How Agile Methods Inspire Project Management - The Half Double Initiative

Increased complexity in projects has forced new project management initiatives. In software development several agile methods have emerged and are today highly implemented in practice. Observations of general project management practice show how it has been inspired by agile software development, but very little research addresses the issue of agile project management. In order to understand and to provide suggestions for future practice on how agility can be incorporated in general project management, this paper provides an analysis which compares ten characteristics of agile software development (identified in theory) and the Half Double Methodology developed by the Danish Project Half Double initiative; a Methodology developed with practitioners and tested in seven Danish case companies. The analysis shows how the general project management to a great extent has been inspired by agile methods, but also that general project management may be able to find more inspiration from agile methods

A Ginzburg-Landau Analysis of the Colour Electric Flux Tube

In a simulation of SU(2) gauge theory we investigate, after maximal Abelian projection, the dual Maxwell equations for colour field and monopole current distributions around a static quark-antiquark pair Q_ Q in vacuo. Within the dual superconductor picture we carry out a Ginzburg-Landau type analysis of the flux tube profile. As a result we can determine the coherence length of the GL wave function related to the monopole condensate, xi = .25(3) fm, to be compared to the penetration length, lambda = >.15(2) fm (scaled with the string tension).Comment: 3 pages, 5 figures, corrected typos, LATTICE98(confine

Magnetic string contribution to hadron dynamics in QCD

Dynamics of a light quark in the field of static source (heavy-light meson) is studied using the nonlinear Dirac equation, derived recently. Special attention is paid to the contribution of magnetic correlators and it is found that it yields a significant increase of string tension at intermediate distances. The spectrum of heavy-light mesons is computed with account of this contribution and compared to experimental and lattice data.Comment: 10 pages Revte

A microscopic semiclassical confining field equation for U(1)U(1) lattice gauge theory in 2+1 dimensions

We present a semiclassical nonlinear field equation for the confining field in 2+1--dimensional $U(1)$ lattice gauge theory (compact QED). The equation is derived directly from the underlying microscopic quantum Hamiltonian by means of truncation. Its nonlinearities express the dynamic creation of magnetic monopole currents leading to the confinement of the electric field between two static electric charges. We solve the equation numerically and show that it can be interpreted as a London relation in a dual superconductor.Comment: 21 pages, epsf postscript figures included, full postscript available at ftp://ftp.th.physik.uni-frankfurt.de/pub/cbest/micro.ps.Z or http://www.th.physik.uni-frankfurt.de/~cbest/pub.htm

Itinerancy and Hidden Order in URu2Si2URu_2Si_2

We argue that key characteristics of the enigmatic transition at $T_0= 17.5K$ in $URu_2Si_2$ indicate that the hidden order is a density wave formed within a band of composite quasiparticles, whose detailed structure is determined by local physics. We expand on our proposal (with J.A. Mydosh) of the hidden order as incommnesurate orbital antiferromagnetism and present experimental predictions to test our ideas. We then turn towards a microscopic description of orbital antiferromagnetism, exploring possible particle-hole pairings within the context of a simple one-band model. We end with a discussion of recent high-field and thermal transport experiment, and discuss their implications for the nature of the hidden order.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures. v2 contains added referenc

ATP release during cell swelling activates a Ca2+-dependent Cl - Current by autocrine mechanism in mouse hippocampal microglia

Microglia cells, resident immune cells of the brain, survey brain parenchyma by dynamically extending and retracting their processes. Cl- channels, activated in the cellular response to stretch/swelling, take part in several functions deeply connected with microglia physiology, including cell shape changes, proliferation, differentiation and migration. However, the molecular identity and functional properties of these Cl- channels are largely unknown. We investigated the properties of swelling-activated currents in microglial from acute hippocampal slices of Cx3cr1+/GFP mice by whole-cell patch-clamp and imaging techniques. The exposure of cells to a mild hypotonic medium, caused an outward rectifying current, developing in 5-10 minutes and reverting upon stimulus washout. This current, required for microglia ability to extend processes towards a damage signal, was carried mainly by Cl- ions and dependent on intracellular Ca2+. Moreover, it involved swelling-induced ATP release. We identified a purine-dependent mechanism, likely constituting an amplification pathway of current activation: under hypotonic conditions, ATP release triggered the Ca2+-dependent activation of anionic channels by autocrine purine receptors stimulation. Our study on native microglia describes for the first time the functional properties of stretch/swelling-activated currents, representing a key element in microglia ability to monitor the brain parenchyma

5G-NTN GEO-based Over-The-Air Demonstrator using OpenAirInterface

5G services combined with the satellites, also termed 5G NonTerrestrial Networks (5G-NTN), have the capability of providing connectivity to the areas which were previously either unreachable or too costly to be reached by terrestrial communication networks. Proof-of-Concept (POC) demonstrators, preferably based on open-source implementation are desirable to expedite the ongoing research on 5G-NTN. In this work, we discuss the contributions made during the project 5G-GOA: 5G-Enabled Ground Segment Technologies Over-The-Air Demonstrator which aims to provide direct access to 5G services to a UE through a transparent payload Geostationary (GEO) satellite. 5G-GOA uses the open-source Software-Defined-Radio (SDR) platform OpenAirInterface (OAI) and does the necessary adaptations to achieve its objectives. Adaptations span physical layer techniques (e.g. synchronization) up to upper layer implementations (e.g., timers and random-access procedures) of the Radio Access Network (RAN). The adaptations are based on 3GPP 5G-NTN discussions and the solutions are compliant with the recently frozen 3GPP Release-17. An endto-end SDR-based 5G-NTN demonstrator has been developed for Over-The-Satellite (OTS) testing. We present results from several experiments that were conducted for in-lab validation of the demonstrator using a satellite channel emulator before going live with OTS tests. Experimental results indicate the readiness of the demonstrator for OTS testing which is scheduled during ICSSC 2022. The source code has been submitted to OAI public repository and is available for testing

A Modified View on Octocorals: Heteroxenia fuscescens Nematocysts Are Diverse, Featuring Both an Ancestral and a Novel Type

Cnidarians are characterized by the presence of stinging cells containing nematocysts, a sophisticated injection system targeted mainly at prey-capture and defense. In the anthozoan subclass Octocorallia nematocytes have been considered to exist only in low numbers, to be small, and all of the ancestral atrichous-isorhiza type. This study, in contrast, revealed numerous nematocytes in the octocoral Heteroxenia fuscescens. The study demonstrates the applicability of cresyl-violet dye for differential staining and stimulating discharge of the nematocysts. In addition to the atrichous isorhiza-type of nematocysts, a novel type of macrobasic-mastigophore nematocysts was found, featuring a shaft, uniquely comprised of three loops and densely packed arrow-like spines. In contrast to the view that octocorals possess a single type of nematocyst, Heteroxenia fuscescens features two distinct types, indicating for the first time the diversification and complexity of nematocysts for Octocorallia

Small Change: Economics and the British coin-tree

This is the accepted manuscript for the following article: Ceri Houlbrook, “Small Change: Economics and the British coin-tree”, Post Medieval Archaeology, Vol. 49(1), June 2015. The final published version can be found at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/0079423615Z.00000000074 © Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology 2015Throughout the c.2000 year period coins have been circulated in Britain, they have also been ritually employed, most notably as votive deposits. Focusing specifically on the understudied custom of the British coin-tree, whereby coins are ritually embedded into the barks of trees, this paper considers the coin’s role and applicability as a deposit. It aims to demonstrate that our understanding of the coin’s past, present, and future ritual employment is not only aided by a consideration of economics and the coin’s secular function; it would be utterly incomplete without it.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio