Pilot performance and workload whilst using an angle of attack system

Loss of control in flight is the primary category of fatal accidents within all sectors of aviation and failure to maintain adequate airspeed – leading to a stall - is often cited as a causal factor. Stalls occur when the critical angle of the aircraft is exceeded for a given airspeed. Using airspeed as an indicator of the potential to stall is an unreliable proxy. Systems that measure the angle of attack have been routinely used by military aircraft for over 50 years however rigorous academic research with respect to their effectiveness has been limited. Using a fixed-base flight simulator fitted with a simulated, commercially available angle of attack system, 20 pilots performed normal and emergency procedures during the circuit/pattern in a light aircraft. Experimental results have shown that pilot performance was improved when angle of attack was displayed in the cockpit for normal and emergency procedures during the approach phase of flight in the pattern/circuit. In relation to pilot workload, results indicated that during the approach phase of flight, there was a moderate but tolerable increase in pilot workload. The use of such a display may assist pilots to maintain the aircraft within the optimum range and hence reduce occurrences of unstable approaches. Overall, fewer stall events were observed when angle of attack was displayed and appropriate pilot decisions made during emergencies. These results provide a new perspective on pilot workload and aviation safety

Progress in the Development of the 1 m Model of the 70 mm Aperture Quadrupole for the LHC Low-β\beta Insertions

Within the LHC magnet development program Oxford Instruments has built a one metre model of the 70 mm aperture low-beta quadrupole. The magnet features a four layer coil wound from two 8.2 mm wide graded NbTi cables, and is designed for 250 T/m at 1.9 K. The magnet has previously been tested between 4.5 K and 2.3 K. In this paper we review the magnet rebuild and the subsequent tests. Results on magnet training at 4.3 K and 1.9 K are presented along with the results related to quench protection studies.

Balancing the benefits and risks of public–private partnerships to address the global double burden of malnutrition

Objective: Transnational food, beverage and restaurant companies, and their corporate foundations, may be potential collaborators to help address complex public health nutrition challenges. While UN system guidelines are available for private-sector engagement, non-governmental organizations (NGO) have limited guidelines to navigate diverse opportunities and challenges presented by partnering with these companies through public&ndash;private partnerships (PPP) to address the global double burden of malnutrition.Design: We conducted a search of electronic databases, UN system websites and grey literature to identify resources about partnerships used to address the global double burden of malnutrition. A narrative summary provides a synthesis of the interdisciplinary literature identified.Results: We describe partnership opportunities, benefits and challenges; and tools and approaches to help NGO engage with the private sector to address global public health nutrition challenges. PPP benefits include: raising the visibility of nutrition and health on policy agendas; mobilizing funds and advocating for research; strengthening food-system processes and delivery systems; facilitating technology transfer; and expanding access to medications, vaccines, healthy food and beverage products, and nutrition assistance during humanitarian crises. PPP challenges include: balancing private commercial interests with public health interests; managing conflicts of interest; ensuring that co-branded activities support healthy products and healthy eating environments; complying with ethical codes of conduct; assessing partnership compatibility; and evaluating partnership outcomes.Conclusions: NGO should adopt a systematic and transparent approach using available tools and processes to maximize benefits and minimize risks of partnering with transnational food, beverage and restaurant companies to effectively target the global double burden of malnutrition.<br /

The future of sovereignty in multilevel governance Europe: a constructivist reading

Multilevel governance presents a depiction of contemporary structures in EU Europe as consisting of overlapping authorities and competing competencies. By focusing on emerging non-anarchical structures in the international system, hence moving beyond the conventional hierarchy/anarchy dichotomy to distinguish domestic and international arenas, this seems a radical transformation of the familiar Westphalian system and to undermine state sovereignty. Paradoxically, however, the principle of sovereignty proves to be resilient despite its alleged empirical decline. This article argues that social constructivism can explain the paradox, by considering sovereign statehood as a process-dependent institutional fact, and by showing that multilevel governance can feed into this process

Scallop swimming kinematics and muscle performance: modelling the effects of "within-animal" variation in temperature sensitivity

