The authors thank the National Key Technology Research and Development Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (No. 2011BAK15B06) for their support.&#160;Thank Shuya Zhuang who is a master student from our laboratory for helping us complete the video shoot.

1. Observation of the Surface Structure on Water Strider Leg
<ol>
	<li>Collect water striders from local freshwater ponds using fishing landing net.</li>
	<li>Cut off at least 5 pairs of middle legs as experimental samples using scissors. Touch the bottom of the legs carefully, to prevent the surface contamination and the disrupting of microstructure in the front of legs.</li>
	<li>Dry the legs out in the air naturally.</li>
	<li>Observe the surface microstructure of legs using a scanning electron microscope with micro-level resolution as shown in Figure 1a.</li>
	<li>Observe the microsetae of the legs using a scanning electric microscope with nano-level resolution as shown inFigure 1b.</li>
</ol>
2. Prepare the Component of the Dynamic Force Measurement System
<ol>
	<li>Purchase a PVDF film sensor with a dimension of 14.9 X 10.2 mm2 X 28 &#956;m, which produces more than 10 mV per micro-strain. 
	NOTE: The PVDF film sensor is used to sense the dynamic contact force with high sensitivity.</li>
	<li>Purchase a charge amplifier with maximum 1000 mV/pC charge gain and low noise less than 5 &#956;V. 
	NOTE: The charge amplifier is used to enlarge the signal from the PVDF film sensor, in which the charge output from the transducer is converted to into a voltage.</li>
	<li>Purchase a data acquisition device, in which the analog input has the sample rates in a range from 1 S/s to 102.4 kS/s. 
	NOTE: The data acquisition device is used to read the voltage data of the charge amplifier and send them to the computer for further processing and display.</li>
	<li>Purchase several high-precise displacement stages and a servomotor. 
	NOTE: The legs depart from water at different speed driven by the servomotor.</li>
	<li>Purchase a CCD camera, whose focus length is in a range from 5 mm to 30 mm and frame rate is 30 fps. 
	NOTE: This camera is used to record and monitor the deformation of water surface and the distance between legs and water surface.</li>
	<li>Prepare a high-performance computer.</li>
</ol>
3. Assembly of all Parts of the Dynamic Force Measurement System
<ol>
	<li>Assemble the dynamic force measurement system according to the schematic illustration shown in Figure 2a and the real experiment instrument shown in Figure 2b.</li>
	<li>Fix one side of the PVDF film sensor with the electrodes to the high-precise displacement stage, which is placed on the horizontal frame, as other side is hanging. This installation method of PVDF film sensor helps improve the resolution of the measurement for the dynamic micro force.</li>
	<li>Connect the PVDF film sensor to the charge amplifier, the charge amplifier to the data acquisition device and the data acquisition device to the computer.</li>
	<li>Fix the camera to the high-precise displacement stage, which is placed on the left side of PVDF film sensor.</li>
	<li>To roughly adjust the distance between the legs and water quickly, fix a high-precise displacement stage to the frame above the PVDF film sensor, whose separation from the PVDF film sensor is about 10 cm.</li>
	<li>To lift the leg away from water surface at a precise speed, fix the servomotor below the high-precise displacement stage.</li>
</ol>
4. Calibration of the Dynamic Force Measurement System
<ol>
	<li>Use the electrostatic force system26 to generate a micro-constant force acted on the free end of PVDF film sensor, whose magnitude should be less than 0.5 &#181;N. Control the electrostatic force of the system by a voltage applied to the inner and outer electrodes of the paralleled cylindrical capacitor. 
	&#8203;Caution: The force should act in a direction normal to the PVDF film surface and the point of application is supposed to be as close as possible to the tip of the PVDF film sensor to increase sensitivity.</li>
	<li>Release the force in a short time to generate a step input.</li>
	<li>Read the voltage-time signal of step 4.2 in the computer using the software LabVIEW, which helps read the output voltage signals of the PVDF film sensor.
	<ol>
		<li>Download the software LabVIEW and the hardware driver NI-DAQmx in the official website of National Instruments.</li>
		<li>Open the demo of the continuous analog voltage measurement using the LabVIEW, as shown Figure 3.</li>
		<li>Select the physical channel of the data acquisition device connected with the charge amplifier in the module of Channel Settings.</li>
		<li>Set the sample rate to 100000 and the number of samples to 100000 in the module of Timing Settings.</li>
		<li>Select the Log and read as the logging mode and write the file path in to store the voltage data in the module of Logging Settings.</li>
		<li>Select No trigger in the module of Trigger Settings.</li>
		<li>Click the arrow-shape button in the toolbar to sample the voltage signal.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Analyze the voltage curve, in which the peak voltage is corresponding to force acted on the sensor.</li>
	<li>Repeat the steps 4.1-4.4 at different force input, in which a series of voltage-force points are gained.</li>
	<li>Determine the relationship about the peak output voltage and standard force in the calibration result.</li>
</ol>
5. Measurement of Adhesion Force at A Certain Speed
<ol>
	<li>Place a water drop (5 &#181;L) on the free end of the PVDF film sensor using a mechanical micropipette. 
	NOTE: The location of the droplet should be close to the tip of the PVDF film sensor.</li>
	<li>Stick a single leg to the servomotor below the high-precise displacement stage.</li>
	<li>Move the high-precise displacement stage downward until the leg contacts with the water surface, as shown in Figure 4a. Monitor the distance between the leg and water surface by the camera system mounted on the left side of the sensor.</li>
	<li>Lift the leg away from the water surface at a constant speed through the servomotor.</li>
	<li>Calculate the force corresponding to each point of voltage curve of the departing process using the model established in step 4.6, and then draw the force-time curve of departing process, as shown in Figure 4b.</li>
	<li>Record the peak adhesion of the departing process at a certain speed.</li>
</ol>
6. Measurement of Adhesion Force at Different Speeds.
<ol>
	<li>Alter the lifting speed of the legs by the servomotor and measure the adhesion force according to step 5.</li>
	<li>Plot the adhesion force versus lifting speed curve using the data gained in step 6.1.</li>
	<li>Analyze the relationship between the adhesion force and the lifting speed through the curve.</li>
</ol>

