Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between isometric force production symmetry and jumping performance in weighted and un-weighted static and countermovement jumps (SJ and CMJ). Design: Bivariate correlation between isometric force production symmetry and vertical jump performance variables. Methods: Collegiate athletes were evaluated for this study (n=36). Subjects performed SJ, CMJ, and isometric mid-thigh pulls (IMTP). Jumps were analyzed for jump height (JH) and peak power (PP). IMTP was analyzed for peak force (PF) for left and right sides, and values were calculated to produce a peak force symmetry index (PF-SI) score. Correlational statistics were performed examining the relationship between PF-SI and jump variables. Results: Moderate statistically significant negative correlations were observed between PF-SI and all jump variables, indicating that as asymmetry increases jump performance decreases. SJ correlations weakened in weighted conditions (JH r=-0.52 @ 0 kg/r=-0.39 @ 20 kg, PP r=-0.43 @ 0 kg/r=-0.34 @ 20 kg), but CMJ produced similar correlations for both conditions (JH r=-0.47 @ 0 kg/r=-0.49 @ 20 kg, PP r=-0.28 @ 0 kg/r=-0.34 @ 20 kg). Unlike the SJ, which only contains the propulsive or concentric portion of the jump, the CMJ also contains the eccentric portion and performance contributions of the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC). The addition of the SSC may play a role in the maintaining the magnitude of asymmetry in the CMJ weighted condition. Conclusions: The results indicate that force production asymmetry may be detrimental to bilateral vertical jumping performance. The findings should be considered for further investigation on sport-specific tasks.

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to quantify if using an average intensity projection (AIP) scan or a 30% phase (mid-ventilation surrogate, MidV) scan as the reference image for patient position verification affects reproducibility of lung cancer patient alignment under free-breathing cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) image guidance and to analyze the effects of common clinical issues on registration variability. Methods: AIPs were retrospectively created for 16 lung patients (14 SBRT, 2 conventional treatments) originally planned/treated using the 30% phase MidV surrogate scan as reference. The study included 3-5 CBCTs from each patient. Registrations were performed between the AIP-CBCT and between the MidV-CBCT by 5 individuals (student, medical physics resident, medical resident, medical physicist, and attending physician) using MIM 6.2 image registration platform (Beachwood, OH). The images were rigidly registered, internal tumor volume (ITV) contours were displayed, and no rotational adjustments were allowed to reflect real treatment conditions. Additionally, the registrations for AIP-CBCT and MidV-CBCT were repeated 3 times by one individual for intra-observer variability assessment. Patient setup rotations, tumor volume, tumor motion, and breathing variability were estimated for correlation with registration variability. Results: The magnitude of the average intra-observer standard deviations from the lateral (LAT), anterior-posterior (AP), and superior-inferior (SI) directions for the AIP/CBCT and MidV/CBCT registrations were 0.9 mm and 1.2 mm, respectively. The magnitude of the average inter-observer standard deviations for the AIP/CBCT and MidV/CBCT were 1.7 mm and 1.8 mm, respectively. Average discrepancies over the whole population were found to be small; however, some individual patients presented high variability. Patient-specific cases with high variability were analyzed and observations on its potential causes are discussed. Conclusion: The differences in alignment using AIP versus MidV as the reference images are, when averaged over the population studied, very small and clinically irrelevant for PTV margins > 5mm; however, individual patients may be impacted in a clinically relevant manner if smaller margins, 3 mm and below, are used instead.

Some agri-food managers of United States-based companies use strategies to mitigate product-harm crises.The loss of brand and corporate sustainability increases for companies not utilizing mitigating strategies to reduce losses from agri-food product-harm crisis.The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies managers use to mitigate losses from agri-food product-harm crises. Coombs' situational crisis communication theory served as the conceptual framework for this study. A sample of 3 managers from 3 agri-food companies in the southern United States shared their mitigating strategies to reduce losses from a product-harm crisis. Methodological triangulation assisted in reviewing and analyzing information from semistructured interviews, relevant company documents, and journal notes. The use of alphanumeric coding, discovering, and identifying themes, selecting relevant themes, organizing themes in hierarchical order, and linking themes to the phenomenon under study indicated four main themes supporting the benefits of mitigating strategies to reduce losses from an agri-food product-harm crisis. The main themes included the use of pre-crisis mitigating strategies, mid-crisis mitigating strategies, post-crisis mitigating strategies, and high pressure pasteurization (HPP). Findings from this study indicated that agri-food managers use strategies to mitigate product-harm crises, but the added expense of some mitigating strategies often precludes their use. The study findings may contribute to social change by increasing the awareness of agri-food managers, consumers, and company leadership to use mitigating strategies to reduce the number of illnesses and deaths associated with a product harm crisis.

