Does education influence COVID-19 vaccination? A global view

After the recent hard attempts felt on a global scale, notably in the health sector, the steady efforts of scientists have been materialized in maybe one of the most expected findings of the last decades, i.e. the launching of the COVID-19 vaccines. Although it is not our goal to plead for vaccination, as the decision in this regard is a matter of individual choice, we believe it is necessary and enlightening to analyze how one's educational status interferes with COVID-19 vaccination. There are discrepancies between world states vis-à-vis their well-being and their feedback to crises, and from the collection of features that can segregate the states in handling vaccination, in this paper, the spotlight is on education. We are referring to this topic because, generally, researches converge rather on the linkage between economic issues and COVID-19 vaccination, while education levels are less tackled in relation to this. To notice the weight of each type of education (primary, secondary, tertiary) in this process, we employ an assortment of statistical methods, for three clusters: 45 low-income countries (LICs), 72 middle-income countries (MICs) and 53 high-income countries (HICs). The estimates suggest that education counts in the COVID-19 vaccination, the tertiary one having the greatest meaning in accepting it. It is also illustrated that the imprint of education on vaccination fluctuates across the country groups scrutinized, with HICs recording the upper rates. The heterogeneity of COVID-19 vaccination-related behaviors should determine health authorities to treat this subject differently. To expand the COVID-19 vaccines uptake, they should be in an ongoing dialogue with all population categories and, remarkably, with those belonging to vulnerable communities, originated mostly in LICs. Education is imperative for vaccination, and it would ought to be on the schedule of any state, for being assimilated into health strategies and policies.

COVID-19 vaccination and governance in the case of low, middle and high-income countries

BACKGROUND

Global crises, regardless of the place where they started to spread or of the factors that triggered them, require a comprehensive approach, primarily based on good communication, cooperation and mutual support. No individual and no institution should remain indifferent to crises but, on the contrary, be fully aware that any involvement in curbing them matters. Although humanity can be affected by various types of crises, in this paper we refer to the one related to COVID-19 pandemic. There are certain reasons that come to justify our choice: first of all, being a shock with a strong impact on people, its analysis should be performed from several angles; this may bring to light an image with its disparate propagation and measures to counteract it both in developed countries, and especially in those with a shortage of resources. Secondly, in the context of the emergence of vaccines against COVID-19, it is helpful to have an overview of COVID-19 through the lens of the relationship between the vaccination process and the elements that characterize governance, with a differentiated dashboard by country categories worldwide: low, middle and high-income countries. Our study is far from capturing the complexity arising from such social problem, but rather aims to outline the defining role of governance when it comes to providing firm reactions to the COVID-19 crisis.

METHODS

Given that our sample consists of a large number of countries, namely 170, first, examined all together, and then, split into three groups (high, middle and low-income), it is challenging to address governance in association with COVID-19 vaccination, in order to see how much they interact and how each of the six aggregate governance indicators of the World Bank (Worldwide Governance Indicators) is reflected in this process. Even if they do not oscillate strongly over relatively short periods of time, reporting on health issues requires a sequential inventory, considering closer time intervals, so as to be able to act promptly. Thus, to better distinguish how the COVID-19 vaccination process evolved in low, middle and high-income countries, but also how it was imprinted by governance, we present the situation quarterly (March, June, September and December), in 2021, the year when the immunization campaigns were the most intense at the global level. Regarding the applied methods, we mention both OLS regressions with robust estimators and a panel model, used to investigate the determinants of COVID-19 vaccination, some of them describing the good governance, as well as other dimensions.

RESULTS

The findings point out that the influence of governance on COVID-19 vaccination differs depending on whether a country belongs to high, middle or low-income typology: the strongest determinism of governance on vaccination is encountered in high-income countries, and the weakest in low-income ones; in some cases, governance does not matter significantly. However, exploring the three groups of states included in the research, it is observed that the most relevant factors in this relationship are government effectiveness, regulatory quality and control of corruption.

CONCLUSIONS

Besides the order of importance of governance indicators on COVID-19 vaccination, our study indicates that, overall, governance positively shapes the vaccination rate at the level of the chosen sample. In normative terms, these findings can be translated particularly by the fact that they can serve as information to raise awareness on the relevance of the existence of an institutional framework that allows the formulation of strategies according to the patterns of each country, especially since the actionable tools depend on the available resources. As a general conclusion, public policies should be designed in such a way as to strengthen trust in vaccination regulations and in governments, to reduce the multifaceted negative effects of this health crisis and to hope for its total end.

