Agile Methods for Open Source Safety-Critical Software

PubMed Central

Enquobahrie, Andinet; Ibanez, Luis; Cheng, Patrick; Yaniv, Ziv; Cleary, Kevin; Kokoori, Shylaja; Muffih, Benjamin; Heidenreich, John

2011-01-01

The introduction of software technology in a life-dependent environment requires the development team to execute a process that ensures a high level of software reliability and correctness. Despite their popularity, agile methods are generally assumed to be inappropriate as a process family in these environments due to their lack of emphasis on documentation, traceability, and other formal techniques. Agile methods, notably Scrum, favor empirical process control, or small constant adjustments in a tight feedback loop. This paper challenges the assumption that agile methods are inappropriate for safety-critical software development. Agile methods are flexible enough to encourage the right amount of ceremony; therefore if safety-critical systems require greater emphasis on activities like formal specification and requirements management, then an agile process will include these as necessary activities. Furthermore, agile methods focus more on continuous process management and code-level quality than classic software engineering process models. We present our experiences on the image-guided surgical toolkit (IGSTK) project as a backdrop. IGSTK is an open source software project employing agile practices since 2004. We started with the assumption that a lighter process is better, focused on evolving code, and only adding process elements as the need arose. IGSTK has been adopted by teaching hospitals and research labs, and used for clinical trials. Agile methods have matured since the academic community suggested they are not suitable for safety-critical systems almost a decade ago, we present our experiences as a case study for renewing the discussion. PMID:21799545

Agile Methods for Open Source Safety-Critical Software.

PubMed

Gary, Kevin; Enquobahrie, Andinet; Ibanez, Luis; Cheng, Patrick; Yaniv, Ziv; Cleary, Kevin; Kokoori, Shylaja; Muffih, Benjamin; Heidenreich, John

2011-08-01

The introduction of software technology in a life-dependent environment requires the development team to execute a process that ensures a high level of software reliability and correctness. Despite their popularity, agile methods are generally assumed to be inappropriate as a process family in these environments due to their lack of emphasis on documentation, traceability, and other formal techniques. Agile methods, notably Scrum, favor empirical process control, or small constant adjustments in a tight feedback loop. This paper challenges the assumption that agile methods are inappropriate for safety-critical software development. Agile methods are flexible enough to encourage the rightamount of ceremony; therefore if safety-critical systems require greater emphasis on activities like formal specification and requirements management, then an agile process will include these as necessary activities. Furthermore, agile methods focus more on continuous process management and code-level quality than classic software engineering process models. We present our experiences on the image-guided surgical toolkit (IGSTK) project as a backdrop. IGSTK is an open source software project employing agile practices since 2004. We started with the assumption that a lighter process is better, focused on evolving code, and only adding process elements as the need arose. IGSTK has been adopted by teaching hospitals and research labs, and used for clinical trials. Agile methods have matured since the academic community suggested they are not suitable for safety-critical systems almost a decade ago, we present our experiences as a case study for renewing the discussion.

Agile Methods: Selected DoD Management and Acquisition Concerns

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-01

SIDRE Software Intensive Innovative Development and Reengineering/Evolution SLIM Software Lifecycle Management -Estimate SLOC source lines of code...ISBN #0321502752 Coaching Agile Teams Lyssa Adkins ISBN #0321637704 Agile Project Management : Creating Innovative Products – Second Edition Jim...Accessed July 13, 2011. [Highsmith 2009] Highsmith, J. Agile Project Management : Creating Innovative Products, 2nd ed. Addison- Wesley, 2009

Impact of Agile Software Development Model on Software Maintainability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gawali, Ajay R.

2012-01-01

Software maintenance and support costs account for up to 60% of the overall software life cycle cost and often burdens tightly budgeted information technology (IT) organizations. Agile software development approach delivers business value early, but implications on software maintainability are still unknown. The purpose of this quantitative study…

A Virtual World Workshop Environment for Learning Agile Software Development Techniques

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parsons, David; Stockdale, Rosemary

2012-01-01

Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) are the subject of increasing interest for educators and trainers. This article reports on a longitudinal project that seeks to establish a virtual agile software development workshop hosted in the Open Wonderland MUVE, designed to help learners to understand the basic principles of some core agile software…

RFP Patterns and Techniques for Successful Agile Contracting

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-11-01

2016-SR-025 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING INSTITUTE | CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY [Distribution Statement A] This material has been approved for public...release and unlimited distribution. Please see Copyright notice for non-U.S. Government use and distribution. Copyright 2016 Carnegie Mellon University...This material is based upon work funded and supported by the Department of Defense under Contract No. FA8721-05-C-0003 with Carnegie Mellon

SLS Flight Software Testing: Using a Modified Agile Software Testing Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bolton, Albanie T.

2016-01-01

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) is an advanced launch vehicle for a new era of exploration beyond earth's orbit (BEO). The world's most powerful rocket, SLS, will launch crews of up to four astronauts in the agency's Orion spacecraft on missions to explore multiple deep-space destinations. Boeing is developing the SLS core stage, including the avionics that will control vehicle during flight. The core stage will be built at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, LA using state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment. At the same time, the rocket's avionics computer software is being developed here at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. At Marshall, the Flight and Ground Software division provides comprehensive engineering expertise for development of flight and ground software. Within that division, the Software Systems Engineering Branch's test and verification (T&V) team uses an agile test approach in testing and verification of software. The agile software test method opens the door for regular short sprint release cycles. The idea or basic premise behind the concept of agile software development and testing is that it is iterative and developed incrementally. Agile testing has an iterative development methodology where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between cross-functional teams. With testing and development done incrementally, this allows for increased features and enhanced value for releases. This value can be seen throughout the T&V team processes that are documented in various work instructions within the branch. The T&V team produces procedural test results at a higher rate, resolves issues found in software with designers at an earlier stage versus at a later release, and team members gain increased knowledge of the system architecture by interfacing with designers. SLS Flight Software teams want to continue uncovering better ways of developing software in an efficient and project beneficial manner. Through agile testing, there has been increased value through individuals and interactions over processes and tools, improved customer collaboration, and improved responsiveness to changes through controlled planning. The presentation will describe agile testing methodology as taken with the SLS FSW Test and Verification team at Marshall Space Flight Center.

The NERV Methodology: Non-Functional Requirements Elicitation, Reasoning and Validation in Agile Processes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Domah, Darshan

2013-01-01

Agile software development has become very popular around the world in recent years, with methods such as Scrum and Extreme Programming (XP). Literature suggests that functionality is the primary focus in Agile processes while non-functional requirements (NFR) are either ignored or ill-defined. However, for software to be of good quality both…

Architected Agile Solutions for Software-Reliant Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boehm, Barry; Lane, Jo Ann; Koolmanojwong, Supannika; Turner, Richard

Systems are becoming increasingly reliant on software due to needs for rapid fielding of “70% capabilities,” interoperability, net-centricity, and rapid adaptation to change. The latter need has led to increased interest in agile methods of software development, in which teams rely on shared tacit interpersonal knowledge rather than explicit documented knowledge. However, such systems often need to be scaled up to higher level of performance and assurance, requiring stronger architectural support. Several organizations have recently transformed themselves by developing successful combinations of agility and architecture that can scale to projects of up to 100 personnel. This chapter identifies a set of key principles for such architected agile solutions for software-reliant systems, provides guidance for how much architecting is enough, and illustrates the key principles with several case studies.

Knowledge Sharing through Pair Programming in Learning Environments: An Empirical Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kavitha, R. K.; Ahmed, M. S.

2015-01-01

Agile software development is an iterative and incremental methodology, where solutions evolve from self-organizing, cross-functional teams. Pair programming is a type of agile software development technique where two programmers work together with one computer for developing software. This paper reports the results of the pair programming…

An agile implementation of SCRUM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gannon, Michele

Is Agile a way to cut corners? To some, the use of an Agile Software Development Methodology has a negative connotation - “ Oh, you're just not producing any documentation” . So can a team with no experience in Agile successfully implement and use SCRUM?

Towards a Better Understanding of CMMI and Agile Integration - Multiple Case Study of Four Companies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pikkarainen, Minna

The amount of software is increasing in the different domains in Europe. This provides the industries in smaller countries good opportunities to work in the international markets. Success in the global markets however demands the rapid production of high quality, error free software. Both CMMI and agile methods seem to provide a ready solution for quality and lead time improvements. There is not, however, much empirical evidence available either about 1) how the integration of these two aspects can be done in practice or 2) what it actually demands from assessors and software process improvement groups. The goal of this paper is to increase the understanding of CMMI and agile integration, in particular, focusing on the research question: how to use ‘lightweight’ style of CMMI assessments in agile contexts. This is done via four case studies in which assessments were conducted using the goals of CMMI integrated project management and collaboration and coordination with relevant stakeholder process areas and practices from XP and Scrum. The study shows that the use of agile practices may support the fulfilment of the goals of CMMI process areas but there are still many challenges for the agile teams to be solved within the continuous improvement programs. It also identifies practical advices to the assessors and improvement groups to take into consideration when conducting assessment in the context of agile software development.

Architecting for Sustainable Software Delivery

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-01

14 CrossTalk—May/June 2012 RAPID AND AGILE STABILITY Architecting for Sustainable Software Delivery Ronald J. Koontz , Boeing Robert L. Nord...Figure 2, and additional architecture documentation can be found in the work of Koontz [9, 10, 11]. Designing for extensibility promotes continued...Mapping of Practices to Agile and Architecture Criteria CrossTalk—May/June 2012 19 RAPID AND AGILE STABILITY ABOUT THE AUTHORS Ronald J. Koontz

An Agile Constructionist Mentoring Methodology for Software Projects in the High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meerbaum-Salant, Orni; Hazzan, Orit

2010-01-01

This article describes the construction process and evaluation of the Agile Constructionist Mentoring Methodology (ACMM), a mentoring method for guiding software development projects in the high school. The need for such a methodology has arisen due to the complexity of mentoring software project development in the high school. We introduce the…

Accelerating Software Development through Agile Practices--A Case Study of a Small-Scale, Time-Intensive Web Development Project at a College-Level IT Competition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Xuesong; Dorn, Bradley

2012-01-01

Agile development has received increasing interest both in industry and academia due to its benefits in developing software quickly, meeting customer needs, and keeping pace with the rapidly changing requirements. However, agile practices and scrum in particular have been mainly tested in mid- to large-size projects. In this paper, we present…

Distilling Design Patterns From Agile Curation Case Studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benedict, K. K.; Lenhardt, W. C.; Young, J. W.

2016-12-01

In previous work the authors have argued that there is a need to take a new look at the data management lifecycle. Our core argument is that the data management lifecycle needs to be in essence deconstructed and rebuilt. As part of this process we also argue that much can be gained from applying ideas, concepts, and principles from agile software development methods. To be sure we are not arguing for a rote application of these agile software approaches, however, given various trends related to data and technology, it is imperative to update our thinking about how to approach the data management lifecycle, recognize differing project scales, corresponding variations in structure, and alternative models for solving the problems of scientific data curation. In this paper we will describe what we term agile curation design patterns, borrowing the concept of design patterns from the software world and we will present some initial thoughts on agile curation design patterns as informed by a sample of data curation case studies solicited from participants in agile data curation meeting sessions conducted in 2015-16.

Agile Learning: Sprinting through the Semester

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lang, Guido

2017-01-01

This paper introduces agile learning, a novel pedagogical approach that applies the processes and principles of agile software development to the context of learning. Agile learning is characterized by short project cycles, called sprints, in which a usable deliverable is fully planned, designed, built, tested, reviewed, and launched. An…

A Quantitative Inquiry into Software Developers' Intentions to Use Agile Scrum Method

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huq, M. Shamsul

2017-01-01

In recent years, organizations have shown increasing willingness to adopt agile scrum method (ASM) to meet the demand of modern-day software development; that is to deliver faster and better software, with a built-in flexibility to absorb last minute changes in requirements. This research study was undertaken to uncover the underlying factors that…

A Capstone Course on Agile Software Development Using Scrum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahnic, V.

2012-01-01

In this paper, an undergraduate capstone course in software engineering is described that not only exposes students to agile software development, but also makes it possible to observe the behavior of developers using Scrum for the first time. The course requires students to work as Scrum Teams, responsible for the implementation of a set of user…

Update 2016: Considerations for Using Agile in DoD Acquisition

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

What Is Agile? 4 2.1 Agile Manifesto and Principles—A Brief History 4 2.2 A Practical Definition 6 2.3 Example Agile Method 6 2.4 Example Agile...5.8 Team Composition 45 5.9 Culture 46 6 Conclusion 48 Appendix A: Examples of Agile Methods 50 Appendix B: Common Objections to Agile 53...thank all those who have contributed to our knowledge of apply- ing “other than traditional” methods for software system acquisition and management over

What Does an Agile Coach Do?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, Rachel; Pullicino, James

The surge in Agile adoption has created a demand for project managers rather than direct their teams. A sign of this trend is the ever-increasing number of people getting certified as scrum masters and agile leaders. Training courses that introduce agile practices are easy to find. But making the transition to coach is not as simple as understanding what agile practices are. Your challenge as an Agile Coach is to support your team in learning how to wield their new Agile tools in creating great software.

Adopting best practices: "Agility" moves from software development to healthcare project management.

PubMed

Kitzmiller, Rebecca; Hunt, Eleanor; Sproat, Sara Breckenridge

2006-01-01

It is time for a change in mindset in how nurses operationalize system implementations and manage projects. Computers and systems have evolved over time from unwieldy mysterious machines of the past to ubiquitous computer use in every aspect of daily lives and work sites. Yet, disconcertingly, the process used to implement these systems has not evolved. Technology implementation does not need to be a struggle. It is time to adapt traditional plan-driven implementation methods to incorporate agile techniques. Agility is a concept borrowed from software development and is presented here because it encourages flexibility, adaptation, and continuous learning as part of the implementation process. Agility values communication and harnesses change to an advantage, which facilitates the natural evolution of an adaptable implementation process. Specific examples of agility in an implementation are described, and plan-driven implementation stages are adapted to incorporate relevant agile techniques. This comparison demonstrates how an agile approach enhances traditional implementation techniques to meet the demands of today's complex healthcare environments.

Future Software Sizing Metrics and Estimation Challenges

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-07-01

systems 4. Ultrahigh software system assurance 5. Legacy maintenance and Brownfield development 6. Agile and Lean/ Kanban development. This paper...refined as the design of the maintenance modifications or Brownfield re-engineering is determined. VII. 6. AGILE AND LEAN/ KANBAN DEVELOPMENT The...difficulties of software maintenance estimation can often be mitigated by using lean workflow management techniques such as Kanban [25]. In Kanban

Scrum-Based Learning Environment: Fostering Self-Regulated Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linden, Tanya

2018-01-01

Academics teaching software development courses are experimenting with teaching methods aiming to improve students' learning experience and learning outcomes. Since Agile software development is gaining popularity in industry due to positive effects on managing projects, academics implement similar Agile approaches in student-centered learning…

Enabling Agile Testing through Continuous Integration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stolberg, Sean E.

2009-08-24

A Continuous Integration system is often considered one of the key elements involved in supporting an agile software development and testing environment. As a traditional software tester transitioning to an agile development environment it became clear to me that I would need to put this essential infrastructure in place and promote improved development practices in order to make the transition to agile testing possible. This experience report discusses a continuous integration implementation I lead last year. The initial motivations for implementing continuous integration are discussed and a pre and post-assessment using Martin Fowler's "Practices of Continuous Integration" is provided alongmore » with the technical specifics of the implementation. Finally, I’ll wrap up with a retrospective of my experiences implementing and promoting continuous integration within the context of agile testing.« less

Agile Software Teams: How They Engage with Systems Engineering on DoD Acquisition Programs

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-07-01

under Contract No. FA8721-05-C-0003 with Carnegie Mellon University for the operation of the Software Engineer- ing Institute, a federally funded...issues that would preclude or limit the use of Agile methods within the DoD” [Broadus 2013]. As operational tempos increase and programs fight to...environment in which it operates . This makes software different from other disciplines that have toleranc- es, generally resulting in software engineering

Agile Preparation within a Traditional Project Management Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landry, Jeffrey P.; McDaniel, Rachel

2016-01-01

Agile software approaches have seen a steady rise over a decade and a half, but agile's place in the information systems (IS) undergraduate curriculum is far from settled. While agile concepts may arguably be taught in multiple places in the IS curriculum, this paper argues for its inclusion in a project management course. This paper builds on…

Cross Sectional Study of Agile Software Development Methods and Project Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lambert, Tracy

2011-01-01

Agile software development methods, characterized by delivering customer value via incremental and iterative time-boxed development processes, have moved into the mainstream of the Information Technology (IT) industry. However, despite a growing body of research which suggests that a predictive manufacturing approach, with big up-front…

Measuring the Impact of Agile Coaching on Students' Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodríguez, Guillermo; Soria, Álvaro; Campo, Marcelo

2016-01-01

Nowadays, considerable attention is paid to agile methods as a means to improve management of software development processes. The widespread use of such methods in professional contexts has encouraged their integration into software engineering training and undergraduate courses. Although several research efforts have focused on teaching Scrum…

Test Methods for Robot Agility in Manufacturing.

PubMed

Downs, Anthony; Harrison, William; Schlenoff, Craig

2016-01-01

The paper aims to define and describe test methods and metrics to assess industrial robot system agility in both simulation and in reality. The paper describes test methods and associated quantitative and qualitative metrics for assessing robot system efficiency and effectiveness which can then be used for the assessment of system agility. The paper describes how the test methods were implemented in a simulation environment and real world environment. It also shows how the metrics are measured and assessed as they would be in a future competition. The test methods described in this paper will push forward the state of the art in software agility for manufacturing robots, allowing small and medium manufacturers to better utilize robotic systems. The paper fulfills the identified need for standard test methods to measure and allow for improvement in software agility for manufacturing robots.

Agile Development Methods for Space Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trimble, Jay; Webster, Chris

2012-01-01

Main stream industry software development practice has gone from a traditional waterfall process to agile iterative development that allows for fast response to customer inputs and produces higher quality software at lower cost. How can we, the space ops community, adopt state of the art software development practice, achieve greater productivity at lower cost, and maintain safe and effective space flight operations? At NASA Ames, we are developing Mission Control Technologies Software, in collaboration with Johnson Space Center (JSC) and, more recently, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Balancing Plan-Driven and Agile Methods in Software Engineering Project Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boehm, Barry; Port, Dan; Winsor Brown, A.

2002-09-01

For the past 6 years, we have been teaching a two-semester software engineering project course. The students organize into 5-person teams and develop largely web-based electronic services projects for real USC campus clients. We have been using and evolving a method called Model- Based (System) Architecting and Software Engineering (MBASE) for use in both the course and in industrial applications. The MBASE Guidelines include a lot of documents. We teach risk-driven documentation: if it is risky to document something, and not risky to leave it out (e.g., GUI screen placements), leave it out. Even so, students tend to associate more documentation with higher grades, although our grading eventually discourages this. We are always on the lookout for ways to have students learn best practices without having to produce excessive documentation. Thus, we were very interested in analyzing the various emerging agile methods. We found that agile methods and milestone plan-driven methods are part of a “how much planning is enough?” spectrum. Both agile and plan-driven methods have home grounds of project characteristics where they clearly work best, and where the other will have difficulties. Hybrid agile/plan-driven approaches are feasible, and necessary for projects having a mix of agile and plan-driven home ground characteristics. Information technology trends are going more toward the agile methods' home ground characteristics of emergent requirements and rapid change, although there is a concurrent increase in concern with dependability. As a result, we are currently experimenting with risk-driven combinations of MBASE and agile methods, such as integrating requirements, test plans, peer reviews, and pair programming into “agile quality management.”

Collaboration, Communication and Co-ordination in Agile Software Development Practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, Hugh; Sharp, Helen

This chapter analyses the results of a series of observational studies of agile software developmentagile software development teams, identifying commonalities in collaboration, co-ordination and communication activities. Pairing and customer collaborationcustomer collaboration are focussed on to illustrate the nature of collaboration and communication, as are two simple physical artefacts that emerged through analysis as being an information-rich focal point for the co-ordination of collaboration and communication activities. The analysis shows that pairingpairing has common characteristics across all teams, while customer collaboration differs between the teams depending on the application and organisational context of development.

Peridigm summary report : lessons learned in development with agile components.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Salinger, Andrew Gerhard; Mitchell, John Anthony; Littlewood, David John

2011-09-01

This report details efforts to deploy Agile Components for rapid development of a peridynamics code, Peridigm. The goal of Agile Components is to enable the efficient development of production-quality software by providing a well-defined, unifying interface to a powerful set of component-based software. Specifically, Agile Components facilitate interoperability among packages within the Trilinos Project, including data management, time integration, uncertainty quantification, and optimization. Development of the Peridigm code served as a testbed for Agile Components and resulted in a number of recommendations for future development. Agile Components successfully enabled rapid integration of Trilinos packages into Peridigm. A cost of thismore » approach, however, was a set of restrictions on Peridigm's architecture which impacted the ability to track history-dependent material data, dynamically modify the model discretization, and interject user-defined routines into the time integration algorithm. These restrictions resulted in modifications to the Agile Components approach, as implemented in Peridigm, and in a set of recommendations for future Agile Components development. Specific recommendations include improved handling of material states, a more flexible flow control model, and improved documentation. A demonstration mini-application, SimpleODE, was developed at the onset of this project and is offered as a potential supplement to Agile Components documentation.« less

An Agile Course-Delivery Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Capellan, Mirkeya

2009-01-01

In the world of software development, agile methodologies have gained popularity thanks to their lightweight methodologies and flexible approach. Many advocates believe that agile methodologies can provide significant benefits if applied in the educational environment as a teaching method. The need for an approach that engages and motivates…

Fostering Soft Skills in Project-Oriented Learning within an Agile Atmosphere

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chassidim, Hadas; Almog, Dani; Mark, Shlomo

2018-01-01

The project-oriented and Agile approaches have motivated a new generation of software engineers. Within the academic curriculum, the issue of whether students are being sufficiently prepared for the future has been raised. The objective of this work is to present the project-oriented environment as an influential factor that software engineering…

Software Intensive Systems Data Quality and Estimation Research in Support of Future Defense Cost Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-13

Legacy Maintenance and Brownfield Development 6.6.6 Agile and Kanban Development 6.6.7 Putting It All Together at the Large-Project or Enterprise Level...NDI)-intensive systems Ultrahigh software system assurance; Legacy maintenance and brownfield development; and Agile and kanban development. This...be furnished by NDI components or may need to be developed for special systems. Legacy Maintenance and Brownfield Development Fewer and fewer software

Test Methods for Robot Agility in Manufacturing

PubMed Central

Downs, Anthony; Harrison, William; Schlenoff, Craig

2017-01-01

Purpose The paper aims to define and describe test methods and metrics to assess industrial robot system agility in both simulation and in reality. Design/methodology/approach The paper describes test methods and associated quantitative and qualitative metrics for assessing robot system efficiency and effectiveness which can then be used for the assessment of system agility. Findings The paper describes how the test methods were implemented in a simulation environment and real world environment. It also shows how the metrics are measured and assessed as they would be in a future competition. Practical Implications The test methods described in this paper will push forward the state of the art in software agility for manufacturing robots, allowing small and medium manufacturers to better utilize robotic systems. Originality / value The paper fulfills the identified need for standard test methods to measure and allow for improvement in software agility for manufacturing robots. PMID:28203034

Exploring the Role of Value Networks for Software Innovation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morgan, Lorraine; Conboy, Kieran

This paper describes a research-in-progress that aims to explore the applicability and implications of open innovation practices in two firms - one that employs agile development methods and another that utilizes open source software. The open innovation paradigm has a lot in common with open source and agile development methodologies. A particular strength of agile approaches is that they move away from 'introverted' development, involving only the development personnel, and intimately involves the customer in all areas of software creation, supposedly leading to the development of a more innovative and hence more valuable information system. Open source software (OSS) development also shares two key elements of the open innovation model, namely the collaborative development of the technology and shared rights to the use of the technology. However, one shortfall with agile development in particular is the narrow focus on a single customer representative. In response to this, we argue that current thinking regarding innovation needs to be extended to include multiple stakeholders both across and outside the organization. Additionally, for firms utilizing open source, it has been found that their position in a network of potential complementors determines the amount of superior value they create for their customers. Thus, this paper aims to get a better understanding of the applicability and implications of open innovation practices in firms that employ open source and agile development methodologies. In particular, a conceptual framework is derived for further testing.

RT 6 - Software Intensive Systems Data Quality and Estimation Research in Support of Future Defense Cost Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-13

Brownfield Development 6.6.6 Agile and Kanban Development 6.6.7 Putting It All Together at the Large-Project or Enterprise Level 6.7 References 7...Ultrahigh software system assurance; Legacy maintenance and brownfield development; and Agile and kanban development. This chapter summarizes each...components or may need to be developed for special systems. Legacy Maintenance and Brownfield Development Fewer and fewer software-intensive systems have

Software ``Best'' Practices: Agile Deconstructed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraser, Steven

This workshop will explore the intersection of agility and software development in a world of legacy code-bases and large teams. Organizations with hundreds of developers and code-bases exceeding a million or tens of millions of lines of code are seeking new ways to expedite development while retaining and attracting staff who desire to apply “agile” methods. This is a situation where specific agile practices may be embraced outside of their usual zone of applicability. Here is where practitioners must understand both what “best practices” already exist in the organization - and how they might be improved or modified by applying “agile” approaches.

Organizational Agility and Complex Enterprise System Innovations: A Mixed Methods Study of the Effects of Enterprise Systems on Organizational Agility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kharabe, Amol T.

2012-01-01

Over the last two decades, firms have operated in "increasingly" accelerated "high-velocity" dynamic markets, which require them to become "agile." During the same time frame, firms have increasingly deployed complex enterprise systems--large-scale packaged software "innovations" that integrate and automate…

Project-Method Fit: Exploring Factors That Influence Agile Method Use

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Diana K.

2013-01-01

While the productivity and quality implications of agile software development methods (SDMs) have been demonstrated, research concerning the project contexts where their use is most appropriate has yielded less definitive results. Most experts agree that agile SDMs are not suited for all project contexts. Several project and team factors have been…

Agile informatics: application of agile project management to the development of a personal health application.

PubMed

Chung, Jeanhee; Pankey, Evan; Norris, Ryan J

2007-10-11

We describe the application of the Agile method-- a short iteration cycle, user responsive, measurable software development approach-- to the project management of a modular personal health record, iHealthSpace, to be deployed to the patients and providers of a large academic primary care practice.

Agile Manifesto for Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krehbiel, Timothy C.; Salzarulo, Peter A.; Cosmah, Michelle L.; Forren, John; Gannod, Gerald; Havelka, Douglas; Hulshult, Andrea R.; Merhout, Jeffrey

2017-01-01

A group of faculty members representing six colleges at a public university formed a learning community to study the Agile Way of Working--a method of workplace collaboration widely used in software development--and to determine whether the concepts, practices, and benefits of Agile are applicable to higher education settings. After more than two…

Fostering soft skills in project-oriented learning within an agile atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chassidim, Hadas; Almog, Dani; Mark, Shlomo

2018-07-01

The project-oriented and Agile approaches have motivated a new generation of software engineers. Within the academic curriculum, the issue of whether students are being sufficiently prepared for the future has been raised. The objective of this work is to present the project-oriented environment as an influential factor that software engineering profession requires, using the second year course 'Software Development and Management in Agile Approach' as a case-study. This course combines academic topics, self-learned and soft skills implementation, the call for creativity, and the recognition of updated technologies and dynamic circumstances. The results of a survey that evaluated the perceived value of the course showed that the highest contribution of our environment was in the effectiveness of the team-work and the overall development process of the project.

Team Software Development for Aerothermodynamic and Aerodynamic Analysis and Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alexandrov, N.; Atkins, H. L.; Bibb, K. L.; Biedron, R. T.; Carpenter, M. H.; Gnoffo, P. A.; Hammond, D. P.; Jones, W. T.; Kleb, W. L.; Lee-Rausch, E. M.

2003-01-01

A collaborative approach to software development is described. The approach employs the agile development techniques: project retrospectives, Scrum status meetings, and elements of Extreme Programming to efficiently develop a cohesive and extensible software suite. The software product under development is a fluid dynamics simulator for performing aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic analysis and design. The functionality of the software product is achieved both through the merging, with substantial rewrite, of separate legacy codes and the authorship of new routines. Examples of rapid implementation of new functionality demonstrate the benefits obtained with this agile software development process. The appendix contains a discussion of coding issues encountered while porting legacy Fortran 77 code to Fortran 95, software design principles, and a Fortran 95 coding standard.

Architecting for Large Scale Agile Software Development: A Risk-Driven Approach

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-01

addressed aspect of scale in agile software development. Practices such as Scrum of Scrums are meant to address orchestration of multiple development...owner, Scrum master) have differing responsibilities from the roles in the existing phase-based waterfall program structures. Such differences may... Scrum . Communication with both internal and external stakeholders must be open and documentation should not be used as a substitute for communication

Agile

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trimble, Jay Phillip

2013-01-01

This is based on a previous talk on agile development. Methods for delivering software on a short cycle are described, including interactions with the customer, the affect on the team, and how to be more effective, streamlined and efficient.

A new approach for instrument software at Gemini

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gillies, Kim; Nunez, Arturo; Dunn, Jennifer

2008-07-01

Gemini Observatory is now developing its next generation of astronomical instruments, the Aspen instruments. These new instruments are sophisticated and costly requiring large distributed, collaborative teams. Instrument software groups often include experienced team members with existing mature code. Gemini has taken its experience from the previous generation of instruments and current hardware and software technology to create an approach for developing instrument software that takes advantage of the strengths of our instrument builders and our own operations needs. This paper describes this new software approach that couples a lightweight infrastructure and software library with aspects of modern agile software development. The Gemini Planet Imager instrument project, which is currently approaching its critical design review, is used to demonstrate aspects of this approach. New facilities under development will face similar issues in the future, and the approach presented here can be applied to other projects.

Information Sharing for Computing Trust Metrics on COTS Electronic Components

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-09-01

8 a. Standard SDLCs ...........................8 b. The Waterfall Model ......................9 c. V -shaped Model ...development of a system. There are many well-known SDLC models , the most popular of which are: • Waterfall • V -shaped • Spiral • Agile a. Standard...the SDLC or applied to software and hardware distribution chain. A. JØSANG’S MODEL DEFINED Jøsang expresses "opinions" mathematically as: 1

Introduction to Stand-up Meetings in Agile Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasnain, Eisha; Hall, Tracy

2009-05-01

In recent years, agile methods have become more popular in the software industry. Agile methods are a new approach compared to plan-driven approaches. One of the most important shifts in adopting an agile approach is the central focus given to people in the process. This is exemplified by the independence afforded to developers in the development work they do. This work investigates the opinions of practitioners about daily stand-up meetings in the agile methods and the role of developer in that. For our investigation we joined a yahoo group called "Extreme Programming". Our investigation suggests that although trust is an important factor in agile methods. But stand-ups are not the place to build trust.

Parallel Worlds: Agile and Waterfall Differences and Similarities

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-01

development model , and it is deliberately shorter than the Agile Overview as most readers are assumed to be from the Traditional World. For a more in...process of DODI 5000 does not forbid the iterative incremental software development model with frequent end-user interaction, it requires heroics on...added). Today, many of the DOD’s large IT programs therefore continue to adopt program structures and software development models closely

The Accuracy of GBM GRB Localizations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Briggs, Michael Stephen; Connaughton, V.; Meegan, C.; Hurley, K.

2010-03-01

We report an study of the accuracy of GBM GRB localizations, analyzing three types of localizations: those produced automatically by the GBM Flight Software on board GBM, those produced automatically with ground software in near real time, and localizations produced with human guidance. The two types of automatic locations are distributed in near real-time via GCN Notices; the human-guided locations are distributed on timescale of many minutes or hours using GCN Circulars. This work uses a Bayesian analysis that models the distribution of the GBM total location error by comparing GBM locations to more accurate locations obtained with other instruments. Reference locations are obtained from Swift, Super-AGILE, the LAT, and with the IPN. We model the GBM total location errors as having systematic errors in addition to the statistical errors and use the Bayesian analysis to constrain the systematic errors.

Insights into Global Health Practice from the Agile Software Development Movement

PubMed Central

Flood, David; Chary, Anita; Austad, Kirsten; Diaz, Anne Kraemer; García, Pablo; Martinez, Boris; Canú, Waleska López; Rohloff, Peter

2016-01-01

Global health practitioners may feel frustration that current models of global health research, delivery, and implementation are overly focused on specific interventions, slow to provide health services in the field, and relatively ill-equipped to adapt to local contexts. Adapting design principles from the agile software development movement, we propose an analogous approach to designing global health programs that emphasizes tight integration between research and implementation, early involvement of ground-level health workers and program beneficiaries, and rapid cycles of iterative program improvement. Using examples from our own fieldwork, we illustrate the potential of ‘agile global health’ and reflect on the limitations, trade-offs, and implications of this approach. PMID:27134081

Insights into Global Health Practice from the Agile Software Development Movement.

PubMed

Flood, David; Chary, Anita; Austad, Kirsten; Diaz, Anne Kraemer; García, Pablo; Martinez, Boris; Canú, Waleska López; Rohloff, Peter

2016-01-01

Global health practitioners may feel frustration that current models of global health research, delivery, and implementation are overly focused on specific interventions, slow to provide health services in the field, and relatively ill-equipped to adapt to local contexts. Adapting design principles from the agile software development movement, we propose an analogous approach to designing global health programs that emphasizes tight integration between research and implementation, early involvement of ground-level health workers and program beneficiaries, and rapid cycles of iterative program improvement. Using examples from our own fieldwork, we illustrate the potential of 'agile global health' and reflect on the limitations, trade-offs, and implications of this approach.

DoD Acquisitions Reform: Embracing and Implementing Agile

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-01

required in the traditional waterfall approach.   Specific models for enterprise level efforts include Scaled Agile Framework, Disciplined Agile...and Acquisition Concerns. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon.  Leffingwell, D. (2007). Why The Waterfall Model Doesn’t Work. In D. Leffingwell, Scaling...serious issue might be the acquisitions process itself. For the last twenty plus years, the Air Force has used the waterfall approach for software

Considerations for Using Agile in DoD Acquisition

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-01

successfully used in manufacturing throughout the world for decades, such as ―just-in- time,‖ Lean, Kanban , and work-flow-based planning. Another new...of this analysis is provided in Table 2. 29 Kanban / lean style of Agile might be the most relevant for this phase. 31 | CMU/SEI-2010-TN-002...family of approaches, including Kanban [14], Rational Unified Process (RUP), Personal Software Process (PSP), Team Software Process (TSP), and Cleanroom

Agile Data Management with the Global Change Information System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duggan, B.; Aulenbach, S.; Tilmes, C.; Goldstein, J.

2013-12-01

We describe experiences applying agile software development techniques to the realm of data management during the development of the Global Change Information System (GCIS), a web service and API for authoritative global change information under development by the US Global Change Research Program. Some of the challenges during system design and implementation have been : (1) balancing the need for a rigorous mechanism for ensuring information quality with the realities of large data sets whose contents are often in flux, (2) utilizing existing data to inform decisions about the scope and nature of new data, and (3) continuously incorporating new knowledge and concepts into a relational data model. The workflow for managing the content of the system has much in common with the development of the system itself. We examine various aspects of agile software development and discuss whether or how we have been able to use them for data curation as well as software development.

The Holy Grail of Agile Acquisition

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-01

Motivation • What is Agility? • Approach C t t Th A i iti S t (Th Bi “A” A i iti P )• on ex : e cqu s on ys em e g cqu s on rocess • Agile Software...Bestsellers…” [Erwin 2009] Motivation • Despite of Erwin’s recommendation… – Agility seems to be a simple concept and it is commonly perceived as a virtue...tension between the numerous stakeholders due to different motivation /behavior • The process elements themselves are complex and ambiguous Slide 16Peter

Experiences with Extreme Programming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sherrell, Linda; Krishna, Bhagavathy; Velaga, Natasha; Vejandla, Pavan; Satharla, Mahesh

2010-01-01

Agile methodologies have become increasingly popular among software developers as evidenced by industrial participation at related conferences. The popularity of agile practices over traditional techniques partly stems from the fact that these practices provide for more customer involvement and better accommodate rapidly changing requirements,…

Agile: From Software to Mission Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trimble, Jay; Shirley, Mark; Hobart, Sarah

2017-01-01

To maximize efficiency and flexibility in Mission Operations System (MOS) design, we are evolving principles from agile and lean methods for software, to the complete mission system. This allows for reduced operational risk at reduced cost, and achieves a more effective design through early integration of operations into mission system engineering and flight system design. The core principles are assessment of capability through demonstration, risk reduction through targeted experiments, early test and deployment, and maturation of processes and tools through use.

Built To Last: Using Iterative Development Models for Sustainable Scientific Software Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jasiak, M. E.; Truslove, I.; Savoie, M.

2013-12-01

In scientific research, software development exists fundamentally for the results they create. The core research must take focus. It seems natural to researchers, driven by grant deadlines, that every dollar invested in software development should be used to push the boundaries of problem solving. This system of values is frequently misaligned with those of the software being created in a sustainable fashion; short-term optimizations create longer-term sustainability issues. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) has taken bold cultural steps in using agile and lean development and management methodologies to help its researchers meet critical deadlines, while building in the necessary support structure for the code to live far beyond its original milestones. Agile and lean software development and methodologies including Scrum, Kanban, Continuous Delivery and Test-Driven Development have seen widespread adoption within NSIDC. This focus on development methods is combined with an emphasis on explaining to researchers why these methods produce more desirable results for everyone, as well as promoting developers interacting with researchers. This presentation will describe NSIDC's current scientific software development model, how this addresses the short-term versus sustainability dichotomy, the lessons learned and successes realized by transitioning to this agile and lean-influenced model, and the current challenges faced by the organization.

Transitioning from Distributed and Traditional to Distributed and Agile: An Experience Report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wildt, Daniel; Prikladnicki, Rafael

Global companies that experienced extensive waterfall phased plans are trying to improve their existing processes to expedite team engagement. Agile methodologies have become an acceptable path to follow because it comprises project management as part of its practices. Agile practices have been used with the objective of simplifying project control through simple processes, easy to update documentation and higher team iteration over exhaustive documentation, focusing rather on team continuous improvement and aiming to add value to business processes. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the experience of a global multinational company on transitioning from distributed and traditional to distributed and agile. This company has development centers across North America, South America and Asia. This chapter covers challenges faced by the project teams of two pilot projects, including strengths of using agile practices in a globally distributed environment and practical recommendations for similar endeavors.

An Examination of an Information Security Framework Implementation Based on Agile Values to Achieve Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Security Rule Compliance in an Academic Medical Center: The Thomas Jefferson University Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reis, David W.

2012-01-01

Agile project management is most often examined in relation to software development, while information security frameworks are often examined with respect to certain risk management capabilities rather than in terms of successful implementation approaches. This dissertation extended the study of both Agile project management and information…

75 FR 11920 - Agilent Technologies, Eesof Division, Including On-Site Leased Workers From Volt and Managed...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-12

... software and related services including quality assurance and learning products, marketing, product development, marketing and administration. The company reports that on-site leased workers from Managed..., Santa Clara, California, and the Everett, Washington locations of Agilent Technologies, EEsof Division...

Mapping CMMI Level 2 to Scrum Practices: An Experience Report

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diaz, Jessica; Garbajosa, Juan; Calvo-Manzano, Jose A.

CMMI has been adopted advantageously in large companies for improvements in software quality, budget fulfilling, and customer satisfaction. However SPI strategies based on CMMI-DEV require heavy software development processes and large investments in terms of cost and time that medium/small companies do not deal with. The so-called light software development processes, such as Agile Software Development (ASD), deal with these challenges. ASD welcomes changing requirements and stresses the importance of adaptive planning, simplicity and continuous delivery of valuable software by short time-framed iterations. ASD is becoming convenient in a more and more global, and changing software market. It would be greatly useful to be able to introduce agile methods such as Scrum in compliance with CMMI process model. This paper intends to increase the understanding of the relationship between ASD and CMMI-DEV reporting empirical results that confirm theoretical comparisons between ASD practices and CMMI level2.

Rolling and tumbling: status of the SuperAGILE experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Del Monte, E.; Costa, E.; di Persio, G.; Donnarumma, I.; Evangelista, Y.; Feroci, M.; Lapshov, I.; Lazzarotto, F.; Mastropietro, M.; Morelli, E.; Pacciani, L.; Rapisarda, M.; Rubini, A.; Soffitta, P.; Tavani, M.; Argan, A.; Trois, A.

2010-07-01

The SuperAGILE experiment is the hard X-ray monitor of the AGILE mission. It is a 2 x one-dimensional imager, with 6-arcmin angular resolution in the energy range 18 - 60 keV and a field of view in excess of 1 steradian. SuperAGILE is successfully operating in orbit since Summer 2007, providing long-term monitoring of bright sources and prompt detection and localization of gamma-ray bursts. Starting on October 2009 the AGILE mission lost its reaction wheel and the satellite attitude is no longer stabilized. The current mode of operation of the AGILE satellite is a Spinning Mode, around the Sun-pointing direction, with an angular velocity of about 0.8 degree/s (corresponding to 8 times the SuperAGILE point spread function every second). In these new conditions, SuperAGILE continuously scans a much larger fraction of the sky, with much smaller exposure to each region. In this paper we review some of the results of the first 2.5 years of "standard" operation of SuperAGILE, and show how new implementations in the data analysis software allows to continue the hard X-ray sky monitoring by SuperAGILE also in the new attitude conditions.

Origami: An Active Learning Exercise for Scrum Project Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sibona, Christopher; Pourreza, Saba; Hill, Stephen

2018-01-01

Scrum is a popular project management model for iterative delivery of software that subscribes to Agile principles. This paper describes an origami active learning exercise to teach the principles of Scrum in management information systems courses. The exercise shows students how Agile methods respond to changes in requirements during project…

Agile Software Development in the Department of Defense Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-31

Research Methodology .............................................................................................. 17 Research Hypothesis...acquisition framework to enable greater adoption of Agile methodologies . Overview of the Research Methodology The strategy for this study was to...guidance. 17 Chapter 3 – Research Methodology This chapter defines the research methodology and processes used in the study, in an effort to

Agile development approach for the observatory control software of the DAG 4m telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Güçsav, B. Bülent; ćoker, Deniz; Yeşilyaprak, Cahit; Keskin, Onur; Zago, Lorenzo; Yerli, Sinan K.

2016-08-01

Observatory Control Software for the upcoming 4m infrared telescope of DAG (Eastern Anatolian Observatory in Turkish) is in the beginning of its lifecycle. After the process of elicitation-validation of the initial requirements, we have been focused on preparation of a rapid conceptual design not only to see the big picture of the system but also to clarify the further development methodology. The existing preliminary designs for both software (including TCS and active optics control system) and hardware shall be presented here in brief to exploit the challenges the DAG software team has been facing with. The potential benefits of an agile approach for the development will be discussed depending on the published experience of the community and on the resources available to us.

Integrating Low-Cost Rapid Usability Testing into Agile System Development of Healthcare IT: A Methodological Perspective.

PubMed

Kushniruk, Andre W; Borycki, Elizabeth M

2015-01-01

The development of more usable and effective healthcare information systems has become a critical issue. In the software industry methodologies such as agile and iterative development processes have emerged to lead to more effective and usable systems. These approaches highlight focusing on user needs and promoting iterative and flexible development practices. Evaluation and testing of iterative agile development cycles is considered an important part of the agile methodology and iterative processes for system design and re-design. However, the issue of how to effectively integrate usability testing methods into rapid and flexible agile design cycles has remained to be fully explored. In this paper we describe our application of an approach known as low-cost rapid usability testing as it has been applied within agile system development in healthcare. The advantages of the integrative approach are described, along with current methodological considerations.

Agile software development in an earned value world: a survival guide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kantor, Jeffrey; Long, Kevin; Becla, Jacek; Economou, Frossie; Gelman, Margaret; Juric, Mario; Lambert, Ron; Krughoff, Simon; Swinbank, John D.; Wu, Xiuqin

2016-08-01

Agile methodologies are current best practice in software development. They are favored for, among other reasons, preventing premature optimization by taking a somewhat short-term focus, and allowing frequent replans/reprioritizations of upcoming development work based on recent results and current backlog. At the same time, funding agencies prescribe earned value management accounting for large projects which, these days, inevitably include substantial software components. Earned Value approaches emphasize a more comprehensive and typically longer-range plan, and tend to characterize frequent replans and reprioritizations as indicative of problems. Here we describe the planning, execution and reporting framework used by the LSST Data Management team, that navigates these opposite tensions.

Teaching Agile Software Engineering Using Problem-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

El-Khalili, Nuha H.

2013-01-01

Many studies have reported the utilization of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in teaching Software Engineering courses. However, these studies have different views of the effectiveness of PBL. This paper presents the design of an Advanced Software Engineering course for undergraduate Software Engineering students that uses PBL to teach them Agile…

Software ``Best'' Practices: Agile Deconstructed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraser, Steven

Software “best” practices depend entirely on context - in terms of the problem domain, the system constructed, the software designers, and the “customers” ultimately deriving value from the system. Agile practices no longer have the luxury of “choosing” small non-mission critical projects with co-located teams. Project stakeholders are selecting and adapting practices based on a combina tion of interest, need and staffing. For example, growing product portfolios through a merger or the acquisition of a company exposes legacy systems to new staff, new software integration challenges, and new ideas. Innovation in communications (tools and processes) to span the growth and contraction of both information and organizations, while managing the adoption of changing software practices, is imperative for success. Traditional web-based tools such as web pages, document libraries, and forums are not suf ficient. A blend of tweeting, blogs, wikis, instant messaging, web-based confer encing, and telepresence creates a new dimension of communication “best” practices.

Achieving Agility and Stability in Large-Scale Software Development

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-16

temporary team is assigned to prepare layers and frameworks for future feature teams. Presentation Layer Domain Layer Data Access Layer...http://www.sei.cmu.edu/training/ elearning ~ Software Engineering Institute CarnegieMellon

IT Software Development and IT Operations Strategic Alignment: An Agile DevOps Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hart, Michael

2017-01-01

Information Technology (IT) departments that include development and operations are essential to develop software that meet customer needs. DevOps is a term originally constructed from software development and IT operations. DevOps includes the collaboration of all stakeholders such as software engineers and systems administrators involved in the…

An Integrated Toolset for Agile Systems Engineering Requirements Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-19

Tool STDUse Cases Collaboration Tool Data Mgmt T l 1 e a a managemen oo Run the test in the test lab, redline the STD Update the collaboration...Boeing Defense, Space & Security Lean-Agile Software A I t t d T l t fn n egra e oo se or Agile Systems Engineering Requirements Analysis Phyllis...Regulations (ITAR) and the Export Administration R l ti (EAR) h i l bl b t h th i th BOEING is a trademark of Boeing Management Company. Copyright © 2010

A Roadmap for using Agile Development in a Traditional System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Streiffert, Barbara; Starbird, Thomas

2006-01-01

I. Ensemble Development Group: a) Produces activity planning software for in spacecraft; b) Built on Eclipse Rich Client Platform (open source development and runtime software); c) Funded by multiple sources including the Mars Technology Program; d) Incorporated the use of Agile Development. II. Next Generation Uplink Planning System: a) Researches the Activity Planning and Sequencing Subsystem for Mars Science Laboratory (APSS); b) APSS includes Ensemble, Activity Modeling, Constraint Checking, Command Editing and Sequencing tools plus other uplink generation utilities; c) Funded by the Mars Technology Program; d) Integrates all of the tools for APSS.

Achieving Agility and Stability in Large-Scale Software Development

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-16

temporary team is assigned to prepare layers and frameworks for future feature teams. Presentation Layer Domain Layer Data Access Layer Framework...http://www.sei.cmu.edu/training/ elearning ~ Software Engineering Institute CarnegieMellon

Overview of the TriBITS Lifecycle Model: Lean/Agile Software Lifecycle Model for Research-based Computational Science and Engineering Software

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bartlett, Roscoe A; Heroux, Dr. Michael A; Willenbring, James

2012-01-01

Software lifecycles are becoming an increasingly important issue for computational science & engineering (CSE) software. The process by which a piece of CSE software begins life as a set of research requirements and then matures into a trusted high-quality capability is both commonplace and extremely challenging. Although an implicit lifecycle is obviously being used in any effort, the challenges of this process--respecting the competing needs of research vs. production--cannot be overstated. Here we describe a proposal for a well-defined software lifecycle process based on modern Lean/Agile software engineering principles. What we propose is appropriate for many CSE software projects thatmore » are initially heavily focused on research but also are expected to eventually produce usable high-quality capabilities. The model is related to TriBITS, a build, integration and testing system, which serves as a strong foundation for this lifecycle model, and aspects of this lifecycle model are ingrained in the TriBITS system. Indeed this lifecycle process, if followed, will enable large-scale sustainable integration of many complex CSE software efforts across several institutions.« less

Applying Standard Independent Verification and Validation (IVV) Techniques Within an Agile Framework: Is There a Compatibility Issue?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dabney, James B.; Arthur, James Douglas

2017-01-01

Agile methods have gained wide acceptance over the past several years, to the point that they are now a standard management and execution approach for small-scale software development projects. While conventional Agile methods are not generally applicable to large multi-year and mission-critical systems, Agile hybrids are now being developed (such as SAFe) to exploit the productivity improvements of Agile while retaining the necessary process rigor and coordination needs of these projects. From the perspective of Independent Verification and Validation (IVV), however, the adoption of these hybrid Agile frameworks is becoming somewhat problematic. Hence, we find it prudent to question the compatibility of conventional IVV techniques with (hybrid) Agile practices.This paper documents our investigation of (a) relevant literature, (b) the modification and adoption of Agile frameworks to accommodate the development of large scale, mission critical systems, and (c) the compatibility of standard IVV techniques within hybrid Agile development frameworks. Specific to the latter, we found that the IVV methods employed within a hybrid Agile process can be divided into three groups: (1) early lifecycle IVV techniques that are fully compatible with the hybrid lifecycles, (2) IVV techniques that focus on tracing requirements, test objectives, etc. are somewhat incompatible, but can be tailored with a modest effort, and (3) IVV techniques involving an assessment requiring artifact completeness that are simply not compatible with hybrid Agile processes, e.g., those that assume complete requirement specification early in the development lifecycle.

Software-defined optical network for metro-scale geographically distributed data centers.

PubMed

Samadi, Payman; Wen, Ke; Xu, Junjie; Bergman, Keren

2016-05-30

The emergence of cloud computing and big data has rapidly increased the deployment of small and mid-sized data centers. Enterprises and cloud providers require an agile network among these data centers to empower application reliability and flexible scalability. We present a software-defined inter data center network to enable on-demand scale out of data centers on a metro-scale optical network. The architecture consists of a combined space/wavelength switching platform and a Software-Defined Networking (SDN) control plane equipped with a wavelength and routing assignment module. It enables establishing transparent and bandwidth-selective connections from L2/L3 switches, on-demand. The architecture is evaluated in a testbed consisting of 3 data centers, 5-25 km apart. We successfully demonstrated end-to-end bulk data transfer and Virtual Machine (VM) migrations across data centers with less than 100 ms connection setup time and close to full link capacity utilization.

An intelligent CNC machine control system architecture

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miller, D.J.; Loucks, C.S.

1996-10-01

Intelligent, agile manufacturing relies on automated programming of digitally controlled processes. Currently, processes such as Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machining are difficult to automate because of highly restrictive controllers and poor software environments. It is also difficult to utilize sensors and process models for adaptive control, or to integrate machining processes with other tasks within a factory floor setting. As part of a Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program, a CNC machine control system architecture based on object-oriented design and graphical programming has been developed to address some of these problems and to demonstrate automated agile machining applications usingmore » platform-independent software.« less

A Novel Approach for Collaborative Pair Programming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goel, Sanjay; Kathuria, Vanshi

2010-01-01

The majority of an engineer's time in the software industry is spent working with other programmers. Agile methods of software development like eXtreme Programming strongly rely upon practices like daily meetings and pair programming. Hence, the need to learn the skill of working collaboratively is of primary importance for software developers.…

Leadership Behaviors of Management for Complex Adaptive Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-01

arson • The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Patrick M. Lencioni Agile Development Practices • Agile Project Management with Scrum – Ken Schwaber...and down to the individual and team level – Relationships are not defined hierarchically, but rather through interactions across References: Mike...n – Consisting of parts intricately combined © Copyright 2009 Northrop GrummanCopyright 2010 Northrop Grumman 5 Predictable or Adaptive Software/IT

AGILE/GRID Science Alert Monitoring System: The Workflow and the Crab Flare Case

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bulgarelli, A.; Trifoglio, M.; Gianotti, F.; Tavani, M.; Conforti, V.; Parmiggiani, N.

2013-10-01

During the first five years of the AGILE mission we have observed many gamma-ray transients of Galactic and extragalactic origin. A fast reaction to unexpected transient events is a crucial part of the AGILE monitoring program, because the follow-up of astrophysical transients is a key point for this space mission. We present the workflow and the software developed by the AGILE Team to perform the automatic analysis for the detection of gamma-ray transients. In addition, an App for iPhone will be released enabling the Team to access the monitoring system through mobile phones. In 2010 September the science alert monitoring system presented in this paper recorded a transient phenomena from the Crab Nebula, generating an automated alert sent via email and SMS two hours after the end of an AGILE satellite orbit, i.e. two hours after the Crab flare itself: for this discovery AGILE won the 2012 Bruno Rossi prize. The design of this alert system is maximized to reach the maximum speed, and in this, as in many other cases, AGILE has demonstrated that the reaction speed of the monitoring system is crucial for the scientific return of the mission.

Focused Logistics: Putting Agility in Agile Logistics

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-19

list, ahead of companies like American Express, DuPont and Coca Cola ; Supports nearly 1,900 weapon systems; DLA manages eight supply chains and...35 7) Force Health Protection...Distribution, Information Fusion, Joint Theater Logistics Command and Control, Multinational Logistics, Joint Health Services Support, and Agile

The Mediating Role of Organizational Learning in the Relationship of Organizational Intelligence and Organizational Agility.

PubMed

Bahrami, Mohammad Amin; Kiani, Mohammad Mehdi; Montazeralfaraj, Raziye; Zadeh, Hossein Fallah; Zadeh, Morteza Mohammad

2016-06-01

Organizational learning is defined as creating, absorbing, retaining, transferring, and application of knowledge within an organization. This article aims to examine the mediating role of organizational learning in the relationship of organizational intelligence and organizational agility. This analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015 at four teaching hospitals of Yazd city, Iran. A total of 370 administrative and medical staff contributed to the study. We used stratified-random method for sampling. Required data were gathered using three valid questionnaires including Alberkht (2003) organizational intelligence, Neefe (2001) organizational learning, and Sharifi and Zhang (1999) organizational agility questionnaires. Data analysis was done through R and SPSS 18 statistical software. The results showed that organizational learning acts as a mediator in the relationship of organizational intelligence and organizational agility (path coefficient = 0.943). Also, organizational learning has a statistical relationship with organizational agility (path coefficient = 0.382). Our findings suggest that the improvement of organizational learning abilities can affect an organization's agility which is crucial for its survival.

Applying Agile Methods to the Development of a Community-Based Sea Ice Observations Database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pulsifer, P. L.; Collins, J. A.; Kaufman, M.; Eicken, H.; Parsons, M. A.; Gearheard, S.

2011-12-01

Local and traditional knowledge and community-based monitoring programs are increasingly being recognized as an important part of establishing an Arctic observing network, and understanding Arctic environmental change. The Seasonal Ice Zone Observing Network (SIZONet, http://www.sizonet.org) project has implemented an integrated program for observing seasonal ice in Alaska. Observation and analysis by local sea ice experts helps track seasonal and inter-annual variability of the ice cover and its use by coastal communities. The ELOKA project (http://eloka-arctic.org) is collaborating with SIZONet on the development of a community accessible, Web-based application for collecting and distributing local observations. The SIZONet project is dealing with complicated qualitative and quantitative data collected from a growing number of observers in different communities while concurrently working to design a system that will serve a wide range of different end users including Arctic residents, scientists, educators, and other stakeholders with a need for sea ice information. The benefits of linking and integrating knowledge from communities and university-based researchers are clear, however, development of an information system in this multidisciplinary, multi-participant context is challenging. Participants are geographically distributed, have different levels of technical expertise, and have varying goals for how the system will be used. As previously reported (Pulsifer et al. 2010), new technologies have been used to deal with some of the challenges presented in this complex development context. In this paper, we report on the challenges and innovations related to working as a multi-disciplinary software development team. Specifically, we discuss how Agile software development methods have been used in defining and refining user needs, developing prototypes, and releasing a production level application. We provide an overview of the production application that includes discussion of a hybrid architecture that combines a traditional relational database, schema-less database, advanced free text search, and the preliminary framework for Semantic Web support. The current version of the SIZONet web application is discussed in relation to the high-value features defined as part of the Agile approach. Preliminary feedback indicates a system that meets the needs of multiple user groups.

Agile deployment and code coverage testing metrics of the boot software on-board Solar Orbiter's Energetic Particle Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parra, Pablo; da Silva, Antonio; Polo, Óscar R.; Sánchez, Sebastián

2018-02-01

In this day and age, successful embedded critical software needs agile and continuous development and testing procedures. This paper presents the overall testing and code coverage metrics obtained during the unit testing procedure carried out to verify the correctness of the boot software that will run in the Instrument Control Unit (ICU) of the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) on-board Solar Orbiter. The ICU boot software is a critical part of the project so its verification should be addressed at an early development stage, so any test case missed in this process may affect the quality of the overall on-board software. According to the European Cooperation for Space Standardization ESA standards, testing this kind of critical software must cover 100% of the source code statement and decision paths. This leads to the complete testing of fault tolerance and recovery mechanisms that have to resolve every possible memory corruption or communication error brought about by the space environment. The introduced procedure enables fault injection from the beginning of the development process and enables to fulfill the exigent code coverage demands on the boot software.

Current State of Agile User-Centered Design: A Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussain, Zahid; Slany, Wolfgang; Holzinger, Andreas

Agile software development methods are quite popular nowadays and are being adopted at an increasing rate in the industry every year. However, these methods are still lacking usability awareness in their development lifecycle, and the integration of usability/User-Centered Design (UCD) into agile methods is not adequately addressed. This paper presents the preliminary results of a recently conducted online survey regarding the current state of the integration of agile methods and usability/UCD. A world wide response of 92 practitioners was received. The results show that the majority of practitioners perceive that the integration of agile methods with usability/UCD has added value to their adopted processes and to their teams; has resulted in the improvement of usability and quality of the product developed; and has increased the satisfaction of the end-users of the product developed. The top most used HCI techniques are low-fidelity prototyping, conceptual designs, observational studies of users, usability expert evaluations, field studies, personas, rapid iterative testing, and laboratory usability testing.

Future Research in Agile Systems Development: Applying Open Innovation Principles Within the Agile Organisation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conboy, Kieran; Morgan, Lorraine

A particular strength of agile approaches is that they move away from ‘introverted' development and intimately involve the customer in all areas of development, supposedly leading to the development of a more innovative and hence more valuable information system. However, we argue that a single customer representative is too narrow a focus to adopt and that involvement of stakeholders beyond the software development itself is still often quite weak and in some cases non-existent. In response, we argue that current thinking regarding innovation in agile development needs to be extended to include multiple stakeholders outside the business unit. This paper explores the intra-organisational applicability and implications of open innovation in agile systems development. Additionally, it argues for a different perspective of project management that includes collaboration and knowledge-sharing with other business units, customers, partners, and other relevant stakeholders pertinent to the business success of an organisation, thus embracing open innovation principles.

orthAgogue: an agile tool for the rapid prediction of orthology relations.

