L'état de la démocratie en Roumanie: difficultés nationales, solutions européennes

Twenty years since the beginning of the democratization process and four years since the accession to the European Union, the debates taking place in the Romanian public space are dominated by the rhetoric of the crisis. Based on the frame analysis, this article analyses the discourses of the main Romanian political parties, held during the 2009 European election's campaign, in order to examine the links between the images of Europe and the perceptions of the state of the Romanian democracy. The paper argues that for the Romanian political elite the European Union is a structure of economic, normative and identity opportunity. This image of Europe is shaped by their perceptions on the functioning of the Romanian democracy

Breast and Cervix Uteri: Rare Locations for Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Infections and Complications-Cases Report and Literature Review

Breast and cervix uteri are rare locations for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MbT) infection and MbT association to cervical cancer is more rare in European countries. This chapter analyses two cases of rare locations of tuberculosis (TB) in young Romanian women. The first patient presented a chronic primary TB breast abscess, non-pregnancy related with periods of apparent healing and repeated areolar fistula formation. In the second case, the unexpected discovery of secondary TB endocervical granulomatous inflammation with caseous necrosis on a radical hysterectomy specimen, performed after chemoradiotherapy for squamous non-keratinizing cell carcinoma is presented. Worldwide incidence, risk factors, hypothetic mechanisms of primary/secondary breast and cervix uteri MbT infection, the association to high-risk HPV, microbiological diagnosis difficulties, the differentials to pyogenic abscesses, other chronic granulomas and breast cancer treatment issues are presented in the reviewed literature, focusing on the peculiarities of these rare locations and complications. It is recalled an old concept of “therapeutic antitubercular” test when all other assessments steps are usefulness

L’émigration vue par ceux qui restent: l’imaginaire de la migration à Cahul, Moldavie

Partant d’une série d’entretiens et de focus-groupes effectués à Cahul, troisième ville de la République de Moldavie à la frontière de l’Union européenne, cet article montre que l’émigration est un filtre majeur qui forge la perception des Moldaves de leur réalité. Les auteurs font ressortir la façon dont les discours sur l’émigration s’articulent avec les représentations que les personnes interrogées se font de leur pays et, plus largement, de l’Europe. Leurs expériences d’émigration contribuent aussi à la construction, au niveau collectif, du portrait du « migrant moldave » et permettent, au niveau individuel, à ceux qui sont restés de justifier discursivement leur désir de partir ou de rester

Synergistic Effects in Nanoparticle-Based Protective Coatings for Paper and Textiles

Superhydrophobic materials have attracted considerable attention during the last decades,since they allow the facile transfer of special wettability properties on various surfaces [...

Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR)—A Useful Tool for the Prognosis of Sepsis in the ICU

Sepsis is a life-threatening medical emergency induced by the body′s extreme response to an infection. Despite well-defined and constantly updated criteria for diagnosing sepsis, it is still underdiagnosed worldwide. Among various markers studied over time, the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) recently emerged as a good marker to predict sepsis severity. Our study was a single-center prospective observational study performed in our ICU and included 114 patients admitted for sepsis or septic shock. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is easy to perform, CBC being one of the standard blood tests routinely performed upon admission for all ICU patients. We found that NLR was increased in all patients with sepsis and significantly raised in those with septic shock. NLR correlates significantly with sepsis severity evaluated by the SOFA score (R = 0.65) and also with extensively studied sepsis prognosis marker presepsin (R = 0.56). Additionally, NLR showed good sensitivity (47%) and specificity (78%) with AUC = 0.631 (p < 0.05). NLR is less expensive and easier to perform compared with other specific markers and may potentially become a good alternate option for evaluation of sepsis severity. Larger studies are needed in the future to demonstrate the prognosis value of NLR