Rotor design optimization using a free wake analysis

The aim of this effort was to develop a comprehensive performance optimization capability for tiltrotor and helicopter blades. The analysis incorporates the validated EHPIC (Evaluation of Hover Performance using Influence Coefficients) model of helicopter rotor aerodynamics within a general linear/quadratic programming algorithm that allows optimization using a variety of objective functions involving the performance. The resulting computer code, EHPIC/HERO (HElicopter Rotor Optimization), improves upon several features of the previous EHPIC performance model and allows optimization utilizing a wide spectrum of design variables, including twist, chord, anhedral, and sweep. The new analysis supports optimization of a variety of objective functions, including weighted measures of rotor thrust, power, and propulsive efficiency. The fundamental strength of the approach is that an efficient search for improved versions of the baseline design can be carried out while retaining the demonstrated accuracy inherent in the EHPIC free wake/vortex lattice performance analysis. Sample problems are described that demonstrate the success of this approach for several representative rotor configurations in hover and axial flight. Features that were introduced to convert earlier demonstration versions of this analysis into a generally applicable tool for researchers and designers is also discussed

Analysis of rotor vibratory loads using higher harmonic pitch control

Experimental studies of isolated rotors in forward flight have indicated that higher harmonic pitch control can reduce rotor noise. These tests also show that such pitch inputs can generate substantial vibratory loads. The modification is summarized of the RotorCRAFT (Computation of Rotor Aerodynamics in Forward flighT) analysis of isolated rotors to study the vibratory loading generated by high frequency pitch inputs. The original RotorCRAFT code was developed for use in the computation of such loading, and uses a highly refined rotor wake model to facilitate this task. The extended version of RotorCRAFT incorporates a variety of new features including: arbitrary periodic root pitch control; computation of blade stresses and hub loads; improved modeling of near wake unsteady effects; and preliminary implementation of a coupled prediction of rotor airloads and noise. Correlation studies are carried out with existing blade stress and vibratory hub load data to assess the performance of the extended code

Computation of rotor aerodynamic loads in forward flight using a full-span free wake analysis

The development of an advanced computational analysis of unsteady aerodynamic loads on isolated helicopter rotors in forward flight is described. The primary technical focus of the development was the implementation of a freely distorting filamentary wake model composed of curved vortex elements laid out along contours of constant vortex sheet strength in the wake. This model captures the wake generated by the full span of each rotor blade and makes possible a unified treatment of the shed and trailed vorticity in the wake. This wake model was coupled to a modal analysis of the rotor blade dynamics and a vortex lattice treatment of the aerodynamic loads to produce a comprehensive model for rotor performance and air loads in forward flight dubbed RotorCRAFT (Computation of Rotor Aerodynamics in Forward Flight). The technical background on the major components of this analysis are discussed and the correlation of predictions of performance, trim, and unsteady air loads with experimental data from several representative rotor configurations is examined. The primary conclusions of this study are that the RotorCRAFT analysis correlates well with measured loads on a variety of configurations and that application of the full span free wake model is required to capture several important features of the vibratory loading on rotor blades in forward flight

Organizational Systems and Employee Motivation

[Excerpt] Motivation is typically thought of as a within-person phenomenon. Yet the individuals at work are a part of a larger organizational system, and as such, a more complete understanding of employee motivation recognizes the role of organizational-level factors in influencing work motivation. Major organizational practices that influence employee motivation include the evaluation, feedback, involvement, and reward systems. In addition, organizational culture and workplace policies and strategies surrounding job security, development opportunities, and diversity play a role in influencing employee motivation at work. The purpose of this chapter is to examine these organizational influences and address the impact of organizational characteristics and contemporary changes in the nature of work systems that influence employee motivation

Phylotranscriptomics to Bring the Understudied into the Fold: Monophyletic Ostracoda, Fossil Placement, and Pancrustacean Phylogeny

An ambitious, yet fundamental goal for comparative biology is to understand the evolutionary relationships for all of life. However, many important taxonomic groups have remained recalcitrant to inclusion into broader scale studies. Here, we focus on collection of 9 new 454 transcriptome data sets from Ostracoda, an ancient and diverse group with a dense fossil record, which is often undersampled in broader studies. We combine the new transcriptomes with a new morphological matrix (including fossils) and existing expressed sequence tag, mitochondrial genome, nuclear genome, and ribosomal DNA data. Our analyses lead to new insights into ostracod and pancrustacean phylogeny. We obtained support for three epic pancrustacean clades that likely originated in the Cambrian: Oligostraca (Ostracoda, Mystacocarida, Branchiura, and Pentastomida); Multicrustacea (Copepoda, Malacostraca, and Thecostraca); and a clade we refer to as Allotriocarida (Hexapoda, Remipedia, Cephalocarida, and Branchiopoda). Within the Oligostraca clade, our results support the unresolved question of ostracod monophyly. Within Multicrustacea, we find support for Thecostraca plus Copepoda, for which we suggest the name Hexanauplia. Within Allotriocarida, some analyses support the hypothesis that Remipedia is the sister taxon to Hexapoda, but others support Branchiopoda + Cephalocarida as the sister group of hexapods. In multiple different analyses, we see better support for equivocal nodes using slow-evolving genes or when excluding distant outgroups, highlighting the increased importance of conditional data combination in this age of abundant, often anonymous data. However, when we analyze the same set of species and ignore rate of gene evolution, we find higher support when including all data, more in line with a “total evidence” philosophy. By concatenating molecular and morphological data, we place pancrustacean fossils in the phylogeny, which can be used for studies of divergence times in Pancrustacea, Arthropoda, or Metazoa. Our results and new data will allow for attributes of Ostracoda, such as its amazing fossil record and diverse biology, to be leveraged in broader scale comparative studies. Further, we illustrate how adding extensive next-generation sequence data from understudied groups can yield important new phylo- genetic insights into long-standing questions, especially when carefully analyzed in combination with other data

