Modal analysis of UH-60A instrumented rotor blades

The dynamic characteristics of instrumented and production UH-60A Black Hawk main rotor blades were measured, and the results were validated with NASTRAN finite element models. The blades tested included pressure and strain-gage instrumented blades, which are part of the NASA Airloads Flight Research Phase of the Modern Technology Rotor Program. The dynamic similarity of the blades was required for accurate data collection in this program. Therefore, a nonrotating blade modal analysis was performed on the first 10 free-free modes to measure blade similarities. The results showed small differences between the modal frequencies of instrumented and production blades and a close correlation with the NASTRAN models. This type of modal testing and analysis is recommended as a standard procedure for future instrumented blade flight testing

COMBINING QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE APPROACHES TO RURAL DEVELOPMENT ANALYSIS: THE CASE OF AGRICULTURAL INTENSIFICATION IN LEBANON

While peripheral rural regions in Lebanon face typical problems of lagging development and economic marginalisation, they have not been regarded as a priority for policy-makers, and significant disparities between these and other regions have emerged as a result. Local extensionists have encouraged technological innovation as a means to improving farmers’ livelihoods, and this has led to increasing input use and an intensification of agricultural production. This paper applies contrasting quantitative and qualitative methodologies to analyse the effects of such changes at the level of the overall economy of Lebanon and also to explore the impacts on rural households. A Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model explores several simulation scenarios in which agricultural output increases due to intensification in the use of intermediate inputs. The results are evaluated at local level through the use of qualitative case-study analysis carried out in the Hermel region of northeast Lebanon. Quantitative simulations indicate that, while intensification has a positive effect overall on the Lebanese economy, the effects on rural households and the income of farmers are negative; the case-study demonstrates that, at local level, agricultural trade liberalisation, increased agricultural output and greater volatility of commodity prices has resulted in farmers opting for lower input use and more secure market forms of production.Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Improving the Use of Electronic Medical Records in Primary Health Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Electronic Medical Records were first introduced in the 1970s to organize patient information, improve coordination of care, and improve communication. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify interventions aimed at improving EMR use in primary health care settings. Of 2,098 identified studies twelve were included in the review. Results showed that interventions focused on the use of EMR functions were five times more likely to show improvements in EMR use compared to controls. Interventions focused on data quality were five and a half times more likely to show improvements in EMR use compared to controls. Individuals in primary health care settings aiming to improve EMR use would benefit from implementing interventions focused on EMR feature add-ons, and provisions of educational materials, or financial incentives targeted at improving the use of EMR functions and data quality

Teacher training in robotics - evaluating the implementation of robotics and teachers motivation and self-efficacy towards robotics.

The competent, critical, cooperative, and creative use of digital technologies has become a fundamental requirement for participation in society and professional life. Human-robot collaboration, which is increasingly common in industry, and networked production through the Internet of Things are prime examples of this. Teachers therefore need to be prepared for the challenges in times of digital transformation in order to prepare students for the increasingly digitalised labour market of today and tomorrow. As part of the so-called master plan for digitization, the project “Robonatives" is equipping technology labs at 65 schools. In order to ensure a structured implementation in line with the project's objectives, the University of Oldenburg, among others, is supporting these schools in the development of curriculum for long-term integration into the schools' own curriculum. Teachers are provided with advanced training courses addressing the use of robots, occupational safety, and ethical and social issues, as well as the design of learning situations. The aim is to establish the topic in schools in the long-term, beyond the project's duration (24 months). In line with this, the article presents and evaluates a study on how robotics is embedded in the lessons of the project schools. A further aim of the evaluation is to measure the teachers' motivation and self-efficacy to teach robotics, in order to evaluate the training concept and to identify further needs

CORRELATION BETWEEN PHYSICAL FITNESS AND MOTIVATION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

Information on the correlation of physical fitness indicators to indicators of motivation for physical activity (PA) in schoolchildren with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is very limited. The lack of such information makes it impossible to collect informative tests that best assess the level of РА literacy. It also hampers the effective identification of appropriate and effective means for the formation of РА literacy among schoolchildren with ASD. The study aims at comparing the levels of physical fitness and motivation for PA in children with ASD with their peers without disorders; determining the degree of correlation between physical fitness and motivation for physical activity in children with ASD. Data were collected from two Ukrainian samples: 18 children with ASD aged 11–13 years, and 30 children aged 11–12 years without ASD diagnosis. Results. Most of the correlation coefficients between the indices of physical fitness and motivation for РА in children with ASD (9/12) are reliable. This suggests that motivation to РА (defined by the CAPL-2 methodology) is an informative criterion of РА literacy of children with ASD. Significant correlations with motivation for РА in schoolchildren with ASD were observed in the results of two exercise tests.

Synthèse des circuits d'adaptation et de filtrage micro-ondes à lignes de transmission non-uniformes

Aperçu général sur les circuits d'adaptation d'impédance micro-ondes -- A cad-suitable approach for the analysis of nonuniform MMIC and MHMIC transmission lines -- Étude des performances des nouvelles lignes de transmission non uniformes -- Synthesis of microwave impedance matching circuits using arbitrary nonuniform microstrip and coplanar transmission lines -- Méthode de conception des filtres hyperfréquences en technologies planaires

Evaluation of Three Rapid Tests for Diagnosis of P. Falciparum and P. Vivax Malaria in Colombia.

The diagnostic capacity of three malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), NOW-Malaria-ICT, OptiMAL-IT, and Paracheck-Pf, was evaluated against expert microscopy in Colombia. We tested 896 patients, of whom microscopy confirmed 139 P. falciparum, 279 P. vivax, and 13 mixed P.f/P.v infections and 465 negatives. Paracheck-Pf and NOW-malaria-ICT were more accurate in detecting P. falciparum (sensitivities 90.8% and 90.1%, respectively) in comparison with Optimal-IT (83.6%). NOW showed an acceptable Pf detection rate at low densities (< 500/microL), but resulted in a higher proportion of false positives. For P. vivax diagnosis, Optimal-IT had a higher sensitivity than NOW (91.0% and 81.4%, respectively). The choice between the two Pf/Pv detecting RDTs balances P. falciparum and P. vivax detection rates. Considering some degree of P. falciparum overtreatment and failure to detect all P. vivax cases as more acceptable than missing some cases of P. falciparum, we recommend careful implementation of NOW-malaria-ICT in areas where microscopy is lacking. The price is however still a constraint

Leadership Styles of Millennials and Organizational Effectiveness in Business Consulting Organizations in Lebanon

AbstractThe engagement of millennials in organizations today is growing fast, and they are expected to be major change makers in organizations by 2025. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore how leadership styles of millennials and gender influence organizational outcomes in terms of extra effort, effectiveness, and satisfaction in business consulting organizations in Lebanon. The theoretical framework was based on the full range leadership model developed by Bass and Avolio. This model focuses on three different leadership styles: transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire. Organizational outcomes is a composite of three subscales including extra effort, satisfaction, and effectiveness. This quantitative study used Survey-Monkey to administer online data collection using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 5X-Short) Leader Form, a validated and reliable survey research instrument. Sixty-eight participants representing the millennial generation completed the survey. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. The results of this study showed a statistically significant relationship between transformational and transactional leadership styles and organizational outcomes. The results also showed no significant relationship between laissez-faire and organizational outcomes and no significant relationship between gender and organizational outcomes. This study may drive positive social change at the individual, organizational, and societal levels by increasing awareness of leadership differences that may contribute to individual growth and enhance organizational outcomes. Improved awareness of generational differences may influence opportunities to build and nurture productive relationships and environments

An Analysis of sounds and spellings based on RP [i:] in the nineteenth-century Lancashire vernacular

Northern dialects and the Lancashire vernacular have been substantially represented in literature. Regional literature is principally classified into dialect literature and literary dialect. The former is addressed to a limited readership as it comprises those novels, plays and poems that are entirely composed in a non-standard variety. The latter relates to the literary production which is for the most part written in standard English, except the characters’ dialogues that are marked with a particular variety. This last approach is considered to be a useful tool for linguists in dialect study. This paper analyses the sounds and spellings related to the FLEECE lexical set in the nineteenth-century Lancashire vernacular, according to Wells’s classification (1982) for words containing RP [i:]. To this end, several nineteenth-century literary dialect works were compiled and studied. In this endeavor, the deviant spellings associated with RP [i:] are gathered and attributed to their pronunciations in the dialect. The present paper examines the coexistence of sounds for FLEECE on the grounds of historical and sociolinguistic reasons. Keywords: Lancashire dialect; literary dialect; deviant spellings; dialect sounds; FLEECE lexical se

Adverse Cardiovascular Effects with Acute Particulate Matter and Ozone Exposures: Interstrain Variation in Mice

OBJECTIVES: Increased ambient particulate matter (PM) levels are associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, as shown by numerous epidemiology studies. Few studies have investigated the role of copollutants, such as ozone, in this association. Furthermore, the mechanisms by which PM affects cardiac function remain uncertain. We hypothesized that PM and O3 induce adverse cardiovascular effects in mice and that these effects are strain dependent. STUDY DESIGN: After implanting radiotelemeters to measure heart rate (HR) and HR variability (HRV) parameters, we exposed C57Bl/6J (B6), C3H/HeJ (HeJ), and C3H/HeOuJ (OuJ) inbred mouse strains to three different daily exposures of filtered air (FA), carbon black particles (CB), or O3 and CB sequentially [O3CB; for CB, 536 ± 24 µg/m3; for O3, 584 ± 35 ppb (mean ± SE)]. RESULTS: We observed significant changes in HR and HRV in all strains due to O3CB exposure, but not due to sequential FA and CB exposure (FACB). The data suggest that primarily acute HR and HRV effects occur during O3CB exposure, especially in HeJ and OuJ mice. For example, HeJ and OuJ mice demonstrated dramatic increases in HRV parameters associated with marked bradycardia during O3CB exposure. In contrast, depressed HR responses occurred in B6 mice without detectable changes in HRV parameters. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that important interstrain differences exist with respect to PM- and O3-induced cardiac effects. This interstrain variation suggests that genetic factors may modulate HR regulation in response to and recuperation from acute copollutant exposures. KEY WORDS: air pollution, genetic susceptibility, heart rate variability, Toll-like receptor 4. Environ Health Perspect 116:1033–1039 (2008). doi:10.1289/ehp.10689 available vi