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\"In the search for explanations for three of the most pressing crises of the early twenty-first century (the housing meltdown and financial crisis, the Gulf oil spill, and the nuclear disaster at Fukushima), commentators pointed to the structure of the regulatory agencies charged with overseeing the associated industries, noting that the need to balance competing regulatory and non-regulatory missions undermined each agency's ability to be an effective regulator. Christopher Carrigan challenges this critique by employing a diverse set of research methods, including a statistical analysis, an in-depth case study of US regulatory oversight of offshore oil and gas development leading up to the Gulf oil spill, and a formal theoretical discussion, to systematically evaluate the benefits and concerns associated with either combining or separating regulatory and non-regulatory missions. His analysis demonstrates for policymakers and scholars why assigning competing non-regulatory missions to regulatory agencies can still be better than separating them in some cases\"-- Provided by publisher.

Background Negative energy balance (EB) is common during military operations, diminishing body mass and physical performance. However, the magnitude of negative EB where performance would still be maintained is not well defined. Objective Our objective was to explore relationships between EB and physical performance during military operations and define an acceptable negative EB threshold where performance may be maintained. Methods A systematic search was performed for studies that measured EB and physical performance during military training. A total of 632 articles and technical reports were screened. Lower-body power and strength were the most common performance tests across investigations and were used as physical performance outcomes. Data were extracted from nine eligible studies containing 15 independent subgroups. Meta-regression assessed changes in performance in relation to study duration (days), average daily EB, and total EB (daily EB × duration). Results Changes in physical performance were not associated with average daily EB or training duration. Total EB was associated with changes in lower-body power ( r 2  = 0.764, P  < 0.001) and strength ( r 2  = 0.836, P  < 0.001) independently and combined ( r 2  = 0.454, P  = 0.002). Predictive equations generated from the meta-regression indicated that, for a zero to small (2%) decline in performance, total EB should be limited to − 5686 to − 19,109 kcal, for an entire operation, whereas total EB of − 39,243 to − 59,377 kcal will result in moderate (7%) to large (10%) declines in performance. Conclusion These data demonstrated that greater total negative EB is associated with declines in lower-body performance during military operations.

Erythropoietin (EPO) administration stimulates haematological and non‐haematological adaptations that alter substrate oxidation and enhance aerobic performance. The effects of strenuous exercise and EPO on metabolites, and whether any effect is associated with haematological and non‐haematological adaptations, has not been assessed. The objective of this study was to examine changes in serum and skeletal muscle metabolomes and explore whether changes were associated with haematological and non‐haematological adaptations to strenuous exercise and EPO. Eight males (20 ± 3 years, 25 ± 3 kg/m2) completed this longitudinal study. Participants received 50 IU/kg body mass of EPO, 3×/week for 28 days, while exercise (energy expenditure of 1200–1500 kcals/day) and diet were controlled. Before (PRE) and after (POST) EPO, V̇O2peak ${{\\dot{V}}_{{{\\mathrm{O}}}_2}{\\mathrm{peak}}}$ , time trial (TT) performance, blood volume, iron homeostasis, and untargeted metabolomics profiles in rested/fasted muscle and serum were assessed. Weighted gene correlation network analysis (WGCNA) was used to identify plasticity of metabolite networks (POST/PRE) correlated with change in V̇O2peak ${{\\dot{V}}_{{{\\mathrm{O}}}_2}{\\mathrm{peak}}}$ , TT performance, blood volume and iron homeostasis. Four serum and 51 muscle metabolites were different (P ≤ 0.05, false discovery rate ≤ 0.10) at POST compared to PRE. Of the WGCNA networks identified, two serum modules were associated with aerobic performance (P = 0.05), while five skeletal muscle modules were associated with both aerobic performance and iron outcomes (P = 0.05). Changes to the serum and skeletal muscle metabolomes indicate altered carnitine, β‐alanine and glucose metabolism metabolites, likely depicting a shift to greater fat oxidation, buffering capacity and the alteration in iron homeostasis following 28 days of EPO administration and strenuous exercise. What is the central question of this study? What changes in serum and skeletal muscle metabolomes occur and are they associated with haematological and non‐haematological adaptations to strenuous exercise and exogenous erythropoietin (EPO) administration? What is the main finding and its importance? The skeletal muscle metabolome was more sensitive to 4 weeks of strenuous exercise and exogenous EPO administration than serum, and changes in carnitine, β‐alanine and glucose metabolism metabolites likely depict a shift to greater fat oxidation, buffering capacity and the alteration in iron homeostasis following 28 days of exogenous EPO administration and strenuous exercise training.

