Issues and Challenges for the Romanian Insurance Market: Risk and Return Analysis

Romanian insurance industry has a competitive market, having, however, a deep character of heterogeneity, which has had an impact on different financial ratios that define it. In an international framework, non-life insurance market in Romania was a different pattern as compared to similar markets from Central and Eastern Europe and in relation to similar markets from 42 countries in the world, with a growing trend, even in the year 2009, when this sector stagnate or even decreases. In Romania, within the class of non-life insurance, motor third party liability insurance ranks second, as a source of income and expenses, even since 1990. Peculiarities of this type of insurance motivated a detailed analysis based on its compulsory character, together with public availability of the financial information. In order to better understand the developments for this class of insurance, for 2005-2008 a wide range of financial indicators was used such as gross written premiums, gross claims payable, loss ratio, coverage rate, solvency ratio, etc. Even if the risk management had no major problems, nevertheless this insurance class faced some difficulties, especially regarding the growing trend for the loss ratio, the solvency margin, the casualty and coverage ratios and for the outstanding claims reserve adequacy. In addition, correlations between different financial indicators specific to the sector, analyzed over a period of four years, provided additional findings for a deeper understanding of the characteristics of this insurance class. Overall, some correlations between indicators had normal levels and directions, but some of the results revealed some anomalies, which can be attributed to the fact that non-life insurance market, as a whole, is still growing.development and concentration, financial correlations, motor third party liability insurance, non-life insurance, return, risk

Культурные и антропологические параметры здорового состояния

Speaking about healthy status only by the functional criteria is a very relative approach and that is because people’s functional capabilities are appreciated following a normative standard consisting of a specific set of social norms. This is why, it is very important, when it comes to treating patients, to take into account the other aspects as well: cultural aspects, the traditions, the etiological and philosophical conceptions about the world and the disease; these can be different not only from a continent to another or from a country to another, but also within the same country. This paper aims to underline the various aspects that a therapist has to take into account when dealing with a patient; the attitude towards health and disease can be very different from an individual to another, as their definition is influenced by factors such as: age, religion, sex, ethnical affiliation, socio-economic status, profession, psychological and cultural factors. This is why the medical science has developed a new branch called Medical Anthropology, a science that studies the indigene conceptions about health and disease in different cultures. We concluded that a solid knowledge of rules and customs of a community as well as the individual factors are crucial in treating different kinds of diseases and also in building a good therapeutic relationship between the physician and the patientГоворя о здоровом состоянии только по функциональным критериям - это очень относительный подход, и это потому, что функциональные возможности людей ценят по существующим нормативным стандартам, состоящим из определенного набора социальных норм. Вот почему очень важно, когда речь заходит о лечении пациентов, с учетом других аспектов, а именно: культурные аспекты, традиции, этиологические и философские представления о мире и болезнях; они могут отличаться не только от континента к континенту, из страны в другую страну, а также в пределах одной страны. Это исследование призвано подчеркнуть, что терапевт должен принимать во внимание различные аспекты при рассмотрении пациента; отношение к своему здоровью и болезни могут иметь различное течение от человека к другому, поскольку их определение зависит от таких факторов, как возраст, религия, пол, этническая принадлежность, социально-экономический статус, профессия, психологические и культурные особенности. Именно поэтому медицинская наука разработала новую ветвь под названием медицинской антропологии, науки, изучающей первостепенные представления о норме и патологии в различных культурах. Мы пришли к выводу, что твердое знание правил и обычаев сообщества, а также индивидуальные факторы играют решающую роль в лечении различных видов заболеваний, а также в создании хороших терапевтических отношений между врачом и пациенто

Salutogenesis – важлива умова для розвитку гуманicтичної еліти

In clause conditions for formation of humanistic elite are described. To be spoken about ideas concerning healthy balance of a way of life. The essence of new prospect is presented by need to answer a question, " That holds the person healthy? And not, " that does it/it badly? Attitudes between health, a pressure and way with which people cope with it are in-vestigated, the way which they survive is investigated, adapt and pass through the most injuring events of a life Мова йде щодо здорового балансу в способі життя. Сутність нової перспективи представлена потребою, щоб відповісти на запитання, 'Що тримає людину здоровою? та "Що робить їй погано?". Досліджуються відносини між здоров'ям, напругою та спосіб, яким люди справляються з цим, досліджується спосіб, яким вони виживають, пристосовуються і проходять через найбільш травмуючи події житт

Infiintarea unui spital privat in Romania

In Romania, health legislation encourages the foundation of private medical units. This article discusses the reasons why it is benefic to open such hospitals, especially in the conditions where the Romanians are faced with the problem of the diminution of the number of public hospitals, and consequently of the number of beds. The article also presents the legal conditions to follow in order to open such an institution and makes a short review of the most important aspect to consider out when discussing the subject of planning a new hospital. Because the private hospital not only serves the population, but also it is an institution that has to provide financial profits, it is very important to take into account aspects related to the location, the characteristics of the population to be served,  the financial investment and so on. Anyway, if planned carefully and according to the law, the private health units can influence the quality of the medical act and the satisfaction of the population, by the stimulation of the competition.In Romania, legislatia incurajeaza infiintarea unitatilor medicale private. Acest articol prezinta motivele beneficiilor infiintarii unor spitale private, in special in conditiile in care Romania se confrunta cu o diminuare a numarului de spitale publice si, consecutiv, a numarului de paturi de spital. Articolul descrie, de asemenea, conditiile legale ce trebuie respectate pentru infiintarea unei asemenea institutii si o scurta revizie a celor mai importante aspecte punctate de literatura stiintifica in termeni de planificare a unui nou spital. Deoarece spitalul privat nu doar serveste populatia, dar, de asemenea, reprezinta o institutie care trebuie sa produca beneficii financiare, este foarte important sa fie luate in considerare aspecte privind locatia, caracteristicile populatiei deservite, investitiile financiare necesare etc. Printr-o planificare atenta si in concordanta cu prevederile legale,  unitatile medicale private nou infiintate pot influenta calitatea actului medical si satisfactia populatiei, ca urmare a cresterii competitiei

