Flight control electronics reliability/maintenance study

Collection and analysis of data are reported that concern the reliability and maintenance experience of flight control system electronics currently in use on passenger carrying jet aircraft. Two airlines B-747 airplane fleets were analyzed to assess the component reliability, system functional reliability, and achieved availability of the CAT II configuration flight control system. Also assessed were the costs generated by this system in the categories of spare equipment, schedule irregularity, and line and shop maintenance. The results indicate that although there is a marked difference in the geographic location and route pattern between the airlines studied, there is a close similarity in the reliability and the maintenance costs associated with the flight control electronics

Airborne Advanced Reconfigurable Computer System (ARCS)

A digital computer subsystem fault-tolerant concept was defined, and the potential benefits and costs of such a subsystem were assessed when used as the central element of a new transport's flight control system. The derived advanced reconfigurable computer system (ARCS) is a triple-redundant computer subsystem that automatically reconfigures, under multiple fault conditions, from triplex to duplex to simplex operation, with redundancy recovery if the fault condition is transient. The study included criteria development covering factors at the aircraft's operation level that would influence the design of a fault-tolerant system for commercial airline use. A new reliability analysis tool was developed for evaluating redundant, fault-tolerant system availability and survivability; and a stringent digital system software design methodology was used to achieve design/implementation visibility

Strategic Shift to a Diagnostic Model of Care in a Multi-Site Group Dental Practice.

BackgroundDocumenting standardized dental diagnostic terms represents an emerging change for how dentistry is practiced. We focused on a mid-sized dental group practice as it shifted to a policy of documenting patients' diagnoses using standardized terms in the electronic health record.MethodsKotter's change framework was translated into interview questions posed to the senior leadership in a mid-size dental group practice. In addition, quantitative content analyses were conducted on the written policies and forms before and after the implementation of standardized diagnosis documentation to assess the extent to which the forms and policies reflected the shift. Three reviewers analyzed the data individually and reached consensuses where needed.ResultsKotter's guiding change framework explained the steps taken to 97 percent utilization rate of the Electronic Health Record and Dental Diagnostic Code. Of the 96 documents included in the forms and policy analysis, 31 documents were officially updated but only two added a diagnostic element.ConclusionChange strategies established in the business literature hold utility for dental practices seeking diagnosis-centered care.Practical implicationsA practice that shifts to a diagnosis-driven care philosophy would be best served by ensuring that the change process follows a leadership framework that is calibrated to the organization's culture

Sailing Through Designing Memo Assignments

Sailing and designing memo assignments have a lot in common. At first, both can seem overwhelming - so much to learn, so much to organize sequentially, and so much to get right in a short period of time. Mistakes mean instability, lost time, and possibly capsizing. Avoiding the mistakes, a good skipper can break through to clean water and good air, and teaching writing can be exhilarating. The students and teacher both benefit from and enjoy working with an ideal memo assignment. The process is critical, but the destination is key. No memo assignment is effective if it results in capsizing or getting lost. Memos are effective only when they help students meet the goals set for research, analysis, and writing. The three sections of this article provide concrete ideas for reaching the destination. The first section outlines the top ten mistakes in designing memo assignments. The top-ten designation refers not only to the importance of the mistake, but also to the frequency with which the mistake is made. The second section discusses the ideal assignment, and the third section presents strategies for working through the process of designing a memo. The completed memo assignment that appears in Appendix 2 illustrates concepts discussed in both sections two and three. Following the ideas in these three sections should lead to exhilarating sailing through legal writing for both teachers and students

Sailing Through Designing Memo Assignments

Sailing and designing memo assignments have a lot in common. At first, both can seem overwhelming - so much to learn, so much to organize sequentially, and so much to get right in a short period of time. Mistakes mean instability, lost time, and possibly capsizing. Avoiding the mistakes, a good skipper can break through to clean water and good air, and teaching writing can be exhilarating. The students and teacher both benefit from and enjoy working with an ideal memo assignment. The process is critical, but the destination is key. No memo assignment is effective if it results in capsizing or getting lost. Memos are effective only when they help students meet the goals set for research, analysis, and writing. The three sections of this article provide concrete ideas for reaching the destination. The first section outlines the top ten mistakes in designing memo assignments. The top-ten designation refers not only to the importance of the mistake, but also to the frequency with which the mistake is made. The second section discusses the ideal assignment, and the third section presents strategies for working through the process of designing a memo. The completed memo assignment that appears in Appendix 2 illustrates concepts discussed in both sections two and three. Following the ideas in these three sections should lead to exhilarating sailing through legal writing for both teachers and students

