It has been known for almost a decade and a half that in trypanosomes all

Abstract:The roots of Vernonia kotschyana Sch. Bip. ex Walp. (Asteraceae) are used in Malian traditional medicine in the treatment of gastroduodenal ulcers and gastritis. Since oxidative stress is involved in gastric ulceration, the aim of this study was to screen the root extracts for their in vitro antioxidant activity and phenolic content. The roots were OPEN ACCESSMolecules 2014, 19 19115 extracted successively with chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol and water. The antioxidant activity of root extracts was evaluated in both cell-free and cell-based assays. Their chemical characterization was performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) whereas the total phenolic content was determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The ethyl acetate extract displayed the highest phenolic content and was found to be the most active in the free radical scavenging and lipid peroxidation inhibition assays; it also showed a high antioxidant activity in MCF-12F cells. This study suggests a potential use of the ethyl acetate extract of Vernonia kotschyana not only as an antioxidant agent in gastroduodenal ulcers and gastritis, but also in other disorders characterized by high levels of oxidative stress.

Background and objectives: This study assesses electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use and its relationship with smoking and alcohol and illicit drug consumption among Romanian university students. Materials and methods: A cross sectional study using anonymous questionnaire was performed in 2017 among 400 university students from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Results: 95.5% of the participants had heard about e-cigarettes and 43.7% of these had tried e-cigarettes during their lifetime, while 8.9% declared using cigarettes in the previous month (one out of five students who had tried them during their lifetime). Half of the students had smoked during their lifetime and one third had smoked in the previous month. Eighty-five percent of participants had experimented alcohol intoxication during their lifetime and 45% had done so in the previous month, while illicit drug use during their lifetime and the previous month was 34% and 9.5%, respectively. The results of the linear regression analyses show a positive correlation between e-cigarette use, smoking, experimentation with alcohol intoxication, and the use of illicit drugs. Conclusions: Future studies as well as educational activities should address the complex relationship between e-cigarette and other substance use among Romanian youth.

Maintaining the soil in optimal parameters is vital for mankind, given its essential role in providing the alimentary base, as well as its extremely slow formation and regeneration (hundreds or thousands of years). The direct and indirect pollution of the soil and especially its chemical pollution represent a corollary of other types of pollution, given that it is produced by solid, liquid and gaseous residues. It may be involved in a wide range of diseases (respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, renal, haematological, osteoarticular, neurological) of allergic, infectious, degenerative or neoplastic nature, from infancy to the old age. Although there are natural causes of soil pollution (e.g. volcanic eruptions), most pollutants come from human activities, which are the most incriminated in its pollution, degradation and erosion at an accelerated pace. The growing concern of all nations for the adoption of measures to limit the chemical pollution of the soil is partially found so far in viable and effective solutions intended to combat soil contamination and degradation and ensure its restoration. Chemical industrialization leads to technical and scientific progress, but at the same time it can develop related pathologies, which means that the role of the occupational health physician is essential in ensuring prophylaxis and the early detection of occupational diseases. Besides that, the role of the pediatrician is equally precious for the detection of specific diseases caused by chemical pollutants to children, because they will develop into adults with pathological stigma.The chemical pollution of the soil is a major challenge for ecologists, given that it is an important risk factor for many types of afflictions. It requires maximum attention from civil society, health care professionals and government institutions. The specialist in occupational medicine, as well as the pediatrician bear an essential responsibility in both, prevention and treatment.

Given the structural resemblances between glass fiber and asbestos, it is important to understand the mechanisms through which exposure to glass fibers may affect the respiratory system. To study the effect of glass fiber on rat lung through intratracheal exposure, considering the subject�s weight variation, together with haematological parameters, C-reactive protein (CRP), total number of lymphocytes, and IL8 concentration in bronchoalveolar lavage. We performed an intratracheal instillation study on four groups of 8 randomly selected Wistar rats, by administering 3 different doses of glass fiber. The hematocrit value was an indirect indicator of chronic hypoxemia; leukocytes and the C-reactive protein assessed systemic inflammation, and total number of lymphocytes and IL8 concentration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid determined the lung�s inflammatory response. Weight variation evaluated in all 8 measurements revealed no statistically significant changes (p=0.768). The decrease in mean blood leukocytes was interpreted in relation with the glass fiber dose, with a statistically significant difference between the study groups (p=0.003). Statistically significant differences were found in the CRP values, with dose correlations (p[0.001). The bronchoalveolar lavage fluid showed increased levels of IL-8 (p[0.05), and decrease of lymphocytes (p[0.001) in correlation with the administered glass fiber dose. The inflammatory response following exposure to glass fibers in rats is correlated with administrated glass fiber dose. The alterations described as a result of intratracheal glass fiber instillation could predict the effects which occupational exposure to glass fiber may produce in humans.

Objective: Identifying the morphological features of thymus in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) with anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibodies and concomitant Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), which were recruited from a single surgical unit of a tertiary referral hospital located in the North-Eastern region of Romania, over a period of 11 years. Patients, Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed clinical, imaging, laboratory, thymic pathology, and outcome data that were obtained from medical records of patients with MG and concomitant HT, to whom a thymectomy was performed for a suspected thymic lesion. All the surgical interventions were done in the Third Clinic of

BACKGROUND Lung and airway involvement in inflammatory bowel disease are increasingly frequently reported either as an extraintestinal manifestation or as an adverse effect of therapy. CASE SUMMARY We report a case of a patient with ulcerative colitis controlled under mesalazine treatment who presented with chronic cough and hemoptysis. Chest computed tomography and bronchoscopy findings supported tracheal involvement in ulcerative colitis; pathology examination demonstrated an unusual eosinophil-rich inflammatory pattern, and together with clinical data, a nonasthmatic eosinophilic bronchitis diagnosis was formulated. Full recovery was observed within days of mesalazine discontinuation. CONCLUSION Mesalazine-induced eosinophilic respiratory disorders have been previously reported, generally involving the lung parenchyma. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of mesalamine-induced eosinophilic involvement in the upper airway.

Abstract-Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), a cluster of more than three cardio-metabolic risk factors, is becoming a major worldwide health problem. CHAID analysis can bring to front the role of pathogenesis -represented by insulin resistance and measured by Reaven index, and the importance of twocumulated criteria -as the association of hypertension and obesity, in revealing the likelihood of developing MetS in patients that do not yet account for all condition criteria. The aim of our research was to stress the order of influence of a specific two-cumulated criterion comparative to other MetS criteria comprised into a pathogenic index -the Reaven index (comprising TG and HDL that are two independent MetS diagnosis criterion). CHAID Decision Tree Algorithm can become an intelligent system to support wise decision-making and to predict the likelihood of developing MetS in patients at lowrisk for this condition.