A prospective analysis of the injury incidence of young male professional football players on artificial turf

Background: The effects of synthetic surfaces on the risk of injuries is still debated in literature and the majority of published data seems to be contradictory. For such reasons the understanding of injury incidence on such surfaces, especially in youth sport, is fundamental for injury prevention. Objectives: The aim of this study was to prospectively report the epidemiology of injuries in young football players, playing on artificial turfs, during a one sports season. Patients and Methods: 80 young male football players (age 16.1 ± 3.7 years; height 174 ± 6.6 cm; weight 64.2 ± 6.3 kg) were enrolled in a prospective cohort study. The participants were then divided in two groups; the first included players age ranging from 17 to 19 (OP) whereas the second included players age ranging from 13 to 16 (YP). Injury incidence was recorded prospectively, according to the consensus statement for soccer. Results: A total of 107 injuries (35 from the OP and 72 from the YP) were recorded during an exposure time of 83.760 hours (incidence 1.28/1000 per player hours); 22 during matches (incidence 2.84/1000 per player hours, 20.5%) and 85 during training (incidence 1.15/1000 per player hours, 79.5%). Thigh and groin were the most common injury locations (33.6% and 21.5%, respectively) while muscle injuries such as contractures and strains were the most common injury typologies (68.23%). No statistical differences between groups were displayed, except for the rate of severe injuries during matches, with the OP displaying slightly higher rates compared to the YP. Severe injuries accounted for 10.28% of the total injuries reported. The average time lost due to injuries was 14 days. Re-injuries accounted for 4.67% of all injuries sustained during the season. Conclusions: In professional youth soccer injury rates are reasonably low. Muscle injuries are the most common type of injuries while groin and thigh the most common locations. Artificial turf pitches don’t seem to contribute to injury incidence in young football players

On direct measurement of the W production charge asymmetry at the LHC

The prospects for making a direct measurement of the W production charge asymmetry at the LHC are discussed. A modification to the method used at the Tevatron is proposed for measurements at the LHC. The expected sensitivity for such a measurement to parton distribution functions is compared to that for a measurement of the lepton charge asymmetry. The direct measurement approach is found to be less useful for placing constraints on parton distribution functions at the LHC than a measurement of the lepton charge asymmetry.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, v2: references and keywords updated v3: Additional paragraph discussing inclusion of W asymmetry in global fits adde

W+W-, WZ and ZZ production in the POWHEG BOX

We present an implementation of the vector boson pair production processes ZZ, W+W- and W Z within the POWHEG framework, which is a method that allows the interfacing of NLO calculations to shower Monte Carlo programs. The implementation is built within the POWHEG BOX package. The Z/\gamma^* interference, as well as singly resonant contributions, are properly included. We also considered interference terms arising from identical leptons in the final state. As a result, all contributions leading to the desired four-lepton system have been included in the calculation, with the sole exception of the interference between ZZ and W+W- in the production of a pair of same-flavour, oppositely charged fermions and a pair of neutrinos, which we show to be fully negligible. Anomalous trilinear couplings can be also set in the program, and we give some examples of their effect at the LHC. We have made the relevant code available at the POWHEG BOX web site.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables. Minor corrections and updated references in revised versio

Methodological considerations in the analysis of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in tufted capuchins (Cebus apella)

Analysis of fecal glucocorticoid (GC) metabolites has recently become the standard method to monitor adrenocortical activity in primates noninvasively. However, given variation in the production, metabolism, and excretion of GCs across species and even between sexes, there are no standard methods that are universally applicable. In particular, it is important to validate assays intended to measure GC production, test extraction and storage procedures, and consider the time course of GC metabolite excretion relative to the production and circulation of the native hormones. This study examines these four methodological aspects of fecal GC metabolite analysis in tufted capuchins (Cebus apella). Specifically, we conducted an adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) challenge on one male and one female capuchin to test the validity of four GC enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) and document the time course characterizing GC me- tabolite excretion in this species. In addition, we compare a common field-friendly technique for extracting fecal GC metabolites to an established laboratory extraction methodology and test for effects of storing “field extracts” for up to 1 yr. Results suggest that a corticosterone EIA is most sensitive to changes in GC production, provides reliable measures when extracted according to the field method, and measures GC metabolites which remain highly stable after even 12 mo of storage. Further, the time course of GC metabolite excretion is shorter than that described yet for any primate taxa. These results provide guidelines for studies of GCs in tufted capuchins, and underscore the importance of validating methods for fecal hormone analysis for each species of interest

