Radiomics in Triple Negative Breast Cancer: New Horizons in an Aggressive Subtype of the Disease.

In the last decade, the analysis of the medical images has evolved significantly, applications and tools capable to extract quantitative characteristics of the images beyond the discrimination capacity of the investigator's eye being developed. The applications of this new research field, called radiomics, presented an exponential growth with direct implications in the diagnosis and prediction of response to therapy. Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive breast cancer subtype with a severe prognosis, despite the aggressive multimodal treatments applied according to the guidelines.

Old and new therapeutic strategies in systemic sclerosis (Review).

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic inflammatory disease with autoimmune determinism having an incompletely known pathogenesis. Although not all links in the pathogenic chain are known, studies have shown that vasculopathy is the initial event and is followed by extensive fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. New therapeutic strategies have been developed in recent years, thanks to innovative research which has increased understanding of the disease mechanisms.

Posterior choroidal boundary morphology and segmentation errors influence on choroidal thickness assessment in diabetic patients - a swept-source OCT study.

to evaluate the choroidal morphology and choroidal thickness (CT) in normal and diabetic subjects and to compare the differences between automated segmentation (AS) and manual segmentation (MS) of the choroid. in this observational cross-sectional study we included 48 eyes: 24 normal eyes (group 1), 9 eyes with DM without diabetic retinopathy (DR) (group 2) and 15 eyes with DM and DR (group 3). Swept-source OCT line scans images were analyzed for the presence of the suprachoroidal layer (SCL), choroidal morphology and the CT was measured manually subfoveal and at 750 μ both nasal and temporal to the fovea after AS and MS.

Radiomics in Head and Neck Cancers Radiotherapy. Promises and Challenges.

Radiomics, a subdomain of artificial intelligence, consists in extracting a large volume of data from all medical imaging techniques and correlating them with clinical data in order to build predictive and prognostic models. Radiomics is related to radiogenomics that correlates genetic mutations and molecular and biological characteristics of tissues with information extracted from medical imaging. Both are state-of-the-art fields of translational biomedical research.

EXPERIMENTAL INDUCTION OF TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS AND THE EFFICIENCY OF BARIATRIC SURGERY IN ITS REVERSAL IN RATS.

Background: Following recent years, there is an increased body of literature on the connections that might exist between type 2 diabetes mellitus and the efficiency of bariatric surgery in its reversal compared to other medical approaches such as dieting.

Aim: To induce experimentally type 2 diabetes mellitus in rats in order to observe the effects of bariatric surgery in the recovery as well as the reestablishment of normal insulin levels in order to extend the findings in house animals.

Materials And Methods: This study was conducted in three stages: the first consisted in inducing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in 40 young Wistar male rats, by initially feeding them human food high in vegetal fats, oleaginous seeds, simple and complex carbohydrates, sugars, lipids, fats, proteins and fructose for a period of 8 weeks followed by a single low dose of streptozotocin (STZ), administered through intraperitoneal injection.

An Underestimated Toxicity Radiation-Induced Hypothyroidism in Patients Multimodally Treated for Breast Cancer.

Radiation therapy is part of the therapeutic arsenal for breast cancer, whether it is adjuvant treatment after lumpectomy or radical mastectomy, or it is used as a palliative option in the case of metastatic or recurrent disease. Significant advances in diagnostic and therapeutic stratification of breast cancers have significantly prolonged survival, even in the metastatic stage. Exposure of patients during the course of the disease in a multidisciplinary therapeutic approach including chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted anti-HER therapies or CDK4/6 inhibitors had led to improved survival but with the price of additional toxicity.

Chitosan crosslinking with pyridoxal 5-phosphate vitamer toward biocompatible hydrogels for in vivo applications.

Vitamin B6 is an essential micronutrient in the mammalian diet, with role of coenzyme and synergistic effect with some antibiotics and antitumor drugs. Based on these, we hypothesized that its use for the preparation of hydrogels can yield multifunctional biomaterials suitable for in vivo applications. To this aim, chitosan was reacted with the active form of vitamin B6, pyridoxal 5-phosphate, via acid condensation, when clear hydrogels were obtained.

