Make work fun again

The way corporations arrange jobs and treat people risks stifling creativity and entrepreneurship, writes Pim de Morre

Annulment Proceedings for Fraud—Sufficiency of Proof—How to Prove Refusal to Have Sexual Intercourse

De Baillet-Latour v. De Baillet-Latour, 301 N. Y. 428, 94 N. E. 2d 715 (1950)

Preceding Race Efforts Affect Pacing and Short-Track Speed Skating Performance

Purpose: To examine whether preceding high-intensity race efforts in a competitive weekend affected pacing behaviour and performance in elite short-track speed skaters. Methods: Finishing and intermediate lap times were gathered from 500, 1000 and 1500 m Short Track Speed Skating World Cups during the seasons 2011-2016. The effect of preceding races on pacing behaviour and performance was explored using two studies. Study I: the effect of competing in extra races due to the Repechage (Rep) system, leading to an increased number of high-intensity race efforts prior to the subsequent main tournament race, was explored (500m: N=32, 1000m: N=34; 1500m: N=47). Study II: the performance of skaters over the tournament days was evaluated (500m: N=129, 1000m: N=54; 1500m: N=114). For both analytic approaches, a two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to assess differences in pacing and performance within the skater over the races. Results: An additional number of preceding high-intensity race efforts due to the Rep system reduced the qualification percentage in the first main tournament race for the next stage of competition in all events (500m: Direct qualification=57.3%, Rep=25.0%; 1000m: Direct=44.2%, Rep=28.3%; 1500m: Direct=27.1%, Rep=18.2%), and led to a decreased pace in the initial two laps of the 500m event. In contrast, Tournament day (Saturday vs Sunday) only affected the pacing behaviour of female skaters during the 1500m event. Conclusion: High-intensity race efforts earlier on the day affected pacing and performance of elite skaters, while the effect of high-intensity race efforts from the previous day seem to be only marginal

Regulation of adult stem cell quiescence and its functions in the maintenance of tissue integrity.

Adult stem cells are important for mammalian tissues, where they act as a cell reserve that supports normal tissue turnover and can mount a regenerative response following acute injuries. Quiescent stem cells are well established in certain tissues, such as skeletal muscle, brain, and bone marrow. The quiescent state is actively controlled and is essential for long-term maintenance of stem cell pools. In this Review, we discuss the importance of maintaining a functional pool of quiescent adult stem cells, including haematopoietic stem cells, skeletal muscle stem cells, neural stem cells, hair follicle stem cells, and mesenchymal stem cells such as fibro-adipogenic progenitors, to ensure tissue maintenance and repair. We discuss the molecular mechanisms that regulate the entry into, maintenance of, and exit from the quiescent state in mice. Recent studies revealed that quiescent stem cells have a discordance between RNA and protein levels, indicating the importance of post-transcriptional mechanisms, such as alternative polyadenylation, alternative splicing, and translation repression, in the control of stem cell quiescence. Understanding how these mechanisms guide stem cell function during homeostasis and regeneration has important implications for regenerative medicine

The role of sense of effort on self-selected cycling power output

PURPOSE: We explored the effects of the sense of effort and accompanying perceptions of peripheral discomfort on self-selected cycle power output under two different inspired O2 fractions. METHODS: On separate days, eight trained males cycled for 5 min at a constant subjective effort (sense of effort of '3' on a modified Borg CR10 scale), immediately followed by five 4-s progressive submaximal (sense of effort of "4, 5, 6, 7, and 8"; 40 s between bouts) and two 4-s maximal (sense of effort of "10"; 3 min between bouts) bouts under normoxia (NM: fraction of inspired O2 [FiO2] 0.21) and hypoxia (HY: [FiO2] 0.13). Physiological (Heart Rate, arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) and quadriceps Root Mean Square (RMS) electromyographical activity) and perceptual responses (overall peripheral discomfort, difficulty breathing and limb discomfort) were recorded. RESULTS: Power output and normalized quadriceps RMS activity were not different between conditions during any exercise bout (p > 0.05) and remained unchanged across time during the constant-effort cycling. SpO2 was lower, while heart rate and ratings of perceived difficulty breathing were higher under HY, compared to NM, at all time points (p < 0.05). During the constant-effort cycling, heart rate, overall perceived discomfort, difficulty breathing and limb discomfort increased with time (all p < 0.05). All variables (except SpO2) increased along with sense of effort during the brief progressive cycling bouts (all p < 0.05). During the two maximal cycling bouts, ratings of overall peripheral discomfort displayed an interaction between time and condition with ratings higher in the second bout under HY vs. NM conditions. CONCLUSION: During self-selected, constant-effort and brief progressive, sub-maximal, and maximal cycling bouts, mechanical work is regulated in parallel to the sense of effort, independently from peripheral sensations of discomfort