VARIATION OF UPPER BODY AND LOWER BODY FORCE IN CHILDREN WITH AND WITHOUT MENTAL DISABILITY

The aim of the current paper is to assess the motor quality of force, in children with and without mental disability, in order to identify its variations. Within the research, we started from the following hypothesis: mentally disabled children have reduced upper body and lower body force (as motor quality) compared to children without mental disability. The study included 35 female subjects aged between 14 and 17, with various degrees of mental disability. Measurement results show that for peak lower body force the best result was obtained by the group of children with mild mental disability. Consequently, force may not be influenced by the degree of mental disability, and this aspect should be studied in a future research. Variația forței la nivelul trenului superior și a trenului inferior la copiii cu și fără dizabilitate mentală. Prezenta lucrare are ca scop evaluarea calității motrice forța, la copii cu și fără dizabilitate mentală, în vederea identificării variațiilor acesteia. În cadrul cercetării, am pornit de la următoarea ipoteză: copiii cu dizabilitate mentală au o calitatea motrica forța pe trenul superior și pe trenul inferior mai slab dezvoltată față de copiii fără dizabilitate mentală. Am inclus în cercetare 35 de subiecți de sex feminin, cu vârste cuprinse între 14-17 ani, cu diferite grade de dizabilitate mentală. Rezultatele obținute în cadrul măsurătorilor arată faptul că, pentru forța maximă la trenul inferior cel mai bun rezultat a fost obținut de grupa copiilor cu dizabilitate mentală ușoară. Ca urmare, există posibilitatea ca forța, la această categorie de subiecți să nu fie influențat de gradul dizabilității mentale, aspect care ar trebui cercetat într-un studiu ulterior.  Cuvinte-cheie: amplitudine, forță, dizabilitate, Sindrom Down

Effects of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor on bone marrow morphology following cyclophosphamide induced neutropenia in rats

Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor is a glycoprotein that stimulates synthesis of granulocytes, especially of neutrophiles. It can be used to correct myelosupression associated with long-term chemotherapy or in the treatment of neutropenia. The aim of our study was to assess the effects of G-CSF on bone marrow after cyclophosphamide induced neutropenia in rats. The study was conducted on 24 female Wistar rats divided in 3 experimental groups; the control group, group of cyclophoshamide treated animals and the group of animals that were treated with Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor after neutropenia induction with cyclophosphamide. Cytological exam of bone marrow aspirates and histological exam from sternal bone marrow were realized using routine techniques. Examination of the aspirates taken from the femoral bone marrow and of the histological sections taken from the sternum showed a dramatic reduction in the number of myeloid precursors in individuals of group 2 which have been subjected to cyclophosphamide-induced myelosuppression, while the administration of G-CSF to the individuals of group 3 induced marked proliferation of the myeloid precursor cells, correcting the myelosuppressive effect of the cyclophosphamide In conclusion, G-CSF can be used for the stimulation and mobilization of myeloid progenitor cells from the bone marrow

PRELIMINARY STUDY ON THE USE OF INNOVATIVE DEVICES FOR STRENGTH BUILDING IN THE PERIOD OF RECOVERY FOLLOWING LUMBAR CONDITIONS

In this research, we started from the premise that for developing a strength building routine, adapted to patients with lumbar conditions, we can use innovative devices that combine elastic resistance with the resistance provided by weights. Such devices include a concentric barbell-extensor system and an extensor pulley bar. By using these devices, we demonstrated – on a sample of even healthy young people with a mean age of 22.5 – that three weeks of exercising on these devices, without significantly soliciting the spine, increase the strength more than the classical weight training. It is worth mentioning that the manner of performing the exercises and the muscle groups solicited in classical exercises versus when using innovative equipments were highly similar

New Cu⁺² Complexes with N-Sulfonamide Ligands: Potential Antitumor, Antibacterial, and Antioxidant Agents

Nowadays, the discovery of a new non-toxic metal complex with biological activity represents a very active area of research. Two Cu+2 complexes, [Cu(L1)2(H2O)3] (C1) (HL1= N-(5-(4-methylphenyl)-[1,3,4]–thiadiazole–2-yl)-naphtalenesulfonamide) and [Cu(L2)2(py)2(H2O)] (C2) (HL2= N-(5-ethyl-[1,3,4]–thiadiazole–2-yl)-naphtalenesulfonamide), with two new ligands were synthesized. The X-ray crystal structures of the complexes were determined. In both complexes, Cu+2 is five-coordinated, forming a CuN2O3 and CuN4O chromophore, respectively. The ligands act as monodentate, coordinating the metal ion through a single Nthiadiazole atom; for the C2 complex, the molecules from the reaction medium (pyridine and water) are also involved in the coordination of Cu+2. The complexes have a distorted square pyramidal square-planar geometry. The compounds were characterized by FT-IR, electronic EPR spectroscopy, and magnetic methods. The nuclease activity studies confirm the complexes’ capacity to cleave the DNA molecule. Using a xanthine-xanthine oxydase system, the SOD mimetic activity of the complexes was demonstrated. Cytotoxicity studies were carried out on two tumor cell lines (HeLa, WM35) and on a normal cell line (HFL1) using the MTT method, with cisplatin used as a positive control. The antibacterial activity of the complexes was investigated against two Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacteria, and compared with Amoxicillin and Norfloxacin using the disk diffusion method. Both complexes showed in vitro biological activity but the C2 complex was more active. A lack of in vivo toxicity was demonstrated for the C2 complex by performing hepatic, renal, and hematological studies on Swiss mice

