Differences in Physical, Physiological and Motor Performance Traits between Volleyball and Basketball Athletes in a University in Ghana.

Physical, physiological and motor performance traits play substantial role in both volleyball (VB) and basketball(BB) competitions. The differences in these traits among University athletes in Ghana have not been reported. Hence, thisstudy documents and compares the physical, physiological and motor performance traits of VB and BB university athletes.Purposive sampling technique involving thirty-five university athletes (24 males and 11 females) with mean age of 21.77 ±2.03years was used. Height, weightn, waist and hip circumferences, waist to hip ratio (WHR), body mass index (BMI), heartrate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), shoulder muscular endurance (SME), abdominal muscular endurance (AME), left and right Arm Strength, Leg Power, Reaction time, Agility and Speed traits were measured.Descriptive statistics was used while analysis of variable was by paired t-test and significance was at p<0.05. Volleyballplayers significantly have better WHR, AMS and agility while Basketball athletes possess better SBP, SME and reactiontime. Gender influence was significant in height, WHR, HR, SBP, SME, AME, LAS, RAS, speed, reaction time, power andagility. Athletes in both games do not have similar physical, physiological and motor performance traits. Volley Ball playershad better abdominal muscular endurance, right-hand muscular strength, speed, power and agility while BB players hadbetter shoulder muscular endurance and reaction time traits. These differences in traits should inform volleyball andbasketball coaches in their selection.

Synthesis, physicochemical properties, and biological evaluation of N-substituted 2-alkyl-3-hydroxy-4(1H)-pyridinones: orally active iron chelators with clinical potential.

The synthesis of a range of novel bidentate ligands containing the chelating moiety 3-hydroxy-4(1H)-pyridinone is described. The pKa values of the ligands and the stability constants of their iron(III) complexes have been determined. The crystal structures of one of the ligands and one of the iron(III) complexes are presented. The distribution coefficients of the ligands are reported and are related to the ability of the ligands to remove iron from hepatocytes. The influence of 3-hydroxy-4(1H)-pyridinones on oxidative damage to cells is described. In contrast to the iron chelator in current therapeutic use, desferrioxamine-B, many of the bidentate ligands described in this study are orally active in iron-overloaded mice.

Investigation of the anti-inflammatory properties of hydroxypyridinones.

Synovial iron deposition associated with rheumatoid disease may result in the production of highly reactive oxygen free radicals, leading to tissue damage. This chain of events can be interrupted by iron chelation. Families of strong iron (III) chelators have been tested for their iron scavenging properties in vitro and their effects assessed in vivo using a rat model of inflammation. All the chelators competed successfully for iron with apotransferrin, and some removed up to 34% of iron from ferritin. The best anti-inflammatory effects were achieved with the most hydrophilic chelators and those which chelated iron most avidly. Activity was dependent on dose. The route of administration was also an important factor with lower affinity chelators. This work introduces a range of simple bidentate iron chelators, which under certain conditions exceed desferrioxamine in their iron scavenging abilities, and some of which, in this simple animal model, approach indomethacin in their anti-inflammatory capabilities.

Iron mobilization from hepatocyte monolayer cultures by chelators: the importance of membrane permeability and the iron-binding constant.

A series of bidentate hydroxypyridinone iron chelators that have therapeutic potential as oral iron chelators, have been studied systematically to determine which properties are the most critical for the mobilization of hepatocyte iron. The relationship between lipid solubility of the free and complexed forms of each chelator and hepatocyte iron release has been investigated as well as the contribution of the binding constant for iron (III). Hydroxypyridin-4-ones that were approximately equally soluble in lipid and aqueous phases were the most active compounds, the partition coefficient of the free chelator appearing to be more critical in determining iron release than that of the iron-complexed form. Highly hydrophilic chelators did not mobilize intracellular iron pools, whereas highly lipophilic compounds were toxic to hepatocytes. The contribution of the binding constant for iron (III) to cellular iron release was assessed by comparing hydroxypyridin-4-ones (log beta 3 = 36) and hydroxypyridin-2-ones (log beta 3 = 32), which possess similar partition coefficients. The results show that the binding for iron (III) is particularly important at low concentrations of chelator (less than 100 mumol/L) and that at higher concentrations (greater than 500 mumol/L) iron mobilization is limited by the available chelatable pool. Measurement of iron release with other chelators confirms the importance of both the lipid solubilities and iron (III)-binding constants to iron mobilization. The most active hydroxypyridin-4-ones released more hepatocyte iron than did deferoxamine when compared at equimolar concentrations. The results suggest that the ability of an iron chelator to enter the cell is crucial for effective iron mobilization and that once within the cell the binding constant of the chelator for iron (III) becomes a dominant factor.