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Physiology

Is there a best time to train? A sports scientist investigates – Cycling Weekly

Lets face it, no matter what we tell our friends, cycling comes quite far down the priority list when drawing up the days to-do list. We ride when we can fit it in, rather than at the best possible time for making fitness gains.

As amateur riders, our family, friends, work and sleep you choose the order of priority put the squeeze on our windows of opportunity for getting in quality saddle-time. The question is, does it matter what time you train?

The evidence suggests that, yes, it does. For various reasons, our bodies may have a preference that affects the training response. This feature will investigate the physical and mental effects of riding at different times of day. Should you schedule different types of session at particular times? And are there certain times of day you should actively avoid?

Often, we have to resort to training at the only time available to us. Mercifully, now that were emerging from the dark, wet winter, well soon have a few extra hours of daylight to play with at each end of the day. What does the science tell us about the best time to choose? Chronobiology is the study of lifes rhythms: heart rate, body temperature, and a variety of hormonal responses that follow the daily (or circadian) pattern. These rhythms are programmed genetically as well as being influenced by our environment and activity. Exercise performance can be dramatically affected up to 15 per cent by variations in these rhythms.

Dr Brendan Gabriel, from the University of Edinburgh, studies circadian biology in clinical conditions and sport.

Rhythmic changes in core/muscle temperature and hormonal signalling particularly adrenaline can affect exercise performance, including oxygen uptake and mechanical power, explains Gabriel. The hypothalamus, our brains regulatory control centre, is very reactive to daylight and receives this signal mainly from the eyes the reason why light is such an important trigger.

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This reactivity to light is why humans are diurnal active during the day, asleep at night. But we are not all the same. There are differences between individuals sleep/wake behaviours and our preferred pattern is known as our chronotype. Owls prefer to rise late and retire late (e.g. get up at 10am and go to bed at midnight), while at the other extreme, larks favour an early start and early bedtime (e.g. awake by 7am, asleep by 9pm). Most of us fit somewhere in between, with our physiological rhythms set accordingly.

You probably know straight away which side of the chronotype fence you sit on, but if you want to make sure, check out a Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire. Depending on where you fit on this spectrum, there are implications for which times of the day best suit you for training, bearing in mind that circadian rhythms can be affected by activities including exercise and meal times.

Regardless of your chronotype, riding before work probably feels harder than at mid-morning, owing to sleep inertia the drowsiness that gradually dissipates after waking. However, if early morning is your only option, there are some useful tips for shifting or resetting your rhythm so as to get through the first few kilometres and out of the circadian trough.

The simplest solution is often the best: get up earlier. Dragging yourself out of bed kick-starts the myriad physiological processes, which during the early hours of the morning were at their lowest point. Consistently rising a little earlier could have a lasting effect on your circadian rhythms with an important footnote: make sure you balance this with a suitably earlier bedtime, and stick to it. Relapsing over a weekend off or a holiday will set you back to square one.

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Once youre awake and moving around, continued exposure to light is a major stimulus. If drawing back the curtains reveals only more darkness, artificial light is an effective substitute, and there is some evidence that daylight bulbs are effective. Eating also has a pronounced effect on your daily highs and lows, so have breakfast in good time, at least an hour before heading out. This not only provides you with the energy you need, but helps to wake you up too. Even so, you are unlikely to snatch a KOM or PB first thing in the morning.

Illustration: David Lyttleton

The answer here is to adjust your expectations to suit the time of day. When riding at a time that is not optimal for your physiology, pay less attention to the external outputs such as speed and power, and rely instead on internal parameters such as heart rate and perceived exertion. If you must squeeze in a Zone 2 training ride before breakfast, ride at the speed that elicits a Zone 2 physiological response rather than the wattage or speed that would usually equate to Zone 2 later in the day.

Keep records and have morning and evening ranges these will allow you to monitor shifts in your chronotype, should they occur. The evidence suggests that diurnal fluctuations have a greater effect on strength and power events than on endurance exercise, so short intense efforts may feel harder in the morning than in the evening. If this is true for you, avoid high-intensity interval sessions or strength training early in the day.

Human physiological systems appear to become more efficient as the day progresses. Annoyingly, we are probably best ready to ride during the middle part of the day, when most of us are at work. Does this mean that riding after work is seriously disadvantaged? Thankfully not. There is evidence to suggest that the psychological effects of work add another dimension to our ability to apply effort later in the day.

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Professor Samuele Marcora, of the University of Bologna, has published several papers investigating the effects of mentally fatiguing tasks on sports performance. This research has established that mental fatigue can have a debilitating effect on exercise performance. When the mentally fatiguing stimulus is removed, athletes perceive subsequent exercise as being easier and thus perform better. A day at work may have a similar effect on your training session. Have you felt a lack of motivation while training after a stressful day? Pushing through might make you stronger.

A further disadvantage when training late in the day is its effect on subsequent sleep. As we have learnt, training can disrupt our circadian rhythm, meaning we may not be ready for bed until later than normal (particularly if youve taken a caffeine supplement). Eating later adds to the potential for sleep trouble. If you cant drop off, avoid lying awake for hours getting frustrated; instead, read or get up and do something different (avoiding screens) until you feel weary.

Marcora advises that the best time to train, from a psycho-biological perspective, is late morning or lunchtime.

Mentally, we are fresher, and the perception of effort is lower enabling us to push harder. Most people are understandably mentally fatigued in the evening after a day at work, so if this is your only option, taking caffeine prior to your workout will help reduce the perceived effort.

As we have seen, there are pros and cons to riding at either end of the day. This poses an intriguing question: is there an edge to be gained by facing down the fatigue and training at a time when you are less primed or motivated? Marcora believes there may be. If the aim of a session is to develop brain endurance that is, mental resilience for long or intense exercise the professor postulates that training in the evening might increase the perceived effort of a session and subsequently lead to improved endurance performance.

Physiologically, there appears to be little evidence to suggest that training early (or late) improves subsequent performance during optimal hours.

But it may help to train at the time of day you intend to race. According to Dr Gabriel, you should regularly train at the time you intend to race as part of your preparation so as to get your physiological rhythms primed and adapted. For example, if your long sportive has an early morning start time, make sure you head out early on some of your training rides in the weeks before.

With cycling holidays becoming ever more popular, another situation where managing your circadian variation becomes crucial is around travel. When flying abroad, you should aim to adjust to the new time zone (no matter how small) as quickly as possible by getting into your new normal daily routine. This has long been a concern for elite athletes who travel the world to train and compete. The primary cause of jet lag is disruptions to the sleep-wake cycle. To overcome this problem, Team GB athletes travelling to the Tokyo Olympics in August will be advised to allow one day per time zone crossed to fully adjust in time to compete.

For shorter trips, when the time difference is only an hour or two, you could tweak your routine in the few days before you leave to match the destination time zone just make sure to turn up to the airport on time!While your daily biological rhythms are largely pre-programmed, it is worth being strategic about the time of day you train. Sometimes training while mentally tired may elicit an extra adaptation, provided you dont overdo it and risk falling into a state of burn-out.

Whenever possible, train at the time of day when you feel most energised. If youre forced to train early or late in the day, remember that extending your waking hours will take its toll if you do not make adjustments to compensate for the reduction in sleep. Training counts for nothing unless you allow your body to recover, repair and adapt. The benefits of sleep, particularly in athletes, are well reported and far greater than any potential gains induced through a tweak in circadian rhythms, so whatever you do, dont go burning the candle at both ends.

Being ready to compete is key to good performance. Early start times can be commonplace in amateur cyclo-cross or time trial competitions, so what can you do to maximise your mental and physical alertness in preparation?

Wake time

The earlier you rise before your start time, the better within reason. T-minus two hours is a good starting point, but experiment and find out what works for you, especially when travelling is involved.

Light

If you need to be up before the sun rises, a useful compromise can be a light therapy product such as a Lumie light (lumie.com), which simulates natural light more effective than simply putting the big light on.

Warm up

Gentle exercise before you eat is a smart move, particularly combined with some fresh air. A walk or spin on the rollers helps kick-start your systems.

Breakfast

Eat a high-carbohydrate breakfast, and make sure it is plain and palatable, as your digestive system is not firing on all cylinders early in the day. Porridge is a safe, reliable choice for most people. And, of course, make sure you are well hydrated (this applies to the night before too).

Written by Dr Mark Homer

This feature originally appeared in the print edition of Cycling Weekly, on sale in newsagents and supermarkets, priced 3.25.

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Is there a best time to train? A sports scientist investigates - Cycling Weekly

Anatomy

A look at the anatomy of a good mystery – HNGnews.com

Author and publisher, David Benjamin, whose book talks and workshops include mystery writing, says, Writing a good story is like solving a series of problems, in which language, science, geography, law, imagination and the unexpected are all jumbled together.

By Sharyn Alden

Storytelling has been an integral part of American culture for hundreds of years. Now, while a majority of Americans are in "safer at-home" mode, curling up with a good book is an attractive option.

