Hardware variability corrective action in Boeing 777 final assembly

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management; and, Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, 1998.Includes bibliographical references (p. 135-136).by Kenneth S. Gayer.M.S

Tsunami inundation modelling based on detailed roughness maps of densely populated areas

An important part within the German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) project was the detailed numerical investigation of the impact of tsunamis in densely populated coastal areas of Indonesia. This work, carried out by the German Research Centre Geesthacht (GKSS), in co-operation with DHI-WASY, also provides the basis for the preparation of high resolution hazard and risk maps by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). <br><br> In this paper a method is described of how to prepare very detailed roughness maps for scenario computations performed with the MIKE 21 Flow Model FM in three highly resolved (~10 m) priority regions, namely Kuta (Bali), Padang (West-Sumatra), and Cilacap (southern coast of Java). Roughness values are assigned to 43 land use classes, e.g. different types of buildings, rural and urban sub-areas, by using equivalent coefficients found in literature or by performing numerical experiments. <br><br> Comparisons of simulations using differentiated roughness maps with simulations using constant values (a widely used approach) are presented and it is demonstrated that roughness takes considerable influence on run-up and inundation. <br><br> Out of all simulations, the results of the worst case scenarios for each of the three priority areas are discussed. Earthquakes with magnitudes of <i>M</i><sub>W</sub>=8.5 or higher lead to considerable inundation in all study sites. A spatially distinguished consideration of roughness has been found to be necessary for detailed modelling onshore

Only a small proportion of patients with first episode psychosis come via prodromal services: A retrospective survey of a large UK mental health programme

BACKGROUND: Little is known about patients with a first episode of psychosis (FEP) who had first presented to prodromal services with an "at risk mental state" (ARMS) before making the transition to psychosis. We set out to identify the proportion of patients with a FEP who had first presented to prodromal services in the ARMS state, and to compare these FEP patients with FEP patients who did not have prior contact with prodromal services. METHODS: In this study information on 338 patients aged ≤37 years who presented to mental health services between 2010 and 2012 with a FEP was examined. The data on pathways to care, clinical and socio-demographic characteristics were extracted from the Biomedical Research Council Case Register for the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. RESULTS: Over 2 years, 14 (4.1% of n = 338) young adults presented with FEP and had been seen previously by the prodromal services. These ARMS patients were more likely to enter their pathway to psychiatric care via referral from General Practice, be born in the UK and to have had an insidious mode of illness onset than FEP patients without prior contact with the prodromal services. CONCLUSIONS: In the current pathways to care configuration, prodromal services are likely to prevent only a few at-risk individuals from transitioning to psychosis even if effective preventative treatments become available

‘The Curse of the Caribbean’? Agency’s impact on the productivity of sugar estates on St. Vincent and the Grenadines, 1814-1829

This study estimates agency’s impact on sugar plantation productivity using a unique early 19th century panel data set from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Results of fixed effects models, combined with a qualitative and quantitative analysis of potential endogeneity of the agency variable, provide no evidence that estates managed by agents were less productive than those managed by their owners. We discuss the results in the context of the historical and recent, revisionary, interpretations of agency and the emergence of managerial hierarchies in the Atlantic economy

Evaluation of the Effects of Powder Coating Cure Temperatures on the Mechanical Properties of Aluminum Alloy Substrates

The effects of curing temperature, based on new, low-temperature powder coating methods and traditional high-temperature powder coating methods, were studied. Heat-sensitive aluminum alloys (2024-T3, 6061-T6, and 7075-T6) were subjected to two different heat-treatment cycles, which were based on temperatures of 121 and 204 degrees C. Findings indicate that although both cure temperatures achieved powder coatings adhesion and thickness appropriate for industrial uses, the high-temperature cure treatment negatively affected the mechanical properties

The Nexus of Political Violence and Economic Deprivation: Pakistani Migrants Disrupt the Refugee / Migrant Dichotomy

There have been discussions about how the labels “forced migrants,” related to political violence, and “voluntary migrants,” associated with economic factors, cannot be understood in categorical ways. However, there has been less focus on the specificities of the asylum-migrant nexus from the perspective of migrants. This essay discusses how such factors intersect as understood by Pakistani migrants residing in Germany. Through enacting a critical view of Pakistan, the migrants demonstrate how aspects of corruption, economic deprivation, and political violence come to intersect so that is becomes impossible to classify asylum seekers in binary/dichotomous ways

Multidetector CT cystography for imaging colovesical fistulas and iatrogenic bladder leaks

Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) cystography currently represents the modality of choice to image the urinary bladder in traumatized patients. In this review we present our experience with MDCT cystography applications outside the trauma setting, particularly for diagnosing bladder fistulas and leaks. A detailed explanation is provided concerning exam preparation, acquisition technique, image reconstruction and interpretation. Colovesical fistulas most commonly occur as a complication of sigmoid diverticular disease, and often remain occult after extensive diagnostic work-up including cystoscopy and contrast-enhanced CT. We consistently achieved accurate preoperative visualization of colovesical fistulas using MDCT cystography. Urinary leaks and injuries represent a non-negligible occurrence after pelvic surgery, particularly obstetric and gynaecological procedures: in our experience MDCT cystography is useful to investigate iatrogenic bladder leaks or fistulas. In our opinion, MDCT cystography should be recommended as the first line modality for direct visualization or otherwise confident exclusion of both spontaneous enterovesical fistulas and bladder injuries following instrumentation procedures, obstetric or surgical interventions

Idiopathic adult intussusception

Intussusception is an uncommon cause of abdominal pain in adults and poses diagnostic challenges for emergency physicians, due to its varied presenting symptoms and time course. Diagnosis is thus often delayed and results in surgical intervention due to the development of bowel ischaemia. We report on a young patient who presented with an ileo-ileal intussusception in whom there were no underlying lesions identified as a causal factor

Model-independent determination of the dipole response of ⁶⁶Zn using quasimonoenergetic and linearly polarized photon beams

Background: Photon strength functions are an important ingredient in calculations relevant for the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements. The relation to the photoabsorption cross section allows to experimentally constrain photon strength functions by investigating the photoresponse of atomic nuclei. Purpose: We determine the photoresponse of 66Zn in the energy region of 5.6 MeV to 9.9 MeV and analyze the contribution of the 'elastic' decay channel back to the ground state. In addition, for the elastic channel electric and magnetic dipole transitions were separated. Methods: Nuclear resonance fluorescence experiments were performed using a linearly polarized quasi-monoenergetic photon beam at the High Intensity gamma -ray Source. Photon beam energies from 5.6 to 9.9 MeV with an energy spread of about 3% were selected in steps of 200-300 keV. Two high purity germanium detectors were used for the subsequent gamma -ray spectroscopy. Results: Full photoabsorption cross sections are extracted from the data making use of the monoenergetic character of the photon beam. For the ground-state decay channel, the average contribution of electric and magnetic dipole strengths is disentangled. The average Conclusions: The new results indicate lower cross sections when compared to the values extracted from a former experiment using bremsstrahlung on 66Zn. In the latter, the average branching ratio to the ground state is estimated from statistical-model calculations in order to analyze the data. Corresponding estimates from statistical-model calculations underestimate this branching ratio compared to the values extracted from the present analysis, which would partly explain the high cross sections determined from the bremsstrahlung data