Salamander courtship coordinates the exchange of gametes. Plethodontids have evolved an elaborate means by which this is done. Throughout the family Plethodontidae a tail-straddling walk is performed to orchestrate the transfer of sperm. Typically this behavior is linear, however in the genus Aneides there are exceptions. In the genus Aneides there are two species that have a circular tail-straddling walk; others perform the highly conserved linear tail-straddling walk. I observed courtship in three species of Aneides and used accounts of others to discern which members possessed circular tail-straddling walk and used a phylogeny to map the courtship characters found in the courtships of the members of the tribe plethodontini. / Graduation date: 2003

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

Bakgrund: Fingersmärta är ett centralt besvär hos personer aktiva inom klättersport. Det råder idag brist på studier som beskriver förekomsten av fingersmärta hos klättrare. Syfte: Beskriva och jämföra skillnad mellan en grupp klättrare med fingersmärta och en grupp klättrare utan fingersmärta avseende olika individ- och klätterspecifika faktorer. Metod: Studien är en enkätstudie med en icke-experimentell design av tvärsnittstyp. Populationen bestod av 472 deltagare som via ett icke slumpmässigt bekvämlighetsurval fått svara på en elektronisk eller manuellt insamlad enkät. Resultat: Ingen signifikant skillnad fanns mellan de två testade grupperna avseende kön, ålder, BMI och antal aktiva år inom klättring. En signifikant skillnad fanns mellan grupperna avseende svårighetsgrad inom klättring. Konklusion: Den enda faktorn som är signifikant vid jämförelse mellan klättrare med och utan fingersmärta är avseende svårighetsgrad inom klättring. Övriga faktorer var icke signifikanta vilket inte stämmer överens med tidigare gjorda studier inom ämnet. Vidare studier kring faktorer som skulle kunna påverka fingersmärta hos klättrare efterfrågas. / Background: Finger pain is a common problem among climbers. There is currently a lack of studies regarding what could affect the incidence of finger pain in climbers. Aim: Describe and compare the difference between climbers with and without finger pain regarding individual- and climbing specific factors. Method: The study had a non-experimental design with a cross-sectional type. The population consisted of 472 participants, asked to respond to a survey through a nonrandom sample of convenience selection. Results: No significant difference was found between the two groups tested regarding gender, age, BMI and years of climbing. A significant difference was in level of difficulty when climbing. Conclusion: In this study, the only examined factor that is statistically significant is the level of difficulty when climbing. The other factors examined were not significant, wich does not correlate with previous studies in the subject. Further studies about factors that might affect finger pain in climbers is requested.

In old houses, the pipes can often be in poor conditions and require cleaning to improve air quality. There are robotic solutions to this problem but often only for large industrial pipes and not for regular pipes that you would find in your home. Pipes can often be hard to access and even harder to determine the pipe’s condition. This thesis aims to research and build a small robot that can travel through pipes, gather footage and attempt to clean them. The goal is to create a robot that can climb vertically in pipes, record video inside of the pipes and detect obstacles. After research was done a prototype was built. The prototype uses spring loaded pistons that pushes wheels against the walls of the pipes to provide friction for vertical travel. To be able to perform all these tasks, the robot uses tools that can be exchanged depending on what needs to done. The ability to turn in pipes has been ignored in this thesis due to time restrictions but could be done as future work. The resulting prototype is a robot that can steadily travel vertically through pipes, carry its own weight of 750 grams and an additional load of up to 500 grams. The robot is able to stop at pre-determined locations by measuring the distance it has travelled by using a hall-effect sensor. / I gamla hus kan ventilationsrör ofta vara i dåligt skick och vara i behov av städning eller reparation för att öka luftkvalitén. Det finns robotar som loser detta problem men de är ofta skapade för stora industriella rör och inte för rör som man hittar hemma. Rör kan ofta vara svåra att komma åt och det kan vara ännu svårare att veta vilket skick rören är i. Det här projektet ska ta fram en liten robot som kan färdas genom rör och spela in video. Om tid finns, ska den också städa upp i rören. Målet med projektet är att skapa en robot som kan klättra vertikalt i rör, spela in video inuti rören och upptäcka hinder. Efter forskning så byggdes en prototyp. Prototypen använder fjädrade kolvar som trycker hjulen mot väggarna i röret och utvecklar därmed friktion för att kunna färdas vertikalt. För att kunna utföra uppgifterna så kommer roboten att kunna använda olika verktyg som byts ut beroende på vad som behöver utföras. Möjligheten att kunna svänga i rören har ignorerats i det här projektet på grund av tidsbegränsning men bör ses över vid framtida utveckling. Den slutgiltiga prototypen är en robot som kan färdas stabilit vertikalt genom rör, lyfta sin egna vikt på 750 gram och en extra vikt på upp till 500 gram. Roboten kan också stanna vid förbestämda platser då den kan mäta hur långt den färdats genom att använda en hall effekt sensor.

