Powerful Contractions Research Articles

From Government to Governance, From Judiciary to…?

Abstract It can be seen from the research that there is very little actually written about the role of the judge in relation to regulatory power. It is clear from the research on the political and legal constitutions around regulatory power that it is a complex picture. Therefore, this paper maps out how the judiciary in England and France has responded to changes in government. The first part of this paper will start to chart out the expansion and contraction of judicial power in relation to executive powers. The second part will provide a comparison between England and France’s regulatory systems and their relationships to their respective judiciaries. The conclusion sets out to answer the main question of where the judiciary sits in an a complex political, economic and legal tapestry to control a hybrid institution that sits outside of a legal constitution.

Operation of an Energy Storage System Integrated with a Photovoltaic System and an Industrial Customer under Different Real and Pseudo-Real Profiles

This article presents an idea of the implementation of different real load profiles for energy storage system (ESS) operation. The considered approaches are based on real long-term measurements using energy meters, the adaptation of the standard profiles defined by the distribution system operator (DSO), as well as a mix of the level of contracted power and short-term measurements. All combinations are used as electricity demand to formulate an ESS operation plan that cooperates with the PV system and the electricity market. The GAMS solver is applied to obtain optimal operation tasks of the ESS to cover different real and pseudo-real load profiles of an industrial company. Obtained results are presented using a real case study of a metallurgy company with a 317 kWp photovoltaic installation and a 200 kW ESS.

The development of a physical therapy service to treat urinary incontinence: Results of a RE-AIM evaluation.

A conservative physiotherapy service development addressed to treat urinary incontinence for older women was studied using the RE-AIM (reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance) framework. We conducted a pragmatic case study design based on RE-AIM. Included women ≥ 60 years of age, with self-reported UI symptoms. A total of 34 older women were enrolled in the service with a mean age of 61.53 years. There was a significant improvement in the strength of the pelvic floor muscles, power, endurance, and fast contraction capacity after the intervention, however, it was observed a high dropout rate. Program implementation was supported by Physical Therapy teams who engaged in care coordination. The program has been maintained for over 4 years. Our findings demonstrate that UI patients would benefit from physiotherapy treatment and that this intervention is feasible. This RE-AIM evaluation provides lessons learned and strategies for future adoption, implementation, and maintenance of a Physical Therapy pelvic service.

Queuing Theory-Based Design Methods for the Definition of Power Requirements in Manufacturing Systems

The attention paid to energy consumption is growing steadily due to the costs associated with energy usage as well as the resulting environmental impacts. This work proposes an analytical method to assess the energy consumption and the power requirements of a productive system. By exploiting queuing theory, it is possible to achieve a probabilistic view of energy consumption. This method is useful to define the contractual power level and calculate the service level associated with it, so it is applicable as a decision-support tool during the design of productive systems when it is not possible to obtain field data (green-field design). Three different models characterised by an increasing degree of complexity were exploited. The three models share the feature of an infinite number of servers, while the increasing complexity is due to the introduction of batch arrivals and the variability of the size of the arrival lot. A connection is made between production variables and power used by machines to consider energy consumption. A numerical example shows the applicability of the method and highlights the different results obtained through the three models. In addition, analytical formulations are available for all three proposed models; thus, no simulation process is needed.

Data-driven cost-effective capacity provisioning scheme in electric vehicle charging facility

In the actual power system, managing the amount of Contract power, which directly related to the capacity of electric vehicle (EV) charging facility, becomes an important issue to stabilize the power system and minimize the financial loss of the EV charging facility. Since, determining the Contract power is one of critical issues to implement the cost-effective charging service in EV charging facility, it influences the charging decision of EV users. To consider the concern of both the operator and EV users, this paper derives analytical models considering not only electricity tariff polices but also EV users’ inflow rate and behavior (i.e., the users’ willingness to charge and leaving without charging probability) based on an open-dataset about EV users. Then, using the analytical models, this paper proposes a novel method to optimize the capacity of EV charging facility by considering the relationship between various monetary factors and Contract power. Finally, applying the obtained optimal Contract power in actual power system and market environment, we confirm that the proposed scheme could achieve reduction of overall monetary cost 24.6% compared to other benchmark models.

