Polymorphism of the Prolactin (PRL) Gene and Its Effect on Milk Production Traits in Romanian Cattle Breeds

In the present study, we investigated one polymorphism of the PRL gene (rs211032652 SNP) and assessed its influence on milk production and chemical composition in two Romanian cattle breeds. A total of 119 cattle from two breeds reared in Western Romania (64 Romanian Spotted and 55 Romanian Brown) were included in the research herd. A PCR-RFLP genotyping assay was used for the identification of the rs211032652 SNP variants. Shapiro’s test and Levene’s test were used to verify ANOVA assumptions and ANOVA and Tukey’s test were employed to test the associations between PRL genotypes and five milk traits. Among the studied breeds, our results showed that PRL genotypes were significantly associated (p < 0.05) with fat and protein percentage in the milk of Romanian Brown cattle. The AA genotype was associated with a higher fat percentage in milk (4.76 ± 0.28) compared to the GG genotype (4.04 ± 0.22, p = 0.048), as well as a higher protein percentage (3.96 ± 0.32% vs. 3.43 ± 0.15%, p = 0.027) in Romanian Brown cattle. Moreover, the PRL locus favored a significantly higher fat (p = 0.021) and protein (p = 0.028) percentage in the milk of Romanian Brown cattle compared to the Romanian Spotted breed, with a difference of 0.263% and 0.170%, respectively

Economic applications of ion exchanges in water purification treatment

Our global economy is at a turning point. The progress in communications and technology has surpassed our imagination, yet we find ourselves facing limited natural resources that may put an end to the economic development and even, to life itself. The green economy replaces slowly, but steady the traditional one. The rules are changing. Competition is moving in a green court and only those who will show a social and ecological responsibility will survive. Water, the resource we depend on, becomes more and more polluted. Time has come to act and join forces from all areas and domains, with the sole purpose to find the best solutions. Ion exchange technology seems to be a reliable option. We believe it is a domain that will develop through future studies and research, and will be successfully implemented in many of the world’s companies. The things we witness in this era are alarming, and in finding the suitable solution, we have to rely on research and inter-science collaboration

COMPARATIVE STUDY REGARDING THE MICRO-HARDNESS OF SOME AESTHETIC RESTORATIVE MATERIALS

Background In recent years and mainly after 2000, the trends in terms of the structure of dental composites have addressed the progressive decrease of filler particle size down to nanometric level. All these result from the need to continuously improve the properties of the composite material such as their hardness, mechanical resilience, contraction to polymerization and polymerization stress. The present study aimed to test the microhardness and to determine its variation in case of some coronary esthetic restorative materials commonly used in dental practice. Material and methods Experimental researches concerning the determination of the microhardness variations were performed on four direct dental restorative light-curing composite (Herculite XRV Ultra, Synergy D6 and Brilliant - nanohybrid composite and Latelux -microhybrid composite). Specimens, with a diameter of 10 × 10 mm and 4 mm thick, were developed in the Dental Materials laboratory of the Dental Medicine Faculty of "Gr. T. Popa " University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Iasi, in accordance with the manufacturer indications. Micro-hardness testing was performed in the Department of Material Engineering and Industrial Security of the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering from “Gheorghe Asachi” Techncial University of Iaşi. Results Tests have revealed that direct composite resin Brilliant from Coltene Whaledent presents the highest values of Vickers micro-hardness. Conclusions For the selection and use of direct composite resins dentist must take into account the composition, clinical performance, handling characteristics and their biomechanical behavior, an important parameter being the micro-hardness

MODERN THERAPEUTICAL POSSIBILITIES TO SOLVE THE UNITERMINAL EDENTATION

Introduction Currently, cushioned hinge is one of the recommended solutions for solving mandibular or maxillar uniterminale edentations. Aim of the study This work presents some practical prosthetic possibilities of solving mandibular or maxillar uniterminale edentations. Material and methods The study was conducted on a total of nine patients, aged between 32-48 years, who presented partial uniterminale edentation. To solve uniterminale edentation was used Ancorvis system (damped hinge). Results In all clinical situations solved by using the Ancorvis system was obtain optimal morpho-functional rehabilitation of the stomatognathic system. Conclusions Currently, rehabilitation of uniterminale edentations is possible by using prosthetic appliances that do not affect the marginal periodontium of the remaining teeth. Unilaterale prosthetic appliances with Ancorvis clamping system is successfully used in the terminale edentation therapy. Such prostheses have the advantage of a small gauge, which makes them comfortable. For the success of treatment it is necessary a perfect collaboration between dentist and dental technician

