Groove pancreatitis represents a chronic focal form of pancreatitis affecting the zone between the pancreatic head and the duodenal „C” loop, known as the groove area. This is a rare condition that affects the pancreatic periampullary part, including the duodenum and the common bile duct, associated usually with long-term alcohol and tobacco misuse and being more frequent in men than in women. The most common clinical symptoms of groove pancreatitis include weight loss, acute abdominal pain, nausea, and jaundice. This report is about a 66 year old woman with a history of heavy smoking, presenting with weight loss, nausea, and upper abdominal pain. Contrast enhanced computed tomography revealed the existence of a chronic pancreatitis as well as the dilatation of the main pancreatic duct, a cyst of the pancreatic head and enlargement of the biliary tract. Conservatory treatment was initiated but with no improvement of symptoms. Since there was no indication for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, we decided to perform a pancreatoduodenectomy, as surgery appears to be the single effective treatment.

Sleep-related eating disorder (SRED) is a non-REM parasomnia with potentially significant negative effects on general health (dangerous activities during night eating episodes, obesity, or metabolic syndrome, for example). Although the history of SRED encompasses more than six decades, public awareness and even the awareness of the mental health specialists of this disorder is very limited, a phenomenon that hinders the development of research in this field. Therefore, an updated review, based on a narrative methodology, explored the available evidence for SRED found in four electronic databases (PubMed, Cochrane Collaboration, Google Scholar, and Clarivate/Web of Science). A number of 94 primary and secondary reports were retrieved, investigating aspects regarding the risk factors, epidemiology, clinical data and differential diagnosis, epidemiology, structured evaluation, and treatment of SRED. Based on the results of these reports, Z-drugs, but also certain benzodiazepines, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and psychostimulants may trigger the onset of SRED. Psychiatric and neurologic disorders have also been associated with SRED, either as risk factors or comorbid conditions. Cerebral glucose metabolism dysfunctions, neurotransmitter dysfunctions, and genetic factors have been invoked as pathogenetic contributors. Structured assessment of SRED is possible, but there is a dearth of instruments dedicated to this purpose. Data on the prevalence and treatment of SRED exist, but good-quality epidemiological studies and clinical trials are still missing. In conclusion, future research is expected to address the shortcomings of SRED exploration by creating the conditions for better quality and larger group clinical research. The need for such investigation is granted by the importance of this pathology and its negative functional consequences.

Identifying or authenticating a computer user are necessary steps to keep systems secure on the network and to prevent fraudulent users from accessing accounts. Keystroke dynamics authentication can be used as an additional authentication method. Keystroke dynamics involves in-depth analysis of how you type on the keyboard, analysis of how long a key is pressed or the time between two consecutive keys. This field has seen a continuous growth in scientific research. In the last five years alone, about 10,000 scientific researches in this field have been published. One of the main problems facing researchers is the small number of public data sets that include how users type on the keyboard. This paper aims to provide researchers with a data set that includes how to type free text on the keyboard by 80 users. The data were collected in a single session via a web platform. The dataset contains 410,633 key-events collected in a total time interval of almost 24 hours. In similar research, most datasets are with texts written by users in English. The language in which the users wrote for this research is Romanian. This paper also provides an extensive analysis of the data set collected and presents relevant information for the analysis of the data set in future research.

Considering the worldwide impact of heart failure, it is crucial to develop approaches that can help us comprehend its root cause and make accurate predictions about its outcome. This is essential for lowering the suffering and death rates connected with this widespread illness. Cardiomyopathies frequently result from genetic factors, and the study of heart failure genetics is advancing quickly. Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the most prevalent kind of cardiomyopathy, encompassing both hereditary and nongenetic abnormalities. It is distinguished by the enlargement of the left ventricle or both ventricles, accompanied by reduced contractility. The discovery of the molecular origins and subsequent awareness of the molecular mechanism is broadening our knowledge of DCM development. Additionally, it emphasizes the complicated nature of DCM and the necessity to formulate several different strategies to address the diverse underlying factors contributing to this disease. Genetic variations that can be transmitted from one generation to another can be a significant contributor to causing family or isolated DCM. Genetic variation also plays a significant role in determining susceptibility for acquired triggers for DCM. The genetic causes of DCM can have a diverse range of phenotypic expressions. It is crucial to select the most probable patients to have advantages from genetic testing. The purpose of this research is to emphasize the significance of identifying genetic DCM, the crucial relationships between genotype and phenotype, and the usefulness of genetic testing in the therapeutic care of both those affected and their relatives. This approach is expected to gain importance once treatment is guided by genotype-specific advice and disease-modifying medications.

Although the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia explains the effects of all the available antipsychotics in clinical use, there is an increasing need for developing new drugs for the treatment of positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms of chronic psychoses. Xanomeline-trospium (KarXT) is a drug combination that is based on the essential role played by acetylcholine in the regulation of cognitive processes and the interactions between this neurotransmitter and other signaling pathways in the central nervous system, with a potential role in the onset of schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, and substance use disorders. A systematic literature review that included four electronic databases (PubMed, Cochrane, Clarivate/Web of Science, and Google Scholar) and the US National Library of Medicine database for clinical trials detected 21 sources referring to 14 studies focused on KarXT, out of which only four have published results. Based on the results of these trials, the short-term efficacy and tolerability of xanomeline-trospium are good, but more data is needed before this drug combination may be recommended for clinical use. However, on a theoretical level, the exploration of KarXT is useful for increasing the interest of researchers in finding new, non-dopaminergic, antipsychotics that could be used either as monotherapy or as add-on drugs.

The study investigates the impact of globalization, renewable energy consumption and economic growth on CO2 emissions in 26 European Union (EU) countries for the period 1990-2020. The second-generation panel unit root tests are applied, the Westerlund cointegration test is used, and panel Fully Modified Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) techniques are employed to estimate the long-term relationship between variables. The causality relationship among variables under investigation is identified by the heterogeneous Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test. It is found that globalization and renewable energy consumption contributed to the carbon emissions mitigation, while economic growth induced their increase. The results are robust when control variables (i.e., financial development, foreign direct investment and urbanization) are added in the model. Foreign direct investment and urbanization are contributors to carbon emissions increase whereas financial development induce their decrease. The effect of variables under consideration on carbon emissions is differentiated by the economic development and institutional quality level. Unidirectional causalities relationships were identified from globalization to carbon emissions and from carbon emissions to foreign direct investment and bidirectional relationships between economic growth, renewable energy consumption, financial development and carbon emissions. Policy implications of the findings are also discussed.

Background: The potential impact of the pandemic on mental health should not be overlooked, especially among vulnerable populations such as women who gave birth during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study was to assess the mental health status of women who gave birth during a pandemic and to examine the possible links between the onset of depressive disorder symptoms in close proximity to the time of delivery and the socio-demographic conditions, health status and obstetric circumstances of the patients. Materials and Methods: The study is a cross-sectional survey conducted from 01.03.2020 to 01.03.2023, during the period of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, based on a retrospective evaluation of 860 postpartum women. The screening tool used to assess symptoms of postpartum depression was the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Rating Scale (EPDS) questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed both in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Clinical Sections I and II of the "Pius Brînzeu" County Emergency Hospital from Timisoara, Romania and online using Google Forms. Results: The highest severity of postpartum depression symptoms was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the study conducted during the period of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (COVID-19) showed that the prevalence of major postpartum depressive disorder (EPDS ≥ 13) was 54.2% (466 patients), while 15.6% (134) had minor depressive disorder (10 < EPDS ≤ 12) in the first year after delivery. Comparing these results with those obtained in research conducted before the onset of the pandemic period shows an alarming increase in the prevalence of postpartum depression. Risk factors associated with postpartum depression included type of delivery, level of education, socio-economic conditions, health status, age, background, personal obstetric history (number of abortions on demand, parity). Conclusions: The effects of the pandemic on mental health are of particular concern for women in the first year after childbirth. Observing these challenges and developing effective measures to prepare our health system early can help and facilitate effective mental health screening for postpartum women, promoting maternal and child health.

Electrophysiological mapping (EM) using acute electrode probes is a common procedure performed during functional neurosurgery. Due to their constructive specificities, the EM probes are lagging in innovative enhancements. This work addressed complementing a clinically employed EM probe with carbonic and circumferentially segmented macrocontacts that are operable both for neurophysiological sensing ("recording") of local field potentials (LFP), and for test stimulation. The paper illustrates in-depth the development, that is based on direct writing of functional materials. The unconventional fabrication processes were optimized on planar geometry and then transferred to the cylindrically thin probe body. We report and discuss on the constructive concept and architecture of the probe, characteristics of the electrochemical interface deduced from voltammetry and chronopotentiometry, and the results of in vitro and in vivo recording and pulse stimulation tests. Two and three directional macrocontacts were added on probes having shanks of 550 and 770 m diameters and 10-23 cm lengths. The graphitic material presents a ~2.7 V-wide, almost symmetric water electrolysis window, and an ultra-capacitive charge transfer. When tested with 150 s biphasic current pulses, the interfacial polarization stayed safely away from the water window for pulse amplitudes up to 9 mA (135 C/cm2). The in vivo experiments on adult rat models confirmed the high-quality sensing of LFPs. Additionally, the in vivo-prevailing increase of the electrode impedance and overpotential are discussed and modeled by an ionic mobility-reducing spongiform structure; this restricted diffusion model gives new applicative insight into the in vivo-uprisen stimulation overpotential.

This paper reports an experimental investigation on compression after low-velocity impact response for two lay-up configurations of symmetric CFRP laminated composite specimens obtained by reversing their angle-ply orientation, namely [0/-45/45/90]s versus [90/45/-45/0]s, the impact velocity of the projectile up to the BVID level being subsequently considered. To this aim, a modified Compression-After-Impact (CAI) test device is proposed that involves clamping the specimen's upper and lower edges between two adjustable wide and flat anti-buckling plates through a removable bolt-nut assembly. Such a solution relies on the fact that the specimen's active length is shortened, reducing the risk of global buckling. Besides, the bolts carry part of the load with minor localized bearing damage, provided that the metallic plates act as washers by supporting the bolt-bearing region laterally, thus avoiding crashing failures at the specimens’ loaded edges. With these settings, roughly the same percent decrease in the average values of maximum compression load (i.e., 22%) was recorded for both lay-up configurations impacted up to their BVID threshold, whereas in terms of compressive stiffness behavior, a reduction of 17 % was found for [0/-45/45/90]s specimens compared to 6 % obtained for [90/45/-45/0]s specimens.

The study carried out by simulation, concerns the thermal behavior of an office building’s solar fresh air cooling system, based on a LiBr-H₂O absorption chiller in different climatic conditions. The coefficient of performance (COP) and the solar fraction were considered performance parameters and were analyzed with respect to the operating limits: risk of crystallization and maintaining at least a minimum degassing zone. A new correlation between the required solar hot temperature and the cooling water temperature was established and then embedded in another new correlation between the COP and the cooling water temperature that was used in simulations during the whole cooling season corresponding to each location. It was found that: the solar hot water should be maintained in the range of (80-100) °C depending on the cooling water temperature, the COP of the solar LiBr-H₂O absorption chiller with or without cold storage tank can reach (76.5-82.4) % depending on the location, and the solar fraction can reach (29.5-62.0) % without cold storage tank and can exceed 100 % with cold storage tank, the excess cooling power being available to cover other types of cooling loads: through the building envelope, from lighting, from occupants, etc.

(1) Background: In patients suffering from heart failure, the main causes of death are either he-modynamic failure, or ventricular arrhythmias. The only tool to significantly reduce arrhythmic sudden death is the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), but not all patients benefit to the same extend of these devices. (2) Methods: The primary outcome of this single center study was defined as cardiovascular death in patients with ischemic and non-ischemic heart failure who have benefited from ICD therapy. The secondary outcomes were death from any cause, sudden cardiac death, ICD-related therapies (appropriate antitachycardia pacing or shock therapy for ventricular tachycardia or fi-brillation) and recurrences of ventricular tachyarrhythmias. (3) Results: A total of 403 consecutive ICD recipients – symptomatic heart failure patients with ICD for the primary prevention of sudden cardiac death – were included retrospectively: 59% is-chemic cardiomyopathy (ICMP) and 41% non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (NICMP). Within a median follow-up period of 36 months, the incidence of cardiovascular mortality was not signif-icantly different in patients with NICMP and ICMP: the primary outcome had occurred in 9 pa-tients (5.4%) in the NICMP group and in 14 patients (5.9%) in the ICMP group (hazard ratio 1; 95%confidence interval [CI] 0.45 to 2.28; p =0.97). All-cause mortality occurred in 14 of 166 pa-tients (8.4%) in NICMP group and 18 of 237 patients (7.6%) in ICMP group. Sudden cardiac death occurred in 2 patients (1.2%) in the NICMP group and in 4 patients (1.7%) in the ICMP group (hazard ratio 0.71; 95% CI, 0.13 to 3.88; P=0.69). The rate of appropriate device therapies was comparable in both groups. (4) Conclusion: In this study, ICD implantation for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death in patients with symptomatic systolic heart failure was associated with similar rates of cardiovas-cular and all-cause mortality in patients with ischemic heart disease, and in patients with heart failure from other causes. NICMP and ICMP showed comparable rates of recurrent ventricular tachyarrhythmias and appropriate ICD therapies.

The role of the databases is to allow persisting data, no matter if they are of the SQL or NoSQL type. In SQL databases, data is structured in a set of tables in the relational database model, grouped in rows and columns. The CRUD operations (create, read, update, and delete) are used to manage the information contained in the relational databases. Several dialects of the SQL language exist, as well as frameworks for mapping Java classes (models) to a relational database. The question is what we should choose for our Java application and why. A comparison between the most used relational database management systems, mixed with the most used frameworks should give us some guidance about when to use what. The evaluation is done on timing for each CRUD operation, from thousands to millions of entries, using the possible combinations between the relational database system and the framework. The experiments included the possibilities to warm up the Java Virtual Machine before the execution of the queries. Also, the research investigated the time spent inside different methods of the code, to determine the critical regions. Thus, the conclusions provide a comprehensive overview of the performances of Java applications accessing databases depending on the suite of decisions considering the database type, the framework in use, the type of operation, and supporting architects and developers for their technological decisions and for improving the speed of their programs.

During the second half of August 2022, a dust intrusion event occurred, when dust that originated from the dry regions of Kalmyk steppe and the Precaspian plain was transported over the eastern region of Romania. The dry soil in these regions was the result of the severe drought over a long period of time, accentuated by early heat waves in May and June 2022. The dust event was captured by MODIS images. Smoke trains originating from fires in the north of the Azov were also detected, but these did not reach Romania. Optical parametres from AERONET was used to confirm the dust event. To determine the trajectory of the particles, the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model was used in this paper. The Ensemble median model was used to highlight the presence and concentration of dust in eastern part of Romania. Aerosols were detected between 0 and 4 km, according to radar and ceilometer data of the REXDAN cloud remote sensing facility in Galați, Romania. This dust intrusion event was the result of the dominant easterly cir-culation caused by the extension of East European High to the northeast of the continent, which transported the dust towards eastern part of Romania for more than 2 days. Moreover, the tor-rential rains between August 22nd and 24th did not clear the atmosphere of dust, since the intense easterly circulation kept carrying the dust into the Moldavian area.

Contrary to optical images, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images are in different electromagnetic spectrum where the human visual system is not accustomed to. Thus, with more and more SAR applications, the demand for enhanced high-quality SAR images has increased considerably. However, high-quality SAR images entail high costs due to the limitations of current SAR devices and their image processing resources. To improve the quality of SAR images and to reduce the costs of their generation, we propose a Dialectical Generative Adversarial Network (Dialectical GAN) to generate high-quality SAR images. This method is based on the analysis of hierarchical SAR information and the “dialectical” structure of GAN frameworks. As a demonstration, a typical example will be shown where a low-resolution SAR image (e.g., a Sentinel-1 image) with large ground coverage is translated into a high-resolution SAR image (e.g., a TerraSAR-X image). Three traditional algorithms are compared, and a new algorithm is proposed based on a network framework by combining conditional WGAN-GP (Wasserstein Generative Adversarial Network - Gradient Penalty) loss functions and Spatial Gram matrices under the rule of dialectics. Experimental results show that the SAR image translation works very well when we compare the results of our proposed method with the selected traditional methods.

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are poised to become deeply integrated into society. If developed responsibly, AI has potential to benefit humanity immensely. However, it also poses a range of risks, including risks of catastrophic accidents. It is crucial that we develop oversight mechanisms that prevent harm. This article outlines a framework for evaluating and auditing AI to provide assurance of responsible development and deployment, focusing on catastrophic risks. We argue that responsible AI development requires comprehensive auditing that is proportional to AI systems’ capabilities and available affordances. This framework offers recommendations toward that goal and may be useful in the design of AI auditing and governance regimes.

This paper presents a comprehensive simulation study of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) in a fabricated production environment for toy car assembly. This paper uses Petri Nets for modeling and the General Petri Net Simulator (GPenSIM) for model implementation on MATLAB and simulation. The primary focus of this research is to analyze the operational efficiency of AGVs under varying conditions, particularly examining the impact of battery charge reduction rates and the strategic placement of charging stations within the production line. By employing Colored Petri Nets (CPN) within GPenSIM, we have developed a detailed and dynamic model that captures the intricate movements and interactions of AGVs in a simulated manufacturing setting. By presenting an approach to simulating AGVs in a production environment, this paper specifically focuses on two critical operational parameters: the battery charge reduction rate of AGVs and the number of charging stations available in the production line. Unlike previous studies that have primarily concentrated on general path planning or bottleneck detection in manufacturing systems, this paper delves into the intricate balance between AGV operational efficiency and the logistical constraints imposed by battery life and charging infrastructure.

Emphasizing the importance of acoustic attenuation in maintaining compliance with stringent noise regulations and enhancing workplace safety, the analysis covers the theoretical and practical aspects of sound attenuation in a turboengine testing stand. This paper presents a preliminary analysis and also an evaluation of a procedure for projecting a noise attenuator for industrial application and especially for turboengine test stands. While primarily focusing on the static acoustic behavior of the attenuator, considerations were also made regarding flow dynamics, Mach number-dependent attenuation, pressure drop, and self-generated noise aspects to provide a comprehensive perspective in selecting the optimal design configuration. The study investigates different calculation methods for assessment of the noise reduction for linear and staggered baffles, applied on a scaled reduced model of attenuator. Thus, the critical parameters and projecting requirements necessary for effective noise reduction in high-performance turboengine testing environments will be evaluated in a down-scaled model. Key factors examined include the selection of design parameters and configurations from various options. Advanced computational methods, like analytic and finite element analysis (FEM) are utilized to predict the acoustic performance and identify potential design optimizations. Experimental validation is performed to corroborate the simulation results, ensuring the reliability and efficiency of the attenuator. The findings indicate that a well-designed sound attenuator module can significantly reduce noise levels without compromising the operational performance of the turboengine inside a test cell.

A galvalume corrugated sheet was utilized as formwork for a reinforced concrete beam in flexure. A numerical model was validated to the experimentally obtained data, and further adopted to simulate the behavior of this composite structure under elevated temperatures. The properties and constitutive stress-strain data of the basic materials were obtained from experiments, and superimposed into the finite element model. The study concluded that the load carrying capacity of the member decreased as a direct function on temperature increase, and the cracking moment was very sensitive to the temperature fluctuation. The elevated temperatures also altered the failure mode.

Stress is an inherent sensation of being unable to handle demands and occurrences. If not properly managed, stress can develop into a chronic condition, leading to the onset of additional chronic health issues like cardiovascular illnesses and diabetes. Various stress meters have been suggested in the past, along with diverse approaches for its estimate. However, in the case of more serious health issues such as hypertension and diabetes, the results can be significantly improved. This study presents the design and implementation of a distributed wearable sensor computing platform with multiple channels. The platform aims to estimate stress levels in diabetes patients by utilizing a fuzzy logic algorithm that is based on the assessment of several physiological indicators. Additionally, a mobile application was created to monitor users' stress levels and integrate data on their blood pressure and blood glucose levels. Validation experiments were performed on patients with chronic diabetes, and the initial findings are presented in the study.

Software systems are often maintained by a group of experienced software developers, in order to ensure that faults which may bring the system down are less likely. Large turnover in organizations such as CERN makes it important to think of ways of onboarding newcomers on a technical project rapidly. This paper focuses on optimizing the way that people get up-to-speed on the business logic and technologies used on the project, using a knowledge-imbued large language model that is enhanced using domain-specific knowledge from the group or team’s internal documentation.

The size of the home is considered the most critical issue affecting the quality of life. This can be measured by the quality of the house and its environment. This paper highlights the housing quality index at the urban axis level in Bistrita-Nasaud county and the impact of socioeconomic activities on the index. The Household Quality of Life Index (HQLI) was calculated based on 11 variables. Household quality of life comprises two distinctive indices: the Housing Conditions Index (HCI) and the Asset Possession Index (API). The study found a variation in the housing condition variables across the urban focus areas. The impact of the socioeconomic environments is disproportionately dependent on the social-economic profile of the urban environments that make up the Urban Axis and the related economic activities that take place in the area of influence in the administrative-territorial units and the variability of the Housing Conditions Index This can be measured by the quality of the house and its environment. This paper highlights the housing quality index at the urban axis level in Bistrita-Nasaud county and the impact of socioeconomic activities on this index. The study area comprises territories in the municipality of Bistrita. The socio-economic context of the area has been the basis for understanding the patterns of evolution identified in the urban landscape, and being a driver in ongoing urban transformations and processes. The impact of the socio-economic is disproportionate to the socioeconomic profile of the urban environments that make up the Urban Axis and the economic activities related to the economic activities taking place in the catchment area in the administrative-territorial units, hence the variability of the Housing Conditions Index which is a system Housing Quality Indicator (HQI) is a tool for measuring and evaluating housing systems based on quality and not just cost.

In this paper the D 3 dihedral logistic map of fractional order is introduced. The map 1 presents a dihedral symmetry D 3 . It is numerically shown that the construction and interpretation 2 of the bifurcation diagram versus the fractional order require special attention. The system stability 3 is determined and the problem of hidden attractors is analyzed. Also, analytical and numerical 4 results show that the chaotic attractor of integer order, with D 3 symmetries, looses its symmetry 5 in the fractional-order variant.

Abstract: This work is presenting a water level control and monitoring system in a tank, by using the development boards Arduino Uno, NodeMCU ESP8266 and the ultrasonic sensor HC-SR04. The water tank is supplied through a pump controlled by the development board Arduino Uno by means of a relay. The author has issued a control algorithm for controlling the water level and a program in the development environment Arduino IDE that has been implemented and validated on the experimental stand. For monitoring the development board NodeMCU ESP8266 has been used that takes the information from the ultrasonic sensor HC-SR04 and sends it through Wi-Fi to the platform ThingSpeak. Based on the experimental results it has been found out that the water level control system in the tank provides the performances imposed through the designing stage, and the pump running has been automatically stopped when the limit, settled through the program for the water maximum level in the tank, has been reached. The measured value of the water level is shown on the LCD 1602 display. In the water circuit of the home consumers or irrigation systems supplied from the tank a pump controlled by means of a mobile phone has been installed. In order to implement this control system, the author has issued a program for another development board Arduino Uno, whilst for the mobile phone he used the application Arduino Bluetooth Control. The advantage of this water level control and monitoring system in the tank is given by the very low costs in comparison to the cost of an industrial type control system.

We report the relative humidity (R.H.) sensing response of a resistive sensor, employing sensing layers based on a ternary nanohybrid comprising holey carbon nanohorns (CNHox), potassium chloride (KCl), and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) at mass ratios 7/1/2, 6.5/1.5/2, and 6/2/2 (w/w/w/w). The sensing structure comprises a silicon substrate, a SiO2 layer, and interdigitated transducer (IDT) electrodes. The sensing film is deposited on the sensing structure via the drop-casting method. The sensing layers' morphology and composition are investigated through Scanning Electron Microscopy (S.E.M.) and RAMAN spectroscopy. The ternary hybrid-based thin film resistance increases when the sensors are exposed to R.H., ranging from 0% to 100%. The manufactured devices show a room temperature response comparable to a commercial capacitive R.H. sensor and are characterized by excellent linearity, rapid response time, and good sensitivity. The presented sensors exhibit superior performance in terms of sensitivity compared to other similarly manufactured and tested sensors that employ a CNHox-based sensing layer. We explain the sensing role of each constituent of the ternary hybrid nanocomposites based on their chemical and physical properties, electronic properties, and affinity for water molecules. Different alternative sensing mechanisms are considered and discussed, such as the decreasing number of holes in the holey CNHox at the interaction with water molecules, proton conduction, and PVP swelling.

The present paper proposes a fractal analysis of the Covid-19 dynamics in 45 European countries. We introduce a new idea of using the box-counting dimension of the epidemiologic curves as a means of classifying the Covid-19 pandemic in the countries taken into consideration. The classification can be a useful tool in deciding upon the quality and accuracy of the data available. We also investigated the reproduction rate, which proves to have significant fractal features, thus enabling another perspective on this epidemic characteristic. Moreover, we studied the correlation between two meteorological parameters: global radiation and daily mean temperature and two Covid-19 indicators: daily new cases and reproduction rate. The fractal dimension differences between the analysed time series graphs could represent a preliminary analysis criterion, increasing research efficiency. Daily global radiation was found to be stronger linked with Covid-19 new cases than air temperature (with a greater correlation coefficient -0.386, as compared with -0.318), and consequently it is recommended as the first-choice meteorological variable for prediction models.

Authentication systems based on biometrics characteristics and data represents one of the most important trend in the evolution of our world. In the near future, biometrics systems will be everywhere in the society, such as government, education, smart cities, banks etc. Due to its uniqueness characteristic, biometrics systems will become also vulnerable, privacy being one of the most important challenge. The classic cryptographic primitives are not sufficient to assure a strong level of secureness for privacy. The following work paper represents an effort to present the main cryptographic techniques and algorithms that can give us the possibility to raise a certain level of secureness for privacy. We will show their own challenges (strengths and weaknesses). We will demonstrate how we can use the most common and well-known techniques and algorithms in order to get a maximum efficiency and a high level in assuring the integrity of the biometrics data.

The evolutionary systems (ES) include software applications that solve problems using heuristic methods instead of the deterministic ones. The classical computing used for ES development involves random methods to improve different kinds of genomes. The mappings of these genomes lead to individuals that correspond to the searched solutions. The individual evaluations by simulations serve for the improvement of their genotypes. Quantum computations, unlike the classical computations, can describe and simulate a large set of individuals simultaneously. This feature is used to diminish the time for finding the solutions. Quantum Petri Nets (QPNs) can model dynamical systems with probabilistic features that make them appropriate for the development of ES. Some examples of ES applications using the QPNs are given to show the benefits of the current approach.

