The Use of Far Infrared Treatment Prior to Exercise in Horses: An mfBIA and Acoustic Myography Three Case Study

Background: Acute effects of Far Infrared (FIR) treatment in horses are unknown, especially short periods of 30 minutes, as is any effect on such muscle parameters as warm-up balance, overall exercise balance and laterality asymmetries. Aim: This study examines three equine cases in detail to measure any effects of a short period of FIR treatment. Methods: Multi-frequency bioimpedance (mfBIA) and acoustic myography (AMG), non-invasive techniques, were applied pre- and post-treatment with FIR to the back (T5-L4/5) and for m.Longissimus dorsi and m.Gluteus medius was recorded during a 15-minute warm-up regimen. mfBIA parameters included extracellular resistance (Re), centre frequency (fc), membrane capacitance (Mc), intracellular resistance (Ri) and phase angle (PA) which indicates level of training and health status. Results: FIR treatment responses for mfBIA parameters were found to be horse-specific and different, whilst in terms of AMG, FIR treatment for 30 minutes had a beneficial effect on overall balance in all three horses (5 out of 6 muscles), and a beneficial effect on the AMG parameter ST (force symmetry) in all three horses (6 out of 6 muscles). An overall improvement for combined balance and ST values for both muscles and all three horses of 86% was noted with FIR treatment, compared to 56% without. Conclusions: This preliminary study of FIR treatment in three horses, has been found to result in an overall improvement in combined balance and ST values for both muscles. FIR has potential as a promising treatment to reduce the risk of warm-up-related injuries in athletic horses.

Attribution of Biases of Interhemispheric Temperature Contrast in CMIP6 Models

One of the basic characteristics of Earth's modern climate is that the Northern Hemisphere(NH) is climatologically warmer than the Southern Hemisphere(SH). Here, model performances of this basic state are examined using simulation results from 26 CMIP6 models. Results show that the CMIP6 models underestimate the contrast in interhemispheric surface temperatures on average(0.8 K for CMIP6 mean versus 1.4 K for reanalysis data mean), and that there is a large intermodel spread, ranging from -0.7 K to 2.3 K. A box model energy budget analysis shows that the contrast in interhemispheric shortwave absorption at the top of the atmosphere, the contrast in interhemispheric greenhouse trapping, and the crossequatorial northward ocean heat transport, are all underestimated in the multimodel mean. By examining the intermodel spread, we find intermodel biases can be tracked back to biases in midlatitude shortwave cloud forcing in AGCMs. Models with a weaker interhemispheric temperature contrast underestimate the shortwave cloud reflection in the SH but overestimate the shortwave cloud reflection in the NH, which are respectively due to underestimation of the cloud fraction over the SH extratropical ocean and overestimation of the cloud liquid water content over the NH extratropical continents.Models that underestimate the interhemispheric temperature contrast exhibit larger double ITCZ biases, characterized by excessive precipitation in the SH tropics. Although this intermodel spread does not account for the multimodel ensemble mean biases, it highlights that improving cloud simulation in AGCMs is essential for simulating the climate realistically in coupled models.

On the Definition of Propellant Force

Comments are given on the various physical definitions of the force constant of propellant. As there are more or less defects in these definitions, two new definitions are presented to reflect the physical essence of propellant force more perfectly and could well compatible with the mathematical expression.

Data correction of the force balanced accelerometer

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＤｉｇｉｔａｌｓｔｒｏｎｇｇｒｏｕｎｄａｃｅｌｅｒａｔｉｏｎｏｂｓｅｒｖａｔｉｏｎｉｎｓｔｒｕｍｅｎｔ，ｓｕｃｈａｓＰＤＲ１，ＳＳＡ１ａｎｄＳＳＲ１ｐｒｏｄｕｃｅｄｂｙＫｉｎｅｍｅｔｒｉｃｓＩｎｃ．，ＵＳＡａｎｄＳＣＱ?..

6-DOF混联采茶机器人机构设计与动平衡分析

为确保采茶机器人的精准采摘,研究设计安装于移动底盘的6-DOF混联采茶机器人机构。根据基于方位特征的机器人机构拓扑结构设计理论,提出并设计一个6-DOF混联操作手;对混联机构进行正反解位置分析;以杆长之和最小为目标函数,采用非线性规划法对机构进行杆件尺寸优化;应用有限位置法求出完全平衡时配重的质量参数与位置参数;运用遗传算法研究摆动力部分平衡优化,求出其配重质量和位置参数最优解,部分平衡优化结果表明,质心轨迹在y、z方向上的波动分别减少53.72%、25.10%,总摆动力波动减少43.33%,从而验证了部分平衡优化的有效性。为该混联采茶机器人结构设计与样机研制奠定了技术基础。

Effect of impeller reflux balance holes on pressure and axial force of centrifugal pump

The size of impeller reflux holes for centrifugal pump has influence on the pressure distribution of front and rear shrouds and rear pump chamber, as well as energy characteristics of whole pump and axial force. Low specific-speed centrifugal pump with Q=12.5 m3/h, H=60 m, n=2950 r/min was selected to be designed with eight axial reflux balance holes with 4.5 mm in diameter. The simulated Q-H curve and net positive suction head(NPSH) were in good agreement with experimental results, which illustrated that centrifugal pump with axial reflux balance holes was superior in the cavitation characteristic; however, it showed to little superiority in head and efficiency. The pressure in rear pump chamber at 0.6 times rate flow is 29.36% of pressure difference between outlet and inlet, which reduces to 29.10% at rate flow and 28.33% at 1.4 times rate flow. As the whole, the pressure distribution on front and rear shrouds from simulation results is not a standard parabola, and axial force decreases as flow rate increases. Radical reflux balance holes chosen to be 5.2 mm and 5.9 mm in diameter were further designed with other hydraulic parts unchanged. With structural grids adopted for total flow field, contrast numerical simulation on internal flow characteristics was conducted based on momentum equations and standard turbulence model(κ-ε). It is found that axial force of pump with radical reflux balance holes of5.2 mm and 5.9 mm in diameter is significantly less than that with radical reflux balance holes of 4.5 mm in diameter. Better axial force balance is obtained as the ratio of area of reflux balance holes and area of sealing ring exceeds 6.

Surface N Balances in Agricultural Crop Production Systems in China for the Period 1980-2015

Surface nitrogen （N） balances for China＇s crop production systems was estimated using statistical data collected from 1980 to 2004 at the national and provincial scale and from 1994 to 1999 at the county level. There was a surplus N balance throughout these periods, but the surplus was nearly stable in recent years. Projections using nonseasonal Box-Jenkins model or exponential models show that the N surplus for the total cultivated land in China was likely to increase from 142.8 kg ha^-1 in 2004 to 168.6 kg ha 1 in 2015. The N balance surplus in the more developed southeastern provinces was the largest, and was slightly less in the central region, which caused the nitrate pollution in the ground water. The N surplus was much less in the western and northern provinces because of lower synthetic fertilizer inputs. The region with high N risk includes Beijing Municipality and Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Hubei, and Shandong provinces for 2002-2004. The projections suggested that 15 provinces （or municipalities） in the middle and southeastern part of China except Jiangxi and Shanxi provinces would become the high-risk region by 2015. The level of economic development, transportation, and labor force condition had an important effect on the N balance surplus at the county level, but the last two factors showed remarkable impact at the provincial level. To decrease the nonpoint pollution （Npp） risk from crop production, the authors suggested to reduce the target level for national grain self-sufficiency to 90%-95% and change the regional structure of grain production by moving some of the future grain production from the high Npp risk areas of eastern China to parts of the central and western provinces where the Npp risk was much less.

Determination of initial cable force of cantilever casting concrete arch bridge using stress balance and influence matrix methods

Cantilever casting concrete arch bridge using form traveller has a broad application prospect.However,it is difficult to obtain reasonable initial cable force in construction stage.In this study,stress balance and influence matrix methods were developed to determine the initial cable force of cantilever casting concrete arch bridge.The stress balance equation and influence matrix of arch rib critical section were established,and the buckle cable force range was determined by the allowable stress of arch rib critical section.Then a group of buckle cable forces were selected and substituted into the stress balance equation,and the reasonable initial buckle cable force was determined through iteration.Based on the principle of force balance,the initial anchor cable force was determined.In an engineering application example,it is shown that the stress balance and influence matrix methods for the determination of initial cable force are feasible and reliable.The initial cable forces of arch rib segments only need to be adjusted once in the corresponding construction process,which improves the working efficiency and reduces the construction risk.It is found that the methods have great advantages for determining initial cable force in cantilever casting construction process of concrete arch bridge.

