Silver and Copper Complexes with Ibuprofen and Caffeine-Preparation and Evaluation of Their Selected Biological Effects.

Several organometallic complexes based on more than twenty different metals have already been approved for medical applications. The aim of the presented research was to obtain complexes of silver and copper with the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ibuprofen and xanthine alkaloid caffeine and evaluate selected aspects of their bioactivity and biosafety in terms of their future possible applications. The obtained complexes were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, UV-VIS spectroscopy, conductometry, elemental analysis, and bioassays. Cytotoxicity for normal human cells of the CCD-Co18 cell line was evaluated by determining the IC50 value, with metabolic and morphology assessments. It was observed that complexes containing ibuprofen and caffeine exhibited lower toxicity than those with ibuprofen only. Complexes with copper showed lower toxicity towards healthy human fibroblasts compared to silver-based compounds, with an IC50 above 140 µg mL-1. However, in the silver complexes, the presence of caffeine increased the potency of COX-2 inhibition. Antimicrobial effects against different Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains were evaluated by MIC determination with values less than 20 µg mL-1.

Intervention for improvement the diet and physical activity of children and adolescents in Poland.

BACKGROUND: The effects of a two-year educational Programme "Keep Balance" addressed to children and adolescents have been evaluated. Its purpose has been to implement the rules of proper nutrition and increasing the level of physical activity on the population level. OBJECTIVE: The main objective of the evaluation was an indication if, after two years of programme activities, outcome indicators have been achieved. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Approximately 400,000 pupils/students from 1600 educational units from the territory of the whole country have been included in the education programme. The efficiency evaluation has been carried out in a sample of n = 1506 pupils/students in the interventional group and n = 1589 in the control group. Education has been addressed to the entire school environment, pupils, students, parents, teachers, headmasters, and the local community. The survey methodology, body weight and height measurements, the BMI index, and EUROFIT physical fitness tests have been used to assess the effects of the education programme in the scope of knowledge and nutritional behaviour regarding physical activity. There were assumed outcome indicators. The certification of schools/kindergartens with "The Certificate of a School/Kindergarten Friendly to Nutrition and Physical Activity" has been used to evaluate the activation of school environments. RESULTS: There was an improvement achieved over the assumed target points in the level of knowledge of pupils/students in the scope of nutrition and the role of physical activity, in the changes of nutritional habits, and in the results of physical fitness tests. There were achieved 20% increase in knowledge in the scope of nutrition and 5% increase in physical activity. There have been changes in the frequency in the consumption of the first breakfast before going to school (by 25% among the younger ones and by 17% among the older ones), an increase in the consumption of bottled water by 49% and reduction of sweet drinks by 19%. The percentage of the pupils/students consuming the recommended 5 meals increased by 33%. Physical fitness indicators were achieved over assumed 5% increase in the individual exercise tests. The Certificate was obtained after meeting the criteria and documenting the durability of the changes by 65% of 1600 educational units included in the Programme. A decrease in the frequency of overweight and obesity occurrence in the whole intervention sample by 1% was obtained; it was greater (but statistically insignificant) among younger students by 3.3% in comparison to the older ones where there was an increase of 1%. CONCLUSIONS: Summing up all achieved results the educational programme "Keep Balance" implemented on the population level aimed at children and adolescents has turned out to be effective and deserves to be continued after minor adjustments. Many positive changes have been identified as well as those that ought to be improved. Comprehensively included education and sometimes small changes in much of nutritional and physical behaviour have influenced the reduction of the percentage of pupils/students with excessive body weight, despite the fact that the average BMI has basically remained on the same level.

LEVEL OF SOMATIC DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN AGED SIX YEARS FROM AN URBAN AGGLOMERATION IN POLAND WITH RESPECT TO SELECTED ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS.

