Aircraft Course Optimization Tool Using GPOPS MATLAB Code

Aircraft course planning between two points in a clear, no threat environment is easy and straightforward. However, the addition of various threats can greatly increase the difficulty and complexity of course planning. Placing new waypoints along the edge of each threat, mostly skirting the dangerous environment, may not prove too difficult, but such courses are far from optimal. Given aircraft, environment, and time constraints it is likely a much more optimal path exists between any given start and end points. This research focuses on determining the feasibility of using the General Pseudospectral Optimization Software program files written for the MATLAB software package to take a given path, optimize it for the environment, and output a flyable, optimized course that can be used for more detailed mission planning. The results showed creating such a code was feasible. GPOPS can handle a simple version of what could be a very complex optimization problem. Two different versions of the final code show the successful optimization of the problem when the model is kept simple, and the failures GPOPS experiences when the problem becomes too complex

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Nursing Implications

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) continues to be an ongoing health problem as it caused the death of approximately 1,600 infants in 2015. The aim of this thesis and research study was to examine at-risk populations, the factors that increase and decrease the risk of SIDS, educational needs, and the associated nursing implications. The thesis consists of a literature review focusing on literature within the past five years, as well as a research study conducted to investigate areas where further education on SIDS prevention is needed. The research study was a self-reported survey examining practices that parents and caregivers of infants do that increase and decrease the risk of SIDS. The survey was distributed on social media through the Qualtrics program, and responses were collected from October 31st, 2017 to November 14th, 2017. Results of the study found that there was an increased compliance rate with American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendations on SIDS prevention in comparison to other research studies. Areas in need of further education, such as the use of pacifiers while the infant is sleeping, were also identified.B.S. (Bachelor of Science

Building Strong Leadership in a Fire Service Organization

This study site fire department is one of many metropolitan fire departments in the world and has lost many leading personnel to retirement. The position of focus in this study is chief officer, which encompasses the top three positions within the organization: the ranks of district fire chief, assistant fire chief, and the fire chief. The loss of this leading personnel has caused a decline in the strength of the leadership within the department, making it necessary to rebuild that leadership to secure the department’s future. The purpose of this qualitative study was to provide an understanding of the assumptions and perspectives of current chief officers as to what is expected of leaders in regards to experience; education; training; certifications; and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to replace the leadership lost over the years. Twelve chief officers within the department were interviewed, and the resulting data were analyzed using a manual system of coding. Within this system of coding, the data were grouped, and any biases identified and discussed, while variables related to required education, training, and certifications within the fire service were used to make sense of the data. The collected data were utilized to create a leadership development plan outline that involved specific requirements to help develop skills in upcoming employees destined for leadership. Using this outline, the organization can create a plan that will help develop leadership KSAs for emerging leadership within the organization. The evidence within this study is the scholarly documented beliefs and concepts of fire service professional leaders within the organization which may result in positive social change

The Axiom of Choice for Collections of Finite Sets

Some implications among finite versions of the Axiom of Choice are considered. In the first of two chapters some theorems are proven concerning the dependence or independence of these implications on the theory ZFU, the modification of ZF which permits the existence of atoms. The second chapter outlines proofs of corresponding theorems with "ZFU" replaced by "ZF" . The independence proofs involve Mostowski type permutation models in the first chapter and Cohen forcing in the second chapter. The finite axioms considered are C^n , "Every collection of n-element sets has a choice function"; W^n, "Every well-orderable collection of n-element sets has a choice function"; D^n, "Every denumerable collection of n-element sets has a choice function"; and A^n (x), "Every collection Y of n-element sets, with Y ≈ X, has a choice function". The conjunction C^nl &...& C^nk is denoted by CZ where Z = {nl ,...,nk}. Corresponding conjunctions of other finite axioms are denoted similarly by Wz, Dz and Az (X). Theorem: The following are provable in ZFU: W^k1n1+...+krnr ➔ W^n1 v...v W^nr, D^k1n1+...+krnr ➔ D^n1 v...v D^nr, and C^k1n1+...+krnr ➔ C^n1 v W^n2 v...v W^n

Micro-chamber filling experiments for validation of macro models with applications in capillary driven microfluidics

Prediction of bubble formation during filling of microchambers is often critical for determining the efficacy of microfluidic devices in various applications. In this study experimental validation is performed to verify the predictions from a previously developed numerical model using lumped analyses for simulating bubble formation during the filling of microchambers. The lumped model is used to predict bubble formation in a micro-chamber as a function of the chamber geometry, fluid properties (i.e. viscosity and surface tension), surface condition (contact angle, surface roughness) and operational parameters (e.g., flow rate) as user defined inputs. Several microchambers with different geometries and surface properties were microfabricated. Experiments were performed to fill the microchambers with different liquids (e.g., water and alcohol) at various flow rates to study the conditions for bubble formation inside the microchambers. The experimental data are compared with numerical predictions to identify the limitations of the numerical model. Also, the comparison of the experimental data with the numerical results provides additional insight into the physics of the micro/nano-scale flow phenomena. The results indicate that contact angle plays a significant role on properties of fluids confined within small geometries, such as in microfluidic devices