Escape behaviour was investigated in Queen scallops (Aequipecten opercularis) acclimated to 5, 10 or 15 degrees C and tested at their acclimation temperature. Scallops are active molluscs, able to escape from predators by jet-propelled swimming using a striated muscle working in opposition to an elastic hinge ligament. The first cycle of the escape response was recorded using high-speed video ( 250 Hz) and whole-animal velocity and acceleration determined. Muscle shortening velocity, force and power output were calculated using measurements of valve movement and jet area, and a simple biomechanical model. The average shortening speed of the adductor muscle had a Q(10) of 2.04, significantly reducing the duration of the jetting phase of the cycle with increased temperature. Muscle lengthening velocity and the overall duration of the clap cycle were changed little over the range 5 - 15 degrees C, as these parameters were controlled by the relatively temperature-insensitive, hinge ligament. Improvements in the average power output of the adductor muscle over the first clap cycle ( 222 vs. 139 W kg(-1) wet mass at 15 and 5 degrees C respectively) were not translated into proportional increases in overall swimming velocity, which was only 32% higher at 15 degrees C ( 0.37m s(-1)) than 5 degrees C (0.28 m s(-1))

Sliding charge density wave in manganites

The so-called stripe phase of the manganites is an important example of the complex behaviour of metal oxides, and has long been interpreted as the localisation of charge at atomic sites. Here, we demonstrate via resistance measurements on La_{0.50}Ca_{0.50}MnO_3 that this state is in fact a prototypical charge density wave (CDW) which undergoes collective transport. Dramatic resistance hysteresis effects and broadband noise properties are observed, both of which are typical of sliding CDW systems. Moreover, the high levels of disorder typical of manganites result in behaviour similar to that of well-known disordered CDW materials. Our discovery that the manganite superstructure is a CDW shows that unusual transport and structural properties do not require exotic physics, but can emerge when a well-understood phase (the CDW) coexists with disorder.Comment: 13 pages; 4 figure

Development of a data utility framework to support effective health data curation

Objectives: The value of healthcare data is being increasingly recognised, including the need to improve health dataset utility. There is no established mechanism for evaluating healthcare dataset utility making it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of activities improving the data. To describe the method for generating and involving the user community in developing a proposed framework for evaluation and communication of healthcare dataset utility for given research areas. Methods: An initial version of a matrix to review datasets across a range of dimensions was developed based on previous published findings regarding healthcare data. This was used to initiate a design process through interviews and surveys with data users representing a broad range of user types and use cases, to help develop a focused framework for characterising datasets. Results: Following 21 interviews, 31 survey responses and testing on 43 datasets, five major categories and 13 subcategories were identified as useful for a dataset, including Data Model, Completeness and Linkage. Each sub-category was graded to facilitate rapid and reproducible evaluation of dataset utility for specific use-cases. Testing of applicability to >40 existing datasets demonstrated potential usefulness for subsequent evaluation in real-world practice. Discussion: The research has developed an evidenced-based initial approach for a framework to understand the utility of a healthcare dataset. It is likely to require further refinement following wider application and additional categories may be required. Conclusion: The process has resulted in a user-centred designed framework for objectively evaluating the likely utility of specific healthcare datasets, and therefore, should be of value both for potential users of health data, and for data custodians to identify the areas to provide the optimal value for data curation investment

Trade in the Shadow of Power : Japanese Industrial Exports in the Interwar years

During the interwar years, Japanese industrialisation accelerated alongside the expansion of industrial exports to regional markets. Trade blocs in the interwar years were used as an instrument of imperial power to foster exports and as a substitute for productivity to encourage industrial production. The historiography on Japanese industrialisation in the interwar years describes heavy industries' interests in obtaining access to wider markets to increase economies of scale and reduce unit costs. However, this literature provides no quantitative evidence that proves the success of those mechanisms in expanding exports. In this paper we scrutinise how Japan&#8212;a relatively poor country&#8212;used colonial as well as informal power interventions to expand regional markets for its exports, especially for the most intensive human capital sector of the industrializing economy