The aim of this study was to assess the somatic development of children from an urban agglomeration in Poland at the end of preschool education and the beginning of primary education with respect to selected socioeconomic and educational conditions. Data were collected for 742 children from selected Warsaw kindergartens in spring 2011 and 2012. Their mean age was 5.84±0.31 years. The sex categories were equal: 371 boys and 371 girls. Kindergartens chosen for the study constituted a representative sample. The diagnostic survey method (questionnaire technique) was used to assess the selected environmental conditions of development in the participating children. Body height and the sum of six skin folds (over the biceps, over the triceps, under the scapula, on the abdomen, over the wing of ilium and on the calf) were chosen from the assessed anthropometric parameters for the purpose of determining somatic development of study participants. The obtained data were analysed using selected descriptive statistics methods (including cluster analysis), data standardization (normalization by mean values and SD) and the chi-squared test. The results showed certain relationships between the selected parameters of somatic development and family living conditions. These relationships involved differences between individual clusters depending on given living conditions and were most prominent for mother's education, for which variable differences between clusters were found for both sexes. The somatic build of boys (including body height and body adiposity) also differed depending on the number of offspring in the family, while the somatic build of girls differed depending on father's employment and father's education. Furthermore, the obtained results lead to the conclusion that the total number of differences between the analysed clusters was relatively low. This indicates that the biological effects of social stratification tend to diminish in the environment of an urban agglomeration.

Analysis of selected anthropometric parameters of 6-year-old children in Warsaw compared to the peer population in the years 1996-1999.

INTRODUCTION: Beside the positive tendencies in somatic development seen in the population of children and adolescents in Poland (e.g. the trend of increasing body height that has continued over many years), certain unfavorable phenomena are also observed. In recent decades, disorders connected with a deficiency or excess of body mass - excessive adiposity in particular - have become important health and social problems. This poses a considerable threat for being overweight, for obesity, and for other diseases of civilization. AIM OF THE STUDY: The research targeted the evaluation of selected anthropometric parameters: height-weight indices, circumferences, and skinfold thicknesses in the population of 6-year-old children in Warsaw in comparison with their peer population in 1996-1999, as well as estimation of the frequency of abnormal percentile values of the aforementioned anthropometric parameters: values below the 10th percentile and above the 90th percentile. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The research included a sample of 160 randomly chosen children (81 boys and 79 girls) born in 2005 who attended public and private kindergartens in Warsaw. The average age of this group was 5.71 ± 0.28 years. The study was carried out in the first quarter of 2011. The following somatic parameters were measured: body height, body mass, chest and arm circumference, triceps, and subscapular and abdominal skinfold thickness. The height-weight indices including Rohrer's Index and Body Mass Index (BMI) were calculated. Using a method of normalization of numerical data, the obtained measurements were compared to the measurements of the peer population (n=233) from 1996 to 1999, and the significance of differences between mean values in both groups was assessed with Student's t-tests. The percentage tables with the ranges of the below normative (<10th percentile) and above normative (>90th percentile) percentile values of the studied parameters and indices were prepared on the basis of the percentile charts that presented the anthropometric parameters of children in Warsaw 12-15 years prior to this research. RESULTS: Results especially worth underscoring are higher skinfold thickness values for children who took part in the research compared to the peer population examined in 1996-1999. This tendency was more typical of girls than boys and was observed mostly in subscapular skinfold thickness. Some of the differences between the studied population and the control group were statistically significant (girls: triceps skinfold thickness p <0.05, subscapular skinfold thickness p <0.01, sum of 3 skinfolds p <0.05; boys: subscapular skinfold thickness p <0.01). CONCLUSIONS: During the last 12-15 years, a certain tendency for greater body fatness in 6-year-old children in Warsaw has been noticed. In the present research, the alarming symptoms that indicate the threat for being overweight and for obesity were observed on the basis of measurement of skinfold thickness. However, these symptoms were not found in the case of the analysis of selected height-weight indices. The relatively high percentages of extreme values (values below the 10th percentile and above the 90th percentile) of the analyzed parameters suggest that there are many children with a non-normative somatic build in the examined group.

Differences in psychological perception of lung cancer between patients, medical staff and medical students.

