abstract: The winter holiday period has been highlighted as a major risk period for weight gain due to excess caloric intake in the form of fat and sugar. Furthermore, diets high in fat and sugar have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Exercise aids in the prevention of weight/fat gain, and prevents deleterious changes in cardiometabolic function. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of a fat-sugar supplemented diet, with and without two different exercise training protocols, on body composition, glycemic control and other markers of cardiovascular disease in an at-risk population of overweight and obese males. Twenty-seven, healthy overweight/obese (BMI >25 kg/m2) males were fed 2 donuts per day, 6 days/week, for four weeks, while maintaining their current diet. In addition, all subjects were randomized to one of the following conditions: sedentary control, 1,000 kcal/week moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) (50% of peak oxygen consumption), or 1,000 kcal/week high-intensity interval training (HIIT) (90-95% of peak heart rate). Supervised exercise training was performed 4 days/week on a cycle ergometer. Changes in body weight and composition, endothelial function, arterial stiffness, glycemic control, blood lipids and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) were assessed before and after the intervention. Body weight, lean mass and visceral fat increased significantly in HIIT (p<0.05) and were unchanged in MICT. There was a trend for a significant increase in body weight (p=0.07) and lean mass (p=0.11) in control. Glycemic control during the 2-h OGTT improved significantly in MICT and control, with no change in HIIT. Hepatic insulin resistance index (IRI) and 30-min insulin during the OGTT improved significantly after MICT and worsened following control (p=0.03), while HIIT was unchanged. CRF increased significantly in both HIIT and MICT, with no change in control (p<0.001). There were no significant changes in other markers of cardiovascular disease. The addition of a fat-sugar supplement (~14,500 kcal) over a 4-week period was not sufficient to induce deleterious changes in body composition and cardiometabolic health in overweight/obese young males. Exercise training did not afford overweight/obese males additional health benefits, with the exception of improvements in fitness and hepatic IRI. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Physical Activity, Nutrition and Wellness 2016

Sammanfattning Den här studien har använt data i form av OECDs PISA-resultat och OECDs enkätsvar, som också tillhör PISA, med syfte att undersöka relationen mellan PISA-resultat och olika former av fysisk aktivitet. PISA-testerna genomförs vart tredje år för OECDs medlemsländer, med syfte att jämföra olika länders skolsystem. Fysisk aktivitet argumenteras ha en effekt på akademiska resultat och just därför bör en ökning av fysisk aktivitet resultera i bättre resultat på PISA-tester. Syfte Denna studie menade att studera relationen mellan tre olika fysiska aktivitetsvariabler, antalet dagar med fysisk aktivitet i skolan per vecka, antal dagar med medelhög, samt högintensiv fysisk aktivitet per vecka och PISA-resultat. Metod Eleverna som genomförde PISA-testet fick svara på frågor under testperioderna om hur fysiskt aktiva de var. Dessa data, som finns öppet tillgängliga som medelvärden inom de olika svarsalternativen, jämfördes sedan med elevernas resultat på PISA-testet med One Way Measure ANOVA tester och Tukey HSD Post-Hoc tester för att se skillnader mellan antalet dagar inom varje fysisk aktivitetsvariabel. Resultat Studiens resultat visade på att en dag med medelhög och högintensiv fysisk aktivitet är bättre än ingen dag med fysisk aktivitet och att flera dagar är bättre än en dag fram till och med sex respektive fyra dagar. Elever som är har fler än 1-2 dagar med fysisk aktivitet i skolan presterar bättre än elever som inte har någon fysisk aktivitet alls eller som är fysisk aktiva fler än två dagar i veckan. Slutsats Den huvudsakliga slutsatsen är att ungdomar som utövar fysisk aktivitet presterar bättre på PISA-tester än dem som inte är fysiskt aktiva och att flera dagar än en dag med medelhög och högintensiv fysisk aktivitet är associerat med än bättre resultat, till och med 6 dagar. / Abstract This study has used data, taken from the OECD’s PISA-test results and questionnaire answers, in order investigate the relationship between PISA-results and different forms of physical activity. PISA-tests run every three years, in countries which are members of the OECD, in order to compare their national education systems. Physical activity is argued to have an effect on academic results and, therefore, an increase in physical activity should result in better results on the PISA-tests. Aim This study aims to look at how three different physical activity measures, the amount of days with physical activity in school, the amount of days with moderate physical activity and vigorous activity, respectively, is associated with the PISA scores for those specific groups. Method The students who completed the PISA-tests also got to answer questions regarding their physical activity habits. These physical activity data, available as means within each different answer, were compared to their group’s PISA-score. Analyses were done using One Way Measure ANOVA tests and Tukeys HSD Post-Hoc tests in order to see difference between numbers of days of physical activity. Results The result of the study showed that one day of moderate and vigorous physical activity is better than no physical activity and that an increasing number of days of physical activity is better up till 4-6 days of physical activity. Students who have 1-2 days of physical activity in school perform better than students who do not have any physical activity or more than two days of physical activity. Conclusions The overall conclusion is that youths who engage in physical activity reach better results on the PISA-tests than people who are not physically active and that an increasing number of days, up till 6 days with physical activity, is better than one.

