Chu Pak-Keung. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-88). / Text in English; abstracts in English and Chinese; questionnaire in Chinese. / Chu Pak-Keung. / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.I / ABSTRACT --- p.II / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.V / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.IX / LIST OF TABLES --- p.XIII / INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / BACKGROUND OF STUDY --- p.1 / KINEMATICS OF CYCLING --- p.2 / PEDALLING RATE OPTIMIZATION --- p.2 / DIFFERENT FORMS OF CYCLING OPTIMIZATION --- p.2 / FROM EXPERIMENT TO PRACTICE --- p.3 / RESEARCH PROBLEMS --- p.3 / IMPORTANCE OF CADENCE IN CYCLING --- p.3 / MODIFICATION OF CYCLING TECHNIQUE --- p.5 / PURPOSES OF STUDY --- p.5 / SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY --- p.6 / HYPOTHESES --- p.7 / DEFINITION OF TERMS AND OPERATIONAL VARIABLES --- p.7 / DELIMITATIONS AND LIMITATIONS --- p.9 / DELIMITATIONS --- p.9 / LIMITATIONS --- p.9 / REVIEW OF LITERATURE --- p.11 / METHODS OF CADENCE OPTIMIZATION --- p.11 / ENERGY PRODUCTION AND EFFICIENCY --- p.11 / BIOMECHANICAL OPTIMIZATION ESTIMATES --- p.13 / PERCEIVED EXERTION --- p.16 / CHOICE OF OPTIMIZATION METHOD --- p.17 / MUSCLE FATIGUE --- p.18 / CONCEPT OF FATIGUE --- p.18 / FATIGUE CATEGORIES --- p.19 / DETECTION OF MUSCLE FATIGUE BY INTEGRATED EMG --- p.20 / NEUROMUSCULAR FATIGUE OF WORKING MUSCLE DURING CYCLING EXERCISE --- p.23 / FEEDBACK TRAINING --- p.24 / ROLE OF FEEDBACK IN SKILL ACQUISITION --- p.24 / KNOWLEDGE OF RESULTS --- p.24 / SELECTION OF BIOMECHANICAL VARIABLE FOR FEEDBACK --- p.25 / AUGMENTED FEEDBACK IN CYCLING TRAINING --- p.26 / RETENTION --- p.26 / SUMMARY OF REVIEW --- p.29 / METHODOLOGY --- p.32 / DESIGN --- p.32 / SUBJECTS --- p.33 / PROTOCOL --- p.34 / OPTIMAL CADENCE DETERMINATION --- p.34 / AUGMENTED FEEDBACK ASSESSMENT --- p.34 / 10 DAY TRAINING SCHEDULE --- p.35 / INSTRUMENTATION --- p.38 / MEASUREMENT OF EMG --- p.41 / DATA ANALYSIS --- p.43 / RESULTS --- p.46 / SUBJECT V02Max RESULT --- p.46 / IEMG SLOPE OF SUBJECTS --- p.47 / POST-TEST AND RETENTION TEST IN AUGMENTED FEEDBACK TRAINING --- p.50 / TIME PERCENTAGE OF CADENCE ERROR DEVIATED FROM OPTIMAL CADENCE --- p.50 / DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONTROL AND EXPERIMENT GROUP ACROSS DIFFERENT CADENCE ERRORS --- p.53 / DISTRIBUTION OF TIME PERCENTAGE OF DIFFERENT CADENCE ERRORS --- p.54 / STABILITY IN THE VARIABILITY OF CADENCE --- p.55 / PERFORMANCE IN ACQUISITION PHASE --- p.59 / TIME PERCENTAGE OF CADENCE ERROR DEVIATED FROM OPTIMAL CADENCE --- p.60 / DISTRIBUTION OF TIME PERCENTAGE OF CADENCE ERROR DURING ACQUISITION PHASE --- p.62 / STABILITY IN THE VARIABILITY OF CADENCE --- p.64 / SUMMARY OF RESULT FINDINGS --- p.66 / DISCUSSION --- p.67 / OPTIMAL CADENCE OF SUBJECTS --- p.67 / IEMG SLOPE OF SUBJECTS --- p.67 / POST-TEST AND RETENTION TEST IN AUGMENTED FEEDBACK TRAINING --- p.69 / TIME PERCENTAGE OF CADENCE ERROR DEVIATED FROM OPTIMAL CADENCE BY MORE THAN ZERO RPM --- p.70 / "TIME PERCENTAGE OF CADENCE ERROR DEVIATED FROM OPTIMAL CADENCE BY MORE THAN ONE, TWO AND THREE RPM" --- p.70 / TIME PERCENTAGE OF CADENCE ERROR DEVIATED FROM OPTIMAL CADENCE BY MORE THAN FOUR RPM --- p.71 / STABILITY IN THE VARIABILITY OF CADENCE --- p.72 / ACQUISITION PHASE OF AUGMENTED FEEDBACK TRAINING --- p.73 / "TIME PERCENTAGE OF CADENCE ERROR DEVIATED FROM OPTIMAL CADENCE BY MORE THAN ZERO, ONE, TWO AND THREE RPM" --- p.73 / STABILITY IN THE VARIABILITY OF CADENCE --- p.74 / CONCLUSIONS --- p.76 / RECOMMENDATIONS --- p.77 / REFERENCES --- p.78 / APPENDIXES --- p.89 / INFORMED CONSENT FORM --- p.90 / PAR-Q FORM --- p.91 / YMCA SUBMAXIMAL CYCLE ERGOMETER TEST --- p.92 / IEMG GRAPHS --- p.93

This thesis is a comprehensive look at cycling in Slovakia and the possibility of its further development - legislation, funding, policies and strategies. The main objective of the paper is to analyze the state of cycling and cyclo touring in Bratislava and its surroundings. The analysis includes evaluation of the current state of the network of cycle paths and future cycle routes projects in the city, cycling and other forms of transport as well as suggestions for the future.

O acelerado e freqüente desenvolvimento de novos materiais e técnicas restauradoras tornam necessárias avaliações rápidas que estimem seus desempenhos clínicos. Este estudo avaliou protocolos de envelhecimento acelerado, in vitro, capazes de simular o desempenho de restaurações adesivas frente aos desafios inerentes ao ambiente oral. Foram utilizados 36 molares hígidos, cortados ao meio e divididos aleatoriamente em 12 grupos. Em todos os grupos foi realizada a exposição da superfície dentinária, delimitação da área de adesão e condicionamento ácido da superfície, seguida a aplicação do Sistema Adesivo Scotchbond Multiuso, e colocação da resina composta Z100, em incrementos. Foram confeccionados 6 grupos em formato de palito e 6 grupos em formato de haltere: dois grupos não foram submetidos à ciclagem térmica e mecânica (STSM-P e STSM-H); outros dois foram submetidos à ciclagem térmica (1.000 ciclos; 5-55ºC; 1min em cada banho) e não a mecânica (CTSM-P e CTSM-H); dois ainda foram submetidos à ciclagem mecânica com dispositivo Nova Ética e não a térmica (STNE-P e STNE-H); dois foram submetido à ciclagem mecânica com dispositivo Nova Ética (500.000 ciclos), acrescido de ciclagem térmica (CTNE-P e CTNE-H); outros dois por fim, foram submetidos à ciclagem mecânica por Microrotação (105 ciclos, aproximadamente por 7 horas), e não a térmica (STMR-P e STMR-H); por fim os dois últimos grupos foram submetido à ciclagem mecânica por Microrotação acrescido de ciclagem térmica (CTMR-P e CTMR-H). Todos os grupos foram preparados para teste de microtração. Com as medidas de resistência de união dos palitos e halteres de cada dente foi realizada análise de variância e teste de Tukey. A interação tripla Formato -FORM- (Palito ou haltere) X Ciclagem Térmica- T- (Com e Sem) X Ciclagem Mecânica-M- (Nova Ética e Microrotação) não foi significante (p=0,698), bem como a interação 2 a 2 dos mesmos fatores: FORMxT (p=0,391); TxM (p=0,477); FORM x M (p=0,746). O fator Formato do espécime (Palito ou Haltere) teve diferença extremamente significante (p=0,000), sendo que os valores dos halteres foram maiores que os dos palitos. O fator Ciclagem Térmica (Com e Sem) não foi estatisticamente significante (p=0,2), bem como o fator Ciclagem Mecânica (Nova Ética e Microrotação) (p=0,587). Pode-se concluir que: a ciclagem térmica, bem como as ciclagens mecânicas sistema Nova Ética e Microrotação não foram capazes de reduzir significativamente os valores de resistência de união das interfaces adesivas, nem quando aplicadas isoladamente, nem quando associadas; os espécimes com formato de palito apresentaram valores de resistência de união menores do que os em formato de haltere; não foi possível estabelecer nenhum padrão de degradação entre os grupos através da microscopia eletrônica de varredura; os elementos finitos identificaram uma distribuição mais homogênea das tensões geradas na interface dos espécimes em formato de haltere. / The rapid and frequent development of new materials and restorative techniques necessitate rapid assessments to estimate their clinical outcomes. This study sought to evaluate protocols for accelerated aging, in vitro, capable of simulating the performance of adhesive restorations with challenges inherent to the oral environment. The study included 36 molars that were randomly divided into 12 groups. In all groups were exposed dentin surface, defining the area of adhesion and etching the surface, then the application of Scotchbond Multipurpose Adhesive System, and placement of composite resin Z100, in increments. Six groups were fabricated in the shape of sticks and six other groups in dumbbell shape: the first was not subjected to thermal cycling and mechanical (STSM-P and STSM-H), the second was subjected to thermal cycling (10,000 cycles, 5-55 ° C) and not the mechanics (CTSM-P and CTSM-H); the third was subjected to mechanical cycling device with new Ethics (500,000 cycles) and not thermal (STNE-P and STNE-H); the fourth was subjected to mechanical cycling device with new Ethics, plus thermal cycling (CTNE-P and CTNE-H); the fifth was submitted the mechanical cycling device for Microrotation (105 cycles), but not thermal (STMR-P and STMR-H) and finally the sixth was subjected to mechanical cycling device for Microrotation plus thermal cycling (CTMR-P and CTMR-H). All groups were prepared for microtensile bond-strength test. With the measures of bond strength of each tooth was performed statistical analysis (ANOVA and Tukey test). Random samples of specimens were evaluated by SEM. The triple interaction format (stick or dumbbell-shaped) X Thermal cycling (with and without) X Cycling Mechanics (New Ethics and Microrotation) was not significant (p = 0.698), as well as the interaction 2-2 of the same factors: FORMXT (p = 0.391); TXM (p = 0.477); FORMxM (p = 0.746). With regard to factor Format specimen is observed that the bond strength values obtained for the dumbbell-shaped are higher than those obtained for the sticks (p = 0.000). With regard to factor Thermal cycling was observed that the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.2). As for factor Cycling Mechanics, the values of groups without cycling were very similar to those obtained in groups cycled through the system New Ethics, and the system by Microrotation, no significant difference between any of them (p = 0.587). The conclusions were that the stick-shaped specimens showed values of bond strength lower than the dumbbell-shaped; thermocycling and mechanical cycling were not able to significantly reduce the values of bond strength of adhesive interfaces, even when applied alone or when associated. It could not be establish any pattern of degradation among the groups by SEM; the finite element identified a more homogeneous distribution of stresses generated at the interface of dumbbell shaped specimens.

