A story about how the novel ROSPIN Academy programme is bringing space education to the Romanian youth in the pandemic context

Continuous education is the foundation of a sustainable society and ecosystem, and this paper relates the story of one of the most ambitious educational programmes for University students from Romania. The country acceded to the European Space Agency’s Convention in 2011, but does not have a dedicated undergraduate programme for space education, although the local space industry is growing and is demanding more skilled professionals. In this context, the Romanian Space Initiative has been organizing the ROSPIN Academy educational programme since the spring of 2021. Currently, each Edition of the Academy has 3 Levels, coordinated with the least busy University periods: Level 1 is an introduction to the space sector (autumn 2021), Level 2 consists of a technical overview of the lifecycle of space missions (spring 2022), and Level 3 offers hands-on experience with industry (summer 2022). Although the curriculum’s core is spacecraft engineering, it aims to reflect the sector’s interdisciplinarity, so topics such as astronomy, space sustainability and policy are also covered. The Lessons are delivered in English by national and international speakers from industry and academia, ranging from young graduates to experienced professionals. Participants can interact directly with them, in a context that promotes the idea that space is not only for rocket scientists. The participants’ interpersonal skills are also trained through exercises and games about space topics, which require them to work together in teams. The accepted participants of the Academy are selected based on their motivation and thinking, relevant knowledge and compatibility with the Academy learning concept. Currently, more than 400 applicants have been accepted in the past or current Editions of ROSPIN Academy. Last but not least, the national outreach achieved through this programme is a key defining value. ROSPIN Academy is present at national level, across industries, and mixes undergraduates and graduates, with focus on the former. This is demonstrated by the evolution of the distribution of the accepted participants, in terms of city, year and field of studies. Due to the organisation’s efforts to promote the second Edition nationwide with the support of professors from the biggest STEM Universities, this distribution has clearly evolved. Edition 2 shows a more diversified pool of participants compared to Edition 1, which mostly had active participants with aerospace background from Bucharest. As a result, ROSPIN Academy is uniting the local space communities while educating the next generation of space engineers

Mixed Compressive Sensing Back-Projection for SAR Focusing on Geocoded Grid

This article presents a new scheme called 2-D mixed compressive sensing back-projection (CS-BP-2D), for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging on a geocoded grid, in a single measurement vector frame. The back-projection linear operator is derived in matrix form and a patched-based approach is proposed for reducing the dimensions of the dictionary. Spatial compressibility of the radar image is exploited by constructing the sparsity basis using the back-projection focusing framework and fast solving the reconstruction problem through the orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm. An artifact reduction filter inspired by the synthetic point spread function is used in postprocessing. The results are validated for simulated and real-world SAR data. Sentinel-1 C-band raw data in both monostatic and space-borne transmitter/stationary receiver bistatic configurations are tested. We show that CS-BP-2D can focus both monostatic and bistatic SAR images, using fewer measurements than the classical approach, while preserving the amplitude, the phase, and the position of the targets. Furthermore, the SAR image quality is enhanced and also the storage burden is reduced by storing only the recovered complex-valued points and their corresponding locations

Quantum-Safe Protocols and Application in Data Security of Medical Records

The use of traditional cryptography based on symmetric keys has been replaced with the revolutionary idea discovered by Diffie and Hellman in 1976 that fundamentally changed communication systems by ensuring a secure transmission of information over an insecure channel. Nowadays public key cryptography is frequently used for authentication in e-commerce, digital signatures and encrypted communication. Most of the public key cryptosystems used in practice are based on integer factorization (the famous RSA cryptosystem proposed by Rivest, Shamir and Adlemann), respectively on the discrete logarithm (in finite curves or elliptic curves). However these systems suffer from two potential drawbacks like efficiency because they must use large keys to maintain security and of course security breach with the advent of the quantum computer as a result of Peter Shor\u27s discovery in 1999 of the polynomial algorithm for solving problems such factorization of integers and discrete logarithm

