The objectives for the first part of this thesis were to describe changes in oxygen saturation (SpO2) and heart rate (HR) in newly born infants in the delivery room (DR) and to illustrate the changes using centile reference charts. The objective of the second part of the thesis was to investigate whether infants < 29 weeks gestation who receive positive pressure ventilation (PPV), immediately after birth with a T-piece have higher SpO2 measurements at five minutes than infants ventilated with a self inflating bag (SIB). / Study Design. A prospective observational study was used to achieve the first objectives. For the second part of the thesis I coordinated a randomised, controlled trial of two devices used for resuscitation of extremely preterm infants in the DR where the primary outcome measure was SpO2. / Patients and methods. In all studies a Masimo Radical pulse oximeter (PO) was placed on the infant’s right hand/wrist immediately after birth. PO data (oxygen saturation, HR and signal quality) were downloaded every 2 sec and analysed only when the signal had no alarm messages (low IQ signal, low perfusion, sensor off, ambient light). / Results. Observational studies: The dataset to develop the reference range charts included 61,650 data points from 468 infants. Infants had a mean (range) gestational age of 38 (25-42) weeks and birthweight 2970 (625-5135) g. For all 468 infants at one minute the 3rd, 10th, 50th, 90th and 97th centiles were 29%, 39%, 66%, 87% and 92%; at two minutes 34%, 46%, 73%, 91% and 95% and at five minutes 59%, 73%, 89%, 97% and 98%. It took a median of 7.9 (IQR 5.0 to 10) minutes to reach a SpO2 > 90%. SpO2 of preterm infants rose more slowly than that of term infants. At one min the median (IQR) HR was 82 (66 to 138) bpm rising at two min and five min to 151 (112 to 169) bpm and 166 (148 to 176) bpm respectively. In preterm infants, the SpO2 and HR rose more slowly than term infants. / Randomised trial: Forty nine infants were randomly allocated to the T-piece and 50 to the SIB. Ten infants did not receive PPV, 4 (8%) in the T-piece group and 6 (12%) in the SIB group and were not included in the analysis. Forty-one infants received PPV with a T-piece and 39 with a SIB. At 5 minutes after birth there was no significant difference between the mean (SD) SpO2 in the T-piece and SIB groups [50 (31)% vs. 53 (25)%, (p=0.73)]. More T-piece infants received oxygen during DR resuscitation (100% vs. 90%, p=0.04). There was no significant difference between the groups in the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP); endotracheal intubation or administration of surfactant in the DR. Fewer of the T-piece group who left the DR on CPAP were intubated in the first 24 hrs after birth. (7% vs. 23%, p=0.05). / Conclusion. The centile charts developed in this thesis provide a reference range for SpO2 and HR in the first 10 minutes after birth for preterm and term infants. In the randomised trial there was no significant difference in SpO2 at five minutes after birth in extremely preterm infants given PPV with a T-piece or a SIB.

<p>Technological advancements in video technology have placed stringent requirements on video analog front ends (AFEs) to deliver high resolutions crisp images while consuming low power to deliver optimal performance.</p><p>One of the vital parts of an AFE is a delay locked loop (DLL). The DLL is a first order system that aligns  a delayed signal with respect to a reference signal while working in a feedback manner. DLLs find their applications in many electronic devices that deal with clocks in their operation. They are used to improve timing margins and clock delays in microprocessors, memory elements and other such applications. The vital function of a DLL is to delay the input clock (one period delay), by passing it through delay line and aligning the input clock and the delayed clock of the DLL through phase detector. Once this is done multiple phases canbe derived from various stages of the delay line with each providing a stable clock signal that is a delayed version of the input clock. Due to the increasing clock speeds this task of deriving multiple phases has become quite cumbersome. The task may become complicated due to noise generated from switching activity in digital circuits thus resulting in jitter at DLL output. As the design of analog circuits becomes quite exigent especially below the 100 nm mark, the goal hereis to design an all digital DLL to take advantage of the 65 nm process and a simplified design cycle.</p><p>The aim of this thesis is to implement an all digital delay locked loop with an input frequency range of 60 MHz to 300 MHz with a worst case jitter of 66 ps.The DLL provides 32 uniformly spaced phases between input and output clocks.The DLL operation is divided in to two stages. In the first step the first delayline quantizes input clock period with the help of a binary time to digital converter.Based on this quantization information second delay line introduces actual delay between input and output clocks with 32 intermediate phases in between.The entire process takes up to 9 clock cycles until a lock state is achieved. These 32 phases provide a greater phase resolution enhancing the sync processing characteristics of the video AFE thus improving the one screen display characteristics.</p>

