Alcoholic liver cirrhosis, more than a simple hepatic disease – A brief review of the risk factors associated with alcohol abuse

Liver cirrhosis is a significant public health problem, being an important cause of mortality and morbidity, responsible for approximately 1.8% of the total number of deaths in Europe. Chronic alcohol consumption is the most common cause of liver cirrhosis in developed countries. Europe has the highest level of alcohol consumption among all the global World Health Organisation (WHO) regions. In this paper, we briefly review major factors leading to excessive alcohol consumption in order to draw attention to the fact that alcoholic liver cirrhosis is more than a simple liver disease, and if those risk/causal factors can be prevented, the incidence of this disease could be reduced greatly. Although excessive alcohol consumption is regarded as the cause of alcoholic liver cirrhosis, the etiology is complex, involving multiple factors that act in synchrony, and which, if prevented, could greatly reduce the incidence of this disease. Children of addicts are likely to develop an alcohol-related mental disorder; however, there is no “gene for alcoholism”

RESEARCH REGARDING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE PRODUCTIVITY OF THE RESORT AND THE RENDZIC SOILS IN TRASCAU MOUNTAINS

The Trascau Mountains are an extension to the north-east of the Metaliferi Mountains. They have a very complex petrographical structure, represented by basalts, crystalline schists, sandstones, limestones, crystalline limestones, gneisses, dacites etc. All these have determined the formation of a very diverse relief (ridges, volcanic hills, abrupts, ravines, caves) and thus a very diverse soil covering. Four rendzic soil profiles were assessed and analyzed, found in the forest area of Trascau Mountains. Because of the extremely diverse microrelief conditions in the territory, most of the soils are skeletal, with low and medium edafic volume, some even superficial. The forest resorts in this area have at best a medium production capacity, because of the relief conditions and the skeletal soils

Compositional analysis of biofilms formed by Staphylococcus aureus isolated from food sources

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb. 2016.00390Sixteen Staphylococcus aureus isolatesoriginatingfromfoods(eightfromdairyproducts, five from fish and fish products and three from meat and meat products) were evaluated regarding their biofilms formation ability. Six strains (E2, E6, E8, E10, E16, and E23) distinguished as strong biofilm formers, either in standard Tryptic Soy Broth or in Tryptic Soy Broth supplemented with 0.4% glucose or with 4% NaCl. The composition of the biofilms formed by these S. aureus strains on polystyrene surfaces was first inferred using enzymatic and chemical treatments. Later on, biofilms were characterized by confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). Our experiments proved that protein-based matrices are of prime importance for the structure of biofilms formed by S. aureus strains isolated from food sources. These biofilm matrix compositions are similar to those put into evidence for coagulase negative staphylococci. This is a new finding having in view that scientific literature mentions exopolysaccharide abundance in biofilms produced by clinical isolates and food processing environment isolates of S. aureus.This study was supported by the COST Action FA1202 through the STSM-FA1202-00315-058004. We thank to Angela Franca (Universidade do Minho, Portugal) for the technical support provided. The support of Anca Gata (Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Romania) for English proofreading this paper is also acknowledged

Therapeutic alternatives with CPAP in obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), characterized by airflow cessation (apnea) or reduction (hypopnea) due to repeated pharyngeal obstructions during sleep, causes frequent disruption of sleep and hypoxic events. The condition is linked to many adverse health related consequences, such as neurocognitive and cardiovascular disorders, and metabolic syndrome. OSA is a chronic condition requiring long-term treatment, so treatment using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has become the gold standard in cases of moderate or severe OSA. However, its effectiveness is influenced by patients’ adherence. Surgery for OSA or treatment with oral appliances can be successful in selected patients, but for the majority, lifestyle changes such as exercise and dietary control may prove useful. However, exercise training remains under-utilized by many clinicians as an alternative treatment for OSA. Other interventions such as oral appliance (OA), upper way stimulation, and oropharyngeal exercises are used in OSA. Because the benefit of all these techniques is heterogeneous, the major challenge is to associate specific OSA therapies with the maximum efficacy and the best patient compliance

SoC as IoT sensor network hub

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