Evaluation of the Quality of Life of University Students in Prague after the Annual COVID-19 Restrictions

Background: The COVID 19 disease brings about a variety of restrictions that affect the quality of life. For Czech students across all tiers of the educational system, the 2020/2021 academic year was very challenging as they basically spent all of it in a distance learning mode. In addition, the restrictions put in place by the Czech government did not allow for the value of health to be upheld in all of its components. Objective: The objective of this study was to look into the views on the quality of life in a group of 381 Prague university students who had gone through distance learning. As part of the study, we divided the set along faculty and year-of-study lines. Methods: As a research tool, we used the Czech version of the World Health Organisation’s WHOQLBREF Quality of Life Questionnaire. Within the descriptive statistical analysis we worked with the basic quantities of central tendency and variability. For the purposes of inferential statistical analysis, we used Cronbach's alpha (to determine the set consistency), correlation to determine domain dependencies, and ANOVA to test statistical hypotheses. Results: The set was content with the overall quality of life, with Faculty of Physical Education and Sport students and second- and third-year students coming on top as the most satisfied once the set had been divided. The lowest values were reported in the physical health domain, which is inconsistent with the findings of other research conducted on this topic; on the contrary, the highest values were shown for the set in the environmental health domain; this is in line with foreign research. In our set, we found statistically significant variations in the metal health and social health and environmental domains once the set was divided along the faculty, and year-of-study lines, respectively. There are statistically significant differences between the individual sets. Conclusions: Based on a comparison with foreign research, we recommend a deeper investigation into this issue since the perception of the quality of life in secondary and tertiary students is a key factor in the development of society

Attitudes of Primary School Pupils to Physical Education

Background: The descriptive study focuses on pupils’ attitudes towards physical education lessons. There are also two other issues discussed in the physical education community. The first is P.E. assessment of pupils. The second issue is relieving from P.E. lessons. The motivation of pupils at the beginning of school and the subsequent evaluation of their activity is important for development of positive attitudes among all pupils. Aim: The aim of the research is to find out how pupils perceive P.E. lessons because physical activities are important for health and a healthy lifestyle. Methods: The data were statistically analyzed in the R program. The Chí-square test for non-parametric data was used to assess statistical significance. We used the coefficient of determination to evaluate material significance. Results: Almost 88% of respondents engage in sports activities at different levels. Material significance is found in the following cases: Physical Education is more popular with boys and is also much more important for boys. Statistical significance wasn’t found for two items. Conclusion: We see a link between the low level of motor abilities and the reasons for the absence of pupils in Physical Education classes, as well as their positive feelings when P.E. classes get cancelled

The methods of training in high-altitude conditions

Title: The Methods Of Training In High-Altitude Conditions Aim: The aim of the study was to summarize published information on the issue of training methods in high mountain conditions and to determine whether the current use of methods can positively affect the performance of athletes. It includes findings from the history and current use of methods to achieve adaptive changes in the body. Methods: The method used in the bachelor thesis was document analysis and electronic database search. Results: We found that high-altitude training in both natural and artificial conditions improves oxygen transfer, red blood cell volume and maximal oxygen consumption VO2max. Thus, it can positively influence the performance of athletes when certain factors associated with hypoxic training are respected. We have also found that there is a considerable amount of scientific literature on the subject, which continues to grow, but the evidence is by no means conclusive. Keywords: Hypoxic training, altitude, performance, adaptation, acclimatizationNázev: Metody tréninku ve vysokohorských podmínkách Cíle: Cílem práce bylo shrnout publikované informace k problematice metody tréninku ve vysokohorských podmínkách a zjistit, zda současné využití metod může pozitivně ovlivnit výkonnost sportovců. Obsahuje jak poznatky z historie, tak i současné využití metod k dosažení adaptačních změn v organismu. Metody: Jako metoda byla v bakalářské práci použita analýza dokumentů, dále vyhledávání v elektronické databázi. Výsledky: Zjistili jsme, že vysokohorský trénink v přírodních i v umělých podmínkách zlepšuje přenos kyslíku, objem červených krvinek a maximální spotřebu kyslíku VO2max. Může tak pozitivně ovlivnit výkonnost sportovců při respektování určitých faktorů, které jsou s hypoxickým tréninkem spojené. Také jsme zjistili, že na toto téma existuje velké množství vědecké literatury, ale důkazy nejsou v žádném případě konzistentní. Klíčová slova: Hypoxický trénink, nadmořská výška, výkonnost, adaptace, aklimatizaceFyziologieFaculty of Physical Education and SportFakulta tělesné výchovy a sport

