The expected number of olympic medals: a case study of team Portugal at Tokyo 2020

The 2020 Summer Olympic Games reached to an end in Tokyo, Japan. Even though all the hiccups, constraints, and challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Games were successfully held in August 2021. For the first time in history, Team Portugal won four medals (one gold, one silver, and two bronzes). In 2018 the Portuguese Olympic Committee signed a contract with the Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth (i.e., Portuguese government) listing the deliverables of the mission Tokyo 2020 against a funding scheme of 18.5 million euros (Contrato n.º 33-A/2018; Contrato -Programa de Desenvolvimento Desportivo n.º CP/1/DDF/2018). The document sets, among other goals and deliverables, that no less than two medals would be won at Tokyo 2020 (section IV.1. of the contract). On the road to Tokyo, Portugal got more than two medallists at World Championships in several Olympic sports. Indeed, there were six to eight potential medallists at the 2020 Olympic Games (O Jogo, 2021). There is evidence that just one-third to one-fourth of the Olympic athletes are able to excel and outperform at the Olympic Games. In the sport of competitive swimming, just 29.82% of all male Olympians and 53.84% of the finalists at Rio 2016 improved their entry times (Barbosa, 2016a). On average, only 30% of the swimmers were able to improve their entry time at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games (Barbosa, 2016b). At Rio 2016, Team Portugal was expected to win two medals out of nine potential medallists, i.e., almost 25% of effectiveness (Garcia, 2016). Thus, one can wonder if the Portuguese Olympic Committee was sensible, assuming that two athletes would reach the podium spot out of six to eight potential medallists. Also, it begs the question if the four medals won were an outstanding achievement, deemed as a substantial improvement of the Portuguese sports system or, if alternatively, the Portuguese Olympic Committee underestimated the number of medals that the country could win.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Places of interchange in the northeast corridor transportation system

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. Thesis. 1965. M.Arch.Includes bibliographies.Jerry Gibson ... [et al.].v.1. Places of interchange in the northeast corridor transportation system by Jerry Gibson, Harold A. Hanen, Ronald D. Lindgren, Asghar T. Minai, Thomas J. Rosengren, and Ralph H. Tolbert, Jr.--v.2. Case studies of interchanges.--A. A place of interchange in a new metropolitan sub-center, by Jerry Gibson.--B. A place of interchange in a new metropolitan sub-center, by Harold A. Hanen.--C. A place of interchange in central Boston, by Ronald D. Lindgren.--D. A prototype place of interchange in a metropolitan center, by Asghar T. Minai.--E. The place of interchange in the central core of Boston, by Thomas J. Rosengren.--F. A prototype place of interchange of an above-ground inner loop of the regional HSGT network, by Ralph H. Tolbert, Jr.M.Arch

Asymptotic Expansions for Stationary Distributions of Perturbed Semi-Markov Processes

New algorithms for computing of asymptotic expansions for stationary distributions of nonlinearly perturbed semi-Markov processes are presented. The algorithms are based on special techniques of sequential phase space reduction, which can be applied to processes with asymptotically coupled and uncoupled finite phase spaces.Comment: 83 page

Novel sequence variations in LAMA2 andSGCG genes modulating cis-acting regulatory elements and RNA secondary structure

In this study, we detected new sequence variations in LAMA2 and SGCG genes in 5 ethnic populations, and analysed their effect on enhancer composition and mRNA structure. PCR amplification and DNA sequencing were performed and followed by bioinformatics analyses using ESEfinder as well as MFOLD software. We found 3 novel sequence variations in the LAMA2 (c.3174+22_23insAT and c.6085 +12delA) and SGCG (c. * 102A/C) genes. These variations were present in 210 tested healthy controls from Tunisian, Moroccan, Algerian, Lebanese and French populations suggesting that they represent novel polymorphisms within LAMA2 and SGCG genes sequences. ESEfinder showed that the c. * 102A/C substitution created a new exon splicing enhancer in the 3'UTR of SGCG genes, whereas the c.6085 +12delA deletion was situated in the base pairing region between LAMA2 mRNA and the U1snRNA spliceosomal components. The RNA structure analyses showed that both variations modulated RNA secondary structure. Our results are suggestive of correlations between mRNA folding and the recruitment of spliceosomal components mediating splicing, including SR proteins. The contribution of common sequence variations to mRNA structural and functional diversity will contribute to a better study of gene expression

Rhaponticum acaule (L) DC essential oil: chemical composition, in vitro antioxidant and enzyme inhibition properties

Background: α-glucosidase is a therapeutic target for diabetes mellitus (DM) and α-glucosidase inhibitors play a vital role in the treatments for the disease. Furthermore, xanthine oxidase (XO) is a key enzyme that catalyzes hypoxanthine and xanthine to uric acid which at high levels can lead to hyperuricemia which is an important cause of gout. Pancreatic lipase (PL) secreted into the duodenum plays a key role in the digestion and absorption of fats. For its importance in lipid digestion, PL represents an attractive target for obesity prevention. Methods: The flowers essential oil of Rhaponticum acaule (L) DC (R. acaule) was characterized using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antioxidant activities of R. acaule essential oil (RaEO) were also determined using 2,2’-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), reducing power, phosphomolybdenum, and DNA nicking assays. The inhibitory power of RaEO against α-glucosidase, xanthine oxidase and pancreatic lipase was evaluated. Enzyme kinetic studies using Michaelis-Menten and the derived Lineweaver-Burk (LB) plots were performed to understand the possible mechanism of inhibition exercised by the components of this essential oil. Results: The result revealed the presence of 26 compounds (97.4%). The main constituents include germacrene D (49.2%), methyl eugenol (8.3%), (E)-β-ionone (6.2%), β-caryophyllene (5.7%), (E,E)-α-farnesene (4.2%), bicyclogermacrene (4.1%) and (Z)-α-bisabolene (3.7%). The kinetic inhibition study showed that the essential oil demonstrated a strong α-glucosidase inhibiton and it was a mixed inhibitor. On the other hand, our results evidenced that this oil exhibited important xanthine oxidase inhibitory effect, behaving as a non-competitive inhibitor. The essential oil inhibited the turkey pancreatic lipase, with maximum inhibition of 80% achieved at 2 mg/mL. Furthermore, the inhibition of turkey pancreatic lipase by RaEO was an irreversible one. Conclusion: The results revealed that the RaEO is a new promising potential source of antioxidant compounds, endowed with good practical applications for human health. Keywords: α-glucosidase, Antioxidant activity, Chemical composition, Pancreatic lipase inhibition, Rhaponticum acaule essential oil, Xanthine oxidase

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century