Impact of Spectators, League and Team Ability on Home Advantage in Professional European Basketball.

Our aim in this study was to examine the impact of fans (vs. no fans), geographical location of league, and team ability on home winning percentage (HW%) or home advantage (HA) in professional European basketball. Data were collected from five prestigious professional, national basketball leagues within Europe (Spain, Germany, Italy, Greece and Israel) across 16 regular seasons (2005-2006 to 2020-2021). We conducted comparisons between matches with and without fans, location of leagues, team ability (High, Medium, Low), and combinations of these factors via non-parametric tests (e.g., Mann-Whitney tests, Kruskal-Wallis). We found significantly greater HA during matches with fans for leagues in Germany (p = .001), Italy (p = .012) and Spain (p = .002). For matches with fans, HA and HW% were significantly different between several, but not all, leagues for high (p < .05), medium (p < .05) and low (p < .02) team abilities. In conclusion, HA and HW% were enhanced by spectator attendance, with this phenomenon varying by location/region and team ability. Consideration of these multiple contextual factors may assist coaches and sport organizations to develop key strategies for enhanced team success.

Influence of game and quarter results on external peak demands during games in under-18 years, male basketball players.

To quantify and compare the external peak demands (PD) encountered according to game result (win vs. loss), quarter result (win vs. tie vs. loss), and quarter point difference (± difference in score) in under-18 years (U18), male basketball players. Thirteen basketball players had external load variables monitored across 9 games using local positioning system technology, including distance covered, distance covered in different intensity zones, accelerations, decelerations, and PlayerLoad™. PD were calculated across 30-s, 1-min, and 5-min time windows for each variable. Linear mixed models were used to compare PD for each variable according to game result (win vs. loss), quarter result (win vs tie vs loss), and quarter point difference (high vs. low). External PD were comparable between games that were won and lost for all variables and between quarters that were won and lost for most variables (p > 0.05, trivial-small effects). In contrast, players produced higher (p < 0.05, small effects) 1-min high-speed running distance and 5-min PlayerLoadTM in quarters that were won compared to quarters that were lost. Additionally, high quarter point differences (7.51 ± 3.75 points) elicited greater (p < 0.05, small effects) external PD (30-s PlayerLoadTM, 30-s and 5-min decelerations, and 1-min and 5-min high-speed running distance) than low quarter point differences (-2.47 ± 2.67 points). External PD remain consistent (trivial-small effects) regardless of game result, quarter result, and quarter point difference in U18, male basketball players. Accordingly, external PD attained during games may not be a key indicator of team success.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on HOME Advantage in Different European Professional Basketball Leagues.

Our purpose in this study was to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on home advantage (HA) in sports by comparing European professional basketball games in which spectators were present (pre-pandemic) with "ghost" games in which spectators were absent (during the pandemic). A secondary objective was to analyze how team ability interacted with HA by comparing HA affects pre-pandemic and during the pandemic in the context of differing team ability levels. We used Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U tests to identify HA through differences in home win percentages (HW%) between pre-pandemic and pandemic games. Additionally, we ran the Kruskal-Wallis test to identify HA and HW% differences between different team ability levels (high to low). Teams had higher HA and HW% pre-pandemic than during the pandemic. In turn, low level teams presented a higher HA compared to teams at other team ability levels. Thus, low level teams benefited more from playing at their home-court. However, low level teams showed lower HW% than medium and high team ability levels, showing that team ability is more important than HA in determining game outcomes.

R2DT is a framework for predicting and visualising RNA secondary structure using templates.

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNA) are essential for all life, and their functions often depend on their secondary (2D) and tertiary structure. Despite the abundance of software for the visualisation of ncRNAs, few automatically generate consistent and recognisable 2D layouts, which makes it challenging for users to construct, compare and analyse structures. Here, we present R2DT, a method for predicting and visualising a wide range of RNA structures in standardised layouts. R2DT is based on a library of 3,647 templates representing the majority of known structured RNAs. R2DT has been applied to ncRNA sequences from the RNAcentral database and produced >13 million diagrams, creating the world's largest RNA 2D structure dataset. The software is amenable to community expansion, and is freely available at https://github.com/rnacentral/R2DT and a web server is found at https://rnacentral.org/r2dt .

