Exploring the Well-Being of Slovenian and Serbian Sport Science Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic of Summer 2022.

The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly changed everyday life of social actors, which inferred mental health and well-being concerns. As students of health-related studies tend to adapt better to difficult circumstances, in this study, we explored the effect of the pandemic on sports science students' well-being during the summer of 2022. The research was conducted in Slovenia and Serbia. The sample comprised n = 350 students. The PERMA-Profiler, a 15-item self-reported questionnaire, was adapted to assess well-being across five elements: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. Data were collected with a questionnaire through the summer of 2022 (from May to July) and analyzed in SPSS, AMOS 26.0. The results revealed normal functioning (M = 7.72, SD ± 1.38) for the overall well-being of the students. Although all dimensions indicated high scores, relationships (M = 7.95, SD ± 1.63), meaning (M = 7.76, SD ± 1.69), and engagement (M = 7.73, SD ± 1.36) rated the highest. Furthermore, the instrument was acceptable, as the confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate reliability based on Cronbach's alpha (15 items, α = 0.94) and strong internal correlations between the PERMA dimensions. This study contributes to the previously published research, emphasizing the positive responses and successful coping of sports science students in times of complex situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Benefits of active life in student experiences during COVID-19 pandemic time.

The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to extreme global consequences. In this paper, changes in the basic segments of students' everyday life and their subjective perception are investigated. The research was conducted in Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia. The application of the mixed method was performed to provide breadth and depth of understanding of students' responses to lifestyle changes. The research was conducted in two phases: a quantitative, using an online survey (N = 1,053), from April 15th to April 28th 2020, and a qualitative, using semi-structured interviews (N = 30), from June 10th to July 27th 2020. Students showed similar responses to the measures, but it turned out that the response in that population was different when their gender and study program were taken into account. The results suggest that students of study programs that are not "health-related" were more sensitive to change in habits than students of "health-related" study programs, but generally changes are visible in sleep patterns (going to bed late and waking up 60 to 80 min earlier). At the same time, the time spent in front of screens increased, from M = 4.49 (SD = 2.72) hours to M= 8.27 (SD = 3.44) hours during Covid-19, not only due to the transition to e-learning, but also due to a "stay at home" measure. Furthermore, students were less physically active, there was a decrease in exercise by 20 min (SD = 86.52) and a decrease in walking (M = 54 min, SD = 103.62) per day, and what is positive is that they were able to maintain the recommended amount of physical activity. The research contributes to the understanding of social consequences of extraordinary measures in students as young, healthy and highly educated social actors, as well as deeper insight into everyday strategies they undertake to counter or adapt to the new situation.

Let's (Tik) Talk About Fitness Trends.

Several factors that follow the development of society affect physical inactivity, which primarily includes the development of technology and digitalization and the increasing choice of unhealthy lifestyle habits. However, certain shifts in the fitness industry have been noted in the last decade. The development of wearable technologies and artificial intelligence is one of the leading fitness trends and undoubtedly represents the future of the fitness industry. On the other hand, the significant influence of social media and networks affects the development and attitudes of people related to physical activity. Therefore, this review paper evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of wearable technologies and artificial intelligence, the positive and negative effects of social networks, and points out the problems accompanying these new fitness trends. The development of fitness trends follows humanity's needs, and one of the biggest challenges is incorporating these novelties in a mission to improve physical activity levels worldwide.

Moral Disengagement in Youth Athletes: A Narrative Review.

The sports environment can be considered as a context characterized by interactions typical of social groups, where children have the chance to learn good values. Positive and negative behaviours in sports, also called prosocial and antisocial behaviours, have been studied according to a moral perspective, as has doping behaviour, taking into consideration the concept of moral disengagement. Moral disengagement in children has been associated with maladaptive behaviours later in life, even though it should disappear with growth. Concerning the sports environment, previous reviews on the topic have extensively illustrated the role of moral variables in sport and their relation to antisocial behaviour and doping, positing some research questions that should be investigated in the future. Starting from these questions, the current narrative review aims to update literature about the effects of moral disengagement on youth athletes. Therefore, new studies about the predictors of moral disengagement are introduced, followed by contributions concerning the relationship between moral disengagement and doping and between moral disengagement and antisocial behaviour. Finally, the review summarizes which research questions have been solved in the last decade and which should be researched further on.

