EVALUATION OF PROPRIOCEPTION AFTER ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT RECONSTRUCTION IN PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYERS

Rehabilitation after the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction is an essential element to treat knee instability. Proprioception improvement is one of the most important goals of the rehabilitation program (Rehm, A. et. all 1997). The aim of this paper is to evaluate proprioception of professional football players 6 months after the ACL reconstruction in comparison to proprioception of healthy football players using the Dynamic Riva Test

New Science Gateways for Advanced Computing Simulations and Visualization Using Vine Toolkit in PL-Grid

A Science Gateway is a connection between scientists and their computational tools in the form of web portal. It creates a space for communities, collaboration and data sharing and visualization in a comprehensive and efficient manner. The main purpose of such a solution is to allow users to access the computational resources, process and analyze their data and get the results in a uniform and user friendly way. In this paper we propose a complex solution based on the Rich Internet Application (RIA) approach consisting of a web portal powered by Vine Toolkit with Adobe Flex/BlazeDs technologies. There are two Science Gateways described in detail one for engineers to manage computationally intensive workflows used in advanced airplane construction simulations, and one for nanotechnology scientists to manage experiments in nano-science field calculated with Density Functional Theory (DFT). In both cases the results show how modern web solution can help scientists in their work. &nbsp

All-arthroscopic AMIC procedure for repair of cartilage defects of the knee

PURPOSE: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were introduced into clinical practice due to their ability to differentiate into many types of cells. Autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis (AMIC) combines the microfracture method with matrix-based techniques that utilizes a collagen membrane to serve as a scaffold for new bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, allowing effective reconstruction of even large fragments of a damaged cartilage surface. METHODS: All-arthroscopic technique to repair knee cartilage defects using the AMIC technique, which includes the use of a collagen matrix (porcine collagen type I and III) and fibrin glue—technique presentation. CONCLUSION: This technical note introduces an all-arthroscopic AMIC technique to reconstruct extensive cartilage defects (without bone defects). The technique may be used for treatment of all location of knee cartilage lesions. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: V

Preclinical evaluation of 1,2,4-triazole-based compounds targeting voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) as promising anticonvulsant drug candidates

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder affecting nearly 65–70 million people worldwide. Despite the observed advances in the development of new antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), still about 30-40% of patients cannot achieve a satisfactory seizure control. In our current research, we aimed at using the combined results of radioligand binding experiments, PAMPA-BBB assay and animal experimentations in order to design a group of compounds that exhibit broad spectrum of anticonvulsant activity. The synthesized 4-alkyl-5-substituted-1,2,4-triazole-3-thione derivatives were primarily screened in the maximal electroshock-induced seizure (MES) test in mice. Next, the most promising compounds (17, 22) were investigated in 6 Hz (32 mA) psychomotor seizure model. Protective effect of compound 22 was almost similar to that of levetiracetam. Moreover, these compounds did not induce genotoxic and hemolytic changes in human cells as well as they were characterized by low cellular toxicity. Taking into account the structural requirements for good anticonvulsant activity of 4-alkyl-5-aryl-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiones, it is visible that small electron-withdrawing substituents attached to phenyl ring have beneficial effects both on affinity towards VGSCs and protective activity in the animal models of epilepsy

