Torque Production Using Handwheels of Different Size During a Simulated Valve Operation Task

Opening and closing valves in industrial facilities often requires operators to use bars and wrenches as levers (cheaters) in order to overcome initial actuation forces. In order to determine more appropriate operational specifications, the maximum torque production capability was measured when 12 male participants used 4 different valve handwheels at 3 different heights and 2 different angles (in relationship to the coronal plane). The results indicate that the participants produced significantly greater torque when the largest of the 4 wheels (40.6 cm diameter) was used than when the medium (22.9 cm), small (20.3 cm), and handled (17.8 cm) handwheels were used. Although the main effect of heights was found to be statistically significant, post-hoc analyses between the heights found them to be, essentially, equal. In addition, the vertical and horizontal wheel orientations were not found to be different. The results are applicable to all industries where handwheels are used and applicable to valve manufacturers for designing operational torque specifications below the values found in this study.     

Avian magnetic compass: fast adjustment to intensities outside the normal functional window

To determine how fast birds can adapt to magnetic intensities outside the normal functional window of their magnetic compass, we tested migratory birds in a magnetic field of 92,000 nT, twice the intensity of the local geomagnetic field at the test site in Frankfurt a.M., Germany. In the local field, robins showed a significant preference of their southerly migratory direction, whereas in the 92,000-nT field, they were initially disoriented. However, when the birds were preexposed to 92,000 nT for 1 h before being tested, they were able to orient under this intensity, and their behavior did not differ from that in the geomagnetic field. These data show that birds require only a short time to adjust to magnetic intensities, which they cannot spontaneously use for orientation. Interpreting these findings in view of the radical pair model (Ritz et al. 2000), this means that they can learn rather quickly to interpret novel activation patterns on their retina.