Traditional Floor Research Articles

A 10-Week Training Study Comparing Resistaball® and Traditional Trunk Training

The Resistaball® is an inflatable plastic ball designed for “stability training” of the trunk. The purpose of this study was to compare traditional floor work (T) with Resistaball® exercise (R) in training the abdominal and back extensor muscles. Fifty-five female subjects ranging in age from 20 to 40 years participated in the study. The T group (15 subjects) and R group (20 subjects) participated in pretesting, 10-weeks of exercise, and post-testing; while the non-exercising controls (C group; 20 subjects) participated only in pretesting and post-testing. The exercise program for both the T and R groups consisted of crunches, oblique twists, and back extensions on the floor (T) or ball (R). Subjects performed no other abdominal or back training over the 10-week period. The pretest and post-test consisted of double leg lowering (DLL), trunk flexion (AB), and back extension (BE). For DLL, each subject was supine with hips flexed at 90° and was asked to slowly lower both legs. The point at which there was any movement at the lower back or pelvis was measured using a Universal goniometer. The AB and BE tests were conducted on Cybex® machines. Subjects self-selected a resistance they determined to be “somewhat hard to hard” and flexed or extended repeatedly against that resistance to volitional failure or until they were unable to perform the movement correctly. During post-testing, subjects completed the AB and BE tests to volitional failure using the pretest resistance. A one-way ANOVA with paired t-tests and General Linear Model were used to analyze the data for initial differences, net gain, percent gain, and group factor. For DLL, those in the R group using the Resistaball® improved significantly more than either those who used traditional floor work or controls ( p < 0.05). For AB, there was no significant difference between any of the groups ( p > 0.05). For BE, both those who used Resistaball® training and those who used traditional floor work improved significantly more than controls ( p < 0.05), but there was no difference between the R and T groups ( p > 0.05). In conclusion, exercise training with the Resistaball® was comparable to traditional floor work for training the abdominal and back muscles and may be of greater benefit for functional activities that require spinal and pelvic stabilization.

The development of ground floor constructions: part II

Continues the investigation into the development of ground floors in residential buildings. Focuses on the constructional features of traditional ground floors, both solid and suspended. Describes the influences that constructional form had on the development of ground floors. Indicates that suspended timber ground floors became more common after the mid‐nineteenth century.

住宅室内のカビ汚染と防止に関する研究 : (その2)換気による室内カビ汚染防止に関する実証調査

It is well known that fungi may scarcely germinate or grow in the house with sufficient ventilation. This effect may be a rule of thumb because scientific background such as experimental data or field test data are not shown. This study aims to clarify the ventilation effectiveness against prevention of fungal outbreaks in dwellings on the basis of full scale tests. A method of pair comparisons between a room with proper ventilation and a room without ventilation were adopted. In these rooms, building materials such as tatami mat. which is the Japanese traditional flooring, made of straw mat. plywood, wallpaper and so on were placed in order to observe germination or colony forming. Germination or colony forming on the building materials, set in the room with sufficient ventilation, were not confirmed although fingal contamination occurred in the room without ventilation. Measuring data of temperature and relative humidity in both rooms were compared with the thermal conditions preventing the growth of 4 kinds of hygrophile fungi, as was reported in the former paper. Measuring data in the room without ventilation were overlapped with the specified thermal region, nevertheless thermal condition in the room with proper ventilation was beyond the specified thermal region.

AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY FUTURES MARKETS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract The introduction of an agricultural commodity futures market in South Africa is considered. A futures market can be used by both buyers and sellers of a commodity to significantly reduce price uncertainty. Theoretical arguments are used to show that the futures and cash prices should be very close, if not equal, at expiration and that the current futures price should be a good forecast of the cash price at expiration. Speculators play an important role by providing liquidity to the futures market, but it is possible that they can distort prices. For a futures market to be a success in South Africa there needs to be a free cash market, adequate liquidity and well informed traders. A computer-based trading system is an improvement on the traditional floor trading system mainly because prices are more likely to reflect the underlying supply and demand conditions.