O grande acúmulo de saponinas nos frutos imaturos de erva mate permite considerá-los uma fonte de matéria prima abundante e ainda não explorada para obtenção de saponinas. As saponinas são conhecidas como tensoativos naturais, sendo utilizadas pelas suas propriedades emulsificantes e farmacológicas. O presente estudo teve como principal objetivo avaliar o uso de técnicas de extração emergentes, como Extração assistida por Ultrassom (US), Campo Elétrico Moderado (CEM) e Extração por Fluido Supercrítico (EFS) para a extração seletiva de saponinas a partir de frutos imaturos de erva mate. Foram investigadas três condições de intensidade de ultrassom (565, 423 e 282 W cm-²) e de intensidade de campo elétrico (50, 37,5 e 25 V cm-1) associadas a diferentes temperaturas de operação. A interação das intensidades de ultrassom e de campo elétrico com diferentes temperaturas foi avaliada através do método de superfície de resposta. Para as extrações por fluido super e sub crítico foram utilizadas três condições de pressão (10, 20 e 30 MPa) e posteriormente sua correlação com diferentes vazões de solvente (1,62; 2,22 e 2,78 x10-4 kg s-1) e temperatura (30, 40 e 50 °C) foi investigada através do métodos de superfície de resposta. Curvas de rendimento das extrações em função do tempo foram levantadas para as condições ótimas de campo elétrico e intensidade de ultrassom (37,5 V cm-1 e 565 W cm-², respectivamente) a 40°C. As curvas foram modeladas matematicamente, com ajuste satisfatório, por modelos cinéticos de 1ª e 2ª ordem e também por um modelo difusivo baseado na 2ª Lei de Fick. Para extração supercrítica, foi construída a curva de extração para a condição de 10 MPa e 40 °C e esta curva foi modelada matematicamente. Assim, foram estimados parâmetros relacionados à transferência de massa, importantes para a compreensão fenomenológica dos processos extrativos. Nesse estudo, a extração com CO2 supercrítico mostrou-se tecnicamente viável para a obtenção de saponinas, sendo mais seletiva em relação aos processos por campo elétrico e ultrassom. Os ensaios com ultrassom e campo elétrico conseguiram gerar extratos brutos com até 68,30 e 64,26 μgilexmg-1extrato em massa de equivalente de saponina por massa de extrato, respectivamente. Os extratos obtidos com fluido supercrítico apresentaram elevada seletividade para saponinas, gerando extratos brutos com até 100,9 μgilex mg-1 extrato de saponina por massa de extrato. A pressão de operação não apresentou efeito tanto no rendimento global de extrato quanto no de saponina. / Considering the substantial amount of saponins in unripe yerba mate fruits, they are an abundant source of raw material not exploited yet. Saponins are known as natural surfactants, being used by their emulsifier and pharmacological properties. This study aimed to evaluate emergent extraction techniques such as Ultrasound (US), Moderate Electric Field (MEF) and Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) for the selective extraction of saponins from unripe fruits of yerba mate. Three power conditions (565, 423 and 282W cm-2), electric field intensities (50, 37.5 and 25 V cm-1) and pressure conditions (10, 20 and 30 MPa) were initially assayed for US, MEF and SFE respectively at 40 °C. Power and electric field intensity were found to affect the saponins yields, thus, their correlation with different temperatures were evaluated with a factorial design. At the optimal condition, US and MEF saponins yields were 6.42% and 6.83% (%gilex gextract-1). Extraction yield curves were raised for optimum conditions of electric field and ultrasound power (37.5 V cm-1 and 565 W cm-², respectively). Three different kinetic models were used to model mathematically the overall extraction curves, namely a first-order, second-order, and a mass transfer model based on Fick’s Law. The operating pressure had no effect on either the overall brute extract or saponins yield for SFE. Although the extracts obtained with supercritical fluid showed low brute extracts yields, it was highly selective for saponins yielding up to 10.09%. For supercritical extraction, the extraction curve for 10 MPa and 40 °C was assayed and the experimental data fitted by a mathematical model. Parameters related to mass transfer, important for understanding of the extractive processes, were successfully estimated. In this study, the extraction with ultrasounds, electric field and supercritical CO2 were shown to be technically viable to obtain saponins from unripe yerba mate fruits, being EFS more selective than the other technics studied.

