The aim of this study was to describe qualitatively and quantitatively dietary supplements (DS) and medication use in elite athletes. Athletes (n=912; age 23.9 ± 6 years; 72% male) reported medications and DSs taken within 3 days before doping control. We analyzed data collected from 2006 to 2008, identified and classified substances. Total of 74.6% athletes reported use of at least one substance, 61.2% took DS (3.17 per user) and 40.6% took medications. Among users, 21.2% reported the use of six and more different products, and one took 17 different products at the same time. Majority of medication users took non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) (24.7%), and 22.2% used more than one NSAID. We found no gender differences in DS use (P=0.83). Individual sport athletes used more DS (P<0.01). Our study showed widespread use of DS and drugs by elite athletes. Consumption of DS with no evident performance or health benefits, demonstrated the need for specific educational programs focused on DS use. Amount, quantity and combination of the reported products raised concern about the risk of potential side effects.

An observation study in mice suggesting that the chromatin of macula densa cells undergoes loss of structural complexity that is most pronounced immediately after birth and remains during the first month of postnatal life. The findings add to the knowledge about the changes that take place in the kidney during postnatal development function and tissue structural organization, which are linked to changes in physiological function. ABSTRACT:Aim: To determine whether complexity of chromatin structure in kidney macula densa cells (MDC) decreases during postnatal development in mice.Methods: The levels of chromatin structural complexity were measured by determining fractal dimension of MDC nuclei. Kidney tissue was obtained from the total of 32 male Swiss albino mice divided into four age groups (n = 8): newborn (0 days), 10 days old, 20 days old and 30 days old. For a total of 640 MDC chromatin structures, fractal dimension, lacunarity, as well as parameters of Grey level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) texture were determined.Results: Chromatin fractal dimension in animals aged 10 days, 20 days and 30 days was significantly lower (P < 0.05, P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively), compared with newborn mice. This complexity reduction of chromatin architecture is in accordance with previously published studies, which detected generalized and sustained loss of both tissue and cell complexity during aging. The loss of complexity was texture-independent, since there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) in both chromatin angular second moment and inverse difference moment between the age groups. Conclusion:Our results indicate that age-related nuclear intrinsic factors which do not influence chromatin texture may have an important role in MDC postnatal development.

There is compelling evidence that postexercise heart rate recovery (HRR) is a valid indicator of sympaticovagal balance. It is also used in prescription and monitoring of athletic training. The purpose of our study was to determine HRR after maximal exercise among elite athletes with respect to age. A total of 274 elite male Caucasian athletes were randomly selected from the larger sample and divided into two groups: adolescent (group Y) and adult athletes (≥18 years; group A). They performed maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing on a treadmill. Heart rate recovery was calculated as the rate of decline of HR from peak exercise to rates 1, 2 and 3 min after cessation of exercise (HRR1, HRR2 and HRR3). A significantly higher HRR1 was found in group A (29·5 ± 15·6 versus 22·4 ± 10·8, P<0·001), but HRR3 was higher in group Y (82·7 ± 10·2 versus 79·9 ± 12·25; P = 0·04). Stepwise multivariate linear regression analysis showed that, among all subjects, the HRR1 alone was independently associated with age (P<0·001). The maximal oxygen consumption (VO max) was in a negative relationship with HRR1 and in a positive one with HRR3 (P<0·05) with respect to all athletes. The HRR during 3 min postexercise should be reported for the purpose of better assessing functional adaptation to exercise among elite athletes as well as the age-associated differences in recovery. Higher values of HRR1 should be expected in older athletes, and HRR3 could be used as an index of aerobic capacity, irrespective of age.

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Summary Recent studies have suggested that silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) may affect cell DNA structure in in vitro conditions. In this paper, we present the results indicating that AgNPs change nuclear complexity properties in isolated human epithelial buccal cells in a time‐dependent manner. Epithelial buccal cells were plated in special tissue culture chamber / slides and were kept at 37°C in an RPMI 1640 cell culture medium supplemented with L‐glutamine. The cells were treated with colloidal silver nanoparticles suspended in RPMI 1640 medium at the concentration 15 mg L−1. Digital micrographs of the cell nuclei in a sample of 30 cells were created at five different time steps: before the treatment (controls), immediately after the treatment, as well as 15 , 30 and 60 min after the treatment with AgNPs. For each nuclear structure, values of fractal dimension, lacunarity, circularity, as well as parameters of grey level co‐occurrence matrix (GLCM) texture, were determined. The results indicate time‐dependent reduction of structural complexity in the cell nuclei after the contact with AgNPs. These findings further suggest that AgNPs, at concentrations present in today's over‐the‐counter drug products, might have significant effects on the cell genetic material.