High levels of OPN in postmenopausal women are associated with low BMD, increased levels of bone turnover markers, and osteoporotic vertebral fractures. These findings suggest that OPN might play some role in the pathophysiology of postmenopausal osteoporosis and warrant further clinical investigations.

Hyperuricemia is usually associated with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome and chronic kidney disease. Accumulating data from epidemiological studies indicate an association of increased uric acid (UA) with cardiovascular diseases. Possible pathogenic mechanisms include enhancement of oxidative stress and systemic inflammation caused by hyperuricemia. Arterial stiffness may be one of the possible pathways between hyperuricemia and cardiovascular disease, but a clear relationship between increased UA and vascular alterations has not been confirmed. The review summarizes the epidemiological studies investigating the relationship between UA and arterial stiffness and highlights the results of interventional studies evaluating arterial stiffness parameters in patients treated with UA-lowering drugs.

Romania is known among the main European honey producers, due to the variety of landforms as well as the diversity of the flora. Thirty-four honey samples of the acacia, linden and multifloral types, produced in eastern Romania and collected during 2013–2018, were physico-chemically analyzed using methods provided by the national and EU standards. The results of water-insoluble solids, color and refractive index were found to be 0.023–0.131%, 0.3–76.4 mm Pfund and 1.485–1.499, respectively. The moisture content ranged between 15.20% and 20.77%, solid substances content ranged between 79.23% and 84.80% and total soluble substances content ranged between 77.83 °Brix and 83.26 °Brix. The obtained values of specific gravity were from 1.414 to 1.450 g/cm3, pH ranged from 3.673 to 5.503 and free acidity ranged between 2.4 meq and 50 meq kg−1. The ash content and the electrical conductivity varied between 0.030 and 0.543% and 130 and 679 µS cm−1, respectively. Pearsonʹs correlation analysis showed an intense association of the ash content with electrical conductivity (r = 0.81). Our findings reveal the qualitative level of Romanian honey and the variation in quality parameters due to factors such as geographical region, climatic conditions, botanical origin and handling or storage conditions.

The aim of this paper is to present several approaches by which technology can assist medical decision-making. This is an essential, but also a difficult activity, which implies a large number of medical and technical aspects. But, more important, it involves humans: on the one hand, the patient, who has a medical problem and who requires the best solution; on the other hand, the physician, who should be able to provide, in any circumstances, a decision or a prediction regarding the current and the future medical status of the patient. The technology, in general, and particularly the Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools could help both of them, and it is assisted by appropriate theory regarding modeling tools. One of the most powerful mechanisms that can be used in this field is the Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). This paper presents some of the results obtained by the Process Control group of the Politehnica University Timisoara, Romania, in the field of ANNs applied to modeling, prediction and decision-making related to medical systems. An Iterative Learning Control-based approach to batch training a feedforward ANN architecture is given. The paper includes authors’ concerns in this domain and emphasizes that these intelligent models, even if they are artificial, are able to make decisions, being useful tools for prevention, early detection and personalized healthcare.

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