Evaluation of the sole morphology of professional football players

Background: Footprint analysis is one of the methods that can be used to diagnose foot pathologies. Football is usually seen as a team sport whereby players attempt to move the ball, primarily with the action of the foot to an opponent's goal area to score. Players have a high risk of injury in this sport. Research question: The aim of this study is to evaluate the sole morphology of professional football players. Type of study: Cross-sectional study. Methods: One hundred and ten professional Turkish football players and healthy volunteers participated in the study. Footprint images of both feet were obtained by means of a specially designed scanner system. By means of this system images of the right and left static weight-bearing footprints were acquired, firstly with 50% of the body weight on each foot and then with 90% of the body weight (standing straight, single-limb, weight-bearing stance) were obtained. Measurements were performed using the AutoCAD 2004 software. Results: Arch angle, Chippaux-Smirak, Staheli, arch length, arch, footprint, truncated arch were calculated for both left and right feet. In the 50% weight-bearing stance of the right foot, the arch angle and Chippaux-Smirak, Staheli, footprint, and truncated arch indices were significantly higher in the professional football players than in the controls. For the left foot, only the arch angle and Staheli index were significantly higher in the professional football players compared with the controls. In the 90% weight-bearing stance of the right foot, the arch angle and truncated arch index were significantly higher in the professional football players than in the controls. For the left foot, the arch angle, and the arch length, footprint, and truncated arch indices were significantly higher in the football players compared with the non-athlete controls. Conclusion: Foot morphology of football players may assist in the design of the best football boots for the sport

Sol-gel deposited electrochromic coatings

Electrochromic devices have increasing application in display devices, switchable mirrors and smart windows. A variety of vacuum deposition technologies have been used to make electrochromic devices. The sol- gel process offers an alternative approach to the synthesis of optical quality and low cost electrochromic device layers. This study summarizes the developments in sol-gel deposited electrochromic films. The sol-gel process involves the formation of oxide networks upon hydrolysis-condensation of alkoxide precursors. In this study we cover the sol-gel deposited oxides of WO[sub 3], V[sub 2]O[sub 5], TiO[sub 2], Nb[sub 2]O[sub 5], and NiO[sub x]

Hand-grip strenghts in right- and left-handers with different degrees of hand preferences

We evaluated hand grip- strength in right- and left-handed individuals with different degrees of preferences. Six hundred and thirty-three individuals (343 men, 290 women) aged between 18 and 42 years (22.11±2,07) participated. Hand preference was determined using the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory. A hydraulic hand dynamometer was used to measure the grip-strengths, while sitting with the elbow in 90° flexion and the forearm in semi-pronation, lying on an arm rest. The mean value of three trials was recorded. Statistically significant differences were observed among strongly right-handed men, weakly right-handed men, ambidextrous men, weakly left-handed men, and strongly left-handed men for right-hand grip strength. The differences between strong left- and strong right-handed men, weak right-handed and strong left-handed men, ambidextrous, and strong left-handed men were the primary reasons for the significance. No statistically significant difference was found among the different hand preference groups of men for the left hand, and no statistically significant difference was detected among different hand preference groups of women for either hand. Our study provides insight into the relationship between handedness and hand performance based on grip strength in a Turkish population. © Universitätsverlag Ulm GmbH 2008

Relationship between hand and eye preferences

This study evaluated the relationship between hand and eye preferences in 343 men and 290 women aged between 18 and 42 years (22.11±2.07). Right-handed men preferred their right eyes, whereas left-handed men preferred their left eyes (p .05), but a significant difference was observed between left-eye preference and a preference for both eyes (p = .008). Right-handed women preferred their right eyes, whereas left-handed women preferred their left eyes (p .05). The results suggest that cultural differences among study groups and individual differences within study groups explain the inconsistencies regarding hand and eye preferences. Moreover, the findings broaden our knowledge about eye preference in relation to hand preference in a Turkish population. © Universitätsverlag Ulm GmbH 2008