Does small-sided-games’ court area influence metabolic,perceptual, and physical performance parameters of young elite basketball players?

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of court size on physiological responses and physical performance of young elite basketball players. Twelve male basketball players (18.6 ± 0.5 years; 88.8 ± 14.5 kg; 192.6 ± 6.5 cm) from an under-19 team performed two small-sided games (matches) with different court areas (28x15 m and 28x9 m; 28x15 and 28x9 protocols). The number of players (3x3) was kept the same in each protocol. The players performed a repeated-sprint ability (RSA) test before and after each match. Blood lactate concentration was collected before (pre) and after (post) the matches, and the session rating of perceived exertion (session-RPE) was determined 30 minutes after the match. Best and mean time in the RSA test were not different between the 28x15 and the 28x9 match protocols (p > 0.05). A significant difference was observed for lactate concentration from pre- to post-match (p < 0.05) in both protocols (28x15 and 28x9); however, there was no significant interaction between protocols. A similar session-RPE mean score (28x15: 7.2 ± 1.4 and 28x9: 6.6 ± 1.4) was detected for both protocols (p > 0.05, ES=0.41). In summary, the results of the current study suggest that the different court areas induced similar responses. Although there was no significant difference in effort perception, players tended to perceive a greater effort in the larger court size.     

Formulation and antifungal performance of natamycin-loaded liposomal suspensions: the benefits of sterol-enrichment

The aim of this study is to develop and evaluate food-grade liposomal delivery systems for the antifungal compound natamycin. Liposomes made of various soybean lecithins are prepared by solvent injection, leading to small unilamellar vesicles (<130?nm) with controlled polydispersity, able to encapsulate natamycin without significant modification of their size characteristics. Presence of charged phospholipids and reduced content of phosphatidylcholine in the lecithin mixture are found to be beneficial for natamycin encapsulation, indicating electrostatic interactions of the preservative with the polar head of the phospholipids. The chemical instability of natamycin upon storage in these formulations is however significant and proves that uncontrolled leakage out of the liposomes occurs. Efficient prevention of natamycin degradation is obtained by incorporation of sterols (cholesterol, ergosterol) in the lipid mixture and is linked to higher entrapment levels and reduced permeability of the phospholipid membrane provided by the ordering effect of sterols. Comparable action of ergosterol is observed at concentrations 2.5-fold lower than cholesterol and attributed to a preferential interaction of natamycin–ergosterol as well as a higher control of membrane permeability. Fine-tuning of sterol concentration allows preparation of liposomal suspensions presenting modulated in vitro release kinetics rates and enhanced antifungal activity against the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.     

A 3D Homochiral MOF [Cd2(d‐cam)3]•2Hdma•4dma for HPLC Chromatographic Enantioseparation

Up to now, some chiral metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) have been reported for enantioseparation in liquid chromatography. Here we report a homochiral MOF, [Cd2(d‐cam)3]·2Hdma·4dma, used as a new chiral stationary phase for high‐performance liquid chromatographic enantioseparation. Nine racemates of alcohol, naphthol, ketone, and base compounds were used as analytes for evaluating the separation properties of the chiral MOF packed column. Moreover, some effects such as mobile phase composition, column temperature, and analytes mass for separations on this chiral column also were investigated. The relative standard deviations for the resolution values of run‐to‐run and column‐to‐column were less than 2.1% and 3.2%, respectively. The experimental results indicate that the homochiral MOF offered good recognition ability, which promotes the application of chiral MOFs use as stationary phase for enantioseparation. Chirality 28:340–346, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Circadian variations in self-monitoring,a component of executive functions

The objective of this study was to identify circadian rhythms in self-monitoring, a component of executive functions. Participants were 10 undergraduate students, age: 18.5 ± 2.68 years, two male and eight female. They were recorded on a 30-h constant routine protocol; rectal temperature was recorded every minute and performance on a tracking task was assessed every 100 min. Self-monitoring indicators were adjustments of responses to random changes of speed and trajectory of a circle moving on the computer screen. Participants showed better accuracy during the afternoon, with decreases in the morning (06:20 and 08:00 h). These variations showed a phase delay of 2:29 ± 2:19 h with respect to the circadian rhythm of body temperature. In conclusion, there are circadian variations in self-monitoring. The decline in this component of executive functions could cause serious accidents among people working or studying during a morning shift, as well as commuting to and from work or school.     

Sleep pressure and time perception in university students

Here we aimed to investigate the association between poor quality of sleep, sleep debt during weekdays and the performance on an interval timing task, using the method of production of time and consisting on five sessions a day for nine days. The sleep of our volunteers was particularly restricted on weekdays. Moreover, later chronotype was associated with the need for compensation on weekends. Regarding the production of time, produced durations were consistently over-produced and there was an evident increase in the mean coefficient of variation (CV) from the wake-up morning to afternoon sessions, followed by a sharp decrease in the evening sessions. Importantly, CV was mainly determined by the interaction between MSFdiff, sleep duration on weekdays and age. In conclusion, our results indicate that when university students are under the effects of social jet lag and reduced sleep duration during weekdays, their performance in interval timing tasks may be compromised.     

Daily consumption of tea catechins improves aerobic capacity in healthy male adults: a randomized double-blind,placebo-controlled,crossover trial

Our previous studies demonstrated that dietary supplementation with tea catechins combined with exercise improved endurance capacity in mice. This study aimed to demonstrate the effect of daily tea catechin consumption on aerobic capacity in humans. Sixteen Japanese non-athlete male subjects (aged 25–47 years) took 500 mL of a test beverage with or without tea catechins (570 mg) daily for 8 weeks and attended a training program twice a week. Aerobic capacity was evaluated by indirect calorimetry and near-infrared spectroscopy during graded cycle exercise. Catechin beverage consumption was associated with a significantly higher ventilation threshold during exercise and a higher recovery rate of oxygenated hemoglobin and myoglobin levels after graded cycle exercise when compared to subjects receiving the placebo beverage. These results indicate that daily consumption of tea catechins increases aerobic capacity when combined with semiweekly light exercise, which may be due to increased skeletal muscle aerobic capacity.     

