Cancer treatments can have significant cardiovascular adverse effects that can cause cardiomyopathy and heart failure with reduced survival benefit and considerable decrease in the use of antineoplastic therapy. The purpose of this study is to assess the role of TLR2 and TLR4 gene expression as an early marker for the risk of doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy in correlation with early diastolic dysfunction in patients treated with doxorubicin. Our study included 25 consecutive patients who received treatment with doxorubicin for hematological malignancies (leukemia, lymphomas or multiple myeloma), aged 18-65 years, with a survival probability>6 months and with left ventricular ejection fraction>50%. Exclusion criteria consisted of the following: previous anthracycline therapy, previous radiotherapy, history of heart failure or chronic renal failure, atrial fibrillation, and pregnancy. In all patients, in fasting state, a blood sample was drawn for the assessment of TLR2 and TLR4 gene expression. Gene expression was assessed by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) using blood collection, RNA isolation, cDNA reverse transcription, qRT-PCR and quantification of the relative expression. At enrollment, all patients were evaluated clinically; an ECG and an echocardiography were performed. The average amount of gene expression units was 0.113 for TLR4 (range 0.059-0.753) and 0.218 for TLR2 (range 0.046-0.269). The mean mRNA extracted quantity was 113 571 ng/μl. As for the diastolic function parameters, criteria for diastolic dysfunction were present after 6 months in 16 patients (64%). In these patients, the mean values for TLR4 were 0.1198625 and for TLR2 were 0.16454 gene expression units. As for the diastolic function parameters, criteria for diastolic dysfunction were present after 6 months in 16 patients (64%). In these patients, the mean value for TLR2 was 0.30±0.19 and for TLR4 was 0.15±0.04. The corresponding values for the patients who did not develop diastolic dysfunction were 0.16±0.07 for TLR2 (P=0.01) and 0.11±0.10 for TLR4 (P=0.2). Our study suggests that TLR4 and TLR2 expression is higher in patients under doxorubicin therapy who develop diastolic dysfunction. This may suggest a predisposition to myocardial involvement, a higher sensitivity to doxorubicin cardiac effects.

Approaching two prevalent chronic conditions as Diabetes mellitus (DM) and High blood pressure/Hypertension (HTN) from a socio-economic and mental health perspectives using Beck Depresion Inventory (BDI) and EPICES score simultaneouslyis a first for Arad County and for Romania. This research demonstrates the connection between the disease and the socio-economic pressures that lead to deprivation and depression and vice versa.

This research studies the upper and lower limb bones of elderly persons. The measurements of compressive, tensile and bending forces were performed on 147 specimens: 72 in a compression trial, 21 in a tensile trial and 54 in a bending trial. Bones were extracted from 38 cadavers (60-70-years-old at the time of death). Experimental protocols were developed to minimise the possible errors in obtaining the data. All results were statistically processed. There was a significant difference between the results of both the tensile and bending trials and the compression trial (p = 0.08). Significant differences were observed between the results of the compression test in proximal versus distal ends of the bones (femur, tibia and humerus). After the removal of outlying results, an F-test analysis was performed on all remaining values, establishing different correlation levels between the groups of results. These results were compared with those published by other researchers.

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The goal of the study showcased in this paper is to present how the removal of the human factor and the added speed of calculations affect the results of forensic expertise in the case of determining the period of conception in paternity research. We do this by introducing experimental software and applying standard methods such as the methodology of forensic expertise used to design limited range of conception period for minors in paternity research, the calculation of the probability to conceive before or during the start of cohabitation and the calculation of the probability to conceive after the start of cohabitation, standards which were al developed by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine ,,Mina Minovici" Bucharest and are used nationwide. The data introduced in the program were the parameters already established for intrauterine growth which were obtained by processing mathematical tables and curves of Lubchenco for rapid determination of the statistical average duration of pregnancy and its limits. The software we are presenting in this paper was developed in .NET and has interface which is simple to use allowing the user to easily calculate the probable period of conception via a mathematical algorithm.

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