Changes in calcium dynamics following the reversal of the sodium-calcium exchanger have a key role in AMPA receptor-mediated neurodegeneration via calpain activation in hippocampal neurons

Proteolytic cleavage of the Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger (NCX) by calpains impairs calcium homeostasis, leading to a delayed calcium overload and excitotoxic cell death. However, it is not known whether reversal of the exchanger contributes to activate calpains and trigger neuronal death. We investigated the role of the reversal of the NCX in Ca(2+) dynamics, calpain activation and cell viability, in alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate (AMPA) receptor-stimulated hippocampal neurons. Selective overactivation of AMPA receptors caused the reversal of the NCX, which accounted for approximately 30% of the rise in intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)). The NCX reverse-mode inhibitor, 2-[2-[4-(4-nitrobenzyloxy)phenyl]ethyl]isothiourea (KB-R7943), partially inhibited the initial increase in [Ca(2+)](i), and prevented a delayed increase in [Ca(2+)](i). In parallel, overactivation of AMPA receptors strongly activated calpains and led to the proteolysis of NCX3. KB-R7943 prevented calpain activation, cleavage of NCX3 and was neuroprotective. Silencing of NCX3 reduced Ca(2+) uptake, calpain activation and was neuroprotective. Our data show for the first time that NCX reversal is an early event following AMPA receptor stimulation and is linked to the activation of calpains. Since calpain activation subsequently inactivates NCX, causing a secondary Ca(2+) entry, NCX may be viewed as a new suicide substrate operating in a Ca(2+)-dependent loop that triggers cell death and as a target for neuroprotectio

Удовлетворенность сотрудников трудом как фактор повышения эффективности деятельности военного факультета БГУИР

Accurate navigation is a fundamental requirement for robotic systems—marine and terrestrial. For an intelligent autonomous system to interact effectively and safely with its environment, it needs to accurately perceive its surroundings. While traditional dead-reckoning filtering can achieve extremely low drift rates, the localization accuracy decays monotonically with distance traveled. Other approaches (such as external beacons) can help; nonetheless, the typical prerogative is to remain at a safe distance and to avoid engaging with the environment. In this chapter we discuss alternative approaches which utilize onboard sensors so that the robot can estimate the location of sensed objects and use these observations to improve its own navigation as well as its perception of the environment. This approach allows for meaningful interaction and autonomy. Three motivating autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) applications are outlined herein. The first fuses external range sensing with relative sonar measurements. The second application localizes relative to a prior map so as to revisit a specific feature, while the third builds an accurate model of an underwater structure which is consistent and complete. In particular we demonstrate that each approach can be abstracted to a core problem of incremental estimation within a sparse graph of the AUV’s trajectory and the locations of features of interest which can be updated and optimized in real time on board the AUV.QC 20150326</p

Measurement of the production of a W boson in association with a charm quark in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The production of a W boson in association with a single charm quark is studied using 4.6 fb−1 of pp collision data at s√ = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. In events in which a W boson decays to an electron or muon, the charm quark is tagged either by its semileptonic decay to a muon or by the presence of a charmed meson. The integrated and differential cross sections as a function of the pseudorapidity of the lepton from the W-boson decay are measured. Results are compared to the predictions of next-to-leading-order QCD calculations obtained from various parton distribution function parameterisations. The ratio of the strange-to-down sea-quark distributions is determined to be 0.96+0.26−0.30 at Q 2 = 1.9 GeV2, which supports the hypothesis of an SU(3)-symmetric composition of the light-quark sea. Additionally, the cross-section ratio σ(W + +c¯¯)/σ(W − + c) is compared to the predictions obtained using parton distribution function parameterisations with different assumptions about the s−s¯¯¯ quark asymmetry