PubMed

Ekseth, Ole Kristian; Kuiper, Martin; Mironov, Vladimir

2014-03-01

The comparison of genes and gene products across species depends on high-quality tools to determine the relationships between gene or protein sequences from various species. Although some excellent applications are available and widely used, their performance leaves room for improvement. We developed orthAgogue: a multithreaded C application for high-speed estimation of homology relations in massive datasets, operated via a flexible and easy command-line interface. The orthAgogue software is distributed under the GNU license. The source code and binaries compiled for Linux are available at https://code.google.com/p/orthagogue/.

Group Projects and the Computer Science Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joy, Mike

2005-01-01

Group projects in computer science are normally delivered with reference to good software engineering practice. The discipline of software engineering is rapidly evolving, and the application of the latest 'agile techniques' to group projects causes a potential conflict with constraints imposed by regulating bodies on the computer science…

Extreme Programming: A Kuhnian Revolution?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Northover, Mandy; Northover, Alan; Gruner, Stefan; Kourie, Gerrick G.; Boake, Andrew

This paper critically assesses the extent to which the Agile Software community's use of Thomas Kuhn's theory of revolutionary scientific change is justified. It will be argued that Kuhn's concepts of "scientific revolution" and "paradigm shift" cannot adequately explain the change from one type of software methodology to another.

Kedalion: NASA's Adaptable and Agile Hardware/Software Integration and Test Lab

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mangieri, Mark L.; Vice, Jason

2011-01-01

NASA fs Kedalion engineering analysis lab at Johnson Space Center is on the forefront of validating and using many contemporary avionics hardware/software development and integration techniques, which represent new paradigms to heritage NASA culture. Kedalion has validated many of the Orion hardware/software engineering techniques borrowed from the adjacent commercial aircraft avionics solution space, with the intention to build upon such techniques to better align with today fs aerospace market. Using agile techniques, commercial products, early rapid prototyping, in-house expertise and tools, and customer collaboration, Kedalion has demonstrated that cost effective contemporary paradigms hold the promise to serve future NASA endeavors within a diverse range of system domains. Kedalion provides a readily adaptable solution for medium/large scale integration projects. The Kedalion lab is currently serving as an in-line resource for the project and the Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) program.

DoD Information Assurance and Agile: Challenges and Recommendations Gathered Through Interviews with Agile Program Managers and DoD Accreditation Reviewers

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-11-01

Tradeoff Analysis Method; ATAM, Capability Maturity Model , Capability Maturity Modeling , Carnegie Mellon, CERT, CERT Coordination Center, CMM, CMMI...Hermansen, Product Design, Sphere of Influence (https://www.SphereOfInfluence.com) Joel McAteer, Information Assurance Manager, Modeling ...use of them does introduce some challenges related to delivering software features rapidly and/or in- crementally . • Challenges with respect to

Agile: From Software to Mission System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trimble, Jay; Shirley, Mark H.; Hobart, Sarah Groves

2016-01-01

The Resource Prospector (RP) is an in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technology demonstration mission, designed to search for volatiles at the Lunar South Pole. This is NASA's first near real time tele-operated rover on the Moon. The primary objective is to search for volatiles at one of the Lunar Poles. The combination of short mission duration, a solar powered rover, and the requirement to explore shadowed regions makes for an operationally challenging mission. To maximize efficiency and flexibility in Mission System design and thus to improve the performance and reliability of the resulting Mission System, we are tailoring Agile principles that we have used effectively in ground data system software development and applying those principles to the design of elements of the mission operations system.

Proposing an Evidence-Based Strategy for Software Requirements Engineering.

PubMed

Lindoerfer, Doris; Mansmann, Ulrich

2016-01-01

This paper discusses an evidence-based approach to software requirements engineering. The approach is called evidence-based, since it uses publications on the specific problem as a surrogate for stakeholder interests, to formulate risks and testing experiences. This complements the idea that agile software development models are more relevant, in which requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing cross-functional teams. The strategy is exemplified and applied to the development of a Software Requirements list used to develop software systems for patient registries.

Cyber Fighter Associate

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-01-01

accomplish a patch- management mission while securing a critical path. As a first proof of concept a simulation with a network of 10 nodes and 4...software-agility walk of the “PERFORMANCE Each Threat Managed ” tree is slightly more complex than the network -agility walk. The original design of the...CyFiA was tested to accomplish a patch- management mission while securing a critical path. As a first proof of concept a simulation with a network of 10

Agile Data Curation at a State Geological Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hills, D. J.

2015-12-01

State agencies, including geological surveys, are often the gatekeepers for myriad data products essential for scientific research and economic development. For example, the Geological Survey of Alabama (GSA) is mandated to explore for, characterize, and report Alabama's mineral, energy, water, and biological resources in support of economic development, conservation, management, and public policy for the betterment of Alabama's citizens, communities, and businesses. As part of that mandate, the GSA has increasingly been called upon to make our data more accessible to stakeholders. Even as demand for greater data accessibility grows, budgets for such efforts are often small, meaning that agencies must do more for less. Agile software development has yielded efficient, effective products, most often at lower cost and in shorter time. Taking guidance from the agile software development model, the GSA is working towards more agile data management and curation. To date, the GSA's work has been focused primarily on data rescue. By using workflows that maximize clear communication while encouraging simplicity (e.g., maximizing the amount of work not done or that can be automated), the GSA is bringing decades of dark data into the light. Regular checks by the data rescuer with the data provider (or their proxy) provides quality control without adding an overt burden on either party. Moving forward, these workflows will also allow for more efficient and effective data management.

Tailoring Agility: Promiscuous Pair Story Authoring and Value Calculation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tendon, Steve

This chapter describes how a multi-national software organization created a business plan involving business units from eight countries that followed an agile way, after two previously failed attempts with traditional approaches. The case is told by the consultant who initiated implementation of agility into requirements gathering, estimation and planning processes in an international setting. The agile approach was inspired by XP, but then tailored to meet the peculiar requirements. Two innovations were critical. The first innovation was promiscuous pair story authoring, where user stories were written by two people (similarly to pair programming), and the pairing changed very often (as frequently as every 15-20 minutes) to achieve promiscuity and cater for diverse point of views. The second innovation was an economic value evaluation (and not the cost) which was attributed to stories. Continuous recalculation of the financial value of the stories allowed to assess the projects financial return. In this case implementation of agility in the international context allowed the involved team members to reach consensus and unanimity of decisions, vision and purpose.

[Reporting echocardiography exams with the G8-Cardio ANMCO software].

PubMed

Badano, L P; Marchesini, A; Pizzuti, A; Mantero, A; Cianflone, D; Neri, E; Caira, P; Tubaro, M

2001-03-01

The availability of a common computerized program for echocardiographic study archiving and reporting at national and/or international level could make it possible to standardize the echo reports of different echocardiographic laboratories, and to use the wealth of data thus obtainable with echocardiography, and to exploit its capillary territorial distribution, with the aim of collecting echocardiographic data in a standard format for epidemiological, scientific and administrative purposes. To develop such a software, an ad hoc joint National Association of Hospital Cardiologists and Italian Society of Echocardiography task force worked in conjunction with the Italian Branch of Agilent Technologies to standardize the phraseology of accepted echocardiographic terms and of the quantitative parameters derived from transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiographic examination at rest as well as during exercise and pharmacological stress, and to develop an ad hoc software. This echocardiographic study archiving and reporting program is part of the whole G8-Cardio ANMCO software developed to computerize the whole cardiological chart. The software has been developed by Agilent Technologies to provide a fast, easy-access and easy to use report generator for the non-computer specialist using DBMS Oracle 7.3 database and Power Builder 5.0 to develop a user-friendly interface. The number of qualitative and quantitative variables contained in the program is 733 for echocardiography at rest, while it depends on the stressor and on the length of the examination for the stress echo (dipyridamole 214-384, dobutamine 236-406, exercise 198-392). The program was tested and refined in our laboratory between November 1999 and May 2000. During this time period, 291 resting and 56 stress echocardiographic studies were reported and recorded in a database. On average, each resting echocardiographic study lasting 10 +/- 4 (range 5-17) min was recorded using 50 +/- 11 (range 33-67) variables and 41,566 bytes of hard-disk memory space. Stress echocardiographic studies, each lasting 7 +/- 5 (range 5-21) min, were recorded using 143 +/- 74 (range 38-194) variables and 38,531 bytes of hard-disk memory space. To our knowledge this software represents the first experience of a common computerized program for echo archiving and reporting carried out at national level.

Implications of the Social Web Environment for User Story Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fancott, Terrill; Kamthan, Pankaj; Shahmir, Nazlie

2012-01-01

In recent years, user stories have emerged in academia, as well as industry, as a notable approach for expressing user requirements of interactive software systems that are developed using agile methodologies. There are social aspects inherent to software development, in general, and user stories, in particular. This paper presents directions and…

Enhancing the Student Learning Experience in Software Engineering Project Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marques, Maira; Ochoa, Sergio F.; Bastarrica, Maria Cecilia; Gutierrez, Francisco J.

2018-01-01

Carrying out real-world software projects in their academic studies helps students to understand what they will face in industry, and to experience first-hand the challenges involved when working collaboratively. Most of the instructional strategies used to help students take advantage of these activities focus on supporting agile programming,…

Real-Time Data Display

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pedings, Marc

2007-01-01

RT-Display is a MATLAB-based data acquisition environment designed to use a variety of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware to digitize analog signals to a standard data format usable by other post-acquisition data analysis tools. This software presents the acquired data in real time using a variety of signal-processing algorithms. The acquired data is stored in a standard Operator Interactive Signal Processing Software (OISPS) data-formatted file. RT-Display is primarily configured to use the Agilent VXI (or equivalent) data acquisition boards used in such systems as MIDDAS (Multi-channel Integrated Dynamic Data Acquisition System). The software is generalized and deployable in almost any testing environment, without limitations or proprietary configuration for a specific test program or project. With the Agilent hardware configured and in place, users can start the program and, in one step, immediately begin digitizing multiple channels of data. Once the acquisition is completed, data is converted into a common binary format that also can be translated to specific formats used by external analysis software, such as OISPS and PC-Signal (product of AI Signal Research Inc.). RT-Display at the time of this reporting was certified on Agilent hardware capable of acquisition up to 196,608 samples per second. Data signals are presented to the user on-screen simultaneously for 16 channels. Each channel can be viewed individually, with a maximum capability of 160 signal channels (depending on hardware configuration). Current signal presentations include: time data, fast Fourier transforms (FFT), and power spectral density plots (PSD). Additional processing algorithms can be easily incorporated into this environment.

Invocation oriented architecture for agile code and agile data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verma, Dinesh; Chan, Kevin; Leung, Kin; Gkelias, Athanasios

2017-05-01

In order to address the unique requirements of sensor information fusion in a tactical coalition environment, we are proposing a new architecture - one based on the concept of invocations. An invocation is a combination of a software code and a piece of data, both managed using techniques from Information Centric networking. This paper will discuss limitations of current approaches, present the architecture for an invocation oriented architecture, illustrate how it works with an example scenario, and provide reasons for its suitability in a coalition environment.

The Impact of Software Culture on the Management of Community Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collins, J. A.; Pulsifer, P. L.; Sheffield, E.; Lewis, S.; Oldenburg, J.

2013-12-01

The Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic (ELOKA), a program hosted at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), supports the collection, curation, and distribution of Local and Traditional Knowledge (LTK) data, as well as some quantitative data products. Investigations involving LTK data often involve community participation, and therefore require flexible and robust user interfaces to support a reliable process of data collection and management. Often, investigators focused on LTK and community-based monitoring choose to use ELOKA's data services based on our ability to provide rapid proof-of-concepts and economical delivery of a usable product. To satisfy these two overarching criteria, ELOKA is experimenting with modifications to its software development culture both in terms of how the software applications are developed as well as the kind of software applications (or components) being developed. Over the past several years, NSIDC has shifted its software development culture from one of assigning individual scientific programmers to support particular principal investigators or projects, to an Agile Software Methodology implementation using Scrum practices. ELOKA has participated in this process by working with other product owners to schedule and prioritize development work which is then implemented by a team of application developers. Scrum, along with practices such as Test Driven Development (TDD) and paired programming, improves the quality of the software product delivered to the user community. To meet the need for rapid prototyping and to maximize product development and support with limited developer input, our software development efforts are now focused on creating a platform of application modules that can be quickly customized to suit the needs of a variety of LTK projects. This approach is in contrast to the strategy of delivering custom applications for individual projects. To date, we have integrated components of the Nunaliit Atlas framework (a Java/JavaScript client-server web-based application) with an existing Ruby on Rails application. This approach requires transitioning individual applications to expose a service layer, thus allowing interapplication communication via RESTful services. In this presentation we will report on our experiences using Agile Scrum practices, our efforts to move from custom solutions to a platform of customizable modules, and the impact of each on our ability to support researchers and Arctic residents in the domain of community-based observations and knowledge.

The Consumer Juggernaut: Web-Based and Mobile Applications as Innovation Pioneer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Messerschmitt, David G.

As happened previously in electronics, software targeted at consumers is increasingly the focus of investment and innovation. Some of the areas where it is leading is animated interfaces, treating users as a community, audio and video information, software as a service, agile software development, and the integration of business models with software design. As a risk-taking and experimental market, and as a source of ideas, consumer software can benefit other areas of applications software. The influence of consumer software can be magnified by research into the internal organizations and processes of the innovative firms at its foundation.

EDGE3: A web-based solution for management and analysis of Agilent two color microarray experiments

PubMed Central

Vollrath, Aaron L; Smith, Adam A; Craven, Mark; Bradfield, Christopher A

2009-01-01

Background The ability to generate transcriptional data on the scale of entire genomes has been a boon both in the improvement of biological understanding and in the amount of data generated. The latter, the amount of data generated, has implications when it comes to effective storage, analysis and sharing of these data. A number of software tools have been developed to store, analyze, and share microarray data. However, a majority of these tools do not offer all of these features nor do they specifically target the commonly used two color Agilent DNA microarray platform. Thus, the motivating factor for the development of EDGE3 was to incorporate the storage, analysis and sharing of microarray data in a manner that would provide a means for research groups to collaborate on Agilent-based microarray experiments without a large investment in software-related expenditures or extensive training of end-users. Results EDGE3 has been developed with two major functions in mind. The first function is to provide a workflow process for the generation of microarray data by a research laboratory or a microarray facility. The second is to store, analyze, and share microarray data in a manner that doesn't require complicated software. To satisfy the first function, EDGE3 has been developed as a means to establish a well defined experimental workflow and information system for microarray generation. To satisfy the second function, the software application utilized as the user interface of EDGE3 is a web browser. Within the web browser, a user is able to access the entire functionality, including, but not limited to, the ability to perform a number of bioinformatics based analyses, collaborate between research groups through a user-based security model, and access to the raw data files and quality control files generated by the software used to extract the signals from an array image. Conclusion Here, we present EDGE3, an open-source, web-based application that allows for the storage, analysis, and controlled sharing of transcription-based microarray data generated on the Agilent DNA platform. In addition, EDGE3 provides a means for managing RNA samples and arrays during the hybridization process. EDGE3 is freely available for download at . PMID:19732451

EDGE(3): a web-based solution for management and analysis of Agilent two color microarray experiments.

PubMed

Vollrath, Aaron L; Smith, Adam A; Craven, Mark; Bradfield, Christopher A

2009-09-04

The ability to generate transcriptional data on the scale of entire genomes has been a boon both in the improvement of biological understanding and in the amount of data generated. The latter, the amount of data generated, has implications when it comes to effective storage, analysis and sharing of these data. A number of software tools have been developed to store, analyze, and share microarray data. However, a majority of these tools do not offer all of these features nor do they specifically target the commonly used two color Agilent DNA microarray platform. Thus, the motivating factor for the development of EDGE(3) was to incorporate the storage, analysis and sharing of microarray data in a manner that would provide a means for research groups to collaborate on Agilent-based microarray experiments without a large investment in software-related expenditures or extensive training of end-users. EDGE(3) has been developed with two major functions in mind. The first function is to provide a workflow process for the generation of microarray data by a research laboratory or a microarray facility. The second is to store, analyze, and share microarray data in a manner that doesn't require complicated software. To satisfy the first function, EDGE3 has been developed as a means to establish a well defined experimental workflow and information system for microarray generation. To satisfy the second function, the software application utilized as the user interface of EDGE(3) is a web browser. Within the web browser, a user is able to access the entire functionality, including, but not limited to, the ability to perform a number of bioinformatics based analyses, collaborate between research groups through a user-based security model, and access to the raw data files and quality control files generated by the software used to extract the signals from an array image. Here, we present EDGE(3), an open-source, web-based application that allows for the storage, analysis, and controlled sharing of transcription-based microarray data generated on the Agilent DNA platform. In addition, EDGE(3) provides a means for managing RNA samples and arrays during the hybridization process. EDGE(3) is freely available for download at http://edge.oncology.wisc.edu/.

DoD Agile Adoption: Necessary Considerations, Concerns, and Changes

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

a large, highly visible display used by software development teams to track progress. The term was first coined by Alistar Cockburn. See <http://www.atlassian.com/ wallboards /information-radiators.jsp>

Research and realization of signal simulation on virtual instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Qi; He, Wenting; Guan, Xiumei

2010-02-01

In the engineering project, arbitrary waveform generator controlled by software interface is needed by simulation and test. This article discussed the program using the SCPI (Standard Commands For Programmable Instruments) protocol and the VISA (Virtual Instrument System Architecture) library to control the Agilent signal generator (Agilent N5182A) by instrument communication over the LAN interface. The program can conduct several signal generations such as CW (continuous wave), AM (amplitude modulation), FM (frequency modulation), ΦM (phase modulation), Sweep. As the result, the program system has good operability and portability.

Documentation Driven Development for Complex Real-Time Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-12-01

This paper presents a novel approach for development of complex real - time systems , called the documentation-driven development (DDD) approach. This... time systems . DDD will also support automated software generation based on a computational model and some relevant techniques. DDD includes two main...stakeholders to be easily involved in development processes and, therefore, significantly improve the agility of software development for complex real

Agile Development of Various Computational Power Adaptive Web-Based Mobile-Learning Software Using Mobile Cloud Computing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zadahmad, Manouchehr; Yousefzadehfard, Parisa

2016-01-01

Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) aims to improve all mobile applications such as m-learning systems. This study presents an innovative method to use web technology and software engineering's best practices to provide m-learning functionalities hosted in a MCC-learning system as service. Components hosted by MCC are used to empower developers to create…

DoD Application Store: Enabling C2 Agility?

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

Framework, will include automated delivery of software patches, web applications, widgets and mobile application packages. The envisioned DoD...Marketplace within the Ozone Widget Framework, will include automated delivery of software patches, web applications, widgets and mobile application...current needs. DoD has started to make inroads within this environment with several Programs of Record (PoR) embracing widgets and other mobile

Information Models, Data Requirements, and Agile Data Curation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hughes, John S.; Crichton, Dan; Ritschel, Bernd; Hardman, Sean; Joyner, Ron

2015-04-01

The Planetary Data System's next generation system, PDS4, is an example of the successful use of an ontology-based Information Model (IM) to drive the development and operations of a data system. In traditional systems engineering, requirements or statements about what is necessary for the system are collected and analyzed for input into the design stage of systems development. With the advent of big data the requirements associated with data have begun to dominate and an ontology-based information model can be used to provide a formalized and rigorous set of data requirements. These requirements address not only the usual issues of data quantity, quality, and disposition but also data representation, integrity, provenance, context, and semantics. In addition the use of these data requirements during system's development has many characteristics of Agile Curation as proposed by Young et al. [Taking Another Look at the Data Management Life Cycle: Deconstruction, Agile, and Community, AGU 2014], namely adaptive planning, evolutionary development, early delivery, continuous improvement, and rapid and flexible response to change. For example customers can be satisfied through early and continuous delivery of system software and services that are configured directly from the information model. This presentation will describe the PDS4 architecture and its three principle parts: the ontology-based Information Model (IM), the federated registries and repositories, and the REST-based service layer for search, retrieval, and distribution. The development of the IM will be highlighted with special emphasis on knowledge acquisition, the impact of the IM on development and operations, and the use of shared ontologies at multiple governance levels to promote system interoperability and data correlation.

IVAN: Intelligent Van for the Distribution of Pharmaceutical Drugs

PubMed Central

Moreno, Asier; Angulo, Ignacio; Perallos, Asier; Landaluce, Hugo; Zuazola, Ignacio Julio García; Azpilicueta, Leire; Astrain, José Javier; Falcone, Francisco; Villadangos, Jesús

2012-01-01

This paper describes a telematic system based on an intelligent van which is capable of tracing pharmaceutical drugs over delivery routes from a warehouse to pharmacies, without altering carriers' daily conventional tasks. The intelligent van understands its environment, taking into account its location, the assets and the predefined delivery route; with the capability of reporting incidences to carriers in case of failure according to the established distribution plan. It is a non-intrusive solution which represents a successful experience of using smart environments and an optimized Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) embedded system in a viable way to resolve a real industrial need in the pharmaceutical industry. The combination of deterministic modeling of the indoor vehicle, the implementation of an ad-hoc radiating element and an agile software platform within an overall system architecture leads to a competitive, flexible and scalable solution. PMID:22778659

The Paving Stones: initial feed-back on an attempt to apply the AGILE principles for the development of a CubeSat space mission to Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Segret, Boris; Semery, Alain; Vannitsen, Jordan; Mosser, Benoît.; Miau, Jiun-Jih; Juang, Jyh-Ching; Deleflie, Florent

2014-08-01

The AGILE principles in the software industry seems well adapted to the paradigm of CubeSat missions that involve students for the development of space missions. Some of well-known engineering and program processes are revisited on the example of an interplanetary CubeSat mission profile that has been developed by several teams of students in various countries and at various educational levels since 02/2013. The lessons learned at adapting traditional space mission methods are emphasized and they produce a metaphoric image of paving stones.

TriBITS lifecycle model. Version 1.0, a lean/agile software lifecycle model for research-based computational science and engineering and applied mathematical software.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Willenbring, James M.; Bartlett, Roscoe Ainsworth; Heroux, Michael Allen

2012-01-01

Software lifecycles are becoming an increasingly important issue for computational science and engineering (CSE) software. The process by which a piece of CSE software begins life as a set of research requirements and then matures into a trusted high-quality capability is both commonplace and extremely challenging. Although an implicit lifecycle is obviously being used in any effort, the challenges of this process - respecting the competing needs of research vs. production - cannot be overstated. Here we describe a proposal for a well-defined software lifecycle process based on modern Lean/Agile software engineering principles. What we propose is appropriate for manymore » CSE software projects that are initially heavily focused on research but also are expected to eventually produce usable high-quality capabilities. The model is related to TriBITS, a build, integration and testing system, which serves as a strong foundation for this lifecycle model, and aspects of this lifecycle model are ingrained in the TriBITS system. Here, we advocate three to four phases or maturity levels that address the appropriate handling of many issues associated with the transition from research to production software. The goals of this lifecycle model are to better communicate maturity levels with customers and to help to identify and promote Software Engineering (SE) practices that will help to improve productivity and produce better software. An important collection of software in this domain is Trilinos, which is used as the motivation and the initial target for this lifecycle model. However, many other related and similar CSE (and non-CSE) software projects can also make good use of this lifecycle model, especially those that use the TriBITS system. Indeed this lifecycle process, if followed, will enable large-scale sustainable integration of many complex CSE software efforts across several institutions.« less

Collaborative Software Development in Support of Fast Adaptive AeroSpace Tools (FAAST)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kleb, William L.; Nielsen, Eric J.; Gnoffo, Peter A.; Park, Michael A.; Wood, William A.

2003-01-01

A collaborative software development approach is described. The software product is an adaptation of proven computational capabilities combined with new capabilities to form the Agency's next generation aerothermodynamic and aerodynamic analysis and design tools. To efficiently produce a cohesive, robust, and extensible software suite, the approach uses agile software development techniques; specifically, project retrospectives, the Scrum status meeting format, and a subset of Extreme Programming's coding practices are employed. Examples are provided which demonstrate the substantial benefits derived from employing these practices. Also included is a discussion of issues encountered when porting legacy Fortran 77 code to Fortran 95 and a Fortran 95 coding standard.

Software Defined Networking challenges and future direction: A case study of implementing SDN features on OpenStack private cloud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shamugam, Veeramani; Murray, I.; Leong, J. A.; Sidhu, Amandeep S.

2016-03-01

Cloud computing provides services on demand instantly, such as access to network infrastructure consisting of computing hardware, operating systems, network storage, database and applications. Network usage and demands are growing at a very fast rate and to meet the current requirements, there is a need for automatic infrastructure scaling. Traditional networks are difficult to automate because of the distributed nature of their decision making process for switching or routing which are collocated on the same device. Managing complex environments using traditional networks is time-consuming and expensive, especially in the case of generating virtual machines, migration and network configuration. To mitigate the challenges, network operations require efficient, flexible, agile and scalable software defined networks (SDN). This paper discuss various issues in SDN and suggests how to mitigate the network management related issues. A private cloud prototype test bed was setup to implement the SDN on the OpenStack platform to test and evaluate the various network performances provided by the various configurations.

The GBT Dynamic Scheduling System: Development and Testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCarty, M.; Clark, M.; Marganian, P.; O'Neil, K.; Shelton, A.; Sessoms, E.

2009-09-01

During the summer trimester of 2008, all observations on the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT) were scheduled using the new Dynamic Scheduling System (DSS). Beta testing exercised the policies, algorithms, and software developed for the DSS project. Since observers are located all over the world, the DSS was implemented as a web application. Technologies such as iCalendar, Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds, email, and instant messaging are used to transfer as much or as little information to observers as they request. We discuss the software engineering challenges leading to our implementation such as information distribution and building rich user interfaces in the web browser. We also relate our adaptation of agile development practices to design and develop the DSS. Additionally, we describe handling differences in expected versus actual initial conditions in the pool of project proposals for the 08B trimester. We then identify lessons learned from beta testing and present statistics on how the DSS was used during the trimester.

ImTK: an open source multi-center information management toolkit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alaoui, Adil; Ingeholm, Mary Lou; Padh, Shilpa; Dorobantu, Mihai; Desai, Mihir; Cleary, Kevin; Mun, Seong K.

2008-03-01

The Information Management Toolkit (ImTK) Consortium is an open source initiative to develop robust, freely available tools related to the information management needs of basic, clinical, and translational research. An open source framework and agile programming methodology can enable distributed software development while an open architecture will encourage interoperability across different environments. The ISIS Center has conceptualized a prototype data sharing network that simulates a multi-center environment based on a federated data access model. This model includes the development of software tools to enable efficient exchange, sharing, management, and analysis of multimedia medical information such as clinical information, images, and bioinformatics data from multiple data sources. The envisioned ImTK data environment will include an open architecture and data model implementation that complies with existing standards such as Digital Imaging and Communications (DICOM), Health Level 7 (HL7), and the technical framework and workflow defined by the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) Information Technology Infrastructure initiative, mainly the Cross Enterprise Document Sharing (XDS) specifications.

Agile-Lean Software Engineering (ALSE) Evaluating Kanban in Systems Engineering

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-06

Boeing)  Garry Roedler (Lockheed Martin)  Karl Scotland (Rally Software, UK)  Alan Shalloway (NetObjectives)  Neil Shirk (Lockheed Martin... Neil Siegel (Northrop Grumman)  James Sutton (Jubata Group) Thanks are also due to the members of the SERC Research Council, particularly Barry...Incremental Commitment Model to Brownfield Systems Development, Proceedings, CSER 2009, April 2009. 16. Heath , B. et al. (2009). A survey of agent-based

AGILE as a particle detector: Magnetospheric measurements of 10-100 MeV electrons in L shells less than 1.2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Argan, A.; Piano, G.; Tavani, M.; Trois, A.

2016-04-01

We study the capability of the AGILE gamma ray space mission in detecting magnetospheric particles (mostly electrons) in the energy range 10-100 MeV. Our measurements focus on the inner magnetic shells with L ≲ 1.2 in the magnetic equator. The instrument characteristics and a quasi-equatorial orbit of ˜500 km altitude make it possible to address several important properties of the particle populations in the inner magnetosphere. We review the on board trigger logic and study the acceptance of the AGILE instrument for particle detection. We find that the AGILE effective geometric factor (acceptance) is R≃50 cm2 sr for particle energies in the range 10-100 MeV. Particle event reconstruction allows to determine the particle pitch angle with the local magnetic field with good accuracy. We obtain the pitch angle distributions for both the AGILE "pointing" phase (July 2007 to October 2009) and the "spinning" phase (November 2009 to present). In spinning mode, the whole range (0-180 degrees) is accessible every 7 min. We find a pitch angle distribution of the "dumbbell" type with a prominent depression near α = 90° which is typical of wave-particle resonant scattering and precipitation in the inner magnetosphere. Most importantly, we show that AGILE is not affected by solar particle precipitation events in the magnetosphere. The satellite trajectory intersects magnetic shells in a quite narrow range (1.0 ≲ L ≲ 1.2); AGILE then has a high exposure to a magnetospheric region potentially rich of interesting phenomena. The large particle acceptance in the 10-100 MeV range, the pitch angle determination capability, the L shell exposure, and the solar-free background make AGILE a unique instrument for measuring steady and transient particle events in the inner magnetosphere.

Wired Widgets: Agile Visualization for Space Situational Awareness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerschefske, K.; Witmer, J.

2012-09-01

Continued advancement in sensors and analysis techniques have resulted in a wealth of Space Situational Awareness (SSA) data, made available via tools and Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) such as those in the Joint Space Operations Center Mission Systems (JMS) environment. Current visualization software cannot quickly adapt to rapidly changing missions and data, preventing operators and analysts from performing their jobs effectively. The value of this wealth of SSA data is not fully realized, as the operators' existing software is not built with the flexibility to consume new or changing sources of data or to rapidly customize their visualization as the mission evolves. While tools like the JMS user-defined operational picture (UDOP) have begun to fill this gap, this paper presents a further evolution, leveraging Web 2.0 technologies for maximum agility. We demonstrate a flexible Web widget framework with inter-widget data sharing, publish-subscribe eventing, and an API providing the basis for consumption of new data sources and adaptable visualization. Wired Widgets offers cross-portal widgets along with a widget communication framework and development toolkit for rapid new widget development, giving operators the ability to answer relevant questions as the mission evolves. Wired Widgets has been applied in a number of dynamic mission domains including disaster response, combat operations, and noncombatant evacuation scenarios. The variety of applications demonstrate that Wired Widgets provides a flexible, data driven solution for visualization in changing environments. In this paper, we show how, deployed in the Ozone Widget Framework portal environment, Wired Widgets can provide an agile, web-based visualization to support the SSA mission. Furthermore, we discuss how the tenets of agile visualization can generally be applied to the SSA problem space to provide operators flexibility, potentially informing future acquisition and system development.

Agile hardware and software systems engineering for critical military space applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Philip M.; Knuth, Andrew A.; Krueger, Robert O.; Garrison-Darrin, Margaret A.

2012-06-01

The Multi Mission Bus Demonstrator (MBD) is a successful demonstration of agile program management and system engineering in a high risk technology application where utilizing and implementing new, untraditional development strategies were necessary. MBD produced two fully functioning spacecraft for a military/DOD application in a record breaking time frame and at dramatically reduced costs. This paper discloses the adaptation and application of concepts developed in agile software engineering to hardware product and system development for critical military applications. This challenging spacecraft did not use existing key technology (heritage hardware) and created a large paradigm shift from traditional spacecraft development. The insertion of new technologies and methods in space hardware has long been a problem due to long build times, the desire to use heritage hardware, and lack of effective process. The role of momentum in the innovative process can be exploited to tackle ongoing technology disruptions and allowing risk interactions to be mitigated in a disciplined manner. Examples of how these concepts were used during the MBD program will be delineated. Maintaining project momentum was essential to assess the constant non recurring technological challenges which needed to be retired rapidly from the engineering risk liens. Development never slowed due to tactical assessment of the hardware with the adoption of the SCRUM technique. We adapted this concept as a representation of mitigation of technical risk while allowing for design freeze later in the program's development cycle. By using Agile Systems Engineering and Management techniques which enabled decisive action, the product development momentum effectively was used to produce two novel space vehicles in a fraction of time with dramatically reduced cost.

Autonomous Scheduling Requirements for Agile Cubesat Constellations in Earth Observation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nag, S.; Li, A. S. X.; Kumar, S.

2017-12-01

Distributed Space Missions such as formation flight and constellations, are being recognized as important Earth Observation solutions to increase measurement samples over space and time. Cubesats are increasing in size (27U, 40 kg) with increasing capabilities to host imager payloads. Given the precise attitude control systems emerging commercially, Cubesats now have the ability to slew and capture images within short notice. Prior literature has demonstrated a modular framework that combines orbital mechanics, attitude control and scheduling optimization to plan the time-varying orientation of agile Cubesats in a constellation such that they maximize the number of observed images, within the constraints of hardware specs. Schedule optimization is performed on the ground autonomously, using dynamic programming with two levels of heuristics, verified and improved upon using mixed integer linear programming. Our algorithm-in-the-loop simulation applied to Landsat's use case, captured up to 161% more Landsat images than nadir-pointing sensors with the same field of view, on a 2-satellite constellation over a 12-hour simulation. In this paper, we will derive the requirements for the above algorithm to run onboard small satellites such that the constellation can make time-sensitive decisions to slew and capture images autonomously, without ground support. We will apply the above autonomous algorithm to a time critical use case - monitoring of precipitation and subsequent effects on floods, landslides and soil moisture, as quantified by the NASA Unified Weather Research and Forecasting Model. Since the latency between these event occurrences is quite low, they make a strong case for autonomous decisions among satellites in a constellation. The algorithm can be implemented in the Plan Execution Interchange Language - NASA's open source technology for automation, used to operate the International Space Station and LADEE's in flight software - enabling a controller-in-the-loop demonstration. The autonomy software can then be integrated with NASA's open source Core Flight Software, ported onto a Raspberry Pi 3.0 for a software-in-the-loop demonstration. Future use cases can be time critical events such as cloud movement, storms or other disasters, and in conjunction with other platforms in a Sensor Web.

Using CORBA to integrate manufacturing cells to a virtual enterprise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pancerella, Carmen M.; Whiteside, Robert A.

1997-01-01

It is critical in today's enterprises that manufacturing facilities are not isolated from design, planning, and other business activities and that information flows easily and bidirectionally between these activities. It is also important and cost-effective that COTS software, databases, and corporate legacy codes are well integrated in the information architecture. Further, much of the information generated during manufacturing must be dynamically accessible to engineering and business operations both in a restricted corporate intranet and on the internet. The software integration strategy in the Sandia Agile Manufacturing Testbed supports these enterprise requirements. We are developing a CORBA-based distributed object software system for manufacturing. Each physical machining device is a CORBA object and exports a common IDL interface to allow for rapid and dynamic insertion, deletion, and upgrading within the manufacturing cell. Cell management CORBA components access manufacturing devices without knowledge of any device-specific implementation. To support information flow from design to planning data is accessible to machinists on the shop floor. CORBA allows manufacturing components to be easily accessible to the enterprise. Dynamic clients can be created using web browsers and portable Java GUI's. A CORBA-OLE adapter allows integration to PC desktop applications. Other commercial software can access CORBA network objects in the information architecture through vendor API's.

Anatomy of a hash-based long read sequence mapping algorithm for next generation DNA sequencing.

PubMed

Misra, Sanchit; Agrawal, Ankit; Liao, Wei-keng; Choudhary, Alok

2011-01-15

Recently, a number of programs have been proposed for mapping short reads to a reference genome. Many of them are heavily optimized for short-read mapping and hence are very efficient for shorter queries, but that makes them inefficient or not applicable for reads longer than 200 bp. However, many sequencers are already generating longer reads and more are expected to follow. For long read sequence mapping, there are limited options; BLAT, SSAHA2, FANGS and BWA-SW are among the popular ones. However, resequencing and personalized medicine need much faster software to map these long sequencing reads to a reference genome to identify SNPs or rare transcripts. We present AGILE (AliGnIng Long rEads), a hash table based high-throughput sequence mapping algorithm for longer 454 reads that uses diagonal multiple seed-match criteria, customized q-gram filtering and a dynamic incremental search approach among other heuristics to optimize every step of the mapping process. In our experiments, we observe that AGILE is more accurate than BLAT, and comparable to BWA-SW and SSAHA2. For practical error rates (< 5%) and read lengths (200-1000 bp), AGILE is significantly faster than BLAT, SSAHA2 and BWA-SW. Even for the other cases, AGILE is comparable to BWA-SW and several times faster than BLAT and SSAHA2. http://www.ece.northwestern.edu/~smi539/agile.html.

Towards Rapid Re-Certification Using Formal Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-22

profiles will help ensure that information assurance requirements are commensurate with risk and scalable based on an application’s changing external...20 Scalability Evaluation .......................................................................................................... 22...agility in certification processes. Software re-certification processes require significant expenditure in order to provide evidence of information

Agile Data Curation: A conceptual framework and approach for practitioner data management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, J. W.; Benedict, K. K.; Lenhardt, W. C.

2015-12-01

Data management occurs across a range of science and related activities such as decision-support. Exemplars within the science community operate data management systems that are extensively planned before implementation, staffed with robust data management expertise, equipped with appropriate services and technologies, and often highly structured. However, this is not the only approach to data management and almost certainly not the typical experience. The other end of the spectrum is often an ad hoc practitioner team, with changing requirements, limited training in data management, and resource constrained for both equipment and human resources. Much of the existing data management literature serves the exemplar community and ignores the ad hoc practitioners. Somewhere in the middle are examples where data are repurposed for new uses thereby generating new data management challenges. This submission presents a conceptualization of an Agile Data Curation approach that provides foundational principles for data management efforts operating across the spectrum of data generation and use from large science systems to efforts with constrained resources, limited expertise, and evolving requirements. The underlying principles to Agile Data Curation are a reapplication of agile software development principles to data management. The historical reality for many data management efforts is operating in a practioner environment so Agile Data Curation utilizes historical and current case studies to validate the foundational principles and through comparison learn lessons for future application. This submission will provide an overview of the Agile Data Curation, cover the foundational principles to the approach, and introduce a framework for gathering, classifying, and applying lessons from case studies of practitioner data management.

Technology for Evolutionary Software Development (Technologies pour le developpement de logiciels evolutifs)

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-06-01

greater detail in the next section, is to achieve these principles. Besides the fact, that these principles illustrate the essence of agile software...like e.g. ADLER, JASMIN , SAMOC or HEROS. In all of these projects the framework for the process model was the Vorgehensmodell (V-Model) of the...practical essence of the solutions to manage projects within the constraints of cost, schedule, functionality and quality and ways to get the

Characterizing Cyclostationary Features of Digital Modulated Signals with Empirical Measurements using Spectral Correlation Function

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

USING SPECTRAL CORRELATION FUNCTION THESIS Mujun Song, Captain, ROKA AFIT/GCE/ENG/11-09 DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE AIR UNIVERSITY AIR...Management Air Force Institute of Technology Air University Air Education and Training Command In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the...generator, Agilent E4438C, ESG Vector Signal Generator. Universal Software Radio Peripheral 2 (USRP2), which is a Software Defined Radio (SDR), is used

Agile Software Development in Defense Acquisition: A Mission Assurance Perspective

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-23

based information retrieval system, we might say that this program works like a hive of bees , going out for pollen and bringing it back to the hive...developers ® Six Siqma is reqistered in the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office by Motorola ^_ 33 @ AEROSPACE Major Areas in a Typical Software...requirements - Capturing and evaluating quality metrics, identifying common problem areas **» Despite its positive impact on quality, pair programming

Universal mechatronics coordinator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muir, Patrick F.

1999-11-01

Mechatronic systems incorporate multiple actuators and sensor which must be properly coordinated to achieve the desired system functionality. Many mechatronic systems are designed as one-of-a-kind custom projects without consideration for facilitating future system or alterations and extensions to the current syste. Thus, subsequent changes to the system are slow, different, and costly. It has become apparent that manufacturing processes, and thus the mechatronics which embody them, need to be agile in order to more quickly and easily respond to changing customer demands or market pressures. To achieve agility, both the hardware and software of the system need to be designed such that the creation of new system and the alteration and extension of current system is fast and easy. This paper describes the design of a Universal Mechatronics Coordinator (UMC) which facilitates agile setup and changeover of coordination software for mechatronic systems. The UMC is capable of sequencing continuous and discrete actions that are programmed as stimulus-response pairs, as state machines, or a combination of the two. It facilitates the modular, reusable programing of continuous actions such as servo control algorithms, data collection code, and safety checking routines; and discrete actions such as reporting achieved states, and turning on/off binary devices. The UMC has been applied to the control of a z- theta assembly robot for the Minifactory project and is applicable to a spectrum of widely differing mechatronic systems.

Information System Engineering Supporting Observation, Orientation, Decision, and Compliant Action

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Georgakopoulos, Dimitrios

The majority of today's software systems and organizational/business structures have been built on the foundation of solving problems via long-term data collection, analysis, and solution design. This traditional approach of solving problems and building corresponding software systems and business processes, falls short in providing the necessary solutions needed to deal with many problems that require agility as the main ingredient of their solution. For example, such agility is needed in responding to an emergency, in military command control, physical security, price-based competition in business, investing in the stock market, video gaming, network monitoring and self-healing, diagnosis in emergency health care, and many other areas that are too numerous to list here. The concept of Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act (OODA) loops is a guiding principal that captures the fundamental issues and approach for engineering information systems that deal with many of these problem areas. However, there are currently few software systems that are capable of supporting OODA. In this talk, we provide a tour of the research issues and state of the art solutions for supporting OODA. In addition, we provide specific examples of OODA solutions we have developed for the video surveillance and emergency response domains.

Coaching for Better (Software) Buying Power in an Agile World

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

believes that DevOps , the process of warfighters and developers work- ing together throughout the project, is superior to volumes of detailed...ride on the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) infrastructure. This transformation is not easy. It requires a change in

The use of autologous concentrated growth factors to promote syndesmosis fusion in the Agility total ankle replacement. A preliminary study.

PubMed

Coetzee, J Chris; Pomeroy, Gregory C; Watts, J David; Barrow, Craig

2005-10-01

The Agility (DePuy, Warsaw, Indiana) total ankle replacement has been in use since 1984. One of the most common complications continues to be delayed union or nonunions of the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis. In the reported studies on the Agility ankle the delayed union and nonunion rate can be as high as 38%. Since 1999, 114 Agility total ankle replacements were done at two centers in the United States without the use of autologous concentrated growth factors. Since July of 2001, 66 Agility ankles were implanted with Symphony (DePuy, Warsaw, Indiana) augmented bone grafting. The standard operative technique was followed in all the patients. Prospective data was collected on all patients. The standard ankle radiographs were taken preoperatively and postoperative at 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks, 6 months, and yearly. CT scans were obtained at 6 months if fusion at the syndesmosis was questionable. The Graphpad Instat software (Graphpad Software Inc., San Diego, CA) was used for statistical analysis. The two-tailed unpaired t-test was used, and the value <0.05 was considered significant. There was no statistical difference in the demographic data for the two groups. In 114 ankle replacements without autologous concentrated growth factors 70 fused at 8 weeks (61%), 14 fused at 12 weeks (12%), 13 fused at 6 months (12%). There were 17 nonunions (15%); delayed unions (3 to 6 months) and nonunions, therefore, equaled 27%. The syndesmosis fused in 50 of the 66 ankle replacements (76%) that had autologous concentrated growth fractures at 8 weeks (76%); 12 fused at 3 months (18%), 2 fused at 6 months (3%), 2 had nonunions (3%). Delayed unions (3 to 6 months) and nonunions equaled 6%. There was a statistically significant improvement in the 8- and 12-week fusion rates, and a statistically significant reduction in delayed unions and nonunions. Autologous concentrated growth factors appear to make a significant positive difference in the syndesmosis union rate in total ankle replacements.

Contracting for Agile Software Development in the Department of Defense: An Introduction

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-08-01

Requirements are fixed at a more granular level; reviews of the work product happen more frequently and assess each individual increment rather than a “ big bang ...boundaries than “ big - bang ” development. The implementation of incremental or progressive reviews enables just that—any issues identified at the time of the...the contract needs to support the delivery of deployable software at defined increments/intervals, rather than incentivizing “ big - bang ” efforts or

On the Biomimetic Design of Agile-Robot Legs

PubMed Central

Garcia, Elena; Arevalo, Juan Carlos; Muñoz, Gustavo; Gonzalez-de-Santos, Pablo

2011-01-01

The development of functional legged robots has encountered its limits in human-made actuation technology. This paper describes research on the biomimetic design of legs for agile quadrupeds. A biomimetic leg concept that extracts key principles from horse legs which are responsible for the agile and powerful locomotion of these animals is presented. The proposed biomimetic leg model defines the effective leg length, leg kinematics, limb mass distribution, actuator power, and elastic energy recovery as determinants of agile locomotion, and values for these five key elements are given. The transfer of the extracted principles to technological instantiations is analyzed in detail, considering the availability of current materials, structures and actuators. A real leg prototype has been developed following the biomimetic leg concept proposed. The actuation system is based on the hybrid use of series elasticity and magneto-rheological dampers which provides variable compliance for natural motion. From the experimental evaluation of this prototype, conclusions on the current technological barriers to achieve real functional legged robots to walk dynamically in agile locomotion are presented. PMID:22247667

On the biomimetic design of agile-robot legs.

PubMed

Garcia, Elena; Arevalo, Juan Carlos; Muñoz, Gustavo; Gonzalez-de-Santos, Pablo

2011-01-01

The development of functional legged robots has encountered its limits in human-made actuation technology. This paper describes research on the biomimetic design of legs for agile quadrupeds. A biomimetic leg concept that extracts key principles from horse legs which are responsible for the agile and powerful locomotion of these animals is presented. The proposed biomimetic leg model defines the effective leg length, leg kinematics, limb mass distribution, actuator power, and elastic energy recovery as determinants of agile locomotion, and values for these five key elements are given. The transfer of the extracted principles to technological instantiations is analyzed in detail, considering the availability of current materials, structures and actuators. A real leg prototype has been developed following the biomimetic leg concept proposed. The actuation system is based on the hybrid use of series elasticity and magneto-rheological dampers which provides variable compliance for natural motion. From the experimental evaluation of this prototype, conclusions on the current technological barriers to achieve real functional legged robots to walk dynamically in agile locomotion are presented.

Collaborative environments for capability-based planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McQuay, William K.

2005-05-01

Distributed collaboration is an emerging technology for the 21st century that will significantly change how business is conducted in the defense and commercial sectors. Collaboration involves two or more geographically dispersed entities working together to create a "product" by sharing and exchanging data, information, and knowledge. A product is defined broadly to include, for example, writing a report, creating software, designing hardware, or implementing robust systems engineering and capability planning processes in an organization. Collaborative environments provide the framework and integrate models, simulations, domain specific tools, and virtual test beds to facilitate collaboration between the multiple disciplines needed in the enterprise. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is conducting a leading edge program in developing distributed collaborative technologies targeted to the Air Force's implementation of systems engineering for a simulation-aided acquisition and capability-based planning. The research is focusing on the open systems agent-based framework, product and process modeling, structural architecture, and the integration technologies - the glue to integrate the software components. In past four years, two live assessment events have been conducted to demonstrate the technology in support of research for the Air Force Agile Acquisition initiatives. The AFRL Collaborative Environment concept will foster a major cultural change in how the acquisition, training, and operational communities conduct business.

Behavior driven testing in ALMA telescope calibration software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gil, Juan P.; Garces, Mario; Broguiere, Dominique; Shen, Tzu-Chiang

2016-07-01

ALMA software development cycle includes well defined testing stages that involves developers, testers and scientists. We adapted Behavior Driven Development (BDD) to testing activities applied to Telescope Calibration (TELCAL) software. BDD is an agile technique that encourages communication between roles by defining test cases using natural language to specify features and scenarios, what allows participants to share a common language and provides a high level set of automated tests. This work describes how we implemented and maintain BDD testing for TELCAL, the infrastructure needed to support it and proposals to expand this technique to other subsystems.

Agile science: creating useful products for behavior change in the real world.

PubMed

Hekler, Eric B; Klasnja, Predrag; Riley, William T; Buman, Matthew P; Huberty, Jennifer; Rivera, Daniel E; Martin, Cesar A

2016-06-01

Evidence-based practice is important for behavioral interventions but there is debate on how best to support real-world behavior change. The purpose of this paper is to define products and a preliminary process for efficiently and adaptively creating and curating a knowledge base for behavior change for real-world implementation. We look to evidence-based practice suggestions and draw parallels to software development. We argue to target three products: (1) the smallest, meaningful, self-contained, and repurposable behavior change modules of an intervention; (2) "computational models" that define the interaction between modules, individuals, and context; and (3) "personalization" algorithms, which are decision rules for intervention adaptation. The "agile science" process includes a generation phase whereby contender operational definitions and constructs of the three products are created and assessed for feasibility and an evaluation phase, whereby effect size estimates/casual inferences are created. The process emphasizes early-and-often sharing. If correct, agile science could enable a more robust knowledge base for behavior change.

Extreme Programming: Maestro Style

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norris, Jeffrey; Fox, Jason; Rabe, Kenneth; Shu, I-Hsiang; Powell, Mark

2009-01-01

"Extreme Programming: Maestro Style" is the name of a computer programming methodology that has evolved as a custom version of a methodology, called extreme programming that has been practiced in the software industry since the late 1990s. The name of this version reflects its origin in the work of the Maestro team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that develops software for Mars exploration missions. Extreme programming is oriented toward agile development of software resting on values of simplicity, communication, testing, and aggressiveness. Extreme programming involves use of methods of rapidly building and disseminating institutional knowledge among members of a computer-programming team to give all the members a shared view that matches the view of the customers for whom the software system is to be developed. Extreme programming includes frequent planning by programmers in collaboration with customers, continually examining and rewriting code in striving for the simplest workable software designs, a system metaphor (basically, an abstraction of the system that provides easy-to-remember software-naming conventions and insight into the architecture of the system), programmers working in pairs, adherence to a set of coding standards, collaboration of customers and programmers, frequent verbal communication, frequent releases of software in small increments of development, repeated testing of the developmental software by both programmers and customers, and continuous interaction between the team and the customers. The environment in which the Maestro team works requires the team to quickly adapt to changing needs of its customers. In addition, the team cannot afford to accept unnecessary development risk. Extreme programming enables the Maestro team to remain agile and provide high-quality software and service to its customers. However, several factors in the Maestro environment have made it necessary to modify some of the conventional extreme-programming practices. The single most influential of these factors is that continuous interaction between customers and programmers is not feasible.

Frequency Agile Transceiver for Advanced Vehicle Data Links

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freudinger, Lawrence C.; Macias, Filiberto; Cornelius, Harold

2009-01-01

Emerging and next-generation test instrumentation increasingly relies on network communication to manage complex and dynamic test scenarios, particularly for uninhabited autonomous systems. Adapting wireless communication infrastructure to accommodate challenging testing needs can benefit from reconfigurable radio technology. Frequency agility is one characteristic of reconfigurable radios that to date has seen only limited progress toward programmability. This paper overviews an ongoing project to validate a promising chipset that performs conversion of RF signals directly into digital data for the wireless receiver and, for the transmitter, converts digital data into RF signals. The Software Configurable Multichannel Transceiver (SCMT) enables four transmitters and four receivers in a single unit, programmable for any frequency band between 1 MHz and 6 GHz.

Project Success in Agile Development Software Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farlik, John T.

2016-01-01

Project success has multiple definitions in the scholarly literature. Research has shown that some scholars and practitioners define project success as the completion of a project within schedule and within budget. Others consider a successful project as one in which the customer is satisfied with the product. This quantitative study was conducted…

Time-Reversal Based Range Extension Technique for Ultra-wideband (UWB) Sensors and Applications in Tactical Communications and Networking

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-04-16

Zhen (Edward) Hu Peng (Peter) Zhang Yu Song Amanpreet Singh Saini Corey Cooke April 16, 2006 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Center...and RF frequency agility is the most challenging issue for spectrum sensing. The radio under development is an ultra-wideband software -defined radio...PC USB programming cable and accom- panying PC software as well as download test vectors to the waveform memory module, as shown in Figure 3.25,3I

CrossTalk: The Journal of Defense Software Engineering. Volume 26, Number 3, May-June 2013

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

in which the pieces are being shaped at the same time they are being as- sembled. If I am honest, software is probably more like a Rube Goldberg ...losing the focus on architecting activities that help maintain the desired state, enable cost savings, and ensure delivery tempo when other agile...masters degrees and working as developers), accepted by the same in- structor, with counted LOC identically, yielded variations as great as 22:1, and

Ground System Architectures Workshop GMSEC SERVICES SUITE (GSS): an Agile Development Story

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ly, Vuong

2017-01-01

The GMSEC (Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center) Services Suite (GSS) is a collection of tools and software services along with a robust customizable web-based portal that enables the user to capture, monitor, report, and analyze system-wide GMSEC data. Given our plug-and-play architecture and the needs for rapid system development, we opted to follow the Scrum Agile Methodology for software development. Being one of the first few projects to implement the Agile methodology at NASA GSFC, in this presentation we will present our approaches, tools, successes, and challenges in implementing this methodology. The GMSEC architecture provides a scalable, extensible ground and flight system for existing and future missions. GMSEC comes with a robust Application Programming Interface (GMSEC API) and a core set of Java-based GMSEC components that facilitate the development of a GMSEC-based ground system. Over the past few years, we have seen an upbeat in the number of customers who are moving from a native desktop application environment to a web based environment particularly for data monitoring and analysis. We also see a need to provide separation of the business logic from the GUI display for our Java-based components and also to consolidate all the GUI displays into one interface. This combination of separation and consolidation brings immediate value to a GMSEC-based ground system through increased ease of data access via a uniform interface, built-in security measures, centralized configuration management, and ease of feature extensibility.

Agile Task Tracking Tool

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Duke, Roger T.; Crump, Thomas Vu

The work was created to provide a tool for the purpose of improving the management of tasks associated with Agile projects. Agile projects are typically completed in an iterative manner with many short duration tasks being performed as part of iterations. These iterations are generally referred to as sprints. The objective of this work is to create a single tool that enables sprint teams to manage all of their tasks in multiple sprints and automatically produce all standard sprint performance charts with minimum effort. The format of the printed work is designed to mimic a standard Kanban board. The workmore » is developed as a single Excel file with worksheets capable of managing up to five concurrent sprints and up to one hundred tasks. It also includes a summary worksheet providing performance information from all active sprints. There are many commercial project management systems typically designed with features desired by larger organizations with many resources managing multiple programs and projects. The audience for this work is the small organizations and Agile project teams desiring an inexpensive, simple, user-friendly, task management tool. This work uses standard readily available software, Excel, requiring minimum data entry and automatically creating summary charts and performance data. It is formatted to print out and resemble standard flip charts and provide the visuals associated with this type of work.« less

Supply chain network design problem for a new market opportunity in an agile manufacturing system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babazadeh, Reza; Razmi, Jafar; Ghodsi, Reza

2012-08-01

The characteristics of today's competitive environment, such as the speed with which products are designed, manufactured, and distributed, and the need for higher responsiveness and lower operational cost, are forcing companies to search for innovative ways to do business. The concept of agile manufacturing has been proposed in response to these challenges for companies. This paper copes with the strategic and tactical level decisions in agile supply chain network design. An efficient mixed-integer linear programming model that is able to consider the key characteristics of agile supply chain such as direct shipments, outsourcing, different transportation modes, discount, alliance (process and information integration) between opened facilities, and maximum waiting time of customers for deliveries is developed. In addition, in the proposed model, the capacity of facilities is determined as decision variables, which are often assumed to be fixed. Computational results illustrate that the proposed model can be applied as a power tool in agile supply chain network design as well as in the integration of strategic decisions with tactical decisions.

Thyroid Cancer and Tumor Collaborative Registry (TCCR).

PubMed

Shats, Oleg; Goldner, Whitney; Feng, Jianmin; Sherman, Alexander; Smith, Russell B; Sherman, Simon

2016-01-01

A multicenter, web-based Thyroid Cancer and Tumor Collaborative Registry (TCCR, http://tccr.unmc.edu) allows for the collection and management of various data on thyroid cancer (TC) and thyroid nodule (TN) patients. The TCCR is coupled with OpenSpecimen, an open-source biobank management system, to annotate biospecimens obtained from the TCCR subjects. The demographic, lifestyle, physical activity, dietary habits, family history, medical history, and quality of life data are provided and may be entered into the registry by subjects. Information on diagnosis, treatment, and outcome is entered by the clinical personnel. The TCCR uses advanced technical and organizational practices, such as (i) metadata-driven software architecture (design); (ii) modern standards and best practices for data sharing and interoperability (standardization); (iii) Agile methodology (project management); (iv) Software as a Service (SaaS) as a software distribution model (operation); and (v) the confederation principle as a business model (governance). This allowed us to create a secure, reliable, user-friendly, and self-sustainable system for TC and TN data collection and management that is compatible with various end-user devices and easily adaptable to a rapidly changing environment. Currently, the TCCR contains data on 2,261 subjects and data on more than 28,000 biospecimens. Data and biological samples collected by the TCCR are used in developing diagnostic, prevention, treatment, and survivorship strategies against TC.

Clinician user involvement in the real world: Designing an electronic tool to improve interprofessional communication and collaboration in a hospital setting.

PubMed

Tang, Terence; Lim, Morgan E; Mansfield, Elizabeth; McLachlan, Alexander; Quan, Sherman D

2018-02-01

User involvement is vital to the success of health information technology implementation. However, involving clinician users effectively and meaningfully in complex healthcare organizations remains challenging. The objective of this paper is to share our real-world experience of applying a variety of user involvement methods in the design and implementation of a clinical communication and collaboration platform aimed at facilitating care of complex hospitalized patients by an interprofessional team of clinicians. We designed and implemented an electronic clinical communication and collaboration platform in a large community teaching hospital. The design team consisted of both technical and healthcare professionals. Agile software development methodology was used to facilitate rapid iterative design and user input. We involved clinician users at all stages of the development lifecycle using a variety of user-centered, user co-design, and participatory design methods. Thirty-six software releases were delivered over 24 months. User involvement has resulted in improvement in user interface design, identification of software defects, creation of new modules that facilitated workflow, and identification of necessary changes to the scope of the project early on. A variety of user involvement methods were complementary and benefited the design and implementation of a complex health IT solution. Combining these methods with agile software development methodology can turn designs into functioning clinical system to support iterative improvement. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Some Future Software Engineering Opportunities and Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boehm, Barry

This paper provides an update and extension of a 2006 paper, “Some Future Trends and Implications for Systems and Software Engineering Processes,” Systems Engineering, Spring 2006. Some of its challenges and opportunities are similar, such as the need to simultaneously achieve high levels of both agility and assurance. Others have emerged as increasingly important, such as the challenges of dealing with ultralarge volumes of data, with multicore chips, and with software as a service. The paper is organized around eight relatively surprise-free trends and two “wild cards” whose trends and implications are harder to foresee. The eight surprise-free trends are:

End-to-end observatory software modeling using domain specific languages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filgueira, José M.; Bec, Matthieu; Liu, Ning; Peng, Chien; Soto, José

2014-07-01

The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is a 25-meter extremely large telescope that is being built by an international consortium of universities and research institutions. Its software and control system is being developed using a set of Domain Specific Languages (DSL) that supports a model driven development methodology integrated with an Agile management process. This approach promotes the use of standardized models that capture the component architecture of the system, that facilitate the construction of technical specifications in a uniform way, that facilitate communication between developers and domain experts and that provide a framework to ensure the successful integration of the software subsystems developed by the GMT partner institutions.

Agile Methods and Request for Change (RFC): Observations from DoD Acquisition Programs

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

at the Software Development Plan, then it’s worth having a conversation with the contractor that includes answering the above questions. MSA TD EMD...Lap- ham 2010] CMU/SEI-2013-TN-031 | 18 those undertaken in more traditional waterfall-based developments. Some of the government PMO enabling

The Challenges of Being Agile in DoD

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-02-01

term “Agile” will serve as an overarching term to represent all forms of iterative development whether Scrum , Lean Software Development, extreme...occur? • How do we know what the development team will deliver at the end of the Sprint? (A basic unit of development in Scrum that lasts for “time

Using the Agile Development Methodology and Applying Best Practice Project Management Processes

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

side of this writing: Like finicky domestic helpers who announce that they ‘don’t do windows,’ I’ve often heard software developers state proudly...positioned or motivated, but rather because they were the least skilled developer (2012, 34). This result turned a team of what should be generalists

Real-time access of large volume imagery through low-bandwidth links

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, James; Grohs, Karl; Brower, Bernard; Kelly, Lawrence; Carlisle, Lewis; Pellechia, Matthew

2010-04-01

Providing current, time-sensitive imagery and geospatial information to deployed tactical military forces or first responders continues to be a challenge. This challenge is compounded through rapid increases in sensor collection volumes, both with larger arrays and higher temporal capture rates. Focusing on the needs of these military forces and first responders, ITT developed a system called AGILE (Advanced Geospatial Imagery Library Enterprise) Access as an innovative approach based on standard off-the-shelf techniques to solving this problem. The AGILE Access system is based on commercial software called Image Access Solutions (IAS) and incorporates standard JPEG 2000 processing. Our solution system is implemented in an accredited, deployable form, incorporating a suite of components, including an image database, a web-based search and discovery tool, and several software tools that act in concert to process, store, and disseminate imagery from airborne systems and commercial satellites. Currently, this solution is operational within the U.S. Government tactical infrastructure and supports disadvantaged imagery users in the field. This paper presents the features and benefits of this system to disadvantaged users as demonstrated in real-world operational environments.

Study on the E-commerce platform based on the agent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Ruixue; Qin, Lishuan; Gao, Yinmin

2011-10-01

To solve problem of dynamic integration in e-commerce, the Multi-Agent architecture of electronic commerce platform system based on Agent and Ontology has been introduced, which includes three major types of agent, Ontology and rule collection. In this architecture, service agent and rule are used to realize the business process reengineering, the reuse of software component, and agility of the electronic commerce platform. To illustrate the architecture, a simulation work has been done and the results imply that the architecture provides a very efficient method to design and implement the flexible, distributed, open and intelligent electronic commerce platform system to solve problem of dynamic integration in ecommerce. The objective of this paper is to illustrate the architecture of electronic commerce platform system, and the approach how Agent and Ontology support the electronic commerce platform system.

Motivating Company Personnel by Applying the Semi-self-organized Teams Principle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumlander, Deniss

The only way nowadays to improve stability of software development process in the global rapidly evolving world is to be innovative and involve professionals into projects motivating them using both material and non material factors. In this paper self-organized teams are discussed. Unfortunately not all kind of organizations can benefit directly from agile method including applying self-organized teams. The paper proposes semi-self-organized teams presenting it as a new and promising motivating factor allowing deriving many positive sides of been self-organized and partly agile and been compliant to less strict conditions for following this innovating process. The semi-self organized teams are reliable at least in the short-term perspective and are simple to organize and support.

Observing System Simulation Experiment (OSSE) for the HyspIRI Spectrometer Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turmon, Michael J.; Block, Gary L.; Green, Robert O.; Hua, Hook; Jacob, Joseph C.; Sobel, Harold R.; Springer, Paul L.; Zhang, Qingyuan

2010-01-01

The OSSE software provides an integrated end-to-end environment to simulate an Earth observing system by iteratively running a distributed modeling workflow based on the HyspIRI Mission, including atmospheric radiative transfer, surface albedo effects, detection, and retrieval for agile exploration of the mission design space. The software enables an Observing System Simulation Experiment (OSSE) and can be used for design trade space exploration of science return for proposed instruments by modeling the whole ground truth, sensing, and retrieval chain and to assess retrieval accuracy for a particular instrument and algorithm design. The OSSE in fra struc ture is extensible to future National Research Council (NRC) Decadal Survey concept missions where integrated modeling can improve the fidelity of coupled science and engineering analyses for systematic analysis and science return studies. This software has a distributed architecture that gives it a distinct advantage over other similar efforts. The workflow modeling components are typically legacy computer programs implemented in a variety of programming languages, including MATLAB, Excel, and FORTRAN. Integration of these diverse components is difficult and time-consuming. In order to hide this complexity, each modeling component is wrapped as a Web Service, and each component is able to pass analysis parameterizations, such as reflectance or radiance spectra, on to the next component downstream in the service workflow chain. In this way, the interface to each modeling component becomes uniform and the entire end-to-end workflow can be run using any existing or custom workflow processing engine. The architecture lets users extend workflows as new modeling components become available, chain together the components using any existing or custom workflow processing engine, and distribute them across any Internet-accessible Web Service endpoints. The workflow components can be hosted on any Internet-accessible machine. This has the advantages that the computations can be distributed to make best use of the available computing resources, and each workflow component can be hosted and maintained by their respective domain experts.

Safety Characteristics in System Application of Software for Human Rated Exploration Missions for the 8th IAASS Conference

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mango, Edward J.

2016-01-01

NASA and its industry and international partners are embarking on a bold and inspiring development effort to design and build an exploration class space system. The space system is made up of the Orion system, the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) system. All are highly coupled together and dependent on each other for the combined safety of the space system. A key area of system safety focus needs to be in the ground and flight application software system (GFAS). In the development, certification and operations of GFAS, there are a series of safety characteristics that define the approach to ensure mission success. This paper will explore and examine the safety characteristics of the GFAS development. The GFAS system integrates the flight software packages of the Orion and SLS with the ground systems and launch countdown sequencers through the 'agile' software development process. A unique approach is needed to develop the GFAS project capabilities within this agile process. NASA has defined the software development process through a set of standards. The standards were written during the infancy of the so-called industry 'agile development' movement and must be tailored to adapt to the highly integrated environment of human exploration systems. Safety of the space systems and the eventual crew on board is paramount during the preparation of the exploration flight systems. A series of software safety characteristics have been incorporated into the development and certification efforts to ensure readiness for use and compatibility with the space systems. Three underlining factors in the exploration architecture require the GFAS system to be unique in its approach to ensure safety for the space systems, both the flight as well as the ground systems. The first are the missions themselves, which are exploration in nature, and go far beyond the comfort of low Earth orbit operations. The second is the current exploration system will launch only one mission per year even less during its developmental phases. Finally, the third is the partnered approach through the use of many different prime contractors, including commercial and international partners, to design and build the exploration systems. These three factors make the challenges to meet the mission preparations and the safety expectations extremely difficult to implement. As NASA leads a team of partners in the exploration beyond earth's influence, it is a safety imperative that the application software used to test, checkout, prepare and launch the exploration systems put safety of the hardware and mission first. Software safety characteristics are built into the design and development process to enable the human rated systems to begin their missions safely and successfully. Exploration missions beyond Earth are inherently risky, however, with solid safety approaches in both hardware and software, the boldness of these missions can be realized for all on the home planet.

A survey of risk factors for digit injuries among dogs training and competing in agility events.

PubMed

Sellon, Debra C; Martucci, Katherine; Wenz, John R; Marcellin-Little, Denis J; Powers, Michelle; Cullen, Kimberley L

2018-01-01

OBJECTIVE To identify potential risk factors for digit injuries in dogs training and competing in agility events. DESIGN Internet-based, retrospective, cross-sectional survey. ANIMALS 1,081 dogs training or competing in agility events. PROCEDURES Data were collected for eligible animals via retrospective surveys distributed electronically to handlers of dogs participating in agility-related activities. Variables evaluated included demographic (handlers) and signalment (dogs) information, physical characteristics of dogs, and injury characteristics. A separate survey of dogs competing in similar agility-related activities but without digit injuries was also administered. Multivariable logistic regression was used to develop a model for assessment of risk factors. RESULTS Data were collected from 207 agility dogs with digit injuries and 874 agility dogs without digit injuries. Factors associated with significantly increased odds of injury included Border Collie breed (OR, 2.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5 to 3.3), long nails (OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.3 to 4.5), absence of front dewclaws (OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.3 to 2.6), and greater weight-to-height ratio (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.0). Odds of injury decreased with increasing age of the dog (OR, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.76 to 0.86). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results should be cautiously interpreted because of potential respondent and recall bias and lack of review of medical records. Nevertheless, results suggested that retaining healthy dewclaws, maintaining lean body mass, and trimming nails short for training and competition may decrease the likelihood of digit injuries. Research to investigate training practices, obstacle construction specifcations, and surface considerations for dogs competing in agility activities is indicated.

Agile Acceptance Test-Driven Development of Clinical Decision Support Advisories: Feasibility of Using Open Source Software.

PubMed

Basit, Mujeeb A; Baldwin, Krystal L; Kannan, Vaishnavi; Flahaven, Emily L; Parks, Cassandra J; Ott, Jason M; Willett, Duwayne L

2018-04-13

Moving to electronic health records (EHRs) confers substantial benefits but risks unintended consequences. Modern EHRs consist of complex software code with extensive local configurability options, which can introduce defects. Defects in clinical decision support (CDS) tools are surprisingly common. Feasible approaches to prevent and detect defects in EHR configuration, including CDS tools, are needed. In complex software systems, use of test-driven development and automated regression testing promotes reliability. Test-driven development encourages modular, testable design and expanding regression test coverage. Automated regression test suites improve software quality, providing a "safety net" for future software modifications. Each automated acceptance test serves multiple purposes, as requirements (prior to build), acceptance testing (on completion of build), regression testing (once live), and "living" design documentation. Rapid-cycle development or "agile" methods are being successfully applied to CDS development. The agile practice of automated test-driven development is not widely adopted, perhaps because most EHR software code is vendor-developed. However, key CDS advisory configuration design decisions and rules stored in the EHR may prove amenable to automated testing as "executable requirements." We aimed to establish feasibility of acceptance test-driven development of clinical decision support advisories in a commonly used EHR, using an open source automated acceptance testing framework (FitNesse). Acceptance tests were initially constructed as spreadsheet tables to facilitate clinical review. Each table specified one aspect of the CDS advisory's expected behavior. Table contents were then imported into a test suite in FitNesse, which queried the EHR database to automate testing. Tests and corresponding CDS configuration were migrated together from the development environment to production, with tests becoming part of the production regression test suite. We used test-driven development to construct a new CDS tool advising Emergency Department nurses to perform a swallowing assessment prior to administering oral medication to a patient with suspected stroke. Test tables specified desired behavior for (1) applicable clinical settings, (2) triggering action, (3) rule logic, (4) user interface, and (5) system actions in response to user input. Automated test suite results for the "executable requirements" are shown prior to building the CDS alert, during build, and after successful build. Automated acceptance test-driven development and continuous regression testing of CDS configuration in a commercial EHR proves feasible with open source software. Automated test-driven development offers one potential contribution to achieving high-reliability EHR configuration. Vetting acceptance tests with clinicians elicits their input on crucial configuration details early during initial CDS design and iteratively during rapid-cycle optimization. ©Mujeeb A Basit, Krystal L Baldwin, Vaishnavi Kannan, Emily L Flahaven, Cassandra J Parks, Jason M Ott, Duwayne L Willett. Originally published in JMIR Medical Informatics (http://medinform.jmir.org), 13.04.2018.

Towards seamless workflows in agile data science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klump, J. F.; Robertson, J.

2017-12-01

Agile workflows are a response to projects with requirements that may change over time. They prioritise rapid and flexible responses to change, preferring to adapt to changes in requirements rather than predict them before a project starts. This suits the needs of research very well because research is inherently agile in its methodology. The adoption of agile methods has made collaborative data analysis much easier in a research environment fragmented across institutional data stores, HPC, personal and lab computers and more recently cloud environments. Agile workflows use tools that share a common worldview: in an agile environment, there may be more that one valid version of data, code or environment in play at any given time. All of these versions need references and identifiers. For example, a team of developers following the git-flow conventions (github.com/nvie/gitflow) may have several active branches, one for each strand of development. These workflows allow rapid and parallel iteration while maintaining identifiers pointing to individual snapshots of data and code and allowing rapid switching between strands. In contrast, the current focus of versioning in research data management is geared towards managing data for reproducibility and long-term preservation of the record of science. While both are important goals in the persistent curation domain of the institutional research data infrastructure, current tools emphasise planning over adaptation and can introduce unwanted rigidity by insisting on a single valid version or point of truth. In the collaborative curation domain of a research project, things are more fluid. However, there is no equivalent to the "versioning iso-surface" of the git protocol for the management and versioning of research data. At CSIRO we are developing concepts and tools for the agile management of software code and research data for virtual research environments, based on our experiences of actual data analytics projects in the geosciences. We use code management that allows researchers to interact with the code through tools like Jupyter Notebooks while data are held in an object store. Our aim is an architecture allowing seamless integration of code development, data management, and data processing in virtual research environments.

Fostering Cooperative Learning with Scrum in a Semi-Capstone Systems Analysis and Design Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Magana, Alejandra J.; Seah, Ying Ying; Thomas, Paul

2018-01-01

Agile methods such as Scrum that emphasize technical, communication, and teamwork skills have been practiced by IT professionals to effectively deliver software products of good quality. The same methods combined with pedagogies of engagement can potentially be used in the setting of higher education to promote effective group learning in software…

Open Technology Development: Roadmap Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-04-01

65 RECOMMENDATION 1: APPROVE AND FUND AN OTD STRIKE TEAM................. 67 Senior Leadership...negotiated, rather than an innate property of the product. Software’s replicability also means it can be incorporated into other software systems without...to leverage an open code development model, DoD would provide the market incentives to increase the agility and competitiveness of the industrial

First-Year Students' Impressions of Pair Programming in CS1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simon, Beth; Hanks, Brian

2008-01-01

Pair programming, as part of the Agile Development process, has noted benefits in professional software development scenarios. These successes have led to a rise in use of pair programming in educational settings, particularly in Computer Science 1 (CS1). Specifically, McDowell et al. [2006] has shown that students using pair programming in CS1 do…

Model based design introduction: modeling game controllers to microprocessor architectures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jungwirth, Patrick; Badawy, Abdel-Hameed

2017-04-01

We present an introduction to model based design. Model based design is a visual representation, generally a block diagram, to model and incrementally develop a complex system. Model based design is a commonly used design methodology for digital signal processing, control systems, and embedded systems. Model based design's philosophy is: to solve a problem - a step at a time. The approach can be compared to a series of steps to converge to a solution. A block diagram simulation tool allows a design to be simulated with real world measurement data. For example, if an analog control system is being upgraded to a digital control system, the analog sensor input signals can be recorded. The digital control algorithm can be simulated with the real world sensor data. The output from the simulated digital control system can then be compared to the old analog based control system. Model based design can compared to Agile software develop. The Agile software development goal is to develop working software in incremental steps. Progress is measured in completed and tested code units. Progress is measured in model based design by completed and tested blocks. We present a concept for a video game controller and then use model based design to iterate the design towards a working system. We will also describe a model based design effort to develop an OS Friendly Microprocessor Architecture based on the RISC-V.

Calibration of X-Ray diffractometer by the experimental comparison method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dudka, A. P., E-mail: dudka@ns.crys.ras.ru

2015-07-15

A software for calibrating an X-ray diffractometer with area detector has been developed. It is proposed to search for detector and goniometer calibration models whose parameters are reproduced in a series of measurements on a reference crystal. Reference (standard) crystals are prepared during the investigation; they should provide the agreement of structural models in repeated analyses. The technique developed has been used to calibrate Xcalibur Sapphire and Eos, Gemini Ruby (Agilent) and Apex x8 and Apex Duo (Bruker) diffractometers. The main conclusions are as follows: the calibration maps are stable for several years and can be used to improve structuralmore » results, verified CCD detectors exhibit significant inhomogeneity of the efficiency (response) function, and a Bruker goniometer introduces smaller distortions than an Agilent goniometer.« less

Why are things where they are

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rathod, Nakul Pravin

The type of stores in an area gives us great insight into the people who live there. The geographic distribution of stores can be used to solve a variety of problems. Towards my goal of leveraging these patterns to solve novel problems, I have built a system to help new business owners figure out the most desirable place to open their store. I have also come up with a visualization that communicates the brands that any specific store likes to be near (or far from). This brand affinity can be used to rank the desirability of prospective rental locations. I present an analysis of how this idea went from conception to its final form with commentary on challenges faced and lessons learned. My hope is that this project not only serves as an interesting GIS project, but also a useful case study of implementing a complex software engineering project using Agile Development Methodology.

TEAM (Technologies Enabling Agile Manufacturing) shop floor control requirements guide: Version 1.0

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1995-03-28

TEAM will create a shop floor control system (SFC) to link the pre-production planning to shop floor execution. SFC must meet the requirements of a multi-facility corporation, where control must be maintained between co-located facilities down to individual workstations within each facility. SFC must also meet the requirements of a small corporation, where there may only be one small facility. A hierarchical architecture is required to meet these diverse needs. The hierarchy contains the following levels: Enterprise, Factory, Cell, Station, and Equipment. SFC is focused on the top three levels. Each level of the hierarchy is divided into three basicmore » functions: Scheduler, Dispatcher, and Monitor. The requirements of each function depend on the hierarchical level in which it is to be used. For example, the scheduler at the Enterprise level must allocate production to individual factories and assign due-dates; the scheduler at the Cell level must provide detailed start and stop times of individual operations. Finally the system shall have the following features: distributed and open-architecture. Open architecture software is required in order that the appropriate technology be used at each level of the SFC hierarchy, and even at different instances within the same hierarchical level (for example, Factory A uses discrete-event simulation scheduling software, and Factory B uses an optimization-based scheduler). A distributed implementation is required to reduce the computational burden of the overall system, and allow for localized control. A distributed, open-architecture implementation will also require standards for communication between hierarchical levels.« less

Managing a tier-2 computer centre with a private cloud infrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bagnasco, Stefano; Berzano, Dario; Brunetti, Riccardo; Lusso, Stefano; Vallero, Sara

2014-06-01

In a typical scientific computing centre, several applications coexist and share a single physical infrastructure. An underlying Private Cloud infrastructure eases the management and maintenance of such heterogeneous applications (such as multipurpose or application-specific batch farms, Grid sites, interactive data analysis facilities and others), allowing dynamic allocation resources to any application. Furthermore, the maintenance of large deployments of complex and rapidly evolving middleware and application software is eased by the use of virtual images and contextualization techniques. Such infrastructures are being deployed in some large centres (see e.g. the CERN Agile Infrastructure project), but with several open-source tools reaching maturity this is becoming viable also for smaller sites. In this contribution we describe the Private Cloud infrastructure at the INFN-Torino Computer Centre, that hosts a full-fledged WLCG Tier-2 centre, an Interactive Analysis Facility for the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC and several smaller scientific computing applications. The private cloud building blocks include the OpenNebula software stack, the GlusterFS filesystem and the OpenWRT Linux distribution (used for network virtualization); a future integration into a federated higher-level infrastructure is made possible by exposing commonly used APIs like EC2 and OCCI.

The Virtual Climate Data Server (vCDS): An iRODS-Based Data Management Software Appliance Supporting Climate Data Services and Virtualization-as-a-Service in the NASA Center for Climate Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schnase, John L.; Tamkin, Glenn S.; Ripley, W. David III; Stong, Savannah; Gill, Roger; Duffy, Daniel Q.

2012-01-01

Scientific data services are becoming an important part of the NASA Center for Climate Simulation's mission. Our technological response to this expanding role is built around the concept of a Virtual Climate Data Server (vCDS), repetitive provisioning, image-based deployment and distribution, and virtualization-as-a-service. The vCDS is an iRODS-based data server specialized to the needs of a particular data-centric application. We use RPM scripts to build vCDS images in our local computing environment, our local Virtual Machine Environment, NASA s Nebula Cloud Services, and Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud. Once provisioned into one or more of these virtualized resource classes, vCDSs can use iRODS s federation capabilities to create an integrated ecosystem of managed collections that is scalable and adaptable to changing resource requirements. This approach enables platform- or software-asa- service deployment of vCDS and allows the NCCS to offer virtualization-as-a-service: a capacity to respond in an agile way to new customer requests for data services.

Thyroid Cancer and Tumor Collaborative Registry (TCCR)

PubMed Central

Shats, Oleg; Goldner, Whitney; Feng, Jianmin; Sherman, Alexander; Smith, Russell B.; Sherman, Simon

2016-01-01

A multicenter, web-based Thyroid Cancer and Tumor Collaborative Registry (TCCR, http://tccr.unmc.edu) allows for the collection and management of various data on thyroid cancer (TC) and thyroid nodule (TN) patients. The TCCR is coupled with OpenSpecimen, an open-source biobank management system, to annotate biospecimens obtained from the TCCR subjects. The demographic, lifestyle, physical activity, dietary habits, family history, medical history, and quality of life data are provided and may be entered into the registry by subjects. Information on diagnosis, treatment, and outcome is entered by the clinical personnel. The TCCR uses advanced technical and organizational practices, such as (i) metadata-driven software architecture (design); (ii) modern standards and best practices for data sharing and interoperability (standardization); (iii) Agile methodology (project management); (iv) Software as a Service (SaaS) as a software distribution model (operation); and (v) the confederation principle as a business model (governance). This allowed us to create a secure, reliable, user-friendly, and self-sustainable system for TC and TN data collection and management that is compatible with various end-user devices and easily adaptable to a rapidly changing environment. Currently, the TCCR contains data on 2,261 subjects and data on more than 28,000 biospecimens. Data and biological samples collected by the TCCR are used in developing diagnostic, prevention, treatment, and survivorship strategies against TC. PMID:27168721

Biotechnology software in the digital age: are you winning?

PubMed

Scheitz, Cornelia Johanna Franziska; Peck, Lawrence J; Groban, Eli S

2018-01-16

There is a digital revolution taking place and biotechnology companies are slow to adapt. Many pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and industrial bio-production companies believe that software must be developed and maintained in-house and that data are more secure on internal servers than on the cloud. In fact, most companies in this space continue to employ large IT and software teams and acquire computational infrastructure in the form of in-house servers. This is due to a fear of the cloud not sufficiently protecting in-house resources and the belief that their software is valuable IP. Over the next decade, the ability to quickly adapt to changing market conditions, with agile software teams, will quickly become a compelling competitive advantage. Biotechnology companies that do not adopt the new regime may lose on key business metrics such as return on invested capital, revenue, profitability, and eventually market share.

A New Overview of The Trilinos Project

DOE PAGES

Heroux, Michael A.; Willenbring, James M.

2012-01-01

Since An Overview of the Trilinos Project [ACM Trans. Math. Softw. 31(3) (2005), 397–423] was published in 2005, Trilinos has grown significantly. It now supports the development of a broad collection of libraries for scalable computational science and engineering applications, and a full-featured software infrastructure for rigorous lean/agile software engineering. This growth has created significant opportunities and challenges. This paper focuses on some of the most notable changes to the Trilinos project in the last few years. At the time of the writing of this article, the current release version of Trilinos was 10.12.2.

Research to Operations of Ionospheric Scintillation Detection and Forecasting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, J.; Scro, K.; Payne, D.; Ruhge, R.; Erickson, B.; Andorka, S.; Ludwig, C.; Karmann, J.; Ebelhar, D.

Ionospheric Scintillation refers to random fluctuations in phase and amplitude of electromagnetic waves caused by a rapidly varying refractive index due to turbulent features in the ionosphere. Scintillation of transionospheric UHF and L-Band radio frequency signals is particularly troublesome since this phenomenon can lead to degradation of signal strength and integrity that can negatively impact satellite communications and navigation, radar, or radio signals from other systems that traverse or interact with the ionosphere. Although ionospheric scintillation occurs in both the equatorial and polar regions of the Earth, the focus of this modeling effort is on equatorial scintillation. The ionospheric scintillation model is data-driven in a sense that scintillation observations are used to perform detection and characterization of scintillation structures. These structures are then propagated to future times using drift and decay models to represent the natural evolution of ionospheric scintillation. The impact on radio signals is also determined by the model and represented in graphical format to the user. A frequency scaling algorithm allows for impact analysis on frequencies other than the observation frequencies. The project began with lab-grade software and through a tailored Agile development process, deployed operational-grade code to a DoD operational center. The Agile development process promotes adaptive promote adaptive planning, evolutionary development, early delivery, continuous improvement, regular collaboration with the customer, and encourage rapid and flexible response to customer-driven changes. The Agile philosophy values individuals and interactions over processes and tools, working software over comprehensive documentation, customer collaboration over contract negotiation, and responding to change over following a rigid plan. The end result was an operational capability that met customer expectations. Details of the model and the process of operational integration are discussed as well as lessons learned to improve performance on future projects.

Agile parallel bioinformatics workflow management using Pwrake.

PubMed

Mishima, Hiroyuki; Sasaki, Kensaku; Tanaka, Masahiro; Tatebe, Osamu; Yoshiura, Koh-Ichiro

2011-09-08

In bioinformatics projects, scientific workflow systems are widely used to manage computational procedures. Full-featured workflow systems have been proposed to fulfil the demand for workflow management. However, such systems tend to be over-weighted for actual bioinformatics practices. We realize that quick deployment of cutting-edge software implementing advanced algorithms and data formats, and continuous adaptation to changes in computational resources and the environment are often prioritized in scientific workflow management. These features have a greater affinity with the agile software development method through iterative development phases after trial and error.Here, we show the application of a scientific workflow system Pwrake to bioinformatics workflows. Pwrake is a parallel workflow extension of Ruby's standard build tool Rake, the flexibility of which has been demonstrated in the astronomy domain. Therefore, we hypothesize that Pwrake also has advantages in actual bioinformatics workflows. We implemented the Pwrake workflows to process next generation sequencing data using the Genomic Analysis Toolkit (GATK) and Dindel. GATK and Dindel workflows are typical examples of sequential and parallel workflows, respectively. We found that in practice, actual scientific workflow development iterates over two phases, the workflow definition phase and the parameter adjustment phase. We introduced separate workflow definitions to help focus on each of the two developmental phases, as well as helper methods to simplify the descriptions. This approach increased iterative development efficiency. Moreover, we implemented combined workflows to demonstrate modularity of the GATK and Dindel workflows. Pwrake enables agile management of scientific workflows in the bioinformatics domain. The internal domain specific language design built on Ruby gives the flexibility of rakefiles for writing scientific workflows. Furthermore, readability and maintainability of rakefiles may facilitate sharing workflows among the scientific community. Workflows for GATK and Dindel are available at http://github.com/misshie/Workflows.

Agile parallel bioinformatics workflow management using Pwrake

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background In bioinformatics projects, scientific workflow systems are widely used to manage computational procedures. Full-featured workflow systems have been proposed to fulfil the demand for workflow management. However, such systems tend to be over-weighted for actual bioinformatics practices. We realize that quick deployment of cutting-edge software implementing advanced algorithms and data formats, and continuous adaptation to changes in computational resources and the environment are often prioritized in scientific workflow management. These features have a greater affinity with the agile software development method through iterative development phases after trial and error. Here, we show the application of a scientific workflow system Pwrake to bioinformatics workflows. Pwrake is a parallel workflow extension of Ruby's standard build tool Rake, the flexibility of which has been demonstrated in the astronomy domain. Therefore, we hypothesize that Pwrake also has advantages in actual bioinformatics workflows. Findings We implemented the Pwrake workflows to process next generation sequencing data using the Genomic Analysis Toolkit (GATK) and Dindel. GATK and Dindel workflows are typical examples of sequential and parallel workflows, respectively. We found that in practice, actual scientific workflow development iterates over two phases, the workflow definition phase and the parameter adjustment phase. We introduced separate workflow definitions to help focus on each of the two developmental phases, as well as helper methods to simplify the descriptions. This approach increased iterative development efficiency. Moreover, we implemented combined workflows to demonstrate modularity of the GATK and Dindel workflows. Conclusions Pwrake enables agile management of scientific workflows in the bioinformatics domain. The internal domain specific language design built on Ruby gives the flexibility of rakefiles for writing scientific workflows. Furthermore, readability and maintainability of rakefiles may facilitate sharing workflows among the scientific community. Workflows for GATK and Dindel are available at http://github.com/misshie/Workflows. PMID:21899774

Are Earth System model software engineering practices fit for purpose? A case study.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Easterbrook, S. M.; Johns, T. C.

2009-04-01

We present some analysis and conclusions from a case study of the culture and practices of scientists at the Met Office and Hadley Centre working on the development of software for climate and Earth System models using the MetUM infrastructure. The study examined how scientists think about software correctness, prioritize their requirements in making changes, and develop a shared understanding of the resulting models. We conclude that highly customized techniques driven strongly by scientific research goals have evolved for verification and validation of such models. In a formal software engineering context these represents costly, but invaluable, software integration tests with considerable benefits. The software engineering practices seen also exhibit recognisable features of both agile and open source software development projects - self-organisation of teams consistent with a meritocracy rather than top-down organisation, extensive use of informal communication channels, and software developers who are generally also users and science domain experts. We draw some general conclusions on whether these practices work well, and what new software engineering challenges may lie ahead as Earth System models become ever more complex and petascale computing becomes the norm.

Frequency-agile wireless sensor networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arms, Steven W.; Townsend, Christopher P.; Churchill, David L.; Hamel, Michael J.; Galbreath, Jacob H.; Mundell, Steven W.

2004-07-01

Our goal was to demonstrate a wireless communications system capable of simultaneous, high speed data communications from a variety of sensors. We have previously reported on the design and application of 2 KHz data logging transceiver nodes, however, only one node may stream data at a time, since all nodes on the network use the same communications frequency. To overcome these limitations, second generation data logging transceivers were developed with software programmable radio frequency (RF) communications. Each node contains on-board memory (2 Mbytes), sensor excitation, instrumentation amplifiers with programmable gains & offsets, multiplexer, 16 bit A/D converter, microcontroller, and frequency agile, bi-directional, frequency shift keyed (FSK) RF serial data link. These systems are capable of continuous data transmission from 26 distinct nodes (902-928 MHz band, 75 kbaud). The system was demonstrated in a compelling structural monitoring application. The National Parks Service requested a means for continual monitoring and recording of sensor data from the Liberty Bell during a move to a new location (Philadelphia, October 2003). Three distinct, frequency agile, wireless sensing nodes were used to detect visible crack shear/opening micromotions, triaxial accelerations, and hairline crack tip strains. The wireless sensors proved to be useful in protecting the Liberty Bell.

A Simulated Learning Environment for Teaching Medicine Dispensing Skills

PubMed Central

Styles, Kim; Sewell, Keith; Trinder, Peta; Marriott, Jennifer; Maher, Sheryl; Naidu, Som

2016-01-01

Objective. To develop an authentic simulation of the professional practice dispensary context for students to develop their dispensing skills in a risk-free environment. Design. A development team used an Agile software development method to create MyDispense, a web-based simulation. Modeled on virtual learning environments elements, the software employed widely available standards-based technologies to create a virtual community pharmacy environment. Assessment. First-year pharmacy students who used the software in their tutorials, were, at the end of the second semester, surveyed on their prior dispensing experience and their perceptions of MyDispense as a tool to learn dispensing skills. Conclusion. The dispensary simulation is an effective tool for helping students develop dispensing competency and knowledge in a safe environment. PMID:26941437

The method to divide a sentence of requirement into individual requirements and the development of requirement specification editor which can describe individual requirements.

PubMed

Sato, Kuniya; Ooba, Masahiro; Takagi, Tomohiko; Furukawa, Zengo; Komiya, Seiichi; Yaegashi, Rihito

2013-12-01

Agile software development gains requirements from the direct discussion with customers and the development staff each time, and the customers evaluate the appropriateness of the requirement. If the customers divide the complicated requirement into individual requirements, the engineer who is in charge of software development can understand it easily. This is called division of requirement. However, the customers do not understand how much and how to divide the requirements. This paper proposes the method to divide a complicated requirement into individual requirements. Also, it shows the development of requirement specification editor which can describe individual requirements. The engineer who is in charge of software development can understand requirements easily.

Lean Mission Operations Systems Design - Using Agile and Lean Development Principles for Mission Operations Design and Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trimble, Jay Phillip

2014-01-01

The Resource Prospector Mission seeks to rove the lunar surface with an in-situ resource utilization payload in search of volatiles at a polar region. The mission operations system (MOS) will need to perform the short-duration mission while taking advantage of the near real time control that the short one-way light time to the Moon provides. To maximize our use of limited resources for the design and development of the MOS we are utilizing agile and lean methods derived from our previous experience with applying these methods to software. By using methods such as "say it then sim it" we will spend less time in meetings and more time focused on the one outcome that counts - the effective utilization of our assets on the Moon to meet mission objectives.

Software Acquisition Patterns of Failure and How to Recognize Them

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-01

Acquisition Processes Danielle Worger and Teresa Wu, Arizona State University Eugene Rex Jalao, Arizona State University and University of the Philippines...Robert Wirthlin Air Force Institute of Technology The RITE Approach to Agile Acquisition Timothy Boyce, Iva Sherman, and Nicholas Roussel Space...the Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration Office: Ad Hoc Problem Solving as a Mechanism for Adaptive Change Kathryn Aten and John T . Dillard

Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial in the field of planetary science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frigeri, A.

2012-12-01

Information technology applied to geospatial analyses has spread quickly in the last ten years. The availability of OpenData and data from collaborative mapping projects increased the interest on tools, procedures and methods to handle spatially-related information. Free Open Source Software projects devoted to geospatial data handling are gaining a good success as the use of interoperable formats and protocols allow the user to choose what pipeline of tools and libraries is needed to solve a particular task, adapting the software scene to his specific problem. In particular, the Free Open Source model of development mimics the scientific method very well, and researchers should be naturally encouraged to take part to the development process of these software projects, as this represent a very agile way to interact among several institutions. When it comes to planetary sciences, geospatial Free Open Source Software is gaining a key role in projects that commonly involve different subjects in an international scenario. Very popular software suites for processing scientific mission data (for example, ISIS) and for navigation/planning (SPICE) are being distributed along with the source code and the interaction between user and developer is often very strict, creating a continuum between these two figures. A very widely spread library for handling geospatial data (GDAL) has started to support planetary data from the Planetary Data System, and recent contributions enabled the support to other popular data formats used in planetary science, as the Vicar one. The use of Geographic Information System in planetary science is now diffused, and Free Open Source GIS, open GIS formats and network protocols allow to extend existing tools and methods developed to solve Earth based problems, also to the case of the study of solar system bodies. A day in the working life of a researcher using Free Open Source Software for geospatial will be presented, as well as benefits and solutions to possible detriments coming from the effort required by using, supporting and contributing.

PDS4: Current Status and Future Vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crichton, D. J.; Hughes, J. S.; Hardman, S. H.; Law, E. S.; Beebe, R. F.

2017-12-01

In 2010, the Planetary Data System began the largest standards and software upgrade in its history called "PDS4". PDS4 was architected with core principles, applying years of experience and lessons learned working with scientific data returned from robotic solar system missions. In addition to applying those lessons learned, the PDS team was able to take advantage of modern software and data architecture approaches and emerging information technologies which has enabled the capture, management, discovery, and distribution of data from planetary science archives world-wide. What has emerged is a foundational set of standards, services, and common tools to construct and enable interoperability of planetary science archives from distributed repositories. Early in the PDS4 development, PDS selected two missions as drivers to be used to validate the PDS4 approach: LADEE and MAVEN. Additionally, PDS partnered with international agencies to begin discussing the architecture, design, and implementation to ensure that PDS4 would be architected as a world-wide standard and platform for archive development and interoperability. Given the evolving requirements, an agile software development methodology known as the "Evolutionary Software Development Lifecycle" was chosen. This led to incremental releases of increasing capability over time which were matched against emerging mission and user needs. To date, PDS has now performed 16 releases of PDS4 with adoption of over 12 missions world-wide. PDS has also increased from approximately 200 TBs in 2010 to approximately 1.3 PBs of data today, bringing it into the era of big data. The development of PDS4 has not only focused on the construction of compatible archives, but also on increasing access and use of the data in the big data era. As PDS looks forward, it is focused on achieving the recommendations of the Planetary Science Decadal Survey (2013-2022): "support the ongoing effort to evolve the Planetary Data System to an effective online resource for the NASA and international communities". The foundation laid by the standards, software services, and tools positions PDS to develop and adopt new approaches and technologies to enable users to effectively search, extract, integrate, and analyze with the wealth of observational data across international boundaries.

Low Power, Low Mass, Modular, Multi-band Software-defined Radios

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haskins, Christopher B. (Inventor); Millard, Wesley P. (Inventor)

2013-01-01

Methods and systems to implement and operate software-defined radios (SDRs). An SDR may be configured to perform a combination of fractional and integer frequency synthesis and direct digital synthesis under control of a digital signal processor, which may provide a set of relatively agile, flexible, low-noise, and low spurious, timing and frequency conversion signals, and which may be used to maintain a transmit path coherent with a receive path. Frequency synthesis may include dithering to provide additional precision. The SDR may include task-specific software-configurable systems to perform tasks in accordance with software-defined parameters or personalities. The SDR may include a hardware interface system to control hardware components, and a host interface system to provide an interface to the SDR with respect to a host system. The SDR may be configured for one or more of communications, navigation, radio science, and sensors.

From Exotic to Mainstream: A 10-year Odyssey from Internet Speed to Boundary Spanning with Scrum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baskerville, Richard; Pries-Heje, Jan; Madsen, Sabine

Based on four empirical studies conducted over a 10-year time period from 1999 to 2008 we investigate how local software processes interact with global changes in the software development context. In 1999 companies were developing software at high speed in a desperate rush to be first-to-market. In 2001 a new high speed/quick results development process had become established practice. In 2003 changes in the market created the need for a more balanced view on speed and quality, and in 2008 companies were successfully combining agile and plan driven approaches to achieve the benefits of both. The studies reveal a twostage pattern in which dramatic changes in the market causes disruption of established practices, experimentation, and process adaptations followed by consolidation of lessons learnt into a new (and once again mature) software development process. Limitations, implications, and areas for future research are discussed.

Toward effectiveness and agility of network security situational awareness using moving target defense (MTD)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ge, Linqiang; Yu, Wei; Shen, Dan; Chen, Genshe; Pham, Khanh; Blasch, Erik; Lu, Chao

2014-06-01

Most enterprise networks are built to operate in a static configuration (e.g., static software stacks, network configurations, and application deployments). Nonetheless, static systems make it easy for a cyber adversary to plan and launch successful attacks. To address static vulnerability, moving target defense (MTD) has been proposed to increase the difficulty for the adversary to launch successful attacks. In this paper, we first present a literature review of existing MTD techniques. We then propose a generic defense framework, which can provision an incentive-compatible MTD mechanism through dynamically migrating server locations. We also present a user-server mapping mechanism, which not only improves system resiliency, but also ensures network performance. We demonstrate a MTD with a multi-user network communication and our data shows that the proposed framework can effectively improve the resiliency and agility of the system while achieving good network timeliness and throughput performance.

Agile battle management efficiency for command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blasch, Erik; Bélanger, Micheline

2016-05-01

Various operations such as civil-military co-operation (CIMIC) affairs require orchestration of communications, assets, and actors. A key component includes technology advancements to enable coordination among people and machines the ability to know where things are, who to coordinate with, and open and consistent lines of communication. In this paper, we explore concepts of battle management (BM) to support high-tempo emergency response scenarios such as a disaster action response team (DART). Three concepts highlighted of agile battle management (ABM) include source orchestration (e.g., sensors and domains), battle management language (BML) development (e.g., software and ontologies), and command and control (C2) coordination (e.g., people and visualization); which require correlation and de-confliction. These concepts of ABM support the physical, information, and cognitive domains for efficient command, control, communications, and information (C3I) to synchronize data and people for efficient and effective operations.

Enhanced detection of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes by AGILE.

PubMed

Marisaldi, M; Argan, A; Ursi, A; Gjesteland, T; Fuschino, F; Labanti, C; Galli, M; Tavani, M; Pittori, C; Verrecchia, F; D'Amico, F; Østgaard, N; Mereghetti, S; Campana, R; Cattaneo, P W; Bulgarelli, A; Colafrancesco, S; Dietrich, S; Longo, F; Gianotti, F; Giommi, P; Rappoldi, A; Trifoglio, M; Trois, A

2015-11-16

At the end of March 2015 the onboard software configuration of the Astrorivelatore Gamma a Immagini Leggero (AGILE) satellite was modified in order to disable the veto signal of the anticoincidence shield for the minicalorimeter instrument. The motivation for such a change was the understanding that the dead time induced by the anticoincidence prevented the detection of a large fraction of Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes (TGFs). The configuration change was highly successful resulting in an increase of one order of magnitude in TGF detection rate. As expected, the largest fraction of the new events has short duration (<100 μs), and part of them has simultaneous association with lightning sferics detected by the World Wide Lightning Location Network. The new configuration provides the largest TGF detection rate surface density (TGFs/km 2 /yr) to date, opening prospects for improved correlation studies with lightning and atmospheric parameters on short spatial and temporal scales along the equatorial region.

Agile and Lean Systems Engineering: Kanban in Systems Engineering

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-12-31

Rico (Boeing)  Garry Roedler (Lockheed Martin)  Karl Scotland (Rally Software, UK)  Alan Shalloway (NetObjectives)  Neil Shirk (Lockheed Martin... Neil Siegel (Northrop Grumman)  James Sutton (Jubata Group) Thanks are also due to the members of the SERC Research Council, particularly Barry...Commitment Model to Brownfield Systems Development, Proceedings, CSER 2009, April 2009. 14. Heath , B. et al. (2009). A survey of agent-based modeling

TMT approach to observatory software development process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buur, Hanne; Subramaniam, Annapurni; Gillies, Kim; Dumas, Christophe; Bhatia, Ravinder

2016-07-01

The purpose of the Observatory Software System (OSW) is to integrate all software and hardware components of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) to enable observations and data capture; thus it is a complex software system that is defined by four principal software subsystems: Common Software (CSW), Executive Software (ESW), Data Management System (DMS) and Science Operations Support System (SOSS), all of which have interdependencies with the observatory control systems and data acquisition systems. Therefore, the software development process and plan must consider dependencies to other subsystems, manage architecture, interfaces and design, manage software scope and complexity, and standardize and optimize use of resources and tools. Additionally, the TMT Observatory Software will largely be developed in India through TMT's workshare relationship with the India TMT Coordination Centre (ITCC) and use of Indian software industry vendors, which adds complexity and challenges to the software development process, communication and coordination of activities and priorities as well as measuring performance and managing quality and risk. The software project management challenge for the TMT OSW is thus a multi-faceted technical, managerial, communications and interpersonal relations challenge. The approach TMT is using to manage this multifaceted challenge is a combination of establishing an effective geographically distributed software team (Integrated Product Team) with strong project management and technical leadership provided by the TMT Project Office (PO) and the ITCC partner to manage plans, process, performance, risk and quality, and to facilitate effective communications; establishing an effective cross-functional software management team composed of stakeholders, OSW leadership and ITCC leadership to manage dependencies and software release plans, technical complexities and change to approved interfaces, architecture, design and tool set, and to facilitate effective communications; adopting an agile-based software development process across the observatory to enable frequent software releases to help mitigate subsystem interdependencies; defining concise scope and work packages for each of the OSW subsystems to facilitate effective outsourcing of software deliverables to the ITCC partner, and to enable performance monitoring and risk management. At this stage, the architecture and high-level design of the software system has been established and reviewed. During construction each subsystem will have a final design phase with reviews, followed by implementation and testing. The results of the TMT approach to the Observatory Software development process will only be preliminary at the time of the submittal of this paper, but it is anticipated that the early results will be a favorable indication of progress.

Optical flows method for lightweight agile remote sensor design and instrumentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Chong; Xing, Fei; Wang, Hongjian; You, Zheng

2013-08-01

Lightweight agile remote sensors have become one type of the most important payloads and were widely utilized in space reconnaissance and resource survey. These imaging sensors are designed to obtain the high spatial, temporary and spectral resolution imageries. Key techniques in instrumentation include flexible maneuvering, advanced imaging control algorithms and integrative measuring techniques, which are closely correlative or even acting as the bottle-necks for each other. Therefore, mutual restrictive problems must be solved and optimized. Optical flow is the critical model which to be fully represented in the information transferring as well as radiation energy flowing in dynamic imaging. For agile sensors, especially with wide-field-of view, imaging optical flows may distort and deviate seriously when they perform large angle attitude maneuvering imaging. The phenomena are mainly attributed to the geometrical characteristics of the three-dimensional earth surface as well as the coupled effects due to the complicated relative motion between the sensor and scene. Under this circumstance, velocity fields distribute nonlinearly, the imageries may badly be smeared or probably the geometrical structures are changed since the image velocity matching errors are not having been eliminated perfectly. In this paper, precise imaging optical flow model is established for agile remote sensors, for which optical flows evolving is factorized by two forms, which respectively due to translational movement and image shape changing. Moreover, base on that, agile remote sensors instrumentation was investigated. The main techniques which concern optical flow modeling include integrative design with lightweight star sensors along with micro inertial measurement units and corresponding data fusion, the assemblies of focal plane layout and control, imageries post processing for agile remote sensors etc. Some experiments show that the optical analyzing method is effective to eliminate the limitations for the performance indexes, and succeeded to be applied for integrative system design. Finally, a principle prototype of agile remote sensor designed by the method is discussed.

Research of real-time communication software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Maotang; Guo, Jingbo; Liu, Yuzhong; Li, Jiahong

2003-11-01

Real-time communication has been playing an increasingly important role in our work, life and ocean monitor. With the rapid progress of computer and communication technique as well as the miniaturization of communication system, it is needed to develop the adaptable and reliable real-time communication software in the ocean monitor system. This paper involves the real-time communication software research based on the point-to-point satellite intercommunication system. The object-oriented design method is adopted, which can transmit and receive video data and audio data as well as engineering data by satellite channel. In the real-time communication software, some software modules are developed, which can realize the point-to-point satellite intercommunication in the ocean monitor system. There are three advantages for the real-time communication software. One is that the real-time communication software increases the reliability of the point-to-point satellite intercommunication system working. Second is that some optional parameters are intercalated, which greatly increases the flexibility of the system working. Third is that some hardware is substituted by the real-time communication software, which not only decrease the expense of the system and promotes the miniaturization of communication system, but also aggrandizes the agility of the system.

CrossTalk: The Journal of Defense Software Engineering. Volume 20, Number 4

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-04-01

and test markets . The decision fails the review, gets marked for adjustment, or passes. • The decision gets pushed out into the world. At this point...STD- 1521, Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers [IEEE]-15288). Myopically focused on early correctness, systems engineering can seem to...based on Mishkin Berteig’s experiences as an agile coach, consultant or trainer to teams and management in organizations across North America. From

Software Sustainment -- Now and Future

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

today the commercial environment is using something referred to as DevOps . What is DevOps ? What it is. A way of working that encourages the Develop...section. However, there are some major differences. DevOps seems to be the Agile community’s term for doing sustainment and opera- tions in parallel...methods in sustainment within the federal government. This research is how I came upon the term DevOps . In addition, Gene Kim provided a keynote

Guide for SCAMPI Appraisals: Accelerated Improvement Method (AIM)

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-12-01

discussion of TSP introduction strategy appears in Leadership, Teamwork, and Trust: Building a Com- petitive Software Capability by Watts S . Humphrey and...have more life cycles (e.g., Agile, RUP) reflected in the OSSP or the project note- book ( s ). A CMMI start-up pack- age should include documenta...to appraisers, is well docu- mented in the PSP /TSP books MA SP 1.3 Specify how measurement data will be obtained and stored. Forms SUMS

LCG/AA build infrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hodgkins, Alex Liam; Diez, Victor; Hegner, Benedikt

2012-12-01

The Software Process & Infrastructure (SPI) project provides a build infrastructure for regular integration testing and release of the LCG Applications Area software stack. In the past, regular builds have been provided using a system which has been constantly growing to include more features like server-client communication, long-term build history and a summary web interface using present-day web technologies. However, the ad-hoc style of software development resulted in a setup that is hard to monitor, inflexible and difficult to expand. The new version of the infrastructure is based on the Django Python framework, which allows for a structured and modular design, facilitating later additions. Transparency in the workflows and ease of monitoring has been one of the priorities in the design. Formerly missing functionality like on-demand builds or release triggering will support the transition to a more agile development process.

Team Modelling: Survey of Experimental Platforms (Modelisation d’equipes : Examen de plate-formes experimentales)

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-09-01

Control Force Agility Shared Situational Awareness Attentional Demand Interoperability Network Based Operations Effect Based Operations Speed of...Command Self Synchronization Reach Back Reach Forward Information Superiority Increased Mission Effectiveness Humansystems® Team Modelling...communication effectiveness and Distributed Mission Training (DMT) effectiveness . The NASA Ames Centre - Distributed Research Facilities platform could

Autonomous, agile micro-satellites and supporting technologies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Breitfeller, E; Dittman, M D; Gaughan, R J

1999-07-19

This paper updates the on-going effort at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to develop autonomous, agile micro-satellites (MicroSats). The objective of this development effort is to develop MicroSats weighing only a few tens of kilograms, that are able to autonomously perform precision maneuvers and can be used telerobotically in a variety of mission modes. The required capabilities include satellite rendezvous, inspection, proximity-operations, docking, and servicing. The MicroSat carries an integrated proximity-operations sensor-suite incorporating advanced avionics. A new self-pressurizing propulsion system utilizing a miniaturized pump and non-toxic mono-propellant hydrogen peroxide was successfully tested. This system can provide a nominal 25 kg MicroSatmore » with 200-300 m/s delta-v including a warm-gas attitude control system. The avionics is based on the latest PowerPC processor using a CompactPCI bus architecture, which is modular, high-performance and processor-independent. This leverages commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies and minimizes the effects of future changes in processors. The MicroSat software development environment uses the Vx-Works real-time operating system (RTOS) that provides a rapid development environment for integration of new software modules, allowing early integration and test. We will summarize results of recent integrated ground flight testing of our latest non-toxic pumped propulsion MicroSat testbed vehicle operated on our unique dynamic air-rail.« less

CROSS-CULTURAL AGILITY IN LAW ENFORCEMENT: TYING IN THE INTERLOCUTORS CRAFT

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-02-10

think through novel and varied ways to DISTRIBUTION A. Approved for public release: distribution unlimited. 7 engage diversity. While basic...others think , behave, make decisions, view the world, and interpret actions assists in providing strategies and options in how best to engage them to...public release: distribution unlimited. 14 Different Modes of Thinking . But first, an officer might need to tap into a different thinking mode. Daniel

Technical Reference Suite Addressing Challenges of Providing Assurance for Fault Management Architectural Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fitz, Rhonda; Whitman, Gerek

2016-01-01

Research into complexities of software systems Fault Management (FM) and how architectural design decisions affect safety, preservation of assets, and maintenance of desired system functionality has coalesced into a technical reference (TR) suite that advances the provision of safety and mission assurance. The NASA Independent Verification and Validation (IVV) Program, with Software Assurance Research Program support, extracted FM architectures across the IVV portfolio to evaluate robustness, assess visibility for validation and test, and define software assurance methods applied to the architectures and designs. This investigation spanned IVV projects with seven different primary developers, a wide range of sizes and complexities, and encompassed Deep Space Robotic, Human Spaceflight, and Earth Orbiter mission FM architectures. The initiative continues with an expansion of the TR suite to include Launch Vehicles, adding the benefit of investigating differences intrinsic to model-based FM architectures and insight into complexities of FM within an Agile software development environment, in order to improve awareness of how nontraditional processes affect FM architectural design and system health management.

Impact of flow unsteadiness on maneuvers and loads of agile aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jarrah, M. Ameen; Ashley, Holt

1989-01-01

A program of airload measurements on a family of low-aspect-ratio delta wings with sharp leading edges, subjected to large amplitude pitch transients with angles of attack up to 90 deg, is reviewed. Even for small values of the pitch-rate parameter, representative of maneuvers anticipated for agile aircraft, the force and moment overshoots can exceed by 50 percent their steady-state values. This is explained in terms of the hysteretic behavior of the breakdown locations of leading-edge vortices. An approximate theoretical model is proposed which includes the breakdown hysteresis as part of a three-term representation of the unsteady chordwise load distribution.

The Bright γ-ray Flare of 3C 279 in 2015 June: AGILE Detection and Multifrequency Follow-up Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pittori, C.; Lucarelli, F.; Verrecchia, F.; Raiteri, C. M.; Villata, M.; Vittorini, V.; Tavani, M.; Puccetti, S.; Perri, M.; Donnarumma, I.; Vercellone, S.; Acosta-Pulido, J. A.; Bachev, R.; Benítez, E.; Borman, G. A.; Carnerero, M. I.; Carosati, D.; Chen, W. P.; Ehgamberdiev, Sh. A.; Goded, A.; Grishina, T. S.; Hiriart, D.; Hsiao, H. Y.; Jorstad, S. G.; Kimeridze, G. N.; Kopatskaya, E. N.; Kurtanidze, O. M.; Kurtanidze, S. O.; Larionov, V. M.; Larionova, L. V.; Marscher, A. P.; Mirzaqulov, D. O.; Morozova, D. A.; Nilsson, K.; Samal, M. R.; Sigua, L. A.; Spassov, B.; Strigachev, A.; Takalo, L. O.; Antonelli, L. A.; Bulgarelli, A.; Cattaneo, P.; Colafrancesco, S.; Giommi, P.; Longo, F.; Morselli, A.; Paoletti, F.

2018-04-01

We report the AGILE detection and the results of the multifrequency follow-up observations of a bright γ-ray flare of the blazar 3C 279 in 2015 June. We use AGILE and Fermi gamma-ray data, together with Swift X-ray andoptical-ultraviolet data, and ground-based GASP-WEBT optical observations, including polarization information, to study the source variability and the overall spectral energy distribution during the γ-ray flare. The γ-ray flaring data, compared with as yet unpublished simultaneous optical data that will allow constraints on the big blue bump disk luminosity, show very high Compton dominance values of ∼100, with the ratio of γ-ray to optical emission rising by a factor of three in a few hours. The multiwavelength behavior of the source during the flare challenges one-zone leptonic theoretical models. The new observations during the 2015 June flare are also compared with already published data and nonsimultaneous historical 3C 279 archival data.

Impact of agile methodologies on team capacity in automotive radio-navigation projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prostean, G.; Hutanu, A.; Volker, S.

2017-01-01

The development processes used in automotive radio-navigation projects are constantly under adaption pressure. While the software development models are based on automotive production processes, the integration of peripheral components into an automotive system will trigger a high number of requirement modifications. The use of traditional development models in automotive industry will bring team’s development capacity to its boundaries. The root cause lays in the inflexibility of actual processes and their adaption limits. This paper addresses a new project management approach for the development of radio-navigation projects. The understanding of weaknesses of current used models helped us in development and integration of agile methodologies in traditional development model structure. In the first part we focus on the change management methods to reduce request for change inflow. Established change management risk analysis processes enables the project management to judge the impact of a requirement change and also gives time to the project to implement some changes. However, in big automotive radio-navigation projects the saved time is not enough to implement the large amount of changes, which are submitted to the project. In the second phase of this paper we focus on increasing team capacity by integrating at critical project phases agile methodologies into the used traditional model. The overall objective of this paper is to prove the need of process adaption in order to solve project team capacity bottlenecks.

Agile Transportation for the 21st Century Objectives for the Defense Transportation System

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-06-01

Strategic Distribution Management Initiative (SDMI) are key supply-chain initiatives in RML. Will the objectives of AT2000 improve or hinder these supply-chain initiatives? This question provides the impetus for this research paper.

Advancements in Distributed Learning (ADL) Environment in Support of Transformation

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-01-01

REPORT TR-HFM-212 Advancements in Distributed Learning (ADL) Environment in Support of Transformation (Progrès en apprentissage distribué (ADL) à...l’appui de la transformation ) This report documents the findings of Task Group 212. The primary objective of this Task Group was to explore an agile...STO TECHNICAL REPORT TR-HFM-212 Advancements in Distributed Learning (ADL) Environment in Support of Transformation (Progrès en apprentissage

Software for MR image overlay guided needle insertions: the clinical translation process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ungi, Tamas; U-Thainual, Paweena; Fritz, Jan; Iordachita, Iulian I.; Flammang, Aaron J.; Carrino, John A.; Fichtinger, Gabor

2013-03-01

PURPOSE: Needle guidance software using augmented reality image overlay was translated from the experimental phase to support preclinical and clinical studies. Major functional and structural changes were needed to meet clinical requirements. We present the process applied to fulfill these requirements, and selected features that may be applied in the translational phase of other image-guided surgical navigation systems. METHODS: We used an agile software development process for rapid adaptation to unforeseen clinical requests. The process is based on iterations of operating room test sessions, feedback discussions, and software development sprints. The open-source application framework of 3D Slicer and the NA-MIC kit provided sufficient flexibility and stable software foundations for this work. RESULTS: All requirements were addressed in a process with 19 operating room test iterations. Most features developed in this phase were related to workflow simplification and operator feedback. CONCLUSION: Efficient and affordable modifications were facilitated by an open source application framework and frequent clinical feedback sessions. Results of cadaver experiments show that software requirements were successfully solved after a limited number of operating room tests.

Conceptual Design of Targeted Scrum: Applying Mission Command to Agile Software Development

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

on design. Drury et al. (2012) report that many of the decisions made during Scrum planning were more tactical in nature (i.e., which tasks to...Coram, R. (2002). Boyd: The fighter pilot who changed the art of war. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company. Drury , M., Conboy, K., & Power, K. (2012...responsiveness (Hochmüller, 2011) (Hoda et al., 2010) • Lack of design focus → Planning decisions more tactical than strategic ( Drury et al., 2012

Effect of Exercise Program Speed, Agility, and Quickness (SAQ) in Improving Speed, Agility, and Acceleration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azmi, K.; Kusnanik, N. W.

2018-01-01

This study aimed to analyze the effect of speed, agility and quickness training program to increase in speed, agility and acceleration. This study was conducted at 26 soccer players and divided into 2 groups with 13 players each group. Group 1 was given SAQ training program, and Group 2 conventional training program for 8 weeks. This study used a quantitative approach with quasi-experimental method. The design of this study used a matching-only design. Data was collected by testing 30-meter sprint (speed), agility t-test (agility), and run 10 meters (acceleration) during the pretest and posttest. Furthermore, the data was analyzed using paired sample t-test and independent t-test. The results showed: that there was a significant effect of speed, agility and quickness training program in improving in speed, agility and acceleration. In summary, it can be concluded that the speed, agility and quickness training program can improve the speed, agility and acceleration of the soccer players.

Scheduling algorithms for rapid imaging using agile Cubesat constellations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nag, Sreeja; Li, Alan S.; Merrick, James H.

