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Simple Summary: This retrospective observational study recruited 380 patients, 115 with lung cancer and 265 in the control group. Both the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were significantly higher in cancer patients than in the control group. The correlation of PLR with the probability of lung cancer differs between men and women. CRP values did not differ according to histological types of lung cancer (p = 0.242) and were not associated with the presence of mutations in EGFR (p = 0.679). CRP values were significantly lower in NSCLC patients with PD-L1 mutations than in those without PD-L1 mutations (22.7 [IQR: 10.4;40.3] vs. 76.7 [IQR: 32.6;140] mg/L, p = 0). Background and objective: Analysis of inflammatory biomarkers, along with the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) or platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), supports the connection between inflammation and carcinogenesis. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study at the Clinical County Hospital Mureș involving patients with lung cancer. The parameters analyzed included histopathological type (NSCLC: squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma; SCLC), molecular mutations (EGFR, ALK, PD-L1), parameters from the complete blood count, inflammatory parameters, and associated comorbidities. Results: A total of 380 patients were included: 115 patients in the cancer group and 265 patients in the control group. Among patients in the lung cancer group, 88 were diagnosed with NSCLC (44 adenocarcinomas, 44 squamous cell carcinomas) and 27 with SCLC. Both NLR and PLR were significantly higher in cancer patients than in the control group (5.30 versus 2.60, p < 0.001; 217 versus 136, p < 0.001, respectively). NLR and PLR differ between men and women (p = 0.005 and p = 0.056, respectively). C-reactive protein was not correlated with either NLR (p-value: 0.0669) or PLR (p-value: 0.6733) in lung cancer patients. Conclusions: The NLR and PLR values may serve as new predictive biomarkers for the diagnosis of disease in patients with lung cancer, especially those with NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Obstructive ventilatory dysfunctions have an increased incidence, and through functional assessment determined by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), appropriate treatment can be established. Aims. The objectives of our research are represented by the application of respiratory rehabilitation sessions according to the ICF in patients with obstructive ventilatory dysfunctions-with COPD or asthma, using a unique, international language and the evaluation of the results obtained before and after completion pulmonary rehabilitation. Methods. We conducted a randomized prospective study between November 2022-April 2023, which included 84 patients diagnosed with obstructive ventilatory dysfunctions and who performed respiratory rehabilitation. They were divided into two categories: category 1-C1 which included 43 patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-COPD and category 2-C2 which included 41 patients diagnosed with asthma. The rehabilitation program lasted 8 weeks, with exercises performed from Monday to Friday, with a weekend break. Respiratory rehabilitation consisted of physical therapy, inspiratory and expiratory muscle training (IEMT), proper nutrition, and psychotherapy. Results. At the end of the program, most of the patients showed improvements in the ICF qualifiers, a fact that supported us that respiratory recovery is one of the basic therapies of patients with obstructive ventilatory dysfunctions. Conclusions. The ICF allows the application of a personalized respiratory rehabilitation program. The ICF qualifiers are used for the functional assessment of patients and allow they to be included in individualized medical rehabilitation programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The incidence of lung diseases is very high worldwide, especially in the case of lung cancer, pulmonary tuberculosis, and obstructive ventilatory dysfunctions. Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) is synthesized mainly by hepatocytes, and one of its roles is to inhibit protease activity in the body's biological fluids following the phenomenon of programmed cell death, which is also called apoptosis. Acute lung diseases, but especially chronic ones, can cause, in addition to pulmonary and extrapulmonary manifestations, social and psychological impact, which is why a complex, interdisciplinary respiratory rehabilitation program is necessary. Objectives: Our study aimed to determine the correlation between alpha-1 antitrypsin values and lung diseases (pulmonary tuberculosis, lung cancer, asthma, and COPD) and to evaluate the influence of the individualized respiratory rehabilitation program in these diseases. Methods: We carried out a retrospective study between February 2022 and March 2023 in the Pneumology Department of the "Victor Babeș" Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases and Pneumoftiziology, Craiova. It included 189 patients diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis, lung cancer, or obstructive ventilatory dysfunctions (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - COPD or asthma). Alpha-1 antitrypsin was collected from all patients. Respiratory rehabilitation was carried out both during hospitalization and in an out-patient setting for a maximum period of 6 months after discharge, with some patients even using telemedicine. Results: Increased values of alpha-1 antitrypsin were detected in advanced stages of the disease, and a clear improvement of clinical and functional parameters was observed after inclusion in the rehabilitation program. Conclusions: Detection of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is rare. The majority of patients diagnosed with lung cancer in advanced stages showed increased values of alpha-1 antitrypsin, AAT being able to be used as a follow-up marker in response to oncological treatment. Respiratory rehabilitation benefits in pulmonary tuberculosis, lung cancer, COPD, and asthma, regardless of the form of the disease. An interdisciplinary approach is necessary for the optimal treatment and control of lung diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autophagy, a homeostatic process involved in nutrient regeneration and immune responses, may be involved in intracellular killing of M. tuberculosis. Several studies linked variation in autophagy genes with susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis, but others did not confirm these findings.

