Abstract Perspective-taking is a part of different clinical interventions, with the purpose of promoting for example self-compassion or increasing tolerance to distress. The aim of the present experiment with healthy volunteers (N=40) was to investigate the effect of perspective-taking, specifically self-as-context, on self-compassion during a tolerance task. It was hypothesized that participants with higher levels of self-as-context would have higher levels of (1) self-compassion and (2) tolerance during a simple weight lifting task. Participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (n=20) or a control group (n=20). All participants completed four lifts, alternating using their dominant and non-dominant arm. During the latter two lifts, participants in the experimental condition were instructed to apply a self-as-context exercise while the participants in the control condition were instructed to apply a visualization exercise that was not related to the self. There was a positive correlation between self-as-context and self-compassion, but the results showed no significant group difference in self-compassion during the lifting task. The results showed no significant group difference in tolerance. Furthermore, there was no correlation between self-as-context and tolerance. The present study is the first to empirically show a relationship between self-as-context and self-compassion. The current results are promising and call for further controlled research on the relation between perspective taking and self-compassion and for the development and refinement of state measures of self-compassion and self-as-context. / Sammanfattning Perspektivtagande är en del av olika kliniska interventioner, med syfte att främja exempelvis självmedkänsla eller öka tolerans för obehag. Syftet med förevarande experiment som genomfördes med friska frivilliga deltagare (N=40), var att undersöka effekten av perspektivtagande, specifikt själv-som-kontext, på självmedkänsla under ett toleranstest. Det hypotiserades att deltagare med högre nivåer av själv-som-kontext skulle ha högre nivåer av (1) självmedkänsla och (2) tolerans under ett enkelt hantellyft. Deltagarna randomiserades till antingen en experimentgrupp (n=20) eller en kontrollgrupp (n=20). Alla deltagare genomförde fyra hantellyft, växelvis med sin dominanta respektive icke-dominanta arm. Under de senare två lyften instruerades deltagarna i experimentgruppen att tillämpa en själv-som-kontext-övning medan deltagarna i kontrollgruppen instruerades att tillämpa en visualiseringsövning som inte var själv-relaterad. Det fanns en positiv korrelation mellan själv-som-kontext och självmedkänsla, dock visade resultaten ingen signifikant gruppskillnad i självmedkänsla under lyften. Resultaten visade ingen signifikant gruppskillnad i tolerans. Vidare fanns det ingen korrelation mellan själv-som-kontext och tolerans. Förevarande studie är den första att empiriskt påvisa ett samband mellan själv-som-kontext och självmedkänsla. Förevarande resultat är lovande och uppmanar till ytterligare kontrollerad forskning kring sambandet mellan perspektivtagande och självmedkänsla och till utveckling och raffinering av state-mått för självmedkänsla och själv-som-kontext.

