There is an evident lack of studies examining the pursuit of excellence in futsal. The aims of this study were to evaluate anthropometric and physiological variables that may contribute to distinguishing among performance levels in professional futsal players and to evaluate correlates of those variables. The participants were 75 male professionals (age = 25.1 ± 5.1 years, body height = 182.3 ± 6.2 cm, body mass = 80.8 ± 10.4 kg), who were divided into performance levels using two criteria: (i) starters (first teams) vs. non-starters (substitutes) and (ii) top-level players (members of the national team and players who participated in top-level team competition in Europe) vs. high-level players (team players competing at the highest national competitive rank). Variables included anthropometrics (body height and mass, BMI, body fat percentage), generic tests of physiological capacities [5- and 10-m sprints, countermovement jump, broad jump, 20-yard test, reactive strength index (RSI)], and futsal-specific fitness tests [kicking speed by dominant and non-dominant leg, futsal-specific tests of change of direction speed, and reactive agility (FSRAG) involving/not involving dribbling the ball]. Top-level players outperformed high-level players in RSI, broad jump, kicking speed, and FSRAG involving dribbling. Starters achieved better results than non-starters in fewer variables, including kicking speed and RSI. Body fat percentage negatively influenced FSRAG involving dribbling, and RSI. FSRAG, RSI, and kicking speed were significantly correlated, indicating the similar physiological background of these capacities. The findings suggest that enhanced reactive strength and the ability to rapidly change direction speed in response to external stimulus while executing futsal-specific motor tasks (e.g., dribbling), along with players’ ability to kick the ball speedily, can be considered essential qualities required for advanced performance in futsal. Consequently, futsal strength and conditioning training should be targeted toward lowering relative body fat, maximizing lower-body reactive strength and including futsal-specific skills (e.g., dribbling, shooting) in reactive agility drills.

The advanced notebooks, mobile phones, and Internet applications in today’s world that we use are all entrenched in classical communication bits of zeros and ones. Classical Internet has laid its foundation originating from the amalgamation of mathematics and Claude Shannon’s theory of information. However, today’s Internet technology is a playground for eavesdroppers. This poses a serious challenge to various applications that rely on classical Internet technology, and it has motivated the researchers to switch to new technologies that are fundamentally more secure. By exploring the quantum effects, researchers paved the way into quantum networks that provide security, privacy, and range of capabilities such as quantum computation, communication, and metrology. The realization of Quantum Internet (QI) requires quantum communication between various remote nodes through quantum channels guarded by quantum cryptographic protocols. Such networks rely upon quantum bits (qubits) that can simultaneously take the value of zeros and ones. Due to the extraordinary properties of qubits such as superposition, entanglement, and teleportation, it gives an edge to quantum networks over traditional networks in many ways. At the same time, transmitting qubits over long distances is a formidable task and extensive research is going on satellite-based quantum communication, which will deliver breakthroughs for physically realizing QI in near future. In this paper, QI functionalities, technologies, applications and open challenges have been extensively surveyed to help readers gain a basic understanding of the infrastructure required for the development of the global QI.

The effect of methyl methacrylate (MMA) addition on the properties of synthesized acrylate emulsions based on butyl acrylate (BA) and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (EHA) was investigated. The samples were synthesized by addition of MMA in copolymer structure, ranging from 10 to 50 wt% of the total mass of BA and EHA. Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to analyze the molecular structure of synthesized acrylate emulsions and the results confirmed that a quantitative polymerization reaction occurred. The analysis of thermal properties showed that the addition of methyl methacrylate increases the glass transition temperature of the acrylate films obtained by drying the synthesized emulsions. The tensile strength and elongation at break increased proportionally with the increase of the content of MMA in the synthesized samples. Since the obtained acrylate materials can be used to improve the water impermeability of paper and other materials, the obtained emulsion was applied in a thin layer on a sheet of paper and the resistance of the paper to water and oil was investigated. The results showed that all emulsions were impermeable both to water and oil.