Among the most widespread childhood infections, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) develops potentially life-threatening conditions in adults if not appropriately treated. Helicobacter pylori is a common human pathogen that was first described in the stomach many years ago. The discovery of H. pylori was crucial in gastroenterology; this bacterium is associated with chronic gastritis, peptic ulcers, gastric cancer, and lymphoid tissue lymphoma related to the gastric mucosa. Studies published so far estimate that approximately 10% of subjects infected with H. pylori develop a peptic ulcer, and 1–3% of subjects develop gastric cancer. The clinical manifestations are variable and characteristically depend on the individual factors of the host. Various methods of detection and diagnosis of H. pylori infection have been developed, each with advantages, disadvantages, and/or limitations. Available diagnostic tests are usually performed using invasive (endoscopy, biopsy, rapid urease test, cultures, and molecular tests) and noninvasive methods (urea breath test, stool antigen examination, and serological and molecular tests). Although there is extensive accessibility for diagnosing and treating H. pylori infection, the prevalence of antibiotic resistance is not negligible. Thus, numerous studies and meta-analyses are focused on a new orientation of gastroenterologists in diagnosing and treating H. pylori infections. A fascinating perspective hypothesis is the administration of probiotics to reduce H. pylori adhesion to gastric epithelial cells, preventing H. pylori colonization, especially in children, or reinfection with H. pylori in high-risk adult patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2) infection appeared for the first time in Wuhan, China in December 2019, and in March 2020 it was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Thus, a new disease was registered-COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019). Our study followed the patients who had the diagnosis of obstructive ventilatory dysfunction in their personal pathological antecedents, who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The patients were in the hospital records with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma. After discharge, patients had a number of outstanding symptoms: fatigue, cough, dyspnea, mental and cognitive disorders, palpitations, headaches, dysfunctions of taste and smell. All patients underwent pulmonary rehabilitation after hospitalization. Aims. In this study, we looked at the benefits of respiratory rehabilitation over a period of six months after SARS-CoV-2 infection. The medical rehabilitation program included physical training, muscle training, nutritional support, psychological support and patient education. Methods. A retrospective study was defined between April 2021-December 2021, including 72 patients who had SARS-CoV-2 infection and who presented various symptoms on discharge. The study was carried out at the Clinical Hospital of Infectious Disease and Pneumoftiziology "Victor Babeș" from Craiova-Pulmonology Department. These patients had a history of obstructive ventilatory dysfunction: asthma or COPD. Patients were monitored during the respiratory rehabilitation program at 3 and 6 months after discharge. Results. An improvement in clinical and functional parameters was obtained as a result of the pulmonary rehabilitation. Conclusions. Patients with COPD are increase risk to develop severe forms of COVID-19. Smoking is an important risk factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection and obstructive ventilatory dysfunction. Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection is effective, being associated with mild forms of COVID-19. Pulmonary rehabilitation is a key point in the management of patients with COVID-19, improving exercise capacity, reducing dyspnea, improving health, increasing oxygen saturation and quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of EMERG: Energy. Environment. Efficiency. Resources. Globalization is the property of Romanian National Committee of World Energy Council and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Farmacia is the property of Societatea de Stiinte Farmaceutice Romania and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of this article is to analyse the impact of the political decision making regarding urban planning, together with the development of the city of Bucharest at the beginning of the communist regime. The economical and political transformations characteristic of the post-war period have created the premises for a transition from the inter-war urban planning to a new concept of reconstruction. The aforementioned concept was under a powerful ideological influence; it was set to build the „new socialist city", in contrast to the old, „bourgeois" socio-political theories and practices. Consequently, between 1948 and 1952, the Romanian communist regime set the foundation of a centralised and politicised institutional system. A new administrative apparatus subdued to the interest of the new political system was thus created. This has marked the debut of the wielding of a strong political control over decision-making, thus opening a path towards certain urban transfigurations. The state governed over the phases of the building processes, from sketch to implementation, by regulating the investments and funding projects through annual and five-year plans. This reconsideration of urban systematisation allowed the state to develop new projects and programs both in the architectural and urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are a large number of papers who apparently study the exact same scenario regarding the effects of the electromagnetic radiation on a human head, but the results are almost always contradictory. Additionally, a lot of these papers do not use identical geometries or fail to mention them in detail. Thus, it is hypothesized that, among others, the distance of the antenna and its position towards