A child’s level of physical activity is an important component of that child’s health. Our understanding of physical activity patterns in children is limited in rural settings, and virtually absent for climates with snow cover. Opportunities for physical activity intervention need to be identified. PURPOSE: Investigation of the relationships between pedometer-measured physical activity, body composition and aerobic performance in rural children in the winter and examination of within-day variation in stepping behavior using interval pedometry. METHODS: Aerobic performance (20 m shuttle run) with “talk test” validation and body composition (BMI, BF) were measured during mid-winter during the school year in 8 to 10 year old children. Pedometer step counts were recorded at 6 intervals throughout the day for 7 days. RESULTS: Fifty-six subjects (22 males and 34 females, mean age 9.09 (0.49), had the following measurements; BMI 17.9 (3.3), BF% 24.3 (9.5) (tricep/calf), 10,465 (±2506) steps/day, VO2 45.12 ml/kg/min (±2.87), shuttle run stage 3.0 (±1.34). Weekday steps/day (11,422 ±2573) were greater than weekend (8,112, ±3499) steps/day for both boys and girls (p<0.01). Town children recorded 1800 more steps/day than out of town children (p<0.01). All measures of body composition were found to be significantly related to aerobic power (p<0.01). Weekday steps were related to aerobic performance. The fittest (upper 1/3) children were leaner and had more afternoon school steps, and higher afternoon school step rates. CONCLUSION: Daily step counts were 2000-4000 steps lower than other studies and may be an impact of winter in Manitoba or the rural setting. This was consistent with overall low aerobic performance and higher adiposity of the children. Interval pedometry was capable of identifying differences in activity patterns between most and least fit children in rural Manitoba providing for targeted intervention strategies. / October 2006

Background: Several field-based team sports contain repeated, maximal effort sprints with varying rest lengths in between. This puts high demands on athletes’ metabolic and neuromuscular systems. Testing the anaerobic capacity of athletes is essential to improve and evaluate the progression. One test being utilised for assessing anaerobic capacity is the 300-yard shuttle run test. The test is field-based with stopwatches as the sole equipment. However, the test has not been properly tested for reliability.   Aim: The aim of this bachelor thesis was therefore to investigate the reliability of the 300-yard shuttle run test. Methods: The study was performed with a test-retest method and included a familiarisation meeting, test session and retest session.  Test subjects performed the 300-yard shuttle run test at two different occasions with seven or fourteen days in between. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and 95% confidence interval (CI) was utilised to quantify the reliability. An ICC&gt;0.8 was considered acceptable. Results: 17 American football players participated in the study (median age 20, min. =18, max. =38 y; median weight 83, min. =67, max. =133 kg; median height 184, min. =169, max. =194 cm). The ICC for the test-retest was 0.97 (95% CI  0.91-0.99). Conclusion: Based on the results of this study 300-yard shuttle test is proposed as a test providing reliable results.

A child’s level of physical activity is an important component of that child’s health. Our understanding of physical activity patterns in children is limited in rural settings, and virtually absent for climates with snow cover. Opportunities for physical activity intervention need to be identified. PURPOSE: Investigation of the relationships between pedometer-measured physical activity, body composition and aerobic performance in rural children in the winter and examination of within-day variation in stepping behavior using interval pedometry. METHODS: Aerobic performance (20 m shuttle run) with “talk test” validation and body composition (BMI, BF) were measured during mid-winter during the school year in 8 to 10 year old children. Pedometer step counts were recorded at 6 intervals throughout the day for 7 days. RESULTS: Fifty-six subjects (22 males and 34 females, mean age 9.09 (0.49), had the following measurements; BMI 17.9 (3.3), BF% 24.3 (9.5) (tricep/calf), 10,465 (±2506) steps/day, VO2 45.12 ml/kg/min (±2.87), shuttle run stage 3.0 (±1.34). Weekday steps/day (11,422 ±2573) were greater than weekend (8,112, ±3499) steps/day for both boys and girls (p<0.01). Town children recorded 1800 more steps/day than out of town children (p<0.01). All measures of body composition were found to be significantly related to aerobic power (p<0.01). Weekday steps were related to aerobic performance. The fittest (upper 1/3) children were leaner and had more afternoon school steps, and higher afternoon school step rates. CONCLUSION: Daily step counts were 2000-4000 steps lower than other studies and may be an impact of winter in Manitoba or the rural setting. This was consistent with overall low aerobic performance and higher adiposity of the children. Interval pedometry was capable of identifying differences in activity patterns between most and least fit children in rural Manitoba providing for targeted intervention strategies.

