Agile software development and service science

This paper shows the necessary steps, which should be taken in order to get the most out of agile software development in interdisciplinary settings involving scientific experts. If applied properly, Agile delivers increased productivity, higher quality and, last but not least, higher customer satisfaction. The task of developing high quality software is already difficult. Developing software for a new IT-enabled service in an interdisciplinary team however, is even more challenging. In interdisciplinary projects scientific experts from different fields need to work together with computer scientists, developers, testers, business analysts and domain experts. Software engineering is very time-consuming and scientific experts who have never been involved in a software project, often find it hard to understand why progress sometimes seems so slow. Therefore, it is important that they understand what it takes to write high- quality code, i.e. code that is clean, tested, documented and extendable at the right points. The best way to achieve this goal is to expand the software team, make the scientific experts an integral part of it and thus profit from their know-how

Agile Software Development and Service Science How to develop IT-enabled Services in an Interdisciplinary Environment

This paper shows the necessary steps, which should be taken in order to get the most out of agile software development in interdisciplinary settings involving scientific experts. If applied properly, Agile delivers increased productivity, higher quality and, last but not least, higher customer satisfaction. The task of developing high quality software is already difficult. Developing software for a new IT-enabled service in an interdisciplinary team however, is even more challenging.In interdisciplinary projects scientific experts from different fields need to work together with computer scientists, developers, testers, business analysts and domain experts. Software engineering is very time-consuming and scientific experts who have never been involved in a software project, often find it hard to understand why progress sometimes seems so slow. Therefore, it is important that they understand what it takes to write high-quality code, i.e. code that is clean, tested, documented and extendable at the right points. The best way to achieve this goal is to expand the software team, make the scientific experts an integral part of it and thus profit from their know-how

Secondary stroke prevention: patent foramen ovale, aortic plaque, and carotid stenosis

Stroke is the most debilitating cardiovascular event. It has a variety of causes that may be present simultaneously. In young or otherwise healthy people, the search for a patent foramen ovale (PFO) has become standard. In stroke of the elderly, atherosclerosis and atrial fibrillation are in the foreground but the PFO should not be ignored. The risk of a PFO-related stroke over time is controversial and so is its prevention by device closure. The association of proximal aortic plaques in arteries subtending the brain and stroke is considered strong, ignoring that it is as putative as that of the PFO. Statins can prevent progression of such plaques. Antiplatelet agents in asymptomatic and surgical endarterectomy in symptomatic patients or highly ulcerated lesions are the treatment of choice. Stenting with protection devices was shown competitive in selected patient

Synthesis of structurally diverse 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones via sequential Biginelli and Passerini reactions

The Biginelli reaction was combined with the Passerini reaction for the first time in a sequential multicomponent tandem reaction approach. After evaluation of all possible linker components and a suitable solvent system, highly functionalized dihydropyrimidone–α-acyloxycarboxamide compounds were obtained in good to excellent yields. In a first reaction step, different 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-one acids were synthesized, isolated and fully characterized. These products were subsequently used in a Passerini reaction utilizing a dichloromethane/dimethyl sulfoxide solvent mixture. By variation of the components in both multicomponent reactions, a large number of structurally diverse compounds could be synthesized. In addition, a one-pot Biginelli–Passerini tandem reaction was demonstrated. All products were carefully characterized via 1D and 2D NMR as well as IR and HRMS

Breakdown of the Korringa Law of Nuclear Spin Relaxation in Metallic GaAs

We present nuclear spin relaxation measurements in GaAs epilayers using a new pump-probe technique in all-electrical, lateral spin-valve devices. The measured T1 times agree very well with NMR data available for T > 1 K. However, the nuclear spin relaxation rate clearly deviates from the well-established Korringa law expected in metallic samples and follows a sub-linear temperature dependence 1/T1 ~ T^0.6 for 0.1 K < T < 10 K. Further, we investigate nuclear spin inhomogeneities.Comment: 5 pages, 4 (color) figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1109.633

Studies of the horizontal inhomogeneities in NO2 concentrations above a shipping lane using ground-based multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) measurements and validation with airborne imaging DOAS measurements

This study describes a novel application of an “onion-peeling” approach to multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) measurements of shipping emissions aiming at investigating the strong horizontal inhomogeneities in NO2 over a shipping lane. To monitor ship emissions on the main shipping route towards the port of Hamburg, a two-channel (UV and visible) MAX-DOAS instrument was deployed on the island Neuwerk in the German Bight, 6–7 km south of the main shipping lane. Utilizing the fact that the effective light path length in the atmosphere depends systematically on wavelength, simultaneous measurements and DOAS retrievals in the UV and visible spectral ranges are used to probe air masses at different horizontal distances to the instrument to estimate two-dimensional pollutant distributions. Two case studies have been selected to demonstrate the ability to derive the approximate plume positions in the observed area. A situation with northerly wind shows high NO2 concentrations close to the measurement site and low values in the north of the shipping lane. The opposite situation with southerly wind, unfavorable for the on-site in situ instrumentation, demonstrates the ability to detect enhanced NO2 concentrations several kilometers away from the instrument. Using a Gaussian plume model, in-plume NO2 volume mixing ratios can be derived from the MAX-DOAS measurements. For validation, a comparison to airborne imaging DOAS measurements during the NOSE campaign in July 2013 is performed, showing good agreement between the approximate plume position derived from the onion-peeling MAX-DOAS and the airborne measurements as well as between the derived in-plume NO2 volume mixing ratios (VMRs)

