Determining the value of Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) narratives for the acquisition process

In the last 20 years, the Department of Defense has seen a general reduction in the acquisition workforce yet experienced unprecedented growth in spending for services. The government has increased the level of scrutiny on service contracts highlighting the need to consistently follow policy when documenting contractor performance in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). This report used statistical analysis to examine 715 Army service contractor performance reports in CPARS in order to answer the following questions: (1) Are government contracting professionals submitting contractor performance narratives in accordance with CPARS guidelines? (2) What is the added value of the contractor performance narratives beyond the value of the objective scores for performance? (3) What is the statistical relationship between the narratives and the objective scores? (4) Do the interview findings contradict, support, or enhance the findings for the three questions above? (5) What conclusions or recommendations can we draw from the answers to the questions above? The findings revealed inconsistencies between the objective scores and narratives entered into CPARS. This report discusses the findings and concludes with eight recommendations to improve documenting contractor performance.http://archive.org/details/determiningvalue1094542583Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy;Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy;Lieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Investigation of Preventative Treatment Options for Pressure Ulcers

The health care system currently lacks a product that both treats and prevents the progression of sub-dermal pressure ulcers. Not much is known about the formation of sub-dermal pressure ulcers however it is widely accepted that lack of blood supply, and thus lack of oxygen, is the cause. The purpose of this investigation is to develop a device that supplies oxygen from an external reservoir, at a controlled rate, to the location of a subdermal pressure ulcer. Since skin is a large diffusional barrier to oxygen the incorporation of microneedles into the devices allows for increased and possibly uninhibited gas diffusion. We plan on using this data to creating a device that would effectively treat the progression of pressure ulcers, or more generically a device that would be able to diffuse gas to a sub-dermal tissue

A Decentralized Authorization and Security Framework for Distributed Research Workflows

Research challenges such as climate change and the search for habitable planets increasingly use academic and commercial computing resources distributed across different institutions and physical sites. Furthermore, such analyses often require a level of automation that precludes direct human interaction, and securing these workflows involves adherence to security policies across institutions. In this paper, we present a decentralized authorization and security framework that enables researchers to utilize resources across different sites while allowing service providers to maintain autonomy over their secrets and authorization policies. We describe this framework as part of the Tapis platform, a web-based, hosted API used by researchers from multiple institutions, and we measure the performance of various authorization and security queries, including cross-site queries. We conclude with two use case studies -- a project at the University of Hawaii to study climate change and the NASA NEID telescope project that searches the galaxy for exoplanets.Comment: 10 pages. Short version of this paper to be published on COMPSAC 2023 proceeding

Using Open-Source to Enhance Teaching and Scholarship

The adoption of open-source resources (software, hardware, educational content, and more) that are freely licensed for use, sharing, repurposing, and remixing has grown dramatically in recent years, within both academia and industry. This panel features several faculty and staff who will share and discuss their experiences using open-source solutions to enhance teaching and scholarship (both SoTL and discipline research) at their institutions.https://jagworks.southalabama.edu/cotl2023-panel/1000/thumbnail.jp

A comparison of the response of diploid and triploid Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) siblings to a commercial furunculosis vaccine and subsequent experimental infection with Aeromonas salmonicida

Sterile triploid fish represent a solution to the problems associated with sexual maturation and escapees in aquaculture. However, as disease outbreaks continue to cause significant economic losses to the industry, it is essential that the response of triploids to disease and disease treatments be characterised. The aim of this study was to compare the response of triploid Atlantic salmon to a commercial furunculosis vaccine with that of diploid fish, and to assess the vaccine efficacy in the two ploidies through an experimental infection withAeromonas salmonicida. Diploid and triploid Atlantic salmon were injected intraperitoneally with either phosphate buffered saline, liquid paraffin adjuvant or a commercial furunculosis vaccine. Following vaccination, growth, adhesion scores and a variety of assays to assess immune function, such as respiratory burst and antibody response, were measured. Vaccination did not have a significant effect on the weight of either ploidy prior to challenge at 750° days. Adhesion scores were significantly higher in vaccinated fish compared to unvaccinated fish, although no effect of ploidy was observed. Ploidy significantly affected respiratory burst activity following vaccination, however, with triploids exhibiting higher activity than diploids. Combined with lower white blood cell numbers observed in the triploids, it may be that this low cell number is compensated for by increased cellular activity. Ploidy however, did not have a significant effect on complement activity or antibody response, with significantly higher antibody levels detected in all vaccinated fish compared to unvaccinated controls. In addition, both ploidy groups were well protected following challenge with no difference in the relative percentage survival. Based on these results, it appears that ploidy does not affect the severity of adhesions that result post-vaccinate or in the fish's immune response following vaccination, and the furunculosis vaccine performs equally well in both diploid and triploid Atlantic salmon

Police Criminal Charging Decisions: An Examination of Post-Arrest Decision-Making

Scholars have encouraged studies of police decision-making to move beyond the arrest decision into research that broadens the understanding of police behavior. The criminal charge placed by officers against offenders is largely an untouched area of study. Examining criminal charging decisions goes beyond simple dichotomous decisions, such as arrest, but instead explores the area of police leniency or punitiveness. Randomly constructed vignettes describing a domestic violence incident were given to officers from four agencies. Officers indicated the criminal charges they would likely list against an offender if they were to make an arrest. Serious criminal charges were often supported by additional, but less serious, charges. Victim injury and an uncooperative offender were related to the decision to charge a misdemeanor offense. There was a significant negative relationship between the number of charges listed and more experienced officers and officers working in smaller agencies. The implications of this study and directions for future research are discussed

Perfect Balance [temperature controlled mattress pad]