OBJECTIVES: In clinical practice, medical staff is often unaware that what they think about patient's disease differs much from the perceptions and feelings of the patient. The aim of the study was to analyse the differences in psychological perception of lung cancer between patients treated with combined regimen for lung cancer (n = 30), medical staff (n = 94) and medical students (n = 303). METHODS: A total of 427 persons were enrolled in this questionnaire study using Imagination and Perception of Illness Scale (IPIS) by Sak. The IPIS scale items described: loss of motivation to carry out specific activities (eight items), mental sphere destruction (six items), physical sphere destruction (eight items), pessimism (four items), being a burden to others (three items) and loss of control over the illness (three items). A seven-point scale from '0', meaning the choice of maximum positive feature, to '6', meaning the choice of maximum negative feature, was used. The higher result obtained within a given factor signified the more negative perception of the illness. RESULTS: In all IPIS items, the results among patients were significantly lower than among medical staff or students (P = 0.018 and P = 0.001, respectively). Medical staff and students perceive lung cancer as causing more profound destruction in patient's mental and physical spheres than patients do. CONCLUSIONS: Patients treated for lung cancer with combined regimen perceive their disease more optimistically than what is imagined by medical staff and students, and may underestimate the threat. It may be explained by psychological adaptation of patients to their disease during prolonged treatment. We believe that informing lung cancer patients in detail about their illness should be recommended to enhance self-awareness and doctor-patient cooperation.

The knee alignment and the foot arch in patients with Turner syndrome.

INTRODUCTION: It is established that patients with Turner syndrome (TS) have numerous defects of the skeletal system, including in the lower extremities structure. However, there are not enough studies in the literature about knee alignment and foot arches in girls and women with TS. AIM OF THE STUDY: Assessment of knees and feet in girls and women with TS. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty-two girls and women with TS were examined. The mean chronological age of the patients was 15.61±5.27 years, ranging from 6.36 to 27.04-years-old. All patients underwent physical examinations of their knees and feet. Additionally, almost 70% (n=42) underwent plantographic examinations and measurement of their heel angle and Clarke's angle. The formation of the foot in patients with TS was related to the reference values developed on the basis of studies of healthy girls (n=92). In women whose knee conditions were assessed only on the basis of a physical examination, a drawer test was performed each time to assess the stability of the knee ligament systems. RESULTS: In over 60% of patients with TS, incorrect knee alignment, primarily in the form of genu valgum (knock-knee), was diagnosed. At the same time, 60% of the patients tested only in physical examinations were diagnosed with knee ligament instabilities (positive drawer test). Physical examinations showing foot arch malformation - in equal proportion splay-foot and low-arched - were found in almost two-thirds of women with TS. However, on the basis of plantography, abnormalities in the longitudinal arch of the foot were diagnosed in 60% of patients with TS, and abnormalities in the transverse arch of the foot were diagnosed in 80% of patients with TS. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with TS, the occurrence of the following is characteristic: 1. Genu valgum of knees and heels; 2. Frequent cases of abnormally formed longitudinal and transverse arches of the foot, with the longitudinal arch of the foot usually being reduced, while the transverse arch is excessively elevated; 3. Asymmetry involving a frequent occurrence of different types of abnormalities in the arches of the left and right foot, and the possible occurrence of normal knee alignment with an abnormal formation of the feet, or incorrect knee alignment with normal formation of the arches in both feet. The presence of the aforementioned disorders of knee alignment and foot arches authorizes us to recommend a routine assessment of posture, knee alignment, and the arch of the foot in all patients with Turner syndrome and, if irregularities are found, to direct patients for corrective treatment of the musculoskeletal system disorders.

[Posture in Turner syndrome patients]. / Postawa ciala w zespole Turnera.

