Galectin-3 as a marker for clinical prognosis and cardiac remodeling in acute heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Galectin-3 has been reported as a mediator of heart failure (HF) development and progression. Most studies, however, have been conducted on patients with chronic HF rather than acute HF (AHF). The aim of this study was to confirm galectin-3 as a prognostic marker in subjects with AHF and to investigate its possible relationship with left ventricular (LV) remodeling. METHODS: A total of 69 patients hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of AHF were followed up for 18 months. Galectin-3 and echocardiographic parameters were measured at baseline and after 6 months. Survival analysis and exploratory analysis of LV remodeling were performed. RESULTS: Patients with high baseline galectin-3 values (>16.5 ng/ml) had a significantly worse survival profile over the 18-month follow-up (log-rank test, p = 0.017), with Cox proportional hazards modeling showing a crude hazard ratio (HR) of 4.66 (95% CI = 1.16-18.67; likelihood-ratio test, p = 0.037) for all-cause mortality. Changes in galectin-3 levels (1 SD increase over 6 months) proved to be a significant explanatory factor for HF hospital re-admission in the short term when compared with quasi-stationary galectin-3 levels: worse Kaplan-Meier survival curves (log-rank test, p = 0.001) and a crude HR of 4.44 (95% CI = 1.76-11.18; likelihood-ratio test, p = 0.004). A significant association was found between the pathological evolution of relative wall thickness, LV end-diastolic diameter, LV end-diastolic volume, and increasing levels of galectin-3 in the short term (Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Galectin-3 can predict long-term mortality in patients with AHF. The results of our study suggest a possible relation between left ventricular remodeling and increasing galectin-3 levels.

Infection control capacity building in European countries with limited resources: issues and priorities.

We report the results of a panel investigation aimed at assessing the critical aspects regarding healthcare-associated infections in European countries with limited resources and pinpointing the highest priority issues that need to be addressed for effective infection control. Questionnaires were designed and information collected from national EUNETIPS representatives in Bulgaria, Hungary, Kosovo, Romania, and Serbia. Based on the data collected, we concluded that rigorous implementation of existing law, standardized training, and political commitment constitute a common relevant background and provide the lessons to be learnt for aligning healthcare systems in this area with internationally recommended standards of infection control.

Modelling space perception in human early vision: a computational approach.

A computational approach in studying vision is important for understanding the biological mechanisms, as well as for integrating the known cortical architecture of primary visual area (V1) and the physiological functions (some of them experimentally proved, some only presumed). We present, in parallel, two models for early vision mechanisms: one for obtaining the disparity map in stereo vision, and the other for edges enhancement in contour integration, both of them seen from such a computational perspective. We implemented the two models and the results of the simulation were consistent with the biological data. They also account for the importance of interactions between parallel channels of visual information processing.

Medical informatics education for "allied" profiles.

Medical informatics education should be adapted for each speciality of "allied professions". In this paper we try to share from our experience with students of several profiles: medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physio-kineto-therapy, clinical laboratory, dentistry techniques and stomatological prophylaxis.

From primary edges to contours: modelling contour integration in human early vision.

According to the experimental observations, contour integration should occur in the primary visual area (V1). We propose a computational model of contour perception in human visual cortex using a recurrent neural network. Our approach is based on the neuro-physiological findings about the columns of ocular dominance and orientation in V1, and on some other existing mathematical models. We also developed a computer application for implementing and testing the proposed model.

Communication between the higher education and industry.

The paper presents the starting premise and the general frame of the Tempus Project CME-02555-96, entitled "Know How Transfer form University to Industry". It is intended to be a study for establishing a frame and methods for communication between academic, scientific and research bodies and industry. This project continues the efforts made in the RENEHEMA Tempus project aiming to support the improvement of communication between higher education and industry. Following the conclusions of the RENEHEMA conference the strategy adopted by the management board focused on the Internet technology and free market mechanisms to fulfill the project objectives.

Medical informatics educational tasks seen from practical perspective. Tempus-Phare Project CME-02555-96.

This paper tries to synthesize the discussion of a seminar on medical informatics educational tasks held in May 1998 in Sinaia, Romania, within the frame of the Tempus-Phare Project CME-02555-96 entitled "Know How Transfer from University to Industry" and coordinated by the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, Romania. Special emphasis was paid to particular features of medical education requirements in East European countries, with particular reference to Romania.

MOBISIM--package for simulation in molecular biology.

A computer program for simulation of protein synthesis regulatory processes is described. A short theoretical background reveals the requirements of a simulation program. Our program, MOBISIM, offers several facilities and a user-friendly interface for molecular biologists. An example illustrates the graphical representation both as time evolution of the system or as phase diagram.

Modelling biological depth perception in binocular vision: the local disparity estimation.

This paper presents an approach to solving the correspondence problem in binocular vision and to computing the local horizontal disparity map using a biologically inspired algorithm. A computer application was developed as a tool for implementing, developing, and testing computational models for stereopsis, and also as a framework for integrating the disparity map with other perspective clues. Two models for stereopsis have been implemented. One of them is biologically inspired (it models the behaviour of simple and complex cells from the striate cortex) and the other is the 'classical' model of David Marr and Tomaso Poggio, implemented in order to have a comparison term for the simulation results. The paper details the results obtained on random-dot stereograms and on pairs of real images.

Modeling and simulation in molecular pharmacology.

A stochastic simulation program of drug-receptor interaction is presented. The user can select a set of conditions concerning the processes of response release (type of cellular response, drug distribution and metabolism etc.) and the program plots a family of dose-response curves. A comparison between experimental and simulated dose-response curves shows the validity of the model can be used either for testing hypotheses concerning drug-receptor interaction, for experimental design or for estimation of some specific parameters. The program can also be used for educational purposes.

Modelling human depth perception in binocular vision: obtaining the horizontal disparity map.

The paper presents a computer application developed as a tool for implementing, developing, and testing computational models for stereopsis. Two models for solving the correspondence problem and computing the stereo disparity map have been implemented. One of them is biologically inspired (it models the behaviour of simple and complex cells from the striate cortex) and the paper details the results obtained on random-dot stereograms and on pairs of real images.

An approach to establishing a health information market.

The Tempus CME project "Regional Network for Healthcare Management" was aiming to perform a feasibility study for a communication network dedicated to the healthcare field. The needs assessment survey as well as the debates during the working sessions and during the conference on how communication can support a better healthcare delivery, substantiated the approach for achieving the Romanian health information market. The proposed communication network can be considered as a national information infrastructure offering good links between health, education, research and industry and a unique frame for information providers and users, for the estate and private companies. The network should also provide support and guidance for the development of new educational fields as applied informatics in healthcare.

Strategy for Medical Informatics Education at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Timisoara.

Our strategy for adapting a curriculum in medical informatics for medical students is presented. After a brief overview, some specific conditions are addressed, which account for some peculiarities of the objectives of our courses and of the design of the curriculum, including its integration in the overall medical curriculum. Some efforts concerning examinations and some specific educational tools are then discussed. The paper also deals with particular features concerning medical informatics education for dentistry and pharmacy students as well as for postgraduate courses, paying special attention to the doctoral level. Finally, future perspectives of medical informatics education are discussed. The paper does not present a list of successes and achievements. We had, and still have several difficulties (not always related to financial drawbacks), which required a particular approach; the word "strategy'; in the title is also meant to cover these aspects.

Classification criteria for simulation programs used in medical education.

Simulation programs are often used in medical education and their large variety allows a classification according to several criteria. A system of eight axes is proposed here for such a classification: topic area, system level, simulated feature, basic model, main purpose, results presentation, warnings, and evaluation.