How can the usage of data analytics help football clubs create a competitive advantage: a research on Liverpool football club

Given the huge complexity of the sport, clubs need to seek for contemporary approaches to the usage of data to improve the club’s overall performance. The purpose of this thesis is to understand how data science is shaping the decision-making of football clubs and how can clubs leverage on the power of data to gain a competitive edge in an extremely challenging industry. Further analysis on Liverpool F.C. suggests that indeed data analytics had an impact in its successful stride for silverware, with notorious improvements both sportingly and financially, however this might have been influenced by other factors

A relação entre estado e mercado na perspectiva do desenvolvimento econômico: uma análise a aprtir das características do processo de reformas da China

XX Encontro Nacional de Economia Política: desenvolvimento Latino-Americano, Integração e Inserção Internacional - UNILA, Foz do Iguaçu, 26 a 29 de maio de 2015O trabalho busca, através de uma análise histórica, descrever o processo de transformação da economia chinesa nas últimas décadas. Tendo em vista as particularidades da sua trajetória de crescimento, destaca-se a interação particular entre Estado e Mercado em sua economia centralizada, bem como a crescente preocupação com o progresso técnico e inserção nas cadeias globais de valor. Conclui- se que, ainda que seja um caso de sucesso em muitos aspectos, a replicação da estratégia do país é inviável quando se está ciente dos diferentes aspectos institucionais, históricos, políticos e econômicos que moldaram a sua trajetória no tempo. Alguns insights do seu processo de crescimento, no entanto, podem servir de inspiração para outros países em desenvolvimentoBanco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES); Usina Hidrelétrica de Itaipu (ITAIPU); Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) e Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana (UNILA

Increased activity of a factor (“transferangiotensin”) favoring the binding of angiotensin II to arterial wall in hypertension

Increased activity of a factor (“transferangiotensin”) favoring the binding of angiotensin II to arterial wall in hypertension. A plasma protein component with an apparent mol wt of 700,000 increases angiotensin II binding by macromolecules in arterial wall extracts. Its activity is increased in several types of hypertension, most prominently in essential hypertension

Parsimonious relations between Guitar Textural Proposals

Guitar Textural Analysis is an analytical proposal devised for the composition for the guitar that exposes the relations between the textural structure and the technical procedures used in the instrumental performance. The Guitar Textural Proposals (GTPs) are the specific configurations extracted in this analytical process. In the present work, the focus remains on recognizing parsimonious movements between GTPs, that is, minimal distinctions between patterns of use of the instrument combined with respective textural configurations. Parsimoniousness is defined in the context of Developing Variation, Neo-Riemannian Theory, and Partitional Analysis. Previous works by Fabio Adour and authors Sérgio Freire and Pedro Cambraia present perspectives on the relation between texture and guitar performance. Leo Brouwer's series of progressive pieces Études Simples is adopted as a reference. The work results in a proposal for a ordered network of technical-textural configurations connected by parsimonious relations

Predicting the Outcome of Cognitive Training in Parkinson’s Disease using Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Motivation: Cognitive impairment is an important symptom of Parkinson’s Disease (PD), usually having a substantial negative impact on the quality of life of patients, families, and caregivers. Cognitive Training (CT) have been proven effective in halting the process of cognitive decline in PD. However, the efficacy of CT is unpredictable from subject to subject. Objective: Investigate the possibility of predicting the outcome of CT in PD patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment using structural and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data. Methods: Before CT, a sample of 42 PD patients underwent structural and functional MRI. Graph measures were then extracted from their structural and functional con nectomes and used as features for random forest (RFo) and decision tree (DT) machine learning (ML) regression algorithms with and without prior latent component analysis (LCA). CT response was evaluated by assessing the outcomes of the Tower of London task pre- and post-treatment. Finally, the 4 ML models were used to predict CT response and their performances were assessed. Post hoc analyses were conducted to investigate whether these algorithms could predict age using connectomic measures on a sample of 80 PD patients. Results: The performances of the aforementioned algorithms did not differ signifi cantly from the baseline performance predicting the subject-specific CT outcome. The performance of the RFo without LCA differed significantly from the baseline performance in the age prediction task for the sample of 80 patients. Conclusion: Notwithstanding the lack of statistical significance in predicting our xicognitive outcomes, the relative success of the age prediction task points towards the potential of this approach. We hypothesise that bigger sample sizes are needed in order to predict the outcome of CT using ML

