Publications by authors named "Balan C"

Article Synopsis
  • - This study compared the effectiveness of two anesthesia techniques, superficial parasternal intercostal plane block (SPIPB) and erector spinae plane block (ESPB), for reducing opioid use during elective open-heart surgery.
  • - The results showed that SPIPB was not inferior to ESPB in reducing intraoperative fentanyl consumption, but patients receiving SPIPB needed significantly more morphine post-surgery and experienced higher pain scores during recovery.
  • - Overall, while SPIPB did not meet the goal of lowering intraoperative opioid use, it was associated with worse postoperative pain management outcomes compared to ESPB, indicating a need for further investigation into optimal pain control strategies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Fluid administration has traditionally focused on preload responsiveness (PR). However, preventing fluid intolerance, particularly due to systemic venous congestion (VC), is equally important. This study evaluated the incidence and predictability of VC following a 7 ml/kg crystalloid infusion in fluid-tolerant preload-responders and its association with adverse outcomes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Craniospinal irradiation (CSI) is a complex radiotherapy (RT) technique required for treating specific brain tumors and some hematologic malignancies. With large volumes of hematogenous bone marrow (BM) being irradiated, CSI could cause acute hematologic toxicity, leading to treatment interruptions or severe complications. We report on the dynamics and dose/volume predictors of hematologic toxicity during CSI.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study aims to assess the composition of scattered particles generated in proton therapy for tumors situated proximal to some titanium (Ti) dental implants. The investigation involves decomposing the mixed field and recording Linear Energy Transfer (LET) spectra to quantify the influence of metallic dental inserts located behind the tumor.A therapeutic conformal proton beam was used to deliver the treatment plan to an anthropomorphic head phantom with two types of implants inserted in the target volume (made of Ti and plastic, respectively).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

