Simulation of Team Cooperation Processes in En-Route Air Traffic Control

Recent increase in air traffic demands makes the role of Air Traffic Control (ATC), which supports safety and efficiency of aviation, more important than ever. As aviation technologies have progressed, automation and computer supports are being introduced in cockpits, but ATC still heavily relies on human expertise of Air Traffic Control Officers (ATCOs). It is therefore necessary to understand ATC tasks from a viewpoint of ATCOsâ cognitive behaviour in order to assess and improve task schemes and training programs for ATC

Reevaluation of analytical methods for photogenerated singlet oxygen

The aim of the present study is to compare different analytical methods for singlet oxygen and to discuss an appropriate way to evaluate the yield of singlet oxygen photogenerated from photosensitizers. Singlet oxygen photogenerated from rose bengal was evaluated by electron spin resonance analysis using sterically hindered amines, spectrophotometric analysis of 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran oxidation, and analysis of fluorescent probe (Singlet Oxygen Sensor Green®). All of the analytical methods could evaluate the relative yield of singlet oxygen. The sensitivity of the analytical methods was 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran < electron spin resonance < Singlet Oxygen Sensor Green®. However, Singlet Oxygen Sensor Green® could be used only when the concentration of rose bengal was very low (<1 µM). In addition, since the absorption spectra of 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran is considerably changed by irradiation of 405 nm laser, photosensitizers which are excited by light with a wavelength of around 400 nm such as hematoporphyrin cannot be used in the 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran oxidation method. On the other hand, electron spin resonance analysis using a sterically hindered amine, especially 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidinol and 2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-3-pyrroline-3-carboxamide, had proper sensitivity and wide detectable range for the yield of photogenerated singlet oxygen. Therefore, in photodynamic therapy, it is suggested that the relative yield of singlet oxygen generated by various photosensitizers can be evaluated properly by electron spin resonance analysis

Vortices on Orbifolds

The Abelian and non-Abelian vortices on orbifolds are investigated based on the moduli matrix approach, which is a powerful method to deal with the BPS equation. The moduli space and the vortex collision are discussed through the moduli matrix as well as the regular space. It is also shown that a quiver structure is found in the Kahler quotient, and a half of ADHM is obtained for the vortex theory on the orbifolds as the case before orbifolding.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figures; references adde

Bactericidal Action of Photogenerated Singlet Oxygen from Photosensitizers Used in Plaque Disclosing Agents

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been suggested as an efficient clinical approach for the treatment of dental plaque in the field of dental care. In PDT, once the photosensitizer is irradiated with light of a specific wavelength, it transfers the excitation energy to molecular oxygen, which gives rise to singlet oxygen., a major causative pathogen of caries, followed by erythrosine and phloxine, both of which showed activity similar to each other. One of the reasons for the discrepancy between the singlet oxygen generating ability and bactericidal activity was the incorporation efficiency of the photosensitizers into the bacterial cells. The incorporation rate of rose bengal was the highest among the three photosensitizers examined in the present study, likely leading to the highest bactericidal activity. Meanwhile, the addition of L-histidine, a singlet oxygen quencher, cancelled the bactericidal activity of any of the three photoactivated photosensitizers, proving that singlet oxygen was responsible for the bactericidal action.It is strongly suggested that rose bengal is a suitable photosensitizer for the plaque disclosing agents as compared to the other two photosensitizers, phloxine and erythrosine, when used for PDT

Estimation of Gas Permeation Characteristics of Ultrahigh Barrier Edge Sealing Materials from Asymptotic Solution of Diffusion Equation

Materials and structures for water vapor barrier sealing are now actively studied, as the commercialization of organic electronic devices has become a reality. In this paper, we focus on the edge sealing barriers, in which diffusion plays an essential role. In the past, the diffusion-limited gas barrier properties were analyzed in the steady-state approximation, which is never reached within the device lifetime in the application for organic electronics. We analyze them using a simple analytical model. The diffusion before reaching the steady state is a strongly non-linear process, as is well known, and the length scale of approximately 1–10 mm is very important when a practical polymer resin is used for the edge seal

Training Local Health Assistants for a Community Health Survey in a Developing Country : Longitudinal Monitoring of the Growth and Nutrition of Children in Zambia

The nutritional status, growth, and health of children are useful indicators for assessing the ability of a population to adapt to the environment and the extent of this adaptation. These indicators can be used to measure and evaluate the overall nutritional status and health of young children. In Zambia, in southern Africa, drought and unpredictable erratic rainfall are major factors affecting the health and nutrition of the inhabitants, particularly small children. A recent national survey conducted in Zambia indicated that the nutritional status of children was poor because 50% of children between 3 and 59 months of age had stunted growth (extremely short for their age), 20% were underweight (low weight for their age), and 6% showed growth wasting (low weight for their height). By contrast, between 1991 and 2004, data from six cross-sectional national surveys did not show any evidence of effects of drought. Therefore, an intensive, village-level, longitudinal monitoring survey is required to assess the effects of drought on the growth and nutrition of children. We briefl y summarize the growth and nutrition of Zambian children using data from the report of the Living Conditions Monitoring Survey (LCMS) 2004, with special focus on the southern and eastern provinces of Zambia. In addition, we propose a methodology for conducting a longitudinal survey to monitor child growth and nutrition in rural villages in the eastern and southern provinces of Zambia and report a 1-week intensive program to train local health assistants to make anthropometric measurements