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The HLA profile is essential in cell and tissue transplantation, particularly in patients with autoimmune conditions and infections. Due to the extreme polymorphism in certain HLA loci, it also serves as a key tool for population genetic analysis. This study aimed to identify the allele and haplotype distributions of HLA class I (A, B, and C) and class II (DRB1) genotypes in unrelated hematopoietic stem cell donors. A retrospective analysis was conducted between 2016 and 2020 on 9832 Transylvanian volunteers, divided into Romanian and Hungarian groups based on self-reported ethnicity. Using PCR-SSO for HLA typing, significant differences were found in allele frequencies between ethnic groups. A total of 19 HLA-A, 31 HLA-B, 14 HLA-C, and 13 HLA-DRB1 distinct allele groups were identified between ethnic groups. Notably, B*18, B*51, and C*12 were more frequent in Romanians, while B*44, B*40, and C*07 were more common in Hungarians. Differences in haplotype distributions were also observed, with HLA-A*02~B*18~C*07~DRB1*11 being significantly more frequent in Romanians. Understanding these population-specific HLA profiles can improve donor matching for hematologic diseases, enhancing patient outcomes and access to life-saving hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expression of inflamma-miRs and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotypes could indicate mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). We used international databases to conduct a systematic review of studies on HLA variants and a meta-analysis of research on microRNAs (miRNAs). We aimed to analyze the discriminative value of HLA variants and miRNAs in MCI, AD and controls to evaluate the protective or causative effect of HLA in cognitive decline, establish the role of miRNAs as biomarkers for the early detection of AD, and find a possible link between miRNAs and HLA. Statistical analysis was conducted using Comprehensive Meta-analysis software, version 2.2.050 (Biostat Inc., Englewood, NJ, USA). The effect sizes were estimated by the logarithm base 2 of the fold change. The systematic review revealed that some HLA variants, such as HLA-B*4402, HLA-A*33:01, HLA-A*33:01, HLA-DPB1, HLA-DR15, HLA-DQB1*03:03, HLA-DQB1*06:01, HLA-DQB1*03:01, SNPs on HLA-DRB1/DQB1, and HLA-DQA1, predisposed to cognitive decline before the occurrence of AD, while HLA-A1*01, HLA-DRB1∗13:02, HLA-DRB1*04:04, and HLA-DRB1*04:01 demonstrated a protective role. The meta-analysis identified let-7 and miR-15/16 as biomarkers for the early detection of AD. The association between these two miRNA families and the HLA variants that predispose to AD could be used for the early screening and prevention of MCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sudden transition from onsite to online teaching caused by the ongoing pandemic constituted an enormous challenge for higher education institutions, teaching staffandstudents. Institutional and individual resources were required to replace lecture halls and classrooms with virtual learning environments. Besides technical prerequisites, teachers had to find means of rapidly adapting their teaching approach to face the demands, opportunities but also challenges of the online environment. In this context, the currentpaper focuses on the English for Medical Purposes (EMP) practical course for first year undergraduate students at the Faculty of Dental Medicine, “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, which was conducted exclusively online on the Microsoft Teams platform in the second semester of the 2019-2020 academic year. Thus, a questionnaire administered to assess the students’ feedback revealed that lack of face-to-face communication, inability to interact and socialize with colleagues and absence of pair or group speaking activities represented problematic areas while ease of access to classroom materials, online quizzes, video watching, focus on oral presentation skills and student-teacher interaction were positively valued by the respondents. The results of this analysis were used to guide the planning of future online teaching activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The publication of scientific research articles represents a highly valued but also challenging activity in today's extremely diverse and competitive academic environment. Research papers published in English in highrankinginternational journals provide individual as well as institutional visibility, prestige and recognition, thus establishing academic hierarchies, generating funding and leading to further research opportunities. Therefore, the authors' ability to create appropriate identities that facilitate article acceptance, writerreader interaction and the approval of newly introduced knowledge claims by discourse community members is key to a successful academic career. In this context, the current paper explores various methods of building author identities throughrhetorical strategies such as the use of personal pronouns, citations and selfcitations, which are employed by both native