Airpower capability and military technology have created a vision of airpower that focuses on the lethality of weaponry instead of the use of that weaponry as a political tool. Unfortunately, such a lethality-focused force optimized to fight interstate conflicts, by definition, ensures that this force is sub-optimal for waging wars at the sub-state level. Small wars are conflicts where the political and diplomatic context, and not the military disposition of the combatants, is usually the determining factor. Following World War II there emerged an era of insurgencies and limited wars of territorial dispute. These small wars required new operational and tactical innovations involving the use of airpower, as the very nature of these wars differed from conventional conflict towards which most of aviation was geared. This thesis analyzes six historical cases involving the use of airpower across a wide spectrum of small wars through the lens of an analytical framework for countering insurgencies. While the typologies of no two conflicts are identical, and the application of airpower equally varied, this work provides fundamental assertions and implications regarding the proper use of airpower for waging war at this level. / US Air Force (USAF) author.

This thesis establishes an analytical framework for identifying and discussing strategic factors considered when developing the Hungarian Special Forces (HUNSF) as a new "niche" capability of the Hungarian Defense Forces (HDF). Although the findings have broad application, focus is on the Hungarian Special Forces unit. Key questions are how will factors such as the strategic environment, changes in the nature of war and characteristics of potential adversaries affect the development of a conceptual framework for the Hungarian Special Forces? Should unconventional warfare (which is a capability gap in the HDF at present) be an official task for the future Hungarian military forces and specifically a primary task for the HUNSF? Central to this study are factors found in the strategic environment, such as Hungary's affiliation with NATO and the EU. The thesis concentrates on defining the tasks for HUNSF, and based on these tasks, develops an organizational framework for the HUNSF capability. This framework includes training and command and control. The constantly changing security environment will also call for adjustments to the concept of HUNSF in the future; therefore, a vision for the HUNSF is incorporated into the thesis to provide flexibility and guidance for capability development in the future. A key finding of the thesis is that HUNSF has the potential to contribute to the fight against the many new security challenges and achieve many of the objectives posited in existing military transformation strategies, most importantly an unconventional warfare capability.

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of two noise conditions, continuous and noncontinuous noise, and three intensity levels, upon a serial learning task and the interaction effects of these factors on learning.

The basic problem of this study Is whether or not the semantic differential attitude instrument may be used to measure attitude Intensity. The method of determining this is to use an instrument which is known to measure attitude Intensity in conjunction with the semantic differential and determine whether or not a significant correlation exists between the two.

The rising incidence of small, asymptomatic renal tumours discovered usmg abdominal imaging during the investigation of unrelated symptoms has fuelled the desire for new therapies which avoid surgical excision. Extracorporeal High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) was proposed as one of these modalities but so far clinical research has been ,~." inconclusive. The present work was designed to improve these clii teal outcomes through the conduct of further clinical trials, laboratory based research and the translation of new technology into existing HIFU devices. A Phase II clinical trial of patients (n=13) with newly diagnosed <4cm renal tumours (clinical stage T1a) was designed, peer reviewed and received ethical approval (Ox REC 09/H0606104). Ten of 13 patients underwent renal HIFU using a clinical HIFU device (Model JCIJC200, HAIFU, China). One patient could not be treated due to poor tumour visualisation after anaesthesia and two patients could not be treated as they became unwell before or during anaesthesia. Histological evidence of HIFU ablation in either tumour or normal renal parenchyma was seen in all ten patients. Evidence of sub-total tumour ablation was seen in 8/10 of patients. Grade 1 «50%), 2 (50-90%) & 3 (90-99%) ablation was achieved in 4/10, 3/1 0 & 3/1 0 patients respectively but complete (100%) tumour ablation was not possible. HIFU treatment caused minimal morbidity - no Grade III- V (Clavien-Dindo) complications related to HIFU treatment occurred. Grade I skin pain and induration was seen in 9/1 0 patients; Grade II skin pain occurred in a single patient. Patient demographics, imaging and tumour characteristics were used to design parameters to improve patient selection for renal HIFU. The tumour location, thickness of peri-nephric fat and renal nephrometry score were useful predictors of successful screening for treatment. Page /ii Dr R. W Ritchie Nutiield Department of Surgical Sciences - TT 2012 Abstract Diligent use of these factors could limit unnecessary treatments and Improve ablation outcomes. , It is well known that ultrasound imaging of small renal masses can be challenging. Ultrasound imaging often deteriorates further during HIFU as the abdominal wall and fat tissues swell and cause increased attenuation. This loss of imaging quality was clearly demonstrated in this clinical trial and resulted in the early termination of treatment, before ,#,J' ... ~ .•.. endpoints were reached, in a number of cases. The current clinical method for monitoring the success of HIFU ablation using hyperecho analysis of B-mode ultrasound images is also questionable. Laboratory based studies using ex-vivo bovine liver subjected to HIFU confirmed that hyperecho monitoring had low sensitivity, predictive values and overall accuracy. A novel method of HIFU monitoring - passive mapping of the emissions received from acoustic cavitation activity and other sources of non-linearity during HIFU treatment - is believed to represent a significant opportunity to improve feedback. This technique uses the passively received signature of cavity activity which, when time-reversed, gives high- resolution images of the precise location of the activity. Laboratory-based ex-vivo work, using a commercially available ultrasound system (z.one, Zonare, USA), demonstrates its superiority over hyperecho monitoring. Indeed, thresholds could be applied to successfully predict HIFU ablation with high sensitivity and specificity. This technique was successfully translated into the clinical setting through the design of a Passive Acoustic Mapping (P AM) device. Custom-built receiving elements were applied without limiting the function of the existing HIFU devices. Both pre-clinical and ethically- Page [iii Dr R. W Ritchie Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences - TT 2012 Abstract approved clinical studies demonstrated its safe integration without significant impact on the device energy output or treatment accuracy. Using similar passive beamfonning algorithms, acoustic cavitation activity was successfully mapped and corresponded with the location of thermal ablation in both ex-vivo tissue phantoms and during clinical HIFU therapy. ,~-' It is believed that the development of new patient selection paral~~tel's will elimil?ate target those patients who are most suitable for renal HIFU - small tumours, minimal peri-nephric fat & low nephrometry score .. The use of P AM will lead to a significant improvement in the efficacy of treatment. It can be successfully applied to existing devices and predicts the location and extent ofHIFU ablation with greater accuracy that existing techniques.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death worldwide and the atherosclerotic process that precedes CVD starts during childhood. Physical activity (PA), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and exercise are well known as preventive strategies for CVD. One possible mechanism for such prevention is the role of PA, CRF and exercise on the arterial and autonomic systems. The aim of this thesis was to investigate using observational and experimental studies the role of PA, CRF and exercise on the autonomic and arterial systems of healthy adolescents. Chapter 4 systematically reviewed observational cross-sectional studies and provided level one evidence for a significant and positive association between resting parasympathetic function and moderate-to-vigorous PA in youth. Chapter 4 also indicated that gaps exist in the literature such as the associations between PA intensities, CRF and heart rate variability (HRV). These findings were furthered in Chapter 5 which showed that vigorous PA (VPA) and moderate PA (MPA) were positively related with HRV at rest and cardiac autonomic recovery following exercise in adolescents. In Chapter 6 a high-fat meal was used aiming to increase CVD risk in the postprandial state, and it was demonstrated that PA levels and CRF are not significantly associated with postprandial HRV and arterial stiffness in adolescents. Aiming to investigate possible associations between the vascular and autonomic system, measures of baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) were introduced. Chapter 7 showed that BRS and its autonomic and vascular components present a between-day coefficient of variation lower than 20% whilst within day coefficient of variations were lower than 34% in adolescents. In Chapter 8 acutely following high- and moderate-intensity interval exercise a decrease in blood pressure was observed concomitantly with decreases in BRS. This was mainly mediated by decreases in the autonomic modulation, and the duration of the decreases in blood pressure was higher following high-intensity interval exercise. Chapter 9 extended these findings by demonstrating that the changes in BRS following the ingestion of glucose was not altered by the high or moderate-intensity exercise performed before glucose ingestion. Chapter 10 showed that following four weeks of high-intensity exercise interval training no improvements were observed in BRS and its autonomic and vascular components at rest or acutely following exercise. Collectively, the present thesis contributes significantly to the literature by providing novel evidence in healthy adolescents on the role of PA intensities, CRF and exercise on the arterial and autonomic systems at rest, acutely following exercise and in the postprandial state. The results gathered in this thesis indicate potential of the autonomic and vascular function as targets of CVD risk reduction in youth.

Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is a modern radiotherapy treatment technique used to obtain highly conformal dose distributions. The delivery of IMRT is commonly achieved through the use of a multileaf collimator (MLC). One of the hindrances at present to the widespread use of IMRT is the increased time required for its planning, delivery and verification. In this thesis one particular method of MLC based IMRT, known as Static Multileaf Collimator based IMRT (SMLC-IMRT), has been studied along with methods for improving it???s delivery efficiency. The properties of an MLC commonly used in SMLC-IMRT have been characterised. The potential ramifications of these properties on the dosimetric accuracy of the delivered IMRT field were also investigated. An Interactive Leaf Sequencing (ILS) program was developed that allowed for the manipulation and processing of intensity maps using a variety of methods. The objective of each method was to improve the delivery efficiency whilst maintaining the dosimetric quality of the IMRT treatment. The different methods investigated were collimator angle optimisation, filtration, and intensity level optimisation. The collimator was optimised by identifying the angle at which the minimum monitor unit???s (MU???s) were required when using a sliding-window delivery method. A Savitzky-Golay filter was applied to random intensity maps and suitable filtration parameters identified for filtering clinical IMRT fields, and the intensity levels were optimised based on a deviation threshold. The deviation threshold identified the acceptable level of difference tolerable between the original and modified intensity map. Several IMRT cases were investigated and the impact of each the methods on MU???s, segments and dose distribution observed. As the complexity of IMRT fields increases the dosimetric impact of the MLC properties increases. Complex SMLC-IMRT fields require longer delivery times due to the increased number of MU???s and segments. Collimator optimisation was shown to be a fast and effective means of improving delivery efficiency with negligible dosimetric change to the optimised plan. Modifying intensity maps by applying a filter and optimising the intensity levels did reduce the complexity and improve the delivery efficiency, but also required a dosimetric compromise of the optimised plan.

The primary goal of this thesis is to improve the precision and efficiency of radiation therapy treatment. This goal is achieved by developing and implementing a direct aperture optimization (DAO) platform where the multileaf collimator (MLC) is rotated between each aperture. The approach is referred to as rotating aperture optimization (RAO). A series of tests is performed to evaluate how a final optimized plan depends on MLC parameters. Imposing constraints on the leaf sequence results in increased efficiency and a simplification of the treatment plan without compromising the quality of the dose distribution. It is also shown that an arrangement of equispaced collimator angles takes full advantage of the flexibility associated with collimator rotation. A study including ten recurring nasopharynx cancer patients is used to evaluate the capabilities of RAO compared to other optimization techniques. It is shown that RAO plans require significantly less linac radiation output (monitor units or MU) while maintaining equivalent dose distribution quality compared to plans generated with the conventional fluence based approach. Furthermore with an improved collimator rotation speed, the RAO plans should be executable in the same or less time than plans generated with the fluence-based approach. For the second part of the study it is shown that plans generated with RAO are as good as or better than plans generated with standard fixed collimator DAO. Film and ion chamber measurements indicate that RAO plans can be delivered more accurately than DAO plans. Additional applications of DAO were investigated through collaboration with two PhD students. First, Monte Carlo was used to generate pencil beam dose distributions for DAO inverse treatment planning (MC-DAO). The MC-DAO technique correctly models traditionally difficult treatment geometries such as small fields and tissue inhomogeneities. The MC-DAO also takes advantage of the improved MU efficiency associated with the DAO technique. Secondly DAO is proposed for adaptive radiation therapy. The results show that plan re-adaptation can be performed more quickly than complete plan regeneration thereby minimizing the time the patient has to spend in the treatment room and reducing the potential for geometric errors in treatment delivery.

