Izobraževanje je kompleksna struktura različnih procesov, v katerih se dinamično prepletata tako formalno kot neformalno izobraževanje. Namen raziskave je bil ugotoviti, kakšen vpliv imajo različne ...oblike neformalnega izobraževanja na uspeh učenja tujega jezika na jezikovnih tečajih. Analiza rezultatov kaže, da so vplivi pomembni in da tečajniki, ki se več neformalno izobražujejo, dosegajo boljše rezultate v primerjavi s tistimi, ki se manj. Raziskava prinaša pomembna dognanja o vplivih neformalnega izobraževanja na uspešnost učenja. Ugotovitve kažejo, da imajo pri učenju tujega jezika različne oblike neformalnega izobraževanje pomemben vpliv na učinkovitost andragoškega cikla, zato ga je treba vanj vključiti v večji meri.
AbstractPractical pedagogical training (PPT) is a significant element of professional development in the education of physical education teachers. It is important in their professional socialisation ...while developing teaching competencies and classroom management skills. This paper examines Slovenian physical education students' estimations of their own progress during PPT. In a cross-sectional study, two groups of students (N2007/08=84; N2009/10=82) who participated in PPT in the 2007/08 and 2009/10 academic years were compared. Basic statistics, the T-test, the Mann-Whitney U-test and the Pearson correlation coefficient were used. The results revealed that teacher-educators' encouragement of students for better preparation for PPT and written students' reflections improved the level of their efficiency and made them more certain of their teaching practice. Better preparation for PPT lead to greater progress of students and helped ensure that administrative and/or pedagogical changes lead to changes in teacher behaviour. The correlations between the observed areas showed that the lesson planning had the strongest influence on students' efficiency at PPT. Key words: efficiency; lesson planning; physical education; teacher education; teaching competencies. --- SažetakPraktična pedagoška obuka (PPO) važna je sastavnica profesionalnog razvoja u obrazovanju učitelja tjelesnoga odgoja. Važna je u njihovoj profesionalnoj socijalizaciji, istovremeno razvijajući učiteljske kompetencije i vještine upravljanja razredom. U ovom se članku proučavaju procjene slovenskih studenata tjelesnog odgoja u pogledu vlastitog napretka tijekom PPO-a. U ovoj usporednoj studiji uspoređivane su dvije skupine studenata (N2007/08=84; N2009/10=82) koji su sudjelovali u PPO-u akademske godine 2007./2008. i 2009./2010. Upotrijebljena je temeljna statistička analiza, kao i T-test, Mann-Whitney U-test i Pearsonov korelacijski koeficijent. Rezultati otkrivaju da su poticaj za bolju pripremu za PPO profesora metodičara i učitelja mentora, kao i pisane refleksije studenata pridonijeli poboljšanju razine uspješnosti i da im je to ojačalo sigurnost u vlastite vještine. Bolja pripremljenost za PPO vodi prema znatnijem napretku studenata i jamči da će administrativne i/ili pedagoške promjene dovesti do promjena u ponašanju učitelja. Korelacije između proučavanih područja pokazuju da je planiranje nastavnoga sata imalo najveći utjecaj na uspješnost studenata tijekom PPO-a.Ključne riječi: učinkovitos;, planiranje nastavnog sata; tjelesni odgoj; obrazovanje učitelja; učiteljske kompetencije
Praktična pedagoška obuka (PPO) važna je sastavnica profesionalnog razvoja u obrazovanju učitelja tjelesnoga odgoja. Važna je u njihovoj profesionalnoj socijalizaciji, istovremeno razvijajući ...učiteljske kompetencije i vještine upravljanja razredom. U ovom se članku proučavaju procjene slovenskih studenata tjelesnog odgoja u pogledu vlastitog napretka tijekom PPO-a. U ovoj usporednoj studiji uspoređivane su dvije skupine studenata (N2007/08=84; N2009/10=82) koji su sudjelovali u PPO-u akademske godine 2007./2008. i 2009./2010. Upotrijebljena je temeljna statistička analiza, kao i T-test, Mann-Whitney U-test i Pearsonov korelacijski koeficijent. Rezultati otkrivaju da su poticaj za bolju pripremu za PPO profesora metodičara i učitelja mentora, kao i pisane refleksije studenata pridonijeli poboljšanju razine uspješnosti i da im je to ojačalo sigurnost u vlastite vještine. Bolja pripremljenost za PPO vodi prema znatnijem napretku studenata i jamči da će administrativne i/ili pedagoške promjene dovesti do promjena u ponašanju učitelja. Korelacije između proučavanih područja pokazuju da je planiranje nastavnoga sata imalo najveći utjecaj na uspješnost studenata tijekom PPO-a.
Binge eating is the most common form of disordered eating associated with obesity, reduced quality of life, and medical and psychological comorbidities. It therefore affects the well-being of ...individuals. This underscores the fact that it is a serious public health problem. The study aimed to investigate binge eating and anxiety across gender, age and body mass index in a large population sample of adults in Slovenia.
