Zero-waste preparation of mixed oxides for submicromolar sensing of Bentazone pesticide.

Necessity of having simple selective and robust methods for the analysis of environmentally relevant chemicals stimulates the development of new approaches to material preparation. Electrochemical sensing using electroactive substrates has proved efficient in the analysis of a wide range of pesticides and is widely used as a routine analytical method. Recently, mixed oxides showed promising electrocatalytic activity toward hazardous substrates. Prevalence of wet chemical methods in the synthesis of mixed oxides creates a methodological obstacle and inconvenience for their wide utilization. In this work we challenged the common preparation of mixed oxides with simple powder mixing and developed an electrode for bentazone detection with satisfactory detection limit (0.4 µM), recovery rate (≈104%), and a broad linearity range (1-45 µM). The proposed modified carbon paste electrode is highly selective and can be used for determination of bentazone in presence of interfering ions in water samples.

[Clothing and footwear for the persons of elderly and senile age as the problem of gerontological technologies.]

According to the World Health Organization, human life expectancy has increased significantly around the world over the past century, but this process is inevitably accompanied by aging. Therefore, persons who have reached the elderly and senile age often become infirm, especially physically. As a result, such people find it increasingly difficult to make movements related to self-service and movement when using standard clothing and shoes. In a study of 55 patients (from 60 to 87 years), conducted for the first time from the point of view of medical and social rehabilitation, data were obtained that reveal the nature of physical limitations of this group of people, which significantly complicate them use of standard clothing and shoes. The main conclusion of the work is the relevance of the development of medical and technical requirements for the design and production of clothing and footwear specifically for the elderly and senile taking into account their changed anthropometric parameters and their characteristic functional limitations.

Audiovisual Stimulation Modulates Physical Performance and Biochemical and Hormonal Status of Athletes.

We studied the effect of audiovisual stimulation training course on physical development, functional state of the cardiovascular system, blood biochemical parameters, and hormonal status of athletes. The training course led to improvement of physical performance and adaptive capacities of the circulatory system, increase in plasma levels of total protein, albumin, and glucose and total antioxidant activity, and decrease in triglyceride, lipase, total bilirubin, calcium, and phosphorus. The concentration of hormones (cortisol, thyrotropin, triiodothyronine, and thyroxine) also decreased under these conditions. In the control group, an increase in the concentration of creatinine and uric acid and a tendency toward elevation of lowdensity lipoproteins and total antioxidant activity were observed in the absence of changes in cardiac function and physical performance; calcium and phosphorus concentrations reduced. The improvement in functional state in athletes was mainly associated with intensification of anabolic processes and suppression of catabolic reactions after audiovisual stimulation (in comparison with the control). Stimulation was followed by an increase in the number of correlations between biochemical and hormonal changes and physical performance of athletes, which attested to better integration of processes at the intersystem level.

[The Effect of Audiovisual Stimulation on Psychological and Physiological Functions in Athletes].

We studied the psychophysiological status (cognitive, psychoemotional and neurodynamic parameters), the power spectrum of EEG and heart rate variability of 18-23-year-old athletes, before and after a course of audiovisual stimulation (AVS) (experimental group) in comparison with sportsmen who did not receive AVS (control group). It was shown that a course of AVS (experimental group) has positive effect on psycho-emotional parameters (the levels of anxiety and neuroticism decreased; motivation to make progress and the level of hardiness increased), cognitive and neurodynamic parameters (the capacity of mechanical memory, the speed of attention switching and of a simple sensor-motor response increase; the range of fluctuation of reactions to a moving object is reduced). We also observed an increase in the power of α2 rhythm of EEG, the activity of parasympathetic nervous system and the influence of autonomic circuit of regulation in the experimental group; resting cardiac performance was more conservative as compared with the control group. We concluded that a course of AVS has positive effect on psychophysiological parameters and the mechanisms of autonomic heart regulation in athletes.

[Age features of kidney response on food and physical loads in athletes--skiers].

The features of renal functions in older adolescents and young adults involved in ski racing, before and after water, food, and physical activity has been studied. Renal functions in the morning as baseline demonstrated an increase in GFR and greater maturity of osmoregulatory mechanisms (higher excretion of osmotically active substances, osmotic concentration index, the reabsorption of solute-free fluid) in adult compared with adolescents. After food intake in youths osmoregulatory mechanisms provided adequate renal response--increased excretion of ions in exchange for urea, that saved osmolality. In adolescence, there was an increase of excretion of osmotically active substances in parallel with the output of urine, higher GFR and reabsorption of solute-free liquid, that confirmed the lower maturity of osmoregulatory system. The renal homeostatic response after physical training indicated involvement of volume regulatory mechanisms that did not differ between age groups. It is concluded that the development of the definitive volume regulation became earlier than osmoregulation.