Women are four to eight times more likely to injure their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) compared to men. It is most commonly injured through a non-contact mechanism during game time situations. During landings, women display valgus collapse, where a less active gluteus medius muscle (GMed) may be unable to control the internal rotation of the thigh, causing an increase in knee joint abduction angle, augmenting the risk of ACL injury. This study’s purpose was to determine the difference between 12 male and 12 female athletes in muscle activity, specifically the GMed, and the 3D kinematics and kinetics of the lower-limb during drop jump landings from three heights; maximum vertical jump height, tibial length, and a commonly used height of 40cm. Results showed that females had greater hip adduction and knee abduction angles compared to men. The GMed activity showed no significant differences between sexes at each drop jump height.

Orientador: José Corrêa de Lacerda Neto / Banca: Thiago Luiz de Salles Gomes / Banca: Claudia Acosta Duarte / Banca: Flora Helena de Freitas D'Angelis / Banca: Antonio de Queiroz Neto / Resumo: Objetivou-se avaliar o efeito da suplementação com diferentes concentrações de óleo de soja e do treinamento de resistência nas adaptações do músculo glúteo médio de 20 eqüinos da raça Puro Sangue Árabe. Os animais foram distribuídos em cinco grupos, cada grupo foi composto por quatro cavalos. O grupo controle não recebeu óleo e os demais foram suplementados com 6, 12, 18 e 24% de óleo. Os animais foram submetidos a sete semanas consecutivas de exercício em esteira rolante e trilha. Analisou-se a influência do treinamento e da suplementação com óleo sobre o peso e escore corporal, concentração de glicogênio muscular e características das fibras do músculo glúteo médio. Os resultados demonstraram que as diferentes concentrações de óleo na dieta não influenciaram as variáveis estudadas. Houve redução significativa do peso corpóreo após o treinamento, no entanto o escore corporal permaneceu constante. O músculo glúteo médio expressou três tipos de fibras puras: I, IIA, IIX. O treinamento não induziu hipertrofia das fibras do músculo glúteo médio. O treinamento ocasionou aumento na proporção e na área relativa das fibras tipo IIA em detrimento das fibras IIX, melhorando a capacidade oxidativa muscular. Tanto as dietas com óleo como o treinamento não aumentaram as concentrações de glicogênio muscular. / Abstract: The aim of this study was evaluate the effects of supplementation with different concentrations of soy oil and endurance training on gluteus medius muscle adaptations in twenty Arabian horses. The horses were randomized in five groups (four horses each group). The control group did not receive the oil and the other groups were supplemented with 6%, 12%, 18% and 24% of soy oil. The animals were submitted to seven weeks of exercise on treadmill and track. The influence of training and oil supplementation on body weight, corporal score, muscular glycogen stores and characteristics of the gluteus medius muscular fibers were analyzed. The results showed that the supplementation of soy oil in diet was not significantly effective on the studied parameters. There was a significant reduction of the body weight after the end of training; however the corporal score showed no changes. The gluteus medius muscle expressed three types of pure fibers: I, IIA and IIX. The training induced a increase in the proportion and relative area of the type IIA fibers in detriment of type IIX fibers, improving the oxidative capacity muscular. No hypertrophy of the muscular fibers was observed. There were no significant changes in the values of the total glycogen after the training period. / Doutor

Women are four to eight times more likely to injure their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) compared to men. It is most commonly injured through a non-contact mechanism during game time situations. During landings, women display valgus collapse, where a less active gluteus medius muscle (GMed) may be unable to control the internal rotation of the thigh, causing an increase in knee joint abduction angle, augmenting the risk of ACL injury. This study’s purpose was to determine the difference between 12 male and 12 female athletes in muscle activity, specifically the GMed, and the 3D kinematics and kinetics of the lower-limb during drop jump landings from three heights; maximum vertical jump height, tibial length, and a commonly used height of 40cm. Results showed that females had greater hip adduction and knee abduction angles compared to men. The GMed activity showed no significant differences between sexes at each drop jump height.

