LOCAL LEGAL RELATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF ADMINISTRATIVE DECENTRALIZATION. PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES

Local legal relations have evolved steadily over the past twenty years, so now we arewitnessing a redefinition of their concept, with the purpose of overcoming the traditionallocal autonomy in recognition of certain international legal capacity of local communities toparticipate in forms of decentralized cooperation.The goal of our research is to identify new actors in the international relations, localcommunities, which under EU law and the Council of Europe acquire certain powers thatwould allow them, at least theoretically, employment among secondary actors on the stage ofinternational law.The study presents an examination of the documents governing international or localcooperation with the ultimate aim to highlight the consequences of these forms ofcooperation, which they produce in the context of administrative decentralization

Improving Effectiveness of Basketball Free Throws through the Implementation of Technologies in the Technical Training Process

The aim of the study was to implement a specific training program to improve basketball free throws by using an innovative system called “system and technical device designed for motor learning process in the field of sports science and physical education with direct applicability in basketball specific training-free throw improvement”, as well as to evaluate the level of free throw effectiveness. We also aimed to highlight the differences in progress between the experimental and control groups for three age categories U14, U16, and U18 male juniors. The system and the device for detecting the ideal trajectory of the ball were provided by a high-speed video camera which captured the images and projected them in real-time onto a projection surface that was placed in front of, or to the side of the athlete, depending on the subject’s preference, provided that this projection surface is in the performer’s field of vision. The research took place from 5 April to 10 July 2021 and phased as follows: initial testing, implementation of the experimental 12-week free-throw training program (one individualized training session per week lasting 120 min), and final testing. The study included 360 subjects aged 13–14 years, who were grouped according to gender and team sport played. The evaluation was done by three tests: the FRB test (standardized test), the Shoot-Run test, and the 10 experimental throws test. The results of the study in all three motor tests showed that by implementing the innovative system that was designed for motor learning, the effectiveness of free throw shooting improved significantly in the players of the experimental groups in all age groups (U14, U16, U18), thus evidencing a positive, upward dynamic in relation to the increasing age category. In all three motor tests, the progress of the experimental groups was superior to the control groups as a result of the implementation of the experimental exercise program using the innovative system and device that was designed to improve free throws. The results of the study highlighted the effectiveness and opportunity of the implementation of innovative technologies in the process of training and evaluation of basketball specific free throws

External Information Sharing on Health Forums: An Exploration

Online health forums are an important avenue for receiving support and learning about fellow patients' experiences with similar diagnoses. We seek to characterize the external information shared (via web links) on health forums as a proxy to participants' information needs. For this purpose, using a dataset of web links shared publicly on a lung cancer forum over a period of 16 years, we perform a comparative analysis with three different website typologies, uncovering a diverse ecosystem of websites. We also examine typological variations as this forum gains and then loses popularity over time

The Implications of Japan's Public and Corporate Pension System. A new Strategy ...

Social protection is designed to ensure a basic standard of living for all people, regardless of the means available to them. In a democratic state, social protection is a fundamental state policy, because by its implementation is done to prevent, reduce or remove the consequences of events which are considered "social risks" of living standards of people. Social security is clearly one of the major aspects of social policy now and also a constant preoccupation of modern states. From hesitant beginnings of the few countries in the first decades of the nineteenth century, social security has rapidly become one of the important factors in the lives of billions of people around the world. Japan's public pension system is operated based on the concept that the active worker generation supports the elderly generation. The Japanese population is rapidly aging, meaning that a drastic increase in contribution payments and a drop in pension benefits would be inevitable. As a result of the reform in 2004, a new financial system was adopted so that a period of approximately 100 years should be taken into account and the amount of reserves in the final year of this period should be allocated to benefits for one year (the limited equilibrium system). In accordance with discussions on steps such as consolidation of public pension plans, there is a need for consideration of the ideal form of corporate pension plans, which have been designed assuming current public pension plans.public and corporate pension, insured person, financial system, social marketing

SENTINEL-1/2 DATA FOR SHIP TRAFFIC MONITORING ON THE DANUBE RIVER

After a long period of drought, the water level of the Danube River has significantly dropped especially on the Romanian sector, in July-August 2015. Danube reached the lowest water level recorded in the last 12 years, causing the blockage of the ships in the sector located close to Zimnicea Harbour. The rising sand banks in the navigable channel congested the commercial traffic for a few days with more than 100 ships involved. The monitoring of the decreasing water level and the traffic jam was performed based on Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 free data provided by the European Space Agency and the European Commission within the Copernicus Programme. Specific processing methods (calibration, speckle filtering, geocoding, change detection, image classification, principal component analysis, etc.) were applied in order to generate useful products that the responsible authorities could benefit from. The Sentinel data yielded good results for water mask extraction and ships detection. The analysis continued after the closure of the crisis situation when the water reached the nominal level again. The results indicate that Sentinel data can be successfully used for ship traffic monitoring, building the foundation of future endeavours for a durable monitoring of the Danube River

