The assessment of athletic performance using non-invasive methods has been a significant focus in research aimed at measuring physiological parameters. This study explores the application of bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) among track and field athletes, with a focus on sex differences, electrode configuration, and the correlation between BIVA parameters and jump performances. This cross-sectional study involved 61 Italian track and field athletes: 31 females and 30 males (age: 21.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The study aimed to investigate the relationship between raw bioelectrical data and physical performance in track and field athletes. Specifically, the objectives were to determine: 1) whether a regional bioelectrical impedance approach provides additional insights compared to whole-body analysis, 2) the reliability of the Levi Muscle Index (LMI) in this context, and 3) whether there are differences in these relationships between male and female athletes.
Design: This study utilized a cross-sectional design involving thirty-one female athletes (mean age 21.
Global warming is expected to result in earlier emergence of tree seedlings that may experience higher damages and mortality due to late frost in spring. We monitored emergence, characteristics, and survival of seedlings across ten tree species in temperate mixed deciduous forests of Central Europe over one and a half year. We tested whether the timing of emergence represents a trade-off for seedling survival between minimizing frost risk and maximizing the length of the growing period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTreeline responses to climate change ultimately depend on successful seedling recruitment, which requires dispersal of viable seeds and establishment of individual propagules in novel environments. In this study, we evaluated the effects of several abiotic and biotic drivers of early tree seedling recruitment across an alpine treeline ecotone. In two consecutive years, we sowed seeds of low- and high-elevation provenances of Larix decidua (European larch) and Picea abies (Norway spruce) below, at, and above the current treeline into intact vegetation and into open microsites with artificially removed surface vegetation, as well as into plots protected from seed predators and herbivores.
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