A child’s level of physical activity is an important component of that child’s health. Our understanding of physical activity patterns in children is limited in rural settings, and virtually absent for climates with snow cover. Opportunities for physical activity intervention need to be identified. PURPOSE: Investigation of the relationships between pedometer-measured physical activity, body composition and aerobic performance in rural children in the winter and examination of within-day variation in stepping behavior using interval pedometry. METHODS: Aerobic performance (20 m shuttle run) with “talk test” validation and body composition (BMI, BF) were measured during mid-winter during the school year in 8 to 10 year old children. Pedometer step counts were recorded at 6 intervals throughout the day for 7 days. RESULTS: Fifty-six subjects (22 males and 34 females, mean age 9.09 (0.49), had the following measurements; BMI 17.9 (3.3), BF% 24.3 (9.5) (tricep/calf), 10,465 (±2506) steps/day, VO2 45.12 ml/kg/min (±2.87), shuttle run stage 3.0 (±1.34). Weekday steps/day (11,422 ±2573) were greater than weekend (8,112, ±3499) steps/day for both boys and girls (p<0.01). Town children recorded 1800 more steps/day than out of town children (p<0.01). All measures of body composition were found to be significantly related to aerobic power (p<0.01). Weekday steps were related to aerobic performance. The fittest (upper 1/3) children were leaner and had more afternoon school steps, and higher afternoon school step rates. CONCLUSION: Daily step counts were 2000-4000 steps lower than other studies and may be an impact of winter in Manitoba or the rural setting. This was consistent with overall low aerobic performance and higher adiposity of the children. Interval pedometry was capable of identifying differences in activity patterns between most and least fit children in rural Manitoba providing for targeted intervention strategies.

There is a common thread of leadership research that theorizes the dynamic between a leader's behavior and their followers is essential in encouraging employees to exceed expectations, thereby increasing organizational performance (Bass, 1985; Bennis & Thomas, 2002; Kouzes & Posner, 1987). Research indicates transformational leadership correlates well with organizational culture, but the number of empirical studies is few. Kouzes and Posner (2002) maintain that organizations create culture; therefore a leader's behavior can and does affect organizational performance. Schein (2004) maintains it is leadership's duty to step outside the organizational culture to initiate changes (by their behavior) when warranted. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between employee perceived leadership practices and organizational culture within the aerospace industry. The U.S. space shuttle operations prime contractor, United Space Alliance, was selected as the population for this research. This research addresses the current dilemma in NASA's manned spaceflight program and their contractors with regard to their future: Organizational and cultural change must occur or routine access to space for the United States will become obsolete (Bergin, 2007; Guthrie & Shayo, 2005; Mason, 2004). United Space Alliance provides a unique population within which to sample, as it is a joint venture LLC with employees of varying heritage companies and job occupations. Use of Kouzes and Posner's Leadership Practices Inventory-Other (LPI-O) and the Denison Organizational Culture Survey (DOCS) have not been performed in such an environment. Web-based surveys collected data from the Manufacturing and Operations directorate (N = 1793). A total of 367 surveys were completed for an initial response rate of 20.47%. Both the LPI-O and DOCS raw mean scores were compared against published databases; only the Enabling Others to Act practice scored as a moderate impact. Customer focus scored the highest amongst cultural indices, with all three Mission indices ranking in the lowest percentiles. Regression analyses indicated neither leadership practices nor cultural traits explained any differences within respondents. Hierarchical regression revealed the five leadership practices accounted for 24% of the Total Culture variance. Pearson's Product-Moment correlation examined the strength of linear association between the variables. This study provided statistically significant (ñ < .05), weak to moderate positive correlation coefficients for all hypothesized relationships.

