Unstable Underground

This poster depicts the process for the design, production, and marketing of an original board game. This began in our ENGL 419 class as a group of four and is currently being continued during our free time as a group of two outside of the course. To begin, we researched multiple scholarly and industry articles to gain insights into modern hobbyist board game (HBG) design practices as well as playtesting a variety of HBGs to get a grasp on various styles and mechanics. We also studied crowdfunding trends and design; this research consisted of articles on practices when crowdfunding, as well as learning from successful and unsuccessful Kickstarter projects. We began the design process by designing the core mechanics of our HBG, and then building off of those core mechanics. Once we had an initial gameplay loop designed, we began conducting playtests internally to help balance mechanics, as well as externally to receive user feedback on the current state of the game. Using this feedback, we made several new iterations of our HBG in an iterative design process. After multiple weeks, we created a full paper prototype to test our HBG. This prototype included full card art and a written rulebook for players. Upon completion of this paper prototype, we created the first draft of our Kickstarter page which included a promotional video, images, game description, cost estimates, and a final goal. We also developed a social media plan for marketing purposes. After much playtesting, we decided to take our findings and redesign the game, altering several core mechanics into a new version that we are currently working on. Once we finish the second version, we will redesign the Kickstarter page to reflect our new ideas

Integrating CRASH, Hospital, and Roadway Data to Investigate the Effect of Cable Median Barriers on Injury Severity

Executive Summary In median-involved crashes, the odds of a police-reported injury were estimated to be 42% lower on road segments with a cable median barrier (CMB) than on road segments with a concrete median barrier, and the difference was statistically significant [odds ratio 0.58, 95% confidence interval (0.43, 0.78)]. In median-involved crashes, the odds of having an injury severity score of 8 or greater were estimated to be 34% higher on road segments with a CMB than on road segments with a concrete median barrier; however, the difference was not statistically significant [odds ratio 1.34, 95% confidence interval (0.67, 2.66). In median-involved crashes, the odds of having a police-reported injury were estimated to be 48% lower on road segments with a CMB than on road segments with a no median barrier; however, the difference was not statistically significant [odds ratio 0.52, 95% confidence interval (0.20, 1.31). In median-involved crashes, the odds of having an injury severity score of 4 or greater were estimated to be 65% lower on road segments with a CMB than on road segments with a no median barrier; however, the difference was not statistically significant [odds ratio 0.35, 95% confidence interval (0.04, 3.02). Sample size (numbers of vehicles and occupants involved in median-involved crashes for each median barrier type) was smaller than anticipated, resulting in low statistical power to assess differences in injury risk for different median barrier types. The findings raise the possibility that in some cases conclusions based on physician-based injury severity measures differ from conclusions based on police-reported injury severity measures The question of differences in police- vs. physician-reported injury severity measures bears further investigation using approaches that address lessons learned from this pilot study. This study did not address the question of which type of median barrier is most effective at preventing crashes altogether; it only assessed the risk of injury in crashes that occurred and were reported by polic

Coverage Metrics for Requirements-Based Testing: Evaluation of Effectiveness

In black-box testing, the tester creates a set of tests to exercise a system under test without regard to the internal structure of the system. Generally, no objective metric is used to measure the adequacy of black-box tests. In recent work, we have proposed three requirements coverage metrics, allowing testers to objectively measure the adequacy of a black-box test suite with respect to a set of requirements formalized as Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) properties. In this report, we evaluate the effectiveness of these coverage metrics with respect to fault finding. Specifically, we conduct an empirical study to investigate two questions: (1) do test suites satisfying a requirements coverage metric provide better fault finding than randomly generated test suites of approximately the same size?, and (2) do test suites satisfying a more rigorous requirements coverage metric provide better fault finding than test suites satisfying a less rigorous requirements coverage metric? Our results indicate (1) only one coverage metric proposed -- Unique First Cause (UFC) coverage -- is sufficiently rigorous to ensure test suites satisfying the metric outperform randomly generated test suites of similar size and (2) that test suites satisfying more rigorous coverage metrics provide better fault finding than test suites satisfying less rigorous coverage metrics

A Flexible and Non-instrusive Approach for Computing Complex Structural Coverage Metrics