2018-02-01

Distributed Space Missions such as formation flight and constellations, are being recognized as important Earth Observation solutions to increase measurement samples over space and time. Cubesats are increasing in size (27U, ∼40 kg in development) with increasing capabilities to host imager payloads. Given the precise attitude control systems emerging in the commercial market, Cubesats now have the ability to slew and capture images within short notice. We propose a modular framework that combines orbital mechanics, attitude control and scheduling optimization to plan the time-varying, full-body orientation of agile Cubesats in a constellation such that they maximize the number of observed images and observation time, within the constraints of Cubesat hardware specifications. The attitude control strategy combines bang-bang and PD control, with constraints such as power consumption, response time, and stability factored into the optimality computations and a possible extension to PID control to account for disturbances. Schedule optimization is performed using dynamic programming with two levels of heuristics, verified and improved upon using mixed integer linear programming. The automated scheduler is expected to run on ground station resources and the resultant schedules uplinked to the satellites for execution, however it can be adapted for onboard scheduling, contingent on Cubesat hardware and software upgrades. The framework is generalizable over small steerable spacecraft, sensor specifications, imaging objectives and regions of interest, and is demonstrated using multiple 20 kg satellites in Low Earth Orbit for two case studies - rapid imaging of Landsat's land and coastal images and extended imaging of global, warm water coral reefs. The proposed algorithm captures up to 161% more Landsat images than nadir-pointing sensors with the same field of view, on a 2-satellite constellation over a 12-h simulation. Integer programming was able to verify that optimality of the dynamic programming solution for single satellites was within 10%, and find up to 5% more optimal solutions. The optimality gap for constellations was found to be 22% at worst, but the dynamic programming schedules were found at nearly four orders of magnitude better computational speed than integer programming. The algorithm can include cloud cover predictions, ground downlink windows or any other spatial, temporal or angular constraints into the orbital module and be integrated into planning tools for agile constellations.

Software Development in the Water Sciences: a view from the divide (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miles, B.; Band, L. E.

2013-12-01

While training in statistical methods is an important part of many earth scientists' training, these scientists often learn the bulk of their software development skills in an ad hoc, just-in-time manner. Yet to carry out contemporary research scientists are spending more and more time developing software. Here I present perspectives - as an earth sciences graduate student with professional software engineering experience - on the challenges scientists face adopting software engineering practices, with an emphasis on areas of the science software development lifecycle that could benefit most from improved engineering. This work builds on experience gained as part of the NSF-funded Water Science Software Institute (WSSI) conceptualization award (NSF Award # 1216817). Throughout 2013, the WSSI team held a series of software scoping and development sprints with the goals of: (1) adding features to better model green infrastructure within the Regional Hydro-Ecological Simulation System (RHESSys); and (2) infusing test-driven agile software development practices into the processes employed by the RHESSys team. The goal of efforts such as the WSSI is to ensure that investments by current and future scientists in software engineering training will enable transformative science by improving both scientific reproducibility and researcher productivity. Experience with the WSSI indicates: (1) the potential for achieving this goal; and (2) while scientists are willing to adopt some software engineering practices, transformative science will require continued collaboration between domain scientists and cyberinfrastructure experts for the foreseeable future.

Reactive Agility Performance in Handball; Development and Evaluation of a Sport-Specific Measurement Protocol

PubMed Central

Spasic, Miodrag; Krolo, Ante; Zenic, Natasa; Delextrat, Anne; Sekulic, Damir

2015-01-01

There is no current study that examined sport-specific tests of reactive-agility and change-of-direction-speed (CODS) to replicate real-sport environment in handball (team-handball). This investigation evaluated the reliability and validity of two novel tests designed to assess reactive-agility and CODS of handball players. Participants were female (25.14 ± 3.71 years of age; 1.77 ± 0.09 m and 74.1 ± 6.1 kg) and male handball players (26.9 ± 4.1 years of age; 1.90 ± 0.09 m and 93.90±4.6 kg). Variables included body height, body mass, body mass index, broad jump, 5-m sprint, CODS and reactive-agility tests. Results showed satisfactory reliability for reactive-agility-test and CODS-test (ICC of 0.85-0.93, and CV of 2.4-4.8%). The reactive-agility and CODS shared less than 20% of the common variance. The calculated index of perceptual and reactive capacity (P&RC; ratio between reactive-agility- and CODS-performance) is found to be valid measure in defining true-game reactive-agility performance in handball in both genders. Therefore, the handball athletes’ P&RC should be used in the evaluation of real-game reactive-agility performance. Future studies should explore other sport-specific reactive-agility tests and factors associated to such performance in sports involving agile maneuvers. Key points Reactive agility and change-of-direction-speed should be observed as independent qualities, even when tested over the same course and similar movement template The reactive-agility-performance of the handball athletes involved in defensive duties is closer to their non-reactive-agility-score than in their peers who are not involved in defensive duties The handball specific “true-game” reactive-agility-performance should be evaluated as the ratio between reactive-agility and corresponding CODS performance. PMID:26336335

Reactive Agility Performance in Handball; Development and Evaluation of a Sport-Specific Measurement Protocol.

PubMed

Spasic, Miodrag; Krolo, Ante; Zenic, Natasa; Delextrat, Anne; Sekulic, Damir

2015-09-01

There is no current study that examined sport-specific tests of reactive-agility and change-of-direction-speed (CODS) to replicate real-sport environment in handball (team-handball). This investigation evaluated the reliability and validity of two novel tests designed to assess reactive-agility and CODS of handball players. Participants were female (25.14 ± 3.71 years of age; 1.77 ± 0.09 m and 74.1 ± 6.1 kg) and male handball players (26.9 ± 4.1 years of age; 1.90 ± 0.09 m and 93.90±4.6 kg). Variables included body height, body mass, body mass index, broad jump, 5-m sprint, CODS and reactive-agility tests. Results showed satisfactory reliability for reactive-agility-test and CODS-test (ICC of 0.85-0.93, and CV of 2.4-4.8%). The reactive-agility and CODS shared less than 20% of the common variance. The calculated index of perceptual and reactive capacity (P&RC; ratio between reactive-agility- and CODS-performance) is found to be valid measure in defining true-game reactive-agility performance in handball in both genders. Therefore, the handball athletes' P&RC should be used in the evaluation of real-game reactive-agility performance. Future studies should explore other sport-specific reactive-agility tests and factors associated to such performance in sports involving agile maneuvers. Key pointsReactive agility and change-of-direction-speed should be observed as independent qualities, even when tested over the same course and similar movement templateThe reactive-agility-performance of the handball athletes involved in defensive duties is closer to their non-reactive-agility-score than in their peers who are not involved in defensive dutiesThe handball specific "true-game" reactive-agility-performance should be evaluated as the ratio between reactive-agility and corresponding CODS performance.

A method for generating new datasets based on copy number for cancer analysis.

PubMed

Kim, Shinuk; Kon, Mark; Kang, Hyunsik

2015-01-01

New data sources for the analysis of cancer data are rapidly supplementing the large number of gene-expression markers used for current methods of analysis. Significant among these new sources are copy number variation (CNV) datasets, which typically enumerate several hundred thousand CNVs distributed throughout the genome. Several useful algorithms allow systems-level analyses of such datasets. However, these rich data sources have not yet been analyzed as deeply as gene-expression data. To address this issue, the extensive toolsets used for analyzing expression data in cancerous and noncancerous tissue (e.g., gene set enrichment analysis and phenotype prediction) could be redirected to extract a great deal of predictive information from CNV data, in particular those derived from cancers. Here we present a software package capable of preprocessing standard Agilent copy number datasets into a form to which essentially all expression analysis tools can be applied. We illustrate the use of this toolset in predicting the survival time of patients with ovarian cancer or glioblastoma multiforme and also provide an analysis of gene- and pathway-level deletions in these two types of cancer.

Analysis and optimization of preliminary aircraft configurations in relationship to emerging agility metrics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sandlin, Doral R.; Bauer, Brent Alan

1993-01-01

This paper discusses the development of a FORTRAN computer code to perform agility analysis on aircraft configurations. This code is to be part of the NASA-Ames ACSYNT (AirCraft SYNThesis) design code. This paper begins with a discussion of contemporary agility research in the aircraft industry and a survey of a few agility metrics. The methodology, techniques and models developed for the code are then presented. Finally, example trade studies using the agility module along with ACSYNT are illustrated. These trade studies were conducted using a Northrop F-20 Tigershark aircraft model. The studies show that the agility module is effective in analyzing the influence of common parameters such as thrust-to-weight ratio and wing loading on agility criteria. The module can compare the agility potential between different configurations. In addition one study illustrates the module's ability to optimize a configuration's agility performance.

Development of a Computer Program for Analyzing Preliminary Aircraft Configurations in Relationship to Emerging Agility Metrics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauer, Brent

1993-01-01

This paper discusses the development of a FORTRAN computer code to perform agility analysis on aircraft configurations. This code is to be part of the NASA-Ames ACSYNT (AirCraft SYNThesis) design code. This paper begins with a discussion of contemporary agility research in the aircraft industry and a survey of a few agility metrics. The methodology, techniques and models developed for the code are then presented. Finally, example trade studies using the agility module along with ACSYNT are illustrated. These trade studies were conducted using a Northrop F-20 Tigershark aircraft model. The studies show that the agility module is effective in analyzing the influence of common parameters such as thrust-to-weight ratio and wing loading on agility criteria. The module can compare the agility potential between different configurations. In addition, one study illustrates the module's ability to optimize a configuration's agility performance.

I'll Txt U if I Have a Problem: How the Société Canadienne du Cancer in Quebec Applied Behavior-Change Theory, Data Mining and Agile Software Development to Help Young Adults Quit Smoking

PubMed Central

van Mierlo, Trevor; Fournier, Rachel; Jean-Charles, Anathalie; Hovington, Jacinthe; Ethier, Isabelle; Selby, Peter

2014-01-01

Introduction For many organizations, limited budgets and phased funding restrict the development of digital health tools. This problem is often exacerbated by the ever-increasing sophistication of technology and costs related to programming and maintenance. Traditional development methods tend to be costly and inflexible and not client centered. The purpose of this study is to analyze the use of Agile software development and outcomes of a three-phase mHealth program designed to help young adult Quebecers quit smoking. Methods In Phase I, literature reviews, focus groups, interviews, and behavior change theory were used in the adaption and re-launch of an existing evidence-based mHealth platform. Based on analysis of user comments and utilization data from Phase I, the second phase expanded the service to allow participants to live text-chat with counselors. Phase II evaluation led to the third and current phase, in which algorithms were introduced to target pregnant smokers, substance users, students, full-time workers, those affected by mood disorders and chronic disease. Results Data collected throughout the three phases indicate that the incremental evolution of the intervention has led to increasing numbers of smokers being enrolled while making functional enhancements. In Phase I (240 days) 182 smokers registered with the service. 51% (n = 94) were male and 61.5% (n = 112) were between the ages of 18–24. In Phase II (300 days), 994 smokers registered with the service. 51% (n = 508) were male and 41% (n = 403) were between the ages of 18–24. At 174 days to date 873 smokers have registered in the third phase. 44% (n = 388) were male and 24% (n = 212) were between the ages of 18–24. Conclusions Emerging technologies in behavioral science show potential, but do not have defined best practices for application development. In phased-based projects with limited funding, Agile appears to be a viable approach to building and expanding digital tools. PMID:24647098

I'll txt U if I have a problem: how the Société Canadienne du cancer in Quebec applied behavior-change theory, data mining and agile software development to help young adults quit smoking.

PubMed

van Mierlo, Trevor; Fournier, Rachel; Jean-Charles, Anathalie; Hovington, Jacinthe; Ethier, Isabelle; Selby, Peter

2014-01-01

For many organizations, limited budgets and phased funding restrict the development of digital health tools. This problem is often exacerbated by the ever-increasing sophistication of technology and costs related to programming and maintenance. Traditional development methods tend to be costly and inflexible and not client centered. The purpose of this study is to analyze the use of Agile software development and outcomes of a three-phase mHealth program designed to help young adult Quebecers quit smoking. In Phase I, literature reviews, focus groups, interviews, and behavior change theory were used in the adaption and re-launch of an existing evidence-based mHealth platform. Based on analysis of user comments and utilization data from Phase I, the second phase expanded the service to allow participants to live text-chat with counselors. Phase II evaluation led to the third and current phase, in which algorithms were introduced to target pregnant smokers, substance users, students, full-time workers, those affected by mood disorders and chronic disease. Data collected throughout the three phases indicate that the incremental evolution of the intervention has led to increasing numbers of smokers being enrolled while making functional enhancements. In Phase I (240 days) 182 smokers registered with the service. 51% (n = 94) were male and 61.5% (n = 112) were between the ages of 18-24. In Phase II (300 days), 994 smokers registered with the service. 51% (n = 508) were male and 41% (n = 403) were between the ages of 18-24. At 174 days to date 873 smokers have registered in the third phase. 44% (n = 388) were male and 24% (n = 212) were between the ages of 18-24. Emerging technologies in behavioral science show potential, but do not have defined best practices for application development. In phased-based projects with limited funding, Agile appears to be a viable approach to building and expanding digital tools.

Agile data management for curation of genomes to watershed datasets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varadharajan, C.; Agarwal, D.; Faybishenko, B.; Versteeg, R.

2015-12-01

A software platform is being developed for data management and assimilation [DMA] as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Genomes to Watershed Sustainable Systems Science Focus Area 2.0. The DMA components and capabilities are driven by the project science priorities and the development is based on agile development techniques. The goal of the DMA software platform is to enable users to integrate and synthesize diverse and disparate field, laboratory, and simulation datasets, including geological, geochemical, geophysical, microbiological, hydrological, and meteorological data across a range of spatial and temporal scales. The DMA objectives are (a) developing an integrated interface to the datasets, (b) storing field monitoring data, laboratory analytical results of water and sediments samples collected into a database, (c) providing automated QA/QC analysis of data and (d) working with data providers to modify high-priority field and laboratory data collection and reporting procedures as needed. The first three objectives are driven by user needs, while the last objective is driven by data management needs. The project needs and priorities are reassessed regularly with the users. After each user session we identify development priorities to match the identified user priorities. For instance, data QA/QC and collection activities have focused on the data and products needed for on-going scientific analyses (e.g. water level and geochemistry). We have also developed, tested and released a broker and portal that integrates diverse datasets from two different databases used for curation of project data. The development of the user interface was based on a user-centered design process involving several user interviews and constant interaction with data providers. The initial version focuses on the most requested feature - i.e. finding the data needed for analyses through an intuitive interface. Once the data is found, the user can immediately plot and download data through the portal. The resulting product has an interface that is more intuitive and presents the highest priority datasets that are needed by the users. Our agile approach has enabled us to build a system that is keeping pace with the science needs while utilizing limited resources.

Agile Data Curation Case Studies Leading to the Identification and Development of Data Curation Design Patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benedict, K. K.; Lenhardt, W. C.; Young, J. W.; Gordon, L. C.; Hughes, S.; Santhana Vannan, S. K.

2017-12-01

The planning for and development of efficient workflows for the creation, reuse, sharing, documentation, publication and preservation of research data is a general challenge that research teams of all sizes face. In response to: requirements from funding agencies for full-lifecycle data management plans that will result in well documented, preserved, and shared research data products increasing requirements from publishers for shared data in conjunction with submitted papers interdisciplinary research team's needs for efficient data sharing within projects, and increasing reuse of research data for replication and new, unanticipated research, policy development, and public use alternative strategies to traditional data life cycle approaches must be developed and shared that enable research teams to meet these requirements while meeting the core science objectives of their projects within the available resources. In support of achieving these goals, the concept of Agile Data Curation has been developed in which there have been parallel activities in support of 1) identifying a set of shared values and principles that underlie the objectives of agile data curation, 2) soliciting case studies from the Earth science and other research communities that illustrate aspects of what the contributors consider agile data curation methods and practices, and 3) identifying or developing design patterns that are high-level abstractions from successful data curation practice that are related to common data curation problems for which common solution strategies may be employed. This paper provides a collection of case studies that have been contributed by the Earth science community, and an initial analysis of those case studies to map them to emerging shared data curation problems and their potential solutions. Following the initial analysis of these problems and potential solutions, existing design patterns from software engineering and related disciplines are identified as a starting point for the development of a catalog of data curation design patterns that may be reused in the design and execution of new data curation processes.

Implementing Kanban for agile process management within the ALMA Software Operations Group

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reveco, Johnny; Mora, Matias; Shen, Tzu-Chiang; Soto, Ruben; Sepulveda, Jorge; Ibsen, Jorge

2014-07-01

After the inauguration of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the Software Operations Group in Chile has refocused its objectives to: (1) providing software support to tasks related to System Integration, Scientific Commissioning and Verification, as well as Early Science observations; (2) testing the remaining software features, still under development by the Integrated Computing Team across the world; and (3) designing and developing processes to optimize and increase the level of automation of operational tasks. Due to their different stakeholders, each of these tasks presents a wide diversity of importances, lifespans and complexities. Aiming to provide the proper priority and traceability for every task without stressing our engineers, we introduced the Kanban methodology in our processes in order to balance the demand on the team against the throughput of the delivered work. The aim of this paper is to share experiences gained during the implementation of Kanban in our processes, describing the difficulties we have found, solutions and adaptations that led us to our current but still evolving implementation, which has greatly improved our throughput, prioritization and problem traceability.

Management Guidelines for Database Developers' Teams in Software Development Projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rusu, Lazar; Lin, Yifeng; Hodosi, Georg

Worldwide job market for database developers (DBDs) is continually increasing in last several years. In some companies, DBDs are organized as a special team (DBDs team) to support other projects and roles. As a new role, the DBDs team is facing a major problem that there are not any management guidelines for them. The team manager does not know which kinds of tasks should be assigned to this team and what practices should be used during DBDs work. Therefore in this paper we have developed a set of management guidelines, which includes 8 fundamental tasks and 17 practices from software development process, by using two methodologies Capability Maturity Model (CMM) and agile software development in particular Scrum in order to improve the DBDs team work. Moreover the management guidelines developed here has been complemented with practices from authors' experience in this area and has been evaluated in the case of a software company. The management guidelines for DBD teams presented in this paper could be very usefully for other companies too that are using a DBDs team and could contribute towards an increase of the efficiency of these teams in their work on software development projects.

Development strategies for the satellite flight software on-board Meteosat Third Generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tipaldi, Massimo; Legendre, Cedric; Koopmann, Olliver; Ferraguto, Massimo; Wenker, Ralf; D'Angelo, Gianni

2018-04-01

Nowadays, satellites are becoming increasingly software dependent. Satellite Flight Software (FSW), that is to say, the application software running on the satellite main On-Board Computer (OBC), plays a relevant role in implementing complex space mission requirements. In this paper, we examine relevant technical approaches and programmatic strategies adopted for the development of the Meteosat Third Generation Satellite (MTG) FSW. To begin with, we present its layered model-based architecture, and the means for ensuring a robust and reliable interaction among the FSW components. Then, we focus on the selection of an effective software development life cycle model. In particular, by combining plan-driven and agile approaches, we can fulfill the need of having preliminary SW versions. They can be used for the elicitation of complex system-level requirements as well as for the initial satellite integration and testing activities. Another important aspect can be identified in the testing activities. Indeed, very demanding quality requirements have to be fulfilled in satellite SW applications. This manuscript proposes a test automation framework, which uses an XML-based test procedure language independent of the underlying test environment. Finally, a short overview of the MTG FSW sizing and timing budgets concludes the paper.

An integrated development workflow for community-driven FOSS-projects using continuous integration tools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilke, Lars; Watanabe, Norihiro; Naumov, Dmitri; Kolditz, Olaf

2016-04-01

A complex software project in general with high standards regarding code quality requires automated tools to help developers in doing repetitive and tedious tasks such as compilation on different platforms and configurations, doing unit testing as well as end-to-end tests and generating distributable binaries and documentation. This is known as continuous integration (CI). A community-driven FOSS-project within the Earth Sciences benefits even more from CI as time and resources regarding software development are often limited. Therefore testing developed code on more than the developers PC is a task which is often neglected and where CI can be the solution. We developed an integrated workflow based on GitHub, Travis and Jenkins for the community project OpenGeoSys - a coupled multiphysics modeling and simulation package - allowing developers to concentrate on implementing new features in a tight feedback loop. Every interested developer/user can create a pull request containing source code modifications on the online collaboration platform GitHub. The modifications are checked (compilation, compiler warnings, memory leaks, undefined behaviors, unit tests, end-to-end tests, analyzing differences in simulation run results between changes etc.) from the CI system which automatically responds to the pull request or by email on success or failure with detailed reports eventually requesting to improve the modifications. Core team developers review the modifications and merge them into the main development line once they satisfy agreed standards. We aim for efficient data structures and algorithms, self-explaining code, comprehensive documentation and high test code coverage. This workflow keeps entry barriers to get involved into the project low and permits an agile development process concentrating on feature additions rather than software maintenance procedures.

Agility assessment using fuzzy logic approach: a case of healthcare dispensary.

PubMed

Suresh, M; Patri, Rojalin

2017-06-09

Agile concepts are not only beneficial for manufacturing sector but also for service sector such as healthcare. However, assessment of agility has been predominantly done in manufacturing enterprises. This study demonstrates a means to measure agility of a healthcare organization by assessing agility of a university dispensary. Its contribution to the knowledge base is twofold. First, it proposes a means to measure the agility of a healthcare organization and second, it identifies the attributes that prevent agile performance and outlines the suggestive measure to enhance its agile capabilities. A case study approach has been adopted and fuzzy logic has been employed to measure the agility of the case dispensary. At first, the measures of assessment which include four enablers, fifteen criteria and forty-five attributes have been identified from the literature and rated by the experts indicating the importance of the measures in the assessment. Then, the case dispensary has been assessed on those measures by collecting observed performance rating from decision makers. At last, Fuzzy logic has been applied on the performance rating data to analyze and interpret the agile capability of the dispensary. The findings suggest that transparent information flow, adequate salary and bonuses for caregivers, reading error in medical descriptions, in house/nearby pathology laboratory services, technical up-gradation of dispensary equipments and facilities, minimization of patient throughput time and adequate training programme for safety practices are the attributes that weakens agile capability of the University dispensary. The current agility of the dispensary was found to be 'Agile' which is average in relation to the agility labels. Attributes such as transparent information flow, adequate salary and bonuses for caregivers, elimination of reading error in medical descriptions, in house/nearby pathology laboratory services, technical up-gradation of dispensary equipments and facilities, minimization of patient throughput time and adequate training programme for safety practices are extremely crucial for enhancing agile capability of a healthcare organization.

Elements of an Art - Agile Coaching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lundh, Erik

This tutorial gives you a lead on becoming or redefining yourself as an Agile Coach. Introduction to elements and dimensions of state-of-the-art Agile Coaching. How to position the agile coach to be effective in a larger setting. Making the agile transition - from a single team to thousands of people. How to support multiple teams as a coach. How to build a coaches network in your company. Challenges when the agile coach is a consultant and the organization is large.

Using agility to combat cyber attacks.

PubMed

Anderson, Kerry

2017-06-01

Some incident response practitioners feel that they have been locked in a battle with cyber criminals since the popular adoption of the internet. Initially, organisations made great inroads in preventing and containing cyber attacks. In the last few years, however, cyber criminals have become adept at eluding defence security technologies and rapidly modifying their exploit strategies for financial or political gains. Similar to changes in military combat tactics, cyber criminals utilise distributed attack cells, real-time communications, and rapidly mutating exploits to minimise the potential for detection. Cyber criminals have changed their attack paradigm. This paper describes a new incident response paradigm aimed at combating the new model of cyber attacks with an emphasis on agility to increase the organisation's ability to respond rapidly to these new challenges.

A tomographic technique for the simultaneous imaging of temperature, chemical species, and pressure in reactive flows using absorption spectroscopy with frequency-agile lasers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cai, Weiwei; Kaminski, Clemens F., E-mail: cfk23@cam.ac.uk

2014-01-20

This paper proposes a technique that can simultaneously retrieve distributions of temperature, concentration of chemical species, and pressure based on broad bandwidth, frequency-agile tomographic absorption spectroscopy. The technique holds particular promise for the study of dynamic combusting flows. A proof-of-concept numerical demonstration is presented, using representative phantoms to model conditions typically prevailing in near-atmospheric or high pressure flames. The simulations reveal both the feasibility of the proposed technique and its robustness. Our calculations indicate precisions of ∼70 K at flame temperatures and ∼0.05 bars at high pressure from reconstructions featuring as much as 5% Gaussian noise in the projections.

Parallelization of fine-scale computation in Agile Multiscale Modelling Methodology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macioł, Piotr; Michalik, Kazimierz

2016-10-01

Nowadays, multiscale modelling of material behavior is an extensively developed area. An important obstacle against its wide application is high computational demands. Among others, the parallelization of multiscale computations is a promising solution. Heterogeneous multiscale models are good candidates for parallelization, since communication between sub-models is limited. In this paper, the possibility of parallelization of multiscale models based on Agile Multiscale Methodology framework is discussed. A sequential, FEM based macroscopic model has been combined with concurrently computed fine-scale models, employing a MatCalc thermodynamic simulator. The main issues, being investigated in this work are: (i) the speed-up of multiscale models with special focus on fine-scale computations and (ii) on decreasing the quality of computations enforced by parallel execution. Speed-up has been evaluated on the basis of Amdahl's law equations. The problem of `delay error', rising from the parallel execution of fine scale sub-models, controlled by the sequential macroscopic sub-model is discussed. Some technical aspects of combining third-party commercial modelling software with an in-house multiscale framework and a MPI library are also discussed.

Chaste: A test-driven approach to software development for biological modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pitt-Francis, Joe; Pathmanathan, Pras; Bernabeu, Miguel O.; Bordas, Rafel; Cooper, Jonathan; Fletcher, Alexander G.; Mirams, Gary R.; Murray, Philip; Osborne, James M.; Walter, Alex; Chapman, S. Jon; Garny, Alan; van Leeuwen, Ingeborg M. M.; Maini, Philip K.; Rodríguez, Blanca; Waters, Sarah L.; Whiteley, Jonathan P.; Byrne, Helen M.; Gavaghan, David J.

2009-12-01

Chaste ('Cancer, heart and soft-tissue environment') is a software library and a set of test suites for computational simulations in the domain of biology. Current functionality has arisen from modelling in the fields of cancer, cardiac physiology and soft-tissue mechanics. It is released under the LGPL 2.1 licence. Chaste has been developed using agile programming methods. The project began in 2005 when it was reasoned that the modelling of a variety of physiological phenomena required both a generic mathematical modelling framework, and a generic computational/simulation framework. The Chaste project evolved from the Integrative Biology (IB) e-Science Project, an inter-institutional project aimed at developing a suitable IT infrastructure to support physiome-level computational modelling, with a primary focus on cardiac and cancer modelling. Program summaryProgram title: Chaste Catalogue identifier: AEFD_v1_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEFD_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: LGPL 2.1 No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 5 407 321 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 42 004 554 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: C++ Operating system: Unix Has the code been vectorised or parallelized?: Yes. Parallelized using MPI. RAM:<90 Megabytes for two of the scenarios described in Section 6 of the manuscript (Monodomain re-entry on a slab or Cylindrical crypt simulation). Up to 16 Gigabytes (distributed across processors) for full resolution bidomain cardiac simulation. Classification: 3. External routines: Boost, CodeSynthesis XSD, CxxTest, HDF5, METIS, MPI, PETSc, Triangle, Xerces Nature of problem: Chaste may be used for solving coupled ODE and PDE systems arising from modelling biological systems. Use of Chaste in two application areas are described in this paper: cardiac electrophysiology and intestinal crypt dynamics. Solution method: Coupled multi-physics with PDE, ODE and discrete mechanics simulation. Running time: The largest cardiac simulation described in the manuscript takes about 6 hours to run on a single 3 GHz core. See results section (Section 6) of the manuscript for discussion on parallel scaling.

Application of Nexus copy number software for CNV detection and analysis.

PubMed

Darvishi, Katayoon

2010-04-01

Among human structural genomic variation, copy number variants (CNVs) are the most frequently known component, comprised of gains/losses of DNA segments that are generally 1 kb in length or longer. Array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) has emerged as a powerful tool for detecting genomic copy number variants (CNVs). With the rapid increase in the density of array technology and with the adaptation of new high-throughput technology, a reliable and computationally scalable method for accurate mapping of recurring DNA copy number aberrations has become a main focus in research. Here we introduce Nexus Copy Number software, a platform-independent tool, to analyze the output files of all types of commercial and custom-made comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays, such as those manufactured by Affymetrix, Agilent Technologies, Illumina, and Roche NimbleGen. It also supports data generated by various array image-analysis software tools such as GenePix, ImaGene, and BlueFuse. (c) 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Agility: Agent - Ility Architecture

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-10-01

existing and emerging standards (e.g., distributed objects, email, web, search engines , XML, Java, Jini). Three agent system components resulted from...agents and other Internet resources and operate over the web (AgentGram), a yellow pages service that uses Internet search engines to locate XML ads for agents and other Internet resources (WebTrader).

Survey-based analysis of risk factors for injury among dogs participating in agility training and competition events.

PubMed

Cullen, Kimberley L; Dickey, James P; Bent, Leah R; Thomason, Jeffrey J; Moëns, Noel M M

2013-10-01

To identify potential risk factors for agility-related injuries among dogs. Internet-based, retrospective, cross-sectional survey. 3,801 privately owned dogs participating in agility training or trials. A retrospective electronic survey was used to investigate potential risk factors for injury among dogs participating in agility-related activities. Respondents were handlers recruited through member lists of large canine agility associations in Canada and the United Kingdom and through promotion on an agility blog site. Variables evaluated included demographic information for handlers and dogs, exposure variables (eg, frequency of agility practice and competition in the past year), and use of preventive measures intended to keep dogs fit for agility (warmup, cooldown, or conditioning exercises; alternative therapeutic treatments [eg, acupuncture, massage, or chiropractic care]; or dietary supplement products). Data were collected from 1,669 handlers of 3,801 agility dogs internationally; 1,209 (32%) dogs incurred ≥ 1 injury. Previous injury (OR, 100.5), ≤ 4 years of agility experience for dogs (OR, 1.5), use of alternative therapeutic treatments (OR, 1.5), and Border Collie breed (OR, 1.7) were associated with increased odds of injury. Handlers having 5 to 10 or > 10 years of experience (OR, 0.8 and 0.6, respectively) and dogs having > 4 years of experience in the sport (OR, 0.6) were associated with decreased odds of injury. Specific factors were associated with agility-related injuries in dogs. Educational prevention strategies should target at-risk populations in an effort to reduce potential injuries. Future research should focus on the biomechanical factors associated with agility-related injuries.

Evaluation of Basketball-Specific Agility: Applicability of Preplanned and Nonplanned Agility Performances for Differentiating Playing Positions and Playing Levels.

PubMed

Sekulic, Damir; Pehar, Miran; Krolo, Ante; Spasic, Miodrag; Uljevic, Ognjen; Calleja-González, Julio; Sattler, Tine

2017-08-01

Sekulic, D, Pehar, M, Krolo, A, Spasic, M, Uljevic, O, Calleja-González, J, and Sattler, T. Evaluation of basketball-specific agility: applicability of preplanned and nonplanned agility performances for differentiating playing positions and playing levels. J Strength Cond Res 31(8): 2278-2288, 2017-The importance of agility in basketball is well known, but there is an evident lack of studies examining basketball-specific agility performances in high-level players. The aim of this study was to determine the reliability and discriminative validity of 1 standard agility test (test of preplanned agility [change-of-direction speed] over T course, T-TEST), and 4 newly developed basketball-specific agility tests, in defining playing positions and performance levels in basketball. The study comprised 110 high-level male basketball players (height: 194.92 ± 8.09 cm; body mass: 89.33 ± 10.91 kg; age: 21.58 ± 3.92 years). The variables included playing position (Guard, Forward, Center), performance level (first division vs. second division), anthropometrics (body height, body mass, and percentage of body fat), T-TEST, nonplanned basketball agility test performed on dominant (BBAGILdom) and nondominant sides (BBAGILnond), and a preplanned (change-of-direction speed) basketball agility test performed on dominant (BBCODSdom) and nondominant sides (BBCODSnond). The reliability of agility tests was high (intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.81-0.95). Forwards were most successful in the T-TEST (F test: 13.57; p = 0.01). Guards outperformed Centers in BBCODSdom, BBCODSndom, BBAGILdom, and BBAGILnond (F test: 5.06, p = 0.01; 6.57, 0.01; 6.26, 0.01; 3.37, 0.04, respectively). First division Guards achieved better results than second division Guards in BBCODSdom (t: 2.55; p = 0.02; moderate effect size differences), BBAGILdom, and BBAGILnond (t: 3.04 and 3.06, respectively; both p = 0.01 and moderate effect size differences). First division Centers outperformed second division Centers in BBAGILdom (t: 2.50; p = 0.02; moderate effect size differences). The developed basketball-specific agility tests are applicable when defining position-specific agility. Both preplanned and nonplanned agilities are important qualities in differentiating between Guards of 2 performance levels. The results confirmed the importance of testing basketball-specific nonplanned agility when evaluating the performance level of Centers.

Utilization of an agility assessment module in analysis and optimization of preliminary fighter configuration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ngan, Angelen; Biezad, Daniel

1996-01-01

A study has been conducted to develop and to analyze a FORTRAN computer code for performing agility analysis on fighter aircraft configurations. This program is one of the modules of the NASA Ames ACSYNT (AirCraft SYNThesis) design code. The background of the agility research in the aircraft industry and a survey of a few agility metrics are discussed. The methodology, techniques, and models developed for the code are presented. The validity of the existing code was evaluated by comparing with existing flight test data. A FORTRAN program was developed for a specific metric, PM (Pointing Margin), as part of the agility module. Example trade studies using the agility module along with ACSYNT were conducted using a McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet aircraft model. Tile sensitivity of thrust loading, wing loading, and thrust vectoring on agility criteria were investigated. The module can compare the agility potential between different configurations and has capability to optimize agility performance in the preliminary design process. This research provides a new and useful design tool for analyzing fighter performance during air combat engagements in the preliminary design.

Development of an agility assessment module for preliminary fighter design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ngan, Angelen; Bauer, Brent; Biezad, Daniel; Hahn, Andrew

1996-01-01

A FORTRAN computer program is presented to perform agility analysis on fighter aircraft configurations. This code is one of the modules of the NASA Ames ACSYNT (AirCraft SYNThesis) design code. The background of the agility research in the aircraft industry and a survey of a few agility metrics are discussed. The methodology, techniques, and models developed for the code are presented. FORTRAN programs were developed for two specific metrics, CCT (Combat Cycle Time) and PM (Pointing Margin), as part of the agility module. The validity of the code was evaluated by comparing with existing flight test data. Example trade studies using the agility module along with ACSYNT were conducted using Northrop F-20 Tigershark and McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet aircraft models. The sensitivity of thrust loading and wing loading on agility criteria were investigated. The module can compare the agility potential between different configurations and has the capability to optimize agility performance in the preliminary design process. This research provides a new and useful design tool for analyzing fighter performance during air combat engagements.

Automated toxicological screening reports of modified Agilent MSD Chemstation combined with Microsoft Visual Basic application programs.

PubMed

Choe, Sanggil; Kim, Suncheun; Choi, Hyeyoung; Choi, Hwakyoung; Chung, Heesun; Hwang, Bangyeon

2010-06-15

Agilent GC-MS MSD Chemstation offers automated library search report for toxicological screening using total ion chromatogram (TIC) and mass spectroscopy in normal mode. Numerous peaks appear in the chromatogram of biological specimen such as blood or urine and often large migrating peaks obscure small target peaks, in addition, any target peaks of low abundance regularly give wrong library search result or low matching score. As a result, retention time and mass spectrum of all the peaks in the chromatogram have to be checked to see if they are relevant. These repeated actions are very tedious and time-consuming to toxicologists. MSD Chemstation software operates using a number of macro files which give commands and instructions on how to work on and extract data from the chromatogram and spectroscopy. These macro files are developed by the own compiler of the software. All the original macro files can be modified and new macro files can be added to the original software by users. To get more accurate results with more convenient method and to save time for data analysis, we developed new macro files for reports generation and inserted new menus in the Enhanced Data Analysis program. Toxicological screening reports generated by these new macro files are in text mode or graphic mode and these reports can be generated with three different automated subtraction options. Text reports have Brief mode and Full mode and graphic reports have the option with or without mass spectrum mode. Matched mass spectrum and matching score for detected compounds are printed in reports by modified library searching modules. We have also developed an independent application program named DrugMan. This program manages drug groups, lists and parameters that are in use in MSD Chemstation. The incorporation of DrugMan with modified macro modules provides a powerful tool for toxicological screening and save a lot of valuable time on toxicological work. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Agile Metrics: Progress Monitoring of Agile Contractors

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

epic. The short timeframe is usually called an itera- tion or, in Scrum -based teams, a sprint; multiple iterations make up a release [Lapham 2011...9769 [Rawsthorne 2012] Rawsthorne, Dan. Monitoring Scrum Projects with AgileEVM and Earned Business Value Metrics (EBV). 2012. http...AgileEVM – Earned Value Manage- ment in Scrum Projects.” Presented at Agile2006, 23-28 July 2006. [USAF 2008] United States Air Force. United

The influence of physical and cognitive factors on reactive agility performance in men basketball players.

PubMed

Scanlan, Aaron; Humphries, Brendan; Tucker, Patrick S; Dalbo, Vincent

2014-01-01

This study explored the influence of physical and cognitive measures on reactive agility performance in basketball players. Twelve men basketball players performed multiple sprint, Change of Direction Speed Test, and Reactive Agility Test trials. Pearson's correlation analyses were used to determine relationships between the predictor variables (stature, mass, body composition, 5-m, 10-m and 20-m sprint times, peak speed, closed-skill agility time, response time and decision-making time) and reactive agility time (response variable). Simple and stepwise regression analyses determined the individual influence of each predictor variable and the best predictor model for reactive agility time. Morphological (r = -0.45 to 0.19), sprint (r = -0.40 to 0.41) and change-of-direction speed measures (r = 0.43) had small to moderate correlations with reactive agility time. Response time (r = 0.76, P = 0.004) and decision-making time (r = 0.58, P = 0.049) had large to very large relationships with reactive agility time. Response time was identified as the sole predictor variable for reactive agility time in the stepwise model (R(2) = 0.58, P = 0.004). In conclusion, cognitive measures had the greatest influence on reactive agility performance in men basketball players. These findings suggest reaction and decision-making drills should be incorporated in basketball training programmes.

Lessons Learned from Deploying an Analytical Task Management Database

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

O'Neil, Daniel A.; Welch, Clara; Arceneaux, Joshua; Bulgatz, Dennis; Hunt, Mitch; Young, Stephen

2007-01-01

Defining requirements, missions, technologies, and concepts for space exploration involves multiple levels of organizations, teams of people with complementary skills, and analytical models and simulations. Analytical activities range from filling a To-Be-Determined (TBD) in a requirement to creating animations and simulations of exploration missions. In a program as large as returning to the Moon, there are hundreds of simultaneous analysis activities. A way to manage and integrate efforts of this magnitude is to deploy a centralized database that provides the capability to define tasks, identify resources, describe products, schedule deliveries, and generate a variety of reports. This paper describes a web-accessible task management system and explains the lessons learned during the development and deployment of the database. Through the database, managers and team leaders can define tasks, establish review schedules, assign teams, link tasks to specific requirements, identify products, and link the task data records to external repositories that contain the products. Data filters and spreadsheet export utilities provide a powerful capability to create custom reports. Import utilities provide a means to populate the database from previously filled form files. Within a four month period, a small team analyzed requirements, developed a prototype, conducted multiple system demonstrations, and deployed a working system supporting hundreds of users across the aeros pace community. Open-source technologies and agile software development techniques, applied by a skilled team enabled this impressive achievement. Topics in the paper cover the web application technologies, agile software development, an overview of the system's functions and features, dealing with increasing scope, and deploying new versions of the system.

ISS Double-Gimbaled CMG Subsystem Simulation Using the Agile Development Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Inampudi, Ravi

2016-01-01

This paper presents an evolutionary approach in simulating a cluster of 4 Control Moment Gyros (CMG) on the International Space Station (ISS) using a common sense approach (the agile development method) for concurrent mathematical modeling and simulation of the CMG subsystem. This simulation is part of Training systems for the 21st Century simulator which will provide training for crew members, instructors, and flight controllers. The basic idea of how the CMGs on the space station are used for its non-propulsive attitude control is briefly explained to set up the context for simulating a CMG subsystem. Next different reference frames and the detailed equations of motion (EOM) for multiple double-gimbal variable-speed control moment gyroscopes (DGVs) are presented. Fixing some of the terms in the EOM becomes the special case EOM for ISS's double-gimbaled fixed speed CMGs. CMG simulation development using the agile development method is presented in which customer's requirements and solutions evolve through iterative analysis, design, coding, unit testing and acceptance testing. At the end of the iteration a set of features implemented in that iteration are demonstrated to the flight controllers thus creating a short feedback loop and helping in creating adaptive development cycles. The unified modeling language (UML) tool is used in illustrating the user stories, class designs and sequence diagrams. This incremental development approach of mathematical modeling and simulating the CMG subsystem involved the development team and the customer early on, thus improving the quality of the working CMG system in each iteration and helping the team to accurately predict the cost, schedule and delivery of the software.

Explaining the Obvious - How Do You Teach Agile?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lundh, Erik

Agile is now a hot topic and many organizations decide on adopting “agile” without really knowing how and why. This workshop will explore how fresh and seasoned agile coaches teach traditional and novel agile concepts, by example, with discussions. All participants are invited to show and tell about agile with an audience of peers. It might be the fresh first time with an audience, or golden hits that served you well for years.

Examination of the perceived agility and balance during a reactive agility task.

PubMed

Stirling, Leia; Eke, Chika; Cain, Stephen M

2018-01-01

In vehicle dynamics, it is commonly understood that there is an inverse relationship between stability and maneuverability. However, animal studies have found that stability and maneuverability can coincide. In this study, we examine humans running a reactive agility obstacle and consider the relationship between observational perceived agility and balance, as well as the relationship between quantified surrogates of agility and balance. Recreational athletes (n = 18) completed the agility task while wearing inertial measurement units (IMUs) on their body. The task was also video-recorded. An observational study was completed by a separate group of adults (n = 33) that were asked to view the videos and score each athlete on a Likert scale for balance and for agility. The data from the body-worn IMUs were used to estimate quantified surrogate measures for agility and balance, and to assess if the relationship between the quantified agility and balance was in the same direction as the perceived relationship from the Likert scale responses. Results indicate that athletes that were given a higher Likert agility score were also given a higher balance score (rs = 0.75,p < 0.001). Quantitative surrogates of agility and balance also showed this same relationship. Additional insights on technique for this reactive agility task were informed by the quantitative surrogates. We observed the importance of stepping technique in achieving the faster completion times. The fast performing athletes spent a greater proportion of the task in double support and lower overall time in single support indicating increased periods of static stability. The fast performing athletes did not have a higher body speed, but performed the task with a more efficient technique, using foot placement to enable heading changes, and thus may have had a more efficient path. Similar to animal studies, people use technique to enable agile strategies while also enabling increased balance across the task.

Opening up the Agile Innovation Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conboy, Kieran; Donnellan, Brian; Morgan, Lorraine; Wang, Xiaofeng

The objective of this panel is to discuss how firms can operate both an open and agile innovation process. In an era of unprecedented changes, companies need to be open and agile in order to adapt rapidly and maximize their innovation processes. Proponents of agile methods claim that one of the main distinctions between agile methods and their traditional bureaucratic counterparts is their drive toward creativity and innovation. However, agile methods are rarely adopted in their textbook, "vanilla" format, and are usually adopted in part or are tailored or modified to suit the organization. While we are aware that this happens, there is still limited understanding of what is actually happening in practice. Using innovation adoption theory, this panel will discuss the issues and challenges surrounding the successful adoption of agile practices. In addition, this panel will report on the obstacles and benefits reported by over 20 industrial partners engaged in a pan-European research project into agile practices between 2006 and 2009.

Investigating the strategic antecedents of agility in humanitarian logistics.

PubMed

L'Hermitte, Cécile; Brooks, Benjamin; Bowles, Marcus; Tatham, Peter H

2017-10-01

This study investigates the strategic antecedents of operational agility in humanitarian logistics. It began by identifying the particular actions to be taken at the strategic level of a humanitarian organisation to support field-level agility. Next, quantitative data (n=59) were collected on four strategic-level capabilities (being purposeful, action-focused, collaborative, and learning-oriented) and on operational agility (field responsiveness and flexibility). Using a quantitative analysis, the study tested the relationship between organisational capacity building and operational agility and found that the four strategic-level capabilities are fundamental building blocks of agility. Collectively they account for 52 per cent of the ability of humanitarian logisticians to deal with ongoing changes and disruptions in the field. This study emphasises the need for researchers and practitioners to embrace a broader perspective of agility in humanitarian logistics. In addition, it highlights the inherently strategic nature of agility, the development of which involves focusing simultaneously on multiple drivers. © 2017 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2017.

A methodology toward manufacturing grid-based virtual enterprise operation platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Wenan; Xu, Yicheng; Xu, Wei; Xu, Lida; Zhao, Xianhua; Wang, Li; Fu, Liuliu

2010-08-01

Virtual enterprises (VEs) have become one of main types of organisations in the manufacturing sector through which the consortium companies organise their manufacturing activities. To be competitive, a VE relies on the complementary core competences among members through resource sharing and agile manufacturing capacity. Manufacturing grid (M-Grid) is a platform in which the production resources can be shared. In this article, an M-Grid-based VE operation platform (MGVEOP) is presented as it enables the sharing of production resources among geographically distributed enterprises. The performance management system of the MGVEOP is based on the balanced scorecard and has the capacity of self-learning. The study shows that a MGVEOP can make a semi-automated process possible for a VE, and the proposed MGVEOP is efficient and agile.

A Literature Review on the Progression of Agile Manufacturing Paradigm and Its Scope of Application in Pump Industry

PubMed Central

Devadasan, S. R.; Sivaram, N. M.

2015-01-01

During the recent years, the manufacturing world has been witnessing the application of agile manufacturing paradigm. The literature review reported in this paper was carried out to study this progression. This literature review was carried out in two phases. In the first phase, the literature was reviewed to trace the origin of agile manufacturing paradigm and identify its enablers. Further, during this phase, the applications of agile manufacturing reported in literature arena were reviewed. It was also discernable that certain research works have been initiated to apply agile manufacturing paradigm in pump industry. During the second phase, the researches reported on applying agile manufacturing in pump industry were reviewed. At the end of this review, it was found that so far the implementation of agile manufacturing in pump industry has been examined by the researchers by considering only certain components of pumps. In fact, the holistic implementation of agile manufacturing in the pump industry is yet to be examined by the researchers. In the context of drawing this inference, this paper has been concluded by stating that high scope exists in examining the infusing of agility characteristics in designing and manufacturing of pumps. PMID:26065016

A Literature Review on the Progression of Agile Manufacturing Paradigm and Its Scope of Application in Pump Industry.

PubMed

Thilak, V M M; Devadasan, S R; Sivaram, N M

2015-01-01

During the recent years, the manufacturing world has been witnessing the application of agile manufacturing paradigm. The literature review reported in this paper was carried out to study this progression. This literature review was carried out in two phases. In the first phase, the literature was reviewed to trace the origin of agile manufacturing paradigm and identify its enablers. Further, during this phase, the applications of agile manufacturing reported in literature arena were reviewed. It was also discernable that certain research works have been initiated to apply agile manufacturing paradigm in pump industry. During the second phase, the researches reported on applying agile manufacturing in pump industry were reviewed. At the end of this review, it was found that so far the implementation of agile manufacturing in pump industry has been examined by the researchers by considering only certain components of pumps. In fact, the holistic implementation of agile manufacturing in the pump industry is yet to be examined by the researchers. In the context of drawing this inference, this paper has been concluded by stating that high scope exists in examining the infusing of agility characteristics in designing and manufacturing of pumps.

Gender-specific influences of balance, speed, and power on agility performance.

PubMed

Sekulic, Damir; Spasic, Miodrag; Mirkov, Dragan; Cavar, Mile; Sattler, Tine

2013-03-01

The quick change of direction (i.e., agility) is an important athletic ability in numerous sports. Because of the diverse and therefore hardly predictable manifestations of agility in sports, studies noted that the improvement in speed, power, and balance should result in an improvement of agility. However, there is evident lack of data regarding the influence of potential predictors on different agility manifestations. The aim of this study was to determine the gender-specific influence of speed, power, and balance on different agility tests. A total of 32 college-aged male athletes and 31 college-aged female athletes (age 20.02 ± 1.89 years) participated in this study. The subjects were mostly involved in team sports (soccer, team handball, basketball, and volleyball; 80% of men, and 75% of women), martial arts, gymnastics, and dance. Anthropometric variables consisted of body height, body weight, and the body mass index. Five agility tests were used: a t-test (T-TEST), zig-zag test, 20-yard shuttle test, agility test with a 180-degree turn, and forward-backward running agility test (FWDBWD). Other tests included 1 jumping ability power test (squat jump, SQJ), 2 balance tests to determine the overall stability index and an overall limit of stability score (both measured by Biodex Balance System), and 2 running speed tests using a straight sprint for 10 and 20 m (S10 and S20, respectively). A reliability analysis showed that all the agility tests were reliable. Multiple regression and correlation analysis found speed and power (among women), and balance (among men), as most significant predictors of agility. The highest Pearson's correlation in both genders is found between the results of the FWDBWD and S10M tests (0.77 and 0.81 for men and women, respectively; p < 0.05). Power, measured using the SQJ, is significantly (p < 0.05) related to FWDBWD and T-TEST results but only for women (-0.44; -0.41). The balance measures were significantly related to the agility performance for men but not for women. In addition to demonstrating a known relationship between speed and agility in both genders, and a small but statistically significant relationship between power and agility in women, these results indicate that balance should be considered as a potential predictor of agility in trained adult men.

Development of EarthCube Governance: An Agile Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pearthree, G.; Allison, M. L.; Patten, K.

2013-12-01

Governance of geosciences cyberinfrastructure is a complex and essential undertaking, critical in enabling distributed knowledge communities to collaborate and communicate across disciplines, distances, and cultures. Advancing science with respect to 'grand challenges," such as global climate change, weather prediction, and core fundamental science, depends not just on technical cyber systems, but also on social systems for strategic planning, decision-making, project management, learning, teaching, and building a community of practice. Simply put, a robust, agile technical system depends on an equally robust and agile social system. Cyberinfrastructure development is wrapped in social, organizational and governance challenges, which may significantly impede progress. An agile development process is underway for governance of transformative investments in geosciences cyberinfrastructure through the NSF EarthCube initiative. Agile development is iterative and incremental, and promotes adaptive planning and rapid and flexible response. Such iterative deployment across a variety of EarthCube stakeholders encourages transparency, consensus, accountability, and inclusiveness. A project Secretariat acts as the coordinating body, carrying out duties for planning, organizing, communicating, and reporting. A broad coalition of stakeholder groups comprises an Assembly (Mainstream Scientists, Cyberinfrastructure Institutions, Information Technology/Computer Sciences, NSF EarthCube Investigators, Science Communities, EarthCube End-User Workshop Organizers, Professional Societies) to serve as a preliminary venue for identifying, evaluating, and testing potential governance models. To offer opportunity for broader end-user input, a crowd-source approach will engage stakeholders not involved otherwise. An Advisory Committee from the Earth, ocean, atmosphere, social, computer and library sciences is guiding the process from a high-level policy point of view. Developmental evaluators from the social sciences embedded in the project provide real-time review and adjustments. While a large number of agencies and organizations have agreed to participate, in order to ensure an open and inclusive process, community selected leaders yet to be identified will play key roles through an Assembly Advisory Council. Once consensus is reached on a governing framework, a community-selected demonstration governance pilot will help facilitate community convergence on system design.

Pervasive Agility and Agile Fires in Support of Decisive Action

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-29

Pervasive Agility and Agile Fires in Support of Decisive Action FORMAT: Civilian Research Project DATE: 29 March 2012 WORD COUNT : 12,599 PAGES: 54...will face, this pollenization may require creative measures, perhaps virtual or constructive scenarios. The National Training Center at Fort Irwin

Strategic agility for nursing leadership.

PubMed

Shirey, Maria R

2015-06-01

This department highlights change management strategies that may be successful in strategically planning and executing organizational change. In this article, the author discusses strategic agility as an important leadership competency and offers approaches for incorporating strategic agility in healthcare systems. A strategic agility checklist and infrastructure-building approach are presented.

Relationship between agility and lower limb muscle strength, targeting university badminton players.

PubMed

Sonoda, Takuya; Tashiro, Yuto; Suzuki, Yusuke; Kajiwara, Yu; Zeidan, Hala; Yokota, Yuki; Kawagoe, Mirei; Nakayama, Yasuaki; Bito, Tsubasa; Shimoura, Kanako; Tatsumi, Masataka; Nakai, Kengo; Nishida, Yuichi; Yoshimi, Soyoka; Aoyama, Tomoki

2018-02-01

[Purpose] Targeting university badminton players, this study investigated the relationship between agility, which is associated with performance in badminton, and lower limb muscle strength, and examined which muscles influence agility. [Subjects and Methods] A total of 23 male university badminton players were evaluated for side-shuffle test scores and lower limb strength. The relationships between agility, lower limb strength, and duration of experience playing badminton were evaluated using a correlation analysis. Moreover, the relationship between agility and lower limb strength was evaluated by partial correlation analysis, adjusting for the effects of experience of each badminton player. [Results] The agility score correlated with hip extension and ankle plantar flexion strength, with adjustment for badminton experience. [Conclusion] This study suggests that hip extension training and improvement in ankle plantar flexion strength may improve agility.

Agile Acceptance Test–Driven Development of Clinical Decision Support Advisories: Feasibility of Using Open Source Software

PubMed Central

Baldwin, Krystal L; Kannan, Vaishnavi; Flahaven, Emily L; Parks, Cassandra J; Ott, Jason M; Willett, Duwayne L

2018-01-01

Background Moving to electronic health records (EHRs) confers substantial benefits but risks unintended consequences. Modern EHRs consist of complex software code with extensive local configurability options, which can introduce defects. Defects in clinical decision support (CDS) tools are surprisingly common. Feasible approaches to prevent and detect defects in EHR configuration, including CDS tools, are needed. In complex software systems, use of test–driven development and automated regression testing promotes reliability. Test–driven development encourages modular, testable design and expanding regression test coverage. Automated regression test suites improve software quality, providing a “safety net” for future software modifications. Each automated acceptance test serves multiple purposes, as requirements (prior to build), acceptance testing (on completion of build), regression testing (once live), and “living” design documentation. Rapid-cycle development or “agile” methods are being successfully applied to CDS development. The agile practice of automated test–driven development is not widely adopted, perhaps because most EHR software code is vendor-developed. However, key CDS advisory configuration design decisions and rules stored in the EHR may prove amenable to automated testing as “executable requirements.” Objective We aimed to establish feasibility of acceptance test–driven development of clinical decision support advisories in a commonly used EHR, using an open source automated acceptance testing framework (FitNesse). Methods Acceptance tests were initially constructed as spreadsheet tables to facilitate clinical review. Each table specified one aspect of the CDS advisory’s expected behavior. Table contents were then imported into a test suite in FitNesse, which queried the EHR database to automate testing. Tests and corresponding CDS configuration were migrated together from the development environment to production, with tests becoming part of the production regression test suite. Results We used test–driven development to construct a new CDS tool advising Emergency Department nurses to perform a swallowing assessment prior to administering oral medication to a patient with suspected stroke. Test tables specified desired behavior for (1) applicable clinical settings, (2) triggering action, (3) rule logic, (4) user interface, and (5) system actions in response to user input. Automated test suite results for the “executable requirements” are shown prior to building the CDS alert, during build, and after successful build. Conclusions Automated acceptance test–driven development and continuous regression testing of CDS configuration in a commercial EHR proves feasible with open source software. Automated test–driven development offers one potential contribution to achieving high-reliability EHR configuration. Vetting acceptance tests with clinicians elicits their input on crucial configuration details early during initial CDS design and iteratively during rapid-cycle optimization. PMID:29653922

Planned and reactive agility performance in semiprofessional and amateur basketball players.

PubMed

Lockie, Robert G; Jeffriess, Matthew D; McGann, Tye S; Callaghan, Samuel J; Schultz, Adrian B

2014-09-01

Research indicates that planned and reactive agility are different athletic skills. These skills have not been adequately assessed in male basketball players. To define whether 10-m-sprint performance and planned and reactive agility measured by the Y-shaped agility test can discriminate between semiprofessional and amateur basketball players. Ten semiprofessional and 10 amateur basketball players completed 10-m sprints and planned- and reactive-agility tests. The Y-shaped agility test involved subjects sprinting 5 m through a trigger timing gate, followed by a 45° cut and 5-m sprint to the left or right through a target gate. In the planned condition, subjects knew the cut direction. For reactive trials, subjects visually scanned to find the illuminated gate. A 1-way analysis of variance (P < .05) determined between-groups differences. Data were pooled (N = 20) for a correlation analysis (P < .05). The reactive tests differentiated between the groups; semiprofessional players were 6% faster for the reactive left (P = .036) and right (P = .029) cuts. The strongest correlations were between the 10-m sprints and planned-agility tests (r = .590-.860). The reactive left cut did not correlate with the planned tests. The reactive right cut moderately correlated with the 10-m sprint and planned right cut (r = .487-.485). The results reemphasized that planned and reactive agility are separate physical qualities. Reactive agility discriminated between the semiprofessional and amateur basketball players; planned agility did not. To distinguish between male basketball players of different ability levels, agility tests should include a perceptual and decision-making component.

Agile Methodology - Past and Future

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-01

Takeuchi & Nonaka HBR 1986, p139 RUGBY Waterfall Red vs Agile Black Team- . - Manifesto 2001 SCRUM GRAPHIC* * Adapted from Schwaber (2007) Agile...learning will help Agile manage its vision • Rugby : All Blacks 36 v England 12 Auckland, NZ (6/19/04) Glossary • AFB – Air Force Base • MCS - Maneuver

78 FR 64019 - Manufacturer of Controlled Substances; Notice of Registration; Agilent Technologies

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-25

...; Notice of Registration; Agilent Technologies By Notice dated May 24, 2013, and published in the Federal Register on June 4, 2013, 78 FR 33441, Agilent Technologies, 25200 Commercentre Drive, Lake Forest... of Agilent Technologies to manufacture the listed basic classes of controlled substances is...

Empowered Commanders: The Cornerstone to Agile, Flexible Command and Control

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-02-01

Feb/ SLP -Wilsbach-Lyle.pdf. 4. Gilmary Michael Hostage III and Larry R. Broadwell Jr., "Resilient Command and Control: The Need for Distributed Control...www.au.af.mil / au/ afri/aspj/digital/pdf/ articles/ 2014-Jul-Aug/ SLP -Deptula.pdf. 18. Gen Hawk Carlisle, multiple speeches, November 2012-September

Self-service for software development projects and HPC activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Husejko, M.; Høimyr, N.; Gonzalez, A.; Koloventzos, G.; Asbury, D.; Trzcinska, A.; Agtzidis, I.; Botrel, G.; Otto, J.