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No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Geovanna de Castro Morais Machado - 2016.pdf: 3567398 bytes, checksum: a41e8b4d345af4e1180cf1e6e0b0fe15 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-13 / Objectives: Moderate sedation is indicated to control children’s behavior during dental care, reducing anxiety and maintaining the child's well-being. However, some sedated children do not present good behavior making it difficult to perform dental procedures. This study investigated the association of possible individual factors (temperament) and family (parents’ dental anxiety, parents’ pain catastrophizing and coping strategies adopted by parents) with the children’s behavior during dental treatment under moderate sedation. Methods: A total of 110 children/parents (<7 years), referred to sedation at Dental Sedation Center (NESO) of the Faculty of Dentistry of the Federal University of Goiás, for not have cooperated during dental care, and their parents, participated of this observational study of data from two clinical trials. Children had two appointments: clinical examination and tooth restoration, with local anesthesia and rubber dam, under moderate sedation. The restorative session was filmed for further evaluation of the children's behavior by trained and calibrated observers. The behavior was assessed using the Ohio State University Behavioral Rating Scale OSUBRS. Positive behavior was considered when the children presented 80% or more of the sum of the scores 1 and 2 (quiet or crying) during the entire session. The children’s stress was evaluated through the increased cortisol levels present in the saliva, collected in three moments: arrival, 25 min after local anesthesia, and 25 min after the end of the procedure. Children’s temperament was assessed through the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ) answered by parents. Factors related to parents’ anxiety were thus evaluated: dental anxiety using Corah Dental Anxiety Scale; level of pain catastrophizing through the Pain-Catastrophizing Scale-parents; coping strategies through Brief COPE. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test, Friedman, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal Wallis or t-test for independent samples. Results: More than half of the children displayed negative behavior (n = 60 54.5%). Temperament did not associate with the negative behavior of children. Extroversion/surgency (P = 0.03) and the subscales ‘activity level’ (P = 0.04), ‘impulsivity’ (P = 0.04) and ‘smiling/laughter’ (P = 0.01) differed between behavior groups, where children with positive behavior had higher scores than those who had negative behavior. In a sample of 42 children, 31 (73.8%) were reactive to stress during local anesthesia and temperament was not associated with increased levels of children’s stress. Dental anxiety and pain catastrophizing were not associated with negative children’s behavior. Parents of children with negative behavior had higher scores in maladaptive coping and Venting subscale, and lower scores in the Acceptance subscale. Conclusion: Coping strategies adopted by the parents explained, in part, negative or positive children´s behavior. These results have shown that parental coping strategies may have protective or destructive effects on children's behavior. Temperament was not associated with negative behavior and did not influence the children´s stress during the injection of local anesthesia. However, many children were stressed during this procedure, a fact that should be always considered by the professional who assist children under moderate sedation. / Objetivos: Sedação moderada é recomendada para o controle do comportamento infantil durante o atendimento odontológico. Ainda assim, algumas crianças sedadas não colaboram dificultando o tratamento. Esse estudo investigou a associação de possíveis fatores individuais (temperamento) e familiares (ansiedade odontológica dos pais, nível de catastrofização da dor pelos pais e estratégias de coping adotadas pelos pais) com o comportamento da criança durante sedação odontopediátrica. Métodos: Um total de 110 crianças/110 acompanhantes, (< 7 anos) encaminhadas para sedação no Núcleo de