Title: EMG analysis of the influence of the water environment on walking in the elderly Objectives: The main objective of this master thesis is to determine the degree of activation of selected muscles during walking on land and in water environment by using surface electromyography. The next component objective is to determine and compare dynamic co-contraction level of low extremity muscles during walking on land and in water. Methods: It is a pilot study which was attended by 5 participants. The average age of the research group was 67,2 years and was represented 3 men and 2 women. Activity of m. tibialis anterior, m. gastrocnemius, m. rectus femoris, m. biceps femoris and mm. erectores spinae in the level of ThL transition was recorded during walking on land and in water environment. EMG signal has been adjusted, analyzed and after that normalized EMG signal to MVC was compared in both environments. The records were compared both intraindividually and interindividually. At the end dynamic co-contraction level of selected muscles was evaluated and compared during gait in both environments. Results: Electromyographic analysis revealed that during walking in aquatic environment were analyzed muscles involved with less extent than during walking on land. Co-contraction level was lower in low...

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:44:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RODRIGO FLEURY TEIXEIRA DE LIMA.pdf: 1166072 bytes, checksum: 8f224c723dae9bc75d1b15ea3b6161c6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-14 / In this dissertation will be discussed the situation of the automotive industry regarding the Environmental Management System (EMS), specifically in the search for ISO 14001 certification. In literature there is a rising trend in this sector in recent decades, and consequently an increase in consumption of natural resources to meet demand. Likewise waste generation increases apace. Environmental management aims mainly to attempt conscious consumption and waste generated, trying to meet the relevant laws of activity, qualifying the team involved, environmental education and the primary purpose of obtaining environmental certification ISO 14001 - Environmental Management System. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the implementation of the EMS activities for Recovery Vehicle, Bodyshop and painting, necessary to obtain environmental certification, the distributor Lynx All Service. The methodology involved a literature review, the questionnaire socio environmental assessment of environmental aspects and impacts the extent, severity and occurrence, and application of the guidelines of ISO 14001. During the study period the company implemented the environmental management system, but not completed the certification process. It was concluded that the implementation of the environmental management system ensured the monitoring of environmental aspects and impacts, proper waste management and effluent control legal requirements and evolution of environmental education with appropriate training. / Na presente dissertação será abordada a situação da indústria automobilística com relação ao Sistema de Gestão Ambiental (SGA), especificamente na busca pela certificação ISO 14001. Na literatura observa-se um aumento crescente deste setor nas últimas décadas e conseqüentemente um aumento de consumo de recursos naturais para atender a demanda. No mesmo sentido a geração de resíduos aumenta em ritmo acelerado. A gestão ambiental visa principalmente a tentativa do consumo consciente e tratamento de resíduos gerados, buscando atender as legislações pertinentes da atividade, qualificação da equipe envolvida, educação ambiental e o objetivo principal de obtenção da certificação ambiental ISO 14001 Sistema de Gestão Ambiental. Desta forma, esta pesquisa teve como objetivo geral analisar a implantação do SGA para atividades de Recuperação Veicular, Funilaria e Pintura, necessário para a obtenção da certificação ambiental, no distribuidor Lince All Service. A metodologia envolveu a revisão da literatura, aplicação do questionário sócio ambiental, avaliação de aspectos e impactos ambientais pelo grau, severidade e ocorrência, e aplicação das orientações da Norma ISO 14001. Durante o período avaliado a empresa implantou o sistema de gestão ambiental, porém não finalizou o processo de certificação. Concluiu-se que a implantação do sistema de gestão ambiental garantiu o monitoramento dos aspectos e impactos ambientais, gestão adequada dos resíduos e efluentes, controle dos requisitos legais e evolução da educação ambiental com treinamentos adequados.

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Understanding of the fate of oil in the environment is of utmost importance; however, accurate, predictive models are still in very early stages. To aid in the development of these models, photodegradation of selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in an n-alkane hydrocarbon matrix was followed for individual PAHs and mixtures of PAHs similar to that found in the Deepwater Horizon spill. Tetracene in tetradecane photodegraded quickest of all observed PAHs, with a loss of 99% after only one hour of irradiation. Binary mixtures of PAHs showed different degradation amounts, including changes in PAH kinetics. These results suggest that the formation of dimers or aggregates as well as photosensitization reaction is important in the degradation of PAHs in oil. Kinetics of PAH photodegradation and PAH sensitized photodegradation will be presented. This information will provide a better understanding of the fate of oil in environmental systems.

