Flight Research Articles

The homing flight method to assess the effect of sublethal doses of plant protection products on the honey bee in field conditions: results of the ring tests

The homing flight method to assess the effect of sublethal doses of plant protection products on the honey bee in field conditions: results of the ring tests

Silent MR angiography in the detection of intracranial aneurysm: a feasibility study

Objective To evaluate image quality and diagnostic performance of silent MR angiography (MRA) and discuss the feasibility of silent MRA in diagnosing intracranial aneurysms. Methods Twenty seven patients suspected with cerebrovascular disorders and 30 intracranial aneurysms in Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, were enrolled prospectively in this study from December 2015 to December 2018. Silent and time of flight (TOF) MRA were performed on the same day prior to CTA examination. The corresponding MRA images were independently and blindly evaluated by two experienced neuroradiologists in the aspects of signal homogeneity, lesion conspicuity, venous signal/artifact and diagnostic confidence (4-point scale). The aneurysms were divided into tiny (≤ 3 mm) and non-tinyaneurysm groups(> 3 mm) according to the measured diameters of aneurysms. The differences in image quality ratings between silent MRA and TOF MRA were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed rank tests. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) were used to test the consistency of measurements between MRAs (silent MRA, TOF MRA) and CTA. Results CTA revealed 32 intracranial aneurysms. For silent MRA and TOF MRA, the scores of signal homogeneity were 3.38±0.49 and 3.00±0.62, andthe scores of venous signal/artifact were 3.77±0.42 and 2.65±0.48.Significant differences were found between the two MRAs in these aspects (Z=-2.21, P=0.02; Z=-5.69, P=0.01). The scores of lesion conspicuity were 3.19±0.56 and 3.15±0.46, and the scores of diagnostic confidence were 3.27±0.44 and 3.12±0.51.There were no significant differences found in these aspects (P>0.05).The ICC coefficient was excellentfor silent MRA (0.94, 95%CI 0.82- 0.98)and was good for TOF MRA (0.72, 95%CI 0.30-0.91) in tiny aneurysm group. The ICC coefficient was excellent (silent MRA, 0.98, 95%CI 0.95-0.99; TOF MRA, 0.95, 95%CI 0.87-0.98) for both MRA in non-tiny aneurysm group. Conclusions Compared with TOF MRA, silent MRA could achieve higher image quality and higher diagnostic confidence, and higher consistency with CTA. Silent MRA can be a promising non-contrast-enhanced alternative MRA technique in clinical setting. Key words: Magnetic resonance imaging; Intracranial aneurysm; Diagnosis, differential; Comparative study

‘Quem fugis’: The Poetics of Arrested Flight in ‘Other Kingdom’ and Howards End

De sa toute premiere nouvelle, ‘The Story of a Panic’ (1904), a A Passage to India (1924), E.M. Forster s’inspira d’œuvres grecques et latines pour decrire les interactions affectives entre les etres et les lieux : les Idylles de Theocrite et les Bucoliques de Virgile, ou la nature a une voix qui peut entrer en resonance avec celle des hommes, ou encore les Metamorphoses d’Ovide, ou la transformation physique cree de nouveaux etres hybrides, vegetaux ou mineraux. Howards End ne fait pas exception, puisque Forster y revisite le motif ovidien de la ‘metamorphose de fuite’ pour decrire les mutations de l’ere edouardienne. La maison et l’arbre de Howards End vont suspendre l’echappee de Margaret et Helen Schlegel et devenir le lieu ou de nouveaux affects—de nouveaux modes de relation entre les individus, inspires par la croissance lente et quasi imperceptible des plantes—vont pouvoir s’exprimer. Forster cree ainsi une mythologie anglaise qui n’est pas simplement nostalgique, mais constitue une reponse ambivalente a la modernite et permet de redefinir la condition du sujet au tournant du siecle.

Scalable gradient–enhanced artificial neural networks for airfoil shape design in the subsonic and transonic regimes

Airfoil shape design is one of the most fundamental elements in aircraft design. Existing airfoil design tools require at least a few minutes to analyze a new shape and hours to perform shape optimization. To drastically reduce the computational time of both analysis and design optimization, we use machine learning to create a model of a wide range of possible airfoils at a range of flight conditions, making it possible to perform airfoil design optimization in a few seconds. The machine learning consists of gradient-enhanced artificial neural networks where the gradient information is phased in gradually. This new gradient-enhanced artificial neural network approach is trained to model the aerodynamic force coefficients of airfoils in both subsonic and transonic regimes. The aerodynamics is modeled with Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS)-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The proposed approach outperforms an existing airfoil model that uses a mixture of experts technique combined with a gradient-based kriging surrogate model. The approach yields to similar airfoil shape optimization solutions than high-fidelity CFD optimization solutions with a difference of 0.01 count and 0.12 count for Cd in subsonic and transonic regimes, respectively. Airfoil optimization problems are solved in a few seconds (instead of hours using CFD-based optimization), making the design process much more interactive, as demonstrated in the Webfoil airfoil design optimization tool.

In Memoriam: Victims of Flight PS752

In Memoriam: Victims of Flight PS752

In Memoriam: Victims of Flight PS752

In Memoriam: Victims of Flight PS752

« Dans un pleur assidu »: champs lexicaux de l'émotion dans la poésie de Marceline Desbordes-Valmore

Desbordes-Valmore sut créer, pour dire l'émotion, l'un des lexiques les plus sensuels de la poésie romantique française. Grâce à ce lexique, le monde des sentiments s'ouvre sur celui des sensations physiques. Dans son univers poétique, certains mots s'appellent, formant des chaînes sémantiques où l'on entend l'inflexion unique de sa personnalité. Je montrerai comment le sujet poétique féminin qu'elle construit exprime et communique l'émotion en se servant de trois grands motifs: le frémissement, l'abandon et l'essor, chacun pourvu d'un lexique éminemment personnel et sensuel. À travers ces combinaisons lexicales qui lui sont propres, elle « dit » la passion avec originalité, et donne une voix au désir et au plaisir féminins. Malgré l'imprécision, le flou et même la pauvreté de son vocabulaire, malgré l'ubiquité des mots « âme », « fleurs », « ange » et « cœur », c'est du corps qu'elle parle, sans le nommer directement.

Can animals like bats, pangolins, and ticks would be considered as long-term reservoirs of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

In December 2019, there was an outbreak of pneumonia with an unknown cause in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. Within less than 3–4 months, the virus has spread to more than 200 countries. The virus rapidly transmitted from different places of the world with various cultural traditions. Thereby, the question is remained to be resolved about the main intermediate carrier of diseases in different animals. Studied showed that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was originated from horseshoe bats, but its intermediate hosts are still largely unknown. Therefore, the possibility of horseshoe bat infection by ticks is high during the flight between plants or when resting in these places. Female ticks can either feed on horseshoe bat blood for 5–7 days before shedding or can form large aggregations by laying several thousand eggs in the right places or on them. Once they feed on horseshoe bat blood containing SARS-CoV-2, they can transfer the infection to the next generations without the need to reuse infections from the reservoir host. With all the potential features that this creature has, it is mandatory to investigate the presence or absences of SARS-CoV-2, especially when we know that ticks co-exist with that horseshoe bats. These factors highlight the importance of studying the viral epidemiology in the tick population. Thereby, based on the wide distribution of ticks and their co-existence with horseshoe bat, we suggest further studies on ticks that might act as one of the main intermediate hosts in different animals.

Механізми сталого розвитку міжнародних альянсів авіаційних перевізників

The purpose of the publication is to deepen the theoretical and methodological provisions and develop scientific and practical recommendations for improving the organizational and economic mechanism of resource management of sustainable development of global alliances in the international cluster of passenger air transportation. Strategic bases of formation of the system approach to management of economic resources of participants of alliances are formulated. The list of principles for the implementation of a systematic approach to the management of economic resources of aviation enterprises (UERAP) includes integrity, structure, hierarchy, the relationship between the organizational system and the external environment, adaptability and flexibility, multifacetedness. Thus, integrity is understood as activity on increase of safety of flights (FS) on the basis of strategic management of economic resources of the enterprise which has general character, is shared by all useful within system of functioning by divisions of the enterprise. Multidimensionality reflects the complex structure of the system, which operates taking into account the peculiarities of the deployment of elemental, functional, organizational and dynamic aspects of activity. It is proposed to design systems for improving the efficiency of MERAE in the form of a set of organizational structures, specific forms and methods of management, which ensure an adequate level of FS by implementing measures for effective management of three types of resources (economic, financial and material). The thesis on the possibility of providing a flight safety management system (FSMS) by means of planning organizational measures to identify and eliminate the risks of incidents, cooperation on their prevention by all participants in the air transport system during flights, organizational support and investigation of non-standard events is substantiated. It is proposed to subordinate the FSMS to a clear sequence of organizational structures, responsibilities, guidelines, policies and procedures for managing certain elements of ERAE: personnel, technology, aircraft, information flows, motivation system, quality management. These elements are considered as part of the subsystems of a set of measures to improve the management of ERAE in order to ensure FS.

The Influence of Organizational Culture, Personal Characteristics, Workaholics, Work-Family Conflict on Life Satisfaction : Focused on the Flight Attendants on the Airline

The Influence of Organizational Culture, Personal Characteristics, Workaholics, Work-Family Conflict on Life Satisfaction : Focused on the Flight Attendants on the Airline

Determination of Effective Balanced Indicators in the Airline Company Using a Modified Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process Approach

The determination of the balanced scorecard (BSC) model based on the example of an airline company are considered in this article. The main objective is the finding of the effective indicators for the airline company activities which are major importance for the company's strategy. The authors used the following research methods: the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) (T. Saati's method). On the result of research priority (importance) and weight of all perspectives and corresponding indicators are determined. According to the research, the first priority is the ‘Customers’ perspective, the second priority is the ‘Finance’ perspective, the third priority is the ‘Internal business-processes’ perspective, and the fourth priority is the ‘Learning and Growth’ perspective. During the study, 20 indicators from 37 indicators were selected. The results of the research show that such indicators as passenger satisfaction, code-sharing agreements with airline companies, the number of passengers are the most effective for the ‘Customers’ perspective. Profitability, revenues, operating costs, ROIC, EBITDAR are the most significant indicators for the financial perspective. Indicators such as the average age of the park, technical dispatch reliability, On-time Performance of flights, the number of accidents, the level of safety, the number of aircrafts are the most significant for the ‘Internal business-processes’ perspective. The indicators like the employee satisfaction, employee efficiency, percent of trained employees from total number of employees, the amount of funds for training, the number of passengers buying tickets through websites, IT costs are most significant for the ‘Learning and Growth’ perspective. With the help of selected indicators, the company can monitor the effectiveness of its activity.

Aeroelastic analysis of cantilever non-symmetric FG sandwich plates under yawed supersonic flow

In this paper, a numerical solution is presented for supersonic flutter analysis of cantilever non-symmetric functionally graded (FG) sandwich plates. The plate is considered to be composed of two different functionally graded face sheets and an isotropic homogeneous core made of ceramic. Based on the first order shear deformation theory (FSDT) and linear piston theory, the set of governing equations and boundary conditions are derived. Dimensionless form of the governing equations and boundary conditions are derived and solved numerically using generalized differential quadrature method (GDQM) and critical velocity and flutter frequencies are calculated. For various values of the yaw angle, effect of different parameters like aspect ratio, thickness of the plate, power law indices and thickness of the core on the flutter boundaries are investigated. Numerical examples show that wings and tail fins with larger length and shorter width are more stable in supersonic flights. It is concluded for FG sandwich plates made of Al-Al2O3 that increase in volume fraction of ceramic (Al2O3) increases aeroelastic stability of the plate. Presented study confirms that improvement of aeroelastic behavior and weight of wings and tail fins of aircrafts are not consistent items. It is shown that value of the critical yaw angle depends on aspect ratio of the plate and other parameters including thickness and variation of properties have no considerable effect on it. Results of this paper can be used in design and analysis of wing and tail fin of supersonic airplanes.

Flight MTT-S 2020: Cleared for Takeoff

Flight MTT-S 2020: Cleared for Takeoff

Quality evaluation model of unmanned aerial vehicle's horizontal flight maneuver based on flight data

Quality evaluation model of unmanned aerial vehicle's horizontal flight maneuver based on flight data

Preliminary study on application of drones in a county emergency medical service system

Objective To explore the feasibility and advantage of the drones in a county emergency medical service system. Methods The study was conducted in Changxing County, Zhejiang Province from January to September 2018. The Changxing County People's Hospital and the health centers within its radius of 25 km were included in the study. Three types of indicators were obtained by using commercial drones to transfer simulated first-aid medical supplies from health centers to county people's hospitals: (1)The flight time of the drone; (2) The road traffic time measured by Baidu map and Tencent map software of the above-mentioned route at midnight; (3) The road traffic time measured by Amap software of these routes at 0: 00, 8: 00, 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 18:00, 20:00. The road traffic time at different time points measured by map softwares and drones flight time were compared. Wilcoxon symbolic rank test was used for statistical analysis, and P value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results (1) A total of 10 health centers were involved in this study, the air straight-line distance between them and the county people's hospital was (10.97±3.59) km, and the road traffic distance was (13.61±4.95) km. (2) The flight time of drone was (16.35±5.15) min, less than road traffic time measured by Amap, Baidu and Tencent map software, which were (21.40±5.15) min, (22.50±6.11) min, (22.00±5.23) min, respectively (P< 0.01). (3)The road traffic time measured by Amap software was longer than that of drones from 0:00 to 20:00 (P< 0.01), with the maximum time of (27.80±6.12) min at 18:00, and the minimum time of (21.40±5.15) min at midnight. Drones could save up 14.07 min at most and 2.8 min at least, with an average save of (7.98±1.32) min. Conclusions Drone might be used to transfer first aid medical supplies between health centers in a county area, which is faster than road transportation. It has a better application prospect and is worth to further study. Key words: Drone; Emergency medical service system; County; Partnership health center

Fight or flight.

Fight or flight.

Strategies used by passengers to improve the experience of long‐haul flights

Strategies used by passengers to improve the experience of long‐haul flights

RVD flight mission planning and scheduling method based on finite state machine

RVD flight mission planning and scheduling method based on finite state machine

Activity of Italian natural chabasite-rich zeolitites against grey mould, sour rot and grapevine moth, and effects on grape and wine composition

The activity of Italian chabasite-rich zeolitites for control of grey mould, sour rot and grapevine moth was compared to that from synthetic fungicides and insecticides in three vineyards in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Persistence of zeolitites on grapevine canopies has enabled applications to be carried out before rainfall events, which are likely to predispose for infections by grey mould and sour rot pathogens. Applications for control of Lobesia botrana (grapevine moth) were carried out after the peak of the male flight, and the presence of eggs on grape berries was also assessed. Disease and pest control were very satisfactory and comparable to those obtained from synthetic fungicides and insecticides. In addition, there were no differences among treatments for yield, berry composition, or wine ethyl alcohol, pH and total acidity. Phenolic compounds increased in wine from zeolitite-treated plants where the treatment was carried out within 15 days from grape harvest. These promising results have strategic value, because zeolitites provided simultaneous control of grey mould, sour rot and L. botrana. However, since these compounds have been tested for the first time for the control of diseases and L. botrana, the results obtained in this study require further validation.

Review of Medical Response in 2015 TransAsia Airways Flight 235 Aircraft Crash.

TransAsia Airways Flight 235 was a domestic flight that crashed into the Keelung River on February 4, 2015, about several minutes after take-off from Taipei Songshan Airport. There were 53 passengers and five crew members on board, however, only 15 of them survived. Twenty-seven casualties were sent to eight nearby hospitals. All of them were sent by ambulances of fire departments. Among 27 casualties, 10 experienced traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and the remaining 17 had traumatic injuries or hypothermia. The accident revealed several important issues regarding disaster medical response in Taiwan. First, compared to previous aircraft crash accidents in Taiwan, the search and rescue process was much more difficult because the airplane had fallen into the middle of a river. It was much more like a river rescue than an aircraft crash. Responders could not reach the casualties and provide care initially due to lack of proper equipment needed to cross the river. Second, the airplane crashed right on the border between two cities, the "command and communication" issue was also confused in the beginning. Third, the role of the disaster medical assistant team (DMAT) in Taiwan should be re-evaluated, including various protocols and standard procedures for dispatch, task, cooperation, staff training and logistics. By reviewing the response, we hope we can improve our system for the challenges in the future.