The implications of globalization on COVID-19 vaccination in Europe

Although globalization has left its mark on economic dynamism, causing conditionalities among various aspects (market openness, production networks, technological and information developments, migratory flows, international cooperation, humanitarian support, etc.), the less pleasant side of it should not be omitted, i.e. the emergence of the framework for the faster diffusion of epidemiological diseases. Thus, with the onset of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, its widespread circulation is a serious challenge for the provision of efficient solutions to combat it, especially in countries with fragile health systems, poor institutional quality and lack of resources. In this paper we aim to investigate the implications of globalization on the COVID-19 vaccination of the population. The period under analysis is January 1, 2021-January 1, 2022, using montly data, and the object of our study are 48 European states. To capture the relationship between globalization and the vaccination rate, we applied regression models, including a number of factors that may influence the progress of vaccination. In order to test the robustness of the results, the two-stage least squares (2SLS) regressions was used. The regression models developed underlined that globalization impacts the degree of vaccination. More globalized economies are more competitive in COVID-19 management, and the significance of this effect comes from better interconnection in global markets and easier access to medical discoveries. At the same time, countries with a higher vaccination rate are associated with higher levels of development. Based on the results obtained, we proposed some policy recommendations to increase the propensity to vaccinate, ensure equity in the distribution of vaccines and provide financial support to developing countries.

European Governments' Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic during the First Wave: Resetting Governance Systems to Cope More Effectively with Future Shocks

The emergence of the current global crisis induced by the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic brings about an urgent need to rethink and reshape recovery strategies adapted to this specific challenging context. Neglecting this reconfiguration could lead to system lockdown, affecting all sectors, both on medium and long term. The coronavirus has penetrated various countries with different degrees of intensity, thus being spatially diversified; even within the same country, with the same lockdown measures, an enormous variety in cases is encountered. Subsequently, even if crises may manifest heterogeneously and the long-term impact of implementing recovery policies cannot be accurately known ex ante by governments, institutions could adapt themselves to changing circumstances and respond promptly and appropriately to emerging shocks only if their functioning framework had been well set up by the outbreak of the crisis. Considering these aspects, the main questions that this paper aims to answer are: How effective have governmental measures in European countries been in combating the COVID-19 crisis?; Could the solutions offered by the European states' governments have an influence on diminishing the intensity of negative effects of a possible more serious return of this health crisis? What more could national authorities and international actors do to control the epidemiological evolution of SARS-CoV-2? Is a generic European Union policy helpful or should there be a case for local policy? Based on these issues, a comprehensive picture of the differences between the East and the West of Europe in terms of some medical, socio-economic, institutional and cultural factors will be outlined, in order to emphasize which of the two groups better-handled the COVID-19 situation in the first wave, covering the lockdown period (March 1, 2020 - June 1, 2020) and the relaxation period (June 1, 2020 - September 1, 2020); at the same time, some policy recommendations on how governments should more effectively manage future similar crises to generate a higher resilience of the systems will be provided.

COVID-19 and the efficiency of health systems in Europe

BACKGROUND

This study aims at analyzing the efficiency of the health systems of 31 European countries in treating COVID-19, for the period January 1, 2020 - January 1, 2021, by incorporating some factors from a multidimensional perspective.

METHODS

The methodology used in the research was Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), through which efficiency scores for health systems have been calculated. The research was performed considering three stages: the first wave (January 1-June 15), the relaxation period (June 15-October 1) and the second wave (October 1-December 31). In evaluating the determinants of the efficiency of health systems, six major fields of influence were taken into account: health care, health status, population, economic, cultural/societal and governmental issues, all covering 15 indicators. After measuring the efficiency, we used the Tobit type regression to establish the influencing elements on it.

RESULTS

The results for the public health systems of European states were determined for each country and period. We evaluated the efficiency of health systems in Europe against COVID-19, starting from health inputs (COVID-19 cases, physicians, nurses, hospital beds, health expenditure) and output (COVID-19 deaths). The obtained outputs show that, especially in the first phase of the pandemic, the inefficiency of the health systems was quite high, mainly in Western countries (Italy, Belgium, Spain, UK). In the relaxation phase and in the second wave, the Western states, severely affected at the beginning of the pandemic, began to take adequate measures and improve the efficiency of their sanitary systems. Instead, Eastern European countries were hit hard by the inefficiency of health systems (Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Romania). After Tobit regression, results of the study show that the influencing elements are different for the three stages: concerning the first wave, comobirdities, population age, and population density are important; for relaxation period a great influence have government effectiveness and power distance; with respect to second wave, the relevant factors are education and population density.

