Formalization and visualization of domain-specific software architectures

This paper describes a domain-specific software design system based on the concepts of software architectures engineering and domain-specific models and languages. In this system, software architectures are used as high level abstractions to formulate a domain-specific software design. The software architecture serves as a framework for composing architectural fragments (e.g., domain objects, system components, and hardware interfaces) that make up the knowledge (or model) base for solving a problem in a particular application area. A corresponding software design is generated by analyzing and describing a system in the context of the software architecture. While the software architecture serves as the framework for the design, this concept is insufficient by itself for supplying the additional details required for a specific design. Additional domain knowledge is still needed to instantiate components of the architecture and develop optimized algorithms for the problem domain. One possible way to obtain the additional details is through the use of domain-specific languages. Thus, the general concept of a software architecture and the specific design details provided by domain-specific languages are combined to create what can be termed a domain-specific software architecture (DSSA)

Thermal coatings for titanium-aluminum alloys

Titanium aluminides and titanium alloys are candidate materials for use in hot structure and heat-shield components of hypersonic vehicles because of their good strength-to-weight characteristics at elevated temperature. However, in order to utilize their maximum temperature capability, they must be coated to resist oxidation and to have a high total remittance. Also, surface catalysis for recombination of dissociated species in the aerodynamic boundary layer must be minimized. Very thin chemical vapor deposition (CVD) coatings are attractive candidates for this application because of durability and very light weight. To demonstrate this concept, coatings of boron-silicon and aluminum-boron-silicon compositions were applied to the titanium-aluminides alpha2 (Ti-14Al-21Nb), super-alpha2 (Ti-14Al-23-Nb-2V), and gamma (Ti-33Al-6Nb-1Ta) and to the titanium alloy beta-21S (Ti-15Mo-3Al-3Nb-0.2Si). Coated specimens of each alloy were subjected to a set of simulated hypersonic vehicle environmental tests to determine their properties of oxidation resistance, surface catalysis, radiative emittance, and thermal shock resistance. Surface catalysis results should be viewed as relative performance only of the several coating-alloy combinations tested under the specific environmental conditions of the LaRC Hypersonic Materials Environmental Test System (HYMETS) arc-plasma-heated hypersonic wind tunnel. Tests were also conducted to evaluate the hydrogen transport properties of the coatings and any effects of the coating processing itself on fatigue life of the base alloys. Results are presented for three types of coatings, which are as follows: (1) a single layer boron silicon coating, (2) a single layer aluminum-boron-silicon coating, and (3) a multilayer coating consisting of an aluminum-boron-silicon sublayer with a boron-silicon outer layer

A viscoplastic constitutive theory for metal matrix composites at high temperature

A viscoplastic constitutive theory is presented for representing the high temperature deformation behavior of metal matrix composites. The point of view taken is a continuum one where the composite is considered a material in its own right, with its own properties that can be determined for the composite as a whole. It is assumed that a single preferential (fiber) direction is identifiable at each material point (continuum element) admitting the idealization of local transverse isotropy. A key ingredient is the specification of an experimental program for the complete determination of the material functions and parameters for characterizing a particular metal matrix composite. The parameters relating to the strength of anisotropy can be determined through tension/torsion tests on longitudinally and circumferentially reinforced thin walled tubes. Fundamental aspects of the theory are explored through a geometric interpretation of some basic features analogous to those of the classical theory of plasticity

Samuel J. Broad\u27s contributions to the accounting profession

In the decade following the passage of the Federal Securities Laws of 1933 and 1934, the reform of accounting and auditing practices directed authority for selection of accounting principles and auditing procedures away from the discretion of the individual accountant and auditor. Instead, a self-regulatory peer driven process to establish general acceptance for a more limited set of principles and procedures was being initiated. Two events which occurred in 1938 indelibly affected this process, the SEC\u27s decision to issue Accounting Series Release No. 4, which empowered non-governmental entities as potential sources of authoritative support, and the McKesson & Robbins fraud which called into question the value of the independent audit and the role of external auditing at the very time a momentum had been established for self-regulation by the nascent and recently reunified accounting profession. The contributions of Samuel J. Broad in both the initiatives for self-regulation of accounting principles and of auditing procedures is examined in this paper. Further, several examples of Broad\u27s rhetorical technique of employing analogous reasoning to facilitate dissemination of complex economic and accounting issues are examined