KONE – NewBz2020

CEM

Behavioural patterns in allergic rhinitis medication in Europe: A study using MASK-air® real-world data

Artículo escrito por un elevado número de autores, solo se referencian el que aparece en primer lugar, el nombre del grupo de colaboración, si le hubiere, y los autores pertenecientes a la UAMBackground: Co-medication is common among patients with allergic rhinitis (AR), but its dimension and patterns are unknown. This is particularly relevant since AR is understood differently across European countries, as reflected by rhinitis-related search patterns in Google Trends. This study aims to assess AR co-medication and its regional patterns in Europe, using real-world data. Methods: We analysed 2015–2020 MASK-air® European data. We compared days under no medication, monotherapy and co-medication using the visual analogue scale (VAS) levels for overall allergic symptoms (‘VAS Global Symptoms’) and impact of AR on work. We assessed the monthly use of different medication schemes, performing separate analyses by region (defined geographically or by Google Trends patterns). We estimated the average number of different drugs reported per patient within 1 year. Results: We analysed 222,024 days (13,122 users), including 63,887 days (28.8%) under monotherapy and 38,315 (17.3%) under co-medication. The median ‘VAS Global Symptoms’ was 7 for no medication days, 14 for monotherapy and 21 for co-medication (p <.001). Medication use peaked during the spring, with similar patterns across different European regions (defined geographically or by Google Trends). Oral H1-antihistamines were the most common medication in single and co-medication. Each patient reported using an annual average of 2.7 drugs, with 80% reporting two or more. Conclusions: Allergic rhinitis medication patterns are similar across European regions. One third of treatment days involved co-medication. These findings suggest that patients treat themselves according to their symptoms (irrespective of how they understand AR) and that co-medication use is driven by symptom severityThis study was funded by ARIA. MASK-air® has been supported by EU grants (EU Structural and Development grant, POLLAR: EIT Health and Structural and Development Funds) and educational grants from Mylan-Viatris, ALK, GSK, Novartis and Uriach. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEA

Lombalgia aguda e acidentes de trabalho: caracterização dos níveis de funcionalidade e de dor

