BIOMECHANICS ANALYSIS OF FORWARD HANDSPRING AND SALTO STRETCHED WITH 5/2 TWIST IN VAULTING

The purpose of this study was to provide biomechanical analysis of the vault, Handspring Forward and Salto Forward Stretched with 5/2 Twist (Vault Number 2538). This routine was considered one of the most superior moves in recent international gymnastics competitions. It has a high degree of difficulty and its execution results in a base score of 10. In this paper, analysis of the Conservation of Angular Momentum was obtained. In addition, Coriolis’s moment of inertia momentum and conical-curve movement of the legs in opposite direction of this movement was calculated to obtain the technique for approach and for technical requirements. The data collected would provide information for athletes in their training

Influence of the Arctic Oscillation on the Vertical Distribution of Wintertime Ozone in the Stratosphere and Upper Troposphere over Northern Hemisphere

The influence of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) on the vertical distribution of stratospheric ozone in the Northern Hemisphere in winter is analyzed using observations and an offline chemical transport model. Positive ozone anomalies are found at low latitudes (0–30°N) and there are three negative anomaly centers in the northern mid- and high latitudes during positive AO phases. The negative anomalies are located in the Arctic middle stratosphere (~30 hPa, 70–90°N), Arctic upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (UTLS, 150–300 hPa, 70–90°N), and mid-latitude UTLS (70–300 hPa, 30–60°N). Further analysis shows that anomalous dynamical transport related to AO variability primarily controls these ozone changes. During positive AO events, positive ozone anomalies between 0–30°N at 50–150 hPa are related to the weakened meridional transport of the Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC) and enhanced eddy transport. The negative ozone anomalies in the Arctic middle stratosphere are also caused by the weakened BDC, while the negative ozone anomalies in the Arctic UTLS are caused by the increased tropopause height, weakened BDC vertical transport, weaker exchange between the mid-latitudes and the Arctic, and enhanced ozone depletion via heterogeneous chemistry. The negative ozone anomalies in the mid-latitude UTLS are due mainly to enhanced eddy transport from the mid-latitudes to the equatorward of 30°N, while the transport of ozone-poor air from the Arctic to the mid-latitudes makes a minor contribution. Interpreting AO-related variability of stratospheric ozone, especially in the UTLS, would be helpful for the prediction of tropospheric ozone variability caused by AO

The variation of morphological features and mineralogical components of biological soil crusts in the Gurbantunggut Desert of Northwestern China

Increasingly complex life forms were found in older biological soil crusts in the Gurbantaunggut Desert in Northwestern China. These crusts may play a critical role in mineral erosion and desert soil formation by modifying the weathering environment and ultimately affecting mineralogical variance. To test this hypothesis, variations in the morphological features and mineralogical components of successional biological soil crusts at 1 cm were studied by optical microscopy, SEM and grain size analysis. Concentrations of erosion-resistant minerals decreased with crust succession, while minerals susceptible to weathering increased with crust development. Neogenetic minerals were found in late stage crusts, but not in early stage crusts. Silt and clay concentrations were highest in early formation crusts and soil mean particle size decreased with crust succession. Cyanobacteria, lichen and moss were shown to erode and etch rocks, and secondary minerals produced by weathering were localized with the living organisms. Thus, more developed crusts appeared to contribute to greater mineral weathering and may be a major cause of mineralogical variance seen in the Gurbantunggut Desert. The greater activity and complexity of older crusts, as well as their improved moisture condition may function to accelerate mineral weathering. Therefore, protection and recovery of biological crusts is vital for desert soil formation

Climate warming and decreasing total column ozone over the Tibetan Plateau during winter and spring

The long-term trends of the total column ozone (TCO) over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and factors responsible for the trends are analysed in this study using various observations and a chemistry–climate model (CCM). The results indicate that the total column ozone low (TOL) over the TP during winter and spring is deepening over the recent decade, which is opposite to the recovery signal in annual mean TCO over the TP after mid-1990s. The TOL intensity is increasing at a rate of 1.4 DU/decade and the TOL area is extending with 50,000 km2/decade during winter for the period 1979–2009. The enhanced transport of ozone-poor air into the stratosphere and elevated tropopause due to the rapid and significant warming over the TP during winter reduce ozone concentrations in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere and hence lead to the deepening of the TOL. Based on the analysis of the multiple regression model, the thermal dynamical processes associated with the TP warming accounts for more than 50% of TCO decline during winter for the period 1979–2009. The solar variations during 1995–2009 further enlarge ozone decreases over the TP in the past decade. According to the CCM simulations, the increases in NOx emissions in East Asia and global tropospheric N2O mixing ratio for the period 1979–2009 contribute to no more than 20% reductions in TCO during this period

