Mihaela Rus

Low-field magnetic stimulation (LFMS) has been proposed as a non-invasive approach for modulating cortical oscillations through electromagnetic coupling. Frequency-aligned enhancement of alpha-band activity is of interest due to its association with cortical inhibitory balance and relaxed wakefulness. This study investigates whether a 10 Hz LFMS applied to the occipital area can induce measurable alpha-band modulation. Electromagnetic simulations were performed to determine magnetic flux distributions within a simplified spherical head model with magnetic susceptibility, which was approximating the brain’s parameters. The 10 Hz stimulation waveform—a positive ramp sawtooth—was analyzed in both time and frequency domains. Electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings were obtained before and after stimulation, and spectral analyses of relevant occipital channels were used to quantify the power redistributions. Simulations indicated localized magnetic field gradients in the occipital region. Post-stimulation EEG recordings showed a redistribution of spectral power toward the alpha-band, representing approximately 50% of total occipital spectral power, with relative increases exceeding 140% across the analyzed channels. These combined modeling and electrophysiological findings provide preliminary proof-of-concept evidence that frequency-aligned LFMS is associated with a redistribution of spectral power toward the alpha-band.

Background: Palliative care education (PCE) is increasingly recognized as a public health priority, particularly in the context of dementia and other neurocognitive disorders that place significant burdens on patients, families, and healthcare systems. While international programmes highlight key educational needs and interventions, local adaptations remain scarce in Romania. Objective: This research aimed to (1) synthesise global evidence on palliative care education needs and implemented programmes published in 2024, and (2) assess the emerging educational requirements and psychosocial well-being of healthcare providers and caregivers in multiple Romanian regional centres in 2025. Methods: A scoping review was conducted using PubMed to identify studies published in 2024, including qualitative, quantitative, and umbrella reviews. Fifty-six studies from 33 countries were analysed. Based on identified gaps, a structured questionnaire was designed and applied to 200 participants (physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists, priests, and primary home caregivers) across Romanian counties such as Călărași , Prahova, Constanta, Iasi, and Brasov. Alongside, participants were evaluated using the Beck Depression Inventory, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results: The scoping review identified recurrent needs in symptom management, dementia care, communication, caregiver support, ethical decision-making, digital learning, and provider resilience. Programmes showed improvements in knowledge, confidence, and satisfaction but varied widely in scope and implementation. Romanian participants reported high interest in dementia-focused training and communication skills, aligning with global priorities. However, unique challenges emerged, including limited interdisciplinary collaboration and a lack of structured support for home-based caregivers. Screening revealed elevated levels of anxiety and depression among staff, particularly those with frequent contact with dementia patients. Conclusions: Combining international and local perspectives demonstrates that dementia education, caregiver support, and provider resilience are central needs in palliative care education. Tailored, interdisciplinary programmes are urgently required in Romania, both to align with global best practices and to address local gaps, ensuring improved outcomes for patients, families, and healthcare providers.

This article examines how NATO adapted its public communication during the 2022–2025 Ukraine–Russia war by analysing over 1400 Facebook posts through an integrated interpretive–computational approach. While existing research mainly focuses on media narratives or public reactions, institutional emotional signalling remains underexplored. To address this gap, the study combines sentiment analysis, transformer-based emotion detection, dictionary-based conflict scoring, and a composite Daily Risk Index (DRI) capturing deviations in agenda saturation, tonal volatility, negativity, and threat-related emotions. The findings show that NATO’s digital communication is generally stable but punctuated by short, high-intensity phases triggered by major geopolitical events. Fear emerges as the dominant emotional cue, signalling gravity without escalating hostility, while anger appears selectively in references to severe violations or war crimes. Communication follows a recurring escalation pattern—gradual volatility increase, brief peak intensity, and rapid normalisation. The study advances crisis communication theory, contributes to digital securitization research, and offers a replicable framework for analysing discursive risk.

Assessment practices in Romanian primary education remain largely recall-based, despite curriculum expectations that prioritize reasoning, metacognition, and inclusive learning processes. This conceptual–analytical study examines the structural misalignments between curriculum goals, classroom assessment cultures, and national evaluation systems, highlighting their impact on learning equity and cognitive development. Drawing on international frameworks (OECD, UNESCO), national assessment data, and Romanian pedagogical literature, the analysis identifies three systemic gaps: curriculum–assessment misalignment, assessment–instruction misalignment, and a mismatch between equity-oriented policies and classroom practice. To address these challenges, the article proposes the ECEI Framework, an integrated developmental model that combines principles of cognitive education, metacognitive strategy development, inclusive pedagogy, and formative assessment. The framework introduces four categories of indicators—cognitive, metacognitive, inclusive, and assessment—designed to support teachers in observing and evaluating learning processes more effectively in diverse classrooms. Discipline-based illustrations in mathematics, reading, and science demonstrate how innovative assessment practices can make students’ thinking visible through authentic tasks, learning progressions, and multimodal response pathways. The findings suggest that developmental and inclusive assessment is essential for improving learning outcomes and reducing socio-economic disparities in primary education. Implementing the ECEI Framework requires targeted teacher training, coherent curriculum–assessment alignment, and system-level support to ensure sustainable changes in instructional practice.

