Effects of Acute Physical Exercise on Mathematical Computation Depending on the Parts of the Training in Young Children.

The aim of this study was to determine whether acute physical exercise may increase the ability to quickly solve basic mathematical operations in young children. In this way, the children acquired the means to activate a larger area of the brain when necessary. The research sample of 38 preschool and 18 schoolchildren was tested in basic mathematical operations before and after physical exercise. The results showed that children's computational performance was enhanced significantly during exercise and remained stable after relaxation part of their physical training.

Can Kinesiological Activities Change "Pure" Motor Development in Preschool Children during One School Year?

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of an additional, organized, and more intensive kinesiological treatment on "pure" motor abilities in preschool children. In the present study an experimental treatment was carried out on a sample of 37 preschool boys by applying kinesiological activities. The 60 minute treatment was applied over a period of one school year (9 months), twice a week. A control group of 31 boys were trained according to the regular program for preschool institutions. Treatment effects were assessed by 8 motor ability tests and 5 anthropometric measures. The significant differences between the groups, which were observed after the final measurement and compared to the initial one, proved that the kinesiological treatment had a positive impact on the general development of "pure" motor abilities. The most significant effect of experimental kinesiological treatment was the improvement in whole body force, flexibility and coordination of preschool boys. These findings, obtained only in one school year, point to the importance of physical exercise and the application of additional kinesiological activities with various modalities, to improve motor development, even morphological growth and development in preschool children. The effects of the perennial application of kinesiological activities, under the supervision of kinesiological professionals, could be beneficial and could form the basis for a better biological and motor development in older age.

The effects of kinesiological activity on motor and intellectual functioning of children in relation to their physical constitution at birth.

At birth, all children are characterized by different values of body weight and body length, caused by both genetic factors and the conditions and characteristics of their prenatal development. It is important to investigate whether these differences expressed at birth, particularly those values that are below average, can be improved by implementing a six-month period of kinesiological activity during childhood. With this purpose, a research was conducted using a sample of 214 children, aged 6,13 +/- 1,04 decimal years (experimental group of 93 boys and 29 girls, control group of 43 boys and 49 girls), which was divided into two subsamples by using K-mean cluster analysis based on body weight and length of children at birth. The formed subsamples were defined by the average values of the applied variables as groups of children that were below average and above average, according to their development at birth. Motor status of children was assessed by using a battery of 7 standard motor tests, and intellectual status by applying Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices. Quantitative effects of the applied kinesiological treatment were analyzed based on the initial and final status of young participants in the examined variables by using multivariate analysis of variance and covariance. Qualitative differences were defined by results of factor analyses. It was established that there were no statistically significant differences in the variable space between boys and girls in the initial measurement, in relation to the experimental and the control group, so the sample was further treated as the overall sample of children. The effects of the experimental treatment have shown significant improvement of motor and intellectual functioning of children in the experimental group of children with below average and above average development at birth.

Differences in motor and cognitive abilities of children depending on their body mass index and subcutaneous adipose tissue.

The aim of the present study was to analyze differences in motor and cognitive abilities of children depending on their value in quantitative indicators of Body Mass Index (BMI) and subcutaneous fatty tissue. The study sample consisted of overall 910 boys and girls, aged 11 to 14, all from elementary schools in Vojvodina (Serbia). Six anthropometric, eight motor and one cognitive variable were analyzed to identify quantitative and qualitative differences in motor and cognitive functioning of children. Children were divided into three groups within gender based on their body mass index calculated and subcutaneous fatty tissue measured. The results obtained from the study indicate the existence of differences in motor and only partly in intellectual abilities between groups of subjects. The greatest differences between the clusters were found in the level of coordination of the entire body, and the static strength of arms and shoulders.

High-energy drinks may provoke aortic dissection.