David Benjamin (www.lastkidbooks.com), author of nine books, including several mysteries, was recently scheduled to present, "The Seven Keys to Storytelling" at the Deforest Public Library. The program will be rescheduled in the future after the library reopens.

The author started his first novel in elementary school reading chapters aloud at St. Marys School in Tomah, Wisconsin. He adapted some of those experiences in his memoir, "The Life and Times of the Last Kid Picked" (Random House, 2002).

A Lifetime of Stories

Today, he draws ideas from a lifetime of living and traveling throughout the world as well as stories gleaned from his own backyard. Some of his well-drawn characters may be found charting paths through Wisconsin mysteries, page-turners he expertly brings to life.

Last year in Paris, where he lives part of the year, he held a writing discussion with the British National Union of Journalists and a writing workshop at the American Library in Paris.

Known for his witty, offbeat writing style, Benjamin splits his time between homes in Madison and France. His credits include journalist, editor, ghost-writer, novelist, satirist, essayist, columnist, travel writer and theater critic. He also worked as a cannery hand in Waunakee and a steelworker in Florida.

His publishing imprint Last Kid Books (lastkidbooks.com) pays homage to Benjamins first published "fiction," "The Life and Times of the Last Kid Picked."

In 2019, Benjamins publishing company received awards from the New York City Big Book Awards in four categories. In addition to a Best Political Thriller award for "Black Dragon," he received a Distinguished Favorite in Crime Fiction for "Threes a Crowd" and Best Romantic Comedy for "A Sunday Kind of Love," which captures the thrill and agony of Green Bay Packers fan-worship. His Wisconsin-based novel, "Summer of 68," was also a Distinguished Favorite in Historical Fiction.

From the Independent Press Awards, he was honored as a Distinguished Favorite in "Mystery for Skulduggery in the Latin Quarter" (the Left Bank area of Paris where he lives), and won Best Essay Collection for "Almost Killed by a Train of Thought."

Recipe for a Memorable Mystery

Benjamin is often asked what elements make a memorable who-done-it.

He says, You can write a mystery without a murder, but the following three elements these three Ms actually tend to be in place.

Maguffin Coined by Alfred Hitchcock, a maguffin is an item that motivates characters, creates conflict and propels the plot.

Moriarty The elusive, brilliant and dangerous mastermind.

Marlowe A flawed but stubborn sleuth who wont let go. Think Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe.

Each of Benjamins mysteries, "Skulduggery in the Latin Quarter," "Black Dragon," and "Jailbait," have these ingredients, and a few laughs as well.

James Fallows, of The Atlantic magazine calls the thriller "Black Dragon," "A genuine page-turner, full of enough action, suspense, sly humor, and sharp, cultural insights.an enjoyable and provocative book."

His recent novel "Jailbait," takes place in a fictional Wisconsin town called Hercules, located somewhere on Highway 33 east of La Crosse. "Hercules is typical of a hundred little towns all over western Wisconsin," he notes. "Heck, all over America."

During talks he discusses plot, structure and legwork behind the crafting of mysteries, including his own award-winning books. He is currently in production on his eighth Last Kid Books title, "They Shot Kennedy," a fictional snapshot of microhistory set in November, 1963.

There is an irony to this idea of boiling down the murder mystery to three bullet points, because thats a formula, says Benjamin. And I dont cant write the sort of formula potboilers that sell like hotcakes. He noted that the elements of maguffin, moriarty and marlowe are merely the basis for an infinite range of variations. Using examples from his own mysteries, as well as the work of other writers, he offers insights into the creative possibilities of the genre.

However the author puts the pieces together, the story should be accessible, says Benjamin. The reading should be fun. And thinking talking about it afterwards should prolong the pleasure.

Looking back, reflected by the multitude of books, manuscripts and essays hes written, the author certainly knew what he wanted to do when he grew up tell stories in front of people. He says. "Im still doing what I discovered, as a sort of vocation, in grade school. From that moment, Ive always believed that stories are the clues to solving the riddles of life."

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A look at the anatomy of a good mystery - HNGnews.com

Anatomy

Anatomy of a heatwave – Cosmos

By Dana M Bergstrom, Andrew Klekociuk, Diana King and Sharon Robinson

While the world rightfully focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic, the planet is still warming. This summers Antarctic weather, as elsewhere in the world, was unprecedented in the observed record.