CONCLUSIONS

The results obtained could serve as starting points for health policymakers to perform comparative analyzes in terms of good practices in the health system and to develop national plans to better deal with health crises. At the same time, they can be used internationally to achieve a coherent and effective community response to the pandemic.

Methylmercury interferes with glucocorticoid receptor: Potential role in the mediation of developmental neurotoxicity

Methylmercury (MeHg) is a widespread environmental contaminant with established developmental neurotoxic effects. Computational models have identified glucocorticoid receptor (GR) signaling to be a key mediator behind the birth defects induced by Hg, but the mechanisms were not elucidated. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we found that MeHg can bind to the GR protein at Cys736 (located close to the ligand binding site) and distort the conformation of the ligand binging site. To assess the functional consequences of MeHg interaction with GR, we used a human cell line expressing a luciferase reporter system (HeLa AZ-GR). We found that 100 nM MeHg does not have any significant effect on GR activity alone, but the transactivation of gene expression by GR upon Dex (a synthetic GR agonist) administration was reduced in cells pre-treated with MeHg. Similar effects were found in transgenic zebrafish larvae expressing a GR reporter system (SR4G). Next we asked whether the effects of developmental exposure to MeHg are mediated by the effects on GR. Using a mutant zebrafish line carrying a loss-of-function mutation in the GR (gr^S357) we could show that the effects of developmental exposure to 2.5 nM MeHg are mitigated in absence of functional GR signaling. Taken together, our data indicate that inhibition of GR signaling may have a role in the developmental neurotoxic effects of MeHg.

Microwave assisted non-solvothermal synthesis of metal–organic frameworks

Microwave-assisted non-solvothermal synthesis of HKUST-1.

The kidney in cirrhosis with portal hypertension

Ascites, dilutional hyponatremia and hepatorenal syndrome are three clinical manifestations of the same physiopathological disorder: cirrhotic portal hypertension, hyperproduction of nitric oxide, arterial vasodilation with reduction of efficient arterial volume, which have as consequences renal vasoconstriction, sympathetic stimulation, the stimulation of renin-angiotensin-aldosteron system and of vasopressin secretion. In dilutional hyponatremia, the selective receptor V2 (vasopressin 1) antagonists may be efficient according to Spanish and American specialists and also according to personal experience.

Investigation of carbon nanofibers as support for bioactive substances

In this paper we have studied the adsorption properties of various bio-active systems onto the surface of carbon nanofibers (CNF) synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Amino acids (alanine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid) and glucose oxidase (GOx) were adsorbed on CNF and the results were compared with those obtained when activated carbon (AC) was used as support. CNF and AC properties (hydrophilic or hydrophobic properties) were characterized by the pH value, the concentration of acidic/basic sites and by naphthalene adsorption. CNF with immobilized GOx was additionally investigated as a highly sensitive glucose biosensor. An amperometric method was used in an original manner to detect the changes in the specific activity of GOx, immobilized longer time on CNF. The method demonstrates that not the whole enzyme adsorbed onto CNF can catalyze the oxidation of glucose from the solution.

Cobalt nanoparticles coated with graphitic shells as localized radio frequency absorbers for cancer therapy

Graphitic carbon-coated ferromagnetic cobalt nanoparticles (C-Co-NPs) with diameters of around 7 nm and cubic crystalline structures were synthesized by catalytic chemical vapor deposition. X-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis indicated that the cobalt nanoparticles inside the carbon shells were preserved in the metallic state. Fluorescence microscopy images and Raman spectroscopy revealed effective penetrations of the C-Co-NPs through the cellular plasma membrane of the cultured HeLa cells, both inside the cytoplasm and in the nucleus. Low radio frequency (RF) radiation of 350 kHz induced localized heat into the metallic nanoparticles, which triggered the killing of the cells, a process that was found to be dependent on the RF application time and nanoparticle concentration. When compared to carbon nanostructures such as single-wall carbon nanotubes, these coated magnetic cobalt nanoparticles demonstrated higher specificity for RF absorption and heating. DNA gel electrophoresis assays of the HeLa cells after the RF treatment showed a strong broadening of the DNA fragmentation spectrum, which further proved the intense localized thermally induced damages such as DNA and nucleus membrane disintegration, under RF exposure in the presence of C-Co-NPs. The data presented in this report indicate a great potential of this new process for in vivo tumor thermal ablation, bacteria killing, and various other biomedical applications.

