The Influence of Friction Forces in Metal Powders Compaction Process of Stainless Steel 316L

The purpose of this study is to determine as precisely the influence of friction in the compaction of powders, and "conversion" of it, increasing densification. The process is intended to be used in the compaction of hard deformable materials, which increased to approximately 90% densification required very high compaction pressures. These pressures are high, significant wear of the tools produce the compaction and thereby increasing production costs of finished parts from metal powders

Superplastic Behavior of 2024 Aluminum Alloy Sheet Subjected to Thermomechanical Processing

This paper describes the superplastic behavior of the commercial 2024 aluminum alloy. The investigated alloy was processed in a 3 mm thick sheet form. The superplastic properties of the alloy were investigated using an uniaxial tensile testing, with a constant strain rate in the range 8 x 10-4 ÷ 1 x 10-2 s-1, at temperatures in the range 450 ÷ 480 oC. The investigations included the determination of the truestrain, the true-stress caracteristics, the elongation to failure, the strain-rate sensitivity exponent m and the aspect of the alloy microstructure. Elongations to failure longer than 200% for the fine grained 2024 aluminum alloy were obtained at 460o and lower strain rates and at 480 oC and a higher strain rate

Validation of distinct pathogenic patterns in a cohort of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis patients by cluster analysis

Background: A novel data-driven cluster analysis identified distinct pathogenic patterns in C3-glomerulopathies and immune complex-mediated membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. Our aim was to replicate these observations in an independent cohort and elucidate disease pathophysiology with detailed analysis of functional complement markers. ----- Methods: A total of 92 patients with clinical, histological, complement and genetic data were involved in the study, and hierarchical cluster analysis was done by Ward method, where four clusters were generated. ----- Results: High levels of sC5b-9 (soluble membrane attack complex), low serum C3 levels and young age at onset (13 years) were characteristic for Cluster 1 with a high prevalence of likely pathogenic variations (LPVs) and C3 nephritic factor, whereas for Cluster 2-which is not reliable because of the small number of cases-strong immunoglobulin G staining, low C3 levels and high prevalence of nephritic syndrome at disease onset were observed. Low plasma sC5b-9 levels, decreased C3 levels and high prevalence of LPV and sclerotic glomeruli were present in Cluster 3, and patients with late onset of the disease (median: 39.5 years) and near-normal C3 levels in Cluster 4. A significant difference was observed in the incidence of end-stage renal disease during follow-up between the different clusters. Patients in Clusters 3-4 had worse renal survival than patients in Clusters 1-2. ----- Conclusions: Our results confirm the main findings of the original cluster analysis and indicate that the observed, distinct pathogenic patterns are replicated in our cohort. Further investigations are necessary to analyse the distinct biological and pathogenic processes in these patient groups

C4 nephritic factor in patients with immune-complex-mediated membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis and C3-glomerulopathy

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DENTAL MANAGEMENT OF THE CARDIAC PATIENTS

Recent epidemiological studies reveal that oral pathogens are co-factors in the formation of atheroma plaques and the advanced periodontitis represents a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. The pathogenic bacterial burden reprents the essential in the association of coronary artery disease with periodontitis, which is extremely relevant to the periodontal lesions that develop in the oral cavity, a space crossed by the most unexpected bacterial combinations from alimentation and air. The main objective of the study is to determine the prevalence of bacterial burden in cardiac patients with periodontal disease and to follow up the effects of dental procedures associated with low-doses of antibiotics in relation with coronary atherosclerotic disease. The study implies a lot of 92 patients undergoing the following investigations: 1. Panoramic radiography of the oral cavity, 2. Clinical examination of the oral cavity, 3. Bacterial examination on the dental plaque’s level 4. identification of the presence of serum inflammatory markers, 5. Bio-humoral examinations, 6. Cardiology specialty examination. The control of periodontal infection could lead to the improvement in the levels of systemic inflammation markers and in those of endothelial dysfunction’s markers. As far as the control of periodontal infection decreases the incidence of coronary atherosclerotic cardiovascular events can be assumed that the dental management of cardiovascular disease is in progress