Medius är ett IT-företag med djup kompetens inom områdena verksamhetsutveckling och processoptimering med mål att erbjuda sina kunder världens bästa affärsstöd. Sedan Medius grundades 2001 har organisationen haft en kraftigt årlig tillväxt. Ett fokus på ökad omsättning och tillväxt är något som genomsyrar hela organisationen. Tillväxten ska uppnås genom ökad direkt- och partnerförsäljning. Ett stort fokus under en längre period på att skapa nya partners har lett till att antalet är mycket högt och att det saknas någon egentlig koll på hur många de är, vilken kategori de tillhör och hur väl de presterar. Medius kraftiga och snabba expansion samt deras fokus på ytterligare tillväxt har skapat resursbrister inom organisationen vilket påverkat partnerhanteringen stort. Det finns heller ingen uttalad partnerstrategi eller klara rollfördelningar inom organisationen. Detta har lett till att vissa partners inte känner att de kan prestera optimalt och till att partnerrelationer har blivit lidande. Baserat på denna problembeskrivning blev syftet med rapporten att undersöka hur Medius och liknande företag, eller organisationer i liknande situationer, bör hantera och utveckla sina partnerrelationer för att maximeras deras tillväxtpotential. Syftet besvarades genom att först och främst kartlägga de faktorer inom Medius partnerförsäljning som faktiskt påverkade tillväxtpotentialen. Därefter undersöktes hur väl fungerande dessa faktorer var i dagsläget och vilka åtgärder som skulle kunna förbättra dessa. Denna del av rapporten bygger på flertalet intervjuer, både internt på Medius och externt, tillsammans med en enkät som partnerförsäljare till Medius tog del av. Resultatet av undersökningen visade även att 78 % av Medius partners som helhet var nöjda med Medius partnerhantering. Resultatet av undersökningen visade även dock att Medius kan förbättra sin partnerhantering gällande utbildning och informationsmaterial, utvärdering och uppföljning, stöd och kontakt, styrning, intern konkurrens samt hur de erhåller marknadsinformation via partners.

PURPOSE: To examine gluteus medius strength and endurance in relation to lower limb stability, targeting and agility. METHODS: 57 participants performed isometric and dynamic gluteus medius strength and endurance tests of both lower limbs. Lower limb dominance was determined using the Waterloo Footedness Questionnaire-Revised (WFQ-R). Strength and endurance of gluteus medius were compared to single-leg performance of a stork stand, a lateral foot targeting task and a hopping test of agility. RESULTS: Body mass normalized isometric gluteus medius strength was found to be weakly and inversely correlated to agility score for both dominant limbs (r=-0.262, p=0.026) and non-dominant limbs (r=-0.335, p=0.006) with a lower agility score indicating better agility performance. For non-dominant limbs only, body mass normalized isometric gluteus medius strength correlated negatively to targeting speed (r=-0.229, p=0.045) and isometric gluteus medius endurance measured as percentage drop in strength over time correlated weakly and positively to the amount of body sway demonstrated during a single-leg stork stand task (r=0.253, p=0.030). CONCLUSION: Gluteus medius strength may be weakly related to improved agility performance while gluteus medius endurance may weakly relate to improved single-leg static balance performance. It is likely that other factors such as neuromuscular training have a much larger influence on stability, targeting ability and agility than the strength and endurance of the hip abductors alone.

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Darstellung der plantaren Sprunggelenksregion des Pferdes im MRT. Das typische Signalverhalten des Musculus interosseus medius im MRT soll mit histologischen und sonographischen Untersuchungen abgeglichen werden. Weiterhin wird mit Hilfe des MRT geprüft, ob der charakteristische Binnenaufbau des Musculus interosseus medius einer Veränderung mit zunehmendem Alter der Tiere unterliegt. 27 Gliedmaßen von 22 orthopädisch gesunden Warmblutpferden im Alter von einem Monat bis 25 Jahren wurden magnetresonanztomographisch untersucht. Die MRT – Untersuchung wurde an einem 0,5 Tesla starken Gerät in fünf Sequenzen und drei Schnittebenen durchgeführt. Vergleichend wurde die plantare Sprunggelenksregion bei 14 Tieren ultrasonographisch dargestellt. Die Darstellung der Binnenstruktur des Musculus interosseus medius im MRT sollte deskriptiv erfasst werden. Nachfolgend wurden die Anteile der verschiedenen Gewebsanteile dieser Struktur alterskorrelierend, statistisch ausgewertet und den Signalintensitäten histologisch Gewebe zugeordnet. Grundsätzlich waren alle Strukturen der plantaren Sprunggelenksregion im MRT darstellbar. Unterschiede konnten abhängig von den Strukturen und deren Verlauf in den verschiedenen Schnittebenen festgestellt werden. Die verwendeten Sequenzen zeichneten sich als geeignet für die Weichteildiagnostik aus. In jeder Sequenz zeigte das gewebstypische Signalverhalten charakteristische Grauwertverteilungen. Signifikant am besten ließ sich der Musculus interosseus medius in transversalen Schnittebenen in protonengewichteter Sequenz abgrenzen. Der Binnenaufbau des Musculus interosseus medius konnte in jeder verwendeten Sequenz nachvollzogen werden. Es war keine signifikant feststellbare Korrelation zwischen dem Alter der Pferde und den prozentual ermittelten Gewebsanteilen nachzuweisen. Sonographisch konnte der Musculus interosseus medius weniger gut abgegrenzt werden, auch die Morphologie war nicht so genau nachzuvollziehen. Zur genauen Beurteilung dieser Struktur ist die MRT – Untersuchung der Sonographie überlegen. Den unterschiedlichen Signalverhalten des Musculus interosseus medius konnten histologisch verschiedene Gewebe zugeordnet werden. Dabei handelte es sich um größere Ansammlungen von Fett- und Muskelzellen, die in das sehnige Grundgewebe eingelagert waren. Die Magnetresonanztomographie hat sich als sehr geeignetes Verfahren erwiesen, die Weichteilgewebe der plantaren Sprunggelenksregion des Pferdes gut abgrenzbar darzustellen. Im histologischen Vergleich konnte der Magnetresonanztomographie eine sehr gute Sensitivität und Spezifität nachgewiesen werden.

