Fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) are key elements in modern telecommunication and sensing applications. In optical communication, with the advancement of the Erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA), there is a great demand for devices with wavelength tunability over the Erbium gain bandwidth (in particular, for wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) networks). The center wavelength of a FBG can be shifted by means of change of temperature, pressure or mechanical axial strain. The axial strain approach is the best method among all other techniques because it allows relatively large wavelength shifts with high speed. Axial strain of up to 4% will be required to cover the whole EDFA region (more than 40 nm of central wavelength shift). The formation of Bragg grating results in significant reduction in mechanical strength of optical fibers especially in tension. As a result, axial strain of only about 1% can be achieved by mechanical stretching of FBGs. In order to achieve the remaining 3% strain compression of FBGs has to be applied. In this thesis, the design and analysis of a novel device for achieving central wavelength shift are presented. In particular, the device has achieved, for a fiber with 12 mm FBG, a shifting of 46 nm in compression and 10.5 nm in tension with a reflection power loss of less than 0.25 dB and a FWHM bandwidth variation of approximately 0.1 nm. Both variations are well below the Bellcore standards requirement of 0.5 dB for peak reflectivity variation and 0.1 nm for bandwidth variation. The device consists of two fixed and one guiding ferrules. The difficulties associated with compressing the FBG were handled by carefully selecting tolerances and adjustment procedures. The device allows both tension and compression of FBGs, and the use of different FBG lengths and actuators. The effects of glue deformation and bending of the FBG during compression were analyzed in detail. Further, using the piezoelectric transducer (PZT) actuator as a driver, tuning speed of around 1.5nm/ms was achieved.

Fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) are key elements in modern telecommunication and sensing applications. In optical communication, with the advancement of the Erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA), there is a great demand for devices with wavelength tunability over the Erbium gain bandwidth (in particular, for wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) networks). The center wavelength of a FBG can be shifted by means of change of temperature, pressure or mechanical axial strain. The axial strain approach is the best method among all other techniques because it allows relatively large wavelength shifts with high speed. Axial strain of up to 4% will be required to cover the whole EDFA region (more than 40 nm of central wavelength shift). The formation of Bragg grating results in significant reduction in mechanical strength of optical fibers especially in tension. As a result, axial strain of only about 1% can be achieved by mechanical stretching of FBGs. In order to achieve the remaining 3% strain compression of FBGs has to be applied. In this thesis, the design and analysis of a novel device for achieving central wavelength shift are presented. In particular, the device has achieved, for a fiber with 12 mm FBG, a shifting of 46 nm in compression and 10.5 nm in tension with a reflection power loss of less than 0.25 dB and a FWHM bandwidth variation of approximately 0.1 nm. Both variations are well below the Bellcore standards requirement of 0.5 dB for peak reflectivity variation and 0.1 nm for bandwidth variation. The device consists of two fixed and one guiding ferrules. The difficulties associated with compressing the FBG were handled by carefully selecting tolerances and adjustment procedures. The device allows both tension and compression of FBGs, and the use of different FBG lengths and actuators. The effects of glue deformation and bending of the FBG during compression were analyzed in detail. Further, using the piezoelectric transducer (PZT) actuator as a driver, tuning speed of around 1.5nm/ms was achieved.

Tidigare forskning visar på ett positivt samband mellan styrketräning och löpekonomi. I föreliggande studie undersöktes effekten av djupa explosiva knäböjningar på löpekonomin hos långdistanslöpare. I studien deltog elva deltagare varav sex i interventionsgruppen och fem i kontrollgruppen. Styrketräningen skulle vara tidseffektivt, max 20 min och då enbart en övning. Basövningen knäböjning med stången bakom nacken valdes. Huvuddelen av all knäböjsträning under en åtta veckors period, utfördes med en belastning på 60% av 1RM 2-6 rep i 2-6 set och då med fokus hög hastighet i både den excentriska och koncentriska fasen samt ca 1 min vila mellan seten. Efter avslutad träningsperiod sågs signifikant förbättring vad gäller maxstyrka, 1RM och maximal Power. Samtliga deltagare i interventionsgruppen fick en positiv styrkeökning med ett snitt på 14,5%. Studien visar även en tendens till förbättrad löpekonomi hos interventionsgruppen. / Previous research shows a positive link between strength training and running economics. In the present study, the effect of deep power squats on the running economics of long distance runners was investigated. The study included eleven participants, six were in the intervention group and five in the control group. The strength training would be time efficient, max 20 min and then only one exercise. We chose the basic exercise squats with the barbell behind the neck. The majority of all squats exercises during a period eight week with a load of 60% of 1RM 2-6 reps in 2-6 sets and then focused high speed in both the eccentric and concentric phase and about 1 min rest between the sets. At the end of the training period, we could see a significant improvement in maximal 1RM and maximum Power. All participants in the intervention group received a positive increase in strength, with an average of 14.5%. The study also shows a tendency for improved running economics in the intervention group.

