Maturity status influences perceived training load and neuromuscular performance during an academy soccer season

Commonly we see large within-age-group variations in physique, including body mass, stature, and percentages of predicted adult height, which suggests that age-specified training loads are flawed. Aims were to investigate how maturation impacts training load and neuromuscular response within academy soccer and, to provide recommendations for practitioners. Fifty-five male soccer players (age 14.5 ± 1.2 years; stature 172 ± 10 cm; body mass 59.8 ± 10 kg; 94.1 ± 1.8 % predicted adult height) reported differential ratings of perceived exertion (AU) across a season. Neuromuscular performance (countermovement jump, reactive strength index, absolute and relative leg stiffness) was measured using at three timepoints across the season. Perceived exertion and neuromuscular performance were examined using linear mixed modelling, supplemented with non-clinical magnitude-based decisions. Analysis indicates every 5% increase in maturity status results in players perceiving overall session intensity 6.9 AU lower and 13.9 AU lower for a 10% maturity shift. Both 5% and 10% changes in maturity most likely resulted in higher countermovement jump, with likely to very likely differences observed for RSI and ABS. Maturity substantially influences neuromuscular performance over the season. Therefore, maturity-specific load prescription may prevent significant within age-group differences in accumulated load, possibly reducing injury risk and/or burnout

Understanding retail supply chain during COVID-19: A systematic review

Purpose– The aim of this paper is to identify the themes that emerged from retail supply chain (RSC) literature during the COVID-19 pandemic that inform future mitigation and recovery strategies. Design/methodology/approach– This study analyses contributions in the RSC literature using four databases: Emerald, Elsevier (Science Direct), Wiley, and Taylor & Francis. The systematic review approach resulted in identifying 74 articles covering 2020 to 2022. Findings– Four themes emerged from RSC literature on COVID-19. The first theme highlighted factors that exacerbated the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the RSC. The second theme focused on the types of disruptions that occurred in the RSC during the pandemic. The third theme demonstrated the recovery strategies used to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the RSC. The fourth theme identified proposed mitigation strategies for the RSC post COVID-19 outbreak. Practical implications–The study provides a deeper understanding of how retail supply chain managers could successfully reduce the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by dealing with interruptions. Based on the reviewed studies and the four themes that evolved from RSC literature on COVID-19 throughout 2020-2022, eleven key RSC strategies and lessons have been recommended to decision makers in the retail industry. Originality/value– This is the first study to identify the themes that emerged from RSC literature during the COVID-19 pandemic to inform future mitigation and recovery strategies. The resulting themes add to the existing body of knowledge and established the need for further research into other sectors that might be affected by future pandemics. Keywords: Retail Supply Chain, Supply Chain Disruptions, Mitigation Strategies, Recovery Strategies, Covid-19, Systematic Review

Feasibility of OpenPose markerless motion analysis in a real athletics competition

This study tested the performance of OpenPose on footage collected by two cameras at 200 Hz from a real-life competitive setting by comparing it with manually analyzed data in SIMI motion. The same take-off recording from the men's Long Jump finals at the 2017 World Athletics Championships was used for both approaches (markerless and manual) to reconstruct the 3D coordinates from each of the camera's 2D coordinates. Joint angle and Centre of Mass (COM) variables during the final step and take-off phase of the jump were determined. Coefficients of Multiple Determinations (CMD) for joint angle waveforms showed large variation between athletes with the knee angle values typically being higher (take-off leg: 0.727 ± 0.242; swing leg: 0.729 ± 0.190) than those for hip (take-off leg: 0.388 ± 0.193; swing leg: 0.370 ± 0.227) and ankle angle (take-off leg: 0.247 ± 0.172; swing leg: 0.155 ± 0.228). COM data also showed considerable variation between athletes and parameters, with position (0.600 ± 0.322) and projection angle (0.658 ± 0.273) waveforms generally showing better agreement than COM velocity (0.217 ± 0.241). Agreement for discrete data was generally poor with high random error for joint kinematics and COM parameters at take-off and an average ICC across variables of 0.17. The poor agreement statistics and a range of unrealistic values returned by the pose estimation underline that OpenPose is not suitable for in-competition performance analysis in events such as the long jump, something that manual analysis still achieves with high levels of accuracy and reliability

Cybersecurity threats in FinTech: A systematic review

The rapid evolution of the Smart-everything movement and Artificial Intelligence (AI) advancements have given rise to sophisticated cyber threats that traditional methods cannot counteract. Cyber threats are extremely critical in financial technology (FinTech) as a data-centric sector expected to provide 24/7 services. This paper introduces a novel and refined taxonomy of security threats in FinTech and conducts a comprehensive systematic review of defensive strategies. Through PRISMA methodology applied to 74 selected studies and topic modeling, we identified 11 central cyber threats, with 43 papers detailing them, and pinpointed 9 corresponding defense strategies, as covered in 31 papers. This in-depth analysis offers invaluable insights for stakeholders ranging from banks and enterprises to global governmental bodies, highlighting both the current challenges in FinTech and effective countermeasures, as well as directions for future research

Fully Automated Analysis of Muscle Architecture from B-Mode Ultrasound Images with DL_Track_US

