The effect of the adapted soccer programme on motor learning and psychosocial behaviour in adolescents with Down syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have proven the significant positive impact of the regular physical activity on general health conditions and quality of life of people with intellectual disability. In practice, various adapted sports activities are used. The current study deals with the effects of the soccer programme. AIM: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effects of adapted soccer on the motor learning and some psychosocial characteristics in adolescents with Down syndrome. METHODS: Twenty-five participants were recruited and randomised into two groups (exercise and control). Adolescents placed in the exercise group carried out a special soccer programme twice a week during 16 weeks, while adolescents placed in the control group continued with their usual daily regime. Specific motor coordination, level of aggression, attention disorders, level of anxiety and depression, and social problems were measured before and after the training period. Mixed ANOVA were used to evaluate the effects of the experimental treatment. RESULTS: The exercise group had significant improvements (P < 0.05) in one of three motor variables (only in the easiest task) and in all psychosocial variables. There are no one significant change in the control group. The adapted soccer programme influenced more seriously on psychosocial characteristics than on motor learning of adolescent with DS. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that adapted soccer training can decrease aggression, anxiety and depression levels, and improve attention, social behaviour and simple motor skills in adolescents with Down syndrome.

Comparison of diuretic strategies in diuretic-resistant acute heart failure: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Up to 50% of patients hospitalized for acute heart failure (AHF) show resistance to diuretics. This condition contributes to a prolonged hospital length of stay and a higher risk of death. This review aimed to investigate whether a diuretic therapeutic approach more effective than furosemide alone exists for patients with diuretic-resistant AHF. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We identified all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating diuretic therapy in patients with diuretic-resistant AHF. We searched Pubmed, BioMed Central, and Cochrane CENTRAL databases. RESULTS: Six RCTs were identified, involving a total of 845 patients. The P-score ranges from 0.6663 for furosemide to 0.2294 for the tolvaptan-furosemide. We found no significant differences in efficacy for any drug comparison. CONCLUSIONS: None of the diuretics considered in RCTs performed to date (tolvaptan, metolazone, hydrochlorothiazide, indapamide) appear to be more effective than furosemide therapy alone for the treatment of patients with diuretic-resistant AHF.

Overtraining does not induce oxidative stress and inflammation in blood and heart of rats.

The aim of our research was to evaluate the changes in levels of cytokines and redox state parameters in blood and isolated heart of rats subjected to different swimming protocols. Rats were divided into 3 groups: 1) controls, 2) moderately trained rats that during all 12 weeks swam 1 h/day, 5 days/week, and 3) overtrained rats that in 10(th) week swam twice, 11(th) week 3 times, and in 12(th) week 4 times a day for 1 h. After sacrificing, blood from jugular vein was collected, and the heart excised and perfused on a Langendorff apparatus. Samples of the coronary effluent were collected during coronary autoregulation. Levels of superoxide anion radical (O(2)(-)), hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), nitric oxide (NO) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were measured in plasma and coronary effluent, while reduced glutathione (GSH), activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were measured in erythrocytes. Venous blood was also used for interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) determination. Moderate training protocol induced the decrease of TBARS in plasma, while both training protocols induced the decrease of O(2)(-) and H(2)O(2) in coronary effluent. There was no significant difference in levels of cytokines between groups. The results of study add evidence about beneficial effects of moderate-intensity training on blood and cardiac redox state of rats, and furthermore, shows that exercising frequently, if the intensity stays within moderate range, may not have detrimental effects.

A multi-scale computational assessment of channel gating assumptions within the Meissner corpuscle.

From the macroscopic mechanical deformation of skin to the feeling of touch is a chain of complex events whereby information is converted from one form to another between different scales. An important link in this chain is receptor activation, which requires incorporation of microanatomical, cellular and ion channel transduction models. Of particular interest is the deformations at the axon membrane bi-layer, which are believed to be involved in mechanoelectrical signal transduction by activation of ion channels. We present a fully coupled multi-scale finite element analysis of the finger pad during tactile exploration, whereby the Meissner corpuscle, which is modeled as a single representative volume element (RVE) at the microscopic level, interacts with the macroscopic finger model. Maximum values of local stretching and compression occurring at the bi-layer are monitored for finger models with and without fingerprints, the presence of which generates a remarkable amplification of the signal. The contours of the surface being explored are well represented by the maximal peaks observed within the membrane.

Identification of microprocessor-dependent cancer cells allows screening for growth-sustaining micro-RNAs.

