NEW CONSIDERATIONS ON THE SINO-EUROPEAN RELATIONS, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE GLOBAL BALANCE OF POWER. THE MIRAGE OF THE SILK ROAD

The world today is a mess, there is no doubt about it. But probably this is also how the contemporaries of other historical ti mes saw their present. We could rather say that the international order is difficult to predict at the beginning of a century which is already dominated by very confusing moves and combinations. Using the author’s own means of research and observation (field research, the perception of reality from the perspective of the study of history, and a compared dimension), this article wishes to shed some light on a part of the role played by the European Union in the international policy under the circumstances of the fast transformations suffered by the global economic and security environment. The strategic relation with China is worth discussing at several levels (depending on the various categories of interests); our considerations about the course of the strategic partnership between the two powers and about the current evolutions of the international scene try to provide only some necessary benchmarks for an overall understanding of this diplomatic closeness

Psychosocial Integration of Foreign Students Within the Faculty of Dental Medicine in Craiova

Intercultural education in the Romanian space is an insufficiently addressed topic. Against the background of the significant increase in foreign students who choose to study at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Craiova, as well as the implementation of study programs in English which in turn have attracted many students from both European and non-EU countries we decided to develop a study aimed at the socio-cultural integration capacity of students at the Faculty of Dental Medicine in Craiova with a teaching program in English. The general objectives of the study aim at the following aspects: the degree of social integration of students; degree of satisfaction of educational needs; the effectiveness of the feedback system; problems encountered throughout the years of study: conflicts, discrimination phenomena, etc.the quality of courses and internships compared to their countries of origin. The target group of the study is represented by the students of Dental Medicine from Craiova, within the teaching program in English, study years I-III. The students who participated in this study come from both EU and non-EU member states. The total number of students enrolled in this study program is 93, and in our study a total of 71 respondents gave their informed consent to complete the distributed questionnaire.</p

Pharynx Reconstruction and Quality of Life

Patients who are diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the pharynx have a first delayed presentation, with advanced stages of the disease. Therefore, they frequently require a multimodal approach—by surgery, radio, and chemotherapy. Due to anatomic spatial limits and particularities, therapy can imply large organ resection with difficulties in reconstruction. Nowadays, there is a paradigm shift in the management of this pathology, with significant first referral to oncology departments and initiation as the first line of treatment of radio/radio-chemotherapy. As a consequence, salvage surgery may be mandatory in some selected cases. The proposed chapter will address the oncological particularities of the pharynx, with a focus on the oro- and hypopharynx, ways of reconstruction after oncological ablative surgery of these segments, and impact on quality of life (QoL) index. Speech, respiratory, and deglutition rehabilitation of these patients is essential and will be a distinct topic. This paper will have the structure of a literature review with clinical examples of reconstruction from ENT and Head and Neck Surgery Department of Coltea Clinical Hospital, Bucharest. Reconstruction methods used in our clinic are regional flaps and biocompatible prostheses in advanced stages. QoL index in our clinic is assessed with questionnaires developed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer – EORTC QLQ C30

Statistical Study: Vaccination Against HPV Among Dental Students in Romania

Vaccination against Human Papilloma Virus continues to remain a highly complex public health issue, as there are many countries or regions that show increasing reluctance. Romania is among the countries that do not provide HPV vaccine in the national vaccination scheme, but offers the opportunity to young girls between 11 and 18 years of age to benefit from free vaccination. It is the responsibility of health professionals in all health sectors to inform themselves correctly, but also to instruct patients in a prophylactic approach against infection with both HPV and other types of microorganisms. Accurate information and a thorough knowledge of the prophylactic means are achieved from the years of study.Our study focuses on the following aspects: the degree of vaccination among dental students, the willingness of students to get vaccinated if they have not done it so far, the degree of information about Human Papilloma Virus infection, including ways of transmission and methods of diagnosing the infection, the perception of students on how this topic has been promoted, the sources of information they access in order to obtain information about Human Papilloma Virus.</p

2016 ESC Guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation developed in collaboration with EACTS.

Peer reviewe

Sex difference and intra-operative tidal volume: Insights from the LAS VEGAS study

BACKGROUND: One key element of lung-protective ventilation is the use of a low tidal volume (VT). A sex difference in use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) has been described in critically ill ICU patients.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether a sex difference in use of LTVV also exists in operating room patients, and if present what factors drive this difference.DESIGN, PATIENTS AND SETTING: This is a posthoc analysis of LAS VEGAS, a 1-week worldwide observational study in adults requiring intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery in 146 hospitals in 29 countries.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Women and men were compared with respect to use of LTVV, defined as VT of 8 ml kg-1 or less predicted bodyweight (PBW). A VT was deemed 'default' if the set VT was a round number. A mediation analysis assessed which factors may explain the sex difference in use of LTVV during intra-operative ventilation.RESULTS: This analysis includes 9864 patients, of whom 5425 (55%) were women. A default VT was often set, both in women and men; mode VT was 500 ml. Median [IQR] VT was higher in women than in men (8.6 [7.7 to 9.6] vs. 7.6 [6.8 to 8.4] ml kg-1 PBW, P &lt; 0.001). Compared with men, women were twice as likely not to receive LTVV [68.8 vs. 36.0%; relative risk ratio 2.1 (95% CI 1.9 to 2.1), P &lt; 0.001]. In the mediation analysis, patients' height and actual body weight (ABW) explained 81 and 18% of the sex difference in use of LTVV, respectively; it was not explained by the use of a default VT.CONCLUSION: In this worldwide cohort of patients receiving intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery, women received a higher VT than men during intra-operative ventilation. The risk for a female not to receive LTVV during surgery was double that of males. Height and ABW were the two mediators of the sex difference in use of LTVV.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01601223