Biomedicine represents one of the main study areas for dendrimers, which have proven to be valuable both in diagnostics and therapy, due to their capacity for improving solubility, absorption, bioavailability and targeted distribution. Molecular cytotoxicity constitutes a limiting characteristic, especially for cationic and higher-generation dendrimers. Antineoplastic research of dendrimers has been widely developed, and several types of poly(amidoamine) and poly(propylene imine) dendrimer complexes with doxorubicin, paclitaxel, imatinib, sunitinib, cisplatin, melphalan and methotrexate have shown an improvement in comparison with the drug molecule alone. The anti-inflammatory therapy focused on dendrimer complexes of ibuprofen, indomethacin, piroxicam, ketoprofen and diflunisal. In the context of the development of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains, dendrimer complexes of fluoroquinolones, macrolides, beta-lactamines and aminoglycosides have shown promising effects. Regarding antiviral therapy, studies have been performed to develop dendrimer conjugates with tenofovir, maraviroc, zidovudine, oseltamivir and acyclovir, among others. Furthermore, cardiovascular therapy has strongly addressed dendrimers. Employed in imaging diagnostics, dendrimers reduce the dosage required to obtain images, thus improving the efficiency of radioisotopes. Dendrimers are macromolecular structures with multiple advantages that can suffer modifications depending on the chemical nature of the drug that has to be transported. The results obtained so far encourage the pursuit of new studies.

Gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (GDEPT) has been intensively studied as a promising new strategy of prodrug delivery, with its main advantages being represented by an enhanced efficacy and a reduced off-target toxicity of the active drug. In recent years, numerous therapeutic systems based on GDEPT strategy have entered clinical trials. In order to deliver the desired gene at a specific site of action, this therapeutic approach uses vectors divided in two major categories, viral vectors and non-viral vectors, with the latter being represented by chemical delivery agents. There is considerable interest in the development of non-viral vectors due to their decreased immunogenicity, higher specificity, ease of synthesis and greater flexibility for subsequent modulations. Dendrimers used as delivery vehicles offer many advantages, such as: nanoscale size, precise molecular weight, increased solubility, high load capacity, high bioavailability and low immunogenicity. The aim of the present work was to provide a comprehensive overview of the recent advances regarding the use of dendrimers as non-viral carriers in the GDEPT therapy.

Background and Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 significantly marked people’s lives with respect to their behavior, and their physical and mental health. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted in 2021 for a period of 5 months. The study sample included 218 students from the College of Physical Education and Sports of the University of Suceava who filled in a questionnaire on mental, physical and behavioral symptoms caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the Anxiety Assessment Questionnaire (STAI). Results: The responses indicated increased anxiety, physical symptoms, altered behavior, and increased perception of social restrictions. Regression analyses indicated that the levels of anxiety during the COVID-19 outbreak were strongly correlated with cognitive, physical and behavioral symptoms of the students. These were influenced by the living arrangements, location (urban vs. rural), age group and study year. Conclusions: The results show that first-year students did not exhibit significant physical and cognitive symptoms despite reporting anxiety, probably due to their enthusiasm as beginners. The 3rd year students were prone to anxiety and reported cognitive symptoms, possibly due to the prospects of an uncertain future.

The literature on the COVID-19 landscape has rapidly expanded in the pandemic period. The current study undertakes a bibliometric analysis of research in the topic of the clinical and laboratory characteristics of pediatric COVID-19 cases. Our aim is to perform a comprehensive bibliometric review of current research trends and patterns of this research domain. Publications retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection and VOSviewer were used for analysis and network visualization. We analyzed geographical distribution and temporal trends, collaboration and citation patterns of authors, institutions, and countries, and core research themes from co-occurrence of keywords and terms. The analysis showed that contributions in the research field were from 302 publications, 1104 institutions, 62 countries, and 172 journals. Many publications were authored by American and Chinese authors, and many were published in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, Pediatric Pulmonology, and Frontiers in Pediatrics. The top cited and co-cited journals were the New England Journal of Medicine, Nature, JAMA, Lancet Infectious Diseases, and BMJ. The network visualization maps of keywords and terms offered a global overview of the clinical and laboratory characteristics of pediatric COVID-19 patients. The bibliometric profile of the researched domain, based on analyzing a large collection of publications/data, could (i) enrich the researchers and non-researchers understanding of the field existing patterns and trends, and (ii) be useful in clinical practice (diagnostic and management) and public health policy.

Background: Occupational stress and burnout in the medical field are common factors that can have a negative impact on the quality of clinical care. In the Romanian healthcare environment, there exists important financial difficulties contributing additionally to stress in this study, we aimed to investigate if resilience and emotional intelligence would prove to be protective factors against stress. Methods: In our cross-sectional study, we investigated 189 medical professionals, using convenience sampling, from July 2022 to September 2022 in two university centers. We applied a self-reported questionnaire that included socio-demographic characteristics and three scales that measured perceived stress (the Perceived Stress Scale), resilience to stress (the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale), and emotional intelligence (the short-form Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire). Results: Age was positively associated with resilience levels, meaning that resilience increases with age. While specialist physicians had the highest emotional intelligence score, nurses and other healthcare workers had the highest resilience scores. Perceived stress level was negatively correlated with resilience to stress and with emotional intelligence levels. Resilience to stress was positively correlated with emotional intelligence. Conclusions: The major strength of this study is the finding that resilience to stress mediated the association between perceived stress and emotional intelligence. Because resilience is negatively associated with burnout, resilience to stress and emotional intelligence are potential targets for training aimed at improving the working environment and reducing current levels of burnout in the Romanian Health System and beyond.

Lung cancer is the second cause of death in the world, being the most common type of cancer. Conventional therapies are not always recommended due to the particularities of patients. Thus, there is a need to develop new anticancer therapeutic agents. Medicinal plants constitute a source of bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential in lung cancer. The purpose of our narrative review is to evaluate and summarize the main studies on the cytotoxic effects of ten medicinal plants and their extracts, volatile oils, and bioactive compounds. We have also included studies that reported protective effects of these natural products against chemotherapy-induced toxicity. Studies were identified by assessing five databases using specific keywords. The investigated natural products possess cytotoxic effects on lung cancer cell cultures. Several mechanisms of action have been proposed including cell death by apoptosis, necrosis or autophagy, cell cycle arrest, the modulation of signaling pathways (PI3K/Akt and MAPK), the inhibition of migration, invasion and metastasis, antiangiogenesis, and targeting inflammation. Different bioactive compounds exhibit protective effects against chemotherapy-induced toxicity. Studies have shown promising results. To develop new therapeutic agents useful in treating lung cancer, the plants included in this review should be more deeply investigated to reveal their molecular mechanisms of action.