Objective B-mode ultrasound can be used to image musculoskeletal tissues, but one major bottleneck is analyses of muscle architectural parameters (i.e., muscle thickness, pennation angle and fascicle length), which are most often performed manually. Methods In this study we trained two different neural networks (classic U-Net and U-Net with VGG16 pre-trained encoder) to detect muscle fascicles and aponeuroses using a set of labeled musculoskeletal ultrasound images. We determined the best-performing model based on intersection over union and loss metrics. We then compared neural network predictions on an unseen test set with those obtained via manual analysis and two existing semi/automated analysis approaches (simple muscle architecture analysis [SMA] and UltraTrack). DL_Track_US detects the locations of the superficial and deep aponeuroses, as well as multiple fascicle fragments per image. Results For single images, DL_Track_US yielded results similar to those produced by a non-trainable automated method (SMA; mean difference in fascicle length: 5.1 mm) and human manual analysis (mean difference: –2.4 mm). Between-method differences in pennation angle were within 1.5°, and mean differences in muscle thickness were less than 1 mm. Similarly, for videos, there was overlap between the results produced with UltraTrack and DL_Track_US, with intraclass correlations ranging between 0.19 and 0.88. Conclusion DL_Track_US is fully automated and open source and can estimate fascicle length, pennation angle and muscle thickness from single images or videos, as well as from multiple superficial muscles. We also provide a user interface and all necessary code and training data for custom model development

'Know what you're talking about: subject knowledge for teaching'

This chapter aims to explore what we mean by 'subject knowledge'; to consider how secure subject knowledge underpins effective planning and teaching and to consider how teachers might identify and address 'gaps' in their subject knowledge

A systematic review of the relationship between muscle oxygen dynamics and energy rich phosphates. Can NIRS help?

Background: Phosphocreatine dynamics provide the gold standard evaluation of in-vivo mitochondrial function and is tightly coupled with oxygen availability. Low mitochondrial oxidative capacity has been associated with health issues and low exercise performance. Methods: To evaluate the relationship between near-infrared spectroscopy-based muscle oxygen dynamics and magnetic resonance spectroscopy-based energy-rich phosphates, a systematic review of the literature related to muscle oxygen dynamics and energy-rich phosphates was conducted. PRISMA guidelines were followed to perform a comprehensive and systematic search of four databases on 02-11-2021 (PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science). Beforehand pre-registration with the Open Science Framework was performed. Studies had to include healthy humans aged 18–55, measures related to NIRS-based muscle oxygen measures in combination with energy-rich phosphates. Exclusion criteria were clinical populations, laboratory animals, acutely injured subjects, data that only assessed oxygen dynamics or energy-rich phosphates, or grey literature. The Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool was used to assess methodological quality, and data extraction was presented in a table. Results: Out of 1483 records, 28 were eligible. All included studies were rated moderate. The studies suggest muscle oxygen dynamics could indicate energy-rich phosphates under appropriate protocol settings. Conclusion: Arterial occlusion and exercise intensity might be important factors to control if NIRS application should be used to examine energetics. However, more research needs to be conducted without arterial occlusion and with high-intensity exercises to support the applicability of NIRS and provide an agreement level in the concurrent course of muscle oxygen kinetics and muscle energetics. Trial registration: https://osf.io/py32n/. Key points: 1. NIRS derived measures of muscle oxygenation agree with gold-standard measures of high energy phosphates when assessed in an appropriate protocol setting. 2. At rest when applying the AO protocol, in the absence of muscle activity, an initial disjunction between the NIRS signal and high energy phosphates can been seen, suggesting a cascading relationship. 3. During exercise and recovery a disruption of oxygen delivery is required to provide the appropriate setting for evaluation through either an AO protocol or high intensity contractions

Surrogacy in Latin America, Nicolás Espejo-Yaksic, Claire Fenton-Glynn, and Jens M. Scherpe

Surrogacy in Latin America, edited by Nicolás Espejo-Yaksic, Claire Fenton-Glynn, and Jens M. Scherpe, was published in May 2023 and launched at the 2nd International Surrogacy Forum in Copenhagen in June 2023. The book, based on a joint research project by the Centre for Constitutional Studies of the Supreme Court of Justice of Mexico and the Cambridge Family Law Centre, follows an earlier project which focused on the regulation of surrogacy in Eastern and Western jurisdictions, Eastern and Western perspectives on surrogacy.1 The focus of this book, as the title suggests, is to provide an insight into how the practice of surrogacy is regulated in jurisdictions in Latin America. Twelve jurisdictions are examined within the book, with contributions from legal academics, practitioners, judges, and members of relevant Committees. The jurisdictions covered are Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay. Chapter 1, ‘An Introduction’, written by the editors, sets the context for the project and the book, with the rest of the book dedicating a chapter to each jurisdiction. Various aims of the book can be extracted from the introduction. First, it is an aim for the book to expand upon, and ‘fill the gap’ of, Eastern and Western perspectives on surrogacy by examining jurisdictions in Latin America. Secondly, the purpose is stated to be to ‘inform about the current state of, and developments on, surrogacy laws in Latin America’,2 particularly considering the impact of the global surrogacy market. Thirdly, there is the aim to contextualize the current approaches to surrogacy against historical, cultural, and religious influences. These three aims combined would therefore meet the final expressed aim of the book, being to contribute to debates and legal reform, both within Latin America and beyond

“If we’re wrong, take us to court”: An analysis of special police services (SPS) arrangements for the policing of football in England and Wales

Under the Police Act 1996, Special Police Services (SPS) allow the police in England and Wales to partially cost recover for resources deployed to police events such as football, horse racing and music festivals. Historically, there have been numerous legal cases about SPS charges involving police forces and event organisers. Most recently Ipswich Town Football Club Company Limited vs. The Chief Constable of Suffolk Constabulary [2017] EWCA Civ 1484, resulted in clarification on points of law and a more restricted area within which police forces can charge for SPS. This qualitative research interviews police officers engaged in policing football, football club representatives and other key stakeholders involved in the SPS negotiation process. It finds that there are divisive approaches by both parties, which can result in compromising public safety. The notion of SPS being abolished is explored, despite potential benefits of this, further research is recommended to examine this further