No abstract

The coastal and marine area is one of an endlessly increasing number of human activities and provisions, the most significant of which are those associated with tourism. With the start of the MARSPLAN BS-II project in 2019, the planning of public participation actions of stakeholders to identify areas and important features for each maritime activity to develop and implement MSP has started. This study, using an appropriate exploratory approach, namely Grounded Theory, aims to assess stakeholders' perceptions of the environmental impact of tourism in the Romanian Black Sea coastal area to identify potential barriers that may arise from the perspective of implementing the Black Sea MSP. Even if the impact of tourism on the environment cannot be studied in-depth and fully proven, it is obvious, through our results, that tourism should fully enjoy the management and planning efforts.

Background and Objectives: Calprotectin is a marker for intestinal inflammation. Recent research suggests a link between inflammation and depression. This study assessed the association between the levels of calprotectin in patients from South-Eastern Europe and the severity of depression, anxiety, and quality of life. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 30 confirmed patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) who were assessed using clinical interviews for determining the severities of mental disorders (i.e., depression severity—PHQ-9, anxiety—GAD-7) and the quality of life (EQ-5D). Stool samples were collected from all participants for measuring their levels of calprotectin. Results: The level of calprotectin is correlated with PHQ-9 (ρ = 0.416, p = 0.022) and EQ-5D (ρ = −0.304, p = 0.033) but not with GAD 7 (ρ = 0.059, p = 0.379). Calprotectin levels in patients with mild, moderate, and moderately severe depression were significantly higher than in patients with minimal depression (198 µg/g vs. 66,9 µg/g, p = 0.04). Calprotectin level was corelated with the following depressive symptoms: autolytic ideation (ρ = 0.557, p = 0.001), fatigue (ρ = 0.514, p = 0.002), slow movement (ρ = 0.490, p = 0.003), and sleep disorders (ρ = 0.403, p = 0.014). Calprotectin was an independent predictor of depression with an odds ratio of 1.01 (95%: 1.002–1.03, p < 0.01). An ROC analysis showed that a level of calprotectin of 131 µg/g or higher has a sensitivity of 82%, a specificity of 61%, and an accuracy of 70% for predicting depression. In this study, no significant correlations were found between calprotectin level and anxiety. Conclusions: Calprotectin levels are associated with the severity of depression, and checking for a calprotectin level of 131 µg/g or higher may be a potential accessible screening test for depression in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

This study compared Romanian college students’ off-task use of digital devices in online courses with their digital distractions in face-to-face courses. Students taking both online and face-to-face courses completed surveys assessing off-task use of technology in each delivery mode, extent to which such use constitutes a distraction, and instructor policies for curbing use of digital devices in class. Off-task use of digital devices was significantly greater in online than face-to-face courses. Students were twice as likely to state that they were distracted by multitasking in online than in face-to-face classes. They also indicated that instructors in online classes were less likely than their face-to-face instructors to have a policy on the use of digital devices for off-task purposes during class. Study participants were more lenient toward the use of digital devices in online than in in-person classes and were less bothered by multitasking and classmates’ off-task use of digital devices in online than in face-to-face classes. The results of this study have implications for instructors in online classes. By improving instructional design and pedagogical methods and creating opportunities for more interaction during the class, online instructors might be able to increase student motivation and lower multitasking behaviors.

Sanctions should improve business compliance and mitigate the risks of non-conformity. This premise motivated our research and led to very interesting results for the trinomen business performance—transport infrastructure and local development strategies—public control. We used a customized Brunswik lens model to illustrate the decision-making process based on the interactions between the analysis of sanctions in the transport sector and the projected financial judgement, as we have traditionally understood and experienced them. We clustered 186,671 cases of noncompliance sanctioned by the Romanian authorities and created a chromatic map with accents on the risks of nonconformities. We employed principal component analysis to find patterns and correlations between faulty behavior in transport activities and the evolution of financial indicators, such as exports and imports. The ROC curve was used to investigate the credibility of a possible connection between transport sanctions and the development of regional exports and imports. We found multiple challenges that interfere with the projection of a trustworthy financial judgement in transport and offer insights and recommendations for integrated local governance practices and strategies aimed at mitigating the risks of noncompliance and promoting sustainable development in transport.