The main purpose of this study was to compare how the Step-by-Step™ (S-b-S) and the newly developed How Was School Today (HWST) prototype can support participation in narrative activities for a 10-year-old boy with complex communication needs (CCN) when he interacts with two typically developed peers. The researchers wanted to find out how the use of the different communication aids affected interaction. The S-b-S is a low technology communication device with a voice recording function. The HWST prototype is a simulation of the HWST system, which is a high technology system that automatically collects information and creates stories about what the user has done in school. The researchers focused on different aspects of gaze and questions as vital communicative practices for the boy‟s involvement in the interaction, and hence, thestory telling activity. The data was analysed mainly qualitatively with conversation analysis (CA). A descriptive quantitative analysis was also developed. The results indicate that the HWST prototype provides a framework for establishment of joint orientation towards the prototype and questions about it. The S-b-S on the other hand creates a context in which it is easier to establish eye contact. There is an uneven distribution of questions with a much higher frequency in the session where the HWST prototype was used. There are not many studies on narrative ability in children with CCN together with peers. Future research on shared stories in natural environments is suggested. / Denna studies huvudsyfte var att jämföra hur kommunikationshjälpmedlen Step-by-Step™ (S-b-S) och den nyligen utvecklade How Was School Today-prototypen (HWST) kan stödja deltagandet i berättandeaktiviteter för en 10-årig pojke med komplexa kommunikativa behov när han interagerar med två typiskt utvecklade kamrater. Forskarna ville ta reda på hur användandet av de olika kommunikationshjälpmedlen påverkade interaktionen. S-b-S är ett lågteknologiskt kommunikationshjälpmedel med röstinspelningsfunktion. HWST-prototypen är en simulering av HWST-systemet, som är ett högteknologiskt system som automatisk samlar in information och skapar berättelser om vad användaren har gjort i skolan. Forskarnas fokuserade på olika aspekter av blickriktning och frågor, som centrala kommunikativa praktiker för pojkens involvering i interaktionen, och därmed i berättandet. Data analyserades främst kvalitativt med metoden samtalsanalys. Det utvecklades även en deskriptiv kvantitativ analys. Resultaten visar att HWSTprototypen förser samtalet med ett ramverk som underlättar etablerandet av gemensam orientering till prototypen och frågor som rör den. S-b-S skapar å andra sidan en kontext i vilken det är lättare att utveckla ögonkontakt. Det är en ojämn fördelning av frågor, med en mycket högre frekvens i sessionen där HWST-prototypen användes. Det finns inte många studier om narrativ förmåga hos barn med CCN i samtal med kamrater. Framtida studier av berättande i naturliga miljöer föreslås. / "How was School today…?" in the Wild

Time series data has become a ubiquitous and important data source in many application domains. Most companies and organizations strongly rely on this data for critical tasks like decision-making, planning, predictions, and analytics in general. While all these tasks generally focus on actual data representing organization and business processes, it is also desirable to apply them to alternative scenarios in order to prepare for developments that diverge from expectations or assess the robustness of current strategies. When it comes to the construction of such what-if scenarios, existing tools either focus on scalar data or they address highly specific scenarios. In this work, we propose a generally applicable and easy-to-use method for the generation of what-if scenarios on time series data. Our approach extracts descriptive features of a data set and allows the construction of an alternate version by means of filtering and modification of these features.

Title: An electromyographical analysis of the influence of water environment on the rehabilitation of patients with Parkinson's disease Aims: The main aim of this Master's thesis was to compare electrical activity of selected muscles of patients with Parkinson's disease via electromyography during gate aground and in water environment. Furhter aim was to determine co-contraction level of leg muscles of patients with Parkinson's disease during gait aground and in water environment. Methods: This thesis is a case study, which was conducted on five probands, two of which were men and three women of age 67,4±7,1. With the use of surface electromyography, an activity was evaluated of m.tibialis anterior, m.gastrocnemius, m. rectus femoris, m. biceps femoris and mm. erectores spinae in place of Th -L junction. Acquired EMG signal was analized and then a standarized level of muscle activity during gait in different environments was evaluated, aground and in water, and afterward a dynamic co-contraction level was evaluated. Results: The results show consistent standardized activity of monitored muscles in water environment, which describes a chronic influence of pathological central program accompanying Parkinson's disease, where a change in coordination pattern is not observed, typical for movement in...

Title: The Comparison of Muscle Timing of Chosen Shoulder Girdle Muscles During Breaststroke Inside and Outside the Water Objectives: The aim of this thesis was to compare timing and activation of chosen shoulder girdle muscles during breaststroke in the pool with counterflow and during excercise with rubber expander. Methods: It was analyzed timing and level of muscle activation during swimming and simulating the same movement of upper extremities in the air against the power of rubber expander. As an objetification was used surface electromyography. One profesional swimer took part in this experiment Results: Based on results it seemed that the movement of upper extremities are different in the pool and in the air during swimming stroke of breaststroke. Most of the measurement were different in the pool and in the air. Keywords: swimming, breaststroke, EMG, WaS-EMG, electromyography, shoulder girdle muscles, timing

There has existed for many years a memory enhancement technique ("memory pegs") that although having dramatic demonstrable success in some individual cases has not been generally applied in education. The emergence of constructivist epistemology has emphasised the notion that learning occurs as a result of connecting new material with previously learnt concepts. There is, therefore, the implication that effective learning requires some previous knowledge upon which to attach new concepts - and thus realisation of the importance of learning with respect to acquiring factual information as a prerequisite to learning new processes and/or skills. This issue has focussed my attention on the need to ensure that the more physiological skills of accessing 'memory', both for learning and recall, are optimised for maximum learning. Further, there are some indications that the physiological skills of memory access (storage and retrieval) may respond favourably to training and 'exercise'. This study was designed to find out whether or not a repeated 'exercise' using a simple memory enhancement technique would lead to a determinable and statistically significant increase in overall performance in a range of cognitive skills (as indicated by science and mathematics examination results), whether learning such a technique would affect a student's attitudes towards science, whether there was a relationship between the amount of time spent practicing the technique and the degree of effect, and whether the memory technique did actually improve the ability to recall lists of objects.