Optoelectronic devices operating in the mid-wave (3-5 Μm) and long-wave (8-12 Μm) infrared (IR) regions of the electromagnetic spectrum are of a great interest for academic and industrial applications. Due to the lack of atmospheric absorption, devices operating within these spectral bands are particularly useful for spectroscopy, imaging, and dynamic scene projection. Advanced IR imaging systems have created an intense need for laboratory-based infrared scene projector (IRSP) systems which can be used for accurate simulation of real-world phenomena occurring in the IR. These IRSP systems allow for reliable, reproducible, safe, and cost-effective calibration of IR detector arrays. The current state-of-the-art technology utilized for the emitter source of IRSP systems is thermal pixel arrays (TPAs) which are based on thin film resistor technology. Thermal pixel array technology has fundamental limitations related to response time and maximum simulated apparent temperature, making them unsuitable for emulation of very hot (> 700 K) and rapidly evolving scenes. Additionally, there exists a need for dual wavelength emitter arrays for IRSP systems dedicated to calibration of dual wavelength detector arrays. This need is currently met by combining the spectral output from two separate IRSP systems. This configuration requires precise alignment of the output from both systems and results in the maximum radiance being limited to approximately half that of the capability of a given emitter array due to the optics used to combine the outputs. The high switching speed inherent to IR light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and the potential for high power output makes them an appealing candidate to replace the thermal pixel arrays used for IRSP systems. To this end, research has been carried out to develop and improve the device performance of IR LEDs based on InAs/GaSb type-II superlattices (T2SLs). A common method employed to achieve high brightness from LEDs is to incorporate multiple active regions, coupled by tunnel junctions. Tunnel junctions must provide adequate barriers to prevent carrier leakage, while at the same time remain low in tunneling resistance to prevent unwanted heating. The performance of two tunnel junction designs are compared in otherwise identical four stage InAs/GaSb superlattice LED (SLED) devices for application in IRSP systems. This research culminated in the development of a 48 Μm pitch, 512$times512 individually addressable mid-wave IR LED array based on a sixteen stage, InAs/GaSb T2SL device design. This array was hybridized to a read-in integrated circuit and exhibited a pixel yield greater than 95 %. Projections based on single element emitter results predict this array will be able to achieve a peak apparent temperature of 1350 K within the entire 3-5 Μm band. These results demonstrate the feasibility of emitter arrays intended for IRSP systems based on InAs/GaSb SLED devices. Additionally, a dual wavelength 48 Μm pitch, 8x8 emitter array based on InAs/GaSb T2SL LEDs was developed and demonstrated. This design incorporates two separate, 16 stage InAs/GaSb SL active regions with varying InAs layer thicknesses built into a single vertical heterostructure. The device architecture is a three terminal device allowing for independent control of the intensity of each emission region. Each emitter region creates a contiguous pixel, capable of being planarized and mated to drive electronics.

The goal of this study was to investigate feedlot performance and meat quality of calves born to cows that underwent a nutrient restriction during the second trimester of gestation which may be occurring in the Intermountain West. Thirty-four angus influenced calves from the same sire were used for this study. The calves were born from cows that were separated into either a maintenance group, and kept on an irrigated pasture, or a restricted group, that was placed on an unirrigated pasture and allowed to lose one body condition score during the second trimester of pregnancy. This study begins with the calves on day 85 of the finishing portion of the feedlot phase. During the finishing feedlot phase, calves were individually housed, fed ad libitum, and feedlot performance measurements were taken every 28 days. Carcasses from the calves were evaluated for yield and quality. A loin from each carcass was collected, aged, frozen, and cut into individually packaged steaks that were used to assess meat quality. There was no difference in feedlot performance and carcass measurements for either maintenance and restricted calves. Meat quality measurements revealed no difference in color, instrumental tenderness values, or composition of steaks from either group. A trained sensory panel found that ten characteristics of flavor were similar for both treatments. There was however, a trend for steaks from nutrient restricted cattle to have more of a bloody/serumy flavor. The trained sensory panel also found that there was a difference in tenderness of steaks from nutrient restricted animals being perceived as more tender than animals from maintenance cows. The results of this study demonstrate that nutrient restriction during mid-gestation does not have negative effects on feedlot performance, carcass characteristics, or meat quality measurements. These results also indicate that steaks from calves born to nutrient restricted cows may be perceived as more tender.