The differences of Slovenian and Italian daily practices experienced in the first wave of covid-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic situation with the lockdown of public life caused serious changes in people's everyday practices. The study evaluates the differences between Slovenia and Italy in health-related everyday practices induced by the restrictive measures during first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: The cross-sectional cohort study examined changes through an online survey conducted in nine European countries from April 15-28, 2020. The survey included questions from a simple activity inventory questionnaire (SIMPAQ), the European Health Interview Survey, and some other questions. To compare difference in changes between European countries we examined Italy with severe and its neighbour country Slovenia with low incidence and victims of COVID-19 epidemic. 956 valid responses from Italy (N = 511; 50% males) and Slovenia (N = 445; 26% males) were investigated. RESULTS: During the survey, there was a 4.7-fold higher incidence and 12.1-fold more deaths (per 100,000) in Italy than in Slovenia. Barring periods and measures were similar, the latter more stringent in Italy. We found more changes in Italy than in Slovenia: physical inactivity increased (Italy: + 65% vs. Slovenia: + 21%; p < 0.001), walking time decreased (Italy: -68% vs. Slovenia: -4.4%; p < 0.001); physical work increased by 38% in Slovenia (p < 0.001), and recreation time decreased by 37% in Italy (p < 0.001). Italians reported a decrease in quality of general health, fitness level, psychological well-being, quality of life and care for own health (p < 0.001); Slovenians showed a decline in psychological well-being and quality of life (p < 0.001) but generally had a higher concern for their own health (p = 0.005). In pooled participants, changes in eating habits (meal size and consumption of unhealthy food), age and physical inactivity were positively correlated with increases in body mass, while changes in general well-being and concern for health were negatively correlated. CONCLUSION: The study shows that the negative impact of COVID -19 measures is greater in Italy where the pandemic COVID -19 was more prevalent than in Slovenia with low prevalence. Additional consideration should be given to the negative impact of COVID-19 measures on some health-related lifestyle variables when implementing further measures to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

Youth Athletes' Perception of Existence and Prevalence of Aggression and Interpersonal Violence and Their Forms in Serbia.

Aggression and interpersonal violence (IV) against children and youth are issues in contemporary society. The current study reports on the youth athletes' perception of the aggression and IV prevalence and its manifestation forms in a Serbian context. The sample included athletes (N = 2091) between the age of 11 and 18 years. Data were collected through an ad-hoc questionnaire created by the authors. Respondents' answers to introductory questions about the frequency of IV indicated its absence (78.1%). However, the answers to the questions about specific forms of violent peer behavior indicated forms as well as the time and place where IV most often occurs. They underlined that IV takes place mainly after training or competition and during sports camps; and that the dressing room is the most favorable place for these behaviors. They also confirmed that the most prevalent subtypes of IV are psychological (roughly 40%) and physical (approximately 30%). The respondents' opinions and experiences about IV (psychological, physical, sexual) revealed that factors such as gender, location, and parents' education level may influence the IV manifestation. Highlighting the prevalence and the most frequently manifesting types of aggression and IV could help in awareness-raising of these social issues.

Children's Daily Routine Response to COVID-19 Emergency Measures in Serbia.

Objective: The emergence of coronavirus in Serbia as well as in other European countries led to the declaration of a state of emergency, which, among other measures, included a switch to online education, the lockdown of public life and organized sports, and a curfew from 5 pm to 5 am. This study aimed to investigate the extent to which these measures affected children's daily routines. More specifically, it aimed to determine how children maintained their learning, physical activity, and screen time routines from the period before the state of emergency was declared. Methods: Response to an online parent-reported questionnaire was conducted (N = 450). The factorial validity of the scales was prepared using confirmatory factor analysis, with acceptable fit indices. Based on that, the authors tested the interrelations between dimensions using structural equation modeling in SPSS, AMOS 24.0. Results: The study results indicate a positive relationship between school achievement and study time (ß = 0.25). They also indicate that children who were physically active before the pandemic continued their activities during the emergency state (ß = 0.53). Physical activity impact during the COVID-19 emergency measures reduces children's behavior changes (ß = 0.55). Finally, they highlight that children who spent more time with multimedia content had greater changes in anxiety, sensitivity, nervousness, and worry due to COVID-19 emergency measures (ß = -0.38). Conclusions: Healthy lifestyle habits formed in childhood are suggested to be responsible for the greater "resistance to change" shown by the children from this study.

A Cross-Country Examination on the Fear of COVID-19 and the Sense of Loneliness during the First Wave of COVID-19 Outbreak.

