Turbulence is a major factor limiting the achievement of better tokamak performance as it enhances the transport of particles, momentum and heat which hinders the foremost objective of tokamaks. Hence, understanding and possibly being able to control turbulence in tokamaks is of paramount importance, not to mention our intellectual curiosity of it. We take the first step by making measurements of turbulence using the 2D ($8$ radial $imes$ $4$ poloidal channels) beam emission spectroscopy (BES) system on the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST). Measured raw data are statistically processed, generating spatio-temporal correlation functions to obtain the physical characteristics of the turbulence such as spatial and temporal correlation lengths as well as its motion. The reliability of statistical techniques employed in this work is examined by generating and utilizing synthetic 2D BES data. The apparent poloidal velocity of fluctuating density patterns is estimated using the cross-correlation time delay method. The experimental results indicate that the poloidal motion of fluctuating density patterns in the lab frame arises because the patterns are advected by the strong toroidal plasma flows while the patterns are aligned with the background magnetic fields which are not parallel to the flows. Furthermore, various time scales associated with the turbulence are calculated using statistically estimated spatial correlation lengths and correlation times of turbulence. We find that turbulence correlation time, the drift time associated with ion temperature or density gradients, the ion streaming time along the magnetic field line and the magnetic drift time are comparable and possibly scale together suggesting that the turbulence, determined by the local equilibrium, is critically balanced. Finally, we argue that we have produced a critical manifold in the experimentally obtained local equilibrium parameter space separating dominant turbulent transport from a non-turbulent or weakly turbulent state. It shows that the inverse ion-temperature-gradient scale length is correlated inversely with $q/arepsilon$ (safety factor/inverse aspect ratio) and positively with the plasma rotational shear. Practically, this means that we can attain the stiffer ion-temperature-gradient, thus hotter plasma core, without increasing the rotational shear.

This thesis investigated whether different textured surfaces have a role to play in changing balance performance in healthy young and older adults. A review of the literature showed that balance may be improved by standing on surfaces, or wearing foot insoles, with texture compared to those that are smooth, possibly by providing enhanced plantar tactile stimulation. It also showed that textured footwear interventions can influence lower limb muscle activity during functional activities. However, some major gaps in current literature were identified. There was limited evidence relating to the effect of texture in older adults: a population known to show poor balance and at high risk of falling. The importance of the geometric textured pattern in changing balance had not been investigated. It was also unclear whether textured interventions altered lower limb muscle activity, as a component of sensorimotor function of balance control. The purpose of this thesis was to address these important areas of research and contribute novel evidence to the field. In two separate studies, 24 young and 50 older healthy adults conducted tests of bilateral quiet standing with eyes open and closed on two different textured surfaces and a smooth surface as control. Centre of pressure based sway variables were extracted from a force platform and lower limb muscle activity was collected using surface electromyography, over 30 seconds. Textured surfaces did not significantly alter sway variables or lower limb muscle activity in healthy young adults. Closer observation of the data tentatively suggested texture may have the capacity to alter anterior-posterior sway and centre of pressure velocity in young adults. These findings supported the aims of this thesis to explore the possibility of a textured effect in people with poor balance ability: older adults. Textured surfaces significantly changed mediolateral sway range and centre of pressure velocity in healthy older adults, in the absence of visual information. No significant changes were observed for lower limb muscle activity, between the textured conditions. Exploratory sub-group analysis for gender generated speculative data suggesting the effect of texture on balance and muscle activity may be more marked in older females. Evidence from both studies suggests that relative to control, the two textured conditions have opposite effects on postural sway. There may be an optimal textured pattern which could be therapeutically beneficial for enhancing balance performance in healthy and pathological groups. Further investigation is required.

During late adolescence and the transition to college, students often experience weight increases and significant lifestyle changes including the adoption of unhealthy eating habits and decreased physical activity levels. To address this concern, a science-based, interactive course, designed from a framework of behavioral theories was developed to target improvements in energy balance knowledge and determinants of dietary and physical activity behaviors. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of this course using a comparison group pre-test/post-test design. Thirty-three undergraduate students, ages 18-25, participated in the course, while twenty-six students served as controls. Paired samples t-tests compared pre- to post- responses to knowledge assessments and self-perception surveys. Independent samples t-tests compared mean changes between the intervention and control group. Course evaluations were reviewed to determine to what degree behavioral strategies were perceived to influence student motivation to eat a healthy diet and engage in the recommended amount of physical activity. Significant increases were observed in energy balance knowledge (P < .001) and perceived behavioral control (P = .004) towards eating a healthy diet in the intervention group when compared to the control group. Diet and physical activity recalls and analyses were perceived by students to have the greatest influence on their motivation/ability to engage in the targeted behaviors. We conclude that an online, interactive, science-based energy balance course developed from behavioral theories can be effective at improving energy balance knowledge and dietary perceived behavioral control in a college population.