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BIAŁEK, EDWARD / NOWAKOWSKA, KATARZYNA (eds.) (2009): Literatura austriacka w Polsce w latach 1980-2008. Bibliografia odnotowana. [Österreichische Literatur in Polen in den Jahren 1980-2008. Eine kommentierte Bibliographie]. Wrocław: Oficyna Wydawnicza ATUT – Wrocławskie Wydawnictwo Oświatowe. 517 S. BOMBITZ, ATTILLA / CORNEJO, RENATA / PIONTEK, SŁAWOMIR / RINGLERPASCU, ELEONORA (eds.) (2009): Österreichische Literatur ohne Grenzen. Gedenkschrift für Wendelin Schmidt-Dengler. Wien: Praesens Verlag. 525 S. BORZYSZKOWSKA-SZEWCZYK, MIŁOSŁAWA (2009): Pamięć dla przyszłości. Literatura wspomnieniowa potomków szlachty pruskiej z Pomorza Zachodniego i Prus Wschodnich po 1945. [Erinnerung für die Zukunft. Erinnerungsliteratur von Nachkommen des preußischen Adels aus Pommern und Ostpreußen nach 1945]. Wrocław: Oficyna Wydawnicza ATUT – Wrocławskie Wydawnictwo Oświatowe. 320 S. HRDLIČKOVÁ, JANA (2008): „Es sieht schlimm aus in der Welt.“ Der moralische Appell in den Hörspielen von Marie Luise Kaschnitz. Ústí nad Labem: Univerzita J.E. Purkyně. 260 S. MOSER, DORIS / KUPCZYŃSKA, KALINA (eds.) (2009): Die Lust im Text. Eros in Sprache und Literatur. Wien: Praesens Verlag. 438 S. LOEW, PETER OLIVER (2009): Das literarische Danzig 1793 bis 1945. Bausteine für eine lokale Kulturgeschichte. Frankfurt (M.)/Berlin/ Bern u. a.: Peter Lang Verlag (=Danziger Beiträge zur Germanistik 25). 350 S. SCHÜWER, MARTIN (2008): Wie Comics erzählen. Grundriss einer intermedialen Erzähltheorie der grafischen Literatur. Trier: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier. 574 S. SPRENGEL, PETER (2009): Der Dichter stand auf hoher Küste – Gerhart Hauptmann im Dritten Reich. Berlin: Propyläen Verlag. 382 S. DONALIES, ELKE (2009): Basiswissen deutsche Phraseologie. Tübingen / Basel: Francke Verlag. 126 S. FREDERKING, VOLKER / KROMMER, AXEL / MAIWALD, KLAUS (2008): Mediendidaktik Deutsch. Eine Einführung. Berlin: Erich Schmidt Verlag. 319 S. KRECH, EVA-MARIA / STOCK, EBERHARD / HIRSCHFELD, URSULA / ANDERS, LUTZ CHRISTIAN (2009): Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch. Mit Beiträgen von WALTER HAAS, INGRID HOVE, PETER WIESINGER. Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter. 1076 S. (+ 1 Audio-DVD). LEWANDOWSKA, ANNA (2008): Sprichwort-Gebrauch heute. Ein interkulturell-kontrastiver Vergleich von Sprichwörtern anhand polnischer und deutscher Printmedien. Frankfurt (M.)/Berlin/Bern u. a.: Peter Lang Verlag. 366 S. MÜLLER, HANS-GEORG (2009): Adleraug und Luchsenohr. Deutsche Zwillingsformeln und ihr Gebrauch. Frankfurt (M.)/Berlin/Bern u. a.: Peter Lang Verlag. 579 S. SZCZODROWSKI, MARIAN (2009): Fremdsprachliche Lehr-Lern-Vorgänge im kodematischen Blickfeld. Gdańsk: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego. 225 S

Evaluation of functional limitations in female soccer players and their relationship with sports level--a cross sectional study.

THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: the aim of this study was to analyze: a) abnormalities in the length of lower limb muscles, b) the correctness of movement patterns, and c) the impact of functional limitations of muscles on the correctness of fundamental movement patterns in a group of female soccer players, in relation to their skill level. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 21 female soccer players from Polish Ekstraklasa and 22 players from the 1(st) Division were tested for lower limb muscle length restrictions and level of fundamental movement skills (with the Fundamental Movement Screen™ test concept by Gray Cook). Chi-square test was used for categorical unrelated variables. Differences between groups in absolute point values were analyzed using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. RESULTS: Statistically significant higher number of measurements indicating an abnormal length of rectus femoris was observed in the 1st Division group (p = 0.0433). In the group of Ekstraklasa the authors obtained a significantly higher number of abnormal hamstring test results (p = 0.0006). Ekstraklasa players scored higher in the rotational stability test of the trunk (p = 0.0008), whereas the 1st Division players scored higher in the following tests: deep squat (p = 0.0220), in-line lunge (p = 0.0042) and active straight leg raise (p = 0.0125). The results suggest that there are different functional reasons affecting point values obtained in the FMS™ tests in both analyzed groups. CONCLUSIONS: The differences in the flexibility of rectus femoris and hamstring muscle observed between female soccer players with different levels of training, may result from a long-term impact of soccer training on the muscle-tendon system and articular structures. Different causes of abnormalities in fundamental movement patterns in both analyzed groups suggest the need for tailoring prevention programs to the level of sport skills represented by the players

STRATEGY OF VISUAL PROPRIOCEPTIVE CONTROL IN PATIENTS WITH INJURY TO THE ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT OF THE KNEE AND HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS (SOCCER PLAYERS)

Objective: Knee joint dysfunction resulting from injury to the anterior crucial ligament (ACL) is associated not only with mechanical joint instability but also with damage of ligamentous receptors responsible for the joint proprioception. It was found that disturbances of signals from the damaged joint produce disorders in movement perception and position of the analogous joint in the normal limb. This study is aimed at evaluating the control strategy in patients with an injury to the anterior crucial ligament.Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Subjects/Patients- 84 men, aged 15 to 55 years (mean age 27 years) were included in this study. Methods- Patients were divided into two groups: those with unilateral injury to the ACL (33 patients) and a control group of healthy volunteers (soccer players; 51 men). Anterior crucial ligament damage was confirmed with arthroscopic knee joint examination in every patient. The way of visual proprioceptive control was assessed with both dynamic (DRT) and static (SRT) Riva tests standing on one leg. Tests were performed with the Delos Postural Proprioceptive System (Delos s.r.l., Corso Lecce, Torino, Italy) in the biomechanical evaluation laboratory at Rehasport Clinic in Poznań. Results: A statistically significant difference for deviations from the averaged axis in SRT (static Riva test) with closed eyes was found between the limb with a damaged ACL and the normal limb in the group of patients with injury to the ACL (p=0.006) and between the limb with a damaged ACL and normal limbs in healthy volunteers (p=0.022). A statistically significant difference for deviations from the averaged axis in SRT with closed eyes was also found between the dominant and non-dominant limb in healthy volunteers (p=0.013). No significant differences in the results of tests with open eyes were noted. Conclusions: The results of systems and their contribution to the visual proprioceptive control suggest an important role of the visual system in compensation of archeproprioceptive system disorders resulting from injury to the ACL. Clinical Relevance: Neurological deficits of proprioceptive perception, associated with injury to the ACL and affecting the balance, may be noted only in the results of tests performed with closed eyes

