A review of tennis racket performance parameters

The application of advanced engineering to tennis racket design has influenced the nature of the sport. As a result, the International Tennis Federation has established rules to limit performance, with the aim of protecting the nature of the game. This paper illustrates how changes to the racket affect the player-racket system. The review integrates engineering and biomechanical issues related to tennis racket performance, covering the biomechanical characteristics of tennis strokes, tennis racket performance, the effect of racket parameters on ball rebound and biomechanical interactions. Racket properties influence the rebound of the ball. Ball rebound speed increases with frame stiffness and as string tension decreases. Reducing inter-string contacting forces increases rebound topspin. Historical trends and predictive modelling indicate swingweights of around 0.030–0.035 kg/m² are best for high ball speed and accuracy. To fully understand the effect of their design changes, engineers should use impact conditions in their experiments, or models, which reflect those of actual tennis strokes. Sports engineers, therefore, benefit from working closely with biomechanists to ensure realistic impact conditions.     

Synchronized lower limb kinematics with pelvis orientation achieves the non-rotational shot

A non-rotational (NR) shot is now a well-known scoring move in soccer. To execute the NR shot, it is necessary to deprive the ball of any rotational forces during the impact phase. To execute the NR shot, it is natural that the force vector acting from the foot would pass through the ball’s center of gravity; however, the coordinated motion of the lower limb joint’s angular displacement and the pelvis is still unclear. The aim of this study is to estimate the coordinated leg and pelvis motion during the NR shot as compared to that during instep kicking. Four right-leg dominant college league players were asked to perform a NR shot and an instep kick a total of 10 times each. Hip, knee, and ankle joint angular displacements in the sagittal plane and pelvis yaw and roll rotational motions during both types of kicks were calculated with 14 IR reflective markers using a 3D real-time motion analysis system with a 250-Hz sampling. The Euclidean distances of the joint space of the NR shot and the instep kick were also calculated to detect similarities in the coordinated motion of the lower limb. The results showed that the lower limb joint motions in the sagittal plane were not different; however, the pelvis roll and yaw motions were apparently different, and these phenomena could simulate a pendulum motion with changes in both the vertical and horizontal displacements. These results suggest that the coordinated motion of the lower limb joint’s angular displacement shows high similarity between the NR shot and the instep kick, and the pelvis roll and yaw synchronized orientation is essential for achieving the NR shot.     

Elite wheelchair rugby: a quantitative analysis of chair configuration in Australia

Limited recommendations of wheelchair configurations for court sports have been identified in the published literature. To accommodate the wide range of impairments in wheelchair rugby, players are given a point score that reflects their impairment. Players have regularly been grouped as high-, mid-, or low-point players in research, with high-point players having greater levels of muscle function compared with other classifications. This research documented the wheelchair configurations of elite Australian wheelchair rugby players across classification groups. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were found for increased seat height and decreased seat depth for high-point players compared with low- and mid-point groups, respectively. Low-point players displayed reduced wheelchair mass compared with high- and mid-point players, as well as increased frame length. Camber angles showed no significant differences across the classification groups. The incorporation of anthropometric measures, such as the elbow angle at the top dead center, was also investigated. While elbow angle showed no significant differences, seat height-to-total arm length ratio was higher for high-point players. Participants also completed surveys detailing their perception of the effect of altering wheelchair configurations. It is suggested that wheelchair configurations should consider an individual’s anthropometrics, impairment, training history, and court role to promote optimal performance, with predictive modeling having the potential to reduce the associated time and cost.     

超快激光脉冲的产生和放大

超快激光脉冲是实现超高速通信最为重要的部分.近十年来,啁啾脉冲放大技术和宽带增益介质的结合,高功率超快激光脉冲取得了迅猛的发展.在小型实验室桌面激光器就可以产生数太瓦功率的激光.本文介绍了用啁啾脉冲放大技术实现超快脉冲的产生和放大.     

大学生社会实践活动的意义、存在问题及对策

大学生社会实践是高等教育的重要组成部分,是提升大学生综合素质的重要载体.进入新世纪,大学生社会实践受到党和国家的高度重视,并取得了丰硕成果,但实践中也出现了一些问题,诸如形式实践、过度实践、虚假实践等消极现象拉低了实践活动的质量.基于此,笔者对大学生社会实践活动重入高质量、高价值轨道提出了相关对策.     

Improved fast intra prediction algorithm of H.264/AVC

With advanced prediction modes of intra prediction, intra coding of H.264/AVC offers significant coding gains compared with previous video coding standards. It uses an important tool called Lagrangian rate-distortion optimization (RDO) technique to decide the best coding mode for a block, but the computational burden is extremely high. In this paper, we proposed an improved fast intra prediction algorithm including block type selection and mode decision algorithm based on analysis of edge feature of a block. Our algorithm filters out unlikely block type and candidate modes to reduce the RDO calculations. Experimental results showed that the proposed algorithm can reduce the computation complexity of intra prediction from 52.90% to 56.31%, with 0.04 dB PSNR degradation and 2% increase of bit rate.     

Application of derivative ratio spectrophotometry for determination of β-carotene and astaxanthin from Phaffia rhodozyma extract

INTRODUCTION Carotenoids are a class of natural fat-solublepigments generally found in plants, algae, and pho-tosynthetic bacteria, where they play a critical role inthe photosynthetic process. Carotenoids also exist insome non-photo-synthetic bacteria, yeasts, and moldswhere they may carry out a protective functionagainst damages by light and oxygen. Although ani-mals can not synthesize carotenoids within theirbodies, they can intake carotenoids from their dietsleading to bright meat col…     

茶多酚调控自噬改善糖尿病心肌病的机制研究（英文）

目的:探究茶多酚对自噬的调控及对糖尿病心肌病大鼠心功能的影响。创新点:本研究提示了糖尿病可诱导心肌自噬水平增高,而茶多酚可抑制这一现象;相反,高脂血症可抑制心肌自噬,而茶多酚却能诱导被抑制的自噬。方法:各组大鼠造模成功后测定血中的血糖、血脂水平;心超检测大鼠心脏结构及功能变化;苏木精-伊红(HE)染色观察心肌结构及病理改变;透射电镜观察自噬体的形态和数量;蛋白质印迹法(Western blotting)检测自噬相关蛋白LC3-II、SQSTM1/p62及Beclin-1的表达水平。结论:茶多酚对糖尿病心肌病大鼠心功能具有保护作用,机制可能通过调节自噬水平改善糖尿病心肌糖脂代谢紊乱有关。     

Triadic interaction in clinical task-based interviews with mathematics teachers

A clinical task-based interview can be seen as a situation where the interviewer–interviewee interaction on a task is regulated by a system of explicit and implicit norms, values, and rules. This paper describes how documenting and mapping triadic interaction among the interviewer, the interviewee, and the knowledge negotiated can be used to increase procedural replicability of the interview and accuracy of drawn conclusions about the interviewee’s thinking process. Excerpts from interviews with 25 inservice mathematics teachers working on a task to make up a problem whose solution requires division of two fractions are discussed. The excerpts illustrate the relationship between methodological decisions taken by the interviewer during the interview and the applicability of the interview output to the research questions. A divergent analysis of the interviews with these teachers, which spanned over two years and were conducted by four interviewers, is used to offer a framework for analyzing data collected in clinical task-based interviews.     

永州市对外经贸发展中存在的问题与对策探讨

改革开放以来，永州市的对外经贸取得了很大的发展。本文拟立足永州市对外经贸所取得的成就，分析了对外经贸发展中存在的问题，提出了促进永州市对外经贸发展的应对策略。