Undesirable work factors, such as awkward upper body postures and repetitive arm motion, in the workplace can lead to upper extremity pain. Research suggests that these work-related factors, and subsequent rotator cuff fatigue, may cause the subacromial space (the space between the inferior acromion surface and superior humerus) of the shoulder to decrease. Reducing this space can create impingement of the interposed tissues, which causes shoulder pain. The aim of this study was to examine superior humeral head excursion and changes in the width of the subacromial space (acromio-humeral interval) after fatiguing the rotator cuff musculature. Four anterior-posterior radiographs of the glenohumeral joint at arm abduction angles of 0˚, 45˚, 90˚ and 135˚ were taken before and after a fatiguing task. The fatiguing task was a simulated job task requiring shoulder flexion/abduction and internal/external rotation, with the intention of exhausting the entire rotator cuff. The position of the humeral head with respect to the glenoid cavity was significantly affected both by arm angle and fatigue state; the mean humeral superior excursion following fatigue was 0.63±1.76mm. In the pre-fatigued state, increasing arm angle was related to superior translation until 90˚, after which the humeral head moved inferiorly to a more central position. In the post-fatigued state, the inability of the rotator cuff to centralize the humeral head led to increasing translations with higher elevations. Although the magnitude of translation in this study was smaller than seen in patients with rotator cuff tears, continuous overhead work demonstrably created rotator cuff fatigue, which apparently inhibited the ability of the shoulder musculature to resist upward translation of the humerus. Therefore, jobs that require overhead and repetitive work arguably put the worker at greater risk for superior translation of the humerus and subsequent related tissue damage.

Every year, several thousand individuals suffer spinal cord injury (SCI) in North America, while 1.5 million suffer traumatic brain injury in the U.S.A. alone. Primary mechanical trauma to the CNS is followed by a complex pathology, including vascular dysregulation, ischemia, edema and traumatic hemorrhage. Secondary damage is to a large extent caused by oxidative stress and inflammatory processes, resulting in necrosis and apoptosis of neural cells. If secondary tissue injury could be limited by interference with any of the pathomechanisms involved, preservation of structure and function would increase the potential for functional recovery. Experiments performed in other laboratories have shown that the polyphenolic flavonoid quercetin acts as an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory, reduces edema formation and apoptotic cell death. Quercetin is also an excellent iron chelator. This action profile suggested a high therapeutic potential for acute CNS trauma. Therefore, I used models of both spinal cord injury and head trauma in adult male rats to test the hypothesis that administration of quercetin is beneficial for the therapy of acute traumatic CNS injury. While the primary focus of my work was on therapy of acute traumatic spinal cord injury, quercetin was also evaluated in the settings of chronic SCI and acute head trauma. I found that, in a rat model of mid-thoracic spinal cord compression injury, 1) administration of quercetin, starting 1 hr after injury and continued every 12 hr, improved recovery of motor function in the hind limbs in more than half of the injured animals to a degree that allowed previously paraplegic animals to step or walk. The minimum quercetin dose that was efficacious was 5 µmol/kg. The minimum treatment duration for optimal outcome was determined to be 3 days. In control animals, some spontaneous recovery of motor function did occur, but never to an extent that allowed animals to step or walk. Quercetin administration was associated with more efficient iron clearance from the site of injury, decreased inflammatory response as reflected in decrease of myeloperoxidase activity and decreased apoptosis of neural cells at the site of injury. 2) Quercetin administered in the same injury model as late as 2 weeks after injury, given in a higher dose than that used for treatment in the acute phase, still resulted in significant recovery of motor function in 40% of the injured animals, although at a lower level of performance, when compared to early onset of treatment. 3) Quercetin administered after moderate fluid percussion brain injury resulted in decreased oxidative stress, as reflected in higher tissue glutathione levels at the site of injury. In animals receiving quercetin, the amplitude of compound action potentials was significantly better maintained at 24 hr and 72 hr after injury than in saline-treated control animals. My experiments have shown that the flavonoid quercetin is neuroprotective in a rat model of brain trauma and in a rat model of spinal cord injury. My data show that administration of quercetin after CNS trauma promotes iron clearance, decreases oxidative stress and inflammation. Quercetin also decreases apoptotic cell death following neurotrauma. These results suggest that quercetin may be a valuable adjunct in the therapy of acute CNS trauma. There is a possibility that administration of quercetin may be beneficial even in certain settings of chronic CNS trauma. These conclusions are based solely on the results from animal experiments. However, the fact that few adverse reactions have been noted to date in either animal experiments or human trials targeting other diseases is encouraging for the progression to human clinical trials for patients with spinal cord injury.