Our research, published in Global Change Biology, describes the recent heatwave in Antarctica. Beginning in late spring east of the Antarctic Peninsula, it circumnavigated the continent over the next four months. Some of our team spent the summer in Antarctica observing these temperatures and the effect on natural systems, witnessing the heatwave first-hand.

Antarctica may be isolated from other continents by the Southern Ocean, but has worldwide impacts. It drives the global ocean conveyor belt, a constant system of deep-ocean circulation which transfers oceanic heat around the planet, and its melting ice sheet adds to global sea level rise.

Antarctica represents the simple, extreme end of conditions for life. It can be seen as a canary in the mine, demonstrating patterns of change we can expect to see elsewhere.

Most of Antarctica is ice-covered, but there are small ice-free oases, predominantly on the coast. Collectively 0.44% of the continent, these unique areas are important biodiversity hotspots for penguins and other seabirds, mosses, lichens, lakes, ponds and associated invertebrates.

This summer, Casey Research Station, in the Windmill Islands oasis, experienced its first recorded heatwave. For three days, minimum temperatures exceeded zero and daily maximums were all above 7.5C. On January 24, its highest maximum of 9.2C was recorded, almost 7C above Caseys 30-year mean for the month.

The arrival of warm, moist air during this weather event brought rain to Davis Research Station in the normally frigid, ice-free desert of the Vestfold Hills. The warm conditions triggered extensive meltwater pools and surface streams on local glaciers. These, together with melting snowbanks, contributed to high-flowing rivers and flooding lakes.

By February, most heat was concentrated in the Antarctic Peninsula at the northernmost part of the continent. A new Antarctic maximum temperature of 18.4C was recorded on February 6 at Argentinas Esperanza research station on the Peninsula - almost 1C above the previous record. Three days later this was eclipsed when 20.75C was reported at Brazils Marambio station, on Seymour Island east of the Peninsula.

The pace of warming from global climate change has been generally slower in East Antarctica compared with West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula. This is in part due to the ozone hole, which has occurred in spring over Antarctica since the late 1970s.

The hole has tended to strengthen jet stream winds over the Southern Ocean promoting a generally more positive state of the Southern Annular Mode in summer. This means the Southern Oceans westerly wind belt has tended to stay close to Antarctica at that time of year creating a seasonal shield, reducing the transfer of warm air from the Earths temperate regions to Antarctica.

But during the spring of 2019 a strong warming of the stratosphere over Antarctica significantly reduced the size of the ozone hole. This helped to support a more negative state of the Southern Annular Mode and weakened the shield.

Other factors in late 2019 may have also helped to warm Antarctica. The Indian Ocean Dipole was in a strong positive state due to a late retreat of the Indian monsoon. This meant that water in the western Indian Ocean was warmer than normal. Air rising from this and other warm ocean patches in the Pacific Ocean provided energy sources that altered the path of weather systems and helped to disturb and warm the stratosphere.

Localised flooding appeared to benefit some Vestfold Hills moss banks which were previously very drought-stressed. Prior to the flood event, most mosses were grey and moribund, but one month later many moss shoots were green.

Given the generally cold conditions of Antarctica, the warmth may have benefited the flora (mosses, lichens and two vascular plants), and microbes and invertebrates, but only where liquid water formed. Areas in the Vestfold Hills away from the flooding became more drought-stressed over the summer.

High temperatures may have caused heat stress in some organisms. Antarctic mosses and lichens are often dark in colour, allowing sunlight to be absorbed to create warm microclimates. This is a great strategy when temperatures are just above freezing, but heat stress can occur once 10C is exceeded.

On King George Island, near the Antarctic Peninsula, our measurements showed that in January 2019 moss surface temperatures only exceeded 14C for 3% of the time, but in 2020 this increased fourfold (to 12% of the time).

Based on our experience from previous anomalous hot Antarctic summers, we can expect many biological impacts, positive and negative, in coming years. The most recent event highlights the connectedness of our climate systems: from the surface to the stratosphere, and from the monsoon tropics to the southernmost continent.

Under climate change, extreme events are predicted to increase in frequency and severity, and Antarctica is not immune.