Résumé : INTRODUCTION : L’étude vise à établir un portrait des traumatismes et de la pratique de l’escalade au Québec: 1) en décrivant les caractéristiques des décès associés à l’escalade au Québec; 2) en décrivant les caractéristiques des consultations à l’urgence associées à l’escalade; 3) en estimant la prévalence à vie et l’incidence des traumatismes en escalade, ainsi qu’en explorant les facteurs de risques ou de protection associés. MÉTHODES : 1) Une série de cas des décès en escalade a été analysée à partir d’une extraction des données des rapports d’investigation du coroner, entre 1986 et 2013. 2) Une série de cas des consultations à l’urgence a été analysée à partir des données du Système canadien hospitalier d'information et de recherche en prévention des traumatismes, entre 1992 et 2011. 3) Une étude descriptive transversale par questionnaire en ligne qui a été administré auprès des membres de la Fédération québécoise de la montagne et de l’escalade (FQME), entre le 8 avril 2014 et le 3 juin 2014. RÉSULTATS : 1) et 2) Les 14 décès et 29 cas de consultations à l’urgence retenus pour l’analyse sont survenus en majorité chez des hommes âgés entre 18 et 29 ans. La chute du grimpeur est la principale cause de décès ou de traumatismes aigus. 3) Avec une participation de 19 % (765/4 109), la prévalence à vie de traumatismes a été estimée à 11,1 % pour l’escalade sur structure artificielle, 11,3 % pour l’escalade de rocher et 7,6 % pour l’escalade de glace. Une approximation de l’incidence dans les derniers 12 mois a été estimée à 0,37 événement à l’origine de traumatismes aigus par 1 000 heures de pratique sur structure artificielle d’escalade (SAE), 0,17 pour l’escalade de rocher et 0,10 pour l’escalade de glace. Le jeune âge a été associé à la survenue de traumatismes aigus (p < 0,01) pour tous les types d’escalade et le faible nombre d’années de pratique, à la survenue de traumatisme en escalade de rocher (p = 0,03). Les itinéraires de niveaux de difficulté élevés (p = 0,01) ou une plus grande intensité de la pratique (p < 0,01) ont été associés à la survenue de traumatismes sur SAE. CONCLUSION : L’escalade est une activité physique sécuritaire avec des prévalences et des incidences de traumatismes très faibles. Les résultats permettront d’orienter les interventions pour améliorer la sécurité en escalade. / Abstract : INTRODUCTION: This study aims to produce a portrait of injuries associated with rock climbing in Quebec by: 1) describing the characteristics of deaths associated with climbing in Quebec; 2) describing the characteristics of emergency room visits associated with climbing; 3) estimating the lifetime prevalence and the incidence rate for climbing injuries, and by exploring the associated risk or protective factors. METHODS: 1) A case series of climbing related deaths was analysed by extracting data from coroners’ investigation reports, between 1986 and 2013. 2) A case series of emergency room consultations was analysed from data provided by the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program, between 1992 and 2011. 3) A cross-sectional descriptive study using a self-administered online survey sent to members of the Fédération québécoise de la montagne et de l’escalade (FQME), from April 8th, 2014 to June 3rd, 2014. RESULTS: 1) and 2) Of the 14 deaths and 29 cases of emergency room visits selected and analysed, the majority were men aged between 18 and 29 years. Climber falls were the leading cause of death or acute injury. 3) With a participation rate of 19 % (765/4,109), the lifetime prevalence for trauma was estimated at 11.1% on artificial climbing structures, 11.3% for rock climbing, and 7.6% for ice climbing. An approximation of the incidence in the last 12-months was estimated at 0.37 events causing injuries per 1,000 hours on artificial climbing structures (ACS), 0.17 for rock climbing and 0.10 for ice climbing. Younger age was associated with the occurrence of acute injuries (p < .01) for all types of climbing and the small number of climbing practice years with the occurrence of acute injuries during rock climbing (p = .03). Routes of higher climbing difficulty (p = .01) or a greater intensity of climbing practice (p < .01) and the occurrence of acute injuries on ACS. CONCLUSION: Climbing is a safe physical activity, with very low prevalence and incidence of acute injury. Results will help interventions in order to improve climbing safety.