Often times, people have trouble falling asleep due to non-ideal sleeping conditions. Specifically, 20% of North Americans that have trouble sleeping say that uncomfortable sleeping temperatures prevent them from achieving a good night’s rest [1]. While products such as heating blankets and mattress pads have been available on the market for many years, no consumer product has yet offered the ability to cool in addition to heat the user. This is all about to change with the invention of ThermaCool’s Perfect Balance temperature controlled mattress pad. The purpose of the Perfect Balance mattress pad is to ensure a consistent and comfortable sleeping temperature all throughout the night. Whether the night is too cold or too hot, the Perfect Balance mattress pad will automatically and discreetly heat up or cool down to maintain the user’s pre-defined, desired sleeping temperature.&nbsp

Sustainability in the Tapis Framework

As more research depends fundamentally on software, sustainability becomes increasingly critical. Nevertheless, despite valiant efforts from a growing number of researchers and practitioners, a basic understanding of best-practices for sustainable software remains elusive. In this paper, we review the specific practices and strategies that have helped to sustain Tapis, a cyberinfastructure project that has been in use for over a decade. The Tapis framework is an open-source, software-as-a-service Application Programming Interface (API) for collaborative, automated, reproducible computational research which began as the Foundation API for the iPlant Collaborative Project in 2008, and today is used by tens of thousands of individuals across more than a dozen active projects. This paper describes our multi-faceted approach to sustaining an increasingly complex ecosystem of software, documentation and other digital assets, including both technical and organizational strategies for minimizing the cost of sustainment while maximizing available resources for sustainment activities

Pharmacokinetics of lamivudine and lamivudine-triphosphate after administration of 300 milligrams and 150 milligrams once daily to healthy volunteers: Results of the ENCORE 2 Study

There is interest in evaluating the efficacy of lower doses of certain antiretrovirals for clinical care. We determined here the bio-equivalence of plasma lamivudine (3TC) and intracellular 3TC-triphosphate (3TC-TP) concentrations after the administration of two different doses. ENCORE 2 was a randomized crossover study. Subjects received 3TC at 300 and 150 mg once daily for 10 days (arm 1; n = 13) or vice versa (arm 2; n = 11), separated by a 10-day washout. Pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles (0 to 24 h) were assessed on days 10 and 30. Plasma 3TC and 3TC-TP levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Within-subject changes in PK parameters (the area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 24 h [AUC0-24], the trough concentration of drug in plasma at 24 h [C24], and the maximum concentration of drug in plasma [Cmax]) were evaluated by determining the geometric mean ratios (GMRs) adjusted for study arm, period, and intra-individual variation. Regimens were considered bioequivalent if the 90% confidence interval (90% CI) fell within the range of 0.8 to 1.25. A total of 24 subjects completed the study. The GM (90% CI) 3TC AUC0-24), expressed as ng•h/ml, for the 300- and 150-mg doses were 8,354 (7,609 to 9,172) and 4,773 (4,408 to 5,169), respectively. Bioequivalence in 3TC PK following the administration of 300 and 150 mg was not demonstrated: the GMRs for AUC0-24, C24, and Cmax were 0.57 (0.55 to 0.60), 0.63 (0.59 to 0.67), and 0.56 (0.53 to 0.60), respectively. The GM (90% CI) 3TC-TP AUC0-24 values (pmol•h/106 cells) for the 300- and 150-mg doses were 59.5 (51.8 to 68.3) and 44.0 (38.0 to 51.0), respectively. Bioequivalence in 3TC-TP PK following the administration of 300 and 150 mg was not demonstrated: the GMRs for AUC0-24, C24, and Cmax were 0.73 (0.64 to 0.83), 0.82 (0.68 to 0.99), and 0.70 (0.61 to 0.82), respectively. We found that 3TC at 150 mg is not bioequivalent to the standard regimen of 300 mg, indicating that saturation of cytosine phosphorylation pathways is not achieved at a dose of 150 mg

Living Mercy: Reflecting on the Vocation and Values of Salve Regina University

With this collection of essays, we honor the vocation and spirit of mercy that has enlivened and guided Salve Regina University for the last 75 years. Inspired by the accomplishments of the past and looking forward to the call of the future, these essays provide a starting point for University-wide conversations to support Salve Regina in discerning how it will move into the increasingly complex challenges of the future. Salve\u27s tradition of mercy is rooted in the example of Catherine McAuley, who founded the Sisters of Mercy in 19th-century Dublin, Ireland. It is a model of faith expressed through action and maintains that each person is called to and capable of contributing to the common good by responding to the needs of the day, to respond to the suffering and injustice of each era.Attending to this spirit of mercy that continues to guide our University, this project considers how the six core values of Salve’s Strategic Compass – purpose-driven education, respect and dignity for all, mercy community, integrity, faith and spirituality, and compassionate service and solidarity – relate to our shared mercy, Catholic heritage, and the mercy vocational paradigm. Exploring how to re-root and re-frame these values, we approached the project as a vocationally oriented narrative. This type of narrative focuses on the call and vocation, as well as the patterns of meaning that shape the unique identity of an institution in its founding and how the institution has evolved and changed in response to the claims and context of social and historic dynamics. Thus, these six essays are harmonized by a three-fold critical-creative structure that attends to the dynamic experience of the call and spirit of mercy modeled in the founding of the University, how we presently live this call, and envision the challenges and possibilities that lie on the horizon. We employed the perspectives of Foundations, Living Presence, and Horizons to frame an analogical exploration of the unique character, actions and ideals that have inspired and sustained the vocation and mission of Salve Regina University, and may be creatively transferred to shaping the horizon for future generations of students.Celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of Salve Regina University, we invite readers to reflect on this collection of essays and then to join the conversations that are to follow as we continue to discern the path forward as Salve takes its next steps into the future.https://digitalcommons.salve.edu/fac_staff_ebooks/1006/thumbnail.jp