>Magister Scientiae - MSc / This research project had two different parts: The first was about the mapping of a section of the Warm Zand Structure and the collection of strain data. The second part focused on the analysis of the finite strain and strain pattern in the Warm Zand Structure. The Warm Zand Structure consists of strongly deformed calc-silicates of the Puntsit formation and feldpathic quarzites of the Goede Hoop formation which gradually change into pure quartzites in some locations. The second phase of folding F2 in the calc-silicates gave open folds. Strain markers are very scarce in the Warm Zand Structure; on the Emmanuel Farm pebbles were not found. However on the Compion Farm, pebbles are scattered and occur in few number. In the study area boudins were found in loose rocks hence they could not be used to estimate orientation of the XY plane of the strain ellipsoid (Ramsay, 1967). Folds on the other hand was common and was used to investigate the bulk shortening of the rocks and to understand the kinematical folding mechanisms involved in the folding process of the rock in the Warm Zand Structure. The strain contour map and the Sherwin and Chapple graph were used to investigate the strain and viscosity contrast respectively. The viscosity contrast of the folds collected in the Puntsit falls between 100-53 whereas the bulk shortening on the other hand is between 60-53%. The values of the shortening found agree with those found by van Bever Donker (1980). The numerical modelling on the other demonstrated that in addition to layer parallel shortening and the flattening mention by van Bever Donker (1980) Tangential Longitudinal Strain and Flexural Flow are also involved in the folding process of the fold collected in the Puntsit Formation.

Context: Many musicians experience playing-related pain and injuries. One of the recommended injury prevention strategies is to warm-up prior to playing a musical instrument. However, this recommendation is not always supported with empirical data. Additionally, multiple terms are used to describe warm-ups and may differ between authors, creating confusion around this injury prevention strategy. Objectives: The objectives of this thesis are to search for evidence-based studies that would support the benefit of warm-ups for musicians, reduce the confusion around musicians’ warm-ups, and bring clarity to the definition of warm-up. Methodology: In order to do so, this thesis presents two studies. The first study consisted of doing a systematized review of English published articles in order to identify if there was evidence to support the statement that warm-ups prevent injury. The methodology and results of each included article were evaluated using the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM)’s levels of evidence. The second article consisted of a terminology review and taxonomy in order to identify terms, organize them into categories and define warm-ups. The corpus contained the same articles that were included in the systematized review. Terms were identified from the corpus and the most frequently mentioned terms were used for the definition of warm-up. Terms were also categorized in a taxonomy in order to illustrate the different types of warm-ups that are recommended to musicians. Results: Twenty-nine studies were included in the analysis of the systematic review. Of these 29 studies, only one ranked at level I, which is the highest level of evidence, and most studies ranked at level V. The one study that was ranked at level I indicated that all three tested warm-up conditions did not have a muscular effect. Therefore, at the moment, there seems to be no evidence that supports the statement that warm-ups prevent injury. The terminology review led to the following definition of warm-up: “A routine, habit or exercise(s) that is/ are completed prior to playing repertoire or learning new material on a music instrument in order to prepare physically and mentally the musician. The following can be included as part of a musician’s warm-up: physical warm-up (completed without the instrument, for example stretches), musical warm-up (completed with the instrument, for example: scales, familiar tune/ favorite tune, long tones), and psychological warm-up.” It was also determined that stretching should also be defined as it is not always perceived as a warm-up. Stretching was defined as “Slow, controlled and progressive movements that are maintained for at least 20-30 seconds. These are done at various intervals throughout the day such as prior, during (breaks), and after the practice of a music instrument. They are referred to as physical exercises (away from the instrument). The following are some examples of stretching exercises: wrist rotations, forward neck roll, oppositional finger-wrist press, hand-finger extensions, fist clench and unclench, arms-bicep curls, handshakes, arms-triceps extension, and fingers clenched and unclenched.” The taxonomy indicated three warm-up categories: physical, musical and psychological. The physical and musical warm-ups were then subcategorized. It was not possible to subcategorize psychological warm-ups due to a lack of definition and examples in the literature. This study was a first step towards standardization, but further research is necessary in order to standardize a methodology and protocol.

Reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is a valuable resource that can be recycled into new asphalt mixtures. In recent years, the continued rise of raw material costs has generated considerable interest in increasing RAP usage. Warm mix asphalt (WMA) is a modern development in the asphalt industry that can potentially help increase RAP usage and achieve adequate mixture performance. The purpose of this dissertation is to: 1) develop a method to characterize the absorbed, inert and effective bituminous components in RAP; and 2) evaluate performance of high RAP-WMA mixtures for various pavement applications including airfield surfaces, highway surfaces and highway bases. A unique approach was taken to characterize RAP properties that coupled a dataset of 568 asphalt mix designs spanning five years of practice and testing 100% RAP with added virgin binder; 394 compacted specimens and 68 loose specimens were tested. A method to predict RAP absorbed asphalt was developed and shown to yield more reasonable results than conventional methods which were shown very likely to give incorrect absorbed asphalt contents in some conditions. The relative effectiveness of RAP surface asphalt was evaluated and estimates of inert and effective RAP asphalt were made for a variety of temperature, compactive effort, and warm mix additive conditions. Results showed different behaviors between RAP sources and between hot and warm mix temperatures. These results were also observed in volumetrics of high RAP mixtures. Performance evaluation was based on testing 75 slab specimens and more than 1100 gyratory specimens. Test data indicated a potential for decreased durability as RAP content increases; however 25% RAP highway surface mixtures and 50% RAP base mixtures had similar performance to current practice. Low temperature mixture stiffness testing and thermal cracking analysis indicated slightly increased stiffness with high RAP and 25% RAP highway surface mixtures that had comparable performance to current practice. Dry rut testing indicated high RAP mixtures are rut resistant. Moisture damage testing of high RAP mixtures indicated passing results in tensile strength ratio testing but potential for moisture damage in loaded wheel tracking. Overall, 25% RAP highway surface mixtures are recommended for immediate implementation.

Interseeding legumes in native warm-season grasses (NWSG) may improve the nutritive value of the stand, result in more consistent forage availability throughout the growing season, and increase forage yield. These benefits are often not realized due to difficulties in establishing legumes in existing NWSG stands. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of planting method of legume interseeding, timing of legume interseeding, and the efficacy of burning plant residue on legume establishment in NWSG. Two forage legumes, 'Alice' white clover (Trifolium repens L.) and 'Freedom HR' red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), were interseeded into mixed 'Niagara' big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman), 'GA Ecotype' Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans Nash), and 'Camper' little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) pasture in 2022 and 2023 at the Southern Piedmont AREC in Blackstone, Virginia. Planting method at three levels (no-till drill, broadcast, and non-planted control) were evaluated at three planting timing levels (fall planting, winter planting, and winter planting with burned residue). Among the treatment combinations, burned plots that were drilled resulted with the greatest spring clover count of 236 plants m-2, followed by winter drill (146 plants m-2) and burn broadcast (133 plants m-2). All fall plantings and all control plots were similar with a mean of 21 plants m-2. As a result of greater initial clover emergence, plots that were burned or seeded in the winter had greater clover content throughout the experiment; burned and drilled plots had over 90% clover ground cover throughout the second year. Domination of plots by clover in the second year caused yields and the proportion of NWSG in the stand to decline, with burned plots yielding 5,757 kg ha-1 compared to a winter-fall mean of 7,429 kg ha-1. Plots with greater clover content were able to sustain higher crude protein content and lower neutral detergent fiber content in both the establishment year and the second year. Though interseeding legumes benefitted nutritive values, these results suggest that red clover may be incompatible with the NWSG evaluated. Burned plots were especially affected by excessive competition. Further research is needed to evaluate forage legume species which complement NWSG in mixture rather than compete with them. / Master of Science / Interseeding legumes in native warm-season grasses (NWSG) may improve the nutritive value of the stand, result in more consistent forage availability throughout the growing season, and increase forage yield. These benefits are often not realized due to difficulties in establishing legumes in existing NWSG stands. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of planting method of legume interseeding, timing of legume interseeding, and the efficacy of burning residue on legume establishment in NWSG. Two forage legumes, 'Alice' white clover (Trifolium repens L.) and 'Freedom HR' red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), were interseeded into mixed 'Niagara' big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman), 'GA Ecotype' Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans Nash), and 'Camper' little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) pasture in 2022 and 2023 at the Southern Piedmont AREC in Blackstone, Virginia. Planting method at three levels (no-till drill, broadcast, and non-planted control) were evaluated at three planting timing levels (fall planting, winter planting, and winter planting with burned residue). Among the treatment combinations, burned and drilled plots produced more clover plants in spring at 236 plants m-2, followed by winter drill (146 plants m-2) and burn broadcast (133 plants m-2). All fall plantings and all control plots were similar with a mean of 21 plants m-2. As a result of greater initial clover emergence, plots that were burned or seeded in the winter had greater clover content throughout the experiment; burned and drilled plots had over 90% clover ground cover throughout the second year. Domination of plots by clover in the second year caused yields and the proportion of NWSG in the stand to decline, with burned plots yielding 5,757 kg ha-1 compared to a winter-fall mean of 7,429 kg ha-1. Plots with greater clover content were able to sustain higher crude protein content and lower neutral detergent fiber content in both the establishment year and the second year. Though interseeding legumes benefitted nutritive values, these results suggest that red clover may be incompatible with the NWSG which were evaluated. Burned plots were especially affected by excessive competition. Further research is needed to evaluate forage legume species which complement NWSG in mixture rather than compete with them.