A total of 3,310 adult volunteers participated in this cross-sectional study. Questionnaires, including a binge eating and anxiety scale and an eating behaviour questionnaire, were completed by 1,487 subjects (90.9% female, ages 18 to 69).
The frequency of reported binge eating was 29.9%, with 9.8% of participants reporting severe binge eating, and the presence of overweight and obesity was high (41.8%). BMI was associated with this problematic eating, and explained 5.4% of the variation in binge eating. Importantly, anxiety was the most important factor related to binge eating, with younger participants and women reporting significantly more anxiety.
The high presence of binge eating, obesity and anxiety in the Slovenian population-based sample is worrying. Anxiety is clearly an important factor in understanding the relationship between negative affect and binge eating, as it accounts for a greater proportion of the variance in binge eating symptoms than BMI. Particularly concerning was the fact that the youngest participants showed the greatest anxiety. Targeting anxious adolescents and females is important from a health perspective because it can impact the physical and mental health of the population in the long term.
Inhibition of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK) emerged as a potential strategy for treatment of cancer and metabolic disorders. Dichloroacetate (DCA), a prototypical PDK inhibitor, reduces the ...abundance of some PDK isoenzymes. However, the underlying mechanisms are not fully characterized and may differ across cell types. We determined that DCA reduced the abundance of PDK1 in breast (MDA-MB-231) and prostate (PC-3) cancer cells, while it suppressed both PDK1 and PDK2 in skeletal muscle cells (L6 myotubes). The DCA-induced PDK1 suppression was partially dependent on hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), a transcriptional regulator of PDK1, in cancer cells but not in L6 myotubes. However, the DCA-induced alterations in the mRNA and the protein levels of PDK1 and/or PDK2 did not always occur in parallel, implicating a role for post-transcriptional mechanisms. DCA did not inhibit the mTOR signaling, while inhibitors of the proteasome or gene silencing of mitochondrial proteases CLPP and AFG3L2 did not prevent the DCA-induced reduction of the PDK1 protein levels. Collectively, our results suggest that DCA reduces the abundance of PDK in an isoform-dependent manner via transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms. Differential response of PDK isoenzymes to DCA might be important for its pharmacological effects in different types of cells.
Many studies evaluated the short-term in vitro toxicity of nanoparticles (NPs); however, long-term effects are still not adequately understood. Here, we investigated the potential toxic effects of ...biomedical (polyacrylic acid and polyethylenimine coated magnetic NPs) and two industrial (SiO
and TiO
) NPs following different short-term and long-term exposure protocols on two physiologically different in vitro models that are able to differentiate: L6 rat skeletal muscle cell line and biomimetic normal porcine urothelial (NPU) cells. We show that L6 cells are more sensitive to NP exposure then NPU cells. Transmission electron microscopy revealed an uptake of NPs into L6 cells but not NPU cells. In L6 cells, we obtained a dose-dependent reduction in cell viability and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation after 24 h. Following continuous exposure, more stable TiO
and polyacrylic acid (PAA) NPs increased levels of nuclear factor Nrf2 mRNA, suggesting an oxidative damage-associated response. Furthermore, internalized magnetic PAA and TiO
NPs hindered the differentiation of L6 cells. We propose the use of L6 skeletal muscle cells and NPU cells as a novel approach for assessment of the potential long-term toxicity of relevant NPs that are found in the blood and/or can be secreted into the urine.
•Polyethylenimine (PEI) coated nanoparticles induce dose dependent necrotic cell death in the first 24h of incubation.•PEI NPs induce reactive oxygen species at higher (>6μg/ml) nanoparticle ...concentrations, which coincides with increasing cell death.•PEI NPs induce activation of NF-κB transcription factor 30min after incubation in primary human myoblasts but not B16 mouse melanoma cell line.•The NF-κB activation in MYO cells was most probably mediated through activation of TLR4 receptor.
Potential nanoparticle (NP) toxicity is one of crucial problems that limit the applicability of NPs. When designing NPs for biomedical and biotechnological applications it is thus important to understand the mechanisms of their toxicity. In this study, we analysed the stress responses of previously designed polyacrylic acid (PAA) and polyethylenimine (PEI) coated NPs on primary human myoblasts (MYO) and B16 mouse melanoma cell line. Negatively charged PAA did not induce cell toxicity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) or activate the transcription factor NF-κB in either cell line even at high concentrations (100μg/ml). On the other hand, positively charged PEI NPs induced a concentration dependent necrotic cell death and an increase in ROS following 24h incubation already at low concentrations (>4μg/ml). Moreover, PEI NPs induced NF-κB activation 15–30min after incubation in MYO cells, most probably through activation of TLR4 receptor. Interestingly, there was no NF-κB response to PEI NPs in B16 cells.
The relationship between anti-SARS-CoV-2 humoral immune response, pathogenic inflammation, lymphocytes and fatal COVID-19 is poorly understood.
