Publications by authors named "Lupu E"

Motor skill development is crucial in human growth, evolving with the maturation of the nervous and musculoskeletal systems. Quantifying these skills, especially coordinative abilities, remains challenging. This study aimed to assess the performance of five motor tasks in children and adolescents using high-speed video analysis, providing data for movement and health professionals.

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Article Synopsis
  • The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has resulted in over seven million deaths globally, prompting the development of the BriLife vaccine by the Israel Institute for Biological Research.
  • BriLife is based on a modified vesicular stomatitis virus that expresses the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 to enhance immune response.
  • A newly validated plaque assay using Vero E6 cells showed high reliability in measuring the vaccine's viral vector concentration, proving to be accurate and robust across different preparations.
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This state-of-the-art review explores the emerging field of regenerative hydrogels and their profound impact on the treatment of skin wounds. Regenerative hydrogels, composed mainly of water-absorbing polymers, have garnered attention in wound healing, particularly for skin wounds. Their unique properties make them well suited for tissue regeneration.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has led to high global demand for vaccines to safeguard public health. To that end, our institute has developed a recombinant viral vector vaccine utilizing a modified vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) construct, wherein the G protein of VSV is replaced with the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 (rVSV-ΔG-spike). Previous studies have demonstrated the production of a VSV-based vaccine in Vero cells adsorbed on Cytodex 1 microcarriers or in suspension.

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Background: Diet and lifestyle play important roles in preventing and improving chronic diseases, and evaluating behavioral risk factors in these pathologies allows for efficient management.

Methods: A clinical study by screening biochemical parameters and pulmonary function was carried out to evaluate behavioral risk factors in obstructive pulmonary disease associated with metabolic syndrome.

Results: Of the total of 70 patients included in the clinical study, 46 were men and 24 were women (χ = 3.

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Quality of life, well-being, and psycho-emotional balance are closely related to the quality of the diet, the level of physical activity, the quality of rest, but also the absence of the consumption of narcotic substances and tobacco, or alcohol abuse. Based on the distribution of a questionnaire that included 30 questions, we aimed to statistically evaluate several factors that influence mental health and vices. It recorded a total of 1719 valid responses, which came from 78.

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Machine learning (ML) algorithms are vulnerable to poisoning attacks, where a fraction of the training data is manipulated to deliberately degrade the algorithms' performance. Optimal attacks can be formulated as bilevel optimization problems and help to assess their robustness in worst case scenarios. We show that current approaches, which typically assume that hyperparameters remain constant, lead to an overly pessimistic view of the algorithms' robustness and of the impact of regularization.

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Nordic walking (NW) is a popular physical activity used to manage chronic diseases and maintain overall health and fitness status. This study aimed to compare NW to ordinary walking (W) with regard to pole length and to identify kinematic differences associated with different poles' length (55%, 65% and 75% of the subject's height, respectively). Twelve male volunteers (21.

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Objective: The present study aims to estimate the public cost of depression in Romania during a seven-year time span to complement existing papers with data from Central and Eastern Europe and to identify and propose measures that allow efficient use of funds.

Methods: We used data collected from the National Health Insurance System to analyze the main components of the cost.

Findings: Indirect costs exceed direct costs.

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This study evaluated the effects of a single exercise session of Self-Myofascial Release (SMR) on the posterior muscular chain flexibility after one hour from the intervention. Thirty-six participants performed SMR using a rigid ball under the surface of both feet. Participants were tested with the Sit and Reach (S&R) test at four different times: before (T0), immediately after (T1), 30 (T2), and 60 (T3) minutes after the SMR intervention.

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SARS-CoV-2 is evolving with increased transmission, host range, pathogenicity, and virulence. The original and mutant viruses escape host innate (Interferon) immunity and adaptive (Antibody) immunity, emphasizing unmet needs for high-yield, commercial-scale manufacturing to produce inexpensive vaccines/boosters for global/equitable distribution. We developed DYAI-100A85, a SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor binding domain (RBD) subunit antigen vaccine expressed in genetically modified thermophilic filamentous fungus, C1, and secreted at high levels into fermentation medium.