Dana M Bergstrom, Principal Research Scientist, University of Wollongong; Andrew Klekociuk, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, University of Tasmania; Diana King, Research officer, University of Wollongong, and Sharon Robinson, Professor, University of Wollongong

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Anatomy of a heatwave - Cosmos

Anatomy

‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’ | Anatomy of a Scene – The New York Times

Hi. My name is Eliza Hittman. And I am the writer and director of Never Rarely Sometimes Always. I want to spend a few minutes talking with you about your relationships, O.K.? Because they can affect your health. Did you know that? The scene that youre watching an excerpt from is the pivotal scene of the entire film. The main character her name is Autumn. The actors name is Sidney Flanigan has finally reached Planned Parenthood in Brooklyn. And she is going through her intake questionnaire with a counselor before she has an abortion. The scene is shot actually at Margaret Sanger, which is a Planned Parenthood on Bleecker Street. And that level of authenticity was really important for me in shooting the film. And the actress, Sidney Flanigan, is doing the scene not with another actor, but with an actual counselor named Kelly Chapman who I met doing research for the film. Always. Why are you asking me this? I want to make sure that youre safe. The shooting style of the scene was very simple, intentionally so. I didnt want to do anything stagy to get in the way of the intimacy of the questions that are being asked. Your partner has hit you, slapped you, or physically hurt you. Never, rarely, sometimes, always. So we went for a very stripped down, minimal approach. We used two cameras. One is frontal on Sidney, and one is actually 3/4 profile. And those two cameras were pushed very, very, very close to her. Because we wanted to trap her a little bit to intensify the emotions of the scene. Its just a couple more questions, all right? I spent a lot of time rehearsing the scene, because it was so important. And on the day that we shot, I took Sidney aside. Because, sometimes, when you work on an independent film set, its a little like being on a construction site. And I wanted to quarantine her away from all of the commotion. And I found a private office for her to sit in. And she sat for several hours. And I remember, I came in, and she said, Im ready, lets do it. And the scene that is in the film, its actually the first take. Then after she did it, she said it was cathartic, and she couldnt do it again. - Has anyone forced you into a sexual act ever in your lifetime? Yes or no.

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'Never Rarely Sometimes Always' | Anatomy of a Scene - The New York Times

Anatomy

The TVLine-Up: What’s Leaving, New and Returning the Week of April 5 – TVLine

RELATED STORIES

This weekly feature is in addition to TVLines daily What to Watch listings.

With more than 530 scripted shows now airing across broadcast, cable and streaming, its easy to forget that a favorite comedy is returning, or that the new prestige drama you anticipated is about to debut. So consider this our reminder to set your DVR, order a Season Pass, pop a fresh Memorex into the VCR however it is you roll.

This week, youll find seven season premieres (including The Good Fight and the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? revival), three makeshift season finales (including Greys Anatomy and The Walking Dead) and 20 series premieres 15 of which hail from Quibi! (All times are Eastern.)

SUNDAY, APRIL 57 pm Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project documentary premiere (Oxygen)8 pm Atlantas Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children docuseries premiere (HBO)8 pm ACM Presents: Our Country special (CBS)8 pm Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Season 11 finale (HGTV)9 pm The Walking Dead (ersatz) Season 10 finale (AMC)9 pm War of the Worlds Season 1 finale (Epix)9 pm World on Fire series premiere (PBS)10:02 pm Talking Dead Season 9 finale (AMC)

MONDAY, APRIL 63 am &Music documentary premiere (Quibi)3 am Chrissys Court series premiere (Quibi)3 am Dishmantled series premiere (Quibi)3 am Fierce Queens documentary premiere (Quibi)3 am Flipped series premiere (Quibi)3 am Gayme Show! series premiere (Quibi)3 am Gone Mental With Lior (unscripted)3 am I Promise documentary premiere (Quibi)3 am Memory Hole series premiere (Quibi)3 am Most Dangerous Game series premiere (Quibi)3 am Murder House Flip series premiere (Quibi)3 am NighGowns documentary premiere (Quibi)3 am Nikki Fre$h series premiere (Quibi)3 am Prodigy documentary premiere (Quibi)3 am Punkd series premiere (Quibi)3 am Run This City documentary premiere (Quibi)3 am The Sauce series premiere (Quibi)3 am Shape of Pasta documentary premiere (Quibi)3 am Singled Out series premiere (Quibi)3 am Skrrt With Offset series premiere (Quibi)3 am Survive series premiere (Quibi)3 am Thanks A Million series premiere (Quibi)3 am When the Streetlights Go On series premiere (Quibi)3 am You Aint Got These documentary premiere (Quibi)10 pm Manifest Season 2 finale (NBC)10 pm Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Secrets & Surprises special (ABC)

TUESDAY, APRIL 73 am Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020 Part 3 premiere (Netflix; all episodes)3 am Tooning Out the News series premiere (CBS All Access)8 pm The Resident (ersatz) Season 3 finale (Fox)8 pm Schitts Creek series finale (Pop TV; special time)8:30 pm Schitts Creek: Best Wishes, Warmest Regards special (Pop TV)9 pm Empire Episode No. 100 (Fox)10:30 pm The Last O.G. Season 3 premiere (TBS)