The aim of the current study is to examine gender, age. and cross-country differences in fear of COVID-19 and sense of loneliness during the lockdown, by comparing people from those countries with a high rate of infections and deaths (e.g., Spain and Italy) and from countries with a mild spread of infection (e.g., Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina). A total of 3876 participants (63% female) completed an online survey on "Everyday life practices in COVID-19 time" in April 2020, including measures of fear of COVID-19 and loneliness. Males and females of all age groups in countries suffering from the powerful impact of the COVID-19 pandemic reported greater fear of COVID-19 and sense of loneliness. In less endangered countries, females and the elderly reported more symptoms than males and the young; in Spanish and Italian samples, the pattern of differences is considerably more complex. Future research should thoroughly examine different age and gender groups. The analysis of emotional well-being in groups at risk of mental health issues may help to lessen the long term social and economic costs due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Differences in the Psychological Profiles of Elite and Non-elite Athletes.

One of the main goals of sport psychology is to identify those psychological factors that are relevant for sport performance as well as possibilities of their development. The aim of the study was to determine whether the set of specific psychological characteristics [generalized self-efficacy, time perspective, emotional intelligence (EI), general achievement motivation, and personality dimensions] makes the distinction between athletes based on their (non)-participation in the senior national team, that is, their belonging to the subsample of elite or non-elite athletes depending on this criterion. According to the group centroids it can be said that elite athletes are characterized by a positive high score in self-efficacy, emotionality, present fatalistic time perspective, past positive time perspective, and openness to experience. They are also characterized by low past negative time perspective, emotional competence, and future time perspective. Non-elite athletes have the opposite traits. The results have been discussed in the context of their application in the process of talent selection and development in sport as well as the development of life skills in athletes.

Maintaining everyday life praxis in the time of COVID-19 pandemic measures (ELP-COVID-19 survey).

BACKGROUND: The extreme social circumstances caused by declared COVID-19 pandemic deeply intervene people's everyday life and should not be neglected but seen through the view of social reality pinpointing the 'ordinary' people. In this article, authors explored basic segments of everyday and their subjective perception to what extent sleeping habits, physical inactivity, physical activity, nutritional habits and smoking have changed. METHODS: The online survey was conducted in nine European countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo*, Italy, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain) in 4108 participants, aged 15-82 years. The survey took place 30-40 days after World Health Organization declared COVID-19 pandemic state, from 15 April to 3 May 2020. RESULTS: The results have shown 30 min longer sleeping time, 50% longer physical inactivity time, 65% longer screen time, 43% shorter walking time, 24% shorter sport time and 37% longer physical work time. Additionally, body mass gains (0.3 kg) could be explained in 20.6% with meals sizes, unhealthy food consumption, screen time and sport time. Further, respondents reported more regular meals (44%) and healthier meals with less alcohol consumption and less smoking, which have been positive outcomes of home confinement. CONCLUSION: The findings draw attention to negative changes in everyday praxis (inactivity, body mass gain) after such a short period. Because of possible risk to population's health (especially of countries such as Italy and Spain with serious threat and more stringent measures), findings enable development of recommendations for maintaining healthy lifestyle habits with minimal negative health consequences in similar pandemic circumstances.

Reconfiguring Motor Circuits for a Joint Manual and BCI Task.

Designing brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that can be used in conjunction with ongoing motor behavior requires an understanding of how neural activity co-opted for brain control interacts with existing neural circuits. For example, BCIs may be used to regain lost motor function after stroke. This requires that neural activity controlling unaffected limbs is dissociated from activity controlling the BCI. In this study we investigated how primary motor cortex accomplishes simultaneous BCI control and motor control in a task that explicitly required both activities to be driven from the same brain region (i.e. a dual-control task). Single-unit activity was recorded from intracortical, multi-electrode arrays while a non-human primate performed this dual-control task. Compared to activity observed during naturalistic motor control, we found that both units used to drive the BCI directly (control units) and units that did not directly control the BCI (non-control units) significantly changed their tuning to wrist torque. Using a measure of effective connectivity, we observed that control units decrease their connectivity. Through an analysis of variance we found that the intrinsic variability of the control units has a significant effect on task proficiency. When this variance is accounted for, motor cortical activity is flexible enough to perform novel BCI tasks that require active decoupling of natural associations to wrist motion. This study provides insight into the neural activity that enables a dual-control brain-computer interface.

Personality Traits and Self-Esteem in Combat and Team Sports.

The aim of this research was to examine whether psychological variables which make up basic dimensions of personality and self-esteem distinguish competitors in combat sports from competitors in team sports. The research included 149 respondents, aged 19 to 27 years. The Self-Esteem Scale questionnaire was used to measure self-esteem. The BFI inventory was used to measure personality traits according to the Big Five model: Extraversion, Neuroticism, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Openness to Experience. The basic research question is - does the set of psychological variables which make up basic dimensions of personality and self-esteem statistically significantly distinguish competitors in combat sports from the competitors in team sports? Both mean differences and simple discriminant function analyses for competitors in combat/team sports revealed that self-esteem, neuroticism, and conscientiousness were the most important factors distinguishing the two groups. Practical implications, limitations, and future research directions were discussed.

