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Fencing is very dynamic and combative sport, with the following requirements of competitors: instant resourcefulness, precision, courage and fast reaction in different situations. It is just for this reason that the training of young fencers involves improvement of all motor abilities focusing on agility, speed, and explosive strength. The aim of this research is to determine gender-related differences of motor abilities in children engaged in fencing. The sample consists of 50 children (26 boys and 24 girls) whose average age is 10.46 years and, who train fencing in the “Omladinac” in Zrenjanin and “Vojvodina” in Novi Sad. Motor abilities are tested by means of four motor tests. Differences are determined using multivariate analysis of variance and univariate analysis of variance. The findings indicate that there is statistically significant difference related to Deep forward bend on the bench and T-test, which is in favor of girls, Long jump test from the standing start in favor of boys, whereas Tapping test does not show any significant difference between boys and girls. Numerous research works show that early maturing girls have better results of motor performance than those with a slower process of maturation (11-13 years), whereas individual differences in terms of motor performance depend on growth and development, especially in boys. Matching of results is related to the observed statistically significant differences in explosive strength in favor of boys and suppleness in favor of girls.

Although our understanding of the dramatic worldwide loss of biodiversity in recent decades is far from adequate, one of the main factors in areas dominated by agriculture is undoubtedly the widespread use of synthetic pesticides. Unfortunately, the ecological risk assessment (EcoRA) for pesticides is based on a few single-species bioassays which do not allow for the evaluation of risks to whole communities. Here we present the results of an experimental assessment of the risk to the ecosystem service provider (ESP) communities - pest control agents - from exposure to the commonly used pyrethroid insecticide, λ-cyhalothrin. The study was performed in five European countries (Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom) representing different pedoclimatic zones. Representatives of the most common species of the ESP communities in each country were exposed in a standardized insecticide-coated glass vials bioassay to five doses of λ-cyhalothrin: 0.8 %, 4 %, 20 %, 100 %, and 200 % of the recommended field dose (RFD) plus an untreated control. Based on the calculated LD 50 s, species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) were estimated for each country and on combined data. In all five countries, the estimated hazardous concentration for 5 % of the species (HD5) was between 0.23 % and 1.67 % RFD, with HD5 = 0.44 % RFD based on combined data. At the RFD = 7.5 g a.i./ha (active ingredient per hectare), the predicted affected fraction of the ESP communities was between 96.4 % and 99.9 % of the species (98.5 % for combined data). The results indicate an extremely high risk to ESP communities across Europe associated with the use of λ-cyhalothrin at the recommended doses when these species are exposed to insecticide treatment. We recommend that EcoRA should include multi-species approaches, such as SSD, to better protect entire ESP communities from the negative impacts of pesticides., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Ryszard Laskowski reports financial support was provided by European Union. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Scorpions have been shown to control their venom usage in defensive encounters, depending on the perceived threat. Potentially, the venom amount that is injected could be controlled by reducing the flow speed, the flow duration, or both. We here investigated these variables by allowing scorpions to sting into an oil-filled chamber, and recording the accreting venom droplets with high-speed video. The size of the spherical droplets on the video can then be used to calculate their volume. We recorded defensive stings of 20 specimens representing 5 species. Significant differences in the flow rate and total expelled volume were found between species. These differences are likely due to differences in overall size between the species. Large variation in both venom flow speed and duration are described between stinging events of single individuals. Both venom flow rate and flow duration correlate highly with the total expelled volume, indicating that scorpions may control both variables in order to achieve a desired end volume of venom during a sting., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)