Agency Cost of Debt and Inside Debt: The Role of CEO Overconfidence

AbstractThis study extends our understanding of CEO inside debt compensation under an agency problem perspective by considering the impact of a behavioural trait, namely CEO overconfidence. Using a sample of US firms in Standard & Poor's ExecuComp for the period 2006–2019, we find that overconfident CEOs exhibit greater inside debt incentives (i.e. incentives arising from defined‐benefit pensions and deferred compensation). This relationship is more pronounced among firms with higher CEO overconfidence‐induced agency cost of debt (e.g. financially unconstrained firms) managed by CEOs who are less able to align compensation with their own preferences (e.g. less powerful CEOs). The results are robust to endogeneity, self‐selection concerns and alternative explanations. We contribute to the inside compensation literature that deals with agency problems under overconfident CEOs, and optimal contracting and managerial power theories.

Association of Gene Variants for Mechanical and Metabolic Muscle Quality with Cardiorespiratory and Muscular Variables Related to Performance in Skiing Athletes.

Background: Skiing is a popular outdoor sport posing different requirements on musculoskeletal and cardiorespiratory function to excel in competition. The extent to which genotypic features contribute to the development of performance with years of ski-specific training remains to be elucidated. We therefore tested whether prominent polymorphisms in genes for angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE-I/D, rs1799752), tenascin-C (TNC, rs2104772), actinin-3 (ACTN3, rs1815739) and PTK2 (rs7460 and rs7843014) are associated with the differentiation of cellular hallmarks of muscle metabolism and contraction in high level skiers. Material & Methods: Forty-three skiers of a world-leading national ski team performed exhaustive cardiopulmonary exercise testing as well as isokinetic strength testing for single contractions, whereby 230 cardiopulmonary measurements were performed in the period from 2015–2018. A total of 168 and 62 data measurements were from the Alpine and Nordic skiing squads, respectively. Ninety-five and one hundred thirty-five measurements, respectively, were from male and female athletes. The average (±SD) age was 21.5 ± 3.0 years, height 174.0 ± 8.7 cm, and weight 71.0 ± 10.9 kg for the analysed skiers. Furthermore, all skiers were analysed concerning their genotype ACE-I/D, Tenascin C, ACTN3, PTK2. Results: The genotype distribution deviated from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium for the ACTN3 genotype, where rs1815739-TT genotypes (corresponding to the nonsense mutation) were overrepresented in world-class skiers, indicating a slow muscle fibre phenotype. Furthermore, the heterozygous rs2104772-AT genotypes of TNC also demonstrated the best scaled peak power output values during ramp exercise to exhaustion. The highest values under maximum performance for heart rate were associated with the rs1799752-II and rs1815739-CC genotypes. The lowest values for peak power of single contractions were achieved for rs1815739-CC, rs1799752-II and rs7843014-CT genotypes. The skiing discipline demonstrated a main influence on cardiorespiratory parameters but did not further interact with genotype-associated variability in performance. Discussion: Classically, it is pointed out that muscles of, for example, alpine skiers do not possess a distinct fibre type composition, but that skiers tend to have a preponderance of slow-twitch fibres. Consequently, our findings of an overrepresentation of ACTN3-TT genotypes in a highly selective sample of elite world class skiers support the potential superiority of a slow fibre type distribution. Conclusions: We suggest that one competitive advantage that results from a slow, typically fatigue-resistant fibre type distribution might be that performance during intense training days is better preserved, whereby simply a higher technical training volume can be performed, yielding to a competitive advantage.

Optimal Electricity Decomposition Method for New Energy Grid-Connected System based on Q-Learning Algorithm

Since the traditional contract power decomposition in the power trading market is difficult to meet the needs of new energy participating in the system operation, an optimal decomposition method of contract power based on the Q-learning algorithm under the uncertainty of new energy power is proposed. Considering the uncertainty of new energy power output, an optimization model to minimize the power purchase cost of the power grid is established. Given the uncertainty of the newly added electricity and the quotation in the market transaction, it is proposed to use the enhanced Q-learning algorithm to obtain the contract decomposition of electricity. According to the actual annual contract electricity data, the monthly optimal decomposition results of contract electricity are obtained, which verifies the economy and effectiveness of the optimal electricity decomposition method.