<p>Phase locked loop (PLLs) are the keystone for the electronic as well as for the communication circuits. Without any exaggeration, PLLs are found almost in every electronic and communication devices. Countless research has been performed, for the modification and enhancement of the PLLs circuit. While, due to the numerous advantage of the digital circuitry, the recent research is focusing on the all digital implementation of the PLLs. Therefore, it was competitive to touch with burning research.</p><p>Low power and wide range all digital phase locked loop (ADPLL), for video applications is presented. ADPLL has an operating input frequency between 10kHz to 150 kHz and output frequency between 10 MHz to 300 MHz. The phase frequency detector (PFD) is based on D-flip flops, having two output error and direction signal. The traditional charge pump (CP) is replaced by time-to-digital converters (TDC) and analog low pass filter (LPF) by digital low pass filter (digital-LPF). For completely digital architecture, voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) is replaced by the digitally controlled oscillator (DCO). In DCO, eleven bits are dedicated for controlling bits, two bits for biasing and one bit for enable the DCO. The designed steps for ADPLL were almost similar to the designed steps of a second order analog PLL. The ADPLL is implemented on a CMOS 65-nm technology.</p>

<p>Snowboarding is a relatively young sport and has grown since the birth in the 1960-70.</p><p>Today, snowboarding still is a lifestyle to many, but also an accepted mainstream sport and has been an Olympic sport since the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan 1998 (18,35,36). The movement pattern and body position is asymmetric, since you stand sideways with the front foot ahead of the rear foot in the line of direction (14,18,28). Several studies that have investigated the biomechanics of snowboarding have showed that the loading of the lower extremities are different in the front leg compared to the rear leg during riding (14,18, 22,23,28).</p><p>The purpose of this study was to investigate if the asymmetric body position in snowboarding causes differences between front and rear leg considering; circumference of thigh, range of motion (ROM) in the hip joints, power in lower extremities, or causes asymmetrical ROM in the spine in the test group compared to the control group.</p><p>Two groups were used, one test group consisting of ten elite snowboarders (n=10) with an average age of 18 years, and one control group consisting of eight high level skiers (n=8), average age 17,25 years. All subjects were students at Malung/Sälen Alpine Elite Gymnasium. Measurements of ROM in hip and spine were made with a myrin incline goniometer and universal plastic goniometer. A one leg countermovement jump (CMJ) was made as a test of power in the lower extremities using Ivar ump & speed analyzer. Measurements of circumference of thighs were made using a soft tape measure.</p><p>The results show significant differences in four of the ten measurements in test group and in two of the ten measurements in the control group. There are significant differences in hip passive flexion (P<0,05) and adduction(P<0,05) in both groups (Tables 2,3) suggesting that in these movements there are individual differences. The one leg CMJ and circumference of thigh shows significant differences, (P>0,05) and (P<0,001), between front and rear leg in the test group (Table 2), but no such differences can be seen in the control group (Table 3) suggesting that these differences may be caused by the asymmetrical body position during snowboarding.</p>

