Immersive virtual reality or computerised mindfulness meditation for improving mood? Preliminary efficacy from a pilot randomised trial.

Introduction: Mindfulness interventions are effective in improving mood, reducing stress, and increasing quality of life. New developments in technology bring important channels to deliver mindfulness interventions that can increase accessibility, such as the Internet, computerised interventions, mobile apps and recently, virtual reality (VR). The aim of the present study is to enhance our current understanding of the use of VR in mindfulness, namely we examined in a pilot randomised trial the efficacy of an immersive VR-based mindfulness approach compared to an active control (computerised-based mindfulness meditation) on improving mood.

Mercury determination in various environmental, food and material complex matrices using unified operating conditions for a cold vapor generation high-resolution continuum source quartz tube atomic absorption spectrometry method.

An analytical method with broad applicability based on cold vapor generation high-resolution continuum source quartz tube atomic absorption spectrometry was developed and evaluated for the determination of total mercury in matrices with various complexities and compositions. Sample preparation for different matrices of food, environmental samples and (bio)polymeric materials and unified operating conditions for derivatization and measurement were evaluated. The method was validated according to established requirements (Eurachem Guide 2014, EC Decisions 657/2002; 333/2007; 836/2011 and Association of Official Analytical Chemists Guide - AOAC).

Roman Republican coarse ware from , Southern Lazio (Italy): a multi-analytical study of production technology and trade.

The first objective of this paper is to reconstruct the production technology of fourth-first centuries BCE coarse ware from surveys near the ancient town of in the Lepini Mountains of Southern Lazio, Italy, adopting a multi-analytical method, combining macroscopic observation with polarised light optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The second objective of this study is to gain insight into 's integration in broader production and distribution networks in Southern Lazio between the fourth-first centuries BCE, by comparing the results with previous data for coarse ware prevalent in the region at that time. The results indicate that the coarse ware from was produced with Fe-rich, Ca-poor, and illite-muscovite clays and fired in an oxidising atmosphere between 750 and 900 °C.

Spatial Variation in the Inflammatory Response of House Sparrows in their Native Range.

Characterizing spatial differences in wildlife immunity is the first step to identify environmental drivers of host defense and disease risks. The house sparrow (Passer domesticus) is a model system for ecoimmunology, but spatial differences in immunity have been largely restricted to the invasive range of this global species. We provide an initial test of spatial variation in immune response to phytohemagglutinin in the native range, finding that birds from Romania have greater inflammatory responses than birds from Egypt.

The influence of media narratives on microplastics risk perception.

Background: Media are the interface between scientists and citizens, communicating and interpreting the risk message and powerfully influencing individual awareness, public debate, and, hence, people's behavior. Pollution by microplastics (MPs), a threat to public health and terrestrial and marine ecosystems, has received research, media, and public interest. However, how MPs environmental and health risks are reflected in the media and assessed in the scientific literature does not find consensus over time.

Factors influencing human papillomavirus vaccination uptake in European women and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Cervical Cancer (CC) lingers as a severe public health issue due to low vaccination coverage and poor screening addressability. Hence, this systematic review explored psychological factors influencing the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination uptake in European women.

Methods: As of September 2022, PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Web of Science were systematically searched to include English studies assessing diverse factors influencing vaccination uptake in European women.

Planar Chiral -Terphenyl-Based Cyclophanes with Remarkable Enantiomer Stability: Synthesis, Theoretical Investigations, and Complexation Studies.

Design of conformationally stable compounds with planar chirality is a topic of great interest mainly because of their potential applications as enantioselective ligands or other functional materials. Herein, we present the design and synthesis of novel planar chiral cyclophanes, obtained by anchoring of the -terphenyl unit, with bridges of different lengths and rigidities, along with their nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry, and X-ray characterizations. We investigated the influence of the structural particularities of the bridges over the stability of the enantiomers, by means of nuclear magnetic resonance and chiral high-performance liquid chromatography as well as by density functional theory calculations.

Current trends in luminescence-based assessment of apoptosis.

Apoptosis, the most extensively studied type of cell death, is known to play a crucial role in numerous processes such as elimination of unwanted cells or cellular debris, growth, control of the immune system, and prevention of malignancies. Defective regulation of apoptosis can trigger various diseases and disorders including cancer, neurological conditions, autoimmune diseases and developmental disorders. Knowing the nuances of the cell death type induced by a compound can help decipher which therapy is more effective for specific diseases.

Crystal Structure and Intermolecular Energy for Some Nandrolone Esters.

Nandrolone (Estr-4-en-17β-ol-3-one) is a derivative of testosterone and a naturally occurring anabolic-androgenic agent which belongs to the steroid group. Crystal structures of four short, medium and long esterified forms of nandrolone, including propionate, phenylpropionate, cypionate and undecanoate were determined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Crystal packing, supramolecular features and intermolecular interactions were described based on a quantitative and qualitative Hirshfeld surfaces analysis accompanied by evaluation of crystal energies and intermolecular interactions computation.

Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover: The Role of Statins in Liver Cancer.

Statins, which are inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, are an effective pharmacological tool for lowering blood cholesterol levels. This property makes statins one of the most popular drugs used primarily to prevent cardiovascular diseases, where hyperlipidemia is a significant risk factor that increases mortality. Nevertheless, studies conducted mainly in the last decade have shown that statins might prevent and treat liver cancer, one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide.

