Emissions were sampled from firing an M4 carbine rifle and a M9 (military issue of Beretta 75 FS 9 mm pistol) to develop sampling methods and assess potential exposures and range contamination ...issues. Breech and muzzle emissions were sampled from the rifle when firing M855A1 ammunition (lead (Pb)-free slugs) in single- and triple-shot burst mode and from single pistol shots when firing 9 mm XM1152 ammunition (not Pb-free). Emissions were sampled for carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, particulate matter by size, polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons, and volatile organics. Analyses on the particles included elemental composition, size distribution, carbon composition (black, total, organic, and elemental carbon), and particle composition and morphology. Emission concentrations from both the rifle and pistol were characterized by CO/CO2 ratios between, approximately, 1/1 and 2/1, respectfully, indicating incomplete carbon oxidation. The initial particle size distribution was dominated in number by particles smaller than 40 nm but the high particle concentrations led to rapid agglomeration. The abundance of CO and metals of inhalable particle size are noteworthy and indicate that further assessment of exposure would determine potential inhalation health hazards, particularly in indoor firing ranges.
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•Emissions from rifle and pistol firing were quantified.•Particle and gaseous emission factors were determined.•Initial particle number distributions peaked around 40 nm.•Particles were analyzed for metal components.•Potential exposure to CO, Cu, and Pb levels was noted.
The article intends to bring to the foreground the case of Dan-Grigore Pistol, one of the young people who, in 1958, was convicted in the group “Teodorescu Alex. and others” (also known as the “The ...Burning Bush” group), together with Șerban Mironescu, George Văsîi, Niculae Rădulescu and Emanoil Mihăilescu. Unlike the students mentioned above, the subject of this research remains one of the mysterious figures of this large-scale spiritual movement, the testimonies of the survivors emphasizing its unique, quasi-anonymous position. The current study required the recovery of information using the files from the National Council for the Study of Secret Police Archives, his files from the Criminal Collection and the searching for information representing the significant bibliographic references of the study. The reading of the pages of his files should be done with caution since they represented the perspective of the Secret Police, a repressive organ, meant to justify the convictions.
Background: Authors of this article have made a comparative identificational description of artificial leather damage caused by air gun pistol pellets with different head end forms. Aim: This study ...aimed to provide a comparative identification characteristic of injuries caused by shots from an air pistol MP-53 M on artificial leather with a raised surface and a textile net glued to the wrong side at different angles and from different distances by bullets with different head end shapes (hemispherical, flat round, and conical). Used: Air pistol MP-53M, bullets with different head end shape, a fragment of black artificial leather with an embossed surface, and a textile mesh glued to the wrong side. Shots were fired at close range, 50 and 100 cm at angles of 30, 45, 60, and 90. The prevailing forms of damage (defects) of artificial skin, characteristic of bullets with a hemispherical, conical, and flat rounded head end, dependence of the form of damage (defect) on the distance of the shot, and the angle of entry of the bullet into the material. Conclusion: A comparative study showed that the form of damage to the material depends on the head end shape of bullets. Moreover, intragroup differences were found in the damage due to the distance of the shot and angle of entry of the bullet into the material in groups of bullets with the same head end shape.
The study investigated the coordination and variability of posture and pistol motion for skilled pistol shooters and novices in a pistol-aiming task. The participants stood on a force platform and ...held a pistol with the preferred arm to aim for accuracy to a target on 30 s trials. The results revealed that the amount of the centre of pressure (COP) and pistol motion was lower for the expert than novice group. The time-varying structure of COP as indexed by multiscale entropy (MSE) and detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) was also lower for the expert than the novice group. The relative phase between the COP in the anterior-posterior (AP) and pistol in the AP and between the COP in the medial-lateral (ML) and pistol in AP was close to inphase for the both groups. However, for the novice group the coordination patterns of posture and pistol motion were more variable with the pistol motion leading the posture motion while it was lagging in the skilled group. The findings show different qualitative and quantitative dynamics in pistol-aiming as a function of skill level with postural control foundational to supporting the reduced dispersion and complexity of the skilled arm-pistol motion.
Objective
To understand the mechanism of dual activation of the brain and heart in pistol athletes during shooting performances, through synchronized monitoring of electroencephalogram (EEG) and ...electrocardiogram (ECG).
Methods
Eighteen adolescents air pistol athletes were placed in a simulated competition environment and performed 40 self‐paced shooting tasks, and simultaneously monitored the athletes' EEG, ECG, and shooting performance during the preparation period.