High-energy drinks have become extremely popular after Red Bull's promotion at 1987 in Austria and 1997 in the United States. Since then, we witnessed spectacular increase in different brands, caffeine content and market consumption all over the world. However, there are no reports published in the scientific literature related with detrimental side effects after heavy consumption of high-energy drinks. We report a series of three high-risk cardiovascular patients who had aortic dissection (De Bakey type I and II) following significant consumption of high-energy drinks. All of them required emergency surgical procedure and were remaining stable after surgery. We propose that uncontrolled consumption of high-energy drinks, especially in patients with underlying heart disease, could provoke potentially lethal cardiovascular events as well as acute aortic dissection.

Morphological, motor and technical determinants of fighting efficiency of Croatian female cadet age karate athletes.

The aim of this research was to determine the significance of morphological factors, factors of basic motor and specific motor abilities, and the factors of technical efficiency, on the karate fight success in Croatian female cadet karate athletes. With this purpose, the group of 18 anthropometric measures, 10 basic motor tests, 5 situational karate motor tests, the group of 8 evaluations of 6 basic karate techniques, and 2 karate kata performances was applied on the sample of 101 Croatian karateka aged 14 to 16. Inside the morphological area, the factor analysis isolated: Body mass and volume factor, Subcutaneous fat tissue factor, Longitudinal skeleton dimensionality factor, and Transversal fist dimensionality factor; in the basic motor area: General motor efficiency factor; in the situational motor area: General specific motor efficiency factor; in the area of karate technique performance evaluation: General technical efficiency factor. After that, the application of canonical discriminative analysis determined the differences between high and lower quality karate athletes in the overall area of the isolated factors. The discriminative function showed that high quality female karate athletes compared to those of lower quality differ the most in higher technical efficiency, higher basic and specific motor efficiency, while having somewhat less fat tissue and somewhat wider wrist and fist diameter.

Gender differentiations of cognitive-motor functioning in prepubertal and pubertal children.

The aim of this study was to determine cognitive and motor status factors in female and male children aged 10-14, as well as developmental and/or integration functions according to gender. The study included 162 girls and 134 boys aged 10-14, divided into four groups: 84 girls aged 10-12 (mean age 11.26, SD 0.68), 84 boys aged 10-12 (mean age 11.41, SD 0.50), 78 girls aged 13-14 (mean age 13.52, SD 0.63) and 50 boys aged 13-14 (mean age 13.21, SD 0.53). The significance of quantitative differences between boys and girls in the overall system of variables was defined based on the results of canonic discriminant analysis of variance, and within each variable based on the results on univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA). In the younger age group (10-12 years), girls were superior to boys in a test assessing flexibility (Seated straddle stretch), whereas, compared to girls, boys had greater strength of the trunk (Crossed-arm sit-ups), greater explosive strength ofjump and sprint type (Standing broad jump and 20 m dash), and coordination (Obstacle course backwards and Steps laterally). In the older age group (13-14 years) differences in flexibility were even more prominent in favor of girls, whereas the differences in explosive strength increased in favor of boys, especially of the throwing type with better agility (Steps laterally), balance (Board balance) and greater static strength of arms and shoulders (Bent-arm hang). In order to determine qualitative differences between pubertal and prepubertal girls and boys, the matrix of variable inter-correlations was factorized by the procedure of principal components procedure, that were then transformed to promax solution. The results showed that cognitive functioning had a significant role in the motor efficacy of girls and boys aged 10 to 14. In the age group of 10-12 years, in females, cognitive functioning is related to the motor system which integrates the regulation of muscle tone with agility/coordination, whereas in males there is a relation between cognitive abilities and the regulator of speed of upper extremities movement frequency. In the age group of 13-14 years, in females, cognitive functioning is involved in forming the factors for regulation of coordination and the intensity of energy mobilization in lower extremities, and to some degree, in the factor for regulation of intensity of energy mobilization in upper extremities and strength of the trunk, whereas in males the integration of synergetic regulation of movement in terms of balance and agility in terms of speed of direction change is carried out with significant involvement of cognitive abilities.