Ancestral l-amino acid oxidase: From substrate scope exploration to phenylalanine ammonia-lyase assay.

In this study we assessed the applicability of the recently reported ancestral l-amino acid oxidase (AncLAAO), for the development of an enzyme-coupled phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity assay. Firstly, the expression and isolation of the AncLAAO-N1 was optimized, followed by activity tests of the obtained octameric N-terminal His-tagged enzyme towards various phenylalanine analogues to assess the compatibility of its substrate scope with that of the well-characterized PALs. AncLAAO-N1 showed high catalytic efficiency towards phenylalanines mono-, di-, or multiple-substituted in the meta- or para-positions, with ortho- substituted substrates being poorly transformed, these results highlighting the significant overlap between its substrate scope and those of PALs.

Impact of Arieş River Contaminants on Algae and Plants.

The Arieş River (Western Romania) represents one of the most important affluents of the Mureş River, with great significance in the Mureş Tisza basin. The environmental quality of the Arieş basin is significantly affected by both historic mining activities and contemporary impacts. Thus, an evaluation of the effects of the main contaminants found in water (organochlorine pesticides-OCPs, monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons-MAHs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons-PAHs, and metals) on cyanobacteria and plants was performed.

Remineralization Induced by Biomimetic Hydroxyapatite Toothpastes on Human Enamel.

This work aimed to compare the effect of four new toothpastes (P1-P4) based on pure and biomimetic substituted nano-hydroxyapatites (HAPs) on remineralization of human enamel. Artificially demineralized enamel slices were daily treated for ten days with different toothpastes according to the experimental design. Tooth enamel surfaces were investigated using atomic force microscope (AFM) images and surface roughness (Ra) determined before and after treatment.

Theta-burst stimulation as a therapeutic tool in neurological pathology: a systematic review.

TBS (theta-burst stimulation) is a novel therapeutic approach in a wide range of neurological diseases. The present systematic review aims to identify the various protocols used in the last years, to assess study quality and to offer a general overview of the current state of the literature. The systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

Dual-emissive solid-state histidine-stabilized gold nanoclusters for applications in white-light generation.

The majority of present-day white-light emitting devices (WLEDs) are built upon the use of rare-earth elements, which have a short supply, are expensive and can become extremely toxic. Thus, in this work, we synthesized an eco-friendly, efficient and cheap white-light emitting material (WLEM) based on solid-state histidine-stabilized gold nanoclusters (His-AuNCs), obtained through the lyophilization of microwave-synthesized photoluminescent His-AuNCs. Their morphological and structural characterization was followed by thorough evaluation of their intrinsic solid-state photoluminescence properties steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy, at multiple excitation wavelengths.

New pricing models for generic medicines to ensure long-term sustainable competition in Europe.

Price erosion of generic medicines over time as a result of existing pricing policies in combination with increasing operational costs of these products due to high inflation, undermine long-term sustainable competition in European off-patent medicines markets. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify new potential pricing models for retail generic medicines in Europe, examine their pros and cons, and illustrate them with examples inside or outside the pharmaceutical sector. A targeted literature review, one-to-one interviews and a joint advisory board meeting with experts from five European countries were carried out to assess potential pricing models for generic medicines.

A new clustering method based on multipartite networks.

The clustering problem is one of the most studied and challenging in machine learning, as it attempts to identify similarities within data without any prior knowledge. Among modern clustering algorithms, the network-based ones are some of the most popular. Most of them convert the data into a graph in which instances of the data represent the nodes and a similarity measure is used to add edges.

Viscous dissipation effects on hybrid nanofluid flow over a non-linearly shrinking sheet with power-law velocity.

This research intends to investigate the effect of the nonlinearity of the surface velocity on the hybrid nanofluid flow behavior. Here, the total composition of AlO (alumina) as well as Cu (copper) volume fractions, are implemented in a one-to-one ratio and then dispersed in water. The similarity equations are gained employing a similarity transformation, which is programmed in MATLAB software.

Hybrid health regimes: Access to primary care physicians and COVID-19 vaccine uptake across municipalities in Romania.

This study analyses COVID-19 vaccine uptake at the municipal level in Romania using the global health regimes and vaccine hesitancy perspectives. Our spatial regression (SARAR-het Durbin) shows that the number of primary care physicians is a significant predictor of vaccine uptake, and municipalities with higher access to the labour market have higher vaccination rates. We provide a historical perspective to demonstrate that the current health regime in Romania is a hybrid of internationalist and global health regimes, with socialist investments affecting labour participation, education, poverty, and vaccination rates.

Preventing the onset of depressive disorders in low-and middle-income countries: An overview.

Depressive disorders constitute an important and costly public health problem and worldwide most of the disease burden is suffered in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Treatments only have limited possibilities to reduce the disease burden of depressive disorders. Prevention may be one of the alternative ways to further reduce the disease burden of depressive disorders.

Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptor Genotypes and Reproductive Outcomes in a Group of Infertile Women: A Romanian Study.

A growing body of evidence suggests that endometrial immune disorders may be responsible for endometrial dysfunctions that can lead to gynecological and obstetrical pathology. The aim of this study was to explore the potential relationship between different killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genotypes and reproductive outcomes. We conducted a prospective cohort study that included 104 infertile patients undergoing an in vitro fertilization procedure.