The effect of body composition and BMI on 25(OH)D response in vitamin D-supplemented athletes

Fat mass is inversely associated with vitamin D status, and athletes with the most adipose tissue may have the greatest risk for insufficient (25(OH)D 20–32?ng?mL^?1) or deficient (25(OH)D??1) status. The effects of fat and lean mass on 25(OH)D change in response to vitamin D supplementation have yet to be elucidated in athletes. In addition, vitamin D has a known role in bone health yet a link between short-term changes in 25(OH)D and bone turnover in indoor athletes have not yet been described. Thirty-two collegiate swimmers and divers (19 male, 13 female; 19 (1) years) participated in a 6-month randomized controlled trial and consumed either 4000?IU?d^?1 of vitamin D₃ (n?=?19) or placebo (PLA; n?=?13). Anthropometry and blood collection of 25(OH)D, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (B-ALP) and N-terminal telopeptide (NTx) occurred at three time points. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry measured body composition analysis at baseline and endpoint. In the vitamin D group, BMI was negatively correlated with 6-month 25(OH)D change (R?=??0.496; P?=?.03) and a stronger predictor of 25(OH)D change (P?=?.04) than ultraviolet B exposure and fat mass change. Athletes in the high bone turnover group showed significantly greater losses of 25(OH)D over 6-months compared to athletes in the low bone turnover group (P?=?.03). These results suggest athletes within the normal BMI category experience a diminished response to 4000?IU?d^?1 of vitamin D₃ supplementation, and periods of high bone turnover may be an additional risk factor for developing compromised vitamin D status in athletes.     

Effects of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motivations on Film Enjoyment Through Moral Disengagement

In light of literature documenting differences in viewers’ entertainment preferences, this study (N = 168) examined how motivations for film consumption based on pleasure (hedonism) and meaning (eudaimonia) are associated with moral disengagement and enjoyment of content featuring a morally ambiguous character. Findings indicate that whereas hedonic motivation positively influenced moral disengagement, eudaimonic motivation had the reverse effect. Furthermore, eudaimonic motivation had a direct positive influence on enjoyment, and the relationship between hedonic motivation and enjoyment was mediated by moral disengagement. Implications for the role of morality as it relates to individual preferences for media consumption and enjoyment are discussed.     

Biotechnology learning in Slovenian upper-secondary education: gaining knowledge and forming attitudes

Purpose: One area of science that will increasingly influence our society is biotechnology. An increasing number of modern biotechnological applications have provoked consideration of the ethical and social issues; therefore, it is important that the public is well-informed about them. Formal education in upper-secondary schools should help students to become biotechnologically literate citizens. There is little published research data on Slovenian high-school students’ knowledge about and attitudes towards biotechnology, as well a lack of curriculum evaluation data.

Methodology: This study combines two research approaches. The first part is content analysis of current upper-secondary education programmes in Slovenia, in which all curricula were reviewed about 15 selected biotechnological topics. The second part of the research focused on assessing students’ knowledge of traditional and modern biotechnology and exploring their attitudes towards modern biotechnological methods and their products. The sample included 1163 students aged 17–18 from three different types of schools located in 12 different regions of Slovenia. A questionnaire to measure knowledge and attitudes was designed.

Results: The research results revealed that selected biotechnological concepts appeared most frequently in the curri- cula of bio-technical gymnasia. These students also showed the 30 highest level of knowledge and the most positive attitudes. Furthermore, a clear correlation between students’ knowledge of and attitudes towards modern biotechnology was found. On the other hand, no significant differences in attitudes to the state- ments, which dealt with ethics, were found among the students 35 involved in the research.

Conclusion: Biotechnology teaching in upper-secondary education in Slovenia is obviously very diverse and dependent on the programme.     

X-linked adreno leukodistrophy: Profiles of very long chain fatty acids in plasma and fibroblasts in eigth Serbian patients

X-linked adrenoleukodistrophy is a severe neurodegenerative disorder with impaired very long chain fatty acid metabolism. The disease associated ABCD1 gene encodes a peroxisomal membrane protein which belongs to the superfamily of ATP-binding cassette transporters. We investigated eight male X-ALD patients diagnosed among 142 suspected patients referred for investigation. Plasma levels of very long chain fatty acids were measured at our laboratory using capillary gas chromatography. Eight cases of childhood X-ALD were diagnosed. This is the first published series of Serbian patients with X-ALD. In addition, diagnosis identifies carriers, which could be benefit for genetic counselling and prenatal diagnosis.     

Is there a right time for gender-just peace? Feminist anti-war organising revisited

ABSTRACT

This paper addresses the question of totalising gender-power relations that have led to and shaped the wars of the 1990s in Yugoslavia and the emerging ethno-national states on the ‘periphery’ of Europe. I argue that the same type of gender-power relations continue to dominate the region, notably Serbia, and to perpetuate gender inequalities and gender-based violence (GBV) in its many everyday and structural forms, causing profound levels of human insecurity. This analysis aims to set in motion a debate around how to tackle these continuing gender inequalities and GBV in post-war societies. In so doing, I propose a shift from focusing on the hierarchy of victimisation that has characterised much of the feminist analyses, activism, and scholarly work in relation to these (and other) conflicts, to a relational understanding of the gendered processes of victimisation in war and peace, that is – of both women and men. Such an approach holds a potential to undermine the power systems that engender these varied types of victimisation by ultimately reshaping the notions of masculinity and femininity, which are central to the gender-power systems that generate gender-unjust peace.     

Are Good Characters Better for Us? The Effect of Morality Salience on Entertainment Selection and Recovery Outcomes

Two experiments examined whether one’s moral self-perception affects the selection of content (Study 1) and whether exposure to different character types results in any recovery benefits (Study 2). Study 1 found that individuals were more likely to select films featuring good characters and morally ambiguous characters than films featuring bad characters regardless of their moral self-perceptions. Study 2 found that individuals whose vices were made salient relaxed and psychologically detached more after reading stories featuring good characters and MACs than after reading a bad character story, whereas those whose virtues were made salient experienced an equal level of recovery benefits regardless of character type. Findings thus indicate that morality salience does not affect selection of content featuring different character types, but it does affect the recovery outcomes one experiences after narrative exposure.     

Developmental Personality Types From Childhood to Adolescence: Associations With Parenting and Adjustment

This study examined whether changes in children's self‐reported Big Five dimensions are represented by (developmental) personality types, using a cohort‐sequential design with three measurement occasions across 5 years (four cohorts, 9–12 years at T1; N = 523). Correlates of, and gender differences in, type membership were examined. Latent class growth modeling yielded three personality types: Resilients (highest initial levels on all Big Five), Overcontrollers (lowest Extraversion, Emotional Stability, Imagination), and Undercontrollers (lowest Benevolence, Conscientiousness). Gender differences in type membership were small. Warm parenting, but not overreactive discipline, in childhood was associated with type membership. The types differed in adjustment problems by the end of middle adolescence. Personality change more likely occurs at the level of dimensions within types than in type membership.