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 88 pm Ghost Hunters Season 13 premiere (A&E; two hours)8 pm Modern Family: A Modern Farewell special (ABC; one hour)9 pm Modern Family series finale (ABC; one hour)10 pm Celebrity Ghost Stories Season 7 premiere (A&E)10 pm Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Season 9 premiere (ABC)11 pm Liar Season 2 premiere (Sundance TV)

THURSDAY, APRIL 93 am The Circle: France series premiere (Netflix; first four episodes)3 am Hi Girl Season 2 premiere (Netflix; all episodes)9 am The Good Fight Season 4 premiere (CBS All Access)9 pm Greys Anatomy (ersatz) Season 16 finale (ABC)

FRIDAY, APRIL 103 am A Celebration of the Music from Coco special (Disney+)3 am Brews Brothers series premiere (Netflix; all episodes)3 am Les Misrables (2020) movie premiere (Amazon Prime)3 am Love Wedding Repeat original movie premiere (Netflix)3 am The Main Event original movie premiere (Netflix)3 am Tigertail original movie premiere (Netflix)9 pm Magnum P.I. returns (CBS)

For the latest renewal/cancellation status on your favorite shows, visit our Cable, Streaming and Broadcast-TV renewal scorecards.

Want scoop on any of the above shows? Email InsideLine@tvline.com and your question may be answered via Matts Inside Line.

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The TVLine-Up: What's Leaving, New and Returning the Week of April 5 - TVLine

Anatomy

NZIER survey sheds light on anatomy of the business confidence collapse – Stuff.co.nz

123RF

NZIER survey shows businesses weren't calm before the storm finally hit.

Business confidence was crashingin the lead up to New Zealand's coronavirus lockdown, according to the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research'squarterly survey of business opinion.

The index showed a net 67 per cent of firms were expecting economic conditions in the year ahead to deteriorate.

The surveyclosed on March 20, six days before the lockdown, but five days after the Government had ordered all travellers to New Zealand to self-isolate on arrival.

However, the majority of responses were received earlier, during the seven days ending on March 11.

READ MORE:*Air NZ lays off pilots* The stats that show lockdown may be working* Business confidence sinks but ANZ warns the worst may be yet to come

A net 11 per centreported weaker demand in their own business in the March quarter, anda net 13 per cent were also expecting that in the three months to the end of June.

NZIER saidwhileactivity held up reasonably well in the weeks leading up to the lockdown, businesses were looking to pare back operations in anticipation of weaker demand ahead.

An extrapolation of the pattern of responsessuggestedthat almost 70 per cent of businesses would probablyhave reported a deterioration in demand towards the end of March, NZIER said.

"Unsurprisingly, services sector firms reported a weakening in their own trading activity as the weeks progressed.

"In contrast, manufacturers and builders saw an improvement in demand over the weeks leading up to the lockdown."

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NZIER survey sheds light on anatomy of the business confidence collapse - Stuff.co.nz

Anatomy

Avengers Anatomy: 5 Weirdest Things About Thor’s Body, Explained – CBR – Comic Book Resources

Marvel is known for its attempts to quantify its characters and make them as scientific as possible, but how does that work with a magical being like Thor? As a fantastical god who hurls lightning and tosses mountains, Thor is far from having a typical person's anatomy. But the minute details of how his biology works aren't just awesome, they're downright mythical.

The first thing to understand about Thor's anatomy is that, despite appearances, it's truly nothing like a typical human's. While Thor has worn the form of a Dr. Donald Blake, his true form is that of an Asgardian. Marvel guidebooks make it very clear that all Asgardians are far above humans when it comes to their physicality, with denser flesh and bones and multi-ton strength. On top of that, Thor is one of the strongest Asgardians of all.

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Either due to his special heritage as the son of Odin or just through his own lifetime of adventures and training, Thor has managed to become several orders of magnitude stronger than other Asgardians. Whereas most Asgardians can lift or press 25-30 tons, Thorcan lift 100+, and his shattering of mountains and threatening of planets with his blows indicates that there may be no upper limit to how strong an Asgardian can grow.

It would seem that Thor is just as hardy on the inside as the outside, as his magical nature grants him immunity to almost all forms of disease or virus. Hehaseven walked through European villages suffering from the Black Death, seeing villagers sick at their bedside without becoming infected with the plague. But this does not mean that no disease has ever managed to hurt Thor.

