No description available.

As the popularity of air transportation has grown, so has the traffic at airports around the world. Many North American airports are becoming increasingly congested as more people are flying and as more aircraft and airlines are operating. As aircraft movements at these airports have risen, so has the call for expansion of these facilities. Vancouver International Airport is one such case. Built on Sea Island in 1931, Vancouver International has served the people of the Lower Mainland very well over the years. Recent trends in the aviation industry, coupled with Vancouver's strategic location with respect to the Pacific market and the Lower Mainland's rapidly increasing population, have resulted in a major jump in the air traffic volume at Vancouver International over the past decade. Airport planners and government officials have responded to this rapid growth by implementing various enhancement measures and by proposing the physical expansion of Vancouver International by building a third runway. A third runway will greatly improve conditions at Vancouver International by reducing congestion and consequently decreasing aircraft delays. With the third runway in place, Vancouver International will be able to effectively compete with other west coast airports in attracting new business and investment, especially from the rapidly growing Pacific Rim. But an important question remains: for how long? Built on an island, Vancouver International can only expand by so much. The third runway represents the last major expansion possibility available to the airport. If aviation forecasts for the region are essentially correct, or more importantly, are considerably under-estimated, Vancouver International will be congested once again early in the next century. Therefore there is a need at this time to begin planning for the inevitable: a multiple airport system in the Lower Mainland. Vancouver's growing stature as an international city indicates that growth in this region will continue well into the next century, but all may be for not if this region cannot offer an efficient and effective airport system. Only a multiple airport system will be able to handle the predicted passenger and cargo loads resulting from this growth and recognition of the Lower Mainland. There is no need to begin building a second airport at this time; however planning for such an airport system must begin soon. This planning involves: * Deciding on an appropriate location * Ensuring that land is available for all airport infrastructure requirements (roads, transit links, parking, and airport related industrial complexes) * Notifying the public of airport development intentions * Incorporating a development plan for the second airport The question of when to build a second airport or even if a second facility should be built remains undetermined but if planners wait until it is absolutely necessary to build one, the land and time required may not be available. Everyone will lose. Hence, the time is now to beginning planning for a multiple airport system in the Lower Mainland. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the responses of the neuromuscular system to changes and constraints during explosive multi-segment movements of the lower limbs. The trunk segment was constrained into different positions during pendulum rebound exercises to observe how the neuromuscular system reorganises the movement. It was also aimed to examine how the neuromuscular system coordinates maximal countermovement jumps when the muscle forcegenerating properties of part and all muscles involved in these movements are reduced by the acute effects of fatigue or increased after training. The kinematic characteristics of pendulum rebound exercises were affected by constraining the trunk segment. Greater knee joint angular velocity was achieved when the movements were performed in the upright sitting posture (90) in comparison to the other sitting conditions (135° and 180°). The constraint applied on the trunk segment did not result in the emergence of a particular segmental movement between the hip, knee and ankle joints and variability was observed in the initiation of the joint extension of all rebound conditions. The absence of a fixed order for joint extension initiation showed that sequential and temporal variances can emerge during rebound jumps, where the hip joint, in most cases,e xtendedb efore the other joints. The biarticular musclesw ere suggestedto regulatet he distribution of forces between joints by transporting the large amounts of energy produced by monoarticular muscles, irrespective of the constraints imposed on the trunk segment. It was proposed the existence of a pre-programmed pattern that guides the execution of the movement irrespective of the constraints applied on the trunk segment. Fatiguing part and/or all muscle groups involved in maximal countermovemenjtu mps suggestedt he existence of a common drive that mediates and controls the activation timing between agonistantagonist muscle pairs. A similar muscle activation pattern found after fatigue indicated that the neuromuscular system does not reorganise the co-ordination strategy of explosive movements to compensate for the acute effects of muscular fatigue and acts without the knowledge of the muscle force-generating properties. The decline in the ability of the muscles to produce force was the major factor responsible for the decreases observed in jump height and changes in several kinematic and kinetic variables of the movement. The early occurrence of the peak joint angular velocity may have contributed to jump height decrease and indicated that an "optimal" solution (high countermovement jump performance) was not found under fatigue. It was suggested that training under fatigue should be avoided because the subjects may learn a muscle activation pattern that does not represent an optimal solution. Countermovement jump training (specific stimulus) was more effective than a weight lifting programme (non-specific stimulus) to improve jump height performance. This occurred despite the greater gains in isokinetic peak torque of the knee flexor and extensor muscles achieved after the nonspecific training programme in comparison to the specific training programme. It was observed that the training using non-specific stimulus did not cause the neuromuscular system to reorganise the controls. The neuromuscular system was able to reorganise the movement after the training programme that used a specific stimulus. It was concluded that the increased jump height performance observed after the countermovement jump programme can be attributed to a compounded effect, in which the increased ability of the extensor muscles to generate large amounts of energy around the hip joint was linked to the ability of the biarticular muscles to transfer part of this energy to the distal joints. It was noticed that movement co-ordination changes are sensitive to the order in which the training stimuli are introduced. Jump height performance was improved to a greater extent when the countermovement jumps programme followed the knee extensor and flexor muscles strengthening programme than when the training programmes were introduced in the opposite order.

