Kinematics and mechanics of ground take-off in the starling Sturnis vulgaris and the quail Coturnix coturnix

2000 ◽  
Vol 203 (4) ◽  
pp. 725-739 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.D. Earls

The mechanics of avian take-off are central to hypotheses about flight evolution, but have not been quantified in terms of whole-body movements for any species. In this study, I use a combination of high-speed video analysis and force plate recording to measure the kinematics and mechanics of ground take-off in the European starling Sturnis vulgaris and the European migratory quail Coturnix coturnix. Counter to hypotheses based on the habits and morphology of each species, S. vulgaris and C. coturnix both produce 80–90 % of the velocity of take-off with the hindlimbs. S. vulgaris performs a countermovement jump (peak vertical force four times body weight) followed by wing movement, while C. coturnix performs a squat jump (peak vertical force 7.8 times body weight) with simultaneous wing movement. The wings, while necessary for continuing the movement initiated by the hindlimbs and thereafter supporting the body weight, are not the primary take-off accelerator. Comparison with one other avian species in which take-off kinematics have been recorded (Columba livia) suggests that this could be a common pattern for living birds. Given these data and the fact that running take-offs such as those suggested for an evolving proto-flier are limited to large or highly specialized living taxa, a jumping model of take-off is proposed as a more logical starting point for the evolution of avian powered flight.

1975 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Cavagna

Walking and running on the level involves external mechanical work, even when speed averaged over a complete stride remains constant. This work must be performed by the muscles to accelerate and/or raise the center of mass of the body during parts of the stride, replacing energy which is lost as the body slows and/or falls during other parts of the stride. External work can be measured with fair approximation by means of a force plate, which records the horizontal and vertical components of the resultant force applied by the body to the ground over a complete stride. The horizontal force and the vertical force minus the body weight are integrated electronically to determine the instantaneous velocity in each plane. These velocities are squared and multiplied by one-half the mass to yield the instantaneous kinetic energy. The change in potential energy is calculated by integrating vertical velocity as a function of time to yield vertical displacement and multiplying this by body weight. The total mechanical energy as a function of time is obtained by adding the instantaneous kinetic and potential energies. The positive external mechanical work is obtained by adding the increments in total mechanical energy over an integral number of strides.


1987 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 264-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Bahlsen ◽  
Benno M. Nigg

Impact forces analysis in heel-toe running is often used to examine the reduction of impact forces for different running shoes and/or running techniques. Body mass is reported to be a dominant predictor of vertical impact force peaks. However, it is not evident whether this finding is only true for the real body mass or whether it is also true for additional masses attached to the body (e.g., running with additional weight or heavy shoes). The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of additional mass on vertical impact force peaks and running style. Nineteen subjects (9 males, 10 females) with a mean mass of 74.2 kg/56.2 kg (SD = 10.0 kg and 6.0 kg) volunteered to participate in this study. Additional masses were attached to the shoe (.05 and .1 kg), the tibia (.2, .4, .6 kg), and the hip (5.9 and 10.7 kg). Force plate measurements and high-speed film data were analyzed. In this study the vertical impact force peaks, Fzi, were not affected by additional masses, the vertical active force peaks, Fza, were only affected by additional masses greater than 6 kg, and the movement was only different in the knee angle at touchdown, ϵ0, for additional masses greater than .6 kg. The results of this study did not support findings reported earlier in the literature that body mass is a dominant predictor of external vertical impact force peaks.


1993 ◽  
Vol 182 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Wortmann ◽  
W. Zarnack

1. We simultaneously recorded lift/body weight, flight speed, body angle and 12 variables of wing movement for locusts performing tethered long-term flight with low movement scatter. The movements of the forewings and hindwings were recorded in three dimensions by means of miniature induction coils. 2. By adjusting the body angle, we could reproducibly manipulate lift generation as a consequence of induced changes in the wings' movement patterns. We were therefore able to analyse various relationships between the movement patterns and lift. 3. The most prominent variations of kinematic variables were observed for the forewing movements. The relative lift and the steady angle of pitch were positively correlated but there was a negative correlation between relative lift and pitching amplitude. We found no correlation between relative lift and flapping amplitude. Our results seem to correspond to a new theory about unsteady aerodynamics of oscillating aerofoils. 4. We sometimes observed variations in lagging. 5. The forewing downstroke was delayed by 0–8 ms following the hindwing downstroke. Relative lift was positively correlated to this delay.


