SummaryStudy aim: To find out whether a 6-week creatine supplementation would significantly augment body mass and muscle circumferences in male bodybuilders. Material and methods: A group of 14 male bodybuilders aged 16 -29 years were randomly divided into two groups: experimental (E) and control (C), 7 subjects each. Group E received creatine monohydrate, Group C -placebo, 10 g daily for 6 weeks without saturation phase. The experimental design was a double-blind one. All subjects were on strictly controlled diet, the daily intakes amounting to 2.3 -2.8 g of protein, 1.0 -1.2 g of fat and 5 -6 g/kg body mass of carbohydrate, and 3200 -4000 kcal. All subjects trained 3 days a week, each session lasting 120 min, in the 'Power, Rep-Range, Shock' mode. Chest, waist, arm, forearm, thigh and calf girths were measured in the relaxed and contracted states, together with body mass, before and after the study. Results: Significant, training-induced changes were noted in almost all body circumferences studied in both groups and muscle states, those in the chest, biceps and thigh girths being the most pronounced ones and significantly (p<0.05) greater in the experimental than in control group in the contracted muscle state. In the relaxed state the between-group differences were significant for the chest and thigh girths. The increments in body mass were significantly (p<0.01) higher in the experimental than in control group (4.3 ± 1.3 and 2.1 ± 0.7 kg, respectively). Conclusions:The observed changes may have been brought about by creatine administration.

The accession of the Visegrad Group (V4) countries to the European Union has triggered their active participation in assistance to less developed countries. Since joining the EU, the analyzed countries have developed ODA legislation and an institutional framework and increased financing in development co-operation. Being a member of the EU and DAC, all V4 countries also have their legal and financial obligations in the area of development co-operation. The shared experience of those countries in creating and implementing their development policy gives reason to investigate their aid systems, development policy challenges and implementation of their commitments as a group of donors. The aims of the paper are to identify main development trends of the V4 countries’ development policies as well as to investigate the implementation of their development commitments taken at a global and EU level. This has allowed to define the main challenges for V4 countries in delivering efficient development assistance to other developing countries in the future, such as improvements in institutional systems, transparent and clearly defined legislation as well as substantial increase of financing transferred by V4 to ODA.

Seismic activity monitoring in the mining exploitation area is an important factor, that has an effect on safety and infrastructure management. The introduction sections presents the outline of mining interference into rock mass structure and selected parameters and methods of observation related to its effects. Further in the article an alternative to currently seismic measurement devices was proposed, and an preliminary research of its metrological quality was carried out based on experimental data. Assessment was based on short time Fourier transform (STFT) and Pearson cross-correlation coefficient.