A Brief Insight into the Study of Informal Health Care Payments in Romania

<p>Informal health care payments are a frequently studied topic in Eastern European health care systems, given their impact on the financing of the health care sector. The Romanian health care system is facing the issue of informal payments for a long period. However, little evidence exists regarding the dimension of these payments, or the stakeholders’ attitudes towards them. This article aims at identifying people’s sources of informal payments, as well as their perceptions about the settings where informal payments are offered. Data were collected by means of a telephonic interview. 1,500 individuals who were part of a nationally representative sample were interviewed, out of which, for the present article, a subsample of 647 respondents was extracted. To serve this purpose, a 5-part questionnaire was developed by the research team. The amount of money offered as informal payments varied between 2 and 3,000 Euros. Out of the total sample population, 44.2% believe that in the inpatient surgery care services gifts are offered most frequently, while 55.31% of respondents place inpatient surgery care as being the place where highest amounts of money are given. This may represent a threat for people’s access to this type of services, as well as for the equity of care across different socio-economic categories. As such, policies aimed at addressing informal payments should take into account these particularities.</p

Informal Payments in the Health Care System - Research, Media and Policy

<p>Informal payments in the health system refer to any payment made outside the legal funding framework. The existence of the phenomenon in Central and Eastern European countries relates to the characteristics of the health systems in the communist period. The analysis is based on three types of data: a set of data gathered from literature review; a second set of data gathered from online media; and a third set of data collected from legislative and public policy. The analysis was pursued using the key words such as informal payment, under-the-table payment, out-of-pocket payment, envelope payment, healthcare corruption, under-the-counter payment. As reflected in the media reports and even publicly recognized by the officials of the Ministry of Health, informal payments are a serious problem of the Romanian healthcare system. Nevertheless, the studies pursued by local researchers are inconsistent with the actual magnitude of the problem. Besides that, there is a serious gap between the findings in this area and the policies intended to reduce the phenomenon.</p

Electric vehicles in smart grid and smart city for Petroşani case

The success of the development of electric vehicles and the increase in demand for their purchase amid greater autonomy of power systems and the development of charging infrastructure also highlights the possibility of using these vehicles as an integral part of a Smart Grid system in the context of sustainable urban development around the extended ideas of the Smart City concept in which other innovative concepts can be integrated. This paper aims to present new research developed around the idea of Smart City in Petroşani, starting from electric vehicles that can serve both as a means of transport and monitoring system of environmental parameters but can also be integrated into the electricity network so that in periods of high consumption it can supply electricity when needed and in periods of over-production to charge their batteries. Although at present at the level of Petroşani there are not many electric vehicles that can become part of the electricity network, this idea is applicable especially in a public or private facility with the possibility of scaling in the future

Acute Myocardial Infarction during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Long-Term Outcomes and Prognosis—A Systematic Review

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was a global pandemic with high mortality and morbidity that led to an increased health burden all over the world. Although the virus mostly affects the pulmonary tract, cardiovascular implications are often observed among COVID-19 patients and are predictive of poor outcomes. Increased values of myocardial biomarkers such as troponin I or NT-proBNP were proven to be risk factors for respiratory failure. Although the risk of acute coronary syndromes (ACSs) was greater in the acute phase of COVID-19, there were lower rates of hospitalization for ACSs, due to patients’ hesitation in presenting at the hospital. Hospitalized ACSs patients with COVID-19 infection had a prolonged symptom-to-first-medical-contact time, and longer door-to-balloon time. The mechanisms of myocardial injury in COVID-19 patients are still not entirely clear; however, the most frequently implicated factors include the downregulation of ACE2 receptors, endothelial dysfunction, pro-coagulant status, and increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the long-term outcomes and prognosis of COVID-19 survivors that presented an acute myocardial infarction, by reviewing existing data. The importance of the association between this infectious disease and myocardial infarction arises from the increased mortality of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and AMI (10–76%, compared with 4.6% for NSTEMI patients and 7% for STEMI patients without COVID-19). The literature review showed an increased risk of cardiovascular events in COVID-19 survivors compared with the general population, even after the acute phase of the disease, with poorer long-term outcomes