Assessment of Dry Epidermal Electrodes for Long-Term Electromyography Measurements.

Commercially available electrodes can only provide quality surface electromyography (sEMG) measurements for a limited duration due to user discomfort and signal degradation, but in many applications, collecting sEMG data for a full day or longer is desirable to enhance clinical care. Few studies for long-term sEMG have assessed signal quality of electrodes using clinically relevant tests. The goal of this research was to evaluate flexible, gold-based epidermal sensor system (ESS) electrodes for long-term sEMG recordings. We collected sEMG and impedance data from eight subjects from ESS and standard clinical electrodes on upper extremity muscles during maximum voluntary isometric contraction tests, dynamic range of motion tests, the Jebsen Taylor Hand Function Test, and the Box & Block Test. Four additional subjects were recruited to test the stability of ESS signals over four days. Signals from the ESS and traditional electrodes were strongly correlated across tasks. Measures of signal quality, such as signal-to-noise ratio and signal-to-motion ratio, were also similar for both electrodes. Over the four-day trial, no significant decrease in signal quality was observed in the ESS electrodes, suggesting that thin, flexible electrodes may provide a robust tool that does not inhibit movement or irritate the skin for long-term measurements of muscle activity in rehabilitation and other applications.

Distribution patterns of the metastases of the lung carcinoma in relation to histological type of the primary tumor: An autopsy study.

INTRODUCTION: Lung cancer is among leading causes of death worldwide. Different histological types of the lung carcinoma show significant differences in behavior. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to determine the distribution patterns of metastases of different lung cancer histological types in autopsied individuals. METHODS: Protocols from all autopsies performed at the Institute of Pathology from 2008 till 2014 were reviewed retrospectively, and information on individuals' age, sex, histological type of primary lung cancer, presence and location of metastases, and causes of death were recorded. RESULTS: More than 90% of the individuals with lung cancer metastases were older than 50 years (mean age: 64.5 ± 10.3), with two-fold male predominance. The most frequent histological type in both sexes was adenocarcinoma (48%). Although, in general, hematogenous metastases were mostly found in the liver and adrenal glands, various histological types of lung cancer show specific dissemination patterns. Metastases in adrenal glands derived mostly from adenocarcinoma and large-cell carcinoma. Metastases in the intestines most frequently originated from large-cell carcinoma (P = 0.01). Metastatic complications and bronchopneumonia were the most frequent causes of death. CONCLUSIONS: While, overall, the most frequent hematogenous metastases occur in the liver and adrenal glands, various histological types of lung cancer show specific dissemination patterns. Knowing distribution of metastases is essential for making algorithms of treatment, as well as for improving clinical assessment of the patients with unclear clinical findings and suspicion on occult primary lung cancer.

Simultaneous and independent control of a brain-computer interface and contralateral limb movement.

Toward expanding the population of potential BCI users to the many individuals with lateralized cortical stroke, here we examined whether the cortical hemisphere controlling ongoing movements of the contralateral limb can simultaneously generate signals to control a BCI. A monkey was trained to perform a simultaneous BCI and manual control task designed to test whether one hemisphere could effectively differentiate its output and provide independent control of two tasks. Pairs of well-isolated single units were used to control a BCI cursor in one dimension, while isometric wrist torque of the contralateral forelimb controlled the cursor in a second dimension. The monkey could independently modulate cortical units and contralateral wrist torque regardless of the strength of directional tuning of the units controlling the BCI. When the presented targets required explicit decoupling of unit activity and wrist torque, directionally tuned units exhibited significantly less efficient cursor trajectories compared to when unit activity and wrist torque could remain correlated. The results indicate that neural activity from a single hemisphere can be effectively decoupled to simultaneously control a BCI and ongoing limb movement, suggesting that BCIs may be a viable future treatment for individuals with lateralized cortical stroke.

SGA children with moderate catch-up growth are showing the impaired insulin secretion at the age of 4.

