Resilience patterns of urban road networks under the worst-case localized disruptions

Recent events, including COVID-19, extreme floods, and explosion accidents, commonly induced localized closures and disruptions of urban road networks (URNs), resulting in significant impacts on human mobility and socio-economic activities. Existing studies on URN resilience to those events mainly took few cases for empirical studies, limiting our understanding on the URN resilience patterns across different cities. By conducting a large-scale nationwide resilience analysis of URNs in 363 cities in mainland China, this study attempts to uncover the resilience patterns of URNs against the worst-case single (SLDs) and multiple localized disruptions (MLDs). Results show that the distance from the worst-case SLD to the city center would be less than 5 km in 62.3% cities, as opposed to more than 15 km in 14.3% cities. Moreover, the average road network resilience of cities in western China could be 7% and 13% smaller than that of the eastern cities under the worst-case SLDs and MLDs, respectively. This inequality in the worst-case resilience is partly attributable to variations in urban socio-economic, infrastructure-related, and topographic factors. These findings could inspire nationwide pre-disaster mitigation strategies to cope with localized disruptions and help transfer insights for mitigation strategies against disruptive events across cities.

Relative Individual Sprint in Most Demanding Passages of Play in Spanish Professional Soccer Matches

(1) Background: The objective of this research was to analyse the most demanding passages (MDP) considering the sprint variable relative to the maximum level of sprint ability of each player as a function of player position, final outcome and part of the match during the competitive phase of a professional soccer season. (2) Methods: Global positioning system (GPS) data were collected from 22 players according to their playing position in the last 19 match days of the Spanish La Liga professional soccer in the 2020/2021 season. MDP were calculated from 80% of the maximum sprint speed of each player. (3) Results: Wide midfielders covered the greatest distance at >80% of the maximum speed (2.4 ± 1.63 seg) and the longest duration (21.91 ± 13.35 m) in their MDP. When the whole team was losing, it demonstrated greater distances (20.23 ± 13.04 m) and longer durations (2.24 ± 1.58 seg) compared to games in which it was winning. When the team ended up drawing, the relative sprint distance covered in the second half was significantly greater than in the first (16.12 ± 21.02; SD = 0.26 ± 0.28 (-0.03/-0.54). (4) Conclusions: Different demands of MDP, according to the sprint variable relative to the maximum individual capacity in competition, are required when contextual game factors are considered.

When do soccer players experience the most demanding passages of match play? A longitudinal study in a professional team

This study analysed the periods in which the most demanding passages (MDP) of play occurred during professional soccer matches, considering different criterion variables and investigating the effect that the playing position had on the MDP-of-play occurrence for each criterion variable. The MDP of play were calculated based on five criterion variables: distance covered (DIS), sprinting distance (SPD), high-metabolic load distance (HMLD), and the total of high-intensity accelerations and decelerations (ACC_HIGH and DEC_HIGH). The results showed that the first period of the match (0'-15') was the interval with the highest frequency (i.e., the greatest % of cases) in which the players achieved the MDP of play for all the variables (DIS= 38.9%; SPD= 28.4%; HMLD= 37.7%; ACC_HIGH= 54.3%; DEC_HIGH= 48.8%). The playing position had no significant effect on MDP-of-play occurrence in any variable (likelihood ratio, LR= 15.88-32.05; p > 0.05; effect size, ES= 0.01-0.04), except for the DIS covered (LR= 32.05; p= 0.04; ES= 0.05), in which the most frequent MDP for the full backs occurred within the second period of the match (15'-30'). In conclusion, the first periods of the matches usually elicited the MDP of play and these periods need to be trained to prevent injuries and optimize performance.

Assessment of Peak Physical Demands in Elite Women Soccer Players: Can Contextual Variables Play a Role?

Aim: To describe and compare the peak physical demands through the worst-case scenario method (WCS), according to different rolling average (RA) time epochs (i.e. 1 min, 3 min, and 5 min) and contextual variables in women soccer players. Methods: Using an observational-comparative study design, an elite women soccer team from the Spanish 1^st league division was monitored during 27 matches. Nine WCS-dependent variables were assessed, including total distance (TD), high-speed running distance (HSR), sprint distance (SP), acceleration, and deceleration distance at different intensities by players position (i.e., central defenders [CD], wide defenders [WD], central midfielders [CM], wide midfielders [WM], forwards [F]), match half, location, and match outcome. Results: The 1-min RA showed the lowest variability (CV = 9.8-65.8%) for all nine dependent variables. The WD presented the highest TD (168 ± 15.71 m/min). Differences between positions were observed for: CM<F (-10.19 m/min), CM<WM (-11.20 m/min), and CM<WD (-12.70 m/min). For SP: CM<F (-10.03 m/min), CM<WM (-11.91 m/min), CM<WD (-10.03 m/min), and CM<CD (-5.31 m/min). The WCS-dependent variables were also affected by match half and match outcome. Conclusions: 1-min RA time epochs allow greater accuracy and reliability to identify nine key WCS outcomes in elite women soccer players. Different contextual variables, particularly player's position, influenced the peak periods.