海藻粉和抗菌肽对肉鸡生长性能、免疫器官指数和肠道菌群的影响

为探讨海藻粉和抗菌肽不同添加水平对肉鸡生长性能、免疫器官指数和肠道菌群的影响。选取1日龄体重相近的AA肉鸡504羽,随机分为7个处理,每处理6个重复,每重复12羽。对照组饲喂基础日粮,试验组在基础日粮中添加不同水平(1.0%、3.0%、5.0%)的海藻粉和抗菌肽(300 mg/kg、600 mg/kg)。试验分前期(1~21 d)和后期(22~42 d)共42 d。结果表明:(1)添加不同水平的海藻粉对前期、后期和全期肉鸡的料重比有显著影响(P0.05);对21日龄肉鸡的脾脏指数和胸腺指数及对42日龄肉鸡的法氏囊指数差异显著(P0.05);降低了21日龄和42日龄肉鸡盲肠大肠杆菌的数量(P0.05),增加了盲肠乳酸菌的数量(P0.05)。(2)添加不同水平的抗菌肽对后期和全期肉鸡的料重比有显著差异(P0.05);对21日龄肉鸡的脾脏指数和胸腺指数及对42日龄肉鸡的法氏囊指数差异显著(P0.05);降低了21日龄和42日龄肉鸡盲肠大肠杆菌的数量(P0.05),增加了盲肠乳酸菌的数量(P0.05)。(3)海藻粉和抗菌肽交互作用对前期、后期和全期肉鸡的料重比有明显影响(P0.05);对21日龄肉鸡的脾脏指数和胸腺指数及对42日龄肉鸡的法氏囊指数差异显著(P0.05);降低了21日龄和42日龄肉鸡盲肠大肠杆菌的数量(P0.05),增加了盲肠乳酸菌的数量(P0.05)。本研究得出以下结论,海藻粉和抗菌肽能促进肉鸡生长,提高肉鸡免疫器官指数和改善肠道菌群,且二者间存在协同效应,添加5%的海藻粉和300 mg/kg抗菌肽综合效果最佳。     

Constraint line methods and the applications in ecology北大核心CSCD

With increasing data availability in the big data era, many traditional statistical analyses based on the mean or median are insufficient or inappropriate to elucidate the complex patterns of variation. This is particularly the case when multiple factors are involved and the bivariate scatter occurs as scatter clouds. In such circumstances, constraint line (or envelope) method could be an alternative and effective tool to extract the data boundaries, thus improves our understanding of the complex relationships between limiting factor and response factor. Here, we synthesize the major findings and achievements in the field of applying the constraint line method in ecology. Specifically, we first describe the history and development of the constraint line method. We then discuss the techniques to establish the constraint lines with examples, and discuss the applications and implications of the constraint lines in species distribution, population performance, and optimization problem. We suggest simultaneously application of both constraint lines and regression techniques to the same datasets to achieve a comprehensive understanding of ecological process and underlying mechanisms. Such combined methods should be used with special attention to the role of spatial heterogeneity and scale dependency. We also discuss in detail the potential applicability of the constraint line method in studying the linkages between ecosystem services, and land system design.     

饲料精氨酸水平对斜带石斑鱼幼鱼生长和肠道形态的影响

正精氨酸作为一种鱼类生长发育所必需的碱性氨基酸,是机体合成蛋白质的重要成分[1],对肠细胞的增殖分化和维持细胞形态结构具有重要的保护作用[2]。对陆生动物如羊[2]、仔猪[3,4]和鼠[5]等的研究表明,日粮中添加精氨酸能显著提高肠道绒毛高度和隐窝深度,从而提高肠道消化吸收能力。目前,在鱼类的相关研究中,Cheng等[6]报道在饲料中添加精氨酸或谷氨酰胺能显著提高杂交条纹鲈(Motone chrysopsxMorone,saxatilis)和美国红鱼(Sciaenops ocellatus)[7]前肠和中肠的皱襞和微绒毛高度,增大肠道吸收面积。肠道是动物吸收利用精氨酸的     

饲料中添加壳聚糖季铵盐对凡纳滨对虾生长及非特异免疫的影响

实验研究壳聚糖季铵盐对凡纳滨对虾生长性能及非特异性免疫能力的影响。在饲料中分别添加0、0.05%、0.10%、0.15%和0.20%的壳聚糖季铵盐, 制成5组等氮等能饲料。将900尾[初体质量(3.820.34) g]健康的凡纳滨对虾随机分成5组(45尾4平行), 养殖时间56d。结果表明:饲料中添加壳聚糖季铵盐显著影响凡纳滨对虾的生长, 0.15%实验组凡纳滨对虾的增重率和特定生长率最佳(P0.05)。饲料中添加壳聚糖季铵盐0.1%、0.15%和0.20%能显著提高凡纳滨对虾血清溶菌酶和碱性磷酸酶及酚氧化酶的活性(P0.05)。饲料中添加壳聚糖季铵盐可显著提高凡纳滨对虾抗副溶血弧菌感染的能力(P0.05), 0.15%组的保护效果最好, 其相对免疫保护率为33.24%。壳聚糖季铵盐能显著提高凡纳滨对虾的生长性能和抗病能力, 本实验条件下适宜的添加量为0.15%。