There are many issues and challenges to deal with when designing a curved I-girder bridge. These challenges primarily deal with the many performance stages that curved I-girder bridges have such as the erection, construction, and in-service stages. When design engineers assess the stability of a bridge system, they typically evaluate the system in its final configuration with all cross frames attached and the hardened concrete deck placed. The evaluation of girder stability during erection and early stages of construction stages is difficult because of the limited presence of bracing in the system. Due to a lack of readily available analytical tools, many contractors do not conduct detailed analytical evaluations of the bridge behavior during early stages of the construction when stability is often critical. Instead, many contractors use rules of thumb and experience to ensure stability during erection. Erection and construction practices typically vary among contractors and consistent erection methods are a rarity. Although some rules of thumb may be quite conservative, others are much less so. Therefore, coming up with design guidelines based on parametric studies rather than rules of thumb are desirable to help allow the contractor and the designer to work together to prevent issues that may occur due to the lack of communication between the two professions. Lastly, many challenges arise due to the complex geometry of curved I-girders. To prevent excessive rotation in erected girders, three points of vertical support are often provided. Two of these points usually consist of permanent supports in the form of bridge piers or abutments. The third point of support may consist of a temporary support in the form of a shore tower or holding crane. Cases where a holding crane may be satisfactory over a shore tower are also not well understood. To improve the understanding of lifting practices and temporary support requirements, parametric studies were conducted using the finite element program ANSYS. Field data consisting of displacement, stress, and girder rotations gathered from two tests were used to validate both the linear and geometric non-linear three-dimensional FEA models. Upon validation, the finite element model was used to conduct linear and geometric non-linear analyses to determine critical factors in curved I-girder bridges during construction. Specifically, serviceability limit states were studied for the lifting of curved girders. For partially constructed states, parametric studies were conducted to determine optimal locations to place temporary supports as well as to investigate stability differences between using a shore tower and a holding crane. Recommendations are presented to provide guidance for the lifting of curved I-girders as well as to maximize stability of partially constructed bridges. / text

Les progrès récents sur les schémas de codage vidéo par ondelettes ont permis l'apparition d'une nouvelle génération de codeurs vidéos scalables t+2D dont l'efficacité est comparable à celle des meilleurs codecs hybrides. Ces schémas reposent sur l'utilisation d'une transformée en ondelettes appliquée le long du mouvement des images afin d'exploiter leur redondance temporelle, suivie d'une décomposition spatiale des sous-bandes résultantes et d'un codage entropique. L'objectif de cette thèse consiste en l'étude et la construction de nouvelles transformées scalables mises en jeu dans le schéma de codage vidéo t+2D, afin d'en améliorer l'efficacité de codage. L'utilisation du formalisme lifting lors de la construction de ces transformées spatio-temporelles permet l'introduction d'opérateurs non-linéaires, particulièrement utiles pour représenter efficacement les singularités et discontinuités présentes dans une séquence vidéo. Dans un premier temps, nous nous intéressons à l'optimisation et la construction de nouvelles transformées temporelles compensées en mouvement, afin d'améliorer leur performance de décorrelation. Nous étudions alors la construction de filtres M-bandes pour décomposer spatialement les sous-bande temporelles et nous montrons comment les propriétés de scalabilité des bancs de synthèse M-bandes peuvent être étendues à des facteurs rationnels quelconques. Enfin, nous décrivons comment mettre en oeuvre des décompositions spatiales en ondelettes adaptatives, non-linéaires et inversibles, sans nécessiter la transmission d'une carte de décisions.

Tvenkinių šlaitų tvirtinimo plokščių (toliau – ŠTP) būklę bei ilgaamžiškumą lemia jas veikiantys poveikiai ir apkrovos, susidarantys dėl agresyvios aplinkos, klimato poveikio bei kitų veiksnių. Vienas iš žalingų reiškinių – dėl prastos šlaitų priežiūros išaugę drėgmę mėgstantys krūmai (pvz. karklai) ar net medžiai, kurių šaknys ieškodamos drėgmės, iškilnoja ir suskaldo šlaitų tvirtinimo plokštes. Darbo tikslas – įvertinti krūmų ir medžių šaknų ardomojo poveikio reikšmę Lietuvos tvenkinių šlaitų tvirtinimo gelžbetoninių plokščių būklei. Šiam tikslui pasiekti buvo atlikta literatūros analize, įvertinant tvenkinių šlaitų tvirtinimo plokštes veikiančius veiksnius ir apkrovas. 2008 – 2009 m. mokslinių ekspedicijų metu natūriniais tyrimais įvertinta 16 tvenkinių šlaitų tvirtinimo gelžbetoninių plokščių būklė pagal STR.1.12.03:2006. Remiantis natūrinių tyrimų rezultatų analize detalesniam tyrimui parinktos Antanavo hidroelektrinės žemutinio bjefo gelžbetoninės plokštės, kurių suardymo pobūdis leidžia teigti, kad šlaitų tvirtinimo plokštės buvo suardytos veikiant medžio šaknims. / Durability and technical state of reinforced concrete slabs for ponds slope protection depends on the maintenance circumstances – aggressive environmental impacts, loads from climate, etc. One of the harmful phenomenons are moisture–loving shrubs (for example, wicker), which appeared because of the bad slope maintenance or even trees, the roots of which heave and shatter (when searching for moisture) slabs for slope protection. The aim of the work was to evaluate the destructive force of the trees and shrubs roots on the reinforced concrete slabs for slope protection. For the achievement of this goal the literature analysis was carried out in order to determine factors and loads effecting slabs for slope protection. During the scientific expeditions in 2008–2009 the condition state of the reinforced concrete slope protection slabs of 16 ponds were evaluated by field investigations according to STR. 1.12.03:2006. Following the analysis of the results of field investigations the reinforced concrete slabs from the lower pond of the Antanavas hydroelectric power station were chosen for the more detailed investigation. The destructive character of these slabs allows stating that slope protection slabs were destructed because of the trees roots.