Cotton taxes, 1867

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aldrichcorr_d/1134/thumbnail.jp

Cotton taxes, 1867

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aldrichcorr_d/1135/thumbnail.jp

Tracking TCRß sequence clonotype expansions during antiviral therapy using high-throughput sequencing of the hypervariable region

To maintain a persistent infection viruses such as hepatitis C virus (HCV) employ a range of mechanisms that subvert protective T cell responses. The suppression of antigen-specific T cell responses by HCV hinders efforts to profile T cell responses during chronic infection and antiviral therapy. Conventional methods of detecting antigen-specific T cells utilize either antigen stimulation (e.g., ELISpot, proliferation assays, cytokine production) or antigen-loaded tetramer staining. This limits the ability to profile T cell responses during chronic infection due to suppressed effector function and the requirement for prior knowledge of antigenic viral peptide sequences. Recently, high-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies have been developed for the analysis of T cell repertoires. In the present study, we have assessed the feasibility of HTS of the TCRβ complementarity determining region (CDR)3 to track T cell expansions in an antigen-independent manner. Using sequential blood samples from HCV-infected individuals undergoing antiviral therapy, we were able to measure the population frequencies of >35,000 TCRβ sequence clonotypes in each individual over the course of 12 weeks. TRBV/TRBJ gene segment usage varied markedly between individuals but remained relatively constant within individuals across the course of therapy. Despite this stable TRBV/TRBJ gene segment usage, a number of TCRβ sequence clonotypes showed dramatic changes in read frequency. These changes could not be linked to therapy outcomes in the present study; however, the TCRβ CDR3 sequences with the largest fold changes did include sequences with identical TRBV/TRBJ gene segment usage and high junction region homology to previously published CDR3 sequences from HCV-specific T cells targeting the HLA-B*0801-restricted 1395HSKKKCDEL1403 and HLA-A*0101-restricted 1435ATDALMTGY1443 epitopes. The pipeline developed in this proof of concept study provides a platform for the design of future experiments to accurately address the question of whether T cell responses contribute to SVR upon antiviral therapy. This pipeline represents a novel technique to analyze T cell dynamics in situations where conventional antigen-dependent methods are limited due to suppression of T cell functions and highly diverse antigenic sequences

An approach to treating depressive and psychotic illness in Indigenous communities.

This study is one of the activities of a multi-site research program, the Australian Mental Health Initiative (AIMhi), funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council. AIMhi in the Northern Territory collaborated with Aboriginal mental health workers and Northern Territory remote service providers in developing a range of resources and strategies to promote improved Indigenous mental health outcomes. A brief intervention that combines the principles of motivational interviewing, problem solving therapy and chronic disease self-management is described. The intervention has been integrated into a randomised controlled trial. Early findings suggest that the strategy and its components are well received by clients with chronic mental illness, and their carers, in remote communities

Open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron on food poverty in the UK

There is a worrying gap in health circumstances and outcomes between rich and poor people in the UK. Complex though the reasons for this inequality are, the reality is that many hardworking families in the UK are living in poverty and do not have enough income for a decent diet. UK food prices have risen by 12% in real terms since 2007, returning the cost of food relative to other goods to that in the 1990s

Non cell autonomous upregulation of CDKN2 transcription linked to progression of chronic hepatitis C disease

Chronic hepatitis C virus infection (C-HC) is associated with higher mortality arising from hepatic and extrahepatic disease. This may be due to accelerated biological aging; however, studies in C-HC have thus far been based solely on telomere length as a biomarker of aging (BoA). In this study, we have evaluated CDKN2 locus transcripts as alternative BoAs in C-HC. Our results suggest that C-HC induces non-cell-autonomous senescence and accelerates biological aging. The CDKN2 locus may provide a link between C-HC and increased susceptibility to age-associated diseases and provides novel biomarkers for assessing its impact on aging processes in man