Validity and normative scores of finger flexor strength and endurance tests estimated from a large sample of female and male climbers.

Recent reviews have highlighted conflicting findings regarding the validity of finger flexor strength and endurance tests in sport climbers, often due to small sample sizes and low ecological validity of the tests used. To address these gaps, 185 male and 122 female climbers underwent maximal finger flexor strength, intermittent and continuous finger flexor endurance, and the finger hang tests in a sport-specific setting to determine the predictive and concurrent validity of these tests. The finger hang test showed the strongest relationship to climbing ability for both sexes ( ≈ 0.

Spatiotemporal analysis of land surface temperature and land cover changes in Prešov city using downscaling approach and machine learning algorithms.

In recent decades, global climate change and rapid urbanization have aggravated the urban heat island (UHI) effect, affecting the well-being of urban citizens. Although this significant phenomenon is more pronounced in larger metropolitan areas due to extensive impervious surfaces, small- and medium-sized cities also experience UHI effects, yet research on UHI in these cities is rare, emphasizing the importance of land surface temperature (LST) as a key parameter for studying UHI dynamics. Therefore, this paper focuses on the evaluation of LST and land cover (LC) changes in the city of Prešov, Slovakia, a typical medium-sized European city that has recently undergone significant LC changes.

Salvia pratensis L. extracts as potential eco-friendly herbicides for sustainable agricultural applications.

The aim of this study is based on the searching of "new" potential environmentally friendly plant based products with herbicidal activity. The purpose of the study is also to find the source which is easy to harvest in high amount within the local environment. Salvia pratensis L.

Disruption of extracellular matrix and perineuronal nets modulates extracellular space volume and geometry.

Extracellular matrix (ECM) is a network of macromolecules which has two forms - perineuronal nets (PNNs) and a diffuse ECM (dECM) - both influence brain development, synapse formation, neuroplasticity, CNS injury and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. ECM remodeling can influence extrasynaptic transmission, mediated by diffusion of neuroactive substances in the extracellular space (ECS). In this study we analyzed how disrupted PNNs and dECM influence brain diffusibility.

Human Footprint and Forest Disturbance Reduce Space Use of Brown Bears (Ursus arctos) Across Europe.

Three-quarters of the planet's land surface has been altered by humans, with consequences for animal ecology, movements and related ecosystem functioning. Species often occupy wide geographical ranges with contrasting human disturbance and environmental conditions, yet, limited data availability across species' ranges has constrained our understanding of how human pressure and resource availability jointly shape intraspecific variation of animal space use. Leveraging a unique dataset of 758 annual GPS movement trajectories from 375 brown bears (Ursus arctos) across the species' range in Europe, we investigated the effects of human pressure (i.

Helminth diversity in brine shrimps () from Ukraine.

Brine shrimps ( spp.) are aquatic crustaceans known as important intermediate hosts for a wide range of helminth species. From 2011 to 2021, 4,347 individuals of brine shrimp were collected for this study, investigating the diversity and infection rates of helminth species in spp.

Care providers' view of the barriers in providing care for adolescents with emotional and behavioral problems.

Objectives: Emotional and behavioral problems (EBP) during adolescence are a major public health issue due to its high prevalence and long-lasting consequences. The knowledge of the barriers in providing psychosocial care can be a starting point for subsequent efficiency improvement. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess which barriers do care providers experience while providing psychosocial care for adolescents with EBP.

Dietary tea tree (Melaleucae Aetheroleum) oil fortifies growth, biochemical, immune-antioxidant trait, gene function, tissue reaction, and Aeromonas sobria resistance in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).

The current study had aimed to assess the long-term dietary supplementation with Melaleucae aetheroleum, tea tree essential oil (TTO). The impact on growth performance, biochemical indices, immune function, oxidant/antioxidant activity, gene expression, histopathology, and resistance against Aeromonas sobria in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was investigated. Four groups (with five replicates; G1 (control group, G2, G3, and G4) of Nile tilapia received diets enriched with TTO (doses of 0.

The spatially informed mFISHseq assay resolves biomarker discordance and predicts treatment response in breast cancer.

Current assays fail to address breast cancer's complex biology and accurately predict treatment response. On a retrospective cohort of 1082 female breast tissues, we develop and validate mFISHseq, which integrates multiplexed RNA fluorescent in situ hybridization with RNA-sequencing, guided by laser capture microdissection. This technique ensures tumor purity, unbiased whole transcriptome profiling, and explicitly quantifies intratumoral heterogeneity.

Mode of birth in nulliparous term singleton pregnancies in vertex presentation before and after implementation of an evidence-based intervention: quality-improvement study.

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of a composite quality improvement intervention on mode of birth in nullipara term singleton vertex (NTSVs).

Material And Methods: This was an ambidirectional study following the implementation of the intervention to reduce cesarean section rate in NSTV by comparing two birth cohorts, pre-composite quality improvement intervention cohort (January 2013-December 2015) and post-composite quality improvement intervention cohort (January 2018-December 2020).

Results: In the studied periods, there was a total of 7713 NTSV births.

What are the hidden shortcomings of balance training research in older adults that prevent its transfer into practice? Scoping review.

Background: Although a lot of attention is paid to the flaws of balance training research in older adults, the low methodological quality and incomplete reporting of studies still limit the knowledge transfer between research and practice. These known shortcomings are considered also as barriers for creating recommendations for balance training in older adults. Despite the considerable efforts to improve the scientific quality of studies, such recommendations have not yet been formulated to date.