Comparative study on different carbon nanotube materials in terms of transparent conductive coatings

We compared conductive transparent carbon nanotube coatings on glass substrates made of differently produced single-wall (SWNT), double-wall, and multiwall carbon nanotubes. The airbrushing approach and the vacuum filtration method were utilized for the fabrication of carbon nanotube films. The optoelectronic performance of the carbon nanotube film was found to strongly depend on many effects including the ratio of metallic-to-semiconducting tubes, dispersion, length, diameter, chirality, wall number, structural defects, and the properties of substrates. The electronic transportability and optical properties of the SWNT network can be significantly altered by chemical doping with thionyl chloride. Hall effect measurements revealed that all of these thin carbon nanotube films are of p-type probably due to the acid reflux-based purification and atmospheric impurities. The competition between variable-range hoping and fluctuation-assisted tunneling in the functionized carbon nanotube system could lead to a crossover behavior in the temperature dependence of the network resistance.

The prevalence of pathological gambling in Romanian teenagers

BACKGROUND

The liberalization of teenagers' way of life strikingly increased in Romania after 1989; this includes gambling. The goal of our study is to analyze the different aspects of gambling in some teenager communities in Romania.

METHODS

The study included 500 school-teenagers from 3 different Romanian districts (Cluj, Salaj and Bacau). Of these 217 (43.40%) were males and 283 (56.60%) females. Median age was 16 years old (range 14-19). A structural questionnaire was applied to the teenagers consisting in "The 20 questions of the American Anonymous Gambling Association". Other 20 questions about their age, gender, family, income, school, toxic abuse, gambling preferences, the frequency and the amount of money they use in gambling were also proposed.

RESULTS

The results of the study were as it follows: 34 (6.8%) of the tested teenagers were pathological gamblers, 28 (82.36%) males and 6 (17.64%) females, with a ratio F:M of 1:4.6. The average age of starting gambling was 13.25 1.51 years old. The majority (82.35%) prefers group gambling and only 17.64% prefer individual gambling. Of these, 47.5% of them gamble very often (almost every day) and 38.2% gamble often (once a week). The most frequent gambling was: pool (55.88%), poker (35.29%), bingo (32.35%), and basketball on a bet (5.88%), black-jack, roulette and craps (2.94% each). Gambling was the reason for school absenteeism and modest results at school in 64.70% and 52.94% of all the teenagers respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the study revealed very concerning aspects of the increased incidence of gambling among Romanian teenagers, compared to the UK (6% of them are gambling).

A comparative study of hospice services in the United States

In order to document the implementation of the hospice concept in the United States, 24 hospices, in operation at least one year and serving at least 100 patients, were selected from the National Hospice Organization roster to participate in a survey of organization, staffing, funding, services and population served. All of the hospices offered both home care and bereavement programs but only 41.7 per cent provided an inpatient program. Ten of the hospices were institutionally based, usually in a hospital. Inpatient services were associated with institutional affliations. The average profile of patients admitted to hospice was a 60-year-old White (89 per cent), female (54.3 per cent) cancer patient (94.5 per cent) whose spouse was primary care giver (63.8 per cent). Hospices provided a wide variety of both medical and social services provided by volunteers as well as paid staff. It appears that two divergent types of hospices are developing: 1) independent, heavily volunteer hospices with a variety of professional staff delivering a wide array of social/psychological services with unstable funding; and 2) institutionally based hospices providing both inpatient and home care, greater variety of medical/nursing services, less variety of social/psychological services, using fewer types of volunteers and paid staff, and not experiencing funding problems.

[The Oradea study regarding the epidemiology factors in ischemic cardiopathy]

Cholesterolemia in a population of 100482 inhabitants of the Bihor district, subjected to screening for the risk factors in ischemic cardiopathy were studied. Together with hyperlipidemias other risk factors were detected: arterial hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus, smoking, ischemic alterations of the electrocardiogram, the influence of the noxious agents present at the working place, of the blood groups and disturbances of the menstrual cycle. The mean cholesteremia is of 205 ± 43.7 mgr% (M = 207 ± 43.7 mgr%; F = 204 ± 43.5 mgr%). The prevalence of cholesterolemia, in comparison with the higher normal limits in each age group over 15 years of age, is in the entire studied series, of 13.5%. The population in whom cholesterolemia exceeds 250 mgr% represents 13.92%.