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The author has nothing to disclose.

In this protocol, a dynamic force measurement system based on the PVDF film sensor was successfully devised, assembled, calibrated to measure the adhesion force away from the water surface. Among the whole steps, it was crucial that the adhesion force was measured at different speeds by lifting the leg from the water surface as this study focused on the remarkable characteristic of the quick maneuvering on the water. The results of departing experiment showed that the adhesion force decreased when the lifting speed incre...

In nature, water striders possess remarkable ability to jump or glide easily and rapidly on the water surface with the help of the slender and nonwetting legs1,2,3,4,5, but seldom move slowly, which is unlike the terrestrial insects. The hierarchical structure of water strider stabilizes the superhydrophobic state, which renders dramatic reduction in contact area and adhesion force between water and the leg6,7,8,9. However, the hydrodynamic advantages of the quick disengagement of water striders from water surface remain poorly interpreted10,11,12.
The process of jumping from the water surface is mainly divided into three stages13,14,15,16. At first, water striders push the water surface downward with the middle and rear legs to convert the biological energy into the surface energy of the water until sinking to the maximum depth, which enable the insect to initialize the jumping direction and determine the detaching velocity. Followed by the ascending stage, the insect is pushed upward by the capillary force of the curved water surface until reaching the maximum velocity. In the final disengagement stage, the water strider continues to rise up by inertia until breaking away from the water surface, but the velocity is largely reduced due to the adhesion force with the water, which has principal influence on the energy consumption of the water strider. Hence, this protocol is proposed to measure the adhesion force at different take-off velocities in the disengagement stage and explain the distinct characteristic of fast moving.
There have been many studies to explore the adhesion force of water striders when propelling from water surface. Lee &#38; Kim theoretically and experimentally confirmed that the adhesion force and energy required lifting the water strider&#39;s legs decreased dramatically when the contact angle increased to 160 degrees17. Pan Jen Wei designed a hydrostatic experiment to measure the adhesion force by the TriboScope System, which was found to be 1/5 of its weight 18. Kehchih Hwang analyzed the quasi-static process of the legs detaching from the water with a 2D model and found the superhydrophobicity of the legs played a significant role in reducing the adhesion force and energy dissipation19. However, the measurement of the adhesion force in previous studies was just in condition of a quasi-static process, which was unable to monitor the adhesion force changes during the fast jumping.
In this study, we designed a dynamic force measurement system using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film sensor and other adjuvant instrument. Compared with other piezoelectric materials, PVDF is more suitable for measuring the dynamic microforce with higher sensitivity20,21,22. By integrating the PVDF film sensor into the system, the real-time adhesion force could be detected and processed when the leg was pulling up from water surface23,24,25.