No description available.

Studies suggest that diverse mixtures of plants may improve forage productivity and also be suitable as bioenergy crops. The objectives of this research were: 1) to measure the effects of native, warm-season perennial (NWSP) forage mixtures and management methods on productivity, weed biomass, nutritive value, and community composition, and 2) to identify mechanisms that generate any positive diversity-productivity relationships over a three-year establishment period. In 2008, two experiments were established to evaluate the use of native, warm-season plants in forage-livestock systems using a pool of ten native species. The first, a large-scale, three-year, experiment tested three different NWSP mixtures (switchgrass monoculture, a four-grass mixture, and a ten-species mixture) and two management methods (grazed or biomass crop). Switchgrass monocultures had the lowest forage yield and highest weed biomass in both grazed areas and biomass crop exclosures. Analysis of forage nutritive value did not show many differences among mixtures, although the monoculture tended to have higher crude protein and lower fiber concentrations than the polycultures. Management method affected community composition, with NWSP richness higher and weed species richness lower in biomass crop exclosures than in grazed areas. A second experiment examined if species richness would enhance yields through a positive biodiversity effect. It employed additive partitioning to separate the selection effect (SE) from the complementarity effect (CE) by sowing random assemblages of NWSPs at five levels of richness into small plots. Species richness was associated with increased yields in the first year only, but overyielding and positive diversity effects were present in all three years. On average, over 50% of multi-species plots overyielded and 64% exhibited a positive biodiversity effect. Both SE and CE contributed to the biodiversity effect and the importance of each effect changed over time as communities became better established. All ten species were also individually analyzed for their yield potential, nutritive value, and elemental composition. Warm-season grasses tended to be higher-yielding but of lower nutritive value. All ten NWSPs contained sufficient concentrations of eleven elements to support nonlactating cows. These experiments demonstrated that diverse NWSP mixtures may be a valuable addition to both forage and bioenergy agroecosystems. / Ph. D.

A traditional warm-up (WU) for track sprinters usually includes a general WU, a series of mobility drills and some short sprint strides lasting 30-60 min in total. A WU of this duration might cause significant fatigue and impair sprint performance. Aim: To test the hypothesis that a traditional high intense warm-up of long duration would elicit fatigue and impair sprint performance. Methods: Five highly trained males competitive in endurance sports performed three different WU protocols on separate days in their postseason period. Their mean ± SD age, body mass and height were 24.2 ± 1.6 years, 78.4 ± 7.8 kg, 179.6 ± 8.8 cm. The study participants performed a timed 60 meter sprint on an indoor track. The traditional warm-up (LONG), started with 10 min of easy running; then 7 min of mobility drills followed by five sprints performed with 3-min break in between. The total duration of LONG was 35 minutes. The experimental warm-up (SHORT) was shorter and less intense; 10 min of easy running was followed by just one sprint. Both warm-up protocols were followed by 10 min of recovery, where participants were not allowed to sit down. A third test occasion served as control (CON), where participants did not conduct physical activity prior to the time trial, only 10 min of recovery. Participants also rated the satisfaction of their performance on a 10 point scale. Results: The results of 60 m time trial performance showed no significant differences among the different WU protocols (P = 0.20). The 60 m performance was better for SHORT (8.02 ± 0.10 sec) than for LONG (8.08 ± 0.16 sec) and CON (8.20 ± 0.21 sec). 4 of 5 participants experienced their fastest time trial following SHORT. It appeared that participants were significantly faster following SHORT (7.99 ± 0.22 ms-1) compared to LONG (7.77 ± 0.33 ms-1) in the final 10 m of the time trial (P = 0.05). The satisfaction after SHORT scored highest (6.9), followed by LONG (5.9) and CON (4.5). Conclusions: There is no significant difference between a traditional WU compared to a WU of shorter duration and lower intensity. The traditional WU showed a significant decline in running speed in the final stage of the time trial, which might be caused by fatigue.