The above threshold ionization (ATI) spectra provide a diversity of information about a laser-atom ionization process such as laser intensity, pulse duration, carrier envelope phase, and atomic energy level spacing. However, the spatial distribution of intensities inherent in all laser beams reduces the resolution of this information. This research focuses on recovering the intensity-resolved ATI spectra from experimental data using a deconvolution algorithm. Electron ionization yields of xenon were measured for a set of laser pulse intensities using a time of flight (TOF) setup. Horizontally polarized, unchirped, 50fs pulses were used in the ionization process. All laser parameters other than the radiation intensity were held constant over the set of intensity measurements. A deconvolution algorithm was developed based on the experimental parameters. Then the deconvolution algorithm was applied to the experimental data to obtain the intensity-resolved total yield probability and ATI spectra. Finally, an error analysis was performed to determine the stability and accuracy of the algorithm as well as the quality of the data. It was found that the algorithm produced greater contrast for peaks in the ATI spectra where atom specific resonant behavior is observed. Additionally, the total yield probability showed that double ionization may be observed in the ionization yield. The error analysis revealed that the algorithm was stable under the experimental conditions for a range of intensities.

PURPOSE: To compare the effects of recovery intensity on performance of a bicycle sprint task and blood La⁻ clearance. METHODS: On three separate days twelve trained male subjects (27.4 ± 3.9 yrs) performed three supramaximal exercise (SE) bouts at 120% of maximum aerobic power (MAP) for 60% of the time to exhaustion (TTE). Bouts were separated by 5 mm of passive recovery (PR), active recovery (AR) or combined active recovery (CAR). The third bout was followed by a 14 mm recovery. Recovery intensities were: PR (rest), AR at 50% of the workload difference between the individual anaerobic threshold (IAT) and the individual ventilatory threshold (IVT) below the IVT ( ₋50%ΔT), or CAR at the IAT workload for 5 mm and at the ₋50%ΔT workload for 9 mm. Five 10 s sprints were performed 2 mm post-recovery. Blood lactate (La⁻) concentration, power parameters (Peak Power (PP), Mean Power (MP), Fatigue Index (Fl), and Total Work (TW)), Heart Rate (HR), and Oxygen Uptake (VO₂‚‚) were compared using repeated-measures ANOVA. Pairwise comparisons and dependent T-tests were performed to analyze differences. RESULTS: Mean La⁻ values for AR and CAR were lower than PR (9.7 ± 3.5, 9.5 + 3.5, 11.7 + 3.6, respectively, p≤0.05). La⁻ was significantly lower with CAR versus PR at the 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 14th mm of recovery (p≤0.05). AR versus PR La⁻ was lower at the 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 14th min of recovery (p≤0.05). Mean MP was greater in the AR group compared to the PR group (800.1 ± 114.5 vs 782.2 ± 111.7 W, p≤0.05). TW during AR was greater than PR (p≤0.05) but not CAR (p≤0.05, 40003.3 ± 5110.2, 39108.3 ± 4852.9, 39335.8 ± 5022.6 J, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: AR and CAR both demonstrated improved La⁻ clearance when compared to PR, but differences in La⁻ clearance did not determine performance on the sprint task. AR resulted in more TW than PR and greater maintenance of power over the sprints.