Discussion about different cut-off values of conventional hamstring-to-quadriceps ratio used in hamstring injury prediction among professional male football players.

To measure the sensitivity and specificity of differences cut-off values for isokinetic Hcon/Qcon ratio in order to improve the capacity to evaluate (retrospectively) the injury of hamstring muscles in professional soccer screened with knee isokinetic tests.Retrospective study.Medical and biomechanical data of professional football players playing for the same team for at least one season between 2010 and 2016 were analysed. Hamstring strain injury cases and the reports generated via isokinetic testing were investigated. Isokinetic concentric(con) hamstring(H) and quadriceps(Q) absolute strength in addition with Hcon/Qcon ratio were examined for the injured versus uninjured limbs among injured players, and for the injured and non-injured players. 2 x 2 contingency table was used for comparing variables: predicted injured or predicted uninjured with actual injured or actual uninjured. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive values, and positive and negative likelihood ratio were calculated for three different cut-off values (0.47 vs. 0.6 vs. 0.658) to compare the discriminative power of an isokinetic test, whilst examining the key value of Hcon/Qcon ratio which may indicate the highest level of ability to predispose a player to injury. McNemar's chi2 test with Yates's correction was used to determine agreement between the tests. PQStat software was used for all statistical analysis, and an alpha level of p <0.05 was used for all statistical comparisons.340 isokinetic test reports on both limbs of 66 professional soccer players were analysed. Eleven players suffered hamstring injuries during the analysed period. None of these players sustained recurrence of hamstring injury. One player sustained hamstring strain injury on both legs, thus the total number of injuries was 12. Application of different cut-off values for Hcon/Qcon significantly affected the sensitivity and specificity of isokinetic test used as a tool for muscle injury detection. The use of 0.47 of Hcon/Qcon as a discriminate value resulted in significantly lower sensitivity when compared to 0.658 threshold (sensitivity of 16.7% vs. 91.7%, respectively; t = 6.125,p = 0.0133). Calculated values of specificity (when three different cut-off were applied) were also significantly different. Threshold of 0.6 of Hcon/Qcon resulted with significantly lower specificity compared to 0.47 value (specificity of 46.9% vs. 94.5%, respectively; t = 153.0,p<0.0001), and significantly higher specificity when compared to 0.658 (specificity of 46.9% vs. 24.1%, respectively; t = 229.0, p<0.0001).The use of different cut-off values for Hcon/Qcon significantly affected the sensitivity and specificity of isokinetic testing. The interpretation of usefulness of isokinetic test as a screening tool in a group of male professional football players to predict hamstring injury occurrence within the next 12 months might be therefore significantly biased due to the different threshold values of Hcon/Qcon. Using one "normative" value as a cut-off (e.g. 0.47 or 0.60, or 0.658) to quantify soccer players (or not) to the group with a higher risk of knee injury might result in biased outcomes due to the natural strength asymmetry that is observed within the group of soccer players

Towards the Preparation of a Hydrogel from Lyophilisates of the Aloe arborescens Aqueous Extract

Aloe gel is a medicinal raw material with proven pharmacological activity. The health-promoting properties of other species of Aloe upon topical application prompted us to develop a formulation for the topical application of A. arborescence species. As a result of the gel preparation from the aqueous lyophilized extracts of three-year-old leaves of A. arborescence, no changes in the composition of the content of aloins A and aloenin A were found. The potential to neutralize free radicals was tested using DPPH and CUPRAC techniques, which confirmed the anti-radical activity of the lyophilisate. Screening of the inhibition of enzymes, the hyperactivity of which is associated with adverse changes in the skin of a pro-inflammatory nature, was performed. Importantly, using the PAMPA SKIN model, the possibility of the penetration of selected extract compounds (aloin A and aloenin A) through the skin was proven. Then, two formulations were prepared based on sodium alginate and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and the hydrogels were characterized (rheological analysis, drug release profiles, permeability, and stability studies). HPMC-based hydrogel was the one with a targeted release of active substances and greater stability. Aloe arborescens hydrogel matrices seem to be a promising treatment strategy for inflammatory surface damage based on &ldquo;green technology&rdquo; at the stage of extract preparation and development of the drug form for topical application