Results
(1) In the successful performance, the power values of the alpha wave of the athlete's T7 area showed a significant upward trend 6 s before the shot, but there was no significant change in the alpha wave in the T8 area. In the failure performance, the alpha wave in the T7 and T8 areas did not change significantly 6 s before the shot. (2) The Fz theta wave power value of athletes in successful performance showed a significant upward trend in the 6 s before firing, and in the failure performance, it showed an “inverted U‐shaped” characteristic of rising first and then decreasing. (3) Regardless of whether it was a success or a failure, the SMR wave power value of the athlete's central area has no significant change before the shot. (4) At 6 s before the shot, the athlete's heart rate and R‐R interval (RRI) in the successful performance showed a significant decline and rise, respectively, but there was no significant change in the failure performance. (5) Approaching the firing time, the athletes' EEG and ECG have a more significant correlation in successful performance and a more synchronized trend, while the correlation was lower in failure performance.
Conclusions
The psychophysiological state of young air pistol athletes was closely related to shooting performance. If the brain–cardiac system maintains a benign dual activation level during the aiming and firing period, it will be beneficial to the improvement of shooting performance, otherwise, it was easy to reduce shooting performance.
Twenty specimens of Acentrogobius ocyurus (Jordan and Seale, 1907) were collected in Manko, Okinawa-jima Island, Japan and Sulu Sea side of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan Island, Philippines. As the ...species had previously been reported from the South China Sea, Andaman Sea, and northern Australian waters, these specimens from Okinawa and Palawan represent the first records of the species from Japan and the Sulu Sea. Acentrogobius ocyurus was found on muddy substrata at the lowest tidal zone of the mudflat and was often found in burrows of mangrove pistol shrimp, Alpheus richardsoni Yaldwyn, 1971. Morphological traits suggested that A. ocyurus is closely related to A. globiceps (Hora, 1923), A. kranjiensis (Herre, 1940), and Acentrogobius sp. (“Suzume-haze” in Japanese name), with several homologous features including, the transverse pattern of the sensory papillae on the cheek, caudal fin pointed in middle, a black stripe behind the eye along the anterior oculoscapular canal, bright blue spots laterally on the body, and an oblique yellow stripe across the upper part of the caudal fin.
Objective: Considering the positions that the shooter chooses during shooting in different disciplines, it seems that the activity of deltoid and supraspinatus muscles which are common muscles during ...movement, varies in different disciplines. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate and compare the electrical activity of deltoid and supraspinatus muscles between three shooting disciplines. Methods: 24 shooters (8 archers, 8 air pistol shooters, and 8 air rifle shooters) participated in the study. They performed shoulder abduction and scaption at 60 and 90 degrees. The electrical activity of deltoid and supraspinatus muscles was then recorded using surface electromyography. The data were analyzed by using ANOVA and Tukey’s test at the significance level of P<0.05. Results: The activity of anterior deltoid muscle at 60 and 90 degrees of abduction and the activity of middle deltoid and supraspinatus muscles only at 90 degree of abduction was significantly higher in the archery group than in the air pistol group (P<0.05). Conclusion: The higher electrical activity of deltoid and supraspinatus muscles in archery sport may be related to the tensile force of the bow and the greater arm angle at the shoulder joint during this type of shooting compared to air pistol and air rifle shooting.
Effective shooting performance relies heavily on sufficient grip strength. However, some standard issue pistols used by police services may have a trigger weight that causes problems for officers ...with insufficient grip strength, including female officers. The current study aimed to replicate previous findings, which show that grip strength is positively related to shooting performance. We also sought to determine what grip strength is required to achieve proficient scores on a standard police pistol qualification (PPQ) when a heavy trigger weight (i.e., 8lbs–12lbs) is used. Finally, we explored the relationship between officer gender and PPQ scores to determine if grip strength plays a mediating role in this relationship.
The dominant hand grip strength (in lbs) of 86 male and 32 female officers were recorded prior to their participation in their agency mandated annual PPQ. Officer gender, grip strength, and PPQ scores were analyzed to explore how they related to one another.
Grip strength significantly impacted officers’ ability to pass the PPQ, with female officers possessing lower grip strength compared to male officers, as well as achieving poorer scores on the PPQ. We determined that grip strengths in the range of 80lbs and 125lbs were needed to score approximately 85 % and 90 % on the PPQ, respectively; exceeding that of the average grip strength for the female officers in the study (M = 77.5lbs). Mediation analysis suggested that grip strength may mediate the relationship between officer gender and shooting performance, but studies with more power are needed to confirm that.
To improve shooting performance as well as public and police safety, law enforcement agencies may need to consider including grip strength training in their conditioning regime or examine the adoption pistols with a lighter trigger pull weight (e.g., 6lbs).
•Data collected from Canadian policing agency's police pistol qualification (PPQ).•Female officers had lower grip strength compared to male officers.•Weaker grip strength was related to lower PPQ scores.•PPQ requires grip strengths of 80lbs–125lbs to score approximately 85 %–90 %.•Firearms with a heavy trigger pull may not be optimal for all officers.
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