Wind Power Consumption Model Based on the Connection between Mid- and Long-Term Monthly Bidding Power Decomposition and Short-Term Wind-Thermal Power Joint Dispatch

Due to the insufficient consideration of medium and long-term wind power contract power in short-term dispatch, long-term planning and real-time consumption of wind power cannot be effectively undertaken, resulting in a large amount of abandoned wind power. A way to improve the wind power absorption capacity has become an urgent problem to be studied. According to the characteristics of the market and dispatching in the process of wind-fire integration construction, this paper constructs a wind power consumption model that connects the mid- and long-term transaction power decomposition and short-term dispatch. Considering the unit output characteristics and maintenance, the monthly contract electricity is decomposed into daily electricity, and the nesting of medium and long-term transactions and short-term scheduling is realized; the second stage is a short-term multi-objective optimal scheduling model considering the decomposition of contract electricity and the output of non-bidding units to improve the real-time consumption of wind power. Finally, a province in northwest China is taken as an example to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

THE MODERN VALUE OF MOHIST THEORY IN ANCIENT CHINA

Mozi1 can be described as broad and profound, which covers the natural sciences, philosophy and social sciences, Mozi has made great achievements in mathematics, mechanics, optics, engineering science, etc. In terms of natural science, philosophy and logic, thoughts including «whole world as one community», «homogeneity of benefit and morality», «respect the rules», «peaceful coexistence», «mutual aid» advocated by Mozi, are complementary and consistent with his scientific rationality and scientific spirit. On this basis, Mozi further demonstrated his labor-based and ability-based view, power contract view, view of rule of law, and social overall view, etc. With the serious incompleteness and loss of the documents of Mozi, and the practical rationality and empirical way of thinking of traditional Confucianism have become cultural factors restricting the further development of science, technology and spiritual civilization. So the numerous scientific and technological achievements created by Mozi, and the ideological system of Mohism have not been fully and completely inherited and developed. In a certain sense, the elements of science, democracy and other elements lacking in the feudal social ideology with Confucianism as the mainstream need to be supplemented by the clear scientific rationality and scientific spirit of Mohist. To revitalize traditional culture and promote economic and social development, it is still necessary to continue to excavate and carry forward the scientific rationality and ethical spirit of Mohism.

Smart Charging for Electric Car-Sharing Fleets Based on Charging Duration Forecasting and Planning

Electric car-sharing (ECS) is an increasingly popular service in many European cities. The management of an ECS fleet is more complex than its thermal engine counterpart due to the longer ”refueling“ time and the limited autonomy of the vehicles. To ensure adequate autonomy, the ECS provider needs high-capacity charging hubs located in urban areas where available peak power is often limited by the system power rating. Lastly, electric vehicle (EV) charging is typically entrusted to operators who retrieve discharged EVs in the city and connect them to the charging hub. The timing of the whole charging process may strongly differ among the vehicles due to their different states of charge on arrival at the hub. This makes it difficult to plan the charging events and leads to non-optimal exploitation of charging points. This paper provides a smart charging (SC) method that aims to support the ECS operators’ activity by optimizing the charging points’ utilization. The proposed SC promotes charging duration management by differently allocating powers among vehicles as a function of their state of charge and the desired end-of-charge time. The proposed method has been evaluated by considering a real case study. The results showed the ability to decrease charging points downtime by 71.5% on average with better exploitation of the available contracted power and an increase of 18.8% in the average number of EVs processed per day.

Bargaining power and renegotiation of small private debt contracts

Bargaining power and renegotiation of small private debt contracts

Justice in supply chain relationships: A comprehensive review and future research directions

AbstractThis paper aims to assess the current status of research on inter‐organisational justice in supply chain relationships (SCRs), analyse its key themes and develop future research directions to advance the knowledge of SCRs. The study employed a rigorous review methodology that combined systematic and snowballing searches. In total, 98 papers published in peer‐reviewed journals between 1983 and 2020 were identified and have been descriptively and thematically analysed. Through synthesising and integrating the extant research, the study develops a taxonomy of types of inter‐organisational justice in SCRs (i.e., relationship overall justice, relationship dimensional‐based justice, event overall justice and event dimensional‐based justice). The review also identifies and discusses three main themes (and subthemes) of the existing research, including antecedents (i.e., governance mechanism, governance design, breach of contract and relationship power), outcomes (i.e., attitudinal, behavioural and performance) and boundary conditions (i.e., relationship and environmental) of inter‐organisational justice in SCRs. The study concludes by identifying current gaps and suggesting important research directions for further work.