<table><tbody><tr><td>PVDF film sensor</td><td>TE Connectivity</td><td>DT1-028K/L</td><td>The PVDF film sensor is used to sense the dynamic contact force .</td></tr><tr><td>Charge amplifier</td><td>Wuxi Shiao Technology co.,Ltd</td><td>YE5852B</td><td>The charge amplifier&amp;nbsp;is an electronic current integrator that produces a voltage output proportional to the integrated value of the input</td></tr><tr><td>Data acquisition device</td><td>National Instruments</td><td>USB-4431</td><td>The data acquisition device is used to read the voltage data.</td></tr><tr><td>Displacement stage</td><td>ZOLIXINSTRUMENTS CO.LTD</td><td>KSAV1010-ZF</td><td>KSAV1010/2030-ZF is a wedge vertical stage with high-resolution, high-stability and high-load.</td></tr><tr><td>CCD camera</td><td>Shenzhen Andonstar Tech Co., Ltd</td><td>digital microscope A1</td><td>Frame rate: 30 frames/sec;Focal distance: 5mm - 30mm</td></tr><tr><td>Computer</td><td>Lenovo</td><td>G480</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Servomotor</td><td>EMAX US Inc.</td><td>ES08MD</td><td>It&#039;s not bad this servo with speed varying from 0.10 sec/60&amp;deg; / 4.8v to 0.08 sec/60&amp;deg;/6.0v.</td></tr><tr><td>Mechanical Pipettes</td><td>Dragon Laboratory Instruments Limited</td><td>YE5K693181</td><td>The pipettes cover volume range of 0.1 &amp;mu;l to 2.5 &amp;mu;l</td></tr></tbody></table>

measurement of dynamic force acted on water strider leg jumping upward by the pvdf film sensor

This study aimed to make an explanation for the phenomenon in nature that water strider usually jumps or glides on the water surface easily but quickly, with its peak locomotion speed reaching 150 cm/s. First of all, we observed the microstructure and hierarchy of water strider legs using the scanning electron microscope. On the basis of the observed morphology of the legs, a theoretical model of the detachment from water surface was established, which explained water striders' capability to slide on water surface effortlessly in terms of energy reduction. Secondly, a dynamic force measurement system was devised using the PVDF film sensor with excellent sensitivity, which could detect the whole interaction process. Subsequently, a single leg in contact with water was pulled upward at different speeds, and the adhesion force was measured at the same time. The results of the departing experiment suggested a deep understanding of the fast jumping of water striders.

The relation between lifting speed and adhesion force is shown in Table 1. When the lifting speed increases from 0.01 m/s to 0.3 m/s, the adhesion force between the water surface and leg decreases dramatically from 0.10 to 0.03 . The results of the departing experiment showed that the peak adhesion force would decrease dramatically as the lifting speed increase, which indicated that the water striders may feel comfortable if they move quickly on water surface.
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Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Measurement of Dynamic Force Acted on Water Strider Leg Jumping Upward by the PVDF Film Sensor at JoVE.com

Measurement of Dynamic Force Acted on Water Strider Leg Jumping Upward by the PVDF Film Sensor

The protocol here is dedicated to investigating the free and quick maneuvering of water strider on water surface. The protocol includes observing the microstructure of legs and measuring the adhesion force when departing from water surface at different speeds.

This study aimed to make an explanation for the phenomenon in nature that water strider usually jumps or glides on the water surface easily but quickly, ...

measurement-dynamic-force-acted-on-water-strider-leg-jumping-upward

Research

JoVE Journal

Engineering

5.9K Views.  Tianjin University. Het protocol hier is gewijd aan onderzoek naar de gratis en snelle manoeuvreren van water strider op het wateroppervlak. Het protocol bevat de microstructuur van benen observeren en meten van de kracht van hechting bij vertrek uit de wateroppervlakte op verschillende snelheden.