Plyometric training has always been a topic of interest in terms of sport perfor-mance enhancement and development. The most relevant and up-to-date data has been reviewed to try to answer the question “what kind of plyometric training to use” to improve ones’ performance. The present study demonstrates the use of re-active strength index (RSI) and force-velocity profiling. In the text there is also a presentations of common jumping tests that help practitioners to establish a profile of an athlete. Main findings of this study are: general strength should be developed alongside reactive strength qualities, plyometric training optimized and guided by RSI is highly effective in improving reactive strength ability, demands of a sport determine the manner in which plyometric exercises should be performed, RSI can be used as a representation of neuromuscular fatigue, force-velocity (F-v) approach may help improve the training practice for performance in explosive push-off ac-tions like jumping, through a more efficient monitoring and understanding of the individual determinants of athletic performance, showing the sensitivity of the F-v profile to specific training programs can result in either maximal force or velocity capabilities improvements (determination of F-v imbalances or FVimb) – which is termed “optimized training” and it has been found that an optimized and individu-alized training program specifically addressing the FVimb is more efficient for im-proving jumping performance than traditional resistance training.

The thesis works with the fact that communication on social network sites, particularly on Twitter, occurs in short text messages, tweets, which are restricted to the maximum of 140 characters. This leads to the tendency to shorten single and multiword expressions in order to save space and increase the content of sent information. The thesis examines the hypothesis that the number of shortenings on Twitter and their variation may function as a stylistic indicator of tweet genre. It is expected (i) that the number of shortenings in the Twitter sample will be higher compared to other genres and (ii) that the sample will contain more types of shortening, some of which will be characteristic for the tweet genre in general in comparison with the control sample. The research sample of 200 shortenings was collected from two Twitter trends, #Grenfell Tower and #Wimbledon. In the analysis part, the collected sample of shortenings is examined quantitatively, compared to the control sample and separately, interpreted qualitatively. The Appendix contains the complete table listing the meanings of all shortenings. Key words: Twitter, shortening, stylistics, internet linguistics, language of social media

When person decides on life-shortening action he compares value of current and future life with costs and benefits of this action that can be simply divided into four categories, psychological, financial, religious and altruistic. The main issue of the paper is what is the role of altruism in decision making. Decision making model used in this article is based on the model of Becker and Posner, but is modified to include all preventive and risk factors, respectively, costs and revenues. This model is interpreted for types of life-shortenitng actions, which are then compared with each other. From this comparison it follows that the altruism has in decision making rather greater relative weight.