Estudos em Sedação Odontológica (NESO) da Faculdade de Odontologia da Universidade Federal de Goiás, por não colaborarem durante atendimento odontológico, fizeram parte deste estudo observacional que usou dados de dois ensaios clínicos. As crianças foram atendidas em duas sessões: exame clínico e restauração de um dente, com anestesia local e isolamento absoluto, sob sedação moderada. A sessão do atendimento restaurador foi filmada para posterior avaliação do comportamento da criança por observadores treinados e calibrados. O comportamento foi avaliado por meio da Ohio State University Behavioral Rating Scale OSUBRS. Comportamento positivo foi considerado quando a criança apresentou 80% ou mais da soma dos escores 1 e 2 (quieto ou com choro) durante toda a sessão de atendimento. O estresse da criança foi avaliado através do aumento dos níveis de cortisol presentes na saliva coletada em três momentos: chegada, 25 minutos após anestesia local e 25 minutos após o final do procedimento. O temperamento foi avaliado usando o Children’s Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ) respondido pelos pais. Fatores relacionados à ansiedade dos pais foram assim avaliados: ansiedade odontológica usando a Escala de Ansiedade Odontológica de Corah; nível de catastrofização da dor através da Escala de Catastrofização da Dor-Pais; estratégias de coping por meio do COPE Breve. Os dados foram analisados por meio de estatística descritiva e dos testes qui-quadrado, Friedman, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal Wallis ou teste t para amostras independentes. Resultados: O temperamento não se associou ao comportamento negativo das crianças. Extroversão (P=0.03) e as subescalas ‘nível de atividade’(P=0.04), ‘impulsividade’ (P=0.04) e ‘riso/sorriso’ (P=0.01) diferiram entre os grupos de comportamento, onde as crianças com comportamento positivo tiveram escores mais altos que as que tiveram comportamento negativo. Entre 42 crianças, 31 mostraram-se reativas ao estresse durante a anestesia local e o temperamento não se associou ao aumento no nível de estresse das crianças. Ansiedade odontológica e catastrofização da dor pelos pais não se associaram ao comportamento negativo das crianças. Pais de crianças com comportamento negativo apresentaram escores mais altos no coping mal-adaptativo e na subescala Desabafo e escores mais baixos na subescala de Aceitação do COPE Breve. Conclusão: Estratégias de coping adotadas pelos pais explicaram, em parte, o comportamento negativo ou positivo das crianças. Estes resultados mostraram que estratégias de enfrentamento dos pais podem ter efeitos protetores ou destrutivos sobre o comportamento das crianças. O temperamento não se associou ao comportamento negativo e nem influenciou no estresse das crianças durante a aplicação da anestesia local. No entanto, muitas crianças mostraram-se estressadas durante esse procedimento, fato que deve ser sempre considerado pelo profissional que atende crianças sob sedação moderada.

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo estudar o potencial de diferentes tecnologias na extração de pectina da casca do maracujá e está dividido em quatro etapas. A primeira etapa do trabalho consistiu em realizar a obtenção e caracterização da farinha da casca do maracujá por diferentes métodos de secagem (estufa a 60 ºC com circulação de ar e liofilização). Os resultados desta primeira etapa mostraram que a farinha da casca do maracujá, obtida por ambos os tratamentos de secagem, apresentou elevado conteúdo de fibras alimentares totais (63,98-72,62 % b.s) e conteúdo de pectina, que variou entre 6,98 e 19,6 % (b.s). O conteúdo de pectina foi maior para a amostra liofilizada e esses coprodutos apresentaram capacidade de retenção de água entre 6,30 e 14,9 g água/g amostra e capacidade de retenção de óleo que variou entre 2,6 e 6,5 g óleo/g amostra, sendo os maiores valores para as amostras liofilizadas. A segunda etapa do trabalho teve como objetivo estudar a extração da pectina assistida pela tecnologia de campo elétrico moderado e compará-la com a extração convencional da pectina. Para isso, diferentes condições de tempo de extração, temperatura, pH e tensão do campo elétrico moderado foram aplicadas na farinha da casca do maracujá. O rendimento de extração