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Article Synopsis
  • - This study outlines a fast and efficient one-step purification method for the rVSV-∆G-spike vaccine against COVID-19, developed by the IIBR, testing various chromatography techniques.
  • - Initial treatment of cell harvest involves endonuclease, clarification, and concentration through ultrafiltration, followed by chromatography; anion-exchange chromatography necessitates high salt for elution but shows low virus recovery.
  • - The Capto Core 700 resin-based purification yields over 85% viral infectivity and effectively removes host cell proteins, meeting regulatory standards without needing an initial ultrafiltration stage.
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The Ambr15 system is an automated, high-throughput bioreactor platform which comprises 24 individually controlled, single-use stirred-tank reactors. This system plays a critical role in process development by reducing reagent requirements and facilitating high-throughput screening of process parameters. However, until now, the system was used to simulate processes involving cells in suspension or growing on microcarriers and has never been tested for simulating cells growing on macrocarriers.

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To face the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, our institute has developed the rVSV-ΔG-spike vaccine, in which the glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) was replaced by the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. Many process parameters can influence production yield. To maximize virus vaccine yield, each parameter should be tested independently and in combination with others.

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A multi-component microarray, applying a novel analysis algorithm, was developed for quantitative evaluation of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines' immunogenicity. The array enables simultaneous quantitation of IgG, IgM, and IgA, specific to the SARS-CoV-2 spike, receptor binding domain, and nucleocapsid proteins. The developed methodology is based on calculating an apparent immunoglobulin signal from the linear range of the fluorescent read-outs generated by scanning the microarray slides at different exposure times.

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The spike glycoprotein mediates virus binding to the host cells and is a key target for vaccines development. One SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is based on vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), in which the native surface glycoprotein has been replaced by the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (VSV-ΔG-spike). The titer of the virus is quantified by the plaque forming unit (PFU) assay, but there is no method for spike protein quantitation as an antigen in a VSV-based vaccine.

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rVSV-Spike (rVSV-S) is a recombinant viral vaccine candidate under development to control the COVID-19 pandemic and is currently in phase II clinical trials. rVSV-S induces neutralizing antibodies and protects against SARS-CoV-2 infection in animal models. Bringing rVSV-S to clinical trials required the development of a scalable downstream process for the production of rVSV-S that can meet regulatory guidelines.

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Numerous mobile robots in various forms specialize in either ground or aerial locomotion, whereas very few robots can perform complex locomotion tasks beyond simple walking and flying. We present the design and control of a multimodal locomotion robotic platform called LEONARDO, which bridges the gap between two different locomotion regimes of flying and walking using synchronized control of distributed electric thrusters and a pair of multijoint legs. By combining two distinct locomotion mechanisms, LEONARDO achieves complex maneuvers that require delicate balancing, such as walking on a slackline and skateboarding, which are challenging for existing bipedal robots.

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Interest in the pathogenesis, detection, and prevention of viral infections has increased broadly in many fields of research over the past year. The development of water treatment technology to combat viral infection by inactivation or disinfection might play a key role in infection prevention in places where drinking water sources are biologically contaminated. Laser-induced graphene (LIG) has antimicrobial and antifouling surface effects mainly because of its electrochemical properties and texture, and LIG-based water filters have been used for the inactivation of bacteria.

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The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 imposes an urgent need for rapid development of an efficient and cost-effective vaccine, suitable for mass immunization. Here, we show the development of a replication competent recombinant VSV-∆G-spike vaccine, in which the glycoprotein of VSV is replaced by the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. In-vitro characterization of this vaccine indicates the expression and presentation of the spike protein on the viral membrane with antigenic similarity to SARS-CoV-2.

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The protective effect of pretreatment with dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on stress-enhanced viral encephalitis was studied in mice exposed to cold following inoculation with West Nile virus (WNV). Exposure of WNV-inoculated mice to cold water (1 +/- 0.5 degrees C, 5 minutes/day for 8 days) resulted in a mortality rate of 83% as compared to 50% in nonstressed mice (p < 0.

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Rat liver gamma-cystathionase has been purified to homogeneity (verified by SDS electrophoresis and ultracentrifugation). The secondary and tertiary structures of the enzyme were studied by circular dichroism spectra. Our studies revealed that the holoenzyme molecule comprises approximately 22% of alpha-helices, 14% of beta-structure, 14% of beta-bends, and 50% of unordered structure.

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