Human motor control is based on complex sensorimotor processes. Recent research has shown that neuromuscular activity of the craniomandibular system (CMS) might affect human motor control. In particular, improvements in postural stability and muscle strength have been observed as a result of voluntary jaw clenching. Potential benefits of jaw aligning appliances on muscle strength and golf performance have also been described. These reports are highly contradictory, however, and the oral motor task performed is often unclear. The purpose of our study was, therefore, to investigate the effect of submaximum biting on golf performance via shot precision and shot length over three different distances. Participants were 14 male professional golfers – seven with sleep bruxism and seven without – randomly performing golf shots over 60m, 160m, or driving distance while either biting on an oral splint or biting on their teeth; habitual jaw position served as the control condition. Statistical analysis revealed that oral motor activity did not systematically affect golf performance in respect of shot precision or shot length for 60m, 160 m, or driving distance. These findings were reinforced by impact variables such as club head speed and ball speed, which were also not indicative of significant effects. The results thus showed that the strength improvements and stabilizing effects described previously are, apparently, not transferable to such coordination-demanding sports as golf. This could be due to the divergent motor demands associated with postural control and muscle strength on the one hand and the complex coordination of a golf swing on the other. Interestingly, subjects without sleep bruxism performed significantly better at the short distance (60 m) than those with bruxism. Because of the multifactorial etiology of parafunctional CMS activity, conclusions about the need for dental treatment to improve sports performance are, however, completely unwarranted.
Die Überwachung (Monitoring) von Bauwerken kann einen Betrag dazu leisten, Schäden rechtzeitig zu erkennen und mehr Sicherheit für die Nutzer von Infrastrukturbauwerken zu schaffen [1–3]. Dabei ist es sinnvoll, ausgewählte neuralgische Punkte des Tragwerks zu überwachen, um die Datenmenge nicht zu groß werden zu lassen und die Übersichtlichkeit zu erhalten. Sensoren können zusätzliche Informationen über Zustand, Einwirkungen oder Umwelteinflüsse (z. B. Temperaturverformungen) eines Bauwerks zur Verfügung stellen. Im Rahmen des hier beschriebenen Erhaltungsprojekts, Grenzbrücke Basel, wurden die Gerbergelenke im Bereich der Konsolbänke durch nachträglich eingebrachte und vorgespannte diagonale Zugstangen verstärkt. An diesem neuralgischen Punkt des Tragwerks wurden faseroptische Dehnungs‐ und Temperatursensoren auf den Verstärkungsstäben installiert, um mehr Informationen über die Beanspruchung der Zugstangen zu erhalten. Ein Warnsystem konnte für den Fall einer Überbeanspruchung des Gerbergelenks installiert werden. Dieser Aufsatz stellt das Konzept des Überwachungssystems, die installierte faseroptische Messtechnik und die Kalibrierung durch die Überfahrt von definiert beladen LKW vor.
Due to advances in natural language understanding, chatbots have become popular for assisting users in various tasks, for example, searching. Chatbots allow natural-language queries, which can be useful in case of complex information needs, and they provide a higher level of interactivity by displaying information in a dialog-like format. However, chatbots are often only used as auxiliaries for a graphical search user interface (SUI). Thus, they must be engaging and usable so that users both want to and are able to use them. In this study, we conduct a controlled interactive information retrieval experiment following a within-subject design to compare a chatbot to a graphical SUI in terms of engagement and usability. Our findings point towards the need for flawless usability in order for conversational search interfaces to (1) be able to provide additional value in information retrieval tasks and (2) elicit a higher level of engagement compared to their SUI-based counterparts.
More than 40 years ago, the expansion joints on the Basel border bridge were constructed using corbels and dapped ends. The consoles had to be reinforced as part of the renovation measures due to damage caused by chloride entry and due to the increased loads. Diagonal rods, which were prestressed, were used. Fiber-optic sensors were additionally installed to these highly stressed rods in order to measure the strains and temperatures. This now makes it possible to measure the actual strains in the strengthening of the corbel, estimate fatigue loads, and set up a warning system in case of overstressing. This article presents the design of the measurement system and the analysis of the data. Furthermore, the reference measurements that can establish the relationship between the measured strains and the loads passed over are presented.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.