The health and sport engagement (HASE) intervention and evaluation project: protocol for the design, outcome, process and economic evaluation of a complex community sport intervention to increase levels of physical activity.

INTRODUCTION: Sport is being promoted to raise population levels of physical activity for health. National sport participation policy focuses on complex community provision tailored to diverse local users. Few quality research studies exist that examine the role of community sport interventions in raising physical activity levels and no research to date has examined the costs and cost-effectiveness of such provision. This study is a protocol for the design, outcome, process and economic evaluation of a complex community sport intervention to increase levels of physical activity, the Health and Sport Engagement (HASE) project part of the national Get Healthy Get Active programme led by Sport England. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The HASE study is a collaborative partnership between local community sport deliverers and sport and public health researchers. It involves designing, delivering and evaluating community sport interventions. The aim is to engage previously inactive people in sustained sporting activity for 1×30 min a week and to examine associated health and well-being outcomes. The study uses mixed methods. Outcomes (physical activity, health, well-being costs to individuals) will be measured by a series of self-report questionnaires and attendance data and evaluated using interrupted time series analysis controlling for a range of sociodemographic factors. Resource use will be identified and measured using diaries, interviews and records and presented alongside effectiveness data as incremental cost-effectiveness ratios and cost-effectiveness acceptability curves. A longitudinal process evaluation (focus groups, structured observations, in-depth interview methods) will examine the efficacy of the project for achieving its aim using the principles of thematic analysis. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The results of this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, academic conference presentations, Sport England and national public health organisation policy conferences, and practice-based case studies. Ethical approval was obtained through Brunel University London's research ethics committee (reference number RE33-12)

Taking a Razor to Dark Matter Parameter Space at the LHC

Dark matter (DM) has been searched for at colliders in a largely model independent fashion by looking for an excess number of events involving a single jet, or photon, and missing energy. We investigate the possibility of looking for excesses in more inclusive jet channels. Events with multiple jets contain more information and thus more handles to increase the signal to background ratio. In particular, we adapt the recent CMS "razor" analysis from a search for supersymmetry to a search for DM. We consider simplified models where DM is a Dirac fermion that couples to the quarks of the Standard Model (SM) through exchange of vector or axial-vector mediators or to gluons through scalar exchange. We consider both light and heavy (leading to effective contact interactions) mediators. Since the razor analysis requires multiple jets in the final state, the data set is complementary to that used for the monojet search and thus the bounds can be combined.Comment: 25 pages, 10 figures; v2 published version; v3 removes duplication of manuscript in pd

Optical monitoring system

Instrument can measure optical transmission, reflectance, and scattering. This information can be used to identify changes in optical properties or deviations from required optical standards. Device consists of monochromatic source, photo detector, transfer mirror, and hemiellipsoid. System might be used to measure optical properties of thin film

Quantifying the efficiency and biases of forest Saccharomyces sampling strategies

Saccharomyces yeasts are emerging as model organisms for ecology and evolution, and researchers need environmental Saccharomyces isolates to test ecological and evolutionary hypotheses. However, methods for isolating Saccharomyces from nature have not been standardized and isolation methods may influence the genotypes and phenotypes of studied strains. We compared the effectiveness and potential biases of an established enrichment culturing method against a newly developed direct plating method for isolating forest floor Saccharomyces spp. In a European forest, enrichment culturing was both less successful at isolating S. paradoxus per sample collected and less labor intensive per isolated S. paradoxus colony than direct isolation. The two methods sampled similar S. paradoxus diversity: the number of unique genotypes sampled (i.e., genotypic diversity) per S. paradoxus isolate and average growth rates of S. paradoxus isolates did not differ between the two methods, and growth rate variances (i.e., phenotypic diversity) only differed in one of three tested environments. However, enrichment culturing did detect rare S. cerevisiae in the forest habitat, and also found two S. paradoxus isolates with outlier phenotypes. Our results validate the historically common method of using enrichment culturing to isolate representative collections of environmental Saccharomyces. We recommend that researchers choose a Saccharomyces sampling method based on resources available for sampling and isolate screening. Researchers interested in discovering new Saccharomyces phenotypes or rare Saccharomyces species from natural environments may also have more success using enrichment culturing. We include step-by-step sampling protocols in the supplemental materials