Software analysis tools and techniques often leverage structural code coverage information to reason about the dynamic behavior of software. Existing techniques instrument the code with the required structural obligations and then monitor the execution of the compiled code to report coverage. Instrumentation based approaches often incur considerable runtime overhead for complex structural coverage metrics such as Modified Condition/Decision (MC/DC). Code instrumentation, in general, has to be approached with great care to ensure it does not modify the behavior of the original code. Furthermore, instrumented code cannot be used in conjunction with other analyses that reason about the structure and semantics of the code under test. In this work, we introduce a non-intrusive preprocessing approach for computing structural coverage information. It uses a static partial evaluation of the decisions in the source code and a source-to-bytecode mapping to generate the information necessary to efficiently track structural coverage metrics during execution. Our technique is flexible; the results of the preprocessing can be used by a variety of coverage-driven software analysis tasks, including automated analyses that are not possible for instrumented code. Experimental results in the context of symbolic execution show the efficiency and flexibility of our nonintrusive approach for computing code coverage informatio

Analysis of Traffic Crash Data in Kentucky 2015-2019

Executive Summary and Introduction This report documents an analysis of traffic crash data in Kentucky. A primary objective of this study was to determine average crash statistics for Kentucky highways. Where used, rates were calculated for various types of highways and for counties and cities. Difference criteria were used for exposure. Average and critical numbers, SPFs, and rates of crashes were calculated for various types of highways in rural and urban areas. These use crashes identified on highways where Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) volumes were available. The data in this report may be used to help identify problem areas. The other primary objective of this study was to provide data that can be used in the preparation of the problem identification portion of Kentucky’s Annual Highway Safety Plan (HSP). Crash statistics were analyzed and a summary of results and recommendations in several problem identification areas is presented. These general areas include; alcohol involvement, occupant protection, speed, teenage drivers, pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, trucks, and vehicle defects. Other areas included in the analysis for which specific recommendations were not made include, school bus crashes and train crashes. The crash data are stored in the Collision Report Analysis for Safer Highways (CRASH) database. This database is updated daily so the number of crashes in a given calendar year will continue to change for a substantial time after the end of that year. KTC captures an extract annually for analysis. Annual reports have previously been prepared since 1978 dealing with the calculation of statewide traffic crash rates for Kentucky and preparation of the problem identification portion of Kentucky’s Annual Highway Safety Plan. Traffic crash data for a five-year period were used in the preparation of this report. Kentucky has a systematic procedure to identify locations that have had abnormal rates or numbers of traffic crashes. However, before that procedure may be utilized, average crash rates and numbers must be determined for appropriate highway categories and for rural and urban areas. A primary objective of this study was to determine average traffic crash statistics for Kentucky. Those statistics may then be used in the high-crash location identification program to identify locations that should be investigated to determine whether changes should be made. A highway safety program is prepared each year for Kentucky in order to comply with Section 402, Title 23 of the United States Code. This program includes the identification, programming, budgeting, and evaluation of safety projects with the objective of reducing the number and severity of traffic crashes. The second major objective of this report is to provide data that may be included as the problem identification portion of Kentucky’s Annual Highway Safety Plan. Results from this report are used to provide benchmark data for that process

The Effect of Program and Model Structure on the Effectiveness of MC/DC Test Adequacy Coverage

Test adequacy metrics defined over the structure of a program, such as Modified Condition and Decision Coverage (MC/DC), are used to assess testing efforts. However, MC/DC can be “cheated” by restructuring a program to make it easier to achieve the desired coverage. This is concerning, given the importance of MC/DC in assessing the adequacy of test suites for critical systems domains. In this work, we have explored the impact of implementation structure on the efficacy of test suites satisfying the MC/DC criterion using four real-world avionics systems. Our results demonstrate that test suites achieving MC/DC over implementations with structurally complex Boolean expressions are generally larger and more effective than test suites achieving MC/DC over functionally equivalent, but structurally simpler, implementations. Additionally, we found that test suites generated over simpler implementations achieve significantly lower MC/DC and fault-finding effectiveness when applied to complex implementations, whereas test suites generated over the complex implementation still achieve high MC/DC and attain high fault finding over the simpler implementation. By measuring MC/DC over simple implementations, we can significantly reduce the cost of testing, but in doing so, we also reduce the effectiveness of the testing process. Thus, developers have an economic incentive to “cheat” the MC/DC criterion, but this cheating leads to negative consequences. Accordingly, we recommend that organizations require MC/DC over a structurally complex implementation for testing purposes to avoid these consequences.</jats:p

Effective induction of protective systemic immunity with nasally administered vaccines adjuvanted with IL-1