The Value of Preseason Screening for Injury Prediction: The Development and Internal Validation of a Multivariable Prognostic Model to Predict Indirect Muscle Injury Risk in Elite Football (Soccer) Players

© 2020, The Author(s). Background: In elite football (soccer), periodic health examination (PHE) could provide prognostic factors to predict injury risk. Objective: To develop and internally validate a prognostic model to predict individualised indirect (non-contact) muscle injury (IMI) risk during a season in elite footballers, only using PHE-derived candidate prognostic factors. Methods: Routinely collected preseason PHE and injury data were used from 152 players over 5 seasons (1st July 2013 to 19th May 2018). Ten candidate prognostic factors (12 parameters) were included in model development. Multiple imputation was used to handle missing values. The outcome was any time-loss, index indirect muscle injury (I-IMI) affecting the lower extremity. A full logistic regression model was fitted, and a parsimonious model developed using backward-selection to remove factors that exceeded a threshold that was equivalent to Akaike’s Information Criterion (alpha 0.157). Predictive performance was assessed through calibration, discrimination and decision-curve analysis, averaged across all imputed datasets. The model was internally validated using bootstrapping and adjusted for overfitting. Results: During 317 participant-seasons, 138 I-IMIs were recorded. The parsimonious model included only age and frequency of previous IMIs; apparent calibration was perfect, but discrimination was modest (C-index = 0.641, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.580 to 0.703), with clinical utility evident between risk thresholds of 37–71%. After validation and overfitting adjustment, performance deteriorated (C-index = 0.589 (95% CI = 0.528 to 0.651); calibration-in-the-large = − 0.009 (95% CI = − 0.239 to 0.239); calibration slope = 0.718 (95% CI = 0.275 to 1.161)). Conclusion: The selected PHE data were insufficient prognostic factors from which to develop a useful model for predicting IMI risk in elite footballers. Further research should prioritise identifying novel prognostic factors to improve future risk prediction models in this field. Trial registration: NCT03782389

Thermal fracture as a framework for quasi-static crack propagation

We address analytically and numerically the problem of crack path prediction in the model system of a crack propagating under thermal loading. We show that one can explain the instability from a straight to a wavy crack propagation by using only the principle of local symmetry and the Griffith criterion. We then argue that the calculations of the stress intensity factors can be combined with the standard crack propagation criteria to obtain the evolution equation for the crack tip within any loading configuration. The theoretical results of the thermal crack problem agree with the numerical simulations we performed using a phase field model. Moreover, it turns out that the phase-field model allows to clarify the nature of the transition between straight and oscillatory cracks which is shown to be supercritical.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figure

The history of leishmaniasis

In this review article the history of leishmaniasis is discussed regarding the origin of the genus Leishmania in the Mesozoic era and its subsequent geographical distribution, initial evidence of the disease in ancient times, first accounts of the infection in the Middle Ages, and the discovery of Leishmania parasites as causative agents of leishmaniasis in modern times. With respect to the origin and dispersal of Leishmania parasites, the three currently debated hypotheses (Palaearctic, Neotropical and supercontinental origin, respectively) are presented. Ancient documents and paleoparasitological data indicate that leishmaniasis was already widespread in antiquity. Identification of Leishmania parasites as etiological agents and sand flies as the transmission vectors of leishmaniasis started at the beginning of the 20th century and the discovery of new Leishmania and sand fly species continued well into the 21st century. Lately, the Syrian civil war and refugee crises have shown that leishmaniasis epidemics can happen any time in conflict areas and neighbouring regions where the disease was previously endemic