RAISING INTERCULTURAL AWARENESS AND BUILDING INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE IN PROFESSIONAL LANGUAGE CLASSES / SENSIBILISATION INTERCULTURELLE ET RENFORCEMENT DES COMPETENCES EN COMMUNICATION INTERCULTURELLE DANS LES COURS DE LANGUES PROFESSIONNELS

The present article aims to point out the necessity to raise intercultural awareness and to build intercultural communication competence in Professional Foreign Language Classes. After defining the main concepts involved and having as a starting point G. Hofstede’s cultural dimension’s theory, the article brings forward several proposals of activities and makes reference to certain available and useful resources and methods that could serve the announced objective

THE ROLE OF SEA IN INTEGRATING THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS INTO THE PLANNING OF HYDROENERGETIC PLANTS

The present paper offers an analysis of the concept of SEA and its role in the development of hydroenergetic plant planning. The article provides information related to the institutional aspects of the strategic environmental assessment processes, at the same time outlining the potential benefits of the procedure in the assessment and management of environmental effects. In addition, the paper offers useful information consisting of relevant issues to be considered when elaborating Environmental Reports for hydroenergetic plans, as well as environmental targets to be achieved in relation to the management of water resources

Studying the cyclicality of the economy and prediction of new high risk of economic crises: a case study on the European countries from 1995 to 2018

From ancient time the economies had periods of expansion followed by recession, each crisis was determined by various internal or external factors. With globalization, economic interconnection and the liberalization of resource exchange between states, high risk of economic crises have sprung up. The main purpose of the article is to determine a data model, using specific data analysis techniques, and based on it to study the economic cyclicality in Europe and the prediction of a possible economic crisis. The study was conducted on a number of 37 indicators selected from 11 categories, a set of 29 countries in Europe and over a period of 24 years (19952018) using the K-Means algorithm. Grouping the data for each country in three classes and describing each class by taking into account the variables with the highest discriminative power, leads to the main conclusion that in the next several years, an economic crisis in Europe has a high probability to be a reality

Influence of spice and wine based marinades on bovine Biceps femoris muscle tenderness

Fresh beef slices were marinated by immersion in marinades based on dry red wine, lime-tree honey, salt, spices and seasoning plants as thyme (Thymus vulgaris), marjoram (Majorana hortensis), garlic (Allium sativum) and horseradish (Armoracia rusticana). Control samples were prepared without marinating treatment but packed and stored in the same conditions as marinated samples. After marination, meat pieces were packed under vacuum and stored at 4°C for 12 days. The combined effects of spices and marination on beef tenderness were evaluated by monitoring pH evolution, the protein and collagen degree of hydrolysis and tenderness. Experimental data indicated that marination weaken beef meat structure, producing improvement of functional properties of adult beef. Marinades use lead for an increase in the protein nitrogen fraction, free amino acids and hydroxyproline contents in boiled beef cuts. A significant increase in tenderness by hardness measurement was observed in the samples marinated and boiled, as compared with the control.Key words: Acidic marination, beef meat, marinating time, meat hardness, pH

A short observational study regarding the lifestyle intervention in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients - cohort 2010

To evaluate the results in metabolic control at newly discovered type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM) patients regarding the lifestyle optimization only. In this short (1 year) observational study we included a number of 1855 newly discovered T2DM patients. We compared body mass index (BMI), fasting blood glucose (FBG), HbA1c, triglycerides (TG), high density level cholesterol (HDLc) all these recorded initially at the diagnosis and then 1 year later. At baseline 52.91% males and 52.41% females were recommended only lifestyle and the rest was treated with metformin, sulfonylurea or insulin. After one year the patients who remained on lifestyle only decreased with only 5%, demonstrating that lifestyle optimization remains one of the most important "therapeutic" tools in the metabolic control of T2DM patients studied.Adipobiology 2012; 4: 103-106

Augmented Reality-Applied Informatics Technology to Products Maintenance, Repair and Servicing

Augmented Reality (AR) enhances a user's perception of the real world by enhancing it with specific objects that are over-imposed to the real objects. The virtual objects display information that the user may use. The information conveyed by the virtual objects helps a user perform real-world tasks. An augmented reality application is the assembly, maintenance, and repair of complex machinery or common goods. Instructions might be easier to understand if they were available, not as manuals with text and pictures, but rather as 3-D drawings superimposed upon the actual equipment, showing step-by-step the tasks that need to be done and how to do them. These superimposed 3-D drawings can be animated, making the directions even more explicit. This paper describes a proof-of-concept AR application to be used for office printer service operation

The impact of socio-demographic factors on depression and anxiety in the context of quality of life

In the current conditions of life, the analysis of mental illness must be defined through the lens of human relationships with environmental, social, cultural, and dynamic factors that substantially impact human mental balance. The study aims to analyze the correlations between depression and anxiety and different socio-demographic factors such as age, sex, background, occupation, identification of the medical impact (number of hospitalizations and number of days of hospitalization), presence of comorbidities and different methods of therapy, from the point of view of the therapeutic response. All these bio-psycho-social indicators translate relevant aspects of the disease on the population's quality of life