and non-native article authors according to disciplinary writing conventions and cultural variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the most recent literature on hedging in written academic discourse by focusing on research carried out in the 21st century in order to provide an overview of the current state of research and to identify opportunities for further studies in the field. Besides reinforcing the idea that hedges are rhetorical strategies with polypragmatic functions aimed at facilitating the acceptance of knowledge claims in written academic discourse, this theoretical analysis reveals the existence of new perspectives in the study of hedging. These novelties mainly refer to the increased focus on the use and interpretation of hedges by native vs. non-native speakers of English, the role of crosslinguistic and cross-disciplinary variation and the response of the target readers to hedging in written academic discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of Romanian-French tandem interactions according to the perception of a group of participants in the Tandems Linguistiques project organized by "Iuliu Haţieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, with the support of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie. A total number of 40 feedback forms completed by undergraduate French and Romanian students enrolled in the project between 2012 and 2014 were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The aim was to establish the overall impact of the project in line with the core principles of tandem language learning, as well as the obstacles, benefits and strategies employed by the participants, including their preferred methods of corrective feedback. Comparisons between the perceptions of the two groups of native students were also drawn. The results showed that the tandem project was perceived as a positive experience by most French and Romanian participants. The most frequently mentioned benefits were linguistic (vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar), followed by cultural benefits and human-level gains. Difficulty scheduling sessions, different levels of language proficiency resulting in an uneven use of the two languages and communication breakdown were the most frequently reported obstacles. The extra work carried out by the students in addition to the recommended worksheets was the most frequently reported learning strategy as well as the main benefit from a teaching perspective. The various ways of providing corrective feedback confirmed the multimodal character of this important activity within tandem interactions as well as the autonomy and resourcefulness of the investigated participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the current importance of publishing medical research articles in high-impact international journals, this article briefly presents key moments in the evolution of this reporting genre for a better understanding of the diachronic changes that have shaped it into a highly useful tool for creating and spreading knowledge, as well as for establishing academic hierarchies at both individual and institutional level. Therefore, focus will be placed not only on the evolution of its structure and purpose, but also on issues such as knowledge construction, knowledge claims, writer-reader interaction and the appropriate writing conventions and rhetorical strategies required for successful scientific communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a theoretical analysis of the various aspects involved in the construction of knowledge in the medical research article, currently a highly demanding but also rewarding genre in the international academic environment. The analysis takes into consideration the most prevalent features of present-day written academic discourse, with focus on the writing conventions and rhetorical strategies primarily used for successful scientific communication in medicine. The paper offers a multidisciplinary approach by adopting a pragmatic view of linguistics applied to written medical discourse in order to create a comprehensive picture of the current requirements of medical research reporting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Aims: Walled-off necrosis (WON) is a serious complication of severe pancreatitis, patients with necrotizing pancreatitis having an increased risk of developing diabetes mellitus (DM). The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of new-onset diabetes (NOD) in patients with symptomatic WON after endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided drainage with lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMS). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a prospectively collected database of patients with symptomatic WON treated by EUS-guided drainage with LAMS in a tertiary referral center. The patients were followed-up for at least 12 months after stent removal. These patients were compared with age- and sex-matched asymptomatic WON controls without interventional treatment and healthy controls to assess the one-year occurrence of DM. Diabetes was defined according to the American Diabetes Association criteria. Results: Of the 50 patients with symptomatic WON included in the study (male/female ratio, 33:17; median age, 60 years), 13 patients (26%) had pre-existing DM and were excluded. Ten of the remaining 37 patients (27%) without prior DM developed NOD within one year after stent removal, this frequency being higher than in asymptomatic WON controls (18.9%, p=0.581) and healthy controls (2%, p = 0.002). In the symptomatic WON group, NOD patients compared to non-DM patients were older (63.5 vs. 56 years old, p=0.042), had more frequent necrosis > 50% of the pancreatic parenchyma (p=0.002) and had a body-tail location of WON (p<0.001). On multivariate analysis, the number of direct endoscopic necrosectomy (DEN) sessions was the only significant factor for NOD occurrence (OR=7.05, p=0.010). NOD patients had poor glycemic control and required more DEN sessions to achieve WON resolution than patients with prior DM (p=0.017). Conclusions: In patients with symptomatic WON treated by EUS-guided drainage, DM occurred in 27% of previously non-diabetic patients within one year of follow-up. Patients with extensive pancreatic necrosis were more likely to develop NOD, a high number of DEN sessions being a significant risk factor for NOD occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study analyzed the discourse in three recordings made by two students who participated in the project Tandem, bilinguisme et construction des savoirs disciplinaires: une approche du FLE/FOS en contact avec les langues de l'ECO (2012-2014), coordinated by Lecturer Aurora Băgiag, PhD at the Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca. The discourse analysis looked at the manner in which the interlocutors alternated their mother tongue with the target language when learning a foreign language within a tandem. The analytical approach inventoried the dialogue contexts that determined the sudden shift in the language of communication, or the use of intercomprehension. The strategies of language alternation or the use of intercomprehension were related to the implicit or explicit objectives of the dialogue lines, to the speakers' language proficiency and to the interest they showed in the topic of the dialogue. The study shows that the speaker who speaks mostly in their own language is placed in a more secure space and therefore can exercise a certain authority in relation to their dialogue partner. The analysis also points out that language alternation no longer functions when the level of language proficiency of the proposed teaching activity is considerably higher than the speakers' language proficiency. Thus, the speakers intuitively turn to intercomprehension, a form of communication that enables them to have a more nuanced and developed speech, and provides them the opportunity for intercultural education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Bevacizumab or cetuximab represent the standard treatment in association with classical chemotherapy in confirmed metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Bevacizumab could be continued after the first disease progression with an overall survival (OS) advantage, compared to chemotherapy alone, but the optimal dose remains a debatable issue., Methods: In a retrospective analysis of mCRC patients treated with bevacizumab, we selected patients with administration beyond progression, and stratified them according to the dose received- same dose bevacizumab (SDB) as first-line chemotherapy or double dose bevacizumab (DDB). For each group we evaluated OS, time to treatment failure (TTF) and progression-free survival in the first-line (PFS1) and in the second-line (PFS2)., Results: In the first-line therapy, oxaliplatin backbone regimen was used in 73% SDB, compared with 22.5% DDB patients, while irinotecan was used in 75% DDB and 27% SDB patients. Second-line oxaliplatin was given to 50% DDB and 29.7% SDB patients, while irinotecan was administered to 47.5% DDB and 70.3% SDB patients. The median values were: OS - 41 months in the DDB group and 25 months in the SDB group (p = 0.01); TTF - 24 months in the DDB group and 19 months in the SDB group (p=0.009); PFS1 - 17 months in the DDB group and 12 months in the SDB group (p=0.008); PFS2 - 9 months in the DDB group and 5 months in the SDB group (p = 0.03)., Conclusions: Doubling the dose of bevacizumab at progression seems to provide OS and PFS advantage for mCRC patients.

Gastric cancer represents one of the most severe cancers with poor overall survival. Despite the availability of published data on the efficacy of adjuvant treatment, the actual percentage of treated patients remains low. The toxicity of radiotherapy or chemotherapy regimens differ and clinicians need accessible tools in order to better select candidates for adjuvant treatment. In this review, we present published data from clinical trials and cancer registries that might be useful for properly balancing the efficacy and toxicity of adjuvant treatment in gastric cancer patients who underwent surgery with curative intent.