In the sport of track and field, sprinting and distance running represent two major categories of athletes. Sprinting is associated with power and speed, whereas distance running focuses on the economy of movement. With distance running there are elements of sprint technique that overlap. With distance events, there comes a time near the end of the race where economy gives way to speed. If the distance runners knew how to alter their technique in a way to become more sprint-like, this process could possibly be more successful. PURPOSE: This study compared the differences in technique between sprinters and distance runners while running at equal and maximal speeds. METHODS: Subjects for the study consisted of 10 Division I collegiate distance runners, 10 Division I collegiate sprinters, and 10 healthy non-runners. The subjects performed two tests, with each consisting of a 60 meter run completed on the track. Test 1 was run at a pace of 5.81 m/s (4:37 min/mile), while Test 2 was completed at maximal speed. Video footage of each trial was collected at 180 Hz, monitoring hip, knee, thigh, and shank positions, as well as stride length, and contact time. RESULTS: Significant differences (p < .05) between the sprint and distance groups at maximal speed were found in the following areas: speed, minimum hip angle, knee extension at toe-off, stride length, contact time, and the position of the recovery knee at touchdown. Sprinters and distance runners exhibited a significantly lower minimum knee angle than those in the control group. Significant differences between the sprint and control group existed at the minimum hip angle, speed, stride length, contact time, and the position of the recovery knee at touchdown. Regarding the paced trial, the sprinters and distance runners showed significant difference concerning the minimum hip angle, center of mass at touchdown, and recovery knee at touchdown. Sprinters differed significantly from the control group in contact time, the center of mass at touchdown and the position of the recovery knee at touchdown. CONCLUSION: As distance runners attempt to sprint, the desired adaptations do not necessarily occur. The development of economical distance form is a fairly natural process that occurs with the miles of training. Sprinting, however, is a separate, learned technique that often requires specific feedback. When attempting maximal speed, distance runners may benefit by focusing on one characteristic of technique. If knee extension at toe-off could be trained to become more sprint-like, the other characteristics unique to sprinters may follow.

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The purpose of this dissertation was to evaluate the stability of strength asymmetry over a long-term period (1 year) and investigate the relationship of strength asymmetry to field test performance asymmetry in NCAA division-1 athletes. Isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) peak force asymmetry, ground contact time and finish time asymmetries on 10m sprint and 505 agility test performances were also observed. The impact of strength was also investigated in these studies to determine its effect on the magnitude of asymmetry. In the second study, peak force asymmetry over a one-year period was observed to be a rather volatile quality, with ranges between 16% or 8%, depending on the formula used. Based on this finding, it is possible that there may be a “normal” range of asymmetry that an individual athlete exhibits that could be linked to training adaptations along with other factors. Based on simple observation, an individual tendency toward symmetry existed in certain athletes. This relationship may be useful to explore in future study.

This review discusses previous literature that has examined the influence of muscular strength on various factors associated with athletic performance and the benefits of achieving greater muscular strength. Greater muscular strength is strongly associated with improved force-time characteristics that contribute to an athlete’s overall performance. Much research supports the notion that greater muscular strength can enhance the ability to perform general sport skills such as jumping, sprinting, and change of direction tasks. Further research indicates that stronger athletes produce superior performances during sport specific tasks. Greater muscular strength allows an individual to potentiate earlier and to a greater extent, but also decreases the risk of injury. Sport scientists and practitioners may monitor an individual’s strength characteristics using isometric, dynamic, and reactive strength tests and variables. Relative strength may be classified into strength deficit, strength association, or strength reserve phases. The phase an individual falls into may directly affect their level of performance or training emphasis. Based on the extant literature, it appears that there may be no substitute for greater muscular strength when it comes to improving an individual’s performance across a wide range of both general and sport specific skills while simultaneously reducing their risk of injury when performing these skills. Therefore, sport scientists and practitioners should implement long-term training strategies that promote the greatest muscular strength within the required context of each sport/event. Future research should examine how force-time characteristics, general and specific sport skills, potentiation ability, and injury rates change as individuals transition from certain standards or the suggested phases of strength to another.

Recent developments suggest that the need for contact between parents and adult children is expected to grow, while paid labour is re-organized to include more flexible work schedules and locations. In parallel we view a pressure to increase sustainable mobility through reducing car driving. Against this background, this paper addresses the question: to what extent the frequency of contact between parents and their adult children living out of home is associated with time allocated to work, including commuting time, and with automobility? Face-to-face and telecommunication based contact is considered. Regression analysis of survey data collected in the Netherlands was performed and results suggest that face-to-face contact was significantly associated with work and commute duration, car ownership, car commuting and distance. Telecommunication based contact was mainly associated with work duration, degree of urbanization and distance. Automobility seemed to be more important for women than for men. The policy implication is a potential trade-off between policies that aim at strengthening sustainable mobility behaviour and policies that lead to an increase in the reliance on informal care.

Com base em três modelos de mobilidade MapBasedMovement, RandomWayPoint e RandomWalk presentes no simulador The One, sugerimos e discutimos vários modelos es- tocásticos para mobilidade. Primeiramente, a dinâmica das unidades móveis é reduzida a um processo chamado grafo dinâmico, de forma que a configuração espacial das unidades móveis em cada instante de tempo está resumida em um grafo. Os vértices desse grafo são unidades móveis e não mudam conforme o tempo: consideramos um sistema fechado, as unidades não desaparecem e não aparecem novas. O elo entre duas unidades (vértices) em um instante de tempo significa um contato neste instante (a distância entre as unidades é menor que um raio de contato), assim o conjunto de elos muda durante a evolução do sistema. Em seguida, modelamos a evolução do grafo dinâmico como um conjunto de pro- cessos aleatórios binários de forma que cada componente do processo está associada com um par de unidades móveis indicando presença ou ausência de contato entre elas. Três componentes principais constroem o processo: (i) distribuição de tempo de intercontato, (ii) distribuição de tempo de contato, e (iii) independência/interação entre as unidades. Nesta Tese mostramos teoricamente e através de simulações como escolher todos os três componentes para três modelos de mobilidade mencionados acima na situação de baixa densidade de unidades móveis, chamado DTNs (Delay Tolerant Networks). Considerar a modelagem da mobilidade desse ponto de vista é novo e não existe na literatura, até onde sabemos. Existe uma discussão na literatura sobre o tempo de intercontato, mas não conhecemos os resultados e discussão sobre a distribuição do tempo de contato e a interdependência de processos de contatos. / Based on three mobility models MapBasedMovement, RandomWayPoint and Ran- domWalk present on The One Simulator we suggest and discuss various stochastic mo- dels for mobility. First the dynamics of mobile units is reduced to process called dynamic graph, so that the spatial configuration of mobile units in every moment of time is sum- med up in a graph. The vertices of this graph are mobile units and do not change with the time: consider a closed system, the units dont disappear and not appear new. The link between two units (vertices) in an instant of time means a contact right now (dis- tance between the units is less that the radius contact). So the set of links changes during the system evolution. As a second step, the evolution of dynamic graph model as a set of random processes. Each process component is associated with a pair of mobile units indicating presence or absence of contact between them. Three major components build process: (i) distribution of intercontact time , (ii) distribution of contact time, and (iii) Independence interaction between units. In this work we show theoretically and by si- mulation how to choose all three components for three mobility models mentioned above on the situation of low density of mobile units, called DTNs (Delay Tolerant Networks). Consider the mobility modeling from that point of view is new and does not exist in the literature for our knowledge. There is a discussion in the literature about the intercontact time, but we dont know the results and discussion on the distribution of contact time and the interdependence of contact process.

Com base em três modelos de mobilidade MapBasedMovement, RandomWayPoint e RandomWalk presentes no simulador The One, sugerimos e discutimos vários modelos es- tocásticos para mobilidade. Primeiramente, a dinâmica das unidades móveis é reduzida a um processo chamado grafo dinâmico, de forma que a configuração espacial das unidades móveis em cada instante de tempo está resumida em um grafo. Os vértices desse grafo são unidades móveis e não mudam conforme o tempo: consideramos um sistema fechado, as unidades não desaparecem e não aparecem novas. O elo entre duas unidades (vértices) em um instante de tempo significa um contato neste instante (a distância entre as unidades é menor que um raio de contato), assim o conjunto de elos muda durante a evolução do sistema. Em seguida, modelamos a evolução do grafo dinâmico como um conjunto de pro- cessos aleatórios binários de forma que cada componente do processo está associada com um par de unidades móveis indicando presença ou ausência de contato entre elas. Três componentes principais constroem o processo: (i) distribuição de tempo de intercontato, (ii) distribuição de tempo de contato, e (iii) independência/interação entre as unidades. Nesta Tese mostramos teoricamente e através de simulações como escolher todos os três componentes para três modelos de mobilidade mencionados acima na situação de baixa densidade de unidades móveis, chamado DTNs (Delay Tolerant Networks). Considerar a modelagem da mobilidade desse ponto de vista é novo e não existe na literatura, até onde sabemos. Existe uma discussão na literatura sobre o tempo de intercontato, mas não conhecemos os resultados e discussão sobre a distribuição do tempo de contato e a interdependência de processos de contatos. / Based on three mobility models MapBasedMovement, RandomWayPoint and Ran- domWalk present on The One Simulator we suggest and discuss various stochastic mo- dels for mobility. First the dynamics of mobile units is reduced to process called dynamic graph, so that the spatial configuration of mobile units in every moment of time is sum- med up in a graph. The vertices of this graph are mobile units and do not change with the time: consider a closed system, the units dont disappear and not appear new. The link between two units (vertices) in an instant of time means a contact right now (dis- tance between the units is less that the radius contact). So the set of links changes during the system evolution. As a second step, the evolution of dynamic graph model as a set of random processes. Each process component is associated with a pair of mobile units indicating presence or absence of contact between them. Three major components build process: (i) distribution of intercontact time , (ii) distribution of contact time, and (iii) Independence interaction between units. In this work we show theoretically and by si- mulation how to choose all three components for three mobility models mentioned above on the situation of low density of mobile units, called DTNs (Delay Tolerant Networks). Consider the mobility modeling from that point of view is new and does not exist in the literature for our knowledge. There is a discussion in the literature about the intercontact time, but we dont know the results and discussion on the distribution of contact time and the interdependence of contact process.

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in technique between sprinters and baseball players while running at maximal speeds. 20 male NCAA Division I athletes participated; ten members of the track and field team specializing in the 100 m or 200 m sprint or the 100 m hurdles and ten members of the baseball team. Each subject performed a maximal effort 80 m sprint while their sprint times were recorded every 10 m starting at the 20 m mark. Each subject was filmed at they ran through a set10 m marking that included where they reached their top speed allowing the camera to capture at least one complete stride. By using the Peak Motus System, each subject's minimum knee flexion, minimum hip angle, knee extension at toe off, contact time, stride length, center of mass at touchdown and shank angle were measured. ANOVA with repeated measures found that sprinters and baseball players display significant differences in their sprinting technique in all variables except shank angle with the sprinters displaying a shorter 10 m split time. It was concluded that proper sprint training during baseball practice could prove to be beneficial to baseball players, however, further research would need to be conducted to support this claim.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Chemical Engineering, Durban University of Technology. Durban. South Africa, 2015. / Several areas in the world such as the United States of America, Sri Lanka, China, Argentina, Canada, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and many others have a problem of high fluoride content in drinking water. Generally fluoride levels above 1.5 ppm in water may result in dental and skeletal fluorosis in humans depending on quantity consumed (Fan et al., 2003; Meenakshi, 2004). Remote rural areas where there are no water treatment facilities are more vulnerable to this problem. Adsorbents such as activated alumina and FR-10 resin seem to have a potential for successful application in rural areas. These methods however require pre-treatment if the feed has high turbidity. A membrane based system called woven fabric microfiltration gravity filter (WFMFGF) developed by Durban University of Technology proved to be suitable for turbidity removal. The main objective of this research was to develop a small water treatment system for fluoride removal. The small water treatment system developed in this study consists of WFMFGF for pre-treatment and an adsorption column. The WFMFGF is made up of a 40 L container packed with 15 immersed flat sheet membrane elements. The operation of the WFMFGF is in batch mode, driven by varying static head. The static head variation results in flow rate variation through the system. This in turn result in variation of contact time, velocity as well as pressure drop in the fluoride removal unit. Specific objectives of the study were: (1) to establish the maximum and minimum flow rates through the WFMFGF system, the total run time before cleaning is required and the best cleaning method for this particular membrane system. (2) to evaluate and compare the performance of activated alumina and FR-10 resin on varying contact time, velocity and pressure drop on the fluoride removal unit. The adsorbents were also compared on adsorption capacity, cost and ease of operation. The minimum and maximum flow rates through the WFMFGF were found to be 5 l/hr and 100 l/hr respectively. It was found that the system can be run for more than a month before requiring cleaning. The suitable cleaning method was found to be soaking the membranes in 0.0225 percent sodium hypochlorite solution overnight and brushing them using a plastic brush. The comparison of the performance of FR-10 resin to activated alumina found that the adsorbents gave equal performance based on the given criteria. FR-10 resin had higher adsorption capacity, gave good quality treated water even with shorter contact time and operated at wider velocity range. Activated alumina on the other hand had an advantage of lower costs, lower pressure drop and ease of use. According to Pontius (1990), the performance of activated alumina can be improved by intermittent operation. Point of use (POU) systems are generally operated intermittently. This improves the fluoride removal efficiency of activated alumina giving it more advantage over FR-10 resin. Based on this activated alumina was selected as the best adsorbent for the system. After the adsorbent was selected, the adsorption column was designed. The column operation regime was 3.5 minutes minimum contact time and 1.17 to 7.8 m/hr velocity range. The activated alumina adsorption capacity was 1.53mg/g. The column had an inside diameter of 70 mm. It was packed with activated alumina to a bed height of 400 mm. The column inlet and outlet pipes were made of PVC with a standard pipe size of 20 mm outside diameter. A valve at the column inlet pipe allowed water to flow through the system.