The Piezoelectric Effect of Bone In Vitro

The mechanism of bone deposition and resorption, under stress, is incompletely understood. The direct piezoelectric properties of bone have been suggested as playing an active role in the internal morphology of bone tissue. This study was designed to fabricate an apparatus and develop a technique to measure, quantitatively, the direct piezoelectric effect of the crystallites of bone. In vitro studies were done with bone samples taken from bovine femur. The samples were subjected to stress loading and were observed to exhibit a pressure-induced electrical phenomenon. The amplitude of the potentials generated was dependent upon the magnitude of the bony deformation. A linear relationship was observed to exist between the pressure applied and the potential generated. Polarity was found to be a function of the direction of force application. This may indicate that there is some interaction between internal surfaces of the bone that generate a potential on sliding past each other. From these observations it was reasoned that bone in vitro exhibits a piezoelectric effect. An attempt was made to distinguish as to which of the two fractions, organic or inorganic, was responsible for the potentials generated. One may postulate that the potentials, generated by the piezoelectric effect of bone, play a role in activating or in selectively inhibiting the cells of the bone cell system. Because the potentials measured were relatively weak, an alternate hypothesis may be that these potentials are associated with unidirectional fluxes of anions and cations from the bone towards the bone surfaces

Chromosome Y Regulates Survival Following Murine Coxsackievirus B3 Infection

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) contributes to the development of myocarditis, an inflammatory heart disease that predominates in males, and infection is a cause of unexpected death in young individuals. Although gonadal hormones contribute significantly to sex differences, sex chromosomes may also influence disease. Increasing evidence indicates that Chromosome Y (ChrY) genetic variants can impact biological functions unrelated to sexual differentiation. Using C57BL/6J (B6)-ChrY consomic mice, we show that genetic variation in ChrY has a direct effect on the survival of CVB3-infected animals. This effect is not due to potential Sry-mediated differences in prenatal testosterone exposure or to differences in adult testosterone levels. Furthermore, we show that ChrY polymorphism influences the percentage of natural killer T cells in B6-ChrY consomic strains but does not underlie CVB3-induced mortality. These data underscore the importance of investigating not only the hormonal regulation but also ChrY genetic regulation of cardiovascular disease and other male-dominant, sexually dimorphic diseases and phenotypes

Late-phase melt progression experiment: MP-2. Results and analysis

In-pile experiments addressing late-phase processes in Light Water Reactors (LWRs) were performed in the Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR) at Sandia National Laboratories. Melt Progression (MP) experiments were designed to provide information to develop and verify computer models for analysis of LWR core damage in severe accidents. Experiments examine the formation and motion of ceramic molten pools in disrupted reactor core regions. The MP-2 experiment assembly consisted of: (1) a rubble bed of enriched UO{sub 2} and ZrO{sub 2} simulating severely disrupted reactor core regions, (2) a ceramic/metallic crust representing blockage formed by early phase melting, relocation, and refreezing of core components, and (3) an intact rod stub region that remained in place below the blockage region. The test assembly was fission heated in the central cavity of the ACRR at an average rate of about 0.2 KA, reaching a peak molten pool temperature around 3400 K. Melting of the debris bed ceramic components was initiated near the center of the bed. The molten material relocated downward, refreezing to form a ceramic crust near the bottom of the rubble bed. As power levels were increased, the crust gradually remelted and reformed at progressively lower positions in the bed until late in the experiment when it penetrated into and attacked the ceramic/metallic blockage. The metallic components of the blockage region melted and relocated to the bottom of the intact rod stub region before the ceramic melt penetrated the blockage region from above. The ceramic pool penetrated halfway into the blockage region by the end of the experiment. Measurements of thermal response and material relocation are compared to the results of the computer simulations. Postexperiment examination of the assembly with the associated material interactions and metallurgy are also discussed in detail with the analyses and interpretation of results. 16 refs., 206 figs., 24 tabs

Accident source terms for boiling water reactors with high burnup cores.

The primary objective of this report is to provide the technical basis for development of recommendations for updates to the NUREG-1465 Source Term for BWRs that will extend its applicability to accidents involving high burnup (HBU) cores. However, a secondary objective is to re-examine the fundamental characteristics of the prescription for fission product release to containment described by NUREG-1465. This secondary objective is motivated by an interest to understand the extent to which research into the release and behaviors of radionuclides under accident conditions has altered best-estimate calculations of the integral response of BWRs to severe core damage sequences and the resulting radiological source terms to containment. This report, therefore, documents specific results of fission product source term analyses that will form the basis for the HBU supplement to NUREG-1465. However, commentary is also provided on observed differences between the composite results of the source term calculations performed here and those reflected NUREG-1465 itself