New Copper Complexes with Antibacterial and Cytotoxic Activity

The discovery of a new non-toxic metal complex with biological activity represents a very active area of research. Two Cu+2 complexes, [Cu4(L1)4(OH)4(DMF)2(H2O)] (C1) (HL1 = N-(5-ethyl-[1,3,4]–thiadiazole–2-yl)-benzenesulfonamide) and [Cu(L2)2(phen)(H2O)] (C2) (HL2 = N-(5-(4-methylphenyl)-[1,3,4]–thiadiazole–2-yl)-naphtalenesulfonamide), with two new ligands were synthesized. The X-ray crystal structures of the complexes were determined. In both complexes, Cu+2 is five-coordinated, forming a CuN2O3 and CuN4O chromophore, respectively. The ligands act as monodentate, coordinating the metal ion through a single Nthiadiazole atom; for the two complexes, the molecules from the reaction medium (phenantroline, dimethylformamide and water) are also involved in the coordination of Cu+2. The complexes have a distorted square pyramidal square-planar geometry. The compounds were characterized by FT-IR and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Using the microdilution method, the antibacterial activity of the complexes was determined against four Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacteria, with Gentamicin as the positive control. Cytotoxicity studies were carried out on two tumor cell lines (HeLa, DLD-1) and on a normal cell line (HFL1) using the MTT method and Cisplatin as a positive control. Flow cytometric assessment of apoptosis induced by the complexes on the three cell lines was also performed. Both complexes present in vitro biological activities but complex C2 is more active

Postmenopausal Breast Cancer in Women, Clinical and Epidemiological Factors Related to the Molecular Subtype: A Retrospective Cohort Study in a Single Institution for 13 Years. Follow-Up Data

This study focused on the characteristics of postmenopausal breast cancer in the population of southeastern Europe. This retrospective study explored the clinical, epidemiological, and molecular characteristics of women with postmenopausal breast cancer. Material and methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed on 721 postmenopausal breast cancer patients selected from the database of our institution. The data collected consisted of age, living environment, location of the breast tumor, stage of the disease, and molecular sub-type. Patient characteristics were collected based on a systematic chart audit from medical records. The data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0 and Pearson analysis. Results: The most frequent age range for breast cancer diagnosis was 51 to 70 years old. Most of the patients (80.7%) came from an urban environment. The vast majority of patients were initially diagnosed in stage II (40.3%) and III (30.3%). The most frequent molecular sub-types were luminal B (39%) and luminal A (35.4%). Almost half of the breast tumors were located in the upper outer quadrant (48.8%). Conclusions: The results of this study describe the profile of patients in southeastern Europe within our institution diagnosed with postmenopausal breast cancer. In our study, patients were first diagnosed with more advanced stages of breast cancer compared with other European countries

Influences of Psychomotor Behaviors on Learning Swimming Styles in 6–9-Year-Old Children

The aim of this study was to identify the existence of some relationships between certain psychomotor behaviors, which we consider specific to swimming, and learning to execute the technique of some swimming styles (front crawl and backstroke). The study was carried out for 10 months and included 76 children (40 boys and 36 girls) aged between 6 and 9 years who practice recreational swimming in a city in Romania. Several tools were used: the Tapping test for manual dexterity, the Goodenough test for body schema, the Flamingo test for static balance, and the horizontal buoyancy test for body balance on the water. The results indicated better ratings on all psychomotor behaviors analyzed according to gender (in favor of girls compared to boys). The levels of all analyzed psychomotor behaviors have a direct relationship to the subjects’ age. Also, we identified moderate positive correlations for manual dexterity (rs = 0.63 in the front crawl style; rs = 0.57 in the backstroke style) and strong correlations for body schema, static balance and buoyancy, coordination with the learning of the two swimming styles (r or rs between 0.77 and 0.85). In conclusion, psychomotor behaviors can be predictors for learning swimming styles