Background: This review aims to explore the regulatory mechanism of microglial exosomes, particularly focusing on the role of miR-124-3p, in modulating neuroinflammation and promoting neuronal repair following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: Multiple studies investigating the impact of microglial exosomal miRNAs, specifically miR-124-3p, on injured neurons and brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMVECs) in the context of TBI were reviewed. Results: Animal models of TBI, in vitro cell culture experiments, RNA sequencing analysis, and functional assays were employed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the effects of miR-124-3p-loaded exosomes on neuroinflammation and neuronal repair. The increased expression of miR-124-3p in microglial exosomes after TBI inhibited neuronal inflammation and promoted neurite outgrowth. This effect was achieved by promoting the anti-inflammatory M2 polarization of microglia, suppressing mTOR signaling through downregulation of PDE4B, and inducing autophagy in BMVECs. These actions collectively contributed to neuroprotection, reduced blood-brain barrier leakage, and improved neurologic outcomes in animal models of TBI. Conclusion: Microglial exosomes, particularly those carrying miR-124-3p, have emerged as promising candidates for therapeutic interventions in TBI. These exosomes exhibit neuroprotective effects, attenuate neuroinflammation, and promote neuronal repair and plasticity. Targeting miR-124-3p and utilizing microglial exosomes as therapeutic agents hold great potential for future clinical translation in TBI management. However, further research is required to fully elucidate the underlying mechanisms and optimize their delivery strategies for effective treatment in human TBI cases.

This article explores the implementation of high accuracy GPS denied Ad-Hoc localization. There is little research on Ad-Hock UWB-enabled localization systems with mobile and stationary nodes. This work aims to demonstrate the localization of bicycle-modeled robots in a non-static environment through a mesh network of mobile, stationary robots and ultra-wideband sensors. The non-static environment adds a layer of complexity when actors can enter and exit the node’s field of view. The method starts with an initial localization step where each unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) uses the surrounding, available anchors to derive an initial local or, if possible, global position estimate. The initial localization uses a simplified implementation of the iterative multi-iteration Ad-Hoc Localization System (AHLos). This estimate was refined using an unscented Kalman filter (UKF) following a constant turn rate and velocity magnitude model (CTRV). The UKF fuses the robot’s odometry and the range measurements from the Decawave ultra-wideband receivers stationed on the network nodes. Through this position estimation stage, the robot broadcasts to its neighbors its estimated position to help the others further improve their localization estimates and localize themselves. This wave-like cycle of nodes helping to localize each other allows the network to act as a mobile Ad-Hoc localization network.

Mycobacteria can be one of the main contaminants of biological products, and their presence can have serious consequences on patients’ health. Thus, specific testing is necessitated by regulations such as the European Pharmacopoeia. The current pharmacopeial reference i.e., microbial culture method cannot ensure an exhaustive detection of mycobacteria due to their growth characteristics. Additionally, the method is time-consuming and requires a continuous supply of culture media, which could be further challenging. Thus, to overcome these challenges, pharmaceutical industries need to consider alternative non-microbiological techniques to detect these fastidious, slow-growing contaminating agents. This review provides an overview of alternative methods, which could be applied within a quality control environment of biological products, and underlines advantages and limitations of these methods. Nucleic acid amplification techniques or direct measurement of mycobacteria stands out as the most suitable alternatives for mycobacterial testing in biological products.

The rapid urbanization that takes place in developing regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa is associated with a large range of environmental and social issues. In this context, remote sensing is essential to provide accurate and up-to-date spatial information to support risk assessment and decision making. However, mapping urban areas remains a challenge because of their heterogeneity, especially in developing regions where the highest rates of misclassification are observed. Nevertheless, urban areas located in arid climates --- which are among the most vulnerables to anthropogenic impacts, suffer from the spectral confusion occurring between built-up and bare soil areas when using optical imagery. Today, the increasing availability of satellite imagery from multiple sensors allow to tackle the aforementioned issues by combining optical data with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). In this paper, we assess the complementarity of the Landsat 8 and Sentinel-1 sensors to map built-up areas in twelve Sub-Saharan African urban areas, using a pixel-level supervised classification based on the Random Forest classifier. We make use of textural information extracted from SAR backscattering data in order to reduce the speckle noise and to introduce contextual information at the pixel level. Results suggest that combining both optical and SAR features consistently improves classification performances, mainly by enhancing the differentiation between built-up and bare lands. However, the fusion was less beneficial in mountainous case studies, suggesting that including features derived from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) could improve the reliability of the proposed approach. As suggested by previous studies, combining features computed from both VV and VH polarizations consistently led to better classification performances. On the contrary, introducing textures computed from different spatial scales did not improve the classification performances.

New hetero-polynuclear coordination complexes based on pentacoordinated Zn(II) metal center with tridentate terpyridine-based ligands and monoanionic gallates functionalized with long alkyl chains containing ferrocene units were designed, synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic and analytical methods. The complexes are mesomorphic, exhibiting columnar hexagonal mesophases at room temperature. The photophysical properties in solution were accurately investigated and the influence of the polarity of the media in solution was evidenced.

Background A diet rich in red meat, and poor in fruits and vegetables, can hinder the body's ability to detoxify, therefore, an alternative vegetarian diet maintained over a certain period, determines the elimination of excess toxins and accumulated residues, helping the body to regenerate and recharge energy. Following this simple rule, there are a multitude of benefits for our health. Significance of the autophagy process An even better regeneration of the body takes place during the black fast, in which senescent cells, (dead cells that no longer exercise any function, but instead produce inflammation in the body), are eliminated by autophagy, and in their place, the cells are stimulated stem. Aging can be associated with various pathological conditions if autophagy is not promoted by a healthy lifestyle. In elderly people, cells can show DNA mutations and accumulations of protein aggregates that impair the body's physiological processes. Several studies have shown that the activation of autophagy slows down the ageing process. Conclusions Aging, and its associated conditions of illness, are due to genomic instability caused by DNA damage, telomere shortening and epigenome changes that modulate gene expression.

Current scientific knowledge and guidelines in bone and soft tissue augmentation, suggest the use of
staged surgical workflows as gold standards in regenerative procedures during implant therapy. In this
context, the process is always the same regardless of the techniques applied: an
alternate series of surgical acts is following one another after the completion of a specific period of
osseointegration or graft maturation. As a result, the overall surgical treatment is often long, invasive and
induce scar tissue formation.
This article proposes a novel, fast and less invasive biphasic protocol with the use of a well documented
cortical barrier mounted on stock healing abutments that are further replaced by customised abutments
on an early second stage. 2 cases are reported, one for an upper maxillary edentulous area and the other
for a mandibular, with a total of 4 implants placed.
Results at 4 months post op, showed an optimal soft tissue configuration for both cases with adequate
cervical profile generation and sufficient supracrestal complex height above the implant platforms.
Significant bone gains were also recorded through CBCT data collection either with alveolar width
measurements on axial slices, superposition of preop and postop datasets and 3D visualization after bone
volume segmentation.
Further studies will be needed in the future to evaluate the efficacy of this protocol in both hard and soft
tissue augmentation for edentulous sites in need of implant rehabilitation.

Background: Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sunlight can harm skin cells, causing short-term effects, such as sunburns and long-term effects, such as pigmentation changes, changes in the skin's immune responses, and increased risk of skin cancer. These conditions can be largely prevented with proper sun protection measures and behavioural changes. This study aims to assess the knowledge on sun protection behaviour and baseline knowledge of medical students from the “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania. Methods: Data in this cross-sectional study were collected through a Google Forms questionnaire, which was distributed from November 2023 to December 2023 via digital communication channels to students across all academic years. STROBE guidelines were consulted for data synthesis; Results: A total of 668 stu-dents responded. The student cohort demonstrated a commendable level of awareness of the risks associated with sun exposure and the advantages of employing sun protection factor (SPF); how-ever, the incidence of sunburns remained notably elevated (72.3%). Further analysis revealed cor-relations among gender, academic year, presence of photosensitizing conditions, and adherence to SPF application. Additionally, there is a need to improve understanding of the appropriate appli-cation techniques for SPF, as only 11.5% of the students exhibited proficiency in this regard; Con-clusions: As future healthcare providers, medical students hold significance in promoting healthy behaviours in the broader community. This study indicates that while their knowledge about sun protection is satisfactory, there is scope for enhancement.

Fighting corruption and enhancing tax compliance through digital public services represent key factors for increasing sustainable development in Romania. We argue that fighting corruption may increase the level of sustainable development, through digital pubic services. Using digital public services leads to the increase of the level of tax compliance, because entrepreneurs will feel more confident and responsible and they will decide to better comply. Tax regulations can affect the level of tax compliance through the additional costs they generate. The discussion is based on the consideration of the costs generated by compliant behavior and we explain how such costs influence the entrepreneurs’ decision in the fiscal environment. If the costs are higher, entrepreneurs will take evasive initiatives and will refuse to comply. Among the numerous tools developed to fight corruption, the use of communication technologies has recently been researched and there is still need for further research in the Romanian economic environment. The use of digital public services reduces costs for entrepreneurs and increases their confidence in state institutions due to higher levels of transparency. We argue for increasing sustainable development in Romania through digital public services, thus fighting corruption and enhancing tax compliance.

The assessment of soil contamination in the vicinity of integrated siderurgical plants is of outmost importance for agroecosystems and human health, and sensitive techniques should be employed for accurate assessment of chemical elements (metals, potential toxic elements, rare earths, radioelements) in soil and further evaluation of potential ecological and safety risk. In this paper a total of 45 major, minor and trace elements (Al, As, Au, Ba, Br, Ca, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Dy, Eu, Fe, Hf, Hg, I, K, La, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nd, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Sn, Sr, Ta, Tb, Th, Ti, Tm, U, V, W, Y, Yb, Zn and Zr) were quantified in soils located around a large siderurgical works (Galati, SE Romania) using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) in combination with X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The statistical analysis results and vertical distribution patterns for three depths (0-5 cm, 5-20 cm, 20-30 cm) indicate inputs of toxic elements in the sites close to the ironmaking and steelmaking facilities and industrial wastes dumping site. For selected elements, a comparison with historical, legislated and world reported concentration values in soil was performed and depth migration, contamination and toxic risk indices were assessed. The distribution of major, rock forming elements was closer to the Upper Continental Crust (UCC), and to the Dobrogea loess, finding confirmed by the ternary diagram of the incompatible trace elements Sc, La and Th, as well as by the La to Th rate. At the same time, the La/Th vs. Sc and Th/Sc vs. Zr/Sc bi-plots suggested a felsic origin and a weak recycling of soils mineral components.

The term immersive technology refers to various types of technologies and perspectives that are constantly changing and developing. It can be used for different purposes and domains such as: education, healthcare, entertainment, arts, and engineering. This research paper aims to examine which training method is more effective between the traditional approach, using PowerPoint and the immersive technology approach, through mixed reality using a HoloLens 2 device. The experiment involves comparing two groups of students who received different training methods: the first group saw a PowerPoint slide with an image of the human muscular system, while the second group saw a 3D hologram of the human body that showed the same muscle groups as in PowerPoint. The researchers wanted to test whether mixed reality devices could enhance students' cognitive functions and to investigate if the IQ of the participants had any influence in the effectiveness of the teaching method. The main finding of this study is that the instructions given with mixed reality technology, via the Microsoft HoloLens 2 device, are more appropriate for participants who have an IQ score below 100 points. For the other participants, with an IQ score above 100 points, the PowerPoint support was more suitable.

Incisional hernias have a particular dynamic related both to the repair method and to the absence or presence of a prosthetic material. The incidence of incisional hernias is estimated at 9.8% after 21 months and increases to 18.7% after ten years. This study presents a surgical method for the repair of recurrent incisional hernias, through open surgery and the use of existing mesh. The selection criteria regarding the use of this method are: the prosthesis is well integrated, without granulomas, suppurations, defect appearing on the same prosthetic abdominal area. The analyzed factors were the location of the incisional hernias, the duration of the operation, the duration of hospitalization, identified complications, the size of the parietal defect. The retrospective study carried out focused on recurrences of incisional hernias from a group of 631 patients operated on for incisional hernias in a general surgery department of Dr. Constantin Andreoiu County Emergency Hospital, Ploiești, Romania, during January 2018 - December 2022. Of the total of 18.22% relapses, 13.6% were relapsed eventrations after prosthetic procedures. Following the application of the selection criteria, several 8 patients with recurrent eventrations were operated by the open method using the existing mesh. In the case of recurrences after prosthetic procedures of incisional hernias, the recurrence can be solved by open surgery using the existing well-integrated prosthesis, without tension, absence of suppuration in the wound, and the peritoneal cavity. For the presented case, the return to daily activities occurred after 22 hours of hospitalization.

(1) Background: Show caves are unique natural attractions and touristic traffic can trigger their degradation within a very short time. There are no universal solutions to counter the effects of the touristic impact upon cave environment and both protection protocols and management plans have to be established on a case-by-case basis; (2) Methods: The study includes four show caves from the Romanian Carpathians, where monitoring of the number of visitors, paralleled by the monitoring of the main physico-chemical parameters of the air and water (CO2, temperature, humidity, drip rate, conductivity, and pH) was implemented; (3) Results and Conclusions: The results of the study has: (i) established a monitoring protocol to be applied to each of the four show caves; (ii) established a set of basic principles to be enforced by the management of show caves; (iii) issued a set of preventive measures and instructions to be followed by the personnel and stakeholders of the caves.