de pectina foi de 6,20 % (b.s) quando as condições de extração foram pH 2,0, razão sólido:líquido 1:30, 100 V, 50 °C e 15 min; para as mesmas condições sem o uso do campo elétrico moderado o rendimento obtido foi de 4,80 % (b.s). Na terceira etapa, a pesquisa foi voltada para a extração da pectina assista por alta pressão hidrostática. Para a realização dos ensaios dois planejamentos experimentais foram realizados. O primeiro planejamento consistiu em determinar as melhores condições de temperatura e pressão para a extração da pectina que, posteriormente, foram utilizadas como pré-tratamento para a extração convencional. O segundo planejamento foi realizado para determinar as melhores condições de tempo e temperatura da extração convencional, utilizando a alta pressão como pré-tratamento. Foi observado que a alta pressão hidrostática, combinada com temperatura moderada (300 MPa e 50 ºC ), tem potencial para ser utilizada como pré-tratamento na extração convencional, levando a um rendimento de extração de pectina de 14,34 %. Por fim, a última etapa do presente trabalho foi a extração da pectina assistida por ultrassom, tendo sido desenvolvido um planejamento experimental com duas variáveis, temperatura e intensidade de potência do ultrassom. Os resultados desta etapa demostraram que um maior rendimento de extração (12,67 % b.s) foi obtido na maior temperatura e intensidade de potência, 85 ºC e 664 W/cm2, respectivamente. Os resultados demostraram que a pectina tem potencial para ser melhor extraída da casca de maracujá com o uso das tecnologias emergentes empregadas neste trabalho, pois obteve-se um maior rendimento de extração em menor tempo de processo, quando comparada com a extração convencional. / The aim of this work was to study the potential of different technologies for extraction of pectin from passion fruit peel. The work is divided in four steps. The first step was performed to obtain and characterize the passion fruit peel powder by convective hot air-drying at 60 ºC and freeze-drying. The results showed that the passion fruit powder obtained by different methods of dehydration, had a high content of dietary fiber (63.98-72.62 % d.m) and the content of pectin ranged between 6.98 from 19.6 % (d.m). The content of pectin was high in freeze-dried samples. In addition, these fiber-rich co-products have potential applications as ingredients in products requiring hydration and viscosity development due to their high total dietary fiber content and good technological proprieties, especially their water holding (6.30-14.9 g H2O/g) and oil holding capacities (2.6–6.5 g oil/g), especially for the freeze-dried samples. The purpose of the second step was to explore the conventional and moderate electric field extractions of pectin from passion fruit peel. Different conditions of time, pH, temperature and voltage were applied. The extraction yield of pectin was 6.20 % (d.m) when the extraction conditions were pH 2.0, solid:liquid ratio 1:30, 100V, 50 ºC and 15 minutes; for the same conditions, without moderate electric field, the yield was 4.80 % (b.s). In the third step, the aim was to investigate the potential of high pressure to extract the pectin from passion fruit peel. Two experimental designs were performed; the first was used to determine the optimal conditions of pressure and temperature for pectin extraction and use these conditions as a pre-treatment for conventional extraction. The second experimental design was performed to determine the best conditions of the time and temperature using high pressure as a pre-treatment. The results showed that the yield of extraction enhance twice (7.4 to 14.34 %) when high pressure (300 MPa and 50 ºC) was used as a pre-treatment, using the same conditions of conventional extraction. Finally, the last step of this work was to explore the pectin extraction assisted by ultrasound using an experimental design. The independent variables were temperature and power intensity. The highest yield (12.67 %) of pectin was obtained using power intensity of 644 W/cm2 and temperature of 85 ºC. The results showed that the pectin from passion fruit peel can be extracted using emerging technologies, since the yield of extraction was high in less time comparing with conventional extraction.

