Cancer and Diabetes: Predictive Factors in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: A growing number of epidemiological studies have suggested that diabetes mellitus may increase cancer risk and is implicated in numerous other metabolic and inflammatory disorders. The increase in proinflammatory cytokines plays a major role in insulin resistance and leads to hypoalbuminemia and micro- and macrovascular diabetes complications, including kidney disease and anemia. This study aimed to investigate the utility of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), C-reactive protein (CRP), serum albumin level, hemoglobin, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) as biomarkers for cancer risk, and the biological implications of diabetes on the evolution and prognosis of oncological patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, longitudinal, observational study on a total group of 434 patients, of which 217 were diagnosed with a form of cancer and type two diabetes as a comorbidity, and the other 217 were a control group without diabetes. These patients were admitted to the oncology clinic. In subgroups, the same number of patients was considered, depending on the location of the oncological pathology. Anemia, hypoalbuminemia, elevated lactate dehydrogenase, glycated hemoglobin, and C-reactive protein levels are more pronounced in subjects with type two diabetes and cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of diabetes negatively affects the clinical and biological prognosis of cancer patients.

Mathematical Modeling of Brain Activity under Specific Auditory Stimulation.

Understanding the connection between different stimuli and the brain response represents a complex research area. However, the use of mathematical models for this purpose is relatively unexplored. The present study investigates the effects of three different auditory stimuli on cerebral biopotentials by means of mathematical functions. The effects of acoustic stimuli (S1, S2, and S3) on cerebral activity were evaluated by electroencephalographic (EEG) recording on 21 subjects for 20 minutes of stimulation, with a 5-minute period of silence before and after stimulation. For the construction of the mathematical models used for the study of the EEG rhythms, we used the Box-Jenkins methodology. Characteristic mathematical models were obtained for the main frequency bands and were expressed by 2 constant functions, 8 first-degree functions, a second-degree function, a fourth-degree function, 6 recursive functions, and 4 periodic functions. The values obtained for the variance estimator are low, demonstrating that the obtained models are correct. The resulting mathematical models allow us to objectively compare the EEG response to the three stimuli, both between the stimuli itself and between each stimulus and the period before stimulation.

Orientations to Wellbeing in the Context of Medicine and Nursing-A Preliminary Study on Students' Perspective in Their Early University Years.

Medicine in the 21st century needs to be patient-or, rather, person-centered. Accordingly, medical education needs to adopt an authentic student-centered stance and also include an emphasis on wellbeing and quality of life-starting in medical students` university years. Studies on eudaimonic and hedonic aspects of wellbeing in academic contexts might offer valuable insights for conceptualizing and implementing medical teaching. Our research aimed at exploring eudaimonic and hedonic orientations in students in their first years of medical and nursing studies, in relation to outcomes like satisfaction, subjective meaning experience and engagement with university studies. We also wanted to evaluate the feasibility of using a translated version of HEMA (Hedonic and Eudaimonc Motives for Action) Scale in our university students. 120 1st and 2nd year students of our university completed HEMA and questionnaires evaluating the above-mentioned outcomes, in one session. The instrument demonstrated good reliability (assessed by Cronbach`s alpha coefficients) and also captured valuable correlations with students satisfaction, subjective sense of meaning and engagement with their studies. Importantly, eudaimonic subscores were moderately but significantly correlated with Hedonic enjoyment ones, as previously reported. Exploratory Principal Component Analysis suggested two or three factors, but a larger group would be needed to confirm the factor structure of the Romanian version of the test. Conclusions: HEMA is applicable in this academic context, in Romanian, has good reliability and promises to offer valuable insights into students` orientations, helping us support their aspirations and shape our teaching so that they could benefit the most from it.

Value of endoscopy with narrow-band imaging and probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy in the diagnosis of preneoplastic lesions of gastrointestinal tract.

INTRODUCTION: Amongst all malignant tumors, cancers of the digestive tract rank first in terms of yearly deaths. Patients above 60 years of age are the most affected, as the diagnosis is frequently made in advanced stages of the disease when therapy is less effective. Our study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of narrow-band imaging (NBI) endoscopy and probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) in the correct diagnosis of preneoplastic lesions in the upper and lower digestive tract. PATIENTS, MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included 46 patients with digestive preneoplastic lesions, who underwent either upper or lower digestive endoscopy, followed by NBI and pCLE. We recorded 5-10 frames per each lesion, from different angles and distances during white-light endoscopy and selected frames from full recordings of NBI and pCLE. Usual preparation was used for the endoscopic procedures; pCLE required in vivo administration of 10% Sodium Fluorescein as a contrast agent. Pathology was performed in case of solid tumors. Three medical professionals with different levels of training, blinded to the results, interpreted the data. RESULTS: The experienced physician correlated very well the NBI findings with pathology (0.93, p=0.05), while the resident physician and the experienced nurse obtain lower, albeit still statistically significant, values (0.73 and 0.62, respectively). For pCLE, the experienced physician obtained near-perfect correlation with pathology (0.96), followed closely by the resident physician (0.93). The nurse obtained a modest correlation (0.42). All examiners obtained approximately equal performances in discerning between malignant and benign lesions. CONCLUSIONS: Digestive endoscopy in NBI mode proved its effectiveness. Even less experienced endoscopists can achieve good results, while an experienced nurse can positively influence the diagnosis. In the case of pCLE, when available, it can greatly reduce diagnostic times, while requiring higher expertise and specialty training.