<p>Marknadsföring är ett omfattande begrepp som innefattar mycket mer än bara reklam och försäljning. I praktiken är kommunikationen med interna och externa aktörer en oerhört viktig del i marknadsföringsarbetet. Kommunikation mellan företagets ledning och anställda är viktig så att företagets vision genomsyrar hela verksamheten. Olika enheter/avdelningar bör kommunicera med varandra så att samtliga är bekanta med hela företagets produktutbud. Det är även viktigt att företaget når ut med sitt budskap till sina externa aktörer om hur de vill bli uppfattade. Kundernas uppfattning och känslor inför företaget som helhet skapar företagets profil. Tidigt i köpprocessen spelar marknadsföringen en central roll då den har till uppgift att göra kunden medveten om produktens existens. Informationen som sänds ut till kunden ska även ge en viss kunskap om produkten.</p><p> </p><p>Metria har ett mycket brett utbud av produkter och tjänster. För att presentera det komplexa utbudet på ett tydligt och begripligt sätt har Metrias marknadsgrupp arbetat fram ett produktstrukturförslag. Syftet med produktstrukturen är att skapa medvetenhet hos anställda och kunder om Metrias alla produkter och tjänster. Innan den framtagna produktstrukturen marknadsförs, vill marknadsgruppen veta vad anställda och kunder har för åsikter om den, om den är tydlig och om begreppen som används är begripliga.</p><p> </p><p>Författarna fick i uppdrag av Metria att undersöka hur anställda och kunder uppfattar produktstrukturförslaget. Undersökningen har legat till grund för denna uppsats.</p><p>Undersökningen skedde främst genom telefonintervjuer och enstaka besöksintervjuer. Metria valde själva ut respondenter som skulle intervjuas och i samarbete med författarna diskuterades aktuella intervjufrågor.</p><p> </p><p>Intervjuerna redovisas var och en för sig i empirikapitlet. I analysdelen sammankopplas empiri med teori kring marknadsföring och kommunikation som författarna anser vara relevant för problemområdet. Författarna diskuterar utifrån detta vikten av att Metria bör bli bättre på att marknadsföra sig alltefter att konkurrensen på marknaden ökar.</p><p> </p><p>I slutsatsen presenterar författarna sina egna tankar och reflektioner kring vad Metria kan göra för att förbättra produktstrukturen utifrån anställdas och kunders synpunkter.</p><p> </p><p> </p> / <p>Marketing is a broad concept which includes much more than just advertising and sales. In practice, communication with internal and external stakeholders is a crucial part of marketing efforts. Communication between the management and employees are important to the company's vision permeates the entire operation. Different units / departments should communicate with each other so that all are familiar with the company's entire product range. It is also important that the company reaches out with its message to their external stakeholders on how they want to be perceived. Perceptions and feelings about the enterprise as a whole create the company's profile. Early in the purchasing process plays a central role of marketing as it is to make customers aware of the product's existence. The information sent to the customer should also give certain knowledge of the product. Metria has a very wide range of products and services. To present the complex range in a clear and understandable way Metrias market group prepared a product structure proposal. The purpose of the product structure is to create awareness among employees and customers of Metrias all products and services. Before the resultant product structure marketed, the market group wants to know what employees and customers have to say about it, unless it is clear and whether and if the terms that are used are understandable. The authors received a mandate from Metria to examine how employees and customers perceive the product structure of the proposal. The investigation has been the basis of this thesis. The study was done mainly through telephone interviews and occasional visits interviews. Metria chose themselves out respondents who were interviewed, and in cooperation with the authors they discussed the interview questions. The interviews are reported separately in the empirical chapter. The analytical part linked empirical and theory about marketing and communications, which the authors believe to be relevant to the problem area. The authors discuss on the basis of the importance of Metria should be better at promoting themselves as the competition in the market increases.</p><p> </p><p>In the conclusion the authors present their own thoughts and reflections on what Metria can do to improve the product structure along employees and what customers says.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