Huvud- och halscancer drabbar i Sverige varje år cirka 1200 män och kvinnor. Behandling sker främst genom strålbehandling och kirurgi. Både sjukdom och behandling kan ge svåra och många gånger bestående men som patienten måste lära sig leva med. Syftet med denna studie var att belysa patienternas upplevelser och erfarenheter efter avslutad behandling för huvud- och halscancer. Arbetet utfördes som en litteraturstudie där tio vetenskapliga artiklar analyserades. Resultatet visar att familj och vänner nu sätts i första rummet, det visar också på svårigheter hos de som är ensamma. Socialt ätande och förändrat utseende är två faktorer som inverkar på patienternas liv, och att de tar till olika strategier för att inte låta biverkningar och oro för sjukdom begränsa livsrummet. Patienterna upplever, trots sjukdom och biverkningar, ett stort mått av livskvalitet. Mycket kraft och energi läggs dagligen på att fungera så normalt som möjligt tillsammans med sig själv och sin omgivning. Utbildning i kommunikation och bemötande för att rusta sjuksköterskor att möta dessa patienters unika behov torde höja kvaliteten på omvårdnaden. Ytterligare forskning behövs och då främst med kvalitativ ansats för att belysa patienternas personliga upplevelser. / InSwedenthere are about 1200 new cases of head and neckcancer reported every year. The main treatments are radiotherapy and surgery. Both illness and treatment causes the patients bad sequele that they have to adjust to. The aim of this study was to obtain what head and neck cancer patients experience are after they completed treatment for head and neckcancer. The study was carried out as a literature study where ten research articles were analyzed. The results show that family and friends are what the patients value most and it also shows that it could be difficult for them who are alone. Social eating and changed appearance are two factors that have impact on the patients´ life, and that the patients embrace different strategies to prevent side effects and anxiety over illness to impact negatively in their life space. Despite this, patients do experience a good quality of life. It is a high level of power and energy these patients mobilize every day in order to live as normal as possible with themselves and among the rest of the world. Education in communication and treatment behavior for nurses to meet these patients´ unique needs could contribute to improve the nursing quality. Further research is needed, especially qualitative research, to highlight patients´ personal experiences.