Hydrogels Obtained via γ-Irradiation Based on Poly(Acrylic Acid) and Its Copolymers with 2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate

Hydrogels containing both carboxyl and hydroxyl functional groups have been prepared by γ-irradiation of either aqueous solutions of acrylic acid (AA) and mixtures of AA and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) in different ratios, or aqueous solutions of poly(AA), PAA, and poly(AA-co-HEMA) obtained via solution polymerization. A higher absorbed dose is required in order to prepare hydrogels from monomer solutions, compared with those from polymer solutions. The range for the absorbed doses was chosen so that the probability of crosslinking reactions is higher than that of degradation ones. As the radiation energy deposited in a sample increases, the equilibrium swelling degree and the average molar mass between crosslinks diminishes. Chemical transformations induced by radiation were investigated by means of FTIR spectroscopy and thermal analysis of polymers before and after irradiation. For all these systems, the formation of a three-dimensional network enhances the glass transition temperature and thermal stability, but a further increase in the crosslinking degree may have the reverse effect on the glass transition temperature. Depending on the preparation protocol and/or hydrogel composition, superabsorbent materials that can bind different compounds throughout side functional groups may be obtained

Lab-on-a-Chip Platforms as Tools for Drug Screening in Neuropathologies Associated with Blood–Brain Barrier Alterations

Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) and organ-on-a-chip (OOC) devices are highly versatile platforms that enable miniaturization and advanced controlled laboratory functions (i.e., microfluidics, advanced optical or electrical recordings, high-throughput screening). The manufacturing advancements of LOCs/OOCs for biomedical applications and their current limitations are briefly discussed. Multiple studies have exploited the advantages of mimicking organs or tissues on a chip. Among these, we focused our attention on the brain-on-a-chip, blood–brain barrier (BBB)-on-a-chip, and neurovascular unit (NVU)-on-a-chip applications. Mainly, we review the latest developments of brain-on-a-chip, BBB-on-a-chip, and NVU-on-a-chip devices and their use as testing platforms for high-throughput pharmacological screening. In particular, we analyze the most important contributions of these studies in the field of neurodegenerative diseases and their relevance in translational personalized medicine

BISPHOSPHONATES RELATED OSTEONECROSIS OF THE JAW IN CANCER PATIENTS – EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY

Aim of the study Medication related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) is a severe drug adverse effect, often being diagnosed in an advanced stage. The aim of this epidemiological study was to determine the frequency of MRONJ in cancer patients from Oltenia region, during 2012-2017. Material and methods Data retrieved from the clinical charts and used in this study were age, gender, residency, neoplasm type, location, and stage of MRONJ. Microsoft Excel and SPSS for Windows were used for analysis. Results The study included 57 patients, 31 females and 26 males, mean age 63.8±9.8. MRONJ was found in older patients, females mostly under 65 years old, males mostly over 65 years old (p = 0.023). Age distribution was correlated with the neoplasm type, while median ages between the breast neoplasm (58.5 years old) and prostate neoplasm (70 years old) groups were significantly different (p = 0.002). All patients with MRONJ have been previously treated with intravenous zoledronic acid for bone metastasis. Mandibular MRONJ was 2.35 times more frequent than maxillary MRONJ (p = 0.002) and stage II of MRONJ was commonly encountered. Conclusions MRONJ has been found mostly in patients with breast or prostate adenoma cancers with bone metastases who have been treated with intravenous. zoledronic acid and was present especially in the lower jaw, in advanced stages

Correlations between Immune Response and Etiopathogenic Factors of Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw in Cancer Patients Treated with Zoledronic Acid

Impairment of the immune response in MRONJ (medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws) is one of the still unclear etiopathogenic mechanisms of this condition encountered in cancer patients treated with bisphosphonates, with negative effects on the patient’s quality of life. The aim of the present study was to correlate the immune response with etiopathogenic factors via immunohistochemical evaluation of the maxillary tissues in zoledronic acid osteonecrosis. The retrospective study included a group of 51 patients with various types of cancers, diagnosed with stage 2 or 3 MRONJ at zoledronic acid and treated surgically. Immunohistochemical expressions of αSMA, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD20, CD79α, CD68, CD204, and tryptase were evaluated. Immunohistochemical markers expressions were statistically analyzed according to the duration of the treatment, the trigger factor, the location of the MRONJ, and the healing status. Analysis of the immune response included T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, plasma cells, macrophages, and mast cells. The duration of treatment significantly influenced the immunohistochemical expression of most markers (p < 0.05). For an increasing trend in treatment duration, a decreasing trend in marker score was observed, suggesting an inverse correlation. The expression of the markers was different depending on the trigger factor, on MRONJ localization (maxilla/mandible), and the healing status, being more intense in patients cured per primam compared to those who had relapses. The patient’s immune response was negatively influenced by the duration of the treatment, the trigger factor, the location of the lesion in the mandible, and the recurrence of MRONJ