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Histidine–tryptophan–ketoglutarate (HTK) cardioplegia is one of the most widely used methods of cardioplegia. This solution is hyponatremic compared to blood, and the rapid infusion of a substantial volume of hyponatremic solution will result in a notable reduction in serum natrium (Na) levels. The aim of this study was to analyze changes in serum Na concentration following HTK cardioplegia infusion in aortic valve surgery, and to investigate the association between hyponatremia and postoperative outcomes in patients who underwent aortic valve replacement surgery.

The diet is an important factor that can influence the structures and function of the population of germs that compose the intestinal microbiota. This review presents current data on the response of the intestinal microbiota depending on the diet. While many studies have shown that the intestinal microbiota is influenced by macronutrient and micronutrient compounds of the diet, the studies on healthy human subjects were fewer and showed only to a small extent the influence of cooked food on the intestinal microbiota. Additional research is still needed regarding the effect of the way food is cooked can have on the intestinal microbiota, before beneficial dietary recommendations can be made.

Introduction: Given the potential overlap in risk factors associated with both irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and lower urinary tract infections (LUTIs), we aimed to identify factors that may contribute to the development of both conditions, as well as recurrent lower urinary tract infections (RLUTIs). Our research also sought to explore overlapping symptoms and interactions between these two disorders. Materials and Methods: The study included young women with a history of urinary tract infections. Participants were divided into three groups: women with sporadic LUTIs (NRLUTIs), women with recurrent LUTIs (RLUTIs), and women with both a history of urinary infections (NRLUTI or RLUTI) and a diagnosis of IBS. The diagnosis of IBS is primarily clinical, relying on symptoms and the exclusion of other gastrointestinal disorders. Data from intestinal microbiota tests were combined with information on patients' symptom perception, dietary habits, lifestyle, and knowledge regarding their conditions. Results: Abdominal pain, constipation, insufficient knowledge about antibiotic and probiotic use, and nutritionally unbalanced diets were identified as common factors associated with both LUTI-IBS and RLUTI. Conclusions: Our research identified shared risk factors between LUTI, IBS, and RLUTI, suggesting a pathological interdependence between these conditions. Notably, women with RLUTIs often experience gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain and constipation after consuming foods known to trigger IBS. This highlights that gut dysbiosis is both a risk factor and a potential consequence of RLUTI. The presence of either condition appears to exacerbate the symptoms of the other, further underscoring the intricate connection between RLUTI and IBS in affected individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of cytomegalovirus (CMV) in the flare-up of ulcerative colitis (UC) is not clearly understood. CMV can cause similar symptoms in different clinical contexts, which may be attributed to the natural evolution of the viral infection, the patient's immune status, or its association with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study aims to delineate the diverse manifestations of CMV-related lesions from clinical, endoscopic, and histopathological perspectives, alongside a brief narrative review of the literature. In managing IBD patients, it is crucial to be vigilant for signs of CMV reactivation, especially before the initiation of more intensive therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Heart transplant is currently the final step in treating patients with heart failure. The success of this procedure is strongly connected to potential complications such as postoperative heart failure, infections, graft rejection, graft vasculopathy, and kidney failure. Thus, identifying potential prognostic factors for patients' outcome is of utmost importance. We investigated the prognostic role of the postoperative ratio between the tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) and systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) in patients who underwent heart transplantation in our center. Materials and Methods: The study included 46 adult patients from the Emergency Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases and Transplant of Târgu Mureș, who underwent heart transplant between January 2011 and April 2023. By the use of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, we determined an optimal cut-off value for TAPSE/sPAP with regard to survival at 6 months. Differences in central tendencies of baseline characteristics in those who had a value lower than the cut-off value of TAPSE/sPAP and those who presented a value above it were investigated using the corresponding parametric or nonparametric tests. Results: A value for TAPSE/sPAP above 0.47 mm/mmHg was associated with 6-month survival (OR: 59.5, CI: 5.7–616.0). No significant differences in central tendencies for baseline characteristics were found between the patients who had a TAPSE/sPAP ratio below the cut-off and those who had a ratio above it. Conclusions: The TAPSE/sPAP ratio might prove to be valuable in the early identification of at-risk heart transplant patients. Further prospective studies with larger cohorts are required for validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Elucidating the role of miRNAs (miRs) in ulcerative colitis may provide new insights into disease pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring We aimed to investigate whether plasma levels of miR-21-5p and miR-155-5p may be used to differentiate between patients with organic disease such as ulcerative colitis (UC) and Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), and patients with functional disease such as irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D). (2) Serological samples were collected to quantify miR-155 and -21 expression, which was carried out through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), from 84 patients: 34 with acute UC (group 1), 17 with CDI (group 2), and 33 with IBS-D (control group). (3) In this study, we found that the expression levels of miR-155-5p were almost the same for the two conditions and the control group (UC: 4.22 ± 1.61, CDI: 3.94 ± 1.62, IBS-D: 4.26 ± 1.26), with no significant differences either for ΔCt- or for ΔΔCt-derived parameters (p = 0.74 and p = 0.73, respectively). For miR-21, ΔCt levels presented significantly higher values among the ulcerative colitis group (p < 0.01), but the most important expression fold change was noticed in patients with CDI (UC:4.11 ± 8,46, CDI: 4.94 ± 9.68, IBS-D: 2.83 ± 5.41). (4) Circulating miR-155 and miR-21 were upregulated in UC, CDI, and IBS-D, but differentiation was not possible among them. But their involvement in the pathogenesis of the three diseases makes them suitable for improving the accuracy of diagnosis and facilitating the development of personalized treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In infants presenting with motor development impairment, early kinesiotherapeutic interventions aim to normalise the pattern of movements and improve recovery. By applying Bobath and Vojta methods, we aimed to identify a combined approach regarding motor deficit in infants with neurological disabilities. Methods: We designed a prospective interventional study on 108 infants with motor developmental delay and applied Bobath, Vojta, or combined Bobath and Vojta therapy in three equal groups. Results: In the combined Bobath and Vojta group, complete motor recovery was achieved for 50% of the participants, with full recovery after six months, whereas in Bobath- or Vojta-only therapy groups, the total recovery for all participants was achieved at seven months. Regarding infants with muscular hypertonia, Bobath therapy initiation demonstrated complete recovery in 5 months in more than 50% of the cases, while for Vojta this was achieved in only 33.57% of the cases. Conclusions: The comparative evaluation conducted by analysing the data regarding the application of the Bobath and Vojta methods showed that combining these two therapies results in a shorter motor deficit recovery time than if a single therapy is applied. These findings have important implications for the selection of rehabilitation therapies in infants with neurological motor development issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Smoking before, during and after pregnancy leads to detrimental outcomes on maternal and foetal health and represents an important public health issue. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence and correlates of smoking before and during pregnancy in a sample of Romanian women.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among mothers (N=1,278) in three maternity hospitals in Tirgu-Mures, Romania, immediately after childbirth, in 2014. We evaluated the prevalence of smoking before and during pregnancy and used binary logistic regression to assess the influence of socio-demographics and other health behaviour factors in three groups of women: non-smoking pregnant women, women who continued smoking during pregnancy, and smokers who quit during pregnancy.Results: 30% of the interviewed mothers were smokers prior to pregnancy, of whom 43.3% continued smoking during pregnancy. Women with a family income of less than 100 Euro/month (OR=3.01, 95% CI: 1.02-8.83) and those who were unemployed (OR=13.2, 95% CI: 3.90-44.79) had increased odds of continued smoking versus quitting during pregancy in multivariable analyses. Women who continued smoking during pregnancy were also more likley to be of lower socioeconomic status than never smokers (OR=14.1, 95% CI: 4.97-39.6).Conclusions: A high percentage of women of reproductive age smoke and continue to smoke despite their knowledge about risks of smoking during pregnancy. Smoking prior to and during pregnancy is predominantly associated with lower socioeconomic status. Women with limited economic means should be a high priority target group for smoking cessation interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exchange charge model of crystal field theory has been used to analyze the ground and excited state absorption of tetrahedrally coordinated Cr4+ ion in lithium aluminum oxide LiAlO2 (γ-phase) and lithium dioxogallate LiGaO2. The parameters of the crystal field acting on the Cr4+ ion are calculated from the crystal structure data, taking into account the crystal lattice ions located at distances up to 12.744 Å in LiGaO2 and 13. 