The aim of our paper is to identify the role of emotional intelligence in developing communication and relational skills. Evaluating the level of emotional intelligence is essential for building efficient communication, intellectual and emotional development. Socrate's advice "Know thyself!" finds its application in this case by (self)controlling one's emotions and adjusting them to the context, aiming at the need to know others and interact positively, skills that bring satisfaction and accomplishments to the human being on an individual as well as social level. The paper attends to these imperatives.

Background Various studies have used different exercise protocols as post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) stimulus; however, little attention has been given to the effects of exercise range of motion on the PAPE effect and subsequent performance enhancement. This study aimed to compare the PAPE responses induced by the bench press performed with different ranges of motion on subsequent bench press throw performance. Methods Ten resistance-trained males (age: 26 ± 3 years; body mass: 93.2 ± 9.4 kg; height: 181 ± 6 cm; experience in resistance training: 6.3 ± 2.4 years; relative bench press one-repetition maximum (1RM) 1.54 ± 0.2 kg/body mass) performed four experimental sessions consisting of a single set of the bench press at 80%1RM until mean barbell velocity dropped by 10% as the conditioning activity (CA) with a (1) standard, (2) cambered, (3) and reversed cambered barbell or a control condition in which the participants did not perform any CA. To assess the PAPE effect, single-sets of 2 repetitions of the bench press throw at 30%1RM were performed before and after the CA at the following time points: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 min. Results The two-way ANOVA (4 conditions × 2time points) showed a significant interaction for peak power (p < 0.001; η2 = 0.556) and peak velocity (p = 0.001; η2 = 0.457). The standard barbell bench press CA led to the greatest performance enhancement in peak power (p = 0.001; ES = 0.54) and in peak velocity (p = 0.002; ES = 0.71) within the examined conditions. Conclusions The results of this study indicate that the range of motion of the CA has a significant impact on the magnitude of the PAPE response, and the greatest effect can be reached when the range of motion of the CA and the subsequent explosive task is similar.

This study aims to introduce a resistance training protocol (6 repetitions × 70% of 1 maximum repetition (1RM), followed by 6 repetitions × 50% of 1RM within the same set) specifically designed for postmenopausal women with osteopenia/osteoporosis and monitor the effect of the protocol on bone mineral density (BMD) in the lumbar spine, assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). The subjects included in the study were 29 postmenopausal women (56.5 ± 2.8 years) with osteopenia or osteoporosis; they were separated into two groups: the experimental group (n = 15), in which the subjects participated in the strength training protocol for a period of 6 months; and the control group (n = 14), in which the subjects did not take part in any physical activity. BMD in the lumbar spine was measured by DEXA. The measurements were performed at the beginning and end of the study. A statistically significant increase (Δ% = 1.82%) in BMD was observed at the end of the study for the exercise group (0.778 ± 0.042 at baseline vs. 0.792 ± 0.046 after 6 months, p = 0.018, 95% CI [−0.025, −0.003]); while an increase was observed for the control group (Δ% = 0.14%), the difference was not statistically significant (0.762 ± 0.057 at baseline vs. 0.763 ± 0.059, p = 0.85, 95% CI [−0.013, 0.011]). In conclusion, our strength training protocol seems to be effective in increasing BMD among women with osteopenia/osteoporosis and represents an affordable strategy for preventing future bone loss.

This paper presents a study conducted on a group of 13 subjects, with the clinical diagnosis of Down syndrome, between 6 and 14 years old. The research was conducted between October 2015 and May 2016, at the research base of the "Vasile Alecsandri" University of Bacau, and at the sensory-motor integration laboratory. The assessment was made with the "Gross motor function measure" (GMFM) test. The specific objectives were to: increase the muscle strength and endurance; educate and rebuild the body image and scheme, the laterality, the spatial-temporal orientation and organization; increase the stability, balance, control, and coordination. The physical therapy programs comprised: various possibilities of starting motor acts and actions, the continuation of motions that are already known, the use of alternate motions, global and segmental, the improvement of stability, balance and perceptive-motor coordination, over the course of the strategy. Following the physical therapy intervention over the course of approximately 1 year and a half on the Down syndrome subjects, I noticed that the psycho-motor deficiencies recorded initially have obviously diminished. The analysis of the results offered us concrete data with a reduced margin of error, because the assessment consisted of simple, known actions that were implemented in children in the first stages of the basic motor skills education. The initial testing emphasized the level of functional development, during static and dynamic activities, the values being between 47.05% -59.52%, while in the final testing the maximum values were between 99.04% -100%.

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