Realizzazione e caratterizzazione di scaffolds per la rigenerazione del tessuto muscolare scheletrico

Il muscolo scheletrico è in grado di autorigenerarsi in seguito a lesioni da traumi diretti, come attività fisiche intensive e lacerazioni, ma è incapace di recuperare grosse perdite di massa, come quelle dovute a gravi traumi, danni da denervazione, difetti congeniti o ablazioni conseguenti a tumori. Se lasciato non riparato, queste lesioni possono portare conseguentemente alla perdita di massa muscolare, a deficit locomotore e nel peggiore dei casi letalità. Attualmente non esistono tecniche definitive per la rigenerazione del muscolo, per questo motivo, nell’ultimo decennio l’ingegneria tessutale si è occupata di investigare metodi alternativi di riparazione, quali l’ingegnerizzazione in vitro del muscolo tramite la realizzazione di matrici biodegradabili e biocompatibili sul quale crescere i precursori muscolari. Questo lavoro di tesi è stato svolto con lo scopo di creare dei presupposti per l’ingegnerizzazione del muscolo scheletrico. Sono state realizzate delle matrici composte di polimeri di origine sintetica come Poli (l-acido glicolico) (PLGA), Poli (l- acido lattico) (PLLA), Poli (Ɛ-caprolattone) (PCL) e di origine naturale, a base di gelatina. Le diverse matrici sono state caratterizzate dal punto di vista meccanico in modo da verificare la composizione con le proprietà elastiche più simili a quelle del muscolo in vivo. Inoltre, è stata valutata la biocompatibilità di tali scaffolds con linee cellulari di mioblasti murini tramite saggi di vitalità cellulare. Sulla base dei risultati ottenuti, con l’utilizzo della soft-litografia, il materiale più idoneo è stato modificato superficialmente in modo da ricreare la struttura allineata tipica del muscolo scheletrico. Sono state create delle strutture con un andamento lineare caratterizzate da canali di vario spessore sulle quali è stato studiato il differenziamento dei mioblasti in miotubi. In particolare è stata valutata l’influenza del pattern sull’orientamento e sulla forma dei singoli nuclei dei mioblasti, e l’effetto sull’allineamento dei miotubi stessi

Analysis of the Romanian’s attitude towards purchasing a mobile phone- between hedonic and utilitarian

Abstract: Attitude is the basis of consumer behaviour. To better understand this aspect of the behaviour all relevant attributes of a product or service must be studied. Therefore, the main purpose is to better understand the individual and make him your customer. Thus, the behaviour combines logical, cognitive, utilitarian aspects, as well as aspects related to emotions, feelings, affectivity (the hedonic component) and the attitude takes these two hypotheses to which it is added the intentional side. This concerns the intention of an individual after he has formed an idea, an opinion regarding a service or a product. Objectives: This paper deals with only two aspects of the attitude, namely the utilitarian/cognitive side and the hedonic/affective side. To obtain concrete results in what concerns the attitude of the consumers between hedonic and utilitarian we have conducted a quantitative research through which we analyzed the attitude of the inhabitants of Iasi towards buying a mobile phone, using a sample of 200 people living in Iasi. Prior Work: We, as researchers, have conducted previous researches using either the same topic (hedonic vs. utilitarian motivation), or the same product/industry (mobile phone/telephony) Approach: The problem that we submit to research is determining the proportion of hedonic and utilitarian that is involved in the purchase of a mobile phone in a temporal horizon of 6 months. Mobile phones are becoming more and more necessary, this being the reason why a growing number of persons have such an item. But the great rate to which they are renewed shows that the concept of pleasure interferes more and more in buying and having them. Thus, the purchase of a mobile phone must respond to both rational and emotional demands. Results: Starting from the main objective, we want to determine the proportion of the cognitive components as well as affective ones of the attitude of the mobile phone buyers from the inhabitants of Iasi- the biggest city from the North-East of Romania. Implications: As a direction for further researches we thing that it could be attempted to find out the consumption or the daily use of the mobile phone or what applications are mostly used on a mobile phone (in this situation, there should be taken into consideration a new aspect, namely the occupation, which will be an important factor to influence consumption). Once this aspect is discovered, it could be attempted to find out if the mainly utilitarian attitude derives from this factor. As it is used a lot, the mobile phone may lose some of the features that meet people's affective needs. Value Starting from the constitutive components of the attitude, we have studied the utilitarian/cognitive dimensions

Potential therapies against SARS-CoV-2 virus evaluated in large-scale clinical trials

COVID-19 is a viral disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans manifests as mild symptoms to severe respiratory failure. The development of vaccines against coronaviruses faces several inherent challenges in its establishment as safe and effective, but also in production and distribution. Therefore, supportive treatments are more achievable in a short period of time in controlling the pandemic. Treatment is mainly based on controlling symptoms and inhibiting viral replication. Antivirals are more effective the earlier they are administered during the course of the disease, preferably starting from the first days of evolution; the benefit/risk ratio is the higher the patient has a higher risk of severe evolution. That is why antivirals are primarily administered to patients with nonsevere forms of the disease who have risk factors for severe evolution. Immunomodulatory drugs enhance the immune response against pathogens and may offer a therapeutic approach to treatment of viral diseases, having a significant prophylactic activity in the acute respiratory viral infection. There is a strong scientific rationale which suggest that viral diseases respond to immunomodulatory drugs. People protected with antivirals, immunomodulatory drugs or vaccines often have the disease in a milder or asymptomatic form. In Romania, the latest treatment protocol for COVID-19 includes immunomodulatory, antiviral and anti-inflammatory medication

