A flight investigation of a 4D area navigation system concept for STOL aircraft in the terminal area

A digital avionics system referred to as STOLAND was test flown in the NASA CV-340 aircraft to obtain performance data for time controlled guidance in the manual flight director mode. The advanced system components installed in the cockpit included an electronic attitude director indicator and an electronic multifunction display. Navigation guidance and control computations were performed on a digital computer. A detailed 4D area navigation systems description is given. The pilot/system interface and systems operation and performance are also described. Approach flightpaths were flown which included a 180 deg turn and a 1-min, 5 deg straight-in approach to 30 m altitude, at which point go-around was initiated. Results are presented for 19 approaches

Recognizing and modeling variable drawdown due to evapotranspiration in a semiarid riparian zone considering local differences in vegetation and distance from a river source

Riparian zones in semiarid regions often exhibit high rates of evapotranspiration (ET) in spite of low-soil moisture content due to the presence of phreatophytic vegetation that is able to withdraw water from shallow aquifers. This work seeks to better define the relationship between ET, the saturated zone and the river boundary by comparing observed water table drawdown records to analytically modeled drawdown in fully penetrating wells of an unconfined aquifer in response to daily ET flux. ET at the Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site (BHRS), a riparian zone in a temperate, semiarid environment, is calculated using a radiation-based method to provide ET values at four different wells with different vegetation densities. Analytically modeled drawdown response to ET forcing shows that drawdown magnitude increases with increasing distance from the river edge even as the surficial ET forcing remains constant. This behavior is also observed in well hydrographs and shows the buffering effect that flow from the river has on drawdown in fully penetrating riparian wells in highly permeable, unconfined aquifers. Relative contributions of river water to aquifer storage are calculated for ET-induced diurnal fluctuations of the water table at increasing distances from the river boundary. Failure to account for these spatial differences in drawdown related to the river source may explain some errors associated with estimating ET from well hydrographs alone

Speech Perception Changes in the Acoustically Aided, Nonimplanted Ear after Cochlear Implantation: A Multicenter Study

In recent years there has been an increasing percentage of cochlear implant (CI) users who have usable residual hearing in the contralateral, nonimplanted ear, typically aided by acoustic amplification. This raises the issue of the extent to which the signal presented through the cochlear implant may influence how listeners process information in the acoustically stimulated ear. This multicenter retrospective study examined pre- to postoperative changes in speech perception in the nonimplanted ear, the implanted ear, and both together. Results in the latter two conditions showed the expected increases, but speech perception in the nonimplanted ear showed a modest yet meaningful decrease that could not be completely explained by changes in unaided thresholds, hearing aid malfunction, or several other demographic variables. Decreases in speech perception in the nonimplanted ear were more likely in individuals who had better levels of speech perception in the implanted ear, and in those who had better speech perception in the implanted than in the nonimplanted ear. This raises the possibility that, in some cases, bimodal listeners may rely on the higher quality signal provided by the implant and may disregard or even neglect the input provided by the nonimplanted ear

The Associations Between Retirement and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in China: A 20-Year Prospective Study

Despite China's being the largest and most rapidly aging country in the world, there have been no longitudinal studies investigating the relationship between retirement and cardiovascular disease risk factors in China. In this study, we assessed the associations between retirement and systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, waist circumference, body mass index, smoking status, and alcohol consumption over a 17-year period both before and after retirement among 1,084 people (41.3% women) who participated in the China Health and Nutrition Survey (1991-2011) at least once prior to the year in which they retired and at least once afterward. Piecewise models centered at the year of retirement were applied. Retirement was accompanied by a reduction in diastolic blood pressure, a slowdown in the increase of both systolic blood pressure and waist circumference, and a reduction in the probability of being a heavy alcohol drinker. The association between retirement and blood pressure was stronger for men and for urban dwellers. No significant associations with body mass index or smoking were found. This study suggests that retirement may be beneficial for blood pressure, waist circumference, and alcohol consumption in the Chinese context. Understanding the potential health influence of retirement is essential, given plans to raise the retirement age in China

The BC SUPPORT Unit Data Platform: Offering Data-Related Services To Researchers In British Columbia

