25,276 research outputs found
Ride quality evaluation 1: Questionnaire studies of airline passenger comfort
As part of a larger effort to assess passenger comfort in aircraft, two questionnaires were administered: one to ground-based respondents; the other to passengers in flight. Respondents indicated the importance of various factors influencing their satisfaction with a trip, the perceived importance of various physical factors in determining their level of comfort, and the ease of time spent performing activities in flight. The in-flight sample also provided a rating of their level of comfort and of their willingness to fly again. Comfort ratings were examined in relation to (1) type of respondent, (2) type of aircraft, (3) characteristics of the passengers, (4) ease of performing activities, and (5) willingness to fly again
Passenger ride quality determined from commercial airline flights
The University of Virginia ride-quality research program is reviewed. Data from two flight programs, involving seven types of aircraft, are considered in detail. An apparatus for measuring physical variations in the flight environment and recording the subjective reactions of test subjects is described. Models are presented for predicting the comfort response of test subjects from the physical data, and predicting the overall comfort reaction of test subjects from their moment by moment responses. The correspondence of mean passenger comfort judgments and test subject response is shown. Finally, the models of comfort response based on data from the 5-point and 7-point comfort scales are shown to correspond
Application of ride quality technology to predict ride satisfaction for commuter-type aircraft
A method was developed to predict passenger satisfaction with the ride environment of a transportation vehicle. This method, a general approach, was applied to a commuter-type aircraft for illustrative purposes. The effect of terrain, altitude and seat location were examined. The method predicts the variation in passengers satisfied for any set of flight conditions. In addition several noncommuter aircraft were analyzed for comparison and other uses of the model described. The method has advantages for design, evaluation, and operating decisions
A 100 micro Kelvin bolometer system for SIRTF
Progress toward a prototype of 100 mK bolometric detection system for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) is described. Two adiabatic demagnetization refrigerators (ADR's) were constructed and used to investigate the capabilities necessary for orbital operation. The first, a laboratory ADR, demonstrated a hold time at 0.1 K of over 12 hours, with temperature stability approx. 3 micro-K RMS achieved by controlling the magnetic field. A durable salt pill and an efficient support system have been demonstrated. A second ADR, the SIRTF flight prototype, has been built and will be flown on a balloon. Techniques for magnetic shielding, low heat leak current leads, and a mechanical heat switch are being developed in this ADR. Plans for construction of 100 mK bolometers are discussed. Three important cosmological investigations which will be carried out by these longest wavelength SIRTF detectors are described
The behavior of the electron density and temperatue at Millstone Hill during the equinox transition study September 1984
The ionospheric electron density and temperature variations is simulated during the equinox transition study in September 1984 and the results are compared with measurements made at Millstone Hill. The agreement between the modeled and measured electron density and temperature for the quiet day (18 September) is very good but there are large differences on the day of the storm (19 September). On the storm day, the measured electron density decreases by a factor of 1.7 over the previous day, while the model density actually increases slightly. The model failure is attributed to an inadequate increase in the ratio of atomic oxygen to molecular neutral densities in the MSIS neutral atmosphere model, for this particular storm. A factor of 3 to 5 increase in the molecular to atomic oxygen density ratio at 300 km is needed to explain the observed decrease in electron density. The effect of vibrationally excited N sub 2 on the electron density were studied and found to be small
Nurse telephone triage for same day appointments in general practice: multiple interrupted time series trial of effect on workload and costs
OBJECTIVE: To compare the workloads of general practitioners and nurses and costs of patient care for nurse telephone triage and standard management of requests for same day appointments in routine primary care. DESIGN: Multiple interrupted time series using sequential introduction of experimental triage system in different sites with repeated measures taken one week in every month for 12 months. SETTING: Three primary care sites in York. Participants: 4685 patients: 1233 in standard management, 3452 in the triage system. All patients requesting same day appointments during study weeks were included in the trial. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Type of consultation (telephone, appointment, or visit), time taken for consultation, presenting complaints, use of services during the month after same day contact, and costs of drugs and same day, follow up, and emergency care. RESULTS: The triage system reduced appointments with general practitioner by 29-44%. Compared with standard management, the triage system had a relative risk (95% confidence interval) of 0.85 (0.72 to 1.00) for home visits, 2.41 (2.08 to 2.80) for telephone care, and 3.79 (3.21 to 4.48) for nurse care. Mean overall time in the triage system was 1.70 minutes longer, but mean general practitioner time was reduced by 2.45 minutes. Routine appointments and nursing time increased, as did out of hours and accident and emergency attendance. Costs did not differ significantly between standard management and triage: mean difference £1.48 more per patient for triage (95% confidence interval -0.19 to 3.15). CONCLUSIONS: Triage reduced the number of same day appointments with general practitioners but resulted in busier routine surgeries, increased nursing time, and a small but significant increase in out of hours and accident and emergency attendance. Consequently, triage does not reduce overall costs per patient for managing same day appointments