Efficient cellular and humoral immune response and production of virus-neutralizing antibodies by the Hepatitis B Virus S/preS1 16-42 antigen

Despite the availability of improved antiviral therapies, infection with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains a3 significant health issue, as a curable treatment is yet to be discovered. Current HBV vaccines relaying on the efficient expression of the small (S) envelope protein in yeast and the implementation of mass vaccination programs have clearly contributed to containment of the disease. However, the lack of an efficient immune response in up to 10% of vaccinated adults, the controversies regarding the seroprotection persistence in vaccine responders and the emergence of vaccine escape virus mutations urge for the development of better HBV immunogens. Due to the critical role played by the preS1 domain of the large (L) envelope protein in HBV infection and its ability to trigger virus neutralizing antibodies, including this protein in novel vaccine formulations has been considered a promising strategy to overcome the limitations of S only-based vaccines. In this work we aimed to combine relevant L and S epitopes in chimeric antigens, by inserting preS1 sequences within the external antigenic loop of S, followed by production in mammalian cells and detailed analysis of their antigenic and immunogenic properties. Of the newly designed antigens, the S/preS116–42 protein assembled in subviral particles (SVP) showed the highest expression and secretion levels, therefore, it was selected for further studies in vivo. Analysis of the immune response induced in mice vaccinated with S/preS116–42- and S-SVPs, respectively, demonstrated enhanced immunogenicity of the former and its ability to activate both humoral and cellular immune responses. This combined activation resulted in production of neutralizing antibodies against both wild-type and vaccine-escape HBV variants. Our results validate the design of chimeric HBV antigens and promote the novel S/preS1 protein as a potential vaccine candidate for administration in poor-responders to current HBV vaccines.publishedVersio

Treatment of axial spondyloarthritis patients with biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in 2022 - data from the Romanian Registry of Rheumatic Diseases

Objective. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to analyze data available in the Romanian Registry of Rheumatic Diseases (RRBR) in 2022 for axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) patients treated with biologic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs). Methods. From the RRBR electronic database were collected multiple variables, including patient’s demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment characteristics, patterns of treatment use (initiations, continuations, switching, tapering), and treatment efficacy data of axSpA patients, from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022. Results. In 2022, a total of 4315 axSpA patients were registered in the RRBR database: 70% were men, 48.4 years mean age, 13.3 years mean disease duration, 90% with radiographic axSpA, with high prevalence of extra-musculoskeletal manifestations and cardiovascular comorbidities. Most patients (88%) were treated with a tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi), usually in monotherapy. The most frequently prescribed bDMARDs were adalimumab (36%), etanercept (32%) and secukinumab (12%). The uptake of biosimilars reached one third of patients from molecules with available biosimilars in 2022. Most patients had a good clinical response, irrespective of clinical form, disease duration, type of medication or line of treatment. Medication switching was needed in 10% of patients, the main reason for switching was secondary loss of efficacy. Medication tapering was implemented in 11% of patients, and it was successful in 90% of cases. Conclusion. Data from RRBR provide a valuable real-world view of clinical practice at the national level regarding biologic treatment of axSpA patients

Efficient cellular and humoral immune response and production of virus-neutralizing antibodies by the Hepatitis B Virus S/preS116-42 antigen

Despite the availability of improved antiviral therapies, infection with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains a3 significant health issue, as a curable treatment is yet to be discovered. Current HBV vaccines relaying on the efficient expression of the small (S) envelope protein in yeast and the implementation of mass vaccination programs have clearly contributed to containment of the disease. However, the lack of an efficient immune response in up to 10% of vaccinated adults, the controversies regarding the seroprotection persistence in vaccine responders and the emergence of vaccine escape virus mutations urge for the development of better HBV immunogens. Due to the critical role played by the preS1 domain of the large (L) envelope protein in HBV infection and its ability to trigger virus neutralizing antibodies, including this protein in novel vaccine formulations has been considered a promising strategy to overcome the limitations of S only-based vaccines. In this work we aimed to combine relevant L and S epitopes in chimeric antigens, by inserting preS1 sequences within the external antigenic loop of S, followed by production in mammalian cells and detailed analysis of their antigenic and immunogenic properties. Of the newly designed antigens, the S/preS116–42 protein assembled in subviral particles (SVP) showed the highest expression and secretion levels, therefore, it was selected for further studies in vivo. Analysis of the immune response induced in mice vaccinated with S/preS116–42- and S-SVPs, respectively, demonstrated enhanced immunogenicity of the former and its ability to activate both humoral and cellular immune responses. This combined activation resulted in production of neutralizing antibodies against both wild-type and vaccine-escape HBV variants. Our results validate the design of chimeric HBV antigens and promote the novel S/preS1 protein as a potential vaccine candidate for administration in poor-responders to current HBV vaccines