2014-05-01

This contribution describes how CERN has implemented several essential tools for agile software development processes, ranging from version control (Git) to issue tracking (Jira) and documentation (Wikis). Running such services in a large organisation like CERN requires many administrative actions both by users and service providers, such as creating software projects, managing access rights, users and groups, and performing tool-specific customisation. Dealing with these requests manually would be a time-consuming task. Another area of our CERN computing services that has required dedicated manual support has been clusters for specific user communities with special needs. Our aim is to move all our services to a layered approach, with server infrastructure running on the internal cloud computing infrastructure at CERN. This contribution illustrates how we plan to optimise the management of our of services by means of an end-user facing platform acting as a portal into all the related services for software projects, inspired by popular portals for open-source developments such as Sourceforge, GitHub and others. Furthermore, the contribution will discuss recent activities with tests and evaluations of High Performance Computing (HPC) applications on different hardware and software stacks, and plans to offer a dynamically scalable HPC service at CERN, based on affordable hardware.

The Earth System Documentation (ES-DOC) Software Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenslade, M. A.; Murphy, S.; Treshansky, A.; DeLuca, C.; Guilyardi, E.; Denvil, S.

2013-12-01

Earth System Documentation (ES-DOC) is an international project supplying high-quality tools & services in support of earth system documentation creation, analysis and dissemination. It is nurturing a sustainable standards based documentation eco-system that aims to become an integral part of the next generation of exa-scale dataset archives. ES-DOC leverages open source software, and applies a software development methodology that places end-user narratives at the heart of all it does. ES-DOC has initially focused upon nurturing the Earth System Model (ESM) documentation eco-system and currently supporting the following projects: * Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5); * Dynamical Core Model Inter-comparison Project (DCMIP); * National Climate Predictions and Projections Platforms Quantitative Evaluation of Downscaling Workshop. This talk will demonstrate that ES-DOC implements a relatively mature software development process. Taking a pragmatic Agile process as inspiration, ES-DOC: * Iteratively develops and releases working software; * Captures user requirements via a narrative based approach; * Uses online collaboration tools (e.g. Earth System CoG) to manage progress; * Prototypes applications to validate their feasibility; * Leverages meta-programming techniques where appropriate; * Automates testing whenever sensibly feasible; * Streamlines complex deployments to a single command; * Extensively leverages GitHub and Pivotal Tracker; * Enforces strict separation of the UI from underlying API's; * Conducts code reviews.

Collaborative business processes for enhancing partnerships among software services providers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heil Cancian, Maiara; Rabelo, Ricardo; Gresse von Wangenheim, Christiane

2015-08-01

Software services have represented a powerful view to support the realisation of the service-oriented architecture (SOA) paradigm. Using open standards and facilitating systems projects, they have increasingly been used as a corporate architectural approach to create interoperable services-based software solutions that can more easily be reused and shared across disparate applications. In the context of software companies, most of them are small firms having enormous difficulties to keep competitive. One strategy to enhance their sustainability is to enlarge partnerships among them at a more valuable level by jointly offering (web) services-based solutions. However, their culture of collaboration is low, and partnerships are usually done with the same companies and sporadically. This article presents an approach to support a more intense collaboration among software companies to attend business opportunities in a more agile way, joining capacities and capabilities which they would not have if they worked alone. This requires, however, some preparedness. From the perspective of business processes, they should understand how to carry out a collaboration more properly. This is essentially what this article is about. It presents a comprehensive list of collaborative business processes and base practices that can also act as a guide for service providers' managers to implement and manage the collaboration along its lifecycle. Processes have been validated and results are discussed.

Using a Functional Simulation of Crisis Management to Test the C2 Agility Model Parameters on Key Performance Variables

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

1 18th ICCRTS Using a Functional Simulation of Crisis Management to Test the C2 Agility Model Parameters on Key Performance Variables...AND SUBTITLE Using a Functional Simulation of Crisis Management to Test the C2 Agility Model Parameters on Key Performance Variables 5a. CONTRACT...command in crisis management. C2 Agility Model Agility can be conceptualized at a number of different levels; for instance at the team

The Software Element of the NASA Portable Electronic Device Radiated Emissions Investigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koppen, Sandra V.; Williams, Reuben A. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

NASA Langley Research Center's (LaRC) High Intensity Radiated Fields Laboratory (HIRF Lab) recently conducted a series of electromagnetic radiated emissions tests under a cooperative agreement with Delta Airlines and an interagency agreement with the FAA. The frequency spectrum environment at a commercial airport was measured on location. The environment survey provides a comprehensive picture of the complex nature of the electromagnetic environment present in those areas outside the aircraft. In addition, radiated emissions tests were conducted on portable electronic devices (PEDs) that may be brought onboard aircraft. These tests were performed in both semi-anechoic and reverberation chambers located in the HIRF Lab. The PEDs included cell phones, laptop computers, electronic toys, and family radio systems. The data generated during the tests are intended to support the research on the effect of radiated emissions from wireless devices on aircraft systems. Both tests systems relied on customized control and data reduction software to provide test and instrument control, data acquisition, a user interface, real time data reduction, and data analysis. The software executed on PC's running MS Windows 98 and 2000, and used Agilent Pro Visual Engineering Environment (VEE) development software, Common Object Model (COM) technology, and MS Excel.

Single-crystal diffraction at the Extreme Conditions beamline P02.2: procedure for collecting and analyzing high-pressure single-crystal data.

PubMed

Rothkirch, André; Gatta, G Diego; Meyer, Mathias; Merkel, Sébastien; Merlini, Marco; Liermann, Hanns Peter

2013-09-01

Fast detectors employed at third-generation synchrotrons have reduced collection times significantly and require the optimization of commercial as well as customized software packages for data reduction and analysis. In this paper a procedure to collect, process and analyze single-crystal data sets collected at high pressure at the Extreme Conditions beamline (P02.2) at PETRA III, DESY, is presented. A new data image format called `Esperanto' is introduced that is supported by the commercial software package CrysAlis(Pro) (Agilent Technologies UK Ltd). The new format acts as a vehicle to transform the most common area-detector data formats via a translator software. Such a conversion tool has been developed and converts tiff data collected on a Perkin Elmer detector, as well as data collected on a MAR345/555, to be imported into the CrysAlis(Pro) software. In order to demonstrate the validity of the new approach, a complete structure refinement of boron-mullite (Al5BO9) collected at a pressure of 19.4 (2) GPa is presented. Details pertaining to the data collections and refinements of B-mullite are presented.

The GenABEL Project for statistical genomics.

PubMed

Karssen, Lennart C; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Aulchenko, Yurii S

2016-01-01

Development of free/libre open source software is usually done by a community of people with an interest in the tool. For scientific software, however, this is less often the case. Most scientific software is written by only a few authors, often a student working on a thesis. Once the paper describing the tool has been published, the tool is no longer developed further and is left to its own device. Here we describe the broad, multidisciplinary community we formed around a set of tools for statistical genomics. The GenABEL project for statistical omics actively promotes open interdisciplinary development of statistical methodology and its implementation in efficient and user-friendly software under an open source licence. The software tools developed withing the project collectively make up the GenABEL suite, which currently consists of eleven tools. The open framework of the project actively encourages involvement of the community in all stages, from formulation of methodological ideas to application of software to specific data sets. A web forum is used to channel user questions and discussions, further promoting the use of the GenABEL suite. Developer discussions take place on a dedicated mailing list, and development is further supported by robust development practices including use of public version control, code review and continuous integration. Use of this open science model attracts contributions from users and developers outside the "core team", facilitating agile statistical omics methodology development and fast dissemination.

High fidelity wireless network evaluation for heterogeneous cognitive radio networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Lei; Sagduyu, Yalin; Yackoski, Justin; Azimi-Sadjadi, Babak; Li, Jason; Levy, Renato; Melodia, Tammaso

2012-06-01

We present a high fidelity cognitive radio (CR) network emulation platform for wireless system tests, measure- ments, and validation. This versatile platform provides the configurable functionalities to control and repeat realistic physical channel effects in integrated space, air, and ground networks. We combine the advantages of scalable simulation environment with reliable hardware performance for high fidelity and repeatable evaluation of heterogeneous CR networks. This approach extends CR design only at device (software-defined-radio) or lower-level protocol (dynamic spectrum access) level to end-to-end cognitive networking, and facilitates low-cost deployment, development, and experimentation of new wireless network protocols and applications on frequency- agile programmable radios. Going beyond the channel emulator paradigm for point-to-point communications, we can support simultaneous transmissions by network-level emulation that allows realistic physical-layer inter- actions between diverse user classes, including secondary users, primary users, and adversarial jammers in CR networks. In particular, we can replay field tests in a lab environment with real radios perceiving and learning the dynamic environment thereby adapting for end-to-end goals over distributed spectrum coordination channels that replace the common control channel as a single point of failure. CR networks offer several dimensions of tunable actions including channel, power, rate, and route selection. The proposed network evaluation platform is fully programmable and can reliably evaluate the necessary cross-layer design solutions with configurable op- timization space by leveraging the hardware experiments to represent the realistic effects of physical channel, topology, mobility, and jamming on spectrum agility, situational awareness, and network resiliency. We also provide the flexibility to scale up the test environment by introducing virtual radios and establishing seamless signal-level interactions with real radios. This holistic wireless evaluation approach supports a large-scale, het- erogeneous, and dynamic CR network architecture and allows developing cross-layer network protocols under high fidelity, repeatable, and scalable wireless test scenarios suitable for heterogeneous space, air, and ground networks.

Applying Agile Principles in Teaching Undergraduate Information Technology Project Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Budu, Joseph

2018-01-01

This article describes how the traditional teaching and learning activities over the years have been challenged to be agile--easily adaptable to changing classroom conditions. Despite this new phenomenon, there is a perceived paucity of agile-in-teaching research. Available studies neither focus on the use of agile principles beyond delivering…

Virtualized Networks and Virtualized Optical Line Terminal (vOLT)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Jonathan; Israel, Stephen

2017-03-01

The success of the Internet and the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices is forcing telecommunications carriers to re-architecture a central office as a datacenter (CORD) so as to bring the datacenter economics and cloud agility to a central office (CO). The Open Network Operating System (ONOS) is the first open-source software-defined network (SDN) operating system which is capable of managing and controlling network, computing, and storage resources to support CORD infrastructure and network virtualization. The virtualized Optical Line Termination (vOLT) is one of the key components in such virtualized networks.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Technology for Hypersonic Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gnoffo, Peter A.

2003-01-01

Several current challenges in computational fluid dynamics and aerothermodynamics for hypersonic vehicle applications are discussed. Example simulations are presented from code validation and code benchmarking efforts to illustrate capabilities and limitations. Opportunities to advance the state-of-art in algorithms, grid generation and adaptation, and code validation are identified. Highlights of diverse efforts to address these challenges are then discussed. One such effort to re-engineer and synthesize the existing analysis capability in LAURA, VULCAN, and FUN3D will provide context for these discussions. The critical (and evolving) role of agile software engineering practice in the capability enhancement process is also noted.

Sensor fusion and augmented reality with the SAFIRE system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saponaro, Philip; Treible, Wayne; Phelan, Brian; Sherbondy, Kelly; Kambhamettu, Chandra

2018-04-01

The Spectrally Agile Frequency-Incrementing Reconfigurable (SAFIRE) mobile radar system was developed and exercised at an arid U.S. test site. The system can detect hidden target using radar, a global positioning system (GPS), dual stereo color cameras, and dual stereo thermal cameras. An Augmented Reality (AR) software interface allows the user to see a single fused video stream containing the SAR, color, and thermal imagery. The stereo sensors allow the AR system to display both fused 2D imagery and 3D metric reconstructions, where the user can "fly" around the 3D model and switch between the modalities.

The Effect of Acceleration Sprint and Zig-zag Drill Combination to Increase Students’ Speed and Agility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bana, O.; Mintarto, E.; Kusnanik, N. W.

2018-01-01

The purpose of this research is to analyze the following factors: (1) how far the effect of exercise acceleration sprint on the speed and agility (2) how much influence the zig-zag drill combination to the speed and agility (3) and is there any difference between the effects of exercise acceleration sprint and practice zig-zag drill combination of the speed and agility. This research is quantitative with quasi-experimental approach. The design of this study is matching only design.This study was conducted on 33 male students who take part in extracurricular and divided into 3 groups with 11 students in each group. Group 1 was given training of acceleration sprint, group 2 was given zig-zag training combination drills of conventional and exercises for group 3, for 8 weeks. The data collection was using sprint 30 meter to test the speed and agility t-test to test agility. Data were analyzed using t-test and analysis of variance. The conclusion of the research is (1) there is a significant effect of exercise acceleration sprint for the speed and agility, (2) there is a significant influence combination zig-zag drills, on speed and agility (3) and exercise acceleration sprint have more effect on the speed and agility.

The Effects of a 6-Week Plyometric Training Program on Agility

PubMed Central

Miller, Michael G.; Herniman, Jeremy J.; Ricard, Mark D.; Cheatham, Christopher C.; Michael, Timothy J.

2006-01-01

The purpose of the study was to determine if six weeks of plyometric training can improve an athlete's agility. Subjects were divided into two groups, a plyometric training and a control group. The plyometric training group performed in a six week plyometric training program and the control group did not perform any plyometric training techniques. All subjects participated in two agility tests: T-test and Illinois Agility Test, and a force plate test for ground reaction times both pre and post testing. Univariate ANCOVAs were conducted to analyze the change scores (post - pre) in the independent variables by group (training or control) with pre scores as covariates. The Univariate ANCOVA revealed a significant group effect F2,26 = 25.42, p=0.0000 for the T-test agility measure. For the Illinois Agility test, a significant group effect F2,26 = 27.24, p = 0.000 was also found. The plyometric training group had quicker posttest times compared to the control group for the agility tests. A significant group effect F2,26 = 7.81, p = 0.002 was found for the Force Plate test. The plyometric training group reduced time on the ground on the posttest compared to the control group. The results of this study show that plyometric training can be an effective training technique to improve an athlete's agility. Key Points Plyometric training can enhance agility of athletes. 6 weeks of plyometric training is sufficient to see agility results. Ground reaction times are decreased with plyometric training PMID:24353464

Quantifying performance on an outdoor agility drill using foot-mounted inertial measurement units.

PubMed

Zaferiou, Antonia M; Ojeda, Lauro; Cain, Stephen M; Vitali, Rachel V; Davidson, Steven P; Stirling, Leia; Perkins, Noel C

2017-01-01

Running agility is required for many sports and other physical tasks that demand rapid changes in body direction. Quantifying agility skill remains a challenge because measuring rapid changes of direction and quantifying agility skill from those measurements are difficult to do in ways that replicate real task/game play situations. The objectives of this study were to define and to measure agility performance for a (five-cone) agility drill used within a military obstacle course using data harvested from two foot-mounted inertial measurement units (IMUs). Thirty-two recreational athletes ran an agility drill while wearing two IMUs secured to the tops of their athletic shoes. The recorded acceleration and angular rates yield estimates of the trajectories, velocities and accelerations of both feet as well as an estimate of the horizontal velocity of the body mass center. Four agility performance metrics were proposed and studied including: 1) agility drill time, 2) horizontal body speed, 3) foot trajectory turning radius, and 4) tangential body acceleration. Additionally, the average horizontal ground reaction during each footfall was estimated. We hypothesized that shorter agility drill performance time would be observed with small turning radii and large tangential acceleration ranges and body speeds. Kruskal-Wallis and mean rank post-hoc statistical analyses revealed that shorter agility drill performance times were observed with smaller turning radii and larger tangential acceleration ranges and body speeds, as hypothesized. Moreover, measurements revealed the strategies that distinguish high versus low performers. Relative to low performers, high performers used sharper turns, larger changes in body speed (larger tangential acceleration ranges), and shorter duration footfalls that generated larger horizontal ground reactions during the turn phases. Overall, this study advances the use of foot-mounted IMUs to quantify agility performance in contextually-relevant settings (e.g., field of play, training facilities, obstacle courses, etc.).

Speed and agility of 12- and 14-year-old elite male basketball players.

PubMed

Jakovljevic, Sasa T; Karalejic, Milivoje S; Pajic, Zoran B; Macura, Marija M; Erculj, Frane F

2012-09-01

The aims of this study were (a) to identify and compare the speed and agility of 12- and 14-year-old elite male basketball players and (b) to investigate relations between speed and agility for both age groups of basketball players, to help coaches to improve their work. Sixty-four players aged 12 (M = 11.98 years, SD = 0.311) and 54 players aged 14 (M = 14.092 years, SD = 0.275) were tested. Three agility tests: agility t-test, zigzag agility drill, and agility run 4 × 15 m and 3 speed tests: 20-m run, 30-m run, and 50-m run were applied. Fourteen-year-old players achieved significantly better results in all speed and agility tests compared with 12-year-old players. The correlation coefficient (r = 0.81, p = 0.001) showed that 12-year-old players have the same ability in the 30- and 50-m runs. The other correlation coefficient (r = 0.59, p = 0.001) indicated that 20- and 30-m runs had inherently different qualities. The correlation coefficients between agility tests were <0.71, and therefore, each test in this group represents a specific task. In 14-year-old players, the correlation coefficients between the speed test results were <0.71. In contrast, the correlation coefficients between the agility tests were >0.71, which means that all the 3 tests represent the same quality. During the speed training of 12-year-old players, it is advisable to focus on shorter running distances, up to 30 m. During the agility training of the same players, it is useful to apply exercises with various complexities. In speed training of the 14-year-old players, the 30- and 50-m runs should be applied, and agility training should include more specific basketball movements and activities.

SU-E-T-610: Comparison of Treatment Times Between the MLCi and Agility Multileaf Collimators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ramsey, C; Bowling, J

2014-06-01

Purpose: The Agility is a new 160-leaf MLC developed by Elekta for use in their Infinity and Versa HD linacs. As compared to the MLCi, the Agility increased the maximum leaf speed from 2 cm/s to 3.5 cm/s, and the maximum primary collimator speed from 1.5 cm/s to 9.0 cm/s. The purpose of this study was to determine if the Agility MLC resulted in improved plan quality and/or shorter treatment times. Methods: An Elekta Infinity that was originally equipped with a 80 leaf MLCi was upgraded to an 160 leaf Agility. Treatment plan quality was evaluated using the Pinnacle planningmore » system with SmartArc. Optimization was performed once for the MLCi and once for the Agility beam models using the same optimization parameters and the same number of iterations. Patient treatment times were measured for all IMRT, VMAT, and SBRT patients treated on the Infinity with the MLCi and Agility MLCs. Treatment times were extracted from the EMR and measured from when the patient first walked into the treatment room until exiting the treatment room. Results: 11,380 delivery times were measured for patients treated with the MLCi, and 1,827 measurements have been made for the Agility MLC. The average treatment times were 19.1 minutes for the MLCi and 20.8 minutes for the Agility. Using a t-test analysis, there was no difference between the two groups (t = 0.22). The dose differences between patients planned with the MLCi and the Agility MLC were minimal. For example, the dose difference for the PTV, GTV, and cord for a head and neck patient planned using Pinnacle were effectively equivalent. However, the dose to the parotid glands was slightly worse with the Agility MLC. Conclusion: There was no statistical difference in treatment time, or any significant dosimetric difference between the Agility MLC and the MLCi.« less

Multivariate data analysis to characterize gas chromatography columns for dioxin analysis.

PubMed

Do, Lan; Geladi, Paul; Haglund, Peter

2014-06-20

Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied for evaluating the selectivity of 22 GC columns for which complete retention data were available for the 136 tetra- to octa-chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs). Because the hepta- and octa-homologues are easy to separate the PCA was focused on the 128 tetra- to hexa-CDD/Fs. The analysis showed that 21 of the 22 GC columns could be subdivided into four groups with different selectivity. Group I consists of columns with non-polar thermally stable phases (Restek 5Sil MS and Dioxin 2, SGE BPX-DXN, Supelco Equity-5, and Agilent DB-1, DB-5, DB-5ms, VF-5ms, VF-Xms and DB-XLB). Group II includes ionic liquid columns (Supelco SLB-IL61, SLB-IL111 and SLB-IL76) with very high polarity. Group III includes columns with high-percentage phenyl and cyanopropyl phases (Agilent DB-17 and DB-225, Quadrex CPS-1, Supelco SP-2331, and Agilent CP-Sil 88), and Group IV columns with shape selectivity (Dionex SB-Smectic and Restek LC-50, Supelco βDEXcst, Agilent VF-Xms and DB-XLB). Thus, two columns appeared in both Group I and IV (Agilent VF-Xms and DB-XLB). The selectivity of the other column, Agilent DB-210, differs from those of these four groups. Partial least squares (PLS) regression was used to correlate the retention times of the tetra- to hexa-CDD/Fs on the 22 stationary phases with a set of physicochemical and structural descriptors to identify parameters that significantly influence the solute-stationary phase interactions. The most influential physicochemical parameters for the interaction were associated with molecular size (as reflects in the total energy, electron energy, core-core repulsion and standard entropy), solubility (aqueous solubility and n-octanol/water partition coefficient), charge distribution (molecular polarizability and dipolar moment), and reactivity (relative Gibbs free energy); and the most influential structural descriptors were related to these parameters, in particular, size and dipolar moment. Finally, the PCA and PLS analyses were complemented with linear regression analysis to identify the most orthogonal column combinations, which could be used in comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) to enhance PCDD/F separation and congener profiling. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dynamic tumor tracking using the Elekta Agility MLC

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fast, Martin F., E-mail: martin.fast@icr.ac.uk; Nill, Simeon, E-mail: simeon.nill@icr.ac.uk; Bedford, James L.

2014-11-01

Purpose: To evaluate the performance of the Elekta Agility multileaf collimator (MLC) for dynamic real-time tumor tracking. Methods: The authors have developed a new control software which interfaces to the Agility MLC to dynamically program the movement of individual leaves, the dynamic leaf guides (DLGs), and the Y collimators (“jaws”) based on the actual target trajectory. A motion platform was used to perform dynamic tracking experiments with sinusoidal trajectories. The actual target positions reported by the motion platform at 20, 30, or 40 Hz were used as shift vectors for the MLC in beams-eye-view. The system latency of the MLCmore » (i.e., the average latency comprising target device reporting latencies and MLC adjustment latency) and the geometric tracking accuracy were extracted from a sequence of MV portal images acquired during irradiation for the following treatment scenarios: leaf-only motion, jaw + leaf motion, and DLG + leaf motion. Results: The portal imager measurements indicated a clear dependence of the system latency on the target position reporting frequency. Deducting the effect of the target frequency, the leaf adjustment latency was measured to be 38 ± 3 ms for a maximum target speed v of 13 mm/s. The jaw + leaf adjustment latency was 53 ± 3 at a similar speed. The system latency at a target position frequency of 30 Hz was in the range of 56–61 ms for the leaves (v ≤ 31 mm/s), 71–78 ms for the jaw + leaf motion (v ≤ 25 mm/s), and 58–72 ms for the DLG + leaf motion (v ≤ 59 mm/s). The tracking accuracy showed a similar dependency on the target position frequency and the maximum target speed. For the leaves, the root-mean-squared error (RMSE) was between 0.6–1.5 mm depending on the maximum target speed. For the jaw + leaf (DLG + leaf) motion, the RMSE was between 0.7–1.5 mm (1.9–3.4 mm). Conclusions: The authors have measured the latency and geometric accuracy of the Agility MLC, facilitating its future use for clinical tracking applications.« less

Characterization of constituents in Stellera chamaejasme L. by rapid-resolution liquid chromatography-diode array detection and electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Zhao, Liang; Lou, Zi-Yang; Zhu, Zhen-Yu; Zhang, Guo-Qing; Chai, Yi-Feng

2008-01-01

A reliable and rapid method based on rapid-resolution liquid chromatography-diode array detection (RRLC-DAD) and electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF/MS) has been developed for the isolation and characterization of multiple constituents in the root of Stellera chamaejasme L., which was extracted by sonication with methanol in an optimized procedure. Separation of the multiple constituents was achieved on an Agilent Zorbax XDB-C18 (50x3.0 mm i.d.; 1.8 microm) column using a gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The detection wavelength was 210 nm. Mass spectra were acquired in both positive and negative modes. A formula database of the known chemical constituents in the root of Stellera chamaejasme L. was established by an Agilent software. Twenty-two obvious peaks appeared in the total ion chromatogram and nine of them were characterized by TOF/MS. The RRLC-DAD and ESI-TOF/MS method with ultrasonic extraction would be useful for rapid and effective characterization of chemical constituents in the root of Stellera chamaejasme L. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Roles and Responsibilities in Feature Teams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eckstein, Jutta

Agile development requires self-organizing teams. The set-up of a (feature) team has to enable self-organization. Special care has to be taken if the project is not only distributed, but also large and more than one feature team is involved. Every feature team needs in such a setting a product owner who ensures the continuous focus on business delivery. The product owners collaborate by working together in a virtual team. Each feature team is supported by a coach who ensures not only the agile process of the individual feature team but also across all feature teams. An architect (or if necessary a team of architects) takes care that the system is technically sound. Contrariwise to small co-located projects, large global projects require a project manager who deals with—among other things—internal and especially external politics.

Power of lower extremities is most important determinant of agility among physically inactive or active adult people.

PubMed

Manderoos, Sirpa; Vaara, Mariitta; Karppi, Sirkka-Liisa; Aunola, Sirkka; Puukka, Pauli; Surakka, Jukka; Mälkiä, Esko

2018-04-26

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the relationships between agility, running speed, jumping height and length, body mass index, self-report pain in back and in lower extremities, personal factors as self-report health and fitness, and leisure time physical activity in physically inactive or active adult people. Altogether, 233 healthy subjects, 149 women (43.0 ± 7.3 years) and 84 men (44.0 ± 7.7 years), participated into study. Outcome measures were described in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health domains. Multiple regression analysis showed that jumping length explained 24.6% and 15.3% of the variance associated with agility in women and men (adjusted R 2  = .246, p < .001; adjusted R 2  = .153, p = .001, respectively). Jumping length was the main determinant of agility among physically inactive or active women and men. The findings of this study strengthen opinion that the Agility Test for Adults demands also other physical and cognitive characteristics as measured now and their part explaining agility results may be relatively great. We suggest that perception and decision making explain for a great part in agility. It seems that body mass index does not play important role in agility, but physical inactivity can explain or increase the decline of agility. Also, various biological mechanisms in aging process can be linked to the deterioration of capacity of agility. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Agile Integration of Complex Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-11-01

touch screens for dismounted warfighters or first responders Laptops for mounted warfighters or first responders Multitouch would be useful for all...Messaging Service provides basic distribution support for the other SOAF services, as shown in Figure 3. This support includes interacting with the...entered with the details necessary to accomplish the respective interactions of consuming and providing services. The combination of additional

SuperAGILE Services at ASDC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Preger, B.; Verrecchia, F.; Pittori, C.; Antonelli, L. A.; Giommi, P.; Lazzarotto, F.; Evangelista, Y.

2008-05-01

The Italian Space Agency Science Data Center (ASDC) is a facility with several responsibilities including support to all the ASI scientific missions as for management and archival of the data, acting as the interface between ASI and the scientific community and providing on-line access to the data hosted. In this poster we describe the services that ASDC provides for SuperAGILE, in particular the ASDC public web pages devoted to the dissemination of SuperAGILE scientific results. SuperAGILE is the X-Ray imager onboard the AGILE mission, and provides the scientific community with orbit-by-orbit information on the observed sources. Crucial source information including position and flux in chosen energy bands will be reported in the SuperAGILE public web page at ASDC. Given their particular interest, another web page will be dedicated entirely to GRBs and other transients, where new event alerts will be notified and where users will find all the available informations on the GRBs detected by SuperAGILE.

PyMCT: A Very High Level Language Coupling Tool For Climate System Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tobis, M.; Pierrehumbert, R. T.; Steder, M.; Jacob, R. L.

2006-12-01

At the Climate Systems Center of the University of Chicago, we have been examining strategies for applying agile programming techniques to complex high-performance modeling experiments. While the "agile" development methodology differs from a conventional requirements process and its associated milestones, the process remain a formal one. It is distinguished by continuous improvement in functionality, large numbers of small releases, extensive and ongoing testing strategies, and a strong reliance on very high level languages (VHLL). Here we report on PyMCT, which we intend as a core element in a model ensemble control superstructure. PyMCT is a set of Python bindings for MCT, the Fortran-90 based Model Coupling Toolkit, which forms the infrastructure for the inter-component communication in the Community Climate System Model (CCSM). MCT provides a scalable model communication infrastructure. In order to take maximum advantage of agile software development methodologies, we exposed MCT functionality to Python, a prominent VHLL. We describe how the scalable architecture of MCT allows us to overcome the relatively weak runtime performance of Python, so that the performance of the combined system is not severely impacted. To demonstrate these advantages, we reimplemented the CCSM coupler in Python. While this alone offers no new functionality, it does provide a rigorous test of PyMCT functionality and performance. We reimplemented the CPL6 library, presenting an interesting case study of the comparison between conventional Fortran-90 programming and the higher abstraction level provided by a VHLL. The powerful abstractions provided by Python will allow much more complex experimental paradigms. In particular, we hope to build on the scriptability of our coupling strategy to enable systematic sensitivity tests. Our most ambitious objective is to combine our efforts with Bayesian inverse modeling techniques toward objective tuning at the highest level, across model architectures.

Spacecraft Avionics Software Development Then and Now: Different but the Same

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mangieri, Mark L.; Garman, John (Jack); Vice, Jason

2012-01-01

NASA has always been in the business of balancing new technologies and techniques to achieve human space travel objectives. NASA s historic Software Production Facility (SPF) was developed to serve complex avionics software solutions during an era dominated by mainframes, tape drives, and lower level programming languages. These systems have proven themselves resilient enough to serve the Shuttle Orbiter Avionics life cycle for decades. The SPF and its predecessor the Software Development Lab (SDL) at NASA s Johnson Space Center (JSC) hosted flight software (FSW) engineering, development, simulation, and test. It was active from the beginning of Shuttle Orbiter development in 1972 through the end of the shuttle program in the summer of 2011 almost 40 years. NASA s Kedalion engineering analysis lab is on the forefront of validating and using many contemporary avionics HW/SW development and integration techniques, which represent new paradigms to NASA s heritage culture in avionics software engineering. Kedalion has validated many of the Orion project s HW/SW engineering techniques borrowed from the adjacent commercial aircraft avionics environment, inserting new techniques and skills into the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) Orion program. Using contemporary agile techniques, COTS products, early rapid prototyping, in-house expertise and tools, and customer collaboration, NASA has adopted a cost effective paradigm that is currently serving Orion effectively. This paper will explore and contrast differences in technology employed over the years of NASA s space program, due largely to technological advances in hardware and software systems, while acknowledging that the basic software engineering and integration paradigms share many similarities.

The Changes of Gene Expression on Human Hair during Long-Spaceflight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terada, Masahiro; Mukai, Chiaki; Ishioka, Noriaki; Majima, Hideyuki J.; Yamada, Shin; Seki, Masaya; Takahashi, Rika; Higashibata, Akira; Ohshima, Hiroshi; Sudoh, Masamichi; Minamisawa, Susumu

Hair has many advantages as the experimental sample. In a hair follicle, hair matrix cells actively divide and these active changes sensitively reflect physical condition on human body. The hair shaft records the metabolic conditions of mineral elements in our body. From human hairs, we can detect physiological informations about the human health. Therefore, we focused on using hair root analysis to understand the effects of spaceflight on astronauts. In 2009, we started a research program focusing on the analysis of astronauts’ hairs to examine the effects of long-term spaceflight on the gene expression in the human body. We want to get basic information to invent the effectivly diagnostic methods to detect the health situations of astronauts during space flight by analyzing human hair. We extracted RNA form the collected samples. Then, these extracted RNA was amplified. Amplified RNA was processed and hybridized to the Whole Human Genome (4×44K) Oligo Microarray (Agilent Technologies) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. Slide scanning was performed using the Agilent DNA Microarray Scanner. Scanning data were normalized with Agilent’s Feature Extraction software. Data preprocessing and analysis were performed using GeneSpring software 11.0.1. Next, Synthesis of cDNA (1 mg) was carried out using the PrimeScript RT reagent Kit (TaKaRa Bio) following the manufacturer’s instructions. The qRT-PCR experiment was performed with SYBR Premix Ex Taq (TaKaRa Bio) using the 7500 Real-Time PCR system (Applied Biosystems). We detected the changes of some gene expressions during spaceflight from both microarray and qRT-PCR data. These genes seems to be related with the hair proliferation. We believe that these results will lead to the discovery of the important factor effected during space flight on the hair.

Agile supply chain capabilities: emerging patterns as a determinant of competitive objectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yusuf, Yahaya Y.; Adeleye, E. O.; Sivayoganathan, K.

2001-10-01

Turbulent change caused by factors such as changing customer and technological requirements threatens manufacturers through lower product life cycles, profits and bleak survival prospects. Therefore, several companies are stressing flexibility and agility in order to respond, real time, to the unique needs of customers and markets. However, the resource competencies required are often difficult to mobilise and retain by single companies. It is therefore imperative for companies to co-operate and leverage complementary competencies. To this end, legally separate and spatially distributed companies are becoming integrated through Internet-based technologies. The paper reviews emerging patterns in supply chain integration. It also explores the relationship between the emerging patterns and attainment of competitive objectives. The results reported in the paper are based on data from a survey by questionnaire. The survey involved 600 companies in the UK, as part of a larger study of agile manufacturing. The study was driven by a conceptual model, which relates supply chain practices to competitive objectives. The analysis involves the use of factor analysis to reduce research variables to a few principal components. Subsequently, multiple regression was conducted to study the relationship amongst the reduced variables. The results validate the proposed conceptual model and lend credence to current thinking that supply chain integration is a vital tool for competitive advantage.

On the origin of avian air sacs.

PubMed

Farmer, C G

2006-11-01

For many vertebrates the lung is the largest and lightest organ in the body cavity and for these reasons can greatly affect an organism's shape, density, and its distribution of mass; characters that are important to locomotion. In this paper non-respiratory functions of the lung are considered along with data on the respiratory capacities and gas exchange abilities of birds and crocodilians to infer the evolutionary history of the respiratory systems of dinosaurs, including birds. From a quadrupedal ancestry theropod dinosaurs evolved a bipedal posture. Bipedalism is an impressive balancing act, especially for tall animals with massive heads. During this transition selection for good balance and agility may have helped shape pulmonary morphology. Respiratory adaptations arising for bipedalism are suggested to include a reduction in costal ventilation and the use of cuirassal ventilation with a caudad expansion of the lung into the dorsal abdominal cavity. The evolution of volant animals from bipeds required yet again a major reorganization in body form. With this transition avian air sacs may have been favored because they enhanced balance and agility in flight. Finally, I propose that these hypotheses can be tested by examining the importance of the air sacs to balance and agility in extant animals and that these data will enhance our understanding of the evolution of the respiratory system in archosaurs.

Agility in Team Sports: Testing, Training and Factors Affecting Performance.

PubMed

Paul, Darren J; Gabbett, Tim J; Nassis, George P

2016-03-01

Agility is an important characteristic of team sports athletes. There is a growing interest in the factors that influence agility performance as well as appropriate testing protocols and training strategies to assess and improve this quality. The objective of this systematic review was to (1) evaluate the reliability and validity of agility tests in team sports, (2) detail factors that may influence agility performance, and (3) identify the effects of different interventions on agility performance. The review was undertaken in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We conducted a search of PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and SPORTDiscus databases. We assessed the methodological quality of intervention studies using a customized checklist of assessment criteria. Intraclass correlation coefficient values were 0.80-0.91, 0.10-0.81, and 0.81-0.99 for test time using light, video, and human stimuli. A low-level reliability was reported for youth athletes using the video stimulus (0.10-0.30). Higher-level participants were shown to be, on average, 7.5% faster than their lower level counterparts. Reaction time and accuracy, foot placement, and in-line lunge movement have been shown to be related to agility performance. The contribution of strength remains unclear. Efficacy of interventions on agility performance ranged from 1% (vibration training) to 7.5% (small-sided games training). Agility tests generally offer good reliability, although this may be compromised in younger participants responding to various scenarios. A human and/or video stimulus seems the most appropriate method to discriminate between standard of playing ability. Decision-making and perceptual factors are often propositioned as discriminant factors; however, the underlying mechanisms are relatively unknown. Research has focused predominantly on the physical element of agility. Small-sided games and video training may offer effective methods of improving agility, although practical issues may hinder the latter.

The Yo-Yo IR2 test: physiological response, reliability, and application to elite soccer.

PubMed

Oberacker, Lisa M; Davis, Shala E; Haff, G Gregory; Witmer, Chad A; Moir, Gavin L

2012-10-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of resistance training performed on either a stable or unstable surface on performance tests in female soccer players. Nineteen National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II female soccer players were assigned to either an unstable training group (UST: 19.0 ± 0.47 years; 1.69 ± 6.4 m; 67.8 ± 7.7 kg) or a stable training group (ST: 19.6 ± 0.49 years; 1.64 ± 3.2 m; 62.7 ± 6.27 kg). Player positions were distributed evenly between the groups. Both the groups followed a 5-week periodized resistance training program designed to develop maximum muscular strength. The groups performed the same exercises during each workout, with the UST performing 2 of the exercises in each session on an unstable surface. Pretraining and posttraining measures of straight-line sprint speed, planned and reactive agility, aerobic capacity, and countermovement vertical jump (CMJ) were taken. Significant main effects for time were reported for straight-line sprint speed, planned agility, and reactive agility with both groups demonstrating improvements during the posttraining testing session. The ST demonstrated a significant increase in CMJ during the posttraining session (change in mean: 0.04 m) in contrast to the decline demonstrated by the UST (change in mean: -0.01 m). Performing resistance training exercises on an unstable surface confers no advantage over traditional resistance training exercises for improving the speed, agility, and aerobic capacity of female soccer players. Furthermore, the use of an unstable surface may inhibit the effects of resistance training on vertical jump height, an important variable in soccer performance.

Fighter agility metrics, research, and test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liefer, Randall K.; Valasek, John; Eggold, David P.

1990-01-01

Proposed new metrics to assess fighter aircraft agility are collected and analyzed. A framework for classification of these new agility metrics is developed and applied. A completed set of transient agility metrics is evaluated with a high fidelity, nonlinear F-18 simulation provided by the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. Test techniques and data reduction methods are proposed. A method of providing cuing information to the pilot during flight test is discussed. The sensitivity of longitudinal and lateral agility metrics to deviations from the pilot cues is studied in detail. The metrics are shown to be largely insensitive to reasonable deviations from the nominal test pilot commands. Instrumentation required to quantify agility via flight test is also considered. With one exception, each of the proposed new metrics may be measured with instrumentation currently available. Simulation documentation and user instructions are provided in an appendix.

Evaluation of agile designs in first-in-human (FIH) trials--a simulation study.

PubMed

Perlstein, Itay; Bolognese, James A; Krishna, Rajesh; Wagner, John A

2009-12-01

The aim of the investigation was to evaluate alternatives to standard first-in-human (FIH) designs in order to optimize the information gained from such studies by employing novel agile trial designs. Agile designs combine adaptive and flexible elements to enable optimized use of prior information either before and/or during conduct of the study to seamlessly update the study design. A comparison of the traditional 6 + 2 (active + placebo) subjects per cohort design with alternative, reduced sample size, agile designs was performed by using discrete event simulation. Agile designs were evaluated for specific adverse event models and rates as well as dose-proportional, saturated, and steep-accumulation pharmacokinetic profiles. Alternative, reduced sample size (hereafter referred to as agile) designs are proposed for cases where prior knowledge about pharmacokinetics and/or adverse event relationships are available or appropriately assumed. Additionally, preferred alternatives are proposed for a general case when prior knowledge is limited or unavailable. Within the tested conditions and stated assumptions, some agile designs were found to be as efficient as traditional designs. Thus, simulations demonstrated that the agile design is a robust and feasible approach to FIH clinical trials, with no meaningful loss of relevant information, as it relates to PK and AE assumptions. In some circumstances, applying agile designs may decrease the duration and resources required for Phase I studies, increasing the efficiency of early clinical development. We highlight the value and importance of useful prior information when specifying key assumptions related to safety, tolerability, and PK.

Agile Methods in Air Force Sustainment: Status and Outlook

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-07-01

Schwaber ISBN10: 073561993X X X Agile Project Management : Creating Innovative Products – 2nd Edition Jim Highsmith ISBN 0321658396 X Agile...ISBN 0787974277 X Leading Change John Kotter ISBN 0875847471 X Leading Geeks: How to Manage and Lead the People Who Deliver Technology Paul ...Development: Achieving Enterprise Agility Alan Shalloway, Guy Beaver, and James R. Trott ISBN 0321532899 X Managing Transitions: Making the Most of

Full-length genome sequence of a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infecting a captive agile mangabey (Cercocebus agilis) is closely related to SIVrcm infecting wild red-capped mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus) in Cameroon

PubMed Central

Ahuka-Mundeke, Steve; Liegeois, Florian; Ayouba, Ahidjo; Foupouapouognini, Yacouba; Nerrienet, Eric; Delaporte, Eric; Peeters, Martine

2010-01-01

Simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs) are lentiviruses that infect an extensive number of wild African primate species. Here we describe for the first time SIV infection in a captive agile mangabey (Cercocebus agilis) from Cameroon. Phylogenetic analysis of the full-length genome sequence of SIVagi-00CM312 showed that this novel virus fell into the SIVrcm lineage and was most closely related to a newly characterized SIVrcm strain (SIVrcm-02CM8081) from a wild-caught red-capped mangabey (Cercocebus torquatus) from Cameroon. In contrast to red-capped mangabeys, no 24 bp deletion in CCR5 has been observed in the agile mangabey. Further studies on wild agile mangabeys are needed to determine whether agile and red-capped mangabeys are naturally infected with the same SIV lineage, or whether this agile mangabey became infected with an SIVrcm strain in captivity. However, our study shows that agile mangabeys are susceptible to SIV infection. PMID:20797968

Full-length genome sequence of a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infecting a captive agile mangabey (Cercocebus agilis) is closely related to SIVrcm infecting wild red-capped mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus) in Cameroon.

PubMed

Ahuka-Mundeke, Steve; Liegeois, Florian; Ayouba, Ahidjo; Foupouapouognini, Yacouba; Nerrienet, Eric; Delaporte, Eric; Peeters, Martine

2010-12-01

Simian immunodeficiency viruses (SIVs) are lentiviruses that infect an extensive number of wild African primate species. Here we describe for the first time SIV infection in a captive agile mangabey (Cercocebus agilis) from Cameroon. Phylogenetic analysis of the full-length genome sequence of SIVagi-00CM312 showed that this novel virus fell into the SIVrcm lineage and was most closely related to a newly characterized SIVrcm strain (SIVrcm-02CM8081) from a wild-caught red-capped mangabey (Cercocebus torquatus) from Cameroon. In contrast to red-capped mangabeys, no 24 bp deletion in CCR5 has been observed in the agile mangabey. Further studies on wild agile mangabeys are needed to determine whether agile and red-capped mangabeys are naturally infected with the same SIV lineage, or whether this agile mangabey became infected with an SIVrcm strain in captivity. However, our study shows that agile mangabeys are susceptible to SIV infection.

The image-guided surgery toolkit IGSTK: an open source C++ software toolkit.

PubMed

Enquobahrie, Andinet; Cheng, Patrick; Gary, Kevin; Ibanez, Luis; Gobbi, David; Lindseth, Frank; Yaniv, Ziv; Aylward, Stephen; Jomier, Julien; Cleary, Kevin

2007-11-01

This paper presents an overview of the image-guided surgery toolkit (IGSTK). IGSTK is an open source C++ software library that provides the basic components needed to develop image-guided surgery applications. It is intended for fast prototyping and development of image-guided surgery applications. The toolkit was developed through a collaboration between academic and industry partners. Because IGSTK was designed for safety-critical applications, the development team has adopted lightweight software processes that emphasizes safety and robustness while, at the same time, supporting geographically separated developers. A software process that is philosophically similar to agile software methods was adopted emphasizing iterative, incremental, and test-driven development principles. The guiding principle in the architecture design of IGSTK is patient safety. The IGSTK team implemented a component-based architecture and used state machine software design methodologies to improve the reliability and safety of the components. Every IGSTK component has a well-defined set of features that are governed by state machines. The state machine ensures that the component is always in a valid state and that all state transitions are valid and meaningful. Realizing that the continued success and viability of an open source toolkit depends on a strong user community, the IGSTK team is following several key strategies to build an active user community. These include maintaining a users and developers' mailing list, providing documentation (application programming interface reference document and book), presenting demonstration applications, and delivering tutorial sessions at relevant scientific conferences.

The GenABEL Project for statistical genomics

PubMed Central

Karssen, Lennart C.; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; Aulchenko, Yurii S.

2016-01-01

Development of free/libre open source software is usually done by a community of people with an interest in the tool. For scientific software, however, this is less often the case. Most scientific software is written by only a few authors, often a student working on a thesis. Once the paper describing the tool has been published, the tool is no longer developed further and is left to its own device. Here we describe the broad, multidisciplinary community we formed around a set of tools for statistical genomics. The GenABEL project for statistical omics actively promotes open interdisciplinary development of statistical methodology and its implementation in efficient and user-friendly software under an open source licence. The software tools developed withing the project collectively make up the GenABEL suite, which currently consists of eleven tools. The open framework of the project actively encourages involvement of the community in all stages, from formulation of methodological ideas to application of software to specific data sets. A web forum is used to channel user questions and discussions, further promoting the use of the GenABEL suite. Developer discussions take place on a dedicated mailing list, and development is further supported by robust development practices including use of public version control, code review and continuous integration. Use of this open science model attracts contributions from users and developers outside the “core team”, facilitating agile statistical omics methodology development and fast dissemination. PMID:27347381

Advancing Globally Integrated Logistics Effort 2017 Wargame Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-01

September 2017 Dr. M. Webster Ewell, Jr. Director, Integration and Gaming Team Advanced Technology and Systems Analysis REPORT...release: distribution unlimited. 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT This report describes the execution and analysis of a logistics game created for...the Joint Staff J-4, Directorate for Logistics. The game , Advancing Globally Integrated Logistics Effort 2017 (AGILE 17), centered on developing a

The Use of Command and Control to Enhance Agility and Achieve Synchronization on the AirLand Battlefield,

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-05-15

for public release; distribution is unlimited. APPROVED FOJ Pr~rrLT~c FTAS 86-3641 86 11 18 134 UNCLASSIFIED SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS -PAGE 7! J...Military Staff, Its HistorY and Devlopment. Harrisburg, PA: The Stackpole Company, 1961. Home, Alistair. To Lose a Battle. New York: Penguin Books, 1979

AstroCloud: An Agile platform for data visualization and specific analyzes in 2D and 3D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molina, F. Z.; Salgado, R.; Bergel, A.; Infante, A.

2017-07-01

Nowadays, astronomers commonly run their own tools, or distributed computational packages, for data analysis and then visualizing the results with generic applications. This chain of processes comes at high cost: (a) analyses are manually applied, they are therefore difficult to be automatized, and (b) data have to be serialized, thus increasing the cost of parsing and saving intermediary data. We are developing AstroCloud, an agile visualization multipurpose platform intended for specific analyses of astronomical images (https://astrocloudy.wordpress.com). This platform incorporates domain-specific languages which make it easily extensible. AstroCloud supports customized plug-ins, which translate into time reduction on data analysis. Moreover, it also supports 2D and 3D rendering, including interactive features in real time. AstroCloud is under development, we are currently implementing different choices for data reduction and physical analyzes.

Dynamic Data Driven Applications Systems (DDDAS)

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-06

INS •  Chip-scale atomic clocks •  Ad hoc networks •  Polymorphic networks •  Agile networks •  Laser communications •  Frequency-agile RF...atomi clocks •  Ad hoc networks •  Polymorphic networks •  Agile networks •  Laser co munications •  Frequency-agile RF systems...Real-Time Doppler Wind Wind field Sensor observations Energy Estimation Atmospheric Models for On-line Planning Planning and Control

Some Findings Concerning Requirements in Agile Methodologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez, Pilar; Yagüe, Agustín; Alarcón, Pedro P.; Garbajosa, Juan

Agile methods have appeared as an attractive alternative to conventional methodologies. These methods try to reduce the time to market and, indirectly, the cost of the product through flexible development and deep customer involvement. The processes related to requirements have been extensively studied in literature, in most cases in the frame of conventional methods. However, conclusions of conventional methodologies could not be necessarily valid for Agile; in some issues, conventional and Agile processes are radically different. As recent surveys report, inadequate project requirements is one of the most conflictive issues in agile approaches and better understanding about this is needed. This paper describes some findings concerning requirements activities in a project developed under an agile methodology. The project intended to evolve an existing product and, therefore, some background information was available. The major difficulties encountered were related to non-functional needs and management of requirements dependencies.

Analysis on critical success factors for agile manufacturing evaluation in original equipment manufacturing industry-an AHP approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ajay Guru Dev, C.; Senthil Kumar, V. S.

2016-09-01

Manufacturing industries are facing challenges in the implementation of agile manufacturing in their products and processes. Agility is widely accepted as a new competitive concept in the manufacturing sector in fulfilling varying customer demand. Thus, evaluation of agile manufacturing in industries has become a necessity. The success of an organisation depends on its ability to manage finding the critical success factors and give them special and continued attention in order to bring about high performance. This paper proposes a set of critical success factors (CSFs) for evaluating agile manufacturing considered appropriate for the manufacturing sector. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method is applied for prioritizing the success factors, by summarizing the opinions of experts. It is believed that the proposed CSFs enable and assist manufacturing industries to achieve a higher performance in agile manufacturing so as to increase competitiveness.

Design of a Mobile Application for Transfusion Medicine.

PubMed

Albornoz, M A; Márquez, S; Rubin, L; Luna, D

2017-01-01

One of the most frequent error in transfusion medicine is the failure in verifying the patient's identity prior to transfusion. This paper describes the design and development of a Mobile Application (MA) for transfusion medicine. The app uses barcode and QR reading technology for the verification of the patient's identity and the administration of blood components when making a blood transfusion. Physicians, developers, technicians of transfusion medicine and a User Centered Design team participated in the design. The inclusion of end users was fundamental to get full representativeness of their workflow. The project was based on agile methodologies of project management and software development.

The ATLAS Software Installation System v2: a highly available system to install and validate Grid and Cloud sites via Panda

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Salvo, A.; Kataoka, M.; Sanchez Pineda, A.; Smirnov, Y.

2015-12-01

The ATLAS Installation System v2 is the evolution of the original system, used since 2003. The original tool has been completely re-designed in terms of database backend and components, adding support for submission to multiple backends, including the original Workload Management Service (WMS) and the new PanDA modules. The database engine has been changed from plain MySQL to Galera/Percona and the table structure has been optimized to allow a full High-Availability (HA) solution over Wide Area Network. The servlets, running on each frontend, have been also decoupled from local settings, to allow an easy scalability of the system, including the possibility of an HA system with multiple sites. The clients can also be run in multiple copies and in different geographical locations, and take care of sending the installation and validation jobs to the target Grid or Cloud sites. Moreover, the Installation Database is used as source of parameters by the automatic agents running in CVMFS, in order to install the software and distribute it to the sites. The system is in production for ATLAS since 2013, having as main sites in HA the INFN Roma Tier 2 and the CERN Agile Infrastructure. The Light Job Submission Framework for Installation (LJSFi) v2 engine is directly interfacing with PanDA for the Job Management, the Atlas Grid Information System (AGIS) for the site parameter configurations, and CVMFS for both core components and the installation of the software itself. LJSFi2 is also able to use other plugins, and is essentially Virtual Organization (VO) agnostic, so can be directly used and extended to cope with the requirements of any Grid or Cloud enabled VO. In this work we will present the architecture, performance, status and possible evolutions to the system for the LHC Run2 and beyond.

LC-IM-TOF Instrument Control & Data Visualization Software

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2011-05-12

Liquid Chromatography-Ion Mobility-time of Flight Instrument Control and Data Visualization software is designed to control instrument voltages for the Ion Mobility drift tube. It collects and stores information collected from the Agilent TOF instrument and analyses/displays the ion intensity information acquired. The software interface can be split into 3 categories -- Instrument Settings/Controls, Data Acquisition, and Viewer. The Instrument Settings/Controls prepares the instrument for Data Acquisition. The Viewer contains common objects that are used by Instrument Settings/Controls and Data Acquisition. Intensity information is collected in 1 nanosec bins and separated by TOF pulses called scans. A collection of scans aremore » stored side by side making up an accumulation. In order for the computer to keep up with the stream of data, 30-50 accumulations are commonly summed into a single frame. A collection of frames makes up an experiment. The Viewer software then takes the experiment and presents the data in several possible ways, each frame can be viewed in TOF bins or m/z (mass to charge ratio). The experiment can be viewed frame by frame, merging several frames, or by viewing the peak chromatogram. The user can zoom into the data, export data, and/or animate frames. Additional features include calibration of the data and even post-processing multiplexed data.« less

Strategy quantification using body worn inertial sensors in a reactive agility task.

PubMed

Eke, Chika U; Cain, Stephen M; Stirling, Leia A

2017-11-07

Agility performance is often evaluated using time-based metrics, which provide little information about which factors aid or limit success. The objective of this study was to better understand agility strategy by identifying biomechanical metrics that were sensitive to performance speed, which were calculated with data from an array of body-worn inertial sensors. Five metrics were defined (normalized number of foot contacts, stride length variance, arm swing variance, mean normalized stride frequency, and number of body rotations) that corresponded to agility terms defined by experts working in athletic, clinical, and military environments. Eighteen participants donned 13 sensors to complete a reactive agility task, which involved navigating a set of cones in response to a vocal cue. Participants were grouped into fast, medium, and slow performance based on their completion time. Participants in the fast group had the smallest number of foot contacts (normalizing by height), highest stride length variance (normalizing by height), highest forearm angular velocity variance, and highest stride frequency (normalizing by height). The number of body rotations was not sensitive to speed and may have been determined by hand and foot dominance while completing the agility task. The results of this study have the potential to inform the development of a composite agility score constructed from the list of significant metrics. By quantifying the agility terms previously defined by expert evaluators through an agility score, this study can assist in strategy development for training and rehabilitation across athletic, clinical, and military domains. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Team-based work and work system balance in the context of agile manufacturing.

PubMed

Yauch, Charlene A

2007-01-01

Manufacturing agility is the ability to prosper in an environment characterized by constant and unpredictable change. The purpose of this paper is to analyze team attributes necessary to facilitate agile manufacturing, and using Balance Theory as a framework, it evaluates the potential positive and negative impacts related to these team attributes that could alter the balance of work system elements and resulting "stress load" experienced by persons working on agile teams. Teams operating within the context of agile manufacturing are characterized as multifunctional, dynamic, cooperative, and virtual. A review of the literature relevant to each of these attributes is provided, as well as suggestions for future research.

A comparison of linear speed, closed-skill agility, and open-skill agility qualities between backcourt and frontcourt adult semiprofessional male basketball players.

PubMed

Scanlan, Aaron T; Tucker, Patrick S; Dalbo, Vincent J

2014-05-01

The measurement of fitness qualities relevant to playing position is necessary to inform basketball coaching and conditioning staff of role-related differences in playing groups. To date, sprinting and agility performance have not been compared between playing positions in adult male basketball players. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe and compare linear speed, closed-skill agility, and open-skill agility qualities between backcourt (point guard and shooting guard positions) and frontcourt (small forward, power forward, and center positions) semiprofessional basketball players. Six backcourt (mean ± SD: age, 24.3 ± 7.9 years; stature, 183.4 ± 4.0 cm; body mass, 85.5 ± 12.3 kg; VO2max, 51.9 ± 4.8 ml·kg(-1)·min(-1)) and 6 frontcourt (mean ± SD: age, 27.5 ± 5.5 years; stature, 194.4 ± 7.1 cm; body mass, 109.4 ± 8.8 kg; VO2max, 47.1 ± 5.0 ml·kg(-1)·min(-1)) adult male basketball players completed 20-m sprint, closed-skill agility, and open-skill agility performance tests. Magnitude-based inferences revealed that backcourt players (5 m, 1.048 ± 0.027 seconds; 10 m, 1.778 ± 0.048 seconds; 20 m, 3.075 ± 0.121 seconds) possessed likely quicker linear sprint times than frontcourt players (5 m, 1.095 ± 0.085 seconds; 10 m, 1.872 ± 0.127 seconds; 20 m, 3.242 ± 0.221 seconds). Conversely, frontcourt players (1.665 ± 0.096 seconds) held possible superior closed-skill agility performance than backcourt players (1.613 ± 0.111 seconds). In addition, unclear positional differences were apparent for open-skill agility qualities. These findings indicate that linear speed and change of direction speed might be differently developed across playing positions. Furthermore, position-related functions might similarly depend on the aspects of open-skill agility performance across backcourt and frontcourt players. Basketball coaching and conditioning staff should consider the development of position-targeted training drills to improve speed, agility, and cognitive qualities in players.

Agility performance in high-level junior basketball players: the predictive value of anthropometrics and power qualities.

PubMed

Sisic, Nedim; Jelicic, Mario; Pehar, Miran; Spasic, Miodrag; Sekulic, Damir

2016-01-01

In basketball, anthropometric status is an important factor when identifying and selecting talents, while agility is one of the most vital motor performances. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the influence of anthropometric variables and power capacities on different preplanned agility performances. The participants were 92 high-level, junior-age basketball players (16-17 years of age; 187.6±8.72 cm in body height, 78.40±12.26 kg in body mass), randomly divided into a validation and cross-validation subsample. The predictors set consisted of 16 anthropometric variables, three tests of power-capacities (Sargent-jump, broad-jump and medicine-ball-throw) as predictors. The criteria were three tests of agility: a T-Shape-Test; a Zig-Zag-Test, and a test of running with a 180-degree turn (T180). Forward stepwise multiple regressions were calculated for validation subsamples and then cross-validated. Cross validation included correlations between observed and predicted scores, dependent samples t-test between predicted and observed scores; and Bland Altman graphics. Analysis of the variance identified centres being advanced in most of the anthropometric indices, and medicine-ball-throw (all at P<0.05); with no significant between-position-differences for other studied motor performances. Multiple regression models originally calculated for the validation subsample were then cross-validated, and confirmed for Zig-zag-Test (R of 0.71 and 0.72 for the validation and cross-validation subsample, respectively). Anthropometrics were not strongly related to agility performance, but leg length is found to be negatively associated with performance in basketball-specific agility. Power capacities are confirmed to be an important factor in agility. The results highlighted the importance of sport-specific tests when studying pre-planned agility performance in basketball. The improvement in power capacities will probably result in an improvement in agility in basketball athletes, while anthropometric indices should be used in order to identify those athletes who can achieve superior agility performance.

The impact of flying qualities on helicopter operational agility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Padfield, Gareth D.; Lappos, Nick; Hodgkinson, John

1993-01-01

Flying qualities standards are formally set to ensure safe flight and therefore reflect minimum, rather than optimum, requirements. Agility is a flying quality but relates to operations at high, if not maximum, performance. While the quality metrics and test procedures for flying, as covered for example in ADS33C, may provide an adequate structure to encompass agility, they do not currently address flight at high performance. This is also true in the fixed-wing world and a current concern in both communities is the absence of substantiated agility criteria and possible conflicts between flying qualities and high performance. AGARD is sponsoring a working group (WG19) title 'Operational Agility' that deals with these and a range of related issues. This paper is condensed from contributions by the three authors to WG19, relating to flying qualities. Novel perspectives on the subject are presented including the agility factor, that quantifies performance margins in flying qualities terms; a new parameter, based on maneuver acceleration is introduced as a potential candidate for defining upper limits to flying qualities. Finally, a probabilistic analysis of pilot handling qualities ratings is presented that suggests a powerful relationship between inherent airframe flying qualities and operational agility.