EFFECTS OF PROTON PUMP INHIBITORS ON DENTAL EROSIONS CAUSED BY GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE

Background: Numerous studies worldwide have assessed the association between dental erosions or other related oral manifestations, and the gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Nowadays, one of the main therapeutic resources of GERD is represented by proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). Adequate salivary secretions and flow are considered mandatory for the protection of both teeth and esophageal mucosa. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible correlation between GERD treatment options and subsequent control of oral manifestation, taking as premises that either PPIs or dietary and lifestyle changes may control oral patterns of GERD by acting on salivary secretions. Methods: 48 clinically diagnosed GERD adult patients with oral manifestations, mainly erosions, were included in the study, none of which showing alarming symptoms that would require further gastroenterologic examination. Oral examination evaluated the DMF (decayed, missing, filled) and OHI-S (Simplified Oral Hygiene) indices. Salivary flow was evaluated by the Saxon test. 25 patients were prescribed dietary and lifestyle measures and PPIs (omeprazole – 20 mg), whereas 23 patients were managed only through dietary and lifestyle modifications. General assessment was performed at the time of diagnosis and 4 weeks afterwards. Results: No significant differences as to the DMF index, OHI-S index or Saxon test were found over the 4 weeks management between the groups. Conclusions: Oral manifestation of GERD may be caused by impaired salivary secretions and flow, otherwise no - positive or negative - effect could be secondary to PPI therapy. Accordingly, complex oral rehabilitation of GERD patients and collaboration between gastroenterologists and dentists should be promoted

Pain Perception during Orthodontic Treatment with Fixed Appliances

The present study aimed to determine the intensity of pain perception in patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment. We analyzed the severity of pain concerning four routine procedures: the placement of separating elastics, ring cementations, arch activations, and elastic tractions. Our study consisted of a sample of 100 patients between 12 and 35 years old during the initial months of orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances. The patients completed a questionnaire meant to assess their pain sensation perception. The study sample was divided according to age and sex. By determining the intensity of pain felt during the four orthodontic procedures, we found that the most painful one was the ring cementation in all four age groups. The therapeutic-arch-activation procedure ranked second, with a higher mean value (2.66) in the 18–24 age group; the least painful was considered the elastic traction procedure, with a higher value (1.33) in the group over 30 years old. The most painful period was during the first 3–4 days after procedures. Most patients showed moderate pain after following the studied orthodontic interventions and required analgesic medication, the most frequently used being Nurofen, ketonal or paracetamol. The level of pain felt was significantly higher in men than in women. Patients suffer differently from the intensity of perceived pain as they grow older

Estimation of roundup action on genetic material of Trigonella foenum graecum L

In the present study, the cytogenetic effects of the herbicide roundup on division of root meristematic cells of Trigonella foenum graecum and influence of this treatment on height plants in early ontogenetic phase were studied. The seeds of plants were treated with various concentrations of roundup (0.1%, 0.5%, 1.0 %, and 2.0 %), for 3 and 6 h. Roundup had an inhibitory effect on plantlets height in early ontogenetic phases at all tested concentrations in 6 h treatment, comparatively with control, and at maximum tested concentration applied for 3 h. The mitotic index was significantly reduced by roundup 6h, for all tested concentrations. Roundup 3h, 0.1% and 1.0% variants, and roundup 6h, 0.5% and 2.0% variants induced the most numerous ana-telophase chromosomal aberrations. The presence of micronuclei and fragments suggests the potential clastogen effect of roundup

Advances in Noninvasive Biomarkers for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) currently represents one of the most common liver diseases worldwide. Early diagnosis and disease staging is crucial, since it is mainly asymptomatic, but can progress to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) or cirrhosis or even lead to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Over time, efforts have been put into developing noninvasive diagnostic and staging methods in order to replace the use of a liver biopsy. The noninvasive methods used include imaging techniques that measure liver stiffness and biological markers, with a focus on serum biomarkers. Due to the impressive complexity of the NAFLD’s pathophysiology, biomarkers are able to assay different processes involved, such as apoptosis, fibrogenesis, and inflammation, or even address the genetic background and “omics” technologies. This article reviews not only the currently validated noninvasive methods to investigate NAFLD but also the promising results regarding recently discovered biomarkers, including biomarker panels and the combination of the currently validated evaluation methods and serum markers

The Role of Shear-Wave Elastography of the Spleen in Ruling out the Presence of High-Risk Varices in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

The progression of liver fibrosis and the presence of portal hypertension are two key points in the follow-up and severity assessment of patients with chronic liver disease. Objective evaluation of such aspects has proven to be difficult due to the lack of reproducible and standardized non-invasive methods. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate whether spleen stiffness (SS) can rule out the presence of high-risk varices (HRVs) in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We designed a prospective follow-up of a cohort of 48 consecutive patients diagnosed with compensated advanced chronic liver disease (cACLD) due to NAFLD, between January 2020 and January 2021. After clinical evaluation, laboratory testing, ultrasonography (US), and shear-wave elastography (2D-SWE.GE) of both the liver and the spleen, patients were endoscopically screened for esophageal varices, gastric varices, and portal hypertensive gastropathy. Correlations and predictors were assessed. After univariate, multivariate, and predictive analyses, SS could be referred to as an independent predictor for high-risk varices (AUROC 0.987, p p = 0.006), with a calculated cutoff value of 17.95 kPa. These results are consistent with those of other, similar studies using both 2D-SWE.GE and a similar module (2D-SWE.SSI) in patients with metabolic liver disease. When confirmed by subsequent larger studies, SS could potentially become a useful non-invasive tool in the assessment of clinically significant portal hypertension in patients with advanced fatty liver disease