Magister Public Health - MPH / Background: Malnutrition accounted high level of childhood morbidity and mortality in Ethiopia including Durame area. Durame area is one of the food insecure districts in Southern region. As a result of high prevlanece of acute malnutrtion, which is 8.3%, Ministry of Health partnering with World Vision Ethiopia started outpatient therapeutic program (OTP) in seven OTP sites to rehablitate severely malnourished children. Reports indicate that number of factors affect the rehabilitation outcome of children with severe acute malnutrtion in OTP programs. However, there are no studies conducted to assess their contribution in the rehablitaiton outcome. Hence, this study will attempt to investigate these factors and assess their public health significance in Durame area. Aim: To assess the factors affecting the rehabilitation outcome of an OTP for children with severe acute malnutrition in Durame area, Southern Ethiopia Method: the study used a descriptive study with an analytical component. Three-hundred and sixty (360) medical records were calculated during sampling and proportional numbers of medical records were sampled from the seven OTP sites. The medical records were reviewed using semi-structured questionnaires from September 1 to September 10, 2008. The data was entered and analyzed using EPI info version 3.3.2 software. Results: three hundred fifty five (98.6%) of the total sample records were reviewed. Three hundred twenty nine (92.7%) children were cured, 11(3.8%) died, 7 (2%) defaulted and 8 (2.3%) were non-cure. Average weight gain on discharge was 3.4gm/kg/day and the mean length of stay was 55.6 days (SD+14 days). More than 60% of children were admitted in three of the seven OTP sites where Demboya OTP sites taking the larger share. Nearly half of the total children (49.8%) were between 6 to 12 months of age and the median age of admission was 13 months. The male to female ratio in the study population was almost equal. Average family size was 6.3 and 58.3% of children came from households with 6 or more family members. Forty two (11.8%) children in the study had twin. The average walking distance to the OTP sites was 62.9 minutes and two hundred fifty six mothers travelled less than an hour. Most of the children (92.1%) were referred from the community and most of the children were admitted with MUAC followed by pitting edema. One hundred seventy four (49%) of the total children were beneficiaries of GFR. On admission two hundred twenty six (63.7%) children were breastfeeding, 257 (72.4%) had no symptoms of sickness and 327 (92.1%) did not have abnormal physical examination findings. More than half (51.5%) of them did not receive any home visit and the larger share of the home visits (37.3%) were made when children got illnesses. One hundred sixteen (32.7%) children in the study had chronic medical conditions during follow up. Fever or hypothermia (0.6%), dehydration (0.8%), anemia (0.6%), skin infection (1.6%) and Plumpy nut refusal (2.0%) were the main abnormal medical findings during follow up. Assessment of the influence of the socio-demographic and biological characteristics on the rehabilitation outcome indicated that the sites, family size, chronic medical conditions, absenteeism, weight loss, presence of fever or hypothermia, dehydration and anemia had significant association with the treatment outcome (p<0.05). Further analysis for significant variables using regression analysis indicated that absenteeism, chronic medical illness, fever or hypothermia and anemia are predictor variables contributing significant information for the prediction of the treatment outcome (p<0.05). Conclusion: The program has high success rate in terms of increasing cure and decreasing death, default and non-cure rates but it did not meet the minimum international recommendations for average length of stay and average weight gain. The study identified the main socio-demographic and biological characteristics of children with SAM and factors that affect the rehabilitation outcome. Children under the age of 24 months were most affected with SAM and no gender variation. Larger proportions of malnourished children were living in families above the average family size, which had significant association with the outcome. OTP sites were accessible for majority children in the program but higher level of absenteeism which significantly associated with the outcome. The study identified socio-demographic and biological factors that influenced the rehabilitation outcome as well as the predictor variables contributing significant information for the prediction of the treatment outcome. It could assist the program implementers to design appropriate public health measures. The achievement in Durame OTP program indicates effectiveness of community based management of SAM and existing potential to integrate in routine health system in resource scarce setting like Durame. Recommendations: to sustain the achievements and improve the growth areas necessary public health measures are prime importance.

Magister Scientiae Dentium - MSc(Dent) / This study was done to show that sedation is a safe and a viable option in young children. Dental procedures were done on children aged two to ten years. Two hundred children were included in the study. In all of these children the procedures were completed. Only two children were excluded, because an intravenous line could not be placed on the one child, and the other child was unmanageable under sedation. The safety of sedation was evaluated looking at the incidence of adverse events and complications. No serious adverse effects or complications occurred. The complications that occurred were all corrected with minimal or non-invasive interventions. Only six of the two hundred children required oxygen to correct a drop in oxygen saturation.