M.Tech. / The term „myofascial‟ is derived from the word „myo‟ meaning muscle and „fascia‟ meaning connective tissue. Myofascial pain syndrome is a regional pain syndrome characterized by the presence of myofascial trigger points (Mense and Simons, 2001). The most crucial component of myofascial pain is muscle shortening from contracture (or „spasm‟). In fact, myofascial pain does not exist without muscle shortening. Prolonged shortening not only causes pain in the muscle but also physically pulls on tendons, thereby straining them and distressing the bone and joints they insert into and act upon (Gunn, 2002). Trigger points are most often discussed in the setting of myofascial pain syndromes, in which widespread or regional muscular pain is associated with hyperalgesia, psychological disturbance and significant restriction of daily activities (Huguenin, 2004).

Women are four to eight times more likely to injure their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) compared to men. It is most commonly injured through a non-contact mechanism during game time situations. During landings, women display valgus collapse, where a less active gluteus medius muscle (GMed) may be unable to control the internal rotation of the thigh, causing an increase in knee joint abduction angle, augmenting the risk of ACL injury. This study’s purpose was to determine the difference between 12 male and 12 female athletes in muscle activity, specifically the GMed, and the 3D kinematics and kinetics of the lower-limb during drop jump landings from three heights; maximum vertical jump height, tibial length, and a commonly used height of 40cm. Results showed that females had greater hip adduction and knee abduction angles compared to men. The GMed activity showed no significant differences between sexes at each drop jump height.

Master of Science / Department of Animal Sciences and Industry / Terry Houser / A total of 45 top sirloin butts (IMPS 184) were procured from three commercial beef processing facilities to determine the effects of post-mortem aging time and blade tenderization on the quality of beef gluteus medius (GM) steaks. Top sirloin butts were randomly assigned to five post-mortem aging periods (5, 19, 33, 47, and 61 days). One-half of each beef GM was randomly assigned to either a blade tenderized treatment or a non-blade tenderized treatment that was not blade tenderized. Steaks were then evaluated for thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), metmyoglobin reducing activity (MRA), oxygen consumption rate (OCR), visual color panel, instrumental color, Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) enumeration, pH, and sensory properties. Aging × blade tenderization interactions (P < 0.05) were found for display color panel, discoloration panel, WBSF, overall tenderness, myofibrillar tenderness, bloody/serumy, metallic, overall sweet, and bitter (P < 0.05). As steaks were aged longer and blade tenderized they became more discolored during display and more tender. In addition, there were aging × display time interactions (P < 0.05) observed for L*, a*, b*, display color panel, and discoloration panel. As steaks were aged longer, they had increased L*, a*, b*, and hue angle values and display color panel scores when initially put into a retail case, but L*, a* and b* decreased and discoloration scores increased as display time increased. Furthermore, there were blade tenderization × display time interactions (P < 0.05) found for display and discoloration panels. Blade tenderized steaks discolored faster in retail display than non-blade tenderized steaks. With increased aging time, there was an increase (P < 0.05) in TBARS, OCR, initial color panel, LAB enumeration, and warmed-over flavor, as well as a decrease in MRA. Also, as aging increased there was a decrease (P < 0.05) in MRA, initial color panel scores, and WBSF values. Blade tenderization significantly increased (P < 0.05) initial color panel scores, rancid flavor, and spoiled flavor. Increasing the aging time of the GM, produced steaks with decreased color stability, altered the flavor profile, and increased tenderness. Blade tenderization significantly increased tenderness, increased discoloration in a retail case, and produced more undesirable flavors.

The middle spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos medius) became extinct in Sweden in 1982. The last population inhabited a fragmented area of 300 km2 and were for a long time a characteristic species for the oak stands of Sturefors and Bjärka­Säby, south of Linköping. The reason why the species got extinct depends mostly on habitat fragmentation. Also, the extinction got hasten by harsh wintering conditions. The purpose of this study is to evaluate which of current populations of Dendrocopos medius could best serve as source of founders for a possible reintroduction of the species in Linköping. Populations from Poland, Germany, Latvia and Lithuania were considered, taking their ecology, phylogeny and genetic diversity into account. The population’s abiotic conditions, in combination with their ability to adapt to different habitat was also considered crucial to conduce a successful reintroduction of middle spotted woodpecker in Linköping. Populations from Bialowieza and Krotoszyn in Poland, Wolfsburg in Germany and Kaunas and Marijampole in Lithuania were considered most suitable to contribute with founders. Since the middle spotted woodpecker could work as a flagship species for old and open oak stands, a reintroduction of the species could turn up the awareness for nature conservation, species conservation and biodiversity.