A longitudinal prospective cohort of hospitalised ...patients with COVID-19 (n=254) was followed up to 35 days after admission (median, 8 days). We measured early anti-SARS-CoV-2 S1 antibody IgG levels and dynamic (698 samples) of quantitative circulating T-, B- and natural killer lymphocyte subsets and serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) response. We used machine learning to identify patterns of the immune response and related these patterns to the primary outcome of 28-day mortality in analyses adjusted for clinical severity factors.
Overall, 45 (18%) patients died within 28 days after hospitalisation. We identified six clusters representing discrete anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunophenotypes. Clusters differed considerably in COVID-19 survival. Two clusters, the anti-S1-IgG
T
B
NK
IL-6
and the anti-S1-IgG
T
B
NK
IL-6
had a high risk of fatal COVID-19 (HR 3.36-21.69; 95% CI 1.51-163.61 and HR 8.39-10.79; 95% CI 1.20-82.67; p≤0.03, respectively). The anti-S1-IgG
T
B
NK
IL-6
and anti-S1-IgG
T
B
NK
IL-6
cluster were associated with moderate risk of mortality. In contrast, two clusters the anti-S1-IgG
T
B
NK
IL-6
and anti-S1-IgG
T
B
NK
IL-6
clusters were characterised by a very low risk of mortality.
By employing unsupervised machine learning we identified multiple anti-SARS-CoV-2 immune response clusters and observed major differences in COVID-19 mortality between these clusters. Two discrete immune pathways may lead to fatal COVID-19. One is driven by impaired or delayed antiviral humoral immunity, independently of hyper-inflammation, and the other may arise through excessive IL-6-mediated host inflammation response, independently of the protective humoral response. Those observations could be explored further for application in clinical practice.
•Timber from the over 800 years old Castle Pišece was dendrochronologically dated.•Wood preserved in floor and ceiling constructions was felled between 1515 and 1878.•Use of oak, silver fir, sweet ...chestnut, common beech and Norway spruce varied over centuries.•Forestry archives and dendroprovenancing show that the timber was of local origin.•Links between dendrochronological dates and historic documents were however weak.
Castle Pišece, located in SE Slovenia near the border with Croatia, is thought to have been built in the 12th/13th century as one in the line of Salzburg fortresses on the then SE border of the Holy Roman Empire. During thorough restoration that started in 2005, its wooden constructions became accessible for dendrochronological investigations. We collected representative samples from floor or ceiling constructions in most of the rooms in the castle. Dendrochronology helped us to identify felling dates of wood and to propose probable years of reconstructions in 1515, 1578, 1644, 1697, 1752, 1758, 1775 and 1878. The dating showed that the constructions in the presumed Romanesque and Renaissance parts of the building were not as old as expected, whereas those in the supposedly Baroque part of the castle were older than assumed. The selection of wood species used for constructions varied over time. Constructions with end dates 1515–1697 were made of oak (Quercus petraea and Q. robur), those dated to 1752 of silver fir (Abies alba), those dated to 1758 of sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) and those dated to 1878 of common beech (Fagus sylvatica). Comparison of forestry archives and vegetation in the area showed that most of the timber could have originated from nearby forests; only silver fir had to be transported from sites that were at least 20km away from the castle. Cross-dating of tree-ring series of oak elements with two reference chronologies from Slovenia and two from Austria confirmed the great likelihood that the wood used mostly originated from Slovenia. This indicates that dendroprovenancing, not used in the area before, could also be used SE of the Alps. Both the existing archival documents and dendrochronology indicate that woodworks have taken place every few decades in some periods. The dendrochronological dates can be partly linked to reports on earthquakes (especially the devastating one in 1511), rebellions and year marks carved on the stone plaques.
Scandium (Sc) is known to be one of the most effective alloying elements of aluminum alloys. The only drawback is its high price, but that could change quickly due to the promising results of recent ...research on its extraction. However, the data on how it affects anodic oxidation are very scarce. In this research, we analyzed how a micro-addition of Sc to the AlMg alloy affects the growth mechanism and properties of the protective aluminium oxide layer depending on the anodization parameters. For comparison, alloy AA5083 with a similar magnesium content was also anodized with the same anodizing parameters. In all experiments, sulfuric acid (VI) with concentrations of 1.72 M or 2.2 M at temperatures of 21 °C or 35 °C was used as the electrolyte. Potentiostatic (18 V) and galvanostatic (20 mA/cm2) anodizing methods were applied. The results (SED-EDS) show that scandium is uniformly intercalated in the matrix of the oxide layer and decreases its resistivity, which increases the oxide growth rate during potentiostatic anodizing and decreases the pore density and pore diameters during galvanostatic anodizing. Moreover, it increases the mobility of cations through the oxide layer, thus accelerating the oxidation reaction in concentrated sulfuric acid electrolytes. On the other hand, the increased cation mobility considerably increases the sensitivity to the temperature of the electrolyte, which can change the growth mechanism of the oxide layer and thus its morphology.