<p>Child head injury is a very costly problem, both in terms of morbidity/mortality and direct medical costs. In fact, it is the leading cause of death and disability for those in the United States under age 18-years-old. Currently, head injury in children ages newborn to 19-years-old is responsible for 7500 deaths per year--30% of all childhood deaths in the United States. Given its importance and effect on the population, the study of pediatric head injury is greatly hindered by the lack of available pediatric post mortem human specimen (PMHS) data. As a substitute for PMHS testing, anthropometric test devices (ATDs) and finite element models (FEMs) have been developed to model the head. However, there is a dearth of data for the design and validation of these models. </p><p>The goal of this study was to use pediatric PMHSs to both advance the study of pediatric head injury and to provide validation data for ATD and finite element head models. 14 pediatric heads, 8 adult heads, and 6 ATD heads were studied to obtain geometrical, inertial, structural stiffness, and impact properties. The computational tomography (CT) method was used on pediatric heads to get inertial properties, and clinical CT scans were used to develop average head and skull contours for 12 different age groups. To obtain impact properties, the heads were dropped onto a rigid plate from 15cm and 30cm, and the acceleration-time pulses were analyzed to obtain acceleration HIC and other impact properties. The heads were then placed between two aluminum plates and compressed at four different rates to obtain structural stiffness values. Using the PMHS results, the ATD heads were compared against age-matched human heads, and the scaling rules used for ATD production were tested for accuracy. </p><p>The study found that between the ages of 5-months-old and 22-months-old, the human head was susceptible to fracture from drops as low as 15cm. The structural stiffness of the human head was shown to increase by three orders of magnitude from neonate to adult. For the impact properties, the human head's peak acceleration and head injury criteria increased with age, while the human head's pulse duration and coefficient of restitution decreased with age. The 50th percentile Hybrid III head was found to adequately model the response of the adult head for multiple head impact locations, while the 3-year-old Q3 child ATD was found to be too stiff during impact. Overall, this study provides novel data that can be directly applied to pediatric head injury curves, and pediatric ATD and finite element head models.</p> / Dissertation

The purpose of this study was to examine the legal strategy of utilizing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to compel change to the racial composition of head coaches at NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision institutions. To accomplish this, the researcher examined the guidelines for bringing a Title VII case, researched statutory requirements and case law precedents, and compiled and analyzed the outcomes of prior employment discrimination cases. In addition, the researcher investigated the proposition that Title VII could do for minority football coaches what Title IX did in athletics for girls and women. Investigation of Title VII procedural guidelines revealed that plaintiffs are disadvantaged when pursuing a claim. This is due in part to the fact that plaintiffs must exhaust administrative remedies prior to filing a complaint with a court. As a result, the Title VII remedy requires a protracted process. In addition, review of salient sport and non-sport cases revealed that courts are highly deferential to employers when evaluating the employers’ proffered hiring criteria. Analysis of prior Title VII case outcomes revealed a significant disparity in plaintiff and defendant success rates. During 1998-2006, plaintiffs succeeded in opposing motions for summary judgment only 1.84% of the time in U.S. District Courts. Plaintiffs were more successful if they were able to get their cases heard by a court. Plaintiffs prevailed in 37.9% of jury trials and in 26.7% of bench trials. It was also determined that Title VII is unlikely to provide results similar to Title IX. This is asserted for two main reasons. First, unlike Title IX, Title VII complaints cannot be filed directly in a court without exhausting administrative remedies. Second, because standing is not an issue in filing a Title IX complaint with the Office for Civil Rights, the investigation of an institution can commence upon the filing of a complaint by an interested party. Thus, a coach or administrator does not have to be directly involved. It was concluded that for these and other reasons, it is unlikely that Title VII litigation can affect change. Minority coach advocates should instead try less adversarial approaches.

In the field of International business management, there is more and more concentration on the topic about the role of subsidiaries in the Multinational corporations (MNC). Subsidiaries not only accept the order of head-quarter but also contribute the competitive advantage to MNCs. Depending upon the trend of the academic research The subject of the research focuses on the initiatives of Taiwan subsidiaries and their mandate in MNCs. Subsidiary initiative is defined as the activities subsidiaries take to increase the integration efficiency, local responsiveness and innovation activities. These activities include internal market development, external market development and innovation development. Subsidiary mandate is defined as the extended level and charter of decision making. Because subsidiaries have different value activities and charters which are set by the head-quarter, they will have different directions of their initiatives and mandate. Through the interview five subsidiaries in Taiwan such as Ciba, Philips, IBM, Sram and 3M, the basis of this research is set. First, the analysis logistic is begun from the value activities and charter of the subsidiaries set by the head-quarter. Second, we compare the types of the initiatives taken by the subsidiaries. Third, we list the mandate of the subsidiaries and compare them with the changed mandate after taking initiatives. Through the analysis step, we conclude the relationship of the subsidiary initiative and subsidiary mandate.

