Background: COVID-19 vaccination started in Romania in December 2020. Child vaccination started in 2021 with children aged 12–15 years in August. For children aged 5–11 years, vaccination started in January 2022. The aim of our study was to describe COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in Romanian children and vaccine acceptability in the general population. As parental consent is required for child vaccination in Romania, these aspects have a significant association. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional survey was conducted in October and November 2021 during the peak of the 4th COVID-19 wave. Results: After validation, 1645 participants formed the main study group: median age 35 years, 72.83% women, and 35.44% from the medical domain. In total, 1311 (79.70%) participants were vaccinated against COVID-19 and 188 (11.42%) had vaccinated their 12–18-year-old children against COVID-19. Parents’ level of education, geographic area of residence, and COVID-19 vaccination status were significantly associated with COVID-19 vaccination. The hesitancy factors of child vaccination included the novelty of COVID-19 vaccines (62, 47.32%), fear of adverse reactions (32, 24.42%), and anti-vaccinism in general (29, 22.13%). In the studied group, only 188 (11.42%) participants recommended vaccination of 5–11-year-old children. Vaccine acceptability was higher in the general population (1311, 79.70%) than in the medical domain (326 out of 583, 55.91%). General vaccine hesitancy was based mainly on beliefs regarding inefficiency (131, 39.22%) and fears about the side effects of the vaccine (76, 22.75%). Conclusions: Overall, the acceptability of COVD-19 vaccines in the Romanian population was influenced by the level of education, area of residence, and being a COVID-19-vaccinated parent. Public health intervention programs are essential.

Testicular cancer is the most common solid tumor affecting young males. Most testicular cancers are testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs), which are divided into seminomas (SGCTs) and non-seminomatous testicular germ cell tumors (NSGCTs). During their development, primordial germ cells (PGCs) undergo epigenetic modifications and any disturbances in their pattern might lead to cancer development. The present study provides a comprehensive review of the epigenetic mechanisms–DNA methylation, histone post-translational modifications, bivalent marks, non-coding RNA–associated with TGCT susceptibility, initiation, progression and response to chemotherapy. Another important purpose of this review is to highlight the recent investigations regarding the identification and development of epigenetic biomarkers as powerful tools for the diagnostic, prognostic and especially for epigenetic-based therapy.

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Beer is one of the most consumed drinks worldwide. It contains numerous categories of antioxidants, phenolic products, traces of group B vitamins, minerals (selenium, silicon, potassium), soluble fibers and microorganisms. Low or moderate beer consumption, with or without alcohol, showed positive effects on health by stimulating the development of a healthy microbiota. In the present review we focused on four components responsible with interaction with gut microbiota: microorganisms, polyphenols, fiber and melanoidins, their presence in usual beers and on perspectives of development of fortified beers with enhanced effects on gut microbiota. Though microorganisms rarely escape pasteurization of beer, there are new unpasteurized types that might bring strains with probiotic effects. The polyphenols from beer are active on the gut microbiota stimulating its development, with consequent local anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Their degradation products have prebiotic action and may combat intestinal dysbiosis. Beer contains dietary fiber such as non-starchy, non-digestible carbohydrates (β-glucans, arabinoxylans, mannose, fructose polymers, etc.) that relate with gut microbiota through fermentation, serving as a nutrient substrate. Another type of substances that are often considered close to fiber because they have an extremely low digestibility, melanoidins (melanosaccharides), give beer antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Though there are not many research studies in this area, the conclusion of this review is that beer seems a good candidate for a future functional food and that there are many pathways by which its ingredients can influence in a positive manner the human gut microbiota. Of course, there are many technological hinderances to overcome. However, designing functional beers fortified with fiber, antioxidants and probiotics, with a very low or no alcoholic content, will counteract the negative perception of beer consumption, will nullify the negative effects of alcohol, while simultaneously exerting a positive action on the gut microbiota.

In this paper are highlighted the stresses that appear in the peri-implantation area through the forces induced by the masticatory process. The analysis consists of computer modeling of the dental implant and simulation of the load with a distributed force. It is considered a variable direction loading related to the axial insertion of the dental implant, thus simulating an important masticatory process. This type of load reveals stresses developed in the periimplantary bone area, the risk areas where the stresses can cause the appearance of hard tissue damage near the implant and its failure. Increases in stresses up to 159% in the ruminant type of chewing compared with the cutter type are highlighted. An aggravating factor that can lead to implant failure is bruxism that tangentially stresses the implant leading to the concentration of forces at the abutment-implant junction. Conclusions regarding the decrease of stresses at bone-implant junction with up to 23% by a corresponding increase of the implant diameter by 25% are also issued.

The supervision of health status is commonly associated with physiopatological aspects of various diseases, but also with identifying the possibilities of correcting the imbalances discovered. Increasingly nowadays, we are faced with trends and challenges for early detection or anticipation of pathological markers and for establishing how reliable are the clinical and therapeutic methods applied for a specific pathology. In this respect, the intensity of body's response to different measures should be accordingly quantified using the most accurate and efficient assessments. This study aims to determine the level of impact and the intensity of the body's response to physical or mental overload, alongside with identifying the context with increased risks for this imbalance and setting the appropriate therapeutic approach. For the research purposes we had monitored 50 student subjects, 25 of them only studying (the witness group) and 25 which were also working with a part-time job program (the experimental group). An assessment system which included testing of attention, monitoring cardiovascular parameters, type of activity and level of job-specific demands, sleep quality, mood and appetite. The analysis of our recorded data highlighted the importance and interdependence between possible causal factors, pathological condition, the evaluation system and the proposed therapeutic measures. Health specialists should offer assistance and guidelines in order to prevent the overload syndrome and to improve the quality of life of people in a multitasking environment. Our proposed protocol can contribute to health promotion and optimization of individuals' recovery process, fastening thus their social and work reintegration.

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