Influence of contextual variables on styles of play in soccer

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of match status, venue, and quality of opposition on the styles of play in soccer. Data were collected from 380 games of the English Premier League from the 2015–2016 season. Linear mixed models were applied to evaluate the influence of these contextual variables on membership scores for Direct Play, Counterattack, Maintenance, Build Up, Sustained Threat, Fast Tempo, Crossing, and High Pressure. The results showed that match status had a significant effect on the eight styles of play (all P < 0.001), venue had a significant effect on all styles of play (P < 0.01) except Counterattack and Maintenance, and quality of opposition had a significant effect on all styles of play (P < 0.05) except Counterattack. Moreover, the interaction between match status and quality of opposition, and venue and quality of opposition showed significant effects on some styles of play. The results of this study imply that contextual variables influence the use of styles of play in soccer match play. Consequently, this provides meaningful recommendations for practitioners in soccer

Anharmonic transitions in nearly dry L-cysteine I

Two special dynamical transitions of universal character have been recently observed in macromolecules at $T_{D}\sim 180 - 220$ K and $T^{*}\sim 100$ K. Despite their relevance, a complete understanding of the nature of these transitions and their consequences for the bio-activity of the macromolecule is still lacking. Our results and analysis concerning the temperature dependence of structural, vibrational and thermodynamical properties of the orthorhombic polymorph of the amino acid L-cysteine (at a hydration level of 3.5%) indicated that the two referred temperatures define the triggering of very simple and specific events that govern all the biochemical interactions of the biomolecule: activation of rigid rotors ($T<T^{*}$), phonon-phonon interactions with phonons of water dimer ($T^{*}<T<T_{D}$), and water rotational barriers surpassing ($T>T_{D}$).Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter

Ising model in small-world networks

The Ising model in small-world networks generated from two- and three-dimensional regular lattices has been studied. Monte Carlo simulations were carried out to characterize the ferromagnetic transition appearing in these systems. In the thermodynamic limit, the phase transition has a mean-field character for any finite value of the rewiring probability p, which measures the disorder strength of a given network. For small values of p, both the transition temperature and critical energy change with p as a power law. In the limit p -> 0, the heat capacity at the transition temperature diverges logarithmically in two-dimensional (2D) networks and as a power law in 3D.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Scale-free brain functional networks

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is used to extract {\em functional networks} connecting correlated human brain sites. Analysis of the resulting networks in different tasks shows that: (a) the distribution of functional connections, and the probability of finding a link vs. distance are both scale-free, (b) the characteristic path length is small and comparable with those of equivalent random networks, and (c) the clustering coefficient is orders of magnitude larger than those of equivalent random networks. All these properties, typical of scale-free small world networks, reflect important functional information about brain states.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, 2 table

Contextual Simulated Annealing Q-Learning for Pre-negotiation of Agent-Based Bilateral Negotiations

Electricity markets are complex environments, which have been suffering continuous transformations due to the increase of renewable based generation and the introduction of new players in the system. In this context, players are forced to re-think their behavior and learn how to act in this dynamic environment in order to get as much benefit as possible from market negotiations. This paper introduces a new learning model to enable players identifying the expected prices of future bilateral agreements, as a way to improve the decision-making process in deciding the opponent players to approach for actual negotiations. The proposed model introduces a con-textual dimension in the well-known Q-Learning algorithm, and includes a simulated annealing process to accelerate the convergence process. The proposed model is integrated in a multi-agent decision support system for electricity market players negotiations, enabling the experimentation of results using real data from the Iberian electricity market.This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under project DOMINOES (grant agreement No 771066) and from FEDER Funds through COMPETE program and from National Funds through FCT under the project UID/EEA/00760/2019.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Comparative analysis of the top six and bottom six teams’ corner kick strategies in the 2015/2016 English Premier League

This study compared the corner kick strategies employed by the top six and bottom six teams across 120 matches of the 2015/2016 English Premier League Season. In total, 2,303 corner kicks were examined by univariate analyses individual χ2 and bivariate analyses with contingency tables (χ2 and association measures). Top six teams favoured an outswinging delivery, whilst the bottom six teams favoured inswinging deliveries (p < 0.001). Top six teams operated a dynamic attacking organisation during ball deliveries, (p < 0.001), whereas the bottom six operated static and dynamic attacking strategies in equal measure. Top six teams took corner kicks frequently when winning or drawing, whereas bottom six teams took most corner kicks when losing or drawing (match status, p < 0.001). Bivariate analyses identified that goals were scored from corner kicks when attacking organisation was dynamic, two defenders were on the posts and the score line was level (p < 0.05). Results supplement the design of practice tasks that afford successful corner kicks in training and game play scenarios

Interpreting physical performance in professional soccer match-play: Should we be more pragmatic in our approach?

Academic and practitioner interest in the physical performance of male professional soccer players in the competition setting determined via time-motion analyses has grown substantially over the last four decades leading to a substantial body of published research and aiding development of a more systematic evidence-based framework for physical conditioning. Findings have forcibly shaped contemporary opinions in the sport with researchers and practitioners frequently emphasising the important role that physical performance plays in match outcomes. Time-motion analyses have also influenced practice as player conditioning programmes can be tailored according to the different physical demands identified across individual playing positions. Yet despite a more systematic approach to physical conditioning, data indicate that even at the very highest standards of competition, the contemporary player is still susceptible to transient and end-game fatigue. Over the course of this article, the author suggests that a more pragmatic approach to interpreting the current body of time-motion analysis data and its application in the practical setting is nevertheless required. Examples of this are addressed using findings in the literature to examine: a) the association between competitive physical performance and ‘success’ in professional soccer, b) current approaches to interpreting differences in time-motion analysis data across playing positions and, c) whether data can realistically be used to demonstrate the occurrence of fatigue in match-play. Gaps in the current literature and directions for future research are also identified

Efficient Behavior of Small-World Networks

We introduce the concept of efficiency of a network, measuring how efficiently it exchanges information. By using this simple measure small-world networks are seen as systems that are both globally and locally efficient. This allows to give a clear physical meaning to the concept of small-world, and also to perform a precise quantitative a nalysis of both weighted and unweighted networks. We study neural networks and man-made communication and transportation systems and we show that the underlying general principle of their construction is in fact a small-world principle of high efficiency.Comment: 1 figure, 2 tables. Revised version. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

The Effect of Nanoparticles on Amyloid Aggregation Depends on the Protein Stability and Intrinsic Aggregation Rate

Nanoparticles interfere with protein amyloid formation. Catalysis of the process may occur due to increased local protein concentration and nucleation on the nanoparticle surface, whereas tight binding or a large particle/protein surface area may lead to inhibition of protein aggregation. Here we show a clear correlation between the intrinsic protein stability and the nanoparticle effect on the aggregation rate. The results were reached for a series of five mutants of single-chain monellin differing in intrinsic stability toward denaturation, for which a correlation between protein stability and aggregation propensity has been previously documented by Szczepankiewicz et al. [Mol. Biosyst 2010 7 (2), 521-532]. The aggregation process was monitored by thioflavin T fluorescence in the absence and presence of copolyrneric nanoparticles with different hydrophobic characters. For mutants with a high intrinsic stability and low intrinsic aggregation rate, we find that amyloid fibril formation is accelerated by nanoparticles. For find the opposite-a retardation of amyloid fibril formation by nanoparticles. Moreover, both catalytic and inhibitory effects are most pronounced with the least hydrophobic nanoparticles, which have a larger surface accessibility of hydrogen-bonding groups in the polymer backbone