Orange and lemon peel powders as a bioelement source

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the concentration of some bioelements from citrus peel powder. Peels powder was obtained by drying and grinding citrus peels as a by-product resulting after the preparation of some natural juices. The results obtained by atomic absorption spectrometry of Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu, shows that the powders taken into the study contain important amounts of essential mineral elements, especially Ca and K (159-182 mg/100g, respectively 211-218 mg/100g) and also appreciable contents of Mg (15.3-23.4 mg/100g), Fe (18.1-34.1 mg/100g), Zn (9.34-11.8 mg/100g), Na (8.75-12.8 mg/100g), Cu (1.27-3.71 mg/100g) and Mn (1.32-2.03 mg/100g). The concentration of the analyzed mineral bioelements shows, in general, the following decreasing trend: K> Ca> Fe> Mg> Zn> Na> Cu> Mn

Dried figs as sources of essential microelements

The paper aims to determine the concentration of some microelements essential in cardiovascular sistem health from dried figs and evaluate their mineral intake. The concentrations of Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu were determined from samples of dried figs from the local trade, imported from different countries in the Mediterranean areas. The results obtained, by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) method, show that these fruits contain important quantities of essential microelements, depending on fig providers: 22.1 - 32.5 mg/kg Fe, 4.14 - 12.73 mg/kg Mn, 4.53 - 10.20 mg/kg Zn and 3.95 - 9.16 mg/kg Cu. The analytical results obtained allowed the evaluation of the mineral intake of these fruits for men and women aged between 19 - 50 years. Thus, a consumption of 40 g of dried figs covers a large part of the need for microelements, as follows: 13.99% Fe, 13.39% Mn, 2.83% Zn and 28.07% Cu - for men and 6.22% Fe, 17.11% Mn, 3.89% Zn and 28.07% Cu - for men. These results show that the dried figs analyzed could be considered as sources with some essential microelements, especially in terms of Cu, Mn and Fe

Medicinal plants - important source of essential microelements

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the concentration of some essential microelements (Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) from the leaves of two plants: stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) and sage (Salvia officinalis), species of plants with multiple uses in the food and medical field due to their high content of compounds with beneficial action for organisms. Samples were obtained by washing, drying and calcination of fresh leaves. The results obtained by atomic absorption spectrometry regarding Mn, Fe, Zn and Cu concentration in sage and nettle leaves shows that the samples contains important amounts of essential microelements, Cu (1.72-1.87 mg/g), Fe (25.43-65.67 mg/g), Mn (7.86 – 9.30 mg/g), Zn (54.61 – 73.12 mg/g). The appreciable contents of essential microelements recommend the use of these plants as a supplementary source of essential elements

Association study between idiopathic male infertility and the MTHFD1 G1958A SNP

Couple infertility is a global health problem and according to the World Health Organization approximately one couple in seven is affected by fertility or subfertility problems. Male infertility in humans has been acknowledged as the cause of couple’s inability to have children in 20-50% of total cases and although there have been much progress in understanding its etiology many of the case are still considered to be idiopathic, arising from an unknown cause. The MTHFD1 G1958A SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) by altering the structure of the encoded enzyme, a trifunctional enzyme which catalyzes the interconversion of 1-carbon derivatives of tetrahydrofolate could lead to an abnormal folate status, hyperhomocysteinemia and altered DNA synthesis. The folate metabolic pathway is essential for DNA methylation, DNA synthesis, as well as methylation of various other substrates, thus a disruption to this cellular pathway may lead to major pathologic consequences. By means of molecular genetic techniques, respectively PCR-RFLP (Polymerase Chain Reaction - Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism) we investigated the possible role of MTHFD1 G1958A SNP in the etiology of male infertility by comparing the distribution of this SNP in two groups: a group of 66 men with idiopathic azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia and a control group of 67 healthy men which have at least one child. Statistical analysis was performed by means of chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests. The genotype distribution in the two groups was in agreement with the Hardy-Weinberg Law. We obtained the following genotype stratification: 18 (27.3%) G/G, 27 (40.9%) G/A, 21(31.8%) A/A in the cases group compared to 19(28.4%) G/G, 36(53.7%) G/A, 12(17.9%) A/A in the control group; with a p value of 0.23 (odds ratio: 1.85, Cl 95%: 0.71-4.82) when comparing the mutant homozygous status (A/A) to the normal homozygous status (G/G). Because of the profound social, familial, medical and emotional outcomes that male infertility generates a greater emphasis should be made in understanding its etiology. After performing the first study on a Romanian population, due to the similar distribution of the studied polymorphism in the two groups we can state the MTHFD1 G1958A SNP is not a risk factor for idiopathic male infertility in our study group

