The effect of moment of inertia on the speed of swung implements.

The maximum swing speed of an implement is an important performance parameter in many sports. It is understood that moment of inertia (MOI) has an effect upon the swing speed of an implement and numerous studies have found a similar rate of swing speed decay (n). These studies considered different movements which suggested that skill was less important than physique to the relationship between swing speed and MOI. The aim of this project was to quantify this relationship and to determine whether the physical characteristics of a participant can be used to predict their swing speed performance. A series of eight visually identical rods with varied MOI were swung in a heavily restricted, maximal motion and trials were recorded with a motion capture system. The results found that swing speed decreased as MOI increased. It was also found that if n was assumed to be constant, the maximum work done by a participant was strongly and significantly related to their swing speed. The relationship between work done and swing speed was used to create a model to predict swing speed for an implement with a specific MOI. This model was validated for a new set of participants performing the same restricted motion and all measured data fell within the confidence intervals of the predictions. The ecological validity of the model was tested in an analysis of the swing speed of tennis groundstrokes. An impact model was used to analyse the effect of changing MOI on ball speed. It was discovered that there is an optimum MOI that produces a maximum ball speed and that this optimum MOI is dependent upon n. This makes the customisation of equipment a realistic possibility. A simple method for measuring n in a non-laboratory environment is proposed that will enable the customisation process to take place

Effects of moment of inertia on restricted motion swing speed

In many sports, the maximum swing speed of a racket, club, or bat is a key performance parameter. Previous research in multiple sports supports the hypothesis of an inverse association between the swing speed and moment of inertia of an implement. The aim of this study was to rigorously test and quantify this relationship using a restricted swinging motion. Eight visually identical rods with a common mass but variable moment of inertia were manufactured. Motion capture technology was used to record eight participants' maximal effort swings with the rods. Strict exclusion criteria were applied to data that did not adhere to the prescribed movement pattern. The study found that for all participants, swing speed decreased with respect to moment of inertia according to a power relationship. However, in contrast to previous studies, the rate of decrease varied from participant to participant. With further analysis it was found that participants performed more consistently at the higher end of the moment of inertia range tested. The results support the inverse association between swing speed and moment of inertia but only for higher moment of inertia implements

Evidence for Oxidative Stress and Defective Antioxidant Response in Guinea Pigs with Tuberculosis

The development of granulomatous inflammation with caseous necrosis is an important but poorly understood manifestation of tuberculosis in humans and some animal models. In this study we measured the byproducts of oxidative stress in granulomatous lesions as well as the systemic antioxidant capacity of BCG vaccinated and non-vaccinated guinea pigs experimentally infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In non-vaccinated guinea pigs, oxidative stress was evident within 2 weeks of infection as measured by a decrease in the serum total antioxidant capacity and blood glutathione levels accompanied by an increase in malondialdehyde, a byproduct of lipid peroxidation, within lesions. Despite a decrease in total and reduced blood glutathione concentrations, there was an increase in lesion glutathione by immunohistochemistry in response to localized oxidative stress. In addition there was an increase in the expression of the host transcription factor nuclear erythroid 2 p45-related factor 2 (Nrf2), which regulates several protein and non-proteins antioxidants, including glutathione. Despite the increase in cytoplasmic expression of Nrf2, immunohistochemical staining revealed a defect in Nrf2 nuclear translocation within granulomatous lesions as well as a decrease in the expression of the Nrf2-regulated antioxidant protein NQO1. Treating M. tuberculosis–infected guinea pigs with the antioxidant drug N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) partially restored blood glutathione concentrations and the serum total antioxidant capacity. Treatment with NAC also decreased spleen bacterial counts, as well as decreased the lung and spleen lesion burden and the severity of lesion necrosis. These data suggest that the progressive oxidative stress during experimental tuberculosis in guinea pigs is due in part to a defect in host antioxidant defenses, which, we show here, can be partially restored with antioxidant treatment. These data suggest that the therapeutic strategies that reduce oxidant-mediated tissue damage may be beneficial as an adjunct therapy in the treatment and prevention of tuberculosis in humans

Levels of Malondialdehyde-Deoxyguanosine in the gastric mucosa: Relationship with lipid peroxidation, ascorbic acid, and Helicobacter pylori

Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with elevated gastric mucosal concentrations of the lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde and reduced gastric juice vitamin C concentrations. Malondialdehyde can react with DNA bases to form the mutagenic adduct malondialdehyde-deoxyguanosine (M1-dG). We aimed to determine gastric mucosal levels of M1-dG in relation to H. pylori infection and malondialdehyde and vitamin C concentrations. Patients (n = 124) attending for endoscopy were studied. Levels of antral mucosal M1-dG were determined using a sensitive immunoslot-blot technique; antral mucosal malondialdehyde was determined by thiobarbituric acid extraction, and gastric juice and antral mucosal ascorbic acid and total vitamin C were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Sixty-four H. pylori-positive patients received eradication therapy, and endoscopy was repeated at 6 and 12 months. Levels of M1-dG did not differ between subjects with H. pylori gastritis (n = 85) and those with normal mucosa without H. pylori infection (n = 39; 56.6 versus 60.1 adducts/108 bases) and were unaffected by age or smoking habits. Malondialdehyde levels were higher (123.7 versus 82.5 pmol/g; P < 0.001), gastric juice ascorbic acid was lower (5.7 versus 15.0 µmol/ml; P < 0.001), and antral mucosal ascorbic acid was unchanged (48.0 versus 42.7 µmol/g) in H. pylori gastritis compared with normal mucosa. Multiple regression analysis revealed that M1-dG increased significantly with increasing levels of malondialdehyde, antral ascorbic acid, and total antral vitamin C. M1-dG levels were unchanged 6 months (63.3 versus 87.0 adducts/108 bases; P = 0.24; n = 38) and 12 months (66.7 versus 77.5 adducts/108 bases; P = 0.8; n = 13) after successful eradication of H. pylori. M1-dG thus is detectable in gastric mucosa, but is not affected directly by H. pylori