A case study on variability management in software product lines: identifying why real-life projects fail

Economies of scale can be seen as some kind of “holy grail” in state of the art literature on the development of sets of related software systems. Software product line methods are often mentioned in this context, due to the variability management aspects they propose, in order to deal with sets of related software systems. They realize the sought-after reusability. Both variability management and software product lines already have a strong presence in theoretical research, but in real-life software product line projects trying to obtain economies of scale still tend to fall short of target. The objective of this paper is to study this gap between theory and reality through a case study in order to see why such gap exists, and to find a way to bridge this gap. Through analysis of the causes of failure identified by the stakeholders in the case study, the underlying problem, which is found to be located in the requirements engineering phase, is crystallized. The identification of a framework describing the problems will provide practitioners with a better focus for future endeavors in the field of software product lines, so that economies of scale can be achieved

Statistics and Quantum Chaos

We use multi-time correlation functions of quantum systems to construct random variables with statistical properties that reflect the degree of complexity of the underlying quantum dynamics.Comment: 12 pages, LateX, no figures, restructured versio

Quantum macrostatistical picture of nonequilibrium steady states

We employ a quantum macrostatistical treatment of irreversible processes to prove that, in nonequilibrium steady states, (a) the hydrodynamical observables execute a generalised Onsager-Machlup process and (b) the spatial correlations of these observables are generically of long range. The key assumptions behind these results are a nonequilibrium version of Onsager's regression hypothesis, together with certain hypotheses of chaoticity and local equilibrium for hydrodynamical fluctuations.Comment: TeX, 13 page

A microscopic model for Josephson currents

A microscopic model of a Josephson junction between two superconducting plates is proposed and analysed. For this model, the nonequilibrium steady state of the total system is explicitly constructed and its properties are analysed. In particular, the Josephson current is rigorously computed as a function of the phase difference of the two plates and the typical properties of the Josephson current are recovered

Interdisciplinary diabetes care teams operating on the interface between primary and specialty care are associated with improved outcomes of care: findings from the Leuven Diabetes Project

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a complex, progressive disease which requires a variety of quality improvement strategies. Limited information is available on the feasibility and effectiveness of interdisciplinary diabetes care teams (IDCT) operating on the interface between primary and specialty care. A first study hypothesis was that the implementation of an IDCT is feasible in a health care setting with limited tradition in shared care. A second hypothesis was that patients who make use of an IDCT would have significantly better outcomes compared to non-users of the IDCT after an 18-month intervention period. A third hypothesis was that patients who used the IDCT in an Advanced quality Improvement Program (AQIP) would have significantly better outcomes compared to users of a Usual Quality Improvement Program (UQIP).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This investigation comprised a two-arm cluster randomized trial conducted in a primary care setting in Belgium. Primary care physicians (PCPs, n = 120) and their patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (n = 2495) were included and subjects were randomly assigned to the intervention arms. The IDCT acted as a cornerstone to both the intervention arms, but the number, type and intensity of IDCT related interventions varied depending upon the intervention arm.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Final registration included 67 PCPs and 1577 patients in the AQIP and 53 PCPs and 918 patients in the UQIP. 84% of the PCPs made use of the IDCT. The expected participation rate in patients (30%) was not attained, with 12,5% of the patients using the IDCT. When comparing users and non-users of the IDCT (irrespective of the intervention arm) and after 18 months of intervention the use of the IDCT was significantly associated with improvements in HbA1c, LDL-cholesterol, an increase in statins and anti-platelet therapy as well as the number of targets that were reached. When comparing users of the IDCT in the two intervention arms no significant differences were noted, except for anti-platelet therapy.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>IDCT's operating on the interface between primary and specialty care are associated with improved outcomes of care. More research is required on what team and program characteristics contribute to improvements in diabetes care.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>NTR 1369.</p

The plan of the search for Antarctic Meteorites on the Nansen Ice Field by the Joint Expedition between JARE-54 and BELARE 2012-2013.

第3回極域科学シンポジウム/第35回南極隕石シンポジウム 11月29日（木）、30日（金） 国立国語研究所 2階講

The SERRATE protein is involved in alternative splicing in <em>Arabidopsis thaliana</em>

Howalternative splicing (AS) is regulated in plants has not yet been elucidated. Previously, we have shown that the nuclear cap-binding protein complex (AtCBC) is involved in AS in Arabidopsis thaliana. Here we show that both subunits of AtCBC (AtCBP20 and AtCBP80) interact with SERRATE (AtSE), a protein involved in the microRNA biogenesis pathway. Moreover, using a high-resolution reverse transcript-ase-polymerase chain reaction AS system we have found that AtSE influences AS in a similar way to the cap-binding complex (CBC), preferentially affecting selection of 50 splice site of first introns. The AtSE protein acts in cooperation with AtCBC: many changes observed in the mutant lacking the correct SERRATE activity were common to those observed in the cbp mutants. Interestingly, significant changes in AS of some genes were also observed in other mutants of plant microRNA biogenesis pathway, hyl1-2 and dcl1-7, but a majority of them did not cor-respond to the changes observed in the se-1mutant. Thus, the role of SERRATE in AS regulation is distinct from that of HYL1andDCL1, and is similar to the regu-lation of AS in which CBC is involved

The Dutch Disease in Reverse: Iceland's Natural Experiment

For a long time, abundant natural resources brought Iceland a high and volatile real exchange rate with adverse effects on manufacturing and services. During 2003-2008, another national treasure, the sovereign’s AAA rating, was used by privatized banks to attract foreign capital, elevating the real exchange rate even further. The financial collapse and the associated collapse of the currency in 2008 left the country with a large foreign debt which offset some of the effect of the natural resources on the real exchange rate. In effect, this was the Dutch disease in reverse as witnessed, in particular, by a massive increase in the number of tourists following the financial collapse. This paper discusses the behavior of the exchange rate of the Icelandic króna before and after 2008 as well as its relationship to natural resources, capital flows, output, exports and imports, including tourism