519 research outputs found

    Motion analysis of elite Polish soccer goalkeepers throughout a season

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    The study aims were to determine the distance covered by goalkeepers during matches in the context of game duration and result, to identify the area of their most frequent activity, and to assess goalkeepers' involvement in games finished with a win, draw, or loss. The investigation was based on two innovative tools: the goalkeeper's activity index (GAI) and an analysis of 5-min periods. A video tracking system was used to monitor 17 goalkeepers from Polish National League teams during 15 matches. The GAI was applied to assess their involvement in the game. Elite goalkeepers covered 72.7%, 25.8%, and 2.5% of the distance during the game by walking/jogging, running, and sprinting, respectively. The distances covered in lost, won, and drawn matches turned out similar (mean \ub1 SD: 4800 \ub1 906 m, 4696 \ub1 1033 m, and 4660 \ub1 754 m, respectively). There were no significant differences between the distances covered in the first and second halves. The area of most frequent activity was the middle sector of the penalty area between the goal and penalty area lines. ANOVA results showed that in drawn matches, goalkeepers' activity significantly differed in mean values of the GAI in comparison with that in won and lost games (p = 0.034, p = 0.039, respectively). It was noted that goalkeepers tended to intervene more often in games where their team was winning rather than in those with a losing result. Their direct involvement in defending the goal was the lowest in drawn games

    Androgen Receptor Mutations Associated with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome: A High Content Analysis Approach Leading to Personalized Medicine

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    Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) is a rare disease associated with inactivating mutations of AR that disrupt male sexual differentiation, and cause a spectrum of phenotypic abnormalities having as a common denominator loss of reproductive viability. No established treatment exists for these conditions, however there are sporadic reports of patients (or recapitulated mutations in cell lines) that respond to administration of supraphysiologic doses (or pulses) of testosterone or synthetic ligands. Here, we utilize a novel high content analysis (HCA) approach to study AR function at the single cell level in genital skin fibroblasts (GSF). We discuss in detail findings in GSF from three historical patients with AIS, which include identification of novel mechanisms of AR malfunction, and the potential ability to utilize HCA for personalized treatment of patients affected by this condition

    Group Pregnancy Care for refugee background women: a codesigned, multimethod evaluation protocol applying a community engagement framework and an interrupted time series design.

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    IntroductionPregnancy and early parenthood are key opportunities for interaction with health services and connecting to other families at the same life stage. Public antenatal care should be accessible to all, however barriers persist for families from refugee communities to access, navigate and optimise healthcare during pregnancy. Group Pregnancy Care is an innovative model of care codesigned with a community from a refugee background and other key stakeholders in Melbourne, Australia. Group Pregnancy Care aims to provide a culturally safe and supportive environment for women to participate in antenatal care in a language they understand, to improve health literacy and promote social connections and inclusion. This paper outlines Froup Pregnancy Care and provides details of the evaluation framework.Methods and analysisThe evaluation uses community-based participatory research methods to engage stakeholders in codesign of evaluation methods. The study is being conducted across multiple sites and involves multiple phases, use of quantitative and qualitative methods, and an interrupted time series design. Process and cost-effectiveness measures will be incorporated into quality improvement cycles. Evaluation measures will be developed using codesign and participatory principles informed by community and stakeholder engagement and will be piloted prior to implementation.Ethics and disseminationEthics approvals have been provided by all six relevant authorities. Study findings will be shared with communities and stakeholders via agreed pathways including community forums, partnership meetings, conferences, policy and practice briefs and journal articles. Dissemination activities will be developed using codesign and participatory principles

    Production of deuterium, tritium, and 3^3He in central Pb+Pb collisions at 20A, 30A, 40A, 80A, and 158A GeV at the CERN SPS

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    Production of dd, tt, and 3^3He nuclei in central Pb+Pb interactions was studied at five collision energies (sNN=\sqrt{s_{NN}}= 6.3, 7.6, 8.8, 12.3, and 17.3 GeV) with the NA49 detector at the CERN SPS. Transverse momentum spectra, rapidity distributions, and particle ratios were measured. Yields are compared to predictions of statistical models. Phase-space distributions of light nuclei are discussed and compared to those of protons in the context of a coalescence approach. The coalescence parameters B2B_2 and B3B_3, as well as coalescence radii for dd and 3^3He were determined as a function of transverse mass at all energies.Comment: 22 pages, 29 figures, 8 tables, for submission to Phys. Rev.

    Phase-space dependence of particle-ratio fluctuations in Pb+Pb collisions from 20A to 158A GeV beam energy

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    A novel approach, the identity method, was used for particle identification and the study of fluctuations of particle yield ratios in Pb+Pb collisions at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS). This procedure allows to unfold the moments of the unknown multiplicity distributions of protons (p), kaons (K), pions (π\pi) and electrons (e). Using these moments the excitation function of the fluctuation measure νdyn\nu_{\text{\text{dyn}}}[A,B] was measured, with A and B denoting different particle types. The obtained energy dependence of νdyn\nu_{\text{dyn}} agrees with previously published NA49 results on the related measure σdyn\sigma_{\text{dyn}}. Moreover, νdyn\nu_{\text{dyn}} was found to depend on the phase space coverage for [K,p] and [K,π\pi] pairs. This feature most likely explains the reported differences between measurements of NA49 and those of STAR in central Au+Au collisions

    Measurement of event-by-event transverse momentum and multiplicity fluctuations using strongly intensive measures Δ[PT,N]\Delta[P_T, N] and Σ[PT,N]\Sigma[P_T, N] in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron

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    Results from the NA49 experiment at the CERN SPS are presented on event-by-event transverse momentum and multiplicity fluctuations of charged particles, produced at forward rapidities in central Pb+Pb interactions at beam momenta 20AA, 30AA, 40AA, 80AA, and 158AA GeV/c, as well as in systems of different size (p+pp+p, C+C, Si+Si, and Pb+Pb) at 158AA GeV/c. This publication extends the previous NA49 measurements of the strongly intensive measure ΦpT\Phi_{p_T} by a study of the recently proposed strongly intensive measures of fluctuations Δ[PT,N]\Delta[P_T, N] and Σ[PT,N]\Sigma[P_T, N]. In the explored kinematic region transverse momentum and multiplicity fluctuations show no significant energy dependence in the SPS energy range. However, a remarkable system size dependence is observed for both Δ[PT,N]\Delta[P_T, N] and Σ[PT,N]\Sigma[P_T, N], with the largest values measured in peripheral Pb+Pb interactions. The results are compared with NA61/SHINE measurements in p+pp+p collisions, as well as with predictions of the UrQMD and EPOS models.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures, to be submitted to PR

    System-size and centrality dependence of charged kaon and pion production in nucleus-nucleus collisions at 40A GeV and158A GeV beam energy

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    Measurements of charged pion and kaon production are presented in centrality selected Pb+Pb collisions at 40A GeV and 158A GeV beam energy as well as in semi-central C+C and Si+Si interactions at 40A GeV. Transverse mass spectra, rapidity spectra and total yields are determined as a function of centrality. The system-size and centrality dependence of relative strangeness production in nucleus-nucleus collisions at 40A GeV and 158A GeV beam energy are derived from the data presented here and published data for C+C and Si+Si collisions at 158A GeV beam energy. At both energies a steep increase with centrality is observed for small systems followed by a weak rise or even saturation for higher centralities. This behavior is compared to calculations using transport models (UrQMD and HSD), a percolation model and the core-corona approach.Comment: 32 pages, 14 figures, 4 tables, typo table II correcte

    Antideuteron and deuteron production in mid-central Pb+Pb collisions at 158AA GeV

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    Production of deuterons and antideuterons was studied by the NA49 experiment in the 23.5% most central Pb+Pb collisions at the top SPS energy of sNN\sqrt{s_{NN}}=17.3 GeV. Invariant yields for dˉ\bar{d} and dd were measured as a function of centrality in the center-of-mass rapidity range 1.2<y<0.6-1.2<y<-0.6. Results for dˉ(d)\bar{d}(d) together with previously published pˉ(p)\bar{p}(p) measurements are discussed in the context of the coalescence model. The coalescence parameters B2B_2 were deduced as a function of transverse momentum ptp_t and collision centrality.Comment: 9 figure

    Centrality dependence of proton and antiproton spectra in Pb+Pb collisions at 40A GeV and 158A GeV measured at the CERN SPS

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    The yields of (anti-)protons were measured by the NA49 Collaboration in centrality selected Pb+Pb collisions at 40A GeV and 158A GeV. Particle identification was obtained in the laboratory momentum range from 5 to 63 GeV/c by the measurement of the energy loss dE/dx in the TPC detector gas. The corresponding rapidity coverage extends 1.6 units from mid-rapidity into the forward hemisphere. Transverse mass spectra, the rapidity dependences of the average transverse mass, and rapidity density distributions were studied as a function of collision centrality. The values of the average transverse mass as well as the midrapidity yields of protons when normalized to the number of wounded nucleons show only modest centrality dependences. In contrast, the shape of the rapidity distribution changes significantly with collision centrality, especially at 40A GeV. The experimental results are compared to calculations of the HSD and UrQMD transport models.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figures, submitted to PR

    Energy dependence of kaon-to-proton ratio fluctuations in central Pb+Pb collisions from sNN\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 6.3 to 17.3 GeV

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    Kaons and protons carry large parts of two conserved quantities, strangeness and baryon number. It is argued that their correlation and thus also fluctuations are sensitive to conditions prevailing at the anticipated parton-hadron phase boundary. Fluctuations of the (K++K)/(p+pˉ)(\mathrm{K}^+ + \mathrm{K}^-)/(\mathrm{p}+\bar{\mathrm{p}}) and K+/p\mathrm{K}^+/\mathrm{p} ratios have been measured for the first time by NA49 in central Pb+Pb collisions at 5 SPS energies between sNN\sqrt{s_{NN}}= 6.3 GeV and 17.3 GeV. Both ratios exhibit a change of sign in σdyn\sigma_{\mathrm{dyn}}, a measure of non-statistical fluctuations, around sNN\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 8 GeV. Below this energy, σdyn\sigma_{\mathrm{dyn}} is positive, indicating higher fluctuation compared to a mixed event background sample, while for higher energies, σdyn\sigma_{\mathrm{dyn}} is negative, indicating correlated emission of kaons and protons. The results are compared to UrQMD calculations which which give a good description at the higher SPS energies, but fail to reproduce the transition to positive values.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
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