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Salivary gland infections, called sialadenitis, are mainly caused by bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus species, but they can also result from mechanical blockages or viral infections. Complications of untreated or inadequately treated salivary gland infections can be severe, including the formation of abscesses, extension of the infection to neighboring structures, and permanent impairment of salivary gland functionality. In severe cases, surgery may be necessary to drain abscesses or remove obstructions such as salivary stones. Also, in the case of chronic infections, management may include long-term treatments and preventive measures, such as adequate hydration and maintaining rigorous oral hygiene. Integrated management of patients with systemic conditions, such as Sjogren’s syndrome, is crucial for controlling symptoms and preventing complications. Antibiotics work through various mechanisms, including inhibiting bacterial cell wall synthesis, inhibiting protein synthesis, or interfering with essential bacterial functions. The effectiveness of antibiotic treatment is well documented in the medical literature, with clinical trials indicating a significant reduction in symptoms and prevention of severe complications when treatment is administered correctly. For example, bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus, commonly involved in salivary gland infections, respond well to antibiotic therapy, which reduces inflammation and associated pain.

Pediatric diabetes presents significant challenges in dental treatment, requiring a tailored approach to minimize the risks associated with oral complications. Optimal glycemic control is fundamental before any intervention, and close collaboration with the diabetologist is essential to stabilize glucose levels. Local anesthesia should be used with caution, preferring solutions with low adrenaline concentrations, especially in patients with inadequate glycemic control. Dental treatment in children with diabetes involves a specialized approach due to the increased risks of oral complications and the peculiarities associated with this condition. Stable glycemic control is essential before any dental intervention, and collaboration with the diabetologist is crucial for adjusting the treatment. Local anesthesia should be administered with caution, using solutions with low adrenaline concentrations, especially in patients with unstable glycemic control. Educating patients and families about oral hygiene, diet, and the importance of regular visits to the dentist play a fundamental role in preventing dental complications. Children with diabetes are at increased risk of gum disease, such as gingivitis and periodontitis, so prompt management of these conditions through scaling and regular evaluations is vital. Rigorous oral hygiene should be encouraged to prevent infections and complications associated with compromised immune response. Interdisciplinary collaboration between dentists, diabetologists and other health professionals is essential for developing a coordinated and effective treatment plan.

The management of severe burns is a complex process that requires a multidimensional approach to ensure optimal healing of burn wounds, minimize complications, and improve the prognosis of patients. Surgical debridement is considered the gold standard for removing necrotic tissue; however, this approach involves risks such as bleeding, the potential removal of viable tissue during excision, and technical challenges in complex anatomical areas. Recent advancements highlight the role of enzymatic debridement using NexoBrid®, which offers a less invasive alternative to surgical excision while having the ability to selectively debride necrotic tissue and preserve viable tissue. NexoBrid® has shown efficacy in reducing debridement time, minimizing the need for additional surgeries, and improving overall wound healing outcomes. This review discusses the clinical indications, advantages, and considerations for choosing between surgical and enzymatic debridement. Emerging studies suggest the potential for enzymatic debridement to be safe and effective even for larger burn areas, making it a promising option in modern burn care. However, ongoing evaluation and integration into clinical protocols will be essential to fully realize its benefits in specialized burn treatment and to establish protocols.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union plays a crucial role in shaping agricultural practices and land management in Romania, having a significant impact on biodiversity. The implementation of CAP measures has led to a range of changes in land use and agricultural practices, which have had both positive and negative effects on biological diversity. On the one hand, subsidies and direct payments have encouraged agricultural intensification, resulting in habitat loss and a decline in species diversity. On the other hand, agri-environmental measures and rural development programs have promoted sustainable farming practices and habitat conservation, contributing to the protection of endangered species and the maintenance of traditional agricultural landscapes. Case studies from various regions of Romania demonstrate the variability of CAP impact, highlighting the need for an adaptive approach and constant monitoring to ensure a balance between agricultural productivity and biodiversity conservation. In conclusion, to maximize the benefits of CAP for biodiversity in Romania, it is essential to integrate biodiversity conservation objectives into all aspects of agricultural policy and to actively involve farmers and local communities in implementing environmental measures.

