How Czech Adolescents Perceive Their Physical Activity.

Adolescence is a critical stage in the development of an individual's physical activity (PA) habits and preferences. Adolescents' perceptions of PA can influence their motivation to engage in PA and, consequently, their overall level of PA. Thus, our primary aim was to investigate whether Czech adolescents misperceive their peers' PA.

Physical literacy in Europe: The current state of implementation in research, practice, and policy.

Background/objective: The holistic concept of physical literacy (PL) embraces different person-centered qualities (physical, cognitive, affective/psychological) necessary to lead physically active lifestyles. PL has recently gained increasing attention globally and Europe is no exception. However, scientific endeavors summarizing the current state of PL in Europe are lacking.

The Czech Republic's 2022 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth: A rationale and comprehensive analysis.

Background/objective: The second edition of the Czech Republic's Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth was released in 2022. This paper describes the development of the Report Card and presents a comprehensive summary of the main findings.

Methods: The multi-level search strategy was developed by the national expert panel to identify the available sources that provide data related to the physical activity of Czech children and adolescents.

Disulfiram increases the efficacy of 5-fluorouracil in organotypic cultures of colorectal carcinoma.

Drug efficacy determined in preclinical research is difficult to transfer to clinical practice. This is mainly due to the use of oversimplified models omitting the effect of the tumor microenvironment and the presence of various cell types participating in the formation of tumors in vivo. In this study, we used robust three-dimensional models including spheroids grown from colon cancer cell lines and organotypic cultures prepared from the colorectal carcinoma tissue to test novel therapeutic strategies.

Adolescent Health Literacy and Neighbourhood Features: HBSC Findings from Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia.

The role of supportive environments on health, wellbeing, and longevity has been widely recognized. However, there is no strong empirical evidence on the association between health literacy (HL) as a particular health-related competence and neighbourhoods. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess the association between the features of neighbourhoods and the level of HL competencies of young people from three countries (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia).

Ecological risk assessment of pesticide residues in soils from vegetable production areas: A case study in S-Nepal.

Pesticides pose a serious risk to ecosystems. In this study, we used European Food Safety Authority methods, such as risk quotient (RQ) and toxicity exposure ratios (TER), to assess the potential ecological risks of 15 pesticide residues detected in agricultural soils in the Gaidahawa Rural Municipality of Nepal. The mean and maximum concentrations of the detected pesticide residues in the soil were used for risk characterization related to soil organisms.

Physical Activity Recommendations in the Context of New Calls for Change in Physical Education.

The current social, health, and educational changes in society require an adequate response in school-based physical activity (PA), including physical education (PE) lessons. The objective of this study was to identify the real average step counts of Czech and Polish adolescents during PE lessons, and propose recommendations for improving PE programs. This research was carried out in 143 Czech and 99 Polish schools.

How Czech Adolescents Perceive Active Commuting to School: A Cross-Sectional Study.

To achieve a healthy lifestyle, adolescents must be physically active and meet physical activity (PA) guidelines. One of the most natural ways of increasing the amount of PA is active commuting (AC) to school. Recent reviews suggest that peer norms have the potential to shape PA during adolescence in particular.

Associations Between Physical Activity and Perceived School Performance of Young Adolescents in Health Behavior in School-Aged Children Countries.

Background: Regular physical activity and doing well in school are important for growing adolescents. In this study, the associations between physical activity and perceived school performance (PSP) are examined together.

Methods: Young adolescents from 42 countries (n = 193,949) in Europe and Canada were examined for associations between self-reported moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and PSP.

Ecological risk assessment of pesticide residues in arable soils of the Czech Republic.

Currently used pesticides (CUPs) represent one of the largest intentional inputs of potentially hazardous compounds into agricultural soils. Subsequently, pesticide residues (PRs) and their transformation products (TPs) persist in agricultural soils, occurring in diverse mixtures of compounds in various concentrations. In this study, measured environmental concentrations (MECs) of CUP residues and TPs, originated from previous growing seasons in agricultural soils of the Czech Republic, were used to characterize the environmental risk for agroecosystems.

Concentration/time-dependent dissipation, partitioning and plant accumulation of hazardous current-used pesticides and 2-hydroxyatrazine in sand and soil.

The dissipation, partitioning dynamics and biouptake was measured for selected hazardous current-used pesticides (conazole fungicides: epoxiconazole, flusilazole, tebuconazole; prochloraz, chlorpyrifos, pendimethalin) and for a transformation product (2-hydroxyatrazine) in agricultural soil and quartz sand as representatives of a real and a worst-case scenario. Dissipation, uptake to Lactuca sativa and the freely dissolved concentration along with the organic carbon-normalized sorption coefficients (K) were determined on days 12, 40, and 90 following the application of compounds at three fortification levels (0.1-1.

The Effect of Respiratory Muscle Training on Fin-Swimmers' Performance.

