Ground travel-induced impairment of wellness is associated with fitness and travel distance in young soccer players

The aims of this study were to 1) investigate the influence of ground travel on wellness measures, and 2) examine the possible influence of travel distance and fitness on the magnitude of these possible changes. Compared with home matches, wellness measures showed moderate-to-large impairments of wellness of soccer players for away matches the day prior to the match (D-1) (range; +5 to 68%, [90%CL 1-88]; standardized difference: range; +.6 to +1.75 [.1-2.07]) and small-to-large impairments the day of the match (D-0, range; +7 to +68.1 [-1.6-87.5]; standardized difference, range; +.24 to 1.78, [-.06-2.15]), respectively. There were large and very large negative relationships between the increases of fatigue (r = -.84, 90%CL -.95; -.56) or soreness (at D-1 r = -.80, -.93; -.84) and players’ fitness. There were also very large positive correlations between actual wellness measures and traveling distance to away locations (r range; .70 to .87). Ground travel-induced impairment of wellness is associated with fitness and distance of away locations in young soccer players. Simple wellness questionnaires could be used to effectively monitor young soccer players’ freshness and readiness to train or compete during away games

Cardinality restrictions on concepts

The concept description formalisms of existing terminological systems allow the user to express local cardinality restrictions on the fillers of a particular role. It is not possible, however, to introduce global restrictions on the number of instances of a given concept. The paper argues that such cardinality restrictions on concepts are of importance in applications such as configuration of technical systems, an application domain of terminological systems that is currently gaining in interest. It shows that including such restrictions into the description language leaves the important inference problems such as instance testing decidable. The algorithm combines and simplifies the ideas developed for the treatment of qualifying number restrictions and of general terminological axioms

Constructive problem solving : a model construction approach towards configuration

In this paper we give a formalisation of configuration as the task to construct for a given specification, which is understood as a finite set of logical formulas, a model that satisfies the specification. In this approach, a specification consists of two parts. One part describes the domain, the possible components, and their interdependencies. The other part specifies the particular object that is to be configured. The language that is used to represent knowledge about configuration problems integrates three sublanguages that allow one to express constraints, to build up taxonomies, and to define rules. We give a sound calculus by which one can compute solutions to configuration problems if they exist and that allows one to recognize that a specification is inconsistent. In particular, the calculus can be used in order to check whether a given configuration satisfies the specification

Utjecaj datuma rođenja na vrijeme provedeno u igri tijekom međunarodnih rukometnih natjecanja s obzirom na igračku poziciju

While a relative age effect (RAE) has been reported in handball, such analyses do not consider the actual playing time during competitions, which may actually have more impact on matches performance in matches. The objective of the present study was to examine the RAE on playing time during international competitions with respect to playing positions. Team compositions (477 players) of the quarter finalists of the 2012 Olympic Games, 2013 World Championships, and 2014 European Championship were analyzed. Month and year of birth where collected in the starting list of each team for center, left and right backs, left and right wings, goalkeepers and pivots. Players were categorized into birth quartile (Q1 Jan–Mar; Q2 Apr–Jun; Q3 Jul–Sep; and Q4 Oct–Dec) and as odd/even year. Playing times were retrieved from official statistics. Data were analyzed for practical significance using magnitude-based inferences. We observed a strong selection bias towards players born earlier within a two-year selection period for all playing positions (Chi-square, p<.001). There was, however, an inconsistent effect of age (i.e. expected, reversed or a lack of) on actual playing time during competitions. In conclusion, the present study showed for the first time that, despite its large effect on players’ selection, players’ relative age had a limited and position-dependent effect on their actual playing time during top-level competitions. Present findings suggest that the reasons supporting the relative age effect with respect to team selection are at odds with the current utilization of players by coaches in the field.Iako je utjecaj relativne dobi igrača potvrđen u rukometu, takve analize ne uzimaju u obzir stvarno vrijeme provedeno u igri tijekom natjecanja, a što može snažnije utjecati na uspješnost tijekom utakmice. Cilj je ovog istraživanja bio utvrditi utjecaj relativne dobi igrača na vrijeme igranja tijekom međunarodnih natjecanja s obzirom na igračku poziciju. Analizirane su postave nacionalnih selekcija (477 igrača) koje su igrale četvrtinu finala na Olimpijskim igrama 2012. godine, Svjetskom prvenstvu 2013. te Europskom prvenstvu 2014. godine. Informacije o mjesecu i godini rođenja za srednje, lijeve i desne vanjske igrače, lijeva i desna krila, vratare i kružne napadače prikupljeni su iz službenih startnih popisa svake momčadi. Igrači su podijeljeni u kvartile definirane prema datumu rođenja (Q1 – siječanj do ožujak, Q2 – travanj do lipanj, Q3 – srpanj do rujan i Q4 – listopad do prosinac) te prema tomu jesu li rođeni u parnoj ili neparnoj godini. Vrijeme provedeno u igri za svakog igrača dobiveno je iz službenih statistika. Veličina učinka analizirana je u odnosu na minimalnu značajnu praktičnu vrijednost. Uočili smo snažnu selekcijsku pristranost prema igračima koji su rođeni ranije unutar dvogodišnjeg selekcijskog perioda za sve igračke pozicije (χ2, p<0,001). Ipak, utvrđen je i nekonzistentan utjecaj dobi (tj. očekivan, suprotan ili izostanak utjecaja) na stvarno vrijeme igranja tijekom natjecanja. Zaključno, ovo je istraživanje prvi put pokazalo da, usprkos velikom utjecaju na selekciju igrača, relativna dob igrača ima ograničen te o pozicijama ovisan utjecaj na stvarno vrijeme igranja igrača tijekom velikih natjecanja. Rezultati pokazuju da su razlozi za podržavanje utjecaja relativne dobi igrača u kontekstu selekcije igrača u ekipu u suprotnosti s trenerovim stvarnim korištenjem igrača

Subsumption between queries to object-oriented databases

Most work on query optimization in relational and object-oriented databases has concentrated on tuning algebraic expressions and the physical access to the database contents. The attention to semantic query optimization, however, has been restricted due to its inherent complexity. We take a second look at semantic query optimization in object-oriented databases and find that reasoning techniques for concept languages developed in Artificial Intelligence apply to this problem because concept languages have been tailored for efficiency and their semantics is compatible with class and query definitions in object-oriented databases. We propose a query optimizer that recognizes subset relationships between a query and a view (a simpler query whose answer is stored) in polynomial time

Klassische Kommunikations- und Koordinationsmodelle

Bei der Betrachtung von Multi-Agenten-Systemen (MAS) als Teilbereich der Verteilten Künstlichen Intelligenz treten Probleme zutage, die der klassischen Informatik nicht unbekannt sind. Im folgenden werden bekannte klassische Verfahren zur Kommunikation und Koordination in Verteilten Systemen wie sie in Verteilten Betriebssystemen, in Verteilten Programmiersprachen und in Verteilten Datenbanksystemen zur Anwendung kommen, vorgestellt. Die Verwendbarkeit dieser Methoden im Rahmen der Aufgabenstellung des Projektes AKA-MOD wird allgemein untersucht und am Beispiel eines dort verwendeten Szenarios von Transportunternehmen, des sog. Speditions-Szenarios, veranschaulicht

A refined architecture for terminological systems : terminology = schema + views

Traditionally, the core of a Terminological Knowledge Representation System (TKRS) consists of a TBox, where concepts are introduced, and an ABox, where facts about individuals are stated in terms of concept memberships. This design has a drawback because in most applications the TBox has to meet two functions at a time: On the one hand - similarly to a database schema - frame-like structures with type information are introduced through primitive concepts and primitive roles; on the other hand, views on the objects in the knowledge base are provided through defined concepts. We propose to account for this conceptual separation by partitioning the TBox into two components for primitive and defined concepts, which we call the schema and the view part.We envision the two parts to differ with respect to the language for concepts, the statements allowed, and the semantics. We argue that this separation achieves more conceptual clarity about the role of primitive and defined concepts and the semantics of terminological cycles. Three case studies show the computational benefits to be gained from the refined architecture

Moderate recovery unnecessary to sustain high stroke volume during interval training. A brief report

It has been suggested that the time spent at a high stroke volume (SV) is important for improving maximal cardiac function. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of recovery intensity on cardiovascular parameters during a typical high-intensity interval training (HIIT) session in fourteen well-trained cyclists. Oxygen consumption (VO), heart rate (HR), SV, cardiac output (Qc), and oxygenation of vastus lateralis (TSI) were measured during a HIIT (3×3-min work period, 2 min of recovery) session on two occasions. VO2, HR and Qc were largely higher during moderate-intensity (60%) compared with low-intensity (30%) (VO, effect size; ES = +2.6; HR, ES = +2.8; Qc, ES = +2.2) and passive (HR, ES = +2.2; Qc, ES = +1.7) recovery. By contrast, there was no clear difference in SV between the three recovery conditions, with the SV during the two active recovery periods not being substantially different than during exercise (60%, ES = -0.1; 30%, ES = -0.2). To conclude, moderateintensity recovery may not be required to maintain a high SV during HIIT