Pilot Operation Research Articles

Operación Piloto: Santiago en tres actos

El cambio de década (1970-1980) está al centro de esta historia: una bisagra entre operaciones inaugurales y políticas sistematizadas. Los últimos años de la década del setenta y los primeros de la década del ochenta fueron testigos de una serie de operaciones piloto sobre la ciudad de Santiago de Chile. Estos primeros operativos construyeron las imágenes inaugurales de políticas en torno a la vivienda que se consolidarían y multiplicarían en el resto de la década. En escalas distintas y con sus propias vías de propagación (desregular, liberalizar y atomizar), tres casos específicos funcionan como índices que explican el modus operandi de un período más extenso y de mayor alcance: las Operaciones Confraternidad de los años 1976, 1978 y 1979, la firma de títulos de dominio en el Estadio Nacional de septiembre de 1979, y la subdivisión comunal de 1981. Al revisitar estos tres momentos se aboga por la construcción temprana de vías de impartición ideológica en la ciudad.

Model calibration and optimization of a post-combustion CO2 WAG pilot in a mature oil field

A carbon dioxide (CO2) water-alternating-gas (WAG) pilot was conducted to gain insights into tertiary oil recovery potential via CO2 flood in the West Ranch Field as part of the Petra Nova project, the world's largest post-combustion CO2 capture and utilization initiative. With a fluvial formation geology, this is a challenging and novel application of CO2 enhanced oil recovery. The aim of this study is two-fold. First, to build a predictive dynamic model that incorporates the data acquired during the pilot operation. Second, to utilize this model to provide guidance for optimal design for a field-wide CO2 EOR operation.This study began with an initialization of the pilot sector model extracted from a calibrated full-field model. The pilot model calibration follows a two-step hierarchical workflow. First, we performed a large-scale update of the permeability distribution by integrating available bottomhole pressure and multiphase production data. Next, local permeability field is fine-tuned using a streamline-based method to match CO2 breakthrough times at the producers. The predictive capability of the calibrated model was verified through two blind validation tests: (1) the model showed good agreement with saturation logs acquired at two observation wells; and (2) the model reproduced the CO2 recovery as a fraction of the injected CO2.Sensitivity studies were conducted using the calibrated pilot model to evaluate the effects of various operational parameters. Finally, we performed a Design of Experiment based multi-objective optimization of the CO2 WAG processes using the influential operational parameters identified from the sensitivity analysis.

Implementing Augmented Reality in the Flight Deck for Single Pilot Operations

Single Pilot Operations is a current topic with the potential to significantly affect the future of commercial aviation. While financially attractive for airlines, Single Pilot Operations bring forth important safety concerns, especially regarding the lack of human redundancy in the flight deck, an increased workload for the single pilot, reduced situational awareness and a higher risk of human error.
 It is assumed that potential problems affecting Single Pilot Operations could be addressed by implementing an Augmented Reality (AR) device in the flight deck, by presenting additional information and supporting hints within the pilot’s field of view. Concretely, AR could be used to help reduce the single pilot’s workload, improve situational awareness and reduce the risk of human error.
 This paper sets out to demonstrate two use cases for augmented reality in the flight deck. A system, called Pilot Assist, was developed that allows pilots to conduct checklists interactively with a Microsoft HoloLens. The system also provides a holographic Head-up-Display. Pilot Assist was developed and demonstrated with a fixed base Airbus A320 simulator at the Technical University of Wildau.
 With the HoloLens’ spatial mapping capabilities – scanning and recognizing the environment around the user – it was possible to create a system that guides the pilot through the conduction of checklists. This is done by prompting the user towards the location of each checklist item in the cockpit, where information regarding necessary actions is projected. Furthermore, Pilot Assist is integrated with the aircraft systems, making it possible to obtain aircraft status data in real time, thus allowing error-checking of the pilot’s actions as well as automating the progress through checklists.
 The holographic Head-up-Display allows the user to look at the surrounding environment while presenting critical flight data within the user’s field of view. The holographic Head-up-Display is intended to contribute to the pilot’s situational awareness.
 Experts in the aviation field, including pilots, researchers and engineers had the chance to qualitatively assess the Pilot Assist tool. They pointed to limitations of both Pilot Assist and the HoloLens itself, but shared optimism as to how this technology and similar applications could indeed impact the future of flight operations. Concerns regarding the HoloLens’ weight, comfort and narrow field of view were expressed. However, continued development of head mounted devices (e.g. HoloLens 2) is expected in the coming years.
 Further research into augmented reality applications in the flight deck is needed to advance this and other use cases. Nonetheless, the experts agreed Pilot Assist provides beneficial support during single pilot operation considering the current prototypical nature of the system.

