The measurement of aircraft performance and stability and control after flight through natural icing conditions

The effects of airframe icing on the performance and stability and control of a twin-engine commuter-class aircraft were measured by the NASA Lewis Research Center. This work consisted of clear air tests with artificial ice shapes attached to the horizontal tail, and natural icing flight tests in measured icing clouds. The clear air tests employed static longitudinal flight test methods to determine degradation in stability margins for four simulated ice shapes. The natural icing flight tests employed a data acquisition system, which was provided under contract to NASA by Kohlman Systems Research Incorporated. This system used a performance modeling method and modified maximum likelihood estimation (MMLE) technique to determine aircraft performance degradation and stability and control. Flight test results with artificial ice shapes showed that longitudinal, stick-fixed, static margins are reduced on the order of 5 percent with flaps up. Natural icing tests with the KSR system corroborated these results and showed degradation in the elevator control derivatives on the order of 8 to 16 percent depending on wing flap configuration. Performance analyses showed the individual contributions of major airframe components to the overall degration in lift and drag

Control task substitution in semi-automated driving: does it matter what aspects are automated?

Objective: The study was designed to show how driver attention to the road scene and engagement of a choice of secondary tasks are affected by the level of automation provided to assist or take over the basic task of vehicle control. It was also designed to investigate the difference between support in longitudinal control and support in lateral control. Background: There is comparatively little literature on the implications of automation for drivers’ engagement in the driving task and for their willingness to engage in non-driving-related activities. Method: A study was carried out on a high-level driving simulator in which drivers experienced three levels of automation: manual driving, semiautomated driving with either longitudinal or lateral control provided, and highly automated driving with both longitudinal and lateral control provided. Drivers were free to pay attention to the roadway and traffic or to engage in a range of entertainment and grooming tasks. Results: Engagement in the nondriving tasks increased from manual to semiautomated driving and increased further with highly automated driving. There were substantial differences in attention to the road and traffic between the two types of semiautomated driving. Conclusion: The literature on automation and the various task analyses of driving do not currently help to explain the effects that were found. Lateral support and longitudinal support may be the same in terms of levels of automation but appear to be regarded rather differently by drivers

Who Gives a Trump? Evidence of Framing Effects in Tax Policy

We use a framed survey to measure how associating the name “Trump” with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) affects people’s satisfaction of said Act. Our research included 72 participant clients from a Volunteer Income Tax Assistants (VITA) program, who were asked to provide baseline data regarding political affiliation and attitudes prior to having tax returns completed. We find that using the name “Trump” with people who self-identify as Republican results in more satisfaction with the Act, whereas, for people with who do not self-identify as Republican, association with the name “Trump” does not precipitate stronger or weaker satisfaction with the Act

Elastic anomalies due to structural phase transitions in mechanoluminescent SrAl₂O₄:Eu

Elastic and anelastic properties of a ceramic sample of elasticoluminescentSrAl₂O₄:Eu have been characterized as a function of temperature by resonant ultrasound spectroscopy.RUS facilities in Cambridge were established with the support of grant to M.A.C. from the Natural Environment Research Council of Great Britain, Grant No. NE/ B505738/1. C.J.H. and M.A.C. acknowledge the support of the Leverhulme Trust in the form of a Visiting Professorship for C.J.H. R.L.W. and Y.L. gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Australian Research Council in the form of ARC Discovery Grants

Egg and clutch sizes of western chicken turtles (Deirochelys reticularia miaria)

Chicken turtles (Deirochelys reticularia) are generally characterized as having atypical reproductive characteristics relative to other sympatric emydids. However, the comparatively understudied western chicken turtle (D. r. miaria) has been shown to exhibit some reproductive characteristics that differ from the other subspecies. Therefore, we examined clutch and egg sizes from six D. r. miaria (13 clutches) in Oklahoma and compared the results to values that have been reported for the other two subspecies. Females nested up to three times per year, with clutches ranging from 8-13 eggs per clutch (mean = 10.9). The eggs were 19.4-25.3 mm wide (mean = 22.2 mm). These values are greater than the means reported for the other subspecies, but the differences were not statistically significant

Organic residue analysis of Egyptian votive mummies and their research potential

YesVast numbers of votive mummies were produced in Egypt during the Late Pharaonic, Ptolemaic, and Roman periods. Although millions remain in situ, many were removed and have ultimately entered museum collections around the world. There they have often languished as uncomfortable reminders of antiquarian practices with little information available to enhance their value as artefacts worthy of conservation or display. A multi-disciplinary research project, based at the University of Manchester, is currently redressing these issues. One recent aspect of this work has been the characterization of natural products employed in the mummification of votive bundles. Using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and the well-established biomarker approach, analysis of 24 samples from 17 mummy bundles has demonstrated the presence of oils/fats, natural waxes, petroleum products, resinous exudates, and essential oils. These results confirm the range of organic materials employed in embalming and augment our understanding of the treatment of votives. In this first systematic initiative of its kind, initial findings point to possible trends in body treatment practices in relation to chronology, geography, and changes in ideology which will be investigated as the study progresses. Detailed knowledge of the substances used on individual bundles has also served to enhance their value as display items and aid in their conservation.RCB is supported by a PhD studentship from the Art and Humanities Research Council (43019R00209). L.M. and S.A.W. are supported by a Leverhulme Trust Research Project Award (RPG-2013-143)

Late Miocene to early Pliocene biofacies of Wanganui and Taranaki Basins, New Zealand: Applications to paleoenvironmental and sequence stratigraphic analysis

The Matemateaonga Formation is late Miocene to early Pliocene (upper Tongaporutuan to lower Opoitian New Zealand Stages) in age. The formation comprises chiefly shellbeds, siliciclastic sandstone, and siltstone units and to a lesser extent non-marine and shallow marine conglomerate and rare paralic facies. The Matemateaonga Formation accumulated chiefly in shelf paleoenvironments during basement onlap and progradation of a late Miocene to early Pliocene continental margin wedge in the Wanganui and Taranaki Basins. The formation is strongly cyclothemic, being characterised by recurrent vertically stacked facies successions, bounded by sequence boundaries. These facies accumulated in a range of shoreface to mid-outer shelf paleoenvironments during conditions of successively oscillating sea level. This sequential repetition of facies and the biofacies they enclose are the result of sixth-order glacio-eustatic cyclicity. Macrofaunal associations have been identified from statistical analysis of macrofossil occurrences collected from multiple sequences. Each association is restricted to particular lithofacies and stratal positions and shows a consistent order and/or position within the sequences. This pattern of temporal paleoecologic change appears to be the result of lateral, facies-related shifting of broad biofacies belts, or habitat-tracking, in response to fluctuations of relative sea level, sediment flux, and other associated paleoenvironmental variables. The associations also show strong similarity in terms of their generic composition to biofacies identified in younger sedimentary strata and the modern marine benthic environment in New Zealand