Label-free fluorescence lifetime techniques for image-guided interventions

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ROMANIAN LABOUR MIGRATION IN EU AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON ROMANIAN COMPANIES

Romania is currently facing a labour crisis that has not ever known. The phenomenon is not new but has increased gradually so that companies operating in Romania encounter more difficulties in finding staff required for their activity. The reasons for this phenomenon are economic, plus the lack of national policies, that encourage young and skilled workforce to migrate. The article approach the migration of labour from Romania and focus on how this phenomenon affected companies\u27 activities and solutions they initiated to counter the impact of the phenomenon

Employment Rate and Gender Employment Gap in Romania in the Context of Europe 2020 Strategy

The situation of labour force is characterized by differences between EU Member States if werefer to the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy. These differences are really significant,especially if we analyze the situation starting from its structure, using variables such as region ordemographic characteristics. Our study aims to explain the reality of Romania situation in relationto other Member States regarding the employment rate set at European and national level. Thestudy is based on a quantitative analysis using descriptive statistics on employment. Finally, theyare synthesized directions and intervention measures to reduce the employment gap

Ethical aspects in managing patients diagnosed with digestive cancers; a review of literature

Numerous bioethical recommendations are now available in the complex process of communication with cancer patients. In this review, we have focused on the complex process of managing patients with different types of oncologic digestive diseases, immediately after the diagnosis is made. We have analyzed the literature data on the topic. MEDSCAPE and PubMed databases have been studied. Issues such as telling the truth to patients with digestive cancer, the physician\u27s responsibility in the psychological management of patients and their relatives, the nurses’ duties, the consented death, the practice of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) as well as the clinical research have been the main targets of our study

New oral anticoagulants and their reversal agents

Atrial fibrillation is a commonly encountered pathology in medical practice, and its prevalence has shown a continuous rise over the past years. Atrial fibrillation has a significant impact on patients\u27 quality of life, not only due to the standard anticoagulant treatment with vitamin K antagonists that require close monitoring and dose adjustment, but also due to the fragile equilibrium between hemorrhagic and thrombotic risks. The introduction of new oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in the treatment guidelines for atrial fibrillation has improved the quality of life, as NOACs do not require close monitoring or dose adjustments. However, even if the safety profile of the NOACs regarding the hemorrhagic risk is superior to vitamin K antagonists, the problem raised by an unexpected hemorrhage (e.g. severe hemorrhage after an accident) and the need for efficient hemostasis in a chronic anticoagulated patient has remained unsolved. To find a solution for this problem, reversal agents for NOACs have been developed and tested, and two of them, idarucizumab and andexanet-alpha, have already been approved by the FDA, thus making NOACs increasingly appealing as a choice of anticoagulation treatment

FLIm and raman spectroscopy for investigating biochemical changes of bovine pericardium upon genipin cross-linking

Biomaterials used in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications benefit from longitudinal monitoring in a non-destructive manner. Label-free imaging based on fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIm) and Raman spectroscopy were used to monitor the degree of genipin (GE) cross-linking of antigen-removed bovine pericardium (ARBP) at three incubation time points (0.5, 1.0, and 2.5 h). Fluorescence lifetime decreased and the emission spectrum redshifted compared to that of uncross-linked ARBP. The Raman signature of GE-ARBP was resonance-enhanced due to the GE cross-linker that generated new Raman bands at 1165, 1326, 1350, 1380, 1402, 1470, 1506, 1535, 1574, 1630, 1728, and 1741 cm-1. These were validated through density functional theory calculations as cross-linker-specific bands. A multivariate multiple regression model was developed to enhance the biochemical specificity of FLIm parameters fluorescence intensity ratio (R2 = 0.92) and lifetime (R2 = 0.94)) with Raman spectral results. FLIm and Raman spectroscopy detected biochemical changes occurring in the collagenous tissue during the cross-linking process that were characterized by the formation of a blue pigment which affected the tissue fluorescence and scattering properties. In conclusion, FLIm parameters and Raman spectroscopy were used to monitor the degree of cross-linking non-destructively. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

DIOXINS / FURANS (PCDDs/PCDFs) CONTROL IN CEMENT INDUSTRY IN ROMANIA

The most important sources of dioxins are waste incineration, industrial (dioxins are by-products), volcanic eruptions, fire, etc. The Romanian law 278/2013 provides the air emissions limit of 0.1 ng/Nm3 gases for dioxins and furans emitted by the incineration and co-incineration plants. Some aspects regarding the control of these substances in the gases from a cement factory in Romania are presented in this paper. In incineration plant were used various fuels. However, the substances level mentioned above was within the allowed limits

DIOXINS / FURANS (PCDDs/PCDFs) CONTROL IN CEMENT INDUSTRY IN ROMANIA

The most important sources of dioxins are waste incineration, industrial (dioxins are by-products), volcanic eruptions, fire, etc. The Romanian law 278/2013 provides the air emissions limit of 0.1 ng/Nm3 gases for dioxins and furans emitted by the incineration and co-incineration plants. Some aspects regarding the control of these substances in the gases from a cement factory in Romania are presented in this paper. In incineration plant were used various fuels. However, the substances level mentioned above was within the allowed limits

Innate Immune Responses of Drosophila Melanogaster are Altered by Spaceflight

Alterations and impairment of immune responses in humans present a health risk for space exploration missions. The molecular mechanisms under pinning innate immune defense can be confounded by the complexity of the acquired immune system of humans. Drosophila (fruit fly) innate immunity is simpler, and shares many similarities with human innate immunity at the level of molecular and genetic pathways. The goals of this study were to elucidate fundamental immune processes in Drosophila affected by spaceflight and to measure host-pathogen responses post-flight. Five containers, each containing ten female and five male fruit flies, were housed and bred on the space shuttle (average orbit altitude of330.35 km) for 12 days and 18.5 hours. A new generation of flies was reared in microgravity. In larvae, the immune system was examined by analyzing plasmatocyte number and activity in culture. In adults, the induced immune responses were analyzed by bacterial clearance and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) of selected genes following infection with E. coli. The RNA levels of relevant immune pathway genes were determined in both larvae and adults by microarray analysis. The ability of larval plasmatocytes to phagocytose E. coli in culture was attenuated following spaceflight, and in parallel, the expression of genes involved in cell maturation was down regulated. In addition, the level of constitutive expression of pattern recognition receptors and opsonins that specifically recognize bacteria, and of lysozymes, antimicrobial peptide (AMP) pathway and immune stress genes, hallmarks of humoral immunity, were also reduced in larvae. In adults, the efficiency of bacterial clearance measured in vivo following a systemic infection with E. coli post-flight, remained robust. We show that spaceflight altered both cellular and humoral immune responses in Drosophila and that the disruption occurs at multiple interacting pathways