Kinematics and critical swimming speed (Ucrit) of juvenile scalloped hammerhead sharks Sphyrna lewini were measured in a Brett-type flume (635 l). Kinematic parameters were also measured in sharks swimming in a large pond for comparison with those of sharks swimming in the flume. Sharks in the flume exhibited a mean Ucrit of 65±11 cm s-1 (± s.d.) or 1.17±0.21 body lengths p...

Actuating periodically an elastic filament in a viscous liquid generally breaks the constraints of Purcell’s scallop theorem, resulting in the generation of a net propulsive force. This observation suggests a method to design simple swimming devices which we call “elastic swimmers” where the actuation mechanism is embedded in a solid body and the resulting swimmer is free to move. In this paper...

(1) A neurone (designated cell 204) has been identified in the segmental ganglia of the leech which, when stimulated intracellularly in isolated nerve cords, reliably initiates and maintains the neuronal activity pattern characteristic of swimming. In a minimally dissected leech, cell 204 activity results in normal swimming movements. (2) Cell 204 is an unpaired, intersegmental interneurone whi...

OBJECTIVES To determine the effects of training in swimming and water safety on young preschool-children's ability to recover safely from a simulated episode of falling into a swimming pool. DESIGN Randomized trial of 12 or eight weeks' duration water safety and swimming lessons for children 24 to 42 months old. OUTCOME MEASURES Swimming ability, deck behavior, water recovery, and swimming ...

The present research attempts to ascertain the impact of immediate verbal feedback (IVF) on modifications of stroke length (SL). In all swimming styles, stroke length is considered an essential kinematic parameter of the swimming cycle. It is important for swimming mechanics and energetics. If SL shortens while the stroke rate (SR) remains unchanged or decreases, the temporal-spatial structure ...

The development of swimming behavior and the correlated activity patterns recorded in motoneurons during fictive swimming in paralyzed zebrafish larvae were examined and compared. Larvae were studied from when they hatch (after 2 days) and are first capable of locomotion to when they are active swimmers capable of capturing prey (after 4 days). High-speed (500 Hz) video imaging was used to make...

Zebrafish is emerging as a species of choice for the study of a number of biomechanics problems, including balance development, schooling, and neuromuscular transmission. The precise quantification of the flow physics around swimming zebrafish is critical toward a mechanistic understanding of the complex swimming style of this fresh-water species. Although previous studies have elucidated the v...

We develop a general framework for modeling the hydrodynamic self-propulsion (i.e., swimming) of bodies (e.g., microorganisms) at low Reynolds number via Stokesian Dynamics simulations. The swimming body is composed of many spherical particles constrained to form an assembly that deforms via relative motion of its constituent particles. The resistance tensor describing the hydrodynamic interact...