Hokkaido University (北海道大学) / 博士 / 医学

<p>Syftet med studien var att beskriva ambulanspersonalens självskattning/upplevelse av smärta i rygg, leder och muskler samt sömn, vila och återhämtning. Ytterligare ett syfte var att undersöka om det finns några skillnader i nämnda besvär relaterat till kön och yrkeskategori. Data samlades in med enkäter och personal vid fyra ambulansstationer i Mellansverige deltog i studien. Sammanlagt delades 110 enkäter ut och 89 enkäter besvarades (svarsfrekvens 81 %). Resultatet avseende själskattad smärta visade att 53 personer (59,6 %) uppgav att de hade haft ländryggsbesvär de senaste 12 månaderna. Trettionio personer (43,6 %) uppgav nacksmärta de senaste12 månaderna. Tjugonio personer (32,6 %) uppgav skuldra/axelsmärta. Resultatet visade ingen statistisk signifikant skillnad mellan kön och yrkeskategorier. Resultatet avseende sömn visade att 72 personer (81 %) upplevde att de sov ganska bra till mycket bra. Cirka hälften av de 89 deltagarna 53 % uppgav att de kunde återhämta sig efter varje arbetspass och under lediga perioder uppgav 49 personer (55 %) att de kunde återhämta sig i stort sett varje period. Resultatet visade ingen statistisk signifikant skillnad mellan kön eller yrkeskategorier när det gällde smärt – och sömnbesvär.</p><p>Slutsats: För att förbättra arbetsmiljön för ambulanspersonal bör åtgärder inriktas mot belastningsergonomiska faktorer i arbetet.</p> / <p>The purpose of the study was to describe the ambulance personnel’s self-assessment/experiences of pain in the back, joints and muscles as well as sleep, rest and recovery. A further aim was to investigate whether there are any differences in the problems related to gender and profession. Data were collected with questionnaires, and personnel at four ambulance stations in central Sweden participated in the study. A total of 110 questionnaires were distributed, and the overall response rate was 81 %. The results for soul-rated pain showed that 53 persons (59, 6 %) reported low back pain in the last 12 months. Thirty-nine persons (43, 6 %) reported neck pain the past 12 months. Twenty-nine persons (32, 6 %) reported shoulder/shoulder pain. The results show no statistically significant difference between gender and occupational categories. The results showed that 72 persons (81 %) experience that they slept pretty good to very good. Approximately half of the 89 participants, 53 % reported they could recover after each session and during her free period reported 49 persons (55 %) experience that they could recover almost every period. The results show no statistically significant difference between gender or occupational categories regarding.</p><p>Conclusion: To improve the work environment for ambulance personnel, measures should be focused on load and strain ergonomic factors.</p>

<p>Syfte: Syftet är att med hjälp av två projektutvärderingsmodellerna studera två olika projekt och se hur dessa fungerar i praktiken samt komma fram till vilka beståndsdelar en adekvat samt välfungerande projektutvärdering bör innehålla.</p><p>Metod: Jag har valt en kvalitativ metodansats där fem intervjuer har genomförts för att nå djupare förståelse för det valda ämnet. Intervjuerna har varit semistrukturerade i sitt slag då jag har använt mig av två olika utvärderingsmodeller som utgångspunkt i intervjuprocessen.</p><p>Resultat och slutsats: Det fanns vissa skillnader samt likheter mellan de två utvärderingsmodellerna vilka jag har redogjort för och därefter har jag tydliggjort de delar som jag anser att en utvärderingsmodell bör bestå av för att fungera på ett adekvat sätt. De huvudsakliga punkter som jag kom fram till var; val av utvärderingsinriktning, tidpunkt för utvärderingsarbetet, typ av frågeställningar, utvärderingspart samt anledningen till utvärdering.</p><p>Förslag på fortsatt forskning: Det skulle vara intressant att utvärdera ett enda projekt med hjälp av båda utvärderingsmodellerna för att på ett tydligare sätt se skillnaderna mellan Reflectmetodiken och Åttapunktsprogrammet. Förslag på andra val av fortsatt forskning är en mer djupgående analys av Reflectmetodikens olika fokusområden samt deras placeringar och viktningar på Reflectus positioneringskarta.</p><p>Uppsatsens bidrag: Jag hoppas att min studie kan bidra till en ökad förståelse för begreppet projektutvärdering samt framhäva vikten av denna process och dessutom bidra till fortsatt forskning inom mitt valda ämne.</p>

