Effects of aquatic exercises on physical fitness and quality of life in postmenopausal women: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: In the present systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to evaluate and update the effects of aquatic exercise on physical fitness and quality of life (QoL) in postmenopausal women. Methods: The databases Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, and MEDLINE were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the topic from inception to July 2022. The GetData software was used to extract data from the published images. RevMan5.4 software was used for statistical analysis. Data are expressed as standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). I2 index was employed for heterogeneity. Egger's test was used to assess publication bias. We evaluated the methodological quality of included studies using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale. Results: We included 594 participants in 16 RCTs (19 comparison groups). The results indicated that aquatic exercise can significantly improve lower limb strength (LLS), upper limb strength (ULS), agility, flexibility, and overall QoL. No significant effects were found on aerobic capacity. Subgroup-analysis results indicated that aquatic exercise only significantly improved LLS, ULS, agility, and flexibility in postmenopausal women < 65 years of age. However, aquatic exercise improves the overall QoL both in postmenopausal women < 65 years and ≥ 65 years. Aquatic resistance exercise significantly improves LLS, ULS, agility and flexibility. In addition, aquatic aerobic exercise can effectively increase LLS, and combined aquatic aerobic and resistance exercise can enhance the overall QoL. Conclusions: Aquatic exercise can effectively improve physical fitness and overall QoL in postmenopausal women, but has limited effects on aerobic capacity; thus, it is highly recommended in postmenopausal women.

Surface molecularly imprinted polymers with synthetic dummy template for simultaneously selective recognition of nine phthalate esters.

Dummy template molecularly imprinted polymers (DMIPs) on silica gel particles for simultaneously selective recognition of nine phthalate esters have been prepared. A novel dummy template molecule with similar structural skeleton to the phthalate ester, diethyl N,N'-phthaloyl-bis(11-aminoundecanoate), has been designed and synthesized. The DMIP films were grafted on the surface of silica gel particles by a sol-gel process with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and tetramethoxysilane (TEOS) as functional monomer and cross-linker, respectively, and the obtained sorbents have been characterized by FTIR with diffuse reflectance accessory. The maximum static adsorption capacities of the DMIPs and NIP sorbents for the nine phthalate esters were 281 and 132mg/g respectively, and the results of dynamic adsorption showed that the adsorption equilibrium could be achieved about 5min for the DMIPs sorbents. The imprint factors of the sorbents ranged from 1.8 to 3.0 for eight of the phthalate esters except for Diamyl phthalate, which indicated that the DMIPs sorbents have high selectivity. The competitive experiments of the nine phthalates with some of their analogues on the sorbents illustrated that the DMIPs sorbents have high specificity for the phthalates. A GC-MS method for determination of the phthalate residues in fruit juice have been developed with the DMIPs as sorbents for the solid phase extraction (SPE) in the sample pretreatment procedures. The spiking recoveries of the phthalates were in the range of 72-100.2% with relative standard deviations lower than 10.2%. The results indicated that the obtained sorbents could specifically recognize the phthalates from complex matrices, which provide a new train of thought for preparing the DMIPs sorbents.

[Effecacy of three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy combined with Tegafur for postoperative recurrent rectal carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the local control rate, survival time and side effect of three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy combined with Tegafur for postoperative recurrent rectal carcinoma. METHODS: Forty patients with postoperative recurrent rectal carcinoma received three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy, 1.8 - 2.0 Gy/once, 5 times every week and the total dose was 54 - 65 Gy. At the same time, the patients took Tegafur orally 40 mg/m(2) twice per day for consecutive 28 days, and one cycle lasted for 42 days. The chemotherapy was applied for 2 cycles after radiotherapy. RESULTS: The total effective rate (CR + PR) was 70.0%, improvement rate was 90.0%, 1-year survival rate was 70.0%, and 1-year local control rate was 62.5%. There was only a little side effect. CONCLUSIONS: Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy combined with Tegafur for postoperative recurrent rectal carcinoma have definite effect, with a high local control rate, and patients well tolerance the treatment without serious side effect. It can apparently improve the life quality of the patients.