When Ragnarok once threatened the Nine Realms, Thor came under the influence of a magical disease that blew through his body's defenses. He noted that he had never been sick before, and he grew increasingly weak over time. Even then, Thor managed to recover, and this might just be one of his most underrated abilities in his repertoire considering the times that Thor was moonlighting as a doctor.

RELATED:MCU: 5 Times Chris Hemsworth's Thor Was Comic Accurate (& 5 Times He Wasn't)

As scientific as Marvel can get about Thor's biology, at the end of the day, magic is magic, and that grants Thor anincredible level of durability, even to esoteric forms of damage. Being the God of Thunder naturally grants him a resistance to electricity, but even conventional forms of thermal damage, like ice and fire, show little effect on the golden-haired Avenger.

Even weirder forms of attacks, like reality-warping or telepathic assault, have been shown to struggle immenselyagainst Thor's natural magical resistances. In an early adventure when a being called the Space Phantom was teleporting Avengers to Limbo and assuming their powers, the Space Phantom tried the trick on Thor and the teleportation beam bounced off and sent the Space Phantom to Limbo instead! There's just no telling what Thorisresistant to.

RELATED:10 Comic Characters Not From Marvel Or DC Who Would Be Worthy Of Mjolnir

On top of the all-around physical and magical superiority that Thor demonstrates,even his sensory input greatly exceeds the average human. Whole new colors and sounds are available to the senses of the God of Thunder, and there's a magical sixth sense that can't even be described. In the Ultimate Universe, Thor was able to sense when others were wielding lightning powers, and his status as a god allowed him to hear the prayers of people around the world.

By the miraculous circumstance that Thor is able to be injured, his body tends to regenerate at a superhuman degree and to a superhuman extent.Throughout his long life, Thor has had his teeth and eyes removed, his flesh seared off, and even been impaled. And yet, he always bounces back, fully regenerating if granted enough time.

Of course, that's not to say that he's never been dealt lasting damage. Most famously, Thor's arm was ripped off and eventually replaced with the arm of the Destroyer armor, andmovie audiences know his MCU incarnation lost an eye. Rocket was luckily able toprovideThor a bionic replacement, but given just how hardy his comic book counterpart is, don't be surprised if the original grows right back when the character next appears on the big screen.

KEEP READING:X-Men Anatomy: The 5 Weirdest Things About Cyclops' Body, Explained

Avengers Endgame: How Captain Marvel Brushed Off Thanos' Infinity Headbutt

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Avengers Anatomy: 5 Weirdest Things About Thor's Body, Explained - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Anatomy

VIDEO: Watch the Trailer For the Season 16 Finale of GREY’S ANATOMY – Broadway World

The season 16 finale of Grey's Anatomy airs Thursday, April 9th, on ABC.

A new trailer for the episode has been released. In the trailer, Link tries to convince Amelia to take it easy during the final stage of her pregnancy. Hayes asks Meredith a surprising question, and Owen makes a shocking discovery.

Check out the trailer below!

Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) as a mid-season replacement. The fictional series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attending doctors, as they develop into seasoned doctors while trying to maintain personal lives and relationships.

Shonda Rhimes developed the pilot and continues to write for the series; she is also one of the executive producers, along with Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Rob Corn, Mark Wilding, and Allan Heinberg.

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Grey’s Anatomy: Why Alex And Aren’t Real Friends | ScreenRant – Screen Rant

Grey's Anatomy has seen a lot of characters come and go, and, as a result, some amazing friendships have been struck up on the way. When Alex Karev first appeared in the pilot episode back in 2005, the character was written in late to give the show a bit of an edge, as Alex was a total jerk.

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Over time, though, Alex gradually began to mellow and became the man everyone knew he was inside. A major factor in Alex's growth was Arizona Robbins, head of Pediatric surgery, who taught Alex to be a better person and a brilliant surgeon. However,there are many reasons why these two aren't really friends.

When Alex and Arizona first met, Arizona was the new attending assigned to a young boy's case after the previous doctor died. Arizona insisted on putting the child on the transplant list as soon as possible, and she was surprised that nobody had done that already, given the state of the boy's intestines and liver.

Both Alex and Miranda Bailey didn't like Arizona's new approach, and they complained about her behind her back.Alex was bugged by Arizona's perkiness, even when they had to harvest a dying child's organs to save their own patient.

When Arizona made her Grey's Anatomy debut in season five, she and Callie Torres were immediately attracted to each other. After a slow start, they embarked on a relationship with each other, going on to become an extremely popular fan-favorite couple.

