The angiogenic pathway of glioblastoma

University of Medicine and Pharmacy Targu Mures, Romania, The 6th International Medical Congress for Students and Young DoctorsBackground: There are over 130 different types of tumors in the central nervous system that include astrocytoma, glioblastoma, oligodendroglioma, meningioma, and schwannoma. From them, glioblastoma is considered the most common lethal primary brain tumor in adults. Objective: To create an overview of different angiogenic pathways of the glioblastoma. Material and Method: The 277 histopathologically confirmed consecutive primary brain tumors diagnosed at Department of Pathology of Emergency County Hospital of Tirgu-Mures, Romania, during 2012-2013, were retrospectively checked to see the incidence and immunohistochemical (IHC) particularities of glioblastoma. The immunostains were performed in 35 randomly selected glioblastomas, using the angiogenesis-related antibodies Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGFA), COX-2, Maspin, and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR). Results: From the 277 tumor cases, 62 (22.38%) were glioblastomas. Most of them (85.48%, n=53) were diagnosed in patients over 40, with a male:female ratio of 1.4:1. From the 35 cases used for IHC examinations, only 6 were marked by VEGF (17.14%), the other 29 (82.86%) being VEGF negative. No one of the cases showed maspin posivity. The rate of positivity for EGFR and COX-2 was 37.14% (n=13) and 60% (n=21), respectively. All of the 13 EGFR positive cases displayed COX-2 positivity and did not showed VEGF expression. Conclusions: In glioblastoma cells, the angiogenesis is rather mediated by COX-2 than VEGF or maspin. In patients with VEGF negative glioblasomas, the anti-EGFR drugs could be succesfully used. The effect of anti-EGFR drugs can be improved when combined with anti-COX-2 agents

Peritoneal and retroperitoneal lesions: preliminary results

Department of Pathology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Tirgu Mures, RomaniaIntroduction. Lesions of the peritoneal and retroperitoneal cavities are heterogeneous and include vascular disorders, inflammations and tumors. Aim of the study: To present the preliminary results regarding the types of peritoneal and retroperitoneal lesions. Material and methods. The clinicopathological aspects were examined in all consecutive cases diagnosed in 2015 at Department of Pathology of Clinical County Emergency Hospital of Tirgu Mures, Romania. Results. From the 672 cases, 491 were diagnosed with peritonitis, 125 with tumor lesions, 54 with vascular disorders and two patients presented hydatic cysts. Our of 125 tumors, 116 were metastatic (92.80%) and 9 (7.20%) were diagnosed as primary tumors. In 19 out of 125 tumors, ascites was associated. Metastases were predominantly diagnosed in women (n = 69; 59.48%) with a median age of 64.17±13.05 years, whereas peritonitis mostly affected the male gender (n=281; 57.23%) with a median age of 39.53±26.54 years. Conclusion. The type of peritoneal and retroperitoneal lesions are related to the patients’ gender: peritonitis is more frequent in males, whereas metastases predominantly affects females in their pre-menopausal or menopausal period. Ascites does not always occur in patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis

Colorectal cancer: an update upon the diagnostic and therapeutic transdiciplinary approach

Scop: Prezentarea unor date actualizate referitoare la rolul ONCOTEAM în diagnosticul și terapia pacientului cu cancerului colorectal (CRC). Material și metode: În perioada 2018-2023, 147 de pacienți cu CRC au beneficiat de un abord individualizat. Evaluarea imagistică preoperatorie cu CT-scan/MRI cu difuzie a fost urmată de o descriere de tip ”hartă” a informațiilor pe baza cărora s-a efectuat intervenția chirurgicală și procesarea histopatologică conform metodologiei descrise anterior de echipa noastră în jurnalelel Diagnostics (DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics11020314) și Journal of the Belgian Society of Radiology (DOI: 10.5334/jbsr.3186). Examinările genetice au fost efectuate la indicațiile oncologului iar terapia post-operatorie a luat în considerare profilul molecular al celulelor tumorale. Rezultate: Utilizând acest protocol adaptat, am obținut un număr mediu de 15±2.23 limfonoduli prelevați per caz. Numărul depozitelor tumorale a fost, de asemenea, crescut și a dus la o supra-stadializare a 15% din cazuri. Utilizând o valoare a ”lymph node ratio” de 0.15, am obținut valori superioare celor obținute la abordarea clasică a 120 cazuri examinate anterior (p=0.002). Determinările genetice efectuate în timp au dus la o începere rapidă a terapiei oncologice individualizate și, deși profilul genei BRAF V600E este dificil a fi evaluat în țesuturi incluse în parafină, extracția ADN și determinările PCR au fost adecvate în toate cazurile examinate. Concluzii: Abordarea transdiciplinară a CRC poate fi efectuată doar dacă fiecare membru al echipei este implicat conștiincios în fiecare pas al diagnosticului sau terapiei. Costurile determinărilor au fost parțial acoperite în cadrul proiectelor PCCF 20/2018 și 10127/13/2021.Aim: To present an update regarding the role of the ONCOTEAM in the diagnosis and therapy of colorectal cancer (CRC). Materials and methods: During 2018-2023, 147 patients with CRC have benefited by an individualized approach. Preoperatively evaluation was done with CT-scan/diffusion-weighted MRI and a lymph node station map was typed. The next step consisted on surgical removal, based on the indications included in the map. Histopathological examination was based on the methods described by our team previously (DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics11020314; DOI: 10.5334/jbsr.3186). Genetic examinations were done based on the indications of the oncologist and the post-operative therapy was performed according to the molecular profile. Results: Based on the in-house adapted protocol, the median number of harvested lymph nodes per case was 15±2.23. The number of identified deposits was also significant and up-staged the tumors in 15% of the cases. The lymph node ratio value, using a cut-off of 0.15, was also superior to the classic approach of other 120 cases (p=0.002). The genetic examinations proved to be useful for an earlier start of post-operative therapy, without any cost for the patients. As regarding pre-analytical factors, although BRAF V600E gene profile is hard to be detected from paraffin-embedded tissues, the DNA extraction and PCR examinations were succesful in all of the cases. Conclusions: A proper transdiciplinary approach can be done only if any member of the team is attentively involved in each step of the diagnosis and therapy. The costs were partially supported by the projects PCCF 20/2018, and 10127/13/2021

