Electromyography Assessment of Muscle Recruitment Strategies During High-Intensity Exercise

Electromyography (EMG) is an experimental technique concerned with the recording and analysis of myoelectric signals. Since the EMG signal detected on the surface of the skin directly reflects the recruitment and firing characteristics of the detected motor units within an area, EMG activity can be used to study the neuromuscular activation of muscles within postural tasks, functional movements, work conditions and treatment/training regimes (Basmajian and De Luca 1985)

Should you believe in the Shanghai ranking?

This paper proposes a critical analysis of the "Academic Ranking of World Universities", published every year by the Institute of Higher Education of the Jiao Tong University in Shanghai and more commonly known as the Shanghai ranking. After having recalled how the ranking is built, we first discuss the relevance of the criteria and then analyze the proposed aggregation method. Our analysis uses tools and concepts from Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM). Our main conclusions are that the criteria that are used are not relevant, that the aggregation methodology is plagued by a number of major problems and that the whole exercise suffers from an insufficient attention paid to fundamental structuring issues. Hence, our view is that the Shanghai ranking, in spite of the media coverage it receives, does not qualify as a useful and pertinent tool to discuss the "quality" of academic institutions, let alone to guide the choice of students and family or to promote reforms of higher education systems. We outline the type of work that should be undertaken to oer sound alternatives to the Shanghai ranking.Shanghai ranking; multiple criteria decision analysis; evaluation models; higher education.

Fatigue and Recovery from Dynamic Contractions in Men and Women Differ for Arm and Leg Muscles

Introduction: Whether there is a gender difference in fatigue and recovery from maximal velocity fatiguing contractions and across muscles is not understood. Methods: Sixteen men and 19 women performed 90 isotonic contractions at maximal voluntary shortening velocity (maximal velocity concentric contractions, MVCC) with the elbow flexor and knee extensor muscles (separate days) at a load equivalent to 20% maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC). Results: Power (from MVCCs) decreased similarly for men and women for both muscles (P \u3e 0.05). Men and women had similar declines in MVIC of elbow flexors, but men had greater reductions in knee extensor MVIC force and MVIC electromyogram activity than women (P \u3c 0.05). The decline in MVIC and power was greater, and force recovery was slower for the elbow flexors compared with knee extensors. Conclusions: The gender difference in muscle fatigue often observed during isometric tasks was diminished during fast dynamic contractions for upper and lower limb muscles

Durée de la récupération et puissance maximale anaérobie au cours de la journée

Effects of recovery duration (2-3 s, 15 s, 30 s, 1 min, and 2 min) and time of day (9 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m.) on sprint performance were studied in 9 subjects using a cycle ergometer. The peak power (Ppeak) and the total work performed (W) were determined from changes in instantaneous power, taking into account the inertia of the flywheel. A decrease in Ppeak and W was observed after 15 s and 2-3 s recovery (p < 0.001). A logarithmic relationship (y = 3.92 ln x + 81.5; r = 0.82; n = 9) was found between Ppeak (%Ppeak of the first sprint) and the duration of the recovery (half-time = 14.3 s; SD = 7.6). Data indicated that there was no significant effect of time of day on Ppeak and W, regardless of the duration of recovery. The recovery processes occurred in a very short time and did not seem to be affected by biological rhythms

: An MCDM view

43 pagesInternational audienceThis paper proposes a critical analysis of the "Academic Ranking of World Universities", published every year by the Institute of Higher Education of the Jiao Tong University in Shanghai and more commonly known as the Shanghai ranking. After having recalled how the ranking is built, we first discuss the relevance of the criteria and then analyze the proposed aggregation method. Our analysis uses tools and concepts from Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM). Our main conclusions are that the criteria that are used are not relevant, that the aggregation methodology is plagued by a number of major problems and that the whole exercise suffers from an insufficient attention paid to fundamental structuring issues. Hence, our view is that the Shanghai ranking, in spite of the media coverage it receives, does not qualify as a useful and pertinent tool to discuss the "quality" of academic institutions, let alone to guide the choice of students and family or to promote reforms of higher education systems. We outline the type of work that should be undertaken to oer sound alternatives to the Shanghai ranking

Performance Kinetics During Repeated Sprints Is Influenced by Knowledge of Task Endpoint and Associated Peripheral Fatigue

International Journal of Exercise Science 16(1): 987-998, 2023. The regulation of exercise intensity allows an athlete to perform an exercise in the fastest possible time while avoiding debilitating neuromuscular fatigue development. This phenomenon is less studied during intermittent activities. To investigate anticipatory and real-time regulation of motor output and neuromuscular fatigue during repeated-sprint exercise, twelve males randomly performed one (S1), two (S2), four (S4) and six (S6) sets of five 5-s cycling sprints. Mechanical work and electromyographic activity were assessed during sprints. Potentiated quadriceps twitch force (ΔQtw,pot) and central activation ratio (QCAR) were quantified from response to supra-maximal magnetic femoral nerve stimulation pre- vs post-exercise. Compared with S1, mechanical work developed in the first sprint and in the entire first set was reduced in S6 (–7.8% and –5.1%, respectively, P \u3c 0.05). Work developed in the last set was similar in S4 and S6 (P = 0.82). Similar results were observed for EMG activity. The QCAR was also more reduced in S4 (–5.8%, P \u3c 0.05) and S6 (–8.3%, P \u3c 0.05) than in S1. However, ΔQtw,pot was not significantly different across all trials (–33.1% to –41.9%, P = 0.46). Perceived exhaustion increased across sprints to reach a maximal and similar level in S2, S4 and S6 (all 19.2, P \u3c 0.01 vs S1). These results suggest that the regulation of performance, exerted at the beginning and continuously during repeated sprints, is based on the task endpoint, presumably to avoid excessive peripheral muscle and associated conscious overwhelming sensations

Should you believe in the Shanghai ranking? An MCDM view

This paper proposes a critical analysis of the "Academic Ranking ofWorld Universities", published every year by the Institute of Higher Education of the Jiao Tong University in Shanghai and more commonly known as the Shanghai ranking. After having recalled how the ranking is built, we first discuss the relevance of the criteria and then analyze the proposed aggregation method. Our analysis uses tools and concepts from Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM). Our main conclusions are that the criteria that are used are not relevant, that the aggregation methodology is plagued by a number of major problems and that the whole exercise suffers from an insufficient attention paid to fundamental structuring issues. Hence, our view is that the Shanghai ranking, in spite of the media coverage it receives, does not qualify as a useful and pertinent tool to discuss the "quality" of academic institutions, let alone to guide the choice of students and family or to promote reforms of higher education systems. We outline the type of work that should be undertaken to offer sound alternatives to the Shanghai ranking

The Respiratory System during Intermittent-Sprint Work: Respiratory Muscle Work and the Critical Distribution of Oxygen

In healthy individuals at rest and while performing moderate-intensity exercise, systemic blood flow is distributed to tissues relative to their metabolic oxygen demands. During sustained high-intensity exercise, competition for oxygen delivery arises between locomotor and respiratory muscles, and the heightened metabolic work of breathing, therefore, contributes to limited skeletal muscle oxygenation and contractility. Intriguingly, this does not appear to be the case for intermittent-sprint work. This chapter presents new evidence, based on inspiratory muscle mechanical loading and hypoxic gas breathing, to support that the respiratory system of healthy men is capable of accommodating the oxygen needs of both locomotor and respiratory muscles when work is interspersed with short recovery periods. Only when moderate hypoxemia is induced, substantial oxygen competition arises in favour of the respiratory muscles. These findings extend our understanding of the relationship between mechanical and metabolic limits of varied exercise modes