In the current socio-economic context, pension systems have become a crucial topic in the agenda of governments and international bodies. In this paper, an empirical study regarding the economic and social sustainability of pension systems in Central and Eastern European Countries was performed. The goal of the research is to establish the sustainability of pension systems with econometric modeling techniques on three dimensions as the research hypotheses are revealed: first, by strengthening the financial soundness of pension systems; second, consolidating the economic environment of pension systems; third, increasing the degree of social security systems with a direct effect of reducing poverty. The results led to relevant insights emphasizing the need for more inclusive economic, financial, and social reforms. From a policy perspective, these findings could be a starting point for the enhancement of the financial adequacy and economic and social sustainability of pension systems in Central and Eastern European Countries. The econometric techniques in this study highlight those modern pensions systems that need to be addressed in a more complex and empirical context that must encompass the main technical aspects. The conclusions suggest that in the future it needs judicial, economic, and social adjustments for the enhancement of the financial soundness of the pension systems.

The study's objective was to investigate changes in the fatty acid composition of cow milk in general and in 80 Romanian Spotted cows' husbandry and feeding systems in particular (grazing – GC group vs. stabulation – SC group). The ultimate objective was to determine if the changes that happened in the milk also transferred to the finished product. Also, the influence of the raw milk quality produced by both systems was evaluated when yogurt was made from it. The milk was gathered in May, July, and September and used for both the yogurt-making process and the study, which lasted from May to October. As comparison to milk from SC, milk from grazed caws had larger percentages of fat and dry matter throughout the summer (GC) season. Moreover, pasture-based rations (MGC) contained more PUFA than MCS did. Data research revealed that not only do factors like milk origin and initial quality have a substantial impact on yogurt quality parameters, but also technologies like milk fermentation have a considerable impact on the fatty acid profile of yogurt. As comparison to cows kept permanently in stables, grazed cows (MGC) had fat with a lower concentration of saturated fatty acids and a higher proportion of rumenic, vaccenic, and oleic acids (MSC). When fresh milk is processed into yogurt and other dairy products, the fatty acid profiles alter, with saturated fatty acids predominating over unsaturated ones. The findings show that pasture-fed cows have a positive impact on milk quality, particularly in terms of fatty acid profile, as well as on yogurt's ultimate nutritional and dietary quality.

A series of dinuclear copper(I) N,C,N- and P,C,P-carbodiphosphorane (CDP) complexes using multidentate ligands CDP(Py)2 (1) and (CDP(CH2PPh2)2 (13) have been isolated and characterized. Detailed structural information was gained by single crystal XRD analyses of nine representative examples. The common structural motive is the central double ylidic carbon atom with its characteristic two lone-pairs involved into binding of two geminal L-Cu(I) fragments at Cu-Cu distances in the range 2.55 – 2.67 Å. In order to enhance conformational rigidity within the characteristic Cu-C-Cu triangle, two types of chelating side arms were symmetrically attached to each phosphorus atom: two 2-pyridyl functions in ligand CDP(Py)2 (1) and its dinuclear copper complexes 2-9 and 11, as well as two diphenylphosphinomethylene functions in ligand CDP(CH2PPh2)2 (13) and its di- and mononuclear complexes 14-18. Neutral complexes were typically obtained via reaction of 1 with Cu(I) species CuCl, CuI, and CuSPh or via salt elimination reaction of [(CuCl)2(CDP(Py)2] (2) with sodium carbazolate. Cationic Cu(I) complexes were prepared upon treating 1 with two equivalents of [Cu(NCMe)4]PF6, followed by the addition of either two equivalent of an aryl phosphine (PPh3, P(C6H4OMe)3) or one equivalent of a bisphosphine ligands DPEPhos, XantPhos or dppf. For the first time carbodiphosphorane CDP(CH2PPh2)2 (13) could be isolated upon treating its precursor [CH(dppm)2]Cl (12) with NaNH2 in liquid NH3. A protonated and a deprotonated derivative of ligand 13 were prepared and their coordination was compared to neutral CDP ligand 13. NMR analysis and DFT calculations reveal, that the most stable tautomer of 13 does not show a CDP (or carbone) structure in its uncoordinated base form. For most of the prepared complexes, photoluminescence upon irradiation with UV light at room temperature was observed. Quantum yields (PL) were determined to 36% for dicationic [(CuPPh3)2(CDP(Py)2)](PF6)2 (4) and to 60% for neutral [(CuSPh)2(CDP(CH2PPh2)2] (16).

The rapid technological development of society determined increased demand for safe potable water and food resources. Unfortunately, this progress causes complex environmental pollution, that is continuously challenging the scholars’ community. Therefore, it is important to chemically analyze the food for a better understanding of pollution-spreading mechanisms. Our study is focused on food analysis originating from Vatra Dornei City, which belongs to Suceava County in the Bukovina region of Romania. It represents a well-known Romanian spa and ski resort in the northern parts of the Oriental Carpathians Mountains. The mountain region owns a lot of mineral resources, mainly consisting of mineral and sparkling waters, uranium, manganese, copper, pyrite, chalcopyrite, polymetallic ores, baryte, gold and silver-bearing orebodies, etc. The present contribution aims to point out the results obtained from the analysis of soil, water and food samples collected from the local markets. The food samples consisted of lettuce, spinach, apples, pork (smoked) chicken meat (raw), milk and cheese. Last year the survey was conducted over six months. The results highlighted that the mining activities carried out during time caused environmental pollution with uranium and heavy metals due to the waste heaps’ weathering phenomena and tailing ponds’ presence.

The increasing prevalence of periprosthetic femoral fractures, specifically in the vicinity of the hip, has emerged as a significant issue in recent times. Consequently, there is a need for a thorough examination to enhance the effectiveness of management and treatment approaches. The findings emphasized a significant disparity in the occurrence and characteristics of these fractures, as multiple studies have highlighted the efficacy of various treatment strategies, such as open reduction and internal fixation, as well as the utilization of cortical strut allografts. Furthermore, the research has identified potential risk factors that have an impact on the characteristics of fractures, providing valuable insights that could be crucial in the development of preventive strategies. This research provides a thorough examination of periprosthetic femoral fractures, highlighting the importance of a cohesive treatment algorithm to improve the handling of such fractures. Moreover, it promotes the need for a collaborative endeavor in conducting research in this field, cultivating a more profound comprehension that has the potential to drive progress in therapeutic approaches, ultimately enhancing patient results over an extended period of time. It is crucial that forthcoming research endeavors persist in expanding upon these discoveries, striving towards a unified methodology in tackling this substantial clinical obstacle.

Epirubicin, olaparib and ribociclib are three anti-tumoral molecules currently used in cancer therapy. Since serum levels of these drugs reveal a large inter-individual variability, validation of a fast, simple and reliable analytical method for quantitative determination of these molecules in human serum, with Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) purposes would be necessary. Papers in literature describe separation, identification and quantitation of the drugs in pharmaceutical formulas and biological matrices. The large majority of these approaches use protein precipitation for sample pre-treatment, followed by LC separation and tandem-mass-spectrometry (MS/MS) detection. We propose an alternative method using Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) with Oasis PRiME HLB® cartridges followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using a C18 (4.6 × 50 mm) column. A gradient mobile phase with 0.1% formic acid/acetonitrile was utilized. MS detection in single ion recording (SIR) mode was employed. A 13-minutes run-time analysis, including column re-equilibration was assessed. Data for all molecules were validated according to ICH Guidelines. Calibration curves for all analytes were linear with correlation coefficient larger than 0.997. Values for precision were less than 6%. The method was applied on serum samples from patients up-taking the drugs, proving its suitability in TDM assisted adjustment of doses in therapy.

A nation's vitality, dynamism and economic strength will always be related to its demographic component, and a healthy and vigorous population will ensure its long-term future. However, the current realities demonstrate the existence of an obvious population decrement at the level of the entire country particularly triggered by the birth rate decrease and the high demographic aging to which other factors add ap specific to local communities, which in their turn determined a particular type of demographic behaviour. Therefore we aim to analyze those elements with a major population dynamics impact such as family stability and demographic potential that can generate a specific demographic behaviour, as a result of the major changes that have occurred in the last period of time. These elements are translated through several demographic indicators that characterize the family, such as the nuptiality index and the divorce index whose evolution was registered and analyzed for the period 1992-2021. Their evolution indicates the demographic potential of Romania, as well as of Bihor county.

The paper illustrates a general framework in which a neural network application can be easily integrated and proposes a traffic forecasting approach that uses neural networks based on graphs. The method minimizes the communication network (between vehicles and the database servers) load and represents a reasonable trade-off between communication network load and forecasting accuracy. Traffic prediction leads to the choice of less congested routes and therefore to the reduction of energy consumption. The traffic is forecasting using a LTSM neural network with a regression layer. The inputs of the neural network are sequences - obtained from graph that represent the road network - at specific moments of time that are read from traffic sensors or the outputs of neural network (forecasting sequences). The input sequences can be filtered to improve the forecasting accuracy. This general framework is based on Contiki IoT operating system that ensure support for wireless communication and efficient implementation of processes in a resource constrained system and it is particularized to implement a graph neural network. Two cases are studied: one case in which the traffic sensors are periodically read and the other case in which the traffic sensors are read when their values changes are detected. A comparison between the cases is made and the influence of filtering is evaluated. The obtained accuracy is very good, very close to the accuracy obtained in infinite precision simulation, and the computation time is low enough and the system can work in real time.

The number of people affected by eye conditions is growing every year, due to the popularity of electronic devices and an aging population. In the world of medicine, accomplishing eye medication administration has always been a difficult task. Despite the fact that there are many eye drops on the market, most of them have important limitations due to quick clearance mechanisms and ocular barriers. One solution with tremendous potential is the contact lens used as medication delivery vehicle to bypass this constraint. Therapeutic contact lenses for ocular medication delivery have attracted a lot of attention because they have the potential to improve ocular bioavailability, patient compliance, and reduce side effects. However, it is essential not to compromise essential features such as water content, optical transparency, and modulus in order to target successful in vitro and in vivo sustained drug delivery profile from impregnated contact lenses. Aside from difficulties like drug stability and burst release, the changing of lens physical and chemical properties caused by therapeutic or non-therapeutic components can limit the commercialization potential of pharmaceutical-loaded lenses. Research has progressed towards bioinspired techniques and smart materials to improve the efficacy of drug-eluting contact lenses. The bioinspired method uses bioinspired polymeric materials to improve biocompatibility, a specialized molecule recognition technique called molecular imprinting, or a stimuli-responsive system to improve biocompatibility and support drug delivery efficacy of drug-eluting contact lenses. This review encompasses strategies of material design, lens manufacturing and drug impregnation under the current auspices in ophthalmic therapies and projects an outlook onto future opportunities in the field of eye conditions management by means of active principles-eluting contact lens.

Drilling vibrations has been identified as a key performance limiter that prevents successful energy transfer from the surface to the bit. The resultant irregular bit rotation speed causes drilling challenges like poor hole quality and reduction in rate of penetration to name a few. Amongst other vibration suppression techniques, active control of vibrations is widely used and recommended. Active control system utilizes a closed loop feedback control to continuously adapt to downhole vibrations detected at the surface. The system requires regular tuning and upgrades which is done experimentally before field deployment. The paper presents a PID based experimental tuning of horizontal and vertical strings for irregular RPM. In doing so, the paper highlights the need of having horizontal experimental setups for state-of-the-art PID tuning for downhole RPM. The settling time of irregular RPM for horizontal setup is found to be lower than the vertical configuration due to multiple contact points and increased friction coefficient.

Recurrent bacterial vaginosis (RBV) after antibiotic treatments has a relapse rate of 35% within 3 months and 60% within 12 months. Products containing polycarbophil (PLGG), that inhibits bacterial growth and mucoadhesive property, can impair biofilm formation. Here are shown the results of the POLARIS (Polybactum® to assess Recurrent Bacterial Vaginosis) study. The first phase was an interventional, open-label, non-controlled, and multicentre trial enrolling 56 women in Italy and Romania. The second phase was an observational 10-month follow-up without treatment conducted only in Romania. After 3 cycles with PLGG, only 8 BV recurrences out of 54 evaluable patients were identified (rate 14.81%) and for 26 out of 39 patients (66.67%) was evidenced positive effect on Lactobacilli in the vaginal secretions. In the follow-up 35 patients were observed after PLGG stopping treatment; 1 RBV (2.86%) at the 4th month and an additional 6 cases (17.14%) were evidenced at the end of the follow-up period. Therefore, no recurrence was evidenced in 12 subjects (34.28%) at 10th ± 2 months after the end of the PLGGtreatment. The use of PLGG vaginal ovules in the treatment of BV reduces the rate of relapses and improves the microbiological parameters (positive effect on Lactobacilli in 66.7 % of cases).

