Effectiveness of basic life support instruction in physical education students--a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: According to the literature, 40% of injuries affecting school-age children are sports related. The role of physical education students, as future teachers, seems to be of high importance in terms of protecting children's safety during sports classes. PURPOSES: The aim is to evaluate the level of basic life support (BLS) knowledge and skills in physical education students instructed with the use of different methods. METHODS: Second-year physical education students (n=104, M age=20±0.6 years) were randomly assigned to three groups: experimental 1 (E1), experimental 2 (E2), and control (C). Group E1 students participated in a 2-hour BLS course based on computer-assisted presentations. Group E2 trainees practiced BLS algorithm in pairs during a 2-hour course. No manikins were used in both intervention groups. Students of Group C were asked to learn BLS algorithm on their own. All groups fulfilled a 10-question multiple-choice test on BLS at the beginning and the end of the experiment. After completing the course participants performed BLS on a manikin. RESULTS: The results of knowledge test were not significant before an experiment but differed essentially among the groups afterward (analysis of variance contrast analysis, p<.05). Regardless of teaching method used, no significant differences were found among the students in preparatory BLS actions and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) performance on a manikin. The level of CPR performance was very low in all groups. CONCLUSIONS: Students of both intervention groups improved their BLS knowledge after the training. Teaching methods used in the current study seemed to be ineffective in terms of practical CPR skills. Access to greater number of modern manikins should improve the BLS training in physical education students. Moreover, permanent consultation on instructional methods with emergency medicine experts is recommended for university teachers.

On the linear and non-linear electronic spectroscopy of chlorophylls: a computational study.

A theoretical analysis of linear and non-linear (two-photon absorption) electronic spectroscopy of all known porphyrinic pigments has been performed using linear and quadratic density functional response theory, with the long-range corrected CAM-B3LYP functional. We found that higher Soret transitions often contain non-Gouterman contributions and that each chlorophyll has the possibility for resonance enhanced TPA in the Soret region, although there is also significant TPA in the Q region.

Exocytosis through the Lens.

Exocytosis, the process in which material is transported from the cell interior to the extracellular space, proceeds through a complex mechanism. Defects in this process are linked to a number of serious illnesses including diabetes, cancer, and a range of neuropathologies. In neuroendocrine cells, exocytosis involves the fusion of secretory vesicles, carrying signaling molecules, with the plasma membrane through the coordinated interplay of proteins, lipids, and small molecules. This process is highly regulated and occurs in a complex three-dimensional environment within the cell precisely coupled to the stimulus. The study of exocytosis poses significant challenges, involving rapidly changing, nano-scale, protein-protein, and protein-lipid interactions, at specialized sites in the cell. Over the last decade our understanding of neuroendocrine exocytosis has been greatly enhanced by developments in fluorescence microscopy. Modern microscopy encompasses a toolbox of advanced techniques, pushing the limits of sensitivity and resolution, to probe different properties of exocytosis. In more recent years, the development of super-resolution microscopy techniques, side-stepping the limits of optical resolution imposed by the physical properties of light, have started to provide an unparalleled view of exocytosis. In this review we will discuss how advances in fluorescence microscopy are shedding light on the spatial and temporal organization of the exocytotic machinery.

Do swimming exercises induce anthropometric changes in adolescents?

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of regular participation in school swimming lessons on anthropometric variables and postural defect occurrence in junior high school students. An intervention group (n = 116) and a control group (n = 114) of boys and girls aged 13.4 ± 0.3 years had an equal physical education obligatory course requirement at school, with the intervention group additionally participating in swimming class once a week for 2 years. Anthropometric variables were recorded in both groups 3 times between autumn 2006 and 2008, and a clinical examination was conducted twice during this same period of time. Students from the intervention group had lower body mass than their peers in the control group at the end of the course (ANOVA, P < 0.05). The differences in body height and body mass index between the groups were insignificant. In swimming students, the correction in scoliosis was more distinct than in the control group (P < 0.05 by chi-squared test). The groups did not differ significantly in occurrence of other postural defects. Regular participation in standard swimming education at school did not have much effect on postural defects in adolescents. A special program of corrective water exercises should be applied to the school physical education syllabus.