The influence of the phases of match-play on the physical, technical and tactical profiles of professional Australian football

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Health.Australian Football is a team sport involving periods of ball possession, contested play (where both teams compete for possession) and stoppages of varying durations. The physical element of the game is characterised by intermittent high-speed running along with frequent collisions, tackles and changes of direction. Players also require technical skill qualities depending on specific scenarios arising during match-play along with tactical strategies designed by coaching staff that consider various contextual factors to maximise the likelihood of success. Performance is dependent on the interaction of these constructs which are closely associated to the phases of match-play. Accordingly, this thesis comprises of four progressive studies that investigated the influence of the phases of match-play on the physical, technical and tactical profiles of professional Australian Football. Study One described the mean duration and frequencies of the phases of Australian Football match-play. Six operational definitions were created for offence, defence, contested play, umpire stoppages, set shots and goal resets. This study examined the coding methodology central to the three subsequent studies. A test-retest design assessed the precision of coding the phases of play. There were ~500 changes in the phases of play per Australian Football match, highlighting the intermittent nature of match-play. The intra-coder reliability assessment demonstrated that a trained researcher can code the phases of play with high precision. These findings permitted the use of these phases of match-play for the proceeding studies. Study Two analysed the distribution of physical and technical performance during the phases of Australian Football match-play. The physical and technical demands varied significantly depending on the phase of match-play. Additionally, average and ‘worst-case scenario’ activity and recovery cycles provided practical information for coaches to design match-specific training. Study Three examined the influence of player position and game quarter on running during the phases of match-play. Nomadic and key position players shared similar match-running profiles during the phases of play, however, nomadic players performed higher volumes and intensity of movement. The data demonstrated that reductions in match intensity occur during active periods of match-play, but not during stoppages. These findings have applications for informing training practices for different positions and suggest that metabolic power estimates may be useful for analysing specific elements of competition where spatial constraints limit opportunities for high-speed running. Study Four examined differences in physical and technical performance measures during the phases of match-play whilst considering contextual factors including quarter success, calibre of opposition and playing away from home. The contested element of match-play increased when the quarter was lost and when competing against high calibre opposition. The findings have applications for informing training practices to increase the likelihood of match success and mitigate the effects of playing against high calibre opposition and away from home. Collectively, the series of studies showed that the phases of match-play contribute to the intense nature of competition and should be considered when interpreting match profiles. The physical and technical demands of the phases of match-play are also influenced by player position, match-induced fatigue, match success, opposition calibre and match location

Physiological and biochemical changes with exercise

Abstract Not Provided

State tagging for improved Earth and environmental data quality assurance

Environmental data allows us to monitor the constantly changing environment that we live in. It allows us to study trends and helps us to develop better models to describe processes in our environment and they, in turn, can provide information to improve management practices. To ensure that the data are reliable for analysis and interpretation, they must undergo quality assurance procedures. Such procedures generally include standard operating procedures during sampling and laboratory measurement (if applicable), as well as data validation upon entry to databases. The latter usually involves compliance (i.e., format) and conformity (i.e., value) checks that are most likely to be in the form of single parameter range tests. Such tests take no consideration of the system state at which each measurement is made, and provide the user with little contextual information on the probable cause for a measurement to be flagged out of range. We propose the use of data science techniques to tag each measurement with an identified system state. The term “state” here is defined loosely and they are identified using k-means clustering, an unsupervised machine learning method. The meaning of the states is open to specialist interpretation. Once the states are identified, state-dependent prediction intervals can be calculated for each observational variable. This approach provides the user with more contextual information to resolve out-of-range flags and derive prediction intervals for observational variables that considers the changes in system states. The users can then apply further analysis and filtering as they see fit. We illustrate our approach with two well-established long-term monitoring datasets in the UK: moth and butterfly data from the UK Environmental Change Network (ECN), and the UK CEH Cumbrian Lakes monitoring scheme. Our work contributes to the ongoing development of a better data science framework that allows researchers and other stakeholders to find and use the data they need more readily

Vergleich der Abgangsgründe von Milchkühen auf 30 Schweizer Milchviehbetrieben mit kurzer versus langer Nutzungsdauer

