The Developmental Test Scheduling Problem

Developmental testing of aircraft systems in the United States Air Force requires a complex set of resources for each test. The optimal scheduling of those resources is the job of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base. With more than 20 different Combined Task Forces requesting resources for roughly 300 flying missions each week, manual scheduling is a difficult task. The current process takes a team of schedulers several days to get a workable result from which they can start tailoring the final schedule. While concepts and techniques can be taken from industry scheduling problems, the body of knowledge as it relates to developmental test scheduling is sparse. The contribution of this paper is to initially document the Developmental Test Scheduling Problem, define it in structured terms for which a solution methodology can be designed, and present an Integer Programming based solution. The design allows for a scheduler to tailor an initial answer to fit nuanced and timely objectives and constraints. For this prototype effort the problem is scoped to the Iron Resources while bearing in mind the extensibility of the approach to Range Resources. This study and prototype will demonstrate results that will create an initial schedule in several hours and serve as a good starting point for the final schedule

Tuning Hyperparameters for DNA-based Discrimination of Wireless Devices

The Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial IoT (IIoT) is enabled by Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) devices. However, these devices increase vulnerability concerns of the IIoT and resultant Critical Infrastructure (CI) risks. Secure IIoT is enabled by both pre-attack security and post-attack forensic analysis. Radio Frequency (RF) Fingerprinting enables both pre- and post-attack security by providing serial-number level identification of devices through fingerprint characterization of their emissions. For classification and verification, research has shown high performance by employing the neural network-based Generalized Relevance Learning Vector Quantization-Improved (GRLVQI) classifier. However, GRLVQI has numerous hyperparameters and tuning requires AI expertise, thus some researchers have abandoned GRLVQI for notionally simpler, but less accurate, methods. Herein, we develop a fool-proof approach for tuning AI algorithms. For demonstration, Z-Wave, an insecure low-power/cost WPAN technology, and the GRLVQI classifier are considered. Results show significant increases in accuracy (5% for classification, 50% verification) over baseline methods

ADT Final Report: Alternatives to Detention, Douglas County

About the Report The authors of this report are Madison Schoenbeck, Joseph Mroz, Dr. Joseph Allen, Dr. Roni Reiter-Palmon, and Dr. Ryan Spohn. This report includes a variety of new data sources, including interviews with service providers, a focus group with Douglas County intake officers, and a stakeholder survey distributed across Douglas County. Data for this report was collected between May 9, 2016 and November 15, 2017 unless otherwise specified. Funding for this evaluation was generously provided by Douglas County, NE and The Sherwood Foundation, in contract with UNO’s Nebraska Center for Justice Research

Surrogate Splicing for Functional Analysis of Sesquiterpene Synthase Genes

A method for the recovery of full-length cDNAs from predicted terpene synthase genes containing introns is described. The approach utilizes Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression coupled with a reverse transcription-polydeoxyribonucleotide chain reaction assay to facilitate expression cloning of processed transcripts. Subsequent expression of intronless cDNAs in a suitable prokaryotic host provides for direct functional testing of the encoded gene product. The method was optimized by examining the expression of an intron-containing β-glucuronidase gene agroinfiltrated into petunia (Petunia hybrida) leaves, and its utility was demonstrated by defining the function of two previously uncharacterized terpene synthases. A tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) terpene synthase-like gene containing six predicted introns was characterized as having 5-epi-aristolochene synthase activity, while an Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) gene previously annotated as a terpene synthase was shown to possess a novel sesquiterpene synthase activity for α-barbatene, thujopsene, and β-chamigrene biosynthesis

Rhizosphere activity in an old-growth forest reacts rapidly to changes in soil moisture and shapes whole-tree carbon allocation

Drought alters carbon (C) allocation within trees, thereby impairing tree growth. Recovery of root and leaf functioning and prioritized C supply to sink tissues after drought may compensate for drought -induced reduction of assimilation and growth. It remains unclear if C allocation to sink tissues during and following drought is controlled by altered sink metabolic activities or by the availability of new assimilates. Understanding such mechanisms is required to predict forests' resilience to a changing climate. We investigated the impact of drought and drought release on C allocation in a 100-y-old Scots pine forest. We applied (CO2)-C-13 pulse labeling to naturally dry control and long-term irrigated trees and tracked the fate of the label in aboveand belowground C pools and fluxes. Allocation of new assimilates belowground was ca. 53% lower under nonirrigated conditions. A short rainfall event, which led to a temporary increase in the soil water content (SWC) in the topsoil, strongly increased the amounts of C transported belowground in the nonirrigated plots to values comparable to those in the irrigated plots. This switch in allocation patterns was congruent with a tipping point at around 15% SWC in the response of the respiratory activity of soil microbes. These results indicate that the metabolic sink activity in the rhizosphere and its modulation by soil moisture can drive C allocation within adult trees and ecosystems. Even a subtle increase in soil moisture can lead to a rapid recovery of belowground functions that in turn affects the direction of C transport in trees.Peer reviewe