A new integrable generalization of the Korteweg - de Vries equation

A new integrable sixth-order nonlinear wave equation is discovered by means of the Painleve analysis, which is equivalent to the Korteweg - de Vries equation with a source. A Lax representation and a Backlund self-transformation are found of the new equation, and its travelling wave solutions and generalized symmetries are studied.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure

Providing tool-support for value-based decision-making: A usability assessment

Numerous companies worldwide make their decisions related to software projects/products in a value neutral way, using only earned value systems, which represent short-term goals. Better decisions can be made using a value-based approach, achieving cost-effective results and reliable construction and maintenance of products. However, moving from a value-neutral to a value-based paradigm can be a challenge. We provide toolsupport, which was co-created in collaboration with three software companies, to ease the paradigm shift. Our tool supports both individual and group-based decisions using several visualization mechanisms. Despite the co-creation process employed while developing the value tool, there are specific issues relating to its usability that must also be assessed in order to reduce any possible drawbacks for its adoption by industry. This paper details three usability studies that were carried out to assess the value tool’s usability. The results also suggest that the tool is ready to be taken into use in the industry.The research project is funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes), under the FiDiPro VALUE project

AN AUTOMATED COMPUTER-AIDED DETECTION (CADe) AND DIAGNOSIS (CADx) SYSTEM FOR BREAST MICROCALCIFICATIONS IN MAMMOGRAMS

ABSTRACTAn automated computer aided diagnosis system has been proposed for detection of microcalcification (MC) clusters in mammograms. The proposed system is a whole system including suspicious regions identification, MCs detection, false positive reduction and benign/malign classification. For classification of suspicious microcalcification regions, a multilayer perceptron (MLP) neural network was used with grey level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) and statistical features.  Then to decrease the false positive classification ratio, we used cascade correlation neural network (CCNN) with grey level run length matrix (GLRLM) features. In the last step, hybrid form of discriminant analysis and support vector machine (SVM) methods were used with GLRLM features for benign/malign classification of detected MC clusters. The open access Mammographic Image Analysis Society (MIAS) database was used for the study. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm obtained 86% sensitivity, 98.3% specificity and 1.163 FPpI rates for detection an for diagnosis of breast cancer, the obtained sensitivity and specificity values are 100% and 100% respectively. Despite the vision difficulty of MC clusters, the novel system provides very satisfactory results. Furthermore, the developed system is fully automatic whole system which gives outputs as percentages and transformed assessment categories. Keywords: Mammograms, Breast cancer, Computer aided diagnosis, Cascade correlation neural network (CCNN), Grey level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM), Grey level run length matrix (GLRLM). 

Estimating the value of decisions relating to managing and developing software-intensive products and projects

The software industry’s current decision-making relating to product/project management and development is largely done in a value neutral setting, in which cost is the primary driver for every decision taken. However, numerous studies have shown that the primary critical success factor that differentiates successful products/projects from failed ones lie in the value domain. Therefore, to remain competitive, innovative and to grow, companies must change from cost-based decision-making to value-based decision-making where the decisions taken are the best for that company’s overall value creation. Our vision to tackle this problem and to provide a solution for value estimation is to employ a combination of qualitative and machine learning solutions where a probabilistic model encompassing the knowledge from different stakeholders will be used to predict the overall value of a given decision relating to product management and development. This vision drives the goal of a 3-year research project funded by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes), with the participation of several industry partners.This work is funded under Tekes FiDiPro number 40150/14

Lessons learned from a partial replication of an experiment in the context of a software engineering course

Replications are an integral component of experimentation through which the validity and reliability of the observed outcome in a previous experiment can be probed. In a strict replication, the experiment is executed in the same conditions as the original by following the same protocol and thus the evidence is strengthened statistically by means of increased sample size. Another objective for running replications is generalizing the experimental results beyond the limitations of one study and its context. For this purpose, certain elements of the original experiment, such as experimenters, experimental objects, and construct operationalization are altered and their impact is investigated. This paper presents lessons learned from a replication that was conducted as a part of an undergraduate university course in Serbia. The focus of the experiment was investigating the effectiveness of writing tests during the development process. The original experiment investigated the effectiveness of test-first programming and was conducted in Italy (Politecnico di Torino) with thirdyear computer science students during an intensive Java course. Lessons learned from this partial replication are that the given task descriptions and structure has an impact on the experiment outcome and that variations in metrics collection can occur when multiple researchers analyse the data, which requires metrics consolidation

Giant Intra-Articular Extrasynovial Osteochondroma of the Knee: A Report of Two Cases

We report two cases of a giant extrasynovial osteochondroma of the knee located in the infrapatellar fat pad region, in two females who were 58 and 71 years old respectively. Both patients had noticed the mass many years before our first clinical observation. In both patients, at physical examination a solid, firm and hard mass was palpable in the anterior part of the knee in Hoffa’s fat pad region, and the range of motion of the knee was severely restricted and painful. CT scan examination with 3D-reconstruction showed two large, calcified neoformations behind the patellar tendon, between the apex of the patella and the proximal third of the tibia. In both cases, the mass was completely resected surgically through an anterior longitudinal approach. At histological examination, the excised masses consisted of an outer layer of hyaline cartilage without significant chondrocyte atypia and an inner region of bone trabeculae formed by endochondral ossification. At follow-up, 8 and 4 years after the operation, both patients were pain-free, with complete recovery of the range of motion of the knee and without any clinical or radiographic evidence of recurrence. The authors believe that intra-articular extrasynovial osteochondroma of the knee is a primary metaplasia of Hoffa’s fat pad. Usually, the tumor develops slowly and asymptomatically over many years. The treatment of choice is a marginal resection of the mass, although a biopsy should be considered in some cases. Recurrences are extremely rare

The Effects of Cocaine on Different Redox Forms of Cysteine and Homocysteine, and on Labile, Reduced Sulfur in the Rat Plasma Following Active versus Passive Drug Injections

Received: 28 November 2012 / Revised: 19 April 2013 / Accepted: 6 May 2013 / Published online: 16 May 2013 The Author(s) 2013. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.comThe aim of the present studies was to evaluate cocaine-induced changes in the concentrations of different redox forms of cysteine (Cys) and homocysteine (Hcy), and products of anaerobic Cys metabolism, i.e., labile, reduced sulfur (LS) in the rat plasma. The above-mentioned parameters were determined after i.p. acute and subchronic cocaine treatment as well as following i.v. cocaine self-administration using the yoked procedure. Additionally, Cys, Hcy, and LS levels were measured during the 10-day extinction training in rats that underwent i.v. cocaine administration. Acute i.p. cocaine treatment increased the total and protein-bound Hcy contents, decreased LS, and did not change the concentrations of Cys fractions in the rat plasma. In turn, subchronic i.p. cocaine administration significantly increased free Hcy and lowered the total and protein-bound Cys concentrations while LS level was unchanged. Cocaine self-administration enhanced the total and protein-bound Hcy levels, decreased LS content, and did not affect the Cys fractions. On the other hand, yoked cocaine infusions did not alter the concentration of Hcy fractions while decreased the total and protein-bound Cys and LS content. This extinction training resulted in the lack of changes in the examined parameters in rats with a history of cocaine self-administration while in the yoked cocaine group an increase in the plasma free Cys fraction and LS was seen. Our results demonstrate for the first time that cocaine does evoke significant changes in homeostasis of thiol amino acids Cys and Hcy, and in some products of anaerobic Cys metabolism, which are dependent on the way of cocaine administration

Predictors of the development of myocarditis or acute renal failure in patients with leptospirosis: An observational study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Leptospirosis has a varied clinical presentation with complications like myocarditis and acute renal failure. There are many predictors of severity and mortality including clinical and laboratory parameters. Early detection and treatment can reduce complications. Therefore recognizing the early predictors of the complications of leptospirosis is important in patient management. This study was aimed at determining the clinical and laboratory predictors of myocarditis or acute renal failure.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a prospective descriptive study carried out in the Teaching Hospital, Kandy, from 1st July 2007 to 31st July 2008. Patients with clinical features compatible with leptospirosis case definition were confirmed using the Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT). Clinical features and laboratory measures done on admission were recorded. Patients were observed for the development of acute renal failure or myocarditis. Chi-square statistics, Fisher's exact test and Mann-Whitney <it>U </it>test were used to compare patients with and without complications. A logistic regression model was used to select final predictor variables.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sixty two confirmed leptospirosis patients were included in the study. Seven patients (11.3%) developed acute renal failure and five (8.1%) developed myocarditis while three (4.8%) had both acute renal failure and myocarditis. Conjunctival suffusion - 40 (64.5%), muscle tenderness - 28 (45.1%), oliguria - 20 (32.2%), jaundice - 12 (19.3%), hepatomegaly - 10 (16.1%), arrhythmias (irregular radial pulse) - 8 (12.9%), chest pain - 6 (9.7%), bleeding - 5 (8.1%), and shortness of breath (SOB) 4 (6.4%) were the common clinical features present among the patients. Out of these, only oliguria {odds ratio (OR) = 4.14 and 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.003-17.261}, jaundice (OR = 5.13 and 95% CI 1.149-28.003), and arrhythmias (OR = 5.774 and 95% CI 1.001-34.692), were predictors of myocarditis or acute renal failure and none of the laboratory measures could predict the two complications.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study shows that out of clinical and laboratory variables, only oliguria, jaundice and arrhythmia are strong predictors of development of acute renal failure or myocarditis in patients with leptospirosis presented to Teaching Hospital of Kandy, Sri Lanka.</p