A comparison of the ability of different spatial filters to reduce the amount of crosstalk in a surface electromyography (sEMG) measurement was conducted. It focused on the influence of different properties of the muscle anatomy and detection system used on the amount of crosstalk present in the measurements. An analytical model was developed which enabled the simulation of single fibre action potentials (SFAPs). These fibres were grouped together in motor units (MUs). Each MU has characteristics which, along with the SFAPs, are used to obtain the motor unit action potential (MUAP). A summation of the MUAPs from all the MUs in a muscle leads to the electromyogram (EMG) signal generated by the muscle. This is the first model which simulates a complete muscle for crosstalk investigation. Previous studies were done for single fibres (Farina&Rainoldi 1999; Farina et al. 2002e; Farina et al. 2004a) or MUs (Dimitrova et al. 2002; Dimitrov et al. 2003; Winter et al. 1994). Lowery et al. simulated a complete muscle, but only investigated one spatial filter (Lowery et al. 2003a). This model is thus the first of its kind. EMG signals were generated for limbs with different anatomical properties and recorded with various detection systems. The parameters used for comparison of the recorded signals are the average rectified value (ARV) and mean frequency (MNF), which describe the amplitude and frequency components of an EMG signal, respectively. These parameters were computed for each EMG signal and interpreted to make recommendations on which detection system results in the best crosstalk rejection for a specific experimental set-up. The conclusion is that crosstalk selectivity in an sEMG measurement is decreased by increasing the thickness of the fat layer, increasing the skin conductivity, decreasing the fibre length, increasing the interelectrode distance of the detection system, placing the detection electrodes directly above the end-plate area or an increased state of muscle contraction. Varying the contraction force strength or placing the detection electrodes directly above the tendon area has no influence on the crosstalk selectivity. For most of the conditions investigated, the normal double differential (NDD) detection system results in the best crosstalk reduction. The only exceptions are a set-up with poor skin conductivity where NDD and double differential (DD) performed comparably, and the two simulations in which the muscle length is varied, where the DD filter performed best. Previous studies have found DD to be more selective for crosstalk rejection than NDD (Dimitrov et al. 2003; Farina et al. 2002a; Van Vlugt&Van Dijk 2000). Possible reasons for the contradictory results are the high value of skin conductivity currently used or influences of the muscle geometry. / Dissertation (MEng(Bio-Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / unrestricted

Los pimientos, chiles y ajíes suponen uno de los productos de mayor importancia económica del mundo, ocupando la séptima posición en superficie entre las hortícolas. Bajo estas denominaciones se engloba un grupo de cinco especies cultivadas y más de veinte especies silvestres pertenecientes al género Capsicum. Entre las especies domesticadas, C. annuum es la más relevante económicamente y su cultivo se extiende por casi todo el mundo. C. chinense (Ej. Tipo Habanero) y C. frutescens (Ej. Tipo Tabasco) son filogenéticamente cercanos a C. annuum y los tres conforman el complejo annuum-frutescens-chinense. Las otras dos especies, menos conocidas son C. baccatum (Ej. Tipo Ají) y C. pubescens (Ej. Tipo Rocoto), siendo esta última la más alejada filogenéticamente del resto de las especies domesticadas. Dada la compleja cruzabilidad que presentan estas especies, la mejora del pimiento común (C. annuum) se ha restringido principalmente al germoplasma primario (intraespecie). Sin embargo, en diferentes estudios de cribado en especies relacionadas -germoplasma secundario- como C. chinense, C. frutescens y C. baccatum se han encontrado diversos genes de interés para estreses bióticos (resistencia a plagas y enfermedades) y abióticos (tolerancia a salinidad, estrés hídrico). Así, el desarrollo de estudios dirigidos a mejorar la eficiencia de la hibridación interespecífica, tales como determinar y superar barreras a la hibridación, aumentan en gran medida la variabilidad genética disponible para los mejoradores. Por otra parte, los principales métodos de mejora en pimiento (autofecundación, retrocruces, selección recurrente) requieren sucesivas generaciones de selección y fecundación (retrocruzamientos y/o autofecundaciones), requiriendo entre 7 y 8 años (asumiendo una generación por año) para desarrollar una nueva variedad. Así, estudiar y optimizar técnicas tales como el cultivo in vitro de embriones inmaduros, evitarían la espera de la maduración del fruto, lo que podría reducir el tiempo generacional y aceleraría el programa de mejora, reduciendo los costos para las empresas productoras de semillas. / Manzur Poblete, JPA. (2014). Técnicas y estrategias de mejora para facilitar la hibridación interespecífica y el acortamiento del ciclo generacional en el género Capsicum [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/37197 / TESIS