RESEARCHES REGARDING THE PROFILE OF THE FINISHED SURFACES OF SOME DIRECT LIGHT CURED COMPOSITE MATERIALS

Introduction. The composite resins are the most commonly used materials in dentistry. In recent years, researchers have turned their interest to the studies on quality parameters of dental biomaterials. Goal. The investigations on surface quality aimed at highlighting roughness variations corresponding to the samples of various direct coronary restorative materials whose finishing was achieved by mechanical polishing. Material and method. For this research we used 3 light-curing composite materials of nanohybrid type (Herculite, Synergy D6 and Brilliant). Specimens were made in the laboratory of Dental Materials within the Faculty of Dental Medicine, “Gr. T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Iaşi. The surfaces finished by polishing were subjected to imaging tests and experimental measurements at nanoscale by using Nanosurf Easy Scan 2 AFM atomic force microscopy system. Results and discussion. The experimental researches carried out to determine the nanometer profile of each surface revealed the 3D image of the topography obtained after finishing by polishing, the nanometric profile of the midline corresponding to the investigated area, the 2D image obtained by deflection of the analysed surface. Conclusions. The determination of nanometric profile of surfaces through investigations carried out by atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a way of highlighting the microrelief topography resulted at the end of finishing by polishing. After polishing with abrasive gums, the nanometric profile having the smallest size (268.3nm) was obtained for Brilliant material. After having analyzed the dispersion of the values of total size of the nanometric profile for the three direct coronal restorative materials under study, we may notice that dispersion intervals have close limits, the lowest interval being characteristic to the surfaces obtained with Herculite and Brilliant commercial products

Synchronous Multiple Breast Cancers—Do We Need to Reshape Staging?

Background and Objectives: Current recommendations and treatment regimens in breast cancer are a reflection of its heterogeneity on multiple levels including histological subtypes, grading, molecular profiling, and numerous prognostic indices. Although based on extensive research, current guidelines are not explicit in the case of surgical specimens showing various degrees of mismatch between different parts of the same tumor and even more so between multicentric lesions. Synchronous breast cancer is the ideal prototype for studying inter- and intra-tumoral heterogeneity, therefore we envisaged that a study on patients with multicentric and multifocal lesions could contribute to the reshaping of the staging, prognosis, and treatment of breast malignancies. Material and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted between January 2013 and May 2017 on 235 patients diagnosed with breast cancer (BC) and surgically treated at Emergency University Hospital, Bucharest. Thirty-seven patients had multiple breast tumors and were eligible for assessment of the heterogeneity of their lesions. Results: 6 were multicentric and 31 multifocal. The number of foci varied from 2 to 11. We encountered numerous mismatches between the index and the secondary tumors, as follows: 3 cases (8.1%) with histopathological mismatch, 13 (35.1%) with different grades of differentiation, 11 (29.8%) with ER (Estrogen Receptors) status mismatch, 12 (32.4%) with PR (Progesterone Receptors) status mismatch, 8 (21.6%) with molecular phenotype mismatch, and 17 (45.9%) cases with variable Ki-67. After careful analysis of index and secondary tumors, apart from the mismatches reported above, we discovered that the secondary tumors were actually dominant in 5 cases (13.5%), and therefore at least those cases had to be reclassified/restaged, as the supplementary data commanded changes in the therapeutic decision. Conclusions: For synchronous breast tumors, the current Tumor-Node-Metastasis (TNM) staging system ignores not only the histopathological and immunohistochemical characteristics of the secondary foci, but also their size. When secondary lesions are more aggressive or their cumulative mass is significantly bigger than that of the index tumor, the treatment plan should be adapted accordingly. We believe that information obtained from examining secondary foci in synchronous breast cancer and assessment of the cumulative tumoral mass should be reflected in the final staging and definitive treatment. The clinical benefit of staging the patients based on the most aggressive tumor and the cumulative tumoral burden rather than according to the biggest single tumor, will avoid under-treatment in cases with multifocal/multicentric BC displaying intertumoral mismatch