The Effects of Body Tempering on Force Production, Flexibility and Muscle Soreness in Collegiate Football Athletes

There has been limited research to explore the use of body tempering and when the use of this modality would be most appropriate. This study aimed to determine if a body tempering intervention would be appropriate pre-exercise by examining its effects on perceived soreness, range of motion (ROM), and force production compared to an intervention of traditional stretching. The subjects for this study were ten Division 1 (D1) football linemen from Sacred Heart University (Age: 19.9 ± 1.5 years, body mass: 130.9 ± 12.0 kg, height: 188.4 ± 5.1 cm, training age: 8.0 ± 3.5 years). Subjects participated in three sessions with the first session being baseline testing. The second and third sessions involved the participants being randomized to receive either the body tempering or stretching intervention for the second session and then receiving the other intervention the final week. Soreness using a visual analog scale (VAS), ROM, counter movement jump (CMJ) peak force and jump height, static jump (SJ) peak force and jump height, and isometric mid-thigh pull max force production were assessed. The results of the study concluded that body tempering does not have a negative effect on muscle performance but did practically reduce perceived muscle soreness. Since body tempering is effective at reducing soreness in athletes, it can be recommended for athletes as part of their pre-exercise warmup without negatively effecting isometric or dynamic force production.

Industry-Oriented Method for Dynamic Force Identification in Peripheral Milling Based on FSC-LSQR Using Acceleration Signals

Online measurement of milling force play a vital role in enabling machining process monitoring and control. In practice, the milling force is difficult to be measured directly with the dynamometer. This paper develops a novel method for milling force identification called least square QR-factorization with fast stopping criterion (FSC-LSQR) method, and the queue buffer structure (QBS) is employed for the online identification of milling force using acceleration signals. The convolution integral of milling force and acceleration signals is discretized, which turns the problem of milling force identification into a linear discrete ill-posed problem. The FSC-LSQR algorithm is adopted for milling force identification because of its high efficiency and accuracy, which handles the linear discrete ill-posed problem effectively. The online identification of milling force can be realized using the acceleration signal enqueue and the milling force dequeue operations of the QBS. Finally, the effectiveness of the method is verified by experiments. The experimental results show that the FSC-LSQR algorithm running time is within \((0.05s)\) and the calculation error is less than \((10\%)\). The proposed method can make the sampling frequency of the milling force reach 10240Hz by employing QBS, which satisfy the industry requirements of milling force measurement.

Development of a Semi-analytical Dynamic Thrust Force Model

A moving water mass generates force which is exerted on its moving path. Cyclone generated storm surge or earthquake generated tsunami are specific examples of moving water mass the generates force along the coasts. In addition to human lives, these moving water masses cause severe damages to the coastal infrastructure due to tremendous force exerted on these structures. To assess the damage on these infrastructures, an essential parameter is the resultant force exerted on these structures. To evaluate the damages, there is hardly any quantitative method available to compute this force. In this paper we have developed a semi-analytical model, named as Dynamic Force Model (DFM), by using Variational Iteration Method to compute this force. As governing equations, we have used the Saint Venant equations which are basically 1D shallow water equations derived from the Navier-Stokes equations. The verified, calibrated and validated DFM is applied in Bangladesh coastal zone to compute dynamic thrust force due to tropical cyclone SIDR.

High-Velocity Shear and Soft Friction at the Nanometer Scale

We study high-speed friction on soft polymer materials by measuring the amplitude dependence of cyclic lateral forces on the atomic force microscope (AFM) tip as it slides on the surface with fixed contact force. The resulting dynamic force quadrature curves separate the elastic and viscous contributions to the lateral force, revealing a transition from stick-slip to free-sliding motion as the velocity increases. We explain force quadratures and describe how they are measured, and we show results for a variety of soft materials. The results differ substantially from the measurements on hard materials, showing hysteresis in the force quadrature curves that we attribute to the finite relaxation time of viscoelastic surface deformation.

Anti-Ageism Interventions: An Ecological Approach

Ageism, discrimination based on age, is a systemic problem that occurs at multiple levels of the ecological system – meaning that ageism manifests at the individual, dyadic, institutional and societal levels. The expression of ageism within the levels of the ecological system makes ageism a continually shifting and dynamic force of oppression. Although ageism is a well-documented phenomenon with wide-reaching negative impacts, interventions to mitigate ageism’s effects remain understudied. Little is known about the taxonomy of interventions available addressing ageism at the individual, dyadic, subcultural, institutional and societal levels. The current study conducted a deductive content analysis of an anti-ageism resource clearinghouse, OldSchool.info, to evaluate ageism interventions using an ecological framework. Results indicate the majority of ageism interventions are passive-oriented societal-level macrosystem approaches. A gap analysis will be discussed that indicated more active-oriented interventions with engageable content to address ageism at the personal and relational levels are needed.

Characterization of Surface Topography Variation in the Ultra-Precision Tool Servo-Based Diamond Cutting of 3D Microstructured Surfaces

Previous models of the relative tool-work vibration are not generalized to represent the surface generation mechanism in the ultra-precision tool servo-based diamond cutting (UTSDC) of three-dimensional (3D) microstructured surfaces. This is due to the fact that the tool-work vibration in UTSDC is no longer a steady harmonic vibration with a constant amplitude but is influenced by the tool motion along the thrust direction. In this paper, dynamic modeling of the cutting system is presented for the characterization of surface topography variation in UTSDC of a microlens array considering the tool-work vibration as an underdamped vibration. The natural frequency and damping ratio of the cutting system are determined by the data-dependent systems (DDS) method. Based on the analysis of the surface profile and cutting force signals, it is found that the tool-work vibration is significantly enhanced in the cut-in process when the cutting speed increases. The simulation results show that the proposed dynamic model can well-determine root-mean-squares RMS values of the surface primary profile and the dynamic force acting on the force sensor. The dynamic model provides insight into the formation of the surface topography variation in UTSDC of 3D microstructured surfaces, and the model might be applied in self-optimized machining systems in the future.

Mechanical Design and Control System Development of a Rehabilitation Robotic System for Walking With Arm Swing

Background: Interlimb neural coupling implies that arm swing should be included during gait training to improve rehabilitation outcomes. We previously developed several systems for production of walking with arm swing, but the reaction forces on the foot sole during usage of the systems were not satisfactory and there was potential to improve control system performance. This work aimed to design and technically evaluate a novel system for producing walking with synchronised arm and leg movement and with dynamic force loading on the foot soles.Methods: The robotic system included a passive curved treadmill and a trunk frame, upon which the rigs for the upper and lower limbs were mounted. Ten actuators and servocontrollers with EtherCAT communication protocol controlled the bilateral shoulder, elbow, hip, knee and ankle joints. Impedance control algorithms were developed and ran in an industrial PC. Flexible pressure sensors recorded the plantar forces on the foot soles. The criteria of implementation and responsiveness were used to formally evaluate the technical feasibility of the system.Results: Using impedance algorithms, the system produced synchronous walking with arm swing on the curved treadmill, with mean RMS angular tracking error <2° in the 10 joint profiles. The foot trajectories relative to the hip presented similar shapes to those during normal gait, with mean RMS displacement error <1.5 cm. A force pattern that started at the heel and finished at the forefoot was observed during walking using the system, which was similar to the pattern from overground walking.Conclusion: The robotic system produced walking-like kinematics in the 10 joints and in the foot trajectories. Integrated with the curved treadmill, the system also produced walking-like force patterns on the foot soles. The system is considered feasible as far as implementation and responsiveness are concerned. Future work will focus on improvement of the mechanical system for future clinical application.