KINEMATIC ANALYSIS OF AN ELITE LEVEL FENCER

PURPOSE The purpose of the study was to provide a kinematic analysis of the lowerlimb motion during an actual fencing bout. Specifically, the lunge and certain movements preceding the lunge were examined. Additionally, it washypothesized that data gathered from an actual bout rather than a discrete laboratory trial would yield different results. METHODS The design of the study was an observational case study with all data collection taking place in a U.S. fencing club. The participant was an internationally top ranked Russian saber fencer. Kinematic data were collected and analyzed using the Peak 2D videography equipment operating at 120 Hz and its accompanying software package. Six lunge attacks and the preceding movement were digitized from the fencing bout. Variables investigated included: displacement of the forward heel, displacement of the hip, hip velocity, trunk angle, and hip and knee acceleration. RESULTS The length of the lunge attack (as measured by displacement of the heel) averaged 1.24 m with a range of '884 m to 1.86 m. The average amount of total vertical oscillation of the hip in the movement preceding thelunge was .034 m and the average change in vertical displacement as the fencer lunged was .I38 m. The average velocity of the fencer (as measured by the velocity of the hip marker) was 1.97 m/s with a range of 1.38 m/s to 2.22 mls. The average position of the trunk during the fencing movement and the lunge was a forward tilt of 17.46 degrees and the average amount of motion of the trunk during the footwork sequence was 7.48 degrees. The average peak acceleration for the hipand knee was 8.57 m/s/s and 21.65 m/s/s, respectively. The peak acceleration of the hip occurred at the end of the lunge while the peak acceleration of the knee occurred mostly during mid lunge. Furthermore, minimum acceleration of the hip occurred during mid lunge. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Control of balance (minimum vertical oscillation and trunk sway) may contribute to the abilities of an elite level fencer. Additionally, being able to accelerate quickly from the pre-lunge phase to the lunge may make the fencer attack more effective (increase Likelihood of closing distance very quickly and thereby scoring a touch). Lunge length and average velocity results in this study may differ from past studies due to the difference in designs (Klinger, Adrian, & Dee, 1985; Szilagyi, 1992). Past studies have asked participants to give a maximal effort when performing discrete fencing movements based on simple visual or auditory Wes. Often times lunging as long as possible or as quickly as possible may not be advantageous as much asrecognizing and manipulating the distance from the opposing fencer. REFERENCES Klinger, A., Adrian, M., & Dee, L. (1985). Effect of pre lunge conditionson performance of elite female ' fencers. In Terauds & Barham (eds.), Biomechanics in Sports 11. Proceedings of ISBS 1965, (p. 210-215). Greeley, Colorado: ISBS. Szilagyi, T. (1992). Examination of the velocity of fencing Lunge. In Rdano, R. (Ed.), ISBS 1992 Proceedings of the loth Symposium of the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports (pp. 71-73). Milan, Italy: ISBS

Containerless processing of amorphous ceramics

The absence of gravity allows containerless processing of materials which could not otherwise be processed. High melting point, hard materials such as borides, nitrides, and refractory metals are usually brittle in their crystalline form. The absence of dislocations in amorphous materials frequently endows them with flexibility and toughness. Systematic studies of the properties of many amorphous materials have not been carried out. The requirements for their production is that they can be processed in a controlled way without container interaction. Containerless processing in microgravity could permit the control necessary to produce amorphous forms of hard materials

Remote sensing applications to hydrologic modeling

An energy balance snowmelt model for rugged terrain was devised and coupled to a flow model. A literature review of remote sensing applications to hydrologic modeling was included along with a software development outline

Proceedings of the National Conference on Energy Resource Management. Volume 2: Applications

Subject areas related to the integration of remotely sensed data with geographic information systems for application in energy resource management are covered. The current trends and advances in the application of these systems to a number of energy concerns are addressed

Development of a Self‐Management Theory‐Guided Discharge Intervention for Parents of Hospitalized Children

Background Parents of hospitalized children, especially parents of children with complex and chronic health conditions, report not being adequately prepared for self‐management of their child\u27s care at home after discharge. Problem No theory‐based discharge intervention exists to guide pediatric nurses\u27 preparation of parents for discharge. Purpose To develop a theory‐based conversation guide to optimize nurses\u27 preparation of parents for discharge and self‐management of their child at home following hospitalization. Methods Two frameworks and one method influenced the development of the intervention: the Individual and Family Self‐Management Theory, Tanner\u27s Model of Clinical Judgment, and the Teach‐Back method. A team of nurse scientists, nursing leaders, nurse administrators, and clinical nurses developed and field tested the electronic version of a nine‐domain conversation guide for use in acute care pediatric hospitals. Conclusions The theory‐based intervention operationalized self‐management concepts, added components of nursing clinical judgment, and integrated the Teach‐Back method. Clinical Relevance Development of a theory‐based intervention, the translation of theoretical knowledge to clinical innovation, is an important step toward testing the effectiveness of the theory in guiding clinical practice. Clinical nurses will establish the practice relevance through future use and refinement of the intervention