Search Results (6)

Measles represents a critical public health challenge due to its high transmissibility and the resurgence of outbreaks of the disease, linked to gaps in vaccination coverage. In this study, we analyze the epidemiological dynamics of the outbreak that began in Mexico in 2025 and focus on Jalisco as the epicenter during the first quarter of 2026. A descriptive, retrospective, ecological time-series analysis was conducted using official epidemiological surveillance data, correlating incidence with immunization strategies. The results reveal that 6681 cases were recorded in Jalisco, with the highest prevalence among adults aged 20 to 49 years (41.96%), which highlights the accumulated gaps in immunity coverage. The public health response, comprising the administration of three million doses, focusing on zero-dose children and vaccination blockades, contributed to a notable decrease in infections by epidemiological week 17 of 2026. It was concluded that the outbreak was controlled through intensive and coordinated intervention. However, the proximity of the 2026 International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup requires vaccination coverage to be maintained at over 95%, in addition to vigilance, to mitigate the risk of viral reintroduction and to safeguard global health security. Full article

Surface orientation can influence the aerodynamic response of modern soccer balls, particularly in the drag crisis regime. This study quantified the orientation-dependent aerodynamic characteristics of the FIFA World Cup match ball Trionda using a single specimen and examined how these differences affect simulated flight at sea level and 1500 m altitude. Two reproducible reference orientations were defined: a red-panel-centered orientation (Series A) and a seam-junction-centered orientation (Series B). Each reference orientation was rotated by 0°, 90°, and 180°, resulting in six fixed-orientation conditions. Wind tunnel measurements were repeated three times per condition to obtain drag, lift, and side-force coefficients, and two-dimensional non-spinning flight simulations were performed for representative long-kick and free-kick conditions. All six orientations exhibited drag crisis behavior, but the transition response magnitude, subcritical drag level, and supercritical drag state differed among conditions. The representative transition region occurred at approximately Re = 2.0 × 10⁵ to 2.5 × 10⁵. Among the tested conditions, B-90 showed the lowest full-range mean drag coefficient (0.231), whereas A-90 showed the highest (0.266). In the simulations, lower drag orientations consistently produced longer flight ranges, and the B-90 > A-90 ordering was preserved across representative launch conditions and the expanded parametric comparison. These findings indicate that the aerodynamic response of Trionda cannot be represented adequately by a single mean drag coefficient and that surface orientation should be considered in aerodynamic characterization and flight prediction. Full article

Forecasting outcomes in high-stakes competitive spectacles like the Olympic Games, World Cups, and professional league championships has grown increasingly vital, directly impacting strategic planning, resource allocation, and performance optimization across a multitude of fields. However, accurate forecasting remains challenging due to complex, nonlinear interactions inherent in high-dimensional time-series data, further complicated by socioeconomic indicators, historical influences, and host-country advantages. In this study, we propose a comprehensive forecasting framework integrating structured time-series modeling with ensemble learning. We extract key structural features via two novel indices: the Advantage Index (measuring a competitor’s dominance in specific areas) and the Herfindahl Index (quantifying performance outcome concentration). We also evaluate host-country advantage using a Difference-in-Differences (DiD) approach. Leveraging these insights, we develop a dual-branch predictive model combining an Attention-augmented Long Short-Term Memory (Attention-LSTM) network and a Random Forest classifier. Attention-LSTM captures long-term dependencies and dynamic patterns in structured temporal data, while Random Forest handles predictions for unrecognized contenders, addressing zero-inflation issues. Extensive stability and comparative analyses demonstrate that our model outperforms traditional and state-of-the-art methods, exhibiting strong resilience to input perturbations, consistent performance across multiple runs, and appropriate sensitivity to key features. Our key contributions include the development of a novel integrated forecasting framework, the introduction of two innovative structural indices for competitive dynamics analysis, and the demonstration of robust predictive performance that bridges technical innovation with practical strategic application. Finally, we transform our modeling insights into actionable strategic insights. This translation is powered by interpretable feature importance rankings and stability analysis that rigorously validate the robustness of key predictors. These insights apply across multiple dimensions—encompassing advantage assessment, resource distribution, strategic simulation, and breakthrough potential identification—providing comprehensive decision support for strategic planners and policymakers navigating competitive environments. Full article