No description available.

No description available.

Objective: To develop modular software to assess angular impulse and to determine the effect of a reduced dataset on the net angular impulse acting at the L5/S1 joint. Background. With the prevalence and incidence of lower back pain increasing annually, accurate assessment of physical job demands is needed. Many lab based approaches exist to measure the moments acting on the lower back, but require advanced and sensitive testing equipment. Of the methodologies currently used in industrial settings, most require significant contributions of time or money to be implemented. There is a need for cost and time effective methods to record a worker’s kinematic data over their whole shift. Methods: Twelve participants performed 12 consecutive lifts under five lifting conditions: SQ00 (squat 0kg); SQ04 (squat 4kg); SQ10 (squat 10kg); FP04 (fast squat 4kg); ST04 (stoop 4kg). Kinematic data of the upper limbs, head, and trunk was recorded with external load data and kinetic analysis was performed by implementing an extension of the Hof (1992) method called the lined-segment engine (LSE) to calculate the angular impulse (N•m•s) acting on the L5/S1 joint. Results: The LSE was sensitive to changes in load, lifting speed, and lifting posture (p < 0.05). There was no difference in dynamic, quasi-static, or static models when calculating angular impulse, but there was a difference in the L5/S1 angular impulse when the upper limbs were removed from the dynamic LSE model (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The LSE requires further refinement, but could be a generic approach to kinetic calculations. A scaled no-arms model for calculating the angular impulse acting on the low back could be used to assess field based lifting studies with 5.8% error. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2013-08-03 15:05:03.257

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee affects between 5.4% and 38% of older adults and this prevalence is increasing as the population ages and becomes more obese. As health costs rise, it is important to have accurate and cost-effective methods to assess knee OA and the risk for OA. One risk factor for progression of knee OA is lower extremity (LE) frontal-plane malalignment. The first goal of this thesis was to assess the suitability of knee radiographs and LE photographs for the estimation of frontal-plane LE alignment. In the first study, several versions of the femoral shaft-tibial shaft (FS-TS) angle, assessed from knee radiographs, were compared to the hip-knee-ankle (HKA) angle, assessed from full-length radiographs. We concluded that the FS-TS angle is not a recommended substitute for the HKA angle, because the association between the two measures differs depending on alignment, OA severity and the method of determining the FS-TS angle. In the second study, the hip-knee-ankle angle determined from a pelvis-to-ankle photograph (HKA-P) was assessed for its ability to estimate the HKA angle. The HKA-P angle was reliable and highly correlated to the HKA. It therefore shows promise as an accurate and cost-effective assessment tool for the estimation of LE alignment. Commonly-used grading scales for the severity of knee OA seen on a radiograph emphasize just one feature of OA; therefore the second goal of this thesis was to assess the psychometric properties of the unicompartmental osteoarthritis grade (UCOAG), a composite scale which grades several features of OA in the tibiofemoral (TF) compartment. In the third and fourth studies, the reliability, validity and sensitivity to change of the UCOAG scale was assessed and compared to two commonly-used scales (Kellgren-Lawrence and Osteoarthritis Research Society International joint space narrowing). The UCOAG scale showed moderate to excellent reliability. All three scales demonstrated comparable validity and sensitivity to change. The UCOAG is therefore recommended for the assessment of OA severity and change over time. This research provides evidence for the use of accurate and cost-effective measures to assess LE alignment using photographs, and TF OA severity using radiographs, for clinical assessment and research purposes. / Thesis (Ph.D, Rehabilitation Science) -- Queen's University, 2013-09-26 13:21:06.097