: Our aim was to perform a retrospective analysis of the volume of cervical screening tests, the number of patients treated with an excision method, and the incidence of invasive and non-invasive cervical during a pandemic and pre-pandemic period of 24 months. : The study compared 404 patients who underwent cervical cone biopsy for cervical cancer. The study examined patients' specimens based on histopathological characteristics and categorized cervical lesions based on pap smear.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The current study deals with an examination of strategies for the sequential treatment of corn stalks (CSs) in an integrated manner aiming to obtain papermaking fibers and to recover both lignin and hemicelluloses (HCs). Several pathways of valorization were experimentally trialed, focusing on getting information from mass balance analysis in an attempt to reveal the potential outcomes in terms of pulp yield, chemical composition, and papermaking properties such as tensile and burst strength. The raw lignin amounts and purity as well as separated hemicelluloses were also characterized.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This systematic review evaluates the clinical outcomes and molecular predictors of response to pembrolizumab in patients with advanced and metastatic cervical cancer. We adhered to the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews, conducting a database search in PubMed, Scopus, and Embase. The eligibility criteria centered on clinical outcomes, including the overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and immune-related biomarkers post-pembrolizumab therapy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Two innovative early/late Ti-Pt-heterobimetallic complexes were synthesized, characterized, and screened in cell-based assays using several human (SW480 and MDA-MB-231) and murine cancer cell lines (CT26 and EMT6) as well as a non-cancerous cell line (HMEC). The combination of the two metals - titanium(IV) and platinum (IV) - in a single molecule led to a synergistic biological activity (higher anti-proliferative properties than a mixture of each of the corresponding monometallic complexes). This study also investigated the benefits of associating a metal-free terpyridine moiety (with intrinsic biological activity) with a water-soluble titanocene fragment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The study investigates morphological variants of tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) in relation to cervical cancer development, from intraepithelial neoplastic lesions to invasive carcinomas with locoregional lymph node metastases.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective analysis comprised 100 cervical cancer cases who had had total hysterectomy with lymphadenectomy in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic of the Municipal Emergency Clinical Hospital of Timisoara, Romania, from 2020 to 2023. Bilateral ilio obturator lymphadenectomy and total hysterectomy were used to acquire biopsy samples.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The present study deals with the valorization of corn stalks in an integrated processing strategy targeting two products: extracted hemicelluloses (HC) and papermaking fibers. Preliminary trials were conducted to assess the individual or the combined effects of biomass treatment on the quality of the obtained hemicelluloses and papermaking fibers. Depending on the hot alkaline extraction (HAE) conditions, the extracted HC had a xylan content between 44-63%.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Unlabelled: This study aimed to determine whether autochthonous high-intensity microfilaremia leads to haematological changes in companion dogs. Dogs with hypermicrofilaremia presented to the District Veterinary Centre, Kannur were selected for the study. A total of 100 dogs were positive for hypermicrofilariaemia with based on peripheral blood smear examination and Knott's test.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Acute kidney injury is a common complication of COVID-19, frequently fuelled by a complex interplay of factors. These include tubular injury and three primary drivers of cardiocirculatory instability: heart-lung interaction abnormalities, myocardial damage, and disturbances in fluid balance. Further complicating this dynamic, renal vulnerability to a "second-hit" injury, like a SARS-CoV-2 infection, is heightened by advanced age, chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes mellitus.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • This study evaluates a deep-learning, MRI-based auto-contouring tool aimed at improving the speed and accuracy of delineating brain organs at risk during radiotherapy, compared to manual methods.
  • The research involved analyzing data from thirty patients, where both AI-generated contours and manually corrected contours were compared using various accuracy metrics like Dice Similarity Coefficient and mean surface distance.
  • Results indicated that auto-contouring was significantly faster than manual contouring, with good accuracy for larger structures; however, improvements are needed for smaller structures to enhance overall effectiveness in clinical practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We report the synthesis of a new generation of phenoxy-amidine ligands based on an aryloxy moiety possessing an -linked trisubstituted amidine. The reaction of the phenol-amidine proligands with aluminum and zinc alkyls gave mono- or bis-ligated complexes depending on the metal/ligand ratio used. The solid-state structure of four proligands and thirteen Zn and Al complexes has been determined by X-Ray diffraction analysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ion irradiation with light ions is an appealing way to finely tune the magnetic properties of thin magnetic films and in particular the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). In this work, the effect of He irradiation on the magnetization reversal and on the domain wall dynamics  of Pt/Co/AlOx trilayers is illustrated. Fluences up to 1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ethylene- and phenylene-bridged bis(salicylamidine) ligands have been readily prepared from ethylene or phenylenediamine and iminium chloride derivatives generated from ,-dialkylsalicylamides. The former, in its diprotonated form (FAlenH), reacts with AlMe to afford a zwitterionic dimethyldiphenoxyaluminate complex with the FAlen ligand monoprotonated and in a bidentate κ, fashion. A phenylene-bridged proligand behaves differently, yielding a neutral methylaluminum complex bearing a κ,,-coordinated FAlen ligand.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is an analgesic adjunct demonstrated to reduce intraoperative opioid consumption within a Nociception Level (NOL) index-directed anesthetic protocol. We aimed to examine the ESPB effect on the quality of intraoperative nociception control evaluated with the NOL index. This is a post hoc analysis of the NESP (Nociception Level Index-Directed Erector Spinae Plane Block in Open Heart Surgery) randomized controlled trial.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The epidemiology of critically ill patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may be different worldwide. Despite similarities in medicine quality and formation, there are also significant differences concerning healthcare and ICU organisation, staffing, financial resources and population compliance and adherence. Large cohort data of critically ill patients from Central and Eastern Europe are also lacking.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The present experimental investigation is focused on the influence of gravity upon water-droplet formation in a Y-microchannel filled with oil. The flows are in the Stokes regime, with very small capillary numbers and Ohnesorge numbers less than one. The study was performed in a square-cross-section channel, with = 1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background and Objectives: The erector spinae plane block (ESPB) is a multimodal opioid-sparing component, providing chest-wall analgesia of variable extent, duration, and intensity. The objective was to examine the ESPB effect on perioperative opioid usage and postoperative rehabilitation when used within a Nociception Level (NOL) index-directed anesthetic protocol. Materials and Methods: This prospective, randomized, controlled, open-label study was performed in adult patients undergoing on-pump cardiac surgery in a single tertiary hospital.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The hyperventilation test is used in clinical practice for diagnosis and therapeutic purposes; however, in the absence of a standardized protocol, the procedure varies significantly, predisposing tested subjects to risks such as cerebral hypoxia and ischemia. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), a noninvasive technique performed for cerebral oximetry monitoring, was used in the present study to identify the minimum decrease in the end-tidal CO2 (ETCO2) during hyperventilation necessary to induce changes on NIRS. Materials and Methods: We recruited 46 volunteers with no preexisting medical conditions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Plasma viscosity is one of the critical factors that regulate microcirculatory flow but has received scant research attention. The main objective of this study was to evaluate plasma viscosity in cardiac surgery with respect to perioperative trajectory, main determinants, and impact on outcome.

Methods: Prospective, single center, observational study, including 50 adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass between February 1, 2020 and May 31, 2021.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF