COMPARISON OF BIOMECHANICAL MOVEMENT PATTERNS BY MEANS OF ORTHOGONAL REFERENCE FUNCTIONS

Common biomechanical analyses compare movements with the help of variables' intensities on certain instances. The analysis of variables' time courses during a single movement are mostly done just qualitatively or by singular variables. A quantitative comparison of movement patterns in terms of multivariate time courses could rarely be found in sports sciences. The present investigation demonstrates a method to compare sets of time courses of biomechanical variables. Eight throwing movements of a discus thrower during a learning process were filmed with two perpendicular positioned 16mm-cameras (LOCAM). From the digitized coordinates 20 body related variables were derived. The athletes' biomechanical movement pattern was defined by the description of the variables' time courses. The variables describe the joints' movement with angles and angular velocity. The time courses of the eight throws during one year are compared with each other. First the time courses and a set of six reference functions are normed to equal length and equal number of measurement points. The reference functions are six orthogonal mathematical functions. Each variables time-course is correlated with each of the six functions. The similarity of two variables' time courses is defined by a variables' similarity coefficient. With the help of the time courses of the variables' similarity coefficients, some variables can be determined which show synergies and dependence from the applied training contents. A few variables' similarity coefficient have an almost chaotic, hard explainable, time course during the learning period. The average of all variables' similarity coefficients yields to an overall similarity of the discus movement patterns. The time series of the overall similarity shows no resemblance to any variables' similarity time course. Obviously, the way how the whole biomechanical movement pattern changes during the learning process is different from the way that any single variables' time courses do. The changes of the movement patterns seem to have special dynamics

Thin films of fluorinated 3d-metal phthalocyanines as chemical sensors of ammonia: an optical spectroscopy study

A comparative study of the sensor response toward gaseous ammonia of hexadecafluorinated 3d-metal phthalocyanine (MPcF16, MCu(II), Co(II), Zn(II), Ni(II)) thin films was performed using complementary experimental (viz., surface plasmon resonance, SPR, and IR absorption spectroscopy) along with theoretical (density functional theory calculations, DFT) techniques. SPR measurements revealed changes of both thickness and optical parameters (refraction indices and extinction coefficients) of the MPcF16 films caused by adsorption of NH3. The MPcF16 species studied exhibited the following order of sensor response: ZnPcF16>CoPcF16≥CuPcF16>NiPcF16. A good correlation was found between the DFT calculated (B3LYP/6-311++G(2df,p)) binding energies, experimentally measured shift of the selected IR bands, and the optical sensor response. Apart from this, we performed a detailed assignment of all intense..

Exploiting system fluctuations: Differential training in physical prevention and rehabilitation programs for health and exercise

Background: Traditional causal modeling of health interventions tends to be linear in nature and lacks multidisciplinarity. Consequently, strategies for exercise prescription in health maintenance are typically group based and focused on the role of a common optimal health status template toward which all individuals should aspire. ----- ----- Materials and methods: In this paper, we discuss inherent weaknesses of traditional methods and introduce an approach exercise training based on neurobiological system variability. The significance of neurobiological system variability in differential learning and training was highlighted.----- ----- Results: Our theoretical analysis revealed differential training as a method by which neurobiological system variability could be harnessed to facilitate health benefits of exercise training. It was observed that this approach emphasizes the importance of using individualized programs in rehabilitation and exercise, rather than group-based strategies to exercise prescription.----- ----- Conclusion: Research is needed on potential benefits of differential training as an approach to physical rehabilitation and exercise prescription that could counteract psychological and physical effects of disease and illness in subelite populations. For example, enhancing the complexity and variability of movement patterns in exercise prescription programs might alleviate effects of depression in nonathletic populations and physical effects of repetitive strain injuries experienced by athletes in elite and developing sport programs

The nonlinear nature of learning : a differential learning approach

Traditional learning approaches are typically based on a linear understanding of causality where the same causeleads to the same effect. In recent years there has been increasing interest in the complexity of nature and living phenom-ena, with significant insights provided by models of change that are based on a nonlinear understanding of causality,where small causes can lead to big effects and vice versa. In this vein, learning processes seem to be more successful for inducing behavioral change when teaching processes deviate from a linear approach. The differential learning approachtakes advantage of fluctuations in a complex system by increasing them through ‘no repetition’ and ‘constantly changingmovement tasks’ which add stochastic perturbations. Previous research has provided much evidence on the superiority of a differential learning approach for learning single movement techniques, in comparison to repetition- and correction-oriented approaches. In this pilot study, the parallel acquisition and learning of two movement techniques in the sport of football are the objective of investigation. One traditionally trained group and two differentially trained groups (blockedand random) trained for 4 weeks, twice a week, on ball control and shooting at goal tasks. Results supported previouswork and revealed significant advantages for both differential groups in the acquisition phase as well as in the learning phase, compared to the traditional group. These data suggest that, instead of following a direct linear path towards the tar-get of a ‘to-be-learned’ movement technique by means of numerous repetitions and corrections, a differential approach ismore beneficial because it perturbs learners towards more functional movement patterns during practice