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Ambient concentrations of carbon monoxide in the vicinity of or inside urban and industrial areas can substantially exceed environmental background levels and can be detrimental to human health and welfare. In this period of analysis (July 2006 - March 2007), the maximum allowable concentration (MAC) was exceeded especially at Mihai Bravu and Cercul Militar. The accompanying diagrams showing the time evolution and charts revealing the spatial distribution of CO ambient air concentrations (based on GIS techniques) can be useful instruments in identifying the potential risk areas, like the important streets in the center of Bucharest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in women. Most deaths from breast cancer are due to recurrences or metastatic disease. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of age in treatment strategy correlated with clinicopathological features. Methodology: In this retrospective study, 60 female patients with histologically-confirmed primary breast cancer were included. The women were treated in the Oncofort Hospital Bucharest, Romania between 2018 and 2020. The estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and HER2 status were determined using immunohistochemistry. Results. The mean age was 34.14 years (range = 24 – 40 years). Invasive ductal carcinoma of no specific type was seen in 84.1% of patients. The rates of grade I, II and III carcinomas were 6.7%, 28,3% and 65%, respectively. Among all patients, 33.3% had estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor positive tumors and 66.66% had estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor negative tumors. The proportion of patients overexpressing oncoprotein HER2 was 13.3%. Conclusion. Prognostic value of proliferation index (Ki-67) and hormonal receptors, may vary depending on age.

Areas subject to flooding must be carefully analyzed to make correct measures for preventing disasters that impact the population’s lives and economy. In this article, we propose a flood potential index (FPI) to estimate flood susceptibility, using an optimal selection of weights for the criteria contributing to flooding risk evaluation. Comparisons with the situation when equal weights are assigned to each factor are exemplified in a case study from the Vărbilău catchment (Romania). The study reveals the necessity of an objective factor weighting choice for determining the flooded zones. The results are validated with the available data from the Romanian Waters Institute.

The primary objective of this research was to ascertain the optimal circumstances for the successful growth of black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliott) using tissue culture techniques. Additionally, the study aimed to explore the potential use of machine learning algorithms in this context. The present research investigated a range of in vitro parameters such as total number of roots (TNR), longest root length (LRL), average root length (ARL), number of main roots (NMR), number of siblings (NS), shoot length (SL), shoot diameter (SD), leaf width (LW), and leaf length (LL) for Aronia explants cultivated in different media (Murashige and Skoog (MS) and woody plant medium (WPM)) with different concentrations (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 mg L−1) of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). The study showed that IBA hormone levels may affect WPM properties, affecting the LRL and ARL variables. Aronia explant media treated with 2 mg L−1 IBA had the greatest TNR, NMR, NS, SL, and SD values; 31.67 pieces, 2.37 pieces, 5.25 pieces, 66.60 mm, and 2.59 mm, in that order. However, Aronia explants treated with 1 mg L−1 IBA had the highest LW (9.10 mm) and LL (14.58 mm) values. Finally, Aronia explants containing 0.5 mg L−1 IBA had the greatest LRL (89.10 mm) and ARL (57.57 mm) values. In general, the results observed (TNR, LRL, ARL, NMR, NS, SL, SD, LW, and LL) indicate that Aronia explants exhibit superior growth and development in WPM (25.68 pieces, 68.10 mm, 51.64 mm, 2.17 pieces, 4.33 pieces, 57.95 mm, 2.49 mm, 8.08 mm, and 14.26 mm, respectively) as opposed to MS medium (20.27 pieces, 59.92 mm, 47.25 mm, 1.83 pieces, 3.57 pieces, 49.34 mm, 2.13 mm, 6.99 mm, and 12.21 mm, respectively). In the context of the in vitro culturing of Aronia explants utilizing MS medium and WPM, an analysis of machine learning models revealed that the XGBoost and SVM models perform better than the RF, KNN, and GP models when it comes to making predictions about those variables. In particular, the XGBoost model stood out due to the fact that it had the greatest R-squared value, and showed higher predictive ability in terms of properly forecasting values in comparison to actual outcomes. The findings of a linear regression (LR) analysis were used in order to conduct an efficacy study of the XGBoost model. The LR results especially confirmed the findings for the SD, NS, and NMR variables, whose R-squared values were more than 0.7. This demonstrates the extraordinary accuracy that XGboost has in predicting these particular variables. As a consequence of this, it is anticipated that it will be beneficial to make use of the XGboost model in the dosage optimization and estimation of in vitro parameters in micropropagation studies of the Aronia plant for further scientific investigation.

One of the most popular and effective orthopedic surgical interventions for treating a variety of hip diseases is total hip arthroplasty. Despite being a radical procedure that involves replacing bone and cartilaginous surfaces with biomaterials, it produces excellent outcomes that significantly increase the patient’s quality of life. Patient factors and surgical technique, as well as biomaterials, play a role in prosthetic survival, with aseptic loosening (one of the most common causes of total hip arthroplasty failure) being linked to the quality of biomaterials utilized. Over the years, various biomaterials have been developed to limit the amount of wear particles generated over time by friction between the prosthetic head (metal alloys or ceramic) and the insert fixed in the acetabular component (polyethylene or ceramic). An ideal biomaterial must be biocompatible, have a low coefficient of friction, be corrosion resistant, and have great mechanical power. Comprehensive knowledge regarding what causes hip arthroplasty failure, as well as improvements in biomaterial quality and surgical technique, will influence the survivability of the prosthetic implant. The purpose of this article was to assess the benefits and drawbacks of various biomaterial and friction couples used in total hip arthroplasties by reviewing the scientific literature published over the last 10 years.

Background and Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the incidence of lower extremity amputations (LEAs) in a representative population from Romania, in both diabetic and non-diabetic adults, including trauma-related amputations. The secondary objective was to evaluate the trends in LEAs and the overall ratio of major-to-minor amputations. Material and Methods: The study was retrospective and included data from the Romanian National Hospital Discharge Records, conducted between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2019. Results: The overall number of cases with LEAs was 88,102, out of which 38,590 were aterosclerosis-related LEAs, 40,499 were diabetes-related LEAs, and 9013 were trauma-related LEAs, with an ascending trend observed annually for each of these categories. Of the total non-traumatic amputations, 51.2% were in patients with diabetes. Most LEAs were in men. The total incidence increased from 80.61/100,000 in 2015 to 98.15/100,000 in 2019. Conclusions: Our study reported a 21% increase in total LEAs, 22.01% in non-traumatic LEAs, and 19.65% in trauma-related amputation. The minor-to-major amputation ratio increased over the study period in patients with diabetes. According to these findings, it is estimated that currently, in Romania, there is one diabetes-related amputation every hour and one non-traumatic amputation every 30 min.

Multiple Sclerosis is a neurological disorder consisting in autoimmune and inflammatory manifestations. Its evolution is characterized by axonal demyelination among the central nervous system. A growing body of evidence suggests lately that vitamin D deficiency is a very common condition in Multiple Sclerosis. On the other hand, during the last years, several studies have shown a correlation between high vitamin D serum levels and a decreased risk either for developing this illness or preventing its evolution towards disability. Vitamin D is currently being considered an important environmental factor for this disease, therefore being widely debated whether its supplementation would actually be beneficial, and if yes, what results can be expected in such a therapeutic approach. Our brief look upon some of the latest results in the fi eld of research for this matter is intended to synthesize what is known at this moment and what future directions would be.