Die Anwendung von Beinlängentests spielt in der Chiropraktik als auch in der manuellen Medizin eine große Rolle. In den meisten Fällen ist beschrieben, dass Beinlängendifferenzen durch Subluxationen im Beckengürtel entstehen (Ausnahmen werden in Punkt 5.4 dargelegt). Diese These zu überprüfen und mit eigenen Erfahrungen abzugleichen, ist dem Autor schon seit geraumer Zeit ein Anliegen. Es ist auch zu klären, welche Art der Beckensubluxation zur Beinlängendifferenz (BLD) führt. Die Voraussetzungen für diese Untersuchung sind in der eigenen Praxis des Autors, im Haus der Chiropraktik gegeben, da alle Patienten ausschließlich nach Vorlage von Röntgenbildern behandelt werden. Diese werden in dem dafür entwickelten Programm X-Ray Solution vermessen und gespeichert. In der Sacro Occipital Technik (SOT) von Dr. M. B. DeJarnette DC, der Aktivator Technik, als auch der Thompson Terminal Point Technik (TTPT) wird auf der Seite des kurzen Beines von einem PI oder Ex Ilium ausgegangen. Als PI Ilium wird eine Beckenverschiebung nach posterior und inferior beschrieben. Referenzpunkt dafür ist die Spina iliaca posterior superior (SIPS). Verschiebt sich diese nach extern, so wird diese Subluxation als Ex Ilium bezeichnet. Je nach Technik werden aber vorher die Halswirbelsäule als Verursacher sowie eine bestimmte Art von Knie- und Fuß-Subluxationspattern ausgeschlossen.

Orientador: Roberto de Oliveira Roça / Resumo: Esse estudo objetivou avaliar a eficiência de estímulos elétricos com tensões crescentes durante a estimulação de meias carcaças no final do abate na qualidade do contrafilé até 28 dias de maturação. Metade das meias carcaças esquerdas de 40 novilhos Nelore (Bos taurus indicus), não castrados, com predomínio de cobertura de gordura mediana, foram submetidas ao Protocolo A (20, 40, 60 e 80 VRMS) e a outra metade foi submetida ao Protocolo B (50 VRMS). Ambos os protocolos com 12,5 Hz durante 52 segundos. As respectivas meias carcaças direitas não foram estimuladas (Controle A e Controle B). O pH e a temperatura das meias carcaças foram monitorados durante as 40 horas de resfriamento (1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24 e 40 horas) e os respectivos contrafilés foram maturados por 2, 7, 14, 21 e 28 dias post-mortem. As duas combinações de estimulação elétrica de média voltagem aceleraram a taxa de declínio do pH (refletido na temperatura e no tempo que o pH cai para 6), resultando em valores médios para força de cisalhamento de 4,66 kgf pra o Protocolo A e 4,62 kg para o Protocolo B com diferença entre seus controles os quais apresentaram 5,36 kg e 5,29 kg respectivamente, mantendo essa característica durante a maturação. O comprimento dos sarcômeros não foi diferente (P>0,05) entre os protocolos e seus controles. O uso da estimulação elétrica com tensões crescentes não resultou em melhores características qualitativas da carne em relação a estimulação elétrica de tensão contínua. A força da esti... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This study was aimed to evaluate the efficiency of electrical stimulation with increasing voltage during the stimulation of bovine half carcasses on the quality of 28 days aged strip loins. Half of the left half carcasses from 40 Nellore steers (Bos taurus indicus), intact, from the same feedlot, with median fat coverage, were submitted to Protocol A (20, 40, 60 and 80 VRMS) and the other half to Protocol B (50 VRMS). Both protocols with 12.5 Hz for 52 seconds. The respective right half carcasses were not stimulated (Control A and Control B). The pH and temperature were monitored during 40 hours of cooling (1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24 and 40 hours) and the strip loins were aged for 2, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days post-mortem. Both combinations of medium voltage electrical stimulation accelerated the pH decline rate (reflected in temperature and the time that pH drop to 6), resulting in lower values for shear force 4.66 kgf for Protocol A, and 4.62 for Protocol B, with 5.36 kgf and 5,29 kgf for its respectively controls, maintaining this characteristic during aging time. The length of the sarcomere was not different (P>0.05) between the protocols and their controls. The use of an electrical stimulation with increasing tensions did not result in better qualitative characteristics of the meat in comparison to the continuous tension electrical stimulation. The strength of the electrical stimulation, the visual contractions, and the pH difference area (∆pH) did not have a proportional effect on ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre