Neuromuscular control and running economy is preserved in elite international triathletes after cycling

Running is the most important discipline for Olympic triathlon success. However, cycling impairs running muscle recruitment and performance in some highly trained triathletes; though it is not known if this occurs in elite international triathletes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of cycling in two different protocols on running economy and neuromuscular control in elite international triathletes. Muscle recruitment and sagittal plane joint angles of the left lower extremity and running economy were compared between control (no preceding cycle) and transition (preceded by cycling) runs for two different cycle protocols (20-minute low-intensity and 50-minute high-intensity cycles) in seven elite international triathletes. Muscle recruitment and joint angles were not different between control and transition runs for either cycle protocols. Running economy was also not different between control and transition runs for the ow-intensity (62.4 ^ 4.5 vs. 62.1 ^ 4.0 ml/min/kg, p . 0.05) and high-intensity (63.4 ^ 3.5 vs. 63.3 ^ 4.3 ml/min/kg, p . 0.05) cycle protocols. The results of this study demonstrate that both low- and high-intensity cycles do not adversely influence neuromuscular control and running economy in elite international triathletes.

Change in running kinematics after cycling are related to alterations in running economy in triathletes

Emerging evidence suggests that cycling may influence neuromuscular control during subsequent running but the relationship between altered neuromuscular control and run performance in triathletes is not well understood. The aim of this study was to determine if a 45 min high-intensity cycle influences lower limb movement and muscle recruitment during running and whether changes in limb movement or muscle recruitment are associated with changes in running economy (RE) after cycling. RE, muscle activity (surface electromyography) and limb movement (sagittal plane kinematics) were compared between a control run (no preceding cycle) and a run performed after a 45 min high-intensity cycle in 15 moderately trained triathletes. Muscle recruitment and kinematics during running after cycling were altered in 7 of 15 (46%) triathletes. Changes in kinematics at the knee and ankle were significantly associated with the change in VO₂ after cycling (p < 0.05). The change in ankle angle at foot contact alone explained 67.1% of the variance in VO₂. These findings suggest that cycling does influence limb movement and muscle recruitment in some triathletes and that changes in kinematics, especially at the ankle, are closely related to alterations in running economy after cycling.

Neuromuscular adaptations to training, injury and passive interventions: implications for running economy

Performance in endurance sports such as running, cycling and triathlon has long been investigated from a physiological perspective. A strong relationship between running economy and distance running performance is well established in the literature. From this established base, improvements in running economy have traditionally been achieved through endurance training. More recently, research has demonstrated short-term resistance and plyometric training has resulted in enhanced running economy. This improvement in running economy has been hypothesized to be a result of enhanced neuromuscular characteristics such as improved muscle power development and more efficient use of stored elastic energy during running. Changes in indirect measures of neuromuscular control (i.e. stance phase contact times, maximal forward jumps) have been used to support this hypothesis. These results suggest that neuromuscular adaptations in response to training (i.e. neuromuscular learning effects) are an important contributor to enhancements in running economy. However, there is no direct evidence to suggest that these adaptations translate into more efficient muscle recruitment patterns during running. Optimization of training and run performance may be facilitated through direct investigation of muscle recruitment patterns before and after training interventions.

There is emerging evidence that demonstrates neuromuscular adaptations during running and cycling vary with training status. Highly trained runners and cyclists display more refined patterns of muscle recruitment than their novice counterparts. In contrast, interference with motor learning and neuromuscular adaptation may occur as a result of ongoing multidiscipline training (e.g. triathlon). In the sport of triathlon, impairments in running economy are frequently observed after cycling. This impairment is related mainly to physiological stress, but an alteration in lower limb muscle coordination during running after cycling has also been observed. Muscle activity during running after cycling has yet to be fully investigated, and to date, the effect of alterations in muscle coordination on running economy is largely unknown. Stretching, which is another mode of training, may induce acute neuromuscular effects but does not appear to alter running economy.

