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Title: Dependence of the air consumption and the position of the body on the selected method of diving kick and swimming speed Objectives: The goal of this work is to find out the relationship between the diver's swimming speed and the air consumption while using two different methods of diving kicks - flutter and frog kick. At the same time, assess the dependence of the position of the body and head on the swimming speed and method of diving kicks. Methods: In this work was used method of collecting data in real conditions by measuring devices and statistical evaluation of collected data. Results: The results are presented by graphs both in the text of this work and in attachment for its large size. The results of all probands are presented in summary graphs and for selected values the degree of association is calculated in tables using the Pearson correlation coefficient. The main result is the confirmation of the reduction of the deviation from the horizontal position when comparing the slow and higher swimming speeds of both flutter and frog kick. The most effective way for a diver to overcome 50 meters below the water surface was determined to be a flutter kick at medium speed (average 0,37 m/s). Keywords: scuba diving, body position, head position, air consumption, speed of swimming, flutter...

This dissertation applies anthropology analysis to study a specie of a tree frog, living in the northern Amazonia, called Kambo. The wax-like substance, which the frog releases upon irritation, is used for its healing potential around the world. A basic conceptual framework is used to analyse the frog from the perspective of modernity, globalisation, and diffusion of cultural dimensions. The dissertation anticipates their influences on multiple parties. The geographical scope of the dissertation is limited on Amazonia and the Czech Republic. Kambo is a host of numerous biochemical interactions; in addition, it is used in socio-material context; in rituals; for gaining, or circulation of experience; or it is part of various techniques of understanding oneself, as described in later works of Michel Foucault. Due to Kambo's alleged participation on creation of human's subjective thinking, the dissertation answers the question on the extent to which Kambo could be responsible, through ethnographic lens. The results show that for those respondents who were experienced Kambo users; using the substance as a potion for treating physiological and mental issues and who were subsequently influenced by New Age movement; Kambo stands as a milestone in their life trajectories. Through the ethnographic research,...

Male Hymenochirus sp. frogs are known to release pheromone that attracts females of the same species. Four methods for collecting secretions containing pheromone in Hymenochirus sp. were tested: norepinephrine injection, gonadotropin-releasing hormone injection, homogenization of gland tissue, and electrostimulation of the skin over the breeding gland area. The samples collected were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry. The HPLC chromatograph for the male norepinephrine sample contained a peak at 6.4 min that was not in the female norepinephrine sample HPLC chromatograph. The male norepinephrine sample mass spectrum had a peak of m/z 292.0 not in the female norepinephrine sample mass spectrum. Breeding gland homogenate mass spectra showed major peaks with m/z values of 203.9, 245.2, 484.8, and 558.9. The male norepinephrine sample mass spectrum contained peaks with the same m/z values, but the female norepinephrine sample did not. Serotonin and a novel truncated hymenochirin were found in male and female samples collected using norepinephrine or GnRH injection. HPLC results showed that electrostimulation of male frogs, as performed in this study, did not cause secretion of as many chemical compounds as the other methods. Electrical stimulation was done with a voltage of 0.75 V and stainless steel electrodes, instead of the 4.1 V and platinum electrodes used in other studies. The current produced was likely insufficient to stimulate the breeding gland. Behavioral testing was conducted testing female attraction to males injected with GnRH, and certain HPLC fractions of the male norepinephrine and breeding gland homogenate samples. No attraction was found to any of the tested stimuli. HPLC chromatograph and mass spectrum differences between the male and female norepinephrine-induced samples suggested a pheromone could be present. However, without a behavioral trial result showing female attraction to a collected sample, the presence of a pheromone was not definitively proven.

