Predictive performance analysis of players against training plan

Performance of a player in competitive sports is collective result of skill, physical and mental fitness, diet, training etc. Every human being is different and therefore personalization is required in every aspect. The wide use of computer system in different aspects of training and coaching makes it easy to generate and gather data in digital form. A powerful tool is required for analysis and interpretation of this data. The knowledge extracted from such data could be helpful in decision-making, system learning and automation. The training is requires to be individualized. This individualization helps to achieve maximum performance from each individual player. To ensure personalization it requires individual monitoring and evaluation, which is quite impossible without use of any tool. A system ‘Swimming Coach Assistant’ developed for predictive performance analysis of a player and assist coaches to extend personalized coaching to the player. The anthropometric measurements as suggested by the Heath-Carter method of Somatotyping of the player are used to describe the present morphological conformation of the player the nearest somatotypes of the players readily available in the system database are identify using distance formula (Somatotype Dispersion Distance). System suggests the best training plan previously identified and recorded by using data clustering approach. Otherwise, coach assign initial training plan based on his knowledge and expertise. The system provides a plot of performance of players in the practice session for the assigned training plan. A time series approach is use for fitting a straight line for the gathered performance data. This result provides a valuable feedback to the coaches to individualize the training activity and can predict the future performance if same training plan continues

Narrative Inquiry With Activity Systems: A Story About Net Neutrality

The goal of this article is to introduce activity systems as a methodological tool in narrative inquiry to gain a holistic understanding of socially shared experiences from an examination of documents. The research question was how can qualitative researchers use activity systems as a tool for engaging in narrative inquiry of socially shared experiences to uncover new meanings by constructing a story? In this article, we share a sample analysis of our experience relying on documents and media as a form of narrative to begin to understand the socially shared human activity associated with net neutrality and its potential impact on U.S. residents. We end this article with reflections of lessons learned from our activity systems guided story construction process

What makes the pregnant women revisit public hospitals for research? Participant engagement and retention trial in a public hospital (PERTH): an RCT protocol.

BACKGROUND: Cohort studies have public health importance as they effectively provide evidence on determinants of health from a life course perspective. Researchers often confront the poor follow-up rates as a major challenge in the successful conduct of cohort studies. We are currently recruiting in a birth cohort study, titled as "Maternal Antecedents of Adiposity and Studying the Transgenerational role of Hyperglycemia and Insulin" (MAASTHI) in a public hospital; with the aim of assessing maternal glycemic levels on the risk of adverse fetal outcomes. Nested within the ongoing cohort, the proposed trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of two interventions in improving the follow-up in the cohort study in a public hospital. METHODS: A randomized trial of 795 pregnant women, with 265 women each in three arms observed through pregnancy, until their baby is 14 weeks old. The comparator group receives a standard leaflet, with details on the importance of glucose testing and regular follow up in pregnancy. Intervention arm-1 will receive the standard leaflet plus individualized messages, through an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system; a type of computer-linked telephone intervention system to remind the participants about the lab test and follow-up dates. Intervention arm- 2 will have the opportunity to attend Mother and Baby Affairs (MBA) workshops, which will provide information on Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) screening and management to pregnant women and personalized counselling services. The outcome of interest is the difference in the proportion of participants completing follow-up at different points in time, among three arms. DISCUSSION: Between the two interventions (IVR and MBA), the study results would uncover the contextually specific, timely intervention, which can increase the proportion of pregnant women followed up in public hospitals. If effective, this study will provide information on an effective intervention, useful in ensuring the success of longitudinal follow-up in the public hospitals. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT03088501 , Date Registered: 16/03/2017

Maternal antecedents of adiposity and studying the transgenerational role of hyperglycemia and insulin (MAASTHI): a prospective cohort study : Protocol of birth cohort at Bangalore, India.