Although respiratory muscle functions can influence swimming performance, respiratory muscle training (RMT) is not routinely used for improving fin-swimmers´ performance. The aim of our study was to verify the benefit of a one month of RMT in young fin-swimmers. We assessed the effect of this training on respiratory muscles and on maximal underwater swimming distance.

Currently and recently used pesticides in Central European arable soils.

Although large amounts of pesticides are used annually and a majority enters the soil to form short- or long-term residues, extensive soil surveys for currently used pesticides (CUPs) are scarce. To determine the status of CUPs' occurrence in arable land in Central Europe, 51 CUPs and 9 transformation products (TPs) were analysed in 75 arable soils in the Czech Republic (CR) several months after the last pesticide application. Moreover, two banned triazines (simazine and atrazine) and their TPs were analysed because of their frequent detection in CR waters.

Trends in Children's Toothbrushing in the Czech Republic from 1994 to 2014: Results of the HBSC Study.

Objective: Brushing one's teeth twice a day is the main self-care method to prevent the most prevalent non-communicable diseases. The aim of the study is to describe the trends in brushing teeth in 11-, 13-, and 15-year-old Czech children between 1994 and 2014.

Methods: One question about oral health from the HBSC study protocol was used in the six surveys (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014).

Trends in Tobacco Smoking among Czech School-aged Children from 1994 to 2014.

Objective: The aim of the article is to examine trends in tobacco consumption among the Czech school-age population.

Methods: For the analysis, data from the Czech Health Behaviour in School-aged Children project, conducted between 1994 and 2014 were used. Trends in tobacco smoking were determined separately for boys and girls, applying the binary logistic regression with survey period as an independent variable for the smoking status.

Trends in Perception of Psychosocial School Environment: HBSC Study 2002-2014 in the Czech Republic.

Objective: School is a place where students spend most of their daytime hours. Previous studies indicate that the class climate significantly affects students in both positive and negative ways. The aim of our study is to describe the trends in the psychosocial school environment based on four surveyed years in the Czech Republic.

Hydrophilic interaction chromatography with Fourier transform mass spectrometry of monosaccharide anhydrides.

A fast, selective, and sensitive method for the determination of three monosaccharide anhydrides (galactosan, mannosan, levoglucosan), based on hydrophilic interaction chromatography and Fourier transform mass spectrometry, was successfully developed. The simple experimental stationary phase and mass spectrometry performance screening allowed the selection of the best available chromatographic and mass spectrometry conditions. Thus, the chromatographic separation was performed on a highly selective stationary phase containing a zwitterionic phosphorylcholine group and the monosaccharide anhydrides were detected as [M+HCOO] adduct in the negative mode.

Ecotoxicity of arsenic contaminated sludge after mixing with soils and addition into composting and vermicomposting processes.

Sludge coming from remediation of groundwater contaminated by industry is usually managed as hazardous waste despite it might be considered for further processing as a source of nutrients. The ecotoxicity of phosphorus rich sludge contaminated with arsenic was evaluated after mixing with soil and cultivation with Sinapis alba, and supplementation into composting and vermicomposting processes. The Enchytraeus crypticus and Folsomia candida reproduction tests and the Lactuca sativa root growth test were used.

The variability of standard artificial soils: effects on the survival and reproduction of springtail (Folsomia candida) and potworm (Enchytraeus crypticus).

Recent studies have documented significant variability in the basic properties of artificial soil which is used as a standard medium in soil bioassays. Variability in key soil properties could confound the interpretation of toxicity data and bias the output of bioassays. The main aims of this study were (i) to identify the variability in the endpoints survival and reproduction of Folsomia candida and Enchytraeus crypticus related to the artificials soils prepared in different laboratories and (ii) to identify the specific physico-chemical properties of the artificial soils which influence the bioassays results.

Determining gender differences in adolescent physical activity levels using IPAQ long form and pedometers.

The need to overcome gender differences in physical activity (PA) is an essential part of health and education policy. Adolescent girls display less PA than boys. The aim of the presented research was to determine whether 4-week monitoring with pedometers can influence differences between the level of PA amongst adolescent girls and boys.

Supportive environments for physical activity, community action, and policy in 8 European Union Member States: comparative analysis and specificities of context.

Background: A multilevel theoretical framework of physical activity (PA) promotion that addresses supportive environments, PA behavior, community action, and PA promoting policies is related to research and development in an international comparative study.

Methods: Most-different and most-similar case selection was applied to data from 8 European Union Member States. Data from semistructured key informant qualitative interviews, focus group interviews with experts and policy-makers, as well as document analysis were linked to corresponding Eurobarometer data.

The influence of monitoring interval on data measurement: an analysis of step counts of university students.

The pedometer is a widely used research tool for measuring the level and extent of physical activity (PA) within population subgroups. The sample used in this study was drawn from a population of university students to examine the influence of the monitoring interval and alternate starting days on step-count activity patterns. The study was part of a national project during 2008-2010.