Multicomponent reactions provide key molecules for secret communication

A convenient and inherently more secure communication channel for encoding messages via specifically designed molecular keys is introduced by combining advanced encryption standard cryptography with molecular steganography. The necessary molecular keys require large structural diversity, thus suggesting the application of multicomponent reactions. Herein, the Ugi four-component reaction of perfluorinated acids is utilized to establish an exemplary database consisting of 130 commercially available components. Considering all permutations, this combinatorial approach can unambiguously provide 500,000 molecular keys in only one synthetic procedure per key. The molecular keys are transferred nondigitally and concealed by either adsorption onto paper, coffee, tea or sugar as well as by dissolution in a perfume or in blood. Re-isolation and purification from these disguises is simplified by the perfluorinated sidechains of the molecular keys. High resolution tandem mass spectrometry can unequivocally determine the molecular structure and thus the identity of the key for a subsequent decryption of an encoded message

Schemes for generation of isolated attosecond pulses of pure circular polarization

We propose and analyze two schemes capable of generating isolated attosecond pulses of pure circular polarization, based on results of numerical simulations. Both schemes utilize the generation of circularly polarized high-order-harmonics by crossing two circularly polarized counter-rotating pulses in a noncollinear geometry. Our results show that in this setup isolation of a single attosecond pulse can be achieved either by restricting the driver pulse duration to a few cycles or by temporally delaying the two crossed driver pulses. We further propose to compensate the temporal walk-off between the pulses across the focal spot and increasing the conversion efficiency by using angular spatial chirp to provide perfectly matched pulse fronts. The isolation of pure circularly polarized attosecond pulses, along with the opportunity to select their central energy and helicity in the noncollinear technique, opens new perspectives from which to study ultrafast dynamics in chiral systems and magnetic materials.The authors acknowledge Luis Plaja for valuable discussions. C.H.-G. acknowledges support from the Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship within the EU Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (2007–2013), under REA Grant Agreement No. 328334. C.H.-G. and I.J.S. acknowledge support from Junta de Castilla y León (Project SA116U13, UIC016) and MINECO (Grants No. FIS2013-44174-P and No. FIS2015-71933-REDT). A.J.-B. was supported by grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation (Grants No. PHY-1125844 and No. PHY-1068706). D.H. was supported via a grant from the Department of Energy. M.M.M., H.C.K., C.G.D., and A.B. acknowledge support by a MURI grant from Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Award Number FA9550-16-1- 0121. This work utilized the Janus supercomputer, which is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (Grant No. CNS-0821794) and the University of Colorado Boulder

A Randomized Trial of Effects of Health Risk Appraisal Combined With Group Sessions or Home Visits on Preventive Behaviors in Older Adults

Background. To explore effects of a health risk appraisal for older people (HRA-O) program with reinforcement, we conducted a randomized controlled trial in 21 general practices in Hamburg, Germany. Methods. Overall, 2,580 older patients of 14 general practitioners trained in reinforcing recommendations related to HRA-O-identified risk factors were randomized into intervention (n = 878) and control (n = 1,702) groups. Patients (n = 746) of seven additional matched general practitioners who did not receive this training served as a comparison group. Patients allocated to the intervention group, and their general practitioners, received computer-tailored written recommendations, and patients were offered the choice between interdisciplinary group sessions (geriatrician, physiotherapist, social worker, and nutritionist) and home visits (nurse). Results. Among the intervention group, 580 (66%) persons made use of personal reinforcement (group sessions: 503 [87%], home visits: 77 [13%]). At 1-year follow-up, persons in the intervention group had higher use of preventive services (eg, influenza vaccinations, adjusted odds ratio 1.7; 95% confidence interval 1.4-2.1) and more favorable health behavior (eg, high fruit/fiber intake, odds ratio 2.0; 95% confidence interval 1.6-2.6), as compared with controls. Comparisons between intervention and comparison group data revealed similar effects, suggesting that physician training alone had no effect. Subgroup analyses indicated favorable effects for HRA-O with personal reinforcement, but not for HRA-O without reinforcement. Conclusions. HRA-O combined with physician training and personal reinforcement had favorable effects on preventive care use and health behavio