However, in the season nine finale, Arizona cheated on Callie, who was understandably devastated and angry, refusing to forgive Arizona. Arizona planned an elaborate apology, but Alex told her to just say sorry, shaming her. While Arizona's actions were questionable, you just don't shame a friend like that.

In one of season 14's funniest episodes, the majority of the surgical staff at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital were rendered useless after Arizona was accidentally given homemade cookies laced with weed from a grateful patient. Arizonahad already handed the cookies around before she realized.

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One of the recipients of the weed cookies was Alex, who started acting high, forcing Amelia Shepherd and Owen Hunt to bring him home with them. While this was a great episode, Alex (and the other doctors) could have gotten into serious trouble all because of Arizona's mistake.

To be clear, neither Alex nor Callie cheated on Arizona, as this all took place in a flashback. In season six, the doctors attended a series of lectures given by attendings and senior members of staff, including Callie. Callie was struggling with nerves, and so Alex and Arizona encouraged her from the audience.

After a shaky start, Callie soon found her groove, and her chosen case was actually quite interesting. After encountering difficulties, Alex and Callie managed to save their patient, which led to them celebrating by having sex. Arizona didn't know about this, and so she was understandably a bit cross.

When Alex appeared in early seasons, he was a misogynistic, arrogant, hot-headed ass. Thankfully, though, he soon grew up to become a likable and trustworthy colleague. However, things soon got awkward.

In season 13, Arizona was then living with Andrew DeLuca, and they had built up quite a sweet friendship despite Arizona being DeLuca's boss. Unfortunately, due to a fatal misunderstanding, Alex saw DeLuca with Jo Wilson and severely beat him up. DeLuca had to undergo multiple surgeries, and Alex was arrested. It shouldn't have to be said, but beating up your friend's flatmate is a no go where friendship is concerned.

In season 8, Alex and all the other fifth-year residents became involved in a mad scramble in a bid to find a fellowship for next year. Alex was struggling slightly, as his project where he brought children to the hospital for surgery was over a year ago. Just when he was about to give up, he got an offer from Johns Hopkins.

They were incredibly impressed by his performance at his board exams and made him a once in a lifetime offer. Naturally, Alex considered all his options before choosing to accept the offer. However, this meant betraying Arizona who had taught him everything he knew and who was expecting him to stay with her.

Arizona and Callie's relationship was great while it lasted, but, sadly, in season 11, the two surgeons went their separate ways. Fortunately, they still remained civil towards each other and even considered them to be friends. However, when Callie announced she was moving to New York, that all went out the window.

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Callie assumed she would be taking Sofia with her, much to Arizona's horror. The couple then initiated a savage custody battle that didn't exactly paint either woman in a good light. However, Arizona needed her friends to vouch for her, and, when she asked Alex, he refused, stating he couldn't choose sides.

When Arizona found out that Alex was leaving her for Johns Hopkins, it's safe to say that she was not at all happy. In all fairness to Alex, Arizona's bad mood was not only due to his perceived betrayal; earlier that day, Arizona's late brother's childhood friend told her that he was dying.

Unable to cope with the fact that she would soon lose another part of her brother, Arizona was already on edge. When Alex told her about his decision, she snapped and took his place on the plane, as well as removing Alex from all pediatric surgeries. If it weren't for Alex, Arizona would still have her leg.

For the most part, watching Arizona's and Alex's friendship blossom over the course of ten seasons was a joy to behold. Alex learned how to be sensitive, not just with his young patients, but their parents, as well, and Arizona got a brilliant new peds surgeon.

This all went swimmingly until the dreaded plane crash occurred. If anything, the aftermath was even more brutal than the crash itself. The injured were transferred to Seattle Grace, but Arizona's infection in her leg threatened to kill her. Therefore Alex had to cut off her leg, potentially jeopardizing their friendship.

Alex and Arizona did have an amazing relationship on Grey's Anatomy, despite all their ups and downs. However, the main reason why they are not truly friends is because their relationship consists of a mentor/mentee situation.

They've never really hung out together outside of work properly, and they don't really discuss their personal lives with each other. They like each other and respect the hell out of each other, but it's mainly professional between the two. Despite this, both Arizona and Alex have had a massive impact on each other's lives, and they will always be important to one another.

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Ben Pettitt is a recent English graduate of the University of Nottingham. He loves to write, read and watch Netflix. This is one of the reasons why he decided to come and display his knowledge of pop culture as a writer for Screen Rant.

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Grey's Anatomy: Why Alex And Aren't Real Friends | ScreenRant - Screen Rant