Orientador: Ilma Aparecida Paschoal / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-24T07:53:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Seixas_DanielMachado_M.pdf: 1848962 bytes, checksum: 80ebf21f0114a4503b21846263f7ad6d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: O "Shuttle Walking Test" (SWT), padronizado na literatura como um teste de esforço submáximo e utilizado em pacientes com DPOC (Doença Pulmonar Obstrutiva Crônica), foi aplicado em indivíduos saudáveis para verificar se a dessaturação, após a realização deste teste, é um evento provável. Foram selecionados indivíduos saudáveis, praticantes de atividade física pelo menos 2 vezes por semana em academia de ginastica. Os indivíduos que tivessem antecedentes de doenças pulmonares e/ou cardíacas ou qualquer outra condição de saúde que impossibilitassem a realização do teste foram excluídos do estudo. Os valores de fluxo expiratório do primeiro segundo e do sexto segundo (VEF1 e VEF6) foram determinados antes da realização dos testes através de um medidor digital de pico de fluxo (Peck Flow). Outros parâmetros avaliados antes do SWT foram frequência cardíaca basal e saturação de oxigênio inicial. Logo após o final do teste foram verificados os mesmos parâmetros do início do teste. A versão do SWT utilizada neste trabalho foi a modificada, com 12 níveis de intensidade. Oitenta e três indivíduos (55 homens) foram selecionados (apenas um fumante). A idade média foi 35,05 ± 12,53. O índice de massa corporal (IMC) foi de 24,30 ± 3,47. A média de frequência cardíaca de repouso foi de 75,12 ± 12,48. A média da saturação periférica de O2 (SpO2) em repouso foi 97,96% ± 1,02%. A média do VEF1 foi de 3,75 ± 0,81 L; a média de VEF6 foi de 4,45 ± 0,87 L. A média VEF1/VEF6 foi de 0,83 ± 0,08 (sem restrição e / ou obstrução). A média de distância percorrida foi 958,30 ± 146.32m. A média da frequência cardíaca após SWT foi 162,41 ± 18,24. A média da SpO2 final foi 96,27% ± 2,21%. Onze indivíduos apresentaram maiores valores de SpO2 final; 17 indivíduos tiveram quedas na SpO2 final, igual ou superior a 4 pontos. A comparação entre os grupos, com e sem dessaturação, não mostraram diferenças em idade, sexo, VEF1, VEF6, VEF1/VEF6, saturação inicial, distância caminhada, frequência cardíaca e percentual da frequência cardíaca máxima. O IMC foi maior naqueles que dessaturaram (p = 0,01) e SpO2 final foi menor (p <0,0001). Estes resultados permitem concluir que pessoas saudáveis podem dessaturar após SWT e desta forma, a utilização do SWT para predição de doenças respiratórias leves pode não ser adequada. Dessaturação é comum em indivíduos saudáveis após o SWT, como na atividade física intensa, e pode ter efeitos deletérios. / Abstract: Aim. To perform the shuttle walk test in healthy individuals to determine if desaturation at the end of the test is a probable finding. Healthy subjects were enrolled. Antecedents of pulmonary and/or cardiac diseases or any other health condition were exclusion criteria. FEV1 and FEV6 were determined before the SWT (digital peak flow meter). Baseline heart rate and oxygen saturation were determined with a pulse oxymeter. The SWT was the 12-level version. Saturation was measured after the SWT. Results. 83 subjects (55men) were enrolled (one smoker). Mean age was 35.05±12.53. Mean body mass index (BMI) was 24.30±3.47. Mean rest heart rate was 75.12±12.48. Mean rest SpO2 was 97.96%±1.02%. Mean FEV1 was 3.75±0.81 L; mean FEV6 was 4.45±0.87 L. Mean FEV1/FEV6 was 0.83±0.08 (no restriction and/or obstruction). Mean walk distance was 958.30±146.32m. Mean heart after SWT was 162.41±18.24. Mean final SpO2 was 96.27%±2.21%. Eleven subjects had greater values of final SpO2; 17 subjects had falls in final SpO2 ? 4 points. The comparison between the groups with and without desaturation showed no differences in age, sex, FEV1, FEV6, FEV1/FEV6, initial saturation, walk distance, heart rate and percentage of maximum heart rate. BMI was higher in those who desaturate (p=0.01) and final SpO2 was smaller (p<0.0001). Conclusion. Healthy people may desaturate after SWT; its use to predict the presence of subtle respiratory disorders, may be misleading. Desaturation is common in healthy subjects after the SWT as in intense physical activity and may have deleterious effects. / Mestrado / Clinica Medica / Mestre em Clinica Medica