The ecology and management of Southland's black-billed gulls

The black-billed gull (Lams bulleri) is a small gull that nests in dense colonies on gravel-bedded rivers in southern New Zealand. This dissertation describes research undertaken in Southland in 2004-2006 that investigates black-billed gull population decline and its causes. Historical ground counts of nests were calibrated with aerial photography of colonies and population trends analysed. The decline in breeding birds on Southland's four main rivers was equivalent to 6.0%/year (SE 1.8) or 83.6% in 30 years justifying the species' present listing as Endangered. Aerial monitoring is a poor index of the breeding population and major temporal variation was identified in counts. All re-sighted second-year birds exhibited natal dispersal and -70% left the natal catchment. Forty one percent of birds banded as adults also dispersed to other catchments. Breeding dispersal is apparently unrelated to previous breeding success and the availability of the previous year's colony site, and dispersing birds did not move as groups. Southland's black-billed gulls constitute a single inter-mixing population. Black-billed gulls selected sites on islands and banks according to availability, and selected rivers consistent with the number of gravel patches. Site vulnerability to floods varied significantly. Re-use of colony sites was positively influenced by use in previous years, the extraction of gravel, site stability and low weed cover. Widespread introduced weeds on colony sites preventing nesting and may have increased flooding risk. Colony size was related to colony area, which was related to gravel patch size. Investigation of historical changes in breeding habitat availability in Southland indicated a major reduction in gravel habitat on the Lower Oreti River between 1976 and 2002 due to river works including gravel extraction. On the Waiau River, Manapouri Dam construction in 1970 initially increased gravel areas, since reversed in the mid Waiau, and caused a 75% decline in the number of islands. Gravel patch sizes are still declining on the Lower Oreti and possibly the Mid Waiau. Hundreds of gravel patches remain on Southland rivers. Over 5000 nests in 21 colonies were monitored during incubation. Colony nest success was most influenced by colony location, averaging 90.1% (SE 2.1) on islands within rivers, and 66.8% (SE 2.2) on riverbanks, indicating that terrestrial predators exert the greatest influence on productivity. Breeding success, the mean number of fledglings produced per nest by colony, varied between 0 and 0.88 fledglings (mean 0.32, SE 0.08). Both parameters were positively related to colony size. The three smallest colonies failed to breed successfully, suggesting the presence of an Allee effect. Deterministic matrix models were used to investigate population trends using survival and productivity estimates for the closely related Kaikoura red-billed gull (L. novaehollandiae scopulinus). Adult survival, followed by breeding success and survival of first year birds, had the greatest influence on population projections. Improvements in most parameters are probably required to reverse the decline of Southland's black-billed gulls. Predation and disturbance by introduced mammals and the native black-backed gull (L. dominicanus) had the greatest impact on black-billed gull productivity. Most human disturbance is insignificant compared to predator disturbance, but illegal shooting of large numbers of adult gulls has major impacts in smaller sub-populations. Damming and excessive water abstraction reduces island habitat due to lowering of flows. Major climatic events such as droughts, and chemical ingestion through a diet dominated by agricultural invertebrates, are potential major threats about which little is known. Management actions including the collation and analysis of all unpublished black-billed gull count datasets, a thorough test of the accuracy of aerial monitoring, trialling of decoys to attract colonies to nest on islands, predator control at bank colonies, targeted weed control on high quality sites, advocacy and education and further research are recommended

A Look at the Change in the Seasonality of Influenza between Three Distinct Regions of Uganda: Central, Northwest, and Western

Influenza is suspected to be endemic in tropical climates, with peaks during and/or following cold or rainy seasons. To date, only one study has been conducted examining the epidemiology and seasonality of influenza in Uganda. The focus of this analysis is to determine whether a change in the seasonality of influenza can been seen between three distinct regions of Uganda: Central, Northwest, and Western. Secondary data analysis was conducted on surveillance data collected by the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) between April 2007 to September 2010 from 10 surveillance sites. Surveillance sites were grouped for this analysis into three regions: Central, Northwest, and Western. A total of 3,944 samples were collected and tested for any strain of influenza. The prevalence of influenza over the 4 years of surveillance was 10.1%. The majority of cases came from the Central region (81.7%) and the highest prevalence of influenza-positive samples were collected in the Central region (88.7 cases/1,000 persons). A clear difference in influenza activity was observed during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Uganda reported its first case of H1N1 in July 2009 (Relief Web). The Central region experienced its initial flux of influenza activity in July and August 2009 (Figure 1). However, the Northwest region did not experience a flux in activity until October 2009 (Figure 2). Influenza activity in the Central and Northwest regions appear to coincide with colder temperatures and both rainy seasons. The Northwest region was the only region to experience a peak corresponding with warmer weather. Results showed a slight change in the seasonality of influenza between the Central and Northwest regions of Uganda from surveillance data collected between April 2007 and September 2010

Quantum critical behavior in the heavy Fermion single crystal Ce(Ni0.935_{0.935}Pd0.065_{0.065})2_2Ge2_2

We have performed magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, resistivity, and inelastic neutron scattering measurements on a single crystal of the heavy Fermion compound Ce(Ni$_{0.935}$Pd$_{0.065}$)$_2$Ge$_2$, which is believed to be close to a quantum critical point (QCP) at T = 0. At lowest temperature(1.8-3.5 K), the magnetic susceptibility behaves as $\chi(T)-\chi (0)$ $\propto$ $T^{-1/6}$ with $\chi (0) = 0.032 \times 10^{-6}$ m$^3$/mole (0.0025 emu/mole). For $T<$ 1 K, the specific heat can be fit to the formula $\Delta C/T = \gamma_0 - T^{1/2}$ with $\gamma_0$ of order 700 mJ/mole-K$^2$. The resistivity behaves as $\rho = \rho_0 + AT^{3/2}$ for temperatures below 2 K. This low temperature behavior for $\gamma (T)$ and $\rho (T)$ is in accord with the SCR theory of Moriya and Takimoto\cite{Moriya}. The inelastic neutron scattering spectra show a broad peak near 1.5 meV that appears to be independent of $Q$; we interpret this as Kondo scattering with $T_K =$ 17 K. In addition, the scattering is enhanced near $Q$=(1/2, 1/2, 0) with maximum scattering at $\Delta E$ = 0.45 meV; we interpret this as scattering from antiferromagnetic fluctuations near the antiferromagnetic QCP.Comment: to be published in J. Phys: Conference Serie