RESUMO
Introduction: In the context of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the extent of the damage in the worldwide population and health systems forced governments to find rapid and efficient countermeasures. Thus, global efforts are made to combat this disease and among the identified possible solutions to enforce the frontline workforce is to allow medical and nursing students to help in medical care. This survey proposes to assess the Romanian students' self-perceived preparedness, considering their theoretical and practical knowledge. Methods: The survey was based on an 11-item form which aimed to evaluate the preparedness of the students to efficiently protect against the COVID-19 infection in a hospital setting, the overall willingness of the students to volunteer and the possible barriers that might prevent their involvement. For this purpose, a total number of 1021 responders, from which 18% nursing students and 82% medical students, from public and private medical schools of Romania, were included. Data processing was made using a free trial of GraphPad PRISM 8.0. The calculated parameters were: mean value, standard deviation, and confidence intervals (CI) and the level of significance was P<0.05. Results: Based on the collected data, we evidenced that the majority of the respondents (93%) acknowledged practical skills as a main positive factor for the decision to join the healthcare frontline. A strong, positive correlation between the self-perceived practical skills level, preparedness and the willingness to voluntarily involve in medical assistance was found. Conclusion: A significantly high level of practical skills and preparedness level in self-protecting effectively against COVID-19 was mainly seen in the following subgroups: the nursing students and the students that had previously been part of organized medical volunteer structures, revealing the practical experience to be a determining factor of preparedness.
RESUMO
Background and Objectives: Celiac disease (CD) is an immune-mediated enteropathy with characteristic intestinal alterations. CD occurs as a chronic inflammation secondary to gluten sensitivity in genetically susceptible individuals. Until now, the exact cause of the disease has not been established, which is why new studies have appeared that address the involvement of various genes and microRNAs (miRNAs) in the pathogenesis. The aim of the study is to describe the expression of selected genes (Wnt family member 3, WNT3; Wnt family member 11, WNT11; tumor necrosis factor alpha, TNFα; mitogen-activated protein kinase 1, MAPK1; AKT serine/threonine kinase 3, AKT3; phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha, PIK3CA; and cyclin D1, CCND1) and miRNAs (miR-192-5p, miR-194-5p, miR-449a and miR-638) in adult patients with CD. Materials and Methods: In total, 15 patients with CD at diagnosis (newly diagnosed), 33 patients on a gluten-free diet (GFD) for at least 1 year and 10 controls (control) were prospectively included. Blood samples were evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Results: The results show that TNFα, MAPK1 and CCND1 were significantly overexpressed (p = 0.0249, p = 0.0019 and p = 0.0275, respectively) when comparing the newly diagnosed group to the controls. The other genes studied in CD patients were mostly with high values compared to controls, without reaching statistical significance. Among the miRNAs, the closest to a statistically significant value was miR-194-5p when the newly diagnosed group versus control (p = 0.0510) and GFD group versus control (p = 0.0671) were compared. The DIANA and miRNet databases identified significant functional activity for miR-449a and miR-192-5p and an interconnection of miR-194-5p and miR-449a with CCND1. Conclusions: In conclusion, genes and circulating miRNAs require further studies as they could represent important biomarkers in clinical practice.