Advancing towards `better' wind turbine designs engineers face two central challenges: first, current aerodynamic models (based on Blade Element Momentum theory) are inherently limited to comparatively simple designs of flat rotors with straight blades. However, such designs present only a subset of possible designs. Better concepts could be coning rotors, swept or kinked blades, or blade tip modifications. To be able to extend future turbine optimization to these new concepts a different kind of aerodynamic model is needed. Second, it is difficult to include long term loads (life time extreme and fatigue loads) directly into the wind turbine design optimization. This is because with current methods the assessment of long term loads is computationally very expensive -- often too expensive for optimization. This denies the optimizer the possibility to fully explore the effects of design changes on important life time loads, and one might settle with a sub-optimal design. In this dissertation we present work addressing these two challenges, looking at wing aerodynamics in general and focusing on wind turbine loads in particular. We adopt a Lagrangian vortex model to analyze bird wings. Equipped with distinct tip feathers, these wings present very complex lifting surfaces with winglets, stacked in sweep and dihedral. Very good agreement between experimental and numerical results is found, and thus we confirm that a vortex model is actually capable of analyzing complex new wing and rotor blade geometries. Next stochastic methods are derived to deal with the time and space coupled unsteady aerodynamic equations. In contrast to deterministic models, which repeatedly analyze the loads for different input samples to eventually estimate life time load statistics, the new stochastic models provide a continuous process to assess life time loads in a stochastic context -- starting from a stochastic wind field input through to a stochastic solution for the load output. Hence, these new models allow obtaining life time loads much faster than from the deterministic approach, which will eventually make life time loads accessible to a future stochastic wind turbine optimization algorithm. While common stochastic techniques are concerned with random parameters or boundary conditions (constant in time), a stochastic treatment of turbulent wind inflow requires a technique capable to handle a random field. The step from a random parameter to a random field is not trivial, and hence the new stochastic methods are introduced in three stages. First the bird wing model from above is simplified to a one element wing/ blade model, and the previously deterministic solution is substituted with a stochastic solution for a one-point wind speed time series (a random process). Second, the wind inflow is extended to an $n$-point correlated random wind field and the aerodynamic model is extended accordingly. To complete this step a new kind of wind model is introduced, requiring significantly fewer random variables than previous models. Finally, the stochastic method is applied to wind turbine aerodynamics (for now based on Blade Element Momentum theory) to analyze rotor thrust, torque, and power. Throughout all these steps the stochastic results are compared to result statistics obtained via Monte Carlo analysis from unsteady reference models solved in the conventional deterministic framework. Thus it is verified that the stochastic results actually reproduce the deterministic benchmark. Moreover, a considerable speed-up of the calculations is found (for example by a factor 20 for calculating blade thrust load probability distributions). Results from this research provide a means to much more quickly analyze life time loads and an aerodynamic model to be used a new wind turbine optimization framework, capable of analyzing new geometries, and actually optimizing wind turbine blades with life time loads in mind. However, to limit the scope of this work, we only present the aerodynamic models here and will not proceed to turbine optimization itself, which is left for future work. / Graduate / 0538 / 0548 / mfluck@uvic.ca