IL-1α and IL-1β were evaluated for their ability to provide adjuvant activity for the induction of serum antibody responses when nasally-administered with protein antigens in mice and rabbits. In mice, intranasal (i.n.) immunization with pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) or tetanus toxoid (TT) combined with IL-1β induced protective immunity that was equivalent to that induced by parenteral immunization. Nasal immunization of awake (i.e., not anesthetized) rabbits with IL-1-adjuvanted vaccines induced highly variable serum antibody responses and was not as effective as parenteral immunization for the induction of antigen-specific serum IgG. However, i.n. immunization of deeply anesthetized rabbits with rPA + IL-1α consistently induced rPA-specific serum IgG ELISA titers that were not significantly different than those induced by intramuscular (IM) immunization with rPA + alum although lethal toxin neutralizing titers induced by nasal immunization were lower than those induced by IM immunization. Gamma scintigraphy demonstrated that the enhanced immunogenicity of nasal immunization in anesthetized rabbits correlated with an increased nasal retention of i.n. delivered non-permeable radio-labeled colloidal particles. Our results demonstrate that, in mice, IL-1 is an effective adjuvant for nasally-administered vaccines for the induction of protective systemic immunity and that in non-rodent species, effective induction of systemic immunity with nasally-administered vaccines may require formulations that ensure adequate retention of the vaccine within the nasal cavity

Management of Intrathecal Catheter-Tip Inflammatory Masses: A Consensus Statement

In a companion article, we synthesized current clinical and preclinical data to formulate hypotheses about the etiology of drug administration catheter-tip inflammatory masses. In this article, we communicate our recommendations for the detection, treatment, mitigation, and prevention of such masses. Methods. We reviewed published and unpublished case reports and our own experiences to find methods to diagnose and treat catheter-tip inflammatory masses in a manner that minimized adverse neurological sequelae. We also formulated hypotheses about theoretical ways to mitigate, and possibly, prevent the formation of such masses. Results. Human cases have occurred only in patients with chronic pain who received intrathecal opioid drugs, alone or mixed with other drugs, or in patients who received agents that were not labeled for long-term intrathecal use. Most patients had noncancer pain owing to their large representation among the population with implanted pumps. Such patients also had a longer life expectancy and exposure to intrathecal drugs, and they received higher daily doses than patients with cancer pain. Clues to diagnosis included the loss of analgesic drug effects accompanied by new, gradually progressive neurological symptoms and signs. When a mass was diagnosed before it filled the spinal canal or before it caused severe neurological symptoms, open surgery to remove the mass often was not required. Anecdotal reports and the authors' experiences suggest that cessation of drug administration through the affected catheter was followed by shrinkage or disappearance of the mass over a period of 2-5 months. Conclusions. Attentive follow-up and maintenance of an index of suspicion should permit timely diagnosis, minimally invasive treatment, and avoidance of neurological injury from catheter-tip inflammatory masses. Whenever it is feasible, positioning the catheter in the lumbar thecal sac and/or keeping the daily intrathecal opioid dose as low as possible for as long possible may mitigate the seriousness, and perhaps, reduce the incidence of such inflammatory masses.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75020/1/j.1526-4637.2002.02055.x.pd

Nonmucosal Alphavirus Vaccination Stimulates a Mucosal Inductive Environment in the Peripheral Draining Lymph Node

The strongest mucosal immune responses are induced following mucosal Ag delivery and processing in the mucosal lymphoid tissues, and much is known regarding the immunological parameters which regulate immune induction via this pathway. Recently, experimental systems have been identified in which mucosal immune responses are induced following nonmucosal Ag delivery. One such system, footpad delivery of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus replicon particles (VRP), led to the local production of IgA Abs directed against both expressed and codelivered Ags at multiple mucosal surfaces in mice. In contrast to the mucosal delivery pathway, little is known regarding the lymphoid structures and immunological components that are responsible for mucosal immune induction following nonmucosal delivery. In this study, we have used footpad delivery of VRP to probe the constituents of this alternative pathway for mucosal immune induction. Following nonmucosal VRP delivery, J chain-containing, polymeric IgA Abs were detected in the peripheral draining lymph node (DLN), at a time before IgA detection at mucosal surfaces. Further analysis of the VRP DLN revealed up-regulated α4β7 integrin expression on DLN B cells, expression of mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 on the DLN high endothelia venules, and production of IL-6 and CC chemokines, all characteristics of mucosal lymphoid tissues. Taken together, these results implicate the peripheral DLN as an integral component of an alternative pathway for mucosal immune induction. A further understanding of the critical immunological and viral components of this pathway may significantly improve both our knowledge of viral-induced immunity and the efficacy of viral-based vaccines