BACKGROUND: Being born small for gestational age (SGA) is a risk factor for later development of type 2 diabetes. The development of glucose tolerance disorders in adults involves insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity in a 4-yr old cohort of SGA. METHODS: 85 children were prospectively followed from mid-gestation to 4 years of age. Fetal growth velocity (FGV) was measured using ultrasound measurements. Body composition and hormonal profile were measured at birth, 1 and 4 years. RESULTS: 23 SGA babies had lower birth weight compared to 62 AGA (-1.9±0.3 vs. -0.6±0.8 z-score; p<0.0001) and they were thinner at birth (ponderal index 24.8±1.8 vs. 26.3±3.1 kg/m3; p = 0.01 and fat mass 11±2.6 vs. 12.9±3.1%; p = 0.01). No significant differences in other measured metabolic and hormonal parameters were observed between two groups at birth. SGA infants experienced an early catch-up growth in weight (mean gain of 1.1±0.6 SD) during the first year of life. At 4 years, SGA children remain lighter than AGA, but with weight z-score in the normal range (-0.1±1.3 vs. 0.5±1.3 z-score; p = 0.05). No excess of fat mass was observed (19±4.8 vs. 19.7±4.1%; p = 0.45). 120-min plasma glucose was significantly higher (6.2±1.1 vs. 5.6±0.9 mmol/l; p = 0.006) and insulinogenic index was significantly lower (0.28±0.15 vs. 0.40±2.4; p = 0.02) in the SGA group at 4-yrs of life contrasting with a preserved insulin sensitivity (QUICKI 0.47±0.09 vs. 0.43±0.05; p = 0.06). CONCLUSION: SGA children with compensatory catch-up growth in first year of life show mild disturbances of glucose tolerance associated to a lower insulinogenic index at 4-yrs of age suggesting impairment of ß-cell function.

Muscle synergies with Walkaround® postural support vs. "cane/therapist" assistance.

BACKGROUND: The main clinical measures of walking recovery in stroke patients were compared for training assisted by Walkaround® postural support (WPS) and conventional (CON) support by a cane/therapist. OBJECTIVE: We attributed the differences between the trainings to modified muscular synergies that occurred during assistance by WPS. METHODS: We studied the muscle activities of the primary knee and ankle joint movers in the paretic and non-paretic legs of sub-acute stroke patients during assisted walking with WPS and CON. Recorded signals were compared to normative data that were recorded during speed-matched gait trials in healthy subjects. The specific measures were the relative contribution of individual muscles, levels of cocontraction, and the timing of the maximum electromyography (EMG) activity during the walking sessions. RESULTS: We found that, for most patients, the individual contribution of muscles were more similar to the healthy with the WPS assistance. In parallel, the cocontraction of the rectus femoris muscles in both legs was lower (by up to 39 %) during walking assisted by WPS than by cane/therapist gait support); the results from this case series (10 patients) showed that WPS might be the superior training scheme. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicated that assistance by WPS changed the motor control output relative to CON assistance in most patients.

Innate small babies are metabolically healthy children.

BACKGROUND: Being born small for gestational age (SGA) is regarded as a risk factor for later metabolic complications. The SGA is defined as a birth weight below -2 SD of the distribution for sex and gestational age. However, the definition of SGA does not distinguish between those born after fetal growth restriction and innate SGA (iSGA). OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to test whether innate SGA infants show any metabolic complications at the age of 2 yr in comparison with infants born appropriate for gestational age (AGA). METHODS: Fifty-eight infants with family SGA risk factors (SGA in a previous pregnancy or among parents, maternal height less than -2 sd for adult height in French women, and small fetal size at second-trimester ultrasound examination) were prospectively followed from midgestation to 2 yr of age. Fetal growth velocity was measured from ultrasound measurements. Body composition and hormonal profile were measured at birth and 1 and 2 yr. RESULTS: Fetal growth velocity was not significantly different between iSGA and AGA (-0.17 ± 0.2 vs. -0.17 ± 0.3 percentiles/d of gestation; P = 0.96). iSGA infants were significantly lighter at birth (-1.7 ± 0.45 vs. 0.46 ± 0.77 SD; P < 0.0001) and at 4 months of age (-0.85 ± 0.88 vs. 0.29 ± 1 SD; P < 0.0001), and they remain so over follow-up (-0.73 ± 1.08 vs. 0.2 ± 1.02 SD; P = 0.0014 at 2 yr). Height z-scores and percent fat time courses followed a similar pattern. No differences in any of the metabolic and hormonal parameters were observed between iSGA and AGA up to 2 yr (insulin at birth, 5.1 ± 6.8 vs. 5.2 ± 4.6 mIU/liter, P = 0.2; at 2 yr, 2 ± 1.6 vs. 2 ± 1.5 mIU/liter, P = 0.66). CONCLUSION: Infants born iSGA do not experience severe fetal growth restriction and do not show any evidence of metabolic risk either at birth or in the first 2 yr of life.