180 Å in LiAlO2. The obtained energy level schemes were compared with experimental ground and excited state absorption spectra and literature data on the application of other crystal field models (the angular overlap model and Racah theory) to the considered crystals; a good agreement with experimental data is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exchange charge model of crystal field (which includes the covalent effects) is used to analyze the energy level schemes of Cr3+ ion in ZnAl2S4 and ZnGa2O4 crystals with spinel structure. Calculations of the overlap integrals and crystal field parameters were performed before getting the Cr3+ energy levels. The calculated energy level schemes are compared with available experimental data; a new interpretation of the absorption peaks is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crystals with fluorite type structure doped with transition metals (TM) in different oxidation states provide the possibility of investigating optical spectra, magnetic properties and ligand field (LF) parameters of TM in cubic eightfold coordination. If the doped ion in the host crystal matrix has a degenerate ground state then, due to the strong T ⊗ τ Jahn-Teller (JT) effect, the cubic coordination geometry of the impurity ion will be distorted to octahedral, with the change in its properties. In this paper we present the results of the ab initio investigation of absorption optical spectra, JT stabilization energy in the ground state, spin-Hamiltonian and ligand field parameters of divalent nickel ion doped in cubic CaF 2 and CdF 2 crystals. The analysis of new cluster [NiF 6 ]4- with trigonal symmetry (D 3d) at the Ni2+site was made based on the ab initio multireference methods (MR). All calculations are applied to the [NiF 6 ]4- cluster embedded in an extended point charge field of host matrix ions built according to the Gellé-Lepetit procedure. After density functional theory (DFT) optimization of the doped crystals, the ab initio energy calculation of the electronic states and corresponding wave functions of Ni2+ ions is performed from the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF). The improved energy states obtained by using different approaches such as N-electron valence second order perturbation theory (NEVPT2), second order dynamic correlation dressed complete active space (DCD-CAS2), difference dedicate configuration interaction with three degrees of freedom (MRDDCI3) and spectroscopy-oriented configuration interactions (SORCI), were analyzed. In addition, the ab initio ligand field theory (AILFT) procedure allows extracting all LF parameters and spin-orbit coupling constant. The obtained results are discussed and the comparison with the available in the literature corresponding experimental values literature yields a reasonably agreement between theory and experiment, which justifies this new route of investigation. The structural mechanism around Ni2+ center through JT effect, combined with the above mentioned methodology, allows for more consistent and reliable calculations of optical spectra and spin-Hamiltonian parameters of any impurity ions doped in eightfold cubic coordination. Image 1 • Optical absorption spectra, ligand field and EPR parameters are calculated. • CASSCF, NEVPT2, DCD-CAS2, MRDDCI3 and SORCI, were applied for [NiF 6 ]4- cluster. • Ligand field parameters were extracted from AILFT procedure. • Predictions of new properties for doped crystals having degenerated ground state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a rising prevalence of obesity in Romania, and diet may be a major determinant of this. We aimed to assess differences in types and prevalence of food groups consumed by overweight and normal-weight people in Romania. Material and methods: For this observational study, we used an online questionnaire, which was completed by 988 people from different cities of Romania and was composed of 40 items on consumption frequency of the main food groups. Results: Study participants belong mostly the younger age group (18-24 years old) with a share of 45.49%, participation decreasing progressively with age, due to the low number of Internet users from age group over 45 years (7.49%). The majority being women with a share of 79.87% and from total subjects 61.46% had normal weight, 19.49% were overweight and 9.48% were obese. The proportion of underweight (14%) and normal weight(71%) is higher in age group between 18-24 years, the overweight proportion (57%) is higher in age group between 55-64 years and obesity predominates in age group between 45-54 years (31%). We noticed that there was no difference between the consumption of cereals and derived products, depending on weight status (p<0.001). Overweight/obese individuals were found to eat larger quantities of 4 food items compared with normal weight individuals. These included cooked meat (35.83% vs. 24,67%), cold cuts (41.74% vs. 36.12%), fried food and saturated fats (54.83% vs.49.34%), sweetened drinks (34.27% vs. 29.96%). Consumption of fresh fruits and oleaginous fruits was higher among normal-weight than among obese individuals (p<0.001). Conclusions: Overweight individuals were found to consume larger quantities of certain food items/groups compared with normal weight individuals. Interventions should aim at limiting overall food consumption among obese and overweight individuals and to promote nutritional counseling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]