The effects of external focus of attention on standing triple jump performance.

The purpose of the study is to determine if the use of external focus of attention has an effect on standing triple jump performance. External focus is where a subject focuses on an object or a focal point outside of themselves when performing a task. Nineteen female athletes from a university were recruited for the study. Testing consisted of 9 standing triple jumps. Each subject performed three practice jumps and three tests jumps under an external focus condition and a control condition. The variables measured were horizontal body displacement in meters, and horizontal ground reaction force (HGRF) and vertical ground reaction force (VGRF) in newtons from the initial take-off jump. A cone was used as a focal point during the external focus condition. Paired sampled t-tests were used to find a difference in jump distance and GRF between the two conditions. Non-significant results with a p value greater than the Bonferoni adjusted values of .0167 were seen in jump distance (p = .142) with a mean difference of -0.094 meters favoring the external focus condition, HGRF (p = .363) with a mean difference of 6.469 newtons favoring the control condition, and VGRF (p = .753) with a mean difference of 23.589 newtons favoring the control condition. It was seen that an external focus of attention does not have an effect on standing triple jump performance

Standardized Waterproof Testing of Plastic Based Material Flooring (PBM Flooring)

Tile Council of North America Product Performance Testing Laboratory, under the direction of Dr. John Sanders of the Bishop Materials Laboratory at Clemson University, evaluated the extent that water can leak through plastic based material (PBM)1 floor coverings advertised as 100% waterproof. To make this assessment, product literature was examined to determine which test methods were used to support the manufacturers’2 claims of products being waterproof. Neither test methods or data to justify a 100% waterproof claim were found, despite a thorough review of product literature.3 ASTM, ANSI, ISO, and CEN standards were examined for relevant test methods for waterproofness. Two methods were identified: (1) EN 13553, Resilient Floor Coverings - Polyvinyl Chloride Floor Coverings for Use in Special Wet Areas – Specification, is used to assess water penetration for plastic flooring materials, and (2) ASTM D4068, Standard Specification for Chlorinated Polyethylene Sheeting for Concealed Water-Containment Membrane, is used to assess waterproof membranes commonly used in wet area applications to protect the substrate. To be considered watertight, both methods specify that test specimens show no evidence of water leaking during testing. All the products tested for this report failed to meet the criteria outlined in EN 13553 and ASTM D4068. Testing results for each product are detailed in section 6.2 for EN 13553, and section 6.3 for ASTM D4068. When the results from EN 13553 are extrapolated to the area of an average bathroom (40 square feet)4, flow rates ranged from 12.1 L/hr. (3.2 Gal/hr.) to 187.0 L/hr. (49.4 Gal/hr.). As detailed in section 3, these volumes of water can do significant damage to a home. This report shows that the PBM products tested leak under the conditions of the test methods. Believing the products are waterproof as advertised could lead to an inappropriate flooring selection and may result in damage to the subfloor and surrounding areas. The results from this report suggest a dry use-only caution, or warning regarding lack of waterproofness, should be considered for products that perform similarly to those tested in this repor

Test of CPT Symmetry and Quantum Mechanics with Experimental data from CPLEAR

We use fits to recent published CPLEAR data on neutral kaon decays to $\pi^+\pi^-$ and $\pi e\nu$ to constrain the CPT--violation parameters appearing in a formulation of the neutral kaon system as an open quantum-mechanical system. The obtained upper limits of the CPT--violation parameters are approaching the range suggested by certain ideas concerning quantum gravity.Comment: 9 pages of uuencoded postscript (includes 3 figures

Physical and land-cover variables influence ant functional groups and species diversity along elevational gradients

