SAGA: A project to automate the management of software production systems

The Software Automation, Generation and Administration (SAGA) project is investigating the design and construction of practical software engineering environments for developing and maintaining aerospace systems and applications software. The research includes the practical organization of the software lifecycle, configuration management, software requirements specifications, executable specifications, design methodologies, programming, verification, validation and testing, version control, maintenance, the reuse of software, software libraries, documentation, and automated management

First passage time for subdiffusion: The nonextensive entropy approach versus the fractional model

We study the similarities and differences between different models concerning subdiffusion. More particularly, we calculate first passage time (FPT) distributions for subdiffusion, derived from Greens' functions of nonlinear equations obtained from Sharma-Mittal's, Tsallis's and Gauss's nonadditive entropies. Then we compare these with FPT distributions calculated from a fractional model using a subdiffusion equation with a fractional time derivative. All of Greens' functions give us exactly the same standard relation $=2 D_\alpha t^\alpha$ which characterizes subdiffusion ($0<\alpha<1$), but generally FPT's are not equivalent to one another. We will show here that the FPT distribution for the fractional model is asymptotically equal to the Sharma--Mittal model over the long time limit only if in the latter case one of the three parameters describing Sharma--Mittal entropy $r$ depends on $\alpha$, and satisfies the specific equation derived in this paper, whereas the other two models mentioned above give different FTPs with the fractional model. Greens' functions obtained from the Sharma-Mittal and fractional models - for $r$ obtained from this particular equation - are very similar to each other. We will also discuss the interpretation of subdiffusion models based on nonadditive entropies and the possibilities of experimental measurement of subdiffusion models parameters.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

Illinois State University University Band Symphonic Band

Center for the Performing Arts Wednesday Evening April 23, 2003 8:00p.m

Tuesday Student Recital

Kemp Recital Hall Tuesday Afternoon October 30, 2001 2:00p.m

SAGA: A project to automate the management of software production systems

The project to automate the management of software production systems is described. The SAGA system is a software environment that is designed to support most of the software development activities that occur in a software lifecycle. The system can be configured to support specific software development applications using given programming languages, tools, and methodologies. Meta-tools are provided to ease configuration. Several major components of the SAGA system are completed to prototype form. The construction methods are described

Silent Transitions in Automata with Storage

We consider the computational power of silent transitions in one-way automata with storage. Specifically, we ask which storage mechanisms admit a transformation of a given automaton into one that accepts the same language and reads at least one input symbol in each step. We study this question using the model of valence automata. Here, a finite automaton is equipped with a storage mechanism that is given by a monoid. This work presents generalizations of known results on silent transitions. For two classes of monoids, it provides characterizations of those monoids that allow the removal of \lambda-transitions. Both classes are defined by graph products of copies of the bicyclic monoid and the group of integers. The first class contains pushdown storages as well as the blind counters while the second class contains the blind and the partially blind counters.Comment: 32 pages, submitte

Knowledge-Based Collaborative Lean Manufacturing Management (KBCLMM) system

The objective of this research paper is to demonstrate the application of hybrid Knowledge-Based System, Gauging Absences of Pre-Requisites (GAP), and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approaches for selecting the improvement programs for Collaborative Lean Manufacturing Management (CLMM) System.In this research, a generic Knowledge-Based System is developed to measure the level of CLMM adoption in automotive manufacturers compared to the ideal system. Using the embedded GAP and AHP technique, the key lean manufacturing improvement programs can be prioritised by using both qualitative and quantitative criteria.The analysis covers the planning stage of the KBCLMM. The utilisation of the approach is demonstrated with an illustrative example

Hepatic P450 Enzyme Activity, Tissue Morphology and Histology of Mink (Mustela vison) Exposed to Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans

Dose- and time-dependent effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin equivalents (TEQ) of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzofuran (TCDF), 2,3,4,7,8-pentachlorodibenzofuran (PeCDF), or a mixture of these two congeners on hepatic P450 enzyme activity and tissue morphology, including jaw histology, of adult ranch mink were determined under controlled conditions. Adult female ranch mink were fed either TCDF (0.98, 3.8, or 20 ng TEQTCDF/kg bw/day) or PeCDF (0.62, 2.2, or 9.5 ng TEQPeCDF/kg bw/day), or a mixture of TCDF and PeCDF (4.1 ng TEQTCDF/kg bw/day and 2.8 ng TEQPeCDF/kg bw/day, respectively) for 180 days. Doses used in this study were approximately eight times greater than those reported in a parallel field study. Activities of the cytochrome P450 1A enzymes, ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) and methoxyresorufin O-deethylase (MROD) were significantly greater in livers of mink exposed to TCDF, PeCDF, and a mixture of the two congeners; however, there were no significant histological or morphological effects observed. It was determined that EROD and MROD activity can be used as sensitive biomarkers of exposure to PeCDF and TCDF in adult female mink; however, under the conditions of this study, the response of EROD/MROD induction occurred at doses that were less than those required to cause histological or morphological changes

Core components for effective infection prevention and control programmes: new WHO evidence-based recommendations

Abstract Health care-associated infections (HAI) are a major public health problem with a significant impact on morbidity, mortality and quality of life. They represent also an important economic burden to health systems worldwide. However, a large proportion of HAI are preventable through effective infection prevention and control (IPC) measures. Improvements in IPC at the national and facility level are critical for the successful containment of antimicrobial resistance and the prevention of HAI, including outbreaks of highly transmissible diseases through high quality care within the context of universal health coverage. Given the limited availability of IPC evidence-based guidance and standards, the World Health Organization (WHO) decided to prioritize the development of global recommendations on the core components of effective IPC programmes both at the national and acute health care facility level, based on systematic literature reviews and expert consensus. The aim of the guideline development process was to identify the evidence and evaluate its quality, consider patient values and preferences, resource implications, and the feasibility and acceptability of the recommendations. As a result, 11 recommendations and three good practice statements are presented here, including a summary of the supporting evidence, and form the substance of a new WHO IPC guideline