(1) Background: This case study analyzed the successful performances of female gymnasts in the finals of the 39th and 40th World Cup in Maribor (SLO). The aim was to identify variations in their execution of the Clear Hip Circle to Handstand (CHCH) on uneven bars based on kinematic parameters. (2) Methods: This study involved elite female gymnasts from the 39th (n = 5, age: 17 ± 6 months) and 40th (n = 8, age: 17.5 ± 6 months) World Cups, totaling 13 gymnasts. Kinematic analysis was performed on 15 successful routines using the Ariel Performance Analysis System (Ariel Dynamics Inc., San Diego, CA). The analysis focused on 16 anthropometric reference points and 8 body segments, including the body mass center of gravity (CG). The main reference points analyzed were the hip joint, the shoulder joint, and the CG along the xy-axes. Trajectory, velocity, angle, and angular velocity of the hips and shoulders were calculated. Pearson correlation analysis was employed to assess the relationships between the kinematic variables. (3) Results: High intercorrelations between the reference points along the xy-axes (0.81–0.99) and optimal movement velocity were found. Dispersed results were observed for kinematic parameters of angle (0.10–0.16) and angular velocity of the hip joints (0.60–1.00), with similar dispersions for shoulder joints (0.51–1.00). Three distinct techniques were identified: (1) stretched body with minimal hip joint flexion throughout; (2) extended body with a short, quick hip joint extension during shoulder movement; and (3) hyperextension in the hip joint. (4) Conclusions: The kinematic analysis revealed three different performance styles of the CHCH among finalists. These variations in technique do not affect the success of the performance. This research contributes to a better understanding of the technique but does not prefer one style over another. Full article

The capacity of laboratory tests to predict competition performance has been broadly researched across several endurance sports. The aim of the present study was to analyse how pool swimming performance can predict the result of the swimming segment in triathlon competitions and compare predictability differences based on competition level and distance. Eighteen male triathletes participated in the study. Three were ranked world-class, ten elite/international level, and five highly trained/national level. A total of sixty-one graded multi-stage swimming tests were conducted. Blood lactate was measured to calculate the following hypothetical predictor variables: speed at lactate threshold 1 (LT1), speed at lactate threshold 2 (LT2), and speed in the last repetition of the test (S_L200). The following data were collected for a total of 75 races: time in the swimming leg (TSL); position after the swimming leg (PSL); time difference with the first triathlete after the swimming leg (DFT); and final race position. The race levels were divided according to participant levels as follows: world series (WS) (n = 22); World Cup (WC) (n = 22); Continental Cup (CC) (n = 19); national championship (N) (n = 5); and local race (L) (n = 5). Based on distance, they were divided into Olympic distance (OD) (n = 37) and sprint distance (SD) (n = 38). A moderate to strong positive association was found between LT1, LT2, S_L200 and PSL and TSl at all race levels except for the SD CC, SD WC, and OD CC races, where no or weak-to-moderate correlations were found. The present study demonstrated that performance measured in a graded multi-stage pool lactate test can predict performance in a triathlon swimming segment. This finding is highly useful for coaches as it can help them to obtain a reliable measure of the triathlete’s specific capabilities in the swimming leg. Full article

There is a controversy about potentially positive or negative effects of caffeine consumption on onset and disease progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s Disease (HD). On the molecular level, the psychoactive drug caffeine targets in particular adenosine receptors (AR) as a nonselective antagonist. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical effects of caffeine consumption in patients suffering from premanifest and motor-manifest HD. Data of the global observational study ENROLL-HD were used, in order to analyze the course of HD regarding symptoms onset, motor, functional, cognitive and psychiatric parameters, using cross-sectional and longitudinal data of up to three years. We split premanifest and manifest participants into two subgroups: consumers of >3 cups of caffeine (coffee, cola or black tea) per day (>375 mL) vs. subjects without caffeine consumption. Data were analyzed using ANCOVA-analyses for cross-sectional and repeated measures analysis of variance for longitudinal parameters in IBM SPSS Statistics V.28. Within n = 21,045 participants, we identified n = 1901 premanifest and n = 4072 manifest HD patients consuming >3 cups of caffeine/day vs. n = 841 premanifest and n = 2243 manifest subjects without consumption. Manifest HD patients consuming >3 cups exhibited a significantly better performance in a series of neuropsychological tests. They also showed at the median a later onset of symptoms (all p < 0.001), and, during follow-up, less motor, functional and cognitive impairments in the majority of tests (all p < 0.050). In contrast, there were no beneficial caffeine-related effects on neuropsychological performance in premanifest HD mutation carriers. They showed even worse cognitive performances in stroop color naming (SCNT) and stroop color reading (SWRT) tests (all p < 0.050) and revealed more anxiety, depression and irritability subscores in comparison to premanifest participants without caffeine consumption. Similarly, higher self-reported anxiety and irritability were observed in genotype negative/control group high dose caffeine drinkers, associated with a slightly better performance in some cognitive tasks (all p < 0.050). The analysis of the impact of caffeine consumption in the largest real-world cohort of HD mutation carriers revealed beneficial effects on neuropsychological performance as well as manifestation and course of disease in manifest HD patients while premanifest HD mutation carrier showed no neuropsychological improvements, but worse cognitive performances in some tasks and exhibited more severe signs of psychiatric impairment. Our data point to state-related psychomotor-stimulant effects of caffeine in HD that might be related to regulatory effects at cerebral adenosine receptors. Further studies are required to validate findings, exclude potential other unknown biasing factors such as physical activity, pharmacological interventions, gender differences or chronic habitual influences and test for dosage related effects. Full article