INTRODUCTION: Turner syndrome (TS) is a chromosomal disease regarded as the most common cause of pathological short stature in women. TS patients frequently present with abnormalities in the structure of the vertebrae and limb bones, leading to this assessment of posture in girls and women with TS. AIM OF THE STUDY: Assessment of posture in TS patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Posture was assessed in 63 TS patients ranging between 6-27 years of age. All patients under 16 years of age were undergoing treatment with recombinant human growth hormone. The older patients had received the treatment in the past and were undergoing oestrogen or combined oestrogen and progesterone treatment. The TS diagnosis was confirmed in each case by a cytogenetic study. Two methods of posture assessment were used: Moire's photogrammetric (in 68% patients) or an orthopaedic examination (in 32% of patients). Posture was assessed in the median and frontal planes. RESULTS: The photogrammetric assessment in the median plane found normal posture among 30% of patients, 33% of patients exhibited lordosis, while 28% of patients exhibited kyphosis. Orthopaedic examination in the medial plane found normal posture among half of patients under 16 years of age, while all the older patients (n=4) exhibited faulty posture. Clinical examination found more cases of kyphosis than other posture defects. In the frontal plane over half of all patients were found to have scoliosis, irrespective of patient's age or method used. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the numerous and diverse posture defects found in the studied patients, routine assessment of posture in all TS patients is recommended. From the clinical perspective it seems that a single method of posture assessment in TS patients is recommended to simplify comparison of assessment results and improve understanding of the frequency of incidence of individual posture defects in TS patients.

[Physical fitness and body posture of 7-years-old children with extreme somatic parameters]. / Sprawnosc fizyczna i postawa ciala 7-letnich dzieci o skrajnych parametrach somatycznych.

INTRODUCTION: This work is connected with chosen aspects of school readiness. This term means adequate state of child development which makes its receptive to systematic education. School readiness includes--besides psychical, emotional and social--also somatic and motor elements. AIM OF THE STUDY: To assess the level of physical fitness and body posture of 7-years-old children with extreme somatic parameters. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A group of 524 children (245 girls and 279 boys) aged 6.86 (+/- 0.35) were examined. Body height and mass were measured and percentile individual positions were determined. Physical fitness test was also used (bend trunk, shuttle run 4 x 5 m, standing long jump, sit ups, throw of medical ball) and visual technique of body posture diagnosing was carried out. The basic statistical methods were applied. RESULTS: Worse results in some physical fitness tests (bend trunk, shuttle run 4 x 5 m, sit ups, throw) were obtained by children with extreme body mass index (BMI) against a background of peers. The most specific defects of body posture of children with atypical somatic structure appeared: on knees and feet, in the group of children with higher body-weight proportions, more often among boys than girls. CONCLUSIONS: Extreme height-mass parameters were more significantly reflected in physical fitness level of examined children than tall-stature or deficiency of body height. Whereas among equivocal interrelations between body posture and extreme somatic parameters stood out tendency to intensification of knees and feet defects among children with high BMI.

[Health school readiness of overweight and obese children against a background of peers]. / Zdrowotna gotowosc szkolna dzieci z nadwaga i otyloscia na tle grupy rówiesniczej.

UNLABELLED: The aim of this work is to estimate the frequency of overweight and obesity phenomena among 6-7 y. o. rural and urban children and to assess physical fitness and body posture of these girls and boys against a background of peers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The researches were conducted on 524 children: 279 boys and 245 girls from village and city. The used methods were: anthropometric measurements (body height and mass), simple physical fitness tests, the examination of body posture, poll technique and basic statistical methods. RESULTS: Altogether 9,9% of children from examined group are burdened with overweight or obesity. The analysis shows that this phenomenon is more typical for boys than for girls and that the frequency of overweight and obesity is similar in rural and urban environment. Generally socio-economic and educational status of their families is an average or moderately profitable, in most. The physical fitness level of these children is lower as against a group of peers. Crooked knees, deeper lordosis curve, emphasized stomach and buttocks, platypodia and flat-crooked feet occur more often than among the rest 6-7 y.o. examined girls and boys. CONCLUSIONS: Negative consequences of somatic disturbances were noticed in health school readiness of overweight and obese children. These effects manifest themselves in lower physical fitness and worse quality of body posture, against a group of peers. Family and school environment should make an effort to counteract overweight and obesity and to support posture genesis of children with this health problem.

[Health school readiness of short-statured rural and urban children against of peers' background]. / Zdrowotna gotowosc szkolna niskoroslych dzieci miejskich i wiejskich na tle grupy rówiesniczej.