Using Modern Methodologies with Maintenance Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Streiffert, Barbara A.; Francis, Laurie K.; Smith, Benjamin D.

2014-01-01

Jet Propulsion Laboratory uses multi-mission software produced by the Mission Planning and Sequencing (MPS) team to process, simulate, translate, and package the commands that are sent to a spacecraft. MPS works under the auspices of the Multi-Mission Ground Systems and Services (MGSS). This software consists of nineteen applications that are in maintenance. The MPS software is classified as either class B (mission critical) or class C (mission important). The scheduling of tasks is difficult because mission needs must be addressed prior to performing any other tasks and those needs often spring up unexpectedly. Keeping track of the tasks that everyone is working on is also difficult because each person is working on a different software component. Recently the group adopted the Scrum methodology for planning and scheduling tasks. Scrum is one of the newer methodologies typically used in agile development. In the Scrum development environment, teams pick their tasks that are to be completed within a sprint based on priority. The team specifies the sprint length usually a month or less. Scrum is typically used for new development of one application. In the Scrum methodology there is a scrum master who is a facilitator who tries to make sure that everything moves smoothly, a product owner who represents the user(s) of the software and the team. MPS is not the traditional environment for the Scrum methodology. MPS has many software applications in maintenance, team members who are working on disparate applications, many users, and is interruptible based on mission needs, issues and requirements. In order to use scrum, the methodology needed adaptation to MPS. Scrum was chosen because it is adaptable. This paper is about the development of the process for using scrum, a new development methodology, with a team that works on disparate interruptible tasks on multiple software applications.

Reliability and Validity of a New Test of Agility and Skill for Female Amateur Soccer Players

PubMed Central

Kutlu, Mehmet; Yapici, Hakan; Yilmaz, Abdullah

2017-01-01

Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the Agility and Skill Test, which had been recently developed to assess agility and skill in female athletes. Following a 10 min warm-up, two trials to test the reliability and validity of the test were conducted one week apart. Measurements were collected to compare soccer players’ physical performance in a 20 m sprint, a T-Drill test, the Illinois Agility Run Test, change-of-direction and acceleration, as well as agility and skill. All tests were completed following the same order. Thirty-four amateur female soccer players were recruited (age = 20.8 ± 1.9 years; body height = 166 ± 6.9 cm; body mass = 55.5 ± 5.8 kg). To determine the reliability and usefulness of these tests, paired sample t-tests, intra-class correlation coefficients, typical error, coefficient of variation, and differences between the typical error and smallest worthwhile change statistics were computed. Test results showed no significant differences between the two sessions (p > 0.01). There were higher intra-class correlations between the test and retest values (r = 0.94–0.99) for all tests. Typical error values were below the smallest worthwhile change, indicating ‘good’ usefulness for these tests. A near perfect Pearson correlation between the Agility and Skill Test (r = 0.98) was found, and there were moderate-to-large levels of correlation between the Agility and Skill Test and other measures (r = 0.37 to r = 0.56). The results of this study suggest that the Agility and Skill Test is a reliable and valid test for female soccer players and has significant value for assessing the integrative agility and skill capability of soccer players. PMID:28469760

A Message Exchange Protocol in Command and Control Systems Integration, using the JC3IEDM

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

19TH International Command and Control Research and Technology Symposium C2 Agility: Lessons Learned from Research and Operations. A Message...distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES Presented at the 18th International Command & Control Research & Technology Symposium (ICCRTS) held 16...presents approaches of integration, compares their technologies , points out their advantages, proposes requirements, and provides the design of a protocol

Physical demand of seven closed agility drills.

PubMed

Atkinson, Mark; Rosalie, Simon; Netto, Kevin

2016-11-01

The present study aimed to quantify the demand of seven generic, closed agility drills. Twenty males with experience in invasion sports volunteered to participate in this study. They performed seven, closed agility drills over a standardised 30-m distance. Physical demand measures of peak velocity, total foot contacts, peak impacts, completion time, and maximum heart rate were obtained via the use of wearable sensor technologies. A subjective rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was also obtained. All measures, with the exception of maximum heart rates and RPE were able to delineate drills in terms of physical and physiological demand. The findings of this study exemplify the differences in demand of agility-type movements. Drill demand was dictated by the type of agility movement initiated with the increase in repetitiveness of a given movement type also contributing to increased demand. Findings from this study suggest agility drills can be manipulated to vary physical and physiological demand. This allows for the optimal application of training principles such as overload, progression, and periodisation.

Gamma-ray Astrophysics with AGILE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Longo, Francesco; Tavani, M.; Barbiellini, G.

2007-07-12

AGILE will explore the gamma-ray Universe with a very innovative instrument combining for the first time a gamma-ray imager and a hard X-ray imager. AGILE will be operational in spring 2007 and it will provide crucial data for the study of Active Galactic Nuclei, Gamma-Ray Bursts, unidentified gamma-ray sources. Galactic compact objects, supernova remnants, TeV sources, and fundamental physics by microsecond timing. The AGILE instrument is designed to simultaneously detect and image photons in the 30 MeV - 50 GeV and 15 - 45 keV energy bands with excellent imaging and timing capabilities, and a large field of view coveringmore » {approx} 1/5 of the entire sky at energies above 30 MeV. A CsI calorimeter is capable of GRB triggering in the energy band 0.3-50 MeV AGILE is now (March 2007) undergoing launcher integration and testing. The PLSV launch is planned in spring 2007. AGILE is then foreseen to be fully operational during the summer of 2007.« less

Custom Array Comparative Genomic Hybridization: the Importance of DNA Quality, an Expert Eye, and Variant Validation

PubMed Central

Lantieri, Francesca; Malacarne, Michela; Gimelli, Stefania; Santamaria, Giuseppe; Coviello, Domenico; Ceccherini, Isabella

2017-01-01

The presence of false positive and false negative results in the Array Comparative Genomic Hybridization (aCGH) design is poorly addressed in literature reports. We took advantage of a custom aCGH recently carried out to analyze its design performance, the use of several Agilent aberrations detection algorithms, and the presence of false results. Our study provides a confirmation that the high density design does not generate more noise than standard designs and, might reach a good resolution. We noticed a not negligible presence of false negative and false positive results in the imbalances call performed by the Agilent software. The Aberration Detection Method 2 (ADM-2) algorithm with a threshold of 6 performed quite well, and the array design proved to be reliable, provided that some additional filters are applied, such as considering only intervals with average absolute log2ratio above 0.3. We also propose an additional filter that takes into account the proportion of probes with log2ratio exceeding suggestive values for gain or loss. In addition, the quality of samples was confirmed to be a crucial parameter. Finally, this work raises the importance of evaluating the samples profiles by eye and the necessity of validating the imbalances detected. PMID:28287439

The Introduction of Agility into Albania.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith-Stevens, Eileen J.; Shkurti, Drita

1998-01-01

Describes a plan to introduce and achieve a national awareness of agility (and easy entry into the world market) for Albania through the relatively stable higher-education order. Agility's four strategic principles are enriching the customer, cooperating to enhance competitiveness, organizing to master change and uncertainty, and leveraging the…

Social Protocols for Agile Virtual Teams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Picard, Willy

Despite many works on collaborative networked organizations (CNOs), CSCW, groupware, workflow systems and social networks, computer support for virtual teams is still insufficient, especially support for agility, i.e. the capability of virtual team members to rapidly and cost efficiently adapt the way they interact to changes. In this paper, requirements for computer support for agile virtual teams are presented. Next, an extension of the concept of social protocol is proposed as a novel model supporting agile interactions within virtual teams. The extended concept of social protocol consists of an extended social network and a workflow model.

Thinking Outside the Box: Agile Business Models for CNOs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loss, Leandro; Crave, Servane

This paper introduces the idea of an agile Business Model for CNOs grounded on a new model of innovation based on the effects of globalization and of Knowledge Economy. The agile Business Model considers the resources that are spread out and available worldwide as well as the need for each customer to receive a unique customer experience. It aims at reinforcing in the context of the Knowledge Economy the different business models approaches developed so far. The paper also identifies the levers and the barriers of Agile Business Models Innovation in CNOs.

Application of Microwave Moisture Sensor for Determination of Oil Palm Fruit Ripeness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yeow, You Kok; Abbas, Zulkifly; Khalid, Kaida

2010-01-01

This paper describes the development of a low cost coaxial moisture sensor for the determination of moisture content (30 % to 80 % wet-weight basis) of the oil palm fruits of various degree of fruit ripeness. The sensor operating between 1 GHz and 5 GHz was fabricated from an inexpensive 4.1 mm outer diameter SMA coaxial stub contact panel which is suitable for single fruit measurement. The measurement system consists of the sensor and a PC-controlled vector network analyzer (VNA). The actual moisture content was determined by standard oven drying method and compared with predicted value of fruit moisture content obtained using the studied sensor. The sensor was used to monitor fruit ripeness based on the measurement of the phase or magnitude of reflection coefficient and the dielectric measurement software was developed to control and acquire data from the VNA using Agilent VEE. This software was used to calculate the complex relative permittivity from the measured reflection coefficient between 1GHz and 5 GHz.

X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft arrival at Dryden

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

The NASA/McDonnell Douglas Corporation (MDC) X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft in it's hangar at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, following its arrival on July 2, 1996. The NASA/Boeing X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft program successfully demonstrated the tailless fighter design using advanced technologies to improve the maneuverability and survivability of possible future fighter aircraft. The program met or exceeded all project goals. For 31 flights during 1997 at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, the project team examined the aircraft's agility at low speed / high angles of attack and at high speed / low angles of attack. The aircraft's speed envelope reached up to 206 knots (234 mph). This aircraft was very stable and maneuverable. It handled very well. The X-36 vehicle was designed to fly without the traditional tail surfaces common on most aircraft. Instead, a canard forward of the wing was used as well as split ailerons and an advanced thrust-vectoring nozzle for directional control. The X-36 was unstable in both pitch and yaw axes, so an advanced, single-channel digital fly-by-wire control system (developed with some commercially available components) was put in place to stabilize the aircraft. Using a video camera mounted in the nose of the aircraft and an onboard microphone, the X-36 was remotely controlled by a pilot in a ground station virtual cockpit. A standard fighter-type head-up display (HUD) and a moving-map representation of the vehicle's position within the range in which it flew provided excellent situational awareness for the pilot. This pilot-in-the-loop approach eliminated the need for expensive and complex autonomous flight control systems and the risks associated with their inability to deal with unknown or unforeseen phenomena in flight. Fully fueled the X-36 prototype weighed approximately 1,250 pounds. It was 19 feet long and three feet high with a wingspan of just over 10 feet. A Williams International F112 turbofan engine provided close to 700 pounds of thrust. A typical research flight lasted 35 to 45 minutes from takeoff to touchdown. A total of 31 successful research flights were flown from May 17, 1997, to November 12, 1997, amassing 15 hours and 38 minutes of flight time. The aircraft reached an altitude of 20,200 feet and a maximum angle of attack of 40 degrees. In a follow-on effort, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, contracted with Boeing to fly AFRL's Reconfigurable Control for Tailless Fighter Aircraft (RESTORE) software as a demonstration of the adaptability of the neural-net algorithm to compensate for in-flight damage or malfunction of effectors, such as flaps, ailerons and rudders. Two RESTORE research flights were flown in December 1998, proving the viability of the software approach. The X-36 aircraft flown at the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1997 was a 28-percent scale representation of a theoretical advanced fighter aircraft. The Boeing Phantom Works (formerly McDonnell Douglas) in St. Louis, Missouri, built two of the vehicles in a cooperative agreement with the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California.

Recovering from "amnesia" brought about by radiation. Verification of the "Over the air" (OTA) application software update mechanism On-Board Solar Orbiter's Energetic Particle Detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Da Silva, Antonio; Sánchez Prieto, Sebastián; Rodriguez Polo, Oscar; Parra Espada, Pablo

Computer memories are not supposed to forget, but they do. Because of the proximity of the Sun, from the Solar Orbiter boot software perspective, it is mandatory to look out for permanent memory errors resulting from (SEL) latch-up failures in application binaries stored in EEPROM and its SDRAM deployment areas. In this situation, the last line in defense established by FDIR mechanisms is the capability of the boot software to provide an accurate report of the memories’ damages and to perform an application software update, that avoid the harmed locations by flashing EEPROM with a new binary. This paper describes the OTA EEPROM firmware update procedure verification of the boot software that will run in the Instrument Control Unit (ICU) of the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) on-board Solar Orbiter. Since the maximum number of rewrites on real EEPROM is limited and permanent memory faults cannot be friendly emulated in real hardware, the verification has been accomplished by the use of a LEON2 Virtual Platform (Leon2ViP) with fault injection capabilities and real SpaceWire interfaces developed by the Space Research Group (SRG) of the University of Alcalá. This way it is possible to run the exact same target binary software as if was run on the real ICU platform. Furthermore, the use of this virtual hardware-in-the-loop (VHIL) approach makes it possible to communicate with Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) through real SpaceWire interfaces in an agile, controlled and deterministic environment.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bridge, Pete, E-mail: pete.bridge@qut.edu.au; Gunn, Therese; Kastanis, Lazaros

A novel realistic 3D virtual reality (VR) application has been developed to allow medical imaging students at Queensland University of Technology to practice radiographic techniques independently outside the usual radiography laboratory. A flexible agile development methodology was used to create the software rapidly and effectively. A 3D gaming environment and realistic models were used to engender presence in the software while tutor-determined gold standards enabled students to compare their performance and learn in a problem-based learning pedagogy. Students reported high levels of satisfaction and perceived value and the software enabled up to 40 concurrent users to prepare for clinical practice.more » Student feedback also indicated that they found 3D to be of limited value in the desktop version compared to the usual 2D approach. A randomised comparison between groups receiving software-based and traditional practice measured performance in a formative role play with real equipment. The results of this work indicated superior performance with the equipment for the VR trained students (P = 0.0366) and confirmed the value of VR for enhancing 3D equipment-based problem-solving skills. Students practising projection techniques virtually performed better at role play assessments than students practising in a traditional radiography laboratory only. The application particularly helped with 3D equipment configuration, suggesting that teaching 3D problem solving is an ideal use of such medical equipment simulators. Ongoing development work aims to establish the role of VR software in preparing students for clinical practice with a range of medical imaging equipment.« less

Effects of Ankle Braces Upon Agility Course Performance in High School Athletes

PubMed Central

Beriau, Mark R.; Cox, William B.; Manning, James

1994-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of wearing the AircastTM Sports Stirrup, AircastTM Training brace, Swede-OTM brace, and DonJoyTM Ankle Ligament Protector while running an agility course. Eighty-five high school athletes with no history of ankle injury and no experience in wearing any ankle support served as subjects. Each subject participated in four separate testing sessions. During sessions 1 and 4, subjects ran the agility course under the control (unbraced) conditions. Sessions 2 and 3 consisted of randomly wearing the ankle braces while running the agility course. A questionnaire concerning support, comfort, and restriction was completed by each subject after wearing each of the braces. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures revealed that a significant difference existed between the agility times. Tukey's post hoc test indicated that a significant difference existed between each ankle brace and the control 2 agility times as well as a control 1 and control 2 time difference. The control time difference was attributed to a learning effect. An ANOVA with repeated measures of only the four braces revealed that a significant difference existed between the agility times. Tukey's post hoc test showed the only difference was between the DonJoy Ankle Ligament Protector and the Aircast Training brace. We concluded: 1) there is limited practical performance effect upon agility while wearing an ankle brace; and 2) an athlete's perceived comfort, support, and performance restriction are contributing factors that may directly influence the effectiveness of ankle bracing. PMID:16558284

Agile, a guiding principle for health care improvement?

PubMed

Tolf, Sara; Nyström, Monica E; Tishelman, Carol; Brommels, Mats; Hansson, Johan

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to increased understanding of the concept agile and its potential for hospital managers to optimize design of organizational structures and processes to combine internal efficiency and external effectiveness. An integrative review was conducted using the reSEARCH database. Articles met the following criteria: first, a definition of agility; second, descriptions of enablers of becoming an agile organization; and finally, discussions of agile on multiple organizational levels. In total, 60 articles qualified for the final analysis. Organizational agility rests on the assumption that the environment is uncertain, ranging from frequently changing to highly unpredictable. Proactive, reactive or embracive coping strategies were described as possible ways to handle such uncertain environments. Five organizational capacities were derived as necessary for hospitals to use the strategies optimally: transparent and transient inter-organizational links; market sensitivity and customer focus; management by support for self-organizing employees; organic structures that are elastic and responsive; flexible human and resource capacity for timely delivery. Agile is portrayed as either the "new paradigm" following lean, the needed development on top of a lean base, or as complementary to lean in distinct hybrid strategies. Environmental uncertainty needs to be matched with coping strategies and organizational capacities to design processes responsive to real needs of health care. This implies that lean and agile can be combined to optimize the design of hospitals, to meet different variations in demand and create good patient management. While considerable value has been paid to strategies to improve the internal efficiency within hospitals, this review raise the attention to the value of strategies of external effectiveness.

An Examination of the Relationships between Agile Leadership Factors and Curriculum Reform in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Angela

2017-01-01

Leaders must be agile decision makers, engage in critical self-reflection, integrate reflection with action, and collaborate with those who are diverse in considerable ways to be successful in a multifaceted global environment. This quantitative study examines relationships between agile leadership factors and curriculum reform in higher education…

Agile Systems Engineering-Kanban Scheduling Subsection

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-10

including both online and standalone versions. RESEARCH GOALS The overall Agile SE Management Project research goals are to: 1. Identify agile...March 10, 2017 5 Establish a better technical project management and... Project Management ,” Master of Science Project , Stevens Institute, to be completed in May, 2017. • Smith, Jeffrey, “System of Systems Task

Frequency agile optical parametric oscillator

DOEpatents

Velsko, Stephan P.

1998-01-01

The frequency agile OPO device converts a fixed wavelength pump laser beam to arbitrary wavelengths within a specified range with pulse to pulse agility, at a rate limited only by the repetition rate of the pump laser. Uses of this invention include Laser radar, LIDAR, active remote sensing of effluents/pollutants, environmental monitoring, antisensor lasers, and spectroscopy.

Health Worker Focused Distributed Simulation for Improving Capability of Health Systems in Liberia.

PubMed

Gale, Thomas C E; Chatterjee, Arunangsu; Mellor, Nicholas E; Allan, Richard J

2016-04-01

The main goal of this study was to produce an adaptable learning platform using virtual learning and distributed simulation, which can be used to train health care workers, across a wide geographical area, key safety messages regarding infection prevention control (IPC). A situationally responsive agile methodology, Scrum, was used to develop a distributed simulation module using short 1-week iterations and continuous synchronous plus asynchronous communication including end users and IPC experts. The module contained content related to standard IPC precautions (including handwashing techniques) and was structured into 3 distinct sections related to donning, doffing, and hazard perception training. Using Scrum methodology, we were able to link concepts applied to best practices in simulation-based medical education (deliberate practice, continuous feedback, self-assessment, and exposure to uncommon events), pedagogic principles related to adult learning (clear goals, contextual awareness, motivational features), and key learning outcomes regarding IPC, as a rapid response initiative to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Gamification approach has been used to map learning mechanics to enhance user engagement. The developed IPC module demonstrates how high-frequency, low-fidelity simulations can be rapidly designed using scrum-based agile methodology. Analytics incorporated into the tool can help demonstrate improved confidence and competence of health care workers who are treating patients within an Ebola virus disease outbreak region. These concepts could be used in a range of evolving disasters where rapid development and communication of key learning messages are required.

Attitude Estimation for Unresolved Agile Space Objects with Shape Model Uncertainty

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

Simulated lightcurve data using the Cook-Torrance [8] Bidirectional Reflectivity Distribution Function ( BRDF ) model was first applied in a batch estimation...framework to ellipsoidal SO models in geostationary orbits [9]. The Ashikhmin-Shirley [10] BRDF has also been used to study estimation of specular...non-convex 300 facet model and simulated lightcurves using a combination of Lambertian and Cook-Torrance (specular) BRDF models with an Unscented

The PDS4 Information Model and its Role in Agile Science Data Curation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hughes, J. S.; Crichton, D.

2017-12-01

PDS4 is an information model-driven service architecture supporting the capture, management, distribution and integration of massive planetary science data captured in distributed data archives world-wide. The PDS4 Information Model (IM), the core element of the architecture, was developed using lessons learned from 20 years of archiving Planetary Science Data and best practices for information model development. The foundational principles were adopted from the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model (ISO 14721), the Metadata Registry Specification (ISO/IEC 11179), and W3C XML (Extensible Markup Language) specifications. These provided respectively an object oriented model for archive information systems, a comprehensive schema for data dictionaries and hierarchical governance, and rules for rules for encoding documents electronically. The PDS4 Information model is unique in that it drives the PDS4 infrastructure by providing the representation of concepts and their relationships, constraints, rules, and operations; a sharable, stable, and organized set of information requirements; and machine parsable definitions that are suitable for configuring and generating code. This presentation will provide an over of the PDS4 Information Model and how it is being leveraged to develop and evolve the PDS4 infrastructure and enable agile curation of over 30 years of science data collected by the international Planetary Science community.

Pilot users in agile development processes: motivational factors.

PubMed

Johannessen, Liv Karen; Gammon, Deede

2010-01-01

Despite a wealth of research on user participation, few studies offer insights into how to involve multi-organizational users in agile development methods. This paper is a case study of user involvement in developing a system for electronic laboratory requisitions using agile methodologies in a multi-organizational context. Building on an interpretive approach, we illuminate questions such as: How does collaboration between users and developers evolve and how might it be improved? What key motivational aspects are at play when users volunteer and continue contributing in the face of considerable added burdens? The study highlights how agile methods in themselves appear to facilitate mutually motivating collaboration between user groups and developers. Lessons learned for leveraging the advantages of agile development processes include acknowledging the substantial and ongoing contributions of users and their roles as co-designers of the system.

Agile rediscovering values: Similarities to continuous improvement strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Díaz de Mera, P.; Arenas, J. M.; González, C.

2012-04-01

Research in the late 80's on technological companies that develop products of high value innovation, with sufficient speed and flexibility to adapt quickly to changing market conditions, gave rise to the new set of methodologies known as Agile Management Approach. In the current changing economic scenario, we considered very interesting to study the similarities of these Agile Methodologies with other practices whose effectiveness has been amply demonstrated in both the West and Japan. Strategies such as Kaizen, Lean, World Class Manufacturing, Concurrent Engineering, etc, would be analyzed to check the values they have in common with the Agile Approach.

Custom software development for use in a clinical laboratory

PubMed Central

Sinard, John H.; Gershkovich, Peter

2012-01-01

In-house software development for use in a clinical laboratory is a controversial issue. Many of the objections raised are based on outdated software development practices, an exaggeration of the risks involved, and an underestimation of the benefits that can be realized. Buy versus build analyses typically do not consider total costs of ownership, and unfortunately decisions are often made by people who are not directly affected by the workflow obstacles or benefits that result from those decisions. We have been developing custom software for clinical use for over a decade, and this article presents our perspective on this practice. A complete analysis of the decision to develop or purchase must ultimately examine how the end result will mesh with the departmental workflow, and custom-developed solutions typically can have the greater positive impact on efficiency and productivity, substantially altering the decision balance sheet. Involving the end-users in preparation of the functional specifications is crucial to the success of the process. A large development team is not needed, and even a single programmer can develop significant solutions. Many of the risks associated with custom development can be mitigated by a well-structured development process, use of open-source tools, and embracing an agile development philosophy. In-house solutions have the significant advantage of being adaptable to changing departmental needs, contributing to efficient and higher quality patient care. PMID:23372985

Custom software development for use in a clinical laboratory.

PubMed

Sinard, John H; Gershkovich, Peter

2012-01-01

In-house software development for use in a clinical laboratory is a controversial issue. Many of the objections raised are based on outdated software development practices, an exaggeration of the risks involved, and an underestimation of the benefits that can be realized. Buy versus build analyses typically do not consider total costs of ownership, and unfortunately decisions are often made by people who are not directly affected by the workflow obstacles or benefits that result from those decisions. We have been developing custom software for clinical use for over a decade, and this article presents our perspective on this practice. A complete analysis of the decision to develop or purchase must ultimately examine how the end result will mesh with the departmental workflow, and custom-developed solutions typically can have the greater positive impact on efficiency and productivity, substantially altering the decision balance sheet. Involving the end-users in preparation of the functional specifications is crucial to the success of the process. A large development team is not needed, and even a single programmer can develop significant solutions. Many of the risks associated with custom development can be mitigated by a well-structured development process, use of open-source tools, and embracing an agile development philosophy. In-house solutions have the significant advantage of being adaptable to changing departmental needs, contributing to efficient and higher quality patient care.

Short-Term High Intensity Plyometric Training Program Improves Strength, Power and Agility in Male Soccer Players

PubMed Central

Váczi, Márk; Tollár, József; Meszler, Balázs; Juhász, Ivett; Karsai, István

2013-01-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of a short-term in-season plyometric training program on power, agility and knee extensor strength. Male soccer players from a third league team were assigned into an experimental and a control group. The experimental group, beside its regular soccer training sessions, performed a periodized plyometric training program for six weeks. The program included two training sessions per week, and maximal intensity unilateral and bilateral plyometric exercises (total of 40 – 100 foot contacts/session) were executed. Controls participated only in the same soccer training routine, and did not perform plyometrics. Depth vertical jump height, agility (Illinois Agility Test, T Agility Test) and maximal voluntary isometric torque in knee extensors using Multicont II dynamometer were evaluated before and after the experiment. In the experimental group small but significant improvements were found in both agility tests, while depth jump height and isometric torque increments were greater. The control group did not improve in any of the measures. Results of the study indicate that plyometric training consisting of high impact unilateral and bilateral exercises induced remarkable improvements in lower extremity power and maximal knee extensor strength, and smaller improvements in soccer-specific agility. Therefore, it is concluded that short-term plyometric training should be incorporated in the in-season preparation of lower level players to improve specific performance in soccer. PMID:23717351

Short-term high intensity plyometric training program improves strength, power and agility in male soccer players.

PubMed

Váczi, Márk; Tollár, József; Meszler, Balázs; Juhász, Ivett; Karsai, István

2013-03-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of a short-term in-season plyometric training program on power, agility and knee extensor strength. Male soccer players from a third league team were assigned into an experimental and a control group. The experimental group, beside its regular soccer training sessions, performed a periodized plyometric training program for six weeks. The program included two training sessions per week, and maximal intensity unilateral and bilateral plyometric exercises (total of 40 - 100 foot contacts/session) were executed. Controls participated only in the same soccer training routine, and did not perform plyometrics. Depth vertical jump height, agility (Illinois Agility Test, T Agility Test) and maximal voluntary isometric torque in knee extensors using Multicont II dynamometer were evaluated before and after the experiment. In the experimental group small but significant improvements were found in both agility tests, while depth jump height and isometric torque increments were greater. The control group did not improve in any of the measures. Results of the study indicate that plyometric training consisting of high impact unilateral and bilateral exercises induced remarkable improvements in lower extremity power and maximal knee extensor strength, and smaller improvements in soccer-specific agility. Therefore, it is concluded that short-term plyometric training should be incorporated in the in-season preparation of lower level players to improve specific performance in soccer.

Semiconductor Reference Oscillator Development for Coherent Detection Optical Remote Sensing Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tratt, David M.; Mansour, Kamjou; Menzies, Robert T.; Qiu, Yueming; Forouhar, Siamak; Maker, Paul D.; Muller, Richard E.

2001-01-01

The NASA Earth Science Enterprise Advanced Technology Initiatives Program is supporting a program for the development of semiconductor laser reference oscillators for application to coherent optical remote sensing from Earth orbit. Local oscillators provide the frequency reference required for active spaceborne optical remote sensing concepts that involve heterodyne (coherent) detection. Two recent examples of such schemes are Doppler wind lidar and tropospheric carbon dioxide measurement by laser absorption spectrometry, both of which are being proposed at a wavelength of 2.05 microns. Frequency-agile local oscillator technology is important to such applications because of the need to compensate for large platform-induced Doppler components that would otherwise interfere with data interpretation. Development of frequency-agile local oscillator approaches has heretofore utilized the same laser material as the transmitter laser (Tm,Ho:YLF in the case of the 2.05-micron wavelength mentioned above). However, a semiconductor laser-based frequency-agile local oscillator offers considerable scope for reduced mechanical complexity and improved frequency agility over equivalent crystal laser devices, while their potentially faster tuning capability suggest the potential for greater scanning versatility. The program we report on here is specifically tasked with the development of prototype novel architecture semiconductor lasers with the power, tunability, and spectral characteristics required for coherent Doppler lidar. The baseline approach for this work is the distributed feedback (DFB) laser, in which gratings are etched into the semiconductor waveguide structures along the entire length of the laser cavity. However, typical DFB lasers at the wavelength of interest have linewidths that exhibit unacceptable growth when driven at the high currents and powers that are required for the Doppler lidar application. Suppression of this behavior by means of corrugation pitch-modulation (using a detuned central section to prevent intensity peaking in the center of the cavity) is currently under investigation to achieve the required performance goals.

MULTIWAVELENGTH OBSERVATIONS OF 3C 454.3. II. THE AGILE 2007 DECEMBER CAMPAIGN

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Donnarumma, I.; Pucella, G.; Vittorini, V.

2009-12-20

We report on the second Astrorivelatore Gamma a Immagini Leggero (AGILE) multiwavelength campaign of the blazar 3C 454.3 during the first half of 2007 December. This campaign involved AGILE, Spitzer, Swift, Suzaku, the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT) consortium, the Rapid Eye Mount (REM), and the Multicolor Imaging Telescopes for Survey and Monstrous Explosions (MITSuME) telescopes, offering a broadband coverage that allowed for a simultaneous sampling of the synchrotron and inverse Compton (IC) emissions. The two-week AGILE monitoring was accompanied by radio to optical monitoring by WEBT and REM, and by sparse observations in mid-infrared and soft/hard X-ray energy bandsmore » performed by means of Target of Opportunity observations by Spitzer, Swift, and Suzaku, respectively. The source was detected with an average flux of approx250 x 10{sup -8} photons cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} above 100 MeV, typical of its flaring states. The simultaneous optical and gamma-ray monitoring allowed us to study the time lag associated with the variability in the two energy bands, resulting in a possible approx

Impact of Business Intelligence and IT Infrastructure Flexibility on Competitive Advantage: An Organizational Agility Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Xiaofeng

2012-01-01

There is growing use of business intelligence (BI) for better management decisions in industry. However, empirical studies on BI are still scarce in academic research. This research investigates BI from an organizational agility perspective. Organizational agility is the ability to sense and respond to market opportunities and threats with speed,…

The Preparation of Cognitively Agile Principals for Turnaround Schools: A Leadership Preparation Programme Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reyes-Guerra, Daniel; Pisapia, John; Mick, Annie

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of two educational leadership university programmes to improve the cognitive agility of their graduates. The research looked to discover whether the aspiring principals exited the programmes with an increased ability to employ cognitive agility--the ability to use the multiple thinking skills of…

Frequency agile optical parametric oscillator

DOEpatents

Velsko, S.P.

1998-11-24

The frequency agile OPO device converts a fixed wavelength pump laser beam to arbitrary wavelengths within a specified range with pulse to pulse agility, at a rate limited only by the repetition rate of the pump laser. Uses of this invention include Laser radar, LIDAR, active remote sensing of effluents/pollutants, environmental monitoring, antisensor lasers, and spectroscopy. 14 figs.

The Impacts of Agile Development Methodology Use on Project Success: A Contingency View

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tripp, John F.

2012-01-01

Agile Information Systems Development Methods have emerged in the past decade as an alternative manner of managing the work and delivery of information systems development teams, with a large number of organizations reporting the adoption & use of agile methods. The practitioners of these methods make broad claims as to the benefits of their…

Early AGILE gamma-ray observations of the recent Glitch in the Crab Pulsar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verrecchia, F.; Piano, G.; Tavani, M.; Pilia, M.; Pittori, C.; Lucarelli, F.; Bulgarelli, A.; Cardillo, M.; Fioretti, V.; Parmiggiani, N.; Striani, E.; Vercellone, S.; Donnarumma, I.; Gianotti, F.; Trifoglio, M.; Giuliani, A.; Mereghetti, S.; Caraveo, P.; Perotti, F.; Chen, A.; Argan, A.; Costa, E.; Del Monte, E.; Evangelista, Y.; Feroci, M.; Lazzarotto, F.; Lapshov, I.; Pacciani, L.; Soffitta, P.; Sabatini, S.; Vittorini, V.; Pucella, G.; Rapisarda, M.; Di Cocco, G.; Fuschino, F.; Galli, M.; Labanti, C.; Marisaldi, M.; Pellizzoni, A.; Trois, A.; Barbiellini, G.; Vallazza, E.; Longo, F.; Morselli, A.; Picozza, P.; Prest, M.; Lipari, P.; Zanello, D.; Cattaneo, P. W.; Rappoldi, A.; Colafrancesco, S.; Ferrari, A.; Paoletti, F.; Antonelli, A.; Giommi, P.; Salotti, L.; Valentini, G.; D'Amico, F.

2017-11-01

AGILE observed the Crab region in its spinning mode after the large glitch recently reported in the radio band (ATel #10939). At the glitch event time (T_0) the AGILE satellite was occulted by the Earth, and no observation of any relevant gamma-ray signal could be obtained by the GRID detector.

A Study on Partnering Mechanism in B to B EC Server for Global Supply Chain Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaihara, Toshiya

B to B Electronic Commerce (EC) technology is now in progress and regarded as an information infrastructure for global business. As the number and diversity of EC participants grows at the agile environment, the complexity of purchasing from a vast and dynamic array of goods and services needs to be hidden from the end user. Putting the complexity into the EC system instead means providing flexible auction server for enabling commerce within different business units. Market mechanism could solve the product distribution problem in the auction server by allocating the scheduled resources according to market prices. In this paper, we propose a partnering mechanism for B to B EC with market-oriented programming that mediates amongst unspecified various companies in the trade, and demonstrate the applicability of the economic analysis to this framework after constructing a primitive EC server. The proposed mechanism facilitates sophisticated B to B EC, which conducts a Pareto optimal solution for all the participating business units in the coming agile era.

Performance, Agility and Cost of Cloud Computing Services for NASA GES DISC Giovanni Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pham, L.; Chen, A.; Wharton, S.; Winter, E. L.; Lynnes, C.

2013-12-01

The NASA Goddard Earth Science Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) is investigating the performance, agility and cost of Cloud computing for GES DISC applications. Giovanni (Geospatial Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure), one of the core applications at the GES DISC for online climate-related Earth science data access, subsetting, analysis, visualization, and downloading, was used to evaluate the feasibility and effort of porting an application to the Amazon Cloud Services platform. The performance and the cost of running Giovanni on the Amazon Cloud were compared to similar parameters for the GES DISC local operational system. A Giovanni Time-Series analysis of aerosol absorption optical depth (388nm) from OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument)/Aura was selected for these comparisons. All required data were pre-cached in both the Cloud and local system to avoid data transfer delays. The 3-, 6-, 12-, and 24-month data were used for analysis on the Cloud and local system respectively, and the processing times for the analysis were used to evaluate system performance. To investigate application agility, Giovanni was installed and tested on multiple Cloud platforms. The cost of using a Cloud computing platform mainly consists of: computing, storage, data requests, and data transfer in/out. The Cloud computing cost is calculated based on the hourly rate, and the storage cost is calculated based on the rate of Gigabytes per month. Cost for incoming data transfer is free, and for data transfer out, the cost is based on the rate in Gigabytes. The costs for a local server system consist of buying hardware/software, system maintenance/updating, and operating cost. The results showed that the Cloud platform had a 38% better performance and cost 36% less than the local system. This investigation shows the potential of cloud computing to increase system performance and lower the overall cost of system management.

Thigh Muscle Activity, Knee Motion, and Impact Force During Side-Step Pivoting in Agility-Trained Female Basketball Players

PubMed Central

Wilderman, Danielle R; Ross, Scott E; Padua, Darin A

2009-01-01

Context: Improving neuromuscular control of hamstrings muscles might have implications for decreasing anterior cruciate ligament injuries in females. Objective: To examine the effects of a 6-week agility training program on quadriceps and hamstrings muscle activation, knee flexion angles, and peak vertical ground reaction force. Design: Prospective, randomized clinical research trial. Setting: Sports medicine research laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: Thirty female intramural basketball players with no history of knee injury (age  =  21.07 ± 2.82 years, height  =  171.27 ± 4.66 cm, mass  =  66.36 ± 7.41 kg). Intervention(s): Participants were assigned to an agility training group or a control group that did not participate in agility training. Participants in the agility training group trained 4 times per week for 6 weeks. Main Outcome Measure(s): We used surface electromyography to assess muscle activation for the rectus femoris, vastus medialis oblique, medial hamstrings, and lateral hamstrings for 50 milliseconds before initial ground contact and while the foot was in contact with the ground during a side-step pivot maneuver. Knee flexion angles (at initial ground contact, maximum knee flexion, knee flexion displacement) and peak vertical ground reaction force also were assessed during this maneuver. Results: Participants in the training group increased medial hamstrings activation during ground contact after the 6-week agility training program. Both groups decreased their vastus medialis oblique muscle activation during ground contact. Knee flexion angles and peak vertical ground reaction force did not change for either group. Conclusions: Agility training improved medial hamstrings activity in female intramural basketball players during a side-step pivot maneuver. Agility training that improves hamstrings activity might have implications for reducing anterior cruciate ligament sprain injury associated with side-step pivots. PMID:19180214

The agile alert system for gamma-ray transients

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bulgarelli, A.; Trifoglio, M.; Gianotti, F.

2014-01-20

In recent years, a new generation of space missions has offered great opportunities for discovery in high-energy astrophysics. In this article we focus on the scientific operations of the Gamma-Ray Imaging Detector (GRID) on board the AGILE space mission. AGILE-GRID, sensitive in the energy range of 30 MeV-30 GeV, has detected many γ-ray transients of both galactic and extragalactic origin. This work presents the AGILE innovative approach to fast γ-ray transient detection, which is a challenging task and a crucial part of the AGILE scientific program. The goals are to describe (1) the AGILE Gamma-Ray Alert System, (2) a newmore » algorithm for blind search identification of transients within a short processing time, (3) the AGILE procedure for γ-ray transient alert management, and (4) the likelihood of ratio tests that are necessary to evaluate the post-trial statistical significance of the results. Special algorithms and an optimized sequence of tasks are necessary to reach our goal. Data are automatically analyzed at every orbital downlink by an alert pipeline operating on different timescales. As proper flux thresholds are exceeded, alerts are automatically generated and sent as SMS messages to cellular telephones, via e-mail, and via push notifications from an application for smartphones and tablets. These alerts are crosschecked with the results of two pipelines, and a manual analysis is performed. Being a small scientific-class mission, AGILE is characterized by optimization of both scientific analysis and ground-segment resources. The system is capable of generating alerts within two to three hours of a data downlink, an unprecedented reaction time in γ-ray astrophysics.« less

The AGILE Alert System for Gamma-Ray Transients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bulgarelli, A.; Trifoglio, M.; Gianotti, F.; Tavani, M.; Parmiggiani, N.; Fioretti, V.; Chen, A. W.; Vercellone, S.; Pittori, C.; Verrecchia, F.; Lucarelli, F.; Santolamazza, P.; Fanari, G.; Giommi, P.; Beneventano, D.; Argan, A.; Trois, A.; Scalise, E.; Longo, F.; Pellizzoni, A.; Pucella, G.; Colafrancesco, S.; Conforti, V.; Tempesta, P.; Cerone, M.; Sabatini, P.; Annoni, G.; Valentini, G.; Salotti, L.

2014-01-01

In recent years, a new generation of space missions has offered great opportunities for discovery in high-energy astrophysics. In this article we focus on the scientific operations of the Gamma-Ray Imaging Detector (GRID) on board the AGILE space mission. AGILE-GRID, sensitive in the energy range of 30 MeV-30 GeV, has detected many γ-ray transients of both galactic and extragalactic origin. This work presents the AGILE innovative approach to fast γ-ray transient detection, which is a challenging task and a crucial part of the AGILE scientific program. The goals are to describe (1) the AGILE Gamma-Ray Alert System, (2) a new algorithm for blind search identification of transients within a short processing time, (3) the AGILE procedure for γ-ray transient alert management, and (4) the likelihood of ratio tests that are necessary to evaluate the post-trial statistical significance of the results. Special algorithms and an optimized sequence of tasks are necessary to reach our goal. Data are automatically analyzed at every orbital downlink by an alert pipeline operating on different timescales. As proper flux thresholds are exceeded, alerts are automatically generated and sent as SMS messages to cellular telephones, via e-mail, and via push notifications from an application for smartphones and tablets. These alerts are crosschecked with the results of two pipelines, and a manual analysis is performed. Being a small scientific-class mission, AGILE is characterized by optimization of both scientific analysis and ground-segment resources. The system is capable of generating alerts within two to three hours of a data downlink, an unprecedented reaction time in γ-ray astrophysics.

Investigation into the impact of agility on conceptual fighter design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Engelbeck, R. M.

1995-01-01

The Agility Design Study was performed by the Boeing Defense and Space Group for the NASA Langley Research Center. The objective of the study was to assess the impact of agility requirements on new fighter configurations. Global trade issues investigated were the level of agility, the mission role of the aircraft (air-to-ground, multi-role, or air-to-air), and whether the customer is Air force, Navy, or joint service. Mission profiles and design objectives were supplied by NASA. An extensive technology assessment was conducted to establish the available technologies to industry for the aircraft. Conceptual level methodology is presented to assess the five NASA-supplied agility metrics. Twelve configurations were developed to address the global trade issues. Three-view drawings, inboard profiles, and performance estimates were made and are included in the report. A critical assessment and lessons learned from the study are also presented.

Laterality and performance of agility-trained dogs.

PubMed

Siniscalchi, Marcello; Bertino, Daniele; Quaranta, Angelo

2014-01-01

Correlations between lateralised behaviour and performance were investigated in 19 agility-trained dogs (Canis familiaris) by scoring paw preference to hold a food object and relating it to performance during typical agility obstacles (jump/A-frame and weave poles). In addition, because recent behavioural studies reported that visual stimuli of emotional valence presented to one visual hemifield at a time affect visually guided motor responses in dogs, the possibility that the position of the owner respectively in the left and in the right canine visual hemifield might be associated with quality of performance during agility was considered. Dogs' temperament was also measured by an owner-rated questionnaire. The most relevant finding was that agility-trained dogs displayed longer latencies to complete the obstacles with the owner located in their left visual hemifield compared to the right. Interestingly, the results showed that this phenomenon was significantly linked to both dogs' trainability and the strength of paw preference.

The Software Ontology (SWO): a resource for reproducibility in biomedical data analysis, curation and digital preservation.

PubMed

Malone, James; Brown, Andy; Lister, Allyson L; Ison, Jon; Hull, Duncan; Parkinson, Helen; Stevens, Robert

2014-01-01

Biomedical ontologists to date have concentrated on ontological descriptions of biomedical entities such as gene products and their attributes, phenotypes and so on. Recently, effort has diversified to descriptions of the laboratory investigations by which these entities were produced. However, much biological insight is gained from the analysis of the data produced from these investigations, and there is a lack of adequate descriptions of the wide range of software that are central to bioinformatics. We need to describe how data are analyzed for discovery, audit trails, provenance and reproducibility. The Software Ontology (SWO) is a description of software used to store, manage and analyze data. Input to the SWO has come from beyond the life sciences, but its main focus is the life sciences. We used agile techniques to gather input for the SWO and keep engagement with our users. The result is an ontology that meets the needs of a broad range of users by describing software, its information processing tasks, data inputs and outputs, data formats versions and so on. Recently, the SWO has incorporated EDAM, a vocabulary for describing data and related concepts in bioinformatics. The SWO is currently being used to describe software used in multiple biomedical applications. The SWO is another element of the biomedical ontology landscape that is necessary for the description of biomedical entities and how they were discovered. An ontology of software used to analyze data produced by investigations in the life sciences can be made in such a way that it covers the important features requested and prioritized by its users. The SWO thus fits into the landscape of biomedical ontologies and is produced using techniques designed to keep it in line with user's needs. The Software Ontology is available under an Apache 2.0 license at http://theswo.sourceforge.net/; the Software Ontology blog can be read at http://softwareontology.wordpress.com.

The Software Ontology (SWO): a resource for reproducibility in biomedical data analysis, curation and digital preservation

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Motivation Biomedical ontologists to date have concentrated on ontological descriptions of biomedical entities such as gene products and their attributes, phenotypes and so on. Recently, effort has diversified to descriptions of the laboratory investigations by which these entities were produced. However, much biological insight is gained from the analysis of the data produced from these investigations, and there is a lack of adequate descriptions of the wide range of software that are central to bioinformatics. We need to describe how data are analyzed for discovery, audit trails, provenance and reproducibility. Results The Software Ontology (SWO) is a description of software used to store, manage and analyze data. Input to the SWO has come from beyond the life sciences, but its main focus is the life sciences. We used agile techniques to gather input for the SWO and keep engagement with our users. The result is an ontology that meets the needs of a broad range of users by describing software, its information processing tasks, data inputs and outputs, data formats versions and so on. Recently, the SWO has incorporated EDAM, a vocabulary for describing data and related concepts in bioinformatics. The SWO is currently being used to describe software used in multiple biomedical applications. Conclusion The SWO is another element of the biomedical ontology landscape that is necessary for the description of biomedical entities and how they were discovered. An ontology of software used to analyze data produced by investigations in the life sciences can be made in such a way that it covers the important features requested and prioritized by its users. The SWO thus fits into the landscape of biomedical ontologies and is produced using techniques designed to keep it in line with user’s needs. Availability The Software Ontology is available under an Apache 2.0 license at http://theswo.sourceforge.net/; the Software Ontology blog can be read at http://softwareontology.wordpress.com. PMID:25068035

An investigation of fighter aircraft agility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Valasek, John; Downing, David R.

1993-01-01

This report attempts to unify in a single document the results of a series of studies on fighter aircraft agility funded by the NASA Ames Research Center, Dryden Flight Research Facility and conducted at the University of Kansas Flight Research Laboratory during the period January 1989 through December 1993. New metrics proposed by pilots and the research community to assess fighter aircraft agility are collected and analyzed. The report develops a framework for understanding the context into which the various proposed fighter agility metrics fit in terms of application and testing. Since new metrics continue to be proposed, this report does not claim to contain every proposed fighter agility metric. Flight test procedures, test constraints, and related criteria are developed. Instrumentation required to quantify agility via flight test is considered, as is the sensitivity of the candidate metrics to deviations from nominal pilot command inputs, which is studied in detail. Instead of supplying specific, detailed conclusions about the relevance or utility of one candidate metric versus another, the authors have attempted to provide sufficient data and analyses for readers to formulate their own conclusions. Readers are therefore ultimately responsible for judging exactly which metrics are 'best' for their particular needs. Additionally, it is not the intent of the authors to suggest combat tactics or other actual operational uses of the results and data in this report. This has been left up to the user community. Twenty of the candidate agility metrics were selected for evaluation with high fidelity, nonlinear, non real-time flight simulation computer programs of the F-5A Freedom Fighter, F-16A Fighting Falcon, F-18A Hornet, and X-29A. The information and data presented on the 20 candidate metrics which were evaluated will assist interested readers in conducting their own extensive investigations. The report provides a definition and analysis of each metric; details of how to test and measure the metric, including any special data reduction requirements; typical values for the metric obtained using one or more aircraft types; and a sensitivity analysis if applicable. The report is organized as follows. The first chapter in the report presents a historical review of air combat trends which demonstrate the need for agility metrics in assessing the combat performance of fighter aircraft in a modern, all-aspect missile environment. The second chapter presents a framework for classifying each candidate metric according to time scale (transient, functional, instantaneous), further subdivided by axis (pitch, lateral, axial). The report is then broadly divided into two parts, with the transient agility metrics (pitch lateral, axial) covered in chapters three, four, and five, and the functional agility metrics covered in chapter six. Conclusions, recommendations, and an extensive reference list and biography are also included. Five appendices contain a comprehensive list of the definitions of all the candidate metrics; a description of the aircraft models and flight simulation programs used for testing the metrics; several relations and concepts which are fundamental to the study of lateral agility; an in-depth analysis of the axial agility metrics; and a derivation of the relations for the instantaneous agility and their approximations.

High pressure system for 3-D study of elastic anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lokajicek, T.; Pros, Z.; Klima, K.

2003-04-01

New high pressure system was designed for the study of elastic anisotropy of condensed matter under high confining pressure up to 700 MPa. Simultaneously could be measured dynamic and static parameters: a) dynamic parameters by ultrasonic sounding, b) static parameters by measuring of spherical sample deformation. The measurement is carried out on spherical samples diameter 50 +/- 0.01 mm. Higher value of confining pressure was reached due to the new construction of sample positioning unit. The positioning unit is equipped with two Portecap step motors, which are located inside the vessel and make possible to rotate with the sphere and couple of piezoceramic transducers. Sample deformation is measured in the same direction as ultrasonic signal travel time. Only electric leads connects inner part of high pressure vessel with surrounding environment. Experimental set up enables: - simultaneous P-wave ultrasonic sounding, - measurement of current sample deformation at sounding points, - measurement of current value of confining pressure and - measurement of current stress media temperature. Air driven high pressure pump Haskel is used to produce high value of confining pressure up to 700 MPa. Ultrasonic signals are recorded by digital scope Agilent 54562 with sampling frequency 100 MHz. Control and measuring software was developed under Agilent VEE software environment working under MS Win 2000 operating system. Measuring set up was tested by measurement of monomineral spherical samples of quartz and corundum. Both of them have trigonal symmetry. The measurement showed that the P-wave velocity range of quartz was between 5.7-7.0 km/sec. and velocity range of corundum was between 9.7-10.9 km/sec. High pressure resistant LVDT transducers Mesing together with Intronix electronic unit were used to monitor sample deformation. Sample deformation is monitored with the accuracy of 0.1 micron. All test measurements proved the good accuracy of the whole measuring set up. This project was supported by Grant Agency of the Czech Republic No.: 205/01/1430.

Agile Mythbusting

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

0321502752 Coaching Agile Teams Lyssa Adkins ISBN #0321637704 Agile Project Management : Creating Innovative Products – Second Edition Jim Highsmith ISBN...Picatinny Arsenal Lapham, Wrubel Jan 2015 © 2015 Carnegie Mellon University. DoD Acquisition and Innovation Many regulated environments, like the DoD...NEED innovation and NEED incremental improvements to their systems. Many of them are now willing to consider changing their approach if they can do it

Moving target detection for frequency agility radar by sparse reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quan, Yinghui; Li, YaChao; Wu, Yaojun; Ran, Lei; Xing, Mengdao; Liu, Mengqi

2016-09-01

Frequency agility radar, with randomly varied carrier frequency from pulse to pulse, exhibits superior performance compared to the conventional fixed carrier frequency pulse-Doppler radar against the electromagnetic interference. A novel moving target detection (MTD) method is proposed for the estimation of the target's velocity of frequency agility radar based on pulses within a coherent processing interval by using sparse reconstruction. Hardware implementation of orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm is executed on Xilinx Virtex-7 Field Programmable Gata Array (FPGA) to perform sparse optimization. Finally, a series of experiments are performed to evaluate the performance of proposed MTD method for frequency agility radar systems.

Moving target detection for frequency agility radar by sparse reconstruction.

PubMed

Quan, Yinghui; Li, YaChao; Wu, Yaojun; Ran, Lei; Xing, Mengdao; Liu, Mengqi

2016-09-01

Frequency agility radar, with randomly varied carrier frequency from pulse to pulse, exhibits superior performance compared to the conventional fixed carrier frequency pulse-Doppler radar against the electromagnetic interference. A novel moving target detection (MTD) method is proposed for the estimation of the target's velocity of frequency agility radar based on pulses within a coherent processing interval by using sparse reconstruction. Hardware implementation of orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm is executed on Xilinx Virtex-7 Field Programmable Gata Array (FPGA) to perform sparse optimization. Finally, a series of experiments are performed to evaluate the performance of proposed MTD method for frequency agility radar systems.

Developing a model for agile supply: an empirical study from Iranian pharmaceutical supply chain.

PubMed

Rajabzadeh Ghatari, Ali; Mehralian, Gholamhossein; Zarenezhad, Forouzandeh; Rasekh, Hamid Reza

2013-01-01

Agility is the fundamental characteristic of a supply chain needed for survival in turbulent markets, where environmental forces create additional uncertainty resulting in higher risk in the supply chain management. In addition, agility helps providing the right product, at the right time to the consumer. The main goal of this research is therefore to promote supplier selection in pharmaceutical industry according to the formative basic factors. Moreover, this paper can configure its supply network to achieve the agile supply chain. The present article analyzes the supply part of supply chain based on SCOR model, used to assess agile supply chains by highlighting their specific characteristics and applicability in providing the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). This methodology provides an analytical modeling; the model enables potential suppliers to be assessed against the multiple criteria using both quantitative and qualitative measures. In addition, for making priority of critical factors, TOPSIS algorithm has been used as a common technique of MADM model. Finally, several factors such as delivery speed, planning and reorder segmentation, trust development and material quantity adjustment are identified and prioritized as critical factors for being agile in supply of API.

Developing a Model for Agile Supply: an Empirical Study from Iranian Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

PubMed Central

Rajabzadeh Ghatari, Ali; Mehralian, Gholamhossein; Zarenezhad, Forouzandeh; Rasekh, Hamid Reza

2013-01-01

Agility is the fundamental characteristic of a supply chain needed for survival in turbulent markets, where environmental forces create additional uncertainty resulting in higher risk in the supply chain management. In addition, agility helps providing the right product, at the right time to the consumer. The main goal of this research is therefore to promote supplier selection in pharmaceutical industry according to the formative basic factors. Moreover, this paper can configure its supply network to achieve the agile supply chain. The present article analyzes the supply part of supply chain based on SCOR model, used to assess agile supply chains by highlighting their specific characteristics and applicability in providing the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). This methodology provides an analytical modeling; the model enables potential suppliers to be assessed against the multiple criteria using both quantitative and qualitative measures. In addition, for making priority of critical factors, TOPSIS algorithm has been used as a common technique of MADM model. Finally, several factors such as delivery speed, planning and reorder segmentation, trust development and material quantity adjustment are identified and prioritized as critical factors for being agile in supply of API. PMID:24250689

SDN-Enabled Dynamic Feedback Control and Sensing in Agile Optical Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Likun

Fiber optic networks are no longer just pipelines for transporting data in the long haul backbone. Exponential growth in traffic in metro-regional areas has pushed higher capacity fiber toward the edge of the network, and highly dynamic patterns of heterogeneous traffic have emerged that are often bursty, severely stressing the historical "fat and dumb pipe" static optical network, which would need to be massively over-provisioned to deal with these loads. What is required is a more intelligent network with a span of control over the optical as well as electrical transport mechanisms which enables handling of service requests in a fast and efficient way that guarantees quality of service (QoS) while optimizing capacity efficiency. An "agile" optical network is a reconfigurable optical network comprised of high speed intelligent control system fed by real-time in situ network sensing. It provides fast response in the control and switching of optical signals in response to changing traffic demands and network conditions. This agile control of optical signals is enabled by pushing switching decisions downward in the network stack to the physical layer. Implementing such agility is challenging due to the response dynamics and interactions of signals in the physical layer. Control schemes must deal with issues such as dynamic power equalization, EDFA transients and cascaded noise effects, impairments due to self-phase modulation and dispersion, and channel-to-channel cross talk. If these issues are not properly predicted and mitigated, attempts at dynamic control can drive the optical network into an unstable state. In order to enable high speed actuation of signal modulators and switches, the network controller must be able to make decisions based on predictive models. In this thesis, we consider how to take advantage of Software Defined Networking (SDN) capabilities for network reconfiguration, combined with embedded models that access updates from deployed network monitoring sensors. In order to maintain signal quality while optimizing network resources, we find that it is essential to model and update estimates of the physical link impairments in real-time. In this thesis, we consider the key elements required to enable an agile optical network, with contributions as follows: • Control Framework: extended the SDN concept to include the optical transport network through extensions to the OpenFlow (OF) protocol. A unified SDN control plane is built to facilitate control and management capability across the electrical/packet-switched and optical/circuit-switched portions of the network seamlessly. The SDN control plane serves as a platform to abstract the resources of multilayer/multivendor networks. Through this platform, applications can dynamically request the network resources to meet their service requirements. • Use of In-situ Monitors: enabled real-time physical impairment sensing in the control plane using in-situ Optical Performance Monitoring (OPM) and bit error rate (BER) analyzers. OPM and BER values are used as quantitative indicators of the link status and are fed to the control plane through a high-speed data collection interface to form a closed-loop feedback system to enable adaptive resource allocation. • Predictive Network Model: used a network model embedded in the control layer to study the link status. The estimated results of network status is fed into the control decisions to precompute the network resources. The performance of the network model can be enhanced by the sensing results. • Real-Time Control Algorithms: investigated various dynamic resource allocation mechanisms supporting an agile optical network. Intelligent routing and wavelength switching for recovering from traffic impairments is achieved experimentally in the agile optical network within one second. A distance-adaptive spectrum allocation scheme to address transmission impairments caused by cascaded Wavelength Selective Switches (WSS) is proposed and evaluated for improving network spectral efficiency.

Agile Robust Autonomy: Inspired by Connecting Natural Flight and Biological Sensors

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-01

stabilization in insects while tethered. The stimulating is a rotating horizon line produced by UV and green LEDs (Figure 2). DISTRIBUTION A 12...recordings from the eyes. In the damselflies, we recorded from the compound eyes. The stimulation is a xenon light lamp producing light from the UV to near...addition to a green LED . One green light LED recording was taken after each spectral measurement. ............... 29 24. KHILS Projector Spectral

Biomechanical, Physiological, and Agility Performance of Soldiers Carrying Loads: A Comparison of the Modular Lightweight Load Carrying Equipment and a Lightning Packs, LLC, Prototype

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-27

2015 Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center...is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and...MODULAR LIGHTWEIGHT LOAD CARRYING EQUIPMENT) HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center ATTN

Allometric multilevel modelling of agility and dribbling speed by skeletal age and playing position in youth soccer players.

