial tests. In the self-cleaning tests, two concentrated solutions of rhodamine B and methylene blue were used. MZH showed a better decolorating after 24 h of UV light than plain cement mortar denoted E for both solutions. In order to highlight the antibacterial effect of cement mortars on some strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, the direct contact method was used. The study revealed that, after 24 h of incubation, the planktonic growth of the E. coli strain is significantly inhibited in the presence of the MZH sample, compared to the control strain. MZH cement mortar exhibits a better growth inhibitory property than the plain cement mortar E

Modeling and Characterization of Complex Concentrated Alloys with Reduced Content of Critical Raw Materials

The continuous development of society has increased the demand for critical raw materials (CRMs) by using them in different industrial applications. Since 2010, the European Commission has compiled a list of CRMs and potential consumption scenarios with significant economic and environmental impacts. Various efforts were made to reduce or replace the CRM content used in the obtaining process of high-performance materials. Complex concentrated alloys (CCAs) are an innovative solution due to their multitude of attractive characteristics, which make them suitable to be used in a wide range of industrial applications. In order to demonstrate their efficiency in use, materials should have improved recyclability, good mechanical or biocompatible properties, and/or oxidation resistance, according to their destination. In order to predict the formation of solid solutions in CCAs and provide the optimal compositions, thermodynamic and kinetic simulations were performed. The selected compositions were formed in an induction furnace and then structurally characterized with different techniques. The empirical results indicate that the obtained CCAs are suitable to be used in advanced applications, providing original contributions, both in terms of scientific and technological fields, which can open new perspectives for the selection, design, and development of new materials with reduced CRM contents

Beta-lactam and quinolone resistance markers in uropathogenic strains isolated from renal transplant recipients

Our objectives were to investigate the extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) and carbapenemases (CR) genetic determinants and to assess the association between ESBL production and quinolone resistance in bacterial strains isolated from renal transplant recipients with urinary tract infections. Material and methods: A number of 30 isolates were recovered from urine specimens of patients with renal transplant from October 2015 to March 2016. The isolates were analyzed for ESBL production using double disc synergy test and for CR production by the Hodge test. Phenotypically confirmed isolates were screened by PCR for the identification of ESBL, CR and fluoroquinolone resistance genes. Results: The 30 clinical bacterial strains isolated from urinary tract infections in renal transplant recipients were identified as Klebsiella pneumoniae (17), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (7), Morganella morganii (2), Escherichia coli (2), Edwardsiella tarda (1) and Enterobacter cloacae (1). Out of them, 22 isolates were ESBL producers and 20 multi-drug resistant (MDR) (i.e., 13 K. pneumoniae and 7 P. aeruginosa strains). More than half of the ESBL clinical strains (14/22, 63.63%) revealed at least one ESBL gene, the most frequent being blaCTX-M type (18/22, 81.81%), either alone (4/22, 18.18%) or in combination with another ESBL gene (17/22, 77.27%), followed by blaTEM (13/22, 59.09%). The blaOXA-48 was present in 10 isolates (33.33%). The most frequent association of ESBLs and CR genes (5/14, 35.71%) was revealed by blaCTX-M- blaTEM - blaOXA-48, encountered particularly among K. pneumoniae isolates (4/17, 23.52%). The qnrB gene was identified in five strains, i.e. one P. aeruginosa ESBL isolate (expressing the blaCTX-M gene) and four K. pneumoniae ESBL isolates (harboring the blaCTX-M - blaTEM genes combination). Conclusions: The uropathogenic strains isolated from renal transplant recipients exhibited high rates of MDR and beta-lactam resistance. The selective pressure exerted by quinolones could enable uropathogenic bacteria to acquire resistance to this class of antibiotics