Universitatea Transilvania din Brasov

Open Access Repository

Arhiva digitală instituțională ce oferă acces deschis la rezultatele cercetării științifice și la resurse pentru educație: teze de doctorat, articole științifice, baze de date, studii, rapoarte, lucrări prezentate la conferințe și alte documente relevante.

Universitatea Transilvania din Brasov Open Access Repository

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1

Universitatea Transilvania din Brasov

Recent Submissions

Wearable Biomechanics and Video-Based Trajectory Analysis for Improving Performance in Alpine Skiing
(Sensors, 2026-02) Brus, Denisa Iulia; Catana, Dorin
Performance diagnostics in alpine skiing increasingly rely on integrated biomechanical and kinematic assessments to support technique optimization under real training conditions; however, many existing approaches address trajectory geometry or biomechanical variables separately, limiting their explanatory power. This study evaluates an integrated analysis framework combining OptiPath, an AI-assisted video-based trajectory analysis tool, with XSensDOT wearable inertial sensors to identify technical inefficiencies during giant slalom skiing. Thirty competitive youth athletes (n = 30; 14–16 years) performed controlled runs with predefined lateral offsets from the gates, enabling systematic examination of the relationship between spatial trajectory deviations, biomechanical execution, and performance outcomes. Skier trajectories were extracted using computer vision-based methods, while lower-limb kinematics, trunk motion, and tri-axial acceleration were recorded using inertial measurement units. Deviations from mathematically defined ideal trajectories were quantified through regression-based calibration and arc-based modeling. The results show that although OptiPath reliably detected trajectory variations, shorter skiing paths did not consistently produce faster run times. Instead, superior performance was associated with more efficient biomechanical execution, reflected by coordinated trunk–lower limb motion, controlled vertical loading, reduced lateral corrections, and higher forward acceleration, even when longer trajectories were followed. These findings indicate that trajectory geometry alone is insufficient to explain performance outcomes and support the integration of wearable biomechanics with trajectory modeling as a practical, low-cost, and field-deployable tool for alpine skiing performance diagnostics.
Smart Magnetic Drug Delivery System for Targeted, Intracellular Delivery of Irinotecan and Platinum-Based Antitumoral Drugs
(MDPI, 2026-02-27) Motelica, Ludmila; Vasile, Bogdan Stefan; Ficai, Denisa; Oprea, Ovidiu-Cristian; Surdu, Vasile Adrian; Trusca, Roxana Doina; Spoiala, Angela; Voicu, Geanina; Anghelache, Maria; Marta, Daciana Silvia; Peteu, Victor-Eduard; Ficai, Anton; Calin, Manuela
Coated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) comprising Fe3O4 are a powerful drug delivery system for cancer treatment. They can be preferentially internalized into the tumour cells and release the antitumoral agents on-site. In the present work, we have functionalized the MNPs with glutamic acid which, even if non-essential, is strongly involved in the protein synthesis as a nitrogen donor, being used as a conjugate for specific antitumoral drugs due to its capability to internalize into tumour versus healthy cells faster. The functionalized MNPs were stabilized by polyethylene glycol (PEG) coating. This system improves drug efficacy by concentrating therapeutic agents at the tumour site, and can also induce ferroptosis in cancer cells, an iron-dependent cell death process, which has a beneficial therapeutic effect. Additionally, PEG molecules on the surface of MNPs facilitate drug conjugation for targeted delivery to cancer cells. These MNPs were designed as a delivery system for antitumoral drugs like irinotecan, carboplatin and cisplatin for personalized therapies. Based on the obtained results, it was found that the functionalization with glutamic acid and stabilization with PEG can improve the internalization efficiency of the magnetic carriers into the tumour cells. Owing to their stability, the MNPs can reach and penetrate mitochondria and organize around lipid vesicles, with the most effective results observed for the cisplatin-loaded system from a concentration of 0.1 mg/mL.
Antimicrobial Functionalized Mesoporous Silica FDU-12 Loaded with Bacitracin
(MDPI, 2026-01-19) Vasile, Dan Adrian; Motelica, Ludmila; Mîrț, Luiza-Andreea; Vasilievici, Gabriel; Memecică, Oana-Maria; Oprea, Ovidiu Cristian; Surdu, Vasile Adrian; Trușcă, Roxana Doina; Chircov, Cristina; Vasile, Bogdan Ștefan; Ghizdavet, Zeno Dorian; Ficai, Denisa; Albu, Ana-Maria; Pericleanu, Radu; Dumbravă, Andreea Ștefania; Mihai, Mara-Mădălina; Gheorghe-Barbu, Irina; Ficai, Anton
The threats leading to the extinction of humanity accelerate the evolution and development of materials that are capable of providing conditions for preserving health and, implicitly, life. In our work, we developed drug delivery systems based on mesoporous silica which can deliver an antibiotic, bacitracin, in a more controlled manner. The synthesis of the FDU-12 was performed through a sol–gel method and alternatively functionalized with -NH2 groups or with poly(N-acryloylmorpholine) chains. The loading of bacitracin was performed using the vacuum-assisted method we successfully used to load these mesoporous materials preferentially within the pores as proved by the TGA-DSC results. The release was performed in two types of simulated body fluid (SBF) and this process was evaluated with chromatographic method using UV detection. The obtained data were fitted in three mathematical models of kinetic drug release (Weibull model, Korsmeyer–Peppas model, and nonlinear regression). The antimicrobial evaluation demonstrated that bacitracin-loaded FDU-12 formulations exhibited strong activity against both reference and clinical Staphylococcus strains. At sub-inhibitory concentrations, all formulations significantly reduced microbial adherence and biofilm formation, although certain strain-dependent stimulatory effects were observed. Furthermore, exposure to sub-MIC levels modulated the production of soluble virulence factors (hemolysins, lipase, and amylase), in a formulation- and strain-dependent manner, underscoring the ability of surface-functionalized FDU-12 carriers to influence bacterial pathogenicity while enhancing antimicrobial efficacy.
Mapping Research on Road Transport Infrastructures and Emerging Technologies: A Bibliometric, Scientometric, and Network Analysis
(MDPI, 2026-01-26) Gheorghe Carmen; Soica Adrian
Mapping the Research Landscape on Demographic Ageing and Economic Growth: A Bibliometric Analysis
(Economies, 2026-02-28) LITRĂ Adriana Veronica
Demographic ageing, a topic that is intensively addressed in the scientific literature, significantly influences the functioning of economic systems. Demographic ageing directly impacts the labour supply, productivity, savings, investments and the sustainability of public finances through pressure on pension and health systems. However, the efforts of ageing societies to transform and adapt to this demographic challenge through economic restructuring and innovation are recognized. Starting from the growing interest shown in the link between the demographic transformation of a society and the economic impact, the study carries out a bibliometric analysis on a dataset of 934 documents included in the OpenAlex platform, selected by filtering scientific publications according to a set of predefined criteria. The analysis of thematic clusters, co-authorship and bibliographic coupling reveals an increase in interdisciplinary research and a shift in emphasis from classical macroeconomic effects on the labour market and the financial system towards multidimensional transformations of the economic and social system, in which demographic transformation is no longer just a constraint but also a challenge towards progress through the integration of digitalization, automation and transition to AI-based economic systems to support economic development.