Background To achieve ideal strength/power to mass ratio, athletes may attempt to lower body mass through reductions in fat mass (FM), while maintaining or increasing fat-free mass (FFM) by manipulating their training regimens and diets. Emerging evidence suggests that consumption of high-fat, ketogenic diets (KD) may be advantageous for reducing body mass and FM, while retaining FFM. Methods A systematic review of the literature was conducted using PubMed and Cochrane Library databases to compare the effects of KD versus control diets (CON) on body mass and composition in physically active populations. Randomized and non-randomized studies were included if participants were healthy (free of chronic disease), physically active men or women age ≥ 18 years consuming KD (< 50 g carbohydrate/d or serum or whole blood β-hydroxybutyrate (βhb) > 0.5 mmol/L) for ≥14 days. Results Thirteen studies (9 parallel and 4 crossover/longitudinal) that met the inclusion criteria were identified. Aggregated results from the 13 identified studies show body mass decreased 2.7 kg in KD and increased 0.3 kg in CON. FM decreased by 2.3 kg in KD and 0.3 kg in CON. FFM decreased by 0.3 kg in KD and increased 0.7 kg in CON. Estimated energy balance based on changes in body composition was − 339 kcal/d in KD and 5 kcal/d in CON. Risk of bias identified some concern of bias primarily due to studies which allowed participants to self-select diet intervention groups, as well as inability to blind participants to the study intervention, and/or longitudinal study design. Conclusion KD can promote mobilization of fat stores to reduce FM while retaining FFM. However, there is variance in results of FFM across studies and some risk-of-bias in the current literature that is discussed in this systematic review.

Public administration scholars and practitioners uniformly agree that saddling agencies with multiple mandates breeds dysfunction and impedes performance. However, less is known about the mechanisms by which combining purposes has these effects. This study of a broad set of U.S. federal agencies finds support for the conventional wisdom by showing that agencies balancing greater numbers of programs perform worse. The analysis further suggests that such organizations struggle largely because they are more likely to be forced to simultaneously adopt conflicting stances toward program targets. Moreover, when programs force agencies into conflicts in which they are asked to both support and restrain the same target, the resulting uncertainty among personnel regarding agency priorities helps explain why operations are negatively impacted. Thus, it is not simply that accumulating missions impedes agency performance but rather how those competing mandates interact that can define whether an agency will struggle to achieve its objectives.

Background The effects of ingesting varying essential amino acid (EAA)/protein-containing food formats on protein kinetics during energy deficit are undetermined. Therefore, recommendations for EAA/protein food formats necessary to optimize both whole-body protein balance and muscle protein synthesis (MPS) during energy deficit are unknown. We measured protein kinetics after consuming iso-nitrogenous amounts of free-form essential amino acid-enriched whey (EAA + W; 34.7 g protein, 24 g EAA sourced from whey and free-form EAA), whey (WHEY; 34.7 g protein, 18.7 g EAA), or a mixed-macronutrient meal (MEAL; 34.7 g protein, 11.4 g EAA) after exercise during short-term energy deficit. Methods Ten adults (mean ± SD; 21 ± 4 y; 25.7 ± 1.7 kg/m 2 ) completed a randomized, double-blind crossover study consisting of three, 5 d energy-deficit periods (− 30 ± 3% of total energy requirements), separated by 14 d. Whole-body protein synthesis (PS), breakdown (PB), and net balance (NET) were determined at rest and in response to combination exercise consisting of load carriage treadmill walking, deadlifts, and box step-ups at the end of each energy deficit using L-[ 2 H 5 ]-phenylalanine and L-[ 2 H 2 ]-tyrosine infusions. Treatments were ingested immediately post-exercise. Mixed-muscle protein synthesis (mixed-MPS) was measured during exercise through recovery. Results Change (Δ postabsorptive + exercise to postprandial + recovery [mean treatment difference (95%CI)]) in whole-body (g/180 min) PS was 15.8 (9.8, 21.9; P  = 0.001) and 19.4 (14.8, 24.0; P  = 0.001) greater for EAA + W than WHEY and MEAL, respectively, with no difference between WHEY and MEAL. ΔPB was − 6.3 (− 11.5, − 1.18; P  = 0.02) greater for EAA + W than WHEY and − 7.7 (− 11.9, − 3.6; P  = 0.002) greater for MEAL than WHEY, with no difference between EAA + W and MEAL. ΔNET was 22.1 (20.5, 23.8; P  = 0.001) and 18.0 (16.5, 19.5; P  = 0.00) greater for EAA + W than WHEY and MEAL, respectively, while ΔNET was 4.2 (2.7, 5.6; P  = 0.001) greater for MEAL than WHEY. Mixed-MPS did not differ between treatments. Conclusions While mixed-MPS was similar across treatments, combining free-form EAA with whey promotes greater whole-body net protein balance during energy deficit compared to iso-nitrogenous amounts of whey or a mixed-macronutrient meal. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier no. NCT04004715 . Retrospectively registered 28 June 2019, first enrollment 6 June 2019