<p>Institution: Halmstad University/School of Teacher Education (LUT)</p><p>Course: C-level paper, 15 credits</p><p>Term: Spring 2010</p><p>Title: Two Sides of the Same Coin - A study of EFL-teachers knowledge regarding the divergences between British and American English; and the challenges which arise from having more than one accepted variety of English in EFL teaching.</p><p>Pages: 41</p><p>Writer: Linda Jensen</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to ascertain if Swedish EFL teachers have sufficient knowledge regarding the differences between BrE and AmE, the two major varieties of English. Furthermore, I aim to examine what challenges are created when two models of English, BrE and AmE, are accepted in upper secondary schools in Sweden.</p><p>Method: A quantitative web-based survey.Material: Questionnaire filled in by 59 EFL teachers in upper secondary schools in Halland, Sweden.</p><p>Main results: Upper secondary EFL teachers in Halland, Sweden do appear to have a basic knowledge of the differences between BrE and AmE and as such a majority placed themselves in the correct category. However, there is a lack of consistency and all the teachers mixed the two varieties to some extent. The challenges that arise from having two accepted varieties in Swedish schools are amongst other things the question of the consistency rule, dealing with the value system associated with British and American English and the question of whether Mid-Atlantic English should be accepted as a third educational standard.</p><p>Keywords: British English, American English, Mid-Atlantic English, divergence, EFL, consistency, challenges, value system.</p>

<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>Many would agree that English has become a global language that has spread all over the world. English has been the primary foreign language in the Swedish school curriculum since the Second World War and most Swedes have some English language proficiency. Today, Swedes are not only subjected to English in school, but also come across English every day in media, in the streets or at work.</p><p>A number of studies have been done on how Swedish students use English and of their attitudes towards it, but not much on how Swedes that are no longer under school influence view the matter. This study has examined the attitudes and preferences towards English among 60 adults. Most of them have a positive attitude towards English and believe that the use of English in Sweden will increase in the future. Even so, they show little concern that English might be a future threat towards Swedish.</p><p>Both men and women find media as their primary source of English influence and there was only one minor difference to be noted when comparing attitudes between different age groups. The older female informants reported to use less English and have lower skills than the rest. No such trend was seen among the men belonging to the same age group. Besides this, some interesting gender differences were seen. The female informants reported to have a stronger preference for British English and the male informants showed preference for American English. These gender differences would be interesting to study further.</p>

<p>The aim of this paper is to examine how mid-level executive officers within Swedish Police respond to subordinates autonomous behaviour, mainly according to Lipsky´s theory on street-level bureaucracy. Questions focused on are:</p><p>1. Which personnel related obstacles, are preventing the executive officers?</p><p>2. How do executive officers counter obstacles?</p><p>3. If possible, based on the result of the study, which are the conclusions about existing countermeasures?</p><p>The papers´ aim is not to suggest which obstacles should be removed, nor if countermeasures are good/bad. Main aim is to identify how obstacles are countered. Theory and method are built on framework of Case Study. The method is built on theoretic examination of obstacles to examine concepts´ size and then interviews to confirm the obstacles and identify countermeasures. Conclusion of the first question is that obstacles are omnipresent in the governmental and societal systems. Conclusion of the second question is that obstacles are countered by friendly approach and to ally oneself to staff and personnel. Conclusion of the last question is that a mid-level executive through his allying enhances some behaviour, as long as more-wanted behaviours are produced with quality. This has effect upon society when combating crime, but is probably not likely to measure effectively.</p>