Transplant and Nontransplant Salvage Therapy in Pediatric Relapsed or Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma: The EuroNet-PHL-R1 Phase 3 Nonrandomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The current standard-of-care salvage therapy in relapsed/refractory classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) includes consolidation high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT)/autologous stem cell transplant (aSCT).

Objective: To investigate whether presalvage risk factors and fludeoxyglucose-18 (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) response to reinduction chemotherapy can guide escalation or de-escalation between HDCT/aSCT or transplant-free consolidation with radiotherapy to minimize toxic effects while maintaining high cure rates.

Design, Setting, And Participants: EuroNet-PHL-R1 was a nonrandomized clinical trial that enrolled patients younger than 18 years with first relapsed/refractory cHL across 68 sites in 13 countries in Europe between January 2007 and January 2013.

A theoretical study on the environmental oxidation of fenpyrazamine fungicide initiated by hydroxyl radicals in the aqueous phase.

Fenpyrazamine (FPA) is a widely used fungicide in agriculture to control fungal diseases, but its environmental degradation by oxidants and the formation of potential degradation products remain unexplored. This study investigates the oxidation of FPA by hydroxyl radicals (HO˙) using density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the M06-2X/6-311++G(3df,3pd)//M06-2X/6-31+G(d,p) level of theory. Three standard oxidation mechanisms, including formal hydrogen transfer (FHT), radical adduct formation (RAF), and single electron transfer (SET), were evaluated in the aqueous phase, with reaction kinetics analyzed over a temperature range of 283-333 K.

Non-persistence with multiple secondary prevention medications for peripheral arterial disease among older hypertensive patients.

Introduction: The benefit of secondary prevention in hypertensive patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is based on continual simultaneous taking of statins, antiplatelet agents and antihypertensive agents, preferably angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). Our study was aimed at a) the analysis of the extent of non-persistence with multiple medication classes, and b) identifying factors associated with the likelihood of non-persistence.

Methods: In our cohort study, 3,401 hypertensive patients (1,853 females and 1,548 males) aged ≥65 years treated simultaneously with statins, antiplatelet agents and ACEIs/ARBs and in whom PAD was newly diagnosed during 2012 were analysed.

Quality of life in seniors living in home environment in Poland and Slovakia.

Introduction And Objective: Poor motor skills can increase the burden of disease and negatively affect the overall quality of life. The aim of the study was to investigate how people aged 60 and over assess their overall quality of life, overall health status and other domains of life in relation to socio-demographic factors.

Material And Methods: The study was conducted among 1,534 people aged 60 and over and living in a home environment - 831 people living in Małopolskie Province in Poland, and 703 people from Prešov Province in Slovakia.

PEG-Polymeric Nanocarriers Alleviate the Immunosuppressive Effects of Free 4-Thiazolidinone-Based Chemotherapeutics on T Lymphocyte Function and Cytokine Production.

Purpose: Our study aimed to assess the effects of anticancer 4-thiazolidinone-based free water-insoluble therapeutics Les-3288 and Les-3833 and their waterborne complexes with branched PEG-containing polymeric carriers (A24-PEG550 and A24-PEG750) on immune response.

Methods: Human peripheral blood was used to study in vitro lymphocyte proliferative function, leukocyte phagocytic activity and respiratory burst, and cytokine production.

Results: The binding of the polymer to the anticancer drug Les-3288, which is intended to mitigate the immunosuppressive effects of the free drug on the proliferative activity of T lymphocytes and T-dependent B cells, demonstrated comparable efficacy for both A24-PEG750 and A24-PEG550 nanocarriers.

In Search of Candidate Protein Biomarkers Related to COVID-19 in Solid Tissues and Non-Blood Fluids: An Update.

Purpose: During COVID-19, significant changes in protein abundance can be linked with disease-related processes. The mass spectrometry-based proteomics of COVID-19-related biomarkers can help with the prognosis and diagnosis of this severe disease.

Design: Here, we surveyed scientific works in terms of proteomic analysis of solid tissues and non-blood fluids from COVID-19 patients.

Camera and telemetry data from Slovak roads in various light and weather conditions.

In this paper, we describe the dataset captured with our proprietary data capture solution mounted on top of a Land Rover Defender vehicle. The captured data are the real data of drives on various Slovak roads. The total dataset consist of almost 33 hours of driving with a automotive grade FPD Link camera with 30 fps and with additional sensors such as high-precision GNSS sensor and modem towards mobile data connectivity LTE and 5 G.

Essential oil of (L.) ssp. (Apiaceae) flower: chemical composition, antimicrobial potential, and insecticidal activity on (L.).

In order to search for new chemotypes and to carry out a comparative study with the literature, the current study investigated the chemical composition of the essential oil of the flowers of (L.) ssp. using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

Gene expression & biochemical analysis in alkaptonuria caused by a founder pathogenic variant across different age groups from India.

Background & objectives Alkaptonuria (AKU) is an autosomal recessive disease wherein biallelic pathogenic variants in the homogentisate 1,2- dioxygenase (HGD) gene encoding the enzyme homogentisate 1,2 dioxygenase cause high levels of homogentisic acid (HGA) to circulate within the body leading to its deposition in connective tissues and excretion in urine. A homozygous splice donor variant (c.87+1G>A) has been identified to be the founder variant causing alkaptonuria among Narikuravars, a group of gypsies settled in Tamil Nadu.