Basketball is one of the popular sports in the world, and physical performance is becoming increasingly important in basketball as the game evolves. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of a 3-week modified complex training on athletic performance of women's national basketball players. An experimental study involved the participation of 12 highly trained female basketball players (national team of Bosnia and Herzegovina). Observed variables before and after 3-weeks of modified complex training were 300 yards test, 20-yards test, lane agility and beep test. Means and standard deviations for each of the variables were calculated, and differences pre-to-post performance changes were examined using a paired sample t-test. Three weeks of specific complex training sessions show a statistically significant increase in all tested variables, 300 yards (p≤.001); 20 yards (p≤.001); Lane agility (p≤.001) and beep test (p=.028). It can be concluded that applied complex training program has significantly improved studied parameters of condition preparation of elite female basketball players.

Introduction: Preoperative carbohydrate oral (CHO) drinks attenuate the surgical stress response; however, the effects of CHO supplementation on the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as an inflammatory and immunology-based predictor remain unclear. This study evaluated the effects of preoperative CHO loading on NLR values and complications following open colorectal surgery compared with a conventional fasting protocol. Methods: Sixty eligible participants having planned for routine and open colorectal cancer surgery from May 2020 to January 2022 were prospectively and randomly allocated to either the control (fasting) group, whose members discontinued oral intake beginning the midnight before surgery, or the intervention (CHO) group, whose members consumed a CHO solution the night before surgery and 2 h prior to anaesthesia. NLR was assessed at 06:00 h before surgery (baseline) and at 06:00 h on postoperative days 1, 3, and 5. The incidence and severity of postoperative complications were assessed by Clavien-Dindo Classification up to postoperative day 30. All data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results: Postoperative NLR and delta NLR values were significantly higher in controls (p < 0.001; p < 0.001). Control group participants also demonstrated grade IV (n = 5; 16.7%, p < 0.01) and grade V (n = 1; 3.3%, p < 0.313) postoperative complications. There were no major postoperative complications in the CHO group. Conclusion: Preoperative CHO consumption reduced postoperative NLR values and the incidence and severity of postoperative complications following open colorectal surgery, compared with a preoperative fasting protocol. Preoperative carbohydrate loading may improve recovery following colorectal cancer surgery.

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Two copper(II) complexes of 4-chloro- and 4-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde nicotinic acid hydrazones were prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, mass spectrometry, infrared and electron spectroscopy and conductometry. These rare examples of bis(hydrazonato)copper(II) complexes are neutral complex species with copper(II) center coordinated with two monoanionic bidentate O,N-donor hydrazone ligands coordinated in enol-imine form. The interaction of hydrazone ligands and corresponding copper(II) complexes with CT DNA and BSA was investigated. Copper(II) complexes are slightly effective in binding the DNA than pristine hydrazones. The results indicate groove binding or moderate intercalation which are not significantly affected by the nature of substituent at hydrazone ligands. On contrary, affinities of two copper(II) complexes toward BSA significantly differs and depends on the nature of the substituent, however in absence of thermodynamic data difference in nature of binding forces cannot be excluded. The complex bearing electron-withdrawing 4-chloro substituent has larger affinity toward BSA compared to 4-dimethyamino analogue. These findings were theoretically supported by molecular docking study.

This collective discussion brings together six women scholars of and from the post-Yugoslav space, who, using personal experiences, analyze the dynamics of knowledge production in international relations (IR), especially regarding the post-Yugoslav space. Working in Global North academia but with lived experiences in the region we study, our research is often subjected to a particular gaze, seeped in assumptions about “ulterior” motives and expectations about writing and representation. Can those expected to be objects of knowledge ever become epistemic subjects? We argue that the rendering of the post-Yugoslav space as conflict-prone and as Europe's liminal semi-periphery in the discipline of IR cannot be decoupled from the rendering of the region and those seen as related to it as unable to produce knowledge that, in mainstream discussions, is seen as valuable and “objective.” The post-Yugoslav region and those seen as related to it being simultaneously postcolonial, postsocialist, and postwar, and characterized by marginalization, complicity, and privilege in global racialized hierarchies at the same time, can make visible specific forms of multiple colonialities, potentially creating space for anti- and/or decolonial alternatives. We further make the case for embracing a radical reflexivity that is active, collaborative, and rooted in feminist epistemologies and political commitments.

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