Nu sub 1 plus nu sub 3 combination band of SO2

The infrared-active vibration-rotation combination band nu sub 1 + nu sub 3 of sulfur dioxide was measured with moderately high spectral resolution. Quantum number identifications of spectral lines were made by comparison with theoretically computed spectra which include the effects of centrifugal distortion. Relative line intensities were also calculated. The band center for nu sub 1 + nu sub 3 was determined to be 2499.60 + or - 0.10/cm

Space environmental effects on graphite-epoxy compressive properties and epoxy tensile properties

This study characterizes the effects of electron radiation and temperature on a graphite-epoxy composite material. Compressive properties of the T300/934 material system were obtained at -250 F (-157 C), room temperature, and 250 F (121 C). Tensile specimens of the Fiberite 934 epoxy resin were fabricated and tested at room temperature and 250 F (121 C). Testing was conducted in the baseline (nonirradiated) and irradiated conditions. The radiation exposure was designed to simulate 30 year, worst-case exposure in geosynchronous Earth orbit. Mechanical properties tended to degrade at elevated temperature and improve at cryogenic temperature. Irradiation generally degraded properties at all temperatures

Fundamental bands of S(32)O2(16)

The infrared-active vibration-rotation fundamentals of sulfur dioxide were measured with moderately high spectral resolution. Quantum number assignments were made for spectral lines from J = O to 57, by comparison with theoretically computed spectra which include the effects of centrifugal distortion. The following values for the band centers were determined: nu sub 1 = 1151.65 + or - 0.10/cm, nu sub 2 = 517.75 + or - 0.10/cm, and nu sub 3 = 1362.00 + or - 0.10/cm. Intensities of the observed lines have also been computed. Dipole moment derivatives were obtained

Space Shuttle interactive meteorological data system study

Although focused toward the operational meteorological support review and definition of an operational meteorological interactive data display systems (MIDDS) requirements for the Space Meteorology Support Group at NASA/Johnson Space Center, the total operational meteorological support requirements and a systems concept for the MIDDS network integration of NASA and Air Force elements to support the National Space Transportation System are also addressed

Intraspecific variation in thermal acclimation and tolerance between populations of the winter ant, Prenolepis imparis.

Thermal phenotypic plasticity, otherwise known as acclimation, plays an essential role in how organisms respond to short-term temperature changes. Plasticity buffers the impact of harmful temperature changes; therefore, understanding variation in plasticity in natural populations is crucial for understanding how species will respond to the changing climate. However, very few studies have examined patterns of phenotypic plasticity among populations, especially among ant populations. Considering that this intraspecies variation can provide insight into adaptive variation in populations, the goal of this study was to quantify the short-term acclimation ability and thermal tolerance of several populations of the winter ant, Prenolepis imparis. We tested for correlations between thermal plasticity and thermal tolerance, elevation, and body size. We characterized the thermal environment both above and below ground for several populations distributed across different elevations within California, USA. In addition, we measured the short-term acclimation ability and thermal tolerance of those populations. To measure thermal tolerance, we used chill-coma recovery time (CCRT) and knockdown time as indicators of cold and heat tolerance, respectively. Short-term phenotypic plasticity was assessed by calculating acclimation capacity using CCRT and knockdown time after exposure to both high and low temperatures. We found that several populations displayed different chill-coma recovery times and a few displayed different heat knockdown times, and that the acclimation capacities of cold and heat tolerance differed among most populations. The high-elevation populations displayed increased tolerance to the cold (faster CCRT) and greater plasticity. For high-temperature tolerance, we found heat tolerance was not associated with altitude; instead, greater tolerance to the heat was correlated with increased plasticity at higher temperatures. These current findings provide insight into thermal adaptation and factors that contribute to phenotypic diversity by revealing physiological variance among populations