BACKGROUND: India is experiencing an epidemic of obesity-hyperglycaemia, which coincides with child bearing age for women. The epidemic can be sustained and augmented through transgenerational transmission of adiposity and glucose intolerance in women. This presents an opportunity for exploring a clear strategy for the control of this epidemic in India. We conducted a study between November 2013 and May 2015 to inform the design of a large pregnancy cohort study. Based on the findings of this pilot, we developed the protocol for the proposed birth cohort of 5000 women, the recruitment for which will start in April 2016. The protocol of the study documents the processes which aim at advancing the available knowledge, linking several steps in the evolution of obesity led hyperglycemia. METHODS: Maternal Antecedents of Adiposity and Studying the Transgenerational role of Hyperglycemia and Insulin (MAASTHI) is a cohort study in the public health facilities in Bangalore, India. The objective of MAASTHI is to prospectively assess the effects of glucose levels in pregnancy on the risk of adverse infant outcomes, especially in predicting the possible risk markers of later chronic diseases. The primary objective of the proposed study is to investigate the effect of glucose levels in pregnancy on skinfold thickness (adiposity) in infancy as a marker of future obesity and diabetes in offspring. The secondary objective is to assess the association between psychosocial environment of mothers and adverse neonatal outcomes including adiposity. The study aims to recruit 5000 pregnant women and follow them and their offspring for a period of 4 years. The institutional review board at The Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH)-H, Bangalore, Public Health Foundation of India has approved the protocol. All participants are required to provide written informed consent. DISCUSSION: The findings from this study may help to address important questions on screening and management of high blood sugar in pregnancy. It may provide critical information on the specific determinants driving the underweight-obesity-T2DM epidemic in India. The study can inform the policy regarding the potential impact of screening and management protocols in public healthcare facilities. The public health implications include prioritising issues of maternal glycemic control and weight management and better understanding of the lifecourse determinants in the development of T2DM

CREB is a critical regulator of normal hematopoiesis and leukemogenesis

The cAMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB) is a 43-kDa nuclear transcription factor that regulates cell growth, memory, and glucose homeostasis. We showed previously that CREB is amplified in myeloid leukemia blasts and expressed at higher levels in leukemia stem cells from patients with myeloid leukemia. CREB transgenic mice develop myeloproliferative disease after 1 year, but not leukemia, suggesting that CREB contributes to but is not sufficient for leukemogenesis. Here, we show that CREB is most highly expressed in lineage negative hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). To understand the role of CREB in hematopoietic progenitors and leukemia cells, we examined the effects of RNA interference (RNAi) to knock down CREB expression in vitro and in vivo. Transduction of primary HSCs or myeloid leukemia cells with lentiviral CREB shRNAs resulted in decreased proliferation of stem cells, cell- cycle abnormalities, and inhibition of CREB transcription. Mice that received transplants of bone marrow transduced with CREB shRNA had decreased committed progenitors compared with control mice. Mice injected with Ba/F3 cells expressing either Bcr-Abl wild-type or T315I mutation with CREB shRNA had delayed leukemic infiltration by bioluminescence imaging and prolonged median survival. Our results suggest that CREB is critical for normal myelopoiesis and leukemia cell proliferation

Ibrutinib plus RICE or RVICI for relapsed/refractory mature B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma in children and young adults:SPARKLE trial

Part 1 results of the open-label, randomized, global phase 3 SPARKLE trial supported continued assessment of ibrutinib with either modified rituximab, ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide (RICE) or rituximab, vincristine, ifosfamide, carboplatin, idarubicin, and dexamethasone (RVICI) in pediatric patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) mature B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL). We report final results of Part 2 evaluating the efficacy of ibrutinib plus RICE or RVICI vs RICE/RVICI alone. Patients aged 1 to 30 years (initial diagnosis \u3c18 years) were randomized 2:1 to receive ibrutinib with or without RICE/RVICI. Primary endpoint was event-free survival (EFS) based on independent committee-confirmed events. Fifty-one patients were enrolled. Median age was 15 years; Burkitt lymphoma, Burkitt leukemia, and Burkitt-like lymphoma (total: 45%) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma/primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (51%) were the most common subtypes. At the preplanned interim analysis, median EFS was 6.1 vs 7.0 months with ibrutinib plus RICE/RVICI vs RICE/RVICI, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.9; 90% confidence interval, 0.5-1.6; P = .387); further enrollment was ceased. With ibrutinib plus RICE/RVICI vs RICE/RVICI, median overall survival was 14.1 vs 11.1 months, overall response rate was 69% vs 81%, and 46% vs 44% proceeded to stem cell transplantation. In both treatment arms, 100% of patients experienced grade ≥3 treatment-emergent adverse events. No EFS benefit was seen with ibrutinib. Salvage was generally poor in patients who received prior rituximab, regardless of treatment arm. No new safety signals were observed. Ibrutinib exposure in pediatric patients fell within the target range of exposure in adults. Trial is registered on www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02703272)