The dust emission of high-redshift quasars
The detection of powerful near-infrared emission in high redshift (z>5)
quasars demonstrates that very hot dust is present close to the active nucleus
also in the very early universe. A number of high-redshift objects even show
significant excess emission in the rest frame NIR over more local AGN spectral
energy distribution (SED) templates. In order to test if this is a result of
the very high luminosities and redshifts, we construct mean SEDs from the
latest SDSS quasar catalogue in combination with MIR data from the WISE
preliminary data release for several redshift and luminosity bins. Comparing
these mean SEDs with a large sample of z>5 quasars we could not identify any
significant trends of the NIR spectral slope with luminosity or redshift in the
regime 2.5 < z < 6 and 10^45 < nuL_nu(1350AA) < 10^47 erg/s. In addition to the
NIR regime, our combined Herschel and Spitzer photometry provides full infrared
SED coverage of the same sample of z>5 quasars. These observations reveal
strong FIR emission (L_FIR > 10^13 L_sun) in seven objects, possibly indicating
star-formation rates of several thousand solar masses per year. The FIR excess
emission has unusally high temperatures (T ~ 65 K) which is in contrast to the
temperature typically expected from studies at lower redshift (T ~ 45 K). These
objects are currently being investigated in more detail.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the proceedings to "The Central
Kiloparsec in Galactic Nuclei (AHAR2011)", Journal of Physics: Conference
Series (JPCS), IOP Publishin
ALMA data suggest the presence of a spiral structure in the inner wind of CW Leo
(abbreviated) We aim to study the inner wind of the well-known AGB star CW
Leo. Different diagnostics probing different geometrical scales have pointed
toward a non-homogeneous mass-loss process: dust clumps are observed at
milli-arcsec scale, a bipolar structure is seen at arcsecond-scale and
multi-concentric shells are detected beyond 1". We present the first ALMA Cycle
0 band 9 data around 650 GHz. The full-resolution data have a spatial
resolution of 0".42x0".24, allowing us to study the morpho-kinematical
structure within ~6". Results: We have detected 25 molecular lines. The
emission of all but one line is spatially resolved. The dust and molecular
lines are centered around the continuum peak position. The dust emission has an
asymmetric distribution with a central peak flux density of ~2 Jy. The
molecular emission lines trace different regions in the wind acceleration
region and suggest that the wind velocity increases rapidly from about 5 R*
almost reaching the terminal velocity at ~11 R*. The channel maps for the
brighter lines show a complex structure; specifically for the 13CO J=6-5 line
different arcs are detected within the first few arcseconds. The curved
structure present in the PV map of the 13CO J=6-5 line can be explained by a
spiral structure in the inner wind, probably induced by a binary companion.
From modeling the ALMA data, we deduce that the potential orbital axis for the
binary system lies at a position angle of ~10-20 deg to the North-East and that
the spiral structure is seen almost edge-on. We infer an orbital period of 55
yr and a binary separation of 25 au (or ~8.2 R*). We tentatively estimate that
the companion is an unevolved low-mass main-sequence star. The ALMA data hence
provide us for the first time with the crucial kinematical link between the
dust clumps seen at milli-arcsecond scale and the almost concentric arcs seen
at arcsecond scale.Comment: 22 pages, 18 Figures, Astronomy & Astrophysic
Observations of neutral circulation at mid-latitudes during the Equinox Transition Study
Measurements of ion drift velocity made by the Millstone Hill incoherent scatter radar have been used to calculate the meridional neutral wind velocity during the Sept. 17 to 24, 1984 period. Strong daytime southward neutral surges were observed during the magnetically disturbed days of September 19 and 23, in contrast to the small daytime winds obtained as expected during the magnetically quiet days. The surge on September 19 was also seen at Arecibo. In addition, two approaches have been used to calculate the meridional wind component from the radar-derived height of the F-layer electron density peak. Results confirm the wind surge, particularly when the strong electric fields measured during the disturbed days are included in the calculations. The two approaches for the F-layer peak wind calculations are applied to the radar-derived electron density peak height as a function of latitude to study the variation of the southward daytime surges with latitude
A projection method for statics and dynamics of lattice spin systems
A method based on Monte Carlo sampling of the probability flows projected
onto the subspace of one or more slow variables is proposed for investigation
of dynamic and static properties of lattice spin systems. We illustrate the
method by applying it, with projection onto the order-parameter subspace, to
the three-dimensional 3-state Potts model in equilibrium and to metastable
decay in a three-dimensional 3-state kinetic Potts model.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, RevTex, final version to appear in Phys. Rev.
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