Understanding water balances is essential for sustainable water resource management, especially in semi-arid basement complex areas where there are large demands for water supplies, but the complex hydrogeological conditions limit groundwater development. This research presents an approach for water balance estimation based on the conceptual and computational modelling of six major landscape unit’s which have been classified on the basis of their differing hydrological responses. Detailed conceptual models of the hydrological processes operating in each of the different landscapes in a catchment and the processes that control water movement between the different landscapes are developed based on data analysis, fieldwork and literature. Two computational models (the WaSim soil water balance model and a new water balance model for bare rock) are used to estimate the daily water balance of each of the landscape units taking cognisance of their interconnectivity which includes runoff becoming run-on. Water balance simulations were run for the individual landscapes using input data from the semi-arid Sokoto Basin in Northwest Nigeria, and outputs for representative wet and dry years are used to demonstrate the reliability of model responses. The individual landscapes outputs were subsequently integrated, taking account of their area weighted contributions, to give a catchment-scale water balance which compares favourably with the observed river discharge at Fokku. The catchment water balance results reveal that AET accounts for the largest loss in the catchment at 72 % of the average rainfall for 37 years. This is followed by the groundwater flow to rivers, then runoff to rivers, representing 16% and 11 % of the average rainfall. This research has provided valuable insights into hydrological behaviour of the basement complex system and the effect of landscape variability on the water balance of these areas. The research suggested a rational approach to groundwater resource management in the basement complex areas that takes cognizance of the hydrological behaviour of different landscape units, focussing on areas with deep weathered material within the catchment identified in this research. The research specifically stresses the need to apply methods of water conservation during excess rainfall for future use in the dry season.

The Iraq ‘Chilcot’ Inquiry is the last in a string of public inquiries tasked with understanding how the British state went to war with Iraq. In so doing, the inquiries have become defined by the problem of striking a balance between publicity and secrecy. While exposing foreign policy decision-making to public scrutiny should be the norm in a liberal democracy, this must be balanced by state secrecy, which is justified in exceptional circumstances when there is a threat to national security. Striking the right balance acts to maintain and legitimise a distinction between liberal and illiberal regimes by justifying exceptions as the mitigation of existential threats to liberal values. In contrast to the balance metaphor, this thesis shows how the inquiries are a site of contestation between two technologies of government: the public gaze and official secrecy. Drawing on Foucault, I demonstrate how both technologies support the liberal ‘security dispositif’: the exercise of freedom without too little or too much government. Each technology secures this liberal governmentality in a different but mutually supportive way. The public gaze seeks constitutes security of the liberal subject by exposing, criticising and disciplining statesmen and statecraft. Official secrecy, meanwhile, constitutes security of the state by protecting the value of privileged information used to support a necessary minimum of government. In this context, the balance metaphor may be recognized as the discursive framework that, in any moment, legitimises either the exercise of publicity in response to insecurity engendered by secrecy or vice versa. The balance metaphor thereby supports a further distinction between the responsible liberal self and the illiberal other. I show how the Iraq Inquiry legitimizes British official secrecy while re-inscribing the conditions of possibility for waging liberal war.

The purpose of the current research was to examine how a novel balance task is learnt by individuals with a mature neurological system, and to investigate the responses of experienced hand balancers to mechanical and sensory perturbations. Balance in each posture was assessed by various techniques, including: traditional measures of centre of pressure, nonlinear time series analysis of centre of pressure, estimates of feedback time delay from cross correlations and delayed regression models, and calculation of small, medium, and large movement corrections. Data from this study suggests that the best balance metric for distinguishing between each of the balance conditions was the traditional balance measure of sway velocity. However, sway velocity cannot provide any further information on the underlying process of balance. Nonlinear measures of balance offer insight into the underlying deterministic processes that control balance, offering measures of system determinism, complexity, and predictability. Assessments of feedback time delay and movement corrections provide both an insight into the control of posture and help distinguish one condition from another. Both feedback time delay and movement corrections and magnitudes may be used simultaneously to delve further into the control of posture. Delayed regression models seem to be an appropriate and useful tool for estimating feedback time delays during balance. Findings support the use of the third term in the adapted regression model as a means of estimating the effect of passive stiffness on feedback time delay. Generally, with increased duration in handstand subjects displayed reduced sway as measured by traditional measures of balance. A more marked change in nonlinear measures of balance can be seen, with quicker reductions in variance for some nonlinear measures of balance than in the traditional measures. It may be that more pronounced changes in nonlinear measures represent changes in the subjects underlying process of postural control, whereas less pronounced changes in traditional measures relate more to their general ability or performance in the balance task.

