Agile Software Development: Creating a Cost of Delay Framework for Air Force Software Factories

The Air Force software development environment is experiencing a paradigm shift. The 2019 Defense Innovation Board concluded that speed and cycle time must become the most important software metrics if the US military is to maintain its advantage over adversaries.1 This article proposes utilizing a cost-o­f-d­elay (CoD) framework to prioritize projects toward optimizing readiness. Cost-­of-d­elay is defined as the economic impact resulting from a delaying product delivery or, said another way, opportunity cost. In principle, CoD assesses the negative impacts resulting from changes to the priority of a project

Intracellular and tissue levels of vitamin B12 in hepatocytes are modulated by CD320 receptor and TCN2 transporter

The liver mass constitutes hepatocytes expressing receptors for vitamin B12 (B12)-bound transporters in circulation. However, intrahepatic and circulating B12 interrelationship levels remain unclear. We assessed the intracellular B12 levels at various circulating B12 concentrations in human HepG2 cell-line and liver tissue levels of B12 in the C57BL/6 mouse model. In HepG2 cells treated with a range of B12 concentrations, the intracellular and circulatory B12 levels, transcript and protein levels of B12 receptor (CD320) and transporter (TCN2) were determined using immu-noassays, qRT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. Similar assessments were done in plasma and liver tissue of C57BL/6 mice, previously fed a diet of either a high or low B12 (30.82 μg B12/kg and 7.49 μg B12/kg, respectively) for 8-10 weeks. The physiological B12 status (0.15-1 nM) resulted in increased levels of intracellular B12 in HepG2 cells compared to supraphysiological levels of B12 (>1 nM). Gene and protein expression of CD320 and TCN2 were also higher at physiological levels of B12. Progressively increasing extracellular B12 to supraphysiological levels led to relative decreased levels of intracellular B12, lower expression of gene and protein levels of CD320 and TCN2. Similar results were observed in liver tissue from mice fed on a low B12 diet verses high B12 diet. These findings suggest that unlike supraphysiological B12, physiological levels of B12 in the extra-cellular media or circulation accelerates active transport of B12, and expression of CD320 and TCN2, resulting in higher relative uptake of B12 in hepatocytes

Case company study: Managers’ views on their work circumstances

The purpose of this thesis was to find out how private a security case company’s reception guarding managers view their knowledge, skills and overall circumstances to handle their job. The reason for this study is that the people, the security guards, are the largest resource of the case company studied. The work done by the security guards provides the greatest profit. Investing in the managers insures that the company itself is functioning efficiently. It is important for the company to know that their managers are capable of handling the work; they have the tools, and the men-tal strength to perform. The theoretical framework provides through the selected analysis method, theme analysis, the information about managerial work, work well-being and company culture. The three themes that were chosen are self-efficacy, tools to perform, and company commitment. These were chosen to support the idea of by valuing and investing in people where from the company can benefit. Two surveys were used to gather information. The primary survey (a survey for the managers) was conducted by the author which was made from the basis of the secondary data, the Work Satisfaction Survey for Officers, conducted by the case company’s Human Resources department. The findings showed that the managers are able to handle the responsibilities set to them with their skills and knowledge, however, the amount of the workload seems to be too much

Reduced GLP-1 Secretion at 30 Minutes After a 75g Oral Glucose Load is Observed in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) levels may be reduced in type 2 diabetes but it has not been established whether a similar impairment exists in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). We studied this in a prospective cohort study of pregnant women (n=144) during oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). GLP-1, glucose and insulin were sampled at 30-minute intervals during a 2-hour 75g OGTT and indices of insulin secretion and sensitivity calculated. In a nested case-control study, women with GDM (n=19) had 12% lower total GLP-1 secretion (area under the curve; AUC) compared to age, ethnicity and gestational-age matched controls (n=19), selected from within the lowest quartile of glucose values in our cohort. GDM had lower GLP-1 response in the first 30 minutes (19% lower GLP-1 and 17% lower AUC) after adjustment for possible confounders. Their glucose levels began to diverge at 30 minutes of the OGTT with increasing insulin levels, and by 120 minutes, their insulin levels were three times higher. In a secondary cohort of 57 women, which included 'high-normal' glucose values, low GLP-1 AUC was independently associated with lower indices of insulin secretion and sensitivity. In conclusion, we have observed that women with GDM have lower GLP-1 response at 30 minutes of an OGTT and hyperglycaemia at 120 minutes despite significant hyperinsulinaemia