The Effect of a Congested Season on the Match Activity of Professional Football Players

The effect of fixture congestion in football has been researched extensively over the years. There have only been studies over congested fixture periods, none have investigated a whole fixture congested season. This is primarily due to there not being a pandemic that has affected the football season before as it did the 2020/21 season. To our knowledge there has not been a study to investigate the effect of COVID-19 and the subsequent fixture congestion that was caused the following season after that. Thus, the purpose of this study is to ascertain whether there has been an effect on the activity of professional football players due to the 2020/21 congested season. The study included 65 players from a team in the English Football League One over three seasons that met a specific involvement criterion. This study used a data analysis method to look at three different periods of this season and compare those same periods with a counterpart from previous seasons, using the metrics provided by the Global Positioning System (GPS) data. The metrics to be looked at include high speed distance (HSD) and total distance (TD). As a whole season across all three periods there was no significant differences for TD or HSD between 2020/21 and 2019/20 season (P = 0.88 and P = 0.28, respectively). However, mean TD and HSD from 2020/21 (24784 ± 10111; 2055 ± 905, respectively) were only slightly higher than those of 2019/20 (24280 ± 11860; 1885 ± 890, respectively) in both instances. In conclusion, this current study has shown that there was no effect for TD and HSD, this is in line with previous research, but more research is needed on the topic

WHO global research priorities for antimicrobial resistance in human health

The WHO research agenda for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in human health has identified 40 research priorities to be addressed by the year 2030. These priorities focus on bacterial and fungal pathogens of crucial importance in addressing AMR, including drug-resistant pathogens causing tuberculosis. These research priorities encompass the entire people-centred journey, covering prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of antimicrobial-resistant infections, in addition to addressing the overarching knowledge gaps in AMR epidemiology, burden and drivers, policies and regulations, and awareness and education. The research priorities were identified through a multistage process, starting with a comprehensive scoping review of knowledge gaps, with expert inputs gathered through a survey and open call. The priority setting involved a rigorous modified Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative approach, ensuring global representation and applicability of the findings. The ultimate goal of this research agenda is to encourage research and investment in the generation of evidence to better understand AMR dynamics and facilitate policy translation for reducing the burden and consequences of AMR

Probability density fittings of corrosion test-data: Implications on C6H15NO3 effectiveness on concrete steel-rebar corrosion

In this study, corrosion test-data of steel-rebar in concrete were subjected to the fittings of the Normal, Gumbel and the Weibull probability distribution functions. This was done to investigate the suitability of the results of the fitted test-data, by these distributions, for modelling the effectiveness of C6H15NO3, triethanolamine (TEA), admixtures on the corrosion of steel-rebar in concrete in NaCl and in H2SO4 test-media. For this, six different concentrations of TEA were admixed in replicates of steel-reinforced concrete samples which were immersed in the saline/marine and the microbial/industrial simulating test-environments for seventy-five days. From these, distribution fittings of the non-destructive electrochemical measurements were subjected to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov goodness-of-fit statistics and to the analyses of variance modelling for studying test-data compatibility to the fittings and testing significance. Although all fittings of test-data followed similar trends of significant testing, the fittings of the corrosion rate test data followed the Weibull more than the Normal and the Gumbel distribution fittings, thus supporting use of the Weibull fittings for modelling effectiveness. The effectiveness models on rebar corrosion, based on these, identified 0.083% TEA with optimal inhibition efficiency, η = 72.17± 10.68%, in NaCl medium while 0.667% TEA was the only admixture with positive effectiveness, η = 56.45±15.85%, in H2SO4 medium. These results bear implications on the concentrations of TEA for effective corrosion protection of concrete steel-rebar in saline/marine and in industrial/microbial environments. © 2014 Indian Academy of Sciences