Ces1d deficiency protects against high-sucrose diet-induced hepatic triacylglycerol accumulation

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease. Triacylglycerol accumulation in the liver is a hallmark of NAFLD. Metabolic studies have confirmed that increased hepatic de novo lipogenesis (DNL) in humans contributes to fat accumulation in the liver and to NAFLD progression. Mice deficient in carboxylesterase (Ces)1d expression are protected from high-fat diet-induced hepatic steatosis. To investigate whether loss of Ces1d can also mitigate steatosis induced by over-activated DNL, WT and Ces1d-deficient mice were fed a lipogenic high-sucrose diet (HSD). We found that Ces1d-deficient mice were protected from HSD-induced hepatic lipid accumulation. Mechanistically, Ces1d deficiency leads to activation of AMP-activated protein kinase and inhibitory phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase. Together with our previous demonstration that Ces1d deficiency attenuated high-fat diet-induced steatosis, this study suggests that inhibition of CES1 (the human ortholog of Ces1d) might represent a novel pharmacological target for prevention and treatment of NAFLD.Fil: Lian, Jihong. University of Alberta; CanadáFil: Watts, Russell. University of Alberta; CanadáFil: Quiroga, Ariel Dario. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Fisiología Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Fisiología Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Beggs, Megan R.. University of Alberta; CanadáFil: Alexander, R. Todd. University of Alberta; CanadáFil: Lehner, Richard. University of Alberta; Canad

Creating a “Third Space” in Student Teaching: Implications for the University Supervisor’s Status as Outsider

The work of teacher education during student teaching typically takes place in two distinct “spaces”: placement sites and college/university settings. The program featured in this article is structured in ways that clearly mark out those two spaces. Yet this configuration led our university supervisors, whose work primarily took place in the field, to feel like “outsiders.” To redress this concern, a third learning space was incorporated into our student teaching seminar. We suggest that “third spaces” in combination with return-to-campus courses not only mitigates the peripherality of university supervisors but also amplifies the influence of a teacher preparation program

Comparison of transcranial electric motor and somatosensory evoked potential monitoring during cervical spine surgery.

BACKGROUND: There has been little enthusiasm for somatosensory evoked potential monitoring in cervical spine surgery as a result, in part, of the increased risk of motor tract injury at this level, to which somatosensory monitoring may be insensitive. Transcranial electric motor evoked potential monitoring allows assessment of the motor tracts; therefore, we compared transcranial electric motor evoked potential and somatosensory evoked potential monitoring during cervical spine surgery to determine the temporal relationship between the changes in the potentials demonstrated by each type of monitoring and neurological sequelae and to identify patient-related and surgical factors associated with intraoperative neurophysiological changes. METHODS: Somatosensory evoked potential and transcranial electric motor evoked potential data recorded for 427 patients undergoing anterior or posterior cervical spine surgery between January 1999 and March 2001 were analyzed. All patients who showed substantial (at least 60%) or complete unilateral or bilateral amplitude loss, for at least ten minutes, during the transcranial electric motor evoked potential and/or somatosensory evoked potential monitoring were identified. RESULTS: Twelve of the 427 patients demonstrated substantial or complete loss of amplitude of the transcranial electric motor evoked potentials. Ten of those patients had complete reversal of the loss following prompt intraoperative intervention, whereas two awoke with a new motor deficit. Somatosensory evoked potential monitoring failed to identify any change in one of the two patients, and the change in the somatosensory evoked potentials lagged behind the change in the transcranial electric motor evoked potentials by thirty-three minutes in the other. No patient showed loss of amplitude of the somatosensory evoked potentials in the absence of changes in the transcranial electric motor evoked potentials. Transcranial electric motor evoked potential monitoring was 100% sensitive and 100% specific, whereas somatosensory evoked potential monitoring was only 25% sensitive; it was, however, 100% specific. CONCLUSIONS: Transcranial electric motor evoked potential monitoring appears to be superior to conventional somatosensory evoked potential monitoring for identifying evolving motor tract injury during cervical spine surgery. Surgeons should strongly consider using this modality when operating on patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy in general and on those with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament in particular

Needle fenestration of popliteal artery covered stent graft to salvage inadvertent stent misdeployment

Endovascular methods have transformed treatment of lower extremity peripheral arterial disease but can still present technical challenges. We report the case of a 69-year-old man with rest pain who underwent superficial femoral artery recanalization with covered stents. During completion angiography, the distal stent was discovered to have been misdeployed into an anterior geniculate branch overlying the behind-the-knee popliteal artery. Subsequently, an endovascular reentry device was used to fenestrate the stent posteriorly to enter the lumen of the popliteal artery. Cutting balloons were used to enlarge the fenestration in the stent fabric, with placement of an additional 6 × 50-mm covered stent bridging from the popliteal artery into the fenestrated misdeployed covered stent. Completion angiography demonstrated no evidence of distal embolization and patent two-vessel runoff. The patient had an uncomplicated recovery and at 2 years of follow-up remained asymptomatic with documented popliteal stent patency