Rare Case of Smooth Muscle Tumor of Uncertain Malignant Potential - Clinical Case.

Smooth muscle tumor of uncertain malignant potential (STUMP) still represents a medical and surgical challenge, being rare and hard to diagnose. Normally STUMP consists in a multitude of uterine tumors that do not meet the current histologic criteria for a specific malignant or benign tumor. Clinical, imagistic and laboratory investigations seem to only raise the presumptive diagnosis in these cases, the diagnosis being confirmed during histological examination of the post hysterectomy/myomectomy specimen.

Comparative Study Regarding the Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and the Eating Habits of Two Groups-The Romanian Children and Adolescents Living in Nord-West of Romania and Their Romanian Counterparts Living in Italy.

Background: The Mediterranean diet (MD) is associated with significant health benefits, including prevention of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Given the important migratory flow from Romania to Italy in recent decades, this study seeks to evaluate the differences between the nutritional habits of Romanian children and adolescents in Romania compared with those of Romanian children who moved to Italy or were born in Italy from both Romanian parents.

Method: To assess adherence to MD, parents of Romanian children in Romania (RCR) and Romanian children in Italy (RCI) answered questions from an adapted version of the KIDMED test.

Insights into multidrug-resistant urinary tract infections: From susceptibility to mortality.

The incidence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) caused by has exhibited an increasing trend and has become a high burden for many public health systems, especially in hospital settings. Multidrug resistance associated with the production of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) among isolates is endemic in Southeastern Europe. We retrospectively analyzed 75 cases admitted to 'St.

Alginate enriched with phytic acid for hydrogels preparation. Therapeutic applications.

In the last decade, numerous innovative strategies have been used to obtain highly efficient synthetic or semi-synthetic biomaterials. Between these innovative biomaterials, hydrogels occupy a distinct place due to their superior biological and physico-chemical characteristics. Alginate is a natural linear polysaccharide with important physico-chemical and biological properties.

Effect of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors on hemoglobin and hematocrit levels in type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) improve outcomes of patients with type 2 diabetes at high cardiovascular risk and chronic kidney disease. Recent studies showed an increase in hemoglobin and hematocrit after SGLT2i treatment.

Materials And Methods: We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of SGLT2i in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Immobilization and Release Studies of Triazole Derivatives from Grafted Copolymer Based on Gellan-Carrying Betaine Units.

New polymer-bioactive compound systems were obtained by immobilization of triazole derivatives onto grafted copolymers and grafted copolymers carrying betaine units based on gellan and N-vinylimidazole. For preparation of bioactive compound, two new types of heterocyclic thio-derivatives with different substituents were combined in a single molecule to increase the selectivity of the biological action. The 5-aryl-amino-1,3,4 thiadiazole and 5-mercapto-1,2,4-triazole derivatives, each containing 2-mercapto-benzoxazole nucleus, were prepared by an intramolecular cyclization of thiosemicarbazides-1,4 disubstituted in acidic and basic medium.

Difficulties in Diagnosis and Therapy of Infective Endocarditis in Children and Adolescents-Cohort Study.

Despite the progress in management and prophylaxis measures, infective endocarditis (IE) is still a condition associated with high mortality rates and severe complications. Fortunately, the incidence of IE is much lower in children and adolescents, with only 0.05-0.

Proposal of a Preoperative CT-Based Score to Predict the Risk of Clinically Relevant Pancreatic Fistula after Cephalic Pancreatoduodenectomy.

