Age-related changes in anaerobic power in the former highly trained oarsmen and kayakers

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the age-related changes in anaerobic power in the former highly trained oarsmen and kayakers, i.e. the representatives of sports requiring high endurance capacity and strength. Sixty-six former athletes, aged 30-67 years participated in this study. The subjects were assessed for peak anaerobic power in arms (Pan arms) and legs (Pan legs) during 10 s- maximal cycle ergometer exercise tests and for peak aerobic power (PVO2max) during incremental exercise. Body mass, lean body mass and body fat content were measured as well. The peak anaerobic power decline in the former highly trained athletes examined in the present study equalled to 0.6-0.7% per year. The recreational physical activity, based primarily on the endurance exercises, did not affect the peak anaerobic power whereas the peak aerobic power and body fat content strongly depended on the age and physical activity. The peak anaerobic power in the upper and lower extremities exhibited similar reduction with age of the subjects. Furthermore, in the less active group the ratio of Pan legs to PVO2max did not change with age whereas in physically active subjects this index increased. It was concluded that in the sample of former highly trained oarsmen and kayakers the age-related decline in the peak anaerobic power approximated that reported by other authors for untrained or endurance trained subjects, the peak anaerobic power in the arms was almost the same as that in the legs and that in the less active group the ratio of the peak anaerobic power to the peak aerobic power was independent of age and strongly tended to increase in the physically active subjects

Searching method of the electrically small and linear antennas

W artykule przedstawiono metodę „M”, za pomocą której możliwe jest generowanie struktur elektrycznie małych anten liniowych(ESLA). Metoda ta wykorzystuje do poszukiwania konfiguracji anten algorytm genetyczny. Jako konfigurację anteny ESLA przyjęto monopol, którego ramię podzielono na kilka segmentów o równej długości. Ponadto, monopol umieszczony jest nad powierzchnią doskonale przewodzącą. Położenie segmentów tworzących antenę jest losowe. Jako funkcję celu przyjęto maksymalny zysk energetyczny i najmniejszy współczynnik fali stojącej. Parametry uzyskanych w ten sposób anten obliczono programem NEC

The use of gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to the identification of fine chemicals

Technika analityczna GC-MS jest użytecznym narzędziem do udowodnienia jakości chemikaliów. Chromatografia gazowa - spektrometr mas (GC-MS) stanowi połączenie chromatografu gazowego i spektrometru mas do identyfikacji różnych substancji w analizie próbek. Zastosowanie GC-MS obejmuje oznaczanie narkotyków, analizę środowiskową oraz identyfikowanie nieznanych próbek. Metoda ta jest szybka, charakteryzuje się selektywną detekcją, umożliwia ocenę jakościową, a także pozwala zidentyfikować skomplikowane struktury molekularne ze złożonej mieszaniny. W niniejszej pracy technika GC-MS została wykorzystania do scharakteryzowania produktów reakcji utleniania terpenów.Gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is very useful analytical method for evaluation of the quality of chemicals. It combines the features of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to help identify different substances within the tested sample. Applications of GC-MS include drug detection, environmental analysis and identification of unknown samples. This method is fast, enables a highly selective detection and quantification and is also helpful in solving complicated molecular structures in complex mixtures. In this paper GC-MS was used for the identification of reaction products in the oxidation of terpenes

An analysis of coal and coal mine methane co-combustion in an 140 t/h pulverized coal boiler

The paper presents an attempt to evaluate the impact of coal and coal mine methane cocombustion on the physics of the heat exchange in an 140 t/h pulverized-coal boiler through an analysis of 21 combinations of the boiler operating parameters – three different boiler loads (50, 75, and 100%) and seven values of the fired gas thermal contribution (0–60%). The obtained results are the temperature distribution of flue gas and steam in the boiler characteristic points, the heat transfer coefficient values for the boiler individual elements expressing the nature of changes in the heat transfer and the change in the boiler efficiency depending on how much gas is actually fired. An increase in the amount of co-fired gas involves a temperature increase along the flue gas path. This is the effect of the reduction in the amount of heat collected by the evaporator in the furnace. For these reason, the flue gas temperature at the furnace outlet rises by 9 K on average per a 0.1 increment in the fired gas thermal contribution. The temperature rise improves the heat transfer in the boiler heat exchangers – for the first- and the secondstage superheater the improvement totals 2.8% at a 10 pp. increase in the fired gas thermal contribution. However, the rise in the flue gas temperature at the boiler outlet involves a drop in the boiler efficiency (by 0.13 pp. for a rise in the fired gas thermal contribution by 0.1)