SAMMANFATTNING Syftet: Syftet med detta examensarbete var att ta reda på risker med Metso Sweden ABs lyft till de vertikala gruvpumparna och använda den informationen för att ta fram en lyftmetod som löser problemen med avseende på säkerhet, ergonomi och användarvänlighet för användare på Metso Sweden AB. För att lösa dessa problem ställdes dessa frågeställningar för att nå förbättringsmöjligheter: 1.      Hur kan man göra ett lyft till dem vertikala gruvpumparna säkert?   2.      Hur får man detta lyft att vara ergonomiskt för användaren?    3.      Hur uppnår jag användarvänlighet? Metod: Olika metoder har tillämpats från den generiska produkutvecklingsprocessen för att lösa de befintliga problemformuleringarna. För att få fram primärdata gjordes observationer, intervjuer, workshop men också sekundärdata i form av en litteraturstudie. Resultat: Studien resulterade i att en gemensam lösning hittades inom avgränsningarna. Utvecklingar har implementerats från konceptfasen till den slutgiltiga produkten för att nå framgång. Beräkningar har genomförts för att visa produktens hållfasthetsklass, för att se om den klarar av belastningen samt den potentiella förskjutningen som kan uppstå vid olika laster. Produkten ges som ett förslag och rekommendation på förbättringar. Slutsats: Förslag på åtgärder har tagits fram för hur den framtagna problematiken kan lösas med hjälp av en ny faktabaserad lösning som krävs för att inte riskera personalens hälsa samt omgivningen. Rekommendationer: Metso Sweden AB rekommenderas att vidta åtgärder för att eliminera de risker som finns med deras lyft som sker inom avgränsningen. Här bör den nya lösningen baseras utifrån säkerhet, ergonomi och användarvänlighet för att nå framgång och att vidare utveckling lär ske för föreslagen lösning. Nyckelord: Användarvänlighet, Ergonomi, Gruvpumpar, Lyft, Lyftredskap,  Produktutveckling, Säkerhet / ABSTRACT Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to find out risks with the lift for the vertical mining pumps and use that information to make a better lift where it should include features that solve the problem regarding safe, ergonomic and user-friendly for users on Metso Sweden AB. To solve these problems, these issues were raised to achieve improvement opportunities: 1.      How can you make a safe lift to those vertical mining pumps?   2.      How do you get this lift to be ergonomic for the user?   3.      How do I achieve user-friendliness? Method: Methods have been used and applied from the generic product development process to be problem-free. To obtain primary data, observations, interviews, workshops were done, but also secondary data in the form of a literature study. Result: The study resulted in a common solution being found within the boundaries. Developments have made from the concept phase to the final product to achieve success. Calculations have been made to show the product's strength class to see if it can withstand the pressure and the potential displacement that can occur at different loads. The product is given as a proposal and recommendation for improvements. Conclusion: Suggestions have been made for how the problem presented can be solved with the help of a new fact-based product that is not required to risk the health of the personnel and the environment. Recommendations: Metso Sweden AB is recommended to take actions to eliminate the risks associated with their lifting that takes place within the boundary. Here, the new solution should be based on safety, ergonomics and user-friendliness to achieve success and that further development will occur for the proposed solution. Keywords: Ergonomics, Lift, Lifting Tool, Mining pumps, Product development, Safety, User-friendliness

Le tatouage d’images (ou watermarking) consiste à insérer de l’information de copyright, ou d’autres messages de vérification, invisible à l’oeil humain. Parmi toutes les approches possibles, le tatouage psychovisuel est le plus performant. Il consiste à utiliser les connaissances du Système Visuel Humain (SVH) pour en déduire la force du tatouage de manière optimale. Dans cette étude, nous avons proposé une nouvelle méthode de tatouage d'image psychovisuel qui combine les avantages des ondelettes à celle du domaine spatial par l’utilisation d'une représentation en ondelettes à échelle mixée (JNDEM). En considérant la densité des coefficients d'ondelettes dominants, notre système est capable de