Does The Countermovement Jump Accurately Assess Lower-limb Neuromuscular Fatigue?

Neuromuscular fatigue is monitored in athletes following intense exercise to inform future training prescription and to improve performance. Temporal analysis of the countermovement jump (CMJ) is frequently used to assess fatigue in athletes but is infrequently compared directly to low-frequency fatigue (LFF), a long-lasting fatigue typically assessed in the laboratory. LFF may be present in athletes. PURPOSE: To determine the time-course of changes in CMJ and lower limb LFF following an exhaustive cycling test and the relationship between LFF and temporal CMJ variables. METHODS: LFF and CMJ were assessed in seven active adults (24±2 years, 78±14 kg) prior to and following (0, 8, 15, 30, 60 mins and 24 and 48 hours) an incremental cycling test to exhaustion. Cycling began at 100 W and increased 25 W every 2 min until exhaustion. Temporal analysis of CMJ for peak power (PP), jump height (JH), and concentric contraction duration (CCD) were calculated from bilateral force plates. Low-frequency (10 Hz) force (F10) was elicited from transcutaneous femoral nerve stimulation prior to a maximal voluntary contraction (MVC). LFF was quantified as the F10:MVC ratio. The order of CMJ or LFF was randomized across time points. Changes in LFF and CMJ variables were assessed from two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (measure x time). RESULTS: Maximal aerobic power was 234±67 W (96±4% HRmax). A significant measure x time interaction (p<0.0001) and significant main effects of time (p=0.05) and method (p=0.02) were found. Compared to baseline, significant reductions in LFF (i.e., greater fatigue) were seen at 0-, 8-, 15- and 30-mins post-exercise (all p<0.02). No significant changes in any of the CMJ variables were observed post-exercise (p = 1.0). Furthermore, changes in LFF during exercise recovery was not correlated to changes in any of CMJ variables (r2<0.04, p>0.20), whereas all CMJ variables were significantly correlated with each other (0.22<r2<0.42, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: These results show that following exhaustive exercise, LFF persists for at least 30 mins whereas no change in CMJ performance variables were seen. These results call into question the practical utility of interpreting neuromuscular fatigue in athletes using the CMJ, even within 30 minutes of exhaustive exercise.

Mechanisms For The Age-related Loss In Power Of The Knee Extensors In Men And Women

The mechanisms for the loss in limb muscle power output in old (60-79 years) and very old adults (≥80 years) and whether these mechanisms differ between older men and women are not well-understood. PURPOSE: Compare peak power output of the knee extensor muscles between young, old, and very old adults and determine the physiological mechanisms for the age-related loss of power in men compared with women. METHODS: 31 young (22.9 ± 3.0 years, 16 men), 83 old (70.4 ± 4.9 years, 44 men), and 16 very old adults (85.8 ± 4.2 years, 7 men) performed maximal isokinetic contractions at 15 different velocities (0 - 450°/s) to identify peak power output across the torque-velocity relationship. Voluntary activation (VA) and contractile properties were assessed with transcranial magnetic stimulation and electrical stimulation of the femoral nerve. RESULTS: Old and very old men and women generated less power than young across all velocities (p < 0.01). Compared with young men (673 ± 41 W), peak power output was ~42% lower in old (399 ± 18 W, p < 0.01) and ~ 67% lower in very old (225 ± 19 W, p < 0.01). For women, peak power output was ~49% lower in old (223 ± 9 W, p < 0.01) and ~ 60% lower in very old (170 ± 15 W) compared with young (428 ± 20 W, p < 0.01). This corresponded with an age-related loss in peak power output of ~6.5 W/year for men (R2 = 0.62, p < 0.01) and ~ 4.2 W/year for women (R2 = 0.77, p < 0.01). Factors within the muscle were the most closely associated variables with peak power for both sexes including; thigh lean tissue mass (men: R2 = 0.53, p < 0.01; women: R2 = 0.34, p < 0.01), potentiated twitch amplitude (men: R2 = 0.60, p < 0.01; women: R2 = 0.55, p < 0.01), and rate of torque development of the potentiated twitch (men: R2 = 0.60, p < 0.01; women: R2 = 0.48, p < 0.01). In contrast, VA was weakly associated with peak power output for women (R2 = 0.13, p = 0.01) but not for men (R2 = 0.03, p = 0.18), and muscle activation (relative EMG amplitude) of the vastus lateralis during the maximal power contraction was not associated with peak power output for either men (R2 = 0.01, p = 0.35) or women (R2 = 0.04, p = 0.11). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that the age-related loss in power of the knee extensor muscles is due primarily to factors within the muscle for both men and women, and that impaired neural activation may play a minor role in the loss in power output for women.