Optical spectroscopic studies of light-harvesting by pigment-reconstituted peridinin-chlorophyll-proteins at cryogenic temperatures

Low temperature, steady-state, optical spectroscopic methods were used to study the spectral features of peridinin-chlorophyll-protein (PCP) complexes in which recombinant apoprotein has been refolded in the presence of peridinin and either chlorophyll a (Chl a), chlorophyll b (Chl b), chlorophyll d (Chl d), 3-acetyl-chlorophyll a (3-acetyl-Chl a) or bacteriochlorophyll a (BChl a). Absorption spectra taken at 10 K provide better resolution of the spectroscopic bands than seen at room temperature and reveal specific pigment–protein interactions responsible for the positions of the Q(y) bands of the chlorophylls. The study reveals that the functional groups attached to Ring I of the two protein-bound chlorophylls modulate the Q(y) and Soret transition energies. Fluorescence excitation spectra were used to compute energy transfer efficiencies of the various complexes at room temperature and these were correlated with previously reported ultrafast, time-resolved optical spectroscopic dynamics data. The results illustrate the robust nature and value of the PCP complex, which maintains a high efficiency of antenna function even in the presence of non-native chlorophyll species, as an effective tool for elucidating the molecular details of photosynthetic light-harvesting

Comparative ultrafast spectroscopy and structural analysis of OCP1 and OCP2 from Tolypothrix.

The orange carotenoid protein (OCP) is a structurally and functionally modular photoactive protein involved in cyanobacterial photoprotection. Recently, based on bioinformatic analysis and phylogenetic relationships, new families of OCP have been described, OCP2 and OCPx. The first characterization of the OCP2 showed both faster photoconversion and back-conversion, and lower fluorescence quenching of phycobilisomes relative to the well-characterized OCP1. Moreover, OCP2 is not regulated by the fluorescence recovery protein (FRP). In this work, we present a comprehensive study combining ultrafast spectroscopy and structural analysis to compare the photoactivation mechanisms of OCP1 and OCP2 from Tolypothrix PCC 7601. We show that despite significant differences in their functional characteristics, the spectroscopic properties of OCP1 and OCP2 are comparable. This indicates that the OCP functionality is not directly related to the spectroscopic properties of the bound carotenoid. In addition, the structural analysis by X-ray footprinting reveals that, overall, OCP1 and OCP2 have grossly the same photoactivation mechanism. However, the OCP2 is less reactive to radiolytic labeling, suggesting that the protein is less flexible than OCP1. This observation could explain fast photoconversion of OCP2

2.4-Å structure of the double-ring Gemmatimonas phototrophica photosystem.

Phototrophic Gemmatimonadetes evolved the ability to use solar energy following horizontal transfer of photosynthesis-related genes from an ancient phototrophic proteobacterium. The electron cryo-microscopy structure of the Gemmatimonas phototrophica photosystem at 2.4 Å reveals a unique, double-ring complex. Two unique membrane-extrinsic polypeptides, RC-S and RC-U, hold the central type 2 reaction center (RC) within an inner 16-subunit light-harvesting 1 (LH1) ring, which is encircled by an outer 24-subunit antenna ring (LHh) that adds light-gathering capacity. Femtosecond kinetics reveal the flow of energy within the RC-dLH complex, from the outer LHh ring to LH1 and then to the RC. This structural and functional study shows that G. phototrophica has independently evolved its own compact, robust, and highly effective architecture for harvesting and trapping solar energy

2.4-Å structure of the double-ring Gemmatimonas phototrophica photosystem.

Phototrophic Gemmatimonadetes evolved the ability to use solar energy following horizontal transfer of photosynthesis-related genes from an ancient phototrophic proteobacterium. The electron cryo-microscopy structure of the Gemmatimonas phototrophica photosystem at 2.4 Å reveals a unique, double-ring complex. Two unique membrane-extrinsic polypeptides, RC-S and RC-U, hold the central type 2 reaction center (RC) within an inner 16-subunit light-harvesting 1 (LH1) ring, which is encircled by an outer 24-subunit antenna ring (LHh) that adds light-gathering capacity. Femtosecond kinetics reveal the flow of energy within the RC-dLH complex, from the outer LHh ring to LH1 and then to the RC. This structural and functional study shows that G. phototrophica has independently evolved its own compact, robust, and highly effective architecture for harvesting and trapping solar energy