Effect of maturation on the relationship between physical performance and body size

The purpose of the study was to explore the effect of maturation on the body size-physical performance relationship. Based on our previous study that evaluated only muscle strength, we hypothesized that the physical performance tested on pubescent subjects would be related to body size at a higher rate than predicted by standard scaling theory applied on pre- and postpubescent subjects. Six age groups of highly selected and trained junior soccer players (N = 478; age 12-17 years) presumably including prepubescent, pubescent, and postpubescent subjects were evaluated. They were tested using various standard tests of maximum physical performance including muscle strength of 3 leg muscle groups, 2 jumps, sit-ups, hand and foot tapping, and agility. The results revealed a steeper increase of the tested performance with an increase in body size for the pubescent age than for the pre- and postpubescent age. The observed phenomenon was interpreted by different level of maturation of the subjects tested within the same pubescent age group. We conclude that maturation alters the effect of body size on various physical performances and, therefore, this phenomenon needs to be taken into account when interpreting the data from the physical performance tests applied on pubescent subjects.     

Corrosion behaviour of the Co-Cr-Mo dental alloy in solutions of different composition and different pH values

The purpose of this study was to examine how Co-Cr-Mo dental alloy behaves in the solutions of different pH value and different composition over a relatively long period of time. Co-Cr-Mo dental alloy was exposed in vitro to either simulated saliva (phosphate buffer pH 6.0), a highly acidic medium resembling the extreme conditions in the oral cavity (phosphate buffer pH 3.5), and in lactic acid at pH which occurs under the dental plaque (lactic acid pH 3.5). The alloy samples were immersed in these three solution for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 14, 21, and 30 days. Solutions were analysed with the ICP-AES. The analysis showed that during one month cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn) and nickel (Ni) ions had been released from tested samples in all three solutions. The results of this study indicate that the leaching of the Co, Cr, Fe, Zn and Ni ions in the solution was dependent both upon the nature of the solution in which the alloy was immersed and the duration of the immersion (p < 0.001).     

A model of oncologic care in general medicine

The problems related to cancer and its control initially manifest in local community, and general practitioners are those who most commonly have to face them there. The aim of the study was to develop a program of comprehensive oncologic care for primary care physicians, which would be highly professional, efficient, economically justified and feasible, with the ultimate goal of upgrading the target population health and quality of life. Opinions on the priorities and intensity of work in particular activities of general practitioners in the field of oncologic care were obtained from 54 Croatian experts in oncologic care. An Expert Opinion was designed to collect oncologists' opinions by use of Delphi method. The study was performed in two runs, yielding a high rate of accordance among the oncologists. 38 of 54 participants responded in the first run, and 40 of 54 (74%) responded in the second run. The results indicated pain therapy and terminal care to be given highest priority, whereas measures of primary prevention ranked first as a group. There was a unanimous agreement that current activities of primary care physicians in the field of oncologic care were not satisfactory, and that they should take the role of a coordinator of the oncologic care of both individual patients and the population at large. The study showed that a model of oncologic care applicable throughout the country could be developed by combining data from a small health care office with the knowledge of renowned experts in the field.     

Standard anthropometric, body composition, and strength variables as predictors of jumping performance in elite junior athletes

The aim of the study was to investigate whether variables routinely assessed while testing athletes can also predict movement performance. The relation between jumping performance and standard strength, anthropometric, and body composition variables was examined in elite junior basketball players. The 33 males were tested for maximal vertical jump, as well as for maximal isometric voluntary force and rate of force development of hip and knee extensors. Standard anthropometric and body composition measures (body height, lean body mass, as well as the percentage of fat and muscle tissue) were also taken. Except for maximal isometric forces (0.38 and 0.52 N.kg(-1) for hip and knee extensors, respectively), all correlation coefficients between the selected variables and jump height were insignificant. As a consequence, the corresponding multiple correlation coefficient, R = 0.71, also suggested a moderate predictability of jumping performance by the standard strength tests and anthropometric and body composition variables. The results obtained dispute the use of the examined tests in sport performance assessment, and also question applying the tests for other purposes such as evaluation of training procedures or selection of young athletes. Therefore, the results are in line with the concept that a reliable performance assessment in homogeneous groups of athletes requires predominantly movement-specific testing.     

Preparation and characterization of biologically active iodo- and [3H]secretin

Synthetic secretin has been iodinated at the N-terminal histidine, leading to an almost 100% yield of mono- and diiodo-secretin (“lodo-secretin”). The catalytic exchange of iodine against tritium results in the preparation of secretin labeled with tritium mainly at the histidine residue (7 Ci/mmol). Iodo-secretin and [³H]secretin have the same potency in stimulating pancreatic adenylate cyclase as secretin, but the apparent affinity of [³H]secretin for this enzyme is twice as high as for iodo-secretin. [³H]Secretin binds rapidly to pancreatic plasma membranes. Adding excess unlabeled secretin reduces the tracer binding by about 70%.     

