A Network Neuroscience Approach to Typical and Atypical Brain Development.

Human brain networks based on neuroimaging data have already proven useful in characterizing both normal and abnormal brain structure and function. However, many brain disorders are neurodevelopmental in origin, highlighting the need to go beyond characterizing brain organization in terms of static networks. Here, we review the fast-growing literature shedding light on developmental changes in network phenotypes. We begin with an overview of recent large-scale efforts to map healthy brain development, and we describe the key role played by longitudinal data including repeated measurements over a long period of follow-up. We also discuss the subtle ways in which healthy brain network development can inform our understanding of disorders, including work bridging the gap between macroscopic neuroimaging results and the microscopic level. Finally, we turn to studies of three specific neurodevelopmental disorders that first manifest primarily in childhood and adolescence/early adulthood, namely psychotic disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum disorder. In each case we discuss recent progress in understanding the atypical features of brain network development associated with the disorder, and we conclude the review with some suggestions for future directions

Investigation into the Ratio of Operating and Support Costs to Life-Cycle Costs for DoD Weapon Systems

Recent legislation, such as the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009, requires a renewed emphasis on understanding Operating and Support (O&S) costs. Conventional wisdom within the acquisition community suggests a 70:30 cost ratio with respect to O&S and acquisition of an average weapon system. Using 37 Air Force and Navy programs, the authors estimate the mean overall ratio of O&S costs to acquisition costs to be closer to 55:45, although many weapon systems displayed significant deviation from this 55 percent average. Contributing factors such as life expectancy and acquisition strategy (i.e., new system or modification) affect this variance. Their research advises against using a single “one-size-fits-all” O&S/ acquisition cost ratio for all major DoD weapon systems

Report of ESCOP Subcommittee on Domestic and International Markets and Policy

International Relations/Trade,

Improving Software Cost Estimating Techniques in Defense Programs

Symposium PresentationApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Improving Software Cost Estimating Techniques in Defense Programs

Excerpt from the Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual Acquisition Research SymposiumAs software becomes more ubiquitous in defense programs, there is a need to improve the accuracy and reliability of methods for estimating software size and cost. Historically, practitioners have used defined distributions in their estimating software to simulate likely outcomes. This research identifies new distributions of likely software costs and effective sizes through an analysis of Cost and Software Data Reports (CSDRs) as well as demonstrating the most appropriate distribution given certain program characteristics known at the genesis of the project. By utilizing various descriptive statistics and statistical tests, this research shows there are distributions that are more closely tailored to the actual qualities of a software program. In some instances, a broad and general distribution is sufficient; however, there are specific commodities, contractors, and system types that are distinctly different and require additional analysis. Overall, this research intends to equip practitioners with an arsenal of distributions and statistical information that will lead them to apply the best model to predict software size and cost, all with the goal of improving overall accuracy.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Improving Software Cost Estimating Techniques in Defense Programs

Excerpt from the Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual Acquisition Research SymposiumAs software becomes more ubiquitous in defense programs, there is a need to improve the accuracy and reliability of methods for estimating software size and cost. Historically, practitioners have used defined distributions in their estimating software to simulate likely outcomes. This research identifies new distributions of likely software costs and effective sizes through an analysis of Cost and Software Data Reports (CSDRs) as well as demonstrating the most appropriate distribution given certain program characteristics known at the genesis of the project. By utilizing various descriptive statistics and statistical tests, this research shows there are distributions that are more closely tailored to the actual qualities of a software program. In some instances, a broad and general distribution is sufficient; however, there are specific commodities, contractors, and system types that are distinctly different and require additional analysis. Overall, this research intends to equip practitioners with an arsenal of distributions and statistical information that will lead them to apply the best model to predict software size and cost, all with the goal of improving overall accuracy.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Processing liquid metal for conformable electronics

Future generations of robots, electronics, and assistive medical devices will include systems that are soft, elastically deformable, and may adapt their functionality in unstructured environments. This will require soft active materials for power circuits and sensing of deformation and contact pressure. Liquid-embedded elastomer electronics offer one solution as key elements of highly deformable and soft robotic systems. Several designs for stretchable conductors and soft sensory skins (including strain, pressure, and curvature sensors) based on a liquid-embedded-elastomer approach have been developed. Many of these fluid–elastomer composites utilize liquid metal alloys due to their high conductivities and inherent compliance. Understanding how these alloys can be processed for high-yield manufacturability is critical to the development of parallel processing technology, which is needed to create more complex and low-cost systems. This discussion will highlight surface interactions between droplets of gallium–indium alloys and elastomeric substrates, and the implementation of this study to selective patterning, direct-writing, and inkjet printing of hyperelastic electronic components

Influence of the Fermi Surface Morphology on the Magnetic Field-Driven Vortex Lattice Structure Transitions in YBa2_{2}Cu3_{3}O7−δ:δ=_{7-\delta}:\delta=0, 0.15

We report small-angle neutron scattering measurements of the vortex lattice (VL) structure in single crystals of the lightly underdoped cuprate superconductor YBa2Cu3O6.85. At 2 K, and for fields of up to 16 T applied parallel to the crystal c-axis, we observe a sequence of field-driven and first-order transitions between different VL structures. By rotating the field away from the c-axis, we observe each structure transition to shift to either higher or lower field dependent on whether the field is rotated towards the [100] or [010] direction. We use this latter observation to argue that the Fermi surface morphology must play a key role in the mechanisms that drive the VL structure transitions. Furthermore, we show this interpretation is compatible with analogous results obtained previously on lightly overdoped YBa2Cu3O7. In that material, it has long-been suggested that the high field VL structure transition is driven by the nodal gap anisotropy. In contrast, the results and discussion presented here bring into question the role, if any, of a nodal gap anisotropy on the VL structure transitions in both YBa2Cu3O6.85 and YBa2Cu3O7