Road safety concerns are a legitimate concern when promoting increased bicycle use. Currently, the share of bicyclist traffic fatalities and injuries is not proportional to its mode share, and presents both a public health concern and a disincentive to people taking up or continuing to bicycle for transportation. Bicycling is not an inherently dangerous activity; automobile drivers pose the most risk of harm in crashes with bicyclists. Despite that, drivers' attitudes and behaviors toward bicyclists have not enjoyed much systematic study, particularly in the United States. This research explored the dimensions of drivers' attitudes toward bicyclists, including implicit bias and social attitudes, and examined the relationships between these attitudes and drivers' self-reported behaviors. The online survey included a cognitive test of respondents' implicit preference between drivers and bicyclists. The research questions are detailed in the introduction (Chapter 1), followed by a review of selected literature (Chapter 2) and detailed methodology (Chapter 3). The first set of results (Chapter 4) explores the potential usefulness of the implicit method and the attitude measures developed for this research, and presents an analysis of drivers' attitudes and what predicts more positive attitudes toward bicyclists. The second set of results (Chapter 5) extends the analysis to drivers' self-report behaviors, and how demographics, individual travel behavior, attitudes, and the built environment predict drivers' behaviors related to bicyclist safety. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the contribution to the literature on driver attitudes and behaviors, and the implications for both practice and research.

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

Lakes are increasingly being recognized as an important component of the global carbon cycle, yet anthropogenic activities that alter their community structure may change the way they transport and process carbon. This research focuses on the relationship between carbon cycling and community structure of primary producers in small, shallow lakes, which are the most abundant lake type in the world, and furthermore subject to intense terrestrial-aquatic coupling due to their high perimeter:area ratio. Shifts between macrophyte and phytoplankton dominance are widespread and common in shallow lakes, with potentially large consequences to regional carbon cycling. I thus compared a lake with clear-water conditions and a submerged macrophyte community to a turbid, phytoplankton-dominated lake, describing differences in the availability, processing, and export of organic and inorganic carbon. I furthermore examined the effects of increasing terrestrial carbon inputs on internal carbon cycling processes. Pelagic diel (24-hour) oxygen curves and independent fluorometric approaches of individual primary producers together indicated that the presence of a submerged macrophyte community facilitated higher annual rates of gross primary production than could be supported in a phytoplankton-dominated lake at similar nutrient concentrations. A simple model constructed from the empirical data suggested that this difference between regime types could be common in moderately eutrophic lakes with mean depths under three to four meters, where benthic primary production is a potentially major contributor to the whole-lake primary production. It thus appears likely that a regime shift from macrophyte to phytoplankton dominance in shallow lakes would typically decrease the quantity of autochthonous organic carbon available to lake food webs. Sediment core analyses indicated that a regime shift from macrophyte to phytoplankton dominance was associated with a four-fold increase in carbon burial rates, signalling a major change in lake carbon cycling dynamics. Carbon mass balances suggested that increasing carbon burial rates were not due to an increase in primary production or allochthonous loading, but instead were due to a higher carbon burial efficiency (carbon burial / carbon deposition). This, in turn, was associated with diminished benthic mineralization rates and an increase in calcite precipitation, together resulting in lower surface carbon dioxide emissions. Finally, a period of unusually high precipitation led to rising water levels, resulting in a feedback loop linking increasing concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to