Introduction The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and provinces co-fund local Units to increase the quality and quantity of patient-oriented research. These SUPPORT (Support for People and Patient-Oriented Research and Trials) Units include a prominent Data Plan component. The BC Plan is the result of collaboration between many organizational partners. Objectives and Approach A Data Advisory Committee comprised of eight organizational partners worked together for several months in 2016-2017 to develop BC’s provincial Data Plan. The Data Plan includes seven objectives; in general, the plan seeks to make additional data available for research, increase the speed and transparency of data access, and offer services to enable more efficient data use. The services resulting from the Data Plan are intended to improve support for the entire continuum of a research project, from developing a research question to analyzing the results. Several projects are part of Ministry of Health-led work developing a Health Data Platform. Results The projects initiated so far as part of the Data Plan include: • BC Data Scout\textsuperscript{TM}: an online tool that provides aggregate cohort information to inform research question development; • REDCap: software to support privacy-sensitive data collection and management; • INFORM: software to support data collection for complex clinical research studies and trials; • Direct Access: enables Population Data BC to access BC Ministry of Health databases so researchers have access to up-to-date data; • Streamlining: making the data request process more efficient; • New datasets: several projects that will provide new data sources, including patient experience and outcome measures and secondary use data drawn from electronic medical records; and • Inventory: an online catalog for all high-value and linkable data sets available to researchers. Conclusion/Implications The services and tools included in BC’s Data Plan will help researchers develop and deliver world-class research and inform important health care decisions. The patient-oriented focus of these services help to ensure that research is done in partnership with patients and centered on research questions that matter to them

The Evolution of Surgical Treatment for Female Stress Urinary Incontinence: Era of Mid-Urethral Slings

Based on the integral theory, tension-free placement of a mid-urethral sling (MUS) for female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) has gained substantial popularity owing to the ease of the procedure and its effectiveness. Published series with long-term follow-up show continence rates after the MUS procedure ranging from 70% to 80%. Complication rates after MUS procedures are usually low. This review aimed to describe the historical change and the current use of the MUS. We discuss the efficacy and complications of various MUS procedures and the current strategies for managing failed slings

The association between alcohol use, alcohol use disorders and tuberculosis (TB). A systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In 2004, tuberculosis (TB) was responsible for 2.5% of global mortality (among men 3.1%; among women 1.8%) and 2.2% of global burden of disease (men 2.7%; women 1.7%). The present work portrays accumulated evidence on the association between alcohol consumption and TB with the aim to clarify the nature of the relationship.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A systematic review of existing scientific data on the association between alcohol consumption and TB, and on studies relevant for clarification of causality was undertaken.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There is a strong association between heavy alcohol use/alcohol use disorders (AUD) and TB. A meta-analysis on the risk of TB for these factors yielded a pooled relative risk of 2.94 (95% CI: 1.89-4.59). Numerous studies show pathogenic impact of alcohol on the immune system causing susceptibility to TB among heavy drinkers. In addition, there are potential social pathways linking AUD and TB. Heavy alcohol use strongly influences both the incidence and the outcome of the disease and was found to be linked to altered pharmacokinetics of medicines used in treatment of TB, social marginalization and drift, higher rate of re-infection, higher rate of treatment defaults and development of drug-resistant forms of TB. Based on the available data, about 10% of the TB cases globally were estimated to be attributable to alcohol.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The epidemiological and other evidence presented indicates that heavy alcohol use/AUD constitute a risk factor for incidence and re-infection of TB. Consequences for prevention and clinical interventions are discussed.</p

The interpretations and uses of fitness landscapes in the social sciences

__Abstract__ This working paper precedes our full article entitled “The evolution of Wright’s (1932) adaptive field to contemporary interpretations and uses of fitness landscapes in the social sciences” as published in the journal Biology & Philosophy (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10539-014-9450-2). The working paper features an extended literature overview of the ways in which fitness landscapes have been interpreted and used in the social sciences, for which there was not enough space in the full article. The article features an in-depth philosophical discussion about the added value of the various ways in which fitness landscapes are used in the social sciences. This discussion is absent in the current working paper. Th