<p>På Robotförsöksplats Norrland, RFN, i Vidsel, har flygplan och robotar utprovats sedan 1958. Provplatsen har Västeuropas största provområde över land, med en area på över 1600 kvadratkilometer. Radar, Kinoteodoliter, Telemetri och Kameror används för att övervaka provobjektens rörelser. Att kunna följa robotbanan och lagra positionsdata är en väsentlig del av provningsverksamheten.</p><p>All positionsdata samlas in av ledningsprogramvaran, BAPS, och används för att i realtid presentera positionsdata på en karta till stöd för provledaren. Samma data kan sedan bearbetas för att generera mera exakta positionsuppgifter i efterhand.</p><p>2001 infördes ett nytt geodetiskt referenssystem i Sverige, SWEREF99. Till skillnad från det föregående systemet, RT90, är det nya ett verkligt tredimensionellt globalt system. Eftersom all positionering görs i relation till ett referenssystem, och positioner utgör kärnan i RFN:s aktiviteter, är det av stor vikt att undersöka hur RFN skulle påverkas av att införa det nya referenssystemet. Det är syftet med denna rapport att undersöka detta.</p><p>Att RFN skall införa SWEREF99 är klart. Det finns många skäl för detta. Sedan några år tillbaka införs detta system över hela landet, hos kommuner, myndigheter och företag. Samverkan med dessa underlättas om RFN har samma referenssystem som de har. Än viktigare är att RFN har många utländska kunder, vilka oftast använder det till SWEREF99 närbesläktade WGS84. Vidare underlättas användningen av GNSS-teknologi av att SWEREF99 och WGS84 ligger så nära varandra.</p><p>Idag använder RFN en kombination av de gamla nationella systmen, RT90 och RH70, och en föregångare till SWEREF99, det preliminära systemet SWEREF93, som skiljer sig från SWEREF99 med mindre än en decimeter. SWEREF93 används i tredimensionell kartesisk form i BAPS, vars algoritmer transformerar data till och från provsystemens format.</p><p>Sammantaget har SWEREF99 i och med denna rapports fastställande införts på RFN. Ett transformationssamband har etablerats mellan det gamla referenssystemet, en dialekt av RT90, och SWEREF99. Med hjälp av detta har befintliga stom- och brukspunkter transformerats till det nya systemet och en uppdaterad koordinatförteckning upprättats.</p><p>Prov- och ledningssystem har analyserats med avseende på användning av positionsdata och ett antal förändringar i den kod som utgör dessa systems programvara har utförts. En algoritm för transformation mellan å ena sidan SWEREF99 och å andra sidan SWEREF93 och RR92, har tagits fram och ett antal funktionsanrop i olika subrutiner har pekats om till att använda dessa nya algoritmer. Två nya koordinatlistor för sensorer har ersatts äldre i ledningssystemet, dels för BUS, dels för realtidskommunikationen med ett antal provsystem, såsom TM, KTS och RIR. Därmed är prov- och ledningssystem i allt väsentligt redo att börja använda det nya systemet.</p> / <p>Robotförsöksplats Norrland (RFN = Vidsel Test Range), has been the main site for missile testing in Sweden since 1958. It has Europe’s largest test range over land, with an area of more than 1600 square kilometres. Radars, kinotheodolites, telemetry and cameras are used to monitor the test object during flight. Following the missile trajectory and registering position data is central to the testing.</p><p>All position data is collected by the command and control software, BAPS, and used to present real time position information on a map to support the personnel responsible for the test. The data can also be processed after the test to generate more exact evaluation of the flight.</p><p>In 2001 a new geodetic reference system, SWEREF99, was introduced in Sweden. Unlike the old system it replaced, RT90, this new system is a truly global three dimensional system. Since all positioning is done in relation to a geodetic reference system, and since positioning is at the core of the activities at RFN, it is of great importance to investigate how the introduction of this new reference system would affect RFN. That is the aim of this report.</p><p>There is really no question about if SWEREF99 should be introduced at RFN. For several reasons it should be. In the last five years most authorities, companies and municipalities in Sweden have adopted this new system, replacing RT90 or local systems, and others will follow. Coordination with these entities would be much simplified if RFN used the same reference system. Further, SWEREF99 is a global system, closely following the GPS-system, WGS84. Using this new system allows RFN to fully utilise GPS technology. Finally, since many test range customers come from other countries, a global system simplifies coordination with them as well.</p><p>Today RFN uses a combination of the old national system, RT90, and a precursor to SWEREF99, the preliminary reference system SWEREF93. This later system differs from SWEREF99 by less then a decimetre, and is used in three dimensional Cartesian form in BAPS, whose algorithms transforms data to and from the test systems to that system.</p><p>The first step of the project was to establish transformation parameters between the new system and the old ones. This was done using methods developed by the Swedish Land Survey Office to help municipalities introduce the new system in a project called RIX-95. Using these parameters it was possible to transform all coordinates for reference points, sensors, runways and other equipment stored in the RFN geo database.</p><p>Next step was an analysis of the command and control software, BAPS, in order to understand what changes would be necessary when introducing SWEREF99. In most cases it turned out that changing the software sensor position list was enough to ensure that the system would retain its functionality, but using the new reference system instead.</p><p>In some cases, though, it became necessary to alter the source code to the software, adding subroutines to transform coordinates between SWEREF99 and the old systems SWEREF93 and RT90. These changes have been made, and the resulting code added to this report as appendixes together with various documents related to the transformation of coordinates. Most of the calculations and resulting tables, formulas and parameters are presented in the main body of the report only.</p><p>Implementing the changes recommended in this report will introduce SWEREF99 at RFN, maintaining all present functions in the test and command and control systems. There are also some recommendations for changes that would be beneficial to carry out in a longer perspective. Apart from further changes in the software recommendations include reconnaissance of existing reference points around the Vidsel airport, and the introduction of a geodetic survey manual for personnel involved in surveying at the test range.</p>

