Technical demands of soccer match-play in the English Championship

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of match-play on the performance of technical actions in professional soccer players. Using computerized notational analysis, technical performance was quantified for the outfield players of one team during the 2010/2011 English Championship season. This retrospective study evaluated temporal patterns in the performance of players who completed more than 10 games (n=10). Total possessions and number of ball distributions were lower in the second versus the first half of match-play (10 ± 7%, P=0.010 and 11 ± 8% P=0.009,respectively). Analysis across 15-min intervals revealed reductions during the last 15-min of match-play in the total number of possessions (0:00-14:59 min: 11.8 ± 1.9 vs.75:00-89:59 min: 9.5 ± 1.7, P<0.05) and distributions (0:00-14:59 min: 10.9 ± 2.3 vs.75:00-89:59 min: 8.7 ± 2.1, P<0.05). The number of touches taken per possession, number of challenges, percentage of challenges won, length of forward distributions and percentage success of distributions were all similar between halves and across 15-min intervals. These results demonstrate that match-specific factors reduced total possessions and number of passes in the second half of match-play. Coaching staff could use this information to inform team tactics and technical training sessions

USING TECHNOLOGIES THAT STUDENTS ARE COMFORTABLE WITH TO IMPROVE INTERACTIVITY IN ONLINE LEARNING

The rapid move to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that universities and schools were unprepared for large-scale online teaching. Poor internet capabilities and lack of interactive online opportunities meant that lectures and laboratory practicals were replaced with videos and online assignments, decreasing student interaction and hands-on learning opportunities. In this seminar, I discuss how we used technologies that students already use in their daily lives (YouTube Live, Twitch, Discord, Mobile devices) to engage them in authentic experiential online learning where students felt part of a community of learners. In our university classes, lecture attendance grew from 13% for face-to-face lectures to 59% in online lectures. We also saw a 10-fold increase in online interactivity during live online lectures. We saw similar results for our science outreach with primary and high school students using Arludo apps—video games designed to teach scientific concepts through scenario-based experiences. All students stated this form of teaching helped them feel like part of a scientific community. Our combination of a social online learning management system with a real-time chat interface and mobile games to engage in scientific thinking and data collection provides an inexpensive and exciting way forward to teach online

Distribution and abundance of muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) and Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) on Graham, Buckingham, and southern Ellesmere islands, March 2015

We flew a survey of southern Ellesmere Island, Graham Island, and Buckingham Island in March 2015 to obtain estimates of abundance for muskoxen and Peary caribou. Generally, muskoxen were abundant north of the Sydkap Ice Cap along Baumann Fiord, north of Goose Fiord, west and north of Muskox Fiord, and on the coastal plains and river valleys east of Vendom Fiord. Although few, they were also present on Bjorne Peninsula and the south coast between the Sydkap Ice Cap and Jakeman Glacier. We observed a total of 1146 muskoxen. Calves (approximately 10-months old) made up 22% of the observed animals. The population estimate was 3200 ± 602 SE (standard error) muskoxen, the highest muskox population size ever estimated for southern Ellesmere, Graham and Buckingham islands. This could be because previous efforts typically surveyed only a portion of our area or focused elsewhere, or the results were provided only as minimum counts rather than estimates of abundance. Regardless, our results indicate that the muskox population has recovered from low levels in 2005 of 312-670 (95% confidence interval [CI]) individuals. Peary caribou abundance appears to be low.  We only saw 38 Peary caribou during our 2015 survey. This confounds appraisal of possible abundance change since 2005, when 109-442 caribou (95% CI) were estimated to inhabit the same surveyed area. We estimated 183 ± 128 SE Peary caribou, and suggest that their numbers are likely stable at low density on southern Ellesmere Island

A Machine-Readable File of Sea Depths for the Central Canadian Arctic Archipelago