The main purpose of the optical fiber sensing technology is to detect perturbation of physical fields. By means of some demodulating scheme, we can extract the real signal from those light beams which modified by physical fields. In the thesis, we proposed a configuration of modified Sagnac Interferometer as a sensing system. The optical sensing and demodulation system are exploited separately. Next, we study the advantages and disadvantages of the configuration. Besides, we are also measured the sensitivity and dynamic range. The sensing system used a low coherence light source to reduce cost. This system also improves the shortage of a Sagnac Interferometer which has a blind point in the middle position. In addition, the structure is easily implemented and can detect weak signal in a high noisy water environment. For matching the main structure, we make many kinds of sensing heads for detecting signals under water. We also use the mathematical model as the base of the theory. The dynamic range is 40 dB and the sensitivity is -231.47 dB re V/uPa.

Abstract This study attempts to investigate and analyze the ¡§Executive Search¡¨ (ES) industry in Taiwan today, a field in which there is a serious shortage of academic research. The main purposes of this study are to reveal the business processes involved in ES, and to identify the characteristics of both clients and candidates. In order to reveal a complete picture of the industry¡¦s development in Taiwan, expert interviews were used as the main method of investigation. Initially, we studied foreign research papers on ES, after which five ES consultants and four corporate Human Resources managers were interviewed. A number if interesting facts were uncovered by this research: 1. ES consultants in Taiwan tend to follow the approach of consultants in American and Europe. 2. The size of ES industry in Taiwan is not yet sufficient for the needs of the economy and, in addition, a greater degree of specialization is required. 3. Young, well-educated managers with characteristics such as good interpersonal skills, strong loyalty, intelligence and aggression, are those most sought after by ES clients. 4. Clients of the ES industry are companies with an urgent need for talented people, and include high tech companies, professional management firms, subsidiaries of international corporations in Taiwan, and companies run by second-generation entrepreneurs. At the end of this study, we suggest three issues for further research: 1. A comparison between the performance of managers found through ES and those found through other recruiting methods. 2. The relationship between Human Resource Managers and ES Consultants. 3.The potential for integration between the ES industry and network technology.

Dual head placement machines are commonly used in industry for placing components on circuit cards with great speed and accuracy. This thesis evaluates a novel approach for prescribing process plans for circuit card assembly on dual head placement machines. Process planning involves assigning component types to heads and to feeder slots associated with each head and prescribing appropriate sequences of picking, placing and nozzle-changing steps. The approach decomposes these decisions into four inter-related problems: P1, P2, P3 and P4. This thesis reviews this approach; presents a new heuristic to address P1; a method to facilitate P2 and P3 solutions; a method to control nozzle changes in P4; tests approaches to P1, P2, P3 and P4; and presents a thorough analysis of computational results to evaluate the efficacy of the approach which aims to balance workloads on machine heads to maximize assembly line throughput.

Executive search recruiting by head hunters have been the main and important human resources strategy. In the past, there are a few thesis topics on executive search recruiter (head hunter), and all of these studies focus on either executive search industry or the competency of executive search recruiter. This study surveyed a sample of executive search recruiters island wide, and learn the effects of hunter hunter¡¦s personality trait, human capital and social network on job performance. A brief version of Goldberg¡¦s Unipolar Big-Five Markers was used to evaluate head hunters; as for social networks we focus on four properties of the social network that have been identified as important in the study of executives' networks: the propensity to network, the scope of the network, the strength of ties with network members, and the prestige of network members. The effective sample is 65 after deleting two ineffective questionnaires. The result after regression analysis is as follows: 1. Head hunter¡¦s current job seniority and the seniority of their past original professional field before being a head hunter have a positive impact on their job performance. 2. Having master degree or not and the total seniority of being a head hunter have no obvious impact on job performance. 3. The personality trait of head hunter has impact on their subjective job performance but has no impact on their objective job performance. 4. Head hunter¡¦s social network has no impact on their job performance.