This thesis is on quantum algorithms. It has three main themes: (1) quantum walk based search algorithms, (2) quantum rejection sampling, and (3) the Boolean function hidden shift problem. The first two parts deal with generic techniques for constructing quantum algorithms, and the last part is on quantum algorithms for a specific algebraic problem. In the first part of this thesis we show how certain types of random walk search algorithms can be transformed into quantum algorithms that search quadratically faster. More formally, given a random walk on a graph with an unknown set of marked vertices, we construct a quantum walk that finds a marked vertex in a number of steps that is quadratically smaller than the hitting time of the random walk. The main idea of our approach is to interpolate the random walk from one that does not stop when a marked vertex is found to one that stops. The quantum equivalent of this procedure drives the initial superposition over all vertices to a superposition over marked vertices. We present an adiabatic as well as a circuit version of our algorithm, and apply it to the spatial search problem on the 2D grid. In the second part we study a quantum version of the problem of resampling one probability distribution to another. More formally, given query access to a black box that produces a coherent superposition of unknown quantum states with given amplitudes, the problem is to prepare a coherent superposition of the same states with different specified amplitudes. Our main result is a tight characterization of the number of queries needed for this transformation. By utilizing the symmetries of the problem, we prove a lower bound using a hybrid argument and semidefinite programming. For the matching upper bound we construct a quantum algorithm that generalizes the rejection sampling method first formalized by von~Neumann in~1951. We describe quantum algorithms for the linear equations problem and quantum Metropolis sampling as applications of quantum rejection sampling. In the third part we consider a hidden shift problem for Boolean functions: given oracle access to f(x+s), where f(x) is a known Boolean function, determine the hidden shift s. We construct quantum algorithms for this problem using the "pretty good measurement" and quantum rejection sampling. Both algorithms use the Fourier transform and their complexity can be expressed in terms of the Fourier spectrum of f (in particular, in the second case it relates to "water-filling" of the spectrum). We also construct algorithms for variations of this problem where the task is to verify a given shift or extract only a single bit of information about it.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Mechanical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Thesis (M.Ing. (Electrical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

The present research describes the sociolinguistic situation in the minority indigenous community of San Juan Ozelonacaxtla in the state of Puebla, Mexico. Both Ozelonacaxtla Totonac and Spanish are spoken in the speech community. However, some bilingual parents use only Spanish in the home, ceasing the transmission of their native language to their children and placing the community in the early stages of language shift. Spanish is seen as the language of opportunity in the context of recent and significant social, political, educational, and economic changes in San Juan Ozelonacaxtla. Parents claim they teach their children Spanish because it is more useful than Ozelonacaxtla Totonac, it enables their children to avoid discrimination associated with speaking an indigenous language, it is necessary for their children to do well in school, and it allows for more economic mobility. These factors are accelerating the integration of the community into majority Mexican society. / Applied Linguistics

Multiple scattering effects from bubble clouds are investigated in this study. A high performance, general purpose numerical tool for multiple scattering calculations is developed. This numerical tool is applied in three computational scenarios in this study. The total scattering cross section of a bubble cloud is investigated. Numerical results indicate that the resonant frequency of the bubble cloud is much lower than that of a single bubble. The variation of resonant frequency of multiple scattering is also studied. It is found that the resonant frequency decreases as the number of bubbles increases, or as the void fraction of the bubble cloud decreases. Phase distributions of bubble oscillations in various multiple scattering scenarios are presented. It is found that, at resonance, the bubbles synchronize to the same phase, which is indicative of the lowest mode of collective oscillation. At wave localization, half of the bubbles oscillate at phase 0 while the other half oscillate at phase Pi. An intuitive interpretation of this behavior is given.

Macroalgae are an important part of the coral reef ecosystem that has largely been overlooked. However, in the past few decades their abundances have increased and this has been attributed to combinations of coral mortality opening up space in the reef, decreased grazing and increased nutrient load in reefs. This dissertation illustrates a novel means of investigating the effect of various growth and disturbance factors on the dynamics of macroalgae at three different levels (individual, population and 3-species community). Macroalgae are modular and clonal organisms that have differing morphologies depending on the environment to which they are exposed. These traits were exploited in order to understand the factors that were acting on the dominant and common macroalgae in the Florida Reef Tract: Halimeda tuna, Halimeda opuntia and Dictyota sp. The agent-based model SPREAD (SPatially-explicit REef Algae Dynamics) was developed to incorporate the key morphogenetic characteristics of clonality and morphological plasticity. It revolves around the iteration of macroalgal module production in response to light, temperature, nutrients, and space availability, while fragmentation is the source for mortality or new individuals. These processes build the individual algae then the population. The model was parameterized through laboratory experiments, existing literature and databases and results were compared to independently collected field data from four study sites in the Florida Keys. SPREAD was run using a large range of light, temperature, nutrient and disturbance (fragmentation without survival) levels and yielded six morphological types for Halimeda tuna, and two each for Halimeda opuntia and Dictyota sp. The model morphological types that matched those measured in two inshore patch reefs (Cheeca Patch and Coral Gardens) and two offshore spur and groove reefs (Little Grecian and French Reef), were formed in conditions that were similar to the environmental (light, nutrient and disturbance) conditions in the field sites. There were also differences between species in the important factors that influenced their morphologies, wherein H. opuntia and Dictyota were more affected by disturbance than growth factors, while H. tuna morphology was affected by both. Allowing for fragmentation with survival in the model resulted in significantly higher population abundances (percent cover and density). The highest abundances were achieved under high fragment survival probabilities and a high disturbance level (but not large fragment sizes). Incorporating fragmentation with survival and simulating the variations in light, nutrients and disturbance between the inshore patch reefs and offshore spur and groove reefs in SPREAD led to comparable abundances of Halimeda in the virtual reef sites. Adding competition for space and light and epiphytism by Dictyota on the two Halimeda species suggests that it can regulate the populations of the three macroalgae. However, comparing model abundances to the field, competition may not be a strong regulating force for H. tuna in all the sites and H. opuntia in the patch reefs. H. opuntia in the offshore reefs is possibly competitively regulated. Although SPREAD was not able to capture the patterns in the population abundance of Dictyota, this points to the potential importance of other morphometrics not captured by the model, a variation in growth curves between reef habitats, or the differential contribution of sexual reproduction.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 197-204).