Psychometric properties of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist in preschool children in Serbia.

AIM: To demonstrate the use of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) as a tool for screening problems in psychosocial development in preschool children in Serbia. METHODS: The form was filled out by parents to 269 children. The statistical and metric characteristics of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist were analyzed, while cut-off values were compared with the values reported from other countries. RESULTS: The PSC scale filled out by parents was found to have acceptable reliability in our sample of preschool children. A high level of reliability of the scale was achieved (á = 0.86). Average values on the scale were lower than in other analyses. There was no statistically significant difference in behavioral traits in regards to children's gender (p=0.53). Factor analysis of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist scale (promax solution) established an existence of a general factor. This general factor is structured with internal and external behavioral traits, as well as with impulsiveness and attention deficit in preschool children. Based on our cut-off value, the need of further follow up was established in 10.4% of study children (n=28, 17 male and 11 female). CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed that the PSC filled out by parents is a good tool for early and rapid identification of potential problems of psychosocial functioning of preschool children. It should be noted that a positive PSC score was not a diagnosis but an indication for additional analysis and assessment of the children and their families.

Relationships between cognitive and motor abilities in female children aged 10-14 years.

The aim of the study was to determine cognitive and motor status factors in female children aged 10-14 years and to identify developmental and/or integration functions according to age. The study included a sample of 162 female schoolchildren aged 10-14 years divided into two groups: 84 girls aged 10-12 (X 11.26, SD 0.68) years and 78 girls aged 13-14 (X 13.52, SD 0.63) years. Study results showed a statistically significant between-group difference in the overall system of variables (MANOVA), with the level of significance determined for each individual variable (ANOVA). The older group of subjects showed significantly superior results in comparison with the younger group in the motor tests assessing flexibility, agility, psychomotor speed, explosive strength of throwing type and repetitive strength of the trunk, as well as in the test assessing cognitive functioning. Qualitative differences between the two age groups (prepubertal and pubertal) were determined by use of the matrix of variable inter-correlations factorized by the procedure of principal components that were then transformed to promax solution. The results thus obtained indicated cognitive functioning to take significant part in the motor efficacy of girls aged 10-14 years. In the younger age group (10-12 years), cognitive functioning was related to the motor system that integrates muscle tone regulation and agility/coordination. In the older age group (13-14 years), cognitive functioning was involved in the formation of the first and third factor isolated, i.e. in the factor regulating coordination and intensity of energy mobilization of lower extremities (general motor efficiency) and, to a lesser extent, in third factor regulation the intensity of energy mobilization of upper extremities and trunk strength.

Do kinesiologic activities change aberrant behavior in preschool children?

An experimental treatment was carried out in a sample of 117 preschool children by applying kinesiologic activities. The treatment lasting for 60 minutes was applied for a period of 9 months, twice a week. Control group of 139 children were trained according to the program for preschool institutions. Treatment effects were assessed by 7 motor ability tests, one intellectual test (Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices) and 36-item questionnaire for assessing aberrant behavior, which was filled out by parents. Aberrant behavior reduced significantly when motor abilities improved through systematic exercise. These findings point to the importance of motor exercise and applying additional kinesiologic activities with various modalities to reduce aberrant behavior in preschool children.

Correlation of parental socioeconomic status indicators with morphological and motor dimensions of preschool children.

Measuring instruments for assessment of parental socioeconomic status, anthropometric characteristics and motor abilities were used in a sample of 643 preschool children aged 4-6 years and their parents, recruited from preschool institutions in several towns in Voivodina, Serbia. The aim was to analyze the correlation of parental socioeconomic status indicators with morphological and motor dimensions of preschool children. Study results showed the socioeconomic status of the children's families to be relatively homogeneous, with no statistically significant differences in any of the socioeconomic status indicators between families with male and female children. Male and female children differed significantly in the overall space of anthropometric and motor variables, and to a lesser extent in individual variables. The general morphological factor treated as the children's growth and development, and general motor factor were qualitatively comparable. The correlations of socioeconomic factor with general morphological and motor factors of the children were not statistically significant, with the exception of motor factor in 6-year-old male children, at elementary school enrolment. Study results suggested the differences in biological growth and development and motor development recorded in preschool children from Voivodina, Serbia, to be attributable to hereditary factor rather than socioeconomic and environmental factors. Inclusion of older children and use of more socioeconomic status indicators along with some additional indicators should probably yield more reliable results on the issue.