Restructuring pharmacy services to reduce expenses without eliminating services

The manner in which pharmaceutical services in a 719-bed teaching institution were restructured to reduce expenses without eliminating services is described. Before the department was restructured, the labor-intensive nature of the drug distribution system and high personnel costs hindered the introduction of upgraded services. Drugs were dispensed from a central pharmacy and 14 pharmacy satellites located throughout the hospital campus. A traditional floor stock system was used in the critical-care units, the operating suites, and the pediatric facility; i.v. admixture services were provided to only two patient-care units. Under a three-year strategic plan, the organizational structure of the department was changed to regroup existing functions and to give more autonomy to the managers. The 12 small pharmacy satellites in the main hospital building were replaced by two larger and more efficiently designed satellites. An automated medication order entry system with bar-code-reading capabilities was installed; automation was also used to increase the efficiency of the nutritional support and oncology services and to create an online file of all statistical, fiscal, and purchasing records. Fax machines that were installed on five critical-care units and the oncology unit decreased turnaround time for new medication orders. These changes enabled the department to eliminate 17 positions while adding 5 clinical pharmacist specialist positions and 6 technician group leader positions. By integrating automation technology with controlled downsizing and restructuring of drug distribution services, the department was able to reduce expenses while improving existing pharmaceutical services.

Regional differences in stroke mortality and alcohol consumption in Japan.

The relationship between alcohol consumption and stroke mortality in 1975 in 46 prefectures of Japan was investigated. This was done by adjusting salt intake and several socio-economic factors, i.e., the annual per capita income, the number of persons who received public aid, the number of tatamis (a Japanese traditional floor unit) per household, the unemployment rate, and the unmarried or divorce rate, using a stepwise multiple regression analysis. As dependent variables, the sex-specific and age-adjusted mortality for the middle-aged (35-59 years) and for all ages due to stroke were used. For men, alcohol consumption was significantly related to age-adjusted stroke mortalities for the middle-aged and for all ages independent of salt intake and several socio-economic factors. Alcohol consumption was more strongly related to age-adjusted stroke mortality for the middle-aged than for all ages. For women alcohol was weakly correlated with the stroke mortality of the middle-aged. Salt intake was significantly correlated with stroke mortality for women but not for men. Furthermore, the male: female ratios of the age-adjusted stroke mortality for the middle aged and for all ages were analyzed as well, because alcohol is mostly consumed by men in Japan, and it was expected that the sex ratios would be well correlated to alcohol consumption. The results were as expected. Therefore, it was suggested that the regional difference in stroke mortality in Japan may be explained in part by that of alcohol consumption.

MOISTURE STUDIES IN THE DOMESTIC ENVIRONMENT

Indications from a survey of floor washing practices were used to derive a measurement of the amount of moisture likely to be released into the atmosphere each time a domestic kitchen floor is washed. Three different floors were used, each considered representative in size and shape of contemporary kitchen floors. All were surfaced in vinyl plastic, indicated in the survey to be the overwhelmingly popular flooring material. Three types of implement were selected; a floor cloth, a string mop and a sponge mop, each equally popular in the survey.The obvious association between moisture release and floor area was explored, marking off different measured areas to be washed. This was acknowledged not to represent normal practice in that it eliminated contact with perimeter fitments under which water could be harboured. Instead sufficient operators were enlisted and operations performed to justify averaging results and arriving at a range of values for moisture release from a single representative floor washing operation.Although a six‐fold difference was recorded between the highest and the lowest measurement, there was a clear indication of where the average would fall. This proved to be appreciably lower than estimates published some 30 years ago. Evidence available indicated that this could be largely due to the change from absorbent to water‐repellent floor coverings. Techniques of floor washing could hardly be implicated for the modern sponge mop performed no better than the old‐style string mop and both were eclipsed by the traditional floor cloth in ability to remove water from a washed floor.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MALTING INDUSTRY

The shortage of labour available for seasonal occupations such as traditional floor malting has led to numerous developments, outstanding among which is the introduction of air-conditioned floor malting. Comparison of the economics of this system with those of drum, case and box makings is difficult; however, whilst the disadvantages of these last-named systems are gradually being overcome so that they can produce consistently good maits, it is doubtful whether their products reach the level of the finest pale-ale malts made on the floor. Kilning practice has seen the introduction of the automatically-controlled oil-fuel burner; the costs and advantages of oil-fuel are discussed. Automatically-controlled grain-drying plant is also available, drying down to 12% moisture in 24 hr. safely and with economy of labour. It is noted that certain six-rowed barleys from Cyprus malt well and might serve as replacements for the Californian barley which is no longer available, whilst new two-rowed hybrids of considerable promise are under trial for growth in Britain.