Biological filtration (Biofiltration) processes have been used first in Europe and then in North America for decades, however currently there is not a good overall parameter to guide biofiltration design and operation except adopting parameters from traditional particle- removal filtration process. On the basis of the biofilm model developed by Rittmann and McCarty (1980a) and the pseudo-analytical solution for the model, Zhang and Huck (1996a) obtained an analytical solution for PF (plug flow) reactors (which can be used for biofilters approximately) after demonstrating that axial dispersion could be reasonably ignored and developed a new parameter, X*, which incorporates considerations of physical contact time, filter media particle size, kinetics, etc. A small-scale application on peers’ engineering/research data by Huck (1999) demonstrated it was a better indicator than other parameters for biofiltration performance. By collecting, screening and investigating literature on AOC, BDOC and odorous compounds removal by biofiltration process, this thesis applied the X* concept to the collected investigations to assess process performances among different target parameters, different filters and different investigations. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first such attempted comprehensive comparison of literature studies, interpreted in terms of a common parameter (X*). The wide ranges of particle sizes, EBCTs, temperatures and high diversity of pre-treatment and operation conditions for the collected cases were considered to be able to well represent biofiltration practices for studied removal targets. No significant relationship between EBCTs and removal percentages were found, indicating that EBCT alone is not able to guide biofiltration design and operation. Based on kinetics parameter comparison, BDOC removal-X* relationship was established. A new parameter, θα, was developed in this thesis to refer to estimated X* values only considering EBCT and particle size. θα parameter values were estimated by comparison of ratios of θα products ((θα)’) based on the properly chosen calculation bases. Distribution of the θα values for temperature-favored (i.e. temperature ≥15°C) AOC and BDOC removal biofiltration processes matched the established removal-X* relationship reasonably. Given the exploratory nature of this research and the complexity of attempting quantitations, fits were assessed based on visual comparison. With the assistance of supporting information and by adopting available temperature activity coefficients, temperature-adjustment coefficients for θα values were determined for the different temperature ranges. Temperature-adjusted AOC and BDOC removal-θα relationships were developed and temperature-adjusted θα parameter values for AOC and BDOC removal were also estimated. Comparisons were conducted, showing fair matches based on visual examinations, for most of the temperature ranges. No relationships were found between ozone dosages and AOC/BDOC removal percentages and the statistical analysis indicated there was significant difference of removal efficiencies between ozonated and non-ozonated influents for biofilters, suggesting ozonation may not only increase the amount of BOM for following biofilter and increase the biodegradability of bulk water; it may also increase the biodegradability of AOC and BDOC themselves. It may not be realistic to obtain the estimated θα values for MIB and geosmin removal by biofiltration. However, plotting θα product vs. removal percentage for the collected MIB and geosmin removal cases shows more positive co-relationships than EBCT-removal percentage relationships visually. A utilization factor η was proposed to guide biofilter design and operation and to assess “over-design” and “under-operated”. Biofilter over-design or under-operated is common for the collected cases. In general, examining X* (or θα, a parameter incorporating the physical components of X*) provided useful information in terms of evaluation and prediction of biodegradable organic compounds removal by biofiltration, which confirms that X* is a better parameter for biofiltration design and operation than other parameters, such as EBCT.