Agency Contracts under Maximum-Entropy

This article proposes the application of the maximum-entropy principle (MEP) to agency contracting (where a principal hires an agent to make decisions on their behalf) in situations where the principal and agent only have partial knowledge on the probability distribution of the output conditioned on the agent’s actions. The paper characterizes the second-best agency contract from a maximum entropy distribution (MED) obtained from applying the MEP to the agency situation consistently with the information available. We show that, with the minimum shared information about the output distribution for the agency relationship to take place, the second-best compensation contract is (a monotone transformation of) an increasing affine function of output. With additional information on the output distribution, the second-best optimal contracts can be more complex. The second-best contracts obtained theoretically from the MEP cover many compensation schemes observed in real agency relationships.

Not All About the Effort? A Comparison of Playing Intensities During Winning and Losing Game Quarters in Basketball

PURPOSE

To compare peak and average intensities encountered during winning and losing game quarters in basketball players.

METHODS

Eight semiprofessional male basketball players (age = 23.1 [3.8] y) were monitored during all games (N = 18) over 1 competitive season. The average intensities attained in each quarter were determined using microsensors and heart-rate monitors to derive relative values (per minute) for the following variables: PlayerLoad, frequency of high-intensity and total accelerations, decelerations, changes of direction, jumps, and total inertial movement analysis events combined, as well as modified summated-heart-rate-zones workload. The peak intensities reached in each quarter were determined using microsensors and reported as PlayerLoad per minute over 15-second, 30-second, 1-minute, 2-minute, 3-minute, 4-minute, and 5-minute sample durations. Linear mixed models and effect sizes were used to compare intensity variables between winning and losing game quarters.

RESULTS

Nonsignificant (P > .05), unclear-small differences were evident between winning and losing game quarters in all variables.

CONCLUSIONS

During winning and losing game quarters, peak and average intensities were similar. Consequently, factors other than the intensity of effort applied during games may underpin team success in individual game quarters and therefore warrant further investigation.

The Most Demanding Scenarios of Play in Basketball Competition From Elite Under-18 Teams

The main purpose of this study was to describe the most demanding scenarios of match play in basketball through a number of physical demand measures (high-intensity accelerations and decelerations, relative distance covered, and relative distance covered in established speed zones) for four different rolling average time epochs (30, 60, 180, and 300 s) during an official international tournament. A secondary purpose was to identify whether there were significant differences in physical demand measures among playing positions (centers, guards, and forwards) and levels (two best classified teams in the tournament and remaining teams), match scoring (winning, losing, and drawing), and playing periods (match quarter) at the moment of the most demanding scenarios. Data were collected from 94 male under 18 (U18) elite basketball players (age: 17.4 ± 0.7 years; stature: 199.0 ± 11.9 cm; body mass: 87.1 ± 13.1 kg) competing in a Euroleague Basketball Tournament. Measures were compared via a Bayesian inference analysis. The results revealed the presence of position-related differences [Bayesian factor (BF) > 10 (at least strong evidence) and standardized effect size (δ) > 0.6 (at least moderate)] so that centers covered a lower relative distance at speed zone 1 and had lower high-intensity accelerations and decelerations than guards. However, the Bayesian analysis did not demonstrate the existence of significant differences in any physical demand measure in relation to the playing level, match scoring, and playing periods at the moment of the most demanding scenarios. Therefore, this study provides coaches and strength and conditioning specialists with a most demanding scenario reference on physical demands that can be used as an upper limit threshold in the training and rehabilitation monitoring processes.

Efficacy of robust optimization plan with partial-arc VMAT for photon volumetric-modulated arc therapy: A phantom study

This study investigated position dependence in planning target volume (PTV)-based and robust optimization plans using full-arc and partial-arc volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). The gantry angles at the periphery, intermediate, and center CTV positions were 181°-180° (full-arc VMAT) and 181°-360° (partial-arc VMAT). A PTV-based optimization plan was defined by 5 mm margin expansion of the CTV to a PTV volume, on which the dose constraints were applied. The robust optimization plan consisted of a directly optimized dose to the CTV under a maximum-uncertainties setup of 5 mm. The prescription dose was normalized to the CTV D_99% (the minimum relative dose that covers 99% of the volume of the CTV) as an original plan. The isocenter was rigidly shifted at 1 mm intervals in the anterior-posterior (A-P), superior-inferior (S-I), and right-left (R-L) directions from the original position to the maximum-uncertainties setup of 5 mm in the original plan, yielding recalculated dose distributions. It was found that for the intermediate and center positions, the uncertainties in the D_99% doses to the CTV for all directions did not significantly differ when comparing the PTV-based and robust optimization plans (P > 0.05). For the periphery position, uncertainties in the D_99% doses to the CTV in the R-L direction for the robust optimization plan were found to be lower than those in the PTV-based optimization plan (P < 0.05). Our study demonstrated that a robust optimization plan's efficacy using partial-arc VMAT depends on the periphery CTV position.