Book review. Sadia Belkhir (ed.). Cognition and language learning. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 2020. Pp. 157.

In this paper, cotton, polyester and cotton/polyester fabrics were modified by using herbal extract of Picea omorika and copper ferrite nanoparticles and their antibacterial and dielectric properties were investigated. Antibacterial activities of all samples were examined against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Most of the fabrics modified by copper ferrite showed antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli, while the addition of the herbal extract improved their antibacterial protection. Dielectric properties were measured in frequency range from 24 Hz to 75 kHz at room temperature and the results showed that the modification of all three fabrics with copper ferrite caused increase in their electrical conductivity. The obtained results point to the possibility of using investigated fabrics for antibacterial protection as well as for the electromagnetic shielding application.

Pyrophyllite clay, modified with PVP coated silver nanoparticles (PYRO-PVP/AgNPs), with recently proved antibacterial activity was prepared. Silver nanoparticles were synthesized by the chemical reduction method of AgNO3 using NaBH4 and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) as a stabilizer and excellent dispersant. This research aimed to elucidate the mechanisms and kinetics of AgNPs, along with the PVP protective mechanism responsible for antibacterial activity towards the microorganisms. Pioneering steps were made toward coagulation studies due to the potential of aluminosilicate layered clays to serve as alternatives to hemostatic agents currently in use. The isoelectric point of pyrophyllite samples with 5, 20, and 45 μm diameter particles and PYRO/PVP/AgNPs sample (Ag25mg/L) was evaluated to understand how the anticoagulant or procoagulant properties of the pyrophyllite varied according to the pH of the isoelectric point. Characterization of the PYRO-PVP/AgNPs samples was performed using FTIR spectroscopy, while the release mechanism and kinetics of silver ions were monitored using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Additionally, AAS was used for the evaluation of heavy metals content in pyrophyllite clay and a simple, cost-effective procedure was proposed for the extraction of heavy metals.

With the advancements in SDN and NFV, both applications and network functions can be re-designed, and deployed at more appropriate locations. Thanks to the MEC platforms, cloud-alike service deployments are offered to the users/vehicles at closer proximity. However, MEC deployments are usually i) constrained in resources, ii) contain heterogeneous and distributed network and computing resources, and iii) cover narrower region that constrains service continuity due to the high mobility of vehicles. Thus, in this paper, we present our approach on collocating MEC platforms with roadside infrastructure (i.e., RSUs) in order to improve the QoS of infotainment services for vehicles on the smart highway. We tackle both challenges presented above by deploying MEC platforms along the highway, thereby having distributed control over each MEC host in the form of Kubernetes master nodes, and one powerful and yet centralized orchestrator in the cloud. Our approach is one of the earliest attempts to collocate MEC with the RSU, and to test the benefits of the smart application placement in a realistic vehicular environment.

Tourism is an economic activity with great contribution for the development of many countries. To develop rural areas, tourism is especially important and need to be improved in these areas. The Government of Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina has decided to have tourism improvement as one of main objectives in their development strategy focusing on better conditions for development of tourism. Investments in tourism should be applied to the entire area of the Brčko District. Since Brčko District mainly consists of rural areas, it is necessary to invest in rural tourism. The first step of this study was to determine the tourist potential of rural areas. The determination of rural tourist potential in Brčko District was carried out with the assistance of the Brčko District Government. For this purpose, the method of expert decision-making was used, and three experts were selected who evaluated six rural settlements. To obtain results based on expert evaluation, two multi-criteria methods were used: the Full Consistency Method (FUCOM) for determining the importance of criteria and the fuzzy Measurement Alternatives and Ranking according to the COmpromise Solution (MARCOS) method to rank rural settlements in terms of their tourism potential. The results showed that the settlement of Bijela has the best rural tourist potential, while the settlement of Grbavica has the least potential. The results obtained by applying this model showed how rural tourism in Brčko District can be improved. The research model for testing the tourism potential has shown good results and can be applied in other branches of tourism with some adaptation to certain branches of tourism.