: Postoperative pancreatic fistula after cephalic pancreatoduodenectomy (CPD) is still the leading cause of postoperative morbidity, entailing long hospital stay and costs or even death. The aim of this study was to propose the use of morphologic parameters based on a preoperative multisequence computer tomography (CT) scan in predicting the clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula (CRPF) and a risk score based on a multiple regression analysis. : For 78 consecutive patients with CPD, we measured the following parameters on the preoperative CT scans: the density of the pancreas on the unenhanced, arterial, portal and delayed phases; the unenhanced density of the liver; the caliber of the main pancreatic duct (MPD); the preoperatively estimated pancreatic remnant volume (ERPV) and the total pancreatic volume.

Molecular markers associated with potentially malignant oral lesions (Review).

According to literature data, potentially premalignant oral lesions are the basis of over 85% of cell carcinomas. Despite multiple advances achieved during the last few decades in the diagnosis and treatment of oral squamous cell carcinomas, there has not been a significant change in the prognosis and 5-year survival rate. The prevention of malignant transformation of these tumors by diagnosis and targeted treatment would be the ideal scenario.

Lower third molar inclusion associated with paraesthesia: A case report.

When lower third molar inclusion is associated with neurosensorial complications, the treatment of choice is its surgical avulsion. One of these complications, that may be the most alarming during a first medical examination, is hemi-lip paraesthesia, that can appear in the presence of several mandibular lesions. This is a report of a rare clinical case in which paraesthesia was linked to the closeness between the root block of the dental element and the mandibular canal, which houses the neurovascular trunk of the lower mandibular nerve.

Success of Primary Trabeculectomy in Advanced Open Angle Glaucoma.

Aim: The study assesed trabeculectomy survival in advanced open angle glaucoma (OAG).

Methods: This is a retrospective longitudinal study in advanced OAG undergoing primary trabeculectomy. Clinical and demographic parameters were recorded.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound for the assessment of focal nodular hyperplasia - results of a multicentre study.

Aim: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) has become a relevant imaging method for the evaluation of focal liver le-sions (FLL). The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of CEUS for the assessment of focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) in a large study group.

Material And Methods: We performed a multicentre prospective observational study, which included successive CEUS examinations from fourteen Romanian centres.

Predictors of the response to nivolumab immunotherapy in the second or subsequent lines for metastatic non-small cell lung cancers.

Checkpoint inhibitors represent the first therapeutic class to replace chemotherapy lines for the treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), due to improved overall survival and tolerability. Nivolumab, a fully human anti-programmed cell death-1 immunoglobulin G4 monoclonal antibody, is the first immune checkpoint inhibitor approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2014 for cases of metastatic melanoma and in 2015 for cases of squamous cell lung cancer and kidney cell cancer. The present study aimed to identify predictive markers (favorable or unfavorable) for time to treatment discontinuation using nivolumab in the second or subsequent line of therapy of metastatic NSCLC cases.

All-polysaccharide hydrogels for drug delivery applications: Tunable chitosan beads surfaces via physical or chemical interactions, using oxidized pullulan.

The present work reports a versatile approach to the manufacture of chitosan beads with tunable pore size and targeted properties. To achieve this, the as prepared chitosan beads were allowed to interact with aqueous solutions of two types of oxidized pullulan derivatives. Depending on the functional groups present on the pullulan structure after oxidation, i.

QT Interval Prolongation in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis-Are the Holter ECG Recordings a Better Option for QT Interval Evaluation?

Cardiac involvement in systemic sclerosis has important consequences on patient survival. Myocardial fibrosis and microcirculation involvement can generate arrhythmic complications, which can be associated with a higher death risk. QT interval prolongation is considered as a risk factor for ectopic ventricular events and can be evaluated using standard short ECG recordings or 24-h Holter ECG recordings.

Management of an Intrauterine Device Migration Resulting in a Pregnancy - Clinical Case.

Intrauterine devices (IUD) are one of the most commonly used methods of contraception worldwide. The long term effect makes it desirable by most patients. The insertion of an IUD is not difficult as a technique but it involves multiple complications such as uterine perforation and migration into the abdominal cavity, urinary bladder perforation, fistula formation, bowel perforation and intra-abdominal adhesions.