RESUMO - Introdução – A lombalgia é a principal causa de morbilidade na população mundial e em Portugal resulta num elevado número de anos vividos com incapacidade (10,7%) a nível físico e psicológico, sendo passível de afetar consideravelmente o bem-estar geral individual e a participação nas atividades laborais. Estas resultam num custo social e económico significativo que se reflete no aumento do impacto socioeconómico a nível dos cuidados de saúde e a nível dos sistemas de suporte social. Nesse sentido, torna-se imperativo compreender de que forma ocorre o processo de reabilitação da lombalgia pós acidente de trabalho no concelho da Marinha Grande, de forma a determinar a sua efetividade naquela que é a condição de saúde mais incapacitante a nível global para a população ativa. Objetivo – O objetivo deste estudo passa por verificar se ocorreram ou não melhorias a nível da funcionalidade e da dor em indivíduos com lombalgia aguda, no concelho da Marinha Grande, que se encontrem em tratamentos de fisioterapia em consequência de um acidente de trabalho e ativação do seguro correspondente. Metodologia – Este foi um estudo exploratório, realizado numa clínica da Marinha Grande com indivíduos com diagnóstico de lombalgia referenciados por seguros de acidentes de trabalho. O delineamento do estudo consistiu na caracterização dos níveis de funcionalidade e de intensidade da dor através do Rolland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) e Escala Visual Analógica (EVA) em conjugação com o levantamento de dados sociodemográficos e da perceção das exigências do trabalho, através do questionário e do preenchimento do Dutch Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Após efetuada a avaliação foi aplicado um programa de tratamentos de fisioterapia sendo que após o seu termino foram novamente avaliados os níveis de funcionalidade e da dor de forma a determinar a sua evolução. A análise dos dados foi realizada com recurso a estatística descritiva, a partir do Microsoft Office Excel para comparação com a evidência científica disponível de modo a determinar assimetrias existentes com a presente amostra. Questões organizacionais associadas ao próprio processo de SAT poderão ter criado limitações passíveis de originar barreiras a um prognóstico e evolução favoráveis dos sintomas. Resultados e Discussão – Relativamente à intensidade da dor, verificou-se que em média a maioria dos indivíduos desta amostra progrediram de uma dor média (cerca de 6,04 na EVA) para uma dor leve (cerca de 3,07 na EVA). No que diz respeito à funcionalidade, o valor médio inicial foi aproximadamente de 12,63 na RMDQ, tendo transitado no final para um valor aproximado de 7,44 na RMDQ. Detetou-se também indicadores passíveis de influenciar estes resultados clínicos, como foi o caso do Índice de Massa Corporal, hábitos tabágicos, a atividade física, o sono, o regime de horário de trabalho, a exposição à carga ao longo do dia, volume total de sessões de fisioterapia ou o tempo de espera até ao início dos tratamentos de fisioterapia Considerações Finais e Recomendações – Em suma, este estudo recomenda o desenvolvimento de novas linhas de investigação, de modo a evitar possíveis vieses de confundimento resultantes deste estudo, nomeadamente, a caracterização de fatores físicos e contextuais locais associados à atividade laboral, identificar as causas da variabilidade nos tempos de espera e a definição dos critérios utilizados para definir as altas médicas e transferências. As dimensões da Saúde Pública também deverão ser tidas em conta, sobretudo no que diz respeito ao encargo económico resultante desta problemática assim como as relações entre os prestadores externos de serviços de saúde e o Sistema/Serviço Nacional de Saúde.ABSTRACT - Background – Low back pain is the main cause for burden of disease in Portugal and worldwide. It represents a high number of years lived with disability (10,7%) both physically and psychologically, affecting considerably the individual well-being and participation in labor activities. This condition can generate a high social and economic burden that may result in an increased cost in healthcare and social services. Because of that it is necessary to understand how the rehabilitation process for low back pain occurs, specifically in Marinha Grande, in order to determine its effectiveness on the globally most incapacitant health condition on active population. Purpose – This study’s purpose is to verify if there were improvements in two main clinical indicators, functionality and pain, in people with acute low back pain that were referred by an insurance after a work accident, in Marinha Grande. Methods – This was an exploratory study, done in a clinic in Marinha Grande on people referred by insurances after a work accident with the diagnosis of acute low back pain. The design of this study consisted in the characterization of functionality and pain intensity of pain through the Rolland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) combined with the Dutch Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and a questionnaire about sociodemographic and perception of work task effort. The patients underwent a physiotherapy program with assessments being made before and after. Data analysis was made using descriptive statistics through Microsoft Office Excel, with that data being compared to current data gathered from previous scientific studies in order to find some information asymmetries. We found some limitations in this study regarding organizational problems as consequence of the work accident insurance framework that might have affected prognosis and evolution of the symptoms. Results – In pain intensity, we found that, in average, most individuals form this sample had progressed from a mild pain (close to 6,04 in VAS scale) to a light pain (close to 3,07 in VAS scale). Average functionality scores evolved from close to 12,63 in RMDQ to 7,44 in RMDQ. It was also found that some indicators might influence the prognosis and evolution of this health condition such as, Body Mass Index, tobacco, physical activity, sleep, work schedule, global daily exposure to load, total volume of physiotherapy sessions and the number of days in waiting list for physiotherapy treatments. Conclusion – To sum up, this study recommends a further analysis on these results. New studies can be made to further assess these questions and avoid possible confounding biases resulting from this study, such as, characterization of physical and local contextual factors associated to work, identification of causes that might contribute to different waiting times and definition of what criteria is used for medical discharges and transfers. Public Health dimensions should also be considered specially regarding the relationship between the National Health System and insurances and the economic burde