In connection with extensive seal surveys in the central High Arctic in 1980 and 1981, a computer file of depths was built .... Limits of the area covered are: southerly, 71&deg;N in Amundsen Gulf. 73&deg;30'N in M'Clintock Channel, and 73&deg;40'N in Peel Sound; northerly generally 78&deg;10'N; westerly, 120&deg;40'W in Amundsen Gulf, 117&deg;20'W in M'Clure Strait, and 110&deg;W in Hazen Strait; and easterly, 90&deg;40'W in Lancaster Sound, 86&deg;W in Jones Sound, and 88&deg;W in Norwegian Bay .... The file consists of the coordinates of the boundaries between the depth classes of Table 1. Coordinates were taken along each of a set of transects lying on even degrees of longitude, even degrees + 40', and odd degrees + 20'. The file has 2343 lines; each contains: transect number; longitude (degrees and minutes); latitude (degrees, minutes, and tenths of minutes); depth class to the south; depth class to the north. ... Each line in the file is therefore a point on a depth contour between adjacent classes; where the sea-bed is steeply sloping, the two depth classes on a line may not be adjacent, and such a line represents a point on several coincident contours. Depths were taken off standard hydrographic charts, and a good deal of interpretation, interpolation, resolution of inconsistencies, and plain guessing went into placing the coordinates. However, the file is useable for many purposes requiring approximate values for depth. ..

The Spiral in the Tusk of the Narwhal

The spiral in the tusk of the narwhal has been fancifully, but never satisfactorily, explained. Spiral growths are common in the animal kingdom and share the feature of having straight axes. A curved tusk would hinder the narwhal swimming; a spiral mode of growth ensures overall straightness even if the tusk grows irregularly. The need to keep the tusk straight completely and satisfactorily explains the spiral.Key words: Monodon monoceros, dentition, morphology, asymmetryMots cl&eacute;s: Monodon monoceros, dentition, morphologie, asym&eacute;tri

Trends in the Offshore Distribution and Relative Abundance of Beaufort Sea Belugas, 1982–85 vs 2007–09

We used systematic strip-transect aerial surveys to examine the distribution and relative abundance of surfaced belugas in the offshore Beaufort Sea in late August of 1982, 1984–85, and 2007–09. Belugas were seen throughout the offshore area in both survey series, on 114 of 149 transects (76.5%). They were common over the continental shelf offshore of the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula and within 30 km seaward of the Mackenzie River estuary, but they were also seen in most other offshore habitats surveyed. The distribution of belugas had a similar pattern in both series, but the number of surfaced belugas counted was higher in the 2000s than in the 1980s. In total, 305 belugas (145 sightings, mean group size 2.1) were observed on-transect in 20 858 km2 of surveying in the 1980s, and more than three times that number (1061) were observed in a similar area (19 829 km2) during the 2007–09 survey series (378 sightings; mean group size 2.6). Population growth alone, though probably not sufficient to explain the changes observed in relative abundance between decades, could be partly responsible for the apparent increase in belugas. The most plausible explanation is that the offshore became more attractive to belugas in the 2000s, because of either a decrease in the intensity or extent of industrial activity or changes to the marine ecosystem related to climate warming, or both.Nous avons utilisé des levés aériens systématiques par transects en bandes pour examiner la répartition et l’abondance relative des bélugas faisant surface au large de la mer de Beaufort à la fin d’août 1982, d’août 1984 à 1985 et d’août 2007 à 2009. Des bélugas ont été aperçus au large dans les deux séries de levés et ce, dans 114 des 149 transects (76,5 %). Les bélugas étaient courants au large du plateau continental de la péninsule Tuktoyaktuk ainsi que dans un rayon de 30 km du côté mer de l’estuaire du fleuve Mackenzie, bien qu’ils aient également été aperçus dans la plupart des autres habitats étudiés au large. Dans les deux séries, la répartition de bélugas se ressemblait, mais le nombre de bélugas faisant surface était plus élevé dans les années 2000 que dans les années 1980. Au total, 305 bélugas (145 observations, taille moyenne du groupe de 2,1) ont été observés dans les transects des 20 858 km2 étudiés dans les années 1980, et plus de trois fois ce nombre (1 061) ont été observés dans une aire semblable (19 829 km2) dans les années 2007 à 2009 (378 observations, taille moyenne du groupe de 2,6). L’accroissement de la population seul pourrait être responsable en partie de l’augmentation apparente du nombre de bélugas, bien que ce facteur ne suffise probablement pas à expliquer les changements observés sur le plan de l’abondance relative d’une décennie à l’autre. L’explication la plus plausible serait que les bélugas ont été davantage attirés par le secteur extracôtier dans les années 2000 soit en raison de la diminution de l’intensité ou de l’ampleur de l’activité industrielle, soit en raison des changements à l’écosystème marin attribuables au réchauffement climatique, soit en raison d’un ensemble de ces deux causes