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Finding optimal configuration of power distribution systems topology is an NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem. It becomes more complex when time varying nature of loads in large-scale distribution systems is taken into account. In the second chapter of this dissertation, a systematic approach is proposed to tackle the computational burden of the procedure. To solve the optimization problem, a novel adaptive fuzzy based parallel genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed that employs the concept of parallel computing in identifying the optimal configuration of the network. The integration of fuzzy logic into GA enhances the efficiency of the parallel GA by adaptively modifying the migration rates between different processors during the optimization process. A computationally efficient graph encoding method based on Dandelion coding strategy is developed which automatically generates radial topologies and prevents the construction of infeasible radial networks during the optimization process. The main shortcoming of the proposed algorithm in Chapter 2 is that it identifies only one single solution. It means that the system operator will not have any option but relying on the found solution. That is why a novel hybrid optimization algorithm is proposed in the third chapter of this dissertation that determines Pareto frontiers, as candidate solutions, for multi-objective distribution network reconfiguration problem. Implementing this model, the system operator will have more flexibility in choosing the best configuration among the alternative solutions. The proposed hybrid optimization algorithm combines the concept of fuzzy Pareto dominance (FPD) with shuffled frog leaping algorithm (SFLA) to recognize non-dominated suboptimal solutions identified by SFLA. The local search step of SFLA is also customized for power systems applications so that it automatically creates and analyzes only the feasible and radial configurations in its optimization procedure which significantly increases the convergence speed of the algorithm. In the fourth chapter, the problem of optimal network reconfiguration is solved for the case in which the system operator is going to employ an optimization algorithm that is automatically modifying its parameters during the optimization process. Defining three fuzzy functions, the probability of crossover and mutation will be adaptively tuned as the algorithm proceeds and the premature convergence will be avoided while the convergence speed of identifying the optimal configuration will not decrease. This modified genetic algorithm is considered a step towards making the parallel GA, presented in the second chapter of this dissertation, more robust in avoiding from getting stuck in local optimums. In the fifth chapter, the concentration will be on finding a potential smart grid solution to more high-quality suboptimal configurations of distribution networks. This chapter is considered an improvement for the third chapter of this dissertation for two reasons: (1) A fuzzy logic is used in the partitioning step of SFLA to improve the proposed optimization algorithm and to yield more accurate classification of frogs. (2) The problem of system reconfiguration is solved considering the presence of distributed generation (DG) units in the network. In order to study the new paradigm of integrating smart grids into power systems, it will be analyzed how the quality of suboptimal solutions can be affected when DG units are continuously added to the distribution network. The heuristic optimization algorithm which is proposed in Chapter 3 and is improved in Chapter 5 is implemented on a smaller case study in Chapter 6 to demonstrate that the identified solution through the optimization process is the same with the optimal solution found by an exhaustive search.

Understanding how migration, genetic drift, and natural selection interact to maintain the genetic and phenotypic variation we observe in natural populations is a central goal of population genetics. Amphibians provide excellent model organisms for investigating the interplay between these evolutionary forces because amphibians are generally characterized by limited dispersal abilities, high philopatry, and are obligately associated with the areas around suitable habitats (e.g. breeding ponds). Thus, on relatively small geographic scales, the relative effects of all of these evolutionary forces can be studied together. Here, we study the interaction of migration, genetic drift, natural selection, and historical process in the ornate chorus frog (Pseudacris ornata). We report the development and characterization of 10 polymorphic microsatellite genetic markers. Number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 21 averaging 9.2 and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.10 to 0.97 averaging 0.52. However, in an analysis of two populations, three locus-by-population comparisons exhibited significant heterozygote deficiencies and indicated that null alleles may be present some loci. Furthermore, we characterized genetic structure and historical biogeographic patterns in P. ornata using these microsatellite markers along with mitochondrial DNA sequence data. Our data indicate that in these frogs, migration may play a large role in determining population structure as pairwise estimates of FST were relatively small ranging from 0.04 to 0.12 (global FST = 0.083). Additionally, we observed an overall pattern of isolation-by-distance in neutral genetic markers across the species range. Moreover, our data suggest that the Apalachicola River basin does not impede gene flow in P. ornata as it does in many vertebrate taxa. Interestingly, we identified significant genetic structure between populations separated by only 6 km. However, this fine scale genetic structure was only present in the more urbanized of two widespread sampling localities. Finally, in this study, we demonstrated that there was a significant correlation between the frequency of green frogs and latitude. There was a higher frequency of green frogs in southern samples and a lower frequency of green frogs in northern samples. However, when we interpreted this phenotypic cline in light of the overall pattern of isolation-by-distance, it was apparent that the neutral evolutionary forces of genetic drift and migration could explain the cline, and the invocation of natural selection was not necessary.

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Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-22T17:26:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ressuelen.doc: 22528 bytes, checksum: 1412fe27f33beced1816cea08634f2a5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-31 / This essay aims at investigating how is the construction and representation of the female protagonist in Disney s animated film "The Princess and the Frog" (2009). In order to accomplish the main objectives, I take as reference theoretical concepts from different areas of knowledge, emphasizing on the genres of speech, intertextuality and polyphony, in accordance with Bakhtin and his Circle, besides focusing on the notions of stereotype and gender as a cultural category linked to the feminist criticism critique. This work is divided into two chapters. In the first one I present the theoretical framework, a brief history of fairy tales and comments about their film adaptations, from the panorama of the movie production of the nine Disney Princesses. In the second chapter, I highlight the methodology employed in the linguistic analysis and imagery from the movie "The Princess and the Frog" on the basis of what I call contextual nucleus which include the following elements: 1) time / space / family constitution, 2) economy / true love / happy ending, 3) scenario / songs / colors and traces 4) fantastic / wonderful / mysticism. I also suggest at this stage a study of Tyana´s physical and behavioral characteristics in comparison with the tale "The Frog Prince by the Grimm Brothers and, three of the "Disney Princesses": Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora. I believe that animation films and adaptations of traditional fairy tales that are directed to children, broadcast standards, values and meanings bring a great influence on the formation and construction of gender identities. Throughout the approach to cinematic language (verbal and imagery), it is possible to unveil the ideology that pervades this midia due to social interchange whereas it is an intertextual discoursive space / Esta dissertação tem por objetivo investigar de que modo ocorre a construção e a representação da personagem feminina no filme de animação A princesa e o sapo (2009), dos Estúdios Disney. Para realizar esse estudo, tomo como referencial teórico conceitos de distintas áreas do conhecimento, salientando-se os de gêneros do discurso, intertextualidade e polifonia, conforme Bakhtin e seu Círculo, além de enfocar as noções de estereótipo e de gênero, como categoria cultural, vinculados à crítica feminista. Este trabalho encontra-se dividido em dois capítulos. No primeiro, apresento o referencial teórico, um breve histórico dos contos de fadas e um comentário acerca de suas adaptações para o cinema, a partir do panorama da produção fílmica das nove princesas dos Estúdios Disney. No segundo capítulo, destaco a metodologia empregada na análise linguística e imagística do filme A princesa e o sapo com base no que denomino de núcleos contextuais , os quais compreendem os elementos seguintes: 1) tempo/espaço/constituição familiar; 2) economia/amor verdadeiro/happy end, 3) cenário fílmico/canções/cores e traços e 4) fantástico/maravilhoso/misticismo. Proponho ainda nessa etapa, um estudo das características físicas e comportamentais de Tiana, em termos comparativos com o conto O rei sapo , dos Irmãos Grimm e três das princesas Disney : Branca de Neve, Cinderela e Aurora. Acredito que os filmes de animação, adaptações de contos de fadas tradicionais, voltados para as crianças, transmitem normas, valores e significados, que influem diretamente na formação e construção de identidades de gênero. Por meio da abordagem à linguagem cinematográfica (verbal e imagística), foi possível desvelar a ideologia presente nesta mídia de intercâmbio social, enquanto espaço intertextual discursivo