Introduction The outcome of radiotherapy (RT) for prostate cancer (PCA) depends on the delivered dose. While the evidence for dose-escalated RT up to 80 Gy is well established, there have been only few studies examining dose escalation above 80 Gy. We initiated the presented study to assess the safety of dose escalation up to 84 Gy. Patients and methods In our retrospective analysis, we included patients who received dose-escalated RT for PCA at our institution between 2016 and 2021. We evaluated acute genitourinary (GU) and gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity as well as late GU and GI toxicity. Results A total of 86 patients could be evaluated, of whom 24 patients had received 80 Gy and 62 patients had received 84 Gy (35 without pelvis- and 27 with pelvis-radiotherapy). Regarding acute toxicities, no adverse events > grade 2 occurred. 12.5% of patients treated with 80Gy, in 25.7% of patients treated with 84 Gy excluding pelvis, and in 51.9% of patients treated with 84Gy including pelvis suffered from Grade 2 GU acute toxicity (80 Gy versus 84 Gy: p=0.186; with pelvis versus without pelvis: p=0.032). Grade 2 GI toxicity occurred in 12.5% of patients irradiated with 80Gy, in 14.3% of patients treated with 84 Gy excluding pelvis, and in 12.9% of patients treated with 84Gy including pelvis (80 Gy versus 84 Gy: p=0.582; with pelvis versus without pelvis: p=0.510).GU late toxicity of grade ≥ 2 occurred in 4.2% of patients treated with 80 Gy, in 7.1% of patients treated with 84 Gy excluding pelvic RT, and in 18.2% of patients treated with 84 Gy including pelvic RT (logrank-test p=0.237). 8.3% of patients treated with 80 Gy, in 3.6% of patients treated with Gy excluding pelvic RT, and in 0% of patients treated with 84 Gy including pelvic RT suffered from GI late toxicity of grade ≥ 2(logrank-test p=0.358). Conclusion We were able to show that dose-escalated RT in PCA up to 84 Gy is feasible and safe without asubstantial increase in toxicity. Further follow up is needed to assess survival.

Cryosurgery has emerged as a promising method for harvesting veins, but the suitability of these cryostripped veins as grafts remains a subject of investigation. This study delves into uncharted territory by conducting an immunohistochemical analysis and exploring the molecular aspects of venous samples obtained through cryostripping. Existing literature lacks comprehensive data on the components of varicose veins' walls, particularly in relation to protein expression. Furthermore, little is known about the proliferation rate of endothelial cells within varicose veins, which we scrutinize alongside an assessment of CD34 endothelial reactivity. Materials and Methods: Our study encompassed 109 samples procured using the cryostripping method, which involves catheterizing veins with a specialized probe cooled to -85°C. Molecular profiling of the intima and endothelium was conducted using two key markers: CD34 and Ki67. Results: Immunoreactivity for CD34 was discernible across all three layers of the varicose vein walls that were excised using cryostripping. Notably, the endothelial cell layer exhibited intense and uniform positivity in 36 out of the 109 samples under investigation. In contrast, the results regarding Ki67 expression, whether pertaining to the intima or endothelium, remain inconclusive. Conclusions: Our findings advocate for the utilization of CD34 as a reliable marker to assess the morphological and molecular integrity of excised venous specimens. As the use of cryosurgery-harvested veins as grafts gains traction, this research contributes valuable insights into their potential viability for transplantation, opening new avenues for further exploration in the field of vascular surgery.

The objective of this research is to analyze metal elements like Na (sodium), Mg (magnesium), Al (aluminum), Si (silicon), Pb (lead), K (potassium), Ca (calcium), and Fe (iron) found in dust particles within two distinct areas from which the sampling has been done. First sampling was taken from the road verge of a highly trafficked road section, while the second sampling was done in a residential garden area 90 m away from the road. Several metal elements have been detected, with a high difference for Silicon Si, which present higher concentrations in the dust sampled from the road verge area. Pb has only been detected in the samples taken from the road verge, which could be explained by residual remnants from old lead gasoline, and wheel weights. Additionally, airborne particulate matter (PM) concentrations have been measured, during the same episode, in comparison between the road verge and the garden area, presenting a substantial difference in the concentration levels, deducing that dense vegetation is protecting and blocking a majority of airborne PM. A literature highlight of health effects of different metal elements and PM concentrations is presented.

Data on the KIT mutation rate in skin melanoma in the central European region is missing. Accordingly, in a cohort of 79 double wild type (BRAF/NRAS) skin melanoma KIT mutation was assessed by Sanger sequencing of exons 9,11,13,17 and 18. In this skin melanoma cohort KIT mutation frequency was found to be 34/79 (43%) with a significantly higher rate in acrolentiginous melanoma (ALM) as compared to UV-induced common variants (20/34, 58.8% versus 14/45, 31.1%, p=0.014). Exon 11 was the most frequent mutation site (44.7%) followed by exon 9 (21.1%) equally characterizing UV-induced common histotypes and ALM tumors. KIT mutation hotspots were identified in exon 9 (c491/492), in exon 11 (c559,c572, c570), in exon 13 (c642), in exon 17 (c822) and in exon 18 (c853). The relatively high KIT mutation rate in skin melanoma in this central-European cohort justifies regular testing of this molecular target.

Introduction: Ambient air pollution is major global health problem and commercial drivers are particularly exposed to it. No systematic assessment of the health risks associated with occupational exposure to ambient air pollution in this population has been carried out. Methods: We conducted a systematic review using a protocol-driven strategy. Papers published from inception to 20th April 2018 in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, African journals online, Cochrane library, ISRCTN and WHO ICTRP databases were screened for inclusion by two independent reviewers. Original articles with at least an available abstract in English or French were included. Results: The initial search retrieved 1454 published articles of which 20 articles were included. 3 Studies reported a significant difference in white blood cells (106/L) among commercial motorcyclists compared to rural inhabitants (5.041±1.209 vs 5.900±1.213,p=0.001), an increased risk of lung cancer (RR=1.6, 95%CI 1.5-1.8) in bus drivers and an increased standardized mortality ratio (SMR) in bus drivers from Hodgkin’s lymphoma (SMR 2.17, 95%CI 1.19-3.87) compared to white collar workers. Other studies also found that drivers had more oxidative DNA damage and chromosome breaks. 4 papers failed to demonstrate that the drivers were more exposed to air pollution than the controls. 3 other studies also reported no significant difference in lung function parameters and respiratory symptoms. The genetic polymorphisms of detoxifying enzymes were not also homogeneously distributed compared to the controls. Conclusion: There is some evidence that occupational exposure to ambient air pollution among commercial drivers is associated with adverse health outcomes but the existing literature is limited with few studies of small sample size, methodological weaknesses and contradictory findings. Further research is recommended.

The per capita availability of freshwater resources on a global scale is gradually decreasing due to population growth, rapid urbanization, industrialization, and modern lifestyles. In this situation, wastewater management becomes a major concern. Conventional treatment processes used to treat wastewater discharges are not adequate for the advanced removal of pollutants, especially refractory organic pollutants, which are mainly organic compounds that are not easily biodegradable in the environment. The use of photocatalytic membrane reactors (PMRs) for tertiary wastewater treatment has attracted much interest in recent periods, and various configurations have been investigated. The performance of a PMR using an iron doped titanium photo catalyst and Polysulfone-based polymeric membrane for municipal wastewater treatment was evaluated under natural and simulated solar light. Obtained results proved that solar driven PMRs can remove organic loading (COD) with high efficiencies and may represent a suitable alternative for the tertiary treatment step of municipal wastewater.

The objective of the analysis carried out in this paper is to quantify the impact of subsidies on the activity of two vegetable farms, of different sizes in terms of agricultural area under cultivation, 600 ha and 3000 ha, which can constitute a model at macroeconomic level, indicating the ways in which these farms can ensure their income. For the analysis carried out, indicators were taken into account concerning production, net profit and subsidies received over a period of three years for the agricultural crops grown on these farms, identifying their contribution and effects on profitability. Descriptive statistics, visual inspections and basic comparison methods were also used, thus determining the patterns of the impact of subsidies and their variation for each of the existing crops in the vegetable farms studied. The data on which the statistical models are based are extracted from the financial statements of the farms analysed, giving the possibility of a predictive extension of the evolution of income and, very importantly, of their profitability. The conclusions revealed, for the 600 ha vegetable farm, that this farm maintained its area constant during the analysis period, benefiting from annual subsidies, and that the practice of crop diversification (rape, barley, winter wheat, oats, soybean, maize, lucerne), appropriate rotation, conservation farming and crop irrigation on 85.34% of the area, ensured average yields/ha that exceeded those recorded at national and regional level, except for 2020. The economic performance of this farm is oscillating in the period 2018-2021, with the ability to consistently generate profit, but in 2020 it is close to break-even, a year in which subsidy income tipped the balance towards positive but modest financial results. For this farm, the statistical model carried out was inconclusive because the farm optimises its cropping plan every year, depending on agrometeorological predictions, subsidy levels and market trends, changing crops, thus not being able to estimate the extent to which each crop contributes to maintaining the financial balance of the farm. Thus, although subsidies have impacted the level of net income, the extent to which they have done so is unclear. For the 3000 ha farm, the findings revealed that this farm also has a roughly constant area in use over the analysis period and for which it receives subsidies. This farm practices crop diversification (rape, barley, winter wheat, sunflower, soybean, grain maize, late potatoes, sweet potato, carrot and flowers) and adequate crop rotation. The data highlight that subsidies played a significant and sometimes overwhelming role in determining the gross output of each crop to achieve a positive value of this indicator. Modern conservation farming technologies and crop irrigation on 74.14% of the area justify the average yields/ha achieved, which again exceeded those recorded at national, regional and county level, with the exception of 2020. Maize and soybean crops consistently contributed to the farm's income, with a high gross product and net income, despite changes in the average yield per hectare achieved each year. Good and rising economic performance for this farm during the period under review, which justifies the profitability of the business from an economic, financial and commercial point of view. Although there have been fluctuations in the value of yields realized on different crops, net revenues continued to be high and even up significantly in 2021. Thus, the study highlighted and identified trends and patterns in agriculture, patterns that can serve as a source of information for relevant policy decisions, playing a key role in guiding future research and allocating resources efficiently in the agricultural sector.

The article describes a classification solution for amber stones. The problem of classifying amber is known for a long time among jewelers and artisans of amber art. Existing solutions can classify amber pieces according to color, but a need to classify by shape and texture is not satisfied up to now. The proposed solution is capable of classifying the gemstones according to a shape. Amber can be considered as a specific object since the form is difficult to define unambiguously. Data for amber experiments was gathered from amber art craftsmen. In the proposed solution amber form can be classified into 10 different classes (7 classes chosen during the experiment).

Malocclusions have a continuously increasing prevalence from a generation to another as a result of climate changes, soil, atmosphere and water pollution. All of these aspects have unfavorable consequences on the nutritional scheme. Thus, nutrition together with other etiopathogenic factors contribute to complex alterations in the somatic development of the entire organism and, implicitly, of the cephalic extremity. The study group included 4147 children from randomly selected schools from Vâlcea County, Romania. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of malocclusions in schoolchildren from Vâlcea County, Romania, according to the three main classes of malocclusions (according to Angle’s classification), age groups (from 6 to 10 years old and from 11 to 14 years old), gender (male and female) and place of origin (rural and urban). For Angle class I malocclusions we recorded the highest prevalence (48,78% from the total number of schoolchildren with malocclusions), followed by Angle class II malocclusions (45,85% from the total number of schoolchildren with malocclusions) and for Angle class III malocclusions we found the lowest prevalence (5,37% from the total number of schoolchildren with malocclusions).According to gender, we found the highest prevalence in female gender (29,90% from the total number of female subjects), while in male gender we recorded a prevalence of 27,70% from the total number of male subjects. Regarding the place of origin, there is a higher prevalence of malocclusions in the urban areas (29,16%). The study subgroup included 140 children randomly selected from the total number of subjects from the study group. They were included in a more advanced study. The aim is to find potential associations between the presence of malocclusions and various oral variables. Categorical variables were expressed as numerical values and percentages, and their association was evaluated with either the Chi-square test of association or homogeneity, or the Fisher Exact test. The acquired data were incorporated into a binomial logistic regression model to assess the likelihood of developing malocclusions in relation to the following variables: defective phonation, bruxism, frequency of teeth brushing, onychophagia, oral respiration, infantile deglutition, placing objects between the maxillaries, thumb sucking and salivary aspects. It is also aimed to compare the results obtained with similar ones from the specialized literature.

Critically ill patients with sepsis require a multidisciplinary approach, as this situation implies multiorgan distress, with most of the bodily biochemical and cellular systems being affected by the condition. Moreover, sepsis is characterized by a multitude of biochemical interactions and by dynamic changes of the immune system. At the moment, there is a gap in our understanding of the cellular, genetic, and molecular mechanisms involved in sepsis. One of the systems intensely studied in recent years is the endocannabinoid signaling pathway, as light was shed over a series of important interactions of cannabinoid receptors with biochemical pathways, specifically for sepsis. Furthermore, a series of important implications on inflammation and the immune system that are induced by the activity of cannabinoid receptors stimulated by the delta-9-tetrahidrocannabinol and cannabinol have been noticed. The aim of this review paper was to present, in detail, the important mechanisms modulated by the endocannabinoid signaling pathway, as well as of the molecular and cellular links it has with sepsis. At the same time, we wish to present the possible implications of cannabinoids in the most important biological pathways involved in sepsis, such as inflammation, redox activity, immune system, and epigenetic expression.