PubMed

Valente-dos-Santos, J; Coelho-e-Silva, M J; Duarte, J; Pereira, J; Rebelo-Gonçalves, R; Figueiredo, A; Mazzuco, M A; Sherar, L B; Elferink-Gemser, M T; Malina, R M

2014-08-01

This study evaluates the contributions of age, skeletal maturation, body size and composition, training and playing position to the development of agility and dribbling speed in young male soccer players (10-18 years) followed longitudinally. 83 players [defenders (n=35), midfielders (n=27), forwards (n=21)] were followed annually over 5 years (average: 4.4 observations per player). Skeletal age (SA), stature, body mass, triceps and subscapular skinfolds, agility and dribbling speed were measured annually. Body composition was estimated from the 2 skinfolds. Annual training volume was estimated from weekly participation forms completed by coaches. The multiplicative allometric models with the best statistical fit showed that statural growth of 1 cm predicts 1.334 s and 1.927 s of improvement in agility and dribbling speed, respectively. Significant independent effects of fat-free mass and annual volume training were found for agility and dribbling speed, respectively (P<0.05). Predicted agility (from 12 to 18 years of SA) and dribbling speed (from 13 to 18 years of SA) differed significantly among players by playing positions (midfielders>forwards>defenders). The present results provide developmental models for the interpretation of intra- and inter-individual variability in agility and dribbling speed among youth soccer players across adolescence, and may provide a framework for trainers and coaches to develop and evaluate individualized training protocols. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Agile Methods in Air Force Sustainment: Status and Outlook

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-01

manage for it through iterations, anticipation and adaptation  unleash creativity and innovation by recognizing that individuals are the ultimate...073561993X X X Agile Project Management : Creating Innovative Products – 2nd Edition Jim Highsmith ISBN 0321658396 X Agile Retrospectives...X Leading Change John Kotter ISBN 0875847471 X Leading Geeks: How to Manage and Lead the People Who Deliver Technology Paul Glen ISBN

Organizational Culture and the Deployment of Agile Methods: The Competing Values Model View

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iivari, Juhani; Iivari, Netta

A number of researchers have identified organizational culture as a factor that potentially affects the deployment of agile systems development methods. Inspired by the study of Iivari and Huisman (2007), which focused on the deployment of traditional systems development methods, the present paper proposes a number of hypotheses about the influence of organizational culture on the deployment of agile methods.

Analysis of Army Transformation and the Effects on Customer Ordering Behavior

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-01

operational scenarios ( Caldera and Shinseki, 2000:3). A responsive and agile force requires a responsive and agile logistics structure. The Army...assistance, disaster relief, peace-keeping, peace-making, and major theater wars ( Caldera and Shinseki, 2000:3). In fact, since 1995, the U.S. Army has...must be responsive, deployable, agile, versatile, lethal, survivable, and sustainable ( Caldera and Shinseki, 2000:4-5). Logistics Transformation

Modification of Agility Running Technique in Reaction to a Defender in Rugby Union

PubMed Central

Wheeler, Keane W.; Sayers, Mark G.L.

2010-01-01

Three-dimensional kinematic analysis examined agility running technique during pre-planned and reactive performance conditions specific to attacking ball carries in rugby union. The variation to running technique of 8 highly trained rugby union players was compared between agility conditions (pre-planned and reactive) and also agility performance speeds (fast, moderate and slow). Kinematic measures were used to determine the velocity of the centre of mass (COM) in the anteroposterior (running speed) and mediolateral (lateral movement speed) planes. The position of foot-strike and toe-off was also examined for the step prior to the agility side- step (pre-change of direction phase) and then the side-step (change of direction phase). This study demonstrated that less lateral movement speed towards the intended direction change occurred during reactive compared to pre-planned conditions at pre-change of direction (0.08 ± 0.28 m·s-1 and 0.42 ± 0.25 m·s-1, respectively) and change of direction foot-strikes (0.25 ± 0.42 m·s-1 and 0.69 ± 0.43 m·s-1, respectively). Less lateral movement speed during reactive conditions was associated with greater lateral foot displacement (44.52 ± 6.10% leg length) at the change of direction step compared to pre-planned conditions (41.35 ± 5.85%). Importantly, the anticipation abilities during reactive conditions provided a means to differentiate between speeds of agility performance, with faster performances displaying greater lateral movement speed at the change of direction foot- strike (0.52 ± 0.34 m·s-1) compared to moderate (0.20 ± 0.37 m·s-1) and slow (-0.08 ± 0.31 m·s-1). The changes to running technique during reactive conditions highlight the need to incorporate decision-making in rugby union agility programs. Key points Changes to running technique occur when required to make a decision. Fast agility performers use different stepping strategies in reactive conditions. Decision-making must be incorporated in agility training programs. PMID:24149639

Advanced processing and simulation of MRS data using the FID appliance (FID-A)-An open source, MATLAB-based toolkit.

PubMed

Simpson, Robin; Devenyi, Gabriel A; Jezzard, Peter; Hennessy, T Jay; Near, Jamie

2017-01-01

To introduce a new toolkit for simulation and processing of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) data, and to demonstrate some of its novel features. The FID appliance (FID-A) is an open-source, MATLAB-based software toolkit for simulation and processing of MRS data. The software is designed specifically for processing data with multiple dimensions (eg, multiple radiofrequency channels, averages, spectral editing dimensions). It is equipped with functions for importing data in the formats of most major MRI vendors (eg, Siemens, Philips, GE, Agilent) and for exporting data into the formats of several common processing software packages (eg, LCModel, jMRUI, Tarquin). This paper introduces the FID-A software toolkit and uses examples to demonstrate its novel features, namely 1) the use of a spectral registration algorithm to carry out useful processing routines automatically, 2) automatic detection and removal of motion-corrupted scans, and 3) the ability to perform several major aspects of the MRS computational workflow from a single piece of software. This latter feature is illustrated through both high-level processing of in vivo GABA-edited MEGA-PRESS MRS data, as well as detailed quantum mechanical simulations to generate an accurate LCModel basis set for analysis of the same data. All of the described processing steps resulted in a marked improvement in spectral quality compared with unprocessed data. Fitting of MEGA-PRESS data using a customized basis set resulted in improved fitting accuracy compared with a generic MEGA-PRESS basis set. The FID-A software toolkit enables high-level processing of MRS data and accurate simulation of in vivo MRS experiments. Magn Reson Med 77:23-33, 2017. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The development and evaluation of a medical imaging training immersive environment

PubMed Central

Bridge, Pete; Gunn, Therese; Kastanis, Lazaros; Pack, Darren; Rowntree, Pamela; Starkey, Debbie; Mahoney, Gaynor; Berry, Clare; Braithwaite, Vicki; Wilson-Stewart, Kelly

2014-01-01

Introduction A novel realistic 3D virtual reality (VR) application has been developed to allow medical imaging students at Queensland University of Technology to practice radiographic techniques independently outside the usual radiography laboratory. Methods A flexible agile development methodology was used to create the software rapidly and effectively. A 3D gaming environment and realistic models were used to engender presence in the software while tutor-determined gold standards enabled students to compare their performance and learn in a problem-based learning pedagogy. Results Students reported high levels of satisfaction and perceived value and the software enabled up to 40 concurrent users to prepare for clinical practice. Student feedback also indicated that they found 3D to be of limited value in the desktop version compared to the usual 2D approach. A randomised comparison between groups receiving software-based and traditional practice measured performance in a formative role play with real equipment. The results of this work indicated superior performance with the equipment for the VR trained students (P = 0.0366) and confirmed the value of VR for enhancing 3D equipment-based problem-solving skills. Conclusions Students practising projection techniques virtually performed better at role play assessments than students practising in a traditional radiography laboratory only. The application particularly helped with 3D equipment configuration, suggesting that teaching 3D problem solving is an ideal use of such medical equipment simulators. Ongoing development work aims to establish the role of VR software in preparing students for clinical practice with a range of medical imaging equipment. PMID:26229652

Pathways to agility in the production of neutron generators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stoltz, R.E.; Beavis, L.C.; Cutchen, J.T.

1994-02-01

This report is the result of a study team commissioned to explore pathways for increased agility in the manufacture of neutron generators. As a part of Sandia`s new responsibility for generator production, the goal of the study was to identify opportunities to reduce costs and increase flexibility in the manufacturing operation. Four parallel approaches (or pathways) were recommended: (1) Know the goal, (2) Use design leverage effectively, (3) Value simplicity, and (4) Configure for flexibility. Agility in neutron generator production can be enhanced if all of these pathways are followed. The key role of the workforce in achieving agility wasmore » also noted, with emphasis on ownership, continuous learning, and a supportive environment.« less

GOEAST: a web-based software toolkit for Gene Ontology enrichment analysis.

PubMed

Zheng, Qi; Wang, Xiu-Jie

2008-07-01

Gene Ontology (GO) analysis has become a commonly used approach for functional studies of large-scale genomic or transcriptomic data. Although there have been a lot of software with GO-related analysis functions, new tools are still needed to meet the requirements for data generated by newly developed technologies or for advanced analysis purpose. Here, we present a Gene Ontology Enrichment Analysis Software Toolkit (GOEAST), an easy-to-use web-based toolkit that identifies statistically overrepresented GO terms within given gene sets. Compared with available GO analysis tools, GOEAST has the following improved features: (i) GOEAST displays enriched GO terms in graphical format according to their relationships in the hierarchical tree of each GO category (biological process, molecular function and cellular component), therefore, provides better understanding of the correlations among enriched GO terms; (ii) GOEAST supports analysis for data from various sources (probe or probe set IDs of Affymetrix, Illumina, Agilent or customized microarrays, as well as different gene identifiers) and multiple species (about 60 prokaryote and eukaryote species); (iii) One unique feature of GOEAST is to allow cross comparison of the GO enrichment status of multiple experiments to identify functional correlations among them. GOEAST also provides rigorous statistical tests to enhance the reliability of analysis results. GOEAST is freely accessible at http://omicslab.genetics.ac.cn/GOEAST/

Agile manufacturing and constraints management: a strategic perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stratton, Roy; Yusuf, Yahaya Y.

2000-10-01

The definition of the agile paradigm has proved elusive and is often viewed as a panacea, in contention with more traditional approaches to operations strategy development and Larkin its own methodology and tools. The Theory of Constraints (TOC) is also poorly understood, as it is commonly solely associated with production planning and control systems and bottleneck management. This paper will demonstrate the synergy between these two approaches together with the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ), and establish how the systematic elimination of trade-offs can support the agile paradigm. Whereas agility is often seen as a trade-off free destination, both TOC and TRIZ may be considered to be route finders, as they comprise methodologies that focus on the identification and elimination of the trade-offs that constrain the purposeful improvement of a system, be it organizational or mechanical. This paper will also show how the TOC thinking process may be combined with the TRIZ knowledge based approach and used in breaking contradictions within agile logistics.

Technical Reference Suite Addressing Challenges of Providing Assurance for Fault Management Architectural Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fitz, Rhonda; Whitman, Gerek

2016-01-01

Research into complexities of software systems Fault Management (FM) and how architectural design decisions affect safety, preservation of assets, and maintenance of desired system functionality has coalesced into a technical reference (TR) suite that advances the provision of safety and mission assurance. The NASA Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) Program, with Software Assurance Research Program support, extracted FM architectures across the IV&V portfolio to evaluate robustness, assess visibility for validation and test, and define software assurance methods applied to the architectures and designs. This investigation spanned IV&V projects with seven different primary developers, a wide range of sizes and complexities, and encompassed Deep Space Robotic, Human Spaceflight, and Earth Orbiter mission FM architectures. The initiative continues with an expansion of the TR suite to include Launch Vehicles, adding the benefit of investigating differences intrinsic to model-based FM architectures and insight into complexities of FM within an Agile software development environment, in order to improve awareness of how nontraditional processes affect FM architectural design and system health management. The identification of particular FM architectures, visibility, and associated IV&V techniques provides a TR suite that enables greater assurance that critical software systems will adequately protect against faults and respond to adverse conditions. Additionally, the role FM has with regard to strengthened security requirements, with potential to advance overall asset protection of flight software systems, is being addressed with the development of an adverse conditions database encompassing flight software vulnerabilities. Capitalizing on the established framework, this TR suite provides assurance capability for a variety of FM architectures and varied development approaches. Research results are being disseminated across NASA, other agencies, and the software community. This paper discusses the findings and TR suite informing the FM domain in best practices for FM architectural design, visibility observations, and methods employed for IV&V and mission assurance.

Web Based Information System for Job Training Activities Using Personal Extreme Programming (PXP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asri, S. A.; Sunaya, I. G. A. M.; Rudiastari, E.; Setiawan, W.

2018-01-01

Job training is one of the subjects in university or polytechnic that involves many users and reporting activities. Time and distance became problems for users to reporting and to do obligations tasks during job training due to the location where the job training took place. This research tried to develop a web based information system of job training to overcome the problems. This system was developed using Personal Extreme Programming (PXP). PXP is one of the agile methods is combination of Extreme Programming (XP) and Personal Software Process (PSP). The information system that has developed and tested which are 24% of users are strongly agree, 74% are agree, 1% disagree and 0% strongly disagree about system functionality.

Design Specification for a Thrust-Vectoring, Actuated-Nose-Strake Flight Control Law for the High-Alpha Research Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bacon, Barton J.; Carzoo, Susan W.; Davidson, John B.; Hoffler, Keith D.; Lallman, Frederick J.; Messina, Michael D.; Murphy, Patrick C.; Ostroff, Aaron J.; Proffitt, Melissa S.; Yeager, Jessie C.;

TRIAD: The Translational Research Informatics and Data Management Grid

PubMed Central

Payne, P.; Ervin, D.; Dhaval, R.; Borlawsky, T.; Lai, A.

2011-01-01

Objective Multi-disciplinary and multi-site biomedical research programs frequently require infrastructures capable of enabling the collection, management, analysis, and dissemination of heterogeneous, multi-dimensional, and distributed data and knowledge collections spanning organizational boundaries. We report on the design and initial deployment of an extensible biomedical informatics platform that is intended to address such requirements. Methods A common approach to distributed data, information, and knowledge management needs in the healthcare and life science settings is the deployment and use of a service-oriented architecture (SOA). Such SOA technologies provide for strongly-typed, semantically annotated, and stateful data and analytical services that can be combined into data and knowledge integration and analysis “pipelines.” Using this overall design pattern, we have implemented and evaluated an extensible SOA platform for clinical and translational science applications known as the Translational Research Informatics and Data-management grid (TRIAD). TRIAD is a derivative and extension of the caGrid middleware and has an emphasis on supporting agile “working interoperability” between data, information, and knowledge resources. Results Based upon initial verification and validation studies conducted in the context of a collection of driving clinical and translational research problems, we have been able to demonstrate that TRIAD achieves agile “working interoperability” between distributed data and knowledge sources. Conclusion Informed by our initial verification and validation studies, we believe TRIAD provides an example instance of a lightweight and readily adoptable approach to the use of SOA technologies in the clinical and translational research setting. Furthermore, our initial use cases illustrate the importance and efficacy of enabling “working interoperability” in heterogeneous biomedical environments. PMID:23616879

TRIAD: The Translational Research Informatics and Data Management Grid.

PubMed

Payne, P; Ervin, D; Dhaval, R; Borlawsky, T; Lai, A

2011-01-01

Multi-disciplinary and multi-site biomedical research programs frequently require infrastructures capable of enabling the collection, management, analysis, and dissemination of heterogeneous, multi-dimensional, and distributed data and knowledge collections spanning organizational boundaries. We report on the design and initial deployment of an extensible biomedical informatics platform that is intended to address such requirements. A common approach to distributed data, information, and knowledge management needs in the healthcare and life science settings is the deployment and use of a service-oriented architecture (SOA). Such SOA technologies provide for strongly-typed, semantically annotated, and stateful data and analytical services that can be combined into data and knowledge integration and analysis "pipelines." Using this overall design pattern, we have implemented and evaluated an extensible SOA platform for clinical and translational science applications known as the Translational Research Informatics and Data-management grid (TRIAD). TRIAD is a derivative and extension of the caGrid middleware and has an emphasis on supporting agile "working interoperability" between data, information, and knowledge resources. Based upon initial verification and validation studies conducted in the context of a collection of driving clinical and translational research problems, we have been able to demonstrate that TRIAD achieves agile "working interoperability" between distributed data and knowledge sources. Informed by our initial verification and validation studies, we believe TRIAD provides an example instance of a lightweight and readily adoptable approach to the use of SOA technologies in the clinical and translational research setting. Furthermore, our initial use cases illustrate the importance and efficacy of enabling "working interoperability" in heterogeneous biomedical environments.

An Exploration of Cognitive Agility as Quantified by Attention Allocation in a Complex Environment

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-01

quantified by eye-tracking data collected while subjects played a military-relevant cognitive agility computer game (Make Goal), to determine whether...subjects played a military-relevant cognitive agility computer game (Make Goal), to determine whether certain patterns are associated with effective...Group and Control Group on Eye Tracking and Game Performance .....................36 3. Comparison between High and Low Performers on Eye tracking and

Orders of C2 Agility and Implications for Information and Decision-Making

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

of agility and, in particular, in discussions of resilience. Orders of agility also invite the re-examination of conceptions of value in informing...incompatible interpretations of decision-making and information. It also gives greater confidence that different conceptions of value and assessment...examination of conceptions of value in informing decision- making, leading to the exposition of a hierarchical model of nested decision-making and decision

Results of an Experimental Exploration of Advanced Automated Geospatial Tools: Agility in Complex Planning

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-01

AUTOMATED GEOSPATIAL TOOLS : AGILITY IN COMPLEX PLANNING Primary Topic: Track 5 – Experimentation and Analysis Walter A. Powell [STUDENT] - GMU...TITLE AND SUBTITLE Results of an Experimental Exploration of Advanced Automated Geospatial Tools : Agility in Complex Planning 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER...Std Z39-18 Abstract Typically, the development of tools and systems for the military is requirement driven; systems are developed to meet

A Comparison of 5, 10, 30 Meters Sprint, Modified T-Test, Arrowhead and Illinois Agility Tests on Football Referees

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muniroglu, Surhat; Subak, Erdem

2018-01-01

The ability of change of direction quickly, in other words agility, and short distance sprinting speed are two of the most important performance components for football referees. The tests used by FIFA and UEFA such as Cooper Test, Yo-Yo Intermittent Test, 40 × 75 m tests do not include testing the agility skills of the referees. However,…

Assessment of Specificity of the Badcamp Agility test for Badminton Players

PubMed Central

de França Bahia Loureiro, Luiz; Costa Dias, Mário Oliveira; Cremasco, Felipe Couto; da Silva, Maicon Guimarães; de Freitas, Paulo Barbosa

2017-01-01

Abstract The Badcamp agility test was created to evaluate agility of badminton players. The Badcamp is a valid and reliable test, however, a doubt about the need for the use of this test exists as simpler tests could provide similar information about agility in badminton players. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the specificity of the Badcamp, comparing the performance of badminton players and athletes from other sports in the Badcamp and the shuttle run agility test (SRAT). Sixty-four young male and female athletes aged between 14 and 16 years participated in the study. They were divided into 4 groups of 16 according to their sport practices: badminton, tennis, team sport (basketball and volleyball), and track and field. We compared the groups in both tests, the Badcamp and SRAT. The results revealed that the group of badminton players was faster compared to all other groups in the Badcamp. However, in the SRAT there were no differences among groups composed of athletes from open skill sports (e.g., badminton, tennis, and team sports), and a considerable reduction of the difference between badminton players and track and field athletes. Thus, we concluded that the Badcamp test is a specific agility test for badminton players and should be considered in evaluating athletes of this sport modality. PMID:28713471

Assessment of Specificity of the Badcamp Agility test for Badminton Players.

PubMed

de França Bahia Loureiro, Luiz; Costa Dias, Mário Oliveira; Cremasco, Felipe Couto; da Silva, Maicon Guimarães; de Freitas, Paulo Barbosa

2017-06-01

The Badcamp agility test was created to evaluate agility of badminton players. The Badcamp is a valid and reliable test, however, a doubt about the need for the use of this test exists as simpler tests could provide similar information about agility in badminton players. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the specificity of the Badcamp, comparing the performance of badminton players and athletes from other sports in the Badcamp and the shuttle run agility test (SRAT). Sixty-four young male and female athletes aged between 14 and 16 years participated in the study. They were divided into 4 groups of 16 according to their sport practices: badminton, tennis, team sport (basketball and volleyball), and track and field. We compared the groups in both tests, the Badcamp and SRAT. The results revealed that the group of badminton players was faster compared to all other groups in the Badcamp. However, in the SRAT there were no differences among groups composed of athletes from open skill sports (e.g., badminton, tennis, and team sports), and a considerable reduction of the difference between badminton players and track and field athletes. Thus, we concluded that the Badcamp test is a specific agility test for badminton players and should be considered in evaluating athletes of this sport modality.

The Impact of Load Carriage on Measures of Power and Agility in Tactical Occupations: A Critical Review.

PubMed

Joseph, Aaron; Wiley, Amy; Orr, Robin; Schram, Benjamin; Dawes, J Jay

2018-01-07

The current literature suggests that load carriage can impact on a tactical officer's mobility, and that survival in the field may rely on the officer's mobility. The ability for humans to generate power and agility is critical for performance of the high-intensity movements required in the field of duty. The aims of this review were to critically examine the literature investigating the impacts of load carriage on measures of power and agility and to synthesize the findings. The authors completed a search of the literature using key search terms in four databases. After relevant studies were located using strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, the studies were critically appraised using the Downs and Black Checklist and relevant data were extracted and tabled. Fourteen studies were deemed relevant for this review, ranging in percentage quality scores from 42.85% to 71.43%. Outcome measures used in these studies to indicate levels of power and agility included short-distance sprints, vertical jumps, and agility runs, among others. Performance of both power and agility was shown to decrease when tactical load was added to the participants. This suggests that the increase in weight carried by tactical officers may put this population at risk of injury or fatality in the line of duty.

The Impact of Load Carriage on Measures of Power and Agility in Tactical Occupations: A Critical Review

PubMed Central

Joseph, Aaron; Wiley, Amy; Dawes, J. Jay

2018-01-01

The current literature suggests that load carriage can impact on a tactical officer’s mobility, and that survival in the field may rely on the officer’s mobility. The ability for humans to generate power and agility is critical for performance of the high-intensity movements required in the field of duty. The aims of this review were to critically examine the literature investigating the impacts of load carriage on measures of power and agility and to synthesize the findings. The authors completed a search of the literature using key search terms in four databases. After relevant studies were located using strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, the studies were critically appraised using the Downs and Black Checklist and relevant data were extracted and tabled. Fourteen studies were deemed relevant for this review, ranging in percentage quality scores from 42.85% to 71.43%. Outcome measures used in these studies to indicate levels of power and agility included short-distance sprints, vertical jumps, and agility runs, among others. Performance of both power and agility was shown to decrease when tactical load was added to the participants. This suggests that the increase in weight carried by tactical officers may put this population at risk of injury or fatality in the line of duty. PMID:29316674

EPOS Data and Service Provision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bailo, Daniele; Jeffery, Keith G.; Atakan, Kuvvet; Harrison, Matt

2017-04-01

EPOS is now in IP (implementation phase) after a successful PP (preparatory phase). EPOS consists of essentially two components, one ICS (Integrated Core Services) representing the integrating ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and many TCS (Thematic Core Services) representing the scientific domains. The architecture developed, demonstrated and agreed within the project during the PP is now being developed utilising co-design with the TCS teams and agile, spiral methods within the ICS team. The 'heart' of EPOS is the metadata catalog. This provides for the ICS a digital representation of the TCS assets (services, data, software, equipment, expertise…) thus facilitating access, interoperation and (re-)use. A major part of the work has been interactions with the TCS. The original intention to harvest information from the TCS required (and still requires) discussions to understand fully the TCS organisational structures linked with rights, security and privacy; their (meta)data syntax (structure) and semantics (meaning); their workflows and methods of working and the services offered. To complicate matters further the TCS are each at varying stages of development and the ICS design has to accommodate pre-existing, developing and expected future standards for metadata, data, software and processes. Through information documents, questionnaires and interviews/meetings the EPOS ICS team has collected DDSS (Data, Data Products, Software and Services) information from the TCS. The ICS team developed a simplified metadata model for presentation to the TCS and the ICS team will perform the mapping and conversion from this model to the internal detailed technical metadata model using (CERIF: a EU recommendation to Member States maintained, developed and promoted by euroCRIS www.eurocris.org ). At the time of writing the final modifications of the EPOS metadata model are being made, and the mappings to CERIF designed, prior to the main phase of (meta)data collection into the EPOS metadata catalog. In parallel work proceeds on the user interface softsare, the APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to the TCS services, the harvesting method and software, the AAAI (Authentication, Authorisation, Accounting Infrastructure) and the system manager. The next steps will involve interfaces to ICS-D (Distributed ICS i.e. facilities and services for computing, data storage, detectors and instruments for data collection etc.) to which requests, software and data will be deployed and from which data will be generated. Associated with this will be the development of the workflow system which will assist the end-user in building a workflow to achieve the scientific objectives.

X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft arrival at Dryden

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

NASA and McDonnell Douglas Corporation (MDC) personnel remove protective covers from the newly arrived NASA/McDonnell Douglas Corporation X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft. It arrived at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, on July 2, 1996. The NASA/Boeing X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft program successfully demonstrated the tailless fighter design using advanced technologies to improve the maneuverability and survivability of possible future fighter aircraft. The program met or exceeded all project goals. For 31 flights during 1997 at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, the project team examined the aircraft's agility at low speed / high angles of attack and at high speed / low angles of attack. The aircraft's speed envelope reached up to 206 knots (234 mph). This aircraft was very stable and maneuverable. It handled very well. The X-36 vehicle was designed to fly without the traditional tail surfaces common on most aircraft. Instead, a canard forward of the wing was used as well as split ailerons and an advanced thrust-vectoring nozzle for directional control. The X-36 was unstable in both pitch and yaw axes, so an advanced, single-channel digital fly-by-wire control system (developed with some commercially available components) was put in place to stabilize the aircraft. Using a video camera mounted in the nose of the aircraft and an onboard microphone, the X-36 was remotely controlled by a pilot in a ground station virtual cockpit. A standard fighter-type head-up display (HUD) and a moving-map representation of the vehicle's position within the range in which it flew provided excellent situational awareness for the pilot. This pilot-in-the-loop approach eliminated the need for expensive and complex autonomous flight control systems and the risks associated with their inability to deal with unknown or unforeseen phenomena in flight. Fully fueled the X-36 prototype weighed approximately 1,250 pounds. It was 19 feet long and three feet high with a wingspan of just over 10 feet. A Williams International F112 turbofan engine provided close to 700 pounds of thrust. A typical research flight lasted 35 to 45 minutes from takeoff to touchdown. A total of 31 successful research flights were flown from May 17, 1997, to November 12, 1997, amassing 15 hours and 38 minutes of flight time. The aircraft reached an altitude of 20,200 feet and a maximum angle of attack of 40 degrees. In a follow-on effort, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, contracted with Boeing to fly AFRL's Reconfigurable Control for Tailless Fighter Aircraft (RESTORE) software as a demonstration of the adaptability of the neural-net algorithm to compensate for in-flight damage or malfunction of effectors, such as flaps, ailerons and rudders. Two RESTORE research flights were flown in December 1998, proving the viability of the software approach. The X-36 aircraft flown at the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1997 was a 28-percent scale representation of a theoretical advanced fighter aircraft. The Boeing Phantom Works (formerly McDonnell Douglas) in St. Louis, Missouri, built two of the vehicles in a cooperative agreement with the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California.

X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft arrival at Dryden

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

NASA and McDonnell Douglas Corporation (MDC) personnel wait to attach a hoist to the X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft, which arrived at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, on July 2, 1996. The NASA/Boeing X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft program successfully demonstrated the tailless fighter design using advanced technologies to improve the maneuverability and survivability of possible future fighter aircraft. The program met or exceeded all project goals. For 31 flights during 1997 at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, the project team examined the aircraft's agility at low speed / high angles of attack and at high speed / low angles of attack. The aircraft's speed envelope reached up to 206 knots (234 mph). This aircraft was very stable and maneuverable. It handled very well. The X-36 vehicle was designed to fly without the traditional tail surfaces common on most aircraft. Instead, a canard forward of the wing was used as well as split ailerons and an advanced thrust-vectoring nozzle for directional control. The X-36 was unstable in both pitch and yaw axes, so an advanced, single-channel digital fly-by-wire control system (developed with some commercially available components) was put in place to stabilize the aircraft. Using a video camera mounted in the nose of the aircraft and an onboard microphone, the X-36 was remotely controlled by a pilot in a ground station virtual cockpit. A standard fighter-type head-up display (HUD) and a moving-map representation of the vehicle's position within the range in which it flew provided excellent situational awareness for the pilot. This pilot-in-the-loop approach eliminated the need for expensive and complex autonomous flight control systems and the risks associated with their inability to deal with unknown or unforeseen phenomena in flight. Fully fueled the X-36 prototype weighed approximately 1,250 pounds. It was 19 feet long and three feet high with a wingspan of just over 10 feet. A Williams International F112 turbofan engine provided close to 700 pounds of thrust. A typical research flight lasted 35 to 45 minutes from takeoff to touchdown. A total of 31 successful research flights were flown from May 17, 1997, to November 12, 1997, amassing 15 hours and 38 minutes of flight time. The aircraft reached an altitude of 20,200 feet and a maximum angle of attack of 40 degrees. In a follow-on effort, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, contracted with Boeing to fly AFRL's Reconfigurable Control for Tailless Fighter Aircraft (RESTORE) software as a demonstration of the adaptability of the neural-net algorithm to compensate for in-flight damage or malfunction of effectors, such as flaps, ailerons and rudders. Two RESTORE research flights were flown in December 1998, proving the viability of the software approach. The X-36 aircraft flown at the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1997 was a 28-percent scale representation of a theoretical advanced fighter aircraft. The Boeing Phantom Works (formerly McDonnell Douglas) in St. Louis, Missouri, built two of the vehicles in a cooperative agreement with the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California.

X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft on lakebed during high-speed taxi tests

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

The NASA/McDonnell Douglas Corporation (MDC) X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft undergoes high-speed taxi tests on Rogers Dry Lake at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, on October 17, 1996. The aircraft was tested at speeds up to 85 knots. Normal takeoff speed would be 110 knots. More taxi and radio frequency tests were slated before it's first flight would be made. This took place on May 17, 1997. The NASA/Boeing X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft program successfully demonstrated the tailless fighter design using advanced technologies to improve the maneuverability and survivability of possible future fighter aircraft. The program met or exceeded all project goals. For 31 flights during 1997 at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, the project team examined the aircraft's agility at low speed / high angles of attack and at high speed / low angles of attack. The aircraft's speed envelope reached up to 206 knots (234 mph). This aircraft was very stable and maneuverable. It handled very well. The X-36 vehicle was designed to fly without the traditional tail surfaces common on most aircraft. Instead, a canard forward of the wing was used as well as split ailerons and an advanced thrust-vectoring nozzle for directional control. The X-36 was unstable in both pitch and yaw axes, so an advanced, single-channel digital fly-by-wire control system (developed with some commercially available components) was put in place to stabilize the aircraft. Using a video camera mounted in the nose of the aircraft and an onboard microphone, the X-36 was remotely controlled by a pilot in a ground station virtual cockpit. A standard fighter-type head-up display (HUD) and a moving-map representation of the vehicle's position within the range in which it flew provided excellent situational awareness for the pilot. This pilot-in-the-loop approach eliminated the need for expensive and complex autonomous flight control systems and the risks associated with their inability to deal with unknown or unforeseen phenomena in flight. Fully fueled the X-36 prototype weighed approximately 1,250 pounds. It was 19 feet long and three feet high with a wingspan of just over 10 feet. A Williams International F112 turbofan engine provided close to 700 pounds of thrust. A typical research flight lasted 35 to 45 minutes from takeoff to touchdown. A total of 31 successful research flights were flown from May 17, 1997, to November 12, 1997, amassing 15 hours and 38 minutes of flight time. The aircraft reached an altitude of 20,200 feet and a maximum angle of attack of 40 degrees. In a follow-on effort, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, contracted with Boeing to fly AFRL's Reconfigurable Control for Tailless Fighter Aircraft (RESTORE) software as a demonstration of the adaptability of the neural-net algorithm to compensate for in-flight damage or malfunction of effectors, such as flaps, ailerons and rudders. Two RESTORE research flights were flown in December 1998, proving the viability of the software approach. The X-36 aircraft flown at the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1997 was a 28-percent scale representation of a theoretical advanced fighter aircraft. The Boeing Phantom Works (formerly McDonnell Douglas) in St. Louis, Missouri, built two of the vehicles in a cooperative agreement with the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California.

X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft on lakebed during high-speed taxi tests

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

The NASA/McDonnell Douglas Corporation (MDC) X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft undergoes high-speed taxi tests on Rogers Dry Lake at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, on October 17, 1996. The aircraft was tested at speeds up to 85 knots. Normal takeoff speed would be 110 knots. The NASA/Boeing X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft program successfully demonstrated the tailless fighter design using advanced technologies to improve the maneuverability and survivability of possible future fighter aircraft. The program met or exceeded all project goals. For 31 flights during 1997 at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, the project team examined the aircraft's agility at low speed / high angles of attack and at high speed / low angles of attack. The aircraft's speed envelope reached up to 206 knots (234 mph). This aircraft was very stable and maneuverable. It handled very well. The X-36 vehicle was designed to fly without the traditional tail surfaces common on most aircraft. Instead, a canard forward of the wing was used as well as split ailerons and an advanced thrust-vectoring nozzle for directional control. The X-36 was unstable in both pitch and yaw axes, so an advanced, single-channel digital fly-by-wire control system (developed with some commercially available components) was put in place to stabilize the aircraft. Using a video camera mounted in the nose of the aircraft and an onboard microphone, the X-36 was remotely controlled by a pilot in a ground station virtual cockpit. A standard fighter-type head-up display (HUD) and a moving-map representation of the vehicle's position within the range in which it flew provided excellent situational awareness for the pilot. This pilot-in-the-loop approach eliminated the need for expensive and complex autonomous flight control systems and the risks associated with their inability to deal with unknown or unforeseen phenomena in flight. Fully fueled the X-36 prototype weighed approximately 1,250 pounds. It was 19 feet long and three feet high with a wingspan of just over 10 feet. A Williams International F112 turbofan engine provided close to 700 pounds of thrust. A typical research flight lasted 35 to 45 minutes from takeoff to touchdown. A total of 31 successful research flights were flown from May 17, 1997, to November 12, 1997, amassing 15 hours and 38 minutes of flight time. The aircraft reached an altitude of 20,200 feet and a maximum angle of attack of 40 degrees. In a follow-on effort, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, contracted with Boeing to fly AFRL's Reconfigurable Control for Tailless Fighter Aircraft (RESTORE) software as a demonstration of the adaptability of the neural-net algorithm to compensate for in-flight damage or malfunction of effectors, such as flaps, ailerons and rudders. Two RESTORE research flights were flown in December 1998, proving the viability of the software approach. The X-36 aircraft flown at the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1997 was a 28-percent scale representation of a theoretical advanced fighter aircraft. The Boeing Phantom Works (formerly McDonnell Douglas) in St. Louis, Missouri, built two of the vehicles in a cooperative agreement with the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California.

X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft arrival at Dryden

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

The NASA/McDonnell Douglas Corporation (MDC) X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft is steered to it's hangar at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, following arrival on July 2, 1996. The NASA/Boeing X-36 Tailless Fighter Agility Research Aircraft program successfully demonstrated the tailless fighter design using advanced technologies to improve the maneuverability and survivability of possible future fighter aircraft. The program met or exceeded all project goals. For 31 flights during 1997 at the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, the project team examined the aircraft's agility at low speed / high angles of attack and at high speed / low angles of attack. The aircraft's speed envelope reached up to 206 knots (234 mph). This aircraft was very stable and maneuverable. It handled very well. The X-36 vehicle was designed to fly without the traditional tail surfaces common on most aircraft. Instead, a canard forward of the wing was used as well as split ailerons and an advanced thrust-vectoring nozzle for directional control. The X-36 was unstable in both pitch and yaw axes, so an advanced, single-channel digital fly-by-wire control system (developed with some commercially available components) was put in place to stabilize the aircraft. Using a video camera mounted in the nose of the aircraft and an onboard microphone, the X-36 was remotely controlled by a pilot in a ground station virtual cockpit. A standard fighter-type head-up display (HUD) and a moving-map representation of the vehicle's position within the range in which it flew provided excellent situational awareness for the pilot. This pilot-in-the-loop approach eliminated the need for expensive and complex autonomous flight control systems and the risks associated with their inability to deal with unknown or unforeseen phenomena in flight. Fully fueled the X-36 prototype weighed approximately 1,250 pounds. It was 19 feet long and three feet high with a wingspan of just over 10 feet. A Williams International F112 turbofan engine provided close to 700 pounds of thrust. A typical research flight lasted 35 to 45 minutes from takeoff to touchdown. A total of 31 successful research flights were flown from May 17, 1997, to November 12, 1997, amassing 15 hours and 38 minutes of flight time. The aircraft reached an altitude of 20,200 feet and a maximum angle of attack of 40 degrees. In a follow-on effort, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, contracted with Boeing to fly AFRL's Reconfigurable Control for Tailless Fighter Aircraft (RESTORE) software as a demonstration of the adaptability of the neural-net algorithm to compensate for in-flight damage or malfunction of effectors, such as flaps, ailerons and rudders. Two RESTORE research flights were flown in December 1998, proving the viability of the software approach. The X-36 aircraft flown at the Dryden Flight Research Center in 1997 was a 28-percent scale representation of a theoretical advanced fighter aircraft. The Boeing Phantom Works (formerly McDonnell Douglas) in St. Louis, Missouri, built two of the vehicles in a cooperative agreement with the Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California.

Analysis of the Association Between Motor and Anthropometric Variables with Change of Direction Speed and Reactive Agility Performance

PubMed Central

Sattler, Tine; Sekulić, Damir; Spasić, Miodrag; Perić, Mia; Krolo, Ante; Uljević, Ognjen; Kondrič, Miran

2015-01-01

There is an evident lack of studies examining the factors associated with reactive agility performances. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between anthropometrics, body composition, jumping capacity, reactive strength, and balance with a stop-and-go change of direction speed (CODS) and reactive agility. The total sample comprised 39 male (body height: 182.95 ± 5.19 cm; body mass: 80.66 ± 7.69 kg) and 34 female (body height: 171.45 ± 6.81 cm; body mass: 61.95 ± 6.70 kg) college-level athletes (21.9 ± 1.9 years of age). The variables included body height, body mass, the percentage of body fat (BF%), balance as measured by an overall-stability index, the countermovement jump (CMJ), a reactive-strength index (RSI), stop-and-go reactive agility, and stop-and-go CODS. To define the associations between motor and anthropometric variables with CODS and reactive agility, the participants were clustered into three achievement groups based on their CODS and reactive agility performances. The ANOVA showed a significant difference between the CODS-based achievement groups for the CMJ (F test = 3.45 and 3.60 for males and females, respectively; p < 0.05), the RSI (F test = 6.94 and 5.29 for males and females, respectively; p < 0.05), and balance (F test = 3.47; p < 0.05 for males). In females, the reactive agility achievement groups differed significantly in the RSI (F test = 6.46; p < 0.05), the CMJ (F test = 4.35; p < 0.05) and BF% (F test = 4.07; p < 0.05), which is further confirmed by discriminant canonical analysis (Can R = 0.74; p < 0.05). The results confirm the need for independent evaluation and training for both CODS and reactive agility performance in sports. PMID:26557198

Reliability and Factorial Validity of Non-Specific and Tennis-Specific Pre-Planned Agility Tests; Preliminary Analysis

PubMed Central

Sekulic, Damir; Uljevic, Ognjen; Peric, Mia; Spasic, Miodrag; Kondric, Miran

2017-01-01

Abstract Agility is an important quality in tennis, yet there is an evident lack of studies focussing on the applicability of tennis-specific agility performances and comparing them to equivalent non-specific agility performances. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and factorial validity of three tests of pre-planned agility, performed in specific (with a tennis racquet) and non-specific (without a tennis racquet) conditions. The sample consisted of 33 tennis players (13 males and 20 females; age: 18.3 ± 1.1 years and 18.6 ± 1.3 years; body height: 185.4 ± 51 cm and 169.3 ± 4.2 cm, 74.0 ± 4.4 kg and 61.2 ± 3.1 kg, respectively). The variables comprised three agility tests: a 20-yard test, a T-test and the Illinois test, all performed in both specific and non-specific conditions. Between-subject and within-subject reliability were found to be high (Cronbach Alpha: 0.93 to 0.98; Coefficient of Variation: 3 to 8%), with better within-subject reliability and stability of the measurement for specific tests. Pearson’s product moment correlations between the non-specific and specific agility performances were high (r ≥0.84), while factor analysis extracted only one significant latent dimension on the basis of the Guttman-Kaiser criterion. The results of the 20-yard test were better when the test was conducted in the specific conditions (t-test = 2.66; p < 0.05). For the Illinois test, superior results were recorded in the non-specific conditions (t-test = 2.96; p < 0.05), which can be explained by the test duration (about 20 s) and non-specific locomotion forms such as rotational movements. Considering the findings of the present study, when testing tennis-specific pre-planned agility, we suggest using tests of short duration (less than 10 s) and sport-specific types of locomotion. PMID:28210343

Design of a Holonic Control Architecture for Distributed Sensor Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-01

Tracking tasks require only intermit - tent access to the sensors to maintain a given track quality. The higher the specified quality, the more often...resolution of the sensor (i.e., sensor mode), which can be adjusted to compensate for fast moving targets tracked over long ranges, or slower moving...but provides higher data update rates that are beneficial when tracking fast agile targets (i.e., a fighter). Table A.2 illustrates the dependence of

Low Power Computing in Distributed Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-04-01

performance applications. It has been adopted in embedded systems such as the Stargate from Crossbow [15] and the PASTA 4 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 (A) flo at...current consumption of the Stargate board is measured by an Agilent digital multimeter 34401A. The digital multimeter is connected with the PC for data...floating point operation vs. integer operation Power supply Digital multimeter Stargate board with Xscale processor 5 2.2 Library math function vs

A Future With The United States Air Force Advanced Maintenance And Munitions Operations School: Securing Strategic Agility Through 2036

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

SCIENCES Advisor: Dr. Paul J. Springer Maxwell Air Force Alabama August 2015 / June 2016 DISTRIBUTION A. Approved for public release...experienced rapid changes in the way the Service performs its roles to best complement our nation’s warfighting capability. Fueled by technology, innovation ...requires foresight and a level of organization and training that is ready to operate in environments which are heavily contested, degraded, and

The Southern Argentina Agile Meteor Radar Orbital System (SAAMER-OS): An Initial Sporadic Meteoroid Orbital Survey in the Southern Sky

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Janches, D.; Close, S.; Hormaechea, J. L.; Swarnalingam, N.; Murphy, A.; O'Connor, D.; Vandepeer, B.; Fuller, B.; Fritts, D. C.; Brunini, C.

2015-01-01

We present an initial survey in the southern sky of the sporadic meteoroid orbital environment obtained with the Southern Argentina Agile MEteor Radar (SAAMER) Orbital System (OS), in which over three-quarters of a million orbits of dust particles were determined from 2012 January through 2015 April. SAAMER-OS is located at the southernmost tip of Argentina and is currently the only operational radar with orbit determination capability providing continuous observations of the southern hemisphere. Distributions of the observed meteoroid speed, radiant, and heliocentric orbital parameters are presented, as well as those corrected by the observational biases associated with the SAAMER-OS operating parameters. The results are compared with those reported by three previous surveys performed with the Harvard Radio Meteor Project, the Advanced Meteor Orbit Radar, and the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar, and they are in agreement with these previous studies. Weighted distributions for meteoroids above the thresholds for meteor trail electron line density, meteoroid mass, and meteoroid kinetic energy are also considered. Finally, the minimum line density and kinetic energy weighting factors are found to be very suitable for meteoroid applications. The outcomes of this work show that, given SAAMERs location, the system is ideal for providing crucial data to continuously study the South Toroidal and South Apex sporadic meteoroid apparent sources.

THE SOUTHERN ARGENTINA AGILE METEOR RADAR ORBITAL SYSTEM (SAAMER-OS): AN INITIAL SPORADIC METEOROID ORBITAL SURVEY IN THE SOUTHERN SKY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Janches, D.; Swarnalingam, N.; Close, S.

2015-08-10

We present an initial survey in the southern sky of the sporadic meteoroid orbital environment obtained with the Southern Argentina Agile MEteor Radar (SAAMER) Orbital System (OS), in which over three-quarters of a million orbits of dust particles were determined from 2012 January through 2015 April. SAAMER-OS is located at the southernmost tip of Argentina and is currently the only operational radar with orbit determination capability providing continuous observations of the southern hemisphere. Distributions of the observed meteoroid speed, radiant, and heliocentric orbital parameters are presented, as well as those corrected by the observational biases associated with the SAAMER-OS operatingmore » parameters. The results are compared with those reported by three previous surveys performed with the Harvard Radio Meteor Project, the Advanced Meteor Orbit Radar, and the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar, and they are in agreement with these previous studies. Weighted distributions for meteoroids above the thresholds for meteor trail electron line density, meteoroid mass, and meteoroid kinetic energy are also considered. Finally, the minimum line density and kinetic energy weighting factors are found to be very suitable for meteroid applications. The outcomes of this work show that, given SAAMER’s location, the system is ideal for providing crucial data to continuously study the South Toroidal and South Apex sporadic meteoroid apparent sources.« less

Metro-access integrated network based on optical OFDMA with dynamic sub-carrier allocation and power distribution.

PubMed

Zhang, Chongfu; Zhang, Qiongli; Chen, Chen; Jiang, Ning; Liu, Deming; Qiu, Kun; Liu, Shuang; Wu, Baojian

2013-01-28

We propose and demonstrate a novel optical orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA)-based metro-access integrated network with dynamic resource allocation. It consists of a single fiber OFDMA ring and many single fiber OFDMA trees, which transparently integrates metropolitan area networks with optical access networks. The single fiber OFDMA ring connects the core network and the central nodes (CNs), the CNs are on demand reconfigurable and use multiple orthogonal sub-carriers to realize parallel data transmission and dynamic resource allocation, meanwhile, they can also implement flexible power distribution. The remote nodes (RNs) distributed in the user side are connected by the single fiber OFDMA trees with the corresponding CN. The obtained results indicate that our proposed metro-access integrated network is feasible and the power distribution is agile.

Assessment of a prototype for the Systemization of Nursing Care on a mobile device.

PubMed

Rezende, Laura Cristhiane Mendonça; Santos, Sérgio Ribeiro Dos; Medeiros, Ana Lúcia

2016-01-01

assess a prototype for use on mobile devices that permits registering data for the Systemization of Nursing Care at a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. an exploratory and descriptive study was undertaken, characterized as an applied methodological research, developed at a teaching hospital. the mobile technology the nurses at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit use was positive, although some reported they faced difficulties to manage it, while others with experience in using mobile devices did not face problems to use it. The application has the functions needed for the Systematization of Nursing Care at the unit, but changes were suggested in the interface of the screens, some data collection terms and parameters the application offers. The main contributions of the software were: agility in the development and documentation of the systemization, freedom to move, standardization of infant assessment, optimization of time to develop bureaucratic activities, possibilities to recover information and reduction of physical space the registers occupy. prototype software for the Systemization of Nursing Care with mobile technology permits flexibility for the nurses to register their activities, as the data can be collected at the bedside.

Colaborated Architechture Framework for Composition UML 2.0 in Zachman Framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hermawan; Hastarista, Fika

2016-01-01

Zachman Framework (ZF) is the framework of enterprise architechture that most widely adopted in the Enterprise Information System (EIS) development. In this study, has been developed Colaborated Architechture Framework (CAF) to collaborate ZF with Unified Modeling Language (UML) 2.0 modeling. The CAF provides the composition of ZF matrix that each cell is consist of the Model Driven architechture (MDA) from the various UML models and many Software Requirement Specification (SRS) documents. Implementation of this modeling is used to develops Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Because ERP have a coverage of applications in large numbers and complexly relations, it is necessary to use Agile Model Driven Design (AMDD) approach as an advanced method to transforms MDA into components of application modules with efficiently and accurately. Finally, through the using of the CAF, give good achievement in fullfilment the needs from all stakeholders that are involved in the overall process stage of Rational Unified Process (RUP), and also obtaining a high satisfaction to fullfiled the functionality features of the ERP software in PT. Iglas (Persero) Gresik.

Oscillator metrology with software defined radio.

PubMed

Sherman, Jeff A; Jördens, Robert

2016-05-01

Analog electrical elements such as mixers, filters, transfer oscillators, isolating buffers, dividers, and even transmission lines contribute technical noise and unwanted environmental coupling in time and frequency measurements. Software defined radio (SDR) techniques replace many of these analog components with digital signal processing (DSP) on rapidly sampled signals. We demonstrate that, generically, commercially available multi-channel SDRs are capable of time and frequency metrology, outperforming purpose-built devices by as much as an order-of-magnitude. For example, for signals at 10 MHz and 6 GHz, we observe SDR time deviation noise floors of about 20 fs and 1 fs, respectively, in under 10 ms of averaging. Examining the other complex signal component, we find a relative amplitude measurement instability of 3 × 10(-7) at 5 MHz. We discuss the scalability of a SDR-based system for simultaneous measurement of many clocks. SDR's frequency agility allows for comparison of oscillators at widely different frequencies. We demonstrate a novel and extreme example with optical clock frequencies differing by many terahertz: using a femtosecond-laser frequency comb and SDR, we show femtosecond-level time comparisons of ultra-stable lasers with zero measurement dead-time.

The social disutility of software ownership.

PubMed

Douglas, David M

2011-09-01

Software ownership allows the owner to restrict the distribution of software and to prevent others from reading the software's source code and building upon it. However, free software is released to users under software licenses that give them the right to read the source code, modify it, reuse it, and distribute the software to others. Proponents of free software such as Richard M. Stallman and Eben Moglen argue that the social disutility of software ownership is a sufficient justification for prohibiting it. This social disutility includes the social instability of disregarding laws and agreements covering software use and distribution, inequality of software access, and the inability to help others by sharing software with them. Here I consider these and other social disutility claims against withholding specific software rights from users, in particular, the rights to read the source code, duplicate, distribute, modify, imitate, and reuse portions of the software within new programs. I find that generally while withholding these rights from software users does cause some degree of social disutility, only the rights to duplicate, modify and imitate cannot legitimately be denied to users on this basis. The social disutility of withholding the rights to distribute the software, read its source code and reuse portions of it in new programs is insufficient to prohibit software owners from denying them to users. A compromise between the software owner and user can minimise the social disutility of withholding these particular rights from users. However, the social disutility caused by software patents is sufficient for rejecting such patents as they restrict the methods of reducing social disutility possible with other forms of software ownership.

Research Institute for Autonomous Precision Guided Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-08

research on agile autonomous munitions, in direct support of the Air Force Research Laboratory Munitions Directorate (AFRL/MN). The grant was awarded with a...Flight had (5) research task areas: 1. Aeroforms and Actuation for Small and Micro Agile Air Vehicles 2. Sensing for Autonomous Control and...critical barriers in AAM, but are not covered in the scope of the AVCAAF (Vision-Based Control of Agile, Autonomous Micro Air Vehicles and Small UAVs

Smart Mirrors for Photorefractive Control of Light with Tim Bunning, RX - Agile Filters Application

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-11-08

AFRL-AFOSR-UK-TR-2017-0008 Smart Mirrors for photorefractive control of light with Tim Bunning, RX-- Agile filters application Luciano De Sio...photorefractive control of light with Tim Bunning, RX-- Agile filters application 5a.  CONTRACT NUMBER 5b.  GRANT NUMBER FA9550-14-1-0050 5c.  PROGRAM...photorefractive, switchable optical filters , liquide crystalline composite materials, Switchable reflective holographic gratings, polymer-dispersed liquid

Understanding Organizational Agility: A Work-Design Perspective

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-06-01

NG SDG Proactive Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes N/S N/S N/S Reactive Simultaneity of work design at three levels Yes Supply Chain Network Agility High Table...firm can take effective action to benefit itself and its customers. In analyzing representative supply - chain definitions of agility, the main theme...and Heppard 2000). Third, as effective supply chain management has come to be regarded as major source of competitive advantage for many firms

Inserting Agility in System Development

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-07-01

Agile IT Acquisition, IT Box, Scrum Inserting Agility in System Development Matthew R. Kennedy and Lt Col Dan Ward, USAF With the fast-paced nature...1,700 individuals and 71 countries, found Scrum and eXtreme Programming to be the most widely followed method- ologies (VersionOne, 2007). Other...University http://www.dau.mil 259 Defense ARJ, July 2012, Vol. 19 No. 3 : 249–264 Scrum Scrum is a framework used for project management, which is

AGILE detection of a rebrightening of the gamma-ray source AGL J2251-1239

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piano, G.; Pittori, C.; Tavani, M.; Lucarelli, F.; Verrecchia, F.; Giommi, P.; Cardillo, M.; Ursi, A.; Minervini, G.; Bulgarelli, A.; Parmiggiani, N.; Vercellone, S.; Fioretti, V.; Pilia, M.; Donnarumma, I.; Gianotti, F.; Trifoglio, M.; Giuliani, A.; Mereghetti, S.; Caraveo, P.; Perotti, F.; Chen, A.; Argan, A.; Costa, E.; Del Monte, E.; Evangelista, Y.; Feroci, M.; Lazzarotto, F.; Lapshov, I.; Pacciani, L.; Soffitta, P.; Sabatini, S.; Vittorini, V.; Pucella, G.; Rapisarda, M.; Di Cocco, G.; Fuschino, F.; Galli, M.; Labanti, C.; Marisaldi, M.; Pellizzoni, A.; Trois, A.; Barbiellini, G.; Vallazza, E.; Longo, F.; Morselli, A.; Picozza, P.; Prest, M.; Lipari, P.; Zanello, D.; Cattaneo, P. W.; Rappoldi, A.; Ferrari, A.; Colafrancesco, S.; Paoletti, F.; Antonelli, A.; Salotti, L.; Valentini, G.; D'Amico, F.

2018-01-01

AGILE is detecting again intense gamma-ray emission above 100 MeV from a source at Galactic coordinates (l, b) = (54.6, -58.4) +/- 0.9 deg (95% stat. c.l.) +/- 0.1 deg (syst.) (R.A., Dec. (J2000): 342.26, -12.74 deg), compatible with AGL J2251-1239 reported in a flaring state by AGILE on December 8, 2017 (ATel #11043, F. Lucarelli et al.).

Increasing agility in unmanned ground vehicles using variable internal mass and inertial properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nie, Chenghui; Cusi Van Dooren, Simo; Shah, Jainam; Spenko, Matthew

2009-05-01

Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV) that possess agility, or the ability to quickly change directions without a significant loss in speed, would have several advantages in field operations over conventional UGVs. The agile UGVs would have greater maneuverability in cluttered environments and improved obstacle avoidance capabilities. The UGVs would also be able to better recover from unwanted dynamic behaviors. This paper presents a novel method of increasing UGV agility by actively altering the location of the vehicle's center of mass during locomotion. This allows the vehicle to execute extreme dynamic maneuvers by controlling the normal force acting on the wheels. A theoretical basis for this phenomenon is presented and experimental results are shown that validate the approach.

47 CFR 80.213 - Modulation requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... the 2900-3100 MHz band. Racons using frequency agile transmitting techniques must include circuitry... using frequency agile techniques must include circuitry designed to reduce interference caused by...

47 CFR 80.213 - Modulation requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... the 2900-3100 MHz band. Racons using frequency agile transmitting techniques must include circuitry... using frequency agile techniques must include circuitry designed to reduce interference caused by...

Designing Distributed Learning Environments with Intelligent Software Agents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Fuhua, Ed.

2005-01-01

"Designing Distributed Learning Environments with Intelligent Software Agents" reports on the most recent advances in agent technologies for distributed learning. Chapters are devoted to the various aspects of intelligent software agents in distributed learning, including the methodological and technical issues on where and how intelligent agents…

Surface friction alters the agility of a small Australian marsupial.

PubMed

Wheatley, Rebecca; Clemente, Christofer J; Niehaus, Amanda C; Fisher, Diana O; Wilson, Robbie S

2018-04-23

Movement speed can underpin an animal's probability of success in ecological tasks. Prey often use agility to outmanoeuvre predators; however, faster speeds increase inertia and reduce agility. Agility is also constrained by grip, as the foot must have sufficient friction with the ground to apply the forces required for turning. Consequently, ground surface should affect optimum turning speed. We tested the speed-agility trade-off in buff-footed antechinus ( Antechinus mysticus ) on two different surfaces. Antechinus used slower turning speeds over smaller turning radii on both surfaces, as predicted by the speed-agility trade-off. Slipping was 64% more likely on the low-friction surface, and had a higher probability of occurring the faster the antechinus were running before the turn. However, antechinus compensated for differences in surface friction by using slower pre-turn speeds as their amount of experience on the low-friction surface increased, which consequently reduced their probability of slipping. Conversely, on the high-friction surface, antechinus used faster pre-turn speeds in later trials, which had no effect on their probability of slipping. Overall, antechinus used larger turning radii (0.733±0.062 versus 0.576±0.051 m) and slower pre-turn (1.595±0.058 versus 2.174±0.050 m s -1 ) and turning speeds (1.649±0.061 versus 2.01±0.054 m s -1 ) on the low-friction surface. Our results demonstrate the interactive effect of surface friction and the speed-agility trade-off on speed choice. To predict wild animals' movement speeds, future studies should examine the interactions between biomechanical trade-offs and terrain, and quantify the costs of motor mistakes in different ecological activities. © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Mechanical Analysis of the Acute Effects of a Heavy Resistance Exercise Warm-Up on Agility Performance in Court-Sport Athletes

PubMed Central

Sole, Christopher J.; Moir, Gavin L.; Davis, Shala E.; Witmer, Chad A.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the acute effects of heavy resistance exercise on agility performance in court-sport athletes. Five men (age: 20.6 ± 1.9 years; body mass: 79.36 ± 11.74 kg; body height: 1.93 ± 0.09 m) and five women (age 21.2 ± 2.7 years; body mass: 65.8 ± 10.18 kg; body height 1.77 ± 0.08 m) volunteered to participate in the present study. All subjects were NCAA Division II athletes who currently participated in tennis or basketball and all had previous resistance training experience of at least one year. In a counterbalanced design, agility performance during a 10 m shuttle test was assessed following either a dynamic warm-up (DW) or heavy resistance warm-up (HRW) protocol. The HRW protocol consisted of three sets of squats at 50, 60, and 90% of 1-RM. Agility performance was captured using an eight camera motion analysis system and the mechanical variables of stride length, stride frequency, stance time, flight time, average ground reaction force, as well as agility time were recorded. No significant differences were reported for the HRW and DW protocols for any of the mechanical variables (p>0.05), although there was a trend towards the HRW protocol producing faster agility times compared to the control protocol (p = 0.074). Based on the trend towards a significant effect, as well as individual results it is possible that HRW protocols could be used as an acute method to improve agility performance in some court-sport athletes. PMID:24511350

The AGILE Mission and Gamma-Ray Bursts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Longo, Francesco; INFN, section of Trieste; Tavani, M.