РАЗРАБОТКА ДИЗАЙНА ГИДРОДИНАМИЧЕСКОГО ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ В УСЛОВИЯХ КАРБОНАТНОГО КОЛЛЕКТОРА

Актуальность исследования обусловлена необходимостью совершенствования методов гидродинамических исследований скважин вследствие неоднозначности интерпретации результатов в условиях карбонатного коллектора. Приоритетами при проведении гидродинамических исследований скважин являются максимальное качество получаемой информации о фильтрационно-емкостных свойствах пластов и минимальные потери добычи нефти в ходе остановки скважин на исследования. С целью выполнения данных задач актуальной является разработка дизайна гидродинамических исследований скважин, предлагаемая в статье. Дизайн позволит обеспечить комплексный подход к моделированию процесса проведения исследований и прогноза получаемых данных. Цель: разработать дизайн гидродинамических исследований скважин с целью оптимизации времени проведения исследований и сокращения периода остановки скважин на этапе опытно-промышленной эксплуатации; подтвердить экономическую эффективность представленной методики. Объекты: скважины Т-23, Т-361, Т-388 месторождения A, продуктивные отложения которого преимущественно представлены кавернозно-трещиноватыми карбонатными породами рифейского возраста. Методы. Поставленные задачи исследования решались теоретически и экспериментально в промысловых условиях. При этом был выполнен анализ публикаций по данной проблеме; проведены промысловые гидродинамические исследования скважин, вскрывающих низкопроницаемый карбонатный коллектор; выполнено моделирование гидродинамических исследований, выполнены сравнительные расчёты по обработке результатов с помощью программного комплекса Saphir компании «KAPPA Engineering». Результаты. Приведены результаты разработки дизайна гидродинамических исследований в условиях карбонатного коллектора. Проанализированы данные гидродинамических исследований для 12 скважин, эксплуатирующих рифейские карбонатные отложения, за период с 2005–2008 гг. представлены результаты по трем скважинам: Т-23, Т-361, Т-388. Представлена методика моделирования гидродинамических исследований в программном комплексе Saphir компании «KAPPA Engineering». Приведен пример расчета времени стабилизации при исследовании скважины методом установившихся отборов, а также оценка оптимального времени регистрации кривой восстановления давления. Также приведено сравнение стандартной методики, которой руководствуются при испытании скважины – РД (руководящий документ) 153-39.0-109-01 «Методические указания по комплексированию и этапность выполнения геофизических, гидродинамических и геохимических исследований нефтяных и нефтегазовых месторождений», с методикой, представленной в статье. На основе данного сравнения была установлена экономическая эффективность.

Evaluation of a Acute Febrile Illness Surveillance Network (GAFINet), South Korea.

