PONE-D-23-32453Examining Isokinetic Knee Peak Torque and Time to Peak Torque as Predictors of Vertical Jump Height in Division I Men’s Basketball PlayersPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Westwood,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

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ACADEMIC EDITOR: Dear Authors,your manuscript has been revised by one expert in the field that retrieved several major concerns you should consider during the revision process. Please submit your revised manuscript by Dec 31 2023 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org . When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

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Emiliano Cè

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: This is interesting topic, that has already been covered in the literature substantially. The authors are bringing back the idea that time to peak torque could be equally or even more important than maximal torque output.

I have several important remarks, that I would like authors to address. They are listed below.

Why did you decide to test from 90-0°. This may influence test results due to fatigue, especially as you had quite an extensive testing protocol in regard to reps.

Name the model of the dynamometer.

Do you think 30sec rest between speeds is enough?

How come you decided to use average and not peak torque values? Even more, you have obviously calculated average from both legs which is odd and provide any reference for that. As isokinetic strength testing is my area of expertise I must say that you should use peak torque (not average) and dominant side (in basketball one used to push off in two-step).

Also I think that you are lacking jump without arm swing, as many studies have confirmed that arm swing may significantly influence the height of the jump and this in turns may explain why you didn’t find significant correlations with knee extensor strength. OK I see that you were not using force platform but Vertec - I hope this is in limitations.

You body weight normalized values are actually in %. Add % or change the decimal point.

You are mixing anglosaxon and metric system. Check Plos instructions about units of measure.

You are repeating some information from the Table in the text. Don’t do so.

You linear regression model is prone to bias. Have you been doing multiple regression approach as well? Adding peak torque instead of average may significantly influence correlations as well as whole model.

Can you explain in more details this assumption “It was hypothesized that time to peak torque at the highest °/ speed of 300 s would have the strongest correlation with VJ performance.” It is maximal strength that matters for VJ, and that one is best measured at low concentric velocities. If you wanted time include test power instead of time to peak torque

In the discussion section you are talking about the peak torque, but instead you were actually using average - see above.

For a study showing really low R2 albeit significant I would tune down the suggestion in regard to that finding.

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Reviewer #1: No

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PONE-D-23-32453R1Examining Isokinetic Knee Peak Torque and Time to Peak Torque as Predictors of Vertical Jump Height in Division I Men’s Basketball PlayersPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Westwood,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

==============================

ACADEMIC EDITOR:

Dear Authors, two experts in the field reviewed your manuscript reporting some minor issues you should consider during the revision process. Please submit your revised manuscript by Apr 05 2024 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org . When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

• A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.
• A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.
• An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols . Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols .

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Emiliano Cè

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Journal Requirements:

Please review your reference list to ensure that it is complete and correct. If you have cited papers that have been retracted, please include the rationale for doing so in the manuscript text, or remove these references and replace them with relevant current references. Any changes to the reference list should be mentioned in the rebuttal letter that accompanies your revised manuscript. If you need to cite a retracted article, indicate the article’s retracted status in the References list and also include a citation and full reference for the retraction notice.

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

Reviewer #3: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #2: Yes

Reviewer #3: No

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6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #2: Congrulations! Your manuscript is ready to publish. Thank ou so much for your all response.

Best Regards

Reviewer #3: PONE-D-23-32453R1

Examining Isokinetic Knee Peak Torque and Time to Peak Torque as Predictors of Vertical Jump Height using Vertec in Division I Men’s Basketball Players

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Dear Authors

Thank you for the opportunity to review the article PONE-D-23-32453R1 - Examining Isokinetic Knee Peak Torque and Time to Peak Torque as Predictors of Vertical Jump Height in Division I Men’s Basketball Players for the journal PLOS ONE.

The work is generally relevant to sports science, particularly basketball, falling within the journal's scope.

Therefore, the article should be accepted for publication after being adjusted according to the comments below.

Best Regards

_________________________

General comments

The use of Vertec is a limitation.

The protocol used could (should) have ALSO considered 2 VJs that are part of Bosco's protocol: squat jump and countermovement jump. The work was left with almost no limitations, and the findings would undoubtedly have a more significant scientific impact.

However, taking into account the rationale behind the modelling, it can be seen that the objective is focused, specifically, on using equipment without technological limitations that may be available at training locations. Thus, performance in VJ with vortex can, at any time, be interpreted in light of this work. However, it is essential to emphasise that the results of this study are only valid for these conditions.

However, the use of the methodology stated is also an advantage due to the standardisation of the VJ movement, but because it resembles the VJ most performed by athletes in the studied modality.

The question is: Which studies use the same methodology (BIODEX vs VERTEC)? The work would be significantly improved if the reference bibliography (mainly) focused on protocols with the same studied vertical jump (Vertec).

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Specific comments

Title

Suggestion: Examining Isokinetic Knee Peak Torque and Time to Peak Torque as Predictors of Vertical Jump Height using Vertec apparatus in Division I Men’s Basketball Players

Discussion

L178-180: “Overall, the results of this study did not support this hypothesis, as none of the predictor variables showed a significant correlation with VJ height.” // No. The results support the hypothesis, i.e., time to peak torque at the highest speed of 300 °/s would have the strongest correlation with VJ performance. Review this sentence to clarify.

L197-198: “This experiment failed to find a significant correlation between peak torque and VJ height, and this may be explained by the role of the hip joint during the VJ.” // You could also reference the VJ assessment methodology (i.e., using VERTEC, which is not a standard vertical jump test like the SJ, CMJ or ABK).

L2002: “semimembranosus and rectus femoris” // The muscles semitendinosus and (long head of) biceps femoris (booth from the posterior region) are missing (they are also biarticular muscles – hip and knee).

Pratical applications

This section is a mix of discussion and practical applications. I believe that to improve this section considerably, it can (should) be reformulated (i.e., present an objective and direct text in which the reasoning - and respective references - would only be considered in the “discussion” section).

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7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean? ). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

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Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy .

Reviewer #2: No

Reviewer #3: No

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Examining Isokinetic Knee Peak Torque and Time to Peak Torque as Predictors of Vertical Jump Height in Division I Men’s Basketball Players

PONE-D-23-32453R2

Dear Dr. Westwood,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to help maximize its impact. If they’ll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team as soon as possible -- no later than 48 hours after receiving the formal acceptance. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org.

Kind regards,

Emiliano Cè

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #3: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #3: No

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #3: Dear Authors

Thank you for your responses to the comments presented in the initial review and changes presented in the article PONE-D-23-32453R2 - Examining Isokinetic Knee Peak Torque and Time to Peak Torque as Predictors of Vertical Jump Height in Division I Men’s Basketball Players.

Congratulations.

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If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy .

Reviewer #3: Yes:  Luís Miguel Massuça

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