PO-299 Isokinetic Assessment of Lower Extremities in Chinese Elite Male Figure Skaters

Objective Figure skating is a kind of sport that is a unique combination of art and athleticism. In recent years, the increased emphasis on jumping skills has become apparent, the number of quadruple jump in 2018 winter olympic game was 2.2 times in short program and 2.5 times in long program in the top six male figure skating athletes’s program choreography compared with the 2014.The demand for more jumping skills has resulted in an increased demand for lower extremity strength, power, and “power endurance” to achieve high-difficulty skills while fatigued.But there are few researches about the strength characteristics of figure skaters.. Present research project aimed to analyse the characteristic of lower extremities strength of chinese elite male figure skaters. Methods 13 nationally ranked male figure skaters volunteered for this study ([M±SD] n=13, height 175.0±5.8 cm, weight 67.9±7.9kg, age 21.5±2.9yrs). The datas were collected from 2009-2013 years.All of the athletes landing by the right leg.The dynamic strength of hip and knee were obtained using a Isomed2000 isokinetic dynamometer system(D&R Ferstl GmbH, Hemau,Germany). Datas were recorded with computer system. Hip strength were tested in the lying position, the testing side thigh was fixed on the adapter, the range of movement was 10-100 degrees. Knee strength were tested in the siting position, the testing side calf was fixed on the adapter, the range of movement was 10-90 degrees. The other part of body were fix by the aid system. Both test speed used were 60 deg/sec.Used spss19.0 to analyze the datas. Used pair-t test to analyze the differences between left and right. Significance level is P≤0.05 Results The maximal knee extensor torque of left(2.82±0.39Nm/kg) was lower(L/R:0.946±0.077) than right(2.99±0.39Nm/kg)(P=0.024).;the maximal hip extensor torque of left(5.17±0.56Nm/kg) was higher(L/R:1.079±0.107) than right(4.81±0.54Nm/kg)(P=0.023);the maximal hip flexor torque of left(2.18±0.30Nm/kg) was lower(L/R:0.925±0.105) than right(2.37±0.37Nm/kg)(P=0.02).There was no difference between left(1.64±0.19Nm/kg) and right(1.69±0.20Nm/kg) knee flexors.Three athletes had been found imbalance(20% difference between left and right) in hip muscle.The Flex/Ext ratio of left hip(0.423±0.049) was lower than right(0.497±0.078)(P=0.001).The Flex/Ext ratio of knee was no difference between left(0.590±0.081) and right(0.568±0.054). Conclusions The results obtained in this study show that the hip muscle differences were the major difference of chinese elite male figure skaters. Coaches should pay more attention to hip strength training in future. &nbsp

Investigation on stall characteristics of marine centrifugal pump considering transition effect

Marine centrifugal pumps are used as boiler feed pumps and condensate pumps in ocean engineering. Centrifugal pump stall is a transient flow structure, which may disrupt the uniformity of the flow field and have destructive effects on the pump. Centrifugal pump simulations are usually limited to the application of turbulence, ignoring the transition characteristics of the blade boundary layer. Aiming at the transient characteristics of centrifugal pump stall vortex, the calculation strategy considering the transition effect is established. This strategy determines the near-wall mesh based on the transition flow parameters and is applied to calculate the centrifugal pump stall for the first time. It is found that at deep stall conditions, the number of stall cells calculated by the transition model increases, while the stall frequency decreases. The microscopic flow structure calculated by the transition model and its relationship with the hump of the centrifugal pump head is obtained. The laminar separation bubbles near the blade leading edge will increase as the flow rate decreases, causing an increase in the friction loss on the blade surface, which lead to a hump in the pump head characteristics. The dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) method is used to extract the characteristic frequencies and corresponding modes of the 0.2Qd condition. In the high-order mode of the stall flow field with transition, a low-pressure zone formed at the head of the blade has a tendency to fall off from the wall, which shows the high-order motion characteristics of the stall vortex. The results could guide centrifugal pump design and operation.</p

Endurance exercise is a leptin signaling mimetic in hypothalamus of Wistar rats

BACKGROUND: Endurance exercise is known to promote a substantial effect on the energy balance in rats and humans. However, little is known about the exact mechanisms for the appetite-suppressive effects of endurance exercise. We hypothesized that endurance training might activate signaling cascades in the hypothalamus known to be involved in leptin signaling. METHODS: 16 male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to two groups: sedentary (n = 8) and exercise groups (n = 8). Animals in the exercise group started treadmill running at 30 m/min, 0% grade, for 1 min/bout. Running time was gradually increased by 2 min/bout every day. The training plan was one bout per day during initial two weeks, and two bouts per day during 3rd-9th week. At the end of nine-week experiment, blood was analyzed for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), free fatty acid (FFA), interleukin (IL)-6, and leptin in both groups. Activations of janus kinase 2-signaling transducer and activator of transcription 3 (JAK2-STAT3), protein kinase B (Akt), extracellular regulated kninase (ERKs), and suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) in hypothalamus were measured in the end of nine weeks of exercise protocol. RESULTS: Nine-week endurance exercise induced lower concentrations of LDL-C, TG, TC, FFA, and leptin in rats (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Nine-week endurance exercise significantly increased the circulating IL-6 concentration compared with sedentary group (239.6 ± 37.2 pg/ml vs. 151.8 ± 31.5 pg/ml, P < 0.01). Exercise rats showed significant increases in JAK2, STAT3, Akt, ERKs, and SOCS3 phosphorylations compared with sedentary rats (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The data suggest that endurance exercise is a leptin signaling mimetic in hypothalamus of Wistar rats

Effect of Cu doping on the microstructure and mechanical properties of AlTiVN-Cu nanocomposite coatings

Cu phase has been incorporated into hard coatings to form nanocomposite structure, which not only enhanced the hardness but also the toughness due to excellent ductility of copper. In this study, a single Al67Ti33-V-Cu spliced target was used to prepare the AlTiVN-Cu nanocomposite coatings, and the effect of Cu doping on microstructure and mechanical properties of AlTiVN-Cu coatings has been investigated. The results showed that the deposition rate linearly increased from 3.8 to 13.4 nm/min when Cu content increased from 2.6 to 46.7 at.%. AlTiVN-Cu coatings exhibited a Ti-Al-V-N solid-solution phase with strong (111) preferred orientation at low Cu contents below 8.3 at.%. When Cu content increased above 22.6 at.%, Cu atoms grew up into metallic crystallites and strongly suppressed crystal growth of nitride coatings due to repeated nucleation. With increasing Cu content, the microstructure transferred from compact columnar to dense featureless, and then to coarse columnar structure. AlTiVN-Cu(2.6 at.%) coating exhibited a super hardness of 41.1 GPa and an excellent toughness with a high H3/E*2 ratio of 0.24

Responses of gaseous sulfuric acid and particulate sulfate to reduced SO2 concentration : A perspective from long-term measurements in Beijing

SO2 concentration decreased rapidly in recent years in China due to the implementation of strict control policies by the government. Particulate sulfate (pSO(4)(2-)) and gaseous H2SO4 (SA) are two major products of SO2 and they play important roles in the haze formation and new particle formation (NPF), respectively. We examined the change in pSO(4)(2-) and SA concentrations in response to reduced SO2 concentration using long-term measurement data in Beijing. Simulations from the Community Multiscale Air Quality model with a 2-D Volatility Basis Set (CMAQ/2D-VBS) were used for comparison. From 2013 to 2018, SO2 concentration in Beijing decreased by similar to 81% (from 9.1 ppb to 1.7 ppb). pSO(4)(2-) concentration in submicrometer particles decreased by similar to 60% from 2012-2013 (monthly average of similar to 10 mu g.m(-3)) to 2018-2019 (monthly average of similar to 4 mu g.m(-3)). Accordingly, the fraction of pSO(4)(2-) in these particles decreased from20-30% to b10%. Increased sulfur oxidation ratio was observed both in the measurements and the CMAQ/2D-VBS simulations. Despite the reduction in SO2 concentration, there was no obvious decrease in SA concentration based on data from several measuring periods from 2008 to 2019. This was supported by the increased SA:SO2 ratio with reduced SO2 concentration and condensation sink. NPF frequency in Beijing between 2004 and 2019 remains relatively constant. This constant NPF frequency is consistent with the relatively stable SA concentration in Beijing, while different from some other cities where NPF frequency was reported to decrease with decreased SO2 concentrations. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Sulfuric acid-amine nucleation in urban Beijing

New particle formation (NPF) is one of the major sources of atmospheric ultrafine particles. Due to the high aerosol and trace gas concentrations, the mechanism and governing factors for NPF in the polluted atmospheric boundary layer may be quite different from those in clean environments, which is however less understood. Herein, based on long-term atmospheric measurements from January 2018 to March 2019 in Beijing, the nucleation mechanism and the influences of H2SO4 concentration, amine concentrations, and aerosol concentration on NPF are quantified. The collision of H2SO4-amine clusters is found to be the dominating mechanism to initialize NPF in urban Beijing. The coagulation scavenging due to the high aerosol concentration is a governing factor as it limits the concentration of H2SO4-amine clusters and new particle formation rates. The formation of H2SO4-amine clusters in Beijing is sometimes limited by low amine concentrations. Summarizing the synergistic effects of H2SO4 concentration, amine concentrations, and aerosol concentration, we elucidate the governing factors for H2SO4-amine nucleation for various conditions.Peer reviewe

The missing base molecules in atmospheric acid-base nucleation

Forming an (H2SO4)(1)(amine)(1) cluster is the rate-limiting step in atmospheric H2SO4-amine nucleation, which governs the fast formation of new particles from gaseous precursors.Transformation of low-volatility gaseous precursors to new particles affects aerosol number concentration, cloud formation and hence the climate. The clustering of acid and base molecules is a major mechanism driving fast nucleation and initial growth of new particles in the atmosphere. However, the acid-base cluster composition, measured using state-of-the-art mass spectrometers, cannot explain the measured high formation rate of new particles. Here we present strong evidence for the existence of base molecules such as amines in the smallest atmospheric sulfuric acid clusters prior to their detection by mass spectrometers. We demonstrate that forming (H2SO4)(1)(amine)(1) is the rate-limiting step in atmospheric H2SO4-amine nucleation and the uptake of (H2SO4)(1)(amine)(1) is a major pathway for the initial growth of H2SO4 clusters. The proposed mechanism is very consistent with measured new particle formation in urban Beijing, in which dimethylamine is the key base for H2SO4 nucleation while other bases such as ammonia may contribute to the growth of larger clusters. Our findings further underline the fact that strong amines, even at low concentrations and when undetected in the smallest clusters, can be crucial to particle formation in the planetary boundary layer.Peer reviewe

Seasonal Characteristics of New Particle Formation and Growth in Urban Beijing

Understanding the atmospheric new particle formation (NPF) process within the global range is important for revealing the budget of atmospheric aerosols and their impacts. We investigated the seasonal characteristics of NPF in the urban environment of Beijing. Aerosol size distributions down to similar to 1 nm and H2SO4 concentration were measured during 2018-2019. The observed formation rate of 1.5 nm particles (J(1.5)) is significantly higher than those in the clean environment, e.g., Hyytiala, whereas the growth rate is not significantly different. Both J(1.5) and NPF frequency in urban Beijing show a clear seasonal variation with maxima in winter and minima in summer, while the observed growth rates are generally within the same range around the year. We show that ambient temperature is a governing factor driving the seasonal variation of J(1.5). In contrast, the condensation sink and the daily maximum H2SO4 concentration show no significant seasonal variation during the NPF periods. In all four seasons, condensation of H2SO4 and (H2SO4)(n)(amine)(n) clusters contributes significantly to the growth rates in the sub-3 nm size range, whereas it is less important for the observed growth rates of particles above 3 nm. Therefore, other species are always needed for the growth of larger particles.Peer reviewe

Continuous and comprehensive atmospheric observations in Beijing : a station to understand the complex urban atmospheric environment

Peer reviewe

Remote cerebellar hemorrhage following repeated lumbar punctures

Abstract Background Remote cerebellar hemorrhage (RCH) is a rare complication in neurosurgery. No case of RCH secondary to repeated lumbar punctures (LPs) has been previously reported. Case presentation A 49-year-old man presented with impaired consciousness following persistent fever. Cerebrospinal fluid examination showed high opening pressure, elevated white blood cells, increased protein level, and decreased glucose level, resulting in a diagnosis of bacterial meningoencephalitis. Treatment with repeated LPs and intrathecal injection of ceftriaxone resulted in an improvement in neurological symptoms. However, on day 31 of treatment, brain magnetic resonance image (MRI) showed streaky bleeding in bilateral cerebellum (zebra sign), leading to a diagnosis of RCH. Close observation and repeated brain MRI imaging without specific treatments led to the absorption of bilateral cerebellar hemorrhage, and the patient was discharged with improved neurological symptoms. Repeated brain MRI scans one month after discharge showed that bilateral cerebellar hemorrhage had improved, and had disappeared one year after discharge. Conclusion We reported a rare occurrence of LPs-induced RCH presenting as isolated bilateral inferior cerebellar hemorrhage. Clinicians should be vigilant of the risk factors for RCH, closely monitoring patients' clinical symptoms and neuroimaging findings to determine the need for specialized treatment. Furthermore, this case highlights the importance of ensuring the safety of LPs and managing any potential complications appropriately