Exploring Non-Coding RNAs in RNAcentral.

Non-coding RNAs are essential for all life and carry out a wide range of functions. Information about these molecules is distributed across dozens of specialized resources. RNAcentral is a database of non-coding RNA sequences that provides a unified access point to non-coding RNA annotations from >40 member databases and helps provide insight into the function of these RNAs. This article describes different ways of accessing the data, including searching the website and retrieving the data programmatically over web APIs and a public database. We also demonstrate an example Galaxy workflow for using RNAcentral for RNA-seq differential expression analysis. RNAcentral is available at https://rnacentral.org. © 2020 The Authors. Basic Protocol 1: Viewing RNAcentral sequence reports Basic Protocol 2: Using RNAcentral text search to explore ncRNA sequences Basic Protocol 3: Using RNAcentral sequence search Basic Protocol 4: Using RNAcentral FTP archive Support Protocol 1: Using web APIs for programmatic data access Support Protocol 2: Using public Postgres database to export large datasets Support Protocol 3: Analyze non-coding RNA in RNA-seq datasets using RNAcentral and Galaxy.

Delayed AICD therapy and cardiac arrest resulting from undersensing of ventricular fibrillation in a subject with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy-A case report.

Defibrillation testing is no longer routinely performed after automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (AICD) implantation. However, certain subjects undergoing AICD implantation may be at higher risk of undersensing of ventricular arrhythmias resulting in potentially fatal outcomes. We present the case of a 30-year-old woman with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM; 'asymmetric septal hypertophy' morphologic variant) and prophylactic AICD who experienced an out of hospital cardiac arrest. AICD interrogation revealed undersensing as a result of intermittent high amplitude electrograms during an episode of ventricular fibrillation (VF). The subject underwent replacement and repositioning of the AICD lead along with pulse generator replacement (that utilized a different VF sensing algorithm) with appropriate sensing of VF and successful defibrillation testing. The presence of intermittent high amplitude electrograms during episodes of VF in AICDs using the AGC function should be recognized as a situation that may necessitate interventions to prevent undersensing and consequent delay in therapy.

Device-related infection among patients with pacemakers and implantable defibrillators: incidence, risk factors, and consequences.

BACKGROUND: Device-related infection is a major limitation of device therapy for cardiac arrhythmia. METHODS: The authors analyzed the incidence and risk factors for cardiac device infection (CDI) among consecutive patients implanted with pacemaker (PM) or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) (including cardiac resynchronization therapy devices) at a tertiary health center in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Most patients with device-related infections were identified by an internal infection control system that reports any positive wound and blood cultures following surgery, between 2005 and the present. A retrospective review of patient records was also performed for all patients who received an ICD or PM between July 1, 2003 and March 20, 2007. RESULTS: A total of 24 infections were identified among 2,417 patients having device surgery (1%). Fifteen of these infections (60%) were diagnosed within 90 days of the last surgical procedure. Univariate analysis showed that patients presenting with CDI were more likely to have had a device replacement, rather than a new implant, had more complex devices (dual/triple chamber vs single), and were more likely to have had a prior lead dislodgement. Multivariate analysis found device replacement (P = 0.02) and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT)/dual-chamber devices (P = 0.048) to be independent predictors of infection. One patient developed septic pulmonary emboli after having laser-assisted lead extraction. No patient died and 22 patients received a new device. CONCLUSION: CDI occurs in about 1% of cases in high volume facilities. Pulse generator replacement surgery and dual- or triple-chamber device implantation were associated with a significantly increased risk of infection.

Narrow QRS tachycardia with long R-P.

Appropriate ECG diagnosis of a narrow complex tachycardia can be sometimes challenging. We present a case of palpitations and an electrocardiogram showing a long RP relationship. The ECG characteristics and the differential diagnosis and mechanisms documented during electrophysiology testing are discussed.