THE AIM OF THIS WORK: is to estimate the frequency of short-stature phenomena,s among 6-7 y.o. rural and urban children and to assess the physical fitness and body posture of short-statured girls and boys against of peers, background. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The researches were conducted on 436 children: 232 boys and 204 girls from village and city. The used methods were: anthropometric measurements (body height), simple physical fitness tests, the examination of body posture, poll technique and basic statistical methods. RESULTS: The analysis show that there are differences in the frequency of short-stature phenomena,s between girls and boys and between rural and urban children. Taking into consideration developmental age, the level of physical fitness of short-statured children is in "narrow norm" (between 25% and 75% of population) most often. Body posture of short-statured 6-7 y.o. children is characterized by typical features in this ontogenesis period: crooked knees, flat-crooked feet, protruding shoulder blades, emphasized stomach, asymmetrical shoulders and shoulder blades, staggering. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need of systematical monitoring of the biological development of short-statured children, particularly taking into consideration girls and boys whose physical fitness level is weak and body posture is incorrect, and also that kind of children, who grow in families with a low social-economic and educational status.

Anthropological assessment of changes in living conditions of the rural population in Poland in the period 1967-2001.

BACKGROUND: Poland is considered an ethnically homogeneous country, with no significant national, linguistic, religious or racial minorities. Thus, social differences in rates of maturation, height and weight may be assumed to contain a negligible genetic component and serve as a reflection of environment, i.e. living conditions. AIM: This study seeks to determine whether changes in economic conditions in Poland, in particular the acute economic crisis of 1977-1989 and the transformation of the political system in 1989, had an effect on the biological status of girls from various categories of the rural population. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Rural girls aged 9.5-18.5 years were studied in 1967 (n = 7889), 1977 (n = 7771), 1987 (n = 13 556) and in 2001 (n = 9599). The stratification of participants (farmers, farm-workers and non-farmers) was based on the source of their family income, parents' education, number of children per family and household appliances. Age at menarche (AM), body height, and weight were used as biological indicators of living conditions. RESULTS: During the decade 1967-1977, while a relatively good economic situation prevailed in the country, AM decreased by 0.64 years and distinct secular trends in height and weight were noted. During the decade 1977-1987, years of economic crisis, secular trends were arrested and AM increased by 0.11 years. Landless rural families were more strongly affected by food shortages than were farmers who were the food producers. The study, repeated in 2001, showed positive secular trends in body height and a decrease in AM of 0.24 years for decade for daughters of farmers this decrease in AM was twice as high as in non-farmer families. The latter group experienced acute unemployment after the political and economic system transformation (1989). AM was earliest in daughters of non-farmers, and latest in those from farmer families. In 1967, the difference between the mean ages at AM for these groups amounted to 0.53 years, in 1977 to 0.44 years, in 1987 to 0.33 years and to only 0.15 years in 2001. CONCLUSION: The categories of the rural population, farmers, farm-workers and landless rural inhabitants were variously affected by the economic crisis, as well as by the process of economic transformation. This shows that living conditions of each of those categories changed in different ways and to a different degree during the years 1967-2001. Farmers' families achieved the highest social advancement, as the AM of girls from those families decreased by 0.98 years compared to those from farmer-worker and landless rural families, which decreased by 0.85 and 0.60 years, respectively.

Changes in the biological status of Polish girls from a rural region associated with economic and political processes in the period 1967-2001.

The age at menarche, body height and weight of the daughters of farmers, farmer-workers and landless villagers in a rural region of Poland were studied. In the period 1967-1977, a time of economic development, a decrease in age at menarche (by 0.74 years) and a secular trend in body height (by 2.4 cm/decade) was observed. In 1977-1987, a period of acute economic crisis, age at menarche increased by 0.16 years and the secular trend in body height was only 1.1 cm/decade. In 1987-2001, age at menarche decreased and body height increased by 0.28 years and 2.9 cm respectively. The percentage of families owning a car, freezer and video increased during this period. These last results are indicative of an improvement in living conditions, but the villagers regard themselves as losers as a result of the political transformation (1989) in Poland.