Improving aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul: A novel text mining approach

Aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) feedback commonly includes an engineer’s complex text-based inspection report. Capturing and normalizing the content of these textual descriptions is vital to cost and quality benchmarking, and provides information to facilitate continuous improvement of MRO process and analytics. As data analysis and mining tools requires highly normalized data, raw textual data is inadequate. This paper offers a textual-mining solution to efficiently analyse bulk textual feedback data. Despite replacement of the same parts and/or sub-parts, the actual service cost for the same repair is often distinctly different from similar previously jobs. Regular expression algorithms were incorporated with an aircraft MRO glossary dictionary in order to help provide additional information concerning the reason for cost variation. Professional terms and conventions were included within the dictionary to avoid ambiguity and improve the outcome of the result. Testing results show that most descriptive inspection reports can be appropriately interpreted, allowing extraction of highly normalized data. This additional normalized data strongly supports data analysis and data mining, whilst also increasing the accuracy of future quotation costing. This solution has been effectively used by a large aircraft MRO agency with positive results.

Public leisure provision under Compulsory Competitive Tendering: the maintenance of ideological dominance?

Although much has been written about the effect on services of public sector restructuring, little is yet available on public leisure provision. This omission is addressed by considering how the delivery of public leisure services in Britain has been affected by the imposition of Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT). In particular, it focuses on the changing relationship between the central and local levels of government recognising, on the part of local government, a continuum of structural responses to central initiatives which have, in some cases, conspired to reduce the impact of CCT on public leisure provision. The paper concludes that although attempts have been made to protect local services, the outcome of the CCT process has been the regeneration of public leisure provision away from its service roots, but within an enduring ideological paradigm of conservative professionalism.

Causal evidence for frontal involvement in memory target maintenance by posterior brain areas during distracter interference of visual working memory

Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is recruited during visual working memory (WM) when relevant information must be maintained in the presence of distracting information. The mechanism by which DLPFC might ensure successful maintenance of the contents of WM is, however, unclear; it might enhance neural maintenance of memory targets or suppress processing of distracters. To adjudicate between these possibilities, we applied time-locked transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) during functional MRI, an approach that permits causal assessment of a stimulated brain region's influence on connected brain regions, and evaluated how this influence may change under different task conditions. Participants performed a visual WM task requiring retention of visual stimuli (faces or houses) across a delay during which visual distracters could be present or absent. When distracters were present, they were always from the opposite stimulus category, so that targets and distracters were represented in distinct posterior cortical areas. We then measured whether DLPFC-TMS, administered in the delay at the time point when distracters could appear, would modulate posterior regions representing memory targets or distracters. We found that DLPFC-TMS influenced posterior areas only when distracters were present and, critically, that this influence consisted of increased activity in regions representing the current memory targets. DLPFC-TMS did not affect regions representing current distracters. These results provide a new line of causal evidence for a top-down DLPFC-based control mechanism that promotes successful maintenance of relevant information in WM in the presence of distraction.

Response to zinc deficiency of two rice lines with contrasting tolerance is determined by root growth maintenance and organic acid exudation rates, and not by zinc-transporter activity

Zinc (Zn)-deficient soils constrain rice (Oryza sativa) production and cause Zn malnutrition. The identification of Zn-deficiency-tolerant rice lines indicates that breeding might overcome these constraints. Here, we seek to identify processes underlying Zn-deficiency tolerance in rice at the physiological and transcriptional levels. A Zn-deficiency-tolerant line RIL46 acquires Zn more efficiently and produces more biomass than its nontolerant maternal line (IR74) at low Zn(ext) under field conditions. We tested if this was the result of increased expression of Zn(2+) transporters; increased root exudation of deoxymugineic acid (DMA) or low-molecular-weight organic acids (LMWOAs); and/or increased root production. Experiments were performed in field and controlled environment conditions. There was little genotypic variation in transcript abundance of Zn-responsive root Zn(2+)-transporters between the RIL46 and IR74. However, root exudation of DMA and LMWOA was greater in RIL46, coinciding with increased root expression of putative ligand-efflux genes. Adventitious root production was maintained in RIL46 at low Zn(ext), correlating with altered expression of root-specific auxin-responsive genes. Zinc-deficiency tolerance in RIL46 is most likely the result of maintenance of root growth, increased efflux of Zn ligands, and increased uptake of Zn-ligand complexes at low Zn(ext); these traits are potential breeding targets.

