The main objective of present study was to evaluate inter-rater reliability and concurrent validity of Side Hop Test stopwatch vs. force plates timing, and to determine the number of sessions and ...trials required to minimize the effects of learning on Side Hop Test total time and limb symmetry index. Fifteen healthy male physical education students (mean ± SD: age, 23 ± 3 years; height, 181 ± 9 cm; and weight 72 ± 6 kg) participated. Side Hop Test total time (stopwatch and force plates) of left and right leg, and limb symmetry index (force plates) were obtained over seven sessions conducted 5–7 days apart. Time recordings of two raters were similar (
t
= −0.56,
p
> 0.05) with high reliability (all ICC >0.99 and CV% <0.1) and no systematic bias when compared to force plate data (
p
> 0.05; for rater 1 and 2, respectively). Total time improved across the Sessions (
F
= 25.87,
p
< 0.01,
ω
2
= 0.18) and Trials (
F
= 68.15,
p
< 0.01,
ω
2
= 0.10), with no significant interaction between factors. No between-leg differences were detected (
F
= 0.52,
p
> 0.05,
ω
2
= 0.001). Limb symmetry index ranged from 0.999 to 1.055 across all sessions and trials (all
p
> 0.05 and
ω
2
< 0.00). Due to low coefficient of correlation, high interclass correlation coefficient, and the lack in heteroscedasticity, stopwatch measurements are valid to measure total time in the Side Hop Test. Moreover, stopwatch measurements could be reliably used to measure total time in the Side Hop Test, while the test could be administrated with only one experienced rater. Unlike total times, findings on limb symmetry index suggest it could be reliably assessed after seven familiarization sessions.
Physiological adaptations to various types of prolonged and intensive physical activity, as seen in elite athletes from different sports, include changes in blood pressure (BP) response to acute ...exercise. Also, functional polymorphisms of the angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) and alfa-actinin-3 (ACTN3) genes are shown to be associated with BP parameters changes, both in athletes and sedentary population. In this study, an Alu insertion (I)/deletion (D) polymorphism in ACE gene, as well as nonsense mutation in the gene encoding ACTN3 have been scored in 107 elite Serbian athletes classified according to their sporting discipline to power/sprint (short distance runners/swimmers), endurance (rowers, footballers, middle-distance swimmers) or mixed sports (water polo, handball, volleyball players). Presence of nonfunctional allele in ACTN3 is associated with significantly increased maximal systolic BP (SBPmax, p = 0.04). Athletes with Alu insertion in ACE had significantly (p = 0.006) larger decline of systolic BP after 3 minutes of recovery (SBPR3), calculated as the percentage of maximal SBP response during exercise stress testing. Concomitant presence of non-functional variant in ACTN3 gene decreased this beneficiary effect of ACE mutation on SBPR3. Long term enrollment in power/sprint sports significantly increased resting diastolic BP (DBPrest: 74 mmHg) and SBPmax (197 mmHg) and improved SBPR3 (74.8%) compared to enrolment in endurance (72 mmHg; 178 mmHg; 81.1%) and mixed sports (69 mmHg; 185 mmHg; 80.0%). Lack of the effect of genotype by sport interaction on BP parameters suggests that the long-term effects of different disciplines on BP are not mediated by these two genes.
The adsorption properties of two zeolite types, faujasite (NaY, ZnY, CoY) and LTA-4A zeolite (NaA, ZnA, CoA), towards technetium were studied in batch static experiments. The Si/Al ratio, acidity, ...dealumination, chargebalance cations of zeolite, contact time and temperature determined the adsorption efficiency. The maximum removal efficiency of 98.8% and
K
d
value (2.06 × 10
−4
cm
3
g
−1
) was achieved using CoY (zeolite type Y). The kinetics of technetium adsorption followed the pseudo-second order model. The TcO
2
adsorption is mainly due to the hydrogen bonds between protons of the zeolitic structural OH groups (Bronsted acid center) and oxygen from the TcO
2
−
.
The adsorption properties of two zeolite types, faujasite (NaY, ZnY, CoY) and LTA-4A zeolite (NaA, ZnA, CoA), towards technetium were studied in batch static experiments. The Si/Al ratio, acidity, ...dealumination, chargebalance cations of zeolite, contact time and temperature determined the adsorption efficiency. The maximum removal efficiency of 98.8% and K.sub.d value (2.06 x 10.sup.-4 cm.sup.3 g.sup.-1) was achieved using CoY (zeolite type Y). The kinetics of technetium adsorption followed the pseudo-second order model. The TcO.sub.2 adsorption is mainly due to the hydrogen bonds between protons of the zeolitic structural OH groups (Bronsted acid center) and oxygen from the TcO.sub.2.sup.-.
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