Latent structure of Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices.

The main goal of the study was to determine the constructive validity of Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices by means of item factor analysis. The most important topic within this objective is to determine the test dimensionality, since many authors report on finding several significant primary factors. The study included 2334 children aged 4 to 11. Several types of factor analysis were used in order to obviate the influence of technique on the results. Our data suggested 3 or 4 first order factors. Based on the usual McDonald definition, the primary factors obtained could be considered difficulty factors in the majority of cases. The necessary number of factors on age subsamples, extracted by parallel analysis, was between 3 and 5. Factor structure on age subsamples indicated the youngest ages, 4 and 5, to be essentially different from the older ones. This difference was identified as underdevelopment of the goal management mechanisms.

Effects of kindergarten period on school readiness and motor abilities.

A battery of 4 school-readiness tests and 16 motor tests were administered in a sample of 660 preschool children (333 male and 327 female) just about to enroll in the first grade, in order to analyze the effects of kindergarten period on school readiness and motor abilities. The sample of children was divided into six groups according to sex and duration kindergarten attendance (kindergarten period of 5 years, 3 years and 8-9 months). Study results showed the entire education and motor activities in kindergarten to contribute significantly to school-readiness and motor abilities ofchildren. The highest school readiness was found in the children that attended kindergarten for the longest period, whereas lowest school readiness was recorded in children that attended kindergarten for only one academic year or less before enrolling in the first grade.

Relations between handedness and motor abilities in preschool children.

Relations between laterality and motor abilities were assessed in preschool children. Study sample included 202 children aged 5-7.5 decimal years. Upper extremity usage and gesture laterality was assessed by a battery of tests and used on children evaluation according to harmonious or inharmonious laterality. The performance of motor tasks that require whole body coordination, the speed of alternating hand motion frequency and the precision of hand aiming were assessed according to the type of laterality. There were no statistically significant sex differences in laterality distribution, and no differences according to laterality harmonization. There was no statistically significant difference in motor test performance between the children with harmonious and inharmonious laterality.

Anthropometric and motor features of young judoists in Vojvodina.

The aim of the study was to identify differences between trained and untrained subjects with respect to body composition and motor abilities. Two groups of subjects participated in the study: young judoists (110 boys and 56 girls) and their untrained mates (115 boys and 60 girls), aged 11 to 16 years, all from the Province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Young male judoists proved significantly better than their untrained mates in repetitive and static strength exercises, running speed, whole-body coordination, and had lower subcutaneous fat tissue of the upper arm. Young female judoists were significantly better in repetitive strength, whole-body coordination and plate tapping, chest girth and stretched upper arm, and also had lower subcutaneous fat tissue of the upper arm and back.

Relations between morphological and cognitive dimensions of persons with above-average motor abilities.

The set of 33 anthropometric measures and the battery KOG3 to estimate the perceptive, serial and parallel processors were applied on the sample of 217 students of the Faculty of Sport and Physical Education in Novi Sad (Serbia). By means of factor analysis with the oblimin rotation, the following morphological dimensions were obtained and analyzed: 1) longitudinal skeletal dimensionality, 2) transversal skeletal dimensionality, 3) volumen and body mass, 4) subcutaneous fat and 5) head voluminosity. After the transformation of the results from linear model of the relations into the non-monotonous spline function of the forth degree, the results of correlation, canonical correlation and redundancy analyses were subjected to the non-linear model analysis. The obtained results showed that the non-linear model of data analyses indicated more significant relations and explained better the common variance of the two sets of variables.