severely anoxic conditions in the phytoplankton-dominated system. High water levels and DOC concentrations diminished benthic primary production (via shading) and boosted pelagic respiration rates, diminishing the hypolimnetic oxygen supply. The resulting anoxia created redox conditions which led to a major release of nutrients, DOC, and iron from the sediments. This further transformed the lake metabolism, providing a prolonged summertime anoxia below a water depth of 1 m, and leading to the near-complete loss of fish and macroinvertebrates. Pelagic pH levels also decreased significantly, increasing surface carbon dioxide emissions by an order of magnitude compared to previous years. Altogether, this thesis adds an important body of knowledge to our understanding of the significance of the benthic zone to carbon cycling in shallow lakes. The contribution of the benthic zone towards whole-lake primary production was quantified, and was identified as an important but vulnerable site for primary production. Benthic mineralization rates were furthermore found to influence carbon burial and surface emission rates, and benthic primary productivity played an important role in determining hypolimnetic oxygen availability, thus controlling the internal sediment loading of nutrients and carbon. This thesis also uniquely demonstrates that the ecological community structure (i.e. stable regime) of a eutrophic, shallow lake can significantly influence carbon availability and processing. By changing carbon cycling pathways, regime shifts in shallow lakes may significantly alter the role of these ecosystems with respect to the global carbon cycle. / Seen werden zunehmend als wichtige Komponente im globalen Kohlenstoffkreislauf anerkannt. Natürliche Veränderungen und anthropogene Aktivitäten beeinflussen die Struktur der Artengemeinschaft von Seen, was Auswirkungen auf den Transport und Umsatz von Kohlenstoff hat. Diese Arbeit konzentriert sich auf die Beziehung zwischen Kohlenstoffkreislauf und der Gemeinschaftsstruktur der Primärproduzenten in kleinen Flachseen. Diese sind der weltweit häufigste Seentyp und weisen durch ihren im Vergleich zur Fläche großen Umfang eine intensive aquatisch-terrestrische Kopplung auf. In Flachseen treten oft Regimewechsel zwischen Makrophyten- und Phytoplankton-Dominanz auf. Diese können potenziell große Konsequenzen für den regionalen Kohlenstoffkreislauf haben. In dieser Dissertation vergleiche ich einen Klarwassersee mit submersen Makrophyten und einen trüben, Phytoplankton-dominierten See hinsichtlich Verfügbarkeit, Umsatz und Export von organischem und anorganischem Kohlenstoff. Des Weiteren habe ich den Effekt der erhöhten Zufuhr von terrestrischem Kohlenstoff auf den internen Kohlenstoffumsatz untersucht. Sowohl die Tagesgänge der pelagischen Sauerstoff-Konzentrationen als auch Fluoreszenz-basierte Messungen der Primärproduktion bewiesen, dass die Präsenz von submersen Makrophyten eine höhere jährliche Brutto-Primärproduktion im Vergleich zu einem Phytoplankton-dominierten See mit ähnlichen Nährstoffkonzentrationen ermöglicht. Ein einfaches, auf den empirischen Daten basierendes Model zeigt, dass diese Unterschiede in der Brutto-Primärproduktion typisch sind für moderat eutrophe Seen mit einer mittleren Tiefe von unter 3 bis vier Metern. In diesen Seen leistet die benthische Primärproduktion den Hauptbeitrag zur Primärproduktion des ganzen Sees. Daraus wird ersichtlich, dass Regimewechsel von Makrophyten- zur Phytoplankton-Dominanz in Flachseen die Verfügbarkeit von autochthonem organischem Kohlenstoff für das Nahrungsnetz reduzieren. Paläolimnologische Analysen in Sedimentkernen beider Seen wiesen darauf hin, dass der Verlust der Makrophyten mit einer vierfachen Zunahme der Kohlenstoff-Speicherraten einhergeht, und somit zu einer großen Veränderung der Dynamik des Kohlenstoffkreislaufs im See führt. Unsere Kohlenstoff-Massenbilanzen zeigen, dass die Erhöhung der Kohlenstoff-Speicherung im Sediment nicht durch die Erhöhung der Primärproduktion oder durch externe Quellen, sondern durch erhöhte der Effizienz der Speicherung begründet war. Dies geht mit einer reduzierten benthischen Mineralisierungsrate und einer erhöhten Calcitfällung einher und führt zu reduzierten Kohlendioxid-Emissionen. Eine Periode ungewöhnlich hoher Niederschläge mit erhöhten Wasserständen führte im Phytoplankton-dominierten See zu zu einem starken Anstieg der Konzentrationen