This essay revolves around a climbing gym and its culture. The purpose of the essay is to find out how the culture at the climbing gym is affected by both climbing culture and managing culture. A qualitative study was conducted, and semi structured interviews were held with ten respondents who work at the climbing gym in question. To understand and analyse the results, Schein’s theory on organizational culture and Johnson, Scholes and Whittingtons model for culture analysis, The Cultural Web, were used. First, a brief introduction is presented, followed by the theories just mentioned, after which climbing culture is examined according to Schein’s three levels of culture. After that, the essays methodology, is presented – a qualitative study with semi structured interviews. The results and analysis are presented simultaneously, starting with a brief introduction of the climbing gym, and followed by a discussion and conclusions. The result of the study gives a thorough picture of the climbing gym’s culture and its paradigm, which is people oriented, relaxed, and features humour, climbing identity, culture as a managing mechanism, trust issues and a tension between leaders and employees. The employees can be seen as the carriers of climbing culture and the organizational culture. This study concludes that climbing culture and managing culture are not fully compatible, and when brought together, tensions may emerge. / Denna kandidatuppsats handlar om ett klättergym och dess kultur. Syftet med uppsatsen är att ta reda på hur kulturen på klättergymmet präglas av klätterkultur och styrningskultur. En kvalitativ studie genomfördes och semistrukturerade intervjuer hölls med tio respondenter som arbetar på klättergymmet i fråga. För att tolka och analysera resultaten användes Scheins teori om organisationskultur och Johnson, Scholes och Whittingtons modell för kulturanalys, The Cultural Web. Först presenteras en kort introduktion, följt av de teorier som just nämnts och därefter undersöks klätterkulturen enligt Scheins tre kulturnivåer. Ett metodavsnitt följer, där studien presenteras vara kvalitativ och ha använt sig at semistrukturerade intervjuer för att samla in materialet. Resultaten och analysen presenteras sammanvävda, och inleds med en kort introduktion av klättergymmet i fråga, och följs av en diskussion och slutsatser. Resultatet av studien ger en grundlig bild av organisationskulturen på klättergymmet och dess paradigm, som är människoorienterad, avslappnad och innehåller humor, klättraridentitet, kultur som ett styrverktyg, tillitsproblem och en spänning mellan ledare och anställda. De anställda kan ses som bärare av både klätterkultur och klättergymmets organisationskultur. Denna studie kommer fram till att klätterkultur och styrningskultur inte är fullt kompatibla, och att det kan uppstå spänningar när de sammanförs.

Spatial layout design must consider not only ease of movement for pedestrians under normal conditions, but also their safety in panic situations, such as an emergency evacuation in a theatre, stadium or hospital. Using pedestrian simulation statistics, the movement of crowds can be used to study the consequences of different spatial layouts. Previous works either create an optimal spatial arrangement or an optimal pedestrian circulation. They do not automatically optimise both problems simultaneously. Thus, the idea behind the research in this thesis is to achieve a vital architectural design goal by automatically producing an optimal spatial layout that will enable smooth pedestrian flow. The automated process developed here allows the rapid identification of layouts for large, complex, spatial layout problems. This is achieved by using Cellular Automata (CA) to model pedestrian simulation so that pedestrian flow can be explored at a microscopic level and designing a fitness function for heuristic search that maximises these pedestrian flow statistics in the CA simulation. An analysis of pedestrian flow statistics generated from feasible novel design solutions generated using the heuristic search techniques (hill climbing, simulated annealing and genetic algorithm style operators) is conducted. The statistics that are obtained from the pedestrian simulation is used to measure and analyse pedestrian flow behaviour. The analysis from the statistical results also provides the indication of the quality of the spatial layout design generated. The technique has shown promising results in finding acceptable solutions to this problem when incorporated with the pedestrian simulator when demonstrated on simulated and real-world layouts with real pedestrian data.

Title: Climbers on artificial walls in Prague and their socio-economic characteristics Objectives: The aim of this thesis is to explore the socioeconomic profile of indoor climbers in Prague Methods: The personal questioning was used as the method to get the information about climbers and their socioeconomic profile. There are 180 quistionnaires collected in November and December on the chosen artificial walls. Results: The interviewed climbers on the chosen artificial walls are men in 61 % and women in 39 %. 90 % of them are aged between 20 - 39. Only 24 % of the climbers devote strictly to the climbing on the artificial walls, the other 76 % do both climbing on the artificial walls and climbing on the rocks in the nature. The majority of the climbers (57 %) have permanent residence in Prague. The biggest part of the climbers prefer to climb in both winter and summer seasons 1 - 2 per week. Usually they do climbing 1 - 2 years (24 %) and 4 -5 years (20%). 21 % of the climbers do not climb during the summer season on the artificial walls at all. There are in summary 38 % of the respondents registered in Czech Mountaineering Federation. 54 % of the climbers are people who graduated from the university. The percentage of people with university degree between climbers is higher then the percentage of...

Title: Effect of arm position on finger flexor strength in sport climbers Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to assess the effect of arm position on finger flexor strength in sport climbers. Methods: Twenty-one women (age 24,5 ± 2,7 years, body weight 59,5 ± 8,3 kg, height 166,4 ± 6 cm) and twenty-five men (age 26,9 ± 5,3 years, body weight 71,7 ± 7,7 kg, height 177,2 ± 5,3 cm) volunteered to be a part of the study. The RP performance varied from the 3rd to 10th degree UIAA (Union International des Assocoation d'Alpinisme) scale. A specially manufactured tool was used to measure the finger flexor force with different positions of an arm. During the study, measurements were taken as the arm was adjusted into four different positions: Handgrip (0ř shoulder and elbow in full extension), Flexion90 (90ř shoulder flexion and external rotation of 45ř and the elbow in 90ř flexion supported by a board), Flexion130 (the arm 130ř abduction and elbow flexion 50ř) and Flexion180 (180ř shoulder flexion and elbow in full extension). The open grip was used for all positions, except for the Handgrip position where the thumb was in opposition. Results: The highest relation between the relative strength and RP climbing performance was found in the Flexion130 (r = 0,81) in women and in Flexion180 (r =...

Title of master thesis Physiological response and physical activity during climbing wall in school age children Work objectives Determinaton of specific oxygen uptake during climbing in the climbing wall in children. Methods The study involved 10 boys and 9 girls. Their climbing ability was in range 4 to 5+ degree of UIAA (Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme). Maximal oxygen consumption was measured on climbing wall. The climbers climbed two routes, the first vertical profile (90ř) and second overhanging profile (110˚). The participants climbed the wall with a self-selected speed. They climbed the route twice to steady state of physiological response during climbing and to simulate real average wall (15 m). To make conditions equal, everybody had 30 s to get down and start climbing again. Results The girls achieved average of specific oxygen consumption VO2peak 37,1 ± 4,8 ml·kg- 1 ·min-1 in the vertical profile and in the overhanging profile was 40,6 ± 11,5 ml·kg- 1 ·min-1 . The boys achieved slightly higher average of specific oxygen consumption in both profile 39,1 ± 4,8 ml·kg-1 ·min-1 in the vertical profile and 42,1 ± 2,6 ml·kg-1 ·min-1 in the overhanging profile. The girls had average peak heart rate 179 ± 10 beats·min-1 in the vertical profile and boys 170 ± 14 beats·min-1 ....