Pacing profiles and tactical behaviors of elite runners

The pacing behaviors used by elite athletes differ among individual sports,necessitating the study of sport-specific pacing profiles.Additionally,pacing behaviors adopted by elite runners differ depending on race distance.An“all-out”strategy,characterized by initial rapid acceleration and reduction in speed in the later stages,is observed during 100 m and 200 m events;400 m runners also display positive pacing patterns,which is characterized by a reduction in speed throughout the race.Similarly,800 m runners typically adopt a positive pacing strategy during paced“meet”races.However,during championship races,depending on the tactical approaches used by dominant athletes,pacing can be either positive or negative(characterized by an increase in speed throughout).A U-shaped pacing strategy(characterized by a faster start and end than during the middle part of the race)is evident during world record performances at meet races in 1500 m,5000 m,and 10,000 m events.Although a parabolic J-shaped pacing profile(in which the start is faster than the middle part of the race but is slower than the endspurt)can be observed during championship 1500 m races,a negative pacing strategy with microvariations of pace is adopted by 5000 m and 10,000 m runners in championship races.Major cross country and marathon championship races are characterized by a positive pacing strategy;whereas a U-shaped pacing strategy,which is the result of a fast endspurt,is adopted by 3000 m steeplechasers and half marathoners.In contrast,recent world record marathon performances have been characterized by even pacing,which emphasizes the differences between championship and meet races at distances longer than 800 m.Studies reviewed suggest further recommendations for athletes.Throughout the whole race,800 m runners should avoid running wide on the bends.In turn,during major championship events,1500 m,5000 m,and 10,000 m runners should try to run close to the inside of the track as much as possible during the decisive stages of the race when the speed is high.Staying within the leading positions during the last lap is recommended to optimize finishing position during 1500 m and 5000 m major championship races.Athletes with more modest aims than winning a medal at major championships are advised to adopt a realistic pace during the initial stages of long-distance races and stay within a pack of runners.Coaches of elite athletes should take into account the observed difference in pacing profiles adopted in meet races vs.those used in championship races:fast times achieved during races with the help of one or more pacemakers are not necessarily replicated in winner-takes-all championship races,where pace varies substantially.Although existing studies examining pacing characteristics in elite runners through an observational approach provide highly ecologically valid performance data,they provide little information regarding the underpinning mechanisms that explain the behaviors shown.Therefore,further research is needed in order to make a meaningful impact on the discipline.Researchers should design and conduct interventions that enable athletes to carefully choose strategies that are not influenced by poor decisions made by other competitors,allowing these athletes to develop more optimal and successful behaviors.

Uncovering Small RNAs in Penicillium digitatum by Transcriptome Sequencing

Small RNAs in Penicillium digitatum were identified and analyzed via transcriptome sequencing on the BGISEQ-500 platform. A total of 15 predicted miRNAs and 10718 novel siRNAs were found. Their length distribution, sequence, predicted construction, base bias, expression levels and potential targets were determined as well. Through pathway and KEGG enrichment analysis, the miRNA target genes were mostly involved in carbohydrate metabolism, transport and catabolism, translation and amino acid metabolism. The target genes involved in aflatoxin biosynthesis and proteasome had a higher rich factor value. The results will provide a theoretical foundation for understanding the developmental and pathogenic mechanisms of P. digitatum at the transcriptional level.

A Quantum Spatial Graph Convolutional Network for Text Classification

The data generated from non-Euclidean domains and its graphical representation(with complex-relationship object interdependence)applications has observed an exponential growth.The sophistication of graph data has posed consequential obstacles to the existing machine learning algorithms.In this study,we have considered a revamped version of a semi-supervised learning algorithm for graph-structured data to address the issue of expanding deep learning approaches to represent the graph data.Additionally,the quantum information theory has been applied through Graph Neural Networks(GNNs)to generate Riemannian metrics in closed-form of several graph layers.In further,to pre-process the adjacency matrix of graphs,a new formulation is established to incorporate high order proximities.The proposed scheme has shown outstanding improvements to overcome the deficiencies in Graph Convolutional Network(GCN),particularly,the information loss and imprecise information representation with acceptable computational overhead.Moreover,the proposed Quantum Graph Convolutional Network(QGCN)has significantly strengthened the GCN on semi-supervised node classification tasks.In parallel,it expands the generalization process with a significant difference by making small random perturbations
G of the graph during the training process.The evaluation results are provided on three benchmark datasets,including Citeseer,Cora,and PubMed,that distinctly delineate the superiority of the proposed model in terms of computational accuracy against state-of-the-art GCN and three other methods based on the same algorithms in the existing literature.

Understanding the Outcomes of the China-England Mathematics Teacher Exchange:Observations ofa Shanghai Teacher

Highlights This study examines the China-England Mathematics Teacher Exchange program to identify and evaluate the differences in Chinese approach to mathematics education.There are numerous differences in terms of national mathematics curricula,organization of mathematics teaching,and evaluation objectives and methods due to different educational and learningcultures.China has made great achievements in mathematics education and student academic performance but has much to learn from England.

Transcriptional and post‑transcriptional regulation of RNAi‑related gene expression during plant‑virus interactions

As sessile organisms,plants encounter diverse invasions from pathogens including viruses.To survive and thrive,plants have evolved multilayered defense mechanisms to combat virus infection.RNAi,also known as RNA silencing,is an across-kingdom innate immunity and gene regulatory machinery.Molecular framework and crucial roles of RNAi in antiviral defense have been well-characterized.However,it is largely unknown that how RNAi is transcriptionally regulated to initiate,maintain and enhance cellular silencing under normal or stress conditions.Recently,insights into the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of RNAi-related genes in different physiological processes have been emerging.In this review,we integrate these new findings to provide updated views on how plants modulate RNAi machinery at the(post-)transcriptional level to respond to virus infection.

Multigene editing via CRISPR/Cas9 guided by a single-sgRNA seed in Arabidopsis

We report that a solo single-guide RNA （sgRNA） seed is capable of guiding Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats （CRISPR）/CRISPR -associated 9 （CRISRP/Casg） to simultaneously edit multiple genes AtRPL10A, AtRPL10B and AtRPL10C in Arabidopsis. Our results also demonstrate that it is possible to use CRISPR/Cas9 technology to create AtRPLlo triple mutants which otherwise cannot be generated by conventional genetic crossing. Compared to other conventional multiplex CRISPR/Cas systems, a single sgRNA seed has the advantage of reducing off-target gene-editing. Such a gene editing system might be also applicable to modify other homologous genes, or even less-homologous sequences for multiple gene-editing in plants and other organisms.

Comparative WGBS identifies genes that influence non-ripe phenotype in tomato epimutant Colourless non-ripening

Whole-genome bisulfite sequencing(WGBS)allows single-base resolution and genome-wide profiling of DNA methylation in plants and animals.This technology provides a powerful tool to identify genes that are potentially controlled by dynamic changes of DNA methylation and demethylation.However,naturally occurring epimutants are rare and genes under epigenetic regulation as well as their biological relevances are often difficult to define.In tomato,fruit development and ripening are a complex process that involves epigenetic control.We have taken the advantage of the tomato epimutant Colourless non-ripening(Cnr)and performed comparative mining of the WGBS datasets for the Cnr and Sl CMT3-silenced Cnr fruits.We compared DNA methylation profiles for the promoter sequences of approximately 5,000 bp immediately upstream of the coding region of a list of20 genes.Differentially methylated regions were found for some of these genes.Virus-induced gene silencing(VIGS)of differentially methylated gene Sl DET1 or Sl PDS resulted in unusual brown pigmentation in Cnr fruits.These results suggest that comparative WGBS coupled with VIGS can be used to identify genes that may contribute to the colourless unripe phenotype of fruit in the Cnr epimutant.