The construction industry is responsible for a large amount of both embodied carbon and emissions. Especially with concrete, there is still a lot of potential for designing recipes in a more ecological way. Approaches to reduce the environmental impact of concrete include the use of industrial and agricultural by-products. This study combines the approaches of replacing cement with granulated blast furnace slag and the use of NaOH-treated rice straw fibers. The research objective comprises the design of an ecologically optimized concrete as well as the question of whether a pretreatment of rice straw fibers with NaOH improves the performance of the designed concrete. The method includes mechanical and physical testing of the of the designed concrete as well as an optical analysis with a scanning electron microscope. The results indicated that treating rice straw with 1% NaOH indicates a better bond between fibers and the surrounding matrix. The tests in which the rice straw was treated with NaOH achieved a higher density, splitting strength, tensile strength and compressive strength. The study contributes an ecologically optimized concrete with granulated blast furnace slag and NaOH-treated rice straw concrete, which shows a great potential as an environmentally friendly, low-cost construction material.

The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection (COVID-19) has raised considerable concern on the entire planet. On March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was categorized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a pandemic infection, and by March 18, 2020, it has spread to 146 countries. The first internal defense line against numerous diseases is personalized immunity. Although it cannot be claimed that personalized nutrition will have an immediate impact on a global pandemic, as the nutritional interventions required a long time to induce beneficial outcomes on immunity development, nutritional strategies are still able to clarify and have a beneficial influence on the interplay between physiology and diet, which could make a positive contribution to the condition in the next period. As such, a specific goal for every practitioner is to evaluate different tests to perceive the status of the patient, such as markers of inflammation, insulin regulation, and nutrient status, and to detect possible imbalances or deficiencies. During the process of disease development, the supplementation and addition of different nutrients and nutraceuticals can influence not only the viral replication but also the cellular mechanisms. It is essential to understand that every patient has its individual needs. Even though many nutrients, nutraceuticals, and drugs have beneficial effects on the immune response and can prevent or ameliorate viral infections, it is essential to detect at what stage in COVID-19 progression the patient is at the moment and decide what kind of nutrition intervention is necessary. Furthermore, understanding the pathogenesis of coronavirus infection is critical to make proper recommendations.

Soil and air pollution in the context of the environmental outcomes of economic activities in agriculture has led to greater pressure on farmers to accept the environment as a stakeholder and to internalize the harmful effects that agriculture has on natural resources. As the costs of prevention and remediation affect the total costs (cost price), manufacturers strive to simultaneously improve both economic and environmental performance and to achieve economic viability. This paper examines traditional business indicators and (re)defining modern performance indicators of agricultural enterprises through eco-efficiency analysis. A set of environmental performance indicators, as a measure of environmental responsibility, was considered in the function of improving economic performance, including indicators on the basis of which material intensity (resource intensity), and material and eco-efficiency (resource efficiency) can be calculated, followed by emissions. and the amount of waste generated in agricultural production.

Rosario Fusco (1910-1977) e Murilo Rubiao (1916-1991), dois escritores mineiros e que foram contemporâneos. Dois escritores muito diferentes: de um lado, a predilecao de Rubiao pelo conto, a busca para atingir o essencial, a lentidao na abordagem, os rigores de uma ascese em prol de uma linguagem concisa; do outro, a predilecao de Fusco pelo romance ficcional, pelo texto verborragico e excessivo. Tambem foram homens bem diferentes, mas com muitos pontos em comum nas suas trajetorias de vida. Alem disso, andavam na contramao da tendencia dominante da producao literaria brasileira dos ano 40; as ficcoes de Fusco e os contos de Rubiao sao marcados por acontecimentos insolitos garimpados do cotidiano. A homenagem a a Murilo Rubiao se faz aqui por meio de Rosario Fusco e ao estilo fusquiano. Intento apresentar como a ficcao de Fusco, a.s.a. associacao dos solitarios anonimos , publicada postumamente em 2003, faz uma seria e zombeteira homenagem ao contista Murilo Rubiao.