Correlative and regression analyses of daily ERA-Interim reanalysis data for three separate solarmaximum periods confirm the existence of a temperature response to short-term (mainly ∼27 day) solarultraviolet variations at tropical latitudes in both the lower stratosphere and troposphere. The response,which occurs at a phase lag of 6–10 days after the solar forcing peak, consists of a warming in the lowerstratosphere, consistent with relative downwelling and a slowing of the mean meridional (Brewer-Dobson)circulation, and a cooling in the troposphere. The midtropospheric cooling response is most significant inthe tropical Pacific, especially under positive El Niño–Southern Oscillation conditions and may be relatedto a reduction in the number of Madden-Julian oscillation events that propagate eastward into the centralPacific following peaks in short-term solar forcing.

Magister Scientiae (Physiotherapy) - MSc(Physio) / Background: Globally, the leading cause of lower limb amputation is diabetes mellitus. In South Africa, there is a rise in diabetes-related lower limb amputation with a marked increase in the number of persons with diabetes mellitus in rural areas. However, there is no information on the number of people who are living with a lower limb amputation. An amputation does not only have an impact on a person’s physical functioning but can result in poor quality of life, dependence and exclusion from societal participation. Rehabilitation and prosthetic interventions are known to facilitate those with a lower limb amputation to return to independence in activities of daily living, improved quality of life and inclusion in society. Access to health care is very challenging for persons living in rural areas. Challenges to accessing health care include limited rehabilitation staff, harsh terrain and far distances from services, a lack of access to transport, or the lack of confidence in the service provided by the healthcare institutions. For optimal and patient-centred outcomes, rehabilitation services are of paramount importance. Due to the challenges with providing services in rural areas, community-based rehabilitation is the ideal model for providing rehabilitation to persons with lower limb amputation in rural settings. In order to plan an appropriate community-based approach to rehabilitation, establishing the prevalence of disability and patient-specific needs are imperative. Aims of the study: The aims of this study were firstly, to determine the period prevalence of people living with a lower limb amputation within the rural OR Tambo District of the Eastern Cape in order to determine the need for services and secondly, to gain a deeper understanding of the rehabilitation needs of persons living with a lower limb amputation within the rural OR Tambo District of the Eastern Cape.

ABSTRACT Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the most effective exercise program for the management of occupational lower back pain. Background: Occupational lower back pain accounts for 25% of workdays lost. The annual occurrence of occupational related lower back pain among blue collar workers in South Africa has shown to be between 55,7% and 63,9%. Methodology: Primary studies were searched with the use of the Entrez-cross-database search tool. Methodologies were assessed and critiqued. Data which included exercise detail, outcome measures of lower back pain intensity, painful episodes, sick leave and physical measures with statistical p-values was then extracted. Results: Nine primary studies, which included 11 exercise groups, complied to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. These studies proved to be of high methodology quality with quality scoring 70% on the quality assessment checklist. Exercise regimes, which included stretching, strengthening, endurance exercises and the combination use of stretching, strengthening and endurance exercises were identified and grouped according to the corresponding outcome measures. No meta-analysis could be done as no similar exercises with similar outcome measures could be found. Discussion: The limitations in the nine selected studies methodological quality were the lack of blinding of the assessors and subjects, and in six of the nine studies the lack of adequate participation rate among the intervention subjects. The validation process is acknowledged as a weakness within this study. Stretching, dynamic strengthening and endurance exercises were not statistically significant. Isometric exercise was statistically significant for lower back pain relief when the control group (p<0,0001) was compared to the experimental group. Isometric exercise however had no significant effect on abdominal strength at 9 months follow up period. Functionalexercises were statistically significant when the exercise group was compared to the control group with lower back pain intensity relief (p<0,018), painful episodes (p<0,018), sick leave (p< 0,0044). Functional exercises also had a long-term statistically significant effect on back muscle strength. A meta analysis could not be done due to insufficient similar studies. Conclusion: Although the methodology quality of the nine primary studies showed to be of high quality the validation process was a weakness within this study. Functional strengthening exercises were the most effective type of exercise for the management of occupational lower back pain among blue-collar workers. Future similar randomized control trials on exercise as an intervention to occupational lower back pain are needed to conduct a meta analysis. A meta analysis will be able to provide more evidence to establish which exercise regime is most effective for the management of occupational lower back pain.