New activities during physical education and sports classes attract children to the desire to exercise. This study, which involves two hours a week for a school year (8 months), in which children can experience new materials and learning tools during sports lessons, will improve their coordination and motor skills. The tests that the subjects of the experimental group will complete will bring coordination skills and the development of sensory perception. 3 of the tests used are for the development of kinesthetic sensitivity and 1 test will be for sensory-motor coordination. The results will show significant differences between the experimental and control groups after carrying out the program with the new work materials. In conclusion, the program carried out in the physical education and sports classes for two semesters led to significant improvements in terms of sensory-motor coordination and kinesthetic sensitivity of 10-14-year-old secondary school students.

(1) Background: Necrotizing fasciitis is known as a severe condition with a high risk of mortality, placing it among the most feared infections. In most cases, it has a polymicrobial etiology (type 1), requiring complex treatment that is continuously adapted to the evolving microbiological status. The facial localization of the disease is rare, fulminant progressing, and is often life-threatening. (2) Methods: We present the case of a patient with multiple comorbidities who, following trauma to the nasal dorsum, developed a wound with a rapid and severe progression to extensive bilateral periorbital necrosis. This was accompanied by a dramatic deterioration in their general condition, a polymicrobial biological status, and fluctuating progression despite instituted treatment (both medical and surgical). (3) Results: The patient required multiple surgical interventions by multidisciplinary teams (plastic surgery; ear, nose, and throat specialist (ENT); maxillofacial surgery; and ophthalmology), experiencing periods of a severe, life-threatening general condition, necessitating prolonged orotracheal intubation. Wounds with fluctuating progression, extensive skin necrosis, and significant post-excisional soft tissue defects required skin graft coverage. The result meant a saved life and functional and aesthetic sequelae at the level of the face. (4) Conclusions: Necrotizing fasciitis of the face is a rare and severe disease that must be recognized early and treated appropriately by a multidisciplinary team to save the patient’s life and minimize the resulting functional and aesthetic sequelae.

Abstract Aims The identification of subjects at higher risk for incident heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (EF) suitable for more intensive preventive programmes remains challenging. We applied phenomapping to the DAVID‐Berg population, comprising subjects with preclinical HF, aiming to refine HF risk stratification. Methods The DAVID‐Berg study prospectively enrolled 596 asymptomatic outpatients with EF > 40% with hypertension, diabetes mellitus or known cardiovascular disease. In this cohort, we performed an unsupervised cluster analysis on 591 patients, including clinical, laboratory, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic parameters. We tested the association between each cluster and a composite outcome of HF/death. Results The median age was 70 years, 55.5% were males and the median EF was 61.0%. Phenomapping provided three different clusters. Subjects in Cluster 3 were the oldest and had the highest prevalence of atrial fibrillation, the lowest estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), the highest N‐terminal pro‐brain natriuretic peptide (NT‐proBNP) and the largest left atrium. During a median follow‐up of 5.7 years, 13.4% of subjects experienced HF/death events (N = 79). Compared with Clusters 1 and 2, Cluster 3 had the worst prognosis (log‐rank test: Cluster 3 vs. 1 P 40% who deserve more efforts to prevent clinical HF.

One of the industries with the fastest development is the hospitality and tourism (HoReCa) sector. However, there is also a growing trend in this sector to evade some state taxes. Despite promises that digitalization will reduce tax evasion, this practice nevertheless is a serious threat to the economy and the state. This study aims to process a comprehensive model for screening and risk assessment of tax fraud in the HoReCa sector in Romania. In this sense, an empirical study was conducted using an econometric model to detect tax evasion in the HoReCa sector in Romania, based on a sample of 50 firms for each sub-sector (hotels, restaurants, cafes), analyzing the period 2018–2022. The dependent variable of the model was the tax evasion risk indicator, calculated as the difference between the average financial ratios of each firm and the average for the entire sector. The results show that the leverage ratio has the strongest positive impact on the tax evasion risk indicator. The fixed asset turnover ratio and the accounts receivable turnover ratio also have a significant impact, indicating false sales reports or collection irregularities. The solvency ratio and the immediate liquidity ratio show positive effects on the risk of tax fraud, while the net rate of return is the only one with a negative effect, suggesting that profitable entities are less prone to tax evasion. The proposed model provides a solid basis for identifying high-risk companies directing tax authorities to improve supervision in the HoReCa industry. The findings also highlight the importance of further automating tax reporting systems to reduce the risks of evasion.

The automatic synthesis of policies for robotics systems through reinforcement learning relies upon, and is intimately guided by, a reward signal. Consequently, this signal should faithfully reflect the designer’s intentions, which are often expressed as a collection of high-level requirements. Several works have been developing automated reward definitions from formal requirements, but they show limitations in producing a signal which is both effective in training and able to fulfill multiple heterogeneous requirements. In this paper, we define a task as a partially ordered set of safety, target, and comfort requirements and introduce an automated methodology to enforce a natural order among requirements into the reward signal. We perform this by automatically translating the requirements into a sum of safety, target, and comfort rewards, where the target reward is a function of the safety reward and the comfort reward is a function of the safety and target rewards. Using a potential-based formulation, we enhance sparse to dense rewards and formally prove this to maintain policy optimality. We call our novel approach hierarchical, potential-based reward shaping (HPRS). Our experiments on eight robotics benchmarks demonstrate that HPRS is able to generate policies satisfying complex hierarchical requirements. Moreover, compared with the state of the art, HPRS achieves faster convergence and superior performance with respect to the rank-preserving policy-assessment metric. By automatically balancing competing requirements, HPRS produces task-satisfying policies with improved comfort and without manual parameter tuning. Through ablation studies, we analyze the impact of individual requirement classes on emergent behavior. Our experiments show that HPRS benefits from comfort requirements when aligned with the target and safety and ignores them when in conflict with the safety or target requirements. Finally, we validate the practical usability of HPRS in real-world robotics applications, including two sim-to-real experiments using F1TENTH vehicles. These experiments show that a hierarchical design of task specifications facilitates the sim-to-real transfer without any domain adaptation.

Bolile cardiovasculare rămîn o problemă semnificativă și în continuă creștere în Republica Moldova, reprezentând mai mult de jumătate din toate decesele și ducând la o morbiditate semnificativă. Actualmente se recunoaște că povara bolilor cardiovasculare (BCV) poate fi ameliorată printr-o reducere viguroasă a riscului și prevenirea primară, care rămîn o prioritate importantă pentru toți dezvoltatorii politicii de sanatate. Fiind una din țările europene cu risc crescut pentru bolile cardiovasculare, Moldova se confruntă cu dificultăți majore în realizarea măsurilor de prevenție a BCV atât la nivel popu- lațional cît și individual. Prezentul articol rezumă principalele noutăți din ghidurile de prevenire a bolilor cardiovasculare ale Societății Europene de Cardiologie (ESC), publicate recent, examinând aspectele lor pozitive, dar și aplicabilitatea lor la practica clinică de rutină, ținând cont de caracteristicile socioeconomice ale Moldovei. Estimarea riscului cardiovascular este un pas esențial pentru reducerea apariției evenimentelor cardiovasculare adverse. În acest scop, în Europa a fost utilizată metoda grafică a riscului de evaluare sistematică a riscului coronarian (SCORE). Efortul de a preveni BCV aterosclerotic se concentrează pe identificarea pacienților care ar beneficia cel mai mult de tratamentul factorilor de risc BCV.

Тромбэмболия легочной артерии (ТЭЛА) считается одним из наиболее распространенных заболеваний сердечно-сосудистой системы с значительной смертностью. Эхокардиография остается важным методом исследования при оценке состояния этих пациентов, причем некоторые эхокардиографические параметры играют инкрементальную роль в оценке прогноза. Цели: Определение спектра изменений в эхокардиографии у пациентов, госпитализированных с легочной тромбоэмболией в Институте кардиологии Республики Молдова, и выявление параметров с значимым прогностическим значением относительно оценки риска смертности при ТЭЛА. Материалы и методы: В нашем исследовании были включены 168 пациентов, госпитализированных в Институт кардиологии. Все пациенты прошли трансторакальное эхокардиографическое исследование. Результаты: Параметры, наиболее ассоциированные с интрастационарной смертностью через 30 дней, были следующими: площадь правого предсердия (ППП) >18 см2 (p=0,007), степень регургитации трехстворчатого клапана (РТК) (p=0,002), скорость тканевого систолического движения передней стенки правого желудочка (ПЖ) (p=0,03), диаметр нижней полой вены (p=0,04), отношение ПЖ/ЛЖ >1,0 (p=0,04) и индекс TAPSE/PSAP

The present study tries to make a comparison between the specific performances of the reaction speed between 2 groups of subjects, basketball and football athletes – Under 10 category, boys. The reaction speed assessment test was carried out using the Witty System equipment, which gives accuracy to the recording of the results. 2 tests were carried out, one on the upper body (arms) and the second on the lower body (legs) both with the mentioned sample of basketball and soccer players. As expected, there were notable differences between the 2 groups, with the reaction speed being superior to the basketball players in arms case and better to the soccer players in legs case. The basic conclusion is that there are prerequisites for the introduction in the sports training process of exercises aimed at improving reaction speed both at the upper body and at the lower body level, regardless of the practiced sport.

Sports performance, whether if we like it or not, is also determined by the quality of the sports equipment used [1], the role of science and technology in sports being a particularly important one these days [2, 3], whether it is students or performance athletes [4]. The present study aims to verify the effect of the presence of sports equipment specific to the game of basketball and possibly its relationship with the achievement of sports performance. The research took place on a sample of 12 athletes between the ages of 16 and 35, members of the basketball team of the ACS Ralph Brașov Club that plays in the 2nd valuable league of our country (competition season 2021-2022). As part of a partnership with a major sports equipment manufacturing company, the subjects were offered basketball shoes for testing and eventual purchase at promotional prices. 3 tests were used (98m sprint, 10x5m sprint and 5 consecutive long jumps) with own shoes and special basketball shoes, testing grip, flexibility, stability, ergonomic shape or system depreciation of specific shoes. The results obtained were surprising, the main conclusion being that sports marketing is not always closely related to sports performance.

Physical education, along with the other fundamental motor activities in the field, is an integral part of the measures regarding harmonious physical development and maintaining an optimal state of health. The specialized literature, from the last period, is rich in studies, articles and works that analyze the content and way of organizing physical education and sports activities. It requires the finding of new methods and means by which to act in practice and the continuous improvement of the existing ones, of the so-called classic, traditional ones based on the new objectives facing this educational object. The importance of motor skills also emerges from the fact that an appreciable number of practitioners and theoreticians of the field argue that the whole set of motor actions and especially their execution method depend to a large extent on the level of development of these skills. This research aims to carry out a theoretical and practical study on the possibilities of developing the forms of force manifestation.

The study aimed to find universally valid solutions to the integrated training approach from the perspective of achieving optimal specific endurance goals in the game of football at U16 junior level. The study aims at identifying, creating and adapting specific technical-tactical means for the game of football that can simultaneously satisfy physical objectives, in particular specific resistance, and technical-tactical objectives. The monitoring of the players under investigation with specialized equipment – ,,Catapult On”, the latest generation with GPS, was the main evaluation method, which was used as a solid basis for this research.

This study explores the impact of using soccer tools in the development of ambidexterity in secondary school students. We applied some exercises specific to the football game to evaluate the effects on the development of ambidexterity in secondary school students. The study included 28 students, divided into intervention and control groups. The target group followed a soccer-specific training program for 12 weeks, which included specific skill development exercises. Assessments before and after the intervention included juggling tests (keeping the ball in the air) and hitting the ball. The results indicated significant improvements in the target group compared to the control group. These improvements emphasize the effectiveness of soccer-specific exercises in developing ambidexterity and general coordination in middle school students. The conclusions suggest that the integration of such exercises and their practice in physical education classes can bring significant benefits in the development of motor skills and in the sports performance of students.

The confirmatory study on the somatic development of 7th grade students aims to evaluate physical growth and identify variations related to demographic and environmental factors. It involves anthropometric measurements to determine students’ height, weight and body mass index (BMI). The aim of the study is to identify the somatic development during one year. The methodology involves selecting a representative sample of students (boys), obtaining informed consent, and taking measurements in a controlled setting. The results are presented graphically, highlighting the distribution of height, weight and BMI. Discussions interpret these results in the context of existing literature, addressing influencing factors such as physical activity, diet and family environment. The research methods used in the study were: the study of specialized literature, the observation method, the graphic and tabular method, as well as the method of anthropometric measurements.

Background and objectives. The rising prevalence of sleep issues are a consequent societal problem, notably impacting individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). This study aims to examine the differences in sleep quality between diagnosed patients and their counterparts, while also highlighting its effects on their symptoms and quality of life. Materials and methods. This study enrolled 37 PD subjects. Sleep quality, established via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), was compared through a case control approach against 49 control subjects. PD symptomatology assessment was ensured via: Hoehn & Yahr (H&Y); Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale (MDS-UPDRS I-IV); Non-motor Symptom Scale (NMSS); Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA); Scale for Outcomes in Parkinson’s disease – Psychosocial Functioning (SCOPA-PS); 39-Item Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39). Results. Compared to their homologues, PD subjects were prone to worse subjective sleep quality (18.9% vs. 8.2%), sleep efficiency (13.5% vs. 4.1%), diurnal functionality (27% vs. 12.2%), sleep related breathing disorders (62.2% vs. 46.9%). The global PSQI positively correlates to H&Y staging (rp= 0.443, p=0.008), UPDRS-III (rp= 0.369, p=0.029), UPDRS-IV (rp=0.412, p=0.011). PD subjects with PSQI >5 registered higher UPDRS-III (p=0.091), BDI (p=0.928), SCOPA-PS (p=0.051). PSQI5 correlates to PDQ-39 (rp=0.423, p=0.010) and SCOPA-PS (rp= 0.462, p=0.004). Conclusions. The study proved a clear correlation between altered sleep patterns and the clinical presentation of PD delineating the worsening of motor along to non-motor symptoms. In addition, the quality of life along to the psychosocial functioning of PD subjects is at risk in those manifesting sleep disturbances. Correspondingly, a greater interest should be applied in the establishment of prophylactic measures.

Today, organisations are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of their activities. They strive to achieve new environmental performances by minimising the adverse effects of industrial-type development on the environment. This research takes an exploratory approach, reviewing specialised literature on the concept of environmental management, with a focus on the decision-making system. It also includes a bibliometric analysis using platforms such as Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Biblioshiny to support the analysis of the national and international subject studied based on several criteria. In summary, the interest in environmental protection in tandem with economic-social development is the order of the day; organisations strive to harmonise economic and ecological objectives by making the correct environmental decisions, which have minimal consequences on the surrounding nature. The true novelty of this research, however, lies in its comprehensive approach to the decision-making system in the context of environmental management, a perspective that has not been extensively explored before.

The integration of digital technologies in agriculture has the potential to revolutionize biodiversity conservation efforts. This article explores the role of regulations and recommended practices in promoting the adoption of digital technologies for biodiversity conservation in agricultural practices. Through a comprehensive review of the literature and analysis of current trends, the article highlights the importance of regulatory frameworks and recommended practices in shaping the adoption and implementation of digital technologies in agriculture. It examines various policies and initiatives aimed at stimulating the use of digital tools for monitoring, reporting, and mitigating the impact on biodiversity. Furthermore, the article discusses the challenges and opportunities associated with the adoption of digital technologies in agricultural practices for biodiversity conservation. It concludes by proposing recommendations for improving the regulatory framework and promoting the sustainable use of digital technologies to enhance biodiversity conservation in agriculture.

Background: Predicting the occurrence and/or severity of oral mucositis (OM) before commencing radiotherapy (RT) remains very difficult. The aim of this prospective trial was to investigate whether the ex-vivo radiation sensitivity of oral keratinocytes from head and neck (H&N) cancer patients correlates with severe OM. Methods: Oral microbiopsies of healthy gingival mucosa were collected from 63H&N cancer patients undergoing (chemo)RT, of which 58 samples were useable. Keratinocytes from these microbiopsies underwent ex-vivo proliferation, irradiation, and subsequently the cell spreading assay. Tubes with the cell suspension were placed within the irradiation chamber of a 137Cs Gammacell 40 Exactor (Best Theratronics, Canada) and exposed to 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8 Gy at a dose rate of 0.63 Gy min−1. Cell suspension was then immediately pipetted into custom-made polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) rings.The effect of demographic and clinical parameters on the cell spreading assay were also analyzed. Systematic clinical recording of OM was conducted twice a week by a specially trained examiner. Results: Most patients had node-positive disease and cancer of the oropharynx or oral cavity. The vast majority of patients received adjuvant RT and concurrent chemotherapy. Overall, 34 (58.6 %) participants developed grade 3 OM after a median dose of 32 Gy. No patient experienced a grade ≥ 4 event. There was a correlation between the cell spreading assay area and grade 3 OM (p 0.05 for all). Conclusions: It is necessary to establish reliable predictors of severe OM before treatment in H&N cancer to allow early management of treatment-related sequelae. This prospective trial illustrates that the intrinsic ex-vivo radiosensitivity of oral keratinocytes could be correlated with RT-induced OM in patients with H&N cancer. This novel predictor requires validation in larger prospective cohorts.