Energy Trade and Cooperation between the EU and CIS Countries

The report reviews key issues in energy trade and cooperation between the EU and CIS countries. It describes historical trends of oil and gas demand in the EU, other European and CIS countries and offers demand forecasts until 2030. Recent developments in oil and gas production and exports from Russia and Caspian countries are covered in detail leading to the discussion of the likely export potential of these regions. The key factors determining the production outlook, trade-offs and competition related to energy resources transportation choices are also discussed. The report also covers the interests and role of transit countries in relations between producer and consumer regions. The analytical section leads to policy recommendations that focus mainly on the EU

Curing Of Diglycidal Esters Of Bisphenols With Acid Hardeners

The unique properties of epoxy polymers have led to their wide application in various fields of modern technology. The influence of the structure of bisphenols on the properties of epoxy polymers, especially thermal ones, is known. However, the chemical structure of the hardener also affects the properties of cured epoxy polymers. As hardeners, we used acid hardeners of various structures: anhydrides of maleic, phthalic, pyromellite, methyltetrahydrophthalic and other acids. The following hardeners give high results in heat resistance: pyromellite and methyltetrahydrophthalic anhydrides. Polymers obtained by curing with these hardeners are deformed in the temperature range of 220-245°C. The use of these hardeners gives high results in terms of thermal stability. These polymers are formed by curing these components. It is known that the properties of epoxy polymers depend on the chemical structure of the glycide ether. There was some interest in investigating the influence on the properties of epoxy polymers as a chemical structure, as well as the nature of hardeners. For this purpose, diglycidal esters based on bisphenols were synthesized

The reciprocal relationship between coping mechanisms and lung cancer diagnosis: findings of a prospective study

Cristian Oancea,1 Cristian Suciu,2 Bogdan Timar,3 Ion Papava,4 Marius Raica,2 Ovidiu Burlacu5 1Department of Pulmonology, 2Department of Microscopic Morphology/Histology, 3Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, 4Department of Neurosciences, 5Department of Surgical Semiology, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania Background/purpose: Lung cancer is a major stress factor for the affected individual, leading to psychological distress in over 50% of the diagnosed patients. Since coping styles describe different patterns in approaching serious problems, our study aimed at ascertaining if the diagnosis of lung cancer has an impact on the patient’s coping styles and if there is a difference in psychical response among patients with different coping styles, as assessed by variance of anxiety and depression scores after diagnosis. Patients and methods: In this prospective study, a cohort of 50 patients were evaluated using the COPE scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire 7 (GAD-7), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), both prior to and 1 month after learning about their lung cancer diagnosis. The baseline and the final parameters were compared and stratified with respect to coping styles.Results: We observed that 1 month after learning the diagnosis, the patients had a significantly higher GAD-7 score (median score 12 vs 4 points; p<0.001). At the same time, the PHQ-9 score was significantly higher at the 1 month follow-up time-point (median score 16 vs 7; p=0.002). The increases in the anxiety scores were significant in patients with initial social support (13 vs 3; p=0.014) and avoidance coping style (14 vs 6; p=0.003). Regarding the depression scores, after the diagnosis, the only significant increase was observed in patients with initial avoidance coping style (18 vs 5; p=0.014).Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that patients who receive the diagnosis for cancer show a significant increase in anxiety and depression intensity. The most adaptive coping style turned out to be the problem-focused one while the least adaptive one was the avoidant style. Keywords: lung cancer, anxiety, depression, behavior, psychosocial, distres

Association between coping mechanisms and adherence to diabetes-related self-care activities: a cross-sectional study

Alin Albai,1 Alexandra Sima,1 Ion Papava,2 Deiana Roman,1 Bogdan Andor,3 Mihai Gafencu4 1Second Department of Internal Medicine, 2Department of Neurosciences, 3Department of Orthopedics, 4Department of Pediatrics, Victor Babeş University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania Abstract: In the overall management of the most chronic diseases, including diabetes mellitus (DM), adherence to recommended disease-related self-care activities is of paramount importance. The diagnosis and presence of a chronic disease may be considered a difficult and stressful situation in life, a situation in which coping mechanisms are psychological processes developed at a conscious level to manage these situations. This study aimed to explore the possible relationship between the dominance of one of the four major coping styles and adherence to diabetes-related self-care activities (DRSCAs) in the population of patients with type 2 DM (T2DM). In a cross-sectional consecutive-case population-based study design, 126 patients previously diagnosed with T2DM were enrolled. Coping mechanisms were evaluated using the Cope scale inventory, which identifies the dominant coping mechanism: problem-, emotion-, social support-, or avoidance-focused. The quality of DRSCA was evaluated using the summary of diabetes self-care activities questionnaire, in which a higher score was associated with improved adherence. In the study cohort, 45 patients (35.7%) had problem-focused coping, 37 (29.4%) had emotion-focused coping, 32 (25.4%) social support-focused coping, and 12 (9.5%) had avoidance-focused coping. Patients with emotion-focused coping had the highest level (P=0.02) of DRSCA (median 44 points), followed by patients with social support-focused coping (median 40 points) and problem-focused coping (median 36 points), while patients with avoidance-focused coping had the lowest SDSCA total score (33 points). The type of dominant coping mechanism has a significant impact on the quality of the DRSCA measures implemented by the patient to manage their diabetes. Patients with emotion-focused and social support-focused coping styles tend to have significantly increased adherence to DRSCA scores, while patients with other dominant coping styles are less interested in managing their disease. Keywords: coping, type 2 diabetes mellitus, diabetes self-management, glycemic control, diabetes prognosis&nbsp