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Gregory Newmark / Investment, research, and development of autonomous vehicles grows each year. As the years pass, more and more transit agencies are interested in incorporating autonomous vehicles as a public transit service. However, there are still unknowns and uncertainties as to the safety and viability of autonomous vehicles. For transit agencies to incorporate autonomous vehicles in public transit, agencies need to validate the application of autonomous vehicles in real-world scenarios and environments. One option for testing the vehicles is for transit agencies to implement an autonomous shuttle pilot program. A pilot program will give agencies an opportunity to learn if and how autonomous vehicles can enhance or improve transit services. Even though autonomous shuttle pilot programs have been deployed worldwide, there has been little comparative analysis. This report addresses the need for knowledge by providing practical considerations of essential pilot program elements. To assist transit agencies, this report illustrates previously executed autonomous shuttle pilot programs, identifies the core elements of a pilot program, and discusses the relationship between elements. To accomplish these tasks, this report reviews nine European autonomous shuttle pilot programs, literature surrounding the topic, and interviews key personnel associated with the pilot programs. The results of this research help transit agencies make informed decisions about approaching autonomous shuttle pilot programs in public transportation.

Investigations into problems involving the vibration of conveyances in deep mining shafts have led to the identification of 'slamming' as a significant event in the initiation of large perturbations in the motion of the skip. Slamming occurs when the flexible rollers on the skip which normally act on the guides are inoperative. The primary concern is that this slamming event can give rise to large lateral loads on the shaft steelwork and is therefore a factor which limits the speed at which the skip can be drawn up the shaft. This study extends previous work to investigate the influence of compressive forces in the guides on the response of the skip and the steelwork. These forces are induced as a result of mining operations and lead to a decrease in the transverse stiffness of the guides. A mathematical model of the slamming event is formulated and a numerical solution for a specific case is performed. An alternative simplified solution is discussed and compared to the initial formulation, with the aim of facilitating the use of previous research results. A model to simulate the response of the skip when the skip rollers are functional is formulated, and numerical solutions of different examples are given. An important conclusion is that the compressive forces can significantly reduce the transverse stiffness of the guides, and should be taken into account in future designs. Bibliography: pages 86-88.

Memory is one of the highest cognitive functions that differentiates higher organisms from others because of its fundamental function to all learning and studying process. Recently, it was suggested that lactate works as a signaling molecule in neuronal plasticity system in long-term memory (LTM). These functions are reported only at mice so far, but it would be a universal phenomenon among various higher organisms. Because lactate is organic acid that is involved with energy production, it is of particular interest to know how memory associated genes including lactate-mediated neural plasticity (LMNP) genes get involved during evolution. I here set the purpose of my studies to understand the evolutionary origin and process of these memory-associated genes. Conducting an extensive literature survey, I collected a total of 302 genes of mice as memory associated genes. I, then, compared the number of genes orthologous to the 302 mice memory-associated genes among 11 representative organisms that I have chosen for the present study. As a result, I found that these memory-associated genes emerged at different time points during evolution, even before the emergence time of the organisms where memory function was reported. It suggests that memory function could be evolutionarily established gradually but not at once. Moreover, I examined 386 of LMNP-related genes of mice and other organisms to understand the evolutionary origin and processes of those genes that were identified by RNA-seq analyses (Margineanu et al., 2018). I found that the emergence times of LMNP genes were varied with genes, suggesting that the LMNP system may have been also formed gradually until its completion of the system around at the time of the common ancestor of vertebrates. Interestingly, I found that there are 13 genes overlap between the memory system and the LMNP system, indicating the critical role of those genes in connecting between both systems. From those studies, I conclude that the memory system and LMNP system has been formed by gradual participation of newly emerging genes during evolution, suggesting that the function of LMNP as a signaling molecule may be evolutionarily related to memory system by an unknown system that may exist to link both systems.

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