Evaluation of energy consumption and power qua798lity in oil mills using advanced smart meters

One of the main industries in Spain and other Mediterranean countries are oil mills. Although the specific energy consumption of oil mills depends on the capacity and other characteristics, some studies have highlighted the high energy consumption of these industries. In the case of olive mills, previous studies have shown that energy consumption is mainly supported by electricity, with low contribution from gas, diesel or biomass. Considering the importance of reducing the electricity consumption in oil mills, it is necessary to analyse the power consumption in order to take actions focused to reduce the contracted power and the energy required in its operation. Moreover, since these industries may require stable power supply, it is appropriate to analyse the power quality in order to detect possible adverse effects derived from a poor power quality. This paper presents the analysis of data collected by the Circutor MYeBOX 1500 portable meter installed in an olive oil mill. It is shown how monitoring these facilities during several weeks can provide relevant information regarding the energy assessment and policies.

Optimization Model and Settlement Mechanism of Electricity Market in Zhejiang Province under the Form of Diversified and Highly Resilient Grid

Taking Zhejiang power market as the research object, this article compares the spot market, medium and long-term market and auxiliary service market models in Zhejiang Province with reference to the theories and practical experiences related to the construction of power market at home and abroad. Combining the situation of Zhejiang Province, the network situation and the current situation of power market construction, a multi-period generation dispatch optimization model based on power contract is proposed, and a day-ahead market clearing model adapted to distributed energy participation is established. Based on the deep learning algorithm using simulation cases of multiple scenarios, the power market model under the multi-fusion high resilience grid form is designed to provide suggestions for the design of generation dispatch optimization model and settlement mechanism for different power market development stages.

Operating Hydrogen-Based Energy Storage Systems in Wind Farms for Smooth Power Injection: A Penalty Fees Aware Model Predictive Control

Smooth power injection is one of the possible services that modern wind farms could provide in the not-so-far future, for which energy storage is required. Indeed, this is one among the three possible operations identified by the International Energy Agency (IEA)-Hydrogen Implementing Agreement (HIA) within the Task 24 final report, that may promote their integration into the main grid, in particular when paired to hydrogen-based energy storages. In general, energy storage can mitigate the inherent unpredictability of wind generation, providing that they are deployed with appropriate control algorithms. On the contrary, in the case of no storage, wind farm operations would be strongly affected, as well as their economic performances since the penalty fees wind farm owners/operators incur in case of mismatches between the contracted power and that actually delivered. This paper proposes a Model Predictive Control (MPC) algorithm that operates a Hydrogen-based Energy Storage System (HESS), consisting of one electrolyzer, one fuel cell and one tank, paired to a wind farm committed to smooth power injection into the grid. The MPC relies on Mixed-Logic Dynamic (MLD) models of the electrolyzer and the fuel cell in order to leverage their advanced features and handles appropriate cost functions in order to account for the operating costs, the potential value of hydrogen as a fuel and the penalty fee mechanism that may negatively affect the expected profits generated by the injection of smooth power. Numerical simulations are conducted by considering wind generation profiles from a real wind farm in the center-south of Italy and spot prices according to the corresponding market zone. The results show the impact of each cost term on the performances of the controller and how they can be effectively combined in order to achieve some reasonable trade-off. In particular, it is highlighted that a static choice of the corresponding weights can lead to not very effective handling of the effects given by the combination of the system conditions with the various exogenous’, while a dynamic choice may suit the purpose instead. Moreover, the simulations show that the developed models and the set-up mathematical program can be fruitfully leveraged for inferring indications on the devices’ sizing.

