The Spiru Haret University is a private university in Bucharest, Romania, founded in 1991 by the president of Tomorrow's Romania Foundation, Aurelian Gh. Bondrea, as part of the teaching activities of this foundation. The university claims this has been done according to the model used by Harvard University. The university bears the name of a scientist and reformer of the Romanian education, Spiru Haret, who lived before World War I.On February 14, 2000, the university was accredited by the National Council of Academic Evaluation and Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions. The establishment of the university was confirmed by Law no. 443 of July 5, 2002 and this law has not been abolished.According to the data published by the university in July 2010, it has 30 faculties with 49 specializations and 64 master's degree curricula, being according to the newspaper Financiarul the largest university in Romania. In 2009 enrollment was reported as 311,928 students. Referring to the number of its students, the newspaper mistakenly called it the largest university in the world. It is the second-largest private university in the world, after Islamic Azad University (with 1.3 million students).Pope John Paul II and a former Romanian president, Ion Iliescu, have received honorary doctorates from the university.In 2011, the Spiru Haret University was officially evaluated as an "education-centered university", which is the third and lowest educational quality category of the Romanian universities. Education centered universities have lost the right of organizing doctorate degrees studies. In July 2017, Spiru Haret University ranked on the 27th place out of 103 other universities in Romania.
In the context of the current dynamics of human mobility (mainly generated by conflict situations - wars, or by a low standard of living - poverty) the phenomenon of migration has taken on an unprecedented scale. Migrant smuggling is a dangerous phenomenon, but also profitable. The article aims to underline the specific of migrant smuggling in Romania, the legal framework at different levels, also the activities of national agencies in this field.In September 2025, the Council presidency and the European Parliament negotiators finalized a provisional agreement on the strengthening of Europol to assure better support for Member States in their fight against migrant smuggling. As such, crime prevention, at all levels (primary, secondary and tertiary) would significantly contribute to ensuring human security, especially individual and community security. The presentation will attempt to analyze current statistics in the field and highlight European and national measures taken in Romania to prevent migrant smuggling, to ensure a better level of human security.
Crohn's disease (CD) is a progressive condition that can lead to serious complications if diagnosed late, making non-invasive diagnostic tools essential for timely intervention. Exhaled breath contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that reflect metabolic changes and offer a promising diagnostic approach. This study used an electronic nose (e-nose) with sensor arrays to analyze VOCs from 61 CD patients and 21 healthy controls (HC). Analytical methods such PCA, DFA, and SVM were applied for pattern recognition and classification, while ROC analysis assessed performance. PCA explained 94.9% of the variance, and SVM achieved 100% accuracy, confirming strong diagnostic potential.
Body mass index (BMI) plays a highly important role in emotional development in adolescents, and both underweight and overweight are linked with a higher level of psychological distress. This paper focuses on the relationships between BMI and emotional development of Romanian teenagers with an emphasis on urban rural differences. Recent Romanian studies show overweight prevalence of 13.8-20.3 and obesity rates of 5.7 10.7 in urban areas, with ironically higher rates in certain rural regions. Studies show that BMI and mental health have a U-shaped relationship, which is growing stronger with time. Both body dissatisfaction and emotional symptoms are more common among the female adolescents, though obesity levels are lower in females. Results highlight the importance of culturally and region-specific interventions to respond to both the nutritional status and psychosocial well-being of Romanian youth. Keywords: body mass index, emotional development, adolescent, Romania, urban-rural differences, mental health.
Background: Mobile health (mHealth) applications are widely used for lifestyle monitoring and health promotion; however, their psychological impact on mental health outcomes remains insufficiently understood. Beyond usage frequency, the perceived usefulness of mHealth tools and underlying psychological mechanisms play a critical role in explaining their association with psychological distress. The present study examined perceived health competence as a potential mediator linking mHealth use to symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 255 adult participants who completed an online survey assessing frequency of mHealth use, perceived usefulness of mHealth applications, perceived health competence (PHCS), and psychological distress (DASS-21). Separate mediation models were tested for depression, anxiety, and stress, with perceived health competence specified as the mediator. Analyses were conducted using bootstrapped mediation procedures. Results: Perceived usefulness of mHealth applications was strongly and positively associated with perceived health competence, which in turn was consistently associated with lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Mediation analyses indicated significant indirect effects of perceived usefulness on all three distress outcomes through perceived health competence. In contrast, frequency of mHealth use showed weaker and less consistent associations, with primarily small direct effects and no significant indirect effects through perceived health competence. Conclusions: The findings indicate perceived health competence is a plausible explanatory pathway statistically consistent with the association between perceived usefulness and psychological distress. The psychological benefits of mHealth applications appear to depend less on how frequently they are used and more on whether users perceive them as useful and empowering. These results underscore the importance of incorporating psychological process indicators into the design and evaluation of mHealth interventions.
Leishmaniases, a global health concern, is a vector-borne disease caused by protozoa and transmitted by the bite of a Psychodid insect belonging to the genus Phlebotomus. The disease is complex to diagnose due to diverse clinical manifestations and the limitations of traditional methods such as microscopy, culture, and serology, which often lack sensitivity, specificity, and field applicability. Over the past decade, molecular diagnostics have greatly improved detection accuracy, species differentiation, and the ability to identify asymptomatic carriers. However, these methods still require specialized infrastructure and expertise, which limits their use in endemic, resource-poor settings. Biosensors, especially in combination with the use of nanomaterials, are sensitive, specific, and practical alternative devices that can be used for the broad and rapid identification of leishmaniases. Despite these advancements, standardization, cost, and the transfer of laboratory innovations to real-world clinical and field settings continue to pose challenges. This review synthesizes the evolution of leishmaniases diagnostics, comparing traditional and molecular methods with the latest biosensor-based approaches, and highlights the promise and remaining barriers to widespread implementation.