Maintenance of the African easterly jet

The maintenance of the African easterly jet (AEJ) has been examined using a zonally symmetric general circulation model with simple parametrizations. It is shown that the AEJ is maintained in association with two diabatically forced meridional circulations: one associated with surface fluxes and dry convection in the Saharan heat-low region and one associated with deep moist convection in the intertropical convergence zone equatorward of this. the heat-low heating, which reaches the height of the AEJ around 700 mb, is particularly important in maintaining the AEJ and its associated meridional gradients in potential vorticity. It is concluded that the mean observed AEJ results from a combination of the diabatically forced meridional circulations which maintain it and easterly waves which weaken it.

Interpretation of ageostrophic winds and implications for jet stream maintenance

The use of ageostrophic flow to infer the presence of vertical circulations in the entrances and exits of the climatological jet streams is questioned. Problems of interpretation arise because of the use of different definitions of geostrophy in theoretical studies and in analyses of atmospheric data. The nature and role of the ageostrophic flow based on constant and variable Coriolis parameter definitions of geostrophy vary. In the latter the geostrophic divergence cannot be neglected, so the vertical motion is not associated solely with the ageostrophic flow. Evidence is presented suggesting that ageostrophic flow in the climatological jet streams is primarily determined by the kinematic requirements of wave retrogression rather than by a forcing process. These requirements are largely met by the rotational flow, with the divergent circulations present being geostrophically forced, and so playing a secondary, restoring role.

Assembly of an injectable noncytotoxic peptide-based hydrogelator for sustained release of drugs

A new synthetic tripeptide-based hydrogel has been discovered at physiological pH and temperature. This hydrogel has been thoroughly characterized using different techniques including field emission scanning electron microscopic (FESEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopic (HR-TEM) imaging, small- and wide-angle X-ray diffraction analyses, FT-IR, circular dichroism, and rheometric analyses. Moreover, this gel exhibits thixotropy and injectability. This hydrogel has been used for entrapment and sustained release of an antibiotic vancomycin and vitamin B12 at physiological pH and temperature for about 2 days. Interestingly, MTT assay of these gelator molecules shows almost 100% cell viability of this peptide gelator, indicating its noncytotoxicity.

Case study on the maintenance of a construction monitoring using USN-based data acquisition

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the adoption of emerging ubiquitous sensor network (USN) technologies for instrumentation within a variety of sustainability systems. USN is emerging as a sensing paradigm that is being newly considered by the sustainability management field as an alternative to traditional tethered monitoring systems. Researchers have been discovering that USN is an exciting technology that should not be viewed simply as a substitute for traditional tethered monitoring systems. In this study, we investigate how a movement monitoring measurement system of a complex building is developed as a research environment for USN and related decision-supportive technologies. To address the apparent danger of building movement, agent-mediated communication concepts have been designed to autonomously manage large volumes of exchanged information. In this study, we additionally detail the design of the proposed system, including its principles, data processing algorithms, system architecture, and user interface specifics. Results of the test and case study demonstrate the effectiveness of the USN-based data acquisition system for real-time monitoring of movement operations.

Neural stem cells, inflammation and NF-kappaB: basic principle of maintenance and repair or origin of brain tumours?

Several recent reports suggest that inflammatory signals play a decisive role in the self-renewal, migration and differentiation of multipotent neural stem cells (NSCs). NSCs are believed to be able to ameliorate the symptoms of several brain pathologies through proliferation, migration into the area of the lesion and either differentiation into the appropriate cell type or secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Although NSCs have beneficial roles, current evidence indicates that brain tumours, such as astrogliomas or ependymomas are also caused by tumour-initiating cells with stem-like properties. However, little is known about the cellular and molecular processes potentially generating tumours from NSCs. Most pro-inflammatory conditions are considered to activate the transcription factor NF-kappaB in various cell types. Strong inductive effects of NF-kappaB on proliferation and migration of NSCs have been described. Moreover, NF-kappaB is constitutively active in most tumour cells described so far. Chronic inflammation is also known to initiate cancer. Thus, NF-kappaB might provide a novel mechanistic link between chronic inflammation, stem cells and cancer. This review discusses the apparently ambivalent role of NF-kappaB: physiological maintenance and repair of the brain via NSCs, and a potential role in tumour initiation. Furthermore, it reveals a possible mechanism of brain tumour formation based on inflammation and NF-kappaB activity in NSCs.

Effects of targeted delivery of propionate to the human colon on appetite regulation, body weight maintenance and adiposity in overweight adults

Objective The colonic microbiota ferment dietary fibres, producing short chain fatty acids. Recent evidence suggests that the short chain fatty acid propionate may play an important role in appetite regulation. We hypothesised that colonic delivery of propionate would increase peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion in humans, and reduce energy intake and weight gain in overweight adults. Design To investigate whether propionate promotes PYY and GLP-1 secretion, a primary cultured human colonic cell model was developed. To deliver propionate specifically to the colon, we developed a novel inulin-propionate ester. An acute randomised, controlled cross-over study was used to assess the effects of this inulin-propionate ester on energy intake and plasma PYY and GLP-1 concentrations. The long-term effects of inulin-propionate ester on weight gain were subsequently assessed in a randomised, controlled 24-week study involving 60 overweight adults. Results Propionate significantly stimulated the release of PYY and GLP-1 from human colonic cells. Acute ingestion of 10 g inulin-propionate ester significantly increased postprandial plasma PYY and GLP-1 and reduced energy intake. Over 24 weeks, 10 g/day inulin-propionate ester supplementation significantly reduced weight gain, intra-abdominal adipose tissue distribution, intrahepatocellular lipid content and prevented the deterioration in insulin sensitivity observed in the inulin-control group. Conclusions These data demonstrate for the first time that increasing colonic propionate prevents weight gain in overweight adult humans

Evaluating nitrogen utilization efficiency of nonpregnant dry cows offered solely fresh cut grass at maintenance levels

The present study aimed to identify key parameters influencing N utilization and develop prediction equations for manure N output (MN), feces N output (FN), and urine N output (UN). Data were obtained under a series of digestibility trials with nonpregnant dry cows fed fresh grass at maintenance level. Grass was cut from 8 different ryegrass swards measured from early to late maturity in 2007 and 2008 (2 primary growth, 3 first regrowth, and 3 second regrowth) and from 2 primary growth early maturity swards in 2009. Each grass was offered to a group of 4 cows and 2 groups were used in each of the 8 swards in 2007 and 2008 for daily measurements over 6 wk; the first group (first 3 wk) and the second group (last 3 wk) assessed early and late maturity grass, respectively. Average values of continuous 3-d data of N intake (NI) and output for individual cows ( = 464) and grass nutrient contents ( = 116) were used in the statistical analysis. Grass N content was positively related to GE and ME contents but negatively related to grass water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC), NDF, and ADF contents ( < 0.01), indicating that accounting for nutrient interrelations is a crucial aspect of N mitigation. Significantly greater ratios of UN:FN, UN:MN, and UN:NI were found with increased grass WSC contents and ratios of N:WSC, N:digestible OM in total DM (DOMD), and N:ME ( < 0.01). Greater NI, animal BW, and grass N contents and lower grass WSC, NDF, ADF, DOMD, and ME concentrations were significantly associated with greater MN, FN, and UN ( < 0.05). The present study highlighted that using grass lower in N and greater in fermentable energy in animals fed solely fresh grass at maintenance level can improve N utilization, reduce N outputs, and shift part of N excretion toward feces rather than urine. These outcomes are highly desirable in mitigation strategies to reduce nitrous oxide emissions from livestock. Equations predicting N output from BW and grass N content explained a similar amount of variability as using NI and grass chemical composition (excluding DOMD and ME), implying that parameters easily measurable in practice could be used for estimating N outputs. In a research environment, where grass DOMD and ME are likely to be available, their use to predict N outputs is highly recommended because they strongly improved of the equations in the current study.

Diversity lessons from Wales: how marketing bilingualism contributes to language shift and language maintenance

Wales is one of the constituent nations of the United Kingdom. While sharing much of its political and social history with England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, it has retained a distinct cultural identity.In particular, over 560,000 people, a significant minority of the population of 2.2 million, speak Welsh, a member of the Celtic family of languages, and the country is officially bilingual. In this paper, we will look at attempts to maintain and grow the number of speakers of the language and at the relevance of this development for speakers of minority languages in other settings.