2007-05-01

The AGILE Mission will explore the gamma-ray Universe with a very innovative instrument combining for the first time a gamma-ray imager and a hard X-ray imager. AGILE will be operational at the beginning of 2007 and it will provide crucial data for the study of Active Galactic Nuclei, Gamma-Ray Bursts, unidentified gamma-ray sources, Galactic compact objects, supernova remnants, TeV sources, and fundamental physics by microsecond timing. The AGILE instrument is designed to simultaneously detect and image photons in the 30 MeV - 50 GeV and 15 - 45 keV energy bands with excellent imaging and timing capabilities, and a largemore » field of view covering {approx} 1/5 of the entire sky at energies above 30 MeV. A CsI calorimeter is capable of GRB triggering in the energy band 0.3-50 MeV. The broadband detection of GRBs and the study of implications for particle acceleration and high energy emission are primary goals of the mission. AGILE can image GRBs with 2-3 arcminute error boxes in the hard X-ray range, and provide broadband photon-by photon detection in the 15-45 keV, 03-50 MeV, and 30 MeV-30 GeV energy ranges. Microsecond on-board photon tagging and a {approx} 100 microsecond gamma-ray detection deadtime will be crucial for fast GRB timing. On-board calculated GRB coordinates and energy fluxes will be quickly transmitted to the ground by an ORBCOMM transceiver. AGILE is now (January 2007) undergoing final satellite integration and testing. The PLS V launch is planned in spring 2007. AGILE is then foreseen to be fully operational during the summer of 2007.« less

SU-E-T-149: Electron Beam Profile Differences Between Elekta MLCi2 and Elekta Agility Treatment Heads

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, C; Hatcher, C

2014-06-01

Purpose: To report and investigate observed differences in electron beam profiles at various energies/applicators between Elekta MLCi2 and Agility treatment head on Elekta Infinity LINAC Methods: When we upgraded from MLCi2 to Agility on one of our Elekta Infinity LINAC's, electron beam PDDs and profiles were acquired for comparison purpose. All clinical electron energies (6/9/12/15/12/18 MeV) and electron applicators (6/10/14/20/25 square) were included in measurement. PDDs were acquired at 100 SSD in water (PTW MP3 water tank) with a plane-parallel ion chamber (PTW Roos). X and Y Profiles were acquired using IC Profiler (Sun Nuclear Corp.) at 1cm and maximummore » PDD depths (water equivalent). Results: All PDD curves match very well between MLCi2 and Agility treatment head. However, some significant differences on electron profiles were found. On Agility, even after increasing the default auto-tracking offset values for backup diaphragms in Y and MLC in X by 2.8 cm (the maximum allowed change is 3.0 cm), electron profiles still have rounder shoulders comparing to corresponding MLCi2 profiles. This difference is significantly more pronounced at larger applicators (20 and 25 square), for all electron energies. Conclusion: The significant design change between MLCi2 and Agility beam limiting device seems to affect exit electron beam profiles. In IEC1217 X direction, the main change on Agility is the removal of the original MLCi2 X backup diaphragms and replacing it with MLC leaves; In Y direction, the main change is the radius and materials on Y backup diaphragms.« less

Smart Healthcare Agility Management - Tojisha Doctrine by Self-synchronization

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

impossibility at our age. One is the technology of space elevator and another is the space-walk tourism which the project has existed since the mid-20 th...In regards to the technologies of space-walk tourism , increase of patents related to the technologies of Pulse Detention Engine worldwide is some...medicine, and there is some reference cases such as "open agility" and "closed agility" is immersed in training specifically in sports science which

Potential Use of Agile Methods in Selected DoD Acquisitions: Requirements Development and Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-01

understanding of common Agile meth- ods, particularly Scrum and eXtreme Programming. For those unfamiliar with the basics of Agile development, the... Scrum (namely, the concepts of product owner, product backlog and self- organized teams) and eXtreme Programming (epics and user stories). These concepts...also been adopted as a requirements specification mechanism by many teams using Scrum , even if those teams don’t use other aspects of eXtreme

Development of an Agility Test for Badminton Players and Assessment of Its Validity and Test-Retest Reliability.

PubMed

Loureiro, Luiz de França Bahia; de Freitas, Paulo Barbosa

2016-04-01

Badminton requires open and fast actions toward the shuttlecock, but there is no specific agility test for badminton players with specific movements. To develop an agility test that simultaneously assesses perception and motor capacity and examine the test's concurrent and construct validity and its test-retest reliability. The Badcamp agility test consists of running as fast as possible to 6 targets placed on the corners and middle points of a rectangular area (5.6 × 4.2 m) from the start position located in the center of it, following visual stimuli presented in a luminous panel. The authors recruited 43 badminton players (17-32 y old) to evaluate concurrent (with shuttle-run agility test--SRAT) and construct validity and test-retest reliability. Results revealed that Badcamp presents concurrent and construct validity, as its performance is strongly related to SRAT (ρ = 0.83, P < .001), with performance of experts being better than nonexpert players (P < .01). In addition, Badcamp is reliable, as no difference (P = .07) and a high intraclass correlation (ICC = .93) were found in the performance of the players on 2 different occasions. The findings indicate that Badcamp is an effective, valid, and reliable tool to measure agility, allowing coaches and athletic trainers to evaluate players' athletic condition and training effectiveness and possibly detect talented individuals in this sport.

Search of GRB with AGILE Minicalorimeter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuschino, F.; Labanti, C.; Galli, M.; Marisaldi, M.; Bulgarelli, A.; Gianotti, F.; Trifoglio, M.; Argan, A.; Del Monte, E.; Donnarumma, I.; Feroci, M.; Lazzarotto, F.; Pacciani, L.; Tavani, M.; Trois, A.

2008-04-01

AGILE, the small scientific mission of the Italian Space Agency devoted to Hard-X and Gamma-ray astrophysics, was successfully launched on April 23, 2007. The AGILE payload is composed of a tungsten-silicon tracker (ST), operating in the gamma-ray energy range 30 MeV 50 GeV; Super-AGILE, an X-ray imager operating in the energy range 15 45 keV; the Minicalorimeter (MCAL) and an Anticoincidence shield. MCAL is a detector of about 1400 cm2 sensitive in the range 0.3 200 MeV, that can be used both as a slave of the ST to contribute to the AGILE Gamma Ray imaging Detector (GRID operative mode) and autonomously for detection of transient events (BURST operative mode). MCAL is made of 30 CsI(Tl) bar-shaped scintillation detectors with photodiode readout at both ends, arranged in two orthogonal layers. Energy and position of interaction can be derived from a proper composition of the signals readout at the bar's ends, absolute time tagging can be achieved with a μs resolution. The Burst logic deals with various rate-meters on different time scales, energy bands, and MCAL spatial zones. Different algorithms can be chosen for Burst triggering considering also the contribution of other detectors like Super AGILE. In this paper the various trigger logic will be reviewed as well as their on-ground test performed with a dedicated experimental setup.

University Approaches to Software Copyright and Licensure Policies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hawkins, Brian L.

Issues of copyright policy and software licensure at Drexel University that were developed during the introduction of a new microcomputing program are discussed. Channels for software distribution include: individual purchase of externally-produced software, distribution of internally-developed software, institutional licensure, and "read…

Effects of short-term two weeks low intensity plyometrics combined with dynamic stretching training in improving vertical jump height and agility on trained basketball players.

PubMed

Ramachandran, Selvam; Pradhan, Binita

2014-01-01

Sport specific training in basketball players should focus on vertical jump height and agility in consistent with demands of the sport. Since plyometrics training improves vertical jump height and agility, it can be useful training strategy to improve the performance of basketball players. A convenience sample of thirty professional basketball players were recruited. Following pre-intervention assessment, interventions using plyometrics training and dynamic stretching protocol was administered on the basketball players. The outcome measures were assessed before the intervention and at the end of first and second week. Statistically significant improvements in vertical jump height (31.68 ± 11.64 to 37.57 ± 16.74; P < 0.012) and agility (16.75 ± 2.49 to 16.51 ± 2.80; P <0.00) were observed between pretest--posttest measures and no changes in muscle girth and isometric muscle strength. The study concludes that short term two weeks plyometrics training combined with dynamic stretching as a useful sport specific training strategy to improve vertical jump height and agility on trained basketball players.

Effect of core strength training on dynamic balance and agility in adolescent badminton players.

PubMed

Ozmen, Tarik; Aydogmus, Mert

2016-07-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate effect of core strength training (CST) on core endurance, dynamic balance and agility in adolescent badminton players. Twenty adolescent (age = 10.8 ± 0.3 years; height = 140.6 ± 4.4 cm, weight = 33.9 ± 5.8 kg) badminton players were randomly divided into two groups as training group (TG) and control (CG) group. All subjects were evaluated with Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT), Illinois Agility Test, and the core endurance tests. The TG completed CST twice a week, for 6 weeks. There were significant increases in (p < 0.05) directions of SEBT and core endurance tests (p < 0.05). However, no significant change was observed for agility (p > 0.05). The CST resulted in significant gains in directions of the SEBT and core endurances in adolescent badminton players, but not in agility. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gamma-ray blazars: the combined AGILE and MAGIC views

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Persic, M.; De Angelis, A.; Longo, F.; Tavani, M.

The large FOV of the AGILE Gamma-Ray Imaging Detector (GRID), 2.5 sr, will allow the whole sky to be surveyed once every 10 days in the 30 MeV - 50 GeV energy band down to 0.05 Crab Units. This fact gives the opportunity of performing the first flux-limited, high-energy g-ray all-sky survey. The high Galactic latitude point-source population is expected to be largely dominated by blazars. Several tens of blazars are expected to be detected by AGILE (e.g., Costamante & Ghisellini 2002), about half of which accessible to the ground-based MAGIC Cherenkov telescope. The latter can then carry out pointed observations of this subset of AGILE sources in the 50GeV - 10TeV band. Given the comparable sensitivities of AGILE/GRID and MAGIC in adjacent energy bands where the emitted radiation is produced by the same (e.g., SSC) mechanism, we expect that most of these sources can be detected by MAGIC. We expect this broadband g-ray strategy to enable discovery by MAGIC of 10-15 previously unknown TeV blazars.

Effects of Plymetrics Training and Weight Training on selected Motor Ability Components among University Male Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaikh, Alauddin; Mallick, Nazrul Islam

2012-11-01

Introduction: The aim of this study was to find out the effects of plyometrics training and weight training among university male students.Procedure: 60 male students from the different colleges of the Burdwan University were randomly selected as subjects and their age were 19-25 years served as Weight training Group (WTG), second group served as Plyometric Training Group (PTG) and the third group served as Control Group (CT). Eight weeks weight training and six weeks plyometric training were given for experiment accordingly. The control group was not given any training except of their routine. The selected subjects were measured of their motor ability components, speed, endurance, explosive power and agility. ANCOVA was calculation for statistical treatment.Finding: Plyometric training and weight training groups significantly increase speed, endurance, explosive power and agility.Conclusion: The plyometric training has significantly improved speed, explosive power, muscular endurance and agility. The weight training programme has significantly improved agility, muscular endurance, and explosive power. The plometric training is superior to weight training in improving explosive power, agility and muscular endurance.

Analysis of Agility Performance of Supply Chain: A Case Study on Indian Automotive Manufacturer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Routroy, S.; Sharma, S.; Bhardwaj, A.

2018-04-01

Manufacturing companies should understand the changing customer needs and expectations, access and defend the competitive pressure, anticipate and manage the uncertain demand and supply chain risk, and implement the appropriate technology to survive and excel in today’s marketplace. Therefore, they are moving away from mass production (i.e. lean supply chain) to one based on fast-responsiveness and flexibility, capitalizing on the rapid advancement in internet technologies and factory-on-demand mode of production (i.e. agile supply chain). It is observed that manufacturing companies in India in general and automotive supply chain in specific are compelled to cultivate supply chain agility for enhancing its performance level on continuous basis and comparing its supply chain agility performance with competitors to survive and sustain in the competitive business environment. Therefore, a methodology is proposed to evaluate the supply chain agility of a manufacturing supply chain and compare its performance level with competitors using Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process and Taguchi Loss Function. A case study is developed and the proposed methodology is applied to Indian automotive supply chain for explaining the salient features of it.

Delaying Mobility Disability in People With Parkinson Disease Using a Sensorimotor Agility Exercise Program

PubMed Central

King, Laurie A; Horak, Fay B

2009-01-01

This article introduces a new framework for therapists to develop an exercise program to delay mobility disability in people with Parkinson disease (PD). Mobility, or the ability to efficiently navigate and function in a variety of environments, requires balance, agility, and flexibility, all of which are affected by PD. This article summarizes recent research identifying how constraints on mobility specific to PD, such as rigidity, bradykinesia, freezing, poor sensory integration, inflexible program selection, and impaired cognitive processing, limit mobility in people with PD. Based on these constraints, a conceptual framework for exercises to maintain and improve mobility is presented. An example of a constraint-focused agility exercise program, incorporating movement principles from tai chi, kayaking, boxing, lunges, agility training, and Pilates exercises, is presented. This new constraint-focused agility exercise program is based on a strong scientific framework and includes progressive levels of sensorimotor, resistance, and coordination challenges that can be customized for each patient while maintaining fidelity. Principles for improving mobility presented here can be incorporated into an ongoing or long-term exercise program for people with PD. PMID:19228832

Delaying mobility disability in people with Parkinson disease using a sensorimotor agility exercise program.

PubMed

King, Laurie A; Horak, Fay B

2009-04-01

This article introduces a new framework for therapists to develop an exercise program to delay mobility disability in people with Parkinson disease (PD). Mobility, or the ability to efficiently navigate and function in a variety of environments, requires balance, agility, and flexibility, all of which are affected by PD. This article summarizes recent research identifying how constraints on mobility specific to PD, such as rigidity, bradykinesia, freezing, poor sensory integration, inflexible program selection, and impaired cognitive processing, limit mobility in people with PD. Based on these constraints, a conceptual framework for exercises to maintain and improve mobility is presented. An example of a constraint-focused agility exercise program, incorporating movement principles from tai chi, kayaking, boxing, lunges, agility training, and Pilates exercises, is presented. This new constraint-focused agility exercise program is based on a strong scientific framework and includes progressive levels of sensorimotor, resistance, and coordination challenges that can be customized for each patient while maintaining fidelity. Principles for improving mobility presented here can be incorporated into an ongoing or long-term exercise program for people with PD.

Application of side-oblique image-motion blur correction to Kuaizhou-1 agile optical images.

PubMed

Sun, Tao; Long, Hui; Liu, Bao-Cheng; Li, Ying

2016-03-21

Given the recent development of agile optical satellites for rapid-response land observation, side-oblique image-motion (SOIM) detection and blur correction have become increasingly essential for improving the radiometric quality of side-oblique images. The Chinese small-scale agile mapping satellite Kuaizhou-1 (KZ-1) was developed by the Harbin Institute of Technology and launched for multiple emergency applications. Like other agile satellites, KZ-1 suffers from SOIM blur, particularly in captured images with large side-oblique angles. SOIM detection and blur correction are critical for improving the image radiometric accuracy. This study proposes a SOIM restoration method based on segmental point spread function detection. The segment region width is determined by satellite parameters such as speed, height, integration time, and side-oblique angle. The corresponding algorithms and a matrix form are proposed for SOIM blur correction. Radiometric objective evaluation indices are used to assess the restoration quality. Beijing regional images from KZ-1 are used as experimental data. The radiometric quality is found to increase greatly after SOIM correction. Thus, the proposed method effectively corrects image motion for KZ-1 agile optical satellites.

Management and assimilation of diverse, distributed watershed datasets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varadharajan, C.; Faybishenko, B.; Versteeg, R.; Agarwal, D.; Hubbard, S. S.; Hendrix, V.

2016-12-01

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Watershed Function Scientific Focus Area (SFA) seeks to determine how perturbations to mountainous watersheds (e.g., floods, drought, early snowmelt) impact the downstream delivery of water, nutrients, carbon, and metals over seasonal to decadal timescales. We are building a software platform that enables integration of diverse and disparate field, laboratory, and simulation datasets, of various types including hydrological, geological, meteorological, geophysical, geochemical, ecological and genomic datasets across a range of spatial and temporal scales within the Rifle floodplain and the East River watershed, Colorado. We are using agile data management and assimilation approaches, to enable web-based integration of heterogeneous, multi-scale dataSensor-based observations of water-level, vadose zone and groundwater temperature, water quality, meteorology as well as biogeochemical analyses of soil and groundwater samples have been curated and archived in federated databases. Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) are performed on priority datasets needed for on-going scientific analyses, and hydrological and geochemical modeling. Automated QA/QC methods are used to identify and flag issues in the datasets. Data integration is achieved via a brokering service that dynamically integrates data from distributed databases via web services, based on user queries. The integrated results are presented to users in a portal that enables intuitive search, interactive visualization and download of integrated datasets. The concepts, approaches and codes being used are shared across various data science components of various large DOE-funded projects such as the Watershed Function SFA, Next Generation Ecosystem Experiment (NGEE) Tropics, Ameriflux/FLUXNET, and Advanced Simulation Capability for Environmental Management (ASCEM), and together contribute towards DOE's cyberinfrastructure for data management and model-data integration.

Galactic Diffuse Gamma Ray Emission Is Greater than 10 Gev

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, Stanley D.; White, Nicholas E. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

AGILE and Gamma-ray Large Area Telescope (GLAST) are the next high-energy gamma-ray telescopes to be flown in space. These instruments will have angular resolution about 5 times better than Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) above 10 GeV and much larger field of view. The on-axis effective area of AGILE will be about half that of EGRET, whereas GLAST will have about 6 times greater effective area than EGRET. The capabilities of ground based very high-energy telescopes are also improving, e.g. Whipple, and new telescopes, e.g. Solar Tower Atmospheric Cerenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE), Cerenkov Low Energy Sampling and Timing Experiment (CELESTE), and Mars Advanced Greenhouse Integrated Complex (MAGIC) are expected to have low-energy thresholds and sensitivities that will overlap the GLAST sensitivity above approximately 10 GeV. In anticipation of the results from these new telescopes, our current understanding of the galactic diffuse gamma-ray emission, including the matter and cosmic ray distributions is reviewed. The outstanding questions are discussed and the potential of future observations with these new instruments to resolve these questions is examined.

Named Data Networking in Climate Research and HEP Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shannigrahi, Susmit; Papadopoulos, Christos; Yeh, Edmund; Newman, Harvey; Jerzy Barczyk, Artur; Liu, Ran; Sim, Alex; Mughal, Azher; Monga, Inder; Vlimant, Jean-Roch; Wu, John

2015-12-01

The Computing Models of the LHC experiments continue to evolve from the simple hierarchical MONARC[2] model towards more agile models where data is exchanged among many Tier2 and Tier3 sites, relying on both large scale file transfers with strategic data placement, and an increased use of remote access to object collections with caching through CMS's AAA, ATLAS' FAX and ALICE's AliEn projects, for example. The challenges presented by expanding needs for CPU, storage and network capacity as well as rapid handling of large datasets of file and object collections have pointed the way towards future more agile pervasive models that make best use of highly distributed heterogeneous resources. In this paper, we explore the use of Named Data Networking (NDN), a new Internet architecture focusing on content rather than the location of the data collections. As NDN has shown considerable promise in another data intensive field, Climate Science, we discuss the similarities and differences between the Climate and HEP use cases, along with specific issues HEP faces and will face during LHC Run2 and beyond, which NDN could address.

A fuzzy MCDM framework based on fuzzy measure and fuzzy integral for agile supplier evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dursun, Mehtap

2017-06-01

Supply chains need to be agile in order to response quickly to the changes in today's competitive environment. The success of an agile supply chain depends on the firm's ability to select the most appropriate suppliers. This study proposes a multi-criteria decision making technique for conducting an analysis based on multi-level hierarchical structure and fuzzy logic for the evaluation of agile suppliers. The ideal and anti-ideal solutions are taken into consideration simultaneously in the developed approach. The proposed decision approach enables the decision-makers to use linguistic terms, and thus, reduce their cognitive burden in the evaluation process. Furthermore, a hierarchy of evaluation criteria and their related sub-criteria is employed in the presented approach in order to conduct a more effective analysis.

Agile Mcal, the Mini-Calorimeter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bastia, Paolo; Poulsen, Jens Michael; Monzani, Franco; Radaelli, Paolo; Marchesi, Paolo; Labanti, Claudio; Marisaldi, Martino; Fuschino, Fabio; Bulgarelli, Andrea

2006-04-01

AGILE is a scientific mission dedicated to gamma-ray astrophysics in space, and the mini-calorimeter MCAL is one of four detector systems on the satellite. The MCAL instrument is sensitive in the energy range: 300 keV - 100 MeV. It has two main functions: one autonomous mode for detection of impulsive cosmic events and the other as “a slave” supporting the energy measurements of the pair-conversion tracker. The AGILE Small Mission is funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), and the INAF-IASF section at Bologna has the scientific responsibility for MCAL. LABEN develops the MCAL instrument with its detectors and electronics. This paper gives an overview of the detectors on AGILE, and then it gives details on the design of MCAL, and finally we report on the tests at instrument level.

Air Force Journal of Logistics: Logistics Dimensions Improving Bare Base Agile Combat Support, The Path to Integration. Volume 28, Number 2

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-01-01

the system is balanced, there is the right flow of new pilots to match the availability of instructors for initial training missions, the right mix of...which attempted to redesign and streamline the DoD global distribution system , significantly improved delivery time to test locations.4 During its...somewhat confusing priority system that does not guarantee cargo delivery at a specific time and a pricing system that does not adequately differentiate

AGILE OBSERVATIONS OF THE 'SOFT' GAMMA-RAY PULSAR PSR B1509 - 58

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pilia, M.; Pellizzoni, A.; Esposito, P.

2010-11-01

We present the results of new AGILE observations of PSR B1509 - 58 performed over a period of {approx}2.5 years following the detection obtained with a subset of the present data. The modulation significance of the light curve above 30 MeV is at a 5{sigma} confidence level and the light curve is similar to those found earlier by COMPTEL up to 30 MeV: a broad asymmetric first peak reaching its maximum 0.39 {+-} 0.02 cycles after the radio peak plus a second peak at 0.94 {+-} 0.03. The gamma-ray spectral energy distribution of the pulsed flux detected by COMPTEL andmore » AGILE is well described by a power law (photon index {alpha} = 1.87 {+-} 0.09) with a remarkable cutoff at E{sub c} = 81 {+-} 20 MeV, representing the softest spectrum observed among gamma-ray pulsars so far. The pulsar luminosity at E > 1 MeV is L{sub {gamma}} = 4.2{sup +0.5}{sub -0.2} x 10{sup 35} erg s{sup -1}, assuming a distance of 5.2 kpc, which implies a spin-down conversion efficiency to gamma rays of {approx}0.03. The unusual soft break in the spectrum of PSR B1509 - 58 has been interpreted in the framework of polar cap models as a signature of the exotic photon-splitting process in the strong magnetic field of this pulsar. In this interpretation, our spectrum constrains the magnetic altitude of the emission point(s) at 3 km above the neutron star surface, implying that the attenuation may not be as strong as formerly suggested because pair production can substitute photon splitting into regions of the magnetosphere where the magnetic field becomes too low to sustain photon splitting. In the case of an outer-gap scenario or the two-pole caustic model, better constraints on the geometry of the emission would be needed from the radio band in order to establish whether the conditions required by the models to reproduce AGILE light curves and spectra match the polarization measurements.« less

2011 Agile (Scrum) Workshop Held in Baltimore, Maryland on November 14-15, 2011

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-11-15

have success- fully implemented Agile Development within DoD. SUSI MCKEE OC2IS Program Manager, U.S. Air Force Susana V. McKee has 25 years of DoD T...AGILE WILL WORK IN DOD: THREE EXAMPLES u Ms. Kelly Goshorn, Patriot Excalibur (PEX) Program Manager, U.S. Air Force u Ms. Susi McKee, Operational...OPS PEX Team: Internal •Devs/SMEs/Testers •Architecture Committee •Etc. none Future implementation, not Current release Big R/ Little r I n

Frequency Agile Microwave Photonic Notch Filter in a Photonic Chip

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-21

AFRL-AFOSR-JP-TR-2016-0087 Frequency Agile Microwave Photonic Notch Filter in a Photonic Chip Benjamin Eggleton UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Final Report 10...REPORT TYPE      Final 3.  DATES COVERED (From - To)      14 May 2014 to 13 May 2016 4.  TITLE AND SUBTITLE Frequency Agile Microwave Photonic Notch Filter ...primary objective is to explore a novel class microwave photonic (MWP) notch filter with a very narrow isolation bandwidth, an ultrahigh stopband

Agile Walker.

PubMed

Katz, Reuven

2015-01-01

The goal of the Agile Walker is to improve the outdoor mobility of healthy elderly people with some mobility limitations. It is a newly developed, all-terrain walker, equipped with an electric drive system and speed control that can assists elderly people to walk outdoors or to hike. The walker has a unique product design with an attractive look that will appeal to "active-agers" population. This paper describes product design requirements and the development process of the Agile Walker, its features and some preliminary testing results.

Toward a Leaner, More Agile Force: The Army in a Time of Fiscal Austerity

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-27

challenges. Toward a Leaner, More Agile Force: The Army in a Time of Fiscal Austerity Word Count: 1817 Toward a Leaner, More Agile Force: The...Army in a Time of Fiscal Austerity As the Department of Defense seeks to cut its budget, the overall force structure of the Army will continue to...degree of flexibility during previous instances of fiscal austerity , and that flexibility has not been lost. The Army is a learning organization as

A case study in open source innovation: developing the Tidepool Platform for interoperability in type 1 diabetes management.

PubMed

Neinstein, Aaron; Wong, Jenise; Look, Howard; Arbiter, Brandon; Quirk, Kent; McCanne, Steve; Sun, Yao; Blum, Michael; Adi, Saleh

2016-03-01

Develop a device-agnostic cloud platform to host diabetes device data and catalyze an ecosystem of software innovation for type 1 diabetes (T1D) management. An interdisciplinary team decided to establish a nonprofit company, Tidepool, and build open-source software. Through a user-centered design process, the authors created a software platform, the Tidepool Platform, to upload and host T1D device data in an integrated, device-agnostic fashion, as well as an application ("app"), Blip, to visualize the data. Tidepool's software utilizes the principles of modular components, modern web design including REST APIs and JavaScript, cloud computing, agile development methodology, and robust privacy and security. By consolidating the currently scattered and siloed T1D device data ecosystem into one open platform, Tidepool can improve access to the data and enable new possibilities and efficiencies in T1D clinical care and research. The Tidepool Platform decouples diabetes apps from diabetes devices, allowing software developers to build innovative apps without requiring them to design a unique back-end (e.g., database and security) or unique ways of ingesting device data. It allows people with T1D to choose to use any preferred app regardless of which device(s) they use. The authors believe that the Tidepool Platform can solve two current problems in the T1D device landscape: 1) limited access to T1D device data and 2) poor interoperability of data from different devices. If proven effective, Tidepool's open source, cloud model for health data interoperability is applicable to other healthcare use cases. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association.

A case study in open source innovation: developing the Tidepool Platform for interoperability in type 1 diabetes management

PubMed Central

Wong, Jenise; Look, Howard; Arbiter, Brandon; Quirk, Kent; McCanne, Steve; Sun, Yao; Blum, Michael; Adi, Saleh

2016-01-01

Objective Develop a device-agnostic cloud platform to host diabetes device data and catalyze an ecosystem of software innovation for type 1 diabetes (T1D) management. Materials and Methods An interdisciplinary team decided to establish a nonprofit company, Tidepool, and build open-source software. Results Through a user-centered design process, the authors created a software platform, the Tidepool Platform, to upload and host T1D device data in an integrated, device-agnostic fashion, as well as an application (“app”), Blip, to visualize the data. Tidepool’s software utilizes the principles of modular components, modern web design including REST APIs and JavaScript, cloud computing, agile development methodology, and robust privacy and security. Discussion By consolidating the currently scattered and siloed T1D device data ecosystem into one open platform, Tidepool can improve access to the data and enable new possibilities and efficiencies in T1D clinical care and research. The Tidepool Platform decouples diabetes apps from diabetes devices, allowing software developers to build innovative apps without requiring them to design a unique back-end (e.g., database and security) or unique ways of ingesting device data. It allows people with T1D to choose to use any preferred app regardless of which device(s) they use. Conclusion The authors believe that the Tidepool Platform can solve two current problems in the T1D device landscape: 1) limited access to T1D device data and 2) poor interoperability of data from different devices. If proven effective, Tidepool’s open source, cloud model for health data interoperability is applicable to other healthcare use cases. PMID:26338218

Center for Adaptive Optics | Software

Science.gov Websites

Center for Adaptive Optics A University of California Science and Technology Center home Adaptive Optics Software The Center for Adaptive Optics acts as a clearing house for distributing Software to Institutes it gives specialists in Adaptive Optics a place to distribute their software. All software is

Long-Wavelength Beam Steerer Based on a Micro-Electromechanical Mirror

PubMed Central

Kos, Anthony B; Gerecht, Eyal

2013-01-01

Commercially available mirrors for scanning long-wavelength beams are too large for high-speed imaging. There is a need for a smaller, more agile pointing apparatus to provide images in seconds, not minutes or hours. A fast long-wavelength beam steerer uses a commercial micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) mirror controlled by a high-performance digital signal processor (DSP). The DSP allows high-speed raster scanning of the incident radiation, which is focused to a small waist onto the 9mm2, gold-coated, MEMS mirror surface, while simultaneously acquiring an undistorted, high spatial-resolution image of an object. The beam steerer hardware, software and performance are described. The system can also serve as a miniaturized, high-performance long-wavelength beam chopper for lock-in detection. PMID:26401426

The article of the future.

PubMed

Souza, Eliana Pereira Salles de; Cabrera, Eliana Márcia Sotello; Braile, Domingo Marcolino

2010-01-01

Technological advances and the Internet have contributed to the increased disclosure and updating of knowledge and science. Scientific papers are considered the best form of disclosure of information and have been undergoing many changes, not on their way of development, but on the structure of publication. The Future paper, a name for this new structure, uses hypermediatic resources, allowing a quick, easy and organized access to these items online. The exchange of information, comments and criticisms can be performed in real time, providing agility in science disclosure. The trend for the future of documents, both from professionals or enterprises, is the "cloud computing", in which all documents will be developed and updated with the use of various equipments: computer, palm, netbook, ipad, without need to have the software installed on your computer, requiring only an Internet connection.

Interactive text mining with Pipeline Pilot: a bibliographic web-based tool for PubMed.

PubMed

Vellay, S G P; Latimer, N E Miller; Paillard, G

2009-06-01

Text mining has become an integral part of all research in the medical field. Many text analysis software platforms support particular use cases and only those. We show an example of a bibliographic tool that can be used to support virtually any use case in an agile manner. Here we focus on a Pipeline Pilot web-based application that interactively analyzes and reports on PubMed search results. This will be of interest to any scientist to help identify the most relevant papers in a topical area more quickly and to evaluate the results of query refinement. Links with Entrez databases help both the biologist and the chemist alike. We illustrate this application with Leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease, as a case study.

High-end food, low-wage labor.

PubMed

Woolever, Laurie

2012-01-01

Some people work in restaurants as a lifestyle choice: they love the fast pace, the quick jokes, the often easy-flowing booze. At the height of a busy shift, if everything's going right, a team of skilled cooks and waiters can enter a kind of adrenaline-fueled flow state that's hypnotic and addictive. Some people choose it because they got burned out as grad students or software engineers or attorneys. Some people work in restaurants to make money until they graduate or get their big break in show business. It can be lucrative, especially for young, good-looking, and agile waiters, working for a great employer in a big city, where customers practically fight for the chance to buy expensive wines and $50 entrées and truffle supplements from the latest hotspot.

Advanced text and video analytics for proactive decision making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowman, Elizabeth K.; Turek, Matt; Tunison, Paul; Porter, Reed; Thomas, Steve; Gintautas, Vadas; Shargo, Peter; Lin, Jessica; Li, Qingzhe; Gao, Yifeng; Li, Xiaosheng; Mittu, Ranjeev; Rosé, Carolyn Penstein; Maki, Keith; Bogart, Chris; Choudhari, Samrihdi Shree

2017-05-01

Today's warfighters operate in a highly dynamic and uncertain world, and face many competing demands. Asymmetric warfare and the new focus on small, agile forces has altered the framework by which time critical information is digested and acted upon by decision makers. Finding and integrating decision-relevant information is increasingly difficult in data-dense environments. In this new information environment, agile data algorithms, machine learning software, and threat alert mechanisms must be developed to automatically create alerts and drive quick response. Yet these advanced technologies must be balanced with awareness of the underlying context to accurately interpret machine-processed indicators and warnings and recommendations. One promising approach to this challenge brings together information retrieval strategies from text, video, and imagery. In this paper, we describe a technology demonstration that represents two years of tri-service research seeking to meld text and video for enhanced content awareness. The demonstration used multisource data to find an intelligence solution to a problem using a common dataset. Three technology highlights from this effort include 1) Incorporation of external sources of context into imagery normalcy modeling and anomaly detection capabilities, 2) Automated discovery and monitoring of targeted users from social media text, regardless of language, and 3) The concurrent use of text and imagery to characterize behaviour using the concept of kinematic and text motifs to detect novel and anomalous patterns. Our demonstration provided a technology baseline for exploiting heterogeneous data sources to deliver timely and accurate synopses of data that contribute to a dynamic and comprehensive worldview.

Moving Virtual Research Environments from high maintenance Stovepipes to Multi-purpose Sustainable Service-oriented Science Platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klump, Jens; Fraser, Ryan; Wyborn, Lesley; Friedrich, Carsten; Squire, Geoffrey; Barker, Michelle; Moloney, Glenn

2017-04-01

The researcher of today is likely to be part of a team distributed over multiple sites that will access data from an external repository and then process the data on a public or private cloud or even on a large centralised supercomputer. They are increasingly likely to use a mixture of their own code, third party software and libraries, or even access global community codes. These components will be connected into a Virtual Research Environments (VREs) that will enable members of the research team who are not co-located to actively work together at various scales to share data, models, tools, software, workflows, best practices, infrastructures, etc. Many VRE's are built in isolation: designed to meet a specific research program with components tightly coupled and not capable of being repurposed for other use cases - they are becoming 'stovepipes'. The limited number of users of some VREs also means that the cost of maintenance per researcher can be unacceptably high. The alternative is to develop service-oriented Science Platforms that enable multiple communities to develop specialised solutions for specific research programs. The platforms can offer access to data, software tools and processing infrastructures (cloud, supercomputers) through globally distributed, interconnected modules. In Australia, the Virtual Geophysics Laboratory (VGL) was initially built to enable a specific set of researchers in government agencies access to specific data sets and a limited number of tools, that is now rapidly evolving into a multi-purpose Earth science platform with access to an increased variety of data, a broader range of tools, users from more sectors and a diversity of computational infrastructures. The expansion has been relatively easy, because of the architecture whereby data, tools and compute resources are loosely coupled via interfaces that are built on international standards and accessed as services wherever possible. In recent years, investments in discoverability and accessibility of data via online services in Australia mean that data resources can be easily added to the virtual environments as and when required. Another key to increasing to reusability and uptake of the VRE is the capability to capturing workflows so that they can be reused and repurposed both within and beyond the community that that defined the original use case. Unfortunately, Software-as-a-Service in the research sector is not yet mature. In response, we developed a Scientific Software solutions Center (SSSC) that enables researchers to discover, deploy and then share computational codes, code snippets or processes both in a human and machine-readable manner. Growth has come not only from within the Earth science community but from the Australian Virtual Laboratory community which is building VREs for a diversity of communities such as astronomy, genomics, environment, humanities, climate etc. Components such as access control, provenance, visualisation, accounting etc. are common to all scientific domains and sharing of these across multiple domains reduces costs, but more importantly increases the ability to undertake interdisciplinary science. These efforts are transitioning VREs to more sustainable Service-oriented Science Platforms that can be delivered in an agile, adaptable manner for broader community interests.

Development of perceived competence, tactical skills, motivation, technical skills, and speed and agility in young soccer players.

PubMed

Forsman, Hannele; Gråstén, Arto; Blomqvist, Minna; Davids, Keith; Liukkonen, Jarmo; Konttinen, Niilo

2016-07-01

The objective of this 1-year, longitudinal study was to examine the development of perceived competence, tactical skills, motivation, technical skills, and speed and agility characteristics of young Finnish soccer players. We also examined associations between latent growth models of perceived competence and other recorded variables. Participants were 288 competitive male soccer players ranging from 12 to 14 years (12.7 ± 0.6) from 16 soccer clubs. Players completed the self-assessments of perceived competence, tactical skills, and motivation, and participated in technical, and speed and agility tests. Results of this study showed that players' levels of perceived competence, tactical skills, motivation, technical skills, and speed and agility characteristics remained relatively high and stable across the period of 1 year. Positive relationships were found between these levels and changes in perceived competence and motivation, and levels of perceived competence and speed and agility characteristics. Together these results illustrate the multi-dimensional nature of talent development processes in soccer. Moreover, it seems crucial in coaching to support the development of perceived competence and motivation in young soccer players and that it might be even more important in later maturing players.

Wavelength-Agile External-Cavity Diode Laser for DWDM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pilgrim, Jeffrey S.; Bomse, David S.

2006-01-01

A prototype external-cavity diode laser (ECDL) has been developed for communication systems utilizing dense wavelength- division multiplexing (DWDM). This ECDL is an updated version of the ECDL reported in Wavelength-Agile External- Cavity Diode Laser (LEW-17090), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 25, No. 11 (November 2001), page 14a. To recapitulate: The wavelength-agile ECDL combines the stability of an external-cavity laser with the wavelength agility of a diode laser. Wavelength is modulated by modulating the injection current of the diode-laser gain element. The external cavity is a Littman-Metcalf resonator, in which the zeroth-order output from a diffraction grating is used as the laser output and the first-order-diffracted light is retro-reflected by a cavity feedback mirror, which establishes one end of the resonator. The other end of the resonator is the output surface of a Fabry-Perot resonator that constitutes the diode-laser gain element. Wavelength is selected by choosing the angle of the diffracted return beam, as determined by position of the feedback mirror. The present wavelength-agile ECDL is distinguished by design details that enable coverage of all 60 channels, separated by 100-GHz frequency intervals, that are specified in DWDM standards.

Network configuration management : paving the way to network agility.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maestas, Joseph H.

2007-08-01

Sandia networks consist of nearly nine hundred routers and switches and nearly one million lines of command code, and each line ideally contributes to the capabilities of the network to convey information from one location to another. Sandia's Cyber Infrastructure Development and Deployment organizations recognize that it is therefore essential to standardize network configurations and enforce conformance to industry best business practices and documented internal configuration standards to provide a network that is agile, adaptable, and highly available. This is especially important in times of constrained budgets as members of the workforce are called upon to improve efficiency, effectiveness, andmore » customer focus. Best business practices recommend using the standardized configurations in the enforcement process so that when root cause analysis results in recommended configuration changes, subsequent configuration auditing will improve compliance to the standard. Ultimately, this minimizes mean time to repair, maintains the network security posture, improves network availability, and enables efficient transition to new technologies. Network standardization brings improved network agility, which in turn enables enterprise agility, because the network touches all facets of corporate business. Improved network agility improves the business enterprise as a whole.« less

Compiling software for a hierarchical distributed processing system

DOEpatents

Archer, Charles J; Blocksome, Michael A; Ratterman, Joseph D; Smith, Brian E

2013-12-31

Compiling software for a hierarchical distributed processing system including providing to one or more compiling nodes software to be compiled, wherein at least a portion of the software to be compiled is to be executed by one or more nodes; compiling, by the compiling node, the software; maintaining, by the compiling node, any compiled software to be executed on the compiling node; selecting, by the compiling node, one or more nodes in a next tier of the hierarchy of the distributed processing system in dependence upon whether any compiled software is for the selected node or the selected node's descendents; sending to the selected node only the compiled software to be executed by the selected node or selected node's descendent.

Exploring the possibility of modeling a genetic counseling guideline using agile methodology.

PubMed

Choi, Jeeyae

2013-01-01

Increased demand of genetic counseling services heightened the necessity of a computerized genetic counseling decision support system. In order to develop an effective and efficient computerized system, modeling of genetic counseling guideline is an essential step. Throughout this pilot study, Agile methodology with United Modeling Language (UML) was utilized to model a guideline. 13 tasks and 14 associated elements were extracted. Successfully constructed conceptual class and activity diagrams revealed that Agile methodology with UML was a suitable tool to modeling a genetic counseling guideline.

Control design for future agile fighters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murphy, Patrick C.; Davidson, John B.

1991-01-01

The CRAFT control design methodology is presented. CRAFT stands for the design objectives addressed, namely, Control power, Robustness, Agility, and Flying Qualities Tradeoffs. The approach combines eigenspace assignment, which allows for direct specification of eigenvalues and eigenvectors, and a graphical approach for representing control design metrics that captures numerous design goals in one composite illustration. The methodology makes use of control design metrics from four design objective areas, namely, control power, robustness, agility, and flying qualities. An example of the CRAFT methodology as well as associated design issues are presented.

Miniature EVA Software Defined Radio

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pozhidaev, Aleksey

2012-01-01

As NASA embarks upon developing the Next-Generation Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) Radio for deep space exploration, the demands on EVA battery life will substantially increase. The number of modes and frequency bands required will continue to grow in order to enable efficient and complex multi-mode operations including communications, navigation, and tracking applications. Whether conducting astronaut excursions, communicating to soldiers, or first responders responding to emergency hazards, NASA has developed an innovative, affordable, miniaturized, power-efficient software defined radio that offers unprecedented power-efficient flexibility. This lightweight, programmable, S-band, multi-service, frequency- agile EVA software defined radio (SDR) supports data, telemetry, voice, and both standard and high-definition video. Features include a modular design, an easily scalable architecture, and the EVA SDR allows for both stationary and mobile battery powered handheld operations. Currently, the radio is equipped with an S-band RF section. However, its scalable architecture can accommodate multiple RF sections simultaneously to cover multiple frequency bands. The EVA SDR also supports multiple network protocols. It currently implements a Hybrid Mesh Network based on the 802.11s open standard protocol. The radio targets RF channel data rates up to 20 Mbps and can be equipped with a real-time operating system (RTOS) that can be switched off for power-aware applications. The EVA SDR's modular design permits implementation of the same hardware at all Network Nodes concept. This approach assures the portability of the same software into any radio in the system. It also brings several benefits to the entire system including reducing system maintenance, system complexity, and development cost.

Does habitat fragmentation cause stress in the agile antechinus? A haematological approach.

PubMed

Johnstone, Christopher P; Lill, Alan; Reina, Richard D

2012-01-01

Although the vertebrate stress response is essential for survival, frequent or prolonged stress responses can result in chronic physiological stress, which is associated with a suite of conditions that can impair survivorship and reproductive output. Anthropogenic habitat fragmentation and degradation are potential stressors of free-living vertebrates, and in theory could result in chronic stress. To address this issue, we compared haematological indicators of stress and condition in agile antechinus (Antechinus agilis) populations in 30 forest fragments and 30 undisturbed, continuous forest sites (pseudofragments) in south-eastern Australia over 2 years. In peripheral blood, the total leucocyte count was lower and the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio and percentage of eosinophils in the total leucocyte population was higher in fragment than pseudofragment populations, indicating that fragment populations were probably experiencing higher levels of stress hormone-mediated and/or parasite infection-related chronic physiological stress. The total erythrocyte count and haematocrit were higher and mean erythrocyte haemoglobin content was lower in fragment than pseudofragment populations. This suggests that fragment populations showed possible signs of regenerative anaemia, a syndrome associated with elevated hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis mediated stress. However, mean erythrocyte volume was also lower in fragments, and red blood cell distribution width did not differ between the study populations, findings which were not consistent with this diagnosis. Whole blood and mean cell haemoglobin concentrations were similar in fragment and pseudofragment populations. We suggest that where anthropogenic activity results in habitat fragmentation and degradation, chronic stress could contribute to a decline in agile antechinus populations. The broader implication is that chronic stress could be both symptomatic of, and contributing to, decline of some vertebrate populations in anthropogenically fragmented and degraded habitats.

Agility, gnosis, and graphaesthesia for the toes and fingers in children: normative data (ages 7-14 years).

PubMed

Richards, P M; Persinger, M A

2004-01-01

The differential representation of the toes/feet and fingers/hands along the medial and lateral surfaces of the cerebral cortices, respectively, may have diagnostic utility. Normative data for errors for toe and finger graphaesthesia and gnosis, as well as foot and finger agility, were collected for 86 children (ages 7 to 14). The fingers were more agile than the feet, and the right side of the body was more agile than the left side, regardless of age. A marked improvement in toe gnosis, but not in finger gnosis occurred in children after 11-12 years of age. A statistically significant interaction between laterality and gender was due to the greater numbers of errors for both toe and finger gnosis, displayed by girls for the left sides of their bodies compared to their right sides. This discrepancy was not significant for boys.

Prediction of performance on the RCMP physical ability requirement evaluation.

PubMed

Stanish, H I; Wood, T M; Campagna, P

1999-08-01

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police use the Physical Ability Requirement Evaluation (PARE) for screening applicants. The purposes of this investigation were to identify those field tests of physical fitness that were associated with PARE performance and determine which most accurately classified successful and unsuccessful PARE performers. The participants were 27 female and 21 male volunteers. Testing included measures of aerobic power, anaerobic power, agility, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and body composition. Multiple regression analysis revealed a three-variable model for males (70-lb bench press, standing long jump, and agility) explaining 79% of the variability in PARE time, whereas a one-variable model (agility) explained 43% of the variability for females. Analysis of the classification accuracy of the males' data was prohibited because 91% of the males passed the PARE. Classification accuracy of the females' data, using logistic regression, produced a two-variable model (agility, 1.5-mile endurance run) with 93% overall classification accuracy.

High energy variability of 3C 273 during the AGILE multiwavelength campaign of December 2007-January 2008

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pacciani, L.; Donnarumma, I.; Vittorini, V.; D'Ammando, F.; Fiocchi, M. T.; Impiombato, D.; Stratta, G.; Verrecchia, F.; Bulgarelli, A.; Chen, A. W.; Giuliani, A.; Longo, F.; Pucella, G.; Vercellone, S.; Tavani, M.; Argan, A.; Barbiellini, G.; Boffelli, F.; Caraveo, P. A.; Cattaneo, P. W.; Cocco, V.; Costa, E.; Del Monte, E.; Di Cocco, G.; Evangelista, Y.; Feroci, M.; Froysland, T.; Fuschino, F.; Galli, M.; Gianotti, F.; Labanti, C.; Lapshov, I.; Lazzarotto, F.; Lipari, P.; Marisaldi, M.; Mereghetti, S.; Morselli, A.; Pellizzoni, A.; Perotti, F.; Picozza, P.; Prest, M.; Rapisarda, M.; Soffitta, P.; Trifoglio, M.; Tosti, G.; Trois, A.; Vallazza, E.; Zanello, D.; Antonelli, L. A.; Colafrancesco, S.; Cutini, S.; Gasparrini, D.; Giommi, P.; Pittori, C.; Salotti, L.

2009-01-01

Context: We report the results of a 3-week multi-wavelength campaign targeting the flat spectrum radio quasar 3C 273 carried out with the AGILE gamma-ray mission, covering the 30 MeV-50 GeV and 18-60 keV, the REM observatory (covering the near-IR and optical), Swift (near-UV/Optical, 0.2-10 keV and 15-50 keV), INTEGRAL (3-200 keV) and Rossi XTE (2-12 keV). This is the first observational campaign including gamma-ray data, after the last EGRET observations, more than 8 years ago. Aims: This campaign has been organized by the AGILE team with the aim of observing, studying and modelling the broad band energy spectrum of the source, and its variability on a week timescale, testing the emission models describing the spectral energy distribution of this source. Methods: Our study was carried out using simultaneous light curves of the source flux from all the involved instruments, in the different energy ranges, to search for correlated variability. Then a time-resolved spectral energy distribution was used for a detailed physical modelling of the emission mechanisms. Results: The source was detected in gamma-rays only in the second week of our campaign, with a flux comparable to the level detected by EGRET in June 1991. We found an indication of a possible anti-correlation between the emission at gamma-rays and at soft and hard X-rays, supported by the complete set of instruments. Instead, optical data do not show short term variability, as expected for this source. Only in two preceding EGRET observations (in 1993 and 1997) 3C 273 showed intra-observation variability in gamma-rays. In the 1997 observation, flux variation in gamma-rays was associated with a synchrotron flare. The energy-density spectrum with almost simultaneous data partially covers the regions of synchrotron emission, the big blue bump, and the inverse-Compton. We adopted a leptonic model to explain the hard X/gamma-ray emissions, although from our analysis hadronic models cannot be ruled out. In the adopted model, the soft X-ray emission is consistent with combined synchrotron-self Compton and external Compton mechanisms, while hard X and gamma-ray emissions are compatible with external Compton from thermal photons of the disk. Under this model, the time evolution of the spectral energy distribution is well interpreted and modelled in terms of an acceleration episode of the electron population, leading to a shift in the inverse Compton peak towards higher energies.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, K; Yu, Z; Chen, H

Purpose: To implement VMAT in RayStation with the Elekta Synergy linac with the new Agility MLC, and to utilize the same vendor softwares to determine the optimum Elekta VMAT machine parameters in RayStation for accurate modeling and robust delivery. Methods: iCOMCat is utilized to create various beam patterns with user defined dose rate, gantry, MLC and jaw speed for each control point. The accuracy and stability of the output and beam profile are qualified for each isolated functional component of VMAT delivery using ion chamber and Profiler2 with isocentric mounting fixture. Service graphing on linac console is used to verifymore » the mechanical motion accuracy. The determined optimum Elekta VMAT machine parameters were configured in RayStation v4.5.1. To evaluate the system overall performance, TG-119 test cases and nine retrospective VMAT patients were planned on RayStation, and validated using both ArcCHECK (with plug and ion chamber) and MapCHECK2. Results: Machine output and profile varies <0.3% when only variable is dose rate (35MU/min-600MU/min). <0.9% output and <0.3% profile variation are observed with additional gantry motion (0.53deg/s–5.8deg/s both directions). The output and profile variation are still <1% with additional slow leaf motion (<1.5cm/s both direction). However, the profile becomes less symmetric, and >1.5% output and 7% profile deviation is seen with >2.5cm/s leaf motion. All clinical cases achieved comparable plan quality as treated IMRT plans. The gamma passing rate is 99.5±0.5% on ArcCheck (<3% iso center dose deviation) and 99.1±0.8% on MapCheck2 using 3%/3mm gamma (10% lower threshold). Mechanical motion accuracy in all VMAT deliveries is <1°/1mm. Conclusion: Accurate RayStation modeling and robust VMAT delivery is achievable on Elekta Agility for <2.5cm/s leaf motion and full range of dose rate and gantry speed determined by the same vendor softwares. Our TG-119 and patient results have provided us with the confidence to use VMAT clinically.« less

Concentration of Donepezil in the Cerebrospinal Fluid of AD Patients: Evaluation of Dosage Sufficiency in Standard Treatment Strategy.

PubMed

Valis, Martin; Masopust, Jiri; Vysata, Oldrich; Hort, Jakub; Dolezal, Rafael; Tomek, Jiri; Misik, Jan; Kuca, Kamil; Karasova, Jana Zdarova

2017-01-01

Although some studies have described the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of donepezil in the peripheral compartment, studies focused on drug transport across the blood-brain barrier are still very rare. To our knowledge, the fluctuation in the cerebrospinal fluid concentration of donepezil after administration of the drug has not been described in the literature so far. We recruited 16 patients regularly taking a standard therapeutic dose of donepezil (10 mg per day). All patients (Caucasian race) were treated for at least three months with a stable dose of 10 mg per day prior to sample collection. Patients were divided into two groups depending on the time of plasma and cerebrospinal fluid sampling: 12 h (n = 9; 4 M/5F aged 78.68 ± 7.35 years) and 24 h (n = 7; 3 M/4F aged 77.14 ± 5.87 years) after donepezil administration. The cerebrospinal fluid sample was collected by standard lumbar puncture technique using a single-use traumatic needle. The samples were analysed on an Agilent 1260 Series liquid chromatograph comprising a degasser, a quaternary pump, a light-tight autosampler unit set, a thermostated column compartment, and a UV/VIS detector. Agilent ChemStation software, the statistical software Prism4, version 5.0 (GraphPad Software, USA), and IBM ® SPSS ® Statistics were used for the analysis of the results. The difference in plasma concentration of donepezil after 12 h (mean ± SEM; 39.99 ± 5.90 ng/ml) and after 24 h (29.38 ± 1.71 ng/ml) was nonsignificant. In contrast, the donepezil concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid was significantly higher in the 24-h interval (7.54 ± 0.55 ng/ml) compared with the 12-h interval (5.19 ± 0.83 ng/ml, which is ~70 % based on mean cerebrospinal fluid values). Based on these data, it is plausible to predict that donepezil might produce a stronger AChE inhibition in the brain at 24 h compared with 12 h following the administration. This information may help physicians individually adjust the time of drug administration in the patients according to time course of the disease symptoms.

Distributed and Collaborative Software Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghezzi, Giacomo; Gall, Harald C.

Throughout the years software engineers have come up with a myriad of specialized tools and techniques that focus on a certain type of software analysissoftware analysis such as source code analysis, co-change analysis or bug prediction. However, easy and straight forward synergies between these analyses and tools rarely exist because of their stand-alone nature, their platform dependence, their different input and output formats and the variety of data to analyze. As a consequence, distributed and collaborative software analysiscollaborative software analysis scenarios and in particular interoperability are severely limited. We describe a distributed and collaborative software analysis platform that allows for a seamless interoperability of software analysis tools across platform, geographical and organizational boundaries. We realize software analysis tools as services that can be accessed and composed over the Internet. These distributed analysis services shall be widely accessible in our incrementally augmented Software Analysis Broker software analysis broker where organizations and tool providers can register and share their tools. To allow (semi-) automatic use and composition of these tools, they are classified and mapped into a software analysis taxonomy and adhere to specific meta-models and ontologiesontologies for their category of analysis.

Contingency theoretic methodology for agent-based web-oriented manufacturing systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durrett, John R.; Burnell, Lisa J.; Priest, John W.

2000-12-01

The development of distributed, agent-based, web-oriented, N-tier Information Systems (IS) must be supported by a design methodology capable of responding to the convergence of shifts in business process design, organizational structure, computing, and telecommunications infrastructures. We introduce a contingency theoretic model for the use of open, ubiquitous software infrastructure in the design of flexible organizational IS. Our basic premise is that developers should change in the way they view the software design process from a view toward the solution of a problem to one of the dynamic creation of teams of software components. We postulate that developing effective, efficient, flexible, component-based distributed software requires reconceptualizing the current development model. The basic concepts of distributed software design are merged with the environment-causes-structure relationship from contingency theory; the task-uncertainty of organizational- information-processing relationships from information processing theory; and the concept of inter-process dependencies from coordination theory. Software processes are considered as employees, groups of processes as software teams, and distributed systems as software organizations. Design techniques already used in the design of flexible business processes and well researched in the domain of the organizational sciences are presented. Guidelines that can be utilized in the creation of component-based distributed software will be discussed.

Mathematics, Information, and Life Sciences

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-05

INS • Chip -scale atomic clocks • Ad hoc networks • Polymorphic networks • Agile networks • Laser communications • Frequency-agile RF systems...FY12 BAA Bionavigation (Bio) Neuromorphic Computing (Human) Multi-scale Modeling (Math) Foundations of Information Systems (Info) BRI

NHPP-Based Software Reliability Models Using Equilibrium Distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Xiao; Okamura, Hiroyuki; Dohi, Tadashi

Non-homogeneous Poisson processes (NHPPs) have gained much popularity in actual software testing phases to estimate the software reliability, the number of remaining faults in software and the software release timing. In this paper, we propose a new modeling approach for the NHPP-based software reliability models (SRMs) to describe the stochastic behavior of software fault-detection processes. The fundamental idea is to apply the equilibrium distribution to the fault-detection time distribution in NHPP-based modeling. We also develop efficient parameter estimation procedures for the proposed NHPP-based SRMs. Through numerical experiments, it can be concluded that the proposed NHPP-based SRMs outperform the existing ones in many data sets from the perspective of goodness-of-fit and prediction performance.

Software metrics: Software quality metrics for distributed systems. [reliability engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Post, J. V.

1981-01-01

Software quality metrics was extended to cover distributed computer systems. Emphasis is placed on studying embedded computer systems and on viewing them within a system life cycle. The hierarchy of quality factors, criteria, and metrics was maintained. New software quality factors were added, including survivability, expandability, and evolvability.

Wavelet-Based Peak Detection and a New Charge Inference Procedure for MS/MS Implemented in ProteoWizard’s msConvert

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

We report the implementation of high-quality signal processing algorithms into ProteoWizard, an efficient, open-source software package designed for analyzing proteomics tandem mass spectrometry data. Specifically, a new wavelet-based peak-picker (CantWaiT) and a precursor charge determination algorithm (Turbocharger) have been implemented. These additions into ProteoWizard provide universal tools that are independent of vendor platform for tandem mass spectrometry analyses and have particular utility for intralaboratory studies requiring the advantages of different platforms convergent on a particular workflow or for interlaboratory investigations spanning multiple platforms. We compared results from these tools to those obtained using vendor and commercial software, finding that in all cases our algorithms resulted in a comparable number of identified peptides for simple and complex samples measured on Waters, Agilent, and AB SCIEX quadrupole time-of-flight and Thermo Q-Exactive mass spectrometers. The mass accuracy of matched precursor ions also compared favorably with vendor and commercial tools. Additionally, typical analysis runtimes (∼1–100 ms per MS/MS spectrum) were short enough to enable the practical use of these high-quality signal processing tools for large clinical and research data sets. PMID:25411686

Principles and Best Practices Emerging from Data Basin: A Data Platform Supporting Scientific Research and Landscape Conservation Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Comendant, T.; Strittholt, J. R.; Ward, B. C.; Bachelet, D. M.; Grossman, D.; Stevenson-Molnar, N.; Henifin, K.; Lundin, M.; Marvin, T. S.; Peterman, W. L.; Corrigan, G. N.; O'Connor, K.

2013-12-01

A multi-disciplinary team of scientists, software engineers, and outreach staff at the Conservation Biology Institute launched an open-access, web-based spatial data platform called Data Basin (www.databasin.org) in 2010. Primarily built to support research and environmental resource planning, Data Basin provides the capability for individuals and organizations to explore, create, interpret, and collaborate around their priority topics and geographies. We used a stakeholder analysis to assess the needs of data consumers/produces and help prioritize primary and secondary audiences. Data Basin's simple and user-friendly interface makes mapping and geo-processing tools more accessible to less technical audiences. Input from users is considered in system planning, testing, and implementation. The team continually develops using an agile software development approach, which allows new features, improvements, and bug fixes to be deployed to the live system on a frequent basis. The data import process is handled through administrative approval and Data Basin requires spatial data (biological, physical, and socio-economic) to be well-documented. Outreach and training is used to convey the scope and appropriate use of the scientific information and available resources.

Wavelet-based peak detection and a new charge inference procedure for MS/MS implemented in ProteoWizard's msConvert.

PubMed

French, William R; Zimmerman, Lisa J; Schilling, Birgit; Gibson, Bradford W; Miller, Christine A; Townsend, R Reid; Sherrod, Stacy D; Goodwin, Cody R; McLean, John A; Tabb, David L

2015-02-06

We report the implementation of high-quality signal processing algorithms into ProteoWizard, an efficient, open-source software package designed for analyzing proteomics tandem mass spectrometry data. Specifically, a new wavelet-based peak-picker (CantWaiT) and a precursor charge determination algorithm (Turbocharger) have been implemented. These additions into ProteoWizard provide universal tools that are independent of vendor platform for tandem mass spectrometry analyses and have particular utility for intralaboratory studies requiring the advantages of different platforms convergent on a particular workflow or for interlaboratory investigations spanning multiple platforms. We compared results from these tools to those obtained using vendor and commercial software, finding that in all cases our algorithms resulted in a comparable number of identified peptides for simple and complex samples measured on Waters, Agilent, and AB SCIEX quadrupole time-of-flight and Thermo Q-Exactive mass spectrometers. The mass accuracy of matched precursor ions also compared favorably with vendor and commercial tools. Additionally, typical analysis runtimes (∼1-100 ms per MS/MS spectrum) were short enough to enable the practical use of these high-quality signal processing tools for large clinical and research data sets.