The Kane Oceanic Core Complex (OCC) is a valuable window into crustal architecture and chemical composition of the lithosphere beneath a slow-spreading ocean ridge. A suite of > 30 samples (comprised of whole rocks, mineral separates and basalt glasses) has been analyzed for ��He/���He isotope ratios and He concentrations. Gas extraction experiments included crushing in vacuum, step heating and fusion in a high-vacuum furnace. We found ��He/���He in the two freshest peridotites (harzburgite and olivine websterite) to be identical to ratios measured in basalt glasses collected from the Kane fracture zone-ridge axis intersection (8.4���8.7 R[subscript A]). Notably, the freshest and least deformed peridotite (a porphyroclastic harzburgite) has the highest helium content of any of the OCC ultramafic rocks (170 ncc STP/g), while the majority of its helium (70%) is released only upon melting. Lower helium contents (1-45 ncc STP/g) and more variable ��He/���He (2.0-6.3 R[subscript A]) are found in other more altered/deformed peridotite samples (whole rocks, clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene separates). For example, three mylonitized peridotites have lower helium contents compared to the less deformed peridotites. Troctolite intrusions from the Adam and Eve Domes appear to record very late-stage melt impregnation fed through dunite conduits near the MOHO. ��He/���He in these troctolites overlaps with values in the fresh peridotites and axial basalts, but extends to slightly higher values (8.6-9.0 RA). Collectively, fresh Kane peridotites and troctolites having He concentrations above 10 ncc STP/g show ��He/���He ratios of 8.4-9.0 RA that are higher than the median value (8.0-8.2 R[subscript A]) for mid-ocean ridge basalts. This suggests that domains of depleted upper mantle in the Kane region tend to have ��He/���He ratios of 9 RA or higher, similar to what is observed in the most trace-element depleted MORBs globally. Kane gabbroic rocks are more variable in 3He/���He. A subset of gabbros show systematically lower ��He/4He ratios (0.9-7.2 R[subscript A]), with He concentrations of 1-24 ncc STP/g, reflecting the increased importance of atmospheric and radiogenic components in several cases. Nonetheless, two whole rock gabbroic samples plus an amphibole separate have ��He/���He ratios of 7.6-8.0 R[subscript A] and He contents between 13 and 57 ncc STP/g. Variation in the sampling of a lithologically heterogeneous mantle source by the partial melting process may account for the observed ��He/���He variability of 7.6-9.0 R[subscript A] in peridotite, gabbro and basalt in the Kane area. / Graduation date: 2013

Changes in milk fat composition influence its nutritional quality as well as the technological properties of butter. The impact of feed on fat composition is well known; however, limited information is available on the genetic variability of fatty acids in bovine milk. The overall aim of this PhD thesis was to study the genetic variability of fatty acid profile in bovine milk and fat. This type of research needs a large amount of data. Expensive reference analysis is used to measure the fatty acid contents in fat. The first objective of this thesis was to develop an alternative method that could be faster and cheaper than traditional methods. Calibration equations predicting the contents of fatty acid from mid-infrared spectrum were established. The contents of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, omega-9, fatty acids with short, medium and long chain were the best predicted. Thanks to the implementation of this method in the Walloon routine milk recording, more than 20,000 milk samples were analyzed. This database permitted to model the variation of fatty acid contents in milk and fat. From these models, the genetic variability of fatty acid profile was shown. The complexity of models increased throughout this project due to the increase of new available data. Differences across 7 dairy breeds were estimated using single and multi-trait mixed models. Milk fat and delta-9 desaturase activity of Jersey and dual purpose Belgian Blue differed significantly from Holsteins. Therefore, the choice of a given breed could modify the fat composition. Heritability values obtained for studied fatty acids with multi-trait mixed model ranged from 0.05 to 0.42. Higher values were observed for saturated compared to unsaturated fatty acids. Moderate heritability estimates were observed for the activity of delta-9 desaturase (0.20) and the hardness of butter (0.27). These two traits were estimated by specific fatty acid ratios. The heritability observed using a multi-trait random regressions test day model for the content of saturated fatty acids (0.42) was similar to the one observed for the percentage of fat (0.37). Considering the impact of selection on fat content, the selection could have a great impact on fat composition. High genetic correlations were observed between some fatty acids having similarities in their synthesis. Heritability and correlations varied through the duration of the lactation. Due to the large number of fatty acids, the estimation of an index, which includes the proper fatty acid profile, could be interesting for a future selection program. This PhD thesis provides the background required by future studies to estimate the impact of animal selection on milk fat composition.