an gelöstem organischem Kohlenstoff (DOC) und zu anoxischen Bedingungen. Es wurde postuliert, dass zwischen diesen Prozessen eine positive Rückkopplung besteht. Die hohen Wasserstände und DOC-Konzentrationen reduzierten die Lichtversorgung und damit die Primärproduktion im Benthal und erhöhten die pelagischen Respirationsraten. Dadurch verringerte sich die Sauerstoffverfügbarkeit im Hypolimnion. Die dadurch erzeugten Redox-Verhältnisse führten zu einer Freisetzung großer Mengen an Nährstoffen, DOC und Eisen aus dem Sediment. Die während des gesamten Sommers andauernden anoxischen Verhältnisse in Wassertiefen unter 1 m führten zu einem fast vollständigen Verlust von Fischen und Makroinvertebraten. Zusätzlich wurde der pH-Wert im Pelagial signifikant erniedrigt und die Kohlenstoffdioxid-Emissionen im Vergleich zu früheren Jahren verzehnfacht. Insgesamt trägt diese Dissertation wesentliche Aspekte zum besseren Verständnis der Bedeutung des Benthals für den Kohlenstoffkreislauf in Flachseen bei. Der Anteil der benthischen Zone an der Primärproduktion in kleinen Flachseen wurde in Relation zur Gesamtproduktion des Systems quantifiziert. Letztlich zeigt diese Arbeit, dass die Gemeinschaftsstruktur der Primärproduzenten eines eutrophen Flachsees die Verfügbarkeit und den Umsatz von Kohlenstoff signifikant beeinflusst. Regimewechsel in Flachseen können durch Änderungen im internen Kohlenstoffkreislauf deren Rolle im globalen Kohlenstoffkreislauf verändern.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007. / Martial Taillefert, Committee Member ; Jay Brandes, Committee Member ; Markus Huettel, Committee Member ; Philip Froelich, Committee Member ; Ellery Ingall, Committee Member ; Richard A. Jahnke, Committee Chair.

Human activities such as fossil fuel combustion and deforestation have increased atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, reactive nitrogen, and other greenhouse gases. As a result, Earth's surface has warmed by 0.85 °C since the pre-industrial era and will continue to warm. Many northern latitude temperate forest ecosystems mitigate the effects of both elevated carbon dioxide and atmospheric nitrogen deposition through retention of carbon and nitrogen in plants and soils. However, the continued ability of these ecosystems to store carbon and nitrogen will be altered with continued climate change. Warmer winters will lead to reduced depth and duration of snowpack, which insulates soils from cold winter air. Climate change over the next century will therefore affect soil temperatures in northern temperate forests in opposing directions across seasons, with warmer soils in the growing season and colder, more variable soil temperatures in winter. Warmer growing seasons generally increase ecosystem uptake and storage of carbon and nitrogen, whereas a smaller snowpack and colder soils in winter reduce rates of ecosystem nutrient cycling and plant growth. My dissertation aims to understand how climate change in the growing season and winter interact to affect function and nitrogen cycling in northern hardwood forest ecosystems. I accomplished this goal through formal literature review and two climate change manipulation experiments at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, NH. I found that although 67% of climate change experiments were conducted in seasonally snow covered ecosystems, only 14% take into account the effects of distinct climate changes in winter. By simulating climate change across seasons, I demonstrated that changes in nitrogen cycling caused by increased soil freezing in winter are not offset by warming in the growing season. Moreover, shifts in plant function due to winter climate change are mediated through a combination of changes in snow depth, soil temperature, and plant-herbivore interactions that differentially affect above- and belowground plant components. These results would not be evident from examining climate change in either the growing season or winter alone and demonstrate the need for considering seasonally distinct climate change to determine how nitrogen and carbon cycling will change in the future.

The diploma thesis on the theme Cycling in tourism in selected region {--} Dačicko, Slavonicko wants to characterize the current situation in travel movement in these areas close to the Czech-Austrian borders. As you can see from the title it is aimed at cycling as a part of travel movement in these areas.