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study is to describe and evaluate the results of the GAFINET(Gyeonggi Acute Febrile Illness Surveillance Network) operated for one year.IntroductionAfter MERS outbreak in 2015, the provincial government and infectious disease control center (GIDCC) initiated an emergency department (ED) based Gyeonggi-do provincial acute febrile illness (AFI) surveillance network (GAFINet) to monitor for a subsequent outbreak of emerging or imported infectious diseases since September 2016. Following pilot operation from September to December 2016, the operation was run for one year from June 2017 to May 2018.GAFINet Initiative involves ten hospitals, consisted of four university-affiliated hospitals and six provincial medical centers in Gyeonggi-do province. These hospitals participated in this network voluntarily.MethodsPeriodic surveillance for finding AFI patients in ED of participating hospitals was performed prospectively (Figure 2). AFI was definedas 1) fever: body temperature ≥38 °C at admission, or 2) chief complaint of febrile or chilling sensation. Demography of patientsand chief complaints were investigated in this first step. Cases were classified into six categories based on their clinicaldiagnoses: 1) respiratory AFI [AFRI], 2) gastroenteric AFI [AFGI], 3) exanthematic AFI [AFEI], 4) other infectious AFI, 5) non-infectiousAFI, and 6) unclassified AFI.Participating infectious diseases specialists regularly reviewed and reformed this classification via web based system.Nosocomial AFI cases or the patients transferred from another hospital were excluded. When a patient had a history of international travel or he/she were undiagnosed in three days after ED admission, more comprehensive information including history and final diagnosis were obtained. For a baseline data, age- and sex-stratified ED visits were also gathered weekly. The proportion of AFI cases per 1000 visits was determined for one week period and analyzed by febrile diseases categories with age-stratification. Characteristics of cases with international travel histories or undiagnosed cases were also described separately.The results were presented to participating researchers as visualized dashboards in Web-based systems.Also we compared the trend and peak time of GAFINET data with the surveillance data of KCDC for influenza, hand foot and mouth disease, and Tsutsugamushi disease.ResultsThe total number of patients in the emergency room in 10 hospitals was 366,695 for one year. Among them, 40,897 patients were diagnosed with acute febrile illness (11.2%). 47.8% were under 10 years of age, and 508 - 1,769 patients were fever - related patients per weak. The number of patients with foreign travel was 0 - 11 in each week, and the number of patients with unknown fever in the week was 0 - 6.1 to 9 years of age accounted for the largest proportion (27.6% - 48.3%) of acute febrile patients. The most common infectious diseases were acute febrile respiratory disease, and other acute febrile infections and acute febrile gastrointestinal disease are followed. In acute febrile respiratory disease and acute febrile illness, seasonal pattern was seen.A total of 157 patients with acute febrile illnesses with overseas travel ability, 0 - 11 persons per week, consistently occurred. Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) was the most frequent diagnosis in 28 patients (17.8%), fever of unkonwn origin(FUO) was 25(15.9%), Acute pharyngotonsilitis 17(10.8%), viral infection 17 (10.8%), Influenza 7 (4.5%) and colitis 5 (3.2%). The cause of fever was not found in 30 of the acute febrile patients with overseas travel ability. A total of 77 patients with acute febrile disease were admitted to the hospital.In comparison with national surveillance data, the trend of occurrence of influenza in GAFINet and national data was similar. Both data peaked in the first week of 2018. Also trend of hand-foot and mouth disease(HFMD) was similar in two data. But peak weak was little different in both data(CDC at 30 weeks, GAFINett at 29 weeks in 2017). In GAFINet, the final diagnosis was confirmed as Tsutsugamushi disease in total 43 cases. The number of reported cases was small, and the epidemic peaked at the same time as the CDC surveillance data, but the outbreak occurred in the same period (October to November).ConclusionsGAFINet has both the characteristics of indicator based surveillance and event based surveillance.Data were collected over a period of one year to examine the feasibility and applicability of the indicator based surveillance. In comparison with national surveillance data, some feasibility was verified by similar trends, but the necessity of operating regional surveillance data still needs to be discussed. It should also be noted that some diseases have different peak times of one week.The role of event based surveillance is mainly aimed at surveillance of fever patients with international travel history. The advantage of the GAFINet's classification system in the emergency room of participating hospitals is that the patient's cases of fever were constantly monitored. However, there is still a limit to the lack of budget and manpower in the samping and labaratory test.Real time visual feedback of surveillance data helped to increase participation and discuss the results.

Prototype of city environmental monitoring system based on geoportal technologies

The development of a real-time environmental monitoring system based on the integration of data from various sources is considered. To create this system, a geoportal technology platform is used to collect, process and present data from various observations. During the implementation of the development, the data transmission from a number of sources with information on air pollution and meteorological data was configured. The system operates in pilot operation mode in Krasnoyarsk. The generated spatial database contains the specified information on all available measurement points for the last few years. Geoportal map services and web applications provide interactive visualization of data in the form of tables, graphs and thematic maps in standard web browser. Source data can also be loaded for analysis in spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel or displayed in GIS packages through standard Open Geospatial Consortium map services.

