BackgroundHuman anelloviruses (TTV, TTMDV and TTMV) are at high prevalence all across the globe, having also a controversial disease-inducing potential. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of anelloviral DNA in the Romanian human population and to investigate the association of infections with common pathologies in Romanian population.MethodsAfter informed consent, blood samples were collected from 2000 subjects represented by: clinically healthy individuals (n = 701) and a group of patients with pathologies linked to low grade inflammation or alteration of carbohydrate metabolism (n = 1299). All samples were analysed for the presence of TTV, TTMDV and TTMV DNA by hemi-nested PCR.ResultsThe prevalence of TTV, TTMDV and TTMV in the studied population was 68.2, 54.4%, respectively 40.1%, lower than the recent reports from other geographic regions. The three viral species were significantly more frequent in the group of patients compared to the healthy subjects and were associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The presence of anelloviral DNA was also associated with medical procedures (e.g. haemodialysis/transfusions, surgical procedures) and previous hepatitis A virus infection. Lifestyle choices related to alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity and living environment were not associated with differences in distribution of the three viruses.ConclusionFurther evidence is needed to establish a correlation between infection with human anelloviruses and a pathology or group of pathologies.

Introduction Among many other techniques for Abdominal Wall Reconstruction (AWR), posterior component separation with Transversus Abdominis Release (TAR), continues to gain popularity and it is increasingly used with promising longterm results. Our goal was to evaluate the influence of TAR with mesh retromuscular reinforcement on the intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) and respiratory function in a series of patients with complex incisional hernias (IH). Methods Since November 2014 through February 2019, patients with TAR were identified in the Clinical Department of Surgery database and were retrospectively reviewed. Outcome measures include: demographics, pre-and perioperative details, preoperative and postoperative IAP and plateau pressure (PP). Results One-hundred-and-one consecutive TAR procedures (19.7% from all incisional hernia repairs) were analyzed. Mean age was 63 years with a mean Body Mass Index (BMI) of 31.85 kg/m 2 (25-51). Diabetes and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) were the main major comorbidities. Mean hernia defect area was 247 cm 2 (104-528 cm 2 ). Conclusion TAR is a safe and sound procedure with acceptable modifications of the IAP morbidity and recurrence rate when correctly performed on the right patient.

Torque teno virus (TTV) is highly prevalent, but little is known about its circulation in humans. Here, we investigated the geographical distribution and phylogeny of TTV in Romania. A fragment of TTV untranslated region B was sequenced in samples from volunteers across the country. Additional sequences from dialyzed patients were also included in the study. Phylogenetic analysis showed that more than 80% of Romanian sequences clustered with isolates assigned to the species Torque teno virus 1 and Torque teno virus 3 (former genogroup 1), and this analysis discriminated between isolates from the North-East and West regions. Further studies assessing the pathogenic potential of TTV isolates should employ analysis based on genomic regions with phylogenetic resolution below the species level. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00705-022-05559-8.

The Institutional Development Fund (FDI) is a newly introduced component of Romanian institutional funding with the purpose of supporting public higher education institutions (HEIs) in their pursuit of the national strategic objectives for higher education. This policy aims to encourage universities to formulate their own answers (through institutional projects) to current higher education challenges such as equity and access for students, internationalisation, regional development, improving the quality of teaching, supporting the entrepreneurial and practical activities developed for the benefit of students, etc. Given its current form as a simple combination between objective-based funding and competitive funding, and its recent implementation at a national level, we propose an in-depth exploration of the policys results focusing on institutional activities and targeted objectives. To this aim, the paper presents the relevant results obtained by universities in the last five years of FDI implementation, the trends of HEIs institutional development (measured at the university level), as well as the direct and indirect influence these might have over the overall quality of the Romanian higher education system. At the same time, we look to identify new institutional measures in response to the actual needs of universities (in accordance with university autonomy) in order to underline new implementation directions in accordance with national policies and strategies, both in relation to funding and in relation to national goals, as well as to explore the potential of FDI funding for quality enhancement in higher education.