Phenotypic Characterization of EIF2AK4 Mutation Carriers in a Large Cohort of Patients Diagnosed Clinically With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare disease with an emerging genetic basis. Heterozygous mutations in the gene encoding the bone morphogenetic protein receptor type 2 (BMPR2) are the commonest genetic cause of PAH, whereas biallelic mutations in the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha kinase 4 gene (EIF2AK4) are described in pulmonary veno-occlusive disease/pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis. Here, we determine the frequency of these mutations and define the genotype-phenotype characteristics in a large cohort of patients diagnosed clinically with PAH. METHODS: Whole-genome sequencing was performed on DNA from patients with idiopathic and heritable PAH and with pulmonary veno-occlusive disease/pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis recruited to the National Institute of Health Research BioResource-Rare Diseases study. Heterozygous variants in BMPR2 and biallelic EIF2AK4 variants with a minor allele frequency of <1:10 000 in control data sets and predicted to be deleterious (by combined annotation-dependent depletion, PolyPhen-2, and sorting intolerant from tolerant predictions) were identified as potentially causal. Phenotype data from the time of diagnosis were also captured. RESULTS: Eight hundred sixty-four patients with idiopathic or heritable PAH and 16 with pulmonary veno-occlusive disease/pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis were recruited. Mutations in BMPR2 were identified in 130 patients (14.8%). Biallelic mutations in EIF2AK4 were identified in 5 patients with a clinical diagnosis of pulmonary veno-occlusive disease/pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis. Furthermore, 9 patients with a clinical diagnosis of PAH carried biallelic EIF2AK4 mutations. These patients had a reduced transfer coefficient for carbon monoxide (Kco; 33% [interquartile range, 30%-35%] predicted) and younger age at diagnosis (29 years; interquartile range, 23-38 years) and more interlobular septal thickening and mediastinal lymphadenopathy on computed tomography of the chest compared with patients with PAH without EIF2AK4 mutations. However, radiological assessment alone could not accurately identify biallelic EIF2AK4 mutation carriers. Patients with PAH with biallelic EIF2AK4 mutations had a shorter survival. CONCLUSIONS: Biallelic EIF2AK4 mutations are found in patients classified clinically as having idiopathic and heritable PAH. These patients cannot be identified reliably by computed tomography, but a low Kco and a young age at diagnosis suggests the underlying molecular diagnosis. Genetic testing can identify these misclassified patients, allowing appropriate management and early referral for lung transplantation

Comprehensive Rare Variant Analysis via Whole-Genome Sequencing to Determine the Molecular Pathology of Inherited Retinal Disease

Inherited retinal disease is a common cause of visual impairment and represents a highly heterogeneous group of conditions. Here, we present findings from a cohort of 722 individuals with inherited retinal disease, who have had whole-genome sequencing (n = 605), whole-exome sequencing (n = 72), or both (n = 45) performed, as part of the NIHR-BioResource Rare Diseases research study. We identified pathogenic variants (single-nucleotide variants, indels, or structural variants) for 404/722 (56%) individuals. Whole-genome sequencing gives unprecedented power to detect three categories of pathogenic variants in particular: structural variants, variants in GC-rich regions, which have significantly improved coverage compared to whole-exome sequencing, and variants in non-coding regulatory regions. In addition to previously reported pathogenic regulatory variants, we have identified a previously unreported pathogenic intronic variant in $\textit{CHM}$ in two males with choroideremia. We have also identified 19 genes not previously known to be associated with inherited retinal disease, which harbor biallelic predicted protein-truncating variants in unsolved cases. Whole-genome sequencing is an increasingly important comprehensive method with which to investigate the genetic causes of inherited retinal disease.This work was supported by The National Institute for Health Research England (NIHR) for the NIHR BioResource – Rare Diseases project (grant number RG65966). The Moorfields Eye Hospital cohort of patients and clinical and imaging data were ascertained and collected with the support of grants from the National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital, National Health Service Foundation Trust, and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, Moorfields Eye Hospital Special Trustees, Moorfields Eye Charity, the Foundation Fighting Blindness (USA), and Retinitis Pigmentosa Fighting Blindness. M.M. is a recipient of an FFB Career Development Award. E.M. is supported by UCLH/UCL NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. F.L.R. and D.G. are supported by Cambridge NIHR Biomedical Research Centre