the head might have an impact on the SAR values obtained which could explain, at least in part, the strong disagreements between the papers mentioned. The numerical results obtained using the FDTD method implemented in the commercially available software SEMCAD X by SPEAG, www.speag.com, seem to support this view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temperature increase and SAR values around a metallic implant strongly depends on its dimensions and position inside the tissue being investigated. For this reason, there is a clear worst-case best-case scenario separation line. In a worst-case scenario, in the case of a metallic implant placed parallel and really close to a dipole emitting antenna, the increase in temperature is close to 2.48 °C , but in a best-case scenario, that increase is only 0.28 °C , with a whole range of values between these two. The simulations run with the FDTD software SEMCAD X by SPEAG, www.speag.com, support this view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is difficult and unconfortable to deliver bad news in all medical ares especially in oncology even though we are referring to diagnosis, reccurences, disease progression or transition to paleation comunication. In any situation, this is a difficult and stressfull task. Studies showed that 42% of doctors experiment a strong emotion after comunicating bad news, and the effect of stress lasts for hours and even days. This articol reviews some of these data that were already published and sets a practical approach named S-P-I-K-E-S protocol, a recent but largely used strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Confocal laser endomicroscopy is a rather novel technique used to investigate the inner mucosa during endoscopic or laparoscopic interventions. The principle was discovered several decades ago; however, only recent technological advances allowed for a sufficient miniaturization of the components, necessary to transpose the idea to reality. Probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy was thus established as a way to obtain optical biopsies during standard endoscopic exploratory procedures. We aimed to highlight the importance of the procedure in obtaining a rapid, valid diagnosis, with sufficient accuracy, rapidity and cost savings to justify the necessary initial investment and additional expertise required for the task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Purposes and objectives. CAT test is a simple questionnaire that quantifies the impact of COPD on patients and doctor-patient communication; it is a complex questionnaire that evaluates the lung function and the impact on quality of life. The score ranges from 0 to 40. The higher the score, the bigger the health problems are. This questionnaire can be used in any language and country, by all COPD patients., Method and Materials: We evaluated 71 COPD patients from Clinical Hospital "Victor Babeş" Craiova between 2010-2011. These patients were included in a respiratory rehabilitation program of 16 sessions of physical exercises and education for 8 weeks., Results and Discussions: The average final score was with 12.86% lower than baseline score. The average CAT score after rehabilitation for COPD stage I recorded the best decrease with 16.23%. The program of respiratory rehabilitation has a positive impact no matter BMI., Conclusions: CAT questionnaire is a sensitive test, easy to fill in that improves the doctor patient communication with a great impact on quality of life.

Concern is continuing about increased risk of pneumonia in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who use inhaled corticosteroids. The aim of this work is to present a few results from the literature about this problem.

Sleep Apnea is a medical condition, frequently undiagnosed, that leads to significant morbidity and reduced quality of life. Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are particularly vulnerable of developing postoperative complications when having surgery or other invasive interventions under general anesthesia; pulmonary and cardiac disorders increase the risk of perioperative complications. We propose in this article to present the importance of polysomnography in the preoperative diagnosis of patients with OSA, initiations of CPAP therapy, treatment of associated disorders for reducing peri-operatory risk of these patients.

Lung cancer is nowadays the most spread cancer worldwide, being the main cause of death of all cancers. Lung cancer is the most important and frequent type of lung tumour, representing over 90% of all cases of primary malignant and benign lung tumours. The most deaths of lung cancer occur at 35-75 age group. In the eighties, lung cancer was estimated to be almost 16% of all cancers worldwide and almost 23% of all cancers in Europe. In 1999, lung cancer relative frequency in USA was on top, being followed by colonic cancer and breast cancer relative frequency. In the same year, relative frequency of lung cancer was higher in USA than in Romania both for men (33.97% to 28.4%) and for women (about three times higher in USA than in Romania). According to statistics, lung cancer mortality rate in Romania in 1999 was on the first place in men (comparative with mortality rate of other cancers) and on the third place in women (after breast cancer and uterine collum cancer mortality rate). Lung cancer mortality rate in Romania increased significantly in 1985-2003 period, from 24.9%000 in 1985, to 39.7%000 in 2003. In 2000 year, lung cancer incidence for men in Romania (67.1%000) was lower than in Yugoslavia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria but higher than its corresponding value in Macedonia and Albania. Prospective statistic studies estimate that in 2020 year lung cancer incidence for men will be the highest in Greece, Spain and France and the lowest in Great Britain, Ireland, Finland and Sweden. For women, the highest lung cancer incidence is estimated to be in Holland, Denmark and Austria and the lowest in Spain, Ireland and Finland.