différencier les zones uniformes, celles incluant des contours, et enfin celles texturées. Nous avons sélectionné les méthodes efficaces de tatouage psychovisuel adaptée à chaque zone, à savoir celle de Chou pour les zones uniformes, de nouveau celle de Chou pour les contours, et finalement celle de Qi pour les textures. Nous avons aussi pris en compte la sensibilité du SVH qui varie avec l’orientation locale de l’image. Nous avons comparé notre JNDEM à quatre autres méthodes de tatouage de la littérature en termes de qualité visuelle et de robustesse. La méthode JNDEM conduit à une grande qualité visuelle mesurée par des tests objectifs et subjectifs. De plus elle est robuste aux attaques. Ce dernier point est d'une grande importance pour les applications réelles. En conclusion, la méthode proposée est le meilleur compromis entre la qualité visuelle et la résistance aux attaques comparée aux quatre autres méthodes testées. / Watermarking consists in inserting copyright information, or other verification messages, invisible to the human eye. Among all the possible approaches, perceptual watermarking is the most efficient. Perceptual image watermarking consists in using knowledge of the Human Visual System (HVS) to choose the strength of the watermark. In this study, we propose a new perceptual image watermarking method (JNDEM ) that combines the advantages of both the wavelet domain and the spatial domain since a mixed-scale wavelet representation is applied. By considering the density of the dominant wavelet coefficients, our scheme is able to differentiate uniform, edge and texture areas. We selected effective Just Noticeable Difference (JND) models from the literature, i.e. luminance and edge masking developed by Chou, and texture masking developed by Qi. We also took into account the HVS sensitivity which varies with the orientation of the image activity. We have compared our JNDEM to four other JND models from the literature in terms of visual quality and of robustness to attacks. Results show that the proposed method yields a high visual quality and is very robust against attacks. This last point is of great importance for real applications. In conclusion, the proposed method is the best trade-off between visual quality and resistance to attacks among the four other tested methods.

Dans cette thèse nous étudions quelques aspects des certains espaces de fonctions. D’une part nous nous intéressons aux singularités des applications W^{1,n} à valeurs dans la sphère unité S^n, et d’autre part, aux relèvements des applications W^{s,p} à valeurs dans le cercle S^1.La première partie concerne le problème de minimisation d’une énergie de type Dirichlet à poids. Les fonctions admissibles sont les fonctions continues hors d’un ensemble singulier donné prescrit par le bord d’un courant rectifiable. Nous obtenons la formule exacte, résultat qui améliore celui d’Alberto, Baldi et Orlando (2003). Il s’agit aussi d’une généralisation des résultats obtenus précédemment par Brezis, Coron, Lieb (1986), Almgren, Browder, Lieb (1988).La deuxième partie porte sur le meilleur contrôle des phases des applications uni-modulaires et elle se repose sur les travaux de Bourgain, Brezis, Mironescu (2000, 2002). A l’aide de quelques méthodes connues et des méthodes nouvelles, nous étudions des estimations optimales des semi-normes W^{s,p} des relèvements selon les différentes valeurs de s et de p. Nous obtenons aussi une nouvelle caractérisation de W^{s,p} pour s<1 en termes de semi-norme dyadique / In this thesis we study some aspects of certain functional spaces. On the one hand we focus on the singularities of maps W^{1, n} with values in the unit sphere S^n, and secondly, on liftings of maps W^{s, p} with values in the circle S^1.The first part concerns the minimization problem of a weighted Dirichlet energy. Admissible maps are functions which are continuous functions outside a given singular set prescribed by the boundary of a rectifiable current. We obtain the exact formula, which improves the result of Alberto, Baldi and Orlando (2003). In the same time, we generalize some results previously obtained by Brezis, Coron, Lieb (1986), Almgren, Browder, Lieb (1988).The second part focuses on the best control of unimodular maps and it is based on the work of Bourgain, Brezis, Mironescu (2000, 2002). Using some known methods and some new ones, we study optimal estimates of seminorms W^{s, p} of liftings, for different values of s and p. We also obtain a new characterization of the space W^{s, p} for s<1 in terms of dyadic seminorm

Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht mit elektromyographischen und biomechanischen Methoden lokale muskuläre Ermüdung und die damit verbundenen Veränderungen in der Kinematik und Kinetik eines ausbelastenden Hebetests. Hierzu wurde der PILE-Test (Mayer et al., 1988) verwendet, der als Diagnostikverfahren in der Rehabilitation von Personen mit Rückenbeschwerden eingesetzt wird. In den letzten Jahren sind mathematische Verfahren entwickelt worden, um spektralanalytische Untersuchungen dynamischer Muskelkontraktionen durchführen zu können. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde einer dieser Ansätze im Rahmen eines Softwarepakets umgesetzt. Er beruht auf der Verwendung der ''Smooth-Pseudo-Wigner-Ville-Verteilung'', einer biquadratischen Transformation der Cohen-Klasse. Das Verfahren zeichnet sich durch eine hohe Zeit- und Frequenzauflösung aus. Die spektralanalytische Untersuchung von sechs bewegungsrelevanten Muskeln während des Hebetests zeigte für die 22 männlichen Sportstudierenden signifikante Verringerungen der Medianfrequenz lediglich für die Signale der Rumpfstrecker (M. erector spinae, M. gluteus maximus). Dies konnte für die Signale des Kniestreckers (M. vastus lateralis) nicht beobachtet werden. Diese Ergebnisse korrespondieren mit den kinematischen Änderungen im Verlauf der Testdurchführung. Zwischen der Frequenzänderung des M. erector spinae vom Startintervall (geringe Last) zum Schlussintervall (hohe Last) und der Verringerung der Bewegungsamplitude der Rumpfextension wurde eine signifikante Korrelation festgestellt. Aufgrund der daraus ableitbaren Insuffizienz des M. erector spinae kommt es in der Initialphase der Hebung, in der die maximalen Bodenreaktionskräfte auftreten, für nahezu die Hälfte der Probanden zu einem Absenken des Rumpfes. Da dieses Verhalten mit einer erhöhten Belastung im Bereich der lumbalen Wirbelsäule assoziiert wird, sollte die Bewegungsausführung während des PILE-Tests kontrolliert werden, um Gesundheitsrisiken zu vermeiden. / Electromyographic and biomechanical methods were used to investigate localized muscle fatigue and changes in the kinematics during an exhausting lifting test. For this purpose the ''Progressive Isoinertial Lifting Evaluation'' (PILE) was utilized, which was published by Mayer (1988) as a method to quantify the lifting capacity of people with spinal disorders. Fatigue-related changes in the electromyographic signals of trunk and limb muscles were evaluated and compared to kinematic measures in order to determine whether fatigue influences motor behavior during the lifting test. Recent advances in the methodology of time-frequency analysis for electro- myographic signal processing provide a new way of studying localized muscle fatigue during dynamic contractions. One of these approaches was used to develop an algorithm for the analysis of highly dynamic muscle contractions. It is based on the ''smooth-pseudo-Wigner-Ville-distribution'', a biquadratic transformation of the Cohen class. The method is characterized by a high time and frequency resolution. Twenty-two male physical education students performed the lumbar PILE-test. During the lifting task, the median frequency significantly decreased over time in the trunk extensor muscles (erector spinae, gluteus maximus) but not in the limb muscles (vastus lateralis, gastrocnemius). This corresponds to changes in the kinematic. In the initial lifting phase, the range of motion of the knee joint increased from low to high loads, while the range of motion of the trunk decreased. Half of the subjects reached almost complete knee extension while the trunk was still in maximum flexion when lifting heavy loads. The change of median frequency of the erector spinae is significantly correlated with the reduction of trunk extension. These biomechanical changes are associated with increased peak torque at the lumbar spine. Therefore it is recommended to monitor the lifting technique during the PILE-Test to avoid health risks.