The purported cognitive benefits associated with nicotine and its metabolites in the brain are a matter of debate. In this review, the impact of the pharmacologically active metabolite of a nicotine derivative produced by bacteria (6-hydroxy-L-nicotine) on memory, oxidative stress, and the activity of the cholinergic system in the brain was examined. A search in the PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases, limiting entries to those no later than July 2023, was conducted. The search focused specifically on articles pertaining to nicotine metabolites, memory, oxidative stress, cholinergic system activity, as well as enzymes or pathways related to nicotine degradation in bacteria. The preliminary search resulted in 696 articles, and following the application of exclusion criteria, 185 articles were deemed eligible for inclusion. This review focuses on experimental studies supporting nicotine catabolism in bacteria, and the chemical and pharmacological activities of nicotine and its metabolite 6-hydroxy-L-nicotine.

Capsule endoscopy, which uses a wireless camera to take images of the digestive tract, is emerging as an alternative to traditional colonoscopy. The diagnostic values of these images depend on the quality of revealed underlying tissue surfaces. In this paper, we consider the problem of enhancing the visibility of detail and shadowed tissue surfaces for capsule endoscopy images. Using concentric circles at each pixel for random walks combined with stochastic sampling, the proposed method enhances the details of vessel and tissue surfaces. The framework decomposes the image into two detail layers that contain shadowed tissue surfaces and detail features. The target pixel value is recalculated for the smooth layer using similarity of the target pixel to neighboring pixels by weighting against the total gradient variation and intensity differences. In order to evaluate the diagnostic image quality of the proposed method, we used clinical subjective evaluation with a rank order on selected KID image database and compared to state of the art enhancement methods. The result showed that the proposed method provides a better result in terms of diagnostic image quality and objective quality contrast metrics and structural similarity index.

The research is focusing on analyzing the concentrations of particulate matter (PM) next to a highly congested road section, with 39,900 as a maximum number of vehicles per 24 h, in the vicinity of Timisoara, Romania. Concentrations have been measured in multiple episodes using two different measurement methods, gravimetric and dynamic light scattering, showing a disperse range of PM concentrations. Presence of metal particles in the samples have been analyzed using an electron microscope. Additionally, impact on human health is described by evaluating results for inhalable, thoracic, and alveolar sized particles.

Ideas about Artificial Intelligence appeared about half a century ago, but only now is it becoming an essential element of everyday life. The data provided is getting bigger and bigger and, in this case, we need artificial intelligence that helps us with superhuman powers. The interaction with medicine is getting closer and closer, medicine being a field that continues to be perfected. Machine learning, deep learning, neural networks, computer vision are some of the mechanisms that are already applied in medicine, becoming a trend in healthcare worldwide. Artificial intelligence will be the thing that will change contemporary medicine. Developed countries such as Japan, France, Germany have already implemented artificial intelligence in their medical systems. The help is in medical diagnosis, patient monitoring, personalized therapy, and workflow optimization. Artificial intelligence will help surgeons to perfect their skills, to standardize techniques, to choose the best surgical technique. The goal is to predict complications, reduce diagnostic time, diagnose complex pathologies, guide the surgeon intraoperatively and reduce medical errors. We are at the beginning but the potential is enormous.

Aortic dissection (AD) is a critical heart condition with potentially severe outcomes. Our study aims to investigate the existence of a "weekend effect" in AD by examining the correlation between patient outcomes and the timing of their treatment during weekdays vs weekends. Specifically, we assessed prospectively the effects of the timing of treatment on patient outcomes for acute aortic dissection, both before surgical intervention and during hospitalization, as well as during the follow-up period. The mean age of the study population used here was 62.5 years with a high degree of variability. We recorded a rate of mortality before surgery of 8.65% for the weekend group and 15% for the weekday group, with no significant differences noted in the results of statistical tests. During hospitalization, mortality was found to be 50% (n=52) in the weekend group and 25% (n=5) in the weekday group, again with no significant differences observed in the results of the same statistical tests. Patient mortality after discharge was 9.61% (n=10) in the weekend group and 5% (n=1) in the weekday group. Our findings suggest that there is no significant difference in mortality rates between patients admitted to the hospital on weekends versus weekdays. Therefore, the period of the week when a patient presents to the hospital with aortic dissection appears to not affect their mortality outcomes.

The liver diseases are posing serious threat to human health associated with abusive use of allopathy medicines, especially in developing economies like Pakistan. The strengthening of detoxification system using natural products might be a suitable option to minimize the liver problems. In this current research, Zingiber officinale and Azadirachta indica were evaluated for their hepatoprotective role. For the purpose, 20 Sprague Dawley rats were equally divided into four groups i.e., negative control, paracetamol positive control, 2.5% ginger and 2% neem powder, respectively. During 42 days study, the levels of bilirubin and liver enzymes significantly elevated due to liver damage. Although, the values dropped (20-25%) in treatment group. Serum glucose and serum lipid profile increased in positive control group, but reduced (5-10%) in both ginger and neem groups. The serum protein profile declined in liver damage group, however, improved (~5%) in treatment groups. The hematological parameters slightly declined in liver damage group, but increased in ginger and neem groups. Moreover, the white blood cells differential count and renal parameters showed abnormal values in liver damage group, but improved after treatment. This study is promising and highlighted the hepato-protective role of neem and ginger that may open several avenues of research.

Evaluating the integrity of structures is an important issue in engineering applications. The use of vibration-based techniques has become a common approach to assessing cracks, which are the most often occurring damage in structural elements. When involving an inverse method, it is necessary to know the influence of the position and the geometry of the crack on the modal parameter changes. The geometry of the crack, both in size and shape, defines the damage severity (DS). In this study, we present a method (DS-SHC) used for estimating the DS for closed and open transverse cracks in beam-like structures by using the intact and damaged beam deflections under its weight and a Stochastic Hill Climbing (SHC) algorithm. After describing the procedure of applying DS-SHC, we calculate for a prismatic cantilever beam the severities for different crack types and depths. The results are tested by comparing the DS obtained with DS-SHC with those acquired from dynamic tests made using professional simulation software. We obtained a good fit between the severities determined in these two ways. Afterward, we performed laboratory experiments and find out that the severities obtained with the DS-SHC method can accurately predict the frequency changes due to the crack. Hence, these severities are a valuable tool for damage detection.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia associated with various risk factors and significant morbidity and mortality. This article presents findings from a study involving 115 patients with permanent AF. The study examined demographics, risk factors, associated pathologies, complications, and anticoagulant therapy. The results showed a slight predominance of AF in males, with the highest incidence in individuals aged 75 and above. Common risk factors included arterial hypertension, dyslipidaemia, diabetes mellitus type 2, and obesity. Comorbidities such as congestive heart failure, mitral valve regurgitation, and pulmonary disorders were prevalent among the patients. Major complications included congestive heart failure, stroke, and myocardial infarction. Thromboembolic and bleeding risk assessment using CHAD2DS2-VASc and HAS-BLED scores demonstrated a high thromboembolic risk in all patients. The majority of patients were receiving novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) before admission, while NOACs were also the most prescribed antithrombotic therapy at discharge. The study highlights the importance of risk factor management and appropriate anticoagulant therapy in AF patients to reduce complications and improve outcomes.

(1) Background: This study aimed to evaluate the implications of IL-31 in the pathogenesis of chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) and to assess the differences that occur between its serum values compared to controls. Additionally, the serum IL-31 levels were measured alongside other clinical and paraclinical parameters identified in the patients to understand its immunological importance in this skin disease and to determine if it could potentially serve as a therapeutic target in CSU in the future. (2) Methods: The serum levels of IL-31 were estimated in 50 patients diagnosed with CSU according to the international guidelines. Additionally, 38 controls who had not experienced any episodes of urticaria during their lifetime were included. (3) Results: Our data have shown higher serum levels of IL-31 in CSU patients compared to controls. A correlation between the serum level of IL-31 and other inflammatory markers, such as ERS, CRP, or serum eosinophils and total IgE was not identified. On the other hand, statistically significant differences were found in IL-31 serum values in UCS patients depending on the severity of the disease, its impact on the patients' quality of life, the severity of itching, and the response to H1 antihistamines. (4) Conclusions: In the present study, IL-31 did not change directly with non-specific inflammation, nor with eosinophilic inflammation or atopy. However, its expression was modified in CSU depending on major characteristics of the disease: severity, pruritus, and response to H1 antihistamines. The focus on the pathogenesis of CSU is of indisputable significance since any additional information in understanding the mechanisms of this disease can open doors to new therapeutic targets. This is particularly important considering that the available therapies are deficient, incomplete, and the remaining symptoms are uncontrolled in many cases.

Immunosuppressed individuals, such as people living with HIV (PLWH), remain vulnerable to severe COVID-19. We analyzed the persistence of specific SARS-CoV-2 humoral and cellular immune responses in a retrospective, cross-sectional study in PLWH on antiretroviral therapy. Among 104 participants, 70.2% had anti-S IgG antibodies and 55.8% had significant neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant in a surrogate virus neutralization test. Only 38.5% were vaccinated (8.76 ± 4.1 months prior), all displaying anti-S IgG, 75% with neutralizing antibodies and anti-S IgA. 29.8% had no SARS-CoV-2 serologic markers and displayed significantly lower CD4 counts and HIV viral load. Severe immunosuppression (present in 12.5% of participants) was linked to lower levels of detectable anti-S IgG (0.0003), anti-S IgA (p < 0.0001) and lack of neutralizing activity against Omicron variant (p < 0.0001). T-cell responses were present in 86.7% of tested participants, even in those lacking serological markers. In PLWH without severe immunosuppression, neutralizing antibodies and T-cell responses persisted for up to 9 months post-infection or vaccination. Advanced immunosuppression led to diminished humoral immunity, but retained cellular immune.

Cancer have been known as a most important global mortality reason, which in spite of novel therapeutic ways, the leading death is still considerable. Molecular targeted diagnosis and therapy using aptamers with high affinity have converted to a popular technique for pathological angiogenesis and cancer therapy scientists. In this paper several aptamer-based diagnostic and therapeutic techniques such as aptamer-nanomaterial conjugation, aptamer-drug conjugation (physically or covalently) and biosensors, which successfully designed for biomarkers, are critically reviewed. The results obviously demonstrated that aptamer have potentially incorporated with targeted delivery systems and biosensors for detection of biomarkers which expressed by cancer cells. Aptamer-based therapeutic and diagnostic methods, as the main field of medical sciences, possess high potential in cancer therapy, pathological angiogenesis and increase of community health. The clinical use of aptamer is so limited due to unreliability resulted from targets impurities, inaccuracy in SELEX stages process, and in vitro synthesis which led to the lower selectivity for in vivo targets. Moreover, size behavior, probable toxicity, low-distribution and unpredictable behavior of nanomaterials in in vivo media make critical their usage in clinical assays. This review can be helpful for implementation and designing the future studies which are effective and applicable for clinical use.

This study aimed to investigate Romanian physicians' awareness, recommendation practices, and opinions regarding using Foods for Special Medical Purposes (FSMPs) products. A total of ten physicians were interviewed using a structured questionnaire, and their responses were analysed using thematic content analysis. The study found that physicians were aware of FSMPs and recommended them to their patients based on nutritional deficits, weight loss, or deglutition impairments. In addition, disease stage, treatment scheme, taste, affordability, and availability were identified as factors influencing the recommendation and use of FSMPs. While physicians generally did not consult clinical trials, clinical experience was deemed essential for recommending FSMPs to patients. Patients' feedback regarding the usage and sourcing of FSMPs was generally positive, with some expressing concerns about the availability of different flavours and the costs of purchasing the products. The study concludes that physicians play a vital role in recommending FSMPs to patients and ensuring they have the necessary nutritional support during treatment. However, more patient education materials and collaboration with nutritionists may be required to improve patient outcomes and reduce patient financial burden.

Background and Objectives: Rheumatic diseases often exhibit a complex pattern of comorbidities, including the increased occurrence of emotional disorders like anxiety and depression, which are closely related to the presence of chronic pain. Therefore, a multimodal approach is necessary for treatment, targeting both the physical and psychological functioning. Due to the increased burden within the healthcare context that emerged during the post-pandemic period, the need to adjust the content and length of psychological interventions became ubiquitous. In this way, the main objective of this study was to investigate the efficiency of a single-session, process-based psychological intervention for patients with rheumatic conditions and emotional comorbidities in a naturalistic, in-patient setting. Materials and Methods: After the screening, a total of 31 participants (Mage = 58.9, SD = 12.03) completed the single session intervention. The therapeutic protocol relied on a process-based cognitive-behavioural therapy framework aiming to improve cognitive, emotional and behavioural functioning. Assessments were conducted prior to the intervention, post-intervention and one month following the hospitalization. Results: Immediately after the intervention, significant reductions in dysfunctional cognitive and emotional processes, along with the improvement of behavioural strategies were observed. At the one-month telephonic evaluation, participants reported decreased pain, state anxiety and state depression levels. Conclusions: The single-session, process-based approach represents a promising intervention in healthcare contexts, targeting important psychopathological mechanisms in patients with rheumatic conditions. Future studies could clarify the extent to which these outcomes persist over time and their specific associations with anxiety and depressive symptoms, by using more controlled and rigorous trial designs.

Considerable efforts have been made in recent years to identify an optimal treatment method for the removal of antibiotics from wastewaters. A series of supramolecular organic-inorganic magnetic composites containing Zn-modified MgAl LDHs and Cu-phthalocyanine as photosensitizer have been prepared with the scope to β-lactam antibiotics removal from aqueous solutions. The characterization of these materials confirmed the anchorage of Cu-phthalocyanine onto the edges of the LDH lamellae, with a negligible part inserted in the interlayer space. The removal of β-lactam antibiotics occurred via a concerted adsorption and photocatalytic degradation. The efficiency of the composites was depending on i) the LDH: magnetic nanoparticle (MP) ratio, that is strongly correlated to the textural properties of the catalysts, and ii) the phthalocyanine loading in the final composite. A maximum of the efficiency was achieved with a removal of ~93% of antibiotics after 2h of reaction.