Author(s):  
Rosemary Gallagher ◽  
Stephaine Perez ◽  
Derek DeLuca ◽  
Isaac L. Kurtzer

Reaching movements performed from a crouched body posture require a shift of body weight from both arms to one arm. This situation has remained unexamined despite the analogous load requirements during step initiation and the many studies of reaching from a seated or standing posture. To determine whether the body weight shift involves anticipatory or exclusively reactive control we obtained force plate records, hand kinematics, and arm muscle activity from 11 healthy right-handed participants. They performed reaching movements with their left and right arm in two speed contexts - 'comfortable' and 'as fast as possible' - and two postural contexts - a less stable knees-together posture and more stable knees-apart posture. Weight-shifts involved anticipatory postural actions (APA) by the reaching and stance arms that were opposing in the vertical axis and aligned in the side-to-side axis similar to APAs by the legs for step initiation. Weight-shift APAs were correlated in time and magnitude, present in both speed contexts, more vigorous with the knees placed together, and similar when reaching with the dominant or non-dominant arm. The initial weight-shift was preceded by bursts of muscle activity in the shoulder and elbow extensors (posterior deltoid and triceps lateral) of the reach arm and shoulder flexor (pectoralis major) of the stance arm which indicates their causal role; leg muscles may have indirectly contributed but were not recorded. The strong functional similarity of weight-shift APAs during crouched reaching to human stepping and cats reaching suggests that they are a core feature of posture-movement coordination.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Wanmi Nathaniel ◽  
Onyeanusi I. Barth ◽  
Nzalak J. Oliver ◽  
Aluwong Tanang

<p class="jbls-body"><span lang="EN-GB">A total of one hundred and seventy-three fertilized eggs were used for morphometry, gross and histological studies. At day 4 of incubation, the mean body weight of the helmeted guinea fowl embryo was 0.6401 ± 0.0211 g. It was at day 10 of incubation that there was an increase in the whole body weight of the embryo to be 0.8650 ± 0.676 g. The whole brain weight indicated relative increased at day 4 as compared to that of the whole body weight. Graphically, there were steady increase in the body, brain and optic lobe weights. Histologically, cells and neurones that make up the optic lobe is probably as a result of the migration of immature cells from the ventricular neuroepithelium. </span></p>


A proper understanding of how locusts fly must be based upon knowledge of how the wings are moved. A desert locust was suspended from a balance and placed in an air stream so that it flew under nearly the same conditions as during natural forward flight. Four stroboscopic slow-motion films were selected for measurement. The movements of the wings, i.e. their positions, velocities and accelerations, were then calculated in sufficient detail to show how these quantities vary with time during one complete wing stroke. The aerodynamic lift and drag of the entire natural wing were measured in a wind tunnel with the wing arranged in different positions relative to the flow. By placing it in the boundary layer of the tunnel, the wind speed was graded from tip to base in approximately the same way as during the actual flight. There is therefore no error due to scale effect or to the induced drag. In most respects the wings resemble ordinary, slightly cambered airfoils. Their characteristics are given as polar diagrams. The kinematic and aerodynamic analyses make it possible to calculate the forces which act upon the locust at any instant of time. It is here necessary to presuppose that the non-stationary flight situations are essentially similar to a sequence of stationary situations. For locusts, this presupposition is justified: (i) from theoretical estimates of the quantitative effect of non-stationary flow; and (ii) from control measurements of the average thrust and lift produced during flight. It was found that the calculated vertical force, when averaged over an entire wing stroke, equalled the average reduction in body weight, as measured directly on the flight balance. Similarly, the average thrust of the wings corresponded to the drag of the body. The analysis shows how the aerodynamic forces vary during the wing stroke. The hindwings are responsible for about 70 % of the total lift and thrust. About 80 % of the lift is produced during the downstroke. During flight at normal lift the angles of attack (middle part of wing) are small during the upstroke and vary between 10 and 15° during the downstroke. When the lift was larger or smaller than the body weight these figures increased or decreased respectively. The forewings are peculiar in two ways: (i) during the middle part of the downstroke a true flap (the vannus) is put into action; (ii) during the upstroke the proximal part has a Z-shaped cross-section and gives but little lift and drag. The hindwings are characteristic in that the posterior part (vannus) is flexible and becomes moulded by the wind, increasing the angle of attack at which stalling occurs to about 25°. Since both the movements of the wings relative to the body and the aerodynamic forces are known at any instant, the exchange of power with the surrounding air can be calculated. The moments of inertia of the wing mass being known, the power for accelerating the wings can also be estimated. The sum of these contributions is the power which passes the wing fulcrum; this estimate is used in a later paper (part IX) where the energetics of flight is discussed in detail. The diagrams are correct to scale. The restriction of freedom caused by the suspension is discussed, together with the possible errors of a stationary analysis.