In this days the osteoporosis is getting to the centre of interest because of its increasing. It is the worldwide problem. Physical activity is one of the main factors affecting the course of disease. Suitable physical activity is possible to reduce a risk of falls, fractures with following, frequently fatal complications. Finding the ma in problems lowering balance ability of endangered population groups and subsequently targeted physical program it possible to include in preventive program of safety locomotion and give support to enhance quality of life for endangered persons. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the fluid balance of polytrauma patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit at the University Hospital in Hradec Kralove. Very little knowledge about this issue can be found; therefore we tried to clarify how the body responds to trauma and whether it is possible to influence the further course of the disease by controlling the amount of administered fluid. The study included 13 patients, 12 men and 1 woman with different length of hospitalization. The examination of the patients was carried out by the bioelectrical impedance analysis of the body composition which is able to determine the proportion of individual body components (water, muscle mass, fat). All the patients were examined twice, each after a different time period. Other data were collected from medical documentation related to fluid balance and laboratory results. After assessing the results we discovered differences in the measured values in the first and second test. While during the first examination no statistical correlation between the distribution of the fluids in the body and the intake and output was found, the second examination showed a statistically significant relationship between the fluid intake and subsequent body composition (fluid overload, total body water, extra and...

1 Abstract Title: The effect of running with a load on postural stability. Objectives: The establishment of changes in postural stability after a 3 km maximum effort run with a 15 kg load. Research sample: The tested subject group was constitued by seven soldiers of the Army of The Czech Republic at the average age of 25,6 ± 2,1 years who are students of the Military specialization at the Faculty of sport and physical education of The Charles University. Methods: This master's thesis was drawn up as a observational study of theoretic empiric character, realised through intraindividual comparative analysis on a group of 7 subjects. Postural stability was examined with RS Footscan forceplate and clinical balance test U.S. Military Academy Stance Test. The run was realised on a treadmill, without and with a load. For statistical analysis nonparametric statistic tests of significance were used. Results: The results of relations between postural control changes and 3km run with a load of 15 kg display a deterioration of postural stability tested after the run. The extend of deterioration of postural stability after 3-km run with a load within tested group is similar to one after 3-km run of analogous intensity. Key words: run, load, postural stability, balance

Par le passé la Bretagne a connu des épisodes de sécheresses très intenses. Peu communs pour des régions caractérisées par un climat océanique, ils ont eu des conséquences notables à l'échelle du territoire. De nombreuses activités socio-économiques sont ainsi apparues vulnérables face à ces évènements. Durant la sécheresse de 1976, l'agriculture fut particulièrement touchée, avec des pertes de récoltes importantes. La sécheresse est donc un risque important à l'échelle du territoire breton. Or, le changement du climat observé depuis plusieurs décennies amène des doutes quant à l'évolution des sécheresses en termes de fréquence et d'intensité. Cette thèse propose ainsi une analyse des caractéristiques des épisodes secs en Bretagne selon trois scénarios SRES du GIEC : B1, A1B et A2. Les sorties climatiques désagrégées utilisées ont été comparées, dans un premier temps, aux observations, afin de s'assurer de l'adaptabilité des jeux de données pour une analyse de ce type. Pour chacun des scénarios deux types de bilans hydriques ont été calculés. Ils permettent d'obtenir des valeurs de déficit d'évaporation, paramètre illustrant l'intensité des sécheresses, ainsi que des valeurs de réserve hydrique qui mettent en évidence les périodes d'assèchement et de recharge des sols. Les premiers bilans hydriques, de résolution de 8 km et au pas de temps mensuel, proposent une vision générale sur le comportement hydrique des sols bretons. Les seconds, de résolution kilométrique et au pas de temps journalier, apportent plus de précision quant aux secteurs vulnérables et à l'intensité probable des épisodes secs. On peut ainsi voir que des sécheresses exceptionnelles, similaires à celle de 1976, seraient régulièrement observées à la fin du 21ème siècle d'après le scénario A2. La comparaison avec un indice de sécheresse utilisé par Météo-France confirme les tendances régionales attendues au 21ème siècle d'après les trois scénarios SRES. Une approche agronomique est également proposée dans cette thèse afin d'apprécier les impacts de différentes types de culture sur la réserve hydrique des sols / Several extreme droughts occurred in Brittany during the past. Although they are rare in this oceanic region, their impacts are noticeable on the territory. Several socio-economical activities thus appeared to be vulnerable to dryness. In 1976, agriculture has been highly impacted during the drought, with important harvest loss. Droughts are therefore a significant hazard in Brittany. However, the changing climate observed for several decades raises issues on the way drought events might evolve in terms of frequency and intensity. This thesis offers an analysis of drought's characteristics in Brittany according to three IPCC's SRES scenarios : B1, A1B and A2. At first, disaggregated climate outputs have been compared to observed data to make sure of their suitability for this kind of study. For each scenario, two soil water balances have been calculated in order to get values of evaporation deficit, quantifying drought intensity, and of water storage, illustrating periods of emptying and filling of soils. Soil water balances calculated at a 8-km spatial resolution and monthly timescale displayed a general view of water content in Britannic's soils. Soil water balances calculated at a higher spatial resolution (1 km) and daily timescale brought more details than previous results in terms of intensity and localization of droughts. They revealed that droughts of similar intensity than that of 1976 might occur regularly at the end of the 21st century according to the A2 scenario. These results are confirmed by another drought index used by Météo-France. An agronomic approach is also developed in this thesis in order to reveal impacts of farming on soil water content