Balance Mechanism Design of Single Cylinder Engine Based on Continuous Mass Distribution of Connecting Rod

For a single cylinder engine, the total unbalanced inertial forces occur in the engine block, which results in engine’s vibration and deteriorated noise. In order to eliminate the unbalanced forces, counterweight and primary balance shaft should be attached to the cylinder block so that engine durability and ride comfortability may be further improved. Traditionally one third of connecting rod assembly’s mass is treated as reciprocating mass, and two thirds as rotating mass when designing balance mechanism. In this paper, a new method based on the multibody dynamics simulation is introduced to separate the reciprocating mass and rotating mass of connecting rod assembly. The model consists of crankshaft, connecting rod, piston and the simulation is performed subsequently. According to the simulation results of the main bearing loads, the reciprocating mass and rotating mass are separated. Finally a new balance mechanism is designed and simulation results show that it completely balances inertial forces to improve the engine’s noise vibration and harshness performance.

A Theoretical Model for the Size Prediction of Single Bubbles Formed under Liquid Cross-flow

The size of initial bubbles is an important factor to the developed bubble size distribution in a gas-liquid contactor. A liquid cross-flow over a sparger can produce smaller bubbles, and hereby enhance the performance of contactor. A one stage model by balancing the forces acting on a growing bubble was developed to describe the formation of the bubble from an orifice exposed to liquid cross-flow. The prediction with this model agrees with the experimental data available in the literatures, and show that orifice size strongly affects the bubble size. It is showed that the shear-lift force, inertia force, surface tension force and buoyancy force are major forces, and a simplified mathematical model was developed, and the detachment bubble diameter can be predicted with accuracy of <±21%.

Large Deformation Analysis and Synthesis of Elastic Closed-loop Mechanism Made of a Certain Spring Wire Described by Free Curves

Recently novel mechanisms with compact size and without many mechanical elements such as bearing are strongly required for medical devices such as surgical operation devices. This paper describes analysis and synthesis of elastic link mechanisms of a single spring beam which can be manufactured by NC coiling machines. These mechanisms are expected as disposable micro forceps. Smooth Curvature Model（SCM） with 3rd order Legendre polynomial curvature functions is applied to calculate large deformation of a curved cantilever beam by taking account of the balance between external and internal elastic forces and moments. SCM is then extended to analyze large deformation of a closed-loop curved elastic beam which is composed of multiple free curved beams. A closed-loop elastic link is divided into two free curved cantilever beams each of which is assumed as serially connected free curved cantilever beams described with SCM. The sets of coefficients of Legendre polynomials of SCM in all free curved cantilever beams are determined by taking account of the force and moment balance at connecting point where external input force is applied. The sets of coefficients of Legendre polynomials of a nonleaded closed-loop elastic link are optimized to design a link mechanism which can generate specified output motion due to input force applied at the assumed dividing point. For example, two planar micro grippers with a single pulling input force are analyzed and designed. The elastic deformation analyzed with proposed method agrees very well with that calculated with FEM. The designed micro gripper can generate the desired pinching motion. The proposed method can contribute to design compact and simple elastic mechanisms without high calculation costs.

On the Forcing of the Radial-vertical Circulation within Cyclones-Part 1: Concepts and Equations

お? Following the theoretical result of Eliassen, the Sawyer-Eliassen equation for frontal circulations and the equation for forcing the meridional circulation within a circumpolar vortex are extended in isentropic coordinates to describe the forcing of the azimuthally averaged mass-weighted radial-vertical circulation within translating extratropical and tropical cyclones. Several physical processes which are not evident in studies employing isobaric coordinates are isolated in this isentropic study. These processes include the effects of pressure torque, inertial torque and storm translation that are associated with the asymmetric structure in isentropic coordinates. This isentropic study also includes the effects of eddy angular momentum transport, diabatic heating and frictional torque that are common in both isentropic and isobaric studies. All of the processes are modulated by static, inertial and baroclinic stabilities. Consistent with the theoretical result of Eliassen, the numerical solution from this isentropic study shows that the roles of torque, diabatic heating and hydrodynamic stability in forcing the radial-vertical circulation within stable vortices are that 1) positive (negative) torque which results in the counterclockwise (clockwise) rotation of vortices also forces the outflow (inflow) branch of the radial-vertical circulation, 2) diabatic heating (cooling) forces the ascent (descent) branch of the radial-vertical circulation and 3) for given forcing, the weaker hydrodynamic stability results in a stronger radial-vertical circulation. It is the net inflow or convergence (net outflow or divergence), vertical motions and the associated redistribution of properties that favor the evolution of vortices with colorful weather events. Numerical solutions of this isentropic study are given in companion articles. The relatively important contribution of various physical processes to the forcing of the azimuthally-averaged mass-weighted radial-vertical circulation within different translating cyclones and in their different stages of development will be investigated.

Lift Force at Equatorial Sea Level Due to Compressed Air Dynamics of the Trade Wind’s Boundary Layer

Starting with a recent unconventional explanation of the lift force on a wing, featuring compressibility of the air, an application of the same concept is made to the lift force on the equatorial sea surface due to the Trade Winds, by greatly increasing the spatial scales. If the equatorial sea level does rise up, the northward slope to the sea level should facilitate the poleward flux of summer heat in both the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, as two examples, in accordance with the heat budget requirements of these oceans. Compressed air dynamics consists of Bernoulli’s law applied to the streamlines of the Trade Winds, the force balance between the upward centrifugal force of the curved streamlines at the earth’s surface and a downward pressure force, and the perfect gas law for air.

Conception and Design of Active Balancer for Planar Mechanisms

The dynamic balancing is an important issue in mechanism design. For the existing balancing methods, both passive and active ones, there is still room for improvement in adaplability and independency. In view of this, a concept of active balancer is developed as a new solution for the dynamic balancing with more flexibility. The proposed balancer is an independent additional device with a control system inside, which consists of a two-degree-of-freedom （DOF） linkage and a controllable motor, and can be attached to a machine expediently with little change to its original structure and motion. One of the two inputs of the two-DOF linkage shares the same shaft with its output, which is connected to the input shaft of a machine to be balanced and driven by the original actuator. The other input is driven by the control motor. By properly selecting the speed trajectories of the control motor and link parameters of the two-DOF linkage, one or more dynamic effects of the mechanisms can be minimized or eliminated adaptively. The design procedure of the active balancer is put forward and a two-step optimization is developed to find out optimal design parameters of the balancer for various design requirements and constraints. Taking a force-balanced crank-rocker mechanism as the reference mechanism, numerical examples are given to illustrate the design procedure. The balancing effects of the proposed balancer are compared with those of the existing adding dyads （DYAD） method. The results show that the introduction of the control system provides the active balancer with better balancing effect and more flexibility than the DYAD method. A considerable reduction in the dynamic effects （input torque, shaking moment and shaking force） can be achieved for different balancing object by designing the structural and control parameters of the balancer, and the deterioration of dynamic performance caused by alterative working conditions can be compensated effectively by redesigning the control parameters.

LASG Global AGCM with a Two-moment Cloud Microphysics Scheme:Energy Balance and Cloud Radiative Forcing Characteristics

Cloud dominates influence factors of atmospheric radiation, while aerosol–cloud interactions are of vital importance in its spatiotemporal distribution. In this study, a two-moment(mass and number) cloud microphysics scheme, which significantly improved the treatment of the coupled processes of aerosols and clouds, was incorporated into version 1.1 of the IAP/LASG global Finite-volume Atmospheric Model(FAMIL1.1). For illustrative purposes, the characteristics of the energy balance and cloud radiative forcing(CRF) in an AMIP-type simulation with prescribed aerosols were compared with those in observational/reanalysis data. Even within the constraints of the prescribed aerosol mass, the model simulated global mean energy balance at the top of the atmosphere(TOA) and at the Earth’s surface, as well as their seasonal variation, are in good agreement with the observational data. The maximum deviation terms lie in the surface downwelling longwave radiation and surface latent heat flux, which are 3.5 W m-2(1%) and 3 W m-2(3.5%), individually. The spatial correlations of the annual TOA net radiation flux and the net CRF between simulation and observation were around 0.97 and 0.90, respectively. A major weakness is that FAMIL1.1 predicts more liquid water content and less ice water content over most oceans. Detailed comparisons are presented for a number of regions, with a focus on the Asian monsoon region(AMR). The results indicate that FAMIL1.1 well reproduces the summer–winter contrast for both the geographical distribution of the longwave CRF and shortwave CRF over the AMR. Finally, the model bias and possible solutions, as well as further works to develop FAMIL1.1 are discussed.

THE EXTENDING OF JOUKOWSKY'S LEVER METHOD AND ITS APPLICATIONS IN LINKAGE PROBLEMS

Joukowsky’s Lever Method is the method used to find out the equilibrant and balancingmoment of various mechanisms.The advantage of this method is to save the complicated processof finding out the reactional forces in kinematic pairs.But,the method is only limited to thosemechanisms composed of rigid bar linkages and with negligible friction.In practical cases,hydropneumatic elements and spring constraints may be included in the mechanism;and alsowith the development of high load,high speed and high accuracy of mechanism,the friction maynot be neglected.So,the authors have tried to develop the Generalized Joukowsky’s LeverMethod,which can be used to find out the equilibrant and balancing moment of the mechanismwhen the hydropneumatic elements and spring constraints are included and the friction inkinematic pairs has to be considered.Three examples are here analyzed to show the applicationsof this method.

A New Perspective of the Force on a Magnetizable Rod inside a Solenoid

We analyze the familiar effect of the pulling of a magnetizable rod by a magnetic field inside a solenoid. We find that the analogy with the pulling of a dielectric slab by a charged capacitor is not as direct as usually thought. Indeed, there are two possibilities to pursue the analogy, according to the correspondence used,?either E → B and D → H, or E?→ H and D?→ B. One of these results in an incorrect sign in the force, while the other gives the correct result. We avoid this ambiguity in the usual energy method applying a momentum balance equation derived from Maxwell’s equations. This method permits the calculation of the force with a volume integration of a force density, or with a surface integration of a stress tensor. An interpretation of our results establishes that the force acts at the interface and has its origin in Maxwell′s magnetic stresses at the medium-vacuum interface. This approach provides new insights and a new perspective of the origin of this force.

Forced Resonance of a Slightly-Curved Hydraulic Pipe Fixed at Two Ends

The ideally straight hydraulic pipe is inexistent in reality. The initial curve caused by the manufacturing or the creep deformation during the service life will change the dynamic character of the system. The current work discusses the effect of the initial curve on the hydraulic pipe fixed at two ends for the first time. Based on the governing equation obtained via the generalized Hamilton’s principle,the potential energy changing with the height of the initial curve is discussed. The initial curve makes the potential energy curve asymmetric,but the system is always monostable. The initial curve also has very important influence on natural frequencies. It hardens the stiffness of the first natural mode at first and then has no effect on this mode after a critical value. On the contrast,the second natural frequency is constant before the critical value but increases while the height of the initial curve exceeds the critical value. On account of the initial value,the quadratic nonlinearity appears in the system. Forced resonance is very different from that of the ideally straight pipe under the same condition. Although the 2∶1 internal resonance is established by adjusting the height of the initial curve and the fluid speed,the typical double-jumping phenomenon does not occur under the initial curve given in the current work. This is very different from the straight pipe in the supercritical region. The work here claims that the initial curve of the hydraulic pipe should be taken into consideration. Besides,more arduous work is needed to reveal the dynamic characters of it.

Improvement of Harmonic Balance Using Jacobian Elliptic Functions

We propose a method for finding approximate analytic solutions to autonomous single degree-of-freedom nonlinear oscillator equations. It consists of the harmonic balance with linearization in which Jacobian elliptic functions are used instead of circular trigonometric functions. We show that a simple change of independent variable followed by a careful choice of the form of anharmonic solution enable to obtain highly accurate approximate solutions. In particular our examples show that the proposed method is as easy to use as existing harmonic balance based methods and yet provides substantially greater accuracy.

The Explicitly Covariant Stress-Energy-Momentum Balance Equation for Electromagnetism in Material Media

Beginning with the explicitly covariant Maxwell equations in media, we deduce an explicitly covariant stress-energy-momentum balance equation in material media. Proceeding in this way we avoid mixing external fields and self fields, as occurs if one begins with Lorentz＇s law, the most usual approach appearing in textbooks. Indeed our deduction implies a generalized force density in which the total fields appear. As an application of the present deduction, we discuss briefly the Abraham-Minkowski controversy, showing its relation to open or closed electromagnetic systems. This approach will be interesting for scholars as well as graduate students interested in conceptual problems of relativistic electromagnetism.