2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 213-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.L. Lim ◽  
T.M. Winegard

Anguilliform mode swimmers pass waves of lateral bending down their elongate bodies to propel forward. Hagfishes (Myxinidae) are classified as anguilliform swimmers, but their unique habits and reduced morphology—including a flexible body lacking a vertebral column—have the potential to translate into unique swimming behaviour within this broad classification. Their roles as active scavengers and hunters can require considerable bouts of swimming, yet quantitative data on hagfish locomotion are limited. Here, we aim to provide a more complete mechanistic understanding of hagfish swimming by quantifying whole-body kinematics of steady swimming in Pacific hagfish (Eptatretus stoutii (Lockington, 1878)) and Atlantic hagfish (Myxine glutinosa L., 1758), species from the two main lineages of Myxinidae. We analyzed high-speed video of hagfishes swimming at voluntary swim speeds and found that both species swim using high-amplitude undulatory waves. Swim speed is generally frequency-modulated, but patterns in wave speed, wavelength, and amplitude along the body and across swim speeds are variable, implying versatile mechanisms for the control of swim speed in these highly flexible fishes. We propose mechanistic explanations for this kinematic variability and compare hagfish with other elongate swimmers, demonstrating that the hagfish’s rich locomotory repertoire adds variety to the already diverse set of locomotory kinematics found in anguilliform swimmers.


Complexity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Tuan Anh Nguyen

The rollover phenomenon is a particularly dangerous problem. This phenomenon occurs when the driver travels at high speed and suddenly steers. Under the influence of centrifugal force, the body vehicle will be tilted and cause the wheels to lift off the road. To solve this problem, the method of using an active stabilizer bar has been proposed. The active stabilizer bar is controlled automatically by a previously designed controller. The performance of the active stabilizer bar depends on the selected control method. Previous research often only used a half-car dynamics model combined with a linear single-track dynamics model to simulate the vehicle’s oscillation. In addition, most of the research focuses only on the use of linear control methods for the active stabilizer bar. Therefore, the performance of the stabilizer bar is not guaranteed. This paper focuses on establishing the model of spatial dynamics combined with the nonlinear double-track dynamics model that fully describes the vehicle’s oscillation most accurately. Besides, the fuzzy control method is proposed to control the operation of the hydraulic stabilizer bar. This is a completely novel model, and it is suitable for the actual traveling conditions of the vehicle. Also, simulations are done based on different scenarios. The results of the paper showed that the values of the roll angle, the difference in the vertical force at the wheels, and the displacement of the unsprung mass were significantly reduced when the vehicle used the active stabilizer bar, which is controlled by an intelligent control method. Therefore, the stability and safety of the vehicle have been guaranteed. This result will be the basis for performing other more complex research in the future.


In this Paper tibia bone is generated and analyzed using finite element method by applying static load on it and various stress concentrated regions in tibia bone is identified and analyzed for stresses at various locations by taking Von Misses stress and displacement. The body of the human being consists of many bones and muscles and many instances, the application of different loads leads to the damage in the bone. So it is necessary to evaluate the effect of applied loads on the bone of human body. In most of the cases whole body weight is carried by the tibia bone which is below the knee roll. So it’s necessary to estimate the strength of the tibia bone to carry the body weight. The behavior of the tibia bone under dynamic and static load is necessary for the orthopedic doctors during the treatment of ankle trauma and fractures, but in this paper the study is limited to only static and find out the aspects like Von Misses stress and displacement of tibia bone model under different forces of 800N, 810N, 820N &830N and from the result its understood that both Von Misses stress and displacement are directly proportional to the applied force and the value of Von misses stress in result is less than the maximum value i.e 18MPa for calcium, hence its concluded that generated bone model can withstand the applied force in the range of 800 to 850N


2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-64
Author(s):  
Md Rafiqul Bari ◽  
TC Das ◽  
Anwar Hussain ◽  
Md Mazharul Islam ◽  
Abul Kalam Mohommad Yousuf

In case of hanging the process of respiration i.e. the exchange of air between the atmosphere and the alveoli of lungs is prevented by ligature in neck, leading to asphyxia and death. Hanging may be complete/incomplete (partial) where the constricting forces are the body weight or even only the weight of the head. In complete hanging whole body is suspended, no part of the body touches the ground. Complete hanging is suicidal in nature unless otherwise proved. In partial hanging any part of the body touches the ground. Partial hanging is suicidal (100%) in nature & there is no 2nd thought. Generally Medical and non-medical personals think that complete hanging may be suicidal, but partial hanging is definitely homicidal in nature which is not the actual fact. Hanging with signs of torture in various parts of body goes in favour of (provoked) suicidal nature. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jdnmch.v18i1.12244 J. Dhaka National Med. Coll. Hos. 2012; 18 (01): 63-64


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