Characteristics of silver fir stands [Abies alba Mill.] with composite structure on the area of Krosno and Katowice Directorate of Sate Forests

The clear improvement in vitality of silver fir stands is being observed in recent years, they are also intensifying of aiming at increasing participation of the fir in Carpathians forests with simultaneous form of the selecting structure of stands. However suitable silviculture methods depend first of all on the current state of stands. Our results showed that all investigated fir stands need shorter or longer period of transformation for applying of selection cutting methods

Butt rot occurrence in plus trees of Silver fir Abies alba Mill. and Norway spruce Picea abies (L.) from the Carpathians

Due to its hidden character, butt rot occurrence is not commonly included in the assessment of plus trees’ health status. Thus, the trees’ varied susceptibility to wood decay is not a target of breeding efforts. The aim of the study was to determine the extent of butt rot in fir and spruce plus trees from Carpathian seed stands. We employed the novel and non-invasive diagnostic method of sonic tomography to determine presence and severity of decay at the base of 110 plus trees of silver fir and 42 of Norway spruce. Butt rot in various stages of development occurred in 63% of investigated fir trees and in 45% of spruce trees. The proportion of damaged wood on the tomogram ranged from 0–38% in fir and 0–47% in spruce with similar average proportions of solid wood in all forest districts. The vast majority of trees was in the range of 80–90% solid wood. Plus trees of fir and spruce were affected by butt rot to a similar extent and the degree of damage increased with age in both species. However, a large variation in susceptibility to butt rot was found between individual trees leading to the conclusion that the identification of old trees, which wood is not decayed, may be the basis for further research on the resistance to butt rot

Relationship of maximal isometric torque produced in flexors and extensors rate to technique by judo athletes

Purpose: Development of strength is one of essential elements of motor preparation of judo athletes. The aim this study was to examine the influence of body composition and the joint torques on successful performance of various judo techniques. Methods: Twentyfive judo athletes participated in 175 judo bouts, which were video-recorded during the All-Polish competitions. Biomechanical classification of technical actions was used. The age and athletic experience of the subjects were 18 and 8.8 years, respectively. Their body height was 179.4 cm (Martin’s type anthropometer) and body mass was 80.3 kg (Sartorius F 1505 – DZA scales). Percentage of fat (10.6%) was estimated using skinfold result measurements. BMI (24.9 kgm–2), fat-free mass index (21.9 kgm–2) and fat mass index (3.0 kgm–2) were calculated. Maximum torques measured under static conditions were evaluated 2–3 days after the tournament. Descriptive statistics and ANOVA were conducted ( p 0.05). Results: Balancing of maximum torques in the muscles of the pelvic and illiac regions caused more frequent performance of physical lever-type throwing techniques, compared to couple of force-type throwing techniques. A negative correlation was found between body fat and value of force recorded for knee flexors and between the frequency of using techniques during groundwork and torques measured in hip extensors. High correlation of fat-free mass index and relative elbow flexor torque was found. Conclusions: The relationship between body composition and frequency of techniques used in a tournament, and joint torques developed by athletes were found

Exercise interventions to improve balance for young people with intellectual disabilities: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Aim: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of exercise interventions designed to improve balance in young people with intellectual disabilities. Method: A systematic literature search was performed on 10 databases. Studies in press or published in English in a peer-reviewed journal were included if: (1) participants were young people with intellectual disabilities; (2) exercise interventions were designed to improve balance; and (3) they used quasi-experimental or experimental designs. Studies focusing only on a specific subpopulation of young people with intellectual disabilities or having a specific physical characteristic were excluded. Risk of bias was assessed for randomization, allocation sequence concealment, blinding, incomplete outcome data, selective outcome reporting, and other biases. Results: The search strategy identified 937 articles and 15 studies, published between 1991 and 2017, that met the inclusion criteria. Exercise intervention groups showed a significant and larger improvement in static (pooled effect size, Hedges’ g=0.98) and dynamic (g=1.34) balance compared with the control groups. However, although the pooled improvement of static–dynamic balance was large (g=2.80), the result was non-significant. None of the subgroup analyses were significant, except for the improvement in: (1) static balance (higher in quasi-experimental than in experimental studies); and (2) dynamic balance (higher in young people with a mild vs a mild–moderate intellectual disability). Interpretation: The reviewed exercise interventions seem to represent an effective means for improving the static and dynamic balance of young people with intellectual disabilities. However, the present findings should be considered as preliminary given the small number of studies and their limitations. What this paper adds: Exercise intervention results in large and significant improvements in static and dynamic balance in young people with intellectual disabilities. Exercise intervention results in a large but non-significant improvement in static–dynamic balance. Static balance improvement was significantly higher in quasi-experimental versus experimental studies. Dynamic balance improvement was significantly higher in young people with mild versus mild–moderate intellectual disability. No significant differences related to age group, balance measures, and components of exercise intervention were found