Application of the artificial bee colony algorithm to power contract capacity optimization

In recent years, the artificial intelligence of imitation human neuron operation has become an aid to human thinking. Therefore, we applied this technique to forecast medium-term load systems. Power loads represent an indispensable energy in our life, so effectively forecasting power load usage may not only decrease energy consumption but also reduce the cost of contract capacity. Currently, people have used end-use models, load density, trend analysis, and statistical methods to predict Medium-Term Load Forecasts (MTLF) and have employed artificial neural networks to predict Short-Term Load Forecasts (STLF). In this paper we propose an optimized structure to predict the power load by combining an artificial bee colony (ABC) and an artificial neural network (ANN) to forecast MTLF. After considerable trial-and-error testing, the influence of different structures, max iteration, and datasets leading to different errors all became points in our study. These structures were also put into both a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and a genetic algorithm (GA) to test the experiment. The experimental results verified that ABC demonstrated better performance in max iteration 30 and structure 7-n-1. An appropriate contract capacity prediction can be obtained by applying this structure. To show the effectiveness of the proposed structure, we verified it with six years’ statistical data of the health care service industry from Taiwan Power Company and then discuss the results.

P-333 The influence of hormonal stimulation on uterine peristalsis measured by ultrasound speckle tracking in women with IVF/ICSI treatment compared to normal ovulating women

Abstract Study question To investigate possible effects of ovarian stimulation during IVF/ICSI on uterine peristalsis features using ultrasound speckle tracking compared to normal ovulating women. Summary answer Patients with a normal uterus treated with exogenous hormones during IVF/ICSI treatment show significantly increased contraction amplitude and power parameters compared to normal ovulating women. What is known already Uterine peristalsis plays a role in procreation. Subjective visual inspection of uterine peristalsis is extensively researched throughout the menstrual cycle. Studies on uterine peristalsis in IVF/ICSI patients show higher frequency of uterine contractions during the periovulatory phase. Recently, a new automated quantitative method was validated to objectively analyse uterine strain using speckle tracking. Besides objective insight in frequency, also information on amplitude, power and coordination of motion is available. The effect of exogenous hormones on uterine contraction features has not objectively been studied using this new method. Study design, size, duration This multicentre prospective observational cohort study was performed between 2020 and 2022 in the Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, Embryolab Fertility Centre in Thessaloniki, Greece and University of Naples, Federico II in Naples, Italy. 30 normal ovulating patients served as controls. The primary outcomes were the contraction features frequency, amplitude, direction, velocity, power and coordination in women undergoing IVF/ICSI on the day of follicle aspiration compared to controls on cycle day 9 – 14. Participants/materials, setting, methods 19 women undergoing IVF/ICSI were included regardless of the treatment cycle number and stimulation protocol. Indication for IVF/ICSI treatment was male subfertility (n = 8), idiopathic subfertility (n = 5), tubal factor (n = 2), primary ovarian insufficiency (n = 2) or combined (n = 2), all women had normal uteri on transvaginal ultrasound. The control group consisted of 30 healthy pre-menopausal women with normal uteri on ultrasound and spontaneous regular cycles. Main results and the role of chance Each patient underwent a 2.5 – 4 minute transvaginal ultrasound of the uterus in mid-sagittal plane. The various contraction features were extracted using a quantitative dedicated speckle tracking algorithm analysis studying motion of the subendometrial junctional zone. Mean age of IVF/ICSI patients was 32.7 years and mean BMI was 25.6. Mean age of healthy controls was 33.8 years, BMI was 23.4, and cycle length was 27.44 days. Characteristics of IVF/ICSI patients and healthy volunteers showed no statistically significant differences. Both groups predominantly consisted of nulliparous women. In IVF/ICSI patients the contraction amplitude was significantly higher compared to controls (0.062 vs 0.040; p &amp;lt; 0.001). The contraction power (combination of amplitude and frequency) appeared to be significantly higher in IVF/ICSI patients compared to controls (1528.18 vs 683.44; p &amp;lt; 0.001). No significant differences were found in contraction frequency and coordination. Even though the mean coordination did not show statistically significant differences, the values were less scattered in IVF/ICSI patients, with a much smaller range of coordination values (1.04 – 3.06) compared to healthy volunteers (1.02 – 50.33). Limitations, reasons for caution The reported difference between IVF/ICSI patients and controls in contraction amplitude and power may not solely be attributed to the administration of exogenous hormones. The difference may also be due to an underlying cause for infertility in these patients. Another limitation of this study is the small sample size. Wider implications of the findings Future research should explore which uterine contraction profile is associated with viable pregnancy: during the natural menstrual cycle, or when treated with hormones. The question arises whether it is preferred to transfer the embryo in the stimulated cycle or implement a freeze-all policy and transfer during the natural menstrual cycle. Trial registration number NCT02310802