Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on consumer behavior and food security in the Republic of Moldova

The COVID-19 pandemic has a direct impact on consumers` behavior and their opinion on food security during the quarantine period. The purpose of the research is to develop recommendations to mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food security. In the context of achieving the established goal there was conducted a survey of consumers, online and by phone, on a sample of 250 people, and analyzed cases of malnutrition, change in purchasing behavior, the percentage of income that was spent for food procurement in 2020 during the pandemic. The study showed that one of the key factors influencing consumers’ view of food security is real income.

Peculiarities of using drugs in the elderly and senile persons

Elderly patients, compared to young people, use a huge volume of drugs because they are exposed to a greater number of diseases and pathological conditions, denote significant organic changes and age-induced functional disorders. The elucidation of the peculiarities of the action and usage of medicinal substances by elderly and senile people is currently gaining in importance since the share of people from this age group increased considerably, they becoming longer-lived. The body reaction to the drug substances in this category of patients changes as a result of the physiological aging of the organs and tissues and the presence of various simultaneous diseases. With age, the frequency of adverse drug reactions increases if compared to that of middle-aged people. Also, the sensitivity to most drugs is more pronounced to elderly and senile persons, which is why their usage dose should be reduced, the range of more active and toxic preparations being considerably limited. All these create difficulties in treatment, because, in these patients, polypragmasia is found more frequently than in other age groups, where about half of the drugs are prescribed according to vital indications. For these reasons, when prescribing drugs and drawing up treatment plans, the doctor should take into account, in a fairly thorough way, all the information on the aging process, the patient’s condition and the nature of the conditions currently being treated.

Current trends and orientations in learning foreign languages

This article deals with the problem of effective learning of modern languages. We aim to point out the current, progressive guidelines on language learning followed by their actual use in various cultural contexts. Spontaneous, instinctive and natural learning, through simple exposure to the target language, is a current trend in learning modern languages, because a language is easier to learn in real, concrete contexts, hearing, speaking, participating.

Procedures for in situ monitoring of gene methylation in cancer prediction (Literature Review)

The purpose of this article is to synthesize data from the specialty literature on the best performing procedures for the in situ detection and monitoring of the phenomenon of gene methylation, to analyze the protocol for the realization of the whole mount MeFISH technology and to review the human genes that are characterized by methylation in cancer.

Academy – our scientific country (memories, suggestions, hopes at the 60th anniversary of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova)

This communication reveals the main milestones during the 60-year activity of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, in particular, of the Institute of Applied Physics in which the author has worked and is working since its founding until now, the personalities who contributed to the establishment and institutionalization of the academic science in our area; in addition, there are pointed out the problems and reforms in the field of research and innovation in recent decades, as well as the internationalization phenomenon of the science.

Nutrition of deportees from the Moldavian SSR in the context of “Yug” Operation (1949)

The article inserts sequences referring to the nutrition of the Stalinist regime victims, subjects to deportation Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, in the second wave (1949), in special regulatory localities distributed in the special areas of the Soviet Union. Testimonies of people considered by the Stalinist regime to be “enemies of the people”, reflects the nutrition shortage not only in the journey from “home” to “destination”, but also in the process of adapting to the intruder environment, food security being precarious in both cases. In many ways, a large part of the memories of deported persons show similarities to the famine suffered by the population of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1946. In the destination localities, the nutrition of the deportees depended on many factors: climatic (winter temperature reaching -40° C) and living conditions, workplace, health, the presence of the head of the family and members able to work, etc. Families deported with small children, in the absence of the father (the basic maintainer) and only with the presence of the mother, were the most difficult.

The art of translation and artificial intelligence

The cognitive process and one of its most difficult aspects – translation into different languages - is an obstacle to creating a perfect Artificial Intelligence, because translation is not limited to formulas. The accuracy of the terminology and the lack of ambiguity of the word are the purposes of artificial intelligence while limiting the development of linguistic thinking. The transhumanism involves the improvement of the man, as an unfinished link of evolution, based on his connection with technological elements. From the author`s point of view, the “man-machine” interaction offers a dubious advantage for the human civilization and the planetary ecological system. This is, first of all, anachronistic and its main goal is singularity, i.e., the management of intellectual energy within the strict framework of technology. The article schematically provides the explicit sequence of the translation process. Based on relevant examples, the author demonstrates the difference between mental operations of Artificial Intelligence and those of the man in the translation process. According to the author, translation is a universal feature of human thought, while the process of translating the thought into the speech form is due to biological-genetic, emotional, socio-historical memory and experience, as well as the possibility of the individual translation of the thought into the mother tongue and into any other language. Moreover, translation is one of the strongest survival qualities of homo sapiens.

Variability of some broomrape populations from China. Genotyping and determination of genetic polymorphism (II)

Genetic diversity within a population is reflected by variations in genetic material among individuals and can manifest at the phenotypic level through new characters or traits. The emergence of a large number of O. cumana races in a short period of time demonstrates that there are higher genetic variability in populations and a high ability to adapt in the face of environmental conditions. The aim of the research presented in this article was to study the intraand interpopulation genetic diversity and genetic relationships between individuals of three populations of O. cumana from different geographical regions of the People’s Republic of China based on molecular markers (ISSR and SSR). The high intrapopulation genetic variability calculated on the basis of the allelic diversity parameters and specific genetic diversity coefficients was revealed by SSR markers while as for the ISSR primers a high degree of genetic variations was found at the interpopulation level. UPGMA clustering and principal component analysis performed according to both sets of molecular markers allowed to devide all genotypes into 5 major groups for the degree of dissimilarity and level of aggression. This study is of interest in understanding the population genetic structure of the parasitic species of O. cumana from China and could contribute to the development of pathogen control durable strategies and effective sunflower breeding programs to broomrape resistance.

Organization of research project competitions in the Republic of Moldova: lottery is better than incompetence and partiality

The paper analyzes the experience of evaluation and organization of research project competitions through the prism of the „State Program 2020–2023” competition held in the Republic of Moldova. The advantages and disadvantages of the two major evaluation methods are highlighted: peer review and bibliometric evaluation, but also alternative ways of evaluating and selecting projects. Taking into account the shortcomings established in the process of organizing national competitions, the author proposes the organization of competitions for research projects in the Republic of Moldova through a combination of bibliometric evaluation and a lottery.

Removal of cephalexin from aqueous solutions using the fenton photocatalytic process

This paper aims to study the degradation and oxidation/mineralization process of cephalexin in model systems using Fenton’s reagent for UV irradiation (λ = 254 nm). The effect of pH (2-11), concentration of H2O2 (0,3434 mg/L) and concentration of Fe(II) (0-28 mg/L) on the degradation of 50 mg/L CPX were investigated. It has been determined optimum conditions for photocatalytic oxidation of CPX. Increasing the amount of H2O2 plays an inhibitory role in the production of hydroxyl radicals and reduces the process efficiency. This can be attributed to the reaction of excess peroxide with •OH and the formation of HO2 •, which has less oxidizing power compared to free hydroxyl radical. And as the concentration of the catalyst increases to the optimum, the excess of Fe(II) ions reacts with the hydroxyl radical and, therefore, the efficiency of the process also is reduced. Accordingly, the optimum degradation efficiency of 88 % and 83% for COD was obtained under the following conditions: pH 2,5, H2O2 concentration – 3,4 mg/L, Fe(II) ions concentration – 5,6 mg/L, cephalexin concentration – 50 mg/L, and reaction time – 60 min. Thus, the current study demonstrated that the photo-Fenton reactor can be used effectively as an advanced oxidation treatment unit for degradation of cephalexin under optimized environmental conditions.