Predictions of Experimentally Observed Stochastic Ground Vibrations Induced by Blasting

In the present paper, we investigate the blast induced ground motion recorded at the limestone quarry “Suva Vrela” near Kosjerić, which is located in the western part of Serbia. We examine the recorded signals by means of surrogate data methods and a determinism test, in order to determine whether the recorded ground velocity is stochastic or deterministic in nature. Longitudinal, transversal and the vertical ground motion component are analyzed at three monitoring points that are located at different distances from the blasting source. The analysis reveals that the recordings belong to a class of stationary linear stochastic processes with Gaussian inputs, which could be distorted by a monotonic, instantaneous, time-independent nonlinear function. Low determinism factors obtained with the determinism test further confirm the stochastic nature of the recordings. Guided by the outcome of time series analysis, we propose an improved prediction model for the peak particle velocity based on a neural network. We show that, while conventional predictors fail to provide acceptable prediction accuracy, the neural network model with four main blast parameters as input, namely total charge, maximum charge per delay, distance from the blasting source to the measuring point, and hole depth, delivers significantly more accurate predictions that may be applicable on site. We also perform a sensitivity analysis, which reveals that the distance from the blasting source has the strongest influence on the final value of the peak particle velocity. This is in full agreement with previous observations and theory, thus additionally validating our methodology and main conclusions.     

Youth and personality formation--the world belongs to the strength of the young and to the wisdom of the elderly (a point of view of the communicologist)

It is known from the pedagogic, didactic and experience coordinates that a man doesn't become better by using words but by his actions. They are matchless examples for the self-apprehension process and the perception of the action itself as well as the only worthy and accurate offer for the assessment of the range and the significance of the achieved result. From the earliest stage of their life, from the childhood and then later on in different stages of their development and growth, the human being as a social being has a double need: to feel himself in the range of his "I" and to feel himself as a member of a group, a family and of the society in general. Satisfying the sense and the level of those needs doubtlessly depends on the examples given by the life itself and the circumstances of the living within the family, the school and finally the society, that is, the surroundings where the individual is affirming himself by his individual creative capability and skills with which he realizes himself as a subject on its own as well as within the social group he lives and works in. The conditions of the life and work of the elderly are necessary for this important and precious task in the development of a young man so that the applications of their experiences could ensure reliable guidelines for the harmony and success of the life and work of the young. On this bridge of generations the experience of the old is affirmed along with the need for its aimed, creative and fruitful offer to the young in the dynamic process of their development to the maturity and creativity.     

DisProt: a database of protein disorder

The Database of Protein Disorder (DisProt) is a curated database that provides structure and function information about proteins that lack a fixed three-dimensional (3D) structure under putatively native conditions, either in their entirety or in part. Starting from the central premise that intrinsic disorder is an important structural class of protein and in order to meet the increasing interest thereof, DisProt is aimed at becoming a central repository of disorder-related information. For each disordered protein, the database includes the name of the protein, various aliases, accession codes, amino acid sequence, location of the disordered region(s), and methods used for structural (disorder) characterization. If applicable, most entries also list the biological function(s) of each disordered region, how each region of disorder is used for function, as well as provide links to PubMed abstracts and major protein databases. AVAILABILITY: www.disprot.org     

Envelope glycoprotein mutations mediate equine amplification and virulence of epizootic venezuelan equine encephalitis virus

Epidemics of Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) result from high-titer equine viremia of IAB and IC subtype viruses that mediate increased mosquito transmission and spillover to humans. Previous genetic studies suggest that mutations in the E2 envelope glycoprotein allow relatively viremia-incompetent, enzootic subtype ID strains to adapt for equine replication, leading to VEE emergence. To test this hypothesis directly, chimeric VEEV strains containing the genetic backbone of enzootic subtype ID strains and the partial envelope glycoprotein genes of epizootic subtype IC and IAB strains, as well as reciprocal chimeras, were used for experimental infections of horses. Insertion of envelope genes from two different, closely related enzootic subtype ID strains into the epizootic backbones resulted in attenuation, demonstrating that the epizootic envelope genes are necessary for the equine-virulent and viremia-competent phenotypes. The partial epizootic envelope genes introduced into an enzootic ID backbone were sufficient to generate the virulent, viremia-competent equine phenotype. These results indicate that a small number of envelope gene mutations can generate an equine amplification-competent, epizootic VEEV from an enzootic progenitor and underscore the limitations of small animal models for evaluating and predicting the epizootic phenotype.