Video: Measurement of Dynamic Force Acted on Water Strider Leg Jumping Upward by the PVDF Film Sensor

Kinematics and Ground Reaction Force Determination: A Demonstration Quantifying Locomotor Abilities of Young Adult, Middle-aged, and Geriatric Rats

Behavior, in its broadest definition, can be defined as the motor manifestation of physiologic processes. As such, all behaviors manifest through the motor system. In the fields of neuroscience and orthopedics, locomotion is a commonly evaluated behavior for a variety of disease models. For example, locomotor recovery after traumatic injury to the nervous system is one of the most commonly evaluated behaviors 1-3. Though locomotion can be evaluated using a variety of endpoint measurements (e.g. time taken to complete a locomotor task, etc), semiquantitative kinematic measures (e.g. ordinal rating scales (e.g. Basso Beattie and Bresnahan locomotor (BBB) rating scale, etc)) and surrogate measures of behaviour (e.g. muscle force, nerve conduction velocity, etc), only kinetics (force measurements) and kinematics (measurements of body segments in space) provide a detailed description of the strategy by which an animal is able to locomote 1. Though not new, kinematic and kinetic measurements of locomoting rodents is now more readily accessible due to the availability of commercially available equipment designed for this purpose. Importantly, however, experimenters need to be very familiar with theory of biomechanical analyses and understand the benefits and limitations of these forms of analyses prior to embarking on what will become a relatively labor-intensive study. The present paper aims to describe a method for collecting kinematic and ground reaction force data using commercially available equipment. Details of equipment and apparatus set-up, pre-training of animals, inclusion and exclusion criteria of acceptable runs, and methods for collecting the data are described. We illustrate the utility of this behavioral analysis technique by describing the kinematics and kinetics of strain-matched young adult, middle-aged, and geriatric rats.

Locomotion is often examined as a behavioural outcome in various models of disease in fields such as neuroscience and orthopedics. This video paper intends to describe a method for collecting ground reaction forces and kinematics from rats during unrestrained locomotion.

Behavior, in its broadest definition, can be defined as the motor manifestation of physiologic processes.  As such, all behaviors manifest through the ...

Neuroscience

Studying the Neural Basis of Adaptive Locomotor Behavior in Insects

Studying the neural basis of walking behavior, one often faces the problem that it is hard to separate the neuronally produced stepping output from those leg movements that result from passive forces and interactions with other legs through the common contact with the substrate. If we want to understand, which part of a given movement is produced by nervous system motor output, kinematic analysis of stepping movements, therefore, needs to be complemented with electrophysiological recordings of motor activity. The recording of neuronal or muscular activity in a behaving animal is often limited by the electrophysiological equipment which can constrain the animal in its ability to move with as many degrees of freedom as possible. This can either be avoided by using implantable electrodes and then having the animal move on a long tether (i.e. Clarac et al., 1987; Duch &amp; Pfl&uuml;ger, 1995; B&ouml;hm et al., 1997; Gruhn &amp; Rathmayer, 2002) or by transmitting the data using telemetric devices (Kutsch et al, 1993; Fischer et al., 1996; Tsuchida et al. 2004; Hama et al., 2007; Wang et al., 2008). Both of these elegant methods, which are successfully used in larger arthropods, often prove difficult to apply in smaller walking insects which either easily get entangled in the long tether or are hindered by the weight of the telemetric device and its batteries. In addition, in all these cases, it is still impossible to distinguish between the purely neuronal basis of locomotion and the effects exerted by mechanical coupling between the walking legs through the substrate. One solution for this problem is to conduct the experiments in a tethered animal that is free to walk in place and that is locally suspended, for example over a slippery surface, which effectively removes most ground contact mechanics. This has been used to study escape responses (Camhi and Nolen, 1981; Camhi and Levy, 1988), turning (Tryba and Ritzman, 2000a,b; Gruhn et al., 2009a), backward walking (Graham and Epstein, 1985) or changes in velocity (Gruhn et al., 2009b) and it allows the experimenter easily to combine intra- and extracellular physiology with kinematic analyses (Gruhn et al., 2006).
We use a slippery surface setup to investigate the timing of leg muscles in the behaving stick insect with respect to touch-down and lift-off under different behavioral paradigms such as straight forward and curved walking in intact and reduced preparations.

We describe a method to record motor activity, timed to the electrically recorded tarsal contact signal in a tethered insect, walking on a slippery surface. This is used to study the neural basis of adaptive behavior under reduced influence of mechanical interaction between legs through the substrate.

Studying the neural basis of walking behavior, one often faces the problem that it is hard to separate the neuronally produced stepping output from those ...

Image-based Lagrangian Particle Tracking in Bed-load Experiments

Image analysis has been increasingly used for the measurement of river flows due to its capabilities to furnish detailed quantitative depictions at a relatively low cost. This manuscript describes an application of particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) to a bed-load experiment with lightweight sediment. The key characteristics of the investigated sediment transport conditions were the presence of a covered flow and of a fixed rough bed above which particles were released in limited number at the flume inlet. Under the applied flow conditions, the motion of the individual bed-load particles was intermittent, with alternating movement and stillness terms. The flow pattern was preliminarily characterized by acoustic measurements of vertical profiles of the stream-wise velocity. During process visualization, a large field of view was obtained using two action-cameras placed at different locations along the flume. The experimental protocol is described in terms of channel calibration, experiment realization, image pre-processing, automatic particle tracking, and post-processing of particle track data from the two cameras. The presented proof-of-concept results include probability distributions of the particle hop length and duration. The achievements of this work are compared to those of existing literature to demonstrate the validity of the protocol.

The manuscript presents a protocol for the conduction of bed-load sediment transport experiments where the moving particles are tracked by image analysis. The experimental facility, the procedures for run realization and data processing, and finally some proof-of-concept results are presented here.

Image analysis has been increasingly used for the measurement of river flows due to its capabilities to furnish detailed quantitative depictions at a ...

Environment

Quantitative Locomotion Study of Freely Swimming Micro-organisms Using Laser Diffraction

Soil and aquatic microscopic organisms live and behave in a complex three-dimensional environment. Most studies of microscopic organism behavior, in contrast, have been conducted using microscope-based approaches, which limit the movement and behavior to a narrow, nearly two-dimensional focal field.1 We present a novel analytical approach that provides real-time analysis of freely swimming C. elegans in a cuvette without dependence on microscope-based equipment. This approach consists of tracking the temporal periodicity of diffraction patterns generated by directing laser light through the cuvette. We measure oscillation frequencies for freely swimming nematodes.
Analysis of the far-field diffraction patterns reveals clues about the waveforms of the nematodes. Diffraction is the process of light bending around an object. In this case light is diffracted by the organisms. The light waves interfere and can form a diffraction pattern. A far-field, or Fraunhofer, diffraction pattern is formed if the screen-to-object distance is much larger than the diffracting object. In this case, the diffraction pattern can be calculated (modeled) using a Fourier transform.2
C. elegans are free-living soil-dwelling nematodes that navigate in three dimensions. They move both on a solid matrix like soil or agar in a sinusoidal locomotory pattern called crawling and in liquid in a different pattern called swimming.3 The roles played by sensory information provided by mechanosensory, chemosensory, and thermosensory cells that govern plastic changes in locomotory patterns and switches in patterns are only beginning to be elucidated.4 We describe an optical approach to measuring nematode locomotion in three dimensions that does not require a microscope and will enable us to begin to explore the complexities of nematode locomotion under different conditions.

Microscopic organisms like the free-swimming nematode C. elegans, live and behave in a complex three-dimensional environment. We report on a novel approach that provides analysis of C. elegans using diffraction patterns. This approach consists of tracking the temporal periodicity of diffraction patterns generated by directing laser light through a cuvette.

Soil and aquatic microscopic organisms live and behave in a complex three-dimensional environment. Most studies of microscopic organism behavior, in ...

Bioengineering

Simulation of Human-induced Vibrations Based on the Characterized In-field Pedestrian Behavior

For slender and lightweight structures, vibration serviceability is a matter of growing concern, often constituting the critical design requirement. With designs governed by the dynamic performance under human-induced loads, a strong demand exists for the verification and refinement of currently available load models. The present contribution uses a 3D inertial motion tracking technique for the characterization of the in-field pedestrian behavior. The technique is first tested in laboratory experiments with simultaneous registration of the corresponding ground reaction forces. The experiments include walking persons as well as rhythmical human activities such as jumping and bobbing. It is shown that the registered motion allows for the identification of the time variant pacing rate of the activity. Together with the weight of the person and the application of generalized force models available in literature, the identified time-variant pacing rate allows to characterize the human-induced loads. In addition, time synchronization among the wireless motion trackers allows identifying the synchronization rate among the participants. Subsequently, the technique is used on a real footbridge where both the motion of the persons and the induced structural vibrations are registered. It is shown how the characterized in-field pedestrian behavior can be applied to simulate the induced structural response. It is demonstrated that the in situ identified pacing rate and synchronization rate constitute an essential input for the simulation and verification of the human-induced loads. The main potential applications of the proposed methodology are the estimation of human-structure interaction phenomena and the development of suitable models for the correlation among pedestrians in real traffic conditions.

A protocol is presented for the characterization of the in-field pedestrian behavior and the simulation of the resulting structural response. Field-tests demonstrate that the in situ identified pacing rate and synchronization rate among the participants constitute an essential input for the simulation and verification of the human-induced loads.

For slender and lightweight structures, vibration serviceability is a matter of growing concern, often constituting the critical design requirement. With ...

Sit-to-stand-and-walk from 120% Knee Height: A Novel Approach to Assess Dynamic Postural Control Independent of Lead-limb

Individuals with sensorimotor pathology e.g., stroke have difficulty executing the common task of rising from sitting and initiating gait (sit-to-walk: STW). Thus, in clinical rehabilitation separation of sit-to-stand and gait initiation - termed sit-to-stand-and-walk (STSW) - is usual. However, a standardized STSW protocol with a clearly defined analytical approach suitable for pathological assessment has yet to be defined.
Hence, a goal-orientated protocol is defined that is suitable for healthy and compromised individuals by requiring the rising phase to be initiated from 120% knee height with a wide base of support independent of lead limb. Optical capture of three-dimensional (3D) segmental movement trajectories, and force platforms to yield two-dimensional (2D) center-of-pressure (COP) trajectories permit tracking of the horizontal distance between COP and whole-body-center-of-mass (BCOM), the decrease of which increases positional stability but is proposed to represent poor dynamic postural control.
BCOM-COP distance is expressed with and without normalization to subjects&#39; leg length. Whilst COP-BCOM distances vary through STSW, normalized data at the key movement events of seat-off and initial toe-off (TO1) during steps 1 and 2 have low intra and inter subject variability in 5 repeated trials performed by 10 young healthy individuals. Thus, comparing COP-BCOM distance at key events during performance of an STSW paradigm between patients with upper motor neuron injury, or other compromised patient groups, and normative data in young healthy individuals is a novel methodology for evaluation of dynamic postural stability.

Here, we present a novel protocol to measure positional stability at key events during the sit-to-stand-to-walk using the center-of-pressure to the whole-body-center-of-mass distance. This was derived from the force platform and three-dimensional motion-capture technology. The paradigm is reliable and can be utilized for the assessment of neurologically compromised individuals.

Individuals with sensorimotor pathology e.g., stroke have difficulty executing the common task of rising from sitting and initiating gait (sit-to-walk: ...

Behavior

A Novel Application of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Imaging

Ultrasound is an attractive modality for imaging muscle and tendon motion during dynamic tasks and can provide a complementary methodological approach for biomechanical studies in a clinical or laboratory setting. Towards this goal, methods for quantification of muscle kinematics from ultrasound imagery are being developed based on image processing. The temporal resolution of these methods is typically not sufficient for highly dynamic tasks, such as drop-landing. We propose a new approach that utilizes a Doppler method for quantifying muscle kinematics. We have developed a novel vector tissue Doppler imaging (vTDI) technique that can be used to measure musculoskeletal contraction velocity, strain and strain rate with sub-millisecond temporal resolution during dynamic activities using ultrasound. The goal of this preliminary study was to investigate the repeatability and potential applicability of the vTDI technique in measuring musculoskeletal velocities during a drop-landing task, in healthy subjects. The vTDI measurements can be performed concurrently with other biomechanical techniques, such as 3D motion capture for joint kinematics and kinetics, electromyography for timing of muscle activation and force plates for ground reaction force. Integration of these complementary techniques could lead to a better understanding of dynamic muscle function and dysfunction underlying the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of musculoskeletal disorders.

We describe a new ultrasound-based vector tissue Doppler imaging technique to measure muscle contraction velocity, strain and strain rate with sub-millisecond temporal resolution during dynamic activities. This approach provides complementary measurements of dynamic muscle function and could lead to a better understanding of mechanisms underlying musculoskeletal disorders.