Using of the organic base tetramethylammonium hydroxides (TMAH) is a viable, cheap and fast route, for the MgZnAl-LDH type materials synthesis by both co-precipitation and mechano-chemical methods. TMAH provided several advantages as smaller quantity of water required in the washing step compared to the use of inorganic alkalis, prevention of LDH contamination with alkali cations, acting as template molecule in texture tailoring along with disadvantages as its presence in small quantities in the resulting layered materials. Regardless the use of organic / inorganic bases and co-precipitation / mechano-chemical methods, zincite stable phase was found in all the synthesized solids. The basicity of catalysts followed the trend: mixed oxides > reconstructed > parent LDH. The memory effect of LDH is supported only by the presence of Mg and Al cations, while Zn remains as zincite stable phase. The catalytic activities for Claisen-Schmidt condensation of benzaldehyde with cyclohexanone provided values higher than 90% after 2h, with a total selectivity in 2,6-dibenzylidenecyclohexanone, while in self-condensation of cyclohexanone no more than 7.29% after 5h. These behaviors depended on catalysts basicity as well as the planar rigidity of the compound.

This article explores the relationship between metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease, providing a comprehensive overview of its risk factors and prevalence. Metabolic syndrome, characterized by a cluster of interconnected risk factors, significantly increases the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes. The study, conducted over a one-year period, involved 117 patients with ages between 30 to 79 years old. Various elements such as gender, age, education level, background, smoking, alcohol consumption, dietary aspects, physical activity, and their contribution in developing the metabolic syndrome, were analysed.Central adiposity and high blood pressure emerged as prominent elements of the condition. The findings underscore the importance of a healthy lifestyle in the prevention and management of metabolic syndrome. Encouraging regular physical activity, maintaining a balanced diet, rich in fresh vegetables and fruits, and avoiding harmful behaviours, such as smoking or alcohol consumption, are essential in reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome and its associated cardiovascular complications. The study highlights the need for public health initiatives, as well as individualized preventive strategies to combat the rising prevalence of metabolic syndrome. Through promoting awareness of its risk factors and implementing effective interventions, healthcare professionals can contribute to better cardiovascular health worldwide. Further research in this area will continue to enhance our understanding of the metabolic syndrome and refine preventive and therapeutic approaches for its management.

(1) Background: Neonatal early-onset sepsis (EOS) is associated with important mortality and morbidity. The aims of this study were to evaluate the association between serum biomarkers with early onset neonatal sepsis in a cohort of patients with prolonged rupture of membranes (PROM), and to calculate their diagnostic accuracy. (2) Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 1355 newborns with PROM admitted between January 2017 and March 2020, who were divided in two groups: group A, with PROM ≥ 18 hours and group B, with PROM < 18 hours. Both groups were further split into subgroups: proven sepsis, probable sepsis and no sepsis. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA analysis, and a Random Effects Generalized Least Squares (GLS) regression were used to evaluate the data. (3) Results: The statistically significant predictors of neonatal sepsis were the high white blood cells count from the first (p = 0.005) and third day (p = 0.028), and high CRP values from the first day (p = 0.004). Procalcitonin (area under the curve - AUC = 0.78) and CRP (AUC = 0.76) measured on the first day had the best predictive performance for early onset neonatal sepsis. (4) Conclusions: Further studies are needed to explore other bi-omarkers of sepsis in both pregnant women and newborns to better predict EOS.

1) Background: The screening of preeclampsia (PE) and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) represents a constant challenge for obstetricians. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the predictive performance of 4 machine learning-based algorithms for the prediction of PE, IUGR, and their association in a cohort of singleton pregnancies; (2) Methods This prospective study was conducted at a tertiary maternity hospital in Romania, and included 210 pregnancies that underwent first trimester screening. We included clinical and paraclinical data into 4 machine learning-based algorithms decision tree (DT), naïve Bayes (NB), support vector machine (SVM), and random forest (RF), and calculated their predictive performance; (3) Results: RF performed the best when used to predict PE, IUGR, and its subtypes, as well as the association between PE and IUGR. The overall predictive performance of DT for all these disorders was inferior to RF, NB, and SVM. Both SVM and NB had similar accuracy for the prediction of PE, while NB performed better than SVM for the prediction of IUGR; (4) Conclusions: Machine-learning-based algorithms could be useful for the prediction of ischemic placental disease and need to be validated on large cohorts of patients.

The study findings revealed significant variability in various wood properties among different genetic families, although the static modulus of elasticity did not exhibit significant differences between the chosen genetic families. All measured wood properties decreased from the bottom to the top of the model trees. Wood hardness displayed a moderately negative correlation with wood density and weak correlations with MOE and MOR. Given the weak correlations between wood hardness and other wood mechanical properties, it is suggested that the MOEdyn would be a more suitable trait for genetic studies.

The present work aims to explain the aluminum hydrolysis reaction kinetics based on properly chosen theoretical model with machined aluminum waste chips and alkali solutions up to 1M as a promoter, and to estimate overall reaction profit. In order to obtain results of better accuracy, we work with flat Al waste chips because a flat surface is preferable to maximally increase the time for created hydrogen bubbles to reach the critical gas pressure. At describing the reaction kinetics, flat shape allows using a planar one-dimensional shrinking core model instead of much complicated polydisperse spheric shrinking core model. We analyze the surface chemical reaction and mass transfer rate steps to obtain the first order rate constant for surface reaction and the diffusion coefficient of aqueous reactant in the byproduct layer, respectively. With our reactor we achieved H2 yield of 1145 mL per 1 g Al with 1M NaOH, which is 92% of the theoretical maximum. At estimation of the profit, we pay much attention to the loss of alkaline and find a crucial dependence on its price. Nevertheless, in terms of consumed and originated materials for sale, conversion of the aluminum waste material into green hydrogen by properly chosen reaction parameters has a positive profit even by consuming alkali of chemical grade.

The general desire of the world's population is to eat as healthily as possible, an aspect that has a direct impact on the technological complex aimed at animals raising (proper breeding systems, microclimate factors with implications for the welfare of animals, etc.), as well as on the quality of the finished products that will enter the food supply. Therefore, the authors set out to study how the growth system influences the health status of rainbow trout raised in different systems. The observed experimental factors did not undergo significant changes. However, differences were generated by the applied growth system. For the amount of glucose in the blood, no statistically significant differences were identified between the groups. In contrast, comparison of the amount of glycogen led to obtaining very distinctly significant statistical fluctuations (the mean for P-si was 2.314±0.638 and for P-i 1.980±0.822). Growth hormone varied between 0.504±0.46 in the case of P-si and 0.694±0.22 ng/ml for P-i. The values obtained for cortisol showed a significant influence of stress factors on the studied trout. The general conclusion of the present study is that various technological factors influence the health status of livestock.

(1) Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are an important cause of perinatal and maternal morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to describe and compare the main pregnancy outcomes among pregnant patients with complicated and uncomplicated UTIs; (2) Methods: This retrospective study included 183 pregnant patients who were evaluated for uncomplicated UTIs and urosepsis in the Urology Department of ‘C.I. Parhon’ University Hospital, and who were followed up at a tertiary maternity hospital- ‘Cuza-voda’ from Romania between January 2014 and October 2023. The control group (183 patients) was randomly selected from the patient’s cohort who gave birth in the same time frame at the maternity hospital without urinary pathology. Clinical and paraclinical data was examined. Descriptive statistics and a conditional logistic regression model were used to analyze our data. (3) Results: Our results indicated that patients with urosepsis had increased risk of premature rupture of membranes (aOR: 5.59, 95%CI: 2.02- 15.40, p&lt; 0.001) and preterm birth (aOR: 2.47, 95%CI: 1.15- 5.33, p= 0.02). We could not demonstrate a statistically significant association between intrauterine growth restriction and preeclampsia with the studied urological pathologies. (4) Conclusions: Careful UTIs screening during pregnancy is needed for preventing maternal-fetal complications.

: Emaravirus (Order Bunyavirales; Family Fimoviridae) is a genus comprising over 20 emerging plant viruses with a worldwide distribution and economic impact. Emaraviruses infect a variety of host plants and have especially become prevalent in important long-living woody plants. These viruses are enveloped, with a segmented, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA genome and are transmitted by eriophyid mites or mechanical transmission. Emaraviruses have four core genome segments encoding an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, a glycoprotein precursor, a nucleocapsid protein, and a movement protein. They also have additional genome segments, whose number varies widely. We report here that the proteins encoded by these segments form three main homology groups: a homolog of the sadwavirus Glu2 Pro glutamic protease; a protein involved in pathogenicity, which we named “ABC”; and a protein of unknown function, which we named “P55”. The distribution of these proteins parallels the emaravirus phylogeny and suggests, with other analyses, that emaraviruses should be split into at least two genera. Reliable diagnosis systems are urgently needed to detect emaraviruses, assess their economic and ecological importance, and take appropriate measures to prevent their spread (such as routine testing, hygiene measures, and control of mite vectors). Additional research needs include understanding the function of emaravirus proteins, breeding resistant plants and clarifying transmission modes.

We present the case of a 35-year-old patient without pathological history who developed hemopneumothorax due to altitude barotrauma during a commercial airline flight. The computed tomography of the chest identified the presence of emphysema "blebs" and bubbles, and the histopathological examination of the lung fragment obtained during the diagnostic and therapeutic thoracoscopy identified elements suggestive for the diagnosis of respiratory bronchiolitis associated with desquamative interstitial pneumonia (DIP).

Heritage monuments are religious, historical, strategic or civil edifices and could be deteriorated, even damaged due to their exposure to natural and human induced processes. The Roman Edifice with Mosaic (II-IV A.D.), the largest one in Eastern Europe is an ancient civil edifice built on the steep cliff in the western part of Black Sea, Constanța, Romania and being exposed to geomorphological and hydrogeological processes is affected by degradation. The main objective of this paper is to assess the current state of this ancient historical site in relation with the environmental instability in order to offer scientific support for rehabilitation process through interdisciplinary and non-destructive methods. Geophysical methods had been applied to analyze comparatively the spatial variations and flows of groundwater around Roman Mosaic over 10 years. Geomorphological hazards had been inventoried and mapped. The results emphasize the state of degradation of the roman mosaic pavement and ancient walls mainly through high variations of the deposits moisture due to poor maintenance which caused suffusion, slip processes, bring the mosaic into highly vulnerability range. Zoning vulnerability map of the Roman Mosaic environment is a necessary tool for continuously improvement of risk management because emphasize clearly the sectors which still confronting with hazards.

Domestic violence (DV) has been reported high in minorities across the US. Among minorities, refugees and immigrants encounter several barriers that may influence their responses and actions regarding DV. This scoping review examined three decades of literature (1980-2022) on resettled Afghan and Arab refugee women's attitudes and behaviors toward DV in their host countries, and to summarize research, practice, and policy recommendations. Based on Arksey and O'Malley model, our scoping review conducted extensive searches in SCOPUS, PubMed, PsychInfo, CINAHL, Web of Science, the Directory of Open Access Journals, and Embase databases. Searches identified articles that examined resettled Afghan and/or Arab refugees’ responses to DV in Western countries. The search identified 439 unique citations; 17 met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Major themes included acculturative changes in refugee attitudes and behaviors and in stakeholders’ perspectives and roles. Significant acculturative attitudinal changes (acknowledgment, silence, justification, or disapproval of DV) contrasted with minimal behavioral changes (help-seeking behaviors, action plans, or barriers to actions) and with a resistance to change in stakeholders (cultural norms and beliefs, community patriarchal normalization of violence, service providers unfamiliarity with client diversity and refugee cultures) in supporting women decision-making regarding DV. Not a single article made explicit policy recommendations.

The Roma population constitutes the largest ethnic minority in Europe, however, data regarding the prevalence of non- communicable diseases are still scarce in the medical literature. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical and metabolic particularities of a Roma population with diabetes, in comparison with a group of Romanian Caucasians. We conducted an observational, transversal study and evaluated 808 adult patients with diabetes mellitus, from a tertiary hospital providing diabetes care, aged between 18 and 89 years old, of whom the majority were men (52.84%). Most of them had type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), reaching 95.1% the Caucasian group and 87.8% among the Roma patients. 81.1% of the Caucasian patients had hypertension, approximately 15% higher than the Roma group, while more than half of the patients in both groups had obesity. There were no differences concerning myocardial infarction, however, the number of patients with history of stroke was 2.1 times higher in the Roma group compared to Caucasians. Chronic kidney disease was present in 22.1% of the Roma patients, 33.25% had retinopathy, and 72.7% presented polyneuropathy. The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, cardiovascular disease and microvascular complications among the study Roma population are quite significant, underscoring the importance of ethnic disparities in approaching healthcare management strategies.

Graphene oxide was synthesized by a one-step environmentally friendly mechanochemistry process directly from graphite and characterized by Raman, FT-IR and UV/vis spectroscopies, Atomic Force Microscopy, X-ray Diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy and Thermogravimetric Analysis. Spectroscopic analysis shows that the functional groups and oxygen content of the synthesized material are comparable with those of graphene oxide synthesized by other previously reported methods (Hummers). Thermogravimetric analysis reveals thermal stability up to 400 °C.