Syfte och frågeställningar Studien genomfördes med syftet att specificera vilken intensitet och duration vid uppvärmning som är optimal för att få ut största möjliga effekt vid anaerob prestation i form av maximalt vertikalhopp och fem sekunders maximal cykelsprint. Studien byggde på tre frågeställningar: På vilket sätt påverkar uppvärmningen prestationen vid ett maximalt vertikalhopp? På vilket sätt påverkar uppvärmningen prestationen vid ett maximalt fem sekunders sprinttest? Vilken uppvärmning är optimal för maximal muskulär explosivitet? Metod Designen var en kvantitativ experimentell studie som innefattade fyra fysiskt aktiva kvinnor med genomsnittsålder på 24 år. Testerna bestod av nio tillfällen där en slumpad uppvärmning på ergometercykel genomfördes varje gång. Därefter genomfördes tre vertikalhopp, så kallade counter movement jump, på en kraftplatta och tre fem-sekunders sprint (5sCST) på Monarks Peak Bike. Hopphöjd, mean power, peak power och kroppstemperatur mättes vid varje testtillfälle. Resultat Resultaten visade att maximal muskulär explosivitet vid vertikalhopp uppnåddes efter uppvärmning i fem minuter på 150w vilket motsvarade en belastning på 53 till 76 procent av VO2max för testpersonerna. För maximal muskulär explosivitet vid 5sCST påvisades inga signifikanta resultat. Resultatenvisade inte heller några skillnader i kroppstemperatur efter de olika uppvärmningsintensiteterna. Slutsats För de fyra kvinnorna var det optimalt att värma upp i fem minuter med en belastning på 53 till 76 procent av VO2max för maximal hopphöjd vid counter movement jump. Det var endast hopphöjden som påverkades av uppvärmningen och inte någon av de andra parametrarna; mean power, peak power eller kroppstemperatur. Individuella variationer påvisades men vidare studier behövs, med ett större antal försökspersoner och med slumpmässig urvalsgrupp, för att kunna generalisera resultaten.

Hot and cold in-place recycling are two of the economical and well-known pavement rehabilitation strategies that can be used to recycle existing pavements. Two main limitations of hot in-place recycling (HIR) are high mixing and compaction temperatures, and a low percentage of using recycling materials in new mixtures. For cold in-place recycling (CIR), damaging the aggregate gradation of milled mixtures and low quality of final mixtures are major restrictions. In this study, eco-friendly additives to be used for warm in-place recycling technology (WIR) are proposed. To make this mix, two WIR additives were developed to decrease the mixing and compaction temperature while increasing increase the RAP percentage in Warm in-place recycling (WIR) process. In order to evaluate the products, the mixing and compaction temperatures of mixture were measured and the performance of three different mixture types with three different percentages of RAP were evaluated. The Superpave test was conducted to identify the optimum dosage of two WIR additives and for additive 1 and 2, 3.99% and 7.77% were identified as optimum dosages respectively. To verify this optimum dosage, the second group of Superpave tests were conducted on modified asphalt binder sample and the results had acceptable correlation with first set of rheological tests. The Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy tests were done on modified asphalt binder with WIR additives to better understand the effects of additives on recoverability, rutting resistance and aging mechanism of modified asphalt binder. The performance properties of mixtures containing 30, 70 and 100 percent RAP material which modified with optimum percentage of two different additives were investigated. Hamburg Wheel Tracking test (HWT) was conducted to evaluate the moisture susceptibility and rutting performance of modified mixture. According to this test results, none of the modified mixtures with additives did not have the moisture susceptibility and rutting problems. Although, additive 2 made the mixture softer than additive 1, but it did not have a significant effect on rutting. Disc-Shaped Compacted Tension (DCT) test was considered to evaluate the fracture properties of mixture at low temperature. Test result showed that additive 2 was more effective in lowering the low-temperature cracking and modified mixtures containing 100% RAP material have acceptable fracture energy.

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) Examine successful choral director beliefs about warm-ups and their successful practices in conducting warm-ups, and (b) examine the relationship of musical background, choral training and music teaching style of high school choral directors upon these beliefs and practices. Subjects were 365 high school choral directors from 28 states. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, multivariate analysis of variance and multiple regression. Results indicated choral director's beliefs and practices differ as a function of musical back-ground, demographic characteristics, choral conducting training, and music teaching styles. Specifically, warm-up beliefs were predicted by knowledge of vocal health and variety of warm-ups. Conversely, those who relied on the warm-up time for discipline and focusing attention showed a significant negative relationship with their philosophy. From multiple regression analysis, doing choral warm-ups accounted for one-third of a director's overall success, predicted by 10 variables: (a) experience, (b) education, (c) teaching style teacher-directed performance, (d) teaching style deep-student learning, (e) warm-up literature and procedure, (f) planning warm-ups (g) warm-up content, (h) prior choral experience and piano background, (i) a foundation in music, and (j) a developed philosophy of choral warm-ups. However, having a philosophy about warm-ups did not predict successful teaching practices.