Of particular importance in shaping species assemblages is the spatial heterogeneity of the environment. The aim of our study was to investigate the influence of spatial heterogeneity and environmental complexity on the distribution of ant functional groups and species diversity along altitudinal gradients in a temperate ecosystem (Pyrenees Mountains). During three summers, we sampled 20 sites distributed across two Pyrenean valleys ranging in altitude from 1,009 to 2,339 m by using pitfall traps and hand collection. The environment around each sampling points was characterized by using both physical and land-cover variables. We then used a self-organizing map algorithm (SOM, neural network) to detect and characterize the relationship between the spatial distribution of ant functional groups, species diversity, and the variables measured. The use of SOM allowed us to reduce the apparent complexity of the environment to five clusters that highlighted two main gradients: an altitudinal gradient and a gradient of environmental closure. The composition of ant functional groups and species diversity changed along both of these gradients and was differently affected by environmental variables. The SOM also allowed us to validate the contours of most ant functional groups by highlighting the response of these groups to the environmental and land-cover variables

Measurement of the neutral kaon regeneration amplitude in carbon at momenta below 1 GeV/c

The neutral kaon regeneration amplitude in carbon at momenta between 250 and 750~MeV/$c$ was determined by measuring the interference of inherent and coherently regenerated \PKS\ amplitudes. This interference appears in the rates of initially pure (tagged) \PKz\ and \PaKz\ decaying to \Pgpp\Pgpm\ after crossing a carbon absorber

Analysis of nitrogen-based explosives with desorption atmospheric pressure photoionization mass spectrometry

RATIONALE: Fast methods that allow the in situ analysis of explosives from a variety of surfaces are needed in crime scene investigations and home-land security. Here, the feasibility of the ambient mass spectrometry technique desorption atmospheric pressure photoionization (DAPPI) in the analysis of the most common nitrogen-based explosives is studied. METHODS: DAPPI and desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) were compared in the direct analysis of trinitrotoluene (TNT), trinitrophenol (picric acid), octogen (HMX), cyclonite (RDX), pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), and nitroglycerin (NG). The effect of different additives in DAPPI dopant and in DESI spray solvent on the ionization efficiency was tested, as well as the suitability of DAPPI to detect explosives from a variety of surfaces. RESULTS: The analytes showed ions only in negative ion mode. With negative DAPPI, TNT and picric acid formed deprotonated molecules with all dopant systems, while RDX, HMX, PETN and NG were ionized by adduct formation. The formation of adducts was enhanced by addition of chloroform, formic acid, acetic acid or nitric acid to the DAPPI dopant. DAPPI was more sensitive than DESI for TNT, while DESI was more sensitive for HMX and picric acid. CONCLUSIONS: DAPPI could become an important method for the direct analysis of nitroaromatics from a variety of surfaces. For compounds that are thermally labile, or that have very low vapor pressure, however, DESI is better suited. Copyright (C) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer reviewe

Contribution of CPLEAR to the physics of the neutral kaon system

We present the physics results of the CP-- and CPT--violation measurements performed by CPLEAR. CPLEAR has experimentally determined for the first time, the violation of T invariance and is able to disentangle all the CP-- and CPT--violating quantities from each other. This allows each of the CPT violating parameters to be determined with a precision of a few $10^{-4}$ and, in particular, the mass and width equality between the \kn and \knb to be tested down to the level of $10^{-19}$ GeV. Moreover, the precision of the CPLEAR measurements allows us to probe for the first time physics on a scale approaching the Planck mass

Experimental tests of CPT symmetry and quantum mechanics at CPLEAR

We review a phenomenological parametrization of an open quantum-mechanical formalism for CPT violation in the neutral kaon system, and constrain the parameters using fits to recent CPLEAR data.We review a phenomenological parametrization of an open quantum-mechanical formalism for CPT violation in the neutral kaon system, and constrain the parameters using fits to recent CPLEAR data

Experimental tests of CPT symmetry and quantum mechanics at CPLEAR

We review a phenomenological parametrization of an open quantum-mechanical formalism for CPT violation in the neutral kaon system, and constrain the parameters using fits to recent CPLEAR data