Os exercícios com pesos (EP) representam importante estratégia para diminuir a sarcopenia e melhorar a capacidade funcional para realizar as atividades da vida diária de pessoas idosas. Além disso, os EP têm também sido recentemente sugeridos para restaurar os efeitos da imunossenescência. Portanto, este estudo teve como objetivo determinar o efeito de doze meses de um programa de exercícios com pesos em parâmetros imunológicos funcionais e quantitativos de mulheres idosas clinicamente saudáveis. As voluntárias foram selecionadas de acordo com o protocolo SENIEUR e 38 mulheres clinicamente saudáveis e fisicamente inativas (60 a 77 anos de idade) foram randomicamente divididas em um programa de exercícios com pesos de baixa intensidade (GE: 67,74 + 5,28 anos [n: 28]) ou em um grupo controle (CG: 68,69 + 2,98 anos [n: 14]). O programa de EP foi constituído de 3 séries de 12 repetições a 54,87 + 2,37% do teste de uma repetição máxima (1-RM) para cinco diferentes exercícios (supino reto sentado, puxada alta, remada, extensão de joelhos e leg press) realizados três vezes por semana durante 12 meses. A atividade citotóxica das células natural killer (NKCA), resposta linfoproliferativa à fito-hemaglutinina (PHA) e ao OKT3, quantificação de linfócitos (CD3+, CD3-CD19+, CD3-CD16+CD56+), subpopulações linfocitárias (CD4+, CD8+, CD56dim, CD56bright), assim como de moléculas de expressão celular (CD25+, CD28+, CD45RA+, CD45RO+, CD69+, CD95+, HLA-DR+) foram determinadas por ensaios imunológicos. As variáveis foram mensuradas a cada 6 meses durante período de um ano (pré-programa [PRÉ], 6 meses [6M] e 12 meses [12M]). A análise estatística demonstrou que o GE incrementou a força muscular em 44,2% e 48,1% após 6 e 12 meses, respectivamente (p<0,05); mas que houve aumento no consumo de oxigênio de pico (VO2pico) após 6 meses (14,7%, p<0.05). Não houve diferença significativa entre os grupos (exceto para 20:1 em 12M) ou em função do tempo (exceção para 40:1 em GE) na NKCA assim como na resposta proliferativa independente do mitógeno empregado. Foi observado decréscimo significativo (p<0,05) em GE para a contagem total de linfócitos (PRÉ x 12M), CD3+ (PRÉ x 12M), CD3+CD4+ (PRÉ x 12M), CD3-CD19+ (PRÉ x 6M), CD3+CD45RA+ (PRÉ x 6M; PRÉ x 12M), CD3+CD45RO+ (PRÉ x 12M; 6M x 12M), CD4+CD45RA+ (PRÉ x 6M), CD4+CD45RO+ (PRÉ x 12M; 6M x 12M), CD3+CD95+CD28+ (PRÉ x 6M), CD4+CD95+CD28+ (PRÉ x 6M), CD8+CD95+CD28+ (PRÉ x 12M) e para CD56dimCD25+HLA-DR+ (6M x 12M). O GC também demonstrou diminuição significativa (p<0,05) na contagem total de linfócitos (PRÉ x 12M), CD3-CD19+ (PRÉ x 6M; PRE x 12M), CD3-CD16+CD56+ (PRÉ x 12M; 6M x 12M), CD3+CD45RO+ (PRÉ x 12M) e para CD56dim (PRÉ x 12M). É possível que outra variável independente, que não o programa de exercícios com pesos e/ou alguma tendência sazonal tenham influenciado os resultados devido ao fato de ambos os grupos terem apresentado menores níveis de expressão celular durante o período do estudo. Os resultados deste estudo permitem concluir que doze meses de um programa de exercícios com pesos de leve intensidade são suficientes para incrementar a força muscular assim como o consumo de oxigênio de pico, mas não para melhorar parâmetros imunológicos funcionais e quantitativos de mulheres idosas clinicamente saudáveis. Portanto, possivelmente sugerindo que o \'limiar de efeito\' nos parâmetros imunológicos de mulheres idosas clinicamente saudáveis seja dependente do estímulo e/ou maior do que o necessário para incrementar a força muscular e/ou o VO2pico. / Resistance training program represents an important strategy to reduce sarcopenia, improving muscle strength and mass, and consequently, functional capacity to perform activities of daily living in elderly people. Additionally, resistance training program has been also recently suggested to restore the deleterious effects of aging process on immune system. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of twelve months of light resistance training program on functional and quantitative immunological paremeters of clinically healthy elderly women. Volunteers were selected by SENIEUR protocol and thirty-eight clinically healthy untrained females (aged 60-77 year-old) were randomly assigned to either a light resistance training program (RTP: 67.74 + 5.28 year-old [n: 28]) or a control group (CG: 68.69 + 2.98 year-old [n: 14]). The RTP consisted of three sets of twelve repetitions at 54.87 ± 2.37% of one repetition maximum test (1-RM) for five different exercises (seated bench press, lattissimus pull down, seated row, leg extension and leg press) performed three times per week during twelve months. Natural killer cell cytotoxic activity (NKCA), lymphoproliferative response to the phytohemaglutinin (PHA) and OKT3, and quantification of the lymphocytes (CD3+, CD19+, CD3-CD16+CD56+) and subpopulations (CD4+, CD8+, CD56dim, CD56bright) as well as cellular expression molecules (CD25+, CD28+, CD45RA+, CD45RO+, CD69+, CD95+, HLA-DR+) were determined by immunological assays. Variables were measured each 6 months during one year (pre-program [PRE], 6 months [6M] and 12 months [12M]). Statistical analysis showed that RTP volunteers increased muscle strength in 44.2% and 48.1% after 6 and 12 months, respectivelly (p<0.05), whilst there was increased in maximal oxygen peak (VO2peak) after only 6 months (14.7%, p<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between both groups (unless 12M for the 20:1) or according to the time (unless 40:1 for RTP) when NKCA was analyzed. RTP group preserved lymphoproliferative response, while CG increased significantly the lymphoproliferative response to the PHA and OKT3. There were statistically significant decrease (p<0.05) for RTP volunteers to the total lymphocytes (PRE x 12M), CD3+ (PRE x 12M), CD3+CD4+ (PRE x 12M), CD3-CD19+ (PRE x 6M), CD3+CD45RA+ (PRE x 6M; PRE x 12M), CD3+CD45RO+ (PRE x 12M; 6M x 12M), CD4+CD45RA+ (PRE x 6M), CD4+CD45RO+ (PRE x 12M; 6M x 12M), CD3+CD95+CD28+ (PRE x 6M), CD4+CD95+CD28+ (PRE x 6M), CD8+CD95+CD28+ (PRE x 12M), and to the CD56dimCD25+HLA-DR+ (6M x 12M). GC volunteers also showed statistically significant decrease (p<0.05) to the total lymphocytes (PRE x 12M), CD3-CD19+ (PRE x 6M; PRE x 12M), CD3-CD16+CD56+ (PRE x 12M; 6M x 12M), CD3+CD45RO+ (PRE x 12M), and to the CD56dim (PRE x 12M). It is possible that the other independent variable, which not the RTP, and/or some seasonal tendency have influenced the results because to the fact of both groups had presented lower cell expression levels during the period of the study. The results of this study permit to conclude that twelve months of light RTP were sufficient to increase muscle strength and maximal oxygen peak, but not to improve functional and quantitative immunological parameters of clinically healthy elderly women. Thus, possibly suggesting that the \'threshold of effects\' on immunological paremeters on clinically healthy elderly women would be dose-response dependent and/or could be rather than that to increase muscle strength and/or maximal oxygen peak.