Performing prolonged aerobic exercise in a fasted state may contribute to acute reductions in carbohydrate and energy availability, physiological conditions associated with disrupted bone remodeling and increased risk for bone stress fractures. While strategies such as maintaining optimal carbohydrate availability prior to exercise can attenuate markers of bone resorption, the effects of carbohydrate availability during the initial 24 h of recovery following fasted aerobic exercise remain unclear. Purpose Determine the effects of low (LOW) versus adequate (AD) carbohydrate availability on bone turnover markers during a 24-h recovery period from aerobic exercise performed in a fasted state. Methods Twelve men (21 ± 3 yrs, 1.8 ± 0.1 m, 81 ± 13 kg, 26 ± 3 kg/m 2 , mean ± SD) completed this randomized, crossover study. Participants performed two glycogen depletion trials, followed by a 3-h recovery period where they consumed either a carbohydrate beverage (1 g/kg/h) or a nutrient free control. Participants then consumed either an AD (6.0 g/kg carbohydrate, 1.0 g/kg fat) or LOW (1.5 g/kg carbohydrate, 3.0 g/kg fat) isocaloric carbohydrate diets for the remainder of the day. Blood samples were collected following a 10 h overnight fast before exercise and 0, 3, and 24-h post-exercise to assess changes in blood markers of bone turnover. Results CTX-1 concentrations were significantly lower ( p  < 0.001) in AD at 3 and 24 h post-exercise compared with LOW. P1NP was significantly higher ( p  = 0.029) in AD 24 h post-exercise compared with LOW. There were no differences between treatment groups ( p  > 0.05) for BAP, Total OC, or TRAcP5b. Conclusion Adequate carbohydrate intake during recovery from fasted aerobic exercise mitigates bone resorption markers and promotes bone formation markers compared with low carbohydrate intake. These results emphasize the importance of carbohydrate availability for skeletal protection in populations exposed to high physical demands, such as military personnel and endurance athletes.

This study investigated the effects of EPO on hemoglobin (Hgb) and hematocrit (Hct), time trial (TT) performance, substrate oxidation, and skeletal muscle phenotype throughout 28 days of strenuous exercise. Eight males completed this longitudinal controlled exercise and feeding study using EPO (50 IU/kg body mass) 3×/week for 28 days. Hgb, Hct, and TT performance were assessed PRE and on Days 7, 14, 21, and 27 of EPO. Rested/fasted muscle obtained PRE and POST EPO were analyzed for gene expression, protein signaling, fiber type, and capillarization. Substrate oxidation and glucose turnover were assessed during 90‐min of treadmill load carriage (LC; 30% body mass; 55 ± 5% V̇O2peak) exercise using indirect calorimetry, and 6‐6‐[2H2]‐glucose PRE and POST. Hgb and Hct increased, and TT performance improved on Days 21 and 27 compared to PRE (p < 0.05). Energy expenditure, fat oxidation, and metabolic clearance rate during LC increased (p < 0.05) from PRE to POST. Myofiber type, protein markers of mitochondrial biogenesis, and capillarization were unchanged PRE to POST. Transcriptional regulation of mitochondrial activity and fat metabolism increased from PRE to POST (p < 0.05). These data indicate EPO administration during 28 days of strenuous exercise can enhance aerobic performance through improved oxygen carrying capacity, whole‐body and skeletal muscle fat metabolism.