Objectives: To explore the potential of Radiomics alone and in combination with diffusion-weighted derived quantitative parameter namely apparent diffusion co-efficient (ADC) using supervised classification algorithms in predicting outcomes and prognosis. Materials and Methods: Retrospective evaluation of the imaging was done for a study cohort of uterine cervical cancer, candidates for radical treatment with chemo radiation. ADC values were calculated from the darkest part of the tumor, both before (labeled preADC) and post treatment (labeled postADC) with chemo radiation. Post extraction of 851 Radiomics features and feature selection by taking the union of the features which had Pearson correlation >0.35 for recurrence, >0.49 for lymph node and >0.40 for metastasis, analysis was done to predict clinical outcomes. Results: The study enrolled 52 patients who presented with variable FIGO stages and age range 28–79 (Median = 53 years) with median follow-up of 26.5 months (range, 7–76 months). Disease recurrence occurred in 12 patients (23%). Metastasis occurred in 15 patients (28%). A model generated with 24 radiomics features and preADC using a monotone multi-layer perceptron neural network to predict the recurrence yields AUC of 0.80 and kappa value as 0.55 and shows that addition of radiomics features on ADC values improves the statistical metrics by 40% approximately for AUC and 223% approximately for Kappa. Similarly, neural network model for prediction of metastasis re-turns AUC of 0.84 and kappa value as 0.65 over performs by 25% for AUC and 140% for Kappa approximately. There was a significant input of GLSZM features (SALGLE and LGLZE) and GLDM features (SDLGLE and DE) correlation with clinical outcomes of recurrence and metastasis. Conclusions: The study is an effort to bridge the unmet need of translational predictive biomarkers in stratification of uterine cervical cancer patients based on prognosis.

Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a serious contagious disease of canines, cats and sometimes ra-coons. The study included seven raccoons from Timisoara Zoo. The detection of CDV in all raccoons was accomplished using qRT-PCR, but several other exams were also conducted. Clinically, severe digestive disorders were observed, characterized by diarrhea and repeated hematemesis. Pseudomembranous gastroenteritis, congestion and pulmonary edema were found during the ne-cropsy of two racoons. Immunohistochemically, the brown color was highlighted in the examined sectionsand it was present in the cytoplasm of the cells from the germinal centers of the medullary area. Histopathological examination revealed lymphocyte depletion and intranuclear and intracy-toplasmic inclusions in the intestine. Based on the qRT-PCR assay, laboratory tests and lesions ob-served, it was established that the raccoons got infected with CDV, and two of them died as a result. The necropsy, histological lesions and immunohistochemical results are comparable between dogs and racoons. Through the results obtained, it was concluded that the interspecific infection is possible and the epidemiological risk of infection transmitted by racoons to domestic animals, such as dogs and cats, needs to be examined in the future.

Acute SARS-CoV-2 infections in children and adolescents are usually mild. However, they can suffer from ongoing symptoms generally referred as long COVID. Sleep disorders are one of the most frequent complaints in long COVID although precise data are missing. We assessed the sleep behavior of children and adolescents who presented at our outpatient clinic between January 2021 and May 2022 with the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ-DE). We compared sleep behavior at three different time points: pre-COVID-19, post-COVID-19 at initial presentation and post-COVID-19 at re-presentation. Data from 45 patients were analyzed. Of those, 64% were female and the median age was 10 years (range 0-18 years). Asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 disease was experienced in 89% of patients, whilst 11% experienced moderate disease. Initial presentation occurred at a median of 20.4 weeks (6 weeks - 14 months) after infection. The CSHQ-DE score increased significantly from pre-COVID-19 (45.82+8.7 points) to post-COVID-19 (49.40+8.3 points; p=&lt;0.01). The score then normalized at re-presentation (46.98+7.8; p=0.1). The greatest changes were seen in the CSHQ-DE subscale score "daytime sleepiness". Our data show that children and adolescents with long COVID often suffer from sleep disturbance. For most children and adolescents these sleep disorders decreased over time without further medical intervention, aside from a basic sleep consultation.

The use of machine learning (ML) approaches to target clinical problems is called to revolutionize clinical decision-making. The success of these tools is subjected to the understanding of the intrinsic processes being used during the classical pathway by which clinicians make decisions. In a parallelism with this pathway, ML can have an impact at four levels: for data acquisition, predominantly by extracting standardized, high-quality information with the smallest possible learning curve; for feature extraction, by discharging healthcare practitioners from performing tedious measurements on raw data; for interpretation, by digesting complex, heterogeneous data in order to augment the understanding of the patient status; and for decision support, by leveraging the previous step to predict clinical outcomes, response to treatment or to recommend a specific intervention. This paper discusses the state-of-the-art, as well as the current clinical status and challenges associated with each of these tasks, together with the challenges related to the learning process, the auditability/traceability, the system infrastructure and the integration within clinical processes.

To get more data concerning the influence of fertilizers (organic and mineral) on different forage plants existing in North-eastern Romanian grassland, the mass fractions of 14 essential, enzymatic, or considerd toxic elements was determined by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis together with the amount of crude proteins, ash, fibres as well as ether fact extract. Final results showed a significant variance of the content of analysed elements on organic as well as on mineral fertilized experimental plots, i.e. the content increased in 24% of plots, decreased in 23%, and remained unchanged in 45% while in 8% of plots their content was below the detection limits, as the case of Se. At the same time, an increase content of crude protein and ether extract was evidenced in fertilized grasses for all applied fertilizers while other global indicators such as neutral and acid fibre of sufuric lignin content decreased, suggesting significant higher nutritional values of fertilized forage plant.

Berberis vulgaris (L.) has remarkable ethnopharmacological properties and is widely used in traditional medicine. The present study investigates B. vulgaris stem bark (Berberidis cortex) by extraction with 50% ethanol. The main secondary metabolites were quantified, resulting in a polyphenols content of 17.6780 ± 3.9320 mg Eq Tannic acid / 100 g extract, phenolic acids amount of 3.3886 ± 0.3481 mg Eq Chlorogenic acid / 100 g extract and 78.95 µg/g berberine. The dried hydro-ethanolic extract (BVE) was thoroughly analyzed using Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC–HRMS/MS) and HPLC and 40 bioactive phenolic constituents were identified. Then, the antioxidant potential of BVE was evaluated using three methods; our results could explain the protective effects of Berberidis cortex EC50FRAP = 0.1398 mg/mL, IC50ABTS = 0.0442 mg/mL, IC50DPPH = 0.2610 mg/mL compared to ascorbic acid (IC50 = 0.0165 mg/mL). Next, the acute toxicity and teratogenicity of BVE and Berberine - Berberine sulfate hydrate (BS) - investigated on Daphnia sp reported significant BS toxicity after 24 h; BVE revealed considerable toxicity after 48 hours and induced embryonic developmental delays. Finally, the anticancer effects of BVE and BS were evaluated on different tumor cell lines after 24 and 48 hours of treatments. The MTS assay evidenced a dose- and time-dependent antiproliferative activity, higher on BS than BVE. The strongest diminution of tumor cell viability was recorded on breast (MDA-MB-231), colon (LoVo) cancer, and OSCC (PE/CA-PJ49) cell lines after 48 h of exposure (IC50 &lt; 100 µg/mL). However, no cytotoxicity was reported on normal epithelial cells (HUVEC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HT-29) cell lines. Extensive data analysis supports our results, showing a significant correlation between the BVE's concentration, phenolic compounds content, antioxidant activity, exposure time, and the viability rate of various normal cells and cancer cell lines.

Dental caries is a public health problem worldwide according to WHO data. Among treatments in pediatric dentistry, prefabricated metal crowns (PMCs) have been one of the most successful options since they were introduced in cases of considerable tooth destruction. Our objective was to detect the presence and concentration of iron (Fe), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni) in saliva of patients who require rehabilitation with PMCs, before and after their placement. A quasi-experimental study was performed in 32 patients who attended dental care in a pediatric dentistry clinic at a public university and who required rehabilitation with PMCs. Parametric tests (ANOVA and Pearson correlation) were performed, and a p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Statistically significant differences were found when comparing the Ni release before, 1 week, and 1 month after placing the crowns. Similarly, we observed a positive correlation between the number of crowns and Ni release. No tests were performed for Fe and Cr because the amounts of these metals were less than 0.1 ppb, which was not detectable by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The levels of Fe, Cr, and Ni released were below toxic health levels. Studies are required to evaluate whether this release has negative effects at cellular levels.

Most European cities are characterized by very large areas, often formed by buildings with low quality, from a series of point of view. The possibility of renovating them is strategic to improve both the quality of life and to the possibility of economic recovery for building companies. In the last decades, the attention of the scientific community has been addressed to the energy renovation, thanks to the strong activities of the European Community in this field. However, since a relevant part of the EC territory is at risk of earthquake, the possibility to combine both energy and seismic renovation actions may be strategic for many countries. In particular, Italy and Romania are linked by a common social tradition that springs from the Roman Empire. Nowadays, this link is stronger, thanks to common interests in social, cultural and business fields. Therefore, the investigation of possible synergies for seismic and energy renovation strategies may be really interesting for both countries. This paper represents the first step in this direction. After an overview of regulations and common practices for buildings with reinforced concrete structures, in both states, some key combined renovation interventions will be described and discussed, as well as advantages and perspectives of integrated renovation approaches.

When the zoonotic parasite of rodents that can cause human neuroangiostrongyliasis, i.e., Angiostrongylus cantonensis, is found in its natural definitive hosts, it is usually reported in isolation, as if the rat lungworm were the only component of the within-rat parasite community. In this study we report the coinfections found in rats naturally infected by A. cantonensis in urban populations of Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus in Valencia, Spain. In addition to the rat lungworms, which were found in 14 of the 125 rats studied (a prevalence of 11.20%), 18 other parasite infrapopulations (intestinal and tissular protists, microsporidia, and helminths) were found; some of them with high burdens. Fourteen of these 19 species found are potential zoonotic parasites, namely Blastocystis, Giardia duodenalis, Cryptosporidium spp., Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Encephalitozoon hellem, Toxoplasma gondii, Brachylaima spp., Hydatigera taeniaeformis larvae, Hymenolepis nana, Hymenolepis diminuta, Angiostrongylus cantonensis, Calodium hepaticum, Gongylonema neoplasticum and Moniliformis moniliformis. Despite the limited number of rats studied, the total predominance of coinfected rats as well as their high parasite loads seem to indicate a clear trend towards parasite tolerance.

Aluminum, a contentious trace element found in the environment, has been demonstrated to have harmful effects on both humans and animals. In contrast, Sempervivum tectorum, an evergreen plant, has been found to offer numerous beneficial effects for both humans and animals. Therefore, this study aims to assess the protective effect of S. tectorum on certain reproductive biomarkers in male rats exposed to aluminum. Thirty-five Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups: NTC (no-treatment control) received distilled water; NC (negative control) received drinking water containing 1 mg/L aluminum sulfate (AS); E1 received 1 mg/L AS along with an 8% S. tectorum extract; PC (positive control) received only 8% S. tectorum extract; E2 received 1 mg/L AS for three months followed by 8% extract for one month. The study analyzed testosterone, LH, FSH, body weight, and the histological structure of the testis, epididymis, and prostate, as well as the levels of zinc, manganese, copper, and iron in these organs. Significant decreases in body weight, testis, and epididymis size were observed in the aluminum-exposed groups compared to the control, whereas these decreases were not significant in the S. tectorum-treated groups compared to the control. Aluminum exposure led to significant decreases in testosterone and LH levels, with FSH levels showing a non-significant decrease in males, which were mitigated significantly by the administration of the plant extract. Histological analysis revealed alterations in the testis, epididymis, and prostate of the AS-exposed groups, including necrosis of seminiferous tubule epithelium and Leydig cells in the testis, and basal epithelial necrosis in the epididymis and prostate. Aluminum levels increased in all organs studied, while levels of zinc, copper, iron, and manganese decreased, showing a negative and significant correlation with aluminum levels. The aqueous extract of S. tectorum demonstrated a protective effect on certain studied biomarkers in male rats affected by aluminum exposure.

Identifying cracks in the incipient state is essential to prevent the failure of engineering structures. Detection methods relying on the analysis of the changes in modal parameters are widely used because of the advantages they present. In our previous research, we have found that eigenfrequencies were capable of indicating the position and depth of damage when sufficient vibration modes were considered. The damage indicator we developed was based on the relative frequency shifts (RFS). To calculate the RFSs for various positions and depths of a crack, we established a mathematical relation that involved the squared modal curvatures in the healthy state and the deflection of the healthy and damaged beam under dead mass, respectively. In this study, we propose to calculate the RFS for beams with several cracks by applying the superposition principle. We demonstrate that this is possible if the cracks are far enough from each other. In fact, if the cracks are close to each other, the superposition method does not work and we distinguish two cases: (i) when the cracks affect the same beam face, the frequency drop is less than the sum of the individual frequency drops, and (ii) on the contrary, cracks on opposite sides cause a decrease in frequency, which is greater than the sum of the frequency drop due to individual damage. When the RFS curves are known, crack assessment becomes an optimization problem, the cost function being the distance between the measured RFSs and all possible RFSs for several vibration modes. Thus, the RFS constitutes a benchmark that characterizes damage using only the eigenfrequencies. We can accurately locate multiple cracks and estimate their severity trough experiments and thus prove the reliability of the proposed method.