FIM Avionics Technical Reference Manual

This document contains a summary of technical information relating to the Honeywell FIM software,TPU and system operation

Vehicle Integrated Prognostic Reasoner (VIPR) 2010 Annual Final Report

Honeywell's Central Maintenance Computer Function (CMCF) and Aircraft Condition Monitoring Function (ACMF) represent the state-of-the art in integrated vehicle health management (IVHM). Underlying these technologies is a fault propagation modeling system that provides nose-to-tail coverage and root cause diagnostics. The Vehicle Integrated Prognostic Reasoner (VIPR) extends this technology to interpret evidence generated by advanced diagnostic and prognostic monitors provided by component suppliers to detect, isolate, and predict adverse events that affect flight safety. This report describes year one work that included defining the architecture and communication protocols and establishing the user requirements for such a system. Based on these and a set of ConOps scenarios, we designed and implemented a demonstration of communication pathways and associated three-tiered health management architecture. A series of scripted scenarios showed how VIPR would detect adverse events before they escalate as safety incidents through a combination of advanced reasoning and additional aircraft data collected from an aircraft condition monitoring system. Demonstrating VIPR capability for cases recorded in the ASIAS database and cross linking them with historical aircraft data is planned for year two

Sulfide melts and long-term low seismic wavespeeds in lithospheric and asthenospheric mantle

Some studies of lithospheric and asthenospheric seismic structure, report mantle velocities as low as ∼4% below the reference models used. While these low wavespeeds may be attributed to thermal effects in tectonically young or actively volcanic regions, in older, tectonically stable regions low velocity anomalies apparently persist even past the decay time of any thermal perturbation, rendering such a mechanism implausible. Low volume melts can also reduce wavespeeds, but their buoyancy should drain them upward away from source regions, preventing significant accumulation if they are able to segregate. Sulfide, ubiquitous as inclusions in lithospheric mantle xenoliths, forms dense, non-segregating melts at temperatures and volatile fugacities characteristic of even old lithospheric mantle. We show that 1–5 volume percent sulfide melts can act to permanently create reductions up to 5.5% in seismic wavespeeds in areas of the lithosphere and the asthenosphere disturbed by prior melting events that carry and concentrate sulfide

Design and Evaluation of a Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) Interface

Data link communications will, for the most part, replace voice communications between aircraft and air traffic control (ATC) systems in Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). One goal in implementing data link communications is to establish Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) procedures, logic and page designs with existing equipment that will maximize total system-pilot efficiency. A new message menu tree index was developed to provide quick and easy access to all CPDLC messages (uplinks and downlinks as defined by RTCA SC-214). Page formats were also developed to minimize errors and enhance the efficiency of pilots in data link communications. Four pilots evaluated the MCDU datalink prototype under realistic flight conditions. Subjective and objective measures from the evaluation suggests that using existing flight deck technology for data link operations is feasible but with some limitations. Workload when using the data link system was reasonable. However, the pilots focused on performing the data link tasks at the expense of monitoring aircraft flight path

Development and feasibility testing of an oral hygiene intervention for stroke unit care

Objective: To develop an oral hygiene complex intervention and evaluate its feasibility in a single UK stroke centre. Background: Oral hygiene interventions might improve clinical outcomes after stroke but evidence-based practice is lacking. Materials and methods: We used a sequential mixed methods approach and developed an oral hygiene complex intervention comprising: (i) web-based education and 'hands-on' practical training for stroke unit nursing staff, (ii) a pragmatic oral hygiene protocol consisting of twice-daily powered (or manual if preferred) brushing with chlorhexidine gel (or non-foaming toothpaste) ± denture care. We evaluated feasibility of (i) the staff education and training and (ii) the oral hygiene protocol in consenting inpatients with confirmed stroke, requiring assistance with at least one aspect of personal care. Results: The staff education and training were feasible, acceptable and raised knowledge and awareness. Several barriers to completing the education and training were identified. The oral hygiene protocol was feasible and well-tolerated. 22% of eligible patients screened declined participation in the study. Twenty-nine patients (median age = 78 year; National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score = 8.5; 73% dentate) were recruited at a median of 7 days from stroke onset. 97% of participants chose the default chlorhexidine-based protocol; the remainder chose the non-foaming toothpaste-based protocol. The mouth hygiene protocol was administered as prescribed on 95% of occasions, over a median duration of 28 days. There were no adverse events attributed to the oral hygiene protocol. Conclusion: Our oral hygiene complex intervention was feasible in a single UK stroke centre. Further studies to optimise patient selection, model health economics and explore efficacy are now required

Regulation of the hetero-octameric ATP phosphoribosyl transferase complex from Thermotoga maritima by a tRNA synthetase-like subunit.

The molecular structure of the ATP phosphoribosyl transferase from the hyperthermophile Thermotoga maritima is composed of a 220 kDa hetero-octameric complex comprising four catalytic subunits (HisGS) and four regulatory subunits (HisZ). Steady-state kinetics indicate that only the complete octameric complex is active and non-competitively inhibited by the pathway product histidine. The rationale for these findings is provided by the crystal structure revealing a total of eight histidine binding sites that are located within each of the four HisGS-HisZ subunit interfaces formed by the ATP phosphoribosyl transferase complex. While the structure of the catalytic HisGS subunit is related to the catalytic domain of another family of (HisGL)2 ATP phosphoribosyl transferases that is functional in the absence of additional regulatory subunits, the structure of the regulatory HisZ subunit is distantly related to class II aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. However, neither the mode of the oligomeric subunit arrangement nor the type of histidine binding pockets is found in these structural relatives. Common ancestry of the regulatory HisZ subunit and class II aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase may reflect the balanced need of regulated amounts of a cognate amino acid (histidine) in the translation apparatus, ultimately linking amino acid biosynthesis and protein biosynthesis in terms of function, structure and evolution

Assessing Coral Stress Responses using Molecular Biomarkers of Gene Transcription

We present a method for detecting rapid changes in coral gene expressionat the messenger ribonucleicacid (mRNA) level. The staghorn coral Acropora cervicornisA. formosa sperm, which lacks zooxanthellae, to demonstrate that the genes coding for the mRNA transcripts produced are found within the coral genome. The gene probes developed in this study provide coral biologists with a new tool for coral assessment. Gene probes are sensitive, toxicant-specific biomarkers of coral stress responses with which gene sequence information can be obtained, providing a mechanism for identifying the stressor altering the gene expression