Numerical studies on the influence of air staging on the temperature of flue gas and emission of gases in the combustion chamber of OP 230 boiler

The primary methods of reducing nitrogen oxides, despite the development of more advanced technologies, will continue to be the basis for NOx reduction. This paper presents the results of multivariate numerical studies on the impact of air staging on the flue gas temperature and composition, as well as on NOx emissions in a OP 230 boiler furnace. A numerical model of the furnace and the platen superheater was validated based on measurements using a 0-dimensional model of the boiler. Numerical simulations were performed using the ANSYS Workbench package. It is shown that changes in the distribution of air to OFA nozzles, the angle of the air outflow from the nozzles and the nozzle location involve a change in the flue gas temperature and in the volume of NOx and CO emissions at the furnace outlet

Analitical methods for identification and determination of some cosmetics ingredients

Techniki analityczne, takie jak: chromatografia gazowa (GC) i wysokosprawna chromatografia cieczowa (HPLC) stają się użytecznym narzędziem do udowodnienia jakości kosmetyków. W ostatnich latach interesującą metodą analityczną stała się kombinacja chromatografii gazowej (GC) i cieczowej (HPLC) ze spektrometrią mas (GC-MS i HPLC-MS). Metody te są szybkie, charakteryzują wysoce selektywną detekcją, oceną jakościową oraz pozwalają rozwiązywać skomplikowane struktury molekularne ze złożonej mieszaniny. W niniejszej pracy zostaną opisane metody preparatyki znajdujące zastosowanie w perfumerii oraz preparatach zawierających filtry UV.Analytical techniques, such as gas chromatography (GC) and high- performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) are very useful tools for evaluation of the quality of cosmetics. In recent years a powerful analytical device has become a combination of GC and HPLC with mass spectrometry (GC-MS and HPLC-MS). These methods are fast, give highly selective detection and quantification and are also able to solve complicated molecular structures in complex mixtures. The methods of preparation of perfumes and UV-filters are also discussed

The use of renewable sources for synthesis of cosmetics ingredients

Wykorzystanie nieodnawialnych źródeł energii i materiałów stymuluje poszukiwanie nowych sposobów generowania chemikaliów, energii i materiałów przy użyciu surowców odnawialnych. Najlepszym zasobem odnawialnym jest ten, który może być uzupełniony w stosunkowo krótkim czasie lub taki, którego ilość jest w zasadzie nieograniczona. Surowce te pochodzą z roślin, zwierząt lub ekosystemów i mogą być regenerowane z wykorzystaniem zrównoważonej gospodarki.Depletion of non-renewable sources of energy and materials has stimulated the search for new ways to generate chemicals, energy and materials using renewable sources. The best renewable resource is the one that can be supplied in a relatively short period of time and whose amount is in principle unlimited. Such substrates come from plants, animals or ecosystems and can be regenerated through sustainable management

Reticulocyte and erythrocyte hypochromia markers in detection of iron deficiency in adolescent female athletes