The relative impacts of El Niño Modoki, canonical El Niño, and QBO on tropical ozone changes since the 1980s

Some studies showed that since the 1980s Modoki activity—a different sea surface temperature anomaly pattern from canonical El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the tropics—has been increasing in frequency. In the light of an analysis of the observations and simulations, we found that Modoki, as a new driver of global climate change, can modulate the tropical upwelling that significantly affects mid-lower stratospheric ozone. As a result, it has an important impact on the variations of tropical total column ozone (TCO), alongside quasi-biennial oscillation or canonical ENSO. Our results suggest that, in the context of future global warming, Modoki activity may continue to be a primary driver of tropical TCO changes. Besides, it is possible can serve as a predictor of tropical TCO variations since Modoki events precede tropical ozone changes

Decomposition of SO₂ on Ni(111) Surface and the Effect of Metal Doping: A First-Principles Study

Sulfides poisoning of metallic Ni is an important issue in catalyst deactivation. SO2, similar to H2S and other sulfides, is an impurity presented in reactants or during the regeneration steps. Herein, spin-polarized density functional theory calculations were used to study the adsorption and decomposition of SO2 on a pristine and metal-doped Ni(111) surface. The adsorption energy, transition state energy, and partial density of state (PDOS) were calculated. On the pristine Ni(111) surface, ten different configurations were considered, and three typical ones were selected for transition state searching. It was found that the reaction barrier of the first S-O bond dissociation was much higher than that of the second one. Doping the top layer with a second metal could strongly change the adsorption and decomposition behavior. Doping with 3/9ML Co slightly increases the adsorption energy of SO2 for most configurations and decreases the reaction barriers of the SO2-tht-2 decomposition, while the others decrease the adsorption ability and increase the barriers. The order of adsorption energy for the most stable configurations is Co > Ni > Cu > Rh > Pd. The order of the first S-O bond dissociation reaction barriers is Pd > Rh > Cu = Ni > Co, and the order of the second bond dissociation barrier is Rh > Pd > Cu > Ni > Co

Self-Powered Flexible Multicolor Electrochromic Devices for Information Displays

The development of self-powered flexible multicolor electrochromic (EC) systems that could switch different color without an external power supply has remained extremely challenging. Here, a new trilayer film structure for achieving self-powered flexible multicolor EC displays based on self-charging/discharging mechanism is proposed, which is simply assembled by sandwiching an ionic gel film between 2 cathodic nickel hexacyanoferrate (NiHCF) and Prussian blue (PB) nanoparticle films on indium tin oxide substrates. The display exhibits independent self-powered color switching of NiHCF and PB films with fast responsive time and high reversibility by selectively connecting the Al wire as anodes with the 2 EC films. Multicolor switching is thus achieved through a color overlay effect by superimposing the 2 EC films, including green, blue, yellow, and colorless. The bleaching/coloration process of the displays is driven by the discharging/self-charging mechanism for NiHCF and PB films, respectively, ensuring the self-powered color switching of the displays reversibly without an external power supply. It is further demonstrated that patterns can be easily created in the self-powered EC displays by the spray-coating method, allowing multicolor changing to convey specific information. Moreover, a self-powered ionic writing board is demonstrated based on the self-powered EC displays that can be repeatedly written freehand without the need of an external power source. We believe that the design concept may provide new insights into the development of self-powered flexible multicolor EC displays with self-recovered energy for widespread applications

Divergent response of tree-ring width and maximum latewood density of Abies faxoniana to warming trends at the timberline of the western Qinling Mountains and northeastern Tibetan Plateau, China

Tree-ring width (TRW) and maximum latewood density (MXD) data of Faxon fir ( Rehd. et Wils.) were analyzed for five timberline sites in the western Qinling Mountains and northeastern Tibetan Plateau, to investigate their relationships to climate change, especially twentieth century warming. The cross-correlations among TRW chronologies at the low-frequency band were higher, while the higher correlations among MXD chronologies were found at the high-frequency band. Response analysis showed that the tree-ring formation of fir trees was significantly and positively affected by temperature variations, while it was also negatively affected by precipitation. The TRW series captured the warming trends and allowed detecting the recent warming in a long-term context, while the MXD series showed no upward trend. We also found the temperature sensitivity of the TRW series is unstable over space and time. The divergent response between TRW and MXD might be caused by the seasonal variations of warming trends.Abies faxonian