There are also factors other than training structure that may influence running economy and neuromuscular adaptations. For example, passive interventions such as shoes and in-shoe orthoses, as well as the presence of musculoskeletal injury, may be considered important modulators of neuromuscular control and run performance. Alterations in muscle activity and running economy have been reported with different shoes and in-shoe orthoses; however, these changes appear to be subject-specific and nonsystematic. Musculoskeletal injury has been associated with modifications in lower limb neuromuscular control, which may persist well after an athlete has returned to activity. The influence of changes in neuromuscular control as a result of injury on running economy has yet to be examined thoroughly, and should be considered in future experimental design and training analysis.

A global knowledge economy? Biopolitical strategies in India and the European Union

This article critiques the notion of a cross-national convergence of institutional and policy responses to science-based technologies. The continued significance of institutional legacies is demonstrated through a comparative analysis of strategies for the biopharma industry in two radically different settings: India and the European Union (EU). Tensions are evident in both the EU ‘high’ route and the mixed strategy pursued in India. State promotion of biopharma is seen in India as a pathway to economic development, framed by a vision of India as a global power. Here, the ‘low’ route of cost advantages is combined with a ‘global’ rhetoric of innovation, modeled on US experience, and uneven forays into advanced R&D. The pursuit of product innovation was reinforced by India’s adoption of TRIPS-mandated intellectual property rights. In the EU, the aim is an integrated policy and regulatory approach to sustain and legitimize European integration, with the ultimate intent of overtaking the USA.

Case Study from Australia Post : towards the online economy with netPOS

Examines how the "old economy" of the traditional postal service has changed over time and how Australia Post is adapting to the many pressures that threaten its existence. With increasing adoption of e-mail as a means of communication, increased competition as a result of deregulation, and the strain of servicing a country with huge distances between inhabited locations and low population density, Australia Post needed to find a solution that would ensure the long-term viability of its business. The retail sector, with its 4,000-plus post office outlets, processed many different types of across-the-counter financial transactions, including banking transactions and utility payments. A project team was established to address the fundamental issue of how to structure the IT infrastructure to enable retail outlets to generate future revenue flows for Post. However, having established the Internet-based infrastructure to connect the extensive chain of retail outlets, the question was whether this new infrastructure would successfully entice third parties to buy into the model.

Outsourcing the risks : alcohol licensing, risk and the making of the night time economy

Mariana Valverde argues that in the late twentieth century, the British state contracted out the prevention of disorder and monitoring of risks produced by widespread alcohol use to the private sector through the process of liquor licensing. This paper will argue that this scenario was duplicated in Victoria at the same time. It will do so by an analysis of four government-instigated inquiries into liquor licensing regimes from 1965 to 1998. The inquiries were distinguished by the subtly different emphases in their terms of reference. In 1965, the Phillips Royal Commission was directed to inquire into the best ways of dealing with the problems alcohol produced and how best to regulate it for the benefit of the population as a whole. By the time the Nieuwenhuysen Report was commissioned in 1985, the emphasis had changed, and he was directed to inquire how best to serve the interests of alcohol consumers and to produce the licensing regulatory regime which would enable the construction of a 24-hour city. Any anomalies that still existed in the revised Act were eliminated in the 1998 review which was instigated as a direct response to the National Competition Policy. A consequence of these changes over 30 years was the development of particular risk groups, such as ‘binge-drinking young people’, whose violence and nuisance must be controlled to enable all other ‘reasonable’ and ‘moderate’ drinkers be allowed to keep drinking. Thus the notion of risk had been redefined and the responsibility for dealing with these risks had been directed from the state to individual licensees and individual drinkers.

ID scanners in the Australian night-time economy

The recent introduction of ID scanners into the night time economy in many Australian cities is fertile ground for exploring a range of themes related to technology and society. There are questions about the scanners' contribution to increased surveillance, the interface between private and public forms of surveillance, the capacity for data ahsring, concerns about the protection of privacy and the capacity or utility of existing theoretical models dealing with human surveillance, harm prevention, individual freedoms, and the role of technology in promoting social order.