Literacy includes many skills involving the use of language to read, write, listen, and speak. The ultimate goal in acquiring literacy skills is to function as independently, and in as integrated a manner as possible, in a literate society. Literary skills are critical skills for all students, both with and without disabilities. Since the 1990s, literacy has moved closer and closer to the forefront of our collective awareness regarding students who are at risk of not acquiring sufficient literacy ability. However, students with moderate and severe intellectual disability (MSID) have not always been included in this group of students. In recent years, there has been a greater effort to examine how to provide literacy instruction in a more complete and comprehensive manner for students with MSID. At the present time, there is limited research obtained directly from classroom teachers on their knowledge, beliefs, and practices about students with MSID and literacy. If we are to make effective and meaningful changes in literacy instruction for students with MSID, it is important to further investigate these variables as reported by teachers themselves. This research study examined, through the collection of survey data, teachers’ perceptions about literacy skills for students with MSID. The research questions were: (a) What do classroom teachers of students with MSID in Kentucky report as having learned in their university/college teacher preparation programs about literacy? (b) What do special education teachers in Kentucky believe about their students with MSID and literacy? and (c) In which literacy skill areas (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension) do teachers of students with MSID in Kentucky report they are providing instruction?

Pour les prochaines générations de systèmes de communications sans fil, un défi majeur est de poursuivre l'augmentation de l' efficacité spectrale de ces systèmes pour satisfaire la montée croissante des demandes en débit, tout en revoyant à la baisse la consommation énergétique des équipements et répondre ainsi aux objectifs des ''communications vertes’’. L'une des stratégies permettant de traiter ce problème sont les communications multiantennes multi-utilisateurs (MU-MIMO), notamment lorsque le nombre d'antennes devient très grand (Massive MIMO). Il est alors possible d'adresser de multiples utilisateurs simultanément grâce à une opération linéaire de précodage spatial. Le but de cette thèse consiste à optimiser l’efficacité spectrale des systèmes MU-MIMO dans le cas d'un nombre d'antennes qui reste modéré, et une consommation énergétique faible. Nous avons donc étudié les techniques de précodage à haute efficacité énergétique basées sur la notion de filtre adapté au canal, tels que la technique MRT (maximum ratio transmission), EGT (equal gain transmission) et TR (time reversal). Notre travail s'est concentré sur l’analyse théorique des performances de ces techniques. Nous avons de plus introduit un nouveau schéma de transmission, nommé PFBO (partial frequency bandwidth overlay), visant à améliorer l’efficacité spectrale des systèmes MU-MIMO à faible nombre d'antennes et pour de faibles niveaux de rapports signal à bruit (SNR). Dans une première partie, nous avons étudié l'efficacité spectrale du schéma PFBO dans le cas de transmissions mono-porteuses et multi-porteuses. Les taux de recouvrement optimaux fournissant une capacité système maximale dans le cas de transmissions MISO et MIMO à deux utilisateurs ont été identifiés. Puis l'étude a été étendue aux cas MU-MIMO avec un nombre arbitraire d'utilisateurs. Nous avons modélisé précisément le comportement du canal équivalent après précodage, en utilisant respectivement les techniques EGT, TR et MRT. De nouvelles bornes de capacité non disponibles dans la littérature ont alors été obtenues et ont montré une précision satisfaisante. Dans la deuxième partie, le taux d'erreur binaire pour le schéma PFBO a été étudié sur canal plat et canal de Rayleigh. Les expressions du taux d'erreurs binaires ont été obtenues. En particulier, nous avons proposé un modèle statistique pour rendre compte du comportement du canal après précodage ainsi que de l'interférence inter-utilisateur. Une première proposition de modèle a été introduite pour les systèmes EGTMIMO à deux utilisateurs utilisant une modulation BPSK. Ce modèle a été également validé dans le cas d'une modulation QPSK ou pour de multiples utilisateurs. Dans la dernière partie, nous avons combiné le principe du schéma PFBO aux systèmes OFDM à spectre étalé (SSOFDM). Nous avons analysé les performances théoriques de ce système sur canal plat et canal de Rayleigh. Les expressions de taux d'erreurs binaires ont été établies et validées par simulations. Nous avons alors pu montrer que la composante SS permettait d'améliorer les performances du schéma PFBO lorsque le taux de recouvrement restait modéré. / For the next generations of wireless communication systems, getting higher spectral efficiencies is remaining a big challenge to answer the explosively increasing demand of throughput. Meanwhile, the energy consumption of equipments and the transmitting power density have to be reduced to achieve the objective of ‘’green communications’’. One of the most promising strategies to deal with such issues is using multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) schemes, namely for large-scale antenna systems. It becomes then possible to simultaneously serve multiple simple device users using linear spatial precoding techniques. The objective of this thesis is to optimize the spectral efficiency of MU-MIMO systems in the context of moderate-scale antenna arrays and low energy consumption. Hence, we studied different high-energy efficiency precoding techniques based on matched filtering approach, such as maximum ratio transmission (MRT), equal gain transmission (EGT) and time reversal (TR). We were interested in the theoretical performance analysis of these techniques. In addition, we introduced a scheme based on partial frequency bandwidth overlay (PFBO) to improve and adapt the spectral efficiency of a MU-MIMO system at low signal to noise ratio (SNR) regime. In a first part, we studied the spectral efficiency of the proposed PFBO scheme with both single-carrier and multi-carrier modulations. We identified the optimal bandwidth overlap ratios that provide the maximum achievable rate for two-user SIMO and MIMO systems. Then the study was extended to a more general MU-MIMO case with an arbitrary number of users. We precisely modeled the channel behavior after precoding when using EGT, TR and MRT techniques. New closed-form capacity lower bounds not available in the literature were then obtained and shown to be satisfactory accurate. In the second part, the bit error rate (BER) performance of PFBO scheme was studied for both flat fading channels and theoretical Rayleigh channels. Closed-form BER equations were obtained. Particularly, we proposed a statistical model to reflect the behavior of the non-flat fading channel after precoding and to take into account the correlated interference terms that occur in a two-user EGT-MIMO system using BPSK modulation. This model was also validated in case of QPSK modulation and with more users. In the last part, we proposed to combine our PFBO principle with spread-spectrum OFDM techniques (SS-OFDM). We analyzed the theoretical BER performance of such a scheme using flat fading channels and theoretical Rayleigh channels. New closed-form BER approximation equations were then established and compared through simulations. Eventually, we showed that the SS component of the proposed system provides performance gains that depend on the overlap ratio used in the PFBO scheme.

Syftet med studien var att analysera Moderaternas argument till att slopa straffrabatt för unga lagöverträdare. Studien utgick från en kvalitativ metod och använde en argumentationsanalys för att besvara syftet. Moderaternas motion är en offentlig handling och användes som urval. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten i studien var Garlands teori “acting out”. Teorin problematiserar olika politiska strategier. För att undersöka argumenten i motionen applicerades pro et contra-metoden. En teoretisk modell användes vid sammanvägning av argumentens beviskraft. Resultatet i studien visade att argumenten i Moderaternas motion innehöll moraliska värderingar snarare än faktabaserad information. Resultatet visade även att motionen innehöll otydliga motiveringar till att slopa straffrabatt för unga lagöverträdare. Tesen som framförts i motionen var enligt resultatet inte styrkt av de argument som tagits fram. Argumenten lyfte inte fram någon lösning på den problematik som framförts, utan var enbart något som Moderaterna själva ansåg vara mer rättvist. Vidare tolkades det som att Moderaterna argumenterar på ett sätt som ökar medborgarnas förtroende genom att använda känslostyrda formuleringar. För framtida studier rekommenderas det att analysera argument skrivna av andra politiska partier, som diskuterar straffrättsliga åtgärder för unga lagöverträdare. Det kan bidra till bredare perspektiv och förståelse. / The aim of this study was to analyse the Moderate party´s arguments to remove penalty reduction for young offenders. The study was based on a qualitative method and used an argumentation analysis to answer the purpose of this study. The Moderate party´s proposal is a public document and was used as a sample. The theoretical framework in this study was Garlands theory “acting out”. Acting out problematizes different political strategies. To be able to examine the arguments in the proposal we used the pro et contra-method. A theoretical model was used to put together the arguments probative value. The results in the study showed that the arguments in the proposal contained morale values rather than information based on facts. The results also showed that the proposal contained unclear motivations for removing penalty reduction for young offenders. The thesis in the proposal was according to the results not confirmed by the arguments that were brought up. The arguments did not conclude any solutions on the problem that the proposal mentioned. The arguments were solely built on something that the moderate party considered as fair. Moreover, it was interpreted that the Moderate party uses arguments in ways that increases the citizens trust by using sentences based on emotions. For future studies it is recommended to also do analyse arguments on other political parties that discusses criminal proceedings for young offenders. It can contribute to a broader perspective and understanding.