Background. Cognitive abilities such as attention and decision-making are critical components of performance in combat sports like boxing. NeuroTracker training has been proposed as a method to enhance these skills in athletes. Problem and aim. This study aimed to examine whether an eight-week NeuroTracker training program could improve attention and decision-making speed in youth amateur boxers. Material and methods. Twenty participants aged 15-18 years were randomly allocated to experimental and control groups. The experimental group engaged in NeuroTracker sessions lasting 15 minutes, three times per week, for eight weeks. Attention was assessed using Speed Threshold Scores, and decision-making speed was evaluated via the Witty SEM system. Measurements were conducted at baseline, after 4 weeks, and after 8 weeks. Data analysis employed repeated measures ANOVA. Results. Significant improvements in attention were observed in the experimental group after 4 weeks (M = 1.56, SD = 0.21) and 8 weeks (M = 1.78, SD = 0.12) compared to the control group (p < 0.05). However, no statistically significant differences in decision-making speed were identified between groups over time (p > 0.05). Conclusions. NeuroTracker training effectively enhanced attention among youth amateur boxers within an eight-week period. Nevertheless, its influence on decision-making speed was inconclusive, suggesting the need for longer interventions or additional sport-specific cognitive training to achieve broader improvements.
A new species of harpacticoid copepod, Peltidium penyu, is described from a marine cave (Turtle Tomb) in Sabah, Malaysia. The Malaysian Peltidium is characterised by a combination of the following characters: the skeletal pattern of chitin struts; the armaments of the maxilliped; and the construction of the maxilla. The new species seems to be related to P. exiguum, sharing the characteristics of skeletal pattern of chitin struts and armature formula of P1-P5, but differs from the Arafuran species based on segmentation of antennule, as well as the construction and armament of the maxilla and maxilliped.
This study evaluated the effects of replacing soybean meal with fermented dried tomato pomace (FDTP) on biochemical, immune, and antioxidant responses, meat quality, and hepatic transcriptomic profiles in Boer goats. Twenty-four male goats were assigned to a control diet or diets in which FDTP replaced 33.33% (T1), 66.66% (T2), or 100% (T3) of soybean meal for 60 days (n = 6). Serum biochemical parameters, total immunoglobulin, and alternative complement hemolytic activity were unaffected, whereas lysozyme activity increased linearly with FDTP replacement. FDTP increased muscular SOD1 expression and altered cytokine expression in a tissue-specific manner, including increased IL10 and reduced IL1B and TNFα expression in selected tissues. In gastrocnemius muscle (n = 3), T2 had higher collagen content and lower cooking loss than the control and T3, whereas T3 had higher drip loss than T2; selected textural properties were also altered. During refrigerated storage, lipid oxidation was affected by storage day but not by treatment or the treatment × day interaction. T2 was selected post hoc for exploratory hepatic transcriptomic comparison with the control (n = 5). Among 587 DEGs, significantly enriched KEGG pathways involved metabolism and biotransformation, including steroid hormone biosynthesis, retinol metabolism, bile secretion, xenobiotic metabolism, and pentose and glucuronate interconversions. In addition to the enriched pathways, PI3K–Akt, MAPK, NF-κB, and cytokine–cytokine receptor pathways contained DEGs related to metabolic, stress, and immune responses. Overall, FDTP replacement was associated with changes in selected immune and meat-quality traits and with hepatic transcriptional responses predominantly related to metabolic and biotransformation processes.
Plasmonic metal-semiconductor heterostructures represent an effective strategy for enhancing visible-light-driven photocatalysis and suppressing charge recombination in wide-bandgap oxides. Here, we report the synthesis of hierarchical Au nanoparticle-decorated ZnO nanoflowers (Au/ZnO NFs) and systematically investigate their plasmon-assisted photocatalytic mechanisms. Structural and compositional analyses confirm that Au nanoparticles are uniformly distributed on the ZnO NF surface without disrupting the wurtzite crystal structure. UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy demonstrates enhanced visible-light absorption induced by the localized surface plasmon resonance of Au nanoparticles, while the intrinsic band gap of ZnO remains unchanged. Photophysical investigations using steady-state photoluminescence (PL), PL excitation, and time-resolved PL demonstrate that Au decoration significantly suppresses both near-band-edge and defect-related recombination. This suppression arises from plasmon-induced hot-electron generation, efficient interfacial electron transfer, and electron trapping at the Au-ZnO interface, resulting in prolonged carrier lifetimes and enhanced charge separation. These effects promote the generation of reactive oxygen species under visible-light irradiation. Consequently, the Au/ZnO NFs exhibit enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue, achieving nearly complete dye removal within a short irradiation time of 30 min. This study proposes a mechanistic understanding of plasmon-enhanced charge-transfer processes in Au/ZnO heterostructures and establishes a promising strategy for designing efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts for catalytic wastewater treatment.
Background:Rice bran oil (RBO) is valued for its nutritional and functional properties; however, the influence of soil salinity on RBO quality under field conditions remains insufficiently understood. This study examined RBO derived from two major Thai rice varieties, glutinous RD6 and non-glutinous KDML105, cultivated across saline-affected sites along the Siao Yai River in northeastern Thailand. Methods:Soil chemical properties, including electrical conductivity of the saturated paste extract (ECe), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), exchangeable cations, and chloride, were evaluated in relation to RBO yield, γ-oryzanol content, antioxidant activity, elemental composition, fatty acid profiles, and synchrotron radiation-based Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy (SR-FTIR) characteristics. Results:Soil salinity was strongly associated with variations in RBO compositional quality. Significant salinity effects were observed for specific saturated fatty acids, particularly stearic (C18:0) and arachidic acids (C20:0), which decreased under high-salinity conditions, and linoleic acid (C18:2n6c), which increased under high salinity. In addition, total polyunsaturated fatty acids (ΣPUFA) and fatty acid ratios, including monounsaturated fatty acids/saturated fatty acids (MUFA/SFA), polyunsaturated fatty acids/saturated fatty acids (PUFA/SFA), and unsaturated fatty acids/saturated fatty acids (UFA/SFA) were significantly higher under saline conditions, indicating a shift toward a relatively more unsaturated lipid profile. Antioxidant activity increased significantly with salinity and was positively associated with salinity indicators and unsaturated fatty acids, while carotenoid content was also higher under saline conditions and γ-oryzanol showed a variety-dependent response to salinity. In contrast, RBO yield was not affected by salinity, suggesting a potential decoupling between oil quantity and compositional quality, although this relationship warrants further controlled investigation. Calcium concentration in RBO increased under high salinity, suggesting a soil-oil linkage, whereas other elements showed limited responses. SR-FTIR analysis revealed comparable triacylglycerol spectral features across all samples, indicating that salinity-related differences were quantitative rather than structural. Conclusion:These findings suggest that saline soil environments may enhance key nutritional and functional attributes of RBO without compromising oil yield, highlighting opportunities for valorizing RBO produced in saline-prone agricultural regions.