Ultrasound is an attractive modality for imaging muscle and tendon  motion during dynamic tasks and can provide a complementary methodological  approach ...

Medicine

Measuring the Interaction Force Between a Droplet and a Super-hydrophobic Substrate by the Optical Lever Method

The goal of this paper is to investigate the interaction force between droplets and super-hydrophobic substrates in the air. A measurement system based on an optical lever method is designed. A millimetric cantilever is used as a force sensitive component in the measurement system. Firstly, the force sensitivity of the optical lever is calibrated using electrostatic force, which is the critical step in measuring interaction force. Secondly, three super-hydrophobic substrates with different grid fractions are prepared with nanoparticles and copper grids. Finally, the interaction forces between droplets and super-hydrophobic substrates with different grid fractions are measured by the system. This method can be used to measure the force on the scale of sub-micronewton with a resolution on the scale of nanonewton. The in-depth study of the contact process of droplets and super-hydrophobic structures can help to improve the production efficiency in coating, film and printing. The force measurement system designed in this paper can also be used in other fields of microforce measurement.

The protocol aims to investigate the interaction between droplets and super-hydrophobic substrates in the air. This includes calibrating the measurement system and measuring the interaction force at super-hydrophobic substrates with different grid fractions.

The goal of this paper is to investigate the interaction force between droplets and super-hydrophobic substrates in the air. A measurement system based on ...

Comparison of Kinetic Characteristics of Footwork during Stroke in Table Tennis: Cross-Step and Chasse Step

The cross-step and chasse step are the basic steps of table tennis. This study presents a protocol to investigate the ground reaction force characteristics between cross-step and chasse step during stroke in table tennis. Sixteen healthy male national level 1 table tennis players (Age: 20.75 &plusmn; 2.06 years) volunteered to participate in the experiment after understanding the purpose and details of the experiment. All participants were asked to hit the ball into the target zone by cross-step and chasse step, respectively. The ground reaction force in the anterior-posterior, medial-lateral, and vertical directions of the participant was measured by a force platform. The key finding of this study was that: the posterior ground reaction force of cross-step footwork (0.89 &plusmn; 0.21) was significantly large (P = 0.014) than the chasse step footwork (0.82 &plusmn; 0.18). However, the lateral ground reaction force of cross-step footwork (-0.38 &plusmn; 0.21) was significantly lower (P &lt; 0.001) than chasse step footwork (-0.46 &plusmn; 0.29) as well as the vertical ground reaction force of cross-step footwork (1.73 &plusmn; 0.19) was significantly lower (P &lt; 0.001) than chasse step footwork (1.9 &plusmn; 0.33). Based on the mechanism of the kinetic chain, the better lower limb dynamic performance of sliding stroke may be conducive to energy transmission and thus bring gain to the swing speed. Beginners should start from the chasse step to hit the ball technically, and then practice the skill of cross-step.

This study presents a protocol to investigate the ground reaction force characteristics between cross-step and chasse step during stroke in table tennis.

The cross-step and chasse step are the basic steps of table tennis. This study presents a protocol to investigate the ground reaction force ...

A Micro-Displacement Measurement Based on the Shadow Technique

The precision measurement of micro displacement is important in scientific and industrial fields. However, it is a tough challenge due to the complex design and the high cost of measuring instruments. Inspired by the shadow formed from water striders walking on a water surface under sunlight, a micro-displacement measurement method was proposed. Water strider legs with superhydrophobic properties bend the water surface. The curved surface of the water refracts sunlight, creating a shadow with a bright edge at the bottom of the pond. The shadow size is generally larger than the indentation depth of the legs from the water surface. In the micro-displacement measurement system, the applied displacement is proportional to the change in the diameter of the shadow. The presented study proposes a micro-displacement measurement procedure based on this shadow technique. The displacement sensitivity can reach 10.0 nm/pixel in the range of 5 &#181;m. This system is simple to construct, low cost, and has high precision with good linear performance. The method provides a convenient additional option to measure micro-displacement.

High-precision micro-displacement measurement is significant in the field of aerospace engineering, ultra-precision machining, and micro-assembly. The present protocol describes measuring micro displacements based on the shadow technique.

The precision measurement of micro displacement is important in scientific and industrial fields. However, it is a tough challenge due to the complex ...

Measurement of Dynamic Force Acted on Water Strider Leg Jumping Upward by the PVDF Film Sensor

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