The Eastern Migration and the Labor Markets in the EU: The Case of Romanian Workers in Spain

This paper focuses on one of the most debated issues in the context of Eastern enlargement, id est the ‘danger’ of expected massive East-West migration, and its impact on the labor market in the EU. During the 90’s, a large number of immigrants arrived in Western European states from the Eastern part of the continent. Some factors induced a negative perception on East-West migration shared by the public opinion. We refer to the relatively high rate of unemployment in the EU countries, while the presence of immigrants is seen as a source of pressure on labor market supply. To address the public opinion’s fears, transitional arrangements concerning free movement of workers from the new 8 Central and Eastern members have been implemented. Similar arrangements are being concluded between each EU country and the future new members -Romania and Bulgaria – on a bilateral base. The free movement of labor is one of the four pillars of EU Internal Market. It was assumed that the right of free movement would be followed by appropriate geographical and occupational mobility. The real picture is very different from what was expected and, in spite of a high unemployment rate, the intra-EU mobility continues to be very low. Given the above mentioned, the East-West migration and its impact on the labor market have to be examined in the context of the paradoxical situation in the EU countries: unemployment and shortages in labor supply. Most recent studies clearly showed that the enlargement had a positive impact on the EU labor market, and the flow of workers from the East did not crowd out the workers in the host countries. Put it differently, the migrants fit more the labor market demand, probably on a complementary base. Our micro-study intended to reveal the role of Romanian migrant workers in one of the most dynamic EU economies. To this end we carried out a research based on questionnaires. Given the limited number of responses, our findings cannot be generalized. Still, they complement the knowledge on this issue. The paper is structured as follows: the first chapter makes a short literature review concerning the immigration and the EU labor market; based on statistics, the second chapter analyses several aspects of the mobility issue in the EU labor market, while the core of the paper is a case study, based on questionnaires, on Romanian workers in Spain, illustrating the immigrants’ role in one of the most dynamic economies. The last part concludes

FDI Determinants: Case of Romania

FDI in Romania, Reasons for FDI, Factor analyses, Regression analyses, Main determinants, F21, F23,

The impact of medicines shortages on pharmaceutical practice

Access to medicines is a fundamental human right and is a vital element of health care. Over the last 10 years, there has been a tendency for the global discontinuation of drug supply to become a major problem, with an increasing exacerbation of this phenomenon in the European Union, with a potential negative impact on patient health care due to multiple causes (manufacturing problems, drug pricing policy, parallel export etc.). National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of Romania (NAMMDR) argues, in full agreement with European Medicines Agency, that in this situation effective collaboration between the various stakeholders and regulators is required, and also a good communication between manufacturers, distributors and authorities. It is a point of view that NAMMDR supported in the working meetings with the representatives of the marketing authorization holders/ manufacturers, wholesale distribution, patient associations. According to pharmacists, situations have been reported in which patients tend to stock up on medicines, and this puts additional pressure on existing stocks. In this work, we intended to draw attention to the medicine shortages issue which has a huge impact on national health systems, on patients′ safety, on public health and healthcare professionals

A common methodology for risk assessment and mapping for south-east Europe: an application for heat wave risk in Romania

Abstract in dt. Sprache nicht vorhandenAssessment of risk considering both the probability of occurrence of a natural phenomenon and its consequences on the elements at risk is an essential step before the design of adequate risk reduction strategies in local, regional or national level. Within the EU-funded project SEERISK “Joint disaster management risk assessment and preparedness for the Danube macro-region”, a common methodology for risk assessment and mapping for climate change-related hazards has been developed. Vulnerability assessment is a large part of the risk assessment procedure, and it requires a considerable amount of detailed data. The methodology for risk assessment presented here is in line with the EC Guidelines for Risk Assessment and Mapping, and it provides alternatives in order to tackle the problem of varying data quality and quantity necessary for the analysis of hazard and vulnerability. In the present study, the methodology is adapted for heat waves and is applied in the city of Arad, Romania. Based on data regarding surface temperatures and emergency services interventions from past events during the daytime and the night-time, two hazard and two impact maps were developed, respectively, as well as a risk matrix for the night- and the daytime. A heat wave risk map was then developed that can be used by the emergency planners and services in order to prioritise their actions and focus on the hotspots as far as potential victims are concerned. The results of the case study apart from providing a tool for decision-makers and emergency planers also demonstrate the applicability of the common risk assessment methodology developed as being a profound theoretical basis for distinct risk-mapping exercises.(VLID)136347

Severe Acute Ischemia of Glans Penis after Achieving Treatment with Only Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: A Rare Case Report and Systematic Literature Review

Acute ischemia of the glands is a severe complication after circumcision. We outline the challenging case of a seventeen-year-old boy with glandular ischemia (GI) that appeared shortly after circumcision. Methods: We present a case report and literature review related to glans ischemia, and the complications of circumcision are reviewed. We note that there are very few cases described in the literature. Our patient was successfully treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) after four days of no positive effect after all medical and surgical treatments written in the literature: Subcutaneous enoxaparin, local application of a glyceryl trinitrate, continuous epidural perfusion, intravenous pentoxifylline, alprostadil, intraoperative drainage, and aspiration with saline solution and epinephrine. Clinical improvement was noted at the first session of HBOT. A number of days after the operation, the penis looked normal and was healing. Complete healing of the penile glans was successfully realized one month after surgery. Conclusion: Based on the review and the case presented, we conclude that HBOT is the treatment of choice for acute ischemia of the penile glans, especially when other treatments do not work