Background: Compared to the great volume of studies focusing on children and adolescents without intellectual disability, research regarding body mass index among young populations (13–17 years old) with intellectual disability is scarce, mostly when we refer to the comparisons between various degrees of intellectual disability and gender. Methods: The purpose of this study was to assess a series of morphofunctional parameters among children with and without intellectual disability to characterise the morphofunctional normality and its perturbations. Within the study, we included 101 subjects from several educational institutions, distributed on five groups, by their gender and degree of intellectual disability. Results: The average values of body mass index exceed the values recommended by the WHO among all the five groups (boys and girls with and without intellectual disabilities) prone to obesity. Upon analysing the values of BMI by gender and type of intellectual disability, we note that the prevalence of obesity among boys is 28.07% (BMI > 24), while 19.29% are overweight (BMI ranging between 21.5 and 24). Conclusions: The prevalence of excess weight and obesity among persons with intellectual disabilities was similar among the male and female subjects. It shows an increasing trend by age.

The present study aims to identify if and how motor skills such as speed and agility can be improved by using training activities corresponding to performance in volleyball. The experiment included a total of 16 male athletes (17–18 years old), divided into two groups (control and experimental group). The tests applied in the research were the Illinois test and the Hexagon test, since speed, agility and quickness are essential to high performance in volleyball. After the initial tests, the experimental group became part of a 6-week training programme, designed to learn and master speed and agility drills. The results obtained at the final control tests demonstrated that the indicators of motor skills registered a real progress. This confirmed our working hypothesis stating that physical exercises, motor games and other means, specific to the game of volleyball, can influence the development of motor skills. Keywords: Agility, speed, performance sport, Illinois test, Hexagon test, volleyball training.

Background and Objectives: Cortisol is a valuable marker for assessing the body’s response to any form of stress. We conducted this study in order to evaluate the variations of salivary and serum cortisol levels in professional football players in relation to cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and their significance in potentially evaluating overtraining in athletes. Also, the question of whether salivary cortisol determination could fully substitute serum sampling was addressed. Materials and Methods: A total of 19 male professional football players were evaluated by measuring serum cortisol levels at rest (T0) and immediately after a CPET (T1) and salivary cortisol levels at rest (T0), 10 min after a CPET (T2), and 30 min after a CPET (T3). Results: T0 serum cortisol showed a statistically significant correlation with the oxygen uptake at the anaerobic threshold divided by the body weight (VO₂-AT/weight), as did the T2 salivary cortisol with the maximum oxygen uptake at the anaerobic threshold (VO₂-AT) and VO₂-AT/weight. T0 salivary cortisol was significantly correlated with the subjects’ height and the predicted O₂ pulse. Conclusions: While some correlations were discovered, they are insufficient to recommend cortisol as a routine biomarker in athletes’ evaluation. However, significant correlations were established between salivary and serum determinations, meaning that the non-invasive procedure could substitute venous blood sampling.

This article aims to investigate and explore present rehabilitation technology. Through the accumulated results of this review, we will summarise the support and benefits that the emergence of technologies in medicine provides. The primary objective of this study is to demonstrate how patient rehabilitation is evolving compared to traditional rehabilitation. The initial search identified 113 titles in the databases; 18 duplicate articles were removed automatically. The remaining 95 articles were examined by title and abstract, which resulted in the elimination of 59 studies. The full texts of the remaining 36 articles were read and evaluated; nine articles were excluded because they did not satisfy the inclusion criteria established for this study. At the evaluation stage, nine studies were thrown out because they did not fit into the medical fields that the research was looking into or because there was not enough data and information to analyse or rate the results. Other studies were excluded from the full-text evaluation because the study sample was not specified. Technology integration into rehabilitation presents obstacles such as high costs and limited accessibility. Researchers, medicinal professionals, and the technology industry must work together to develop more effective and cost-effective solutions. Nevertheless, these obstacles pale in comparison to the patient benefits of technology. In order to maximise the benefits and surmount the current challenges, it will be necessary to continue the research and development of these technologies in the future.

In February, 1953, Bucharest was chosen as the host for some major events: the International Youth Congress and the World Festival of Youth and Students. On this special occasion, the communist regime decided to build a sports complex of huge dimensions, the first of its kind in Romania, its main asset being an impressive stadium able to accommodate 80, 000 people. It was built by hundreds of workers as well as many young volunteers, whose joint efforts made possible its completion in July, 1953. Our study aims to analyse the building of this stadium in a special political environment, namely the establishment of the communist dictatorship in Romania, and also the highlights of its existence until 1989. We believe that its purpose was not only that of hosting various sporting events, but, transcending the world of sport, it also became a favourite location for public festivities, intended to illustrate the support the Romanian people gave to the communist regime. This type of communist manifestation, wherein thousands of people were forced to participate, was also characterised as a patriotic activity and consisted of hours of mechanistic parading whilst holding placards, singing patriotic songs agreeable to those in power and reciting poems that underlined the benefits of the communist regime.

This study aims to assess several morphofunctional parameters in female teenagers with and without intellectual disability to characterise normality and its disturbances. More precisely, the purpose was to examine the factors contributing to the differences in body composition elements between groups, such as the physical activity level. To evaluate these parameters, we used bioelectrical impedance analysis technology (BIA), most commonly used in studies concerning body composition because it is non-invasive, quick, with high data fidelity; it can be easily moved to various locations and applied straightforwardly among populations with diverse types of intellectual disability. Our research sample comprised 212 subjects (boys and girls) aged 17.1±0.6, divided into six groups by gender and type of intellectual disability. The study found influences of physical activity level on body composition components. In addition, we report a highly significant relationship for p<0.05, body mass index and the independent variable (No. of min./week) in some groups.