The use of total simulator training in transitioning air-carrier pilots: A field evaluation

A field study was conducted in which the performance of air carrier transitioning pilots who had landing training in a landing maneuver approved simulator was compared with the performance of pilots who had landing training in the aircraft. Forty-eight trainees transitioning to the B-727 aircraft and eighty-seven trainees transitioning to the DC-10 were included in the study. The study results in terms of both objectively measured performance indicants and observer and check-pilot ratings did not demonstrate a clear distinction between the two training groups. The results suggest that, for these highly skilled transitioning pilots, a separate training module in the aircraft may be of dubious value

Inter-sensory Judgments of Signal Duration

Intersensory discrimination of signal duration using visual and auditory signal

Properties of small molecular drug loading and diffusion in a fluorinated PEG hydrogel studied by ^1H molecular diffusion NMR and ^(19)F spin diffusion NMR

R_f-PEG (fluoroalkyl double-ended poly(ethylene glycol)) hydrogel is potentially useful as a drug delivery depot due to its advanced properties of sol–gel two-phase coexistence and low surface erosion. In this study, ^1H molecular diffusion nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and ^(19)F spin diffusion NMR were used to probe the drug loading and diffusion properties of the R_f-PEG hydrogel for small anticancer drugs, 5-fluorouracil (FU) and its hydrophobic analog, 1,3-dimethyl-5-fluorouracil (DMFU). It was found that FU has a larger apparent diffusion coefficient than that of DMFU, and the diffusion of the latter was more hindered. The result of ^(19)F spin diffusion NMR for the corresponding freeze-dried samples indicates that a larger portion of DMFU resided in the R_f core/IPDU intermediate-layer region (where IPDU refers to isophorone diurethane, as a linker to interconnect the R_f group and the PEG chain) than that of FU while the opposite is true in the PEG–water phase. To understand the experimental data, a diffusion model was proposed to include: (1) hindered diffusion of the drug molecules in the R_f core/IPDU-intermediate-layer region; (2) relatively free diffusion of the drug molecules in the PEG-water phase (or region); and (3) diffusive exchange of the probe molecules between the above two regions. This study also shows that molecular diffusion NMR combined with spin diffusion NMR is useful in studying the drug loading and diffusion properties in hydrogels for the purpose of drug delivery applications

Autocorrelation function of eigenstates in chaotic and mixed systems

We study the autocorrelation function of different types of eigenfunctions in quantum mechanical systems with either chaotic or mixed classical limits. We obtain an expansion of the autocorrelation function in terms of the correlation length. For localized states, like bouncing ball modes or states living on tori, a simple model using only classical input gives good agreement with the exact result. In particular, a prediction for irregular eigenfunctions in mixed systems is derived and tested. For chaotic systems, the expansion of the autocorrelation function can be used to test quantum ergodicity on different length scales.Comment: 30 pages, 12 figures. Some of the pictures are included in low resolution only. For a version with pictures in high resolution see http://www.physik.uni-ulm.de/theo/qc/ or http://www.maths.bris.ac.uk/~maab

Chaotic eigenfunctions in momentum space

We study eigenstates of chaotic billiards in the momentum representation and propose the radially integrated momentum distribution as useful measure to detect localization effects. For the momentum distribution, the radially integrated momentum distribution, and the angular integrated momentum distribution explicit formulae in terms of the normal derivative along the billiard boundary are derived. We present a detailed numerical study for the stadium and the cardioid billiard, which shows in several cases that the radially integrated momentum distribution is a good indicator of localized eigenstates, such as scars, or bouncing ball modes. We also find examples, where the localization is more strongly pronounced in position space than in momentum space, which we discuss in detail. Finally applications and generalizations are discussed.Comment: 30 pages. The figures are included in low resolution only. For a version with figures in high resolution see http://www.physik.uni-ulm.de/theo/qc/ulm-tp/tp99-2.htm

Signals for CPT and Lorentz Violation in Neutral-Meson Oscillations

Experimental signals for indirect CPT violation in the neutral-meson systems are studied in the context of a general CPT- and Lorentz-violating standard-model extension. In this explicit theory, some CPT observables depend on the meson momentum and exhibit diurnal variations. The consequences for CPT tests vary significantly with the specific experimental scenario. The wide range of possible effects is illustrated for two types of CPT experiment presently underway, one involving boosted uncorrelated kaons and the other involving unboosted correlated kaon pairs.Comment: Accepted in Physical Review D, scheduled for December 1999 issu

On the rate of quantum ergodicity in Euclidean billiards

For a large class of quantized ergodic flows the quantum ergodicity theorem due to Shnirelman, Zelditch, Colin de Verdi\`ere and others states that almost all eigenfunctions become equidistributed in the semiclassical limit. In this work we first give a short introduction to the formulation of the quantum ergodicity theorem for general observables in terms of pseudodifferential operators and show that it is equivalent to the semiclassical eigenfunction hypothesis for the Wigner function in the case of ergodic systems. Of great importance is the rate by which the quantum mechanical expectation values of an observable tend to their mean value. This is studied numerically for three Euclidean billiards (stadium, cosine and cardioid billiard) using up to 6000 eigenfunctions. We find that in configuration space the rate of quantum ergodicity is strongly influenced by localized eigenfunctions like bouncing ball modes or scarred eigenfunctions. We give a detailed discussion and explanation of these effects using a simple but powerful model. For the rate of quantum ergodicity in momentum space we observe a slower decay. We also study the suitably normalized fluctuations of the expectation values around their mean, and find good agreement with a Gaussian distribution.Comment: 40 pages, LaTeX2e. This version does not contain any figures. A version with all figures can be obtained from http://www.physik.uni-ulm.de/theo/qc/ (File: http://www.physik.uni-ulm.de/theo/qc/ulm-tp/tp97-8.ps.gz) In case of any problems contact Arnd B\"acker (e-mail: [email protected]) or Roman Schubert (e-mail: [email protected]

Effects of anisotropic interactions on the structure of animal groups

This paper proposes an agent-based model which reproduces different structures of animal groups. The shape and structure of the group is the effect of simple interaction rules among individuals: each animal deploys itself depending on the position of a limited number of close group mates. The proposed model is shown to produce clustered formations, as well as lines and V-like formations. The key factors which trigger the onset of different patterns are argued to be the relative strength of attraction and repulsion forces and, most important, the anisotropy in their application.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures. Submitted. v1-v4: revised presentation; extended simulations; included technical results. v5: added a few clarification

Genetic diversity of Brazilian isolates of feline immunodeficiency virus

We isolated Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) from three adult domestic cats, originating from two open shelters in Brazil. Viruses were isolated from PBMC following co-cultivation with the feline T-lymphoblastoid cell line MYA-1. All amplified env gene products were cloned directly into pGL8MYA. The nucleic acid sequences of seven clones were determined and then compared with those of previously described isolates. The sequences of all of the Brazilian virus clones were distinct and phylogenetic analysis revealed that all belong to subtype B. Three variants isolated from one cat and two variants were isolated from each of the two other cats, indicating that intrahost diversity has the potential to pose problems for the treatment and diagnosis of FIV infection