Post-collisional Tertiary–Quaternary mafic alkalic magmatism in the Carpathian–Pannonian region: a review

Mafic alkalic volcanism was widespread in the Carpathian–Pannonian region (CPR) between 11 and 0.2 Ma. It followed the Miocene continental collision of the Alcapa and Tisia blocks with the European plate, as subduction-related calc-alkaline magmatism was waning. Several groups of mafic alkalic rocks from different regions within the CPR have been distinguished on the basis of ages and/or trace-element compositions. Their trace element and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope systematics are consistent with derivation from complex mantle-source regions, which included both depleted asthenosphere and metasomatized lithosphere. The mixing of DMM-HIMU-EMII mantle components within asthenosphere-derived magmas indicates variable contamination of the shallow asthenosphere and/or thermal boundary layer of the lithosphere by a HIMU-like component prior to and following the introduction of subduction components. Various mantle sources have been identified: Lower lithospheric mantle modified by several ancient asthenospheric enrichments (source A); Young asthenospheric plumes with OIB-like trace element signatures that are either isotopically enriched (source B) or variably depleted (source C); Old upper asthenosphere heterogeneously contaminated by DM-HIMU-EMII-EMI components and slightly influenced by Miocene subduction-related enrichment (source D); Old upper asthenosphere heterogeneously contaminated by DM-HIMU-EMII components and significantly influenced by Miocene subduction-related enrichment (source E). Melt generation was initiated either by: (i) finger-like young asthenospheric plumes rising to and heating up the base of the lithosphere (below the Alcapa block), or (ii) decompressional melting of old asthenosphere upwelling to replace any lower lithosphere or heating and melting former subducted slabs (the Tisia block)

A survey and classification of software-defined storage systems

The exponential growth of digital information is imposing increasing scale and efficiency demands on modern storage infrastructures. As infrastructure complexity increases, so does the difficulty in ensuring quality of service, maintainability, and resource fairness, raising unprecedented performance, scalability, and programmability challenges. Software-Defined Storage (SDS) addresses these challenges by cleanly disentangling control and data flows, easing management, and improving control functionality of conventional storage systems. Despite its momentum in the research community, many aspects of the paradigm are still unclear, undefined, and unexplored, leading to misunderstandings that hamper the research and development of novel SDS technologies. In this article, we present an in-depth study of SDS systems, providing a thorough description and categorization of each plane of functionality. Further, we propose a taxonomy and classification of existing SDS solutions according to different criteria. Finally, we provide key insights about the paradigm and discuss potential future research directions for the field.This work was financed by the Portuguese funding agency FCT-Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia through national funds, the PhD grant SFRH/BD/146059/2019, the project ThreatAdapt (FCT-FNR/0002/2018), the LASIGE Research Unit (UIDB/00408/2020), and cofunded by the FEDER, where applicable

Paediatrics: messages from Munich.

The aim of this article is to describe paediatric highlights from the 2014 European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress in Munich, Germany. Abstracts from the seven groups of the ERS Paediatric Assembly (Respiratory Physiology and Sleep, Asthma and Allergy, Cystic Fibrosis, Respiratory Infection and Immunology, Neonatology and Paediatric Intensive Care, Respiratory Epidemiology, and Bronchology) are presented in the context of the current literature

How to perform Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS)

"How to perform contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS)" provides general advice on the use of ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) for clinical decision-making and reviews technical parameters for optimal CEUS performance. CEUS techniques vary between centers, therefore, experts from EFSUMB, WFUMB and from the CEUS LI-RADS working group created a discussion forum to standardize the CEUS examination technique according to published evidence and best personal experience. The goal is to standardise the use and administration of UCAs to facilitate correct diagnoses and ultimately to improve the management and outcomes of patients