Effects of Completion Design on Thermal Efficiency in SAGD

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Judy Feder, contains highlights of paper SPE 193357, “SAGD Circulation Phase: Thermal Efficiency Evaluation of Five Wellbore Completion Designs in Lloydminster Reservoir,” by Daniel Ayala Rivas, SPE, and Ian Gates, SPE, University of Calgary, prepared for the 2018 SPE Thermal Well Integrity and Design Symposium, Banff, Alberta, Canada, 27–29 November. The paper has not been peer reviewed. During the circulation (startup) phase of steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), high-quality steam injected through the injector and producer wells heats the reservoir between the wells. The viscosity is thus lowered, making fluids mobile at approximately 50 to 100°C and creating interwell fluid communication. This paper uses a simulation model to evaluate and compare the thermal efficiency of five different completion design cases during the SAGD circulation phase in the Lloydminster formation in the Lindbergh area in Alberta, Canada. The results show that completion-design configuration affects the heat transfer and thermal efficiency of the circulation process. Introduction The SAGD process is the most commonly used thermal method of in-situ recovery for extracting heavy oil and bitumen resources in Alberta and can yield recovery factors of greater than 60%. The technique requires two parallel horizontal wells, a producer and an injector, known as a well pair. The horizontal producer well is placed approximately 3 m above the oil/water contact (OWC) or above the bottom of the reservoir, and the injector well is placed above the horizontal producer well. Most SAGD well pairs are placed 5 m apart, which corresponds to approximately 50 kPa of hydrostatic head from the injector to the producer. The lateral section of the well pair is approximately 700–1200 m in length. The SAGD thermal method usually consists of two phases, the circulation phase and the full SAGD, or production, phase. After the circulation phase, the well pair is converted to the production phase, during which steam is injected through both tubing strings of the injector well in a dual-completion design while bitumen or heavy oil and condensed steam are produced through the producer well using natural or mechanical lifting. Constant steam injection causes the steam chamber to grow and expand in the reservoir. Variations in thermal efficiency during the circulation phase result from factors such as tubing size, well trajectory, well length, completion configuration, reservoir properties, and operating parameters. To the authors’ knowledge, no published study has determined the thermal efficiency of different completion designs during the circulation phase of a SAGD well pair in a Lloydminster formation. A previous study used a discretized thermal reservoir-wellbore modeling simulator to history match field data obtained from a SAGD well pair in the Lloydminster area. Operating Strategies and Reservoir Model The complete paper discusses SAGD operating strategies and development of well and completion designs in pilot and commercial operations.

CASSIOPeiA – A new paradigm for space solar power

Recent debate (Clack v. Jacobson, 2017) argues the feasibility of 100% terrestrial renewables (wind, water, solar) by 2050, on the premise of restricting world consumption to 2012 levels (∼12 TW-years). Given the expected population rise by 3 billion over the same time frame, and the correlation between prosperity and energy availability – are we to impose energy equality, requiring some to reduce consumption by 87%, or are we to condemn the majority to relentless poverty? Choosing neither implies ever-increasing carbon emissions and the risk of catastrophic climate change. Nuclear fission is one energy technology which could be expanded to provide sufficient carbon-free power, but faces widespread opposition from public fear and distrust. Future terrestrial fusion is another, but first pilot operations are not expected until 2050 – which may be too late. We could make much better use of one existing fusion power source, our Sun. The fundamentals of Space Solar Power (SSP) are well understood and could lead to a world of energy abundance; the deliverable energy from just a 10 km geostationary (GEO) band exceeds 570 TW-years – enough to supply ten billion people at six-times current US per-capita levels. Despite this, SSP has languished for fifty years. GEO is one of few candidates for baseload power, but physics dictates a kilometre-scale microwave transmitter irrespective of the power delivered – hence economics favours the multi-gigawatt (per-satellite) engineering limit. Given the complexity of the differentially rotating solar collector, sub-gigawatt SSP suffers both economically and technically, with different solutions required at different scales – which has led to exorbitant (hence prohibitive) start-up costs. CASSIOPeiA breaks this non-scaling paradigm by eliminating the rotating interfaces; all SPS subsystems are able to share one lightweight modular structure, with near-invariant areal power density from sub-megawatt to gigawatt systems. With additional fixed mirror concentrators, CASSIOPeiA can also be expanded into the multi-gigawatt regime. CASSIOPeiA's unique beam-steering capability facilitates baseload delivery from alternative, closer orbits, with the possibility of single payload deployment requiring no on-orbit assembly. By starting with sub-megawatt, near-term stratospheric station-keeping platforms – with retrieval, servicing and transfer of gained knowledge – the era of SSP may commence at much lower risk and expense.

Purification of chlorogenic acid from Heijingang potatoes and evaluation of its binding properties to recombinant human serum albumin

The aim of the present study was to purify the natural chlorogenic acid (CGA) monomer from Heijingang potatoes and investigate its interaction with recombinant human serum albumin (rHSA). The potato extract (PE) was purified using macroporous resins and solvent, and the CGA monomer was subsequently isolated using semipreparative liquid chromatography (SP-LC). The purity and structure of the CGA monomer was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The interaction between the CGA monomer and rHSA was studied using fluorescence spectroscopy and molecular docking. HPLC analysis indicates that the CGA monomer had a retention time of 5.368 min and a purity of 97.9%, the presence of which was confirmed by NMR. The molecular docking and fluorescence spectroscopy demonstrate that CGA had a static quenching effect on rHSA with one binding site, and the range of K values was 7.14 × 103 to 1.56 × 104 M−1. This simple and efficient extract coupled with SP-LC has the potential for use in the extraction and purification of CGA in pilot or large-scale operations.

Aircraft safety analysis based on differential manifold theory and bifurcation method

Loss of control (LOC) is considered one of the leading causes of fatal aircraft accidents worldwide. Reducing LOC is critical to improve flight safety. Although it is still vaguely defined, LOC is generally associated with a flight state that is outside the safety envelope, with nonlinear influences of aircraft dynamics and incorrect handling by the flight crew. We have studied how nonlinear factors and pilot operations contribute to LOC. In this study, the stall point and bifurcation point are confirmed using the bifurcation analysis, and the results show that the aircraft will stall when excessive elevator movement is commanded. Moreover, even though there may be an equilibrium state in one of the elevator deflections, the flight state may still be outside the flight safety envelope. When the flight state is near the edge of the flight safety envelope, the strategy to regulate the elevator deflection is super-sensitive, and a slight change in the elevator deflection may contribute to a flight state outside the safety envelope. To solve this issue, the differential manifold theory is introduced to determine the safety envelope. Examples are provided using NASA’s generic transport model.

Safety assessment of approximate segregated parallel operation on closely spaced parallel runways

With the continuous growth of air traffic flow, some airports in China or other countries begin to construct Closely Spaced Parallel Runways (CSPR) to meet the capacity requirement of civil aviation. In this paper, the simulation and calculation method of flight trajectory is developed, as well as the collision risk calculation method and wake vortex encounter risk calculation method. New methods for departure and go-around procedures are proposed to achieve approximate segregated parallel operation in an attempt to obtain approximately the same results on closely spaced parallel runways as on widely spaced parallel runways. By comparing with the independent parallel departure and segregated parallel operation in ICAO Doc. 9643, it is found that the lateral separation between aircraft in this proposal is not less than the separations in the other two cases. Based on the simulation calculation of flight trajectories under different conditions, the probabilities of collision conflict and encountering wake vortex are lower than those in current operation plan. The proposed plan has no special requirements in pilot operation, control command procedures, airport facilities, or meteorological observation and prediction, so it is convenient to promote and implement at the airports with closely spaced parallel runways.

Management of established coronary artery disease in aircrew with previous myocardial infarction or revascularisation.

This manuscript focuses on the broad aviation medicine considerations that are required to optimally manage aircrew with established coronary artery disease (CAD) without myocardial infarction (MI) or revascularisation (both pilots and non-pilot aviation professionals). It presents expert consensus opinion and associated recommendations and is part of a series of expert consensus documents covering all aspects of aviation cardiology.Aircrew may present with MI (both ST elevation MI (STEMI) and non-ST elevation MI (NSTEMI)) as the initial presenting symptom of obstructive CAD requiring revascularisation. Management of these individuals should be conducted according to published guidelines, ideally with consultation between the cardiologist, surgeon and aviation medical examiner. Return to restricted flight duties is possible in the majority of aircrew; however, they must have normal cardiac function, acceptable residual disease burden and no residual ischaemia. They must also be treated with aggressive cardiac risk factor modification. Aircrew should be restricted to dual pilot operations in non-high-performance aircraft, with return to flying no sooner than 6 months after the event. At minimum, annual follow-up with routine non-invasive cardiac evaluation is recommended.

Evaluation of the effectiveness methods of initial pilots’ proffessional training to operate the aircraft equipped with electronic flight instrument systems

Nowadays, educational institutions carrying out pilots’ training in the Russian Federation use completely new generation aircraft different with high degree of control automatisation (EFIS – Electronic Flight Instrument System). At the same time, the applied methods of flight training are based on studies carried out for aircraft with analog instruments, which does not allow to use new generation aircraft and simulators wide possibilities at their full capacity. Therefore, there is a vital necessity of enhancing the method of pilots’ initial professional training that should contain teaching rational methods of distribution and switching visual attention. In 2017 in accordance with the Order of the Federal Air Transport Agency of the Russian Federation in the Ulyanovsk Institute of Civil Aviation a complex of research was carried out that allowed developing the method of initial pilots’ flight training on the aircraft equipped with EFIS. During the research, the oculometric research methods of cadets’ distribution and switching attention (the "eye-tracking" technology) were used, which allowed a deeper study of the piloting skills formation and their impact on pilot's operation with EFIS. To assess the effectiveness of the developed methods, two series of experiments involving cadets of Ulyanovsk Institute of Civil Aviation and its branch in Sasovo were conducted. Two types of simulators: L-410 and Diamond 40 NG were used for research purposes. In this article it is proposed to use the correlation coefficient and the Manhattan distance to assess the accuracy of maintaining flight parameters during cadet simulator training. According to the results of the first series of experiments, it was found out that the cadets under the experiment showed a lower level of flight training compared to the control group of cadets. However, after training the group under the experiment on the developed method, a level of flight preparation in the both groups became equal. Statistically significant differences of initial and final levels of flight training for the cadets of the experimental group were observed while cadets of a control group completed the series of experiments without any significant changes. The second series of experiments revealed that the lack of flight practice among the cadets of the experimental group did not prevent them from demonstrating a qualitative level of professional training when practicing on the flight simulator. Such a result was achieved due to the ground preparation of cadets on the developed method what, undoubtedly, indicates its effectiveness.

Establishment of the South Korean national antimicrobial resistance surveillance system, Kor-GLASS, in 2016.

Surveillance plays a pivotal role in overcoming antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacterial pathogens, and a variety of surveillance systems have been set up and employed in many countries. In 2015, the World Health Organization launched the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS) as a part of the global action plan to enhance national and global surveillance and research. The aims of GLASS are to foster development of national surveillance systems and to enable collection, analysis and sharing of standardised, comparable and validated data on AMR between different countries. The South Korean AMR surveillance system, Kor-GLASS, is compatible with the GLASS platform and was established in 2016 and based on the principles of representativeness, specialisation, harmonisation and localisation. In this report, we summarise principles and processes in order to share our experiences with other countries planning to establish a national AMR surveillance system. The pilot operation of Kor-GLASS allowed us to understand the national burden of specific infectious diseases and the status of bacterial AMR. Issues pertaining to high costs and labour-intensive operation were raised during the pilot, and improvements are being made.

Adisseo advances biobased methionine

The animal nutrition firm Adisseo and the French industrial biotech collective TWB say they have found a biological route to methionine, an animal feed amino acid now produced from petrochemicals. Adisseo says it will continue with the project with the goal of developing a pilot operation by 2020. Evonik Industries, an Adiseo competitor, acquired a biobased route to methionine from Metabolic Explorer last year.

Aeromedical Certification Following Mechanical Aortic and Mitral Valve Implants in the United Kingdom.

For many years, anticoagulant therapy had been deemed unacceptable for civilian pilot medical certification in the United Kingdom under the Joint Aviation Authorities Requirements and, therefore, mechanical valve implants were disqualifying. In 2012, this restriction was removed by implementation of the European Union requirements. This study was undertaken to assess the medical evidence available to develop a certificatory policy following mechanical valve implants in the United Kingdom. A literature review was performed for complication rates following the implantation of mechanical aortic and mitral valves. This study was confined to the three major types of valve commonly used in current clinical practice: the ATS, the Carbomedics, and the St. Jude Medical valves. We identified 28 papers on aortic valve replacements and 22 papers on mitral valve replacements. Data were extracted for the late complication rates for endocarditis, paravalvular leak, thromboembolism, hemorrhage, and structural valve dysfunction. The total calculated incidence of a late complication was 3.8% per annum for aortic valves over a mean follow-up period of 57 mo and 5.2% per annum for mitral valves over a mean follow-up period of 61 mo. Both of these exceed the maximum 1% per annum medical incapacitation risk considered acceptable for professional multicrew pilot operations. Confounders and sources of error in estimating the risks and methods to mitigate these are considered. A certificatory policy is proposed and the UK experience of mechanical valve replacements is described.Jagathesan T, O'Nunain S, O'Brien M. Aeromedical certification following mechanical aortic and mitral valve implants in the United Kingdom. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2018; 89(10):912-917.

Effect of acceleration on pilot operation in short-distance takeoff

Effect of acceleration on pilot operation in short-distance takeoff

A Sustainable Ambulance Operation Model in a Low-Resource Country (the Democratic Republic of Congo).

Due to an increase in traffic collisions, the demand for prehospital medical services is on the rise, even in low-resource countries where emergency ambulance services have not been previously provided. To build a sustainable and continuous prehospital ambulance operation model, it is necessary to consider the medical system and economic conditions of the corresponding country. In an attempt to construct a prehospital ambulance operation model that ensures continuous operation, a pilot “emergency patient transporting service from field to hospital” operation was established for approximately three months in Kinshasa, the capital of the DR Congo. To construct a continuously operating model even after the pilot operation, willingness to pay (WTP) by type of emergency medical and transport service was investigated by implementing the contingent valuation method (CVM). Using CVM, the WTP for prehospital emergency services targeting ambulance services personnel, patients, policemen, and hospital staff participating in the pilot operation was calculated. The results of the pilot operation revealed that there were a total of 212 patients with a mean patient number of 2.4 per day. A total of 155 patients used the services for hospital transport, while 121 patients used the services for traffic collisions. Traffic collisions were the category in which ambulance services were most frequently needed (66.2%). Pay services were most frequently utilized in the home-visit services category (40.9%). Based on these results, eight independently operated ambulance operation models and sixteen models that utilize hospital medical personnel and policemen already belonging to existing institutions were proposed. In an effort to implement emergency medical ambulance services in the DR Congo, medical staff receiving pay for performance (incentive pay) should be deployed in the field and on call. Accordingly, with respect to sustainable development goals, various pay-for-service models should be used.

Single Pilot Operations in Domestic Commercial Aviation.

To provide an overview of concepts of operation for single pilot operations (SPO) and a synthesis of recently published work evaluating these concepts. Advances in technology have made it possible for a commercial aircraft to be flown by a single pilot under normal conditions, and research is being conducted to examine the feasibility of implementing SPO for commercial aviation. Context leading up to the consideration of SPO for commercial flight is provided, including the benefits and challenges. Recent studies examining issues relating to automation, operations, and communications in the SPO context are presented. A number of concepts have been proposed and tested for SPO, and no one concept has been shown to be superior. Single pilots were able to successfully resolve off-nominal scenarios with either the ground-support or cockpit-automation tools examined. However, the technologies developed in support of these concepts are in prototype forms and need further development. There have been no obvious "show stoppers" for moving toward SPO. However, the current state of research is in its initial stages, and more research is needed to examine other challenges associated with SPO. Moreover, human factors researchers must continue to be involved in the development of the new tools and technologies to support SPO to ensure their effectiveness. The research issues highlighted in the context of SPO reflect issues that are associated with the process of reducing crew members or providing remote support of operators and, more generally, human interactions with increasingly autonomous systems.

Research on Power Regulation Schedule Control System for Turboprop Engine

Abstract A method of variable speed control system for turboprop engine is presented in this paper. Firstly, the steady operation state of turboprop engine is analyzed, and the operating line is figured out in the steady state characteristic diagram, which is the design basis of Engine Thrust Management System (ETMS). Secondly, the reference model sliding mode multivariable control is used to design the control law to follow the speed instructions given by ETMS. Finally, the optimization of the minimum fuel consumption operating curve is realized, and the control system designed is applied to a numerical model of a turboprop engine. The simulation results show that compared with the constant speed control system, the variable speed control system can reduce the specific fuel consumption by 2.37 % on average and 3.1 % in steady state conditions. Furthermore, the method can enable the pilot to manipulate the turboprop aircraft by using only one throttle lever, which can greatly reduce the pilot operation burden.