Generating predictions during action observation is essential for efficient navigation through our social environment. With age, the sensitivity in action prediction declines. In younger adults, the action observation network (AON), consisting of premotor, parietal and occipitotemporal cortices, has been implicated in transforming executed and observed actions into a common code. Much less is k...

An amphibious spherical robot capable of motion on land as well as underwater is developed to implement the complicated underwater operations in our previous research. In order to improve the speed performance of the spherical robot on a slope or comparatively smooth terrains, we propose a new rollerskating mode for the robot by equipping a passive wheel on each leg to implement the roller-skat...

This study aims to develop and validate an automated system for identifying skating-style cross-country subtechniques using inertial sensors. In the first experiment, the performance of a male cross-country skier was used to develop an automated identification system. In the second, eight male and seven female college cross-country skiers participated to validate the developed identification sy...

BACKGROUND Nordic combined (NC) is an Olympic winter-sport performed as a ski jumping (SJ) event followed by a cross-country (XC) pursuit race employing the skating style. PURPOSE To elucidate the associations between sport-specific laboratory capacities and SJ, XC skiing, and overall NC performance in a world-cup NC event. METHODS Twelve international world-cup NC athletes from 8 nations p...

Spatial contaminant distribution in large semiopen building areas such as sports arenas, warehouses, atriums, malls and other industrial halls is critical to estimating exposure, health risks and building energy performance. It is considered a challenge to measure experimentally how effectively the ventilation system removes or dilutes the pollutant in a large open space, taking into considerat...

Transparency is usually thought to reduce corruption by facilitating monitoring by outsiders, but there is concern it can have the perverse effect of facilitating collusion by insiders. In response to vote trading scandals in the 1998 and 2002 Olympics, the International Skating Union (ISU) introduced a number of changes to its judging system, including obscuring which judge issued which mark. ...

PURPOSE In real-life competitive situations, athletes are required to continuously make decisions about how and when to invest their available energy resources. This study attempted to identify how different competitive environments invite elite short-track speed skaters to modify their pacing behaviour during head-to-head competition. METHODS Lap times of elite 500, 1000 and 1500 m short-tra...

PURPOSE To examine the effectiveness of threshold and polarized models in the training organization of Chinese top-level sprint speed skaters using a 2-y quasi-experimental design. METHODS Two years (2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons) of the Chinese national speed-skating team's daily training load (N = 9; 5 men, 23.6 ± 1.7 y, weight 76.6 ± 4.1 kg, competitive experience 5.0 ± 0.8 y, 500-m time 35....

Circumstances and outcome of roller skating accidents (RSA) and the use of protective gear was surveyed. During 1.1.95-31.12.98 a questionnaire survey was conducted among subjects involved in RSA and combined with data from the A + E dept. A major increase in RSA was reported during this four year study period. A total of 399 injuries were recorded, of which 178 had wrist-related injuries and o...