Micro-RNAs are deregulated in cancer cells, and some are either tumor suppressive or oncogenic. In addition, a link has been established between decreased expression of micro-RNAs and transformation, and several proteins of the RNA interference pathway have been shown to be haploinsufficient tumor suppressors. Oncogenic micro-RNAs (oncomiRs) could represent new therapeutic targets, and their identification is therefore crucial. However, structural and functional redundancy between micro-RNAs hampers approaches relying on individual micro-RNA inhibition. We reasoned that in cancer cells that depend on oncomiRs, impairing the micro-RNA pathway could lead to growth perturbation rather than increased tumorigenesis. Identifying such cells could allow functional analyses of individual micro-RNAs by complementation of the phenotypes observed upon global micro-RNA inhibition. Therefore, we developed episomal vectors coding for small hairpin RNAs targeting either Drosha or DGCR8, the two components of the microprocessor, the nuclear micro-RNA maturation complex. We identified cancer cell lines in which both vectors induced colony growth arrest. We then screened for individual micro-RNAs complementing this growth arrest, and identified miR-19a, miR-19b, miR-20a and miR-27b as major growth-sustaining micro-RNAs. However, the effect of miR-19a and miR-19b was only transient. In addition, embryonic stem cell-derived micro-RNAs with miR-20a seeds were much less efficient than miR-20a in sustaining cancer cell growth, a finding that contrasted with results obtained in stem cells. Finally, we showed that the tumor suppressor phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10, a shared target of miR-19 and miR-20, was functionally involved in the growth arrest induced by microprocessor inhibition. We conclude that our approach allowed to identify microprocessor-dependent cancer cells, which could be used to screen for growth-sustaining micro-RNAs. This complementation screen unveiled functional differences between homologous micro-RNAs. Phenotypic characterization of the complemented cells will allow precise functional studies of these micro-RNAs.

An approach to the mechanical constitutive modelling of arterial tissue based on homogenization and optimization.

This paper is concerned with characterizing the quasistatic mechanical behaviour of arterial tissue undergoing finite deformation through hyperelastic constitutive functions. Commonly the parameters of constitutive functions are established by a process of optimization based on experimental data. Instead we construct a finite element model of a representative volume element of the material and compute its homogenized response to a range of deformations. These data are then used to provide objective functions for optimizing the parameters of two analytical models from the literature.

[Oral contraceptives and breast cancer]. / Oralni kontraceptivi i rak dojke.

Hormonal contraception is important for the way of life of many modern women. Since the oral contraceptives were introduced 30 years ago, millions of women were using the pill and large number of experimental, clinical and epidemiological studies have analyzed the risks of their administration. The question whether the usage of exogenous sex-steroids as hormonal contraception may favor the development of breast malignancy is a much debated problem, but a complete answer to the question of the relationship between contraception pill and breast cancer is at present still unresolved. Most studies have not found an overall increased risk of breast cancer associated with the use of the pill, but several recent studies suggested a link between the early-onset breast cancer and a long-term use of oral contraceptives at young ages. The risks for some subpopulations of women seem small (relative risk about 2.0 or less), but consistency of the findings has enforced further study. Women under the age of 35, if they have used the pill long-term or if they are at increased risk of breast cancer for other reasons, should discuss the risks of oral contraceptive use. Contraindications of pill usage must be strictly respected and their users carefully watched, including routine breast examinations. It is equally important to inform our patients about important and numerous positive impacts of pill usage on women's health, to reassure these women and prevent cancerophobia. Sufficient time has now elapsed to permit prospective epidemiological studies with large numbers of women who took the pill for many years beginning at a young age, and follow them as they come in age when breast cancer is most common. So we should carefully examine their results.

[A fetal bone as a foreign body in the uterus]. / Fetalna kost kao strano tijelo u maternici.

The ultrasound examination of a 49-year-old female patient with irregular and painful menstruations has revealed a foreign body in the uterus. In 1973 (19 years prior to procedure), the patient had an artificial abortion and since then has not been able to conceive. In 1977, hysterosalpingography and laparoscopy did not reveal the cause of infertility. Hysteroscopy was undertaken and diaphysis of a fetal bone 22 mm long was removed. This bone was most probably, functioning as an intrauterine device, the cause of infertility. Thus, the authors' findings strengthen once again the association between abortion and infertility. It is concluded that transvaginal sonography and hysteroscopy open new possibilities in identifying and treating such disturbances.