Advancing Precision Oncology with Digital and Virtual Twins: A Scoping Review.

Digital twins (DTHs) and virtual twins (VTHs) in healthcare represent emerging technologies towards precision medicine, providing opportunities for patient-centric healthcare. Our scoping review aimed to map the current DTH and VTH technologies in oncology, summarize their technical solutions, and assess their credibility. A systematic search was conducted in the main bibliographic databases, identifying 441 records, of which 30 were included.

Unveiling Health Inequalities: Exploring Metabolic Dysfunction in Rural Roma Communities.

Background: Europe's largest ethnic minority, the Roma, are often confronted with substantial obstacles that result in health disparities. Research indicates that there are elevated rates of both communicable and non-communicable diseases, such as metabolic syndrome (MetS), among Roma communities, often linked to living conditions, limited education, or poverty. This study centers on remote rural Roma settlements in Romania, evaluating the prevalence of metabolic dysfunction, obesity, and liver steatosis while considering socio-economic and lifestyle factors.

Family doctors' and dentists' access and dissemination of medical information through social media.

Aim: The study purpose is to analyze how doctors in contract with the Health Insurance House in Romania use social media (SM) to access and disseminate medical information.

Method: Family doctors and dentists who had a contract with the Romanian National Health Insurance House during the year 2017 represented the targeted sample. Eight thousand four hundred ninety-seven e-mail addresses and 5,422 telephone numbers were identified and collected from the National Health Insurance House web page.

Effectiveness of Ultrasound Cardiovascular Images in Teaching Anatomy: A Pilot Study of an Eight-Hour Training Exposure.

The present study aimed to evaluate the students’ progress in evaluating ultrasound (US) and cadaveric cardiac images and long-time retention of information. First-year medical students were invited to participate in four two-hour online lectures during one week voluntarily. The students were trained to recognize cardiovascular anatomical structures on US and cadaveric images during the intervention.

Celecoxib as a Valuable Adjuvant in Cutaneous Melanoma Treated with Trametinib.

Background: Melanoma patients stop responding to targeted therapies mainly due to mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway re-activation, phosphoinositide 3 kinase/the mechanistic target of rapamycin (PI3K/mTOR) pathway activation or stromal cell influence. The future of melanoma treatment lies in combinational approaches. To address this, our in vitro study evaluated if lower concentrations of Celecoxib (IC in nM range) could still preserve the chemopreventive effect on melanoma cells treated with trametinib.

A Best Evidence Medical Education (BEME) systematic review of: What works best for health professions students using mobile (hand-held) devices for educational support on clinical placements? BEME Guide No. 52.

Background: Ingrained assumptions about clinical placements (clerkships) for health professions students pursuing primary basic qualifications might undermine best educational use of mobile devices.

Question: What works best for health professions students using mobile (hand-held) devices for educational support on clinical placements?

Methods: A Best Evidence Medical Education (BEME) effectiveness-review of "justification" complemented by "clarification" and "description" research searched: MEDLINE, Educational Resource Information Center, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycInfo, Cochrane Central, Scopus (1988-2016). Reviewer-pairs screened titles/abstracts.

Role of computer tomography and endoscopic ultrasonography in assessing portal and superior mesenteric vessels invasion in cephalo-pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the information given by contrast-enhanced computer tomography (CECT) and ultrasound endoscopy (EUS) regarding vascular involvement of cephalo-pancreatic cancer, data compared with intraoperative findings.

Material And Methods: We choose to analyze the most often interested vessels by tumor development, such as superior mesenteric artery (SMA), superior mesenteric vein (SMV) and portal vein (PV). The patients included in the study (n=425) had a cephalo-pancreatic tumor diagnosed in our Institute and a positive histology for pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Performance of the Standard 22G Needle for Endoscopic Ultrasound-guided Tissue Core Biopsy in Pancreatic Cancer.

Background And Aim: Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) are considered good tools for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and for obtaining material for cytology or histology. The accuracy of EUS-FNA can rise to 85-95%, but it is lower in cases with a chronic pancreatitis background or with previous biliary stenting. We aimed to establish the diagnostic yield of the visible length of the core biopsy samples in pancreatic cancer by using one single type of standard 22G needle and to evaluate the factors which can influence the results.

G.I.S. Surveillance of Chronic Non-occupational Exposure to Heavy Metals as Oncogenic Risk.

Introduction: The potential oncogenic effect of some heavy metals in people occupationally and non-occupationally exposed to such heavy metals is already well demonstrated. This study seeks to clarify the potential role of these heavy metals in the living environment, in this case in non-occupational multifactorial aetiology of malignancies in the inhabitants of areas with increased prevalent environmental levels of heavy metals.

Methods: Using a multidisciplinary approach throughout a complex epidemiological study, we investigated the potential oncogenic role of non-occupational environmental exposure to some heavy metals [chrome (Cr), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and arsenic (As)-in soil, drinking water, and food, as significant components of the environment] in populations living in areas with different environmental levels (high vs.

Intraocular foreign bodies extracted by pars plana vitrectomy: clinical characteristics, management, outcomes and prognostic factors.

Background: Intraocular foreign bodies (IOFBs) are an important cause of visual loss within the group of working age population. We aim to present the clinical features and the algorithm according to which we manage the foreign bodies that are located in the posterior segment of the eye. We define the outcomes and the prognostic factors that influenced the final visual acuity and globe survival in patients with IOFBs that we extracted by pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) over a 5-year period.

Outcome and Prognostic Factors for Traumatic Endophthalmitis over a 5-Year Period.

Purpose. To evaluate the outcome and identify the prognostic factors of traumatic endophthalmitis over a 5-year period. Methods.

Language, culture and international exchange of virtual patients.

Background: Language and cultural differences could be a limiting factor for the international exchange of Virtual Patients (VPs), especially for small countries and languages of limited circulation. Our research evaluated whether it would be feasible to develop a VP based educational program in our Romanian institution, with cases in English and developed in a non-Romanian setting.

Method: The participants in the research comprised 4th year Romanian medical students from the Faculty of Medicine in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, with previous training exclusively in Romanian, good English proficiency and no experience with VPs.