The issue of drug disposal, as well as the development and implementation of efficient collection strategies, represents an important concern at the highest European level. This research looks into the factors that could have an impact on the efficiency of pharmacies in collecting and disposing the medicinal waste of the population. There were 521 pharmacists from all over the country who filled in a questionnaire on their opinion/attitude related to the system of collecting and disposing the pharmaceutical waste of the population. Of the surveyed pharmacists, 16% work in pharmacies that do not collect unused/expired drugs from the population, and nearly 33% of those investigated have refused, at least once, to take the unused medicines from the people. Pharmacists’ most important reasons for refusing to collect the pharmaceutical waste were the lack of procedure, incomplete legislation, exceeding the amount contracted with the operators, and high costs. Results show that pharmacies in Romania face several deficiencies in the pharmaceutical waste collection services. The lack of implemented programs has contributed considerably to lower standards of pharmaceutical waste management in Romania. This study is the first research on this topic in Romania, a country where the management of drug-based waste generated by the population is at the beginning. The results shown in this survey can provide a reference point for competent authorities in developing and implementing a take-back program for waste medicine whose efficiency is superior to the existing ones.

Benzene, toluene, and total BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) concentrations registered for one year (2016) have been determined every month for one high-density traffic area. The assessment was performed in Arad City, Romania, to evaluate these pollutants and their influence on the inhabitants’ health. The contaminants were sampled using a static sampling method and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Benzene was the most dominant among the BTEX compounds—the average concentrations ranged from 18.00 ± 1.32 µg m⁻³ in December to 2.47 ± 0.74 µg m⁻³ in August. The average toluene concentration over the year was 4.36 ± 2.42 µg m⁻³ (with a maximum of 9.60 ± 2.39 µg m⁻³ in November and a minimum of 1.04 ± 0.29 µg m⁻³ in May). The toluene/benzene ratio (T/B) was around 0.5, indicating substantial contributions from mobile sources (vehicles). The emission and accumulation of different aromatic compounds (especially benzene) could deteriorate the urban air quality. The lifetime cancer risk (LTCR) for benzene was found to be more than 10⁻⁵ in winter, including the inhabitants in the “probable cancer risk” category.

The working conditions in a slaughterhouse are difficult because of the low temperatures, high humidity, and little natural light. Therefore, in these facilities, there is a high demand in the maintenance of strict hygiene rules. Lately, the new SARS-CoV-2 pandemic situation has brought new challenges in the meat industry, as this sector has to maintain its operability to supply the meat and meat products demanded by the consumers. In this challenging period, the safety of the workers is as important as keeping the high demands for the safety of the meat and meat products along with consumer confidence. This paper aims to give an overview of the risks associated with the SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission between the workers in slaughterhouses and to evaluate the stability and infectivity in the working environment of these facilities. Considering the persistence of this virus on different surfaces and the environmental conditions affecting its stability (temperature, relative humidity, and natural light), in the study we proposed several short-, medium-, and long-term preventive measures for minimizing the potential threats of the actual pandemic.

Oana Bianca Oprea, Livia Apostol, Simona Bungau, Gabriela Cioca, Alina Dora Samuel, Mihaela Badea, Liviu Gaceu - Cercetari privind compozitia chimica si proprietatile reologice ale mixturilor din faina de grau si epicarp de struguri

Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) seeds are a rich source of ingredients such as aminoacids, fatty acids, minerals, and phytochemicals exhibiting nutraceutical effects on human health. In this work, partially defatted pumpkin seeds flour, a by-product obtained during the manufacture of pumpkin seeds oil, was studied as an additive for common wheat flour. We explored the physico-chemical properties as well the content in amino acids of the partially defatted pumpkin seeds. The obtained results revealed that partially defatted pumpkin seeds are a good source of protein (42.75% d.m.), lipids (12.28% d.m.), total carbohydrates (37.4% d.m.), from which crude fiber (26.64% d.m.). This by-product presents a high mineral content (mg/100g): potassium (1290), magnesium (693), iron (87.8), zinc (11.5) and copper (2.49).The partially defatted pumpkin seeds proteins contain significant amounts of essential amino acids such as valine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, threonine and methionine.

The presence of emerging organic micropollutants (such as pharmaceuticals) in sewage has been, for a long time, an issue of great concern within the international scientific debate. This item represents one of the main challenges related to a sustainable development, with particular concern to the public health control. While most of the work has been concentrated on their detection and the evaluation of their average level, little is known about the spatial and temporal variability of concentrations of these compounds in the effluent and its capability to affect the concentrations in time of the receiving water body. In this study, three sampling campaigns were carried out at two different wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Varese area (Northern Italy) with the aim of monitoring the occurrence of some pharmaceuticals to evaluate their removal efficiency. The detected pharmaceuticals were: Ofloxacin, Ibuprofen, Atenolol, Bezafibrate, Carbamazepine, Salbutamol, Cyclophosphamide and Hydrochlorothiazide. The results obtained, together with the analysis of the characteristics of the chemicals and of the two WWTPs, allowed evaluating the factors affecting the spatial and temporal concentration variability in effluent waters and the potential influence of this variability in driving the exposure of the aquatic ecosystems in the receiving water body.