Hypothetical model in testing integrated development of preschool children.

This paper provides systematic presentation of the issues related to methodology, and offers some possible solutions for analysis of different aspects of child development, especially preschool age. These issues are related to the definition, acceptance and preparation of the existing theories on development, which include analysis of the whole child's self his/her surroundings, and his/her activities. In addition, this analysis also includes some methodological problems related to sexual dimorphism, heritage-bound and surroundings-bound development, definition of the model of constructs affecting the selection of variables for evaluation of integral development, definition of the population and selection of the subject sample, determination of manifest characteristics and abilities, selection or construction of measuring instruments for their evaluation, appropriateness of the model and method of data analysis, as well as the possibility of designing the potential model of integrated development of preschool children.

Trend of relations between morphological characteristics and motor abilities in preschool children.

Measurements of eight anthropometric characteristics and a battery of seven motor tests were applied in a large sample of 1170 children, 565 boys and 605 girls aged 4 to 7.5 decimal years from preschool institutions in three towns in Vojvodina (Novi Sad, Sombor, and Bacha Palanka). Children were selected according to 0.5 decimal years in the mentioned age range. The status of boys and girls according to seven age categories, age-related differences between boys and girls, as well as the relations between anthropometric characteristics and motor abilities were analyzed by use of intercorrelation matrices and canonical correlation analysis. Generally, significant sex differences were found in anthropometric characteristics, i.e., the values of bone growth in length were higher in boys, while the values of voluminosity and subcutaneous adipose tissue were higher in girls. Concerning the space of motor variables, there were significant differences in functioning of the mechanism of movement structuring, the mechanism of synergetic regulation, and the mechanism of excitation duration control, which reached higher values in boys, whereas the functioning of the mechanism of tonus regulation showed higher values in girls. These differences generated morphological and motor structures in boys and girls according to age groups analyzed whose relations showed variable level of statistical significance. The youngest and oldest ages showed generalness of the canonical factor structure, as well as the highest significance of participation in the common variance of the two spaces of the variables applied. Between the above ages, i.e., between 4 and 7 years, the relation between morphological characteristics and motor abilities in children decreased, followed by gradual increase. It was monitored by the coefficient of determination between the first pairs of canonical factors in each age category, in boys and girls alike. This relation tended to be higher in boys in all analyzed age categories except for the youngest age where a considerably higher relation was recorded between morphological and motor structure in girls. Such a result could be interpreted by the trend and growth/development level of morphological structure, development of motor structure, development of the central nervous system, as well as by physical activity that is more intensive in boys than in girls.

Sex differences in anthropometric characteristics, motor and cognitive functioning in preschool children at the time of school enrolment.

The study included a sample of 333 preschool children (162 male and 171 female) at the time of school enrolment. Study subjects were recruited from the population of children in kindergartens in the cities of Novi Sad, Sombor, Sremska Mitrovica and Backa Palanka (Province of Voivodina, Serbia). Eight anthropometric variables, seven motor variables and one cognitive variable were analyzed to identify quantitative and qualitative sex differences in anthropometric characteristics, motor and cognitive functioning. Study results showed statistically significant sex differences in anthropometric characteristics and motor abilities in favor of male children, whereas no such difference was recorded in cognitive functioning. Sex differences found in morphological and motor spaces contributed to structuring proper general factors according to space and sex. Somewhat stronger structures were observed in male children. The cognitive aspect of functioning yielded better correlation with motor functioning in female than in male children. Motor functioning correlated better with morphological growth and development in male children, whereas cognitive functioning was relatively independent. These results are not fully in accordance with the current concept of general conditions in preschool children, nor they fully confirm the theory of integral development of children, hence they should be re-examined in future studies. Although these study results cannot be applied to sports practice in general, since we believe that it is too early for preschool children to take up sports and sport competitions, they are relevant for pointing to the need of developing general motor ability and motor behavior in preschool children.