Molecular basis and therapeutic targets in prostate cancer: A comprehensive review

Prostate cancer is one of the most significant causes of morbidity and mortality in male patients. The incidence increases with age, and it is higher among African Americans. The occurrence of prostate cancer is associated with many risk factors, including genetic and hereditary predisposition. The most common genetic syndromes associated with prostate cancer risk are BRCA-associated hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) and Lynch syndrome. Local-regional therapy, i.e., surgery is beneficial in early-stage prostate cancer management. Advanced and metastatic prostate cancers require systemic therapies, including hormonal inhibition, chemotherapy, and targeted agents. Most prostate cancers can be treated by targeting the androgen-receptor pathway and decreasing androgen production or binding to androgen receptors (AR). Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) usually involves the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and requires targeted therapy. Specific molecular therapy can target mutated cell lines in which DNA defect repair is altered, caused by mutations of BRCA2, partner and localizer of BRCA2 (PALB2), and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) or the transmembrane protease serine 2-ERG (TMPRSS2-ERG) fusion. Most benefits were demonstrated in cyclin dependent-kinase 12 (CDK12) mutated cell lines when treated with anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1) therapy. Therapies targeting p53 and AKT are the subject of ongoing clinical trials. Many genetic defects are listed as diagnostic, prognostic, and clinically actionable markers in prostate cancer. Androgen receptor splice variant 7 (AR-V7) is an important oncogenic driver and an early diagnostic and prognostic marker, as well as a therapeutic target in hormone-resistant CRPC. This review summarizes the pathophysiological mechanisms and available targeted therapies for prostate cancer

Neutrino-nucleus cross sections for oscillation experiments

Neutrino oscillations physics is entered in the precision era. In this context accelerator-based neutrino experiments need a reduction of systematic errors to the level of a few percent. Today one of the most important sources of systematic errors are neutrino-nucleus cross sections which in the hundreds-MeV to few-GeV energy region are known with a precision not exceeding 20%. In this article we review the present experimental and theoretical knowledge of the neutrino-nucleus interaction physics. After introducing neutrino oscillation physics and accelerator-based neutrino experiments, we overview general aspects of the neutrino-nucleus cross sections, both theoretical and experimental views. Then we focus on these quantities in different reaction channels. We start with the quasielastic and quasielastic-like cross section, putting a special emphasis on multinucleon emission channel which attracted a lot of attention in the last few years. We review the main aspects of the different microscopic models for this channel by discussing analogies and differences among them.The discussion is always driven by a comparison with the experimental data. We then consider the one pion production channel where data-theory agreement remains very unsatisfactory. We describe how to interpret pion data, then we analyze in particular the puzzle related to the impossibility of theoretical models and Monte Carlo to simultaneously describe MiniBooNE and MINERvA experimental results. Inclusive cross sections are also discussed, as well as the comparison between the $\nu_\mu$ and $\nu_e$ cross sections, relevant for the CP violation experiments. The impact of the nuclear effects on the reconstruction of neutrino energy and on the determination of the neutrino oscillation parameters is reviewed. A window to the future is finally opened by discussing projects and efforts in future detectors, beams, and analysis

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to <90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], >300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years