The aim of this study was to analyse the effectiveness of new haematology parameters related to reticulocytes and mature red blood cells to differentiate pre latent and latent iron deficiency. The study included 219 female athletes (aged 15-20 years) representing volleyball, handball, cycling, canoeing, cross-country skiing, swimming and judo. To assess iron status the concentration of ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), iron and total iron binding capacity (TIBC) were determined in serum. In addition to blood morphology, the mean cellular haemoglobin content in erythrocytes (CH) and reticulocytes (CHr), mean cellular haemoglobin concentration in reticulocytes (CHCMr), the percentage of erythrocytes (HYPOm) and reticulocytes (HYPOr) with decreased cellular haemoglobin concentration, the percentage of erythrocytes (LowCHm) and reticulocytes (LowCHr) with decreased cellular haemoglobin content, and percentage of erythrocytes with decreased volume (MICROm) were determined. Subjects with ferritin <30 ng/ml were classified as having stage I (pre-latent) iron deficiency (ID). The second stage (latent ID) was diagnosed when low ferritin was accompanied by elevated sTfR and/or elevated TIBC values. The frequency of ID (without anaemia symptoms) was high, amounting to 60% (stage I in 45%, stage II in 15% of subjects). In subjects with stage I ID significant changes in haematological variables concerned mainly reticulocytes: CHCMr (p<.001), CHr (p<.05), LowCHr (p<.05), HYPOr (p<.001) in comparison to normal iron stores. In athletes with latent ID, there were also significant changes (p<.001) in many indices of mature red blood cells, i.e. haemoglobin concentration (Hb), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), CH, %LowCHm, as well as %MICROm (p<.01) in relation to the group without iron deficiency. The main finding of this study was that the diminished or exhausted iron stores had already caused changes in reticulocytes, and intensified iron deficiency (stage II) increased changes in both reticulocytes’ and erythrocytes’ hypochromia indices, while microcythaemia symptoms appeared later. This suggests that the markers of hypochromia relating especially to reticulocytes are useful for diagnosis of early ID in athletes with absence of an acute phase reaction

The expression of apoptosis-related proteins in patients with ulcerative colitis

Purpose: Recent literature data indicate a key role of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. The aim of the study was to evaluate the expression of Bax, Bid, Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl in non-dysplastic and dysplastic epithelium in inflamated mucosa of patients with ulcerative colitis. Methods: The study consists of 18 patients with diagnosed ulcerative colitis. The expression of proteins was determined immunohistochemically. Results: Lack of Bax expression in normal epithelium of the inflamed intestinal mucosa (94.4%) and a weak expression of this protein were found in dysplastic glandular cells (67%). The Bax expression of dysplastic epithelium correlates with reduced severity of chronic inflammation (p<0.005). Bid expression in non-dysplastic glands was found in 67% of cases vs. 16% in dysplastic epithelium that was associated with the occurrence of epithelial erosions or ulcers (p<0.05). Moderate cytoplasmic expression of Bcl-xl was noted in 27.7% of patients in normal epithelium and in 66.1% within dysplastic lesions. Bcl-xl expression in dysplastic glandular cells correlated with the presence of neutrophils in the lamina propria (p <0.05). Conclusions: The immunohistochemical expressions of Bax, Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl increase and Bid protein expression decreases in dysplastic glandular tubes as compared to non-dysplastic intestinal epithelium in inflamed mucosa, which may suggest an imbalance of controlled cell death in ulcerative colitis

The growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) can be useful in the detection of distant metastases in sera of colorectal cancer patients

Purpose: Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF- 15) protein belongs to a transforming growth factor-β family which determines the growth and differentiation of cells. In cancers, GDF-15 influences on the proliferation, differentiation, viability, migration and invasiveness of cancer cells. The aim of our study was to evaluate the expression of GDF-15 in the tissue and its levels in sera of patients with colorectal cancer. Materials and methods: The level of GDF-15 in the sera of 55 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer was determined using the ELISA method whereas expression of this protein was performed by immunohistochemical method. Results: The mean value of GDF-15 levels in the sera of patients with colorectal cancer was significantly higher than in healthy control group (p<0.001). The expression of GDF-15 in the tissue was weak, moderate and strong in 23.6%, 15.7% and 60.7% cases, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that the expression of GDF-15 correlated with patients’ age (p<0.005) and non-mucinous type of cancer (p<0.001). The high GDF-15 levels in the serum was associated with tumor size (p<0.01) and distant metastases (p<0.05). Conclusions: According to our results, we postulate that the level of GDF-15 in serum can be use to assess the metastatic behavior of colorectal cance