The Van Dyke's salamander (Plethodon vandyke,) is a rare species endemic to Washington State. It has been found in cool moist microhabitats along streams, splash zones of waterfalls, and headwater seeps. We explored the association of the Van Dyke's salamander with hydrologic condition, geomorphology, disturbance characteristics, and vegetation structure in first- and second-order streams, and headwater seeps in the Cascade Range of Washington. We conducted salamander surveys and measured habitat characteristics at 50 streams and 40 seeps May-October 2000-2002. We described Van Dyke's salamander occurrence in stream and seep sites at three spatial scales: between sites, within sites, and between microhabitat sites. Using presence and absence as the response, we fit logistic regression models predicting Van Dyke's salamander occurrence. To identify the model that best fit the data, we ranked a priori models using Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). Results were consistent for both stream and seep sites, at all three spatial scales. Best approximating models indicated that Van Dyke's salamander occurrence at sites was related to geological and hydrological habitat characteristics that provided hydnc and thermal stability. The probability of Van Dyke's salamander occurrence along streams was associated with habitat characteristics that protected salamanders from exposure, provided a source cover, and stream habitat types providing splash zone areas. Between streams, Van Dyke's salamander occurrence was positively associated with the proportion of valley walls with canopy cover <5%, the proportion of the stream channel dominated by bedrock, boulder, or soil substrates, and additional stream channels entering the main channel. Within streams, the probability of Van Dyke's salamander occurrence increased with the presence of non-forested areas, the presence of bedrock dominated stream habitat types, and the presence of vertical or V-shaped valley wall morphology. Between microhabitat sites, the probability of Van Dyke's salamander occurrence increased with an absence of trees, the presence of seeps, and the presence of small cobble sized substrates. The probability of Van Dyke's salamander occurrence in seeps was associated with habitat characteristics that protected salamanders within the larger landscape, provided a moisture gradient from dry to saturated, and the presence of cover objects. Between seeps, Van Dyke's salamander occurrence was positively associated with seep faces having a dry and sheeting hydrology, and with seep faces >5 m high. Within seeps, the probability of Van Dyke's salamander occurrence was negatively associated with seeps that had proportionately more point measures of total overhead cover that were >25%. Between microhabitat sites, the probability of Van Dyke's salamander occurrence was positively associated with an increase in the percent cover of small cobble, small gravel, and bedrock substrates. We conducted mark-recapture surveys of the Van Dyke's salamander at two high-gradient stream sites located within the Cascade Range of Washington State, June-November 2002. Sites known to support populations of the Van Dyke's salamander were chosen, and were ecologically different. One site, lacking significant overstory and located within the blast zone created by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, was surveyed 10 times. The other site, located in an old-growth coniferous stand, was surveyed 11 times. Abundance of salamanders at the blast zone site was estimated to be 458 (95% Cl: 306-739). Abundance of salamanders at the old-growth site was estimated to be 100 individuals (95% Cl: 61-209). Capture probabilities were extremely low (5 = <0.10) for all trapping occasions at both sites, with an average capture probability for the two sites of 0.038 (range = 0.02-0.09). Analysis of movement patterns suggested that most individual salamanders had home ranges <2 m, at least when moving on or near the surface. Individuals were recaptured under the same cover object as initial capture 36% of the time, and 89% of the recaptured individuals moved <2 m. Our results indicated that populations of the Van Dyke's salamander were rare on the landscape, even within the species documented range. Van Dyke's salamander occurrence was associated with geological and hydrological habitat characteristics that created microhabitats favorable for a species that is especially sensitive to heat and drying due to physiological constraints. Animals were difficult to detect due to fossorial habits and low capture probabilities, and it is likely that the Van Dyke's salamander was not detected even at sites where it existed. Life history characteristics, such as lunglessness and fossorial habits, low capture probabilities, and low abundances make it difficult to manage for and protect the Van Dyke's salamander. However, habitat associations may be used to identify and protect habitats suitable for Van Dyke's salamander occurrence. / Graduation date: 2004

Graduation date: 2003

Function of the shoulder complex is highly dependent on the relationship between the scapula and the humerus. Etiologies for the disruption of the glenohumeral relationship include impaired or abnormal scapular function, motion, or position. The lateral scapular slide test (LSST) has been developed as a clinical tool to assess this phenomenon, also known as scapular dyskinesis. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the validity of the LSST by comparing the clinical measurements on the skin surface to the actual anatomical distance between the scapula and the spine as seen on radiographic images. The secondary purpose of this study was to determine the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of the LSST. Nine subjects (18 shoulders) were assessed with the clinical LSST and radiographic images in three test positions (0��, 45��, and 90�� of glenohumeral abduction). Comparison of the clinical LSST measurements with the radiographs revealed the LSST to be valid (>0.80) in only the 0�� and 45�� test positions with respective Pearson correlation values of 0.91 and 0.98. Excellent (>0.75) intra-rater ICC (2,1) reliability (0.91-0.97) was found for all three test positions. Inter-rater ICC (2,1) reliability values were excellent for the 0�� (0.87) and 45�� (0.83) test positions, and fair to good for the 90�� position (0.71). This study demonstrated that the LSST is an accurate and consistent measure of scapular movement and position for the 0�� and 45�� test positions. Clinicians should exercise caution when interpreting measurements obtained at the 90�� test position because the validity and reliability values did not reach established standards. / Graduation date: 2002

Graduation date: 2000