Wir vergleichen Abgangsraten und Abgangsgründe von Milchviehbetrieben mit kurzer durchschnittlicher Nutzungsdauer versus Betriebe mit langer Nutzungsdauer. Betriebe mit langer Nutzungsdauer verzeichneten vor allem weniger Abgänge aufgrund von Fruchtbarkeits und Euterproblemen

Impact of Aeolus wind lidar observations on the representation of the West African monsoon circulation in the ECMWF and DWD forecasting systems

Aeolus is the first satellite mission to acquire vertical profiles of horizontal line-of-sight winds globally and thus fills an important gap in the Global Observing System, most notably in the Tropics. This study explores the impact of this dataset on analyses and forecasts from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), focusing specifically on the West African Monsoon (WAM) circulation during the boreal summers of 2019 and 2020. The WAM is notoriously challenging to forecast and is characterized by prominent and robust large-scale circulation features such as the African Easterly Jet North (AEJ-North) and Tropical Easterly Jet (TEJ). Assimilating Aeolus generally improves the prediction of zonal winds in both forecasting systems, especially for lead times above 24 h. These improvements are related to systematic differences in the representation of the two jets, with the AEJ-North weakened at its southern flank in the western Sahel in the ECMWF analysis, while no obvious systematic differences are seen in the DWD analysis. In addition, the TEJ core is weakened in the ECMWF analysis and strengthened on its southern edge in the DWD analysis. The regions where the influence of Aeolus on the analysis is greatest correspond to the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) region for ECMWF and generally the upper troposphere for DWD. In addition, we show the presence of an altitude- and orbit-dependent bias in the Rayleigh-clear channel, which causes the zonal winds to speed up and slow down diurnally. Applying a temperature-dependent bias correction to this channel contributes to a more accurate representation of the diurnal cycle and improved prediction of the WAM winds. These improvements are encouraging for future investigations of the influence of Aeolus data on African Easterly Waves and associated Mesoscale Convective Systems

Experimentally engineered mutations in a ubiquitin hydrolase, UBP-1, modulate in vivo susceptibility to artemisinin and chloroquine in Plasmodium berghei

As resistance to artemisinins (current frontline drugs in malaria treatment) emerges in south East Asia, there is an urgent need to identify the genetic determinants and understand the molecular mechanisms underpinning such resistance. Such insights could lead to prospective interventions to contain resistance and prevent the eventual spread to other malaria endemic regions. Artemisinin reduced susceptibility in South East Asia (SEA) has been primarily linked to mutations in P. falciparum Kelch-13, which is currently widely recognised as a molecular marker of artemisinin resistance. However, 2 mutations in a ubiquitin hydrolase, UBP-1, have been previously associated with artemisinin reduced susceptibility in a rodent model of malaria and some cases of UBP-1 mutation variants associating with artemisinin treatment failure have been reported in Africa and SEA. In this study, we have employed CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing and pre-emptive drug pressures to test these artemisinin susceptibility associated mutations in UBP-1 in P. berghei sensitive lines in vivo. Using these approaches, we have shown that the V2721F UBP-1 mutation results in reduced artemisinin susceptibility, while the V2752F mutation results in resistance to chloroquine and moderately impacts tolerance to artemisinins. Genetic reversal of the V2752F mutation restored chloroquine sensitivity in these mutant lines while simultaneous introduction of both mutations could not be achieved and appears to be lethal. Interestingly, these mutations carry a detrimental growth defect, which would possibly explain their lack of expansion in natural infection settings. Our work has provided independent experimental evidence on the role of UBP-1 in modulating parasite responses to artemisinin and chloroquine under in vivo conditions

Systemische Promotoren und Barrieren für eine Verlängerung der Nutzungsdauer von Milchkühen in der Schweiz

Schweizer Milchkühe werden in oft in jungen Alter ersetzt, was wirtschaftlich und ökologisch ineffizient ist. Interviews zeigen, dass Zuchtentscheidungen oft zu frühen Remontierungen führen. Es braucht einen Systemwechsel und Entscheidungshilfen, die den Bedürfnissen der Landwirte entsprechen