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Rapid Identification of Saber Steel Flexibility, Microhardness, and Chemical Composition by Analyzing Electromagnetic Signatures
Issue:
Volume 8, Issue 2, June 2020
Pages:
29-32
Received:
18 March 2020
Accepted:
3 April 2020
Published:
17 April 2020
Abstract: Modern fencing sabers are made of composite steel alloys. Although there are regulations standardizing blade dimensions and stiffness, fencers often find blades having variable flexibility and tensile strength from vendor to vendor and, occasionally, from batch to batch of production. Due to the absence of an objective test to assess blade quality, fencers often resort to testing blades with simple visual or physical whip tests. These manual blade assessments, however, are unsatisfactory due to subjective inconsistencies as well as unreliability due to similar blade weights, colors, and appearances. The ability to properly and accurately test blade quality is of utmost importance, not only for competition, but more importantly, to prevent injuries which have occurred as a result of broken blades. Traditional industrial methods of steel alloy identification involve spectrometry or machine tensile strength assessments, which are both destructive to the blade and impractical in a competition arena. We previously reported a method to use the smartphone magnetometer to differentiate fencing steel alloys. This manuscript now demonstrates the correlation between electromagnetic signatures to the flexibility, microhardness and chemical composition of steel blades.
Abstract: Modern fencing sabers are made of composite steel alloys. Although there are regulations standardizing blade dimensions and stiffness, fencers often find blades having variable flexibility and tensile strength from vendor to vendor and, occasionally, from batch to batch of production. Due to the absence of an objective test to assess blade quality,...
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Recent Trends in Physique and Motor Ability of Preschool Children-Trends After 2000 in Japan
Kohsuke Kasuya,
Katsunori Fujii,
Nozomi Tanaka,
Toshiro Sakai,
Yuki Takeyama
Issue:
Volume 8, Issue 2, June 2020
Pages:
33-38
Received:
14 May 2020
Accepted:
1 June 2020
Published:
17 June 2020
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to clarify the trends since 2000 in body shape, physical strength, and motor ability in early childhood in Japan. The study subjects were kindergarten and nursery school girls (age 3–5 years old) in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Physique (height and weight), quantitative motor ability (20 m dash, standing long jump, tennis ball throw, side step, one-leg hop, hanging from a horizontal bar, and general motor ability (jump over and under) were compared in the 1999 and 2009 school years. The results revealed that, compared with ten years earlier, height was approximately 0.9 cm shorter in 4-year-old girls and weight was approximately 0.3 kg lighter in 3- and 4-year-old girls in 2009. In physical strength and motor ability, the time for jump over and under was shorter in 3-year-olds, the number of times a rope was jumped was higher and the time hanging from a horizontal bar was longer, and the time for jump over and under was shorter in 4-year-olds. In 5-year-olds, only an increase in the number of times a rope was jumped increased. The tennis ball throw and side steps were not significantly different from 10 years earlier in any of the ages. Physique, physical strength, and motor ability improved with growth, but compared with 10 years earlier many of the items were found to decrease or remain the same in all ages.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to clarify the trends since 2000 in body shape, physical strength, and motor ability in early childhood in Japan. The study subjects were kindergarten and nursery school girls (age 3–5 years old) in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Physique (height and weight), quantitative motor ability (20 m dash, standing long jump, tennis ...
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Alterations in Team Physical Performance and Possession in Elite Gaelic Football Competition
Declan Gamble,
Niall Moyna,
Richard McCann,
Damian Martin,
Gerard McMahon,
Lee Rooney,
Matt Spencer,
Johnny Bradley,
Andrew McCarren
Issue:
Volume 8, Issue 2, June 2020
Pages:
39-48
Received:
2 June 2020
Accepted:
18 June 2020
Published:
13 July 2020
Abstract: Differences in performance between winning and losing were examined in 1 elite Gaelic football team in 20 games across 2 complete competitive seasons. Possession was codified using Dartfish TeamPro software and distance covered; walking, jogging, running, and running at high and maximum speeds, was evaluated using Catapult OptimEye S5 player tracking devices. Distance covered in low intensity activity (LIA, ˂4.0 m.s-1), high intensity running (HIR, ≥4.0 m•s-1) and very high intensity running (VHIR, ≥5.5 m•s-1) was also examined along with PlayerLoad™, which represented a composite of all accelerations. Data from 53 players (n=405 files) was collated into specific match periods to facilitate a temporal analysis between the first and second halves and from quarter 1 (Q1) to quarter 4 (Q4), with significance accepted at p ≤ 0.05. Total distance and running was higher in games lost, whereas total distance, walking and LIA was higher in halves lost. Only walking was higher in quarters lost. The percentage of possession declined in halves and quarters lost. In games lost, high speed running declined in the second half. From Q1 to Q4; PlayerLoad™, total distance, jogging, high speed running, HIR and VHIR, decreased in all games combined and in games lost. Possession frequency declined in Q4 in all games and in games won. Overall, total distance was higher in games lost and physical performance declines were more pronounced when examined by match quarter compared to half and were only apparent in games lost. Similarly, reductions in possession frequency and percentage were more evident when examined by quarter or period lost, respectively. These findings can inform the prescription of conditioning and field-training strategies to mitigate the reductions in performance observed in losing and towards the end of games.
Abstract: Differences in performance between winning and losing were examined in 1 elite Gaelic football team in 20 games across 2 complete competitive seasons. Possession was codified using Dartfish TeamPro software and distance covered; walking, jogging, running, and running at high and maximum speeds, was evaluated using Catapult OptimEye S5 player tracki...
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