This study investigates the psychological effects of custodial sentences and the challenges they pose to the ideal of offender rehabilitation, through the lens of the proportionality principle in criminal punishment. As contemporary criminal justice systems strive to balance the need for social protection with the imperative of individual reformation, this paper adopts an interdisciplinary approach—merging legal doctrine with psychological theory—to critically assess whether imprisonment, as traditionally applied, fulfills the rehabilitative goals embedded in modern sentencing frameworks. The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the extent to which incarceration produces adverse psychological effects that may undermine the very aims of proportional punishment. The study is guided by four main research questions: (1) What are the dominant psychological consequences of imprisonment on individual identity, autonomy, and social reintegration prospects? (2) How does the principle of proportionality accommodate—or fail to accommodate—these psychological dimensions in sentencing decisions? (3) Are there identifiable thresholds beyond which a custodial sentence becomes disproportionate due to its harmful psychological impact? (4) How do domestic courts and European human rights bodies (notably the ECtHR and CJEU) address the balance between punitive severity and mental integrity? By exploring the intersection between psychological harm and legal proportionality, this paper contributes to rethinking penal rationales in light of empirical evidence, judicial standards, and the human dignity of the offender. It calls for a recalibration of sentencing practices to ensure that the pursuit of justice does not come at the expense of long-term psychological destruction and social exclusion.

In the context of increasing demands for public accountability and the consolidation of participatory democracy, effective institutional communication emerges as a key determinant of administrative transparency. This article examines the relationship between public communication and institutional transparency within local public administration in Romania, integrating theoretical, legislative, and empirical perspectives. The study employs a mixed-methods design (qualitative–quantitative), combining document analysis with a case study conducted on a sample of N = 108 citizens. The findings reveal a significant correlation between the clarity and accessibility of communication and the perception of transparency. Statistically significant differences were identified between urban and rural respondents (t(106) = 2.34, p = 0.021), as well as across educational levels (F(2,105) = 4.98, p = 0.009). Although digitalization is perceived as a facilitating factor, the overall level of civic participation remains limited. The study confirms the hypothesis that effective communication does not merely reflect institutional transparency but actively generates it, provided that it is strategically supported and embedded within an organizational culture grounded in openness and responsiveness.

The Antepartum Depression Scale (ADS) is an innovative tool designed to comprehensively assess the psychological states of pregnant women, specifically targeting depression, melancholy, anxiety, and self-dysthymia. Unlike the existing scales, ADS integrates a multidimensional approach tailored to the unique psychological profile of pregnancy. Additionally, its adaptability to telemedicine ensures accessibility to psychological assessments via digital platforms, addressing the growing need for remote mental health care. Despite the critical importance of maternal mental health, there remains a gap in standardised pregnancy-specific depression assessments that are both clinically robust and telemedicine-compatible. The ADS was rigorously developed and validated to ensure its accuracy and reliability, making it a critical tool for the early detection and management of antepartum depression, even in resource-limited settings. Methods: A total of 850 pregnant women participated in the ADS validation study, with 650 completing a test-retest reliability analysis over a 14-day interval. The diverse Romanian sample ensured the demographic variability. Additionally, 200 participants completed the ADS along with Beck’s Depression Inventory, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, and Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale to assess construct validity. Psychometric properties were evaluated using internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and factor analysis. Results: The ADS demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha=0.897), strong validity (The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin=0.876), and robust correlations with the established scales. Notably, the mean depression scores increased significantly between tests, underscoring the scale’s sensitivity to psychological changes during pregnancy. Conclusions: The ADS is a validated multidimensional tool that fills a critical gap in maternal mental health assessment by offering a pregnancy-specific, psychometrically sound instrument. Its applicability in both clinical and telemedicine settings supports early intervention, ultimately enhancing maternal mental health care and improving outcomes for pregnant women.

This research examines the impact of parental communication and education on the aggressive behavior of adolescents and their attitudes toward morality, from an interdisciplinary perspective. The study aims to investigate the relationship between parental attitudes towards aggressive behaviors, the disciplinary styles used, and the school adaptation of adolescents. The central hypothesis is that a parenting style based on open communication reduces aggressive behavior and improves moral attitudes. Methods. The method involved a cross-sectional study on a sample of 403 adolescents, using structured questionnaires to assess parental communication, attitudes towards aggression, school experience, and aggressive behaviors. The findings revealed a significant positive association between parental tolerance of aggression and adolescents’ aggressive behaviors (r = 0.280, p < 0.001). In contrast, open parental communication was positively related to school adaptation (r = 0.348, p < 0.001). Moreover, negative school attitudes were strong predictors of aggressive manifestations (r = −0.374, p < 0.001). The conclusions emphasize the importance of parental intervention programs that promote effective communication and reduce tolerance of aggressive behaviors, thereby fostering the development of prosocial behaviors and healthy moral attitudes in adolescents.

The witness plays a crucial role in criminal proceedings, serving as a key source of evidence for establishing facts, assessing credibility, and delivering justice. Beyond their legal significance, witnesses often face considerable psychological and emotional challenges arising from participation in legal processes that can be adversarial and intimidating. This paper explores the multifaceted importance of witnesses in criminal trials, examining their contribution to the pursuit of truth and the protection of defendants' rights. It further analyzes the vulnerabilities that witnesses may experience, including fear of retaliation, stress, memory distortion, and secondary victimization, all of which can affect the reliability of testimony and the fairness of the trial. Particular attention is paid to the psychological implications for vulnerable witnesses, such as children, victims of violent crimes, or individuals with cognitive impairments, who require special procedural safeguards to mitigate trauma and ensure effective participation. The paper underscores the need for legal systems to adopt victim- and witness-friendly measures, balancing procedural rights with psychological protection. Understanding the psychological dimensions of witness testimony is essential for legal professionals aiming to enhance witness cooperation, preserve mental health, and uphold the integrity of criminal justice. Future research should further investigate evidence-based interventions to support witnesses throughout the judicial process.